Fly me to the Moon cover by annapantsu!
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Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
And let me see what spring is like
On a-Jupiter and Mars
•●•●•●•●•
"Luka, I think it's about to rain. We should head back," I say as Luka pulls me up the stairs by the hand.
"You're kidding right? There's not a cloud in sight- except for that cloud over your head." He tugs onto my arm. "Come on, or else I'll have to carry you."
We're climbing up the Eiffel Tower towards the top and I felt skittish throughout the journey. We just have the last flight of stairs to overcome but my agitation reached auto-pilot. I stay rooted to the spots stubbornly. His lips curls into a slow, teasing smile. "Would you like to be carried bridal style or on my back."
"I prefer over the shoulder," I deadpan. I jerk in surprise when he pokes me on the waist. "Hey!"
Without warning he slides his hands onto my back and behind my knees then scoops me up as if I weighed nothing. "Bridal style it is."
"OH MY GOD, Luka, put me down!" I begin flailing like a child, beating his chest in panic.
"Okay! Okay! If you keep moving like that, I might just drop you."
I blanch obediently- suddenly aware of the howling gales all the way up here. The temperature is already so cool at the top but my hands and forehead continue to break in nervous sweat. "You can't kill me. I have insurance."
"Oh, wow, I've never felt so intimidated my entire life." To my relief, he gently puts be back on to my feet, but he takes my hand and refuses to let me escape. "If you're really scared just squeeze my hand."
"My hands are sweaty," I object.
He throws me a confused look. "Does that matter?"
The vibrant smile he gives me next renders me speechless for a good half a second. Pursing my lips, I say, "Wow you're good at this."
"Good at what?"
Good at being a heartthrob. "Good at playing innocent while secretly plotting to kill me."
"I know. I'm a natural," he replies smoothly. Our fingers interlock like a perfect puzzle. His palm felt calloused from frequently playing guitar but it encased mine carefully."We're here!"
I didn't even realise we've already climbed the last flight of stairs. When my eyes merely glanced on to the ground below, shivers run down my spine. I snap my head up towards the ceiling instead. "Ah, screw this."
I feel his hand squeeze my own. "Sel, look over there." He has the audacity to point below. "I can see your house from up here."
"Classic, but I'm not falling for that."
"There's a poster over there- it says Doctor Who finale on it," he points to another area.
"Where?" I don't remember Doctor Who having a series finale! I thought the 13th Doctor was getting interesting. I realise that I've been scanning the ground with all the tiny structures like finding a needle in a haystack- only just from a million feet into the air. I seal my eyes in horror. "Damn it, Luka! Why did I even agree to let you take me here?!"
"Because I said you have to face your fears. There's your fear! Go and face it!" I throw Luka a disgusted look.
"So you have chosen death," I say. His eyes widen, sensing my incoming wrath and throwimg his hands up. I charge at him like a tiger but he swiftly cages me in a tight embrace. His movements and reaction were so seamless that I felt pathetic for even trying.
"You look like an angry chihuahua," he says between laughing fits until he becomes breathless.
"Can you not?"
"But you're so cute," he teases. I push against his chest and breakaway from his hold before he could feel or hear the erratic beating of my heart. This is too much.
•●•●•●•●•
Fill my heart with song
And let me sing forevermore
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
•●•●•●•●•
"I need to breathe," I insist. The laughter dies down slowly to slow breathes. "Why did you even bring me here?"
"Honestly? I know there's something bothering you." He leans onto the railing. "And I know you don't want to tell me. I've heard about your past but only from someone else and never from your own mouth. But that's all right. I just want to do everything I can to lighten your burden. I broke your trust before, but you're granting me a second chance and I don't want to waste it."
He looks at me, coaxing me to respond. In that moment, I feel like a butterfly attracted towards the nectar of a breathtaking blossom. I can tell that he's having doubts on whether or not I trust him, but I still do- more than ever before. I have to express my faith in him, but how do I go about doing that?
Marinette opened her heart to me by revealing her long kept secret. Would it have a lasting impact if I do the same. It's worth a shot. "Let me tell you a secret. It's something I've been holding in for a very long time."
I join him by the railings but not quite brave enough to lean over it like him. Too frightened to let my eyes travel my surroundings, I settle on gazing at his blue eyes instead. "I can claim that I hardly remember my parents but really, I've only been suppressing my memories, prolonging the stage of acceptance until all the bottled up feelings just burst out."
"Yes, my dad was a superhero but when both my parents just disappeared- it happened so fast, I was grief-stricken. Mrs Agreste brought me here to escape my past and cope. I found healing with her and her son, my best friend, Adrien."
"But somethings don't last," Luka says. I could imagine the gears turning in his head, trying to solve the puzzle.
"Yeah...it went downhill from there. She was suddenly taken away by a disease that I had never even heard of. And I had to be there for Adrien." When I look away, he pulls me into his arms again. "If there was a way to get back someone you lost, would you do it?"
I couldn't bear to hear his answer so the words kept tumbling out. "I used my miraculous to try and take someone else's so I could get her back. I kept thinking that I was doing it for Adrien when really, I wanted her back too."
"You're the Blood Bat," Luka concludes, without any hint of anger like I had expected. "But you you had good intentions."
"That didn't mean I should terrorize innocent people. For God sake, that didn't mean it was okay to watch from the sidelines when Hawkmoth terrorizes innocent people!"
"Hey," Luka firmly grasps onto my waist, keeping me bound to the ground. "I know you're already making a solution. That's your strength- to fix what's broken or cracking, but don't ever think that you're alone. If you want, you could leave it all to me."
"You don't have to go about trying to appease me, Luka. You're too good for me, you know that."
"I have something to say too," he begins. "I may not understand the pain of losing someone to death but I have a close second although I'm not proud of it."
"My father- that guy- turned his back and never looked back. I've had my fears but the biggest one I have is losing a loved one. And not because they've died- they would still be alive and well- but they would pretend my family and I don't exist."
A long, drawn-out silence cuts in between us. I say tentatively, "I-I think it would hurt just as much."
"Do you understand now?"
"Yeah, no more secrets," I say, feeling a huge weight come off of my chest. I sigh in relief. "I'm not working with Hawkmoth any longer."
At the top of my lungs, I cry out," I quit Hawkmoth! Screw you and your delusional dreams!" Maybe I would have to pay for turning my back on Hawkmoth one day, but I won't let him continue his plans anymore. I fish out the airpod-slash-communicator connected to Nathalie and toss it over the railing. Luka whistles, sharing my triumph.
"Oh and one more thing. Since we're spilling secrets, I'm also Viperion," he says casually.
"Yeah, your eyes give it away," I say impulsively.
"My eyes?"
I wince, regretting my words immediately. I begin squirming out of his grasp- all flustered. "Nothing!"
"I thought you said no more secrets," he teases.
"Okay fine! Obviously, I've been staring at your eyes for so long, I can tell who's behind the mask regardless."
"That's adorable. Now I feel inferior since I couldn't even tell that you're the Blood Bat."
"I'm good at lying and hiding, so I don't blame you." My eyes dart everywhere except his face, feeling heat rise up to my cheeks. "A-ah, you know Adrien once promised to bring me up here. He probably forgot though..."
"One more thing," he says before I could successfully break out from his steel-like hold.
"Now what?" I say, feeling nothing but unease at the close proximity of our faces- only a few centimetres apart. He's so close that his breath tickles my warm cheeks. I could even observe the faint glimmer in his eyes.
"I don't like it when you talk about someone else when I'm right here in front of you." He gives me a lopsided smile.
"I'm sorry that was uncalled for."
He nods. "You're my serenade."
"Y-your what?" My heart rate shoots up when leans closer to me. Oh my God, he's going to feel how fast my heart is racing! I place my hand on his chest to stop him, but all thoughts fly out of the window when I feel his own heartbeat under my palm. He pauses hesitantly, but not breaking away completely.
Do I have to meet him halfway? For half a second, I chicken out, but it turns off like a light switch. I am glad that I met him and I am glad he's here.
•●•●•●•●•
In other words, please be true
•●•●•●•●•
And I do meet him halfway. I stop trembling altogether and in that moment I feel secure. I hope he'll be by my side for as long as the world permit.
•●•●•●•●•
In other words, I love you
•●•●•●•●•
I return home with a smile on my face. Grimm was acting cocky the whole time after that. Unfortunately, my good mood doesn't last long.
"Selene, you've been requested by Mr Agreste to his office," Nathalie says. I instantly racked my brain for anything I've done to get myself into trouble so fast. "I'll inform you on the way there. Hawkmoth akumatized another super villain, Oni-chan, she had put up a fight but she was lacking enough to be defeated."
Now that I'm looking into their behaviours with a clearer, more civilized perspective, I'm surprise of how little they respect the people of Paris. "Nathalie, don't you think this is a bit too much."
"Are you questioning yourself again, Selene?"
I brush off her question. "Emilie would never have wanted this."
"Do not speak for her behalf," Nathalie tone surprisingly, is laced with mild anger. "You're still young, Selene. You didn't have enough time to get to know everything about her. But I did."
I come up with nothing but the airpod I threw away by the time we enter his office. I could just excuse it as being broken. I spot Gabriel observing the back garden through his large window. The television on the wall is switched on, replaying a battle today that I haven't seen yet. Business as usual.
I turn my attention towards the screen and see a super villain in a black and white costume with a crimson horn on his forehead and a matching sword gripped in her hand. They construct all these villains like a mass production.
When I glance back at Gabriel, I'm suddenly aware the Lila is beside him. Her demeanor seemed innocent and kind as she says, "I think Adrien needs a friend his age! Someone who understand him and who can protect him from negative influences- someone who you can trust too."
I cringe instinctively from the sound of her voice. What the hell os she going on about now? I fold my arms and clear my throat.
The look on her face, aghast by my presence is the moment I've been waiting for my whole life.
"Thank you, Lila, but Adrien already has someone who looks after him his age," Nathalie says awkwardly. I would give her a high-five if I could.
"Selene, it's good that you're back so soon. Remember Lila Rossi? I assume you know each other well already since you suggested her."
"I did?" I say, bewildered. I then recall the fiasco that was the Volpina accident. "Oh."
"I think she could be useful for our future plans." Gabriel says, making Lila grimace. I'll give credit for Gabriel for treating Lila like an object. Extending a hand towards her, he says. "See you again very soon, Lila."
"See you seen, Mr Agreste." I couldn't believe my ears. I couldn't believe how sneakily Lila wedged herself into this behind my back!
"Selene, bear this in mind. And would you please escort Lila out? Nathalie and I have some things to discuss."
"Gladly." I bow in respect. I push Lila unceremoniously out the door and close it behind me. "Well, look what the cat dragged in."
"Afraid that I'll be the new favourite? I don't even need a pet to take the reins."
Grimm appears from behind with the most prominent glare that could cut through metal. I stop him before he could make an outburst on my behalf. Turning to Lila, I say with a lazy smile. "Don't get too ahead of yourself. You're simply someone to use- like a tool- until you're worn out. We'll dispose of you eventually."
My smile says calm and confident but the clenched fist behind my back says furious and bloodlust. "Now be a good little pet and scurry out through the gate or are you not smart enough to navigate your way there?"
I render her speechless with the complete 180 of my attitude. I continue beaming with pleasure as she fumbles for words. She turn her back instead, flipping her hair, but only to crash into the The Gorilla.
Grimm darts behind my back as I greet Adrien's bodyguard. "Hey, G! Could you assist this helpless girl out the mansion?" I walk up to him and whisper in his ear. "She has a mental disability so please be kind to her."
The pitiful look he gives Lila is priceless as she looks back at him in confusion. He hold up a gentle hand onto her back and shoves her forward towards the exit.
"Hey! I can leave by myself!" She isn't as indignant as she seemed before when she storms away. The Gorilla trails after her cautiously, keeping his guard up for any signs of a fit.
I snicker silently as Grimm drops onto my shoulder with a smile. "I believe that you got that from me. Let's act quickly before she makes her move."
"I know." There are two more days before I have to give him up.
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This took pretty long to write.