#Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir

[linhlotustories]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir ch 4: Evillustrator

Marinette was still fuming from her encounter with Chloe when she landed in her room and detransformed.

“Ugh! Tikki, why does Chloe always have to be so. . . Ugh! Chloe!” she said as she flopped onto her chaise.

When there was no reply, she sat up and turned to where she had last seen Tikki, only to find the Akuma from earlier in the library.

“It’s you! The one terrorizing Chloe!” She scrambled back. “What are you doing here?”

“I . . . just wanted to see you.”

“O-kay, but why did you attack Chloe?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Because Chloe is cruel and selfish!”

“Can’t argue with that,” Marinette admitted. She took a breath. “Are you- going to hurt me?”

“You? You’re Marinette.” He looked at her with an adoring smile on his face. “You’re beautiful and sweet and- perfect and- I could never hurt you!”

“Wow. That’s, uh, very, um, flattering, uh. . . Thank you?” she stuttered as she remembered that morning, in class. Nathaniel must have been akumatized. He really was in love with her.

“So, I just came by to ask you if, uh, well . . . It’s my birthday today and, uh, would you want to come to my party.”

“Oh, um, actually, it’s not really the best night, see, I’ve got a presentation to work on,” she gestured to her folder on the desk. “ And I have to. . . call my . . . friend so we can . . . meet and . . .” she trailed off, making her hand into a makeshift phone and holding it to her ear.

“Oh, no, please, Marinette, it’ll just be you and me!” He drew on a tablet she hadn’t noticed and a card appeared in his hand. He knelt and held it out to her, and she gasped as she took it.

“Oh, my gosh, that’s . . . me!”

“You like it?”

“I . . .”

She thought about it. She didn’t really want to go on a date with a supervillain, but if she could figure out where his Akuma was, she could defeat him faster. There was another problem though: how could she guarantee her safety if she enraged him? She needed Chat watching over her.

Which left Chloe unprotected. But still. Maybe.

Deciding it was her best chance, she said, “Love it! So much that I will absolutely be at your party!”

“On one condition,” she deadpanned.

“Anything for you, Marinette.”

“You can’t hurt Chloe anymore.” She held her hand to her forehead, “I simply cannot bear violence.”

“For you and only you.”

He drew on his tablet and a jetpack appeared on his back. “Meet me on the left bank, next to Notre Dame at sunset.” He told her, and left through the window, not bothering to fix the hole he left there.

Tikki came out and sat on Marinette’s shoulder. “What the hell, Tikki! He just professed his love to me and acted like he didn’t just ruin my window! And he can make the things he draws come to life, but he didn’t bother to fix something he broke!”

Tikki sighed. “He’s an Akuma, Marinette, he’s not in his right mind.”

“I’m not saying it’s alright, just that he can’t help it,” she amended when Marinette shot her a glare.

“I know, Tikki, it’s just really inconvenient,” Marinette sighed. “I have to call Chat. Do you mind if I transform for a few minutes?”

“No, go ahead.”

“SPOTS ON!” She climbed onto her balcony and leaped over a few roofs so Chat wouldn’t recognize where she was.

Pressing the button in the middle of her yoyo, she opened it and called Chat. He picked up after a few seconds.

“Hey, Lovebug, what’s up?”

She cut to the chase, “I need you to watch over a girl for me tonight.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“I’m going on a very important secret mission.”

“What about Chloe?”

“She’s safe.”

He sighed. “Alright, who is it?”

She sent him a picture of herself. “Her name’s Marinette. Cute, right?”

His face softened and he whispered, “Yeah.”

Her heart fluttered.

“She’s going on a fake date with the Akuma. He’s in love with her.”

“What? That’s too dangerous! She could get hurt!”

“That’s why you’ll be there. Marinette is going to take his pencil away. I’ll need you to capture the Akuma and when you see me next, I’ll purify it,” she explained. “Can I trust you?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” he grumbled.

“Great! I’ll send you the address.”

She hung up and then typed in her address before hitting send and leaping back to her balcony.

She made her way merrily down the stairs and opened the door to see- Sabrina? What was she doing here? The project! She had completely forgotten!

“Hi, Marinette!”

“Um, hi, Sabrina,” she said hesitantly. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to work on the project.” She leaned forward. “Did you forget?” she singsonged.

“Um, nope. I was totally gonna call you,” Marinette laughed nervously.

“Great! Let’s go get started,” Sabrina chirped.

“I, um, actually there’s something really important I have to do tonight. I can’t work on it tonight. But we can meet up tomorrow.”

“What is this really important thing?”

“I, um, it’s a secret.”

“You know who else uses that excuse?”

“N-no.”

“Chloe! I’m beginning to see how much you two have in common!”

The angry redhead stormed away and Marinette let out a sigh, sagging against the doorframe.

“I thought I’d have to rescue you from her claws,” a voice said from her right.

“Chat!” Marinette jumped and started falling. She closed her eyes and braced for an impact that never came. Instead, she felt a warm hand close over hers and pull her upright.

Opening her eyes, she saw Chat smirk at her. “Falling for me already, huh, Purrincess?”

Marinette blushed so furiously, she was sure her face was bright red. “U-um . . .”

“I hear we’ll be working together.” He bent and kissed her hand.

“Uh, y-yeah.” How was he so smooth?

He interpreted her stuttering as fear of the idea of facing a supervillain. “Don’t worry, M’lady, I’ll be there the whole time. I won’t let him hurt you.”

“Thanks, Kitty,” She smiled softly. He was so thoughtful. He would never have left that big hole in her window. Or made it in the first place.

“Did . . . you just call me Kitty?”

“Uh, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have called you that! I-”

“No! No it’s fine! I liked it,” he smiled at her. “Chat Noir feels really formal. You can just call me Chat or Kitty. Okay?” he reassured her.

“Okay, Kitty,” she smiled right back at him.

“S-so,” he stuttered, but just for one second. “Where are we meeting for your . . . date?” He spat the last word like it was poison.

“Oh. Is the Kitty jealous?” it was too much to hope for, but Marinette couldn’t resist leaning in to hear his answer.

“Maybe just a little bit,” he said under his breath, making Marinette’s heart skip a beat.

She couldn’t help but gape at him. “What?”

"Um, I said . . . I just don’t want you getting hurt . . . ?”

“No. You said you were jealous,” she grinned.

His face turned bright red.

“Are you okay?!” She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and he flushed even more. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She insisted, moving her hand to his cheek.

“Uh, y-yep, just f-fine.”

“Do you want anything before we go? We still have a few hours until we have to leave.”

What if he really was sick? Not only would they be unable to defeat Nathaniel, but she would also spend every waking moment worrying about him.

“Could I have something to drink?” he asked, scratching the back of his neck.

“Of course! Follow me.” Marinette turned and walked back up the stairs to the kitchen. Chat shut the door behind him and followed her up the stairs.

“Have a seat,” Marinette offered, gesturing to a chair. “What do you want to drink? Water, orange juice, tea, milk?”

“Water is fine,” he said as he pulled out a chair.

She gave him his water then danced around the kitchen for a while, coming up with a tray of pastries for them to share and a mug of tea for herself.

“Thanks, Purrincess.”

“No problem, Kitty.”

They smiled at each other for a while before looking away and blushing.

------

“Remember, M’lady, just get the pen away from him. I’ll keep you safe,” Chat said as he leaped to Notre Dame.

“I know, Kitty. I’ll be fine,” she responded, more for his benefit than hers. She was certain her plan wouldn’t fail.

“I’m sure you will be. I’m just worried.” His brows furrowed. “What if something goes wrong? What if he gets mad and I can’t get there soon enough? I couldn’t live with myself if I couldn’t save you.”

They stopped on a roof near the river and Chat hugged Marinette tighter.

“Look at me.” When he didn’t, Marinette tilted his face toward hers. “I know I’ll be fine. Do you know why?”

He shook his head.

“Because I have you to watch over me.” Marinette put her hand over his heart. “And I know you would never let anyone hurt me.” She paused for a moment to let her words sink in. “Besides, I’m stronger than I look.”

Chat smiled weakly at her and you could tell he was trying very hard to keep it from slipping. “Thanks, Purrincess.”

“Why don’t you come to my house tomorrow and we’ll get ice cream?”

“Sure, but I’m paying.”

“No! I suggested it.”

“But I said I’d pay first.”

“Why don’t we decide tomorrow?”

“Sure, but I’m still paying.”

“Don’t we have to be somewhere?” Marinette deflected.

“Oh, right.” Chat’s face turned grim again and all the comfort from their banter melted away. He leaped to the ground behind Notre Dame and Marinette walked to the edge of the river with Chat keeping watch from the shadows.

“Hey, I hope I’m not late,” Marinette said to get the villain’s attention.

“Not at all, You’re right on time.” He sat on a bench and patted the spot next to him. Marinette complied and he started to draw something. A bouquet of red roses appeared in his hand.

When he gave them to her, she tried to pretend Chat was the gifter.

“They’re lovely,” she said, giving them a sniff. “You’re very good at drawing. I actually draw a little too. I’m not as good as you, of course.”

“I’m sure you’re a wonderful artist.”

“Well, can I draw you something for your birthday?”

“Sure.” He started to hand her the pencil, but Chat Noir shifted behind them and Evilustrator must have seen his movement because he kept his grip on the pencil and asked her to give it back.

“N-no, I’m keeping it!” She snatched it and backed away.

“Marinette, you’re working with him? I’m so stupid. I actually thought you liked me, but you’re just like Chloe! Teasing me. Mocking me. Leading me on.”

Marinette snapped his pencil. “Why does everyone keep comparing me to Chloe today?!”

An Akuma flew out of the pencil and Chat leaped down to catch it in a jar he had brought. He turned to Marinette who was still seething from Evilustrator’s comment.

“If it helps,” he said, setting his hand on her shoulder, “I don’t think you’re like Chloe.”

Marinette’s face softened and she hugged him. “Thanks, Kitty, that means the world to me.”

Yay! The first Marichat chapter is out! The last chapter doesn't count. I tallied up all the chapters of each ship I already have outlined. I'm not sure if anyone's interested so if you want to see how many of each so far, then comment and I'll make a post. Thank you to my wonderful beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!

previous

next

[linhlotus]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir Ch 3: Gamer

The next day, Marinette walked into class just as the bell rang. She took her seat and laid out her homework for Mrs. Bustier to collect.

Chloe marched in a moment later and threatened to call her ‘Daddy’ if she was marked tardy. She said hello to Adrien, glared at Marinette, and sat down to talk to Sabrina.

Adrien turned around and greeted Marinette with a smile. “Hey, Marinette.”

She turned away.

“I just want to say that yesterday was a misunderstanding and I’m sorry that you hate me,” he continued, his voice growing quieter and more hesitant with each word. “I’ll leave you alone now.”

He turned back to the front.

Ugh, did he think she was stupid? She wouldn’t fall victim to his tricks again.

“Okay, class, I will be splitting you into pairs for our next project. You and your partner will write a report on the effects of cyberbullying and present it tomorrow,” Mrs. Bustier said and looked around the room. “Any questions?”

When no one raised their hand, she continued, “Alright. Your partners are on the board.”

Marinette waited for Mrs. Bustier to call her name, hoping to be partnered with Alya. When her name was called, however, it was not with Alya’s, but with Adrien’s. She mentally groaned and glanced at her new partner who was watching her hopefully.

“I guess we’re partners,” he said.

“I guess so,” she sighed. “My house or yours?”

“Um, yours if that’s okay.”

“Okay, meet me on the steps after school,” she conceded and looked away.

------

Marinette sighed and sat on the top step to wait for Adrien. She decided to get out her sketchbook and work on her latest design, an elaborate sapphire dress shirt for her dad’s birthday.

A few minutes later, she heard a soft voice from behind her say, “That’s really good, Marinette!"

She turned to see Adrien crouched behind her. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, I just have to tell my bodyguard that I’ll be home late.”

They walked down the steps and Adrien stopped at a gray car parked in front of the school. Marinette assumed the driver was also the bodyguard he’d mentioned since it was him Adrien talked to. And after she heard him tell that he had a project to work on and that he’d be back for his photoshoot in a few hours. She started walking and he turned to follow.

“So, you’re into design?” he asked awkwardly.

“Yeah.”

“You’re really good at it. I think you have a future in the fashion business. Maybe I could get you an internship with my father.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she sighed.

“I know, but I want to.”

“We’re here,” she stepped into the bakery, glad their short walk was finally over.

“Hi, Sweetie, how was school?” mom asked with a smile.

“It was good, mom. This is Adrien. He’s in my class. We’re going up to my room to work on a project.”

“Alright, sweetie, would you like some treats?”

“Sure. Thanks, mom,” she got a platter and loaded it up. “Come on,” she said to him after a second then led him past the counter and up the stairs.

“Do you want me to carry that for you?” Adrien asked, reaching for the platter.

“No thanks, I’m not helpless.” She led him up to her room and opened the trapdoor, climbing up and setting the tray on her desk.

“I’ll be back, I’m just going to make some tea. Any preferences?” she asked as she set her backpack down.

“No, you choose. I trust you.”

She rolled her eyes and headed down to the kitchen in the apartment, throwing him a quick “Make yourself at home” as she went down the stairs again

She chose a marigold lemongrass blend for herself and a chamomile blend for Adrien. Both herbal; it was too late for caffeine.

Measuring out a teaspoon of each, she put them in strainers and poured hot water over them. When she returned, she set them by the tray of pastries.

She asked Adrien to get off the chaise lounge for a moment and moved it to her desk.

“Help yourself to a pastry. The tea in the blue mug is a chamomile blend. That one’s yours.”

“Awesome, thanks Marinette,” he said as he reached for a macaron.

“Be careful, the tea is hot.”

“Why are you being so nice to me? You hate me.”

“Marinette sighed as she opened her backpack and pulled out her books. “Hate is a strong word. And I try to at least be civil to anyone who isn’t currently being hostile to me or one of my friends. Plus, my parents are here."

“That’s very considerate of you.” Adrien popped another macaron in his mouth. “Mmm. . . These are really good, Marinette. Please help me remember to thank your parents before I leave.”

“Or you could just thank them now,” she tilted her head towards her trapdoor.

He glanced over and saw her parents peeking up through it. “Hello, Madame and Monsieur. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Your baking is amazing!”

“Thank you,” Tom smiled, a twinkle in his eyes. “Let us know if you need anything,” he said before he and his wife closed the trapdoor.

“Come on. We’d better get started on the project if we want to have it done before you have to leave.”

Adrien was quick to agree, so they worked on the project for a while, and when they finished, they still had half an hour before Adrien had to leave, so they decided to get a snack and go to the park. They sat and talked for a few minutes then heard screams from in front of them. A huge bot that looked like an UMS character stomped towards them. “Marinette!” it screamed. “Join me and we will rule the world! Refuse and you and your friends will perish!”

“That sounds like. . . Max!” Marinette turned to Adrien. “We have to go! He’s been akumatized.” Adrien grabbed her hand and dragged her away

The newly akumatized Max saw them move and shot at them. They got separated and Marinette lost sight of Adrien, but soon enough she heard footsteps pounding toward her. Instead of Adrien, however, she turned to see Chat Noir. Watch out, Marinette!” he yelled as he knocked her to the ground.

They landed hard and Marinette opened her eyes to see his large, green ones twinkling at her cheekily.

Marinette couldn’t resist teasing him, “Did you fall for me, Kitty?”

“Why, Purrincess, you read my mind!”

She blushed as he got up and held out his hand to help her up. She accepted and once she was on her feet again, he scooped her up, carrying her bridal style.

“Hold on, Purrincess,” Chat warned before he launched them into the air.

He ran for a few minutes then when they had lost Max, he set her down behind a chimney. “Stay here, Marinette,” he said. “I would hate for anything to happen to you,” he kissed her cheek and took off toward the Akuma. “Bye, M’lady, I’ll come get you after Lovebug and I defeat the Akuma.”

------

Lovebug left right after they defeated Gamer, who turned out to be Max. It seemed that he had gotten upset when someone beat his score and thought he wouldn’t be able to compete in the UMS tournament. Chat quickly reassured him and made his way to where he had left Marinette.

She was sitting with her back to the wall and when she heard him approaching, she looked up and smiled at him. “Hi, Chat. How was it?”

“Fine. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

He bent down and picked her up again, taking her to her balcony. Before he left, he bent and kissed her hand, ��Au revoir, Purrincess. Until we meet again.”

He backed away and jumped off her balcony, catching himself with his baton. He doubled back and met Marinette outside the bakery as Adrien before making his way home.

As he walked to his room, all he could think about was how wonderful Marinette was and how he was going to win her heart.

Thank you to my amazing beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!

previous

next

[ao3feed-ladynoir]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir by LinhLotus

Chat dislikes Lovebug (Ladybug) because she is bossy and often late. Marinette dislikes Adrien because the chewing gum incident was never resolved. Adrien is in love with Marinette because he sees how nice she is to everyone. Marinette likes Chat because. . . She just does, okay!

Words: 2499, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Characters: Chat Noir, Lovebug/Ladybug, Alya Césaire, Officer Roger, Chloé Bourgeois, Mayor Bourgeois

Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30942929

[linhlotus]

I think fluff, but angst is good too. Fight scenes are the real enemy here.

I haven't done a ton of different characters, but I wrote a little from Alya's perspective before and that was fun.

I've only ever done lovesquare fics, but I'm planning a collab for a Marcnath one so that's exciting.

I've only ever written Miraculous Ladybug, but I've been planning an original work. I'm not sure if that counts.

I will not. Or at least not any time soon.

I'm not sure. For finished fics, I think it would have to be Wildest Dreams, but for WIPs it would definitely be Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir.

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir again.

Not sure what a trope is.

A type of Au. Hmm . . . That's hard I like a lot. It would probably be . . . Actually I can't think of one. If I do, I'll come back and edit this later.

I don't. Like with everything, you've got good and bad days. I have a few different tricks, but they don't always work.

Anything from songs to dreams. I just finished reading the Hunger Games trilogy for the fourth time and I used some parts of that as inspiration. It's amazing how much differently I think when I read now that I write.

I like canonverse. There's a lot you can do with that while still staying original. But there's also something charming about Au's.

I have multiple notebooks filled with prompts and plans. I've also got a bunch of WIP's on Docs.

I don't think I have one.

Don't have one.

fanfic writer ask game that’s definitely not an excuse for shameless self promo

rb if you want to play!

🌗 fluff or angst?

🧑 favorite character to write?

💕 favorite ship to write?

📚 favorite fandom for write for?

🍑 do you/would you write smut?

🥰 fave fic you’ve written?

🏆fic youre most proud of?

💎 fave trope to write?

🌍fave type of au to write?

🍄how do you get yourself in the mood to write?

💡what inspires your fic ideas?

🕶canonverse or au?

📒any fics planned?

🎤fave line in a fic you wrote?

🎁 have a quote from a WIP?

[awholelotofladybug]

Stammering Adrien AU(final cut) Part Two

Part One is Here.

Part Three is Here

Disclaimer: The only characters or locations I own are the ones I make up.  All other fictional characters and locations about Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir are the property of Thomas Astruc and Zag. Please support the official release.

Hope you guys enjoy.

Emilie periodically goes through a dictionary, looking for individual pet names for Adrien’s friends. She already has “Dumpling” for Marinette(she shares this one with Sabine), “DJ” for Nino, “Scoop” for Alya, “Honeydrop” for Chloe, “Blueberry” for Luka(she shares this one with Anarka), “Doodlebug” for Nathaniel, “Rosebud” for Rose,  “Lullaby” for Juleka. and “Gumdrop” for Marc. She’s struggling with the rest of them, not that they mind, but she is determined to give them all a cute and appropriate pet name.

Nathalie has her own pet name for Adrien. Angel.

Once they start dating, Marinette and Adrien will go from cuddling to snuggling, finding a nice, cozy spot with lots of pillows, getting under a blanket or two, and just spend hours at a time snuggling, smooching, blushing and giggling at each other.

In an attempt to help Chloe get better at being a good friend, Sabrina has taken a page from Lilo and Stitch, and created a ”badness level chart”. It’s gone up and down a few times, but they’re working on it.

Chloe has a greater connection to Master Fu than she thinks because while she has never gotten his name, she visits him regularly to receive Acupuncture. While it is painful at first, Chloe actually finds it quite relaxing and rejuvenating. She has recommended it to her friends, but they are turned off by the idea of all those needles, especially Sabrina, who HATES needles.

Emilie, Adrien and Nathalie regularly visit Gabriel’s grave on his birthday and holidays to grieve. 

Marinette and Adrien have a slew of pet names for each other. Adrien’s favorites for Marinette are “Cupcake”, “Mari-Berry”, and “Princess”, and Marinette’s favorites for Adrien are “Prince”, “Sunshine Boy”, and “Muffin”.  She was worried about “Sunshine Boy” because it was close to “Sunshine”, which is what was being used by his mom, but Emilie insists that because Marinette puts the word “Boy” behind it, that it’s perfectly fine. She even insists on sharing the nickname for him. Adrien doesn’t mind as he loves being called either.

Emilie positively ADORES Marinette and loves to spend time with her, getting to know the precious “Dumpling” who is dating her baby.

 Emilie has even started talking to Marinette about the possibility of coming to work for the family business in the future. 

Eventually, the truth gets out about Marinette and Adrien’s alter egos to their parents and closest friends. They feel guilty at first, but are comforted by their mothers.

After they learn each other’s secret, a new slew of pet names is made by the new couple. Adrien loves to call Marinette “Bugaboo”, “Lovebug“, and “Buginette”. Marinette loves to call Adrien “Kitty”, “Kittykoo”, and “Mon Chaton.”

After a conversation with Emilie, Audrey decides t try and become a better person, wife, and mother, and patches things up with Chloe.

 Alya, Chloe, and Nino all earn their individual Kwamis, and become heroes as well.

Chloe develops a crush on Luka, and finds herself writing poetry about him. She also develops a friendship with Marc.

Sabrina finds out she needs braces. She’s upset at first, but is comforted by Chloe.

In order to better hide their identities, the Kwamis make small alterations to their hosts during transformation. These subtle changes include slight lightening and darkening of skin tone and hair, raising or lowering of voices, and adding a little height and muscle mass to the bodies. While the changes are not drastic, they are just visible enough for the people of Paris not to recognize our young heroes

[linhlotus]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir Ch 2: Origins pt 2

Agggh! I almost forgot to post this. Please forgive me.

Marinette walked into class early for once, happy from her victory as Lovebug. She stopped when she noticed a blond boy crouched next to her seat.

“Excuse me, can I help you,” she asked, before noticing the pink blob that his fingers were stuck in. “Oh, I see,” she said, her voice hard, “You're Chloe’s friend, right?”

“No, I was only trying to take the gum off,” he exclaimed.

“Right, and I’m supposed to believe you? Where’s your proof?”

“Well, I-” he started.

“That’s what I thought,” she cut in. “Now. Unless you want to sit here, please move.”

She watched him sit down across the aisle from her and lay his head on his arms before turning and attempting to remove the gum. When Mrs. Bustier walked in, she finally gave up and laid a napkin over it.

------

Marinette walked outside after school and saw that the ground was wet. Looking up, she sighed contentedly; she had always loved the rain. It was so cool and relaxing. Plus, the scent of the pavement was amazing.

Then she remembered her backpack. She couldn’t get it wet, but she didn’t have an umbrella.

She toyed with the idea of leaving her backpack there and coming back to get it after the rain had stopped. But she dismissed it when she realized that the rain might not stop until the next day.

She decided she’d be better off just staying there, although the thought of a missed afternoon snack made her sigh longingly as she pulled her backpack off her shoulders.

She was just debating whether she should sit where it was dry or stay standing when she heard footsteps from behind her.

She wondered who it was. Then, turning around, she came face to face with the boy who had put the chewing gum on her seat. Adrien. She turned away quickly.

He stopped beside her and opened his umbrella, swinging it up over his head and walking down a step. He paused again and turned to face her. “I was only trying to take the gum off your seat.” He held out his umbrella, waiting patiently as she reached out slowly to take it. Their hands brushed and she felt a jolt of electricity as she took the umbrella out of his grasp.

That was nice enough of him to make her consider his actually telling the truth, but then, she felt the umbrella shutting over her head and heard Adrien laughing. Suddenly he didn’t seem so genuine. How dare he!

She yanked the umbrella off and threw it on the ground. “Really?! You must think you’re so funny! Well, I don’t care who you are, and I don’t care who your father is! I will not tolerate any of your mean tricks! So leave me alone!” she hoped her glare had an effect on him, but she didn't bother to check as she stomped down the stairs.

“W-wait, Marinette!”

“You’re just like Chloe!” she called back.

She ignored his attempts to call her back and continued walking home, not caring that her backpack was now drenched.

If he thought he could bully everyone he met, he was in for a rude awakening.

------

Adrien dragged himself down the steps toward his car. Stubbornly trying to convince himself that she was wrong and he was not like Chloe.

So much for making up with her, he thought wryly. He would just have to try harder to convince her of his innocence.

So when Adrien got home, he started planning how he could explain to Marinette that this was all a misunderstanding.

Thank you to my wonderful beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!

first

next

[linhlotus]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir Ch 6: Riposte

Marinette heard a scream and looked out the window. A silver Akuma with red accents was sword fighting with- Was that... was that Adrien?

What was he doing here? Shouldn’t he be at a photoshoot or doing whatever it was that models did?

She shook her head. No time, she had to transform. “TIKKI, SPOTS ON!”

She climbed onto her balcony and swung towards the Akuma, trying to make it seem like she came from behind the bakery.

She wrapped her yoyo around the Akuma’s sword, spinning her away from Adrien. This doesn’t seem like a very fair fight. Why don’t you spar with me instead?” “You’ll get your chance,” the Akuma growled. She tried to turn back to Adrien, but Lovebug used all her strength to hold the villain in place.

“What’s your name anyway?” she spat out through gritted teeth. Why was . . . this Akuma so . . . damn . . . strong?

“Riposte. Now,” she began, emphasizing every word. “Let. Me. Go!” The Akuma - Riposte - flung Lovebug into a neighboring building, knocking the wind out of the hero and leaving her gasping on the ground.

Adrien, who had seen all of this, rolled his eyes and raised his fencing sabre, muttering, “Guess I have to do this myself.”

They fenced for a while, Riposte attacking furiously and Adrien dodging anything that looked like it could do him any damage.

He knew that any damage Riposte did would be reversed by Lovebug’s magical cure, but from her performance before, he didn’t think she could defeat the Akuma without Chat Noir’s help.

After a few minutes of this, Lovebug got to her feet and crept over, trying not to attract Riposte’s attention. She leaped forward when she was close enough and grabbed Adrien, swinging away before Riposte could even react.

They landed at the Louvre and Lovebug rushed him inside.

“Do you know why she got akumatized?” The heroine had to fight to keep her tone civil. She was a role model. She couldn’t let her dislike for the model show.

“She tried out for the fencing team and didn’t get in. We tied but the only person that saw us lied so he could get on the team.”

His jaw was clenched and he wasn’t making eye contact. That was weird. She shook her head to rid her brain of those distracting thoughts. She would have more time to examine his behavior later. For now, she had to keep him safe. Not even Adrien deserved to be turned over to a vengeful Akuma.

“Right, thanks for your help. Go find a good place to hide now. Chat Noir will be here soon and we’ll take care of everything.”

Lovebug turned away and walked out of the museum to wait for Riposte.

------

After defeating Riposte, Chat sped off and Lovebug walked into the pyramid-shaped landmark.

“You can come out now, Adrien,” she called. When she didn’t get an answer, she looked in the sarcophagus for him. She didn’t see him so she turned and left, muttering under her breath, “Whatever. He’ll be fine. He can get home himself.”

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I'm working on it. I'm just super busy and having a bit of writer's block. From now on, I'll post these on Mondays as I finish them.

previous

next

[linhlotustories]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir Ch 3: Gamer

The next day, Marinette walked into class just as the bell rang. She took her seat and laid out her homework for Mrs. Bustier to collect.

Chloe marched in a moment later and threatened to call her ‘Daddy’ if she was marked tardy. She said hello to Adrien, glared at Marinette, and sat down to talk to Sabrina.

Adrien turned around and greeted Marinette with a smile. “Hey, Marinette.”

She turned away.

“I just want to say that yesterday was a misunderstanding and I’m sorry that you hate me,” he continued, his voice growing quieter and more hesitant with each word. “I’ll leave you alone now.”

He turned back to the front.

Ugh, did he think she was stupid? She wouldn’t fall victim to his tricks again.

“Okay, class, I will be splitting you into pairs for our next project. You and your partner will write a report on the effects of cyberbullying and present it tomorrow,” Mrs. Bustier said and looked around the room. “Any questions?”

When no one raised their hand, she continued, “Alright. Your partners are on the board.”

Marinette waited for Mrs. Bustier to call her name, hoping to be partnered with Alya. When her name was called, however, it was not with Alya’s, but with Adrien’s. She mentally groaned and glanced at her new partner who was watching her hopefully.

“I guess we’re partners,” he said.

“I guess so,” she sighed. “My house or yours?”

“Um, yours if that’s okay.”

“Okay, meet me on the steps after school,” she conceded and looked away.

------

Marinette sighed and sat on the top step to wait for Adrien. She decided to get out her sketchbook and work on her latest design, an elaborate sapphire dress shirt for her dad’s birthday.

A few minutes later, she heard a soft voice from behind her say, “That’s really good, Marinette!"

She turned to see Adrien crouched behind her. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, I just have to tell my bodyguard that I’ll be home late.”

They walked down the steps and Adrien stopped at a gray car parked in front of the school. Marinette assumed the driver was also the bodyguard he’d mentioned since it was him Adrien talked to. And after she heard him tell that he had a project to work on and that he’d be back for his photoshoot in a few hours. She started walking and he turned to follow.

“So, you’re into design?” he asked awkwardly.

“Yeah.”

“You’re really good at it. I think you have a future in the fashion business. Maybe I could get you an internship with my father.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she sighed.

“I know, but I want to.”

“We’re here,” she stepped into the bakery, glad their short walk was finally over.

“Hi, Sweetie, how was school?” mom asked with a smile.

“It was good, mom. This is Adrien. He’s in my class. We’re going up to my room to work on a project.”

“Alright, sweetie, would you like some treats?”

“Sure. Thanks, mom,” she got a platter and loaded it up. “Come on,” she said to him after a second then led him past the counter and up the stairs.

“Do you want me to carry that for you?” Adrien asked, reaching for the platter.

“No thanks, I’m not helpless.” She led him up to her room and opened the trapdoor, climbing up and setting the tray on her desk.

“I’ll be back, I’m just going to make some tea. Any preferences?” she asked as she set her backpack down.

“No, you choose. I trust you.”

She rolled her eyes and headed down to the kitchen in the apartment, throwing him a quick “Make yourself at home” as she went down the stairs again

She chose a marigold lemongrass blend for herself and a chamomile blend for Adrien. Both herbal; it was too late for caffeine.

Measuring out a teaspoon of each, she put them in strainers and poured hot water over them. When she returned, she set them by the tray of pastries.

She asked Adrien to get off the chaise lounge for a moment and moved it to her desk.

“Help yourself to a pastry. The tea in the blue mug is a chamomile blend. That one’s yours.”

“Awesome, thanks Marinette,” he said as he reached for a macaron.

“Be careful, the tea is hot.”

“Why are you being so nice to me? You hate me.”

“Marinette sighed as she opened her backpack and pulled out her books. “Hate is a strong word. And I try to at least be civil to anyone who isn’t currently being hostile to me or one of my friends. Plus, my parents are here."

“That’s very considerate of you.” Adrien popped another macaron in his mouth. “Mmm. . . These are really good, Marinette. Please help me remember to thank your parents before I leave.”

“Or you could just thank them now,” she tilted her head towards her trapdoor.

He glanced over and saw her parents peeking up through it. “Hello, Madame and Monsieur. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Your baking is amazing!”

“Thank you,” Tom smiled, a twinkle in his eyes. “Let us know if you need anything,” he said before he and his wife closed the trapdoor.

“Come on. We’d better get started on the project if we want to have it done before you have to leave.”

Adrien was quick to agree, so they worked on the project for a while, and when they finished, they still had half an hour before Adrien had to leave, so they decided to get a snack and go to the park. They sat and talked for a few minutes then heard screams from in front of them. A huge bot that looked like an UMS character stomped towards them. “Marinette!” it screamed. “Join me and we will rule the world! Refuse and you and your friends will perish!”

“That sounds like. . . Max!” Marinette turned to Adrien. “We have to go! He’s been akumatized.” Adrien grabbed her hand and dragged her away

The newly akumatized Max saw them move and shot at them. They got separated and Marinette lost sight of Adrien, but soon enough she heard footsteps pounding toward her. Instead of Adrien, however, she turned to see Chat Noir. Watch out, Marinette!” he yelled as he knocked her to the ground.

They landed hard and Marinette opened her eyes to see his large, green ones twinkling at her cheekily.

Marinette couldn’t resist teasing him, “Did you fall for me, Kitty?”

“Why, Purrincess, you read my mind!”

She blushed as he got up and held out his hand to help her up. She accepted and once she was on her feet again, he scooped her up, carrying her bridal style.

“Hold on, Purrincess,” Chat warned before he launched them into the air.

He ran for a few minutes then when they had lost Max, he set her down behind a chimney. “Stay here, Marinette,” he said. “I would hate for anything to happen to you,” he kissed her cheek and took off toward the Akuma. “Bye, M’lady, I’ll come get you after Lovebug and I defeat the Akuma.”

------

Lovebug left right after they defeated Gamer, who turned out to be Max. It seemed that he had gotten upset when someone beat his score and thought he wouldn’t be able to compete in the UMS tournament. Chat quickly reassured him and made his way to where he had left Marinette.

She was sitting with her back to the wall and when she heard him approaching, she looked up and smiled at him. “Hi, Chat. How was it?”

“Fine. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

He bent down and picked her up again, taking her to her balcony. Before he left, he bent and kissed her hand, “Au revoir, Purrincess. Until we meet again.”

He backed away and jumped off her balcony, catching himself with his baton. He doubled back and met Marinette outside the bakery as Adrien before making his way home.

As he walked to his room, all he could think about was how wonderful Marinette was and how he was going to win her heart.

Thank you to my amazing beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!

previous

next

[linhlotustories]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir Ch 2: Origins pt 2

Marinette walked into class early for once, happy from her victory as Lovebug. She stopped when she noticed a blond boy crouched next to her seat.

“Excuse me, can I help you,” she asked, before noticing the pink blob that his fingers were stuck in. “Oh, I see,” she said, her voice hard, “You're Chloe’s friend, right?”

“No, I was only trying to take the gum off,” he exclaimed.

“Right, and I’m supposed to believe you? Where’s your proof?”

“Well, I-” he started.

“That’s what I thought,” she cut in. “Now. Unless you want to sit here, please move.”

She watched him sit down across the aisle from her and lay his head on his arms before turning and attempting to remove the gum. When Mrs. Bustier walked in, she finally gave up and laid a napkin over it.

------

Marinette walked outside after school and saw that the ground was wet. Looking up, she sighed contentedly; she had always loved the rain. It was so cool and relaxing. Plus, the scent of the pavement was amazing.

Then she remembered her backpack. She couldn’t get it wet, but she didn’t have an umbrella.

She toyed with the idea of leaving her backpack there and coming back to get it after the rain had stopped. But she dismissed it when she realized that the rain might not stop until the next day.

She decided she’d be better off just staying there, although the thought of a missed afternoon snack made her sigh longingly as she pulled her backpack off her shoulders.

She was just debating whether she should sit where it was dry or stay standing when she heard footsteps from behind her.

She wondered who it was. Then, turning around, she came face to face with the boy who had put the chewing gum on her seat. Adrien. She turned away quickly.

He stopped beside her and opened his umbrella, swinging it up over his head and walking down a step. He paused again and turned to face her. “I was only trying to take the gum off your seat.” He held out his umbrella, waiting patiently as she reached out slowly to take it. Their hands brushed and she felt a jolt of electricity as she took the umbrella out of his grasp.

That was nice enough of him to make her consider his actually telling the truth, but then, she felt the umbrella shutting over her head and heard Adrien laughing. Suddenly he didn’t seem so genuine. How dare he!

She yanked the umbrella off and threw it on the ground. “Really?! You must think you’re so funny! Well, I don’t care who you are, and I don’t care who your father is! I will not tolerate any of your mean tricks! So leave me alone!” she hoped her glare had an effect on him, but she didn't bother to check as she stomped down the stairs.

“W-wait, Marinette!”

“You’re just like Chloe!” she called back.

She ignored his attempts to call her back and continued walking home, not caring that her backpack was now drenched.

If he thought he could bully everyone he met, he was in for a rude awakening.

------

Adrien dragged himself down the steps toward his car. Stubbornly trying to convince himself that she was wrong and he was not like Chloe.

So much for making up with her, he thought wryly. He would just have to try harder to convince her of his innocence.

So when Adrien got home, he started planning how he could explain to Marinette that this was all a misunderstanding.

Thank you to my wonderful beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!

first

next

[linhlotustories]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir

Chapter one: Origins pt 1

Summary: Chat dislikes Lovebug (Ladybug) because she is bossy and often late. Marinette dislikes Adrien because the chewing gum incident was never resolved. Adrien is in love with Marinette because he sees how nice she is to everyone. Marinette likes Chat because. . . She just does, okay!

Chat noir walked carefully across his baton, his balance perfect due to all the hours of practice in his room. He was halfway across when he heard a scream and looked up to see a red blur flying toward him.

He didn’t have time to react before it collided with him and they plummeted.

He felt the blood rush to his head and for a moment, he thought they would crash to the ground. But then, something thin wrapped around him and halted his fall. His eyes adjusted and he saw a girl around his age with dark hair and blue eyes. She pulled on something and they fell the last few feet to the ground.

“I’m so sorry,” the girl said, “I didn’t mean to do that, I’m new at this.”

He was new to this too so he would let it slide. Plus, she was cute, which didn’t hurt. “No sweat, I'm still learning the ropes too. I’m … hmm… Chat noir. Yeah! Chat noir! What‘s your name?”

She tugged on the string again. “M-”

Ouch! Something hard slammed into his head and he reached up to rub it.

“Madly clumsy,” she continued, hanging her head dejectedly. “I’m so clumsy.”

Chat felt sorry for the girl. She must feel really bad. He tried to think of a way to make her feel better. “It’s okay, we all make mistakes.”

“No, you don’t understand. I’m always clumsy. I can’t walk over a flat surface without finding something to trip on,” she sighed. “I’m hopeless.” She looked up like she just realized what she was saying. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m dumping all of my problems on you and we haven’t even known each other for five minutes.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not!”

“Really, I completely understand. It’s fine.” He didn’t really, but she looked so miserable. He had to say something!

She was about to say something else, probably protest about how she shouldn’t have said anything, when they felt the ground beneath them rumble and heard screams coming from the direction of the stadium.

He was already racing off towards the screams. “Gotta go. It was nice meeting you,” he called back as he extended his baton.

------

He hit the giant stone monster with his baton and- to his surprise and utter displeasure, it got bigger. He didn’t know how that was possible and it certainly wasn’t helping with his already growing panic, And neither did the fact that his red partner was standing on top of the stadium, doing absolutely nothing.

Why wasn’t she doing anything? “Hey, Partner! A little help here?!” He called as he dodged an attack.

He heard a scream from behind him and turned to see the car he had dodged heading straight for-

Why was there still a civilian?

He thought they had all escaped already. He launched his baton, extending it. The car bounced off his baton, shielding the girl. He started to retract it, but was grabbed from behind by a giant fist.

How had it managed to sneak up on him? He had been too preoccupied saving the girl from the car to see it sneaking behind him. “Come on, Partner! I need your help!”

He saw her take a deep breath before swinging down and flinging her yoyo around one of the giant’s fingers. She pulled as hard as she could and, magically, he opened his fist, dropping Chat Noir.

He rolled to absorb the momentum, and jumped up by his partner who was running toward the soccer goal. He followed her and noticed her outfit for the first time. Was she. . . wearing a dress? Who wears a dress into battle? “Why are you wearing a dress?” he asked incredulously.

It was red with an illusion neckline, a ladybug sash around her waist, and an asymmetrical skirt. Black tights patterned with ladybugs and flowers were underneath. Probably so she didn't flash anyone when she swung around. He looked at her feet and saw that she was wearing black ballerina flats with red accents. He had to admit, she looked good.

“What? Oh. It’s actually really comfortable. Not as restricting as you might think,” she responded, defending her choice cheerfully. “I actually designed a dress like this before. I never made it though. Maybe that’s why I transformed into it,”.

Why was she so happy? They were in the middle of a battle!

They made it to the goal when he finally remembered his special power.

“CATACLYSM!” There was a flash of green light and small, black bubbles started swirling around his hand. He touched the goal and it crumbled. Cool! He launched himself at the giant and slammed his hand down on its foot- And nothing happened.

Was it too strong? he asked himself, dumbfounded and at a loss for what to do next.

He felt a wire wrap around his abdomen and yank him back to the goal. He landed in a heap on the scratchy, fake grass. The girl pulled back her yoyo. “Don’t you know you can only use your power once? And you only have five minutes before you transform back,” she scolded. “Didn’t your kwami tell you anything?”

She had the nerve to scold him. She didn’t even show up until he called for her. Twice. He understood that she didn’t choose this. And she was probably afraid. But if someone needs your help, you help them. No matter the cost.

“I was excited. I didn’t actually think I would have to fight a supervillain.” He had to fight to keep his tone civil.

She sighed, “I guess it’s time for some luck.”

“LUCKY CHARM!” she screamed. There was a flash of light, pink this time, and a red and black wetsuit fell into her hands.

He had to see this. “Planning on going swimming?”

She glared at him. “You see his fist? He never opens it. There must be something in it. That’s where the Akuma is.” She grabbed the end of a hose and put it in the neck of the wetsuit. “We need to get caught.”

“What?!”

“You heard me, we need to let him capture us.”

“Are you crazy!”

“No. I have a plan, but we need to let him capture us for it to work.”

“If this doesn’t work, you owe me ice cream,” he grumbled.

“That sounds fair,” she chirped. Why was she so dang cheerful? ”On three. One. . . Two. . . Three!

They charged toward the giant. He was grabbed first. Then the girl- he was really getting tired of calling her ‘the girl’- got captured. “Alya, the tap!” she yelled.

“You got it!” the civilian- Alya- called back. She ran over to the faucet attached to the hose and turned it on.

The girl- he really needed to find a better name for her- leaped out of its fist as the wetsuit filled with water. He saw a ball of crumpled, purple paper land in front of the girl who ripped it in half. A black and purple butterfly flew out of it and fluttered away.

The monster’s exterior bubbled black and purple before shrinking and turning into a teenage boy.

The girl grabbed the wetsuit and flung it into the air screaming, “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!” Glowing ladybugs swirled around repairing all the damage the stone monster had caused.

Chat couldn’t help but notice that he looked confused. Maybe he couldn’t remember what he’d done.

The girl unfolded the ball of now-white paper and scanned it. Then, she walked over to the boy and handed him the paper. She said something he didn’t quite catch and smiled. The boy nodded and she helped him up.

Chat heard his ring beep and bounded away.

-------

Ugh! Adrien hated Chloe! Why did she have to mess up his first day of school? It was her reputation as a brat that had messed up his reputation with a classmate.

A really cute classmate. One he’d seen being very kind to everyone else. It was only Chloe and now him she had a problem with. He hoped he could explain to her that it was just a misunderstanding. Then they could be friends. Or maybe. . . more.

Adrien shook his head. No. He was getting ahead of himself. First, he had to convince her that it was just a misunderstanding. And that he wasn’t friends with Chloe. He wrinkled his nose.

He heard a crash from outside his window and ran to see what it was. Out on the street, he saw a stone giant stomping down the street, shaking the ground with every step.

“Shit! Plagg, get over here!”

“What do you need?” he called back grumpily.

“You might want to see this.” He called back.

Plagg phased through the door to his designated cheese cupboard and flew over. “What is it? I have a date with my soft, gooey camembert.”

“Why is it back?”

“Did Lovebug capture the Akuma?”

“Akuma? Lovebug?”

“The purple butterfly. And Lovebug is the ladybug miraculous holder.”

“She didn’t capture the Akuma, no. And how do you know her name?”

“I went to visit them earlier to see how she was settling in.”

“Plagg, you know that’s dangerous.” he frowned. “Wait, you know who she is?”

“Of course.”

He was about to say something but he felt the ground quake again. “We’ll talk about this later, we have a city to save. PLAGG, CLAWS OUT!”

Bright green light flooded the room as his clothes turned into black leather. He leaped out the window and chased after the new giant.

-------

Chat threw his baton to protect Alya from a flying car for the second time in two days. What were the odds? He felt something hard squeeze him and realized that one of the stone monsters had grabbed him. Jeez who ate his breakfast? The giant hunk of granite turned and marched towards the Eiffel tower with its. . . Siblings? Cousins? Acquaintances?

Whatever they were, there were too many of them. Even if he managed to get out of this one’s grip, he would never be able to fight them all off.

Where was Lovebug when you needed her? Was this going to become a regular thing?

“LOVEBUG! Wherever you are, HELP!” he shouted as he struggled to free himself from the boulder’s grip.

He spotted Lovebug when they were about halfway to the Eiffel tower. She freed him again by wrapping her yoyo around its thumb and yanking it away from him. He fell and landed on his feet before she threw him his baton.

They started running and he asked, “So what’s the plan?”

“Get to the Eiffel tower before they do and take out their leader.”

“Shouldn’t we take care of them first?”

“No, we take out the source and they will all return to their original forms.”

“Okay, anything else I need to know?”

She thought about that for a moment, “Umm? No? I can’t think of anything.”

“Great!”

They ran in silence until they made it to the base of the tower where they saw the police force gathered in a semicircle around the tower, with Mayor Bourgeois at the front next to Officer Roger.

He followed their eyes up and saw the monster from the day before holding two teenage girls. Chloe and another girl from his class, Malory? Madeline? Mylene? That was it. Mylene. And that must be...Ivan.

Adrien had been surprised to find out that he was in the same class as the boy who had been akumatized. Something must have happened to upset him again.

“I demand my daughter’s safe return!” Mayor Bourgeois screamed through a megaphone.

“Daddy!” Chloe screamed back.

“You know what? You’re welcome to her!” Ivan said before hurling her at them.

“Ahh!” she screamed, flailing her arms, “Help! I promise I’ll be nice to everyone and say please and thank you!”

Yeah, fat chance, he thought bitterly to himself.

Lovebug leaped forward and caught her, landing and setting her on her feet.

“I didn’t promise,” Chloe said innocently moment she was safe, entitled as always.

Called it!

Lovebug just sighed and faced Ivan again.

“We are clear to attack!” yelled Roger.

“Wait,” Lovebug turned to face him, “no, don’t attack them, you know it will only make it worse!”

“I have a new plan, unlike you. Step down, Lovebug,” Officer Roger called. “Let the professionals handle this, you’ve already failed once.”

Wait. How did he know her name? Had everyone known except him?

She looked down dejectedly, “He’s right. If I’d just remembered to capture the Akuma in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this mess.” She told him, he almost missed the waver in her voice. Now that he thought about it, she seemed tense and anxious and defeated. “I don’t deserve to be Lovebug.”

Well, I guess it’s up to me then. “Lovebug, look at me,” he said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders. She tilted her head up and he saw that her eyes were brimming with tears. “Don’t listen to him. Look at her,” he continued, as he turned her to face Chloe, who was now hugging her father. “Would she be here without you?” He paused briefly to let his words sink in. “We all make mistakes, what matters is how we fix them.”

“You’ve been holding onto that one for a long time haven’t you?” she giggled.

“The longest,” he said playfully. “Now don’t ruin this for me, we have a super-villain to defeat,” he smiled.

“Okay.” She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the coming battle. Then, she let it out, “I’m ready.”

They turned toward the tower just as Ivan hacked up a swarm of purple butterflies. The cloud of insects morphed into a giant face.

“People of Paris, listen carefully. I am Hawkmoth,” it started.

“Hawkmoth?” they said together.

“Lovebug, Chat noir, give me the ladybug earrings and the cat ring now. You’ve done enough damage to these innocent people.”

Chat heard clapping to his right and looked over to see Lovebug walk forward slowly. “Nice try, Hawkmoth, but we know who the bad guy is. Let’s not reverse the roles here. Without you, none of these innocent victims would be transformed into villains. Hawkmoth, no matter how long it takes, we will find you! And you will hand us your miraculous!” As she finished her speech, she leaped up to the butterflies. “Time to de-evilize!” she screamed as she started swinging her yoyo at the swarm, catching the butterflies two or three at a time.

When she had caught the last butterfly, she landed and turned to face them, “Let me make this promise to you, no matter who wants to harm you, Chat Noir and Lovebug will do everything in our power to keep you safe,” she said before pressing a button on her yoyo and letting out a cloud of white butterflies.

Chat heard cheers and whoops coming from the officers surrounding the tower.

“Wow. Whoever she is beneath the mask, she’s a showoff,” he deadpanned.

He looked up just as Ivan picked himself back up. Parkouring up the tower, he met Lovebug in front of Ivan.

“I won’t let you take Mylene away from me!” The boy screamed before turning and storming away.

Boy, this was going to be a long day, Chat thought as he raced after him with Lovebug.

I was going to post this on Thursday, but I couldn't stop thinking about it so I'm posting it early. From now on, though, I'll only be posting TLKN on Thursdays. Even if I miss a week.

Thank you to my amazing beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!

next

[linhlotus]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir Ch 5: Pixelator.

Marinette walked out of the elevator and past the front desk.

“Failed as a gopher already, Dupain-Cheng?” She heard Chloe laugh from the desk.

Marinette ignored her and kept walking, but before she was out of earshot, she heard Adrien say, “I’ll be right back. There’s something I forgot to do.”

She was a few blocks away from the hotel when she felt the eyes. When Marinette turned, though, she didn’t see anyone watching her. She shivered and started walking faster.

Even after she got to the Eiffel tower, she still couldn’t shake the feeling of someone watching her, so she backtracked to a nearby alley to see who it was. When no one followed her, she thought she was imagining things.

“What’s a pretty little lady like you doing in a place like this?”

Marinette whirled around. “Oh, it’s just you,” she sighed.

“Did I scare you?” he smiled. It was a kind smile that made Marinette melt.

“Yes,” she admitted.

“Sorry, Purrincess. I wasn’t trying to.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s fine, Kitty. Do you want to help me?”

“With what?”

“I need to get Jagged Stone some Eiffel Tower glasses with the Parisian flag on them,” Marinette explained.

“I’d love to help.”

“Okay, let’s go then.” Marinette motioned for him to follow and started walking out of the alley.

Chat grabbed her arm. “Hey, where do you think you’re going?” he grinned

She looked back at him, quizzically. “To the Eiffel Tower? Where was I supposed to go?”

“Don’t you want me to give you a lift?”

“Oh. Yes, please,” she smiled up at him. The prospect of being so close to him was too good to pass up.

He scooped her up and readied his baton. “Hold on, M’lady.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. It felt wonderful to be in his arms, pressed against his chest. It felt safe. She wasn’t even scared when Chat leaped up to a nearby roof. Although, part of that may have been because she did this as Lovebug.

Chat landed near the Eiffel Tower and set her on her feet. Was it her or was he reluctant to let go of her?

They saw a vendor selling sunglasses with little Eiffel Towers on the sides. Marinette was about to buy a pair when Chat set his hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked up at him. “What is it?”

“Don’t you think it would be better to make sure the glasses are exactly how he wanted them before you give them to him? That way, you won’t have to redo it and if you got it out of the way, we could go get that ice cream you promised me.” He smiled, his eyes twinkling.

She had an idea. “Hey, Chat, can you take me to my room? I need to get something.”

“Of course, Purrincess.”

------

“And . . . Voila!” Marinette held up her masterpiece. She turned to Chat. “What do you think?”

“They’re way better than the ones you almost bought at the tower. I’m sure he’ll love them. I might just buy a pair myself,” he grinned.

“You don’t have to buy them, I’ll make a pair just for you. You can call it a present for saving the city every day.”

“Hey, maybe I could model your designs!”

“Really?!” That way, they could see each other all the time! “I can pay you in sweets.”

“I wouldn’t say no to that . . .” he rubbed the back of his neck. “Why don’t we drop off these amazing shades and then we can write a contract.”

“Perfect! Come on.” They made their way to the balcony and Chat picked her up again. Oh, this was heavenly!

He leaped to the hotel and set her down. When they walked in, no one was there. Not Chloe, not Adrien, not even the hotel staff. Where was everyone? Marinette heard a series of muffled screams and crashes from above.

She rushed toward the stairs, yelling after Chat to follow her.“Come on!”

“Wait, Marinette, it could be an Akuma!” Chat rushed to keep up.

“Then I can help.”

“But you might get hurt!”

“Not if you’re there to save me.” Marinette stopped in her tracks catching him a bit off guard. Going by his side, she grabbed his shoulders and gave him no option but to look solely at her. “I'll be fine. It's probably nothing.”

“If it’s an Akuma, you have to leave immediately.”

“Deal,” she agreed. “Now let’s go check it out.”

She turned and they made their way up, checking each floor before moving on. When they got to the fourth floor, Marinette saw a man with what looked like a camera attached to his face. He watched them for a second and then pressed a button on his head.

Chat dived in front of her as a flash of white enveloped them.

When she regained her senses, all she saw was white.

A thud resounded around her and she looked down to see Chat on the floor. “Are you okay, Kitty?” she asked, kneeling next to him.

“Yeah, I’m fine, but what about you?”

“I’m alright. Where are we?”

“I don’t know, let’s see if we can find a way out.”

After walking for a few minutes and seemingly getting nowhere, Marinette looked to the side and saw- a crocodile?

“Chat, look. Isn’t that Jagged’s crocodile?”

“Watch out, M’lady, I’ll protect you.” Chat leaped in front of her and brandished his staff. “This is all my fault, I never should have let you come with me.”

“No, Kitty, look at me. We’re both fine. We just need to make a plan. If I hadn’t come, I would’ve worried about you the whole time.”

He considered this for a moment. “Fine let’s go make a plan, but we’d better put some distance between us and the crocodile.”

They started walking and it didn’t take Marinette long to come up with an idea. “Hey, we haven’t tried going up.”

“That’s true . . . but what if you fall?”

“I won’t.” She grabbed his arm. “Come on, let’s try it.”

Chat sighed and picked her up. “Hold on.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest which seemed to make him relax ever so slightly. Chat pressed a button on his baton and they shot upward.

After a few minutes, Chat pressed another button and they stopped. “It’s no use. It just keeps going.”

“Let’s go back down and try something else.”

He nodded and brought them down.

“Why don’t you try your cataclysm? If it doesn’t work, I’ll turn around when you change back,” she suggested as he set her on her feet.

“That might work!” Chat said and Marinette could see that he believed it was the best idea yet. “CATACLYSM!” he said and slammed his hand against the ground.

The ground cracked and disappeared and Marinette grabbed Chat’s arm for support. They reappeared in the hotel with Jagged’s crocodile bellowing down the hall.

“Let’s get out of here,” Chat said.

“I agree.” They backed into the stairwell and slammed the door behind them before running to the first floor where Chloe was throwing a tantrum.

“This is all your fault, Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe screamed when she saw Marinette.

“How is this my fault?”

“If you had been at the hotel like you were supposed to be, that hooligan wouldn’t have targeted me.” Chloe flipped her hair. “Because of you, my hair is ruined and Adrikins is nowhere to be seen!” she whined, turning to Kim and pretending to cry on his chest.

Marinette was fuming.

How could Chloe accuse her like that? She was the one that gave Marinette the job of ‘gopher’ anyway! If anyone was to blame, it was Chloe, herself. Not that she would admit it.

Chat settled his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him, her expression softening. “Just ignore her, she’s not worth it.”

Marinette nodded. She knew he was right it was just hard with Chloe constantly getting on her nerves.

They walked out of the hotel and saw the Akuma again. This time, he was preoccupied with a civilian down the road, but he turned to them once they disappeared.

“So, you escaped. That won’t happen again.” He noticed Marinette. “Ah, who is this? Is she your girlfriend?” Marinette and Chat both blushed and looked away. “She’s very pretty. She’ll go very nicely with my other photographs. What do you think, Chat Noir? Wouldn’t she look good next to Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale?”

Chat glared at him. And- was he growling? Marinette had never seen him so mad. It was kind of fascinating to compare to the soft expression he so often gave to her. She felt honored that it was on her behalf, but at the same time, he was scary.

“Oh, didn’t mean to jiggle your tripod.” The Akuma laughed.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “That was so bad.”

“Hey! You’ll pay for that!”

He pressed a button on his head and Chat knocked her to the ground just in time, but her arm still got hit. Chat grinned at her from a few inches away. “You just keep falling for me, don’t you?”

“This isn’t the best time, Chat.”

“Sorry, M’lady. Couldn’t help myself.”

He stood up and offered her his hand. When she tried to accept it, though, her hand went right through. Chat looked horrified.

She couldn’t quite understand what was going on. She hadn’t been hit directly so she’d thought she was in the clear, but maybe it just had different effects. Marinette tried again with her other hand. This time, it worked. She just couldn’t use her right hand.

He let go of her hand and instead picked her up. “Hold on, Purrincess. Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

Marinette wrapped her good arm around Chat’s neck and let her other one hang by her side. Chat leaped onto the roof of a neighboring building.

They arrived at her balcony and Chat set her down on her chair. He was about to leave, but she grabbed his tail. “We have to figure out where the akuma is. You said Lovebug was unavailable for a while, maybe she’s still busy.”

She couldn’t let Chat know she was Lovebug and he was sure to find out if she transformed with her arm out of commission. What were the chances that two people who looked remarkably similar would have gotten the exact same injury at the same time? He’d never believe that.

He turned back to her.

“So we need to get something to trap the akuma in and you can deliver it to Lovebug with the other one.”

“You’re right. Any ideas?” he asked, sitting in front of her.

She thought for a moment. His weapon was on his head so that could be it. Did he have anything that didn’t match his outfit? She didn’t think so. That was their best bet.

“I can’t think of anything other than his camera. What about you?”

“I agree with you.” He stood up. “I’ll be back when I’m done.”

Marinette stood and adopted a defensive stance, bracing herself for his inevitable objection. “No.”

“What?”

“I’m coming with you.” She crossed her arms. As best she could, anyway.

“Absolutely not. You don’t have a miraculous.”

“Yeah, but I have ideas. And I have you. I know you would never let me get hurt.”

“But I already have,” he growled and gestured to her arm. “You were hurt because I couldn’t save you.”

“Technically not, because it doesn’t actually hurt,” she grinned.

“It doesn’t matter. You’re not coming. I will not put you in danger again.”

“If you don’t take me, I’ll follow you. And then you won’t be able to protect me.”

He glared at her for a few minutes, but Marinette could tell it didn’t have much spite behind it. “Fine, but if I tell you to do something, you listen.”

“Agreed,” she chirped.

He picked her up and she held on to him again.

He leaped to where they’d last seen the akuma and landed in an alley, settling her on her feet.

They looked around the corner and spotted him immediately.

Marinette pulled back and Chat turned to face her. “We need to get close to him.”

He pursed his lips but didn’t argue.

“Do we know what he’s after?”

Chat held up his baton. “Well, let’s check the news.”

They watched a video Nadija had managed to take before she was turned into a photograph, as well as one from Alya. They both said the same thing; the Akuma had been identified as Vincent Asa who now went by Pixelator and he was after Jagged Stone. But, curiously, he wasn’t seeking vengeance. Well, not really. At least, he wasn’t openly threatening Jagged so that had to be an improvement.

“I have a plan. You go recharge and get Jagged. I’ll stay here and wait for you.”

“But-”

She cut him off, “No time to argue, Kitty, just go find him.”

He scowled but extended his baton. “Don’t get near him. Just wait right here until I get back.” Then he was gone though she could still hear him landing on the rooftop. She turned back to keep an eye on Pixelator and found herself looking right at him.

“I see your pretty little kitty left you here all alone.” He pressed a button on his temple and, for the third time that day, a beam of white light shot at her. She jumped to the side, barely getting out of the way in time.

“He’ll be back.” She was confident in that at least, but whether she would make it till then was what worried her. She just had to keep from getting hit and she’d be fine.

After a few minutes of dodging attacks, there was still no sign of Chat and Marinette was getting tired. Pixelator sent another beam of light at her and she leaped out of the way, but when she tried to take another step, she collapsed. Pixelator must have remembered what happened to her arm and decided to incapacitate her before he returned her to her frame.

Marinette tried to scramble away, but with two unusable limbs, she wasn’t going anywhere. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited to be hit by another beam, but there was a yell from somewhere behind the akuma that made her eyes fly open.

“Hey, leave her alone!”

It was Chat! Perfect timing!

“A little bird told me you were looking for someone.”

Jagged Stone stepped out from behind Chat. “Hey, Vincent! I heard you wanted a photo.”

“The name’s Pixelator now. Come here so I can immortalize you.”

Jagged started walking to Pixelator and while he was distracted, Chat rushed over to help her up.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ve been better, but I think I have an idea for how to help Jagged.” She picked up her purse. “Can you open this for me?”

“Sure.” He opened it and was courteous enough not to look inside, which was nice because otherwise, as he would say, ‘the cat would have been out of the bag’. He held it out to her. “Here, I’ll hold it for you.”

“Thanks.” She used her good hand to pull out a small makeup mirror. “Help me over to them.”

“Are you sure abou-”

“Please, Chat.”

He sighed but helped her up and they hobbled over to where Jagged kept repositioning himself in an attempt to stall.

Pixelator was getting fed up. “Enough!” He smiled sadistically. “Look into the lens.”

Marinette hurled the mirror as Jagged braced himself for a hit that never came. Instead, the beam bounced off her mirror and hit Pixelator. He vanished, leaving the visor in his place.

“Great job, Purrincess!”

“Did you bring something to capture the akuma with?” she asked.

He held up a jar. “Yeah.”

“Go, quick so no one can do any more damage.”

He snapped it and a purple butterfly fluttered out, its wings glittering evilly in the sun. Before it could go more than a few feet, it was caught in a jar and a lid was snapped over it.

Chat turned back to her. “Do you want me to take you home before I go look for Lovebug?”

“That would be nice,” she admitted.

He scooped her up which was really awkward after what Pixelator had done to her. She held onto him with her good arm as he jumped across the rooftops. When they got to her house, he opened her skylight and lowered her onto her bed.

Marinette waited until she was sure he was gone before calling Tikki out of her purse. “We have to fix this and purify the akumas. TIKKI, SPOTS ON! LUCKY CHARM!” A mirror fell into her hand.

Marinette waited until she was sure he was gone before calling Tikki out of her purse. “We have to fix this and purify the akumas. TIKKI, SPOTS ON! LUCKY CHARM!” A mirror fell into her hand. </p>

“A little late for that. Don’t you think? Oh, whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore.” She threw the mirror into the air. “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!” Ladybugs flew all around her and she sighed as she regained the feeling in her arm and leg.

“Time to go find Chat.” Lovebug opened her skylight and swung away. When she finally found Chat, he was leaping toward Notre Dame. “Chat Noir! Chat Noir!” she called.

He turned and they landed on a roof to talk. “Sorry I’m late. I had some trouble getting away. Do you have the akumas?”

“Yeah.” He handed them to her.

As Lovebug opened the jars, she told him that she had already used her lucky charm and the miraculous cure so she had only a few minutes. She purified the akumas and leaped back to her house as fast as she could, detransforming as she dropped onto her bed.

A few minutes later, Chat popped his head in. “Hey, Purrincess. Ready to go drop off Jagged’s glasses and get some ice cream?”

“Yeah, let me just go get a notebook. We still have to write that contract.”

When Marinette got home after her afternoon with Chat, all she could do was lay on her chaise and sigh. The day had been perfect and she hoped they could do something similar together soon.

Thank you to my wonderful beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!

previous

next

[linhlotus]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir

Chapter one: Origins pt 1

Summary: Chat dislikes Lovebug (Ladybug) because she is bossy and often late. Marinette dislikes Adrien because the chewing gum incident was never resolved. Adrien is in love with Marinette because he sees how nice she is to everyone. Marinette likes Chat because. . . She just does, okay!

Chat noir walked carefully across his baton, his balance perfect due to all the hours of practice in his room. He was halfway across when he heard a scream and looked up to see a red blur flying toward him.

He didn’t have time to react before it collided with him and they plummeted.

He felt the blood rush to his head and for a moment, he thought they would crash to the ground. But then, something thin wrapped around him and halted his fall. His eyes adjusted and he saw a girl around his age with dark hair and blue eyes. She pulled on something and they fell the last few feet to the ground.

“I’m so sorry,” the girl said, “I didn’t mean to do that, I’m new at this.”

He was new to this too so he would let it slide. Plus, she was cute, which didn’t hurt. “No sweat, I'm still learning the ropes too. I’m … hmm… Chat noir. Yeah! Chat noir! What‘s your name?”

She tugged on the string again. “M-”

Ouch! Something hard slammed into his head and he reached up to rub it.

“Madly clumsy,” she continued, hanging her head dejectedly. “I’m so clumsy.”

Chat felt sorry for the girl. She must feel really bad. He tried to think of a way to make her feel better. “It’s okay, we all make mistakes.”

“No, you don’t understand. I’m always clumsy. I can’t walk over a flat surface without finding something to trip on,” she sighed. “I’m hopeless.” She looked up like she just realized what she was saying. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m dumping all of my problems on you and we haven’t even known each other for five minutes.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not!”

“Really, I completely understand. It’s fine.” He didn’t really, but she looked so miserable. He had to say something!

She was about to say something else, probably protest about how she shouldn’t have said anything, when they felt the ground beneath them rumble and heard screams coming from the direction of the stadium.

He was already racing off towards the screams. “Gotta go. It was nice meeting you,” he called back as he extended his baton.

------

He hit the giant stone monster with his baton and- to his surprise and utter displeasure, it got bigger. He didn’t know how that was possible and it certainly wasn’t helping with his already growing panic, And neither did the fact that his red partner was standing on top of the stadium, doing absolutely nothing.

Why wasn’t she doing anything? “Hey, Partner! A little help here?!” He called as he dodged an attack.

He heard a scream from behind him and turned to see the car he had dodged heading straight for-

Why was there still a civilian?

He thought they had all escaped already. He launched his baton, extending it. The car bounced off his baton, shielding the girl. He started to retract it, but was grabbed from behind by a giant fist.

How had it managed to sneak up on him? He had been too preoccupied saving the girl from the car to see it sneaking behind him. “Come on, Partner! I need your help!”

He saw her take a deep breath before swinging down and flinging her yoyo around one of the giant’s fingers. She pulled as hard as she could and, magically, he opened his fist, dropping Chat Noir.

He rolled to absorb the momentum, and jumped up by his partner who was running toward the soccer goal. He followed her and noticed her outfit for the first time. Was she. . . wearing a dress? Who wears a dress into battle? “Why are you wearing a dress?” he asked incredulously.

It was red with an illusion neckline, a ladybug sash around her waist, and an asymmetrical skirt. Black tights patterned with ladybugs and flowers were underneath. Probably so she didn't flash anyone when she swung around. He looked at her feet and saw that she was wearing black ballerina flats with red accents. He had to admit, she looked good.

“What? Oh. It’s actually really comfortable. Not as restricting as you might think,” she responded, defending her choice cheerfully. “I actually designed a dress like this before. I never made it though. Maybe that’s why I transformed into it,”.

Why was she so happy? They were in the middle of a battle!

They made it to the goal when he finally remembered his special power.

“CATACLYSM!” There was a flash of green light and small, black bubbles started swirling around his hand. He touched the goal and it crumbled. Cool! He launched himself at the giant and slammed his hand down on its foot- And nothing happened.

Was it too strong? he asked himself, dumbfounded and at a loss for what to do next.

He felt a wire wrap around his abdomen and yank him back to the goal. He landed in a heap on the scratchy, fake grass. The girl pulled back her yoyo. “Don’t you know you can only use your power once? And you only have five minutes before you transform back,” she scolded. “Didn’t your kwami tell you anything?”

She had the nerve to scold him. She didn’t even show up until he called for her. Twice. He understood that she didn’t choose this. And she was probably afraid. But if someone needs your help, you help them. No matter the cost.

“I was excited. I didn’t actually think I would have to fight a supervillain.” He had to fight to keep his tone civil.

She sighed, “I guess it’s time for some luck.”

“LUCKY CHARM!” she screamed. There was a flash of light, pink this time, and a red and black wetsuit fell into her hands.

He had to see this. “Planning on going swimming?”

She glared at him. “You see his fist? He never opens it. There must be something in it. That’s where the Akuma is.” She grabbed the end of a hose and put it in the neck of the wetsuit. “We need to get caught.”

“What?!”

“You heard me, we need to let him capture us.”

“Are you crazy!”

“No. I have a plan, but we need to let him capture us for it to work.”

“If this doesn’t work, you owe me ice cream,” he grumbled.

“That sounds fair,” she chirped. Why was she so dang cheerful? ”On three. One. . . Two. . . Three!

They charged toward the giant. He was grabbed first. Then the girl- he was really getting tired of calling her ‘the girl’- got captured. “Alya, the tap!” she yelled.

“You got it!” the civilian- Alya- called back. She ran over to the faucet attached to the hose and turned it on.

The girl- he really needed to find a better name for her- leaped out of its fist as the wetsuit filled with water. He saw a ball of crumpled, purple paper land in front of the girl who ripped it in half. A black and purple butterfly flew out of it and fluttered away.

The monster’s exterior bubbled black and purple before shrinking and turning into a teenage boy.

The girl grabbed the wetsuit and flung it into the air screaming, “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!” Glowing ladybugs swirled around repairing all the damage the stone monster had caused.

Chat couldn’t help but notice that he looked confused. Maybe he couldn’t remember what he’d done.

The girl unfolded the ball of now-white paper and scanned it. Then, she walked over to the boy and handed him the paper. She said something he didn’t quite catch and smiled. The boy nodded and she helped him up.

Chat heard his ring beep and bounded away.

-------

Ugh! Adrien hated Chloe! Why did she have to mess up his first day of school? It was her reputation as a brat that had messed up his reputation with a classmate.

A really cute classmate. One he’d seen being very kind to everyone else. It was only Chloe and now him she had a problem with. He hoped he could explain to her that it was just a misunderstanding. Then they could be friends. Or maybe. . . more.

Adrien shook his head. No. He was getting ahead of himself. First, he had to convince her that it was just a misunderstanding. And that he wasn’t friends with Chloe. He wrinkled his nose.

He heard a crash from outside his window and ran to see what it was. Out on the street, he saw a stone giant stomping down the street, shaking the ground with every step.

“Shit! Plagg, get over here!”

“What do you need?” he called back grumpily.

“You might want to see this.” He called back.

Plagg phased through the door to his designated cheese cupboard and flew over. “What is it? I have a date with my soft, gooey camembert.”

“Why is it back?”

“Did Lovebug capture the Akuma?”

“Akuma? Lovebug?”

“The purple butterfly. And Lovebug is the ladybug miraculous holder.”

“She didn’t capture the Akuma, no. And how do you know her name?”

“I went to visit them earlier to see how she was settling in.”

“Plagg, you know that’s dangerous.” he frowned. “Wait, you know who she is?”

“Of course.”

He was about to say something but he felt the ground quake again. “We’ll talk about this later, we have a city to save. PLAGG, CLAWS OUT!”

Bright green light flooded the room as his clothes turned into black leather. He leaped out the window and chased after the new giant.

-------

Chat threw his baton to protect Alya from a flying car for the second time in two days. What were the odds? He felt something hard squeeze him and realized that one of the stone monsters had grabbed him. Jeez who ate his breakfast? The giant hunk of granite turned and marched towards the Eiffel tower with its. . . Siblings? Cousins? Acquaintances?

Whatever they were, there were too many of them. Even if he managed to get out of this one’s grip, he would never be able to fight them all off.

Where was Lovebug when you needed her? Was this going to become a regular thing?

“LOVEBUG! Wherever you are, HELP!” he shouted as he struggled to free himself from the boulder’s grip.

He spotted Lovebug when they were about halfway to the Eiffel tower. She freed him again by wrapping her yoyo around its thumb and yanking it away from him. He fell and landed on his feet before she threw him his baton.

They started running and he asked, “So what’s the plan?”

“Get to the Eiffel tower before they do and take out their leader.”

“Shouldn’t we take care of them first?”

“No, we take out the source and they will all return to their original forms.”

“Okay, anything else I need to know?”

She thought about that for a moment, “Umm? No? I can’t think of anything.”

“Great!”

They ran in silence until they made it to the base of the tower where they saw the police force gathered in a semicircle around the tower, with Mayor Bourgeois at the front next to Officer Roger.

He followed their eyes up and saw the monster from the day before holding two teenage girls. Chloe and another girl from his class, Malory? Madeline? Mylene? That was it. Mylene. And that must be...Ivan.

Adrien had been surprised to find out that he was in the same class as the boy who had been akumatized. Something must have happened to upset him again.

“I demand my daughter’s safe return!” Mayor Bourgeois screamed through a megaphone.

“Daddy!” Chloe screamed back.

“You know what? You’re welcome to her!” Ivan said before hurling her at them.

“Ahh!” she screamed, flailing her arms, “Help! I promise I’ll be nice to everyone and say please and thank you!”

Yeah, fat chance, he thought bitterly to himself.

Lovebug leaped forward and caught her, landing and setting her on her feet.

“I didn’t promise,” Chloe said innocently moment she was safe, entitled as always.

Called it!

Lovebug just sighed and faced Ivan again.

“We are clear to attack!” yelled Roger.

“Wait,” Lovebug turned to face him, “no, don’t attack them, you know it will only make it worse!”

“I have a new plan, unlike you. Step down, Lovebug,” Officer Roger called. “Let the professionals handle this, you’ve already failed once.”

Wait. How did he know her name? Had everyone known except him?

She looked down dejectedly, “He’s right. If I’d just remembered to capture the Akuma in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this mess.” She told him, he almost missed the waver in her voice. Now that he thought about it, she seemed tense and anxious and defeated. “I don’t deserve to be Lovebug.”

Well, I guess it’s up to me then. “Lovebug, look at me,” he said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders. She tilted her head up and he saw that her eyes were brimming with tears. “Don’t listen to him. Look at her,” he continued, as he turned her to face Chloe, who was now hugging her father. “Would she be here without you?” He paused briefly to let his words sink in. “We all make mistakes, what matters is how we fix them.”

“You’ve been holding onto that one for a long time haven’t you?” she giggled.

“The longest,” he said playfully. “Now don’t ruin this for me, we have a super-villain to defeat,” he smiled.

“Okay.” She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the coming battle. Then, she let it out, “I’m ready.”

They turned toward the tower just as Ivan hacked up a swarm of purple butterflies. The cloud of insects morphed into a giant face.

“People of Paris, listen carefully. I am Hawkmoth,” it started.

“Hawkmoth?” they said together.

“Lovebug, Chat noir, give me the ladybug earrings and the cat ring now. You’ve done enough damage to these innocent people.”

Chat heard clapping to his right and looked over to see Lovebug walk forward slowly. “Nice try, Hawkmoth, but we know who the bad guy is. Let’s not reverse the roles here. Without you, none of these innocent victims would be transformed into villains. Hawkmoth, no matter how long it takes, we will find you! And you will hand us your miraculous!” As she finished her speech, she leaped up to the butterflies. “Time to de-evilize!” she screamed as she started swinging her yoyo at the swarm, catching the butterflies two or three at a time.

When she had caught the last butterfly, she landed and turned to face them, “Let me make this promise to you, no matter who wants to harm you, Chat Noir and Lovebug will do everything in our power to keep you safe,” she said before pressing a button on her yoyo and letting out a cloud of white butterflies.

Chat heard cheers and whoops coming from the officers surrounding the tower.

“Wow. Whoever she is beneath the mask, she’s a showoff,” he deadpanned.

He looked up just as Ivan picked himself back up. Parkouring up the tower, he met Lovebug in front of Ivan.

“I won’t let you take Mylene away from me!” The boy screamed before turning and storming away.

Boy, this was going to be a long day, Chat thought as he raced after him with Lovebug.

I was going to post this on Thursday, but I couldn't stop thinking about it so I'm posting it early. From now on, though, I'll only be posting TLKN on Thursdays. Even if I miss a week.

Thank you to my amazing beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!

next

[linhlotus]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir Ch 4: Evillustrator

Marinette was still fuming from her encounter with Chloe when she landed in her room and detransformed.

“Ugh! Tikki, why does Chloe always have to be so. . . Ugh! Chloe!” she said as she flopped onto her chaise.

When there was no reply, she sat up and turned to where she had last seen Tikki, only to find the Akuma from earlier in the library.

“It’s you! The one terrorizing Chloe!” She scrambled back. “What are you doing here?”

“I . . . just wanted to see you.”

“O-kay, but why did you attack Chloe?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Because Chloe is cruel and selfish!”

“Can’t argue with that,” Marinette admitted. She took a breath. “Are you- going to hurt me?”

“You? You’re Marinette.” He looked at her with an adoring smile on his face. “You’re beautiful and sweet and- perfect and- I could never hurt you!”

“Wow. That’s, uh, very, um, flattering, uh. . . Thank you?” she stuttered as she remembered that morning, in class. Nathaniel must have been akumatized. He really was in love with her.

“So, I just came by to ask you if, uh, well . . . It’s my birthday today and, uh, would you want to come to my party.”

“Oh, um, actually, it’s not really the best night, see, I’ve got a presentation to work on,” she gestured to her folder on the desk. “ And I have to. . . call my . . . friend so we can . . . meet and . . .” she trailed off, making her hand into a makeshift phone and holding it to her ear.

“Oh, no, please, Marinette, it’ll just be you and me!” He drew on a tablet she hadn’t noticed and a card appeared in his hand. He knelt and held it out to her, and she gasped as she took it.

“Oh, my gosh, that’s . . . me!”

“You like it?”

“I . . .”

She thought about it. She didn’t really want to go on a date with a supervillain, but if she could figure out where his Akuma was, she could defeat him faster. There was another problem though: how could she guarantee her safety if she enraged him? She needed Chat watching over her.

Which left Chloe unprotected. But still. Maybe.

Deciding it was her best chance, she said, “Love it! So much that I will absolutely be at your party!”

“On one condition,” she deadpanned.

“Anything for you, Marinette.”

“You can’t hurt Chloe anymore.” She held her hand to her forehead, “I simply cannot bear violence.”

“For you and only you.”

He drew on his tablet and a jetpack appeared on his back. “Meet me on the left bank, next to Notre Dame at sunset.” He told her, and left through the window, not bothering to fix the hole he left there.

Tikki came out and sat on Marinette’s shoulder. “What the hell, Tikki! He just professed his love to me and acted like he didn’t just ruin my window! And he can make the things he draws come to life, but he didn’t bother to fix something he broke!”

Tikki sighed. “He’s an Akuma, Marinette, he’s not in his right mind.”

“I’m not saying it’s alright, just that he can’t help it,” she amended when Marinette shot her a glare.

“I know, Tikki, it’s just really inconvenient,” Marinette sighed. “I have to call Chat. Do you mind if I transform for a few minutes?”

“No, go ahead.”

“SPOTS ON!” She climbed onto her balcony and leaped over a few roofs so Chat wouldn’t recognize where she was.

Pressing the button in the middle of her yoyo, she opened it and called Chat. He picked up after a few seconds.

“Hey, Lovebug, what’s up?”

She cut to the chase, “I need you to watch over a girl for me tonight.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“I���m going on a very important secret mission.”

“What about Chloe?”

“She’s safe.”

He sighed. “Alright, who is it?”

She sent him a picture of herself. “Her name’s Marinette. Cute, right?”

His face softened and he whispered, “Yeah.”

Her heart fluttered.

“She’s going on a fake date with the Akuma. He’s in love with her.”

“What? That’s too dangerous! She could get hurt!”

“That’s why you’ll be there. Marinette is going to take his pencil away. I’ll need you to capture the Akuma and when you see me next, I’ll purify it,” she explained. “Can I trust you?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” he grumbled.

“Great! I’ll send you the address.”

She hung up and then typed in her address before hitting send and leaping back to her balcony.

She made her way merrily down the stairs and opened the door to see- Sabrina? What was she doing here? The project! She had completely forgotten!

“Hi, Marinette!”

“Um, hi, Sabrina,” she said hesitantly. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to work on the project.” She leaned forward. “Did you forget?” she singsonged.

“Um, nope. I was totally gonna call you,” Marinette laughed nervously.

“Great! Let’s go get started,” Sabrina chirped.

“I, um, actually there’s something really important I have to do tonight. I can’t work on it tonight. But we can meet up tomorrow.”

“What is this really important thing?”

“I, um, it’s a secret.”

“You know who else uses that excuse?”

“N-no.”

“Chloe! I’m beginning to see how much you two have in common!”

The angry redhead stormed away and Marinette let out a sigh, sagging against the doorframe.

“I thought I’d have to rescue you from her claws,” a voice said from her right.

“Chat!” Marinette jumped and started falling. She closed her eyes and braced for an impact that never came. Instead, she felt a warm hand close over hers and pull her upright.

Opening her eyes, she saw Chat smirk at her. “Falling for me already, huh, Purrincess?”

Marinette blushed so furiously, she was sure her face was bright red. “U-um . . .”

“I hear we’ll be working together.” He bent and kissed her hand.

“Uh, y-yeah.” How was he so smooth?

He interpreted her stuttering as fear of the idea of facing a supervillain. “Don’t worry, M’lady, I’ll be there the whole time. I won’t let him hurt you.”

“Thanks, Kitty,” She smiled softly. He was so thoughtful. He would never have left that big hole in her window. Or made it in the first place.

“Did . . . you just call me Kitty?”

“Uh, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have called you that! I-”

“No! No it’s fine! I liked it,” he smiled at her. “Chat Noir feels really formal. You can just call me Chat or Kitty. Okay?” he reassured her.

“Okay, Kitty,” she smiled right back at him.

“S-so,” he stuttered, but just for one second. “Where are we meeting for your . . . date?” He spat the last word like it was poison.

“Oh. Is the Kitty jealous?” it was too much to hope for, but Marinette couldn’t resist leaning in to hear his answer.

“Maybe just a little bit,” he said under his breath, making Marinette’s heart skip a beat.

She couldn’t help but gape at him. “What?”

"Um, I said . . . I just don’t want you getting hurt . . . ?”

“No. You said you were jealous,” she grinned.

His face turned bright red.

“Are you okay?!” She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and he flushed even more. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She insisted, moving her hand to his cheek.

“Uh, y-yep, just f-fine.”

“Do you want anything before we go? We still have a few hours until we have to leave.”

What if he really was sick? Not only would they be unable to defeat Nathaniel, but she would also spend every waking moment worrying about him.

“Could I have something to drink?” he asked, scratching the back of his neck.

“Of course! Follow me.” Marinette turned and walked back up the stairs to the kitchen. Chat shut the door behind him and followed her up the stairs.

“Have a seat,” Marinette offered, gesturing to a chair. “What do you want to drink? Water, orange juice, tea, milk?”

“Water is fine,” he said as he pulled out a chair.

She gave him his water then danced around the kitchen for a while, coming up with a tray of pastries for them to share and a mug of tea for herself.

“Thanks, Purrincess.”

“No problem, Kitty.”

They smiled at each other for a while before looking away and blushing.

------

“Remember, M’lady, just get the pen away from him. I’ll keep you safe,” Chat said as he leaped to Notre Dame.

“I know, Kitty. I’ll be fine,” she responded, more for his benefit than hers. She was certain her plan wouldn’t fail.

“I’m sure you will be. I’m just worried.” His brows furrowed. “What if something goes wrong? What if he gets mad and I can’t get there soon enough? I couldn’t live with myself if I couldn’t save you.”

They stopped on a roof near the river and Chat hugged Marinette tighter.

“Look at me.” When he didn’t, Marinette tilted his face toward hers. “I know I’ll be fine. Do you know why?”

He shook his head.

“Because I have you to watch over me.” Marinette put her hand over his heart. “And I know you would never let anyone hurt me.” She paused for a moment to let her words sink in. “Besides, I’m stronger than I look.”

Chat smiled weakly at her and you could tell he was trying very hard to keep it from slipping. “Thanks, Purrincess.”

“Why don’t you come to my house tomorrow and we’ll get ice cream?”

“Sure, but I’m paying.”

“No! I suggested it.”

“But I said I’d pay first.”

“Why don’t we decide tomorrow?”

“Sure, but I’m still paying.”

“Don’t we have to be somewhere?” Marinette deflected.

“Oh, right.” Chat’s face turned grim again and all the comfort from their banter melted away. He leaped to the ground behind Notre Dame and Marinette walked to the edge of the river with Chat keeping watch from the shadows.

“Hey, I hope I’m not late,” Marinette said to get the villain’s attention.

“Not at all, You’re right on time.” He sat on a bench and patted the spot next to him. Marinette complied and he started to draw something. A bouquet of red roses appeared in his hand.

When he gave them to her, she tried to pretend Chat was the gifter.

“They’re lovely,” she said, giving them a sniff. “You’re very good at drawing. I actually draw a little too. I’m not as good as you, of course.”

“I’m sure you’re a wonderful artist.”

“Well, can I draw you something for your birthday?”

“Sure.” He started to hand her the pencil, but Chat Noir shifted behind them and Evilustrator must have seen his movement because he kept his grip on the pencil and asked her to give it back.

“N-no, I’m keeping it!” She snatched it and backed away.

“Marinette, you’re working with him? I’m so stupid. I actually thought you liked me, but you’re just like Chloe! Teasing me. Mocking me. Leading me on.”

Marinette snapped his pencil. “Why does everyone keep comparing me to Chloe today?!”

An Akuma flew out of the pencil and Chat leaped down to catch it in a jar he had brought. He turned to Marinette who was still seething from Evilustrator’s comment.

“If it helps,” he said, setting his hand on her shoulder, “I don’t think you’re like Chloe.”

Marinette’s face softened and she hugged him. “Thanks, Kitty, that means the world to me.”

Yay! The first Marichat chapter is out! The last chapter doesn't count. I tallied up all the chapters of each ship I already have outlined. I'm not sure if anyone's interested so if you want to see how many of each so far, then comment and I'll make a post. Thank you to my wonderful beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!

previous

next