#Marinette should be dead at this point if she actually had a real panic attack.

[marinettesaltprompts]

Derision: Makes Marinette suddenly have PTSD and get cured in that same episode

PTSD/C-PTSD victims:

Like really? You guys fell for the same shit they did for any plot points in all seasons?

[maribatshipper]

Miraculous Jiminette: String

Liam sighs as he watches everyone with his amber coloured eyes. Everyone says that you have soulmates, & there is a string on your finger connecting you to your soulmate. He didn't believe it until he turned twelve & started seeing strings on everyone's hands. No one else seemed to see them, even when he asked, everyone looked at him like he was nuts. He looks at his own naked fingers. He could see everyone's strings except his own. He's seen people with platonic soulmates, romantic soulmates, & any other soulmates there are. The romantic soulmates were attached by the ring-finger & any others were every other finger.

"& I swear we're soulmates."

Liam groans as his Italian cousin drones on about some famous celebrities. He's seen her fingers. Her soulmate is as fake as she is. What she does have that's real is a soul enemy.

"Lila, shut up! I've had enough! You are not soulmates with you may think, but there is one person in here attached one of your fingers, & it isn't a good one!" Liam glares at his cousin.

Lila goes to sob when Liam says, "You have a soul enemy. In fact, you have quite a few soul enemies. One of them is in this room."

Everyone stares at shock at Liam. He's usually a quiet guy, almost never talking to anyone, & now he's just confused everyone in the room. He holds back from grabbing at his own brown hair. Lila starts crying.

She sniffs, "Why would you say that to me, Liam? I was just trying to-"

Liam interrupts, "Get attention, again! I'm sick of it! I'm out of here!"

He storms out of the room, feeling a tug on his pointer-finger. One of his Platonics must have been in that room. Marinette follows him out.

"What was that about, Liam?" She asks.

Liam sighs & sits down on a bench. He trusts Marinette more than anyone in that room. Maybe she’ll understand... Here goes nothing.

"I can see people's strings."

Marinette's eyes widen in shock.

"Soulmate strings?" She asks.

Liam nods, "Everyone's except my own & the Miraculous heroes."

Marinette sighs, "That must be painful."

"I guess. It's painful to see people fall in love with people that are not their soulmates, & I can't tell them without feeling guilty."

Marinette asks, "Why did you yell at Lila, though?"

“Because she’s a liar.” Liam frowns.

Marinette nods, “Can’t argue with that.”

Liam sighs, "The strings are different colours, based on personality or an important trait of the soulmate. Her romantic soulmate string is dull and clear, which usually means they are either dead, or a fake, like her."

Marinette sits next to him & asks, "What about Soul enemies? What's that?"

Liam points at his middle finger, "Right here is a string attached to people who are made to be enemies. Hers is connected to you. It glows a blinding red when you are close to your most hated enemy. Yours is Lila, my cousin, & one is, oddly enough, Gabriel Agreste. Then there are dull but not dull enough strings. Those are for the people that could possibly be a kind of soulmate. Chloe's string attached to you moved from your middle to your pointer. It's dull, but there."

Marinette frowns, "What about everyone in class?"

"Alya was supposed to be Soulmates with Nino, because their strings are attached to the ring, but if something gets in the way, the bond weakens until it just snaps. Especially if one in the relationship turns abusive and toxic. Adrien's attached to Nino's, yours, & Chloe's pointer, Rose & Juleka I never get a clear look, Mylene & Ivan seem good, but I can't tell if someone's a true romantic soulmate until they become adults except some people." Liam explains.

Marinette's face becomes downcast, "So... Adrien isn't my soulmate?"

Liam shakes his head, "Only a platonic. You need to remove all those pictures in your room of him. It'll only hurt more. But... I can do something for you."

Marinette raises her eyebrow, confused.

"I can tell you what your possible soulmate will look like, & where he lives, if you'll let me. I just need to hold your string." Liam offers.

Marinette asks, "You'd do that?"

Liam nods. Marinette holds out her hand to him, giving him permission. He grabs a hold of the blue/silver string attached to her ring finger & closes his eyes. A slim young man appears in his vision, with blue eyes, dark hair, a few scars, & fair skin. One thing that seems to recur is a suit of armour, shocking Liam. The kid in Liam's vision is seen fighting strange creatures in a place in America called Arcadia. The boy then becomes a strange being of stone, then a bigger one, then a human again. Liam opens his eyes, flabbergasted.

"You have a knight in shining armour for a soulmate." He breathes.

Marinette giggles, "Yeah, right. Tell me what you really saw."

Liam locks eyes with Marinette & tells her, "Your soulmate looks like a knight. He's blue-eyed, black hair, very slim, & is in America. A town called Arcadia. I think I saw someone call him Jim."

***

Jim Lake Jr looks at his phone. Toby had died just last week during a fight with a Troll. He was mourning his best friends' death when he had passed out on his bed.

In his dreams, he's wearing the Trollhunter armour he lost after he turned back into a human. He saw Toby almost die again, only for a girl wearing ladybug themed spandex to jump in front & protect him with a yoyo. The girl wraps the yoyo around the troll & pulls tight, cutting the troll apart.

"Leave them alone!" She yells at the troll remains.

Jim asks, "Who are you?"

The bluenette smiles, "I'm Ladybug. Hero of Paris, but you'll end up knowing me as-"

Suddenly, a man in a strange butterfly costume & a woman in a peacock costume appear & attack the Ladybug girl.

"Give me your Miraculous, Ladybug!" the Butterfly man orders.

Ladybug yells, "Never, Hawk Moth! Cat Noir, Ryuko!"

Two other animal-themed people appear behind Jim.

"Coming, M'lady! Watch out for Mayura." The cat boy yells as he extends his Baton & uses it like a sword.

The other one seems to be dressed up as a dragon & attacks with an actual sword. Jim stares in shock as the three heroes help each other with attackers. Ladybug gets knocked down by Mayura, & the other two are being distracted by Hawk Moth. Mayura's about to bring her dangerous fan down onto Ladybug. Jim's eyes widen in panic as he lunges in front of Mayura & holds his sword Daylight in a defensive position against the deadly fan.

"That's enough." A new voice announces.

Suddenly, everyone except Jim disappears.

"Toby!" Jim exclaims.

A boy places his hand on Jim's shoulder to comfort him.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I'm Liam. I need to tell you something, Jim." the boy explains.

Jim asks, "What could you possibly need to tell me?"

Liam answers, "A, this is a dream. When I hold someone's soulmate string, I can contact their soulmate via dreams. B, I can see people's soulmate strings. Apparently, those heroes are your soulmates. Platonically, of course. We are in Paris."

Jim frowns, causing Liam to hesitate.

"I do know one of your soulmates. What kind I’m not saying just yet. Her name is Marinette. When you come to Paris, try not to get upset though. I'll explain it more here."

Jim wakes up, terrified. Something about that dream just seems too real. He goes to the computer & researches Paris. What he finds shocks him.

***

Jim's sitting in a library searching about the word "Miraculous". So far, there is almost nothing, until he stumbles onto the Ladyblog on the library's computer. He calls Claire.

"Claire, we need to go to Paris."

***

Liam rolls his eyes as another akuma tries to take over Paris.

"Look out!" Someone yells.

Liam looks up to see a beam coming towards him when two people crash into him. One's a girl with a white strip in her hair & one-

"You?" Liam asks.

Jim asks, "You?"

Claire asks, "You know each other?"

Both males answer, "Long story."

Liam grabs both their hands & runs.

"Where is a bloody akuma shelter when you need it?!" Liam growls.

Claire asks, "What's going on? What's an akuma?"

Liam sighs, "Another long story."

He looks at Claire's hand, a habit with his ability. He feels his ringfinger tighten & widens his eyes. He panics when he sees Ryuko.

"Ryuko! Help!" He yells.

Ryuko jumps next to the three teens. Liam grips his ringfinger as he pushes the other two towards Ryuko.

"Take these two, please! They're tourists! I'll find a shelter!" Liam orders.

Ryuko nods & grabs the two teens and rushes away to a shelter. Liam picks up his pace as he dodges the akuma.

"Liam!" a very familiar voice exclaims.

Liam trips & crashes into the ground, getting a few bruises. He looks up & prepares himself for the inevitable when a strong pair of arms wrap around him. He opens his eyes to see Ladybug saving him. He feels his pointer-finger tug as she takes him far away. His pointer flashes, & he looks down to see Marinette's name written on it. That's new.

"Thanks, Ladybug." Liam smiles.

"Be more careful! We can't lose the only guy that can see soulmates." Ladybug frowns.

Liam suddenly looks at Ladybug in shock. He's only ever told his parents and...

"Marinette..." He whispers.

"Get somewhere safe." Ladybug orders.

***

Marinette groans, "I messed up Tikki!"

Tikki rolls her eyes, "Marinette, Liam can see Soulmate strings. You & him are Platonic soulmates. It was bound to happen. So you slipped up. He won't tell anyone. He's too nice for that."

Before Marinette can respond, a knock comes from her trapdoor. Liam comes through the trapdoor.

"I brought someone, Nette." Liam smiles.

A boy with blue eyes, black hair, a blue jumper, and a scar over his right eyebrow pokes his head through the trapdoor.

"Meet your soulmate. Enjoy." Liam smirks as he leaves the room.

A/N Okay, so I'm a big crossover shipper, in case you haven't noticed. This is the Jim Lake Jr X Marinette Dupain-Cheng ship. There aren't nearly enough fanfics for this ship. Also, I apologise for killing Toby. I was gonna go with killing Claire, but I had to get them to Paris fast SOMEHOW. Should I do a second part of this? Or are you cool on the cliffhanger?

I got told to make a sequel, it’s right here people!

Part 2

[pl-panda]

Damienette arranged marriage: part 7

Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @thyladyanput for idea for Chat Damian and me for the plot.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Damienette arranged marriage: Part 7

NEXT!

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She was maybe the second person to learn the truth behind his name. Damian means to tame and his mother named him that because he was ultimate proof that she tamed The Bat. He expected her to laugh, but instead she pulled him into a hug to comfort him. He also revealed that he loved painting and went as far as to sketch her. She was happy to pose as long as he in turn allowed her to take measurements. 

Marinette brought out what was best in him and he would be damned if he let her just suffer in silence. 

Marinette was so tired that she found herself unable to sleep. This day was so full of emotions: both good and bad. 

When she first met Damian, back at the temple, he was rather cold and indifferent. He struck her as selfish even. But he was also dead honest and very serious about his loyalty. He even stabbed his own brother to defend her honor. Okay, after spending the day with him she was pretty convinced he would stab him for some more meager reason, but it was still… cute in some strange way. Nobody has ever done something like this before. Even Chat Noir never stabbed anyone to defend her honor. Hit on the head with a baton? Sure. But never stab. And he threatened Lila. Marinette was unsure if he wouldn’t actually follow up on his threat. 

The date she went on was great. She felt the freedom unlike ever before. She knew she could tell him anything since they already knew each others’ greatest secrets. She could freely tell him about her adventures as Ladybug. And he was also quite handsome when he smiled. Not that he wasn’t when he was not smiling, but she liked his smile. His actual smile not the malicious grin he often wore. Damian played the cold and closed mean guy, but he was actually quite soft. He loved animals and painting. He even wanted to sketch her! Damian was yet very grounded person. He had this no-nonsense aura around himself. But he was patient enough to endure with her small panic attacks. She remembered his gentle touch on  her hands. His words of encouragement. And his deep green eyes. They were two whirlpools of emerald. So majestic, yet so caring. With that image imprinted on her mind she finally fell asleep. Her dreams were undisturbed by a knocking on her window.

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

Next day Marinette woke up still tired, but in much better mood. She was ready for school. Well, good for her since she was almost late like usual. In panic, she quickly grabbed her purse and was about to run downstairs when Tikki flew in front of her.

“Marinette! Aren’t you forgetting something?” The girl looked around and didn’t catch what Kwami ment. “Your clothes!” Marinette looked down and saw she was still in her pijama. In record time she managed to dress up and was about to run downstairs when Tikki stopped her again. “Backpack?” Once again Marinette rushed to grab her things and get down and not get late. Her parents were already waiting for her in the bakery. 

“Here is your breakfast cherie.” Her mother smiled handing her a box of pastries. 

“And here is something special for you to share with your boy.” Her father smiled and handed her a box of macaroons. They both had a smile.

“And remember Mari. If he hurts you, just say a word and I will break his every bone into dozen pieces.” Her mother gave her most prominent smile ever. Somehow, it made the threat even more real.

“I will maman. Bye papa! Bye maman!” Marinette shouted and run away before they offered more ‘help’. She loved them, but after yesterday’s evening she was not sure she would allow them to meet Damian any times soon. She couldn’t protect him forever, seeing as he was technically her husband, but she could at least give them some time to get used to the idea of her dating someone. Maybe once Hawkmoth was gone. She did not want to have to escape from another thorny prison. Or maybe after the trip to gotham. They should be happy to see her back that they might not outright kill him for marrying her without their knowledge. She fully planned on telling them everything once there was no threat looming over their heads. Marinette giggled imagining Talia facing her mother. It was funny that somehow the confrontation would always go in favor of Sabine. 

She barged into class almost right when the bell rang. None of her classmates cared enough to even batch an eye at her. She did notice Damian in the back and made her way to him.

“I swear… If that harlot tries telling another lie about me or my family, I will not even need the bleacher. They will never know where to look in the first place.” He growled.

“What did she say?” Marinette grasped. While Damian had a soft side, she also knew he would not hesitate to stab her, making it look like a nasty incident. 

“She kept babbling about how she knows the Waynes and She and Me have an on and off ‘thing’ and probably this whole trip is because we had a fight and now I want to apologize that way.” His hand twitched dangerously close to his sword. Why did he bring the sword today?

“I can’t let you just stab her. And it’s not like you can convince any of them change their minds that way.” Marinette placed her hand over his, at the same time making sure it would make it harder for him to grab the sword if he heard something more from Lila. “Here. My parents made them for us.” She opened the box of macaroons. 

“I am not a fan of sweets.” He answered, but with relief she noticed he stopped glaring daggers at Lila. 

“Then try this one.” She pointed to the yellow one. “It’s made with a bit of lemon juice to add more sourness.”

Damian reluctantly picked the treat and took a bite. Suddenly, the corners of his lips went up. She proudly watched the ‘ice prince’ smile at something so common as a macaroon. “This is a very good macaroon. I am sure it could rival whatever Alfred makes.” He exclaimed, trying not to sound overly excited.

“Somehow I feel like this is better compliment than when Uncle Jagged offered to write a song about my parents’ bakery…” She giggled. Damian looked at her stumped. She only giggled again. “You should’ve seen how Tim reacted when he heard. Suddenly next day Wayne enterprises ordered catering for the whole building. Apparently the CEO wanted to celebrate some deal. I am not sure if any worker besides Tim saw the pastries though.” 

“Knowing him? I have no idea. If it was Jason or Dick, they wouldn’t even make it to the building before this morons ate it all.” Then, a dark realization dawned on Damian. “Was by any chance a blonde with him when they picked up the order?”

“Uh… I don’t know. I was at school when it happened. Why?” 

Damian groaned. He should have connected the dots sooner. Brown was suddenly not hanging in the mansion twenty-four/seven and she was not seen on patrols. Father said that he was aware of her location. “If Brown is here too, then I am almost sure this pastries didn’t make it. And she might be causing a sudden jump in the bakery’s revenue.”

“Huh?” Marinette wasn’t following.

“Stephanie Brown is Drake’s girlfriend. Saying she has a sweet tooth is understatement of the century. More of a sweet jaw if you ask me. She can smell sweets from mile and always get there before you. Especially when Alfred is baking. And she can rival Cass in her stealth skill when it comes to stealing them.” Damian explained to Marinette and watched her stiffen another giggle. What was it with girls and giggling? But Damian had to admit Marinette looked cute when she did. Slow down Romeo or you will crash into a stop sign.

“Well then. I will be happy to bake her something. But Tim didn’t mention her.”

“He said he is running his independent investigation, so I assume you do not see him often?”

“Yeah. He is quite busy at the office. Isn’t he missing the school though?”

“Drake is seventeen and already has three P.H.D. He goes to school either to hang out with his less intelligent friends or to argue with the underpaid teachers by pointing every mistake and inaccuracy.” 

“Sounds like fun.” The mention of the teacher suddenly made Marinette aware that Madame Bustier was nowhere to be seen. “We’ve been sitting here for almost twenty minutes now. Maybe I will go check for her…” Marinette suggested more to herself than Damian. She was about to stand up when Madame Bustier walked into the class with Chloe following her. Only now anyone noticed that the blonde was gone. 

“Children. Chloe wanted to say something to all of you.” The teacher started.

“Yes. I wanted to apologize for my utterly ridiculous behavior in the past and hope that you will give me chance to earn forgiveness from the better part of you.” Chloe stated nonchalantly.

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[dessarious]

The Angel of Death Pt10

Inspired by this Story Starter by @someone-ev

AO3   Prologue   Beginning   Previous   Next

Marinette had been staking out the warehouse for going on six hours when an old man seemingly dressed like a turtle showed up. She could feel the magic coming off him and knew he was the one the Kwami wanted her to meet. She already felt that this was a mistake. The man was brash and foolish to just walk into a meeting with an unknown entity without even bothering with a cursory sweep of the area. Marinette had no time and no use for fools.

“It is not polite to hide and stare at people, especially without introducing yourself.” He was staring directly at the place where she’d hidden the Miraculous while she was at his back. The man not only relied on magic, he assumed anyone else would if they had the chance. An easy mark if she were so inclined. The fact that this man was the caretaker of a power that could completely remake or even destroy the world was frightening if she was being honest.

“Politeness is overrated and I don’t see what introducing myself would accomplish.” The man spun around at her voice but she was already moving to a different location so he wouldn’t be able to pin her down. She watched as he squinted into the shadows where he heard her voice. The man really was hopeless.

“A name can tell you a lot about a person.” Marinette didn’t even try to stop the derisive snort that left her.

“At most a name tells you what someone’s parents hoped they’d be, though it’s more likely that they simply thought it sounded good with their last name. It says nothing about who or what a person is independent of that.” She moved again but not nearly as far as before. She watched him for any sign that he was tracking her movements but didn’t find any. Either the man was still alive by pure chance or he was very good at pretending to be oblivious. The first was a strong possibility if he relied on tiny gods to protect him but she knew better than to underestimate a potential threat.

“A valid point, but that still doesn’t tell me what I should call you.” She debated what to tell him. The Kwami seemed to think they could help each other but she knew better than most that having people close to you was nothing more than a weakness to be exploited. Not to mention the fact that if the League was hunting her or even just happened to stumble upon her while she was with him the Miraculous would be in danger as well. Better that he know exactly what he’s dealing with and leave.

“I’ve been called many things in my life. I’m currently referred to most often as The Angel of Death.” That got his attention. She watched as he stiffened and suddenly was surrounded by a magic shield. She couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. “If I wanted you dead you would be already. If you’ve heard of me you know I don’t kill indiscriminately and I highly doubt you’ve done anything that would land you on my hit list anyway.” She watched the man frown in thought.

“You were hired to kill Hawkmoth.” It was a statement and she didn’t bother to confirm it. “You let yourself get Akumatized to find him didn’t you?”

“I did.” She simply waited while he mulled over that information. Tikki hadn’t been very forthcoming about their conversation, she had a feeling it was more to do with not being able to than being unwilling, so she wasn’t certain what the man actually knew. She was interested to see what conclusions he would come up with. She shook her head when he dropped his shield before answering. The man was far too easy a target.

“It was a foolish thing to do. You’re lucky he didn’t see what your intentions were.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it. The man was incompetent and far too focused on his own desires to find information in a trained mind. He didn’t even notice I was still in control of myself let alone what I was planning to do.” That seemed to surprise him and it made her think he didn’t know as much about the Miraculous as he should, let alone other forms of magic.

“You remember everything that happened while you were Akumatized?” He sounded skeptical and worried. She didn’t answer right away. The Kwami had the same reaction when she told them, even Nooroo. The question was whether she wanted him to know what she was capable of so he didn’t come after her himself.

“Yes, I was in control of myself the entire time. Hawkmoth didn’t force me to do anything and I doubt he could have if he tried.” If she’d learned anything through their connection it was that Gabriel didn’t have the empathy to truly use the connections Nooroo formed for him. He forced his will on others and that only worked until he possessed someone with a stronger will than his.

“Why did you ask for this meeting?” He sounded wary but Marinette paused in confusion. What exactly had Tikki said to him?

“I didn’t. Tikki said they thought we could help each other and convinced me to meet with you. To be honest I don’t see what you could possibly teach me that will improve my skills and my being near you is likely to put you in danger. The Kwami seem set on remaining with me and given your apparent lack of strategy and overall skill I can understand why.” She expected him to be insulted but he just looked mildly annoyed. She moved behind him once again knowing she’d have to prove her point.

“The Miraculous are not going to be entrusted to someone like you. Either return them or face the consequences.” She couldn’t help the eye roll as she scanned him for the Miraculous he was wearing. It had to be the bracelet, nothing else was out of place. She attacked swiftly, stepping out of the shadows behind him and grabbing the bracelet. She tore it off in one smooth motion and was now face to face with an old man, amazingly even shorter than herself. She watched his face change from anger to panic to confusion as he finally took in who, or rather what, he was looking at.

“You’re just a child.”

AO3  Prologue   Beginning   Previous    Next

Ko-Fi

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[nobodyfamousposts]

The Other ML Crossover Nobody Wanted

Sooooo…

How many of you have read Petshop of Horrors?

No wait! Come back! I swear it’s not too horrible this time!

In a non-Miraculous version of events, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a bullied and lonely girl. She’s creative and resilient, but has few friends and low self esteem.

Things happen similarly to Origins in canon. The first day of school comes and she’s already figuring it’s bound to be another bad year. Her parents attempt to help by sending her off with a box of macarons to share to try and make friends.

Only instead of Master Fu, she happens to run into a rather peculiar man. Androgynous. Different colored eyes. Long nails. And wearing full oriental clothing.

She helps him and even offers him one of the her bakery’s macarons (which he loves). And somehow, he can tell she has problems. Despite herself, she admits to her fears and her desire to have friends.

The strange man introduces himself as Count D, and as a way of thanking her, he directs her to his Petshop, where he says he sells hopes and dreams. And he offers to find her her perfect companion.

With little else for it, she decides she’ll at least check it out and agrees to go with him.

At the petshop, he offers to give her a pet that will help her and takes her to the back of his store...which strangely seems bigger inside than it should be. He leads to to a particular room.

And inside is a young blond boy who D says is going to be her new pet.

“You can’t just give me a boy as a pet!”

“Don’t be silly. This is a cat.”

Despite the Count’s reassurances, Marinette remains skeptical, but ends up having little choice in the matter. D tells her that this “pet” will help with her problems. And the boy (who calls himself “Chat Noir”) insists on going with her and swears to protect her.

She’s reluctant and demands to know the catch. D is impressed she bothers to ask, but remains vague. At best, he reassures her that as long as she’s good to him, he will return the favor.

So Marinette returns home with a “cat”. Said “cat” is very affectionate and rather needy of her attention. But he’s a great listener and will let Marinette vent to him all of her feelings. He’s also supportive and encourages her. He becomes her friend, as weird as he is.

But...

She wants real friends.

The next day, when she goes to school, she discovers a new student.

“Adrien”.

Who is her cat.

She panics and tries to hide him, only to discover that everyone else sees him as a regular kid. Not only that, he’s pretty and popular and Marinette vicariously becomes popular for knowing him. She doesn’t really like this though since she figures people are only really interested in her because she knows him.

While “Adrien” is getting along with the other members of class, Marinette goes off by herself to begrudge his interference in her social life. Chloe of course takes the chance to antagonize Marinette and try to steal her seat to sit behind this cute new boy she’s heard about. This is how Marinette meets and befriends Alya, who is also a new student. Together, they stand up to Chloe and decide to be friends.

Chloe goes off in a huff, and they think that’s the end of it.

But once class starts, Chloe sees “Adrien” and freaks.

It turns out that Chat Noir in this human form looks just like a boy Chloe knew. A childhood friend of hers named Adrien Agreste.

Suspicious.

Chat gets a little down after this and doesn’t want to talk about it. Which is fine by Marinette, because that is what the internet is for! And new best friend Alya is on the case to help her solve this mystery—because this Alya is a fan of mysteries, and a new transfer student from out of nowhere who looks just like a kid who died is definitely a mystery. And possibly supernatural.

With Alya’s help, Marinette discovers a young male model named Adrien Agreste, son of Gabriel Agreste of the fashion company. Adrien was a model for his father’s brand until he collapsed one day and passed away suddenly. Gabriel Agreste has been holed up in his mansion ever since, and has refused to leave his home or make any public appearances. But he has been known to have a particularly volatile temper, seemingly going out of his way to upset people for unknown reasons.

Chat Noir develops a strange interest in the case and asks to visit. She’s wary, but agrees and takes him to the mansion. Somehow, he knows the access codes to unlock the gates and doors, and manages to get her inside.

The mansion is strangely empty.

They work their way through the rooms, including Adrien’s old bedroom, which looks like it’s been untouched for at least a year. They eventually find their way to Gabriel’s office.

And discover a secret entrance to a hidden basement below.

Down there, they discover a pale, sunken-faced, sickly Gabriel Agreste single-mindedly focused on caring for a strange cocoon. The man is clearly unwell and possibly mad, as he insists the cocoon is his comatose wife. And that everything he’s doing is to wake her.

It becomes clear that like Marinette, Gabriel was also a customer of Count D’s petshop. Only his “pet” is apparently an insect of some sort whom he has been bewitched to see as his dead wife.

Chat Noir is furious and confronts him for neglecting his son for “this”.

The truth comes out.

Adrien Agreste died due to malnutrition, exhaustion, and stress. He had been overworked as a model, working long hours and was kept on a strict diet. Adrien was horribly neglected and desperate to get any sort of approval from his father, so he forced himself to keep at it until his body eventually gave out.

Gabriel Agreste had been a broken man after his wife’s “disappearance”. When he came upon Count D, he was introduced to a “pet”—a cocoon containing an exotic species of moth, which took on the form of his wife in a state of stasis. He signed the contract to keep her and had been focused on “waking” her ever since. To the point of obsession and neglecting all other things.

Including his son.

Chat Noir is strangely angered by this. It takes Marinette’s interference to calm him and keep him from attacking the broken man.

Not that it mattered anymore.

Because Gabriel had a contract for this pet. With three rules of his own to follow:

1. Keep her in a cool space with plenty of moisture.

2. She is an empathetic creature and needs to be stimulated by proximity to high emotions.

3. Do not let her feel isolation.

In lines with these terms, Gabriel had been spending all of his time with her so she would not be isolated. In addition, he had taken to intentionally upsetting people in order to stir up high emotions—often of the negative variety—in some mad attempt to “feed” or stimulate her in hopes she would awaken. In this way, the third rule made sense to him in that if she was empathetic and could sense emotions, she could feel a lack of them and would die if she felt alone.

Gabriel is desperate. He’s been at it for years and still no sign of life from the cocoon. He’s insistent that he keep trying though, because everything will be better once she wakes up.

It’s Marinette who figures out what’s actually happened. And she has to break the news to both Gabriel and Chat.

Gabriel misunderstood the second and third rule of the contract.

For the second rule, she needed to be exposed to high emotions. They didn’t all have to be negative. Happiness counted. Love counted. Excitement and pleasure and bursts of creativity and even all the little mundanities of life would count just fine. But Gabriel thought that the highest emotions were the ones that got the most physical reaction, and had thus been consistently making people around him miserable for this purpose.

Then the third rule, she needed to not feel isolation. For this, he stayed with her constantly. But he failed to realize that this didn’t only mean that she could feel isolated, but that as an empathetic creature, she could feel when OTHERS were isolated.

Like Adrien, whom had been neglected by his father and locked away in his room when he wasn’t being used as a dress up doll.

For years, Gabriel had been exposing her to constant negative emotions of everyone he dealt with and neglecting his own son. That’s a lot of bad feelings he was creating, and a lot of sad/mad/scared/hurt and just all around painful feelings he’d been forcibly exposing her to.

Without realizing it, Gabriel had been poisoning her all along. That’s why she never woke up. And now she never will.

Gabriel refuses to believe it. He breaks down. His wife was lost to him again—for good this time and by his own hand. His son was an unfortunate casualty of his obsession. All former friends and companions driven away. Even his own health and well being was neglected. He was a truly miserable man.

With little other choice, Marinette calls the authorities to get Gabriel some help.

She notices Chat Noir had left and leaves Gabriel to the care of health care workers.

She eventually finds Chat Noir in Adrien’s room.

She also finds a picture there. One of the few of a genuinely happy Adrien Agreste.

And his pet black cat affectionately named “Chat Noir”.

“I hated this room. It was always big but empty. And no matter how much space I had, I always felt trapped. I could never leave. Never go out. Never interact with anyone else.”

“…”

“And your room is so much smaller. So I should be worse off there, shouldn’t I? But it’s warm. And so full of life. And you’re there. And I was so…so happy. It was like what home used to be. What home should be.”

“Chat…”

“How could that make such a difference? I didn’t understand it. Because I thought…surely he loved me the same, right? He slumped. “I just wanted to know why. That was all I ever wanted. And now I finally do and…I can’t stand it.”

“Chat?”

“It just makes me hate this place more.”

“Tell me. Are you…Adrien?”

“I was. I think?” He shook his head. “I don’t know anymore.”

He looked to her, wounded and desperate and practically begging all at once.

“Can I stay with you?”

“…”

“Please?”

_________________________

That night, Marinette slept in her bed, exhausted from the events of the day.

A warm ball of fluff purring as he was held securely in her arms.

[persephonescat]

Birds and other supernatural phenomenons

Okay, so I have no control over my life. Fine.

The characters are so out of character it’s funny. I’ve little to no idea about Batman, so I should apologize but I won’t, because I just lost all my remaining brain cells and I blame Tumblr.

Big thanks for LucyyJ26 on AO3 for fixing the Lucky Charm-problem, you should read her work too, its grammar is probably better than mine will ever be, and her stories are amazing. A little explanation: she took the Lucky Charm out of the story and instead, Ladybug’s power is the Miraculous Cure, which can re-do the destruction done during an Akuma-attack and can bring back the ones fallen by the villain’s actions. She’s changed other things in the Miraculous-world too, but this is the only one I’m going to use, except that in this story, it’s called Lucky Cure (don’t ask). For further explanation, visit her story: Miraculous: Darker Origins. The Daminette AU.

This is also posted on my AO3 account, under the same name.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21187025/chapters/50433170

Follow #Birds and Other Supernatural Phenomenons if you don’t want to miss any of the new chapters. ;) 

Anyway, enjoy, I guess.

Next    Masterpost    AO3

————————————————

Ch. 1: The Inevitable Doom

Field trips should be fun.

Except if you’re Marinette Dupain-Cheng, of course.

The Dupon was the best high school in Paris, so the fact that they managed to plan a school trip to freaking Gotham out of all of America had to say a lot about Parisian schools. Or so Marinette thought. (Apparently, she was the only one.)

The best of all? Her classmates didn’t even notice the irony of it all. Well, Adrien did, but she was way more bitter than to give him that.

“Kids, I have great news!” - clapped Mrs. Bustier (happily married since last summer) cheerfully. “We’ve won the competition! We’re going to Gotham!”

The whole class broke out into excited chattering as Marinette glanced at Adrien sitting next to her. He was the only one besides from Marinette who didn’t seem very happy from the news. They locked eyes, and the girl could see the worry and exhaustion on his face.

***

/Two months, seventeen days and nine hours earlier/

With every day passing, the weather in Paris got colder. The Ladybug suit provided enough warmth even on the most algid nights but walking to school in the mornings or going home in the afternoons was getting more and more difficult for Marinette. She really didn’t understand why out of all things a ladybug could do, the only thing she got was the urge to hibernate. She didn’t have wings. No antennas. No four extra legs. Even Tikki wasn’t anywhere near similar to a ladybug. Basically, other than her name and the colors, Marinette was just as far from resembling a ladybug as one could be.

But no, she had to get ill and tired every time the weather was cool. Fantastic.

“Ladybug?”

Chat’s voice brought her back to reality. She was sitting on the roof of Adrien’s house, at one in the morning, with the stars shining at them brightly from the sky’s soft black. The stars always calmed Marinette. They reminded her that there was a whole universe out there, that she was small and didn’t matter compared to the real world. These kinds of thoughts usually terrified people, but not her. If nothing really matters then the best you can do is making sure you’re happy, right?

She turned towards her partner’s shadowy figure standing on the other side of the roof.

“Hi,” she started with a barely visible smile. “Is everything okay? You weren’t there yesterday when Glassterix attacked and it’s okay, but you missed school too and we were getting a little worried.” Well, it wasn’t entirely ‘okay’. It took her over two hours to defeat the Akuma and her Lucky Cure had to bring back twenty-three people from the dead, but she wasn’t mad at him. It wasn’t the first time one of them couldn’t show up, they learned to be patient with each other a long time ago. After all, they were best friends, especially since they knew each other’s identity.

About that: yeah, it was a wild ride. It happened the month before, and it still caused her nightmares sometimes. The way Ryuko was crying as a group of civilians fell from the Eiffel tower right before her eyes (she couldn’t save them) and Carapace’s screams when the Champs Elysées’ asphalt shattered into pieces sending flying cars all over the place was haunting her every time she closed her eyes. At some point, Rena Rouge’s costume was splattered with someone else’s blood and she freaked out so bad, she took a wrong step off the roof, dislocated her ankle and fell five stories before Ladybug could catch her. Marinette swore she was never going to ask for the other heroes’ help again unless it was absolutely necessary. When Chat’s ring started ticking in the middle of the fight and she saw the fear creeping to his face, making all his anger disappear, she grabbed his arm and took him to a relatively safe alley. For a moment, the green light made the shadows look like long, faceless opponents, but is passed just as fast as it came and Adrien was left standing there, panicking. Marinette wasn’t too surprised, she’s suspected it for a while and judging from Adrien’s face after she transformed back to her plain old self, he did too. She succeeded in calming him down enough so his breathing was mostly even and she told him to get Plagg something to eat (that seemed to clear his mind a little), but then she had to go back to fight. Half an hour later Chat was once again helping Viperion evacuate the civilians.

She stood up and took a step towards Chat Noir, who for some reason seemed to stop far away from her.

“There’s something I have to talk to you about,” he said, and Marinette once again felt the smell of inevitable doom lingering around them, but she stayed calm.

“Okay,” she told him carefully.

He stepped out of the shadows and now she could see he wasn’t wearing his costume. She felt a little panic in her throat, but he seemed fine, just… hesitant, maybe.

“I was thinking about… everything, really, and the thing is, I want to go to college. I would like to go to Cambridge, or maybe Yale, I haven’t actually decided yet, but the point is, that wherever I go, it won’t be in Paris. It won’t be in France.”

Marinette’s heart sunk and for the first time in months, her eyes started stinging a little. She hated to cry, but she didn’t want him to leave. All year, she kept telling herself that they were just in eleventh grade, that college was far, but she knew it wasn’t entirely true. Almost everyone in her class has already decided where they were going to go. The United Kingdom? America? No, these places were too far, too big, too scary to think about. Why would he want to go there?

“I know it sounds a bit overconfident, but I think I can make it. However, I’ve to learn. A lot. And I’ve to make sure I do enough work outside of school that I can put in my applications and I have to do a lot of things, I still don’t exactly know everything about it but the point is…” he stopped speaking and took a few steps towards her, so now the distance between them was normal but he was still avoiding her gaze.

“The point is,” he continued cautiously, “-that I thought long and hard about it, and I can’t be Chat Noir anymore.” He looked her in the eyes for a moment, but seeing her expression, he turned his gaze to the ground.

For a second that seemed like a lifetime, Marinette was just staring at him. She thought it was a joke, or a dream, or a fucked-up prank because it couldn’t have been real. It wasn’t possible, right?

Then she slowly opened her mouth to protest, to do anything, but Adrien was quicker.

“And it isn’t just that. I mean, the college.” He shook his head and sighed, annoyed at himself. In different circumstances, it would’ve been satisfying to see him not finding the right words for once. “It isn’t just about college. Marinette, I would like to live an actual life. It’s selfish, I know, but if I don’t quit now, I’m never going to be able to. I won’t be able to have a family, a job I like, I’m never going to have a dog because there’s always going to be something that keeps me from being home. I love being Chat Noir, but during the past two years, I learned, that the main reason that I like it is that it helps people. But it’s not the life I want to live in. I’m going to find another way to help, one that lets me be happy.”

It was a promise, and they both knew it. 'I’m going to be a good person. I’m going to help. I’m going to be happy. I promise.’

Marinette saw the world shatter all around them as he spoke. Her world. She knew that at the same time, he saw it grow and evolve, and the irony didn’t go over her head.

“I’m not going to leave you alone,” he told her, looking into her eyes. “In fact, I’m happy to help you or Ladybug anytime you want, but only as Adrien.” He grabbed her hand softly and dropped the Black Cat ring into her palm. “I’m sorry.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving Marinette standing on his roof at one in the morning under the black blanket of the night. She wiped the tears that never fell out of her eyes and welcomed the numbness in her soul. She looked up to the sky one last time before swinging around the city until dawn. The stars no longer seemed so bright.

Later that night, wandering back and forth in his room, Adrien wondered if Marinette picked up everything he meant, but left unsaid.

'I’m going to be a good person. I’m going to help. I’m going to be happy. I’m here for you. I want you to be happy. I promise.’

He decided, that probably not.

_________________

Next    Masterpost    AO3

[let-me-perish]

Part five - Alternate Beginnings

(I'm slapping a name on this kid because I want to explore the role swap one where Damian is Ladybug later)

Damian has, like, two days before his class gets shipped back to Gotham and the idea of leaving Marinette behind is surprisingly painful.

Gotham Academy and Francis Dupont luckily haven't had many clashes since they picked Marinette up at lunch but there have been small meetings. A group from either school see each other from across the street, or some of ms. Bustiers class see them with Marinette. Visitors from Francis Dupont to the Dupen-Chang bakery are often met by Gotham Academy students getting a snack or meeting with Marinette.

Those from Ms. Bustiers class don't know a lot about the Gothamites other than what Lila tells them, and since Lila doesn't know who's actually in the group she spins all kinds of stories about Damian and the others.

Marinette had to calm herself down multiple times in the face of her classmates accusing questions and demands as well as the slander Lila is spreading about her new friends and acquaintances. They want to know why she doesn't spend time with them, why she hangs out with the creepy and violent Gotham kids.

She eventually points out that Gotham Academy is actually quite a prestigious and well-renowned school that just happens to be in a less than perfect place.

Lila makes some snide comment about how it was only considered a good school because it's the best Gotham could possibly offer.

Marinette fights back on this. She brings up how a lot of the upper class send their kids there, like the Waynes. If it wasn't a good school they would send them to ones out of the city.

Lila points out that the Waynes are either playboys or jerks in the public eye. The perfect kind of people to belong in Gotham.

Marinette nearly loses it. Damian, while occasionally a little rough around the edges, has been overall kinder and supportive of her than anyone else in the classroom.

Marinette is also the one that gets in trouble with ms. Bustier for starting problems, despite the fact that she didn't even start it.

She gets held back at lunch that day as punishment and the Gotham Academy students are left waiting with no explanation for a good twenty minutes since her phone had also been taken.

They only find out because Damian gets fed up and corners the first member of her class he's able to.

It ends up being Rose but she's too soft for his taste for him to care and it only cements their classes opinion of him and his school.

Damian is upset and angry enough about how she's being treated that Hawkmoth finally sends out an Akuma for him.

Things go sideways for everyone when Akuma Damian has a sword and now goes by Revenger. His goal is to take revenge on those who have caused innocents insightful harm. And by revenge, he means gut them.

Marinette saw him get akumitized and gets out of the classroom quick enough that he doesn't actually hurt anyone.

Revenger has some respect for Ladybug since she protects the innocent but verbally rips into her for not going further and not being able to find Hawkmoth yet.

She manages to get him away from the school by flinging him halfway across town with her yo-yo.

He's only arriving of this choice and even encourages/taunts her to get more violent.

Ladybug of course refuses since he isn't really in control and this is her friend.

Revenger gets some not insignificant hits in by the time Chat Noir gets there and starts helping. But he's not much of a real help since it's Chat and he has all the faults Revenger knows how to exploit.

Trying to banter or flirt? Perfect opportunity to attack since they're distracted. Acting unprofessional or childish? Perfect opportunity for viral baiting and scorn to cause emotional damage. Arguing with Revenger or his partner? Another attack opportunity.

Ladybug and Chat have to lead him on a chase so she can get enough ground to summon her lucky charm and for them both to catch their breath.

They end up at the top of some building and Revenger gets his hands on Ladybug. He uses holding her hostage as an opportunity to rip into Chat Noir this time. He let's the 'hero' know exactly what he thinks of him, his behavior on the battlefield, and his behavior towards Ladybug.

The eventual "she's my lady, we're meant to be together!" line comes and Revenger looks to Ladybug.

"Your opinions on this?"

Ladybug's voice is quiet and resigned. She knows what the consequences of this are going to be. "Chat, I've told you, I was in love with someone else. You can't seem to respect that and even if I was in love with you, which I'm not, that right there would be a deal-breaker. That's not even counting the fact that this is a serious responsibility we've been given and you keep playing around. I want to work with you Chat but you've been making it so hard... I can't love I'm one like that, not now and not ever if they don't change."

Chat Noir us gaping up until he gets kicked off the roof by Revenger.

Ladybug panics because, hey, that's still my partner right there. It's also not like she wants him dead or anything. She managed to break free and grab Chat with the yo-yo to stop him from dying from fall damage but then uses him like a midlevel flair to slam into Revenger so she can get to the akumatized object.

She never did use her lucky charm but once the Akuma is purified and she miraculous cure is cast she books it out of there with the dazed and confused Damian.

She can't stay to make sure he's ok as Ladybug so she drops him in front of the school and comes running out as Marinette.

Once he has his barrings, Damian is Shooketh by the lack of memories of the Akumitizations and utter lack of control as it was happening. He finally understands why Hawkmoth is terrifying to Ladybug and the people of Paris. He could have done anything under his control and all he remembered was a voice asking if he wanted Marinette(and people like her) to be safe and treated fairly.

Marinette does what she can to help him, ditching the last classes for the day and taking him to Andres gelato cart. Her parents will understand.

They're given complimentary gelato cones(?) But neither realize since Damian's stressed and Marinette is worried.

Eventually, Damian has processed things, calmed down, asked about what he did, and come to terms with what had just happened.

Damian is invited over to dinner again since they won't see each other again after this. His class leaves in two days and the teachers will be to busy cramming in last minute things for the students to see her.

The dinner is kept happy as the two make sure for the fifth time they have each others addresses and numbers right. (They might as well have them tatooed on the back of their hands with how well they remember it)

When they part there's worried and whispered demands of promises that they'll actually write and text.

When Damian's class leaves he's 'forced' to send her a selfie of him and the entire class in the plane taking them back to the US. He sends her another of just him with the text underneath it reading 'I wish you had let me stash you in my luggage, then you could come back to Gotham with me.'

Marinette sends a selfie back with her and her parents holding up deserts themed after Gothams heroes with the text 'to bad you didn't, maybe then I should have shared these.'

There's rioting in the plane over the fact that no one remembered to grab a box of Dupen-Chang baked goods for the flight home.

[p-artsypants]

Longest Night (26) Escaping

And Marinette had thought Highschool had been hard. Right now, in this moment, she'd give anything to go back to those petty arguments and gossip fueled drama. But she couldn't. Instead, she and Adrien were trapped here, being punished, humiliated, tortured, for being heroes, all broadcasted for the world to see. At least she and her kitty were in this together. For now. Whump!Fic

Ao3 | FF.net

Happy Thanksgiving! (To those of you that celebrate it.)

Today I am thankful for having an amazing group of readers that continue to make me laugh with their comments and hang in there when it gets rough. I’ve received so many fan pieces that I’ve actually cried. I keep waiting for that one comment that’s like ‘you’re a sick twisted weirdo’ to come, but it never does. So I thank you!

Despite what this fic may say about me, I am a Christian, so there may be some…religious tones coming up. I don’t want to impress my own faith on cartoon characters, but…I just thought I make that statement so you can understand my decisions in the future.

We are officially out of the torture section of the fic, but this chapter and the next(?) are still pretty gory. But judging by the comments, that might be a good thing. (There will be some recap of the last chapter though.)

*Cracks knuckles* Time to put my blackbelt to use!

—

It was a rough day at the Agreste mansion.

Nino had risen for school far too early, after not having slept much. He showered and dressed before coming downstairs and picking through the pastries in the kitchen for breakfast. He came into the living room, being the first one there, and sat on the couch to watch the stream for an hour or so before going to classes.

Except what he saw on the screen made him drop his croissant.

Or better, what he didn’t see. Adrien and Marinette were gone.

The website showed three live videos. One of each of their cells, and one of the ‘torture chamber’. The footage of the cells had a green hue to it, being shot with night vision cameras.

But those feeds were just a dark green blankness, while the torture chamber was empty.

Afraid he might of missed something, Nino rewound the stream, checking to see what happened.

Then he caught it. First Marinette turning her camera in, and then Adrien doing the same.

So what next? He brought back to the live feed, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Tom came in, yawning. “You’re up early.”

“Marinette and Adrien turned their cameras away.”

Tom frowned slightly, and then shrugged. “Maybe they got tired of people watching them, and they wanted some privacy.”

“I don’t think—look!”

About twenty minutes after they had moved the cameras, Adrien was being pulled back into big room. The stream to the two cells cut off completely.

“Where’s Marinette?” Tom wondered with panic.

“Isn’t life just so unfair?” Salo said, shoving Adrien into the room. “You actually made it out! But your precious Lady threw you to the dogs. That’s what she’s always done, hasn’t she? Let you take the hits, let you get hurt or straight up die? As long as she sets things right, who cares? You can take all the hits, all the trauma. You’re her meat shield. You don’t matter to her at all. You’re just a tool. A sidekick. And she left you behind, because you’re a dead weight.”

Adrien wasn’t protesting.

“Come on dude! You know Marinette cares about you! Don’t let her get inside your head!”

“They got out? Marinette’s out?” Tom breathed.

Salo snapped in front of his face. “Bah, he’s so out of it, I doubt he can even hear us.”

“Did someone put something in his food?” A man spoke from off camera.

“No, it’s a sign that he’s dying. Close to death, people get really disorientated and can hallucinate. It’s a common sight down here.”  

After that, Nino didn’t really stand a chance. Dignity be damned. He sat with his head in his hands, and just cried.

Hours passed, and slowly the others in the hours came to check the stream.

Tom updated them on the development, since Nino couldn’t even speak.

Gabriel was livid. Watching Adrien be flogged, what little life he had left in him fleeting with each lash, it was unbearable.

But what could they do? There were no leads.

And where was Marinette?

Gabriel had lost his mother to old age. He remembered sitting in the hospice room, just waiting. Each breath sounding like the final pull on a bow of a cello. All he could do was wait for the symphony to end.

Despite the living room having Alya, Nino, Tom, Sabine, and Gabriel all gathered together, it was quiet. Nothing but the ticking of the clock, and the crack of a whip and a scream every minute.

Gabriel couldn’t bare watching, but he couldn’t leave the room, because he didn’t want to miss a second of his son’s heart still beating. So he took to pacing.

Any minute could be his last, and it was agony just sitting and waiting.

A little before sunset, the assembled were startled by the rapid ringing of a doorbell.

Gabriel snarled in anger. How dare someone interrupt such an important moment!

They went ignored, for a minute, before the ringing became more and more insistent. The interloper was not leaving.

With a huff, Gabriel stormed into the lobby to yell at them.

Curious, Alya, Nino, and Sabine followed, but kept in line to see the television.

“Who is it, and what do you want?” Gabriel snapped at the intercom.

“I-I’m so sorry!” A teenage boy was standing at the gate, and he was panting. “My name…is Tanner Chevalier, I think we found Ladybug!”  

Gabriel’s eyes widened, but he didn’t get his hopes up. “What do you mean?! Explain yourself!”

“Yes sir! My brother and I were walking home from school through Montparnasse, and I heard someone banging on an old utility door. My brother had this hunch that it might be Ladybug or Chat Noir, and so we asked. They couldn’t talk, probably because her mouth was sewn shut! But we asked if she could knock once for yes, and she did and we couldn’t get the door opened so my brother went home to get our dad and a crowbar but I came here to tell you—“

“You came and told me first? Not the police?”

The boy curled in on himself. “Sorry, I just—everyone kind of knows that the police haven’t been doing a very good job, so  I thought I’d tell you first…”

“No no, Tanner was it?”

“Yes?”

“You did good. Don’t go to the police. Anyone with any leads in the case have been killed. I will take care of this.”

“Oh!” The boy said, producing a piece of paper. “Here’s a map we made with the door on it, and our contact information, if you need to ask us anything.”

Gabriel opened the hatch so he could drop the slip in. “This is…if you’re right, I will be indebted to you.”

“My mom almost died during an akuma attack. We’ll call it even.” And at that, the boy took off again.

Sabine was right behind Gabriel at this point. “I’ll call the police,” she stated, her phone already in hand.

“Don’t.”

She blinked at him. “Don’t?! What do you mean don’t?! This is the first real lead! You can’t think that boy was lying, do you?!”

“No, I’m certain he wasn’t.”

“Then what are you doing?! My daughter—Marinette’s right behind a door in Montparnasse! We have a map!” She just groaned and unlocked her phone.

“I said don’t!” He barked. “I’ll handle this!”

Tom peered out of the room at the shouting, ready to protect his wife, while Alya and Nino looked on in horror.

Sabine, a normally pretty understanding woman, became frantic. “How the hell do you expect to do anything on your own!? Do you have an army at your disposal?!”

He grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake. “I am the only chance we have at saving them!”

Sabine stared at him wide-eyed, before Tom rested a heavy hand on his shoulder.

“Gabriel. You’d better explain yourself. Now.”

Gabriel let go of Sabine, taking a deep breath. “I…I will explain my actions. All of them. Once Adrien and Marinette are safe and in the hospital, I’ll tell everything. But right now, I just need you all to trust me.”

The other four watched him, but didn’t try anything.

Gabriel lifted the lapel of his jacket. “Nooroo?”

A little purple kwami came out, and Alya and Nino, the only others in the room that knew what a Kwami looked like, froze in shock.

“Would I be able to make two akuma, without Catalyst’s aid?”

The little kwami looked hesitatingly around at those gathered.

Gabriel snapped his fingers by him. “Focus Nooroo, we are on a time crunch.”

“Yes, sorry Master. You…you can make multiple akuma on your own, but you know they become a lot harder to control. Especially if they have different goals from each other and you. If you plan to akumatize Marinette and Adrien…they’ll most likely work together, but they will be extremely volatile…and they could potentially break free from your control.”

“That’s fine. We just need to give them the strength and means to get out. They’ll be akumatized for a hour at most.”

Nooroo nodded in understanding. “Then it should work.”

“You…” Sabine spat, with venom. “You’re Hawkmoth?!”

Gabriel sighed. “Yes, I know it comes as quite the shock but—“

Sabine didn’t let him finish that sentence before ramming her knee into his groin, and then elbowing him in the back of the head. “Does anyone else have a Miraculous in this room!?”

Nino sheepishly raised his hand, before Alya elbowed him, and he lowered it back down.

Gabriel caught his breath. “…I deserved that. I agree. And I owe you all an explanation…but we have to work quickly if we want to save them.”

Alya stepped forward, showing her necklace. “Trixx, let’s pounce!” In a flash of orange, Rena Rouge stood in Alya’s place. “As cool as Gabriel Agreste has been the last few weeks, I still don’t trust Hawkmoth.”

“Fine,” said Gabriel with a huff. “Don’t believe me. But don’t you dare try to stop me from saving my son.” He removed his tie, revealing his brooch to the room.

Tom snagged his wife and stepped back.

“Nooroo, Dark Wings Rise!” A flash of purple light took over the room, stunning the others for a moment. Then, Hawkmoth was standing in the room, in all of his unholy terror.

It was one thing to hear him confirm it, but to see the suit and the mask, that changed everything.

Sabine let out a sob.

That urged Nino to transform into Carapace too.

“Alright,” Hawkmoth began. “Rena Rouge, Carapace, I need to get to my butterflies. You are welcome to follow. Tom, Sabine, I recommend you return to the living room. I promise, I mean no harm.”

Tom steered his wife towards the living room. “I guess we have no choice. Just know we still expect that explanation, Gabriel.”

Hawkmoth nodded once, and headed to his office.

Rena Rouge and Carapace followed silently, as Gabriel activated the hidden elevator. They travelled together to the dark room filled with little white butterflies.

“I want to be angry, but my fan girl is freaking out.” Whispered Rena.

“Would one of you pull up the stream, please?” Hawkmoth spoke softly, as the window opened.

Carapace held out his shield, a screen lighting up on the inside.

Adrien cried out in pain as the stream came up.

“He’s still with us,” Hawkmoth said with a tightness in his voice. “We can’t waste anymore time.” He coaxed a butterfly to his hand, evilizing it. “Don’t go far, my little akuma, I have a friend for you.” He made another, and together they headed out the window.

“And now we wait.”

Looking back at the stream, it was then that Marinette was escorted into the room. She looked dirtier and even more exhausted, if that was possible. Her feet dark with dirt and bruises.

“That would be one lash a minute, over the ten hours you were gone...so, 600? Does that sound right?” Salo spoke.

“Technically 487, madam,” Said a voice off screen. “We broke for lunch.”

“Oh yes, I’m glad someone was taking count. You know, the science of lashings is very interesting. The more time you give the body between strikes, the more time it has to clot blood, and deal with pain. And if you spread out the lashes over more parts of the body, the less likely a person is to suffer nerve damage or organ failure. We did make sure to spritz him down with rubbing alcohol, so he shouldn’t get infected.”

“They’re in Montparnasse.” Hawkmoth announced. “I’m feeling a lot of frustration and anger, but it’s hard to pinpoint one source.”

“What do you mean?” Rena demanded.

“There’s a lot of upset people over here. And a lot in pain from the hospital.”

“But there’s got to be a stronger feeling somewhere, right?” Asked Nino. “Marinette and Adrien should be angrier and in more pain than everyone else.”

“Yes, I agree. I’ll keep looking.”

The assembled winced as Marinette was tied up too, and her flogging began.

Hawkmoth grit his teeth. “Damn them. That just brought up the anger of everyone in Paris.” He grunted in pain. “It’s overwhelming!”

“Don’t you dare give up!” Rena scolded. “You said you were our last hope! You fail, and I’ll—I’ll beat you to a pulp!” It was a weak threat, she knew.

“I’m not giving up!” Hawkmoth barked back. “I’m just—stating that it’s not as easy as it seems.” He groaned. “It’s like having thousands of people shouting at once, and trying to pick out one voice. Now, quiet. I have to focus.”

His explanation did make sense, she supposed. But Rena was still on edge, and worried that this wouldn’t be enough.

They waited, as Hawkmoth stood silently with his eyes closed. He looked increasingly nauseous as time went on.

“How many was that?” Asked Salo, from the stream.

“150, on the nose.”

“How do you feel, Little Piggy?”  

Marinette’s voice was barely audible, but Hawkmoth heard it. “…I have…a bone to pick…with you…” She managed between trembling breaths.

“Oh honey…you’re not doing anything to me. Even if I just stood here, unarmed, undefended…you wouldn’t be able to hurt me. You’re too weak.”

“Why would she say that?” Said Rena, aloud. “It doesn’t answer the question, and it’s not much of a threat…”

Hawkmoth gasped. “That clever girl!”

“What? What is it? Did you find them?!”

“Not quite, but I will!” Said the man, grinning maniacally. “I wasn’t looking deep enough!”

“Deep enough?” Rena parroted.

“The catacombs.”

Deep deep underground. Sealed off from the city by forbidden entrances. Almost impossible to get to unless you knew how. Or if you were small, like a butterfly.

The two akuma found their way down through a sewer grate, and then followed the trail of pain.

Hawkmoth doubled over once they were underground.

“Mr. Agreste…?” Rena wondered carefully.

“This…these feelings…” He gasped. “Are so strong…they have to be…”

The akuma slid under the door of a small closet, and melted into the thick metal collars around both of their necks.

His eyes shot open as he was overcome with the most putrid, raw, painful anger he’d ever felt. It made him heave. Then Hawkmoth took a massive breath and stood slowly. “I’ve got them.”

“You found them!?” Rena shouted, grabbing onto his jacket.

“Yes, but we still need to get them out.”

“But…they both looked so weak. Can akumatizing them really be enough?”

“I think so.” He assured. Then with a deep breath, he gathered himself and activated the connection. “Ladybug…Chat Noir…”

On the stream, the butterfly mask was barely noticeable. Marinette sat up a little straighter.

“It’s been a long time. We’ve all missed you. I’m sorry it took me so long to find you. It wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. You’ve taken care of Paris for so long. Now let me take care of you. In exchange, I ask that you go home and get healed. No Miraculous required. What do you say?”

Marinette smiled, relieved tears flowing from her eyes.

“Yes, Hawkmoth.” And a purple smoke engulfed them both.

—

All she could see was purple. Her wounds soothed, her muscles strengthened, her exhaustion waned. It was almost like being Ladybug again. Almost.

“Lady Lacrima, named for the tears that brought me to you. I am giving you powers you are familiar with. The powers to create. Though you may summon as much as you like, you are bound to those only made of metal.”

“I can make due, Hawkmoth.”

“Grimalkin,” He addressed Adrien. “A bastardization of your hero name, I gift you a version of your old powers. With just a touch, you can destroy. It’s not as powerful as your old cataclysm, but you can use it as many times as you’d like.”

Grimalkin’s reply was a pleased growl.

“I look forward to seeing you soon.” And with that, he ended the connection.

Lady Lacrima stood, the anger that had been on a rolling boil for the last month, now hot as magma, and lethal to the touch. She offered a hand to her companion. “Are you ready Kitty?”

He purred in response, nuzzling against her hand.

“Then after you.”

With just a touch of his finger-length long claws, the door blew open.

Lady Lacrima cracked her neck. “This’ll be fun.”

Of course, when a door is down off it’s hinges, it’s bound to make a lot of noise. It was Pasolini that came to check.

The flashlight landed on them, and then soon dropped on the floor. “Don’t—Don’t come any closer! I’m warning you!”

Lady Lacrima smiled. “Oh, you hear that, kitty? He’s warning us.”

Pasolini spoke into the mic on his lapel. “We’ve been compromised! Ladybug and Chat Noir have been—“

Hawkmoth had been kind enough to replace the yo-yo on Ladybug’s waist with a whip, and with a snap she caught Pasolini around the neck, silencing him.

“Hush…we’ll let them all know we’re here soon enough…but first…we want to pay special attention to you.” She wrapped the whip around her wrist, bringing the man closer to her. “We pleaded and begged for help, we were humiliated, tortured, starved, and driven to madness, and you didn’t care. You laughed at our suffering, and willingly pinned me in place day after day as that bitch scarred me for life. So now the question is…what do we do to you, to make up for it?”

Pasolini had grabbed the end of the whip that was choking him, and pulled on it in an attempt to speak. “Let…me go…”

Lady Lacrima tilted her head to listen.

“Let me…go…and I’ll…I’ll make it worth…your while…I..I promise!”

Lady Lacrima looked at him flatly. “You promise? What would you do?”

“Money…power…protection…anything you want…I can get it for you.”

She smiled at him, pulling the whip tighter. “I want my innocence back.”

Pasolini only had a second to think before a knife materialized in her hand, and she stabbed it through his eye. The cord around his neck prevented his cry of pain from escaping.

Grimalkin let out a sound that was a cross between a laugh and a hiss.

Lady Lacrima forced the man down to his knees, and rested her foot on his shoulder. “I suppose we’ll make this quick. We have a lot of revenge to inflict.” She pressed down her heel, forcing the man to face ground, then she summoned a javelin. With a mighty heave, she sent it through his shoulder and into the floor, pinning him like an insect.

Grimalkin chattered, circling him like a jungle cat.

Another javelin and another pin. Then she released her whip. “I’m sorry, love. You’ve been so patient. Why don’t you finish him off?”

Grimalkin let out a sickening snarl before brandishing his claws.

“What are you doing?!” Pasolini asked, his voice hoarse and full of terror. “Please!”

But Lady Lacrima and Grimalkin were beyond mercy. There was no compassion, no hesitation, no empathy.

Only dark horrible thoughts that could only stew in the minds of tormented souls.

Though he only had use of one hand, Grimalkin tore into the flesh of his tormentor, pulling out muscle and tissue with ease.

Pasolini screamed like a little child, blood splattering over everything.

As the blood landed on Lady Lacrima, her suit sizzled and stained, giving her red spots.

Finally, the man’s suffering came to an end when Grimalkin placed a boot on his rib cage, took hold of his spine, and ripped it out of his body.

Lady Lacrima petted him like he was an innocent kitten. “Hawkmoth didn’t give you a baton. Guess you’ll just have to use that.”

Grimalkin bared his fangs in a smile.

Another flashlight shone down the hall, the figures in shadow. But Salo’s voice pierced through the darkness.

“This bunker is off limits. You have three seconds to run before we open fire!”

Lady Lacrima and Grimalkin shared a loving look, and then they turned and walked towards the light.

“Three…”

Salo could hear something scraping on the wall, and see sparks flickering.

As the intruders approached the group, Salo could hear some of her men gasping in shock and fear. There were only three of them between her and the intruders.

“T-two…” she continued to count down, pretending that she wasn’t afraid of what was only a few feet ahead. They stepped into the light, and Salo swallowed thickly.

Lady Lacrima wore an all black suit, insulated with plates to look like armor. She wore a red domino mask, just as she had as Ladybug, but it was broken up with thick black lines running down her face, resembling her namesake. As if she was a reversed Ladybug, blood red spots splattered over her body. A whip instead of a yo-yo dragged across the floor.

Beside her, Grimalkin stalked like a predator. His suit was similar to what it had been as Chat Noir, with cat ears on his head and a belt fashioned as a tail. But instead of small claws at his finger tips, his fingers were coated in metal, making long, razor sharp blades. His bum arm was strapped to his chest in a way resembling a straight jacket. Instead of friendly feline eyes, he had glowing red eyes like a beast, and fangs that looked absolutely lethal.

“One! Open fire!”

Grimalkin darted behind Lady Lacrima, as a shield materialized in front of her. The bullets hailed down on them, drilling against the shield and ricocheting back at them.

“Careful!” Salo demanded over the gunfire, though she could barely be heard.

Lady Lacrima walked over to one side of the hall, leaning one side of the shield against it.

Then the gunfire started to subside as they ran out of bullets.

“Hold your fire,” Salo demanded, withdrawing her handgun. Carefully, she stepped forward, and once she was close enough, she kicked the shield away…only to find a hole in the wall.

Then one of the men behind her screamed.

She spun to face him, finding Grimalkin coiled on him like a snake, his claws in his face and his fangs digging into his neck.

Salo took aim, but a whip took hold of her wrist and pulled. The shot meant for Grimalkin hit one of her men in the leg instead. The follow through with the whip brought Salo around, unbalanced, to face Lady Lacrima who held a knife.

But Salo was a fighter. She didn’t get where she was on looks alone. She grabbed the wrist with the knife, watching the blade inch closer and closer to her face.

Fighting dirty, the only way she fought, she kicked Lady Lacrima in the side of knee, bringing her to the ground. Then she took the opportunity to run, leaving her last henchman to cover her escape.

Salo escaped back into the torture chamber, where the other ten men in her group were assembled, preparing the next session.

“Arm yourselves! Ladybug and Chat Noir have been akumatized and they have no mercy!”

That was the only warning they got before Grimalkin swept into the room, feral and dripping with blood.

“Jesus Christ!” Someone shouted, before opening fire.

Grimalkin ducked and weaved through the room, never letting himself be a target. He locked onto the man that had flogged him the day before and smiled with sinister intent.

“Oh hell no!” The man shouted in protest. But Grimalkin was too fast, and jammed his claws up the man’s nose and pulled forward.

With Grimalkin standing still for the briefest moment, another man with a full auto rifle sighted up.

A red knife tore through his hand before he could get the shot in. The man next to him yanked the weapon away, and took aim at Grimalkin.

Unfortunately for him, Grimalkin was already finished with the poor sod, and leaped at the next available target. The man pointing a rifle at him.

Six shots fired, none hitting Grimalkin, and all hitting Harken, who was sitting behind the computer. Grimalkin grabbed the barrel of the weapon, and snarled. The gun exploded on the man’s shoulder and Grimalkin finished the job.

Lady Lacrima went head to head with a huge man wearing brass knuckles. Each swing of his fists whistled, as she danced around just out of reach. Another man with a lead pipe joined the fight, attacking from behind. But the akuma had greatly enhanced Lady Lacrima’s speed and perception. She leaned back to avoid the blow, and summoned a machete on the upswing.

Cutting through flesh and bone was not easy, but she sure made it look like it. Two pairs of arms, one brandishing a pipe and the other brass knuckles, clattered to the floor.

The room filled with blood curdling screams.

Lady Lacrima moved onto the next closest victim. A bald man behind the camera. As she made eye contact with him, he held out his arms, defenseless.

“Just end me,” he begged.

She stared at him, remembering the pathetic sob story he had concocted earlier when he dragged her back. As an akuma, she found it hard to believe, but decided not to waste the energy. “Make sure you get all this,” she told him, gesturing to the camera, before racing off to do more work.

While all of this chaos was going on, Salo sat under the table in the corner, the safe with the Miraculous in her lap. “Come on…come on…” she muttered to it. “1680, that’s the combo! Work damn it!”

But in all of Marinette’s frantic slamming just an hour before, the lock was jammed.

She looked up to check the state of her men. One was being eviscerated by Grimalkin, while Lady Lacrima strangled one with her whip and had another in the chest with a katana.

It was an absolute bloodbath, and it happened in only a few minutes.

She slammed the safe down in one final attempt to get to the Miraculous.

But it was too late.

A bloody hand enclosed on her ankle, and dragged her out. Salo looked up to glowing red eyes, wide and frantic and bouncing with untapped rage.

She would not go down without a fight. And thankfully, she still had a gun on her hip. She whipped it out and aimed right at his face.

“Let me go, you beast! Or I’ll shoot you right between the eyes.”

Grimalkin opened his jaw, his fangs glistening with blood. He let out an inhuman snarl, and lunged.

Salo pulled the trigger.

The gun jammed.

But Grimalkin wasn’t about to give her a swift death. He grabbed the hand with the gun and pinned it to the floor above her head. Then he growled, activating his power, and a shooting pain took over her hand as she screamed in pain. He knocked her glasses off as he leapt, and crouched next to Lady Lacrima.

“End of the road.” She said, her face blank and emotionless.

Salo pulled her hand, or rather her wrist, to her chest. “How the hell did he find you?”

Lady Lacrima shrugged. “You must have gotten sloppy.”

“Or you gave him clues! I should have killed you weeks ago!”

“You should have,” Lady Lacrima agreed. “You should have let me die with compassion in my heart. But you didn’t. You created a monster. Two of them.”

Salo spat at her. “You’re a product of Hawkmoth! I only avenged my Eddy!”

“After all this, you’re still justifying your heinous actions. You’re so lost in your depravity, that you can’t even see how low you’ve sunk.”

“So what now?” She sneered. “Now that the roles are reversed, what are you going to do?”

Lady Lacrima reach out and caressed the woman’s face, leaving a smear of blood on her cheek. “The roles are far from reversed, Salo.” She stated, holding out her arms. A buster sword, one bigger than any human could wield, materialized in her hands. “I’m more powerful than you could ever hope to be. And you…there’s no punishment on Earth that befits you.”

“Will you kill me then?”

“That depends…do you believe in God?”

Salo scoffed. “What are you, my Nonna? Go ahead, kill me. Let your God punish me.”

Lady Lacrima adjusted the sword in her hand. “He’ll get his turn.”

Salo’s lip trembled as she attempted to scoot away.

“It’s funny. Without those glasses, you look almost human. And all this time, I thought you were a soulless machine. But if you have a soul…you can burn in hell.” And she slammed the blade down, down through flesh and bone and into the cement, separating her legs from her torso.

The woman screamed in agony, clawing at the ground to escape.

Claws ripped into her stomach, pulling her intestines out and spilling them on the floor.

“What do you think Salo? Should we leave you like this?”

Salo didn’t answer, only squealed and cried out as she writhed on the floor like a worm. Her vision was blurred, but she could see the lights above her head.

Then there was a silhouette, holding out long claws. Claws that pulsed and churned with dark energy. They came closer and closer to her face.

It burned. Hotter than any fire she’d felt before. She heard her skin sizzling and cracking.

Then there was nothing.

—

Lady Lacrima looked down at her tormentor’s remains. A head turning to dust, a torso disemboweled…and legs separated from the rest.

She wished she could have done more.

A purple mask lit up over her face. “My dear, you are free. Find your way to the surface, and I will have an ambulance waiting for you. Once you are with the paramedics, I will take back the akuma.”

“No.”

Lady Lacrima felt his fear. “No? What do you mean, no?”

“Paris has gotten lazy with Ladybug and Chat Noir around. And in our absence, things have only gotten worse.”

“You’re not well, Marinette. And Adrien was almost…you need help.”

“And we’ll get it. But we have business to attend too. Thank you for the akuma, I’ll be taking it now. Goodbye.” And she cut the connection.

The bald man who had pissed himself behind the camera trembled as Lady Lacrima looked to him.

“I am Lady Lacrima. This is Grimalkin. We seek Justice, and Justice will be what we get.”

Grimalkin pounced at the camera, destroying it with his touch.

The man skittered over to Salo’s torture table and grabbed a flashlight and the lockbox with the Miraculous. “Here! There’s—There’s arrows on the walls to lead you to the surface! Just follow the trail, and you should come up in an alleyway in Montparnasse!”

Lady Lacrima took the flashlight. “I thank you. I knew it would be smart to spare you.”

The man cried like a child. “I don’t—I don’t deserve it!”

“You will call the police, and escort them down here.”

“Yes ma’am!”

Then she turned to Grimalkin. “Would you be so kind as to open the safe, kitty?”

He just dragged his claw over the lock, and the lid popped open. She took the Miraculous and put them in his suit pocket. “Hold on to these for us, please? I don’t think I could bare to let Tikki see me like this.”

Grimalkin growled in agreement.

Then with a solemn nod to the remaining henchman, she took Grimalkin’s hand, and together, they left.

The hall was just as long and dark, but with the flashlight, she could see the endless tunnels she had wandered earlier. “I tried, kitty. But it’s a maze down here. We’re in the catacombs, you know? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I didn’t want Salo to overhear and move us. But I guess Hawkmoth got my hint.”

Grimalkin let out a happy chirp.

“Well, we don’t have to worry about that anymore. Come on, we’re almost there!”

They came to a ladder that led to a manhole cover. With her enhanced strength, popping it off was a cinch.

It was night now, and a thunderstorm had rolled in. Rain poured as they climbed out of the tunnel and out to the street. Paris was a blur in the torrent. Lights flickered and sounds of the city interrupted by the slapping of water.

Both teens stood, letting the rain rush over them like a healing shower.

Marinette looked at her partner, and let out a breath. Exhausted and relieved, she leaned on his chest.

He wrapped an arm around her showers and turned his face to the sky.

Justice would reign, blood would be shed. But for the moment, they just stood.

Just being free.

--

Marinette and Adrien being Akumatized by @raealexie​

Akuma and rain art by me :)

[pandawritespoorly]

With Time: Chapter 20 - A Bittersweet Surprise

Author’s Note: Woo! Chapter 20! Here we go, I'm excited! This takes place mid to late December and oh hey a strong language warning! It's been a while! This chapter contains the words 'bitch' and 'asshole'.

Chapter Summary: An akuma attack interrupts Marinette and Adrien hanging out. Afterwards, they deal with an unexpected occurrence.

First | Previous | Next

Adrien and Marinette are hanging out at her house. He had a rare gap in his schedule caused by a few last-minute cancellations. The rest of their usual group couldn’t make it, so it’s just the two of them. They’re doing homework, Marinette is writing a paper and Adrien is working on math.

One of her heaters is down, so the room is slightly colder than usual. After a while, Marinette starts to slump, leaning over onto Adrien.

“Mari, you gotta’ do your paper.” He nudges her. He doesn’t actually know what the paper is about, but it’s important for her to try to complete her homework.

“...don’ like it…makes me sad, feel bad…he ‘ould tell me it wron’, but he doesn’ kno…” It’s a longer sentence than she usually would manage, and it only confuses Adrien.

“Who? Why does it make you sad?” Maybe she shouldn’t be doing the paper if it’s upsetting her.

“...don’ like th’ fac’s...stupid…” Marinette tries to explain, while casually ignoring the first question. Even as tired as she is, she understands that her partner needs to stay a secret.

Adrien misunderstands her meaning,”You don’t like the facts? You could find other information if you think it’s stupid.”

“...can’ change fac’s they’re wha’s true…notebook say so” She sounds very sure of herself. She slumps further onto Adrien’s side. She tries to keep her eyes open, but her eyelids seem very heavy, they close every so often, and she forces them open again and again. She loses the fight eventually, her eyes close and she succumbs to sleep. 

Adrien can’t help but be tempted to read the paper. It’s not like she said he couldn’t read it. Maybe he can help with editing?

…

He doesn’t like it either. At all.

It’s an entire paper on Ladybug and her shortcomings, how she’s a bad hero and needs to improve. It’s multiple pages, and while there are specific events listed, there aren’t any outside sources referenced.

Marinette came up with all of this on her own.

It makes him think of Ladybug’s own doubts on herself - honestly the points are almost exactly the same. He can’t let Marinette turn this in. She’d said herself that she doesn’t like it.

“Mari.” He shrugs his shoulder a little, hoping to jostle her into being awake, but she doesn’t respond, “Marinette, I’d like to talk to you.”

She hums, but her eyes remain closed.

“Marinette, we need to talk about your paper.”

She blinks her eyes open, squinting. They’re unfocused and don’t seem to be taking in much. She blinks again, slower and seemingly heading back to sleep.

He prods her, “Marinette, stay with me.”

She pulls herself upright - or as upright as she’s going to get.

As he opens his mouth to begin, their phones ding in unison.

An akuma alert.

“Alright, I’ll be right back, you stay here. We’ll talk when I come back,”

She nods, and he slips into another part of the house to transform.

Ladybug must have been nearby, because she’s already on a nearby rooftop. She looks droopy.

“Hey, Bugaboo. How are you?”

“Try’n t’ sleep.” She scrunches up her face, clearly distressed by the interruption.

“Well, we’ll try to do this fast.” 

She nods sleepily, and they head in the direction of the fight.

---

Ladybug lands in an alley. They’d defeated the akuma soon enough - only about half-an-hour - and Chat didn’t even have to use his Cataclysm. Her earrings are beeping, and she’s about to speak the words to detransform when someone spots her.

“You!”

What?

She turns to see Alya at the entrance to the alley, looking furious.

No no no no no nonono.

Ladybug hasn’t seen or heard from her in weeks. What did she do now? Alya deleted the Ladyblog, she was supposed to have stopped coming near akuma attacks.

She feels the panic welling up inside her. She freezes. Her brain is sure that if she can only stay perfectly still this threat will leave her be. Another part of her mind says to play dead, but her human sensibilities keep that in check.

“You are a monster! How could you betray your own best friend? For someone like her?!”

At first Ladybug thinks that Alya has figured out her identity, but then she continues.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a disgusting excuse of a decent person who pretends she’s some innocent snowflake! And you sided with her! Over Lila!”

What? No. No, no, no! She thought she’d finally been getting better at being a good person. Was she wrong?

“You and Lila were best friends! You were close, and you trusted each other, but then some liar plays victim and you turn sides! You bullied her! The person you called your best friend! You disgust me!”

She’s stuck. Frozen in place. What is she supposed to do? Her mind is convinced that she’s taken the safest option so far, so she just stays still, staring in horror.

“Marinette bullied her! Did you know that?! She cornered her during the school year to insult her, and Lila started believing it. Even during the summer, she messaged her from other accounts online! That good-for-nothing little bitch! Lila’s self-esteem is terrible and it’s all your fault! And hers!”

She’s having trouble breathing.

“Marinette beat Lila up the first week back and you helped her! What kind of ‘hero’ are you?! And then again, back at the museum, Marinette beat her up again and you didn’t care! Even when Lila got akumatized out of fear!”

Her vision is blurry, she can’t make out anything accurately and she hasn’t got her breathing under control.

“Even as an akuma she was scared of you! She wouldn’t leave the Louvre because she felt safer around her real friends! Even though she was an akuma!”

Alya takes another step toward her, they’re very close, but her vision is still wrong and it’s hard to tell just how close.

“Why would you do something like that?! Why would you do that?!”

She feels a sharp pain on her cheek, but can’t figure out what it is.

“Answer me, asshole!”

Someone lands in the alley.

---

Chat Noir is on his way back to Marinette’s, but he doesn’t make it far before he has to stop.

Something is wrong.

He doesn’t know what, but he can feel the panic in his chest, even if it isn’t his. It takes a moment to register, but he eventually realizes whose it is.

Ladybug.

It isn’t her panic specifically, but something in him knows that she needs him, that she is most certainly panicking and he needs to intervene.

He’d only just left. She’d left to detransform, what had happened in the time? 

The panic claws at him, and he doesn’t know what to do. He can tell she’s scared and he has to do something. He needs to help her.

He turns around. He hates that Marinette will be waiting longer for him, but she can be patient. Ladybug needs him. Now.

He hears yelling. Maybe she’d seen a new akuma, but wasn’t able to transform? 

Then he gets closer, and the words actually register with him, the voice, Alya.

Her words are sharp, harsh and clearly meant to hurt. To harm.

He can tell before he even arrives that they’re directed at Ladybug.

He can hear her earrings beeping as he peeks over the alley. Ladybug barely has time left on her transformation, and Alya’s anger doesn’t show any sign of slowing down.

Alya takes a step forward, and slaps Ladybug across the face.

He jumps down before he even thinks about it.

“You need to leave, Césaire.” He growls at the journalist.

“You! Do you know what she’s done or- Oh you’re probably just as bad as-”

“Césaire. Leave.” He’s seething - not even yelling - but the fury is clear. If he let himself do anything more, there wouldn’t be any restraint left.

“If you think I’ll-”

Ladybug has two spots left, and hasn’t moved.

“Go. Now.”

She gets the message, and stomps away. Chat turns to Ladybug immediately, face softening.

Her breathing is all over the place, her eyes are unfocused, and she isn’t actually here. Not mentally. She’s shaking. He hates to think what must be going on inside her head.

“Hey. Ladybug.” He approaches her gently and she doesn’t even react. Something in him is convinced she’s going to drop from pure fear and panic, but she remains standing.

Her earrings beep. She can’t stay here.

“Ladybug, I’m going to carry you to the roof now, okay?” He speaks softly so that she doesn’t get startled, but she isn’t responding at all. He tries his best to reign in his uneasiness.

He scoops her up carefully and sets her carefully on a rooftop, he’s about to back off, but she clings to him desperately. She still hasn’t registered anything around her, but some unconscious part of her won’t let go. Her grip is loose and could easily be shaken off, but he certainly won’t be the one to do that.

---

Ladybug wants to shut down. She’s scared and it’s so draining to remember all the ways she’s terrible and all the ways she tries to correct it. She isn’t supposed to shut down though. She’s got to…

What is she supposed to do? She hears a voice - it must be Alya. That’s the main thing she remembers. Alya is yelling at her, Alya is mad. Alya hit her? She isn’t sure, that’s about the time she started zoning out. Not paying attention to anything seems safer.

The voice is still there, she still isn’t sure who it is. She’d respond, but what if it is Alya?

No no. It’d be safer to stay quiet. To stay still.

The cold beckons to her. It must have started snowing, she can feel drops of water on her. She wants to go to sleep. She’s not supposed to sleep…right?

She normally tries to stay awake, but she can’t remember why. If being awake means more Alya, then maybe she should sleep.

There’s another cold breeze and she lets it carry her away to sleep. The beeping she vaguely registers probably isn’t important anyways.

---

“Ladybug, you’re about to detransform.” He feels like it might be important to tell her, even if he’s certain she isn’t listening.

She doesn’t respond, as he expected.

“Oh, Bug, what happened?” The question is rhetorical, especially since his only audience is close to sleep.

It’s begun to snow, and it looks like it’ll only get worse. Paris is in for a blizzard.

The final beeps sound over the empty rooftops, and he focuses elsewhere.

“Chat Noir,” It’s Tikki, he can tell she’s barely managing against the cold, shivering and stuttering, “I-I th-think you need t-to know e-each other’s id-d-dentities.”

“What?!” He certainly wasn’t expecting that.

“You t-two would-d-d bo-both b-benefit. She needs y-y-you. Y-y-you’re the one she’s t-told the most a-a-a-about how she’s f-feeling. Y-you b-both need ea-each other in y-your real lives.”

“So… should I look at her?” He’s hesitant, he’s been waiting for this, but not in these sorts of circumstances.

“Yes. T-take her h-home.” The Kwami is barely still with him.

“How will I know where she lives?”

“T-trust m-m-me.”

He nods, and finally turns to the girl in his arms.

Oh.

Oh.

Oh!

Ladybug is Marinette.

Marinette is Ladybug.

Things are falling into place in his head, and he doesn't know what to think. He’s obviously happy because it’s Marinette! He loves her doubly. He doesn’t have a crush on two different girls, he has two crushes on one.

But, at the same time, everything that’s happened to Ladybug, happened to Marinette. Everything that’s happened to Marinette happened to Ladybug. How much can one person take?

Oh, Marinette.

The snow is falling harder now, he stands. They need to go.

Making sure Tikki isn’t at risk of falling, he takes off across the roofs. He arrives at the bakery, entering the trapdoor and shutting it carefully. He gently places his partner into her bed, accidentally knocking a notebook down as he does so.

He breathes a sigh of relief that they’re home now.

---

Author’s Note: Oh hey, a notebook fell. Oh well, I'm sure that's not relevant.

A little ironic what you're saying there Alya.

Well! The reveal! I've been so excited to post this! Don't worry, the next chapter is directly after this one.

Last chapter I said this one marked a first for Adrien, did any of you catch it? At the very end there, he referred to the bakery as 'home'. Every time I have Adrien speak/think of his house that's what I say: his house. That empty mansion is no home to him, but his friends? Marinette especially? They're his home.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any thoughts, theories, constructive criticism, or anything really in my ask box, in replies or through reblogs. I love seeing what you think!

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[alicepink-me]

The New Guardian

New story idea I’m trying. I thought of this back in October and have been writing it since then. It’s very different from my past works and I’ve added a lot of characters and plots that are completely my own. I love reviews and comments. I’ll be posting updates daily.

Story Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng is an adult in the real world, guarding the Miracle Box in Master Fu's place. She's in love with Chat Noir, but refuses to tell him her feelings. New holders appear to fight the duo and shake up their lives. Marinette makes a tough decision about her future as Ladybug.

Chapter 5: Soulmates

Three Days Later:

Adrien laid on his back in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Plagg flew over him with a shard of cheese.

"Oh, she kissed you." Plagg teased. "So when's the wedding?"

"She only kissed me to break a spell." Adrien said, closing his eyes. "It didn't mean anything."

"To you or her?" No answer. Plagg smiled, landing on his pillow. "You still have feelings for Ladybug and you're afraid to say anything." Adrien frowned. "I wonder how long you'll last against these new holders before you shout your feelings in the streets?"

Adrien's eyes shot open and he jumped up. "What am I supposed to say, Plagg?! Profess my love to her on the rooftops? That never worked before." He sighed. "I can't say anything. The kiss . . . was just a kiss."

"You might explode if you don't tell her. That could put a dent in your partnership." Plagg took a bite of his cheese. "And besides . . . maybe her feelings have changed.

"Why would they? She's made her mind up already and her feelings are pretty clear." He sluggishly sat down. "Ladybug always said she loved another guy and that she couldn't have feelings for me. I tried for years and faced her rejection several times, so why would she change so fast?"

"You're 22, Adrien." Plagg laughed. "Childhood, teenage, and adult crushes are often not forever."

"What's your point?" He asked negatively.

"There's no denying that you and Ladybug have changed since you were fifteen." He swallowed the rest of his cheese. "Your feelings haven't changed, but you have as a person. Who's to say her feelings aren't different?"

Adrien closed his eyes and fell back. "I don't think that's possible."

. . .

"Do you think they're coming back?" Chat asked, sipping his mug.

"It's been three days." Ladybug answered, staring down at her coffee as she mixed it with a spoon. She leaned back against the cold metal beam of the Eiffel Tower.

"It's odd for them to make a scene like that and then just disappear like they did." Chat said. "Either they're planning or something big is going to happen. It can't be over yet."

"Maybe they gave up." She suggested. "We beat them, so maybe they've accepted that we're stronger and moved on."

"I don't think so." He shook his head, looking at the city below. "They attacked the whole city, not just us. They wanted to create a scene that was bigger than us and honestly . . . I don't think it's just those three. I think there's way more. Maybe the entire academy is out to get revenge on us and Master Fu."

Ladybug stared at her drink as she listened to his theories. She couldn't make eye contact even if she tried. Their kiss has been the only thing on her mind for the past three days. Even if Chat Noir didn't remember or feel the same, she wouldn't forget it. She should because the kiss was only to solve the problem at hand, but that would be near impossible. Hopefully, Chat Noir is wrong and these attacks are over. Maybe she can get over the whole mess and they can move away and avoid each other again.

Chat Noir sipped his coffee and looked back to her. "What do you think, Ladybug? You're a little quiet right now and . . . it's kind of scary."

"I'm . . . just processing." She answered, taking a drink awkwardly. "I don't really know what to think. They have guardians and they have miraculous. We don't know how bad this could get because they could be lying and what if they aren't? We're still in the dark no matter what they say." Ladybug suggested. "This could go either way and we might lose."

"Why would you assume we'd lose?" He scooted a foot forward. "We've crushed so many enemies before. These three popped up out of nowhere . . . and don't hold a candle to us." Chat smiled. "We're an unstoppable couple."

"Couple?" Ladybug mumbled, her eyes widening. "We're just . . . a team. Two members of a team. Not much else. Those three obviously have the numbers and probably more. They could crush us."

"We always have our own friends." Chat countered. "We can have a larger team for the battle."

"No." She shook her head. "We can't get them involved in this mess. This enemy is completely different than anything we've ever faced. They know too much about us and there's so much that we don't understand. For all we know, they're baiting us to give out every miraculous in the box for support only so they can pull out some secret weapon that destroys us all. Then they have our miraculous and we lose . . . everything." Ladybug sighed. "We don't know their resources enough to increase out numbers like that without an actual plan."

"I guess you're right." Chat agreed. "We'll just have to be stronger than them then. Our connection is better than theirs anyway."

"Our connection?" Ladybug's cheeks turned red and she looked up.

"Yeah." Chat smiled. "Those three were arguing half the time and they didn't seem compatible like we are. Our teamwork totally tops theirs."

"Sure it does." She smiled, taking a sip. "Master Fu specifically chose us."

"Yeah, but we were two complete strangers back then." Chat said. "We never could've known how great of partners we'd be."

"Well Master Fu told me Ladybug and Chat Noir are meant for each other." Ladybug stirred her coffee. "They're always soulmates."

"What?" Chat Noir questioned, concerned. "We're . . . we're soulmates?"

"No-o, no, no, no . . . no." Ladybug anxiously set her mug down and stood up, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "We aren't-we're not . . . Master Fu just always said that Ladybug and Chat Noir are made for each other and they'll always end up together." She panic laughed. "That's why our connection's so strong and why we should be attracted to each other. It's only n-natural. O-Or that's, that's . . . just how . . . Master Fu put it." Ladybug breathed, staring at the metal beneath her.

"So . . . we are supposed . . . to be together?" Chat stood up and stepped forward.

"N-No we-we were never. Not possible. Clearly we aren't made for each other. We hardly get along. In fact, we aren't so different from those three." Ladybug rambled. "It's only been true with every other Ladybug and Chat Noir that came before us, but history shouldn't effect us. Why should it effect our lives or our decisions?" She panted as her face grew hotter. She could hardly comprehend what she was saying. "It's not that big of a deal really."

"It is to me." Chat insisted, stepping forward again. They only stood a foot apart. "That could've changed everything years ago."

"I don't know about that." Ladybug looked away, feeling her pulse catch in her throat.

"But it could've." Chat said. Ladybug's eyes met his and it felt like lightning between them. Both of them seemed to be searching for something. It was strange for Ladybug to look at him differently. "I don't think for a moment that we would've lost contact like we did if we had known."

"Well I knew for years and that didn't change anything for me." A lie. An obvious lie. "Master Fu has been dead for years and I knew way before that. And since we aren't together, it clearly didn't have any effect on me, Chat Noir." Half of a lie.

"But-"

"I need to go, Chat Noir." She turned, grabbing her yo-yo. "Thanks for the coffee though." She swung away before he could protest.

Chat Noir was left alone on the Eiffel Tower. He sat down and stared off, leaning his cheek on his fist. "Soulmates . . . "

[gryffindorcls]

Chat for a Day:  Chapter 6

I’m Home Whenever I'm With You

Adrien returned to school floating on a cloud.  Marinette was his lady, and he was her Chaton.  They loved each other, and all was right with the world.  

He took his seat and rested his head in his hands.  Nino and Alya exchanged knowing glances. 

“Hey there, lover boy, ” Alya teased, ”Where’s my best friend?”

Adrien perked up and turned around to look at Alya.  “She's at home.  The nurse told her parents to not send her back after the lunch break.”

“Oh, I see.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears to me that you spent your entire lunchtime with her.”

“No, you're right. I just came from her house.”

“And you two were only eating during the full two hours?”

Adrien shot her a sly grin.  “I was taught to never kiss and tell, but maybe you'll be able to get more out of my girlfriend when you talk to her later.”

Alya’s hands flew to her mouth as she did her best to suppress an excited squeal.  “Ohmygod!  I have to text Marinette!”

“That’s awesome, bro!  I'm so happy for you,” Nino remarked, giving Adrien a pat on the back, ”Does this mean we get to go on double dates now?”

Adrien nodded.  “Yes!  Most definitely.  I know Marinette would love that, too.”

“I think this is the happiest I've ever seen you.  It's a good look for you, dude.”

“Honestly, I didn't think it was possible to feel this happy. 

“And I'm guessing that Marinette is beyond excited.  She's been crushing on you forever, bro.”

Adrien sighed.  “Yeah, she told me about that.  If only I'd figured things out sooner.”

“Well, all that matters is that you're together now.  You can't change the past, my man.”

“Ugh!” Alya grunted in frustration, causing both boys to turn and look at her. 

“What’s wrong, babe?” Nino asked. 

Alya turned to Adrien and squinted.  “Your girlfriend isn't answering me.”

“She promised me she’d rest this afternoon, ” Adrien shrugged, “Maybe she's asleep.”

“I doubt it, ” Alya rolled her eyes, “She’s probably pulling another classic Marinette.”

Adrien gave her a confused look.  “What do you mean by that?”

“Dude, ” Nino began, placing a hand on Adrien’s shoulder, “have you really never noticed that Marinette dips out all the time?”

“Mmmmhmmm, ” Alya agreed, “And I love my girl, but there have been way too many times that she is not where she says she's going to be.  She is a total space cadet.”

“Have I really never noticed before?” Adrien thought to himself, “Of course she's Ladybug.  At least we don't have to do this alone anymore...we have each other now.”

“Care to share with the class?” Alya asked, breaking him out of his reverie.  

He shook his head.  “It’s nothing.”

“Sorry if I freaked you out.  I know you just started dating, and you probably don’t want to hear about all her flaws yet.  Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it too much if I were you,” Alya noted, “Yeah, she sometimes spaces out on us, but you...she would come back from the dead if it meant being able to talk to you.”

Adrien thought back fondly to his conversation with Ladybug the previous night.  “Our flaws are what make us who we are.  They make us human.  Marinette may not be perfect, but she is perfect for me...she’s perfectly imperfect’.”

Alya raised her eyebrows.  “That was pretty smooth, Agreste.”

“No, I can’t take credit for that one,” Adrien said, shaking his head, “Those are my girlfriend’s words, not mine.”

Alya squealed again.  “I don’t know if I’m ever going to get used to hearing you call her your girlfriend.”

“She’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, so you’ll be hearing me call her that for a long time.”

“Good.” Alya suddenly donned a serious expression.  “I do have to say one thing, however.  As her best friend, I am required to tell you that if you hurt her, I will end you.”

Adrien smiled and did his best to appear unaffected by Alya’s words.  “Rest assured, I would never do anything to hurt my Princess.  She is far too precious to me.”

Alya snorted.  “Jeez, sunshine.  You really are a real-life prince charming.  No wonder Marinette fell for you.”

“She’s my soulmate.  We complete each other, and our love runs deeper than our shortcomings.”

“Wow...that was...just wow…” Alya shook her head and smiled, “Now, if only I could get that girl to text me back!”

“You can go see her after school.  I’m sure she’d be more than happy to have you visit,” Adrien suggested.

“Aren’t you going to see her when school is over?  As interested as I am in your relationship, I don’t really want to get in the way of whatever you two have planned.”

“Actually, I have fencing practice right after school, so I won’t be there until a little later.”

“So I can interrogate her without you there?”

“Yup.”

Alya grinned and laughed.  “Excellent.”

***

Marinette spent most of the afternoon hunched over at her project.  She was in the zone.  She carefully cut her pattern, pinned it together, and began constructing the gift.  The sewing machine’s gentle thrumming soothed her ears and the rapidity of the needle piercing the fabric lulled her into a trance.  Muscle-memory guided her as she adjusted the needle’s speed using the foot pedal with the same accuracy as a skilled surgeon wielding an expert knife.  This was her happy place.

She finished with time to spare.  Marinette smiled as she held up a hat made out of soft, black fleece.  At the top sat two small cat ears with green accents.  It was a simple hat, but she wanted it to blend in with Adrien’s fall and winter wardrobes.

“What do you think, Tikki?” she asked, biting her lip.

The Kwami giggled.  “I already told you that he will like anything that you make him, but you did a great job.  It looks wonderful!”

“Thanks!  Now I just need to find something to put it in.”  Marinette hopped out of her seat and began rummaging through a drawer.

As she pulled out a box, her trap door burst open and landed with a loud thunk on the ground.  She screamed and fell onto the floor.

“MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG,” Alya boomed, ascending the stairs and walking into the room, “I had a little chat with your boyfriend earlier.”

“Oh...right...him,” she said as she got up and dusted off her skirt.

“That’s it?  That’s all you have to say about ‘him’?  I have listened to you gush over Adrien for a year, and now that you’re finally dating, you get all quiet?   I texted you like ten times, girl!”

Marinette slumped, “I’m sorry.  It’s been a lot to process.  My head was still all weird, and then I started sewing...but I can tell you everything now if you want.”

Alya threw her hands into the air.  “YES!  Finally...details!  BUT...before you start, let me make something clear.  When that boy asks you to marry him, I expect to know within five minutes.”

“Do you really think he’ll do that one day?  We’re so young right now.” Marinette asked while a creeping blush made its way up her face.

“Girl, you should have heard what that boy had to say about you this afternoon.  He is in love.  He even said you were soulmates.  Sunshine isn’t going anywhere...trust me.”

“He really said that?”

“Yes, he did.”

“I still can’t believe that I’m dating Adrien.  Like...I’m his girlfriend.  If I walk up to him and kiss him, he’ll kiss me back.  It’s crazy.”

“I know, and I’m so happy for you.  However, I’m still trying to figure out what happened with you this morning.  You didn’t seem anxious at all when you came back from the bathroom.  You even flirted with him!  I thought you were dying!”

Marinette giggled nervously.  She decided to tell Alya a half-truth.  “Well, I didn’t sleep very well last night, and it kind of made me feel fuzzy.  Then Adrien came in acting all different, and something clicked in my mind.  Adrien flirted with me first, and I rolled with it.  I told him that I love him, and then my headache caught up with me.  I wound up falling asleep in the nurse’s office.  Adrien woke me up, asked me out, and took me home.  Then my brain finally caught up with what was happening, and I had a panic attack that ended with him kissing me.”

Her phone chimed.  At the top of all the unopened messages from Alya was a text from Adrien.

Adrien- I can’t wait to see you later, Princess.  I’ll text you when I’m on my way over. <3

Marinette looked up at her best friend and held out her phone.  “And now he’s texting me.”

She composed a response and pressed send.

Marinette- I can’t wait to see you either!  <3

Alya shook her head and laughed.  “That was a rollercoaster from start to finish, but it is so very...you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Only you would start a relationship like that.  It’s strange, cute, and hilarious all at the same time...just like you.”

“You think I’m strange?”

“The strangest, and I don’t ever want you to stop being you.  Adrien is right when he says that you’re amazing.  You’re the best friend I could have ever asked for.”

Marinette crossed the room and hugged her.  “Thank you, Alya.  You’re a wonderful friend.”

“You better still be saying that even after I kick your butt in Ultimate Mecha Strike,” Alya declared, pointing to Marinette’s computer.

“Oh, you are so on!  But first...let me finish wrapping this.”  Marinette held up the hat.

“Did you make that for Adrien?  It’s awesome.  I’m digging the Chat-Noir vibes.  If his outfit today was any indication of his interests, he’ll love it.”

“That was the goal.”

Alya paused and scrutinized Marinette’s outfit.  “You know...you kind of have a Ladybug-ish look going on today.  Now that I think about it...you kind of look like her, too.”

The Ladyblogger squinted, and Marinette could see the wheels turning in her head.  She knew that one reveal was enough for today.  The last thing she needed was for Alya to figure out that she was Ladybug.

“Don’t just stand there,” she scolded herself mentally, “CHANGE THE SUBJECT!”

She quickly shoved the hat in the box and threw it on her chaise.  Marinette then grabbed two controllers and held one out for her best friend to take.  “Yeah...haha.  Anyway...I hope you’re ready to LOSE.”

Alya shook herself out of her thoughts and took the controller from Marinette.  “I don’t think so.  I’m definitely going to beat you this time.”

Marinette grinned mischievously.  “We’ll see about that!”

***

The second Mr. D'Argencourt ended the practice, Adrien ran to the locker room, changed into his regular clothes, and gathered his things.  He couldn’t wait to see Marinette again.

Because the Dupain-Cheng Bakery was across the street, his driver wasn’t there to pick him up.  Upon walking through the store’s entrance, Adrien was met by a smiling Sabine.

“Hello, dear,” she said cheerfully, “Dinner won’t be for another hour or two.  Right now, Marinette is up in her room with Alya.  Feel free to go on up!”

Before he could answer, Sabine grabbed a bag from one of the shelves and handed it to him.

“Also, these are for you,” she continued, “I’m sure you’re hungry after fencing practice.  I put some in there for you and Marinette to share.”

Adrien peeked inside the bag and saw half a dozen chocolate chip cookies.  “Thank you so much, Mrs. Cheng.  These look amazing.”

“Anytime, sweetie!” she said before returning to her place behind the counter.

He made his way into the apartment and walked up the stairs to Marinette’s room.  He knocked on the hatch and heard a muffled “come in”.  Adrien happily climbed in.  After a quick scan of his surroundings, he saw Marinette and Alya in a heated Ultimate Mecha Strike battle.  His girlfriend was winning, and her best friend looked frustrated.

Adrien sauntered over to Marinette’s chair and draped his arms around her from behind.  He then planted a kiss on her cheek causing her to squeak and drop her controller.  This gave Alya enough time to take down Marinette’s bot.

“Finally,” Alya pumped a fist into the air, “I am VICTORIOUS!”

Marinette frowned.  “Hey!  That’s not fair.  I was distracted!  I demand a rematch.”

Alya shook her head.  “Nope!  I won.” 

“You made me lose!” Marinette said, turning her head up towards Adrien’s.

“Sorry,” he purred into her ear, “I was excited to see you again.”

She giggled at his response.  “Your hair is tickling my face, kitty!”

Alya stood up from her seat.  “And on that note, I will leave you and your ‘distraction’ to do...uhm...whatever it is you are planning to do.  Have fun, lovebirds!”

Marinette rolled her eyes.  “Goodbye, Alya.  I’ll call you later.”

“You better!” the journalist called out as she descended the stairs and closed the hatch behind her.

Once they were alone, Adrien pulled his girlfriend out of her chair and held her in a loving embrace.  She hugged him back and rested her head on his chest.

“Can I kiss you again, Princess?” he asked quietly.

She looked up and met his eyes.  “You are welcome to kiss me whenever you want.”

He closed the gap between them and pressed his lips against hers.  He could feel her smile as he deepened the kiss.  Her hands reached around his neck, and she buried her fingers in his hair.  When they eventually pulled apart, he rested his forehead on hers.  She leaned in and placed a feathery kiss the tip of his nose.  Warmth exploded in his chest.  Kissing her would never get old.

“So,” she began, peering up at him through her eyelashes, “I have something for you.”

Adrien moved his head back to get a better view of her face.  “What?  Wait...really?”

“Yeah, I designed it a while ago, but something inspired me to make it today.”

“You made something for me?”

She nodded, walked over to her chaise, and picked up the gift box.  Adrien looked at her in awe as she held out the box for him to take.  He lifted the lid and took out the hat.

“This is incredible, Marinette,” he noted as he examined the gift, “You are so talented.  What did I do to deserve someone as amazing as you?”

She kissed his cheek.  “I love making things, and I love you.  It was a no-brainer.  Besides, I needed to do something to pass the time while I waited for you to come back.  I was going crazy.”

Adrien popped the hat onto his head and posed.  “How do I look?”

Marinette giggled.  “You may be a model, but you look like my Chaton.”

He melted.  “Your Chaton...I don’t think I’ll ever get over hearing you say that.”

“Are you going to take off the hat?”

“No.”

“You’ll get hat hair.”

“Good.”

She moved her hand to his cheek.  “My silly kitty.”

He placed his hand on top of hers.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”  She paused briefly before continuing, “Now, dinner isn’t for a while, so what would you like to do?  I can get my revenge on you for making me lose to Alya by kicking your butt at Ultimate Mecha Strike.”

He wiggled his eyebrows and leaned in.  “What makes you think you’d win against me?”

“I won the last time we played.”

“That was a year ago.  Maybe I’ve been practicing.”

“Fine,” she said, crossing her arms, “Prove it.”

He squinted at her playfully.  “You’re on!”

The two teens ran over to her computer and played until the start of dinner.  During their intense gaming session, they shared the cookies Sabine had given to Adrien.

Out of the twelve rounds they played, Marinette won ten of them.  Adrien was having too much fun to care.  He was spending time with the love of his life, and his girlfriend’s victory dance was adorable.  If losing meant that he got to see Marinette jump out of her chair and spin around, he would gladly do so every time.

“Marinette!  Adrien!” a muffled voice called from downstairs, “It’s time to come down for dinner!”

“Thank God!” Marinette laughed, “Those cookies have completely worn off.  I’m starving!”

She grabbed his hand and led him down the stairs and into the kitchen.  When they arrived at their destination, he pulled out her chair and then proceeded to take a seat next to her.

“How chivalrous!” Sabine noted with a kind smile, “I’m happy to see that Marinette found a kind young man to be her sweetheart.”

Adrien lowered his head and blushed.  “Thank you, ma’am.  I believe it’s important to respect the ones you love.”

Sabine leaned over and whispered something in her daughter's ear.  Marinette turned red.

“Maman!” she exclaimed through clenched teeth.

Adrien laughed at their exchange, and Marinette swatted his arm.  This made him laugh harder.  

It was at this moment that Tom entered the room.  “Who started the party without me?”

“Hello, dear,” Sabine gave her husband a peck on the cheek, “I was commenting on how polite Adrien is.  He even pulled out the chair for Marinette.”

Tom patted Adrien on the back.  “Good job, son.”

“Papa!” Marinette buried her head in her hands.  “What is with you guys embarrassing me today?”

“We’re you’re parents, sweetie,” Sabine said as she took her place at the table, “It’s our job.”

“Besides,” Tom continued, “thanking Adrien for being a gentleman and treating my daughter well is the yeast I can do.”

Adrien looked at Marinette and grinned.  “Well, sir, you can crust that I will always be there for Marinette.”

Tom turned to his daughter.  “Keep him.”

Marinette chuckled.  “That’s the plan, Papa.  I don’t think I could get rid of him if I tried.”

“Good,” her father put his arm around Adrien’s shoulder, “because it would be nice to have a son, too.  If you weren’t dating him, I’d adopt him.  Anyone who puns like that is okay in my book.”

Adrien’s eyes filled with tears, and he did his best to stifle a sob.

“Oh, no, sweetie,” Sabine rushed over to his side, “Are you okay?”

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and gave the Dupain-Chengs a watery smile.  “Actually, this is the best I’ve been in a long time.  You’ve made me feel more at home than I am in my own house.  Thank you for your kindness.”

Sabine hugged him.  “Adrien, we meant it when we said that you are always welcome here.”

Marinette reached over and squeezed his hand.  “I’m sorry you don’t feel at home in your house.  Maybe we can fix that.”

Adrien turned and took her other hand in his.  “Princess, none of that matters anymore now that we’re together.  I’m home whenever I’m with you.”

She gasped.  “Adrien…”

“Ohmygod, you two are precious!  Tom, get the camera!” Sabine whispered loudly to her husband, “We’ll need this for their wedding in a few years.”

Marinette’s father hopped up from the table.  “You got it!”

As he disappeared into the living room, Marinette’s face turned bright red.  “MAMAN!”

All Adrien could do was laugh.  He never wanted this moment to end.  Marinette lit up his world in unimaginable ways.  Currently, his greatest desire was to shower her with love and affection.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.  “This night isn’t over yet.  I’m going to sweep my lady off of her feet.”

———————————————————————————————————–

Thank you to everyone who has been reading and following this story.  You are all wonderful!

Also, thank you to those who have left comments and asks.  They make my heart feel full, and it fuels my passion to keep writing!

This is the second to last chapter of “Chat for a Day”.  I have some other fluffy works coming down the pike, so be on the lookout.  Thank you for following me on this crazy ride!

———————————————————————————————————–

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[waltzshouldbewriting]

Kota Chapter 2

CW: I don't know what might affect someone, so I'm putting this warning here that there's a PTSD flashback/panic attack in this chapter, and mentions of death/blood.

Chapter 2: Three Weeks Later

Three weeks later, and Lacy was about halfway done unpacking.

She had finally gotten around to the box with all her photographs in it, and had pinned them up on the wall across from the window. She had new photos there too - Mylene and Ivan sharing ice cream, Alix winning a skating race, Marinette hard at work on her designs - and her small wall was already covered.

Of course, half of them fell down in the middle of the night, scaring Lacy's heart out of her chest and keeping her from falling back asleep for another two hours.

She was tired the next morning, and late.

"Stayed up late working on the chemistry assignment?" Alix asked.

With Alya back and Mylene sitting with Ivan, Lacy had claimed the seat next to Alix. It was a horrible idea - neither girl could focus, and the unfocused-ness doubled around each other - but somehow they, and Miss Bustier, had survived the arrangement.

"No, my photos fell down and scared me last - wait, what chemistry assignment?"

"The one due tomorrow," Alix replied. "Don't tell me you forgot about it again."

"Ugh. I completely spaced on it," Lacy confirmed. She swore heavily in Greek. "That means I'll have to spend all night tonight working on it."

"And miss our movie night at Marinette's?" Alix questioned. "Can't you finish it at lunch?"

"Maybe? If I try really hard."

Having given their compliments of the morning, Max sat down behind the girls and Sabrina in front. Bustier called the next to names from the basket, and Alix and Mylene stood up.

Lacy sighed and twirled her pencil between her fingers. She had so been looking forward to the movies tonight, but her grade in chemistry was already horrible and her chemistry teacher scared her too much to risk letting it drop. Besides, she wanted to do well in school this year.

The door flew open, and Marinette stumbled in. With a flustered look at Bustier, she took a seat next to Alya, and the girls whispered with each other.

"On the bright side, at least I'm not the last one here," Lacy muttered.

"It's not a surprise," Max contributed. "Both you and Marinette have shown signs of sleep issues."

"I don't have sleep issues," Lacy argued. "Something on my wall fell down and gave me a heart attack."

In the seat in front of Lacy, Chloe scoffed. "Lacy, if you want my opinion-"

"I don't."

"You startle too easily."

"I do not," Lacy argued.

"For once, Chloe has a point," Max stated.

"Of course I - what do you mean, 'for once'?"

Alix and Mylene sat down, and Bustier called for Alya and Lila.

"You did screech pretty loudly when Adrien snuck up on you the other day," Kim added.

"That's not fair," Alix commented. "Adrien startles everyone."

"You should have heard Dupain-Cheng the other day," Chloe added. "I thought someone had been murdered."

"Speaking of the sunshine child," Alix commented. "Look who's even later today."

Adrien had suddenly appeared at his desk, telling Bustier that he was sorry he was late, his father didn't want him going to school with an akuma out.

"There was an akuma?" Lacy asked.

"I didn't hear of one," Alix replied.

"I did," Kim said. "Countryside. He was tired of all the traffic noise so he made the cars disappear."

"I was caught in it," Chloe said. "It was terrible! I thought it was going to ruin my hair!"

"Is there a reason you're in this conversation?" Alix questioned.

Chloe huffed. "I'm just trying to be nice."

"Right," Alix replied.

"Lacy and Chloe," Bustier called.

Lacy obedient stood up and walked to the front. Chloe stood next to her.

Lacy looked over the girl, thinking of something to say. "You like nice for someone who just disappeared."

"Of course I do," Chloe replied. She hesitated for a moment. "I guess your hair looks nice today too."

That was a lie, since Chloe never thought anyone's hair looked nice except her own, and Lacy's was still in the braid she had worn to bed the night before, but Lacy didn't mind. It was way too early in the morning to be picky about things like that.

Lacy slid back in her seat next to Alix.

"And finally, Marinette and Adrien," Bustier called.

"Poor girl," Alix commented. "She's going to melt the second he compliments her."

Adrien gave Marinette his blinding model smile, and she visibly wilted.

"I really love the new Jagged Stone poster you made!" Adrien said.

"She made another one?" Chloe asked. "You'd think Jagged Stone could afford a real artist."

"Makes it that much cooler that he chose Marinette, don't you think?" Alya challenged from across the room.

Marinette cheeks burned red as she stuttered her thanks. She fell quiet for a moment.

"Marinette?" Bustier prompted.

"What? Sorry. I - umm - I really like you - I mean, your, um, hair today! I mean. It's always nice! But it's extra nice today!"

Lacy winced in sympathy, and Alix rolled her eyes.

"Alright class," Bustier said. "Let's get started. Marinette, can you collect last night's homework?"

..

The first couple classes went by as usual, and then came chemistry.

Lila had some sob story about hurting her wrist that kept her out of the lab, so Nathaniel ended up partnered with Alix and Lacy. It took a total of three seconds for him to become overwhelmed by the two unfocused girls.

"Miss Hatzi," Miss Mendeleev said as she passed by their table. She snatched a beaker from Lacy. "That's not even remotely safe."

"Sorry," Lacy squeaked, intimidated as usual by the teacher.

Mendeleev sighed. "The three of you will be getting an extra homework assignment on lab safety. For now, please be more careful." She placed the beaker back on the table and moved on to helping Sabrina with something.

Lacy released a breath. "Sorry. My last school wasn't big on safety."

Well, that wasn't totally true. Bad safety practices was something Lacy picked up at Camp Half-blood, where nectar and ambrosia fixed most injuries and anything could be repaired by Valdez. Piper had tried to encourage safety practices in her cabin, but it never reached far.

"Don't worry," Alix said. "Mendeleev may be mean, but she catches everything before it happens."

"I appreciate your faith, Ms Kubdel, but I won't always be around to 'catch everything," Mendeleev said.

"She also hears everything," Alix added.

Lacy smiled, and did her best to be more aware as they continued the experiment.

About ten minutes before the period was over, everyone's phones beeped with an akuma alert.

"It's just outside the school," Alya reported. "We're in the evacuation zone."

"Confirmed," Max said. "We should find somewhere away from the streets to hide."

"Good idea," Mendeleev said. "Turn off your burners, put your chemicals back in their akuma-proof containers, and get to the library."

While Alix and Nathaniel replaced the chemicals, Lacy flicked the switch off on their burner. The rest of the class did the same - a process which took less than five seconds.

They were too slow.

Something shrieked. The outside wall began to crumble. Lacy felt herself push Alix and Nathaniel away from the wall.

Lacy slid shoulder-first into the corner of Chloe's desk, and car crashed into right where they had been a second ago.

Lacy's heart rammed in her chest as she stared at the car. It looked like on back in New York, the one where if Mitchell hadn't pulled her out of the way -

Lacy could still hear Amelia's scream, could still see the blood from the two asleep mortals - the two dead mortals - stuck in the front of the car, could feel the roar of the monster who had thrown it, could -

"Lace? Can you take a deep breath?"

Lacy forced her eyes shut. She wasn't there, she wasn't there, she was in Paris, and the car hadn't hit anyone, and she wasn't still in New York with monsters and dead sisters and -

Lacy forced herself to inhale.

"There we go. Inhale, hold, exhale. Inhale, hold, exhale."

Lacy obeyed. In, hold, out. In, hold, out.

"Open your eyes," Alix said.

Lacy opened her eyes. Alix was kneeling next to her, concern in her eyes. Nathaniel was heaving as Ivan and Nino helped him with his leg, which was stuck under the car. Mendeleev and Mylene were on Lacy's other side.

"Okay, five things you can see," Alix said.

"You," Lacy breathed out. "Um, the ceiling. Miss Mendeleev, Mylene, and Nino."

"Good. Four things you can hear?"

Lacy nodded. She was familiar with the technique, now that she could think.

"I can hear Nathaniel talking, um, is that Chat Noir yelping in the distance? Police sirens, and a helicopter?"

"Three things you can touch?"

"The ground," Lacy said. "I can feel the ground, I can feel - ow, my shoulder." The burning sensation has started, or she could finally feel it again, and she was suddenly aware of how close she was to the leg of a desk. She tried to push herself up, but it made the pain worse. "What happened?"

"You collided with a desk," Alix replied. "It was actually pretty cool. You basically tackled us out of the way of the car."

"Almost out of the way," Nathaniel complained.

"Don't worry dude," Nino said. "You'll be out of here in no time. Chat Noir and Ladybug are already at the scene."

"Feeling better, Lace?" Alix asked.

Lacy nodded. "Yeah, a little."

"Good," Alix said. She sat down next to Lacy and crossed her legs. "Anyways, did I tell about my new art project?"

...

By the end of the school day, the tightness in Lacy's chest had finally gone away, but she still felt drained from the akuma attack.

It was way too easily for Alix to sway her to go with to the movies with the girls instead of doing homework. Since the movie started later, the girls (minus Lila, who was busy with a "charity event", and Chloe and Sabrina, of course) all met up in Marinette's place after school.

While Marinette, Alya, Rose, and Mylene talked romance up in Marinette's room, Alix, Lacy, and Juleka took advantage of the large number of sweets in her kitchen.

"I wish my dad baked like this," Alix said, munching on a macaroon Marinette's dad had given them.

"If he's willing to learn, I could always teach him," Mr. Dupain offered.

Alix shook her head. "Maybe someday, but right now he's busy with that new baroque exhibit the louvre is putting in."

"Hey girls," Alya called, stepping down the stairs. "Marinette said she had some new creations for you."

"Ugh, great," Alix said. "More clothes."

"Oh shush," Lacy replied. "We all love Marinette's designs and so do you."

The three girls followed Alya back up to Marinette's room, where a pile of clothes covered her chaise.

Marinette was helping Mylene into a new sundress, but she smiled at the girls as they entered.

Alix sat down on her desk, pushing papers out of her way as she did so. "So what'd you have for us?"

"Just give me a minute." Marinette finished fixing Mylene's sundress and walked to her chaise. She pulled out a skating helmet, with a jagged green and pink design.

"Cool," Alix said. Marinette handed her the helmet, and she tried it on.

Alix gave Marinette a bright smile. "This fits so much better too! I'll wear it for my competition next week for sure!"

"I'm so glad you like it," Marinette said. "I had the idea while watching you race with Kim the other week."

"You mean watching me beat Kim in a race," Alix corrected.

The girls all chuckled.

"Oh did you hear about Lila winning that competition in Venice?" Alya asked.

And Marinette's face dropped instantly.

"The one with the big clean water charity?" Rose asked. "Designing those awareness posters?"

Lacy rolled her eyes immediately, and then regretted it when Alya raised an eyebrow at her.

"I just," Lacy started. "Making paper posters for environmental awareness doesn't make any sense." And she definitely had heard enough about that. Environmentalist came by the handful at Camp Half-blood.

"Weren't you listening girl?" Alya asked.

"Um, no actually?" Lacy replied. "I was distracted from the akuma attack earlier."

"Oh, right," Alya continued. "Rose brought up similar concerns too. But Lila said that she managed to convince the manager of the contest that it should all be paper-free! The posters were for online uses only."

"Of course she did," Marinette muttered.

"Girl, you're impossible," Alya replied.

"If it's online, did she show it to you?" Marinette challenged.

"She said she would," Alya replied. "She just didn't have the file with her."

"But wouldn't she be able to look it up?" Marinette questioned.

"Marinette, please, there's no needed be jealous," Alya replied. She leaned in closer to Marinette. "Adrien wasn't listening either."

Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Who cares?" Alix asked. "Marinette and Nathaniel have both done cooler things with their art. Anyways, if we want to make the metro, we should be heading out now."

The girls all nodded and began gathering their items. Alya and Mylene continued talking about Lila's achievements, and Rose and Juleka talked about how excited they were about the movie. Alix gave Marinette another thank you for the helmet before walking up next to Lacy.

"Did I ever tell you about the time Juleka-"

Lacy kept her eyes on Marinette as she cleaned up her chaise. Something was definitely wrong, but she barely knew the girl. How could she help?

She almost kept going, but something stopped her. Maybe all Marinette needed was someone staying behind, even if she wasn't close with Lacy yet. After all, what was wrong with trying?

"Why don't you go on?" Lacy asked. "I'll meet you down there."

"If you say so," Alix said.

She followed the rest of the girls down, and Lacy turned to Marinette.

"You alright?" Lacy asked, sitting on the armrest of the chaise.

Marinette gave Lacy a fake smile. "I should be asking you that. Sounds like the akuma really scared you."

"Yeah, I - Alix was able to talk me through it. I guess those akuma survival classes have been making a change." Lacy frowned. "You just avoided the question, didn't you?"

"I'm fine, really," Marinette lied.

"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't push it," Lacy said. "But I can tell something's bothering you."

Marinette sighed and sat on the chaise. Lacy moved so she was sitting next to her.

"It's Lila," Marinette said. "I know you probably think she's some great person."

Lacy shook her head. "Lila? No. She lies like she breathes."

Marinette looked up at her. "You know?" There was an accusation hidden in her eyes, and Lacy had to look away.

"I'm, uh, really good at reading facial expressions," Lacy admitted.

"Then why haven't you said anything?" Marinette questioned.

"Because..." Lacy sighed and looked down at her hands. "Well, she scares me. Back at my old school in Brooklyn, there was this girl a lot like her, who used to bully me, and I don't know I guess since Lila reminds me so much of her I just... get scared. I don't want to have to deal with that again."

Marinette's facial expressions softened. "I know bullies like Lila can be scary. I have my own history with them, even before Lila showed up. People always tell you that you're the bigger person, that people like that shouldn't bother you, but-"

Lacy nodded, remembering something her father once told her. "You can't just flip a switch on what's bothering you and what's not."

"Exactly," Marinette said. "She hasn't done much to ostracize me yet, but just hearing all her lies, and seeing her use everyone, just-" Marinette groaned and stood up. "I can't just sit back."

"Well then, you're a lot braver than me," Lacy replied.

Marinette smiled at her. "Don't sell yourself short. You never know how brave you can be if you don't give yourself a chance."

"You'd make a great inspirational speaker, you know," Lacy commented. "Marinette, just so you know - I may not be vocal in class or around others but, if you need support, just let me know. I've been told I'm a good listener."

"Thanks Lacy," Marinette replied. "I might just have to take you up on that."

The trapdoor opened, and Alix's head popped up. "Are you two coming? We're going to be late!"

[sugarless-suki-writes]

Here Comes A Thought

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Pairing: LadyNoir, MariChat Rating: T+ Word Count: 6,782

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Warning: Implied/Mentioned Self-Harm

Summary: Ladybug isn’t acting like her usual self, seeming to be caught up in her thoughts, and it’s affecting her fighting.

Here comes a thought that might alarm me What someone said and how it harmed me Something I did that failed to be charming Things that I said are suddenly swarming

“Ladybug, focus!”

Ladybug snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at Chat. They were fighting an akuma. She needed to help her partner. Her mind wouldn’t stop racing. She hung back for a moment, trying to focus on the problem at hand and shove everything else into the back of her mind. Chat was fending off the akuma with his baton, being careful not to hurt the girl. Ladybug soon joined her partner in trying to fend off her attacks and try to corral her somewhere where she wouldn’t hurt anyone.

They weren’t quite sure what she could do... they just knew that she was the Truth Seeker and that already made them want to get this over with as quickly as possible. They didn’t want to risk their identities being found out, and that’s why Chat’s patience was a bit lost during this battle. They continued to push her back, dodging her attacks the best they could, Ladybug taking a few more hits than normal. Chat’s concern for her was growing and it was making him lose his focus. He cursed as he narrowly avoided another attack from the akuma. Getting a bit fed up with this, Chat ran over to Ladybug, snatching her up and quickly running for shelter. The heroine in his arms protested and wriggled in his grasp, but he ignored her. When they finally found cover, he let his partner go and she looked up at him, letting out a huff and puffing her cheeks in anger.

“What did you do that for?” she snapped. Chat ignored her question, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. This unsettled Ladybug and her anger quickly dissipated.

“What’s wrong, Ladybug?” he asked, his voice soft as he spoke in a soothing and gentle tone. Despite his effort, she couldn’t help the panic that rose up in her as memories from earlier in the day surfaced. Chat watched as fear and sadness filled her eyes, but was quickly replaced by anxiousness.

“N-Nothing! Everything is okay. I’m fine!” she answered, unable to look him in the eyes. He frowned at her forced grin and her awkward demeanor, but before he could comment on it, the duo was interrupted.

“Liar!” the akuma screeched. The two jumped apart then, Chat readying himself while Ladybug looked on in shock. Before they could blink, the akuma had snatched Ladybug up in her ribbons and pulled her close. The heroine struggled against her binds, but it seemed to be of no use. Once she was close, Truth Seeker reached her hands out, clasping them around Ladybug’s head. “Now, let’s see the truth!” Ladybug’s eyes went wide and she tried her best to free herself, but the akuma kept her still and then when she blinked she was back at school.

She was standing in front of the school with Alya at her side, her friend’s hand placed reassuringly on her shoulder as her own hands were clenched at her sides, avoiding the urge to grip at the hem of the dress she had just finished making last night. It was a tea-length dress that was baby blue in color with a black satin sash tied around her waist and formed a bow in the back. The dress was sleeveless with an illusion neckline, the sheer white fabric having small polka dots for that nice aesthetic aspect of the dress. She had on a pair of pantyhose, not wanting tights to possibly distract from the dress, and a pair of simple black flats. Her hair was let down and was expertly curled, thanks to Alya. As for makeup, she had on a soft pink lipstick and the wings of her eyeliner were so sharp they could kill a man. The confidence boost she had gained once she had gotten all dolled up was thrown out the window as soon as she and Alya set foot on school property, but Alya was doing her best to remedy that.

“You look great, sug’. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead.” she said, giving her friend’s shoulder a squeeze. Marinette gave a small nod and a nervous smile. She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be, I guess.” she replied with a nervous chuckle. Alya gave her a reassuring smile and a pat on the back. The two then walked into the school and went to their classroom. Marinette had never worn one of her creations to school, and she was trying to tell herself that that was the reason why she was so nervous, but she knew deep down what the real reason was. Adrien. He was constantly surrounded by high end fashion, and while she took pride in her pieces, she was always afraid that if she wore them around him he might silently judge her work. If he saw her as a bad designer, he could possibly hate her, and make it so she never got anywhere in the fashion industry. Of course she knew that he would never do that... but her mind always asked her ‘what if?’ and it drove her insane. Her thoughts had always taken a situation way out of hand, but this was a whole other level.

She did her best to clear her mind of the thoughts and focused on the positives. She had put a lot of hard work into this dress and spent the better part of the week working on it and it turned out amazingly. She was proud of what she created, and she should be able to show off her work without worry. She continued the train of happy and positive thoughts as they entered the classroom and caused a few heads to turn. Her fellow classmates complimented her on the dress and began to ask her questions. Slowly, Marinette’s confidence came crawling back through the window it had jumped out of. Soon, the heroine was restored to her former self and was laughing and joking along with her classmates and just generally feeling good about herself.

“Ugh, what’s that?” Marinette’s heart dropped at the sound of the familiar snarky voice that came from behind her. She turned and looked down at Chloé, who was standing next to her desk with Sabrina close behind her. The blonde’s lip was curled up in disgust as she gave the seamstress a once over, and once she was done she let out a haughty scoff. Alya bristled at Marinette’s side, ready to defend her friend from whatever storm Chloé was brewing.

“What do you want?” the brunette asked, voice low and threatening. Chloé’s gaze shifted over to Alya and she raised an eyebrow at her.

“I don’t want anything. I’m actually here to give.” she said, a smirk crossing her features. She made her way up the steps until she came face to face with Marinette, whose face was blank as she braced for the impact of Chloé's insults. What she didn’t expect, was a complete breakdown of her dress. She tore into her, even going as far as to point out the few flaws she had made in the stitching and what she would’ve done to make it look better. Her critique went on for what felt like hours to Marinette, but she barely heard any of it. She was trying to keep herself calm and not fly off the handle like she’s been tempted to so many times before. However, all the progress she had made was soon ruined with one simple sentence.

“If you made this and wore it to try and get Adrien’s attention then you can just forget it.” Now snapped out of her own thoughts, she gave Chloé her full attention, and the blonde seemed to notice this as her smirk widened. “I mean seriously Marinette, if he hasn’t seen you as more of a friend by now, then he never will. And this dress is so poorly made with just the worst materials, he’s only going to think less of you! It’s just so frumpy and you look like a kid!” Chloé laughed then, and whatever she said next, Marinette couldn’t hear over the screaming session going on in her mind. She could feel Alya tense beside her and she could only assume that the brunette was coming to her defense, but she wasn’t sure. Her mind kept replaying the words Chloé had said over and over again in her mind as she tried to process their meaning. She could feel herself breaking down, but she couldn’t cry. She refused to. Not this time.

God she’s just.... she’s such a.....

The sound of the slap reverberated through the room and silenced everyone and everything at the same time, except for the word that slipped past Marinette’s lips. “Bitch!” she snarled out. A fire was lit inside her and she was filled with all the rage she had been holding back for years. “I don’t care what you think about this dress, this wasn’t for you. It wasn’t for anyone except for myself! I spent the better part of the month designing and crafting this dress! I put my heart and soul into it just like I do with every piece I make. And at least I can actually sew and I don’t have to rely on hired help to make my projects!” After that, everything became a blur as she tore Chloé a new one, dragging out all of her known insecurities and tearing her down where she stood. All Marinette saw was red and her ears were ringing. As she relieved all her stress onto Chloé, she could feel a weight being lifted off her shoulders and she felt liberated.

Until she felt a hand on her shoulder and her name yelled at her by a familiar voice.

She came out of the murky waters of rage and turned her head and saw green. Adrien stood in front of her, eyebrows furrowed together and a concerned look in his eyes. Her eyes widened and she turned to look back at Chloé. The blonde was crying, and it wasn’t her usual fake tears. The weight that had been lifted came crashing right back down, except it was even heavier now as she looked around and saw that everyone had moved away from her slightly and looked on in concern, even Alya. No one was looking her in the eyes and she could feel the tears welling up and they quickly blurred her vision.

She couldn’t cry.

She wouldn’t.

She didn’t deserve to..

Marinette tore away from Adrien’s light grasp and fled the room. She ran until the school was behind her and she was back at the bakery. She ignored her mother’s questions and brushed past her, going up the stairs to the house and then entering her room. Once there, she allowed the tears to fall, not able to hold them back anymore. She collapsed to the floor, curling up in a ball as the sobs wracked her body and clawed her throat as they escaped her lips. She could feel a small hand caressing her cheek and could faintly hear a soft voice cooing to her, but she couldn’t make out what it was saying. All she could hear were her thoughts, screaming and tearing into her, drowning her. As her crying continued, her breaths came quicker and shorter and her chest felt tight. She could barely breathe and the buildup of mucus in her nose made it difficult to swallow as she tried to soothe her dry throat before coughing and continuing to cry. Her fit went on for what felt like hours before she finally began to calm down. She opened her eyes, blinking away the last of the tears and clearing her vision to see a concerned Tikki, holding out a few tissues for her.

She gave the kwami a weak smile and took the tissues, rasping out a thank you, and blew her nose. She let out a disgusted groan when she pulled the tissue away from her nose, grossed out by how much snot there was. She used up the tissues given to her and then tossed them into a nearby trashcan. She then slowly picked herself up off the floor and dragged her feet over to her lounge chair, collapsing into it and curling up into a ball. Tikki followed, a small frown on her face. “Marinette.. what happened?” she asked, voice soft and soothing. Marinette just shrugged, nuzzling into one of the pillows.

“I don’t know... I just.... I was just over it. She’s been terrible to me for so long and that was just the last straw... I put so much work into this dress! Sure there’s a few mistakes here and there, but I was going to go back over them later. Just... she couldn’t let me have this? What did I ever do to her to deserve this?” Tears began to spring in her eyes again and Tikki was quick to wipe them away, not wanting her chosen to have another attack.

“I don’t know Marinette... but your dress is beautiful, and so are all of your other creations! You’re a talented seamstress and you should just try to ignore what Chloé says to you. I know it’s difficult.. but if you weren’t talented then she wouldn’t copy your designs, now would she?” the kwami replied with a wink, hoping that might cheer her up. It seemed to work, as Marinette gave her a soft smile and a bit of a chuckle.

“Yeah.. I think you’re right Tikki...” she mumbled. Tikki smile and papped Marinette’s cheek lovingly.

“Let’s go get something to drink.. I’m sure you’re thirsty.” Marinette just gave a nod and slowly got up from her chair, rolling her shoulders and feeling some joints pop as she did so, including a few more when she stood up. She went over to the trap door in her room and went down into the house, walking over to the kitchen and getting a glass of water and a few cookies for Tikki. She was about to make her way up to her room when she heard the door open and turned to see Sabine. Her mother quickly approached her and Marinette had just enough time to set her glass and cookies down before her mother enveloped her in a hug.

“Whenever you feel up to it, talk to me. You know I’m always here for you, dear.” she whispered. Marinette smiled, tears welling in her eyes as she hugged her mother back tightly.

“I know Mama.. thank you.” They hugged for a few more moments before Sabine pulled away, smiling softly at her daughter and pressing a kiss to her cheek before patting her head lovingly and leaving to get back to work. Marinette felt a warmth in her chest and then turned to pick up her water and cookies and made her way back up to her room. She went over to her desk then and set everything down before sitting down in her chair. Tikki joined her and sat down on the desk, taking a cookie and nibbling at it. Marinette did the same, taking a few sips of water now and then to help soothe her dry throat. Eventually, the cookies were gone and Tikki had gone up to the bed to take a nap, not before checking to make sure Marinette would be okay without her. The heroine had reassured the kwami she’d be fine and that was when Tikki went to bed. Now, Marinette was laying on her lounge chair, hugging a pillow to her chest and staring at the wall. She had thought she would be fine, since she had felt better just moments before.. but now that she was left alone, her thoughts came back with a vengeance.

She could feel tears welling in her eyes as her mind began to berate her for her actions earlier. It was wrong of her to act the way she did and say all those terrible things... She had just been so fed up with all of Chloé’s shit... but that was no excuse. It was still a shitty thing to do, and even Chloé didn’t deserve to be treated that way. She buried her face in the pillow then, hoping to hide the sound of her sniffles and weak whines from the sleeping kwami. She didn’t want to bother her any more than she already had. She stayed like this for a few moments until she felt her phone vibrate next to her. She sniffled and reluctantly pulled away from the pillow before she sat up and reached for her phone. The bright screen burned her tired eyes at first, but once they adjusted she read the notification she had received.

Ladyblog is live!

She tapped on it and was sent to the webpage in her browser and saw that Alya was currently in the midst of watching Chat Noir fighting off an akuma. Letting out a sigh, she closed out of the webpage and set down her phone. She didn’t want to do anything.. she just wanted to wallow in self pity.. but she had a job to do. Marinette got off of the chair and went up to her bed and woke Tikki up. “We gotta go, Tikki.” Once the kwami was up and ready, she transformed and hopped out of her trap door and left to join Chat Noir.

---

“Liar!” Everything had happened so fast and Chat felt helpless as he watched his lady get captured by the akuma. He readied his staff, looking for any sign of weakness. Then, Truth Seeker reached for her hat and tapped the emblem on the front, which acted like a projector, putting a blank screen onto a nearby wall. She then reached out and clasped her hands around Ladybug’s head. “Now, let’s see the truth!”

Chat Noir looked over at what was put up on the wall and he felt the color drain from his face. He watched as the events from earlier that morning played out before him, but from Marinette’s perspective. He managed to tear his eyes away from the projection to look over at his partner, who was limp in the Akuma’s grasp. He tightened his grip on his staff as he tried to think of a plan of attack, something that wouldn’t harm his friend. He only had about half a plan when Truth Seeker laughed and ended the projection. “The truth has been shown. Now.. for my payment.” She then removed her hands from Ladybug’s head and took her earrings.

Ladybug’s transformation fell away and revealed a shaking Marinette. Satisfied, the akuma dropped the girl from her hold and Chat leaped into action. He caught Marinette before she could hit the ground and carried her off to a secluded area. He hated to leave her miraculous in the hands of an akuma, but he had no choice. He had to make sure she was okay before he went out there to get her earrings back. So, he set her down gently onto the ground and frowned at the state she was in. She was clearly holding back sobs as her body shook and her hand was clasped tightly over her mouth. Tears were streaming down her face and her nose was just beginning to run despite her sniffs that attempted to keep the mucus in.

“Marinette-”

“I-I was terrible!” she sobbed. “It was wrong of me to do that. It’s been eating at me this whole time! I can’t… I-I can’t…” Marinette continued to blubber on, unable to describe what it was she was feeling. Chat watched her with a frown on his face. Seeing things from her perspective really set the situation straight. No one had really wanted to talk about it, and now he understood why. Both parties involved were in the wrong here.

Chat let out a bit of a sigh and wrapped his arms around Mariette’s shuddering frame. He pulled her close, resting her head on his chest and running his claws through her hair. “It’s okay, Marinette. You can apologize to her later. And I’m sure she will apologize to you as well.” he whispered.

“She won’t. Even if she did, I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve anything! I was awful! I was so cruel and that was wrong of me.” she cried, pushing on Chat’s chest in an attempt to get away from him. His grip on her only tightened. “I’ve lost all my friends because of this. They all hate me, I know they do!”

“That’s not true.”

“How can you be so sure?!” Marinette finally looked at him then and the sight ripped his heart in half. Her lively blue eyes were now dull and brimming with tears and her face was red and blotchy. She managed to push herself away from him then, his grip having loosened at seeing how distraught she was. She started to walk away from him but didn’t get very far. Her legs were too wobbly, and she collapsed not too far from her partner. He watched helplessly as she curled up into a ball, bending over and resting her forehead on her knees and running her hands through her hair. Heart-wrenching sobs escaped her, her body shaking from the force of them. He listened as she mumbled about how worthless she was and how she deserved what was coming to her.

He knew he had to put a stop to this… He moved over to her then, pulling her hands off of her head, frowning slightly as he realized she had been digging her nails into her scalp. Chat made sure to be gentle as he took her hands in one of his and placed the other one on her back, rubbing soothing circles. He sat there quietly and let her cry. Neither of them were sure how long they had been there, but Marinette eventually ran out of tears. It took a few moments before she slowly started to sit up, Chat removing his hand from her back and releasing her hands from his grip. She wiped away the remnants of her tears with the palms of her hands, but she wasn’t really sure what to do about her nose until she saw Chat produce and handkerchief.

She gave him a small, weak smile before taking it and using it to clean her nose. “I’ll wash it and give it back to you later..” she whispered, her voice raspy. Chat simply nodded and the two sat in silence for a couple moments. Eventually, Chat brought a hand up and lightly ran his claws through her hair.

“Princess?” Even though his voice was soft, Marinette was set on edge, not sure what to expect from her partner.

“Yes?”

“I don’t want to see you place any more blame on yourself for this, okay?” Marinette moved to speak, but Chat was quick to put a claw to her lips. “I’m not saying you didn’t do anything wrong, but you’re not the only one to blame, okay?” Marinette wanted to debate with him on this, tell him just how at fault she was, but she knew that would get them nowhere. So, she kept her lips shut and pushed her worries far into the recesses of her mind and simply nodded at him. “Good. Now, I’m going to go get your Miraculous, okay? Will you be alright, or should I stay with you longer?” he asked.

“Go.. I’ll be fine. I won’t move.”

Chat hesitated a moment, not sure if he should trust his lady or not. However, there was an akuma on the loose, and no Ladybug to fix everything. He let out a sigh and gave her a weak smile. He ran his claws through her hair one last time, letting them linger for a moment before he took off. Marinette would be lying if she said she hadn’t been left breathless by the contact. She watched as her partner took off and continued to sit there several moments afterwards, starstruck. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, shifting between the mess she had gotten herself into earlier, and now this interaction with Chat Noir. God she was such a teenager…

She shook her head, trying to snap out of it. She had other things to worry about, like making sure she found a good place to hide. Papillion knew her identity now, and while it likely didn’t matter right now, seeing as how she didn’t have her miraculous, she didn’t want to take that risk. They didn’t know what he wanted, and so it would be better to be overly cautious. Letting out a sigh, she pressed her hands onto the ground and pushed herself up off the floor. She took in her surroundings, looking for a place to hide. She was in a warehouse and in a loft-like area of it. Marinette looked around for a while and eventually found a small closet. She quickly walked over to it and went inside, closing the door behind her. She wasn’t sure if it was such a good idea to be alone in the dark, but she didn’t really have any other choice.

Now alone and in the dark, her thoughts started to creep back up on her. Marinette curled up into a ball, wrapping her arms around herself. She did her best to take in slow, deep breaths. She hated feeling so alone.. She hasn’t felt like this in a long time, not since she got Tikki. Now her kwami was gone, all because of her. She could feel tears starting to well in her eyes and she let out a curse under her breath. Her nails dug into the skin of her arms, forming crescent-shaped marks. She didn’t want to be alone… she couldn’t be alone… not now….

Hurry Chaton…

---

Chat Noir wasn’t sure how long he had been gone, but if he had to guess it’d be in the ballpark of 20-40 minutes. He had managed to capture the akuma, trapping it in a jar that he had found. Honestly, he was surprised it had worked. It wasn’t long before he made it back to the warehouse that Marinette was in. As he slipped in through a window, the sound of his miraculous beeping set him a bit on edge. He bit his lip as he looked around for her and getting worried when he didn’t see her right away. “Princess?” he called out.

He hopped through the window and started to look around when he heard a door open. He turned around and watched as Marinette stepped out of a closet. Her face was red, and her eyes looked puffy. She quickly wrapped her hands around her upper arms and he could’ve sworn he saw something red and irritated there. His grip on her earrings tightened slightly as concern flooded him. He took a moment to calm himself before he approached her. As soon as he was in front of her, he held out his hand and offered her earrings to her. “I got them for you. Might wanna hurry and transform, I’ve brought the akuma just for you, my lady.” he said with a wink.

Marinette smiled weakly and took the earrings and put them in. Tikki flew out of them and instantly flew to her chosen’s face. “Marinette! Are you okay?” she asked, her tiny hands pressed against her cheek.

“I’m alright Tikki, we’ll talk later.” she whispered. The kwami was skeptical, but she would hear her out later. “Tikki, transform me.” Even though Chat now knew that his classmate was his partner/crush, it was still a shock to see her transform into Ladybug right before him. “Where’s the akuma?” she asked. Chat snapped out of his trance at her question. He smiled as he showed her the jar the butterfly was trapped in. Ladybug giggled and brought a hand up to pinch his cheek. “Good job, Chaton.”

“Anything for you, my lady.” he replied with an extravagant bow. She giggled more and watched as her partner straightened himself out and opened the jar. She pulled out her yoyo as the akuma flew out. She caught it silently, purifying it in her yoyo before releasing it with a small wave. Chat’s concern only grew.

“Well, I guess all I have to do now is bring out my lucky charm to fix everything…” she said. Chat gave a simple nod and watched as she summoned it. A first aid kit popped out and he watched as she stiffened.

“I wonder why it would make a first aid kit..” he said, bringing a hand to his chin. His miraculous beeped again and it made the two of them jump.

Ladybug smiled nervously, shrugging her shoulders. “Who knows? Maybe it’s just something that happens at the end of a battle? I dunno. Not like it matters anyway! Miraculous Ladybug!” She tossed the kit into the air and watched as her magic spread throughout Paris. Once it was done, she moved to take off, not even turning to give her partner a goodbye. However, she was stopped when Chat grabbed her wrist.

“Ladybug… are you going to be alright?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing together.

She bit her lip, hands turning into fists. “Yes, Chaton. I’ll be fine.” She turned her head then to flash him a smile, keeping her eyes closed as she was too scared to look at him. “I promise.” She felt bad for lying to him, to his face, but she couldn’t have him worry about her.

“Marinette….” he mumbled. Her eyes snapped open at that and she snatched her hand away from him and out of his grasp.

“Don’t.”

Chat’s miraculous gave out another beep and with that, Ladybug broke out into a run and quickly flung her yoyo out the open window. Once it caught on a nearby structure, she hopped out and made her way home. Chat watched her leave, a frown on his face. She may think she can get away from him, but he knows who she is now. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure she was okay. Filled with determination, he made his way out of the warehouse as well and went home so he could have Plagg rest up before he went out later.

---

Marinette was resting on her bed, legs crossed and holding a pillow close to her chest. Tikki was asleep already. The two had had a fairly long talk and the kwami was worried about her. However, Marinette did her best to calm the guardian down. She really didn’t want anyone to worry about her.. She rubbed her upper arms slightly, lost in thought. Her fingers brushed over the scratch marks there, some of them starting to scab already. Her frown deepened. She hadn’t realized she had been clawing at her arms while she was panicking in the closet while waiting for Chat. She was ashamed of herself for it… She buried her face in her pillow, fighting back more tears. She was so sick of crying. When would it stop?

A knock came from the trapdoor above her and it made her jump. She sat there for a few moments, looking up at it and paled. Bright green eyes were looking down at her. She then grew flustered as she fumbled around for a few moments, trying to find either a blanket or a jacket. She found a thin hoodie she had laying on her bed and slipped that on. She then motioned for Chat to open up the door for her, which he seemed to happily oblige. She started to climb through, but she felt his gloved hand push hers down. She was confused until she saw him start to crawl through. Marinette stepped away from the hatch then and gave Chat enough room to climb through.

He slipped through the opening with ease, plopping down onto her bed and smiling at her. “Hello, purrincess.”

“What are you doing here?” she hissed, crossing her arms over her chest. Chat’s expression wavered for a moment, but he was quick to fix himself and put on a smile for her. He sat down on the bed and Marinette looked at him skeptically before sitting down as well.

“Is it a crime for me to check in on my partner?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Marinette grumbled to herself for a moment, picking her pillow up and hugging it to her chest again. “I told you I would be fine. You don’t need to be here Chat.”

He frowned a bit at that. He let out a sigh and moved closer to her. She froze, eyes wide and clutching the pillow closer to her chest. Chat hated how scared she looked. He made sure to move slow, giving her enough time and space to push him away if she so desired. Soon, his arm was wrapped around her shoulders and she didn’t seem to mind too terribly. She was still stiff, but as Chat slid his hand down to rub her back, she slowly started to relax. She removed a hand from the pillow, digging the heel of her hand into her eye to wipe away the tears that were forming.

“I’m here because I want to be, Marinette. I want to be here for you, and help you, but I know that it’s all at your own pace. I’m not going to force you into anything. You can talk if you want to, if not… at least let me be here with you.” he whispered, running a hand down her arm and squeezing her close. Marinette winced and Chat was quick to pull away, eyes wide. “Are you okay?” he asked, worry clear in his face and voice.

“Y-yeah… I’m fine.” she mumbled, bringing a hand up to her arm and rubbing it lightly, resisting the urge to hiss.

“What happened? Did you get hurt?” he asked, slightly panicked.

Marinette curled up into herself more, partially hiding her face in the pillow. Chat waited patiently for her, slowly bringing his hand back to rub along her back. “I… don’t wanna talk about it right now.” she whispered.

“That’s fine.” he replied. She looked up at him then and he smiled at her. She smiled weakly back and leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder.

“Thank you, Chat.”

He smiled, wrapping his arm loosely around her waist. “Of course, anytime.”

The two then just sat there, comfortably. Marinette had been wary at first about letting him come in, but she was glad she had let him in. Sitting and being cuddled was exactly what she needed right now. A smile slowly stretched across her face as she nuzzled into her partner. He smiled down at her, being mindful of her arms now that he knew she was injured. He rested his head on top of hers and let out a sigh of content. After a few moments, though, a thought came to his mind.

“Hey, Marinette?”

“Hmm?”

“So… since I know you’re Ladybug, should I reveal myself to you as well?” he asked.

Marinette mulled this over for a moment. He knew who she was now, so should she know? She let out a sigh and shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, kitty. It’s bad enough Papillion knows who I am. If I were to get captured and knew who you were well…”

“Yeah, I see where you’re going with this.” he mumbled, a frown on his face.

She shifted in his hold then, turning to face him. She placed a hand on his cheek and gave him a soft smile. “It’s okay, Chaton.” she said, brushing her thumb across his cheek. A light blush dusted his cheeks and he averted his eyes. She giggled a bit and then turned back around to lean back into him. “Just be sure you don’t use my name in the heat of battle. The citizens still don’t know, and I’d like to have some privacy.”

He laughed a bit as well. “Of course, my lady.”

With that, the two continued to cuddle in silence. It was warm and Marinette felt comforted. After such a long, rough day, this felt really nice. Of course, a part of her felt like she didn’t deserve it, but she knew that was just some issues she had. She had a lot of stuff she needed to work through, it seemed. She tried not to dwell on anything bad for now. She wanted to enjoy this peace while she could, she was sick of crying.

Once his miraculous started to beep, they said their goodbyes and Marinette was left to sleep in peace. Chat watched her for a couple moments before he took off, making his way home. He was still worried about Mari, but he would see how things went down tomorrow, he supposed.

---

Marinette stood nervously in front of the school. She tightened her grip on her back, trying to keep herself from shaking like a leaf. Tikki poked her head out of her purse and beamed up at her chosen. “It’ll be alright, Marinette! Just go in there, explain what happened and apologized. If she doesn’t forgive you, don’t worry about it! At least you let everyone know what was going on.”

She nodded and thanked her kwami. She sucked in a deep breath and slowly released it. Working up what confidence she could, she made her way into the school and eventually reached the classroom. She took a moment to build herself up again before entering the classroom. Everyone turned to look at her and she froze, face paling. She started to tremble in fear, thoughts already swirling around in her head. Mari shook her head, forcing the thoughts down. She swallowed the lump in her throat and walked over to where Chloé was sitting.

The blonde’s eyes shifted to look at Marinette’s approaching form, then she returned to looking at her nails as she filed them. Marinette stood by her classmate nervously, clutching at the hem of her shirt and twisting it nervously. Chloé let out a sigh, setting her file down and turning to fully look at the seamstress. “What do you want now?”

“You see… I.. I don’t know what came over me yesterday. It was wrong of me to say all those horrible things to you. It was an awful thing to do, and I sincerely apologize for slapping you as well. I let my anger get the best of me, and that’s no excuse. I’m very sorry, Chloé.”

Chloé looked up at Marinette in slight shock. A small smile crossed her features, but she was quick to hide it. She rolled her eyes at Marinette and turned back to face the front of the class. She picked up her nail file and started working on her nails again. “Yeah, whatever.” she muttered, waving her hand in her classic “go away” motion.

Marinette stood there for a couple seconds, a small frown on her face. She hadn’t expected Chloé to forgive her, in fact, she didn’t really want to be forgiven. She knew what she did was awful but this complete dismissal? Normally she’d be angry but now… now she just felt hurt. She let out a sigh and turned to go back to her desk.

“I’m sorry too, Marinette.” The seamstress whirled around, a look of shock on her face. Chloé’s cheeks were stained pink as she pretended to inspect her nails. “I didn’t mean anything I said about your dress. It looked very lovely on you.”

Marinette beamed. “I accept your apology.. and thank you. Maybe I can make you one.” she offered.

Chloé looked up at her, surprised at the gesture. She quickly schooled her face and sneered, rolling her eyes. “Ugh, as if I’d wanna have a matching dress with you.”

Marinette simply giggled and rolled her eyes. “Alright Chloé.”

The seamstress then went over to her desk and was greeted by a proud looking Alya. The future reporter pulled her best friend into a hug. “I’m proud of you Marinette.” she whispered, giving her a squeeze.

Marinette did her best not to wince at the squeeze and simply smiled at her best friend. “Thanks, I’m proud of me too..” She looked down at the desk in front of her and her grin widened at the approving looks form Nino and Adrien as well. Seems like things were going to be alright.

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

The Misadventures of Prince Kim - chapter 25

(aka the royalty AU story)

Huh, these are some adorable characters we’ve got here, right? It would be a shame if something... happened to them... >:D

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24] [AO3]

The summer holidays began, and most of the students returned to their home countries for the long break. Kim left with Marinette and went to Cheng, and Max and Alix took the ocean liner to the northern port before going their separate ways.

It wasn’t that the journey made Alix feel irritable and tired, since she had taken that journey before and it wasn’t even that long. Perhaps it had been the fact that she hadn’t yet caught up on the sleep she missed the other night, where her brain had kept her awake for hours trying to think of how to let Kim down as gently as possible.

Considering this was the first year of her life she’d actually had any close friends, she had found herself more terrified of losing Kim’s friendship than she had realized. In fact, if he hadn’t run off immediately after confessing to her then she probably would have just agreed to be his sweetheart on the spot, just to keep him around. At least she’d had more time to think it over and trust that he hadn’t just been using their friendship to get close to her. No, he was a good friend, he understood that she didn’t feel the same way and was fine with it. Thank goodness for that.

The entourage of guards and press that turned up at the airport for her arrival did nothing to help her rather sour mood. Once she got home she was greeted by her family, then thankfully allowed to do as she pleased for the rest of the day. She decided to go rollerskating, hoping that would make her feel a little better.

She was just stepping out into the corridor from the throne room when it hit – a sudden surge of emotion, so strong she wasn’t even sure what it was at first. Anger? Fear? Helplessness? It felt like a mix of all three, so powerful she felt dizzy.

“Are you alright?” Jalil asked her. “You look really ill suddenly… really pale…”

Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm herself. Maybe this was a panic attack? She had heard of those. But then again, nothing seemed to have caused it… was that possible?

“You should take a nap,” he continued. “I’ll wake you up before dinner if you want.”

Alix nodded, unable to speak. She went down to her room and lay on the bed, not really expecting to be able to fall asleep considering how she was feeling, but her lack of recent sleep managed to overpower it within seconds.

She should have known that her sudden bad mood would be an indicator that her dreams were going to turn into those creepy, haunting ones again. This time it wasn’t ambiguous at all – it was a nightmare, and not just any nightmare, but the most vivid, realistic nightmare she’d ever had in her life. Bolting upright, tears streaming down her cheeks, she could only remember one thing.

Her snake beheaded.

The poor innocent queen cobra, its head having been cut off and lying beside the rest of its body.

Dead.

She scrambled out of bed and climbed into the snake enclosure, practically blinded by her tears but not caring. She just needed to find her snake. The nightmare couldn’t have been real, surely that couldn’t have happened, her snake couldn’t have been decapitated–

Oh thank goodness, there it was. Dropping to her knees, she picked it up and hugged it as best as she could. Kim the First was alive and well, head firmly attached to the rest of its scaly body. Seeming to sense her terror, it curled up around her reassuringly.

She couldn’t help breaking down into tears. It was only a dream, she knew that, it wasn’t real, but for some reason the emotions she felt were just not going away. She was just so scared, so afraid of what would happen if her snake really died, especially as brutally as that, so angry at anyone who would potentially do something like that, so upset and not knowing what to do…

At some point Jalil came into the room, expecting to wake her up from her nap in time for dinner, but he instead discovered her sitting in the snake enclosure, clinging onto her pet snake for dear life and still sobbing all over it.

“I h-had a nightmare,” she said before he could ask. “Snake… beheaded…”

Her eyes were still burning with so many tears that she could hardly see, but it looked like her brother was climbing into the snake enclosure too. Sure enough within a few seconds she felt him hugging her, just like he used to do when she’d had nightmares as a little kid.

“It wasn’t real,” he reassured her. “It was just a bad dream.”

“But… what if…”

“Shhh, don’t dwell on it. You’ll forget about it soon enough. It was just a nightmare.”

“Or a vision!” She stroked her precious pet’s scales, vowing silently she would never take it for granted ever again. “It was just… so r-realistic… I’ve n-never had a dream like that before! I’m s-scared!”

“It’s okay. It seemed like you were ill earlier, maybe that’s why you had such a weird dream. You just need more rest. It’ll be alright.”

“But snake lifespans! Shorter than h-humans… he’s gonna… he’s gonna d-die someday and I just… I can’t… take that… I’m gonna break, Jalil! I can’t live without this snake!”

She burst into fresh tears, fairly certain she had never cried this hard before in her life. Why was she even feeling so irrationally terrified over a nightmare? Normally she was never afraid of anything!

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Jalil said. “For now at least this snake’s here to stay, okay? I promise. Everything will be fine.”

It sounded so hollow to her somehow. How did he know everything would be fine? He didn’t, that was what! He was only saying that to make her feel better, and it didn’t work whatsoever. Terrified, upset, angry, exhausted… she was filled with so many emotions it felt like she was going to burst. Had she ever felt this bad before? Not that she could remember.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go to dinner,” said Jalil, “since you’re feeling so unwell. Just stay here for now and I’ll have some food brought in for you, okay?”

“Okay…”

He patted her on the back and then left the room, leaving her alone with the snake. She tried to stop her tears but nothing seemed to work, like her brain had gone into shock and completely refused to listen to her.

Hopefully she would forget about this nightmare soon, right? She would get over it, and in a few days she would look back and laugh at how silly she had been. That would happen, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t it?

Imperial Prince Adrien returned home to find his governess Nathalie standing at the top of the big marble staircase above the entrance hall, looking down over him with a much more serious expression than usual.

“Adrien, did you bring all your possessions back home with you?”

“Yes, why?”

“You may unpack them all fully. You won’t be needing to take them back to school.”

The porters at his side immediately began opening the various boxes of luggage, hauling things out.

“Why?” Adrien asked again.

“Your father, His Imperial Majesty, has decided it is best for you to remain here in Agreste from now on. In September you will not be returning to school, nor ever again.”

The words took a few seconds to sink in. He wasn’t allowed back to school…? Ever? It was like a sudden punch to the gut.

“Why can’t I go to school?” he asked, shocked to hear his voice cracking a little. “I love it there! I have so many friends, and I’m learning so much, and–”

“I’m afraid it’s not up to me,” Nathalie said, not looking him in the eye. “It is your father’s decision. You know he never wanted you to leave Agreste in the first place.”

“But what’s wrong with school?”

“During the most recent holidays your father noticed that your attitude seems to have changed. He does not think it a good change. If you stay here, away from the nobility and the riff-raff of lower ranks, you can learn to be… more like him.”

“But it’s not fair! Why didn’t he ask me? Or tell me earlier? I want to stay at school, I like having some freedom, I–”

“I believe this is what the emperor meant by your attitude having changed,” she said, looking down at the ground by her feet. “This carefree, spirited attitude, wanting to rebel and have your way all the time...”

Adrien glared up at her, wanting to yell at her, but he stopped himself. It was not Nathalie’s fault. She was just the messenger, and it didn’t look like she was happy about this outcome either. Anyway, hadn’t this same thing happened to Kim after the spring holidays? Perhaps Adrien could get out of it with some persuasion too.

He took a deep breath and then said, as clear and commanding as possible, “I would like to speak to my father about this.”

“Your father is abroad at the moment, directing the troops in the 7th region. He may not be back for some months yet, and he has already made sure to inform me that no amount of clever debating will change his mind – you are ‘grounded’, as the commoners put it. No leaving the palace. Do not even enter the palace grounds without permission, or you will have to stay in your room until your father deems you fit to leave.”

Grounded? Grounded was for people who weren’t being forced into living up to a duty that was thrust upon them, just because they wanted some friends and an education that wasn’t just propaganda. This was on another level entirely.

But wait… 7th region? In the colonies?

“What’s father doing in the colonies?” he asked. “He’s not taking over more land, is he?”

“…I’m not sure.”

That meant yes.

“But he should be back within the year,” she continued. “There are some issues in the region that he wanted to see to personally, so he went there himself.”

“What issues? Kim said that region’s too dangerous, that’s why he can’t go back home right now, so isn’t it too dangerous for father too?”

Nathalie shuffled on her feet nervously. “It may be more dangerous for citizens of Lê Chiến in that region than of Agreste.”

He felt his heart sinking. “What’s going on, Nathalie? What is father up to? Kim says there’s increasing hostilities between Agreste and Lê Chiến, is it because father did something?”

“The information is classified, so I really don’t think I should–”

“Please! Kim’s my friend, I have to know! I want him to be safe!”

She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead. “Fine. I don’t know everything about it, but there were plans for peace between the two nations. The emperor was going to return a part of the 7th region. However, the leaders of Lê Chiến were unhappy because upon inspection, all the natural resources of that area had been stripped, leaving it essentially worthless and unable to even be used as farmland.”

“You mean we took their land, wasted it all up until it was unusable, then tried to give it back to them under the guise of a peace offering?”

“It does sound rather harsh when you put it like that, but yes. The leaders of Lê Chiến have been asking for a piece of land that is not completely barren, but our empire cannot afford to give any away. Your father is directing troops to find more land, especially since much of the area is filled with jewel mines which would be good to have under the empire’s control.”

“So he is taking more land,” Adrien muttered through clenched teeth. “And what about Kim? Why is it unsafe for him to go back home?”

“There have been skirmishes at the borders,” Nathalie said, looking uncomfortable. “Ever since the troops have been stationed in the area, there has been an increase in raids and attacks on merchants and traders carrying supplies in and out of Lê Chiến…”

“The troops are trying to stop trade from getting into Lê Chiến? Please tell me father’s gone to stop them.”

She looked even more uncomfortable now. “Well actually, I highly doubt he disapproves of their behaviour… he might indeed be encouraging of it…”

“You know what, I’m not even surprised,” Adrien snapped. “It’s no wonder no one at school liked me at first, when our empire goes and does things like this without me even knowing.”

“Adrien, running an empire is a matter of strength, and–”

“Oh come on, I know you don’t really believe that. You’re just saying that because my father made you say it!” He began stomping off towards his bedroom.

“Wait, Adrien! You have a schedule to attend to!”

“I don’t feel well. Leave me alone!”

Storming away into his room, seething, he realized that was the first time in his life he’d had an outburst of anger like that. Maybe he had grown a backbone at school, surrounded by others who were not afraid to speak their mind. It felt… freeing.

But that did not solve any problems. He was still stuck at home indefinitely, and Kim was still in danger. Not to mention Kim’s kingdom, which would soon end up Agreste territory if he didn’t do something soon. But what? How could he do anything when his own father refused to let him leave the palace?

Meanwhile, Kim himself was not having a much better time. Cheng was absolutely lovely, he had been there before and was welcomed with open arms, but so many things were playing on his mind that it was hard for him to enjoy himself here like he usually did.

“What’s the matter?” Marinette asked him, finding him leaning on a balcony railing one day, watching the royal guards at their practice. “You seem so weirdly distant.”

“I miss home,” Kim mumbled. He stared off into the distance, the rolling hills fading away into the horizon. Lê Chiến was in that direction. So close, yet so far. “I wish I could go back, I don’t even know when I can… and I’m worried about its safety…”

Marinette put a comforting arm around him. “That’s understandable. It’s been a long time since you’ve been there, hasn’t it? I’d miss home so much too if I was away that long. And I don’t know much about the safety situation at all, that must be stressful to think about. But I’ll do my best to make your stay here as fun as possible in the meantime. Is there anything in particular you need me to do?”

“Nah, it’s fine, you’re already being awesome… so is your family…” He looked back down at the royal guard practice. “Hey Mari? Who’s that one who’s delivering the food? That one in the corner with the basket…”

Marinette peered over the balcony edge. “Oh, him? It’s just Bluebell. One of the servants. Why?”

“Huh? No reason…” He rested his head on his arms and continued watching the practice. Or rather, watching the servant handing out fresh fruit to everyone. Bluebell… what a cute name.

“I think there is a reason,” Marinette said, smirking. “If you want me to set you up with Bluebell you can just ask.”

“W-what? Haha no, I’m not… I just…” He sighed. “Okay, yeah, he’s kind of cute. And I guess that means you probably noticed somehow that I like guys. But… it’s not like I know anything about him, and… I just… I’m trying to get over someone else, and… well…”

“Kim, the truth is I saw you and Adrien kissing at the winter party – you’re both so tall that the chairs didn’t exactly hide you. So yes, I guessed you like guys. And I can also guess who you’re trying to get over, considering how much you’re always drooling over Alix like some kind of… anyway, I know you like her.”

“Yeah, well it’s not happening, so I’d better fall for someone else quickly so I can carry on being her friend without feeling like a total creep.”

“Aw Kim, you’re not a creep! It’s okay to have a crush on a friend. Nino has a crush on me, and I don’t think he’s a creep. You’re only a creep if you be creepy, and you are definitely not doing that. It’s clear you care about her a lot as a friend. That’s a good thing.”

Kim smiled at her. “Thanks, Marinette. You always know the right thing to say.”

“Noooo, I so don’t! I can’t even speak a full sentence around Adrien! I’ve just known you since forever, that’s why it’s easy to talk to you. You’re like… like a cousin to me. Or some kind of long-lost brother. And I’m going to help you feel better if I can. So, want me to set you up with Bluebell? He’s really nice from what I know of him!”

“I don’t know, he’s a boy so I don’t think that would go down well…”

“And he has a twin sister who is also really cute, for the record.”

“Really? Okay. I’ll… I’ll just meet them then. That would be cool.”

“Nice!” Marinette held out her fist for a fist bump, and Kim happily obliged.

Over the rest of the summer holidays things had not improved at all for Alix – in fact they had just gotten worse. The nightmare about her snake was still haunting her almost all the time. Whenever she closed her eyes she could see the image of her poor decapitated pet, like it was branded onto the insides of her eyelids, forcing her to relive it over and over again. She took her snake with her everywhere for its protection, refusing to let anyone else touch it. There was no way she was taking any chances.

Her odd moods did not improve either, and though she tried her best to shake it off as normal teenage mood swings, it was clearly something else entirely. What was wrong with her? It was like she was steadily feeling more and more unstable, confined, impulsive, exhausted…

It made her so ill she ended up being let off her pharaoh duties many days, just because she looked so tired. On these days she would take her skates and leave the palace, just needing to get out for a while and clear her head. Why was she feeling so weird closed in, anyway? It wasn’t like she was grounded or anything, she could do what she wanted.

Over the weeks she found herself spending more and more time with her brother, for some reason feeling like she missed him even though he was clearly right there. It was somewhat nostalgic, in fact. Just like things had been when they were younger. She had hoped maybe it would make her feel better, but it really didn’t at all. Her mood just continued to deteriorate.

At some point during the holidays Max had come to visit with some trade shipments. Alix had told him everything, about the horrific dream and the way it still made her feel ill even all these weeks later. He suggested it might be school stress catching up to her, or a spell of anxiety disorder, or something like that – but that there was probably nothing to worry about, and queen cobra lifespans were long enough that the snake would be around for at least another 15 years or so. That didn’t really reassure her.

The weeks passed, and things just got worse and worse, until one fateful night very near the end of the holidays. She had a dream that she couldn’t remember exactly, but it was definitely something to do with the snake pond where she had adopted her pet snake from in the first place. Being asleep, dreaming about that place, that wasn’t so bad. The trouble started when she suddenly woke up in the quietest hours of the night.

Her hand… it felt like it was burning. As if someone had stuck a hot needle into the back of it. She sat up and squinted at it in the darkness, but there didn’t appear to be anything wrong with it. Lying back down she tried to go back to sleep.

The pain in her hand suddenly tripled in intensity, shooting up her arm like there was lava in her veins. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes. She sat up again and looked back at her arm, but there was still nothing there. Rubbing her hand and trying to get the pain to stop, she felt violent tingles running through her arm all the way up to her shoulder, so painful it made her stomach heave.

She held back a sob and pushed herself out of bed. It felt like her feet were made out of lead, and her ears were ringing so much it was like she was going to faint. She managed to crawl into the snake enclosure where her beloved snake was already waiting for her, having sensed that something seemed to be very wrong. It slithered over to her and wrapped itself around her, hissing soothingly as she clutched her stinging arm, struggling to breathe through the pain.

She hoped whatever it was would have stopped by now, but it continually increased. Spikes of pain kept stabbing at her arm, making her feel sick, making her wish she could just tear her whole arm free of her shoulder socket just to get away from it. Minutes passed, and still there was no end in sight. It hurt so much she curled up into a ball and bit down on the skin on her knees, hoping it would distract her. Surprisingly she barely even felt it. It was nothing compared to how excruciating the pain in her arm was, after all.

What was even happening? Had she done something to her arm without realizing? She couldn’t even remember now, not when her brain was so fogged up and her entire arm felt like it was on fire. Maybe she should go call someone for help, but the prospect of getting up, actually moving, needing to speak… it was too daunting. She was immobilized, paralyzed, completely overcome with fear and pain. The only thing she could do was cry, feeling terror overwhelm her every time the pain kicked it up a notch, like the very blood in her arm was curdling and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Of course she was no stranger to pain. Living an active lifestyle meant she’d had her fair share of injuries. But she had never, ever suffered anything nearly as bad as whatever was happening now. And every time she thought it couldn’t get any worse, that surely it had to stop now, it somehow managed to exceed itself.

How had she not passed out yet? Or thrown up yet? Or died? Surely she was going to die. No human being could ever go through something so horrendously agonizing, for so long, and live to tell the tale. No, she was definitely going to die, not even knowing the reason why, not even caring at this point. All she wanted was for the pain to stop.

It did not stop. For what felt like hours, days, years, it continued. She gave up trying to fight it and just lay in the enclosure with the snake, crying. No one deserved to come to such a painful, torturous end. No one.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain finally subsided. It went away as suddenly as it had arrived, leaving Alix confused and exhausted. She wiped away her tears and lay back down, falling asleep right there in the snake enclosure.

Thank goodness she was alive. Whatever that had been, she never wanted to experience it ever again. Or any pain at all, for that matter. It hadn’t left a visible mark, but she was certainly not going to be able to forget that in a hurry, much like the nightmare about her snake being beheaded that she’d had right at the start of the holidays. It was probably going to haunt her forever.

Was there any possible way to ask Master Fu about this at the oracle session? She needed answers. But the students could not ask him questions about the past, it had to be about the future. Surely, though, there had to be some way she could find out what was going on?

She would just have to think about it.