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comics-and-fanworks · 9 months

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Hi! I found this Drabble and was curious on how you’d write your own story around it because of how amazing you are! So, if it’s not too much trouble, do you think you could write a Maribat story around this prompt please? Thank you!

“It was gentle moments like this that made her life worth it. Of course these moments were few and far between, but they were there, and that’s what mattered. She leaned into the gentle touch, the loving way his fingers ran through her hair. The rise and fall of his chest. The warm, beautiful sound of his heartbeat against her ear. It was wonderful, so wonderful she knew that it wasn’t real.

She opened her eyes, letting the tears slip down her cheeks as she looked around her cold empty apartment living room. It had been another dream of something that was impossible. She had been alone for so long, going outside as little as possible so that her curse of misfortune would not spread. But she longed to make that dream a reality.

It was strange though, she had similar dreams before, but from what she could tell after studying them was that in every one it was the same boy. Despite never seeing his face even once, despite never once meeting them, she longed for them. Longed for the gentle love that they showed her, even if it was only for a moment.”

Hi! So sorry for taking so long! I’m currently in college and it’s killing me slowly, there’s been a lotta ups and downs, and my mental health is realistically not where it should be. Thank you so much for being patient with me, I really should have gotten this done sooner. Also I didn't know which batboi you wanted so I put them all on a wheel and spun it. I also rewrote some of the scenes in Miraculous like Lila's first appearance to make her a bit craftier and such.

I love this prompt! Thank you for suggesting it to me and for your sweet words! I hope you like this super cute Soulmate AU!

Also heads up this is super long and only loosely adheres to canon! The thing is so long because it took so long for me to get this done, one thing led to another and here we are. This thing is pages long and has 23,741 words. P. S, some of this was written on my phone sorry if the formatting is inconsistent! Also, let me know if I miscalculated ticket prices or made mistakes, and I’ll fix it! How I did the math was I googled a Disneyland Paris ticket price, took the highest value, multiplied that by the number of students going (They had a pass for ages 3-17 that I used for the students), and then did adult ticket prices for the two teachers. I multiplied those by seven days and added the results. My result came up to about 9,667 not including tax, so I chucked on a few extra thousand to account for Lila pocketing some of the money.

TW: swearing, mentions of bullying, and minor violence, hints of PTSD, mentions of death

~~~~~~~~

Marinette knew the minute she had her first dream about him. She was sitting on a couch in a library working on her designs. A faceless man approached her, holding two mugs, and set one down in front of her, gently kissing her head. Despite her inability to identify this man, she felt safe with him and could feel love and affection swelling in her chest. He set his mug down and sat beside her, chuckling as she snuggled up. In comfortable silence, they worked on their own projects, not a care in the world.

When Marinette woke up that Saturday, she immediately called Alya. "Girl guess what? I just had my first soulmate dream!" She quickly removed the phone from her ear, correctly predicting the excited shriek from Alya. "Oh my gosh, Marinette! This is amazing! Did you see his face? Was it a guy? Was it Adrien?" Marinette jumped out of bed, an extra bit of pep in her step. It was going to be a great day, she knew it! "Yes, it was a guy. I couldn't see his face though... so that rules out Adrien." She hadn't even thought of that. Everyone knew that you wouldn't see your soulmate's face in your dreams until you met them! She would have to face the reality that Adrien was not meant to be hers. Alya heard her tone change, and thought quickly, "That doesn't necessarily mean that! People are reporting that they haven't seen their soulmate's face even though they had already met them in real life because the time wasn't right! Maybe Adrien is your soulmate but now isn't the right time because his supervillain of a father who could make Hawkmoth look like a saint won't let him date. Or girl have you considered that your soulmate could be a superhero? Lois Lane stated that she knew her soulmate before she saw his face in her dreams because he had a secret identity that obscured it! Your soulmate could be Chat Noir," Marinette made a face as she styled her hair, " or one of the vigilantes from Gotham! The way I see it is that you have three options. 1. It is Adrien, it just isn't the right time. 2. You haven't met them yet. 3. It's a superhero." Marinette laughed, "What if they're a supervillain?" "No way girl. You’re too sweet and pure for a villain. Anyways-" An Akuma alarm sounded, cutting their conversation short. "Welp, that's my cue. I gotta go Mari, duty calls!" And with that, Alya hung up to chase down the Akuma, while Marinette shouted out, "Tikki! Spots on!"

There she was, hiking through the woods with her soulmate. She still couldn't see his face, but she immediately knew why they were there. He wanted to show her someplace special, somewhere he'd never taken anyone before. Eventually, they found a stream, and she turned to see her partner rolling up his pant legs and taking off of his boots. "Throw a stick in the water to see how strong the current is. If it's too strong we'll have to turn pack." His voice was slightly garbled so she couldn't identify it, but she could clearly hear what he said. Picking up a stick she tossed it far out into the creek, watching as it lazily floated away. With that, she took off her own hiking boots, and the two made their way into the creek. The water was cold and she almost lost her footing, only to be caught by strong arms and pulled against her soulmate's broad chest. Marinette couldn't help the blush rising to her face as he held her. She could feel his gentle breath by her ear, along with the steady rise and fall of his chest. She could fall asleep listening to his heartbeat. He whispered, "Careful love. I don't want you getting hurt." He helped her stabilize and the two continued to make their way up the creek until-

Marinette woke with a start to the sound of her alarm clock. She cursed the thing, of course, it had to go off when she was getting to the good part. She realized as she rushed to get ready for school that she was able to identify something about her soulmate, they were both adults in this dream. She had been having them for a few months now, but this was the first time she could figure out any detail about when they would meet. It also didn't rule out any of Alya's theories either. She kissed her Maman and Papa and sprinted to school, thanking her lucky stars that she wasn't late. However, she was in for a surprise when she arrived at Mrs. Bustier's classroom. There was a new girl sitting in her seat, while the whole class gathered around her. Alya noticed her and waved her over. "Marinette! This is Lila Rossi! She just transferred here and she's from Italy! Guess what girl? She knows Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale too! She saved Jagged's cat and he wrote a song for her, and she taught Clara some of her most famous dance moves! She also works with Prince Ali on environmental charities!! She's so amazing!" Marinette paused. Jagged Stone doesn't have a cat, he has Fang the alligator, and Prince Ali focuses on charities for children, not the environment. She could also remember Clara doing all of her own choreography, so her suspicions were already raised. She had serious doubts about the girl in front of her, and despite wanting to voice them she held her tongue. "It's very nice to meet you, Lila! I'm Marinette the class president, welcome to Dupont." Lila looked her up and down and gave her a saccharine smile which only raised Marinette's suspicions even more. "Hello, Marinette! I hope we can be good friends! Alya tells me you like fashion, I happen to be a personal friend of Hubert de Givenchy, so maybe I can introduce you to him!" Marinette's eyes narrowed, Hubert de Givenchy had passed away in 2018, and if Lila really knew him she would have known that. Her classmates looked on with bated breath, clearly believing Lila knew these famous people.

"Oh, you knew him?" Lila nodded, "I was so sad to hear when he passed away in 2018. He really was an inspiration of mine," Marinette said, watching as Lila's eyes widened, but was impressed with how quickly she recovered, "Oh I know! I misspoke earlier, I meant his nephew!" Before Marinette could reply, the bell rang. Alya turned to her and said, "Marinette I hope you don't mind. Lila has really bad tinnitus from when she saved Jagged's cat from getting run over by a plane. She struggles to hear so we gave her your seat." Marinette looked around and noticed no one was in their normal seats. If Lila had her seat, it meant the only place left to sit was alone in the back. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I really would have appreciated it if you waited for me to get here. I have no problem with Lila sitting there if she needs it I just wish you would have-" Lila cut her off with fake tears, "Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to cause problems I just wanted to be able to hear the lessons! I can move to the back if that makes things better." Shit, she was good. Marinette looked around at her classmates who were now glaring at her. Did they not hear what she said? She had no problem with Lila sitting there if she needed it, she just wished someone would've let her know! "Don't worry Lila, you can stay there it's not your fault. I guess Marinette has decided to have an attitude today," Alix said, glaring at Marinette. "I just said I wished someone would have let me know!" Marinette shouted. "Girl it's just a seat it's no big deal. Why are you acting like a child about this?" Alya crossed her arms looking at her. "It's not even about the seat," Marinette started, "It's about you making a decision that affects me without talking to me about it!" "Well, we figured that since you're our Everyday Ladybug you'd have no problem with it. Come on Mari, you're supposed to be nice." Adrien scolded, and before she could defend herself the second bell rang, signaling the start of class.

She dreamed of walking down the streets of Paris, her soulmate nowhere in sight. However, she felt happy, it was a good day. She was going to her favorite bulk fabric supply store and texting some friends about the project ideas that danced in her head. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, she knew this path by heart. She was planning on buying fabric to make a new spring line when she ran straight into someone, how embarrassing. Looking up, there was her soulmate, with his clouded face. He chuckled and asked where she was going in such a rush, and she stuttered out an apology. He offered to walk with her, making Marinette smile, they must have done this before many times.

The next few months were rough. Later that first day she had gone to talk to Alya and had presented evidence to prove Lila was a liar, but her best friend had simply shaken her head and told Marinette that jealousy was not a good look on her. Marinette had been stunned, she had nothing to be jealous about until Alya told her that everyone could see Lila had a crush on Adrien. Alya's words still burned in her brain, "I can't believe you Marinette. To try and ruin another girl's reputation because of a crush. You need to take a good look in the mirror." Marinette couldn't fathom why her best friend wouldn't listen to her and decided to go for a patrol as Ladybug. Then while she had been passing by the park, she had overheard Lila telling Adrien that she was the fox hero, Volpina. She had to say something, Lila might not realize how much danger she was putting herself in by making those claims. So she swung down, (and tried her best to keep her cool) and explained to Lila that there was no fox hero and that if Hawkmoth had overheard her she could be in danger. Of course, that caused Lila to get akumatized. To make things worse, a couple of days later Lila had cornered her and threatened her! Despite everything, she still believed her classmates would come around and see the truth.

That was exactly five years ago. Marinette really should have had less faith in the people around her. Lila got her expelled, Alya disavowed their friendship, and Adrien betrayed her worst of all. In his endless quest to avoid any confrontation, he pressured her to keep quiet, and when she didn't he turned his back on her. Marinette had quit trying to expose Lila years ago, but the brunette had kept her promise. Adrien just watched as their class left her out of their plans, destroyed her things, and ripped up her work, among other things. When she confronted him about why he was allowing this to happen, he just shook his head and told her it never would have if she had done what he said. Her heart shattered, and she prayed that her soulmate wasn't Adrien. The only people she had in her corner were her parents, Luka, and Kagami (who had quickly seen through Lila's bullshit after she'd tried to lie her way into Marinette's room), Nino, and Kim (they snapped out of it after Lila accused Marinette of pushing her down the stairs), and she had the newfound support of Nathaniel, Juleka, and Rose. The last three didn't want to rock the boat or have Lila's wrath directed towards them but had expressed seven months ago that they figured out Lila was lying, but after Marinette was nearly knocked into the path of an oncoming car, they began to be more vocal in their opposition. Chloe had also stepped back from tormenting Marinette, the two girls never talked, but were never hostile. Her friends couldn't do much while they were in school, and since they were busy with their own lives, Marinette truly felt alone. Even under the mask as Ladybug she was alone, witch Chat Noir had gotten so frustrated with her constantly refusing his feelings, that he'd almost completely stopped showing up two years ago. Her only solace was that Paris seemed to be on her side with that one, and whenever Chat Noir did emerge he was met with anger from the citizens he'd broken his oath to. On top of all that, Marinette hadn't had a soulmate dream in years, which terrified her to her core. Did her soulmate die?

"Tikki, I haven't dreamt of him in years! What's wrong with me!?" Marinette sobbed, holding onto a pillow on her bed. Most of her days ended like this, with tears. The Kwami were kind enough to protect her from akumas during these times, after realizing that Marinette was only putting herself at risk by bottling up her emotions. Her room had changed since the Lila Era began. She had taken down all of her photos, save a few, her bright pink walls seemed to lose their hue, and she only ever designed for commissions, simply because she knew she needed a portfolio for college. Tom and Sabine had tried their hardest to get their little girl out of Dupont, but her transfer papers kept getting "lost." They tried to get her into therapy, but with Hawkmoth around every therapist had a waitlist that was beginning to enter into years. Tikki was growing more concerned with each passing day, her Chosen was close to breaking. "Oh baby bug, there's nothing wrong with you! Soulmate dreams are different than regular dreams because they're tied to real people in this world. The interesting thing about them is that they show up when you need them." "But I've needed them! I need to know I'm not alone, that I haven't been abandoned, and that the universe doesn't hate me enough to take away everything," Marinette just sobbed harder before she froze, "What if Adrien really is my soulmate and that's why I'm not having dreams? I'm unlucky as it is, so this would be on par for me," Tikki was horrified that Marinette would even think that, and before she could say anything, a new voice cut her off. "No. That brat is not your soulmate, I won't allow it." There was Plagg, in her room, holding a familiar silver ring in his paws. "Pigtails after what he's done to you, as Adrien and Chat Noir," Marinette and the other Kwami gasped, "I won't let him. I won't let him hurt you anymore! Marinette I am so sorry, I should have done this a long time ago, but I let my gluttony and my pity for the kid cloud my judgment. I let him fail you inside and outside of the mask, Kitten I promise you I will never let a black cat holder hurt you again." Plagg nuzzled against her cheek, gratefully accepting Marinette gently kissing his head letting him know all was forgiven. "Besides! His karma is coming for him, but I have to warn you too. He's going to try and pursue you romantically because he doesn't like who his soulmate is." Marinette perked up at that, "Adrien knows who his soulmate is?" Plagg nodded, "Yep. One Lila Rossi. A liar and an enabler, how fitting. He had rejected her because at the time he was still convinced that Ladybug was his soulmate, but now that that's not true, he's turning his attention toward you. He found out from Alya that you had a crush on him, and so even though he knows you aren't his soulmate he's going to try and pursue you anyways." Marinette's brows furrowed, deep in thought. No wonder Lila was so obsessed with Adrien, and it explained why she wanted to get close to him. What Marinette needed was a plan, so she hopped out of her bed and made her way down to the kitchen where her parents were talking. "Maman, Papa. Would it be alright if I took a mental health day tomorrow?" Her parents seemed to light up at the thought, seeing this as an opportunity to give their child a break from her tormentors. "Of course! In fact, why don't you take the whole week off? You're ahead on your work and haven't missed any school this year. We'll call the school tomorrow and take care of everything." Sabine said, right before she and Tom were tackled by their daughter for a hug. With time to plan, Marinette made her way upstairs to begin her work.

It was gentle moments like this that made her life worth it. Of course, these moments were few and far between, but they were there, and that’s what mattered. She leaned into the gentle touch, the loving way his fingers ran through her hair. The rise and fall of his chest. The warm, beautiful sound of his heartbeat against her ear. It was wonderful, so wonderful she knew that it wasn’t real.

She opened her eyes, letting the tears slip down her cheeks as she looked around her cold empty room. It had been another dream of something impossible. She had been alone for so long, going outside as little as possible so that her curse of misfortune would not spread. But she longed to make that dream a reality. It was strange though, she had similar dreams before, but from what she could tell after studying it was that it was the same boy she had dreamed of before. Despite never seeing his face even once, despite never once meeting them, she longed for them. Longed for the gentle love that they showed her, even if it was only for a moment. Marinette quickly snapped out of her sorrow when she had a realization: She had dreamt of her soulmate again! She couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face. A knocking on her trapdoor snapped her out of her thoughts, and her mother's voice brought her back to reality, "Marinette sweetie? Are you up? I have some news. We couldn't have timed this better, it's your spring break, so we don't need to worry about problems from Damocles or Bustier! Also, your class has left for their trip, so there's no way you'll bump into them! Alright, that's all I've got, go back to sleep." Marinette couldn't sleep, not after hearing that great news! The kwami were already waking up and grabbing their food from the minifridge she kept in her room, while Marinette dashed to her wardrobe. She had made herself an outfit a while ago but was too afraid her classmates would ruin it. It was a short light pink sundress, perfect for today's weather. She was going to spend the day out on the town enjoying her life. She had a considerable chunk of fun money saved up from her commissions and decided that she deserved a self-care day.

She had just left her favorite brunch spot and was making her way to her fabric shop of choice, texting her friends who had gone on the class trip. Marinette was the only one who was purposely excluded from it, and while her friends tried to drop the trip, Mrs. Bustier made them go because if that many people dropped there would be no way the class would hit their fundraising goal. Marinette was pretty sure some of that money was going straight into Lila's pocket, but she wasn't class president and had no way to get her hands on the class's records. Marinette didn't know the average price of sending 13 students plus two teachers to Disneyland Paris, but 12,000 euros seemed like a lot. And the worst part: she was still expected to contribute! Marinette was so wrapped up in the sheer ridiculousness of it all, that she didn't realize where she was going until she ran right into someone! As she began to fall, she felt a strong arm grab her by the waist and suddenly she was standing upright and looking up at the man she had just run into. He was stunning, at least 6'2 with medium-length dark hair he kept neatly styled. His tan skin radiated warmth, and his muscles were clearly defined by the dress shirt he was wearing. As her eyes trailed up from his sharp jawline, she froze when she saw his eyes. They were a rich green, held a deep, almost mysterious gleam, and were as sharp as a panther's. Like the cat, there was something wild about his eyes, hidden just below the surface. The only thought running through her head was a simple, 'He should be Plagg's next holder.' Suddenly the man staring at her let out a deep chuckle that rumbled in his broad chest, "What's the rush little Lily?" His voice was deep, with a sort of sharpness to it, like this kind of conversation was new to him.

"I, I am SO sorry sir! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and ran into you! I hope I didn't mess up your outfit!" Marinette was in full panic mode, the most attractive man she'd ever seen in her life and she just made a fool of herself. Instead of the rage she expected and was used to, he only smiled, "No harm done. I don't have anywhere I have to be, and besides you only bumped into me, you didn't spill anything on me. Can I ask where you're going? My family has just arrived from the U.S. and I was exploring the city." Marinette blushed, he looked so intimidating, but so far he'd been nothing but kind. Still, she had learned never to drop her guard, but... If he wasn't from here she supposed it wouldn't hurt to be polite. "I'm going to some of my favorite fabric shops in the fashion district... I'm a clothing designer and I was going to pick up some to start working on a spring and summer collection," She decided to take a gamble, "If you have nothing to do I can show you around." He smiled, "I would love that Ms...," "Marinette, and you are?" "Damian." Marinette smiled as the two began to walk toward the fashion district together, "Well it's very nice to meet you, Damian, even if it was in interesting circumstances."

When Damian heard his father talking about going to Paris to investigate the Hawkmoth situation, he quickly volunteered to go along as well. His official pitch was that he was closest in age to the young heroes of Paris, and would have an easier time getting them to talk. He also said it would look good to add a bit of international travel and education abroad to his resume. However, he had a secret reason for wanting to go to Paris: to meet his soulmate. Younger him would have scoffed at the thought, but he was not the same person he was when he first came to his father. Thanks to his brothers and Jon (mostly Jon), he had grown as a person, and now that he was close to graduating high school, he was beginning to think about the rest of his life and how he wanted to spend it. Of course, there were the staples, going to college, starting at least 5 charities for animals, and inheriting the cowl, but a part of him wanted more. A part of him didn't want to be alone. So he started looking back at all the soulmate dreams he'd been having since he was thirteen. Even though he'd dismissed it at that age, he at least had the foresight to write everything down, and using his Batfamily-honed detective skills, he deduced his soulmate was somewhere in Paris. One dream stood out to him, he was standing on a sidewalk in Paris when his soulmate crashed into him. From the way she spoke in the dream, he deduced that this was when they would meet. So there he was, standing on the exact sidewalk in the exact spot. He knew how ridiculous he must've looked as he texted his family, his official story being that he was going to look for clues about the heroes. Right as he was about to reply to a snarky text from Tim, he felt a small mass crash into him with way more force than it should have. He quickly spun around and caught the woman, and as he stabilized her he was able to get a good look at her. The first thing Damian noticed was how small she was, at least compared to him, however, she did have quite a bit of lean muscle. Her skin was pale, with a slight pink undertone to contrast her shoulder-length ebony hair. Her cheeks were lightly dusted pink with small patches of freckles, and her lips were ruby red. She almost resembled a porcelain doll. She was gorgeous, but what really took his breath away was her eyes. Framed in long dark lashes they were a beautiful deep blue. They reminded him of an ocean, deep and rich and sparkling under the sunlight. This had to be his soulmate. He learned her name, Marinette, and she invited him to go with her to the fashion district. Damian was content, while she may not recognize him as her soulmate yet, it was undeniable that she felt the same pull towards him that he felt towards her.

Before she knew it, Marinette had spent her entire spring break with Damian. She couldn't help it, she felt drawn to him, like she needed him to breathe. What surprised her the most, was the dream she had the night after she met him. She was sitting atop a building as Ladybug, watching the sunset, and next to her with the black cat Miraculous, was Damian. They watched the sun sink below the horizon, and suddenly the sky erupted into fireworks of all colors. The show ended with a sentence spelled out in fireworks "Thank you Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit." She knew the moment she opened her eyes that Damian was her soulmate, and from the texts, she'd received, he knew it too. The two of them agreed to take it slow, they were still very young and had just met. However, as the mini vacation went on, the pit of dread in her stomach began to grow, and she would have to return to school. She had told Damian what was happening with Lila, Adrien, everything. Needless to say, Marinette was surprised when he told her he would be in her class, and that he wouldn't let them do anything to her (Little did they know Tom and Sabine heard them, and Damian had just won their approval). So when he arrived to pick her up, he made sure they got to Dupont early. Marinette gave him a tour, and as they were walking he stopped to talk to people. "Don't you normally hate talking to people?" "Normally I do my Lily, but in this case, I do not mind. However, I do have an ulterior motive. By talking to these people, I've created an alibi. Look over there," Marinette looked over and saw Sabrina and Alix watching them and whispering, "Those are two of that liar's sycophants right? Well now that they've seen that you spent your time before class giving me, a new student, a tour, if Lila claims that you did something to her, two of her own followers have seen evidence disproving it. So either they mention that there's no way you could've done it because they saw with their own eyes that you have not even interacted with her, or they say nothing and you know what kind of people they are." It was brilliant. Marinette was a little miffed she hadn't thought of it before. The two walked to class, and Marinette whispered, "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. Adrien will give you the most problems. I heard from a friend that he was interested in me, even though he already knows who his soulmate is." "Is it Lila?" "Yes. I know enough about her to know that she's incredibly selfish, she hated it whenever Adrien gave me any attention, because-" "Because he was her ticket to fame and fortune, and if he had picked you she would be locked out." "Exactly. I do not doubt that the second she hears your last name, she won't give a shit about Adrien and will focus her full attention on breaking us apart." Marinette was shocked when Damian told her his last name, she may be oblivious but even she knew who the Waynes were. Plagg joked that it was the Universe trying to make up for how shitty it had been to her. She was not expecting the wicked grin Damian gave her as they arrived at their classroom. "I would like to see her try."

Before the two could reach their seats in the back of the room, Marinette was yanked away from Damian by Kim and Nino, "We don't know who you are but you don't deserve her!" Kim shouted, holding onto Marinette. "Yeah! Mari's the nicest dudette the world has ever seen, if you hurt her we'll kick your ass!" Nino said as he put himself between Damian and Marinette. There was a small moment of awkward silence before the group laughed. Marinette had warned him that her two best friends would try something like this, especially after she told them that he was her soulmate. Taking their seats at the back of the class, the group chatted about their spring break, until Lila walked in with the rest of the class. She readied a fresh accusation to fling at the ravenette but caught herself just in time. WHO was that gorgeous man sitting with Marinette? He put Adrien, a freaking model, to shame. Everyone else seemed to share that sentiment, and Alya was about to start demanding answers when they were spotted. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as the man glared at them. Marinette waved to Rose, Juleka, and Nathaniel, who quickly took their seats near the group of outcasts while Damian Batglared the rest of the class. "Can I help you?" He asked in an icy tone, one that demanded immediate answers. Alya balked, "We, we were just curious about you, since you're, um, a new student here." Damian pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed, "My name is Damian Wayne, yes, from that family. I came to Paris with my father for a business trip, and to find my soulmate, Marinette," Little mutterings of "no way," "That's impossible," and "I didn't think that bitch would have a soulmate," filled the room. "I plan on staying until graduation, and from there I will be going to college with Marinette. Let me make one thing clear: I will not hesitate to retaliate against anyone who tries to hurt my soulmate in any shape or form." Nathaniel could be heard whispering, "Oooh, I like him," To the rest of their little group, who nodded in agreement. After waiting for a second for anyone to challenge him, Damian turned back to Marinette, and almost like a switch flipped, began showing her pictures of his cat.

Lila couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Damian Wayne was in her class, the richest, most eligible bachelor in the world was in her class... and his soulmate was fucking Dupain-Cheng! She swore this had to be some sick joke. There was no way that THE Damian Wayne (whom she had instantly recognized because she had seen him once at a charity ball her mother had taken her to and committed his face to memory) had someone as pathetic as Marinette as his soulmate. The universe truly was cruel. She'd thought she was lucky when she found out Adrien was her soulmate and was devastated when he told her over the break he was going to pursue Marinette. But now? Now Lila knew she must be the luckiest girl in history! Glancing over at Adrien confirmed her belief, the dumbass pushover glared at his rival, and she knew he wasn't going to back down. This was perfect. All she would have to do is separate Marinette and Damian, use the mountain of evidence against Marinette that she made over the years to convince her future husband that his soulmate was no good, and then bam! In a few short years, her name would be Delilah Wayne! Adrien's persistence would only help her case, especially with Marinette's former crush on the blond it would be so easy to frame her for cheating. She would have to be careful though, just from the look in his eyes she could tell he would be much sharper than the rest of her classmates had been: he would be her greatest challenge yet. For now, she would bide her time, and perfect her plan.

Lila made her first move at lunch. She and Alya were sitting at a table, observing Marinette and her friends talking with Damian. "He's so kind to them, why is he such an asshole to us?" Alya muttered. Ah, an opening. "Well, I don't think it's really his fault. I mean he did say that he had come to Paris to find his soulmate, and well, Marinette IS a pathological liar," Lila said as she picked at her food. Alya nodded, "I just can't understand why they still hang out with her! They know what she does to you, they know she's a bitch!" "I think it's a mix of sunk cost fallacy and denial Alya. Nino and Kim have known her since they were little, so I think the reality of Marinette being a bully just can't compute for them. As for Juleka, Rose, and Nathaniel, I think they feel indebted to her or something," Alya nodded, agreeing with her logic. "Girl you're so in tune with people it's crazy!" 'Yes I am,' Lila thought, 'You have to be able to read people to trick them.' "Alya... Can I tell you something? Something bad happened between Adrien and me over the trip." The reporter's head snapped around to her, "What did that bastard do?" Lila began to channel the sorrow she felt when Adrien confronted her over the break, "He... He told me he didn't want me!" She wailed, just loud enough for Damian to overhear, "He called me a liar and all of these awful names, and he told me he was in love with Marinette and that he knew she felt the same for him! He told me if I told anyone about this he'd ruin me!" She cried. It was amazing that Adrien had just handed her this opportunity, completely unaware that he'd done so. As Alya promised revenge against Adrien and the whore who stole him from Lila, the girl in question carefully glanced over to see Damian looking right at her. Perfect. When Lila had decided on this plan, she decided the initial bonding point would be that they had both been betrayed by their soulmates. If Damian was emotionally vulnerable he would be that much easier to manipulate, it would also be the perfect story to pitch to the media as well, they were both betrayed by their soulmates and fell in love!

Lila was quiet for the rest of the day, waiting eagerly for their classes to end. She had a feeling that Adrien would make a move and wanted to be there to see what she'd have to work with. She made an excuse to leave class early and quickly hid behind the stairs. She had to wait a bit for them to leave and spent the time doing research about Damian on her phone. So he loved animals, was passionate about the arts, and was a master swordsman and martial artist. He also spoke seven languages including Italian!! Lila sighed, he was perfect. Finally, the bell rang, and students began making their way out of the building. Lila knew Marinette usually spent some time helping the art teacher before she left, so she was certain Adrien would wait for the girl. Risking discovery, she poked her head out and saw her plan falling into place. Adrien was standing at the top of the stairs, clearly waiting for Marinette. He was muttering to himself, about how it wasn’t fair, about how he couldn’t understand how Marinette could trust a stranger she’d just met. Lila had to keep herself from letting out an amused snort. Isn’t that rich considering their class’s track record?

She had to wait for about fifteen minutes before she heard laughter coming towards the entrance of the school, it was Marinette, laughing at something Damian had told her, “Oh my gosh, are all your brothers on crack?” she gasped for air, “Sometimes it feels like it,” Damian chuckled. The two were about to walk down the stairs when Adrien stepped in front of them. “Hi, Mari. Can I talk to you, please? Alone.” Wow. Lila didn’t know Sunshine Boy could have such venom, she figured he must’ve been directing that at Damian. Lila could only imagine the glares between the two boys, not daring to poke her head out now and get caught, however, when she thought she heard footsteps back into the school she took out her phone and pressed record. “Why? So you can pressure me into silence again? If you need to tell me something, say it now because Damian and I have plans.” Lila had known about Adrien’s high road advice, and that Marinette had been so in love that she listened. She doubted the ravenette would fall for that now. Lila waited with bated breath to see what Adrien would do, and could not believe what she heard. “I think you should stay away from him. You only just met him, he’s probably lying about who he is Mari. You saw how he treated our friends-” “He has been nothing but kind to MY friends. That’s so rich coming from you Adrien. Lila comes along and lies about everything and it’s totally fine, I meet my soulmate and now suddenly you care about honesty?” “It’s a different situation and you know it Marinette. Lila’s not hurting anyone and if you expose her she could be akumatized.” “What about me Adrien? What if I’m akumatized because of the lies that have ruined my reputation, my belongings are destroyed, when I’m being excluded from practically everything? Do I not matter to you?” “What- no Marinette you matter to me! Besides it’s not that bad and you’re our Everyday Ladybug so-” “SO WHAT? So I’m supposed to accept being mistreated and abused? What are you even here for Adrien?” Lila could tell that Marinette was losing her patience and for a moment, she genuinely wondered if this would be what got her rival akumatized. Adrien took a deep breath, “Marinette you are an amazing woman, what I wanted to tell you was that I accept your feelings and will be your boyfriend.” Perfect! Adrien had given her just what she needed. Lila kept recording because even if Marinette didn’t respond how she wanted, she might say something Lila could doctor later. And it would seem that Marinette was finally shaking off her shock, “Are you crazy? Adrien, I haven’t loved you since we were thirteen, since you made it clear that not rocking the boat was more important to you than me. Besides, I’ve met my soulmate, and yeah we haven’t known each other long, I want to focus on getting to know him.” Adrien did not back down, “Come on Marinette! I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I know we’re meant for each other. The reason I know he’s not good for you is that you’re MY soulmate!” Wow. Lila wasn’t expecting such a bold lie from the blond, he must have been banking on the fact that Marinette had no way of knowing that Adrien was HER soulmate. Now that she had what she needed, she carefully snuck through the bushes and as soon as she turned a corner, she booked it for home. She wasn’t going to risk slowing down to look behind her, she figured since the two were still arguing that she’d successfully completed her mission. Soon it would be all over the media, ‘Model Adrien Agreste Ditches Soulmate for Useless Nobody: How Lila Rossi Saved the Day and Won Damian Wayne’s Heart.’ Lila knew she had a lot of work to do, and couldn’t wait to get started.

After a long day, Damian returned to the upscale apartment his father was renting during their time in Paris. Marinette hadn’t been joking, her class was a nightmare! Damian had been skeptical at first, no way people could be that ignorant, but after what he saw today, he realized it ran deeper. They looked at Lila the same way people looked at him: They wanted something. Marinette had told him that Lila lied and faked evidence conveniently showing she knew famous people in their fields of interest, so it was likely they followed her because they wanted her to boost their careers. The Ladyblogger, someone who should have known to fact-check followed Lila like a sycophant, either knew she was lying or was really bad at her job. Then there was the other big problem in the class, Adrien Agreste. He seemed to believe he was entitled to Marinette’s love, despite his soulmate making it clear she wanted nothing to do with the blond. He had texted Nino about the Adrien-Marinette situation, and the DJ had filled him in. Marinette used to have a crush on and did some very crazy things to get his attention (Nino had also admitted the class had pushed her into some of the crazier situations), but Adrien either ignored her or was oblivious. At the time this was going on, he had a massive crush on Ladybug and still had a crush on her until recently. Googling the Parisian hero, he found a few things that made his blood run cold. First, Ladybug had stated that she would never date a civilian (smart) in an interview. Second, the videos he’d seen from when Chat Noir was acting showed the hero displaying the same entitled behavior Adrien did, along with a couple of the same speech patterns and body language. Finally, Ladybug and Marinette looked very similar. There were some differences, but he couldn’t deny that the two could be sisters. A theory was forming in his head, Adrien had been Chat Noir, and after being rejected constantly by Ladybug, decided to set his sights on someone who looked similar to Ladybug. It was clear he still believed Marinette was a sweet, naive girl who would never say no to him, so he potentially thought he could pressure her into accepting his feelings.

Damian was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice that his father and Tim had returned home, however, they certainly noticed. Bruce decided that this was one of those moments where Damian might need some fatherly advice, and Tim decided he wanted to hear whatever was giving Demon-Spawn trouble. It must be interesting. “How was your day Damian? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you lost in thought,” yes he could. It was right after Damian had been brought back from the dead. He watched his son’s head snap up, “I… I’m fine. My day was fine.” “No, you’re not fine. Something’s been on your mind since B mentioned going to Paris, so you can either tell us what’s up or I’ll hack your phone.” Dammit, Tim not now. Damian sighed, surprising both that he wasn’t putting up more of a fight. “The reason I wanted to come to Paris was that I had figured out my soulmate was here.”

Tim dropped the coffee mug he was filling, and Bruce stared at his son in shock. “Oh my gosh! Did you meet them yet? What are they like? When will we meet them? How did you meet them-” “Tim.” “Sorry B,” “Start from the beginning Damian.” “I met her last week. She was going to buy fabric and bumped into me. We spent every day of her spring break hanging out and getting to know each other, and I was lucky enough to be in her class at the school you enrolled me in. I also found out she had been having trouble with some of her classmates,” “Is she drama-prone?” “Tim let him talk,” “Not necessarily. She’s being bullied and has been for the past few years. Her classmates are the typical users we encounter at Galas and believed her bully because she promised them she had connections. My main concern isn’t the bully, I can deal with her, but a boy in her class has begun to show some alarming behavior... From what I’ve figured out, he was the hero Chat Noir, and I think he’s become obsessed with Mari- my soulmate because of how similar she looks to Ladybug. From my information, I know that he has never shown any interest in her before and that when they were younger she used to have a crush on him. I also know that for whatever reason he’s no longer active as Chat Noir.” “So your theory is that because he no longer has access to his obsession that he’s shifted targets to someone he thinks he still has power over in order to pressure her into fulfilling his fantasy?” “Yes. However, I don’t think he’s realized that. I think a part of him genuinely believes he has feelings for her. I did some research on him, and he grew up with a very controlling and sheltering father, so he’s still incredibly naive, that or he’s so deep in denial he’s become delusional. He still seems to believe that staying silent about my soulmate’s tormentor purposely lying to ruin her reputation and all the physical torment she’s receiving is the right thing to do.” Bruce raised an eyebrow and Tim clutched at his pearls. “So how do you plan on handling this?” Bruce was worried, they needed to find out why Chat Noir was no longer active, if Damian’s theory was true and the former Hero of Paris got akumatized he could still be a massive threat. However, Damian was his father’s son, “I looked into some of the old posts on the Ladyblog before it… strayed. From some clips, I think my soulmate might actually have a connection to Ladybug.” Tim raised his eyebrow, “Damian it’s not that I don’t want you to be happy, but she sounds a little too good to be true. An amazing talented woman who just happens to know celebrities and heroes? Isn’t that the same thing that girl with the weird hair on the Ladyblog claims?” “Well, my soulmate can actually back up her claims. Her class has had the most akumatizations minus the pigeon man, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Ladybug noticed, and my soulmate is connected to one of the most popular boulangeries in Paris that Ladybug has been seen stopping by. I was going to go out on patrol, and if I couldn’t meet Ladybug that way I’d find a way to see if my soulmate could get her attention.” Bruce nodded. The spotted heroine had been incredibly elusive, and he was beginning to suspect magic was involved. He gave Damian his blessing, and as his youngest son left to get ready for patrol he and Tim turned their attention to a new mystery: Figuring out who his son’s soulmate was.

Paris was beautiful at night. Damian stood atop the Eiffel Tower, looking out over the city. He could almost run the path between his classmates’ homes by muscle memory alone. While he may not like them for their treatment of Marinette, he knew his soulmate still cared about them to some degree, and if anything happened to them it would kill her. He was debating swinging by Marinette’s home but decided against it. While he felt like he could trust her with his life, their relationship was still too young to bring the baggage of a hero into it. He almost didn’t pick up on the gentle thud behind him, and when he turned to snap at Tim for bothering him, he froze. “Mari? My Lily?” He couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing in front of him was Ladybug… who looked exactly like Marinette. Her costume had changed since her initial debut, but there was no doubt who the woman in front of him was. This whole time his soulmate was also the hero they were trying to contact. “Damian? You’re Robin?!” “And you’re Ladybug.” That seemed to snap Mari out of her stupor, “I can explain! Please don’t be mad!” He would address that last bit later, but for now, he just leaned against the railing and watched as she began pacing back and forth. He’d wait all night if that’s what Mari needed to get her thoughts together. “I became Ladybug when I was thirteen. I was chosen by the Guardian of the Miraculous, and he snuck the Ladybug Miraculous into my bag.” “Forgive me but what’s Miraculous?” “Oh right,” He watched as Marinette took off the red and black earrings, “Miraculous are magical objects that are often worn as jewelry. Each Miraculous is connected to a Kwamii, and each Kwamii is the embodiment of a fundamental force of the universe,” A bright red flash came from the Miraculous, and next to Marinette was a floating Ladybug-like creature. The little Kawaii-thing flew up to him, and he carefully held up a hand to allow it to land. “Hello! Damian Wayne, Robin, Son of Bruce Wayne, Grandson of the Demon, and Heir to the Cowl. I am Tikki, the Kwamii of Creation! I am bound to the Ladybug Miraculous that my Chosen uses, and am the source of her powers! If you’ll excuse me I’m going to refuse with Marinette, it’s awfully chilly up here.” With that Tikki zipped back to Marinette, as soon as the two touched a bright red flash appeared and Ladybug stood before him again. “The previous Guardian, well long before he left and left the title and other Miraculous to me, lost two Miraculi, the peacock and the butterfly.” “Which are being used by Hawkmoth and Mayaura.” “Exactly.” Damian nodded, their theory was correct, magic was involved with the Paris situation.

“Lily, didn’t you used to have a partner?” He watched his soulmate huddle into herself and immediately got off the railing to comfort her. “I did. Chat Noir wielded the Black Cat Miraculous of Destruction. He was my other half, my balance. Over time he got it into our head that because our Miraculi were complimentary, that meant we were soulmates. He began flirting with me constantly, calling me these embarrassing nicknames even when I asked him to stop, and would needlessly throw himself into danger to try and impress me. Eventually, he got tired of me turning him down, and he started missing battles and patrols. When he did show up he’d just get in the way, saying he’d help me again if I admitted we were soulmates. It got so bad his own Kwamii took the Miraculous back from him and brought it to me. I used to have temporary heroes I could count on, but they’re out of the question because their identities were exposed or they’ve chosen Lila’s side.” Damian hugged her tightly, he wasn’t one for physical affection but she was the exception. “So you’ve been alone this whole time? Oh my, Lily I’m so sorry,” he sighed, “Does Adrien know you’re Ladybug?” Marionette’s eyes widened, amazed he knew who Chat was. “Not that I’m aware of. He thinks we look really similar, but he’s seen Ladybug and I in a room together so I doubt he thinks we’re the same.” Damian nodded, “Mari I promise you I’ll help you through this, I just need you to trust me. My brother Red Robin and my father Batman are here-“ “BATMAN IS HERE?!?!” “- yes love. We’re here to help you take down Hawkmoth. I’ll help you take down Lila and figure out how to deal with Adrien, and then as soon as we graduate I’ll steal you away to Gotham.” He looked into her eyes and watched as a hopeful spark began to reignite.

It was time for phase two of Lila’s plan. She was going to paint herself as Damian’s ideal woman, not by exactly mirroring his interests, he’d catch on to that. A good idea would be to lean into his love of animals. She had researched some well-known animal charities, and even though she really hated getting dirty, she had gone to a volunteer event the other day. Sure, the puppies were super cute, but Lila would rather spend her time working on her manicure. But now she has photos, timestamped photos. She took extra care to make sure her hair and make-up were absolutely perfect, checking on her secret weapon one last time before she left. She was going to save it until she absolutely had to, it would be either her killing blow or her final saving play. As she walked to school, she mentally mapped out her plan for today. She would brag to her class about her volunteer work, and show them the photos on her phone, then she would spread a rumor about seeing Marinette talking and being affectionate towards some random guy. ‘Lila Rossi!’ she thought, ‘You can do better than that! He would see through that in a heartbeat, they spend all of their time together.’ She decided to settle on making Marinette look bad. She’d have to be sneaky, Damian was clearly aware of her tricks and would be on guard, but Lila still thought she had a window of opportunity to convince him Marinette was the evil one. She went into a coffee shop and ordered an iced coffee, Lila wasn’t going to drink it, it was simply a prop she’d spill on herself as a direct result of Dupain-Cheng. She hated to sacrifice her favorite outfit but consoled herself with the knowledge that this would be rags compared to the luxury she’d wear as the girlfriend of a Wayne. Now she just had to decide how she’d spill the coffee, would she make it look like Marinette shoved her? No… too complicated. How about tripping? That won’t work, the little brat’s gotten too smart and now specifically looks for it. She would make it look like Marinette ran into her, and while it wouldn’t do as much damage as she’d like it to, it would be good to show Damian that his soulmate was WAY too clumsy to represent the Wayne Family. She was excitedly daydreaming about all the galas and events she’d go to, hell maybe she would start an acting career! Lila was so caught up in her fantasies that she almost ran into Alya! “Hey, girl! Don’t you look lovely today!” Lila smiled, “Hey Alya! I think you’ve got me beat today! Have you seen Damian? I’m worried Marinette might have said some things about me… and I wanted to talk to him and show him I’m not the person she says I am.” Alya scowled at Marinette’s name, “Ugh I bet she did! But she’s not here today. Her parents called and said she’d gotten sick over the weekend. Damian called in sick as well, and come to think of it, Adrien isn’t here either! Today should be an easy day for you!” Lila had to force a smile, this screwed up her plan damn it! Oh well, maybe if she got the chance, she could poke around Marinette and Damian’s lockers to see if there was anything she could find, it would also be a good chance to strengthen her hold on the class. If Lila is anything, it’s flexible, and she would never let an opportunity slip by.

Damian was looking around Marinette’s room, marveling at just how much his soulmate had accomplished. It looked less like a bedroom and more like a design studio, with mannequins adorned with projects ranging from just starting to fully complete, the walls papered with designs, and the occasional photo of friends or loved ones. Just underneath the papers, he could see the faint hint of a light pink painted wall. Bolts of fabric were arranged against another wall, organized by color and material, as well as a massive piece of wall art made to conveniently store different yarns. There was a closet filled with cases of embroidery floss and other art supplies. Under Marinette’s loft bed was a table with two sewing machines, a modern one able to do large-scale embroidery and Esme. Esme was Marinette’s pride and joy, a vintage singer sewing machine that was practically indestructible. Esme has been through everything, leather, denim, silk, you name it she’s sewn it. When she wasn’t in use, she was kept on her own table, in a place of honor within the room. Beside Esme was a vase of white lilies he’d given her, and a massive book. This was Marinette’s logbook, in which she kept meticulous records of everything: Who commissioned her, how much they paid, what they wanted, how much of each material she had, where it was, and other expenses. It seemed like wherever Damian looked, he saw something new. She made clothing, shoes, hats, jewelry, accessories, and the evidence of that was in her controlled chaos. Even though it was smaller than the Manor, he loved it, he loved everything about Marinette’s home and her family. They were warm and inviting, and it was reflected in their home, and in the daughter Tom and Sabine had raised. Marinette’s room was like her, bright and full of unique colors and energy. She was currently moving Esme to her spot of honor, and opening a special compartment in her desk. From the compartment, she pulled out a vintage sewing box that looked almost ancient (I’m sorry but they made the Miraculous box an EGG when they could have done something that could blend in).

As soon as Marinette opened the box, sixteen bright lights shot out of it, flying around the room. “Alright everyone listen up!” Mari clapped her hands together to get the light’s attention. They eventually came to a stop in front of her, and Damian looked at them in shock. There were… SO many Kwamii, and apparently there was supposed to be more his soulmate had to recover from around the world. “This is Damian, my soulmate. He’s-” Marinette was cut off by the excited shriek of some of the Kwamii, “He’s going to help us take down Hawkmoth and Mayaura and rescue Duusu and Nooroo. He and his family are superheroes from Gotham and-” “He’s going to be the next Cat,” Plagg interrupted, the seriousness of his tone taking everyone by surprise. The cat Kwamii flew over to Damian, holding a small ring. “The Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous are connected. One cannot be active for long without the other.” Damian’s eyes met Plagg’s, “And how do you know I am compatible with the Miraculous? I am Marinette’s soulmate but that doesn’t mean I am a match for you.” Plagg cackled, flying around Damian, who stood with his arms crossed, “You’ll do just fine! Much more serious than my last holder for sure! You are more compatible than Adrien was for the simple reason that you are deeply connected with Destruction itself. You come from a tragedy on both sides, a father driven to fight an endless war to avenge his parents’ murder, a mother who needed a pawn and heir to an empire of assassins. Not to mention, the Lazarus Pit.” Damian froze at the mention of the pits, and for a moment, he could almost feel the blazing fire of twisted life rushing through his veins. “Damian? Are you alright? Plagg? What did you do?” Marinette gently rested a hand on Damian’s cheek, she could tell he was reliving something… Plagg simply flew back towards the box. “I’m doing things differently this time Pigtails. I had some time to think… I need to be more responsible for you and for future cats and bugs. Nothing should be hidden between partners, and I know you love him, I know he loves you, but there are people in his life who will not approve. I think he should be the one to tell you when he’s ready. It’s a conversation that needs to be had for both of you. There can be no more secrets.” And with that, the Kwamii flew back over to Damian and gently placed the ring in his hand. The weight of it seemed to snap him out of his flashback, and he looked down at the ring in his hand. He remembered what he’d seen from the videos, he knew the basics of the Black Cat’s powers, and combined with his training, he would be formidable. “I’ll do it. What do I have to say to transform?” Plagg smirked, “Alright kid, all you’ve gotta say is, Plagg claws out!”

Alya was out with her class, chilling in the park after school. They had stopped and gotten smoothies and were working on their own projects in comfortable silence. Alya was busy chasing two leads: What were the Waynes doing in Paris, and where was Chat Noir? Sure, he didn’t do much in most Akuma fights, but he was still one of the heroes of Paris! Come to think of it, no new heroes had been called up since Hawkmoth discovered their identities. She had to take a little bit of pride in that, they were so good that Ladybug couldn’t find any good replacements. She thought about asking Lila for the inside scoop, but with how stressed her bestie had been lately due to Adrien and Marinette’s actions she decided against it. That was another mystery: Marinette. When had the switch flipped? What caused the switch to flip? Was she always like this and Lila was just the first to uncover it? She was also curious about Damian, why would nobody Marinette have such an impressive soulmate? She figured his bad attitude was Marinette’s fault, although, from the articles on her laptop, he’d never been the most approachable or friendly. ‘An asshole for an asshole,’ she thought. Although she’d noticed Lila had been eying Damian since he arrived, maybe she was giving him the benefit of the doubt? Alya shook her head and went back to her research. Something had happened to Chat Noir and Ladybug has been silent about it. She had her theories, and normally she’d run them by Nino, but since the two had broken up all those years ago… Alya sighed. Marinette split the class in two and nothing has been the same since. The Girl Squad was disbanded, she and Nino broke up, and class events rarely hit their goals because if the bully wasn’t invited, her supporters wouldn’t go either. Alya groaned and shifted positions, she NEEDED to finish her research about Chat Noir's disappearance. It’s been forever since she uploaded Ladybug and Chat Noir content to the Ladyblog, even Alya would admit her blog had started to shift towards Lila content only. Just as she was beginning to give up, a message popped up on her screen.

Hello Ladyblogger. I have some information you might be interested in.

Alya stared at her screen. Was this a scam? She tried to click off the message, but it stayed. She should close her computer, and ask Max to take a look at it, but… what if this person was an inside source!? Carefully she typed out a reply.

Who is this? Why should I trust you?

Her elusive new friend was quick to respond.

That’s funny. You were so quick to trust before. What changed?

She didn’t know if she should be freaked out or offended, but her curiosity would get the best of her.

I got betrayed by someone I thought I could trust. Now what do you want?

Oh, you got betrayed alright, or to be more exact, you’re currently being betrayed, you’re just too deep in denial to realize it.

‘What?! What could they possibly mean by that?’ Alya thought as her eyes narrowed and she looked around at her friends.

Look if this is you Marinette I don’t want any of your bullshit.

My name isn’t Marinette. It’s Red, and I happen to know about Chat Noir’s whereabouts or his lack thereof. But, if you want the file, you’re going to have to do me a favor.

Oh shit. There were many things Alya was willing to do for a lead, but she had a couple of lines that she refused to cross.

Oh Yeah? And what kind of favor is this?

I need you to look into your class’s multiple akumatizations.

The feeling of wielding a Miraculous was exhilarating. Domain’s whole body was practically vibrating with an energy he’d never known. It felt like everything was amplified, he wanted to, no he needed to run, and could feel his senses sharpening and his emotions, or at least how he felt them, intensify. ‘This must be what Starfire feels like,’ He thought as he admired his new suit. It was all black with acid-green accents and made from the same material as his Robin suit. Instead of a belt tail and ears, he wore a long cloak with a hood, and two tiny bits poked up to form the ears. The cloak was lined in gold and the ears were tipped in gold as well. A solid black domino mask hid his identity, and his eyes were a bright shade of acid green to match the accents on his suit. The suit itself was made of a similar material as his Robin suit and was solid black, but if you looked at it in the right light, leopard spots were visible. He’d said to hell with the bell, and holding his cloak on and the sash-belt that doubled as a tail were held in place by a deep green cat’s eye gemstone His boots and gloves were solid black, and fitted with braces for extra support when landing. At the tips of his gloves were retractable claws that glistened in the light, and they were slightly curved so he could use them to grab onto buildings and climb. He still had the baton, but a sword was really more his style, but even still he marveled at the magical weapon. “Before you make your debut, you should come up with a name so you aren’t put on the spot like I was,” Mari said as she looked him up and down in the new suit. Damian thought for a moment, “Panthère de Nuit. Night Panther.” his soulmate let out a pleased hum, “Letting Hawkmoth know he faces a more dangerous apex predator?” “Indeed my Lily,” Marinette smiled, and with a quick, “Spots on,” the two were ready to begin Damian’s first patrol as Paris’s new hero.

The two heroes raced along the rooftops, with Panthère de Nuit easily keeping up, a credit to Damian’s training and time as Robin. The two finally came to a stop on a rooftop near the Eiffel Tower, they could see their class in the park below. “Okay, the second Alya sees us, she’s going to try and flag us down for an interview. Do you want to speak with her?” Damian thought for a moment and shook his head. “No. Since Lila has taken over her blog, I don’t think she is a reliable source of information. I do not trust your local news here as well, they seem to lean into rumors. Is there anyone reliable we can talk to?” Ladybug looked around and spotted a familiar parasol. Aurore. The two had gotten to know each other better since Marinette distanced herself from her classmates, and she found out that the blonde ran her own Ladybug-themed blog called On the Spot. While Aurore didn’t get the close-up Akuma footage that Alya had, she was far more accurate in her reports. She recorded information such as the time of akumatization, rough location, and the direction the akumas had been seen traveling from. She had meant to begin working with Aurore and decided this would be the perfect opportunity to start. “See that girl over there? The blonde one? She runs her own blog, On the Spot, and while it’s less popular than the Ladyblog, it is more accurate. We can talk to her, but we need to make it look natural, so our class doesn’t think we ignored them.

As luck would have it, an Akuma decided to make an appearance. Frozer was back and seemed to be determined to turn Paris into a winter wonderland. “He has ice powers similar to Mr. Freeze, and the Akuma is in his ice skates,” Marinette said as the two rushed into battle. “The easiest way to get the skates would be to immobilize him. If we could somehow trip him, you could cataclysm the skates and release the Akuma.” Damian nodded, “Not my first time dealing with ice-themed villains. I can distract him, while you try to use your yoyo to catch him off guard. Do you want Batman and Red Robin to help with this?” “No. If Hawkmoth finds out they’re in Paris, he’ll for sure try to target them. Please be careful,” Damian gave her a reassuring smile. “Darling I promise I’m not the type to pick fights I can’t win.” With that, he leaped into action. Frozer had sent a blast of ice towards his classmates, which Panthère de Nuit skillfully blocked with his blade. The world around them seemed to, well, freeze as everyone took a moment to process what just happened. “And who are you?” Frozer asked as Hawkmoth’s signature mask appeared over his face. “Panthère de Nuit, the new black cat.” Frozer laughed, “Oh? So Ladybug’s finally replaced that mangy feline? Well no matter, you’ll be just as easy to defeat!” With that, several more blasts of ice were thrown at Damian, who easily dodged, blocked, and reflected. Frozer seemed to pale, if that was even possible, and began to back up for a hasty retreat. Damian couldn’t help himself, “What’s wrong? Not used to fighting a competent Cat Miraculous holder? Too bad.” His eyes met Ladybug’s and he nodded, the sound of her yoyo zipping through the air, and the thud from Frozer hitting the ground confirmed their plan had worked. Damian simply waltzed up to Frozer, and one Cataclysm later, a dark butterfly made a break for it, only to be caught and purified by Ladybug. “That was amazing! I didn’t even have to use my Lucky Charm! Well, I still have to reverse the damage but, you know!” Ladybug exclaimed as she did just that. Damian looked at his ring to check how much time he had before he transformed back and noticed the little pawprint was still full. Weird, he’ll have to ask about that later. A crowd of people had begun to gather, including their classmates and Aurore, Ladybug noticed her and smiled, which encouraged the blonde to ask her questions. “Hello, Ladybug! Great job with the Akuma, that has to be a record!” “Thank you! Aurore is it? Of On the Spot?” The blonde nodded excitedly, “Although, I can’t take all the credit. My new partner was amazing!” Damian sensed this was his cue, and stepped up to answer Aurore’s next question, “Who are you, and what happened to Chat Noir?” With one last glance at Ladybug, Damian spoke, “My name is Panthère de Nuit, and I am Ladybug’s new partner. Chat Noir, as well as some of the temporary heroes, have been permanently retired. The Black Cat Miraculous was taken from him by his Kwamii, who felt he was no longer worthy to wield it,” This was met with cheers from the surrounding civilians. “I promise to do a better job and be a reliable and competent hero that Ladybug and all of Paris can count on. All I can say to Hawkmoth and Mayaura is that your days are numbered.” And with that, the two heroes left to roaring applause.

Adrien was watching his TV in horror. Plagg, not Ladybug, not the Guardian, PLAGG had taken his Miraculous. His own kwamii had betrayed him, did Plagg even have the power or right to take the ring from him? And now, he was seriously in a bind. If Plagg took the ring, it was safe to say that Ladybug had no idea who he was, and most likely had no idea who her new partner was so he couldn’t ask her to get it back for him. Not to mention the last time they spoke, they weren’t exactly on good terms. Yeah in retrospect skipping patrol and all those akuma battles wasn’t his best idea, especially because that soured his relationship with the people of Paris. If his dad had taught him anything, it was that public opinion mattered a lot, and now he couldn’t exactly count on the public’s support for Chat Noir. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, his best chance of EVER getting a Miraculous again was to pretend to support this new cat, and hope that gets him Ladybug’s attention. Adrien let out a groan and flopped on his bed, his whole life was a mess. Plagg had taken his ring and hadn’t even given him a chance to fix his mistakes (He’d been given many chances), Lila was his soulmate and causing trouble in the class, and then Marinette shows up one day with Damian Wayne claiming to be her soulmate! He’d looked it up, and it really was Damian Wayne, and not some imposter using his name, but it was still so frustrating! He couldn’t figure out just why Marinette was so smitten with the man when he seemed like such a terrible fit for her! Marinette was kind, compassionate, and warm while Damian was cold, selfish, and quite mean. Adrien had been nursing a small crush on Marinette for a while and had known about her crush on him before Alya told him. He still loved Ladybug but realized after a while that she really might not feel the same way, and he couldn’t help it when a brilliant girl like Marinette was in his class. It didn’t hurt that she and Ladybug could be sisters, but he just figured he had a type. What he couldn’t figure out was why she was so focused on Damian when she’d been in love with him for years! “Calm down Adrien,” he muttered to himself, “Mari’s always been a hopeless romantic, so it’s probably just the fact he’s claiming he’s her soulmate.” He also needed to do something about Lila. Sure, he still believed the high road was the best way to go, but he had never expected things to escalate to the point Lila and their class were physically harming Marinette. Walking over to his closet and pulling out a whiteboard and some markers, he began to work on Operation Win Back Marinette.

Across Paris, another student was working on a plan: Alya. She had been working on her newest lead, and chatting with her new friend, Red. True to his word, Red had given Alya information about Chat Noir and Panthère de Nuit. What she knew so far was that Chat Noir’s behavior had gone on longer than anyone in Paris had realized, and that this was not Panthère de Nuit’s first time as a hero. In return, she had compiled a list of all her class’s akumatizations, and why they were akumatized. She slowly began to notice four outliers in their class: Marinette, Damian, Adrien, and Lila. Damian she could explain away easily, he had just gotten to Paris and hadn’t had the chance to be akumatized yet, but that was where easy ended. Marinette had a few failed akumatizations, in which she was always able to break out of Hawkmoth’s control. Alya chalked it up to Gina teaching her some meditation methods she used, but what was harder to explain was why Marinette was almost akumatized. The first time made sense, she had just been expelled, but the others were a complete mystery. Adrien hasn’t been akumatized (I’m not counting Cat Blanc or Ephemeral), but it almost seemed like the akumas never targeted him. She had seen him express negative emotions before. Then there was Lila Rossi, who had been akumatized into Volpina a scarily high number of times. Drawing from her own experience as Rena Rouge, Alya knew that the Fox Miraculous was all about illusions, and an Akuma based off of a Miraculous will share its powers, but in a weaker state. Come to think of it, there were times Lila was akumatized into Volpina that didn’t fit. She would be crying because Marinette had bullied her, and still turn into Volpina. Alya knew that you would only turn into an akuma twice if you felt the same emotions both times, such as Mr. Pigeon, so something wasn’t adding up. Opening her laptop, she typed out:

Red? Are you on? I have a few Questions.

She waited nervously, tapping her fingers on the desk as she checked her phone.

Yeah. What’s up Ladyblogger?

Alya could’ve kissed her computer, she felt like she was closer than she’d ever been to uncovering something big.

I was going back through the list of my class’ akumatizations and noticed a couple of outliers. Do you have any information on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, and Lila Rossi?

I never thought you’d ask. Here’s what I have.

Red sent over a bunch of files, with a ton on Adrien and Lila, and very few on Marinette.

Why does Marinette only have like, three things?

She isn’t a public figure like the other two, well at least under that name. Ever heard of MDC? That’s her. You aren’t a true celebrity if you don’t have an MDC original.

Marinette was MDC?! This was news to Alya, but she guessed it would make sense. Marinette had stopped making them things a few years ago, saying she was too busy. If she was covertly running a fashion empire that would explain it. However, one last thing still haunted Alya, especially as she began to click through the files on Adrien and Lila. She paused for a moment, Red had sent her camera footage from the day Marinette was expelled, but why was it labeled as Lila’s file? As she pressed play and began watching, she began noting some inconsistencies. Before returning to the video, she typed out one last message.

Red? I’m starting to think I’ve been lied to.

For the next week or so, all anyone would talk about was Panthère de Nuit, and the hype was justified. He’d been spotted a few more times since Frozer, at Akuma fights and on patrol, and was just as skilled as his first fight. Videos were made speculating about his powers if he had any new ones, and where he could have possibly gotten the skills he used in his fight. The most popular theory came from Aurore, who hypothesized that Panthère de Nuit was not new to being a hero. The public was still a little apprehensive, since they remembered what they’d been through under Chat Noir, but were rapidly warming up to the man. Of course, a certain someone claimed to have more info than she did. Marinette sat in her spot with Damian by her side and rolled her eyes as Lila went on and on, “I’m so happy I was finally able to convince Ladybug to replace Chat Noir! I’ve been telling her for years that he isn’t a good partner, but she’s so sweet and sentimental, so she was hesitant to get rid of the partner she’s had since the beginning. Maybe now that he’s not around to get jealous, I can convince her to give you all your Miraculous again! Well, some people might not be worthy of wielding one, but that’s their own fault.” The class snickered and shot looks at Marinette and her friends, who simply ignored them. Lila had no way of knowing that some of the class would never wield any Miraculous again, their identities had been exposed and it was too much of a risk. Lila went on and on, even when Ms. Bustier came in and tried to start class. However, someone caught Marinette’s attention: Alya. Her former best friend was sitting with her laptop open to the Ladyblog analytics page, and she was watching Lila with narrowed eyes. She would occasionally stop and type something out. Her concentration seemed to stop when Adrien walked into the room, and Marinette quickly looked away to avoid eye contact with either. Damian shot a glare at the blond who was trying to get Mari’s attention, and the ravenette paid him no mind. Nino (Who still had connections in the Adrien fan club) had informed her that the model talks about her at his shoots, and when people ask if they’re dating he never denies it. “He’s trying to create a public narrative,” Damian had explained, “If the media picks up the story and the public catches on, it could spread like wildfire. Remember how everyone thought Ladybug and Chat Noir were in love and destined for each other? That resulted in people pressuring Ladybug to admit feelings she didn’t have.” The group nodded, clearly understanding that Damian was worried the same thing would happen to Marinette.

Adrien made his next move at lunch. Marinette and Damian, along with their friend group were going to spend their lunch at a nearby cafe. The group didn’t want to deal with Lila, and wanted to be able to discuss their topic privately: Reopening an investigation into who Hawkmoth is. Marinette had a theory board about it that she had made with Alya when they were younger, but the two stopped when they had their falling out. As they were leaving, Adrien approached them. “Hey, Mari! So where are we going for lunch?” I know a great place-” “We? Dude, you haven’t been caught dead anywhere near us since middle school,” Nino practically growled and crossed his arms. The ending of their friendship had been… explosive. Nino had gone to Adrien after he figured out Lila was lying, hoping to gather support to expose Lila and save his childhood friend’s reputation, and was horrified to find out that Adrien knew and pressured Mari to keep quiet. The following argument resulted in Nino being akumatized into Maskless, who was determined to “remove the masks” and expose people for who they truly are. It was a difficult fight for Ladybug, and after it was over, Nino disavowed the two boys’ friendship for good, the last thing he’d spoken to Adrien before now was, “I just can’t be friends with someone who would sacrifice a friend to avoid having to deal with a little discomfort. Talk to me when you grow a spine and maybe I’ll forgive you.” And the future director had kept his promise. This was the first time he’d spoken to Adrien in years. The callout seemed to catch the blond off guard, and he stumbled out, “Well uh, my father wanted me to talk to Marinette about an internship, so I was going to do that today at lunch. So Mari where do you want to go eat?” And with that Adrien made a move to grab Mari’s wrist, but was blocked by an angry Kim and pissed Damian. “Didn’t your dad teach you it’s rude to grab someone without consent?” Kim snarked. Nathaniel, Rose, and Juleka nodded, with Juleka working up the courage to add, “You’re forgetting that you aren’t the only model in the class anymore. I’m in the same gossip circles you are now, and I know you’re trying to make people think that Adrienette is a thing.” “That’s not true I-,” “Enough,” Marinette cut in, Adrien gave her a hopeful smile, while the others snickered. “Adrien, I already have plans with my friends and it would be rude of me to cancel at the last minute. Plus I seem to remember two very important things you’re conveniently forgetting: First, the conversation in which I very clearly told you I wasn’t interested, and second, the letter I received in the middle of class a year ago from your father telling me I’ve been blacklisted from the company. And from the looks on both your and Lila’s faces I can conclude you both had something to do with that. If Gabriel wants me to work for him, he needs to start by addressing the elephant in the room and the damage he’s done to my career before I could even graduate. Come on guys, we need to actually get something to eat before lunch is over,” and with that, Marinette and her group sidestepped a disappointed Adrien and made their way toward a cafe.

After they’d gotten their food, they got to work on their theory of who Hawkmoth was. “Here’s the list of people I considered before I knew for sure he had a partner,” Marinette set a stack of papers down, “And here’s the list of suspects after I had to start over once Mayura came onto the scene.” That list was twice as long and seemed to radiate an aura of frustration. The others each took papers and began crossing out people that they knew couldn’t be Hawkmoth. “Soooo… I think we can rule out some people based on the fact they don’t have time to be Hawkmoth or Mayura. Like we know they aren’t any of our parents because they’re too busy with work,” Rose chirped as she crossed off names with her sparkly pink Pom Pom pen. “So I hate to be that person but are we sure Mayura is Hawky’s only partner?” Nathaniel asked, playing with a pencil. Damian nodded, “Surely he has to have someone else. He can’t guarantee that someone in Paris is going to feel upset enough to attract an akuma even though Paris is a big city. It would make more sense if he had someone working to actively cause akumas,” the group seemed to be stuck for a moment after the obviously innocent people have been ruled out. The problem with Akumatizations is how little solid evidence is left behind. Hawkmoth can emotionally hijack someone and leave behind no DNA or fingerprints, or really anything.

Damian had (and none of them except Marinette knew this) checked the databases the Justice League and Batfamily kept on the various super criminals of the world only to have it turn up empty, so the group was stuck… until a new voice cut in, “You’re assuming he’s smarter than he really is. I should know, I’ve helped him before.” Chloe and Sabrina stood in front of their table, with the heiress making a point to sit herself down at the head of the table and continued, “Be honest with yourselves, I’m not the only person with an attitude problem in Paris who didn’t care how many akumas I caused. There are many more who don’t care, and those people are the backbone of Hawkmoth’s operation whether they realize it or not. Unless you and Ladybug have a plan to make everyone in Paris act as sweet as pie, you need to stop acting like Hawkmoth is a genius. He thrives off dumb luck and takes advantage of problems others cause.” Marinette froze at the mention of her alter ego, “Why do you think I know Ladybug?” Chloe snorted and gave Marinette a look, “Dupain-Cheng you got that wannabe reporter an interview with her! Despite your family’s lack of financial wealth, you have connections coming out of your pigtails. If anyone in this hellhole keeps regular contact with Ladybug it would be you. Anyways, Hawkmoth isn’t the brains of the operation, that could be Mayura if she would stop going along with all his ridiculous schemes and grow a backbone. In the few times I’ve willingly helped him, it was clear that his plan was only cobbled together at best and completely on the fly at worst.” “Why did you help him in the first place?” Rose blurted out, and realizing her mistake she quickly covered her mouth.

Chloe simply sighed, “I guess I do owe you all an explanation since I was responsible for most of your akumatizations. When I agreed to help him, I was at my lowest. He prays on weakness in any form it comes in. I was always taught that I was born lucky, and everyone else was just lucky to be born- yes Kim I know what show I’m referencing- and for the longest time I believed it. I believed I had the right to act the way I did, and my parents encouraged it, but as I started getting older, it became clear that I didn’t inherit my mother’s talent so she started distancing herself from me. My father tried to fill the void by just giving in to everything I wanted. I know he loves me, but he wanted to be my friend instead of my parent, and that whole dynamic messed me up even more. Then I met Marinette fucking Dupain-Cheng, a girl who my parents taught me to consider less than dirt beneath my feet… but she somehow had everything I wanted,” Chloe clutched the smoothie in her hand, and couldn’t meet Marinette’s eyes, “Your parents love you so much, and are so involved. They made it to every event our class had, while mine couldn’t be bothered, they encouraged you when you failed and promised to help you, while my mother would scream at me and tell me I was a waste of her time. They helped you learn how to deal with your problems instead of paying them to go away. I was and still am, so jealous of you Marinette. I’d give anything in a heartbeat to trade places with you, but instead, I did the only thing I knew how to do: I lashed out. I made your life hell for years, long before Lila came around, in fact, I’m surprised that you didn’t dump our class sooner. In all the years I bullied you, not a single one of them helped you, they avoided you, and the second you stood up to me they tried to act like all those years just disappeared,” Damian, who was mainly focusing on how Marinette was reacting, quickly noticed the shame on the faces of their friends. While he wanted to rage at them for what they’d done to his soulmate, he stopped himself, he knew he couldn’t now that he was Panthère de Nuit if Hawkmoth found an opening… He focused back in on Chloe’s story to try and calm down, “Anyways, when Ladybug came onto the scene, I immediately latched onto this idea that if she was my friend, all my problems would be fixed. I would have an amazing friend who would get my parent’s attention and make all my problems go away, but I screwed it up royally. When I found the Bee Miraculous, I thought it was a chance to redeem myself. I should have just returned it to Ladybug instead of causing that train accident, I thought if I showed her that I could be a hero then maybe she’d accept me. She kept giving me chance after chance, and I kept fucking up because I would let my ego get the better of me. When I lost the Bee Miraculous, when I realized Ladybug wanted nothing to do with me, and when I realized it was all my fault, I broke. I was convinced that I was destined to destroy anything good in my life, and that was when Hawkmoth approached me about becoming Miracle Queen. I was so emotional that I forgot who I was talking to, and gave him everything he needed to convince me to join him. After that… I was bitter, bitter at the world, Ladybug, Zoe, you name it I was upset at it because something had occurred to me during that time. I realized that I was never born lucky, that’s you Marinette, I was actually the one lucky to be born- shut up Kim let me have this- even though you were going through hell, you still had people in your corner who support you unconditionally. I know Ladybug hates me, I know you do too, but if she really wants to defeat Hawkmoth all she needs to do is get him at his lowest, and Mayura will follow him down.” With her speech over, Chloe and Sabrina simply got up and left, leaving a stunned table in their wake. “Get him at his lowest…” Marinette murmured to herself, and she kept muttering it all the way back to school.

As the school day neared the end, Marinette had gone to the restroom, promising to meet Damian by her locker. As the Wayne heir waited, he heard a gentle, ‘ahem,’ and turned, expecting to see his soulmate. Instead, he felt his blood pressure spike as he was face to face with the ravenous wolf that looked at him as if he were a gullible lamb, a.k.a, Lila. She looked a mess with puffy red eyes and mascara streaks down her face reaching her chin, it was clear to anyone she had been crying. Damian narrowed his eyes, this might not be one of her fake crying episodes, but it clearly was still a carefully laid trap. They were alone, with no witnesses to watch what was about to go down. Lila hesitantly held her phone out to Damian, and tears began rolling down her cheeks again, “I… I thought you should know,” she sniffed, pressing the play button. Damian listened with a raised eyebrow to the conversation Lila had supposedly recorded, “Marinette you are an amazing woman, what I wanted to tell you was that I accept your feelings and will be your boyfriend,” Adrien’s voice could be heard loud, and clear through the recording, Damian opened his mouth but Lila cut him off, “There’s more hang on,” Soon after, his Lily’s voice could be heard, “Adrien, I have loved you since we were thirteen-” With that Lila stopped the recording and began to cry, “I know Marinette’s probably told you all these nasty things about me… but it felt wrong to say nothing and let her keep manipulating you like this when I know what I heard.” With that, Lila went back to sobbing and wailing about how her bully ‘stole’ her soulmate and was a filthy cheater. If anyone else was around, they would have caught the Bat Glare Lila herself was too wrapped up in her act to see. Damian wasn’t surprised Lila stooped this low, in fact, he wasn’t surprised she didn’t stoop lower and try to fake a pregnancy or something, but it dawned on him that this was the perfect opportunity to end Marinette’s torment and he decided to take it. “Oh, you were there for that conversation too?” Lila froze, and looked up at him with fresh tears still rolling down her cheeks, “E-excuse me?” A deep laugh that rumbled like thunder cut through the tension. “Do you seriously think I would have let Adrien speak to my Lily alone when I knew he would try to pull something? And do you seriously think I wouldn’t consider the possibility someone could have been listening in,” With that, Damian pulled out his own phone, shooting Lila a vicious smirk. “Let me fill you in on what you conveniently missed,” As he pressed play, the smirk only grew as he watched the color drain from Lila’s face and his voice played from the speaker, “Agreste there is no way you are her soulmate. I saw Marinette in my dreams, and she saw me in hers. Besides, I know your soulmate is Rossi. She was determined to make a scene today at lunch, and it tipped me off that you would try something like this. I suggest you listen well Agreste because this is the only time I will be kind enough to give you some advice. Leave Marinette alone. All you have done is hurt her and allow others to hurt her. You have stood by and watched as a petty ectoparasite burrowed into Marinette’s class and allowed her to spread her manipulative disease. Even if by chance you have somehow seen the light and exposed the truth tomorrow, which we both know you will not do because you are too much of a coward and care more about what other people think of you, it’s too late. You have blown all your chances, and Marinette is far too good for you, someone who will throw her to the wolves to avoid a minor inconvenience. So stay away Adrien, if you know what is best for you.” With that, Damian placed his phone in his pocket and looked back at Lila.

“You know, I really ought to thank you, Rossi, you tipped me off to Agreste’s plan and allowed me to collect evidence to foil your own. I have that entire conversation recorded from the moment he approached my Lily, and I have already been recording this one too,” Lila’s eyes widened and she looked like she was about to faint, so Damian moved in for the kill, “Do you really think you’re the first one to try and pull a stunt like this? I am from one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the world, did you really think you would be the first to lie about my soulmate? How convenient, you happen to have a recording of Marinette supposedly accepting a confession from Adrien, and that you finally worked up the ‘courage’ to tell me the first moment I am alone and Marinette is not here to defend herself. I will give you some credit though, your editing skills could fool someone who is not looking for signs of manipulation, and could have definitely fooled our gullible classmates, which brings me to my next point,” Damian channeled his rage into a calm, icy glare, “You will cease tormenting my soulmate immediately. I am not afraid to expose your lies and underhanded tactics to our class, but let me give you some more incentive. Before, Marinette did not have the… legal resources to handle you properly, but I have my family’s lawyers on speed dial Rossi. Marinette is not my wife yet, but the same protections that cover the Wayne family extend to her. So if you know what is good for you, you will shut your mouth and never speak ill of my soulmate again, or my lawyers will see what other secrets you have been hiding.” Taking that as her queue to leave, Lila booked it toward the exit like the devil was on her heels. Operation: Lila Wayne was clearly dead in the water, and Damian would be sure it stayed that way. Once she was gone he took a deep breath and got his emotions in check, just in time to see the love of his life jogging towards him. “Sorry! I realized while I was in the bathroom that I left some stuff in the art room!” He smiled as the familiar feeling of warmth returned to him. It was wonderful, being in love.

Alya just got finished pacing around her room for what felt like the hundredth time. She stared at her computer, open to the video she had yet to publish, and the one that would be the final nail in the coffin for her career. She knew deep down she had to do this, it was the only way to atone for all she’d done. A chat popped up on the screen from Red:

Are you okay Ladyblogger? I know this is a tough decision, and I’m here for you.

Alya smiled, over their many late-night conversations, Red had become a good friend and close confidant. She’d never meet up with him in person, that was online safety 101, but he’d helped her come to some difficult conclusions.

Yeah. Just trying to settle my nerves a bit. I know I have to do this, it’s the right thing to do, and lately, I’ve struggled with that.

You’ve got this. I think it will go over better than you think it will.

With that, Alya closed her eyes, counted to ten, and pressed the upload button. A video titled after one of the worst things she’d ever said was now on the front page of the Ladyblog, a video she could never take back.

Marinette and Damian were in her room, munching on a variety of cookies and discussing their plan to end Hawkmoth’s reign of terror once and for all. Their brainstorming was interrupted when a notification popped up on Marinette’s phone, and a new video had been posted to the Ladyblog. The two shared a look and a shrug, sure, why not? It wouldn’t hurt to see what Lila was saying now, instead, they were met with a thumbnail of Alya sitting at her desk, and a video called ‘A Good Reporter Always Fact Checks’ was staring back at them. Damian pressed play, and the two sat back to see what this was about.

“Hey everyone, it’s the Ladyblogger. This video is VERY different from what I normally post, and it needs to be because I have a lot I need to say. Many years ago, when I was just starting out I posted a video about a girl named Lila Rossi who claimed that she was Ladybug’s best friend. That video has been removed, but at the time I thought nothing of it. A girl who was my friend confronted me about it, and rightly, called me on the fact I had no evidence to prove anything Lila had said. Instead of fixing my mistake, I told her that a good reporter always fact-checks, but that wasn’t what I did. I am here today to apologize to her and to all of you for failing you. I neglected to do the right thing and gave a liar a platform to spread dangerous misinformation, but I also took that liar’s side and turned against the best friend I’ve ever had.

I met Lila Rossi when I was thirteen, and I along with most of my classmates naively believed every word that came out of her mouth like it was gospel. She told us that because her mother was a diplomat, she had gotten to meet and work with all these famous people and that she could talk with them and help our careers. We were so excited, there was someone who could help us reach our dreams and she was doing it out of the kindness of her heart. Hindsight really is 20/20, and looking back there was no way any celebrity in their right mind would be that deeply involved working with a teenage girl to the extent Lila claimed. I can’t speak for my classmates but I know a part of me kept believing her because the fear of pissing her off and then it all turning out to be true kept me loyal to her. I was a coward and afraid that if I questioned her I would lose out, and that later turned into fearing what I’d done in her name if it turns out she was lying. This resulted in me interviewing her and publicizing her lies and misinformation, giving her a platform to fuel her own ego. To put it simply: I didn’t fact-check, and now everyone is paying the price. I’m sorry. I’m so, so, so, sorry. Taking her videos down doesn’t fix the damage she caused, and just saying I’m sorry won’t either. It sounds cringy but I promise to do better, but I don’t expect you all to stick with me now that I’ve proven not to be a reliable source. For accurate, truthful information, check out Aurore’s blog On the Spot. She’s a great reporter and has done a much better job than I did. I would also like to apologize to Ladybug, and not just for giving Lila Rossi a platform. I want to apologize for all those shitty things I did to try to figure out her identity and push LadyNoir even after she clearly expressed multiple times that she was uncomfortable. Most importantly, I want to apologize to my former friend and ex-boyfriend,” Marinette’s eyebrow raised a bit, “They caught on to Lila’s bullshit years before I did and tried to snap me out of it because they cared about me. But instead, I dug my heels in and participated in icing them out from the class, and stood by while they were harassed. I broke up with my boyfriend over this whole mess because I was appalled he’d take Lila’s “Bully’s” side when the truth was that they were the ones being bullied. All I can say to them is that I’m sorry and that they don’t have to forgive me. My teacher taught us that we always need to forgive and be the bigger person, but forgiveness isn’t something owed, it's earned. I’ve acknowledged my wrongdoings but I haven’t yet begun to work to make things right. So to that girl who was my best friend and one of the best people I’ve met: I should have trusted you. This isn’t your fault, it’s mine, and I am so sorry for what I’ve done.” Marinette sat and stared, stunned at Alya’s admission and watching in awe as the blogger exposed Lila’s lies to the world. Out of all the people to do it, she never thought it would be Alya, Lila’s self-proclaimed BFF. However, it also meant the last variable in her plan was taken care of, so walking over to the Miraculous box, she took what she needed and gave a variety of Miraculous to Damian. Standing on her toes she kissed his cheek and whispered, “Text Red Robin and Batman, tell them to meet us at the Eiffel Tower at Midnight. And if you would be so kind, please take these Miraculous to their most recent holders. I know I said I retired the old heroes, but we’ll need most of them again. I have one errand to run, and I’ll meet you there.” Damian nodded, and kissed Mari’s forehead, “Be careful my Lily.” and She hesitantly broke away from his embrace, transformed, and snuck out through her balcony.

Alya was scrolling through the comments on her apology/Lila Rossi exposè video, it was a habit she never could break. Yes, there were quite a few harshly criticizing her, and a couple were straight-up name-calling, but the majority of people were happy she’d seen the light and were encouraging her not to give up on her dream. Her phone was blowing up with texts and calls from her classmates (and quite a few angry voicemails from Lila), but she couldn’t bring herself to care. A part of her felt at peace, even though she mourned the loss of her dream. A knock on her door snapped her out of her spiral, it was probably her mom coming to give her a pep talk and reassure her she did the right thing. But as she opened the door to her room, a familiar set of pigtails nearly made her jump out of her skin. “Hi… I came to talk,” Marinette said, and Alya moved back to let her in. This felt so right, but wrong. It called back to the many sleepovers they had, laughing about boys and reading superhero comics, but this time it was like two opposing soldiers laying down their arms in a tentative truce. Marinette decided to break the awkward silence, “So I saw the video. I have to admit, I certainly wasn’t expecting you to expose Lila like that.” Alya gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Neither did she. She’s been blowing up my phone with voicemails calling me every name she can think of and promising to ruin me. Well, she’s too late 'cause I already did that.” Marinette looked over at the comments, skimming through them. “Not necessarily. You apologized, admitted you were wrong, and have already begun working to undo some of her damage,” “But that doesn’t excuse what I did to you, to Nino, and your friends.” “No, it doesn’t, but you’ve owned up to it which is admirable. What snapped you out of it?” Alya smiled softly, “I made a friend who got me to stop and think… and also got me access to the school’s cameras. I don’t know how much of the video you watched but I played the video from the day you got expelled and it showed Lila framing you so Damocles and Bustier are in some hot water right now.” Marinette laughed, genuinely, it felt so strange for Alya to hear, “About time! I can’t help but wonder how many other people they messed up, besides us.” “Oh, a lot. I plan on exposing more, but that’s a problem to take out another day.” Marinette perked up a bit, “Speaking of taking out problems, I need your help with a big one.” Alya nodded eagerly, ready to make up for her years of inaction. “I asked Aurore to post this too, but I need you to post this article,” Marinette handed her a piece of paper to read, as she read, her brow furrowed a bit, “You’re not planning on taking on Hawkmoth, are you? Oh my god, you are. I don’t know what secret weapons stash the Waynes have but-” “Tikki spots on,” Standing there, in her room, was Ladybug, where her former best friend once stood. Before Alya could find her words Maribug, no, Ladynette, no, Ladybug cut her off, “I have a plan but I’m going to need Hawkmoth to panic thinking the Miraculi are slipping out of his grasp. We need this to bait him out.” Alya was stunned, and began to stammer, “Of course! I-” “You said you wanted to work to make things right, so if you’re willing,” Marinette held out an oh-so-familiar fox necklace, “I’ll need Rena Rouge’s help too.”

Chloe was sitting in her room with Sabrina, pretending to be invested in whatever show they were watching. In her mind she kept replaying that day she spotted Marinette and her group in her favorite cafe. The conversation she had… she had never expected to spill her heart out like that. Her mother always told her that she could never be vulnerable, she could never let others see any weakness, and yet there she sat pouring out her heart. Eventually, Sabrina had to leave, they did have school tomorrow, and the heiress was left alone. Alone was something familiar to Chloe, especially since her Icarus Moment, as she called it, was something she dreaded. She knew her parents would leave her out to dry in a heartbeat, she knew Zoe had her own life and that the two sisters would never be close, and she knew all her daddy’s employees would quit the moment they found something better. All she had left was Sabrina, so she clung on for dear life. She’d stopped treating her friend like a servant a long time ago, and even when she was at her worst, Sabrina stuck by her. Initially, it was out of fear, Sabrina knew that if she was going to swim with sharks it was better to be a remora. She had many chances to leave but stuck around time and time again and Chloe realized that maybe Sabrina really did care for her. Then there was the hot mess that was Adrien. He’d tried to give Chloe the “Her lies aren’t hurting anybody” speech a while ago, but the heiress wasn’t having it. This girl had humiliated her and needed to pay. She and Sabrina decided to gather information, and that was how they overheard Adrien making Marinette agree not to do anything and later Lila threatening Marinette.

Chloe had always felt a little bad for the baker’s daughter, she was madly in love with Adrien but had no idea what he was really like, he could be incredibly manipulative if it meant avoiding an uncomfortable situation. She knew that Marinette wouldn’t trust her to outright accept help from the heiress, so she decided to back off entirely, a cease-fire of sorts. It helped that this coincided with her revelation that she was jealous of Marinette and her family. When Damian Wayne joined the class and declared himself Dupain-Cheng’s soulmate, Chloe thought, ‘About damn time.’ She’d seen how the former class president was treated and knew she most likely had another major stressor (Chloe theorized she was Ladybug’s woman in the chair, working behind the scenes), so she was a bit relieved to see the universe finally being kind to the ravenette. Unfortunately, it also marked the turn for Adrien to go off the deep end. He had confessed to Chloe before that he knew about Marinette’s crush, but that he was pretty sure his soulmate was Ladybug, and he’d also said that she’d be his second pick if that didn’t work out, and she certainly got an earful when he found out his soulmate was Lila. After she and Sabrina returned to school after their run-in with the Mari Squad, Adrien stopped her and asked her to help him win back Marinette. “Agreste,” She remembered snapping, not bothering with any nicknames, “You’ve lost your mind. Dupain-Cheng finally, FINALLY has something positive working out for her and you, one of the main sources of all her anguish think you can just waltz back in? You don’t really love her Adrien, you said it yourself she’d always be your second choice, and when your first choice fell through and your soulmate turned out to be Lila you sought out your consolation prize. Let me give you some advice: Life isn’t a fairytale, you can’t expect Marinette to wait for you forever or to completely throw away her life for you.” She doubted Adrien would get the message, but at least she tried. If she was naïve, Chloe would wonder if this marked the start of the end of their rivalry and the beginning of a new friendship, but the logical part of her knew that the damage she did was too great. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a sound coming from her balcony. She groaned and got up, thinking a pigeon had crashed into the door and was now stunned on the floor. But when she opened the door, she was shocked, there was Ladybug and Rena Rouge on her balcony. Ladybug smiled gently, and in almost a whisper asked, “Is Queen Bee available?”

The three women arrived at the Eiffel Tower just before midnight. Their arrival was acknowledged by a majority of the Miraculous team and Red Robin. Batman stood back, silently observing. Marinette could feel the nerves rising in her stomach. There was Batman, in person, and he was here to help her. Alya seemed to be going through a similar mental process, trying desperately to act professional and not fangirl, until Red Robin greeted her, “Well, well, well. Gotta say I wasn’t expecting to see you here Ladyblogger!” Alya’s jaw dropped, “Red??” Tim threw his head back and laughed, “Yep! I needed some information for our investigation, and figured I’d help you off the sinking ship in the process.” Before Alya could reply, Batman spoke, “Speaking of information, we were able to figure out That Hawkmoth and Mayura are Gabriel Agreste and his assistant Nathalie Sancoeur by hacking into various cameras to track the akumas, and from there we monitored his activity through his security system,” “For the record I’ve seen better security from Rogues like Crazy Quilt,” Red Robin interjected, Batman sighed and continued, “We have solid evidence that will hold up in court, so our main objective will be to catch him,” the Dark Knight turned to Ladybug, “So I’m assuming you called us here because you have the plan to do that.” Ladybug nodded and stepped forward to begin to tell the team her plan, “So as most of you know Hawkmoth and Mayura get their powers from the Kwamii within their Miraculous, that’s the same thing that gives us our powers,” She clarified for the Gotham heroes, “All we have to do is remove the Miraculous from them, and their transformation will be dropped and they’ll be powerless. However, the tricky part is actually getting them to come to the fight themselves. The nature of their Miraculous allows them to create minions to fight for them, hence the Akumas and Sentimonsters, so it’s very likely that they’ll try and distract us so they can escape. We have a mostly full Miraculous team, minus the mouse, rabbit, ox, and horse, but those can easily be given to other holders to fill that void,” The group felt a mix of emotions at the realization that some of their classmates had still yet to try and make amends for what they did, but knew that it was for the better until they could fully trust the former team members again. “So in order to get them out, we need to get them to their lowest, a point in which they’ll be so desperate that they’ll feel like they have no choice but to face us themselves, and we’ll do that by making them think that everything is slipping out of their grasp.”

Adrien had just gotten home from school, and turned on the TV in his room, flopping down on his bed. His day was AWFUL because the night before Alya had made a video on the Ladyblog exposing Lila completely out of the blue. Needless to say, the class was furious, and then their fury was directed at him when they found out he’d known the whole time and the things he did to keep Marinette from exposing Lila. He’d tried to argue that yeah he’d made a mistake, but no major damage had been done and that the small stuff could be fixed, so they should all just move on and be friends again. That had only added fuel to the fire, and all of this was before Marinette and Damian walked in. Adrien could practically feel his blood pressure rising at the thought of his rival’s name. He’d changed Marinette, encouraged her to stand up for herself, and in Adrien’s opinion was shaping her into a toxic person, but it seemed like he was the only one who could see it! More and more people gravitated to Mari like moths to a flame, and she was enjoying quite the popularity spike while he and Lila were seemingly deemed the school’s outcasts. If he still had his ring he would go to her as Chat Noir and demand that she stop the bullshit and fix everything, but he couldn’t even do that. Lila had contacted him, screaming that he’d ruined her plan to split up Dupain-Cheng and Wayne, and if he’d just followed her lead, he’d have what he wanted and she’d have what she wanted. For once he wished he listened to Lila, especially when she told him that Damian had a recording of his confrontation with Marinette and her rejection. His lawyers explained that there was nothing he could do, the Wayne family was a legal juggernaut so even if they did have a valid case, they would simply be able to drag it out until the Agrestes had no choice but to drop it, the same thing Gabriel had done to countless people before. They drilled into his head that any move he made against Damian Wayne would bring the wrath of his lawyers and that for once, Adrien was in a position of weakness.

He was brainstorming ideas on how to convince Marinette to leave her soulmate when the TV switched over to breaking news. “Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit will be meeting with members of the Justice League and Justice League Dark today in order to transfer over the Miraculous to the hero teams. According to statements from Ladybug posted to the Ladyblog and On the Spot, ‘Hawkmoth’s attacks have become far more brazen, and in order to assure the safety of Paris, I felt it was necessary to entrust the Miraculi, including the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, to people who can properly protect them,’” The screen cut to Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit handing over what was supposedly the Miracle Box to the superheroes Batman, Red Robin, Zatanna, and Doctor Fate, The box was almost in Zatanna’s hands when a loud boom caught the attention of the heroes, and as the camera turned to show what they saw, Adrien gasped. There were Hawkmoth and Mayura on the back of a massive multi-headed dragon Sentimonster, with an army of akumas and amoks floating around them, ready to turn at least half of Paris into their own army. A burst of fire was shot from one of the heads of the dragon, with Ladybug, Panthère de Nuit, Batman, and Red Robin easily dodging. Zatanna and Doctor Fate, along with the Miracle Box disappeared in the familiar smoke of an illusion from the Fox Miraculous breaking, in fact, the whole area seemed to disappear, and when the smoke settled, it showed the heroes and villains trapped in a large Shell-ter. It struck Adrien that this was never a poorly executed plan that Hawkmoth discovered, this was an ambush. Realistically, he knew he shouldn’t get involved, he didn’t have a Miraculous and would be putting himself in great danger. However, he was convinced that if he showed Ladybug that he could still be a hero, she would have to give him a MIraculous, and he could prove to Marinette that he was the best match for her. So he left for the battlefield.

Everything so far was going according to plan. Hawkmoth and Mayura had taken the bait and were now trapped in the Shell-ter with the Heroes. Rena Rouge was working overtime, creating illusion after illusion to confuse the devious duo. Carapace’s Shell-ter was holding strong, preventing anyone from entering and potentially getting akumatized. Vipereon was given the rabbit miraculous as well and was currently hopping between dimensions and using Second Chance to reset the fight and figure out the next moves they should make. King Monkey (with help from the Mouse Miraculous), Pigella, and Caprikid were using their respective powers to work with Batman and Red Robin to try and throw off Hawkmoth and Mayura’s concentration. Meanwhile, Ryuko, Panthère de Nuit, Purple Tigeress (also using the Ox Miraculous), and Rooster Bold were handling the massive dragon Sentimonster. Ladybug herself was along the outskirts of the battle, with Miss Hound and the “new” Bee hero Swarm. Ladybug was using her yo-yo to get her allies out of the way of various attacks, and waiting for the signal from Vipereon to use Lucky Charm. Swarm was waiting for an opportunity to use Venom to stun either Hawkmoth or Mayura, while Miss Hound was using the Horse Miraculous to teleport around to take shots at hitting the villains’ Miraculous. All of the heroes were connected with earpieces so they could communicate and monitor how each other was doing, and so far everything was going smoothly.

For the first time in forever, Ladybug was beginning to feel hopeful that this nightmare would be over soon, when Miss Hound caught everyone’s attention, “Ummm… Why is Adrien trying to get in? Does he know that Hawkmoth is his dad?” Red Robin dodged an attack from an enraged Mayura, and quickly answered, “Not that we’re aware of. Although we did find out that he was Chat Noir, so maybe he thinks he can help,” Ladybug sighed and declared she would handle it, swinging off to the border. Sure enough, there was Adrien, banging on the Shell-ter, and he perked up as soon as he saw her. The only thing standing between the former partners was a magical green wall. “What are you doing here Adrien? It’s not safe!” Ladybug crossed her arms and glared, she did NOT have time for this! “I’m here to help My Lady! So tell Carapace to drop Shell-ter and let me in,” The blond boy shot her his best Chat Noir smile, while Ladybug simply raised an eyebrow, “I can’t do that Adrien. Lifting the shelter would allow thousands of akumas to escape and terrorize Paris. It would be too much of a risk and put too many people in danger. Besides you don’t have a way to fight, so you wouldn’t be any help.” She hoped that would put an end to it, but she was wrong, “But I can help! If you give me a Miraculous I can help you defeat Hawkmoth. Please Ladybug we’re partners, we’re soulmates! I should be there fighting with you!” Adrien was persistent she’d give him that, but there was no way she’d let him in, potentially ruining everything when they worked so hard. “No Adrien, I will not be giving you a Miraculous! Every single one of them is in use right now and to take one away from someone would put them in danger. Besides, you already blew your chance when you were Chat Noir! You proved that you were never in it to protect people, and you were barely a decent partner! There were several times Hawkmoth almost won because you were goofing off or just didn’t even show up. Finally, you aren’t my soulmate, you never were. Just go home, go home, and sit this one out,” That seemed to cause him to only get more upset, “This is because of the new cat isn’t it?! He’s convinced you I’m some awful person so you’d give him the Cat Miraculous instead of me! It’s mine, not his! Master Fu chose me! I am the real holder of the Cat Miraculous, so you have to do what’s right and give it back if you’re such a ‘real hero’!” Ladybug sighed, “And Plagg, the Kwamii of the Cat Miraculous took it away from you because he felt you were unworthy to wield it. Why would I give it back to you then? Leave Adrien.” With that, she turned away, ready to rejoin the battle, but stopped dead in her tracks, “I should have known all along Ladybug, you aren’t a real hero. You’re just a narcissistic, pathetic, lonely girl pretending to be this great, benevolent hero because, in your real life, nobody loves you. Nobody wants you. I used to think I was your soulmate, and it’s clear I’m not because there’s no way such a vile person like you could ever have one. This is the only way you can get attention, and you strung me along in the process! If anything, you’re just as bad as Hawkmoth!” Adrien spat, before storming off. Ladybug took a deep breath, fighting back tears. It hurt to have someone she cared about, and used to love say such vile things about her, but now was not the time to lose focus, she had a battle to win.

Diving back into the fray, she quickly tugged Caprikid out of the way as Hawkmoth tried to strike him. “You good,” He asked as the two regained their footing on a building, “You left your earpiece on so we kinda heard all of that. Panthère de Nuit looked ready to kill him at one point, and the rest of us would back him up if you want.” Ladybug chuckled a bit, “Thanks but the Miraculous Team is adopting the Bat’s no-killing rule. I’ll be okay, no, I’ll be amazing once we end this!” “Then I’m happy to inform you that it’s time for Lucky Charm,” Vipereon chimed in, “Swarm! Miss Hound! Take the shot! Lucky Charm!” Panthère de Nuit Cataclysmed the Sentimonster, causing cracks to form, destabilizing Hawkmoth and Mayura, with some help, the Amokized pendant was caught and quickly broken. Swarm hit Mayura with Venom, and her Miraculous was taken with Miss Hound’s fetch, leaving a defeated Nathalie, and Hawkmoth standing alone. Ladybug would have to move quickly so Hawkmoth couldn’t Akumatize Nathalie, and looked down at the Lucky Charm in her hand: A lily. Looking around, she quickly developed a plan, Grabbing a few supplies, she made her way to the tallest point within the Shell-ter, and set a trap for the Akumas. Sure enough, the allure of a flower overpowered Hawkmoth’s control over the butterflies, and as a result, they left the villain powerless. The heroes were quick to surround Hawkmoth, and with no Akuma and nowhere to ruin, it looked like his reign of terror was over. “You’re done Hawkmoth, you lost,” Ladybug declared as she jumped down to meet the villain. His cane, which contained a small blade, was ripped out of his hands by Batman, who did not want to risk the former villain attempting to stab Ladybug out of desperation. Seeing as he had no way out, all Hawkmoth could do was sigh in defeat and remove his Miraculous. Once it was securely in Ladybug’s hand, Carapace let the shelter down, and one Miraculous Ladybug later, the destruction of the battle seemed like a distant memory.

It was like waking up from a dream. For a moment, no one said anything, what was left to be said? News helicopters were now flying overhead, as people began to gather around. A few stunned police officers made their way to the front of the crowd to arrest Gabriel and Nathalie, and as they were marched away the crowd erupted in a roar of jubilation. The Miraculous heroes were quick to leave the scene, and not a moment too soon, since their transformations dropped shortly after they landed on a distant roof. As the rest of her team celebrated, Marinette turned to look at the Eiffel Tower, where it all started five years ago. It didn’t feel real, Marinette looked down at the celebrating crowd below, she was happy, but she also felt lost in a way. Being Ladybug had been such a huge part of her life, and she hadn’t really planned what she’d do once Hawkmoth was defeated. She was snapped out of her thoughts when a familiar arm wrapped around her waist, “Hey,” Damian murmured. She could feel a smile growing on her face, “Are you doing okay my Lily? I thought you would’ve been celebrating as well,” Marinette leaned into his side, “I feel like I won the lottery… but I’m not sure where to go from here. I’ve been Ladybug for a good chunk of my life, all the plans I made revolved around being Ladybug and responding to Akumas. Now I don’t really know what to do with myself,” “Come to Gotham,” Tim shouted at the pair, effectively ruining the moment. Damian turned, shooting Tim a glare over his shoulder. “He’s not wrong you know,” Batman started, getting everyone’s attention, “You’ve proven yourself to be incredibly capable, and now that the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous are back in your possession, the threat they pose has been taken care of. We would be honored to have you join us and the rest of the Gotham Knights.” Marinette was stunned, she stammered over her words trying to piece together a sentence, “I, I don’t know what to say-” “How about yes?” Damian asked as he leaned in for a kiss. “Alright then. yes. “ Marinette responded as her eyes fluttered closed. Before their lips could meet, the moment was ruined, “Get a room!” Tim called, resulting in a groan from the couple, and laughter from their friends.

Marinette took one last look around her bare room, almost everything was gone except for her bed and a change of clothes. This was her last night in Paris for a while, maybe forever unless she came back to visit. In the month since Hawkmoth’s defeat, all of Paris had been in a state of constant celebration, and tonight there was supposed to be the biggest party of all: to wish Ladybug good luck and farewell as she joined the Batfam and by extension the Justice League. She would be the only hero moving up to the big leagues, with the rest of the Miraculous holders involved in the final battle releasing a statement that they would be permanently retired until further notice. They cited that it would be too dangerous to have so many Miraculous out and active on a permanent basis, potentially giving supervillains multiple targets to go after, and the potential danger each Miraculous could pose if they were to fall into the wrong hands. They wished Ladybug well and stated that they’d always be ready if she needed them again. Panthère de Nuit was publicly revealed to be Robin, the vigilante from Gotham, along with a slightly watered-down version of why the Bats were in Paris in the first place. No one really cared about the schematics, Hawkmoth was gone, and people could live their normal lives again. Marinette plopped down on her bed, sighing as she watched the Kwamii fly about the room. There really was nothing left for her in Paris, Hawkmoth and Mayura were gone, the rest of her class finally apologized, Lila was exposed and she’d just graduated high school alongside her soulmate. All she had to do now was go to college in Gotham, build her fashion empire, and help defend the world whenever she was needed. She was excited, who wouldn’t be? That excitement was dampened by a sense of melancholy, Paris was her home and she had so many good memories here, some she could remember vividly, like her soulmate dreams. “Hey Tikki?” The little Kwamii paused, floating over to her champion, “Now that I’ve met Damian, am I going to stop having soulmate dreams? I mean I’ve never had them consistently before… but it would be weird for them to suddenly stop right?” Tikki sat for a moment in Marinette’s hand, pondering her chosen’s question. “Well, it depends. Soulmate dreams work differently for different people, but you primarily seem to get them when you’re in a situation relating to hope. When you’re either full of hope or desperately need it, that’s when your dreams seem to come to you. They act like a promise, a promise that all will be well. So I imagine that you may occasionally have one when you need it most or when you feel particularly hopeful. Anyways, I hope you’re ready, it’s almost time for the party to start!” Tikki cheered as the Kwamii surrounded the two.

Damian sat atop the Eiffel Tower as Panthère de Nuit, he watched Ladybug (It’s Lady Miracle now, he reminded himself) as she made her way across the rooftops to him. She was followed by cheering from the crowd of people, who all seemed to surge forward towards the celebration. Occasionally she would stop to pull a few people out of the crowd who looked like they were having trouble, but nonetheless, she was making good progress. She landed next to him gracefully, and he stood to meet her. “Hello my Lily,” he whispered as he pulled her into an embrace. “How was your last day in Paris?” She hummed contentedly as she kissed him, pausing a moment to snuggle closer. “It was good. I finally got apologies from the rest of the class, and anyone else who believed Lila. I only had to deal with Adrien for a few minutes, he tried to convince me to stay in Paris and go to college with him instead of leaving for Gotham. Papa showed him the door. And I also finished up the last of my packing! I’ve never seen the room so empty, it’s kinda scary.” Damian sighed, It seemed like Adrien would always be a pain in their sides, he couldn’t do much, but he seemed determined to be a constant presence in their lives. The two decided they wouldn’t focus on it now, they had a celebration to attend to.

The heroes wove their way through the crowds, talking to people, and occasionally stopping at vendors to purchase some snacks or merch. Eventually, the two made their way to where the old Ladybug and Chat Noir statue stood. There were plans to take it down and replace it. “It should just be a statue of Ladybug, I only came to help defeat Hawkmoth, but she has been fighting him the whole time,” Panthère de Nuit explained to the mayor and various sculptors and architects that were discussing it. Ladybug was munching on a chocolate croissant from her parents’ booth, when someone spoke, “So this is it huh? You won and now you’re just packing up and leaving?” She turned to see Lila standing there, arms crossed and looking a mix between furious and annoyed. ‘Annoyed Hawkmoth didn’t drag me down with him,’ Marinette thought, swallowing the bite of croissant. “Hello, Lila. Yes, I got invited to join the Justice League, so I’ll be spending a few years in Gotham training with Batman. How about you? Got any plans?” It was a bit of an antagonistic question. Since Gabriel Agreste was exposed, the brand Gabriel had been in a perpetual death spiral. Adrien, with the help of the board of directors and some lawyers, was able to stabilize the company, but it was going through a serious rebrand and may have to downsize. So Lila’s future as a model was shaky at best. Lila however, did not show any uncertainty, “Oh I’m probably going to continue modeling, after I finish college that is. Who knows, maybe I’ll leave that behind and branch into acting. Now,” her gaze hardened, “Let’s drop the pleasantries shall we? Hawkmoth is gone, so I expect I won’t be having any more trouble with you-” “Unless you decide to work with a terrorist again. The only reason you haven’t been arrested is because there isn’t enough evidence Lila.” “And it's going to stay that way. You have no reason to go snooping around my life anymore, and besides,” Lila shot her a smirk, “I’m sure the Justice League wouldn’t like it if it got out that their newest member was stalking an innocent model, accusing her of outlandish crimes.” Ladybug laughed, “Considering some recent revelations about you I don’t think I’ll have a problem convincing them you’re anything but trustworthy. So stay out of trouble, because you’ll certainly end up getting in over your head, and someday no one will be around to bail you out.” Lila made a sound similar to an outraged chicken, and placing a hand over her heart she cried, “Is that a threat?” an obvious attempt to make a scene. Ladybug simply shrugged, “Nope. It’s a warning. Do with it what you will,” and with that, she walked over to Panthère de Nuit, and the two swung back up to the Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks. The show was amazing, the symbols of all the Parisian heroes lit up the sky, and Marinette contentedly sighed as she leaned into Damian’s side. Life was good. After a couple of minutes, the grand finale began, with the final fireworks spelling out: Thank you Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit.

#marinette deserves better #adrien salt #lila salt #maribat #class salt #chat noir salt #adrien salt prompts #bustier salt #daminette #gabriel salt

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starsfic · 3 months

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Which is your most hated character in Miraculous Ladybug?

Can I list three?

I'm sure you can guess why.

There was a lot of potential in this character! When I heard that she was gonna get a Miraculous, I was excited to see what would lead up to that! I was curious to see what the kick in the butt would be to get her on the path of redemption!

And I was sorely disappointed. Instead of getting better, she got worse and even more entitled, and it didn't help that she was enabled by Number Three...

...let me tell you something.

I was a Marichat shipper. I was. It was one of the first ships I published fanfic for. If you look on my Wattpad, you can find a lot of Marichat shit. I ate it up, and I was super excited when we learned that there would be a Balcony Scene. I got even more excited when I learned that the episode, Glaciator, came out on my birthday.

What did I get? I got disappointment and discomfort when Chat Noir threw a temper tantrum over Ladybug not showing up for a plan she didn't agree to. He used his friends, who expected him to be there, as an excuse to sneak out. He complains all the time about not having time for his friends, and then doesn't spend time with them.

Slowly, I started to notice more and more off-behavior from Adrien Agreste and slowly grew more and more angry with this show, from telling Marinette to stay quiet to publicly enjoying Ladybug being uncomfortable. He is the symbol of how out of touch the creator is with young girls. It got to the point where I announced that I was never writing fanfic again and was solely gonna focus on my original writing because I was so sick of writing salt and knew it was unhealthy.

I didn't keep that promise, but I still hate Adrien. I still hate Chat Noir. I haven't taken down my old Marichat fics because I feel like they're an important showcase of where I started from, but I can't bring myself to write anything involving Adrien in a romantic relationship with anyone.

#ML #Miraculous #Miraculous Ladybug #Lila Rossi #Lila salt #Chloe Bourgeois #Chloe salt #Adrien Agreste #Adrien salt #Chat Noir #Chat Noir salt #Stars Answers

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sweetiebean00 · 18 days

Text

Hopscotch

There is a severe lack of content for Marikim and I've consumed it in an hour, time to adjust that even if it's just me. Listen, I hate cannon, most of it anyway. I'm not writing with Marc or Luka, only because I don't feel wholey comfy writing them. Didn't get that far in the show😅😅 Didn't finish the Lila shit either, so if it's wrong - sorry? #####

To think, it all started with an akuma.

No, not a poor person taken advantage of. More like a poor butterfly being used by a madman being taken advantage of.

Kim was snorting, eyes rolling at Alix and Max as the duo continued to class from lunch. Max was lamenting the idiocy of their peers, of how Lila was obviously new and full of shit. A napkin take out someone's eye? Especially someone with glasses? Kim could hear his grumblings as Alix dragged him along, her snickering about whatever else that happened that Kim didn't care to pay attention to. While the new girl was objectively pretty, she was far too much like Chloe for Kim's taste. And Kim had made it a point to avoid anything resembling the blonde, he hadn't been the greatest when he'd been trying to impress her. Marinette had helped talk to Ivan after the Stoneheart thing, and since then Kim wants to say he's been doing better. No more silly tricks to impress and using actual words opposed to teasing to encourage have been shown to help loads. Max never hesitated to remind him of the odds when his old habits would make an appearance, but that's what happens when you're a teenager in the midst of an emotional, magical terrorist attack.

He still can't believe he mixed his gym bag for his school bag, eyes rolling at himself as he wondered if Marinette would be willing to take a commission to keep him from mixing them in the future. He didn't even want to think about the number of times he did this a week, let alone a day. It had to-

Kim froze, dread like ice in his veins as he saw the black butterfly floating along. He swallowed, holding as still as he could manage when he heard it. Voices. The following sound of a slam had his brow furrowing and he took a deep breath. Is he witnessing the becoming of an akuma? The memory, the feeling of strings connected to his limbs as the world went dark sent a chill down his spine and before he knew what he was doing. Kim was charging into the room after the akuma, eyes narrowed when he found its target.

Marinette.

The world would burn before someone let her get hurt by a fucking akuma. It was getting closer, heading for an earring as she gripped the sink so tight her knuckles were white. Nope! Not today, Hawkmoth.

"Marinette!"

She jumped, eyes wide with fear and tears falling from her cheeks. A squeak tore from her throat at the sight of the akuma and Kim did the one thing he could think of. He threw his bag. Now what Kim forgot was how he hardly missed a target when he threw something, secondly, was his strength. His muscles weren't for show, if he wasn't working out he was usually doing some sport or another. If not challenging Alix, rollerblades versus his own human body.

The bag slammed into the purple insect, slamming it into the wall. Marinette thankfully seeing his plan had dropped into a roll, moving from the Akuma and Kim didn't hesitate to snatch her around the waist and throw her over his shoulder before they were running from the locker room. Squished Akuma left behind.

Kim didn't stop running, his blood roaring in his ears and all he could think was to get her away from the evil little thing.

Not today, Hawkmoth, not his Cupcake. He didn't even want to think about the slaughter that would take place, because it wouldn't be a fight, a battle. Marinette would take out Hawkmoth and their heroes without fail. She was cunning, he's seen her climb the side of a building and not be late for class every other week. He's seen her when she's pissed, seen her fall and catch herself in a handspring. Seen her make Chloe back down. He wouldn't be surprised if Marinette would make Hawkmoth her little bitch.

"Kim!"

He skid to a halt, lungs burning for air and chest heaving. They were... at the park? Oops. Marinette was poking his back, his sides. Sharp nails digging in for attention, and another one of those squeaks tore from her throat as she clawed at his back on the off chance his rapid stop made her fall. Puh-lease. He played sports, his hands were probably one of the most guaranteed safe zones in the world. Well, maybe. Ladybug or Chat Noir might be safer.

"Kim, I think you outran the akuma." She said softly, and he chuckled. Heat flaring in the back of his neck as she wiggled to be put down. "Did... did you throw your backpack at an akuma?"

"No..?"

He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck now that she was firmly on her own two feet. Her pigtails were disheveled and Marinette's eyes rolled. Lips pulled into a smile as she tugged the ribbons free from her dark hair. Kim grinned, she was smiling! A far cry from the tears she had been shedding when he first found her. The question burned on his tongue, but it might not be a good idea to talk about it right now. Maybe after she seems a bit more at ease? He shrugged, starting down the path of the park and mentally fistbumping when she started along with him.

"That's my gym bag." He grimaced, "Though now that there's akuma juice on it... Hawkmoth can have it."

She laughed, her arm nudging into him as they followed the small path at a slow pace. Kim never thought he'd be skipping class with Marinette Dupain-Cheng, then again, he didn't think he'd have to save the literal sunshine from an akuma. But everyone has their days, everyone has bad days. Kim frowned, probably didn't help everyone was pushing her about today. He heard Nino and Alya criticizing her, but before he could've asked what was going on Lila was claiming a napkin was going to take out Max' eyes. Kim remembers the way his eye twitched, the way Alix immediately stood after Max made a very dry comment and started to preach Lila, her sarcasm missed by the new girl as the trio began to gather their things and leave. Ignoring the tales of wonder of Lila's sacrifice behind as Max proceeded to rant and rave about their classmates having less intelligence than a single cell organism if they believed that.

"Your sacrifice will be remembered," She snickered, patting his shoulder. "I'll make you a new one, if-if you want that is. So it won't be lost in vain?"

"Oh hell yeah!" He fistbumped, ready to brag his ass off about getting a custom design from Marinette and to flex on Alix and Max, on Ondine, on his teammates, mostly on Alix though. "I will never say no to a DC original! Alix is gonna be pissed!"

"Oh, I can make her on-"

Kim interrupted her, grabbing her by the shoulders and pressing into her space. His face turned serious, brows furrowed as he stopped them mid-walk. When he spoke his voice had dropped into just barely above a whisper and eyes staring at her intensely.

"Whatever you do, don't make her one." She squeaked, her cheeks heating as Kim continued. "I want to forever have bragging rights on that little shit."

Marinette blinked, once, twice. Then she snorted, eyes rolling as she playfully pushed at his chest. He grinned, mischief glinting in his eyes as she proceeded to grumble. Trudging along the path quicker, and aware of the effortless way Kim kept up. Never once losing the smile that made dimples form in his cheeks. She delighted in the mock hurt and offense that took over his expression when he actually heard what she was saying. The giant athlete bemoaning her cruelty and begging her to reconsider giving Alix more things to allow Shortstack to have bragging rights on him.

"Maaaaarrriiiii," He threw an arm around her shoulder, hearing her squawk as he leaned some of his weight onto her shoulders. Snickering as she stumbled about under his hold. "The betrayal of a sweet treat as yourself cuts ever deep as a thorn of roses!"

"That made no sense!" She laughed, shoving at his arm that was refusing to budge. "Kim! Get your meaty arm off me you oaf!"

"Oaf? Oaf?! Oaf!" He staggered, hands pressing into his chest as he spoke with an exaggerated huff. "How dare you! I am a theater jock!"

"Oh, is theater still your secret side piece to sports?" Marinette teased, and Kim grinned. Hands in his pockets as she stared up at him, shoving her fringe to the side. Her hair flawlessly turning into a brain under her deft fingers. He hadn't seen her with a braid in years. He forgot what she looked like with it. "I thought you dropped theatre last year."

"I did, but I didn't like that one class I took instead, oh the one with the thing and thing?"

"Home Economics?"

"Yes! It was laaaame, besides maman is going to show me how to do all that stuff this summer so I took theater and dropped it."

Marinette nodded, "Well if you want help cooking, you know maman and papa will help in a heartbeat."

"What, not gonna help me at all?"

She rolled her eyes, "I know you know how to cook, I also know you pretend not to when anyone asks."

"Rude. Fair, but rude."

They walked for a few moments in silence, the sound of the trees rustling in the wind. The smell of the flowers drifting through the air and surrounding them as the sun warmed them from a cloudless sky. The park wasn't filled, which made sense since most of the occupants of the park were currently in class or at work. Never in their lives did they think they'd end up skipping class, especially together. Not when he skips for sports and bets, and she skips for battle. Not that he knew that last bit.

"Thank you." She said it so softly, he wasn't sure he heard it. "For-for helping me, get away from the akuma and making me... yeah. Sorry you caught me, well..."

"Mari?" She hummed at his question, watching their shoes as they walked. "Why were you crying in the bathroom?"

"I-"

"Was it that chick, Alya? I know you've gotten close since she transferred, and it's good seeing you making new friends on your own." He stopped their walk, gently turning her to face him and lifting her chin from the ground. "But if she's not turning out to be all that great, you know you're always welcomed to break Bustier's rules and come sit with me and Nath, or even Nino, I know she banned the four of us from sitting together because we were hiding you and Nath from her so you could draw, but-"

"It wasn't- it wasn't Alya..." Marinette admitted, he raised a brow. Her gaze broke from his and she sighed. Her shoulders slumping. "Okay, her and Nino didn't help. But, it's-it's fine. We don't have-"

"Cupcake, unless you don't want to talk to me about it, which you know you just have to say so, what happened? Let your big strong knight be your shield again!"

She laughed, the sound soft, if a little pained. She heaved a breath and when she leaned into his side, he didn't hesitate. Wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close as they continued to walk. It was silent, comfortable. He missed hanging with her, with Nathaniel and Nino. He wondered how well Max and Nath would work together, or Alix and Nino. Considering he can't imagine ditching old friends for new, or new for old. Maybe that's what Marinette needed, some new friends too! He was already thinking of dragging Max to the bakery one day with him, to bond with her. Well, they did like video games and-

"Lila threatened me."

The world stop. The air left his lungs as his vision went dark around the corners. Lila threatened Marinette. Lila threatened Marinette. The Italian sausage threatened! He swallowed the urge to storm back to that school and just take care of that problem growing like fire in his chest. How dare. How fucking dare that new bitch.

"She should've stayed in Italy."

"Kim -NO!"

Her hands clawed at him, and Kim grunted when Marinette threw herself onto his back. Like that would stop him. He bench presses her weight, on a light day! He growled, she growled back and it didn't stop him from starting the track back to Dupont. Oh that bitch!

"Kim I don't have a bag to throw if you get akumatised! Stop!"

"Get off."

"No!" Marinette climbed further and he forgot how much a fucking spider monkey she was. "I will tell you everything but only if you promise not to do anything rash! I did and I got expelled."

He froze. She was expelled. Lila did that. Kim remembers asking Max to look into the cameras, remembers Nathaniel looking at the heirloom and telling him that it was a necklace from Gabriel Agreste. He knows because Marinette sent him the picture of them from the window earlier that same week to give inspiration for his art. They had already been on the way to make Damocles look when she had been sent back to class, her expulsion ending and Kim had noticed the look on Lila's face. She had been happy, and now Kim knows why.

He could see her over his shoulder, her bluest blue eyes wide and darting through the sky over their heads. She was looking for an akuma, watching out for him. Which... considering the butterfly probably no longer smashed against a wall in the locker room, it is a fair precaution. He took a measured breath, fists clenching at his sides. He focused, trying to reel his anger in even if part of him dared the butterfly obsessed freak to send one after him. Just so he could tear it apart with his hands, or better yet. Marinette has carried a sewing kit with her since she wanted to become a fashion designer and he knows she has a pastel pink seam ripper in her purse.

He breathed again, eyes closing. In through the nose, out the mouth. He could feel her warmth against his back, could smell vanilla, of warm bread, and cookies from the wind. Could feel her hair brushing against his skin as her arms locked around his neck. Holding tight to keep from falling. Her ankles locked on his stomach to keep herself up, and feel her purse pressing into the small of his back uncomfortably.

Kim relaxed, thoughts of tearing something apart with his bare hands replacing thoughts of dismembering something to make Hawkmoth stay the fuck away from him. From her. He needed to go hit a punching bag as soon as he could, just the thought had his anger fading away. The tension in his muscles easing as she continued to cling to him like a koala.

After a moment, he felt her slide against him. Her fingers clawing down and he shuddered, goosebumps breaking across his skin as she came to stop. Her hands curled in the fabric of his red hoodie gathered at his lower back. His neck burned, and he resisted the urge to roll his shoulders back. Ignoring the pleasant little buzz coming to life in his blood, pushing at all the thoughts trying to rush to the surface.

He needs her not to do that again, that felt way too good. His mind betraying him with the million and one ways her grabbing at his back could be twisted. He needed a cold shower after beating a punching bag, maybe one of the guys from his sports team would be willing to go a few rounds in the ring with him later? He was going to need it, even if the only reason he felt all pleased is because he liked backrubs. Stop looking at him like that.

She hesitated before taking his hand, leading him down the path until they came across a far off spot. Bushes filled with roses laid about the area and Kim realized she gave them privacy. He didn't know if he liked the idea of this spot, of her taking someone here, probably Adrien because it had become quite clear she had feelings for him. Feelings for the blonde prince, as Alix said to him one day when her phone wouldn't shut up and Alya was trying to scheme them together without Marinette knowing.

Shaking the thoughts to the back of his head, he waited as Marinette slid against the trunk of the tree. Watched as she slowly stopped with her knees to her chest against the bark and caught his eye before patting the seat beside her. Offering him a seat even if the invitation had been there when she started leading him to the secluded little piece of safety. Kim settled beside her, lifting his arm and resting it on her shoulder when she leaned into his side. The smell of vanilla, of bread and cookies surrounding him with the fragrance of the flowers. She fidgeted, her fingers picking at each other until he caught the aforementioned digits in his other hand and squeezed. She was stalling, maybe trying to get that overworking mind of hers to figure out how to start it all. Kim didn't mind, he'd gladly wait for her to get the words out. She's always been worth the wait, even if he wasn't the most patient of the bunch. That was Nino’s and Nathanial's expertise, but Kim... he could listen. He could sit still for her.

When she began to speak, Kim had reminded himself to keep his mouth shut. To hold his questions to the end as her soft voice washed over him. Any other day it would've been peaceful, would've been nice even. The stuff out of those fairy tales Rose loved so much. He breathed through his nose, letting it out through his mouth slowly with every new thing she told him. When she finished, they sat there. Breathing as she let the weight fall off her shoulders, as he took it from her as he always would. Maybe she should rely on him more? She tossed the thought before it could finish forming, focusing on the questions he asked in that slow, calm, yet tight tone. She prayed to Tikki that Kim wouldn't leave, and wouldn't do as Alya did, what Nino did. Wouldn't do what Adrien did...

Before she could spiral, he squeezed her closer. Earning a squeak as he snickered, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. The pink on her cheeks making his smile genuine, despite the protective rage simmering in his eyes. How he didn't attract an akuma, he wouldn't know. What he did know was that he had several things added to his agenda and clear in his mind.

For starters, Adrien Agreste is no prince charming. Not in any of the storybooks, or tales of love and daring do. Not in a million years, not hers at the very least. Take the high road? Really? That was not the way to handle a school yard bully, maybe tabloids, maybe lie-rags. Maybe even crazy fans. But not a person threatening to tear someone down amongst their peers. It took everything Kim had to not scowl, not to pull out his phone and text the model. Alix' love for the twisted version of the stories came to mind, the one when the princes were the real bad guys of the stories.

A new sort of resentment built inside him. For Bustier's constant victim blaming teachings, and for separating him from Marinette in the first place. If they were together, Lila wouldn't get the fucking chance to push the sweetest girl in school to the back of the class. Not only that, but she also wouldn't get her nasty ass claws inside Kim like she did Alya.

Which brings him to his next point.

Alya is no friend of Marinette's. When they got banned from sitting together, he and Marinette had challenged each other. To make friends with whomever they got seated next to. Just her luck she got fucked with blonde prick and fake news. He took a breath, giving Marinette another squeeze. Best friends push you to do your best, but they don't push you into doing your worst. When you aren't comfortable, when you're scared, they are the spotter to catch the weight you're lifting. Alya hasn't been that for Marinette for a while now.

Not only that, but what person schemes to hook up their bestie with their crush when neither have had a decent conversation? Or encourages the stealing of phones, privacy, and what was it? Oh yeah, stalking. After Kim was far more calm, he would be marching Marinette's ass home and telling her to take down everything. No schedules, no knowing everything there is about him from the internet. No future birthday presents, none of that shit. You're supposed to help coach the crazy, not encourage it. For fuck's sake!

Kim made sure to make a note to himself to have a long overdue chat with Nino. Take him out, sit him down, and if Kim's lucky, Nino can give Alya that dose of reality she apparently needs. If not, well, Nino has always been as protective as Kim. The duo never hesitated to protect Marinette and Nathaniel on the playground as they grew up, or from the teachers. They might have drifted, but they were still friends.

Kim stood, tugging her up with him and offering her a charming smile. She blinked up at him, but let him lead her out of the park to the Bakery. Kim had some work to do. No sausage haired new chick was going to alienate his honest to kwami best girl.

#swearing #miraculous ladybug #miraculous au #alya salt #adrien salt #kim x marinette #class salt #love square salt #saltinette #akuma #chat noir salt #marinette dupen chang #kim le chien #nino lahiffe #alix kubdel #nathaniel kurtzberg #marikim

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goldenlaurelleaveswrites · 3 months

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Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe

Juleka vs. the Forces of the School Dance i

Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe (AO3)

Hello everyone!!! I wanted to start out by thanking you all for your ongoing support and patience! This has taken me far longer than I had hoped, as I wanted to have this fic done before 2024. Obviously, that didn't happen 😂😅 I ended up needing to take a break to rest after my fall semester because it was super intense. I also had to take some time away from creative writing for personal reasons. your support, patience, and kindness has meant the absolute world to me, and I can't thank you enough for it.

Another reason why this chapter has taken so long is because chapter 17 was becoming massive (as in 20k words and counting). I debated this decision quite a bit, but in the end I've decided to break chapter 17 into smaller parts so that's why the chapter count has gone up 😅😅😅 It's much easier to revise shorter chapters, and I think it's probably easier to read shorter chapters too. This also gives me a bit more time to finish what is now the second last chapter.

I need to give a huge shoutout to the LBSC crew for their ongoing support, and for talking me off the ledge multiple times when it came to this chapter. And also just for being there for me the past few months. And again, another huge thank you to all of you for your support.

I Hope you enjoy the chapter!

ps. if I don't respond to comments on this chapter it's not because I'm ignoring any of you, it's because I don't entirely trust myself not to accidentally spoil something 😂😅

A thousand akumas fluttered in the pit of her stomach as she put the lid back on her lipstick with a satisfying click. She sat back in her chair and sighed. She was used to the feeling of butterflies, except right now it felt like there were silver and black akumas fluttering around insider her, and that mixture was a new feeling.

On one hand, tonight was the night. The night Luka and Mari were going to the dance. Together.

But on the other hand… she grimaced as the reminder for the ‘Operation Fairytale Ball Phone Meeting’ pinged on her phone. Usually they all got ready for dances together, but Marinette had needed the extra time to put the finishing touches on her dress and it hadn’t felt right for the rest of them to get together without her. But, Alya had wanted to go over the plans for the dance one more time, so Alya had scheduled a phone meeting…

She had fifteen minutes until the call.

She silenced the reminder on her phone, and turned her attention back to her reflection. The purple in her hair was nice and vivid, and the waves she had put in her hair added a touch of glamour. And her makeup looked amazing, if she did say so herself. She had gone for a soft but still vampy look with plum and black kohl softly smoked out across her lids and deep plum lips. She smiled as she tilted her head to the side, watching the way the light caught her highlight. Those makeup masterclasses had definitely paid off. In more ways than one.

She straightened her head. And then frowned.

Her bangs had slipped across her eyes again, obscuring her face.

Usually, she liked wearing her hair that way. It had started as a security thing. Her hair had acted as a shield to hide her away from the rest of the world. And there were times she still needed that.

But tonight…

Tonight she didn’t want to hide.

She reached for a bobby pin, but her hand stopped halfway to the tin of them she kept on her dressing table. Originally, she had planned on wearing her hair down, the way she normally did. But then she wouldn’t really be able to show off the back of her dress…

And given what Alya had planned for the night—to say nothing of the schemes she was positive Alya had hidden up her sleeve—she could do with a touch of Tigress.

She grabbed her brush and a black satin scrunchie, and made quick work of pulling her hair up into an elegant, high ponytail. Once the ponytail was secured, she grabbed a couple of bobby pins and pinned her bangs just enough so that they didn’t cover her eyes, but still framed her face to keep an element of drama.

That was much better.

“Hey Jules, have you seen the- Jules. You look beautiful.”

She was unable to control the grin on her face as she turned to the door of their room. Luka was standing in the hallway, he was wearing his good jeans, but his hair was still damp and he was wearing a t-shirt. But even though he wasn’t ready, she couldn’t help but preen under his words.

“Thank you.”

A sappy grin was making its way onto his face. “I’m really proud of you.”

“But I didn’t do anything.”

“Yes you have.”

“No I-“

“Look at you,” he said quietly as he made his way to stand behind her, and direct her attention back to her reflection.

“It’s just hair…” she mumbled, trying to fight the growing warmth in her cheeks.

“You and I both know it’s not just hair. And it’s more than that. You’ve been-“

“A pain in your neck?” she asked with a laugh.

“You always are. But you’ve been more sure of yourself lately. More confident. You’ve been coming into your own. It’s nice to see.”

“You’re such a sap, you’re going to make me ruin my makeup,” she mumbled, waving a hand in front of her eyes to keep them from tearing up. Once she was sure she wasn’t going to cry, she stood and hugged Luka tightly. He returned it just as fiercely.

Once they broke apart, she smacked his arm. Lightly. Ish. “Why aren’t you ready yet, dummy?”

He chuckled, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes. “I need to iron my shirt but I can’t find the iron anywhere.”

“Check the greenhouse, last time I saw it Ma was using it as a door stop up there”

“Figures,” he mumbled under his breath. He was halfway out the room when he turned back. “I really am proud of you, you know.”

“I’m proud of you too.” After all, he was finally not stepping back. “Now go,” she said, smiling as she shooed him out. “You need to get ready, you are not making me late tonight.”

“I thought it was fashionable to be late?” he called from the hall.

“Shows what you know about fashion!” she quipped back before turning back to her mirror and began adjusting the pins in her hair so that everything was just right.

Once she was satisfied, she added a final spritz of hairspray and then began packing her supplies for the evening into her clutch. Lipstick, powder, keys, hand sanitizer and cream, and emergency candy. Just in case. The finishing touches were her jewelry—the black lace choker she had made for herself and a pair of amethyst earrings—and a couple of spritzes of her favourite violet perfume.

As Roarr would say, she had her war paint and armour on, and she was ready for battle.

And not a moment too soon.

The screen of her phone lit up with an incoming call, the icon for the Adrienette group chat flashing on the screen.

“Hey,” she said once she had tapped to accept the call.

“Hi bijou!” Rose’s voice came from the screen as the group chat icon filled the screen. Rose had insisted it would be a voice only call since they weren’t all getting ready together, that way that could all surprise each other with their finished looks.

“Hi, Juleka,” Mylène said.

“Hey,” Alix’s voice crackled to life over the phone.

“Hi, Alix!” Rose chirped. “Are you excited?”

“Sure,” came Alix’s nonchalant response. “I mean, it’s a dance. There’s only so much to really be excited about-”

“Juleka?” Mylène’s voice cut Alix off. “My mascara is really clumpy! How do I fix it?”

“Wipe the excess off your wand with a tissue and then brush it through. If you have a lash comb, brush it through your lashes too. That should break some of them up.”

“You’re a life saver, thank you.”

“Are we going to get started, or what?” She had thought at first that maybe Alya hadn’t been on the call—a foolish thought—but it seemed Alya was still officially not talking to her. Which, after last night… she wasn’t entirely sure it was a good or bad thing.

Either way, it was an awkward thing.

Rose and Mylène had been in a tizzy all day, trying to get them to talk to each other. Alix had made a few attempts, but after a while had clearly given up and resorted to sighing and rolling her eyes with great exasperation. But Alya… Alya was stubborn. Marinette and the rest of the class had picked up on it too, except Adrien that was. Even Bustier had noticed something weird was going on.

Honestly, it felt more than safe to assume that the only reason she was even included in this pre-game call, so to speak, was because the rest of the girls hadn’t given Alya a choice. Looking at the screen, Rose had been the one to initiate the call.

“If we have to…” Alix groaned.

“We do. Nothing can go wrong tonight,” Alya said firmly.

Well, they were sort of in agreement there.

They were just… diametrically opposed…

“So, I just texted Marinette,” Alya continued, “She just got out of the shower so she’ll only just be starting drying and doing her hair, which means we all have time to get there and get everything into place…”

Despite the fact that she could have listed the schemes backwards in her sleep, she listened carefully to Alya’s every word. She mentally sifted through every word and intonation, looking for any potential clues for what other schemes might come into play. Because she knew Alya. And after their… talk last night, there was no way Alya was showing up without a fresh set of schemes ready to go.

Which meant she needed to be ready for anything.

But she was feeling apprehensive about the evening for more reasons than Alya was giving her.

An odd clash of elation and dread was brewing in her stomach like a hurricane. She knew all the schemes that had been plotted at the meetings she was present for. She knew Alya undoubtedly had more schemes that she didn’t know about ready to set in motion. She knew she had to be and was ready to deal with those schemes.

She also knew Luka and Marinette were going.

Together.

Of their own choosing.

But she wasn’t expecting much beyond that in the sense that, well… school dances were… school dances. They were fun. But they weren’t the magical and romantic settings that movies and tv likes to play them off as. So while she was elated that they were going together, she couldn’t see much more than that happening tonight.

Apart from all the stupid and ridiculous schemes she would have to derail, that is.

As much as she wanted Luka and Marinette to stop being idiots, they were idiots. Sure, she could give them gentle nudges, but tonight, her priority was to just let them enjoy themselves. They had already taken one step away from idiocy by going to the dance together. Tonight was about letting them just enjoy their one small step towards reason.

But even knowing that… she just couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was going to happen tonight.

“School dances are just so romantic!” Rose squealed, breaking her from her thoughts.

***

The thing about school dances was that they were just about the furthest thing from romantic.

The music was always too loud for an enclosed space, and the base too high. And the music choice was always just what was most popular. Which was fine. There was nothing wrong with music being popular. It was just that Bob Roth had bought XY’s place to the top of the charts, so the playlist by default, was dominated by XY’s music- or rather, the music he had stolen.

To say nothing of the smell. The school dances were always held in the gym, which perpetually smelled like a phys-ed class. And the boy’s locker room. Even the smell of strong perfume and cheap cologne couldn’t mask the eau de body odour. Somehow, it just made it worse.

Awkwardness permeated the very air; whether it was people trying to ask their crushes to dance, or people worrying over what they wore or who came with who. And of course there were the chaperones. It was impossible for anything to be romantic when M. Damocles and Mme. Mendeliev were watching the dance floor like a pair of hawks, on the lookout for any inappropriate behaviour.

How could anyone think school dances were romantic?

“This is going to be so romantic!” Rose’s squeal was high pitched enough to be heard over the music without shouting.

Well, anyone except Rose.

“Rose! Juleka!” She turned at the sound of Ivan’s voice, which somehow managed to travel through the pounding base. Ivan and Mylène were weaving through the crowd towards them. Nathaniel was trailing behind them, in the wake Ivan left as people parted to let him and Mylène pass.

“Are Alya and Alix here yet?” Mylène asked as she joined their group, almost shouting to make herself heard over the music. “Rose, you look lovely! And-” Mylène’s eyes widened a bit as she looked at her. “Juleka! Your hair”

“It looks really nice like that,” Ivan said with a shy smile.

“You look gorgeous!”

“Doesn’t she?” Rose asked brightly, taking a firmer grip on her arm as she leaned against her.

Her cheeks were suddenly hot and she had to remind herself not to hide her face in her hands given she couldn’t rely on her hair to hide her blush. “Thanks. You all look great too!” she added, gesturing to Ivan, who had a small, faux sunflower clipped to his shirt to match the floral print of Mylène’s dress. Mylène had twisted her hair up into a bun, which was also adorned with a sunflower clipped into it to frame a loose tendril by the side of her face. “You too, Nathaniel,” she added as she glanced at him. He cleaned up pretty good.

“Thanks,” he said, his voice almost lost to the crowd. “Oh, I see Marc! If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to go…”

“Of course!” Rose squealed, grinning. “We’ll see you on the dance floor?”

Nathaniel nodded with a smile before slipping away.

“So…” Ivan said slowly, “I know you all had some sort of plan but if Alya and Alix aren’t here yet, maybe you and I could dance?” he asked, turning to Mylène.

Mylène was just nodding when a familiar voice carried through the music.

“I bet you I could dance for an hour straight!”

“I bet you would trip over your feet in the first ten minutes,” she heard Alix say as she caught a flash of pink hair moving towards them.

“Yeah? Well how about we-”

“Absolutely not!” Rose said indignantly as Kim and Alix joined their quickly growing group. “This is a dance. It’s supposed to be romantic. And bets aren’t romantic!”

“Thank you, Rose” Max sighed as he stopped to stand on her other side before adding under his breath, “I think.”

“Aww, c’mon! What’s wrong with a little fun- Whoa! Juleka! I don’t think I’ve ever seen both your eyes before!”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at how utterly Kim he was. Before she could reply to what she assumed was his attempt at a complement, Rose opened her mouth.

“And?” Rose asked, her high voice holding an edge of danger.

Kim’s eyes widened as they darted to Rose, in all her swirly, pink, white kitten-print glory and swallowed. “You look really pretty! I just- I wasn’t expecting you to- I mean, you never wear your hair up…” he said, tripping over himself as he tried to both clarify his compliment and appease Rose.

She nudged Rose gently with her elbow and gave her a look before she smiled at Kim. “Thanks. You look pretty good yourself. You all do,” she added, glancing to Max and Alix as Kim puffed his chest out in pride.

“Oh, hey Luka!”

“Hey, Kim. Everyone” Luka said just loud enough to be heard over the music as he slipped between her and Max, shooting Max a grateful smile as the shorter boy made room for him.

“Did you escape in one piece?” she asked.

“Escape?” Ivan asked, his brows furrowing. “From who?”

“Damocles cornered him when we got here,” she snorted. “He wanted to know how lycée is going for him,” she added with a smirk as Luka groaned.

“I feel like he and his sister have a bet going about me and Dingo or something. He kept asking about our science classes and showcase performances…” he said, his voice trailing off as he oh so subtly scanned the crowd around them. “So has anyone seen Marinette yet?”

“No sign of her yet,” she murmured before gently elbowing his side and shooting him a smirk. She hadn’t called him a ‘sap’ out loud. She wasn’t that mean. Besides, she didn’t need to say it for him to get the message…

He rolled his eyes before turning back to the conversation. He was lucky the lighting in the gym hid the pink tinge to his ears. For the most part…

She turned back to the conversation as well, which had somehow worked its way back to Kim and Alix trying to have a competition that Rose wouldn’t outright destroy them for for having at the dance. But she only listened with half an ear, if that. Luka was there to help keep Rose in check should she decide Kim and Alix were ruining the ‘romance’ of the dance too much.

And she had other things to worry about…

Surreptitiously, she scanned the crowd, looking for any signs of Marinette. And crossing all her fingers that Marinette would arrive before Alya… though she wasn’t holding her breath…

The crowd ebbed and flowed around them in a blur of coloured lights and party clothes. Their group was far enough off to the side that they weren’t being overrun by the people dancing, but they were still close enough to the action. She caught sight of Nathaniel and Marc dancing on the fringes of the dance floor. A girl in a yellow dress—similar to the one Chloe had worn— crossed her line of vision, holding a cup of punch, which only served as a reminder of one of the more harebrained schemes Alya had come up with for ‘Operation Fairytale Ball.’ The thought of the schemes left a bitter taste in her mouth, and a lead weight in the pit of her stomach.

Things had been bad enough when she was only contending with one set of schemes… but after last night… there was no way Alya didn’t have contingency plans…

Another song passed with anxious anticipation. And then she saw it. The unmistakeable flash or orange by the doors to the gym.

“Alya” Rose shouted, standing up on her tip toes to be seen past Kim, “over here!”

Whether she had actually heard Rose, or more likely, seen Rose’s glitter clutch as she waved it and Ivan and Kim’s large forms in the crowd, Alya turned in the direction of their group. And then started weaving through the crowd towards them with a determination that didn’t bode well for her plans for the night…

“You look great, Alya!” Rose chirped once she had joined their quickly growing group.

“Thanks,” Alya said, flashing a grin. “You all do too,” she said, smiling to all of them. But then Alya’s gaze landed on her. Alya’s hazel eyes widened in surprise for a moment, the way everyone’s had when they had first seen her with her hair up and away from her face. But then they had narrowed. And while she had still smiled at her, it was rather frigid.

And she hadn’t said anything to her, so it seemed like Alya was still dead set on the whole no talking thing.

“I like how you did your hair,” she said to Alya. And it was true. Alya’s hair looked great.

Alya, for her part, didn’t seem sure how to respond. On one hand, Alya still seemed determined not to talk to her, but on the other…

“Thanks,” Alya said slowly, her face guarded. “Yours looks nice too,” she added, with just the slightest hint of suspicion detectable in her voice. But it was clear as day in her eyes. And then Alya turned to look at Luka, and her eyes widened all over again as soon as she saw what Luka was wearing.

Alya made a strangled, chocking sound that she quickly tried to cover in a cough.

“You ok?” Mylène asked worriedly, taking a step towards Alya to place a hand on her back.

Alya nodded, “Fine,” she said hoarsely before blinking to do a double take at Luka. Luka blinked at her, his face shifting into something guarded, and Alya’s eyes narrowed again, her mouth setting into a grim line as her gazed flickered back to land on her.

She should have known Alya would take his outfit choice as a sign of her ‘betrayal…’

Luka nudged her shoulder. “I’m going to go get something to drink. Want anything?” His voice sounded almost tinny through the base.

“No, but you should-“ He was gone before she could finish telling him he should wait until Marinette go there. Now that Alya was here… Marinette could show up at any time, and she didn’t like the idea of Luka going off on his own and leaving Alya with an opening.

“So, where’s Nino?” Kim asked, seemingly wonderfully oblivious—as usual—to everything. “We need some good song recommendations for a dance off and he’s the go to guy for that kind of stuff.”

“He isn’t playing-”

“Well, yeah,” Kim laughed, “that’s why that other guy is up there,” Kim said as he nodded to the hired DJ. “But I’m sure we can make requests.”

“That’s true…” Alya said, turning to Alix as she pulled her phone out of her purse “But remember-”

“I know, I know,” Alix groaned, holding up her hands. “But they’re not even here yet.”

“Who isn’t here-” Kim started to ask.

“Nino just texted, he and Adrien are almost here,” Alya said as she read something off her phone.

“I know!” Alya shouted over the music.“And Marinette should be here any minute! And-“ Alya began frantically waving. “Nino and Adrien are here!”

“Do you want to dance?” Rose grabbed her hand, beaming up at her as she tugged her towards the dance floor.

She wanted to. She really wanted to. But she also didn’t want whatever Alya had planned to go ahead. Which meant she needed to be ready for-

“Hey dudes.” Nino was grinning as he and Adrien joined their group. But then he caught her eye. His eyes widened, dnd then his gaze dropped, like he couldn’t look her in the eye. Nino had always been a bit of an open book. Subtlety wasn’t exactly his forte.

And this all but confirmed her worst suspicions.

He was definitely in on whatever Alya had cooked up.

“You look great, Adrien!” Alya said.

Adrien, who had looked morose and like he had every intention of at least half-sulking the entire evening, looked up. “Oh, thanks.”

“Yeah, you clean up good, man! Do you think you can dance in that getup? Because Alix and I were going to- oof”

Kim’s obvious attempts to get Adrien to join in on the impromptu dance off were quickly cut off by Rose’s elbow.

“I probably could, but they’re not really made for that kind of dancing.”

“Yeah, Kim. Those kinds of clothes are for dances like the waltz. You know, the romantic kinds? There’s nothing more romantic than a waltz! Just imagine, a candlelight waltz, or a waltz under the city lights,” Rose sighed dreamily. “There’s nothing that could be more romantic than that.”

“Yeah? You really think?” Adrien asked, immediately perking up. Even after their fight, he was still concerned about that?

“There’s Marinette!” Mylène’s voice was almost lost to the music.

Bewilderment crossed Alya’s face. “Her dress…”

She whirled around, tugging Rose along with her.

Marinette wasn’t wearing green to match Adrien’s eyes, as per her prediction. And despite Alya’s suggestion—demand more like.

“She looks gorgeous!” Beside her Rose practically swooned. “She looks like a princess!”

Marinette’s dress was simple; a sweet heart neckline and spaghetti straps, with a full and voluminous skirt made up of what looked like layer upon layer of gauzy fabric. It was a soft shade of blue, caught somewhere between summer skies and calm seas. It was the blue of where the horizon met the sea. It was the blue that lived somewhere between the shade of Luka’s eyes and Marinette’s. A simple silver pendant that looked remarkably light a floral treble cleft matched her shoes.

And her hair was down. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Marinette with her hair down; she always had it pulled back, even at sleepovers. But now it cascaded over her shoulders in loose waves.

It made her look… freer.

Rose was right. She did look like a princess. She was about to elbow Luka in the ribs when she remembered he had gone to get a drink.

Shoot.

“Wow, Marinette looks great!”

Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot.

Now was not the time for Adrien to start noticing what he was missing out on.

Despite her initial reaction to Marinette’s dress, or more specifically she assumed, its colour, Alya smiled smugly. “She sure does,” she said.

“I’ve never seen her with her hair down…”

“Maybe you should tell her to wear it down more often…” Alya suggested.

Adrien shrugged blithely. “Maybe, but I like the pigtails. They remind me of Ladybug.”

There is was.

Because even with his so-called Lady standing right in front of him, he couldn’t see her, he was so blinded by the scarlet and spots.

“Hi guys!” Marinette said a little breathlessly as she pushed through the last bit of the crowd standing between her and the rest of the group.

“Hey,” she said, louder than she usually would so as to be heard over the pounding music.

Marinette turned to her and the smile that had been gracing her face grew even wider. “Juleka!” she gasped before pulling her into a hug, “you look incredible! I knew that dress would be perfect for you, and the shoes and your hair!”

“I know, right?” Rose chirped. “I think you should wear heels more often,” Rose added added as Marinette pulled away.

“And Rose! You look fabulous! You all do!” Marinette squealed as she looked around their group, grinning at everyone. But she was also oh so very obviously looking for someone who wasn’t there. She had to fight back a grin at how transparent Marinette was. “Has anyone seen-”

“Girl, that dress looks great on you! It really brings out your eyes!” Alya said as she pulled Marinette into a hug. Though she knew Alya had misgivings about the colour Marinette had chosen, the compliment was obviously genuine. Marinette did look incredible, and the colour of her dress made her eyes all the bluer.

Marinette smiled at Alya as she released the hug. But there was something guarded about her smile still. The way it had been every time she had smiled around Alya the past few days. “Thanks. You look great too.”

“I can see why this took you so long,” Mylène said as she looked at Marinette’s dress before pulling her into a hug as well, “just how many layers are there in the skirt?”

“I lost track around seven,” Marinette laughed. “But where’s Luka?” she asked.

“He went to go get a drink, he should be back any minute,” she replied as Rose pounced on Marinette, enveloping her in a hug. From across their little group, she caught Alya eyeing her suspiciously.

And really?

That was what was eliciting that look?

What did Alya expect her to do? Ignore Marinette’s question? Did she expect all of them to ignore Marinette’s question.

“Oh, ok-”

“While you’re waiting for him,” Alya interrupted before turning to Adrien, “You like this song, right Adrien?”

“Yeah, it’s fine-”

“Why don’t you two dance? The crowd is so thick it could Luka a while to come back, plus if M. Damocles wants to talk to him again-”

“But-”

Another flash of yellow in the crowd caught her eye. This time, it was Chloe.

Chloe had proven to be very effective in coming between Adrien and Marinette before… she just needed to get Chloe to notice him…

Behind Chloe, she saw Aurore and Mireille drifting through the crowd.

She shifted a step to the side so that she was closer to Adrien, and reached up and began to wave. “Mereille, Aurore! Over here!” she called as she continued to wave, keeping her gaze on Chloe’s ponytail.

She hadn’t expected either of them to hear her, and evidently they hadn’t heard or seen her as they disappeared back into the crowd. But that didn’t matter. Because Chloe had noticed her. And more importantly, Chloe had noticed who was standing with her…

“Oop. Chloe incoming,” Alix said, but it was too late.

“Adrikins! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Hey Chloe,” Adrien said, rather unenthusiastically.

“Aren’t you going to compliment my dress?” Chloe asked as she looped her arm through his and began tugging him towards the dance floor.

“Where are you going?”

“To dance. Obviously, Césaire,” Chloe snapped before dragging Adrien off.

She turned back to the rest of her friends as Adrien and Chloe started dancing, to find Alya glaring at her suspiciously. But she just shrugged innocently. It wasn’t like she had called Chloe over. Alya couldn’t reasonably accuse her of doing anything.

Just Alya couldn’t get mad at her for helping keep Mendeliev from finding some of the scheme…

“Hey, angel,” she said quietly, leaning down to whisper into Rose’s ear, “you and Mylène hid the flowers are under the tables right?” Rose nodded. “Mendeliev is poking around over there.” She straighten up and glanced knowingly towards the tables that had been set up for people to sit at when they needed a break from dancing. Mendeliev wasn’t exactly poking around them, but she was circulating amongst them. And Mendeliev was eagle eyed…

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rose’s eyes widen as she followed her gaze.

“Alya! Mylène! I need a girl talk real quick!” Rose sad, grabbing them both by the arm and not waiting for a response from either of them. “I’ll be right back, bijou!” Rose called over her shoulder before saying something into Alya’s ear.

It was hard to tell from behind, but based on the way Alya picked up the pace towards the tables, she felt safe to assume Rose had told her Mendeliev was alarmingly close to the flowers Alya, Mylène, and Rose were supposed to use for one of the schemes. Alya shot a conflicted, yet suspicious glance over her shoulder at her as she hurried towards the tables.

“Welp,” Alix said, “I guess that means it’s time to check out the snacks.”

“Wait!” Kim called as Alix began to saunter away, “I thought we were going to have a dance off now! Or! I bet you I can-” whatever it was that Kim had been saying was lost in the noise of the crowd and music as he disappeared after Alix, pulling Nino along with him.

Max sighed. “I suppose I had better go make sure neither of them choke if they end up having an eating contest or something.” She shot Max a sympathetic smile before he turned and trudged after Alix and Kim.

“C’mon,” she said to Marinette, nodding towards the end of the gymnasium the refreshment tables were set up in, “let’s go find my brother before Damocles corners him again.” Marinette nodded as she looped her arm through hers.

Marinette’s brows twisted in confusion as she began to follow her through the crowd. “Before Damocles corners him again? What-”

“Did you know Damocles has a twin? And that she’s the principal of Saint-Saëns?”

“There’s two Damocles?” Marinette asked in disbelief as they began to weave through the crowd.

“I’m afraid so.”

“You don’t think she also dresses up Knightowl, do you?”

“I hope not,” she laughed. “Luka hasn’t said anything about it but you never know-”

“Jules!” She pulled Marinette to a stop as she turned in the direction of the voice. Luka was smiling apologetically at someone she recognized from the year below her as he awkwardly side stepped towards her. “I thought I had lost you Jules- Marinette.”

She didn’t bother to hide her smile at the look on her brother’s face. She had never seen his eyes so wide. And she swore she could almost hear the sounds of his brain short-circuiting. His plastic cup clattered to the ground, thankfully spilling only a few drops as it had been almost completely empty. “You- you’re beautiful,” he said, almost reverently.

She glanced at Marinette at the corner of her eye, even as Marinette unhooked her arm from hers to take a step towards Luka. Her smile only grew. Marinette was equally wide-eyed, and she was practically glowing.

“Your dress, it’s incredible. I knew it would be, but… wow,” Luka laughed breathlessly.

“Thank you,” Marinette said, almost shyly. “But Luka, your tie.” Marinette reached out as if to touch it, but stopped just short, her hand awkward hovering a few inches from Luka’s chest.

The sap looked down to grin at the floral tie, which was the same shade of pink as his cheeks and ears, before smiling back up at Marinette. “Yeah, I-“ she watched as her brother reached up to rub the back of his neck as a bashful smile and flush crept across his face. “It made me think of you.”

***

Phase ’And Their Eyes Will Meet’ had gone off without a hitch.

At least, from her perspective.

The best part was, she hadn’t had to do much. And that meant that there was no way Alya could turn around to try and pin the phase’s failure on her. Especially given she had alerted Rose to Mendeliev getting a little too close to the faux flowers for comfort. She had almost felt sorry for Adrien as Chloe dragged him off to dance with her.

Almost.

But knowing what she knew… yeah. She didn’t.

Plus, it got him away from Marinette. And more importantly, Alya.

And that had given Luka an opening. Of course, the DJ had just had to put on an XY song, which meant Luka and Marinette weren’t dancing… They were hovering by one of the walls of the gym, glasses of the saccharinely sweet punch completely forgotten in their hands as they laughed over something. Sure, they were maybe leaning a bit into wallflower territory, but they were together.

The other good thing about them standing there by the wall was that it was relatively easy for her to keep an eye on them and the things going on around them as Rose spun her around the dance floor. She would have been more than happy to sit this song out too, to be honest. It wasn’t like any of them had a soft spot for XY. The complete opposite in fact. But even the sourness of the memory of their music being stolen wasn’t enough to dampen Rose’s spirits. She had practically begged to dance, and when had she ever been able to say no to Rose? Especially when she used her puppy eyes…

“I can’t wait until they play a slow song!” Rose somehow both sighed and squealed as she pulled her into an enthusiastic spin.

“Neither can I,” she chuckled, blinking as she teetered on her shoes and tried to steady herself. While she was able to keep an eye on everything from the dance floor, keeping everything she saw straight was another thing entirely with Rose leading…

“Sorry,” Rose said, cringing as she smiled apologetically.

She couldn’t help but smile at how unabashedly Rose was leaning into the rose-tinted romance she perceived the dance to be. “It’s ok, maybe just a little less… gusto?”

Rose nodded brightly before tugging her a little closer, her smile dimming a little. “You’re still doing ok?”

She blinked down at Rose. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Rose shrugged as they continued to dance. “Yesterday… it was a lot. It was a lot for me and Mylène. Heck, it was even a lot for Alix. We’ve… none of us… well, I don’t remember the last fight any of us had like that. I don’t know if we’ve ever had a fight like that before…”

“It was a lot,” she agreed, nodding slightly.

“I know we talked it out last night, but this morning, and during the phone call… Alya wasn’t exactly…”

“Talking to me?” she snorted. Rose nodded, and she sighed. “You and me? We’re alright. I promise,” she added, squeezing Rose’s hand. “Me and Alix and Mylène? We’re fine too. I talked with them both last night.”

“And you and Alya?”

She bit back a groan, but some of it still slipped into her sigh. “I don’t know where we are right now. But I know that she needs time to let it go and- what is she doing?” She craned her neck to get a better view of what she had seen over Rose’s shoulder.

Alya was dancing with Adrien. It was very obvious that Adrien was trying to lead the two in the dance, and it was even more obvious that Alya had taken the lead. And that she was steering him right towards…

Rose turned to look over her shoulder in the direction she was looking and sighed. “I forgot about that plan…”

“What plan was that?”

Rose turned back to her, and to her surprise, rolled her eyes. “It was one of the ones Alya came up with. One that we weren’t supposed to tell you about,” she added apologetically. “We tried to tell her it wouldn’t work but…” Rose’s words trailed off in a shrug. “I suppose she didn’t listen.”

That was an understatement.

“Hey,” do you think we could maybe take a bit of a rest?” she asked as casually as she could. “I’m getting a little tired, I’m not used to wearing heels and we’ve been dancing for a while…”

Both were true. They had been dancing for three songs now. And she wasn’t used to wearing heels.

But that pang of guilt still lodged itself in her chest. She still wasn’t sure what the best course of action would be, with the girls. Telling them everything—well, not everything—or keeping quiet. She knew she would have to decide one way or another eventually. But today- tonight didn’t feel like the right time.

All she was sure of, was that she needed to keep Alya away from Luka and Marinette.

“Of course, bijou!” Rose said brightly. “I was getting hungry anyways. Want me to go grab some snacks?”

“Sure. I’ll wait over with Mari and Luka?” she asked, nodding towards them.

“That sounds good! I’ll bring snacks for them too, we can all rest for a bit.”

She pecked Rose on the forehead before they parted ways. Rose heading towards the refreshment table, while she headed into what felt like what was going to turn into a storm…

***

The music was still pounding.

The gym was still dimly lit by the lights and the disco ball that had been pulled out from the school storage for the occasion.

The gym still unfortunately smelled like Kim’s locker. Maybe even worse now that people had been dancing for a while, not to mention topping up their perfume and cologne in the bathroom. She had nearly choked on the clouds of clashing scents when she had ducked into the ladies room.

And while somewhat expected, it seemed Luka and Marinette were still no closer to stopping their mutual idiocy than they had been when they had arrived at the dance. Or last week. Or last month…

The only thing that had changed in the past hour of the dance had been…

She narrowed her eyes as she watched Nino sling an arm around Adrien’s shoulder with a laugh. Normally, that wouldn’t be something she would even bat an eye at. Nino was just like that, always slinging an arm around his friends’ shoulders or ribbing them when joking around, or slinging an arm around Alya’s waist. For all the ways he presented himself as a chill, nonchalant kind of guy, he was actually very touchy-feely and outwardly affectionate to the people close to him. In some ways, he was quite a bit like Luka, being more than content to let things be and happen as they did.

And he was a terrible liar. And a terrible actor.

She wouldn��t have batted an eye at the way he had slung his arm around Adrien’s shoulder, if not for the almost mechanical way he had done it. Like it was timed, or he was overthinking it in trying to make it look casual.

And of course, there was the fact that he had shot a not-so subtle glance at Alya where she was standing over by the refreshment table, sipping a glass of the overly sweet punch.

She almost frowned before she remembered herself. It wouldn’t do to look suspicious; she was at a dance after all, she should look like she wasn’t trying to unravel Kwami’s only knew how many unknown convoluted schemes Alya had cooked up. She turned her attention away from Alya and back to Mylène. Or rather… at the spot just over Mylène’s head where she could see Nino and Adrien talking.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a whirl of bubblegum and serene blue. Rose and Marinette flew through her field of vision, laughing and giggling as Rose swung them in a twirling dance that wasn’t so much a dance per se as a whirling tornado of pink and blue, puffy chaos. A smile curled across her face at the sight; she had needed to take a break from dancing. She still wasn’t used to wearing heels, so there was only so much dancing she could do at a time. And Marinette had seemed disappointed to not be dancing to this song while Luka was in the bathroom trying to dry off, so of course she had no objections to Rose dancing with Marinette for a while.

Her smile faltered.

It had seemed like an accident…

But she of all people should know things aren’t always what they seem.

And it was just a little too convenient that Kim’s water had ended up all over Luka. Sure, it was easy to brush off; Kim wasn’t exactly what anyone would call observant. And he had been goofing around—as usual—when he had bumped into Nino and sent the water all over Luka’s side. But the fact that it had been water as opposed to the syrupy punch that had ended up all over Luka’s sleeve made it feel too deliberate. For all her flaws, Alya wasn’t mean. She wouldn’t stoop to completely ruining Luka’s shirt.

And of course, there was the fact she had been Nino. That, and she had seen Alya give Nino what she assumed was meant to be a covert look a couple of minutes before it happened.

It was just water. But it was enough Luka had ducked out to the washroom to try and dry off some of the water with paper towels and the hand dryers.

And now…

Her gaze narrowed in on Nino and Adrien again. Nino was nodding his head towards Rose and Marinette, his movements painfully stiff and awkward looking. She couldn’t tell what he was saying from here—there was no way on earth she could hear him from that far away over the music and frustratingly, lip reading was harder than she had initially thought. But she had a hunch.

She watched Adrien and Nino as Nino continued to talk with exaggerated motions. For her part, she nodded along as she listened to Mylène talking about her plans for the first couple of weeks of the summer break. Adrien nodded again, and Nino’s face broke out into a look of relief.

That couldn’t be good…

The song—one of Clara Nightingale’s recent releases—was still going, but she recognized the lines enough to know it was nearing its end. And-

Nope.

Adrien was walking away from Nino now, making his way through the crowd of people dancing with his usual supermodel grace.

That was not good.

Nino was watching Adrien go as he made his way towards Rose and Marinette.

It was definitely not good.

And across the dance floor, Alya was also watching Adrien heading towards Marinette and Rose, grinning like the cat that had just caught the canary.

“I’m going to go find Luka,” she said, rather abruptly if the look Mylène and Ivan gave her was anything to go by.

“He’s probably still in the washroom though, right?” Ivan asked.

Max pushed his glasses up his nose before nodding. “That would be the most probable answer. That cup was quite full-”

“I said I was sorry!” Kim interjected, earning a look of good-natured ire from Max.

“But it also doesn’t take that long to dry off a shirt. He can live with a damp sleeve and he’s missing everything.”

“That is also a good point-”

She shot Max a smile, and then before anyone else could protest, she slipped away from their group and began fighting her way through the fringes of the dance floor. She was sure to make a show of looking around like she was looking for someone and wasn’t really watching where she was going—lest Alya spot her and decide to make more accusations—as she made a beeline for the spot it looked like she would cross paths with Adrien.

“Oh, excuse me- oh, hey Juleka.”

She turned to look down at Adrien—who she was towering over even more than usual in her shoes—with feigned surprise. “Oh, Adrien. Sorry about that, I didn’t see you there.”

Adrien shot her one of his easy, effortless, supermodel grins. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “So, are you enjoying the dance?”

She nodded. “I am. Yeah.” Ok. This was awkward. She had been so laser-focused on intercepting Adrien before he could reach Marinette and, she assumed, ask her to dance, that she hadn’t even thought about how she was going to keep him occupied.

And for all his obliviousness, even Adrien seemed to be picking up on the pure, tangible awkwardness that was filling the air.

“So…” he said, letting the single word trail off.

What was she supposed to say? What could she possibly talk to Adrien about now?

Come to think of it, what could she ever possibly talk to just Adrien about? They had nothing in common other than their teachers and classmates!

“Are you having fun?” The words blurted out, but that was fine. That was a nice, safe, impersonal topic.

Adrien grinned again. “Yeah, it’s great! I’m glad father let me come, it’s a lot of fun dancing with everyone. I was just on my way to ask Marinette to dance- oh, looks like Luka is back.”

She held back a sigh of relief as she turned to look behind her where Adrien was craning his neck to see. Luka was back, and even though the song hadn’t quite ended yet it looked like Rose had released Marinette from their tornado like dance to reunite with Luka. Marinette was busy inspecting Luka’s sleeve—probably to make sure he had properly dried it or something—while the dork stood there blushing and staring at the top of Marinette’s head like a lovesick idiot.

But a ways behind them…

She could see Alya staring at the two. Her brows furrowed and there was the familiar gleam in her eyes, the one she always had when she was plotting and scheming…

“…but Nino said I should try to dance with Marinette, I’m sure they won’t mind if I interrupt-”

“Why don’t we dance?”

Did she really just say that?

Why? Why? Of all the things she could ever possibly say to him, why did she have to go and say that?

She wasn’t sure who was more surprised. Her. Or Adrien. He was staring at her, his mouth gaping open not unlike that of a fish. And honestly? She couldn’t really blame him…

“Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds fun.” They stood there awkwardly, looking at each other. “I guess we should…?” Adrien asked, his question trailing off.

“Oh. Yeah. Uh…” she glanced around, trying to spot Luka and Marinette so that she could get Adrien as faraway from them as possible. The two were dancing to the upbeat song that had started playing. Marinette was glowing, she was smiling so brightly at Luka. And Luka was looking at Marinette like she was the sun, the moon, and all the stars rolled into one as he laughed at something Marinette had said.

Her thoughts soured as she glanced around for Alya. There was no way she wanted Adrien anywhere near them lest Alya—or Nino—find a way to interrupt.

Alya was staring at her, her eyes hard and her mouth downturned in a frown. Nino was standing beside her, looking like he was trying to placate her. But Alya looked like she was ready to do business.

She definitely wanted Adrien away from those two, and any plots Alya cooked up on the fly, as well.

“Let’s go over there,” she said, nodding her head to the other side of the dance floor where the crowd was thinner. Far away from Luka and Marinette. And far far away from Alya’s interference…

Adrien nodded, and began heading in the direction she had nodded. The wove through the crowd until they were on the fringes of the far side of the dance floor, far away from any of Alya’s plots and schemes.

Hopefully.

Adrien turned to her with another practiced smile and placed a hand on her waist.

She couldn’t stop herself from stepping back in surprise.

“What are you doing?”

Adrien’s brows furrowed. “Dancing?”

“It isn’t really the right kind of song for that kind of dancing,” she said, nodding to the people around them who were bobbing and swaying to the fast beat of one of the other songs from Clara’s new album.

“Oh,” Adrien said, his brows still furrowed. But then he smiled and chuckled as he ran a hand though his perfectly coiffed hair. It was such a Chat like movement she almost grimaced. “Sorry about that, guess I’m not used to school dances since father never really lets me go to them,” he said, his voice full of its usual model charm.

“No problem.” Nodding, she began dancing, trying to ignore the awkwardness that was making it feel like she was moving her stiff limbs through jello. She was never a big dancer, but it was also never hard for her to dance. But this? This was painful.

But at least if they were dancing they wouldn’t have to make small talk…

Clumsily, Adrien mimicked her movements. “So…” he said again, breaking the silence between them.

There went that small comfort…

“You like Clara’s new album?” she asked, desperately looking for something- anything to talk about that would maybe hopefully dissipate at least some of the awkward tension. Or at least distract her long enough to get her through this song.

Except that was a mistake. Bringing up Clara’s new album. Because it had another Ladybug song on it. Quite a few actually. And a song a lot of people were speculating was intended to be about Tigress…

With no mention of Chat in any of the lyrics…

Adrien’s face darkened into almost a scowl before he seemed to remember himself. “It’s fine,” he muttered before brightening marginally. “The lyrics about Ladybug’s eyes are spot on,” he half laughed, half sighed. “She really is brilliant- Ladybug that is. Clara’s first song, the one about Ladybug and Chat Noir is still my favourite though.”

Of course it was.

And was he- was he humming that song about Ladybug and Chat Noir?

This was more than painful.

“Hey, you seen Chloe recently?”

“What?” Why would he be asking her that?

“I haven’t seen her for a while now, and I saw another girl wearing a similar dress-”

“Last I saw her, it looked like Sabrina was trying to keep her from noticing. I think I saw Sabrina talking to the girl earlier, probably trying to convince her to change.”

“Oh.”

Was he seriously disappointed by that? Was he actually hoping Chloe would see the girl wearing a similar dress? Something that would almost surely end in akumatization, if not for the poor girl then for Chloe. Except, it wasn’t really surprising because of course he would. Because where there were akumas, there was Ladybug. A wave of disgust washed through her. “Why are you asking?”

Alarm passed so quickly through Adrien’s eyes she would have missed it if she hadn’t been watching for it. “Oh, you know. It seemed like there’s always an akuma at school dances.”

“Hopefully the evening won’t come to that.”

“Of course,” Adrien said, casting her a charming, supermodel smile that was completely repulsive.

She nodded, trying to return his smile. It wouldn’t do her any good to try and disagree with him. But trying to smile at him made her stomach feel like it was flipping inside out.

Thankfully, he was Adrien. He took her smile—well, her rather poor attempt at a smile—at face value. “I wonder if Ladybug likes dancing…” She ignored him as he continued to muse about whether Ladybug liked to dance and what kind of music she liked and wax poetic about her in general.

The song was still no where close enough to being over when she caught sight of Alya and Nino. She had to bite back a groan at the sight of them. They were standing, chatting with Luka and Marinette. She had been able to keep Adrien away from those two, but she had overlooked the crucial fact that it wasn’t just Adrien she had to be worried about. If anything, he really should have been what she was least worried about.

Alya was the mastermind of all the plots.

Alya was the one doing her utmost best to be a wedge between Luke and Marinette.

And she had been so stupid to get so caught up on the Adrien plots that she had overlooked the reality she was contending with.

Still… the night wasn’t over. Maybe Alya was keeping Marinette and Luka from enjoying their time together right now, but the night was still young. And the song would be over—though not soon enough—and she could make her way back to the two idiots. She just had to grin and bear it a little longer. And at least with Adrien waxing poetic about Ladybug, she could focus on figuring out how to keep Alya away from Luka and Marinette.

#juleka vs. the forces of the universe #juleka couffaine #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #rose lavillant #mylene haprele #alix kubdel #ivan bruel #le chien kim #max kante #adrien agreste #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #alya salt #adrien salt #chat noir salt

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starlight-vixen-emiko · 7 months

Note

I’m not sure if you’re in the ATLA fandom but l*ve square feels a lot like kat*ang where people can easily criticize female main but don’t you dare not ship canon or criticize our boy!

Childish boy that can do no wrong/ is perfect that needs come before duty or the wants of his partner x woman of color that’s kind and strong which are her best or worst traits depending on when you ask and who must end up with male lead because he earned it

................................................

*SIGH*

Anon...Sit down for a moment.

I am not sure if you read my about me or not but I should I mention I ship Kataang and my blog is a pro Aang blog!

I was going to write up a big response but I think I should keep this relatively short and sweet.

But to start off...How is Lukanette like Zvtara?! Like how?!

Zvtara was more popular than the canon ships before and after Avatar's run. And while Lukanette was popular for a time, it was by no means more popular than that one ship that shall not be named! If anything Zvtara is just as popular as the LS and Zvtara fanfics are similar to Adrien and Marinette's fucked up """"love story"""". I remember reading ZK fanfics where everyone and I mean everyone pushes Zuko and Katara together, Toph, Iroh, they are all reduced to mouthpieces for the Zvtara fanbase. Kind of similar to the creepy ass Adrie//nette cult in the show. I literally found a fanfic where Iroh and Kanna try to get Zuko and Katara together by shoving them in a freezer together, which reminds me a hell of a lot like M*raculous.

And I am not sure why you Z/tara shippers are once again playing victim. Yes, there are Kataang shippers who arrogantly flaunt their canon but I also seen Z/tara shippers who think me and my peers are delusional for not seeing the """"romantic chemistry"""" between Zuko and Katara. I have seen Z/tara shippers act all smug and think they have better reading comprehension than people who ship canon. Not to mention the ZK shippers who think anyone who doesn't like Z/tara hates woman and all Kataang shippers are white men while all PoC are uncomfortable with the idea of Kataang.

And honestly the people who think everyone who hates Z/tara hates women can seriously fuck off! Shipping isn't activism! Some of you really need to get off the computer and touch some grass! And stop talking for all PoC as well! I am PoC! And the way a lot of Zvtara fanfictions fetishize Katara and make her Zuko's exotic girlfriend makes me uncomfortable. Not to mention the ZK shippers who think Aang would force Katara to let go of her culture (Legend of Korra and the comics proved this wrong) while Zvtara fanfics involve Katara completely letting go of the water tribe to become the perfect fire lady.

Not to mention, my friends and I were bullied by Zvtara shippers! I was bullied by a ZK shipper in her 40's who acts all smug and thought she had moral superiority and had better reading comprehension because she ships ZK. She just complains about cartoons all day.......Yeah! Complaining about cartoons all day is what ZK shippers do I guess.

And I am not sure why you Aang antis and ZK deepthroaters go on and on until kingdom come that Aang never faces consequences. He felt guilty for burning Katara, for kissing her at the wrong time, for Katara putting herself in the line of danger during the desert episode. Aang saved Kyoshi Island when it was attacked by the fire nation, and he felt guilty and saved Katara and Sokka after hiding a letter from their father from them.

Unlike Adrien whom the creators literally said does no wrong or doesn't need to apologize for anything. Chat Noir ate up kissing Ladybug in Oblivio...Aang felt guilty for kissing Katara in Ember Island Players and didn't bother her about it again.

And Aang takes his role as Avatar seriously! Even if it was all so scary and sometimes he wished wasn't a 12-year-old boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders...Which is human. The ML bible confirmed AdriChat doesn't give a crap about being a hero he's just in it for the freedom!

And again...Not sure why you guys think ZK is like Lukanette...Is every non-canon ship "Just like Zoootara ZOMG!" now?!

I mean...Luka and Marinette actually liked each other. Zuko and Katara never showed romantic interest in each other. (But I guess that is a hard pill for you people to swallow) And "Katara falling in love with Aang is unrealistic because i would've chosen Zuko!" isn't a valid argument! And yet ya'll claim Zvtara isn't a self insert ship.

Honestly I have seen more similarities between Lukanette and Kataang. Both are best friends to lovers that are brushed off as "just bros!" People dismiss both shippers by the mere virtue that the other choice is "more attractive". I have heard people said that the two year age gap between Marinette and Luka is creepy...Similar to Kataang.

And honestly the fact you people have been watching Avatar the Last Airbender with your eyes closed thinking Aang never faces the consequences or apologizes reminds me of that old drama of how people honestly felt Marinette never apologized and got off scott free with everything!

And Luka and Aang are two sweet boys who get way too much unwarranted hate!

And don't you dare compare Kataang to the LS! Similar to how not all non-canon ships are like Zvtara (Because I hate to break it to you people...But Zvtara wasn't robbed of anything! There are plenty of non-canon ships done far worse than Zvtara!) Not all canon ships are like the LS!

Kataang had gradual development and Aang and Katara were best friends! They were each other's ride or die! They had so much development that I am surprised you people are shocked that Aang and Katara ended up endgame.

Adrien and Marinette didn't have the same development that Aang and Katara did! Don't even compare Kataang to the loathe square around me!

But hey, if you can't see how awesome Aang is and how beautiful and nuanced Kataang is...Sucks for you I guess.

I think I am done now...Sorry if I wasn't here to validate your overhyped erotic wattpad fantasy ship but......I am not a Zvtara apologist blog and you messed with the wrong person.

Edit: I forgot to note!

One of the biggest fandom woes I dealt with in both fandoms is

ZK shippers being like "Katara never liked Aang!!!"

and LS shippers being like "Marinette never loved Luka!!!"

And I am like "Guys I am tired!"

But hey...Lukanette is toooootally not like KaTaang amirite???

I mean you guys only think Lukanette and Zvtara are similar because they are both non-canon right? Even if Lukanette was canon briefly. As short lived as it was...

#antizutara #anti love square #love square salt #ml salt #adrien salt #chat noir salt #pro aang #pro kataang #lukanette #pro lukamari #kataang defense squad #anti adrienette

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mlwritingprompts · 2 months

Text

Submitted prompt:

Strikeback AU, Adrien/Cat Noir bashing/salt, Felix/Flairmidable, Adrien OOC, Felix doesn't win here and neither does Adrien, warning: poisoning.

___

Cat Noir watched as Ladybug and Flairmidable were talking together. He was perplexed about the new Dog hero, as she just lent the same Miraculous to a girl just a couple of days ago. He didn't think Miss Hound was a memorable addition to the team but he also couldn't remember her double crossing Ladybug in any way to justify getting her replaced from the team so suddenly. Especially by this random dude, who seemed to try his luck with his lady.

He then noticed how flustered Ladybug was getting around this new hero. "So it's him !" Cat Noir murmured under his breath. "I knew she'd recruit the guy she's in love with in her team eventually, I bet she was just waiting for this moment to finally get rid of him completely by having her crush fight alongside him. Too bad that I came prepared for this day!" He finally took out a croissant, which he Cataclysmed with his finger. However the croissant didn't disintegrate or even change composition at all. "Plagg told me that you can use Cataclysm to destroy the composition of an object but not the object itself so you can trick your opponents into thinking the object it's still intact. This method works on food as well and it makes what looks a completely delicious croissant become literally poison."

"Now it's time to get my payback" - murmured Cat Noir again. He went to Ladybug and Flairmidable and of course Ladybug tried to excitedly introduce him to the new hero, but he was having none of it. "I can't wait to wipe that smirk off your face".

He started eating a croissant in front of both of them and Ladybug scolded him about this not being the right time for it, but Cat Noir argued that he was too hungry to wait any longer. Flairmidable's stomach suddenly started growling much to his annoyance and Cat Noir's satisfaction "And it looks like I'm not the only one who is".

"Of course that loser had to start chewing that damn thing just as I'm quite literally starving over here". The moment Felix saw Adrien was due to leave Paris today he skipped all of his meals so he could come over to Paris to swap places with Adrien before he would leave. He had no other choice, this was his once in a lifetime opportunity to rob his uncle of the jewelery that was holding his life and he already got sidetracked by the fake Miraculous, but at least Ladybug unknowingly gave him the opportunity to outsmart his uncle once and for all. He was willing to deal with all of these annoying people and his body's needs in order to achieve his goal. He wasn't gonna let a hungry stomach get in the way of his mission !

"Hey, dude!", Cat Noir suddenly startled him from his thoughts. "It looks like I'm not the only who needs a bite. Lucky for you I've got a second croissant and I'm willing to give it to you."

Flairmidable: Sorry to tell you, but I don't need anything from you. If you can't see, we've got a villain to deal with, we don't have time to lose to eat sweet croissants ! Flairmidable's stomach started growling again after he said that "Crap!".

Cat Noir: Your stomach is clearly disagreeing with you about that, my cat ears don't lie. And look, we need all the energy possible to defeat this villain and Ladybug's gonna take her sweet time to gather everyone around for her final plan, so you have time enough time to devour this sweet croissant before we get into position.

Flairmidable: Ughh, fine, but I'm only doing this to shut you up.

Cat Noir: And your stomach as well I bet. Cat Noir winked.

Flairmidable started quickly eating the croissant. He didn't want to admit it, but it was delicious.

Cat Noir: I can tell you from what bakery you can find more such delicious croissants if you're a fan.

Flairmidable: Let's stop wasting time and concentrate on the villain at hand. "After all, he was after a much bigger prize later on."

Ladybug gathered and gave everyone from the team her multipled Lucky Charm sunnyglasses so they could go in and defeat Strikeback. As Flairmidable was about to take his pair, his stomach suddenly started growling intensely, making him drop his glasses and clutch his abdomen in pain. Everyone started being worried about Flairmidable instantly except for Cat Noir.

Ladybug: Are you alright Flairmidable ? What happened to you ?

Cat Noir: I think he's still hungry for some more of my delicious croissants. Said Cat Noir smirking.

Flairmidable's face turned green after hearing Cat Noir say that.

Flairmidable: Croissants ... (another intense stomach growling) let me go, LET ME GO !

He suddenly run over to the edge of the rooftop so he could start puking on the streets. And his puking was uncontrollable.

Ladybug: Oh My God Adrien ! Please detransform urgently, I think your Miraculous may have gotten broken and it's affecting your body !

Cat Noir murmured "Adrien ?!? I mean me ? How could that be possible ? Unless ... Oh no !"

Flairmidable detransformed and Cat Noir saw Felix in his earlier disguise of him. He stopped puking, but his face was still green and his stomach was still growling horribly while he was clutching it.

Felix: Help ... me ...

Cat Noir: Felix ?!? How are you here ?!? Why ?!

Ladybug: Wait, Felix ?!? Ladybug suddenly looked at the ill looking "Adrien".

Felix: You ... How could you ... ugh ... you couldn't ... couldn't have known it was me unless you ... you're Adrien !

Everyone suddenly gasped and Ladybug looked at Cat Noir with horror.

Ladybug: Cat Noir, is it true what he's saying ? You're really -

Cat Noir: Look M'Lady, I can explain !

Felix: You did it purposefully, suddenly shouted a green paled Felix. That croissant, you did this to me ! I will destroy you !

Felix got up and tried to charge up towards Cat Noir, but he was stopped in his tracks by more horrible growls coming from his infected stomach.

Felix: Oh no, not that again - suddenly he was back throwing up and this time he was doing it on the rooftop in front of everyone.

Ladybug: Someone needs to take him to receive medical help RIGHT NOW ! Carapace, take him to the nearest hospital that isn't in the radius of the sentimonsters.

Carapace took the almost unconcious Felix and started jumping towards the nearest undestroyed hospital "Please don't throw up on me dude".

Cat Noir: M'Lady look - but Ladybug stopped him in his tracks while she was examining by the Dog Miraculous.

Ladybug: You know Cat Noir, or should I say Adrien, Master Fu warned me that a Miraculous holder can only get sick while trasnformed if their Miraculous is damaged or their body got altered by another Miraculous' power. And the Dog Miraculous looks to be completely intact. So was what Flairmidable said true, did you really do something to him ?

Cat Noir: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -

Ladybug: What did you ?!?

Cat Noir: I cataclysmed the composition of a croissant and then gave it him.

Ladybug: Why the hell you did that ? You could've killed him !

Cat Noir: I didn't want to kill him, just to make him a bit sick and make him unable to complete this mission, I didn't thought he'd get sick that badly !

Ladybug: But why ? Why would you poison your own cousin ?

Cat Noir: I didn't know he was MY cousin, I would've have done it if I knew. And truth be told, I didn't want to lose you !

Ladybug: What ?

Cat Noir: I thought this was the guy you were in love with with the way you were acting around him and I honestly couldn't stand the thought of you two working together, you replacing me with him, I needed to do something, I couldn't lose you, you know I'm still in love with you.

Ladybug looked at him in horror for a couple of moments afterwards, but finally resigned.

Ladybug: I should've done this earlier. She subtly gave a signal to someone behind her back.

Cat Noir: Do wh- Suddenly Cat Noir was paralyzed from behind his back by Vesperia. Ladybug took the Miraculous from him unceremounisly and he detransformed back to Adrien.

Ladybug: I'm sorry Adrien, but you've just proven yourself unworthy of the Miraculous.

#long post #submission #ml writing prompts #miraculous ladybug #adrien bashing #adrien salt #Chat Noir bashing #Chat Noir salt #Flairmidable #Felix Agreste #poisoning #puking

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starlight-bread-blog · 9 months

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Masterlist 🦋

A collection of posts I put the most effort in. Some are marked by emojies.

Decryption

💙 – Personal favorites

💎 – Partly/majorly dated

VIVZIEPOP (CRITISISM)

💙 Helluva Boss Is Mean To It's Audience

💙 Why Stolas is the Worst

(Tw: Sa) Ozzie and Valentino on consent

Stolas Is A Terrible Father

"Helluva Boss's Pilot Was About Characters"

"Blitzy" and Control

Why Stolitz doesn't work (and how to fix it)

Stella Being Abusive Is A Retcon

Blitzø And Messing Up (Critique)

Helluva Boss's Stock Villians

Stolas And The Biology Of Stolitz

💎 (tw) Angel Dust is Victim Blamed In Ep4

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER

On Aang Sparing the Fire Lord & Lion turtle foreshadowing in Sokka's Master

Zuko Unlearning Violence

The Last Agni Kai is a Tragedy

My Interpretation of The Southern Raiders: Aang & Zuko & Katara

Mai's Redemption Wasn't About Her

💎 Katara Isn't Irrational

💎 Defending Katara's Grief

ZUKO X KATARA (A:TLA)

What My Zutara Endgame Would Look Like

Zutara in Ember Island Players

The Fortune in The Fortune Teller

On Katara's Lines in Ember Island Players

"Katara Just Needed To Heal Zuko's Scar"

"Katara Needs Aang to Balance Her"

"Zuko and Katara Would Be Toxic"

Zuko and Katara Won't Enable Each Other

Katara's Canon Interest in Aang

💎 Speculation On Fire Lady Katara

💎 Zutara Shippy Moments

(ANTI) LOKI SERIES

Why Lokius Should Have Been Canon

Loki Shouldn't Have Died

What About Thor (Loki Series)

MIRACULOUS CRITISISM

💙 The Adrigami Breakup Was Hot Garbage

Why I Dislike MLB's Nino

OTHER WORKS

💙 #Bes Talk – Og Blue Eye Samurai posts

💙 ADHD Is A Disorder

Mean Girls 2024 Doesn't Understand Janis

Enemy Vs. Abuser: Catradora

The Blood Moon Curse Was Real

Notes On Fight Club

Charlie's Bullying (Critique)

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adriensaltprompts · 1 year

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Submitted prompt: Smell Test

Marinette is done. It’s… it’s too much. The Miraculous gives you the attributes of the animal it’s based after, right?

Her fingers are slow and hesitant as they click-clack across the computer, and a quick Google search tells her that cats are repulsed by the scent of lemons and eucalyptus.

And a dig through her drawer tells her that Nana had bought her plenty of perfumes during that period where she didn’t really know who Marinette was as a person.

Now, whenever Chat Noir leans in for a non-consensual kiss, he leaps back and hisses. When his hand is on her shoulder, her wrist, even their classic Pound It!, he quickly flinched back as if burned.

It’s interesting, though, how Adrien is struggling to remain within a five foot radius of Marinette before needing to flee suddenly (a pity, too, because he sits almost right in front of her). And Marinette’s upset about that, but that’s a minor side effect to being free from Chat Noir’s advances, the harassment, the assault, all of it.

She’s a pet owner with a spray bottle, and she’ll keep spritzing until Chat Noir gets the hint.

And as soon as she can handle being around him, she’s taking that ring.

(From the editor: I can’t really vouch for the idea that cats are repelled by citrus or eucalyptus, ours don’t seem to mind and actively try to eat the leaves off my lemon tree when I brought it inside, so let’s just assume that the strength of the smells is too potent and that’s what repelling him)

#submitted prompt #submission #Miraculous LAdybug #Adrien salt #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Chat Noir #Chat Noir salt #Show!Miraculous #Show!Marinette #Show!Adrien

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goggles-mcgee · 6 months

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Ashes of Rage: Act 1 - It Would Take A Miracle

Chapter 4 of the story for @miner249er

AO3 Last Chapter

Summary: Luka's heart had never felt so broken, his world so dark and his music so static. He hasn't had any motivation to do anything besides stay in bed. It would take a miracle to make him do so...or a sympathetic and determined kwami.

It Would Take A Miracle:

Static.

All he could hear was static.

There were no melodies, there were no solos, there were no symphonies. All it was was disheartening static and Luka didn’t know what to do. His life three days ago had been so loud and comforting but now it was silent, muddled and so dark. He felt listless and refused to get out of bed. It was a good thing that he and Juleka got their own rooms finally, it had taken a lot of convincing for his mom to let them clean out one of the storage rooms and turn it into his new bedroom. It had actually been Marinette who had convinced his stubborn mom and it had made Marinette all the more wonderful. She was always incredible, but seeing her out stubborn the most stubborn person in Luka’s life had only made him love and value her more. A fresh wave of tears washed over the forlorn teen at the thought of his crush and friend. His heart twinged with a twisted pain he was slowly getting used to. Pain. He was in so much pain. He wanted it gone. He wanted her back. But like every time before, his pleas and wishes were ignored and just led to more heartbreak.

His appetite was all but gone and he barely ate what his mom made or bought him, he still drank though and maybe that was why she wasn’t pushing. He hadn’t showered in three days but with the way he was feeling he knew it would be longer. It was hard to get out of bed even if it was to use the restroom, taking a shower just felt like too much work. He would see the shower and a barrage of thoughts would crash into him, reminding him all he would have to do to feel clean again and it was like he was tranquilized or something because he would just feel this bone-deep tiredness that wouldn’t go away no matter what he did so it would just lead to him laying in his bed and starting the twisted routine all over again. It was like he was in one of those groundhog day movies or like his own power Second Chance, was glitching and not letting him out of the situation.

Luka’s emotions felt too big for his body, his skin itched with his frustration and the days passed without a shower, his teeth ached in his longing, his muscles screamed in his sadness, his heart clenched in its breaking and his lungs drowned in his guilt. As much as he craved to do something, anything he also couldn’t help the thoughts of ‘why?’ Why do anything at all when his world had crashed and burned around him? Why plead for things to be different when his prayers fell on deaf ears? Why get up when nothing he did would bring back Marinette? It was a lot and there was never a break form the never-ending torture. Not even his dreams were safe. Dreaming of Marinette led to more heartache even if the dream was normal to past ones he had had that had previously brought him endless joy. The nightmares were the worst but he would take them over the bittersweet ones that just made his longing deeper and his hope stronger. But reality would hit him once his eyes opened and he would cry for many minutes, maybe even hours. Time didn’t register to him really.

The only reason he knew how long it had been since he had showered was because of his mom and Juleka. He knew they were trying to help but he had been angrier than he honestly expected after Paris learned of Team Miraculous’ Finale Fight, he hated it but that was what everyone had now dubbed it. It hadn’t been a fight, at least not from his and the rest of the team’s point of view. No one knew what exactly happened in the underground chamber since the only ones who could tell them were two comatose Kwamis and three villains who would probably twist the events. It was hard to come to the realization that Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste, even for Luka who had the unique skill of ‘reading someone’s heart.’ That’s what others referred to it as but according to his long talks with Sass, Luka seemed to be someone who could read a person’s aura which mixed with his Synesthesia. He had Chromesthesia, specifically, but his was more along the lines of seeing color and the color had a sound. He saw colors in a lot of things but it was constantly people, their auras and tones of voice would bring color and the color would bring the music.

It did get overwhelming sometimes and it had been a big factor in him doing his schooling online for a while which turned into permanently. He just enjoyed it more than when he did go to school and his former teachers told him they saw remarkable improvement in his grades. He still met up with his friends, they still hung out and had study sessions, so he was still a social teen but he didn’t have to worry about migraines or coming across weird to other people who weren’t his friends. His former bandmates in Kitty Section had also been really understanding and never treated him differently and helped him when some days were just too much. But they changed, their music’s changed and it had been jarring, when he eventually left the band he knew it had been inevitable. There was no doubt in Luka’s mind that if he hadn’t quit he would have been ‘politely’ fired and he had strong feelings about that. The one constant had been Marinette, when the others changed she didn’t. She remained strong and melodious.

Even if she was going through something her melody was still recognizable. He was still coming to terms with the fact he would never hear her song any time soon or ever. She had been there when he left the band, she had been there when he begun fighting with Juleka more than normal and she had been there when he decided to get to know his dad more. She had been such a strong light guiding him through some of the roughest seas he had ever experienced. Kagami had also been a constant presence before everything happened. She was a calming presence and often kept him and Marinette from getting lost in their projects. Both he and Marinette tended to get distracted easily and they both fed off each other’s energy and Kagami would be the one to keep them grounded and focused. Kagami’s music was a new sound he had gotten used to hearing and it was easily in his list of top ten songs from people he heard. When Marinette, Kagami and he would get together he would hear such wonderful melodies.

Marinette had often joked that they were the Three Musketeers with how often they would hang out together when they could. Without Marinette it felt like a knife to the heart to use the group chat between the three that was titled as such so he and Kagami never touched it when they spoke. Phone calls were still too much for Luka at the moment so the two just texted each other but it still brought him comfort all the same. That was probably another reason why his mother wasn’t pushing too much, it probably would have been a different story if he had cut off all his friends but especially Kagami since his mom knew how close they along with Marinette were. But he still overheard his mom talking on the phone over how worried she was and how she didn’t know what to do. Luka always felt like telling her she was doing all she could and just comfort her but he didn’t have the energy. He suspected she was talking to his dad or Penny, most likely both. He knew from the sounds of it his dad wasn’t doing so well either with the news.

“Snakelet…”

The voice of his Kwami cut through the current haze Luka found himself in but he couldn’t bring himself to look at his friend but he did manage to hum as a response.

“I have thought about what I could say that would make you feel better for ages. I came to the conclusion that no words I could offer would make you happy. Nor satisfied. But I don’t want to leave you with no words from me. I…I am lost. I have been through this situation more times than I’d like to admit and yet all those instances have left me with no answers.” Sass admitted in his soft voice as he flew to sit in front of Luka’s face on his pillow. Luka couldn’t look away, he wouldn’t look away, he knew it would hurt his small friend if he did so.

“Though there are few words I can give you that express my condolences and support, I simply will say, I am here for you.” Sass said and did his best to give Luka a hug, though it was more like he laid himself on Luka’s nose. “I am here for you and I will continue to be here if ever you need me.”

Luka felt himself begin to cry again, which astounded him as he felt like he was all out of tears. “Sass…” He choked out, he tried his best not to sound like he was going to sob but he knew he failed when he felt Sass try to hug him harder.

“What do I do?” He asked in a small voice once his small cry ended. Sass was no longer on his nose but instead sat in his hands as he finally sat up after what felt like ages.

“ We do our best to move forward.”

“We?”

“I did say I will be with you. I mean it, every step of the way, I will be here.” Sass didn’t say he promised but Luka could hear it in his tone of voice. It was a promise but it felt like more. It felt like a lifeline.

Luka couldn’t really think of an appropriate response without risk of crying again and he already had a cry-headache settling in. “What…What do we do?”

“We need to go to…Ladybug’s house, her room specifically.” Luka was about to protest that suggestion, because he was absolutely not ready to do that. He didn’t think he would ever be ready. “I know that is probably the last thing you want to do Snakelet, but I can’t communicate with the other Kwami to see if one of their holders can do it. The Miracle Box is sitting in…Ladybug’s room unknown and unprotected. If someone with ill intentions were to find it there would be great difficulties and more tragedy.”

“More?” Luka felt his anger rise at an alarming speed. “Hasn’t there been enough?”

“Luka…I understand you are in pain and worried. I…I am also going through the same. My friends are unconscious and unresponsive…I…I can barely feel them even if they are in the same room.” At Sass’s words Luka’s anger all but left him in an instant. “Besides obtaining the Miracle Box and keeping it safe, I feel something telling me that Tikki and Plagg need the Miracle Box. I can’t explain and I know you are hurting, but-”

“Okay.”

“-it is…Wait. Okay? You…You will do it?” Sass asked and the wide-eyed hopeful look on his face broke Luka’s heart a little bit more. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he wasn’t the only one hurting even if it felt like it at times.

“You and me, Sass, you…you said you were here for me and I’ll be here for you. We’re friends.” Luka said softly as he brought the Kwami to his chest in the best hug he could give, it was somewhat like the hug Sass gave Luka earlier. He wanted to make Sass feel as safe and loved as the Kwami had made him feel despite their size difference. After their hug Luka forced himself to get out of bed and ignored how weak his legs felt and softly said his transformation phrase. It felt weird being Viperion even though it really hadn’t been that long since he had last transformed but there was this odd feeling like being in his hero form was wrong without…Ladybug there to lead. Ladybug, it was easier to think of her as Ladybug, it didn’t lessen the pain but it made it just a bit more bearable. But now he was going to her house, to her room and he knew what it looked like, smelled like and there would be no way to think of her as Ladybug when he was in there.

He had to do this though. For Sass and for Ladybug, he would rather die than let the rest of the Miraculi fall into the wrong hands. He'd be damned if he didn’t protect the city that Ladybug loved with her whole heart and soul. So he made his way to her home, to her tower. He and Kagami often joked about Marinette being the princess in the tower and Mari-Ladybug only laughed. She loved her tower. Kagami once joked when it was the two of them that Kagami was M-Ladybug’s knight while he was her minstrel. He had laughed and agreed but later he would think about it and decided he would be a knight if she needed him to be. Though she had needed him and he hadn’t been there. Nope! No! He would not fall down that line of thinking as he was jumping across rooftops and using his lyre to help him along the way. It was a weird day when they found out his lyre could turn into a crossbow, the end of his “arrows” could also change into a grappling gun.

Apparently he and Sass had been bonding pretty well and slowly harmonizing which is why his lyre upgraded to one of its forms. The arrows of the crossbow themselves were weird as he didn’t carry a quiver or anything but an arrow would be equipped if he needed it. Some had no arrowheads, some had normal arrowheads, others had barbed arrowheads, and sometimes the arrows had string attached to them. Whatever kind of arrow he needed, it would show up on the crossbow already loaded. Sass had told him that that showed just how in tune the two were becoming and that soon they would probably be able to communicate with one another while Luka was transformed. It was something he had been looking forward to. He was sure it would come in handy and besides, he already talked out loud when transformed, it may have looked weird but he had been talking to his kwami even if he didn’t think he could hear him at the time. He hadn’t but now he would, hopefully soon.

Finally, Luka touched down on the roof of Ma-Ladybug’s tower and looked around in sadness as he noticed the plants up there had wilted. Before he could talk himself out of it he opened the hatch of the roof and jumped through and onto the floor of the bedroom. Some dust had begun to settle and it broke Luka’s heart more but he willed himself to take deep breaths before he dropped his transformation. He and Sass needed to be able to talk and they weren’t quite at that stage of being able to communicate with one another. As the transformation dropped he looked down at the dirty pink bag that he had taken to looking after and opened it to look at the kwamis who slept inside. Tikki and Plagg, as he had learned from Sass, were normally darker in their colors but looking at them they seemed shades or tones paler, well according to Sass.

“So what are we looking for?” Luka asked as he refused to look anywhere else but his kwami.

Sass had opened his mouth, probably to respond but both of them froze when they heard thumps coming from the roof and the unmistakable murmur of voices. Luka scooped his kwami out of the air and quickly hid behind M- Ladybug’s .( Ladybug. Goddammit .) chaise. The light in the room was off and he himself had been wearing some of his darker clothes…er well, pajamas. Both kwami and teen held their breath as the hatch to the roof was opened and down came two? No, three, actually make it four, people. It took a minute for Luka to recognize them as his teammates. He didn’t know whether or not to greet them but that choice disappeared when a purple kwami and blue kwami flew out from somewhere and floated in the middle of the room.

“Please don’t be scared!” The purple one pleaded. “I am Nooroo and this is Duusuu. I am the kwami of the Butterfly Miraculous while Duusuu is the kwami for the Peacock. I know that alarms you but please listen. I called my friends here and they probably don’t know why or just had a feeling they had to come here so you followed.”

Barely after speaking, the kwami - Nooroo, was sped into by Sass who flew so fast the two kwami shot off into the air. Luka figured there was no point in hiding anymore and stepped out from his hiding place and awkwardly waved at his teammates. They seemed to be in shock before Noc-Turtle mumbled something and their transformation dropped revealing Marc Anciel. Fox-Tail’s jaw dropped before he hastily said his detransformation phrase and there stood Nathaniel Kurtzberg who hurried over Marc and hugged him. Donryu had been looking at Luka the whole time and quietly made her way over to him, once she was in front of him she too dropped her transformation and there was Kagami. It shouldn’t have shocked him as much as it did but the two just stood there staring at each other before they heard an odd wheeze come from Bee-Witch who was staring at everyone with wide eyes. She too dropped her transformation and only to the shock of Marc and Nathaniel, she turned out to be Chloe Bourgeois.

“I don’t know how to handle all these revelations at the moment but I can work through them later with my cat.” Marc said, clearly still in some shock. “Er-Nooroo right? Can you explain more?”

Nooroo who was in the middle of a kwami group hug along with Duusuu nodded and reluctantly left the hug. “Like I said, I was able to call you all here to meet, I had to borrow power from the other kwami in the Miracle Box though. I’m not at full power and even then my messages would have been more feeling than anything. Sorry, I’m rambling. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to talk so freely.”

“You are fine, Our Friend.” Pollen reassured while glaring at everyone else like she was daring them to argue.

“Take your time.” Sass murmured from his spot next to his friend. Luka wanted to comfort the little kwami but he didn’t think it would help given how Luka could imagine he was treated by his former user. If Luka were him, he would be wary of humans no matter how well intentioned.

Nooroo took a deep breath and nodded. “I…I don’t really know where to start. What I have to say is…shocking to say the least. I know all of us here have been through a lot…have lost a lot…but I felt like if I stayed quiet I would be betraying Ladybug just…just like Chat Noir did.”

It was quiet. So quiet. Until Nathaniel choked out a small, “What?”

Duusuu merely nodded in response along with Nooroo. “It was awful. Chat Noir and his father planned the entire thing. Chat Noir planned to be suspicious of Gabriel Agreste once more and had you guys purposefully find out he was guilty of being Hawkmoth. Ladybug was the big target and you guys would have been just…collateral. So when Ladybug proposed the ambush…”

“Uncle Gabe already knew.” Chloe stated in a voice full of disgust even if her eyes were filled with tears.

“He did.” Nooroo confirmed. “Chat Noir played his role well and the ambush was happening so fast. Ladybug could barely try and fight back before she was secured to the chair. She was so angry…so heartbroken…she did all she could to fight against Gabriel and his son…”

There were some gasps among the humans at the information but Luka merely took a much needed breath in. He had guessed as much since the only ones in the house after the explosion had been Adrien, Gabriel, Nathalie and the body of Emilie Agreste. It just clicked. Sure Chat Noir could have disappeared like Marin-Ladybug did but that didn’t feel right. Chat had already been acting off before the ambush and confirming he was in fact Adrien was like the final nail in the coffin. Luka had had suspicions of who the Chat was and just whose side he was on but after everything, the confirmation was bitter. According to Sass, Luka had known who he and Ladybug were but the memories of their identities faded as a safety measure to keep the team’s identities safe. Luka would only have kept the memories if both heroes had accepted he knew and trusted him. It was weird but Luka just chalked it up to Miraculous Magic.

He wished he had been able to remember, if he had then maybe all of this wouldn’t have happened. He wouldn’t be standing in M-Lady…no. He had to stop. It didn't matter how much he told himself, Ladybug was Marinette. Marinette was Ladybug. They were one and the same and denying it to himself was more likely to hurt him than bring him healing. He couldn’t delude himself anymore. It hurt, it hurt so much, but he had to acknowledge the truth because that was the only way he’d be able to move forward and help protect the city that Marinette adored. He missed her. He missed her so much, but he had to do the healthy thing and not try and separate her from herself. It would be like he wasn’t giving her, her due credit and Marinette deserved so much credit. “If Adrien and his dad got the earrings…then why did the mansion explode like it did?” Luka asked so they could continue. They could all mourn and scream and cry after, but right now they needed information.

“I’m not sure.” Nooroo admitted. “Everything was happening so fast. Gabriel was so close to making his wish and magic was everywhere in preparation. But I felt it, it was this enormous feeling of betrayal and anger that washed over all of us. Tikki looked so scared and worried and Plagg looked shocked. I had turned to where I felt the emotions and it was no surprise they were coming from Ladybug…but just as I looked at her, there was this awful cracking and whistling. Like something was breaking through the roof and flooring at high speed. I panicked as did the other kwami but Tikki looked…she looked like she recognized what was happening.”

“She looked like her heart broke.” Duusuu mumbled, their voice was soft and scratchy. They seemed to be in pain.

“The room filled with this bright, bright red light and then next thing I know…the mansion exploded. Ladybug was nowhere to be seen.” Nooroo flew over to Luka and pointed at the open pink bag in his hands. “Tikki and Plagg know what happened, but because of all the ambient magic, plus the overwhelming emotions swirling in the air, and their own merging being interrupted, they were hurt.”

“Something like this hasn’t happened in a long time.” Wayzz admitted.

“So there is a way to help them?” Kagami asked.

Wayzz nodded. “Yes. But it will take time…a lot of time. I’ve never seen them so bad. The best we can do is return them to the Miracle Box. It will heal them, but the damage is great and as I said, it will take time. Nooroo, I imagine you called us here, not only to tell us the truth but also because of the Miracle Box.”

“That’s right. The Miracle Box will be vulnerable if there is no one to watch over it as it heals our friends. I sensed the box here and that’s only because Duusuu and I are both still being affected by the interrupted magic. We’re more sensitive right now.”

“One of our holders will definitely protect the box.” Pollen declared. “They are all brave heroes.”

All the humans looked at one another in disbelief. Marinette had been guarding this box all while being Ladybug? They knew she was amazing but this was something else entirely. Luka sadly guessed that this is why she was always so stressed. If they had to watch this box and protect it then so be it. He’d do it for Marinette, no matter the cost. Now all that they needed to decide was who to send the box with.

Next Chapter

#mldc #mldc crossover #ml x dc #mldccrossover #ml red lantern au #red lantern marinette #mldccrossover Luka Couffaine | Viperion #mldccrossover Kagami Tsurugi | Donryu #ml salt fic #chat noir salt #adrien agreste salt #mldccrossover Marc Anciel | Noc-Turtle #mldccrossover Nathaniel Kurtzberg | Fox-Tail #mldccrossover Chloe Bourgeois | Bee-Witch #mldccrossover kwamis

28 notes · View notes

verfound · 11 months

Note

"For all the times I still wanted to punch Adrien in the face, it's still better than S4/5 at least? 😂"

What did he do in the movie?

It's honestly more of the same, so truthfully speaking I don't know why I was surprised.

(Spoilers for the Miraculous Movie below the cut.)

When he first meets Ladybug, it's immediately nothing but flirting and going off about how she's his "sidekick". I can't entirely blame him for that, because there's a scene with Plagg later on where it seems like that's the rhetoric Plagg's feeding him, so ok? Not entirely his fault.

He's still running hard with the pity parties and the "no one has it as bad as me woe woe what to do?" thing. I will never be able to hear Careless Whisper again without laughing my ass off. So. Thanks for that, Zag. 😂

And in the movie's defense, they do try to show more interactions between Adrien and Marinette. There's double dates (or at least hangouts) with Nino and Alya. Marinette and Adrien are actually shown talking about his mother on a bench/spending time together alone. She's still awkward around him, but she can at least hold a conversation? So there's interaction. There's a BASIS for Adrien feasibly liking Marinette AND Ladybug (though, to be perfectly clear, he is still very much 100% "Ladybug or nothing" - and don't even get me started on his "The girl behind the mask saved my heart" bullshit). I still don't think Adrien would be a good long-term boyfriend/spouse material, but as a first boyfriend at 13-15? I could see it.

But then you get the Confession and Final Battle, and the little bit of "ok maybe I can see it" was lost again. Chat sets up this big elaborate "I like you" scene, and Ladybug flatout tells him in the song "I like you, I could like you, but I love someone else" - and whoops, there's Adrichat again. He immediately starts with the "BUT WHAT ABOUT ME?!" shit, handling the rejection with all the grace of a bowlegged bullfrog. And maybe I could forgive him for that - he's just been rejected, he's allowed to be hurt - if it wasn't so painfully On Brand for Chat and I didn't have five seasons of baggage making me dislike this guy?

Cut to the next day (or whenever), when Marinette asks Adrien to the school dance. And Adrien just...rejects her. Because "he's in love with someone else". And sure, that's fair, she did the same thing, but he does this in the middle of the hall at school? And maybe that's on Marinette for asking in such a public place, but it immediately sets it up for everyone in the hall to be snickering/mocking this already crazy insecure girl (let's not even touch the vaguely suicidal themes they gave her that I'm praying are just poor translation choices) - and of fucking course Chloé is right there to pounce. I honestly don't know who I was more frustrated with in this scene - Marinette, Adrien, or the writers - because it just smacks of more "Let's beat Marinette into the ground, shall we?" (See: lying facedown in a rainy New York street chasing after Sunshine's limo.)

So Hawkmoth, meanwhile, has decided that "If I can't bring Emilie back, I will join her!" and akumatizes himself? Because that's a great idea? And kicks off Apocalypse Now. Paris is burning, magical bombs going off all over, Hakwmoth on the Rampage. Ladybug runs into the fight and is getting her ass handed to her. She needs Chat. She's calling Chat. Where the fuck is Chat, you ask?

Lying on his fucking bed whimpering while he listens to Careless Whisper and Paris burns right outside his bedroom windows.

I wish I was lying. This is your hero. This is the guy the show is painting as Absolute Perfection, Sunshine of My Soul.

I should note that a device the movie worked in is that the Miraculous will glow/pulse? I'm still unsure if it's just when an akuma's on the loose or if it's a sign that their partner is calling them on the comms, but either way Adrien could see from his glowing ring that he needed to get his ass up and go fight. But his feelings were hurt, and holding a pity party was more important than saving the city.

So after Plagg forces him to get his ass up and do his job, he swings in to save Ladybug from Imminent Smooshing, and immediately starts a snit. "Oh, your boyfriend too busy to lend a hand?" (I'm not even paraphrasing. That's the actual line.) And, once again showing he really can't learn and ignoring everything they've set up for the "we're stronger together/we're partners" thing, Chat tells her "I've got this - stand down" and barrels ahead to fight Hawkmoth himself.

Now, up until this point, I'd like to note that we have seen NOTHING of their powers. There have been no Cataclysms, no Lucky Charm, no Miracle Cure. They've used the yoyo and staff, but it looks like the extent of their powers is enhanced abilities and weapons? While Chat's fighting, he DOES power up a Cataclysm. It's unclear if he knew about this power/used it beforehand or if this was the first time he was using it.

Regardless, he swings, misses, and accidentally Cataclysms the Eiffel - which is immediately destroyed.

And that's kind of where I just lost it with Chat? I was screaming at Min while I watched this, and she reminded me we don't know about the Miracle Cure yet. So Movie!Chat is doing all of this without the reassurance/confidence that Ladybug can Fix It. At least in the show he's seen her powers and knows it will be all right? It's no less reckless, but he knows it'll be all right in the end. He has no reassurances here.

What's even worse, when it's all said and done and Ladybug DOES cast the Miracle Cure? We're clearly shown this is the first time she is using this power. So she didn't even know she could fix it in the moment. So Chat's here, letting the city burn, destroying national monuments, and it's all cool. No plan - just nine lives, night vision, and more puns than you can swing a stick at. Cool. Cool cool cool. 🙃

It's just...Adrien. He's perfectly on brand - I should not have been surprised. All of this shit he did in the movie he's done before in the show. (See: all his fans clutching their pearls and going "My boi would NEVER!", and now their fucking boi fucking did twice. In two separate canons. I'm sure if I read any of the comics/novelizations he'd do it there, too.)

I cheered when the Eiffel debris knocked him out in the Seine. LB should have let the lava get him. 🙄

Basically, I'm not entirely mad I watched the movie. It had some great moments. Guardian School Dropout Fu screeching in Marinette's face the first time they meet how "EVERYONE WILL DIE" was excellent. Hawkmoth in a top hat? Loved it. Hawkmoth's villain song was hilarious - I want to know if Juleka knows about the Mountain of Skulls and regularly petitions Kitty Section to rehearse there (and please let's discuss the Supervillain Prison already waiting in the catacombs?). Luka being RIGHT THERE - Juleka telling him all about the girl that blew up the chem lab the first day of school, be still his Boat Kid heart. I'm sure I still enjoyed it more than S4-5.

But no, it did not sway me to the Sunshine side. 0/10 would not recommend this kid again.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous movie #miraculous movie spoilers #spoilers #adrien agreste #adrien salt #cry in the notes you won't change my mind #he needs the ring taken from him #we need a new chat'#chat noir salt #adrienne would never #ml salt #ver asks #nonny asks

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haphira · 9 months

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Miraculous Ladybug and the Valiant Annuler By: Haphira

38. Step 2 – Action; Chat Noir, Superhero...? - chat gets his miraculous taken

After the eventful night Marinette had, her bed was calling her. Sleep came easily for once and Marinette woke up feeling refreshed, it was a nice change of pace. Her morning at school was pleasant too, most everyone said hi to her. School was uneventful, and Lila had made herself scarce again, Marinette didn’t have to deal with her which was a blessing.

Adrien was oddly quiet, Marinette noticed that he seemed distracted, which means he would pay less attention to her. Marinette was thankful, she didn’t have those butterfly feelings anymore, but Adrien made her feel... disappointed, she could admit that now. The way he decided to handle Lila was wrong, the way he lied about supporting Marinette, the way he went after her for not being the perfect “everyday ladybug” he wanted her to be, it was all wrong. Yeah, she was done with the weight of that pressure. Adrien wasn’t the “sunshine child” she thought he was, more naïve than she thought. She didn’t hate him... but she didn’t like him anymore. It was a complicated feeling. She held no romantic feelings for him anymore and Marinette wasn’t sure about being friends with him. She was sitting on the fence with that. Marinette doesn’t believe he did anything maliciously, but the ignorance hurt. Adrien wasn’t the person she thought he was. And that’s okay, Marinette believed in the best of him, and he fell flat, that just makes him human. But... If she ever pursued a friendship with him, it would be a while before she trusted him.

Shaking the thoughts away, Marinette refocused back to the last class of the day, Mrs. Bustier was droning on about fairy tales again. Marinette couldn’t help but think of the last time, where she had to kiss Chat Noir to break the hate spell on him. It was NOT an action she wanted to repeat. Speaking of Chat Noir, Marinette reviewed the plan in her head one more time, she couldn’t wait to be free of Chat. Chat just made her angry and uncomfortable, before he got obsessed with her, he was an okay partner, he supported her, gave her the right words she needed to hear to keep moving forward. He was a bit silly and goofy but a good person. At least that was what Marinette originally thought. Now though, she wanted nothing to do with him anymore. He turned into someone Marinette didn’t agree with or could work with. All past friendly feelings were gone, and that made her sad. But she wouldn’t dwell on it, it was way past time she thought of herself first.

Realizing that class was almost done, she packed her things so she could rush out and get the plan to take Chat Noir’s ring put into motion. Once the bell rang, Marinette was out of her seat, and in a second out of the classroom door, she thought she might have heard her name being called but she wasn’t sure, so she ignored it and ran home.

Marinette greeted her parents in the bakery and told them she was going to be out for a while. She threw her bag on her desk and went up to the skylight. She breathed deeply for a moment and focused on what she was going to do, but before she could transform the Akuma Alert went off. Groaning, Marinette transformed and hooked her yoyo to a tall building and leapt into the air.

As Ladybug scanned the city, she found the Akuma. The Akuma for the most part was just yelling and turning people into fairytale characters, not overly dangerous, but annoying. Then she spotted him. Chat Noir was on a building across from her, just sitting and watching the Akuma wreak havoc. Anger bubbled in Ladybug’s chest. “Chat Noir, what are you doing?!” Ladybug landed in front of the Akuma, some girl dressed like a princess yelling about fairy tales being real and glared up at Chat for a moment before refocusing on the Akuma. She didn’t have the time to deal with him.

Ladybug did a quick look over and thought the Akuma had to be in her mask. She yelled for Chat again, but he didn’t respond, just passively watching and doing nothing.

Ladybug was beyond pissed at Chat Noir, after calling her lucky charm, a fishhook, she proceeded to defeat the Akuma after a few throws with the hook attached to her yoyo to grab the mask. After releasing the butterfly and the girl apologizing for being Akumatized, Ladybug faced where she heard Chat land behind her.

Chat looked nonplussed at LB, and Ladybug was barely containing her anger, she was partly surprised Hawkmoth didn’t try to send a butterfly for her, but she did just finish dealing with his most recent Akuma.

“Follow me.” Ladybug commanded and raced across the rooftops to the Eiffel tower, going to the top where they couldn't be overheard. Ladybug didn’t look back to see if Chat was following her, at this point, she almost didn’t care, almost.

“What was that today, Chat Noir?” Ladybug asked in a calm voice, if Chat had been paying attention, that should have warned him something was off. Behing him, Ladybug saw Sionnach, Hachi, and Dìonadair creep up behind him and got into position.

“Just proving my point Bugaboo, you need me.” Chat grinned like he just ate the canary, and leaned on his staff, relaxing his body, and completely unaware of the growing storm he was about to face.

Ladybug stared at him, thinking about how she wanted to respond and go through with her plans. Sighing, Ladybug reached out to take Chat’s hands, which he eagerly reciprocated.

“Chat Noir, I think you were right. It was foolish of me to think I could do this alone. That I could take down Akumas by myself, that I do need a partner to fight with me.” Ladybug looked up from their joined hands to stare Chat in the face. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning, he was so giddy. Swallowing hard, Ladybug gathered her courage to do the next step.

“This whole idea that we are soulmates, that we are made for each other, well it just scared me.” Well, it terrified her, Ladybug never wanted to be chained to someone like Chat Noir, “But I know what I have to do now, I know I have to change for the better.” Ladybug nodded, which was the signal for Dìonadair to put up Shell-ter around them, Sionnach to produce smoke so no one outside the superheroes could see and Hachi kept hidden away, waiting to see if she was needed to sting Chat Noir.

It was over in a flash, Chat had closed his eyes, missing the flashes of light of other superpowers being used around him and started to lean into Ladybug and pucker his lips. Ladybug quickly slid the ring off his finger, there was a flash of green light, then Chat realized that his transformation was no longer on, and Ladybug stashed the ring in her yoyo and took a step back.

Adrien Agreste stood in shock staring at Ladybug and Ladybug was desperately trying to hide the horror of discovering who Chat Noir had been. Shock turned into anger for Cha-Adrien, “You-you tricked me?!” Ladybug took another step back, at this point Adrien finally noticed LB’s reaction to him.

Horror and disgust were at war on her face, Ladybug thought back on all the times Adrien flirted with her in battle, or Chat telling her that Lila’s lies don’t matter. Flipping Adrien and Chat interchangeably with each past memory. The boy she thought she knew better now, had betrayed her again.

“M’Lady?” That snapped Ladybug out of her thoughts, and she put up a front and hid her emotions.

“Adrien Agreste, I hereby renounce you as the black cat miraculous wielder, you have been found unworthy of holding a Miraculous.”

“You can’t do this!”

“Yes, I can, I am the Guardian in training, and I must think of what is best for me and Paris. You, Agreste, have proven that you cannot be trusted or relied on in the battle against Hawkmoth.” Adrien reached out to Ladybug, but she just took another step back away from him, keeping a minimal three feet of distance inside the Shell-ter.

“This is your mess, from your actions as Chat Noir, deal with the consequences.” Ladybug took her yoyo from her hip and ready it to leave, Adrien was still standing there with confusion and anger on his face.

“What do you mean? I did nothing wrong!” Adrien exclaimed.

“The fact that you can say that proves you have no awareness of your actions. You are unsuited for the cat.” Adrien bristled at the comment.

“You need me, there is no better Cat than me! You’ll see Ladybug, you will come back to me!” Adrien yelled after her. Then beeping could be heard, echoing three times in the enclosed area. Adrien finally realized his surroundings. Dìonadair and Sionnach stood side by side behind him, as he turned around Hachi came out and stung him in the back, freezing him in place. Ladybug and Hachi walked around him to join the others, finally dispersing the shield and mirage. Adrien would have had his eyes bugging out of his head if he could move. Ladybug had betrayed him for the fake heroes. Anger coursed through him, but he could do nothing but stand there, still as a statue.

“Goodbye, Agreste.” Ladybug said without turning back, and the four superheroes went off into the air together, never once looking back.

Chapter 39

#pro lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #pro lukamari #miraculous fandom #miraculous ladybug #lukanette #a03 fic #ao3 #miraculous fanworks #adrien salt #chat noir salt

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goldenlaurelleaveswrites · 10 months

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Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe

Ch16 Juleka vs. the Forces of Alya Césaire

Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe (AO3)

There are a couple of people I need to thank for this chapter.

First of all, a big thank you to @mintaka14, for letting me borrow Roarr's name for makeup from Living Arrangements (It's such a good read and I highly recommend it).

And a huge thank you to @verfound for helping me through the crisis of confidence this chapter gave me, and for beating some sense into me (with love and giggles as you pointed out all my dumb typos 😂). I would still be spinning myself in circles if it weren't for you, so thank you for beta reading this!!! 💖💖💖💖 And for letting Dingo and Bri stay when they insistent on being mentioned in this chapter 😂

Finally, a huge thank you to all of you for the ongoing support and kindness. It really means so much to me, and I can't thank you enough.

A little bit of house keeping now. The next chapter is likely going to take quite a bit of time, especially because I have bits and pieces of it written and it always takes longer to write a chapter that already has pieces I need to integrate in.

Also, I'm issuing a content warning for this chapter. Juleka's anxiety is very prevalent in this chapter. I don't describe it in detail, but it is present in the majority of the chapter. Please use your best judgement when deciding if this is something you're comfortable with. I would much rather you take care of yourself and skip a chapter than read something that might upset or trigger you. 💖

With all of the being said, I hope you enjoy the chapter!!! 💖💖💖💖

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The classroom was warm, just shy of uncomfortably so. And Bustier’s voice was nothing but cloying white noise; she had no idea what her teacher had been droning on about for the past half hour, and she sincerely doubted anyone else did either.

All of their year end tests were written and done. Their projects submitted. Their lockers mostly cleared out.

Now all that was left to do was make it to the end of the second last day of classes.

Sleepily, she blinked her eyes and let her attention wander to the rest of the class. It seemed they were all paying as much attention to Bustier as she was. Ivan was drumming out a beat on his desk with his fingers, bopping his head along to the nearly indecipherable sound. Alix was leaning back in her seat, and was barely making an effort to hide the fact that she was playing on her phone. Kim was out cold, and Max and Markov were reading something on Max’s phone. Nathaniel was drawing, and beside her, Rose was doodling.

She let out a sleepy sigh as her gaze drifted towards the front of the classroom. Chloe and Sabrina’s seats were empty; apparently they were skipping again. It wasn’t like they were missing much. She propped her cheek in her hand as her gaze travelled across the aisle.

Adrien had been in a funk all day. He had tried to hide it, but little cracks in his facade had let it shine through. But it seemed everyone had assumed it was because the school year was almost over, and he wouldn’t see them every day anymore. At lunch, most of the class had tried to console him, assuring him that when he wasn’t busy or travelling over the summer that they would all hang out and that they would call and text. Maybe that was contributing to his funk. But given the argument he had had with Ladybug last night… well, her money was on that.

She was still on edge from last night.

And given the look Chat had given her last night… In all honesty, they were just lucky Shadowmoth needed time to recharge between akumas. That, and that—according to Roarr—wearing a miraculous provided some protection against akumatization. Otherwise…

Well, they were all lucky they were just dealing with a moping classmate. That, and…

Marinette had been uncharacteristically quiet today. Her mind had very obviously been elsewhere for most of the day. She assumed everything that had gone down last night was what had Marinette so preoccupied. Pensive even.

During morning break, after Marinette and Nathaniel had gone to the art room to discuss some costume ideas for the comic with Marc, when she had been coming back from the washroom she had overheard Alya telling the rest of the girls Marinette was obviously thinking about summer break and Adrien.

She turned her attention to Alya and Nino.

They were very obviously texting each other. Which, to be fair, wasn’t exactly uncommon. Or something to be suspicious about. But considering the way Alya had been acting the past couple of weeks…

That, and every so often, Nino would sneak a glance back at her.

Well, sneak was being generous… It was obvious he was either trying to be subtle, or that he thought he was being subtle. Either way, he wasn’t. M. Damocles always gave her grief about her hair, asking her how she could see with her hair covering half her face. What he—and many people for that matter—seemed to forget was that hair was hardly a brick wall. Sure, it obscured her vision a bit. But she could see through her hair well enough to see Nino glancing back at her over his shoulder every time he thought she wasn’t looking. Just like she saw Alya kick the back of his bench every time she caught him looking back at her.

Really, it was a wonder Bustier hadn’t noticed what was going on.

Honestly, she had to wonder if Bustier had noticed her class wasn’t paying attention and was letting it slide, or if she actually was that oblivious.

She stifled a yawn as she directed her gaze to the clock. The time was crawling by. She could swear that clock had said twenty after three for the past half hour.

Sighing, she dragged her gaze away from the clock. It seemed a watched clock didn’t move anyways….

Her frown returned as her eyes settled on Adrien once again.

The past few weeks had been hard, having to be civil to Adrien in class when she knew he was Chat. When he was making her life a headache with his constant whining and tantrums. But coming into class this morning… it had been really hard to act normally towards him. Thankfully, he never really interacted with her all that much anyways, but he hadgreeter her along with the rest of the class when she had come in.

And she had done her best.

She really had.

But she had maybe been a little… cool with her greeting. Which was frankly way more than he deserved. The good thing about being quiet was that people generally didn’t take note when she was extra quiet, and they didn’t tend to pick up on the nuances of her voice. Rose would have, and so would Marinette. But neither of them had been there when she had entered the room. So no one had really seemed to notice.

Except…

Alya’s eyes had narrowed as soon as she had mumbled her reply to Adrien. It was hard to tell if Alya knew she had seen the way her eyes had narrowed, given she had caught it out of the corner of her eye herself. But she knew she hadn’t imagined it, because as soon as she did look directly at Alya, her expression had shifted into a casual smile.

But she had felt eyes on her as she had made her way back to her seat.

She didn’t like it. All the hidden looks and glances from Alya. Coupled with those messages- the curt and deleted ones, And the pushiness and insistence on her voicing her support for the schemes…

It was weird.

But Nino…

She cast a surreptitious glance down at Nino. He quickly turned away, his hat slipping with the movement. Subtle indeed. He couldn’t have been more blatant if he had tried.

As weird as Alya had been the past couple of weeks…well, it was even weirder coming from him.

She sighed. There was no real point in dwelling on it though. Alya… she didn’t like to think about it, but Alya was definitely getting suspicious. That was the only explanation- though if Alya was suspicious, why was she still insisting on her helping with the schemes?

It didn’t make sense.

Regardless, if Alya was suspicious, well, it was safe to assume she had shared her suspicions with Nino.

This… complicated things.

She would need to be even more careful going forward.

Sighing to herself, she folded her arms on her desk and rested her chin on them. At least, if she was deep in thought, she would look like she was paying attention if Bustier clued in to the fact her lesson was going unheard.

***

They were gathered at the base of the front steps to the school, a little off to the side so as not to end up trampled by the steady stream of students emerging from the building, clearly excited by the prospect of only one day left in the school year.

“And you’re sure you don’t have time for ice cream?” Alya wheedled. “I can text Nino. He and the guys were going to shoot some hoops, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind a change of plans. You know Adrien loves Andre’s ice cream.”

She had to fight to keep herself from rolling her eyes.

Even if that particular ploy was weak by Alya’s standards, Alya was never one to miss an opportunity…

Marinette shook her head, and she could have sworn she caught sight of her rolling her eyes… “No, I need to head home. I still need to finish my dress.”

“Are you going to finish in time?” Mylène asked worriedly.

Marinette nodded. “It’ll probably be cutting it a bit close, but I’ll have it done.”

“I can wait to see it,” Rose sighed dreamily, “I can’t even imagine what you’ve cooked up this time!”

“Neither can I,” Alya agreed. “And it doesn’t help that my bestie won’t even give me a sneak peek,” Alya added in a playfully pointed voice.

Marinette let out a semi-exasperated sigh. “I told you, it isn’t ready to be seen yet. Besides, you’ll all see it tomorrow.”

“Fine, fine. But you can’t blame a girl for trying,” Alya laughed. “But you’re going to look amazing, I just know Adrien won’t be able to take his eyes off of you!”

Marinette’s smile faltered for a second at Alya’s words, before returning. But it was tighter than before. Less genuine.

“I’m just looking forward to wearing it,” Marinette said noncommittally.

“I sure hope so, given how much time you’ve been spending on it. You missed one heck of a race last weekend. You should have seen how close-”

“I’m sure there will be plenty more races for Marinette to watch,” Mylène said, gently cutting Alix off before she could get too far into regaling them with every detail of the race. Again.

“When’s the next one?”

“Third day of break,” Alix grinned, “We both figured we would want to sleep in after the dance and Max has a dentist appointment the second day of break.”

“I think that should work! We could do a picnic?’

“A victory picnic, I like it!”

“You haven’t won yet,” she mumbled with a chuckle.

Alix stuck her tongue out at her. “Yet.”

“Anyways, I should get going…” Marinette said, taking an awkward little half-step back. “The dress won’t finish itself after all.”

“Of course. Text if you need anything?” she asked.

“Or if you’re bored!” Rose added as she stepped in to hug Marinette as well.

“I will,” Marinette promised; there was a hint of laughter in her voice. She may have have been responding to Rose… but Marinette’s eyes were on her. With a smile, Marinette stepped forward and hugged her goodbye.

Over Marinette’s head, she caught what looked like a frown flickering across Alya’s face. But then Marinette was pulling away, and once she had stepped back out of the hug, the look on Alya’s face was gone.

Once all the goodbye hugs were exchanged, and Marinette was out of sight, Alya turned to the rest of them. “Ok, since ice cream was a bust, we can head straight to my place. It’s probably a good thing anyways, we have lots to get through.”

She fell into step with the rest of the group as they made their way towards Alya’s place, though she lagged a little behind Alya, Alix, and Mylène. As they made their way through the streets, Alya began going through a list of things they would need to prepare for one of the many plans they had cooked up for tomorrow.

Because of course it couldn’t just be one plan.

Alya had insisted that they plan multiple schemes.

Each of which, of course, had a ridiculous name.

“So for phase ‘Belle of the Ball,’ we’ll need to make sure…” She only listened with half an ear as she followed along behind the rest of the girls. They had spent the past two weeks cooking up all of these plots, she knew them like the back of her own hand. They all did, as Alix had pointed out when protesting to this last scheming session.

But Alya had insisted.

As Alya had pointed out—while casting a glance in her direction—something always went wrong with the plans. And that meant they had to be ready.

Under other circumstances—before she had found herself going toe to toe with Alya—she found Alya’s tenacity and determination admirable. She was bold and willing to do whatever it took to reach her goals. She was the very definition of if at first you don’t succeed…

The thing was, she couldn’t help but wonder… it wasn’t just that Alya’s scheming was bad for Marinette… at times… most of the time, the more she thought about it… it felt like it was bad for Alya.

Alya was tenacious. Determined. Though some people might say headstrong or even pig-headed. Alya wasn’t afraid to go after what she wanted. And, despite what her actions may have screamed, she cared about her friends’ happiness.

The problem was, Alya had something of a tunnel vision problem. She was so fixated on the idea of Marinette liking Adrien that she couldn’t—or maybe wouldn’t—acknowledge the fact that Marinette had moved on. Just like how she was so caught up in the pursuit of Ladybug’s identity, and the idea of Ladybug and Chat Noir being destined soulmates that she couldn’t see what was staring her straight in the face.

“You ok?” Rose’s voice jolted her from her thoughts. She looked down at Rose, who had fallen into step beside her. “You looked far away,” Rose said as she slipped her hand into hers.

“Yeah,” she tried to muster a smile. The feeling of Rose’s hand in hers made it much easier, despite the dour thoughts clouding her mind. “Just thinking,” she said as she laced her fingers with Rose’s.

***

She sat in silence as Alya stuck a pin into another colour-coded scrap of paper to fix it to her cork board. The cork board was covered in a rainbow of scraps of paper, each colour indicating a different person, with the scheme name, details, and phase number outlined on them.

It was a technicolour disaster.

And the more of the schemes—which were all phases in the ‘Operation Fairytale Ball’ plot—Alya added to the board, the more she could feel a headache brewing.

It was honestly impressive how Alya managed to keep track of all the details of the various schemes and plots. If journalism didn’t work out for her, Alya had a bright future in tactical mission planning ahead of her.

“…so then when he sees the punch ladle is missing, he’ll have to ask her where the spare ones are. And then when she offers to go, Rose, you mention we need more napkins too and suggest Adrien help her.”

Rose made a sound of agreement, not looking up from the plethora of nail polish bottles she had spread out on the floor in front of her.

“And then Juleka, while they’re gone, you’ll find Luka and keep him busy. By the time they get back, we’ll be ready for Phase: Glass Slipper.” Alya finally peeled her gaze away from the cork board to stare at her. Hard. “You’ll be able to do that, right?” There was a challenge in the way Alya was staring at her. It was almost like… like she was testing her.

“It’s a plan,” she murmured. It was a plan. A terrible one. One she had no intention of carrying out. But it was a plan.

Alya’s eyes hardened at her words. She had been careful to phrase it as the truth. Well, a half-truth. The words were true. But the intention behind them had been a lie.

And Alya did not look satisfied: her eyes were hard and narrowed behind her glasses.

Alya opened her mouth to say something, but Mylène of all people interrupted her. “And that’s where the faux flowers come in, right? And what flowers were you thinking?”

She could have answered those questions: yes and red roses. Because they symbolized ‘true love.’

At least all the other colours of roses hadn’t been ruined for her…

Alya shot her one last look before turning to Mylène. “We need red roses; they’re the most romantic flowers. And yeah, once they come back they’ll…”

She fought back a frown as best she could as Alya launched into going over every excruciating detail of the next phase of the operation.

After the countless hours they had spent cooking up and reviewing these schemes, how could Mylène not remember the flowers? The flowers she was in charge of?

She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts. But as Alya continued on her tirade of the operation, her mind couldn’t help but wander.

And it seemed she wasn’t the only one…

Alix was paying barely—if any—attention to the whole conversation. She was flopped out on Alya’s bed with her legs up the wall and her eyes glued to the screen of her phone.

Rose was on the floor, surrounded by an army of nail polish bottles. All in varying shades of pink. It seemed she still hadn’t decided on which shade of pink would go best with her outfit for tomorrow.

Mylène was sitting beside Alix on the bed, though she wasn’t upside-down. She was sitting cross legged, with a pillow in her lap and her chin propped up in her hand, a bored look on her face.

“And then you’ll keep Luka occupied so he doesn’t interrupt them, right, Juleka?”

She jumped at the sudden sound of Alya—very pointedly—saying her name. “Sorry, what?”

“You’ll make sure Luka- or anyone else for that matter, doesn’t ruin the moment.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Alya didn’t look satisfied by the answer, but she continued on. Time seemed to drag by as they went through the next four phases of the operation. And it didn’t help that it felt like Alya was asking her something every other minute.

And she did not like how loaded the questions felt.

She did not like it one bit.

“…and because Nino isn’t doing the music, you’ll probably need to stall for a while, Alix, while I-”

“Y’know, I really don’t see the point of this,“ Alix groaned.

“What? What are you talking about?” Alya demanded as she turned to look at Alix as she crossed her arms.

She followed Alya’s gaze, and watched as Alix rolled to right herself and sit up. “We’ve been over these plans a billiontimes, Alya,” Alix complained before looking back down at her game.

“We have been reviewing them a lot,” Mylène quietly agreed.

“But we have to!”

“Do we?”

Alya’s gaze snapped to her so quickly, it was a miracle she didn’t have whiplash. “Of course we do. Don’t you want Marinette and Adrien to be happy?”

She hesitated; it suddenly felt like she was standing in the middle of a minefield. She needed to weigh her words carefully. “Of course I want Marinette to be happy. But she’s already going with Luka. Can’t we just let them enjoy the evening? Can’t we just enjoy the evening? Without scheming?” She certainly wouldn’t object to a scheme free evening.

“Juleka does have a point-“ Rose started to say.

“You’re only saying that because she’s going with your brother.”

Back before she had seen Marinette transform, had she found herself on the receiving end of such a glare, she would have shrunk in on herself. She would have faded into the background. Even a month ago, before she had become a tigress, she probably would have. It was the easy thing to do. Far easier than standing up to anyone.

But she was a tigress now.

And tigresses knew how to fade into the background. To move about unseen and undetected.

But they also knew how to roar.

“No, I’m not. I just want her- everyone to enjoy the night. I want Marinette to be happy and-”

“And that’s what I want!”

“That’s what we all want-” Rose started to say, only to be cut off again.

“After all the time she’s spent pining over Adrien, trying so hard to get him to notice her, you just want her to give up?” She met Alya’s glare with stoney silence. But before she could muster up words to redirect this conversation, or at least stall it, Alya’s eyes narrowed even further. “I knew it!” she hissed. “I knew something weird was going on-“

“Oh not this again,” Alix groaned.

“Not what again?”

Mylène—who at some point had gotten up—stepped forward tentatively, hands held out as if trying to placate. Though she wasn’t sure if it was her or Alya she was trying to calm. “Alya thinks-“

“I know-“

“Alya thinks you’ve been messing with the Adrien plans…”

Shoot. “What?”

“I told you it was dumb, Alya,” Alix said pointedly before looking up from her game to look at her. “She thinks you’ve been plotting against us.”

Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot.

“We told her it was just little miscommunications and accidents-“ Mylène started to say, only to be cut off.

“But I know it’s been more than that!”

“But Juleka wouldn’t lie to us!” Rose cried out indignantly, knocking over one of her bottles on nail polish as she stood up.

“Everybody lies. Right, Juleka?”

Alya was right. She would lie. She had lied to them. For months. But she had done it for Marinette’s sake!

And now this left her with a dilemma…

Was it better to come clean and tell them? Or was it better to stay quiet?

If she told them, she would have to tell them that Marinette had told her that she wanted to be with Luka. But Marinette had sworn her to secrecy, and she couldn’t betray Marinette’s trust. But if she didn’t come clean, she would be lying to them, which, granted, she had been doing every time she meddled with a plot… but those had always been little white lies!

Hadn’t they?

What was the right thing to do?

She could hear the blood rushing past her ears. It was the only sound she could hear. Everything - everyone - was silent. They were all just… just silent. Staring at her, waiting for her to- were they waiting for her to respond? Were they waiting for Alya to say something?

She was suffocating in the weight of the silence.

What was she supposed to do?

How did she get herself out of this?

“Come on Alya, that’s enough,” Mylène reprimanded. Her usually quiet voice was like thunder in the silence room. Suddenly, they were all talking

“Just let it go, it’s a stupid thing to fight about-” Alix added, only to be cut off.

“It’s not stupid! It’s-”

“Bijou, it’s ok. Just breathe…”

All of their voices were overlapping. Blending into each other until they were an almost indistinguishable cacophony. All muffled by the blood rushing past her ears and the thoughts ricocheting around in her head.

What was she supposed to do?

She needed quiet. Peace. To think.

She needed to get away.

But how?

For once, Shadowmoth was her saving grace.

The akuma alert blared from all of their phones. She jumped at the sound. Alix was the only one who hadn’t, actually. Then again, Alix had been the only one to be somewhat disengaged in the growing tension over the Adrienette plots. As Alix had said when they had settled into the meeting, she had mostly been there for the snacks.

Quickly, she scanned the akuma alert. There wasn’t much information about it, but it was by the tower.

Why was it always the tower? It was like akumas and tourists thought that was the only important place in Paris.

But it didn’t matter.

She needed to leave. She needed to be somewhere Ladybug could easily find her if she needed help with this one. And given last night… it was a pretty good possibility.

She froze when she looked up from her phone, her words dying on her lips. She could also see Alya’s desperation to go to ground zero of the akuma battle.

But Alya also looked like she wasn’t done arguing yet.

As it was, Alya was at an impasse. Both with herself and with her.

Because Alya couldn’t stay to argue with her and go get footage for her blog.

Or at least, she would be at an impasse with Alya. If she wanted to continue arguing with the equivalent of a brick wall that was.

“I gotta go. Need to check on Luka and Ma.” The lie was bitter in her mouth as she dashed towards the door.

“But bijou!”

“I’ll be careful!”

She was already out the door before Alya’s spluttered protests could reach her ears.

***

Her feet pounded against the pavement as she ran towards the Liberty.

If Ladybug needed her, she needed to be somewhere she would be easy to find.

At least her story- her lie about needing to check on Luka and her ma was believable. Of course, neither Luka nor her ma were supposed to be onboard right now. Luka was hanging out with his friends at Aimee’s place, and her ma was staging fight choreography at a community theatre in a completely different arrondissement. None of the girls knew that though. And the Liberty was docked close enough to the tower that, while not directly in harm’s way, was close enough that under other circumstances she would be worried.

But Juleka wouldn’t lie to us!

Rose’s words echoing in her head almost brought her to a halt.

She needed to keep going.

But the words weighed on her.

Rose had been wrong. She had lied to them. She had been lying to them for months now.

It had never felt great to lie. But they were harmless, small little lies. Or at least…

It had started with little lies. Little white lies. About texting the wrong time or texting the wrong person…

But the lies… they had become bigger.

And so much easier.

And the more she lied- whether by omission or fabrication, the harder it was to tell where the line between a half-truth and a lie lay. Was it even really a line anymore?

Had there ever been a line?

And with how easy the lies, the half-truths, the misdirections… how easy it had become to lie to her friends, her family… how easy it had all become…

The fact that she had so easily brushed off all of her lies until now… until she had been confronted and questioned point blank…

What kind of person did that make her?

She needed to keep going.

She didn’t have time for this.

But how was she supposed to move forward now?

She pumped her arms and legs even harder. Her lungs were starting to burn as she sprinted along the sidewalk, dodging dawdling tourists and ambling people left and right. With every step she took, the same question pounded through her head. Echoing the sound of her feet against the pavement.

What was she supposed to do now?

Finally, the Liberty came into view. She had barely made it on board when she saw a flash of red drop from the sky, down into the clutter of the meeting place they had hidden amongst all her ma’s chaos.

She darted over just as Ladybug peeked out from behind a crate.

“Good, you’re here. Are you free to help?”

“Always. So what are we looking at?” she asked as Ladybug pulled the bracelet from her yoyo.

“Not sure yet, I wanted to see if I could find you on my way there.”

“Well, glad that worked out,” she chuckled as she slipped the bracelet on. “Yeah, I’m free. Roarr, stripes on!”

***

She stared in disbelief as the ‘akuma’ was loaded into the back of a police car by an officer.

“…came all the way here, and decided he wanted to pull a prank,” Officer Roger groaned as he watched the door to the police car slam shut. “The embassy will have to deal with him. Tourists,” he added under his breath.

“Well,” Ladybug sighed as she massaged her temples, “at least no one was actually akumatized. I might need to do a press conference or something to remind people akumas aren’t something to joke about.”

“I’ll talk to the Commissioner and Mayor about it” Roger sighed before turning back to face her and Ladybug. “Good to see you, Ladybug. Purple Tigress, always a pleasure.”

“Take care,” she said with a nod before Officer Roger turned and headed back towards the cluster of police cars. “Talk about a waste of time,” she grumbled as she watched the cars drive off.

“You’d think they’d learn. C’mon,” Ladybug said, nodding towards the rooflines. Wordlessly, she followed Ladybug up. Once they were balanced on the roof, Ladybug turned to her with a wry smile. “Well, I can’t say I’m sorry it was just a tourist. You’re still ok for patrol later tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Great. Thank you, Juleka, you’re really saving my butt right now. Hold onto it until the end of patrol,” Ladybug added before she could finish undoing the clasp on the Miraculous.

She nodded. “I’ll just message you a good place to meet up once we’re done?” she asked as she fiddled with her Miraculous. Ladybug still took it back most of the time after patrols, but she had gotten to hang onto it overnight a couple times. And she would be lying if she said she didn’t mind relinquishing her hold on it. She was going to miss hanging out with Roarr and patrolling the city.

“That sounds perfect.” She glanced up at Ladybug to find her smiling thoughtfully at her.

***

She went halfway towards home as Tigress before she ducked into an abandoned back alley. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she dropped her transformation.

“I was looking forward to a good fight…” Roarr complained as soon as she was out of the Miraculous.

“I know,” she murmured, holding out her hand to the disgruntled kwami. “But it’s just as well. Ladybug doesn’t have much time left to work on her project, and I’m all out of emergency candy.”

“I guess…” Roarr mumbled as she settled into her palm. Despite her obvious disappointment at the lack of a fight, the kwami seemed unable to stop herself from purring as she stroked the soft fur on her head.

“I need to stop by the store on the way home and pick up some more eyeliner-”

��Your war paint,” Roarr corrected.

“Sure, my ‘war paint,’ but I’ll get you some more emergency candy. And…” she said, a smirk drawing across her face as Roarr’s ears twitched at the shift in her tone, “I’ll get you some anchovies too.” She couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose at the thought of the smelly, canned fish that Roarr adored. “Would that make you feel better?”

“I suppose…” Roarr said, her purr slipping into her voice.

“Come on then,” she said, gesturing to backpack. As soon as Roarr was safely hidden in her pack, she shrugged it back onto her shoulder and slipped out of the alley.

Once she stepped into the store, she made her way to the cosmetics aisle. Listlessly, she began perusing the display racks. Normally she enjoyed shopping for makeup—especially when her favourite eyeliner was on sale—but the deal on her favourite brand of eyeliner didn’t muster the usual excitement it would have.

Getting excited over a good price on eyeliner felt trivial compared to everything that was going on right now.

“What’s wrong, Juleka?”

She jumped at the sudden sound of Roarr’s voice in her ear.

“What are you doing?” she hissed. “Get back in my bag before someone sees you!” She cast a glance around the aisle, but thankfully no one else was browsing the cosmetics.

“It’s fine, your hair is so thick no one can see me when I’m hidden in it.” She let out a sigh of exasperation, but Roarr continued on, undeterred. “So what’s the matter? Usually you’re happy when you’re looking at all this stuff,” she felt Roarr’s tail flick against her ear, “but you aren’t today.”

“Well,” she said slowly as she picked up a random lipstick off the shelf and made a show of looking at the packaging. Hopefully, if anyone came into this section of the store, it would look like she was just mumbling over the packing of the lipstick instead of talking to her hair. “Alya caught on to what I’ve been up to…”

As she continued through the store, she filled Roarr in as quickly as she could, pausing in front of random displays under the guise of browsing to give herself more time to explain everything. Or at least, everything she could. But even that was only half the truth. Roarr still didn’t know that she knew Marinette was Ladybug, only that she had been interfering with the plots to get Adrien and Marinette together.

Even confiding about her dilemma was a mockery of it.

“…and it’s just a huge mess now,” she groaned as she dropped another bag of Roarr’s favourite candies into her shopping basket.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t want to keep lying-”

“I didn’t ask what you didn’t want to do. I asked what you’re going to do?”

“I don’t know. I mean- Bustier is always drilling it into use that lying is wrong, and they’re my friends…”

“But…?”

“But if I tell them, they’ll ask questions. Alya will demand answers. Answers I can’t give without betraying Marinette’s trust. And I would never do that.”

Roarr let out a satisfied purr. “A good tigress protects her own, and you’re a great Tigress. This Marinette girl is lucky to have you.”

She bit back a wry smile at the way Roarr distanced herself from Marinette. “But what should I do? What’s the right thing to do?”

Roarr let out something that was a cross between a yowl and a sigh. “You’re asking someone who’s kept her existence a secret from the world for millennia. As for the right thing… you mortals have such rigid understandings of what those concepts mean. There’s right and wrong, and there’s right and wrong.”

“So… you think I should lie?”

“A Tigress fights her own battles, whether with her claws or her head.” Roarr nuzzled against the back of her neck. “Trust your judgment. You may not realize it, but you know what you’re doing.”

***

As she began making her way back home, she tried to think of how she would do her makeup for the dance. She already had a pretty clear idea, but there were still a few details she needed to decide on. Same with her hair. And her nails.

Really, she tried to think about anything except what had gone down during the meeting. But as hard as she tried, her mind kept finding its way back. Relieving every moment of it.

And dwelling on all of it.

‘I told you it was dumb.’

Except, it wasn’t…

‘We told her it was just little miscommunications and accidents.’

There had been nothing accidental about any of it…

‘But I know it’s been more than that!’

And the one time Alya was right…

She could tell them. She could come clean and fess up. Tell them- not everything. But she could tell them she had been sabotaging the schemes.

Except she couldn’t.

Lying was wrong.

But right now, telling the truth didn’t feel right either.

And while Roarr’s advice- well, it felt like a stretch to call it advice… but while Roarr’s words had comforted her, they hadn’t really given her an answer.

If anything, Roarr had only given her more food for thought. And it was tough things to chew on.

By the time she was trudging across the gangplank, she was still no closer to an answer. If anything, it felt like she had spiralled further away from one.

“Hey, Jules,” she looked up from her feet, where her gaze had drifted at some point during the walk home. Luka was sitting on the edge of the stage, his guitar in hand.

“You’re back already?”

“Yeah, Nadine had an audition tonight and Bri had a shift, so we packed it in early. Captain called by the way, she’s going to be later than she thought and the crew is all grabbing a bite so it’s just you and me for dinner. We’re doing takeout, anything you feel like?”

“I’m good with whatever. Just no-”

“Olives. I know,” he chuckled as he idly strummed his guitar. But then he frowned. He strummed the same notes again before he looked up from his guitar to meet her gaze. “Is everything ok? You sound a little flat.”

She hesitated. Luka was always the first person she turned to for advice. But he was… well, he was honest. And she knew honesty and lies were a bit of a sore subject for him, given their ma’s refusal to tell him the truth about his father.

“C’mon Jules, you know you can talk about anything with me,” he said as he set his guitar aside and patted the empty stage next to him.

She sighed as she sat down next to him. “What are your thoughts about… about lies? And lying?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is the truth always better than a lie?”

He turned to her with puzzlement and concern written all over his face. “What’s this all about, Jules?”

“Say you weren’t being… entirely honest about something to a friend.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And you were doing it because at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do, even though you didn’t like it. And now some people think you’re telling the truth and others think you’re lying and you suddenly aren’t sure-”

“Jules,” Luka’s voice was quiet and gentle, but firm. “Take a breath.” She did as he told her, and once he seemed satisfied that she was at least a little calmer, he continued. “Now, why don’t you tell me what this is all about?”

She sighed. If there was one person she could be straight with about her recent involvement in the Adrien schemes, it was Luka. “You know how the girls and I used to plot all those schemes to get Adrien and Marinette together?’

“Yeah I- used to? I thought those were still happening. Or did they stop when I asked-”

“They are. Like Alya would give up.” Luka snorted at that. “But… but I’ve maybe been kind of completely sabotaging them for months now.” She spat the words out as quickly as she could, and she suddenly felt so much lighter.

“Really? You don’t say…” The sarcasm was practically dripping from his voice. “What?” he added when she snapped her head to stare incredulously at him. “All those times you found excuses for me to spend time with Marinette? You know Couaffines can only be so subtle.” He had a point: she was still her mother’s daughter after all. And maybe subtlety had gone by the wayside when she had been dealing with him… but subtlety only went so far when dealing with her brother’s particular brand of idiot…

“And you’ve been telling me to ask her out for months. Remember?” She rolled her eyes, but allowed herself a wry smile at the memory of the multitude of headaches he had caused her. “So I take it you’re asking me this because the girls found out?”

“Alya suspects. The rest of the girls think she’s being paranoid.”

“And you don’t know if it’s better to come clean?” She nodded glumly. He sighed as he leaned back on his hands. “Honestly, I don’t know, Jules. It sucks being lied to, and they’ll probably find out eventually.”

“But if I have a reason not to tell them?”

Really, it was a matter of reasons.

“It would have to be a pretty good reason. At least, I think so. And I guess that’s where it gets more complicated. Is it better to hide the truth because it hurts? Or will it hurt more when they find out you’ve been lying to them? Will the lies even protect them from the hurt?”

Her gaze dropped down to her lap.

They would be hurt.

If she told the truth now, they would be hurt. But they would also be hurt if she told them the truth later.

If she didn’t tell them, if she kept lying and they found out, they would be hurt.

But if she told them the truth, Marinette would also be hurt.

She would be going back on a promise.

And if she kept lying and they all found out she had been meddling, would Marinette be hurt then too?

No matter what she did, someone could end up getting hurt.

She saw Luka shift out of the corner of her eye. She turned in time to see him shift to gaze down at his bracelets. She watched as he flicked listlessly at them. To anyone else, it would look like he was just fiddling with his jewelry. But the way he was flicking at it… it was obvious he was thinking about a particular bracelet.

“But I think… well, there are some lies that need to be told. I made you promise not to tell anyone about how I felt about Marinette-”

“Which I didn’t.”

“But I’m guessing you had to tell lies to keep it a secret?”

She had certainly been… creative with the truth. “It wasn’t my secret to tell.”

He turned to her with heavy eyes and a grateful smile. “And I think that makes things more complicated too. Keeping secrets but also being honest.” He had no idea. “Honestly, Jules, I don’t think I have an answer for you. I don’t think it’s an easy black and white problem.”

“I figured as much.” With another wry smile, she stood up. “I’m going to go chill for a bit, and then I have to go out again. Are you ok if we have a late dinner?”

“Works for me. Tom and Sabine sent Aimee home with a ton of stuff and Nadine brought falafel and fatayers-”

“Did you bring me any?”

“You really think there was any left by the time everyone had their fill?”

“Dingo ate most of it, didn’t he?”

“Of course he did.”

“You owe me then.”

“Wouldn’t Dingo-”

“Well, better you had all of that today.” If she was going to bring a dour mood to the boat, it was also up to her to break it. “Wouldn’t want you to have garlic breath for Marinette, now would we?”

“Jules!”

She smirked as she walked away; she didn’t need to look to know his ears were probably glowing bright red.

“Coast is clear,” she murmured once she was in her room. Roarr zipped out of her bag to hover over her shoulder with wide, pleading eyes as she unpacked her shopping bag. With the emergency candy stashed in her backpack and purses, and her new makeup carefully arranged on her dressing table, she rolled her eyes affectionately and pulled out the can of anchovies with only a little disgust.

“And you said I could watch videos on your phone while you read…” Roarr wheedled, giving her her best puppy—kitty?—eyes as she clutched the unopened can to her. She liked to use her claws to open them. Or, as Roarr called it, delivering the killing strike.

She pulled her phone out of the depths of her bag; just as she was passing it to Roarr, her stomach plummeted to the bottom of the Seine.

Two missed texts from Alix.

Five from Mylène.

Thirteen from Rose.

Between the false alarm, her shopping expedition, and her rather preoccupied walk home, she hadn’t thought to check her phone…

Rose 🌹💗: I wanted to say sorry

Rose 🌹💗: I feel really bad about not telling you

Rose 🌹💗: I didn’t think Alya would be so intense

Rose 🌹💗: I thought it would be better to just go along

Rose 🌹💗: that she would realize sooner or later she didn’t need to worry

Rose had sent those messages ages ago.

And she hadn’t responded.

Quickly, she began typing. She just hoped Rose didn’t think she was mad.

Queen of Darkness 🦇: I'm so sorry! I got home but the akuma was a false alarm so I went out to get more eyeliner for tomorrow and I didn’t check my phone! I promise I wasn’t ignoring you

It wasn’t the full or exact truth. But she had picked up eyeliner. And hadn’t been ignoring Rose—or the rest of the girls—on purpose.

But it still felt like a lie.

Dots appeared on the screen immediately.

Rose 🌹💗: It’s ok!!!!!

Rose 🌹💗: I wanted to say sorry

Rose 🌹💗: actually

Rose 🌹💗: can I call you????

Rose 🌹💗: I want to say it properly

She pressed the dial button, and Rose picked up before the first ring could even finish.

“Angel, I’m-”

“I’m so sorry, bijou!” The anguish in Rose’s voice was palpable. “I should have never let things go so far! I should have told you right away! Or at least sooner! Before it ever came to this! But I thought it would be better to just try and go with it. That maybe she would give up? Or see reason- I don’t know but the point is-”

“Rose. Rose. Slow down. Take a nice deep breath for me,” she waited while she listened to Rose inhale deeply and then exhale. “Can you start at the beginning? Because honestly, I don’t really know exactly what it is you’re apologizing for.”

Rose sniffled. “Yeah, I can do that. I just, please don’t be mad at me,” Rose’s words tumbled out in an almost incomprehensible stream.

“Take another breath.” She waited while she again listened to Rose’s breathing. Usually, it was Rose telling her to take a deep breath. “Ok?”

“Yeah.” Over the line, she heard Rose take in a shaky breath, like she was trying to work herself up to say whatever it was she was apologizing for. “Ok, so you remember when we went shopping? And Luka bumped into the guys while he was out buying guitar strings? And he joined us all for lunch, and asked Marinette to the dance and sat beside her during lunch?”

How could she forget?

“Well, Alya thought that you had made Luka come. That you had ruined her plan on purpose.”

Which she had.

“And- well, she told us that she thought it was weird how the schemes with Adrien seemed to be going worse and worse the last few months. And she thought… well, she made this chart…”

Of course she had.

“It started with that time you texted Marinette the wrong time for the movie. And, well, she was just so sure that you were trying to ruin things with Adrien. We all tried to tell her how ridiculous it was! You would never do anything to ruin Marinette’s love life.”

Technically true. Just not in the way Rose thought…

“But you know how Alya can be sometimes…”

Try always.

“And she was so sure that you were sabotaging things so she set up secret meetings without you to plan other schemes that you wouldn’t know about.”

So was that what the unsent message had been about?

“And she said that if the schemes we planned at the meetings you were there for went wrong, that would be proof that you were meddling.”

“But the plans always go wrong.”

Sometimes, they just needed a helping hand.

“That’s what we all told her. But she was so insistent. She wouldn’t listen to reason! And we- well, we went along with it. The secret meetings, I mean. The day I said I couldn’t go to lunch…”

“There was another meeting after the one I went to.” It wasn’t even a question at this point.

“I didn’t like it. None of us did. But… I guess we thought that maybe we could get her to listen if we humoured her for a bit? Help her realize how silly she was being about the whole thing. I think we all hoped she would realize herself. Beforeshe could make any accusations like she did. That’s what we wanted to avoid. None of us liked it. Leaving you out that way. Lying and going behind your back. I wanted to tell you. We all did. But- we…” On the other end of the line, Rose descended into a fresh wave of tears and sniffles.

“Shhh, it’s ok,” she murmured gently. It took a while, but after several minutes of offering quiet, and what she hoped were soothing and comforting, words of encouragement, Rose was able to talk through her tears again.

“I didn’t like lying to you. But I thought it was the right thing to do. Please don’t be mad at me- you have every right to be- but at least let me make it up to you. Please?”

Her heart twisted at Rose’s words. At the tears in her voice.

How could she be mad at Rose? Especially when she had been lying for far longer.

She hesitated.

She could tell Rose. She could tell her that Alya was right, and that she had been sabotaging the plans the whole time.

But not without going back on her promise…

“I know,” she said quietly. “And I’m not angry; I understand why you didn’t tell me.” The words tingled on the tip of her tongue. But… she couldn’t. “Your heart was in the right place. It always is.” Rose sniffled at her words. “I love you. Ok?”

She just hoped she was making the right choice.

“I love you too, bijou.”

***

She flew across the rooftops; the speed with which she was running and leaping, it felt like her feet didn’t even touch the ground.

It was a sharp contrast to the heavy thoughts warring inside her head.

She should have known going into all of this that it would only be a matter of time before Alya got suspicious. If not of her specifically then at least of all the ways the schemes went wrong that didn’t have to do with Marinette getting flustered or Adrien’s scheduling. She should have suspected this would be a bridge she would need to cross sooner or later.

But she hadn’t realized later would come so soon.

And now that she was here…

She had never enjoyed lying to the girls. But it had been so much easier when they had no idea what was really going on. It had been easy enough to brush off the feeling of the lies in her mouth and the pangs of guilt that echoed in her chest.

And she had never lied directly.

Or at least, not often.

She had just… misdirected and misrepresented with her words.

She came to a halt at the end of a block of row houses, catching herself against a chimney.

Wasn’t that the same thing as lying, really?

If she told the girls the truth—well, part of it—now, would they understand? Would they forgive her?

Would they believe her if she said she had seen the way Marinette was reluctant to participate in the plans she knew about? That she had noticed how uncomfortable Marinette was around Adrien? Or would they chalk that up to Marinette’s nerves?

Rose, Mylène, and Alix might- they probably would… but she couldn’t see Alya believing her. And even then… would Alya just take that as an admission of guilt anyway? For meddling? Would her friends be hurt?

Was there even a right answer?

Her talks with Roarr, Luka, and Rose had just given her more to chew on.

Roarr had said she knew what she was doing.

But obviously she didn’t.

And the kwami’s stance on what the right thing was… was less than helpful. She wasn’t even entirely sure she understood what Roarr had meant.

Luka had said there were some lies that needed to be told. He had obviously been thinking about his duties as Viperion.

She had never questioned lying to keep Ladybug’s secrets…

But Marinette’s secrets were just as important as Ladybug’s.

And how could she live with herself if she only protected some of those secrets?

And Rose…

She wasn’t mad at Rose. How could she be? All Rose had been trying to do was protect her feelings.

And Alix and Mylène… they had both confessed the truth- the full truth of what had been going on behind her back. They had confessed. They had apologized. And they had checked in on her too, to make sure she was ok after the way the meeting had ended.

She still wished Rose- that all of them had just told her from the start.

But that just made her a hypocrite. Her hands weren’t exactly clean…

She had told Rose her heart had been in the right place. And it had been.

She liked to think hers was, too. But she had also become so accustomed to lying. To secrets. And everything Rose did was paved with good intentions.

Would the rest of the girls be as understanding? Would they see things the same way?

And worst of all…

Was she only feeling this way now… questioning all of this now because Alya had called her out?

Would she have crossed—or, more accurately, gotten stuck on—this bridge eventually?

Or would she have just continued to lie?

Guilt and indecision weighed down her otherwise light footsteps as she bounded across the rooftops towards her meeting place with Ladybug. Usually patrol was a good way to blow off steam, but she felt just as tense as she had when she left for patrol. Maybe even more so, knowing she wouldn’t have Roarr curled up under the covers with her tonight.

Even if the kwami’s advice hadn’t been helpful, the cuddles always made her feel better.

By the time she had made it to the top of the south bell tower of Notre Dame, Ladybug was waiting for her.

Ladybug was sitting on the edge of the roof. One of her legs dangling over the edge, the other she was hugging to herself, resting her chin on it as she stared out absently over the city. The sun was still in the sky, but it was sinking towards the horizon.

“Ladybug?”

Ladybug turned, but didn’t stand. “Yeah?”

“You ok?”

“Oh, yeah. I just… I have a lot on my mind. I’ve had a lot on my mind for a long time. But especially after yesterday…” Ladybug trailed off, her face flushed with the same shade of embarrassment as last night, when she had collected the Miraculous and apologized profusely for having such a heated argument with Chat in front of her. “You look like you have a lot on your mind too.”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, kicking a stray pebble, “you could say that.”

Ladybug offered her a half smile and patted the empty roof beside her. “Maybe we can have a lot on our minds together for a bit? I…” Ladybug smiled shyly, “I wouldn’t mind having a break with a friend.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

They sat in silence for some time. Ladybug had gone back to staring pensively out over the city, her hands uncharacteristically still in her lap. An errant breeze ruffled their hair as she turned her own attention out to the city below her.

It was almost comical, really.

That after dealing with countless schemes, ad campaigns, and even akumas, this was what she was getting hung up on. Lying and secrets.

How could she be a hero if she didn’t even know what the right thing to do was?

She sighed. They never showed this in the movies, and none of the interviews with the American heroes that Alya always watched ever talked about this. There wasn’t a guidebook on how to deal with this.

But… if there was one person who would understand lying and secrets better than anyone she knew…

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course!” Ladybug said, angling to turn to her. “I’m always here if you need to talk.”

She smiled gratefully at Ladybug, before taking a deep breath. “How do you deal with it?” she asked quietly. “The lying, I mean?”

“…the lying?”

“You know, the lies. Akuma attacks, well, they happen without warning and I figure you’ve got to have a life outside the mask so I assumed you must have to make up excuses to slip away.” It wasn’t quite the kind of lying she was grappling with. Though, to be frank, she still wasn’t all that great at coming up with excuses to slip away in case Tigress was needed, too. But it felt close enough.

Beside her, Ladybug shifted, then sighed. It was a heavy sigh. A sound that expressed the weight of magical jewelry and everything it entailed. “I hate it.” Ladybug admitted quietly.

Ladybug had her arms wrapped around her knees, hugging them close to her chest. Her eyes were fixed on the horizon, but her gaze was far away. Like she was trying to see something just out of sight.

She let her own gaze drift back to the sky in front of them as she waited for her friend to gather her words.

“I guess… I guess it helps that I know I have to. To keep them safe. Telling people, it would put them at risk. And it’s my job- I want to protect them. So I lie. I lie to my friends. To my family. To Lu- lots of people.”

She nodded solemnly, her gaze fixed out on the city below. Somehow, they had come to the silent agreement that this conversation was easier to have without looking the other in the eye.

It… it was different. Maybe. But it also wasn’t.

Marinette lied to the people she loved to protect them.

She lied to the people she loved to protect Marinette’s happiness.

Sure, she wasn’t exactly out there saving lives with her lies. But wasn’t misery just as much a threat? Especially with Shadowmoth?

“How do you… how do you know when it’s the right time to lie?”

“It’s always felt like lying was the only option. Sometimes it’s just a little lie. Y’know, ‘oh I have to go to the washroom’ or something. But sometimes I need to make the lies bigger. And when I do, well, I try to only do it when I need to. When I need to do or say something, even if it’s hard, to protect someone.”

“I see.”

“It never goes away though.”

“What?”

“The guilt. Knowing I’m lying to people I care about and that I’ll keep lying. Even though I know it’s the right thing, I still hate it. But in some ways… I think the guilt is good.”

“How so?” The guilt that had been eating away at her all afternoon and evening… how could such a horrible feeling be good?

“If we feel guilty about lying, that means we’re still good people, even if we can’t be honest. Or at least,” Ladybug sighed, “that’s what I tell myself to try and stay sane.”

She frowned. “I… I never really thought of it that way.”

“I don’t know if it’s true, but it helps to tell myself that, at least.”

“Whoever you are, Ladybug, you’re a good person.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small smile creep across Ladybug’s face. “So are you, Tigress.”

They settled back into silence, though it was a somewhat lighter silence this time. The only measure of time was the sun continuing its slow descent towards the horizon.

“I’m tired of lying. I want to tell… people the truth. But I guess I’m so used to keeping secrets- and it’s such a big secret and it wouldn’t just change things for me-“ Ladybug cut herself off abruptly. Tigress turned to look at her friend, who flashed her an embarrassed smile. “I’m sorry. You asked me- you asked for advice and here I am blathering about my own problems. But I wanted to ask… you asked about the lying… is it too much? It know how hard it all is, and if this is getting to be too much-“

“No, no. It’s fine. I- I like being Tigress. And I don’t mind you talking about your stuff. Actually,” she said slowly, “it helped. A lot. And for what it’s worth, I think if there’s someone you trust enough with your secret, I’m betting they’d be happy to help you share the burden.”

“Maybe…” Ladybug said thoughtfully.

“I guess it’s a good thing I had patrol tonight.”

“Oh?”

She smiled wryly. “Misery loves company, especially when it’s over the same problem.” A look flashed across Ladybug’s face that made her pause. “Or… did you have something else on your mind? You know I’m here to talk too, if you need it.” The fury in Ladybug’s eyes from last night flashed in her mind. “Yesterday…yesterday was a lot. Are you doing ok?”

Ladybug’s face softened into a smile. “I know. And I am. Doing ok, that is.” She must not have looked particularly convinced because Ladybug chuckled. Enough so that the corners of her eyes crinkled, warping the spots of her mask. “Really, I’m fine. I promise,” she said before turning back to look over the city. “Last night was hard. Lying is hard. But sometimes…sometimes… well, I think it’s good. To do the hard things, that is. Even when you really don’t want to.”

That did not sound… reassuring.

Maybe it was good to do hard things sometimes, but Chat had made things harder than necessary yesterday. He had been for a long time.

There was still a hint of a smile onLadybug’s face, but it was caught somewhere between wistful and wry. And the look in her eyes… it wasn’t unlike the look Marinette got when she was studying a piece of clothing, trying to figure out its construction and such. Then the glint in her eyes was gone.

She shifted beside Ladybug, opening her mouth to say something. But before she could figure out the words, Ladybug broke the silence.

“I promise, I know what I’m doing. Trust me.”

“I do.”

She did. She just hoped Ladybug wasn’t going to make things harder for herself than they already were.

Speaking of which…

“I’m sorry for keeping you so long. I know you’re working to a deadline.”

“Don’t worry about it. I was probably due for a break anyways and…” Ladybug smiled softly, “it was nice. Talking about all of this. I’ve never really had anyone who got it.”

Ladybug- Marinette should have had someone who got it. She deserved someone who got it. She should have had someone from the start.

And she… she hadn’t realized it until now. But she hadn’t really had someone who got it either. Not all of it. Luka… there were some things she couldn’t tell hm. Some things he couldn’t get. But even if she couldn’t talk to Luka about everything, he was always there. And just knowing he was there made all the difference. But…

She hadn’t truly realized, hadn’t truly appreciated how much it meant to have someone who got it. And it made her heart ache that Marinette had been without someone for so long.

“I may not get all of it, but I’m here. Whenever you need me.”

***

“Get all your errands done?”

“Yep. Get all your love songs written?”

“Nope,” he half sighed. She could hear the eye roll in his voice. “Food should be here soon. I ordered sushi.”

“Did you get-”

“Yes, I got spicy tuna. And spicy salmon.”

“Good. I’m going down below for a bit. I need to figure out how I’m doing my nails for tomorrow- yes, you can borrow my good black nail polish.”

“Thanks. I’ll let you know when the food’s here.”

Once she was back in her room, she spread her nail polish bottles out across her dressing table. She probably wouldn’t do a manicure, given she had the lace gloves, but her shoes were open toed so it would be nice to have her toenails painted.

Plus, she could really use a nice, relaxing pedicure.

Honestly, she could do with a whole spa day. But that would have to wait. For now, an at home pedicure would have to do.

She had just gotten her choices narrowed down, and was trying to decide which of the two deep plum shades would better match the lipstick she was planning on wearing when Luka’s voice floated down from above deck.

“Jules.” She frowned at the sound of his voice. It was… it wasn’t… usually, when he called her to let her know their food was there or he needed her help with something- “Alya’s here to see you.”

She almost dropped the bottles of nail polish.

She should have seen this coming, what with the way they—she—had left things at the meeting earlier. Really, when she thought about it, it was suspicious that Alya hadn’t shown up earlier. Like right after the akuma was declared a hoax. Although… maybe there had been another meeting, like the ones Rose had told her had been going on…

But Rose hadn’t said anything about another meeting taking place after the one she had run out of. And based on the timestamps, Mylène, Alix, and Rose had all started texting her almost right after she had bolted out.

Grimacing, she set down the bottles of nail polish. Alya was probably the last person she wanted to talk to right now. Except maybe Adrien. It was probably too late to pretend she was in the shower or something…

But even if they didn’t have… whatever this talk was going to be now, she would only be delaying the inevitable.

Sighing, she got up.

It seemed the time had come for her to cross this bridge.

She just hoped it wouldn’t end up burnt…

Luka was standing with his guitar slung over his back and his hands shoved into his pockets. Most people found Luka hard to read; people said he kept his cards close to his chest. Maybe it was a Couffaine thing, or maybe it was just a sibling thing, but she had never had trouble reading her brother. And she did not like the look on his face.

What most people would mistake for his resting face, she recognized as guarded. And there was something in his eyes- annoyance. And a sudden fatigue.

Alya was standing across from him. She looked like she was ready for battle, with the tense way she was holding herself. Like she was ready to spring into action at a second’s notice. To say nothing of the hard and determined look on her face. The same look she had whenever she…

What had she said to Luka?

They both turned to look at her as the top step squeaked under her foot.

Alya’s eyes narrowed behind her glasses, the lenses flashing in the dying light.

The tension in the air was palpable.

Luka looked at her with a silent question in his eyes. Luka was perceptive—about most things—and the vibes Alya was putting out right now? Well, Kim would have picked up on them…

A few months ago, she would have asked him to stay. She would have needed him to. Part of her still wanted him to. But she also wanted- needed to do… whatever this was going to be, on her own.

She squared her shoulders, and nodded. He gave her one last questioning and concerned look, which she returned with another nod. He nodded and left with a promise that he was close by if she needed him in his eyes.

As she watched Luka warily head down the stairs below deck, she steeled herself for the oncoming storm.

“I would have come earlier,” Alya said. It was a good thing she hadn’t come earlier, especially as she had come with no warning. “But I got held up.”

Alya didn’t offer anything more, which left her with the distinct feeling she would not like whatever it was that had held Alya up.

If she had to guess… her money was on a new set of schemes.

Part of her wanted to ask, but there was no way Alya would tell her if her suspicions were correct. Not after this afternoon. Especially not, given the way Alya was watching her, with her arms folded across her chest and her eyes boring into her.

“Just as well,” she said carefully, “I was out earlier. I had errands to run.”

“Oh?” It was impressive how Alya could make it sound like both a question and accusation.

“I needed to pick up some more eyeliner for tomorrow.”

Alya’s eyes narrowed even more, and her mouth twisted into a tight line. Part of her couldn’t help but wonder if Alya was about to demand to see her literal receipt. “Speaking of tomorrow, I don’t know what you’ve been- what you are playing at, but it needs to stop.”

“I’m not playing at anything.” That, at least, was the honest truth.

When it came to Luka and Marinette’s happiness, there was no playing.

Alya raised her brows. “The movie incident?”

“I texted her the wrong time for the movie we were going to go see.”

Technically true.

“The time we tried to get her to the park to see Adrien and she was out without her phone? You were slow to reply. And your messages never agreed to the plan! I went back and checked.”

“I was on the way home from the laundromat, I had my hands full! And Marinette forgets her phone at home all the time!”

“And the photoshoot?”

“Marinette made an outfit specifically for me to model, and I had the makeup masterclass starting the next weekend-”

“You were supposed to bail because of the class!” She and Alya both froze at the outburst; Alya’s eyes went wide, like she hadn’t been expecting to start shouting. She folded her arms across her chest as she watched Alya take a breath like Bustier always told them to. Though her exhale was still more of a huff than anything. Alya’s gaze refocused on her. “Luka asked her to the dance.”

“He did,” she agreed carefully.

“Adrien was supposed to ask her when we all met for lunch.”

“I didn’t know that.” That was the honest truth. Alya hadn’t told her about that particular scheme. Not that that would have changed anything…

“You should have known,” Alya snapped, a note of desperation making its way into her voice. “And Luka looked at you before he asked her.”

“So?”

“You put him up to it. You told him to ask her, even though you know Adrien and Marinette are meant to be.” Alya stepped towards her, a hiss slipping into her voice as she pointed an accusatory finger at her. Pain flared in her hands as her nails bit into her palms from how tightly her hands were balled into fists. But she refused to shrink. She refused to back down or balk. “You’ve been ruining the plans to get Adrien and Marinette together. Admit it.”

Alya was staring her down. Hard.

Months ago, she would have wilted under such a look. She never even would have made it far enough into a conflict to reach this precipice.

But here she was.

And she was not happy.

Alya had shown up, unannounced. She had said only the Universe knew what to Luka. Although she had her suspicions.

And now, Alya was flinging accusations.

Yes, those accusations were true.

Yes, she had been meddling and sabotaging at every turn.

But she had done her best to listen to Marinette and Luka.

She had respected what they wanted.

She had never picked a fight over any of this.

And now?

She was not happy.

Familiar heat was bubbling up in her stomach and coursing through her veins. Tension was seeping into every inch of her body. She pressed her lips together as tightly as she could, biting down on their insides to keep herself from saying something she would regret.

Alya looked just as tense: her chest was heaving and all her weight was on her toes. Like she was ready for anything. And she was staring hard at her.

It would be so easy to give into the white hot anger running through her right now. The anger at being confronted in her own home.

At having accusations, as true as they were, flung in her face.

At having to even be in this position in the first place…

But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t.

She had decided a long time ago that she never wanted to be Shadowmoth’s puppet ever again. And now that she had been given responsibilities, had protected Paris, had worked alongside Ladybug?

Well, that only strengthened her resolve.

She refused to be used like that to hurt her friends, her family, her home, ever again.

And part of those responsibilities- part of protecting everything she held dear, was not just fighting akumas.

It was preventing them too.

She took a breath to steady herself. “We both need to take a breath,” she said as calmly but as firmly as she could. “Neither of us wants to akumatized.”

Alya stumbled at her words, like she had been broken from some sort of trance. She shook her head and then blinked at her, like she was startled by the notion that either of them could be at risk of akumatization.

Without waiting for agreement—or protests—she let her eyes slip shut and began to inhale deeply. A moment later, she heard Alya join in with her.

She let herself focus on the steady rhythm of her breathing, and the slowing of her racing heart. Once she felt calm enough, she opened her eyes again.

Alya was staring at her once more.Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, and there were still hints of a glare in her eyes. But at least it seemed her anger had melted back into suspicion. “Thanks,” Alya said quietly. “I needed that.”

“Me, too.”

“But you never admitted to it. To any of it.”

Right…

The truth was a tricky thing. And lies were just as difficult.

If she told Alya the truth about her interference, maybe it would help Alya step back and look at things for what they truly were. Maybe it would help Alya let go of her fixation on making Adrien and Marinette happen.

But she had made a promise.

And if she told Alya the truth, she would have questions. Questions she wouldn’t be able to answer. Not without breaking her promise and betraying Marinette’s trust. And she would go to her grave before she did that to Marinette.

Which meant that the truth would just lead to more lies anyways.

‘I think there are some lies that need to be told.’

‘I thought it was the right thing to do.’

‘I guess it helps that I know I have to. To keep them safe.’

Under the guise of taking another calming breath, she steeled herself.

And lied as honestly as she could.

“I didn’t tell him to ask her out the day we went shopping. I haven’t done anything to hurt Marinette’s happiness.”

Alya’s frown deepened as she left out a huff. Behind her glasses, her eyes were once again narrowed with suspicion. For her part, she did her best to look cool and collected. She forced herself to stand tall, but she couldn’t keep herself from fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

“I don’t believe you-”

“-and if you see the dry-cleaners, then you’ve gone too far.” Luka’s voice and footsteps floated up from the stairs, and suddenly he was standing beside her—but a little ways off to give some semblance of privacy—his phone pressed to his ear. “Sorry,” he mumbled, covering his phone, “delivery guy got lost.” Alya’s face turned to disbelief before settling back into a suspicious glare pointed her way. He shot her a look with a silent question, to which she nodded. “Yeah, Darrel? Yeah, I’m still here. So if you take the next right, you should be on the North bank. We’re the houseboat with the huge stage. I’m on deck, just look for blue hair.” Luka started waving; she and Alya both looked in the direction he was looking. A tall, lanky guy with a phone pressed to his ear glanced at them and his face brightened.

They watched as the guy—Darrel—bounded down the steps and approached the gangplank.

“I have no idea how I missed it the first time,” he said as he ambled across the deck, completely oblivious to what he had just walked in on. How he couldn’t feel the tension in the air, thick as pea soup, was beyond her. “Not many houseboats have stages. Anyways, sorry for the delay. That looks like a wicked set up, I bet you could put on a pretty awesome concert…”

Alya eyed her suspiciously as Luka began to talk shop with Darrel.

Would Alya want to keep going in circles with her after Darrel was gone?

Would she- who was she kidding? Alya was not one to give up-

“I should get going. Let you have your dinner.”

What?

She snapped her gaze away from Darrel and Luka to look back at her friend. Alya was still watching her through narrowed eyes. But the heat that had been behind Alya’s eyes was gone. Replaced by a coolness.

What…

“Uh- yeah. Sounds good…”

“I’m sure tomorrow will be the night. The night Marinette’s dreamed about? The night she finally gets together with Adrien. Right?” Ok, yeah. Alya was definitely not giving up.

As admirable as her tenacity was… it was just as much headache inducing.

“Yeah,” she said slowly.

With one last look, Alya turned on her heel.

She watched as Alya made her way across the gangplank. Just one misplaced step… that’s all it would take…

If she were a better person, she wouldn’t be having these thoughts.

If she were a worse person, she probably would have already given into the temptation and pushed her into the river.

But she wouldn’t. No matter how tempting it was… Sure, out of the girl squad, Alya was the one she was the least close with. And the past couple of weeks—months for her—had certainly put a strain on their relationship it seemed.

But Alya was still her friend.

And it was the Seine.

She watched as Alya, now across safe and sound, headed towards the stairs that led to the street. As if feeling her eyes on her, Alya stopped and turned around to meet her gaze. It was hard to tell with the last of the evening sun reflecting off the lenses of her glasses, but based on the way Alya’s mouth was screwed into a tight line… She felt pretty safe on betting that her response to Alya’s parting words had done nothing to quell her suspicions.

Screwing her courage to the sticking place, she returned Alya’s gaze measure for measure. They stared at each other, caught in a silent showdown. And it seemed neither of them wanted to swerve first.

Would it be better to just give Alya the win?

Let her think she had called chicken first? Try and get her to lower her guard?

Or would it be better to hold firm?

Stand strong and not shrink back into the shadows?

Before she could debate herself into any more circles—she had had more than enough of that for one day—the sound of Darel's voice broke the air.

“Thanks for the tip, man,” Darrel said. She turned just in time to see him pass Luka a large paper bag filled with their dinner as he shoved the cash into a bag clipped to his belt. “Have a good one,” he said as he turned and headed towards the gangplank. Still seemingly blithely ignorant of the showdown he had interrupted.

Her gaze followed his movement, and then drifted past to the stairs to the street. But there was no sign of Alya.

“Watch your step,” she half-mumbled, half-called after him absently as her brows furrowed. She jumped at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. When she turned, Luka was giving her the very definition of a ‘concerned older brother look.

“Everything ok?”

She looked back to the empty stairs, and then nodded with a sigh. “Yeah. Let’s eat.”

As she and Luka headed towards the stairs down below deck, she looked back one last time.

#cw anxiety #cw - anxiety #endgame lukanette #juleka vs the forces of the universe #juleka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #luka couffaine #alya cesaire #alya salt #adrien salt #chat noir salt #rose lavillant #mylene haprele #alix kubdel

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