EP12: Gorizilla

just a little time
just a little something up ahead
i'm dreaming of

being human
rebecca sugar

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Today of all days, the sun decided to shine brighter than usual, leaving the entirety of Paris in a gruesome heat. But fret not, Alya and the girls came up with an even brighter idea to fight off the heat at the local swimming pool. Which you are ten minutes late to.

Racing down the streets of Paris, expertly waving through the crowds of Parisians, you mumbled a small 'mantra' under your breath-which you came up with on the spot. "Don't call, don't call, don't call, don't call-"

You looked irritatedly up at the sky when your phone began to vibrate nonstop, knowing just who was waiting on the other side of the call without even looking at the screen. "You can't give me one thing, can you?" You muttered, pulling your phone out of your back pocket.

With one look, you had confirmed your guess to be correct. It was, in fact, Alya calling, probably waiting to weasel you out and question as to why you were late to the meet-up. Were you really in the mood for that? You know this all could have been avoided if you just learned how to manage your time responsibly, but was it really that far fetched wanting to use your weekend to sleep in? You deserved it! Especially after that run in with Chat Noir.

Before you could even decide to answer-or just go on about your day and ignore it-your phone was knocked out of your hand upon colliding with someone else. You could see a crack or two on the screen. 'My variant is going to kill me', you thought, fixing a glare on whoever decided to bump into you.

It fell just as quick as it did when you realized who was standing in front of you. Blond hair, green eyes that were weirdly panicked. Was he doing okay? "Adrien?" You questioned, earning his full attention at the sound of your voice.

The boy's eyes lit up at the find of someone that wasn't a crazed fan, but you; someone he grew to trust and adore quite easily. Before he could lose himself in the moment, he was reminded of his situation as he heard far cry's of his name. "Y/n!' You blinked in confusion when he grabbed your hand. "Please tell me you live near here."

Your brows crease at his odd behavior. It didn't take a genius to notice he was in some type of trouble. The desperation in his voice, his frantic movements as he looked around himself as if he were being followed. "Are you okay? What's going on?" You asked, squeezing his hand to let him know you were here to help.

And just like any good, dramatic scene, your conversation was cut short when a large crowd of people approached with alarming speed; screaming out for the boy's attention. "Adrien!" Your lips parted in shock, brow twitching with annoyance when they showed no sign of stopping at the clear indication of Adrien's discomfort. In what world does it seem okay to chase after someone like this? 'Clearly this one', you thought bitterly to yourself.

"Too late!"

You picked up your phone from the ground, trying hard to think about the crack in the screen at a time like this one, and grabbed ahold of Adrien's hand once more. "Then tell me later, let's get you out of here!" You shouted over the noise, before tugging him into the direction of Place des Vosges.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Hand-in-hand, with you leading, you and Adrien ran past many confused Parisians (most intrigued that the son of Gabriel Agreste was running around the city while holding hands with a girl), you grew worried as the crazy fans grew closer.

As you passed the fountain of Place de Vosges, an empty one at that, you got an idea. "There." You stopped, startling Adrien.

"There? But it's-" You pushed him forward as gently as you could. "Don't worry, it's empty. You won't have to worry your pretty little head about getting wet." You teased, helping a blushing Adrien over the edge.

Just as you were about to pull away, he grabs ahold of your wrist. "What about you? They saw you with me. Surely they'll go after you next." He says, now growing aware of the crowd coming closer.

Cursing under your breath, you climbed in next to him, laying down as flat as you could to avoid being seen.

'Sorry, that I'm hunkering down with your dream boy, Marinette', you thought to yourself, too aware of how close you were pressed into Adrien. But, what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

You listened intently as the fanatics ran past the park cluelessly, amusement bubbling in your chest as you peaked over the edge of the fountain. 'Dummies'.

Turning your head to face the boy of the day, you flinched as you made sudden eye-contact with him, watching with interest as the boy's face flushed. "Thank you for saving me. People are going crazy over this ad." He airly laughs, albeit a little awkward and forced.

"All this for an ad?" You snickered, sitting yourself up from the uncomfortable basin. It was almost comical, seeing a bunch of people losing it over something so little as an ad, but seeing Adrien in distress really rubbed you off the wrong way. No one should have to go through this, especially someone as kind as Adrien-well, at least that's what Marinette says.

Following your league, he sat himself up next to you with an amused grin of his own. "Must have been some ad if it caused this much trouble." You teased with a nudge, trying to make light of the situation. "I don't know about that," his cheeks flushes at the insinuation "in fact it's really quite-"

It was hot. There were no clouds to shield the Sun's blazing rays from beating down on Paris, no shade other than from underneath the tall trees, but one good thing sure came out of it. Adrien wasn't sure if he should be paying close attention to how the Sun's lights casted a shadow upon your lashes, how it kissed your cheeks. Or how it seemed like your skin was glowing. Did he finish his sentence?

You turned to him in concern at his sudden silence, wondering if he saw more fans coming their way, but only to see him averting his eyes from you. ". . .embarrassing." He cleared his throat.

Before you could even think about what was. . whatever that was, your phone buzzed yet again, reminding you where you're supposed to be. "Oh, shoot! I better get going." You step over the fountain's enclosure. "Hope everything quiets down soon." And suddenly, you were tugged down, even closer than before (if that was even possible).

"Adrien!?"

"Sorry! That was my bodyguard that passed us." He whispered as if he could hear us from the limo disappearing in the distance.

"Then shouldn't we be getting his attention?" You asked. He shook his head frantically. "I, uh. . snuck out. I'm supposed to be home right now."

Your face softens, showing him you understood his situation. Being the son of a famous fashion designer, being a model himself, you could only imagine how overbearing his life could be. And if he had to sneak out to escape from it, who were you to judge?

Noticing the distant look, you made haste to cheer him up. Setting aside your dignity, you placed your hand on top of his, the corners of your smile twitching when he froze under your touch. Did you just make him uncomfortable? You weren't really all that great in comforting people-

Flash!

"Adrien and his girlfriend in the fountain!"

All your kindness flushed away from your face as you glared at Treitens carelessly posting the picture all over the internet with the most annoying caption ever. "You've got to be kidding me."

Marinette's POV

Marinette breathed heavily under her breath as you ran towards her friend's meet-up, having been late after Tikki noticed she hadn't changed out of her PJs, approaching the huddled group "I'm. . . here." She gasps out for air, using her knees for support.

The bluenette looks at the girls with confusion, looking for a certain girl who was nowhere in sight. "Where's Y/n? I thought she said she was on her way?" The question makes Alya wince, unsure how she would react to the trending topic of the day. "Well-"

Holding out her phone, Alya shows Marinette the trending photo of Adrien and the said girl in question together, with quite the interesting caption. "Adrien and his-" Her eyes pop out of her sockets, yanking the phone out of her hand. "HIS WHAT?!"

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

You groaned out as you leant against the Metro's wall, attempting to catch your breath. Usually, you wouldn't have been bothered with this much running. This is something worth bringing up to Dawn later.

"I'm so sorry I got you in this crazy mess, Y/n." Adrien huffs out, turning to you with a guilty look. "Now everyone thinks you're my girlfriend."

You wave him off, not too worried about the accusations. You'd just have to hope Marinette won't bite your head off as soon as you get out of this mess. "What's with that frown? Would it really be all that terrible if I were your girlfriend?"

Adrien seizes up, spitting out anything and everything that comes to mind to justify what he said, trying to soothe a wound that was nothing more but a scratch. The sheer panic on his face was too good, giving you all the more reason to tease him when it was just too easy!

"I mean no! It's not that terrible, really." Adrien blanks at what he said. "I meant-" All tension he held in his shoulders dropped at the sound of your laughter, his own following not too far. "I'm just messing with you." You grinned, the comfortable silence falling back in its place as you thought back to the situation you're both in.

"Will it be okay between you and your father? Y'know, with you sneaking out and the picture?" You asked, feeling a bit guilty for adding more fuel to the fire. If you had just kept to yourself, maybe the picture wouldn't have been so bad.

Adrien only smiles, stuffing his hand into his pocket as he digs around for something of value to him. "How can anything bad happen with my," a keychain with a jeweled spider* charm dangles from his palm, "Y/n lucky charm?" You watched with wonder as he twirled the keychain around his finger, catching it in his hand with a wink.

Okay. Clearly you misinterpreted the relationship between your variant and Adrien. They're clearly not acquaintances, like you had first thought, but something closer than that. Maybe even best friends?

And that spider charm? Are you doomed in every universe to have some type of relation to spiders?!

Your train of thought was derailed by a woman on the other side of the subway's platform. "It's Adrien from the ad! There he is!" And suddenly, everyone around you was so interested in the golden boy of Paris.

You hissed at the bright, flashing lights omitting from the Parisian's phones, backing away as far as you can to get your senses under check-the lights and noises overstimulating. Adrien tugs you closer to him, glaring at the camera lens. "We can't stay here!"

With a tight close of your eyes, and a breath through your nose, your senses came barrelling back, allowing you to function. "That way!" You point to the exit as discreet as you can, not wanting to give away your intentions.

He holds your hand tight as you both run to the exit, dodging the fans with expertise. Adrien smiles at you with glee, celebrating your escape a little too early. There, blocking their exit, was his bodyguard, he looked frustrated enough. Adrien turns around, scanning for the other exit, but that was blocked too with a boy who dressed just like him. "Yoohoo! Adrien!"

"The exit's blocked!"

The crowd thickens, the space between you and them thinning, forcefully pushing Adrien closer to you. This is probably a bad time to admit you don't do well around large groups of people. Just as they begin to reach for Adrien (because personal space doesn't exist in this universe), the man from before attempts to push through, ultimately being held back. Adrien's bodyguard!

Hoping the man can help somewhat with the situation, you turned to Adrien to let him know of your idea, when you felt your feet escape from underneath, and suddenly you were falling backwards into the train. You looked up to Adrien with shock, heart hammering with adrenaline, noticing his arm shielded your head from the hard fall.

No words were exchanged as you both sat up, watching as the fans attempted to pull open the train's automated doors before it took off. Adrien watched with concern as your shoulders began to jerk, unsure if it was laughter or tears, but when he heard your laugh-the loud kind that could be heard from miles-he couldn't help but to join. You leant against each other for support, boasting about the epic escape Adrien executed as the train took you to Concorde.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

You lead Adrien down the theater's aisle, the room dimmed and already playing some movie ads on the screen. Perfect distraction. "Right here." You whispered to him, trying to stifle your laughter as he felt around blindly for a free seat. He wore the hoodie you brought along, a new one you had gotten after the Sapotis fiasco, the strings pulled tight so the hood hid his face.

Sighing with relief in his seat, he loosens the strings with a smile, looking to you with gratitude. "Good thinking, Y/n. Without these disguises, we never would have made it here." He compliments.

You return his smile with your own, tipping your sun hat with gratitude. "It was your idea to hide out in the theater." You say, turning to the big screen with interest.

Was it an action movie? Romance? Comedy? What's the chance of it being a horror movie? You've been dying to see one since you traveled universes!

"Actually, this is where I was heading when those crazed fans showed up." He admits with a shy smile. "But thanks to you, my father won't find out." Adrien says, making your brow twitch.

So far, your impression of his father wasn't all that good. What kind of boy isn't allowed to spend his time freely, the way he wants?

"You aren't allowed to go to the movies?"

"I am! Just not without my bodyguard or Nathalie, of course." He sighs out, leaning against his propped hand. "But I'm not sure my father would've allowed me to see this particular movie."

You grinned mischievously, lightly nudging him with your elbow. "It's a rated R movie, isn't it?" You snorted at his panicked expression, doing your best to keep quiet for theater adequate and for Adrien's sake. "No, no! It's a very rare movie that I've never been able to see." He was sure to make it known, recovering from the shock quickly.

Tilting your head with interest, you motioned for him to continue on about the movie you'd be watching. Again, your fingers are crossed for a rare horror movie. How cool would that be? "It's not on the internet and my father's hidden the only DVD somewhere at home." You clicked your tongue with annoyance.

"My mother plays the leading role."

You perked up at the mention of his mother. With the days you've been here, or throughout this whole ordeal, not once had he mentioned her. You could only assume it was a sensitive subject; much like yours. Choosing not to comment on it, you turned your attention back to the screen.

"Radiant. Carefree. Dreamy."

Adrien avoids your glance, sliding further into his seat to hide his embarrassment as you grinned at the ad that started this all. "Adrien. The fragrance."

You laughed in disbelief as he leapt, nodding your head along. "Y'know, I could understand the hype- ow!" You rubbed the spot Adrien pinched with feign hurt, snickering along with him, when the screen dimmed once more. "Oh, it's starting!" You whispered, the screen stealing both of yours and Adrien's attention.

It began with a young woman walking alongside the riverside with an umbrella in hand, the rain winding down the theater's excitement into a comfortable silence, the text 'Solitude' appearing. And lo and behold, the next text to appear was the name 'Emillie Agreste', earning a small gasp from Adrien.

You turned to him with a smile, only to notice the hood of your jacket slipping off his head. "Adrien-" you whispered. The theater was quiet enough to hear the commotion. Your eyes involuntarily shut when a nearby patron takes a picture.

"Adrien wearing his girlfriend's hoodie at the movies! With his girlfriend!"

Instantly the theater was flooded with fans, trapping you once again. You wanted nothing more but to bang your head against the wall.

"We're trapped." Adrien says, shielding his eyes from the bright camera lights. "What are we gonna do?" Wincing at the oncoming headache, you screwed your eyes shut, finding some sort of relief from it, when you heard a loud thump.

Without a second guess, you grabbed ahold of Adrien, your mind racing as you felt your sixth sense kick into gear. "Stay close!" You said to him, eyes dancing across the theater to locate the danger from its exact direction. The loud cheering from the fans wasn't helping you one bit.

One thump after another, they became louder and heavier as they grew closer to the theater. This threat was huge and left you no time window to react accordingly. Before you could warn Adrien about it, a hand smashed through the theater's structure, pulling him out of your grasp.

"Adrien!"

You watched with shock as the giant Gorilla stared at him, not harming a single hair on his head as he sat him on his palm. "Are you. . my bodyguard?!" Adrien exclaims, making you curse under your breath.

The poor man must have been stressed running after him all over Paris! The giant-like Gorilla sniffs at the blond, triggering the crowd to assault them with food.

"You let go of Adrien, right now!"

The Gorilla moves to attack them, but Adrien protests against it. "Stop, I'm the one you wanted! Leave them alone." Your heart clenches at his bravery, watching with worry as it seemed to deter him. And with that, he takes Adrien in his hold, and leaves the theater in shambles.

With not much thought put into it, you ran after them, watching with disbelief as the giant-like gorilla stomped through Paris, roaring out as soon as Ladybug was on their case. Not once did your eyes leave Adrien, making sure he was some-what safe as Ladybug deals with the mess.

Imagine your shock when Adrien's bodyguard began to climb the Montparnasse Tower. A giant gorilla climbing a tower with a cute blond in their grasp? You've seen this in a movie before, too! God, Hawk Moth in unoriginal. You honestly would have been amused if it was anyone else other than Adrien being held captive.

"Where's Chat Noir?" A Parisian whispered, voicing their concern about the black cat missing in action. Oh god, there's that funny feeling in your stomach again. Your foot tapped impatiently against the ground as you watched Ladybug dodge each attack the victim threw at her, your mind going at war with each other.

"Ladybug will be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Did you not see the disaster when the Sapotis took over the city?"

"She could handle herself. She's smart!"

"We could help her! Without Chat Noir there to help, she could overwhelm herself!"

"We don't even have our suit and have no clue what's going on with our web tech. We could ruin our variant's life!"

Any thoughts that you had was thrown out the window as you watched Adrien take a leap of faith out of his bodyguard's hand, now free falling to his doom. Your own heart leapt out of your mouth when Ladybug was captured, keeping her from saving him.

"That's it. I've made up my mind!" You mumbled under your breath, going to the nearest hiding place (which really wasn't a hiding place). Squatting low to the ground, you pulled up your sweater's sleeves to reveal your web-shooters.

"I know the risk that I'm taking,' you press the button on your wrist, a breath of relief sounding as a string of web shoots out. The next step was to close your eyes, and take a deep breath, relaxing your body. 'but I can't stand by as my friends are in danger.' You let the breath of air out slowly, feeling your nerves jitter once more. 'So, work with me here!'

You opened your eyes, fearfully looking down at your appearance. With no limbs in sight, you silently cheered in celebration. With no telling how much time you had left, you aimed your wrist towards an adjacent building, and pressed the button that made the magic happen. "Let's make this quick."

━━━━━━━━ 𝑻𝑶 𝑩𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑼𝑬𝑫
*a fun lil fact about spiders; they symbolize patience and persistence and also good luck and fortune!!

(feb.19) combined ad trouble and gorizilla together like you guys preferred! decided not to for the sapotis chapter bc I couldn't part with the comments </3

we've got one to two chapters to go before we're stepping in uncharted territory! I'm a little nervous hehe but don't be alarmed I already know how I want things to go! It's the timeline I'm worried about 😵‍💫

hope you guys enjoyed im gonna take a long nap now ♡

edited: 2/19
words: 3679