#And that's what you missed on -Glee- Miraculous Ladybug

[generalluxun]

"What are you doing?!" Chloé announced herself with a shriek.

André froze in the middle of her bedroom. His arms were laden with her jewelry boxes. Excess adornments were looped over his meaty appendages, threatening to slip free onto the floor. He cast about like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Finding no reprieve, a slick well practiced smile slid into place and he brightened.

"Chloé, dear, you won't believe our luck! Gabriel has decided to do an entire line dedicated to us! The First Family of Paris! Isn't that exciting?"

Instead of the expected glee, Chloé advanced on him, leveling an accusatory finger. "Nevermind Lambriel Agreste. What are you doing with my jewelry?"

Andre squirmed, his plunder threatening to spill free again. "Oh, this? It's nothing, nothing honey. Gabriel says he needs these to study, to capture your 'true essence.'"

Surprise registered on Chloé's face, turning quickly to anger. Her face went flush and she stomped her foot. "No! He can't have them! They're mine!"

Andre floundered, "Honey, he needs these. He said so himself. I'll buy you some new jewelry to use until he is done! Won't that he ni-"

"No!" She screamed louder, "I don't want new jewelry. I don't want stupid new clothes. I don't want anything! Just leave me and my stuff alone!"

He paled as his one solution to everything failed. It lasted only a moment though. The placating smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared. André squared his shoulders and gazed down from on high at what was simply another unruly Parisian now. "Gabriel needs these. I am taking them. No one argues with the Mayor of Paris."

He was in motion before he finished speaking. The speed of his step hinted fear in equal parts with belligerence. Chloé tried to stop him. She latched onto his arm, but his bulk was nearly three times her weight. Her father shrugged her off. As an after thought he passed his searching gaze over her unadorned hands and ears, then and out of her suite before she had gotten back to her feet.

She screamed after him, no words this time just incoherent rage. When her throat was sore and her head hurt she relented. She climbed up on her bed and picked up Mr. Cuddly. Her bear got one firm squeeze before she poked a fingertip into a small hole in his back seam. When she pulled it out she wore a thin golden band.

"At least he didn't get you." She said to the ring.

Black and green sparks tickled along the ring, then shot off to coalesce into a small black cat kwami; an angry black cat kwami. "Get me? You already got me! You stole my miraculous!"

Chloé winced at the onslaught but countered quickly, "So what? Everybody steals Miraculouses. Ladybug stole mine! Shadowmoth stole everybody's! You're mine now, and no one's going to take you from me."

That put the kwami on the back foot. He squinted at her, "Did you hit your head or something, Miss Priss? Not that it matters. If you think for one second I'm gonna-"

"Be Quiet!" Chloé hissed.

The kwami's lips snapped shut. He resorted to flitting around her in agitated figure eights. She swatted him away and he made a bee line for the most expensive looking vase in the room.

"Back in the ring!" Chloé yelped.

The ring's magic cut Plagg's rampage short, sucking him inside and plunging the room into silence. Chloé sat for a long time, twisting the ring on her finger while the memory of Adrien's stunned face hovered behind her eyes.

When she looked up out of her thoughts the room felt larger, or maybe she felt smaller. The uncomfortable absence of her missing jewelry felt like a robbery. Her bedroom no longer felt safe. She pulled up the comforter to try and ward off the unease.

It's not like she had anywhere else to go.

[halfagone]

Ooh, that’s a good point, maybe I won’t add Dc to this AU then. So disregarding the Dc stuff, I think you’ll like this prompt. What if Ladybug and Chat Noir meet Dan after he escapes the thermos, with Danny having to come in and save them? I’d imagine this would be a few months after he’s started mentoring them, and I think it would be interesting to see their reactions to seeing their seemingly infallible mentor’s greatest fear. What do you think?

Oof, Danny would have to come in quick, because while Marinette and Adrien are plenty capable against foes like Hawkmoth or the akumas... Dan kills. He does not seek anything other than destruction. He doesn't really choose his victims, because everyone is his target. It's part of the reason he's so damn terrifying. Which... is a really fun idea to explore. ;3

---

Marinette watches on as the man- who looks so much like Phantom, but not- floats above the burning Paris and watches on with glee. Phantom doesn't like to talk about his past battles unless they ask, or it's relevant to a lesson he's trying to teach, and Marinette can't remember Phantom once mentioning someone like this. She knows that he has family, in a general sense, so is this a relative of his? They do look a lot alike, but... could any relative of Phantom's ever do this?

She and Chat Noir don't even try to fight him. It's obvious he's far too powerful for them, so instead they try to save as many people as they can, spamming Phantom's phone as they go along. Marinette knows it's bad when even Chat Noir isn't making any of his usual jokes. He's broken limbs, ribs, and even then he's always managed to crack a pun or something. But not today.

Today, they are terrified.

Marinette just about sinks with relief when she sees the familiar flash of light that signals Phantom has teleported onto the scene. She doesn't know when seeing the more experienced hero had become a constant and grounding presence, but right now it's like a life raft in the middle of the storming sea. Phantom's done a lot for them these past few months, but right now, he is the only thing standing in between this stranger and Paris' total destruction.

Except instead of the steady confidence she's used to seeing from him, he looks half terrified out of his mind, eyes enormously wide as he stares down the opponent. So maybe they do know each other? The stranger certainly looks happy to see Phantom, even though Marinette is pretty sure that's not a good thing at all.

Phantom doesn't back down- he never does- but it's obvious he's not prepared and ready to face this foe, even though he's the only one who can.

"Aw, look at you, you're practically breathless," the stranger sneers with a cruel grin. "Did you miss me that much?"

"Get out." Marinette blinks in surprise when she hears the quiet intensity in Phantom's voice. The air quivers around him as Phantom shouts, "Get out! There's no reason for you to be here-"

"You're here. Isn't that reason enough?" The stranger remarks and then swipes out a hand. The Eiffel Tower sparks up with flames. Chat Noir makes a strangled noise over their communicators. That's right, he had been closer to the- She goes running off in that direction, hopelessly trying to help him and save everyone she can.

And for once, Marinette has to come to terms with the possibility that this time... There may be no miraculous rewind to fix what little is left behind.

[seas-of-silver]

Marinette wiped sweat off her sunburnt forehead and scratched at the mosquito bites dotting her arms before once again internally cursing herself for letting Chat drag her on this stupid camping trip.

Marinette wiped sweat off her sunburnt forehead and scratched at the mosquito bites dotting her arms before once again internally cursing herself for letting Chat drag her on this stupid camping trip. As much as she loved the wonders of nature, she was a city girl at heart! She would spend her hot evenings in her room with fans on, not hiking up a never-ending hill. She preferred doing her business in a toilet rather than a hole in the ground. She liked being in the safety and comfort of your home, and not in the wild with all these god. damn. mosquitos!

She slapped her arm. She missed.

'Come on, Marinette!' Chat chirped joyfully. 'We're almost there!'

She huffed, readjusting her backpack. He was much too excited for her right now.

It was his excitement in the first place that got her into this mess. She had just been watering her balcony garden one afternoon when she spotted Chat bounding across rooftops over to her like a puppy that hadn't seen its owner all day.

'Marinette!' he had cried out, eyes agleam and grin wide. 'I have the most awesome idea!'

He had bounced on the balls of his feet as he gushed all about his idea about going camping - he had heard tales from his friends and wanted desperately to experience the activity for himself, but didn't want to go alone. He had made it sound fun, she'd admit, and any hesitation she felt in that moment evaporated when she saw the look in his eyes. While they glittered with wonder and enthusiasm, his eyes pleaded with her, conveying a longing and vulnerability that had the words spill from her mouth before she realised she had made a decision.

'I'll go with you.'

Chat's mouth had softly dropped open in surprise before grinning impossibly wide and sweeping her up a hug, twirling her around as he thanked her a thousand times over.

'You won't regret this!' he had promised her, practically vibrating with glee.

She slapped her other arm as she trudged through the dirt behind him as they weaved between the trees. She missed again.

When he had talked of camping, she had imagined going to a camp-friendly park in Paris, setting up a tent and having a picnic - after all, that was the type of camping she and her family did when she was little, and nothing Chat said disagreed with that image. She should've questioned harder as Ladybug when he begged her for the Horse Miraculous for "a very important mission" he had to do. She saw right through his flimsy excuse, not that she let him know it, and gave him Kaalki's glasses with the provisos that he take very good care of the Miraculous and kwami, and that should there be an akuma in Paris that he return immediately - conditions he accepted easily.

She thought he was going to stay within the country - how was she supposed to know he'd take Marinette to Australia?! She wasn't prepared for Australia! There were crocodiles and snakes and spiders and-

Slap!

-mosquitoes in Australia! This was a country famous for its dangerous wildlife - just look at the dingos!

'Chat, when you say "a little longer"-' she began.

'We're just here!' he confirmed brightly as he turned to face her, before turning sheepish. 'Um, well, I had to make the booking under my name... so, uh...'

He looked behind him, and she followed his gaze to the kiosk at the front of what she supposed were the camping grounds. She looked at the sign, and couldn't decide if she found "Mystery Bay" a fun name for a bay or an ominous one. Suddenly, it made more sense as to why Chat suggested she pack swimmers, not that she could quite see the bay from where they stood... which reminded her of their current conundrum.

'Um, I'll put my sunglasses on and close my eyes,' she suggested. 'You detransform and guide me where we need to go. When you see an opportunity, transform back.'

'What about when I give my name to the counter?' he asked.

Marinette paused. 'I'll put my headphones on and play music, so I don't hear it, and after you've finished there, tap my shoulder and I'll take them out so I can hear you again.'

'Sounds good to me!' he agreed, and she got to work.

Soon, her headphones were in and playing a playlist of Nino's music, her sunglasses were on with her eyes screwed shut, and her hands were holding firmly onto his arm. Even so, she almost ruined the plan when she felt the magic wash over her as he detransformed, making her skin tingle. All at once, she was acutely aware of how vulnerable he was, and how much he trusted her. She held him a little closer.

The wait was agonising. The music did little to soothe her nerves... especially when she could continue to feel those pesky bugs making her skin itch. Eventually, he tapped her shoulder.

'Hey, Marinette,' he said as she removed her headphones, 'everything is sorted. Ready?'

'Su-' she cut herself off as she slapped her arm again, and tsked when she missed.

'Ah, you being bitten by the mozzies, eh?' the man behind the counter asked her in English. Assuming "mozzies" were mosquitoes, she nodded. 'Here - spray some Aeroguard on ya, but I recommend you get some for yourself the next time you go past Woolies.'

She cautiously opened her eyes, studiously ignoring Chat's form next to her as she looked at the object in the man's hand, some blue can... a bug spray? She cautiously sprayed it on her arm.

'Don't be shy,' the man encouraged kindly, 'just spray it on - you too, mate,' he added to Chat next to her.

She was relieved the man didn't use her companion's name. Wanting to avoid any more close calls, she sprayed herself all over before blindly handing the can to Chat, closing her eyes again as soon as she held his arm again, feeling the fabric of his shirt against her skin. Her heart was pounding...and they hadn't even started camping yet.

She heard the can stop spraying and the man wishing them a great stay, before Chat started leading her down a path.

'Did you...see me?' he asked quietly.

'No,' she confirmed, 'I'm just glad he didn't say your name after I took out my headphones.'

He gave a light chuckle and she felt him relax. 'Me too.'

After a moment of walking, they came to a stop.

'This looks like a good spot to set up,' he declared. 'There's a toilet over there behind us, so I'll go in there and transform, okay?'

'Okay.'

When she heard his footsteps fade away, she opened her eyes. The afternoon sun was filtering through the trees and ocean glistened with distant sounds of waves gently crashing against the shore. It was rustic and had an understated beauty.

'So!' Chat said as he jogged back to her, suited back up. 'What do you think?'

'It looks great, Kitty,' she told him, and his chest puffed up with praise. 'Ready to set up camp?'

'Ready!' he replied, tail swishing in delight.

They got camp set up... eventually. They had some missteps, and at one point Chat was completely entangled in the tent as they were setting it up, making them laugh at the ludicrous situation. Photos on baton and mobile alike captured silly moments, pretty landscapes and happy selfies. They got some funny looks from the other campers at Chat's attire, but Chat played it off as him losing a bet, and the weird looks turned into fond head shakes and warm smiles.

As the sun began set, Marinette opened the large insulated bag her parents helped her prep for the trip. After the kerfuffle that was Weredad, the superhero was a frequent visitor to the Dupain-Cheng household, even joining in on family game nights when he was able. Her parents treated him like any other friend of hers, and Chat, in turn, warmed up to them immensely. So, when they told her parents about the camping trip idea, her parents were all for it, and helped Chat organise and plan it, since he wanted to take the lead on it. It seemed that her parents knew them well enough to know neither of them would know how to start a fire to cook things, as the insulated bag was full of sandwich ingredients, an assortment of their favourite pastries and sweets, cutlery, water, and two thermoses with warm soup. They chatted as they ate, happily talking about everything and nothing as the sky burnt a brilliant orange.

Once their hunger was sated, they packed their belongings away into their tent and went to explore the nearby beach. Marinette slipped off her shoes and socks as she walked along the sand, with Chat commenting that he was glad his suit didn't let the sand wiggle in. Their lighthearted and jovial banter gradually transitioned into a gentle contentedness, conversations becoming more heartfelt, deep and meaningful.

Marinette wasn't quite sure when exactly it was when the sun set, only realising how dark it had become when Chat suggested they lay down to stargaze. She agreed to his suggestion, settling herself down on the sand as he did the same next to her. They would occasionally "stargaze" at home on her balcony, making up stories of what they might be able to see if it weren't for the light pollution hiding the stars from their view.

'Oh wow,' she gasped.

This was nothing like stargazing at home! There were stars! Real stars! Thousands and thousands and thousands of them twinkling brightly in the night sky like diamonds and glitter scattered beautifully on navy velvet. The sky was painted with deep blues and purples as the stars shined white and gold; colours she never associated with the sky after dark.

'Do you like it?'

Marinette turned her head to look at Chat, who was smiling warmly at her.

'Kitty, this- this is gorgeous!' she gushed, looking back up at the sparkling heavens. 'I... I have no words for how beautiful this is.'

'I'm glad you like it,' he said softly. 'I know that you came on this trip because I wanted you to, so I wanted to give you something, too. That's why I chose this place. Nat- uh, I heard from someone I know that she had gone camping here one time and was in awe of the view... well, that, and that apparently there's a cave somewhere here that if you throw rocks at it, the rocks will spark and it looks really cool?'

She couldn't help but laugh. Of course that would be a factor in Chat's decision-making.

'Well, I love it,' she told him, looking at him as she reached out and held his hand. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome, Marinette.'

They lay there for a while; seconds, minutes, hours... she wasn't sure. Marinette was enraptured by the stunning view, discovering something new with every second that passed. She wanted to commit it all to memory - she was inspired and was being filled with so many ideas that she was desperate to retain until she could put them all on paper.

Eventually, she sat up and looked over at Chat, who gazed up at her with a languid smile.

'Wanna go throw rocks at that cave?'

He jumped up with a burst of energy. 'Totally!'

~/~

Ask game: Give me the first sentence and I'll write a short piece for it!

[raspberry-radiation]

@rosabell14! I'm your secret santa for the ML Gift Exchange! Merry Christmas and I hope you like it! Thank you @mlsecretsanta for hosting this every year :D

.

I really like the theory that Adrien is a sentimonster and kind of ran wild, with that said, I present "Erasure"

.

Ladybug wasn’t sure how it happened. Had she been betrayed? Had someone changed the timeline? Had she somehow messed up using the miraculous and had a sort of cosmic backlash in response? That was the only way that she could explain what was happening before her. 

All of her dear friends were strewn around the ruins of Paris around her. The city was deserted, as any ghost town would be – save for the massive akumas that ravaged the wreckage. There, stepping through the defeated teens and picking the miraculous off their tired forms was a familiar black clawed hand. One that the superhero remembers as fondly holding roses and brushing her cheek. The other hand was familiarly enveloped in the dark destructive magic of the cataclysm – a threat to what happens to those who don’t stay still. 

Why... 

Why was HE working with that monstrous man? Sure, there were secrets that Chat never told her, she had only just a few days ago been told he was Adrien – one of her dearest friends. She watched as he brought their friends’... and her miraculous up to the suited and decorated man before her. Despite the well-known and hated disguise, he seemed to be easily able to control the hero like... a ...oh no… like a controlled sentimonster… 

He turned and looked back at the unmasked heroine with pained and desperate eyes, yet his face remained stoic and unmoved. Hawkmoth, Shadowmoth, Gabriel Agreste stood above them all from the top of the stairs at the museum entrance. The building behind him had long been destroyed but it seemed to fit his dramatic heart for needing to have higher ground.  

Ladybug watched as he turned a thick ring on his left hand and she turned at the sound of weak coughing beside her.  

“Ladybug, I’m so sorry I failed.” It was Mister Agreste’s former assistant Nathalie. “I tried to get Adrien away. I tried to protect him.” She was weak from the illness from the miraculous and her robotics were damaged to the point she couldn’t move from her spot beside the young girl. Nathalie could only mournfully watch the shadowy individuals in front of her, remembering the not-so-distant conflict she had with the madman who had taken back the control instrument from her. 

Her hand and finger throbbed painfully at the recollection of the way that he had grabbed it and yanked the ring off without care. Her finger was surely, at the very least, sprained with the color and swelling of it.  

“Don’t be upset, Miss Nathalie. We will find a way to get him back.” Marinette said to the older woman, not breaking eye contact with her partner. Not seeing the twitch of his hand either.  

“But how? Gabriel had everything! He has all of the miraculous! Even the Rabbit from the future’s miraculous too!” This panicking reveal almost broke Marinette’s concentration but she cannot be weak now, she has to help Adrien. She wasn’t sure why she was so sure she could make a difference but she knew he could. He just needed the strength.  

The gloved hand of Chat Noir rolled the miraculous in his palm, feeling the metal and the magic within his fingers and the hero couldn’t even swallow against his nerves. 

“Now Adrien. Give me the miraculous!” Gabriel holds his hand out, waiting as his son turned over his hand and dropped them in before laughing madly. He slowly put on the miraculous, his smug glee evident at the appearance of each Kwami in front of him.  

The one Kwami that he did not see was oddly the most important one, a little red ladybug. He... did not get the earrings. Adrien did not give him all of the miraculous. Gabriel’s eyes slid to the side in fury, ready to strike the servile creation when he saw that the young man was staring at him, earrings in his lobes and a grim expression on his face. 

“You never said to give them all...father.” He threw his hand towards the concrete step below his father and the destructive magic raced through the stone and ate away at it until all that was left was ash. Once the magic left his hand, the young hero called out “Tikki, Plagg, Unify!” The red light sparked around the earrings before strips of black flashed inside, mixing into a dark purple. This seemed to protect the hero from falling because when his magic ate away the steps below him, he didn’t fall. Instead, he stayed in place, standing proud on the air as a new freedom raced through him with the powers of two kwami combining. 

The cat features and leather were replaced by a shimmering, moving image of what Adrien could only assume was the deepest part of the night sky. Purple trailed in strips between golden marking around his limbs and across his chest. His mask didn’t seem too different through the eyes of the one looking through it, but when he turned to Gabriel, the man seemed terrified.  

Adrien lifted his arm and so did his father, confusion was momentary when it was explained by the control device lifting off of his father’s finger and the older man grappled for the flying item in panic. He wasn’t able to catch the flying ring and instead fell back into the ash of the destroyed stairs. 

All of this chaos and destruction for what? He looked to his side. Past his friends and classmates, past his cousin, to the two blue haired women that meant so much to him. The motherly figure that cared for him when his father did not and to the girl that he loved with the very fiber of his being.  

Both of them had dirt, scratches and bruises all over their faces and bodies and it saddened Adrien more than angered him to see what his own father would do to reach his goal. Turning back to his father, Adrien sighed before speaking. His own voice seemed to echo on its own, hearing himself before and after his words came out. 

“Father. You created and destroyed as much as you pleased for the supposed goal of bringing back my mother. You have ruined countless lives and everyone’s homes for an unattainable goal. What is gone is gone, it cannot be brought back.” He pauses momentarily to look at Marinette again.  

The kwagatama around her neck was usually red, but it pulsed with purple light. Seeing the glowing stone made Adrien resolute in his decision. He continued.  

“You will not stop your destructive journey, even if it is to your own self destruction. Because of your actions, you have caused an unnatural imbalance in the world and brought creatures of unnatural creation into existence for ill gain and sacrifice. This imbalance has to be restored. With this in mind.” He turned, so that the last thing he would see was Marinette’s face.  

Her solid, trusting gaze on him had changed to a panicked and distressed expression as she struggles to her feet and tries to run towards him. Adrien smiles and wishes aloud, “I wish everything was better and that Gabriel never needed the miraculous in the first place.” With this – much like the miracle cure of the ladybug magic, small swarms of bugs similar to ladybug’s swarmed down from his feet to across the surface of the earth and filled the surface behind them with a bright purple light.  

Within the expanding spread of purple, black and white cracks appeared and raced towards the edge of the spreading magic. As the world was being affected by the magic, it was being destroyed as well. How was this better? Marinette panicked, more for the loss of her friend and love of her life more so than the remnants of the town around her. She stumbled and nearly fell through one of the cracks – now expanded into a massive crevice and watched the world around her crumble. 

Looking to the others, she saw that their silhouettes too were covered by the magic and cracking as the land below them. Why was she unaffected? The kwagatama around her neck seemed to throb in response to her internal question. 

The effect of the magic seemed to take place as she watched thin lines of pinkish light seem to rebuild the structure of the buildings around her before flooding with solid forms. Marinette was terrified as the purple magic flashed and shook everything around her and the forms of her friends and Nathalie seemed to sink into the ground and color slowly seemed to surface.  

Marinette herself got jerked around by thin cords of purple that wrapped around her wrists and legs and body like lose strands of hair. It draped and covered her like a blanket and she wanted to scream. She was tensing up to do so when she saw that the skin peaking from underneath the magic was free from dirt and grime and bruises and every sign of what she had just endured. She checked her ears but was saddened to not feel the familiar studs return to her ear lobes. 

The magic seemed to push the ground beneath her feet and it felt as if she was walking through the heliotropic void as the strands slowly fell off of her, becoming leaves flying through an unfelt wind or fading into the sides of buildings and reforming trees or cars. 

The color was becoming distinguishable from the background and Marinette was sitting before she realized it. She... was in her classroom? The purple faded completely from the environment and she looked around. Where the room was once empty, when she now looked, her dear friends were there in their seats laughing and talking as the teacher in the front of the class was preparing for an announcement. No sign of remembering what they just experienced.  

Marinette felt like she was ghosting. Was everything normal? Were they back to square one and her and Adrien having to start from the beginning again? Did all that really happen? She looked below her and the seat was empty... no sign of anyone even being there and Nino was even stretched out with his feet sideways on the chair where Adrien would have sat.  

Marinette felt sick. Could she really expect herself to act as if all this was normal and with Tikki and Adrien gone?  

“Okay class, attention.” Madame Bustier spoke clearly, voice silencing the others without effort. “We have a new student with us today.” 

With a sideways gesture to the door, a familiar sweep of blond hair stepped into the room with familiar green eyes underneath.  

“This is Adrien Agreste. He’s been sick for quite a while and only recently got better, so he needs our help in getting used to class life. Let’s all be nice to each other!” Madame Bustier directed him to sit in the front chair, Nino dropped his feet with a friendly greeting and Marinette could only stare in disbelief at the approaching teen.  

How was Adrien alive? If he was here, what was the sacrifice? Wasn’t he a sentimonster? What was happening? Would Hawkmoth return? Would she ever get Tikki back? What was going to happen now? Her racing thoughts all stopped when he started to look around as he walked, seeming as surprised and unsure as Marinette felt.  

The blond boy – who she thought she’d never see again – glanced up to her and a shocked expression flooded his face and he started blushing heavily under her crystal blue gaze.  

Marinette was shocked at the studs in his ears, clearly, but the most surprising part was that he was alive. She felt her own cheeks flush pink as she wanted to cry tears of joy. None of those questions mattered any more.

[my-insanity-is-an-artform]

I haven't watched ml since season 1, I intended to start watching it again but everyone says it's gotten kind of bad. Could you please update me?

I’ll be entirely honest, I haven’t really been watching the episodes as such. I don’t bother blocking out spoilers so between them and just reading the synopsis for the episodes, I just pick and chose which episodes I want to watch.

But from what I’ve heard and read, I believe that Miraculous Ladybug is Good Idea, Dodgy Execution. 

(This got longer than I thought. And a lot saltier. I’ve tried to keep it more critical than just salt. The rest is undercut and I think I’ve explained why everyone says it’s gotten bad. If you just want an update, scroll until the first line cut.)

Personally, I was never a fan of the Episodic Arcs Only format they went for. I don’t think it suits the type of show they were going for and it feels sloppy and like a... (there’s a word I’m looking for but the only that comes to mind is Shortcut). I could let it be for Season 1 (since it was the first season, they’re learning and we’re learning) but Season 2, for me, kinda failed to bring it up. The Collector, which was the first episode of Season 2 started strong but afterwards, the Season felt kinda flat. I haven’t even bothered with Season 3. The only one I watched was Chamelion and a bit of Weredad (to which I say, what the fuck was that?)

So the show hasn’t gotten worse. It just hasn’t gotten better.

To take an example of probably the only show I have ever watched more than once (I’m kinda a watch and done person so for me to watch it over and over is a big deal for me), the 2003-2009 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles did episodic formating the best since they didn’t stick to just Episode Arcs. I know the goal of Miraculous Ladybug was to be able to watch in any order but it doesn’t work. It showed in Season One that it didn’t work (Evillustrator comes to mind) but they just kept trying to pound it in. TMNT 2003 did it right. They focused on Episode Arcs but had background Arcs going, tried to tie up any loose ends (which they mostly succeeded at) and if you hadn’t seen a previous episode that led up to it, they had like a 30-second flashback. And for me, that worked. I could watch any episode and still know what was going on even in the middle of an arc.

So I think that’s the biggest contributor to the issues the fandom has now. The status quo of the show is Marinette is in Love with Adrien who is in love with Ladybug. The show has to keep that status if they want to keep going with Episodic Arcs. 

Which means Chloe’s Character Development isn’t going to happen. I thought they might succeed with the Battle of the Queens Arcs but they failed immediately afterwards. (Look I would take Chloe just not being the cause of Akumas anymore which Stormy Weather 2 showed isn’t happening.)

It means Marinette isn’t going to start talking normally or make any headway with Adrien despite the fact the audience is going to get/have gotten sick of it.

It means Adrien is continuously going to keep flirting with Ladybug despite the fact that we have seen her turn him down numerous times. (Which is not a good message for the so-called target age group.)

It means that any character development that should have happened by now, doesn’t matter. 

It means characters like Lila Rossi or Mayura/Nathalie aren’t going to be regular despite being major players to kick off arcs.

They wanted Episodic Arcs? They got it at the expense of Character Development, potential plotlines, a decent writing timeline and a solid release schedule. It’s predictable and in season 3? That’s not good. This was released four years ago and they are in contact with fans. They should know this.

(There also some suspicion that Fan Content was stolen by the creators which is hardly helped by the fact the show is predictable. Normally I would blow this off but the creators have been exposed to a huge amount of content (whereas normally Creators stay away from it to prevent that kind of accusation) and some of the stuff that has come out is a little suss. There was once a running joke that TheLastPilot was nearly prophetic about the show but now it’s just worrisome. Some acknowledgement about how similar the ideas are would have settled my unease rather than the defensive mocking than we got.)

They keep saying it’s a kids show. I’m saying it deserves better.

But you didn’t ask for my salt. So here’s what you need to know

Alya is a part-time user of the fox miraculous and is called Rena Rouge. Her power is a one time use of illusions called mirage. 

Nino is a part-time user of the Turtle Miraculous and is called Carapace. His ability is a one time use of a massive shield bubble called Shelter.

Chloe is a part-time user of the Bee Miraculous and is called Queen Bee. Her power is a one time use stun called Venom. 

(I am salty about the names. I won’t deny it. At least Nino’s is half creative.)

Marinette has met the Guardian of the Miraculous, Master Fu, and now she and Adrien have access to different environmental abilities. The ones we’ve seen are Underwater suits and Ice suits. 

Gabriel Agreste is confirmed to be Hawkmoth. 

Nathalie knows that he is Hawkmoth and actively helped him in the finale of Season 2, first as an Akuma then as a user of the Peacock Miraculous called Mayura. The Peacock Miraculous is ‘broken’ and it’s believed that that’s why Mrs Agreste is not missing but in a magical coma.

Mrs Agreste is in a weird ass tube under Agreste Mansion and Gabriel wants to use the Ultimate Power to cure her. 

Another thing that has popped up is Love Interests. (Warning; Saltier than the Dead Sea)

To clarify, I haven’t bothered to watch any of these episodes and I will not watch them. I am not a fan of love triangles (the weird love square aside because technically that’s just two idiots who can’t recognise each other) and I find it annoying (and possibly sexist) that 1) Adrien’s love interests (Marinette, Chloe, Lila and the new one) all seem to fight over him and 2) Marinette’s love interests are all chill.

Kagami Tsurugi is a Japanese girl who looks similar to Marinette, only with dark almond eyes and a bob cut. Kagami is a great Fencer which is how she is introduced to the show. She seems cool but they immediately framed her as a love interest for Adrien which just pisses me off so I didn’t watch any of it. If they had just made her a friend and then slowly brought up the idea that she and Adrien might date, then I might have accepted it (doubtful but now we’ll never know).

Luka Couffaine is Juleka’s older brother that as far as I can tell takes chill to a whole new level and is a musician. I haven’t touched anything to do with him because of an irrational (and I admit it is irrational) annoyance that Luka is basically just bait. And he is. He is bait for Marinette Character Development that won’t happen, he’s bait for Adrien Character Development that won’t happen and he’s bait for shippers who are sick of the love square going nowhere.

We know that the Love Square is end game. This is already complicated enough without more love interests.

If the two had been introduced as new friends, Kagami as a Fencing Friend (preferably not an enabler like Nino kinda is) for Adrien (and maybe Marinette), and Luka as an older friend for Marinette (and maybe Adrien on how to stick up for your good friends when a liar tries to isolate them.) I would be more chill about this, but they introduced them as Love Interests and now I want basically nothing to do with them.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

What if Ladybug detransformed instantly in Strike Back after Felix stole her yo-yo, stopping Gabriel from stealing any Miraculous, but also revealing her identity to Adrien ?

(What if Ladybug detransformed before the miraculous were taken?)

This is a very thin window. But not impossible.

-Ladybug realized her yo-yo was missing and her mind rushed a million miles a second

-Adrien. figured out immediately what happened. Knowing it was Felix.

-He told Ladybug to detransform.

-Despite the fog of emotions filling her mind. She did.

-Without thinking, she detransformed in front of him. She needed to ensure the miraculous were safe

-Adrien saw who Ladybug was.

____________________________________________________________

-Felix handed the yo-yo to Gabriel.

-The man opened it... only for it to vanish.

-Gabriel's glee turned to anger

-"What did you do?!"

-"You took to long to make the deal, guess Ladybug decided to take a break." He shrugged.

-"This wasnt the deal!"

-"I already got what was mine. Tough luck Uncle."

-He rushed out.

-Gabriel was Furious!

-Nooru! Darkwings fall!

-Hawkmoth was in pursuit!

____________________________________________________________

-Marinette quicly fed tikki who commented that she just detransformed in front of Adrien.

-"The miraculous are in jeopardy. My yo-yo was missing. Felix was pretending to be adrien."

-Tikki realize that this was her fault. She knew that Adrien couldnt be the dog user. But she was distracted by the situation to chime in.

-"Tikki! Spots on!"

-Ladybug checked her yo-yo. To her relief the miraculous she had taken back were all there. The only one missing was the dog. The one felix had.

-Now in a calm state, she realized she just revealed herself to Adrien.

-"Look, Adrien. You can not tell anyone that I am ladybug! It is dangerous. This was a situation with Extenuating circumstances. You must keep this a secret, from everyone."

-Adrien takes a moment. He wants to tell her he's chat noir. But he could see now was not the best time.

-"I promise."

-She kisses his cheek. She needs to track down Felix. What was his plan.

-Plagg pops out

-"So, should we go help her?"

-"Time for Felix to have his nose rubbed in his mess."

[soulmate-game]

Maribat March 2021 @maribatmarch-2k21

Day 1: Found Family

“Ah! Bonjour!” A cheery voice called, as a short Eurasian girl bound over to the unfairly intimidating mob of tall people with sharp eyes. Chloe had called in a favor. “My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Chloe told me that your tour guide cancelled at the last minute, so she blackmail—sorry, begged me to fill in for them. You are the Wayne’s, non?”

The one at the front of the group, clearly Bruce Wayne since Marinette didn’t live under a rock and had seen the man on several American news broadcasts before, nodded and cleared his throat. Man, was he intimidating. Even when he shot her a dazzling smile that was sure to blind Paparazzi with fake cheer. It was a nice smile, Marinette wasn’t about to deny. But it was empty. Distant. And Marinette wasn’t going to buy it for a second.

“Yes, that’s us. Mademoiselle Bourgeois mentioned she had asked a close friend of hers to take care of our tour.”

Marinette nodded again, clasping her hands behind her back. “I guarantee, you won’t miss anything the tour guide would have shown you. In fact, Chloe mentioned that you all were very curious about the now retired Parisian heroes, right? My former best friend ran the Ladyblog back when they were active. I am more than confident that I can answer any questions you have while we go through the city.”

A boy with a white streak in his hair rose his hand, as if he was in a class and needed to wait to be called on. Which, considering the sheer size of their family, Marinette was actually grateful for. But damn, this was another imposing figure. Slightly taller than even the six-foot-three-inches that Bruce Wayne owned, he was solidly built and rocked a brown leather jacket and ripped black jeans. Marinette smiled and nodded for him to speak.

“How old are you? Because I don’t know if twelve year olds are allowed to do guided tours,” there was an obvious tease in his voice, but there was also legitimate concern in his blue-green eyes. Marinette almost missed that concern amid her quickly building annoyance. She even felt her eyes twitch.

“I’m turning eighteen in a few months if you need to know, Monsieur,” she evened out the bite in her voice with an overly sweet smile. “And if you want to get lost and possibly pickpocketed in the busy streets of Paris, then please continue to make comments on my height. If not, we can begin our tour and you might even enjoy it.”

Several Wayne’s snickered at her comeback, one man in particular elbowing the white haired gentleman with a little too much glee. Even the stoic Bruce laughed softly, and a boy with enough bags under his eyes to make the airport jealous nearly fell over himself with his suppressed laughter.

The man himself just snorted, sending her a lopsided smirk that oddly radiated approval. It was almost as if she had passed some sort of test.

“My name’s Jason, Pixie. You already know B. The guy trying to break my ribs,” he pointedly shoved off the one who had elbowed him, “is Dick. He’s Bruce’s first adoptive casualty. The one that looks like a zombie is Tim, we might need to take a break to get him more coffee before he passes out halfway through. The one who hasn’t stopped glaring at you is Damian, the badass redhead is Barbara but we all call her Babs. The annoying blonde is Stephany, the other cool badass over there is Cass. She doesn’t talk much. And the one trying to pretend he doesn’t know us is Duke.”

Each member he introduced gave her a little wave or nod. Even Damian managed a short nod of acknowledgement before resuming his glare. He looked to be a couple years younger than her, so she just brushed it off as teenage drama.

“Alright then! It is very nice to meet you all. Now, Chloe did inform me that you guys are very multilingual, which is another reason she asked me instead of one of our other friends. If you ever need it, I obviously am fluent in both French and English. But added to that, I am fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, Italian, and I know basic survival Japanese. I also know French Sign Language, though I’m not sure if that’s very useful for you unfortunately. If you ever need to communicate non-verbally, I will do my best to accommodate that. Now, I believe you guys were scheduled to start the tour with a visit to the Louvre, non? Right this way.”

As Marinette led the large group out of the Grand Paris, they didn’t bother taking time to admire the sights before asking questions.

“Have you ever met one of the heroes?” Dick, who might have been shorter than Jason and Bruce but was muscular enough to still inspire caution (and admiration), asked. His blue eyes seemingly stared right through Marinette as he continued; “If you’re almost eighteen, then they must have been active through a lot of your school career.”

Marinette smiled. “They did only retire last year,” she agreed with a nod. “Yes, I have met all of the Parisian heroes at least once,” she snorted at a stray thought. “In fact, I met Chat Noir quite a lot. You see, my old College was basically ground zero for a lot of akuma attacks. And by a lot, I mean a majority of them,” she shook her head before pausing to get everyone to cross a street. “After a while, Chat Noir started calling me ‘princess’ to make fun of how often he had to save me. He’s an annoying ass.”

Despite her words, everyone behind her could easily hear the fondness there. They all traded glances. What if this was a Lois and SuperMan situation? Regardless, they all had a suspicion that Marinette knew more about the heroes than she let on. Or, at least more about Chat Noir.

“When you say that your school was a hotspot for Akuma attacks,” Bruce spoke up cautiously, his Dad Senses going haywire. He didn’t like how nonchalantly she had said it— she was far too casual. Sure enough, he watched as the muscles between her shoulders stiffened slightly at the conversation change. “What do you mean? Surely it couldn’t have been that bad if the school is still around.”

Marinette sucked her teeth, grimacing. “The school is still there, yeah, but only because of Ladybug’s ability. You’ve heard about the Cure, right?” It was Tim who answered her;

“Yeah. It fixed the damage done during a fight, right?” He asked, tilting his head a little. Marinette ignored her brief thought that the gesture made him look like a curious puppy. She sighed.

“Yeah. But when they say damage, they mean everything. Injuries, collateral. Death,” she said the last example darkly, far too much weight behind the word for it to be meaningless. She heard Jason hiss in sympathy. “But there are good things. The Cure also erased anyone’s memories of dying besides the vague knowledge that it did happen, so there isn’t much trauma there to unpack. Not as much as there could have been anyway,” she assured them. “And I’m one of the lucky ones. I never died, and I was never Akumatized.”

“Hmph,” Damian’s voice cut through the brief silence that followed her admission. She looked back at him to see his sharp green eyes staring right into her. “You don’t honestly believe that’s lucky.” It wasn’t a question. Marinette clenched her jaw, turning around and ignoring him.

Because, no. It wasn’t luck. It wasn’t lucky that she was the only one that remembered everything— all of the deaths, all of the Akumatizations, everything that others mercifully forgot. Since she lived through all of it, she remembered all of it. And survivor’s guilt is nothing to scoff at.

But she wasn’t about to reveal her trauma, or at the very least the full scope of it, to people she had just met and was leading on a tour.

“If you look to the left, you’ll see a statue that was made depicting Ladybug and Chat Noir back during the first years of their activity,” she suddenly told them, gesturing to the still-standing statue. Nobody missed the obvious topic change, but nobody commented on it either. Turns out the statue was something they had been looking forward to seeing in person, Tim even went up to take a few photos with his camera. Barbara took a few circles around the statue, easily pivoting her wheelchair around it as if she was trying to see every angle and imperfection possible. Marinette couldn’t help but chuckle fondly at the sight.

“Your family are pretty big fans, huh?” She asked Cass and Duke, the only ones that had stayed back with her. Duke snorted, and Cass gave her a small grin.

“They like to keep up to date with all the heroes,” Duke answered with a shrug. “Since we’re so high profile, it isn’t weird for us to be saved by one here or there even when we’re away from Gotham.”

Marinette just gave him an odd look, furrowing her brows. “But the Miraculous team has been disbanded since HawkMoth was defeated,” she reminded them. “There’s no need for them to save anybody anymore.”

“Old habits,” Cass spoke up softly, her voice barely a whisper. Her eyes locked with Marinette’s. “Not easy to break.”

The smaller woman had a feeling that Cass wasn’t talking about her family’s habit of keeping up to date on heroes.

“Alright! We need to head to the next stop or we might not have time to see everything!”

The tour went pretty similarly. The walks between stops were pleasant, and filled with questions about the period of time where HawkMoth was active. Marinette wasn’t even the least bit surprised nor put off; everyone was curious about those years now that the tourism restriction was lifted and people could ask freely about it. Besides the many questions about the Heroes, Marinette found the group to be very pleasant company. They were polite, but also rowdy in a very endearing way. She caught a lot of inside jokes they had with each other, and a lot of good natured teasing and fighting. They even managed to rope her into it somehow, and she found herself snidely teasing Damian or casually threatening Tim with not allowing them a coffee break. She even got to ride on Jason’s shoulders for a bit after he made another comment on her height that she Did Not Appreciate. But the ride she got made it worth it.

But soon the sun was high in the sky, and it was about time for them to take a lunch break. They had all been walking for hours with only a few chances to rest, and honestly Marinette was impressed that none of them seemed too tired out by it.

“Alright,” she put her hands on her hips proudly. “Since some of you won’t stop whining about needing coffee or being hungry— Dick, don’t you dare buy anything from that vendor! I’m gonna lead you all to my parent’s bakery so we can have lunch and caffeinate all of you. And conveniently enough,” she smiled widely. “The bakery is right across the street from my old College! So you’ll be able to get a look at where the majority of Akuma attacks happened, and maybe I can tell you a few specific stories if you want,” she offered. There were a couple cheers (Tim and Dick) from the crowd and everyone seemed pretty pleased with the next step in their tour. Smiling, Marinette turned and began to lead them in the direction of her home.

Sirens blared, a fire truck zooming down the street next to them.

Headed in the same direction.

Marinette frowned, watching it go. “That’s weird. I hope everyone’s okay, whatever happened,” she mused idly. But as they kept going forward, the sirens didn’t get any softer. If anything, they started getting louder again after a while. Marinette was visibly concerned by then, her pace picking up. “This is my neighborhood,” she told the solemn group behind her. “I know everyone on this street—“ they rounded the corner, and Marinette stopped in her tracks. Her world ground to a halt.

There was the fire truck, stopped right in front of her bakery.

Which was completely ablaze.

A string of curses flew out of her mouth, the little Eurasian wasting no more time before sprinting towards the building. She could hear people yelling at her to wait, slow down, stop! But she ignored them. The only thing on her mind was that her home was on fire.

“Marinette! Wait!” Dick reached out to grab her arm, but like a snake Marinette easily slipped out of his grip and continued forward. Steph was next, deciding to just tackle Marinette— to no avail. The Parisian just shouldered the bigger woman off of her with pure adrenaline fueling her muscles, and everyone else knew by then that they could not stop her. The Wayne’s decided all they could do was jog behind Marinette, keeping her in sight as they tried to gauge the damage.

“The top floors don’t look like they have even been touched by the fire yet,” Tim whispered, though his eyes flew between the building and their tour guide. Marinette was speaking rapidly with a firefighter that wasn’t immediately busy, trying to get information. But before anyone could decipher what was said, Marinette tore a large strip off the bottom of her shirt and tied it in a hasty mask around her mouth.

“Wait!” Bruce was the first to realize what was happening, with his years of experience with self sacrificing children and their stupid stunts. But Marinette managed to kick him away before he could grab her, dashing into the inferno without paying any heed to the many protests that followed her.

The group of Gothamites could do nothing but watch the flaming building, then. If they went inside, it would only overcrowd a hazardous area. Minutes passed, and there was movement in the fire. Out of the doorway came Marinette and a firefighter, both having to work together to carry the body of a large man outside. The sight of the man made the Gotham family blink— he was as big as Bane! And that was nothing to scoff at. But despite his unusual size and muscle mass, the man had all the signs of being a normal civilian.

Marinette didn’t stop there. She ran back in. Coming out a lot more quickly this time with a barely conscious Asian woman— everyone saw the resemblance between her and this new woman immediately.

It had to be her mother.

“Shit,” Duke hissed. Nobody else could say a word. It wasn’t looking good, and this wasn’t a situation where random vigilantes showing up out of nowhere could actually help. Not this late into the fire. Bruce’s hands curled into fists.

The woman that everyone guessed was Marinette’s mother was suddenly struck by lucidity; she gasped and grabbed at Marinette’s hand without seeming to see who she was even talking to. A single word that none of the Waynes could hear left her throat, and judging by Marinette’s returning panic it hadn’t been good.

She rushed right back into the building, and came back out with the last firefighter who had been searching inside.

Marinette carried a child. She screamed out in panicked French;

“She’s not breathing! I need first aid now!”

That was their cue. The firefighters started their hoses, focusing on getting rid of the flames now that nobody was left inside the building. Bruce and Damian got to Marinette first, and this time she listened as they instructed her to set the child down. Damian, being smaller and having more hands-on medical knowledge, took charge of the resuscitation. Marinette sat there silently, eyes riveted to the small child— a girl.

But Marinette wasn’t reacting like a normal civilian to tragedy. She was eerily calm, eyes focused and barely concealing a terrible rage. She took over chest compressions when Damian started to lose momentum, not giving up.

But then the EMTs arrived, and it was only five minutes with the child hooked onto oxygen that the news arrived—

Marinette heard the monitors on the ambulance flatline before she even registered what people were trying to tell her. Manon. Manon was—

Marinette didn’t register Nadya Chammack at first. She was just another body in the quickly growing sea of them. That is, until she heard Nadya’s pained shriek. A mother who had just lost her baby girl.

“Perhaps we should head back,” Bruce offered softly, giving Marinette space but keeping a keen eye on her. He saw her begin to tremble, then shake. He was pretty sure he could hear the grinding of her teeth for a second before she went still. Just… all movement stopped, the tears that had been building just falling silently for a second before they ended.

And he recognized that carefully practiced emptiness in her bluebell eyes. The same emptiness he had seen in Damian’s eyes when he had first arrived at the Manor. The same emptiness he saw in Dick’s eyes in the days following his parent’s deaths.

The same emptiness he saw in the mirror, every time he had another nightmare about the day Jason had been taken from him, years ago.

Suddenly he could imagine all too well exactly what kind of strength she had to have, to avoid her negative emotions ever being used against her during Hawkmoth’s reign. Especially if she had constantly been dealing with her friends and family being Akumatized and/or dying on multiple occasions.

She didn’t even seem to have heard him. Bruce sighed.

“I called Chloe,” Barbara informed everyone solemnly, holding up her phone for emphasis. “She’ll be here in five.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Chloe hadn’t come alone. With her had been Adrien Agreste, former model when his father hadn’t been… well, in prison. Nowadays he was just a normal student who occasionally gave lectures on neglect and child abuse, and how to help children in those situations.

And, apparently, he was also Marinette’s closest friend. Even more so than Chloe. As soon as they arrived back at the Grand Paris, Chloe herded everyone up into her suite and she and Adrien surrounded Marinette with pillows and blankets. Adrien curled around Marinette like an affectionate cat, and Damien even swore he heard the guy purr at some point

“We should probably leave,” Bruce whispered to their hostess, who looked inbetween him and her friends for a moment before jerking her head towards the door.

“I wanna talk to you first,” Chloe whispered back. Once they all filed out into the hallway and the door was safely closed, Chloe took a breath. “First, I want to tell you that I got a call from the hospital. Marinette’s father is stable, but in a coma right now.”

“Is that the man who looked like he could bench press a car for fun?” Dick asked, earning a weak grin from the Bourgeois heiress.

“Yeah, that’s him. But…” Chloe’s face fell, and she looked around as if to double check nobody was eavesdropping. She still lowered her voice anyway. “Her mother, Sabine. She…” Chloe swallowed a lump in her throat, images of the extremely kind Chinese woman flashing through her mind without permission. “She didn’t make it.”

Several people took a sharp breath, acknowledging everything that had gone so wrong for Marinette on a day that had started so perfectly.

“The smoke?” Cass asked gently, but Chloe winced and shifted on her feet.

“No. They… there were rope marks on Sabine’s neck,” Chloe clenched her eyes shut at the admission. “Marinette’s dad might be big, but he’s not a fighter. Sabine, though… Sabine was. She was raised in a martial arts family back in China. I’ve seen Sabine take down five men at once, all twice her size,” Chloe kicked her lips, shaking her head in disbelief. “Somebody knew… somebody knew that the little Chinese woman was a threat but the big baker with tons of muscle was harmless.”

Nobody took that well. Not only had Marinette just lost her home and half of her family, but her father was in a coma and it had all been foul play.

“Okay,” Bruce nodded once the news had time to sink in. They could help with this; this was their specialty. They might have only known Marinette for six hours, but she had made a big impression. It wasn’t just anybody that could mesh with his family so seamlessly in that short span of time. “Is there anything else?”

“I want you to get temporary custody of her,” Chloe said it the way only Chloe Bourgeois could. With her back straight, chin high, and the tone of a woman who expected to be listened to or else she’d make life Hell for the person that didn’t take her seriously. Bruce could only blink.

“Can I ask for your reasoning?”

“Marinette has been closing herself off more and more over the years,” Chloe admitted. “Hawkmoth’s reign was hard on her. Only Adrien really knows everything she went through during those years. But even after the disbanding of the team, she hasn’t… she hasn’t allowed herself to get close to anybody new. That’s why I tricked her into doing your tour. She needed to socialize with new people, and if she wouldn’t do it herself then I had to pull some strings.”

A few eyebrows raised at the admission that Chloe had fully planned for Marinette to be their tour guide the whole time. It honestly seemed like the kind of well meaning manipulation that one of them would try to pull off.

“She likes you,” Chloe’s voice went soft again, showing how uncharacteristically serious she was about that fact. “She was comfortable enough to let you guys carry her back here. To let you try to help Manon. That might not seem like a big deal to you, but it says a lot to me and Adrien. And… getting her away from Paris for a while is probably a good idea. She was planning to go to Gotham for university anyway.”

The Waynes traded glances before Bruce crosses his arms and asked some more questions first. Doesn’t Marinette have other family? Answer; only her grandmother, who travels all the time and nobody ever knows where she is until she shows up. Bruce agreed that Gina Dupain didn’t exactly seem like a good candidate for Marinette’s new guardian with that description. But finally, to none of his children's surprise, he did end up agreeing.

“But,” he held up a single finger. “We’ll Wait here in Paris for a week, so that she can try to salvage everything she can from her house and so we can get an idea on how her father is doing. There’s still a chance he’ll come out of his coma fairly quickly. And of course, we will only go through with this if Marinette agrees when we ask her tomorrow.”

Chloe agreed to those terms, looking like a weight had been lifted off of her.

Chloe never cut corners when taking care of her hive. And if that meant making sure that her brave soldier bee could move on to start a new hive, one that was better equipped to take care of her, then Chloe would do everything she could to help that move. And really; Chloe was far more resourceful and observant than people gave her credit for. The butts definitely matched, and Bruce Wayne was her last hope to get Marinette the support she needed. Outside of Adrien, anyway.

Chloe took a breath, watching the Waynes trickle off into their own rooms. Marinette was like the little sister she never wanted, but grew to love more than anything. Though, Chloe knew she really chose Marinette as her sister the same way they both chose Adrien as their brother. She just didn’t want to admit she was sentimental like that. But Chloe knew that someone like Marinette needed a bigger family. More support.

She could only hope that Marinette and the Waynes grew to become family for her like she and Adrien had. Kwami knew that Marinette needed all the help she could get for the foreseeable future.

“You did good, my Queen.”

“I know, Pollen. Now we just have to find out who dared hurt my hive.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Dude this took so long to write, but I’m actually really proud of it. Probably gonna take this Maribat March a little differently than last year, and make a few longer stories by connecting some of the prompts together. Maybe each week will be a full story? Idk I’ll figure it out. I know I’m behind but I’m working on it.

I tried to keep the angst out, but it found it’s way in here anyway. Oh well!

[nobodyfamousposts]

BURN THE WITCH!   Part 7

Trigger warning for attempted burning, attempted murder due to the aforementioned burning, and talk of stalking.

______________________________

The old pictures of witch burnings and those who conduct them were far from imposing figures. Some nowadays would insist it amounted to people in funny hats, and had difficulty taking them seriously. They certainly didn’t seem scary.

Similarly, Rose Lavillant was far from an imposing figure. She stood shorter than almost everyone in the class and didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She was more likely to break down in tears before she would so much as raise her voice at anyone, regardless of the reason. She was one whom the word “scary” didn’t even seem to be a word in the dictionary for.

But seeing Rose standing there in full Witch Hunting regalia was quite possibly one of the most terrifying things Lila had ever seen.

“Lila Rossi! Welcome to the party!”

Lila drew back—or she tried to, at least, only to end up bumping into Chat. The hero promptly grabbed hold of her wrists, effectively keeping her in place and cutting off any avenue of escape as Witch Hunter continued to approach.

“Chat Noir!” Lila hissed. “You’re supposed to be a hero! So do the ‘hero thing’ and either get me out of here or let me go!”

“So you can try to get Ladybug killed again?” He sneered, looking more disgusted and angry than she’d ever seen him. “Not a chance.”

She gaped.

“You can’t be serious!” He couldn’t be! That buffoon was never serious!

Except the way he was glaring at her looked…very serious indeed.

“You’ve evaded consequences long enough, Lila. And like your lies, these things build up over time.”

“Right you are, Chat Noir!” Witch Hunter exclaimed gleefully as she came to a stop only a couple feet away.

“And eventually, they build up so much that there’s really only one result.” Witch Hunter continued, smirking at Lila.

“…You end up on top?” Lila asked hopefully.

That got a bitter laugh.

“You only win so long, Lila. Then people have enough. And aaaall the people you trampled over on your way up will be there to drag you down.” Witch hunter almost seemed to twirl her closed scroll. “Down, down, down…until your final, well deserved end.” She finished, stepping aside and directing Lila’s attention to the pyre that was waiting for her.

“Tie her up!”

_____________________

Well, the one good thing about finally being alone was that she was able to transform in peace. Despite Tikki’s protests. Which sounded like whining more than anything.

The petty, childish part of her wanted to hold that over Tikki once things returned to normal. Moral Tikki, Kwami of Creation, steadfast voice of goodness and order, whining like a child not getting an extra cookie.

Hey, she’d have to take whatever humor she could get at this point before she would be forced to charge yet again into the insanity.

Since Lila was with Chat Noir and possibly safe for now (though with Lila involved, anything could have happened in the span of a few minutes), Marinette decided to try and locate the akuma. If she could find out where it was, she could plan.

She moved to the rooftops for a better view. There was no smoke yet—always a good sign. And the streets around her were still mostly devoid of people. But she could hear some commotion from a distance away. Following it, she noticed that it was growing louder the closer she got to the Eiffel Tower.

As were lights.

And party streamers.

And people. Whom were acting like they were simply going to a festival.

That was odd. 

If the Tower was being used as a safe area, then why were people setting up this way? This wasn’t safe, it was extravagant and frivolous. It was bound to get the akuma’s attention.

There were kiosks, tents, a pyre, carnival games, food stands—back up, what was that?

…

Sure enough, looking back, she noticed a central area of the festivities specifically arranged in a rather distressing manner to create what was unmistakably a pyre reminiscent of what was used during historical witch burnings.

At least now she knew where Rose probably was. And where they intended to take Lila to.

“So this is where they’re going to try and burn Lila?”

Wait...

Chat had told her to go to the Tower. He’d said it was where everyone would be.

She groaned as realization hit her.

“He’s affected too.”

Because of course he is!

Why else would he direct Marinette there? He probably wanted her to make it to the “show”. He had been trying to be helpful so Marinette wouldn’t miss out. And he had helped…just not the way he probably intended.

Because now Ladybug knew just what her obstacles would be. She would have to deal with Witch Hunter and finding her akuma—as well as the crowds including her own partner that would no doubt not take kindly to her interference—all while trying to protect Lila. The girl who hated Ladybug so much that she would willingly work with a supervillain regularly attacking the city just to ensure that Ladybug is destroyed regardless of whose hands it happens by or what would happen afterwards.

Even if it was in Lila’s own interests and meant the difference between her own life and death, Ladybug couldn’t trust that she wouldn’t do something to sabotage any efforts to save her if it meant that Lila could take Ladybug down as well. So she couldn’t even count on Lila in this instance to simply stay out of the way.

Chat was affected. Master Fu was affected. Most of Paris was affected. Her own kwami was affected. It was down to her.

She was alone.

“Ladybug.”

Well...not completely alone.

At her side, Longg looked up to her.

“Whatever you decide to do, I will aid you.” He promised her.

That…

That really helped to hear. It was nice to be supported in a way that DIDN’T involve allowing murder. Just having one person backing her to do what she knew she should really helped.

She smiled in relief.

“Thank you, Longg.”

_____________________

It was a rather lovely gathering, all things considered. People simply going about festivities without a care, looking at food, playing games, buying souvenirs. The Mayor gave a speech. It was a nice speech, even. Yes, everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun and just a grand old time this beautiful sunny day.

Except for Lila, who was glaring pettily from the pole she was now tied to.

She was rather vexed about the entire matter. Possibly because she couldn’t join them. But more likely because the festival in question was solely dedicated to her humiliation and theoretical demise. Not that they’d follow through with it, of course, because certainly Hawk Moth wouldn’t let Rose actually hurt her, but still! It was the principle of the thing!

She had wanted to be the center of attention, but not like THIS!

“Enjoying yourself, Lila?” Witch Hunter asked sweetly as she secured the final knot.

“Okay, you’ve had your fun.” Lila growled with a glare at the smug akuma. “But don’t you have a job to do?”

Witch Hunter grinned. “I’m already doing it!”

“No!” She shouted, stomping her foot—or at least as much as the ropes would let her. “Your job is to take the Miraculous! Remember? Ladybug and Chat Noir? The heroes? Your enemies?”

The akuma shrugged in response. “Yeah, but who knows where they are or how much time it would take to find them?”

“He’s right there!” Lila exclaimed angrily, nodding her head in the direction of Chat, who was indeed only twenty feet away. “He’s not even doing anything useful!”

Chat Noir, for his part, was cheerfully engaging with a group of children. Unconcerned with Lila now that she was caught, he was instead focused on using his claws to whittle a number of sticks to fine points, much to the awe of his juvenile audience. 

"Marshmallow, marshmallow! How fluffy you could be! So near a flame, let's see how toasted you could be!"

Lila watched the scene in initial confusion until he started poking a large marshmallow on the end of each stick, much to the glee of the children and some sickening realization for Lila.

“Here you go!” He said as he cheerfully handed each stick to one of the kids.

“Yay!”

“Thank you!”

“Mallow!”

“Can I eat it now?” One asked, eyeing the puffy treat hungrily.

“If you do, you won’t be able to toast it.” Chat replied. “We still have to get the fire going. It won’t be long now.” And here he gave a side-eyed smirk to Lila.

…Yep. Realization and dread was setting in.

“You can’t be serious! You’re actually going to burn me?” She demanded of the akuma.

“Well, yeah, that’s the plan.” Witch Hunter responded as she went to grab two containers of lighter fluid. “I haven’t made it a secret, you know.”

“But you can’t!” Lila shouted, horrified.

“Sure, I can! There’s plenty of wood to keep the fire well fed. Plus my torch is magical, so—”

“Hawk Moth wouldn’t allow it! You said it yourself, I’ve been helping him! So that makes us on the same side!”

“Were you on my side when you stole from me? When you lied to me? Used me?” Witch Hunter questioned with a look of disgust. “Tell me, Lila, when did this supposed camaraderie between us suddenly start to matter to you?”

Lila scoffed. “I got you power, didn’t I? Now look at you! All of Paris is under your sway! Even the heroes are willing to follow you into whatever silly good acts you’re interested in. You could just tell them to hand you the Miraculous and they probably would! With that, you could have the power to do any of the goody-goody things you want.”

“I DIDN’T WANT POWER!” Witch Hunter shouted. “I WANTED A FRIEND!”

“And we were friends.” Lila replied, unimpressed. “As you were helping me, adoring me, doing so many favors on my behalf…” She smiled. “That’s just what ‘friends’ do.”

It’s what they were supposed to do.

After all, a “friend” was just a label for people who could do things for you.

And wasn’t she a wonderful person for letting them? For allowing them to be useful?

It was just the way the world worked.

Whose fault was it really if Rose didn’t like her place in it after all?

Witch Hunter looked at Lila in disgust. As did Chat Noir and a number of those nearby. 

“So you just use people? That’s what a friend is to you? Someone to use?”

Lila shrugged. “Everyone uses someone. Even Hawk Moth is using you for the Miraculous.” Her eyes narrowed. “Which are supposed to be your goal”

Of course. Because let’s not forget who was really in charge here. Not the pitiful little akuma in front of her, but the man behind the mask—so to speak.

Lila had done her part. More than done her part by this point given how far this akuma had gotten compared to any other before. He certainly wouldn’t have made an akuma this powerful without her help.

“So Hawk Moth!” Lila hissed. “Hurry up and order your akuma to do its job!”

Witch Hunter appeared to be seething before the glowing mask formed, indicating Hawk Moth communicating to his minion. Good. She was learning her place then. Likely being told to focus on finding Ladybug and to leave Lila be. She finally felt herself relax in relief.

Of course, she wouldn’t mind playing the damsel in distress. Well, she would mind actually, since it would leave her tied to the pole to keep up appearances, but if it meant drawing in and finally crushing Ladybug once and for all, it would be a small price to pay.

There was a long silence. Lila waited, feeling smug. Her confidence only grew when the akuma regained focus and turned to her.

“Ah yes.” Witch Hunter drawled with a dark smile. “Hawk Moth has a message for you.”

A message? Lila frowned. His message should be to his akuma, ordering his minion to let her go! What could he want to say to her?

“Hawk Moth thanks you for your assistance.”

With a smirk, Witch Hunter leaned forward so she was eye to eye with Lila.

“But your services are no longer necessary.”

Lila froze in shock.

“What?”

She tsked at the other girl. “You have a talent for manipulation, sure. But you waste it on big gambles that ultimately have little payoff even if they do work out in your favor. You lack subtlety and you try to reach too far. All too soon, you’ve overreached and now look at you.”

Witch Hunter spoke, and with her candid way of speaking and impassive stare, it was difficult to tell if it was Witch Hunter or Hawk Moth himself speaking. She had a feeling though…the strange sense that she was hearing Hawk Moth’s words as if from him directly.

“Your true nature has been revealed. The heroes have already long since known not to trust you, and now that the entirety of Paris is aware of your actions as well, your ability to influence and manipulate…your one worthwhile trait…is worthless.”

Lila gaped, uncomprehending. Because this…he wasn’t saying what she thought he was saying, was he?

“What did you expect would happen once you were caught? Nobody will trust you now. Everyone knows what you’ve done. What you intended to do. Who will fall for your lies now? And even Hawk Moth isn’t about to go out of his way to help someone who has fallen so far.”

“You can’t do this!” Lila shouted. “We are partners! You need me!”

“It would appear that you have overestimated your value and the nature of this relationship.” Witch Hunter replied, sounding far too old to simply be the akuma speaking. “A partnership requires equal footing, and you appear to have lost yours. Over some extra play money, no less.”

He/she sighed. “And your reveal didn’t even generate enough emotional turmoil for another mass akumatization. Though I suppose you deserve credit for this masterwork of an akuma. But between the two of you…well, it is no contest. And I am not about to risk one tool to try and save another that no longer functions.”

Witch Hunter giggled at Lila’s dumbfounded expression.

She leaned in close, speaking in barely a whisper.

“Don’t look so shocked, Lila? A tool is only useful as long as it can be used. But I’m sure you already know all about that.”

She sneered.

“Friend.”

Hearing that word, said in that way, being used against her for once made her go cold. As her label for “people who were useful to her” was turned around on her, she got a feeling for the first time just what her former “friends” had probably felt.

It was the use of that word which really made the situation hit home. At this moment she realized that this was real. This was happening. And unlike any other situation—whether before, after, or during the akuma attacks—this was one time when her charm would not be able to get her out of it.

The akuma didn’t just want to get rid of her as an obstacle like Oni-chan had. She flat out wanted Lila burned.

The entire city was backing her. Her classmates. Their families. And Chat Noir—one of the city’s heroes had helped to trap her.

Hawk Moth was not going to risk losing such a powerful akuma simply to protect one girl. Especially not one he no longer saw a use in.

This was it.

She was really going to die here.

And this time, no amount of lies, promises, or words would save her.

It was only once Witch Hunter put her torch to the pyre and the sounds and smell of the first bits of wood starting to catch aflame that Lila snapped out of it. Only to be greeted with the cheers of the crowd, all of whom were watching her execution with eager eyes. many were holding up their phones to record the moment for history. And one particularly brazen citizen had chosen to get a head start on the marshmallow roasting and held their treat on a stick over the flames that were starting to catch on the wood around her and creeping ever inward.

“Don’t worry, Lila! The smoke inhalation will kill you before the flames do.” Witch Hunter said with a smile. “That’s not to say you won’t be burned or suffer pain first, of course. But still, small mercies, I guess?”

Lila opened her mouth to respond, but couldn’t speak.

There were no words she could say.

So she simply screamed instead.

Loudly.

Senselessly.

Begging without words for something—anything to help her.

And at that moment, as if by a miracle, it began to rain.

___________________________

By all appearances, it wasn’t a natural rainfall—given the clear skies with nary a cloud in sight. Or the sudden wall of water that washed through the area and took out all torches. Though it could be argued that Longg was the original source of storms and weather to begin with, and thus any rain caused by himself or his power were indeed natural.

But that’s just semantics.

The point was that it WAS raining. On a cloudless day. Conveniently falling solely within the single area around the base of the Eiffel Tower that made up the whole of this “Witch Burning Festival”.

And most importantly, on the pyre that Lila herself was tied to, getting her wet and dousing the flames that threatened to engulf her.

A number among the mob responded as many people do in a flash downpour and immediately sought shelter from the sudden and inexplicable rainstorm. Chat, not being one for water, hissed and bounded away somewhere higher up and out of the splash zone. Alya, ever the reporter, dashed to a barrier to protect herself from the worst of the wave and continued to film the scene, grateful that her phone had a water-proof casing so as to not be damaged.

Witch Hunter, however, stood her ground. After her initial confusion at the unexpected storm, she realized quickly enough what had to be the cause and glared at the sudden accumulating mass of water with clenched fists and gritted teeth. “Ladybug!” She bit out with all the savagery of someone who had just literally had someone rain on their parade.

Because who else could it be?

___________________________

“You know the plan?” She asked her companion a few minutes previously.

“Yes. It should work. The water power will last until you fully reform, and even then you will not lose my power until you have used all three of the elemental abilities.”

Good to know. It seemed rather unfair given that she and Chat could only use one ability one time before their timers started, but for now, she would take it.

“Okay, then I can just wash out the square, douse the fire and any fire-causing sources, and dampen the wood enough that it can’t be lit again. Then focus on Witch Hunter.” She started pacing as she thought.

Longg nodded. “From what you have said, it seems Witch Hunter lacks much else in the way of offensive abilities. The other two elements may be useful, but shouldn’t be necessary.”

That was good to know. Longg was apparently quite the strategist, it seemed. It helped her to relax knowing she had someone on her side to work with.

A pause.

But just in case…

“You’re not going to advocate for her murder, are you?” She asked warily.

Better to make sure, after all.

The kwami tilted his head in curiosity.

“I do not know this Lila Rossi or what would warrant her to be set on fire. We couldn’t hear anything when we were within the box.” He assured her.

Oh. Well, that was a relief.

“But I can encourage you if you want me to.”

“No, thank you!”

___________________________

Lila spluttered as the wall of water splashed her. It was cold. It was wet. And while it did save her from the fire, it just put her back in the state of being drenched after she had already mostly dried off from an hour before.

The water coalesced into a singular form and rapidly regained color and flesh to reveal Dragonbug. She appeared tense and much like Witch Hunter, ready for a fight.

“M’lady! You made it!” Chat cheered before frowning, a bit put off. “Though we could have done without the water show…”

“My marshmallow...” One particularly unhappy civilian mourned.

“Ladybug!” Lila shrieked. Though it was hard to tell if she was actually glad to see her or not. “You did that on purpose!”

Not glad to see her then.

Regardless, Ladybug stayed silent, not denying it.

Okay, it was petty of her. But come on, after everything she had done today, she’d earned this.

“Why are you protecting her?” Witch Hunter shouted, waving her now doused torch in anger. “Do you even know what she’s done?”

“That doesn’t mean she should be lit on fire!” Ladybug countered.

“Sure, it does!” Chat Noir exclaimed from his position. “Like the old rhyme: Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

“That’s right!” Came a shout.

“Burn the witch!” Came another.

“AVENGE MY MARSHMALLOW!”

Ladybug groaned. Right, right. You couldn’t argue with an angry mob. It was a waste of time and only made them angrier.

“Chat!” She groaned. “You’re a hero! This isn’t what heroes do!”

But he remained firm. “Ladybug, I don’t want to fight you. But Lila is only getting what’s coming to her. She’s helped Hawk Moth. She’s hurt my friends. She tried to get you killed!”

He clenched his fists in anger.

She started in surprise. She knew these things, yes. But she hadn’t realized just how much her partner had been affected as well.

It was no wonder he fell to Witch Hunter.

“She fooled me, too.” He growled, bitter in his admission. “I trusted her so many times and only got burned. Even when you warned me, I didn’t listen and people only got hurt because of it. And still I gave her second chance after second chance and I’m tired of it!”

Even under the effects of Witch Hunter’s influence, she could hear the raw hurt and anger. As kind and trusting as Chat could be, he had negative feelings as well—she knew that better than anyone. He hid them, but they were there.

And right now…

She could tell that this was really how he felt.

“Chat…” She started.

“I won’t fight you, my lady.” He told her, backing away. “I just want to see justice done and the removal of a threat.”

Well, she supposed that was the best she could hope for.

“Shouldn’t you be untying me now?” Lila demanded in annoyance as she wiggled at her post.

Unfortunately, Lila had chosen a rather inopportune time to remind everyone she was still there.

If the situation were different and Lila was almost literally ANYONE ELSE, Ladybug may have considered it. But the fire was stopped and Lila was safe, if only for the moment. Attempting to directly rescue the girl would only leave herself vulnerable to the akuma and open to further sabotage from Lila.

She had to focus and deal with the akuma now.

“Rose, this isn’t like you!” It was fruitless and she knew it, but she still had to try to get her friend to see reason.

But it was clear the girl was too angry and the akuma was having none of it.

“She doesn’t deserve protection!” Witch Hunter snapped, holding out her scroll and letting it unfurl.

Realizing what she was about to do, Ladybug charged.

“Lila stole the book from Mr. Agreste and nearly caused Adrien to be taken out of school!”

She knew that, she thought as she ducked a punch.

“Lila was hiding in Paris for months while pretending to have been traveling around the world!”

She knew that as well. Another punch dodged.

“Lila helped Hawk Moth as Volpina on Heroes Day!”

And that. She tried to make a grab for the scroll but missed.

“She manipulated her way into Adrien Agreste’s house!”

That too. She jumped back several feet when the akuma made a counterattack.

“She framed Marinette and got her expelled!”

She was Marinette and she knew that.

At this point, even with the reminders of all of Lila’s past misdeeds being brought up, Ladybug couldn’t find it in herself to be angry. She wasn’t even surprised at any of the claims.

Was there really anything Lila had done that she didn’t already know about? Or that she didn’t already believe Lila to be capable of?

“C’mon, Ladybug!” Chat called out to her imploringly. “You already know how bad Lila is. Can’t we just get rid of her and save Paris the trouble?”

“It’s only justice!” Witch Hunter shouted, pointing to Lila.

Lila, for her part, tried to shrink back as far as the pole and her bindings would allow.

“That’s not justice, Rose. That’s just revenge.” Ladybug replied, in perhaps the first true bit of feeling she’s had since this battle started. “If we let someone suffer just because we didn’t like them, could we really be called heroes?”

“SHE HURT ME!” Witch Hunter shrieked. “She LIED to me! She TRICKED me! SHE USED ME!”

“That makes her a monster. But you’re not one, Rose!”

“Hey!” Lila shouted, indignant. “I’M the victim, here!”

Witch Hunter spun on Lila in a rage. “I have your crimes right here, Lila Rossi! You’re the furthest thing from a victim and any court would agree with me.” She smirked, shaking her scroll. “That’s why MY court is the only one that matters right now! And you’ll see that soon enough!”

She spun back to Ladybug with a dark gleam in her eyes before she looked down to the scroll and began reading again. Much more quickly this time.

“Lila tried to sacrifice Marinette as a distraction to save herself! Lila lied to Chris about inventing Freestyle Crash! Lila made a deal with Oni-chan to get her to try and kill Ladybug!”

Ladybug’s eyes widened.

She hadn’t known about that. It didn’t surprise her that Lila would do that, but it was something she hadn’t known.

Okay, she had to take out that scroll before Witch Hunter could find something that WOULD upset her.

“LUCKY CHARM!”

In a swirl of magic, an item formed and dropped into her hands.

“Lighter fluid?” She gaped.

‘Dammit, Tikki!’

“Looks like even the Lucky Charm agrees, m’lady!” Chat called to her, being absolutely NO help whatsoever!

Ladybug felt her eye twitch.

Though at least he wasn’t trying to fight her either, which was a nice change of pace from the other times he’d been put under an akuma’s influence. But still!

“Lila has been acting as a spy for Gabriel Agreste! She’s been using this connection to try and gain influence over Adrien!”

FOCUS!

Ladybug looked around for anything the Lucky Charm could be used with. Because there had to be SOMETHING she could use it for.

Something that DIDN’T involve lighting Lila on fire!

“She’s kept the school from reaching her mother about her absences!”

Think!

“She’s lied to her mother about the school being closed!”

Think!

“She’s lied to her mother about akuma attacks! She claimed that Ladybug and Chat Noir were too incompetent to deal with them and let them run wild for months!”

She felt a flare of indignation at the lie regarding her capability, but forced herself to squash it quickly with the memory of how Lila had tried to disparage her superhero self to Adrien previously. If she could put down a hero she was supposedly “friends” with to a cute boy to make herself look better, it stood to reason she would insult Ladybug in other ways to other unsuspecting people. So no, Ladybug couldn’t be outraged.

Chat, however, was. “Hey!” He snapped, sending Lila a glare. Lila for her part merely looked away with a dark mutter.

Witch Hunter continued. “She’s lied about being Adrien Agreste’s girlfriend!”

Ladybug’s vision seemed to narrow down on Witch Hunter’s scroll.

…..it couldn’t be that easy, could it?

“She was willingly akumatized! TWICE!”

Screw it.

“She’s a liar! She’s evil! She’s horrible!” Witch Hunter shouted, growing only more frustrated angry. “SO WHY DO YOU KEEP PROTECTING HER?!

Good question. There’s no single clear answer, but it was a good question.

And in the midst of Rose’s growing fury, she was caught up in her own feelings that she had stopped really paying attention to her surroundings.

Taking advantage of the akuma’s distraction, Ladybug threw out her yoyo, wrapping it around her.

“Hey!” Witch Hunter cried out as her arms were pulled towards her body in an awkward angle that left the scroll in easy grabbing range.

Ladybug lunged and within seconds, had grabbed her arm that held the scroll with one hand and pulled the scroll from her grip with the other. She didn’t want to risk splashing Rose, after all. With Witch Hunter tied up and unable to stop her, she poured the lighter fluid on the scroll. And then—

“Lightning Dragon!”

It was only her hand that was covered with electricity. She didn’t need too much power. Just enough to create a few sparks. And when those sparks hit the scroll where the fluid had soaked through…

It only took a couple of seconds

“NO!” The akuma shouted as the scroll caught aflame.

And as the scroll started to burn, a black butterfly escaped.

Ladybug didn’t even bother with her normal catchphrase as she simply caught and purified the akuma. After everything that had happened, she just wanted this day to be OVER.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the butterfly was released—now pure white—and Witch Hunter changed back into a confused Rose.

“MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!”

The flash of light and loveliness of ladybugs brought with them a sense of relief to Marinette. All signs of the festival were cleaned away. What few people remained were looking around in confusion, as if unaware of what they had just previously been attempting to do. The stand and pyre Lila had been trapped on vanished. Lila herself was sent sprawling to the ground with a loud “oof!” in an act that may have been just a little petty on the part of the Cure.

Not that Ladybug was going to complain.

The Cure seemed to finish with Ladybug herself, which hopefully meant that Tikki would be back to normal once she detransformed. Though she wasn’t in a position to check just yet. She had a few other things to attend to first.

One of which being the liar herself.

Now free of her bindings and no longer under attack from an akuma or angry mob, Lila seemed much more confident—if not still somewhat shaken. She took to brushing herself off and trying to straighten her still damp and disorderly hair.

Lila sniffed and glared at the heroine.

“Here to lecture me again?”

She wanted to.

Oh, how she wanted to.

There was so much she wanted to say to the lying little witch. And after the day she had, she really wanted nothing more than to just full on RANT at her. As Marinette or Ladybug. Or both. She probably had two or three more good rants in her before Hawk Moth could scrounge up another akuma to target her. She could air some of those well-warranted grievances.

Except…

“No.”

Lila raised an eyebrow at that. “What?”

"No. I'm not going to lecture you. It'd simply be a waste of time at this point. Because if after everything that's happened today none of that has gotten through to you, then there's clearly nothing I could say that would."

She blinked. “So…you’re giving up?”

Ladybug leaned over Lila, looking…much more fearsome than the other girl had ever seen her. More than she had ever appeared to anyone.

“Let’s make something clear, Lila. I know you are a horrible person. I am fully aware that there are no lows you wouldn’t sink to. I know you’ve worked with Hawk Moth of your own free will and the only reason I’m not going to police and having you escorted from the city is simply that I don’t yet have proof you wouldn’t lie your way around and quite frankly, I trust you less out of my sight.”

Lila backed away.

“What…what are you saying?”

The hero clapped her hands together, looking eerily cheerful. “I’m saying that you and I are going to be spending much more time together! I will be watching you every day of your stay here in Paris. I know you’re connected to Hawk Moth, after all, so that’s all the more reason to keep you around.” Ladybug smiled. “Just think about it. I’m going to be aware of you at all times. When an akuma shows up, you’ll be the first person I’m looking for. If anything goes wrong, you will be the one I’ll know to be in the middle of it. Where you go, who you interact with, anything you do…I’m going to be right there.”

Ladybug’s grin was practically feral.

“You, Lila Rossi, are going to be my new. Special. Friend.”

Lila blanched, her eyes wide. “Y-you can’t do that! That’s stalking! I’ll—I’ll tell everyone you’re harassing me!”

Ladybug laughed. “Oh, Lila…”

She leaned forward and wrapped an arm around the liar’s shoulders.

“You said it yourself in your interview, remember? As far as anyone else is concerned, I’m only spending time with my best friend.” She said, poking Lila in the cheek as she reminded her of her own words.

Lila paled.

With her arm still around Lila to keep her from trying to pull away, Ladybug shrugged and gestured with the other arm. “And sure, you could admit to everyone that our friendship was a lie. But that would require you to admit that you DID lie. And which of those stories sound more realistic, do you think? That teen model Lila Rossi is being stalked by a superhero after she lied about being that hero’s best friend? Or that Ladybug is keeping a protective watch over a civilian who was foolish enough to claim a connection to her so that said civilian doesn’t herself get killed by a supervillain?”

She gave Lila a deadpan stare.

“After all, given what happened today, it doesn’t look like you’re Hawk Moth’s favorite accomplice anymore. There’s no telling how much you know…or what he could do to make sure you can’t reveal how much you know.”

Ladybug tried not to take satisfaction in the fact that Lila was starting to tremble.

“But I guess that’s what happens when you work with criminals for petty reasons.” She shrugged before smiling broadly. “That’s why it’s such a good thing that I will be going well out of my way to protect you. From anything. Ever.”

“But—”

She continued to gush. “And if that protection involves hunting you down during every akuma attack—or anything that I even suspect could become an akuma attack to get you out of the way…well, I'm just making sure my DEAR FRIEND Lila is safe. Sure, I tend to be in a rush, so I might be a little rough when I find a good hiding place for you...."

Ladybug tapped her chin thoughtfully.

“How do you feel about closets? Lockers? The sewer? Maybe another dip in the Seine since you seemed to handle it so well this time? Just to make really sure?”

Lila’s look of sheer disgust was all the answer she needed.

“Whether it’s an akuma attack or a squirrel, I promise to keep you safe. Day and night. Anywhere you go. For as long as this threat to you persists.” She swore, admiring Lila’s expression of growing anger.

“How about it, ‘Bestie’?” She finished with a giggle, drawing Lila even closer to her and tapping Lila’s nose. Perhaps she was enjoying this too much?

Still, this finally seemed to be enough for Lila as she slapped Ladybug’s hand away and shoved out of her grip.

“You don’t scare me!” She shouted this, but her voice quivered and her hands were shaking. “I’ll tell everyone! I’ll turn everyone against you! I’ll make you sorry!”

“There are so many reasons that would be a bad idea, the least of which being that you’ll open yourself up to an attack by Hawk Moth. But well, if you want to try it anyway, by all means go ahead!” Ladybug chirped. “I mean, really…”

Her eyes narrowed as she gave a rather evil smile.

“Who’ll even believe you?”

Lila gave a rather high pitched screech before storming off.

Ladybug smiled brightly as she waved. “Ciao! See you later, Lila!” She kept it up for a few more seconds until Lila was well out of earshot, at which point she immediately dropped the facade and glowered at the girl’s retreating back. “And it’ll be all too soon.”

“Ladybug?”

Oh right! She forgot for a moment there were still others.

She turned to see a worried-looking Chat.

“Did we…?”

She shook her head and he seemed to slump in relief.

“Oh. Good. That’s…that’s good.”

Yeah. She didn’t want to consider how Chat or anyone else would react if they learned they had killed someone.

A sniffle drew the attention of both to a particularly upset Rose. She appeared to be a mix of sad and horrified. Tears were spilling and she appeared a mess.

“I’m…so sorry!” She sobbed, rubbing at her eyes helplessly.

“It’s not your fault, Rose.” Ladybug rested a hand on her shoulder. “You were upset and you had every right to be.”

But Rose shook her head insistently. “No! If I hadn’t believed her…if I had just checked with Prince Ali first, none of this would have happened! And now…” She gave a sob. “Ali hates me! And so many people were lied to! They’ll be disappointed and their money was stolen and it’s all my fault!”

“You didn’t know.” Chat told her. “You thought you were doing the right thing.”

Rose sniffed. “But what seemed like the right thing really wasn’t.”

Something about that made Chat wince. “Yeah…”

“You can’t change what happened, but you can take steps from here.” Ladybug told her. She drew back from Rose and tapped her chin, thinking for a moment.

An idea struck and she snapped her fingers. “Since this was for a charity, didn’t you keep a ledger of the funds you received?”

Chat brightened. “Hey, yeah! You can use that log to note how much was stolen and take it to the proper authorities. That way, you can try to get the funds back.”

Rose seemed to calm as she considered the idea. She sniffed and wiped away a few tears.

“It’s worth a try. Thank you.” She gave a weak smile. “It doesn’t fix everything, but it’s at least an option.”

“You’re a wonderful person, Rose. Don’t let this change that.”

Rose smiled back at her. And for a moment, it truly felt like everything would be all right.

Then her earring gave a final beep and her transformation gave out.

Rose squeaked in shock and covered her eyes. Chat, for his part, spun around in an attempt not to see. It was heartwarming that they were so considerate of Ladybug’s privacy. Even Tikki gave a little gasp once she was free and flew to hide behind her. Fortunately, to her relief as she patted herself down in a panic, it was only her Ladybug transformation that had given out. The Dragon Miraculous was still very much activated and in effect.

“I’m okay. Sorry to worry you.”

Chat took a glance over his shoulder and gave a smile. “Perhaps we should cat-ch up another time.”

Talking was indeed not a free action. And while she had dealt with the akuma fairly quickly, she had spent a little too much time dealing with Lila.

….still worth it, though.

“Bug out!” She called as she took off.

_____________________

The Dragon Miraculous was different than what she was used to. The Ladybug Miraculous in combination with it had mitigated some of the differences, but they were still there. And now it was even more pronounced with her other transformation gone. It felt heavier. Her movements seemed more forceful. And there was an undercurrent of some feeling reminiscent of static that seemed to cling to her. Plus, she was without her yoyo, so traveling took a bit longer.

Once she had made it back to the bakery and was sure she was out of sight of everyone, she hopped over to her balcony and back into the safety of her room.

She waited for a minute, listening carefully to make sure no one would catch her. Then she sighed in relief and detransformed, leaving just Marinette with two kwamis in her room.

“Thank you, Longg.”

The Dragon gave a simple bow. “It was my honor.”

“I’ll make sure to return you to Master Fu later.” She promised him as she took off the choker and put it back in his box.

“Then until we meet again…” He said in farewell before disappearing.

Leaving her alone with Tikki.

Dead silence followed. Neither seemed willing to speak. What could she even say after what she did?

‘I’m sorry?’

But she wasn’t. 

‘I was wrong?’

But she had only spoken the truth.

‘I shouldn’t have done that?’

But she…she didn’t regret it.

She should regret it. She knew she should. It was mean and cruel of her and she knew she shouldn’t have let her anger get the best of her…

And yet…

She’d just wanted to air her grievances for once.

…but she’s Ladybug.

Ladybug has to be the bigger person.

Ladybug has to do the right thing.

Always.

She sighed. “Tikki—”

“I’m sorry, Marinette.”

That wasn’t expected.

“Wait—what?” She gaped.

“I’m sorry.” Tikki repeated. She was floating in front of her, but appeared so weighted down. She had never seen the ancient being look so sad.

“What’s going on, Tikki?” Marinette held her hands out in front of her, allowing Tikki a place to perch. The kwami accepted the offer and the comfort that came with it, nuzzling into Marinette’s thumb.

“I meant what I said before.” Tikki told her. Which…was an answer without actually answering anything.

“Before?”

Tikki seemed to slump in on herself. “You have every right to feel angry.”

Wait…wait…wasn’t that…?

Marinette gasped. “You remember?”

Tikki nodded, looking miserable. “It’s blurry at times. I remember being angry. I remember why. I remember some of the things I said…”

Marinette looked away, fumbling for something to say or some way to respond to that revelation. “W-well…I mean…it wasn’t really you—”

“It was.” Tikki admitted.

“I’m sure you didn’t mean it—”

“I did.”

Marinette tensed.

“Please don’t tell me you still want me to light Lila on fire.”

She just couldn’t deal with anything else at this point! She just couldn’t!

Fortunately, Tikki looked horrified at that. “What?! No!”

"Maybe a teensy bit? You know, liar liar pants on fire?"

“NO!”

She sighed in relief. “Oh, good.”

Honestly, she’d had more than enough of that. It was like the world was telling her it was okay when she knew it wasn’t. And with every stunt Lila pulled and each person who tried to reassure her that Lila’s reign was over and she would finally be getting some comeuppance…

It was everything she’d been wanting to hear. Everything she had wanted to have happen. But it was all taken to such an extreme and it was only happening at all because of an akuma, so she couldn’t even feel relieved or vindicated because it didn’t feel real.

It wasn’t fair.

It was hardly simple temptation. It was like the world was trying to tell her to take what she wanted in the worst way she could and that nobody had to know. Or care.

But she would.

And while she certainly wasn’t inclined to go along with it, Marinette was just…tired by the end.

Exhausted, actually.

Not because she was tempted, but because she was just done with having to be the responsible one in the situation where everyone seemed intent on pushing her to do the wrong thing.

“Marinette?”

Tikki’s concern broke her out of her thoughts. The little kwami was looking up at her in worry, her little hands resting on Marinette’s thumb.

“I’m fine, Tikki.”

Tikki, for her part, only gave a small smile.

“I’m really proud of you for how you handled today.”

How could Tikki say that? She let her anger take over. She used the opportunity to truly let loose her feelings against Lila. And yes, she had been needlessly petty in some of her responses. She wasted time yelling at Lila as Marinette, which allowed Chat to find them and take Lila to the mob—not that they had known he was one of them at the time, but still! And then as Ladybug, she had wasted more time with Lila to the point her timer had run out and her transformation had dropped when she finally tried to comfort Rose.

Marinette winced. Those…weren’t really things to be proud of. “I yelled at Lila. Twice.”

“But you helped her more times.” Tikki countered. “Even when you didn’t have to. And Lila getting caught in the end was on her. From the sounds of it, she had multiple chances for safety and ended up losing them all because she kept trying to lie and hurt people instead.”

Well, that wasn’t untrue. How much of this could have been resolved so much faster if Lila had just stayed in the closet where Marinette put her? Or if she hadn’t tried to manipulate Luka and Anarka? Or if she hadn’t tried to betray Marinette to the mob? Or if she just didn’t lie about the charity in the first place?

Yeah, there was a lot of things that Lila had done to kind of bring misfortune upon herself.

“But it’s still my fault Lila was like this in the first place. I called her out as Ladybug the first day I met her because I was angry with her lying about being my friend to get close to people only to turn around and badmouth me to make herself look better.”

Which, looking back, probably hadn’t been that big of a deal. Surely no one would have thought less of Ladybug regardless of what Lila claimed—especially for a supposed “famous hero” like Volpina was supposed to be when she’d never even been heard of before. If anything, maybe this claim would have led a hero-fanatic like Alya to look into things and discover Lila was lying sooner?

Tikki frowned. “What Lila did wasn’t your fault!”

Marinette covered her face with her other hand. “But I embarrassed her in front of Adrien! No wonder she hates me!”

Tikki wasn’t having it though. “She embarrassed herself because she lied and was caught. And it would have been worse and more embarrassing if it had gone on longer.”

“If I had just kept my mouth shut…”

“Would it have really changed anything?” Tikki asked.

That…made her look up in surprise. “Well, she wouldn’t have a grudge against Ladybug.”

“Not calling her out then might have prevented her from considering Ladybug an enemy, but it wouldn’t have stopped her from lying and using people.” Tikki reasoned. “And it wouldn’t have stopped her from helping Hawk Moth if she thought he could give her something she wanted.”

True…Lila had agreed to work with Hawk Moth for revenge against Ladybug. But even if she hadn’t made herself a focus of Lila’s anger, sooner or later, someone was bound to call Lila out on her lies. And once Lila felt slighted, she would no doubt target them as she had Ladybug and Marinette.

She closed her eyes and took a breath as the realization really took hold.

The only one responsible for Lila’s actions was Lila. She chose to lie. She chose to do things that hurt people. And if this entire day should have taught Marinette anything, it’s that doing nothing and letting Lila continue only caused more harm in the long run.

After all, Rose hadn’t done anything but believe in Lila and try to help her. And yet she was still hurt. Even more than Marinette had been as either herself or Ladybug.

“And how long would it have taken, do you think, for Lila to covet the Miraculous for herself regardless?” Tikki asked. “You had something she didn’t. She was already using and trying to undermine Ladybug to promote herself before even meeting you. She was already pretending to have a Miraculous before she even knew what they were or what they could fully do. Do you really think that she wouldn’t have decided to work against you anyway simply because Ladybug had something she didn’t?”

“But…” Marinette seemed to struggle for a moment. Because it couldn’t just not be her fault at all. She had upset Lila and caused her to target her in the first place—on both sides of the mask. “I still could have done better. You always push me for that.”

Even if Lila was in the wrong, that didn’t make what Marinette did right.

Tikki tilted her head, looking up at her human.

“I expect the best from you because I know you’re a wonderful Ladybug. I hold you to higher standards than anyone else because I care about you so much. But sometimes…the expectation and burden can be too much. And I know I haven’t always been the most supportive of you.”

Marinette jumped at that. “What? What are you talking about? Of course you have!”

Tikki shook her head. “There were times when I’d admonish you for doing the wrong thing, but I didn’t really tell you what the right thing was because I expected you to be able to figure it out and do it on your own.” She gave a little bitter laugh. “I somehow expected you to automatically know what I wanted and blamed you when you didn’t meet my expectations…”

Oh come on. Marinette gave a little laugh. Now Tikki was just being silly. “No, you haven’t. When did you ever—”

“Like with the school picture when you tried to help Juleka? Or the lie you told on Heroes Day? What about when you were almost akumatized after being expelled? Marinette, something terrible had just happened to you and you had every right to be upset! But instead of comforting you when you needed it—especially when it seemed like everyone else was against you—all I did was lecture you for how you were feeling!” Tikki wilted at the reminder. “I disapproved, but I didn’t really help you. I didn’t really support you the way you needed.”

She looked up at Marinette, her eyes big and teary. And somehow so old.

“I forget sometimes just how young you are. And that you’re just as capable of making mistakes.”

“But Tikki, I have made some bad choices.” Marinette stammered. “I’ve been selfish and acted rashly. I’ve done things because I was angry or jealous.”

“You’re not blameless for your choices.” Tikki agreed. “But you’re also not responsible for everyone else’s. You’re not wrong for feeling upset when you’re being hurt.”

She hugged Marinette’s thumb.

“And I’m sorry for making you feel like you were.”

It was like a huge weight came crashing down.

No, rather that a weight she was carrying was finally loosened and falling from her shoulders.

It…

Was this…really the first time anyone had supported her like this?

When was the last time someone had validated her feelings?

She had been Ladybug for over a year now. In all that time, it had become ingrained in her that she had to be perfect. That she couldn’t make mistakes. That anything she did could mean the end of the world—literally, in the case of the future she narrowly avoided with Chat Blanc.

People needed her.

Paris needed her.

She couldn’t afford to make mistakes.

That was why any mistake she did make—or even the actions of others seemed to weigh so heavily on her.

She had to be Ladybug. She had to be the final line of defense in facing any akuma. She had to be incorruptible lest she risk irreparable harm. But she also had to be Marinette, who also had to be there for her friends and make them happy and be Class Rep and fix their problems and protect people from Chloe or Lila or akumas. She had to be responsible and fix her mistakes and apologize and make things up to other people regardless of what she did or what they did. But she also had to be the support for Master Fu and learn what he knew as the Guardian in case anything happened to him and…

Wow. That was a lot.

That was…that was more than she’d realized.

She started to feel her eyes well up. But she couldn’t let them free. Because that meant she was…because what if…because Hawk Moth could…?

A tap to her head drew her gaze to her kwami.

“I’ll protect you.” Tikki promised, giving a kiss to Marinette’s forehead.

“So please…be honest with me.”

It wasn’t the first time Marinette had let herself cry.

But it was the first time she truly felt safe to.

[serenescribbles]

Wait a Little More

For Jasonette July Challenge Prompt: Hurt No Comfort

Inspired by the English cover of Spring Day by BTS by Ysabelle.

Here's the link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJWsANfQRBQ

TW: Major Character Death, Suicidal Thoughts

Ao3 | Masterlist | Prequel

一

“I'm missing you, and I don't know what to do. I'm missing you. These pictures just remind me of you. I miss you.”

A man sighs as he walks meaninglessly throughout the Gotham streets. There is barely anyone there, for it is too cold to be staying outside. The man looks down at his phone, casually scrolling as his feet leave behind imprints in the snow.

He is bundled up in a warm and thick woolen jacket. The man wears leather gloves and boots are on his feet. His black hair is uncovered and a flurry of snowflakes sprinkles it.

Glancing down at his phone, Jason realizes he remembers when this picture was taken. He had been looking through old photos on his phone and Jason had just come across one of him and Marinette snuggled together on the couch sound asleep while a movie blared on.

In the background you could make out a Christmas tree with lots of presents underneath it. Jason also noticed that on another couch not far away, Demon Spawn was scowling at them because of their public display of affection.

“And time is just so cruel. I hate this trying to see you once never worked out once. Where do we find a chance?”

Dickie had taken that photo, but Timbers was the one to make sure everyone in the family had gotten a copy. That happened last year, when Marinette was still around.

Jason felt a gaping hole in his chest. This would be the first year since Marinette had died that he would celebrate Christmas without her.

The others had tried inviting him to come to the Manor for Christmas dinner but Jason just couldn’t. The Manor had too many things that reminded him of her. And they understood, so they left him alone to his own devices while they went off celebrating.

How had time passed so quickly?

Jason could vividly remember last Christmas. The way Marinette clapped her hands with glee while opening her presents, and how her eyes glowed when he showed her his present. All of his family had sat around the dinner table, and even Alfred had joined in the laughing and chatting. Everyone had stuffed their bellies full but they somehow still had space for dessert. Jason remembered wiping a bit of icing from a cupcake off of Marinette’s nose while she stuck her tongue out at him.

Oh, how he longed to go back in time, to get a second chance to redo everything.

“It feels so cold like winter. It's August and not December.”

Jason shivered as a breeze swept past him. Although he was already bundled up really tight, nothing could completely stop the harsh and chilly winds of Gotham during winter. He felt melancholy as he recalled that Marinette had always hated winter.

This was due to the side effects of wielding the ladybug miraculous for so long. She always felt freezing cold no matter what and needed multiple layers to give her even the slightest bit of warmth. That’s why Marinette always liked snuggling up against him near the fireplace, as they sipped steaming hot mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows.

“With my heart, I walk alone across time, this train is a snowpiercer.”

Jason had been walking through the city without aim and with a start, he realized that he had made it all the way to Robinson Park. The place was completely renovated by the Gotham Sirens after they reformed.

And in the spring, Poison Ivy’s plants were a sight to see. When he had first taken Marinette to the park, she had immediately been drawn to all of the colorful flowers and had been inclined to design something.

But now, there were no more plants and instead, snow blanketed the hills of the park. The lake in the middle of Robinson Park had frozen over and Jason could see there were lots of people ice skating. Longingly, he watched a loving couple glide across the ice in sync with each other, holding hands. It was a painful reminder of how alone he was.

“Wanna take you by the hand and forge across the other end of the earth.”

When Marinette had first been diagnosed, Jason had visited her in her hospital room every day. While she weakly fought for her will to live, Jason would be there, firmly gripping Marinette’s hand. She would survive this, they would survive this, together.

Sometimes, when he visited, she would be asleep, so Jason would just sit by her side. He prayed and prayed every day that the doctor would find a cure, or that Marinette would miraculously survive. But it never happened.

“Tell me how much more should I long for you and pray for spring to come forth, friend.”

Taking in a deep breath, Jason’s pink cheeks puffed a little as he exhaled, a white fog coming out of his mouth. He rubbed his hands together, and continued walking.

Jason hated the wintertime. It reminded him of how Marinette had died.

Not long after last Christmas, she had been feeling odd, so the two of them went to Leslie’s clinic. Marinette took some tests and they waited for a while for Leslie to come back. It was when she reentered their room looking solemn faced that Jason felt a dread creeping up his stomach. Then she told them the bad news.

Stage four cancer.

The news hit the both of them like a sack of bricks, and Jason didn’t know how to deal with the fact that Marinette would most likely die soon. Regrettably, because Jason was in denial, he’d lashed out at Leslie and exclaimed that she was lying. Jason knew that it wasn’t her fault, but that didn’t make the pain go away.

Soon, Marinette was hospitalized and after a few weeks, she died. And she wasn’t coming back.

That’s why Jason preferred spring. Because during spring, he would be filled with the memories of how happy and healthy Marinette was at that time. Plus, spring always was her favorite season.

He wished for spring to come quicker as he struck the snow on the ground with the heel of his boot.

“Like little specks of dust floating round in the air, floating round in the air.”

Turning away from the park, Jason held out a hand and watched as tiny snowflakes drifted down onto his outstretched hand. They were so tiny, and extremely frail, much like Marinette had been in her dying days.

“If I was snow in the air, would I get to you even just a little bit faster?”

Holding his hand up to his lips, Jason gently blew and watched as the snowflakes scattered everywhere. Putting both of his hands in his pockets, Jason wondered what it would be like to be a snowflake.

He doubted anyone would notice him, after all, he would just be another snowflake among the millions that fell from the skies every day. Staring at the flurry of snow, Jason suddenly felt very inconsequential.

If he was a snowflake, did that mean everyone else was one too? All of them were their own little snowflake, minding their own businesses, not affecting anything in the grand scheme of things. Jason supposed that Marinette was a snowflake too, when she was still alive.

But Jason shook that thought away. No! Marinette wasn’t someone who was so easily forgotten. She had always gone out of her way to make other people happy, and it had really shown when she’d passed away.

Unlike these snowflakes, Marinette wasn’t inconsequential. She was the light of his life, the reason for him to continue living, but now Marinette was gone. Just like how snowflakes melted when they hit the ground, just like that.

“Snowflakes keep falling down, they drift away further around. I'm missing you, oh I miss you.”

Jason tried to reach for a snowflake, but it drifted away from him. His hand fell, as he awkwardly looked around, praying that nobody had seen him. Luckily, nobody had.

But Jason was interrupted by a ping from his phone. Taking his phone out of his pocket, Jason opened it and the first thing he saw was his background.

It was a photo of Marinette curled up against his chest, sleeping soundly. She was wearing one of his shirts and it was a bit big for her. After showing Marinette the picture when she woke up, she turned scarlet when she realized that he’d made it his phone wallpaper.

Marinette had gotten back at him though, sneakily taking a photo of him and making that her phone wallpaper.

Jason was interrupted by another ping, and finally noticed that the family group chat was filled with texts. There were lots of photos of them celebrating Christmas, and everyone seemed to be happy. Except for him.

Not wanting to be bothered, Jason turned his notifications for the group chat off, and roughly shoved his phone back into his pocket.

“And how long do I have to wait? How many sleepless nights do I have to take?”

Looking up at the sky, Jason wondered if Marinette was happy, wherever she was. He hoped that was the case, as all Jason had ever wanted was for her to be happy.

Maybe dying had taken her to a better place. After all, in the days before her death, Marinette was kept confined to her bed, and she was in immense pain. Now, she wouldn’t feel it anymore.

But her absence in his life was very noticeable. Some days, he would arrive home, and would expect Marinette to be there, waiting for him, but she wasn’t. Other times, he would try to call Marinette only to turn up at her voicemail. The most painful thing was when Jason would go to bed, laying on his half, and then try to initiate a conversation, waiting for a reply that would never come.

Jason had never thought that their his bed was that big, but he supposes it seems small when it’s being shared by two people. But at night, the emptiness of his bed keeps Jason up.

He’s used to falling asleep to Marinette’s light snores, and now it’s painstakingly silent. Without any other noise, Jason’s thoughts consume him. Threatening to drown him so that he can’t get any sleep.

“To finally see you, to meet you?”

Sometimes, as Jason lays in bed, he fiddles with the trigger of a gun, contemplating if he should pull it. It would be so easy, to just end it all, to numb his pain. After all, he had no purpose in life anymore. Marinette was his reason for living. Now that she was gone, he didn’t need to continue living, did he?

Jason thought about joining Marinette in a peaceful paradise, where they lived together happily. Perhaps they’d live in a cottage on the shore of a beach. No one else would be there, except for the two of them and possibly their children. Maybe they’d even have a cat, who lounged all day around the cottage.

But Marinette wouldn’t want him to end his life so soon. She’d probably want him to live his life to the fullest he possibly could without her by his side. Jason realizes almost painfully that Marinette would want him to move on, to find someone else to have a life with, all to see him be happy. Marinette always was like that, wishing the best for everyone even if it comes at the cost of her own happiness.

However, how could Jason ever move on? It just isn’t possible.

But Jason knows Marinette would be disappointed if he ended his life just that like. So, sighing, Jason puts the gun away, and lives another day.

“Passing by the edge of this winter. At least until the change of the weather, when spring comes and flowers bloom.”

Living has lost its luster for Jason. Time passes by excruciatingly slowly, and the days all blur together as they go by. Nothing can make that change, not even the kwamis could give him any comfort.

“Just stay until then, please stay and wait a little more.”

Jason looks up again from his walk and realizes he’s made it all the way to the Gotham Cemetery. At first, Jason is reluctant to enter, but after a moment, he pushes open the gate and they squeak.

Jason walks along the rows upon rows of graves, caressing them gently as he passes, until he makes it to his destination. He stops in front of a marble grave, with the name Marinette Todd-Wayne engraved into it.

Next to her tombstone is his, from when he died. After it was announced to the public that he had survived, his grave was kept in its spot as a tribute. Behind both of theirs are the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

“Is it you who changed or was it I who changed?”

Jason still remembers Marinette’s funeral. Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Tim, Damian, Duke, Steph, Babs, Cass, Selina, Harley, Ivy, Tom, and Sabine were all there. Some of Marinette’s friends even flew in from where they lived to attend. Jason remembers hugging Choe, Kagami, Luka, Adrien, and Felix as they broke down into tears at the sight of Marinette’s grave.

Her funeral was a quiet one, after all, Marinette always liked keeping things small and personal. Every single one of them had decided to share a story of theirs about Marinette. There were lots of tears, laughter, and remembering that day. Remembering the woman who had brought a light to all of their lives, and the one who would never leave their hearts.

“I hate that time went by like the friends you know, and when the trees went dry, you grew so cold.”

Standing in front of Marinette’s grave, Jason was reminded of that fact that he’d barely had time to say goodbye to Marinette before she was gone. It was like, one day, she was perfectly healthy and happy, and then the next, she was dead.

Jason recalled that when he met Luka at Marinette’s funeral, he’d told him with a somber expression that his song was no longer as bright and happy as it had been. His song was all over the place, trying to play a duet even though there was no other accompaniment. Which was true, he was yearning for Marinette, even though she wasn’t there.

“Yes, I do hate you. You broke me too. But not for one day, I didn't think of you.”

Crumpling his fists, Jason resisted the urge to shout and scream. He wanted to break down and smash something, but he felt that he had no energy left to do anything. He had already cried as much as he could and now he was dry.

Jason hated Marinette for dying. Why? Why couldn’t she have survived? How could she leave him all alone in this world? Marinette had left, finally peaceful, while he was still shattered and trying to pick up the pieces.

Even more so, Jason hated himself for not being able to forget her. All he could do was remember, as he ate, when he worked on missions, driving home, and laying in bed at night. Every second of his day was filled with thoughts of Marinette. Although she was gone from this world, she would never leave his brain or heart.

“I miss you but I'll forget your name. It might hurt a bit less if you take the blame.”

Some nights, in hopes of drowning the thoughts of Marinette away, Jason sat in bars, drinking the night away.

On those nights, Jason pondered how different his life would be if he hadn’t met Marinette. He imagined he wouldn’t be as happy, and he would still be estranged from his family. Jason would probably live by himself, his only purpose was to be the Red Hood.

But still, at least then, he was alone by choice. Not because his loved one had been so cruelly ripped away from him. And then, he wouldn’t have to deal with the heartache of losing his other half.

“I try to exhale you in pain, like smoke in the rain, white smoke in the rain.”

Jason exhaled again, his breath coming out in puffs of circular white smoke. His hands itched for a cigarette, but he didn’t have a pack handy on him.

Since getting together with Marinette, she had done what Alfred couldn’t do, and that was to make him quit smoking. Marinette had somehow managed to convince Trixx to create an illusion of what his lungs looked like and what would happen to him if he continued smoking.

That had scared some sense into him. All this time, Jason had known the effects, but it didn’t actually hit him until he saw it up close.

But now that there was no one to constantly remind him to not smoke, Jason found himself falling back on old habits. Smoking, drinking, cursing, violence, etc. If Marinette was here, Jason had no doubt that he wouldn’t even be relapsing at all.

“I say that I can forget you, but up until now I know I can't let you go.”

Jason sighed.

Marinette. Marinette. Marinette.

That’s all he seemed to think about. Deep down, Jason knew that it didn’t matter how much he tried to erase all traces of Marinette in his life, because she would never disappear.

Her memory couldn’t and wouldn’t fade, torturing Jason every day over the woman whom he loved and missed so, so much.

“Snowflakes keep falling down. They drift away further around. I'm missing you, oh I miss you.”

Jason knew his obsession with Marinette was overboard. After all, all of her friends, parents, and his family had seemed to move on from her death.

So why couldn’t he?

In his denial that Marinette wasn’t gone, Jason had tried digging up Marinette’s body from her grave to dip it in the Lazarus Pit.

But the Bats had put a stop to that, made him remember his own Pit Madness, and made him question if he wanted Marinette, the kind, sweet, and lovely Marinette, to be forced to go through what he did at the price of coming back.

That had shaken some sense to him, and had made Jason finally realize that Marinette was gone forever, like it or not.

“And how long do I have to wait? How many sleepless nights do I have to take?”

But Jason hadn’t liked it. He didn’t know how to live without Marinette. Jason had stopped taking care of himself. His chin had grown a little stubble that he loathed to shave.

And Jason had stopped eating proper meals. Most days, he would just eat a light sandwich, eat a bit of fruit, drink some liquid, and that was it. Even now, his stomach grumbled with a ferocious growl, hungry for real food.

His sleep schedule was messed up, even more so than Tim’s, and that was saying something. Jason constantly had eye bags underneath his eyes, and these days, he felt like he was part vampire, for the sun was too bright for him. Whenever Jason went outside, he had to apply makeup to his face just to look like a normal human being.

“To finally see you, to meet you?”

Just then, Jason collapsed onto the cold, hard snow. The snow pressed into his cheek, and it was extremely freezing. Sure, Jason had endured worse, but that didn’t mean that this still wasn’t bad.

Jason supposed that his lack of nutrition and sleep was the reason for falling, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“You know it all, you're my best friend.”

Laying on the ground, motionless, Jason could feel his phone vibrating into his leg. Struggling a great deal, Jason managed to fish his phone out of his pocket. Flashing on the screen was Roy calling him. He didn’t feel like talking with Roy right now, especially since he was losing energy so quickly, so Jason simply left his phone to continue ringing. After a while, the buzzing stopped, and instead, Roy texted him.

His text read: “hey, u alr8? had a feeling u weren’t”

Jason smiled weakly. How did Roy know him so well? But Jason wasn’t in the mood of being comforted, so he put his phone away.

“achimeun dashi ol geoya eotteon eodumdo eotton gyejeoldo yeonhweonhal sun eopsunikka”

Jason stared at Marinette’s grave, not that he could look at anything else, seeing as his body was frozen in place, and it was too hard to lift himself up.

But Jason didn’t want to call for help. He didn’t want one of his friends or family to come pick him up. Because seeing him at Marinette’s grave would immediately make them pity him. He didn’t want nor need their pity. What he actually needed was something to numb the pain.

Shockingly, Jason felt something dripping on his cheeks. He was crying. Jason didn’t even realize it. It was so chilly outside that the tears felt like ice against his skin. The wind blew and blew, and Jason’s jacket was useless in protecting him from the cold.

“beotkkochi pinabwayo gyeouldo kkeuchi kayo”

Jason could feel his body shutting down, his awareness of his surroundings gradually fading, until all he could feel was the ice spreading through his body, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

Jason struggled to keep his eyes open, to stay awake, as his life flashed before his eyes.

“bogo shipda bogo shipda”

He remembered living on the streets, then getting found by Bruce, and becoming Robin. After that, his death, then getting resurrected, and swearing vengeance on the Bats.

Next, was Jason meeting Marinette on a mission to Paris, reconciling with his family, and starting to date Marinette. Jason recalled their first date, and then the rest of them, proposing to her, their wedding day, and talking about their future.

But the happiness did not last, because then came the diagnosis, multiple days spent in the hospital, praying for survival, and then Marinette dying. Time flew by, as her funeral was held, and Jason barely remembered the days after that. Days, then weeks, and then months passed, all to get him to this day.

“jogeum man gidarimyeon myeochil bamman deo saeumyeon mannareo galge derireo galge”

‘I’m sorry Marinette,’ Jason apologized. ‘I guess I’ll be meeting you sooner than you wanted.’

“Passing by the edge of this winter at least until the change of the weather.”

Jason knew that he could probably get up and live another day, but he was just so tired. Tired of living a meaningless life, tired of dealing with the pain. Jason didn’t want to deal with it anymore, so he wouldn’t.

Faintly, Jason thought he could hear someone near him start yelling to someone else. The voice sounded extremely familiar, but Jason was too weak to care. The ice in his veins had finally spread all throughout his body, having at last reached his heart, and successfully freezing it.

“When spring comes and flowers bloom.”

After so many months of fighting against himself, Jason was finally setting himself free. He let go of his will to live. His eyes shuttered to a close, the last thing he saw being Marinette’s grave.

Jason took one last breath, accepting his second and final death with open arms. He wouldn’t be able to see spring come, but he would be seeing something better than that. ‘Soon, Marinette, soon. I shall return to you.’

“Just stay until then. Please stay and wait a little more.”

一

@jasonette-july-event

[amberwild420]

one step back, two steps forward (pt. 42)

masterlist

school festival part 1

Staring at the ceiling with dull eyes, Kaylan turned around and stuffed her face in the pillow and let out a whine. Nova, who was sitting on the side table, sniggered at the misfortune of her holder before floating out.

 Why do schools exist?

 Despite her reluctance, she forced herself to get up. Like hell she would let her mother throw her out of the room. She got the painful remainder once; she was not ready to go through that again.

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Tikki stared at the alarm as it rang for the eighth time. Marinette didn’t even stir when it rang and was dead to the world. Normally she wouldn’t say anything but now, she reluctantly float over her holder and took a deep breath.

 AKUMA!!!!!

 With a lightning speed, Marinette stood up on her guard before relaxing when she realized that there was nothing dangerous.

 Tikki!

 Sorry Marinette, but you need to get up or you’ll be late for school.

 Seeing that she was right, Marinette ran to get ready. Downstairs Sabine heard her daughter’s loud yell as she fell and smiled before packing the macaroons for her and her friends. She was happy that Marinette was having fun these days.

 For a moment, her smile dimmed when she remembered about the past. She should feel thankful that her daughter had new and reliable friends. She was also glad that Chloe had turned a new leaf and became a reliable friend as well.

 Good morning Maman! Good morning papa! Thanks for the macaroons! Seeyouloveyoubye!

 She kissed her parents goodbye and ran out. Sabine smiled and helped her husband to get ready to deal with the customers.

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

Chloe checked her nail before filing them again to make them look even. When she looked up, she saw how tired Kaylan and Marinette are, clearly because of insufficient rest. Although she was in the same boat, she was able to get her spa treatment.

 Alright losers, we’re having a spa day today. Don’t miss out.

 She told them bluntly before raising an eyebrow at them. Both girls looked like they would fall asleep while standing, but they did manage to nod. Passing the box of macaroons, Marinette shared it with them before talking in whispers about new information.

 While Chloe might be a bully in the past, she had all the new information before anyone else. Even now without Sabrina, she still has the same network.

 At the same time, Miss Bustier entered the class and shared news.

 Everyone, school festival will be in a month from now. I really hope you know what you want to do.

 Excited chatter filled the room making in noisy soon enough. Despite Miss Bustier’s warning, no one actually listened to her. They all wanted to do something new and exciting this year. Lila looked around before her eyes fell on the trio in the back. A thought flashed in her mind before a sick smirk made its way on her face. She suppressed a little glee in her heart and started smiling sweetly while keeping a vice grip on the blonde model.

 Adrian who winced at the python like grip quickly covered it with his model smile. Since the day his miraculous got renounced, he wasn’t able to say a word. He tried to talk to Niño, but every time he wanted to say something, his mind would blank out and his throat would clog up. There was no way he could do or say anything. And now he was regretting. 

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

Just when the trio thought that they were having a peaceful day, Alya came in like a raging storm and slammed at their table. Marinette winced at the loud noise, Kaylan stared at the girl with a blank look while Chloe didn’t even bother to look up and continue to do whatever she was doing on her phone.

 When Alya saw the reaction she got, the initial anger turned two-fold.

 Just like I thought, you really have rotten soul. You are showing your true colors now! I can’t even begin to believe that I actually fell for that act before!

  And yet here you are.

 Kaylan said casually before taking out her phone. Alya, who already had a temper, was raging as the minutes passed. She slapped the phone out of Kaylan’s hand and started shouting.

  You just can’t live without bullying Lila! Why do you have to hurt her especially when she gave us a good idea for the school festival? You just want to cheat out that idea, don’t you?! You…….you deserve to be isolated, you……!

 Kaylan, who was sitting wide eyed staring at her empty hand, stood up abruptly and faced Alya with the ferocity of a beast.

 It seems like you are tired of living Cesaire. If you have a death wish, I guess I can make it come true, right now.

 Alya who wanted to scream some more, shrank at the sight of the other girl, especially now that she truly seemed angry. The vein on her forehead looked like it was popping out, while her eyes darkened with blood lust. It was like when you tease a beast in the cage and it endures before breaking out and coming at you for revenge.

 Alya took a few steps back, stumbling, but Kaylan came for blood this time. The corners of her eyes sting a little as she looked fearfully at the other girl. Anyone who wanted to intervene was pushed away with such force that even made Kim and Ivan to stumble back and fall on their butts. Lila hid behind Adrian afraid of what might come for her.

 Before she can even touch Alya she was quickly grabbed from behind and pulled back. Despite that, Kaylan dragged the person with her strength, still going for the reporter as if she would kill her today with no questions asked. Marinette, despite being ladybug was no match for Kaylan’s strength which only increased after she got a miraculous of her own, so she was dragged along.

 Another pair of arms secured the girl and pulled her away from Alya. Chloe wanted to see her tear Alya into new one but if it continued any moment longer, Alya would have been dead for real. In order to make sure, that her friend didn’t end up in the prison, she had to put an end to it (not because she wanted to save Alya.).

 Let me at her! Let me at her! How dare she act like everything should revolve around her! Does she think I’ll let her go just because I can bear?! I’ll kill her!

 Stop! Stop! Stop it Kaylan!

 Stop it Fox! She’s not worth your time!

 Even if she stopped, she didn’t stop glaring at the other girl. Marinette and Chloe didn’t lose their grip around her. They were afraid that if they did, she might pounce on the other girl and it would be very difficult to separate them then.

 You……..                      Kaylan growled before pointing at her.           You better stay away from us or you’re going to regret it!

 Just like that she turned around and looked for her fallen phone before walking out of the room. The pair didn’t stop and collected their things before running after her.

 Alya, who was in the center of all of it, suddenly fell on her knees. Remembering the murderous look at Kaylan’s face she trembled. She had never seen such a person before. If it was Chloe, it would be just verbal fight, if it was Marinette, she would ignore, endure or say few things but with Kaylan it was a whole new level.

 It could be a verbal dispute, a glaring match, ignored or revenge. This time it was almost physical. Considering how confidently and threateningly she took her steps towards her, it wasn’t wrong to say she would have beaten her up. Just the thought sent her trembling all over again.

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[dessarious]

What Makes a Family? Pt12

AO3   Beginning   Previous   Next

Ladybug waited impatiently for Chat to arrive at the warehouse. He was already fifteen minutes late and if they were meeting for any other reason she would have left by now. This was minor in the larger scheme of things but she catalogued it as one more reason he wasn’t a dependable black cat in order to make her feel better later. No matter how badly he behaved she still felt sorry for him. When she heard him come through the window she had to hold back a relieved sigh.

“Good evening M’Lady, odd spot for a romantic evening.” She felt her eye twitch at the thought and had to fight back the immediate nausea that it induced.

“This isn’t a date Chat. How many times do I have to tell you I don’t see you that way?” It was a rhetorical question really, but he answered anyway.

“You’ll see. We’re meant to be together and if you would just stop fighting it everything would be fine.” She just frowned at him for a moment.

“What makes you think you’re in love with me? You know next to nothing about me so whatever this infatuation is it can’t be real love. Have you ever stopped to consider that you’re feelings are based on a perfect person you created in your mind?” He just rolled his eyes at her and she had to stop herself from hitting him.

“That’s nonsense. I’ve always loved you and you’ve always loved me. You’re just being stubborn because you don’t want to admit it to yourself.” It was like conversing with a brick wall… actually no, at least the wall didn’t talk back. Just the thought of never having this conversation again released stress she didn’t even realize she’d been carrying.

“I’m sorry.” The smile that came over his face was beyond creepy. He thought she was apologizing for not admitting feelings she didn’t have. In reality she was just sorry about everything that was about to happen. She wished more than anything that this had any other possible outcome.

“You should be. But you can make it up to me by telling me who you are.” He probably thought his grin was charming but to her it just looked predatory. Had he always been like that? Maybe if she’d just set better boundaries from the start none of this would have happened.

“You know that’s not going to happen. I do hope that in time you’ll understand why this has to be done. I hope that in time you’ll find peace.” He just frowned at her in confusion but before he could question her, his entire body froze up. Wasp stepped around him, glaring at the still form.

“Don’t waste your breath Bug. He’s never listened before, why would he now?” Ladybug sighed.

“Maybe, but if he hears it enough he might think about it later.” She reached for his ring and saw panic in his eyes. It hurt more than she thought it would. As she eased it off his finger Alfred stepped out of the shadows as well, transformed with much the same look as Master Fu. It was intentional so that Chat would see what they wanted.

“Perhaps this will serve as a lesson so he understands the consequences of his actions. Either way, it’s no longer your problem.” His voice was cold and she had to wonder exactly how much her parents had told him about Chat’s behavior. When he detransformed Plagg appeared and actually hissed at him.

“It’s about time. If you think you’re tired of lecturing him, how do you think I feel?” Ladybug just gave them a flat look before stepping around Adrien so he couldn’t see her and waving Alfred to do the same. This was going to be painful.

She held the ring so it was directly between the boy's shoulder blades and took a deep breath. Plagg inhaled sharply so they knew what she was about to do. Tikki had explained it as soon as they’d begun planning to retrieve the Miraculous, but she could only hope it would work since she hadn’t been able to practice. She concentrated on the center of the ring forcing Tikki’s energy to mingle with Plagg’s. The pushback was stronger than she expected but she kept going. This was necessary. She could see Alfred’s concerned expression out of the corner of her eye as well as Wasp’s confused frown.

It took a few minutes but finally the energy began to feel the way Tikki told her it would. She could actually she the creation and destruction swirling lazily around each other. This had been their natural state before the Miraculous were created. One couldn’t be present without the other. She had to remind herself she had a job to do as she considered how right it felt. She pushed the energy through Adrien’s back and into his spine. From there it began to flow throughout his entire system. She only stopped the flow once she was sure the energy had saturated every part of him. When she did, it snapped back and she cried out as her transformation dropped. When her mind cleared she looked up to find Alfred and Wasp holding her up with worry written on their faces.

“Wasp, take him home now.” She hesitated but did as Marinette asked. She knew she’d be questioned thoroughly when Chloe made it back to the bakery.

“What happened?” She tried to give Alfred a reassuring smile but winced halfway through it as a sharp pain presented behind her eye. She really hoped that was temporary.

“I made it so he can’t be used by Hawkmoth or Mayura. Whether he realizes it or not he knows more than enough to cause problems if Hawkmoth gets inside his head.” She felt really lightheaded. That Tikki had mentioned as a side effect. “Can you take me home? I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to transform again.”

“No kidding. I can’t believe you told her to do that.” Plagg sounded angry but Tikki let out a resigned sigh.

“It was necessary Plagg. You should understand given that you were inside his head whenever he was transformed. The pain will pass and since she’s my Chosen there won’t be any lasting side effects. Especially since she’ll finally have her true Black Cat shortly.” That caused a sharp inhale.

“You’ve found my Chosen?” Tikki hesitated, so Marinette answered.

“We found out I have a twin.” She watched as Plagg’s expression morphed from confusion to glee.

“Oh thank goodness. Siblings are so much more in tune than other pairs. This is going to be so much fun.” She rolled her eyes in tandem with Tikki. That would be their main concern. Before she could respond Alfred picked her up and started for the window.

“I believe anything else can wait until we get you back home Miss.” She yawned in answer and both Kwami curled up under her chin. Plagg’s purring lulled her to sleep as Alfred went silently across the rooftops.

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[mlbthoughtsandships]

Compulsion--8/?

Read on AO3

[1-Imprint on Me/Soulmate–Imprint] [2-Jealousy] [3-Unconventional Proposals] [4-The First Night] [5-Who’s really the sap?] [6-Spoilers] [7-Ask Me Again]

This newest akuma was...different. This woman wore a white and pink maid's outfit; the apron was heart-shaped; and the chest was a giant clock with heart-shaped hands. It was in this clock that her powers lay; at random intervals--Ladybug couldn't stop moving long enough to nail down a pattern, a burst of pink light would rip through the center at in the direction of her target. Chat Noir had already been clipped; a giant, yellow timer counted down from 10 minutes above his head. No amount of questioning would result in an answer; the akuma had just cackled and said that they would both see at the end of the timer. She had announced herself as Countdown, but offered no more information. Since that moment, she had been trying to nail Ladybug with her beam. 

"Why won't you stay still!?" She complained, furiously. Ladybug ducked behind a parked car as Chat redirected the beam into a post. He joined her behind the car. 

"What do you want to do, milady? As curious as I am about this timer, I'm not very eager to see what it does," he stated. 

"I think we're going to need some he-" The car was suddenly blasted away. Chat Noir barely managed force Ladybug's head down as another blast sent the car soaring into the park. They both vaulted to their feet, ready to dodge or fight, whenever another blast--not hardly 30 seconds from the last--slammed into Ladybug's chest. Chat cried out for her as she went flying back into a separate light post. She groaned at the painful strain to her back and looked up at her own timer--now blazing about her head. 5 minutes...and it was counting down faster than Chat's. 

"Oh~," the akuma sang. "Oh my, kitty's gonna have a broken heart." 

"You ready to tell us what it does?!" Chat demanded. 

"If you haven't figured that out by now, then I'm definitely not going to tell you." Ladybug looked around. The epicenter of the attack was close; men and women bore the same timers-counting down. There was a sound of something chiming coming from Countdown's clock. Her eyes immediately darted almost manically around the square; Ladybug's eyes followed hers. One woman's timer hit zero and then she vanished. She reappeared, however, soon after--right as another woman's timer hit the same number. They stood in front of one another in a daze as a pink hue took over their irises. The akuma laughed gleefully. "I knew it~" She sang. "You two were totally soulmates!" She jumped up and down in delight. Ladybug's mouth fell open.

"You mean these silly timers are a soul-mate radar?!" She complained. The akuma's glee died down; a pout came on her lips. 

"Yes, I can't believe I gave the game away..." Her pout disappeared as quickly as it had come. Her smile got wider. "There's also a compulsion charm imbedded into the beam. Those two will be going out to dinner. You two however...will deliver your miraculous once the timer reaches zero!"  

Ladybug's lips twitched. The akuma realized it at the same time and let out a shriek of rage; they would be teleported to their soulmate. Which could be anywhere in the city. "Well, I suppose you'll have 4 minutes to try and take it, Countdown." She taunted as she dropped into a fighting stance. Chat, however, didn't move immediately; he was busy having an internal meltdown at the fact that Ladybug's timer was faster and lower. His timer had only just moved past 8 minutes.

"Ah," Chat shook himself. "I won't let such a silly thing as timers separate us, milady!" He declared with bluster, jumping upwards as a beam shot at his feet. 

"Ah, but they are accurate," Countdown teased. "They'll transport you to your soul's one true fit." 

"And how can you read our souls?" Ladybug asked as both of them crept closer to the distracted akuma. "What makes you the deciding vote?" 

"I'm not~," she sang, "you are." Chat hooked his baton into a sewer drain lid while Ladybug kept the akuma's eyes on her. She shot her yoyo at Countdown's head. The woman dodged. "HA, you missed!" Her yoyo wrapped around the light post. Ladybug used the momentum of the string and the steadiness of the post to propel herself forward. The akuma dodged as Ladybug's feet flew past, but she couldn't dodge the sewer cap that Chat Noir hurled with his baton. It slammed into her and knocked her to the ground, but the clock did not break. 

Which was unfortunate. 

Ladybug's timer hit 0:00. 

 X

Luka yelped as a weight slammed into the deck beside him. He jumped up as he identified the mass on the deck. "Ladybug!" He cried out as she staggered to her knees. She pressed her palm to her forehead as if gathering her bearings. "Are you okay?" He asked as he helped her to her feet. She leaned into him for a moment, naturally, as if they had done it a thousand times, before pushing away. 

"Yeah," she seemed to take assessment of herself and then gave a firmer nod, "yeah. I need..." She looked up at him, their eyes met, and her eyes glazed over in a pink film. Luka's stomach dropped. 'She's under the influence of an akuma,' he realized. He looked around the deck for something, anything that could snap her out of it or save him if the influence made Ladybug violent. "Luka," she called before he resolved himself to using his guitar for blocking. "Luka~" she sang. His eyes snapped over to her; first in alarm at the beautiful voice and then in true shock as her hands reached up for her ears. He realized immediately what the influence was. He grabbed her hands quickly and pulled them down by her hips. The action brought them closer--closer than he had ever thought he would be to the one who gave him the chance to be a temporary hero. "What are you doing?" She asked as she wiggled; a small giggle escaped her. He tried to ignore how jarring that sound was coming from the leader of the miraculous team and how familiar it seemed. 

"Stopping you from making a mistake," Luka told her as he kept hold of her hands. He held her back into the depths of the boat, hidden from eyes.

"But you wanted to know my secret!" Ladybug protested. Luka almost tripped on the first step down into the hull, realizing that she was referencing his akumatization. He almost clipped his shoulder on the wall, but Ladybug pulled back just enough that he stayed on course.

"You don't want to do what you think you do," he told her soothingly. "I never should have asked." 

"You should have! It was within your right to know!" Ladybug argued as she tried to wiggle her hands free. "I do love you, Luka," she said freely. His eyes widened; his grip on her hands loosened for a second. He scrambled to try and catch her hands as they darted up to her ears, attempting to make the most of her time freed. Luka did the only thing he could think of. He slapped his hands around her wrists and pinned them to the wall behind her. Her mouth fell open and a vivid blush spread across her cheeks. He took a deep calming breath. 

"No, you don't." He argued. "It's the akuma making you-"

"No, it isn't." Ladybug retorted, trying to free her wrist in sharp bursts. Luka wondered idly why she wasn't overpowering him; in the suit, she was certain strong enough. 'But the compulsion isn't...there's something else to it. She didn't just appear to me randomly and she's acting almost...lovesick.' 

"Ladybug, why are you here?" He asked. 

"Countdown, the akuma, her beam is supposedly some soulmate timer or something corny like that..." Luka didn't have time to unpack all that, especially since her leg was now sliding up his. She could easily kick him away, all it would take was wedging her knee between them. He swallowed.  

"I'm sorry about this," he apologized as he closed the small distance between them and pressed into her body. Her cheeks flooded with red and he was certain his own matched. "T-The, ah, compulsion is secondary to the timer?" He questioned. 'Get her thinking,' he rationalized. 'Engage her brain and she'll stop trying to expose herself...' Ladybug nodded. "Why is the thought that you love me more overpowering than the compulsion?"

"She's a matchmaking akuma," Ladybug clarified. "She said that I was the deciding vote about who I was transported to." Luka swallowed as he fought the urge to lay his head on her shoulder--even temporarily in exasperation. 'So, I'm gonna have to unpack it, huh?' He thought.

"So, subconsciously, you thought of me whenever she said soulmate?" Ladybug shook her head. 

"No, I thought of you when she said 'my soul's perfect fit'. Soulmate is too...broad of a definition. If that were all, I could have just as easily teleported to Alya--since I consider her a platonic soulmate. But 'perfect fit' means more."

"That...doesn't sound like subconscious," he said weakly. It wasn't just her response; it was the name Alya combined with the way she said  Ladybug smiled, but it was a trembling thing as if she didn't want to be saying all this. Luka's eyes widened. "You can't help but respond to me," he realized with dread. 

"It doesn't seem like I have much of a filter," Ladybug agreed. Luka's mind raced. 

"It's more than that, you have to be honest with your responses..." Ladybug nodded again. Luka pinched his lips together. "Shit, okay. Where is the fight happening?" 

"Near the park that has the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue," she answered. Confusion had slipped into her tone.  

"I want you to take me there." 

"What? Why?" 

"Because you are the only one who can purify the akuma."

"I'm not taking you into danger without a suit, Luka!" Ladybug argued; the first hints of her true self since before the pink glow. Luka pursed his lips. 

"Please, Ladybug," he begged. She jerked as if he had slapped her; he bit into the inside of his cheek. A whine escaped the back of her throat as her head slammed into the wood of the boat. 

"Don't," she protested weakly.

"Please," Luka repeated. He smothered the guilt as her pained eyes met his. He gave her wrists an apologetic squeeze as he stepped away and let his hands fall. His request seemed to overpower the compulsion as she stepped forward and let him out of the boat. She wrapped her arm around his waist and urged him to hold onto her. "Focus on the fight when we get there and I'll be safe," he told her as she swung the rope around a pipe jutting out from a house just a few feet from where they were docked. His breath caught as they were off. It was a jarring feeling, traveling by air-hanging from someone. 

Before the feeling could make him dizzy, they landed at the fight. Chat Noir had broken the clock and freed the akuma. He had managed to cage it in his hands. The timer above his head read 4 minutes. He stared in astonishment at Ladybug and Luka. Luka caught her hands before they could dart back up to her earrings at the realization that there was no akuma, no fight to be had.

"The akuma needs to be purified," Luka tried. He didn't want to ask her to do something again whenever she couldn't resist. Ladybug's lips pouted. 

"Yeah, but..." 

"I need you to purify the akuma, Ladybug," Luka resigned himself. 

"Thank you," Ladybug breathed, stunning him, as her yoyo wiped out. Chat's hands parted numbly, allowing Ladybug to catch it with her yoyo. 

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," she said as the purified butterfly flew off. Now that the akuma was cleansed.

"Is the compulsion still-" 

"No, it's not," Ladybug sighed in relief. She turned to him. Her blue eyes were shining with relief and true affection. Luka's stomach clenched. 'Oh,' he realized immediately. The words she had spoken under the influence of the akuma combined with the way she was looking at him now--'Marinette.' And it was like the mask no longer existed. He could see the freckles across her nose that were hidden by the mask. He kept his expression as neutral as he could. Then, Ladybug hugged him; and he didn't bother hiding the shock. "Thank you," she whispered somehow more earnestly than before.  

"You're welcome," he murmured as she stepped back and let him go. He was aware of Chat's eyes fixed on them, but the black cat didn't say a word. Mari-Ladybug called for her Lucky Charm and threw it into the air. The Miraculous Cure washed over the city, Chat, and herself in turn. 

"I'll tend to the akumatized victim," Chat Noir said in the silence that had settled once the ladybugs had retreated. "You should take Luka home." He added to Ladybug. Ladybug nodded. 

"Right. Thanks, Chat." 

Like before, they traveled in silence. As they landed back onto the deck, Luka rubbed the back of his neck and readied to tell her that he knew. 

"Luka..." She interrupted. "I...know you aren't stupid...and we can eventually come back to this," the this was loaded, "but right now..." 

"Hey, I told you didn't I?" He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'll be here when you're ready." He reminded her with a slight smile. Her breath caught. Her own smile, trembling with both heartache and relief, pulled her lips. 

"Yeah." They shared a smile and she turned to leave. As she put her foot up on the edge of the boat, she turned back to him. "I meant it, you know," she reminded him. 'I do love you, Luka.' 

"I know," he reassured. 

[lottiejames]

Reunion

After months of internal work (and Viperion's good word), Ladybug has granted Chloe Bourgeois the bee miraculous, much to Viperion's surprise. Sequel to Call on Me

Or read it here: on AO3 (Call on Me)

Chloe stared at the simple box in front of her, seemingly innocent against the expensive fabric of her duvet. She didn’t know which was racing faster: her thoughts or her pulse. She didn’t actually think she’d be here again, no matter what her wildest fantasies contained, no matter how much it was talked about within herself, between her and him, between them, between any combination of the other holders. Yet, Ladybug had come and gone with a promise, and perhaps a warning, that she’d be back. The weight of it all sat heavily on her shoulders. Steeling herself, she reached for the box and opened it.

A golden glow swirled, then suspended in the air, was one of the beings she had hurt the most, “How may I serve you, my queen?”

The tears she hadn’t realized she’d been holding back sprung from her eyes, trailing down her face. Blue eyes followed their paths with concern, “Don’t cry, my queen,”

“Oh, Pollen,” Chloe whined, arms wrapping themselves around her legs, “I'm so sorry for everything I put you through,”

The yellow kwami floated up to her, wiping away a tear, “Oh, Chloe, I’ve been around a long, long time. I’ve seen many things, I’ve done many things. While it doesn’t justify any of it, I understand. I’ve seen the fear, the insecurities overcome my own holders and holders of the other miraculous,”

“It doesn’t make it...I shouldn’t have...I’m so sorry. I know words won’t ever be enough,”

Pollen smiled at Chloe, “Then show me with your actions, with changed behavior,”

“You’ll really give me another chance? Will you really forgive me?”

“I will. Ladybug and I have spoken at length about you, as well as the other kwamis giving me updates from their perspectives. I’ve long since forgiven you, Chloe,”

More tears spilled with a chuckle, “You are truly miraculous, Pollen,”

An overexaggerated sigh escaped the kwami, “Puns? Have you really been hanging around that cat so much in my absence?”

“Oh, Pollen, I don’t even know who that is,” She wiped away her tears, “I still only know the ones from...that day,”

Pollen nodded wisely, “Ah, yes. How are things going with Sass’s holder?”

Chloe’s cheeks suddenly burned as she picked at the loose thread on her duvet cover, “I’m not sure I know what you mean,”

“You’ll tell me, sooner rather than later,” Pollen shrugged, “I thought I overheard Ladybug saying she’d be back to pick you up for patrol?”

Chloe nodded, cheeks still stained, “Yes, she should be back soon,”

“And we are surprising him, yes?” Pollen pretended to be looking at her nonexistent fingernails, much like Chloe used to do around her.

“Yes,”

“Just say the magic words then, my queen,”

Despite the lingering guilt, the bundle of nerves, the schoolgirlish glee, Chloe smiled brightly, “Pollen, buzz on.”

***

“The end of your sector will be just over there,” Carapace pointed into the distance, after consulting the map in his hands.

“Where that wig shop is?” Viperion clarified, eyes squinting trying to see it from their rooftop view.

“Right there, yes. I was trying to have it by the gelato shop you like so much, but Ladybug didn’t like that idea,”

“I let Chat convince me to take one break during some random patrol and now it haunts me all the time,” he waved around dramatically.

“To be fair, it’s probably more him than you. His sector is getting changed too,”

Viperion turned around, “Why all the sector changes? We just changed them a few months ago,”

Carapace shuffled his feet, “Reasons,”

“Reasons?”

“Yep,”

Viperion folded his arms and continued to stare, “Care to elaborate?”

“Nope,” the map of the Parisian streets was quickly put aside.

Before he could question Carapace any further, separate blurs of orange and black flew past them.

“And that is how the fox outsmarts and outruns the cat,” Rena Rouge announced, her face beaming with a triumphant smile.

“Cheater! There was cheating!” Multiple raised eyebrows fixed on Chat Noir’s face, “There’s no way you knew about the alleyway shortcut, unless...Carapace, you dared betray me?”

Carapace looked away from him as Rena Rouge hugged his arm, “It was well worth the betrayal. Sorry, Kitty,”

As Chat Noir continued his theatrics, Viperion heard muffled voices coming from the stairwell door. His furrowed brows were lost on his companions.

A loud groan of aged metal revealed Ladybug, a knowing smile on her face. It was when she stepped aside, that Viperion felt the breath get knocked out of him.

With the setting Parisian sun as her backdrop, blonde hair gently swaying in the warm breeze, stood a figure draped in yellow and black, gold and night.

“Chloe?”

“Tsk, tsk. You know just as well as everyone else, it’s Queen Bee,” her voice tinkled through the air.

The world blurred at the edges, the voices surrounding him were muffled as if underwater. The only sight he could focus on was the renewed Miraculous holder and she stared right back.

She drew closer to him and before his thoughts caught up with his limbs, he was holding her close. He could smell a faint floral scent, reminiscent of her perfume. Her arms wrapped around him, breathing a sigh of relief at the welcoming.

He pulled away after a moment, eyes taking in her features, missing the light freckles hidden underneath her mask. Amusement looked back at him.

“But how?”

Queen Bee shrugged a shoulder, “Something about patience, dependability, redemption. It seems to have helped to have someone on the inside speaking to my many, many virtues,”

Viperion was vaguely aware of a tension on his cheeks, a product of his grin no doubt.

Coughing rather forcefully, Carapace drew their attention, “Now you know the reason for patrol changes,”

“And I expect,” Ladybug’s blue eyes shifted back and forth between the pair, “that there will be no tomfoolery or ridiculous antics,”

“Of course, you don’t have to worry about any of that,” Queen Bee said with conviction, her posture much like that of a soldier receiving orders from a superior.

“I, also, expect that there will be no secret rendezvous for make out sessions or hero date nights,”

Though her mask hid her freckles, it did nothing to conceal the growing blush on her cheeks. Viperion let out a strangled cough as Chat Noir laughed in the background.

“Understood?” Queen Bee and Viperion nodded quickly, avoiding eye contact with each other, “Good. We need to take in these budding romances in stages after all. Well, Viperion knows the drill. You're free to go home once your sector is done, barring anything happening,"

With that said, Ladybug turned towards Chat Noir, spoke a few words, and soon he was chasing after her. As if on cue, Rena Rouge and Carapace nodded to them and ran off into the night together.

Soon, only the noises from the streets below sounded around them.

“I had no-”

“I must say-”

Both of them chuckled, finally looking at each other.

“You first,” Viperion whispered, eyes skipping across her features.

Queen Bee took a breath, “Thank you. I know that I’ve been trying for a while now, but I really don’t think any of this could have happened without you, your input, your kindness,”

He scratched the back of his head, “I only shared the truth when asked. You’ve done a lot of growing, Chlo, even I can see it,”

“Queen Bee,”

Viperion’s face darkened again, “Ah, yes, of course. It’ll take me a minute to get used to that,”

She reached out and touched his arm, looking up at him to make eye contact, “Thank you, really. I don’t know how to repay you,”

“I’m sure one of us will think of something,” he replied, his thoughts jumping to all the various ways that could happen.

Her features shone with a warm radiance as she stepped closer to him. She raised herself onto tip-toe, closing much of the distance between them. Queen Bee, who soon would be known for her impeccable aim, missed her target on her second first-day as a hero. Viperion, as if on auto-pilot, as if one of her facial features were a magnet, followed her. She leaned in, so did he. She leaned right, so did he. A simple kiss on the cheek was met with lips instead.

It was fleeting, a brief second, but blue eyes flew open when she pulled away. They’d never had a seemingly telepathic connection, not like Ladybug and Chat Noir. In that moment, though, their eyes searched one another and with the most discreet of nods, their lips met properly, purposefully. Viperion’s arms wrapped around her waist as Queen Bee pulled him closer to her. It felt warm, it felt dizzying, it tasted surprisingly sweet - her lip gloss, no doubt. And neither of them knew how long it might have lasted, this culmination of months and months of secret glances, lingering touches, but it was cut short, nevertheless.

A catcall and a forced cough broke them apart, the heat of Paris no longer being the only thing that surrounded them.

Ladybug raised an eyebrow at them, her face conveying all the words she wasn’t saying as Chat Noir made all sorts of jokes and puns in the background.

After the duo left, it was a minute or two before either superhero made any sound.

“So,”

“So?”

“Patrol?” Viperion’s voice cracked ever so slightly.

Queen Bee smirked, regaining control much more quickly than he, “Patrol. Come on Rumplesnakeskin, lead the way, it’s the only time you’ll get to,”

He looked at her, “Really? Rumple-SNAKE-skin?” She shrugged, “Anything but Rumple-SNAKE-skin, please,”

The air carried her laughter.

[lady-charinette]

The Revealing Confession - Adrienette Fluff

A/N: This came as a lovely prompt from the amazing @ghostlyhamburger which I unfortunately couldn't do it justice. Hope you still like it a little my friend :3

Warnings: None (maybe cringe? I didnt write in a while)

Pairing: Adrienette

Genres: Fluff, Humor, Reveal

————————————————————————

Plagg lounged on his holder's bed, surrounded by camembert in a circle with a blissed expression.

Adrien rested his chin on his hand, next to him on the bed. "I can't believe this worked."

Plagg rolled over, bits and pieces of cheese rolling off his body in the process. "Huh?"

The model couldn't help but smile at his kwami's drunken expression, already high on cheese. "I can't believe I made a summoning circle with cheese and you fell for it. You're so greedy, Plagg."

The kwami gave a loud yawn. "Me? What can I do when you buy so much cheese? Don't you know how fast it can go bad?"

A deadpan expression greeted him. "...You eat smelly, spoiled cheese Plagg."

Plagg stuck his nose in the air, gingerly cradling his beloved camembert against his body. "Its not spoiled, its exquisite."

Shaking his head, Adrien rolled over onto his back and crossed his arms behind his head, absently daydreaming.

Plagg chose to fill the silence then. "You don't understand Adrien, camembert is the love of my life!"

Adrien snickered when his kwami levitated in the air, dramatically holding a piece of camembert in the air. "It's the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning, the last thing on my mind before I go to sleep in the evening!" Plagg floated left and right as he did his monologue, unaware of his holder chuckling at him. 

"It occupies my thought every minute of the day and as soon as we're apart, I miss my precious camembert so much! We've had so many moments together! We went through thick and thin! It was camembert and I! Us against the world!" Plagg raised his paw in the air, the other holding the piece of diary tucked into his side.

Just then, something clicked in Adrien's brain.

'You and me against the world m'lady!' 

'Ladybug and Chat Noir are always a team!'

Moments he spent with Ladybug resurfaced in Adrien's mind like a movie, a movie he never grew tired of watching. 

One scene that stuck out to him since months ago was when he once stuck around longer than usual at his and Ladybug's meeting spot.

It was right after patrol, he had time to kill, he didn't think he would've seen what he had that night.

When he as Chat Noir had stretched after a playful rooftop chase with his lady, he spotted something flashing from the alleyway between the two buildings he stood on.

Taking out his baton and moving low to the roof in case it was a villain, he sneaked close to the edge of the roof to investigate, but what he found instead surprised him in a different way.

It was Marinette.

Talking to Tikki.

If there hadn't been that incident where Ladybug and him both had switched their Miraculous, he was sure he wouldn't even know it was Tikki Marinette was talking to. But the least he could've been sure of was that was a kwami and Marinette was talking to Ladybug's kwami-

"Good job today Tikki." He watched as Marinette retrieved a cookie from the purse she always carried around and fed it to the little goddess, scratching her cheek gently.

Tikki giggled, entirely too comfortable with the interaction to be their first time meeting. "You did a good job too Marinette! You should get home and rest."

Marinette had laughed and slowly moved out of the alley. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Chat Noir is bound to be home already and lounging somewhere on a bookshelf." 

He huffed in indignation, he did not normally 'lounge around' on shelves. That had been once and Ladybug never stopped teasing him for it.

Wait.

Ladybug!

Marinette was-

He had hidden behind a chimney and had slapped his mouth closed in case he would scream or squeal, whichever came first. He couldn't believe it.

His lady was his princess!

Ladybug was Marinette!

Marinette was Ladybug! The love of his life! Both loves of his life!

It had been at that point that made Adrien think. 

And Plagg's words struck a chord.

The kwami continued his monologue, oblivious to his holder's inner musings. "The pain I feel of being apart can't be described, no matter how many languages you humans invent, you can never invent a language for love! That's how important cheese is to me Adrien, but I don't expect you to understand." Plagg sniffed dramatically, sobbing into his cheese while he discreetly munched on it. 

Adrien shot up in bed, startling Plagg causing him to fall on the soft bedding. "Hey!"

"I...love her."

Plagg looked up from inspecting his cheese for scratches. "What?"

"I love her."

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know loverboy. You love Ladybug, the love of your life." 

Adrien suddenly grabbed Plagg in his hands and stared into his soul. "Marinette! I love Marinette! I love Ladybug! Them both! Because they're the same! Marinette is the girl behind the mask that I love Plagg!"

His kwami's eyes widened in fear. "No wait, Adrien, what we saw on the rooftop that one night, that was- Tikki was- Tikki talks to a lot of humans, you know?"

His kwami's poor attempt was dwarfed by Adrien's unadulterated glee. "It's alright Plagg! I know, you don't have to lie to me. I know!"

Plagg yelped when he was flung in the air and caught again by Adrien, clinging onto the boy's hand in fear of being thrown into the air again.

"I can't believe it! Ladybug, m'lady and Marinette, my princess - they're the same! Plagg, do you know what this means?!"

"...Err...that uh, Ladybug's your classmate?"

Adrien shook his head, green eyes sparkling. "No! It means I have to tell Marinette how I feel!"

Plagg was unceremoniously dumped back on the bed, rolling around until a big block of cheese stopped his descent. "Adrien! Where are you going?"

Adrien was already running for the door. "I have to con-" he froze just as his hand landed on the doorknob. "-confess...to Marinette..." he glanced at his kwami. "Plagg?"

"What?"

"....What if she rejects me?"

The kwami's eyes nearly fell out of his sockets. "Are you serious?"

Adrien fidgeted nervously with his hands, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's just-I didn't- I never confessed to a girl before and- I never confessed to someone as amazing as Marinette! What if she doesn't like me back? Ladybug said she loves another boy! What if she's dating Luka? She never said anything but I saw her at their band practice and the way he smiles at her is the way I want to smile at her and she blushes when she's with him and they ice skate together and how could someone as awesome as Marinette like someone like-"

Plagg flew up to his holder's face and smashed Adrien's cheeks together. "Breathe!"

Adrien froze, lips squished like a fish. "Pwapfh?"

The kwami sighed. Kids these days. "I'm pretty sure bakery girl isn't dating anyone. And I really doubt she doesn't feel the same, Adrien."

Nervous green eyes bore into Plagg's ancient soul. "How can you be so sure Plagg?"

Plagg refrained from counting all the moments he witnessed, while transformed and as a kwami, of pigtails girl breaking her back to act normal around her very obvious crush on his owner. "...Kwami's intuition. Anyway, why don't you uh...practice?"

Adrien tilted his head to the side. "...Practice?"

Plagg slapped his face. "The confession."

"Plagg, you're a genius!" Adrien scratched under the cat god's chin and received an appreciative purr in return. "But not here, Nathalie or father might overhear me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can do this." Adrien paced back and forth, taking deep breaths. "I can do this. I saw this in movies. I can do this."

Adrien exhaled loudly and then dropped onto one knee, red rose poised in the air. "My lady, my princess, if I could I would take the stars from the skies and gift them to you, not that you would need them, because the whole galaxy is in your eyes already." 

"No, no, no, that's too cheesy!" Adrien stood up and tapped his knuckles against the side of his head. "Technically, I could do that as Astrocat, but I'm not sure how well Ladybug-Marinette would take that, would that be abusing my powers?" 

Rubbing his chin, Adrien cleared his throat. "My sweet Marinette, from the day we shared that umbrella under the rain in front of school, you made me realize what romance was like in real life, but more importantly, you made me realize the importance of having a good friend." Adrien stood frozen in the park, sighing heavily. "That's not good either!"

~~~~~~~

"I don't really know Tikki, do you think Adrien might like it?" the girl clutched the new, yet to be released, song of Jagged Stone in her hands, personally signed by the musician. She knew Adrien liked him too, but would he think she was weird for gifting him this? 

Tikki smiled encouragingly at her owner. "I'm sure he will love it Marinette! Then you can finally ask him to eat ice-cream with you!"

The girl sighed, staring up at the sky in defeat as she walked. "I don't know Tikki, I doubt Adrien would notice me that way. Besides, I think Kagami and him are an I-wuah!" Marinette's foot slammed against the little protruding rock, probably kicked away from the park onto the sidewalk and fell over on her knees. "Ouch!" 

Tikki quickly flew down to inspect her friend. "Marinette, are you okay?"

Marinette winced. "I'm fine Tikki-"

"Argh! No! That's terrible! She'll think I want to kidnap her!" a very familiar voice echoed from the park, one that automatically made Marinette's heart skip a beat.

"W-Wait, is that- am I dreaming again?" forgetting about her fall, Marinette speedcrawled into the nearest bush, bluebell eyes scanning the entirety of the park before they landed on one figure.

It was Adrien.

Tikki hovered near her holder, also watching Adrien. "Look, its Adrien."

"Yeah, but what is he doing out here?" if she recalled correctly, he was supposed to be studying in his room by now for the chemistry test next week.

"Shh." Tikki ushered her to hide deeper in the bush, keenly watching the way Adrien's arms flailed about and he paced back and forth.

"Let's try this. My dearest lady and princess, as your humble knight and number one fan, it is with great honor that I gift you my heart."

Marinette's mouth opened in a scream but Tikki quickly snapped it shut. "Marinette, shh!"

"Mffphh!" Marinette's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates, moving back and forth between Adrien and Tikki.

"No! That's not good either! I'm not giving her an award!" The teen model sighed heavily, moving to sit down on the nearest bench. "I'll never be able to confess to her like this. She's so brave and strong, she can do anything. She's so amazing, what are the chances of her even liking me back?"

Marinette's expression softened. "He must be talking about Kagami..." Tikki nearly dislocated her head when she turned around to look at the girl.

"But Mari-"

A sigh. "I should've known, I guess his encounters with Chat Noir might've rubbed off on him and now he's calling Kagami princess too." 

Tikki flew in front of Marinette's field of vision. "No wait, Marinette, that's not what he-!"

Marinette smiled sadly, slowly standing up. "I think Adrien might need help with confessing his feelings for Kagami."

Just before her head peaked over the cover of the bushes, the name that fell from Adrien's lips froze Marinette to the spot. 

"Marinette..." his gaze was sad as it looked over the trees and into the sky. "You're so amazing, you're the strongest, smartest, bravest person I know, you're everyday Ladybug even when you aren't transformed, how could I hope for you to love me like I love you?" 

Tikki watched the way Marinette remained very still, her eyes unmoving as they locked on Adrien in the distance.

It was now or never.

Gathering all the strength she had, Tikki rammed into Marinette's side, pushing the startled girl out in the open.

With a surprised yelp, Marinette fell out of the bushes and onto her butt.

Her graceful landing made Adrien jump and his eyes widened when he saw her. "M-Marinette!?"

She felt heat rush to her cheeks at being caught spying on him, even more when he jogged to her side and helped her to her feet.

Why was Adrien so nice to her even after she spied on him confessing to her-

"Marinette? Marinette are you alright?" He waved a hand in front of the dazed girl's face, watching the way her eyes came back into focus and stared up into him. "Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"

The warmth from his hands on her shoulders made her squeak, she didn't even notice Adrien's blush at the sound before she took off in the opposite direction.

"Wh- wait Marinette! Where-where are you going!?" Adrien watched the girl sprint out of the park and in the direction of the Seine.

Had she heard him? Had she heard his lousy confessions?

With his heart in his throat and his blood rushing a mile a minute, Adrien uttered two words that never made him tongue tied. "Claws out!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No, no, no, no, no, no!

She had to have heard wrong! 

Adrien? Liking her back? No, no, no, no!

"Marinette, wait!" Tikki flew faster to keep up with the girl, she was a fast runner when she set her mind to it. "Why are you running away from Adrien? He was about to-"

Marinette violently shook her head, jumping over a trash can. "No, no, no Tikki, I heard it all wrong. Adrien didn't say my name, maybe he got confused and wanted to say 'Kagami' right? Ka-ga-mi. I mean, our names are kinda similar aren't they?" 

"Marinette!"

Marinette nearly tripped again when she heard another familiar voice yell at the top of his lungs her name.

Wait, was that-?

"Chat Noir?!" 

Sure enough, the black clad figure was jumping away from street to street, following her direction on his baton.

"Marinette!" He yelled again, waving his free arm frantically to catch her attention.

Had there been an akuma? Her akuma alert app didn't ring! Why was Chat Noir looking for her? Could he need something? Did he need love advice for Ladybug?

Marinette continued running, now close to the bridge where Andre always sold his ice cream at. "Sorry kitty! I dont have time to play with you today!"

She couldn't hear Chat Noir's muttered frustrated curses, nor did she see him speed up and take a giant leap, before he landed on the ground and took off running on all fours after her. 

Tikki hid back inside Marinette's purse, hanging on for dear life.  

It wasn't until Chat Noir's next yell made her stop in her tracks. "My lady wait!"

Standing frozen on the bridge, Marinett heartily turned around, just in time to watch Chat Noir try to catch his breath. 

He looked....angry? 

The cat stalked towards her with purpose in his steps before his placed his hands on her shoulders like Adrien did before and- "Why did you run away from me, m'lady?!"

Questions swam in Marinette's mind, questions that made her think she wasn't as sane as she thought she was.

Wait.

"Run away? From you? M'lady? Chat Noir, did you hit your head somewhere?" Marinette blinked up at him quizzically, sweating at Chat Noir possibly knowing her identity.

But how? She was always so careful! He never could've figured it out! 

The grip on her shoulders tightened. "Marinette!" He bared his teeth, and in a delirious moment, Marinette almost wished he would bite her.

To snap her out of her daydream!

"Eep!" 

"Claws in!"

"Claws in? What are you- A-A-" Marinette's breath caught in her throat and she was face to face with a displeased Adrien Agreste. 

His blonde hair which was normally perfectly combed was now messy and disheveled and Marinette could actually see the resemblance between Adrien and Chat Noir who stood in front of her two seconds ago!

"Wait, Adrien, what are- why are-? Chat Noir was here and you- you are now here!" 

She was going insane. Tikki should send her help.

Marinette.exe stopped working.

Adrien's expression softened and he sighed heavily. "Marinette," he gazed at her with such fondness and exasperation that she almost felt it was too intimate. "I know."

He didn't even have to elaborate. She was figured out. He knew her identity.

Her shoulder slumped. "But-But how? I was always so careful and- ugh! This isn't right! Now we have to give up our miraculous! Do you have any idea what Master Fu would think if he still had his memories? But I'm the guardian now! Does that mean I take both our miraculous? Would I just keep mine then? Where would I put them? Do I give us different miraculous? Will we still be heroes? What about Hawkmoth-"

Two warm hands found her cheeks and her attention immediately shifted to the forest green of Adrien's lovely eyes, which stared at nothing but at her. "Marinette, please listen to me m'lady." The sound of her nickname strangely calmed her and she exhaled the breath she'd been holding, some of the tension leaving her body.

Adrien took a deep breath, fingers flexing on her shoulders from frayed nerves before he finally looked at the girl of his dreams in determination. "I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"I had these feelings for you ever since I gave you my umbrella and you were the first person to make me laugh again after mom disappeared. You were the one who was always so kind to me and did her best to help everyone all the time. What I told you at the picnic was nothing but the truth: you are our everyday Ladybug, you always were to me. And I'm so happy to know that the hero and the girl I fell in love with were one and the same! I know I made a lot of mistakes as Adrien and Chat Noir, and that I disappointed you often, but I want to make up for it in any way I can and be a better partner for you as Ladybug. My only question is if you would let me be a better partner for you as Marinette, too?" 

The sincerity in his gaze stole the breath from her lungs and Marinette couldn't help but tear up at the heartfelt confession that was meant for her. 

"Y-Yes! A thousand times yes kitty, my prince!" She fell into his arms with a cry of joy and Adrien fell to the ground from the force of her hug. Despite the small wince of pain, they both laughed in joy, cradling each-other's faces tenderly.

Adrien rubbed his nose against his lady's and smiled. "I love you Marinette."

The smile on Marinette's face was the warmest Adrien ever had ever seen. "I love you too Adrien."

[salthaven]

An Odd Day for a Normal Girl

@soap-lady I’m not quite sure I did this right, and I wrote this in an odd haze of ‘what’s the most ridiculous way Marinette could end up dating her crush, who is also a superhero, to the point where she questions life’ and this mess of like 3k words appeared so...here we go? Thanks for the prompt, haha!

An Odd Day for a Normal Girl

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a normal girl with a normal life. She goes to school with her best friend who’s a model, she designs for superstars, and she’s head over heels for one half of the Parisian superhero duo that saves the city on a weekly basis. Just like any average girl.

Okay, so maybe that’s not quite normal. Maybe Marinette should explain a bit. Maybe…

So basically, there’s this crazy guy named Hawkmoth. He wants the Miraculous- those are magical pieces of jewelry, no she’s not crazy- of the Ladybug and Black Cat. Those two are in use, being held and wielded by Scarlet Lord and Chat Noir, two heroes who protect civilians from danger and stop the Akuma- Hawkmoth’s monster villain guys- from destroying everything. Understood? Great.

So Marinette may or may not have a crush on Scarlet Lord, but she has good reasons! The reasons: He’s kind, polite, charming. (Not to mention he’s literally saved her life over twenty times by now.) So maybe she’s a bit of a damsel in distress, she can’t help how she turns to mush when he looks at her! And God forbid if he protects her, her brain practically shuts off from the overheating of her face. She’s lucky that she doesn’t know the boy behind the mask, she’d die on the spot from embarrassment!

(It doesn’t help that all of her friends encourage her feelings. Even Félix, her normally calm- albeit rather easily flustered- friend when it comes to matters of the heart, encourages her ‘pursuit’, as he calls it.)

Speaking of the blond, Félix is the cousin of Marinette’s best friend- Adrien Agreste. Local heartthrob and Paris’s sunshine child, Adrien is the poster child of the perfect son. He’s smart, fluent in multiple languages, great at fencing, and has a natural knack for physics. He’s a model, with good looks and a father who is a king of fashion. He’s the stereotypical rich kid- until people look away. Then he’s punning away, sneaking off in little acts of rebellion to hide in Marinette’s house where they play Ultimate Mecha Strike and eat pastries until their fingers are sore and their stomachs are full. 

Oh, and what’s more? Adrien is Chat Noir, holder of the Black Cat Miraculous. His ‘kwami’, as he calls it, accidentally outed himself when Marinette brought up cheese pastries for the first time. 

Of course, this naturally means he’s become Marinette’s wingman, determined to get his best friend together with his partner in crime- er, uncrime? Partner in defeating crime? Marinette isn’t good at making up names...but she is good at designing.

Which brings up the last thing. Marinette wants to be a designer, that much everyone knows. She’s done work for Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, and a few others by now. She’s been praised by Audrey Bourgeois and Gabriel Agreste...and she works under Félix’s mother, Amelie, as an intern. 

(She’s still not convinced that Félix didn’t pull a few strings. ‘A keen eye for talent’, sure. Marinette is still grateful and honored, of course.) 

So yeah. A normal life, right? 

But that’s enough about Marinette. For now, she needs to get to school. If she’s late,

Félix and Adrien will make fun of her for the rest of the day. “She can already hear Félix’s exasperated, “How can you even do this? You live right across the street!” paired with Adrien’s giggles.)

Luckily, Marinette gets to class a few minutes before the bell, giving her time to sit in her spot behind Adrien and pull out her stuff. Félix is already in his spot beside her, reading his book. He looks up at her with a small smile and approving nod before turning back to his reading. Marinette doesn’t try bugging him, she knows just how much the blond likes his quiet time before class starts.

The other blond, however, does not want quiet in the morning, and is quick to turn around in his spot to beam up at her, accidentally knocking Nino a bit with his sudden turn.

“Marinette!” Adrien cheers. “How have you been? How was your night? Anything interesting? Ooh, did you start working on that new design you were telling me about?” He’s practically bouncing in excitement, and Marinette can’t help but giggle as she nods.

“I’ve been good, my night was good, and yes. I’ve started gathering all of the fabrics that I’ll need for my Scarlet Lord design. I think I’m going to make it the dress, rather than the suit.”

Félix’s head jerks up at Marinette’s words. “You’re making a Scarlet Lord themed dress?”

“Yeah?”

Félix’s face turns oddly red as he nods stiffly. “I see. Tell me how it goes?”

“Sure?” Marinette blinks, confused by the sudden awkwardness in Félix’s posture, the stiffness that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“Thank you,” he says, and then turns back to his book.

Odd. 

“Anyways,” Adrien sighs out after a moment, cutting through the silence, “I still think you should make a Chat Noir design. 

Marinette snorts. “Okay, Adrien. Maybe I’ll make a skirt one day?”

“Or a hoodie!” Adrien leans further over his chair, eyes bright. “You could give it little cat ears.”

“Absolutely not,” Marinette says teasingly.

“Why not?”

“Simple. I’m not a furry like Chat Noir is.”

Adrien sputters, face pink. “Chat Noir is not a furry.”

“He wears cat ears. And a tail.”

“That doesn’t mean-”

“Adrien,” Félix interrupts, setting his book back down. “He wears a bell.”

Marinette laughs at the wounded expression on Adrien’s face. “See? Félix gets it.”

“W-well, Scarlet Lord is a buggy, so-”

“A what?”” Félix cuts Adrien off again, nose curled in disgust.

“A buggy. You know, the insect version of a furry. Even weirder,” Adrien sniffs with disdain. “And you guys think Chat Noir is weird.” 

“Scarlet Lord is not a buggy!” Marinette says with a huff. “He doesn’t wear fake antennas or anything! The guy doesn’t even have wings.”

Adrien smirks. “Marinette, you’re even weirder than Chat Noir or Scarlet Lord.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you have the biggest crush on a buggy.” 

Marinette feels like her face is up in flames as she tries to respond. She’s too busy sputtering to see how Félix blushes and looks away. 

Luckily for Marinette, the Akuma alarm goes off. (Okay, maybe that isn’t something to feel lucky about, but Marinette lives in an odd world!) With the alarm, Adrien jolts in his seat, quickly dashing out of the room with a rushed excuse of, “Gotta go bathroom bye!” 

Marinette snorts, missing how Félix slips out right behind his cousin as she turns to face the class.

“Where’s the Akuma?” She asks Alya, who’s already pulling up the news. The aspiring journalist always seems to know what’s up, and clears her throat after a few seconds.

“Heading this way. Another love Akuma, apparently he got rejected and doesn’t want anyone else to feel the same. Name is Bleeding Heart.” Alya’s eyes widen. “Oh shit! Guys, he’s outside the school.”

Marinette gulps, hearing the sudden loud and heavy footsteps that only an Akuma can have. In a flash, she’s jumping up. “Everyone, we need to move,” she urges, but it’s too late. Suddenly, the door is being slammed open, and the class gasps.

Bleeding Heart smiles, and Marinette shivers at the pure glee on his face that contrasts with the dark blue tear tracks that fall down his face. He turns his head slowly, eyeing everyone in the room before chuckling.

“Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match,” he mutters to himself, then nods. “Of course! For you, I’ll find the perfect pairings. After all, nobody should ever feel how I have.” Nodding once more, the man lifts both of his hands, forms finger guns, and ‘fires’. Suddenly, red strings shoot from the tips of his fingers, one latching onto Max, the other hitting Alix. Bleeding Heart snaps his fingers, and the ends remove themselves from their fingers and fly to their other half, tying together in a heart-shaped knot. 

Marinette feels her eyes widen as Alix and Max turn to each other with love-stricken smiles.

“Alix,” Max says, stepping closer, the string retracting with every move. “I know there is a ninety nine point nine percent chance that I feel this way due to Bleeding Heart’s attack, but the point zero one percent moves me to confess that I have fallen in love with you.”

Alix blushes, moving closer as well. “I love you too, nerd.” They’re right in front of each other, and then they’re leaning in and-

Marinette looks away as Bleeding Heart fires again, quickly latching Sabrina and Kim together.

“Brains and brawns, a perfect pair!” Bleeding Heart cheers as he snaps his fingers. Then he turns again, and his grin turns into a beam. “Oh, look at you two! You’ve already found your match, how sweet!”

Marinette spares a glance back, and sees how Rose cowers behind Juleka, the goth holding a protective stance in front of the blonde. Both blush, but neither correct the Akuma. Which is smart, because he quickly moves on to find a new target. 

His eyes lock onto her, and Marinette tenses.

“Little dear, you’re so lonely! We simply must find you somebody to call your other half! Let’s see, who might it be?” 

“I believe you should let her choose for herself,” Scarlet Lord’s voice rings clear through the air, and Marinette feels her heartbeat racing as he steps closer. 

“You!” Bleeding Heart cheers. “You must be her other half!” He raises his fingers, and Marinette feels her eyes widen.

“Don’t waste your time, they’re already an item,” Chat Noir says cheekily as he tosses his baton at the Akuma. 

“They are?” Bleeding Heart asks, eyes showing distrust and hope all at once. 

Marinette freezes, mouth open but no response coming out. Part of her screams to say yes, because they can’t risk her being attached to Scarlet Lord. He’d be slowed down in battle by their string, and if he was forced to love her, that’d be a distraction. And yet another part of her yells no, because it feels selfish to force Scarlet Lord to pretend, to play into a false relationship with her. Because it wouldn’t feel fake, even just for the few minutes, for her. Marinette knows her feelings, knows she’d-

“We are,” Scarlet Lord says calmly. “And I don’t appreciate you threatening my dear.”

Marinette feels her face heat up at the gasps around the room, and shrinks in on herself.

“How precious,” Bleeding Heart cooes. “What a shame that I have to take your Miraculous now.” Then he leaps at Scarlet Lord, hand outstretched. Luckily, Scarlet Lord is as quick as he is smart, and jumps out of reach, swinging his yoyo to knock the window open before pulling Marinette to his side. 

“Let’s go, love,” Scarlet Lord says, and then he’s racing to the window and leaping out, pulling them away from danger. The wind races through Marinette’s ears as the classroom becomes farther and farther away, and Bleeding Heart becomes a spec chasing after them, Chat Noir behind him, trying to distract the Akuma. 

When they’ve gained enough distance, Scarlet sets her down. It’s only now that Marinette sees how red faced the hero is. 

She has no doubt that her face is matching.

“Thank you,” Marinette breathes out. Scarlet, somehow, turns even redder.

“Of course. I couldn’t let you get hurt, my dear,” Scarlet says softly, and then he looks away. “Your...friend was live streaming, wasn’t she?”

Marinette blinks, then gasps. “Alya? Oh, oh no…” Knowing the journalist, Alya had likely started recording the moment Bleeding Heart entered the room...meaning the whole city would soon know of Marinette and Scarlet Lord’s ‘relationship’. “She probably was.”

Scarlet nods. “I see.”

“I’m sure that we can explain what happened later!” Marinette says quickly, although her heart squeezes. She tries to push away the odd hopefulness in her heart as she continues. “They’d understand! I mean, we haven’t been seen together in public often-”

“I’ve saved you at least twenty times by now, my dear,” Scarlet Lord corrects. “And you’ve helped me in battles with my Lucky Charm-” a flash of light, and a tube of spotted lipstick falls from the sky, “multiple times. Oh, shit.” Scarlet Lord glares at the object in his hand as if it offended him, then sighs. “I have a feeling that if we try to explain it away, the people of Paris will only believe I am trying to protect you from harm.”

Marinette frowns, eyes scanning the city. (It’s to watch for danger, she tells herself, not because she’s too scared to look into Scarlet Lord’s eyes and see annoyance or, worse, indifference.) “I suppose you’re right. So...what should we do?”

“Well, we can always pretend to be dating,” Scarlet Lord suggests. “And after a few weeks, if you’d like, we can break it off. Say that it was too dangerous, that it’s too risky to try.”

“Right. You’re right, it’d be stupid to continue,” Marinette agrees, and a little bit of her heart cracks.

“I’m sorry,” Scarlet whispers, so soft that Marinette almost misses it. “I know this must be...upsetting.”

Marinette forces herself to laugh, blinking away tears that spring forth as she thinks of the irony in her life, that she’d be stuck fake dating her crush, and accidentally rejected without ever confessing. “Why would it be upsetting?” Marinete asks, facing him with a forced grin. “I mean, who else gets to claim they’re dating the Scarlet Lord?” She looks away, the grin falling. “Let’s...let’s go defeat the Akuma. Maybe he’ll...maybe he’ll be distracted if he sees us acting like a couple?”

“Of course,” Scarlet Lord agrees, and then, as if in a story, his yoyo begins to ring. He answers it, Chat’s face filling the screen.

“Hey, are you two done talking or whatever?” Chat asks, leaping behind a building before glancing away. “Because Bleeding Heart is getting real pissed that I won’t stand still long enough for him to pair me up with anyone, and I don’t exactly have someone to claim as my secret girlfriend right now!” The words pierce Marinette’s heart, and she shifts uncomfortably as Scarlet Lord sighs.

“We’re on our way. Where are you, Chat Noir?”

“I’m on the- oh shoot!” Chat jumps out of the way as a red string flies past him. “Gotta go, check my location, bye!” 

The call ends. 

“Let’s get to the fight,” Scarlet says lightly, and then he pulls her to his side once more before swinging off…

Bleeding Heart is easy to deal with. Sure, Scarlet ends up having to run off and detransform right after they get there (thanks again, Lucky Charm), but when he comes back he’s fierce and fast, taking the Akuma down with ease. The moment Miraculous Ladybug is cast, Marinette finds herself backing away from the fight. Of course, life isn’t quite so easy.

“Miss!” A reporter cries out, darting over to her. “How does it feel to be dating one of the heroes of Paris?”

A second man shoves a microphone in her face, adding on, “How long have you been dating? How did he ask you out? Is it hard to date when one half hides behind a mask?”

“Do you know his identity?” A third person questions, more following suit, and Marinette feels herself freezing once more.

But then Scarlet lays a hand on her shoulder protectively, and Marinette leans into his hold. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrogate my dear,” he says, voice icier than she’s ever heard, and the reporters freeze. “Our love life is private, and the details are for the two of us to know.” He glares at the reporters, then turns to Marinette. “Would you like me to drop you off at home, love?”

Marinette blushes scarlet, shaking her head slowly. “I, I should head back to class.” 

“Of course. Allow me to be of service.” With a soft smile, he lifts her up gently before heading off.

Marinette tries to ignore how her heart sings while her stomach drops. It’s all too much.

He reaches the school too fast and yet all too slow, and sets her down as gently as possible, making sure that she regains her footing on the ground before letting go of her completely. Marinette backs up, trying to head back to class, to pretend that this day hasn’t been mortifying and painful, that she won’t cry from embarrassment and heartbreak later on. 

“Thanks,” Marinette says, then rushes inside. She misses the look of longing on her hero’s face. 

It’s worse at school, with her classmates over the moon by the sudden news.

“I thought you just had a crush on him!” Alya exclaims. “I had no clue you were dating!”

“We wanted privacy,” Marinette forces the words out, trying not to find joy. She’s disgusting, leeching happiness out of this mess, isn’t she?

Adrien smiles apologetically, and Marinette sighs. She can’t blame him, he was just trying to help. She smiles back as best as she can, and he seems to slump in relief. Then class resumes, and Marinette uses the last of her willpower to focus on the lesson and ignore the looks she’s getting from her classmates.

She misses the way Félix watches her, eyes soft and searching for the right answer. She just keeps her eyes on the board...

-----

Marinette sighs as she curls up deeper into her blankets, eating cookies as she tries to ignore the day’s events. But how can she? How can she, when her crush is being thrown into her face in the worst sense of irony to possibly exist? The world must hate her, if it’s playing with her head so cruelly.

A knock sounds through her balcony door. Huffing, Marinette rolls over in her bed. “Go away, Chat! I don’t want to talk right now.” She may have forgiven him for causing this mess, but she can’t just-

Another knock, this one louder. Eyes narrowing, Marinette shoves the blanket off and stands up. Pushing on the trapdoor, Marinette says, “Chat, I’m serious! I really don’t want to talk about this whole mess! Can’t you just-” Scarlet Lord’s eyes meet hers, and Marinette stumbles, barely catching herself. “Leave?” 

Scarlet Lord smiles, albeit rather awkwardly, and holds out a hand to her. She takes it numbly, face heating up. “I figured that you’d like to talk about all of this. Unless you’d prefer that I leave you alone for now?” 

Marinette lets go of his hand and leans against the railing, inwardly cursing her increasingly red face. “No! No. We can talk right now.” 

“Are you sure?” he asks, eyes searching for any signs of doubt. “You seemed rather against the idea, although you did seem to assume I was Chat Noir...why is that?” 

“Oh!” Marinette looks away, missing how his eyes follow hers. “Chat comes around a lot.”

“Does he?” His voice isn’t quite so soft now, almost… jealous? No, there’s no way. He’s probably just upset that Chat is wasting his time with supposedly random civilians...even if Marinette is their most common ally. 

“Yeah. He, uh, he called me the little sister he never had,” Marinette says with a small laugh. “It’s odd, calling a superhero a sibling, but I guess I’ll be claiming I’m dating you, so it’s not that odd now?” Marinette sighs, wistful. “I never thought I’d end up fake dating someone.” 

“Neither did I,” Scarlet admits. “But I’d like to talk about that.”

Marinette nods. “Right, of course.” She shifts, glances to him, then glances away once more. “I thought we figured it out back on the roof though? A,” she swallows, “a few weeks, then we’ll call it off publicly. Right?”

“Right,” his voice seems strained, probably from the tangible awkwardness Marinette is radiating. “I’d like to apologize. For all of this. I don’t know what Chat Noir was thinking when he suggested that.”

“He was trying to keep you safe,” Marinette says, pretending that she doesn’t know Chat’s real motive- being her wingman. “If you didn’t agree, Bleeding Heart would have tried to connect us together. You would’ve been stuck to me, and I would only slow you down.”

“I’m sure we’d find a way to beat him. Two heads are better than one, aren’t they?” Scarlet chuckles, then sighs. “No matter the reason, I am sorry that all of this has happened.”

“I get it,” Marinette blurts out, ignoring how his words stab through her heart. “Don’t wanna be stuck with the clumsy girl who always ends up stuck in battles, yeah? It makes sense, I understand completely. I should be the one apologizing.”

“Marinette,” Scarlet says, hand reaching out and grabbing her shoulder, turning her gently until she’s facing him. “I’m only apologizing because you’re in danger now. I would hate to be the reason you get hurt. You’re important to me, do you know that?”

Marinette blinks. “I am?”

He smiles. “It’s hard to see a pretty, talented girl and not fall for her.” 

Alright, it’s official. Marinette has to be dreaming, or she’s stuck in some kind of story. There’s no way- what kind of- wha-

“Me?!” Marinette gets out, voice high and face burning.

Scarlet Lord nods, hand slipping down from her shoulder to take her hand instead. “My dear, I’m not blind, nor am I a fool. I know that Chat Noir has been trying to set us up...and I wouldn’t be against it.” He squeezes her hand, and Marinette’s heart jumps. “You’re a wonderful girl, Marinette. But…”

“But it’s dangerous. Because I’m a civilian, and you’re a superhero,” Marinette says, and Scarlet Lord nods. “So that’s it.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“Huh?”

Scarlet smirks, and oh mon Dieu Marinette is a goner. “Picture this. The next few weeks, we try to work things out in public. We make a big show of it, we’re not comfortable with all eyes on us. We break it off, deciding that it’s best to end things before the public becomes worse.” He chuckles. “And as the public tries to focus on the sudden breakup, they’ll become distracted when they see me flirting with a new teammate that I’m bringing in soon, and I’ll earn her love and we’ll make it very public. Since she has a Miraculous and a secret identity, everything will be alright.”

“I see…” Marinette swallows, unsure where the conversation is going. “And who...who’s the new hero?”

“Well, my dear,” Scarlet Lord says, and then he’s holding out a foxtail necklace, “if you’d truly like to try giving this bug a chance, then the new hero is you.”

-----

Marinette is a normal girl with a normal life. She goes to school with her best friend, who is a model and a superhero, she designs for celebrities, and she’s dating one half of the original superhero duo. Oh, and she’s now a superhero herself, but that’s just an average day in the life of Marinette “Kitsune” Dupain-Cheng’s life. 

[roseinaugust]

Like an Old Enemy

Chapter Seven: Meet Me At Our Spot

Summary: Miraculous Enemies AU. Gabriel Agreste has the Black Cat Miraculous in his possession, so when his wife, Emilie, "disappears," he sends his son, Adrien, undercover to pose as Ladybug's partner. Two years later, the once famous duo are sworn enemies. Marinette might have loved Chat Noir once, but now she would stop at nothing to defeat him. Adrien will do whatever it takes to bring his mother back. Best friends in their civilian lives, Adrien and Marinette find obstacles and complications when they can no longer deny their love for each other. But will they be able to understand and forgive the mistakes of their past? Or will they be doomed to end as bitter rivals a second time?

Rated: T

Pairings: Ladybug/Chat Noir Enemies, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Mutual Pining

Word Count: 9,027

Read on: ao3

A/N: I am only posting part of this chapter on tumblr so please read the rest on ao3!

“No, Adrien.” Gabriel Agreste said with a note of finality.  Adrien’s presence in his office barely disturbed him as he tapped at something on his tablet. 

Adrien hadn’t expected his father to agree right away, but the quickness of Gabriel’s refusal made his temper flare.  His fingers began to ache as he clenched his hands together behind his back to prevent an outburst. Gabriel couldn’t be bothered to stop working long enough to have a conversation with his son. 

Adrien needed to stay focused. He had to be there, he could finally progress with Marinette—although he still didn’t know if it was a date or not. “Father, I understand your concerns,” he didn’t, “but, the entire class is going. It will look suspicious if I am the only one not attending. People are already starting to grow skeptical of how often I miss class, especially after the akuma on the first day of school.” This was a strategy he’d used once before to gain permission to attend Marinette’s birthday party last January. 

Adrien knew the best way to convince his father was to target one of the three things that Gabriel believed were important: his mother, control, or the upkeep of public appearances. The first was a nonstarter; any mention of Emilie would result in punishment. The second would only work if Adrien had something to offer his father in return, which he didn’t. The third however was perfect because it threatened the first two. If anyone grew apprehensive of the Agreste family or the Gabriel brand, everything would collapse. They operated precariously, shrouded in the shadow of secrecy, but there was only so much that could be stuffed in a closet or brushed under a rug. Eventually, someone would peak behind the curtain, unless there was no reason for anyone to go searching. 

Gabriel’s eyes flickered up to Adrien for the first time during their conversation before returning to his work. “You had a perfectly reasonable excuse to miss class that day for your photoshoot. There is no reason for anyone to suspect that you are Chat Noir.” Adrien pictured the lucky charm in his pocket, a reminder of what he was doing this for.

“It’s not me that they are skeptical of; it’s you.” Gabriel’s focus diverted to Adrien instantly. Although he craved the attention earlier, now Adrien wished his father’s gaze would return to the tablet, or to his designs, or really anywhere that wasn’t him. He squirmed under the scrutiny, fidgeting and taking a step backwards. He could do this, he was going to fight for what he wanted. “Scheduling a photoshoot on the first day of school brought up questions about your parenting. They are concerned that you’re too strict.” His father’s face was unreadable, a neutral landscape with maybe a hint of annoyance, but Adrien knew mines were buried underneath. He needed to tread carefully. “No one believes you are Hawkmoth, but if someone begins to look into our family…” Adrien trailed off at the sight of his father’s hardening face. He gulped. “If you permit me to go tonight, it should be enough to dispel any concerns.”

Gabriel’s brow lowered, his mouth a line of displeasure. He weighed the options before dropping his attention back to the tablet in his hands. “My decision stands. You are not going.” 

Adrien dropped his hands from behind his back, unable to restrain himself. “But, wh-why?” He sputtered, incredulous at this refusal. His father ignored him, typical of his dismissals. Adrien was expected to accept the answer and leave, but he stood motionless in the center of the office. He couldn’t accept this, he needed to be at Andre’s tonight. Disbelief mutated into anger. How was he not concerned? Sure, Adrien was exaggerating the severity of his classmate’s suspicions, but how could Gabriel be so blasé? “It’s just ice cream. I’ll be home—”

“No, Adrien.” Gabriel interrupted, refusing to look up at his son. The sucker punch of his father’s stubbornness knocked the wind out of Adrien. Crescent moons imprinted on his palms as he balled his fists by his sides, red-hot anger burning inside him. 

“But—” His negotiation attempts were once again cut short.

“No.” Gabriel clipped. 

“Why can’t I go with my friends?” The words overflowed before Adrien could stop them. The incessant tapping on the tablet halted at once as Gabriel snapped his focus to his son. 

“Friends?” He asked through gritted teeth. “I didn’t send you to school to make friends. You are there to learn Ladybug’s civilian identity—something you have failed to achieve for the past year!” Although Gabriel remained seated, Adrien stayed alert. He was close enough to the door that should his father pounce, he could escape. “I have allowed you to stay in school despite your inadequacy to complete this task, but it seems my generosity has spoiled you. Perhaps I should withdraw you from school.” 

Adrien’s eyes widened as he followed the thread of his father’s threat. School was his only lifeline, providing him with a few glorious hours of reprieve from Gabriel and this insufferable house. Without school, he knew the isolation would suffocate him. No Nino, no Marinette, just the expansive fortress of his house and the ever-tightening collar of Gabriel’s control. Any anger welling inside him spiraled down the drain, replaced immediately with quickening heartbeats of dread. “No!” He winced at his desperation and hung his head. 

“No what, Adrien?” He scowled at his son, his voice rough as gravel.

“Don’t take me out of school.” Disgust. That’s all Adrien could feel as he begged his father. He was a coward. A useless, intimidated, coward, and he hated himself for the power Gabriel held over him. He’d always surrounded himself with powerful and brave women—his mother, Ladybug, Marinette—to help him find his courage, but without them by his side he was the same scared boy that he feared he would always be. He didn’t have the strength to fight his father alone. And so he didn’t fight; he followed orders, became docile and sacrificed the things he wanted to be able to survive. “Please.” He lifted his head in time to see the twisted turn of glee spreading across his father’s face. 

“Very well, but anymore outbursts and I will not be so lenient.” 

“Thank you, father.” Adrien choked out, hating the fact that he needed to act grateful to Gabriel. 

“Go to your room and be prepared for an akuma tonight.” He resumed working on the tablet. 

Although he was dismissed, Adrien stood still, attempting to collect himself. This was not how today was supposed to go. He should be on his way to meet Marinette. She was going to be so disappointed. By some miracle, she had agreed to go with him, and now all of his efforts and anxieties were in vain. She’d understand—she always did when the topic of his father was brought up—but it wouldn’t change the fact that he wasn’t there. 

His hands snaked inside his pockets once he started to move towards the exit. His fingers found their way to the lucky charm, a habit after months with the talisman. As much as he wanted to believe in the gift from Marinette, he knew it was obsolete. If it were true, he would have been able to stand up to his father, he would be brave, and free. If it had worked, he would have the things he wanted. Yet, once again, they were just out of his reach. He was a dog, snapping at the tantalizing bone placed farther than his chain allowed. He pulled every which way to reach the prize, but it never budged. He could never get closer, tiring with every second that passed with his struggle, and Gabriel—his owner—loomed behind him, threatening to pull the chain back, dragging Adrien farther and farther away from the bone. Eventually, he would stop struggling; but he still had some bite left in him today.

He reached the heavy wooden door to the foyer and paused. Eyes forward, refusing to look back at his father, Adrien clenched his jaw. Resentment overpowered his obedience as he said, “I wish it were you instead. I wish you had disappeared instead of mom.” 

“And I wish it were you.”

A/N: Reminder that this is only part of the chapter so read the rest here