MarcNath Zine 2021: Beyond the Background

To all the wonderful readers, writers, artists, and everyone who has participated in making this
small NathMarc community into something great.

We can't thank you enough, your support means the world to us and hopefully we can give a little
of that support back.

With love,
The MarcNath 2021 Zine Development Team

3 times Nathaniel and Marc were oblivious and one time when they weren’t

By: Andromeda (https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromeda612)

To say that Marc and Nathaniel are head over heels in love for each other would be the
understatement of the century. The pink aura that always surround those two every damn
time they are together is a pretty clear sign, the heart eyes which they see each other and the
way they talk about each other are more painfully obvious proof about their feelings.
Everybody knows, their friends from the art club, their friends from class, heck! Even Adrien
“she is just a friend” Agreste is able to notice the comic duo is in love with each other!

But of course, since we are talking about content creators and life just have to be a fucking
cliche, the only people unaware of these feelings are the duo themselves.

Which is painful and awful to watch.

Like I'm-about-to-commit-arson-just-to-be-free kind of awful.

At first it was funny and actually sweet to watch them pinning and being oblivious… but
after months of them being so painfully dense, and after rants and rants of ‘Alix you don’t get
it, he is so cute, that level of cuteness should be illegal!!’ or ‘Marinette what I’m gonna do?
I’m very gay and Nath is just so kind and handsome, and omg why I have to fall for him
when he would never watch me the same way??’ or everybody’s favorite ‘What do you
mean? He doesn’t like me like that!’ everybody just grew plain tired about it.

Not even Adrien and Rose, the resident sunshine children, are beyond groaning in (100%
justified) frustration every time the creative duo pin and completely miss the signs that their
feelings are pretty much returned.

So yeah, the situation is bad, and their friends had decided that enough is enough.

After the Reverser fiasco it was decided to avoid any middle, but now that they know their
friends won’t make any progress by themselves the art club plus the rest of the comic duo’s
friends decided to intervene, they made different plan and scenarios to help them to confess
already, it does not go as planned.

At all.

═══════ ≪ •⚜• ≫ ═══════

1

Being subtle.

Surely, they thought, if they got them to describe their ideal type of person to date, taking on
account that they fit perfectly the other’s type, it should spark at least something, right?

Right.

That’s how the art club found themselves one afternoon seated in a circle in the middle of
room 33, a request made by Rose, something about taking a free afternoon for some club
bonding time.

Marinette proposed to play one hundred questions, which is basically that they spin a bottle
and then can ask whatever question to the person pointed by it, and said person has to answer
nothing but the truth, a light version of truth or dare, without dares and just to chill and kill
time.

The main goal is to ask one, or if possible both, of them what their type is. Easy peasy.

It actually is easy… however…

“Oh Nath, it's your turn!” Rose exclaims happily, a subtle glance is shared between the girls
in the room and Rose asks the question after a couple of seconds to make it look like she was
thinking about it.

“What is your type?” She asks maybe a little too cheerful.

“P-pardon me?”

“What it’s your type? You know, what kind of person would you date?”

Nathaniel glances at Marc for half a second, enough for his other friends to notice but not for
the writer. He flushes, but of course it seems Marc is the only one to not think anything of it.

Or more accurately he does, he just happens to take it the wrong way, aka, ‘Nathaniel must be
embarrassed because his type surely sounds like his cousin, even if he lost his feelings for
Marinette long ago the artist still feels a little shy and self-conscious about it sometimes’. Not
that the rest of the club needs to know, it would make them grow gray hair prematurely.

Clearing his throat and willing his blush to go away, the redhead answers, a clear image of a
certain writer in his mind. “W-well, I like people that is creative, kind, smart and passionate

about their own things.” After a while he adds almost hesitantly “I also like dark hair and
colorful eyes.”

While the others make some comments about it, Marinette leans over slightly and whispers to
her cousin. “Sounds a little familiar to you?” She expects, or more like hopes, for Marc to
make the connection and realize he fits perfectly the description. Of course, she
underestimated her cousin’s obliviousness and (still but we are working on that) low self-
esteem that made impossible for him to think himself as anything nice by his own accord.

“Y-yeah, it’s no wonder he had a crush on you, you fit his type after all,” he whispers back.
And if the bluenette already has a hard time trying to not groan in frustration, what his cousin
whispers next— in an even lower tone— almost makes her to…If not for the fact that it also
makes her a little sad, because honestly, Marc sells himself too short.

“I wish I was a little like that…”

Marinette simply sighs, it seems attempt one is a failure, her fallen expression is enough to
share the message to her friends who also have to restrain groans of disappointment.

Honestly though, those two have been the most obvious dorks in love to walk the earth, and
yet neither of them have noticed a thing. So yeah, what were they expecting with going
subtle?

Attempt 1: failure

═══════ ≪ •⚜• ≫ ═══════

2

Jealousy

So subtle didn’t work, then maybe the opposite would, and a direct attack is what they need.

They made sure to plan this approach carefully. After all, they are dealing with two really shy
and lowkey (high key in Marc’s case) insecure teenagers, so they need to be cautious.

The first thing they agreed on was that Nathaniel is the best option to play the jealousy card.
Marc is not exactly the jealous type, and even if he does gets to feel that way, he is not the
kind of person to act on it. If anything, he would just feel even more insecure about himself
and about if Nathaniel could like him back, thinking that there were lots of better options than
himself— which not true, but Marc’s useless anxiety won’t let him even consider it. So that
is a no no for them.

Nathaniel on the other hand, he is a little the jealous type. Nothing toxic or worrisome, but
definitely enough to be noticeable. And despite his shyness (which, by the way has become a
lot more manageable) he does tend to act on the impulses of his jealousy. If Alix knows him
well enough, and of course she does, she knows he would like to prove he is good enough for
Marc.

The plan was, again, pretty simple.

Just tell Nathaniel about a certain handsome customer that became a regular coincidentally
after Marc started helping in the bakery now that their parents are having a rush in customers
and just Marinette it not enough to help them with the big amount of orders. Making a huge
emphasis in how said customer always asks to be attended by Marc, how he would always be
really nice to him and how obviously he likes to make him blush in every given chance.

The best part? It isn’t a lie at all. There is a customer infatuated with Marc. He visits the
bakery enough that they even learnt his name, among other things.

The customer's name is Elyan, a very cute and friendly boy who happened to visit the bakery
one day and end up smitten with Marc’s charm. He doesn’t live that far away from the
bakery, it just happens that there is another bakery closer to his house. The reason he ended
up with them was because said bakery was closed due to remodeling and he really wanted
some sweets, he has quite the sweet tooth, like Marc. It is not necessary to say that after a
good service courtesy of the writer he decided to visit their bakery more often.

He is into photography, likes science class and enjoys of reading manga and watching anime,
he likes cute stuff in general and is absolutely terrified of anything made to create fear,
imagine his reaction when he learned that Marc pretty much loved terror literature and could
watch the most bloody, nerve wracking and scariest movies the world have to offer without
flinching a bit and actually laughing to some of the scariest parts.

That just served to charm him more, though. How? They don’t know, it just happened that
way.

So Marinette makes sure to not leave any detail about Elyan and his interactions with her
cousin next time they are waiting for Miss Bustier to arrive at class.

“You should see him, honestly! Every time Elyan enters the bakery it’s guaranteed Marc will
end up with his face redder than his hoodie. It’s really cute!” the girl gushes, her friends
joining earnestly.

Nathaniel is not very happy. The prey got the bait.

Now they just need to wait to see the fruit of their plan.

Indeed, that very same day Nathaniel —after a long talk with Alix about moving or risking
losing Marc, and some pep talk to gain some courage— can be seen walking towards the
bakery, a determined look on his face and a box of Marc’s favorite chocolates in his hand.

However, it seems the universe is against them.

Because when Nathaniel finally enters the bakery, the scene in front of him is of Marc
rejecting a quite sad but understanding looking Elyan.

“I hope you understand and that we can still be friends! It is nice talking to you, and I really
enjoy your company.” Marc’s soft voice is shy and bashful. Elyan, while sad for being
rejected still smiles in return, he was hopeful yes, but he also expected this, and honestly,
being able to remain friends is more than enough.

“Of course, Moonflower, I would like that. I have to go now, but see you later? I still need to
talk to you about that novel you recommended me the other time.”

“Sure,” he says smiling, and Nathaniel, just for the fact that Marc just rejected the guy,
decides to ignore the lovely blush that bloomed on Marc’s cheeks at the nickname.

Moonflower, really?

Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? Though, it’s not like he could have the galls to call Marc
by the nickname, he already has tons of those but not the courage to use them… but still!

“Oh Nath! Hi!” The sound of Marc’s voice brings him back from his thoughts, Elyan gone
long ago.

“H-hi Marc,” And just like that any courage and determination to confess evaporate in the air
like water after a rain, with the threat gone, what is the point? Is a little coward of him? Yep.
Does he care? Nope.

So after that he just simply indulges in small chatter with his best friend and decides to still
give the chocolates under the pretense that they were on offer, and he knew how much he
loves them. The blush and smile he received in return are worth anything.

Unknown to them, all of it was seen by Marinette, who is now pulling at her pigtails and
biting the strip of her purse in frustration while texting the group chat they made just to their
mission on getting their friends together.

Attempt 2: failure.

═══════ ≪ •⚜• ≫ ═══════

3

Make them kiss by accident like those scenes in shoujos, and hope for the best.
Yeah, it is not their best plan. This one was proposed by Kim— that explains a lot— and the
fact that they even considered it… they are desperate okay?!

It was a ridiculously complicated plan that only Marinette could have created. In the end it
worked.
Kind of…
They managed to make them kiss by accident, however their reactions….
“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to!”
“I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened!”
“It’s totally my fault, I’m so sorry, please forgive me!”
“No! It’s my fault, oh my God!”

And lots of other panicked apologies followed after that, with both artists red as they have
never seen them and literally running away from each other.

It took a week and lots of intervention from their friends for them to finally face each other
again. It was the most awkward reunion, and it took at least two more days with Alix and
Marinette telling them how ridiculous they were being for the duo to finally act like normal.

There is really no more to say about this plan, nor anybody wants to remember it.

Attempt 3: the failure of the century.
═══════ ≪ •⚜• ≫ ═══════

+1

Hawkmoth finally is good for something.

Who would have thought that all it took for those idiots to finally stop being dense was an
akuma attack?

More specifically a love themed akuma. A girl who praised herself for being like Cupid, but
who was highly doubted by some of her friends, which led to some nasty remarks that she
didn’t take too well. So now she was actually Cupid. Like the anti-thesis of Dark Cupid, she
can make people fall in love. Though, more than love: it looked like the people victim of her
arrows drunk a glass of Amortentia. So, not the best outcome for that.

Now the thing is, our dear duo was shot, but nothing happened.

They were ready to be some hardcore suitors for whoever the girl decided to match them, but
they didn’t feel any different. The girl also seemed to notice, because she made a tantrum
about how it’s not fair they were already in love with someone else when she had ‘the perfect
match for them’. How they didn’t know better, and how ungrateful they were for that.

Yeah, any sympathy towards the girl disappeared in a second. It seems someone is too
engulfed in her own head.

Fortunately, before the girl could enact her wrath on them, Ladybug and Chat Noir came to
the rescue. After that, it was the same as usual: yada yada, fight, yada yada, Miraculous, yada
yada, magical cure.

It’s several hours after the attack, in the privacy of Marc’s room, that both best friends finally
process the words of the akuma, both thinking exactly the same.

“Wait, so he already likes someone else?!”

The elephant in the room is pretty much noticeable, but neither have the galls to speak up, the
elephant silently judging them with its metaphorical and imaginary eyes while they try to
work on their comic.

After at least fifteen minutes of awkward silence, Nathaniel is the brave soul to bring up the
topic.

“You never told me you had a crush.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he winces,
because they sound more accusatory than he intended. Marc also winces, but for a different
reason.

“W-well, y-you never asked?” he stammers, praying to all deities above to please save him
from this one.

It seems the gods either didn’t listen, or are against him.

“So… who is it?” The redhead asks despite his mind screaming how much he doesn’t want to
know. After all, what are the odds? His crush finally liking him back? Especially someone as
sweet, cute and amazing as Marc? Pfff, please be realistic.

The writer freezes, his hand stops mid-sentence and he swallows dryly.

What now?! The black-haired teen is internally panicking. What is he supposed to do? Lie?
Act dumb? Tell the truth?

This is very far from what he always thinks whenever he dreams about confessing. A love
letter, a cheesy speech in their favorite cafe, even a nervous outburst if they get into a
moment romantically overwhelming by accident, but never like this.

The longer the silence stretches the more he understands he needs to say something, anything.

One look at his friend, who looks as uncomfortable and nervous as he feels is enough to make
his decisions. After all, at least his friends are right in one thing, Nathaniel cherishes their
friendship very much and a confession won’t be enough to end it all.

Just as Nathaniel is about to back take his question, a small voice speaks, is something a little
softer than a whisper. And if he wasn’t already paying attention to his friend, he is sure he
would have missed it.

“It… It’s you.”

The artist looks at his friend, astonished. He heard that right, or is he hallucinating?

“It’s you,” Marc repeats, this time a little louder, a little more confident.

Green orbs meet cyan. The forest are nervous but determined, the lakes are shocked, still not
believing he is this lucky. Before Nathaniel could say something, Marc talks again.

“You know, I had something like a celebrity crush on you, at first. I really admired your art,
and when Marinette showed me who you were, I couldn't help but think you were cute." Both
males blush at that.

"Then we got to know each other, and we became best friends, and the tiny crush disappeared
in a corner in some place in my heart." Nathaniel lost hope just for a second until Marc's next
words, "Just to come back full force. The more I learned about you, even the bad things, the
deeper I fell for you. I don't know when exactly, it just happened, and it felt so right. So I let
it be."

During his speech Marc was looking at his hands. With a deep breath, he finally looks at
Nathaniel's eyes.

"I like you, Nathaniel. I like you very much," he finally says, with such an earnestness that
Nathaniel feels warm spread all over his chest. Looking at Marc's sincere and beautiful eyes
is enough to make him speechless.

Which proves to be a bad thing because the moment he stays quiet for too long he sees the
way the determination in Marc's eyes melts into panic at his lack of answer.

Right he needs to answer, whoops.

Before Marc starts to stammer and get anxious, because he knows he will, Nathaniel takes
both his hands in his own.

"Marc, I like you too!" he all but blurts out.

Now it’s Marc's turn to be shocked. "W-what?"

"I like you too," he says again, more relaxed. "I don't when this started either. I just know one
day, I couldn't help but think about you, about how happy I am when we are together. I like
you too, so so much."

They look at each other, getting lost in their eyes, big smiles on both their faces.

And they laugh, because holy shit, they confessed and their feelings are actually requited!

With the laugh came some revelations, too.

"I think we are both idiots," Marc manages to say between giggles.

"Yeah, we are. Alix kept complaining about how oblivious I was, and I bet Marinette was just
the same."

“Yeah, she was. I just thought she was being supportive, but thinking about it now… God we
are dense!”

That earns another laugh from them. Then, Nathaniel wraps his arms around Marc’s waist,
pulling him closer, and Marc puts his arms around the redhead's neck.

“Well, not anymore.” Both teens lean closer to each other.

“This means we are dating now?” Marc whispers, closer to Nathaniel’s mouth.

“Obviously,” he whispers back, his lips barely brushing Marc’s

And at the end, their mouths meet, a sweet and chaste kiss to signal the beginning of their
new chapter.

═══════ ≪ •⚜• ≫ ═══════

The next day of school, when they walk hand in hand to room 33, they can’t say they are
surprised about the big “Finally!” that meets them as soon as their friends take notice of their
hands. And if they are teased for the rest of the afternoon, well, they kind of deserve it. They
were really dense and their friends had to put up with them.

Fortunately for everybody, not anymore.

═══════ ≪ •⚜• ≫ ═══════







Refrain
By ASingleRaindrop (https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASingleRaindrop)
It was Alix’ idea to start publishing his comics, mostly to get him out of trouble for drawing in
class again.
“It’s an illustration for a new section of the school website,” she explained, and as the teacher
turned her back Alix shot a wink at her friend. A wink that probably meant he was paying next
time they went for smoothies.
The excuse would only work if he did upload something, and he tried to pick one of the best
drawings to put on the website. It was going to be a one-off thing; he would just ignore it and
pretend it never happened. But then he started receiving some really encouraging comments on
his work. And soon Nathaniel was making regular uploads of new comic ideas and drawings.

Marc could honestly spend hours admiring the artwork on the website. It didn’t matter that he
had to wake up in 7 hours and using his phone in bed was probably messing up his sleeping
schedule. He just had to see the next page. And then one more page turned into a few more
pages, and then the entire comic series. His work was just so amazing; so expressive and vibrant,
and inspiring. Every page sparked a new idea for a story in his head, and there were several
mornings where Marc woke up with his notebook across his lap in bed, with the last word on the
page trailing off into a sleep-induced squiggle.

“I... I saw your drawings on the school website, but they're nothing compared to the real thing.”
Marc approached the desk to have a closer look at the art pieces.
“The movement, the expressions, the attitudes. There all so--”

As he looked over at Nathaniel his voice cut off. His eyes were so bright and dazzling... Marc
froze on the spot as he realised how close he was to him. He was standing right next to the artist
that had inspired him so much.

Nathaniel was still getting used to reading positive things about his art on the website, but
hearing it in person was another story entirely. His face tinged pink slightly as the new boy
expressed how much he admired his work.
“Thanks... That's nice.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say. The words weren’t coming to
him, even though there was so much he wanted to tell him. Maybe it would get easier when they
became better friends.

Nathaniel couldn’t bear to look him in the eye after everything he had put him through. He felt
angry, but now only with himself. He let his distrust of others cloud his judgement, and he ended
up hurting someone who didn’t deserve it. Marc didn’t deserve any of this, and now he looked so
hurt. Ladybug was still insistent that it was just a misunderstanding, and they would work well
together. But could they? After what he did?

Marc had seen what happened to people under Hawk Moth’s influence before. He had watched
news broadcasts and kept up the date with the Ladyblog. But none of that prepared him for the
feelings of guilt and shame that came from learning the truth; that he had become another tool to
be used against Paris’ superheroes. He caused so many people to be hurt because of a
misunderstanding… Was that what he put Nathaniel through? There was no way they could work
together now, no matter what Ladybug said.

It honestly felt like a miracle to both of them that Marc had chosen to take Nathaniel’s hand.

“Y-you found it!” Marc reached out and grabbed the notebook from Nathaniel’s hands, hugging
it to his chest. In all the chaos during the akuma debacle, everyone had forgotten about the
notebook that caused it to happen. Marc quickly opened it to check the stories and felt a slight
sting in his chest as he saw a few of the pages had been taped back into place. Miraculous
Ladybugs weren’t able to restore damage caused before the akuma was formed.

“It was in one of the gardens. I tried to fix it last night.” Nathaniel fidgeted with his sleeve,
keeping his eyes on his shoes. He found it hard to look people in the eye on the best of days,
when he wasn’t feeling ashamed and remorseful.
“Marc… again, I’m really sorry. I jumped to conclusions and accused you of something you
didn’t do. I didn’t listen to you, and I… I did something unforgivable. I’ll never do anything like
that again. I promise.” Nathaniel winced as he recalled that moment in his mind; the paper
tearing in his hands, an unforgivable sin burned permanently into his memory.
“I… I would really like a chance to work with you, Marc. Maybe something small, just a quick
collaboration or project… to see if we work well together. We could make that comic you
wanted... if you still want to...”

Marc gently closed the book and gingerly reached out to hold his hand. Nathaniel lifted his face
slightly as he watched the black gloved hand holding his own.
“Of course I do.”

Nathaniel rested his free hand on top of Marc’s, finally finding the strength to meet his gaze. He
wondered why he hadn’t noticed the way Marc’s eyes sparkled until now.

“What do you think of this? When they get to the battle, Reverser ambushes them from above,
using the glare of the sun and the shadows of the buildings.” Marc looked across at Nathaniel,
who was surrounded by concept drawings, all spread out on the table in front of him.

“That sounds good, using the black and white theme in his strategy.” Nathaniel set aside his
current drawing and cleared some space so Marc could slide his notebook over, letting both of
them read his notes.

“And I was thinking that Reverser should dive down through the entire page, with the reactions
being shown down the side, kind of like this,” Marc turned to a blank page and tried to describe
what he was thinking using some quick scribbles.

“So, something like-” Nathaniel reached out for his pencil, only to hesitate when his hand drew
near to the notebook again. He was getting carried away with working on the comic and wasn’t
sure if Marc trusted him with it again.

Marc placed his pencil in Nathaniel’s hand, giving him a little nod. Nathaniel smiled back as he
started to do a quick storyboard next to Marc’s diagram.
“Something like this, with Reverser diving down from the right, and panels showing Ladybug
and Chat Noir looking stunned.”

“Yes! That’s exactly what I was thinking!” Marc grinned, admiring how Nathaniel turned the
idea into the start of a real comic page. It was as if Nathaniel could see exactly how he visualised
the comic.

Ladybug was right, he thought. We do work well together.

“With the heroes’ powers reversed, they need to find someone who can help before Reverser
completely takes over Paris,” Marc explained, pointing out a humorous panel showing Chat Noir
being afraid of his own shadow. He was so focused on sharing the work he made that he didn’t
even realise he was basically giving a presentation, something he’d never had the confidence to
do before.

“That’s when Ladybug remembers that the people they de-akumatise can become heroes,”
Nathaniel added, looking up at the rest of the art club. Everyone was completely engrossed in the
comic; Rose practically had stars in her eyes as she turned to the final page.
“So they go and find someone they rescued before, and find the Mightillustrator trying to contain
the chaos. Next, they team up with the Mightillustrator and de-akumatise Reverser. Then he joins
the team!”

“Wow! Great job, boys!” Mr Monlataing commended proudly. It was a joy to see Nathaniel
finding confidence in his drawings, and Marc thankfully looked a lot more comfortable than the
last time he visited.

“Heh, thanks.” Nathaniel shyly rubbed the side of his neck. It honestly felt amazing to be able to
share a great story like this, especially after all the hard work both of them put into it. He looked
over at Marc as he brought something up.

“None of this would've happened without you, Marinette.”
Nathaniel felt a little guilty for not keeping her in the loop; the last time they spoke was before
the entire Reverser incident a few days ago, and then he and Marc had been focusing on creating
the first comic issue.

“I'm so relieved you're not mad at me, guys.”
She must have been waiting on tenterhooks after what she saw in the park, but from the look on
her face, there were no hard feelings.

“In fact, we've dedicated our first issue to you. To Marinette, who would make a super
superhero,” Nathaniel paused, looking across at Marc. Both of them had to stifle laughs as they
knew the end to their little inside joke.
“If she wasn't such a klutz!”

After the final bell rang, Nathaniel was one of the last to leave, and Marc decided to wait for him
by the pillar outside the door.

“So… that went well,” Marc sighed, chuckling a little while holding his notebook. Nathaniel
smiled at him as they started walking towards the stairs.

“Yeah. You did a great job explaining the story. It almost felt like I was hearing it for the first
time again.”

“Well, your drawings are what inspired me. I’m really glad that everyone liked what we made.”

“Of course they did. You really fit in with everyone.”

“You really think so?”

Nathaniel nodded and the two walked in a comfortable silence for a moment. As they reached
the exit of the school, the bus was just arriving at the stop where other students were queued up.
Nathaniel was about to quicken his pace to join them when he felt Marc reaching to hold his arm.

“Nathaniel, I… um…” Marc stammered, trying to force his words out before Nathaniel missed
his bus. His cheeks were tinged a faint pink, and he could feel himself shaking.
“I… I had a lot of fun! And I… I would like to work with you some more!”
He blushed further as what he said came out a bit louder than he meant, now feeling incredibly
self conscious. Did he just embarrass them? Would Nathaniel still agree after that? He wasn’t
answering. Maybe he should say some more.
“I was thinking about the next issue, and I had some ideas. I think you’d really like them! I know
this comic was meant to be just a one-off project, but I… I…”

Nathaniel looked back at Marc surprised. All he had really wanted was to make up for what he
had done to him, and hopefully Marc would feel welcome with the others. He wasn’t sure what
to say; Marc still wanted to work with him to make more comics.

Marc stopped sputtering when Nathaniel turned back to face him and held one of his hands.
“I’d love to work more with you too, Marc,” Nathaniel looked up at him with a lightness in his
eyes. It was the same look he gave Marc last week when he first arrived in Room 33 and praised
his sketches.
“Your stories are amazing, Marc. The attention to detail, the flow, the dialogue, they’re all so…”
Nathaniel’s voice trailed off as he struggled to find the right word to describe them.

“Th-Thanks... That's nice.” There was so much more he wanted to say, but those were the only
words that Marc could form in that moment. It felt surreal that Nathaniel, the artist he admired so
much, also thought so highly of him.

“Sorry... But it's true. Sometimes I was convinced that you were actually Ladybug.”
There was a pause as they both remembered how that exact assumption had affected them
before. Nathaniel looked up hesitantly, only to see Marc giggling. Now looking back in
hindsight, it was actually a little funny. Instead of stabbing at his pride, he found that laughter so
joyous and heartening. And Nathaniel found himself laughing softly too.

The moment was interrupted as the bus pulled away from the stop and Marc let out an alarmed
yelp.
“Aah! Oh no! Your bus! I-I’m sorry! I-”

Nathaniel just shrugged with a little laugh.
“I’m not in any rush. Besides, I think we have a lot to talk about.”

Nathaniel gestured to the notebook still clutched in Marc’s free hand. They both walked down to
the bottom of the stairs, sitting down on the steps. Marc opened the notebook to the first notes for
the next issue, for once happy to share his writing with someone.

A new chapter, full of potential for so much; adventure, friendship, excitement… who knows.

They both couldn’t wait to turn the page.



Loose Lips Sail Ships

By: Bioactress

(https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bioactress/pseuds/Bioactress)

"I ship it," murmured Marc Anciel as he sat on the couch of his living room next to his comic
partner and crush.

"Hmmm?"

"LadyNoir, I totally ship it," he said, more clearly this time, glancing over at Nathaniel to make
sure the redhead heard him.

"Marc, it's definitely not cool to ship real people," Nath gently rebuked him, with no malice
behind his words.

"Oh come on!" the writer snorted. "As if your entire class doesn't hardcore ship Marinette and
Adrien. Pretty sure that is shipping real people"

Nath blushed to the roots of his hair and muttered, "After we got over shipping her with
ourselves." There was nothing dejected in his tone, just a statement of fact.

Marc stared at Nathaniel, he certainly hadn't known that. Nathaniel had liked Marinette? At
least he hoped it was past tense. Marc had been working on the assumption that his partner was
at the very least bi, but now he was second-guessing himself, had he read all the signs he thought
he was seeing wrong. If not why was Nath telling him about his crush on someone else, was he
trying to break it to Marc gently that he wasn't interested in him like that? Marc was broken out
of his catastrophizing by Nathaniel saying something else under his breath.

"I guess I have a type. Black hair and bright shining eyes," he was saying with a sigh and the
deep blush that hadn't died yet. The handsome young artist with the sweet smile stood up to turn
off the TV and grab the sketchbook and drawing tablet that he had left in his backpack.

The boys had rushed into the house to avoid the Akuma who was turning everyone into giant
towers of books. It seemed that they were upset by someone using an e-book or some other
nonsense. The boys hadn't cared enough to worry about motivations, just their safety. Now that
the danger had passed and the damage reversed, they could get back to the business at hand.
They did, after all, have a deadline to hit. Their publisher didn't care about Akuma attacks, they
only cared about getting the comic printed. Marc dug through his bag to pull out his notebook,
always preferring the feel and sound of ink or graphite on paper over the clack of a keyboard.

"I'm gonna go grab some drinks and snacks and then we can go into my room to work, does that
sound ok?" he asked over his shoulder, already halfway to the kitchen.

"Sure," Nath replied, "I'll go get the storyboard and my sketches loaded up so we can go through
that scene with Mightyillustrator and Chat Noir on their way to save Ladybug and Reverser, so
you can get the dialog in."

"Okay."

Marc went into the kitchen, getting cold bottles of Orangina and some snacks out and onto a tray
mechanically, both his and Nath's favorites, but his mind was on what Nathaniel had said about
a type. Who was the other person or people he meant? Boys, girls, both? He racked his brain
trying to think of people in their classes who matched that vague description: Black hair and
bright eyes...

He started a mental list. Marinette, he could see that. If he were straight (ha, that was not
something his inner thoughts went to very often), he could see himself interested in someone like
her. Ladybug, well, it was no secret that Nath had developed a bit of a crush on the heroine, she
was a beautiful, strong woman after all.

Other than that, Marc was having trouble. Mireille in his class had dark hair, but her eyes were
chocolate brown. Juleka had dark hair, as does her brother Luka. Juleka's eyes were dark though,
at least what you could see of them, a sparkling amber. Her brother, on the other hand, Luka's
eyes were ocean blue and twinkled with wisdom and mirth. Marc had only met him a couple of
times, but there was no denying the rocker was handsome and charismatic as hell. He wasn't
Marc's type, but the boy had pretty eyes after all.

Marc found himself feeling like he wanted to cry. He didn't think he could ever hope to compete
against a rising rock star. He had to find a way to calm down before he could go back to his
room, he had no excuse for red eyes and he knew that Nath would notice. His beautiful artist
partner always saw every detail, it was part of what made his work so wonderful and a part of
why Marc loved him so much. Nathaniel saw all of Marc, even the parts he tried to hide, he
brought Marc out of his shell, and the young writer hoped it was mutual as Nath seemed more
vibrant and outgoing since they had started their collaboration. They brought out the best in
each other, 'like soulmates' Marc found himself thinking.

Marc straightened his back, raised his chin, and rearranged the tray slightly before hefting it and
retreating to his room. When he arrived. he saw that Nathaniel had already pulled up the spare
desk chair and had his tablet open to the storyboarding software. His sketchbook was open on
his lap and he was doing warm-up sketches as he waited.

The light from where the curtains parted with the breeze was lighting up the artist's bright red
hair giving it a halo effect and bringing out the different tones of each strand. 'My artist was a
work of art in himself,' Marc mused as he walked in. knew he probably was being creepy by
calling Nathaniel his, even in his mind.

"Hey," he said softly, as not to startle his friend. "I brought your favorites."

"Mmm, perfect," Nathaniel said, reaching for the bottle of juice after Marc had set it down on the
side of the wide desk.

'Yes, you are,' thought Marc. His heart was pounding again, he was despite trying to just be the
best friend and partner he could be considering Nath had practically admitted he had a crush on
someone. Someone cooler than Marc most likely.

"So, um, I know that shipping real people isn't cool, but how about for the comic? I know at one
point you had Ladybug and MightyIllustrator as love interests but that kind of leaves Chat Noir
alone, who do you think we could pair with him? Do we need to pair him with anyone at all?
Maybe we could give him an arch of being a lone hero or something?"

"Actually," Nathaniel cut into Marc's ramble. "I was thinking that maybe, um, MightyIllustrator
and Reverser could have a romance?" His voice getting softer with every word as the blush
returned to his face. His crystal eyes containing something that Marc couldn't quite place but
made his heart rate increased a little bit. "After all, I mean that Chat and Ladybug are soulmates
in our comic realm, and even though it could be platonic, I think our readers expect it to develop
into something more."

"But I thought you were worried that the real Ladybug and Chat Noir might be upset if you made
it happen in the comic, and you didn't want to seem like we were just pandering to the readers,"
Marc said uncertainly, "I thought that's what we had decided."

Nathaniel looked ashamed for a moment, trying to find the words to explain. He always said he
spoke best through his art, and that there was a reason that Marc's words brought life to the
comic. "I didn't change anything without you or anything. Or unilaterally decide or whatever, I
just...um...thought that Mighty and Reverser seemed to be developing a lot of...chemistry
together."

"No, no! I didn't think you were," Marc reassured his crush as quickly as possible. As soon as
they had added Reverser to their comic universe, he had wanted the characters to be together.
Living vicariously through his fictional self wasn't too cringy, was it?

"I know you only meant it as a suggestion," he added, placing his hand gently on the artist's
shoulder and squeezing it. "I like it, I always like how the characters look side by side, the
colors of MightyIllustrator next to the black and white of Reverser are very striking, and um,
they do seem to be close friends, and the best relationships come from friendship, right? I mean,
look at us."

Marc and Nathaniel realized what Marc had said at the same instant. They locked eyes and both
blushed darkly.

Silence stretched for a beat too long, neither boy blinking.

"I didn't mean to imply a romantic type relationship," Marc whispered, terrified that he had
destroyed everything. He was fighting tears as he continued with, "I meant, you know, our
partnership and collaboration work so well because we are friends, you know?" He seemed to be
forgetting that it was the other way around, that their friendship had come from their partnership.
His voice had a pleading quality and he hated himself for it.

"Oh," Nath replied. Was that sadness that Marc was hearing in the artist's voice? Was he had
because their friendship was ending? Marc took a sip from his Orangina bottle to try to break up
the lump in his throat. Nathaniel swallowed and seemed to be steeling himself for something. "I
was kind of thinking maybe, um, this time life could imitate art?" he said in a rush.

"Wait, what?!" Marc exclaimed, a little too loudly, and Nathaniel shrunk in on himself in, what
Marc considered, the cute way he did when he was embarrassed.

"Nevermind, it's dumb," Nath started "I just thought maybe you...no, just forget it, let's go back
to working on this layout—"

"I don't think anything you say is dumb," Marc said, trying to be as reassuring as he could with a
heart that was pounding out of his chest and palms that were becoming so sweaty that he was
afraid they would drip onto the floor. "Please tell me what you wanted to say. Please, Nath"

"I've been trying to drop hints for so long now, and I'm probably totally misreading things and
I'm definitely screwing this up right now, but I want to ship MightyIllustrator and Reverser
because I want to ship you and me, in real life. Because I really really like you, Marc, as more
than friends and I thought maybe you felt the same." Nathaniel took a breath and held it, as Marc
felt his heart go from a rapid staccato to a stop.

"It's ok if you don't feel the same way. I know I can continue our partnership without making it
awkward, I promise, I just felt like I was lying to you by not telling you. Every time we spend
time alone together, I feel like I want to be closer to you, and maybe kiss you and well… I just
needed you to know ok? Nothing has to change.”

Nathaniel paused to catch his breath, and Marc thought that if the artist got any redder he would
catch fire. He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing and wondered if Nath would notice if
he tried to pinch himself.

"Um, Marc, if you could maybe say something? I messed this up, didn't I? Stupid! Stupid! At
least this time I didn't need to be akumatized to confess." Nathaniel had risen from his chair and
was pacing in a circle muttering to himself. "He hates me, of course, he does. Why would
anyone like him want someone like me?"

This last phrase kicked Marc out of his stunned stupor as if ice had been dropped down on his
back. Seeing his best friend, partner, crush, and now possibly more spiraling like that called
Marc into action.

He took a deep breath, reached out to spin Nathaniel around, pulled him in, and leaned down to
capture the shorter boy's lips with his own. It wasn't sweet, it wasn't romantic, it was messy and
he almost missed, but it was full of genuine love. The boys lost their balance from the
impromptu embrace and fell onto the floor in a pile of limbs and giggles.

"So, when you said you had a type...?"

"Black hair and bright shining green eyes."

"I'm an idiot."

"Can you be my idiot, maybe?"
"I ship it."



Number One

By Christallized (https://archiveofourown.org/users/christallized)

Marc was the first to wake up.
The hotel room where they had stayed for the night wasn't spectacular by any means. It was
affordable and neat, with a little desk, a window, an air conditioning unit that was on and making
the room too cold, a few other accessories, and two beds, one of them untouched.
Thankfully, the chill of the AC was almost completely overpowered by the warmth of the
blankets and the body of the gently snoring redhead pressed flush against his back, holding him
tight.
Nathaniel had always been a cuddler. Marc sighed in contentment, settling deeper into his
boyfriend's embrace.
There was a knock on the door.
His sigh of contentment quickly turned to annoyance.
Nathaniel groaned, pulling away. "Who is it?" He called.
Alix's voice shouted through the doorway. "We're leaving in 30 minutes," she called. "If you
don't want your ride to drive away without you, be out by then!"
Nathaniel's eyes shot open as he bolted to a sitting position. "What time is it?"
"It's nine," Marc said, pulling the covers closer to himself. "It's also very cold today."
"You could have turned off the AC," Nathaniel said, getting up.
"I didn't want to touch it," Marc said, wrapping himself into the covers. "It scares me."
"It scares you?"
"Too many buttons," Marc buried his face in the cocoon of blankets. "I was afraid of
breaking it."
Nathaniel smiled and ruffled Marc's hair. "You should get up too," he said, yawning. "Last
day of HeroCon, it'd be a shame if you missed your storytelling panel."
Marc groaned.
"Or the Q&A, or the Best Comic of the Year contest-"
"Ok, ok, I get it!" Marc kicked the covers away. "Why is the last day so busy?"
"All of our events except for my panel were scheduled for the last day," Nathaniel said,
sorting through the clothes in the closet. "Where's my badge?"
"With your shirt," Marc said, popping the joints in his shoulder as he stretched. "On the
floor."
Nathaniel glanced down. "Whoops. Mind if I take the bathroom first?"
"Go ahead," Marc said. "I'll grab the suits."
Marinette had been kind enough to design the two of them suits for the Best Comic of the
Year contest, the reason they were here, in New York. Marc's heart still thudded in a thrilling and
slightly panicked way whenever he thought about it.
Tonight he'd be wearing this. Tonight he and Nathaniel would be on a stage in front of
thousands of people, where the superhero comic book that they'd been working on since high school
would be competing against the lucky few other comic submissions that had been chosen, made by
upstart creators all over the world. Win or not, this was their ticket into the professional creator
world that they'd been waiting for.
It was like a dream come true in some ways.
Other ways were...a little less dreamlike.
Being so young in the industry meant it was difficult to be taken seriously. Marc and
Nathaniel had faced opposition from all kinds of people because of their inexperience.
It was stressful, too, working with such a small team of creators to make the comic come to
life, especially with how much popularity it had gathered over the years.
And of course, there were the prying questions about their personal lives that Marc dreaded.
He was a private person by nature. Even now, years after he and Nathaniel had started

dating, only a select few knew about the romantic relationship he had with his artist. And the fact
that reporters and fans had tried to pry into their lives only scared him more.

Nathaniel understood. The first time Marc had admitted his fears, hands shaking and trying
not to cry, Nathaniel had held him close and promised that he'd be okay with whatever Marc needed
to feel safe.

"Hey," Nathaniel said, putting on his shoes. "I'm going to grab some breakfast downstairs.
You want anything?"

"I'll get something at the convention," Marc assured, nodding as he carefully folded the suits
in a bag and placed them next to Nathaniel's satchel.

Nathaniel smiled. "Love you," he said, hand on the door.
Their little secret phrase, whispered behind closed doors and away from the crowds.
If those words had a physical form Marc would have held those words close and never let
them go. Instead he smiled, gave a "Love you too," and headed to the bathroom to brush the tangled
mess that his hair had become into a more respectable shape.
Thirty-five minutes later the two walked out of the hotel to find Alix leaning against the
hood of their rental car.
"Ready to go?" She stepped away, shoving her phone into her jeans.
"Yeah." Marc lifted the suit bag. "Can you open the trunk so I can get this in?"
Alix raised an eyebrow, a grin crossing her face. "What's in the bag, Anciel?" She said in a
bad mobster impersonation voice, already opening the trunk.
"Drugs," Marc said, trying to sound more gruff, which didn't really work with his higher-
pitched voice.
Alix snorted.

~oOo~

The last day of HeroCon was by far the busiest they'd had all weekend.
Walking in wearing casual clothing, flashing their badges to the security guard, Marc and
Nathaniel managed to get a whole three steps into the building before someone started pointing and
whispering and suddenly there was a crowd of people around them, chattering, gasping, pointing.
"Alright," Alix declared, stepping in front of the two creators and crossing her arms. "These
two need to get to their table. You can save your questions for the Q&A session later."
Alix had been intimidating when they were still kids, but now she was taller and even more
intimidating as an adult. The crowd parted for her like a giant shark pushing through a sea of fish.
Nathaniel and Marc trailed behind her, waving to the crowd. Marc resisted the urge to cling
to Nath's hand, even if he really wanted to.
Cameras were flashing in their faces. They did their best to look composed as the trio
navigated into the Main Exhibit Hall, past rows and rows of tables where the crowd, no longer able
to swarm around them, gradually fell away, following from a distance.
They reached the table, easily recognizable by the giant poster of Mightillustrator and
Reverser behind the table area. Nath took a seat at the table while Marc dropped his bags next to the
chairs.
"Wanna grab breakfast with me?" Marc asked Alix, an indirect way of saying 'please stick
with me so I don't get mobbed by fans on my way to get food'.
Alix raised an eyebrow. "Only if you're paying."
"Deal."
"Don't forget your panel starts in 45 minutes," Nath said, pulling out a sketchbook and
pencil.
"I'll be on time," Marc promised, quickly falling into step next to Alix as they made their
way towards the nearest place that might sell food.
The two eventually managed to find a nearby cafe, taking a seat in a small booth next to the
window.

"So, how are you feeling?" Alix asked.
"About what?"
"The panel, the Q&A, the contest this evening-take your pick!"
Marc swirled his spoon around in his yogurt. "I've got a whole bunch of things to be anxious
about," he said. "I mean, this is a great opportunity, being here and all, but I'll be glad to see it be
over."
"Feeling homesick?"
"Feeling stressed," Marc said. He yawned.
Alix smiled. "Didn't get enough sleep?"
"Not really," Marc said. "I was up late figuring out last-minute changes to our flight plan."
"Right," Alix said, nodding. "You two planning on heading back right after the convention?"
"Yeah. Hotels in New York are a bit too expensive for our tastes. What about you?"
"I think I'll stay for a few days." Alix stretched. "See some sights, do something fun..." she
sipped her smoothie, leaning back in her chair.
"Cool."
"You got any plans when you return home?"
"Sleeping."
"Ha. Valid."
The rest of breakfast was spent in comfortable silence. Marc watched people walking by, a
subconscious habit he tended to fall into. It was interesting, seeing all the different people, the
costumes they wore, some of them wearing detailed cosplays, some of them looking like they'd
rolled out of bed and put on their lanyard.
"I'm glad you're happy," Alix said.
"Hm?"
"You're doing something you love, with someone you...like being around," Alix said. "And
I'm happy for you."
"What brought this up?"
"I dunno." Alix shrugged. "You've been stressed this whole weekend, but you're still smiling
anyway. I think that's pretty cool."
"Be careful what you say, someone might overhear and think you're flirting," Marc warned,
still idly gazing out the window.
"Screw them." Alix waved a hand dismissively in the air. "I love you, man."
"That's cool."
"I fell in friendship with you."
"Sweet, a friend."
"Will you do me the honor and be my bro-fully wedded hus-buddy?"
"Sure, whatever."
Alix laughed. "You're the best when you're not paying attention to anything I'm saying."
"Hm?" Marc blinked, as though he had been knocked loose from a trance. "You say
something?"
"I think your panel's starting in fifteen minutes," Alix said.
"Shit!" Marc jumped to his feet, shoveling the rest of the yogurt into his mouth and running
away, bag slung over his shoulder. "Bye Alix!"
Alix laughed.

~oOo~

"Thank you! Have a good day!" Nath handed a bag to the couple at his table, smiling as they
walked away before sinking back into his chair with an exhausted sigh.

"How's it been?"
Nath looked up at Marc sliding into the chair next to him. "It's been good," he said, sliding
the Stories of Team Miracles comics away from Marc's space. "How was your panel?"

Marc leaned forward, letting his head fall against the table with a solid thud. "I forgot what I
was saying halfway through my point on plot structure."

"Oh no!"
"I managed to improvise my way through, but it was really bad," Marc turned to the side to
grimace at Nath. "I should have memorized it more."
"You spent hours memorizing what to say," Nath said, patting Marc on the shoulder. "There's
nothing more you could have done."
Marc gave a long, heavy sigh. "Well, it's over now."
"Oh my gosh, are you Marc and Nathaniel?!"
Marc snapped his head up to look at the excited girl who had arrived at their table. "Oh! Hi!
Yeah!"
"I love your work!" The girl gushed, practically bouncing on her toes.
"Thanks," Nathaniel said, smiling. "Are you interested in buying some merch? We've got
these Reverser and Mightillustrator keychains for only 10 dollars." He gestured to the little box on
the side of the table.
Marc smiled and let Nathaniel do the talking while he took a moment to breathe.
He loved Nathaniel.
A lot.
Sometimes he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, especially today.
He watched Nathaniel place the Reverser keychain and a little Might plushie into a bag and
hand it to the girl, smiling honestly, a light, soft laugh ready on his lips, practically glowing with
welcoming energy.
"See you at the Q&A!" Nath said, giving her a cheerful wave goodbye.
"Bye."
"Why do we even have a Q&A?" Nathaniel sat back down. "We're literally right here half
the day. People ask us questions here anyway."
"To give out official information that'll be caught on camera," Marc explained. He glanced
around. At the moment, no one was near their table. "Hey, Nath."
Nath seemed to notice his lowered voice and quieted as well. "Yeah?"
Marc looked down at his fingertips, fidgeting with his fingerless gloves. "What would you
do if I told the world we were dating?"
"Huh?" Nath blinked. "Well, why do you ask?"
"I was just thinking about it." Marc shrugged. "It'd be nice to not have to pretend, wouldn't
it?"
"If that's what you want." Nath smiled. "If you feel like you want to tell the world about us,
then I'll support you, of course."
"Well, I don't know if I do," Marc said. "I mean, I want to, but I'm scared, but I really want
to kiss you-"
"Hey," Nath put a hand over Marc's. "Whenever you're ready. We'll go by your pace."
Marc turned his hand over and squeezed Nath's hand. "Thanks."

~oOo~

"Well, hello everyone, and welcome to our Q&A session with Nathaniel Kurtzberg and Marc
Anciel!"

The crowd in the room erupted into cheers and applause. Marc and Nathaniel smiled from
their seats on the stage with the host, a man named John something-or-other. Marc couldn't
remember, the lights were really bright in his face, there were a lot of people looking at him and he
really wanted to be closer to Nathaniel but the chairs were set with Nathaniel just out of arm's reach.

"Thank you, Jacob," Nathaniel said. "We're glad to be here."
Marc did his best to put on a winning smile. "And thank you all for coming out here to see
us," he said, waving politely to the audience.

Jacob laughed. "Now, we've compiled several questions from our online forum, for those of
you in the audience, you can submit your questions on our website or vote for your favorites, the
link is on the screen. So let's get right to it! Marc and Nathaniel, you've been working together for
over five years, correct?"

"Six and a half," Marc said, smiling shyly as the audience whooped and cheered much too
enthusiastically.

"Absolutely incredible!" Jacob grinned. "And during those six and a half years, what would
you say is the most difficult challenge you've had while working together?"

Nathaniel nodded to Marc.
"Well," Marc said, pretending to think about it. "At first our biggest problem was
inexperience. Neither of us knew what to do when we started out, and it really showed in our early
comics. But now we know what we're doing...sorta. I'm constantly grateful for our wonderful crew,
it's thanks to them that our comic has gotten this far."
Jacob nodded. "And what about now?"
"Now?" Marc quirked an eyebrow. "Now the biggest challenge is making sure Nathaniel
doesn't overwork himself every other day."
"Hey!" Nath said, faking a hurt expression. The audience laughed. "I sleep sometimes!"
He was playing it up for the crowd, and Marc knew that, so he made sure to give the most
exaggerated deadpan stare he could muster to Nathaniel.
"Oooh, the silence from Marc speaks volumes," Jacob said, laughing as he checked his
tablet. "Nathaniel, we've got a question for you today. Your first comic series, Miraculous, was the
test run for the comic you're making now. How much of the "original view" of Miraculous has
stayed with the new script?"
"Honestly? Not much," Nath said. "Miraculous was a fun project, but it was mostly Marc
and I messing around, learning and having fun. The four main heroes are the same, but you can see
from the early comics that there's a lot that changed."
"Right, right." James nodded. "If I recall correctly, Miraculous was mostly centered around
Ladybug, while Stories of Team Miracle has a larger focus on the group as a whole."
"That's right. Anything in Miraculous is considered non-canonical, sorry."
"Sorry theorists," James said, shaking his head sympathetically. "But maybe this next
question can make up for it. Marc, you've mentioned before on your social media that this newest
issue is taking the comic in a new direction. Is there any light you can shed on that remark?"
Marc rubbed the back of his neck trying to hide his nerves with a shy smile. "Well, I don't
know how much I'm allowed to say..."
"You're the writer," Nathaniel encouraged. "You can say anything you want."
"Okay. I don't want to spoil anything, but since we're on the subject of character focus, I will
say that our newest issue is going to be focusing more on Mightillustrator and Reverser." Marc
looked over to Nath, making sure he hadn't said too much.
Jacob gave a winning smile. "Well I, for one, am excited to see what comes next. After that
last volume's finale...I have no words. I was floored. Last night, last night, I said to my boyfriend
'I'm so lucky to get to interview the artist and writer of Team Miracle' and he said 'shut up it's 3 am'
but-" the audience laughed, and Jacob shrugged, "-you two earned your spot in the Comic of the
Year contest, and I don't think anyone here would say differently."
Nath and Marc smiled. "Aw, thanks," Nath said.
"Here's a new question. I know you two said that Miraculous is non-canonical, but some
fans have taken notice of the original dynamic between Might and Rev-"
Marc froze.
The original dynamic. Once he and Nath had started dating, he'd begun writing hints of a
romantic story between their hero personas. The comic was Ladybug-centric, it always had been,
but the hints were there, some less hint-y than others.
Of course, their current comic had kept Mightillustrator and Reverser at a strictly-platonic
relationship, though he had...written some moments between them. Just in case he managed to work

up the courage to give them the relationship he wanted to write, so it wouldn't be completely out of
the blue.

He didn't actually hear what Jacob said next, only realizing the question was over when Nath
started talking again. "Like I said before, Miracles is non-canonical. The relationships are all
different, the story is different, and I cannot confirm which ships are carrying over into Stories of
Team Miracle at this point in time." Nath winked towards the camera. "Guess you'll have to keep
reading the comics to find out."

Marc let out a slow breath, letting a secret smile cross his lips. Nath usually never let a
question about their story's writing pass without adding some form of praise to the writer, but right
now, he was making sure the audience was focused on him so Marc could catch his composure
again.

God, he loved that man. He desperately wanted to reach out and grab Nath's hand, but they
were too far away so he settled for fidgeting with his sleeves and forcing that polite, reserved
expression back on his face as Jacob turned another question towards him.

~oOo~

All too soon, the Q&A was over, afternoon set to evening, and Marc swallowed a nervous
breath as Nathaniel helped him with his tie in the back room, just minutes before the Comic of the
Year contest.

"Thank you. I'd do it myself, but, uh," Marc raised a hand, showing off his very shaky hand.
"My nerves are acting up."

Nath paused with the tie to take Marc's hand and press a kiss to the writer's fingers. "I'll be
right there with you," he said, finishing his work and stepping back.

"I know you will." Marc tucked a stray hair behind Nath's ear, letting his touch linger for a
moment longer. "And I'm glad."

"I was thinking about what you said. About telling the world we were together."
Marc paused. "Yeah?"
"What is it that's stopping you?" Nathaniel's eyes were sympathetic, understanding, a look
that disintegrated all the walls Marc would keep up around others in an instant and pierced right
through to his soul. "What is it you're afraid of?"
"I don't know." Marc sighed, reaching out to hold the artist's hand. "I, uh...I like keeping our
private life, well, private, but I don't want to keep myself from holding your hand in public, or
taking you on dates, or all the other things we've wanted to do for the longest time."
"It doesn't have to be one or the other," Nath said. "We don't have to share everything with
the world. I know there are some parts of our life I definitely don't want anyone to know about."
Marc chuckled, looking away. "Yeah."
A hand came up to his face, cupping his cheek. "I don't care about what the rest of the world
knows or doesn't know," Nathaniel said. "I care about you being happy and comfortable."
"I feel like there would be people saying we were doing it for attention," Marc said.
Nath leaned forward, standing on tiptoe to press his forehead to Marc's. "Our relationship
isn't about them."
Marc sighed, letting himself relax under Nath's touch. "You're right," he said. "I don't
know...when I'll be ready, but...soon."
"Looking forward to it." The artist grabbed his hand. "Ready to go out there?"
"Oh, no." Marc's knees started shaking again. "Nath, I am terrified."
"You're going to be just fine." Nath swung their connected hands together, grinning up at
Marc with such assurance that it was hard not to take his words as infallible truth.
"What if I faint on stage?"
"I'll catch you."
"What if I cry?"
"I'll cry with you."

"What if-"
"Marc."
Marc paused as Nathaniel squeezed his hand. He didn't say anything, just gave him that
steady look, a look that made Marc feel safe and his knees feel weak at the same time.
"Okay," Marc whispered. "Okay."
He didn't let go of Nath's hand all the way to the front seats, full of the other 40-ish teams
that had qualified for the contest. The stage was large, but dwarfish in comparison to the thousands
of seats behind them, filled with people. Alix was somewhere in that group, a thought that gave him
a little bit of comfort. Marc kept holding his hand as the host for the contest, John (and he made
sure to remember the name this time), gave his introductory speech, welcoming the people watching
online, on TV, and those sitting in the audience today.
"It's been a fun week," John said, his voice booming over the speakers. "And what better
way to end HeroCon than by celebrating some of our newest, rising to fame comic creators?!"
The audience yelled back in reply, a thunderous noise that made Marc's heart beat anxiously.
"Of the many creative souls who have dedicated themselves to making incredible works,
eight teams will be awarded tonight. When I call your team, please come to the stage."
This was it. Marc swallowed, trying to will his nervousness away.
"The creators of Olympus Ascending."
Applause, as a group of five stood up and started to climb the steps to the stage.
"Majestia: Secret of the Twelve Eyes."
Another group. Marc was starting to feel anxious about not bringing the whole team with
them to HeroCon, it felt like the other groups had.
"Stories of Team Miracle."
Them.
Nath got to his feet, pulling Marc with him. Marc hoped the audience couldn't tell how much
he was relying on Nath's grip to keep from falling over. He swore he heard Alix whoop as they
ascended to the stage and turned to face the blinding lights and the very, very, big room facing them.
"How you holding up?" Nath whispered.
Marc gave a very muted scream through tight-pressed lips, just audible enough for Nath to
hear. Nath chuckled in response, stepping a little closer.
"We're in the top eight," Marc said. "I can't believe it."
"It's thanks to your amazing stories," Nath replied.
"And your incredible art."
"And also Adrien and Marinette advertising our comic on their social medias."
"That too. Oh, and Max with his statistical analysis charts."
"In eighth place," John said, snapping the two back to attention. "Alice Justice P.I."
Marc and Nathaniel clapped politely as the group stepped forward to accept their trophy.
"Seventh place, Circle of Yesterday."
There was sweat gathering on the palms of his hands. Nath took it anyway.
"Sixth place, Liberation Machinator."
"Oh, god," Marc whispered.
"Fifth place, Olympus Ascending."
Which one was going to be them?
"Fourth place, General Reverence and the Nine of Void."
Nath squeezed his hand tightly.
"Third place, 3030: Alpha Alexandria."
Holy shit. Holy shit. Marc looked to Nath. He felt tears bordering on his eyes from the pent-
up nervousness and the thrill of emotions running through his body, electrifying and setting all his
nerves on edge.
"Would the final two groups come forward."
Hands clasped bindingly tight, Marc and Nathaniel stepped to one side of John, while the
remaining group stepped to the other. Marc caught a glimpse of Alix then, phone raised and

videotaping the whole thing. He could hear Nath's shaking breaths next to him.
"In second place..." John paused, letting the suspense hang for a moment more. "Majestia:

Secret of the Twelve Eyes."
The audience erupted in cheers and yells, Marc stepped back from the sheer sound as John

turned to them with an "and in first place, Stories of Team Miracle!"
It was like the world was exploding in a rush of confetti and shock and emotions that Marc

couldn't even place before they overwhelmed him in a rush, grabbing Nath and pulling him into a
hug, shaking and cheering and jumping and crying and the world was full of applause, every eye on
them in their time of glory.

Screw it. This was their moment.
Marc grabbed Nath's face and kissed him.
The second round of cheers and yells was somehow more deafening than the last,
enveloping the two of them, but Marc was only focused on Nath's lips as Nath kissed him back, a
kiss full of tears and joy and stuttered by disbelieving giggles and they only separated for a moment
before falling back into each other's arms, shaking.
Eventually, they pulled apart, Nath reaching out to take the trophy from John and press it
into Marc's hands. He was crying. Marc was too, they were both a blubbering mess onstage but no
one seemed to mind.
They shook hands with the second-place team, the other group giving a gracious "great job!"
and smiles and hugs.
Marc wasn't sure he could have made it back to his seat without leaning into Nathaniel's
side, smiling with beaming, snotty faces to the cameras.
"We did it," Nath said, wiping his eyes with his jacket sleeve. "Holy shit, we did it." He
pulled Marc close, burying his face into the writer's shoulder. "I love you so much," he sobbed.
Marc couldn't help it, he burst into tears again. "I love you too!" He pressed a kiss to Nath's
head, a smile beaming through the waterworks.
As HeroCon came to a close, Alix came up to them and pulled them both into a tight hug,
and even though they'd been trying to keep it together, both of them started crying again, hugging
her back.
"We gotta celebrate," Alix said. "Let's find a pizza place before you head off to your flight,
my treat. You boys deserve it."
"The crew's probably asleep right now, guessing by the time zones," Marc said. "I can't wait
to tell them the news in person, they're gonna flip." He gave a half-laugh-half-sob, sniffling. "I still
can't believe it."
"Marinette was awake," Alix said. "She called me right after, screaming about it. My guess
is she's already planning a celebration for when you get back to Paris."
Nath laughed. "Looks like we can expect an eventful return home."

~oOo~

Marc was the first to wake up once again.
The familiar bedroom of their apartment was a welcome sight to open his eyes to, the
curtains over the window keeping the sunlight at bay and a comfortable warmth surrounding him
from the blankets and the soundly sleeping redhead that he was cuddling, face pressed into the back
of his boyfriend's neck.
It was way too late in the afternoon. They should have been up hours ago.
Eh, they could sleep for a few more minutes. They'd earned it.
As though sensing his waking, Nath started to stir, too.
Marc pressed a kiss to Nathaniel's back. "Morning," he whispered.
Nath shifted around in Marc's embrace, turning to face him, eyes still half-closed and a
sleepy smile on his face. From this close, Marc could make out the slight dotting of freckles across
the artist's cheeks and nose. "Hhhh...yep," he replied, closing his eyes again.

They'd have to get up eventually. There were plans to make with the team, ideas for future
comics that he could finally put into play, sooner or later he'd have to face how their no-longer-
private relationship would be affecting their comics and what would come from that.

But right now it was just him and Nath. Everything else could wait until later.
Marc hugged Nath closer and fell back asleep.

Sleepover date
By CinnakinCat (https://archiveofourown.org/users/CinnakinCat)

Nath paced the length of a few kitchen tiles, waiting for Marc to arrive. He startled slightly when
the doorbell rang from downstairs, his mom chuckling when he ran down the stairs in
excitement. He walked through the restaurant, grinning like a fool as he heaved the door open.
“Hi Marc!”
“Hey Nath,” Marc said, trying to close his umbrella and finagle it through the door. He managed
to get it through the door and close it, falling onto Nath in the process, who caught him. Marc
made a yeep noise and blushed slightly, as Nath laughed.
“You know, when people say they fall for someone, it usually isn’t literal.” Nath quipped. Marc
just buried his head in Nath’s chest and muttered something that vaguely sounded like “shut up.”
Nath grabbed Marc’s hand and started dragging Marc though the restaurant, Marc faking being
an over-tired zombie, giggling slightly. Nath managed to get up the stairs without busting out in
laughter, plopping down on the couch. Marc leaned back onto the couch, head in Nath’s lap.
“So, which movies should we watch?” Nath asked, shuffling onto the end of the couch and
reaching to grab the popcorn his mom left on the table.
“The Jurassic World movies!” Marc said excitedly, adjusting himself so that his head wasn’t
directly in the path of Nath’s legs.
“Didn’t you already watch that?” Nath asked through a mouthful of popcorn.
“Well yes, but it’s a good movie, worth re-watching.” Marc replied, bouncing in place on the
couch.
“Okay then.” Nath shrugged, “I’ll go make slushies?”
“Yes.”
Nath snorted at Marc’s excitement, getting up from the couch to go make the smoothies.
“What flavor do you want?” Nath called back into the living room, hearing Marc fumble around
with the remotes.
“Anything besides mixed berry!” Marc hollered back. Nath laughed, getting out the items he
knew he wanted. Banana and kiwi for him, watermelon and strawberry for Marc. He went about
chopping up the banana and kiwi, trying to resist the urge to eat the strawberries. He shoved the
ice and fruit into the blender, mentally sighing at the fact he couldn’t cover his ears from the
noise. Nath turned off the blender when the smoothies were done, pointedly annoying his ears
ringing slightly from the loud blender.
“The smoothies are ready!” Nath called back to Marc, walking back into the living room and
putting the smoothies down on the side tables. Marc immediately grabbed his, and started up the
movie.

~~~~~~~

Nath paused the movie, glancing over at Marc, nearly asleep, leaning up against his shoulder.
“Babe?” Marc mumbled something in response, snuggling closer. “Marc.”
Marc seemed to wake up at that, muttering a ‘huh?’
“Babe, the movie’s over, and it’s almost 10 PM.”
“Ohh, okay.”
“So let’s get to the sleepover part now?” Nath laughed quietly.
“M’kay.” Marc mumbled, snuggling ever-closer to Nath.

Nath sighed, picking up Marc and carrying him into the bedroom, carefully plopping him onto
his bed. Nath went around the room and changed into his pajamas, smiling at Marc shoving a
pillow over his head at the ceiling light.
“OK, babe, shove over, I need to get into bed.” Nath said, jokingly placing his hands on his hips
after he turned the lights off. Marc shuffled over, and Nath got into bed. Marc snuggled closer,
wrapping his arms around Nath.
“Goodnight, babe.”



Confessions
By Jade Pearl (https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jade_Pearl)

'Ok. This is fine. It'll be ok. I can do this.' As his reflection stared back at him, Marc decided
that he could not, in fact, do this. Nope, not happening. It was a nice thought while it lasted,
but let's not kid ourselves. What were the chances of him actually agreeing? Yep much better
to save himself the pain, and avoid wasting both their time. Perfect. Mind made up, and
successfully talked out of the greatest mistake of his life, Marc finished getting ready.

He should have known that it wouldn't be so easy. Coming down the stairs, he was greeted by
none other than the devil herself. There at the breakfast table, eating his arepas, was his nosy
cousin.

"Figured you'd need an extra push today, so here I am." She polished off the last of the beef
before quickly springing away from the table and Marc's hands.

"You- Why do you always do that?!" He yelled as she evaded him. For as long as he could
remember, Mari had made it her mission to finish the last of the beef from anything if she
thought Marc was taking too long. Sometimes his Moms had enough time to make extra, but
there was a reason that they had a cooking rotation. As it was, both his Moms had already left
for work and he doubted that Mari would let him take the time to cook another batch.

He huffed as she ducked under the table, he was getting tired of the cat and mouse game and
at this rate he'd have no time for breakfast at all.

"Aw~ Come on Marc, don't pout." He was not pouting, thank you very much. Unfortunately,
she only laughed harder at his glares, so he huffed and turned away from her. "Oh, don't be
like that." When he turned away from here again she huffed and skipped away to the living
room. Curious, Marc turned around and watched as she returned with a basketful of pastries.

"Here, I brought a peace offering."

"You really think some croissants are gonna make up for eating my beef again?"

She groaned, "Oh come on. I'm sorry, ok. But my plan worked, didn't?" He did not like the
smug look on Marinette's face. Instead of gracing her with an answer he simply raised an
eyebrow. Clearly annoyed with his nonchalance, Marinette huffed and said, "Have you
thought about Nath or what you're gonna do today? At all?" His jaw slowly dropped as he
realized what she planned.

"You- but why'd you eat the beef then? You hate it anyway." He was reaching now and he
knew it, but he refused to acknowledge that her plan might have worked. Now it was her turn
to refuse to answer.

Without another word between them they sat down and ate the pastries that Marinette
brought. He really hoped Nathaniel actually liked him back or at least wouldn't find him
weird. There was no way he was getting out of this, not with Marinette involved.

This was it. He'd just barely managed to avoid the entire art class today, all in the hope of
building some courage. It was no easy feat but now he'd run out of time.

They'd all gathered in the art room as per usual, but a few minutes later Juleka and Rose left
saying that they had an emergency practice session. Not too unusual. What was unusual was
everyone else finding reasons to leave too, until it was only Marc, Alix and Nathaniel in the
room. M. Carricci had left five minutes prior saying he'd forgotten some supplies in storage
and had taken Marinette with him. Judging by the way Alix kept watching them and the door,
it was only a matter of time before she ditched them too. He was proven right not even three
minutes later, when the tell tale sound of an empty spray can rattling through the room.

'And three, two, one…'

"God damn it!" Alix vigorously shook her clearly empty can of paint, before sighing
dramatically and placing it down. "Nothing to it. I'll have to get some more." He knew where
this was going, God damn it!

"Ah- Alix, hold on. I can get-"

"No!" Marc and Nathaniel both jumped at her tone. She continued in a slightly softer tone,
"No. I got it. You two stay here. I won't be long."

'That's not what I'm worried about you little witch.' M. Carracci had given Alix the key on his
way out. Since he'd pretty much wimped his way out of the day, this was one of their last
resorts. He knew that but it didn't make it any better.

Sure enough, when he tested the door after Alix left he found that she'd really locked the two
of them in the room. He could hear Nathaniel mumbling something under his breath, he
couldn't make out any words but he sounded...angry? Certainly not pleased. He couldn't stop
his thoughts from diving after that. Oh, he knew this was a bad idea! It was sweet of them to
try but maybe Alix misinterpreted things. Oh, of course she did! Before Marc's thoughts
could drag him down a dreary spiral, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Despite
that he still jumped when Nath touched his arm.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry!" They both exclaimed. "Ah! No, no! It's ok!" They kept on fumbling their
words as they both attempted to speak.

After a while Nathaniel huffed. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just" -he took a deep breath- "I
just wanted to ask you something."

'Alright. You've got this. You've got his attention, now just open your mouth and ask.'

He was so nervous, his hands had started to sweat. Ick! He shoved one into his pockets and
used the other to scratch at his neck as he stumbled through a half dozen, illegible sentences.
Marc's expression quickly shifted from cautiously curious, to confused and finally to mildly
concerned.

"Um. Whatever it is, you don't have to tell me now if it's too hard."

'What am I doing?! Stupid mouth! Come on! Look at him, he has no idea what I'm trying to
say. Come on! Idiot, say it! Say it, say it, say it!'

"I love you!"

"...Huh?"

'Shit! Shitshitshit! Holyfuckingshit! I can't believe I said that! Whydidisaythat?!'

Locked in an increasingly awkward stalemate, both boys grew more and more red as time
passed. Neither could bear to speak up.

The silence stretched on, until both boys looked up and attempted to speak. This resulted in a
tangle of indecipherable words that caused them to laugh. The laughter helped ease some of
the tension and Nathaniel indicated for Marc to go first. If Marc hadn't attempted to run away
yet, then maybe he hadn't completely botched his relationship with him.

"D-did you mean it?" Marc asked softly. He'd untucked himself from his hood and Nathaniel
was mesmerized by his gaze. Clear and bright his eyes shined, with a hopeful light as a shy
smile made itself at home on his lips.

Taking a deep breath Nathaniel decided that he might as well go all in.

"Yeah. I-I meant it. I mean it. I am in love with you, and that may seem too fast given...well,
everything but I can't help it. Marc you're amazing! Gorgeous, inside and out!"

"I-I don't know about that…" Marc tried to deflect, but Nath wasn't having it.

"You are! You- You're art! Living, breathing art in motion!" Awkwardness forgotten,
Nathaniel gently grasped Marc's hands in his; determined to inform him of just how gorgeous
he was. "I could never hope to find or make a shade of green that would ever do your eyes
justice. They're so uniquely you. Your hair is always so soft, it's like touching fine silk. You're
so incredibly smart, the way you weave words together - it's amazing! It's like being
transported to that very place and time. I could only hope that my drawings do them justice.

You're funny, and kind. And you gave me a second chance, even when you didn't have to.
Working with you on our comics has been a dream; I can just be me with you in a way I'm
not with others. You deserve so much, and if I can give you back a fraction of the joy
spending time with you has given me, I'd do it instantly." Here he finally paused to gaze
adoringly at his comic partner.

Marc had a few tears in his eyes, but the smile on his face was absolutely breathtaking. It
gave Nathaniel the courage he needed to ask, "So, will you Marc Anciel, do me the great
honor of accompanying me on a date this weekend? And maybe, being my boyfriend?"

Marc couldn't nod fast enough. "Yes! Yes, yes. I'd love to go out with you!"

They don't know who moved first, but the boys were swiftly locked in an embrace; excitedly
spinning around as they laughed.

'If this is a dream, I never want to wake up!'

Bang! Thump!

"Yes!! They did it!"

"Ow!"

The boys jolted apart in shock at the sudden noise and ruckus outside. The voices soon
petered off into indiscernible chattering, but the excitement was still obvious. Loud shushing
was heard, before everything went completely silent. Just before the door swung open, the
boys remembered their respective wing-women, and went flush with embarrassment and fond
exasperation. When everyone peeked -indiscreetly- into the room and saw Nathaniel and
Marc standing close, arms linked and faces flushed, the cheering resumed. Rose ran over and
pulled them both into a hug while congratulating them. Juleka, never far behind her
girlfriend, also joined the hug and offered her congratulations, which prompted the others to
join in. By the time M. Carracci had offered his own congratulations with a clasp to their
shoulders, Nath and Marc were feeling a little overwhelmed. Overjoyed, but it was definitely
more attention than they were used to in such a short space of time. Noticing this, everyone
returned to their own projects, leaving the boys to bask in their joy.