#'adrien should be with marinette' small brain

[rainbow-arrow]

fuck this lovesquare nonsense i think adrien should give wayhem a shot

[pinkandbluewrites]

Adrien knows Marinette's identity...

Hey guys, I believe that Adrien Agreste knows Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug. I have evidence that I have gathered and analysed. Believe what you want. I'm happy to hear rebuttals, but after all is said and done, I really think you will believe me.

Okay, so it started in Troublemaker. That was when Adrien first suspected that Marinette could be Ladybug. So, at the beginning of the episode, Adrien sees all the pictures in Marinette’s room and assumes that she has a crush on him. As Chat Noir, he goes into Mari's room, and LB is being very weird and telling him, 'They can take the tour later'. LB gets defensive, and Chat Noir is like, “Wow, lots of pictures,” blah blah blah. Later, when Trouble maker steals one of Ladybug's earrings, half of her face is exposed, and that’s when Chat can see half of her face right.

Chat Noir landed by the window.

This is where Marinette was - and the window is over to the back right.

She is detransforming away from Chat Noir, but then she turns around and grabs her earring, now facing him, to put it back in.

She is side-eyeing so hard lmao maybe looking at Chat Noir?

If Chat Noir was looking, he had a clear shot of seeing her side profile, though not completely clear because her hand was slightly in the way. However, he can see her eyes, nose, and mouth, which can't be completely covered by the quantum masking at that point.

Chat Noir then walks up to her, and says, "That was a close call,"

This can be interpreted in two ways, "I almost found out who you were" or "Hawkmoth almost got your earrings."

I think Marinette interpreted it as the second one because when he says, "Certainly not how I dreamed we'd share our secret identities."

This is her reaction:

Then Chat says, "Oh no, not like that" which doesn't seem very reassuring, but it convinces Marinette that he doesn't know her identity yet, because this is how she reacts:

Notice how awkward Chat Noir looks? He doesn't look very reassuring. To me, the vibe of this scene is just strange, but it makes sense if that small glimpse of Ladybug's face made Chat Noir begin to wonder if she really could be Marinette. When you see a small glimpse of someone you think you recognise, you wonder if it is actually them or someone who just looks similar, and your brain is tricking you; most of the time, you do a double take and realise it is just someone who looks similar, Chat didn't get the opportunity to double take, so he was left wondering.

However, I think he tests his curiosity in the next scene...

In the locker room.

When Mari arrives, and Adrien scares her, he is smug, smirking, etc. It makes sense because he thinks she likes him, but Adrien has never acted like that before. It was almost like he was acting as he does as Chat Noir, and who is the one person who knows how he acts as Chat Noir? Ladybug...

He's very overconfident when usually he is just 'smiles' and 'kind gestures,' and he is getting in her personal space, smirking at her, and downright being flirtatious.

Ok, I want to point out that he looks at her side profile, which you should remember for later because, in the upcoming episodes, he does it a lot. Which may be him trying to see Ladybug in her or the glimpses of Ladybug he thought he saw. Anyway, what really gets me is what he says next. I try so hard to understand what it could mean, if anything but the only conclusion I can come to is that what he says, is him trying to test Marinette.

"...and photographs of me everywhere, even in the most unlikely places.” 

Then Marinette giggled and went, “Yeah, who would have a photograph of you under a bed.” 

And he’s just like “Right.” 

First of all, Chat Noir is the only one who saw the photo under the bed “in the most unlikely places.” It’s almost like he’s alluding to his secret identity to see how she reacts. If she was LB, she would know Chat saw where they were, right? Like he’s almost admitting it?????

Anyway, I think Marinette was a little dense with that scene, but I think if anything it's proof that Adrien really thinks Marinette could be Ladybug.

I don't think he is 100% sure at this point, but I really think he is considering it.

Moving on, when Adrien walks out of the locker room, he is looking back at her:

Then in the end card:

HE IS LOOKING AT LADYBUG!!!!!

They could have chosen any scene, any picture of Adrien, but they chose the one where he is looking back at her, almost analytically if you will, and have Ladybug follow his line of sight. I'm sorry, but with this many clues, there's no way that I'm just reading into it. Even if I'm wrong in the end, I'm literally right.

The evidence does not stop here.

Multimouse. Now, many people believe that this is what really got Adrien to stop believing or kill the idea that Marinette could be Ladybug.

I'm sorry, but no, you are wrong.

Okay, so we know the jist. Plagg and Tikki get caught (almost) by Miss Mendeleev, and she is on the reality TV show. Adrien and Marinette recognise the drawings for their kwamis and realise they must have done something, and this is probably bad. so Marinette leaves, and Adrien sees Marinette leaving and is like, 'huh?'

Surprised Adrien fr.

ANYWAYS the next scene is dumb, like hella dumb, cause Adrien sees Marinette on the phone, walking through the locker room, and is deep in thought and Plagg interrupts and then he's like...

"What if Marinette were Ladybug?"

The way this is worded makes it seem like this isn't the first time Adrien has considered this... Hmm. Hence Troublemaker.

Plagg goes “Marinetteee? Nahhh!”

First of all, great job Plagg you’re an actor. Lmao, not very convincing.

“Besides, you shouldn’t be trying to find out more. If you discovered ladybugs' true identity, you’d have to give your miraculous back! So, if I were you, I’d act like nothing's going on! That’s what I always do when there’s a problem, and it’s always worked out just fine for me." 

Okay, so first of all, Plagg, really? He is essentially saying, like ok, you found out, but just pretend you don’t know anything so you can keep your miraculous.

If Adrien was using his logical brain, which I think he was because he agreed with plagg, he would have thought the same. If it were anyone else, Plagg probably wouldn't have said that because there would be no risk of him losing his miraculous unless he was guessing right.

And Adrien goes, “Maybe I should listen to you this time.” 

But of course, as the curious kitty he is, he still asks LB when he is there. 

“This kwami Buster villain, she’s from Francois Dupont High School, right?" 

(Note this part for later)

Ladybug shuts him down, saying, “Remember the rules chat noir… blah blah” 

Okay, can I point out the fact that if Chat Noir thinks Marinette is Ladybug, when she detransforms cause of kwamibuster and shouts 'No, don't look over here', don't you think he would be hearing Marinette's voice at that point because she is already on his mind, so wouldn't that be proof enough for him, anyways, continuing on...

Later on, they both lose their miraculous and Adrien is in the banana suit. The next thing he sees is a bunch of kwami's charging toward him, and one stops in front of him, with multimouse on its back.

Conveniently, it is the original multimouse without an extra miraculous.

Marinette says, “Pssst chat noir is that you?” 

And he goes, “Ladybug just when I think I finally know you, you manage to surprise me again.” 

And she says, “That’s very sweet of you, but I’m not ladybug,” and points to her earrings, “I’m Multimouse ladybug sent me to fetch your miraculous, to defeat kwamibuster.” 

Adrien ends up giving Multimouse his ring. I truly think this is because he still believes that Ladybug/Multimouse is the same person, aka Marinette. (I don't think he would have given the ring so easily if not, because look how he reacted with Alya as Ladybug in season 5; he is trusting but only toward Ladybug.)

I believe this because this is his face when Ladybug drops down in front of him beside Multimouse.

Agree to disagree, but he definitely thought that Multimouse was Ladybug.

So, he must believe that Ladybug is still Marinette, and Multimouse has to be someone else.

Furthermore, this is his face when Multimouse ends up being Marinette:

Literally flabbergasted.

Ok. So, I have a few points to cover here. I really think this would have left him very confused.

I think Adrien is a trusting person; he likes to see the best in people. Multimouse told him that she wasn't Ladybug, yet he was shocked when he realised that she wasn't. If I may, this is what I think could have gone through Chat Noir's head:

First, if Ladybug was detransformed, she'd go to the guardian for help to get a miraculous. Now, she couldn't transform into Ladybug, so logically, she would use another miraculous for herself because disguising herself and finding a random civilian for help would be a lot of effort (especially when transformed like, come on). So he probably didn't understand why Multimouse wanted to cover up the fact she was Ladybug, but as Adrien does, he likes giving the benefit of the doubt.

Second, in the illusion, there were no kwami's. There's no way there was enough time for all the kwami's to return to Master Fu between being realised and Chat entering the scene; logically, they would stay with Ladybug. Chat literally saw them earlier; Multimouse was being carried by them. I'm sure he thought a lot about this because Marinette not being Ladybug would be hard for him to accept, so I do think he would have picked up on this eventually.

Third, he didn't go in for a pound when he always does. It may just be the scapegoat for the poor writing because obviously if he went in for a pound it, the illusion would fall away, but he didn't. The only times prior where he didn't go in for a pound it was to take Kagami away when he was falling for her and to hug Ladybug, so the fact he didn't is strange, almost like he knew...

ALSO, Ladybug never convinced him that she doesn't go to Francois Dupont High School, only that Marinette isn't Ladybug, which I'm pretty sure she did the opposite of. It's almost ironic, if you ask me, that as soon as Chat Noir has the slightest suspicion that Marinette is Ladybug, bam, she somehow proves there's no way she ever could be. The thing is, Marinette didn't know Chat Noir was suspicious of her, so why did she need to pull a 180 on him?

Also, if Marinette 'isn't Ladybug', then how would you explain why she left early to go to the toilet? It was suspicious; it literally made Adrien think that she was Ladybug. If I were in the situation, I would think, okay, perhaps Marinette is friends with Ladybug; it would make sense because Ladybug trusted her with a miraculous when she was detransformed - but that doesn't explain away why Marinette would detransform in front of her and Chat Noir, if they were close friends than she would know not to do that, so something obviously doesn't add up.

Can I also point out the fact that Marinette, after she took of the necklace said “I’m so clumsy”

What was the first thing that LB ever said to chat noir? 

“I’m mar-a mar-a madly clumsy, I am so clumsy…” 

I really think Adrien figured this out because of how he acts in the next few episodes...

(Side note: I just wanted to point out that Marinette is so silly because she convinces herself that Chat Noir doesn't go to her school cause he refers to it as an elementary school when earlier he literally said,' Francois Dupont High School')

Anyways, Adrien was super convinced that Marinette was Ladybug, so much so to the point where this stunt didn't actually convince him she wasn't. How do I know, you may ask? Well, I will get to that, but first, we have an obstacle.

Puppeteer is in between Kwamibuster and the episode with my final proof.

So, how is it that we had to watch that disastrous episode and all the events in it if Adrien knew? Well, let's break it down.

Okay, so throughout the episode Adrien is trying to find a way to cheer Marinette up because he thinks she doesn't like him at all.

Adrien leaves it to the last minute before he jumps back and says, 'Eternity sounds like a long time,' it makes it sound like he is rejecting her right, but we later find out that this is supposedly when Adrien first started having feelings for Marinette because he enjoyed their 'kiss/almost kiss' so I think he was just freaking out because he's always thought that Marinette only sees him as a friend. He's never been reciprocated by Ladybug, so he doesn't know what it feels like to actually be flirted with by the girl he loves BAHAHA anyways this is my take on this.

Then what of the scene in the car? You may ask, well, look at it like this. This is how Adrien is looking at Marinette:

PLEASE

"The girl that I'm in love with doesn't like them either."

I know he is referring to them as two different people, but he's supposed to because Plagg told him to; he has to.

Ok, the evidence you've all been waiting for is plain as day. Chat Blanc.

When Marinette leaves the gift as Ladybug and Adrien sees, his first conclusion is that she is Ladybug. The evidence is right in his face, and because of the hearts, he realises that she loves him. Earlier, when the evidence was in his face, it was questionable, right? He wasn't 100% sure, but that little push of him catching Ladybug leaving a gift from Marinette made him sure.

The fact that she was multimouse didn't saude his made-up mind. he could have easily said, "No, Ladybug must be dropping off a gift for Marinette; she was multimouse."

She never convinced him when she made the illusion.

Obviously, it never happened. Adrien never made the conclusion because Marinette erased the timeline, but that means he's still sitting on the fence, waiting for that last little push for him to finally be able to confess he knows her identity. Do you notice the number of times that Adrien tries to get a reveal in seasons 1-3, then suddenly, in seasons 4 and 5, he stops? Yeah, he is upset they can't 'share' identities, but he never pushes. In season 4, he finally starts showing stronger feelings toward Marinette up to the point he starts to pursue her in season 5.

Do you remember in 'lies' when Adrien longingly looks at the lucky charm bracelet because Kagami thinks he loves Marinette now, not her, and she dumps him? Why does he look at the bracelet like that if it is Ladybug he loves. BECAUSE HE KNOWS THEY'RE THE SAME PERSON!!

In dearest family, when ladybug says the akumatised object is at home and he’s like ??? And she says I mean at their home.  

Ephemeral. Well, looking at that scene, he wasn’t even surprised to see Ladybug change into Marinette, he was just blushing and shocked that she was actually revealing, and yeah, he says, “I just found out that one of my best friends is also the girl I love and admire the most” 

Can we keep in mind that Adrien admitted that he started liking Marinette at the statue scene (He says this in season 5), right - so how is he calling her his best friend when he knew all along he liked her a little more than friends yk, because I think this could be interpreted in two ways Ladybug is his best friend, but so is Marinette, Ladybug is the girl he loves, but so is Marinette. So I think he is just saying that because he’s finally able to combine his best friend and someone he loves as one person… 

OK, now on to season 5. 

Adrien realised his feelings for Marinette, and he said it changed when she kissed him as a statue so how could Adrien know that she is Ladybug if he only started liking Marinette at that point when he’s loved Ladybug all along. 

Well, I think Adrien just decides to separate the two of them (Marinette and Ladybug) for secret identities. As mentioned before, I believe he knew she was Ladybug but was still sitting on the fence and choosing not to believe it.

I will admit there are some things that Chat noir says to Ladybug that don’t make 100% sense right. Chat said that Ladybug helped him realise his true feelings for Marinette. 

First of all, did he not tell Marinette that he realised his feelings for her when they were in the Graven Wax Museum, and she kissed him, and he liked it. He is either contradicting himself or he is not telling the full story. 

If you think about it, if Adrien knows that Ladybug is Marinette, it was easy for him to just be in love with Ladybug because it was safe when he believed that Marinette loved Luka and not him you know, but toward the end of season four (Which is very fast paced) he starts getting closer to Marinette right, and ‘realises’ his feelings because she’s always been there for him. But Adrien knew his feelings for her all along, and it just took him a little push for him to finally confess it to Marinette and start pursuing her, that push was Marinette repeatedly showing him that she was there for him, so I think a part of him began to believe that Marinette did love him, so he decided he would try to be with her. 

I know it may sound a bit far fetched, but there are some things that happen that just can’t be ignored. 

Adrien was desperately in love with Ladybug like hopelessly, and he just gives it up, to me it felt weird like he suddenly switched. With Marinette, she always loved Adrien even when she was pursuing Chat Noir, she was pushing Adrien away because she didn’t want to confront the reality that he liked her back, because she was scared. So yes, she does pursue Chat Noir for a short while, and personally I think it’s obvious that she loves him too, and has all along but we’re not getting into that. Anyway, Adrien is in full denial about his feelings toward Ladybug and I’m sorry the sudden switch just feels completely odd, like what the hell????

You know that part (I forgot the episode) I believe it is one of the last 5 of season 5 where Plagg says “Marinette is the most amazing girl in the world,” well, that is exactly what Adrien used to say about Ladybug… 

The switch up is just crazy to me, and the only way it makes sense in my head is if Adrien knows that he’s not ‘switching up’ he’s just pursuing the other side of Ladybug. 

SO there is three times I want to point out where I think it’s obvious that he knows. 

The first is when Nino tells Marinette about him and Alya being Rena Rouge and Carapace and confesses he told Adrien, and Adrien is like ‘innocent smile, wide eyes’ and looks at Marinette. Marinette is mad and is like “ADRIEN KNOWS? ALYA DID YOU KNOW ADRIEN KNOWS?” 

Im sorry but that scene is just so like Adrien looking at his lady, like whoops sorry my lady didn’t mean to find out, I feel like if Marinette was just a civilian she wouldn’t have been mad like that right, so how come Adrien wasn’t confused by her reaction??? She was annoyed, and yeah Adrien was shocked too when he found out but he had the reason that it was because he was doubting Ladybug’s character, but adrien doesn’t know any reason why Marinette would be mad by this, its just so like coded that adrien knows and he realises oh shit marinates not gonna like this YOU KNOW !/!?!?!? 

Anyways the second point is that in the finale when Adrien is about to tell Marinette his identity, he says ‘Time to drop the masks’ MASKS not Mask!!!! Like I was like why did they choose to say masks and not just mask???? It doesn’t make sense yk…. 

Ok and also Adrien’s nightmare, it was him as Anti-Chat or whatever, and he was holding Ladybug, and she was a statue, I was watching it and I was wondering where is Marinette in his nightmare, huh, why is she not there? The girl who he is supposed to love more than anything isn’t there… little does he know, she is there, in his arms, or perhaps he does know, he knows that he killed Ladybug/Marinette. That’s why he stepped back from Marinette’s balcony and couldn’t tell her. He couldn’t drop the ‘masks’ yet. 

Anyways, this is my theory. Feel free to comment what you think. 

[dragonwritersblog]

These Hands Of Yours (Let Me Protect Them)

Read on AO3

For @xhanisai after I reblogged this post and immediately came up with this after the S5 finale. I have many thoughts but the main one was mostly “MARINETTE MY GIRL YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER!” but yeah, I decided to base this after the finale because I feel like it fits with that post that she made. I managed to write this with the help of the caffeine from my tea, my remaining will to live and the neuro-spicy brain juice swirling around in my head. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this Akari!

The image of her tears-stained cheeks, red eyes and running nose was something Adrien didn’t think he was going to get out of his head for quite some time. He had comforted both Marinette and Ladybug many times before for different reasons, but this was the first time he comforted the same person on both sides of the mask.

It had started earlier this evening when they were both on patrol, Ladybug had met up with them at their agreed spot on a rooftop. The first sign he noticed something was wrong was how tense she was. Sure, she had her signature sweet smile and adorable sass, but her grin seemed more strained, and her quips were forced rather than seamlessly rolling off her tongue.

When asking her if she was alright, she brushed it off with a nervous laugh and swung away to start patrol. Chat Noir thought about chasing after her, but decided against it, knowing that if he continued to press on about it, the less willing she would be to tell him what was going on. They met up again twenty minutes later, but this time the sass and smile were gone, replaced with a face clouded with gloom and her posture slouched. He asked again if she was sure she was okay, only to be given a single nod before Ladybug attempted to swing away again; key word, attempted. For when she threw the end of her yoyo and prepared to jump, her clumsiness seemed to strike, and she nearly lost her footing. If it hadn’t been for Chat Noir’s quick reflexes and grabbed her wrist to pull her away, there was a definite chance she would’ve been injured.

He asked her one last time if she was okay and something inside her seemed to snap. Her eyes began to water, and her bottom lip trembled before launching herself into his chest and began to sob, strained cries ripping from her throat. Chat immediately scooped her up into his arms and walked over to a chimney, sitting them both down with her in his lap as he stroked her hair.

“I’m s-sorry, I’m so sorry!” she wailed, her tears leaking onto his leather covered shoulders as she buried her face into his neck.

“Shhh,” he buried his claws into her hair, gently taking out her hair ties and began stroking through the soft dark locks to sooth her, “You don’t need to apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You don’t understand!” she hiccupped, her small hands gripping the back of his suit as her entire body began to shake with more sobs, “I was stupid, I was really stupid this time Chat!”

Another tremor wracked through her body, causing Chat Noir to start purring, hoping that the vibrations would ease the panic threating to bubble to the surface. The purring seemed to be working, for he felt her trying to even out her breathing, though it seemed that she struggled as she would let out a cry once in a while that just shattered his heart every time he heard it. “Whatever it is, we can get through this together like we always do.”

“Not this time Chat!” she whimpered, “It’s just gonna make things worse if I say it. Everyone’s already so happy I can’t say it.”

“Then don’t say it to everyone,” he took one of her hands, his thumb stroking the top as her face peeled away from her shoulder to look at him, “Just say it to me, and let the rest just follow.”

“I…he…he should hate me!” she sniffled.

“Who?”

“Adrien!” her chest began to heave again as her other hand clawed at her face, “He should hate me for what I did!”

“Adrien Agreste?” Chat Noir inquired, starting to put the pieces together, “If this is about what happened to his father, Gabriel made that choice to help save the city. It’s not your fault, he doesn’t hate you for that.”

While true, a part of him was still grieving the loss of his father, he was glad that in those remaining moments his true self came to light for what he would do for his family. With that information in mind, it was something he could live with. However, it seemed that what he said just made his Lady feel worse as ripped her hand that was held in his to claw at her neck as she cried harder.

“No, no, no!” She began to rock back and forth, red marks were starting to contrast against her pale skin on her jaw, making Chat Noir grab her hands into his own large ones so she wouldn’t cause further damage to herself. “He shouldn’t have died; I shouldn’t have let him die! Then the wish wouldn’t-”

She clamped her mouth shut, praying that Chat Noir didn’t hear that last part. Unfortunately, his enhanced hearing was able to catch those last few words, the boy turning to her slowly. “What do you mean about the wish?” his tone was slow and steady.

“I-I didn’t…that wasn’t what I…t-that’s not what I meant to say-”

“-Ladybug,” she nearly jumped at the sound of his voice, the intensity making her nerves twist again, “What do you mean about the wish?”

He didn’t look or seem angry, but she knew that this was a conversation that he wasn’t going to change. Trying to compose herself as much as she could, she began to explain.

“He-he tricked me,” her own voice seemed to start shaking, “M-Monarch tricked me.” She felt his claws trail up and down her back to try and relieve some of her panic as her stuttering continued. “He tricked me. He tricked me. He tricked me.”

“It’s okay,” he whispered. He thinks he has a bit of an idea now. “Monarch is nothing but evil. He would do anything to get what he wants. Don’t blame yourself for Monarch making Gabriel sacrifice himself, you did all that you could.”

It didn’t seem to make her feel better, her eyes were still wide open and spilling tears as her breathing worsened. She began to shake her head. “Monarch tricked me. Monarch tricked me!” she turned to meet his gaze, “Gabriel was the trick!”

Chat Noir raised a brow in confusion. How was Gabriel the trick? His thoughts were interrupted as Ladybug’s rambles became more frantic.

“Monarch tricked me! Gabriel tricked me. Gabriel tricked me. He tricked me!”

A pit began to form in his stomach. No, no there’s no way. It felt like pieces of a puzzle starting to finally click together. Or to put it more simply, two men – two horrible men – began to mould into one monster. It was only confirmed when Ladybug opened her mouth again.

“Gabriel is…was Monarch,” she gripped his hands as the memory flooded back into her mind, “He started saying these things and I though that maybe, just maybe, there was still some good him. How could I be such an idiot?! To fall for a few nice words and suddenly it’s enough for me to give him Tikki and Plagg!”

Chat wanted to tell her that she wasn’t an idiot, that he understood being manipulated by that man – if you could even call him that at this point – that she did everything that she could in that moment. But at the same time, Monarch was his father! He had spent the last few weeks wondering how he could ever live up to how great his father was in his sacrifice. When in reality, there was no sacrifice, just an act of cowardice and his lady was left to pick up the pieces. He forced himself to repress a disgusted shudder. No wonder she looked like she was about to break down the minute he saw her arrive. 

“How can he look at me like that?!” she asked aloud, the question not being directed to anyone, “Even when I keep lying to him?!”

Chat Noir tucked a loose stray hair behind her ear, “Lying to who? About what?”

“Adrien,” the name alone made his breath hitch, “Every time I see him, he just looks at me as though I handed the world to him by just simply being there, and he doesn’t even know what I’ve been keeping from him!”

Oh, that made sense…wait. Adrien hadn’t seen Ladybug since she gave him his father’s ring. The way she was speaking about him was as if they had seen each other many times before. Did he know her outside of the mask? Could he even be that lucky?

“I don’t know if I can keep doing this,” she continued, “I don’t know if I can handle him looking at me like that whenever we’re at school, or play video games at each other’s houses, I don’t think I can be able to keep it together when he takes me to the little coffee shop down the street that he knows that I adore. He’s done so much for me, cares so much for me and yet I’m doing this to him, and he doesn’t even know what a horrible person I am!”

School…coffee shop…dates…A chill rushes through his veins, realisation seeping in. The girl he was holding in his arms, her hands glued to his in a desperate sign practically begging not to be alone, was someone that he knew far closer to him than any of his friends. Someone who he knew that already had so much on her hands that just got piled on after everything that was said to him. It can’t be.

“I SHOULDN’T BE LADYBUG!”

Was the last thing that tore from Marinette’s throat as her suit disappeared, leaving behind the love of his life in her pyjamas, Tikki nuzzling her cheek to try and calm her as the wave of panic and weeping returned.

He drops everything that was circling in his mind - his father, the wish, his Lady’s identity – and wraps Marinette up in his arms as much as he can, purring and keeping her as warm as he can with his body heat. Her left arm was wrapped round his torso while he kept a hold of her right hand in his own. He takes a look at her ungloved hand, hundreds of little scars leaving their marks on her skin, leaving a mocking reminder of how much she failed that day.

The fact that Monarch…no…the fact that his father was so selfish and vile that he went out of his way to not only emotionally damage, but to go as far as to try to physically damage his Lady just for a wish. Was his own son not enough? Was he that self-centred to ignore his only family left while claiming that he was doing this for his child? How could he use that to justify hurting and manipulating such a sweet and kind person as Marinette?!

“This is my fault,” she whispers, her voice raspy and sounding sore, “This is all my fault. He should hate me, I’m a terrible person and a terrible Ladybug.”

“No,” Chat Noir shook his head, a slight growl escaping with the word.

“I’m really sorry,” she whimpered, “I should’ve told you; you have every right to be angry with me, you’re my partner, you deserve to know.”

Did she…did she think his anger was directed at her? “Oh Mari,” he pressed his lips to her hair, “I have no reason to be angry with you. Never, ever blame yourself for the cruelty of others. You don’t need to apologise for any of Gabriel’s actions.”

He takes her other hand and clasps them in his again, making sure that her attention was focused on him and only him. “Since the moment I met you, you’ve been pressured to put the weight of Paris on your shoulders. From our friends to the other civilians, even yourself, it might not have been said out loud, but you definitely felt them giving you that responsibility. You are so strong; I’ve seen the remarkable things that you have accomplished with your hands. How you’ve protected so many people, to figuring out any lucky charm thrown your way, to even fighting the most feral akumas. But it’s also left its impact on you as well, and eventually, the weight that your hands have carried for so long has started to take effect. It doesn’t make you weak, no, however it is something that you don’t have to do alone. We’re the bug and cat team, we’re meant to share the weight, not take the burden from the other. And know that I know, I’m gonna make sure that you never feel such a weight again, both in and out the suit.”

She tilts her head in confusion before a flash of green made her squint and look away. When she looked back, she gasped, for there in front of her, in his pyjamas and zip-up hoodie, was none other than the boy she swore to protect from all the darkness she held so that he would never be burdened with. “Adrien?”

He pressed a kiss to her hand, “Hi Princess.”

Her eyes filled with tears again, she tried to make sure that Adrien would never find out about this, not at the expense of his happiness and now she managed to screw that up as well.

He was more prepared this time when she let out more apologies, taking off his hoodie, wrapped her up in it and pressed her face to his chest as he tightly embraced her. He purred louder and more even to make sure she was relaxed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Adrien!” she blubbered out as he rocked them back and forth, “I should’ve told you, but you were finally happy! Finally free with your life and I didn’t want to take that from you!”

“It’s alright, shh, it’s gonna be alright,” he let her continue to sob, his main priority at this point was her and taking care of her, “I’m okay, we’re okay, it’s not your fault.”

A few minutes later, her sobs turned to quiet sniffles. He took another look at her face, his stomach twisting when he saw just how exhausted she was, the guilt had really taken an ugly toll on her. Tikki was still cradled in the crook of her neck, having fallen asleep while soothing her holder. He stood up, holding her in his arms as he called out for his transformation phrase and jumped off the rooftop, making his way back to the bakery.

Once he landed on her balcony, he released his transformation again before going through her trapdoor window and gently placing her onto the bed.

He lifted her upper body he raised her duvet and placed her under it, making sure she was wrapped up safe and warm before joining her under her blankets, wrapping her up in his arms again and resumed his purring. Tikki had woken up and moved from Marinette’s neck to her hair, Plagg joining her as he buried himself in her dark locks and he began to purr as well.

Adrien could feel her body struggling to relax, constantly shifting from trying to letting herself by soothed by the warmth and love she was being given to stiffening back up again as though she didn’t feel as though she were allowed to.

His brows furrow in concentration, forming a plan in his head on just how to help his princess within this moment. He looked at their hands again, having conjoined again while in the midst of her much needed cuddles. He raised her dainty pale hand to his lips, gently pressing them against the tips of her fingers, making her look up at him and pausing her internal dilemma.

“I’m not surprised that you’re Ladybug,” he told her, “I mean, I am a bit shocked at the sudden reveal, but it makes so much sense that you’re her. The kindness with how you treat civilians, the creativity when figuring out any lucky charm thrown at you, not taking any nonsense from anyone – all of that comes from Marinette.”

He presses two more kisses to the back of her hand and laid it on her pillow and started stroking her palm in small circles with his thumb, taking notice that she was focused on the lazy motions and the soothing feeling it gave her. “It comes from everything I’ve seen you do outside of the mask,” he continued, “How you treat our friends and students outside of our class to make sure everyone is happy, coming up with ideas for not only your fashion but with baking, drawing and so many other projects, and you refuse to let others be walked over and stand up for those who aren’t able to do it themselves. All that comes from you! And all those amazing things come from your amazing hands.”

She tried to smile; it wavered a little, but she wanted to show how much his words meant to her. She wanted to believe him, she wanted to believe him so badly! So why wouldn’t the final image of Gabriel leave her mind?! Why did it have to keep reminding her of how much she failed.

She curled in on herself, the brainstorm building up again. Luckily, Adrien seemed to take notice. “But those hands have been hurt way before you became Ladybug, haven’t they?” he asked, making her thoughts pause as she peered up at him through her eyelashes.

“Despite saving the city multiple times, its far from the first time your hands have been used in that way,” he brushed his thumb over a faded scar, one that he noticed from the first time he met Marinette. Back during the hat contest, before everything, when he gently brushed his hand against hers to take her winning hat, he saw it on the top of her hand and was curious as to how it got there, but he didn’t want to pry. Now, after knowing all she went through, he had a bit of an idea on how she received it.

“All those years that you had to defend yourself from Chloe’s ruthlessness to the point you were terrified to go to school, and then Lila trying to do the same to you as well. Not to mention, you always tried to take on everyone’s problems, whether if its Kim and Ivan fighting, or Alix trying to pick a fight with someone, you’ve constantly found solutions to the point that they just keep coming back to you for help,” he continued, “They see you as the only way to fix a problem instead of trying to figure it out themselves. I know that you’re afraid of our friends getting akumatised, but you can’t take on everybody else’s burdens if you’re already being dragged down by your own.”

Marinette whimpered, every word he was saying was ringing so true that it hurt to listen to. Adrien sensed her distress and pressed a few more gentle kisses to her cheeks and forehead; he knew she had to hear this, but he knew that there was already going on in that head of hers for her to finally be confronted with both her greatest strength yet biggest flaw.

“And now knowing that you had to defend yourself from my father, both with and without a miraculous,” a bitter taste formed in his mouth as he remembered how Ladybug tried to fight Hawkmoth after Tikki and Plagg took back their miraculous. His father might not have known it was Marinette at that time, but he did know that the person he was fighting at the time was defenceless and vulnerable to the extreme damage he inflicted. “The fact that he would do that to you, that he tried to go out of his way to hurt you and then proceeded to trick you…...I’m so sorry Marinette. I’m sorry that you’ve kept this to yourself just so you could protect me but,” he looked at the scars on her hands again, the ones that Gabriel left there permanently, “No one was there to protect you from what he did.”

“-But you’ve already protected me for so long!” Marinette injected, the sudden volume startling Adrien a little bit, “You’ve already done so much for me, even when I pushed you away you were always by my side even when I didn’t deserve it. Even after keeping this from, you, how could you still want to be my partner…I don’t deserve this.”

He pressed a finger to her lips; she looked up as their eyes locked with one another, anxious blue met a frustrated green, but not at her. “Don’t ever say that again,” he murmured, his voice low and laced with both hurt and concern, “You deserve so much more than you’ve been given. You barely ask for anything, nothing even, and yet no one can even give you that.” He brought her hands to his chest, right above where she could feel his heart drumming softly, “You are so incredible, so talented, so amazing. And it hurts to watch that being stripped away every day, as Marinette and Ladybug. You think that you need to take on so much more than you already do, that you have to feel this horrible, but you don’t! Ladybug wasn’t meant to be on her own and neither was Marinette. You don’t need to do this alone anymore Princess…please, let me in, let me help you, let me share and protect the world that is threatening to fall out of your hold.”

“I-I-I,” her voice broke a little, the weight of his words was hitting harder than she thought it would, giving her a sense of peace and relief that she hadn’t felt in so long. But she knew that she wouldn’t be able to hold onto it forever, something was going to make him realise that she was a terrible partner, and he would finally realise that. “I can’t. I can’t take your happiness away after you fought so hard for it, I can’t let you be dragged down with me. I should’ve been smarter that day, I could’ve found another way – I could’ve! That way you don’t have to be here now to feel burdened by me!”

“I can assure you that never have, or will, burden me with anything,” he let go of her hands and wrapped both of his arms around her smaller form in a silent promise of never letting her go. “I’m here because I want to be. Gabriel has always found a way to trick others for years, he tricked us both when he first thought he was Hawkmoth, he’s managed to talk his way in and out of situations without anyone batting an eye and he has manipulated me for years into thinking that I was wrong about everything. And the fact that all of Paris believes that he’s some kind of hero while you’re suffering in silence after everything he put you through just proves how much of a monster he is. And I feel sick knowing that I believed that too for a while.”

Marinette shuffled in his arms. Ever since she became Ladybug, defeating Hawkmoth was the only goal she knew that she had to complete. She sacrificed everything in order to do that, her hobbies, her love life, even herself to some degree. And yet when the time came, she failed. Part of him just wanted Adrien to scream at her, tell her that she messed up and messed up bad. But seeing him look at her with the utmost love after she thought he would hate her for keeping these secrets and failing to complete the most important task of their lives, even after finding out that Hawkmoth was his father, a part of herself felt as though he were telling the truth about everything he said in that moment.

He let one of his arms fall and clasped her hand again, bringing it to his lips, “You’re not alone anymore Marinette. No matter what the future holds for us, we’re going to go through this together. You didn’t mess up; you didn’t fail, and you deserve to be happy. I’m here now, so please, let me take care of you as you took care of me and everyone else,” he gently pressed his lips to her knuckles as one more promise, “It’s you and me against the world.”

The dams broke once more as Marinette buried her head in his chest, wailing once more as he gripped her tightly with as much protection as he could give her in this moment. He let her cry as much as she needed to, stroking her hair as she got everything else out of her system while whispering and presses comforting kisses to her forehead.

A while passed before her cries turned to whimpers and her whimpers turned into soft, even breathes. Looking down, he saw that she had cried herself to sleep. Judging by the bags under her eyes and how deep she seemed to be in her dreamlike state, this was probably this first time she properly slept since her battle with Hawkmoth.

Her arms were tightly wrapped around him, as though she were begging him to stay – as if he could ever leave her after what happened. With one arm wrapped her waist and the other round the back of her head, he cuddled softly into her, relishing in the soft content noise that left her throat. The kwamis retreated to the other side of the pillows, giving their holders much needed space while close enough in case they needed them.

Before he allowed himself to fall asleep however, internally, Adrien made one more promise to her. I won’t let this happen to you again Marinette, not after this. No matter what, I’ll keep you safe and never let your hands carry that type of weight ever again. Now that I’m free for him, nothing will stop me from protecting you or leaving your side.

Only after making that promise, did he join her in sleep.

(In the morning.

“Plagg, how do you cataclysm a dead person?”

“Adrien I just woke up what the fuck.”)

I am so sorry it took this long! I swear I should’ve gotten it out sooner but it’s here now and I hope you like it! <3

[sizzleissues]

alyanette (859 words)

(hey hey its a fun Alya has a crush on Marinette one-shot)

Alya loved being Marinette’s friend, above all else that’s what she’d prioritise. 

It started on her first day in Paris when she saw her. Alya knew in that moment exactly how her life had been up till that point and exactly how she expected it to go from there. Because that was her up until she moved. A shell resigned to her fate until someone could cast a lifeline.

Marinette stood with her back to her, taking the abuse of some blonde chick she’ll eventually learn the name of and her body was just so defeated. Her shoulders slumped, her head bowed and she just took it. Took, took, took, everything thrown at her and blamed herself for not being able to take more. 

Jumping forward to defend her wasn’t even a question in her mind. Alya happily stepped into the firing line and she’d do it again if given the choice. 

If she feared Marinette had become hollowed after living a half-life, those worries were quickly assuaged. The girl had a fountain of strength she didn’t even know she had, offering her half a slightly squished macaroon and sealing their friendship. Everyday Marinette’s ability to be kind no matter the person astounded her. 

She deserved to be angry. She deserved to rage like Alya had years before but she didn’t. It wasn’t until years later when she asked Marinette about it that she explained. 

“Anger scares the bad and good away. You have to use it sparingly.”

That felt so goddamn wise for a sixteen year old to say. Marinette would always be slightly out of everyone's league even if she felt the total opposite. 

“He’s so sweet, I want to put him in my pocket and pat his head.” Marinette cooed in Adrien’s direction, watching the boys order their coffees. Alya’s sigh turned to a dry laugh as her friend continued heart eyeing the retired model.

Sometimes she hated that she was Marinette’s friend.

Her friend and nothing else. 

“You have to tell him that then.”

“I can’t just say that. It’d be weird.”

“Girl, people have been weirder.”

Marinette sighed and brought her hands to her mouth to try to blow some warmth in them. Winter had snuck up on all of them. 

“Here, let me.” Alya took her hands and sandwiched them between her own, gently rubbing them until her friend’s fingers no longer felt like ice. Marinette stayed silent, watching through heavy lashes. 

“I don’t like him like that anymore.”

“Hm?” Alya hadn’t been paying attention. Her thoughts were more centred around the lasting tingle in her fingertips as Marinette withdrew her hands, hiding them away in her lap.

“I don’t love Adrien anymore. He’s just a generally sweet person. Like a dog or bumblebee.”

Alya froze.

“You don’t love him? Is this one of your ‘I can’t love him’ things all over again?”

“It isn’t. I’m a grown woman, I can realise my feelings were just puppy love and nostalgia.”

Alya should have seen it coming. Why hadn’t she seen it coming?

“So that’s it? When did this happen?”

“I realised some other things…” She let her words trailed off as the boys returned, Adrien sliding in next to Marinette. Nino passed her her double espresso which she gratefully took so she would have something to do while her brain failed to process the last thirty seconds. Almost as proof Marinette hadn’t been lying, she started up a conversation with Adrien — not even stopping to take a breath.

Alya played through the last few months in her mind, realising that Marinette had not so much as stuttered or blushed in Adrien’s direction in quite a while. Perhaps the fact it had become such a staple of her friend’s behaviour and the months of college seemed to muddle together into a stressful soup that she hadn’t noticed the change. In the same way she sometimes blinked and remembered she was no longer sharing the room with a small Marinette that needed her help but a strong Marinette who’d learned to fight her own battles long ago. Her friend had changed, she was the one stumbling behind to realise it.

Questioning the change became a top priority — once they are alone again.

“Did you order a double espresso? Don’t you enjoy happiness?” Marinette teased, suddenly looking at her and surprising her out of her thoughts.

“Let me have my depressed businessman drink.” 

“Sure thing, reporter.” Marinette tipped an invisible hat to her and then turned back to Adrien, engrossing herself in their conversation again. Alya noted, with a sting of jealousy, the way he leaned into her. How she brightened and talked animatedly, her hands flying in every direction. She believed her when she said there were no feelings there anymore but she wasn’t quite sure about Adrien. He was suspicious. 

“Are you okay?” Nino asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“You’ve been giving Adrien the stink eye for the last five minutes. Don’t worry, he hasn’t noticed.”

She hadn’t noticed the time pass. What was happening to her? She learned Marinette was no longer on the Adrien train and suddenly everything was out of order. 

“Really? I didn’t mean to.”

Nino’s laugh afterwards contained a knowing she didn’t quite catch.

-

Found this in my wips and tidied it up a bit. The idea of this if it continued was love square but Alyanette. So they get the miraculous in college. Alya crushes on Marinette and Marinette crushes on Chat Noire. This oneshot takes place after they get their miraculous and Marinette moves on from Adrien (who is trans fem but she doesn't know it yet [;) because of her lesbian realization with Chat Noire. (Yes, Adrien was her comphet 'crush' but also she definitely sniffed out the trans egg on them >_<)

I have too many wips but this one is definitely staying in the bank for later once I finish Prince and Baker and two other things. And I write Ladrien pirates and akumanette and a bunch of drawing stuff (plans to animatics, commissions and portfolio work!!) . Basically its there but I have too many ideas to get through first!! lmao

[ladyofthenoodle]

“So, what’s your plan?” Kagami asked, zipping up her duffel.

“My plan?”

“To win back Marinette’s love,” she answered slowly, as if he was a small child. “You are planning to win her back, right?”

“How did you know…?”

“Everyone knows why Glaciator was akumatized, Adrien, it was on the Ladyblog.” She huffed. “You know, at first I thought Marinette was in denial when she said she was over you, like the last three times, but—“

“Three? How long has this been going on?”

Kagami ignored his outburst. “It seems like Chat Noir may be real competition. So again, I ask, what is your plan?”

“What?” Adrien’s brain was having trouble processing ‘Chat Noir’ and ‘competition.’

“I see,” she said, which was good, since Adrien did not. “You do not have one. That is fine. You have me, after all.”

“Thank… you…?”

“Don’t worry, Adrien. I expected this. Just do what I say and consider it handled.”

The grin she gave him was unnerving. Still, he wouldn’t say no to some help.

“What should I do?”

[beezonia]

Brain thought I should expand on the rom au since I want to focus on it more!

—-

So it’s set 5 years after the first akuma attack

Marinette is 20, still ladybug now with the moniker “Lucky Ladybug” since she’s had her fair she late of near death situations and got out of them unscathed

Adrien is still Chat Noir, he’s vibing, trying to figure out what the hell he wants to do in life and what his father’s hiding (he’s doing a funky little music course atm though)

Marinette is slowly figuring out Chat’s identity, Adrien has a hunch that Marinette is Ladybug he just needs to figure out how he’ll get her to spill

It’s lukadrinette btw they are happy together

—

Shadowmoth is still very active but has his own group of lacky’s that aren’t akumatised and mainly do the public fights for him

then there’s the heroes

And a few factions of anti villains (superpowerd yes) these are small fries compared to the Heroes and Shadowmoth’s group though

Then comes, The Guild Of Mouserink, five superpowered people who say they serve one and one alone “Queen Mouserink”

And are only there to make sure Shadowmoth is brought to their leader

Marinette does not believe that and decides to trust them but test them at the same time too see if they are loyal or have ulterior motives

And Ladybug and Chat are about to uncover a whole lot of secrets and deception

Meanwhile Nathalie is over here planning a huge betrayal, and maybe murder with a little bit of alcohol to get her through

Gabriel might wanna watch out shes pissed and definitely in the mood for his bullshit

——

[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 34

Chapter 1     Chapter 33

Marinette took a deep, bracing breath before raising her eyes to look at herself in the mirror for the first time since that morning.  She knew she wasn’t going to like what she saw, knew it was going to be bad, but still flinched at the sight that met her.

A large bump had already formed and was starting to bruise along her hairline where she’d face planted during the fight.  It hadn’t hit her quite yet, only a glimmer of something edging in from the corners of her senses, but it was only a matter of time and sooner rather than later, it was going to hit hard.  It was a damned miracle it hadn’t hit yet.  One good thing about having a major breakdown, she supposed, her brain had been too preoccupied with other things to register the pain yet, but the reprieve couldn’t last forever.

A sigh passed her lips as she mentally chastised herself, she really should have swiped some painkillers when she took the Band-Aid at the hospital.  It would have also helped with the throbbing she was sure would come later from the reopened cut on her cheek.  It had stopped bleeding, but it was an ugly mix of purple and green and had puffed up to the point she could see it constantly along the lower edge of her vision.  No matter where she looked, she was reminded of it, and it was getting damned annoying.

But even beyond the wounds, she looked haggard, a far cry from the meticulously put together professional appearance of that morning, the appearance that extruded competence and screamed ‘sell me this building at an amazing deal, I’m a reliable investment’.  Instead, she looked like she'd aged years in the last few hours, and maybe the stress on her system had done exactly that.

Deep purple bags stretched under her dull eyes, small cracks lined her pale, chapped lips, and her skin seemed to hang from her cheeks.  All in all, not the sight she wanted Roy to bear witness to. She wanted him to see her as desirable, not… whatever this was.

She groaned and rubbed her hand over the side of her face, wincing when her fingertips got a bit too close to the bruise on her forehead.  She glared at her hand accusatorily for a moment but quickly decided it wasn’t the real culprit, or at least not the only one.  No.  It was a dual effort.  Guilt lying with both.

She returned her eyes to the mirror to glare at the bruise as well but caught a swift movement from the corner of her eyes.  She instantly flinched hard and dropped into a fighting stance, silently cursing herself for allowing herself to think it was over.  She knew better.  It was never over.

Her eyes darted around the room, muscles tensed to fight, until her eyes focused on large, worried blue eyes; Tikki’s blue eyes.  Marinette relaxed slowly, all the adrenaline that had freshly flushed her system abandoned her, taking all her strength with it until she had to slump against the sink for support.  It took a moment before she could bolster her strength to offer her a wan smile.  “Hey, Tikki.”

Tikki’s smile mirrored her own, thin and frail but sincere.  “How are you doing?”  Her eyes flitted over Marinette’s face intently as if she was searching to detect the truth in whatever answer Marinette gave.  

Marinette’s smile strained.  “Better.” Her eyes darted away to avoid the skepticism in Tikki’s eyes but returned quickly.  “Is there any update on Adrien?  Has Plagg said anything?”

The judgement drained from Tikki’s eyes.  She shook her head sadly.  “You know it doesn't work like that.  He can’t send me messages telepathically.  I wish he could.”

Marinette nodded reluctantly and dropped her eyes with a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping further.  “Yeah, I do.”

“Are you?” Tikki asked gently.  “Better,” she elaborated as a look of confusion crossed Marinette’s face.

Marinette squeezed her eyes closed and dropped her head back for a few moments before taking in a long breath and slowly letting it out through her nose.  “I’m not on the ground sobbing or covered in blood anymore so…”  Her attempt at lightness fell flat, Tikki’s expression becoming contrite instead of laughing.  Marinette had to look away before she started to cry.

Tikki floated closer and raised a paw to Marinette’s face.  “I’m sorry for not getting your attention during that.  I could see it start and I tried, I really did, but you weren’t responding, and I couldn’t risk yelling.”

“It’s okay,” Marinette assured her quietly.  She lifted her eyes to meet Tikki’s, but the action was slow, like her eyes were weighed down.  “You would’ve exposed us.  It’s better that you didn’t.”  She closed her eyes and gave a sluggish shrug.  “It worked out okay.”

“It did,” Tikki’s smile was small but genuine.  “I like him.  He handled it really well.”

Marinette looked toward the door.  Her slight smile at the thought of Roy quickly faded to a frown as a twinge of guilt appeared, reminding her that while Roy had been amazing to her, supported her, comforted her, cared for her, what had she brought to his life?  “He shouldn’t have to deal with all this.  He deserves better.”

“No, he shouldn’t” Tikki agreed, “but neither should you.”  Her eyes followed Marinette’s gaze.  She quirked her head to the side in contemplation for a few moments before speaking up again.  “And he seems to be handling it really well.  I don't think he's bothered by helping at all.  If anything, it feels like this is all familiar territory for him.”  She stared at the door for a few more moments before nodding a if coming to a decision.  “I think you can trust him.  He’s good for you.”

Marinette’s cheeks darkened slightly as she examined her now clean fingernails. “Yeah,” she agreed so softly Tikki had to fly closer to hear her.  “I think he is too.”  After a moment she cleared her throat lightly and looked back up at Tikki.  “I really think you should be with Adrien tonight.”

Tikki pursed her lips and shook her head resolutely.  “I'm not leaving you.”

Marinette fixed her with a firm look.  “He needs creation more than I do right now.”

Tikki shook her head again.  “That's not how it works either.”

Marinette exhaled heavily.  “I know,” she sighed, “but it would make me feel better knowing you were there watching over him, too.  I’ll be safe with Roy and whatever Bat is on guard duty.  I’m sure they’re still watching and noticed us leave. There might even be multiple of them.”

Tikki frowned, her little red brow furrowing in displeasure.  “And Adrien will be safe with police, Max, Chloe, several Bats guarding him, Pollen, Kaalki, and Plagg there,” Tikki pointed out sternly.  “Nothing is going to touch him.”

“He’s a lot more vulnerable than I am though.” Marinette’s tone was pleading and her eyes desperate.  She needed Tikki to understand.  Adrien could still be in danger and if anything happened to him, it would be her fault.  She needed him to be as protected as possible.  She needed to know he was as safe as he could be.  “If something happens, I can run away.  He can’t.  Please, Tikki?  After tonight, I really need to know he has every protection he can possibly have. If I could bring out the entire box, I would.”

Tikki sighed, her eyes softening as she spoke.  “I know you want Adrien to be safe, but Adrien would want you to be safe.  We all do. You want to protect the world, and you have, but now you’re going to have to let us protect you.  I’m not going anywhere.”  She smiled widely.  “If I recall correctly, that’s what that young man out there said as well.”

Marinette huffed and looked away with a pout until a thought came to her.  “And he meant it,” she said carefully.

Tikki sighed approvingly.  “I believe he did,” she agreed.

“And he seems like he had the strength and moves to back it up.  Maybe not to our level, but he could hold his own in a normal fight,” she added, carefully watching Tikki.

Tikki nodded in agreement.  “Yes, I believe he could.”

“So,” Marinette continued.  She tried to contain her excitement at Tikki falling into her trap, but judging by the unimpressed, raised eyebrow, she was not entirely successful.  “If anything were to happen, he would stay with me, fight for me, and help get me out if necessary.  I can still run.  Adrien cannot.”

“You need to rest,” Tikki insisted, exasperation and disapproval clear in her tone and gaze.

“Which I can’t do while I’m worried about Adrien!” she pointed out with annoyance. “Honestly, if you want me to actually rest, the best chance is if I’m not constantly worried about Adrien.”

Tikki squeaked out a scoff.  “And that will happen if I’m there?”

Marinette opened her mouth but immediately closed it and bobbed her head to the side.  “Okay probably not, but I’ll be more relaxed than if you’re not.  If you’re here, I’m going to be on edge all night and probably won’t get more than a few minutes’ sleep.  But with Creation herself watching over him, there’s a chance I could get a bit more.”

Tikki stared at her flatly for a few seconds before finally reacting.  “That is the worst argument I have ever heard.”

“But true,” Marinette singsonged smugly, a bit of strength returning to her as she did but the finger she pointed at Tikki still waved a bit sloppily.  “And you know it.  So really, it’s a successful argument.  Which makes it a good one.”

Tikki pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, but after a moment of Marinette staring back defiantly, finally groaned in acquiescence.  “Fine.  But when Adrien feels better, I’m going to let him know and let him discuss this with you.”

Marinette grinned widely and almost jumped for joy.  If she’d had any more energy, she might have done just that. “Thank you, Tikki!  This means so much!”

“I know,” Tikki sighed.  Her gaze softened at how excited and relieved Marinette looked.  She floated up in front of Marinette and patted her good cheek softly.  “Be safe. Eat something.  And get some rest.”

Marinette smiled weakly.  “I will. Thank you.”

Tikki nodded once before phasing through the walls toward the hospital. Marinette watched the spot on the wall she had disappeared through for a few moments, her body drooping more with each passing second.  And now she was alone.  She closed her eyes and let her head drop back, breathing slowly as the darkness started to creep into her thoughts; the what ifs, the what mights, taking advantage of her isolation to run rampant through her insecurities.

“Not to rush you, but I have soup ready when you are,” Roy called, his voice slightly muffled through the door.

She snorted breathlessly and stood up properly.  Maybe not so isolated after all.  She needed to remember that.  It was something her friends kept trying to drill into her.  She wasn’t alone.  And she wanted to believe it.  She wanted to fall into the promise of it.  And she did… usually.  But when it came to act on it, it always felt wrong.  They were all dealing with their own issues, their own trauma.  Adding her own would only hold them back, halt their recovery.  Which is why she preferred to not just handle it alone but pretend like it didn’t exist; shoved it into a tiny box two sizes too small and thrown into the deepest recesses of the ocean, then hidden beneath a blue whale carcass.  But apparently, that was ‘wrong’ and ‘unhealthy’.

She rolled her eyes but set her lips in a determined line.  She was working hard on not doing that anymore.  She wasn’t alone.  Her friends were a phone call away.  Roy was right outside the door.  She just had to reach out.  She took another bracing breath before reaching for the door, carefully avoiding looking in the mirror again.  Nothing good would come from reexperiencing that view.

Roy immediately looked up from his phone with a soft smile the moment she crossed into the kitchen, like his eyes were drawn to her.  She waved awkwardly, now faced with a different issue; how to act with Roy after her breakdown.  Almost nobody had seen her that vulnerable before.  It was a short list comprised of Adrien, Alya, Tikki, and her parents. Adding a new name to the list felt dangerous.  It left her vulnerable in a way that terrified her.

She had expected a bit of sympathy or pity in his smile, but instead she saw understanding and empathy, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.  It felt like he understood exactly what she had gone through.  It was heartbreaking to think about what might have caused that understanding, but not something she could mentally handle delving into yet.

“Aww.  You got dressed,” she lamented playfully.  Her lips twisted into a teasing pout, but like every other playful, semi-back-to-normal thing she’d said that night, her eyes didn’t match the tease.

He raised an eyebrow at her trying to rapidly assess her state of mind.  She was clearly not as okay as she was trying to appear, even if he hadn’t been there for the breakdown earlier, he would be able to tell.  She was barely standing and clearly favoring one leg.  It was an excellent concealment job.  If he didn’t have well over a decade of experience hiding injuries himself, he might not have picked up on it, but he did.  If anything, instead of making him less concerned, which he was sure she was hoping her act would accomplish, it made him even more concerned.

“Needed something for you to take off later,” he teased lightly with a wink, deciding to play along until she’d had a chance to breathe and rebuild her defenses so she didn’t feel so raw and exposed.

He dropped his eyes to the food in front of him and pushed one of the bowls of soup and plates of bread toward the seat across the island, pretending not to notice her limping toward the bar seat, only looking up again when she’d climbed into it with a small grunt from the effort.  He studied her again as she examined the food.  His eyes caught on her cheek.  The cut that had been healing, reduced to just a small cut the day before, was now an angry, swollen gash.  His eyes moved on to her other injuries, because while the gash on her cheek was the worst of her injuries he could see, it was by no means the only one.  But, just like the gash, they had been left unattended.

He had to fight narrowing his eyes at her, suspicion of her supposed visit with the doctor rising with each untreated injury, but not willing to challenge her on it just yet.  It was more than a rush job, this looked exactly like what he looked like when he avoided all medical help.  But no matter how bad she looked, she still looked miles better than she had when they first got there, so he was counting it as a win.  “You look better.  Cleaner,” he qualified but immediately cringed at the stupidity of the statement.

Marinette chuckled mirthlessly.  “I don't know, I think red is my color,” she quipped without missing a beat.

Roy balked slightly then shook his head in exasperation.  “Funny.  You’re funny.”

“Thank you,” she chirped with obviously false cheer.  “I keep telling people that.  Nobody else seems to believe me.”

He narrowed his eyes at her and pursed his lips.  “You sure you’re not really related to the Drakes or Todds?” he grumbled as he aggressively stirred his soup.  “I have to put up with comments like that from them all the fucking time.”

“Apparently, I’m related to all of them,” she mumbled into the soup.  “Lucky me.”

Roy opened his mouth to respond but quickly closed it again.  There was nothing he could say to make the situation with the Waynes better at the moment.  She was likely too upset to listen and he couldn’t think of a defense at the moment anyway.

Instead, he raised the phone slightly to bring her attention to it before setting it down between them.  “Nothing new from the hospital, but there has been a request for a report on whether you’ve eaten.  There may have also been a threat of bodily harm toward me if you didn’t.”

She snorted.  Of course there was.  She wasn’t sure Chloe could talk without a threat involved, implicitly or explicitly. “That’ll be Chloe.  Took longer than I expected.  She’s holding herself back… which is really unusual for her.  She must like you.  Sorry she’s already terrorizing you.”

“It was Tim, actually,” he corrected quietly.  Her face pinched at the mention of Tim, but Roy continued as if he hadn’t seen. “He genuinely might be worse than Chloe…” he also ignored the incredulous look she shot him, “…I’m pretty sure he’s reporting to her as well so…”

Her expression turned flat when he tapped the bowl in front of her.  She kept eye contact with him, just to make absolutely sure he was well aware of how unimpressed with the current situation she was, as she slowly brought the spoon to her lips, blowing on it gently despite it only being barely above room temperature, and took a small bite, raising a pointed eyebrow as she did.  “Also, there’s no way Tim is worse than Chloe.”

He scoffed, well aware of some of the darker things Tim had done, but she really didn’t need to know about those.  It was better to stick to more innocuous topics.  “Such a small bite,” he teased.  “That bad?”

“It’s fine,” she assured him dryly as she pushed the bowl away. “Delicious.  You did a great job.  It’s so good, I’m full.”

He gave her an unimpressed sigh and raised an eyebrow.  “I’m not going back to Tim with ‘she ate a bite.’  He’d skin me alive.  And how can you tell if it’s good?”  He pushed the bowl back in front of her.  “You’ve barely had any.”

She dropped her head with a moan.  “Such a fucking dad,” she groaned, but shoved another spoonful in her mouth.

Roy choked on the bite of soup he’d just taken, coughing loudly to dislodge the carrot and give himself a few moments to work up the strength to refrain from letting her know she was more than welcome to call him ‘daddy’ any time she wanted, because, while very, very true, and despite what some people thought, he did understand the concept of timing and had a bit of tact.  “So, I’m good to feed it to Lian?  Anything I should change?”

Marinette huffed and took a larger bite, taking time to actually taste the food this time.  Lian shouldn’t have to suffer because she was in a bad mood.  “Lemongrass,” she commented.  “It can use lemongrass.”

He pursed his lips and studied the soup as if he could see the flavors.  “I put lemongrass in it.”

She flicked her eyes up quickly.  “Did you beat the lemongrass before you put it in?”

He stared at her for a few seconds.  “Of course, I beat the lemongrass before I put it in,” he insisted defensively.  “What kind of an idiot doesn’t know to… beat you said?” he looked to her for confirmation, only continuing when she nodded, “beat the lemongrass before putting it in.”

She shrugged nonchalantly but there was a smirk on her lips that warmed his heart. He was glad to see a positive emotion even if it was at his expense.  “The ginger kind, I guess… which this could also use.”

He gasped dramatically.  “Who asked you anyway,” he groused playfully.  “What do you know about good soup?”

“Not much,” she granted casually.  “My uncle only makes the best soup in the world.  Literally, won an award for it.  And named it after me.”

Roy stared at her again for a few seconds.  Every new fact he acquired about her absolutely floored him.  “Well… that’s… shut up,” he sputtered.

She snickered and focused back on her soup, missing the warm smile lighting Roy’s face at the sound of her laugh.  They continued to eat in a silence that started out easy and light but became increasingly weighted as Marinette’s emotions started seeping in and blacking out the brightness Roy had introduced.  She continued to robotically bring the spoon to her mouth as she worked through the feelings.  She felt wrong, but she had felt that way since before Adrien had been taken.  She thought the feeling had gone away but here it was again… or still.  She wasn’t sure which.

Roy’s voice broke into her daze.  “I didn’t mean it you know.”

Marinette blinked out of the rabbit hole she was quickly getting lost down. “What?”

“When I told you to shut up,” he ventured, his voice soft and enticing.  “I was just kidding.  I didn’t mean for you to stop talking.  I like hearing your voice.”

“Sorry,” she said quietly, laying down her spoon as she finally noticed her soup was already finished.

He nudged the roll toward her.  “You know, if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here,” he offered.  “Whatever you need to talk about… or if you want to avoid talking about something, I’m great at distraction.  All part of the Club membership,” he joked.

Marinette searched his eyes for a moment with a wry smile before looking down at the roll for just a moment before picking it up and tearing it apart more aggressively than necessary.  “It just feels like there’s more.  Like something else is coming and I should be prepared and… and I’m not and…” she groaned as she struggled to put her feelings into words, throwing the bit of the roll across the table in frustration.

“It’s probably nothing.  It is nothing.  It’s probably just…” she let out a loud huff.  Her mind was too full, her thoughts moving too fast and crashing into each other before she could make out what they were.  Trying to focus on one to discuss was almost impossible.  “Akumas never stopped until the end.  It was constant until the final battle.  You could win but there was always something more. As soon as you got settled after one attack, another happened.  It was never over until it was.”

She sighed and slumped into her chair.  “I’m probably just… still in that mind set.  I still have nightmares sometimes that akumas are coming and when I wake up, I forget… It can be hard to remember.  I think all this just…”  she closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying her breath before finally speaking again, her voice quiet yet heavy.  “I just really wish this feeling would go away.”

Roy let the words settle before responding.  He gently rested his hand over hers and waited until she looked at him before nodding in understanding, his eyes filled with empathy.  “That kind of thing is hard to move past.  It feels like it settles in your bones.  Moving forward is like cutting off a limb.”  He squeezed her hand as he settled into the seat next to her.

“I know it’s a lot, but it’s over now.  It might not feel like it, but I promise you, it is.  There are no more akumas.  Ladybug and her team made sure of it,” he assured her, his voice filled with the confidence of a man who’d spent an entire night scouring the Justice League’s servers for any information on the Miraculous situation to make sure Marinette would never have to live through that again and perhaps a bit to see if the villain was still alive for him to kill.  And damn his luck, he wasn’t.

He shook his head to focus.  That wasn’t the point at the moment.  “Adrien has like ten people watching over him tonight.  Nothing is going to touch him except his medical staff.  And nobody knows you’re here.  I’m sure Signal is outside that window watching over us as well. Neither he nor I are going to let anything happen to you.”

He pulled his chair closer to her and ran his hands over her arms a few times.  “You’re safe.  I promise.  I can’t promise for how long, that’s just the nature of Gotham.  But for tonight, you’re safe.  The rogues are all locked up except a few minor ones and kidnapping isn’t their style.  Theft? Yes.  Kidnapping?  No. Even if it wasn’t someone who had already destroyed other rogues’ reputations.  It’s asking for more attention than they’d want for almost certainly no payout.

“Concentrate on yourself tonight.  Concentrate on resting and healing.”  His eyes grazed over her face, settling on her cut again with a frown.  He cupped her face, his thumb gently caressing her cheek just below the swollen cut, carefully avoiding the sensitive skin.  “Let’s start by getting you patched up.  Okay?”

His voice washed over her like a salve and she couldn’t help but lean into his hand and nod in agreement.  She had to force herself to pull back from instinctually following his hands when he stood to get the first aid kit.  His touch felt warm and inviting, everything she needed at that moment, and losing it felt like being thrown out in a blizzard.

Within moments Roy was back with a first aid kit that, frankly, put hers to shame, and that was saying something.  “Here,” he slid her drink over to her and held his hand out to her, “ibuprofen.”

She examined the pills in his hand for just a moment before taking them.  “Looks like more than the normal dosage,” she noted wryly before swallowing them.

He motioned toward her head vaguely as he searched through the kit for Band-Aids.  “More than the normal pain coming.  It should last you through the night or most of it anyway.”  He turned back to her and moved closer until he was standing close enough to work on the injuries on her face, seemingly oblivious to the way he’d positioned himself between her legs, his thighs grazing the insides of hers as she widened them to make room for him, her breath hitching slightly at the contact.

She almost jumped when she felt his finger under her chin, gently prompting her to tilt her head up toward him so he could get a better view of her cuts.  “If we’re lucky, you’ll be able to get a good amount of sleep before they wear off and your head starts throbbing so bad you want to ram it into a concrete wall.”

She snapped her eyes to his, her brow furrowing in concern.  “You speak like you have experience…”

He snorted; his eyes still focused on the cut as he cleaned it as gently as possible. “You don’t get raised by Oliver without getting a few bumps and bruises.”

Marinette pulled away aghast, eyes wide with horror.  He stared at her for a moment in confusion until the realization of how his words could be interpreted set in.  “Not like that,” he assured her quickly.  “He didn’t hit me.  It wasn’t him…” he trailed off before he blurted out his biggest secret.  His face scrunched as he tried to figure out how to explain how he had experience getting beaten without either lying or admitting to his nightly activities.

He focused on applying the butterfly bandages silently as he thought.  He was applying the last one before he finally spoke. “Drugs can put people in really terrible situations sometimes.”  It wasn’t what he’d been referring to, but it was true.  The depths he sunk to while high still mortified him, the worst point being when he tried to commit suicide via rogue.  He would forever be grateful to Waylon for seeing it for what it was and getting him to seek help.

She watched him softly, raising her hand to cup his cheek.  “You’re so strong,” she murmured.  Her eyes flitted over his face in wonder.  “To go through everything and decide to turn your life around and stick with it.  I’m so impressed with you.  Every time I find out something new about you, I get more impressed.”

He got lost in her eyes for a moment, his heart stuttering at the adoring look in them.  She was looking at him with a soft, almost reverent expression, which was all wrong. That was how he should be looking at her and the fact that she didn’t understand that was a crime.  One he intended to rectify.  He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to the uninjured part of her forehead.  His lips lingered for a moment before moving to her uninjured cheek, he paused to look into her eyes before softly brushing his lips against hers.

He pulled away just enough for him to whisper against her lips.  “You’re absolutely amazing.”  He brushed his lips against hers again.  “I’m so glad you’re here and safe and I can hold you.”  He snaked his hands along her jaw and wound his fingers into her hair, cupping her face.  “God,” he studied her face in awe, “you make it impossible not to love you.”

His eyes widened as he realized what he’d said out loud.  “I mean… I haven’t… I don’t love you.  No! Wait.”  His eyes somehow widened even more, and he backed away as panic engulfed him, his hands waving wildly.  “That’s not… I’m just saying…”

Marinette snorted and yanked his shirt to pull him back against her, quickly kissing him to stop his rambling.  “It’s okay. I know what you mean.”  She ran her fingers along his jaw eliciting tiny electric shocks as she moved.  “I’m not there yet, but… I feel like I’m close… like it couldn’t end any other way. It’s the inevitable resolution.”

Roy’s grin beamed.  “Yes!  Exactly!”  He let out a relieved breath and wound his fingers into her hair, his palms brushing her jaw. “We just need a bit more time.”

Marinette matched his grin.  “Guess I’ll have to spend more time with you.”

He shook his head with a faux huff.  “The sacrifices we make,” he whispered before pressing a soft, sweet kiss against her lips, letting it linger until she pulled him down to deepen the kiss.  He reciprocated instantly, clutching her face closer and tilting her head just slightly to gain better access.  She whimpered in appreciation and let her hand wind into his hair, her fingers playing with the hair at the base of his neck as she held him close.  His hand was just grazing down her side when the moment was broken by the ding of his phone.

Marinette immediately froze in his arms.  Cold water washed down her spine causing her whole body to stiffen.  She shot her arm out to grab the phone at the same time as Roy, his longer arms just edging her out to grab it first. She was standing at his side, trying to crane her neck to see the display, in an instant.  “Is it the hospital?  Did something happen?”

“No,” he assured her quickly.  “No, not the hospital.”

Marinette relaxed but tensed again noticing that Roy was hiding the phone from her and for some reason glaring at the window.  “Then…” she prompted.

He quickly looked away from the window that he had stupidly left uncovered with a strained smile.  He had clearly been mistaken about Duke being the one to watch the apartment.  Instead, he had a ‘slightly’ demented, protective Jason threatening bodily harm if he continued to touch his sister while she was still recovering mentally and physically from an extremely jarring experience.  “Everything is fine.  That was Jason,” he answered honestly.

He opened his mouth to continue but snapped it shut with a purse of his lips as he tried to figure out how to reword Jason’s message into less of an unhinged big brother message and more of a concerned big brother message.  “He wants to know how you’re doing and if there is anything you want him to do for you.”

Marinette’s chest tightened as all the air left her lungs.  She backed away, focusing on nothing, her mind racing and stalling all at the same time.  Jason. Jason was asking about her.  She didn’t know how she felt about Jason yet. He hadn’t been one of the ones to hold her back, but he also hadn’t supported her.  He hadn’t been there.

She furrowed her brow in frustration and ran her hands through her hair.  It wasn’t that easy though.  Because he did try, didn’t he?  He wasn’t there, but he had acted.  But he let her flounder on her own.  But he’d done something to end up in prison in an attempt to find Adrien, so he’d done something…

Roy watched with increasing concern as she backed herself away from him, unsure if it was about him personally or her backing away from any human interaction. He almost jumped when his phone pinged again, but Mari didn’t notice, too lost in her head.  Roy looked at the message quizzically for a few seconds, then out the window with a raised eyebrow.  He growled at the window and his phone when it pinged again, silently threatening Jason that this better not make it worse, before turning to Marinette. “He wants to know if you want him to come give you a hug?” he added, the end of his sentence rising up in uncertainty.

Marinette’s eyes snapped to his and she let out a bark of laughter as memories of Jason’s first offer of a hug came back to her, how he backed her when Bruce was trying to push.  Promised he wouldn’t leave her.  She continued to let out barks of laughter until they came out as mirthless huffs and finally gasps for air.  Bruce. He wasn’t going to just let her be. Or maybe he was.  She couldn’t read him, couldn’t predict his actions. He’d pursued her, pushed her to open up to him and start a relationship regardless of whether she was ready for it, but then disappeared as soon as it started.  Was he going to leave her alone again or force her to face him?

She shook her head.  She couldn’t think about that now.  It was too much.  Her body felt like it was becoming heavier, every ounce of heat was draining out of her. The thoughts spiraled around, bashing and clashing, ripping through any peace she’d managed to cobble together in the time she’d spent with Roy.

“I don’t think I can…” she trailed off, her breath coming in shorter and shorter gasps as the options and possibilities and responsibilities and repercussions continued to swirl around in her head.  The thoughts began to clash more violently, shattering into shards that felt like they were ripping though her head.

Roy cursed and jerked the curtain closed with one hand, with the other frantically texted a warning to Jason to stay the fuck away and make sure the rest of the family did too until further notice.  Just a text was enough to send her back into the PTSD induced spiral, potentially erasing all progress he’d managed to coax her into.  He had no idea what effect actually interacting with them would have.

He tossed his phone, vaguely hearing it land hard, hard enough to likely have cracked the glass, on what he assumed was the coffee table, and was on her in an instant, gently grasping her shoulders and encouraging her to meet his eyes. “That’s okay.  You don’t have to.  We don’t have to do anything at all or make any decisions about any of them. Forget all about all of that, all of them.  The only decision you need to make is what do you need tonight.  Sleep?  More food? Distraction?  I can provide any of those for you.  If you need a distraction, we can watch a show or play a game, or I can talk.  I’m really good at talking for hours, usually without saying anything.  I can tell you embarrassing stories about… myself.”

He cringed at the hastily covered slip.  Later, after things had settled down, he could tell her embarrassing stories about the Waynes, all day long.  He knew enough to fill a week with nothing but stories that would make them cringe and her laugh.  But, right then, he wanted her mind off of them and onto anything else.  He slowly moved his hands up from her shoulders, barely grazing her neck, before tenderly cupping her face.  “So, what do you need?”

She met his gaze and felt her chest immediately loosen and breath slow.  The weight she felt pressing down on her moments before disappeared and her body rapidly warmed at his touch, like a blood pressure cuff releasing its pressure and all the blood returning to the aching veins.  As soon as the blood started pumping again, her mind started spinning for a different reason, remembering all the ways he’d touched her, mind and body, since he met her.  All the ways he’d made her smile, made her days better, brought her out of dangerous spirals.  “What if I said you?”

“Me?”

She nodded slowly, leaning into the warmth of his hands.  “You’ve been the only bright spot in this whole situation.  I’d go through it all again if it meant I got to be with you.” Her eyes suddenly widened.  “I mean… not the Adrien part!  I… no offense, I wouldn’t do that again for anything, but…”

Roy crashed his lips into hers, unable to hold himself back any longer.  He wrapped his hand around her head to pull her closer.  He broke away just long enough and far enough to reassure her.  “I know,” he murmured against her lips.  “I understand”.  He nodded lightly causing his nose to bump into hers before diving back in.

She matched his fervor, arching into him at the same time her hands wrapped around his shoulders to squeeze him tightly against her and eliminate any space between them.  She lost herself in the feeling, his kisses driving all other thoughts from her mind, fogging and muddling it until the feeling of his kisses and his hands were the only things that existed.  His touch flowed through her body like electricity causing their skin to sizzle in the wake of the contact.  It was too much and not enough.  She needed more.

She moaned in pleasure, mentally encouraging him to continue everything he was doing and running her hand under his shirt to feel his skin.  Her hands traced the taut muscles of his toned chest as their lips intently slid against each other’s.  He pushed harder into her at the same time she pulled him closer, causing them both to stumble back.  Marinette let out a surprised squeak as they tumbled over the arm of the couch arm into the cushions.

Roy reacted instantly, thrusting out his elbows so he wouldn't crush her much smaller frame under him as they landed.  They looked at each other in surprise for a second before collapsing into giggles.  Roy rested his forehead against hers, catching his breath and reveling in the feeling of her under him, the intimacy of the position.  His face was only centimeters from hers, close enough that he could make out the veins of color in her eyes, adding a depth and complexity to their beauty that suited her perfectly.

Marinette cupped his face, her touch much gentler now.  She pulled his face down to press a softer, sweeter kiss against his lips.  The kiss became more passionate and needy, quickly matching the fervor of their previous kissing, their hands returning to their previous positions.  She tugged at the hem of his shirt, no longer content with the access she had, needing to feel more of him.  He pulled away just enough to make it easier, tossing it haphazardly.

Marinette took a moment to appreciate him without his shirt on.  She’d had a pretty good idea what lay beneath his shirts thanks to how skin tight some of them were, but the sight of his amazingly defined muscles still made her groan in appreciation.  She reached out to touch him, her hand splayed against his chest before she even realized she had moved.

He smirked at the reaction and dove back in to capture her lips in a bruising kiss.  She almost whimpered when he pulled away but his lips were back on her before she could, pressing open mouthed kisses along her jaw and trailing them down her throat, stopping every so often to suck or nip.  Fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her head back to grant easier access to her neck.  She raked her fingers down his back at the feeling, unable to control her hands, as her leg snaked around his thigh to pull him against her hips.  Shivers shot down her spine at the moan he let out.

He started to pull off her shirt, but a pained gasp stopped him.  The gasp brought his mind to a screeching halt.  His eyes darted to her side and he wretched his hand away like it was burning her.  “We should… we should… God, I hate myself so much right now.  We should stop,” he stuttered between gasping breaths.

“I’m okay,” she assured him breathlessly, her eyes still focused on his lips, her hands encouraging his face closer.

He shook his head.  He had to use the last of his will to resist succumbing to the ecstasy of her touch on his bare chest.  “No, it’s not that.”

Marinette's face scrunched slightly in confusion but immediately stopped.  “Okay…”

“I just…” he brushed his knuckles along her jaw, his eyes following the path milliseconds later.  “I just think, if this is going where I think, where I hope, it is,” he looked back up to her eyes, “it shouldn't be when you're upset.  It should be because we're caught up in our own emotions not because of anyone else. I want to do this right.”

Marinette searched his eyes for a moment before nodding slowly.  “You're right,” she huffed grudgingly and let her head drop onto the pillows.  “This would be amazing but…”

“But it will still be amazing when the timing is better, when we’re both fully here, even more amazing.” He kissed her temple softly.

Marinette chuckled and leaned into the kiss.  “Thank you.  For looking out for me.”  She pulled away enough to meet his eyes.  “For being here.”

Roy adjusted his position so he was lying next to her on the couch instead of hovering over her. He laid his forehead against her temple and pulled her tight against him.  “Always. I did promise to protect you, and I will, even if it’s from myself.”  He huffed and dropped his head against the back of the couch.  “Even if I do hate myself a little for it.”

“I hate you a little right now too,” she groused playfully.  He gave her guilty look, mentally vowing to make it up to her later.  Marinette's lips suddenly perked up into a smirk.  “Hate sex?”

He snorted but quickly covered it with a serious look.  “I think you’re supposed to hate each other for that to work and currently I like you and we both just hate me.”

She hummed noncommittally.  “Revenge sex?”

Roy started chuckling until it became full-blown laughter.  He shook his head when the laughter died down and buried his head in the crook of her neck. “You're killing me, Fire Flower.”

“No,” she spoke quietly enough he almost couldn’t hear her.  “Nobody dies tonight.  Not because of me.”

Roy squeezed his eyes closed, mentally berating himself for his choice of words.  What kind of an idiot makes a comment like that right after she spent the better part of the night thinking her brother was going to die. He was supposed to be distracting her, not making it worse.  He leaned up again and cupped her jaw with his free hand silently encouraging her to meet his eyes.  “Nobody died tonight because of you,” he corrected her.

“And now you deserve to rest.”  He shifted until he was able to stand up.  “Come on,” he encouraged, “you can have my bed.”

Marinette’s eyes bulged at his words.  She shot up in a panic.  “I don’t… can you…”

“Yes,” he answered before she could finish her question.  “I can stay if you want.  There’s a chair I can use, or the floor… or the bed.”

She relaxed instantly, almost falling back into the pillows again.  “In bed, please.”  She smirked tiredly.  “I promise not to take advantage of you while you sleep.”

Roy scoffed as he picked her up in a bridal carry.  “Not much of an incentive.”

She hummed noncommittally and nuzzled closer into his chest, resting her head on his shoulder, pressing into the crux of his neck.  He was almost positive she’d fallen asleep before they made it to the hallway, only stopping for a second so he could slide his hand through the curtains to flip the middle finger to the window unobstructed, but just before they reached his bedroom she spoke up.  It was just a whisper, barely loud enough to carry in the air.  “God, I feel so safe in your arms” she murmured sleepily into his chest.

His heart stopped beating, no longer needing to pump apparently, just needing her words.  He was consciously forcing himself not to go back on their decision to sleep together tonight if for no other reason than she was already asleep, and he’d be damned if he woke her up.

He laid her on the bed, quickly sweeping the clothes and sundry items onto the floor then kicking them under the bed.  When she woke up, he wanted to at least pretend his home wasn’t an absolute mess. He changed into pajamas and crawled into bed, settling close enough he could easily reach her if she started having nightmares, but not invading her space.

As soon as he settled, Marinette turned over in her sleep and cuddled closer to him, pressing her body against his like it belonged there.  He studied her face, etching the peaceful look into his mind.  She almost looked happy as she rested her head on his shoulder, the way she should look.  He brushed his knuckles lightly along her jaw.  “God, you really do make it so easy to fall,” he whispered before laying down and quickly following her to sleep.

Chapter 35

Tags:

@maribat-bdbwm @jayjayspixiepop @redscarlet95 @alice-hazelwood @deathssilentapproach-blog @unoriginalmess @alyssadeliv @emotionalsupportginger @frieddonutsweets @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @toodaloo-kangaroo @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @iloontjeboontje @wolf-for-life @maribatserver @aespades @prettylittlebutterflie @imarivers8  @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @ritacrow-blog @unoriginalmess @demonicbusiness @kking13 @lady-bee-fechin @blur-of-colours @kittenmywaythrulife @kashlyn @loysydark @nerd-nowandforever @queenz-z @crazycryptidgirl @lilfuturescars @corporeal-terrestrial @ultimatetornshipper

[skaylanphear]

Serendipitous Fate - Chapter 25

Summary: Adrien is excited to reveal his true identity, while Marinette is terrified. But Master Fu says they can't afford to be distant any longer. Chat Noir and Ladybug are meant to work in tandem both in and out of uniform, their strength stemming from the bond created between them. Yet, teenagers are sometimes better at dancing blind than running with wide open eyes, even with the steps laid out before them.

Steps in the path of an expanding world. Apart, they'll flounder. But together, they might just stand a chance.

Takes place following season 1.

Chapters 1 - 24

Chapter 25: A Mother’s Love

Marinette realized three things in very quick succession:

The first was that her own issues were going to have to be put on the backburner for a bit, as this was likely to shake Adrien’s entire world. The second came to her as she looked directly at Gabriel, who was more uneasy than shocked at the turn of events, which told her quite blatantly that he’d known Emilie was alive this whole time. This led to the third of her revelations—that none of this was likely to end well.

Chest tight with nerves, she turned back to Adrien, who was still staring at his parents in shock. She could tell that he was lagging, that his brain was stoppered as he attempted to process what he was seeing. Though he’d spoken, his lips were now parted in awe, brow furrowed as he attempted to digest.

Somewhat shaky herself, Emilie pushed passed Gabriel. She never took her eyes off Adrien, visibly swallowing before a small, hesitant smile tugged at her lips.

The sight of her smile had Adrien hitching in a quick breath, his own expression beginning to buckle and break. He leaned back, almost like he wanted to step away, but then something stiff kept him standing in place.

Emilie’s hand came up a second later, twitching as if she wanted to reach out, but was uncertain if she should. Instead, she spoke.

“Adrien?” she asked.

His name on her lips had him releasing a weak sort of whine, like she’d just punched all the air right out of him. But though he flinched, she persisted and took a step closer.

“Adrien,” she said again, this time with more certainty.

Read More 

[knifedancer]

Let It Snow 2/2 - Random Drabble

Aged Up scene that popped into my head with comments from a reader. Rough drafted storyline rather than a legit fic.

Inspiration: i'll be surprised if the snow around them didn't melt that day lol since that was quite intense esp for just playing along. 

Part 1/2 | Part 2/2 | AO3

~~~~~~~

(Marinette humming in the kitchen while preparing coffee wearing just one of Felix's dress shirts, sleeves rolled up and bottom barely covered)

(Door opens, Adrien enters and tosses keys onto the entry table) "Hey Fe....M-Marinette?!"

"Oh...um, h-hey Adrien. Felix was checking on the laundry. You...uh, want some coffee?"

"Uh...sure..." (takes in her appearance: tousled bedhead hair, pink cheeks, lack of clothing)

"Um, what are you doing at Felix's apartment, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, we uh...got soaked in the snow and h-he invited me back to warm up?" (busying herself with the coffee maker)

'Wow, that was so nice of Felix...I'm so glad they're friends!'

(Felix enters and slides up way too close to her backside while helping her retrieve a mug from a tall shelf, a hand placed on her waist in a way that is more than friendly. He's wearing just a t-shirt and boxers, looking just as tousled, winks at her and pulls away just enough for her to complete her task while still staying in physical contact) "So cousin, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

(Adrien, watching their interaction with increasing confusion, Felix just smirks at him) "Buh... We were, uh...supposed to meet up today and...I figured you might want company for breakfast."

(Marinette slides Adrien his mug with a small smile, then hands Felix his. Felix takes her hand and kisses it with a smile before starting his coffee and resting an arm around her loosely) "Well, as you can see, Adrien, I already have company for breakfast." (Fe's eyes slide down her body lecherously for a moment while she rinses out her mug)

"I...uh...ye-yeah..." (flustered and confused Adrien)

(Felix leans down to Marinette's ear and murmurs to her while his arm snakes around her hips) "I put your clothes on the bed, my dear. But you're welcome to stay as long as you like..."

(Marinette smiles slyly up at him and brushes some imaginary lint from his right pec of his shirt) "I would but I have classes today." (flutters her lashes) "Perhaps we could meet up for some Netflix and chill later tonight..."

(Felix grins) "I look forward to it." (his grin becomes predatory as he watches her walk away to change, she flirtatiously looks over her shoulder at him before passing out of sight)

(Adrien looks perplexed, also noticed how short the shirt was on her and feeling confusing urges) "So... you and Marinette seem...close."

(Felix goes back to smirking and dumping his coffee in the sink) "Oh, very close. Now, I apologize, cousin, but I have a guest to take care of before our meeting. You'll see yourself out, won't you?" (Felix heads in the same direction that Marinette left, looking quite excited)

"Sure..." (Adrien rinses out his mug and proceeds back towards the entry, murmuring to himself and Plagg as muffled giggles/squeals/moans are heard further in the apartment) "I didn't realize how mannerly Felix was towards his guests..." (Plagg facepalms in his pocket)

"I'm so glad Marinette made friends with him! Did you see how much he was smiling? If anyone can bring out the best in him, it would be her. She's amazing, our Everyday Ladybug." (blushes remembering the shirt hiking up as she was grabbing him a mug, shakes it off and walks away)

~~~

[Imagine him telling Nino?!]

"Uh...dude, I don't think..."

"You should have seen them! They're probably better friends than us, Nino!"

(Nino's visible confusion, perhaps bi-confusion, dissolves into a facepalm)

Nino muttering: "not for a lack of trying..."

Adrien: "What?"

Nino: "Nothing, dude!"

~~~~~~~

Author Notes: You've all been warned now, this is what happens when people comment. My brain is a dangerous place. Don't give it ammunition.

[rosie-b]

True Blue

Chapter 6: A Window into Darkness (<- ao3 link) (2943 words)

M. Agreste shook his head as he closed the casket. “The Wish will rewrite every mistake we have made, Marinette. It will be as if the akumas never happened. There will be no pain, only a brave new future rid of monstrous deeds and people. It’s as simple as ripping out bad stitches in a dress, only...” “Only, Golden Bug and Chat Grise have the seam ripper,” Marinette realized.    M. Agreste smiled grimly. “Exactly, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I knew I was right to choose you as my apprentice.”

Read the whole chapter on AO3 using the link or just below!

Marinette lay awake in her bed, unable to sleep as M. Agreste’s words turned around in her brain, repeating themselves in an endless circle. 

She hadn’t had enough time to think about them that afternoon, while M. Agreste rapidly explained everything and practically pushed her out of the door. There was far too much for her to digest in one evening, as her parents exclaimed in relief that she was safe from the Evillustrator and stuffed her full of comfort soup when they noticed how shaken she still was. 

It was one thing to learn that M. Agreste was Hawk Moth. It was another to learn that Adrien was created by magic, a magic that had broken and nearly killed his mother. A magic that was possibly breaking her, too. 

M. Agreste had created an akuma that could have killed both her and his son. He’d also offered her a life-saving medicine, and was working day and night to save his wife and the lives of two others. He was stiff and cold, but it was clear that his heart was full of love for the people closest to him.

And yet, he was the face of evil in Paris.  

Marinette didn’t know what to do with the heterogenous mix of information swirling around her head; should she try to warn Adrien that his father was misguidedly using a Miraculous to try and save his mother? Should she tell him that his existence was bewildering to every brain cell she owned? 

If she were Adrien, she’d rather hear about all this from her parent, not a girl who’d only just found out about it, herself, and didn’t have a good grasp on the situation. 

Marinette rolled over and buried her face in the warm pillow. Did Adrien even count as human? Was he some kind of humanoid magical being, like an elf? 

That would explain his superhuman good looks, at least. 

But no! He had to be human! Adrien was the most human boy she’d ever met! He felt everything so deeply, even when he hid it, fought to protect her from the Evillustrator, made the worst puns she’d ever heard, and cared so much about life and the people he met in it.  

He just also happened to be tied to an amok that could let anyone (or maybe just his mother? Marinette wasn’t sure) control him. 

She had to tell him eventually. He deserved to know the truth. 

Resolved, Marinette rolled over again and tried to fall asleep. 

Before she could drift off, another thought struck her. 

Emilie was still alive according to Gabriel, but the rest of the world thought she was dead or missing, at best. So where was she? 

She really hoped Gabriel wasn’t keeping her in the attic. That would just be creepy. 

__*__*__*__*__ 

That morning, when the Gorilla came to pick Marinette up, Adrien was waiting in the backseat. As Marinette approached the car, he opened the door and stepped out, balancing his new bookbag on his shoulder. 

“Hello, Marinette,” he said, lifting his hand in greeting and offering her a small smile. 

Marinette stared at him unblinkingly for three agonizingly long seconds. Then she jumped backwards and grinned manically, her eye twitching as she spread her lips further. 

“Haydrien! Smile nice to move you! No, I mean hi, Adrien! Your smile is nice! Very human!”  

Marinette wondered if she could ask M. Agreste for an akuma to make the ground swallow her. 

Adrien blinked. “Thanks, Marinette! Your smile is very human, too.” 

Marinette coughed into her fist and kept staring at Adrien as the smile slowly fell off his face. 

His ears turned pink as he adjusted the bookbag’s strap on his shoulder. 

“Marinette, I know we don’t have much time before you leave for the mansion, and I have to get to school, but I need to ask you about yesterday. Chloe didn’t apologize, did she?” 

Oh, right, Chloe’s latest bullying attempt had been yesterday, too. 

Marinette shook her head, remembering how Chloe had laughed about M. Agreste only thinking of her as a servant. Well, he’d proven that he cared about her enough to trust her with his biggest secrets.  

Marinette slowly smiled as Adrien lowered his head and frowned remorsefully. 

“I’m so sorry, Marinette! I could tell she was acting weird, but I didn’t know what to do about it. I won’t let her get near you again, I promise. She has to learn to stop bullying people!” 

“Yeah,” Marinette agreed, still caught up in gloating over the inaccuracy of Chloe’s taunts. Just a servant, indeed! Just a girl with the most dangerous information in Paris! That had to count for something. She was like a secret confidant, and everyone knew confidants were worth more than servants. 

The Gorilla pressed the car’s horn, startling both Marinette and Adrien. 

“I guess it’s time to go,” Adrien said, scratching the back of his neck. “Listen, I know I can never make up to you for what happened yesterday, but I promise I’ll try! And I’ll see you after school, right?” 

Marinette shrugged as she swung her backpack off her shoulders and put it in the car. 

“I hope so,” she said, brushing her bangs out of her eyes and turning to Adrien. “Have a good day at school, Adrien! I’ll miss you during lessons!” 

Adrien swallowed, watching Marinette climb into the car and get ready to go. 

“I’ll miss you, too,” he said, and waved as the car pulled away from the curb. 

Minutes later, Marinette was stepping into the mansion, feeling a shiver of dread as she remembered that this was the house of Paris’ feared villain, Hawk Moth. 

She tried to banish the thought, reminding herself that M. Agreste had a good reason for what he was doing, and besides, he seemed to care about her. She was probably safe. 

Ms. Sancoeur led Marinette into the study room, which felt twice as large without Adrien in it.  

“Mr. Agreste told me that you discovered Hawk Moth’s identity yesterday,” she said once she’d closed the doors behind them and they were alone in the room. 

Marinette’s heart skipped a beat. That’s right, Nathalie knew about his secrets, too! 

“Yes,” she nodded as she wet her backpack down unsurely. This day was not going to be normal, was it? 

Ms. Sancoeur sighed and pushed her glasses up. “That’s not ideal,” she said. “How are you taking the news?” 

I’m still not sure if it was a dream, Marinette thought. Out loud, she said, “I’m still adjusting to it. Although, I can see why M. Agreste is almost never available, now. He has to be one of the busiest men on earth, since he’s running a company and making akumas at the same time.” 

Ms. Sancoeur frowned and tapped her pen against the tablet she was carrying. “It isn’t easy for him. But even though I’m sure you have questions, I have a few very important ones that I’d like you to answer, first. And they’re not your times tables,” she said, stretching her mouth in an awkward smile. 

Marinette stared. 

“Sorry, I was never good with humor,” Ms. Sancoeur sighed. “Well, please do your best to answer, anyway. Where was Gabriel when you found the safe? Was he inside?” 

“No, he was outside by Emilie’s statue,” Marinette responded.  

Nathalie took a deep breath. “And he needed his tablet?” 

“It was his sketchbook, actually,” Marinette replied. “He wanted to try a traditional approach yesterday, so he asked me to get his sketchbook for him.” 

“And he told you it was in the atelier?” 

“Yes.”  

Marinette scrunched her brows together as she thought. Hadn’t M. Agreste told Nathalie any of this yet? Then again, he was pretty busy, as Ms. Sancoeur had just confirmed. 

“And that’s when you found the open safe and put on the brooch.” 

“Exactly, and then M. Agreste found me while I still had it in my pocket.” Marinette squirmed as she had to retell the story. “I wasn’t feeling well afterwards, so he took me upstairs and gave me some of Emilie’s medicine after explaining things to me. It was very nice of him.” 

Nathalie muttered something under her breath and made a note on her tablet. 

“So, you know that Emilie used the Peacock to create Adrien, that it made her ill, and that Gabriel is using the Butterfly to try to gain the Ladybug and Black Cat, which he’ll use to bring her b— to heal her."

“Along with someone else who used the Peacock, and two others who died from it.” 

Nathalie sat down in Adrien’s old chair. “He really told you everything, then?” 

Marinette frowned. “Well, mostly. He didn’t tell me where Emilie is. Is she in a hospital somewhere? The United States, or England?” 

Ms. Sancoeur looked away. “She is receiving the best care we can offer her,” she parroted. “In Paris. You’ll have to ask M. Agreste if you want to see where she is exactly.” 

“Oh. He did say I could ask him more questions after school today, but I don’t really want to bother him more than I have,” Marinette said. “Do you think I should ask him?” 

Ms. Sancoeur gave her an odd look. “If you think you’re ready for the answer, then go ahead. I think he wants to share this with you,” she said, and cleared her throat as she stood up. “Now that that’s done, we should get started on our lessons. There are many subjects to cover, and you’ll need to get started on your homework early if you want to ask M. Agreste about Emilie this afternoon. We’ll begin with a short French lesson, and after that, your Chinese tutor will be here...” 

__*__*__*__*__ 

It wasn’t until three o’clock that Marinette had the chance to speak to M. Agreste. Standing in his office, she looked at the portrait of Emilie with a trace of guilt in her chest. None of this would have happened if she hadn’t temporarily stolen the brooch from that safe! 

“So, did Nathalie explain anything more to you?” 

Gabriel looked down at Marinette from where he stood, working on a new design at his art stand. She fidgeted and shifted her stance. 

“She said you’d gone over most of everything. But she said I should ask you about where Emilie is receiving care, not her.” 

M. Agreste turned off the tablet he was working on and turned to Marinette.

“Yes, I suppose that would make sense. Come with me,” he said, walking over to the painting that hid the safe. 

Marinette was confused, but she followed behind M. Agreste. He pressed a few buttons hidden in the artwork, and suddenly, a circle appeared in the floor, opening up to reveal a glass elevator. 

“We will have to go one at a time. When you get to the bottom, wait for me,” M. Agreste said, guiding Marinette into the elevator by her shoulders. 

I don’t like where this is going, Marinette thought as the doors closed behind her.  

The elevator was not very wide, and Marinette stayed stock still, afraid to tilt the whole machine, throughout the ride down to the hidden basement. The elevator opened, and she stepped out through a second, metal door onto a dimly lit balcony connected to what seemed to be a catwalk of sorts. She stayed frozen there as the elevator rushed up to the first floor and came back down with M. Agreste in it. 

He stepped out of the elevator and walked past Marinette onto the metal bridge. A group of lights turned on, and at the far end of the catwalk, a large window opened up, illuminating a large, circular platform with plants growing on it. In the middle of the platform, there was a white box that looked like a casket. 

Marinette’s heart twisted as she followed M. Agreste onto the bridge. Was this really where Mme. Agreste was being treated? It was just as bad as if she had been kept in the attic! 

M. Agreste began to speak as they neared the end of the long bridge. “From what I understand, Miss Dupain-Cheng, you have never lost anyone close to you before. Nathalie tells me that you might have some difficulty understanding our position because of that. Well,” he said, placing his hand on the white casket, which opened to reveal an unmoving Emilie Agreste, “Perhaps you will understand me better after this.

“Imagine that for twelve full years, you have to watch a loved one, perhaps your mother or father, slowly die of a mysterious illness. No medicine can cure them, it can only lessen their suffering. And soon enough, even medicine begins to fail them. So you turn to your friend, who creates a piece of technology so advanced that it can hold death off for years. And then for months, you hold on to hope for a miracle. You hide your loved one’s sickness from their child and the rest of the world, just as they asked. You help them into this bed and hope that one day, they’ll step out of it. You let the public give up on her, and you hold a funeral, a façade meant to divert public attention until you find the cure. 

“And you do find the cure. But someone else has it, and they’re unwilling to share. They’ll never share, even if it means my wife’s death, and the death of three others. Hundreds could die, and they still would not give me their Miraculous!” 

M. Agreste was breathing heavily, his hand clenched into fists as he leaned over Emilie’s life-saving coffin. Marinette watched in shock as a tear fell from his eye.

“So, you do the only thing you can. You put on your Miraculous, become Hawk Moth, and fight to save the people you love. And the city calls you a monster, as if you don’t know who the true monster is!”  

He slowly turned from the coffin and glared as he looked at Marinette. “The Guardian of the Miraculous is a cold-hearted man, Marinette. He will do everything in his power to stop me from saving Emilie and the others, even you. But I can’t give up hope, not when the Wish would solve every problem I face and more. Not when Adrien is giving in to despair and turning to school to distract him from his fear that he will never see his mother again. Do you understand now, Miss Dupain-Cheng?” 

It was hard to speak through the lump in Marinette’s throat, so she just nodded instead. Her eyes were wide and glistening as she stared at M. Agreste, whose face relaxed as he nodded back at her.  

“For as long as the Guardian clings to his foolish old ways, I must remain as Hawk Moth. Rest assured, Miss Marinette, I will win in the end. And the Agrestes will rise once more.” 

That was fine, but, “What about the Parisians you akumatize? Won’t they remember the trauma from causing harm to the city, even if Golden Bug always undoes it?”

M. Agreste shook his head as he closed the casket. “The Wish will rewrite every mistake we have made, Marinette. It will be as if the akumas never happened. There will be no pain, only a brave new future rid of monstrous deeds and people. It’s as simple as ripping out bad stitches in a dress, only...”

“Only, Golden Bug and Chat Grise have the seam ripper,” Marinette realized.  

 M. Agreste smiled grimly.

“Exactly, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I knew I was right to choose you as my apprentice.”  

Marinette’s stomach flipped. “Just for fashion, right? You’re not training me to be the new Hawk Moth, are you?”" 

The corner of Gabriel’s mouth twitched. “Of course, just for fashion,” he said in a voice as sticky-sweet as honey. “I would never expect you to put yourself in harm’s way for someone you hardly know.” Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply. “There’s something I must attend to,” he said as his eyes shot open. “A person’s heart is ripe for akumatization. Would you like to come with me to see how it’s done? It might set your mind at ease. I can feel your discomfort through the brooch.”  

Marinette swallowed as he removed his ascot and touched the metal butterfly lightly. From his shirt pocket, a purple kwami emerged, wings drooping as he stared sadly at Marinette.  

“Well?” M. Agreste asked impatiently.  

“Maybe next time,” Marinette said quietly. “I promised Adrien I’d talk to him after school, and I only have a little time left here, anyway, so I should get ready to go. If that’s okay with you.” 

M. Agreste frowned, but nodded in understanding. “Then go, Marinette. I will see you again tomorrow. I suggest you be ready then.”

Marinette felt his eyes boring through her as she slowly walked back to the elevator and pushed the button to go to the first floor. There was another button, too, but she wasn’t sure where it went, and she didn’t think she could handle anything more today. 

She practically fled from the atelier, hoping that she would never see Emilie Agreste’s coffin again. She wasn’t sure how she could face Adrien after today, knowing so much more than he did about Hawk Moth, about the woman hidden under his house, even about Adrien himself. There was so much she had learned that she'd never wanted to.

At least it turned out that Hawk Moth was on the good side, after all.

[xhanisai]

Operation #8654

AO3 / FFN

Pairing - Adrinette

Prompt - ‘Operation #8654′

Summary -

Adrien swore that he tried everything that he could think of to pay attention to what his lovely Marinette was chattering about but it was just so hard.

So hard to keep his eyes off her rosy lips that had a smudge of chocolate on the bottom lip as she continued to talk animatedly. Lips shaping in perfect 'o's and 'ah's and it was driving him absolutely insane.

He would've used his thumb to softly wipe it off for her but he feared that his hands might be slightly sticky from the ice cream and from his nervous sweat. He totally didn't wanna put his grubby hands all over Marinette's perfect face.

.

Using the few working brain cells he possessed, Adrien did the next best thing.

~(x)~ . . . If the amused Nino was still directing a cheeky and Cheshire cat-like grin once again towards the frustrated blond teen along with a silly little snicker, Adrien tried his utmost best with his everything not to pay any mind towards his bespectacled best friend; for he was on a mission. A mission of high importance and one that held the weight of his entire heart and soul! That is right. Yes, yes. The fate of the world and the universe (and every single thing that the silly teenage hero in disguise could think of) rested on this extremely critical duty alone. . #8654 of operation 'Get Marinette to like me!' . And right now, right this very instance? He has spotted that she has 'lost' her fuzzy pink gloves and that her small hands were quite bitterly cold, the spectacularly talented designer breathing air into her pinpricked fingers with a semblance of hope of keeping them warm (which was evidently failing much to no one's surprise). And by 'lost', he means that he may or may not have nicked them when she wasn't looking just for a little while. He wasn't going to keep them forever! Even if they smelt like her familiar bakery scent of spiced vanilla and chocolate chip cookies! Adrien even promised out loud that he would absolutely give them back! But anyways, it is time for him to gather all the courage he could ever muster and step up and keep her cute hands warm by holding them with his own! This is sure to work! Nino's cheeky smile be damned! ~(x)~ He was holding her hand! Mission accomplished (albeit surprisingly)! . Adrien continued to wear his sweetly blissful and adoring smile, his larger hand curling around hers tenderly within his coat pocket and their fingers tangled with one another. It took him literally everything not to vibrate (purr) out of unadulterated excitement from the way their hands just fit perfectly! Or should he say "Purrrrrfectly~?" The way that Marinette's cheeks lit up in the cutest shade of tickled pink and made her bluebells shimmer like priceless gems. The way that a shy, kind smile presented itself on her perfect, rosy lips that looked like the softest thing in the world. The way that she gently leaned into him after he beckoned her to do so by holding her closer which then caused her sweet bakery scent to fill up the tight proximity between them. Oh yes~ Mission accomplished indeed. Take that Nino! ~(x)~ There was some chocolate smeared on her lips from the delicious ice cream they shared. . Adrien swore that he tried everything that he could think of to pay attention to what his lovely Marinette was chattering about but it was just so hard. So hard to keep his eyes off her rosy lips that had a smudge of chocolate on the bottom lip as she continued to talk animatedly. Lips shaping in perfect 'o's and 'ah's and it was driving him absolutely insane. He would've used his thumb to softly wipe it off for her but he feared that his hands may be slightly sticky from the ice cream and from his nervous sweat. He totally didn't wanna put his grubby hands all over Marinette's perfect face. And her voice was music to his ears! So no, he can't just interrupt her midway just to tell her she has chocolate on her lips because that would definitely make her cave back into her flustered and tongue-tied demeanour and that can't happen! Not when this is one of the few rare times where she was quite comfortable in his presence and was so close to him! Using the few working brain cells he possessed, Adrien did the next best thing. . "-And the texture of the skirt was just so incredible! I never thought about using that fabric before so- mmmph!?" Marinette was suddenly met by her adorable blond companion pressing his supple lips firmly against hers without a beat or a word. Heat immediately rampaged through her body like an inferno and practically caused her blood to boil with joy and pleasure as he pressed even harder. Kiss. Suck. Lick. Suck. Kiss. One of his hands grasped the back of her neck whilst the other was on her fingers, giving both a tender squeeze and virtually ridding any oxygen or thought processes left in her being. If she was dreaming, she prayed that she never woke up. Finally, after what seemed to be the best one minute and forty-two seconds in her life, Adrien pulled away (and the sounds of their lip parting quietly was branded to her brain). Though, he remained just close enough for their lips to brush if either were to speak. "...There, I got the chocolate off~" ...What chocolate!? . . . ~(x)~

[miraculousscarletwalker]

Marinette Dupain-Cheng: Main Hero or Main Problem?

In the series Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir, the main protagonist is Chinese French teenage girl Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Marinette gives a small narration of who she is before the show's opening theme plays, but is she really just a normal girl with a normal life?

-FAMILY-

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is the daughter of Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng, a French man and a Chinese woman. Being centered in Paris, France as the show hails from, Marinette's parents own a bakery known as the most popular among other Parisians. As parents, Tom and Sabine are very supportive of their daughter's goals and dream of becoming a fashion designer and love her unconditionally. But is this enough?

While they do what they can to always be great parents to their only child, both parents also lack something necessary for Marinette's sake: boundaries. It's fairly noticeable in the series that neither Tom nor Sabine have ever given Marinette any boundaries or limits on anything she's done or could do. For example, they both know about Marinette's crush/obsession on her classmate Adrien Agreste and the pictures she has of him all over her room. Both have met Adrien on a number of occasions and even think Adrien is a well-adjusted kid, but there's never been a moment of them as parents talking to their daughter about how she doesn't need to grow up too fast an having a boyfriend isn't something she should just rush into; focus on herself and stay a kid for a while.

It's always made me wonder why it seems like Marinette can confide in her parents telling them anything she wants to but neither parent has ever reached out to her and talked about things that can be turned into life lessons. They could even help her save the day as Ladybug by giving her advice or a lesson on something that could be used when planning to stop an akuma. Good example to show Marinette is being raised right by her parents and definitely uses her brain to take down enemies as Ladybug or simply brave another day of school as Marinette.

[discoveringmiraculouswriters]

@jheqiawrites​ (Jheqia)

Jheqia writes a lot of MariChat, and her works being pretty recent include mentions of Season 4 finale and Season 5 first episodes. Please keep that in mind if you decide to read her works. Awesome writing, and a lot of her fics can be found in an audiofic format on Dawn Chorus Writes Youtube channel.

Top 10:

💛 A Totally Sick Reveal - Words: 5,472  - Chapters: 1/1 Summary: It had started with a headache and general sense of feeling unwell. That in itself was unusual as Adrien rarely got sick, but when he did it was bad. When Marinette notices just how sick Adrien is, she wants to help him feel better. Little did they know what it would lead to...

What I liked: I just love the fever induced reveals

💛 Kisstaken Identity -  Words:7656 - Chapters:1/1 Summary: Ladybug sets out to fuss at Cat Noir for kissing Marinette in public and splashing them all over the news. But when her Kitty starts teasing her about being jealous and her wanting kisses, Ladybug jumps the track. The next thing she knows, she has to get a picture of her kissing the one and only Adrien Agreste - her supposed secret boyfriend. But how will Adrien respond when he realizes he opened a can on worms?

What I liked: The identities shenanigans, A bet gone wrong (or did it?), How they revealed because of the mess (these kids are hopeless...) 

💚 Two Worlds, One Love -  Words:10305 - Chapters:3/3 Summary: In the wake of Strike Back, Ladybug has found a new appreciation for her partner. As they grow closer and more dependent on each other, she meets Cat for patrol only to find him playing with a familiar paper crown...

What I liked: Chat’s fondness for Marinette, The Buttercups, “you are as lonely as cheese, and you’re as sappy as a maple plantation!” (As a Québécoise, I find this one particularly funny)

💚 Operation Valentine Alya’s POV - Words:5764 - Chapters:1/1 Adrien’s POV - Words:9039 - Chapters:2/2 Summary: When Alya notices Marinette becoming lost in Ladybug again and Adrien seems low in spirits... Alya and Nino come up with Operation Valentine to finally get their friends together and show them how much they do love each other... but nothing is ever that easy.

What I liked: Alya’s the fandom, No need to reveal, “[Alya] looked just like a fox in a hen house and [Adrien] had the feeling he had just agreed to play a chicken.” 

💚 Better Than Coffee -  Words:729 - Chapters:1/1 Summary: Adrien is sooooooo tired that he can barely stay awake in class, but when Marinette brings him a coffee he suddenly discovers something important. Sleep deprivation removes the filter between his brain and his mouth...

What I liked: Sleep deprivation fics are so good for all kinds of reveals... “no beta - we die like Adrien's chance of a day off”

💛 The Red Thread -  Words:50638 - Chapters:27/27 Summary: When Marinette kisses Cat Noir during an akuma attack, it creates a connection between them that leads to some interesting... problems.

What I liked: The concept of identity convergence, Sabine knows and is awesome, Wyvern and Ourobora (Now, I need to see a Dragon Noir and a SnakeBug in canon), Written before Season 4, but has a big Season 5 vibe

💚 First Kiss -  Words:14380 - Chapters:7/7 Summary: Cat Noir bets Marinette that he can get Adrien Agreste to kiss her in two weeks. If he wins she has to do him a favor, but what if it stopped being just a bet?

What I liked: Adrien discovering his feelings for Marinette through a bet with her as Chat, Chat pampering Marinette at school, The aftermath of doing so... 

💚 Its the Little Things - Words:35268 - Chapters:19/19 Summary: Cat Noir decides to drop in on his Princess, but he wasn't expecting her to play along with his little game. Both Cat and Marinette learn that friendship and love is not in the big, dramatic gestures. Its in the little things.

What I liked: The small gestures, Touch starved Adrien should be addressed in canon, The slow burn, The easy reveal

💛 Warrior Princess -  Works:2 - Complete: No Summary: With Shadowmoth throwing ever more powerful enemies at Ladybug and Cat Noir, Marinette leaves a fight to recharge Tikki only to end up stuck with an injured and overprotective Cat Noir. What happens when the civilian saves the hero and more than just feelings are divulged? And what does a hero do when the love of his life is kidnapped... by his father?

What I liked: Marinette saving Chat Noir’s butt, Akumatized Marinette, The kidnapping and the aftermath, The Dupain-Cheng basically adopting Adrien

💚 The Truth Behind the Lie -  Works:3 - Complete: No Summary:  Cat comes across Marinette on her balcony without her usual sparkle to her eyes and gets her to lean on him... for him to become her Superhero.

What I liked: Lukagami, Alya having a little chat with the Cat, Dad Plagg, The Twist on the Senti!Adrien theory, “I want to enjoy the fireworks and if you give him too many clues he’ll spend the next week in a buffer cycle.”

Honorable mentions:

💚 Forsaken - Words:9,745 - Chapters: 2/2

💛 Marichat May 2022 Oneshots - Works:31 - Complete: No

Particular kudos for the last one

💚 Seven Stages of Life: Childhood -  Words:3784 - Chapters:1/1

💛 Stargazers -  Works:8 - Complete: No

💛 Adrien Interrupted -  Words:4269 - Chapters:1/1

💛 Aftermath -  Words:2207 - Chapters:1/1 -

Second part of: 💚 The Rescue by solaneandbawb

💚 Truth or Dare -  Words:2411 - Chapters:1/1

💚 The Mistletoe Chronicles - Works:5 - Complete: Yes

💛 The Black Lion Rampant -  Words:77131 - Chapters:33/?

💚 The Ghost in the Machine -  Words:28947 - Chapters:10/10

Please read, share and leave kudos on her works!

~~

For any fic suggestion, or to shout out a writer (or yourself), please contact me

@clawsout83​

[fragileizywriting]

I'd like uuuh FLP Trixx and DL Ultitled 8 please what funky things can you tell us

on it, boss!

spoilers for future scenes in flp and cw for arachnophobia for DL

FLP trixx:

this was me writing down dialogue that i want to have for this character, as well as her interaction with tikki. trixx is a mess and annoys the shit out of her niece-in-law. it's actually not supposed to be trixx; i'd gotten my bunny and my fox confused because i'm so used to a white bunny being named trixx (the yogurt) but it's actually hopp. i'm gonna have to make hopp's name more.... more in order to fit her in correctly. name her hope, or something. hoppla. something archaic and ancient. here's a snippet of the snippet:

“—Those who do not know me call me Fate.” There’s an air-like quality to the way they move across the starched planes, moving through the stacks with grace. Even while ginormous, bending at what should be the knees to meet Marinette at eye-level, their movements are soft, made of fog, airy and feather-weight. “And those who do know me, do not call me that.” “You’re Fate?” Marinette swallows hard. “You… you’re the god of Fate?” “Unfortunately, it’s a little hard to explain what she is.” “It’s rather simple, actually. I am the god that watches all universes.” “All of it?” “Any of it.” “Of everything?” Marinette tries again. “Of anything,” the form corrects her once more. “I don’t understand…” “I am the watcher of anything.” “Of anything?” “I know anything you want.” “But not… everything?” “Splendid!” the form wrongly known as Fate laughs. “I knew you’d follow along.”

DL untitled 8, lets see:

OH YEAH! this is a throwaway little scene that i'm probably gonna have to combine with another scene bc it's too short on its own but i don't want to let it go. there's a throwaway line both in the rewrite (i made sure to put it in there bc i find it so funny) and in the original that marinette hates spiders

original: She can’t kiss him, even though she wants to. She wants to see if he’ll complain if she chews on his bottom lip, but there’s no time. It has to be fast and unnoticable, and as much as she wants to take her time and go slow and milk him till the point it hurts, she understands the hurry. His excitement is tangible in her mouth as he guides her to the spot he wants her to stay. It’s perfectly sized for her. She crawls easily under the small cabinet space that allows for a chair or two that the bartender doesn’t need. It’s empty, thank god, and she doesn’t look any closer to the area around her than she has to, knowing that if she sees a spider there’s no amount of cum guzzling prospects in the world that will get her to crawl back into the space.

rewrite: It’s the size of a barstool, just tall enough to fit extra chairs that Luka doesn’t need, and it’s right where he stands in front of her on the other side whenever she sits down. It’s empty, quiet, and dark— even when they reenter their bubble and the music warps into a gentle muffled nothing to her sensitive ears, she at least has a single brain cell available that isn’t thinking about feeding and hunger and ambrosia to look for spiders. There is absolutely no amount of come-guzzling prospects in the world that will get her to crawl into a space that has spiders. The one thing she can’t stand is something with eight legs and furry. The idea is already making her dizzy.

anyway, this throwaway snippet i have in this one is just this

“I— oh god— I don’t do so well when they’re hairy—” she blanches, backing up entirely from the counter. “Is that— is it still alive, or?” “It’s just a spider, idiot,” Adrien snorts. “Come on. You’ve never seen a bug before? Someone get me a cup, I’ll get rid of it before Luka gets back from the bathroom. Oh, speaking of!” “That spider is huge. I haven’t seen one this big in—” The spider shifts in Marinette’s direction, moving towards her on the counter. She screams, latching onto the closest thing which happens to be Luka, letting her heels drop to the floor in favor of not puncturing his side. Giant, warm hands wrap around her almost on instinct as he laughs, holding her up as if her grip around his waist with her thighs isn’t iron-locked into place. She curses in all the languages she can think of, adding as many colorful ones as she can remember while in the process of praying for her life, squeezing tighter with her thighs, hiding her face into Luka’s shoulder. “Oh my god, oh my god! Get it away! Out!” “It’s just a spider,” Adrien repeats, but he’s too busy dealing with hiding his laughter in order to actually sound annoyed at her. What a dog. “What are you screaming for? Dear Lord, I’ve never heard you sound so scared before— you’re not going to get bit. You’re far more dangerous than the spider is.” “I think I’m going to faint,” she squeals. “Please, please, please get it out of here. I’m going to start crying, and the one person I don’t want to cry in front of is Luka.” “And why is that, exactly?” Luka laughs. “I care about your opinion of me far too much to let that happen,” she replies without thinking about it too hard. “Who cares about what ‘Mister Rich Boy’ thinks about me.” “Hey,” Adrien sounds off behind her. “Watch it, ‘Princess’, or I’ll put this spider on you.”“Don’t you dare.”

[notesofarichlycolorednight]

s1ep26 volpina

i had a lot i wanted to say but today's been a long and busy day and my brain is fried

i will say that i thought i would hate this episode more than i did rewatching it. i don't like lila bc i don't like liars and i was just as incensed as ladybug in this episode when i first watched it, but i found i didn't care much this time. i still hate lila and liars, but like i'm more chill about the fake ppl on my screen this time lol

i'll probably get irritated about her later on bc i know the gist of other things she does and says and pulls, but knowing it's thru the lens of the writers punishing marinette for existing, i can better direct my anger and frustration in a more constructive media critical way than before.

that said, i actually thought this was the most well-paced episode so far. it could be my tired brain, but this episode didn't feel like 25 minutes, it actually felt longer and like they got a whole narrative into such a short amount of time.

but that's the only praise i'll give it.

i have a few small nitpicks. like the fact that adrien says he has fencing soon when heading out but really, it's just. school? i think?? bc when we arrive, it's all about lila. no one has gone to class. lila pulls adrien into the library, and like 15 minutes their time later, adrien has fencing??? they didn't even go to class?? there are others, but i'm blanking and i should be getting to sleep very soon now.

the bigger stuff tho? the fact that marinette has to learn a lesson once again for making a mistake and no one else ever encounters anything like that. chat noir doesn't understand why ladybug doesn't like lila and lila becomes a main antagonist in the series.

and look, on paper, during like brainstorming sessions, that's not a bad thing. if you made a bullet point list of things you wanted to include in this series/episodes, marinette misusing her powers at ladybug to get between adrien and lila bc she's jealous, and lila becoming a more permanent antagonist is not a bad thing. it adds drama and heightens stakes, and it gives flaws to marinette. but as i've been saying this whole season, that only works if they write this shows like it's serialized. but they don't!!

you can't keep punishing marinette and having her solely learn lessons and 1) not give other characters arcs to make mistakes and grow and 2) never have marinette herself grow, either. it just gets annoying after a while.

the dynamic between the love square was very strange in this one. like i know there's supposed to be tension in them keeping their identities secret but talking about each other as if neither of them know each other was done very strangely, if only because ladybug gets so defensive against lila, chat noir questions why she's acting so differently.

and what was weird from a narrative standpoint to me was the fact that chat noir never questions ladybug's extreme reaction to volpina's illusion of dropping adrien off the effiel tower. nor does he question her instance on checking on adrien, attributing it instead to her stubbornness. it just felt very, very strange.

i wish i could articulate it better but my brain has been mush all day and i'm very tired.

let's just leave it at the writing was bad. but what's new.

i'll end a positive for once tho, i did think chat noir trying to convince ladybug that volpina didn't have adrien was very funny. the "i'm not even gonna try to get myself out of this one" actually elicited a spontaneous smile. like that joke was funny on purpose and i liked it.

[zivazivc]

Pinocchio AU

Okay people want the explanation for this comic so here it goes. It’s long and complicated and MESSED UP because of course it is, this is me. I’m going to write in points because my small tired brain can’t handle good english atm but basically to sum up the Adrien was a sentimonster theory or Pinocchio AU as I like to call it:

Young married Emilie and Gabriel can’t have kids. Gabriel reluctantly accepts this fate and even brings up adoption as a possibility once, but Emilie doesn’t want to hear any of that. She’s a bit of a Marinette in the sense that she pictures this romanticized ideal life for herself and a child—her flesh and blood—HAS to be in it.

They keep trying to get a baby while other young families Emilie knows keep growing. She feels left out and hurt and depressed, then her newlywed twin sister announces she’s expecting a baby too and something within Emilie just unhinges.

She eventually lies to some of her friends, who she was out for coffee with, that she’s pregnant too. She mostly does it just to see their reaction and feel what it would be like but it quickly spirals out of control where she just starts pretending she’s pregnant until you can’t even tell if she believes it herself.

Gabriel is confused at first because he hears the news second hand (a friend/family member congratulating him) so he’s apprehensive when he approaches his wife but she convinces him that they really are getting a baby and Gabriel is ecstatic.

It’s only later at a doctor’s check up that Gabriel learns that she indeed is not pregnant. The doctor even speaks to him alone explaining that his wife is in denial and that he should make sure she goes to see a psychiatrist, something she definitely wouldn’t do alone.

Gabriel is unsuccessful with that because he’s not entirely persistent, doesn’t want to be the guy with the crazy wife having to tell everyone she lied about being pregnant, and hopelessly believes she’ll just get over it eventually.

That is until her “pregnancy is near due”—her sister already had Félix in England a few months ago—and he stumbles on her transformed with her peacock miraculous (they already have both of them) creating a sentimonster newborn.

They have a huge fight about it but because Emilie refuses to destroy it, won’t tell Gabriel where the amok is, and Gabriel can’t just hurt the baby with his hands, Emilie just… wins. Fucked up, yeah?

Now she tried creating kids before this one, using her imagination to try and blend her and Gabriel’s looks but it just wasn’t working. So she decided to copy of photos of baby Félix because he already looked almost like a copy of his mother, and Amélie and Emilie already looked alike so it’s not so weird?—is what her mind was telling her.

She didn’t dare alter his looks but she decided to give the baby Gabriel’s eye color to include the “father” in some way. (Yes in that comic I made I gave Adrien a mix of green and gray but that was mainly to get the point across to the perceptive readers)

Now we got Adrien, a normal baby boy to the whole world except for Gabriel who’s forced into his wife’s fantasy through social expectations.

Why are we only at this point and this post is already so long AAAAAAAA!!!

Adrien physically basically grows in a way where Emilie just keeps changing his appearance to match what Félix looked like a few months prior.

Mentally he’s like a robot just taking in information without really needing to learn it. So Emilie decides when he says his first word, she decides when he learns to walk,… He knows how to walk, he just wasn’t given the command to do so yet.

But even so he does develop a personality over time, just slower, because unlike a normal child who’s always testing his boundaries, how far they’re allowed to go until they’re in real trouble, Adrien just can’t misbehave. At all.

But he does have his favorite foods and favorite toys, and jokes that make him laugh the most. The problem is just that Emilie could just decide that his favorite food is strawberries and he’d just start acting accordingly, rewiring his belief. 

He also isn’t allowed to argue or be mean to others which is why Félix thinks he’s a goody two-shoes weirdo while Chloé the brat adores him.

This behavior isn’t so hard to hide with a toddler who’s fickle but it’s harder and harder as the kid grows. Which is why the family becomes very secluded over time.

Gabriel always keeps distance with his “son”. He’s not Dad, he’s Father, he doesn’t do hugs and cuddles, he doesn’t say I love you. But Adrien knows he loves him because his mom told him so and he loves him back unconditionally because Mom said that’s what families do.

Now even though Gabriel is traumatized by this whole ordeal and knowing Adrien “isn’t real” freaks him out he does soften a bit over time. I’m going to give an awful example but like someone who hates cats softening for a cat that their partner/roommate decided to get/had from before. Continuing with this example: But still becoming appalled when the cat starts acting odd/unusually.

Okay I think you get the gist. Let’s move on…

Emilie loves her son more and more as he grows and his sentimonster behaviours start bothering her more and more too. She hates being reminded that he’s not a real boy by people mentioning he looks young for his age because Emilie forgot to make him grow for a while. She hates when he does everything like he’s told. She hates that he has no real friends because they’re afraid to expose him to the outside too much and without supervision. She hates to think about his future.

Her desire for him to be real keeps growing and is what drives her to search for a solution in the miraculous spellbook.

She cracks the script after years, when Adrien is nearly a teen, and finds a way to transfer the creators soul into a sentimonster.

It’s a long process that takes time and while she falls ill to everyone around her, Adrien becomes more real.

Gabriel starts realizing what’s happening when he notices Adrien hesitate for a second when he’s playing a video game and Gabriel wants him to do something, groan when he gets bothered watching TV, huff, complain, have slightly opposing opinions to his and Emilie’s, when he argues with his mother when she tells him she’s feeling fine; when he notices his son’s eyes are greener. Or is it all in his head?

He confronts his wife too late, when she’s extremely ill already, her normally vibrant eyes dulled match Adrien’s bluish gray, and he pieces together in his head what she’s doing.

Before Gabriel could properly think what to do to stop the love of his life from turning into a lifeless doll, in a fit of panic he tries to take her wedding band (where he knows Adrien’s amok is) to get rid of Adrien instead, but is unsuccessful in getting it off her so he snatches her peacock brooch instead (which she needs to complete the spell obvs) and breaks it. (Heyoo! broken peacock miraculous. things are coming together)

Because the spell was almost complete anyway it’s Emilie who falls unconscious. But she doesn’t disappear because she’s not a real sentimonster, she just becomes dormant like one.

This is the point in the story where Gabriel makes it seem like Emilie ran away or something like that—basically disappear. Now he’s living knowing he has an almost sentimonster wife in the basement, knowing he almost killed his son (or her), and having to care for a son that suddenly became much more alive, questioning, arguing, angry, screaming, not accepting, crying, grieving, staring at him with Emilie’s eyes.

Instead of becoming a real parent, Gabriel shuts him out.

Soon Adrien evolves desires for socializing, company, getting away from the suffocating home which eventually leads to him going to a public school.

He slowly starts to live life freely without the restrictions that were put around his thoughts.

Gabriel has an even stranger relationship with Adrien now because he still loves him in a way but also holds resentment toward him. But mostly he sees him as something valuable.

The show happens here…  And now finally we get to the comic…

Gabriel gets a hold of the ladybug and black cat miraculouses. (There’s no epic fight in his lair as you see there’s no Ladybug in the comic but that’s not really important)

What’s important is that Gabriel had deciphered the miraculous spellbook with the help of Emilie’s notes and had decided to use the unification’s “wish” power to awaken Emilie.

He’s aware he’ll need to sacrifice something for the wish to come true and he’s certain Adrien should be enough because the soul inside him is literally the one thing Emilie is missing.

✨Adrien (poor boy just lost his miraculous) is taken to Gabriel’s lair, where he finds out his father is Hawk Moth, sees his mother, learns he’s a sentimonster, and that he’s going to become a sacrifice ✨

Of course the last part is not what happens. It’s Gabriel who ends up being sacrificed.

I can’t decide if Gabriel ends up sacrificing himself because he changed his mind in the last moment while Adrien was screaming for him to stop, OR  because he didn’t love Adrien enough for him to be considered an equal exchange for his wife… O.O

But anyhow…

Emilie wakes up with Gabriel’s soul within her (hence the bluish gray eyes in the comic).

Adrien is traumatized for life.

This took me hours to write… I knew there was a reason why I didn’t want to do it. I hope I didn’t forget anything and my brain made sense of it all

Well there you have it, peeps. The Pinocchio AU. It’s as messed up as my sleep schedule. Good night.