#anyways chat noir would hate you all and protect his lady <3

[xhanisai]

ML fandom when Marinette/Ladybug calls Chat Noir by cute nicknames and gets angry and upset when he's hurt and when she laughs at his jokes: *silence* ML fandom when Marinette/Ladybug doesn't reciprocate Chat Noir's romantic feelings in the beginning: SHE IS A HORRIBLE PERSON!!!! SHE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT HIM!!! SCREEEEEEEE!!!!!

[2manyfandoms2count]

You can count on me (I will be there for you)

@sallteas art has been living in my mind rent free for a while, turns out my exams were the catalyst for me to actually start writing a fic inspired by it. Priorities, right?

This first chapter is a little sappy and melodramatic, but I hope you’ll enjoy nonetheless!

Read on AO3 | Part 2 | Part 3

---

Chapter 1

Marinette stares at her reflection in the full-length mirror, fiddling with her dress gloves. Her veil falls elegantly from her updo and rests on her bare upper back; it tickles her a little. No matter how real the fabric feels against her skin, though, it’s like she’s looking at somebody else.

The woman staring back at her is beautiful, in what seems like an effortless way. She knows better, though; she spent her morning swarmed by hair and makeup artists, and she has to say, the result is truly phenomenal. Never, in a million realities, would she have expected to look as much like a princess as she does now. Her wedding dress is a true work of art; a strapless, ivory ball-gown, cut in the smoothest silk faille on the market, and, incidentally, a perfect recreation of what she’s always dreamed of. 

In fact, the whole wedding is straight out of her teenage daydreams, down to the man she’ll be joining at the altar in less than an hour. Adrien has been so good about accommodating her wishes. Everybody was already saying it would be the wedding of the century before the details had even been settled.

As she observes herself, she knows that she should be happy. 

Then why does it all feel so wrong?

She tries smiling at her image, but it doesn’t sit right on her face. There are just too many thoughts swirling in her mind for it to look genuine. 

Her first concern is the plan. Just a month, which feels like eons, ago, it had seemed like a good idea. Ladybug and Chat Noir had been happily dating for a little over a year, they were confident about defeating Hawkmoth and Mayura. Everything felt right in the world. They had plans for the future. She’d felt unstoppable.

That was before her world had crumbled. 

She wasn’t sure when or where it had happened. What she did know was that someone had caught her in her transformation. 

She didn’t know who they were, or what they wanted, but something told her they were up to no good. They wouldn’t have used butterfly-themed stationary to contact her otherwise. 

They wouldn’t have sounded so ominous, either. 

I know. An envelope on her way to work had read.

Didn’t think I’d spot you, did you? Another, stuck in her mail.  

You’re a little careless, for a hero of international renown. This one on her balcony.

It had been difficult to continue to pretend it was all a coincidence.

She’d had no other choice than to reveal her identity with Chat Noir. Not only did he deserve to know, but she needed someone to share her increasing fear with. Someone to help her come up with a plan. And who better than her partner, in all senses of the term?

The gripping feeling in her stomach hadn’t even let her enjoy how happy he’d been to learn who she was. And passed his initial reaction of picking her up and spinning her around, his lips finding hers in the process, his face had lost all exhilaration. Her words had kicked in, and he'd cursed. A lot. 

Especially when she’d admitted she’d feel safer with protection.

He’d immediately volunteered -of course he had- but she’d turned him down as a long term solution. It broke her heart, but they couldn’t live that way. And she refused to know who he was. Not like this.

Even years later, Master Fu’s fate was still too fresh a memory; she didn’t want to have to resort to giving up her memories of Chat Noir, of them, if she could help it.

He’d paced around a little, lost in thought, before stopping in front of her, fever in his eyes.

I have a solution, he’d said quietly. You might not like it.

She’d listened as he’d told her how Adrien Agreste, the boy she’d once loved, now a friend she saw every once in a while, owed him a favour. How dating him, and marrying him, could solve their problem. He couldn’t go anywhere without a bodyguard. He was sure he’d do the necessary for her to get one as well. It wouldn't seem conspicuous at all.

She’d felt her heart tear in her chest at the idea of marrying somebody else than the man who stood before her. He’d told her it would be alright, though, and she’d believed him. Was there any other choice, anyway?

Even now, standing in a suite of the small castle she and Adrien are getting married in -a real royal wedding-, she can’t think of a better solution.

As she smooths her skirt, her thoughts drift to Adrien. He’d been so good to her. But why was he so onboard with the plan? He’d been all in from their first meeting. He’d orchestrated their whirlwind romance perfectly, pulling all the stops. Their very mediatised outings in the most romantic places in Paris. Whisking her away to Venice for a weekend. The interviews, in which he described their love was “meant to be”. Everybody had fallen for it, even their closest friends. It was no secret Marinette had had feelings for him, and he’d confessed to Nadja Chamack that he’d loved her as well when they were in collège. And seeing each other years later, after losing touch a little, had made it dawn upon them that their feelings had never really left.

The proposal had been the cherry on top. He’d privatised the Trocadéro, from the esplanade to the Iéna bridge, hired a private Chef, musicians, tipped off the paparazzi. Doves had flown when he’d gotten on one knee. They’d slow-danced in the gardens to "their" melody.

She’d done her best to conceal her tears as they did. It had all been so beautiful. But what if it didn’t work out?

She and Adrien were friends, sure. He was close with Chat Noir, by the look of things. What had her partner done for him to owe him such a huge favour? Why was he accepting to marry her, knowing that her heart belonged to someone else? She knew his did, too.

And a few moments before the ceremony, it still wasn’t too late for him to back down. 

Marinette bites her lip as she thinks about Chat Noir. And jumps as she hears a small tap on her window. 

She turns around in time to see the black-gloved hand retreat from the pane, and her heart soars. They weren’t kidding when they said they were in sync. It was like he could read her mind, and know exactly when to show up for her.

She looks outside. Chat Noir is leaning on the folded shutters, softly humming to himself as he looks out onto the garden that stretches out behind the castle. He doesn’t look at her directly when she opens the window for him, but he definitely smiles.

“Hi m’la-” he doesn’t have time to finish his greeting. She pulls him inside and closes the curtains behind him. 

“You can’t be seen lurking around, we don’t know who’s watching.” She searches for his eyes, but they keep escaping. She reaches for his hand and squeezes it gently. “Hey, is everything okay?” 

He finally looks up, and his eyes fill with warmth as he takes in her appearance.

“You look stunning, my Lady.” He breathes as she resumes her tugging at her gloves.

Having Chat Noir with her soothes her, but it also highlights just how wrong the situation is. As much as she knows how necessary this all is, she can't forget that he is the person she wants to be with. It takes all her willpower for tears not to spill out.

He notices, of course.

“Why is my lady looking so glum on her wedding day?” He teases, coming behind her and resting his head on her bare shoulder. He’s looking at his bride’s reflection. Does it really count as seeing her?...

She turns around and looks at him sternly. “You can’t call me your lady anymore, I’m getting married!”

“Oh yeah, my apologies.” He smiles; he doubts he’ll ever be able to drop the habit, although he knows that he really should, lest he slips up as Adrien. As her husband. His heart flutters at the thought, and he’s so distracted by it he almost misses her next words.

“What if… what if he changes his mind at the altar?” Marinette’s voice is barely above a whisper, but her eyes are full of worry. 

Fuck, she’s cute, what do I even say to her? Chat Noir’s heart skips a beat, and he’s tempted to come clean to her there and then. It’s me, Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir, whatever, you could call me anything you desire, I’d answer. My heart is yours, it has been since the first day we met. Nothing, absolutely nothing, you hear me? would make me say no at the altar. I’d never do that to you.

It takes a minute for him to battle his instincts, during which he twirls her around and takes her in his arms. He feels her shake a little as she sobs against his chest. 

He hates having to hide information from her, especially this one. Everything would be so much easier if he didn’t have to. She wouldn’t be so miserable on her wedding day, their wedding day, for one.

“Hey.” He tilts her chin up lightly, and wipes the tears off her cheeks with his thumb. “He won’t. I… I was just with him, before I came to check on you. He wants you to be safe. You’re his… friend. Not to mention, the saviour of Paris. He says it’s a pleasure to help.”

She sighs. “What about the girl he loves?”

“It’ll work out, don’t worry.” Chat Noir represses a smile.

“What about you?” Marinette looks so anguished at the thought that he may be suffering that it’s difficult for him not to kiss her. 

“What about me? Are you worried I won’t still want to marry you after the whole situation is over and we can be together in peace? I’m not that shallow, you know.” His eyes twinkle mischievously. “Unless,” he gasps theatrically, “you’re worried you’ll fall for Adrien again!” He points at her accusingly, although his grin says otherwise.

Marinette lets out a little chuckle, the first since he’s arrived. He’s so grateful for the sound. “I promise I’m not.” She cups his cheek and brushes her thumb against the rim of his mask. “I like Adrien very much, and he’s been very sweet, but somehow my heart seems to prefer a questionable cat boy to a respectable model.”

“His loss.” Or not, he thinks as he kisses the palm of her hand.

“You’re staying for the ceremony, right? As your civilian self?”

“You can count on me to keep an eye on you two. I promise I’ll tackle Adrien if he tries to make a run for it.” He winks. He backtracks when he sees the panic in her eyes. “Joke aside, I paw-mise everything will be fine. And that I’ll always be there for you. Never doubt that.”

Marinette blushes as they stare into each other’s eyes. 

I love you, they both think, but don’t say. Now is not the time.

“Marinette?” There’s a knock on the door as Sabine calls for her. “It’s nearly time to go, can I come in?” 

“Uh, yeah, just a second!” Marinette jumps away from Chat Noir and checks the lock of her room is closed. 

She then walks over to him, he has already opened the window to leave. He smiles and kisses her forehead tenderly before backing away.

“See you later, my Lady. I know, I know, I shouldn’t call you that.” He throws his hands up before she can protest the nickname. “But I like to think that you’ll be my Lady until you say yes to Agreste.” 

And even that won’t change anything, they both think as they part ways.

[chat-noir-always-here]

“Hey Arnold!” and “Miraculous!” parallels

Ever have an idea for a post that you take forever to get around to because 2020 is 

actively 

trying

to kill you?!

 Welp, that’s me. I mean, uh, this is that post.

Long post is long and I don’t like cuts cuz I’ve lost a few posts in the past using them. Please filter the tag “long post” I use it for walls of text like these.

So there’s this show from my childhood called Hey Arnold! 

Having been on air before I had cable (I and my unsupervised brothers and sisters spent our childhood watching Jerry Springer and Maury because there was literally nothing else on our cheap little TV. How hilarious is that?) I didn’t really have much of an experience with Hey Arnold! aside from brief little glances at it when i visited a friends home or the rare occasion where they showed cartoons at school. By the time I got satellite, the show was no longer on the air save for some late night reruns and the Christmas special which aired in December along with other Nickelodeon Christmas episodes (THE best Christmas episode EVER btw).

Really I couldn’t remember much about it until hearing about the Jungle Movie finally getting a release date (a total flop but at least its no cliff hanger) and decided to re-watch the entire series in preparation for said movie.

By which point I had discovered another show—Miraculous. 

At first glance the two shows have absolutely nothing in common. Miraculous being a French-born mahou shoujo-esque CGI superhero TV series about a couple of middle schoolers who regularly battle a walking peppermint-frappucino-looking psychopath. Hey Arnold! being a more realistic children’s sitcom about a young football-headed boy who deals out humanitarian aid in the form of advice and simple good deeds to his neighbors, classmates and friends. 

In terms of setting, logic, and animation the two series are as different as night and day.

So imagine my pleasant surprise to discover a whole post’s worth of parallels shared between the two shows???

And here they are in no particular order:

1)Arnold’s Parents/Adrien’s mom

Prior to the start of Miraculous, Emilie Agreste disappeared under mysterious circumstances leaving her family behind. Later on it was revealed that she was in fact sleeping (dead?) in a glass coffin beneath the Agreste mansion--unbeknownst to Adrien, or anyone else in Paris save for Gabriel and Nathalie.

In a similar fashion, Arnold’s parents, Miles and Stella, also disappeared prior to the start of Hey Arnold! and like Emilie were always referred to as “missing” rather than “dead.” 

The Jungle Movie later revealed Miles and Stella weren’t dead, but like Emilie appears to be doing in her coffin, they were sleeping. Having caught a bout of sleeping sickness (apparently they do not need to be hooked up to IVs or other medical devices while in a comatose state cuz fuck logic) they simply needed their orphaned son to come and cure them with the help of the magical golden heart Helga provided him with.

Perhaps Mari holds the key to waking Emilie? That would be nice to see. 

Not the miraculous of course--but some other key.

Although personally I’m hoping for a hardcore, devastating ending like Emilie dying, Gabriel going to prison where he belongs, and Adrien leaving the country for a bit until the second Hawk Moth shows up because I just like devastating cliffhangers and angst and being in utter turmoil over fictional people. But that’s just me.

2) Their best friends are dating

Smol parallel here: Arnold’s best friend Gerald and Helga’s Best friend Phoebe wind up together in The Jungle Movie after being imprisoned together by Lasombra. Similar to how Nino and Alya ended up together after being imprisoned by Ladybug (for their protection, of course).

3) The Bag of Money Episode/ The Ladybug episode

OOh boy both of these episodes make me rage. 

Some context about the Bag of Money episode: Arnold and his friends Gerald and Sid find a random bag of money containing almost $4000. Sid is ecstatic and wants to split the money evenly between the three boys, but Arnold worries it could just be lost and convinces them to let him, Arnold, take the money to the police station. On the way he accidentally switches the bag with another one that is identical and contains a bunch of useless junk, and when he tries to explain what happened to his friends they don’t believe him because their bag of money was accidentally taken by an “old lady with pink hair and a peg leg.”

 Arnold’s a good boy and he’s telling the truth--but the truth sounds crazy, even to my ears. Sid accuses Arnold of stealing the money and spreads lies to their classmates, whom Arnold has spent the ENTIRE SERIES helping in some form or fashion. Despite everything he’s done for them though, the vast majority of the class come to believe Arnold is a thief. Even Gerald, Arnold’s closest friend, nearly believes Sid over Arnold but eventually comes to Arnold’s defense. The other kids (save for Helga who doesn’t really make an appearance this episode) gang up on Arnold, but thankfully the old lady with pink hair and a peg leg shows up with an officer and together they explain the bag of money is now at the lost and found where it will remain and if gone unclaimed will be returned to Arnold, Gerald and Sid. 

Pretty much everything is resolved and things return to normal between the kids. 

But I hate this episode. I hate this episode so, so much. Arnold has spent the entire series helping these people out in some form or fashion. Literally thats the entire show. And after everything he’s done for them they’re so. Quick. To. Turn. On. Him. 

Sound familiar???

4) Hidden Personality                   vs.          Surface Personality

 I do not refer to the cruddy “true selves” thing half the Miraculous fandom believes in. Depending on one’s individual circumstances, environment and how comfortable they are, said person’s behavior can fluctuate or even do a complete 180. This can be kinda frustrating when dealing on one’s own--”Who am I anyway? Is that me or is this me???”

It’s all you, fam.

Arnold and Helga are themselves too, no matter what metaphorical/actual mask they put on. There’s the side that everyone sees and then there’s the side almost no one sees. The hidden personality isn’t hidden due to a lack of trust, necessarily, but rather it is the result of retreating to their respective “shells”--ones which both Arnold and Helga were kinda punched, kicked, and shoved into. 

Helga’s surface personality: Class bully, puts up a tough front, constantly torments Arnold because she can’t stand him and his niceness

Helga’s hidden personality: Poetic, abused and isolated, is in love with Arnold to the point of being obsessed with him and bullies him via surface personality in order to hide that fact

Of course Adrien is no bully--his reasons for not being the “cunning, funny, ultra-charming Chat Noir” 24/7 DOES have a lot to do with his toxic household, his dad, and the overwhelming expectations which are constantly smothering him as Adrien. 

Adrien is a bug under a magnifying glass (or so he feels)

Chat Noir is a chance for a freedom.

 Adrien’s surface personality was molded by his dad.

 Helga’s is the result of her entire family. Her father is brash and loud, her mother is a confirmed alcoholic, her sister is a gifted prodigy, well-rounded and spends most of the series at university or elsewhere. Although her sister, Olga, has been shown to genuinely care for Helga, Olga is kinda the reason their parents neglect Helga. With their first daughter being the genius and prodigy she is, Helga’s parents poured all of their pride and affection and parental devotion onto her. Meanwhile Helga had to walk to pre-school alone. At four years old. In the rain. Not for the last time. 

Which leads me to the next parallel.

5) Umbrella in the Rain

squeals in delight over this parallel<3<3<3

If you’ve never seen Hey Arnold! do yourselves a favor and watch this short little clip over how Helga and Arnold first met. If you have seen it, watch it anyway because it is the most adorable clip in the entire show.

Dr. Bliss: “So nobody’s ever noticed you?”

Helga: “...There was someone.”

The soft way Helga confesses that--you can actually hear how grateful she is to have such a tender memory from such a painful time. 

 In a similar manner, Adrien offered his umbrella to Marinette. Of course Adrien did it because Mari had to walk home in the rain and Arnold did it as a simple gesture of kindness (seeing as they were already at the school)--one of the many kind acts he displays throughout the series. 

 But just like Adrien needed unconditional love coming from somewhere, so did Helga. They were both denied this one common necessity which everyone else around them had. It’s not a lot to ask for, and they should’ve already had it coming from their families--but they didn’t.

 And then, one rainy day, there it was--the unconditional love they needed.

6) Clinginess

What happens when you take someone, specifically a love-starved abused child from an unstable home environment--deprived of the one thing most crucial to their mental well-being--and miraculously provide them with that very necessity? 

Clinginess. 

I can’t really think of the correct word to describe this. “Clinginess” is pretty close to what I’m trying to describe, if not on point, so let’s go with that. 

 What I mean is Helga and Adrien both need Arnold and Ladybug respectively. That’s not a bad thing--it’s okay to need somebody else. What’s bad is hinging your entire being on this one connection. For if either kiddo were to be left behind they wouldn’t handle it very well.

 It can’t really be helped with either Helga or Adrien. They didn’t really have the option to learn certain things and went deprived of unconditional love for such a long time. They’re kids--nine and fourteen/fifteen respectively. They’re not perfect and they’re traumatized for life. Being denied love from your family--the very people designed to love you--would do that to a person. Naturally they would cling to the first people to show up and provide them with the love they needed. 

 The Hey Arnold! wiki says this about Helga and Arnold’s relationship

Due to her unstable family upbringing where both her mother and father constantly neglect [Helga] and shower all of their attention onto Olga, leaving her deprived of the love and attention she needed growing up. On her way to preschool, Arnold helped her by keeping the rain off her with an umbrella and even complimented her on her hairbow. He even later gave her crackers during their snack time. Arnold's kindness and being the first person to notice her quickly caused Helga to transfer all of her love and attention to Arnold.

Of course Adrien’s tunnel vision isn’t quite as bad as Helga’s.

 He treats his friends better.

 He does love his father--

Even though his father is THE. 

WORST.

 PARENT.

 EVER!!!

--because he’s Adrien and he’s just too precious a cinnamon roll and that’s still his dad even if the man does belong behind bars.

7) Unhealthy Obsession

I--

I...

Ugh. I am not going to delve too far into this. You’re just going to have to take my word for it. Helga’s creepy stalker behavior is a thousand times worse than Marinette’s. That pic up there of Helga hiding out in Arnold’s room watching him is pretty decent evidence to back up my argument, but it’s hardly the only example or even the worst incident.

 Honestly I’m amazed at what Nicktoons were able to get away with in the late nineties/early 2000s. 

But yes, Helga’s obsession with Arnold is rather unhealthy in the most extreme moments leading her to display behavior which is more often than not disturbing and concerning. 

The Hey Arnold! wiki has this to say about Helga’s obsession with Arnold

Helga is possessive of her love for Arnold and thinks non-stop about him to the point of obsession. This is evidenced throughout the series by the many shrines and poems she makes of Arnold and of her frequent dramatic soliloquies about her love for Arnold.

Again--Mari isn’t as bad as all that. She’s a sweet girl with many healthy relationships in her life. She has ambition, creativity, and drive. But yeah she can be rather possessive of Adrien too, and that needs to stop. Like right now. Adrien doesn’t need another girl being possessive of him and thinking he’s perfect--he needs someone who acknowledges him as a flawed person and loves him despite that. 

As for Helga and Arnold--show creator Craig Bartlett confirmed they are “made for each other” and wind up married with three kids, so I’m guessing Helga grew out of some of these bad habits? Or at least I hope so...

8) Helper/Humanitarian tendencies

As mentioned before, the plot of Hey Arnold! is more or less about Arnold helping people. As stated by Gerald in The Jungle Movie, “He’s a humanitarian! Like his parents!” Of course not every episode is about Arnold helping people. There are episodes devoted to supporting characters and they’re just as enjoyable and satisfying. 

 But as he is the titular character he spends a lot of time in the spotlight. 

Remember that “best christmas special EVER” episode I mentioned before?

 The reason it’s the best special, in my less than humble opinion, is due to a few things.

 The special is not about Santa Claws. In fact, I don’t think he’s even mentioned, let alone shown and treated like an actual living character.

The focus on the entire episode is again on Arnold helping someone, but he doesn’t succeed. Not really.

The one who succeeded in helping someone was Helga, who accomplished the goal Arnold had set out to do. 

The episode deals with some rather dark subject matter and is actually quite heartwarming as the “perfect present” Arnold was trying to provide someone with wasn’t something you can buy in the store

It’s also one of the episodes where Helga’s love for Arnold leaves her to do good and as her love for him is a secret, she expects nothing in return. She’s just happy to help him.

 Kinda similar to Mari who is, as Adrien puts it in Mayura, “Our every day Ladybug.” Her kindness and devotion to helping others is what drives her as Ladybug and Marinette. It’s what brought Ivan and Mylene together. Is the reason Nathaniel and Mark now have a comic book together. And at the end of the day, that’s the reason for her strange behavior around Adrien--she wants to help him. Even if it’s just as a “good friend.” 

9) There are two main characters

Although Hey Arnold! is technically a show about Arnold, one could argue it is just as much Helga’s story. 

Similarly, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is named thusly in order to convey the fact that Adrien is just as much a main character as Marinette is. 

Although I must say Hey Arnold! did a much better job of giving it’s co-character their dues. GIVE. ME. MORE. CHAT NOIR. FOCUSED. EPISODES. DAMMIT.

But, yes, in terms of screen time, Helga gets about as much as Arnold does. Her story and struggles were given just as much importance as Arnold’s and many people have even come to believe that the show is really about Helga. I’d say its about both of them.

10) Constantly bumping into each other

Granted this happens between Arnold and Helga more often than it does to the love square dorks. 

 But yes the two people meant to be together keep knocking into each other in their respective universes. 

 I forget who, but I remember reading that someone a while back theorized that this was the universe’s way of trying to push Arnold and Helga together. Kinda like the “Now kiss!” meme

Perhaps it’s the same for Adrien and Marinette? 

;)

[mcheang]

Love and hate

A rough draft inspired by 三生三世十里桃花, and because I wanted to do another Mari hates Adrien but he likes her fic.

What if Marinette felt betrayed by Adrien’s decision to pose alongside Lila?

Ok; we all know that Lila framed Marinette. And that Adrien posed alongside Lila for the photoshoot.

But what if Marinette decided to take early action to revoke her expulsion? What if she went as Ladybug herself to clear her name? Technically it’s not just personal reasons when scarlet moth had been involved.

Granted she can’t prove Lila planted the necklace in her locker. But come on, how can she cheat when the test answers were stolen after the exam? The lockers are unlocked. And if Lila had seriously fallen down the stairs she would have more bruises than a knee injury!

In face of a righteously angry Ladybug, who points out the flaws they were too idiotic to see, the principal does what he does when face with influential threats (Chloe calling her dad), he caves.

Marinette is brought back to school with an apology. Lila is called back to school to continue investigating.

Unwilling to let such a useful pawn leave, Gabriel vouches for Lila, unaware that Ladybug had just left, and lets Nathalie disable the security feeds. Again the weak principal gives in.

Lila learns Marinette has already been brought back, but let’s Adrien think she fulfilled her end of the deal.

While Adrien had played a small, inconsequential role in defending Marinette, it did nothing to soothe Marinette to watch him pose with Lila after all he knew about that liar.

Betrayed and heartbroken, the love in Marinette’s heart starts to turn to hatred.

Welcomed back to school, Marinette asks Adrien in private why he modelled with Lila and he says it was part of his job (he doesn’t want Marinette to feel indebted). Lila butts in and insists that it is also because they are friends. Adrien agrees with Lila. Marinette believes Adrien wants to shrug things off again, and move on.

Her hurt confirmed, Marinette ignores Adrien and gives him the cold shoulder. The hatred in her heart has sprout and is growing into a sapling

Adrien can guess the reason for that. He tries to talk to Marinette alone but she wants nothing to do with him. Eventually he manages to convey that he only modelled with Lila to get her to come back to school.

Marinette retorts that he didn’t get her back to school. Ladybug did! And she doesn’t tolerate liars. He had the chance to tell the truth and he blew it.

Normally, Marinette may have been more open-minded but the hatred in her heart has had time to settle.

The more you love someone, the deeper that hatred can grow.

Since Lila didn’t hold up her end of the bargain, Adrien renounces their friendship in public. He admits he made a deal with Lila to get Marinette back but Lila spins a lie that she asked Ladybug to bring Marinette back. Adrien protests that Ladybug herself confronted them that she is not Lila’s BFF. The class doesn’t know who to believe. But since Marinette is clearly avoiding Adrien and still thinks Lila is a liar, it gives Adrien more credibility and makes them wonder if Lila was indeed a liar.

Marinette still hasn’t forgiven Adrien, believing he is only acting up since he doesn’t want to lose any Friend. Her heart is too full of hatred for her head to think clearly.

It pains Marinette to see Adrien but she eventually becomes adept at ignoring his blonde head and presence. Adrien is miserable that he has lost one of his closest friends. Even so, he snaps at the class whenever they listen to Lila’s gossip. Marinette ignores his attempts to protect her.

The rest of the class do not intercede. Marinette has a right to be angry with Lila and she shuts down anyone who asks her to be open-minded and forgive either Lila or Adrien. The class soon learns not to bother, otherwise Marinette shuts them out too.

Tikki tries her best to change Marinette’s mind but Marinette snaps at her to let it go. Tikki relents once she realizes she is only agitating Marinette and making her akuma bait.

Adrien tries waiting outside the bakery, skipping his practises and getting grounded. Marinette had told her parents not to let Adrien or Lila in. Adrien refuses to budge, standing in the heavy rain even when it is clear the bakery is closed and the streets are emptying. The Gorilla eventually tracks Adrien down and drags him home. (I figure Adrien is a romantic and is willing to resort to grand gestures of his determination to see Marinette)

Adrien is sick for weeks. Marinette is happy for his absence but has to hide it behind relief. Alya and Nino have to divide their time.

Adrien recovers and is still miserable. To make matters worse; he has another shoot with Lila. He goes on strike until Gabriel fires Lila.

Tikki heads to Plagg to discuss how to fix their broken relationship. When Adrien opens his locker, Tikki escapes, but not before he spots her fleeing to Marinette’s locker.

Adrien is both elated and horrified to know Ladybug’s secret identity is his former Friend who now hates his guts.

Knowing Marinette doesn’t want anything to do with Adrien, Chat decides to visit her at night.

Marinette initially freaks out because she thinks he knows her identity. But he claims he is just there because he is on a diet and wants to cheat on it.

Marinette tolerates this free loader.

Chat initially wants to smooth over their misunderstanding but learns that talking about Adrien leads to him getting kicked out. So he avoids talking about Adrien and instead tries to get to know Marinette better.

Marinette is annoyed by Chat’s presence, especially since it leaves her sleeping later than usual. But she grows used to it.

Eventually Chat slips up and calls her My Lady. Marinette freaks out again but grows calmer. She says she doesn’t want to know his secret identity. Chat sadly agrees.

Eventually the public thinks that there is something going on with Chat and Marinette. But they deny it. To prevent people from suspecting Ladybug’s identity, Adrien blurts out it was him. He put on his old Chat Noir costume to visit Marinette.

The class squeals at their Romeo and Juliet situation.

Marinette goes along but is furious with Adrien. How dare he play her for a fool. She yells at him from going anywhere near her again, but not before Adrien sees how badly she is hurt emotionally.

Adrien’s absence from her roof is easily explained when Gabriel heard the rumour and confiscated Adrien’s costume.

Marinette is heartbroken yet again because unbeknownst to her; she had fallen in love with Chat.

In her heartbreak, she is reminded she has a score to settle with Lila (it’s a welcome distraction). Ladybug confronts the principal again on why Lila hasn’t been properly investigated. Pressured, the principal does that and discovers Lila’s truancy and health records. He expels Lila in the same public manner he does Marinette. (Ladybug’s status so trumps the recluse designer’s)

At least Marinette has been properly avenged. But she still isn’t happy.

Adrien is depressed. He knows he hurt Marinette again and he never wanted that. That said, the class thinks Gabriel has pulled Adrien out of school, not that Adrien has fallen into depression. He can’t sleep without crying because he is haunted by the image of Marinette crying and blaming himself. Not even the threat of homeschool can snap Adrien out of it, because he knows Marinette would welcome that.

Adrien won’t eat anything until at last Nathalie does something.

She visits Marinette and confesses that she was there when Adrien threatened Lila to bring Marinette back to school.

When Marinette is skeptical, Nathalie points out all the good things Adrien has done for her (most of them as Chat). Why would he do that if he didn’t care for her?

1. He had tried to get Marinette an internship with Gabriel but she had wanted nothing to do with the Agreste brand.

2. Adrien tutored Marinette at night so her grades improved.

3. To make up for Marinette’s free treats, Adrien has burnt his pianist fingers trying to make Marinette a dessert. He never succeeded in every one of his 13 attempts before he nearly burned the kitchen down.

4. He recommended her to other famous designers. Marinette wanted to earn recognition on her own credit, not because of favors. She’s not happy he interfered.

5. He bought her all those expensive fabrics using his own money. Marinette isn’t exactly impressed since she knew Adrien had the money. But he certainly saved her shopping time.

6. He stole his mother’s jewellery to gift them to her (Marinette had told him to stop buying her expensive gifts). Yeah, Adrien was in a lot of trouble for that one but he refused to tell his Father what he had done with the jewels. He had been pulled out of school as a result until Lila brought him back and Adrien admitted he didn’t regret stealing the jewels.

(What Adrien does admittedly pales next to Ye Hua’s sacrifices. But I can’t cut off Adrien’s arm or make him use his life force or whatever. He isn’t a deity)

Anyway; Nathalie points out that Adrien has done so much for her, regardless of how unsuccessful his wooing attempts were, can’t she just visit him once. Seeing her might do him some good.

Marinette takes a moment to think. Perhaps she judged Adrien too harshly and rashly. He was clueless about friendship. And he did try (and failed) to make amends. Maybe she should give him credit for trying, if nothing else. He certainly chose to against Lila in the end.

Marinette visits Adrien and there is definitely a reaction from the apathetic boy. he apologises for hurting her so much. He should have left her alone like she wanted. Marinette also apologizes for not letting him explain his side, even if she did give him a chance to at first. She encourages him to eat.

With Marinette beside him, Adrien does recover.

Nathalie is relieved. She then advises Gabriel to let them be. Bringing Emilie back won’t be as joyful once she finds out their son had nearly died from intentional starvation.

Gabriel agrees to let his Son and Marinette date, which they do slowly, needing to start all over again. Marinette needs time to sort out her feelings. While she may have fallen in love with Chat, it also conflicts with the hatred she bore Adrien. The hatred needs to heal to become love.

Adrien gives Marinette her space and continues to try to be a partner worthy of his lady, mainly by being honest.

[perfeggso]

Noir (yutae)

Week II pt. 1

Tokyo – fall of 1983: Nakamoto Yuta is quickly rising in the ranks of one of Japan’s most notorious yakuza families, and he’s poised to climb even further if he can stop himself from being ruined by the pretty Korean boy who’s shown up out of nowhere.

Chapter 1  |  Chapter 2  |  Chapter 3  |  Chapter 4  |  Chapter 5  |  Chapter 6  |  Chapter 7  |  Chapter 8  | Masterlist 

Glossary of Japanese words

Characters: Yuta x Taeyong + NCT ensemble, Twice J-line (for funsies) 

Genres: Gang!AU, angst, smut, fluff, 1980s!AU

Warnings: graphic violence, swearing, minor character death, alcohol use, mentions of drugs, period-typical homophobia, xenophobia, BDSM

Rating: 18+

Length: 4.5k (will progressively get way longer)

A “foot soldier,” as it turned out, was the smallest of small fry in the syndicate.  They were mostly responsible for manning the many front businesses that Inagawa used for small change, low-level intimidation, and charity work.  Taeyong found that he did get to carry a revolver around with him but was forbidden from using it in non-life-threatening situations because he had only been a yakuza for about a week and had only gotten the opportunity to practice firing the thing twice.  This was both for his own protection and for the protection of the gang; almost nothing could have been more damaging than the misfiring of an illegal gun by a rookie.

All Taeyong had needed to do to leave his mechanic job was to submit a letter of resignation, which in honesty was the most obvious solution.  People were allowed to resign without a specific reason – his boss didn’t own his soul.  And Taeyong wasn’t too sad to leave since he hadn’t been close to anyone working there.

After a week, Taeyong found himself leaning over a yellow plastic desk at the entrance to a miscellaneous electronics shop in Akihabara, bored to death and resigned to people-watching.  Taeyong usually avoided Akihabara because he wasn’t particularly interested in electronics nor in otaku culture.  More than that, he hated how the few times he had come to the neighborhood in the evening he’d been approached by creepy middle-ages men trying to entice him to go “chat” with some “lovely young ladies.”

But now he was here among the neon lights with nothing more to do with himself but try to look inviting to customers.  If he was being honest, part of him wanted to sabotage the whole racket by looking purposefully glum and driving people away.  Despite his sweet face, Taeyong did have an aggressive streak in him but he always considered himself principled about those who got hit by it.  For instance, swindling major corporations out of millions of yen, as he was vaguely aware that Inagawa did, seemed perfectly ethical to him.  Selling faulty electronics to innocent working-class people on the other hand…

“Taeyong!” Mark yelled from behind him, forcing him out of his contemplative rabbit hole of Robin Hood ethics.

Taeyong turned around to see Mark walking up to him, a stack of colorful business cards in one hand and a badminton racket and shuttlecock in the other.  What a fuckin’ weirdo , thought Taeyong, although he couldn’t help but like the guy.

Mark had been the first person Taeyong had spoken to as an unofficial member, he supposed, of the Inagawa-kai, as he was the one responsible for escorting Taeyong back to his apartment and spending the night there to ensure that he did not try to run away or go to the authorities.  Taeyong didn’t sleep that night because his head was full of too many questions, and Mark wasn’t allowed to, so the two instead got to talking – as much as they could given the supreme awkwardness of the situation, anyway.        

“What do you need?” Taeyong asked and in response, Mark passed him the stack of cards as if that were an explanation.  Before he got around to illustrating his intentions with words, he began bouncing the shuttlecock against his racket, twisting the string bed 180 degrees between each contact.

“I need you to stand on the sidewalk and hand these out to people,” he finally said, still focused on his game. “They say we’re having a promotional sale.  It’s supposed to drum up more business which we can handle with the three of us here instead of two.  But for this to work, you need to stop scowling.  Show off that charming smile of yours.”

Mark was sure a cheeky bugger.  If Taeyong did stick around in this gang, he’d eventually use his age advantage to mess with the kid once their gap in experience wasn’t so large.

“Was this your idea?” Taeyong asked.

Mark shook his head no, pausing his game of hand-eye coordination.  “It was our Shategashira ’s.”  

“Nakamoto?”

“Hasn’t he told you to use his title?  Or just Yuta if you want to use his name.”

Taeyong huffed a sigh.  This ‘ Shategashira ’ of his had really become an exasperating figure in his life over the past week.  They’d barely interacted, but the coolness and ease with which Yuta always addressed him made him feel funny; as if he truly had no control over the trajectory of his life anymore simply because he was dumb enough to follow some sounds in an alley.  But who was he kidding?  His life might as well lead him to being in a gang.  Wasn’t that what he’d always wanted?  And anyway, there was a reason the Inagawa-kai had an entire Korean division and some Korean leadership.  Taeyong had just imagined more bombastic motorcycle rides and fewer junk computers.

“Yeah I remember now,” Taeyong said, shuffling the business cards in his hands and making his way out from behind his desk.  “So how do I get people to take these?”

Mark walked with him to the front of the shop, his hand on the older man’s shoulder.  “Just smile and say ‘promotional sale: premium consumer electronics.  This week only,' or some shit and try to get these into the hands of everyone who walks near you.  I think you can handle it.”

“I will try,” said Taeyong.

He found it was easier to get people to take the cards than he had expected, although his success didn’t seem to go further than that, as most people who took a card only regarded Taeyong with a confused scowl once they had it in their hands.  After about an hour, a woman came walking towards Taeyong on his side of the street, and she was truly the first person Taeyong fully noticed his whole shift.  He noticed her because no one could have not: she was slightly taller than average, especially in heels, with long black hair blown out, a green bodycon dress, black heels, and a gold chain necklace.  Taeyong thought she might have the prettiest face he’d ever seen on a woman.  He also noticed her because she was staring right at him as she approached.  Taeyong wasn’t fazed because he was used to nice looking girls coming onto him.  They would inevitably be put off either by his ethnicity or by his lack of interest in them – whichever they perceived first – and then bad things would happen.  However, the intensity in this woman’s gaze felt different as she came to stand just a few feet away.

“Momo-hime??” Taeyong heard Mark yell from somewhere within the store.  Huh?   Soon enough both he and Jungwoo had emerged and were greeting the gorgeous young woman.  Taeyong stayed frozen to his post because he didn’t know what to make of the situation nor of his role in it.  She was a ‘princess’ anyway.  What business did a street rat have introducing himself to her?

Soon, though, Taeyong found he didn’t have to.  She exchanged a few words with his coworkers, and they nodded, pointing her his way.

“Lee Taeyong,” said the woman, bowing once she had finally gotten close enough to greet him.  “I’m Hirai Momo.  It’s good to meet you.  Yuta told me you had been brought on.”

Taeyong was so confused he felt like he was floating, but he bowed back despite himself.  “Nice to meet you too.”  The name Hirai sounded familiar but Taeyong took a moment to place it.  Then, like being slapped in the face, his brain found the missing puzzle piece that allowed him to make an association.  The Hirai family ran the entire operation, didn’t they?  Shit .            

“Why are you here, Neechan ?” asked Jungwoo.

Momo smiled.  “Yuta sent me to retrieve you, Taeyong,” she answered, causing Mark and Jungwoo to raise their eyebrows in unison.

Taeyong could feel the blood rush through his veins, and it felt cold.  “I – did I do something?”

“Don’t worry,” Momo assured.  “Everything’s alright.  Yuta-san just wants to make sure you’re adjusting alright and to have you get some more target practice in with your new piece.  How does that sound?”

Yuta was turning out to be the most involved boss Taeyong had ever had.  He still had no idea what was going on, but at least he wasn’t in trouble and if he was being honest, he liked firing the gun and looked forward to another sanctioned opportunity.  Taeyong chided himself as he noticed a piece of his mind wondering churlishly what this girl was to Yuta.  That doesn’t pertain to you , he told himself.  

“That’s fine,” he said.

“Great,” said Momo, winking like a girl from an animated television show or something.  “So, you’ll go to headquarters and meet him right after your shift, got it?”

Got it.

***

The Inagawa-kai Tokyo headquarters was located in a simple, box-shaped black building on the edge of Aoyama.  It wasn’t a short structure – it had about seven stories – but compared to much of Tokyo’s architecture it remained strategically unassuming.  Once inside the building, a tall man with dark hair and a patchwork of tattoos and scars across his exposed skin approached Taeyong and told him he would escort him to the meeting.  At first Taeyong didn’t recognize him because he hadn’t gotten a good look the first time, but he soon realized that his companion was one of the men who had essentially arrested him a week ago, a fact which made his throat tighten.  Taeyong also cautiously noted that the man had a fresh stump of a pinky finger on his right hand covered in bandages.  Must have gotten in a bad fight.

The man led Taeyong down a series of identical concrete hallways until they reached a sliding door made of oak, at which point he left Taeyong to enter the room by himself.  Taeyong hesitated for a moment but was stunned into action when he heard Yuta’s expressive voice anticipate his presence from inside with the simple utterance of two syllables.

“ Douzo .”

Within, Yuta sat at the same desk where Taeyong had first met him, surrounded by expensive Scandinavian furnishings, walls of glass and concrete, and a pristine bonsai tree on a ledge behind him.  Yuta himself wore black pants, a silk shirt, and a yellow velvet smoking jacket of all things.  Taeyong felt something twist in his gut at the sight of him and his intent gaze but decided to file the feeling away somewhere very deep for the purposes of later contemplation.

“ Shategashira !” Taeyong greeted with a salute, as he was now pretty sure he was expected to.  “Would you like me to sit, sir?”

“At ease,” said Yuta, waving him off and letting Taeyong relax a bit.  “No need.  I’ll accompany you to the range right now, if that’s alright.”

“Of course, Shategashira .”

And with that, Taeyong let himself be led back under the florescent lights of the complex’s maze-like hallways.

“How are you adjusting, Taeyong?” asked Yuta.

Taeyong was constantly surprised that the couple times he had seen Yuta since their initial meeting, he always made sure to check up on him.  He didn’t know what to make of this.  He guessed it was just standard practice – a measure to make him feel protected and ensure his devotion, or something of the sort.

“It’s alright, I guess,” Taeyong responded.  “I like Mark and Jungwoo.  Johnny seems like a good guy too.  In all honesty, I don’t have a lot to do right now.  But I do appreciate having the position at all!”  Taeyong’s tone was absolutely all over the place, not knowing where to stand between familiar and deferent.  Taeyong thought he saw his little speech provoke a smile in Yuta, and suddenly that knot in his stomach was back.  Well, fuck.

Yuta spoke.  “I acknowledge that you don’t have the most exciting posting.  But that’s partially why I wished to speak with you today.  After you.”

Yuta left that tease there.  They had come to the end of a hallway to an orange door with chipping paint and a black symbol indicating that protective equipment for eyes and ears was recommended inside.  Yuta held it open and Taeyong passed through.

Once in the vestibule of the shooting range, Taeyong set himself up where he was supposed to stand and aimed his revolver at the target on the other end of the room as Yuta leaned against an acid-white wall with his arms crossed and his chin raised slightly.

“Relax your shoulders,” Yuta said, and Taeyong cleared his throat, shimmying his shoulders lower on his back in response.  He took a deep breath and focused on the red bull’s eye placed on the heart of a human-shaped target, both hands on the gun.  He had to refrain from grinding his teeth.

“Wait until you’re ready,” Yuta coached, voice low and commanding, “then focus your energy and count down from three before you pull the trigger.  Simple as that.”

“Yes, Shategashira .” Taeyong did as he was told, steadying himself, focusing his eyes on his target, and counting 3…2…1… BANG!

Taeyong felt himself sway backwards for a moment after firing but regained his balance quickly – something he had not done the first time he had shot the thing.  That time, he ended up on his butt, confused and embarrassed as Mark thrashed around on the wall in a fit of performative laughter.  The practice he’d had since then had helped, but so did the pressure of Yuta’s gaze.

After a moment, Taeyong heard clapping coming from next to him and he realized he had been closing his eyes.  When he opened them, he saw that a chunk of the wooden target was missing on its inner thigh.

“We can work with that,” Yuta remarked, finishing his short round of applause.  “Certainly enough to cripple, and that’s important.  However, I get the sense you weren’t aiming there, hm?”

Taeyong’s breathing fumbled when Yuta began to stalk towards him.  “What we need is to teach you some precision and confidence,” he explained. “We’ve got to work on your kill shot.  Do you mind?”

Yuta was asking for the gun, so Taeyong handed it over with an “of course, Shategashira .”        

Yuta took a sideways stance, holding the revolver out with one arm, and proceeded to shoot five times in fast succession, obliterating the plywood head of the target cutout until it was nothing more than splinters.  Taeyong did not care to imagine it as belonging to a real human.  When he had finished, Yuta turned to regard Taeyong, and to Taeyong’s surprise and horror, he broke out into a wide grin.  God , thought Taeyong, I’m alone with a psychopath and a gun .  Although, once that thought had passed, Taeyong couldn’t help admiring the princely charm of the way the smile had spread like a sunrise over Yuta’s face.  What the fuck was going on?  

“You see?” said Yuta, ebullient, “you’ll be doing that soon enough.”

Soon enough .  Right, Taeyong would need to sort out his future, and soon.

“Let’s try again.  Go back to your stance.  We’re going to stay with two hands for now.”

Taeyong took the gun back and repositioned himself in his starting position, holding the weapon with his outstretched arms and lining it up with his sternum.  Yuta came up beside him and held his hands over Taeyong’s shoulders.

“May I?” he asked, and Taeyong nodded, allowing Yuta to press down onto his shoulders and straighten his spine.  Taeyong could feel the other man’s breath and it was sending his nerves into a state he did not need them to be in, heat crawling up his neck.      

“Do the countdown again,” Yuta instructed, “deep breath, and then fire.  Don’t let your eyes close, alright?  And try to stay still as much as possible.  You can if you really engage your core.”

Taeyong nodded at all the advice and tried to follow it – attempting also to avoid noticing the watchful smile blooming on Yuta’s face in his peripheral vision.  He took in a deep breath of the room’s stale air and counted down again, eyes trained on the cutout’s heart and intent not to shut.

A BANG rang out once more throughout the vestibule.            

Taeyong did narrowly refrain from closing his eyes, but they seemed to have gone out of focus.  Once he blinked the fuzziness from them, as if erasing an etch-a-sketch, he could see that he’d succeeded in blowing a hole through his target’s crotch.

Yuta giggled and slapped Taeyong over his right shoulder.  Taeyong’s head spun.  Was he supposed to be scared of this literal mob boss or not?

“I have a hunch you weren’t aiming there either, huh?” Yuta asked, and Taeyong shook his head no.  “That’d definitely be an effective shot though, wouldn’t it?  Might actually be better than aiming for the heart in some situations because you can make them talk while they bleed out.”

Holy shit.   In an instant, Taeyong became painfully aware of his reality.  He was practicing shooting because he might be in a situation where he’d need to – where others would be aiming at him the same way he was aiming at this outline of a man.  What if it was him who got shot in the heart, or worse, shot in the dick and forced to bleed out horrifically?  Taeyong felt lightheaded but managed to squeeze enough air from his lungs to speak.

“Do you mind me asking you a question, if it’s not too forward?”

Yuta raised an eyebrow.  “Shoot,” he said, obviously amused by his own word play.

“Why am I here?” asked Taeyong.  “What am I doing here now?  What am I training for?”  That was three questions, but oh well.  Taeyong didn’t feel like being measured.

Yuta sighed and cocked his head, eyes fluttering to regard the floor.

“I had a feeling this would come up,” he said, smiling wryly this time.  “Keep practicing and I’ll fill you in.”

Taeyong nodded and prepared to shoot again, hitting the target’s left shoulder this time when he pulled the trigger.

“Getting closer to the heart,” Yuta observed, appreciative.  “You see, Taeyong, there are only two favorable outcomes for you now that this ball has gotten rolling.”  Taeyong relaxed his arms and watched Yuta begin to pace, his face steeled by caution.

“The first, which would be preferable to the family, is that you stay on with the Inagawa-kai and devote yourself to our line of work.  However, I understand that what has happened was not your choosing, and you may want to return to your normal life as soon as possible.  Whichever path you choose eventually matters little to what I need you to do for now, so don’t worry about it yet.” Yuta paused, giving Taeyong a moment to recover from the way his emotions had just gone topsy-turvy like his image in a funhouse mirror.  Then Yuta gestured towards the gun Taeyong was now pointing at the rubber floor.  “Please continue,” he said.  Taeyong hit the target in its stomach and caught a hum of approval from Yuta.    

“Either way,” Yuta went on, “you will need to establish trust here.  Even if you want to leave, you will have to stay on long enough and perform well enough to prove that we can trust you to be an ally even in the civilian world.  Does that make sense, Taeyong?”

Bang! Left hip.

“It does,” Taeyong replied, resigned.  This was all his own fault anyway.  He couldn’t help his curiosity though.  “Is this something that happens often?”

Yuta chuckled slightly.  Bang! Sternum.  Taeyong was quickly gaining enough balance and confidence to keep himself still while firing.

“Similar situations have occurred although we obviously try to avoid them.  For instance, the two men who brought you in to me have been duly reprimanded for their carelessness.”  

Taeyong was preparing to fire as Yuta said this and was immediately thrown off when his mind returned to the image of his abductor’s freshly severed finger, putting two and two together.  Is that what a mistake gets you here? Worse, did Yuta purposefully assign that guy to escort Taeyong as some kind of warning? Taeyong was already pressing down on the trigger when this thought came to him and it caused him to misfire wildly, hitting the wall on the other end of the range a few feet from the target.

“Fuck!”

“Do you need me to stop talking?” Yuta asked.

Taeyong held the gun in his left hand while shaking out the wrist of his right, as if the problem had been purely physiological.  “No!  Er – sorry, just give me a moment please, Shategashira .”

“That’s alright,” said Yuta.  “You’re doing pretty well for a beginner.  Take a break for a bit.”

Taeyong nodded, feeling defeated but somewhat relieved.    

“Similar situations,” he mused “Like what?  If you don’t mind telling me.”

“Take Jungwoo, for example.  He worked for a circuitry and computing firm that was under our thumb.  He knew nothing about it – he was simply a technician and didn’t have access to the books – but when the small company had defied our understanding with them one too many times, Jungwoo happened to be unlucky enough to witness the consequences.  We gave him the option to make it up to us by working for us.  It was difficult for him at first, but now his closest friends are in our ranks and he gets to do what he loves while never needing to worry about money.  So, it worked out in the end.”

Jungwoo, huh?   Taeyong had thought the guy seemed a bit too cheery to be a natural gangster.

“I see.  I don’t really have a thing though, that I love doing, you know?”

Yuta shrugged, then smiled in a way that was meant to be reassuring.

“Well, you may not love it, but you know about vehicle mechanics, right?  That will be useful to us.  However, to be honest I do feel for you, Taeyong, I really do.  You caught my attention immediately and have weighed on my conscience.  I want to help you make the best of this, and the best thing you can do now is quickly prove your loyalty both to me and to the people I work for.  That way, you will get the most flexibility in the least time.  That’s why I’m scheming to fast-track you to that point.”

Taeyong was mystified as to why his superior, who had implicitly threatened him into becoming a yakuza in the first place, was being so nice to him; so reasonable.

“What does that mean?” Taeyong asked, eyes going wide in anticipation.

Yuta leaned back against the wall and watched Taeyong from under his bangs.  “I’m in the middle of a project that it would be nice if someone helped me with.  It’s not inherently dangerous and it’ll give you a good idea of how we operate.  If you do a good job you will both understand the world you’re now living in and if you want to stay in it, and hopefully, gain enough trust to be allowed to make that decision when the time comes.”

Taeyong’s thumb skimmed nervously over the textured handle of his revolver, eyes searching the vestibule for some sense of reality.  He felt almost dizzy with exhilaration at the idea of helping Yuta out and spending more time with him - studying him.  “What’s the project?” he asked.

“An investigation.”

“An investigation…” Taeyong repeated.  What did he know about investigations?

“Yes,” said Yuta, “I’m gathering information on a certain executive at one of the nation’s largest companies.  For blackmailing purposes.”

Taeyong almost laughed at how upfront Yuta was about this.

“Okay…”

“Is that a yes?”

“Do I have a choice?” Asked Taeyong.  Yuta smiled, something almost predatory in his expression.  “What would I have to do?”

“Accompany me when I go out following leads, be my lookout and my sounding board for ideas when no one else is free to help.  You can be more involved depending on how well you do with that.  Think you can handle it?”

That didn’t sound too out of the box for things Taeyong could do.  Besides, Yuta had said “lookout” not “bodyguard” or something.  Taeyong was used to fighting, but his dustups were usually with hoodlums from Shin-Ōkubo, not with armed career criminals.

Taeyong nodded.  “Yeah,” he said.  “Yeah I can.”

Yuta pushed himself off the wall.  “Perfect.  Before we finish here though, I’d like to get you to hit your target.”

The way Yuta said it so flatly made it clear to Taeyong that this was a command, not a suggestion.

“Yes, Shategashira .”      

“I think I know how to help,” said Yuta, “it’s something I used to do when practicing.  Do you have someone you want that to be?  Someone you hate so much it makes your toes curl?  Makes you want to smell their blood?”

Taeyong pictured the leader of the Specters – the boy who’d beaten him black and blue until he couldn’t hear or think; the boy who had only refrained from dragging Taeyong from a chain on the back of a car when he heard sirens coming for him, and all because Taeyong had dared to be zainichi .  Sure, Taeyong wouldn’t mind a little payback.  He nodded at Yuta, both men’s eyes going dark and focusing on the target.

“Good,” said Yuta, placing his hands on Taeyong’s shoulders and squeezing.  This time, Taeyong’s mind had gone too cold to let the contact affect him.  “Now, don’t let them get away with anything less than a bullet to the heart.”

With that, Yuta pushed away and Taeyong imagined his victim, ugly smug face and rising sun headband appearing in his mind’s eye with chilling detail.  Relax, breathe out, 3, 2, 1, BANG!

Taeyong was steady as the bullet passed an inch or so from the bullseye and the sight caused a great sense of relief to wash over him, like stepping into a hot tub on a snowy day.

When he turned around, Yuta was watching him with a smirk, arms crossed over his chest.

“When do I start, Shategashira ?” asked Taeyong.

Yuta’s smirk morphed into what Taeyong could only describe as a proud grin.  “You start now.”    

[missbugaboo]

That Other Guy (3)

“Why does it matter so much to you? What’s so terrible about Adrien Agreste that you can’t stand him as your competition – even though it changes absolutely nothing for you? What in magic’s name makes him such a hateful rival?” Or, Chat Noir finally learns who Ladybug’s dream guy is, but somehow, he’s not pleased at all. For more reasons than one.

LadyNoir, Adrienette.

fanfiction.net / AO3

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Chapter 3: In the Rain(storm)

If Ladybug was a bundle of nerves, then Cat Noir was a walking, talking disaster.

He was a mess.

He was a failure.

He was mad and he was scared, as well as utterly and perfectly astonished.

He was stunned.

He had no idea what to do, how to respond to the deluge of information his Lady had poured on him, unable to put together the scrapes she had given him and too terrified to face the idea that was starting to loom before his eyes as the most probable one.

He was a coward; but this time, he simply couldn't fight the fears that were holding him back.

So while Ladybug decided to jam the whirlwind of emotions that came over her with the help of her superpowers and her strength, running across the rooftops and fighting to maintain her sanity by escaping the horrors that were following her, her partner stood still, incapable of making the slightest of moves.

She knew she'd fall apart the moment she came to a halt; he realised his downfall would come the moment he woke up from his daze.

So he remained in his place, amazed, dumbfounded, motionless. His eyes had followed her when she'd left and then stayed fixed on the horizon, on the same spot he had last seen her. He watched the sky go darker without noticing the cause of such change: the dark, heavy clouds that concealed the brightness of the moon and swallowed the stars that accompanied it. He kept looking, as if he still expected her to come back, to land on the rooftop next to him and sight the solution he was too blind to see.

To fix what she – he – they had broken that night.

He stirred when the first drops landed on his cheeks, but didn't leave his outpost anyway. Looking up at the sky and exposing his face to the more and more violent beating of the rain was the most he could do; closing his eyes was the greatest movement he could be persuaded to make.

He breathed in the cold, humid air, desperately trying to block the images and words that were invading his mind – both those who were born from his own recent experiences and those which (he was certain of it) came to him from Plagg. It wasn't the first time when he heard his kwami's voice when transformed, even if said voice was as subtle as the one of his own subconsciousness.

As helpful as it could be at times, hearing it now only added to his pain.

He thought about de-transforming. At least then he could tell Plagg to shut up directly, or even block his ears quite literally if the latter had decided to ignore his pleas. The idea was rejected as quickly as it was born, however, and there was a very simple, very obvious reason for that.

The last person he needed right now was Adrien Agreste without a mask.

Adrien, the reason for this ordeal.

Adrien, the perfect, boring boy.

Adrien, the one who's won his Lady's heart without doing a single thing to deserve that, when the true, honest, imperfect part of him known as Cat Noir had never even stood a chance.

Could anyone really expect him to rejoice in a discovery of this kind?

He would have called it ironic, if it hadn't hurt so much. But it did; it hurt so, so terribly, to think that none of the things he had ever done for her were enough to make her care for him in the way in which he cared for her. They'd been through so much together: fighting alongside for so many, many months now, going through hardships and challenges, telling jokes and fooling around whenever they felt they could afford that.

How many times had he seen her feeling down and pressed her to spill the beans, until she'd broken into sobs and admitted to all that had been bothering her? How many of those breakdowns had been caused by the indifference of they boy she'd claimed to love, whom he often wanted to strangle with his bare hands, only to learn that he himself was the reason of her distress?

What had Adrien ever done to deserve her love?

And then: had he really been jealous of himself this whole time?

He snorted, annoyed with his own conclusions. It should have been so easy now: to simply wait for the opportunity to approach Ladybug as his civilian self and cease the chance by telling her how much he cared for her, all in the hopes she would not deny what she'd admitted to him today. It sure would be awkward at first, and it sure would require a lot of wit to make this supposedly hero-civilian relationship work – but if he truly loved her, it certainly was worth the trouble.

Right?

Only he knew it would not work. Not only because he knew for sure that he would never be able to hide the truth from her for long, either blurting it out by accident or openly revealing his secret when he got too tired of hiding it. All of the above was true; and yet, it was not even the second most important reason for his unwillingness to as much as try to do this.

How could he even assume she would have him then?

He didn't know her as Adrien, not really. A few meetings during an akuma attack, just like he'd said before. A few smiles given and received, a bit of small-talk, a word of meaningless comfort only to show her that he would always support her. Nothing more, though; nothing to claim that he actually did know her any better than the rest of her fans did.

He'd accused her of choosing someone she couldn't know, of putting a shallow celebrity crush above the years of friendship and effort.

If he approached her as Adrien, could she really see his affection as anything else?

After all, a 'celebrity crush' was exactly the term Nino had used when he'd finally learnt his secret a few weeks before.

Adrien Agreste didn't know Ladybug.

Ladybug didn't know Adrien.

She couldn't have.

Or... could she?

“And what if I do know him?”

"Get out of my brain," he drawled through his gritted teeth, turning around violently and pressing his hands against the sides of his head. "Get out, get out, get out!"

His cry resonated in the air for a second, before it was drown out by the noises of the rain falling around him. He could feel the hot tears burning behind his eyes as the walls he'd raised around his heart cracked, threatening to let in the same images and ideas he was so afraid to see.

So afraid do accept.

He was not ready for that.

And yet, the damage had already been done. No matter how tightly he shut his eyes, how great was the pressure between his hands and ears, how loud or low his growls were, they were of no use.

Closing his eyelids could not erase the picture of her shocked, hurting face, engraved in his memory with the same feeling of guilt that had been slowly taking over him ever since she'd left. Covering his ears did was no obstacle for the recollections of her voice, of the broken, disappointed tone she'd used while speaking to him.

His shouts could never jam the words she had pierced him with.

"You don't know me."

"I'm not Ladybug in my real life. I'm nothing like the girl you know."

"I'm sure that you could meet me in real life and you wouldn’t pay any more mind than you would to any other passer-by on the street."

She'd been so right and yet, so horribly, horribly wrong.

Of course, he didn't know her. Not truly, not completely, and nowhere near to the extent he wished to know her. She was the one who had made sure he never would, who had kept doing so regardless of how much he pleaded with her.

No matter how many sensible, impartial arguments he had presented, Ladybug had always had the same answer for him.

"We have no right to know."

There had been a time when he'd believed he might change her mind; a short time of gullibility after she had been named the new Guardian, taking over from Master Fu after their so-called victory over Hawkmoth, Mayura and Queen Bee. None of their previous winning had been achieved by such a cost and if he could, he would have done anything to make sure in never happened. It had, however; and even though it'd been hard to bare and unwanted, the change had also rekindled the spark of hope he'd thought long gone at the time.

His reasoning was simple: if Master Fu, the Guardian, had known his civilian identity, there was no reason why Ladybug, the Guardian he had chosen as his successor, should not know it as well.

And then it was only fair he learnt hers.

Still, she was not to be persuaded. He knew for sure she had talked about it not only with Tikki, but with Wayzz as well – and from how awkwardly she talked to him later on he easily figured that the kwamis were not exactly against the idea. It was Ladybug who was; the choice was hers and hers alone.

How little she must have trusted him.

And yet, the same knowledge he'd been yearning for all this time somehow turned to be the greatest of threats now.

Suddenly he didn't wish to know at all.

Suddenly, there was no way he could escape it.

And she was the one who had given him all the information necessary for it.

"Get out," he whispered brokenly, repeating the words like a mantra, for what felt like a hundredth time that night. His tangled locks were dripping wet from all the rain that had become much more like a downpour by now. The cold water had found its way under his collar, flowing down his back, evading the protection his suit would normally have given him. His teeth would have begin to chatter if he hadn't been gritting them so hard; his body would have shaken with shivers if his inner turmoil hadn't had him trembling from the start.

When he fell onto his knees he knew it had nothing to do with the wind that howled around him.

The tears were running down his face freely now, the hot drops mixed with the icy water brought to his cheeks by the storm. He pressed his chin against his chest and buried his fingers even deeper in his hair, as if he'd been trying to block the reality from getting to him; but to no avail.

Probably because it already had.

He tried to scream for the last time, trusting he could at least let out some of the pain and frustration in this way, the emotions he could not fight otherwise. But his voice caught in his throat, and the scream stayed within him; cutting and burning, wounding him like no villain ever could.

Was it the price for his stubbornness, for his decision to deny the truth that was standing right before him?

And if he accepted that truth, would the pain go away?

"But I can't!" he choked between his sobs. "She doesn't want me to know who she is. And I don't wish to know against her will. And I can't – I can't – I can't -

I can't take it if she's who I think she is.

"The honest, considerate classmate I've been blessed to meet myself."

There was no fooling himself anymore. Even if she hadn't said anything else – if she'd skipped the part about her clumsiness or the mentions of the way she stuttered when near him – that sentence alone would have been enough to make the truth as plain as a day to him. And it had; he could spend the rest of his life crouched on this roof, battling the obvious and refusing to accept that fact in the same way he'd been doing until now and it still wouldn't have changed a thing.

He didn't need any details. No more personal information, no suggestions, no clues. All he needed was implied in that one, short, simple line:

Ladybug was his classmate.

He knew exactly which one.

[hunnyb-san]

"Miraculous season 3 ep 26: Miracle Queen" reaction

Ok, there is really too mucg to be said.

This episode made me cry more than the last one, if that's possible.

Anyway, it's late and I'm tired because I've studied all day, and this episode took all my energy away.

So, there are soo many point... I think it will take a lot. This is not the Miraculous we all knew. This is a new, beautiful thing full of angst.

I need fanfictions.

Anywya, let's start.

1) Kagami and Adrien

I've chosen to talk about them first so then i can go ahead and forget about this.

And here, let's consider two different cases:

Objectively: Kagami never had friends, she just started hang out with them and actually she has only Adrien and Marinette, and for the first she developed feelings that go over simple friendship. Yes, she said that love is more important than friendship for her, and she acted like a bit-

But, we have to consider that she has never had people of her same age if not to fight.

In the other hand... SHE IS THE WORST PERSON EVER. I MEAN, WHO IN THE HELL SAY THAT LOVE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FRIENDSHIP EVEN IF HE IS A FOOL WHO NEVER HAD... EVEN IF IT IS CHLOE.

OMG WHEN SHE SAID THAT AND SHE ACTED LIKE THAT WITH ADRIEN, THROWING HER HAND AT HIM!!!!!! MMMHHHH, THIS FUCKED BITCH.

But I think that this "relationship" will help Adrien waking up because everyone in this episode understood that he his SO MUCH CONFUSED AND TIRED THAT I'M conflicted... I love Adrien and god, that poor baby got rejected so many times from Ladybug, but how can he be SO confused? Didn't he love Ladybug? Is he giving her up? Why is he trying with... with the ice queen (Mari named her this)?

2) Luka and Marinette

Ahhhhh these two. They deserves the entire world!!!

Luka is a wonderful boy, because even if he fall in love with Marinette, he's okay with staying near her like just a friend.

He is there to comfort her when she cried, knowing it was because of Adrien. And he is even Adrien's friend. Luka never blamed him or Marinette, and even if his feelings are strong, she always come first for him.

He is amazing because when she was hurt, he didn't try to take a step forward, he just stayed there, hugging her.

Not like Kagami, who see Adrien confused and try to persuade him anyway.

And Mari... well, after I've seen her cry in the last episode, I can't stop thinking about what she said, about having too many responsibilities, not beeing able to be herself.

Beeing Ladybug is not only a positive thing, and she can't even talk about it with her friends. Especially now, that Master Fu lost his memories, she'll have to count only on Tikki.

This will be so much stressful for her.

Anyway, even if right now I want the both of them to be happy, I'll never stop shipping Marinette x Adrien because they are perfect for each other.

3) LadyNoir

Well, their relationship is a bit cracked right now because of that... that shitty little brat and many other things.

Chat Noir is spacing out from her because he is hurt, confused and wgatever, and she noticed it. She got jealous, cause yeah, that was jealousy, over him not calling her My Lady (OMG they are so DUMB) and flirting with... Ryuko?

Well, her name is not important right now (and it will never be).

But she has noticed it and tryed to understand why. At the end, nothing was clarified.

In this episode, Ladybug and Chat Noir had one of the most beautiful moment until now.

Because really, this is SO much going on here.

This is a totally wholehearted and beautiful hug. So beautiful that it makes me cry.

Behind everything, they trust each other, they are a team, they love each other unknowingly - and they'll laugh/cry so hard when they'll find out each other's identity - and this scene makes you understand all that.

They don't have to love each other - but they'll do - to be in sync, they are perfect, you can absolutely see that fron the FIRST episode of the FIRST season.

They don't need words, they complete each other and they'd do everything to make the other happy.

Why are they so dumb???? 😭

4) Papillion and Mayura

Who is Emilie?

Okay no, I'm just joking. But how can you not ship these two after everything? The way Mayura passed out between Papi's arms! I've laughed so hard at that.

When I see them, miraculous become a drama.

"Gabriel, I'm ready."

"Are you sure, Nathalie?"

"Never been so sure. I'd do anything for you, my love."

"What?"

"What?"

Ok no, seriously, I ship them, but I need Emilie back, because Gabriel will just keep friendzoning her.

5) Master Fu and Ladybug (guardians)

Ok, I know that I said I have cryed in every sentence of this post, but gosh, who didn't cry when Master Fu gave up is power as guardian to not reveal Ladybug and Chat Noir's identity?

He made many mistakes and WE know it, he is possibly the reason why Emilie got hurt or whatever so that Gabriel used the Miraculous of the Butterfly.

But, let's just say, that with this, he proved the affection he feel towards Marinette and Adrien.

He lost his memories to save them, to protect them.

And Marinette is now the new guardian!! I'm so happy!!

And about this: that thing in which there are all the miraculous, is she going to hide it in her room? Because, well, good luck.

6) Chloe and Papi

I hate both of them.

Chloe disappointed me so much, you can say she had her reason, she was unhappy, Ladybug's attitude towards her didn't help, but she betrayed her anyway.

Ladybug gave HER the possibility to change things, to prove herself, she trusted her more than a time, but she left her side to go to Papillion's (that I'll just call papi).

Papi is mean, so freaking mean. He is a really good antagonist.

Who else would be ready to sacrifice all Paris and ignore his only family member left, to save his wife?

I know he is suffering... but does he know that if he use ladybug and chat noir's miraculous to save Emilie, he will end up losing someone near him? Or maybe not, but I highly doubt that.

And I bet that this someone will be Adrien.

7) Adrinette

After this episode, I saw everyone comment videos with the same words "Lukanette is gone".

And I'm totally against it.

This is the perfect final no one wanted because it hurted too much, but it is perfect to give a new start point.

Marinette fall in love with Adrien because he gave her an umbrella to excuse himself, and she understood he is sweet, caring, kind, selfless and blah. But WE know that Adrien, the Adrien we and she see in every or so episode, isn't totally the real one. Because if he was, then who is Chat?

Chat is someone nearer its true self than Adrien, because with that mask, he feels free to do and act as he pleases without being constantly judged.

Even if he has the worst villain father, he tryes to not disappoint him.

Same goes for Adrien: he fall in love with Ladybug because he saw how beautiful, strong, bold and badass she was. But she isn't always like that. She is clumsy and she can't even talk with her crush because she gets flushed, awkward and begins to stutter.

He doesn't even know her that well, so its just good if he starts to know Marinette a bit better.

If it didn't end up like this, with the wonderful Luka and the shitty little bitch, they'd have kept loving just a part of the other self.

We have to be patient (like the song "The Wall Between Us", that I know they published now for this. Astruc likes to play with our hearts.) and wait until they love each other entirely.

They'll have to show us things like "Marinette or Ladybug?" And "Adrien or Chat Noir?" Or I won't be happy.

Just kidding.

So, my friends, let's not forget that Adrien and Marinette, just like Ladybug and Chat Noir, are meant to be together.

[chatnoirismycinnamonroll]

Only Human: Akuma! Marinette AU (part 3)

Disclaimer: I dont own, and never will I even come close to owning, either Miraculous or Christina Perri's song Only Human.

Tikki raced through the now silent hallways towards her chosen's classroom. She had been trapped in Marinette's purse, held down by the mist, and was only just able to get out. Like everybody else in the school, she had been able to see everything Only Human had shown her classmates. She felt her pain, her sorrow, her anxiety and stress at having to pretend that everything was fine when it wasnt.

Tikki sighed. She knew she shouldn't have held Marinette back from telling someone her identity for so long. All of that accumulated stress had been bound to be released sometime. And boy, what a release it was. Plagg must be so happy at the destruction she knew Marinette had left in her wake.

But, honestly, Tikki couldnt blame her. The way Marinette's "friends" had cornered her chosen in the bathroom had left Tikki piping mad, and if she ever saw them again, identity or not, Tikki was going to give them a piece of her mind. Anyone who thought Plagg was hell to live with had nothing on an angry Tikki. He may be the god of destruction and bad luck, but she was the goddess of creation and luck. You piss her off, and you might just get a new hole in your along with having your good luck run out.

Whoever said cats were the protective ones were highly mistaken.

Marinette sighed. She kept her eyes on the butterfly until she could no longer see it. She didnt want to face her classmates right now, especially since she could remember everything she had done as an akuma. She could remember making Lila bite her own tongue hard enough to bleed. She could remember lifting her and Alya up and slamming them into the ground. She could remember every image she made them see, every memory that she knew would make them feel guilty for treating her the way they had. And she didnt feel any better for it. She had hurt Chat Noir. She had blasted him into the wall with enough force to leave him dazed, when all he was trying to do was help her.

She also knew that she had had no control of herself. She had unwillingly let Hawkmoth push himself past her grief and into her mind. He had used her memories as leverage over her classmates, her....

She couldnt exactly call them friends now, could she? Not really. She looked up at them, seeing Rose and Mylene help Alix out from under a bookshelf and pull her towards Lila, who was still bleeding from her mouth and staring at Marinette with a frightened but hateful stare. Alya was sobbing and Nino was co.forting her, and Marinette's heart gave a lurch as they didnt approach her to see if she was okay, like she did with them after they got akumatized.

She forced herself to look away, forced herself to stand up and ignore their frightened gasps. She couldnt focus on them at the moment. She had to find Tikki so she could reverse her damage, and then she could head home and hopefully nobody would question why Ladybug got there late-

And suddenly there was a red kwami snuggling up to her cheek. She was standing at the front of the classroom, covered in dust and bruises, her hands cut and burnt a little from the struggle of tearing her own akumatized item, her classmates staging her, and her kwami was nuzzling her cheek and crying tears of relief.

"Tikki? Um..."

"Oh, Marinette, you're alright! I was so worried! I tried to prevent the akuma from getting to you, but I failed. I'm so sorry, Marinette. I was supposed to protect you, and you got akumatized anyway." Tikki lamented, tears leaking out of her big blue eyes as she stared up at her sweet, strong, beautiful chosen.

Marinette smiled, accepting that Tikki was giving her identity away because she was obviously going to say something important. "It's alright, Tikki. It wasnt your fault I got akumatized, it was Hawkmoth's. I remember everything, unfortunately, but I do remember that I never said the words. I never accepted his offer of akumatization. He forced his akuma onto me, Tikki. You tried to save me, but he was the one who took advantage of my emotions. Dont ever blame yourself for this, Tikki." Marinette held Tikki in her hands and kissed her forehead, nuzzling the cute being with her nose, getting a giggle out of her.

"You're the best kwami I could ever ask for."

"So it is a kwami."

Marinette looked up, finally acknowledging the others. Chat stood in front of her, staring down at her with several emotions in his eyes. She couldnt tell which was stronger at the moment. She could see the wheels turning in his head, and she knew the instant it clicked for him.

"You.... you're...!"

"A KWAMI? How did you get a kwami, Marinette? You're a superhero? And you never told me?" Alya said, her tears dying down as her eyes narrowed in astonishment and disbelief.

Marinette gulped, not exactly ready to face her classmates just yet. "I... um.. I...."

"She had no reason to tell you, Alya Cesaire. You should know all too well why that is."

Everyone stared down at the little red kwami, who had a serious look on her face that looked oddly intimidating for such a small creature.

Chat gulped, but kept his eyes on Marinette's as he shakingly whispered, "My Lady?" His anger towards his classmates rose further when Marinette nodded tensely, her arms folded and head bowed in a clear, protective manner. Oh, it was on. That did it. The entire class was gonna get a new one ripped into them. Nobody hurt his Lady, especially if she was also his Princess.

He glared at the class and stepped forward, ready to yell at them when a tiny red hand stopped him.

"Dont. You take care of Marinette. I'll take care of her so called friends." Tikki said, her blue eyes glinting dangerously. Chat nodded, turning to head towards Marinette, but his transformation suddenly dropping stopped him in his tracks. Everyone gasped as Adrie. was revealed, and they snapped out of whatever stupor they were in and began to yell, demanding answers from both him and Marinette.

He felt cornered and overwhelmed as they began to doubt him. How could he, Adrien Agreste, possibly be Chat Noir? They were nothing alike! Why didnt he tell them? Was this the only secret he kept from them? Did Marinette know? Why were they keeping secrets? What else did they have to hide?

He backed up until he felt a hand slipping into his, and Marinette looked up at him with reassuring bluebell eyes. He relaxed immediately. How could he not see his lady in her? He should have realized it the moment he called her his everyday Ladybug. He knew there was a reason he was so attracted to Marinette. There was a reason why Ladybug's rare flailings and nervousness so often struck him as familiar and adorable. Now that he thought about it, there wasnt anybody else who could possibly be Ladybug.

He held her hand tightly as the noise got louder and their classmates slowly came out from under the rubble to yell more things at them, and just when he thought he couldnt take it anymore-

"SILENCE!"

Everybody froze. They stared at the glowing red kwami as her eyes flashed with anger. "How dare you all demand answers from her after what you've done to her?! Marinette is not some toy you can just drop once shes no longer of use to you. Shes not some servant you can call upon whenever you want something. She's not some emotionless robot who you can order around and expect her to follow orders without any single input or objection. Shes a human being, just like you! So sit down, shut up, and show her the respect she deserves for having put up with you all for so long or so help me I'll make sure none of you ever have a good day ever again."

The silence that followed was deafening. Everybody slowly sat down amongst the rubble and stared fearfully at the tiny goddess.

The silence was broken by a cackle, and the little black kwami that had come out of Adrien's ring slowly floated his way towards his other half.

"Oh, oh, sugar cube, you're gonna make me split in two. I cant wait to hear what sorts of things you need to say to these ungrateful morons." His laughing suddenly stopped, and he looked at the class with narrowed eyes, his black form a almost a shadow, the only things visible on him were the two glowing green slits of his eyes. "I too would like to see them properly punished for almost destroying Paris by literally akumatizing the only other person who keeps them safe on a daily basis. So if you need a little bad luck on your side, dont hesitate to call me up, sweet cheeks."

Tikki smiled at him, before her eyes turned serious again and she glared at the girls. "First of all, I'd like to say I am very disappointed in all of you. You had no right to just turn your backs on Marinette, especially after everything she has done for you without complaint. I cant believe one little girl's lies are enough to fool you, and they weren't even GOOD lies!!"

Tikki's little antenna began to sway in her anger. "Max!" He jumped, his glasses slightly skipping from his nose. "You're supposed to be the smartest boy in the school. Tell me, how was a rolled up, thin, paper napkin going to gouge your eye out when 1) it was rolled up into a tight ball, 2) headed towards Lila's hand, which was level with your stomach, and 3) your eyes were safely covered by your glasses? Tell me, how?"

Max looked down in shame, having figured that out at some time during the attack. Tikki shook her head and moved onto the next person. "Alya. You've called yourself Marinette's best friend, but you sure didnt act like it at all today. Best friends have each others backs. They trust each other and always listen to each other. This isn't the first time you've disregarded Marinette's words and facts as nothing but jealousy. Not only that, but you chose your boyfriend over your best friend. You didnt protest moving Marinette out of a chair she worked so hard to keep all year, and you didnt even give her the benefit of the doubt when she tried to warn you about Lila's lies."

Tikki began to slowly vibrate in her anger, a low buzz filling the room.

"And then, you have the audacity to te her to show you proof of Lila's lies when you yourself have no proof that what Lila is saying is true. You could have fact checked with Ladybug about being Lila's friend. You could have asked Marinette to ask Jagged Stone if he ever had a kitten. You could have looked up half the things Lila has said on Google and figured out that NONE OF THEM WERE TRUE. And then- and then-!"

Tikki stopped talking as her body glowed to a deep angry red, the black.of her spots looking more like the dark, empty void of space than the sweet, adorable, chocolate chip looking spots Marinette often told her they looked like.

"Sugar Cube?"

"And then, you dared tell her that she was wrong to be angry. That she was wrong to have treated Lila so "mean" when she hadn't been mean at all. You told her it was wrong of her to question Lila and then dared demand her to apologize before then telling her to keep away from you until she did. You ditched your best friend for a new girl, a stranger, with outlandish and interesting stories. I guess Marinette was wrong to have trusted you the way she did, didnt she, little fox?"

Alya reeled back, her eyes back to streaming tears. "I'm sor-"

"Dont. You haven't thought about your actions. Not really. You're not completely sorry, so dont apologize just yet."

Alya quieted down, her sobs silently shaking her frame as she leant against Nino, her thoughts finally calm enough for her to properly analyze them.

Tikki moved on, glaring at the other girls. "And you all. Mylene, Rose, Alix. Marinette has been nothing but kind to you. She has helped every single one of you with something personal. With something important. Both as herself and as Ladybug. And the one moment she makes a mistake, you make her out to be a monster. You, Mylene, know that Marinette wouldn't do anything out of jealousy, especially not after what she did with Kagami and Adrien." Mylene hung her head in shame.

"Rose, you called Marinette the everyday Ladybug, but you had no right to detract your words in such a way. Ladybug makes mistakes too, and you basically told Marinette that since Ladybug is perfect, Marinette couldn't be Ladybug because she wasn't perfect. You faulted her for feeling betrayed and insulted and for showing her emotions. And you had absolutely no right to do that." Rose let a few tears fall as she remembered her uncharacteristic behaviour.

Alix looked at the kwami in shame, knowing what Tikki was going to say. "Alix, dont you ever call Marinette selfish again. And dont ever fault her if she decides to act selfishly for once. I honestly think she can afford to be just a little more selfish sometimes, especially to get the boy of her dreams."

Tikki was back to her normal hue, and her anger turned to disappointment. "You all were pretty despicable today. I could not believe this behaviour from you. I expect much better from all of you."

The class hung their heads, all except Lila. Tikki stared at Lila blankly before moving back towards Marinette.

"Wait, what about Lila?" Adrien protested. He stood up and glared at the little liar. "Shes been spreading lies about both Marinette and herself all day. Shes the reason why everyone is mad at My Lady in the first place. Shouldn't she be lectured and punished as well?"

Tikki stopped her advance towards Marinette. She styled floating in the air for several seconds, before turning back and smiling at Adrien. Adrien instinctively stepped back from that smile.

"Don't worry, Adrien. Lila's been cursed since before I entered the room." Her smile switched from Adrien towards Lila, who stared back with frightened eyes. "I'm very protective of my Ladybugs."

@drarrylover007 @mindfulmagics

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML: Scarlet Lady au: Miss Fortune Part 4 (Final)

Part 1 / Part 2/ Part 3

(Scarlet Lady Au by @zoe-oneesama)

(Hot off my burning typing fingers. Part 4. Enjoy!)

______________________________________________________________________

Miss fortunate watched the cat hero’s hands shake.

“You seem tense Kitty. Is it because you know who is under the mask? Is it making you are have second thoughts?” The black clad villain inquired, her voice full of intrigue.

Chat noir steadied his hands.

“This isn't you Marinette. You are a kind, gentle person. Why are you doing this?” Chat noir questioned, trying to shift the subject.

“I am sick of Chloé always getting away with her bullying. I am sick of always having to be the bigger person. The one that has to force a smile when I feel like curling into a ball. Chloé deserves to be punished.” Miss Fortune stated. “Now be a good kitty and surrender.”

Chat noir felt his heart cry out. He knew that Chloé did bully Marinette, that she was a mean person at times, but hearing it from her. It really hit home. He swore in his head that after this was over, he would have a very long talk with Chloé.

Well aren't you quite the drama queen.” a familiar voice taunted.

A red clad super heroine entered the scene.

Miss fortune turned her attention to the arrogant Ladybug themed heroine.

“You’re one to talk. In terms of horrible personalities. I would say you are on par with Chloé.” Miss Fortune stated.

“That means so much coming from a crybaby that got akumatized.” Scarlet lady taunted.

Scarlet lady turned her attention to Chat noir, who she had just noticed was glaring daggers at her.

“Well don't just stand their like a scaredy cat, go and take care of this loser so I can get back to enjoying myself.” Scarlet ordered.

Chat noir felt his frustration boil over. That was the last straw.

“No.” Chat noir stated lately.

“Good now... what do you mean no?” Scarlet asked with a surprised look on her face.

“You fight the akuma for once. See how it goes. If you are so much better then her. Then beating her by yourself should be easy.” Chat noir clarified as he leaned on his staff.

Scarlet lady couldn't believe what she was hearing. Miss Fortune was surprised to hear the cat hero say it. 

“Are you seriously going to let her go on a rampage?”

Chat noir shook his head.

“I will protect Paris. I won't let her harm any innocent people. But if you want to stop her. That is on you bugaboo” Chat noir explained with a cocky smirk.

Miss fortune couldn't believe her ears. Chat noir was giving her the okay to beat the tar out of Scarlet lady. While taking revenge on Chloé is her main goal, taking down Scarlet Lady is a definite close second.

A purple outline appeared over Miss Fortune’s face.

“This is an unexpected gift. Miss Fortune, take care of Scarlet Lady. We will deal with Chat noir after we get her Miraculous.” Hawkmoth commanded.

“You don't have to tell me.” Miss Fortune answered with amusement.

“F-Fine! Ill take care of her myself. I’ll show Paris how little you actually do anyway.” Scarlet Lady explained.

Chat noir shrunk his staff and put it on video record mode. This was gonna be interesting.

Scarlet lady pulled out her yo-yo and started spinning it.

Miss Fortune pulled out her own and matched her motion.

Scarlet swung her yo-yo at the black haired akuma’s head only to miss entirely. Miss fortune used her own yo-yo and snagged her feet. The villainess pulled causing the girl to fall on the floor.

Scarlet tried to stand back up only to see Miss fortune charge at her and kick her square in the face like she was going for a strike on goal. Scarlet lady went flying several meters before landing roughly on the ground.

“Ouch...” Scarlet Lady nasally groaned.. She felt like her nose might be broken. She stood up and was standing just above a manhole cover

Miss fortune made her hands glow and activated her powers. Suddenly the manhole cover began shaking before shooting into the air, flinging the cocky red clad heroine in the air. Then watched as she was flung right into a nearby dumpster.

Chat noir wished he had popcorn.

Scarlet lady slowly stood up before realizing what she was standing in.

“GROSS!!!!” Scarlet Lady jumped out of the dumpster taking off the garbage that was on her.

Miss fortune laughed in amusement.

“Why are you taking it off? The trash suits you.” Miss fortune complimented, knowing full well it was an insult.

Scarlet Lady knew she was in way over her head. 

“Chat noir! Are you seriously gonna let her do this to me?!” Scarlet Lady yelled at the cat hero.

Chat noir didn’t comment as he moved closer to keep up with the action.

“Chat noir! Get your butt moving and fight her!” Scarlet lady ordered angrily.

Miss fortune laughed and charged at her.

“You don't get it. He doesn't want to help you. Why on earth would he?” Miss Fortune stated as she gave Scarlet Lady a good gut punch, knocking the wind out of her.

Scarlet lady moved back holding her gut. How was she getting overwhelmed so easily? Scarlet Lady went for her own punch, but Miss fortune easily dodged it.

“All you do is boss him around, insult him, treat him like a lackey. If I was him, I would have left you on your own so much sooner.” Miss Fortune jumped and landed on top of a street light.

“You never even thanked him once. If anything, I would be a much better partner then you.” Miss fortune commented as she activated her power. Causing the street light to start falling towards Scarlet lady. Miss fortune jumped off and landed right near Chat noir. Scarlet lady just barely rolling out of the way in time to avoid getting hit.

“What do you say Kitty? Why don't you join me?” Miss Fortune asked as she touched his cheek with her hand, causing the cat to look into her eyes. “We can take her Miraculous together. Then we can go after Chloé. We would make a really good team.”

Chat noir felt his pulse quicken as he felt Miss Fortune’s hand on his cheek. He took in her purple eyes that once seemed cold, were now warm. Her soft smile as she looked at him. How the wind blew her hair in just the right way. And her earrings caught the light just right to bring attention to her cute little earlobes. 

“Ummmm uh...” Chat noir felt his face turn red. Marinette, no, Miss Fortune was so close. He would be lying if he said he never thought about having Marinette be his crime fighting partner. Late night rendezvous. Saving the city, perhaps a kiss or two on camera causing a buzz for the news. It sounded like an ideal world.

“Ugh! That is it, time for the big guns.” Scarlet Lady exclaimed as she got up.

“Lucky Charm!” She exclaimed as she activated her power. Out appeared a ladybug print bottle of eye drops.

Scarlet Lady realized what she needed to do that as much as she hated to do it. 

“Chat noir... I am sorry...” Scarlet Lady confessed as she bowed her head.

Chat noir snapped out of his trance and turned his head to Scarlet Lady.

“I am sorry... the way I treat you... the way I order you around. It... It isn't right.” Scarlet Lady conceded.

“I need your help Chat noir... I... I can't beat her alone.”  She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

Chat noir’s eyes went wide. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Scarlet Lady confessed to needing his help.

Miss fortune turned his head back to her.

“Don't listen to her. She will never appreciate you the way I do. Leave her be. Join up with me.” Miss Fortune pleaded softly.

Chat noir placed his hands on her cheeks.

“Don't worry Princess, I know the best choice.” He smiled sweetly.

Scarlet Lady felt her heart sink into despair. Chat noir had ignored her plea.

Miss fortune was so happy to hear his words and her heart exploded when he went in and kissed her. She happily kissed him back sweetly as she enjoyed the spoils of her victory. Until she felt two hands touch her ears.

Chat noir broke the kiss as he held her earrings in his hand.

“Wha...” Miss fortune was shocked that he would do that.

“Sorry, Scarlet Lady maybe a pain in the butt, she is still my superhero partner. Maybe one day Marinette.” Chat noir crushes her earrings and the Akuma began flying out. 

Scarlet lady smiled and used her Yo-yo to snag it.

“Got you now you little akuma.” She exclaimed before purifying it before sending off on its own.

Scarlet Lady took her bottle of eye drops and flung it into the sky.

“Miraculous Healing.”

Sure enough all of the damage done by Miss Fortune was fixed and Miss Fortune turned back into Marinette.

_______________________________________________________________________

Hawkmoth tightened his fist before shouting. He was so close this time. He could feel it.

“I was so close. Next time Chat noir and Scarlet Lady. Next time I will have your Miraculous.”  He shouts as the window in his layer slowly closes.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Huh... what happened?” Marinette asked confused. She looked to see Chat noir smiling at her.

“You all right Princess?” The black cat asked, worried about her.

“Yea, I am alright... though I am bummed that I lost my backstage pass. I was at this fashion show and...”

“Oh whatever. You handle this Chat noir. I have to tell the world how I got betrayed by my terrible sidekick and just barely saved the day.” Scarlet Lady stated as she pulled out her camera.

Chat noir looked at her.

“Excuse me!? Weren't you moments ago begging for my help with tears in your eyes?”

Scarlet Lady laughed.

“Eyedrops genius! as if I would waste genuine emotion on a good for nothing traitor like you.” Scarlet Lady scoffed, before realizing her earrings started to beep.

“Are you serious!? After all of the...”

“Yeah, we will do this another time. I have to go. Later alley cat.” Scarlet waved as she used her yo-yo to swing out of there.

Chat noir sighed deeply. He should have expected her to be like this. He decides its not worth trying.

“Sorry about your...” Marinette tried to comfort the cat hero.

“Its alright, I know how she is. But enough about that. You should hurry. You need to get back to that fashion show.” Chat noir changed the subject.

Marinette looked down.

“I would, but Chloé took my way of getting back in.” She explained sadly.

Chat noir patted her shoulder.

“I wouldn't worry, I believe I noticed your friend holding your back stage pass. He was looking all over for you. You should probably go find him. But you will need these.” Chat noir comforted before handing back the girls earrings.

Marinette took her earrings and quickly put them on.

“Thanks Chat noir. You are the best.” She gives him a soft kiss on the cheek before running off.

Chat noir smiled as he watched her leave his sight Daydreaming about his luck before remembering something rather crucial.

“Oh right the Fashion show.”

______________________________________________________________________

“Im sorry Marinette.” Chloé states, clearly annoyed that she has to say it.

Adrien had found Chloé before running into Marinette. Adrien told Chloé that if she didn't apologize to Marinette, he would make sure she was never aloud to attend any of his photo shoots or fashion shows, and her parents connections would be unable to to anything about it.

“Its okay Chloé. I forgive you.” Marinette accepted her apology, happily holding her backstage pass from earlier.

“Good, you can go now Chloé.” Adrien stated, content that Marrinette had accepted the girl’s apology.

Chloé scoffed before walking away from the two. She turned the corner and her Swami popped out of her bag.

“What?” Chloé asked slightly irritated. Her Kwami had a smug smile on her face.

“I am just thinking about how when we are back home I am going to scold you until morning.”

Chloé groaned.

“As if things could get any worse.”

Tikki noticed someone coming and flew into her bag.

“Excuse me, I was just informed you do not have authorization to be back here. I am going to have to escort you off the premise.”

“What!? Of course I have ...” She went to reach for the back stage pass only to realize Marinette got it back “Oh no.”

The guard grabbed the irritated blonde as she tried calling out for Adrien to help her, while inside her bag, The red Kwami was enjoying the sweet taste of Karma.

_______________________________________________________________________

(And that concludes our story. I know you are expecting another part, as thats how I normally break it up. But I couldn't stop writing and decided to just roll it all in here. Let me know your thoughts on the final part and the story as a whole. I will be sure to do a master post with all my new fics.)

[chatnoirishott]

In your Dreams

"Pound it!" Ladybug and chatnoir said in unison after defeating yet another akuma.

Lady bug was looking, from the rooftop they were standing on, in awe at the beautiful city of lights, she sat down, dangling her feet off the edge of the roof, chatnoir sat beside her, their legs just barely touching.

Ladybug was about to get up to go, but chatnoir said " happy anniversary bugaboo"

"W-what??" She sputtered back in surprise, "anniversary??" She questioned aloud.

"Yea, it's been a whole year since we first got the miraculouses, it feels like just yesterday I first met you an-" he stopped himself from finishing that sentence, not wanting to ruin the moment by saying: it feels like yesterday I just met you, and fell in love with you, and her saying they have to be strictly business. "And what?" She asked. "Oh nothing to worry about bugaboo" he replied smugly. "Oh come on tell me!" She asked playfully. Chat didnt reply, he just looked at the stars, ladybug however, was looking into his eyes, the reflection of the stars bounced beautifully. Than chat looked at her, and to his surprise he saw her staring at him, but when he looked she quickly turned away, and turned red.

He was about to say some pun about stars, when he felt something on his shoulder, he turned and saw Ladybug, lieing her head upon his shoulder, drifting off to sleep, he laid his head on hers, and softly began to purr, and slowly, himself, beginning to drift off to sleep also. Soon they were delightfully dreaming.

Ladybug saw herself in a black situation, everything around her was black, she was thinking about how she would rather be at the park, when all the sudden, the blackness turned into the park. "Oh good, I'm dreaming" she said happily. " wait, I was on the rooftop with chat, so I fell asleep next to him!" This is horrible!" She exclaimed right before she heard a thud, it came from behind the bench, she started swinging her yo-yo in a protective way, walking eerily twords the bench, when chat popped out from the bench. "Hello m'lady" and what are you doing in my dreams tonight?" He asked. "How did you know I was real, and not a figment in your imagination?" She asked. "Oh well if I was dreaming about you, I dont think it would be where you try to beat me up with your yo-yo" he said as he wiggled his eyebrows. She just rolled her eyes. "Chat be serious, we have to wake up!"

"Okay okay" he exclaimed. "Let's just create something scary, and that would wake at least one of us up, but hey, remember last week when I tried to kiss you? And you said " in your dreams"? Well technically we are in my dreams now" he said as he put himself a centimeters from her face. " oh his soft pink lips looked so delectable" she thought, as she strated blushing.she than pushed him aside. "We need to focus and get back to work" she said as she turned away as to not let him see her blushing face.

All the sudden she was back into reality, not dreaming, her head laying on chats shoulder, and his head laying on her head.

The sun had risen, and she knee she should get going to school soon, but them just sitting there, and his purring, was so cute, she couldn't help but blush and want to stay there forever.

"Hello bugaboo, I see you stayed instead of leaving" he said as he waggled his eyebrows. She hated it when he did that becuase it was so cute. She had to go before he did somthing else cute that would make her blush even more.

"Oh whatever kitty, it's time to go anyway, I'll see you later. Bug out" and within a blink she was gone.

Marinette was walking to school talking into her bag, and was learning some wierd information.

Marinette: why was chat acctually in my dream?

Tikki: well..the ladybug and cat miraculouses are part of a whole, and they always had a bond, but since it's been a year, the miraculouses have a stronger bond, so now you and chat will end up in eachothers dream...in or out of costume..anytime you both are asleep.

Marinette: IN OR OUT OF COSTUME. BUT THAN OUR IDENITYS-

She had to stop mid sentence as to not draw attention to herself, their was a huge crowd around Alya and Marinette was curious as to why. She squeezed through the crowd and asked her bestie what was with the whole crowd of people. " well guess who got an awsome picture of Paris's newest love birds?" Alya excitedly exclaimed as she held up her phone to show a picture on the ladyblog. The picture was of her and chatnoir cuddling in their sleep. " I had to climb a fire escape to get up to the roof to snag this awsome picture, and the second I got it I just had to post it, it already has 1 million views!" Alya excitedly exclaimed. Marinette than saw Adrein happily looking at the picture, he looked so happy. She felt so embarrassed that her crush was looking at her snuggling with another guy. She turned so red, and finally the bell rang and everybody rushed into class, everybody was still talking about Ladybug and Chatnoir, as she was sitting in her seat she heard everybodys conversations, people coming up with ship names, and theories. She felt so embarrassed.

Throughout the rest of the day, she kept hearing all the talk about the ladybug and chatnoir cuddle pic.

In science she finally got some quiet and no talking about the picture, becuase there was a test when she finished the test she turned it in on the teachers desk, and sat back down, she checked the clock and saw she still had about a half hour of class left, she dicided to take advantage of the quiet and just lay her head down. "I'm just gonna lay my head down...rest my eyes....not fall aslee-" before she could finish the thought. She wound up in the same black dreamland as last night...only instead of at the park, she was below a bridge, and above it she heard a familiar voice saying " she loves me, she loves me not. She loves me" and she saw little red rose petals falling into the water, she thought it was chat but she knew he wasnt in costume..she could see a hand throwing the petals, not a black glove like she was used to. She hesitated before saying " chat?" . "M'lady?" He replied questioningly. "Well yes, and no" she replied. "It is me, but I'm not transformed". "Yea, my kwami told me that might happen" she sat down on the ground below the bridge." Well since I ended up here after you, that means it's your dream, so what are you doing? " "well right now I'm supposed to be in class but I fell asleep" he chuckled. Avoiding the unspoken question of what was with the Rose petals. " hey I know what would make you more comfortable" he said as he dropped a red and black spotted mask to her. "I have mine on so no worries" he said as all the sudden instead of a bridge they were on the same rooftop as before." Sorry" he said, his face turning red " It just does whatever my mind is thinking about."

Ladybug sat down next to where chat was sitting." Did you see the picture ? She asked. " how could I not? It was all over the ladyblog. But i gotta give Alya some credit, she climbed all the way up there shes really dedicated" "yep, that's Alya for ya" she laughed.

After a bit of silence " hey uh, I know your probobly really embarrassed about that photo and stuff but..I just wanted you to know I dont regret it..and I...i-

Before chat could finish his sentence Marinette was awakened by Alya, nino however was to late and the teacher saw him sleeping, she tapped him and shes jolted up saying " I LOVE YOU" before he noticed he wasnt in a dream anymore. The whole class, exsept adriens 3 friends, started laughing, even chloe. Adrien was so embarrassed he just ran out of the class room and into the Locker room. Plagg came outa his pocket "well kid, that was a distaster" plagg said. "Tell me about it" Adrien exclaimed. "I can never show my face around here ever again!"

"I-would miss your face if you didnt come here anymore" squeaked a little voice. "I mean uh I would miss ur hot face! I mean I uh. UGH." Now she was so embarrassed that she just ran out of the locker room before Adrien could turn around.

Now he was embarrassed and confused, he didnt really know what to do, so he ran. Not as Adrien. But as Chat Noir. He hopped onto the rooftops, he didnt know where he was going, he just was going with his gut. Than he was right on the rooftop where Alya took the photo, and to his surprise he wasnt the only one there,

"Hello bugaboo, why are you here? Dont u have school or somthing? "

"Yes, but no. I dont wanna go back right now, but don't you have school? "

"I'm to embarrassed to go back" he said as he rubbed his neck.

"Wanna talk about it?" She asked.

"Not really. its really embarrassing"

Well I had a pretty embarrassing day too kitty"

She sat down and patted for him to sit next to her. As he sat down he was breathing more sharply than usual. She got this feeling that she wanted to kiss him, but to keep that from happening, she started to talk and look into the sky, instead of at his lips.

"I think I did terrible on my test today," she said.

"Test?"

"Yea. I had a science test today, right after I turned it in I fell asleep. She laughed.

That got chatnoir thinking...he had a science test today..could it be...no..it cant possibly be...could it?

While chat aas lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed ladybug staring at him, she remembered when they first met, how she didnt have feelings for him, and how the feelings she had for him grew and grew. She always tried to keep it professional, but it gets harder and harder.

Chat looked at her, and saw her staring at him..he got a strong desire to kiss her..but he knew they shouldn't..but he wanted to.

It seemed like forever that they were staring at each other, until they heard a school bell ring, and children coming out of the school.

"I guess we should go now, dont want people getting anymore pictures" she said.

They both got up and lept into diffrent directions, unknowingly they both went into the same alley, hid on opiset sides of the dumpsters and de-transformed,than Adrien and Marinette suprisingly bumped into each other, and they noth turned red, like a tomato.

Than out of no where Alya and Nino came, carrying marinette and adriens school bags,

"So this is where you guys went off to" alya sumggly said.

Marinette turned another shade of red, after herbestfriends words.

Alya and Marinette walked one way, nino and Adrien walked the other way, heading home.

That night , marinette was excited and scared to go to bed. She didnt want to go to sleep before chat and be having a weird dream about Adrien, that would be weird. But than again she didmt want to impose on one of chats dreams again. She didnt know what to do, so she laid in bed and drifted off to sleep.

She was in the black surrounding again, she saw a blonde. Facing opiset to her, she didnt know if he knew she was there. She than went up behind him and gave him a backwards hug. She surprisedr him becuase he gave a little "ah" as she wrapped her arms around him. He than turned around and hugged her properly. They just held onto each other. Not talking.

Than chat asked "may i?"

She knew what he was talking about...she wanted to, too. So she replied " in your dreams" as he lifted her chin, with their eyes closed, they kissed, after all the desired times they wanted to, they were finally doing it, than Marinette said "I'm ready"

"Ready?" He asked

She looked upward, at his emerald green eyes, peering down at her baby bell blue eyes.

"Marinette" "adrien" they both gasps

They started to giggle.

"I cant believe how stupid we are"

"How blind are we?"

They went into another tight hug

Than Marinette awoke, hearing her alarm. She was sad. But than she rememberd that she would see Adrien at school. Than she quickly got ready and was already out the door.

"Wow. Look who actually showed up on time to school" teased alya.

"Well there's a good reason I came early today" marinette said as she locked eyes with Adrien

"Oh I dont like that look in her eyes" alya suspiciously said to Nino

Than adrein came up to marinette with one of chats stupid smiles and wrapped his arms around her and they embraced in a kiss.

"WHAT EVEN HAPPEND IN THE LAST 24 HOURS? MARI EXPLAIN NOW!" Screamed alya.

[p-artsypants]

Nine Lives (3)- The Healing

When Adrien Agreste is scheduled to go to a Military School in Germany, Chat Noir must make a critical decision. Does he give up his Miraculous? Or does he give up his life as Adrien? I'll save you the trouble of guessing, he gives up being Adrien.

FF.net | Ao3

Chat Noir only had seconds to spare before he detransformed. He landed with a crash in an alley as a rush of green light took him over. Then an overwhelming pain took over his right side and he cried out in pain.

“Whoa hey kid!” Plagg called out to him. “Take it easy, breathe.”

Adrien rested a hand on the brick in front of him, and raised the other to his face. His touch stung and he pulled away quickly to see blood on his hands.

“That’s easily a 3rd degree. Maybe fourth in some places.” The kwami explained. “Fu’s place isn’t too far. We can make it.”

“Yeah…” Adrien croaked as he began to walk.

His head was clearing as he took careful steps. It felt like someone had rubbed sandpaper over the right side of his face and neck. The back of his hand had blisters on it too, and Adrien felt a draft through his clothes.

“Well,” Plagg said softly, from his shirt. “We took care of people recognizing you.”

Finally, they reached Fu’s house and Adrien knocked once. The door opened to Fu, who seemed confused. “Are you alright, young man? Would you like me to call an ambulance?”

“Master…”

“Oh my stars!” Fu grabbed him and yanked him inside. He pushed him to sit down on a cushion. “What did you do!? What happened?!”

“Sorry, I know it’s not what we planned, but the opportunity arose…” he winced. “And I took it.”

“Those are serious burns. You’ll be scarred for the rest of your life, no doubt.”

“Good. Adrien never had so much as a mole. Emile…looks like Two Face.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad.” Plagg tried to console. “More like…that one guy from that show.”

“Be more specific.”

“Fire guy, with the dumb hair?”

“Oh, Prince Zuko.”

“Yeah, that one.”

Adrien raised his hand to touch his face again, but Fu took his wrist. “Don’t touch. I’m going to clean it and make some ointment, but don’t touch!”

Adrien nodded with a sigh.

“Plagg, Wayzz, watch him.”

As Fu left, Adrien shut his eyes and sighed. The pain was immense, but it sounded like it was worth it.

“Talk to me Adrien,” Plagg said, in his face. “You still with us?”

“Yeah, it just…hurts.” He winced. Moving his mouth to talk even hurt. “Is there a mirror?”

Wordlessly, Wayzz disappeared for a moment, only to come back with a hand mirror.

Adrien took it with a nod of gratitude and raised it to assess the damage. At first he was confused. It almost looked like part of his mask was still on. But bringing the mirror closer, he realized with growing horror, that it was his skin. Charred black and festering. It was the worst at the side of his face, between his ear and his eye. The area around his left eye was aggravated, blistered and bleeding, but not charred. His eyebrow was gone, and so were most of his eyelashes. The burns continued down by his jaw, and ended at the corner of his mouth. He could see his shirt had holes in it from the fire and assumed the burn continued down.

Fu returned. “Ah, I was actually hoping you wouldn’t look, but…what’s done is done.”

Adrien winced as he spoke. “It actually looks worse than it feels…but it still hurts really bad.”

Fu held out a cold washcloth. “Put this around your eye, I have to check the damage.” He got to work, cutting Adrien’s shirt off his shoulder so he could see the wound. “You’re fortunate, this could be much worse.”

“Oh good, my bad luck didn’t get me this time.” He rolled his eyes.

“Because of the Miraculous, you’ll heal faster than others. But until then, I’d like you to rest. I’ll allow Chat for emergencies only.”

“I should lay low anyways. Emile doesn’t have anywhere to be.”

Satisfied, Fu began the treatment. His charred skin had to be scraped away, and a healing ointment was rubbed in. “The burns continue up into your hairline.”

“Cut what you need. It’ll only help.”

Adrien ended up getting the hair on the side of his head to about two inches up shaved.

“I’m not a barber.” Fu chuckled. “You’ll have to get this fixed in the back.”

“I’m not worried about it right now.” Adrien whispered. This was all changing. Everything. “Master?”

“Hmm?”

“I found out Ladybug’s identity.”

“Oh?”

“She dove after me, to save me from the fire. And when Chat went in to get her, he caught Ladybug instead.”

“Does Ladybug know who you are?”

“No…she was rather upset that Adrien fell.”

“Perhaps you should tell me the whole story.”

“Do you know who she is?”

“Marinette? Of course. I gave her the earrings after all.”

Right, it was a foolish question. But he had to be sure. He couldn’t protect her from heartache, but he’d protect her from anything else. So he told him of his day. How it was just supposed to be a fun day at the tower with his friends, and had turned into a nightmare for everyone else. Fu listened with attention, his eyes narrowing as he worked.

“Last I knew, they were still looking for Adrien.”

“Then we can only hope that they come to the conclusion you’re not there.”

Adrien sighed. “I know this is what I wanted, but this sucks.”

“This isn’t what you wanted,” Fu posed, carefully applying bandages. “You wanted both freedom and your friends. But Chat Noir demanded one over the other.”

Adrien dropped his shoulders feeling defeated.

“But perhaps…Emile could make their acquaintance.”

Hope sprang up in his chest. “Really?”

“I didn’t recognize you at first. With a little more work, I’d venture to say they wouldn’t either.”

Adrien smiled, and then winced. “Could I go back to school then?”

“Let us worry about you healing first.”

—

Shortly after he was cleaned and his wounds were dressed, Adrien was urged to lay down and rest. He didn’t know if he could sleep. There was too much whirling around in his head. Adrien Agreste was dead now. His friends were emotionally scarred…and Marinette was Ladybug, and she was in love with him.

That alone was a whirlwind of a revelation.

There was nothing more he could have asked for than that. But what did that mean now? Obviously he wanted to tell her who he was, but she would be absolutely devastated. She watched him fall to his death after all, and he did it on purpose! And, despite her adamance on their secret identities, he should have told her in the first place. She would have understood, right? After all, it was for the good of Paris, right?

Right?

The little tv in the corner of the room turned on, and Master Fu flipped through the channels. Nadja Chamack was on the scene at the Eiffel tower.

“The akuma attack happened about an hour ago,” she was saying. “Since then, the Authorities have been on the search for a citizen caught in the crossfire. One Adrien Agreste, son of Fashion Designer Gabriel Agreste.”

“Hey, you made the news!” Plagg said with a little smirk.

“Yeah, great.”

“Agreste was last seen falling from the second floor of the tower into the flames below. He was shortly followed by his friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who was thankfully rescued by Chat Noir before tragedy could strike. Dupain-Cheng was unavailable for comment. A question keeps popping up in the wake of this young man’s disappearance. Isn’t Ladybug’s healing powers supposed to set things right? Other civilians were caught in the crossfire and even engulfed in flames, and yet they stand here now, not even sweating.”

Nadja made a good point. Obviously, Adrien knew why he hadn’t magically appeared at the base of the tower, but why was his face burnt? Wasn’t that supposed to heal with Miraculous Ladybug?

A man was speaking. “It was terrifying. I remember being completely engulfed by magma, but I don’t remember any pain. It’s like…being splashed with water. And my nose was stuffed before this whole thing started, and now I can breathe!”

Adrien sat up, despite the protests of Fu and Wayzz, so he could see the screen better.

“Theories about the failed healing have begun circulating on the Ladyblog, Ladybug and Chat Noir’s official new site. But without the heroes final words, we can’t truly know what happened. At the request of Gabriel Agreste, any information regarding the disappearance of his son Adrien should be fielded to the police. I’m Nadja Chamack, and you’re watching TVi News.”

“So…?” Began Adrien. “Why didn’t Miraculous Ladybug work on me? Is it because I’m a wielder?”

“No,” Fu said with a little sigh. “It’s because you resisted it.”

Adrien frowned, not following.

“Ladybug’s powers usually only listen to her, and therefore no one else can do what she does. But the Chat Noir miraculous is the other pair to hers, and by extension able to respond to and resist her. You cannot call Miraculous Ladybug, but you can prevent it.”

That was news. “So if Chat Noir was evil, I could stop her from healing the city?”

“Yes.”

Oh, that was a lot of power.

“Luckily for you, it only stopped from healing your face and not the rest of Paris.”

“Does Ladybug know I can do this?”

“Perhaps, if her kwami has told her. I’m almost certain she’ll ask.”

Adrien groaned out loud. “So now My Lady will think that I prevented her healing spell from bringing Adrien, the guy she admitted she was in love with, back to life. Great! She’ll hate me if I tell her who I am, and she’ll hate me if I don’t!”

“Either way, that is a conversation for another time. For now, you rest.”

—

Alya helped Marinette home. She wasn’t injured, but her vision was hazy with tears. “I could have saved him…” She kept muttering.

“No, you couldn’t.” Alya would reprimand. “You’re lucky Chat Noir got there in time.”  

Though Alya meant well, it was of no consolation.

In the bakery, Tom and Sabine ran to them and embraced them. “It’s all over the news!” Sabine cried. “Oh honey I was so afraid!”

“Oh my beautiful little girl!” Tom cried. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

But she wasn’t alright. She didn’t know if she’d ever be alright. There was a tidbit she had held back from Alya, from the police, from everyone that asked her. Something she would take with her to the grave.

She had made eye contact with Adrien before he fell, and his face was full of determination. He hadn’t fallen. He jumped.

That was enough to make the biggest superhero in Paris cry.

Adrien would have rather died than complied with his father’s wishes. And so he leapt. If only she had known! She could have done something! Anything!

But now he was gone, and she never had the chance to say she loved him.

Her tears would just not stop coming.

Eventually, she made it to her room, and she asked to be left alone to cry. She crawled up to her bed, flung the blankets over her head, and wept. She didn’t care how loud her wails were, she just cried and cried and cried. Finally, when her eyes felt heavy and she was reduced to sniveling, Tikki rested on her head, sending a comforting vibe through her. “There there…it’s alright to cry.” She whispered in her sweet little voice.

“I just can’t believe he’s gone…” She croaked. “I could have saved him.”

“Stop doing this to yourself, Marinette. It was an accident.”

“No it wasn’t!” She near shouted, sitting up. “I saw him! He went down on purpose!”

Tikki was quiet, just watching her chosen.

“Why didn’t the healing spell bring him back? It brought back everyone else…but why not him?”

Tikki knew that Chat was Adrien. Ever since that incident with Dark Owl, she knew.

“Well...” she began, screwing her mouth up. It wasn’t her business to tell. Especially if Chat was faking his death. It made sense though, she supposed. She had heard from the purse that Adrien was moving to Germany. And if Chat was Adrien...this was a mess.

“I know how much you hate liars, Marinette. So I just have to tell you that...I only have a theory, but I can’t tell you yet.”

Marinette frowned hard as her eyes squeezed shut. “Please?”

“I can’t. Not now.” But she offered a smile. “But perhaps someday soon.”

Marinette wiped her eyes and continued to lay in misery. “Chat Noir saw my identity. I didn’t even try to hide it. And if he hadn’t dragged me away, I would have revealed myself to all of Paris.”

“That’s why you have a partner,” Tikki assured. “To protect you when you can’t take care of yourself. Adrien meant a lot to you, and his…death would be painful to you.”

“Up until now, I had been so adamant about us keeping our identities a secret. I can’t imagine how he must be feeling after I blew it like that.”

“It’s mature of you to think about Chat’s feelings at this moment...but right now, I’m more worried about you.”

Marinette squeezed her eyes shut. “It hurts so much.”

“I know it does.” The Kwami said wisely. “But it’s important to let that hurt out now, so you can be strong. Paris will need Ladybug, especially when someone famous passes away. So if you protect Paris tomorrow, I’ll protect you tonight.”

“What about Chat?”

“He knows who you are, so if he needs you, he’ll come to you. I’ll protect you from him too, if I have to.”

Marinette managed a watery smile. “Thanks Tikki.”

[jesus-otaku]

Title: Peculiar Familiarity (Part 4)

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Pairing: Marichat, some implied Ladynoir

Word count: 2017 I kid you not

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

This continues the prize fic for @kwiibi! Honestly when starting I figured this would be like 6 or 7 parts but it’s probably gonna end up being longer than that because these kids are both dense as bricks. Thank you for this glorious request, lovely.

“How had she known the exact joke he had made to Marinette?”

________________________

“My lady, can I ask you something?” Chat Noir blurted at the end of patrol the next night.

He almost hadn't gotten up the nerve to ask. Sure, he knew that he had made a promise to Marinette to talk to Ladybug about the whole hand-kissing matter, but it was one thing to promise it and quite another to be in front of the girl who took his breath away and try to execute it. His heart had felt like it was going to explode out of his chest throughout their entire patrol. As a matter of fact, his asking at all could probably be more chalked up to sheer panic than to a deliberate choice on his part to fulfill the promise he had made.

Ladybug turned to face him, and for a moment, he almost thought she somehow knew what he was going to say. There was an odd look on her face, somewhere between pained and intrigued, as if she were bracing herself for something. The look vanished as soon as it had come. “You just did,” she teased with a slow smile. “But you can ask another question, I guess. If you want. What is it?”

What little of Chat's confidence had remained now vanished. He was going to sound like such an idiot. This was Ladybug, after all. She had done her very best to keep their relationship professional from the beginning and definitely did not care whose hand he went around kissing. He shifted his weight nervously and wondered if it was possible to melt into the roof they were standing on so that he could spare himself this embarrassment.

“I was just, um, wondering…” he mumbled, looking at anything but her—he might be able to get through this if he just didn't look at her—“if you would prefer I didn't kiss your hand anymore.”

She didn't answer right away. Chat risked peeking at her from the corner of his eyes, and saw that she was trying to school her features from…was that a grin?…to confusion. His heart sank. He hadn't thought she'd hated it that much.

“Where is this coming from?” she asked. Chat supposed he should be grateful she didn't sound as inordinately pleased as she looked. “You…you just change your mind about doing it, or…?”

“No,” he answered hurriedly. Then he wondered if it would have been easier to just say that yes, he had changed his mind. But he'd already answered, and he didn't really want to lie to his lady anyway. He would just have to live with the consequences, whatever they may be. “No,” he repeated softly. “That's not it at all.”

The last vestiges of Ladybug's smile faded from her lips. Now she looked concerned. She approached him slowly, almost like she expected him to break, and put a hand on his shoulder. “What's the matter, kitty?”

She looked so worried about him that he blurted, before he could stop himself, “I promised a friend I would ask.”

Ladybug withdrew slightly, a baffled expression making its way across her face. Her mouth opened, presumably to ask him what he meant, and he plowed on. Now that he had started, he couldn't keep himself from finishing. “I just, I made friends with this girl recently—just friends! The girl you asked me to protect from the Evillustrator. Marinette. She walks around sometimes at night and I take her home so she doesn't get bothered by creeps or something. And we started playing video games together a couple weeks ago—she doesn't know my identity, I just go over as Chat Noir, don't worry—and we get along really well, and the last time we played and I went to say goodbye I kissed her hand without thinking. Just out of habit, you know? Since I usually do that at the end of our patrols and everything and so of course then she asked about it the next time she saw me. And long story short I said I might stop kissing your hand and she said I should talk to you about it.”

When he had finished, he inhaled deeply (since he had been talking rather fast and had run out of breath about halfway through) and waited for her response. Ladybug, for a minute, seemed to be at a loss. She blinked a few times, looking confused, before shaking her head. A slight smile came back to her face.

“Why don't you tell me that again, kitty,” she suggested. “Only a lot slower this time. I want to make sure I understand what you're trying to say here.”

Chat relaxed, just a little. She wanted to talk about it. That was a good sign, right? Maybe making this promise to Marinette hadn't been such a horrible idea like he'd thought it was. “In that case, you might want to sit down. It's a bit of a long story.”

She plopped down on the edge of the roof immediately. “I'm all ears.”

He sat next to her, a bit slower. “So, um…you remember that girl Marinette you had me protect when the Evillustrator attacked?”

“Of course I remember.” Ladybug grinned. “I know her pretty well. How did you think her Ladyblog friend got that exclusive interview?”

“Oh.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. That made sense, but it was going to make this conversation much more awkward than he had anticipated. “Well, I…I noticed her walking around one night after we'd finished patrol. And it was really late, and she was all by herself, so I thought that I should…y' know…walk her home, make sure she got back safely. Because, well, you know how creeps kind of come out of the woodwork this time of night. And I, um, I kind of know her personally—not really well, but…I know her, so I didn't want to just leave her by herself.”

Ladybug propped her chin in her hand. Her grin had faded to a faint, fond smile. “So you walked her home?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Just, you know, to keep her safe and all that. It ended up being good that I did, because she was locked out of her house and I had to help her get up to her terrace to get in.”

She was still smiling faintly, and Chat began to get an odd feeling that he had seen that exact smile somewhere else. “Like Rapunzel or something?”

Chat gaped at her. How? How had she known the exact joke he had made to Marinette? Come to think of it, she didn't act like someone who hadn't known this whole story beforehand… “My lady, you…”

Panic flashed across her face, and he heard her whisper a very quiet “shoot” under her breath.

So she did know this story already.

“Marinette told you about all this already, didn't she?” he asked.

Ladybug stared at him for a solid minute before a shaky smile made its way onto her face, and then she burst out laughing. God, how he loved to hear her laugh. He wasn't sure what he had said to trigger it, but he was glad he did.

“Yeah,” she giggled, clutching her sides, “you got me. I've known pretty much since the night it happened.”

He frowned. “You should have just told me that from the beginning. That saves me a lot of explaining.”

She waved it off. “It's fine,” she said. She was still giggling a little. “I only knew Marinette's version of the story, so it's nice to hear the other side of what happened.” She finally let go of her sides, and leaned forward. “Keep going. So you helped her up to her terrace, and…?”

“I saw her walking around again the night after,” he said. It was getting easier to talk about it now that he had gotten started. His heart at least wasn't pounding so hard he thought he was going to have a heart attack anymore. “So I took her home again. And then I kind of noticed over time that she was walking around at night a lot. I didn't want to pry and ask why, but I figured I could at least keep walking her home. She kind of complained a bit at first, but she never told me to go away or to leave her alone, so…”

“So you started doing it every night.”

“Well, not every night,” Chat hedged with an embarrassed smile. “Just the nights I saw her. I don't think she sneaks out every night.”

“Probably not,” Ladybug agreed. “So what does this have to do with you kissing my hand?”

“We talk on the way to her house,” he explained. “And we were talking one night, and I mentioned that I like to play video games, and she said we should have a game night sometime. That was about…two weeks ago, I think? I've gone over for game nights a couple times now. But, um, the last time I was there, I screwed up, sort of. I'm so used to kissing your hand when we say goodbye for the night that I…I kissed her hand.”

Ladybug didn't say anything to that. She didn't even tease.

Chat hoped that wasn't a bad sign.

“So, um…” he continued nervously, “I saw her again after that, and we talked about it and I…kind of sort of offered to start kissing her hand instead of yours. So I…um…wouldn't be kissing your hand anymore.”

Ladybug stayed quiet for a long time, so long that Chat began to wonder if she planned to respond at all. Maybe he'd been right after all, and she really didn't care.

Heck, who was he kidding? She definitely didn't care. She had always pushed him away after he kissed her hand, always a finger to his nose and an amused grin that said you're such a flirt even though he never flirted with anyone other than her.

“Why?” Ladybug asked, and her voice was so quiet that he almost didn't hear her ask.

He stared at her. “What?”

“Why?” she repeated, a little louder this time. She looked at him with an expression he wasn't sure how to decipher. “Why did you offer to kiss her hand from now on?”

Chat paused, unsure how to explain when he didn't even fully know the reason himself. “I…well…that's…”

He was still fumbling for something to say when she said, “It's okay if you say that you like her, you know.”

That broke him out of his spell of stupefaction. “Like her? N-no, I don't—she's—I think of her as a friend! I'd never…”

The look she gave him made his protests die in his throat. It was a half amused, half wistful expression that was painful to see. “Then why do you kiss my hand?”

Oh, God. He couldn't do this. This was too much. He had not planned on a love confession tonight. He was nowhere near ready for that. Talking about kissing Marinette's hand was already hard enough, without adding his love for Ladybug into the mix. He would have fled right then, if it hadn't been for his promise to Marinette that he would tell Ladybug about what was going on. “That's… because I…”

“It's not any different, is it?” she pressed softly.

“It is, though,” Chat protested. “You're…you're my…partner.” The word tasted bitter in his mouth. She's so, so much more than that. “And Marinette, she's my…” He trailed off. What was Marinette to him?

Ladybug leaned closer, obviously curious. “She's your…?”

Everything in him wanted to say what he had been insisting this whole time, that she was just a friend, just someone he happened to walk home every now and then, but the word didn't seem quite right. Not when he'd been muddling so much lately over his feelings for her. But then what was she? Only one word came to mind. It wouldn't help his situation at all—actually, it would probably make it worse—but it was the only word that fit. He closed his eyes and braced himself for whatever reaction would follow.

“She's my princess.”