#Adrien is just happy she made him an outfit from scratch

[chocostrwberry]

Adrien dressed by Nathalie, Marinette, and himself!! ☕️🌞🧦

[chloe-the-ice-queen]

This Doesn’t Mean We’re Friends - Ch. 2

Hey guys! Another chapter done and posted, I hope y’all enjoy it!! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist, I probably won’t cap it unless I really need to :)

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Marinette and Chloe rode in the Bourgeois limo from Marinette's bakery to the Grand Paris. Chloe filled her in on what to expect and what to do. "I'll be with you most of the time, so I can tell you who to steer clear of, and who you should try to talk to. I'll try to introduce you to a few people I know would be interested in your designs. You made that dress, right?"

"Yeah, designed and created it from scratch." Chloe eyed Marinette's dress appreciatively. It was tastefully made, the dark blue complementing the girl's dark hair and bluebell eyes. The top was halter-style, with a high neckline and no sleeves. It fit Marinette's form, with rhinestones glittering on her torso. The bottom half of her dress was long and elegant, falling loosely to the floor, the front hem higher than the back, showing off Marinette's silver heels. It wasn't half bad. 

It was actually quite impressive, as most of Marinette's designs were. She had upgraded from her normal pink capris and grey cardigan outfit after Lila had come back to school, transitioning to a more stylish, modern look. But this dress was nothing less than gorgeous on the small girl, but wasn't overly classy and overdone like some dresses she was sure to see throughout the night. It looked nice, but it didn't look like she was showing off, which Chloe could appreciate.

Chloe herself wore a sleek, sleeveless yellow dress that highlighted her fair skin and bright blue eyes. Chloe's hair flowed freely around her shoulders, curled and styled, while Marinette had hers up in an elegant bun, with loose curls framing her face. Together, the two girls contrasted each other, but the stark differences went well together. 

As they pulled up to the front of the hotel, paparazzi and reporters swarmed the red carpet, bombarding the famous partygoers.

"They shouldn't be too interested in us, but just ignore them." Chloe advised Marinette, before opening her door and sliding out of the car. Marinette slipped out behind her, adjusting to the flashing of cameras and the buzz of conversation. She shut the door behind her, and joined Chloe in walking up the front steps.

Just going to the event was sure to bring her some recognition, especially accompanied by Chloe, but she wasn't too worried about being bombarded by paparazzi. Only a few reporters bothered them, and as instructed, Marinette tuned them out.

Once they entered the ballroom, the chatter became more of a dull roar. Chloe greeted a few people mingling just inside the doorway, before they were accosted by a very familiar voice. Adrien, who was dragging a disgruntled Lila along behind him. "Hey guys! It's nice to see you here!" Adrien enthused. 

"I'm sure." Chloe said, unamused. "Now if you don't mind, we need to-"

"I thought that you could introduce us to some of your friends here, Chloe. That way Lila can make some new friends-" Adrien interrupted. Lila suddenly looked interested in their conversation. 

"Well, since we know how many connections Lila has, I'm sure she doesn't need me to introduce her to anyone." Said Chloe. 

"Don't be like that Chl-"

"Chloe!!" Someone near them half shouted, turning the heads of people around them. A boy around their age was walking over to them, waving. "I wasn't sure if you'd come or not. It's been a while." 

"Henri!" Chloe said, looking entirely amused. "I haven't spoken to you since that party in London."

"I doubt either of us will ever be invited to that again." Henri said, making Chloe laugh. Now that he was closer, Marinette studied him. He was very handsome, objectively, of course. The kind of easy beauty that makes you want to laugh or cry. He had dark brown curls, and kind brown eyes that sparkled with amusement. When he glanced at her, she felt her face flush a little. Chloe and the stranger, Henri, traded stories and jokes for a minute, while the other three observed. Adrien seemed to recognize the newcomer, and Lila was waiting for her chance to jump into the conversation.

"Now," his voice was quieter, teasing, but making sure the other three heard him as well. "You should introduce me to your very pretty friend here. I don't believe I've seen her at any of your events before." He smirked at Chloe, who rolled her eyes. 

"This is-"

"Lila, nice to meet you." The green eyed girl said, sticking out her hand, which he ignored, looking at her with annoyance and slight disbelief, if Marinette had to guess.

Chloe seemed taken aback, "This is Marinette, an amazing up-and-coming designer who my mother and Gabriel Agreste have both scouted for their brands." She turned to Marinette, "This is my friend Henri, his parents are both models and his mother is a designer my mother has collaborated with. I'm sure the two of you have quite a lot in common, so why don't we go find a table to chat?"

"Why don't we come with you? You know that I happen to be friends with quite a few designers and models myself, I might be able to give some input." Lila said, while Adrien, who had been looking angry at Chloe, perked up. 

He and his date began to follow the trio, when Chloe said, "Sorry, you two, but my mom reserved a table just for three. And I'm sure Lila can get you guys seats next to someone much more important anyways." She grabbed Marinette and pulled her along with her to a table near the front, Henri following behind them.

"Adrien's gotten worse since last time." The boy remarked as they sat down.

Marinette looked at him disapprovingly, when Chloe responded, "I agree. I thought it was just because of his dad, but his social skills have somehow become even worse since he started going to school."

Marinette looked surprised. Probably because she felt surprised. Didn't Chloe like Adrien? Wasn't he her best friend? Maybe they had a falling out, or maybe Chloe had stopped liking Adrien for the same reason Marinette had. Whatever the case, they could all agree on one thing. 

"That girl is nasty." Henri said. "Do you know her?"

Marinette and Chloe looked at each other. "Unfortunately," Chloe supplied. "She's in our class."

"Ah, my apologies. Anyways, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Marinette. If you're as good as Chloe said, I'm sure I'll be seeing you around more."

Marinette smiled as Chloe said, "She is quite talented. She made the dress she's wearing."

The bluenette looked at her shoes under the table. "Ah, an excellent designer then. I'll be sure to mention you to my parents when I get the chance. In the meantime, though, Chloe, I need to be going. I need to talk to a few people before I head out, it was good to see you again." 

The three stood, and Henri turned and hugged Chloe, and then turned to Marinette. She smiled. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Henri."

"The pleasure is mine, I'm sure." Henri said, and took Marinette's hand, kissing the back of her knuckles lightly, his eyes teasing. Marinette laughed, blushing slightly. 

The trio separated, Chloe pulling Marinette off to meet other people.

Through the entire interaction, two pairs of green eyes watched the small group from across the room. One filled with jealousy, one with annoyance and maybe a little sadness too.

----

Throughout the night, Chloe introduced Marinette to dozens of people. A few designers, models, artists, business moguls, celebrities, you name it. In return, Marinette stayed with Chloe and endured tedious conversations she had to engage in for her parents' sake. Chloe would never admit it, but having the baker girl there was nice, it made the evening slightly less unbearable. 

For the bluenette, it was great exposure into the fashion world. She got to meet several of her idols and make connections with influential people. People started to hear about her designs, many of them admired the dress she wore that showcased her budding talent.

Style Queen herself was thrilled to see her there. Chloe had let her mother know who she was bringing once Marinette was invited, of course, but Audrey was still happy to see her favorite young designer.

At the end of the evening, Marinette and Chloe rode back to the Dupain-Cheng bakery together. When the limo pulled to a stop, Marinette started to get out, then paused. "Thank you so much for everything Chloe. I know you don't like me much, but tonight was so much fun and I'm so grateful that you introduced me to so many people. And thank you for inviting me to come with you, even if it was just to tick off Lila." Marinette gushed, honestly honored by Chloe's thoughtfulness, even if it was caused by spite.

"Yeah whatever, you're welcome Dupain-Cheng, this doesn't mean we're friends, okay?" Chloe grumbled.

Marinette smiled. "Good night, Chloe." She closed the door before Chloe could respond, and walked into the bakery. 

----

When Marinette went to bed that night, she went to sleep with a happy buzz in her chest, Tikki nestled beside her on the pillow. 

Alrighty then, I guess that’s Chapter 2 done! I hope y’all liked it!! And that should also be the end of these super short chapters, the next one will definitely be a lot longer, and will hopefully be posted sometime tomorrow?? I love you guys, thanks for all your support!

@agentofscifi

[ravennm84]

Serafina

Part 2     Part 3

Based on @unmaskedagain post “Marinette’s Haunted Doll” this is my take on the story and the kind of things Serafina would have done to get even. There’ll be three parts, and will hopefully be posted through the week. Blood, gore, and character death ahead. You have been warned.

She was seven years old when her Grandma Gina’s sister, Ramona, passed away. Marinette couldn’t remember ever meeting her. Her dad said that she was a very private person and didn’t get out much. Since she had never married or had any children, all of her relatives were asked to come over to the house and divide the property before the rest was sold and equally divided. 

While her parents had been in the kitchen, looking over some family cook books, Marinette had wandered around the old house until she came to a small room. It was full of spiderwebs and old toys, which greatly interested her. She spent a long time looking through the boxes and shelves until she found a locked chest in the closet. Remembering the key she had seen in a dresser drawer, she retrieved it to see if it worked. It was hard to turn, but she heard the click and was able to open the lid. Inside was a box with an envelope laying on top of it. Curious she opened the envelope and read the note as best as she could.

“If I’m dead, Serafina killed me.”

Tilting her head in curiosity, Marinette set the letter aside and opened the box. Inside was an old looking porcelain doll. It was covered in spiderwebs, the dress was old and ripped, she was missing a shoe, and the hat looked like it was stained with red paint. 

“Are you Serafina?” She asked the doll before carefully lifting it out of the box. “I don’t think you’re bad, you just look lonely. But don’t worry, I’ll take care of you!” Giving the doll a gentle hug, the little girl got to her feet and left the room and letter behind. Finding her parents, she asked if it was okay to take the doll home so she could take care of her.

Tom remembered seeing that doll when he was a kid and had always thought it was creepy, but if his little girl saw the good in it, he would trust her. And since none of the other relatives wanted anything to do with the doll, it came home with them. 

Once home, the little girl raced up to her room with the doll and immediately got to work. She threw away the old dress, hat, and shoe before cleaning away all the dirt with a washcloth and carefully combing out the knotted hair. Then Marinette got to work on making Serafina a brand new outfit with new shoes and a hat. It took a few days, but she was really happy with what she came up with: a pink Victorian dress with rose and pearl accents, a wide brimmed hat with maroon feathers, and maroon slippers that tied with ribbons around the ankles.

Proud of what she had made, Marinette held the doll up high as she twirled around her room. She had been interested in fashion and clothes for months now, and making the pretty outfit for Serafina was a lot of fun. If anything, it proved to her that fashion design was what she wanted to do.

“I hope you like your new clothes, Serafina. You make the perfect little model, so I hope you don’t mind if I make more clothes for you later on. I promise to only make you clothes that will make you feel pretty.” Giving the doll a kiss, Marinette placed her next to her computer before skipping down stairs for dinner.

~oOo~

Serafina had not been expecting this when the young girl, Marinette, had opened her box. It had been decades since anyone had shown her any kindness. For so many years, she had been passed from person to person, shoved into boxes and hidden from sight or attempted to be sold off. Serafina had had no choice but to punish many of her past owners, and she had not been lax with their punishments. 

But she didn’t feel the need to do that with Marinette, this girl was different. She wasn’t afraid of her. She didn’t scorn her and hide her away where no one could see her. No, this girl was kind and made Serafina feel loved; something she hadn’t felt in nearly a hundred years. Staying with Marinette, she knew that she would be happy. So, no one needed to die here.

And she was.

The porcelain doll smiled quietly on Marinette’s desk as the years passed, and felt more for this girl than she could remember with anyone else. She felt beautiful whenever Marinette used her to experiment with a new outfit before she would make a full sized outfit for herself. She had fun when the girl would sing and dance around the room, sometimes even picking her up so she could dance with her. She felt entertained when she would play movies on her computer, one time watching a movie about a haunted doll like herself; they didn’t watch much before she turned it off, but Serafina thought it was funny. Scratching people and leaving notes wasn’t scary, she had done much scarier things than that.

As Marinette grew into a teen, Serafina felt proud as she grew from a shy girl into a fearless superhero. Her owner had a lot of love and light to give, so it made sense to her that she became Ladybug. She also felt scared for the girl, not wanting to lose her to Hawkmoth, but silently promised her that if she was ever hurt, the people who hurt her would pay her back in blood.

Serafina was also aware of the tiny god that gave Marinette her power, just as Tikki was aware of her. No doubt, the god could sense the darkness that dwelled in her porcelain body, but realized that she cared for the girl and would not harm her. So the little god wisely said nothing, she would hate it if Marinette suddenly feared her.

After all, the three of them were happy and at peace.

Until the day Marinette came storming into her room, complaining about a girl named Lila. From what she could hear, this girl was a liar and was using her friends. Knowing how much her human cared for other people, that didn’t sit well with how it would affect her. Then she didn’t hear anything about the girl for months. But when she was mentioned again, it quickly got worse from there. 

Serafina heard about the threats, the lies, almost being akumatized, her crush Adrien telling her to take the high road, all of it. She watched as one by one, her friends turned against her. Bullying her while accusing her of being a bully until only three of her classmates remained. She knew that the teacher and principal were useless and even accused Marinette of being a problem, especially after the expulsion. Serafina had nearly enacted her revenge that day, but held back when she was reinstated the next day.

Nathaniel, Rose, and Juleka were the only people left that believed her or even bothered to try and help in her class. There was also Kagami and Luka, Juleka’s brother. Serafina would admit, that boy was sharper than most. When he first saw her, his blue eyes studied her intently for a long moment until Marinette spoke up.

“That’s Serafina, she’s been passed down through my family for a long time. She was in really bad condition when I got her and took a lot of work to get her fixed up, but it was worth it. She was my first ever model and I’ve never felt lonely since she’s been around.”

Luka looked back over at the doll and gave her a smile. “I can tell, I’d bet no one gave her the proper love or attention until she came to you. And I think, if she could talk, she would say that you kept her from feeling lonely too, and all she wants is for you to be happy.”

Serafina liked that boy, a lot more than she had liked Adrien when he had come to play video games. The boy genuinely seemed to care for Marinette. And even though he could somehow sense that she was more than just a doll, he didn’t spill her secret. Yes, she approved of this one.

And then, less than a week after she returned to school, came the worst day. They were taking pictures at the school and Marinette had worked so hard on a new dress; it was pale purple cotton with teacup sleeves, a tulip skirt and pink lace at the hem. It was so sweet and looked like she was going to a spring tea party. Then half way through the day, she came into her room crying. Her makeup was smeared, there were bruises and scratch marks on her arms, another bruise on her cheek, her hair was a mess and covered in dark blue paint. The same paint that covered almost half of the dress. Tikki was doing her best to comfort the girl as she showered. Marinette was unable to save her dress and ended up throwing it away before she cried herself to sleep on her bed. 

Serafina was angry, the kind of anger she hadn’t felt since Ramona had attempted to burn her in the fireplace… and that hadn’t gone well for her. Tikki flew over to face her. “I know what you’re thinking and I can’t condone you falling into old habits and killing her entire class. Despite how much they’ve hurt her, it would still break her heart if they all suddenly died.”

The doll actually considered that for a moment before picturing some very specific people. Lila, the liar that was trying to take away/destroy the person she cared about. Alya, the best friend that betrayed her, acted like a hypocrite, and took joy in hurting her. Adrien, the boy that not only broke his promise to help her as a civilian, but continually harassed her as a pseudo-hero. And finally, Hawkmoth, the person that was constantly putting her in danger. Everyone else that had harmed her would be punished, paying back the harm they had done to Marinette in blood, but those four would pay with their lives.

Tikki shook her head. “As angry as I am with Adrien, you can’t kill him. Marinette still has feelings for him and if he dies, she might never get over him. I can’t stop you from punishing them, but please try not to kill them. You know that she has a big heart and it would hurt her to lose any of them, so please keep that in mind.”

Serafina would have argued, but the little god was right. Killing around Marinette would only upset her. So she would do her best to punish them without killing them… although, accidents do happen. 

~oOo~

It was easy enough to sneak herself into Marinette’s bag the next day of school. It was even easier to select her first victims. One of her classmates, Kim, stole her backpack and dumped out all of her stuff, including her. The boy laughed about Marinette bringing a doll to school as he ran up the stairs to keep it away from her. It took little effort to make the boy trip, in full view of everyone that had been watching, and fall backwards down the steps. 

Serafina had landed at the top landing with a perfect view of the boy’s tumble, and it was oh so satisfying. She could see his knee bent in the wrong direction, a bone in his arm protruding from the skin, and blood dripping from the cuts and open wounds. But the sound was even better, all the cracking and popping of bone before he began crying like a little girl, begging for his mom.  Ah, she hadn’t realized how much she had missed those sounds.

When the principal came out to see what was happening, she hid her presence and let the principal trip over her and fall as well. He even landed on Kim, causing more injuries to both of them. She held back a laugh as the grown man wailed and cried until the paramedics arrived. Loading the two into the ambulance while one of the teachers called the Board of Governors. A representative, M. Rupere, quickly came to take over the principal’s duties while he was gone, and was surprised when a bunch of students tried to blame Marinette for the incident.

“And how is it her fault?” He asked the students that surrounded him. “Did you see her push or trip M. Le Chien or M. Damocles down the stairs?

“Marinette brought in a doll and Kim was distracted by it when he was going up the stairs, that’s how he tripped and fell,” Lila told him with tears in her eyes. “Then M. Damocles tripped over the doll and fell down the stairs too. It’s just like how she pushed me down the stairs last week and I hurt my knee. I think she’s actually trying to hurt people.”

The man looked at Lila for a moment before looking to the top of the stairs, but there was no doll there. Then he looked back at Lila with a stern glare. “Young lady, if you had been pushed down the stairs last week, you would have been severely injured just like your friend or M. Damocles. And whether or not it was Mlle. Dupain-Cheng’s doll that caused the incident or not, does not mean that she is at fault for the accident. To the principal’s office, right now. I think we should have a discussion as to why you are trying to blame another student for something she did not do.”

Totally shocked, the girl looked around to her followers for some support, but they were now looking at her with uncertainty. They had just seen two people fall down the stairs and receive severe injuries, so how was Lila walking around just fine without a scratch on her? Huffing in annoyance, Lila stomped her way to the office while the class stared after her, most of them noticing the lack of limp to her walk.

Serafina was pleased with how this was turning out, she had already punished two of the people that had betrayed Marinette and had begun sewing seeds of doubt with the liar. At the moment, she was hiding in the classroom, observing everyone so she could figure out the best way to punish them. She noticed Rose, Juleka, and Nathaniel sitting close to the girl and doing their best to comfort her. She also noticed Nino, a boy she had seen a couple of times over the years, casting looks back at Marinette. 

During the first break, the boy cautiously approached her, clutching his hat in his hands. “Hey dudette, listen… I, um, wanted to say I was sorry,” he said, having a hard time looking her in the eye. “After Kim fell, what that Governor dude said about Lila not being hurt, and the fact that I’ve known you forever. I felt so stupid. You would never push someone down the stairs or cheat or steal from someone like that. And I tried looking up Jagged’s discography to see if there was any mention of a song about Lila, and there was literally nothing. I tried telling Alya, but she didn’t want to listen and-”

Nino was interrupted by Marinette giving him a hug. Serafina smiled at that. The boy had thought for himself and admitted that he was wrong. He apologized and Marinette was willing to offer him forgiveness. She supposed that Nino could also be exempt from punishment, so long as he never betrayed the girl again.

Half way through the second lesson, Lila had returned to the class with two weeks worth of detention and had a meeting scheduled with herself, M. Rupere, and her mother at the end of the week. Serafina decided to let the girl’s empire fall before going in to completely destroy her.

During lunch, when all the students had left. Serafina got to work on punishing Mme. Bustier. She started by slamming the door shut, it made the woman jump and look around the room, but there was no one there. Then the giggling started, causing her to look around the room again. This time, she walked up the steps to see if anyone was hiding in the room, but she was completely alone. When she turned back to her desk, the papers she had been grading were torn to pieces. A bit panicked, Bustier tried to run out of the room, but the door was locked. As she struggled with the door, she heard the scraping of chalk and froze for a moment before looking at the board. Large words were scrawled in block letters: LIAR, ENABLER, MEAN, CRUEL, and the most frightening of all, YOU WILL PAY.

Bustier’s hands were shaking as she erased the words from the board, not understanding what was happening. Only taking a breath when the door opened and her students began to file in. Serafina quietly laughed at the teacher’s fear, she was another person that she would take her time in punishing. Payback for failing to help Marinette. For now, it was time to take out her biggest supporter. 

Again, it was much easier than it should have been to sneak herself in Alya’s backpack and go home with her. When the girl found her she sneered. “The klutz must have put you in my bag by mistake.” Then she smiled cruelly at her. “I think I’ll give you to Etta and Ella to play with before giving you back to Maribrat, maybe tell them that you need a makeover and give them some permanent markers too.”

Turning to take the doll out to her sisters, she stubbed her toe on her desk chair hard enough that she felt a crack and dropped back on her butt while hissing in pain. When she was finally able to think past the pain, she realized that she had dropped the doll and didn't see it on the floor. After wrapping her foot, she looked all over her room but couldn’t find it anywhere.

That night, things got… more than scary. Alya was absolutely terrified.

First, her computer turned on, on its own, and started printing off papers saying “YOU KNOW THE TRUTH”. She turned the computer off, only for it to turn back on after she’d climbed into bed and the browser pulled up past searches; specifically, the searches that proved that Lila had been lying. She had found that out after Lila had disappeared from school for months, but had kept to herself so she wouldn’t lose her credibility on her blog or have to admit to Marinette that she’d been right. Turning it off again, she’d decided to sleep on the couch when her phone suddenly let out a hiss and burst into flames.  

Letting out a shriek, Alya rushed to her door, and had just barely opened it when it slammed shut on her fingers, causing her to scream as she struggled to pull her hand free. She could hear her parents and Nora shouting on the other side of the door, trying to push it open, but it wouldn’t budge. Her head got fuzzy and she suddenly felt cold, she realized that she was going into shock. Her parents’ shouts became garbled background noise and Alya heard the sound of tiny feet running around the room. She tried reaching the light switch so she could see, but it was out of reach.

From the light outside her window, she could barely make out the movement of a small shadow, moving from one part of the room to another. Coming closer and closer to her with every sweep. Alya began tugging harder on the doorknob and her hand. She needed to get out. Something was in the room with her. She could almost feel the darkness creeping closer. It wanted to hurt her!

What happened next, Serafina couldn’t have planned better if she’d tried. Alya jerked back her trapped arm and the doorknob at the same time Nora threw her shoulder into the door as hard as she could. Sending the teenagers flying into her bedside table and her head hitting the corner with an audible *crack*. The doll smiled silently in the corner of the room as the paramedics were called and listened to her parents cries for their horrid daughter to wake up. They called time of death at 2:03am.

~oOo~

It was a bit more of a chore for Serafina to get back to the school, but it was still manageable as her mother had to inform the school of her daughter’s death and pick up her things. The woman had also noticed the information that had been brought up on Alya’s computer and thought that she had been up late chasing a lead. And as the lead had to do with the disturbing behavior of one of her daughter’s classmates, she thought it best to show the acting principal the information before taking her leave. 

Making her way back to the classroom, she saw that the news had spread already. Nino seemed to be hit the hardest, as it was his girlfriend, but he would get over it. Kim was still out of class, and likely would be for a few more days. Tikki saw the doll when she was peeking out of the purse and gave her a disapproving glare, but there was nothing she could do. And in Serafina’s defense, she had only intended on maiming the failed journalist, her death had been an “accident”.

When class let out for lunch, Serafina got back to work tormenting Mme. Bustier. Today, the door slammed and locked shut a few minutes after the last student left. The woman shrieked and was struggling to open the door when the giggling started again. Bustier started screaming for it to “go away” but the giggling continued. Turning back to the door, books began flying at her from all over the room, hitting her chest, back, arms since they were shielding her head.

Then the door opened to show a panicked looking M. Rupere. “I heard screaming, are you alright?” The red haired teacher looked extremely frazzled; her hair was a mess, eyes wide and dilated, and her hands were shaking.

“The books,” she said in a trembling voice. “There was giggling, the door wouldn’t open, and the books attacked me. And this was the second time!”

His eyebrows rose to his hairline as he stared at the woman. “Did you see who was throwing the books at you?”

Bustier shook her head in a frantic manner. “There was no one, the books just started flying at me after the giggling.”

Giving her a slow nod, Rupere gently motioned her to step out of the room ahead of him. “How about you take the rest of the day to recover? Some rest will do you some good.” 

To his relief, Mme. Bustier agreed and collected her purse before leaving the school. Looking around the room, he was confused to see all the books in place on the shelves. Curious, he went to examine her desk and saw essay papers… covered in red ink with large “F’s” on every one of them. Reading the paper on top, all he saw were a few grammar mistakes, nothing that should have resulted in a failing grade. A bit unsettled, Rupere called the Board to schedule a psychological exam for the teacher. Serafina watched the man with satisfaction, at the rate she was going with that terrible teacher, she wouldn’t be around much longer.

Her next victims were Max and Alix during science class. She switched a couple of labels on the tubs on their desk before hiding in the room to enjoy the show. Half-way through class, Max poured a large amount of reactive chemical into the mix while it was warming over a burner, and the glass exploded. The two screamed and cursed in pain as Max tried wiping the liquid away from his face, only succeeding in getting more in his eyes. Alix tried wiping it away with a cloth, not noticing in time that the fabric was also soaked in the chemicals that now covered her entire face.

Serafina was impressed with how quickly Mme. Mendeleiev reacted to the incident. Doaning on gloves in an instant and leading the two students to the chemical wash station. Both students looked to have chemical burns on their faces, arms and necks. She could already see the burns covering a large amount of their exposed skin. While the class was distracted, Serafina switched the labels back so it would appear that the two had not been doing as instructed.

When school let out, the doll hid away in Mylene’s bag and ended up going on a date with the girl and Ivan. They commented on the bad luck their class seemed to be having and wondered out loud at what the cause might have been.

Mylene was hesitant to speak as the two ate their ice cream. “Do you think… maybe it’s karma coming back on our class?”

“Why do you think that?” Ivan asked her, seeming genuinely curious. Deciding that their conversation might lead to something more, Serafina waited and listened.

“It’s just… ever since Kim fell down the stairs, it’s got me thinking. Lila says that Marinette pushed her but the only injury she says she got was a bad knee, and she’s been walking around fine since then. And then she tried blaming Marinette for Kim and M. Damocles, when Kim shouldn’t have been running up the stairs and M. Damocles tripped at the top of the stairs when she was still down in the courtyard.”

“You’re right, now that I think about it. Lila lied to that new principal and she did it really easy.” Ivan nodded slowly, his brow creased as he pulled out his phone. “I wonder if she lied about anything else.” Mylene watched over his shoulder as he looked up the story about saving Jagged Stone’s kitten from an airplane. There was nothing, the only article that came up about a pet was his crocodile, Fang. The story said that he had hatched the reptile himself seventeen years earlier and any other pet wouldn’t be as rock’n’roll as Fang. “I don’t think Jagged ever had a cat, this article says that he’s only had Fang for longer than we’ve been around.”

Mylene pulled out her phone and called Rose, putting the call on speaker when she answered. 

“Hi Mylene, did you hear anything about Max and Alix? Are they going to be okay?” The girl asked as soon as she picked up.

“Ivan and I haven’t heard anything about them yet, but we have a question for you, Rose, and it’s something only you would be able to answer.”

There was a slight pause on the line. “Go ahead.”

“Do you still chat with Prince Ali?”

“Sure I do! We video chat every Saturday and I send him videos of our performances with Kitty Section. Why do you ask?”

“Ivan and I were wondering… Has he ever mentioned Lila to you?”

There was another pause, although they could hear a hushed conversation in the background. “So, you guys figured out the truth about Lila?” When they didn’t respond right away, Rose continued. “I found out a few weeks after Lila says she came back from Achu. I mentioned Lila to Ali and asked him about the charities they had been working on together, but he’d never heard of her. And Ali is only working on charities involving children, nothing with the environment. When Juleka and I tried asking Lila about it, she got really mean and threatened us if we told anyone. I would have been akumatized if Marinette hadn’t been there to calm me down.”

Ivan and Mylene were horrified, not only had Lila been lying to them, but she had threatened Rose, Juleka, and probably Marinette too. “What should we do?”

“First, you should apologize to Marinette for how you’ve been treating her and let her know that you know the truth.” They heard Juleka over the phone. “Lila has been more terrible to her than anyone else and she keeps getting in Lila’s way to protect us and Nathaniel since we know the truth about her.”

“Who all knows?” Ivan asked, feeling a bit sick to his stomach. Sure, he and Mylene hadn’t really hurt her or done anything, but they hadn’t stood up for her either and they were supposed to be her friend.

“Us, Luka, Kagami, Nathaniel figured it out when she said she could introduce him to Stan Lee, Nino figured it out yesterday, and Adrien’s apparently known from the start but didn’t say anything because he doesn’t think her lies are hurting anybody.”

Both of them could hear the acid in Juleka’s voice when she mentioned Adrien, and they couldn’t argue with her. They knew he had led a sheltered life, but how could he claim that ‘lies don’t hurt anybody’ after sitting back and watching Lila and her friends torment and bully Marinette?

Mylene hadn’t even realized that she had asked that question out loud until Rose answered them. “He told us that it was Marinette’s own fault for antagonizing Lila, and ‘If she just took the high road like I told her, then Lila would leave her alone’. It took everything I had not to slap him.”

Coming from Rose, that really was saying something.

Serafina was then taken on a shopping trip to an arts supplies store, a card shop, and a stop at an ATM before going to Marinette’s family’s bakery. She smiled quietly and with great respect to the couple as they apologized to her girl, gave her cards, an entire bolt of soft purple cotton the same color that her ruined dress had been, a new sketchbook, and money to pay her back for some of the things that Marinette had given them over the past year. They even asked her to provide them with proper receipts, and admitted that they knew the amount they had given her wasn’t enough to cover everything. But they promised to pay her back before asking for anything else, as well as pay in advance for any future items or baked goods. 

The little doll would have cried right along with Marinette if she could. These two had proven themselves to her and would avoid punishment, just as Nino had.

Taglist (it’s a long one):

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[diamaker-moon]

Moving Forward - Chapter 4

Chapter Four

First day and investigations

—————

"Haven't you heard?" She asked back in a cold tone.

"Heard what?"

"You're class... drove Marinette to transfer schools. All because of you guys." She said in an icy tone before passing by him then rest left him in the locker room— gaping.

— previous chapter... —

Adrien was stunned.

'Marinette transferred schools?! When did that happen?!'

He stood there for a few minutes before fishing up his phone and texted Marinette, he waited for a reply, but nothing came. He came back to his classroom in a daze.

He didn't bother sharing the information with anyone, thinking that Lila might steal the spotlight again. And besides, he was too busy thinking why Marinette needed to transfer, and why she didn't inform him— her friend.

Nino was worried for his best bro. Adrien barely spoke throughout the day.

Meanwhile, Marinette was given a few hours in the morning to roam and get acquainted inside campus grounds. She was joined by Allegra, who happily toured her and introduce her as well to every student they pass by.

She was enjoying her time in Jeanne.

But behind all the happiness she was feeling at the moment, there's a huge responsibility whispering in her ear. The Cat Miraculous is currently in camouflage mode in her right ring finger as a rose gold ring. She needed to find either a new permanent cat holder or a temporary one. Part of her wants to trust her dormmates. She couldn't trust her temporary heroes anymore, aside from Viperion and Ryuko. 

She could imagine Allan using the Turtle miraculous since he is already protective of his friends. She was stuck between Claude and Allegra for the Fox miraculous.

Claude is a theatre kid, he can imagine a lot of things and that can help during battles but he's more of a fighter than hiding in the shadows. Allegra, however, can do the opposite.

But for now, her main priority is to find a cat holder, even if it has to be temporary. It was a good thing that she had bought a mini fridge for Plagg's camembert stash and stored it in her room or else her dormmates might think she's a cheese hoarder!

All the teachers and students in Jeanne were very welcoming. Her classmates were friendly to her, and her teachers are fair educators. When there is a disturbance in the class, they reprimand both students not only one, and Marinette noticed that there's no 'model student' treatment like the one she had in Dupont.

It was lunchtime, she and her dormmates decided to eat in a nearby restaurant. She missed how she just goes home and eats lunch in her home then sometimes returns with a bag of pastries as snacks. She missed her home and her parents' bakery.

Marinette and Allegra were busy chatting about Marinette's current state in Jeanne, while Claude and Allan are busy bickerings on who will win if Batman and Iron Man fought.

Félix just observed them, and from time to time read on his book.

None of them saw a blonde looking at them with a melancholic look. The blonde smiled bitterly before they left the restaurant.

"Are you all done? Lunchtime is almost up." Félix announced.

The other four nodded and paid for their meal, then walked back to school.

Marinette wants to thank her luck and Tikki, for not having any Akuma throughout the rest of the afternoon.

Upon returning to the dorm, she went inside her bathroom and stared at the mirror. She was looking at her reflection, but somehow it felt unfamiliar to her.

The girl in the mirror, has her hair down, wearing a white button-up shirt underneath a black blazer that had red accents and trimming, the school crest sewed on top of the front pocket and a red tie. Paired with it is a plaid red, white and black skirt that reaches up to her mid-thighs, she also wore black knee-high socks and strapped two-inched heels.

She moved her hair on the right side a bit and saw her signature black stud earrings which are actually the camouflaged ladybug's miraculous earrings, then the rose gold cat miraculous on her right hand that moved her hair.

It was a huge change.

She was used to seeing her previous look since Dupont doesn't require school uniforms but Jeanne does.

Marinette sighed then stripped out of her uniform to take a short shower.

Once she came out of the bathroom, she was wearing light pink high-waisted shorts, a white halter-top with her signature flower design, then a sheer black cardigan.

She turned the soundproofing on then locked her bedroom door before she let the kwamis out of the miracle box.

"Did you have fun on your first day, Marinette?" Tikki asked.

Marinette hummed before answering. "Yeah. It was quite strange to see all the students wear the same outfit, but everyone was very welcoming. Quite different in Dupont. And there were no Akuma attacks today!"

Tikki smiled at her holder. The kwami thought that the girl deserves it. She needed a new environment away from the previous one since it was toxic.

Marinette was skimming through the Grimoire, and the kwamis knew not to be close enough since it is prohibited to know about the knowledge inside the book.

Shadowmoth. A unified Butterfly and Peacock miraculous holder.

Hawkmoth was becoming stronger, and Marinette needed to be ten steps ahead of him. She cannot use her previous temporary heroes.

Rena Rouge, Carapace, Pegasus and Roi Singe betrayed her in their civilian lives, unknowingly. She cannot trust them in battle, even if they were efficient heroes.

She was alone at the moment. No temporary allies, and no partner.

But she might have a lead on who Hawk—Shadowmoth is.

She looked at her bulletin board that is hanged on the wall.

If anyone ever saw the board, they might think she is a detective, due to having a map of Paris wide opened, with marks, sticky notes, red strings, etc.

She closed the book before putting on a sleeve cover for the book then plainly placed it on her desk together with a stack of books.

"Marinette?"

She hummed before looking at her left seeing the kwamis stare at her.

"We finally might have a lead on who Hawk—Shadowmoth is. Why does he need to change his name? The hawkmoth is already a stupid name, but he had to change it to Shadowmoth! Ugh!"

The kwamis laughed at their guardian's frustrations.

"Who do you suspect, Master?" Wayzz asked.

"Plagg, do you know where your previous holder got the book and tablet?" She asked the cat kwami who's busy eating a wheel of Camembert on top of her chaise.

Plagg looked to her before swallowing the rest of the whole wheel then answered.

"In his deadbeat of a father's office. That's where we found the book first, inside a safe behind her mother's painting."

Marinette hummed.

She had valid points at the moment to suspect him. And no one can prevent her from suspecting the fashion guru like before when she had Chat Noir as her partner. He was adamant that the guru isn't Hawkmoth, but now she understood. The man was his father. If the fashion guru is Hawkmoth, he'll be losing both his Mother and Father.

Something clicked in her mind. The alternate reality that she prevented: Chat Blanc.

She gasped. Then hurriedly grabbed her notebook that has all her points and suspect list with a list of reasons. She flipped the pages towards Gabriel Agreste's page.

Possible Suspect: Gabriel Agreste

Affliation: Fashion Designer

Relationships: 

◈ Emilie Agreste (Wife)

◈ Adrien Agreste (Son)

◈ Nathalie Sancoeur (Assistant)

  Reasons why suspected?

- Mme Agreste has been gone for three years, can use the ultimate power to wish her back.

- Secluded from the outside world.

- Assitant is very devoted, can possibly be the ally— Mayura.

- Another possible ally— Lila Rossi. Got akumatized after leaving from the first bathroom confrontation looking all smug, and has been akumatized repeatedly. Also might be involved with the Heroe's day illusion of Dark 'Ladybug'.

- Akumatized when suspected before. Hypothesis: possibly to divert attention?

- Very attentive and tried to reach for earrings and ring before during 'The Collector' after getting de-akumatized...

- Briefly saw an intrigue look on his face when he saw Chloé open a miraculous box in public.

- Has the Grimoire. Now, he also had Master Fu's tablet (stolen possibly during Miracle Queen battle)

-Theory: Chat Blanc said that Hawkmoth was a reason why the alternate timeline was destroyed by Blanc, Marinette is almost akumatized before (in original timeline), is it possible that in that timeline, Hawkmoth tried to akumatize Marinette then accidentally finds out Chat Noir's identity, leading up to a possible confrontation? It is quite hard to choose between a family relative and a relationship...

Marinette observed the page. If she was impulsive, she'd probably march up to the Agreste Mansion, but if her possible suspect is truly a villain, she cannot impulsively attack since he had two miraculouses that can create an Akuma and a Sentimonster.

She was a tactician. She always thinks about how she can use her lucky charm, and mostly in the most complex ways on how to use it.

The only thing she can do for a while is observing the Older Agreste.

"It's decided then," She looked at the kwamis then continued her sentence.

"We're going on a stake-out outside the Agreste Mansion, and possibly the inside as well. But that mansion is heavily guarded with cameras! How am I going to enter it?!"

She annoyingly said the huffed.

"Kwamis can help with the cameras and if there are alarms!" Trixx reasoned.

"Hmm... That can be useful... But how am I going to get an inside look? If there's a hidden safe behind Mme Agreste's painting in M. Agreste's atelier, I need an entrance."

Plagg thought about it before gasping.

"I can look around! I've been in the mansion for a long time, I can search around that room to see any open windows or entrance!"

Marinette actually smiled at that statement, she scratches Plagg behind one of his ears which made the cat kwami purr in happiness.

"Looks like someone earned a prize!"

The kwamis laughed in seeing the stubborn cat kwami happily purring due to the young guardian scratching him. Marinette needed a thorough plan. A plan to look around M. Agreste's atelier without being detected. And if she is lucky maybe retrieve one of the missing miraculous.

—————

"Nathalie!"

The woman flinched before she composed herself and made her way towards her boss's atelier with a tablet in one hand.

"Yes, M. Agreste?"

The man was seething, and she didn't know why. The last time she saw him like this was when they caught Adrien taking the miraculous book to school.

"Where's the Grimoire and the tablet?"

Nathalie blinked. "It's in your hands Monsier. Or maybe safely hidden in the safe."

Gabriel sighed deeply. "The book and the tablet is missing. I check the cameras, Adrien got it again, but when I asked for it back, he said you had it."

"I'm sorry, M. Agreste, but I didn't even know that it was in Adrien's possessions. I'll look around the mansion, maybe Adrien misplaced it, I'll also ask him to remember where he left it."

Gabriel nodded and dismissed her.

Inside Nathalie's head, it was trouble. They were fortunate to steal the previous Guardian's tablet that has a translated version of the book, to fix the Peacock miraculous. They had also found a translated pages about the power-ups but we haven't figure out what it actually means. They also don't have a backup copy of the translated pages!

"Adrien? Adrien."

Nathalie knocked on the younger Agreste's door. She heard a faint 'wait, Nathalie!'. Soon the door opened and revealed a dishevelled Adrien who was currently drying his hair with a towel.

"Yes, Nathalie?"

"I heard from your Father that you had the book and tablet he's looking for. Do you remember where you left it?" She said and noticed how Adrien paled.

"I was only looking at it, I left it on my desk but the next morning it was gone. I figured that you might've found it on the desk and took it back to Father... That's the only place I left it before going to bed."

She observes the young boy and hummed. She instructed Adrien to try and look around thinking that it might've been misplaced.

'I have a bad feeling about this. It's already bad that it's missing, but if my theory is right that it is in Ladybug's possession, we might be at a disadvantage.'

Chapter 3 — Moving Forward: Masterlist — Chapter 5 

[quijotine]

Cookie Gifts

based on this prompt 

You could always tell when Marinette Dupain-Cheng liked you. She wasn't the type to tell it to you straight to your face, but if Marinette considered you a friend, it was obvious. She'd compliment your outfit, or help you out with an assignment you didn't understand, she'd encourage you to pursue your passions, she'd cheer for you when you did, she'd stand up for you and show you how to do it for yourself, and most of all, she would always find little gifts to give you. Almost always crafted by her own hands. 

Take Alya, for example, who had multiple friendship bracelets, jewelry, drawings, mittens, and all kinds of cute little trinkets Marinette always found the time to confection for her. Or Nino, whom she customized a cap for and always brought him freshly baked pain au chocolat, knowing that those were his favorite. Or to an extent, even Adrien, who cherished the lucky charm she had gifted him and perhaps was the most aware of Marinette's adorable tendency to create things for her friends, even though he had received the least amount of gifts. As Adrien, that is. Chat Noir was a different story. 

Chat Noir had developed the questionable habit of paying Marinette a few visits here and there when it was his turn to patrol alone. He knew Ladybug would probably scold him for interacting with civilians like this, but in his defense, it was almost as if Marinette was trying to lure him into visiting him. 

Ever since that first time he visited her, craving some company to lighten his broken heart, he had developed a certain curiosity. At least that's what he liked to call it. Plagg wouldn't agree. 

Much in the way as in that first time, the second time he dropped by, he did not find Marinette sadly looking at the sky but he did manage to startle her nonetheless. He had found her watering her plants and after a quick, blushing exchange, Marinette pulled his tail before he took off, snipped a blooming red tulip, and stuck her hand out to him. 

"For you," she said, a rosy blush lightly pigmenting her cheeks. 

Chat, unable to help his own flustered reaction at such a sweet gesture, gingerly took the flower, gave her a shy smile, and fled. 

The next time this happened, she told him to wait and quickly disappeared into her house resurfacing a few minutes later with a cellophane bag full of tiny pistachio-green macaroons. The third time, she had knitted mittens for him. The fourth, she had given him a "lucky charm" made of green and black beads, teasing him that it ought to repel all the bad luck he had, being a black cat and all. 

"I didn't know the princess liked to pun," Chat said, trying to sound suave but being altogether too flustered and endeared to do it with any success. 

And so this was how Chat Noir--Adrien-- began his proud collection of Marinette's little presents. He had to admit there was a certain satisfaction to knowing he would probably pass Alya soon if he kept visiting Marinette as much as he did. He was especially proud of the fact he didn't have one but two lucky charms. How many do you have, Alya? That's what I thought, he'd always think happily to himself when he admired his pair of lucky charms side by side.

But then something curious started happening, something that worried Chat. 

Ladybug started doing the same. 

She didn't knit fluffy gloves or brought him garden flowers, but she took to the habit of bringing him pastries when they patrolled together. Chat Noir thought to himself one of two things was happening here: Either Ladybug was trying to pull a Pavlov conditioning on him, or she had found out about his visits with Marinette and was somehow jealous of her. 

It didn't matter how many times he thanked her and reassured her she didn't need to feed him every time she saw him, Ladybug would always shrug and say, "Just a little treat, for being such a great partner." 

He supposed he was paying for the rose-giving karma of his past in tasty carbohydrates. To her benefit, though, if Ladybug brought him gifts to get his attention the way Marinette had captured it, she never showed her disappointment at his thankful, yet carefully demure reactions. It was more than what could be said of his disappointment at how terrible he was at getting Marinette's attention in his civilian persona. 

Marinette, while being everyone's darling, had always seemed on edge when she talked to him. He had never brought himself to find an explanation, much less when one day, unprompted, Marinette stopped acting so nervous around him. Suddenly she was just as confident, and sassy, and playful as with the rest of her friends. And while Adrien was absolutely thrilled about this, it also meant that he had stopped receiving that extra Marinette attention he had seemed to take for granted until then. 

"I'll bring cookies for everyone tomorrow," she told Alya one indistinct day as the school day was coming to a close. 

"Ohh, what flavor? You know I love those soft ones, right? The ones with the chocolate chips?"

Marinette laughed. "I'll make sure to make a batch of those, but I was thinking more about doing frosted ones."

"You're bringing cookies tomorrow?" Nino said, excited and turning around his seat to face the girls. Adrien seized the opportunity to do the same. 

"Yup. Anything in particular you want?"

"Not really," said Nino. "All the stuff you bring from the bakery is literally the best."

"You're so thoughtful, Marinette," Adrien said, trying his best to hide his blush as he spoke. "But isn't it a lot of work?"

"Not really," Marinette said with a friendly smile. "I'm very used to making them, I help my parents all the time."

"Oh, yeah, heh... Forgot about that," he replied, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. "I've never made cookies so I have no idea what it's like."

"Really? Never?" 

Adrien shook his head. 

Marinette tapped her lips with her index finger. "I suppose... if you want to learn you could help me out. If you have time, that is."

"Yes!" Adrien said immediately, not even bothering to check whether he had anything booked for the afternoon. Either way, unless it was a photo shoot, he was more than willing to ditch his activities in favor of spending the afternoon with Marinette. 

Once at the bakery, wearing an apron and all, Marinette carefully prepared the dough for the first batch of cookies, showing Adrien the proportions he needed to use to prepare the second batch. Thankfully she was a patient teacher and was able to help him even when he messed up his first attempt. Once he got the hang of it, they developed a system where Marinette prepared the dough, Adrien molded it and cut it into shape in the trays, and Marinette put them in the oven. 

He discovered Marinette was not necessarily the chatterbox she usually was when her hands were busy. Instead, she slipped into a concentrated silence, with her tongue slightly poking out the right corner of her mouth and occasionally humming to the songs she played on her phone. 

Adrien had to take monumental efforts not to be distracted by how adorable she looked. 

When they moved to the process of frosting the cookies, he distinctly noticed how she prevented him from putting a particular batch with the rest of them. Even more intriguing, while Adrien was busy decorating, Marinette took particular attention to the batch she had separated. 

"Those look nicer," Adrien pointed out, interrupting Marinette's concentration, and noticing with a bit of envy how she had masterfully decorated her batch with tiny frosting cats.

"They're for a friend," she explained but added nothing more as she went back to work. 

Oh, what Adrien would have given to know who those cookies were for! His heart skipped a bit after indulging in a selfish, yet delightful thought. Maybe they're for Chat Noir! He thought excitedly, making a point of visiting her that night. Imagine his surprise, however, when his time for patrolling came around and found Marinette was already asleep when he passed by her balcony. 

Feeling a bit defeated and even more curious than before, he resigned to complete his route and vault back home. 

Maybe the cookies were for someone else? Someone at school? No, they were not, he realized feeling more relieved than he wanted to admit the next morning when Marinette came into school carrying the box of cookies. He inconspicuously snuck a glance at the box to see if he could spot them, or if Marinette carried a second, smaller box, but his enterprise was fruitless.

He eventually shook away the thought, berating himself for wanting to intrude in Marinette's privacy and forcing himself to let go of the subject, as tempting as it was to keep imagining who those damn cookies were for. 

The topic had all but vanished by the time he met Ladybug for patrol when the silly cookies made it to the front of his attention again. 

Wrapped in the usual cellophane bag, Ladybug beamed at him and stuck out her hand. "For you," she said, offering him the cat-themed cookies. 

Chat Noir took them feeling how his heart demanded to be let out of his chest if only to proclaim how impossibly happy he was. 

"Thank you, my lady," he said, using the nickname he had been careful not to call her anymore, aware of the fact his face was possibly blushing redder than Ladybug's suit. 

[miraculouscontent]

Didn’t Need Burrow (July 13th-July 19th)

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: No matter how badly Alya going behind Marinette's back to let Nino know that she's still Rena blows up in the heroes' faces, the series will act as though the REAL lesson is that Ladybug should have trusted Chat Noir with HER secret identity.

Which is going to be so “hilarious” when Marinette now has confirmed trauma from “Chat Blanc.”

emikogale asked:

I don't need a burrow to know that similar to Kagami, Luka will do a 180 and declare Marinette and Adrien are "ZOMG! Made for each other!"

Bonus if the episode itself showcases the typical reasons why the love square is awful.

Anonymous asked:

DNB to know Maribug will start to have feelings for Chat after his big blow up this season (AND/OR) the big reveal

Bonus: Adrichat starts having feelings for Marinette after the reveal (kinda already confirmed in ChatBlanc ik but I mean it happens in the canon timeline too)

Ah, the eventual “joy” of Marinette falling for the guy she’s constantly picking up the slack of. :|

neyla9 asked:

DNB: At some point, we're gonna get an It's a Wonderful Life-style episode, showing Marinette or Adrien a timeline where they didn't exist Hawk Moth won or got more miraculouses and everything is awful; if it focuses on Marinette, everyone in this alternate timeline will blame and shame her for not being there, telling her it's all her fault this happened. If it focuses on Adrien, everyone will coddle and love him and talk about what a shame it is that they were never able to meet him before. Bonus points if Marinette/Adrien meet the Chat Noir/Ladybug of this timeline, and it is just the exact same thing: Chat Noir being angry at Marinette for not being there, and Ladybug stroking Adrien's ego about how funny and amazing he is, and it's no wonder she failed to defeat Hawk Moth when she didn't have him.

Honestly, just the episode being “It’s a Wonderful Life” style in general is a red flag regardless of what they do.

If they do one where everyone’s actually better off, it’ll be in specific areas to be some sort of lesson on how Marinette isn’t 100% perfect and she needs to strive to be better. If they do one where everyone’s worse off, it’ll be a lesson on how Marinette needs to solve everyone’s problems and squeeze herself dry.

Anonymous asked:

DNB: Alya will ultimately be PRAISED for lying to Marinette about the Nino situation and/or other matters, because Mari is Always Wrong.  Even if her fears about the potential consequences of Nino Knowing prove 100% justified, the fallout is blamed 100% on HER, while Alya is absolved of all blame and told her judgment was sounder and that she was Right to not listen to Marinette.

The thing that terrifies me most about this one is the fact that they would clearly go for this idea that Marinette has been working herself into a panic over “nothing” despite the fact that MARINETTE HAS BEEN TAUGHT THESE RULES, SHE DIDN’T MAKE THEM UP.

It’ll basically be like Alya brushing her off in “The Puppeteer 2” (with the whole “nooo, I didn’t tell him anything... and even if I did--ugh, it doesn’t matter!”) but worse.

Anonymous asked:

DNB: Marinette renounces the Miracle Box and passes it on to Alya, nobly forfeiting all her Miraculous-related memories in the process.  Alya promptly makes her Ladybug again.  This does NOT restore her memories, but is used as an easy excuse for her to make more mistakes/suffer for her inexperience.  Alya, Adrien, Tikki and others angst over her 'selfish decision' while Mari is expected to just keep trucking along, accepting all the blame and responsibility heaped upon her shoulders.

Honestly, it’ll probably be used as some sort of triumphant thing, like we as an audience aren’t supposed to be happy at her giving up Ladybug so this is supposed to be a good thing that she’s getting it back.

Anonymous asked:

DNB: Love Square gets reversed by Marinette giving up Guardianship to Alya and losing her memories.  Alya forces her to be Ladybug again, starting over from scratch, and she starts falling for her 'more experienced' partner.  Adrien, meanwhile, resents the reset because he hates that she's forgotten him, that he has to be more responsible (actual responsibility on his part optional), and other self-centered reasons, so he takes it out on her.

How did you make the above one even worse, I’m hurting!!

Anonymous asked:

DNB: The fact that Nino BLATANTLY STALKED ALYA when he suspected her of two-timing him with Chat Noir will be used as justification for Adrien amping up his own behavior and trying to stalk/spy on Ladybug, because iT's NoT fAiIiIiIiR that she's not giving him everything he wants, relationship and all.

God, these two just giving each other “””advice.”””

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: That Lukanette Instagram Scene was meant to push the LS or LukZoe agenda :)

:)

Part of me is just waiting for Marinette to reveal her identity with Luka in consideration of them trying again, but Luka misunderstands in someway due to Adrien being nearby and he tells her all about how he’ll support her with Adrien (bonus if LukZoe has either happened off-screen or is clearly going well) and Marinette is just, “o-oh... yeah, right--”

Because Marinette is always late to everything since she’s living two lives at the same time and doesn’t have room to sort out how she feels at the same speed as everyone else.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chat will get angry about LB refusing a reveal when Rena and Cara know each other's identities. He'll act like he has a right to know and since she's the Guardian now the rules should be different. They have an argument and hello, Chat Blanc 2. Alternatively they will reveal themselves and Marinette will be upset her crush is the same guy who won't take "no" for an answer.

I’ve basically just accepted “Chat should’ve been told first/Chat had a right to know,” and it’s just a matter of how...

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Finally we will get Ladybug with wings... but this will be due to Wings Power-Up potion. Obviously Chat Noir and Rena Rogue/Furvit will also get this power-up.

If she gets nice things, Chat has to get it too.

(no, I don’t count Charm Bug considering that that’s just them putting her slightly closer to having an outfit as complex as his)

Anonymous asked:

Sort of a theory but putting in as Didn’t Need Burrow: The love square will switch with ladybug starting to feel like Chat Noir is more respectful and helps keep her balanced (she doesn’t know about his emotions so don’t anyone try and pin that on her) and Adrichat will start to like Marinette as she provides him comfort (even if she might not know the full extent). This is all done for the big ladynoir fallout to *drumroll* hurt Maribug in the most possible way!! (This can be manipulated however you like, I just wanted to share my thoughts 💖) ((And to anti-salters who want to call me out for this thought, >;P ))

So basically, Ladybug/Marinette getting closer to their respective interests just to make the hurt for her all the stronger.

Adds up, honestly.

[iamdunn]

Miraculous One Shot: Truth Singer

A Miraculous Fan-Fic Musical Episode

Written by

AJ Dunn

This was it. Adrien’s 21’s birthday and Marinette was already hard at work on the preparations. Gabriel no longer had control over Adrien so there was nothing stopping him from coming to this party. Marinette had been planning for this day for years and now it was here. Her footlocker in her parent’s apartment was already full of gifts for his next 15 years worth of birthdays, yet every year she ended up making him another gift. This time was no different. She had learned her lesson about not signing her gifts after the whole scarf mix up. Now, she made sure the item she made for him had her signature in it somewhere so there could never be any question as to who actually made it for him.

This year, in light of him being of legal adult age, she wanted to give him something more mature. She had seen him in a black leather jacket in one of his photo shoots and decided to make him something, not exactly like that one, but one that would suit him much better. She had spent days designing the perfect jacket, the zippers, the seams, even the measurements. She had been allowed to accompany him to several photo shoots where she watched the designers with detailed eyes adjust and fit him into the outfits his father had designed for him. She managed to sneak a peek at his measurements and made note of them as she drew out her own designs. 

As the jacket now lay out on her bed she examined every stitch for perfection. The main zipped going up just slightly past his collar bone, was silver. With two slanted pockets near the waist. The fabric around the armpits and sides was a moisture wicking sports material that, while it was designed to move with the wearer, was also designed to keep him cool. His photo shoot was of him sitting on a motorcycle. A kind of rough yet dreamy image that made Marinette melt just thinking about it. The stitching had been done in a neon green to accent his emerald eyes. It would be a slim fitting jacket, she thought, hoping she got the measurements right. It seemed like it was going to be too big for him. 

She was so lost in thought she didn’t hear the trap door to the attic open up as Alya, Rose, Juleka, and Mylene bounced excitedly into the room.

“Do you think she’ll do it this time?” Rose sang. 

“Doubtful.” Alix came in looking bored. “How many times has she tried to tell Adrien she loved him and look what happened?” 

“Well let’s see, She’s fallen on her face.” Alya started

“Chickened out.” Mylene added

“Gave him the wrong piece of folded paper.” Alya laughed remembering the prescription Adrien had picked up for her that had been meant for someone else. They all laughed at that one. 

“It wasn’t funny.” Marinette spun around her face flushed with rose red on her cheeks.

“Dropped the letter into the sewer.” Juleka muttered

“Oh, and let’s not forget how many times she forgot to sign her name.” Alya teased, one hand resting on her hip as the other flung into the air. 

“It’s true, Marinette, you are as much of a clutz telling Adrien how you feel as you are on your feet.” Rose laughed. 

“You are the only single one among us now, Marinette.” Alix thought it would be her to be the last one to hook up with someone until she met a guy in College. Most of them had stayed behind to attend college from home. Especially with the fact that Hawk Moth was still akumatizing people and while no one but Ladybug knew everyone’s secret, they kept their reasons for staying behind a secret as well, in case Ladybug needed them. 

“I will do it this time, I promise.” Marinette felt so confident as she looked at her friends as they cheered her on. 

The music in the park began and the girls realized they better hurry up. They ran past Tom as he was carrying the cake across the street. It was a multi tiered cake with green trim. Sabine was already at the park putting macarons on the table. Nino had the DJ booth up as he mixed music just like he had done the first time he threw a party for his best friend. 

“Dudes and Dudettes, the birthday boy.” Nino called out as Adrien climbed up on the makeshift stage and began to sing along to the song that was playing. Marinette watched him dance and suddenly she forgot how to walk. She stumbled into a bench and fell over. She recovered quickly, not releasing the package she clung to her chest. His movements were so fluid as his legs kicked and stomped about to the rock song he was singing along too. He didn’t move around this much when he played with the band because he had to focus on the keyboard. It was truly a unique experience for Marinette. 

The song had ended as Marinette remained frozen, glued to the bench as if he was still singing and dancing on the stage. 

“Hi Marinette, what did you think,” Adrien scratched the back of his neck as he looked down at her. Oh No he was talking to her, he was looking at her, when did he get there? Marinette could feel the heat welling up in her cheeks as she sat paralyzed by his smile, his eyes… “Is that for me? Can I open it?” he asked. She suddenly realized she was crushing the package in her arms. She held it out for him to take her eyes frozen on his. He tore the paper open tossing it to the ground as Mylene picked it up for him. He held the jacket up by the shoulders musing over it before stripping off his coat and pulling the leather jacket on. He zipped it up and suddenly Marinette realized just how filled out she was. He wasn’t the thin boy he used to be, his broad shoulders and tone upper body now exposed the man he was as the jacket fit every detail of his upper body within it’s form fitting style. The zipper made its way to his neck then his eyes met hers again.

“I just need a silver bell.” He reached up pretending to flick a bell that wasn’t there. Marinette jumped to her feet. Her mind raced as she suddenly realized something she should have known all along. It was so obvious as she now looked up at her friend, her best friend, her crush….HER PARTNER. She ran!

Adrien couldn’t understand what had happened. He watched her run from the park but was so dumbfounded his feet wouldn’t move to go after her. 

“Not again.” Alya said, walking up beside him.

“What did I do?” Adrien was beside himself with worry as he watched her. She wasn’t even heading home. 

“It’s not you, it’s Marinette, she always does this.” Rose said anger fueling her words as she stormed out of the park. 

“Well… I guess she can try again another day.” Juleka muttered. 

“Try what?” Adrien spun around to face her. 

“Nothing.” Juleka left to try to catch up with Rose. A

“Alya?” Adrien begged. “What is going on?” Alya just shook her head and led him back to the party. It had only been a few minutes before the music was stopped by an akumatized victim tossing a large rock at the DJ Booth demolishing it. 

“I am Truth Singer.” the villain said, “And from now on you will all sing your truths so the whole world can hear.” Adrien backed up. This isn’t good. He had to get out of there before the villain made him sing, his truth had to remain a secret. Nino was the first one hit by the villain's powers. He began to sing Perfect, by Ed Sheeran as he took Alya’s hand. She tried to get away to run but was mesmerized by his song. 

Adrien took this opportunity to run while the rest of the party scattered from the park. 

“Plagg, we can’t get hit no matter what.” The Kwami didn’t respond. Oh right. He thought, my jacket. He ran back to the park and found his other jacket laying on the bench. He grabbed it and ran back to the alley. “Plagg?” the Kwami came out of the pocket smelling like stinky cheese. 

“Wow, I wonder how many people thought you looked like Cat Noir?” Plagg said, noting the leather jacket.

“You think that might be why Marinette ran? Do you think she recognized me?”

“She made it didn’t she?” Plagg asked. Adrien lifted the cuff to inspect the stitching, just on the inside of the cuff of both arms was the signature stitching she had placed on everything she had made him. He nodded. He wondered if it bothered her, the thought that he might be Cat Noir or if she truly was in love with Cat. No time for that now.

“Plagg Claws out.” He inspected his Cat suit to realize the suit Marinette made him was very much similar, however the designs were unique. The Cat suit was solid black versus the neon green stitching of the Marinette jacket. He ran back to the park where he found Several people singing. The akumatized person was gone. He could hear her in the distance calling. He gave chase until he found her on Marinette’s balcony. 

“Oh Marinette, it’s time to sing your truth, it’s been far too long keeping your love bottled up.” Truth Singer sang out. What was she talking about? 

“I hate to break it to you but Marinette isn’t much of a singer.” He announced his presence on the roof above her. “But I will be happy to take that akuma from you then we can go find her together, and ask her about this secret you are speaking of.” He lept at her scratching at the bottle of perfume she held in her hands. It was much like Princess Fragrance only instead of turning people into her slaves, she was making them sing about their truth. He missed. Suddenly he was engulfed in smoke. He tried to cough it out of his lungs but it was too late.

 He landed on the railing of Marinette’s balcony balancing on all fours. 

“Well little lady, let me Elucidate here.” He said. He had no idea what to do, he couldn’t stop. “Everybody wants to be a cat

Because a cat's the only cat

Who knows where it's at”

He flipped backward as she swung at him. Maintaining his balance on the railing until there wasn’t any left. 

“Tell me, everybody's pickin' up on that feline beat

'Cause everything else is obsolete

A square with a horn makes you wish you weren't born”

He leaped over her head to the other side of the railing standing up right. 

“Every time he plays

But with a square in the act

You can set music back” He held his hands up  in a shrug gesture. He pulled out his baton. As she came at him again. Her mouth twisted in a snarl as she kicked at him. 

“To the caveman days, cha-cha-ba-dum-bo-day

I've heard some corny birds who who tried to sing

Still a cat's the only cat who knows how to swing

Who wants to dig a long-haired gig or stuff like that?”

“AAH.” She growled, charging at him again. He jumped into the air flipping over her. “Stop moving so I can get your miraculous.” she demanded. 

“When everybody wants to be a cat

A square with a horn makes you wish you weren't born

Every time he plays

Oh, a rinky-tinky-tinky

With a square in the act you can set music back

To the caveman days”

 

“Enough you stupid cat that song is annoying.” She screamed at him. He might not have had any control over it, but it was working. “How is that song your truth anyway?”

“Yes, everybody wants to be a cat

Because a cat's the only cat who knows where it's at

When playin' jazz you always has a welcome mat

'Cause everybody digs a swinging cat”. The truth was clear, he loved being in his cat form. He never felt more like himself than when he was popping off puns, flirting and being generally playful, he always had to be as serious as Adrien, but as Cat, he had all the freedom in the world. 

 

Everybody, everybody, everybody wants to be a cat

Hallelujah!

Everybody, everybody, everybody wants to be a cat

Everybody, everybody, everybody wants to be a cat

Everybody, everybody

 

He launched for the perfume bottle again. If only he could call his cataclysm. Suddenly her attention was drawn elsewhere. He followed her gaze and found Marinette sitting alone on a bench down the street. Was she crying. Truth Singer dove off the rooftop before he could grab her. He spun his baton then jumped from the roof extending his staff to give himself a quicker path to Marinette. He landed on the concrete in front of her as Truth Singer was on his heels. He wasted no time scooping her into his arms like a bride before he ran leaping off the walls as he made his way to the rooftops.

 

“You're the light, you're the night

You're the color of my blood

You're the cure, you're the pain

You're the only thing I wanna touch

Never knew that it could mean so much, so much” Damn Marinette got hit. He looked down at her face. It was red as she reached up for his face. So far, this power isn’t revealing their secrets, it’s just making them sing a truthful song, something they felt. 

 

“You're the fear, I don't care

'Cause I've never been so high

Follow me through the dark

Let me take you past our satellites

You can see the world you brought to life, to life”

 

Her voice was beautiful, he thought as he tried to find a place to stash Marinette, where was Ladybug. He had tried to refrain from singing, at least keeping his voice so low that no one else could hear him. He wanted to focus on her voice. 

“So love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?”

Cat froze on the rooftop, his eyes met hers. The heat rose up in his cheeks as she sang. His heart began to flutter. Does she feel this way about Cat Noir, or did she figure it out and know he’s Adrien. 

“Fading in, fading out

On the edge of paradise

Every inch of your skin, is a Holy Grail I've gotta find

Only you can set my heart on fire, on fire”

He gulped back a lump that had started to form on his lips. He was glad he had made distance between them and Truth Singer, or did she get what she wanted. He squatted down on the rooftop as she sang to him. He stroked her face. He could feel his own song changing. Suddenly his feelings, his heart began to sing. The power of the magic between them had actually changed his song.

“I'll let you set the pace

'Cause I'm not thinking straight

My head's spinning around, I can't see clear no more

Oh, what are you waiting for?” Cat Noir sang out the words before they escaped her lips. 

“Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do, oh

What are you, what are you waiting for?

What are you waiting for?” These were her words sung through his lips as she froze. Her face reddened. He knew he had feelings for her, but he never wanted to admit it, he didn’t want to betray his feelings for Ladybug, but how could he deny the feelings he had been developing for Marinette since day one. Maybe it was just the magic from the akuma, but he no longer controlled his own emotions. He cupped her face in his free hand as the other one was behind her back as she draped over his knees. He pulled her face closer to his, watching her eyes drift shut. 

““I'll let you set the pace

'Cause I'm not thinking straight

My head's spinning around, I can't see clear no more

Oh, what are you waiting for?” She sang just as his lips met hers. Their mouths opened as they pressed themselves closer together feeling every inch of her mouth on his. He could feel the song magic fading, the urge to sing no longer present, but what was this feeling in his heart? It was as if his heart had been turned into butterflies and they were swarming his chest trying to escape. He kept his lips on hers, waiting for her to push him away. She didn’t, she weaved her fingers through his hair gently combing through. 

“Give me your Miraculous Cat Noir, and I will use you to draw out Ladybug.” Truth Singer was right behind him. He quickly grabbed his baton spinning on his heels as he moved Marinette behind him. 

“Grab on.” He said. She jumped on his back as he extended the staff launching them into the atmosphere then swinging it forward vaulting them into flight. They began to fall as she held onto him. He angled to fall to land in and alley way as they came down between the buildings he moved his staff between the building like a hanging rod sliding down the brick building until they slowed just feet from the ground. She dropped from his shoulders as he held on to the now lodged baton. He reached out a hand to her.

He released the baton as it shrunk back to the length of a ruler. He locked it back in place on his back. Marinette stood in front of him still red in the face. 

“I guess kissing a purrincess can break any spell.” He knelt before her, taking her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. She simply stood frozen in place. Unable to speak. “Tell me now purrincess, why did she want you to sing your truth?”

“I have already told you Cat.” She whispered. “About the boy I like, but I haven’t been able to tell him how I feel, I am such a klutz with my words when I am around him.” A single tear fell from her eye. 

“Could you ever love me?” Cat asked her. 

“I don’t know who you are under the mask.”

“I am more myself with the mask, then I have ever been without it, can you love this side of me.” he stood up taking both her hands in his. “And I love you for everything that you are, your clumsiness as well.” he smirked. Heat raced to his face as he watched her, he felt his heart still as his confession fell upon her ears. 

“What about Ladybug.” She whimpered. 

“In the words of a special friend of mine…Plagg, it’s okay to love two people at the same time, especially when they are so much alike.” 

“I’m nothing like Ladybug.” she pulled her hands back. His smile widened. 

“Will you please answer my question?” his heart couldn’t take it anymore. “Can you love this side of me? This man you see before you,” She looked back up at him. “Put the thought of that Sunshine boy out of your head for one second, and focus on me.” Marinette sighed. 

“Yes.” She admitted. “Yes Cat, I do love you, but…” 

“Claws in.” Marinette closed her eyes, blinding by his detransformation. “I trust you, after all you are the only one I know besides myself who has never been akumatized.” He chuckled. He cupped both hands on her cheeks forcing her to look up at him. He could hear Truth Singer in the distance looking for Cat and Ladybug. “You have to open your eyes Marinette,.” She slowly slid her eyes open. Her face reflected a realization that maybe She had figured it out earlier in the park. His heart stilled in his chest waiting for her response. 

“Spots on.” 

“Best birthday ever.” Adrien said, lowering his face to place his lips on Ladybugs. He kept his eyes open as she closed hers. The moment their lips met, his closed as they melted into each other's kisses. 

There you go LadyNoir and Marichat Shippers. We don’t need to finish this story, we all know what happens to the akumatized person. 

Ps, I didn't write the songs, but credit aristocats for the feline good song "Everybody wants to be a cat" and Ellie Goulding for "love me like you do"

[e-milieeee]

four ways to say i love you

Summary: It’s the little things—such as waking up at five in the morning to cook for him or lending her a coat when she’s cold—that mean the world. 

Because Marinette loves her partner very, very much, and she’s so lucky that he feels the same. 

Notes: I was initially going to do one side of the lovesquare, but all sides are equal and therefore have all four sides in this oneshot :) Post reveal, established relationship. A commissioned piece for @mlbforblm—there’s plenty of talented artists and writers who still have slots, so make sure to commission! 

Or read on AO3

Adrien is brushing his teeth when Ladybug comes crashing through his window.

He’s a little later than usual today, still decked in his Ladybug pajamas that he’s so unashamedly  proud of. He has tied his bangs back with an elastic band, and it sits like a little tree on top of his head, water still dripping from his face.

“And here I was, thinking you’d be ready to eat breakfast,” she tsks playfully.

He grins back. “Sorry, M’lady. Plagg turned my alarm off.”

His smile is, as usual, contagious and in a way that can’t help but to smile back. Ladybug returns to his room and takes out the box from her bag, where she’d painstakingly prepared breakfast for him at the expense of a shattered bowl and spilled jug of milk. It’s still warm to the touch, thankfully, and her slightly rough landing in his room hadn’t messed it up too much.

Adrien joins her a couple minutes later. He has taken the hair tie out, but his bangs fall softly over his eyes like it does when he’s Chat Noir, and Ladybug wants to run her hands over it so to feel just how soft it is. She refrains herself, though, as they both settle cross-legged on the ground where she has laid their breakfast out.

His mouth drops open. “Wow,” Adrien marvels. “When you said you were going to make a feast, I thought you’d fry an egg or two and slap it between some bread and that would’ve been it. This is… can you describe food as gorgeous? Because this is gorgeous.”

“Just because that’s the only thing you can cook doesn’t mean it’s all I’m capable of,” she sniffs, but underneath, Ladybug preens at the compliment.

It’d taken a lot of effort, and Ladybug had collected the ingredients the day before and planned every single detail before going to bed. Then, at five in the morning, she dragged herself out of bed looking and feeling like a zombie just to prepare it.

There are four egg rolls drizzled with homemade sauce, then sprinkled with dried seaweed and sesame. Next to that are neat cuts of green onion cake, made from absolute scratch (she burned herself in the process of deep-frying them). Inside the longest container are fried fish, the ones her mother had prepared the night before. Finally, the leftover mooncakes from the Lunar Festival are in the little box, tied with a red bow. Marinette had spent careful care on that one.

“Miso soup,” Ladybug tells him as she hands him the thermos. “Uh… I think I added too much paste and it’s too salty, so you might not want to drink that one. And…” She opens the last box, where a variety of fresh-cut fruit awaits. “For health reasons, there are fruits. Oh! Also a cheese platter for Plagg, but he’s still asleep, so he can have it later.”

Adrien is positively beaming when she unpacks everything. “You’re the absolute best,” he gushes.

“Couldn’t have you starving on your diet, right?” The nonchalant act can only go so far when she’s grinning so wide. “I’m just hoping it tastes as good as it looks.”

“It’ll taste good just because you made it.” He throws her an exaggerated wink, then immediately reaches for his chopsticks to dig in.

Ladybug watches him take a bite out of green onion cake. He chews, swallows, eyes lighting up. “This is amazing, and I promise I’m not just saying that because my diet’s forced me to eat boiled chicken breasts with no seasoning of the past week.”

She giggles. “Just let me know when you want me to bring you breakfast.”

He places a hand on his chest. “I can’t believe Ladybug’s my personal delivery girl. Do you offer lunch services as well?”

“Only for you, kitty.”

His grin is worth getting up for at 5am.

***

Marinette is freezing at lunch break, but they’ve agreed to eat outside, so she sucks it up. At least the lunch she’d packed for her and Adrien is warm.

It’s late autumn now, and the last couple of leaves cling to otherwise bare trees. She regrets the outfit she picked—cute, but not practical. Especially not in this weather. Looking at Alya bundled up in a hoodie and combat boots, Marinette really regrets the dress.

The noodles in the thermoses are slightly soggy, but the flavour is still there. They chat for a while—about upcoming tests, about projects and the end-of-the-year field trip that is still months away, and everything is lovely. Lovely, but cold.

Halfway through, her noodles emptied, Adrien notices her shivering. “Are you cold?” he asks, eyes growing wide in concern.

Alya halts her conversation with Nino as well. “Wait, Adrien’s right, you’re wearing a dress. I’m chilly and I have a sweater on.”

Marinette, who has refrained from speaking for the past couple of minutes in fear of her teeth chattering too loudly, manages to shake her head.

She gets a scrutinizing look-over by Adrien before he makes his verdict. “This isn’t going to do,” he declares firmly. Then, with one fluid movement, he shrugs his own sweater off and drapes it over her shoulders.

“Oh, he’s smooth,” Alya remarks with a wicked grin.

Smooth, indeed. The jacket is wonderfully warm, and, with a content sigh, Marinette slides her arms through the sleeves. There’s also the faint smell of his cologne and it’s so very him that she can’t help the smile that crosses her face.

He opens an arm in a beckoning gesture and Marinette happily settles into his embrace.

***

Because of his father’s strict rules, it’s much easier for Adrien to come by as Chat Noir after school, which he does almost everyday. Sometimes it’s between his schedules, sometimes it’s after, late into the night when both his father and Nathalie believe he’s asleep. Marinette always listens for the thump on the skylight, an indication that he’s there. The trap door is always left unlocked for him, so she only needs to wait as he climbs down the ladder.

It’s nearing nine when he comes this time. She sits at her desk finishing up the rest of the notes when the door creaks open and Chat Noir climbs down.

“Evening,” he greets. “What—ooh, you brought croissants for me.”

He zeroes in immediately on the food that Marinette had, admittedly, prepared for him. Between Adrien’s schedule and that godawful diet his father insisted putting him on and his time sprinting across rooftops and fighting akumas, it’s a miracle that he hasn’t fainted from lack of nutrition. Marinette has made it her personal goal to make sure he’s properly fed, and she ensures there’s a snack waiting for him every time he drops by.

Half a minute later, he’s munching enthusiastically on the food and Marinette can no longer focus on the rest of her notes. She sorts them out—there’s at least four pages that she’d copied in her neatest handwriting—and then hands them to Chat.

“Here,” she tells him. “You missed both physics and mathematics today because of the photoshoot, so I copied the notes from class and re-organized them. I also added a review section from last class so it’s easier to figure out just where we are since the two lessons are connected. And…” She shuffles through her desk once more, producing the textbook. “It’s on page one hundred and twenty seven to one hundred and twenty nine, if my notes don’t make sense. You can study here, if you’d like. My parents won’t be coming back up anyway, so we should be left alone for now.”

The last time her mother had walked in on her and Chat doing homework together, she’d been understanding. Understanding, but skeptical. It had been awfully hard to explain why Paris’ superhero was lounging in her room like he lived there—and much harder more awkward to explain that Adrien was one hundred supportive of her friendship with Chat after her father had become defensive that he had ulterior motives.

Chat takes the papers from her. “You’re absolutely unbelievable,” he tells her, eyes shining in a way only his can. “Seriously, Marinette, have I ever told you?”

She pretends to count on her fingers. “Let’s see… only about six times today. Why? He shakes his head, a grin pulling at the corner of his lips. In one fluid movement, he leans down to pluck the textbook from her hands and plants a quick kiss against her cheek in the process. “What would I do without you?”

“Go hungry, probably? Start lagging behind in all of your classes?” Marinette tsks at him. “God, you’re right. What would you do without me?”

Chat’s laugh is wonderful and full and happy. “Then aren’t I lucky to have you.”

***

The akuma strikes at midnight.

Marinette, about to change into her pajamas after just sending off Chat Noir, curses to herself. She’s tired and not in the mood to transform, but when Chat comes crashing back down from the skylight urgently, she knows she has no choice.

“Akuma!” he informs her, as if the tremors outside could be caused by anything else. “It’s close to here. We should be able to take this one quickly.”

“Why is Hawkmoth even awake?” Marinette grumbles, but transforms nonetheless. Chat waits patiently on the side, though he’s drawn taut, prepared to scramble into action the moment she’s ready. Then they’re climbing out of the skylight, into the light, where the akuma has begun its rampage. The once-quiet night is ripped apart with panic and terror.

The akuma is relatively easy to deal with: a little girl, apparently inspired by Frozen, is decked in full Elsa, wielding similar powers. She covers the streets in ice, a snowstorm whirling around her, as spirals of icy sculptures rise and fall.

Both she and Chat have icicles hanging off them by the time Ladybug purifies the akuma. Even after she releases the Miraculous Ladybug, the cold from the girl’s powers haven’t seeped out of her bones. Judging from Chat’s chattering teeth, he feels the same.

Despite her watch reading 12:32 and the next day hailing as a school day , they stop by at a 24-hour-cafe for hot chocolate. A couple minutes later, seated on the rooftops warming their chilled hands, they’re huddled against each other and staring out at the gleaming cityscape.

“Another successful take-down, m’lady?”

Ladybug laughs as he raises his cup for a toast, and she obliges and bumps her own against him. Hot chocolate sloshes over the lid, splashing onto her suit. She flicks it off. “What a team we make, huh? Now, if only Hawkmoth would get the memo and stop creating his akumas so late. Why is he even up now? Say, do you think he has a life outside of being Hawkmoth?”

“He probably wants to catch us off guard in the middle of the night. Remember that one time we got woken up at three because there was an akuma attack? Plagg wanted to tape my mouth shut so I couldn’t transform.”  

Ladybug groans. “I did really bad on a test the next day because I got three and a half hours of sleep—I fell asleep halfway through the test! It’s— ugh. He’s so annoying.”

“There’s one good thing about midnight akumas, though,” Chat points out.

She takes a sip from the hot chocolate, which, during their conversation, has cooled down to just below scalding. “A good thing?” Ladybug echoes. “Name one good thing, chaton.”  

He nudges her shoulder. “You, m’lady. It’s nice just being alone like this without anyone else, right?”

Then, like he’s said nothing out of the ordinary, Chat goes back to drinking his hot chocolate with infuriating nonchalance.

Ladybug finds herself smiling. “You know,” she tells Chat Noir. “You’re ridiculously good at this. Where do you even get the inspiration to say these things?”

“You.”

“You are completely overdoing it.”

“You love me, admit that.”

“No.”

“So you would get up at five in the morning to make breakfast for just anyone, Bugaboo?”

Ladybug relents. “Okay, maybe a little.”

Chat Noir’s laugh rings crystal clear throughout the night, loud against the crisp air. Ladybug wants to trap that laugh and hold it close to herself. She can’t help but treasure it, after all: it’s a sound that chases away worries, soothes fears, and she thinks she's so, so lucky to hear it everyday.  

“I love you,” he tells her when his laughter dies down. “Don’t forget that, m’lady.”

Ladybug leans her head on her shoulder. “I love you too,” she replies quietly. “You better not forget it, either.”

Notes: Here’s my fics masterlist! 

[cakejots]

this is us trying, Chapter 10 - The Epilogue

In this AU, they don’t know each other outside of the suit. And in this AU, Ladybug and Chat Noir love each other. But in this AU, Chat doesn’t want their identities revealed.

Written for @ladynoirjuly 2021

notes: the last chapter consists of the last 2 prompts

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9 | Ch 10

Read on AO3

30. Rose

Chat was down on one knee, a palm placed right on top of his heart, and presenting something red to her.

A rose. It was something she hasn’t seen much ever since the final battle, minus the time of the reveal because that was special, but it really has been a while since he last held out a red rose to her.

And he was down on one knee in a very public area. Parisians were watching.

“Chaton, what are you doing!” She spoke through gritted teeth, which just made her seem like she’s smiling with her white teeth.

“A display of affection!” A shit-eating grin sat on his handsome face.

Ladybug made a noise. “I can see that! And it’s very sweet of you, but right here?!” she yelled in a whisper.

“I think Parisians need an update that we’re officially together meow.” His smile grew wider.

And she finally caught on. It has been at least 6 months since she proposed her stupid idea of patrolling around when they were actually dating. But ever since they’ve gotten together, they patrolled, really patrolled, around Paris.

So an update they’ll give. Ladybug walked over to Chat and took the rose from his hand to give it a long sniff. Chat stood from the ground and waited until she’s done before wrapping his arms around her waist, drawing her closer. Ladybug giggled and snaked her arms around his neck, pressing her lips onto his. They heard the crowd around them cheering before they could get lost in the kiss.

They pulled back slightly, still looking at each other adoringly before they directed their attention to the crowd. Sure enough, phones can be seen in their hands. With pink cheeks, they posed for a few photos and said their thank-yous in response to their blessings. Ladybug and Chat Noir then made their way, hand in hand, to a nearby rooftop.

“You think that’ll bring an interview our way, my lady?”

“It’s Alya, Chaton. Once she catches wind of this, of course she will,” she ran her hand up their once-connected hold to his chin to scratch. “Her LadyNoir ship has finally sailed after all.”

“Our superhero ship name, huh?” He fluttered his eyes close, really enjoying it when she does that.

Ladybug stopped her ministrations gradually. “Mon Chaton, what’s the real reason for giving me a rose?”

Chat opened his eyes and smiled sheepishly. “I realised I haven’t given you anything ever since we became official, as our civilian selves.”

“A romantic at heart, huh?” She flicked his bell. “Thank you.”

He twinkled and placed a kiss on her knuckles. “Anything for you, my lady.”

They made their way home after patrolling around for a while longer, and Ladybug de-transformed the moment the balls of her feet touched the floor. She gave Chat a quick kiss on the cheek before finding a suitable vase for the rose. A soft look reserved only for her sat on Adrien’s face as his eyes lingered on Marinette before she disappeared around the corner.

Marinette exited the kitchen with a cup of tea in her hands when she suddenly came to a halt. Adrien was down on one knee again, but this time, instead of a single rose, he held out a bouquet to her.

“Adrien?”

“Yes, my love?” His eyes were shining.

She blushed at the endearment. “Why am I receiving something from you again?”

“Can’t I shower my lady with gifts?” His pupils were dilated.

“You can, you absolutely can.” She placed her cup down on a nearby table and went to help him up before taking the bouquet from him. “And I’m not complaining.”

Marinette hugged the bouquet and brought it to her face before lifting her head, a smile on her face. “Thank you again, Adrien.”

Adrien leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I’m glad you like it, Marinette. Red suits you really well.”

“It’s really lovely.” Her cheeks bloomed and she sniffed it once again. “So… what's the reason?”

He brought a hand to his chest.  “My lady, can’t I give you anything without you assuming I’ve an ulterior motive?”

She tilted her head.

“I can't hide anything from you huh?”

She gave him a sly smirk.

He released a short breath of laughter. “I would like to take you out on a date, as Adrien and Marinette.”

Her smirk turned into one of surprise. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that.”

It was his turn to be smug.

“Is this for an event or?”

“Just the two of us having dinner together.”

Marinette looked at the clock. “It’s not today, is it?”

“My lady, I would never.” He placed his hand on the small of her back to pull her in. “I know how important it is for you to have enough time to prepare.”

“Adrien! The flowers!” Her lips curved downwards as their bodies squashed the bouquet a little.

He chuckled, picking the bouquet from her arms and settling it down on the table where her cup sat before his arms rounded her waist, peering at her earnestly. “Is that a no?”

Marinette pulled him down for a kiss before smiling. “It’s a yes. Of course it’s a yes, you silly kitty.”

.

A day had passed since Adrien told her about the dinner date, and Marinette was currently in her home choosing the perfect outfit to wear for it. It’s her dream to date openly with her kitty, masks off. And now that she’s finally going out on a date with Adrien, she had to look her best for this special occasion.

The problem was, she had no idea which outfit was suitable for the date.

“Chaton, what will you be wearing for the date?”

Adrien was currently sitting on her bed admiring her vast creations of apparel as she dug through her wardrobe.

“Why, just a normal suit you’ll wear for dinner,” he smiled, knowing exactly what her dilemma was.

“Not very helpful, Chaton.” Her voice was muffled as she had the top half of her body shoved into the wardrobe to dig deeper. “Have you seen anything suitable from those on the bed?”

“I think any one of them is perfect, my lady,” the smugness on his face grew larger by the second.

“Chaton!” She whipped around and stomped her foot. “I really need some advice here.”

She’s so endearing even when she’s angry, can he get any luckier? “And I’m giving you legitimate advice, anything here is stunning.”

Marinette made a strangled noise. “Okay, fine then. Where are we eating?”

“It’s a secret, Buguinette,” he winked.

“Adrieeen!” She whined. “Okay, okay, calm down Marinette. Just think logically. Your boyfriend loves spoiling you, so it’s reasonable to think he’ll bring you to a nice and classy restaurant…”

She glimpsed at him, and he just smiled.

Marinette groaned. “As dreamy as you are with that smile, it’s not really helping me with my predicament here.”

“Marinette, it’s like I said earlier, any—”

“—one of them is fine,” she finished his sentence. “Yeah yeah, I’m painfully aware.”

She activated her kitty eyes. “May I know the colour of your suit at least? Please, Chaton?”

Adrien was offended. How dare she use his own weapon against him. And it worked so well. It’s no wonder Marinette can never say no.

“N-N—”

“Pleaseee!” She made herself look even cuter than before.

Man, it sucked to be the receiving end of it.

“Oh alright,” he gave up, “I’m wearing black.”

He was tackled onto her bed in an instance. “Yay! Thank you, Chaton! Now I can narrow down the number of outfits to choose from!” She flashed him a genuine smile.

Maybe he should’ve just let loose some facts earlier. Her happiness is his dopamine.

.

They walked through a hotel to get to the restaurant Adrien had in mind. Marinette still had no idea which one it was, but she was definitely right on him wanting to spoil her.

The walk was a long one, but she couldn’t find herself complaining. With no one else around but themselves, it indeed felt like they were in their own mini-world. Their hands were clasped together tightly, with Adrien rubbing his thumb soothingly on the back of her hand. Marinette had never admitted it but she really loved it and found it comforting when Adrien ran circles on her skin. She almost wanted to just push him into a corner and make out for a while given how private the moment felt.

But Adrien’s hand was starting to get clammy for some unknown reason, and she was about to call out to him when they suddenly stopped in front of a square mirror.

They looked so adorable together Marinette honestly wanted to snap a few pictures and keep them as cherished memories. It was their first after all. But before she did that, she directed her attention towards him to wait on him, except he was already looking at her.

“I would like to share a picture of us on my account?”

Oh.

His forehead had beads of sweat. And his hands were still damp.

Oh.

“I don’t see why not?” She dug her purse for something. “My face’s already on your account, no?”

“You are, and the public has been very accepting of our relationship as of late.”

She brought tissues to his face. “Then why are you sweating so much?”

Adrien let her dab the sweat off his face. “I was worried you’ll see it as me trying to give you exposure through my account.”

“Well, seeing that you said any outfit of mine was stunning enough, isn’t it?” She smiled.

He winced when she acknowledged it. Yet, she kept smiling.

“But…?”

“It’s your account,” she booped his nose with her finger. “You decide what goes on it.”

Relief flashed across his face.

“Besides, there’s only so much I can do to get my designs out there.”

“So—”

“Yes, I don’t mind it. And I really really want to keep memories of this night.” She turned both of them towards the mirror. “Just look at us! We look so cute together!”

Adrien laughed as he stepped behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. “As my lady wishes.”

Marinette took out her phone, getting ready to take a few photos. Her hand enclosed his as Adrien bent a little to kiss her temple, and she captured the image of them in the mirror.

She swiped through to find the one which had them both looking the best. “How’s this for your account?”

“You look gorgeous,” he breathed as he placed another kiss on her cheek.

“And you look charming,” she giggled. “Now let’s take cute and silly pictures together!”

Marinette escaped from his arms to stand beside him and posed.

He chuckled. “Buguinette? Our dinner?”

“Yes, I’m hungry too. So hurry up!”

31. Pound it

“Buguinette,” Chat called out.

“Chaton,” Ladybug replied.

He smiled at her attempt to be kittenish.

“The interview with your friend Alya is this Friday,” he detailed.

And she confirmed. “Indeed it is.”

“And I was thinking…” he drawled.

“And you were thinking…” she rephrased.

“Can you formally introduce Alya to me?”

Ladybug blinked in surprise before her smile returned.

“You want to get to know my friends,” she stated.

He nodded. “Indeed I do.”

“I can do that. But…” she hummed.

“But?”

“Why don’t we go on a double date with Alya and Nino?”

Chat tilted his head. “Nino?”

“Alya’s boyfriend and my childhood friend!” She puffed her chest proudly. “I’ve a feeling you’ll be best buds!”

Ladybug suddenly had her back flat on the rooftop, a certain cat had tackled her into lying down and he was rubbing his cheek against hers.

“Thank you, my lady! Thank you!”

She patted his head. “Of course, mon Chaton.”

Chat let her go and hovered above her.

Ladybug brought her hand to his cheek. “Your eyes are sparkling.”

“Of course they are!” He grabbed her wrist and smiled. “I’ll have two new friends at the end of the double date! Two!”

“You so sure,” she chuckled.

He kissed her palm. “They must be as awesome as you are, so yes.”

“Well then, we better finish up with patrol soon!” Ladybug pushed herself up. “So that I can call Alya as soon as we arrive home!”

.

They had collectively decided on a game night at the Agreste mansion. And since Adrien didn’t have the dancing video game Alya and Nino love playing, Alya will be bringing that game over so that they can all play together.

Adrien and Marinette were in charge of providing dinner for them all, and Alya had suggested ordering some delivery. Adrien, aiming to be a good host, wanted to cook but Marinette assured him that calling for delivery would suffice.

Now that preparations for the game night were done, all they had to do was wait for their friends’ arrival. Still, they were taking a while to get here, since it’s a workday after all. Marinette suggested playing some video games to pass time, and they were back in his room again.

Maybe they got bored of playing the same video games. Maybe they got tired of waiting for their friends and were beginning to get restless at their tardiness. Whatever it was, Adrien and Marinette were currently making out on his bed. Their hands grabbed any body part they could get hold of, and their lips wet from all the kissing and biting.

It had started out like any other kiss they had had, until Adrien got cheekier and started nibbling on her lower lip. The mewls she let loose spurred him on and he bit down and pulled. Marinette moaned and released her hold on his neck. Her brows furrowed as he caressed her cheek and tasted his lips, a smirk sitting on his face; warmth burst forth within his chest at what he was able to do to her. She pushed him onto his back to straddle him, her fingers sprawled and glided across his chest, shoulders and neck, before reaching up to play with his hair. Marinette leaned towards his face, leaving butterfly kisses on his forehead, nose, lips, chin, jaw, and finally stopping at his ear. She started licking and grazing her teeth on his ear, giving it a nibble before moving down to his pulse to suck.

Adrien was quick to grab her face and brought her lips back to his before she could leave a mark.

“We’ll have guests over soon, Marinette,” he breathed over her lips.

“You didn’t seem to have that in mind when you bit my lips, Adrien,” she growled and gripped his hair hard. Adrien groaned and Marinette’s tongue traced over his lips before sliding into his mouth. It felt around, eager to roam and discover each and every corner it could reach. Adrien breathlessly drank her onslaught, enjoying her strawberry flavoured lips and the thrill that was coursing through his being. He hummed as his hands clutched onto her hips as tightly as they could, and she licked his lips once more before biting down on his lower lips to pull and suck.

Adrien moaned in approval and Marinette smirked at his reaction. When he finally realised what he had just done, he opened his eyes to see his lover’s face full of smugness. But it didn’t last long as she was flipped onto her back.

“Two can play this game, Marinette,” he grunted and devoured her lips. His hand interlaced with hers, bringing them above her head while the other caressed her cheek. Marinette felt herself trembling and whimpering as he continued to kiss her vehemently and his hands caressed her body as it went down her neck, down the side of her chest, down her waist before travelling under her shirt to brush her ribs tenderly. Adrien’s mouth ghosted over her burning cheek to the side of her face and nipped her ear. She gasped and Adrien pressed his body into hers harder. Marinette felt hot all over, she wrapped her legs around his hips and twisted her core to sit on top of him once again. She wasted no time and went straight for his neck. The desire to one-up each other continued for who knows how long until Marinette’s phone rang.

They sprang apart for Marinette to answer her phone.

“Marinette? Are you not home? We’ve been ringing the bell for over a minute now,” came Alya’s voice.

Marinette was horrified, they got so carried away that they didn’t even realise the doorbell had been ringing that long.

She swallowed hard. “O-Oh! We must’ve f-fallen asleep or something! We’re coming to get you now!”

Hastily, she hung up and pulled Adrien out of the room, almost falling in the process. “It’s Alya! T-They're here!”

Adrien’s eyes grew to the size of saucers and they ran to the front door.

“Uhh,” Nino started, “are we interrupting somethi—”

“No,” Marinette answered before Nino could finish his sentence.

Alya snickered and snapped a photo.

Their hair was a mess, they had their cheeks ablaze, and lips red and swollen. Fierce red marks can be seen on their skins as well.

“Look!” Alya shoved her phone into Marinette’s face.

“I know how I look, don’t show me that,” she covered the screen with her hands and turned around. “Come on in.”

Alya looked at Adrien and smirked. “Don’t worry, Sunshine. I’ll send it to you later.”

Adrien crimsoned.

Marinette showed her friends where the game night would take place before heading to another toilet to tidy up. Adrien used the toilet in his room.

Both of them returned to the room, only to have Alya and Nino challenge them to a showdown.

Marinette knew Alya and Nino have been totally in sync ever since they got together. She wasn’t as surprised about their score as Adrien was; he was really impressed.

When it was their turn, Adrien stood and offered his hand to her. Marinette chuckled and took his hand, moving to the play area hand in hand.

Alya and Nino were shocked that they got a near-perfect score. After their ‘workout’, the four of them sat on the sofa and enjoyed their dinner.

“My little sis has finally found the one,” Nino wiped fake tears away. “Adrien, you’re a mec!”

Adrien beamed at the nickname Nino had given him, and Alya was really glad that Nino liked Adrien enough to call him ‘Mec’.

“Nino look!” Alya showed him the picture Adrien had of them on his account. “Aren’t they adorable?”

“Oh! Marinette, you finally gave him that scarf huh?” Marinette nodded. “See, there's nothing to worry about, Adrien looked like he really loved it, don’t you mec?”

Adrien’s smile faltered a bit, but he nodded nonetheless.

“Nino!” Alya whacked his forearm. “He’s not supposed to know that!” she whispered harshly.

“You’re worried that I wouldn’t like it?” Adrien looked at Marinette. Alya just smacked her forehead and Nino slapped his hand on his mouth.

“Uhh, yeah…” she admitted. “Honestly this was a huge gamble for me because I really didn’t know if scarves are even your kinda stuff.”

She held his hand. “But I’m glad you like it! Your reactions when you first saw it will forever be carved in my memory. And when I saw that you wore it on our first public date, I almost cried,” she laughed a bit.

Adrien placed his hand on the back of her head to bring her towards him, and he pressed his lips to her forehead. “I love it, Marinette, please don’t doubt yourself.” Then he whispered. “I hardly receive things from anyone, so really, I’m delighted I could even get anything from you.”

Marinette gawked at him and tackled. “You’ll be receiving tons from me from now on.”

Alya crossed her arms. “Mhm,” and nodded, “sickeningly sweet.”

“Man, you’re not wrong. I could really get diabetes from this,” Nino acknowledged.

Adrien sat up and Marinette let go of him, both had rosy cheeks, but they were still looking at each other.

“And has anyone scouted you yet, Marinette?” Nino waved to get her attention. “You said something about giving Adrien tons of gifts?”

“Shit. I totally forgot about updating you guys,” she scratched the back of her head. “There was a number and I’ve been discussing with Adrien to see which one is the most suitable before I reply to them.”

Adrien was gleaming and Alya and Nino were frowning but they just looked constipated because they were also delighted by the news she just dropped. And they spent the rest of the night congratulating Marinette and enjoying themselves: playing, eating, and talking.

And Adrien got two new friends.

.

The livestream of the Ladyblog had already started when Ladybug and Chat Noir suddenly dropped down onto the seats reserved for them.

“So you guys were making out and lost track of time?” Alya shot them knowing looks.

Ladybug and Chat Noir regarded each other and saw that their lips were redder than usual. Their cheeks were flaming and their hair was messier as well. They scarlet even more than Alya thought possible.

So much for looking prim and proper.

“Anyway, has my LadyNoir ship finally sailed?”

“If this,” Ladybug signalled to the both of them, “isn’t enough proof then I don’t know what else to tell you, Alya.”

Alya addressed the livestream once again. “Well, there you have it, folks! They’re official now!”

Ladybug beamed. “Wait, that’s it?”

“Wouldn’t you like that?” The sly smirk from before came back onto Alya’s face.

Her cheeks blazed and Chat took Ladybug’s hand to hold and caress, throwing her soft and loving gazes. “My lady.”

Ladybug smiled, remembering that they were in this together. “Alright, any questions you and the viewers of Ladyblog have, we’ll answer them.”

“Well, it was really beautiful to see your relationship grow from your first day till now,” Alya praised. “So, any plans to get married?”

Ladybug chuckled while Chat smiled broadly and answered. “That’s the plan, isn’t it?”

“You hear that, viewers?” Alya squealed. “We’re going to have a miraculous wedding!”

She turned her attention back to them. “Any dates in mind?”

“That’s for us to decide and for you to find out in due time,” Ladybug returned.

Alya’s eyes glowed. “So we’re invited?”

Chat spoke this time. “We’ll see, Alya. We’ll see.”

“You guys are being vague here, is it a yes or a no?” She furrowed her brows.

“Thank you for your service all this while, Alya,” Ladybug added and gave her the best smile she could offer before clapping her hands. “Next question!”

They landed on the top of the Louvre Museum and made themselves comfortable, the interview playing on her bug phone.

“The comment section seems very ecstatic for us,” she grinned.

“I mean, didn’t you see, my lady? We’re ‘so cute together’, we’re ‘couple goals’,” Chat scrolled through the comments and twinkled. “I think they really are.”

“Bien joué ?” Ladybug smiled and brought her fist towards him.

He connected his fist with hers. “Bien joué !”

Chat saw her smirk, but it still didn’t prepare him for Ladybug’s unprompted endearment. He froze for a second before cupping her cheek and deepening the kiss.

.

The next day, a picture of their kiss on top of the Louvre Museum was submitted by an anonymous user to the Ladyblog, and it was the first thing one would see when they accessed the site. Ladybug and Chat Noir were extremely pleased that it was a very flattering image of them both, and they made absolutely sure to download the image for themselves, a reminder of how far they’ve come together.

[minetteenfers]

Lucky Cat - Day 1: Bad Luck (Adrien AUG-reste 2021)

Here is Day 1: Bad Luck of @adrienaugust!

Read, kudo, comment, or bookmark the fic here! (RATED E)

Captain Chat Noir was merely nine years old when he was tossed overboard from his father’s galleon for disobeying orders. Some said that he was born from bad luck and so he was given the name, Chat Noir due to the superstition of black cats. Having a polydactyl black cat on board a vessel was good luck and so he hoped being named after such would bring him some. But no matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed to bring him it.

He sighed and fell back into his wooden chair, bringing his mug of grog to his lips as his good luck charm leaped onto his desk. The sliding of his black cat’s paws along the maps and parchment made him curse. He grabbed the brass candle stick before it could fall to the floor and start a fire on the ship.

“Bastard cat,” Chat Noir cursed and brought his cup to his lips, taking a long drink and cringing at the less than favorable flavor. “God, I cannot wait to get to port, hm?” He scratched beneath his cat’s chin with a smirk. “Ladies, food, drink… supplies and a nice bath. Fuck, what I wouldn’t give for a nice warm bath and a warm bed with a wench in it.”

“What would any of us give, Captain.” Nino, his quartermaster, walked into his quarters to talk to him.

“What say you?” Chat Noir brought his boots down from his desk onto the wood deck and leaned onto his desk, trying to ignore how the sea made their vessel shift and bob. The weighted golden hoops in his ears only did so much to help with his sea sickness.

“We’re arriving at port soon, Captain.” Nino brought his mug of grog to his lips and sat down on Chat Noir’s bed.

“How soon?” Chat Noir ran his fingers behind Plagg’s twitching ears and scratched before a mouse distracted the aloof cat and made him run off. Chat Noir peered up at Nino with interest, finishing his drink.

“Few hours.” Nino shrugged, unsure of how soon they would be there exactly. He could only guess, which Chat Noir had taken into account.

“Gather a log of supplies that need to be replenished until then for me.” Chat Noir gestured for his friend to go away to do his duties.

“Yes, Captain.” Nino nodded and left Chat Noir alone.

Chat Noir sighed and stood up, walking over to a wooden chest to get ready. He crouched down and opened it, taking in the items that filled the inside. From clothing to treasures that he had gathered along the way as a pirate. When he was nine years old Captain Fu had found him floating on a bit of wood in the middle of the ocean. He had saved him and given him the very name he was known by. Of course, tales had broken out as he had aged. None of them pretty.

He was known for pillaging, plundering, and more unpleasantries, but those that truly knew him… which were few… knew that he wasn’t as they said. Yes, he set vessels aflame but only those that had wronged him or those he cared most about, and he had never murdered anyone. He merely would place them on an island, plunder their vessel, and then set it ablaze. Sometimes, he would simply use the element of surprise and take what he needed before leaving. Occasionally, he would tell a simple fantastical story to get what he needed, using empty threats to accomplish it. But he never murdered a man, woman, or child.

He lived by the power of vote as most did within piracy, letting every man have a chance to speak and give their case. Nothing on board was done without putting it through vote and booty was split equally amongst his crew. Most captains would take a higher cut, but he never wanted it. He’d rather stay an equal to an extent, which many did not agree with.

Chat Noir quickly went to work getting ready to go ashore, throwing on an elaborate outfit made from fabulous emerald silks and black fabrics. He rarely dressed up due to the amount of water that sloshed across the deck and along his feet. Most of his men went barefoot and wore a mishmash of clothing depending on what they had scavenged from vessels.

He focused on getting ready, trying to not think about how many more knots they had to travel still to reach the treasure that lied beneath the waves. A treasure that everyone around him was after as well. He sighed and peered up as his quartermaster returned with a log of what they needed for the rest of their journey.

“We are at port, Captain.” Nino nodded and left Chat Noir alone again.

Chat Noir nodded and grabbed his pistol, putting it in place on his holster, and headed to the docks to get off his galleon. A few men stayed on board to keep watch, as they stepped off it. He made his way down the pier, making sure one of his men was tending to the sale of jerky in order to get them some coin.

He hadn’t been to port in so long and all he wanted was a nice bath. A tavern stood off to the right and he headed towards it. But right as he was about to step foot inside, a commotion brought his attention elsewhere.

“Wife for sale! Beautiful and a good lay, she is! A fine wench!”

Chat Noir gritted his teeth, turning around to find a woman with dark hair piled up on top of her head and a dress that had seen better days. She seemed nervous and upset with the way tears streamed down her cheeks and her hands trembled in front of her hips. A loose rope was placed around her neck and the end of it trailed over to her husband. Her eyes were a beautiful blue that reminded him of the sea and something deep inside him drew him towards the auction. He hated practices such as this and usually he kept out of it, but he couldn’t when her saddened gaze locked on his. Her eyes were full of desperation, and he could practically hear her cries for help.

Chat Noir sighed and raised a hand to bid. All around him, men whistled and hollered. They laughed and called her atrocious names. Chat Noir knew it was bad luck to bring a woman on board his vessel, but there was nothing else he could do. He had to save her, had to have her.

He raised his hand again to bid. It took a few more raises before he outbid everyone and secured her as his property. She looked worried and scared as her husband took the mysterious man’s coin and passed him the rope.

“You needn’t do that,” the woman sighed and peered down at her feet.

“Let’s get this off you, m’lady.” Chat Noir took the rope from around her neck, shocking her more.

“I promise to make you happy, sir,” she curtsied, and Chat Noir sighed.

“I don’t wish for your services. What’s your name?” Chat Noir rolled the rope around his elbow and hand before tossing the bundle aside.

“Marinette, sir.” She worried her bottom lip and didn’t meet his eyes.

“Captain Chat Noir,” Chat Noir held his hand out for her.

She placed her hand in his and he bowed to softly kiss along her knuckles. He stood up straight with a cunning smile. A blush fell on her cheeks, and she let her bottom lip go.

“Thank you, Captain Chat Noir.” Marinette bowed slightly and followed him to the tavern.

“Are you hungry?” Chat Noir didn’t peer back at her as he led her into the establishment that he had been headed towards to begin with.

“Famished,” Marinette swallowed hard, taking in the music and women being railed against various surfaces.

Men played cards and drank, while eyeing the wenches around them. She licked her lips and swallowed hard, wondering who exactly she had gotten saved by. If she could even call it that at this point. She was beginning to wonder if her good luck had worn out.

“Do you intend to lie with me?” Marinette swallowed hard as he pulled out a chair for her to sit down.

“No. Did you want for me to?” Chat Noir smirked and winked at her from across the table.

“No, no. I just- I assumed since you bought me as your property…” Marinette hid in her hair and Chat Noir burst out laughing.

“If I wanted a quick fuck, I would grab one of these cheap whores.” Chat Noir raised a hand and swirled it around to gesture to the room. “I actually felt sorry for you, m’lady, or should I call you wench.”

Marinette covered her mouth as she burst out in a sharp giggle. She brought her hand down and licked her lips with a blush, “You are quite crass, Captain Noir.”

“So, I’ve been told. How about some food and drink? Surely, you did say you were famished, did you not?” Chat Noir winked at her before standing up to go to the bar to order them sustenance.

Marinette sat at the table, playing with her skirt and taking in the dirty fabric. Her husband and her hadn’t had much money and he had been selling her in order to pay a debt that he owed. She hadn’t married him for love, but rather because she was expected to. What she didn’t expect was for her husband to sell her off, but it was the way it worked. Was it legal? No, but there was no way to divorce her, so the next best thing was to sell her at port like the rest of stock around her. But for some reason this Captain had chosen to save her, and she wasn’t sure if this was a good omen or not.

She swallowed hard, watching the man walk back to her with a certain way about him. He was stopped along the way by a wench, but as he spoke to her, he kept his eyes locked on Marinette instead. A few moments later and he was on his way back to their table and setting down plates of food and drink.

“Sure you weren’t a wench for a time, Captain?” Marinette teased and giggled, as he smirked and sat down.

“So, maybe I was.” Chat Noir winked at her and picked up a roll to take a bite from it. “And you? What’s your story?”

“I was forced into a loveless marriage and when he needed debts paid… he brought me here to be auctioned with the rest of the lot.” Marinette shrugged and swallowed hard. “You?”

“Doubt I need to share my story with you. I’m sure you’ve heard enough,” Chat Noir scoffed and brought his cup of ale to his lips.

“I actually have not.” Marinette brought a vegetable to her lips.

“Really?” Chat Noir was surprised to say the least that she hadn’t heard of him.

“Nope. Your name isn’t familiar to me, but that might be because my husband tried to keep me from piracy and privateering.” Marinette sighed and fell back against her chair. “So, enlighten me.”

Chat Noir chewed on his bottom lip, realizing that he could actually tell her who he truly was, and the rumors wouldn’t corrupt her like so many others. He stabbed a piece of meat and ate it before he began to tell his story.

“I was tossed off a ship at the age of nine by my father for being disobedient. I probably floated in the ocean for days on a piece of driftwood before an old Chinese man found me. His name was Captain Fu. He took me aboard and as I grew up and learned sailing along with traditional Chinese medicine, I commandeered my own vessel. Of course, I joined the great race to find the lost treasure that is spilled through the Caribbean because what else is a man to do, who has nothing else to live for. No family, no job, no nothing. All I know is sailing and traditional medicine.” Chat Noir poked at the food on his plate.

“So, naturally, all you can do is Captain a vessel,” Marinette nodded and put a piece of meat into her mouth.

“Exactly, m’lady, all I know to do is such. Of course, that means that I also must pillage vessels. I started with a sloop and moved up to a galleon, taking in men who felt useless and giving them something to do with their idle hands besides pleasuring themselves for sport.” Marinette choked on her ale at the last words that fell from his mouth.

“I beg your pardon.” Marinette set her mug down.

“You understood,” Chat Noir winked at her and took a sip from his mug. “Men get lonely at sea. Either you pick a mate to have your way with or you got your hand. Pick wisely. One knows when to shut up and just take it.”

“Again, I hope you’ve gathered that I am not always one to just ‘shut up and take it’, Captain Noir.” Marinette gave him an insulted expression.

“I gathered you weren’t, m’lady. I wasn’t meaning you or any lady that is.” Chat Noir smiled and went back to eating.

“Even a wench?” She stressed the last word with a blush.

“Even a wench,” Chat Noir smiled and froze when he felt fingertips run along his shoulders.

They leaned closer and whispered against his ear, “Would you like to have a go, Captain?”

Chat Noir set down his utensil and peered over his shoulder to smile at the woman, “Not tonight, love, but I see a gentleman over there that is looking for a flower like you.”

She nodded and took off towards a man, who was watching from far away. Chat Noir gave his attention back to Marinette with a warm smile. She was beyond shocked that he hadn’t taken the offer.

“Call me surprised,” Marinette finished her meal.

“What?” Chat Noir raised an eyebrow at her.

“You didn’t take her up on her offer.” Marinette shrugged and picked up her mug.

“I believe I told you if I was looking for a quick fuck I-” Chat Noir was interrupted by the woman across from him.

“Then you would grab one of these cheap whores. I understood quite well, Captain.” Marinette brought her mug to her lips and finished her drink. “But am I not one?”

“No,” Chat Noir shook his head and finished his meal.

“How do you gather?” Marinette crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. “I already said I wouldn’t put up a fight.”

“That doesn’t make you a whore, m’lady.” Chat Noir stood up and grabbed his plate, taking hers as well.

Marinette watched him take the dishes back to the bar, tapping on the side of her mug. He was an odd man with how he could be so crass and unapologetic yet nice at the same time. It confused her. She didn’t know which side was him.

He walked back and held out his arm for her. She stood up and took it, following him out of the tavern. “Now, surely you know the rules of the sea.”

“I’m afraid I do not, Captain.” Marinette sighed, letting him stroll her around the port.

“If I let you on my ship… it’s bad luck and a capital offense to have a woman on board.” Chat Noir cleared his throat and stopped, turning her around to face him.

“So, you’ll have to leave me.” Marinette peered down, realizing what he was saying.

“No, but you’ll need a disguise to board my ship, love.” Chat Noir touched beneath her chin and raised her saddened gaze to his. “We’ll be needing clothes for ya.” He winked at her and watched a smile appear on her lips.

[fenheart87]

Blue Changes

We had a fun little challenge, we picked a prompt and had 3, 15 minute sprints to write something for the prompt. Then 24 hours for light editing to finish sentences if needed, grammar etc. This is my take on the the prompt "Has anyone ever told you just how adorable you are Because you really are." Dedicated to @verfound 🧡

“Marinette, where is my favorite designer at?!” Jagged burst into the studio, Fang trotting happily next to him on her leash and Penny multitasking between her phone call and tablet. Technically he was supposed to be on a plane to New York, but decided to swing by Paris on his way because he had an idea that just could not wait and wanted to check on his unofficial niece anyways. There was only one speed bump in that plan, the studio was completely empty. The chaos of fabric strewn about and pieces half cut with scissors still mid snip definitely screamed someone was working hard or trying to at least, the mannequin with a half-pinned design and ripped fabric seemed to lean toward the latter.

“Looks like she’s not here… Must be taking a break. Penny, why don’t we order from my favorite bakery and make sure something extra special for Marinette. I’m glad we came here before the next stop on tour.” Jagged poked around at the sketches laying in abandon on the desk, some half crumbled on the floor and more stacked on a sketchbook.

“Seems like she is having some massive creators block… We should treat her when we have a break on the tour.” Penny suggested, already on the phone with Tom and trying to insist they would pay for their order.

Some of the sketches were brilliant but had marks of black throughout them, others were completely marked out and you could not even tell what the design was to start with. It hurt to physically see what pain Marinette was going through, most of the ones with the darker markings were of the same style. He could clearly see the thought of Adrien in the suits and matching dresses for Marinette, the anger of the marks showing something had happened or changed. Sighing heavily, Jagged gathered the papers, Fang batting the ones further away with her tail over to her owner. One paper had him blinking in surprise.

“Penn! Pen! Lookie here! D'ya see this?!” jagged shouted, shoving the paper into his assistant’s face, not even minding when she sighed and pushed it to a proper distance. It was a one-of-kind leather jacket and a custom hoodie drawn to match it. Either could be worn seperate or paired together. The colors were a contrast of electric blue and smokey turquoise, the theme was music and snake. Jagged recognized it as a rough sketch due to the lack of color or material notes along the edge that appeared on her finished drafts.

“Why was this crumpled up? It’s a really great idea!” Penny wondered aloud, noticing that the eccentric rockstar she commonly felt like she had to babysit was scheming. “Jagged no, whatever is it the answer is no.”

The door opened and in walked the designer they were looking for, Marinette seemed stressed and a bit run down. Her hair was thrown into a messy bun, one sleeve was pushed higher than the other and her shirt was wrinkled where it was tucked into her pencil skirt. Flip flops clacked along with her steps, another sign she was worn out if the basic shoe was more preferred to her custom made and very comfortable flats. An energy drink dangled from one hand and her design tablet occupied the other. Both guests watched as she made it all the way to her desk without noticing they were there.

“I have no idea what I'm going to do! I don't have anyone that fits that one or the orange one… I could make it a dress but who would wear it?! Ugh! I’m going to fail at this rate and then I won't graduate and I'll never design again, who would want something made by a failure-” Fang chose that moment to nudge her head onto the petite woman’s lap, startling her so bad she screamed and fell out of her chair.

“Well I reckon that I would love to have exclusive rights to all designs made by my favorite niece but we all know that’s not fair to the rest of the world. Now I know you are in a pinch and you’re stuck like a boat in the desert, so you’re going to take a break, spend some time with uncle Jay and make sure that you show poor Fang some love, she was all excited and you just screamed right in her poor face. C’mere my poor baby, Marinette is so mean I know.” Jagged showed the croc in love through pets and scratches. 

“When.. How, why?” Poor Marinette was lost and couldn't believe the rockstar was in her studio when he should've been halfway around the world for the next stop on his tour. 

“Okay, the only thing we’re doing right now is leaving all this behind for a much needed break for food and maybe a nap in your case. Time to relax and stop stressing for a minute." Penny authoritatively stepped in, stacking the papers on the desk, handing Marinette her purse and phone and with the help of Fang scooted the younger woman out the door.

Marinette protested "Wait I need to finish, it has to be done! I can't take a break, I just did!"

"Negative, now it's time for chow, and you need a shower, at your parents then we need to have a little chat. Ladies first!" Jagged gently shoved the designer into the car with cheer, allowing Fang and Penny to enter before him. 

"So my little brilliant niece, we have some great news and a rock and roll deal for you! Can't tell you what is until after you've taken a break though." They grinned as Marinette grumbles as she gave fang the attention she wanted until they pulled up to the bakery.

Getting out of the car first, Marinette sighed at the smell of her parents baking, the smell melting off some stress like butter melting on a fresh from the oven croissant roll. Her stomach grumbled and she opened the door for the other guests, sneaking an excited Fang upstairs to not scare the other customers. Deciding to take a refreshing shower, Marinette went to her bathroom and put on some zen meditation music before getting in the shower. Quick ten minutes later and she was feeling much more alive and hungry. On a whim she grabbed a random outfit that she had made but never worn, pleated plaid skirt with a red checker pattern offset by the off the shoulder fitted top in a burgundy color, and threw it on before joining her guests. 

"Oi looking good! One of yours?" Jagged shouted with his mouth full, causing Penny to smack his arm as a reminder to use manners. 

"Sure is! Never worn it before but decided change can be a good thing and sometimes you have to start the change instead of waiting for it to happen." Grabbing her favorite pastry and a croissant because you can't just smell one and not eat it, she missed the concerned look her adopted guardians shared.

"So your studio was, well, you seem to be having a hard time." Pen tried to be gentle but made a face at her words.

"Yeah… Life is… Changing." Marinette mused, picking at the pastry.

"Marinette, what can Uncle Jay do to help?" Jagged's serious tone drew her gaze and his heart broke at the sight of unshed tears.

"I uhm well. I- That is, we-" With a huff, she calmed down and a look of determination shone on her face. "Adrien asked me out, on a date date in this really elaborate way. I turned him down. I have no idea what I was thinking but when he asked me I was so happy and then all I could think of was blue and how soft its is and it can be so calm or so chaotic and it’s always changing like the ocean but yet it's always the same and there this feeling of calm and I just couldn't say yes."

The quiet settled into a slightly awkward silence, Marinette was ignoring it and Penny was having nonverbal argument with Jagged on what to say next. With an eye roll that spoke louder than her shouting at him, the assistant took the lead once more. Quietly she rose from the chair she was occupying and sat next to the young designer smoothing out the crumpled sketch she had taken from the studio.

"Is this the blue you're talking about?" 

"Yeah… That’s my blue." A gentle smile touched peach lips briefly, blue eyes going soft.

"Is this the skater kid?"

"Skater kid?" Marinette blinked in confusion.

"Nah Pen it's the boat kid."

"He has a name you guys!" Marinette broke down into giggles, looking much more like herself and less like a zombie just waltzing around and going through the motions. "His name is Luka, yes the one who went me skating with Adrien and Kagami, yes the boat kid who has a heart way too big for just his mom and sister. And now me…"

"Sounds like you made a change?" Penny prompted smiling widely.

"A blue one yeah, I did."

"Has anyone ever told you just how adorable you are?" Jagged shouted, picking up the younger woman and swinging her around as she shrieked. 

"Okay Jagged, let's not take over her whole day. We did have a reason to show up here after all." Penny handed the tablet to Marinette after he relinquished his hold. "This is what we're looking at for a surprise concert once we are back here in Paris. There's some issues I'm ironing out but I wanted to see what you think and if you would take lead on the design aspect."

"Wait, lead designer for your show?" Blue bell eyes swiveled between ocean blue and hazel sets, wide with disbelief and building excitement.

"Yup, this tablet is yours by the way. I do ask you to keep just business on it for the show, if you want more traditional sketches that's fine but once it's done it needs to be uploaded on here." Jagged explained, clapping a red clad shoulder.

"Oh you need an opening act? I've got that covered." The sparkle was finally back in her eye to match the mischievous grin.

"I agree with Jagged, are you sure no one has said it before because you really are adorable."

[giuliafc]

The Matchmakers chapter 1

The Matchmakers

by: JuliaFC

Read on: Ao3 || FFN

Paris, 1909. Marinette and Adrien are two 16 year old who live the double life of superheroes as Ladybug and Chat Noir. One morning, they discover that their friend Rose is in in love with Juleka, the sister of her current fiancé, Luka Couffaine. Wanting only the best for their friends, the two heroes decide to play matchmakers. What they discover in the process ends up getting them closer than ever. Will they achieve the impossible and get not one, not two, but three happily ever after?

Betas: KhanOfAllOrcs, Agrestebug, Etoile-Lead-Sama, Rosehealer02, Malauu-Ladynoir, Genxha. Thank you all so much!

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

This story participates in the AU April fic exchange of the Miraculous Fanworks Server. This is for LadyEnna_50 who asked for:

"Something set in a historic context. Adventure maybe a little comedy. Secret identities being revealed." In the tags, she asked for Lovesquare and JuleRose, so there you go, LadyEnna, hope you like it! Crazy, crazy idea you gave me ^-^

oOoOoOoOoOo

Chapter 1 — Of Balconies and… surprises

"Let's see who's the first to the Iron Lady!" Chat Noir started racing around the City with his baton and gave Ladybug a massive smirk.

"You're on!" said Ladybug. The yoyo zipping around and of the baton crashing against the ground regularly were the only sounds echoing in the sleepiness of the city in the first hours of the morning. Although it was mid August, the air was still fresh because the rays of the rising sun hadn't yet managed to warm the dusky atmosphere. A horse from the cart of a junk dealer raised its head as the crystalline laughter of the girl in red polka-dotted costume resounded in the silence when she landed first on the metal structure. "Told you, you haven't got a chance, Chaton!"

"Would never dream to take the victory from a Lady!" Chat Noir landed next to her just seconds later and presented the girl next to him with a yellow rose. "I'm a gentle-cat, after all!"

Ladybug's smirk softened. "So you stopped on the way to pick this up? Oh, Chaton, you're incorrigible. How many times do I need to tell you that I'm in love with someone else?"

"Why, M'lady, this is a yellow rose, not red. It's a symbol of friendship!" He pouted.

She gave him a sly look as she picked the flower from his hand and gave it a good sniff. "Smells lovely, Chat Noir. Thank you." Then she elbowed him in the ribs. "But don't think you can fool me. It's a yellow rose with red tips. It's a symbol of falling in love from friendship." The sheepish glance back she got told the girl that the feline was very well aware of that.

"Uh, well, a young bachelor can hope!"

Ladybug smiled and looked at the view in front of her for a while, but never dropped or gave the boy back his rose. Eventually, she picked up her yoyo, opened the top part up and placed the rose inside.

She observed with vigilant eyes the cart of the junk dealer trotting away from the Champs de Mars just underneath them, and the silhouette of the lamplighter slowly turning off all the lampposts around.

"You know you don't need these tricks, Chat Noir. You're my best friend and I really do love you. Just… not in a romantic way." She patted the metal structure they were sitting on fondly. "I will miss this when it's taken down. When are they starting the works, Chaton?"

He gave her a smile. "You don't know the latest news, Ladybug? They actually decided to keep it."

She turned to him and looked at him with surprise. "You're joking?"

"Nah. They decided to place the radiotelegraph station permanently on the third floor. Not that people stopped complaining." He huffed. "Artists really hate it. Guy de Maupassant will be turning in his grave at the news, God bless his soul. He kept going on and on about how it outshines the classic elegance of the city. Have you heard that he had his meals in the café at the bottom of the tower because it was the only place where he couldn't see it 'ruining his view'?"

"Pffffft, really?" The girl snorted in her laughter. She patted the metal structure fondly. "Well, I like it. Sod the artists!"

The rising sun was tinting the darkness of the sky in shades of indigo and gold as the lights of the lampposts were slowly being switched off everywhere and the sky lit up. Chat Noir sighed, his gaze getting lost in the skyline, the fresh breeze blowing on top of the tower gently messing his hair. "I like it too. And they would also like it if they saw this view. But I'm glad nobody else can see this. It's only for us; and for the birds."

Ladybug turned to look at his partner, his blond mane shining almost like a halo in the backlight. "Yes, our own private view of inspiration."

Chat Noir smirked, invading her personal space to wiggle his eyebrows in her face. "I wonder why M'lady is not reading the newspapers, though…"

She 'hmph'ed. "I'm a busy girl in my civilian life, Chaton. I don't have the time to read silly gossip."

"Especially when people criticise your choice of costume, right?" He poked her and she faked-glared at him.

"That Lila Rossi. Just because she started modeling for the Agreste fashion brand, she thinks she's an expert in fashion now. How dare she insult my outfit? I saved Paris from her akumatised self twice already, and her outfits as an akuma victim were... atrocious!" She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, her eyebrows furrowing in an irritated frown. "What's wrong with my outfit, anyway? I need to be comfortable when I'm fighting akumas, I can't go around wearing bustiers and wide gowns!"

She looked down at the costume that wrapped around her body. Her top was like a second skin on her bosom starting from her neck, covering her up to her hands, but then flew into a long sleeved flap collar knee-length dress, all red with black polka dots and black accents. She wore a belt at her waist and covered her legs with a pair of red and polka dotted bloomers with black accents and skin-tight boots to cover her calves and feet. It was practical, it was comfortable, and it was decent. That Lila compared it to a bathing suit. How dare she!

Chat Noir sniggered. "Someone doesn't sound very happy about her comments, huh?" He gave her an amused grin when she shot him a second glare. "But you shouldn't be bothered by her opinion, Buginette. You know that, in my eyes, your outfit is the best in the whole world, because you are in it."

She smiled softly at him and rested her head on his shoulder. He gasped, but didn't move. In fact, soon his arm circled her shoulder and moved her a little closer as his cheek rested gingerly on the top of her head. She smelled of baked goods and wildflowers. He breathed in such an intoxicating scent and sighed happily.

It was only after a while that Ladybug shook herself out of her self induced réverie and moved to look at him. "Shall we do a last round of patrol before heading home?"

"You're on!" He smiled and as the girl started zipping her yoyo around, he gladly followed her.

They flew around different streets and neighbourhoods of Paris and everything seemed to be in order. The only excitement they had was helping a ginger cat come down a tree. So they were nearly going to end their round of patrol, when they passed in front of a big villa in the neighbourhood right behind the tower, a little out of the way from the Seine. Chat Noir saw Ladybug look at one of the balconies and freeze on the spot, her body stiffening as she lost control of her yoyo. He gave a push to his baton and dove down, managing to reach her and grab her in his arms before she could hurt herself and landed in an alley nearby.

"Wowow, M'lady, be careful, you nearly slammed your beautiful face against that chimney!" He took a deep breath to calm down and let the adrenaline rush wash off his body. "What did you see, is there an akuma?" He finally let go of her and she used her yoyo to pull herself up to a rooftop. She hid behind a chimney there and beckoned to him to do the same. He did as he was told and peeked curiously to understand what had caused such a reaction on his Lady.

"What am I looking at?" he said scratching his cheek.

Ladybug sighed. "That's the Lavillant villa. Since you said you read the news, you should know that they've been in every newspaper lately."

"Yes, I know," he said thoughtfully. "Because of the engagement. Why are we snooping at their residence?"

"Look!" She pointed at a balcony on the second floor of the mansion. Chat Noir squirmed his eyes to really pay attention to what she was pointing at and when he saw it, he gasped. "There, now you see it!" exclaimed Ladybug.

"Is that Rose Lavillant?" whispered the feline.

Ladybug nodded. "Yep, that's Rose. And the other girl is—"

"Juleka Couffaine!" He paused significantly. "Uh, it doesn't feel normal to see two girls kissing that way, especially when one is engaged," he mused, "and the other one is the sister of her fiancé…"

"I can't believe it. I knew that Rose didn't look happy, but I didn't expect her to… be…"

"In love with her future sister-in-law, you mean?" Chat Noir's voice still sounded stunned.

"Aha." Ladybug sighed and turned around, her cheeks dusting in pink because the two girls were getting more steamy with their kissing, and she was starting to feel bad about snooping. She saw that Chat Noir was STILL looking, so she grabbed him by his belt and moved him out of the view.

"Uh, you're such a killjoy, M'lady…"

She glared at him. "Chaton!"

"Okay, okay, sorry, I shouldn't have kept looking." He put a hand on his nape. "But you must admit that two girls kissing each other are the cat's meow… and they are doing it right in the open and, you know, a gentlecat's dream is—'' He stopped because Ladybug gave him a firm elbow in the ribs.

"A gentleman should be looking away! And may I remind you that it's not even five in the morning? They don't expect to have an audience!"

He sighed. "Okay, okay, I won't keep looking."

"You better!" She slid down and sat on the rooftop, resting her back against the chimney behind her. "So what are we going to do about it? I fear that the whole situation could become a real akuma magnet."

"Yeah… I'm sorry for Luka," mumbled Chat Noir under his breath. "I know he doesn't love her, but still… having competition in your own home isn't fun."

Ladybug looked at him in surprise. "You know Luka Couffaine?"

Worry filled his eyes, but he sighed and slouched his shoulders. "You could say I do, yeah. I don't think it would compromise my identity if I say that I'm in his circle of friends."

"Oh wow." She looked a bit startled. "I must have come across your civilian self sometimes, then, because I'm in Rose's circle of friends."

He looked at her funny. "She only knows and invites to her parties half of Paris… I'm so not surprised that you know her. Between her and Chloé Bourgeois, I think they know the whole city."

She looked down thoughtfully and pulled her legs close to her chest, hugging her knees. "I had noticed lately that her smiles weren't reaching her eyes and that she didn't laugh as genuinely as she always did anymore, but I would never have expected her situation to be so messed up." She sighed. "I'm really sorry for her. It must not be easy to have the one you love in front of your very eyes every day and have to pretend that instead, you love her brother."

Chat Noir's gaze locked into hers as she said that and the sadness and empathy she read in his green cat-like orbs caught her unprepared and made her heart skip a beat. "Yeah, it's terrible." He let out a big sigh. "I mean, not the arranged marriage; that's normal unfortunately." He broke eye contact and mirrored her pose, pulling up his legs and hugging his knees, his gaze getting lost in the endless view of the rooftops of the city of Light. "I did tell you that my father promised me in marriage, didn't I? I don't love her; I love you, M'lady. But I must pretend in public that I do. It's not that hard once you get used to it."

"I'm so sorry, Chat Noir." She put a gloved hand on his shoulder and placed a kiss on the top of his forehead. The intensity in his eyes when their gazes met made her feel weak in her knees.

"Rose is a nice girl, though," he said eventually. "I like her; she always has a kind word for everyone. I am sorry that she's not happy, don't get me wrong."

"Then we need to do something about it." Ladybug's frown was very determined as she slammed one of her fists on the palm of the other hand.

Chat Noir sat legs crossed and looked up at her. "Okay! So… what's your plan?"

"Still not sure, but I'll find a way. You're with me, partner?" She showed him her fist to bump.

His smile brightened. "To the moon and back, as always, M'lady. Operation ‘matchmakers’?" And then he fist bumped with her.

"Good idea! Pound it?" she said, a determined gleam to her eyes as she smirked at him.

"Pound it!" Then he looked at the position of the sun and his smile faded. "Now it's better if I head home, or someone may notice my absence and I could get in trouble. See you next Wednesday, same rooftop?"

"Unless there's an akuma attack!" she retorted.

"Purrfect! See you then, LB!" And that said, he extended his baton and jumped high in the sky with a little pirouette.

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

Author's Note:

Hi everyone!

This, as you may have read in the introduction note, is my effort for the AU April exchange of the Fanworks server. I hope that LadyEnna_50 likes it, because the good stuff is yet to come.

This story took me an awful amount of research to get ready. I actually started writing it last night, but I had the idea for it right after I got my assignment, at the beginning of the month. But I had been asked to put historical references and… well, that needs research. And Moi because it's Moi… LOVES doing research, but is also VERY anal about her research. I think I've become an expert of the first decade of the 20th century by now.

As always, please drop me a line and review. The more reviews I see the more the story goes high on my updating list, because I feel I'd let down more people if I wait. Worry not: I love all my stories so I will update them all eventually. But surely the ones with more reviews take priority for me. So… you know the drill. You review. I update! ^-^

I hope to update as soon as possible anyway, but I want to focus on "Caught in the Loop" and "When Magic Fails" after this, and of course "Stuck in a Cabin"!. I will come back here very soon! Please subscribe to know when the next chapter will be out.

If you read this and you’re not part of our wonderful Discord server already, but you enjoy reading, writing and talking about Miraculous, please join our Discord server, Miraculous Fanworks (for people on FFN, discord dot gg slash mlfanworks). See you there soon.

[xhanisai]

Disconsolate

Read on AO3 and FFN

A/N: ...you bet your ass I'm back not too long later lel~ I recently hit 3000+ followers on tumblr surprisingly (smh bad decision making you lot s m h) so here is my first gift? . . . ~(x)~

Grey? Windy? Rainy? Perfect. Marinette thanked the higher deities for once as she trudged her way to school, adorned in a stylistic but waterproof black jacket and a cheap umbrella in one hand. The other hand crept into her clutch, feeling Tikki's hand wrap around a finger to provide comfort. "Everything will be okay, Marinette," The little Goddess whispered supportively, squeezing the lone finger when she didn't receive a reply in response. The kwami understood the girl's turmoil; it has been a mere week after... After that event. She never voiced it out loud but Tikki was more than aware that this is the first time that Marinette has actually looked at the sky. The teen didn't need words to express her disdain for its usual, baby blue colour. Tikki squeezed the finger one last time till they made it to the school building. 

~(x)~

"Girl? Are you trying out a new trend or something?" Alya's question snapped the raven haired girl out of her daze, fist slipping away from its original place in supporting the side of her head as she leaned against it. Caramel coloured digits pinched the grey fabric of Marinette's turtleneck sweater and hazel eyes twinkled with curiousity. 'Heh- curious like a cat, he'd have appreciated that thought...' Mari almost smiled. "New trend?" She finally asked. Conveniently, Mme. Bustier popped out of the class for who knows what so the rest of the class decided to chatter in her absence. "Yeah, what's with the grey? You're usually a black, white and pink sort of girl, no?" Then, a sudden glint of mischievousness glittered in Alya's orbs as she leaned forward to mock whisper in Marinette's ear. "Or- is this another plan to impress Adrien? Hm~?" She cackled as Marinette used a finger to push her back by the forehead, an unimpressed pout on the smaller girl's lips. "Not this time," Marinette let out a little sigh, hoping that no one caught her exhaustiveness but she might as well have been wishing that pigs could fly. Her best friend and the two boys at front noted for the umpteenth time how knackered she was. "I just don't like wearing white anymore..." Adrien, the ever loving eavesdropper, cocked his head in confusion and then asked: "Is it because of how easily it can stain?" He was met with a surprised jolt from the baker girl instead. She blinked a few times before nodding along. Though, it seemed like she was using his question as an excuse instead... "Really? That didn't stop you before." Alya giggled. "You wore that pretty white blouse when we went paintballing, that white jacket at the trip to that muddy farm, that beautiful dress- which you need to teach me how to make- to the chocolate factory. I could go on!" The boys hummed in agreement. "Well...it's going to sound silly but- I- erm, I don't really like the colour anymore." Marinette's downcast eyes trailed to her fingers which was clutching the desk in an iron grip. The trio took that as a sign to drop the subject since it's clear that they've hit a nerve. Feeling her panic rise inside, Marinette excused herself to the restroom speedily with Alya hot at her heels. Adrien couldn't help but feel useless and shitty right now. "I wish she'd tell us what's going on so that we can help..." The model exhaled and dropped his upper half against his desk, itching to dart out of the room and bring Marinette back in his arms. "Maybe she's just going through an emo phase?" Nino's unhelpful quip was met with a slap behind the head from his baffled friend. "Okay! Sheesh- why'd ya gotta hit me so hard dude!?" ~(x)~ Having seen many strange things in her life, especially since the dawn of akumas, it was hard to surprise Sabine. Yet, something as simple as this grated on her maternal urges. The bin in Marinette's room was filled to the brim with content. Content that's not rubbish. Sabine spotted rolls and rolls of fabric, scattered rhinestones and faux gems, cluttered pens and pencils and many more things. What stood out was that they all ranged from different shades of blue to white. The woman narrowed her eyes in confusion before concluding that Marinette may have mistaken her rubbish bin as her fabric bin again, taking all the content out and arranged them as neatly as possible on the chaise. She'll have a talk with Marinette once she's back from school, hopefully. Sabine may be a busy woman but she can always tell whenever her daughter is feeling low or acting out of character. A couple of hours later, she and her husband was hastening through an emergency catering order for some event, much to Sabine's dismay. A few more hours after that, it was past midnight and her daughter was sound asleep. Just as Sabine was about to leave Marinette's bedroom after checking up on her and kissing her forehead, her eyes narrowed at the bin again. The blue and white fabric and stationary she fished out was back in there again. ~(x)~ "Eh!? Where did your beautiful blue eyes go, girl!?" Alya's squawks in the middle of the park interrupted Adrien's and Nino's conversation and they both shot their head forward to see the girl tugging along a shorter one whilst leaning into her face at the same time. Adrien jogged towards the girls, leaving Nino to look after the picnic. The model couldn't believe his eyes. The sweet, soft, baby blues in Marinette's orbs were replaced with a dark, brownish grey pair. Although it suited her naturally, it hid her face more rather than making them as striking as the blue. The first thing Adrien would see whenever he saw Marinette was her charming eyes; it feels like he's searching for her now instead. "I'm just trying out new contacts. They looked kinda cool, don't you think?" She gave a little twirl, the skirt of her dress flared modestly but prettily in colour that could rival buttercups. 'That outfit would have been complete if she wasn't hiding her real eyes...' Adrien mused to himself sadly. No matter how beautiful she looked, Marinette simply didn't look as fleshed out and vibrant with eyes like that. Or maybe it was the fake, polite smile she had plastered on her face. "Meh- I personally love the blue, you have the prettiest eye colour I've ever seen," Alya made way to Nino, not aware of the way Marinette's smile dropped. "I'd have liked to see you with golden brown, like Nino's! Or maybe green, like Adrien's," The blogger gave a sly wink and then chuckled along with her boyfriend when Marinette scoffed and Adrien scratched his head in confusion. "Is she indirectly trying to say that it doesn't suit me?" The designer directed her pout at Adrien. He would have happily fought a thousand warriors to make her smile or maybe kick Lila off the roof a few dozen times. He didn't want to lie however. "I think she just misses the usual colour, Marinette," The golden haired teen smiled, letting his fingers brush Marinette's fringe aside gently so that her eyes aren't as shadowed. "You do look more like your maman with grey eyes," His fingers now lingered on her cheekbone. Marinette's heart hammered against her chest and butterflies erupted in her stomach. She internally prayed that her cheeks didn't colour, unaware that Adrien was hoping the same for himself. "B-But?" Marinette tilted her head slightly till the boy was fully cupping her face. He unconsciously let his thumb stroke the soft, supple skin a few times. "I miss your blue eyes too, they remind me of the sky," Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Marinette pulled out of his hold, biting her bottom lip with a dark, ugly emotion swimming through the contacts, glowering at the clear, azure sky. "Marinette? Are you okay?" Adrien reached forward again, hoping to catch her hand and apologise but the girl quickly nodded her head and forced a smile back on her face. He really can't stand that smile. "Yeah, I'm fine, just tired. Let's get to Alya and Nino before they abandon us to make out behind a tree or something again," She didn't wait for his answer and darted to their friends. She might as well have slapped him and that would have stung much less. Adrien's eyes shimmered sadly, making way to the trio. As he mingled and chatted with them, he kept a careful eye on Marinette. He noted her subdued actions. He noted her watered down expressions. He noted her fake smiles. He vowed to get to the bottom of it. He'll do anything to make her feel happy again. ~(x)~ Ladybug stared at her reflection with disgust. The moonless, pitch black sky made her figure seem sleeker and mysterious. The golden lights from nearby buildings and street lamps gave an illusion of glitter in her hair. The chill of the summer wind pinkened her sensitive lips into a plump, kissable colour. Yet all that Ladybug could do was grimace at her reflection at a nearby window on the roof she was perched on and claw at her cheek with one hand. White skin. Blue eyes. White skin. Blue eyes. White skin. Blue eyes- "Buginette?" The sound of Chat Noir's voice brought the heroine back to reality like gasp of fresh air. She immediately whisked her body around to face him, drinking in the sight of her beloved partner. Tan skin. Green eyes. Tan skin. Green eyes. Tan skin. Green eyes. "Why were you clawing at your face like that, My Lady?" He was suddenly close, grasping her hand away from her cheek which was reddened from all the scratching. He scowled at the marks, using his other hand to rub them away. A notion that reminded her of another green eyed, tan skinned boy. "I was just thinking..." She lied. Ladybug pretended to ignore the irritated twitch of Noir's cat ears and the snap of his tail slashing against the roof tiles. The teen clad in black squeezed her hand firmly; a body gesture she's come to recognise after so long. He's not letting her go. "I've been watching you for the past few minutes, Bug," Though his tone was smooth, his eyes were acidic. "Muttering about something alongside of 'disgusting'...?" He brought her hand to his lips, kissing the inside of her wrist but never leaving the appendage. His next few words were mumbled against the skin. "I hope you weren't talking about yourself..." Ladybug wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to tell him everything. Of how a sole, childish mistake of hers... Cost them everything. Including him. Especially him. But she can't. "I wasn't, silly Chaton," This time, when she leaned into his touch and delivered a small smile, Chat Noir was reminded of his wonderful classmate. The two most important women in his life are suffering and they're not letting him in to help. It really pissed him off. "The truth, please," He breathed against her wrist, digging his other hand through her hair. One ribbon came undone and fluttered away with the breeze as his claws combed through the inky tendrils. The other ribbon joined its sister without much prompting- perhaps obeying the wishes of the miraculous holders and let the hair fall free. Chat Noir fell in love all over again. Ladybug never wanted to cry more now than ever. She couldn't stand seeing such affection in his eyes, knowing that it brought him to his doom at one point in a future. A future that she's prevented. A future that could still happen. "I just really, really hate the colour blue." Tears sprang out of her eyes without permission, forcing her to hide her face into Chat's chest and cry silently. The boy pushed away his disorientation and questions, arms encasing her against him as if he's protecting her. His chin rested on Ladybug's head as he squeezed her tight, hoping that it comforted her even if it was just a smidge. Because it's more help he's done today for the girls than he's done for the past week. That night, patrol was cancelled. Ladybug slipped away from his arms with a quiet goodbye, tracing the brow of his mask with her thumb and melancholy written all over her face. She swung away without another word. Chat Noir was left alone. Until, a familiar ribbon swept through the breeze and landed on his shoulder. With a gentleness that juxtaposed his deadly claws, the boy collected the magical fabric with his fingers, twirling it absentmindedly. Noir brought the ribbon to his lips, kissing it as lightly as if it's made out of glass. Suddenly, clarity hit him like a ton of bricks. His eyes dilated as every single puzzle piece finally clicked in his mind. Every interaction, every presence, every feeling, every smile, all made sense! "Marinette..." ~(x)~ She knew that this was wrong. That this was dangerous. She knew exactly what the consequences were in the future. Again, her dilemma was kicked away by another delectable kiss. God, she was so selfish! The cat didn't care though. Chat Noir parted her lips with his once more, relishing the taste of her bruised, swollen but sweet lips, tracing the rims with his tongue before slipping it inside. His gloved hands explored her torso modestly but lovingly, in a dance that they've tangoed too many times to count. Marinette's hair was loose and fanned against her pillow. The girl in question was clad in her pyjamas whilst the boy straddled her in his armour. His hands were clasping hers one more time as they parted for a brief moment and tilted their heads ever so slightly for a better angle before resuming back into their kiss. It was like every teen's deepest, darkest dreams. To have their loved one sneak into their bed and kiss them senseless till the early morning. To have sweet nothings whispered into their ear whilst surrounded by their arms. To have their necks marked with memories and promises and have it tingle throughout the rest of the day whilst hiding the evidence with a scarf. Marinette is not an ordinary teen. Neither is Chat Noir. Reality and logic came storming back into her mind, forcing Marinette to pull away from the kiss. Chat kissed his teeth in disapproval before deciding to target her shoulder as she lectures them about their duties for the millionth time. He was getting real sick of that crap. His annoyance was indisputable from the numerous love bites he's left on her body. "Chat...please...we shouldn't..." Marinette gasped out as the boy peppered her with kisses. "Why?" His lips were trailing the shell of her ear now. "Why do you always try and push me away, My Lady?" Her gasps were now more pronounced as Chat skimmed his teeth against the lobe gingerly. "I just want to make you happy..." His voice was barely above a whisper now. Clearing her throat and willing her heart to calm down, Marinette propped herself up on her elbows and flashed a look at Chat. Her 'Business means business' face which Chat has dubbed it as. The cat boy merely sat up, still having her pinned on the bed and had both her hands in his. This time, Tikki joined the duo from her hiding space, plopping herself on top of Marinette's shoulder. "It's bad enough that we're hiding all of this from Master Fu," Tikki began. She wasn't exactly reprimanding them but she also wasn't fond of the affair either. "But the fact that you know each others identities is unsafe-" "Tikki!" Marinette cut the Goddess off with a hiss. Chat Noir couldn't believe his ears and he leaned forward, hope bubbling in his eyes. "I knew it...I knew you found out," A broken laugh escaped him as he kissed her hands repeatedly. "You've been flashing those eyes at me...at civilian me, because you know! You've lingered closer to me...you, oh my God- I knew I wasn't going crazy," He babbled so happily that Marinette couldn't help the guilt that weighed heavier in her stomach. Were they this happy in the other future before the incident? She wondered what it was like to be ignorant of the ice cold horror that was waiting to engulf them all. "Tikki's right, Minou. It's too dangerous," Hurt and bewilderment flashed on Chat's face and his grip tightened on her hands. "I love you so much...I can't bear to see you hurt," Tears rolled down his cheeks and hers followed suit. "Are we not allowed to be happy?" He sniffed. Chat lowered his forehead on hers, eyes scrunched close to keep the tears away but it was no use. "This isn't fair..." "I know...I know," Tikki felt her heart shatter too, cursing Le Papillon for depriving two of the most beautiful souls of a future filled with happiness. It just wasn't fucking fair. "Say my name...please...please Marinette..." He uttered her name over and over again, like a prayer. Chat's hands cupped her cheeks, eyes begging for her to spill. She'd do anything to get rid of that sadness in his eyes. "Adrien," Marinette breathed and cried so beautifully when the boy detransformed immediately. The smooth, cool surface of his gloves was now warm flesh cradling her burning skin. The heat of his body on hers increased by a thousand and comforted her frame. His cat like eyes were naturally back to human but familiar green eyes. No more secrets. "One more night...please..." Adrien didn't dare to open his eyes now, wrapping his arms around her body and ducking his face into the crook of her neck. Marinette sent a pleading look to the kwamis, eyes shimmering with more tears to shed. Tikki and Plagg gave her a smile before making their way to the Goddess' hiding spot. "Watch over my kid," The being of destruction purred. Adrien took that as a sign to sit back up, gobsmacked that their last selfish wish was being granted. He let out another broken chuckle, matching Marinette's heartbroken smile. "I love you," He whispered and then connected his lips with hers. "I'll never stop loving you," He pushed her back down on the bed and kissed harder. "I'll wait for you forever, always," She believed him. ~(x)~ He's always believed that he's someone who wouldn't raise their voice, no matter what. After all, he did inherit his Father's threatening, ice chilling, tone which he only uses to manipulate someone into doing something (i.e. getting corrupted rich men off his back, scaring Lila away from tormenting his Marinette, etc). He's been wrong before. He's definitely wrong now. Seeing a doppelganger of himself pop out of the blue in a stark white uniform with unsettling blue eyes and an expressionless face was already a major shock to his system. Seeing the way Marinette froze up on the spot and then collapse on her knees at the sight of him was another. He had to get them out of here and transform! "I told you...we could fix it all if you'd just give me... . . . YOUR MIRACULOUS!" ~(x)~ It took them twenty-four hours to defeat this akuma. The akuma itself was just a poor, little child who was berated by his peers for being scared of something. So, he in turn brought out the scariest thing that everyone's seen to life so that they could understand his pain. Not only did they have to hire Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee (a risk that they had to take), they also had to bring out Viperion, Ryuuko, Pegasus, Roi Singh and nominate the rest of their classmates to pair with the zodiac miraculouses. The battle was gruesome and messy with everyone else's standard fears. Chat Blanc, his name learnt through Ladybug's petrified rambles, took the icing on the cake. The white cat was loaded with infinite destruction and managed to wipe out the whole team save for Chat Noir and Ladybug. Ladybug has never hesitated when it came to fighting akumas and sentients- Chat Blanc was the exception. Thus, it ruined the dynamic of the team and sent thousands of innocents to their demise as the wild cat killed everything in his sight. It took twenty detransformations, eighteen passionate yet desperate kisses after being separated so long from their break-up, ten begging prayers and three tear-streaked faces till Ladybug finally listened to Chat Noir and got her head sorted in the game. Playing herself as bait as her civilian form, Marinette managed to catch Chat Blanc's attention, making him an easy target to cataclysm before that monster could DARE to touch his Princess. One cleansing light later, everything was back to normal. ~(x)~ "I'm sorry, Marinette, Adrien," The old guardian's grave words felt like a punch into the duo's guts. This was it. They were going to lose their miraculouses. Marinette wasn't surprised- it was her fault after all. This doesn't mean that Adrien should be punished as well! He did nothing wrong- "I'm sorry for not preparing and training you both properly," Fu's self-deprecating tone clicked the boy and girl back into reality and they gaped when they saw that he didn't make a move to take back the miraculous boxes. "I-I thought...that you'd take them away..." Marinette spoke bravely. She was met with a kind smile from the old man instead who shook his head and beckoned her and Adrien to slip the jewellery on without hesitation. His brown eyes crinkled with delight as they rejoiced with their kwamis. "But...why?" Adrien whispered, tempting to pinch himself because he's never this lucky. "We've been hiding in secrecy for so long...you said you'd take our miraculous away if we...told each other..." "Yes, a terrible decision from a man who made terrible choices in the past." Fu sighed. "I've noticed when you've started to suspect, Adrien," The blonde in question froze in his seat. "I knew that a reveal was inevitable sooner or later considering how close you both are in and out of the mask...in all combinations," The guardian smirked at the way the two stiffened from his choice of words. Clearly they weren't as sneaky as they thought when Marinette and Chat Noir had their...moments. "I also noticed how off you were when Bunnix took you away, Marinette," Adrien instinctively clasped her hand with his, hoping he'd provide her with some warmth. It took a while but he managed to coax out of her of what happened and soon, everything made sense. With the help of their kwamis, he managed to get rid of the guilt out of her system because honestly, she did NOTHING wrong. "You two are the only ones fit of handling the mantle of the Ladybug and Black Cat. You've defeated a being capable of infinite destruction, twice in your case Marinette. You have both grown stronger with the knowledge of each others identities and have gained such strong loyalty from not only Tikki and Plagg but also all the other kwamis. I am so sorry for burdening you both with secrecy but believe me, I only had the best intentions. Will you forgive me?" Marinette and Adrien were crying with joy now, the latter blowing his nose into a handkerchief much to Plagg's disgust, causing everyone else in the room to laugh. Finally, their souls seemed lighter than ever. ~(x)~ "Oh? That's an interesting choice of colour today," Adrien laughed, not wasting any time to give Marinette a twirl so that the skirt of the dress flared like a blooming flower. The girl giggled before landing on his chest and brought him into an embrace. The model hummed happily, kissing the crown of her head with a blush. He'll never get enough of Marinette and the way she gets his heart racing. "I think it's about time I prove to Nino that I'm not going through an emo phase." Marinette pulled her head away from Adrien's chest to stick her tongue out at the DJ. The bespeckled boy let out a mock scoff and retorted with: "It's either that or a Chat Noir phase! Take your pick!" "Fine- emo phase it is." Marinette sighed dramatically, smirking at Adrien's protests as she bounced towards Nino and Alya. She didn't get far as her partner swept her away in his arms, bridal style, making way to their friends despite her shrieks. "Ew. They're gonna be THAT couple. Alya. Bleach my eyes," Nino received a flick on the nose instead from his girlfriend who was busy taking millions of photos for her 'adrinette' album. "After all that slow burning, months of pining, I expect nothing less of my children," Alya harrumphed and then sped towards Marinette to see her latest dress up close. Judging from the way she squealed and the next ten million pictures she took, Alya loved the garment. "I could make you one?" Marinette offered. She tried to get down to her feet but Adrien wouldn't budge, only clutching her closer to him as he whistled innocently. He could be so clingy sometimes! "Me? No way! I can never pull it off like you do! That cool gradient of blue and white and those blue ribbons and SHOES! Ugh Marinette- you're just so fucking pretty, marry me already!" Alya playfully clasped her hands with Marinette's, both girls enjoying the way Adrien's eyebrow twitched at their over-affectionate actions. "Haha- no. I'm not sharing my girl," "Haven't you heard, Adrien? It's hoes before bros." Marinette finally jumped out of his arms which loosened from bafflement and skipped away with Alya hooked in one arm. Nino cackled when Adrien finally came to, muttering about how girls will be the death of him as he made way to the trio. It feels like it's been years since they've had a picnic at this spot in the park. Marinette couldn't help but sigh blissfully. This whole month has been one heck of a rollercoaster. Now? She's got the love of her life and kick-ass but adorable partner lying on her lap with her fingers curling through his blonde locks. Master Fu has stepped up as a mentor for both her and Adrien (although going through numerous locations to ensure his safety was a pain and a half). "The sky's so pretty," Adrien murmured, bringing Marinette back out of her daydreams. She blinked owlishly at him a few times before raising a brow. "How can you see the sky if you're looking at me?" "No, I'm looking at the sky," His hand suddenly reached up, fondling the skin below her eye and his thumb stroked the smooth arch of her brow. "See?" He then leaned up, pulling her in for a soft kiss before lying back down with a content smile, regardless of the way Marinette's face exploded in red. "OH MY GOD THAT IS CHEESY! I BET YOU ALYA, THEY'LL RUN AWAY TO ENGLAND AND GET MARRIED AT SIXTEEN! I BET YOU FIFTY EUROS!" "Top ten reasons to why I should hit Nino has now been updated to top twenty, note that down please Cesaire?" The model growled whilst everyone else giggled. Marinette smiled at her love and then smiled at the sky. White and blue isn't so bad after all... . . . ~(x)~ A/N: It's almost six in the morning, I have to get to class in three hours. Fuck. I'll spellcheck and all that stuff tomorrow. Thank you for reading!

[gentlemanoftimetravel]

Mos miraculous prompt #4

The Liar Duo 3

Beginning Previous Next

Marinette groaned and buried her head in her arms. How did that happen? Bad enough that Félix knew her secret but now Chloé. Tikki will so gonna kill her.

“Noooo ... really? Wait! Really?! You’re ... REALLY?!” Chloé’s squeals.

Marinette looked up, she sees the excitement in Chloé’s eyes, her unspoken questions, her admiration towards her. She groaned again and buried her head in her arms.

She gets startled by a really loud snicker. Once again she looked up. But this time Félix is the one interrupting her inner turmoil. His snickering turned into a full hearted laugh.

“Oh Netta, you should see your own expression right now. That is glorious! Thank you Chloé! I didn’t get to see her face like that very often.”

“You’re not helping Fé!” Marinette said with a pained expression.

“But this is so worth it!” he replied with a wide grin.

“I hate to interrupt your lovely bickering but I have like so many questions! Marinette may I ...” Chloé tried to speak up.

“Not here in the open area Chloé. I don’t need a third person know about my secret identity. Two are already two too much. After dinner let us go to my house, it’s always easier talking about delicate messages over some cookies and tea.”

“Fine!” Chloé grumbles. “Waiter, where’s our god damn meal? We don’t have all day long!”

“Chloé!” Marinette warned.

“Yeah I’m sorry! But you can’t expect restrain from me after such an epiphany!” Chloé said that with such an honest expression that against her better judgment Marinette smiled.

“Fine! But don’t forget our agreement!”

“Promise! And now, eat!”

——————

Lunchtime arrived at school. The whole class and quite some people from other classes gathered around Lila and Leyla to listen to their awesome story’s.

“You all remember that one time as I defeated Style Queen? I’m so sorry Adrien that I couldn’t save you on time, originally I wanted to give the Bee Miraculous to Lila to help me but that Chloé brat stole it from me. So I wasn’t able to work that fast as usual. And than she let herself get akumatized, how amateurish from her. Lila would have never made such an error. Oops, I’m sorry Adrien, I didn’t meant to insult Chloé since she’s a friend of yours but you see Lila would have been such a great Bee themed hero!”

“Oh thank you Leyla, that’s way too much praise for me! But my hero persona Volpina, is in my opinion, the greatest partner for you. Oh, have we told you all about that one time Leyla and I saved Chloé again, this time from her akumatized father. What was his name again? Lamediktator?” Lila and a bunch of other people snickered.

“Malediktator.” offered Adrien.

“Ah yes, yes. What a lame costume, not much style in my opinion. But I saw the newest fashion trends on the runway in Milan, you know I was invited by one of the top designers there, actually I helped them out with some ideas! That dress that Leyla is wearing is a exclusive!” Lila gestured toward Leyla to stand up and spin around.

“Yeah, you know being Ladybug has his advantage. Everyone admired me and wanted to say thank you in their own way. That dress was a present since I saved that person from a Akumas wrath!”

Oh’s and Ah’s could be heard among the crowds, some nodded along because what a truly kind person to give such a beautiful dress their saviour.

“Oh remember that time as ...”

*DING DANG DONG*

The school bell rang. Lunch’s over.

“Let us all get back to class! We don’t want to be late, what an example would your beloved Ladybug be if she’ll be late!”

Chatter and screeching sounds could be heard as the school began marching back to their previously classrooms.

Plagg squirmed in Adrien’s pocket. “Adrien! Locker! Now!”

Adrien sighs. He would rather follow Leyla and get lost in her beautiful blue eyes and their amazing adventures as Chat Noir and Ladybug as going to the locker to talk to Plagg. But if he didn’t follow that order he knew that Plagg would do something stupid to his belongings and that would be the greater trouble right now. He sights again and adjusted his way down the hall towards the Locker room.

After checking that he was really alone, he let Plagg fly out of his pocket.

“What is it Plagg? Cut it short, I really want to go back to my Lady!” he crossed his arms.

“Are you really that stupid or just that oblivious? Adrien! You can’t be serious! You really believe that Liar? You knew exactly that Ladybug will never reveal herself, she told you so many times!” Plagg almost screamed out.

“But Plagg, she said that before to protect Lila from any harm! And now that she finally transferred in our school, in my CLASS, she could openly say who she is because now she’s always by Lila’s side to protect her. Maybe I should reveal myself too! Than we could be together outside and inside the Mask! Oh that’s the idea, I will ask her out on a date as civilians, ask her if she want to be my girlfriend and then at our next patrol date I will kiss her and reveal myself!” Adrien’s eyes lit up with joy, he dreamed about their future, marrying, having kids, protecting Paris till the very end.

Somewhere outside of his little bubble he could hear Plagg say: “Scratch that, you’re just really really dumb. If you do that, if you really reveal yourself to Ladybug, I will not save you from her wrath. And I will certainly not help you if your hopes and dreams will be shattered. Because I knew what will come for you if you really follow that stupid plan of yours!”

“Oh Plagg, you little pessimist. Everything will be fine! You know Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s are meant to be, we’re Soulmates and she loves me! Everything will turn out good. You’ll see!”

“I tried to warn you Adrien! I tried to help you. Remember, everything that will happen now is your own fault.” With that Plagg zapped in his pocket again.

Adrien simply shrugged. He found his Lady and he will have his Happy End with her. That little Bad Luck that carrying around the Black Cat means, will certainly not stop him from achieving his goals.

Well if he’s not wrong there.

——————

Back at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, Marinette lead Félix and Chloé up to her room.

“Make yourself at home. I will prepare some tea and get us some cookies. When I come back we can talk about my little secret.” Marinette gestured around her room, then turned around and vanished throu her trapdoor.

Félix walked towards the chaise and made himself comfortable. Chloé stood stunned in the middle of the room and tried to gather all the new informations that shes getting in Marinette’s room. Her workspace, her mannequin, her designs, lots and lots of pink and an calendar that contains all commissions she’s currently working on and the dates to which she needs to finish them.

“Wow! You know Félix, I was never up here. I didn’t know that Marinette has so many commissions, I always thought that she sew something for her classmates to try to improve herself, but that is really impressive.” Chloé get a little closer to the calendar. “Are those Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale on her commission board? Félix do you know what that means?”

“That she is rather impressive? Or that she is trying to hide for whom she’s making outfits so that nobody can try to sabotage her? Or that she is almost as good as Gabriel Agreste and your Mother?” Félix shoot back.

“Yes, yes and yes! Wait, did really somebody try to sabotage her work?” Chloé asked with disbelief in her voice.

“Sadly yes, Lila claimed that some of Marinette’s designs were stolen from Lila and some of our stupid Classmates ripped Marinette’s scetchbook in half. So she’s designing her work under the pseudonym of MDC. But that’s another story and not relevant for today’s top secret number one!”

“Didn't they learn anything from the Hat debacle? Marinettes signature is embroidered in all of her designs! How will Lila claim those her’s if it could be easily been proven wrong? Are our classmates really that stupid?”

“Are you really asking that question?” chimed Marinette in. She’s back from the kitchen with three cups of tee and a plate full of Cookies. “We all know that our classmates share one braincell. But enough from them, we’re here to discuss another delicate message. So Chloé what do you want to know?”

“How did Félix found out you’re Ladybug?”

“Make yourself comfortable, that is a long story to tell.” Marinette sighted and looked in Félix smug face.

“It all started ...”

~~~

[Ch. 1] [Ch. 2] [Ch. 3] [Ch. 4] [Ch. 5] [Ch. 6] [Ch. 7]

Chapter three is finished. Next time will be the one sided reveal from Ladybug towards Félix. Stay tuned :)

If somebody want to be tagged, tell me and I will Tag you for the next part.

If anybody has suggestions what should happen next, feel free to leave a comment.

I hope you had fun so far reading this fic. See you on the next part!

I’m sorry if I have forgotten someone for tags!

@miraculous-of-salt @marinahrasauce @bobothyross @northernbluetongue @kristycocopop @kuroko26 @sonif50 @i-am-fandom-trash30 @yokizu @fandom-trapped-03 @totellismert @persephonebutkore @corabeth11 @sarcastic-jenny @royalchaoticfangirl

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Switch in tone- MariChat May Day 10

I wasn’t totally sure about this one. I have huge respect to anyone who comes up with new Akumas and battles, because I tried twice to do this and it didn’t work out, hence why this is so short. However, my friends and I were talking about how akuma’s fashion is a bit, well, sometimes not the best looking and they reminded them of Paris fashion runway looks. So I decided to go looking a bit and found clothes from the brand Comme des Garcon, which I know because I’m a fan of KEY from Shinee and his that is what he named his dogs after and wow, those ready to wear outfits are something. So I was inspired by this and the sleeves on this. Hopefully you like it anyway. @marichatmay Can I borrow your Miraculous?

“Can I borrow your Miraculous?”

it was a mindless question she’d asked, not paying much attention with her full focus on the pages in front of her. She had a commission for Chat Noir inspired clothes and from what Adrien understood, she wanted to feature his paw prints on it. He hadn’t even given what he did much thought, he just pulled off his ring, cancelling his transformation and dropped it onto Marinette’s sketch book. It took Plagg floating in front of her face for her to realise what he’d done.

“What the- Chat!” she jumped up out of her chair and turned around, but Adrien had never been more happy for his cat like reflexes. He stayed out of her eyesight, dodging her as she turned before she realised what she was doing. Plagg was no help, he kept following Marinette around asking for cheese. “What did you do that for?”

“You wanted to borrow my Miraculous.”

“And you just gave it to me? What if I had been Akumatized?”

“I’d know and then I’d save you.” he stated, like it was common knowledge. But it was. Whether as Adrien or Chat Noir, he wouldn’t let any harm come to Marinette. She had been so close that one time Lila got her expelled. It still made him angry that they just took her word for it without even asking Marinette for her side. It was tempting at times to just do what Plagg wanted and just show up at the school one day and completely discredit her, but he knew how she was. He knew she’d find a way to turn it around for her benefit. He could only hope she’d get caught one day. Marinette didn’t deserve to have that fox – which felt like an insult to Rena Rouge – try and ruin her life. He’d save her, no matter what.

He heard sputtering from where he was hiding under her desk and the Plagg asked again for cheese, which she rushed to go get.

“What were you thinking?” Plagg asked.

“She wanted to borrow it. I trust her.”

“I get that, but it was still stupid.”

when Plagg was refuelled and he was back in his superhero leather, he climbed out from under the desk, where Marinette frowned down at him. He felt like a cat being scolded for knocking over a cup just because it got curious.

“Chat, I meant for you to give me your hand, not your whole means of transforming. What if something happened and you couldn’t transform?”

“I’m sure you’ve seen my banana suite.” He pointed out, “I do what I can to protect people. Even if it means immortalizing myself forever as Banana Noir.”

a smile finally appeared on Marinette’s face as she burst into giggles. “Silly kitty. Try and think about yourself first. If anything happens to you, who’s Ladybug gonna depend on for help?” she asked, scratching at his ears, turning him into a purring mess. He didn’t bother pointing out that he’d been put under akuma control many times. It was when Ladybug wasn’t there things could go falling apart.

But there was another thing for him that would cause things to fall apart for him. Marinette being Akumatized. He was so sure as long as he tried to keep her spirits up, there’d be no chance.

                                               _______________

“Can I borrow your Miraculous?” the same question asked by the girl floating in front of him. Looking like some sort of ladybug inspired creature – though a small part of him kept seeing Comme des Garҫon outfits from Fashion Week, but he digressed – Marinette floated in front of him. Heeled boots, shorts, a blazer top and an overcoat with long sleeves that covered her hands, the back of it looking like fantastical wings all in a black he’d never seen her in. it wasn’t the black of her usual coat she wore. It was the darkest a colour could go, almost like whatever rolled over a person when Akumatized was living on the overcoat. The one thing that made it worse as the thing keeping her overcoat. The lucky charm bracelet he gave to her for her birthday. There was a crack in one of the charms. “Come on chaton, you let me borrow it before.”

Lila had done this. She spread lies saying that Marinette had stolen her designs and customers and instead of using their common sense that Marinette would never do that, the class took Lila’s side. He stood by Marinette, but he could see how it was getting to her. He went to go call Gorilla for 5 minutes to take them home when Lila had approached Marinette. He didn’t hear what she said, only saw her snatch the charm from around her wrist, throw it on the floor and stamp on it with her boot.

“Look, now it matches you. Broken and alone.” he had no chance of getting there before the butterfly landed on the broken bracelet in a crushed Marinette’s hands.

Something red had flashed around her but he was more concerned with trying to talk to her before she could accept Hawkmoth’s deal. She’d looked at him with angry tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry Adrien, but she has to learn.” and just like that, the sickly bubbles washed over her and there she stood, Broken Charm. It felt like an insult to Ladybug’s signature move. It was an insult to their everyday Ladybug.

“Let me borrow it chaton.”

Adrien narrowed his eyes. He’d deal with Lila later. Right now, he wanted to find Hawkmoth and ring his neck. This wasn’t his princess, his Marinette. The one who’d roll her eyes at his flirtatious puns. Who’d beat him in every fighting video game they played. The one who fed him cookies and petted his ears. This was a fake Marinette who had to be hurting inside. He was going to save her and let her know how much she meant to him, he was going to try his hardest to protect her from this, with and without the mask on.

“Hang on Princess. I’m going to help you. I promise.”

[charlonely]

I Think I Like You | Day 1

Prompt number:  1. “no, come back!”

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: General

Warnings/Tags: None

Marinette was in class next to Alya. They made it to their next class with a few minutes to spar. Marinette was showing Alya the concepts for a new outfit she wanted to make. While they were both talking Adrien and Nino walked.

Adrien was stuttering while speaking with Nino. Adrien walked quickly to his seat and laid his bag. He grabbed a box from inside and walked to Marinette. He tapped Marinette’s so she could turn around.

“Marinette can we go to a café after school!” Adrien blurted out.

Adrien was trying his hardest to look at Marinette’s face. He was having a hard time trying not to run back to his seat. Adrien has been planning for this for a long time and he wanted to finish before he exploded.

Marinette started blushing when she heard what he said. She was staring at Adrien in disbelief. Marinette even pinched herself to see if it was a dream.

“You want to go with me? Are you sure we should go? Not that I don’t want to go.” Marinette rambled.

“Yes, You I want to go.” Adrien stuttered.

“He means he wants to go with you,” Nino replied.

Nino was tired of his best friend’s denial. It took months before Adrien even considered his feelings for Marinette. He was just glad that Adrien finally got the balls to ask her out.

“If you’re sure- I mean I wouldn’t mind.” Marinette scratched her neck.

“She means she would love to,” Alya replied.

“Here!” Adrien shoved the box to Marinette and ran to his seat almost tripping.

Marinette opened the box to find a bracelet. It had beautiful gems on it. The thing that caught Marinette’s eye was the ladybug charm on it.

Marinette felt her heart drop. Did Adrien know she was Ladybug? Maybe Adrien was going to tell her how much he hated Ladybug and then tell her to leave him alone. Then he would call her a stalker and everyone in her class would know then it would get on the news! Everyone would hate her, and she would never become a designer.

The whole day Marinette freaked out about different possibilities on what would happen. When it was time for lunch Marinette could barely touch her food. When school was over, she quickly ran home.  Marinette ran past her parents into her room.

“Tikki Adrien knows I’m Ladybug!” Marinette was fidgeting.

“I don’t think he knows Marinette.” Tikki flew out of Marinette’s purse.

“The bracelet has a Ladybug on it!” Marinette’s voice raised in pitch. “ He definitely knows.”

“Marinette It’s probably a coincidence.” Tikki flew near Marinette.

“I shouldn’t go. I’ll just say I’m sick or som-“

Marinette’s phone lit up. On the phone was a text from Adrien. Marinette and Tikki turned around. Here’s the address to the café please come at 7. The current time was 5:30.

“You should just go Marinette.” Tikki sat on Marinette’s shoulder. “He may surprise you!”

“If you say so but you have to help me pick clothes Tikki.” Marinette sighed. “I can’t say no to you.”

Marinette and Tikki picked an outfit for her to wear. By the time she finished getting prepared, the time was 6:30.

“Maman I’m going to a café to meet a friend.” Marinette ran out of the bakery.

“Come back by 9.” Marinette’s mom replied.

Marinette had gone to this café before. It was a cute cat café made in honour of Chat Noir. She had gone there as Ladybug with Chat the day of the opening. The owners were nice people who gave them free food.

Marinette saw the building in front of her and walked in. In the building, Adrien already got a seat for them.  Adrien saw her and waved at her to come to sit at the sit in front of him.

“Hey, Marinette.” Adrien pulled the chair out for her. “I’m happy that you came.”

“I’m happy that I came to.” Marinette sat down. “I mean I’m happy to see you!”

“I’ll go order something for us.” Adrien stood up and walked to the counter.

Marinette quickly pulled out her purse.

“Tikki I already messed up!” Marinette bit her lip. “ What should I do? He probably already thinks I’m weird.”

“You shouldn’t give up Marinette. I know you can do it!” Tikki encouraged.

Marinette didn’t look convinced. Marinette felt like she was close to panicking. Before she could think about leaving Adrien came back with drinks.

“I didn’t know what you would like so I bought hot chocolate for us.” Adrien put the drink in front of Marinette.

“Thanks, I would love anything you give me.” Marinette stammered. “I mean I love hot chocolate. Not that I wouldn’t like what you give me. But I just like drinking things you know”

“I also like drinking things.”

Marinette and Adrien were at a stalemate. They both were overthinking their approach to continue the conversation.

“Marinette, I need to tell you something.” Adrien took a deep breath. “I like you.”

“I think I’ve liked you for a long time and I just want us to be together.” Adrien held Marinette’s hand. “You’re my everyday Ladybug. Would you please go out with me?”

Marinette didn’t respond. She was gaping at him. Adrien likes her? Marinette could feel herself panicking. Marinette was not prepared for what Adrien was saying. She thought he knew she was Ladybug. She always dreamed of marrying him, but she never thought there would be a chance. Marinette thought she would always be the observer watching him from afar and supporting him.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that.” Adrien stood up. “I’m really sorry I’ll leave.”

“No, come back!” Marinette shouted.

Adrien turned around. The other patrons in the café stared at them. The room was at a standstill. People were holding their breathes in anticipation.

“You left your wallet,” Marinette said lamely.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Adrien took the wallet. “Goodbye Marinette.”

Marinette watched Adrien leave the café. She messed up big time.