#postreveal2022

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 1: Heartbeat

Nothing like throwing your hat in the ring at the last minute!

Read it on AO3 if you prefer

--

“You’re warm,” Marinette remarked to no one in particular, curling a bit closer.

“Are you cold?” Adrien seemed to assume the answer was yes, given that Marinette was doing her hardest to climb inside of his jacket along with him. He shrugged out of the right sleeve of his jacket and draped his arm around Marinette’s shoulder, wrapping his jacket around her too.

“Thanks. I thought this sweater would be enough, but I guess not. Remind me again why we’re out here at 4am?” Marinette pressed her fingers to her nose. It was cold to the touch.

“Something something Alya something something photo that she couldn’t get anywhere else?” Adrien shrugged and muffled a yawn with his free hand. “Honestly, Mari, I stopped listening sometime around the third time she tried to explain it.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Marinette sighed and glanced down at her purse. She could just make out Tikki and Plagg curled up comfortably inside. She envied them, and for a moment wished that she had the Mouse miraculous so that she could shrink herself and Adrien down too. Of course, knowing Marinette’s luck, Alya would come looking for them right as they got comfortable.

“Are you still cold?” Adrien asked. “We could transform.”

“And have Alya stumble across Ladybug and Chat Noir? Ha.” Marinette shook her head as Adrien snickered.

“Hey, it would make her night,” Adrien said.

“You just say that because Alya harasses Ladybug way more than she does Chat Noir,” Marinette muttered, which made Adrien snicker again.

“Such is the peril of the heroine of Paris,” he said softly, his breath gusting over her neck in a way that made her shiver again.

“Stop it, Adrien. I’m cold!” Marinette said, elbowing him.

“Ow! Sorry, sorry, geez – here –” He fumbled around for a couple of moments, nearly kneeing her in the stomach. Marinette came within a hair of elbowing him again, this time by accident, as she tried to figure out what he wanted to do.

But eventually they were seated with her back pressed against his chest. Adrien somehow zipped his jacket up over her stomach and chest, sealing the two of them together. It was good, especially when Marinette scrunched herself down so that the lower half of her face was underneath the jacket. With their combined body heat, it was much warmer.

“Better?” he asked in her ear.

“Much. Thanks Chaton.”

“I couldn’t have my lady freeze.” He was smiling, she could tell, and that made her smile too. Coming out to the beach at 4am with Alya had been a dumb idea, but she found that she couldn’t really complain too much when it led to moments like this.

“So how long do you think it’ll be before Alya comes back?” Marinette asked, reclining comfortably against him. Adrien slipped his hands underneath the jacket, resting them on her stomach, and she put her hands over his. His fingers were like ice. She squeezed them tightly to help warm them up and he sighed.

“I don’t know. I think I remember her saying something about sunset. We’ve got a couple of hours, probably. I have to be back before 9am at the latest.”

“If she’s not back before 7:30, we’re leaving her here,” Marinette said under her breath.

“Now, now.” Adrien bumped his nose against the back of her head. “Someone’s cranky.”

“Someone’s tired.” Marinette huffed and turned her head. That pressed her ear to his chest, and she realized she could hear the steady thrum of his heartbeat. It was a nice, solid, comforting sound. She closed her eyes.

“Go to sleep,” Adrien told her, hugging her gently. “I’ll wake you up when Alya comes back.”

Later, when Alya did eventually return grumbling about angles and lighting and unfortunately mistimed falls, it would be to find both Adrien and Marinette sound asleep. So even though Alya didn’t get the picture she thought she wanted, she ended up with an even better one.

[thelibraryloser]

For the Last Time

2.5k words, post-reveal, rated G 

@post-reveal-revelry Day 4 prompt: Time

 read it on AO3

When you met the love of your life (for the first time) it was a bit of a disaster. You were on your way to fight a supervillain, which was a surreal experience in itself, when you suddenly found yourself dangling above the street tied to a complete stranger.

I’m sorry I can’t remember your exact first words to him or his to you (though I’d bet good money it was a pun). I do remember that there was an explosion of some sort in the distance and the stranger flung himself towards the destruction with a grin on his face (he does that a lot).

You shouted “where are you going?” and he answered “to save Paris, right?” Right he said, like it was your plan, and he was just confirming it.

Because even though you’d just met him, he seemed to understand that he was now part of your plans, for that particular fight and also every day after.

You won the battle that day but you didn’t feel like a superhero yet—that’s okay. Sometimes you still don’t, and that’s okay too. He’s really good at building you up when you doubt yourself.

He said “Farewell M’lady. Let’s do this again soon, okay?”

And you said “Not too soon, I hope.”

You had no idea.

Because the next day—the very next day you walked into class and met the love of your life for the first time (for the second time).

And once again it was a bit of a disaster. You thought he put gum on your chair (he didn’t) and you thought he lied about it (he didn’t) and you thought he was friends with this girl who bullied you (he was, but only because of his kindness and endless patience, which is part of the reason you love him).

I recall the next scene with perfect clarity and it’s really important that you do too, so take a moment to imagine:

You wait on the school steps under a steely sky. You can taste a thunderstorm in the air and feel it in the breeze as it whispers on your mist-damp skin. His eyes are sad and sorry, and he tells you that everything is new to him, and lightning flashes like a camera taking a snapshot of you falling for him like the rain. He hands you his umbrella and your fingers brush his fingers and it’s electric, and if you think that’s overwhelming, he’s about to laugh and the sound of it will wreck you for the rest of your life.

read the rest here

[post-reveal-revelry]

March is for Post Reveal!

[lunadensmidnightprowl]

Post Reveal Revelry Day 31 - Freedom

Ooh boy I haven't written anything Miraculous in a while - or anything for that matter - let's see how this very short lil drabble goes...

@post-reveal-revelry

>> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >>

Adrien had always thought freedom could only exist in his time spent as Chat Noir, at least while under his father's thumb. But now he was unbound, freed as his father went to prison for his crimes against the city as Hawkmoth.

Granted it was most, unfortunate, that he be left on his own at 18, especially with his lack of basic life skills thanks to the controlled life thrust upon him by Gabriel Agreste. Adrien was not alone entirely however, Marinette was there to guide and help him when he needed it, and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

She had always been the one to think of the plans, it seemed only fitting that she was there by his side as they reveled in the new way of life. Now they didn't have to have the weight of the world on their shoulders at such a young age, they could be normal teenagers like they always wanted, and be together without worrying about their love bringing the end of the world.

It wasn't all no rules and no responsibility, it was about living a life they chose and that, that was what freedom was.

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 2: Rules

Read them all on AO3

---

“Okay… annnnnd go!”

Ladybug watched in amusement as Chat reached up and took the blindfold off. He looked around, eyes narrowing slightly, at the multiple copies of Carapace standing around him. There was a moment’s pause as Chat took in each copy before Chat stood up and walked very confidently over to the one standing further from Ladybug.

“This one!” he proclaimed, throwing an arm around Carapace’s shoulder. Carapace didn’t fade away, so Ladybug realized that he had – again – chosen right.

“No fair!” All of the copies vanished as Rena Rouge stomped her foot. “I’ve really been practicing! How do you keep seeing through my illusions so easily?”

“You can fool my eyes, but you can’t fool my nose or ears,” Chat told her.

Rena’s eyebrows furrowed. “Huh?”

“I can smell the onions that Nino had with lunch,” Chat said dryly.

“Hey! I brushed my teeth,” Carapace said, elbowing Chat in the chest.

“Wait. You’re smelling the original one out?” Rena said incredulously.

“And hearing. These aren’t just for show now, you know.” Chat reached up and gently flicked the tip of his claw against the black kitty ears that perched atop his head. Though originally the cat ears had just been a part of his costume, a recent power upgrade had made them functional.

“What?! That’s cheating,” Rena whined.

“No it’s not,” Chat disagreed.

“Yes it is! Ladybug, tell him. He’s not following the rules.” Rena shoved her bottom lip out into a full pout, face scrunched up, and Ladybug had to fight back the urge to laugh.

“Technically, you didn’t say anything about Chat being able to use his other senses,” she gently pointed out. “But Chat, you know that’s really not in the spirit of the game. Alya is trying to practice her illusions.” She gave Chat a pointed look. They should be encouraging the newcomers with their powers, after all.

Chat made a face. “Alright, fine. I’m sorry. Your illusions really are getting better though.”

Rena sighed. “Not good enough.”

“Hey, no, they really are. I had to use my ears and nose this time to be able to tell,” Chat said.

“Really?” Rena said, perking up a bit, and Chat nodded.

“Really. Though you still need to work more on your poses. None of them really stood the way Carapace would.”

“That’s because none of them were as cool as the real thing,” Carapace interjected smugly, which made Ladybug roll her eyes.

“I’ll make note of that. You know, Trixx says that someday I’ll be able to factor in smells and sound to my illusions too. This means that you get to be my test subject when that day comes,” Rena said, her eyes taking on an intent glint that definitely would’ve worried Ladybug had she been the target.

To his credit, Chat looked a little worried. “Uh, I never agreed to that.”

“Too late. Your agreement is implicit,” Rena chirped, smirking back at him.

“I wouldn’t be too concerned. Trixx also says that day is quite far away,” Carapace spoke up. “Apparently that’s advanced Fox magic.”

“I’m going to learn it way faster than any of you could guess,” Rena shot back. “Soon my illusions will be so great, and I’ll be able to keep using my miraculous for so long, that I’ll be able to send an illusion to school for me!”

“Awesome!” Chat and Carapace exclaimed.

“What,” Ladybug said.

Rena winced. “Uh… not that I would misuse my powers like that or anything. It’s just an idle thought on my part,” she said innocently.

Ladybug just stared at her, unconvinced.

“Well, at any rate, we should be celebrating how successful Rena and Carapace are being. Right, My Lady?” Chat said, grabbing Ladybug’s hand.

“… I guess,” Ladybug said finally, deciding to let that go for the time being. She decided to pretend not to notice Rena mouthing a ‘thank you’ at Chat. If that was the motivation Rena needed to keep improving, then Ladybug wasn’t going to stand in her way.

But she was going to poke Alya’s arm every morning from now on to just make sure it was really Alya!

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 29: Fastened

Read them all on AO3

—-

“What do you think?” Adrien said, turning away from the mirror.

Ladybug looked up from where she was lounging on his bed, flipping through a fashion magazine. She gave his outfit a critical onceover, eyes narrowed and nose scrunched cutely. Adrien knew what the answer was going to be before she even opened her mouth.

“I don’t like the shirt and pants together. They don’t match,” she said after a long moment.

“I thought you might say that,” Adrien said, frustrated. He decided to swap out his shirt and started un-buttoning it. Ladybug rolled off of the bed and walked over to her closet.

“What color did you say that Chloé is wearing again?” she asked, flipping rapidly through the clothing.

“Blue,” Adrien said, watching her.

“And your dad isn’t dressing you because…?”

“He doesn’t know I’m going,” Adrien admitted, and caught Ladybug’s smirk out of the corner of his eye. She was always in support of him being a little more rebellious.

His father had turned down the invitation to the party, as he often did. But Adrien was determined to go. Audrey Bourgeois was going to be there, and he wanted to be there to support Chloé. He would have liked it if Marinette could be there too, but the guest list was tight. Really tight. Adrien was taking Gabriel’s invitation, which was why he was on the list.

“Well, let me see. If Chloé is in blue, that means you’ll need to be in a complimentary color.” Ladybug tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Green would do. You look so nice in green.”

“Thanks?” Adrien said, a little surprised, but it was like Ladybug couldn’t even hear him. He supposed he should’ve expected that; she got that way whenever fashion or design was involved.

“Adrien?”

Nathalie’s voice, and the sudden knock on the door, made both freeze.

Then, before Adrien could even blink, Ladybug threw herself across the room and out the open window.

“Adrien?” Nathalie said again, this time opening the door. Adrien quickly clutched the shirt to his chest so that she wouldn’t see him, embarrassed. He was used to dozens of people seeing him in his underwear during photoshoots and backstage at modelling shows, but it was somehow different when he was in his bedroom.

“What is it?” Adrien said, hoping that he sounded calmer than he felt. This was exactly why Marinette had stayed transformed in the first place, and he was positive that Nathalie hadn’t seen her, but that didn’t make his pulse slow.

Nathalie frowned, her eyes running across the room. “What were you doing?”

“Just getting ready to take a shower, that’s all,” Adrien lied. He knew it didn’t make any sense – it was the middle of the day, and he was standing here in dress clothes – but he couldn’t think of any other excuses.

“… Right,” Nathalie said slowly. “Well, I wanted to let you know that your Chinese lesson has been extended to two hours on Tuesday because your Thursday session has been canceled. I’ve updated your schedule.”

“Right. Two hours on Tuesday. Got it.” Adrien gave her a thumbs up.

Nathalie’s frown deepened, but she left and closed the door behind her. Adrien exhaled slowly, standing frozen to the spot until he heard the sound of her heels clicking back down the hallway. Only then did Ladybug’s head poke back up over the windowsill.

“She gone?” Ladybug asked softly, and Adrien nodded. He wished he could have a lock like a normal kid, but his father would never stand for that.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“It’s no problem. That’s what I’m transformed for. And hey, I had a stroke of inspiration while I was hanging around out there.” Ladybug pulled herself up and nimbly hopped the sill, hurrying over to Adrien’s closet. She rummaged around until she found a shirt, which she held up.

“That one?” Adrien said. It was a white shirt with some green detailing around the color and green buttons. He took it from Ladybug and pulled it on. One by one, he fastened the buttons before he straightened the collar and smoothed out the sleeves. Then he spread his arms for Ladybug’s approval.

She flashed him a beautiful smile. “It’s perfect.”

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 15: Kiss

Read them all on AO3

---

“So,” Alya said.

“So,” Marinette parroted back, pretending she had no idea what Alya was trying to start up a conversation about. She very carefully didn’t look Alya’s way, instead bending further over Chloé’s hand. Maybe if she pretended that painting Chloé’s nails was taking up all her attention, Alya would let it go.

But of course, Alya was too stubborn for that. She said, “Marinette, are you gonna talk to us, or do we have to start playing some lame game of Truth or Dare?”

“I pick the latter and choose dare,” Marinette said, biting her lip as switched to yellow polish.

There was a pause, and Marinette paused her work and slowly lifted her head to see Alya and Chloé smirking at each other. The sight of that sent chills down Marinette’s spine, and she quickly realized that she had just left herself open to something that was potentially going to be very embarrassing. She opened her mouth to stop the inevitable, but it was too late.

“Okay. Then I dare you to go kiss Adrien,” Alya said with a gleam in her eye.

Marinette choked a bit at that. “Wh-what? No way! Give me another one!”

“Then I dare Ladybug to go kiss Chat Noir,” Chloé chimed in with a smirk. Marinette glared at her.

“Do you want your nails done properly or not?” she hissed, her face burning hot, to which Chloé just laughed.

“Oh come on, Marinette! It’s been like six months since we all found out each other’s identities. I thought for sure that you and Adrien would have gotten your act together by now,” Alya said, gesturing expansively. Her freshly painted orange nails caught the light and gleamed.

“Yeah, like, what are you waiting for?” Chloé asked.

Marinette sighed. “I thought you, of all people, would have a problem with this,” she said to Chloé. With one last stroke of polish, she sat back on her heels to examine her work. Chloé’s nails were now nicely painted in black and yellow stripes. It looked really cool.

“Marinette, please. I figured out that nothing was going to happen between me and Adrien years ago. Not even I could miss the fact that Adrien has had Ladybug heart eyes since the day you met,” Chloé said. “That’s pretty hard to compete against.”

“You mean impossible to compete against,” Alya corrected her, and Chloé nodded as she started blowing on her nails to dry the polish.

“That’s not true,” Marinette muttered, embarrassed. “Adrien and I… we’re just friends. Chat and I are just partners. There’s nothing more between us.”

“Only because neither of you has made the first move,” Alya pointed out. “So why haven’t you?”

“I don’t know,” Marinette lied, avoiding their gazes. Truthfully, she did know. She was terrified of changing things between her and Adrien and having it somehow blow up in their faces. What they had right now was so good. They worked as a perfect partnership within the larger core of their team. How could she risk giving that up?

“Hey,” Chloé said, sounding a little gentler. “Adrien is crazy for you, you know. I mean that. You don’t need to worry that he doesn’t feel the same way.”

“It’s not that, although that’s nice to know,” Marinette said. And Chloé would be the one to know, given how close she was to Adrien. “It’s just… I’m scared of things changing, I guess. The balance we have going on right now amongst the five of us is nice.”

Chloé and Alya exchanged looks again before Chloé shook her head and Alya laughed.

“Oh Marinette, it’s nice for you. But honestly, if Chloé, Nino and I have to see you and Adrien mooning over each other for one more day, we might just lock the two of you up in a closet. And Plagg and Tikki would absolutely help us,” Alya said.

Marinette sputtered. “They would not!”

“Yes we would,” Tikki called from where she, Trixx, and Pollen were scarfing down cookies up on Marinette’s bed.

“Tikki!” Marinette said, pressing her hands against her flushed face.

“Face it, you’re just going to have to Ladybug up and tell him,” Chloé said unsympathetically.

Alya smiled slyly. “Unless you want us to lock you in the closet so you two can make out…”

“Alya!”

“I’m just saying!”

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 24: Scientific

Read them all on AO3

—-

“You think if we ever tried to dissect one of Hawkmoth’s butterflies, we could figure out who he is?”

As Adrien’s question floated through the air, and everyone digested it, Marinette turned around from where she’d been working on a dress. Chloé looked up from the fashion magazine she’d been looking through. Luka stopped playing his guitar. Nino removed his headphones. Alya paused in her work on the latest Ladyblog article. They all stared at Adrien.

Adrien seemed blissfully unaware of their stares. He was laying on his back on Marinette’s bed, staring up through the skylight. He had a small ball of yarn in his hands, which he was lazily throwing into the air and catching – not, Marinette thought with a swallowed giggle, unlike a cat.

Finally Nino said, “Dude, what?”

“I was just thinking. Maybe there’s something special about them that would lead us back to him. Hawkmoth does have to cultivate his own butterflies, right? They don’t come out of nowhere,” Adrien said, tossing the yarn ball into the air again.

“I’m not really sure that’s how it works,” Alya said, exchanging a bemused look with Nino.

Adrien sat up, looking a bit surprised to see that they were all looking at him. “Well, why not? I just thought that a more scientific approach might be better, that’s all.”

“Magic and science don’t really seem to mix very well,” Chloé pointed out. “There’s nothing scientific about the fact that you’re a leather-wearing cat boy who runs around Paris at night.”

Marinette and Alya giggled, and Nino snickered, and even Luka had to look away to fight back a smirk. Adrien glared at Chloé.

“I do not wear leather, and I swear to god if you pull that stupid website up –” He threatened.

Marinette had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing again. They were all aware of the website that had recently sprouted up, which was dedicated to Chat Noir and the fact that no one could figure out exactly what his uniform was made of. A good percentage of the website’s supporters seemed determined to prove that it was leather, which drove Adrien crazy.

“You’ll what?” Chloé said, batting her eyelashes at him.

Adrien’s glare deepened.

“Okay, okay,” Luka finally intervened, wrapping an arm around Chloé’s shoulders. “Adrien isn’t exactly wrong about a more scientific method, but I don’t think that dissecting butterflies is the way to go. Sorry, Adrien.”

“It’s okay,” Adrien said, seemingly mollified by Luka’s words, though he still glared a bit at Chloé.

“What do you mean by a more scientific method?” Marinette asked, turning to Luka with an intrigued look.

Luka shrugged. “What about trying to put a tracker on one of the butterflies after you purify them?”

“Hmm. We’ve tried to follow them before, but it never panned out. I never thought of a tracker,” Marinette said slowly.

“There might be some miraculous magic that would prevent a tracker from working. Like a magical fail-safe?” Alya wondered, tapping her chin.

Nino said, “It would be worth a shot. I bet Max would have a tracker small enough that he’d be willing to lend to Ladybug.”

“Oh… but what if the tracker got destroyed? I’d feel bad. I’m sure they’re not cheap,” Marinette said, frowning. Max wasn’t exactly rich, and she knew he worked hard on sourcing electronics for his work. Though she was sure that Max would donate a tracker to this cause, she hated to ask.

“I’ll get you one,” Chloé said. “I’ll get Daddy to buy it for me. What do you want?” She looked between Nino and Marinette expectantly.

“Uh,” Marinette said. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to Chloé’s seemingly unlimited bank account.

Nino, on the other hand, got up and came to join Chloé and Luka on Marinette’s lounge. “It should be small and pretty lightweight, but the range also needs to be good for long distances,” he said, sitting down next to Chloé. They bent their heads over Chloé’s phone and started searching.

Marinette met Adrien’s gaze. He had stopped glaring at Chloé and was staring back at her with a smile. She couldn’t help smiling back. This was what she loved the most about her friends: the moments when they worked together as a good team.

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 18: Ache

Read them all on AO3

—-

His photoshoot had been canceled. Adrien stopped walking and, after a quick glance around, sat down on an empty bench. The message from Nathalie was as short and abrupt as ever, offering little detail and no real explanation – just one line that said the photoshoot was going to ‘be rescheduled’ and that his services today ‘weren’t required’.

“Freedom for the afternoon?” Plagg asked, poking the tip of his head out of Adrien’s shirt pocket to peer at the text.

“Well, she hasn’t rescheduled anything yet,” Adrien said. He decided to lock his phone before Nathalie could text him again, instead opting to put his phone away. He sat there for a moment, staring out at the street. It had been a long time since he’d had an empty afternoon, and he wasn’t sure what to do with it.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t grateful for the reprieve. He had spent most of yesterday at another show modelling on the catwalk, followed immediately by a party to celebrate the launch of his father’s newest set of designs. His legs and feet still ached unpleasantly from hours spent walking around in uncomfortably fitting shoes.

Sitting here in the sunshine was surprisingly nice. It was warm, beating down on his hair and shoulders, without being overly hot. Adrien closed his eyes for a moment, wondering if anyone would mind if he took nap right here where he sat.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d sat there before hands slipped over his eyes from behind. Adrien tensed for a split second before the scent of a familiar lotion hit his nose, and he relaxed. He would know that smell anywhere.

“Guess who?” a familiar voice whispered.

“Hmm. Alya?” Adrien said, pretending not to know – as though he wouldn’t recognize his lady anywhere.

She giggled. “Not quite.”

“Chloé?”

“Wrong bug.”

Adrien pretended to think about it. “Hmm. I guess I’m out of ideas then. No one else comes to mind.”

“Rude.”

He could hear the pout in her voice even with her hands over his eyes, and Adrien couldn’t help grinning. Marinette was just as much fun to tease as Ladybug, and he really loved that about her. Their partnership had strengthened, but also lightened after the reveal of their identities. Without the tension of secrets, they were free with each other in a way they’d never been before.

“Fancy seeing you here, Chaton. I thought you had a photoshoot?” Marinette’s voice was soft and as warm as the sunshine in his ear when she spoke like that. An ache in his chest that he hadn’t even known was there melted away as though by magic, and Adrien smiled to himself as he reached up to pull her hands away from his face.

He looked up at her. Even upside down but framed in a halo of sunlight, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. It took him a few seconds to gather the breath to speak.

“My shoot got canceled. Not sure why. Most likely my father wanted to change something about the design at the last minute.”

“Oh! Well, that’s lucky,” Marinette said, smiling. She was wearing a blue sundress today, and it made her eyes pop even more than usual. Adrien couldn’t help thinking that he could happily stare into her eyes for hours if she would only let him.

“I’m not complaining,” he said, realizing she was waiting for an answer. “What were you up to?”

“Making a delivery for the bakery.” Marinette tugged her hands free and walked around the bench to sit beside him. “Maman and Papa had an order for a kid’s birthday party. Two dozen cupcakes.”

“It’s a nice day for a party,” Adrien said.

Marinette nodded. “Right? That’s why I didn’t mind. The bakery is hot today and it was nice to walk.” She stretched her feet out in front of her. “I don’t have to go back now. Did you want to go get a cold drink or something?”

“Sure,” Adrien said immediately, pleased that she’d asked. He honestly couldn’t think of a better way to spend a spring day than with his lady. He stood up and held a hand out to her; she blushed but smiled and took it, and he helped her up, and off they went.

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 21: Celebrate

Read them all on AO3

—-

“Geez, what a day,” Marinette said. “I’m exhausted.”

“Me too,” Adrien admitted. He automatically stuck out an arm to steady her as Marinette took off first one shoe and then other. She let out a sigh of relief as her feet hit the floor and she was able to wiggle her toes.

“Oh my god, that feels so much better. Whoever created high heels is a sadist.”

Adrien smiled. “Couldn’t wait to do that inside the apartment, huh?”

“A sadist, I tell you,” Marinette said fervently, waving one of said high heels in Adrien’s face. He thought about reminding her that she had been the one to insist on the heels in the first place – she had a pair of flats that would’ve also beautifully complimented her dress, and Adrien had tried to encourage her to wear those instead.

But just as quickly, he decided not to. That would only make Marinette pout, and he didn’t want to put a dampener on her mood.

“Come on,” he said instead. “Let’s go inside. You can shower and then I’ll rub your feet.”

“Would you? You’re the best.” Marinette’s eyes brightened and she scurried up the hall ahead of him. Adrien followed, taking the keys out of his pocket and unlocking their door.

While Marinette went off to shower, Adrien changed and then got Plagg and Tikki settled. Both of them were stuffed with food, so it was mostly a matter of plunking them both down in their little bed and dropping a blanket over them. Then he went out to sit on the couch and wait for Marinette.

She was out of the shower in less than twenty minutes, a record for her, and reappeared with dripping hair and a towel around her shoulders. She smiled at Adrien and pranced around the couch, throwing herself down. Two dainty feet landed in Adrien’s lap a few seconds later. He shook his head, fighting back a grin, and took her left foot between his hands.

“It really was nice though,” he said to fill the silence.

“Right? Oh, but I should’ve known. Rose has been planning this for months. Of course hers and Juleka’s wedding would go off without a hitch.” Marinette snuggled further into the pillows they kept on the couch.

“Well, not quite without a hitch. I heard Alya say something about the flowers?” Adrien said.

“One of the centerpieces didn’t show up, but it was no big deal. Rose and Juleka didn’t even know about it.” Marinette looked pretty satisfied with herself. “Alya and I took care of it. We didn’t want anything to ruin their day.”

Marinette might have been giving some credit to Alya, but Adrien was pretty confident that she’d been the one to fix the problem. That was just the sort of person that she was. And of course she would’ve done it so quietly and so cleverly that Juleka and Rose would be none the wiser, just so that they could celebrate their day without any fuss. God, he loved this woman.

“Sometimes I think you missed your calling as a party designer, not just a designer,” Adrien said, gently tickling one of Marinette’s polished toes. She huffed at him and lightly kicked his hand.

“It was fun helping out, but I don’t know if I could do it all the time. Party planning is hard work,” Marinette said. “Although it really was cool seeing everything come together.” She shrugged. “Guess if I ever get tired of trying to make it as a designer, I’ve got a back-up.”

“I’m sure that Rose and Juleka would give you a wonderful recommendation,” Adrien said.

Marinette grinned. “Just like I would give you a wonderful recommendation if you decided to quit working at the bakery and become a full time foot masseuse,” she teased, nudging at his hand until he resumed rubbing.

“I don’t think your dad would let that happen,” Adrien said honestly, and Marinette laughed.

“No, he definitely wouldn’t.”

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 12: Secretive

Read them all on AO3 

--

“What are you up to today, Marinette?”

“Alya and I are going to the mall,” Marinette said. “Adrien and Nino might join us later, maybe.”

“Maybe?” Sabine echoed. Marinette didn’t dare turn around – not when she was carefully adding more cupcakes to the display case – but she could feel the weight of her maman’s curious stare on her shoulders.

“Adrien is finishing up an early morning photoshoot,” Marinette explained. “He was hoping to be done by noon. He said that his role is pretty minor for once.”

“Ah, I see,” Sabine said. “It’s a shame he has to be up so early on a Saturday.”

Marinette paused in putting the last cupcake down, wondering ruefully just how her maman couldn’t see the hypocrisy in that statement given that she’d been woken up at half past seven that morning. One of the bakery workers had called in sick, so Marinette had been roped into getting out of bed early and helping out.

But then again, her maman also didn’t know that Marinette had been up until 3am this morning fighting another akuma. It had been very late – or very early, depending on how you looked at it – when Ladybug and Chat Noir had finally separated to return back to their own homes. Marinette wondered if her maman would’ve been more sympathetic if she’d known that.

“Adrien will be okay, Maman. He’s used to this,” Marinette said, straightening up. The lie felt heavy on her tongue. No one ever got used to the lack of sleep caused by being a superhero. Marinette sure hadn’t.

“Still. I want you to take some sweets with you,” Sabine said with a determined nod. “And I’ll give you money to buy a nice drink for each of you to go with it.”

Marinette brightened. “Thanks! That would be great. We’ll probably hang out there for a while before going back to Alya’s.”

And having a group nap, Marinette did not add. It wouldn’t be the first time that the four heroes had crashed together, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Carapace and Rena Rouge hadn’t joined Ladybug and Chat last night, but they had both been out late Thursday night patrolling. Alya and Nino had both looked pretty dead on their feet yesterday.

“Well… I think you’ve done enough. I should be able to take it from here.” Sabine retrieved her purse and dug around, finally pulling out some money which she gave to Marinette. Then she surprised Marinette again, this time with a big hug.

“Maman, what?” Marinette said, startled.

“You’re a good girl, Marinette. I don’t think I tell you that enough. I hope you have fun with your friends today,” Sabine said, squeezing her tightly.

Marinette’s throat felt tight. Sometimes she really hated how secretive she had to be when it came to her family. The pressure wasn’t quite so intense now that Adrien, Alya, and Nino knew the truth, but it was still really hard. The problem was that she didn’t know if life would be better if she told her parents that she was Ladybug, or if it would become worse. It was a risk she couldn’t take.

“Thanks, Maman. I’m sorry I was cranky about getting up this morning,” Marinette said, hugging her back, and Sabine laughed a little.

“I would’ve thought something was seriously wrong with you if you weren’t cranky,” she joked. “Ever since you were little, you’ve always hated getting out of bed.”

“Can you blame me? My bed is just too cozy,” Marinette said. And frankly, she didn’t get to spend nearly enough time in it thanks to Hawkmoth.

“You can sleep in tomorrow,” Sabine said. “I promise I won’t wake you up. Now go! Shoo! Have fun.”

“I will,” Marinette said, unable to keep from smiling. Her parents really were the best. Maybe someday she’d think seriously about letting all the secrets go and telling them the truth. But until then, she’d just have to rely on her teammates to keep her sane.

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 5: Mirror

Read them all on AO3

---

“Well, what do you think?” Adrien said, giving the mirror a critical look. He still wasn’t sure about the fit of his pants, but the stylist had insisted that they were hanging exactly the way they were supposed to.

“You look fine,” Chloé said without looking up from her phone. Adrien put his hands on his hips and frowned at her in the mirror, but of course she didn’t notice.

“Chloé,” he whined finally. “You’re supposed to be helping.”

Chloé sighed and finally looked up. “Adrien, I don’t know what you want me to say. You look good. You always look good. You could probably put on a garbage bag and you’d have girls swooning at your feet as you walked down the street. And as a bonus your father would have a heart attack, so that’s something you should really try by the way.”

“He’d have a heart attack, then magically resurrect and ground me until I’m fifty,” Adrien murmured, though he had to admit it was an amusing thought.

“Why are you so nervous anyway? You’ve done this like a hundred times. You never get nervous,” Chloé said, locking her phone and putting it in her pocket. She looked at him intently, eyes narrowed, like she could somehow figure out what she wanted to know through eyesight alone.

Adrien sighed and fingered his ring. “My dad doesn’t want me wearing my ring today,” he admitted begrudgingly.

“Eh?” Chloé’s eyes widened in shock.

“I know. I tried to talk him out of it, but he’s adamant that the sight of my silver ring is going to totally throw things off.” He scowled into the mirror, this time glaring at the gold necklace and bracelet he was wearing. He had to admit that gold jewelry complimented the warmer green and brown tones he was wearing better than silver would, but he still didn’t like it.

“So… what are you going to do? Put it in your pocket?” Chloé got up and came closer, peering at his pants. It didn’t take her long to figure out what Adrien already knew, which was that his pants had no pockets. And even if they did, the pants were so tight that even a small ring in Adrien’s pocket would’ve been immediately noticeable.

“Normally I ask Marinette to look after it for me,” Adrien said, because this wasn’t the first time Gabriel had made that decision. It was like every once in a while, Gabriel started to resent the fact that Adrien regularly wore something that hadn’t been purposely designed by his father.

“Oh. Okay. Do you want me to go get her?” Chloé said.

“She couldn’t come today,” Adrien replied, bouncing nervously on the balls of his heels. It had become a regular thing for Marinette to attend his photoshoots and modelling jobs whenever she could, but it just couldn’t happen today. Her mother, along with two other people who worked at the bakery, were all down with the flu. So Marinette had to help out all day.

That was why Adrien had texted Chloé at 6am, begging her to come to his job today. Chloé hadn’t understood why he’d suddenly wanted her there, but she’d turned up anyway – bleary-eyed and grumpy behind her enormous fancy coffee, but still there when he needed her.

“Wait. You want me to…?” Chloé pointed to herself.

“If you don’t mind,” Adrien said. He couldn’t think of anyone he’d trust with his miraculous more, aside from Marinette of course.

“I – no, of course not,” Chloé said, still looking surprised.

“Thanks, Chloé.” Adrien steeled himself and slipped his ring off. He hated that little tug in his chest: an empty sort of spot that echoed whenever the connected between him and Plagg faded away. He set his miraculous in Chloé’s palm, watching as her fingers curled protectively around it.

When he looked up at her, she was looking at him understandingly.

“I’ll be right in the audience the whole time, and we’ll come find you as soon as the show is over,” she promised.

Adrien smiled at her. “I know. Thanks.”

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 6: Ship Wars

Read them all on AO3 

---

“I don’t know. I’m telling you, RenaNoir just has a really good ring to it.”

Marinette froze, her foot still half-raised to the next step. Slowly, she turned her head to look over at her classmates. Juleka, Rose, Mylène, Alya, Alix, Kim, Ivan, Nathaniel, and Max were all clustered together. Though to be fair, Max had his nose buried in his cell phone and Nathaniel was drawing in his sketchbook. Of the boys, only Kim and Ivan really seemed to be paying attention.

Alix was the one who had spoken, thrusting a finger in the air mere inches from Alya’s nose. “The two of them would compliment each other really well. They have a similar sense of humor.”

Alya leaned back slightly, a flush rising to her cheeks. “No way. No way! It’s got to be LadyNoir all the way.”

“I have to admit I can kind of see where Alix is coming from,” Rose spoke up, leaning comfortably against Juleka.

“Well then what about Ladybug?” Alya demanded, seemingly offended on behalf of her heroine.

There was a slight pause during which everyone considered this. Alya folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair with a smug nod, like she thought that had made her whole point. But then Juleka ruined it with a single word.

“Viperion.”

“Oooh,” Mylène breathed, her eyes widening.

“What? No!” Alya protested.

“I’m kind of with Alya on that one,” Alix said. “Ladybug is too much for Viperion to handle. She’d walk all over him.”

“Maybe Viperion would like that,” Kim said with a smirk and eyebrow waggle that left little to the imagination, and a choked squeak forced its way out of Marinette’s mouth as her face flooded with color. All eyes turned in her direction, most with curiosity – though Alya did, to her credit, have the grace to look a tiny bit guilty.

“What – what are you guys doing?” Marinette said, her voice much higher pitched than she was comfortable with.

“Superhero Ship Wars!” Alix said with relish and a shit-eating grin.

“Superhero… ship… wars?” Marinette repeated slowly.

“Yeah, we’re talking about which superheroes should hook up with each other,” Kim said, still smirking. “What do you think, Marinette?”

“Uhm…” Marinette said blankly. She really didn’t want to think about it, and she was a little surprised that Alya was participating in the discussion too. Her other classmates could be forgiven somewhat, but Alya knew that Ladybug was standing right in front of her. Hell, Alya was Rena Rouge! How could she hypothetically talk about Rena Rouge hooking up with Chat Noir?

At least, Marinette thought with a squelch of jealousy she did her best to stifle, she hoped it was all hypothetical…

As though sensing where Marinette’s thoughts were heading, Alya spoke up quickly. “It’s just a game that we’re planning. None of it is real. Alix started it, and…” She shrugged, hands raised upwards.

“Alix?” Marinette said.

Alix shrugged. “I’m asexual, Marinette, not dead. The thought of Rena Rouge and Chat Noir hooking up is pretty damn hot.”

“Oh my god,” Marinette said under her breath, though it was somewhat gratifying to see the color in Alya’s face intensify. Good. Alya deserved it.

“Okay, but what about Chat Noir and Carapace?” Mylène interjected.

“Nah, gotta be some boobs in the equation,” Kim said, to which everyone rolled their eyes and Alix reached over to lightly cuff the back of his head.

“I’ll raise you one better. Ladybug and Queen Bee,” Ivan said unexpectedly.

Marinette crinkled her nose. Alya looked like she wanted to laugh and was doing everything she could to hold it in.

“Oh. Oooooh!” Alix slapped her hand on the desk. “Let’s go for ultimate. Ladybug, Queen Bee, and Rena Rouge.”

There was another long pause. Marinette was a bit shocked to notice that Alya looked thoughtful now and yup, that was it, time for Marinette to bow out. She quickly grabbed her notebook off of her desk and made a hasty escape before anyone could start throwing out even more outlandish ideas that she wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about during their next superhero meeting.

And if she avoided Chloé’s eye out in the schoolyard as she left, well. No one else needed to know why.

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 4: Time

Read them all on AO3

–

“Do you ever get the urge to like, mess around with the Rabbit or Snake miraculous?”

The question came entirely out of left field, and left Marinette blinking for a few seconds as she tried to figure out where it had come from. Unfortunately, that meant she was distracted long enough for Adrien’s character to win.

“Ha! Victory!” Adrien said, lifting his arms over his head.

“I was distracted,” Marinette said, pouting at the screen as Adrien was announced the winner of the match. Granted, she had won the previous five matches, so she supposed that allowing Adrien to win one wasn’t the complete end of the world.

“I noticed. Thanks Alya,” Adrien said, grinning.

Alya rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t actually trying to help you, but sure,” she said. She was curled up on the lounge, Trixx perched comfortably in her lap. Up until now, she’d been working on a post for the Ladyblog. But now she was looking at Marinette with some curiosity.

“Why are you asking about the Rabbit and Snake miraculous?” Marinette said, confused.

“No reason. I was just wondering if you ever got tempted to go back in time and try to fix things,” Alya said. “Like that akuma attack a coupled days ago.” She sounded a bit awkward, now avoiding Marinette’s eyes by staring fixedly at her lap. Out of the corner of her eye, Marinette saw Adrien wince and look at her. She turned her head to look at him fully. The two of them shared a silent conversation for a few seconds.

“I think I’ll go get us some more snacks,” Adrien announced, setting his controller down. He got up, putting a hand on Marinette’s shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze, before he headed down the steps.

Marinette put her controller down too and stood up, but she moved over to squeeze onto the little bit of lounge that wasn’t covered by Alya’s legs. She looked at Alya for a few seconds, waiting to see if Alya would meet her eyes, but Alya kept determinedly staring at her lap.

“Well, first of all, the Snake miraculous is only useful if you activate it beforehand,” Marinette said at last. “So if something goes wrong, but you don’t already have Second Chance activated, it’s not that useful. And as for the Rabbit… going back in time to change things can be pretty dangerous. I hear you can end up with some unintended consequences.”

“What if you were careful, though?” Alya asked. Trixx made a soft sound of concern, glancing up at Marinette with what was clearly a pleading expression. Begging without words for Marinette to fix this somehow. Marinette sighed and put a hand on Alya’s knee.

“Alya, please look at me,” she said.

Slowly, reluctantly, Alya did.

“What happened wasn’t your fault,” Marinette said, gently but firmly. “Sometimes akumas are unpredictable. You know how many times Chat and I have been caught off guard. You couldn’t have known that it would be capable of destroying a building like that.”

“But I feel like I should’ve done more,” Alya said, which was an emotion that Marinette completely understood. It was hard to be a hero and have the weight of Paris’s safety on your shoulders, and it never got any easier.

“You did everything you could. And in the end, the Miraculous Ladybug fixed it all anyway. We saved the akuma and Paris. Sometimes, at the end of the day, that’s all we can ask for,” Marinette said somberly. “There are always going to be battles that don’t go right. That’s just how it is. But what makes you a hero is the ability to roll with that and keep doing everything we can anyway.”

Alya blew out a breath, her shoulders slumping slightly. “I guess you’re right. I just thought that being a full-time hero would be a lot more fun than it is.”

“You don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to,” Marinette said, biting her lip. Losing Rena Rouge would suck, but she and Chat would make do if they had to. Still, it was a relief to see Alya furiously shake her head.

“No! I want to!” Alya exclaimed. “I don’t want to stop. I like being Rena Rouge.”

“Good,” Marinette said, smiling. “You know what else helps?”

“What?” Alya said.

“Chocolate,” Marinette said. “Lots and lots of chocolate.”

“I could get on board with that,” Alya said thoughtfully. “Do you think your dad needs a taste tester today?”

Marinette grinned, pleased to see that Alya was returning back to her usual enthusiastic self, and said, “Let’s go ask.”

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 3: Flight

Read them all on AO3

--

“Are you sure about this?” Queen Bee said dubiously.

“Have I ever steered you wrong?” Ladybug replied. Then, before Queen could answer, she held up a hand. “Wait. Don’t answer that. Look, I’m sure it’s okay. Why would you have them if you’re not supposed to be able to use them? No way they’re just for show.”

“I guess,” Queen Bee said, still sound skeptical. Not that Ladybug could blame her.

“Look. You’ve got your stinger, right? So if something goes wrong, you can catch yourself,” Ladybug said with a confidence she didn’t really feel. “And if for some reason you couldn’t, I’m right here. I wouldn’t let you fall.” She dangled her yoyo from her fingertips and looked at Queen Bee with all the sincerity that she could muster, willing Queen Bee to embrace the truth of what she was saying.

They had been enemies at one time; Ladybug wasn’t even sure if she’d call them friends now. Marinette and Chloé didn’t talk much outside of the suit. But they were teammates, and Ladybug took that very seriously. She didn’t have a lot of people she could consistently rely on, so she valued those that she could.

Eventually Queen Bee’s shoulders relaxed a little and she nodded. A flutter of movement around her shoulders drew Ladybug’s attention as Queen Bee stretched her wings out. She had four wings total, two larger and two smaller on each side, and they were beautifully gossamer in the fading sunlight. Ladybug had to clench her fist against the urge to reach out and touch them.

“Alright, Dupain-Cheng. If I die, I blame you,” Queen Bee said.

Ladybug’s stomach twisted. “You won’t. It’ll be fine.”

“Right. Here goes nothing,” Queen Bee mumbled. She took a deep breath and jumped.

Ladybug immediately rushed to the edge to see what would happen, her fingers cramping around her yoyo from the force of her grip. Queen Bee fell about a dozen stories before her momentum began to slow. She eventually slowed to a stop, then fell again, then stopped again. Then, very slowly, she started back up towards Ladybug.

“You’re doing it!” Ladybug cried out, her heart racing with excitement. “Queen Bee, you’re flying!”

“This is amazing!” Queen Bee exclaimed as she drew back to being level with Ladybug. Her face was flushed and her blue eyes were sparkling. She looked happier than Ladybug ever remembered seeing her before.

“Go Queen Bee!” Chat shouted, startling them both. Queen Bee almost fell again but flapped her wings harder to steady herself as Chat landed beside Ladybug. His grin was blinding.

“It was nothing,” Queen Bee said with a haughty toss of her ponytail, but nothing could disrupt the wide smile on her face.

“That just might be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” Chat said as Queen Bee flew up above them. Ladybug craned her head back to watch Queen Bee’s first real flight. Chat was right – it was really cool. Queen Bee was the first miraculous holder out of all of them to be able to fly.

Despite her happiness for Queen Bee, a little flash of jealousy pierced through. Ladybug had been doing her best to stomp it out since Queen Bee had first transformed with wings. But really… ladybugs could fly just like bees. Why didn’t she have wings yet?

Tikki had said it might happen at some point, if Ladybug wanted it to.

And she did, Ladybug realized. She really, really did.

She loved her yoyo, but she wanted to know what it was like to fly.

An arm slipped around her shoulders, and Chat pulled her in for a hug. He rubbed his cheek against hers, a gentle touch of comfort that told her he’d noticed what she was feeling. Well, of course he had. Chat knew her better than anyone else with the possible exception of Tikki. Ladybug geared herself up to apologize for her poor attitude until she noticed he was smiling.

“Someday I’ll be alone on the ground watching you two up there flying,” he remarked. “Dunno what I’ll do.”

The fact that he took it for granted that Ladybug would fly someday too warmed her from the inside out, and she said, “We could take you with us. Between Queen Bee and me, we could hold you up.”

Chat just huffed softly. “A cat’s paws are made for the ground, Bugaboo. I’ll just watch.”

He said that now, but Ladybug was certain that someday Mister Bug would sprout wings too. She’d figure out a way to make it happen. And in the meantime, watching Queen Bee experiment with her new wings was pretty good too – if only because it meant Ladybug could take some mental notes for the day when she got her own wings.

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 27: Stakeout

Read them all on AO3

—-

“I feel stupid,” Nino announced to no one in particular.

“Shh!” Alya hissed at him.

“You should feel stupid,” Chloé replied, ignoring Alya. “We should all feel stupid.”

“I’d like to argue with that, but I really can’t,” Nino said thoughtfully. “That bothers me. I’m not really sure when I got to the point where I started agreeing with you on things.”

Chloé flashed him a razor sharp smile. “Just means you got a little more intelligent somehow.”

“Would you two shut up?!” Alya snapped, whirling around to pin Nino and Chloé with a deadly glare. “I don’t want Marinette and Adrien to realize that we’re here!”

“I mean, if you don’t want them to know we’re here, maybe we shouldn’t be spying,” Chloé said, undeterred by the force of Alya’s glare. Nino actually admired her a little for that. Alya had one hell of an angry glare.

“We’re not spying,” Alya said indignantly. “I’m just checking to be sure that everything is going according to plan.”

“I’m pretty sure the definition of spying is watching people who don’t know you’re looking at them,” Nino muttered, before gulping and wincing when Alya turned her glare on him instead. He held his hands up in front of him to indicate that he’d meant no harm, and Chloé rolled her eyes at him as Alya turned away.

“You’re so brave,” she said sarcastically.

“Hey, you’re here too,” Nino pointed out. That meant Alya had to have intimidated Chloé into coming too, right?

Chloé snorted and rolled her eyes. “I’m only here because someone –” she darted a look at Alya’s back – “broke into my bedroom at like 5am and kidnapped me. Literally.”

Nino paused at that, looking her up and down. “I wondered why you were dressed in pajamas when you got here. I thought you just wanted an excuse for a new outfit.”

“I never need an excuse for a new outfit,” Chloé replied.

“For the last time, will you two be quiet?! Adrien and Marinette are coming this way!” Alya ducked down. Chloé and Nino automatically followed her lead. Neither of them were happy to be on this stakeout, but they both knew that things would become a lot worse if they really were caught by Adrien or Marinette.

Nino shifted a bit closer to Chloé so that he could peek out too. He was just in time to see a blushing Adrien gather his confidence and reach for Marinette’s hand. It was sickeningly adorable to watch the way Marinette blushed too but smiled from ear-to-ear, lacing her fingers through Adrien’s. The two of them really were the cutest thing that Nino had ever seen.

“My ships are sailing,” Alya gushed, clasping her hands under chin. “Adrienette and Ladynoir… all at once… it’s too much!”

“It is way too early for this nonsense,” Chloé muttered.

“Okay, now that you’ve seen things are going well, I think we should leave Marinette and Adrien alone,” Nino said.

Alya frowned. “But we haven’t even seen them kiss yet!”

“Alya, we should give them some privacy,” Nino said, exasperated.

“Besides, they’re not gonna kiss today until Marinette goes for it,” Chloé said, evidently deciding it was safe to stand up. “Adrien was way to wound up about this date to even think about it.”

“Yeah, you’re not wrong,” Nino said. He’d agreed with Chloé twice in one day. Perhaps that was a sign that the end of the world was coming.

Or maybe it was just a sign that Chloé was as tired as he was.

“But…” Alya was still frowning and looking longingly in the direction that Adrien and Marinette were walking in. If left to her own devices, Nino knew, she would definitely run after them. And probably spend all day taking copious amounts of pictures. Probably until she got a little too close and got discovered, at which point that would put an end to the date that they had all worked so hard to make happen in the first place.

“Alright, we’re done. You’ve seen the date is going well. I’m hungry. I bet Chloé would treat us to breakfast if we asked nicely,” Nino said.

Chloé huffed. “Not likely.”

“But… but…” Alya looked between them and then sighed. “Oh fine. I guess we can go eat. Hey, maybe we can figure out where Marinette and Adrien were going and accidentally run into them…”

“Give it a rest,” Chloé said, rolling her eyes, and Nino nodded.

Alya pouted. “Fine.”