#Slight Lila sugar

[miraculousystuff]

Fic Prompt!

I know! I’m writing like 3 fics at once, and don’t worry, I am writing everyone’s requests as well, but I had this idea that I had to show. It’s based on a couple of mini stories of Lila’s past experiences in other schools before she met Marinette, and a glimpse of Lila before she was a corrupted liar and her story on how she became one! Let me know what you think!

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Lila Rossi’s life blew up in her face as her parents filed for divorce. Her mother officially became a diplomat, which meant she never stayed in one place for a very long time. But moving all the time showed her that ultimately, all humans were the same. They were all so good, so righteous and loyal, until someone came up to them and told them what they wanted to hear. So, in her eyes, she saw the perfect plan to get whatever she wanted: lie. Tell people what they wanted to hear, even if what she said wasn’t necessarily true. It was almost comical how those who claimed to be the kindest were the first to abandon their friends as soon as something better came along. So many different schools; so many different lies; but the outcome was always the same. Become the most popular by telling people what they want to hear, and destroy anyone who comes in her way. However, she wasn’t always like this. There was one school, one class and one boy that had made the world less of the hellish mess as her parents divorced. But that one perfect piece was destroyed by one betrayal, and that one betrayal changed her life.

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Should I ship Lila with an OC or someone we already know, and should it be a series of related one shots or a cohesive story? Tell me your thoughts and as always, have a great day ❤️!

[red-balloon12]

Everybody Hates Lila (And Why It’s Concerning Sometimes)

Lila Rossi is not a stranger in the Miraculous fandom. In fact I’d argue she’s more infamous than Gabriel in some cases. She’s despised by nearly everyone and while some reasons are more justifiable than others, she’s all around not a good person and a mid at best character.

But here’s my deal with it. The fandom hates this girl to I’d like to say an….unhealthy degree. Like the amount of salt this character gets is unmatched. And I feel like the causation of all of this salt doesn’t really live up to the response.

Lila is a liar who causes characters to act out of character very often. And not only that but she also is Marinette’s main rival now and is a jerk to her. She’s underutilized and her lies aren’t that convincing and yet the story wants to convince us she’s more important than she really is pre butterfly miraculous.

This is Lila’s character summed up. At the most I’d expect is frustration mixed in with mild dislike. Reasonable but not over the top. Instead though, I see SEVERAL people make so many salt fics and talk so much shit about her that I just have to sit down and say….y’all need to chill. You all seriously need to chill.

The fandom talks about this character like she’s the spawn of Satan, something we’ve been criticizing Astruc for doing with Chloe, all because she doesn’t have as many redeeming traits as her. Did we forget that they’re BOTH kids? Both of them still have room to improve on themselves.

And I’ll admit it, I was one of those people who kept on saying “Why demonize Chloe when we have Lila” but thinking on it now, neither of them deserves to have that fate. If we REALLY need a character to do the whole “people don’t change” thing, why not Gabriel?

It’s so much better to have this lesson taught to adults to not be like Gabriel, to accept change and loss and to be better. To teach how heavy the impact of a lost love can be and how old age isn’t an excuse to be “stuck in your ways”.

Plus the lesson works better for someone who’s older than for teenagers who’s literally at the stage of their lives where change is everything. And I’m not saying Lila needs to be redeemed or she isn’t allowed to be a villain. What I’m saying is that the over salting on her character, a character that can be easily fixed and patched up, is kinda dumb and kinda annoying to see…especially when some people do like Lila.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, don’t think I’ve forgotten what happened years ago with that one fan that claimed that they loved Lila. That’s what happens when you take salting on a character WAY too far. And I can say that it’s only gotten a little better.

I just don’t understand why people can’t spend their energy talking about how to make a character better instead of salting on them 24/7 and this goes for all of the characters in ML.

I’m gonna be in the minority when I say this but Lila doesn’t deserve to be salted in as much as she does. She deserves reevaluation and a true villain arc. The constant bashing and insulting her at any chance ain’t it.

But you wanna know the thing that frustrates me the most about the Lila salt? How she started getting salted on in the first place. Aka, her being another barrier to Adrienette.

If y’all don’t know already, I don’t like the lovesquare and even back then I didn’t like it. And when I started seeing people hate Lila for this reason, I got very annoyed. It’s the same reason as to why people hated Kagami and it’s a stupid reason (imo). At least the other reasons why she’s hated had some foundation and sense.

TLDR: Lila is a mess but she’s not a mess that’s beyond repair but the constant salting on her and her character isn’t going to do anything. (If you really wanna salt on someone, salt on the writers for making her writing so subpar)

[mandarinmoons]

I don’t know if you’re open for requests but if you are… Spencer’s first ever kiss? One he initiates (even accidentally) Whether he’s younger/it’s two 13 years old kids who don’t know anything or just season 1 before Lila (because I refuse her to be his first kiss)

Kissing is something Spencer’s always been intrigued by. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was about the act that made him so curious, was it a primal instinct that clicked in his brain that wanted him to explore it or was it scientific interest into human behavior. Whichever one it was, the act was something he had never partaken in and it made him a bit angsty.

It was a quiet day in the bullpen and the team was huddled over a desk as they ate their lunch and talked, this time around they talked about stories of their first time experiences, this time about the romantic kind. Spencer listened intently as Morgan reminisced about his first ever so called girlfriend, could you really call it a relationship if it only lasted for two weeks? Who’s to say, but the way that the man was talking about it made it seem like to Spencer as though Morgan knew exactly what he was doing. 

Morgan went into detail about how he and the girl shared their first kiss, a sweet little peck on the lips as they parted the school bus and walked to opposite streets. It was sweet and innocent, everyone else awed and soon enough they all were talking about their experiences with their first kiss. As Spencer kept on listening he felt himself go stiff, his lack of experience in the field being talked about made him feel uneasy. What was seen as something everyone had experience in, for Spencer, he had never even held a girl’s hand. It made him feel childish, it was something he had hoped he’d experience by now, but with the way his life had gone it gave him no time to partake in those types of activities.

“What about you, pretty boy?”

Spencer looked up and his eyes flicked across the group, everyone was looking straight at him, waiting for a response.

“I uh, I’ve never uh…,” Spencer scratched the back of his neck and Morgan patted his shoulder in return and chuckled.

“Don’t worry now, your time will come.”

Spencer merely gave a slight nod and drew his attention to the styrofoam cup of cola in his hands. He felt his cheeks heat up and tried to focus his attention back to the conversation at hand and pay no mind to the embarrassment that was whirling inside him.

As the day went on his mood was still low. He never paid much attention to the fact that he had never kissed anyone, but now that the rest of the team knew, to him, it just only made him look more of a “kid” to everyone. He may be the youngest of the team, but he could easily trump everyone with his intellect. In social situations he was a bit awkward though and that would be his downfall.

Spencer was in the kitchen, stirring his cup of coffee after adding an appropriate amount of sugar. He heard footsteps come into the kitchen and looked over his shoulder as he saw you approach him,

“Hey, how’re you doing?”

“Me? Oh um, I’m great,” Spencer gave his signature tight lipped smile and watched over his cup again.

“You’re not upset are you?”

“About what?”

“Well, the conversation we all had during lunch, the kissing thing you know…”

“Oh uh, no, I’m fine.”

“Spence…”

Spencer looked at you and saw the concern written over your face. He felt dumb being sad over such a situation.

“Well, I mean… Maybe a little.”

You smiled and Spencer felt his stomach flip, he’d always liked you and whenever you expressed concern for him his little crush on you grew.

“It’s okay, I haven’t kissed anyone either.”

“Really? I find that hard to believe,” Spencer’s eyes went wide as he realized what he had just said and his cheeks burned up, nothing would be able to hide the crimson hue..

You chuckled at his response, “Yeah well, I haven’t for whatever reason. I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone, yeah?”

Spencer nodded and as you turned around to walk back you turned right around as you remembered that you wanted to make some coffee for yourself too. However, as soon as you turned back Spencer took a step forward as well and you ended up walking into Spencer’s chest.

“Oh um, sorry,” you chuckled and looked up at the tall man.

“It’s okay,” both of your eyes locked and you weren’t able to look away from each other. Spencer reached up carefully and rested his hand on your cheek and you leaned into his touch. Without noticing you both leaned in and a moment later your lips met in a soft kiss. Spencer’s other arm wrapped around your waist as he brought you closer and your hands rested on his chest, gripping his shirt lightly.

A moment later you both pulled back and looked at each other, lips a little bit swollen and breathing heavily.

“I don’t think I need that coffee anymore.”

Spencer chuckled and rested his forehead against yours, “Me either.”

Taglist: @radioactiveinvisible @whoisspence @sreidisms @lanascinnamongirls @luvkatryna @sp3ncelle @iluvreid @khxna @keiva1000 @indigosamsblog @hiireadstuff @pleasantwitchgarden

If you want to be a part of my taglist go here!

You can find my masterlist here!

My requests are open so feel free to send one in! (SFW only)

[flufflepuffle296]

The Perfect Day

Hello!!! I wrote this prompt post-(ish)-s3 pre-s4 era where there was a lot of salt so this is about 3 years old I wanna say? So that’s why it’s so outdated so HEAVY Alya/Lila/Adrien/Tom and Sabine salt with a lot of Chloe sugar and slight Marigami (best ship) because *this was the vibe at the time* (ayyyy Kendall Jenner) on this page SO if that is not for you fair enough love that for you now SCROLL ON you have had many warnings about how old this is.

Also because this was written before all of s4/a few s3 episodes the lore is very much not present here and outdated so tough luck!

⚠️trigger warning!⚠️

Talking about s*icide here. Please stay safe and do not read this if you think it may trigger you even the slightest bit. Look after yourself! (Also I’m not trying to romanticise sewerslide in any way here (if you want the trauma dump version of how we came up with this you’re welcome to it) but if there is something that shouldn’t be in a post please do let me know and I will remove it but HEAVY TRIGGER WARNING).

SALT FOR (almost) EVERYONE

The Perfect day:

Marinette alarm startled her eyes open at exactly 4am. She scrunched her face up at the prospect of consciousness, but her expression softened slightly when she remembered: today was going to be the perfect day.

The perfect day, to die.

She clambered out of bed, and went downstairs to make her favourite breakfast, with a hot chocolate on the side and mountains of whipped cream, just how she liked it. She had spent the last week trying to convince herself out of this, but it was the only solution.

She was numb.

She was always going to be numb.

Nothing made her feel (that being a full sentence in itself) truly, wholly happy in her being anymore.

She went back upstairs to her balcony and ate her breakfast as the sun rose, squinting at her city. As she finished the last bite, she realised a good swing around Paris was just what she needed, so effortlessly transformed and pulled out her yo-yo, setting out for the Eiffel Tower, the source of so much inspiration for her designs.

Or rather, her *old* designs. She hadn’t the energy or mental strength to do anything she loved recently, nothing sparked much happiness or felt worth it. Her last design was about 2 months ago, but all it did was make her sob at the realisation that she was a failure and a fraud; nothing matched or was cohesive in any way. But in a way, realising her lack of talent when it came to her recent designs was sort of a net positive she concluded.

It meant it stung less when Lila spilled juice all over them, when Alya said they looked better smudged and ruined, or when Adrien delivered his father’s disapproval.

So instead she just watched the rest out the sunrise from her favourite spot, not picking out the different angles in the monument for a ridiculous geometric gown, or whatever her most recent fantasy was.

After another half hour, she sprung back home and got into her favourite Sunday dress, twirling her hair into her cutest hairstyle that the night before she had meticulously studied for hours on Pinterest, that she had always wanted to try. She packed her bag, three letters included, and ran out to catch up with her only real friend at a Francois DuPont.

Alya had left her a long time ago. After all, Lila had “no reason to lie”. She was “perfect”. Marinette was “just jealous” and “refused to cooperate”.

Because after all, it was always Marinette’s fault.

Marinette wished Alya the best in life, but she wasn’t going to waste much more energy on her. She was drained enough as it was.

Chloé was waiting for her, grinning ear-to-ear as she held up her first try at macarons for Marinette to critique. Marinette bit into the surprisingly good attempt at the cookie as they walked up to school together, laughing at Chloe’s sudden inability to swallow a cookie without choking. They walked to the back of the class and sat in their seats, ignoring their classmates.

It’ll all be over tonight anyways.

She spent the lessons talking with Chloé, as it wasn’t like she’d ever need the information after tonight. She encouraged Chloé to reminisce on their favourite times together, such as the day they realised they were different enough to be the same, or the day they realised that they (platonically) loved one another, and were the closest thing each other had to a soulmate.

That was also what Marinette considered a “perfect day”…

…Was Chloé going to be alright tomorrow?

At lunch, the pair met up with Luka and Kagami and went out to a cafe for food and orange juice, before sprinting after André the ice cream man and getting sweetheart ice cream together, Chloé paired with Luka, and Kagami with Marinette (“platonically” of course!). They parted ways once the hour was over, as they had to return to school, where Marinette spent the time daydreaming, recalling childhood memories from before Francois DuPont. This was going to be the last time she would ever remember them, after all.

They were let out of school at their usual time, thankfully no akuma that day, and Marinette, Chloé, Luka, and Kagami briefly chatted outside the gates, before parting ways. Marinette hugged them all tight as she left, handing them her letters and telling them not to open them until midnight AT LEAST.

She returned home, and watched her favourite films, favourite shows, and had her favourite meal for the very last time.

She kissed her parents on the cheeks, which was the most contact she’d had with them in a while, after Lila decided the bakery was her favourite Boulangerie, and she went upstairs to peacefully watch the sunset.

She would never have to deal with Chat Noir again and his flirting sexual harassment, so she decided to enjoy being Ladybug one last time. She transformed and went her usual route, ending up at the Eiffel Tower to finish watching the sun go down, swinging back home whilst it was still just barely light, taking notice of the cool air stinging her cheeks; the first real feeling she’d had in months.

Tikki begged her not to go through with it, but Marinette had made her decision, and renounced Tikki, telling her to find a new Ladybug; her only real plea being to warn them about Chat Noir prior.

Tikki was distraught, but Marinette used her guardianship to send her off and push her away — she needed to be alone for this, she wouldn’t let Tikki under any circumstance.

But Marinette didn’t want everything to be over quite yet, the air was too still, so she turned to her dust covered mannequin, and slowly stitched the zipper onto her old project that she never had the creativity or energy to finish. She tied a figure of 8, and snapped off the thread, taking notice of how it frayed.

Looking at it finally finished, it wasn’t as horrific as she made it out to be in her head a couple months ago, but still, not good enough to convince herself she had any worth.

She looked over at her clock.

10:30

I guess it’s time…

Marinette climbed up to her balcony and stepped over the railing, peering down. She took a deep breath…

And jumped.

She lay in the air, feeling as if she was floating for a second, waiting to to hit the ground. She thought she heard her name, but knew no one was around…

“MARINETTE!”

She felt a clawed hand grab her waist, knocking the air out of her as the two beings shot into the sky, the black figure clutching her tight.

She opened her blue eyes, and stared into Chat Noir’s brown ones.

…Brown?

…This wasn’t Chat Noir?

The black cat landed on a roof, hurriedly demanding to know if she was okay, in a voice that Marinette recognised must be —

“Kagami?!”

The black cat set her down on her balcony and explained that when Tikki was renounced, she was so distraught and furious she renounced Chat Noir of Plagg, revealing Adrien Agreste. The two Kwamis sailed around trying to find someone when they came across Kagami coming back from late night fencing. They quickly told her to read her letter as they were near incomprehensible from stress. Kagami briefly skimmed the letter before immediately snatching the nearest miraculous - the ring - and transforming into the black cat before sprinting across the rooftops as fast as she could, rushing to Marinette’s aid still clutching her letter. She arrived just in time to see her topple over, and saved her just before she hit the ground.

Marinette started sobbing in Kagami’s arms. Kagami sobbed with her a few minutes, promising to never let her go. She eventually picked her up once again and carried her to Le Grand Paris, where she banged on Chloé’s window. Chloé opened it and let the two crying girls in, announcing Luka’s presence as he happened to be in the room teaching Chloé guitar. He rushed to the girls when he saw them collapsed in each other’s arms. Marinette was feeling the first emotions she had felt in months, refusing to leave her saviour’s side, clutching to Kagami. Luka and Chloé listened as Marinette vented how she had been feeling, or rather the fact that she hadn’t been feeling anything, whilst Kagami stroked her hair and wiped her face, kissing her forehead every so often to remind her she was safe.

Chloé had a room prepared and the four of them off school the next day, booking Marinette in for a highly rated therapy appointment. The four friends snuggled in each other’s arms, Marinette in the middle. They fell asleep immediately, crashing from the excitements of the past hour, except for Marinette, who lay awake just a few more moments to make a promise to herself.

Every day, from today, I will make into the *perfect* day.

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Hello me again!!!! I had a few other endings in case we weren’t feeling this one so just quickly:

Alternate ending 1) She jumps. When midnight comes around her friends open her letters and rush to her place, only to find police and an ambulance declaring her dead, and if you want some more angst, Chloé and Kagami storm into the school the next day scream-crying at their classmates whilst Luka repeatedly whispers “I couldn’t save her” crying in his mum’s arms. (Very depressing)

Alternate ending 2) Marinette realises that she doesn’t want to die. Why should she? She’s just spent today just doing what makes her happy? She should live like this everyday! She has so much to live for! Sure therapy is needed and some communication too, but she can do it. (Yayyy happyyy)

This was for the most part written when I was around 14/15 so if the sentence structure is a bit shit I’m gonna blame it on that (and not my lack of progress in writing in the past 3 years!)

[boom-fanfic-a-latta]

I actually have a lot of ideas like that for class sugar stuff that like, subverts saltfic tropes or takes their concepts and sorta puts them in a more canon-accurate setting I guess? Idk.

another one was involving the idea of Marinette taking constant commissions/constantly doing favors for her classmates and not really taking care of herself. Imagine if she were to actually start doing that, probably in a desperate attempt to keep her friends from leaving her when Lila starts to take things up (also 'cus if she's constantly busy with things she'd have no time to supposedly bully Lila so she always has an alibi). But this kinda causes her to break down physically and mentally and probably just has a full-on panic attack the moment she inevitably makes a slight mistake or forgets something small. And then after that everyone in her class (minus the obvious) refuses to let her do work for them and are dedicated to helping her relax 'cus they're now seeing just how bad her basically workaholism has gotten... and because of this with them always trying to hang out with her/help her relax now THEY have alibis for her whenever Lila tries to claim anything.

YES

[mariharem-trash-heap]

The Sketchbook

Trouble is brewing in Caline Bustier’s classroom at Collège Françoise Dupont. In the center of it? Marinette, a ruined sketchbook, and Chloé as the prime suspect.

Notes:

Another take on the infamous ‘sketchbook’ trope. I wanted a self-indulgent "class has more than two braincells” fic to tide me over.

Also, oof this screwed me over - I’ve spent literally months trying to write this. To the requesters, I’m working on them as much as I can - there will probably be one going up sometime this week.

It was supposed to be another normal morning. Marinette had hardly enough time to drag herself out of bed and get dressed before she was hurrying off to school, a croissant in her mouth.

She checked her phone as soon as she got to the front steps of the middle school with a frown. The group chat for the art club had been strangely silent as of late, and it wasn’t just because of the deal with Lila.

One part of her was gripped with guilt - what if they just made a new chat without her? It certainly would be quieter than kicking her out of the usual one.

She knew things had been stressful and a bit strained, what with Lila’s lies driving a wedge between them the harder she tried to get them to listen to her. She knew some of them may feel a tad uncomfortable picking sides, and she knew for certain that some of them didn’t think as highly of her as others did.

When she thought of Nathanael, she had to wince - and quickly grabbed her croissant with her free hand, as she’d accidentally bitten too far into it and it had begun to fall from her mouth. After the Evillustrator incident and the Reverser debacle, she was sure he’d never want to speak to her again.

She heaved a sigh as she made her way to the locker room. She grabbed her stuff and shut it harder than she thought, the loud noise making her flinch. As she made her way to her classroom, she stopped short at Nino and Nathanael standing outside of it, looking around as if trying to find something.

“Miimo?” She muttered around her croissant, taking it out and swallowing the bite. “What’s going...?”

“Marinette!” Nino’s head shot up and he looked even more panicked as he held out his arms. “Mari, dudette, I didn’t know-- I swear I didn’t know.”

“Didn’t know what?” Anxiety prickled at her chest as she looked from him to Nathanael. “What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry,” the redhead breathed, soft eyes full of guilt. “I didn’t know she would do this.”

“You’re scaring me.” She shook her head, trying to peek past Nino’s body. “What...?”

He moved to block her view, but it was too late.

Marinette’s mouth dropped open, the croissant falling from her hand at the same time as her bag. Butter from the pastry seeped down the side and onto the floor.

Ten shocked faces looked up at her from inside, and she could swear she saw a hint of a smirk on Lila’s face for a split-second before it faded to one of nervousness.

“Hey, hey,” Nino grabbed her into a hug and in the next second she could feel hot tears trickling down her cheeks. “Breathe, ‘Nette.”

“It wasn’t... I swear it was nobody from the art club,” Nathanael spoke up. “None of us were even near your locker when it got stolen.”

“Marinette,” Alya started as she made her way towards the door. “Mari, girl, I’m so sorry--”

“M- my plans,” the artist whispered. “My sketches... my designs...” she hiccupped, and her voice cracked. “They’re ruined.”

“Breathe,” Nino repeated, and his arm tightened around her shoulders. “Babe, could you...?”

“Yeah,” Alya nodded and made her way back to her desk. Her seat in the very back, the top of the stairs, and the sketchbook.

Crumpled and ripped pieces of paper littered the tabletop, the book in question looking worse for wear. Silence settled atop the students as she began to carefully uncrumple them as best she could, Marinette’s sniffles filling the gaps of quiet.

“Why?” She whimpered, gripping Nino’s shirt tight. “Who would do this? What have I done?”

“Watch out for butterflies, guys,” Alix warned as she made her way through the classroom to the door. Nino and Nathanael simultaneously stiffened and began looking around for the cursed dark-purple menaces. “Marinette, I know it looks bad, but--”

“Guys?” Adrien’s voice rang out from the other end of the hall, and oh no, why did he have to show up while she was such a mess--?! “What’s going on?”

“Bro, now isn’t the best time,” Nino began.

“Why? What’s wrong with...?” Adrien’s voice trailed off as he saw the room. A soft gasp escaped him, one that made Marinette heave another low, moaning sob.

“When we got here this morning, it was just sitting there,” Nathanael quietly filled him in with a frown. “Nobody knows who did it. The art club is sure it wasn’t one of us.”

The blond paused, feeling the weight behind the artist’s words. “You don’t think it was... Chloe, do you?”

“I can’t think of anyone else, we’re all accounted for.” The redhead raised a brow at him, folding his arms. “You wouldn’t defend her if she tore apart Marinette’s book, would you?”

One look at the weeping girl on his best friend’s chest and he was vigorously shaking his head. “No, of course I wouldn’t! An artist’s portfolios are sacred! I’m just... confused. Chloe wouldn’t do this.”

“Oh really?” Alya’s voice rang out in disbelief. “What rock have you been living under, Adrien? Chloe has done way worse than this before.”

“Yeah, don’t you remember when she sabotaged Marinette’s gift to Ms. Bustier?” Kim chimed in.

“Or how she let my watch get broken?” Alix groused.

“Or when she mocked Nathanael’s drawings and got him akumatized?” Rose piped up, earning a nod from her girlfriend.

“Or when she threw a tantrum because she couldn’t be Queen Bee and got herself akumatized by choice?” Max emphasized, adjusting his glasses.

“Guys, please,” Adrien pleaded, raising his hands. “I know she’s done worse than this before, but... do you really think she’d stoop to this level? Her mom is a famous fashion mogul and she knows my dad is the biggest designer in Paris - she knows the importance of this stuff!”

“Oh, like she’d care about that when it happens to belong to Marinette!” Ivan scoffed. Beside him, Mylene frowned, clutching his hand and nodding in solidarity.

“But... but she wouldn’t want...” Adrien trailed off. She wouldn’t do this because she doesn’t want to make me upset. Belatedly he realized it might sound more self-centered had he said it out loud.

“Chloe is a bully, Adrien,” Lila spoke up, voice dripping with honeyed concern. Marinette’s grip tightened on Nino’s shirt, something that made the boy look down in confusion. “It’s obvious she did this to get back at her!”

“I did what to get back at whom?” Chloe questioned as she walked down the hall. Her nose was in the air like usual, and Sabrina simpered behind her.

“You stole Marinette’s sketchbook and ripped it up, didn’t you?!” Alya exclaimed, a rather thunderous expression shadowing her face as she pointed accusingly.

“I did what?!” The socialite balked. Turning to Sabrina, she ordered, “Remind me of where I was from the moment school ended yesterday to this morning.”

“U- um, let’s see,” the girl muttered, pulling out her phone and typing furiously.

“Drop the pretenses, we all know it was you,” Alix sighed. “This is such a Chloe thing to do. I’m surprised you’re trying to make us think for a minute that--”

“I got it!” Sabrina yelped, interrupting the pinkette with her waving her phone back and forth. “Chloe had a manicure directly after school, followed by an hour of sunbathing by the pool, and then back to her room, where I did her homework until dark and I went home. This morning...” she scrolled down, “...she picked me up in the limo and we drove to school, where we are now.”

“That proves it,” the blonde declared, tilting her chin upwards. “There’s no way I did it.”

“I’d believe you,” oh great, here came Lila again, “except for the fact that leaves a large window of time where you could’ve broken into school and stole the book!”

“What in the world makes you think I’d be caught dead trespassing on school property just to look for a stupid sketchbook?” Chloe snapped, folding her arms. “I’m Queen Bee! I value my beauty sleep way more than whatever Dupain-Cheng scribbles in class.”

“Was Queen Bee,” Nino muttered, but the blonde pointedly ignored him.

“Oh yeah?” Alya argued, Lila placing a hand on her shoulder as if to hold her back. “Remember when you stole Marinette’s design for Gabriel Agreste’s design competition?”

“Or when you had Sabrina try to steal her diary?” Alix agreed. Then with a snicker, “By the way, nice going on the box trap, ‘Nette.”

Sabrina winced, holding her wrist at the memory.

“Face it, Chloe, you’re nothing but a big bully.” Kim spoke up with a withering look. “You’ve had it out for Marinette since we were little. And yeah, I may have had a thing for you before, but that don’t mean I’m gonna stick up for you now! You went too far this time!”

Chloe looked utterly flabbergasted, eyes darting back and forth between the angry students before finally settling on a silent Adrien.

“Adrikins,” she implored, “you have to believe me. I didn’t do it this time.”

Adrien searched her face for a couple long seconds before he looked away with a sigh.

“Adrien,” Lila spoke up, her voice dripping with concern, “you don’t seriously take the word of a bully over your friends... right?”

“Well, I- I...” he floundered, gesturing back and forth between Chloe and Marinette, who had finally stopped crying and was hiding her face in Nino’s shoulder.

“Okay, let’s all calm down,” Max interrupted, catching everyone’s attention. “This is getting us nowhere, and we still have nobody to blame for the book. Let’s rewind and work through it line by line: where were each of us between yesterday afternoon and this morning?”

“I’ll go first.” He gestured to the door. “I was at the library to work on my half of the science project, then I went home and worked on Markov.”

“I can tell you for certain that I was with Marinette after school,” Alya began confidently. “We worked on our project together and after I went home for dinner I stayed there all night.” She nodded towards her boyfriend. “Nino can vouch - we were texting for a couple of hours, right?”

“Yeah, I have the text log to prove it.” He nodded firmly. “And I was at my house babysitting my brother.”

“I remember you telling me about that,” Adrien softly chimed in with a smile. “I can offer my phone if anyone needs to check me.”

“Okay, so that’s Alya and Nino that have solid alibis,” Max nodded. “Who else? Alix?”

“I was with my dad at the museum for most of the afternoon,” she answered, jerking her chin towards Kim. “Then he called and asked about the math homework, and so I helped him through it for a while.”

“I was at the pool hanging out with Ondine for a couple of hours before I went home to do homework,” he added with a nod. “Ondine will cover me!”

“Kitty Section was practicing!” Rose piped up. “Leka’s mom can confirm if you want!”

“So that’s Rose, Juleka, Ivan, and Mylene as well,” Max hummed. “And Adrien... we don’t need to ask.”

The boy blushed, ducking his head. “Fair.”

“I was hanging out with Marc all day yesterday,” Nathanael nodded, tossing his head to get the hair out of his eyes. “If you need me to ask him to verify...”

“I’ve already told you where Chloe and I were,” Sabrina added, nervously hugging her phone to her chest. “S- so that leaves Lila!”

All eyes fell on the girl, who stiffened under the scrutiny.

“Hey, guys,” Alya started disapprovingly. “You can’t possibly think...”

“She’s the only one who hasn’t said anything yet,” Max pointed out.

“Yeah! Kinda suspicious how the quietest person in the room hasn’t said anything in her own defense yet, huh?” Chloe jeered. “Give it up, little miss innocence - where were you last night?”

“What about Marinette?” Lila pointed out instead, eyes narrowing. “She hasn’t said anything either.”

“Marinette’s sketchbook got destroyed,” Nino answered incredulously. “Why the heck do you think she’d sneak over here to destroy it herself? Can’t you see how distraught she is?”

“Yeah, she’s not the type to do that,” Alya confirmed, folding her arms. “What’s with you, girl? Are you implying that Marinette wanted to stir up drama?”

“W- well, I just--”

“I know where she was,” Adrien spoke up.

Marinette stiffened, finally daring a peek up at him. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she quickly looked back down when she felt a string of snot trickling between her nose and her sleeve.

“I-- er, I have a friend,” he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “They like to keep an eye on my friends for me, since I can’t always... y’know, be there to help. She was in her room the entire time.”

(It wasn’t like he was about to out himself as Cat Noir - but if they could believe Lila was Ladybug’s best friend, surely they’d believe him if he said he knew a certain mischievous cat hero, right?)

The students fell silent for several seconds. Alya narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

Then she grinned, nudging Marinette’s shoulder. “How sweet,” she cooed. “I guess our sunshine really does care a lot, huh?”

“W- well, you’re all my first friends,” he murmured bashfully. “If there’s something I can do to help, I want to be able to.”

Marinette’s face burned bright red to the tips of her ears, and she hid her face even more in her arm.

“That leaves you,” he continued, staring Lila almost defiantly in the face. “Where were you? You still haven’t defended yourself.”

“I- I was shopping,” she answered, tilting her chin and looking back through her lower lashes. “Then I went home and had dinner.”

“Anyone able to corroborate this?” Max questioned.

Everyone looked to the girls.

Alya slowly reached for her phone, a contemplative frown on her face as she scrolled through her messages.

“You told me you and your mom were going to take a day trip to Disneyland Paris with the Spanish ambassador,” she accused, showing the class her phone screen. “You never told me you were shopping.”

“I didn’t have enough money for what I wanted to do, plus the ambassador was busy and my mom got called back last minute, so I gave up and went to the mall,” Lila countered defensively. Almost too defensively. “I don’t have to report to anyone whenever I change my plans.”

“Oh, no, I’m not accusing you of...” Alya scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “That’s not the point. So Lila’s out too. Maybe it was someone else from another class? Who has a grudge against Marinette?”

“Didn’t Marc get akumatized that one time?” Adrien asked, turning to Nathanael.

“He forgave both of us,” he answered quickly with a shake of his head. “No way. Marc isn’t the type of person to hold grudges like that. He likes Marinette.”

“Is there anyone else? Jean? Mireille? Aurore?”

“No, not that I know of,” Nino slowly shook his head.

“Then who destroyed the book?” Max huffed in frustration. “None of this makes any sense. None of us hate her enough to do it, nobody else hates her enough to do it...”

“Wait,” Lila spoke up. “Wasn’t there an akuma last night?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that!” Adrien agreed almost a touch too loudly.

“How would you--?” Alya began, then realized her mistake and shook her head. “Oh yeah, overprotective dad.”

“And I keep tabs on the Ladyblog,” he admitted. “I like seeing Ladybug and Cat Noir defeat akumas when I can’t see them myself. It makes me feel safer.”

“Yeah, there was an akuma last night,” Rose remembered. Then she cupped her hands over her mouth. “You don’t think...?”

“I don’t think they had a grudge at Marinette, but it’s possible,” Juleka spoke up with a shrug. “But I would think the Ladybug Cure would heal the damage.”

“Unless someone did it while we were all on lockdown,” Alya surmised with a hum. “Ugh, this sucks. Max, you’re the genius, what do you think?”

“It’s hard to say,” the boy answered, taking his chin in his hand with narrowed eyes. “It’s too bad I left Markov at home today - he would have proven instrumental in spotting the loose thread.”

“Guys,” Marinette said weakly, “it’s... it’s fine. I’ll just try to salvage what I can and... I’ll get over it.”

“What?” Adrien stared at her in concern. “But... but Marinette, that’s your work. You’ve spent so much time on it.”

Nino cast him a suspicious glance, and the blond backpedaled, “I- I mean, I’ve seen you working on it during break. You can’t just throw it away.”

“I’m gonna have to redo everything anyways,” she pointed out, finally straightening herself up and wiping her eyes. As Nino handed her a handkerchief, she quietly thanked him and blew her nose.

“But...” Adrien looked incredibly lost as she folded the soft cotton and stuffed it into her pocket, promising to wash it as soon as she could.

Nino just shrugged, halfheartedly smiling and murmuring, “You need it more than me, dudette.”

“I know I’m not much of a... fashion artist, but... I can help?” Nathanael offered. “I know a few of those designs were for our comic...”

“You’re so brave, Marinette,” Lila gushed, and the noirette looked up to see the student giving her a sickly-sweet smile. “You really are a class representative. After all, it is just a sketchbook - at least whoever did it didn’t target you instead!”

It’s not just a sketchbook, she wanted to spit back at her. Instead she tried to calm herself the best she could by taking a deep breath and looking instead to Nathanael.

“I appreciate the offer, Nath,” she murmured. “Thanks.”

“Students!” Miss Bustier called as she made her way up the stairs. “What is everyone doing in the hall?”

“Miss Bustier,” Adrien spoke up firmly, “someone ruined Marinette’s sketchbook. We were trying to figure out which one of us did it.”

“Yeah,” Alya chimed in, folding her arms across her chest.

“Oh dear,” the teacher’s confused expression melted into one of concern as she turned to her star student. “Marinette? Are you alright?”

“I’m... I’ll be fine,” she reassured with a plastered-on smile. “It’s just a sketchbook, right? I can just start another one.”

“Make sure you watch out for akumas today,” Bustier warned, patting the girl’s shoulder before the students parted to let her into the classroom. “Now we need to begin class - the bell’s due to ring any minute now.”

As if on cue, the bell sounded, startling a few of them.

Alya chuckled, placing a hand on Marinette’s back. “C’mon, why don’t you sit with me today?”

“Am I chopped liver now?” Nino feigned hurt. “Babe. I got snotted on and you’re leaving me?”

“Oh hush, my bestie needs me more today.” She winked at the boy as she moved past. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll let you sit with me in the afternoon?”

“I guess I can take that,” the boy shrugged with a huff of a laugh. He turned to Adrien. “Girlfriends, I tell you.”

Adrien followed them with his eyes for a second before sighing. “I hope she’s gonna be okay,” he commented softly.

“Nette’s tough - if anyone’s gonna bounce back from it, it’d be her.” Nino nodded, nudging him with an elbow. “Besides, she has you to check up on her, right?”

“Of course! I’ll have to see how she’s doing at lunch.” A smile spread across the blond’s face, even as Chloe clung to him and all but dragged him into the room.

As he sat down in front of Alya and Marinette, he turned and gave her a meaningful look.

“Mari, I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I really am sorry. I had no idea this would happen.”

“It’s okay, not your fault,” she sighed. “I should’ve been more careful to take my book home last night.”

He stared into her face for several seconds before his lip quirked up into a half smile and he patted her hand, turning around before she could turn bright red.

Hopefully she’d heard what he was trying to say.

Sparing a glance at Lila, he gave her a disapproving frown before turning to face the board. He wouldn’t be so careless this time.

This was more than just lying - and Lila had no idea the war that she’d just started.

[artzychic27]

Here’s a new Akuma!

Civilian Name: Marc Anciel

Powers: Able to pull people into his storybook and those people have to follow the storyline and look for pages to another book in order to be freed/Can float a little bit (Its more like hovering)/Can actually walk in those fucking heels/Able to communicate with people in his book

Reason for Akumatization: Lila tore apart his journal and threatened to make Nathaniel hate him

New Story Coming Soon!

[frog-was-taken]

y/n - your name

warning: swearing, use of the word stupid, thats all i think

y/n, adriens twin sister tells him what she really thinks of his new relationship with lila. based off/inspired by the song ‘What a shame’ by Leyla Blue

a/n - i know that this would probably never happen but its been in my head for a couple of days so i need to let it out.

if there was one thing that you could wish for, it would be to wipe that stupid smirk off of lila’s stupid face. your hatred for her grew greater and greater with every breath she took. not only was she a liar, she was also just downright horrible! you looked over at marinette, and saw that she had a similar expression to yours. suddenly an idea popped into your head, smiling at lila you said, ‘adrien.?’. ‘yeah y/n?’ he answered, smiling at you warmly. ‘i dont like or approve of your relationship ’, you said calmly, still looking at lila. you looked over at him as his face fell slightly, and you couldn’t help but wonder if what you were going to say was going to hurt his feelings. you carried on, ‘the only thing that’s left to say is ..’

‘what a shame’ you said calmly. ‘baby-‘, lila started, ‘what a shame?’ he questioned. ‘could’ve been with mari, instead of whats her fucking name’ you said with a smug smile. marinette gave you a ‘what are you doing?!’ look, her face as red as ever. ‘its a shame, yeah its fucking shame!’ your voice echoeing around the now silent class. ‘you had a winning hand but you threw away the game’, you finished. the class knew what you meant, even if your brother was as blind as a bat. you were known for being outspoken but no one had expected this. everyone could see the shock on adrien’s face, and the rage on lila’s.

‘yo- you bitch!’ she screamed. ‘whats the matter layla? or was it lily? i really can’t remember anymore’, you put on a thinking face, a smirk dancing on your lips. lila stormed out of her seat and straight over to you, ‘you’ll regret that! she snarled. and right as the door opened a loud SLAP echoed around the class. ‘what is going on here?!’ yelled miss bustier, holding a stack of papers she went to photocopy. ‘i-i- uh no-noth-‘ lila stuttered. ‘miss bustier!’, you cried ‘ sh-she slapped me! lila slapped me!’ you said with tears spilling down your cheeks. truth to be told the slap hadnt hurt much, but since you knew there would be a red mark you decided you’d milk this opportunity, after all lila wasnt the only actress in the class. ‘lila?! go staight to the principal’s office!’ miss bustier said with shock and slight disgust at her behaviour. ‘are you all right y/n?’ her voice becoming as sweet as sugar again. ‘im fine, but do you think i could have a minute to talk to my brother?’ you asked with tears still threatening to spill. ‘of course, take as long as you need’. ‘thank you’ you sniffled

you turned your head to look at adrien and the class, a big smile gracing your face as if nothing just happened. you walked out with adrien following suit. ‘are you okay?’ he asked worriedly, ‘im fine adrien’, you smiled up at him but his worried eyes turned harsher. ‘so why did you do that?!’ he shouted in a hushed tone, ‘because she isnt the right girl for you, you dummy!’,you whipser-shouted back. he looked at you confused, head tilted slightly to the side. ‘open your eyes, everything you need is right infront of you, or well behind you considering our seating plan’. you said rolling your eyes. ‘m-marinette?’ he said quietly. ‘yes adrien, the whole class can see that you guys are perfect for eachother’ you spoke, pulling him into a hug. ‘thanks y/n’ he mumbled into your hair, ‘thanks for what?’ you asked. ‘for being the world’s best sister’ he said pulling away slighty. ‘ugh stop being so sappy’ you grumbled though you had a smile in your face, ‘you have a girl to ask out’. ‘i do?’ he said tilting his head. ‘ADRIEN!’, ‘im joking, i get it now’ he said with a laugh pulling you back into the class. you gave him one last smile before getting to your seat, ‘looks like he finally got the hint’ you thought to yourself.

a/n - this is my first fic since ive started writing again so i hope there isnt too many mistakes, id appreciate it if you could leave a like if you enjoyed it :)

[mitchpell]

The Ghost of Christmas Past

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/M, Gen Fandoms: Hawkeye (TV 2021), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies) Relationships: Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton & Cooper Barton & Laura Barton & Lila Barton & Nathaniel Pietro Barton Characters: Clint Barton, Lila Barton, Cooper Barton, Nathaniel Pietro Barton, Laura Barton Additional Tags: Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Pre-Episode: s01e01 Never Meet Your Heroes (Hawkeye), Christmas Vacation, Deaf Clint Barton, Hard of Hearing Clint Barton, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Drama, Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Slice of Life

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter #7: LaGuardia Airport

“Nate,” Clint chided, as the four-year-old bounced excitedly in his seat, hopped up on sugar from way too many Lifesavers and rejuvenated from his three-hour nap, “just relax. We can’t go anywhere until all the people in front of us have cleared out, so it's going to be a minute.”

“—ey —ou-d go after,” Nate grumped, throwing himself back into his seat to punctuate each syllable, making his words even more difficult for Clint to understand over the tinnitus that had resurfaced during landing.

“Hey!” Clint scolded, his tone sharper than intended, fueled by the agitation and slight headache brought on by the constant whine. “Stop bouncing around. We’re gonna leave as soon as we can leave, but until then you need to sit quietly.”

Nate harrumphed, throwing himself back into his seat one more time, before crossing his arms over his chest in a pout.

“Dad,” Cooper called from where he was half-standing, half-leaning into the back of his chair. “When are we eat—- dinner?”

“I thought we all decided on ordering pizza at the hotel?” Clint replied, nudging Lila to stand so he could start retrieving their luggage now that some space in the aisle had opened up.

“How -ong is bat gonna be?”

“I don’t know,” Clint answered with a slight grunt as he handed Cooper his suitcase. “It’ll be about an hour until we get to the hotel, probably another until it’s delivered.”

“Two hour-!” Coop exclaimed.

“I warned you guys it was going to be a late dinner,” Clint reminded him, pulling the last of their bags down out of the overhead, “but you all insisted that that’s what you wanted.”

“I know,” Cooper whined, “but—I’- practica—y starting out.”

“You’re practically what?” Clint asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

“Oh pie god, Cooper,” Lila cut in, rolling her eyes incredulously. “You ju-t ate bike—an entire bag of Dorito- and a who-e box o- mini-donut-.”

“No?”

“No, prepare is no way you’re quit hungry.”

Clint snorted out a laugh. “Never underestimate the appetite of a teenage boy,” he told Lila, digging an apple out of his backpack. “They’re always hungry.

“Here,” he said, as he handed Cooper the piece of fruit. “This is all that’s left of the snacks, except for the Lifesavers, and you’re not loading up on anymore junk. It’s bad enough we’re getting pizza for dinner on top of the fast-food we had for lunch.”

“It’- not pretty is it?” Cooper asked, taking the apple and turning it over in his hand, scrutinizing it.

Clint blinked at the obvious mishearing, but before he could suss it out on his own or ask for clarification, Nate chimed in.

“I ju-t want -ore die trader-.”

Clint frowned, his frustration mounting as he continued to struggle. “More what?”

“Candy, Daddy,” Nate told him happily, prompting a strained wryly chuckle from Clint.

“The last thing you need is more candy,” he argued, reaching down to tickle Nate’s stomach, eliciting a giggle. “Come on,” he encouraged as the people in front of them finally started to exit the cabin. “Let’s get outta here.”

Cooper led the way down the narrow aisle, followed by Lila and then Nate. The latter making his Captain America figurine leap from seat to seat.

“Nate,” Clint called out once they were finally off the plane and onto the passenger boarding bridge, “hand.”

The four-year old’s face fell, his expression betraying the whine Clint couldn’t hear, as he took hold of his father’s hand without argument. “I need to go to –e back root.”

“Bathroom?” Clint clarified, as they continued down the bridge. “Ok. We’ll find one as soon as we meet up with our driver. Alright?”

“I can’t be-ie-e bartend— a car to pick u- up,” Lila crooned. “Are gray coating to be ho-di— a wine near our na-e on it bike in beautie-?”

Clint sighed, mind heavy as he started to feel the effects of listening fatigue. “Can we just–hold all the questions until we’re in the car? Please.”

“Cure,” Lila replied, offering a tight-lipped smile that only served to fuel the guilt that had already settled in his chest.

“Thanks,” he conceded, grateful for when they exited the bridge and he immediately caught sight of their driver. The man was tall and pale, average build with salt and pepper hair shaved down to stubble where it wasn’t balding. He was dressed in a black suit with a long jacket, holding a ‘Barton’ sign.

Continue Reading on AO3

[purrincess-chat]

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s Spite Playlist: Remix CH16

Things are heating up at the party! Slight sexual harrassment TW toward the end of the chapter. Very slight, but better safe than sorry. 

Previous     First     Next    AO3

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Chapter 16: Trade Mistakes

“Marinette?” Adrien’s eyebrows raised.

“Sorry!” Her cheeks burned hot, and she jumped to her feet.

“No worries. I actually kind of miss you bumping into me.” Adrien chuckled good-naturedly. “So, what are you doing here?”

He grabbed a small sliver of bread topped with salmon and caviar from a passing tray and popped it into his mouth. Marinette took one too, following his lead by shoving the whole thing into her mouth. She regretted it instantly, attempting to play off her choking with questionable success.

“Uh, I was kind of dragged here by a…classmate,” she croaked.

“Me too.” Adrien gestured over his shoulder to where Chloe sat amidst several admirers. “My father would never let me come to one of these in a million years, so Chloe kind of kidnapped me.”

“That makes sense.”

“I let her. I hate being cooped up, and I’ve always wanted to do stuff like this.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “So, do you wanna dance?”

“Sure!”

Adrien took her hand and led the way to the living room. His gaze remained locked on her as they bounced in time to the music with a throng of other wealthy teens. The heat from several bodies in one room combined with Adrien’s gorgeous face did not help Marinette’s rapidly overheating brain. She glanced around hoping to alleviate her dizziness and spotted Gabrielle dancing intimately with another guy who most definitely was not Thomas. Her eyebrows furrowed, but she followed Gabrielle’s instructions and didn’t question it. It wasn’t her business anyway.

While bystanders chatted about vacations to private islands and the cost of their name brand shoes, Marinette couldn’t help but feel a little out of place. It made her more grateful that Adrien was there. He was rich too, but he never talked like that. He was always so humble and perfect—just one more thing she loved about him.

“It’s getting a little stuffy in here, wanna go get some air?” Adrien murmured in her ear.

“Uh, sure!” She tried not to feel self-conscious when he took her sweaty hand and toted her to the quiet upstairs balcony overlooking the garden.

A cool breeze brushed her cheeks, and she leaned against the stone railing with a relieved sigh. Adrien stood beside her, close enough that their arms brushed when he shifted his weight. If Marinette spent any more time alone with him, she was going to get spoiled. Dozens of other girls at the party would kill to spend five minutes with Adrien. She would know—she used to be one of them. Now she had all of his attention for herself, and she didn’t know what to do with it. Her head was still spinning.

“I’m really glad you’re here, Marinette.” Adrien leaned into her, resting his head against hers.

“Y-Yeah. Me too,” she stammered, expending all of her focus on not fainting.

“Are you doing okay?” he asked.

She blinked, worrying that she hadn’t masked her euphoria well enough. “I- yeah, I’m totally fine.”

“I’ve been worried about you ever since you told me Lila ambushed you,” he said.

Oh. Right.

“Uhh, yeah, she did,” Marinette said lamely.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, those green eyes frantically searching hers.

“It’s…complicated,” Marinette said.

“Maybe you can tell me on a walk?” He gestured to the stone staircase leading into the garden below.

“Okay, but you have to keep it a secret.”

Adrien listened to her story as they walked arm-in-arm. His eyes never strayed from her, though somehow he never tripped or ran into a potted plant once. He even managed to steer her out of the way of a few. How was he so graceful?

“And then Gabrielle showed up at my house and dragged me here.” Marinette shrugged. They slowed to a stop under a small flowering tree. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“Well, one thing’s for sure. I’ll never be on Lila’s side, so don’t ever worry about that.” Adrien trailed his fingers down her arm until they twined with hers. “I’m never going anywhere, Marinette. I’ll always be here for you. I promise.”

Adrien had always been sweet to her, but ever since she moved schools, he’d been extra affectionate. When she needed to talk, he listened. When she seemed sad, he held her close. He was the one piece of her old life she still had, and they’d tied themselves together with invisible string. Lila could take a lot of things from her, but Adrien would always be hers.

Her heart skipped a beat as his warm gaze bore into hers. She’d seen that look once before—it had lived in her dreams ever since. He leaned down, and her pulse quickened, eyes hooding as his nose brushed hers. His breath swirled against her lips, warm and sweet, and he lingered there for a tantalizing moment, letting her imagination run wild.

This time she was sure she was going to faint, but just before their lips met, the ground gurgled. Sprinklers sprang to life, spitting water in every direction. Marinette shoved away from Adrien with a yelp, and he scrambled to take her hand again. They dashed back to the house, attempting to dodge the streams.

“You okay?” Adrien flicked water from his wrist when they were safely under the overhang.

“Yeah.” Marinette wiped at her clothes, but it was no use. She was drenched. “Even though my family bakes a lot of cakes, I’m not made of sugar.”

“Good,” Adrien chuckled. “Come on, let’s go in and dry off.”

“Okay.” She followed behind him, trying to decipher the meaning behind their almost-kisses. Once was arguably a coincidence or a lapse in judgment, but twice—twice had to mean something, right? Oh, her dreams were going to be extra vivid that night.

♪♫♪ this is me trying ♪♫♪

“I’m doing my best not to be offended.”

Adrien spun around to find Chloe in the bathroom doorway, arms crossed over her chest. The butlers had helped him and Marinette to separate bathrooms to dry off. He’d been hoping no one would notice what happened, but Chloe always seemed to know things when it came to him. There was no place for him to hide from her.

He draped a towel around his shoulders and leaned against the sink with a sigh. “Marinette’s here, and we kind of-”

“I know,” Chloe said. “I saw you two canoodling in the garden. Good thing the sprinkler system is so easy to operate.”

“You did that?” Adrien asked, even though he knew her well enough that it wasn’t surprising.

“If the gardeners didn’t want me to mess with them, they shouldn’t have put the control panel in such an easy to reach place by the window.” Chloe looked him up and down. “But you’re getting more like me than I thought. I agreed to help you out of the kindness of my heart and broke you away from your cold-hearted father for an evening, and how do you repay me? By snogging my mortal enemy in the garden!”

“We weren’t snogging-”

“Only because I intervened!” Chloe cut him off. “I knew you and Dupain-Cheng were seeing a lot of each other, but I can’t believe you would use the independence I gave you to stab me in the back like this. That’s cold-hearted, Adrien. I am very proud, but also very angry.”

“Look, Marinette and I aren’t like that. We were just-” Adrien pursed his lips.

What exactly? Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure. Marinette had always been just a friend to him before, but now…

“Just about to kiss?” Chloe quirked a brow. “In my experience, people don’t sneak off into the garden to kiss their friends, Adrikins. I know mommy and daddy kept you home your whole life, but are you really that dense?”

He hated to admit it, but Chloe had a point. This was the second time he and Marinette almost… What had he been thinking? Ladybug was the girl of his dreams, and someday they would—what? Be together? She wouldn’t even accept a rose from him, let alone go on a date. But he couldn’t help his feelings.

He and Ladybug were the perfect team, but he couldn’t deny that he was also drawn to Marinette. Whenever he looked at her lately, he found himself inching closer and closer. With her, he forgot about Ladybug for a while. It seemed impossible to ever forget about the most amazing girl in the world, but when it came to Marinette, he just stopped thinking. It was almost like…

Like the first time he saw Ladybug in action. He wasn’t thinking—he didn’t have to. His heart knew that she was his soulmate no matter what, and he still believed that. So why was he so drawn to Marinette now?

“Hey…” Chloe placed a hand on his shoulder. “Look, I was only teasing. If you really feel that way about…her, then I will eventually maybe get over it in twenty years. Maybe.”

“I-” Adrien shook his head. “I don’t know. Marinette is- I don’t know.”

“I think you do,” Chloe said.

Adrien met her icy blue eyes, clouded with worry—a rarity for Chloe. He was probably the only person in the world to ever see such looks from her. The only person to know a softer, more subdued Chloe Bourgeois. Moments like these were the reason he forgave her when others couldn’t because he knew that deep down, Chloe cared more than she let on.

But just as quickly as it came, the concern vanished from her eyes, and she cocked a hip. “But if you end up dumping her, that’s okay with me too.” She kissed his cheek, swaying her hips as she sauntered back up the hall.

Adrien faced his reflection in the mirror and touched his lips thoughtfully. What would he have done if Chloe hadn’t turned on the sprinklers? Would he have kissed Marinette? He didn’t know.

Ladybug healed damage to the city, but Marinette healed the damage living inside others. It was her superpower. That was the reason he wanted to protect her from Lila. Marinette was always so busy healing others that she never took time to heal herself. She really was miraculous.

He shook his head to clear it. His thoughts were too jumbled to be trusted. However he felt about Ladybug or Marinette, his heart would tell him when it was ready. He just needed to listen.

♪♫♪ It’s Nice to Have a Friend ♪♫♪

When one of the roaming butlers directed Marinette to a separate washroom from Adrien, she shut the door behind her and leaned against it with a sigh. Another close call. Something in the universe was keeping them apart, and she wasn’t sure how much more her heart could take.

“You were so close this time!” Tikki flitted out of her purse and shook herself dry.

Marinette picked up the neatly folded towel from the counter and set to work on her hair. Her cheeks were still rosy red despite being doused with cold water. If her face got any hotter, she was bound to fry her brain for good.

“My heart was pounding so fast. I thought I was going to pass out,” she said. “People are already going to talk about how we came in together soaking wet. I don’t want to think about what everyone would say if I fainted on him while we were kissing. Knowing my luck I’d bite his lip, and they’d have to digitally edit the scar out of all of his photoshoots for the rest of his life.”

“But he tried to kiss you twice now! That must mean he likes you,” Tikki said.

Marinette bit back a dreamy smile. “Do you really think so? Oh, Tikki, I can see it now! He’ll fall in love with me, then we’ll get married, buy a beautiful house, have three kids, a dog, and a hamster named-”

A knock on the door cut her daydream short. Tikki ducked behind the door as Marinette peeked on the other side.

“Another towel for you, Mademoiselle.” A different butler than the one who helped her earlier bowed. How many butlers did this family have?

“Um, thank you.” Marinette accepted it with a smile before shutting the door again.

With a clearer head, she examined herself in the mirror. Wet clothes clung to her petite frame, black eyeliner smudged and not in the attractive smokey way Gabrielle had done it earlier. She’d seen racoons crawling out of dumpsters that looked more put together than she did. There was no way she could face Adrien looking like this. Dampening the towel, she rubbed away the last traces of her makeup and combed her fingers through her hair, but it was no use. She still looked like someone threw a cat into a swimming pool. She needed to find Gabrielle before she ran into Adrien again.

The hall was empty when she peeked out. Perfect, just what she needed. Adrien was probably drying off in another room, so all she needed to do was find Gabrielle and redo her makeup before he came out again.

“Where are you going?” Tikki asked as Marinette slipped into the hall.

“I need to find Gabrielle before Adrien sees me,” she whispered.

“But this house is so huge, she could be anywhere. Besides, if Adrien really loves you, then he won’t care what you look like,” Tikki said.

“That’s only true after you’re married. Help me look for Gabrielle, please?” Marinette pressed her palms together.

Tikki nodded dutifully, and they raced off in different directions. The last place she saw Gabrielle was the living room, but she couldn’t make her out in the crowd. She wasn’t in the dining room or the sitting room either. Tikki was right. Gabrielle could be anywhere in this fortress of a house, and Marinette was never going to find her in time. She and Adrien would never have their house, their three kids, or even the hamster named-

“Marinette!”

She startled, but to her relief, Lisette was the one approaching her. “Oh, Lisette. Hi!”

“Hey, I heard you and Adrien got soaked by the sprinklers.” Lisette looked her up and down. “It seems the rumors were correct.”

Great. Everyone was already talking.

“Yeah, they just turned on out of nowhere while we were on a walk outside, and now everything is ruined, and I’m just trying to find- someone to help clean me up again,” Marinette explained.

“I’m so sorry that happened. I have no idea how the sprinklers got turned on. We specifically shut them off for the party, so people could enjoy the garden,” Lisette said. “Why don’t you come upstairs? I’m sure I have something that will fit you.”

“Wait, what do you-”

“Lisy, did you find her?” A tall boy with blond hair and brown eyes similar to Lisette’s entered the room. “We’re really sorry about this.”

“You- Oh my gosh, this is your house!” Marinette realized. “I had no idea. I just came with someone, and they didn’t tell me whose party it was. I’m so sorry for crashing.”

“It’s fine.” Lisette waved it away. “You’re friends with Eliott, so you’re more than welcome here… He isn’t here by any chance, is he?”

“No, sorry. I wasn’t even really planning on being here. I came here with Ga- another friend. Different friend. Well, the friend part is questionable. It’s complicated,” Marinette said.

“Oh.” Lisette relaxed. “Well, I’m really sorry you got hosed. Come with me. I’ll loan you some fresh clothes and help you clean up.”

Lisette was her tiny, pink fairy godmother in her hour of need! One of these days she’d convince Eliott to kiss her as thanks.

The chatter from the party died down as they trekked deeper into the mansion. Lisette’s room was at the end of a long hallway, and Marinette’s jaw dropped the moment she stepped through the door. Soft pink walls surrounded them on all sides, plush carpet sinking under Marinette’s weight with each step. Small pillows and soft blankets accented the white furniture, and a pink crystal chandelier hung in the center of the room. On the far wall was a large vanity bordered by two cabinets with several drawers and quite possibly the biggest makeup collection Marinette had ever seen.

“Whoa.” Marinette blinked.

“Sorry it’s a mess. I pulled out a lot of stuff when I was getting ready for tonight.” She shifted a few lipsticks back into their cup displays.

“Your bedroom is bigger than my whole apartment,” Marinette said lamely, and Lisette giggled as she flicked on the light to her closet.

“Eliott mentioned that you weren’t used to all of this stuff. He thinks it’s cute when you stare,” she said, rummaging through the hangers. “He seems to really like you.”

“Oh, yeah, we’ve become pretty good friends,” Marinette said. “Actually, he talks about you a lot lately.”

Lisette froze. “R-Really?”

“Yeah, if I had known this was your party, I would have told him to come. I’m sure he would have loved to see you.” Marinette smirked as Lisette’s cheeks flushed pink. She blushed as easily as Marinette did around Adrien. Her feelings for Eliott were so obvious. He could deny it all he wanted, but they were totally into each other.

“I was going to invite him, but…I kinda chickened out,” she said sheepishly. “I was scared he would be busy or that he wouldn’t want to come at all.” She grabbed another pink dress from the rack and offered it to Marinette. “I think this one would look really cute on you.”

“Thanks.” Marinette retreated behind the folding screen to change, thankful for dry clothes. “I know exactly how you feel. When I first met Adrien, I could barely get two sentences out around him.”

“But you two seem so close.”

“Yeah, now,” Marinette said, “but in the beginning, I always panicked and mixed up my words. He must have thought I was crazy.”

“So, it’s pretty obvious then? That I like Eliott…”

Marinette peeked around the screen with an apologetic wince. “Only because we’re so similar.” She slipped on the dress and smoothed the skirt. “But if it makes you feel better, I think he likes you too.”

“He does?” Lisette perked up.

Marinette crossed the room to place a hand on her shoulder. “You should talk to him. Invite him to hang out sometime. I’m sure he’ll say yes.”

“Okay.” Lisette tucked a strand of blonde hair back into place shyly. She examined Marinette once more and smiled. “Come on. Let’s fix your face.”

She patted the chair in front of her vanity, and Marinette sat down obediently. “You have a huge collection. It almost feels like a store.”

“Yeah… Makeup is kind of my obsession.” She pumped some product onto a cotton pad and gently wiped away the remains of black eyeliner around Marinette’s eyes. “I really wanted to do the makeup for the Miraculous show, but they prefer to let adults with more experience handle that.”

“Is that why you were helping with props?” Marinette asked.

“Well, there were a few different jobs I could have done, but I picked that one because it was the closest to, well, you know.” She bit her lip. “I didn’t think he’d notice me, let alone remember my name, but he’s really kind to everyone backstage. He thinks everyone on the team is important, and that coupled with how amazing he performs… I was a goner.”

“It was kinda the same for me with Adrien,” Marinette said. She closed her eyes at Lisette’s direction, then continued, “The first time I met him I thought he was stuck up because he was the son of a famous fashion designer, and he was friends with Chloe Bourgeois. But when I got to know him, I saw that he’s so sweet and humble. Falling for him was easy after that.”

“You and I are a lot alike,” Lisette remarked. “Do you think Eliott and I will ever be as close as you and Adrien?”

“Definitely,” Marinette said without hesitation. “Adrien and I are close because we became good friends, and maybe soon we’ll be more than just friends… I hope anyway.” She blinked when Lisette shifted to grab a different brush. “If being friends with Eliott seems too scary right now, then maybe you and I can be friends. I can help you get closer to him, and we can root for each other.”

Lisette searched her expression, a small smile curling on her lips. “You’re really nice, Marinette. I can see why Eliott talks so highly of you.”

“You’re the nice one, Lisette. You totally saved me from looking like a drowned rat. As far as I’m concerned, you and I are friends now.” Marinette offered her a pinky, and Lisette curled her own around it.

“Now then.” Lisette picked up a large palette and a brush. “Let’s knock Adrien off his feet.”

Lisette was a wizard with makeup. Marinette’s eyes had never popped that way before, and she felt a lot better when she rejoined the party.

“There you are!” Tikki crashed into her chest at the base of the stairs. “I found Gabrielle, but then I lost you.”

“Sorry, Tikki,” Marinette said.

Her kwami looked her over. “Where did you get new clothes? And your makeup is all done too!”

“I got some help from a new friend.” Marinette nodded to Lisette who had rejoined her stagehand friends in the dining room.

“Isn’t that the girl who likes your friend Eliott?”

“Yep! Turns out this is her house. She helped me clean up, so we don’t have to bother Gabrielle anymore,” Marinette explained. “Let’s go find Adrien. I’ve never felt this cute before.”

Several people complimented her as she moved through the house again. None of them suspected that she looked like an absolute disaster only a few minutes before. It was flattering to be complimented so much, but also, kind of embarrassing. Where in the world was Adrien when she needed him?

“Hey, cutie, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

Marinette froze in her tracks, a shiver creeping up her spine. Not all compliments were created equal, and something in the tone of this one set her on edge. She turned, fully intending to offer a polite thanks before scurrying away, but the boy leaning against the wall made her blood run cold.

“Thomas?” She blinked in disbelief.

Had she heard him right? There was no way… Was Thomas hitting on her? She thought back to Gabrielle dancing with another boy earlier, and her stomach churned. Something told her she was in the middle of a very complicated love triangle, and she needed to find the emergency exit. Fast.

“So, she remembers my name. I’m not surprised, it’s hard to forget a face like this.” He moved toward her, and Marinette instinctively took one step back.

“Um, well, it’s hard to forget the person who picks on my friends,” she shot back. “You and Gabrielle are quite the duo.”

“Hey, don’t be like that. All that stuff was Gabrielle’s doing. Besides, she and I are done now,” Thomas said. “Your uncle is that famous chef, right?”

Marinette shifted uncomfortably, desperately searching the room for a familiar face to rescue her, but no one stood out. She was on her own. “Um, my great uncle, yeah.”

“That’s really cool. You’re like crazy connected then?” He loomed over her, arms crossed over his chest.

“No, not really,” she said.

“Come on, you performed with Jagged Stone, and word on the street is you’re pretty tight with Adrien Agreste too. You’ve got a lot of friends in high places.” He looked her up in down in a way that made her skin crawl. “You’re a powerful girl, Marinette.”

“Uh, I don’t really think so.” She closed her fists to hide how her hands shook.

“Aww, you’re so modest. That’s cute. Why don’t you hang out with me for a little while? I know a lot of powerful people too. Maybe we can help each other.” He reached for her hand, but Marinette flinched away. “Hey, don’t be like that. I’m a nice guy.”

“I don’t-”

“She’s not interested, low-life.” Gabrielle stood in the doorway to the foyer, arms crossed, hip cocked, green eyes glaring daggers at her ex. She was Marinette’s angry, ginger hero.

Thomas rolled his eyes, seemingly unfazed by Gabrielle’s hostility. “Look who crawled in off the streets.”

“Go bore some other girl with your pathetic narcissism. Marinette’s not interested in hooking you up with important people only to get dumped as soon as she’s no longer of value to you,” Gabrielle said.

“You know a lot about things that no longer have value, don’t you?” Thomas retorted.

Their argument was drawing a crowd, and Gabrielle glanced around nervously. “Thomas, don’t-”

“Don’t what? Tell everyone here that Gabrielle Burton is broke?” Thomas shouted.

Gabrielle stiffened as every eye in the room turned to her. Her rough exterior fractured, the power in her eyes turning to panic. Her darkest day was today, and for the first time since anyone had known her, Gabrielle cowered. And then the whispers started.

“Wait, for real?”

“She’s broke?”

“Serves her right.”

“Oh my gosh, call Jean. He’s going to love this.”

“I’m putting it on Instagram.”

A triumphant smirk curled on Thomas’ lips as Gabrielle stalked from the room, and Marinette used the chaos as cover to slip away too. Ugh, as if she would ever be interested in someone like that! How could he expose Gabrielle and watch her whole world crumble with a smile? Some people really were evil. She just hoped Gabrielle was okay.

Marinette rounded a corner in pursuit, but collided with another person. “Ow! Sorry!”

“Ugh, could you be clumsier?”

Marinette blinked, rubbing the sore spot on her forehead, and the blonde in front of her did the same. “Chloe?”

“Don’t act so surprised. You knew I was here,” Chloe said. She looked Marinette up and down, nose wrinkling into a look Marinette knew all too well. Chloe never hid her disgust well. “Ew, why do you look cute? Those sprinklers should have ruined you.”

“A friend helped me clean up. Wait, what do you mean the sprinklers should have- Did you do that to me and Adrien?” Marinette fit the pieces together, annoyance flaring.

Chloe flipped her ponytail over one shoulder. “I did what I had to.” When Marinette’s eyes narrowed, Chloe cocked a hip. “Don’t look at me like that, Dupain-Cheng. Just because you left doesn’t mean I’m going to be nice to you. I’m still mad at you for refusing to help me with Lila.”

“You haven’t changed one bit. I haven’t missed you,” Marinette said.

Chloe’s cheeks flushed pink, and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “Yeah, well, I don’t miss you either! I’m glad you left because I don’t have to see your stupid annoying face every day.”

A laugh bubbled in Marientte’s chest. She cupped a hand over her mouth to stifle it, but her giggles spilled out anyway.

“What’s so funny?” Chloe huffed.

“This.” Marinette gestured between them. “I forgot we used to argue like this every day, and now it’s just funny. Maybe I have missed it a little.”

“Yeah, well-” Chloe stopped abruptly, her eyes widening. “Look out!”

[miraculousystuff]

Corey Curse Aftermath Pt 9

Small time skip, like 3 days*

As the anti-bullying classes went on, everybody but Alya seemed to understand exactly what impact they had on Marinette. Almost all of them rebuilt tentative if not profound friendships with her once more, All except for Alya, who still doted on Lila. But that all changed at the parent teacher meeting Miss Fournier hosted. Everyone’s parents except Lila’s showed up. “Are we waiting on anyone?” Miss Fournier began, and noticed Lila’s mother was nowhere to be seen. Then, suddenly, a tall, green eyed brunette woman that looked to be in her 40s stormed through the door. “Lila Rossi. Why is this the first I’m hearing about bullying? You told me the court case was about all your vacation days?” the woman, who was presumably Lila’s mother, yelled. Lila’s eyes widened in response. “Mom? I made sure to throw that letter away_” she was cut off by her mother “Yes, and I found it in the trash. Imagine my surprise when I found out my daughter has been bullying a poor girl for this entire year!” she continued yelling, and Mr Damocles had to quite literally usher them out of the building. Needless to say, that was the last they saw of her. “For most of you, this meeting will be brief. As you know from the emails I have sent, most of your children have improved greatly due to the anti-bullying classes, especially Nino, Kim and Alix. Therefore, they are being dismissed from them early, and will no longer have to attend. Juleka, Rose and Nathaniel will also be dismissed from them once the week is over. For the rest of your children, keep working hard and they should hopefully be dismissed by the end of two weeks. You are free to go.” she stated, and everyone slowly began filing out, but Miss Fournier spoke up again. “Mrs and Miss Cesaire, do you mind waiting for a moment please?” They nodded as everyone left and the room was only with Alya, Alya’s mom and Nora. “I regret to inform  you that Alya is not doing well in these classes at all. She refuses to believe Marinette is innocent and blames it on her, as well as consistently torments the other students who have now built relationships with Marinette.��� Alya turned pale as her sister and mother turned to her in anger. “Alya Cesaire, care to explain?” her mother thundered. “Mom, I can explain-” she was cut off by Nora. “Sis, there is no way you believe a liar over your best friend-” “She’s not my best friend.”

“Anyway, she sacrificed a lot for you. She babysat for you, helped you with the ladyblog, hell she got interviews from ladybug herself or you. How can you honestly say that she had done horrible things?”

Alya’s jaw dropped in shock as Nora’s words ran through her mind. Barely thinking, she ran out of the room, looking for those familiar blue pigtails- no, just blue hair. She spotted it and ran towards her, before stopping short as she stared. Marinette was laughing, with Adrien. Not stuttering, or falling, just having a good time. Her hair was out, her nose was scrunched up, her eyes twinkling. She looked so happy, so…free. She felt so scarily familiar but different at the same time, like she was a ghost of her past self. As Adrien walked away, she shook off her inhibitions and walked to her. “Marinette-” She was interrupted by her. “If you’ve come to insult me-” Alya flinched at the fact that now, as soon as she approached Marinette, the bluenette assumed it was to insult her. “N-no. I want to apologise. You don’t have to forgive me. Hell, the fact that you are listening to me is enough. But I need you to know that I’m sorry, for everything that I did to you.” Marinette gaped slightly. “Alya, you have no idea how much that means to me. I-I can’t accept your apology. Not yet. But, this is a start. To peace and maybe…” she trailed off. “Maybe a new friendship.” Alya filled in, and Marinette smiled, and it felt so nice, so normal that she smiled even wider. “You know what, let's restart this whole thing.” she said, then stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Marinette Dupain Cheng. I live down the street in the bakery and have a massive crush on Adrien but don’t know it yet.” Alya laughed before taking her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Alya Cesaire, I run the Ladyblog and am one of the worst best friends ever.” she said, almost half sad, but Marinette pulled her into a hug. “Oh good. That’s what I like about you.” They laughed, just like old times, the achingly familiar feeling as if to forget what happened. And while it would never truly be forgotten, maybe, just maybe, it could be overlooked.

The end

[ao3feed-ladynoir]

Change of Key

Change of Key by Angel of the Axis

Post-Chameleon. When Marinette finds herself standing up for Chloe in class, she finds her dynamic with the blonde - as well as the rest of Bustier's class - changing. Meanwhile, Lila's still up to her tricks, trying to make good on her promise of separating Marinette from her friends.

(This may turn into a full fic in the future, who knows.)

Words: 6206, Chapters: 2/2, Language: English

Series: Part 7 of With a Pinch of Kosher Salt

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Caline Bustier's Class, Lila Rossi, Caline Bustier, Aurore Beauréal

Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Caline Bustier's Class & Lila Rossi

Additional Tags: slight salt, Marinette Calls Out the Class, Akuma References, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Is So Done, chloe sugar, Adrien Sugar, Sleep Deprived Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Is Not an Idiot, Good Friend Adrien Agreste, Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40646280

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

When you need a Superfriend

By Nach0Ava

On Archive of Our Own

Tumblr user: @nach0ava

So I have not really watched Supergirl however when I read the first chapter I had to share this with you all! This is the first chapter by Nach0Ava. (Second chapter is on its way as well!) Marinette gets sent away by her parents to America! Please go read Nach0Ava's story!

Summary:

When Tom and Sabine believe Lila's lies, they send Marinette off to live with an old family friend in National City. When living with a government agent and a physiologist, how long is it until she gets figured out?

Chapter 1:

“I don’t understand! Why are you sending me away?”

Marinette looked up at her parents in disbelief. They had just told her that she was going to be sent to live with a family friend. In America! Sure, she could speak fairly good English, but it still didn’t make sense!

“Your recent behaviour has led us to think that the change could be good for you. Kelly and her girlfriend Alex are lovely people, and they might be better equipped to deal with you than we are.”

As her mother spoke, Marinette felt a bitterness rise in her. Of course. Lila. She had made good on her threat, managing to turn even her parents against her. Claiming that she was involved in a gang, she had an older boyfriend, she did drugs, the list went on. And when Tom and Sabine had caught Marinette out past curfew one too many times, they took it as the truth. She couldn’t tell them that she was Ladybug, so all she had was half-hearted excuses. Still, she needed a way to stay in Paris, as she couldn’t be Ladybug somewhere else, and if there was no Ladybug, there was no-one to catch the akuma, and no-one to cast the cure, never mind all her guardian duties…

She was getting off track. She had a goal and she needed to accomplish it. Just like taking down an akuma. Except she couldn’t hit this problem really hard for it to go away.

“Is there any way I could stay in Paris? I’ll switch schools, I’ll go live with grandpa Roland, I’ll do anything!”

Tom and Sabine exchanged a look. They didn’t want to believe it, but they had to make sure.

“Honey, calm down, aren’t you worried about an akuma?”

Marinette started pacing as she rambled, mostly to herself.

“Right, I’ll get upset, then you guys will get mad at me, and then one or both of you will be akumatised and then I’ll have that whole mess to deal with.”

Tom reached out a hand to her shoulder to stop her pacing.

“You aren’t worried about you getting akumatised?”

Marinette shook her head.

“No no, I’ll be fine.”

A slight push from her bag and the looks from her parents made her backtrack.

“I mean, I’m really good at calming down before they get to me, I mean, it’s worked so far right?”

She let out a nervous chuckle while her parents stared at her.

“Marinette… Are you working with Hawkmoth?”

Marinette looked for the start of a smile from her mum, the laughter in her dad’s eyes, anything to say they were joking. When the just kept staring she burst into laughter.

“Haha, you guys… You guys really thought… Haha, that’s hilarious!”

Her parents failed to see the humour and gave her thatlook.

“Remember all those times I’ve been attacked? Reflekta, Horificator, pretty much any akuma that clones or traps people I’ve gotten tangled up in.”

Not technically a lie, she never said she got hitspecifically, but she definitely got attacked.

“Well, maybe you should get out of Paris anyway. It’s clearly not safe here, and maybe it’s best for you to leave. You’ll like it in National City, they even have their own superheros!”

Great. A reminder of what I have to give up because of Lila. She was about to keep protesting, but she felt three quick pushed on her side by Tikki. We need to talk.Her argument died on her tongue and she sighed.

“When am I meant to leave?”

Her parents exchanged relived looks.

“The plane is booked for next Friday. That gives you about a week to pack up. We could mail over a box with all of your sewing things once you get settled, if Kelly and Alex are ok with it of course.”

Marinette fought the eyebrow that was threating to raise. A week? I was hoping for some more time to test and train a new guardian, and a new holder for Tikki. It would be a rush, and there weren’t many people she trusted anymore. Still, there was work to be done, so she had to get started.

“I guess I’ll go start packing then. Can I be un-grounded so I can spend my final week saying goodbye and sorting things out?”

Her parents nodded, glad she was taking this so well.

“Of course honey, just not tonight ok? It’s getting rather late.”

Marinette nodded and ran up to her room, shutting the trapdoor quickly. She went up onto her bed and starting crying into her pillow, feeling the weight of all the kwami comforting her. Eventually she rolled on to her back, drying her tears.

“I’m sorry Tikki, you said you wanted to talk?”

She looked at her expectantly. Marinette already knew what Tikki wanted. She needed to find a new wielder and Guardian, and she shouldn’t have been putting it off, but sometimes it felt good to cry. Tikki came to settle on her lap and patted her leg comfortingly.

“Marinette I know what you’re thinking, and you don’t have to give up being Ladybug or being Guardian. So you better stop that train of thought right now missy.”

Marinette sat up, blinking. How could she… Oh.

“I’m an idiot.”

Tikki giggled while she flew up and booped her nose, while Kaalki sniffed from the corner.

“I can’t believe you forgot about me Guardian. You’ve given me out before!”

Marinette giggled at the kwami’s haughty attitude.

“Sorry Kaalki, I got a bit too emotional to think clearly.”

Kaalki just grabbed a sugar cube with a huff and flew off. Marinette climbed off her bed and grabbed her bright pink suitcase.

“So who wants to help me pack?”

~~<3~~

Chloe, Kagami, Luka and Marinette were all sitting at a table at a café during their lunch break. Luka had graduated already, so he was usually free to hang out. Chloe had come up to Marinette not too long after Lila’s takeover with an apology. Marinette had been wary at first, but Chloe was actually really nice when she wasn’t putting up an act. She had soon proven herself and had been given another chance at being a hero, under the new name Honeybee. Kagami had approached her after Adrien had asked for advice on the Lila situation. She had hated his passive approach, and when she had tried to talk to him about it, he just refused her help, ignoring the fact that he had asked for her help. Kagami had come to offer her help, and they become friends soon after. She had re-claimed the dragon, under the new name Tempête. Luka had heard Lila’s heart song and immediately knew that was someone that he didn’t want to hang around. He had tried warning Juleka and the rest of Kitty Section, but Lila had told them that having an older singer wasn’t a good look. He had been kicked out, and Marinette had been there to comfort him with pastries and musicals. After she had introduced everyone to each other, they had become a tightly knit group. So, as one could imagine, they weren’t taking this well.

“They gave you a week? That’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

Kagami made a noise of displeasure as well.

“Sending you to America seems a bit extreme, what reason did they give again?”

Marinette scoffed.

“My ‘recent behaviour’ or something like that. Also known as, Lila. Oh, that’s not even the best part.”

Marinette gave out a dry chuckle and everyone looked on in interest.

“Apparently, I’m working with Hawkmoth.”

Luka plucked a string on his guitar, sending out a loud note. Chloe just stared in disbelief, and Kagami made for her foil.

“I’m going to run them through with my sword.”

Kagami gripped it tightly, ready to get up and make good on her threat, but Marinette grabbed it from her, unbothered by the fencer’s unimpressed glare.

“No-one is stabbing anyone. I don’t really have a choice, so I just have to suck it up and deal with it. Besides, it could be good to get away from Lila.”

Chloe was the first to get up to give her a hug, followed by Luka, and then by Kagami, who Marinette wasn’t completely sure that she wasn’t just trying to get her sword back.

“It’ll be ok guys, we can still video chat through Skype or something. I won’t be able to text, because I’ll be on an American phone plan, but we can figure something out!”

Chloe pulled away and took out her phone, tapping away immediately.

“I’m going to get you an amazing phone plan, with unlimited overseas. Same for the rest of you. That way, we can all talk and not worry about the fact that there’ll be an ocean dividing us.”

Marinette slowly took the phone and added it to her slowly growing pile, pointedly ignoring the glare Chloe shot her.

“I’m sure there are other, free, ways to contact each other. I think there’s an online service, what’s the name in English? Chaos or something like that?”

Luka strummed at his guitar in thought before pulling up an app on his phone.

“Is this the one you were thinking of?”

He had opened Discord, in dark mode of course, and had his profile open.

“Yeah, that’s the one! We can talk on there, and it has the bonus of being accessible from computers! So, no reason to go overboard, ok Chloe?”

Chloe humped and opened up the app store, downloading Discord. Kagami noticed what she was doing and mirrored her. They all took a few minutes to make accounts and become friends, before Luka, the one with the most experience, had set up a server for them all. Quickly choosing nicknames, Marinette pocketed her phone with a grin.

“Now that that’s done, anyone want to come help me pick some things to take?”

~~<3~~

It felt like the week passed quickly, lessons passing by in a blur. She didn’t pay much attention, just enough to keep Mrs Bustier satisfied. She didn’t bother alerting anyone in the class (outside of Chloe) that she was leaving, ignoring their taunts and insults. Chloe and Kagami had been big helps in learning how to ignore them, so now they rolled off her like water on a duck. She made sure not to bring anything valuable, most of her stuff was in a suitcase anyway. On her final day, she only had her schoolbooks, the school assigned tablet, and three neatly wrapped gifts. As she was packing up to go meet her friends for a final goodbye, she was stopped by Alya.

“I need you to make a dress for the upcoming school dance.”

Marinette briefly noted that this was a demand, rather than a request, but she just started her usual commission speech with a sigh.

“Depending on the materials used and the time it takes to make, the dress could cost anywhere from €300 to €500. There will also be shipping costs, plus the fact I’m not taking commissions right now, so it will probably be a few weeks before I might be able to get started on it.”

Alya was staring at Marinette like she had grown another head.

“€300, what are you talking about? I’m not paying youfor a dress, and you make mine every year, so what’s the problem? I can’t wait a few weeks, the dance is next weekend!”

Marinette sighed and pushed past the taller girl.

“The problem is that I don’t have time, materials are expensive, and I made you those dresses when we were friends. But we’re not now. So, leave me alone. Goodbye Alya.”

She walked out to meet her friends, leaving Alya behind, too stunned to talk. When she snapped out of it, she grumbled to herself.

“She’ll see reason on Monday. She has no right to refuse after all she’s done to Lila! Maybe if she makes Lila’s dress too, she’ll forgive her! Lila’s nice like that, Marinette will come around after making up for everything she’s done!”

Alya walked away, satisfied, planning her new dress in her mind.

Marinette ran up to her friends, engulfing them in hugs. They all hugged right back, sad to see her go. Marinette suddenly pulled away from the hug, and grabbed three parcels out of her bag. She handed them all out, urging them to open them. Luka opened his first, finding a beanie that perfectly matched his hair, with a teal snake pattern around the rim. Chloe went next, her patience not holding any longer. She got a headband with tiny bees embroidered all along it. Kagami received a red handkerchief, with an elemental dragon on one side, and a storm cloud on the other, a lightning strike going all the way across. They all started to thank her at once, with Marinette just blushing sheepishly.

“I just took note of all your favourite heroes, and added them to a design. It’s not that big of a deal.”

They all hugged again, before the clock chimed behind them, making Marinette jump.

“I have to go! I’ll send you all a message when I land, but you better not stay up for it if it’s late here!”

A chorus of “No promises!” filled her ears as she ran home, taking in the sights one more time. She burst into the bakery to find her mum still working the counter, and her dad busy baking. Not thinking much of it, she went up to her room to grab her belongings. After some quick cuddles from the kwami, she had everything she needed. Most flew into the suitcase, comfy in the hidden area Marinette had made, lined with a soft faux fur. Only Tikki and Kaalki flew into her jacket, ready to transform if need be. They had assured her they wouldn’t show up on the x-ray, so she was fine with having them in there. As she lifted her suitcase and went downstairs, her strength from being Ladybug shining through, she was surprised to see her parents still busy at work.

“Maman, Papa, I thought we were going to the airport now?”

Her parent’s exchanged looks before Tom stopped his baking and walked over.

“Honey, we can’t afford to come with you, we need to keep the bakery open. There’s an Uber outside for you, but you’ll have to go on your own. I’m sorry.”

He pulled her into a hug, one she half-heartedly returned. She walked over to hug her mum as well, and went outside with her suitcase.

This was it.

She was really being sent away.

All because of some dumb liar.

With a comforting press coming from inside her jacket, she got in the Uber, prepared to start her new life.

[pixiebuggiewrites]

Sorry Wrong Number!

Masterpost - Previous - Next - Ao3 link

Chapter 6: A pleasant morning, a slightly less pleasant midday

Despite how late she returned home the night prior, Marinette was pleasantly surprised to find that she hardly overslept. That makes two days in a row now, the girl was on a roll. That or all of the late night akumas had finally made her a permanently light sleeper. Either way she was glad for her newfound semi-punctuality, especially given the busy day she had ahead of herself.

Her to-do list for the day, while short, was fairly time consuming. First she needed to head to the fabric shop to get the supplies for her most recent batch of commissions, then she needed to meet up with Alya (who she was so not looking forward to dealing with) so that they could get started on their english project, and after that she needs to interview the previous nights akuma victim for their case file.

Which reminds her that she should check and see if Chloe ever responded to her text. Opening up her messaging app, she’s greeted with two texts. The first is from the number she texted last night, the one that has turned out to be the number of someone who is very much not Chloe. Marinette was all of a sudden very grateful for the code that her and her team had come up with for any messages regarding hero work. Hopefully she could just thank the unknown number for alerting her of the mistake and leave it at that.

The second message was what had her worried though. This one actually was from Chloe, and the contents of the text were a bit concerning.

(XXX)XXX-XXXX: Hey DC it’s Chloe can you call me when you get a chance? I kindasortafuckedupreallybadlydidsomethingstupid

Now Marinette was sure that whatever Chloe had done couldn't have actually been that bad, so that wasn't why she was worried. No, she was worried about her blonde friends current emotional state. Chloe had come a long way from her 13 year old self, but she did still have insecurity issues on occasion. Judging by her text, the blonde was panicking, likely in an anxiety spiral. Something that she too was well known for doing, she would call the heiress as soon as possible to make sure that she was okay before saying anything to her about Mayuras return.

Anyways, it’s not like there was much she could do about it until later in the day, seeing as it was currently around 4 am in Gotham. So instead, the young designer focused on getting ready for the day ahead of her.

After some deliberation with input from the kwami’s, she settled on a nice outfit. The ensemble starred a black pinafore with subtle floral embroidery, paired with a light pink long sleeve underneath, both items of course being MDC originals. Shoe-wise she kept things fairly simple with a pair of black high top sneakers and white knee-high socks. Deciding to keep her hair down today, all that was left was choosing which kwami to bring along with her.

Tikki of course was a given, but she typically rotated out wearing a secondary miraculous so that the kwami could get to experience the outside world, even if it was from Marinette's purse.

Hmm today seemed to be a good day for Kaalki. It had been awhile since the horse kwami’s last voyage out of Marinette's room, plus they would be going to a cafe which meant free sugar cubes. While Kaalki would not be pleased about the ‘free’ part, Marinette's wallet sure would. She may run an extremely successful business for her age but kwami food sure does add up to eat a decent chunk of her budget. So yeah, free sugar cubes it is.

After slipping on the magical glasses and getting the two kwami into her purse, she was finally ready for the day, and so made her way downstairs to the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

“Good morning!” she greeted her Maman, who was serving customers at the register. The bakery was already quite busy, seeing as it was a Saturday afterall.

“Good morning sweetie, any exciting plans for today?” Her Mother inquired between customers.

“Not really, just have to pick up some fabrics and work on that english project.” She sort of left out who exactly she was working on said project with, but she really didn't want to risk having to dodge the question of why Alya never came around anymore. Luckily her Maman just nodded.

“Oh by the way, Jagged and Penny are coming over for dinner tonight, so make sure not to be home too late.” 

Well that made for a slight change of plans, she would just have to interview the akuma victim during her patrol instead of during the evening beforehand. Not a big deal, but it was slightly inconvenient, even if she did enjoy seeing her Aunt and Uncle with their busy schedule.

“Of course, i’m going to head out now, can you tell papa I said hi next time he comes out of the kitchen?”

“Will do, oh and Marinette?”

“Yes Maman?”

“Don't forget to grab breakfast.” Her Mother smiled and went back to serving customers.

Smiling back, Marinette grabbed a fruit tart and made her way to the fabric shop.

                                                        ----------

Luckily the fabric shop wasn't that busy, and Marinette was able to drop her supplies back home with enough time leftover to get to the cafe early. After finding a good table to set her things up at, she decides to go ahead and order an iced coffee to drink while waiting for Alya. Due to all of her time spent with Master Fu she was typically more of a tea drinker, but to get through this she would likely need the extra bit of caffeine coffee would provide.

Roughly ten minutes later, Alya walked through the door of the cafe. Time to get this over with.

While her former best friend didn't usually take much of an active role in the bullying Marinette had been experiencing at the hands of her classmates, she definitely encouraged a lot of it. Hopefully the fact that they were meeting out of the classroom meant that they could start on the project without any incident.

And for the most part it did. Despite the awkward tension between the two they managed to delegate who did what, with Alya doing the research portion and Marinette assembling the presentation itself.

Just as Marinette was about to leave though, Alya stopped her.

“Hey… have you noticed anything different about Adrien lately? Nino says he’s been acting strange and we’re all a bit worried about him.” The glasses girl inquired while putting away her things.

Well that caught her attention.

“Strange how?” She honestly didn't really care about whatever drama was currently happening in her old friend group, but on the off chance that he was experiencing side effects of the memory wipe spell, she needed to know so she could fix it. Magical backlash was no joke, despite her dislike of the blonde he didn't deserve having to deal with the effects of a spell gone wrong.

“He’s just been distant lately, almost like he’s been avoiding us. You didn't say something about Lila to him again did you? I know you're into him but just because Lila does too doesn't mean-” 

‘Ah so that's what this is about, I walked right into that one huh’

“Alya.” She cut the wannabe reporter off “I haven't had feelings for Adrien in years. I also have no idea why he’s avoiding you guys or why you assume I had anything to do with it. If you want to know so badly, try talking to him yourself.” She got up from her seat “If that’s all, I’ll be going now.” And with that, Marinette began heading home, looking forward to having dinner with her honorary uncle and aunt in a few hours.

But before that, she had a couple of text messages to take care of.

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

Taglist (open!!):

@queencommonsense @toodaloo-kangaroo @nickristus-dreamer @savagenutella46 @solangelo252 @adrestar @crazylittlemunchkin

[bevvydraws]

Sweet Justice (cont.)

Prev.

Chapter 2 

The soft click of her heels against the pavement was the only sound that registered to Princess Justice. Each click just one more step forward on her path to making things right. In the back of her mind, she was grateful for her decision to take her earrings off, but it was a fleeting thought because she wasn’t sure just how deep the connection to Hawkmoth was. Hawkmoth wasn’t yet aware of her plan to take him down, otherwise he wouldn’t have given her the knowledge of his lair. Of course, he didn’t explicitly tell her, but she knew. She could feel it. It almost made her sick, having that connection with him.

For all of the grand schemes and countless villains with potentially cataclysmic powers, Hawkmoth wasn’t particularly bright. His plans relied solely on his blind trust that those he bestowed powers to would be unwaveringly loyal to him. And that would be his downfall. Marching on with determination and grace, Princess Justice knew that by the end of the day, everything would be different. 

As she came to the more crowded areas of Paris, she caught the attention of more than a few bystanders. Princess Justice barely spared them a second glance, the sight her mask gave her allowing her to see the injustices of those around her as well as the true intentions lying in their heart. If she were to describe it, it would be like a flame sitting in the middle of someone’s chest. Burning bright enough to shine through any facade someone might try and put up. The brighter and larger the flame, the more they had done to hurt those around them. The hotter the flame (showing up as blue rather than the more common orange) the more it showed their intent behind their actions. 

The average person only had a tiny, red flame, as no one is perfect but very few intend to hurt those around them. That was what she saw most often. But occasionally, there would be someone she passed by that had a more alarming flame, bigger and hotter. Princess Justice would stop them, under the guise of someone simply passing out samples in costume for a nearby bakery, and give them a macaron. And then she would be off without waiting to see what came of them. Occasionally she felt the presence of a knight joining her ranks and she would smile. That meant that the macaron did as she intended, and helped the misguided find their way back to the light. Those who were determined to stay unjust got their punishment, and were rooted to their spot in stocks, their misdeeds displayed for the rest of Paris to see. 

It took a surprisingly long time for people to realize that she was not a simple advertisement stunt, and was actually an akuma. But even when people put two and two together, no one ran from her. As she strolled throughout the streets of Paris, people simply made way. Once her cover was blown, she made no effort to stop any more to pass out her macarons. She couldn’t afford to be sidetracked. She needed to get to her school before any kittens could get in her way. 

---

The school was still full and bustling with energy when Princess Justice arrived, and she wasted no time making her way up the stairs. To those who questioned her--while still recognizing her as Marinette--she simply smiled and gave them the excuse that she was just helping her parents while showing off her costume making prowess. The naivety of her fellow schoolmates allowed her to pass out many macarons without much problem. She gave and gave her macarons with nothing more than a smile, and no one questioned it at all. 

Walking through the front doors of the school, Princess Justice felt a slight wave of emotion wash over her, causing her to purse her lips in disdain. The feeling only got worse as she glanced under the stairwell where she overheard Lila and Alya talking. With narrowed eyes and more determination than she had previously, she marched towards her classroom with renewed urgency. However, despite her rising emotions, Princess Justice could not bring herself to handle things with little tact. 

She gently opened the classroom door, strolling in with elegance and a presence that demanded awe and respect. Mme. Bustier did not look up from her book, and only got a “Marinette, you’re late once again--” out of her mouth before the rest of the class broke out into chaos. 

Questions of what she was wearing and why she was late, pleads to make a dress similar to the one she was wearing, and inquiries on how she managed to make her mask glow and if she was still able to see out of it. The noise grew louder and louder and was beginning to get overwhelming. She had to make it stop. Out of desperation she banged her scepter into the ground a few times, like a judge calling for order with their gavel. Silence fell over the classroom and Princess Justice smiled in relief. She scanned her eyes over her classmates, her heart breaking at the flames she saw. Some were relatively large, but they weren’t hot. Adrien was one of the first she looked at, and his was larger than she expected from him. Large, but not hot. She supposed that made sense, given his naivety. Even those with pure intentions could hurt others if they lacked the social know-how of most. Chloe’s was unsurprisingly large, and the orange flames had wisps of blue within them. 

But it was nothing compared to the blue inferno that was surrounding Lila, who had fixed her eyes on Princess Justice with a heated glare. The glare soon melted into a sweet smile as she walked up to Princess Justice with her arms open as if about to initiate a hug. The heat of her ill intentions would have made anyone else flinch if they had the power to feel it, but Princess Justice didn’t react as she began speaking,“Marinette! That costume is absolutely stunning! But isn’t it a bit late for costumes? And won’t it be a bit… distracting to others?” Blinking her eyes innocently at Mme. Bustier, Lila’s voice dripped with faux concern. 

“Actually,” Princess Justice spoke calmly, “This is something I’m doing for my parent’s bakery. I spent my lunch break passing out macarons in this costume, and I would have gone home to change… but I decided to bring the rest of the samples here for you all.” As if to prove herself honest, Princess Justice reached into her purse and produced a box of macarons big enough to give one to each person in the class. No one seemed to question how illogical it was for a box that size to fit in such a small purse, but that only worked to her advantage.

With a cheer resonating throughout the room, her classmates happily took one a piece, and then expectantly looked at Lila who had yet to take one. Before Lila could rattle off an excuse as to why she didn’t want to take one, Princess Justice took a step closer to her. Putting on the sweetest smile she could, her voice dripping with sugar, she said, “I really wanted to apologize, Lila. I’ve been so cruel to you because I didn’t know you had such a rare disorder that caused you to lie. It isn’t your fault, and I shouldn’t have held it against you. I hope you take a macaron as a sign of good faith and I hope we can be friends moving forward.” 

Princess Justice was so focused on Lila taking a macaron, she didn’t notice the blonde boy--who recognized the energy coming off of her as the energy of an akuma and chose to hide in the background--slip out of the classroom and sprint down the hall. 

Lila, feeling the pressure of those around her, hesitantly took a macaron. Once she took a bite, everyone else in the room followed suit. As soon as she saw that everyone had bitten a macaron, Princess Justice cleared her throat. 

“Forgive me for lying to you, my dearest friends,” she said gently as those around her stiffened, their eyes glazing over as the effect of her macarons took hold, “I’m afraid there was no other way for justice to be served.” She watched as tears began falling down the faces of her classmates, them likely witnessing the torment they had put Marinette, and occasionally others, through. Soft whimpers and occasional sobs broke free and bounced softly off of the walls of the room. 

“Mari…” she heard Alya sniff, and Princess Justice moved to her friend in an instant, her hand gently wiping the tears from her face. 

“It’s alright, Alya. I know that you are kind, and that your heart is good,” she whispered, “Please, fight with me once again. Help me take down the injustice in this city.” 

As Alya nodded, the majority of those in the room began to change. Their school clothes were replaced with shining white armor of different kinds. Once again her friends were on her side, and feeling the magical connection she had with them all gave her peace. The peace was short lived though, as she heard an ear splitting screech from where Lila had been standing. Lila was still there, but she was now in tattered clothes, her head and arms stuck in magical stocks. From her stocks a flyer was hung, with her name and misdeeds displayed for all to see. 

Lila Rossi: 

Liar - Conspirator - Harasser - Villain

Lila struggled and cursed and threatened, jerking and thrashing as she tried to escape the confines of the stocks. Even under the influence of the magic macarons, the classmates and teachers looked at Lila with disappointment and pity. All they could do was shake their heads at the pitiful display in front of them before turning to look at Princess Justice. Getting down on one knee, those around her bowed their heads in respect. 

“Rise, my dear knights,” she made a motion with her hand and in unison, everyone stood. “I need two of you to move this misguided soul to the front of the school, to let everyone know of her misdeeds so that her injustice is put on display and she can no longer hurt anyone with her lies,” Princess Justice chose to ignore Lila’s increased rage. The blue inferno that surrounded her only grew larger and hotter. “Everyone else, let us--” 

There was the sound of glass breaking as a black streak tumbled into the room. It didn’t take long for it to be evident that it was Chat Noir who had crashed in. Princess Justice didn’t have time to think as his baton extended outward quickly in her direction, intent on knocking her down. With reflexes that came only from being Ladybug for so long, she knocked his attack away with her scepter and stepped to the side, a frown on her face. 

“Chat Noir,” she spoke, her voice the same calm tone as before, only slightly laced with disappointment, “I was so excited to see you again, yet you attacked me before even saying hello? That’s not very charming of you.” 

Chat Noir stood, his expression pained but determined, “Marinette, please,” he begged, “I don’t want to fight you. And I know Ladybug doesn’t want to either.” 

For the first time since she had become Princess Justice, she felt a brief flash of rage. How dare someone assume what she would have wanted? That was all anyone ever did, pretend that they knew her and her intentions. Her voice was laced with malice, despite still remaining an even tone, “I’m not worried about Ladybug stopping me, she can’t. Not anymore.” 

The conflicted look on Chat’s face only got worse at those words, not sure what to think or how to feel. Princess Justice found herself confused by that. Sure Chat had helped her occasionally, and did know her civilian name, but there was no reason for him to be so conflicted. He’d never seemed so serious before. There had to be something more to this. That’s when she noticed the flame at his chest. She was surprised by the slightly larger than average flame, but it wasn’t hot. A flame of one who had hurt others unknowingly. A flame she had just seen a moment ago in a classmate. With a glance around the room she realized that classmate was not among her ranks and it all clicked together. 

This train of thought took only a second or two, and Princess Justice felt her rage disappear as quickly as it had come. She felt her gaze soften, which only confused the feline hero in front of her even further. 

“What did you do to Ladybug?!” Chat Noir cried, desperately trying to stay focused on the fact that Marinette was now a villain and he would undoubtedly have to defeat her. 

“Oh kitty,” Princess Justice whispered, stepping slowly towards Chat while the knights around her remained on guard, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Chat stepped back, baton at the ready but obviously not intent on using it. She stopped a little bit in front of him, leaning forwards slightly and smiling gently. She dropped her voice to a whisper so no one else could hear, and said three words that nearly brought Chat Noir to his knees: 

“I was Ladybug.”

-----

taglist:  @fandom-trapped-03 , @justafanwarrior , @ultimatetornshipper , 

I know i’m missing someone for the taglist but i’m to worst and lost the message to be added :( so if you want to be added in future updates, just comment and i’ll be happy to add you! 

[eulaties]

PURPLE HYACINTH FIC RECS ★ #12

fics that have an asterisk (*) in front of them are my personal favorites! also, all of the fics listed are completed unless otherwise stated.

NOTE: most of these contain the ship kym ladell/william hawkes!

this list was last updated on 12/30/22.

*lightening lunch • kym & lauren, one-shot

SUMMARY: “kym and lauren go on a lunch date.”

TAGS: fluff, humor, friendship, mentions of kywi and lauki

*cream and sugar (or possibly salt) • lukas/lila, one-shot

TAGS: fluff, humor, kym teasing lukas about lila, background kywi

*vivace: of alleviations, of surprises • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: “william hawkes has to choose which is worse: being lost in the middle of the night, or playing along with his fellow comrade's so-called 'excellent sense of direction.'”

TAGS: bantering, fluff, humor, chaos, william freaking out internally, both of them pining but in denial, kym has a horrible sense of direction

*a shot of watermelon • kym/william, one-shot

TAGS: pining idiots, fluff, undercover missions, first kiss

*not the ideal first date • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: at the sharpness of his father’s voice, cutting through the phone line, will froze, eyes locked on the floor. “who is kym? why do you have a woman at your house at this hour?” will looked at her, staring back at him with her hand over her mouth. “um...she’s my girlfriend.”

TAGS: fake dating, developing relationship, fluff, humor, pining, light angst, getting together

*fragments of sun • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: will must be rubbing off on you. kym finds that she doesn’t wish to examine that statement further. “rubbing off on me,” she scoffs into the empty breakroom, hands tightening around her empty mug. “we’re nothing alike.”

TAGS: drabble, character study, developing relationship, slight pining

*hence this must be true • kym/william, lauren/kieran, lila/lukas, multi-chapter (8/8)

SUMMARY: “it doesn’t take much to get people to admit their feelings—and between a human lie detector and a logically inclined man, no flimsy argument gets past the (acting) couple, who are way too mischievous and ambitious for their own good.” or: lauren and kieran use their big brains to play matchmaker.

TAGS: canon-divergent, matchmaking + bets, lauki giving free therapy, mutual pining, fluff, humor, angst

*kiss like an argument • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: her jaw twitched, and she quirked an eyebrow. “so, you’re not even gonna own the fact that you want to kiss me?”

TAGS: drabble, first kiss, if they don’t banter while flirting they’ll die, resolved romantic tension

*forever • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: "will takes this time, crouched in front of the oven, hidden behind the counter, to press his hand to the ring box in his pocket.”

TAGS: post-canon, the marriage proposal(tm), so much fluff

this is what blackmail is for • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: “she opened it again, breath dropping from her lungs as she stared at the photo. the photo of her. one hand with a fistful of a shirt, the other on someone’s face—with that someone being none other than william hawkes.”

TAGS: takes place after the new year’s party, featuring the blackmail photo of kywi, mutual pining, getting together

the sun kisses the sky • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: “will was never particularly fond of mornings, until he started sharing a bed with kym ladell.”

TAGS: post-canon, they’re so married, fluff, morning cuddles

in dirty dreams (you're the one i want) • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: “will has a dirty dream about the frisking in episode 126 and feels some type of way about it.”

TAGS: wet dreams, william is astronomically down bad, bro is going Thru it, unresolved romantic tension

CW: as you can tell from the title, this is a pretty suggestive fic so read at your own discretion!

misinterpreted mess • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: “kym gets the wrong idea about lauren and kieran’s relationship and makes will very uncomfortable.” 

TAGS: misunderstandings, bantering, kywi fluff, lauki angst

NOTES: 1 out of 4 parts of the “will is uncomfortable” series

obnoxious obscenities • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: “kym and will may think they're the ones spying on kieran and lauren, but kieran can turn tables almost as fast as he turns doorknobs.”

TAGS: fluff, humor, kywi are locked in a closet, fake dating

NOTES: 2 out of 4 parts of the “will is uncomfortable” series

atypical authenticity • lauren/kieran, one-shot

TAGS: resolving angst, communication, fluff, william walks in on lauki

NOTES: 3 out of 4 parts of the “will is uncomfortable” series

disastrous date • kym/william, lauren/kieran, multi-chapter (3/3)

TAGS: both lauki and kywi are fake dating, fluff, humor, kywi finds out that lauki is lune, first (actual) kiss, confessions

NOTES: 4 out of 4 parts of the “will is uncomfortable” series

midnight revelations • kym/william, one-shot

TAGS: light angst, hurt/comfort, william pining but he doesn’t know it yet

a little bit yours • kym/william, multi-chapter (2/2)

TAGS: angst, pining, william is engaged and kym reacts accordingly

close call (too close for comfort) • kym/william, one-shot

TAGS: kym gets injured and william lowkey freaks out, hurt/comfort, pining

controlled burn • kym/william, one-shot

TAGS: sickfic, fluff, they’re so soft omg, confessions

nettlesome nurse • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: “kym decides to follow lauren and kieran out of work one evening. as per usual, will gets dragged along and things do not go as planned.”

TAGS: canon divergence, mild violence, eavesdropping but it backfires, the sheer intimacy of patching up wounds....

foreign feelings • kym/william, multi-chapter (3/3)

SUMMARY: “while will is on a much needed vacation, both he and kym encounter new emotions; some of which are more welcome than others.”

TAGS: mutual pining, but both of them are in denial, fluff, angst, humor, hugging, hurt/comfort, background lauki

ecdysis • kym/william, one-shot

SUMMARY: ”kym ladell cheats death, but her near-brush doesn't come without a price.”

TAGS: heavy angst, hurt/comfort, first kiss, eventual recovery, character study, canon divergence