Keeper of the Lost Cities: The Second Moonlark (a KOTLC/MLB crossover)

Chapter Twenty: Marinette

Marinette wasn't sure what to expect when they glittered into Everglen, but "huge sparkling mansion" was definitely not it.

And the giant glowing gates surrounding the property were also pretty surprising.

She bit her lip. It was already all going down.

One wrong move, everyone would realize she was actually human, and literally anything could happen.

Wasn't Dex muttering something about "Exile?"

Whatever that was, she sure didn't wanna go there.

She just hoped that she wasn't the only one worried about this.

She could see Keefe had gone back to silence, tightly pursing his lips together as Mr. Forkle knocked on the gates.

A man with the same hair and eyes as Fitz slowly opened the gates, quickly taking notice of Adrien and Marinette.

"Are they..." he asked.

"Yes," Mr. Forkle said. "The Washers are out there as we speak."

Marinette would've kept crying if she had any tears left. The entire day had just left her wrung out.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" a woman with reddish-brown hair said, with sparkling blue eyes. "Come on inside!"

Biana had to take Marinette's wrist and pull her through the gates.

"I remember when Sophie was in this exact position," Biana said. "Only I wasn't so nice to her at the time."

Marinette wasn't sure how to respond.

"I really like your hair though," Biana said. "I think pigtails work well on you."

"Uh... thanks?" Marinette replied. She swore that if Biana began asking about her blood type, this would turn into a Kagami conversation/interrogation very quickly.

"I'm Della, Biana's mother," the woman said. "Oh, I remember when Sophie was in this exact position. It's gonna be okay, I promise."

"Della," Sophie rolled her eyes. "Is everyone gonna remind me of when I first moved out here to the Lost Cities?"

Della couldn't help but giggle a little.

But once Biana pushed Marinette through the doors, all Marinette could think about was how grand the inside of Everglen was.

"At least it's not 200 floors like at Candleshade, where I live with Daddy of the Year and Mommy Dearest," Keefe whispered, and Marinette couldn't help but giggle.

"Ah, not surprised to see love blooming," Della said.

Keefe and Marinette stared at Della in surprise.

"No," Marinette shook her head. "We're just friends. Nothing but friends."

"That hug I caught you two doing before I showed up the other day begs to differ," Adrien pointed out.

"Friends can share hugs," Marinette argued. "You and I have technically hugged each other multiple times."

"And Alya says we've kissed several times too as Ladybug and Cat Noir, but I still don't remember," Adrien said.

Marinette, however?

She remembered all but one of the kisses she'd shared with Adrien. Only one of them was erased after they were wiped of Oblivio's curse and all memories created during that time they had amnesia were erased. And of course Alya had taken a picture and put it all over her Ladyblog.