#I saw chat noir rolling in a pile of leaves though and it was so fucking cute oh my god I want to 😳 no. I won't.

[reineabeillexo]

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Bonjour, tumblr!

Fall at last! I'm excited for tights and socks and sweaters and all the colorful leaves. What are your guys' favorite autumn traditions?🍁👢

[currentfandomkick]

Selina Steals a Bug from Batman to get her Kitten.

blame this post here for this thing's inspiration, and a friend for encouraging this.

--

             Selina paused when she saw ‘the lost Wayne’ news. She knew Bruce didn’t adopt another kid and forget to tell her—Dick kept her up-to-date on his new siblings and sent her pictures. No, her boyfriend Bruce Wayne would certainly not hide a new Wayne from her.

             He absolutely would forget to introduce her to a new family friend or potential bat. She was still upset about how long it took him to admit that little Stephanie had been working with his son for months and he hadn’t thought to invite the girl over for a meal or two when Selina was over. It wasn’t like she didn’t already know Tim was dating another vigilante… it was that one of her not-technically-my-sons was not introducing her to someone who had saved his life multiple times and who happened to be another Gotham vigilante and another addition to the batfam.

             Selina is their unofficial mother after all, she has rights. Any possible members of their little bat family, and she must assess them. at the very least, teach them more than just Bruce’s habits. The man was horrendous at showing his actual emotions, and the kids would need a counter example to that—herself obviously.

             So imagine Selina’s surprise when she decided to surprise her boyfriend and his children with a visit, only to find a young teen drinking out of Tim’s favorite mug, wearing one of Dick’s more infamous Nightwing hoodie’s, and looking at one of Damian’s katana’s carefully.

             “Who are you?” Selina had a feeling this was the latest “not a Wayne” and she would have to ensure her bats were safe from a fellow thief… again.

             The teen looked up, almost startled by her appearance and nearly dropping the katana.

             Selina raised an eyebrow.

             The teen flushed. “Marinette.”

             “And what,” Selina strolled over to the table and sat on its edge. “Exactly are you doing with all of these?”

             The girl was smart enough to look a bit embarrassed, she'd give her that much. Not without shame. Good.

             “Well, uh, kind of complicated, but, uh, the boys said that I couldn’t manage to grab their favorite things.”

             Selina looked the girl over. She was probably the new one to the group, the spotted French girl Jagged Stone mentioned in a few of his songs. She was young, and clearly good at getting what she wanted.

             “Where’s Jason’s?”

             “Uh, how did you…”

             “Answer the question.”

             “… behind the gardener’s shed. He really needs to stop leaving his keys in easy access pockets.”

             Selina nodded, looking over the girl. She was twisting a familiar looking ring… wasn’t that one of the Wayne family rings!?

             “How did you get that off Bruce?” Selina feigned nonchalance.  

             “… don’t judge me.”

             “Too late. Talk.”

             “Accidentally, I swear, just, he left the safe open and mid-terms stress and then…” the girl gestured helplessly.

             Selina could appreciate the honesty. She could also appreciate that the girl managed to get something off each boy.

             But now came the real test.

             “Kleptomaniac kind?”

             The girl flushed harder. “Yeah… I was going to return it, eventually… I think.”

             Selina looked over the girl once more, suddenly seeing an opportunity she should have taken back when she first saw Tim stalking her bats way back when. She could use her own mini.

             “How do you feel about cats?”

             Marinette shifted gears at that. “Real, memes, or Chat Noir?” Selina could feel there was a story there, one for another time. “If we’re talking real, they’re amazing, the memes are fun and Chat is…” the girl shook her head. “Complicated. And in London apparently, so he can’t judge me for my poor life choices.”

             Oh, Selina likes this one. “I’m guessing you’re Brucie’s latest pet project?”

             Marinette scrunched up her face at that. “I’m here to force a sense of fashion on this family if it kills me.”

             Selina smiled at that. “Oh, I do believe we’re going to get along wonderfully.” She extended her hand. “I go by Catwoman in the field.”

             Marinette paused for a moment before taking the extended hand with a grin of her own. “Ladybug—though we might want to go with something else for this... how do you feel about panjas bracelets?”

             Selina’s grin grew. “Oh, we’re going to get along perfectly.”

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             In the Batcave there was a meeting being held by a distressed Nightwing, impatiently waiting for the others to finish arriving.

             “Batgirl?”

             “She’s not on tonight,” Red Robin answered, quietly sipping his espresso in one of his lesser mugs. It seems like his bean got to his favorite earlier…

             “Black Bat?” Nightwing asked Batman.

             “She’s running with the Birds of Prey tonight—Oracle’s idea.”

             Nightwing seemed to accept this. “I’ll just forward them the power point.”

             Red Robin groaned. “Another one?”

             Red Hood shook his head. “Blame B. He got it in Dickie’s head that this is how you explain things to people. Bullet points.”

             “No names in the field,” Robin snapped.

             “No names in the field,” Red Hood mocked under his breath.

             Robin glared at him for that.

             “It’s a very effective method.” Batman stated defensively.

             “Yeah, on the League,” Red Robin grumbled into his coffee. The Batfam is full of (not really) professional detectives—they are capable of understanding without the bullet points of doom. Mostly.

             “Then I’ll just get started, Agent A, Lights!”

             The batcave dimmed to show only the projection of a power point title slide ‘Marinette Cannot Meet Selina, Ever.’

             “What the hell is this?” whispered Red Hood.

             “I allowed you to delay patrol, for this?” Batman sighed.

             “Silence! Nightwing is speaking.”

             “Thank you Robin, now, Marinette is under no circumstances to meet Selina.”

             “Why doesn’t he have to use codenames?” Red Hood wondered aloud. Only to be kicked by an aggressive Robin. “Ow! What the hell demon spawn!”

             “Silence,” Robin hissed.

             “As I Was Saying,” Nightwing loudly began. “Marinette is not allowed to meet Selina. It would be a disaster for us all.”

             “Its not she’d adopt her like a certain someone is trying to,” Red Hood stated, pointedly ignoring Robin’s attempts to silence him with threats of violence.

             Nightwing changed the slide with a sigh. “Exhibit A: Marinette enjoys shiny things, and so does Selina.”

             The slide showed two pictures, one of Marinette in various miraculous while holding one of Damian’s daggers, and the other of Selina with a very large gemstone necklace.

“Exhibit B, they are both prone to theft.”

             The next slide showed Catwoman stealing a necklace from a museum, and Marinette in Batman’s cape while using Tim’s phone and wearing one of Jason’s leather jackets, Titus laying at her feet.

             “Marinette does not stop at shiny things, as we can expect of Selina,” Robin explained.

             “You’re just mad Pixie managed to get past your security.”

             Robin glared at Red Hood.

             “That doesn’t explain why bean shouldn’t meet Selina,” Red Robin said. “Hm, maybe I should change the bean blend again? not getting enough of a buzz.”

             Nightwing sighed, changing the slide again. “If the two meet, we lose all we hold dear.”

             This time the slide showed a photoshopped Marinette and Selina sitting on a pile of miscellaneous objects.

             Batman sighed, deciding his eldest was just being overdramatic again.

             “Mari will learn new tricks from Selina.” Nightwing stated slowly. “Tag team with Selina, maybe even be the Robin to her Batman.” That got the room’s attention, albeit not the kind Nightwing wanted. “It would not just be Mari’s minor thefts anymore.”

             Red Robin rolled his eyes while Red Hood snorted a “yeah right.”

             Robin looked nervously as Nightwing finished his powerpoint.

             “Mari would rule Gotham and no one, not even us, would be able to stop her.”

             Batman decided that they wasted enough time on Nightwing’s bout of paranoia. “I highly doubt Selina would corrupt her.”

             At that moment a beaming stripped heroine walked in, wearing a new string of necklaces, with Catwoman at her side with an amused look of her own.

             “How dare you try to hide a kitten from me.”

             Nightwing threw his hands up. “I told you!”

             Batman stared while Robin began checking their systems… no alarms had gone off anywhere and they all knew the pair had stolen the necklaces that Marinette was sporting.

             Nightwing was right.  

             “Holy shit is this really happening?” Red Robin half-whispered, looking back and forth between the pair and a shocked Batman. “Is Catmom pulling a Batdad?”

             Catwoman flashed a smile. “Since someone wouldn’t let me take any birdies, I decided to take a kitten of my own.”

             “Why didn’t you tell me I could have more moms here!” Marinette exclaimed.

             At the groups growing look of horror, Catwoman’s grin grew. “Oh, I forgot to mention, Harley and Ivy are back. They want joint custody. She’s the Marigold Harley’s been tweeting about.”

---

first thing i do after getting real internet back plus have the time to think, and its write and post this. hope you all enjoyed!

[2manyfandoms2count]

Love you (not) - Chapter 1

I can't believe it's already @marichatmay again... What a year. This time, I won't be jumping in completely blindly into the challenge, I've got it mostly planned out in a single fic, which starts on the same day as Weredad, but embraces the fake-dating shenanigans because yes. This relationship will be mutually unrequited from our beloved characters' point of view, until it's not anymore.

Hope you enjoy!

Read on AO3 | Next

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Chapter 1: In which the author sees the fake dating shenanigans canon provided and deems they weren’t enough

“That’s because I’m… In love with you!”

The words still echoed in Marinette’s head hours after they’d been said, and covering her eyes and ears with her arms as she laid in bed did nothing to make them less loud.

Stupid words coming out of her mouth unbidden. Untrue, too.

She ought to have told Chat Noir that she’d had every right to be standing on her rooftop at night, after an Akuma had destroyed her room. She totally would’ve been allowed to feel slightly claustrophobic and want to take a breath of fresh air; or even to want to check that everything was back to normal.

But noooooo. She’d had to declare her love for him. She grunted at the thought that saying she had a crush on him would have been more than enough. He would’ve gotten the gist, he could’ve turned her down gently, and they could have marched on as if nothing had happened. It wasn’t like they ran into each other that often - like this, anyway.

But now Chat was coming over for lunch with her family, and he’d surely want an explanation. How could she backtrack? How could she explain to him that she’d blurted the first thing that had come to her mind to avoid him discovering that she was his superhero partner, whom he happened to be in love with, without telling him that part? You don’t just accidentally confess your love to someone instead of saying you were just hanging out on your balcony.

She tossed in her bed. She had to solve the situation. She had to come clean to him at lunch, at least to clear her conscience.

Maybe sleep would help organise her thoughts so she wouldn’t say anything stupid.

If she could only get the damn words out of her head.

---

“That’s because I’m… In love with you!”

Saying Marinette’s words had been unexpected was probably the understatement of the year, Adrien thought as he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

His first thought after seeing her had been that she must’ve been a fan. Of Ladybug, at least, and maybe of his. Given how close she and Alya were, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d been out to catch something to contribute to the Ladyblog. After all, her balcony had been a particularly excellent spot that night to snatch some close-up pictures of the heroes, and maybe even an interview.

Not to mention the other reason that explained her presence, which he’d realised after giving it a little more thought: they’d been fighting quite literally on her doorstep.

But even if he could’ve thought about it for ages, there was no way that he could have even suspected the real reason she’d been waiting on her balcony. That she was in love with him. With Chat Noir.

But then again, he thought as he shifted to his side, maybe it did make sense. It kind of explained why she didn’t have a significant other (not that girls needed a boyfriend or a girlfriend, but couples were pretty common at Françoise Dupont). Given how kind and amazing Marinette was, and how many people had had crushes on her (Nino being a fine exhibit A), Adrien had kind of wondered why she didn’t have people flocking around to ask her out. Her being in love with Chat Noir was new information for him, but maybe it was common knowledge, and he just hadn’t paid enough attention.

It wasn’t like they talked about their feelings much at school, he supposed, wondering if that meant she didn’t trust him enough to confide in him. He shook away the small wave of sadness and... was it yearning? that overcame him at the thought, and recentered the topic.

The point was, he’d been too taken by surprise by Marinette’s confession to process it in time and turn her down in the gentlest way possible. Or even at all.

If anything, he’d dived straight into a potential relationship by accepting lunch at her parents’.

That didn’t send out the right message at all.

He had to fix it. Soon, before it got out of hand, so as not to lead her on. He had to do it the next day.

Sleep would help him make his rebuttal as smooth as possible.

If only he could just get her words out of his head.

---

As she stood guard on her balcony the next morning, threatening grey clouds hanging over the horizon, Marinette entertained the hope that Chat Noir wouldn’t come over at all, which would solve the problem of coming clean to him, and the newly formed outrage that Chat Noir was falling in love way too easily these days. So much for the strength of his love towards Ladybug, really.

It seemed a little cowardly for him not to respect his commitment to lunch, but it had been pretty last minute, and kind of surreal; she would have understood, and she was sure her parents would have as well. It wasn’t like Chat Noir wasn’t one of the superheroes of Paris; she would have been ready to sign him a waver as Ladybug saying he’d been dealing with some Very Important Business on the other side of town if the topic ever came up with her parents.

This is why she was almost surprised to see him vault across the rooftops, clearly making his way towards the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, just as she’d been ready to give up on his presence. She grunted internally as Tikki gloated, and made her way downstairs to greet him.

Tom stood proudly next to the table, which she’d laid out for four people. She hid an embarrassed eye roll. It almost felt like he was the one who was waiting for his date. At least, he seemed a lot more excited about it than she was.

“Come on Marinette, open the door for him!” He all but pushed her towards the entrance.

She did as she was told, and had barely had time to register Chat Noir’s greeting when she was pushed aside, Tom engulfing her guest in a bear hug. She facepalmed. This was not sending the right message at all .

He’s going to think that I stayed up all night gushing about him to my parents, and that I’m convinced that I’m going to marry him even though we’ve only talked like twice before, this is a disaster, he’s going to think I’m insane and -

Her inner freak out was interrupted by her mother reminding her father that Chat Noir did need to breathe, which coincidentally shut down any analysis of why Chat thinking she was insane would be such a terrible thing, when really, sending him running would solve most of her immediate problems.

She was suddenly facing her partner with a mind void of all social etiquette. How did one greet someone one had recently declared their love to? Was shaking hands appropriate? Or was it more of an elaborate fistbump situation? This situation would be a lot less awkward if my parents weren’t staring and- woah, what does he think he’s doing?? She thought as she saw Chat lean forward with his lips puckered up. Surely we’re not there yet?! Even if I told him I loved him?

She froze as his face approached hers, her lips automatically kissing Chat’s cheeks when she realised he was simply going in for the classic, friendly, Parisian bise . Thank goodness , she sighed discreetly as they pulled away.

“Here, I wasn’t sure what to bring,” Chat Noir scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he handed her a rose.

A pale pink rose, she noted as she took it. Symbolising gentleness and gratitude. He wasn’t jumping into this relationship like he did with Ladybug. There was hope yet.

“Thank you, that’s very thoughtful of you,” she replied with a smile, interrupting her father before he blurted out whatever well-meaning, but unhelpful and slightly embarrassing speech he had lined up. She turned towards her parents. “Maman, Papa, is lunch ready yet?”

“Not exactly, I’m sorry, Mr. Chat Noir, I wasn’t exactly sure when you were arriving…” Tom replied a little sheepishly.

“That’s perfect! I mean, it’s fine, Papa, don’t worry about it. Can Chat Noir and I go upstairs for a bit?” Marinette laughed awkwardly.

Sabine smiled knowingly, and put a hand on her husband’s arm. “I think that’s a great idea. Tom, why don’t you prepare some vol-au-vents for them to snack on?”

“Of course!” Marinette watched her father rush around the corner and pile the amuse-bouches on a plate. “You’ll have to tell me what you think, I tried a new recipe in honour of young love.” He shoved the plate in Marinette’s hands and all but pushed them up the stairs. “Have fun, you two! And leave the door open!”

Marinette ran up the stairs and put the plate down on her desk before hiding her face in her hands, mortified. “I’m so sorry about my Dad.” She peeked at Chat Noir from behind her fingers. “He’s not usually this intense with people he’s just met.”

“I kind of like it, actually.” Chat smiled. “It’s nice that he cares.” He picked up a vol-au-vent and studied it, before gobbling it down. Marinette could have sworn that his gaze had darkened.

She played with a piece of fabric that poked out from her project hamper, unsure what to say next. Chat ate another pastry. In the silence that surrounded them, the slight pitter-patter of the rain that had finally broken out on her roof was deafening.

“Listen, I need to tell you something-” They both started simultaneously.

“You go,” Marinette gestured towards him.

“No, you,” he gestured back.

“You’re the guest, you should go first,” she encouraged him.

Chat Noir took a deep breath and accepted to bite the bullet. “Listen, Marinette, I really like you. You’re amazing. To be honest, I’d love to know you better…” He scratched the back of his head.

Marinette had bitten the inside of her cheeks as she kept a smiling façade during his praise, but she had to interrupt him. “Chat… I really don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, I put you on the spot last nice and I’d really hate you to think that because I... have feelings for you,” she winced as she spoke, even though she knew deep inside that there was no better way of putting it and that she had to stick with her lie, “you have to go out with me or something, or even stay here.”

“There’s no obligation, I promise, Marinette,” Chat said earnestly as he looked at her put on a brave face. It was just like her to put her feelings aside if it could make him happy, but he couldn’t just leave. He had to make sure she was alright. She deserved that much, if not more. She was such a great friend.

“But really, if you have better things to do, I’d totally understand it…”

In the peculiar light of the spring shower, Marinette looked particularly anxious and tormented, Chat Noir noted. Leaving now, even though it would be best in the long run, was just a recipe for an Akuma. And if she did indeed get akumatised, he would feel like he’d planted a seed, and their environment had quite literally immediately gone to water it.

“If it’s what you want…” He probed.

Marinette realised that Chat looked very dejected at the idea of leaving; the way he gazed longingly at the vol-au-vents made her question if her partner ate enough as a civilian. She sighed as she saw that outside, the rain had intensified. She really couldn’t let him go now. Cats didn't mix well with water.

“ A table! ” Her mother’s voice came exactly at the right moment.

“I’d be very happy if you stayed.” She smiled, extending a hand towards him.

“Really?” His tone was hopeful as he walked towards her and took it.

“Yeah.” She led him downstairs, shaking her head imperceptibly at the thought that she was probably making a big mistake by doing this.

Seeing him laugh out loud at her father’s bad jokes, tears streaming down his face as he held his sides, before proceeding to eat like he hadn’t in a decade, encouraged by her mother, made her change her mind. Maybe she could keep up the charade for a bit, if it meant he could be this happy.

After all, even though she didn’t love Chat Noir that way, she still loved him a little bit. Enough to keep him out of the rain, that was for sure.

[highonchocolate]

Take Two: The Guardian in Gotham Chapter 12

First   Previous   Next   Ao3

He’s a little boy again, laughing and racing through the halls of the Mansion, surrounded by the auburn warmth and love of his mother. Her green eyes, so similar to his own, sparkle down at him as she smiles. He reaches out for her, beaming hopefully, but as soon as he touches her, she crumbles, form blurring and fading. The warmth around him vanishes with her, and then he is alone. Stuck in the cold, silent, Mansion, a gilded cage for him to perform like an exhibit on display. He almost never catches a glimpse of his father, seeing more of Nathalie than him. Piano, fencing, Mandarin, photoshoots, the never ending cycle of activities goes on and on. He is a puppet, a doll. Dancing to their tune. He meets Ladybug, bounding across the rooftops, and the warmth sparks anew. It’s a different kind of heat, red, not the oranges and yellows of before, but still bright. He jokes and laughs, and keeps quiet to preserve the peace. Then, their identities are revealed and his world comes crashing down again. Chloé tells him about sexual harassment, screaming at him for being such an asshole to Mari, and he feels the familiar, numbing, cold creeping up his spine. What had he done?! He...had done… He goes to Ladybug-Marinette-and gets on his knees and apologizes. He apologizes for being too loud as Chat and too quiet as Adrien. He apologizes for not being there, for leaving her struggling in both aspects of her life, just so he could keep the warmth a little longer. But she smiles at him, and says they’ll work on it, and the fire blazes anew. He still loves her, but not in the same way. She is his sister, his sibling, someone to care for, and protect. She is not his lover, but his friend, and somehow, that's all he ever wanted.

--- He opens his eyes with a nostalgic smile on his lips. His eyes are wet, and he tastes salt on his tongue. He reaches out to his other half, his family, and she reaches back, grabbing him in a tight embrace. He hears the green hero telling him he’s not an enemy, but he ignores him, clutching Marinette like a lifeline. As Chloe steps forward, he loosens his hug, keeping his arm around her shoulders instead and turns to watch. She saw how they cried, relieving whatever horrific memories they had been subjected to. As she squeezed her eyes shut, blackness enveloping her, she couldn’t help but feel the familiar tingle of fear wrapping around her like a cloak. --- She is five again, watching as Mommy and Daddy scream at each other. Mommy’s mouth is open in a snarl, and Chloé can’t help but think she looks like a scary monster from her bedtime stories. The one that eats people. Seven years old, and every day they’re yelling at each other, screaming and shouting mean words in the other room. She hears Mommy say ‘This was all a mistake!’ And she huddles under her blankets, pulling Mr. Cuddly closer to her chest. She hears a door slam, and her Mommy is marching away to the helicopter, and there are suitcases being loaded inside. She sees her yellow suitcase is not in the pile, and Daddy is still standing on the roof, not in the helicopter. Her heart skips a beat and she clutches Mr. Cuddly even tighter as she stands beside Daddy and watches Mommy fly away. Does Mommy not love me anymore? She is eight and her Daddy is running for Mayor. He’s too busy to spend time with her, so he buys her a phone to say sorry. She takes it, but there is a weird feeling in her chest, like something is missing, and it doesn’t disappear as she sits alone in her room, playing some mindless game. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Daddy spends less and less time with her, buying more and more gifts to try and make up for his absence. The gifts fill her room, but they don’t fill the empty space in her heart. Sabrina tries, but Chloé knows she doesn’t really like her. She’s only doing it because Chloé gives her gifts too. Then Marinette comes along, and Chloé feels her hatred grow. How come her parents spend time with her?! What makes her so special? ... Why don’t my parents spend time with me? So she huffs and bullies and wraps herself in a cloak of thorns, keeping everyone at arms distance so that she won’t be let down and left alone again. She has Adrien, of course, but she knows she is using him. And he lets her use him, moving through the motions like a doll. 

Then Ladybug soars through the sky, catching her as she plummets from Stoneheart’s grasp, high above. Bright blue eyes and signature red, and Chloé watches from below as she flies, wishes and dreams kept secreted away in her heart. 

She finds Pollen’s comb, and suddenly her wildest dreams have sprang to life. She is a superhero! She can stand beside Ladybug and Chat Noir, and everyone will love her and her parents will be proud, and maybe now they’ll stay…But Ladybug is mad, and everyone hates her, and she knows Mommy Mother is already disappointed. So she carves a wall of ice and frost around her heart, and wraps her thorned cloak tighter around herself.

And then a Miracle happens, and Ladybug forgives her, and adds her to the team permanently. And they reveal their identities, and she apologizes to Marinette and Adrien because she knows she was wrong, and they give her a second chance. 

And her heart is racing and she can’t hear properly because the only thing she can understand now is the simple thought running through her brain over and over.

Permanently? They’re staying? I’m staying? They won’t leave me..?

And they are a family now, and she is loved, and there is Kagami, looking at her with that knowing glint in those deep brown eyes, reaching over to pull her into the warmth of her arms, and finally, finally, that empty space is full again. 

---

She saw the familiar darkness of her closed eyelids again, signaling the mind search was over, but she kept them shut for a moment longer, savoring the memories, the love. Only, she didn’t need to savor them, she remembered, because they were right here.

And so she opened her eyes, and saw her friends standing right there, arms already outstretched to pull her into their comforting embrace. Grinning, she let two sparkling tears roll down her cheeks. Only two, for the childhood she never fully had, and the family she finally found. 

Kagami was a creature of discipline, and as she closed her eyes, she willed her breath to stay even, her heart to continue its pulse, and her hands to remain steady. 

---

“Again!” Her mother’s harsh demand cracked through the air like a whip, sending ice skittering down her spine. Her face stung from where it had scraped on the concrete, it’s cold temperature soothing her scratched skin. Her arms trembled, refusing to bear her weight as she struggled to push herself up in time to block the next blow from her mother’s boken. With a grunt, she parried and thrust, only to fall flat on her back with a grunt.

“Again!”

A whirl of movement, then her knee screamed with pain-

“Again!”

She stood on shaky feet, raising her foil, only to get knocked down seconds later.

“Again!”

“Again!”

“Again!”

So she rose, and she fell, and she rose again.

Nothing she gave was ever enough. She bled, and she cried, and she worked herself to collapse, only to be rewarded with another training session, harsher criticism, and higher standards for her to meet. Nothing she did was ever enough. She was weighed down by the expectations of her mother.

And then she met Adrien, and she knew they were only forced together for their parent’s benefit, but how she longed for his love. For any love.

So she told herself she loved him, and he loved her, ignoring how she felt nothing as she looked into his eyes. She knew she was stubborn, and had a tendency to do things on her own, but even after she messed up as Ryuko Ladybug gave her a second chance.

It was...surprising to say the least. She had expected a scolding, and harsh, cutting, words, but instead she had revived another try, and words of encouragement. She felt a smile tug her lips upward, as she stood and charged into battle. And then, to her surprise, she was given a permanent place on her team. They never expected her to work herself to exhaustion, they accepted what she gave, only pushing her gently. And it was after their identity reveal, when they were talking about romance, and crushes, and that sort of thing did she realize she wasn’t messed up.

“Well, I’m totally bi,” Marinette giggled from where she lounged on a nearby chaise.

“Really? Nice. I’m lesbian as fuck.” Chloé spoke as she braided her hair.

“Ay, it’s a fellow gay!” Luka called from his seat on the floor.

“Aro and Demiace over here my people!” Adrien exclaimed, throwing up peace signs.

“Lesbian? Bi? What do those mean?” Kagami asked from her perch on the bed.

“Oh! Well bisexual is basically me liking men and women, lesbian means you’re a woman that only likes women, gay is a man that only likes men, and aromantic means you feel no romantic attraction towards someone, and demisexual means you need to form a strong emotional connection with someone before experiencing sexual attraction.” Marinette explained.

“Oh,” Kagami frowned in thought. “So it’s not..bad to like other women?” 

“Of course not!” Chloé exclaimed, looking scandalized at the thought.

Her friends had taken it well.

Her mother, however, did not. Although most Japanese were okay with homosexuality, Tomoe Tsurugi wanted a biological heir to continue their bloodline.

“You’re just confused, Kagami. This is why I don’t like you spending time with those friends of yours. They talk about all these things, and suddenly you start thinking that you are like...that. Stop this foolishness at once.”

She hadn’t raised her voice, but the disdain was clear in her tone. And with those words, the fragile shell of joy she had built around herself shattered in the face of rejection.

She opened her eyes, feeling as though someone had reopened her scars and left the wounds bare and bleeding on display.

Her eyes were dry, and the salt of tears was not present on her lips, but she felt bad though she had cried for hours. With a small shudder, she grabbed Chloé’s hand and allowed herself to be pulled into a warm embrace.

And then it was Luka’s turn, and there was no hint of nervousness on his face as he closed his eyes.

---

Scenes burst to life behind his eyelids in a flash of color and sound. He was five again, creeping down the hallway on their boat in the direction of the muffled sobbing emanating from his mother’s cabin. “Maman?” He questions uncertainly, pushing open the door and allowing a thin ray of light to shine on his mother’s tear-streaked face. “Maman are you okay?”

Anarka’s head jerked up at his voice, hands coming up to wipe at her cheeks.“I’m fine, baby. Mama’s just feeling a little sad today. Why don’t you go play with Jules, huh?”

“Okay Maman. I love you!” He walks back to his room on small feet, knowing even then, that his mother’s sadness stemmed from larger problems. Six years old and he still struggles with speaking to other kids. Miss Adeline says he’s just shy, but he isn’t. It’s just hard to find the right words to use. 

So he uses music to speak, and in every strum of his guitar there is a word; in every measure, a sentence; every song is an expression, an exclamation, a lament, that conveys more than words ever could.

He still struggles with the words sometimes, and he focuses on all his friends too much, so sometimes he forgets to focus on himself. But that’s okay, because everyone tells him to be empathetic, and put other people’s needs before his own, so that’s what he does.

And then Ladybug asks him to be Viperion, and he can’t say no. So he accepts, and watches time and time again as his friends and family die before his very eyes, bodies slack, eyes unseeing, blood everywhere. But he knows she can’t bear this burden alone, so he keeps marching on. 

And on.

And on.

He opens his eyes to the still-haunted faces of his friends, looking at him with concern.

He gives them a smile to assure them he is fine, he is not and then turns to Martian Manhunter with a polite expression on his face. “Now that we’re all cleared, what’s next?”

---

@laurcad123, @liquid-luck-00, @toodaloo-kangaroo, @stainedglassm

[syeko]

MariChat May: Day 3 - Dirt

@marichatmay

Read on AO3

Marinette was going to kill him.

Though he would argue that it wasn’t his fault the pot just so happened to be perched in a perfect position for him to knock it over. The rather tidy balcony was now a mess of clay shards amongst a pile of dirt and stems. Staring at the mess that he made, Chat knew that he should definitely be feeling sorry for the jostled flowers, but at the moment all he could feel was a resound itch that simply would not leave him.

His claws twitched, eyes falling on another one of Marinette’s flower pots, the clay just begging him to reach out and swipe at it. He was on all fours, interest fully captured by the flower pot as he traced patterns swirling across the clay with his eyes. It was only slightly bigger than the last one (no doubt making for a very satisfying fall), the bright red flowers overflowing its edges taunting him silently. Chat blinked, one leather clad hand slowly inching towards the pot, wondering how mad Marinette would be if he actually-

“Chat Noir?”

He yelped, scrambling backwards as he heard her behind him, her voice breaking whatever spell he had been trapped under. When had she gotten there? Eyes widening as his actions finally registered, he swallowed before turning around to face his imminent doom.

“Oh hey Princess, what are you doing here?” he threw her his best awkward smile while he attempted to block her view as she came up from the trapdoor, one eyebrow raised quizzically at him.

“I live here, kitty,” her eyebrows furrowed, and Chat felt himself sweating suddenly.

“O-oh, really? I hadn’t noticed- didn’t even realize this was your lovely balcony actually, would you believe?” he chuckled, shoving a shard of clay away with his boot.

“Really?” She crossed her arms, narrowed blue eyes settling on the absolute dirty mess around Chat’s feet and the feline hero felt himself inevitably blush in embarrassment. “Because I’m pretty sure my lovely balcony is now covered in dirt. Care to explain what happened?”

Chat’s cheeks burned even more, ears drooping as he twisted his ring around his finger - a habit he’d accidentally picked up to calm himself. Licking his suddenly dry lips, he suddenly took intense interest in his boots as he racked his brain for a plausible explanation, because truth be told- he didn’t really have one. And judging by Marinette’s demeanor, he wasn’t entirely certain if the truth would be welcome either. What would he say?

Hey I saw some pots on your pretty balcony and I had the inexplicable urge to knock them all over even though I know you probably wouldn’t like that.

He shook his head, embarrassment sitting heavy and warm in the pit of his stomach. He himself wasn’t entirely sure what came over him, but the longer he went on as Chat Noir the more unexplainable urges and behaviours he found himself experiencing. It was frustrating, particularly when he’d tried to question Plagg about it. The kwami had simply spewed some random nonsense about ‘inevitable quirks of the trade’ (whatever that meant) before busying himself once again with his Camembert. Chat entertained the idea of seeking Ladybug's help, but eventually forgoing the idea in favour of keeping some form of dignity around his Lady. He couldn’t have her thinking he was more incapable than he probably already was.

Which left him to deal with whatever changes his body was going through alone, trying and failing to figure out exactly what was going on. All he knew was that he was starting to feel increasingly fidgety as the days went by, an itch building up underneath his skin, crawling all over him until his body was forced to move and act without his permission to seek some sort of relief. Unfortunately, that relief happened to come at the expense of Marinette’s rather lovely flowers, now strewn about haphazardly across her balcony. The guilt that seared through him was almost as bad as the itch that had been driving him (quite literally) up the wall.

“Chat..? Are you..purring?”

His head snapped up at the question, eyes wide. He was what now?

“Am I...I’m sorry what?”

Gone was the borderline glare Marinette was sending him earlier, replaced instead with worry as her beautiful blues searched his face. She took a few, careful steps towards him, mouth twisted slightly as she stopped right in front of him. He felt jittery as he watched her move, muscles taught as she approached, which confused him. On the few occasions that he’d run into her, he’d never once felt as tense and stiff as he did then. He’d always felt somewhat at ease around his classmate, considering usually he only ran into her whenever there was an akuma around.

Now the first non-akuma related impression of him would be tainted with dirt, broken pots, and one trespassing idiot, his mind helpfully supplied, serving only to sour his mood further. He shoved the thought aside.

Slender, warm, fingers carefully touched his arm, cutting off his thoughts and calming him marginally, the buzzing of his skin lessening ever so slightly at her touch. Chat briefly wondered how those fingers would feel carding through his hair, scratching him, finally relieving him of this horrible, horrible itch-

“You were purring,” she repeated, gently, “are you okay?”

Chat silently pleaded for the floor to open up and swallow him whole right then and there.

Marinette’s eyes captured his, brilliant blue boring into green, and he could see the worry and confusion swimming in her gaze. Chat wondered how much of a silly, embarrassing mess he probably looked. He twisted his ring some more, ears flickering as his stomach did somersaults, making him all the more unsteady. He cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry, Marinette,” he mumbled, not finding it in himself to put more energy into his words. He still hadn’t thought of a plausible excuse for how or why her balcony was now such a mess. “I’ll buy you another pot, and clean up the mess-”

“Hey, hey,” Marinette’s voice, sweet and soothing against his fraying nerves, “don’t worry about it, I wanted to declutter anyways,” she smiled at him, reassuring and so kind. Chat knew in the back of his mind that she was only trying to make him feel better, but the fact that she was covering for him only served to make the guilty pit in his gut grow heavier.

He shook his head, opening his mouth, hesitating, and then closing it.

“It’s just a silly pot, I shouldn’t have been so aggressive with you,” she winced and Chat was quick to correct her.

“No, Princess! If anything I shouldn’t have even been on your balcony but I was just-” he cut himself off, cheeks heating up once more at the reminder of how utterly silly he probably sounded- will sound - if he told her the truth.

“Just..?” Marinette prompted gently, “Come on, kitty, you can tell me what happened. You look like you could use some cheering up,”

Chat saw nothing but patience and genuine concern in her gaze, and he instantly berated himself for thinking that Marinette would be anything other than sweet and understanding. The feline hero let out a small sigh, shoulders slumping as his eyes inevitably found the floor once again.

“Honestly, there’s not too much to tell,” he shrugged a little, self-conscious, “I don’t even know if this would make much sense to you- not that I’m doubting you or a-anything! But lately I’ve been having these uh...urges,” he grimaced at the word.

Marinette hummed, head tilting a little as she frowned a little, “Urges? What do you mean?”

He pointed helplessly at the broken clay shards about them, giving up all hope of regaining whatever remaining dignity he had in front of Marinette.

“This is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, and I don’t know why but I saw your pots, and they were lined up so nicely, I just had to knock them down,”

“Chat-”

He kept going, on a roll now that he’d started, “And there’s this- this itch that only keeps getting worse and I’ve tried to scratch at it but it’s all over,” he fidgeted, still not able to meet her eyes “and now apparently I’m purring too. Everything is so uncomfortable and it’s so embarrassing- you don’t need to see me like this.”

He felt his eyes prickle, blurring the edges of his boots.

“Kitty, look at me,” Marinette spoke after a moment, and Chat wondered how someone could be so calm and gentle after being subjected to such rambling. He blinked harshly to dispel the extra moisture in his eyes before hesitantly lifting his head. He figured that he owed her that much at least.

Her eyes seemed to brighten, or maybe it was just a trick of the afternoon sun, but his heart skipped a beat all the same as deep shades of blue washed over him. A rush of warmth and calm washed over him.

“First off, there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” she smiled a little, a hint of pink dusting her nose and cheeks, “It sounds to me, and I’m guessing here really,” she let out an odd chuckle, and Chat didn’t have time to think too much of it before she was speaking again, “that somehow it’s a side effect of your Miraculous powers, which isn’t your fault. I’m really glad you told me, though,”

At that, Chat blinked, confusion making his brows furrow as he replayed her words.

“You are?”

“Yes! It means that you trust me enough to tell me, and I’m honoured, Chat,” she gently rubbed circles into his arm, her touch making him want to melt, until he was nothing more than a puddle in her hands. He wasn’t sure why Marinette was having such a profound effect on him, but strangely enough, he couldn’t find it in himself to be bothered. If there was anyone he wouldn’t mind turning into putty for(other than his lovely Lady of course), it would be Marinette.

“And I think, I might even know how to help,”

Now that surprised him, and he didn’t doubt the various capabilities he’d seen his classmate exhibit, but he was at a loss for how a civilian would be able to help with what appeared to be magical side effects. He was weary as much as he was suddenly extremely curious.

Her laugh brought him out of his reverie, and he twitched underneath her touch. She waved a hand, giggles dying down.

“Your face,” she grinned, reaching up to smoothen out the crease of his brow beneath the mask and he shivered, “don’t worry Chat, I think I know what I’m doing.”

Confidence twinkled in her eyes, and Chat had no doubt that he was in good hands.

[nobodyfamousposts]

Mominette: Changes

Conner got a message from Marinette.

As soon as he saw the words "Something happened", he didn’t even wait for the rest.

He immediately got to Paris and burst into the Bakery. Tom and Sabine looked confused and worried, but let him go upstairs to where Mari and Adrien were.

The normal thrum of his siblings was weak, almost muted.

He rushed up to Marinette’s room, his mind racing the entire way. Was everyone safe? Are they okay? What happened?

He burst into the room.

He saw Marinette and Adrien. They're fine, but worried and Marinette looked almost on the verge of a panic attack. Adrien was comforting Marinette and getting her to breathe.

He saw Plagg and Tikki. They're fine. But similarly looked worried.

He glanced around again, growing more agitated.

He seaw Adrien and Mari. He seaw Plagg and Tikki. He did not see his siblings.

He was about to ask—more like demand what happened.

But was interrupted by a voice he’d never heard before.

"Conny?"

He turned to the chaise where there are three children wrapped in a blanket.

Three human children.

He could barely feel it, but the magic was still there, in them.

“What…happened?” He asked the duo. Because this was definitely not normal.

“It’s an akuma.” Adrien explained, being the calmer of the two at the moment. “She has the power to bring toys to life, but…they’re already alive.” He shrugged, helplessly.

“My magic inside of them mixed with the akuma’s.” Marinette said, looking extremely worried. “If we defeat the akuma and return everything to normal, who knows what will happen to them?”

Tikki nuzzled Marinette, mournfully. “I’m sorry, Marinette. This has never happened before.”

Conner’s attention had turned back to the three. All of whom somehow looked smaller despite being bigger than before.

The boy—blond hair and green eyed—Chaton—reached out a hand for him. And Conner couldn’t stop himself from reaching back in turn.

The boy smiled.

“Conny.”

The girls—one with dark blue hair, the other fully black—Littlebug and Minimouse—looked up at him. One curled in on herself and shivered. The other moved the blanket and patted the chaise, a clear invitation for him to join them.

He…really wanted to.

They look all of four years old. Bigger than they had been as dolls, but oh so much more fragile. Chaton’s hand in his own was so tiny and he couldn’t help but worry he would hurt him.

“M’cold.” Minimouse murmured, shivering.

And that pretty much settled it.

Within seconds, Conner was sitting on the chaise with all three siblings wrapped up in the blanket and curled into him.

“I’ll watch them.” He assured his parents.

The two paused, looking back to him in concern.

“Conner…”

“You both need to defeat the akuma, right? I’ll protect them.” He promised. And he meant it.

“It may help.” Plagg rationalized. “He’s got your magic, Spots.”

“Plagg?”

“There’s conflicting magic in your kids right now.” He explained. “The longer it stays, the more trouble it can cause. So the sooner you take out the akuma, the better. And he can keep them stable in the meantime.”

“But…what about after?” Marinette asked, still very much worried.

Tikki hung her head. “Plagg’s right. We won’t know until it’s over. But it would be best to resolve this quickly.”

Marinette looked over to her children, biting her lip in worry.

Conner nodded to her. “I’ll keep them safe.”

Adrien rested a hand on her shoulder. “C’mon. Let’s…let’s be quick.”

Both of them were clearly holding back tears as they kissed each of their kids on the head just in case. With whispered words, they transformed and were gone, leaving Conner alone with his siblings.

Conner did have magic from Marinette. It was weak due to the conflict with his Kryptonian DNA, but it was there. It was the link that let him bond with his family. It allowed him to sense where they were and how they were doing. And now, it let him help with the maelstrom inside the three tiny bodies clutching to him.

But there was only so much he could do. Due to his limited magic and limited experience in using it, he was only able to mostly serve as a rock to try and keep the three grounded.

“Conny…hurts…”

Perhaps for the first time, he actually cursed his Kryptonian side.

“I know.” He said softly, trying to soothe them.

All he could do was try to hold them together while waiting for the akuma to be defeated and hope that there would still be four of them when Ladybug and Chat Noir returned.

“It’ll be okay.”

__________________________

By the time the akuma was defeated, the three had passed out and Conner was exhausted. He barely responded to the two thuds on the balcony above them or the sound of the door springing open.

“Conner?! CONNER!”

“Mom…?”

She knelt in front of him, tired and worried. He didn’t like that expression. He wanted to reassure her, but apparently he didn’t feel any better than she looked.

“Hey!”

Oops. Sorry, Mom.

“Marinette. You need to cast the Cure.” Dad told her, firmly.

“But…what if…?”

“Don’t overthink it.” He said, taking her hand in his and resting his forehead against her own. “Trust your magic.”

“You c’n do it, Mom.” Conner whispered.

She clenched her eyes shut, but nodded.

Would there be any permanent effect of this?

Would they go back to being normal non-magical dolls?

Would they be okay?

Please…please let them be okay.

“Miraculous Ladybug!”

The Cure swept through the room and then throughout Paris. But all three only had eyes for the children and the effect the Cure would have.

Conner felt rejuvenated by the effects of the loveliness. His energy and focus restored, he looked down to the three children clinging to him.

To find three still very human children clinging to him. Asleep. But oh so alive.

“They’re alive.” Conner reported, awed.

“They’re…but they’re human?” Adrien asked in astonishment. He separated from Plagg before moving forward and touching Chaton, ruffling his hair—and yeah, that was real, all right. He looked up to Plagg and Tikki as she also reformed. “They’re just…they’re human now?”

Marinette gaped. “But how? I mean—is this okay? Are they okay? Did it not work?” She was almost on the verge of panicking again.

Minimouse didn’t like the noise, apparently, as she frowned in discomfort and curled more into Conner’s side. Conner placed a hand on her head, soothing her.

Tikki floated down to her as well and kissed her head for a moment. She appeared to be sensing something—analyzing, maybe? A minute passed before she parted from Minimouse and looked up at the three.

“It’s settled. The akuma’s magic is gone.”

“But…why are they like this then?!” Marinette asked.

“The Cure restored everything to how it should be.” Tikki explained.

“Shouldn’t they be dolls then?” Adrien asked. “Not that I’m complaining.” Because he certainly preferred his kids alive regardless. But this was…a surprise to say the least.

Tikki nodded to her chosen. “Conner received magic from you, Marinette. But as a result of the process made to make him, his magic is naturally rooted in stability and grounding.”

Conner blinked in surprise at that. “Is that how I’m able to have Kryptonian powers and magic?”

“In a way, yes. Your magic has focus in boosting your abilities and stabilization. When you used it to deal with the warring magic in your siblings, you did help stabilize them, but you…um…apparently convinced them that this is how they should be.”

Conner’s eyes widened. He looked up at the gaping Marinette and Adrien in shock. As well as growing horror as the full extent of what he’d seemingly done hit him.

“I…I didn’t mean to.”

Well, he did, apparently. But he didn’t know this would happen. He hadn’t meant to change them—or keep them changed. He’d just…wanted to anchor them. To keep them alive and safe. He hadn’t wanted to force anything on them.

In an instant, arms enveloped him and he was in the comforting and reassuring hold of his mother.

“You did everything you could for them and more.”

He felt his eyes watering.

“I’m so proud of you, Conner.”

Okay, yeah. Definitely watering.

Another hand rested on his shoulder. He glanced to the side and saw a smiling Adrien.

“It’s a surprise. And it’ll be different. But we can make this work.”

“But…but I changed them.” Conner murmured, uncertain.

“They were already changed.” Plagg replied in a blasé manner, floating lazily nearby. “You just held them together so the warring magics wouldn’t rip them apart. And given that they’re each more magical than you—no offense, kid—you aren’t capable of forcing them into a form if they didn’t want it.”

Conner froze. “Wait…what?”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “If they wanted to be dolls again, they would be. Keep up, kid.”

Tikki gave a giggle. “I think they wanted to be like you, Conner.”

He blushed. “They…what?”

But she had a point, didn’t she? The Dolls didn’t get to move about as openly as he did. They weren’t understood easily by anyone outside of himself, their parents, or the kwamis. They struggled to do things he could accomplish with ease. And though they liked that he would carry and hug them…they sometimes looked like they wanted to return the favor.

Conner had been jealous of them. Wishing in some ways he had been more like them. He’d never considered they could have felt the same towards him.

Even in their sleep, the three clung to him.

They were like this…because they’d wanted it. And he’d helped them keep it.

He drew them a little closer. And in turn allowed himself to be drawn closer as well when Marinette and Adrien also joined them in the growing cuddle pile.

All six of them stayed together for a while after that.

There would be things to do because of this. Arrangements would need to be made. Explanations given. History and paperwork and legalities.

But for now, they were together and safe.

[alexiessan]

Never alone - Chapter Twenty Four - Soulmate AU - The End

AO3

Previous - Here

Master List

Last chapter! Thanks to everyone who followed this story!

After Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sanscœur got arrested, Emilie Agreste was brought to the hospital. She has been in a coma for a few years now, with no sign of waking up, and the doctors weren’t very optimistic about her.

Emilie Agreste would probably never wake up.

Adrien has been very sad when he got the news, but he had the time to grieve her mother years ago when his father has lied about her death. While he missed her every day, he had learned to move on. Still, knowing that she was alive, brought hope to the young model. He didn’t care about the doctors’ prognostics, nothing could crush his hopes.

Thankfully, Adrien has been declared innocent in the whole Hawkmoth debacle. He and Ladybug had revealed to the police that the young Agreste has been Chat Noir all along. The information didn’t make it to the news, thankfully.

Paris celebrated that night and would celebrate for a whole week, finally happy to be free of Hawkmoth. People allowed themselves to cry, to scream, to let their emotions free.

That night, Marinette cried in the arms of her soulmate, not stopping even when he carried her to his bedroom, the short girl in his arm clinging to him like a koala.

Life, without having to fight Akumas, was weird. Marinette had gotten so used to miss classes or a few hours of sleep because of attacks that she was nervous as if waiting for something to happen.

But nothing happened. Her shoulders were free of the burden of Paris’ safety.

She no longer needed to be Ladybug.

The Miraculous on her ears felt so heavy now.

It’s at the end of April, after a month and a half of peace, that the fashion designer decided to take off the earrings.

“I think we both need a rest,” she said to Tikki, a sad smile on her lips. “I need to heal from Hawkmoth, to detach myself from Ladybug, and I can’t do that with you around.” She winced. “No offense.”

Tikki laughed. “None taken, Marinette! I totally understand. It will be nice for me to be with the other Kwamis for a while,” she smiled, floating up to Marinette’s face to nuzzle her cheek. “And it’s not like we’re saying goodbye. You’re the guardian now, so we can see each other whenever we want!” She settled on her chosen’s shoulder. “But you’re right. We both need a break. So…” she fell silent for a few seconds. “See you soon, I guess!”

Marinette laughed, placing a kiss on the Kwami’s head.

“See you soon, Tikki.”

And she took the earrings off, placing them in the Miraculous Box.

It was like a weight has been lifted off her shoulder. Marinette hadn’t felt so light in years.

She almost jumped when she felt arms circle around her from behind. Sighing happily, she leaned back so she could be closer to Damian.

“How are you feeling,” he asked, placing a kiss on her neck.

“Good,” she breathed, turning around to face him. “I feel really good.”

She pulled him closer and kissed him.

Adrien was moving away. He had told his friends that he would live with his aunt and his cousin in London.

“I mean, I’m eighteen, so I could live by myself but…” he played with his fingers, embarrassed. Nino looked at him with a warm smile, encouraging him. “But, as much as I don’t want to admit it, I’ve had a golden childhood, you know? People did everything for me, from cleaning my room to cooking the meals. I can’t live by myself yet, so I’m moving in with my aunt. Then, I’ll learn everything I need to take care of myself.”

Alya laughed.

“Try not to give food poisoning to your family!”

Adrien gasped, falsely offended. “How dare you?!”

Adrien and Alya laughed while the others just shook their head in exasperation.

The young Agreste turned to Damian. “I heard you’re leaving soon?”

Damian nodded, unconsciously bringing Marinette closer to him. “Next week.”

Alya groaned. “Finally. I won’t have to see you anymore.”

The youngest Wayne smirked. “Sorry to break the news, Césaire, but I’ll be back in August as I’ll study here.”

The look on Alya’s face made everyone laugh.

Even though she knew that she would see him in a few weeks, saying goodbye to Damian at the airport brought tears to her eyes.

She hugged Dick first, who hugged her back so tightly that she couldn’t breathe for a few seconds.

“I’ll miss you so much.”

“Aw, you’ll see me soon, I promise,” the oldest of the Wayne siblings winked.

“I know, but it won’t be the same.”

Richard ruffled her hair with a smile. “I’m only a phone call away if you need anything. And when I say anything, I mean it, ok? Don’t hesitate. That’s what siblings are for, after all!��

She almost cried at that, but he gently pushed her towards Damian, giving them privacy in their goodbye.

Marinette let out a sob.

“I’m sorry. I swear I won’t always be this sensitive,” she said, embarrassed with the amount of tears she had shed lately. She had cried earlier when she said goodbye to Cloud and Alfred the cat too.

The green-eyed boy took her hand in his, pulling her closer to him. He kissed her forehead.

“I understand. Take time to allow yourself to feel, alright? Then, you’ll be okay in no time.”

She nodded. “You’re right.”

She cupped his cheek in her hand. “God, I hate seeing you go.”

He leaned in her touch. “I know. But you’ll see me in a few weeks for Prom.”

“I can’t wait,” she said and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

With the Baccalauréat coming and all the studying she had to do, time passed more quickly than she has expected.

In no time, she was in Gotham with the help of Kaalki, in her prom dress with Damian’s family in their manor.

Her boyfriend rolled his eyes as his father and brothers insisted to take a lot of pictures. Marinette didn’t mind. She was just happy to see Damian again.

She was happy to see his siblings too, of course.

Prom was exactly how she imagined it. It was such a shame there was no such thing in France.

The look on Damian’s classmates’ faces was hilarious. They obviously couldn’t believe that Damian Wayne was there, and with a date!

Their faces were even funnier when they saw him dance with her or when he tried to discretely kiss her.

Which was discreet at all, what with everyone watching them like a hawk.

It was a very nice night, one Marinette wished wouldn’t end, but alas, in the end, she had to go back to Paris.

While it was only one in the morning in Gotham, it was already seven in Paris, and she would have only three hours of sleep before having to get up to meet Alya and Chloé for a study session.

And, ok, maybe she got back at eight in the end because she couldn’t detach her lips from Damian’s.

Marinette and Damian passed their own tests easily, saying goodbye to their high school life.

The Eurasian girl was disappointed that she didn’t get to go to Damian’s graduation — she loved how it was such a big event in the US — but Jason sent her all the pictures they had taken, so it made up for her absence.

They didn’t get to see each other much during the summer. Just a trip here and there to Gotham thanks to Kaalki. Damian had to figure out a lot of things about Robin not being in Gotham for at least three years — five years if he decided to get a master degree — and all the paperwork needed for an American student studying in France.

Plus, his friend Jon was forcing him to spend time with it as it would be a long time before they would get to see each other.

Marinette has been accepted into the Fashion University of her choice and had immediately filled all the paperwork needed to finalize the registration.

Her summer has been busy with helping her parents in the bakery and going on a trip with Claude, Allan, and Allegra, and then on another trip with the original class from middle school. Even Lila was there and was actually pleasant.

All in all, August was there, and Damian and Marinette had finally moved in the Wayne’s penthouse. They had redecorated to make it their place and were exhausted after two weeks of painting and Ikea trips.

They were cuddling on the couch, Titus, Cloud, and Alfred the cat sleeping in a pile at their feet.

The couple was exhausted, but happy and ready for the next step in their life.

Marinette turned slightly so she could face her boyfriend. She smiled at him as he raised an eyebrow at her, and kiss him softly.

“Hey, I love you, you know?”

Damian kissed her cheek.

“Yeah, I know,” he said, bringing her closer. “I love you, too.”

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[chocoluckchipz]

The Other You - 2

Read it on A03, FF.net, WattPad

< Previous

His body heavy, eyes drooping closed, Adrien released his transformation and flopped on his bed face down. Who in the world thought that him running a fashion empire after spending all day teaching the principles of physics to teenagers was a good idea? Add in Chat Noir’s obligatory patrols, and you've got yourself a sleep-deprived, confused, and stressed disaster of a man. Yet, despite his exhaustion, Adrien’s lips stretched in a smile as soon as his head collided with a pillow.

“I’m so tempted to just sleep,” he whispered into the silence of his bedroom. “There’s always morning for changing clothes and grooming.”

“Do whatever you want,” Plagg puffed. “But I need disinfection. Seriously, you two need to get a room and preferably a kwami-free one. I didn’t sign up for this uncivilized, touchy-feely stuff. Can’t you just reveal identities and free me from being an involuntary participant in your grossly romantic endeavours?”

“If it were up to me, I would've done that a long time ago,” Adrien murmured. His shoes and clothes already on the floor, he crawled under the comforter, yawning. “But, you know just as well as I do that it isn't up to me, and Ladybug might actually be right about it being dangerous.”

“Hawkmoth hasn’t been active for years,” Plagg whined, finishing wiping himself with a sanitizing towelette and immediately heading straight for his stash of Camembert. “He’s probably dead already. Why do you still need to keep these masks on?”

“Hawkmoth not being active for a while isn’t proof that we’ll never see him again,” Adrien replied, wrapping himself around his pillow. “What if he’s just waiting for us to put our guard down to strike?”

“He isn’t that smart.”

“I wouldn’t say so,” Adrien yawned again. “The man kept us on our toes for a decade. But even if, presumably, he’s out for good, this isn't the time to start a relationship still.”

“Why not?”

“Plagg, please,” Adrien mumbled, his eyes closed as he snuggled the pillow closer. “You know as well as I do that Ladybug is going through a rough period right now. Her job now demands all of her time and attention thanks to that jerk-boss that ditched them. Her relationship with her roommate—her best friend may I add—seems to worsen every time I hear about it. And have you even seen her? She’s lost weight and looks pale and tired all the time.” Adrien paused, opening his eyes. His chest tightened as he looked into the darkness of his bedroom. “Right now, Ladybug needs a friend who’ll support her, not another relationship to work on. And since I can’t help her with her civilian life, I’d be damned if I added to her problems.”

Adrien rolled over and pulled his comforter over his head. Ladybug needed a friend right now, not a boyfriend, and he loved her too much to add a romantic relationship to her already nearly unbearable pile. So until she got her promotion, he’d support her as a friend and would remain close for whenever she needed him. Once she reached her goal, though, that would change because then, Ladybug would actually have time and strength for a relationship with him. Otherwise, Adrien was afraid he was risking ruining everything before it even started. He’d already waited for her for years, he could certainly wait a little longer.  

“Whatever you say, lover boy,” Plagg murmured and started to settle in his little bed, turning and twisting until he found the perfect position. “Goodnight, kid.”

“Goodnight, Plagg,” Adrien replied, his thoughts racing back to his Lady and the effortless friendship they’d developed that tiptoed dangerously on the border of romance. It would come eventually. Adrien knew that, and when it did, he'd make his Lady the happiest girl in all of France. He'd never take her for granted. He'd always—

“Wipe that dopey smile off your face,” Plagg suddenly grumbled. “It’s creepy to grin like an idiot in the dark.”

“How do you even see what I am doing from your wastebasket all the way over there?”

“I don’t need to see it. I can feel it. Now, stop it and go to bed. You have tons of work tomorrow and just a few hours left to sleep.”

“Don’t remind me.” Adrien groaned, flopping on his back. “I should’ve sold my shares and been done with it.”

“Then why did you listen to that dude from your work? You should try it, Adrien,” Plagg mocked. “See for yourself before deciding on what to do: continue teaching or follow in your father’s footsteps. Nonsense, I tell you. You should’ve sold and invested in Camembert production, something useful for once.”

“Max isn't a dude,” Adrien chuckled. “He's a friend, and he has a point. I've spent my life hating the fashion industry only because of my father and his crazy obsession with his work. Maybe—”

“He kicked you out of the house because you followed your passion instead of whatever he wanted you to do.”

“He didn’t kick me out. I left.”

“Doesn’t matter. The point is, this fashion nonsense ruined your life. Why would you want to ‘try it out’?”

“My life isn’t ruined. And I think it’s smart to make sure I really do hate heading a fashion empire instead of simply projecting my failed relationship with my father on the whole industry.”

“A load of BS if you ask me.”

“What’s the big deal, anyway? It’s just for a few months. If I don’t like it by the end of the summer, I’m selling.”

“It’s May now—”

“Almost June.”

“Still May, meaning that there are more than a few months until the end of the summer. And good luck enjoying each and every one of them with Marinette around. She gave you quite a welcome today, didn’t she?”  

Adrien froze, all sleep vanishing at once, events of the past that changed his life forever flashing in front of his eyes.

***

On the day of their high school graduation, Marinette confessed. She blushed and stuttered and was absolutely adorable, expressing in the most beautiful and sincere of ways just how much he meant to her. When she finished speaking, with a trembling, hopeful smile on her lips, she raised her eyes, full of fear and anxiety, to look at him, but stunned, Adrien couldn't reply for the longest time.

He loved Marinette. He truly did, but only as a dear, close friend. He hated to reject her feelings, but even if Adrien wanted to give Marinette his heart, he couldn't. It had belonged to Ladybug ever since the day they’d met.

Speechless, all Adrien was able to do was look back at Marinette with eyes full of regret and apology. She didn’t need words to understand his answer. Whispering something he didn’t quite catch, Marinette escaped before Adrien could do as little as to say how sorry he was.

He’d never forgiven himself for breaking her heart, and if only he had been more careful, Adrien was certain they would’ve gotten through that incident without losing their friendship. Unfortunately, Adrien wasn’t so lucky. A few days later, he learned that Marinette had been pre-approved for an internship at his father's company. He lost his sleep over it because, living his whole life in the shadow of Gabriel Agreste, Adrien knew quite well what working for his father entailed and what it did to people as nice as Marinette. Sure, from the sidelines, being an employee at the hottest fashion house around seemed glamorous and exciting. In reality, there were only two options: you either allow this work to squash you and have a nervous breakdown before your first year was up, or you become just like his father—a cold, emotionless, heartless workaholic. There were no in-betweens or exceptions as far as Adrien was aware.

He couldn't let any of those happen to Marinette. Not when he wouldn’t be there to protect her. Not when, following a massive argument with his father over his plans for the future less than a week ago, Adrien was about to walk out of there himself. As of that moment, Adrien was supposed to move out of his childhood home by the end of the month if he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a teacher. Otherwise, he’d have to cater to his father’s every whim indefinitely. The choice was clear, and seeing as he was escaping that hell of a company himself, Adrien couldn't silently stand on the sidelines and watch Marinette try to get on board. Not when, unlike him, she didn't know the reality of working for his father. Sadly enough, considering the timing, Adrien doubted that based on his words alone, Marinette would ditch her lifelong dream of working for Gabriel in favour of any other fashion houses that were sure to welcome her with open arms as soon as they saw her portfolio.

That's why he'd done it. That's why Adrien stole her file from his father's office.

He only wanted to protect her. He never meant any harm. He planned to sneak her portfolio to a few of his acquaintances in the other fashion houses that would be a much better fit for Marinette than his father's company ever could.

Perhaps, he could've chosen a better way to go about that, but at that moment, this was all that Adrien could come up with. Better timing also would’ve been nice. With his rejection of her confession, the moment to mess around with Marinette’s passions was as wrong as could be. Still, Adrien was confident his plan would work. The next day, he had a photoshoot for a fashion house that was on top of his list of better options for Marinette, so he stashed a copy of her portfolio in his bag and didn’t think twice about it.

Big mistake.

An hour before he was supposed to leave for the said photoshoot, Alya and Nino dragged him out of the house, picked up Marinette on their way and headed to their favourite cafe for some celebration he couldn’t even remember now. Despite the slight awkwardness between Marinette and him, their hang out turned out to be quite enjoyable. So pleasant, in fact, that Adrien let his guard down and made the second biggest mistake of his life—he’d allowed Alya to rummage around in his bag for mints while he visited the men's room before departing for his photoshoot.

Huge… colossal mistake.

Adrien stopped short of reaching the table on his way back. His friends stared at him in shock; his gaze focused on Marinette.

“Is this the reason no one could find my application when I called them three days ago?” She whispered, looking him straight in the eyes as she clutched her portfolio in her hands. “And the day after that? And yesterday? Today as well? They couldn’t find my portfolio because you took it?”

His body and mind paralyzed, Adrien stood frozen in place. He hadn't expected Marinette to find out. He hadn't the slightest idea of what to do or say.

Hastily, Marinette gathered her things and headed for the door only to halt her steps in front of him a moment later.

“Why?” she asked, her voice trembling. “I can understand and accept you not returning my feelings; no one can control their heart. But this?” Her voice cracked as tears escaped her eyes and streamed down her face. “Why would you be so cruel? What did I do to you to deserve this?”

Stunned, Adrien helplessly watched Marinette for a few moments, his dumbfounded silence only fueling her already rushed assumption about the situation. When his speech had returned, he’d scrambled to explain.

“You can’t work for my father.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Oh. And why?”

“It’s a bad idea. You don’t know what working for him can do to you. Marinette, I’ve been there. I’ve seen things… terrible things that happen to people because they can’t handle the workload and demands. I don’t want you there. I don’t want you—”

Marinette raised her hand and spat, “Stop it. I don’t care what you’ve seen there. Those people aren't me. This is not yourdecision to make, Adrien. It’s my life. My decisions. And if it would be a mistake, I want to be the one making it!”

“But—”

“Save it. I thought we were friends, but I guess I was wrong. Friends support each other, not—” She swallowed, looking away, and quietly added, “If my feelings are so much of an inconvenience to you that you didn’t even want me working at your father’s company, you should’ve said so. I would have stayed away on my own. You didn’t have to do this.”

With those words, she walked away. Alya and Nino followed.  

“I can’t believe you,” Alya had snarled. Nino kept looking down as he followed his girlfriend.

They’d kicked him out of their private chat room that same day. Adrien's multiple calls, emails and texts over the next few weeks to the three had gone unanswered. His hope for a chance to explain had been slowly dying, and in the end, it was Chloe—the only friend who remained by his side—who’d convinced him to give up. His heart was breaking, but Chloe was likely right; if none of his friends had responded by then, they’d probably blocked him. Adrien had some pride left, and he wasn’t going to impose himself on anyone in person if they wouldn't speak to him over the phone. There was only so much he could do trying to fix that mess; and he’d done more than enough. By the end of the month, Adrien moved out of the mansion, changed his contacts, and tried to start a new life, leaving everyone behind.

With his move, his relationship with his father had taken a sharp turn for the worse, the two of them becoming as good as strangers. Thankfully, Adrien had enough work and savings to support himself. Soon, he’d found new friends in university, and life seemed to be regaining at least some sense of normalcy. He regretted neither leaving his father nor trying to stop Marinette from entering Gabriel. Quite the opposite, Adrien would've never forgiven himself if he hadn't tried to save her from the claws of the monster called Gabriel Agreste.

Years passed. Adrien graduated and began working as a physics teacher at a local high school, ending his modelling career as soon as he’d signed his teaching contract.

He never heard much from Gabriel until the day his lawyer called from a hospital. A few murmured words of apology from his father in his final moments couldn’t fix anything, but in his heart, Adrien still mourned. He still cared because no matter how estranged they'd grown, Gabriel was still his father and there had been times when Adrien had been happy with him. He wished it could've been different. He wished they could've had a better relationship, but it was a little too late to change anything when his father was taking his final breaths. A failure on both sides. Adrien mourned that as well.

***

Adrien shifted in his bed. He had never asked to inherit anything. He didn’t need this company. It ruined a good part of his life, and for that, he hated it. Being cut off by his former friends, he didn’t know Marinette had been working there, sending all of his sacrifices to hell. But, boy, was he right. That gorgeous woman that snuck into his father’s office today—yes, he had to admit she was gorgeous; Marinette was always pretty but she had bloomed into a beautiful woman—was so exhausted that her beauty was barely visible. A thick layer of exhaustion glazed over her stunning blue eyes; her flawless skin looked pale; the sagging curve of her pink lips did absolutely nothing to accentuate her loveliness. The deep frown line in the middle of her forehead might have been there because of meeting him, but still, Adrien’s heart tightened. Working for his father hadn’t been merciful to Marinette.

Just as he’d predicted.

The worst part of all, however, was that Marinette seemed to not see it herself, fighting for a company that, without a strong leader, was quickly going under. Didn’t she have anyone in her life to care enough for her to shake her out of that trance? Didn’t she—

A thought popped into his head so unexpected and crazy, his eyes widened. It was rather insane, but perhaps fate was giving him a chance to redeem himself?

Whatever wrong he’d done before, his intentions were always pure: to help Marinette. She used to be his friend. He cared for her. Surely fate or destiny or whatever cosmic force that controlled his luck saw that and thought it unfair for Adrien to be condemned for what he hadn’t done. He wasn’t a backstabber; he was a loyal friend.

So, perhaps if he was the bigger person and helped Marinette now, she’d see his noble objective and would have to admit that he wasn’t as horrible of a person as she probably thought him to be. Perhaps she’d even apologize. He was older now, more mature. Surely, he could come up with better plans for how to improve Marinette's life, help her succeed, and prove the purity of his intentions and sincerity of his character.

He did also kind of owe her for breaking her heart. Maybe this was a chance to atone for that as well.

Adrien shook his head and rolled over in his bed. He shouldn’t. He shouldn’t care for someone who tossed him aside without even letting him explain. He shouldn’t help anyone who wouldn’t even listen to him or give him the benefit of the doubt.

He had been her friend. She had claimed to be in love with him. Why then was a simple mistake big enough for her to dismiss years of friendship and kick him out of her life? Why should he even think about doing anything nice for such a person, even if only to prove himself right?

Because she helped you just a few hours ago despite hating you.

Adrien groaned. Damn conscience! He still shouldn’t! She did it for the sake of her job, not because she cared for him.

She still helped you when you needed help. She isn’t a lost cause yet. There's still good in her.

Adrien pressed his lips together. He wouldn’t! Not after the way she treated him.

Weren’t you the one to deliver the first blow, though?

Adrien sat up, running his hands through his hair. Why was he such a pushover? Why couldn’t he be more like his father when it came to things like these? Why was he already thinking of the ways he could help Marinette?

Because you aren’t your father, and you still care.

“Okay, fine. I’ll help her.” He threw his hands up in the air in defeat. “Just leave me alone. I need to sleep.”

Settling back into his bed, Adrien closed his eyes and hoped for a few peaceful hours of slumber. Instead, his head buzzed with ideas crazy enough to make him chuckle one moment and bemoan his existence the next. By the time the morning rolled in, there were only two things that Adrien was certain of:

First, Gabriel would have to go. His father had built that company on his employees’ tears and suffering. It wasn’t worth saving, even if Adrien thought he figured out how to do that. It might be a petty, personal revenge move, but Adrien couldn’t find it in himself to care. It would be the right thing to do. Most of its employees had already handed in their resignation letters, anyway.

Second, there was only one way for Marinette to make it in this industry now: find a position in a different company. With her talent, it shouldn't be a problem. He just had to play his cards right and find her a company that would appreciate her more than his father ever did—showing her in the process what a grave mistake she made all those years back when she had cast him aside so cruelly.

Next >

[thewritewolf]

Old Ways, New Age Chapter 4

A major akuma attack hits and Ladybug has to seek out heroes to wield the miraculous if they will have any hope of stopping them.

@marinettemarch

Enjoy!

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Read on Ao3

“As much as I hate to say it… the best place I can hide it is in my own room for now.” Ladybug sighed and looked at her partner with a serious expression on her face. “Do you think you can hold off the akuma long enough for me to take this back?”

Chat Noir was staring off into the distance, where the head of… something… was poking over the buildings. His tail swished behind him, low and lazy. He nodded.

“I’ll do my best to keep it distracted.” His eyes landed on her. “Hurry back though, okay?”

“I promise. Now get going, and I’ll meet up with you as soon as I can.”

With a grin, Chat Noir gave her a quick salute and leapt off the roof. A moment later, he soared back into view, propelled by his extending baton. She watched him go for a few seconds longer before taking out her yoyo and swinging away.

On the way back, her mind was racing. She had been banking on hunting down Namdak to keep the miracle box safe - but now she was going to be distracted by the akuma battle for who knows how long. Would he be bold enough to try again? If she hid it somewhere else in the city, would he be able to find it? Or would she end the battle only for it to have vanished?

The thought of some random civilian - or, even worse, an agent of Hawkmoth - finding the miracle box outside during the coming battle sent shivers down her spine. No, she’d tuck it in her room and hope that the same paranoia that made the Guardians so cautious would keep the box safe for tonight. At least then if it disappeared, she could be sure it hadn’t fallen into Hawkmoth’s hands.

She’d hidden it away the best that she could and was about to leave her room when she got a call on her yoyo. Lowering her hand from its throwing position, she backed into a corner before opening the yoyo to answer the call, ensuring that the view of her room was minimal.

“Something up, Chat?”

“Uhhh yeah I don’t think-” A wall of noise from an explosion nearby on his end drowned him out. “-and we’re gonna need some help on this.”

“Help?” Ladybug blinked down at his video image. “How much help?”

“Um…” The scene behind Chat was a blur thanks to his running and even her partner was a little hard to make it with how the screen was shaking. “How about two? Someone strong—” He cut himself off to duck and the wall behind him burst into rubble. “And maybe some insurance, too. Are there any healing miraculous?”

Ladybug cupped her chin and narrowed her eyes. “I’ll see what I can do. Can you keep it busy for a little while longer?”

Even in the middle of a fight, he took a second to flash her a grin. “For you? Anything.” A shadow fell over him and his grin evaporated. “Gotta go, LB!”

His screen went dark and she put the yoyo back on her side. Her mind racing, she pulled out the miracle box from its hiding spot and looked over the miraculous at her disposal.

This was the first time they’d had to call on new miraculous heroes since the Miracle Queen fiasco - everyone she’d already brought out was out of the running for now. At least with the miraculous they’d used before.

Someone strong… The physically strongest miraculous was Stompp, the Ox kwami. Hopefully that was what Chat meant. On the bright side, since she had never called on it before, she could give it to practically anyone she wanted.

As for insurance, well… she wasn’t aware of any healing abilities outside her Ladybug Cure, but the ability of the Snake miraculous, Second Chance, was a good runner up. Although that did mean that Luka and probably Adrien, too were out of the running.

Her eyes widened with realization. The two she had in mind might not be the perfect fit for the miraculous, but they would be the best fit she had. After checking her notes for her friends’ schedules, she hid the miracle box away as best she could and hoped that she could bring down this akuma in time.

-----------

Ladybug landed at the front door of a gym. Quips and puns could just barely be heard above the explosions and maniacal laughter of the akuma of the day, none of which was all that far away from where she was standing. Even more worrying was the occasional tremor that shook the city - was it a giant amok, or a tunneling one? Practically everyone with any sense left was long gone.

Which just left those who were too caught up in their own competition to worry about something as trivial as an akuma attack.

Upon entering the building, she peered into the various exercise rooms looking for her duo of potential heroes. Despite being inside, the sounds of battle still reached her, driving her to move faster in locating them. As much as she wanted to keep them separate for identity purposes, she had no idea if Chat would be able to hold on that long.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she opened the door to a basketball court to see the two of them locked in the middle of a game. One which only had a passing resemblance to basketball, judging by Alix’s rollerskates and the obstacles set up on the court.

Alix noticed her first, giving her a double take as she tried to dribble across the court.

“Ladybug?!”

The price for her inattention came immediately when she collided with Kim. Ladybug watched the basketball bounce forlornly past her and hit the wall. Clamping down on the last minute doubts she had about them, she walked over to the pile of athletes as they were trying to get to their feet.

“Woah!” A grin spread across Kim’s face. “Did you come to coach our match, Ladybug? Pipsqueak over here could definitely use some pointers.”

Finally getting her skates under her, Alix shot a glare at him. “You wanna try that again, airhead? Cuz the scoreboard sure as hell doesn’t agree with you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kim snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. “Not my fault you’ve got all those dirty tricks to get ahead.”

“You-!”

“Cut it out and listen to me!” Ladybug had enough of their bickering at school - she wasn’t about to tolerate it now. “There is a big fight going on and we need help. Who’s in?”

“Oo, oo, pick me!” Kim raised his hand and put the other on Alix’s head and shoved her back slightly. “I, uh… Let’s just say this isn’t my first lap around the pool.”

Kim gave an obvious and exaggerated wink to Ladybug, who could only pinch the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

Alix rolled her eyes. “She said she needs help, not someone that she’ll need to babysit. Besides,” Alix added with a knowing grin. “I’ve been hoping to hop into a fight for ages now. Know what I mean, LB?”

Ladybug put her hands together to cover her face, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. When she felt a little more composed, she looked back at them.

“I’ve got two miraculous here - the fight is going that bad. Are you still interested?”

Alix and Kim looked at each other for a moment before nodding. Ladybug gave them each her usual speech and handed them the miraculous - the Snake for Alix and the Bull for Kim. Both seemed surprised at the specific miraculous they got, but took it in stride.

With two new heroes in tow, Ladybug rushed out of the gym and hoped that she would make it in time.

-----------------

As he examined the locking box trap that had captured his hand, Master Namdak took a moment to respect the chosen of Creation. Fire and boldness were likely pairs when dealing with those who wielded the miraculous, but deviousness and cleverness were a rare pearl.

Sadly for her, mere tricks were not sufficient to guard the miracle box - another reason why it needed to be returned to the order.

Tapping the box twice with his staff, the hinges flew open and the trap dropped to the ground, leaving the miracle box securely in his hand.

He leapt out of the room and stood on the rooftop. Deep in his bones, he knew that he needed to leave for Tibet soon. The journey was long and the return home would be equally as arduous. He stood still, quietly taking in the scenery. His eyes roved the horizon, taking in the sight of a city from two hundred years in the future.

Which was when he saw the villains that had been so helpful in acquiring the miracle box. They were locked in a desperate battle against the heroes of this city. Despite himself, Master Namdak was drawn closer to the fighting. Even setting aside his time spent removed from the world, it had been long decades since he had last seen the miraculous in action. Curiosity could not be ignored.

He watched from a rooftop as a team of four heroes battled against the puppets of the butterfly and peacock, saw the ebb and flow of the battle.

Master Namdak had long years of experience - he could see the clash of personalities apparent on the heroic team. By all rights, a lack of cohesion ought to have been enough to destroy them.

And yet... despite that, Tikki’s chosen held them firm. They followed her instructions without question, no matter how baffling they might seem. Her knowledge of the miraculous strengths was astounding as she used each power of her allies like a familiar tool in her armory. If circumstances were different, perhaps she could have been a Guardian as well. Perhaps even risen to the rank of Master, like himself.

But they fought a losing battle. Even with aid, Master Namdak knew that they were on the backfoot and edging closer and closer to defeat.

He turned to leave.

Long moments passed, but he could not take a step forward.

He looked over his shoulder at the heroes battling against evil, his heart torn between duty and compassion.

[hermionemonica]

Cause I knew I was in love with you (when we sat in silence): Marichat May 2020 - Day 14

AO3 | For the @marichatmay

Collab with @lalunaoscura

DAY 1 | <-13 | 14 | 15->

Day 14 — Chocolate

Marinette shut her closet door and turned to look at Chat, who was rolling up some fabric.

“Would you like some hot chocolate?” She asked him.

“I guess,” he shrugged his shoulders, “why not?”

“What kind do you like?” She took one of his arms and put it around herself. “I personally prefer milk chocolate, because I have got a sweet tooth.”

Chat scratched the back of his head, “I don't really know?”

“What do you mean you don't know?”

“Actually I have never had hot chocolate.” He was a little awkward admitting it.

“Wait, what?” Marinette straightened up and let Chat’s arm drop from around her shoulder. “Are you saying you have never tasted hot chocolate in your life? Not even once?”

Chat Noir nodded.

“Oh my God, that is so wrong!” She exclaimed. “We have to set it right at once! Are cats even allowed to drink hot chocolate?”

“I am not a real cat.”

“Right.”

“Princess, look at me!” He grabbed her wrists in both his hands. “Don't freak out, please!”

“But I don't want to ruin your first time!”

Chat blushed furiously at the double-entendre. Only then did Marinette realise what she had said. Her eyes widened and she let out a little squeak.

“I swear I didn't mean it that way!” She spoke in a high-pitched voice.

“I know, Princess.” Her cuteness made him giggle.

“Chat Noir,” she whined, “I don't even know what type of chocolate you like.”

“I promise you,” he held her hands in his and lifted them, “I will love anything my Princess will make for me.”

Now it was Marinette's turn to blush and giggle.

“At least tell me whether you like sweet, bitter, spicy or minty?” 

“Make it like how you think about me.”

Marinette scrunched up her nose as she seemed to analyse Chat Noir's entire personality.

“Got it!” She exclaimed after a few moments. 

“Tell me,” Chat pleaded.

“No,” she declared, “I want it to be a surprise!”

She turned away towards the trapdoor. Before she exited through it, she turned back to look one more time. “Don’t get up to any mischief while I am gone, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good kitty.” She gave him a smile before leaving.

Chat Noir sat down on the floor, looking around the room. At first glance, it'd seem like there wasn't much to see. But the harder you looked, the more details you would spot. He had been here so many times already, and yet there was so much of this little room that he had not explored. How Marinette managed to fit so much into such a small space while still making it look not messy was beyond him.

That was why he could not keep still for more than twenty seconds.

He went snooping around her chaise lounge, where a few rolls of fabric and a heap of clothes were placed beside it. He felt the fabric, it was soft. Adrien had been forced to wear uncomfortable, stiff clothes more often than he liked, which was why he chose to wear casual clothes more often. It was also the reason why he had a particular love for soft fabrics. He sniffed the pile of clothes, and a smell that was distinctly Marinette's calmed his olfactory senses.

His instincts took him to Marinette's desk next. Textbooks and notebooks were arranged in a neat pile. Pens, pencils, brushes and other stationary were stuffed into two cups. As he looked over the soft pink surface of the table-top, his eyes fell on the drawer. The corner of a page stuck out of it. He opened the drawer, intending to place the paper inside properly.

But he stopped when he noticed what was on that paper.

It was a sketch of himself. Chat Noir, that is. It was not very detailed, more like a quick doodle. Underneath was written in feminine capital letters “CHAT NOIR". The “NOIR" was darkened to the point that there were dents on the paper, clearly from tracing the letters over and over again.

Chat was confused. What exactly was that all about?

As he kept looking at the paper, he spotted a scribble on the side which had been struck through multiple times so that the original thing was almost illegible. But that piqued his interest, and he was not going to let go until he had made it out.

Was it-? He could make out a “CHAT" and a “B" right next to it. 

He held up the paper against the light. It was “BLANC".

Chat Blanc?

What was that?

He did not have much time to think though, because he heard Marinette coming through the trapdoor. True, he could have hidden the paper away and pretended that nothing happened. But his curiosity got the better of him.

“What are you doing there, kitty?” Marinette came up behind him and placed two steaming mugs on top of the desk.

“I was just looking around, and-” he held up the paper, “-what is this Princess?”

It was probably a good thing that Marinette had already put the mugs down, or else, she would have surely dropped them and made a mess of the floor. Because of the way her eyes widened and her body stiffened, it wasn’t difficult to say that she was totally shocked.

“Wh- where did you get that?” She swooped in to grab the paper but Chat was too fast for her. “Give it to me!”

“Not before you tell me what this is about.” He took complete advantage of his height as he held the paper high above his head, where Marinette could not reach it. “Why have you traced and retraced the letters of NOIR over and over?”

“I will tell you but first give me back my paper!”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, now give it already!”

Chat relented and handed the paper back to her. “Now tell me.”

Marinette realised that he would not let it go unless he got an answer. “It’s because,” she tried to come up with an excuse, “because I kept getting the spelling wrong! Yes, the spelling! So I traced over the words so that it gets embedded into my memory!”

“Oh.” Something about Marinette’s words seemed off. The way her eyebrows twitched and her hands shook, he was worried about her. That was why he refrained from asking further about the ‘Chat Blanc’.

“So,” he sniffed around the two mugs as Marinette put the paper away in her closet, “which one of these sweet-smelling chocolates is mine?”

He was trying hard to change the topic, and Marinette could understand that. “The black one,” she called out, “but don’t start before I come!”

“Oh my God, this smells so good!” Chat Noir took a long whiff of his mug. “What did you put in it?”

“You’ll see.” Marinette arrived holding a DVD in her hand. “Alright so,” she announced, “who wants to watch Tangled with me?”

“Me!” Chat noir leaped up with his hand raised, earning a giggle from Marinette. 

“Come on over here, then!” She pulled both chairs in front of her computer.

Chat looked between the computer and her chaise lounge. “Can’t we,” he spoke in a little voice, “move the chaise over to the computer so that we can lounge while we watch?” 

“No can do, kitty!” Marinette assumed a stern expression on her face, although the corners of her lips tugged into a little smile. “There will be no moving around in my room.” Chat Noir’s shoulders drooped at her words. “But, what if we put one chair away and I sit on your lap?”

“Yes!” Chat Noir visibly lit up at the offer. That boy was a sucker for cuddles. So was Marinette actually, she could never have enough of Chat’s warm, cozy cuddles.

“Can you bring over the mugs without spilling them?”

“Yup!” Chat was actually doing a better job than her at effortlessly balancing the mugs in his hands. He handed the pink mug to Marinette. “Now, cuddle time?”

Marinette blushed as she sat down on Chat's lap. As he wrapped an arm around her, Marinette mumbled, “I'm not crushing your legs, am I?”

“Nah,” Chat shrugged. “You weigh as light as a feather to me.”

Marinette giggled as Chat nuzzled his face into her neck. “Stop or I'll spill my chocolate!”

Chat listened to her for once. As Marinette rested her head against his shoulder, he took a sip out of his mug.

“Woah!” He exclaimed, “This tastes so amazing! What did you put in it?”

“Cardamom,” Marinette smirked. “For that's how I think of you: sweet with a spicy flavour.”

Chat's lips slowly curved into a huge grin. “I see,” he said with a smirk.

Marinette felt her heart beat faster at the way his eyes looked. Did she cross a line at the “spicy" comment? But when Chat Noir did not bring it up again, she finally relaxed.

Halfway through the movie, Chat Noir looked down and saw that Marinette had fallen asleep in his lap, her mouth slightly open. He smiled. Quietly turning off her computer, he picked her up in his arms and carried her away to her bed. 

As he settled down into the bed beside her, he wondered what Chat Blanc meant? And what was the real reason behind that doodle? There were a lot of questions in his mind, but he knew he could not get the answers from the one person who could give them to him. So the only way was to bury them away.

But when Marinette turned her face towards him, her breath smelling faintly of chocolate, he could not stop a smile from coming to his lips. This girl was trying so hard to hide all her secrets and hold back all of her fears. The least he could do was let her forget them as long as he was with her. If talking about them upset her, he would not ask unless she wanted to tell him by herself.

He slowly drifted to sleep, surrounded by the smell of chocolate and Marinette’s body wash, wrapped in Marinette’s arms and legs, and that was the closest to Heaven he had ever felt. 

[myownworldstayout]

New Friends Ch. 7

Ch. 1 / Ch. 6 / Ch. 8

(Here’s seven! let’s find out where it leaves us!)

Footsteps echoed through the empty streets of Paris as they walked. Felix reveled in the warm, night air, feeling the wind’s gentle sway in his hair. 

It was strange, Felix thought, that he would enjoy a regular night such as this so much. He had been on plenty of evening walks through Paris. So why did this one feel.. Different somehow?

A contented sigh pulled him from his wonderings, and he glanced over at the bubbly girl walking next to him. She held her usual, bright smile, her bluebell eyes filled with awe as she took in the Paris lights.

Felix drew in a small breath.

It’s her, he realized. It was Marinette. She was the reason today would be a day he remembered fondly. Then again, he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. The ravenette had a knack for taking ordinary things and making them better, brighter. It amazed him, the way Marinette looked at the world. Felix was an extremely realistic and logical person. He always thought he knew the world to be exactly what it was, selfish and idiotic, a disappointment. But Marinette.. She saw the world in a completely different light, a way he couldn’t fathom. It made him want to.. Live more, so to speak.

“I suppose I should thank you.”

Marinette hummed in response, tilting her head slightly as she looked up at him. “Thank me? For what?” 

Felix smiled at that. It was just like her, completely unaware of her recent effect on him. 

“For today. I enjoyed it more than I expected, and I feel I owe that to you.” 

He watched as her eyes widened, and her cheeks tinged a light pink.

“O-oh, well- I mean, I didn’t really do- do anything much. It’s just- uhm…” She sputtered out, fiddling with her hands and her hair and anything really.

The blonde hesitated at the reaction. He figured she’d be surprised at the confession, or even pleased. He hadn’t expected her to fall into a stuttering mess.

“Well,” Felix began cautiously, “I still thank you all the same.”

Marinette’s blush deepened, but she shrugged. “I-I guess you’re welcome.” 

~~~~~~~

Marinette blew out a sigh as she opened the trapdoor to her balcony. She was still blushing and kicking herself for stuttering earlier. That embarrassment was gonna stick with her for awhile.

“It really wasn’t that bad, Marinette.” Tikki insisted, snuggling into her holder’s cheek.

Marinette only groaned, burying her face in her hands. “You say that, but he probably thinks I’m an idiot now.” 

She didn’t plan for Felix walking her home, let alone for him to thank her. And that smile? It was small, but there, and a complete surprise. Honestly, she wasn’t even shocked when she became clumsy with her words. Felix, this guarded, reserved- some may argue cold- classmate of hers became so sincere and open in an instant. She couldn’t help, but want to see more of it. 

“It didn’t sound like he did.” Tikki pointed out with a comforting smile.

Marinette lifted her head, looking at her kwami with a small pout. She then rested her chin on her palm, leaning on the balcony. As much as she wanted to argue, it was her night to patrol, so she should probably get going.

She quickly scanned the streets, hoping to just transform there.

Who she saw confused her.

“Isn’t that Felix?” Marinette thought aloud, pointing towards the sidewalk a small distance away. 

“It certainly looks like him.” Tikki confirmed, squinting at the figure. That wouldn’t be so weird, except he was walking in the direction they had just come. 

“I thought he said his house was on the way here.” Marinette frowned. 

“Maybe he just wanted to walk with you? Tikki suggested. 

The idea made Marinette flush all over again. 

“You- you think so?”

“I do! He said he had wanted to thank you and probably saw walking to your house as a good opportunity!” Tikki beamed. 

Marinette drew in a breath, calming herself. There had to be another reason, right? Maybe it was like Luka, and Felix was just worried for her safety?

“Let’s-Let’s think about that later. Right now, we should really start patrol. Tikki, spots on!”

~~~~~~~

Paris looked even better as Ladybug jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

She thought about trailing Felix to make sure he got home alright, but decided against it when she thought about getting caught. 

“It’s a Purr-fect night tonight, don’t you think My lady?” 

Ladybug came to a halt when her partner called out to her. 

“For once, I can agree.” She smiled, looking at the calike heroine on the rooftop across from her. 

Chat Noir closed the distance between them, taking her hand into his.

“It’s not near as perfect as you, though, Bugaboo.” He winked, pressing a feather light kiss to her knuckles. 

Ladybug slipped her hand out of his with a roll of her eyes and a playful smirk. 

“What are you even doing out tonight? You’re supposed to be getting sleep.” She scolded. 

Chat Noir gave her a small pout. 

“I thought you’d be happy to see me, My Lady. I admit it hurts.” 

“Stop avoiding, Chat.” Ladybug said in a stern yet somewhat coaxing tone. She’s known him long enough to know something’s up. 

Chat hesitated at the order, scratching the back of his head. 

“I just couldn’t get any sleep, that’s all.” He smiled sheepishly.

Ladybug squinted at him, crossing her arms and letting out a small huff. He was hiding something. 

“Just make sure you go home soon, alright?” 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t her place to pry. 

Chat perked up and grinned. “As you wish, Bugaboo.” 

Ladybug tisked, hiding a smile, and swung off with her yoyo. 

Chat followed closely behind.

 -

With the unexpected company, she made her rounds faster than she thought she would. 

“Do you have to go home, now?” Chat whimpered, ears drooping. “We could hang out for a while? Enjoy the night?” 

Ladybug offered a soft smile. 

“Sorry, kitty. This bug’s got school tomorrow. I can’t stay out any later than I need to.” She apologized, reaching up to give him a scratch behind his cat ears. 

Chat leaned into her touch and sighed. “I know. You’re right. You always are.” 

“Goodnight, Chat.” 

“Night, LB.” 

The two then parted, Ladybug swinging home while Chat continued to roam the streets.

~~~~~~

Marinette dragged herself into the classroom the next morning, almost tripping on the stairs from drowsiness. Despite going to bed right after patrol, Marinette spent the night awake with jumbled thoughts. Worrying about Chat Noir, dreading going to school tomorrow, and thinking about Felix and his strange, yet accepted behavior. By the time she woke up the next morning, Marinette had only gotten a few hours of sleep. 

Felix raised an eyebrow as the girl sat down. “You look exhausted.”

“You noticed?” Marinette retorted, rubbing her eyes and squinting at the door as her classmates came piling in. 

While Marinette was on the brink of collapsing, Lila appeared to be as energetic as ever, as if she had taken Marinette’s energy as her own. The class swarmed her as usual, drinking in her every tale. 

Marinette only pried her eyes from Lila when she noticed Felix pouring something into his drink. 

“Did you just pour an energy drink into your triple-shot coffee??” 

“It was a long night and it’s going to be an even longer day.” Felix answered simply, popping the lid back onto his coffee cup. 

“...Can I have a sip?” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. Being this tired led to an extreme lack of inhibition. 

Felix glanced up at her, that familiar, calculated expression across his features. Then, without a word, he pushed the cup towards her. 

Marinette thanked him, taking a quick sip as requested. 

True to form, Felix’s coffee was as bitter as his attitude towards the rest of the class. At least it gave Marinette the small boost she needed to start her day.

~~~~~~~

Felix took another drink of his coffee, thankful Mlle. Bustier allowed cups in her class. The walk home took longer than he thought, especially after taking Marinette home. The outcome was productive, though, so he found the detour worthwhile. Besides, the coffee was keeping him awake. No harm done. 

Of course, he couldn’t say the same for Marinette. Her head began bobbing up and down as soon as Mlle. Bustier began teaching. The longer the class dragged on, Marinette’s eyes grew heavier and heavier.

He tried to assist in nudging her when she closed her eyes for too long.

Unfortunately, the process just repeated itself. Finally, she gave in to her drowsiness and- with a light *thud*- rested her forehead on their desk.

Felix heaved a mental sigh. She was lucky she didn’t snore. 

His gaze flickered back and forth from the teacher to Marinette as he propped a book up in front of her to hide the fact she was sleeping. 

He would have let her sleep through the whole class had it not been for the sudden rumbling through the school. 

Mlle. Bustier paused her lecture, glancing around the classroom. 

Felix narrowed his eyes as the rest of the class became antsy, looking out the windows or into the hallway. 

“What’s goi-” He couldn’t even get his question out before another rumble shook the entire school, causing students to lose their balance and books to be knocked over. 

It was then Marinette shot up, hearing the screams of the class. 

“What happened? What’s going on?” She asked, immediately turning her attention to the door and standing up. 

“I don’t know. Something made a thunder noise and everyone started panicking.” Felix answered, standing up as well, mostly because Marinette did. 

Mlle. Bustier was still trying to calm the class. Alya was already out the door to “get the scoop”. Adrien wasn’t there either, so it was assumed he went with her. 

“An akuma..” Marinette muttered, slipping out of her seat and running towards the door. 

“A what?” Felix sputtered, following after her. He’d seen Akumas before, over the TV or in the sky. He’d never actually been in an akuma attack before, though. 

He swung open the classroom door, but Marinette was nowhere in sight. Instead, he found students running around like headless chickens for an exit, some lying on the floor unconscious. 

Above it all, floated a woman dressed in blues and purples, her black hair pulled into a bun, and her eyes a sparkling gold. It was unsettling, but also beautiful- in an other-worldly sort of sense. 

“I am Nocturne.” Her voice echoed through the school, clueing Felix in on where the rumbling had come from. “We’ve spent too long sacrificing our sleep for such useless information and worthless letters. It is time we get the rest we need.” 

She held out a golden staff, lightly tapping the end of it on someone’s head.

The person immediately slowed down, their eyes rolling back, before they collapsed on the ground. 

Felix took a step back, still looking around for Marinette. She couldn’t have just disappeared, right? Had she been hit? 

He scanned the ground for her familiar blue hair. Nothing. 

“You!” 

His gaze snapped upward. 

The villain was staring him dead in the eyes. “You look like you could use a nap.” 

With a malicious smile, she outstretched her staff. 

He flinched backwards, but she was too close to evade. Or so he thought. 

A flash of red appeared in his vision, then he was pushed backwards. 

He stumbled, barely managing to keep his balance. 

“Give it up, Nocturne! It doesn’t have to be this way!” Another voice joined the party. 

Initially, Felix thought it was Marinette, due to the pigtails and the similar voice. 

When he regained his thoughts, however, he realized it was, in fact, the red clad heroine, known as Ladybug. He had never seen her up close either. 

“Oh, but I’m afraid it does.” Nocturne shot back, thrusting her staff in Ladybug’s direction. 

The hero ducked, grabbed the staff, and yanked it out of her grasp. 

The Akuma sneered, holding out her hand. As if magnetic, the staff rushed back into her hands, taking Ladybug with it. 

Ladybug yelped as Nocturne tilted her staff forwards, trying to tap Ladybug’s head. 

She was too fast, though. Ladybug swung herself forward, kicking Nocturne in the stomach and flipping backwards. 

She landed in front of Felix, putting a protective arm in front of him. 

“Get to safety!” She ordered, keeping her eye on the akuma. 

“I can’t, I have to find one of my classmates!” He refused, glancing around the hall yet again. 

He could’ve sworn he saw Ladybug pause- just for a moment. 

“She’s safe. Don’t worry, you need to go.” She repeated, tensing when the villain finally recovered from her blow. 

Felix raised an eyebrow. “How did you know it was a girl?” 

Ladybug grimaced at the mistake, though Felix couldn’t see. 

Nocturne lunged forward towards Ladybug, but was stopped when a silver baton extended into her path. 

“Hope I’m not interrupting.” The black clad heroine grinned. 

Nocturne glared at the feline. 

“You’re late.” Ladybug remarked.

“Sorry, M’Lady, got a bit held up.” 

Nocturne jumped at the cat, who jumped off the railing, landing next to Ladybug.

With Chat Noir as their defense, Ladybug scooped up Felix- with harsh protests on his part- and darted off to find a hiding place. 

Tag list: @unabashedbookworm @bluerosette23 @minightrose @kuroko26 @im-here-for-the-content @angstyrastuff @clumsy-owl-4178 @fanboy7794 @choaticneturcl @bigcheeseyboi @burntnugget-tae @ayuchan07 @honorisfortheweak @knightrose15 @mjisntme @rhub4rb @simplythebestbug @wilhelmares @zebrabaker@dargeon-lissa @kristycocopop @alumneia

[2manyfandoms2count]

#MarichatMay Day 7

Another submission because the procrastination is strong in this one *points to self*. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy this piece!

(And again thanks @marichatmay!)

---

Day 7: Disguise

“You know the Agreste superhero ball is tonight, right?” 

Chat Noir was lying on Marinette’s sofa, completely relaxed as his favourite civilian paced around the room, flicking through the pages of her notebook.

“Thanks, Sherlock.” She shot him a dark glare.

That cat would be the death of her. How weak had she been, accepting his invitation as his date? She’d worked all week to plant the foundations of a lie that would have justified her absence with her friends. On Monday, she had started to cough. On Tuesday, she’d pretended to sniffle all day. Wednesday she’d maintained her act, complete with a non-faked tiredness from working on her Ladybug dress overnight. The coup de grâce came on Friday: she had used Tikki’s powers to fake a small fever. The Kwami had disapproved at first, but had changed her mind when she had seen how stressed her carrier was at the prospect of juggling between Marinette and her Miraculous persona all night. Was it wrong to want to be just Ladybug for an evening?

That night, though, Chat had paid her a little visit, having heard through the “cat-vine” that she hadn’t been “feeline” well. Except that instead of finding her feverish and buried under a pile of covers, she’d been running around fixing up a characteristically red and black, Ancient Egyptian-style dress. 

“Oh my God, I can’t believe Ladybug is exploiting you for a disguise she doesn’t even need!!” He’d started dialling her on his baton, but Marinette had interrupted him.

“She’s not exploiting me, I’m very happy to be working on this dress,” she huffed. “And I promised my parents I’d spend the evening with them.”

“Oh but please, come tomorrow! Be my date? I purr-omise it will be fun!” He used the kitty eyes move she had trouble resisting with Manon, except his were much more enticing. She felt oddly drawn to him, like a moth to a flame. In that if she got too close, it wouldn’t end well.

“I’m not a super hero though, I’d need a disguise. And I don’t have time to make myself one.”

“Just take Ladybug’s. She won’t mind.” He shrugged.

“Yes, she will. She announced on TV that she would be wearing one of my creations. If she doesn’t, she won’t be in Gabriel Agreste’s good graces anymore.” She sat down on the floor and adjusted the dress’ hem. “She declined his offer to be dressed by him, you know.”

The mysterious designer had reached out during one of her patrols, offering her a tailored creation that would leave the “tout Paris” gaping. As much as she’d been dying to see him work, something had felt off. She didn’t know if it was that day’s biais of Mr Agreste, who’d once again refused to let Adrien join their crew for yet another activity, but as much as she admired the artist’s work, all she had seen was a man who prevented his son from leading a normal life. Besides, as she knew all too well, tailoring meant measurements, which could let out too much information regarding her real identity. She couldn’t afford the risk of Hawkmoth getting his hands on her physical specifications. 

“Why do you want me to go so badly anyway?” She asked the cat-boy. He was busy playing with a ball of yarn that was lying on the floor. 

“I don’t want to spend the night alone.” He lost interest in his toy, and his eyes glazed over as he looked into nothingness. A sort of fatigue seemed to have washed over him.

Marinette’s heart softened. He looked so sad she wanted to hug him. “You know you’re never alone, Chat. You’ve got Ladybug.”

“You’re nicer though, purr-incess” He looked at her, a small smile forming on his lips. “I like spending time with you, it’s... refreshing, being able to breathe for a bit, and have a proper chat with an actual human being. Ladybug’s always running around, I wish she’d slow down sometimes, you know?”

She thought about all the times she’d left Chat Noir hanging after akumatisations or even on patrols. So the reason why he was constantly trying to get her to go see a movie with him, or eat an ice cream, or just hang out, was actually to get her to relax? And to not be alone? She closed her eyes, thinking about how dense she’d been to his feelings. Of course Chat felt alone. She also did. It came with the job. 

It hadn’t been her intention to hurt him though. Most of the time there was a valid excuse as to why she had to bug-ger off (he rolled her eyes at the realisation that she was being contaminated by Chat’s puns). Like imminent detransformation. 

“Fine, then. I’ll go.” She had sighed, cursing her good heart and his persuasion skills. 

“Really?” His eyes had lit up, and he’d started dancing around the room, sing-songing his thanks. He’d dragged her along, hugging her tightly. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring your disguise. You can count on me!”

And she’d believed him. Because if Ladybug could always count on him, then so could Marinette.

But she wasn’t Ladybug.

“Oh come on, cheer up! It’s not like it’s a complete cat-astrophe. I still don’t understand why you won’t wear my disguise. Banana-noir has saved Paris at least a couple of times.” He smirked, eyeing the bright yellow suit that was hanging on Marinette’s mezzanine. “I even got it signed specially for you!”

Marinette glanced at the “stay peachy!” scribbled on the costume and sighed. 

“It’s one of the most important fashion events of the year. I’m representing my brand. I can’t go as a fruit!”

“Not a fruit: bananas are actually berries, you know.” Chat grinned.

“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes.

“How about Marino? He was a stylish character.” Chat asked absentmindedly.

She felt heat rise to her cheeks. She hadn’t interacted with Chat Noir that day in her civilian attire. Had he been there? At Adrien’s party? “What... How do you know about Marino?”

Chat’s cheeks burned up, and had the girl looked up she would had noticed the sheer panic in his eyes. “Um... At the end of the fight, I went inside the Agreste’s mansion to check if everything was okay. I... I saw you hiding behind a seat.” He breathed, trying to calm his tachycardic heart. “Strong disguise, but I’d recognise those pretty eyes of yours anywhere.” 

She almost snorted.  

“Thanks, but I’m afraid Marino won’t be making an appearance today.” 

“Everybody’s loss I guess.” He laughed awkwardly. That had been a close one. “Oh I know! Why don’t I go and get you the mouse Miraculous? You can pretend you copied the design. Or just own the fact that you ARE Multimouse. Bugaboo already made it clear she wouldn’t give it to you again because I know who you are, but I mean technically Paris doesn’t know.”

She thought about it. She doubted Master Fu would be willing to give out a Miraculous as a disguise even if it was for her, but she guessed there’d be no harm in trying. And she could actually whip up something like Multimouse’s costume in the short amount of time that separated her from the ball. She’d have to be careful about it, but there was a good chance she could make the double identity work. She could just make an appearance as Ladybug at the beginning of the night, “leave” and come back as Marinette. 

“That’s actually a good idea.”

“Ah see, I’m not just a purr-etty face!” Chat smiled. He leapt up and  made his way to the trapdoor.

“I’ll be late though, I wasn’t lying yesterday when I said I promised my parents a family night.”

“I’ll be waiting!” He kissed her hand, as he usually did Ladybug’s. “Can’t wait to see your designs. You know I’m your number one fan.” He winked.

She couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks kitty.”

Later, as she was finishing her Multimouse outfit, she heard a knock. The trapdoor opened and she saw a black hand throw a small box on her bed. Before she could react she saw Chat Noir jump to a nearby roof, and disappear into the sunset.

She climbed to her bed and picked up the box. A note was stuck on it, reading:

I don’t want to bother you during Ladybug’s fitting/family night, but here is the promised disguise. Thank you for being the Souris to my Chat. Can’t wait to see you later, it’s going to be paw-some! xxx Your number 1 fan

She pocketed the box, and put the note away in a drawer, with Adrien’s poem. She had to take care of her Chaton, he was too purr-ecious to lose. But she’d need to find a way to stop using his puns all the time though. Because that simply wouldn’t do. 

[milknette]

day o1 - witch au

somehow i’ve fallen, under your spell.

tumblr month: @marichatmay​ links: ao3 | ff.net

“You broke your armor… again!?”

The black iron-clad hero at least had the courtesy to look sheepish, scratching his head, as the enchanted seamstress glared at him; needle and scissors held in what seemed to be a threatening position. Surprisingly, Marinette had little to no qualms about berating him: something that most wouldn’t dare do, given that her customer was infamous throughout their whole kingdom: the Hero of Destruction, Chat Noir.

To her, though, he was the ever-so-annoying customer who showed up at her shop every week, asking (read: begging) her to make him a new suit of armor, because his had been destroyed in his party’s most recent quest.

This had to be… the twenty-five-thousand-nine-hundred-and-thirteenth time since he had showed up with a new request? (She wished she was joking; really, she did— but it seemed that the boy, true to his title, had a penchant for destruction: not just the villain, apparently, but public property and his own belongings as well).

“Come on, Marinette!” Chat whined, following her as she disappeared into the back room. “Please, you’re not just going to leave me out there defenseless, right?”

The hero pouted as the witch only rolled her eyes, offhandedly waving her hand as a pile of fabric and thread flew over to sit themselves neatly next to her sewing machine. “You can just ask someone else to make it for you! There are plenty of other seamstresses out there.”

“Sure,” he responded, “but you make the best armor in the kingdom! Everyone knows that,” Chat Noir continued, a grin forming as he saw the girl look up from the corner of his eye. “Marinette’s is supurrior.”

As he talked, the hero walked over to her, taking a ball of yarn from the air, bouncing it between his hands.

Marinette only sighed in slight exasperation, snapping her fingers as the yarn flew right back into her hand. “You mean, it was superior.” She pointed out, walking over to him to point an accusatory jab at his chest. “I had a 100% success rate for unbreakable armor until you came along!”

Chat Noir laughed, raising his hand in joking surrender. “Hey! That’s because most of your customers don’t go into life-or-death situations daily!”

“Really?” Marinette asked, eyebrows raised. “I make Ladybug’s outfit too, you know,” she stated, staring up at him (he was a good few inches taller than her; something that the witch heavily disliked). “And she’s to ask me for a new outfit yet. Maybe a few alterations here and there; but nothing major.”

Marinette pressed her lips together, then pointed at the pile of charred armor (though it was more… 10% armor and 90% burnt ash). “This mess, on the other hand; I can’t salvage anything! I’d have to start from the beginning!”

“That’s because Ladybug is a witch of creation!” Chat stated defensively, then pointed at himself. “I’m a warlock of destruction; it’s part and parcel with my hero identity! Ladybug knows that, and she understands.”

“Sure she does.” Marinette only responded, recalling in her mind just how many times ‘Ladybug’ had told him to be careful with his armor.

Oh, if only he knew.

“Anyway, I’m fully booked for the week!” She continued, gesturing at the overflowing pile of fabric and metal plates threatening to topple and fall over at any minute. “There are plenty of other seamstresses and armorers who would love to create clothing for a hero as renown as you.”

“But none of them are you.”

Now that’s not fair.

Chat Noir took that opportunity to step closer (much more than they already were), as he looked down at her; eyes a vivid green that seemed to draw the smaller girl in.

“Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?” He whispered, moving closer as Marinette found herself backed up against the desk of her sewing machine; his hands on either side of her waist.

She only looked at him, face lit up in a sort of challenge. “Fine. I guess I can bump you up… but it will cost quite a bit.” Marinette smiled, mischief dancing in her eyes. “Know how to pay me, kitty?”

Chat Noir grinned. “I can think of a few ways.”

He didn’t need another moment; another snarky response, before capturing her lips in his with a searing kiss: hands snaking around her waist, as hers found their way to his chest.

Marinette loved the feeling. Reveled in it.

Kissing Chat Noir was a lot more magical than any spell or incantation she could conjure up with her powers.

So they stay like that for a while, entwined, before the sudden sound of an ahem! force them to part.

“If you’re all done with… that; Chat, we need to go. There’s rumors that Hawkmoth was seen in the castle.” A familiar blonde heroine interrupted matter-of-factly, seeming to have no regrets at disrupting their moment, before walking back out the door.

Once she left, Marinette only glanced upward, hands still on his chest, mouth still out of breath (much like her partner), and face flushed as if she had just gone through an extensive workout. Smiling innocently, the witch suddenly pushed him back, allowing for some space between them.

“Guess you need to leave then, huh?”

Chat Noir smirked, taking in her disheveled appearance. “Are you sure you’re okay with that, though?”

“Please,” Marinette responded. “You should see how you look.”

The hero laughed, then walked back to her, bowing down to kiss her hand. “Well, whatever the case; thanks for a lovely time.” He looked up. “I hope that’s enough payment?”

Marinette grinned. “I’ll have your armor ready by next week. Think you can hold until then, kitty?”

“For you, milady, of course. Can’t have you meowsing me for too long.” He winked.

She rolled her eyes. “Sure.”

Then, before the door closed, he was sure he could hear it:

“Come back soon.”

[lycorogue]

Perfect Doesn’t Need to be Perfect: Chapter 2

I miss these early chapters. They were easy. They were small. They were still relatively light-hearted. Then chapter 5 happened and I’ve completely lost this project down an angsty rabbit hole. 0.o I’ll try to get that sorted out in the next couple of days.

In the meantime, enjoy one of the short, fluffy chapters.

**Contains Spoilers for Taurus Pixie’s story Twelve Days of Chatmas**

Summary: Chat Noir has run into a long streak of poor luck, all in an attempt to give Ladybug the perfect Christmas gift. Little does he know, his first try was already perfect in Ladybug’s eyes. Now it’s her turn to try to navigate around Chat Noir’s failed attempts in her own pursuit to find something equally fantastic for him. **A Switched-POV Unofficial Companion Story to Twelve Days of Chatmas by @thetauruspixie​**

Rating: General Audience

Chapter Word Count: 1733

Story Total Word Count: 37,973

Status: chapter 2 of 12; complete

**For reals, if you haven’t read Twelve Days of Chatmas yet, read that first so my story doesn’t spoil anything for you. It’s cool. This story will still be here when you get back. ;) **

See below for chapter 2, or find this story over on AO3, on FFN, or on DA. 

CHAPTER 2:

The little pear tree sculpture was worse off than Marinette gave it credit, but it wasn't completely irreparable. She had taken stock of the damage the night before, and made a point of picking up the necessary supplies after school. Now it was time to get to work.

Too much of the foam base was chipped away when the card stock truck was ripped out of it, so she started off with replacing that. Then she carefully bent the trunk back so it was flat. The bad bend left a scarring crease in the base of the trunk, bit it actually looked good. Most trees had some sort of scarring in their bark. Using tracing paper to make a pattern, Marinette cut out two slightly smaller versions of Chat Noir's trunk from more card stock. Doubling up her own tree trunks, she glued them to the back of Chat Noir's to reinforce it. Finally, she made it 3D by adding a support branch of roots off the back. Resting the tree on her desk, it stood perfectly straight on it's own; no foam required.

Confident it was now sturdy enough for the weight of the filled in branches, Marinette got to work on fixing everything else. Using a decorative hole punch, she created a small confetti pile of green almond-shaped leaves out of construction paper. She then laid them out on parchment paper, and sprayed them down with adhesive before taking a deep breath.

“He's lucky I like him.” Through gritted teeth she started shaking the green glitter onto the sticky green leaves. She kept it as close to the project as she could, and she tried to stop once the leaves were properly coated without having too much excess. With any luck, she'd only find glitter for the next week or so.

As the leaves dried she got to work on reinforcing the partridge so its chubby little head wouldn't bend forward from the weight of the wooden beak and note.

The note. Forgetting what she was doing, Marinette gently pushed the clothespin open and released the torn note from the bird's grip. Folded over, the little note was barely larger than a postage stamp. Carefully opening it, Marinette was greeted by tiny but elegant writing; far fancier than she imagined Chat Noir's handwriting to be.

“Wishing the most amazing girl in the world the greatest of Christmases,” Marinette read the note aloud to Tikki. It was signed with a little heart drawn with red ink, and a paw print colored in with green ink. Giggling a little to herself, Marinette tore off two small strips of tape and patched up the tear running through the center of the message. She then tore off one more piece of tape. Flipping through to the next blank page of her diary, she taped the note to the bottom corner. A smile stretched across her face as she rested her palm against Chat Noir's tiny Christmas card.

After taking a beat, she closed up her diary and locked it away in its box. Rolling her shoulders, Marinette got back to work on firming up the partridge and touching up the coloring Chat Noir had done on the bird.

She let all the components dry while she had dinner, but instantly went back to work once she was done. First up was carefully gluing the leaves into place. Her new ones weren't nearly as drenched in glitter, and the shade of glitter was slightly lighter, but the two-toned leaves added a nice dimension to the piece.

She took a homework break while the leaves dried completely, then it was back to work to add on the pears and – she couldn't believe she followed through with it – the heart decorations. She managed to tuck the corners of the pears and hearts between some of the leaves to add more depth to the tree and make the fruit and ornaments look like they were actually nestled inside the tree branches.

As she waited for the tree to dry one last time so she could add the bird back onto its perch, Marinette started up a list; instantly and a bit frustratingly crossing off each item the moment she wrote it down.

She needed to come up with the perfect gift for Chat Noir. He seemed so hurt about his present, and he had put so much pressure on himself to get her the perfect thing that she couldn't fall short in doing the same. He was more precious to her than he realized, and this was her chance to make sure he knew that. She was stumped on what to do though.

Scarves, hats, mittens, shirts, vests, necklaces, earrings, pins; everything Marinette came up with wouldn't work. She was a fashion designer; her default gift for everyone was a piece of clothing or an accessory. None of it was a good idea. Her silly kitty would most likely be too excited about her gifting him something to remember to not wear it as a civilian. Then she could possibly run into him, and see him wearing the gift she made for Chat Noir, and then she'd know his identity, and-

She shook her head to try to get out of the spiral. Even if he was disciplined enough to not wear anything she gifted him while in his civilian form, it wasn't like he could really wear any of it while powered up either. Which meant, either he had to wear it alone in his house and nowhere else, or he'd never use it. That wouldn't work at all.

Blanket? Marinette tapped on the word, circling it a couple of times. That could be the best option for her. People rarely take blankets out of their rooms anyway, so he could use it without her seeing. Plus, it was always comforting to just curl up under a warm and semi-heavy blanket during chilly winter nights. Was it special enough for him, though? Would she have time to make him one? What design should she use for the blanket? Something not too obvious, in case he wanted to use the blanket in communal rooms in his home.

Looking out her window, Marinette knew she needed inspiration. It was time to go to her well.

“Tikki, spots on!”

Less than ten minutes later, Ladybug landed atop an apartment building just four blocks away from the Eiffel Tower. It wasn't the Trocadéro, but unfortunately the park was swarming with tourists this time of year, and she just needed some time to sit and think. It wasn't the same view that usually amazed her no matter how often she saw it, but the Seine still sparkled under the lights of Paris to her left, and the Eiffel Tower still spired before her on the other side of the river.

The sun was sinking below the horizon past the Eiffel Tower, and it cast a purple and deep magenta glow within the overcast sky. Curling up into a ball, Ladybug sat on the roof with her knees pressed against her chest and her chin resting between them. The lights running up the Eiffel Tower turned on in the twilight, and the whole of Paris joined suit. The yellows, blues, oranges, and Christmas reds and greens created a sea of lights below her. It was calming, welcoming, and inspiring.

Warmed by how serene her city looked, Ladybug uncurled. Dangling her legs over the ledge of the roof, she leaned back and admired the Eiffel Tower as it sliced through the cotton candy clouds.

The clouds are kind of blanketing the sky. Could I make something that looks like Paris on a winter's night for Chat Noir? She hummed softly as she pondered how she'd be able to execute something like that. She really fell into the zone as she meditated to the arrhythmic clicking of her swinging feet gently tapping against the side of the building. She could do a gradient fabric, and a quilted stitch so there were pockets of fill to mimic clouds. She could even purposefully avoid a symmetric square quilted look, instead pocketing the fill within a quilt of cloud shapes.

A duet of cooing pulled her attention from her designing. The flapping of wings grew louder, and two pigeons flew straight for her. She flinched and leaned slightly out of the way as they buzzed past her, close enough for her to notice their orange turtle-shell patterned wings and brown-gray bodies. Whatever they were, they weren't regular pigeons. A moment later, she registered that both birds had something gripped within their toes. One was carrying a trio of red roses. Its partner had a handmade card wrinkling slightly in its grip.

Homing pigeons? That didn't quite feel right to Ladybug either, but the duo seemed to be on a mission, so she mentally wished them save travels and hoped they found who they were looking for.

It seemed weird though. Even with Mr. Ramier in Paris, Ladybug didn't recall ever seeing anyone use homing pigeons before. She scanned the rooftops, trying to see who might have released the birds.

Nothing. There was no one on the rooftops nearby. No one on balconies. At first Ladybug was just curious as to who is using the skilled but archaic method of communication, especially with regards to sending what looked like a very romantic Christmas gift. However, after spying not a single soul in the area, it became an intriguing mystery she was itching to uncover.

She wandered her rooftop to try to get a better view, but there were still no clues anywhere. It was like the birds simply appeared. After a couple minutes, Ladybug decided that was a good enough explanation for her. They appeared from nowhere, and vanished to the horizon. They were an enigmatic package carrying a sweet gift for someone. A beautiful mystery of life not meant to be solved.

With a satisfied shrug, Ladybug headed back home, her head filled with fantasies of Adrien sending the pair of birds to her, and the card being a love letter. She giggled at the elation she'd feel if that were true, as well as the insanity of such a thing happening.

Imagine, Adrien Agreste sending Marinette Dupain-Cheng a pair of birds holding a Christmas gift and a declaration of love. A girl could dream.

Thank you for reading. Read Next Chapter

Read from the beginning: Chapter 1

Please let me know if you want me to add you to the tag list.

@discoveringmiraculouswriters

[tsuki-chibi]

Passionfruit (November) Day 18: Belt

See the whole fic on AO3: Passionfruit

————

‘So you’re telling me Plagg hasn’t said anything to you?’ Marinette thought. She snuck a quick glance over at Tikki and tried to imagine Tikki staying quiet if she had been the one to witness Adrien and Chloé. She couldn’t.

‘Nope. I’ve been waiting for him to bring it up, but it’s been four days and he hasn’t said a word,’ Adrien thought back. ‘I mean... he was eating cheese at the time. Sometimes I think the house could burn down and Plagg wouldn’t notice if he was eating cheese.’

Marinette giggled, then hastily bit her lip. Luckily, she’d had the forethought to prop her phone on her knees and open up tumblr before she and Adrien started chatting mentally. Tikki didn’t even bother to look up from where she was dozing in a pile of scrap fabrics. Still, Marinette ducked her shoulders and straightened out her expression.

‘I guess we got lucky. We’ll have to be more careful in the future,’ she thought. ‘At least until we figure out what we’re gonna do.’

‘I know. I’m -’

‘Don’t,’ Marinette thought, exasperated. ‘I warned you if you apologized one more time I’d steal your belt tail and hide it, and I meant it.’

Adrien chuckled. ‘I remember, but you wouldn’t leave this poor tomcat without a tail, would you?’

‘Keep pushing me and see,’ Marinette thought teasingly as her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and saw that it was Alya.

‘Uh oh,’ Adrien thought.

‘What? What’s wrong?’ Marinette thought, confused. She made the mistake of hitting the call button before she could figure out what was on Adrien’s mind. Unintelligible shrieking blasted out of the phone’s speakers. Marinette recoiled so fast she hit her head against the wall; Tikki jumped about a foot off the desk with an alarmed squeak.

“What the - Alya, is that you? What’s wrong?” Marinette cried over the shrieking, wincing.

The shrieking stopped. There was a beat of silence before Alya hissed, “What’s wrong? WHAT’S WRONG? Have you looked at Chloé’s Instagram lately?!”

“Uhhh....” Marinette said, watching as a very annoyed Tikki picked herself up off the desk and flew over to Marinette.

‘Chloé posted the pictures we took,’ Adrien thought. ‘I just got the notification about thirty seconds ago.’

Ah. Marinette sighed and brought up Chloé’s Instagram to see for herself. A small smile tugged at her lips as she saw the photos again. At Adrien’s request, Chloé had sent them all to Adrien and Adrien had sent them all to Marinette. But Marinette couldn’t really look at them when Tikki or anyone else was around, so this was her first chance to really see them.

They looked good if she did say so herself. Chloé had only posted seven of the pictures. Two were of Chloé and Chat, two of Ladybug and Chloé, two of the three of them together, and one -

“Oh my god!” Marinette screamed.

‘Oh shit,’ Adrien thought.

“I can’t believe that bitch got a picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing before I did!” Alya bellowed into the phone.

Speechless, Marinette stared at the screen in absolute horror. Obviously, Chloé had followed Ladybug out onto the balcony and witnessed the quick kiss between her and Chat. Mercifully, the picture wasn’t of their actual kiss. But Ladybug was pretty damn close to Chat Noir in the picture, and their expressions made it blatantly obvious what they’d been up to.

“I - they aren’t actually kissing,” Marinette said weakly, not daring to look over at Tikki.

“It’s close enough! They even took selfies with her, Marinette! Selfies!” Alya was furious. “Why would they take selfies with her when they could take them with me? Why would they give her such a huge scoop?!”

‘Figure out a way to call Chloé right now and ask her what the hell she was thinking,’ Marinette thought to Adrien.

‘On it,’ he thought back. ‘I’ll tell Plagg I’m taking a shower. He hates water.’

“Alya, I’m sure Ladybug and Chat Noir had their reasons,” Marinette said as calmly as she could. “Maybe Chloé helped them out with an akuma or something like that.”

“You think Chloé helped them?” Alya said in tones of great disbelief.

“It could happen,” Marinette said. She looked at the pictures again and realized that she probably should’ve seen something like this coming.

Chloé had promised to keep quiet about the fact that Adrien and Marinette were soulmates, and about their identities, but they hadn’t thought to ask her to not say anything about.... well, about anything else. Marinette put a hand to her forehead, feeling a headache forming. In all fairness, Chloé probably hadn’t thought it was a big deal because no one else knew who they were. What difference did it make if Paris found out that Ladybug and Chat Noir might be dating?

But one person, or rather, one kwami definitely did know. Said kwami also knew that Marinette and Adrien were dating right now. Said kwami was currently burning a hole in the side of Marinette’s face. She pretended not to notice, locking her phone and lifting it to her ear.

“I don’t believe it,” Alya declared. “I bet she blackmailed them.”

“Alya,” Marinette said. “I really don’t think that’s the case.”

“It’s the only explanation that makes sense! You just wait until the next akuma battle. I am going to get an even bigger scoop than Chloé,” Alya vowed. “I won’t let the Ladyblog fall behind her!”

Marinette felt a chill of foreboding run down her spine. “What do you mean? Please don’t do anything stupid! Alya? Alya!” She pulled her phone away from her ear and groaned when she saw that Alya had hung up.

“So,” Tikki said. “Chat Noir and Ladybug, huh?”

“Ugh, Tikki! Please,” Marinette moaned, falling backwards on the bed and covering her face. Her mind raced, searching for a suitable explanation. Adrien wasn’t any help. He was as frantic as she was.

“Marinette, what’s going on?” Tikki said severely.

There was only one thing she could say. “I can’t figure out if I’m in love with Adrien or Chat Noir,” she blurted out. “But I didn’t kiss Chat, I swear. I wouldn’t do that to Adrien.”

Tikki was quiet for several seconds, to the point where Marinette got nervous and rolled onto her side to see what Tikki was doing. She realized that Tikki was staring at her with an intense, scrutinizing expression. Marinette did her best not to crack under the pressure, meeting Tikki’s stare even though she couldn’t figure out what Tikki was thinking.

Technically, it wasn’t completely a lie. She had kissed Chat, but it was with Adrien’s full knowledge and approval.

Finally, Tikki sighed. “Oh, Marinette. You are tangling yourself in a very complicated web,” she said at last.

“I know,” Marinette said guiltily. Adrien, quiet in the back of her mind, winced.

“I won’t pretend that I understand where you’re coming from,” Tikki said, crossing her paws over her chest. “But you should know that it would be dangerous if Hawkmoth knew you were dating Chat Noir. He would try to use you two against each other. You are safer with Adrien.”

“You make a good point,” Marinette said quickly, nodding.

‘You hear that?’ she thought to Adrien. ‘No more kissing in the suit, I guess. At least, not where sneaky blondes can see us.’

‘I heard,’ Adrien thought. ‘Chloé didn’t pick up, but she texted me to say she didn’t see what the big deal was.’

‘Yeah, I figured that’s where she was coming from,’ Marinette thought. She avoided Tikki’s gaze and rolled back over, unlocking her phone again. She scrolled slowly through the pictures.

‘It really is a good picture,’ Adrien thought.

Marinette smiled slightly. He wasn’t wrong. In the photo, Ladybug had her hands on Chat’s shoulders and was partially up on the tips of her toes. Chat’s eyes were wide in surprise, while Ladybug had a small smile on her face. The way they were looking at each other made Marinette feel all tingly. No wonder Alya had jumped to the (correct) conclusion that they had just kissed.

‘Looks like Ladybug was really rocking Chat’s world,’ she thought back.

Adrien flushed. ‘Well, to me it looks like Ladybug jumped Chat when he wasn’t expecting it.’

‘I didn’t jump you,’ Marinette objected. ‘I was just... frustrated. People kept interrupting us! First Nathalie, then Chloé... you can’t be mad at a girl for that.’

‘Mad? It was the very opposite, My Lady. You can jump me anytime,’ Adrien thought. He was laughing.

‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ Marinette thought, biting her lip to hold back her smile. She set her phone down and sighed, carefully directing her attention away when she sensed Adrien getting into the shower for real. It was times like this that soulmate connections could get awkward.

“Marinette?” Tikki said.

Marinette rolled onto her back. “Yeah?”

Tikki flew over and settled onto Marinette’s chest. “You’re a really good Ladybug. I hope you know that. I know that it’s not always easy for you, and that having to hide your secret identity is difficult. If you really love Chat, and you want to be with him, then maybe that can happen someday. I’m just trying to keep you safe in the meantime.”

Marinette softened. “I know you are, Tikki. Thank you.” She craned her neck until she could kiss the top of Tikki’s head. “It’s just a crush, that’s all. I’ll try to be more careful, and I’ll work harder on keeping things professional between me and Chat.”

“I really think that would be best,” Tikki said. “Especially since you have Adrien. He’s such a nice boy.”

“Yeah, he is,” Marinette said quietly, her guilt deepening. She hated keeping secrets from Tikki, and she knew Adrien hated keeping secrets from Plagg just as much. If they could just get a straight answer about what would happen if they knew who the other was!

But no matter how often they asked, neither Plagg nor Tikki would tell them what they wanted to hear. Marinette forced a smile and grabbed her phone again, closing out of Instagram in favor of opening up Netflix. She put on a mindless show to distract both Tikki and herself, but it didn’t work very well.

“Hey, look,” Tikki said, pulling Marinette’s wandering attention back to the screen. “You got a notification about a new panther exhibit at the zoo. You and Adrien should go!”

“The zoo?” Marinette said, tapping on the notification. She scanned the page. “Like as a date?”

Tikki nodded. “You two don’t get much time together, and his father can’t argue because the zoo is such an educatonal place. But it’ll be a great chance for you two to spend some time alone!”

A brilliant thought struck Marinette and she grinned. “Actually, Tikki, I don’t think Adrien and I need time alone. I think we need a double date.”

[sincerelymarinette]

A Recorded Life (33/50) - Miraculous Ladybug

Words 1782 Chapter Summary: Alya and Marinette discuss the Akuma from yesterday and record a video of them fabric shopping. Later, it's the rematch of the century as Adrien and Marinette take on Rainbow Road again. Will Adrien beat the queen of video games? Author's Note: though this chapter is a lot less action filled, I still love it. Wingwoman Alya, clueless Adrien, what more can we need? There are a lot of cuts, lots I wanted to fit into this chapter!!

Prev / Next / Masterlist

Fabric Shopping Shenanigans

---

The next day, Friday

Tikki, like usual nowadays, woke Marinette up while Plagg just screamed at Adrien to get up. They were beat from the fight yesterday and barely talked when they got back to the bakery, falling right asleep. Master Fu's cure must be working if they've been sleeping so well. But when she woke up, she did not hear the endless Plagg nagging. Though confused, Marinette checked her phone to ask Adrien where he is.

But before she got the chance to ask him, he had already sent a text to her.

Adrien: Sorry, I had to meet Nino at school early! Helping him with a project and I forgot to tell you! I'll see you in class :)

Marinette shrugged it off and started to get ready. She was still a little tired from the day before, but she would tough it out, and things would go back to normal. Maybe now that Hawkmoth knows there are other heroes, he'll just give up. But that's wishful thinking.

Like normal, Marinette had taken too much time to get ready and was darting out the door to get to class on time. Alya told her to bring her camera because they had plans after school, and with that in one hand, she was juggling everything else.

"You'd think a girl with superpowers would learn to use them to be on time," Alya giggled when Marinette got in the classroom with only a minute to spare.

"I still made it here, didn't I?" Marinette smirked. "It's tough work getting all my stuff done, and to show up on time."

Alya leaned in closer to Marinette. "So," She started. "What's up with you and Adrien?"

Marinette's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Alya sighed. "I saw you guys kiss yesterday. Then you guys went back to your house? And you're going to tell me what do you mean?" Alya asked.

"Oh," She chuckled. "Nothing happened. We went home and fell asleep. We were tired. Then this morning he had to leave early to meet Nino."

"Are you kidding me?" Alya asked. "You guys are going to talk about it, right?"

"Probably. It's not my main priority, though. If it comes up, great. If we're too busy to talk about it first thing, that's fine, too."

Alya rolled her eyes. "You drive me crazy."

"It's what I'm best at," Marinette shrugged, and they opened up their books to actually pay attention in class.

---

Adrien: Are you busy tonight?

Mari: Alya and I are going fabric shopping and other shenanigans for a video. But after that I'm free.

Adrien: I need a rematch on rainbow road

Mari: you brought this upon yourself, Agreste, prepare to lose. AGAIN!

Adrien: Oh no, I'm ready. I shall prevail.

Mari: you better be ready to put your money where your mouth is

Mari: haha I'm with Alya right now and she says we should live stream our rematch

Adrien: I'm down. I need the world to see me finally win against Ladybug!!

Mari: we'll talk about it later ;)

Marinette looked up from her phone when here and Alya arrived at the fabric shop. Sometimes they go to regular craft stores that carry fabric, but they both know the best place to go to is the fabric specific shop — so many fabrics.

It's Marinette's heaven. Alya grabbed the camera from Marinette and started the video. "Hi! I'm Alya," She mimicked Marinette's introduction. "And today, we're bringing back the Alya and Marinette Paris shenanigans. I know you all have missed these vlogs, so today we're at Marinette's favorite place..." Alya dragged out. She turned the camera around to look at Marinette. She shot her hands up at the fabric store's sign with a big smile on her face.

"It's my favorite place in the world!" Marinette said, then spun around. "We're buying fabric yet again, and I have some ideas in mind for some projects."

The two headed inside the fabric store, Marinette touching every piece that looked appealing and freaking out as she looked at the endless rows. "It's been so long since we've been here. I need to stock up again," She said.

"Everyone say: thank you, Alya," Alya joked from behind the camera.

"Thank you, Alya, the most bestest friend ever," Marinette said. "Seriously. I haven't said thank you enough recently. You've done so much for me, and I have no idea how I would survive without you."

Alya gave Marinette puppy eyes. "Aw, girl, that was so sweet. I love you!"

They continued laughing and picking out piles of fabric for upcoming projects. It was a good thing Alya was there, because if it weren't for Alya telling her to stop spending money, she would have been in there for days.

Alya assisted carrying all the fabric back to Marinette's house. They were giggling as they dropped all the material in the doorway, and Alya was still trying to hold the camera. "Oh, good, the girls are home," Tom said. "Alya, will you be staying for dinner?"

As they picked up the fabric, Alya shrugged. "I'll give my mom a call, but probably."

They finally got the door closed and placed all the fabric on the couch. "You missed it," Sabine called to them. "Look who's helping make dinner!" She pointed to Adrien, who was so quiet that Alya and Marinette didn't even see him.

"It all smells amazing, so he's probably not doing too bad," Marinette said. "As long as there's no camembert in there, we're good."

Tom laughed. "It's already all gone! I had no idea someone could eat that much stinky cheese," He said. Though he probably didn't understand why it was all gone, they hadn't introduced Tom and Sabine to their Kwami's yet. But maybe they should.

"You know it's not Adrien eating the cheese, right?" Marinette asked.

"I figured you and Adrien ate it for late-night snacks," Tom shrugged.

With a laugh, Marinette shook her head. "Oh, no. Not us, at least. It's all for Adrien's Kwami," She said. "The little god that allows him to turn into Chat Noir."

"Mari!" Adrien sighed. "Don't summon him," He said.

"I think it's time to let them know," Marinette said. "My little god is Tikki," She opened up her purse where Tikki was listening. "She's the best."

Tikki flew out and stared at Marinette. "Really? What made you make this decision all of a sudden? You're getting more and more impulsive every day."

---

They decided against streaming the Rainbow Road rematch. Marinette assured Adrien they would live stream another one, but she wasn't in the mood to stream tonight. She was still kind of exhausted from the Akuma yesterday and just wanted to have a relaxing, intense game of Mario Kart.

Before they had the rematch of the century, they played some of the more tamer courses to get back into it. "Hey, thanks for helping my parents with dinner. They love having you around," Marinette told Adrien before they began yelling at each other over a banana.

"Oh, of course!" Adrien said. "How else can I show my thanks for them letting me stay here? I don't want to intrude, but I really don't want to go home. I feel like we're better if we're together," He said.

"You know they don't mind it. They know how stressed we've been, and they're just happy that now we're actually getting sleep," She reminded him. "And seriously, they love you."

"Yes! Take that!" Adrien shouted as he hit Marinette with a red shell and passed her right before finishing the race. "But yeah, they're the best. I want to do anything I can to help out and show them how thankful I am."

Marinette selected the aforementioned Rainbow Road to enact her revenge. Surprisingly, Adrien wasn't doing as bad as the other day, and he was confident. He was in third place while Marinette was in first, but they weren't too far away from each other. Marinette was extremely focused, especially in the third lap, she couldn't afford to let Adrien beat her at this.

Halfway through the last lap, Adrien was now in second, and tailing right behind Marinette. Adrien gasped, but Marinette didn't budge. "Oh! I forgot to ask. My father is hosting a charity gala in a few weeks, and a bunch of famous fashion people will be there. Want to be my plus one?" Adrien asked.

"What?" Marinette asked, turning her head to look at him, and driving off the side of the road. "Adrien!" She screamed when she realized she was bumped down to sixth place, and Adrien won.

"Yes!" He jumped up and shouted.

"That's cheating! You distracted me!" Marinette yelled back.

Adrien shook his head. "I was asking a serious question at the right time, Marinette," Adrien smirked. "So, should I take that as a yes...?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss out on something like that. I'm still mad at you, but I'm not going to pass that up," Marinette said, and punched his arm. Adrien sat back down with a massive smile on his face. "Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you about something. You remember yesterday, and the Akuma, right?"

"Yeah. That Akuma's shots hurt like hell," Adrien chuckled. "They turned into Alya for a bit, and that really messed with my head."

Marinette sighed, realizing Adrien wasn't understanding what she was getting at. "No, I meant like, after the Akuma."

Adrien's eyes widened. "Oh."

Marinette opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get it out, her phone rang. "What, Alya?" She asked.

"There's an Akuma at the Bourgeois hotel. Can you guys make it here?"

---

The two stood in the dark lair filled with butterflies, not looking at each other.

"I don't understand how they beat my copies," Gabriel grumbled. "I need to figure out who Rena Rouge and Carapace are; then I can get in their heads and take all of their Miraculous."

Nathalie walked closer to him. "Sir, maybe we should use the-"

"No!" Gabriel shouted. "I'm getting close. This is a minor setback, them gathering their friends. An oversight by me, I admit, but I will succeed. They will give up their Miraculous in no time," Gabriel sighed. "Any updates on Miss Dupain-Cheng?"

Nathalie sighed and opened up her tablet. "Not much. Her parents have no issue with her being Ladybug, and continue to house Adrien because they feel safer together. I'm sure Adrien has invited her to the gala already."

Gabriel nodded. "Good, our plan will fall together, and soon," He said. "Ah, I feel anger. Nooroo, dark wings rise!"

---

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