#he likes hanging around all day and eating cheese and being with adrien

[weaverofink]

You guys seemed to like the deity!Tikki AU so I decided to make some more for it!!

I think once Tikki is free, the first thing she does is try to hunt down Plagg to “free” him from his miraculous and his holder, who she deems little more than a thief. Adrien gets wind of this and decides to get the hell out of dodge with Plagg in tow. Plagg is very conflicted about all of this-- he doesn’t actually remember ever being a god (due to the enchantment on the miraculous) and has grown to like both Adrien and the life he currently has, but he is haunted by the existential implication that his current self is just a lie dreamed up by the guardians

[countlessrealities]

Kisses under the mistletoe || No longer accepting

@alm1ghtysea sent: 💏 - my muse kisses your muse under a mistletoe without a warning (For Adrien and Kaito !)

Parties were the sort of scene Adrien was still getting used to. He had been to plenty of gatherings with his father, back when he had used to model for Gabriel, but those were easier to navigate. All he had to do was being quiet, talking only when he was addressed and smile for the cameras, if there were any.

This was different.

He wasn't sure of how Marinette and Alya had managed to convince the principal to let them hold a Christmas party in the school yard, but apparently not only they had succeeded, but they had also managed to turn the place into show of colourful lights and winter-themed decorations. The place was almost unrecognisable

Adrien himself had helped setting up the scene the previous day, but seeing it now, with the light of the day quickly fading away, everything looked as if it had been wrapped in a cheerful golden glow, with a touch of red and silver here and there. In one word, it was beautiful.

Had it been up to him, he would have gladly just leant against the wall, away from most of the crowd and enjoyed the scene. Not just the yard in itself, but also the people and the cheerful atmosphere that filled all the space. Unfortunately, everyone else had other plans for him, so he had found himself being dragged from one corner to the other.

Chatting with Nino, making sure that Chloé didn't mess with the sweets Marinette had baked, saving the latter from her own clumsiness, playing judge in an argument between Kim and Max.

And, last but not least, now Plagg was demanding to be fed some of the cheese from the refreshments table.

The teen had grumbled a little at the kwami demands, but eventually he had given in. Careful not to draw anyone's attention, he had made a beeline for the food, keeping watch while the creature scarfed down almost all the contents of the cheese plate. Hopefully, no one would have noticed, because he wasn't looking forward to lie and say that he had been the one to eat all that.

"C-C'mon, Plagg, that's enough," he whispered, ushering the kwami back under his shirt. "I'll get you more once we get home, alright? Someone might see you. And we can't...!"

The rest of his sentence was lost in a little huff as he turned around and bumped straight into Kaito. He had spotted the other teen here and there, surrounded by his friends, but he had never found the chance or a pretext to approach him...until now.

Adrien instantly opened his mouth to apologise, but, once again, his words got lost as he noticed something else, hanging from a thread right over their heads.

...Oh shit. Was that mistletoe?!

"Uh, h-hey, Kaito, I just..." He started, unsure of what to say. He had stared at the plant too long, because the other had looked up in turn.

Great, now the cat was out of the bag. And how he wished to be the cat, so he could have just zoomed away and hide on a rooftop.

"It looks like we...that's..."

Did his friend even know about that particular tradition? He was certain that it was something that had its roots in the Western culture. And if that was the case, then he would have looked twice as a fool, if he had tried to do what he was supposed to do. Maybe he should just turn on his heels and...

A hit against his lips cut through his thoughts and he quickly realised that it was Plagg trying to get him to just go ahead and...do the thing. Easier to be said than to be done. But, on the other hand, he couldn't stay there looking like a dead fish either, could he?

"It's tradition, you know, so..." He started again, trying and mostly failing to channel his inner Cat Noir.

This time he let his voice trail off on purpose, both because he needed the extra moments to steady himself and because he was hoping to catch Kaito off guard. The time to suck in a quiet breath through his nose and he was leaning forward.

He didn't dare to go for a kiss on the mouth, he couldn't have made himself to do it even if he had really wanted to. Instead, he landed his lips against the older teen's cheek, pressing a soft, lingering kiss on it. As their skins brushed, time seemed to stretch and the universe seemed to shrink down to the way their body heats mixed together.

The moment was suddenly broken as he moved back, the weight of the implications of what he had just done falling on Adrien all of a sudden. He could not have a conversation with Kaito right now. Not about the kiss, not about anything else.

"Oh, anyway, I...I see Nino calling for me. He probably needs help with...this thing from earlier," he hurried to say, not giving the other any chance to react. "I'll...Let's talk another time. Enjoy the rest of the party!"

And with that, he was off, making sure to disappear in the crowd before sneaking into the lockers room. Running away from his friend was starting to become a habit and he really did not like it.

Letting out a heavy breath, he leant his back against the wall, closing his eyes and running a hand on his face. He was a complete disaster when it came to handle this particular ordeal, wasn't he?

Exploiting the fact that they were alone, Plagg floated out of his hideout, coming to stand in front of his holder's face, green eyes shining with mirth.

"Damn, you're really bad at this wooing thing, do you know that?" The kwami huffed out in amusement. "Sooo...Does this mean that we're going home earlier and that I can get my cheese sooner?"

Adrien let out a groan, shoving the creature aside. "Oh, shut up, Plagg. We're not going home...yet. I'm going back out there...in a minute or ten."

[intercoursefluids]

The Impromptu Sleepover Part 1

“Alright! The adults are asleep what do you guys want to do?”

Alya being Alya, decided to take over the sleepover to celebrate Marinette’s friends finally realizing (or in most cases finally speaking up) about Lila’s lies.

“Swordfight!”

“Movie Marathon!”

“Let’s play truth or dare!”

Different ideas all resound from the girls currently huddled in Marinette’s room, all the boys trying to pretend they didn’t exist.

Only nine people were there, Adrien had wanted to come to the sleepover, but his dad wouldn’t let him.

These 10 were the only ones from her class to come back to her and apologize once they realized who the real victim was.

Marinette almost couldn’t believe her eyes when Alix, Alya, Kagami, Chloe, Nino, Kim, Max, Nathaniel, and Marc came up to her asking for her back.

The only ones who had actually believed Lila’s lies were Alya, Max, and Nathaniel but the others still apologized for not speaking out for her.

This group apology and cry session that immediately followed ended up with them holding a sleepover to celebrate their reconnection.

One thing Marinette forgot about though. Was the fact that Chat Noir would come to hang out with her on Fridays.

Which is why, when pebbles started hitting her window. She damn near had a heart attack when everyone else noticed immediately stopping their conversations.

“Mari, Love, Darling dearest. Who, might I ask, is throwing pebbles at your window?”

Every single one of her friends look at her with shit-eating grins as Kim blinks up innocently at her like he didn't just confirm for everyone there was in fact someone outside throwing a rock at her window.

Persistently.

With a deep sigh, Marinette grabs a lightsaber and spray bottle from the back of her closet.

"Alya, I am giving you permission to film this. I am NOT, however, to post this to any social media, and no one except for those in this room are to ever see the footage unless I give explicit permission otherwise. Understand?"

Alya nods frantically pulling out her phone as she and Marinette climb up to the balcony.

"Oh, Romeo Oh Romeo. Where art tho Romeo?"

Chat Noirs sarcastic call sounds from below with a bouquet of Alstroemeria, Amaryllis, and Blue Irises.

Alya hides behind the railing, just out of Chat Noir's sight as she films the interaction.

With a deep sigh, Marinette turns to Chat with regret and sorrow written all across her face, making Chat pause.

"Princess? What's the matter-"

"I'm sorry Chat Noir. But it's over."

The stricken look on his face almost makes Marinette feel sorry for him.

Almost.

"I don't understand? Did I do something wrong?"

With another deep sigh, Marinette runs a hand over her face.

"It's over Chat."

Faking tears, Marinette ever so slowly pulls the lightsaber from behind her back turning it on making the red illuminate half her face.

"I have the high ground."

Marinette sniffles for good measure as Alya finally catches on. Turning her phone back to Chat to see him looking like he was about to cry before it finally clicks.

His face goes blank as he stares up at one of his best friends.

"I hate you so much."

Marinette cackles as he pulls out his baton, stretching up to her balcony to be face to face with her.

"I can't believe that guy calls you 'Angel'. Your halo hides your horns too well and- Ladyblogger? What are you doi- Eep!"

He cuts off abruptly as Marinette squirts him in the face with the spray bottle making him reel back with a yowl.

In his haste to get away, he knocks himself off balance starting to fall over backward until Marinette grabs his bell yanking him forward.

"Okay, that is it! I'm going home and I'm telling Ladybug you're picking on me."

Marinette wheezes, trying to get her breath back and just giving up. Climbing down her skylight to collapse in a pile of giggles.

Chat and Alya both follow her down. Alya pushing her off her bed so Kim has to catch her before she hits the floor.

"Please Alya. PLEASE, tell me you got his reaction on film."

Alya smirks showing the video currently saving to her phone.

"Of course I did. Now we have a new guest here now assuming that Chat wants to stay for the sleepover."

Chat's eyes widen, looking every part the excited kitten.

"Can I?! I've never been to a sleepover before!"

All of the girls gasp in horror, surrounding Chat as they search through drawers and Marinette's closet.

Marinette, always one step ahead, runs to chat.

"Go in the bathroom, detransform put these on, and come back out. I'm assuming your Kwami eats camembert cheese since you constantly smell like it. I swear no one here is going to find out your identity or even try if they don't want me to put them on blast with all of the dirt I have on them. Now go!"

Chat is shoved into the bathroom, the door slamming shut behind him. Doing as he is told in fear of Marinette, Chat detransforms catching Plagg as he cackles in the air.

"Oh, I like her! She'd make a great kitten, with how easy it is for her to cause chaos, just how I like it!."

Shaking his head at his cackling Kwami as he got dressed. Putting the mask Marinette made him on trying it securely around his head. Stepping out to find Marinette coming back with a LARGE tray of food and everyone else huddled around Alya's phone.

Chat can't help the startled yelp he lets out when Alix pulls him down to her, gently petting his hair as she glares at Marinette.

"You're a monster Marinette. How could you do that to him?! Look at his face! His little baby face! He looked heartbroken!"

Marinette snorts at the playful scolding.

"Let him go, Alix. Go find your own stray."

Alix snorts as Marinette pulls a blushing Chat to her hugging him close. Marinette sits down dragging him with her as he buries his face in her hair. Too embarrassed to speak.

He doesn't have a babyface. Does he?

"Awe come on Mari, you found the cutest one the least you could do is share him!"

Everyone laughs as Kim makes a grab for Chat just for Marinette to pull him closer to her.

"Noooooo, this is MY alley cat! Go find your own!"

Chat Noir would never admit how hard he had to fight down his purr when Marinette started petting his hair.

You know. Before he lost that battle and a purr sounded loudly through his chest.

"Please stop. It's not fair and you're embarrassing me. Mariiiiii! Stooooooop."

Everyone laughs when Chat complains for Marinette to stop, even as he starts to melt into a puddle on her lap.

"One of these days I'm going to tell M'lady on you and she's gonna dangle you from the Eiffel Tower."

Now, under normal circumstances, everyone would be worried, but it's hard to be serious when one of Paris's superheroes is melted in a puddle in your friend's lap with a purr so loud it's hard to understand him.

"I'm pretty sure Ladybug would dangle YOU from the Eiffel Tower for being in a girls room this late, without letting her parents know. Even more, so that you detransformed in front of us. Still want to tell Ladybug on Marinette?"

Everyone turns to Marc, Nathaniel's adorable spouse as they radiate badassery.

Chat's purr stutters before starting up just as loudly again.

"I will no longer be telling M'lady."

Marinette snorts leaning back on her chaise as Chat adjusts himself so he's laying between her legs with his head on her stomach. Facing the rest of the class as Marinette plays with his hair.

"Are you guys dating?"

"Of course they are Cesaire. Ridiculous-!"

"Utterly ridiculous!" "Ew! No!"

Are the two different responses that cut Chloe off. The group finishing Chloe's catchphrase as Marinette and Chat Noir look at the rest of the class in disgust.

"Okay, first of all. Chat what the HELL do you mean 'ew'? Marinette is a babe, and everyone in this room has had a crush on her at least once before. How dare you say 'ew' like you would never date her you would be incredibly lucky if she even considered you."

Alya states with a finger in Chat's face.

Alix, Alya, Kagami, Chloe, Max, Kim, Nathaniel, Marc, and Nino all looking incredibly offended for Marinette even as she blushes and tries to hide her face.

"Guys, stop! And what do you mean all of you? Half of you are dating each other!"

Chat snickers at her distress, pulling out his burner phone and snapping a picture of her face.

"Okay, there may or may not be a literal 'Queen Marinette Club" or 'QMC' for short. We even have several social media accounts dedicated to giving you the credit you deserve. Before you ask this started that one time we went to Gotham and you answered all of the Riddler's riddles and yelled at Nightwing and Robin for their poor fashion choices and called Batman a furry when he tried to stop you."

Surprisingly Nathaniel is the one who answers instead of Alya as she pulls out her phone.

"We didn't even start the club! It was some people in Gotham who did. Max is the one who found out about it."

Sweet Marc, sweet sweet Marc never knowing when to stop before Marinette popped a blood vessel from blushing so hard.

"Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Cat Woman, The Riddler, the entire Batfamily (Batman included), and even some of the Waynes follow the accounts. Not to mention the other celebrities you've befriended like Mr. Stone and Ms. Nightingale."

Max reads off of his phone, seemingly proud of Marinette's followers.

"Even my mom follows you, Mari. That says something."

Chat looks up cackling as Marinette tries to suffocate herself with a pillow, Plagg rolling around on her hair as he clutches his stomach.

"Dang! Pigtails has some, what's it called? Clout! You're famous, kitten!"

Marinette whimpers from behind the pillow, her face practically radiating heat.

Chat snorts before turning back to the group.

"Number one I am well aware that Marinette is awesome and that I would be the luckiest man in the world to have her as my girlfriend. However, she's basically my little sister, same as Ladybug. Sorry to burst your bubble, Alya. Number two, she already has a boyfriend, has for a little over a year now, and he scares me. I am not testing if I really have nine lives cause he would take all of them. Number three, can you show me the 'QMC' accounts I want to follow them."

The room is silent as Marinette glares at Chat.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that? Princess? It's not like this is new informa-! They didn't know did they?"

Marinette reaches under her, pulling out a very nice-looking dagger from under the cushions of her chaise.

"Say goodbye to eight of your lives Chat. I need a new black fur hat."

Chat yelps scampering away from Marinette on all fours as she lunges for him with Plagg chasing after them laughing.

They keep running around the room until they pass Kim and he reaches out and grabs Marinette, trapping her in his arms.

"Okay, nice knife. Not sure where you got it nor do I want to know. Second of all, what's this about a boyfriend?"

Everyone surrounds her as Alix pulls the dagger from her hands putting it back under the cushions.

"Why haven't we heard of any boyfriend? Are you out of your mind?"

Alya's calm tone is very misleading as Chat hides behind her.

"He didn't want anyone to know just in case people claim for me to be a gold digger. Scratch that, I didn't want anyone to know so he didn't get sued for assault if anyone called me a gold digger and he found out."

Chat snorts.

"Yeah, you, definitely a gold digger. You know, since you didn't even realize who he was for the first 5 or 6 months of your relationship."

Marinette's glare does nothing as a blush covers her face.

"We don't speak of it Chat. I can and will still skin you."

Everyone looks at Marinette in shock.

"Okay, so all we know is that they are a he. He is rich enough to make people assume Marinette, Marinette of all people, is a gold digger and they are in a secret relationship. Who is it?"

Max looks up from his phone, where he is no doubt taking notes.

Marinette looks at the ground mumbling something that no one but Chat can make out thanks to his super hearing. He laughs and walks over to her phone unlocking it as Marinette finally answers.

"Damian Wayne."

Everyone looks at Marinette in a mix of shock and confusion before Chloe bursts out laughing.

"Only you Marinette. Only you would get over your crush on a millionaire heir to fall for a literal billionaire heir without even realizing it."

She breaks off into hysterical laughter as everyone turns to chat who is now on Marinette's computer connected to her phone as a facetime call takes place.

It answers on the second ring to someone who is most definitely NOT Damian Wayne.

"Hey Pixie Pop! Sorry, but I had to steal the phone from demon spawn. He was trying to kill me and Dick with a spoon and lunged for his phone as soon as it started ringing. Me and Dick were closer so we grabbed it and are now trying to find somewhere to hide so he doesn't actually kill us. Dick wanna say 'Hi'?"

Everyone hears a shout of 'sure' from someone out of the frame before the phone is passed over to someone who looks much like the first, except they are older and have no white streak in their hair.

"Hey, nettie! How's school?"

Chat smirks, covering Marinette's mouth as she tries to reply. A door slams shut as the two guys hunker in the near darkness, a lock clicking into place.

"School is great thanks for asking. Could be better but we are all getting by."

Two faces appear on screen looking a mix between worried and angry.

"I swear to god if you are holding Pixie Pop for ransom you will have the rage of all of Gotham fall upon you."

Chat just looks confused before remembering that he's wearing a mask and is holding Marinette's mouth shut.

"Oh! No, I'm not holding her hostage, we're friends. Chat Noir, Parisian superhero at your service. I just wanted to prank her boyfriend, she's having a sleepover and I was invited."

Their expressions immediately relax.

"Oh good. I was worried about what would happen when everyone else found out. Especially Damian."

Both boys shudder and smile as everyone else in the room comes into the frame.

One of them opens their mouth to speak before a loud bang comes from the door. Two equal looks of fear take over their faces.

A second later a loud bang fills the air as the door basically explodes open, high-pitched screams of terror fill the air before all is silent a new face filling to screen.

"Sorry Habibti, my brothers are imbeciles with death wishes. What do you need?"

"Wow, Habibti? I didn't know you felt that way about me Damian, or should I give you a pet name too?"

Chat's grin SCREAMS mischief, as Damian looks down an ice-cold glare in place.

"Let go of my girlfriend before I fly down there and skin you alive regardless of her wishes."

Everyone shivers at the pure venom in Damian's voice as Chat lets go holding his hands up in the air as he grins.

"Sorry, sorry. Letting go."

Marinette and Damian both glare at him before turning to each other, both looks immediately softening.

"Sorry, Shaytan. I'm having a sleepover and Chat outed our relationship and decided it would be funny to call you."

His smile is so gentle it shocks the rest of Marinette's friends.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault the Cat is a moron. I miss you. When do you think you can come back?"

Both of them choose to ignore Chats highly offended 'Hey!' as well as everyone else in the room with Marinette.

"That depends on when you want me there and when I can catch a flight."

Damian sits down at a table pulling a laptop to him as he sets up his phone so she can still see him.

"Well I want you here now, and I can have you a flight soon enough if I ask Father to get the family jet ready. If I work fast I can have you here by tomorrow morning, if not sooner."

Marinette looks shocked.

"You can't just ask your Father to get a plane ready just for me Damian!"

He glances back at the phone before going back to his computer.

"Why not? Everyone here loves you and if you're worried about the cost of it I can assure you a single minute of your time is worth far more than a measly plane ride."

Kim and Alya make cooing noises at the two from the sweetness of it all as Kagami steps up wrapping her arms protectively around her.

"Before you make any more trip plans you are going to tell me what you plan to do with Marinette in the future. I will not allow her to be some temporary girlfriend if you aren't serious about her."

Damian turns back to the phone looking past Marinette to acknowledge the others for the first time since the call started.

"I can assure you I don't want Marinette to be temporary. I plan to marry her and I truly couldn't care less if any of you have a problem with it."

Marinette's face invents a new shade of red as everyone coos over how cute that is. After getting over their initial shock of course.

"Habibti, do you want them to be able to come with you next time you come over? I can have father speak to their parents if they don't agree right away."

"Are you sure that would be okay?"

Marinette's timid voice makes Damian look away from his computer.

"Why wouldn't it be? If you don't want them to come with you then they don't have to, I know that you have some trouble with a few of your classmates. Seeing how late it is there I would have thought these were the ones who didn't turn on you or came back once they realized how idiotic they were to leave in the first place."

"Rude, but true."

Damian chooses to ignore Alya.

"No I would like for them to come, it could be fun! I'm just worried about space and where everyone would sleep."

Damian snorts.

"You have nothing to worry about, if you don't want them to stay in a hotel they can stay with us in the manor, there's plenty of space. And if there isn't enough space you can just sleep with me in my room."

He finishes off with a cheeky grin as Marinette sputters.

"You can't just say stuff like that Damian! It was bad enough that you said you planned to marry me, you don't need to add sharing a bed to the pile!"

Damian has the audacity to look confused.

"What do you mean? I never hid my plans to marry you nor my feelings, I don't get what the big deal is about sharing a bed anyway. It's not like Alfred would let us do anything and we wouldn't even have the chance with the circus monkeys I call brothers."

Several offended voices with 'I heard that!' 'Excuse me?' and 'You love us and you know it!'s all sound from his end.

Alix and Kim are basically collapsed onto each other as they wheeze at his bluntness.

Marinette sighs resting her head on her hands with a 'why do I even bother?' before looking up again.

"Fine, how is next weekend for everyone. I know Adrien will want to be included and I don't think he has anything going then. It will give me enough time to convince everyone's parents if need be and pack."

Everyone agrees and they end the call. Damian and Marinette saying their respective I love yous and Goodnight/Good mornings.

"I'm going to duel him."

"Kagami NO!"

Kagami looks Marinette dead in the eyes before smiling.

"Kagami yes."

[galahadwilder]

Greater Need Than Mine

Merry Christmas @callmequoteman @sweetmeatdale! I was your Lovesquare Obsessed Secret Santa. And I do know what you like. 😁

Have some angsty/fluffy hurt/comfort Adrigaminette!

*

“Please don’t scream,” Adrien says, his hands up, his voice desperate. He’s standing in the middle of his room, hunched, like a cornered animal. Like he’s going to bolt out the window at any moment.

“I do not scream,” Kagami says, which is true. She doesn’t. That does not mean that her composure is not quietly shattering inside her, her ribs breaking apart. This is the last thing she expected to see when she walked into her boyfriend’s room—and yet it makes so much sense. Why he’s always so distant. Why he keeps disappearing on her whenever there’s an Akuma attack. It even clears up the “other girl/Marinette” issue—of course it’s not Marinette, at least now.

Adrien is still looking at her like she’s about to explode—and, to be fair, she just might. But she would never be so gauche as to explode onto him—no, this will be an internal explosion, one that will leave no mess on anyone and she can contemplate later.

“Are you okay?” Adrien says.

“I am fine,” Kagami lies.

“Oh no. I know that look.” Adrien steps forward, reaching for her hand. “You need a minute?”

Kagami looks at the tiny black cat floating next to his shoulder. “What does yours eat?” she says.

Adrien swallows. “Cheese,” he says. “Really smelly cheese.”

*

It goes like this:

After 27 Mister Pigeons and 12 Mister Rats, Paris has stopped taking attacks from Xavier Ramier seriously. Oh, Ladybug and Chat Noir still show up for every battle, simply because that is what they do. But with each attack, Ramier has been less and less violent, less and less dangerous, to the point where he’s basically an inconvenience. Kagami didn’t even bother rescheduling her date.

When she’d arrived at the Agreste Manor, Nathalie had let her right in. She’d gone up to Adrien’s room, knocked on the door, and when she heard no answer, assumed he must’ve been in the shower or something. (He did that a lot.)

Instead, when she opened the door, she found Chat Noir, his ring down to one pad and blinking. One second later, he was flashing green. One second after that…

*

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Adrien says.

“I would be disappointed in you if you had,” Kagami says. She’s sitting on his couch, clutching her jacket closed with shaking hands. Her chest feels cold, like her windpipe is freezing all the way up her neck. “Do you remember what Ladybug told me when I revealed mine?”

Adrien hangs his head. “Yeah,” he says. He gathers up a blanket, carefully draping it around her shoulders. “I didn’t mean for you to find out.”

“You weren’t careful,” Kagami snaps, and then her stomach immediately drops out because that is not the right thing to say, and not at all the impression she meant to give. She can see the hurt in Adrien’s eyes from her words.

“You’re right,” he says, despondent. “I—I wasn’t.”

She swallows through chattering teeth. She’s hurt him, again, and she wants to make this right but she doesn’t know how. “You are… my hero,” she forces out.

He looks up at her, blinks. “It’s—” He glances down at his hand. “It’s just the ring.”

Kagami shakes her head. “Is it the choker that makes me special?” she says. “I was chosen to be Ryuko for a reason. You were chosen for something far greater.”

“I keep trying to tell him,” the tiny cat rasps. “Kid never believes me.”

Adrien smiles, but then his whole body droops. “I’ll… understand if you want to break up with me.”

“Break up with—!” Kagami takes a deep breath, clutching the blanket around herself. “I—no, of course not!” She suppresses a shiver as she reaches out to touch Adrien’s cheek, unable to ignore the clamminess of skin on skin. “Adrien, I am proud of you.”

He shivers, closing his eyes, and a single tear squeezes from between his lids.

*

Kagami needs to talk to someone about this. Usually she keeps everything bottled up—she’s never really had anyone to talk to, even in Osaka (she always had trouble relating to people her own age, and her mother has never really been the “motherly” type). But ever since she came to France, that has changed. France is where she met Adrien, yes, but it is also where she met Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She’d texted Marinette as soon as her time with Adrien was over, barely able to hold herself together, and as soon as Marinette had given her a location she’d bolted for the Trocadero.

It’s not a long run—definitely not a sprint, but not so long that she has to walk. Still, her whole body is on fire from exertion when she gets to the Trocadero and sees the familiar pink pants and black pigtails of the girl sitting on the steps.

Marinette looks up from her sketching, sees Kagami, and immediately leaps to her feet with a delighted beam. “Kagami!” she says, running up and throwing herself into a hug. “Everything okay?”

“I… don’t know,” Kagami says, suppressing a shiver at the touch. She likes Marinette, she likes Marinette’s enthusiasm and willingness to touch, even if has trouble with touch herself. “It’s… it should be a good thing, but…”

Marinette pulls back and raises an eyebrow. “This sounds like something that would be easier to talk about over juice,” she says.

Kagami is eternally thankful for Marinette. Even though they are both in love with the same boy, Marinette has only briefly held that against her, and what could have been the beginning of a horrific rivalry had instead grown into the best friendship Kagami has ever had. But Kagami can still see how Marinette hurts whenever they talk about Adrien, whenever Kagami talks to her about her boyfriend problems, and she feels guilty, like brackish water all the way down into her soul. But Marinette has been nothing but understanding, and right now Kagami needs the help.

Once they have their juice, Marinette sits Kagami down at an outside table under one of those thick canvas parasols. “Okay, talk to me,” she says. “What’s up?”

Kagami holds her cup in both hands, staring at it, unable to meet Marinette’s eyes. “I… discovered a secret of Adrien’s,” she begins, haltingly. “I did not intend to, but.”

“And now you’re mad at him,” Marinette says, sipping at her juice.

“I—No!” Kagami says. “He was protecting me, and I—it’s a secret I should not even know!”

Marinette halts mid-sip. “Protecting you?”

Kagami opens her mouth to speak, then halts. “I—I cannot say anymore without breaching his trust.”

Marinette nods as if she understands, which is a bit of a surprise for Kagami. She sort of expected her to push a little further. “Okay, so, first step is to categorize your emotions,” Marinette says, listing them on her fingers. “You’re scared that you know, mad at him for keeping it from you, also mad at him for letting you find out. What else?”

Kagami wants to object. She’s not angry at Adrien! Not at all! But—Marinette’s words are striking home in a way that she did not expect. Maybe… maybe she is.

She needs a moment to think, to process. She puts her lips to her straw, takes a sip, lets the sweet and cold orange juice splash into her mouth. Adrien is Chat Noir. Is she angry at him? For continually leaving her while on dates? For not telling her? For throwing himself into danger over and over again, so recklessly, for dying and dying and dying?

Yes. Yes she is.

“Perhaps… perhaps I am,” she begins, placing her drink back on the table. “But, I am also… proud of him. For the things he does.”

Marinette’s eyes narrow. “Did he tell you about Aspik?”

Kagami blinks. “What is Aspik?” she says.

Marinette stares at her, incredulous, eyes wide. “I. Um. Nothing?” she offers, weakly. “Don’t—don’t worry about it?”

“Is Adrien keeping other things from me?” Kagami says.

Marinette’s face goes white. “Is… is everything okay?”

Kagami looks down at her feet. “I…” Ice rises in her throat. “I do not know.”

*

“Adrien, what is ‘Aspik?’” Kagami says.

Astounding. She can actually hear Adrien freeze over the phone—the way his breath stops. She briefly muses over the idea that she might’ve just killed him.

“Who told you about Aspik?” he says.

“Adrien—” she begins.

He cuts her off. “I’ll tell you in a minute, just—Kagami, this is really important. Only two people know about that. Who told you?”

“...Marinette?”

“Oh God.” Adrien is breathing heavy, the speaker crackling in her ear with every exhalation. “Oh my—oh my God. It’s—no. No way. I can’t believe—”

Kagami grimaces as she fights down a wave of irritation. “Adrien. Explain, please.”

He breathes in. “Okay,” he says. “Um. Do you remember a few months back when we cut fencing to go hang out at Luka’s, and Jagged Stone came over?”

Kagami thinks back. That was a while ago. “He’d… fired his guitar player, correct?”

“Yeah,” Adrien says. “Anyway she got Akumatized, and, um. Ladybug didn’t know I was Chat Noir. Still doesn’t.”

Kagami is not sure she likes where this is going.

“She asked me to wield the Snake Miraculous.”

“And you accepted?” Kagami gasps.

“What was I supposed to say, no?” Adrien hisses back. “She needed me.”

“She needed you as Chat!” Kagami snaps back.

“Easy to say in hindsight!” Adrien replies. He breathes in, slowly, then back out. “Anyway, it was… bad.”

Kagami’s eye twitches. “How bad?”

“I was stuck in a time loop for three months. We kept losing, and I kept… resetting, and…” He trails off with a sob.

“No wonder you were so tired when you got back to the boat,” Kagami murmurs. She remembers that day now. How broken Adrien had seemed at the end of it, for reasons she’d never been able to place. It makes more sense now, a horrifying kind of sense.

“I am… sorry,” she says. The words aren’t enough to convey the vast feeling inside her, the sympathy she has for him, the horror she feels at what he was forced to endure. “If I had known…”

“Gami, it’s—it’s okay,” Adrien says. “You weren’t supposed to. I mean—I’m the one who didn’t tell you.”

Kagami wishes she could stop being mad at him about that. She understands why he did it, she’d be disappointed if he told her, so why is she so hurt that he’s been keeping things from her? Those things needed to be kept from her.

“Kagami, only two people ever knew that I wore the snake,” Adrien says. “And one of them was Luka.”

“Who is the other?”

Adrien is silent for a moment. “Ladybug. Ladybug is.”

Kagami’s skin begins to crawl as she realizes what Adrien is saying. Everything—everything matches. The hair. The height. The eyes. The fire. Oh, Kami, Ladybug is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

All the breath is driven from her lungs, and she is left gasping, grasping, for air. She remembers the way she felt the first time Ladybug touched her, the first time Marinette spoke to her, the way her heart caught fire. Ladybug—Marinette—is the most incredible person she’s ever met, and. And…

And Adrien feels the same way.

Kagami’s body goes cold as she realizes what she has to do. “Chat Noir has always been in love with Ladybug,” she says, her voice kept level to keep the tears out of it. “You are in love with Ladybug.”

“Kagami, I—” Adrien begins to protest.

She doesn’t let him finish. “Adrien, Marinette is in love with you.” If she doesn’t do this now, she’s never going to. Don’t hesitate. “She always has been.”

Adrien is silent for a moment. “Gami?” he says, finally, his voice weak.

“You should be with her,” Kagami says, trying not to cry. This is the most difficult thing she’s ever done, but it is the unquestionably the right thing to do. She should never have stood between them.

“Gami, don’t—”

She hangs up. She can’t bear to hear another word.

She opens up her texting app, rejecting a call from Adrien in the process, and shoots a message to Marinette. He’s all yours. Be good to him.

She doesn’t see a response before she shuts the phone off.

*

It’s only once she is alone, in her bedroom, that she breaks down. She buries her face into her pillow and, for the first time in a long time, begins to cry.

There’s no dignity to this, no elegance—it’s messy, wet and snotty and blubbery. She’s completely falling apart, her whole body wracked with sobs, and all she wants to do is curl up under her covers and fall asleep and not wake up for a week.

She can’t. She has to get up. She has to move.

She stands up, swipes the tears from her face with her blanket, and throws open her closet. Her sabers are in there, in her bag. She unzips it, draws one, and falls into stance.

This is better. This is much better. She slashes, advances, retreats, parries against a shadow opponent, practicing every move, every step. She doesn’t have to stop. She doesn’t have to think. She doesn’t have to be aware of what she’s lost if all she’s aware of is her body, the blade in her hand.

Parry. Riposte. Strike. Don’t think about Adrien’s laugh.

Advance. Retreat. Strike. Don’t think about the sunlight through Marinette’s hair.

Feint. Advance. Strike. Don’t think about both of their hands in yours. How warm you feel when they—

The knock at her window comes all too soon. And of course it’s at her window, Adrien is a superhero, why would he go in the front when he could take a shortcut? She sighs, resting the blade against her shoulder, and shuffles over to the window. “Adrien, you shouldn’t be here—” she begins, throwing open the window—only for her words to catch in her throat like a too-big apple in her esophagus as she sees, not Chat Noir, but Ladybug.

The mask hides it well—covers all the puffiness—but it’s evident from the bloodshot in Ladybug’s eyes that she’s been crying, or at least trying not to. “May I come in?” she says.

Kagami, unsure of what to say, steps back and gestures.

Ladybug clambers through the window. “So, um,” she says. “Marinette told me to check on you, said you might be—”

“Marinette-sama,” Kagami interrupts. “I know it’s you.”

Ladybug freezes. “I—what?” she says.

“I know that Marinette is Ladybug,” Kagami says. “You don’t have to keep pretending.”

“No, but see, I, ah!” Ladybug’s hands pinwheel around her face, grasping at cheeks, chin, forehead, the way Marinette always does when she’s surprised. “I don’t—I don’t know what—what you’re balking atout?”

Kagami simply raises an eyebrow.

“Marinette is a comtepely differep terson!” Ladybug ejects. Her consonants are getting scrambled. What Adrien has always referred to as “word salad,” for reasons Kagami doesn’t quite understand, and never once has Ladybug done it that Kagami is aware of. If she weren’t sure before, she certainly is now.

Ladybug stares at her, her eyes wide and quivering. “Listen, Marinette asked—Marinette asked—Marinette—”

Kagami steps forward and takes her hand. “Marinette. Please. Don’t.”

Ladybug chokes. “How did you—”

“Aspik,” Kagami says.

Ladybug’s eyes narrow. “Adrien—he told you?” Her voice drips with frost, and Kagami takes an involuntary step back. At this moment, Kagami is certain that if Ladybug wanted to burn down the Tsurugi Mansion with just her eyes, she absolutely could.

“Watashi—” Kagami swallows, barely noticing that she’s lapsed into Japanese. “Ma, eto—I, eto, Ladybug—” She’s stammering. She does not stammer.

The window knocks again.

Both of their heads snap around to see a sheepish Chat Noir, waving at both of them. “Uh, hi Ladybug!” he says. “What are you doing here?”

Ladybug growls. “Chaton, this is not a good time.”

Chat clambers through the window. “I’m sorry, My Lady, but this is kind of important.”

Kagami’s stomach drops. One of them she could handle, but two? Right now? She wishes she could just… ask them to leave, but. Well. She knows Adrien, and she knows Chat. He’s too stubborn to go. And… honestly, she’s not certain she could tell Ladybug to leave.

“Chaton, please,” Ladybug says. “You have to go—”

“I’m not leaving,” Chat says, his shoulders set, looking Ladybug square in the eye.

Kagami crosses her arms. “Then you should both be prepared for my mother to walk in on you, because she certainly heard you arguing.”

Ladybug and Chat both look at her, horrified.

Kagami grimaces. “She has trained her hearing well.” She uncrosses her arms, pointing upward. “If you must argue, take it to the roof.”

*

When Kagami’s mother opens the door to her daughter’s room, Kagami is the only person in it. She’d managed to shoo both Chat and Ladybug out the window with just enough time to leap onto her computer before the door began to creak open.

“Musume,” Tomoe says, her voice as flat and flinty as it’s ever been. “Are you studying? I heard voices.”

“Hai, Okaasan,” Kagami replies. “My school is holding a mandatory seminar on conflict resolution. We were assigned a number of preparatory videos.” Kagami is a terrible improvisational liar, and her mother knows it; however, what Tomoe does not know is that if Kagami can prepare the lie ahead of time, it’s almost impossible to detect. That’s why she’s been holding onto this particular untruth for several months—the school really did have such a seminar, but it was some time ago. Kagami simply neglected to tell her mother about it in preparation for just such an occasion. (It’s much easier to sell thanks to the fact that her mother cannot see that the screen is, in fact, displaying a fencing website, instead of the homework that Kagami claimed.)

“Hrrm,” her mother grunts, blank-faced. Despite her relative difficulty Kagami has reading people’s facial expressions, Kagami knows that look—her mother is judging the quality of French education, and has decided once again that it is “too soft.” “Mind your studies,” she says, closing the door behind her.

Kagami holds in her sigh of relief until she’s certain she hears her mother’s footsteps retreating, until she is certain her mother is out of earshot. She can’t imagine her mother’s reaction to discovering that she has been sneaking people into her room, even people as illustrious as Ladybug and Chat Noir, but it can’t be a good one.

Speaking of the Parisian superheroes, the two of them are still waiting for her on the roof.

She slides the window back open, then carefully clambers out onto the ledge. She’s considering how to climb up to the roof—it’s much harder, without a Miraculous—when a yo-yo descends right in front of her face.

“Grab on,” Ladybug says.

Kagami is hoisted onto the roof to see the expectant, despondent faces of her heroes—of her loves—and her heart squeezes. She can’t do this. She can’t face both of them. Maybe she should just run away, back to Osaka, where the people she loves cannot hurt her anymore.

“Is she gone?” Chat says.

Kagami nods with tight lips. She doesn’t trust her words.

“Okay, good,” Ladybug says. She looks at Chat, then back at Kagami. “Now, will someone please explain what’s going on?”

Chat bites his lip, then sighs. “Gami, um. Walked in on me while I was transforming.”

Ladybug’s yo-yo drops from her fingers, clattering unattended onto the roof.

Chat reaches up and scratches the back of his neck, the way Adrien always does when he’s sheepish or embarrassed. (It’s strange, now, to see so much of Adrien in Chat Noir.) “I think—well, she freaked out a little bit. And she, um. Went to talk to you?”

Ladybug’s eyes go wide, and she surges forward, grabbing Chat’s shoulders with a terrified glare. “You know who I am?” she hisses.

Chat swallows, not taking his eyes off Ladybug’s. “You and Luka were the only ones who knew about Aspik.”

Ladybug blinks. “Not even you did,” she says. “Unless…” Kagami can see the gears turning in Ladybug’s mind as she looks away from Chat’s face. “Wait. Kagami saw you detransform and immediately came to me. Next thing I know, she’s messaging me that she broke up with—” She looks back at Chat, eyes wide with horror. “Adrien?”

Chat’s grin is small and watery. “Hi, Mari,” he says.

“You see why,” Kagami says, finally finding her voice. “Why I—why I—” She can’t finish the sentence. She can’t bring herself to say it.

“That wasn’t fair of you,” Ladybug growls. “Not to either of us.”

Bile rises in Kagami’s throat. “He—Marinette, he loves you. Don’t you see?” She’s begging now, pleading—Marinette has to understand. “You two—you love him, you were always meant for each other, I was just—just—an accessory!”

“How dare you!” Ladybug cries, leaping toward Kagami and tackling her into a crushing hug. Her voice is broken, wet. “How—how dare you think so—so little of yourself!”

“Don’t you see?” Kagami sobs back. “I—I love you! Both of you!” She buries her face in Ladybug’s shoulder, feeling the spandex grow wet with her own tears. “Too much to come between you.”

“And you think I don’t?” Chat snaps, finally coming out of his shocked stupor. “Kagami, I—I—” His head falls, his voice growing quiet as his ears begin to droop. “Please. Don’t—don’t make me choose.”

Ladybug and Kagami both stare at him for a long moment in a growing uncomfortable silence.

“What if…” Ladybug begins, finally. “What if you didn’t have to?”

Chat’s ears shoot straight upward as Kagami’s stomach flips inside her chest.

Ladybug steps back, placing her hands on Kagami’s shoulders. “Watching you two date has been… the hardest experience of my life.” Her eyes are searching Kagami’s face—for what, Kagami isn’t sure. “Not just because of my feelings for him, but because of… because…” She closes her eyes. “I was falling for you, too.”

A spark of impossible hope lights in Kagami’s chest. She—no. No, this isn’t possible.

“Kagami Tsurugi,” Ladybug says, her bluer than blue eyes boring into Kagami’s. “I love you.” She turns to Chat Noir. “Adrien. Chat. Mon Minou.”

Chat’s whole body straightens at that, standing a little taller, a little prouder.

Ladybug smiles. “I love you.”

“Ladybug—” Kagami begins, her voice hushed.

“You both love me, and you love each other,” Ladybug says. “What if—what if…”

Chat steps forward, taking Ladybug’s hand in his left and Kagami’s in his right. “Together,” he says.

Kagami’s heartbeat speeds up, burning through her chest as she takes Ladybug’s free hand in her own. “Together,” she agrees. She can’t believe this—none of this should be possible. She isn’t—she can’t be this lucky.

“Together,” Ladybug—Marinette—her girlfriend—finishes, giving her hand a squeeze. “The three of us against the world.”

Chat looks at Kagami. “The three of us against the world.”

Kagami smiles, trying to ignore the wetness on her face. “I would like that,” she says. “I would like that very much.”

[miraculouscontent]

Based on your tags there's apparently a new episode called 'Lies.' Do I even WANT to know what its about?

No, but I’m here to provide anyway. :’3

(note that the episode takes place at the same time as “Truth,” with Lies as an akuma coming in right after; funnily enough, this means the scene below with Marinette and the kwami literally can’t exist in the placement that it is; keep that in mind when you realize what they use the end of the scene for because clearly the priority wasn’t on the grimoire, it was to reassure its audience of “something”)

- The episode opens with Marinette in her room and the kwami flying around, complaining to Tikki about how the grimoire doesn’t make any sense (as she apparently does not have the translated version). Tikki insists that it’s normal and that its meanings are hidden on purpose to protect the secret of their powers. Marinette points out that she - a guardian - still can’t understand it, and Tikki assures her that she’ll discover the secret soon like Master Fu did; after all, she helped with the aqua power-up. Marinette is now filled with confidence, but gets distracted when the kwami drop an apple on the keyboard, causing the news to pop up on Marinette’s monitor (how does Marinette’s computer work at this point anyway???).

- Nadja is talking about Paris celebrating Prince Ali’s birthday, but the kwami who dropped the apple swoop down and retrieve the fruit, stepping on the keyboard a bit more in the process. The news swaps to Alec, who is talking about Aaaaaadrien (there it is) and an exclusive report about his life. Marinette chimes in with Adrien’s name and watches as a couple clips are shown where some reporters apparently followed Adrien’s daily life. Marinette sighs about how amazing Adrien’s life is.

- Cut to Adrien coming home. He sets up his phone up as usual to fake that he’s playing piano, then cheers that he’s finally free and says his transformation phrase, much to Plagg’s dismay as he was about to eat some cheese.

- Chat Noir leaps out of his house and across rooftops until he gets to his apparent designated spot for patrol. He calls Ladybug, but she’s not picking up due to not being transformed, so it goes to her answering machine. Chat leaves her a message and tells her that he’s there on time “as usual,” then reminds her that it’s time for patrol and asks if she forgot.

- The scene speeds through Chat Noir idling on the rooftop in various positions until he decides to check his baton for new messages. He has none. He lays back and calls Ladybug again but gets no answer, leaving her a message saying that maybe she has “more important things to do now that she’s the guardian” (intentionally using air quotes on that one). He cheers back up to say that “it’s okay” because he’s the cat for the job and he’ll just start patrol without her, adding that he’ll “see her soon” and to “let him know.”

- Chat Noir leaps elsewhere and sees some kids shouting his name. He hops down, ready for a fight, but it turns out that they just wanted to take his picture. He checks his baton again, but still no messages. The scene then to Chat Noir idling on a bench in the park between “Mister Banana” and Xavier Ramier (”Mister Pigeon”). Chat Noir gives some one-sided banter to Mister Banana, then suddenly turns to Xavier and points out that he hasn’t been akuamtized for a while. Chat Noir then proceeds to egg on a potential akumatization, asking if Xavier misses being Mister Pigeon and then going on to question if he feels any negative emotions. Xavier thanks Chat Noir for worrying but assures him that he’s in an excellent mood that day. Chat Noir, saddened by this, gets up to leave, and Xavier asks him to say “hello” to Ladybug for him. Chat Noir says that he will... “if he sees her one day.” He checks his baton to see that he has no new messages still.

- Cut to Chat Noir idly in a hotel with Chloe’s butler offering him a glass of milk. He asks about Ladybug and points out that she hasn’t shown up a lot lately, to which Chat Noir admits that things have been calm. After drinking his glass of milk, Chat Noir hears shouting and looks over to see Chloe arguing with Sabrina about a bag she’d apparently lost. Sabrina tries to tell Chloe that the bag is still hanging around Chloe’s shoulder, but Chloe cuts Sabrina off and tells her to not to speak to her nor look at her. Chat Noir gets excited at the prospect of an akumatization happening, but Chloe finally notices her bag and gets all happy again. She asks Sabrina why she didn’t say anything and Sabrina tries to point out that Chloe forbade her from speaking, but Chloe insinuates that that’s always the case anyway, again telling Sabrina to hush up. Chat Noir slumps back onto the counter and asks for a larger glass of milk instead.

- Cut to Chat Noir back on a rooftop, having still gotten no messages from Ladybug. Chat Noir calls her and she doesn’t pick up, so he leaves her a message and refers to himself as “the one she stood up,” but cuts himself off when he hears something going on. He peeks over the rooftop to see Kagami fencing with Tomoe. They go back and forth a bit, vagely talking about her becoming better than Adrien, and Kagami assures her mother not to worry because she has what she needs to succeed. Chat Noir smiles and leaves a message for Ladybug that it’s the end of patrol, then leaves.

- Adrien returns home, sad, pulling out his phone and staring sadly at Ladybug’s picture on his lock-screen. Plagg makes an idle comment about “variety” and hovers over Adrien’s picture of the fencing team with him next to Kagami. The scene then cuts to Adrien staring sadly down at two chunks of cheese, one with a red rind and one with a brownish-white rind. Adrien then gets a call from Nathalie informing him that Kagami had called to say that the fencing class schedule had changed again and it’ll be an hour early. Adrien brightens a little and thanks her, then ponders to himself what Kagami is hiding.

- Cut to Kagami in her car listening to Tomoe ramble about how the schedule changes the Agrestes “imposed” are exhausting, then tells Kagami to make the most of it by doing an extra hour of Russian. Kagami agrees and the scene cuts to Adrien listening to Gabriel rambling about how the schedule changes the Tsurugis “imposed” are exhausting, then tells Adrien to not forget to try on an outfit he’d finished for his next photoshoot, which Adrien agrees to.

- Kagami and Adrien enter school together and Fred Haprele is confused, pointing out that their fencing class starts in one hour and D’Argencourt isn’t there yet. Kagami feigns surprise and says that she thought she had the right schedule this time. Fred apologize and starts to say that they can’t stay alone in school, but Kagami finishes the sentence for him and then tells him that it’s no problem and they’ll come back in an hour. As Fred turns back around to continue sweeping the school grounds, Adrien asks Kagami what she’s going to do and Kagami drags him off into the art room.

- Kagami pulls a sketchpad out of her bag and admits that she’s always been passionate about drawing but never told anyone. She talks about how “art never lies” and how poses people do reflect their personalities. She flips through a few pages and Adrien is amazing. Kagami solemnly says that her mother doesn’t let her draw, thinking she’s not good enough, but Adrien chimes in that he thinks Kagami is incredibly talented.

- Kagami pulls Adrien onto the raised platform in the artroom and requests that he pose for her, because she wants to draw him. Adrien asks how she wants him to pose and she tells him to pose with whatever he feels comfortable with. Kagami talks about an artist she admires and adds that she’d liked to draw him like the characters she used to paint, asking idly if Adrien knew that he used to sign his drawings with a Japanese ideogram. She then gets frustrated with her drawing and decides to redo it because it’s “not Adrien.” Adrien asks to see it, but she’s already crumpled it up. Skilling tossing the paper in the garbage without looking, she asks him to make a different pose. She states that it’s easy to make beautiful art of him since he’s beautiful, but she wants to draw the real him; who he is inside.

- Adrien tries a few different poses, with Kagami getting progressively more frustrated and telling him to change each time. She points out that they’re his model poses and reqeusts that he try something more natural. Adrien confidently strikes his Chat Noir transformation pose and Kagami looks unamused. Adrien backpedals and tries to ask what she thinks, but Kagami insists that it’s still not natural. Adrien sadly states that he promises that it’s really him, but Kagami interjects that it’s him when he’s “acting like a clown.” Adrien tries to go on that maybe that’s the real him, to which Kagami approaches, grabs his hand and puts it to his chest, then starts pressing him against the wall (the shot weirdly has a cut when she’s pushing him where his hand is back at his side even though both of her hands are on him, so I have no idea what happened). Kagami insists that this is the real him and Adrien asks if she’s sure, to which Kagami states that she is and that he’s perfect, promptly leaning in for a kiss.

- Their phones then go off, interrupting the one-sided kiss from happening, and Adrien hurried states that it’s actually time for fencing now. He’s seen smiling on the way out and Kagami as well.

- Cut to fencing practice. At one point, Kagami lifts her helmet to kiss Adrien’s helmet, then Adrien raises his helmet for them to kiss (mutually this time). However, Adrien hears birds and looks over to see Ladybug chasing a flock of clearly-controlled pigeons from beyond the school doors (i.e: Mister Pigeon is back, who Chat Noir had hoped to get akumatized earlier; the one who is now interrupting Marinette and Luka’s movie date+kiss since “Lies” takes place at roughly the same time). He makes a quick excuse about forgetting something in the locker room and leaves, though Kagami just smiles at it for now.

- Cut to Chat Noir leaping up a building and seeing Ladybug, at which point we get a reused clip from Truth, so I’m just going to copy from my episode summary of that:

- Ladybug is listening to a message from Chat Noir that she presumably got earlier, stating that he’s ready for patrol. While she’s listening, Chat Noir sneaks up and pranks/surprises her, to which she grabs his wrist and yeets him off into the distance. Realizing what she did, she yoyos him back and he slams into the window. She scolds him because she could’ve hurt him and Chat Noir states that “the only thing that hurts him is when she leaves him alone for patrols” and how he “even missed her angry looks.” She reminds him that she’s been busy and he says that he knows because she’s guardian now. Ladybug promises not to forget patrol again and they go off to fight Mister Pigeon.

- The scene cuts away to Adrien rushing to Kagami at Andre’s ice cream stand (Luka has just walked away). Adrien and Kagami are about to enjoy their ice cream when Adrien sees a sentimonster that Ladybug is in the middle of fighting. Adrien tells Kagami that he has to go home because his father must be worried, then rushes off. Kagami stares sadly down at her ice cream.

- The scene cuts to Adrien, Alya, and Nino leaving school while Marinette is riding away with Luka on his bike. Marinette waves good-bye to them and they wave back, but Luka gets a message from Kagami and quickly hurries into his car before reading the message. Kagami’s car pulls up beside his and they both put their windows down to kiss, but Adrien sees Ladybug chasing an akuma and hurriedly tells Kagami that he forgot something in class, assuring that he’d call her later. Kagami looks upset and tells her driver to drive off.

- The scene then cuts to Kitty Section and Adrien playing together with Kagami, Marinette, and the others watching. They finish and get cheered for, after which Nino approaches Adrien and says that he filmed it all and the concert was great. Adrien rejects the compliment because he missed the intro, but Ivan and Rose reassure him that they can just play again. Kagami interrupts to say that it’s time to go, then shakes her head when Adrien asks for a few more minutes. Adrien promises Nino that he’ll do better next time, then walks off with Kagami.

- While going across the gangplank together, Kagami takes Adrien’s hand, which surprises him and causes him to drop his belongings. They pick them up together and smile at each other, but Marinette’s lucky charm bracelet slips out of Adrien’s pocket when he goes to get up. Kagami sees it as they’re leaving and picks it up.

- Adrien notices that their rides aren’t here yet and laments that they could’ve played one more song. Kagami comments that they at least get to spend more time together, but Adrien tells her not to worry because they’ll have enough time together when they go to Prince Ali’s birthday party. Kagami grabs his hand and corrects that she meant time where it’s only the two off them, then starts talking about how happy she is with him and how she thinks they’re very similar. However, Adrien sees Ladybug off in the distance and gets distracted, meaning that - when Kagami asks him if he feels the same - he’s not paying attention. Kagami realizes this and turns to look at what Adrien is looking at, but there’s nothing there. Adrien apologizes and claims that he saw a wasp. Kagami tries again to ask him if he loves her back, but Adrien still isn’t paying attention, asking what she was saying. Kagami asks him what’s the matter and Adrien claims that he lost something on the boat when his bag fell, telling Kagami not to wait for him. Kagmai, disappointed, gets into her car that’s just arrived and requests to be taken to the town hall.

- Adrien goes in front of a building and lets Plagg come out. Plagg talks about how he hopes they’re still going to the prince’s birthday since the best cheese is served when there are big ceremonies, but Adrien states that Ladybug needs him right now and transforms. He checks his messages and is told by Ladybug that Hawk Moth merged his powers with the peacock to become Shadow Moth. He then goes to the Liberty, where Truth is there asking Ladybug what her identity is, having already shot Ladybug and captured her under Pharo’s spotlight. Chat Noir cuts in and takes Ladybug into the water with him.

- Meanwhile, Kagami arrives at the town hall, where Andre (the mayor) is wishing Prince Ali a happy brithday. Tomoe reminds Kagami that she agreed with Gabriel that Kagami would come with Adrien and Kagami covers for him, stating that Adrien is answering questions from journalists. Kagami is then seen sitting on the stairs outside, staring sadly at the lucky charm in her hand.

- Cut to nighttime and a reused scene from “Truth:”

- Ladybug and Chat Noir hop up to a roof and Chat comments on how much fun he had. Ladybug describes what just happened and is like if that’s fun for you then yeah. Chat idles on Shadow Moth’s name and Ladybug shows confidence that they’ll catch him in the end, after which they banter a bit and Chat Noir tells her that it’s “only with her that he can have so much fun.”

- Adrien returns and tells Kagmai that he hopes he didn’t make her wait too long. Kagami, the lucky charm behind her back, says that she hopes that Adrien found what he was looking for. Adrien is confused and Kagami reminds him of what he’d said. Adrien hurriedly states that he found it and thanks her. Kagami asks him what it was and Adrien says that it was a lucky charm that Marinette gave to him, but when he goes to pull it out, realizes that he’d actually lost it. He tries to claim that he lost it “again,” but Kagami finally pulls out the lucky charm and shows it to him. Dread washes over Adrien’s face as he realizes the lie he’s been caught in.

- Kagami confesses that she’s lied to, having lied to her mother so they could see each other, even lied that he came with her tonight, and lied during their fencing classes so she can spend more time with him. Hurt, she points out that they’re both liars, but that the difference is that she lies to be with him and he lies to get away from her. She turns away and opens the town hall door to leave, and when Adrien tries to call out to her, she states that she’d rather be alone and shuts the door behind her.

- Shadow Moth appears and summons his akuma, sending it out to the sad Kagami. He offers her the power to rid the world of liars in exchange for the miraculouses, to which Kagami agrees. Adrien opens the door just in time to see the new akuma, Lies, and see her start to form an orb of light around her. Adrien shuts the door and lets out Plagg, stating that this is his fault and he has to save Kagami.

- Meanwhile, Jagged Stone is playing for Prince Ali while Penny is trying to stop Fang from eating the cake on the table. Lies’ orb of light then shines through the door, shocking everyone as they step back in fear. Roger pulls out his taser and demands to know what’s going on, to which Lies asks if he’s ever lied. Roger claims that a policeman never lies, but Lies states that he’s lying and Roger gets engulfed in the light, making him freeze in place. Lies then refers to Tomoe as “Mother” and asks if she’s ever lied. Tomoe realizes it’s Kagami and starts to say that she didn’t permit her to--then Tomoe gets engulfed and also frozen. The others start to get engulfed as well and Chat Noir enters, almost calling Lies “Kagami” before catching himself and telling her to stop. Lies comments that Chat is a new candidate for a lie detector test, and Chat Noir tells her that he’s not lying when he tells her that he’ll free her from Shadow Moth.

- Jagged chimes in to say that he’ll help. Chat tells him to go hide but Jagged insists that he fears nothing. Bob Roth pops into view to say that Jagged lies about his age, at which point Jagged is shocked and tells him that it’s not very rock n’ roll to--then he gets engulfed too.

- Chat Noir escapes through a window and Lies goes on about a world without lies wouldn’t need superheroes like Chat Noir. Chat Noir considers Cataclysming the sphere, but Ladybug shows up, yoyoing his hand and stating that touching the phere will paralyze him. Chat Noir tells her that it won’t if you’ve never lied, to which Ladybug asks him if he never has. Chat admits that it’s not the case and they back away from the light together. Chat asks if Ladybug has never lied and she tells him that she obviously has because they have to lie at least to keep their identities a secret, adding that if they touch the sphere, nothing will stop it from taking over Paris.

- Ladybug uses Lucky Charm and gets a box with an entire drone inside. She states that they can’t go inside, but a drone can’t lie so it can. She tells Chat Noir to be a distraction while she sends in the drone, and they take out their earpiece communication devices to keep in touch.

- Chat Noir goes to distact Lies, shouting a bunch of things that clearly aren’t true. Ladybug sends her drone inside while Shadow Moth tells Lies to go after Chat Noir and retrieve his miraculous, to which Lies says that she won’t go back on her word and liars always pay for their mistakes.

- Ladybug saw the bracelet and tells Chat that she knows that the akumatized object is. Chat Noir tells her to break it but Ladybug states that she doesn’t know how to without touching it. Chat Noir admits that only a person who’s never lied can enter the sphere and such a person doesn’t exist, but Ladybug sees that Fang is still moving and gets an idea, her Lucky Vision highlighting the cake, Fang, and the device she’s seeing the drone’s vision through. She tells Chat Noir that Fang is an animal, so it doesn’t know how to lie. Chat Noir says it’s great thinking and Ladybug uses the drone to pick up each individual slice of cake, using one of the cakes to coax Fang and make him free himself from Penny’s leash.

- Ladybug lures Fang all across Paris while Chat Noir flees from Lies’ orb of light. Chat Noir climbs up a building and uses his baton to hoist himself even higher, but he’s trapped himself now. Ladybug states that, if Lies sees the drone coming, the plan goes bust, to which Chat Noir says that there are only two liars left in Paris and only one of them can turn her attention. Ladybug immediately catches onto what he’s about to do and tells him not to, asking what they’ll do if she’s wrong. Chat Noir simply states that he trusts her, letting go of his baton and falling towards the orb of light. Ladybug states that he’s crazy and he simply states that he’s “crazy for her,” promptly falling into the orb of light. Ladybug laments his unconsciousness and the scene cuts to inside the orb, where Lies finds Chat Noir on the ground. Ladybug urges the drone to hurry and sends it inside the orb of light alongside Fang.

- Lies starts removing Chat Noir’s ring and is halfway there when a slice of cake drops next to her. She’s confused and Fang enters, chomping down on the cake and the bracelet in the process. The akuma is freed and Kagami gets de-akumatized, Shadow Moth shouting in dismay at the loss. Ladybug purifies the akuma and casts Miraculous Ladybug, leading to Chat Noir waking up to Fang licking the side of his face. He recoils and Ladybug charges at him, slamming her fists against his chest and yelling at him, stating that he needs to stop doing these sorts of things. Chat Noir boops her and states that, yeah, but he does it because he finds that “angry little pout” of hers absolutely irresistable. Ladybug squints/glares at him, but is smiling.

- The two fist bump and the scene cuts away to Adrien de-transforming in an alley, leading against a wall and sighing out Ladybug’s name. Plagg states that he understands the romance of it as - even though he loves every type of cheese - he always comes back to his favorite, camembert. Adrien gives Plagg a slice in response and Plagg eats it.

- Cut to the next day, where Kagami and Adrien are fencing. Kagami fences him off the mat and against a pole, getting a little violent in the process, but D’Argencourt cuts in to say that they’re there for fencing, not solving personal problems. The scene then cuts to Adrien and Kagami in the locker room, where Adrien apologizes for hurting her, but adds that all the good times they shared weren’t lies. Kagami states that she knows he’s hiding something, but that there’s also sincerity in him. Adrien asks if they can’t be friends anymore and Kagami cuts in to ask how she could trust someone who lied to her. She gives Adrien back Marinette’s lucky charm, then picks up her bag, stating that she’ll let him know when she’s ready to see him again. Adrien stares sadly at the lucky charm in his hand and the scene cuts away to Chat Noir and Ladybug on the rooftops.

- Chat Noir tells Ladybug that the difference between them and the rest of the world is that they can’t be completely honest; that they have their secrets and have to lie. They both look solemn at this, then suddenly brighten and turn to each other, stating that they know they can at least trust each other.

- They fist bump and the episode ends.

[mexicancat-girl]

Miraculous Ladybug Sugar Prompts

Because there’s enough hate and salt in this fandom, might as well lighten things up with some positivity.

Marinette brings in leftovers from her parent’s bakery to class so they don’t go to waste, an overflowing box of pastries and breads, before class starts. Everyone in class smiles and thanks her profusely for her kindness, the dreary Monday made a little sweeter by her. Adrien is particularly happy at snagging a croissant, and Nathaniel quietly thanks her for keeping his Kosher diet in mind.

Adrien always makes sure to say hello to all his classmates in the morning, because he knows how it feels like to be ignored and alone in the mornings in his home. He’s like a bright ball of sunshine. Everyone in class feels a little more willing to face the day with his genuine smile and goodwill to start them off. 

Alya gets an excited fan running up to her, realizing she’s the runner of the Ladyblog, and asking for her autograph. The fan thanks her for being so brave and amazing, running around to show Paris what the heroes are doing. Alya recognizes how important her sacrifices mean to the people of Paris, even when she’s not a superhero.

Nino is well-known in his community as being the local DJ for hire. After DJing for someone’s birthday, the family that hired him praise him for being so talented and hardworking, such a young enterpreneur! The others at the party also praise and compliment him, and Nino’s left with a plate of leftovers, a check, and his heart full of pride and happiness that his efforts are paying off in these small ways. He might not be famous yet, or anytime soon, but people enjoying his music and his DJing is still great.

Nathaniel is working on sketches with Marc in the park, when a little girl excitedly runs up to them and asks Nathaniel if he can draw her. The girl’s father catches up and apologizes for his daughter’s rudeness. Nathaniel gives a shocked look over at a smiling Marc, before assuring that it’s fine, he can draw the man’s daughter ‘as practice’. After gifting the girl the drawing, the little girl squeals and hugs him, thanking him profusely. Nathaniel is flustered, especially when the father slips him a bill as a thank you, leaving with his daughter before the artist can stutter out a refusal. Marc giggles and congratulates him on the commission, and Nathaniel laughs helplessly, feeling happy he could make that little girl’s day brighter.

Kim has a swim meet he’s been practicing for weeks. His entire class shows up to cheer him on, and he feels happy and grateful for the support. He ends up coming in at second place, glad he placed, but internally disappointed he didn’t end up getting first. All his classmates cheer for him and assure him that he’s amazing, starting up a chant of “Kim! Kim! Kim!”. The athlete ends up smiling wide and laughing, buoeyed by his friends’ support. He realizes that he might not have gotten first, but he still accomplished something great.

Alix is doing skate tricks in the park, gathering a bit of an audience cheering her on. She smiles and waves at them, going about her laps, before doing an impressive crazy stunt. Everyone has their phones out recording her, cheering loudly and going wild. Alix grins and pants for breath as people start coming up to pat her on the back or congratulate her on the amazing move. She feels proud that people acknowledge her skills

Max and Markov are going to have a presentation with a technology company, which Max is nervous about. He keeps making calculations on how well the meeting will go versus it ending up in disaster. His friends talk him through his anxieties, trying to tell him that he doesn’t need to constantly calculate the possibilities. He just has to go into the meeting and do the best he can. He’s smart, and he knows his stuff. And if it doesn’t work out this time, there’s always next time. Max calms down, bolstered by the support of his friends, and gains a bit of hope and confidence. He takes the advice to heart.

Sabrina spends a weekend with her father doing everything she wants to do, because Roger wants to treat his daughter and catch up with her. He’s been so busy with Akuma, he feels like he hasn’t been there enough for her. So Sabrina and her father sit down to eat pizza and watch one of Sabrina’s favorite shows. The girl gushes about the show and explains the characters to her attentive listener. Her and her dad make ice cream sundaes and eat those as well. Sabrina turns her phone off for the entire weekend, so she won’t worry about anything except taking a relaxing weekend off.

Ivan is working on a new love song for Mylene. He gets the help from his friends in Kitty Section. Rose and Juleka are happy to help, and Luka is there to lend an ear as well and help calm them all down from overwhelming Ivan with nerves. They end up having a casual jam session, laughing and joking and eating snacks Anarka gives them. Ivan is glad he has such cool friends and band mates willing to help him. He’d thought he would be wasting their time with his problems, but they end up spending the time well by goofing off and bonding.

Mylene is excited to plant a new set of herbs for her herb garden. Her boyfriend Ivan is more than happy to help her with the task. And for once, her father has the day off, and helps as well. Mylene gets to spend the day with her two favorite and most important people in her life, helping her and supporting her interests and hobbies. After they’re done, the three attempt to make dinner together. Mylene keeps getting shooed off to do the easier tasks, because her father and boyfriend want her to not have to worry and do the bulk of the cooking. The food ends up looking a little messy and gets toastier than they wanted, but Mylene just laughs happily and thanks her papa and Ivan with kisses on the cheek.

Juleka is trying out new hairstyles one week. Luka helps her brush her hair and style it, the two using tons of bobby pins and looking up tutorials on their phones. She wants to try to see what looks good and what she feels good with, to branch out and be more fashionable. It’ll help her feel more comfortable as well, since she wants to try modeling. Her classmates compliment her different hairstyles, Rose gushing over Juleka the most. Getting constantly peppered in compliments makes Juleka flustered and blush, but she’s also enjoying the support and attention, happy that no matter what she looks like, people still like her.

Rose writes a song to perform for the school’s talent show. Everyone expects a cutesy love song, and are surprised when she starts a heavy rock song while screaming into the mic. Juleka and Ivan whoop and cheer for Kitty Section’s singer, and everyone realizes that Rose has more depth than her pretty in pink exterior shows. Her friends and classmates start rocking out to her song, cheering wildly when she finishes, the loudest group among the others cheering for her. Rose beams and bows, glad to see so much support for her singing.

Chloe has a hard time being nice to people or showing a soft side. So instead of using words, she starts giving people gifts instead. Is it bribery? Yeah. But getting gifts is what she’s used to, and she has tons of money, so why not use it? The class are surprised when she starts doing things like ordering catering for when they have class events, letting Sabrina borrow accessories from her, etc. She even wrinkles her nose and gifts Adrien a wheel of Camembert, telling him he needs to eat more, even if it is stinky cheese. The others in class slowly start to warm up to the queen bee.

Luka usually has a hard time asking for help. He’s used to being the older sibling, the one to take care of things. Used to taking care of the house when his mom’s out working. He’s trying to schedule school with Kitty Section practices and chores, and gets overwhelmed. Despite him trying to hide his stress, someone notices. One day, Juleka sits down with him, offering that she can be the one to shedule their practices for them, and organize their equipment. Luka already does a lot for their family and friends. Heart full and heart song singing, he hugs his little sister tightly and thanks her. It’s good to be reminded that he doesn’t have to be the one to support others, but that others can support him as well.

Kagami is still unfamiliar with social cues, especially as France’s customs are different than Japan’s. Much more familiar, might louder, than what she’s used to. Thankfully, through Adrien and Marinette’s help, Kagami gets slowly more accustomed. She goes to get ice cream with them, picks up on slang, is comfortable enough to allow for casual touches. She’s not sure if Paris will ever be her home, but with the help and support of her slowly growing list of friends, she believes that Paris will no longer feel like enemy territory. Possibly even a home away from home.

Lila sits in her room, alone, and doesn’t plan. Doesn’t scheme. Doesn’t worry about pretenses or spinning a web of lies. Her ailing grandmother calls her, voice kind, Nonna asking her if she’s read any new books or tried any new foods in France. And Lila allows herself an hour of telling her Nonna all the little things about Paris, the tastes and smells and sounds. Of the park near her school, the vendors on the street, the cafe she found and likes to sit and drink a coffee in. Nonna tells her kindly, “I’m glad you’re doing well in Paris. I’m sure your friends are helping you adjust.” Lila thanks her, giving her well-wishes, and hangs up. She wipes away the silent tears on her face. The hour of peace was nice, while it lasted.

[quicksilversquared]

Max and the Murky Story

Max isn't always the best at social stuff. People don't behave in the same way numbers do, and they can be confusing. So when things at school with their newest classmate just aren't adding up quite right, he starts collecting data. And what he finds?

Well, it's a bit surprising.

links in the reblog

Something funny was going on at school, Max was 87.5% sure of it. But he just couldn't put his finger on what.

Frowning to himself as he sat in front of his computer, Max listed off the facts in his head, hoping to gain a bit of perspective on the whole thing. It was worth a shot, and with any luck, Max could figure this whole thing out and stop waking up in the middle of the night, a niggling feeling dancing in the back of his mind.

Fact one. Marinette was one of the friendliest people in the class, and rarely- if ever- disliked people without good cause. Max might have been inclined to even go as far as to say that Marinette never disliked someone without good cause, but it was never a good idea to talk in such absolutes when considering a human element. There were almost always exceptions to the norm with living beings, and ignoring that and speaking in too broad of terms was- well, it wasn't a good idea.

Fact two. Lila was a new student, one who- at least according to her, it wasn't as though Max had independently verified those stories- lived an exciting life, with a mother who was a diplomat and frequently traveled. Lila had talked about meeting celebrities, all sorts of famous people with serious connections. She apparently had just as much bad luck to counter out the good, though, considering that Max had heard her complain of allergies and other ailments on more than one occasion.

Fact three. Marinette did not like Lila. In fact, Max might even dare to say that Marinette hated Lila. She refused to hang out with the rest of the girls when Lila was with them, even going so far as to turn around and leave after Lila turned up and joined their group when they were going out to watch a movie. Marinette had even once joined Chloe's group for a project so that she wouldn't end up being paired with Lila.

(Fact three-and-a-half: that was, objectively, really strange.)

Fact four. Pretty much everyone else in the class loved Lila. Except.

(There was almost always an except. Humans very rarely dealt in absolutes.)

Adrien also seemed to avoid Lila, if Max thought about it. Sure, he was polite and didn't turn away and hate as openly as Marinette, but he very rarely looked comfortable with Lila. Of course, the reason there might be because Lila sometimes seemed to forget what personal space was and Adrien was the kind of person who was only really comfortable with a select few people getting close to him like that. But there was a possibility that there was something else going on there.

(No hypotheticals and guesswork, Max scolded to himself. Theorizing wasn't going to help him any. So fact four-and-a-half: Adrien was the second exception to everyone loving Lila, and did not seem comfortable with her. The reason for that was unconfirmed.)

Fact five: The teachers and principal also seemed to like Lila, enough to make serious accommodations for her while Lila wasn't in school. They hadn't raised any concerns, but, well….

Fact five and a half: The staff at Dupont were not always through in their investigations. Point in court: the entire day when Marinette got expelled, considering that it had all been walked back and retracted the very next day.

And that led to fact six: Lila had made several large accusations against Marinette over the course of one day, leading to Marinette's abrupt expulsion. An expulsion that had been walked back less than twenty-four hours later. And, well- it wasn't a fact but a feeling: all three of those accusations had seemed strange. The answer sheet had been found on top of Marinette's things in her bag, when the test had been several days prior. Lila hadn't actually been limping and hadn't looked at all mussed after she claimed that Marinette pushed her down the stairs. And the fact that Lila apparently knew who had taken ("taken"?) her heirloom necklace and where it had been put….

Looking back on it, that was a little weird. A lot weird, even. But there could be data missing, incomplete information biasing his view. It wouldn't be smart to jump to conclusions now. The probability of him getting something wrong- well, it was too high.

One thing was for sure- to draw an informed conclusion, Max needed more data.

  One of the most important things to do when collecting data was to make sure that it could be found again. Being able to cite references was important.

So Max recruited Markov.

His robot companion usually came to school with him most days anyway, in order to listen in on the traditional human process of teaching and learning information and to be able to spend more time with Max. All Max really had to do was ask Markov to keep audio files on record of everything Lila-related. Whenever she talked, whenever she was being talked about, whenever there were people talking to her. If Markov was out- and Max wasn't sure that he wanted to have his companion out until the strangeness surrounding the Lila situation was cleared up- then he would keep that visual file, too. On top of that, Max was going to try to do short narrations of what Lila was up to on a regular basis, just to add to his data set.

If there was something strange going on, Max was going to figure out what it was. Even the best-kept secrets couldn't hide against a deluge of data. Maybe there were other ways to do this, and maybe all of the audio-journaling was overkill, but this was Max's preferred way of investigating. By his calculations, it had a 97.7% chance of successfully producing truthful results within a five-week time frame. There was a potential for getting results even earlier, of course, but five weeks was pretty much the optimal collection time when Max factored in both the chance of success and the amount of time invested. After five weeks, he would likely get diminishing returns on the additional time spent collecting information. Continuing his data collection would only be advisable if the data that he collected in that time period turned out to be inconclusive.

Max really hoped that things wouldn't turn out inconclusive. It was so frustrating when things went that way. He liked clear-cut answers, things set out in black and white instead of blurry grey. Contradicting and/or incomplete information frustrated him, because it could throw his calculations way off.

But in the end, it only took a week for some inconsistencies to show up.

"On Monday morning, Lila turned down the opportunity to share a croissant with Alya after Marinette brought some in to share with Alya, Nino, and Adrien," Markov reported Friday evening, after running an initial scan on all of the data. "She claimed that she was dealing with a gluten sensitivity recently and couldn't eat bread. Then on Wednesday, she took her lunch at school and ate the pasta that the cafeteria was serving, which was not gluten-free."

Max frowned, noting that down on his summary sheet. "I suppose that sensitivities can come and go, but surely it would make more sense to gradually ease back into eating wheat instead of having a plate of pasta."

"On Tuesday afternoon, Lila stated that she was going to have a video conference with Prince Ali of Achu that evening about their charity work regarding pollution," Markov continued. "I have run a scan, and Prince Ali is currently only involved in children's charities, largely dealing with those concerning children's hospitals, childhood homelessness, and child hunger. There are also no mentions of any Lila Rossi being involved with Prince Ali, even though all people who have assisted him are mentioned on his website. Even your classmate Rose is listed."

Max's frown deepened. "Hmm."

"On Wednesday morning, Lila mentioned having attended the Royal Wedding," Markov continued. "There were plenty of pictures taken at the Royal Wedding, both of the couple being married and of the people attending. I ran facial recognition software on all of the photos and came up with no match for Lila, though I did recognize Adrien and his father as well as Kagami and her mother."

Odder and odder. Of course, it was possible that there were people hidden too far back in the crowd to be easily seen with a photo, and of course, Lila was shorter than adults, so it might be easier to miss her. The fact that Adrien and Kagami were seen could, of course, always be attributed to them just getting a better seat, so by itself that didn't necessarily mean much.

"Wednesday afternoon, Lila showed off a picture of herself in Berlin," Markov continued, and Max nodded, remembering that photo. It had been passed around, and he had managed to show it to Markov without anyone noticing. "It was on a well-known street in their shopping district, and Lila said that it was taken earlier this year, when she was absent from school for several months. However, there are no pedestrians or cars in the photo, even though there is a street behind Lila, and one of the stores pictured moved out of that location five years ago. A web scan turned up a poster of that street that matches exactly, available to purchase in a local poster shop for eight euros and fifty-two cents."

….what.

"There was nothing of particular note on Thursday, but on Friday afternoon, Lila claimed to be allergic to tomatoes after Sabrina invited her over to dinner and told her that it would be tomato soup and grilled cheese," Markov finished. "Even though she had had a tomato sauce on her pasta for lunch on Wednesday."

Max's frown deepened and he nodded sharply. "Okay. Even though I hadn't planned to stop collecting data for another four weeks, I think we have enough to draw some preliminary conclusions. Namely, that Marinette was correct when she called Lila a liar. Some things on their own could be explained away, but all of them?"

The chances that there was some unlikely excuse to explain away all of those contradictions… well, the chances of that were pretty low. Single digits, even. And when Max considered the comments about the food all on their own-

"Max, did you say that Lila's mom was the Italian ambassador?"

"Yes, that's why she travels so much and meets so many people," Max responded absently, wondering if he should bring what data he had to Ms. Bustier right away, or if he should wait for another week. "Why?"

"I cannot find data on who the current Italian ambassador, but a query about the duties of an ambassador do not mention anything about constant traveling to other countries as part of the job," Markov told him. "Their only travel for work would be between their home country and the country that they're stationed in. There is nothing that says that they would be traveling elsewhere over the duration of their time in the position."

….that was concerning. Add that to everything else that he had collected over the course of the week, and Max was pretty convinced now that he did have enough evidence to build a convincing case to present to Ms. Bustier. Maybe he should compose an email tonight, and have Markov make a copy of the pertinent voice and visual clips to attach to it. Maybe she already knew and an email would just be a bother. Maybe she would be annoyed that one student was recording and digging into another student's stories. Maybe she would object to the recordings altogether, even though Max had gotten permission from the class- including Lila- to have Markov in the room, with the understanding that he took in and processed information via audio and video recordings.

But it was better safe than sorry, and Max wanted to make sure that the teachers were as well-informed as they could be.

  The email that Max got in response was- well, it was baffling, to say the least, and not nearly as concerned as he would have expected.

Thank you for the information. I talked to Mr. Damocles about your concerns, and he informed me that Lila told him that she has a medical condition that makes her sometimes tell lies. Please keep that in confidence, as we are not supposed to share any information about student medical conditions and I am only bending that rule to explain our response.

"I have done a preliminary scan of the web and found some information," Markov reported as Max scanned the email for the thirty-eighth time in hopes of getting something else out of it. "There is a condition called pathological lying- or perhaps it would be called a behavior, and it may or may not have a medical reason behind it. But if we look at the pattern of lies and include the presumed lies, the lies seem more premeditated rather than impulsive or spur-of-the-moment. And if Lila was the one who told your principal about her supposed condition…"

Markov didn't need to finish the sentence. The ending stood obvious, a glaring brand in Max's mind: she lied about that, too, to get herself out of something.

Well. Probably. After all, now they were building their assumptions on stories that they were just assuming were lies, based on related but perhaps somewhat indirect evidence. Like the fact that diplomats didn't travel from country to country when they were meant to be stationed somewhere, and the fact that Lila's photo of herself was in front of a poster. Both of those were stand-alone pieces of evidence that suggested that Lila's months-long trip "all over the world" had just… not happened. And lying about something of that magnitude- not making up a story about something that had happened before she arrived in Paris but instead actively going out of her way to create a narrative that did not line up with reality-

Maybe Max should stop questioning if Lila's lies did or did not fall under the category of typical behavior seen by pathological liars. After all, he was not any sort of mental health specialist. He hadn't had any training in diagnosing mental illnesses. But his mom had a friend who specialized in mental health services. Maybe she could answer some of his questions about pathological lying, or at least advise the school on the correct way to deal with a pathological liar in the student population. After all, something told Max that ignoring the problem and not letting any of the student population know so that they would be able to adjust their behavior and expectations accordingly was not quite what a professional would recommend.

Especially in their current akuma-prone climate. Lila had been building up a lot of people's hopes with her claims of connections, and the disappointment of inevitably being let down was bound to cause some strong akumas.

Akumas! There was another spot where Max could gather data, of course! Lila had claimed connections to the superheroes multiple times, and Ladybug and Chat Noir could confirm or deny those stories. Max might have some trouble getting in close enough to catch them at the end of an akuma attack- he wasn't Alya, getting caught up in akuma attacks had the annoying habit of giving Max nightmares instead of a 'fun' adrenaline rush- but Markov could probably slip past unnoticed.

But- well, that would just be more data points, when Max already had enough to make some strong preliminary conclusions. Talking to the superheroes wouldn't address the current issue, also known as the fact that the teachers and principal were aware that Lila sometimes (or often) lied and weren't telling their students or doing anything about the lies to keep them from becoming a problem. That needed to be addressed. Everything else could wait, at least for the time being.

After a moment's consideration, Max pulled up his list of contacts, searching through the list for his mom's friend. He had put her information in just in case, and a quick check from Markov confirmed that the information was up-to-date. He forwarded the email he had received to her with a quick message listing his concerns about how the school was treating the situation and then, after a moment's thought, also sent a blind copy of the email to Kim and Alix.

Maybe Ms. Bustier had asked him not to tell any of his peers about Lila's lying condition, but that just didn't feel right to Max. His friends deserved to know that Lila couldn't be trusted, because he knew that Lila had claimed connections that had impressed them, too, and Lila could very well use those "connections" to manipulate Kim and Alix into doing things for her.

Also, they both had big mouths and the likelihood that almost all of the class would be informed about the contradictions by Monday if he told them sat at a solid 85.7%. Max doubted that anyone would try to tell Alya- after all, she was so focused on having an in with Ladybug's best friend that she didn't even want to consider that Lila might not be telling the truth- and of course Marinette already knew, but the news would probably spread to everyone else.

Max supposed that there was a possible exception of Nino as well, just because of his connection to Alya, but- well, the exception of the two of them and Lila herself still qualified as "almost" all of the class, right?

Max did some quick calculations. If everyone but those three heard the news, the percentage of the class who would know would sit at a solid 80%, which was definitely a majority. But did it make sense to count everyone? Marinette already knew about the contradictions- and Max was willing to bet that Adrien did, too- so maybe they shouldn't be included in the calculations. By that logic, maybe Lila shouldn't get counted, either. If he took those three out…. That was still above 80%. Still a solid majority, even if Max removed himself from those calculations, too, since he would be the source of the information this time around.

But that was nitpicking, and also not completely relevant to the issue. What Max did know was that, come Monday, Lila's reputation and place in their class was likely to be very different than it had been on Friday. How different depended entirely on a number of very human and very unpredictable variables, which made making any predictions about it largely useless.

"Well, Markov, I think that's all I really can do about it right now," Max commented, checking one last time to make sure his messages had sent before closing the window and turning to his friend. "Now we can only wait."

  Monday morning, the usual crowd around Lila had dwindled down to only a handful of people, Nino and Alya and a few people from other classes. She looked a bit thrown off by the change, particularly when Rose and Juleka hurried past with barely a glance and not even the prospect of news about Prince Ali could make them pause for more than a moment. A flash of fury crossed Lila's face at that as soon as the two girls had turned away again, her glance at Marinette a second of pure murder.

Hmm. Perhaps Max should give Marinette a heads-up about the information he had gathered and the emails that he had sent out. After all, if Lila decided that Marinette was behind the rest of the students' decision to stop listening to her, then Lila could very well try to retaliate. Considering that Lila's earlier retaliation- or assumed retaliation, to be more accurate- had consisted of an attempt to frame Marinette for cheating, stealing, and assault, some warning about another possible attempt at something would probably not go unappreciated. With some warning, Marinette could be on guard.

Max felt a little bad about that, actually. This time, Marinette had not been the source of the- well, not the gossip, because that suggested not entirely truthful rumor-spreading, but perhaps the discord regarding Lila. Max had been the source of the information that Lila very likely didn't want getting out, but Marinette would probably get most of the repercussions from the other girl simply because previously, Marinette had really been the only one calling out inconsistencies.

"Yo, dude, that was a weird email you sent out over the weekend!" Kim announced, making Max jump in surprise as his friend popped up next to him. "I can't believe we didn't notice some of that stuff ourselves!"

"Well, it's hard to remember everything people say," Max said instead of admitting that he hadn't noticed, either. Not really- not specifically. All he had really picked up on was the fact that an unidentified something was off. "Thus the data collection." He adjusted his glasses, glancing over at Kim. "So who all knows now?"

"Who doesn't know would be the better question. I know Alix told most of the other girls. She tried telling Alya, but. Uh." Kim cringed. "I think Alya just really loves the idea of having an in with 'Ladybug's best friend', because she wasn't willing to listen. I don't even think Alix got to the part where it was you that was saying anything instead of Marinette."

"I did wonder if anyone would even try to talk to Alya. She's been most invested in Lila's stories, it seems. Unfortunate, considering that that has to be hugely frustrating for Marinette." Max glanced across the gym again. Nino was starting to look a bit on edge, thrown off by the number of people who usually would be joining them in listening to Lila but who were clearly avoiding the Italian girl now. "And Nino?"

Kim shook his head. "I don't think anyone tried talking to him, considering how Alya blew Alix off. I bet he's going to be asking around now, though. Since everyone else was willing to listen, he might figure that we actually have something worth listening to."

Max nodded, in full agreement with Kim. With the rest of the class believing them, it was only a matter of time before the final couple people were at least willing to listen. "Hopefully. Should we head to class? I want to talk to Marinette before everyone comes in."

Kim snickered. "You're really going to assume that Marinette is already there? I mean, you're right this time," he added hastily. "I've already seen Marinette this morning. But considering how often she runs late…"

"I had also seen her already, or I wouldn't have made that assumption." Max led the way, away from Lila and her dwindling audience and towards the classroom. He pushed open the door to see Marinette very obviously trying to look like she wasn't paying attention to the woman talking to Ms. Bustier and Mr. Damocles in the front of the classroom.

The woman who looked very familiar. Apparently his mom's friend had been concerned enough by the email that she had decided to come in in person.

"They seem to be alternating between being happy that there's a specialist here and insisting that they can handle things and they can't disclose any part of a student's medical record without permission," Marinette murmured as Max headed up to his seat, doing his best not to look like he was listening in. Apparently someone- Alix, if he was to guess- had already filled her in on Max's investigation and subsequent emails. "Though I think the being thankful for a specialist is winning out, because she's told them what all would be required to properly handle a condition like the one Lila is claiming to have."

Max nodded in thanks, glancing back towards the front once before retreating to his seat and watching the adults' expressions as they talked. It was fairly easy to deduce from the expressions that Mr. Damocles was all in favor of handing over Lila's entire file and letting the expert deal with her "condition", while Ms. Bustier was far more concerned about student privacy. If Max had to bet, he would say that Mr. Damocles would probably win the discussion, if only because his status as principal afforded him more clout when making decision.

And sure enough, two minutes later, the meeting broke up with Ms. Bustier looking less than pleased as she sunk back down into the chair behind her desk.

""I think it would be a good idea for her to at least talk to Mrs. Lenoir," Mr. Damocles told her, heading for the door. During homeroom, if you could- I don't want to waste Mrs. Lenoir's time. And you know that we haven't had a case like this before- we didn't know what paperwork we should be asking for, or that we would need to be working with a therapist daily."

"It's overkill, surely," Ms. Bustier protested weakly, clearly well aware that she was losing the argument. "She's getting along just fine with the others in the class, she's popular-"

"And how long will that last once people realize that the stories aren't based in fact?" Mrs. Lenoir challenged. "How upset will they be about being misled? Is that a safe gamble to make with Hawkmoth still on the loose?"

Ms. Bustier fell silent. Up front, Adrien's head went up, clearly forgoing the pretense of not listening. Mr. Damocles glanced between the two of them, clearly a little uncomfortable, before Lila's arrival with the remainder of her entourage broke the silence.

"Ah, Ms. Rossi, just the person we were looking for!" Mr. Damocles announced at once, and Lila clearly startled. He gestured towards Mrs. Lenoir. "This is Mrs. Lenoir! She came by the school today to talk to you about- well." He paused, clearly suddenly aware of the filling classroom. "The condition that we discussed a couple weeks ago. You two can take my office, I can work from the library for the first hour."

"Oh, that's fine, I don't need to talk to anyone!" Lila tittered at once, and now that he was looking, the level of fake in her voice made Max cringe. "I've already seen experts back home, you know-"

"And yet we don't have records on file here, so I'm afraid that until we can get those, we'll need to start from scratch," Mr. Damocles told her kindly. "It won't take long now, and Ms. Bustier has already agreed to excuse you from homeroom. Now, if you please?"

Lila glanced between the adults, a small frown on her face. "Is this really necessary? I mean, my mom's just been too busy to ask that the files be sent, I'm sure, I can just remind her tonight-"

The smile on Mr. Damocles' face gave way to a frown. "Now, Ms. Rossi."

Max didn't miss the tiny flicker of outright panic on Lila's face as she was ushered out the door.

  By the end of the day, Lila had been expelled from Dupont and reported to the school board. Several eye witnesses said that the elder Rossi had come to collect her daughter in a huff, with a police officer accompanying her. Whether or not Lila would even be staying in Paris sounded like it might be up for debate, because Hawkmoth's presence meant that Lila could still last out.

Frankly, Max hoped that Lila would be removed from the city. Her akuma forms had a high potential for causing catastrophic confusion and danger, and she was crafty enough to use the powers to their full advantage. With her mom and the school board (and the police) on her trail, Lila would just get plan after plan disrupted, which would no doubt frustrate her to the point of akumatization. Who she decided to go after when that happened… well, that was about as close to a wild card as Max had ever seen, and he didn't like the odds of Lila targeting all of her old classmates, simply because she didn't know who had gotten Mrs. Lenoir called to the school.

Presumably Mrs. Lenoir hadn't given Lila any specifics during their short but fateful chat. She would know how bad of an idea that would be, what with Hawkmoth around and far more opportunities than usual for revenge (however temporary) available.

The class was still reeling from the deceptions- exactly how many of Lila's stories were made up was still being investigated- but Max suspected that it wouldn't be long before something else came along and pulled everyone's attention away again. They would move on, Lila would be forgotten, and everything would go back to normal. Or at least as normal as Paris got these days.

Max smiled at the thought. Maybe his next data-collection project could have something to do with Hawkmoth and his akumas. It would be interesting, and anything he found- well, it could potentially have some pretty serious implications.

Yes, Max decided, that sounded like a good idea. It would be a challenge, particularly figuring out how to approach his study and data-collection in a way that would actually produce meaningful results- after all, surely the police already were looking at the available data to try to find Hawkmoth- but Max rather fancied a challenge. Figuring out what was going on with Lila had been just a touch too easy for his tastes, and figuring out Hawkmoth would be much harder. Still, Max was convinced that it was doable.

After all, well…. Hawkmoth might be doing his best to keep his identity secret from all of Paris, but he was still a mere man. He was prone to making mistakes, to leaving clues that might be overlooked, to falling into familiar patterns. All things that could be collected, could be analyzed, could be built into a bigger picture that, with any luck, would lead them to Hawkmoth.

Maybe most superheroes didn't fight their supervillains using metadata, but there was always a first time.

[2manyfandoms2count]

#MarichatMay Day 28

Aaaand I’m back with some fluffy Adrien “she’s just a friend” Agreste doing what all good friends do when there’s a black out; bringing them food. 

I can’t believe it’s already the end of May!! Oh well, I’ll just embrace my lateness and bring Marichat May into June for a bit ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Enjoy!

@marichatmay

---

Day 28: Lights out

Black outs hardly happen in Paris; “the City of Lights” wouldn’t be a fitting epithet if they did, after all. Ever since the rise of Hawkmoth, though, they had become more frequent, even if just for an hour tops, the Akumatised seemingly being fond of throwing large objects into electricity generators. 

It had therefore taken Marinette by surprise when the power had gone off in her neighbourhood, on a crisp November night. She hadn’t actually noticed at first. She had come home from the Collège Françoise Dupont and crashed on her bed, exhausted from a busy week at school. Her parents were absent, on a trip to a baking convention, so she gave herself some time to hang around, scrolling on her Instagram. After a full day of Brevet Blancs, the least she could do was relax. She gushed to Alya about Adrien’s newest pictures via text message while Tikki got the live commentary, making sure to save the ones she would ceremoniously be putting up on her board. It was a hard task -how could someone look so good all the time?- which was only interrupted by the signal that her battery was getting low. She groaned and rolled over to plug her phone in, but noticed the charger did nothing to rectify the situation.

Confused, the young girl tested several power outlets in her room before trying to turn on the lights. Nothing happened. 

“Mince, alors.” She swore lightly, taking the few steps that separated her from her window. She peeked outside, looking out for any commotion that would betray another attack. 

She could see lights across the Seine, and the Eiffel Tower was sparkling, sign that it wasn’t a city-wide problem, but the streets near hers were pitch black. One of her neighbours waved after seeing her, and shouted there had been a small fire in a nearby shop, with a potential gas leak, which was why the firemen had deemed fit to turn the power off for the block; it was supposed to be restored later in the evening when all necessary checks had been carried out. Marinette thanked him and went looking for candles in the mean time.

“Do you think Ladybug should go and help them?” She asked Tikki as she searched through drawers for matches.

“Unfortunately there isn’t much you could do.” The Kwami replied, floating up next to her, eating a macaron. “I’m afraid a Lucky Charm would not help in this situation.” 

Marinette made a face, thinking about her dinner. She was doubtful she’d be able to eat anything warm tonight. She entrusted the candles to Tikki and rummaged inside her fridge, grabbing some cheese and fruit from it. She took the remains of a baguette on the counter and some cutlery before making her way back upstairs. 

She set up for the evening, lighting candles around her room to allow her to see. She found some battery-powered ones buried in her Christmas decoration trunk and settled with a blanket and a book on her chaise. She was in the middle of a tense scene when there was a thud on her roof. Paralysed, feeling as if her heart could rip out of her rib cage at any moment, she let her book drop as her skylight slowly opened. She scrambled for the knife she’d brought up with her and stood up in what she hoped was a good attacking stance. 

A familiar dark figure dropped on her bed, holding what looked what looked like a picnic basket.

“‘Evening Purr-incess, did so-meow-ne order room service?” Chat’s eyes glinted in the candlelight as he slid down her ramp. 

Marinette’s arm dropped to her side. She was torn between yelling at him for scaring her half to death and hugging him for not being a burglar. And also (maybe) because he was him. “Hey Kitty, think you could give me a bit of a heads up before barging in like this?” She ended up saying, with just a hint of reproach in her voice.

“Sorry if I startled you.” He said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “I came as soon as I heard about the black out. Will you forgive me in exchange of food?”

Adrien himself hadn’t been affected, despite living just a couple of streets away. The Agreste Mansion was very well equipped to deal with situations like this one. Had Nino not been suddenly logged off from their UMS game, he probably wouldn’t have known about the situation at all. His first thought had been for Marinette, whom he knew was spending the weekend alone. Showing up at her door as his civilian self with provisions was not an option -how would he explain his father letting him go outside in the middle of a power cut, when he wasn’t usually allowed out any other time?-, but for all she knew Chat lived on the other side of town.

“That’s really nice of you, thank you Chat.” Marinette smiled and decided he deserved a kiss on the cheek for his efforts. “What made you think I needed company?”

Chat froze slightly. He hadn’t come over in a while, too busy studying for their exams. He technically wasn’t supposed to know she would be alone as her parents had only remembered the convention in the middle of the week. “Er... Adrien told me you might need stuff? He called me earlier.” That was a believable lie.

“Adrien talks about me?” Marinette’s heart fluttered in her chest. She resisted the urge to swoon, but couldn’t fight the blush creeping up her cheeks.

“Well, yes, I mean you’re his good friend, and good friends worry about each other in blackouts, don’t they?...” Chat trailed, a little puzzled by her reaction. Of course he would talk about her. She was the person he valued most beside Ladybug. And his oddly composed family, he supposed.

Whether Marinette chose to ignore him or whether she simply didn’t hear him, too busy internally jumping up and squealing at the information, he didn’t know, but she didn’t reply. He was happy to see her with such a wide smile. Marinette’s happiness was one of the prettiest things he’d ever seen, and he worked in the fashion industry, so that was saying something.

Chat cleared his throat. “Anyway, is there anything you need help with? In the bakery purr-haps?”

Marinette snapped back to reality. “Oh. Yes, I guess, I need to check the fridge downstairs is working, just in case. Do you have to go?”

“For you, I have all the time in the world.” That was another thing friends could tell each other, right?

“Okay, let’s head downstairs then. Do you need a flashlight?” She climbed to her bed to get hers, a relic from when she used to secretly read past her bedtime.

“I’ve got my night-vision goggles on, don’t you worry.” He winked, tapping gently on his mask.

They made their way down to the bakery’s storage room, at the back of the building. Marinette lead the way, expertly dodging bags of flour as she weaved her way towards the fridge. Chat trailed behind, marvelling at the many supplies that surrounded them. Sweet smells tickled his nostrils, chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, rose and passion fruit in between others, an original combination he very much enjoyed. Too busy basking in the quaint atmosphere of the bakery, he tripped on a box and brought down a packet of rice flour and a couple pans in his fall. The commotion gave Marinette a jump scare; she had been checking the temperature of the fridge, which seemed to be stable, with her back to him. She turned around, shining a light directly at Chat, lying on the floor covered in white powder, grinning guiltily.

“Sorry?” He said as he got up, trying to dust the flour off. His hair was completely white.

“Let me help you.” Marinette strode up to him with a giggle at his unusual appearance and mussed up his hair, standing on her tiptoes. The flour fell like snow over both of their faces. She smirked as she heard him purr in response. “For an animal that’s supposed to be discreet, you’re hardly light on your feet tonight.” He stuck his tongue out in response. Standing so close to her, their faces bare inches apart seemed to freeze his thoughts for the benefit of accelerating his heart beat.

Satisfied everything was in order, and the bakery was locked and secure, the pair went back upstairs, grabbing a box of macarons as they did, Chat admitting he’d omitted to bring dessert. They settled on the floor in Marinette’s room, laying down the picnic. Marinette was impressed by the amount of food there was.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d want to eat, so I just took what I found.” Chat shrugged. Namely, sushi, quiche, ratatouille and beef Wellington.

“You’re really the best, you know that?” She smiled in reply, her head tilting to the side as she looked at him fondly. What would she do without her Chaton?

“Purr-etty sure that would actually be you.” He held her hand absentmindedly. 

They joked around as they ate, both enjoying the company. It had been a while since Adrien had had dinner with anyone. He appreciated Marinette’s humour, and her interest in him, while still being respectful of the mask and the secrecy that went with it. Marinette was glad to have Chat with her tonight. He made the black out more cheerful.

They ended up curled up in her chaise after dinner, Chat reading her book out loud thanks to his night vision. The traditional candles had burnt out, decreasing the light source in the room. His voice, so familiar and smooth, lulled Marinette to sleep. She snuggled against him as he spoke, embracing the warmth of his body. Chat stopped reading and looked at her affectionately, reluctant to disturb her in her slumber. He moved delicately from under her and picked her up, bridal style. He carried her to her bed and tucked her in. He nipped back down to get a piece of baguette and cheese for Plagg (the Kwami would never forgive him if he didn’t get him anything), and a battery-powered candle to leave beside her bed, in case she needed it when she woke up.

Marinette stirred as he open her skylight, muttering something along the lines of Lucky Charm. Chat found it odd, but didn’t question it. 

“You’re my Lucky Charm, you know that Purr-incess?” He whispered as he carefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her on the forehead before leaving.

Marinette woke up the next morning in the best of moods. The power was back on, and she’d had the most wonderful dream of Adrien calling her his Lucky Charm.

[lils-of-the-valley]

Welp, I was unaware that Lie was out until 10 minutes ago, so I guess I’m watching it instead of doing uni work! Time for a reaction! (Y’all tell me if you rather me put my reactions under a cut or something. I know long posts are sometimes a pain to scroll by)

The theme song really did change and it kinda slaps 

Ay! Tikki hype Mari up! Also love that the kwamis are just floating around Mari’s room

 Of course a documentary on Adrien’s life pops up

what the fuck does “Can you redo it but a little more orange” mean??? I know it’s to make it sound ridiculous, but still

Lol “Imma pop in my phone, make it sound like I’m playing piano and peace out of here” Like imagine if his phone bugs and just music that Nino sent to Adrien starts playing full blast, so Natalie or Gorilla come and check and find Adrien gone (I would suggest Gab goes to check, but we all know he doesnt care enough about his kid)

Plagg about to eat his cheese and just get sucked into the ring without having gotten to eat

Oh no, Buginette isn’t there :(((

OH NO! CHATON IS LEFT ALONE

Aw, he’s humming the theme song

He’s so sad but also so supportive and understanding

Chat stans! 

Ok, but his message thing whatever is so funny! “No message but don’t forget my cheese!” (It’s funnier in french because it rhymes....)

Fucking banana man and Mr. Pigeon 

Chat is so bored and sad 

Lol, Chat goes to the hotel bar for a glass of milk

Everyone asking about Ladybug, but no one asking about him

Lol, Chloe, wtf

“After a moment of refection, I’m actually gonna take a double milk” babe, where are you learning this? Where are you learning this kind of language? Aren’t you sheltered? 

Also, this kitten is really desperate to see his Lady, wishing for an Akuma

KAGAMI BABYYYY

Plagg ships Adrigami 

Lol, Gab and whatever Mrs. Tsurugi’s name is blaming each other when its all Kagami who wanted a moment to herself

KAGAMI DRAWS OMG THATS SO CUTE

Adrien modeling for her (from her request) 

LOL KAGAMI “Drawing you is easy because you’re beautiful, but I want to draw the real you, the person within” Loving that confidence 

The glare when he poses as Chat

“No, that’s you when you’re fooling around” “Maybe when I’m fooling around is when I’m truly me?” Chat is who Adrien really is confirmed 

KAGAMI BABE WHAT ARE YOU DOING SO CONFIDENT 

Interrupted Adrimi kiss.... obviously

Cute kissies 

Wait, is this- YES!!! YEET THE KITTY! SAME TIME AS TRUTH

Oh, the truth parallels (or repeating scenes?)

That’s a weird place to have a kiss? Through cars?

Oh no, he dropped the Mari charm. 

Kagami’s really putting his heart out there

“Do you also like me?” Oh baby :((( 

“To tell the truth, it’s only with you that I have this much fun” is such a cute and sad line (I love Kagami and I hurt for her the same way I hurt for Luka in Truth)

Kagami, baby, I dont think about being liars is a good thing. Like I get why you lie, but I wouldnt pride myself with the fact that both you and Adrien are liars

Oh, there it is “I lie to spend time with you. You lie to not spend time with me”

That dramatic angle on Adrien 

Fuck Gabriel Agreste

Jagged Stone is more loving to Prince Ali than to his own kid.... 

Kagami is just eating everyone with white light 

Chat lying is giving up a lot of info on him. Like how he hates béchamel cauliflower (which is amazing, btw)

  Lol, they gonna use Fang to eat Kagami (or the akuma item) 

Chat sacrificing himself is so dramatic omg

“No! Chat Noir! Don’t do that! You’re crazy!” “Yeah, crazy for you” cue the dramatic drop to his death

Bro, is the cat road kill? He just splat on the ground

I don’t know how Fang actually hit the charm, but like... good for LB

LB isn’t happy about the sacrifice but Chat finds angry LB adorable so he won’t stop 

Kagami is pissed at Adrien omg, girl is going hard 

Oh. Lukanette at least stayed friends. Adrimi are totally done with each other

Ok, overall reaction. This one was wild. I loved it from start to finished. I really liked the Truth clips, showing how they overlap. I love how much we learned about Kagami. I actually love her intensity. Will her black and whiteness bite her in the ass some day? Probably if she stays like that all her life, but she’s like 15, so she has time to grow. But I really like the contrast between her and Luka, how she’s so intense and he’s so chill. I think they would benefit hanging out together. So I loved this episode a lot and it had some really good lines! 10/10! 

[starshine583]

Le Paon Part 3

(bringing this back!!! It feels like it’s been forever now!)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 4

Felix stared up at the night sky. A crescent moon painted the streets in silver hues, creating a euphoric atmosphere in the city.

After He agreed to help his Father, they’d gone back up to Gabriel’s office, where he was shown what a miraculous was. 

“This was your mother’s.” He’d said, handing Felix a peacock brooch. “I’m sure she’d want you to have it.” 

To say Felix was surprised when a blue orb emerged from the jewel was an understatement. 

“Go.” His father had instructed once the orb introduced itself as Duusu. “Try out your new powers. See what you think.”

His gaze shifted from the moon to his feet as he jumped across another rooftop. The extra strength from the suit propelled him forward, and he made a soft landing. Though the reason he obtained the miraculous was a bit overwhelming, He found the feeling of magic flowing through your veins quite addicting.

Felix continued running, noting the additional stamina he now possessed. 

I think I’m starting to get the hang of this. He thought with a smirk, his shoulders relaxing with each new leap. 

Then his foot caught on the edge of a rooftop.

His moment sent him tumbling onto the next roof. He managed to turn onto his back while skidding across the tiles- somehow even that was quiet -and grabbed the air for an obstacle to stop his fall. 

His hand landed on the frame of a window, and he winced when his body jerked to a halt. 

“Spoke too soon..” He grunted, pulling himself up. His reflection stared back at him, though he was hardly noticeable in this costume. 

A dark blue waistcoat clung to his figure, large, sparkling feathers sprouting from the end of it. His navy blue pants- which matched his navy gloves -faded into Indigo, high-heel boots which were lined with a fuchsia color that shimmered in the night sky. Indigo feathers trailed along the collar of his waistcoat, tickling his neck slightly as they swayed with the wind. 

His hair, now dyed the same indigo color as his boots, was slicked back and pinned up with three small feathers that matched the end of his waist coat. A dark blue mask covered most of his face, stopping just above his eyebrows and dipping just below his nose. The mask was lined with the same pink color from his boots, making his fuchsia eyes pop. The finishing touch seemed to be his light purple skin, blending in perfectly with the rest of the colors of his suit. 

Over all, the outfit reminded him of a soft dream, something you’d expect night time to look like should it ever take form in a person. 

Now that he was firmly on his feet, Felix let go of the window, getting ready to start off again when something else caught his eye. 

A splotch of red in the reflection, one he knew wasn’t coming from him or the streetlights.  

Felix turned around to see the silhouette a person perched on a rooftop not too far away from him. Pictures and reports floated through his mind of the heroes of Paris, specifically a woman in red. If he remembered correctly, she had announced herself as “Ladybug”. 

His feathers shuffled behind him as he crept closer. Her back was turned to him, knees tucked against her chest and chin resting on her crossed forearms. Her pigtails brushed against her shoulders from the night air, but she didn’t pay it any mind, probably lost in thought.

He was so focused on her that he didn’t notice the slight dent in the roof. His foot slipped just enough to break one of the tiles, and before he could even wince at the mistake, she was on her feet and glaring at him.

“I-I’m not a threat!” He blurted out the first thing that came to mind, tensing when she reached for her weapon.

Ladybug hesitated, hand hovering above her yo-yo.

“You’re not a threat?” She repeated, her bluebell eyes looking him over with suspicion. 

Well, not yet. He refrained from saying, instead holding his hands up and shaking his head. He did need her miraculous, but they both appeared to be having a rough night, since they’re out at 3am. Surely that could wait until morning.

Ladybug let out a slight gasp, finally taking in his appearance. 

“You’re another hero.” She thought aloud, excitement lacing her tone.

Felix coughed, trying to hide his laugh of irony because.. Not exactly.

The red-clad heroine sat back down, half facing him and half facing the city. “When did you get your miraculous? I didn’t see you during Stoneheart a few days ago.” 

Felix awkwardly sat down next to her, tapping his fingers on the rooftop. “It’s more of a.. recent development.” 

Ladybug giggled- an unusually pleasant sound - and nodded in understanding. 

A small silence passed between them. 

“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” She said softly, eyes trailing back to the glow of the city. “One day, you’re an ordinary citizen, just trying to make it through highschool-”

So she was in highschool? That’s an uncanny coincidence. He might have passed her in the halls a few times and didn’t even know it.

No, he’d never be that lucky.

“-the next, you’re deemed the ‘Protector of Paris’ and given amazing super powers.” The red ribbons tied in her hair swing back and forth as she shakes her head. “It’s just such a big responsibility. I’m not even sure I’m the right person for it.” 

Felix shrugged. “Being responsible for everyone’s safety is undoubtedly stressful, but I think you’ve already proved that you can do it. It’s only natural to be uncertain when it comes to big decisions. Just don’t let your insecurities hold you back.” 

Why he was giving her advice, he didn’t know. 

 Ladybug pulled a small smile, shifting to face him again. “What about you, then? Aren’t you nervous about this whole Hero business?”

Oh, he’s definitely nervous, but not for the reasons she thought. 

“I guess you could say that.” 

She chuckled towards his response. “Well, I’m sure we’ll both do great.”

Felix forced himself not to cringe. “Yeah. Great.” 

To his relief, she stood up just then, unhooking her yo-yo from her hip. “I better get going. It’s late.” 

He stood as well, nodding in agreement. “That’d probably be best. Goodnight, Ladybug.” 

“Goodnight..” She trailed off, a blush of embarrassment coming to her cheeks. “Ah, I’m sorry. What’s your name?” 

Felix blinked. What was his name? Goodness knows he couldn’t go by “Felix” in this get-up. 

His eyes swept over his outfit once more, considering the feathers and the brooch.

“..Le Paon.” He finally answered, pleased he was able to come up with it so quickly. (Even though it was extremely bland and simple)

Ladybug smiled, flinging out her yo-yo. “I look forward to working with you, Le Paon!” 

With a final wave, she pulled on the string and swung away.

Felix stared after her, feeling a tad guilty from seeing how sweet she is. It’s too bad he’s going to have to take her miraculous. 

~~~~~~

“Finally decide to get up this morning?” Felix remarked, sparing a glance towards Adrien as he poured his morning coffee into his thermos.

“Well, I figured your tactics would be more aggressive this time if I didn’t.” His brother replied light-heartedly, opening the fridge.

Felix hummed. “That’s true. I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t get to use my catapult idea.” 

Adrien snorted, causing Felix to smirk. 

He set down his thermos, moving for the silver platter on the counter instead. The chef made him chocolate truffles last night, upon Gabriel’s request. Felix despised sweets, but his kwami, Duusu, apparently did not. In fact, truffles were probably the only thing it would eat. 

The lid clinked against the counter top as he set it aside to slip the treats into his bag. He made sure the container was air tight so chocolate wouldn’t melt all over his stored items. Felix’s gaze flicked to Adrien, wondering why he hadn’t asked about the sweets yet.

Adrien rummaged through the fridge without a second thought, pulling out a wheel of Camembert cheese, according to the label. He then proceeded to put a slice of it in his shirt and the rest of the wheel in his bag.

Felix scrunched up his nose. “Why are you putting Camembert in your shirt? Do you want to smell like a dead bird?”

Adrien jumped, his hand gripping his bag like he was protecting it for some reason. 

“Oh- uh- well-” His eyes darted this way and that, most likely trying to find an excuse.

Then his gaze landed on the tray of chocolates. “W-why are you putting truffles in your bag? You hate sweets.” 

Felix scoffed towards the obvious dodge. 

“It’s a special brand.” He answered shortly and smoothly. That’s how you deal with unwanted questions.

Adrien nodded awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“..Can I try some?”

“No.”

~~~~~~

Felix looked over the multitude of brushes splayed before him. Why did he agree to join the art class again?

“Now,” Claude began, grabbing one of the thicker paint brushes and holding it up with a grin, “Painting may look easy, but there’s actually a lot more stuff going on than you think.” 

He dipped his brush in a small can of blue paint, carefully letting the excess paint drip off, back into the tin. “For example, you can’t put too much paint on your brush- it’s tempting, I know -or else your picture will look just like a blob of color. You won’t be able to add details.”

Felix simply nodded, though he wasn’t paying any attention to the instructions. His father had drilled into him the importance of art since he could recognize red from blue. Therefore, painting was a skill he’d already acquired over the years. 

“When you start painting,” Claude continued, either ignorant of or completely ignoring the fact that Felix didn’t care, “you’re going to gently stroke the canvas. Different strokes create different patterns and depths of color. This will come in handy when you’re trying to do waves or trees or something.” 

Felix plucked a few brushes from the tray, along with some colors, and began painting the first thing that came to mind. Greys, blue, yellows, reds- he used all sorts of colors while Claude yammered on about “merging the colors” and “balancing what’s too much or not enough”.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes of non-stop talking, Claude turned to him with a satisfied grin. “It’s not actually that hard, but it’s okay if you don’t do well at fir- WHAT.” 

The art club, who’d been quietly working on their own projects, looked up at Claude’s outburst. Curious, they crowded around the two to get a look at the art piece. 

In the span of time it took for Claude to finish his tutorial, Felix managed to paint the city of Paris shrouded in darkness with ladybug sitting on one of the rooftops, the only source of light. He’d just been thinking about their late night talk, and painted the moment he first saw her.

Everyone stood slack-jawed at the supposed masterpiece. Then they all started talking at once- questions, compliments, grumbles of envy from Claude. 

“That’s.. Really good.” Marinette muttered, her cheeks strangely a few shades darker than usual.

Felix felt his cheeks heat up as well, only confusing him further. “Ah. Thank you. My Father thought it very important to know how to work fine arts if I’m to inherit the Agreste company one day.” 

“And you were going to tell me this when?” Claude asked emphatically. “I just explained painting to you for twenty minutes for nothing!” 

Felix shrugged, setting down his paint brush. “It’s not like you were going to stop talking anyway.”

The other art members snickered, and Claude huffed, crossing his arms. 

“Well, since you’re so skilled, Why don’t you teach me?” The brunette proposed.

Marinette gasped, clapping her hands together in excitement. “Oh, Claude, that’s a great idea!” Her smile then fell as she whipped around to face Felix. “As long as that’s okay with you, of course. No pressure.”

Felix held back a smirk. This girl couldn’t be any more bipolar, but she was also considerate. For that, he was grateful.

“I do enjoy painting, so I don’t see why not.” 

A bright smile graced her lips again, and for some reason, a sense of satisfaction spread through his chest. 

“Great! What do we start with first? Backgrounds? Figures? Layers?” Claude asked, already prepping his paint brush.

The other artists shuffled around the room to gather their own paint brushes and canvases. Felix got a blank canvas of his own, pushing down his nerves as he set it up. While he is skilled in the art of painting, he’s not certain that he’s skilled in the art of teaching.

“We’ll start with the background.” He began, brush pointed and voice steady. “What would you all like to paint?”

“An explosion!”

“Maybe a cafe?”

“I want to paint a dog!”

Felix sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “A unanimous vote would be preferred.”

“What about Chat Noir?” Marinette suggested, ever so softly. “I mean, you painted Ladybug. So, it makes sense to paint her partner, now.. Right?”

Felix hummed, subtly wishing she’d have the confidence to speak louder. Aside from the soothing nuances of her voice, Marinette was extremely creative and intelligent. (one needn’t know her long to see that) It was simply a waste to hide such brilliance behind unreasonable insecurities. 

“Are we all in agreement then? We’re going to paint Chat Noir?”

The other students nodded.

“Good. Now, the background. You want to start with-”

A low rumbling swept through the classroom, causing Felix to pause. 

“What was that?” Nathaniel frowned.

Another rumble, this time larger. The easels around them started rattling. 

“I hope it’s not another akuma.” Claude said, holding his canvas to keep it from falling. 

What happened next felt all too fast. Another rumble shook the school, and cracks split the ceiling above them. 

“Take cover!” Felix managed to yell as it caved in. 

Everyone dove for a desk. Chunks of drywall fell in all directions. The wooden easels splintered into nothing. Dust flooded the room, practically suffocating the students inside.

“Is everyone alright?” Felix asked after a moment, pushing some loose drywall off of his leg and brushing off his clothes. Thankfully, he’d had enough time to slip under a small art table.

There were a few coughs and groans in response, but no screams of pain. Felix took that as a “yes”.

“And what do we have here?”

Felix felt every inch of him tense up.

A hallucination. He had to be hallucinating. Maybe a stray piece of drywall hit his head the wrong way, and he hadn’t noticed. There’s no way his Father could be this inconsiderate.

Sure enough, a man in a construction uniform stood overhead, holding the chain of a large wrecking ball along with a malicious grin. 

“An art room, huh? What an open, creative, constructive place.” 

Felix hunched his shoulders, immediately searching for his bag. Where did he leave it? Why didn’t he keep Duusu in his pocket instead?

The akuma started swinging his wrecking ball. “The exact things I want to destroy.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head, waiting for the blow. Then-

“Not so fast!” 

Another voice came onto the scene, and the akuma growled in frustration.

When he looked up again, Ladybug was there, tall and strong in the daylight. Felix watched as she drove the akuma back, nowhere near as fragile as she appeared the night before.

Guilt flooded his chest at the thought. They’d talked last night, hadn’t they? Now he had to face her again. As her enemy. How did he get roped into this?

The image of his comatose mother flitted through his mind.

Felix sighed, ripping himself from underneath the desk to find his bag. 

This isn’t permanent. He told himself. Just get the jewelry to save Mother, and everything will be fine. You can apologize later.

After rummaging around for a few minutes, he finally found his bag caged underneath some drywall where his easel had been. He tugged it out the rest of the way, wincing when the strap snapped on one side. There was no time to mourn the loss, though, as Ladybug and the akuma could still be heard overhead.

Felix tucked the bag between his arm and side and darted out of the room before either party could notice. The bathroom sounded like a decent place to transform.

~~~~~~

Ladybug used her yo-yo to shield herself from the excess debri of The Constructor’s attacks. That’s what the akuma had called themselves, anyway. She managed to lead him away from the school, though escaping the classroom hadn’t been easy. Thank Ladybug’s Luck that she happened to be closest to the door when the ceiling collapsed. At this point, Marinette just hoped Felix and the others were alright.

“This akuma needs to construct a better attitude. Don’t you think, My Lady?” Chat Noir quipped, landing next to her with a Cheshire grin.

“Oh, good, you’re here.” She replied with relief, ignoring his comment. “Now all that’s left is Le Paon.” 

“Who?”

“He’s another hero I met yesterday.” Ladybug explained, pushing Chat to the side to avoid Constructor’s wrecking ball.

“I thought we were the only heroes though!” Chat yelled over the deafening sound of the crumbling buildings around them.

“Stand still, why don’tcha!” The akuma roared, swinging his wrecking ball at them again.

Ladybug and Chat Noir separated, barely missing the wrecking ball that passed between them. They realized only too late that a civilian had wandered onto the scene of the battle, directly in the line of attack. 

A cry of panic escaped Ladybug as she threw herself forward to help the innocent bystander, but she was too slow. 

Thankfully, a certain night-themed hero wasn’t.

All she saw were the sparkling feathers, then the wrecking ball hit the ground and sent concrete flying into the air.

Ladybug forced herself to breath as they waited for the dust to clear. 

“You’re supposed to be getting the miraculous, not murdering the innocent, you idiot!” 

Her knees nearly buckled from relief when she heard Le Paon’s curt tone, and she let out an incredulous laugh when she saw him on the rooftop, holding the civilian safely in his arms.

“Wait, what?” Chat furrowed his eyebrows. “Did he just give the akuma an order?”

“Did he?” Honestly, she was too focused on their wellbeing to notice what he said. Either way, that couldn’t be right. Le Paon was on their side. 

Le Paon set the civilian down, and stepped back for a running start. Without hesitation, he leapt off the roof. The feathers at the end of his coat spread out like a fan, seeming to carry him through the air. 

Ladybug was so mesmerized by his grace that she didn’t realize he was coming too close. His heel connecting with her chest knocked her out of her trance. 

The air was ripped from her lungs as her back slammed into the rooftop.

“Why?” She choked out, still reeling from the shock. Weren’t they supposed to be a team? What was happening?

Through the blur of her tears, Le Paon winced. “Apologies. I’ll be quick.”

His fingers slipped around her left earring, and Ladybug finally pulled herself together enough to start thrashing underneath him.

Suddenly, Le Paon grunted, and the next thing she knew, Chat Noir was helping her sit up.

“Some hero.” The blonde bit off, glaring at Le Paon. 

A few feet away from them, Le Paon clutched his side, eyeing Chat’s staff with malice.

He then turned his glower to The Constructor. “What are you waiting for? An invitation? Get their miraculous!”

The Constructor scowled at him, but started swinging his wrecking ball again. 

Chat Noir scooped up Ladybug- to her surprise -and used his staff to hoist them onto another roof.

“I thought you said he was a hero!” Chat said, setting her down behind a chimney for cover.

“I..I thought he was.” Ladybug put a hand to her chest, blinking back the tears. They’d only known each other for a day, so why did his betrayal shatter her like this?

She shook her head. Now was not the time.

“Lucky Charm!”

Miraculous magic shimmered in the air, dropping a thin, wooden object into her hands.

“A..paintbrush?” Ladybug squinted, turning the item over in her hands.

Chat scrunched up his nose. “What are we supposed to do with that?”

Ladybug hummed, shifting her position to scan her surroundings.

Crumbling buildings.. Spilled art cans.. The Constructor’s wrecking ball.. Le Paon..

“I’ve got it!” She grinned, hopping up from her hiding place and throwing out her yo-yo. “Chat, get ready!”

Ladybug swung passed the paint cans and dipped her brush in the paint. 

“Hey, Constructor!” She called as she waved the paintbrush in the air. “This block looks like it could use a touch-up. What do you think?” 

The Constructor growled with fury, throwing out his wrecking ball. 

Ladybug dodged it and smoothly landed on the roof with them. 

Le Paon jumped for her. She slid underneath him, using the paintbrush to streak paint across his suit as she went.

The akuma whirled around, aiming for anything colorful, and ended up hitting Le Paon square in the chest.

“Now, Chaton!” Ladybug yelled with a smirk. Was it bad to say seeing the backstabber go flying felt good?

“Cataclysm!” 

Constructor’s wrecking ball, to her triumph, disintegrated into nothing before them. The purple akuma came flapping out, and Ladybug swiftly captured it.

“Bye, bye, little butterfly!” She waved.

Her hand moved to her earrings when she heard the familiar warning beep.

“That’s our queue.” Chat remarked, holding up his own beeping miraculous.

“Pound it!” They said together, bumping their fists.

At least one thing worked out.

~~~~~~

Pain. Pain and agony filling his chest and his head and- Just a nagging throbbing everywhere, really. 

Felix groaned, shifting on the pile of garbage bags he’d landed on. That was.. not how he expected that to go. Of course the heroes weren’t going to just hand over their miraculous on a silver platter, but they fought hard, especially for a couple of teenagers.

Glowing ladybugs swarmed the city streets, restoring the destroyed buildings. The magic came to wrap around his body as well, and He felt the aching subside within seconds.

Felix sighed in relief and pushed himself to his feet.

“Well, isn’t that convenient?” He muttered, noting the paint streak had also washed off of his suit. It must be one of the many powers of Ladybug’s miraculous.

Felix grimaced at the reminder, a different kind of pain swelling in his chest. The look on her face when she found out he was on the other side cut him deeper than he thought it would. It’s not even like he’d  known the heroine that long!

And yet, that didn’t lessen the guilt festering at the back of his mind as he ran back to the school. (detransformed, of course) Honestly, Felix was more than happy to drop all of this ludicrous nonsense in an instant, but they needed to get Emilie back somehow. Unless his mother suddenly woke up tomorrow morning, this was their only option. Hopefully, whoever was under the mask would understand.

~~~~~~

As soon as she landed in a secluded alleyway, Ladybug dropped her transformation and sank to the ground, hiding her head in her knees. 

“Ugh, I’m such an idiot! How could I have been so stupid!”

“You couldn’t have known.” Tikki insisted, brushing her holder’s hair.

“But I should have!” Marinette shot her hands into the air. “I’m Ladybug! I need to be more alert!”

She tried to convince herself that it didn’t matter, that she would take him down all the same- just like his apparent partner, Hawkmoth. But the underlying betrayal and hurt she felt was undeniable. Despite only talking to him once, it felt like Le Paon actually understood her. She had hoped She’d be able to have a partner to trust and confide in. Not that Chat Noir wasn’t trustworthy, he was just a bit too playful is all. It didn’t feel like he could be serious. Le Paon seemed to get it, though- the struggle, the pressure, the uncertainty.. Maybe he was being pushed into this too? That would explain why he saved that civilian earlier..

Marinette groaned, digging her fingers into her hair. No, of course he wasn’t being forced into this! Saving the civilian was just a ploy to catch her off guard, and last night was nothing more than a facade to get close to her. 

Le Paon was a villain, whether she liked it or not, and they would take him down just like the rest.

Tag List: @im-here-for-the-content @novicevoice @mewwitch@minightrose @frostymoon11 @multishipper1needshalp@unabashedbookworm @unholykrow @trubel43@kaydenth3gayden @stardustrevoutionx @legendaryneckjudgestudent @aurordraws @crazylittlemunchkin

[soysaucevictim]

Week 3. I’m... struggling.

-

May 1

I tried to get some sleep in after the all-nighter a bit before 9AM... “got up” around 3PM. This to mean I lied down and didn’t really get any proper sleep, because mind was racing about that project.

But resting was still okay. After I got back up and updated some logs, I did today’s exercise...

First, today’s DD. 50 squats with EC. Manageable, moderately aerobic work. One of the last things I did before things went pear-shaped...

I shortly after found out I lost a family member and I saw what happened. I’m not going to describe it here, for many reasons. But I’ve been dealing with the images and emotional pain since... I probably will in some fashion, for a long time.

Last, Day 13 of BREATH. “Feel“. Yoga was emotionally uncomfortable as hell... but I brought myself to the mat accepting that I was going in feeling extremely tender in that dept. Let’s just say there were some waterworks and a very real sense of survivor’s guilt. That’s all I’m going to say there.

I tried to deal with things with chatting and discretionary venting on Twitter...

I forced myself through another all-nighter to finish that sewing project. Fought against images and waves of intense emotions to keep going. I don’t think I would’ve succeeded at sleeping through the night anyways.

-

May 2

I tried to sleep again round 8AM - it was more just physical rest till like 10AM. Too restless.

Touched base on what happened with a family member. They were... all of us were... are distraught.

I had a more successful attempt at sleeping for a couple hours after that. Honestly, painful. But it was mutually beneficial and necessary. Probably made the nap easier.

Shortly after, I endeavored to get some working out done.

First, today’s DD. 50 climber taps with EC. Ngl, it took a little psyching myself up to get down and do this. As expected, really started feeling the abs in the last 10-20 reps.

Second, Day 14 of BREATH. “Space“. This was less emotionally fraught - even though there were moments wrapping up that I had twangs of sorrow. It’s too soon to let everything I’m going to need to go... but I imagine, there will be in the future. Too raw and in pain to manage that yet. I did like the back arch balance stands and toe stand moments, the most.

Last, Day 13 of 1′HIIT. Level 3, 1′ rest. Had phone on floor because it was all planks. My climbers ran at more of a jog than a sprint - but then again energy levels wasn’t up to that. The last 2 sets in particular that were the hardest.

Made dinner, did some dishes, chatted and started on that vent art of Virgil to help process things a little. I basically pulled another all-nighter.

-

May 3

I decided to let care team know about what happened with a local crisis unit/line, before trying to get some sleep.

I woke up proper around 3PM, I think this was modestly more restful.

After some of the usual... was both somewhat relieved and distressed when one of the family member’s friends called his phone. We were able to let his circle know what happened.

I then got to some exercise again.

First, today’s DD. 1′ elbow clicks with EC. I counted 74 reps by the end of the duration. Manageable and simple.

Second, Day 15 of BREATH. “Enter“. Despite walking into this having eaten a lot of wasabi peas - I  elected to do full planks and kept back knee raised for high lunge variations upon Adriene’s invitation to. It was nice getting into a sort of flow - gathering what we were going to do next before Adriene instructed a few times.

Last, Day 14 of 1′HIIT. Level 3, 1′ rest. The squat hops were honestly the brutal part, today. Was tempted to not shoot for Level 3, but decided to anyways. Just glad I completed it, today.

Did some of the usual, made some dinner, and finished up that drawing.

I stayed up obscenely late, but not another all-nighter.

-

May 4

I woke up around 11AM.

Touched base with therapist on the phone. Made a mortuary appointment and asked family to help get me (and Dad) to that appointment later in the week.

Hit the showers, met some more family in person.

Did some of the usual before deciding to add, sort, and transfer the contents of my Anxiety Box into Virgil’s jar. I also decided to start filling the Patton jar with some things I was grateful for. I think this was helpful.

I dusted off Facebook for the first time in like years. Saw that his friends have been pouring condolences onto his page. I was pretty disconnected from his circle of friends... wound up adding many of the ones I recognized hearing about. This was a painful straddle between gratefulness and sorrow.

Had to field another call on his phone. That hurt too. I kind of wished I could unlock it.

I then got going on my workouts, pretty late...

First, today’s DD. 1′ raised leg circles with EC (supine). I counted a total of 45 reps, reversing the direction at the 30″ mark. Doable despite needing to hold head up.

Second, Day 16 of BREATH. “Discipline“. This was an extremely chill day - focusing on extending and slowing down the breaths... definitely well-timed given how tiring/harrowing today has been.

Last, Day 15 of 1′HIIT. Level 3, 1′ rest. Just arm work, I’d say these days are amongst the easiest to get through. Again, good for energy levels.

I wound up in bed around the same time as yesterday.

-

May 5

I woke up around 11AM again.

I went to Seeking Safety Group again. I wanted and needed to be there. That’s all I’m going to say on that one.

Got home, almost dozing off. But spent all day and night hanging out with a local friend.

I did some dishes and made one of the Hello Fresh Meal. Creamy pesto grillng cheese ciabattas. Me and friend really enjoyed this one.

Among many things - I think sharing DWIT and the first half of “The Poisoner’s Handbook“ were some of the highlights.

We wound up talking the night away, despite it not being the best idea.

Oh well, the bed was made at that point.

-

May 6

So one of the first things I had to deal with was a morning dental appointment. It was a nice appointment, talked about things with discretion. I’m hoping it may get a tiny bit easier to talk about for it. (Obviously NOT oversharing to anyone and everyone.)

Grabbed some Starbucks and had to get frustrated with LogistiCare, in activating my return trip home. I was honestly getting close to collapse of exhaustion by the time it got to me. (Not going to blame anyone really... it was unfortunate for how bone tired I was.)

Got home and took a short nap, before the mortuary appointment.

I kind of didn’t want to - but after that, I was roped into seeing extended family. It  was nice but also further exhausting. But I will say that a highlight was being able to share with my great uncle a series about the Spanish Flu. He likes history stuff and learned a lot of new things about that situation - also was nice tying it in with his interest in stuff like the WW. (Also glad and was struck by all the observed parallels with, uh, what’s been happening with COVID. But I’ll leave it at that.)

Medical history and the like was a welcome distraction. Especially the fact that that great uncle was an interested party to share it to.

Got home again and spent some of the night on the usual and decided that I was only up for catching up on my DDs...

First, yesterday’s DD. 40 side bridges with EC. It was questionable, given sheer level of exhaustion. But I felt like catching up on SOME of my regimen anyways..

Last, today’s DD. 40 windshield with EC. Same thoughts about previous exercise.

Updated some logs and stuff before hitting the sack. In the green zone for once, yet again. I was just so profoundly exhausted at that point.

-

May 7

I woke up around 11AM.

One the first things I wound up doing was fielding a lot of phone calls to get other appointment-related affairs handled.

Spent some time on the usual and sketching an art idea out that I’m not sure I’ll flesh out just yet. It’s kind of detail-intensive.

Then, I decided to catch up on my exercise regimen.

First, today’s DD. 2′ bicep extensions with EC. I counted 155 reps by the end of it. Biceps felt pretty tired after that one, at that pace. But very doable.

(After watching some YouTube and whatnot...)

Second, Day 17 of BREATH. “Explore“. Man, was this intense on my quads for my energy levels today. But I tried my best to get through it as best as possible. I think the chair poses were especially intense.

Third, Day 18 of BREATH. “Center“. This was alright. I liked the calf raise hold stuff and a lot more of the chill stuff today. Warriors were okay. Still have a ways to go to pull off Crow Pose, but that is a challenging one, for sure.

(After a lot of usual stuff...)

Fourth, Day 16 of 1′HIIT. Level 3, 1′ rest. Intense, but I enjoyed the fact this was mostly jumping jacks. Think the twist jacks were the weirdest part. Got fairly winded by the end.

(After making/eating some dinner and watching some videos for that to settle...)

Last, Day 17 of 1′HIIT.Level 3, 1′ rest. A bit more strength-oriented leg work - what with the leg raises and lunges. Glad I didn’t have to worry too much about doing this in a semi-full stomach (butt kicks do some jostling but generally not as much as like high knees).

I spent some time watching/listening to videos and updating some logs after this.

I got to bed pretty late in the red again... but not an all-nighter.

[purplewhiteandgold]

You’re the guy from the fragrance ad

(Based off of this post by @buginettez)

When the commercial break started, Alya excused herself to the bathroom, while Marinette and Nino chatted until the show came back on.

Until the familiar music started playing.

Marinette and Nino's heads snap to the TV, and, seeing the model slowly jogging over the rooftops, shout in unison, "ALYA THE AD IS ON."

The bathroom door crashes open as she comes stumbling out, rushing into the living room right as the voiceover starts. With exaggerated awe on her face, she mimics the audio.

"Radiant."

Nino sprawls across the carpet with the look of someone with not a single worry. "Carefree."

Marinette swoons dramatically over the side of the couch. "Dreamy."

In unison, and with massive grins on their faces, they sigh, "Adrien."

And then proceed to burst out laughing.

"That'll never get old," Nino snickers, wiping his eyes.

"Do you think," Marinette giggles a little. "Do you think the poor guy knows how much of a meme he is?"

"He has to, I can't imagine being that disconnected from society to not know," Alya chokes out, trying to contain her laughter.

Nino turns back to the TV, where another ad is running. "I wonder if we're the only ones who do crap like this whenever we see the commercial or billboards for the perfume."

Marinette snorts. "I mean, most of Paris is rabid for him, but I can almost guarantee that some other people see this as somewhat of a joke as well."

"Oh, I don't know, Marinette," Alya grins deviously. "Who's to say you're not also one of the people rabid for him? He looks like he could be your type."

Marinette smacks her leg, accustomed to hearing this every time they see the ad. "Yeah, sure, we'd be a great couple, especially since we don't even know each other."

She didn't feel the need to mention that there was another boy, clad in black leather, who was also her type and she did know, who held her heart. But as far as her friends knew, Ladybug was the one in a relationship with Chat Noir, not Marinette. But explaining that would bring a whole new round of questions and identity complications that she just didn't need.

The conversation might have continued, but they were interrupted by the show returning from commercial, and the topic wasn't brought up again.

~~~~~

Chat Noir was thrilled.

Who could blame him? After dating for a while, and after much discussion, he and Ladybug had finally agreed to reveal their identities to each other. He'd only been waiting for this since he met her.

No big deal, right?

Before they met that night, Adrien stood in front of his bathroom mirror, giving himself a pep talk.

"You got this, Agreste. This doesn't need to be that dramatic. Chances are, you probably don't even know her, so nothing will change except you can date her in your everyday life. You've got this. You've got this. You've-"

"Could you give it a rest, kid! Let me eat my cheese in peace."

He turned to glare at Plagg. "Aren't you always complaining about never seeing Ladybug's kwami? You do realize that if we start hanging out without being transformed, you can spend time with her, right?"

Plagg scoffed. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I should have to endure your lovesick rambling."

Adrien rolled his eyes before catching a glimpse at the clock. "We better go soon. Ladybug will be waiting for us."

With a few words and a cry of indignation from Plagg, he was out the window and off into the night.

~~~~~

They sit across from each other, legs crossed beneath them and hands clasped between them.

Chat stares at Ladybug's face, taking in every detail. In just a few moments, he'll be able to see the girl underneath the mask, the identity of the girl he fell in love with so long ago.

She squeezes his hands. "You ready, kitty?"

He nods, and in an unspoken agreement, they both close their eyes. In the back of his mind, he notes how in sync they are, in the heat of battle down to little things like this. How he can't wait to be like this all the time.

A few muttered words, and he can feel her hands in his, soft and gentle.

"On three, then?"

He smiles. "One."

"Two."

"Three." Together they open their eyes, and take their first look at each other's unmasked forms.

The first thought that crosses his mind is She's gorgeous. Her blue eyes are the same, yet completely different when not framed by her red mask. Her black hair is still styled the same, but contrasts differently against her dark blazer than her red suit. He watches as she observes his unmasked face, waiting for her reaction.

She gasps slightly, and then-

...she starts laughing?

"Wh-what's so funny?"

"You, you're-" she dissolves into a fit of giggles, pointing at his face. After a few moments, she blurts out "You'retheguyfromthefragrancead!" before falling onto her back, clutching her stomach as she continues laughing.

"Uh, yes? Why is that so funny?"

"Because me, Alya, and Nino, we-" she wheezes, trying to compose herself, before dramatically sighing, "the fragrance" and collapsing again in another fit.

"Why is this so funny to you?!"

~~~~~

"Alya!"

She turns to see Marinette running toward her. "You've been quiet all weekend, girl! I know something's happened, so spill."

Marinette grins. "So you know I've started dating this guy recently, right?"

"You mean the guy you refuse to tell us anything about?"

"Yeah. Well, the reason behind that was that his father wouldn't let him go to school, but I wanted your first impression of him to be when you met him."

"Wait. Are you saying that he's coming?"

Marinette beams. "I'm saying that he's in our class."

"You convinced his father to let him come?"

"It wasn't easy, but he eventually agreed." She nudges Alya's shoulder. "I'll wait for him out here, go find Nino and fill him in, I want both of you to meet him together. And I expect you both to be civil with him! He'll need friends after being homeschooled so long."

"Hey, if he's good enough for you, I have no doubt he'll be a great friend." Leaving Marinette at the front steps, she walks into the school to class.

Nino was eager to hear about Marinette's mystery guy, and after a few minutes, they were both intently watching the door, waiting for him to show up.

The minutes ticked by as the beginning of class drew closer. Alya and Nino eyed each other in concern.

"Maybe she's showing him around?" Nino questions slowly.

Alya nods slightly. "That does seem like something Marinette would do. I'm just hoping that his father didn't change his mind about letting him come to school." She snorts. "Although, if he's anything like Marinette, he's bound to be late."

Just before the bell, the door bangs open, and in rushes Marinette, dragging a boy behind her. "Sorry, sorry!" She turns to Ms. Bustier, panting slightly. "I was trying to show Adrien around since it's his first day, but I got a bit carried away and lost track of time."

Alya's mind was buzzing, and she didn't hear the teacher's response. Did she say Adrien?

She turns to the boy standing beside Marinette, still clutching her hand and looking around at the rest of the class. His hair is a golden blond, his eyes emerald green, and Alya can almost imagine the pure white clothes as he bounds across rooftops-

"- you introduce yourself, Adrien?" Ms. Bustier offers, pulling Alya out of her thoughts.

The boy looks a bit stunned, but quickly recovers. "Okay then." He turns to the class and puts on an award-winning smile. "Hello everyone, my name is Adrien Agreste, and I-"

He's cut off by raucous laughter as Alya and Nino, unable to contain themselves, burst out into giggles, mingled with dramatic sighs of "the fragrance" followed by even more laughter. Adrien looks terribly confused.

"Why do people keep reacting that way?!"

[coffeecomicsgalore]

For the Love of a Chat

Ao3

Chapter 2 – Bell

Marinette giggled. “Then I’m glad you are here, my knight.”

Chat smiled as he walked towards her and sat onto the extra chair that Marinette had placed long ago. When his visits became more frequent, she changed her long lawn chair for a smaller, more compact one with pink trim and purchased a similar one, with black and green embellishments, just for him. When he felt comfortable enough in his spot, he glanced at her before turning back into the horizon.  

“So, what brings you here, Chat?”

“Do I have to have a reason to hang out with my favorite civilian?”

Marinette snorted. “Me? Your favorite? I guess that means you hang out with quite a few others, then.”

“On contraire, ma petite sorcière.” He said with a wink. “Unless you think hanging out with akumas would be considered hanging out with friends.”

“I don’t think so, but...” she said as she tapped her finger to her chin, “I hope you aren’t spilling your secret identity to me, kitty.” She teased. “It seems like many of the akumas are school-aged friends of mine.”

Chat playfully scoffed. “You wound me, princess. You know I would never do such a thing.”

“I know.” Marinette quietly giggled as she pulled the blanket up against her shoulders. Chat scooted himself further into his chair, resting his arms behind his head as he stretched his legs out in front of him. They sat in a comfortable silence, watching the lights of the city over the horizon.

The coolness of the air caused a shiver to coast down her spine. She snuggled further into the blanket as a sad smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. Marinette could hear Chat lick his lips, her own lips dry and feeling a little tight. Her heart skipped a beat as the thought of his lips crossed her mind. She shook her head to clear the thought.

“Do you think you will stay a while?” Marinette wondered as she gazed back to his relaxed form.

“I can, if you’re okay with that. I don’t want to impose if you wanted to head to bed early.”

She scoffed. “Me? Early?” She blew a raspberry as she flicked her hand. “Who do you think I am, Chat? A savage that goes to bed at a decent time? Blasphemy.” They both shared a laugh before she continued. “Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to have a cup of hot cocoa and a warm blanket? Maybe enjoy some pastries, too? I have a feeling that you have something on your mind and that you needed a friend to talk about it.”

Chat sighed. “You know me too well. Maybe too well for your own good.” He let out a sad chuckle. “Hot cocoa sounds great. I’ll grab the blankets?”

“That sounds good. Do you need detransform for a bit so your kwami can eat?”

“You don’t mind if I do that?”

“Chaton, you know I never mind that. I can always grab a slice of cheese if you need a piece. I’ll close my trap door so you can do what you need to do and when you transform back, just open the door so I can come back in. That way you can take your time and I won’t accidentally barge in before you’re ready.”

“You always think of me, Marinette. Thank you.”

She placed a hand on his hand and flashed him a sweet smile. “I’m always here to help out my favorite superhero.”

------

Marinette closed the trap door after handing him a few slices of brie and walked into the kitchen to gather the ingredients for her famous hot cocoa. She warmed up the milk in the saucepan and grabbed two large mugs before leveling out a few teaspoons of cocoa and sugar into each cup. She then found a few of his favorite pastries within the day's leftover treats. Tikki flew into view and sat on the counter, stealing a cookie for herself.  

“What’s on your mind, Marinette?”

“It’s Chat. It’s breaking my heart to see him this way. It also doesn’t help that the akuma earlier brought out some sadness in him. I have a feeling that’s why he’s here.”

“You read him so well, Marinette. You care about him so much.”

Marinette poured the heated milk in the mugs as she pursed her lips. “Chat’s not only my partner, Tikki, I consider him one of my closest and dearest friends. He’s up there alongside Alya for top space, not that I could ever tell her that without risking a scolding,” she giggled, “but I care about him just as much as I care about Adrien and Nino, too. “

Tikki flew up and nuzzled against Marinette’s cheek. “This is why you’re the perfect Ladybug. You care deeply with your heart and are always determined to help with every fiber of your being.”

“Thanks, Tikki.” She said as she nudged her finger against her head. Marinette then heard the trap door open and then Chat walk onto the balcony. “Now let me bring these up for us to eat and chat.”

-----

Marinette and Chat sipped on their cocoa as the pastries sat idly on the table. They each narrowed their eyes towards each other, waiting for someone to strike first. Then in a quick motion, they both stuck out their clenched fists and smacked it against their open palm three times until they ended the beats with their chosen weapon.

“Ha! Paper beats rock! I win!” Marinette said as she grabbed the last éclair on the plate.

Chat downplayed the score. “I let you win. I didn’t want that éclair anyways.”

“Aww. The kitten is mad. Don’t worry, there’s another one downstairs that I can grab.”

He sputtered. “Then why did we fight for it?”

“Because it’s just better to compete a little for it. Plus, I like watching you lose. Your pout is cute.”

“My pout is not cute.” He brought the mug to his lips to hide said pout.

“Yes, it is and you know it.”

Chat smirked into his cup. “Fine. You win... again.”

“So, since I win...” Marinette placed her mug onto the table and snuggled back into her blanket, “why don’t you tell me why you’re really here. There’s no pressure, but I know you like to talk it out whenever you can.”

“Okay.” He let out a defeated sigh. “Do you know how I came by today and looked like an actual cat because Sorceress turned me into one?” She nodded. “Well, I had a tag beside my bell. I noticed it, but not sure if you did.”

“No. You were too busy scaring me with your meowing.”

“That was so funny.”

“No, it wasn’t and you know it.”

“Yes, but that’s beside the point. So, back to the tag. I was surprised by what I saw. On the tag, I mean. Ladybug asked if my civilian name was on it and it scared me that that was a possibility. But luckily it wasn’t and I’m grateful for that. Last thing I needed was for the world to know who I was because of a nametag. But what I wasn’t expecting was the name on the nametag.”

Marinette watched as Chat huffed out a bitter laugh. “You would think that being in a home, even as lonely as mine, you would still have at least one family member that cares about you. At least enough care that the name would be on it. But that wasn’t the case. I guess it was never the case.”

Marinette just sat there listening to every word he had to say. Tears were brimming her eyes and she tried her hardest to just listen without crying.

“I’ve never told anyone this, not even Ladybug, but the reason I have a bell around my neck is because I’ve always wanted a loving home. Kind of like a cat who finally has a home to call their own. The fact that this tag had someone else’s name on it just proved what I always felt was true, but I continuously denied it to avoid the pain.

“Marinette, your name was on my tag. Not my father’s, not my late mother’s, not even my aunt or cousin or grandparents. It was your name.”

Tears brimmed his own eyes as her eyes shed theirs. “Marinette, you are my best friend. I come to you when I have a hard time because you never shoo me away. You always care, always listen, and you never judge me. I feel free when I come here and I know it’s not a façade that you put up just to deal with me. I know this is who you are and you have no idea how much your kindness makes me feel.

“I just want to thank you. The last year has made me the happiest, longer than I can remember. I know I’ve never told you this before, and I’m sorry for dumping this all on you. But just- thank you. Thank you so much for being you.”

Marinette jumped up and engulfed him in a tight hug. “Chat. You will always be considered family to me, never forget that. I will never shoo you away for anything and I will always be here whenever you need me. Asleep or not. Wake me up, steal me away, I don’t care. If you need me, find me. I’ll always be here for you.”

All he could do was squeeze her harder as the tears fell down his face. He answered her with a simple whisper, one barely enough to be heard above their erratic heartbeats, “Thank you.”

[ghostlyhamburger]

Under Agreste: The Show: Chapter 4

Rating: T

Ship: Adrienette, Adrigami

Read from the beginning

Read Chapter 4 on Ao3

“Good morning!” Marinette called cheerfully as she walked into Adrien’s trailer. He smiled at her as she gave Plagg a small scratch under his chin.

“Hey,” Adrien greeted, looking up from his phone. He’d been up for a while already, just waiting. “What do you need from me today?”

“Your job is actually super easy this time,” she said. “Today, you’re going to eat pastries.”

He grinned. “I can get behind that.”

“And I’m here to keep you company till the girls come back,” she said. “They’re split into teams working at local bakeries. I’m not supposed to go because I’m supposedly biased.”

“How so?”

She glanced around the trailer conspiratorially, and then leaned close to murmur, “My parents run one of the bakeries.”

“That’s so cool,” he said with a grin. “Which one?”

“I really can’t tell you that. But I was actually the one who suggested the challenge, help with their publicity.” She took a seat on his bed, right beside him. “I can’t work at the bakery for free like I used to, so I do what I can to help them out now.”

“That’s really awesome of you.” Had her eyes always been so blue, or had he just never been so close to her?

“Thanks,” she said, a light blush crossing her cheeks. She stayed close to him, just for another moment longer, her eyes just watching him, an ocean he could drown in…she pulled back quickly. “Anyway! Want to go get some breakfast so you’re not judging on an empty stomach? I know when you’re hungry enough, anything tastes good, and you should be fair.”

“Sounds good,” he replied, standing up. “What’s at craft today?”

“Some eggs, I think,” she said, following him out of the trailer.

The two talked as they ate, exchanging stories about what it was like working as a model or a baker as a child. Adrien learned that Marinette’s favorite thing to cook was macarons, and she promised to make a batch of passionfruit ones for him once he mentioned that was his favorite flavor.

Long after their breakfasts were gone, they stayed talking, winding up comparing strategies for Ultimate Mecha Strike, when Marinette’s phone suddenly went off.

“Oh, they’re back,” she said, glancing at the message. “You should head over to the mansion, the girls will meet you in the kitchen.”

“You’re not coming?” he asked, surprised.

“Biased, remember?” she replied, grinning. “Nino’s got this. Alya’s supervising your private date tonight, so I’ll see you for the second date tomorrow. Have fun!”

**

Adrien was presented with two identical plates of eclairs. The hopeful girls watched as he ate from one, then the other.

“I think I like this one better,” he said, pointing to the second plate. Half the girls cheered.

“The winner is the Dupain-Cheng bakery!” Nino cried. “Losing team, please leave, Adrien, choose two girls from the winning team for private dates.” He leaned close to the model and muttered, “Please choose Lila and Kagami, makes my job so much easier.”

“Um, I pick Lila and Kagami,” Adrien said.

“Great!” Nino said. “Kagami gets the dinner date, Lila gets tomorrow. Adrien, Kagami, dress up nice, the car will be ready for you in an hour.”

**

Adrien didn’t have to think too hard about his date. The restaurant and his outfit were chosen for him, so all he needed to do was get ready to spend some time with a pretty girl.

When he saw Kagami, though, he actually felt his heart skip a beat. She was heading down the main foyer stairs of the mansion, a dramatic entrance that was clearly planned for the cameras. But she was beautiful despite the trite scene, and he found himself looking forward to spending time with her.

He offered her his arm as she reached the bottom of the stairs, and she took it with a grateful smile.

“Where are we going?” she asked curiously.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” he replied, laughing softly at himself. “But I’m sure it’ll be nice. After all, I get to spend this time with you.”

Her cheeks pinked softly as she smiled. “Are they feeding you lines? That was…cheesy.”

“This cheese is all me,” he said with a grin and a wink. “You ready to go?”

**

“So, you’re from Japan,” Adrien said, spearing a bit of asparagus on his plate. “Did you grow up there, or in France?”

“Japan,” Kagami replied. She took a sip of wine and continued, “We had a housekeeper who spoke French, so I was fortunate enough to grow up speaking the language. Moved to the country when I was a teenager, so by now…it’s been about half my life, I guess.”

“Do you like France?”

“Well, it’s home,” she said with a soft smile. “I still love returning to Japan for holidays, though.”

“I’ve always wanted to visit there,” Adrien said. “I don’t really have a lot of free time, though, with modeling, and my father…”

She held up her glass. “To overbearing rich parents?”

“To turning out amazing despite them,” he replied, clinking his glass against hers.

The conversation between them flowed easily as they found they had much in common—an interest in fencing, woes of being homeschooled, an addiction to American potato chips. By the end of the dinner, they were laughing together like they’d known each other for years.

They returned to the mansion together, walking to the door hand in hand.

“I suppose this is it, until the next crazy date they send us on,” Kagami said, her fingertips lingering against his palm.

“This is it,” he said, distracted by her smile, the way she seemed truly happy around him. He couldn’t resist leaning close and kissing her, a brief brush of lips to lips.

She just smiled widely at him as he pulled away. “Good night.”

**

The next day, Adrien had a good amount of time to himself in the morning. He watched mindless videos on his phone while petting Plagg, the kitten content to curl up in his lap and sleep the whole time.

It was one of the best mornings in recent memory.

A knock came at his trailer door. “It’s me!” Marinette called, her voice bright and chirpy as always.

“Come in!” he called back.

She opened the door and smiled at him, though her eyes seemed to be laughing at him. “Are you ready for your date with Lila?”

He sighed, gently lifting Plagg and setting him aside. “No.”

“Too bad,” she replied, her smile growing wider. “Get yourself to wardrobe, and then you’re going to have a wonderful stroll by the Seine and share Andre’s ice cream with her.”

“The sweetheart’s ice cream?” he asked. He idly picked some fur off his pants.

“Yep, that,” Marinette said. “I wonder what ice cream will represent her? Do you think Andre has a rotten apple flavor?”

Adrien laughed. “Well, if he does, I’ll smile and pretend it’s delicious right until the cameras shut off.”

She joined in the laughter. “You. You’re my favorite. Be at wardrobe in five, okay?”

**

Andre sighed beatifically as he gazed at the two people before him. “Ah, young love! Let me see what I can come up with for you!”

Lila held onto Adrien’s hand too tightly as the ice cream vendor bustled around his cart, scooping ice cream into a cone before handing it to her.

“Durian and raspberry pepper,” he announced. “Sweet with a firey kick!”

Lila struggled to hold her smile as she accepted the ice cream. She took a bite and immediately winced at the unusual flavors.

Marinette was at her side before Adrien could blink. “I’ll take that,” she said, gently pulling the cone from Lila’s hands. “You’ll get it back, don’t worry, but—Andre, can you make up something for both of them?”

Andre’s smile didn’t falter as he replied, “I do not have any flavors that can harmonize these two.”

“Can you make one for him and pretend it’s for them both?” she asked, smiling though her eyes were hard and determined.

“I suppose I can…”

“Great,” she replied, turning and walking out of the view of the camera. “And, go!”

“For you,” Andre said, scooping up more ice cream, “Peach, blueberry, and strawberry, a sweetness that can’t be matched.”

Adrien smiled and thanked him as he took the ice cream.

“All right, let’s have the lovebirds take a bite!” Marinette called.

Lila wrinkled her nose as she looked at the cone in Adrien’s hand. “Uh, I’m allergic to strawberry.”

Marinette glanced up at the sky as she willed the universe to smite her where she stood. Or Lila. She wasn’t picky in that moment. “Can you just pretend?”

Adrien took a bite of the ice cream while Lila pretended to chew on something.

“It’s ice cream, Lila, you don’t chew--you know what, this is good enough, we’ll make it look good in editing. Just—enjoy your ice cream, guys, hang out while we get some more footage.” She handed Lila’s cone back to her before slumping onto a bench next to the river.

A few moments later, Adrien sat down next to her. “Did you want any ice cream?”

“Sure,” she replied, leaning over to take a bite. She smiled as the fruity flavors spread over her tongue. “Wow, I forgot how good Andre’s ice cream is.”

“It’s really great,” he said, smiling at her. “So do you believe the whole magic ice cream thing?”

“Nah.” She shrugged. “I just think it tastes good. So, do you know who you’re getting rid of this week?”

“Oh yeah, I have to figure that out,” he said with a groan. “I don’t know. I know there’s the girls you want me to keep, and I do want Kagami to stay, so maybe I’ll just…wing it on the rest?”

Marinette smiled and nudged him with her shoulder. “So, do you think Kagami’s the one?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? She’s different from the other girls, and I want to get to know her more,” he said. “What do you think of her?”

“I think you should pick one of my girls so I get the bonus,” she teased. “But if you walk away from this show happy and in love, then hey, that’s all I can really ask for.”

“Well, I’ll at least walk away with a new friend, right?”

“Oh yeah, best friends,” she agreed. “Even if your work and my work mean we’ll never actually talk again, I think you’re awesome. And I’m not just saying that because it’s my job to make you happy.”

Adrien smiled and offered her more ice cream.

**

At the ceremony that afternoon, Adrien chose to send home Mylene, Suzanne, and Roxanne.

He barely remembered who any of them were, so he figured that was the best option. He wished them the best before heading back to his trailer for some quality time with Plagg.

But as he approached his trailer, he saw someone he probably should have expected sooner or later.

“Hello, Father.”

**

“Next time: How will the girls fit in Adrien’s fast-paced world of fashion? Will their style stand up to the scrutiny of notable designer Gabriel Agreste? Find out!”

Buy me a coffee?

[mikauzoran]

Platonic Alyadrino: Drunk Ladybug on My Balcony? Yeah. This is Fine.: Chapter Nine

Read it on AO3: Drunk Ladybug on My Balcony? Yeah. This is Fine.: Chapter Nine: War Room

When Alya returned ten minutes later, the boys had gotten up off the floor and were snuggling comfortably on the bed.

Alya could tell from the way that Nino had Adrien wrapped in a tight hug that he was feeling uneasy, insecure, and extremely protective. He would not be letting Adrien out of his sight for a while, so Alya could kiss the thought of any amorous activities with her boyfriend that evening goodbye. He needed to keep Adrien close so that he could feel Adrien’s warmth, reassure himself that his best friend was, indeed, alive and well and very much safe.

Alya hadn’t really stopped to think about the danger her friends were constantly in after learning their identities. She had been too caught up in the juicy details of superhero life and romance. It hadn’t occurred to her to be concerned about the never-ending peril they faced.

Suddenly she felt a little ill and had the strong urge to call Marinette just to tell her she loved her. She was sorely tempted to join Adrien and Nino in their snuggle pile.

Instead of giving in to anxiety, she took a deep breath and pushed those feelings aside for later. Right now, it was Nino’s turn to be vulnerable and raw. She could stay strong for now and wait to have her own freak-out when Nino got his feet back under him again.

“How are you lovebirds doing?” she called with a cheerful, teasing lilt to her voice, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

“I think Nino has annexed me,” Adrien reported in amusement with a twinge of guilt.

“Yeah. You’re gonna have to pry him out of my cold, dead hands,” Nino snorted good-naturedly. “He’s mine now.”

Alya shrugged, coming to sit down on the bed beside them. “I always knew you two were sort of a package deal, but this is a bit much, don’t you think?” she joked.

Nino lifted his head from Adrien’s chest to give Alya an earnest look. “Hey. So…would it be really weird if I asked if he could stay the night?” He looked down at Adrien. “Would that be weird for you?”

“It’s not weird for me so long as it doesn’t make Alya uncomfortable.” Adrien looked to Alya for the final decision.

Alya pursed her lips. “I mean, the only thing that might be uncomfortable for me is that the bed’s not really made for three people. But I don’t have a problem going and sleeping on the couch if I wake up and don’t have enough space.”

Adrien grimaced. “I wouldn’t want to kick you out of your own bed. It’s already bad enough that I’m interrupting your quality time together. I’m sorry.”

Alya waved his apologies away. “Cupcake, it’s fine. The couch is very comfortable, and Nino and I can always take a rain check on quality time. I kind of get the impression that Nino needs to listen to your heartbeat for a couple hours or else he’s going to have a meltdown.”

“I’m not gonna flip out anymore,” Nino grumbled petulantly, resting his head back down on Adrien’s chest.

Meanwhile, Adrien’s mouth and eyes rounded into wide “O”s of understanding.

“If you’re sure,” Adrien gave a token protest only to be waved off again by Alya.

“It’s all good. Stay the night,” she insisted. “I mean, you’re already in your pyjamas, so why not? But to get back to what you’re doing here in the first place, did you say you had something you needed to talk to me about?” She glanced at Nino. “Was that, like, a private thing?”

Adrien shook his head and sat up (much to Nino’s displeasure).

Nino repositioned himself so that he was sitting with his back to the bookshelf built into the wall above Alya’s bed, his knee perpendicular to and pressing up against Adrien’s leg.

“Actually, it’s even better to have the both of you to bounce things off of,” Adrien replied, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “I don’t know what to do. I know Plagg’s probably right, but…” He paused, realizing that Nino didn’t know who Plagg was. “My kwami,” he explained and then looked around, realizing that he didn’t know where the cat deity had gotten to or what havoc he was wreaking.

“Plagg?” he called, voice a little high and tinny in alarm.

“Here.” Plagg floated up out of Alya’s hood, still munching on the chunk of Gruyère she had given him. He went over to Nino and landed on his knee. “Plagg,” he introduced himself, holding out a stubby paw which Nino carefully took between two fingers.

“Nino. Nice to meet you, Mec.”

“I dislike you least,” Plagg announced before tossing the remainder of the Gruyère into his mouth and flying off to retake his perch on Alya’s computer speaker.

“He means that you’re his favourite,” Adrien translated with a fond smile. “He pretends to be a little gremlin, but he’s a big softie on the inside.”

“Why don’t I get to be your favourite, Plagg?” Alya whined, shooting the kwami a betrayed look. “I gave you cheese.”

Plagg shrugged. “You’ll have to do a lot better than that. Luka keeps cheese in his minifridge specifically for me.”

Alya and Nino whipped their heads around to stare at Adrien.

“Luka knows about you being Chat Noir?” Alya accused. “I thought you didn’t tell anybody?”

“I didn’t,” Adrien groaned. “I just have perceptive friends. I’d been visiting him for maybe three months as Chat Noir when, one night, out of nowhere, he asked if I wanted to detransform and feed my kwami because I’d been transformed for so long, and I was like, ‘But then you’ll know my identity,’ and he was like, ‘Perfect Fifth…seriously?’ So…yeah. I’m apparently really obviously me…but I don’t know. Nino didn’t recognize me, and I’m pretty sure Kagami has no idea.”

“You hang out with Kagami as Chat Noir?” Nino frowned, trying to picture it.

Adrien shrugged. “She’s like me. She doesn’t get to leave the house much, so I come visit her and keep her company.”

“Aww,” Alya cooed. “That’s really thoughtful of you.”

“I know what it’s like,” Adrien explained sadly. “And I really like spending time with Kagami. She can be a little prickly at times, but she’s a good friend.”

“Who else do you hang out with as Chat Noir?” Nino couldn’t help but wonder. “I don’t know why I always thought I was the only one. Guess I just wanted to be special.”

Adrien grimaced, feeling bad. “Sorry. You are special…but Chat Noir actually has a pretty active social life.”

“Fair,” Nino sighed, shrugging it off.

A somber expression drifted onto Adrien’s face. “It was hard always being under lock and key at home, never permitted to spend time with friends or participate in group activities, so…I actually end up sneaking out most nights. Like, I’m over at Marinette’s all the time.” He bit his lip thoughtfully. “I don’t think she knows it’s me, though.”

“She definitely doesn’t,” Alya grumbled in frustration.

“Her parents might, though,” Adrien admitted. “I’m about ninety percent positive that Sabine knows. Tom is fifty-fifty.”

Nino’s frown turned skeptical. “Her parents? You hang out with her parents?”

Adrien looked down at the bedspread, blushing. “Yeah? I mean…at first, I just went over to see Marinette, but then it felt kind of weird being up in her room late at night without her parents knowing, and I knew they were super chill, so Marinette and I explained the situation with my father not letting me out of the house much, and they were fine with it. I mean, there are ground rules like no unauthorized sleepovers unless I’m having a crisis or don’t feel safe at home or something like that, but then they started inviting me over to cook and have dinner with them when they found out I eat alone most of the time, so…yeah. Tom and Sabine kind of adopted me.”

He looked up with a helpless shrug and a sheepish smile.

Alya clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Boy, you’re already getting in good with the future in-laws.”

“Alya,” Adrien groaned. “Stop.”

“I’m just telling it like it is, Cupcake,” she snickered. “You’ll see. Any day now, you and Marinette are gonna start dating, and you’ll be married with three kids, a hamster, a dog, and a cat before you know it, and then—”

“—This is me seriously asking you to stop.” Adrien shot her a wounded look.

Alya put her hands up, dropping the topic like it had stung her. “Sorry. This is me stopping.”

Nino nodded approvingly, impressed that Alya had learned better than to press Adrien’s boundaries. That was something she had struggled with at times: pushing forward once she got an idea in her head without stopping to think about how her words and actions affected others. He was really proud that she was working on it.

A bashful smile slowly formed on Adrien’s lips as he gave Alya a grateful nod. “Thanks.”

She shot him a wink and abruptly changed topics. “So, I’m kind of ticked that I’m the only one you seem to have decided not to visit as Chat Noir besides Chloé.”

“You run a blog on which you post articles speculating about my identity, and it was once your life’s goal to unmask me,” Adrien retorted sassily. “And I don’t visit Chloé because she’s practically the only one of my friends my father actually allows me to see whenever I want anyway, so there was no need. Plus, she thinks Chat Noir is a loser.”

Alya rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, Snowflake, but the blog’s mainly about your partner. There may be some articles about your identity, but Ladybug was always my main focus.”

“But you were right,” Nino chimed in, causing both Alya and Adrien to turn to blink at him. “The very first identity speculation post you did about Chat Noir was that he was secretly Adrien Agreste. You even posted that image you’d made photoshopping cat ears and a mask on Adrien’s picture.”

“It was a joke,” Alya moaned, covering her face with her hand. “Everyone knew it was a joke.”

“Some people didn’t,” Adrien sighed.

“I thought you made some compelling arguments like them both being blonde,” Nino offered encouragingly.

Alya deflated, shoulders slumping as her head dropped to her chest.

“If I had visited you as Chat Noir, are you telling me you wouldn’t have badgered me for details about Ladybug and pestered me for an interview?” Adrien challenged.

All Alya could do was groan, unable to defend herself. “Yeah. Okay. I can see why you didn’t come visit the obsessive Ladybug fangirl. Case closed.”

“So, you’re not upset?” Adrien verified hesitantly.

Alya shook her head. “Nope. Well…maybe a little bit, but that’s on me. I do get it, so…all good, Cupcake,” she assured with a conciliatory smile. “…So…you needed to talk to us about something?”

Adrien’s eyes went wide as he remembered. “You will never guess who asked me out on a date!”

Alya’s jaw dropped. “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, it’s happening!” She began to bounce on the bed, clapping her hands in excitement. “Marinette finally asked you out!”

Adrien’s wide-eyed expression crumpled into a frown. “What? No. Wait. Did Marinette actually say that she was going to ask me?”

Alya’s elation faded into confusion. “I mean…yeah. She was just over here a couple hours ago, and, when she left, I thought we had reached an understanding that she was going to ask you to get coffee.”

“Shoot,” Adrien hissed, brow furrowing. “Shoot. This makes things even worse.”

“Cupcake, you’ve lost me,” Alya confessed, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. “Marinette didn’t ask you out?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Ladybug did, so if Marinette asks me now, I have to say no, right? I can’t…like…go on dates with both of them?” he replied uncertainly, looking to Nino for permission. “Because that would be bad, right? I couldn’t, like, go on a date with Ladybug and then go on a date with Marinette later? Could I? At least until someone says something about making the relationship exclusive?”

Nino shook his head. “Mec. No. You’ve got to be upfront about that kind of thing; otherwise, they’re going to beat you up when they find out, and someone’s going to get akumatized.”

The hopeful expression slid off of Adrien’s face as he dropped his head in defeat. “But I want to date both of them.”

“Well, maybe when Marinette asks you out, tell her the truth and see what she thinks,” Nino suggested judiciously. “Depending on what she says, talk to Ladybug and see what she thinks. Honesty is the best policy here. Isn’t that right, Al?”

Alya was too busy trying to wrap her mind around the ever increasingly more confusing situation to hear at first.

“Al,” Nino called again.

She snapped to attention, hawk eyes zeroing in on Adrien. “Wait. Ladybug asked you out?”

Adrien nodded, wailing mournfully, “Why is this happening to me? For years no one’s been interested, and now the two most amazing girls on the face of the planet both decide to ask me out at the same time. I’m cursed, guys!”

“Wait,” Alya repeated, mental gears still stuck and refusing to turn as she attempted to process how her fool-proof plan had failed. “Ladybug asked out Chat Noir? I thought you two decided last night that, even though you loved each other, you couldn’t date until Papillon was no longer an issue. Did she change her mind?”

Nino’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “Clearly I missed a plot-relevant episode somewhere. Lady Noir is canon now?”

Adrien nodded excitedly, momentarily forgetting his woes. “Oh my gosh, Nino. She loves me! She just thinks our feelings for each other will screw up our teamwork, so she doesn’t want to date yet, but she said that after Papillon’s defeated, we can finally be together!”

“Congratulations, Bro!” Nino laughed with a wide grin, giving Adrien a celebratory clap on the back. “That’s awesome!”

“I know,” Adrien giggled. “And it gets even better because earlier tonight she came by my room and asked me out as Adrien. I think Adrien is the guy she’s been turning Chat Noir down for this whole time. Nino, I think she really loves me!”

“What?!” Alya snapped, cutting off Nino’s response before he could give it. “She asked you out as Adrien as Ladybug?!”

Adrien and Nino both stared at Alya in concern as smoke started to billow from her ears and nostrils.

“Um…yeah,” Adrien responded tentatively. “Are you okay, Alya?”

“No!” Alya shrieked, reaching up to grip her hair. “You can’t date a masked superhero! What is wrong with that girl?!”

Nino leaned forward and gently loosened Alya’s fingers so that she wouldn’t hurt herself in her outrage. “Deep breaths, Al.”

Meanwhile, Adrien grimaced. “Yeah. That’s what Plagg said too. Do you think I should text her and call things off?” He stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, obvious not too keen on the idea of cancelling.

“Let me think,” Alya requested, pursing her lips as deep trenches formed in her brow.

They sat there in silence for nearly ten seconds until Alya suddenly broke it once more.

“No. Don’t cancel,” she decided, reformulating her plan as she spoke. “Go on the date.”

Adrien looked to Nino and then Alya. “You really think it’s okay? I was a little worried that it’s technically lying to her for me to date her as a civilian without telling her I’m Chat Noir, but…”

“Well, she’s not exactly telling you who she is either, is she?” Alya snorted indignantly. “She’s being equally duplicitous, don’t you think?”

Adrien frowned, looking down at the zebra-print duvet. “Yeah,” he sighed. “The thought had crossed my mind. I think…maybe she knows me when she’s not Ladybug. That’s the only way her feelings for me make sense because Ladybug has been turning Chat Noir down for her mystery guy for years now, so if Adrien is the mystery guy, she has to know me, right?”

He looked up at Alya, eyes begging for clarity. “You know her, right? She wouldn’t waste years pursuing a celebrity crush when she had genuine feelings for Chat Noir…would she? Her feelings for Adrien have to be from her civilian life, don’t they?”

Alya bit her lip, worried she would give away too much with her answer. On second thought, so what if she blew Marinette’s cover? This stupid love quadrilateral they were stuck in had to go, and if Alya “accidentally” knocked it over like a house of cards, so what?

Gradually, Alya began to nod. “Yeah. You’re right, Cupcake. There’s no way Ladybug would pine after some celebrity crush for literal years. She probably does really know you.”

Adrien slowly released the breath from his lungs. “Okay. Wow. I mean…that’s what I thought, but…” He gulped. “Wow. You think she’s been right under my nose this whole time?”

Alya shrugged. “Maybe.”

Nino frowned as the pieces to the puzzle started to line up. “Wait.” He looked to Alya, eyes narrowing.

She arched an eyebrow.

Nino glanced back to Adrien. “Wait.”

Adrien tipped his head to the side interrogatively.

Nino looked to Alya once more, wearing an affronted expression. “If Ladybug is…” he sputtered, shaking his head. “What the hell is wrong with that girl?!”

Alya tried not to burst out laughing as she saw the true insanity of the situation register with her boyfriend.

Adrien, however, continued to look confused.

“Aw, come on,” Nino groaned in frustration, wishing he had hair to spare so that he could pull some out in his indignation. “I want to hit my head against a wall. Why on earth did she ask you out as Ladybug?” he demanded of his best friend.

“I’m…not sure?” Adrien replied uncertainly, feeling like he had missed something important.

“I swear I’m going to shake that girl,” Alya sighed.

Nino clicked his tongue. “Right?!”

“Maybe she didn’t think I’d say yes,” Adrien suggested, trying to ignore the fact that his friends seemed to be having some secret conversation in front of his face.

“Maybe.” Alya shrugged, too mentally exhausted to do more than that.

“I’m just worried that, if I do go out with Ladybug, we’re going to end up exposing our identities,” Adrien sighed, slumping back against the wall behind him.

“Would that really be the worst thing, though?” Nino posited.

Adrien wrinkled his brow as he considered it. “I don’t know. I don’t know if this is something that I can keep from her. Like you said, honesty is best in relationships. I don’t think I could be with her as Adrien and keep my Chat side a secret for long, but…she’s not going to be happy. The secret identities thing is a big deal for her.”

Alya gave an unconcerned snort. “Don’t you think she considered how it could put her identity at risk by getting close to you as Ladybug? She had to know that this was a gamble. Apparently, the chance to date you was worth it. True, she’s going to be upset when you figure out who she is, but…she loves both sides of you, Adrien. She’s going to be really happy that the guys she loves are the same person.”

“Yeah,” Nino concurred, giving Adrien’s arm a bolstering pat. “You two will deal with the fallout when the time comes, so don’t worry about it too much. Just enjoy your date, and when the identity reveal comes, it comes. You guys have a strong partnership and love each other a lot. You’ll figure it out.”

Slowly, Adrien began to nod as he took their words to heart. “Yeah,” he breathed, gradually starting to feel at peace with the situation. “You’re right. I mean, I totally see where she’s coming from with wanting to keep our identities secret and wait until after Papillon is defeated for us to be a couple, but…whatever happens, we’ll make it work. Our bond is strong enough to overcome this.”

He looked up at his friends with eyes shining with gratitude. “Thanks, guys. I really appreciate you talking me through this. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Sure thing,” Nino chuckled, giving Adrien’s hair a fond ruffle.

Alya winked and punched Adrien’s arm playfully. “We’ve always got your back, Cupcake.”

The comfortable, warm atmosphere only lasted for a moment. Seconds later, Adrien’s eyes snapped open wide as he realized he’d forgotten about a key issue: “What am I going to say to Marinette when she asks me out?!”

Nino and Alya groaned in tandem.

Nino gave Adrien’s back a supportive pat as he shook his head. “Maybe don’t worry about that so much. I have a feeling it will sort itself out.”

“But…what if she asks me out and I have to tell her I’m marrying Ladybug?” Adrien looked back and forth between his friends as if this was a genuine and immediate concern he was having. “Won’t that ruin our friendship? Will it be awkward if I invite her to the wedding? Marinette is one of my best friends, and I don’t want to do anything to mess that up. She wasn’t seriously interested in me, was she?”

His eyes fell pleadingly on Alya.

She sighed and shook her head. “You know what? I’ll talk to her. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“Thank you so much, Alya!” he cried, lurching forward to throw his arms around her and nearly knocking her off the bed in the process. “You’re the best!”

She couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation as she patted him on the back and shook her head. “Yeah, yeah. I know. You’re welcome, Adrien.”

“So,” Nino spoke up as Adrien and Alya pulled back. “Is that all the drama for the evening, or did you have something else we needed to hash out?”

“Nope,” Adrien assured. “I should be good.”

“Awesome,” Nino chuckled, stretching out on the bed and motioning for Adrien to lie down beside him.

Adrien readily complied and was summarily snuggled for his trouble.

“We were watching that new Netflix show Lupin,” Nino explained, resting his head on Adrien’s shoulder. “Ever seen it?”

“No, but I was planning on watching it,” Adrien replied excitedly.

“We’re only fifteen minutes into the first episode,” Alya informed, retrieving the laptop and waking it up. “If you want, we can start over and watch together.”

“Would that really be okay?” Adrien looked back and forth between them like an excited puppy.

“Absolutely,” Alya assured, cuddling up next to Adrien and restarting the video.

[tsuki-chibi]

Passionfruit (Novembr) Day 11: Headphone

Read the whole story on AO3: Passionfruit

————

“I still can’t believe I thought Chloé was Ladybug,” Alya said glumly.

Adrien tried not to visibly wince as he turned around just in time to see the look on Marinette’s face. She didn’t say anything, but her face - and her thoughts - spoke volumes. Alya being akumatized had been interesting, to say the least. In her determination to prove that Chloé was Ladybug, Hawkmoth had reached out to Alya to give her the power to try and figure Ladybug’s identity out. Lady WiFi had come too close for comfort.

“Someone like Chloé could never be Ladybug,” Adrien said, trying to send calming waves towards Marinette.

“Yeah, Ladybug is way too sweet and kind for that,” Nino said.

Marinette flushed, but some of her ire drained away to the point where she playfully nudged Alya in the ribs. “Besides, I think if Chloé were Ladybug, that’s a secret you’re best left keeping quiet about.”

“Right? Especially after that stunt she pulled with Juleka,” Alya huffed.

Adrien frowned at that. Yeah, that hadn’t been Chloé’s best moment. She’d gotten completely caught up in herself and what she wanted... which was pretty par for the course for Chloé, but Adrien was still disappointed in her because she’d been doing pretty good for the past couple of weeks. He hadn’t spoken to her since Juleka had been akumatized; Chloé knew damn well he was waiting for her to apologize to Juleka.

“We have more important things to talk about than Chloé,” Nino declared.

“Like what?” Marinette asked.

“Like my man’s birthday!” Nino said excitedly, hugging Adrien around the shoulders. “And the raging party we’re gonna have!”

“Nino, don’t get carried away. My dad didn’t say yes, and it’s unlikely that he will,” Adrien said. The bell rang and he got up, already thinking about his busy afternoon: he had fencing practice, then piano practice, dinner, and a late photo shoot. He said his good-byes and headed for the door.

“Make sure you ask!” Nino called after him as Adrien left the classroom.

‘Do you think there’s any chance your dad will say yes?’ Marinette thought as Adrien walked to the locker room to change.

‘Nope,’ Adrien thought with a quiet, bitter laugh. ‘I’ve never had a birthday party before. I wish I could’ve seen what Nino had planned... but I know my dad. He’s fundamentally incapable of doing anything fun.’

‘Your father sucks so hard,’ Marinette thought.

‘Tell me about,’ Adrien thought, sighing.

His prediction turned out to be accurate. Adrien was completely exhausted by the time he made it home to the mansion that night. The only bright, shining spot in the whole afternoon had been Marinette’s comforting presence. Tedious photo shoots were always made better when her soothing voice was in his head. Sometimes she’d read to him, or share funny things she found online, or they’d hash out the night’s homework together. She was always a welcome distraction.

He collapsed into bed and fell asleep pretty much immediately. Morning came far too early, and Adrien groaned as his alarm went off and he rolled over to half-heartedly swat at it. He stared at the ceiling for a moment. He could tell that Marinette was still sleeping; her presence was a low hum in the back of his mind, heavy with the kind of contentment that comes from an exhausted teenager finally getting to rest.

“Happy birthday, Adrien!” Plagg exclaimed, suddenly appearing over Adrien’s face.

“Thanks, Plagg,” Adrien said with a tired smile. “I wish I could say it was going to be a good one.”

“I have something that will make it better,” Plagg said.

Adrien eyed him warily. “It’s not cheese, is it?”

“Well, of course cheese makes everything better, but I’ve come to realize you humans don’t appreciate such delicacies the way you should,” Plagg said. “So no. It’s something else!”

He rose up in the air and started waving his paws around. Adrien sat up and watched him in puzzlement, eyebrows furrowed. He was completely unprepared for Plagg to suddenly rear back and hawk something right into Adrien’s lap. The whatever it was landed in a soggy green pool of spit. Adrien stared at it in dumbstruck horror.

“Miraculous birthday,” Plagg declared, looking at Adrien expectantly.

“Uhhhhh....” Adrien said. Years of decorum training prevented him from reacting the way he wanted to, which was a horrified shriek and a vault into the bathroom to shower. He sat there in silence, mouth open uselessly.

Plagg sighed explosively. “It’s a kwagatama,” he said, like Adrien was the one who was being weird. “It’s a symbol of friendship between kwami and their holders.”

“Friendship?” Adrien repeated, softening. The green saliva was magically vanishing, revealing what looked like the black half of a yin and yang symbol. When he gingerly touched it, he realized that it was soft and smooth to the touch. Like a polished stone.

“Making one is a lot of work. You should give me cheese as a thank you,” Plagg said.

“I will. Lots of cheese.” Adrien clasped the kwagatama in his hands and smiled. “Thank you, Plagg. I love it.”

“Whatever,” Plagg muttered, but it didn’t escape Adrien’s notice that Plagg looked incredibly pleased.

He didn’t have any cord, so he sent a text to Marinette and then got up to get dressed while Plagg devoured half a wheel of Camembert. He put the kwagatama in his pocket for now as he left his room, backpack slung over his shoulder. He headed down to an empty dining room to eat breakfast alone, as per usual. Of course, it was too much to ask that his father join him for his birthday breakfast.

Nathalie entered just as he was beginning and said, “Your schedule today.”

“Thanks. Say, did my father get back to you about my party?” Adrien asked, taking the tablet. He read the answer in Nathalie’s face before she even opened her mouth.

“He doesn’t think it would be a good idea,” Nathalie said. “Happy Birthday, Adrien.” She nodded at him and left.

Adrien sighed, hanging his head, and pushed his plate away. Suddenly, he lacked an appetite. He stood and wandered out to the car, where his bodyguard drove him to school. His stomach twisted when he saw that Nino was standing right there at the front gates, waiting for him. The thought of disappointing his friend hurt.

‘Happy birthday, Chaton!’ Marinette thought suddenly.

‘Thanks, My Lady. Just woke up, huh?’ Adrien thought, a small smile coming to his face.

‘Yup. Saw your text. What’s a kwagatama?’ she thought.

Rather than answer, Adrien pushed the memory of what had happened that morning towards her as he got out of the car. Nino rushed over to him, eyes lit up - only for his face to fall when Adrien glumly shook his head.

“Dude, seriously? Your dad sucks,” Nino said, disappointed.

“Tell me about it,” Adrien said, slamming the car door. They walked through the gates together.

“Can’t you like... insist?” Nino suggested. “Tell him he needs to be fair?”

Adrien scoffed. “Honestly, I’m not sure my dad even knows what fair means,” he replied.

‘Oh my god,’ Marinette thought at the same time. She was laughing. ‘Oh, Adrien. That’s disgusting.’

‘It was so gross,’ Adrien thought back.

“At least you can smile, I guess,” Nino said, looking at Adrien.

“Uh, sure,” Adrien said. He was smiling because of Marinette, but of course Nino didn’t know that.

Nino sighed and took a bottle of bubble solution out of his back. Adrien watched curiously as he twisted off the top and started blowing bubbles. He’d seen people blow bubbles before, of course, but it was never something he’d had the chance to do himself. Nino was so good at it, creating a perfect bubble with every try.

“What?” Nino asked, eventually noticing the attention.

“Could I try?” Adrien asked.

“Sure,” Nino said, surrendering the wand.

“Like this?” Adrien pursed his lips and blew, splattering the bubble solution all over the place. Nino laughed.

“Gently, Dude. Not so hard,” he said.

Adrien obeyed and beamed as a bubble formed on the end of the wand, slowly breaking off. He watched it float through the air until it finally landed on the ground and burst. But that was okay, because he could just blow another one. He did so, dipping the wand back in the solution and then carefully blowing several more.

“So what’s up with you and Alya?” he asked finally.

Nino reddened. “No clue what you mean.”

“Well, you’re soulmates,” Adrien said. “So...” He already knew from Marinette that Nino and Alya were keeping their bond firmly closed for the time being. He couldn’t imagine what that would be like. Having Marinette as a part of him was the best thing thing that had ever happened to Adrien.

‘You sweetheart,’ Marinette thought fondly.

“I dunno. It’s... weird,” Nino said, not quite looking at Adrien. “I don’t even know her.”

“Maybe you should try spending time with her. Alya’s pretty cool,” Adrien said.

Nino frowned. “Since when do you know Alya?”

“Just what Marinette’s told me,” Adrien said quickly. He knew Alya because Marinette knew Alya, and Adrien knew what Marinette did - but of course, he couldn’t tell Nino that.

“Maybe,” Nino muttered, shrugging and toying with his headphones. “She hasn’t exactly acted like she wants to spend time with me, so...”

‘Alya says the same thing about Nino,’ Marinette thought.

“I bet Alya feels the same way,” Adrien said.

Nino just shrugged again, and Adrien took the hint. Luckily, he had the perfect distraction. Marinette ran through the gates at that moment. He handed the bubble solution and wand back to Nino and hurried over to meet her. She threw her arms around him in an exuberant hug.

“Happy birthday, Adrien!” she cried.

“Thanks,” Adrien said.

“Here.” Marinette untangled herself and reached into her bag, producing a box. “This is for you.”

Adrien’s eyes widened. “You got me a present?!”

She grinned. “Of course!”

‘I’ve been working on it at night while you were asleep,’ she added mentally, her eyes twinkling. ‘And it’s been taking sooooo much effort not to think about it when you were awake.’

“Marinette...” Adrien was so touched he could barely speak.

“Open it,” she said, laying a hand on his arm.

He obeyed, pulling the wrapping off and opening the box. His eyes widened when he saw the handmade, knitted blue scarf carefully arranged inside. It was made of a material so soft that Adrien immediately wanted to buy several bolts of it just so that he could curl up and sleep on it. Marinette giggled at that and picked the scarf up, gently draping it around his neck.

‘Happy birthday, mon minou,’ she thought, and kissed his cheek.

So overwhelmed that he couldn’t speak, much less form thoughts, all Adrien could do was pull her into another hug. He gathered all of his feelings and pushed them at her, gratitude, affection, shock and bittersweet pain all wrapped into one. Marinette instantly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as she could.