#adrien is CUT and it freaks out the photographers when he models

[mullosqueaks]

One of my favorite aus/headcanons is that instead of it being miraculous magic, Marinette and Adrien are buff and flexible as fuck from being literal superheroes.

[artzychic27]

The Primaries: Beautiful

Adrien: September 1st, 1989. Dear Diary:

I believe I'm a good person. You know, I think that there's good in everyone, but—here we are! First day of Senior year! And uh... I look around at these kids that I've known since I got here, and I ask myself—what happened? Students: Freak! Liar! Burnout! Moron! Poser! Dumbass!

Adrien: We were so tiny, happy and shiny! Playing tag, and getting chased! Students: Bitch! Jerk! Liar! Bullies! Adrien: Singing and clapping, laughing and napping! Baking cookies, eating paste! Students: Blowhard! Stuck-up! Tabloid! Adrien: Then we got bigger, that was the trigger Like the Huns invading Rome! Welcome to my school, this ain't no high school: This is the Thunderdome! Hold your breath and count the days, we're graduating soon! Students: White trash! Adrien: Next year will be paradise, if I'm not dead by June!... But I know, I know, life can be beautiful I pray, I pray for a better way If we changed back then, we could change again. We can be beautiful...

*Alya trips Aurore* 

Aurore: Hey! Adrien: Just not today. *He goes to help her up* Hey, are you okay? Aurore: *She smacks his hand away* Don’t talk to me. Adrien: Oh, okay Students: Jerk! Liar! Poser! Doormat! Doormat! Doormat! Adrien: Things will get better soon as my letter Comes from Harvard, Duke, or Brown Wake from this coma, take my diploma Then I can blow this town. Dream of ivy-covered walls and smoky French cafés Lila: Watch it! Adrien: Fight the urge to strike a match and set this dump ablaze! *Lila smacks Mireille’s lunch tray out of her hands*

Lila: Oops. Adrien: Lila Rossi. Third year as an Agreste Model, and tenth year of smacking lunch trays and being a lying bitch! Lila: Do you want me to tell your dad what you just said? Adrien: ... Shut up, Lila. But I know, I know... (I know, I know...) Life can be beautiful (Beautiful) I pray, I pray (I pray, I pray) For a better way (For a better way) We were kind before; (Ooh...) We can be kind once more (Ooh...) We can be beautiful... (Ooh... Beautiful...) *Nino taps on his shoulder*

Adrien: Ah!... Hey Nino. Nino: Hey! Adrien: Nino Lahiffe. My best friend since I started this school. Nino: We still on for movie night? Adrien: Yeah, you're on Jiffy Pop detail. Nino: I rented "Jurassic Park." Adrien: Again? Wait, don't you have it memorized by now? Nino: What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good Spielberg movie. Alya: Nino! You can’t go to movie night; I need your help with the Ladyblog. Adrien: Alya Ceasaire: Blogger. She is always jumping to conclusions. It often leads to trouble. Lila: Oh! Then that means you’re free tonight, Adrien! Adrien: No! Nino and I are having movie night! Work on the Ladyblog another time. Lila: I'm sorry, are you actually standing up to me? Adrien: Yes, I am! I wanna know what gives you the right to act like a high and mighty control freak. You're a high school has-been waiting to happen. A future cocktail waitress!... Jean: Wow, Adrien! Your balls finally dropped. Congrats.

*The students laugh while Adrien blushes from embarrassment*

Adrien: Dear diary: Why... Myléne: Why do they hate us? Mireille: Why don't I fight back?

Marc: Why are they such creeps? Adrien: Why... Lila: Why won't he date me? Kim: Why did I hit him? Juleka/Mme. Bustier/Nino: Why do I cry myself to sleep? Adrien: Why... Students: Somebody hug me! Somebody fix me! Somebody save me! Send me a sign, God! Give me some hope, here! Something to live for!

... Students: Ah! Nathan, Chloé, and Mari...

Adrien: And then there's the Primaries. They float above it all... Students: I love Nathan, Chloé, and Mari... I hate Nathan, Chloé, and Mari... Adrien: Nathaniel Kurtzberg, president of the art club. His family is dangerous—they’re the Jewish mafia.

Students: I want Nathan, Chloé, and Mari...

Adrien: Chloé Bourgeois, my sort of best friend. Her dad runs the city. No discernible personality, but her mom did pay for hair extensions. Students: I need Nathan, Chloé, and Mari... Adrien: And Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the Almighty... She has connections all over the world. They’re solid Teflon—never bothered, never harassed even though they’re in my class... I would give anything to be like that. Aurore: I'd like to be their girlfriend. Students: That would be beautiful... Sabrina: If I sat at their table, guys would notice me. Students: So beautiful... Ooh... Nino: I'd like them to be nicer. Students: That would be beautiful... Ooh... Lila: I'd like to kidnap a Primary and photograph them naked in an abandoned warehouse and leave them tied up for the rats.

*Cut to the Primaries in the locker room* Marinette: And after we take down that tabloid blog, we-

Mme. Bustier: *She walks in* Ah, Marinette, Nathaniel, and Chloé. Perhaps you didn't hear the bell. You're late for class. Marinette: Oh, yes. It’d be a shame if we were late to a class that had us read fairytales about princes kissing princesses to break spells. Ever heard of Edgar Allen Poe? *Chloé and Nathaniel snicker*

Mme. Bustier: *Sputters* Week's detention!

Adrien: Um, actually, Mme. Bustier, all four of us are out on a hall pass. Yearbook committee *He shows her the fake hall pass* Mme. Bustier: ...I see you're all listed. Hurry up and get where you're going. *She leaves*  Marinette: *She takes the forged note and examines it* This is an excellent forgery, Agreste. I didn’t know you had it in you. Adrien: Thanks... I crave a boon Marinette: What boon? Adrien: Um. Let me sit at your table, at lunch. Just once. No talking necessary. If the others think that you guys tolerate me, then they'll leave me alone... *They laugh* Before you answer, I also do report cards, permission slips, and absence notes- Nathaniel: How about prescriptions? Chloe: Shut it, Nath. Nathaniel: You shut it. Marinette: ... You know, for a tall, lanky nobody whose father puts him on a strict diet and trims away body fat so you look like a twig in your shitty fashion magazines... You do have good bone structure. Nathaniel: And a symmetrical face. If I took a switchblade down the center of your skull, I'd have matching halves. That's very important. Chloé: Of course, you could stand to gain a few pounds. Marinette: And ya know, ya know, ya know? This could be beautiful. Some new clothes, brush his hair out. And we're on our way. Get this boy some blush; And Chloé, I need your brush Let's make him beautiful. Nathaniel: Let's make him beautiful... Chloé: Let's make him beautiful... Marinette: Make him beautiful... Okay? Adrien: Okay! *The next day*

Lila: Out of my way, bitch! Aurore: Why don’t you get bent?! Mireille: Your class will die at 3 pm! Marc/Jean: Don't you dare touch me! Get away, assholes! Alix/Kim: What did we ever do to them? Students: Who could survive this? I can't escape this! I think I'm dying! Juleka: Who's that with Mari? Students: Whoa... Nathan, Chloé, Mari... Aurore/Mireille/Marc: And someone! Students: Nathan, Chloé, Mari... Lila: And a babe! Students: Nathan, Chloé, Mari... Nino: Adrien?! Students: Adrien? Adrien? Adrien?! Adrien: And you know, you know, you know Life can be beautiful You hope, you dream, you pray And you get your way! Ask me how it feels! Lookin' like hell on wheels... My God, it's beautiful! I might be beautiful... And when you're beautiful... It's a beautiful frickin' day! Students: Nathan! Chloé! Mari! Adrien! Nathan! Chloé! Mari! Adrien! Adrien! Adrien! Adrien! Adrien! 

[aquariusrunes]

The Superfriends AU (part 11)

Her eyes stung every time a flash went off, the bright lights reflecting off the water surrounding her. She wasn’t sure when her migraine had started, but it was now throbbing and making her dizzy. And her stomach? Turning. It was like all her insides were knotted together, constricting every few minutes to remind her how much pain she was in. 

It’d been like this all morning, pretty much since Damian received the video from one of her friends. She, her cousin, Adrien and Chloé had all watched it together. It was brutal. Marinette had never seen Rose slaughter someone so seamlessly. She knew her small friend would be upset once finding out about Lila’s lies, and she knew they needed something big and loud to make clear Damian had never even met Lila, to make sure he and Colin would be protected from the girl. But it felt a little too far for her.

It all just felt like too much. Really her luck was incredible. After months of planning, all the sacrifices she’d made, the battles she’d fought, the friends she had to lose and earn back, the ones she could never get back, it was all meant to lead up to this big moment. The moment where she finally proved just how much of a liar Lila was, as well as show everyone that the girl was not only evil, because she definitely was. But also that she was working with Hawkmoth. 

Now she had to rethink her whole plan. 

She wished Lila had never even thought about Damian Wayne. While she was glad to have Mylène, Rose and Juleka back, it was just such a setback. She needed Lila cocky, confident. She needed her to feel on top of the world to fall for what she had planned. 

And now the Italian girl was at rock bottom. With only Sabrina, Alya and Nino left. Though Marinette had to seriously wonder how much longer Nino’s cover would last. If Lila didn’t know he was a mole by now, she had to be close to figuring it out. Lila was many things, like evil incarnate, but she wasn’t stupid. 

And then there was Adrien.

He’d looked so hurt after watching the video, betrayed almost. And yes, this technically wasn’t taking the ‘high road’, like he’d once suggested, but surely he had to see that she had no choice. She didn’t want to publicly humiliate the girl! Okay that was a lie, she very much wanted Lila to get her just deserts, to go through all the pain Marinette had to endure. However, her plan was not to get even, she’d come to peace with the fact that they would never be even. Because Marinette had bigger fish to fry. And she was so close to proving Lila was working with Hawkmoth! She could practically taste it. But now, now that victory felt farther away than ever. And so did her partner. 

The camera lights flashed again, several more photos being taken. She was trying her best to do as the photographer asked, but it was a tad difficult to model when you didn’t have any prior experience, and you were chained to a lake. 

Marinette’s outfit was, of course, gorgeous. Though it did make her feel a little exposed. She was in a white sleeveless tube top, that was essentially just a strip of cloth covering her breasts. She wore a low set skirt made up of strips of metallic silver and black fabric, and in her currently kneeling position the entirety of her thighs were exposed. A black shawl hung off her elbows, she’d tried to use it to better cover herself earlier but had been instructed to keep it off her shoulders. 

Her hair was placed up for this photo shoot, into a messy rose bun that left her bangs to fall in her face. A silver daedem placed on her forehead with a gemstone that matched her eyes. She hadn’t been given shoes for this outfit and walking around the studio barefoot was an experience she didn’t really want to repeat. Her wrists were bound by intricately detailed long silver cuff bracelets, which were attached to sparkling silver chains. The chains disappeared beneath the water. 

She was sitting on a semi visible platform in the middle of the set that was really, just a small man made pond. But she really couldn’t tell how deep the water went, though she doubted it could be too deep, unless Edna had cut out part of the floor to make it deeper, which she wouldn’t put past her aunt. A fake forest backdrop was behind her and flaking both her sides. She’d been sitting on the ground for what felt like hours, but the photographer still didn’t seem satisfied. 

“Maybe it’s the earrings.” A woman suggested, she was looking at the photos that had already been taken. The current pair that adorned Marinette’s ears where big dangling silver ones that ended in sapphires. They would sweep against her neck or shoulders whenever she moved. 

“I like the earring.” She heard her aunt say. 

“Oh I love them.” The woman immediately agreed. “I just meant the way they are reflecting off the water.”

“I like that effect as well.” 

“Oh I love that effect.” 

She couldn't help the eyeroll. It was ridiculous the way people kissed her aunt’s ass. It was honestly no wonder Edna asked her for her opinions, at least she knew Marinette would be honest with her. 

“Maybe we should take a little break?” Violet suggested from behind the women. “Let Marinette rest for a moment while we sort out what needs to be changed?” 

“Fine fine.” Edna waved the girl off. 

It had freaked Marinette out when she was first hooked up to the platform, the way it moved from the middle of the water to the edge, it freaked her out when it suddenly started moving this time as well. She really wished these people would start giving her warnings about stuff. 

Once at the edge it only took a moment for someone to come and unchain her, then she was helped to her feet and off the platform entirely. Violet was waiting for her with a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry about all this.” She whispered to the younger girl. “I know you can get overwhelmed easily.” 

“Oh, I’m fine.” Marinette tried to force a smile to reassure the girl, but she was sure it came off as anything but. 

“Are you sure?” Violet asked. “That your fine, I mean. You’ve seemed a little off all morning.” 

“Oh.” Marinette looked down, Violet had looped their arms together and was leading her back to the makeup chairs. “I’m fine, I guess, I just...well.” 

“It’s okay Marinette, you don’t have to tell me, but I’m a good listener if you need to talk with someone.” 

“Thanks Violet.” Her smile was a little stronger this time. “I just have a bad headache, and a bit of a stomach ache. I’m sure it’ll go away soon.” 

Violet gave her a considering look before turning and hollering out. “Aisha, could you come here a moment?” Soon a tall black woman with hair dyed every color of the rainbow was in front of them, a headset on and clipboard in her hands. 

“Yeah boss?” She spoke with an accent Marinette didn’t recognize. 

“Could you go and grab Marinette here a coke with crush ice?” 

Aisha smiled at Marinette before nodding to Violet. “You got it.” The girl swaggered her way towards the elevators, she had one of the strongest walks the bluenette had ever seen. 

“Coke and crushed ice, Parr family remedy for headaches and stomach aches.” Violet turned back to face Marinette. “But, if it doesn't help, please let Edna or I know. If we need to eat into another safety day-” 

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” The younger girl reassured the older one as best she could. “It's probably just everything catching up with me.” It wasn’t technically a lie. Yes everything was finally catching up with her, but it wasn't anything involving Edna or this week that was causing her distress. 

“But you’ll let me know if it doesn’t get better, right?” 

“Of course.” Violet had always been so nice, whenever Marinette was near her. She was kind of like the big sister she’d always wanted. The bluenette watched as Violet walked off towards her aunt, probably to inform her of Marinette’s troubles. Hopefully her aunt would just blow them off as nerves and not come pry. Her plans needed reworking enough, the last thing she needed was Protective Mama Bear Edna getting involved. 

“You alright?” Her cousin’s slightly concerned voice was startling to the girl previously lost in thought. She raised a hand to her heart, trying to calm it’s rapid pace as she looked over to Damian, now seated in the chair next to her. 

“Fine.” 

“That’s a lie.” He crossed his arms, turning the chair to better face her. “What’s going on?” 

“Nothing, I just don’t feel great.”

“That’s not nothing Marinette,” Damian’s face started contorting into what those who knew him meant worry, but those who didn’t would only see as pure anger. “Are you sick? Do you have a fever?” He raised his hand to her forehead, which she was quick to knock away. 

“Seriously Damian, I’m fine. I’m not sick, I don’t have a fever. I just feel crappy, okay?” She turned her head away from him. Edna was the last thing she needed right now, the second to last was Damian prying into her business. 

“Is it about what happened this morning?” He asked, voice quieter. “You didn’t seem even half as excited as Bourgeois did when the video showed up.” 

“Sort of.” She shrugged, pulling the shall up to better cover herself. “I don’t know. It’s a few things I guess.” 

“Do you want to talk about it?” His voice was quiet. He wasn’t good at this sort of stuff, she knew that. But whenever he had a problem she’d make him talk about it till he either figured out what to do or started to feel better. It was sweet of him to try and return the gesture. 

“Not really.” She laughed lightly. “But it’s sweet, what you’re trying to do. I appreciate it a lot Gremlin.” 

“I’ve never seen you look quite so down before, you’re kind of worrying me.” He placed his hand on her wrist. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” he leaned closer. “If you don’t want to talk to me I could go get someone else, Adrien?” 

“No.” She answered far too quickly, and she knew it the moment the word left her mouth. Well, the cat was out of the bag now. 

Damian’s face quickly changed to one of scepticism and stubbornness, his eyes quickly scanning the room till they found the blonde model far away having a conversation with his father. 

“What did he do?” His voice was a little too threatening for Marinette’s liking.

“He didn’t do anything Damian, really.” 

“You’re lying.” 

“I’m not!” 

“Then you aren’t telling the whole truth.” His jaw set as his eyes came back to bore into Marinette’s soul. “What’s going on?” He demanded. 

“I just…” Oh great, her voice cracked, she was going to break down. She needed out of this conversation and she needed out of it quickly. She’d been stewing in her own thoughts for too long. She couldn’t talk about it now, she’d have a complete meltdown. 

“Marinette.” Both dark haired teens looked up, view obstructed by one Chloé Bourgeois dressed in shimmering golds and bronzes, her arms crossed and hip cocked. “Edna wants you.” She was talking to Marinette, but her eyes were locked on Damian. 

Chloé’s outfit resembled Marinette's in that the top was just a simple white tube top that barely covered anything. Instead of a skirt Chloé wore pants, high waisted and made of unconnected gold and bronze metallic straps, giving the outfit a swaying movement every time she moved. A thick golden belt covered her abdomen, matching the golden gauntlets that adorned her wrists, and a gaundy golden necklace hung from her shoulders. She also wore a daedem, but her gem was a much darker blue. Her hair was down and had been teased to give it more volume around her. 

“Okay.” Marinette was quick to get out of her chair and follow the blonde to where Edna was waiting. It was strange, walking with Chloé like this, but what was stranger was when the girl took her hand and squeezed it.

“Just keep it together for like twenty more minutes. Then we’ll break for lunch.” Chloé whispered, releasing her hand and taking a step back. Marinette’s eyes were wide as she watched the girl turn and walk away. 

Had she just been comforted by Chloé? 

“Good! Dahling come here!” Marinette was pulled from her thoughts as Edna grabbed her wrist and physically pulled her forward to look down at the screen where her pictures were waiting to be examined. “What do you think of these?” She asked, eyes scrutinizing. 

Marinette carefully went through a handful of photos, trying to pretend that about ten people weren’t staring at her as she did. She pushed everything that had been eating away at her down as far as it would go, focusing solely on the problem at hand. 

“I don’t like the colors.” 

“How dare you.” 

“Edna’s colors are genius.” 

“Who does this girl even think she is.” 

The area around her erupted with criticism the moment her opinion was voiced. But it didn’t matter what everyone around her was currently saying, what mattered was that Edna was now staring at the photos and considering what she had said. 

“What about the colors bother you?” The woman asked, effectively shutting everyone else up. 

“I think it’s a little dark?” She shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess, if I had been the one to design it, I would have gone with some pastels for the skirt, like lavender and sky blue, maybe a darker blue too. But if you had wanted to keep the dark, then I would suggest making the top black. And maybe, make the straps of the skirt a little softer too, I don’t know how committed you are to the metallic material, but maybe changing it out for tulle or silk. Just to make it more flowy, it would also make it look better with the calm of the water.” 

“Violet.” Enda called and the girl seemed to appear out of nowhere. “How long would it take to make those alterations?” 

Violet quickly went to work on her tablet. “Well, ma’am, they wouldn't be alterations, it would be a whole new garment. But seeing as we’d be using the same patterns and measurements, if we got the sewing room to work now, it would probably be done after lunch.” 

“Order it.” Edna snapped her fingers. 

“Yes ma’am.” 

Edna turned to Marinette, smiling. “Thank you dear, your input is invaluable as always.” The small woman then turned to the room, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Alright everyone! Seeing as how one of our outfits still isn’t here yet, we will break for an early lunch and pick this up afterwards. Oh and Violet, call your brother for me Dahling, tell him I’ll pay double the normal fee, I’m tired of waiting.”

“Yes ma’am.” 

… 

How had she gotten here? 

One minute, she was in the elevator, tentatively sipping a glass of soda, the next she was magically in Chloé Bourgeois’s room, sitting on the girl’s bed with a tray of cafeteria food in front of her. 

She had wanted to avoid Damian. He was angry now, and she knew that anger was going to be directed at Adrien. But she didn’t know how to properly avert it. If she told Damian the whole truth, he’d be even more upset. Nothing pissed him off more than someone beng complacent. But she also wanted to avoid Adrien. He just looked so disappointed after watching that video, she couldn’t face him yet. 

She still wasn’t sure how she ended up in her current predicament. She had gotten her food, and then Chloé had grabbed her hand again, second time today, that’s more physical contact in one day then she’s had with the girl in a year. The blonde dragged her off towards the elevators. And then they were in Chloé’s room, sitting on her bed with their lunches. 

“Okay,” Chloé dropped a straw into her glass. “What’s going on?” 

“I-uh, what do you mean?” Marinette asked. 

“Don’t play dumb Dupain-Cheng.” The girl gave her a pointed look. “You were seconds away from a total break down back there. And you looked terrified of both Damian and Adrien downstairs. What’s going on?” 

“Why do you care?” The bluenette asked, eyeing the girl suspiciously. “Why would you care?” 

Chloé looked a little taken aback by the question. And a little insulted, but did she honestly not expect Marinette to question her motives. Eventually the blonde girl huffed, setting her drink down on her tray before crossing her arms. “I’m trying to be a better person, okay.” She rolled her eyes. “Forgive me for attempting to help when someone is clearly holding back tears.” 

“Why?”

“I told you I’m trying to-”

“Why are you trying to be a better person?” Chloé looked even more unprepared for that question. 

The blonde sighed, turning away from Marinette and pushing some teased hair behind her ear. “It’s always come easy to you.” 

“What?” 

“Being nice. Making friends. Smiling without a care in the world.” Chloé rolled her eyes. “When I was little, all I had was Adrien. He was kept away from the world for so long, but so was I. I didn’t get to go to public school until I was seven. Your first year of school in Paris was mine too. I didn’t know how to socialize or anything. All I knew was being loud got me attention and most of the time what I wanted. When I started school I only had one person who I got along with, and then you transfered into the class and everyone decided they liked you more, including her.” Chloé looked down. “I was a bitch because I was jealous and hurt, but recently I’ve been making some emotional breakthroughs and thus have decided to be a better person.” She huffed out the last sentence rather quickly. “So, what’s your problem today, cause that’s what we’re here to talk about.” 

“Oh Chloé,” Marinette set her hand atop the blonde girl’s. “I never meant for that to happen. I tried really hard to be your friend back then too.” 

Chloé rolled her eyes. “Yeah well, I kind of hated you the moment Alix decided she wanted to sit next to you instead.” 

Marinette’s eyebrows furrowed. “Wait.” She held up her hand. “Are you telling me, there was a time when Alix and you were best friends?” 

“Duh.” Chloé gave her a pointed look. “Well, not besties, but we were almost friends before you transfered. Why do you think I never mess with her?” 

“But the watch-”

“Okay, that was a total accident. And had I known it was Alix’s watch I so would have left it alone, I was only messing with it because I thought it was Adri’s.” 

“Oh my god.” Marinette sat back. She was racking her brain but she literally could not think of a single time Chloé had targeted Alix. “This is unbelievable.” 

“But back on track.” Chloé clapped her hands. “What’s going on? You should be on cloud nine after Lila’s epic take down, but you have literally looked so pensive all day.” She moved to open up her silverware. 

“I haven’t looked pensive.” 

“You have.” Chloé stabbed her salad with her fork. “Spill it Dupain-Cheng.” 

Marinette stared down at her plate. She hadn’t been that hungry so she just grabbed a premade sandwich and a muffin. But looked at them now, they didn’t seem that appetizing. She mainly kept herself occupied with the glass she had been handed after changing back into her sweats. 

“Back before people started believing Lila was lying, it was just me going against her. But someone else knew the truth too.” She took a sip from her glass. “Adrien had recommended I take the high road, he said her lies weren’t hurting anyone and he was sure things would turn out fine eventually.” 

“Oh that sweet naive boy.” The bluenette nodded in agreement. 

“This morning, after we watched the video, I don’t know. He just looked so disappointed. I just can’t help but feel like I let him down. Like I should have handled it differently or something. Especially considering he’s been walking around like a kicked puppy all day. I just don’t know what to do.” 

Chloé sighed, setting down her fork. 

“Okay, well first off. Adrien gave you shit advice.” Marinette’s head popped up at her harsh words. “But they are very on brand for Adrikins. He obviously views Lila in the same light as Garbage Gabe. As long as Adrien stays quiet and plays along, things run smooth with his dear old daddy. He probably thought the same rules would apply to Lila.” 

“Garbage Gabe?” Marinette asked. 

“Look, Adrien is sensitive. Yes. But he is also bad at confrontation. You just need to talk this out with him. If you explain that she gave you no choice, he’ll be fine. And besides, even Adrien has to admit that she was getting out of control.” 

“But did I have no choice? Was there no other option for me to pick?” Marinette rubbed at her arms. “Maybe the situation was the same as with you, if I’d just given her a chance-”

“You gave me a chance Marinette, remember, we just established that.” Chloé leaned back on her hands. “And Lila and I’s situations are very different. I was a bitch because I have trouble making friends. Lila is a bitch for shits and giggles. She has had no trouble befriending people at all, and she was still awful to you.” 

“But maybe I did something-”

“You did. You didn’t fall for her bull.” Chloé pointed out. “Because you weren’t falling for her tricks, she had to eliminate you before you could expose her. She runs on self preservation Marinette. I wouldn't be surprised if she was already spinning a web of venom to get back half her followers.” 

Marinette’s eyes went back down to her tray. Locked on her poor pathetic sandwich. She felt a lot like that sandwich right now. 

“Marinette, you can sit here and feel bad all day long. You can go back up to that shoot and do your thing while feeling awful, just like you were this morning. But the fact of the matter is, you aren’t going to feel better until you talk to Adrien.” Chloé leaned forward, taking one of Marinette’s hands again. “He doesn’t hate you Marinette, he could never. Trust me. I’ve only seen Adrien hate two people our whole lives. My mother, and this no name who used to work under Gabriel when we were younger. If you go to him and ask to talk he will listen.” 

“But what do I even say?” 

“Say that you’re sorry if you hurt his feelings, it wasn’t your intent. But you had to do something to stop Lila. Maybe it got a little bigger than you anticipated, maybe if you could go back and change it you would, but you’d still do it.” Chloé squeezed her hand. “Come on Dupain-Cheng, I have seen you take on so much, do not let one little model scare you into a panic attack.” 

“I’m not scared of him.” Marinette rolled her eyes. “I just don’t want him to, well, I just don’t like the idea of him thinking bad about me.” 

“He could never think badly about you Marinette.” Again Chloé squeezed her hand. “Believe it or not, I think you’re actually his favourite person.” 

At that Marinette blushed, pulling her hand away. She quickly snapched up her drink, sticking the straw in her mouth. She took a few sips. “I am not.” She whispered, chewing on the straw to relieve some of the nerves coiling in her stomach. 

Chloé shook her head, smirk gracing her lips. “Yeah, you are.” She crossed her arms. “Marinette please, he’s like head over heels for you, it’s obvious. I once saw that boy hold the door open for like sixteen people just waiting for you to get there so he could hold it for you. It was a little pathetic, but i guess kind of cute.” Marinette’s face felt hot, she was sure it was bright red by now. 

“W-we aren’t like that.” She laughed. “We’r-I mean he just sees us as friends. We’re just friends.” She tried to get her stammer under control, hoping her voice came out with more authority than she felt.

“Oh god, you aren’t on that now too, are you?” Chloé asked, eyes wide and slightly horrified. “I swear I can not listen to another person drone on about being just friends with their true love.” 

“T-true love?” 

Shit. She’d taken it too far. Chloé knew by the girl’s wide eyes. There were going to be questions now. Damn it, why had she let Jon get in her head. She never should have talked to Marinette, she should have just convinced Adrien to do it. 

“What do you mean by that?” The bluenette asked, straw falling out of her mouth. 

Chloé had two options, come clean or bullshit like she never has before. 

“That depends…” Chloé whispered. “We have two options Marinette, option one is I rock your world like it’s never been rocked before and possibly destroy this tentative friendship I’m trying to create, or option two, things stay the same and I give you a heaping pile of bullshit.” Chloé bit her lip. “I’m also trying to be more honest, but if you’d like me to lie right now, I so can.” 

“Define rock my world?” Marinette’s face suddenly became much more serious. The bluenette knew that sometimes lying was necessary, like were her identity was concerned. And also, sometimes the truth was just hard for people to stomach. 

“Let’s just say, it involves kwamis.” That was both not safe and safe for Chloé to say. It would get her point across clearly, and being a past miraculous wielder herself, she would be privy to the knowledge of their existence. Marinette would undoubtedly understand what the blonde was trying to say. 

The bluenette’s face dropped into surprise and horror. “Let’s go with the bullshit.” 

“Awsome.” Chloé clasped her hands together. “Adri has a diary and whenever I’m at his house I sneak into his room and read it.” She smiled largely. 

“We are going to have to talk about this later,” Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes closing as she let out a sigh. “But honestly I’ve felt like exploding all day long and I don’t think I can take anything else right now.” She whispered. “God my head hurts so much.” 

“Do you want some ibuprofen?” Chloé asked, already standing form the bed. 

“Yes please.” 

Chloé quickly went to her bathroom and collected it from her toiletry bag. She sat down closer to Marinette before handing her the bottle. “This is so my fault, I definitely slipped up there.” 

“Again,” Marinette took the pill bottle and dumped a few out into her hand. “A conversation for later.” She swallowed with the aid of her soda. “Oh my god.” She whispered. “I just-how?” She looked at Chloé, wide eyed. 

“Well I-wait, I mean, do you want to do this right now? We’ve got like twenty minutes before we have to be back and you have not even touched your food. We can talk later?” 

Marinette looked back down at her sad sandwich. If there was any hope of her surviving the rest of this shoot she would need to have something in her stomach. But she also had so many questions. How had Chloé known, does Chloé know? Maybe this is a misunderstanding. Maybe what Chloé is trying to say is that she knows Marinette was once Multimouse, and not that she’s ladybug. Though what that has to do with Adrien loving her she wasn’t sure. Oh god, did Chloé know about Adrien too? But how? This didn’t seem possible.

“Marinette?” 

“Yeah?” 

“You look like you’re about to pass out, please eat something.” Chloé pushed her tray closer to the girl. 

“Okay.” Marinette picked up her sandwich, eyes unfocused as her mind raced. “Chloé, I have so many questions.” She said before taking a bite. 

“If you want, I can explain while you eat?” Chloé moved farther back onto the bed, putting the lid back on her salad. She’d finished most of it while Marinette was talking earlier. 

“Yeah, that might be good.” The bluenette whispered. 

“Okay,” Chloé took a deep breath. “So, I guess it all started when Nathaniel got akumatized.” 

_______________________________________________________________________

(part 1)  (part 2)  (part 2.5)  (part 3)  (part 4)  (part 5)  (part 6) (part 7) (part 8)  (part 9)  (part 10)  (part 11) - Here (part 12)

Photoshoot Part 3! Thank you all so much for the likes, reblogs, and especially the comments! They are such huge mood boosters for me, they really change the whole course of my day and I appreciate them so much. Sorry this part is a little shorter, writing has kind of been kicking my ass this week. Plus with finals I’ve just been too stressed to write. But luckily I was able to find some time to unwind and get something done on this. I’m really excited for what the next few parts should bring (if everything comes out the way it is in my head right now). As always if you have any questions about the story or AU feel free to ask, I love getting them and will happily answer any question you got (even if it’s not about this AU)! And if you want to be tagged let me know! 

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[ronninoir]

Can I Steal You for a Second? CH4

Summary: Adrien is forced to participate in a new dating show, but becomes more excited when Ladybug says she’ll participate as her civilian self. 

AKA: AU where Adrien doesn’t know Marinette, the superheroes are 22 and Gabriel is mean and ruthless but not Hawkmoth.

Read on AO3

Chapter 4

Adrien was in bed, nervously staring at his ceiling. Today was the day that 30 women would show up to the mansion. They would meet each other and be put in their Gabriel-brand dresses and then given time to do hair and make-up while at a warehouse downtown. Then, they would be moved and sent to meet him one by one in a limo and would participate in a cocktail party. Finally, he would have to cut the pool of girls down from 30 to 22. No matter which way Adrien looked at it, it was going to be a long day. 

But Ladybug will be there. That was the only thought that got him out of bed when the producer assigned to moving Adrien from place to place as the show went along (He considered her to be the TV version of Natalie, but he still hadn’t caught her name, so in his head he called her the Mini-Natalie) had begun calling at his door for him to get up. Today consisted of trying to memorize the names and pictures of the girls, hair and make-up, doing interviews about how he feels pre-meetings, and more hair and make-up before the girls began showing up at exactly nightfall. But, there was a ray of sunshine at the end of this tunnel, and it was covered in polka dots.

Adrien put on some acceptable clothes, brushed his teeth and his hair, and just barely remembered to grab Plagg from his pillow before he was rushed to a studio with a bagel in his mouth. They planned on taking videos of him doing natural things in his life, but they had set it all up in a studio so it would be just right. He felt anything but natural posing and walking around the fake sidewalk and scenery.

After he had finished with those, they moved him to a grey screen-covered area where Adrien was to do various poses with a long-stemmed rose. He felt even more awkward doing these shots than he had doing the “natural posing” earlier. They made him smile really bright and act like he was “in love.” Thankfully, all he had to do was think of Ladybug and finding out her identity and he then had the perfect look for these shots down.

They also made him work out with weights for about an hour while filming the whole thing. This wasn’t too terrible as his Father made him do similar things now that he was out of high school in order for him to keep his body shape. (If only he knew about his runs as Chat Noir, the gym workouts would be unnecessary) Though normally he did all of his workouts with a shirt on. Either that or a skin-tight leather suit. Then, and honestly the most embarrassing of all, they took a large number of shots of Adrien showering. Why, the world needed to see Adrien shirtless with water running through his hair and down his chest he literally had no idea. Thankfully he was allowed to wear swim trunks, so as to not be too exposed. But, his many years of modeling had taught Adrien never to argue with the director and he figured that applied in this situation as well.

Once the B-roll shots were taken, Adrien was whisked away for hair and make-up and another, more formal outfit for the interviews. They asked him too many questions and he just had to keep acting excited about everything that was going on. Some of the questions were just too personal or sounded funny, but Plagg was having a blast silently laughing at what Adrien was saying. Occasionally, Adrien would “stretch” and slap his pocket where Plagg was hiding. He was rewarded with a squeal and some silence for about 5 minutes before Plagg would start up again.

He was coached to be honest about some things, so when they asked about the first Rose Ceremony tonight and if he was nervous, he had no shame in saying absolutely. He cited possibly not being able to get a feel for every girl tonight as well as having to remember their names as the reason for his nervousness. Although those were true, he was mostly worried that his Lady would slip past his notice and be cut before he could figure out it was her. His only saving grace was that tomorrow was Sunday, so it wouldn’t take long for him to discover his mistake.

The questions never seemed to end, and when he asked why there were so many, the director explained that since they had to make a ton of promotional videos to get the word about the show out, as well as fill in stuff for the first episode, they had to have an abundance of material. That, at least, made sense to Adrien. He tried to play up to the camera as much as he could, but by the end he was over it.

It was almost time for dinner and then the start of the show when the director reached the final question, “In your honest opinion, Adrien, do you think this could work? Do you think you’ll be able to find love?”

Without any hesitation, Adrien’s smiled softened as he began to think about Ladybug. His response of, “I truly believe that I will meet my soulmate tonight,” earned him a handful of “awes” and sighs from the production staff. With the knowledge that he had at least given one camera-worthy response, he allowed himself to be dragged away from the set and into, yet another, stylist chair.

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

Marinette was feeling just as stressed as Adrien, but for a whole different reason. As soon as she arrived, she had an uneasy feeling. The limo driver had dropped her off at a warehouse building on the outskirts of town. It wasn’t a place she visited often as Ladybug, and so she was very unfamiliar with the area. Once inside, she was immediately ushered to a conference room where the girls were going to meet the people in charge of them and receive the concrete schedule for that day. When she asked about her luggage, a lady told her that it was going to be held by the workers in case she got cut tonight and needed to head straight home.

 “But don’t worry sweetheart, nothing’s going to happen to your things, but if you make it through tonight, you’ll be moved into the mansion quickly.” The lady gave Marinette a once over and then said, “And when you get sent home, we’ll take care of everything for you.” For some reason, Marinette wasn’t put at ease.

The conference room felt crowded with all thirty of the girls as well as a handful of producers. Marinette sat, looked around the room, and was whispering to Tikki underneath her breath. “I hope some of the girls who I met while we were getting interviewed and photographed made it. It’d be nice to see a familiar face. Or I should say, a familiar friendly face.” The annoying girl who made all of the other girls flock to her from the interview weekend, Lila, had been cast and Marinette was less than thrilled.

“I could scope out the room for you, Marinette!”

“No, I don’t want you to get lost in all of the chaos. I may let you do some exploring later. Thank you for offering, though.” Marinette gave Tikki a smile and reached her hand in to brush her finger against Tikki’s cheek. Tikki hugged her back and settled down in the purse. It took Tikki a couple of weeks, but eventually, she came around to the idea of Marinette participating. She even helped her stay calm when she was freaking out about packing and Alya hadn’t been called yet. Marinette was very grateful that she had Tikki throughout this process. She couldn’t imagine only having the other contestants to talk to all of the time and occasionally Adrien. Tikki’s going to help keep her sane.

An older man walked up to the front of the room and a hush quickly fell over the girls. There were a couple of other people around him, but he clearly was the one in charge, since everyone was looking at him, waiting for him to speak.

“Hello ladies. My name is Mike Fleiss, and I am the producer for the American version of The Bachelor. I’ve been asked to oversee this season to help push the show to be as successful as its counterpart over the seas.” He spoke French pretty well for an American, even if he did have an accent of sorts.

“I’m excited to see what this amazing and beautiful group of girls brings and I know that you all will jump start the Bachelor franchise very well. With that being said, we do have some “house rules” as you would call it, so let’s begin by going over those. Please pay attention, as you will be signing a piece of paper stating that you have gone over these rules with me.

The most important rule for you to remember is that you are not allowed to leave the mansion no matter what, unless you are on a date and are accompanied by Adrien or a producer. As long as you are in the show, you are our responsibility and we will not allow you to put yourself in harms way.”

One rule in and Marinette already knew she had to break it. She couldn’t not leave if an akuma attacked. And she had had promised Adrien that she would meet up with him every Sunday as Ladybug, and there was no way she was backing out of that. Thankfully, she could be sneaky and work around that one rule.

“There is also no use of phones or any other sort of technology that connects you to the outside world. There is no internet at this mansion and you are not allowed to have books of any kind except for the Bible unless preapproved by us.” Her sketch book was preapproved so she was good on that. “Please also note that music players are allowed but music can only be heard through earbuds for copyright reasons.

“Once inside the mansion, you are expected to do your own cooking, cleaning, and laundry. The mansion is already stocked with certain necessities, but if you ever need anything to cook with or you run out of something, let a producer know and we can make a trip to the store for you.” Considering Marinette did most of that for herself already, she wasn’t too worried. And maybe she could make friends by cooking some stuff for others too, so that could be fun.

 “Also, today and the day we shoot the last episode are the only days that the studio will do your hair and make-up. Every other day, you will be required to do it. Also, if you remember, when you were interviewed you were also measured and sized. That is because every outfit that you wear during the filming of this show is going to be a Gabriel piece. Gabriel Agreste has been very kind in allowing the show to do that and his people have picked out various outfits for you to choose from for tonight. Please note that if an outfit of yours goes missing when you are cut from the show, you will be fined and a police report will be filed.”

There were murmurs at that comment. The girl sitting closest to Marinette leaned over and whispered, “Wow that’s a lot for a missing dress,” Although Marinette understood why Gabriel was doing this, it still didn’t make it fun. What designer can make money if they give their clothes away, even if his outfits are ridiculously expensive.

“Now,” Mr. Fleiss’ voice brought all of the girls to silence again and he continued once he had all of their attention. “as you probably guessed, there are going to be cameras everywhere. If someone asks you for an interview, you do not decline. Everywhere you go, a camera goes. The only place they will not follow you into is the bathroom, but they will stand outside of the door and record sounds so be aware of that.” Mr. Fleiss paused as he seemed to make sure that everything had been covered.

 “That should be everything. If you have any questions, whether about the rules or the journey, please feel free to ask.” That moment was the first time that Marinette had seen him smile and with that smile, he gestured to the people stationed to the side of the rows of girls. “We have reached the fun part. If you would do the honors gentlemen,” the men started passing out bags to the girls closest to them and working their way around the room. “All of you are receiving a gift bag provided by our generous sponsors. Inside, you will find various hair products, different types of make-up, as well as some sunscreen and a lovely padded bikini gifted by Gabriel for you to use during the filming. And yes, before you ask, you can take the bikinis home with you.”

Excited chatter broke across the room as the girls got their bags and began pulling stuff out and looking through it. Marinette looked in hers and noticed a tube of waterproof mascara, a container of highlighter, a bottle of hair shining spray, a self-tanning lotion, the tube of sunscreen and her bikini, which was a bright red color. Red was a good color for her, for obvious reasons, and the padded bra part was nice as Marinette’s chest could use a little bit of help in that area.

 “That’s really nice of them!” Tikki whispered from Marinette’s purse.

 “I’m surprised they found so many sponsors for the show since it is so new here. This is some good, quality stuff here too. And now I can say I own a Gabriel original!” Marinette let out a tiny squeal.

 “I wouldn’t be too excited about that,” Tikki said with a laugh. “There’s not that much material here to make it too much of an original!”

 “Oh hush!” Marinette scolded, though her giggles made it seem less threatening than it was intended to be.

 Mr. Fleiss clapped and called the girls to attention. “Yes, yes, very exciting, but we have one more thing to discuss. The schedule for today. In about 20 minutes, you will be dismissed in groups of 5 to go and be worked on by our stylists. Once your hair and make-up is completed, you will be guided to your assigned dressing area, where your pre-picked dresses are waiting for you to choose from. A word of advice from someone who has worked on many seasons of this show: pick this dress wisely. If it’s too gaudy, Adrien won’t be interested. If it’s too plain, he won’t remember you.

 “And speaking of remembering, tonight you will have a chance to make a first impression. When you first get out of the limo, your look is what matters. When you walk up to Adrien though, you will be expected to have a minute conversation with him. Do something or say something to make him remember you. All of these need to be approved by Victoria,” He pointed to a lady with a clipboard who was standing by the door in the back. All of the girls were so still and quiet, you could have heard a pen drop.

 “He is not going to remember your name and want to keep you around if you don’t do something to catch his attention. You will have another chance to catch his attention during the cocktail party, so you can plan something a little more elaborate for then. During the cocktail party, however, it is your responsibility to find time with Adrien. Please keep everything you do appropriate and if you need anything not available in this building, let one of us know and we’ll make it happen for tonight.”

“The first group will be called in 15 minutes,” Victoria called out before walking out the door.  

 It took about a minute before the girls began chatting with everyone around them. They were all brainstorming on different ways they could make a good first impression. A girl a couple rows in front of her was explaining that she thought she could do a couple of backflips once out of the limo, she would just need to practice doing them in heels. Marinette thought that was a super cool idea and moved onto the next conversation. Everyone seemed to have an idea, no matter how out there it seemed.

 “Tikki, what do you think—”

 Before she could finish her sentence, the girl sitting directly next to Marinette, who was taller than Marinette by about 5 inches, had long blonde hair and a sweet smile, turned to her and caught her arm, preventing Marinette from conversing with Tikki.

 “Hi! It’s so nice to meet you! My name is Hanna and I’m from Camembert, France, you know like the cheese? My family are farmers and I am so excited to be here in the city. What’s your name? Where are you from? What do you think you’re going to do once you’re out of the limo?” She seemed to speak without taking a breath and Marinette mentally thanked Alya for her ability to understand what she had said.  

 “Umm, hi! My name is Marinette, I’m from Paris and I don’t know just yet.” She tried not to sound too distraught about not knowing what to do, but her nervous jitters were getting the best of her.

 Hanna began to ramble about all of the amazing things she’s seen of Paris and how excited she was to meet Adrien and nervous of making a good impression, and on and on. Marinette smiled at her speaking with such excitement about being able to drive past a real shopping mall. 

This girl, Hanna, seemed so innocent and cheerful and friendly and Marinette wondered how in the world she was going to fair in the competition. Especially with girls like Lila to manipulate her. In that moment, Marinette decided to befriend her and hopefully keep her out of harm’s way. Marinette stole a glance at Tikki, who gave her an approving nod and a smile.

 Hanna was currently stressing about what she was going to do tonight when Marinette interrupted her. “Hey, I’m sure everything is going to be okay! Let’s brainstorm ideas together. What do you enjoy doing? Anything we can use to make you pop?”

 Hanna talked for about 5 more minutes about all of the different things she could do, each idea worse than the last. Eventually, Marinette picked out that Hanna enjoyed singing karaoke with her family after dinner. When Marinette gently suggested that she bring a karaoke machine and sing a little to Adrien right out of the limo, Hanna jumped on the idea. She gathered Marinette in a bone-crushing hug and thanked her profusely. After letting go, she brought the idea up to Victoria, and was quickly scanning through a provided list of songs and deciding how romantic the song she sang needed to be when the first group was called.

 “Attention ladies. I need Alice, Celeste, Jeanne, Juliette, and Hanna for hair and make-up.”

 Hanna squealed and dropped her list on the ground out of excitement. Marinette quickly picked it up and passed it to her, accepting another hug from Hanna and promising to find her later today before the filming started.

 After she was off and Marinette was alone, she began brainstorming for herself. She had plenty of ideas of what she could do, each more insane than the last. At first, she thought of doing yo-yo tricks, or showing up in a red and black dress, or starting with some insane Ladybug-style tricks, but Tikki decided it was too obvious and that it wouldn’t be fair for the other girls if Adrien found out tonight, right off the bat. Thankfully Tikki had vetoed the idea, because she heard of another contestant who was doing that same thing. Apparently, it had gotten out that Adrien was a fan of Ladybug, so everyone from France (there were a couple of Swedish girls, one from Belgium, and of course, the Italian model, Lila) jumped at the opportunity to impress him using the super-heroine as a starting point.

 Soon, she was out of ideas and Marinette needed an idea that would make her stand out. She was trying not to be bitter about coming up with no ideas. She had an advantage over the others, and yet she couldn’t think of anything that would be good enough for her to do. What did she know that her Kitty loved that could blow him out of the water without fully giving away her identity?

 She was feeling helpless and stupid and annoyed when she overheard a conversation from some other contestants, one of whom was also having trouble coming up with something creative.

 “Just use your personality! If everyone else is doing something crazy as soon as they see him, be the one normal girl he talks to.”

 Marinette jerked her head up. Personality. She knew all about Adrien’s personality, or really, the personality he displayed as Chat. He claimed that Chat was his true personality, not the stuffy one his father made him have in his presence. Suddenly, she was so overcome with an idea, she was surprised it took her so long to think of it. It was brilliant and memorable and exactly something that her Kitty would love to hear tonight. A deep smile spread across her face as she ran to line up in front of Victoria, who was getting ready to call the next group. She wasn’t exactly going to be her normal, Ladybug self, but she was going to knock Adrien off of his feet.

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

Forty-five minutes later and Marinette’s group, the last one, was being called. She was rushed to a stylist chair where people began to swarm around her, grabbing her hair or moving her face in different directions. By the time they stepped away, Marinette almost didn’t recognize herself in the mirror. Her hair was loose and styled with soft curls with an intricate braid that hid her bangs. Her make-up was well-done and highlighted all of the important features.

She was then moved to a changing room that she shared with the other girls in her style group. Once she found the dress rack with her name on it, she began flipping through, looking for the perfect color and style dress. She finally found one that wouldn’t bring attention to her small chest but would make her curves stand out. And it was the exact color of her eyes, which would make them pop.

 Soon she was sitting at a table with all of the other girls, who looked just as beautiful as she did, and chattering with Hanna about tonight. Once all of Marinette’s group sat down, they were called to attention and given the piece of paper for them to sign stating that they had heard and agree to follow the rules of the House. They also had to put when they were expecting their next period, which startled Marinette. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one, but she did as she was asked.

They were then given the opportunity to eat and after about 30 minutes, Victoria was calling the girls and putting them in the order that they would appear before Adrien. They would ride to the mansion in groups, then wait their turns as the limo brought each girl individually to see Adrien. The girls who had non-limo entrances (one girl was riding in on a horse) would be instructed when it would be their turn to walk (or ride) in. Otherwise, the limo drivers were in charge of the timing.

Marinette, who was stationed towards the middle, right behind Hanna and in front of a girl named Lucie, was excited and yet nervous. Tikki had to hide in her bra since no bags were allowed in the mansion the first day. Although it was kind of awkward for both of them, Marinette was happy to have Tikki so close, as it would be easier to talk to her as the night went along. And she had a feeling they would have lots to talk about.

 Soon the first set of girls were being put in their limo and driven to the mansion. In about an hour, Marinette would be face-to-face with the man of her dreams.

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

Adrien suddenly couldn’t breath and his hands were all sweaty as his limo was driven to the mansion where the girls he was going to date would be living. Mini-Natalie was in the car with him and was instructing him what would happen as they drove up.

“You will get out of the car and will be recorded. So please be aware of what you say and how you react. Chris will meet you and will chat with you about tonight, and then the first girl will appear. Chris will tell you when. Follow his lead, he knows what he is doing.”

Chris Harrison was the host for the American version and Adrien had met him a couple of times. He seemed like a nice guy, but it was weird that all this man did for a living was watch people date each other and make occasional comments. They had Alec, the normal reality show host for most of Paris’s entertainment, shadowing him, but they wanted the first season to have an experienced host so it was more of a smooth time filming. Adrien was just grateful to have someone who understood the show well enough to help guide him through this rollercoaster.

The limo pulled to a stop and Mini-Natalie, shooed him out. He stepped out and was greeted by really bright lights in front of this gorgeous mansion. It had to be at least 3 floors and had a jaw-dropping look to it. No wonder they picked this to be the location for the show.

 “Evening Adrien,” Chris greeted him at the place where the concrete turned from driveway to sidewalk. Adrien could see a camera filming him as he walked to shake Chris’ hand. “How are you feeling?”

 “I’m a little excited and nervous,” Adrien responded.

“That’s completely normal. Tonight’s going to be a lot. You’re going to meet a lot of girls. Do you believe you’ll be able to find the one through this journey?”

 “Honestly Chris I do. I’m excited to see what tonight brings and hopefully I can make a good first impression.”

 Chris laughed at that, “I believe that’s what the girls will be hoping too.” He stuck his hand out for another handshake and Adrien took it as Chris said, “Good luck tonight, the first limo is coming around the corner.”

“Thank you.” Adrien looked toward the end of the driveway and did indeed see a limo poking out.

The cameras were switched off and Mini-Natalie, who had exited the limo after the cameras had followed Adrien, began positioning him on the sidewalk. Once he was set and Mini-Natalie walked away to make sure he looked good in the cameras, Adrien took a moment to be excited. He was going to meet his lady tonight, even if he didn’t know which one she was going to be.

Once it had been decided that Adrien looked good, they motioned the first limo to approach the house. Plagg, who had been asleep in Adrien’s pocket, woke up from his nap, claiming that he didn’t want to miss anything that the girls did or said tonight. Adrien rolled his eyes at that.

“Well if you’re going to be awake then know, no comments, no matter what the girls say or do, you don’t get to say a word. We’ll have time for your commentary later,” At that, Plagg opened his mouth to protest, but was cut-off when the first limo came to a stop in front of the house and the door clicked open.

~~~

This chapter is soooo long, so sorry for the wait I was dealing with personal stuff do to the virus 

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[miraculouslysam]

The Woes of a Teen Underwear Model

Hi all! Today’s prompt for @adrinetteapril was “Just Friends,” and I couldn’t resist. Have some post-reveal, pre-relationship antics.

“You know, ya probably would have more success with the dudette if you actually went and talked to her instead of just staring like a creep, bro.”

Adrien couldn’t figure out how he had gotten here. It wasn’t too long before that their roles had been reversed, with Nino freaking out about being a “moronosaurus rex” while Adrien had just laughed along and teased him for overthinking it all. And yet, there he was, hiding in the corner and watching Marinette- not just Marinette, but Ladybug- laughing with Alya as they flipped through a magazine.

And it wasn’t just any old magazine. Oh no, Adrien couldn’t be that lucky. No, it just had to be Gabriel’s special swimsuits and undergarments edition. The edition in which Adrien had been the cover model.

It was taking every bit of his self-control not to run over and rip the magazine to shreds. Or to go to the nearest newspaper stand and set fire to it. Either option would be satisfactory.

The knowledge that Marinette was Ladybug still astounded him. When they had revealed themselves a few weeks before, he instantly found himself in shock. Mostly at his own stupidity. He still couldn’t grasp how he was so blind; her looks and tendency to help others stayed the same with and without the mask! Marinette, on the other hand, was cool as a cucumber. She’d taken one glance at him and said, “I should’ve seen this coming.”

They had spent more time together since then, growing closer with each passing day. All the guys teased him in the locker rooms, asking when he was finally going to get the balls to ask her out. He always smiled. “We’re just friends.” It hurt, but he knew where she stood on the matter and was not going to step over the line. He’d already learned that lesson.

But even if they were “just friends,” Adrien absolutely did not want the woman he was in love with laughing at pictures of him one-garment-short of naked. Years of modelling had taught him to be secure with himself… but not that secure.

He was pulled from his musings by a hand waving in front of his face. “Yo, earth to Loverboy. What’s your deal, bro? Just ask her out already so we can all be past this drooling. Alya’s really been pushing for us all to double-date,” Nino said. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “And believe me, a happier Alya is better for everyone. Especially me.”

Adrien quickly composed himself, then quirked an eyebrow to complete the confident façade. “Oh, is that so? Well, I hate to break it to you, Nino, but Marinette and I are just friends. Maybe you could talk to Rose and Juleka.”

Nino began to speak, but the bell rang, cutting him off. The duo began walking toward their classroom. “I’m just sayin’, dude, Marinette is a catch. I’ve been hearing some stuff about some people wanting to ask her out if you’re not making a move.”

Oh man, did Adrien know. He distinctly remembered pummeling Kagami while they sparred the previous week, when she’d said something to the effect of “if you don’t make a move, I will.” The satisfied smirk she gave him, like the cat that got the cream, had plagued his mind ever since. It didn’t help that she kept texting him taunts at least three times a day either.

“Seriously, I probably still would be chasing her if Ladybug hadn’t thrown me and Alya in that cage that day at the zoo. The girl is smart, nice, and fine. She’s the whole package.” Nino paused, considering. “Oh, but don’t tell Alya I said that. My girl is the best and only one for me.”

The pair fist-bumped, then walked through the door of Ms. Bustier’s class. Alya and Marinette already had taken their seats. The girls looked up for a moment, greeting the boys, then returned to their discussion. He heard laughter from behind him and tensed up. Should he eavesdrop? He knew it was wrong, but they were looking at-

“Hey, Adrien,” Alya’s voice drawled. He heard Marinette groan, then turned to see her thunking her head into her desk. Alya held up the offending magazine and Adrien felt himself cringe. “Marinette has a question for you.”

Marinette groaned again. “Please don’t, Alya. It’s just going to be embarrassing for everyone.”

Adrien swore he saw Alya’s eyes flash, not unlike Kyoya’s in Ouran. And, well, Kyoya had nothing on Alya in terms of being terrifying. “Really? Embarrassing for everyone, you say? I don’t think I’ll be embarrassed, so I’ll just say it for you.” She leaned forward, elbow on the table as she rested her chin on her fist. “Marinette wants to know what the hell was going through your mind when you posed for this photo.”

He glanced at the two-page spread, what the photographer called the star of the photoset. He thought he looked pretty good in it, but judging by that smirk on Alya’s face... He smiled weakly. “I was told to do a smolder. They wanted me to look sexy.”

The smirk grew wider and Alya’s eyes glinted again. Adrien swallowed thickly. “Is that so? Did you find it sexy, Marinette?”

Alya’s head whipped toward her best friend, who appeared to be practicing a new shrinking act. Marinette’s eyes darted around at every other member of their quartet. “Well, no, that isn’t exactly what I said.”

“And what exactly did you say?”

Marinette clearly knew there was no getting out of it. She sighed and sat up straight, shoulders back. She met Adrien’s questioning glance. “Sorry, Adrien, but… you look like you’re trying to pass something. Like bad gas.”

Alya and Nino dissolved into laughter instantly. Adrien’s jaw dropped, face morphing into disbelief. “I’m- you- huh?” Did she really think that? It was like glass shattered in his mind. Though he hadn’t told anyone, he secretly had been envisioning something like an anime scene:

Dramatic music plays in the background. Marinette, clad in a white, flowing dress with her hair free, runs while looking around frantically, magazine in hand. She finally sees him. “Oh, Adrien! I can’t resist any longer. You’re the man of my dreams. You’re handsome and strong and incredible!” She flings herself into his arms. “Please, kiss me!” They passionately embrace while rose petals fall around them and-

His friends’ uproarious laughter snapped him from his reverie. Right. That wouldn’t happen now, apparently.

Marinette looked apologetic for a moment, but then sat up even straighter, emboldened like she suddenly was her spotted alter-ego. Adrien supposed she was picturing cat ears flat against his head. He could practically feel them himself.

“And now you look like you’ve passed it.”

The challenge in her eyes taunted him, the smirk dancing on her lips a silent invitation. The message was clear. Step up or just take it.

Well that simply wouldn’t do.

A cheshire grin overtook his face. Marinette’s eyes grew wide for a split-second before she settled into her game face. “I don’t know that you’re one to talk, Princess. Didn’t you have me go buy constipation tablets for you in London?” He began mocking her voice. “’Oh, Adrien, please do this for me. You’re the only one who can!’”

If looks could kill, Adrien surely would have been pronounced dead on the scene.

He knew it had been a mistake. It was the first thing she cleared up after they revealed themselves, but Alya and Nino didn’t know that. It was a low blow, but fair was fair.

But once again, he had failed to account for Alya’s quick wit. The wicked smile on her face made him gulp and regret saying anything. “Wow, it sounds like you two really are made for each other.”

Was his face on fire? It felt like it. Could a human face physically catch flame? Maybe he could ask Ms. Mendeliev for resources to be studied.

He vaguely heard Marinette sputtering, but class began before he could hear what she had to say.

~~~~~

Class took an eternity to end. Nino had teased him via note through the entire thing, but Adrien was too removed to care. His leg couldn’t seem to stop jiggling the whole time, and his notebook showed that he had learned absolutely nothing.

Unless discovering that Adrien Dupain-Cheng looked better than Marinette Agreste counted. Because the whole page was full of it, written in various fonts and surrounded by hearts.

Oh well. The girl of his dreams had just been laughing at the centerfold photo of him wearing Gabriel briefs. He had no shame left.

He waited until Marinette and Alya got up to leave, then quietly followed them so he could hear what they were saying.

“Alya, you really didn’t have to say that. Adrien didn’t need to know.”

“Oh, come on, girl. You know I didn’t want to hurt him. We were going to find out his feelings either way. Either you were going to acknowledge that you think he’s drop-dead gorgeous, or we were going to see him get pouty because you didn’t think so. You chose not to own up, so we saw Model Boy get upset.”

Adrien felt himself blushing again.

“Alya, he knows he’s drop-dead gorgeous. He’s a model. He probably just got upset because his job is to match the expressions they tell him to.”

Alya laughed. “Girl, if you think he’s just upset over that, you’re more blind than he is. He’s more whipped than topping on an ice cream sundae.”

“You know that isn’t true.”

“If you’re so sure, then why don’t you ask him? Call him up, ask him out on a date. Not just video games. A real date,” Alya countered.

Marinette scoffed. “Come on, Alya. I can’t do that, no matter how much I want to. He only sees me as a friend.”

Adrien tripped, falling headfirst into a trashcan.

“She likes me back?!”

[pure-mornings]

Can we all talk about how Miraculous Ladybug has only gotten better

I have so many thoughts omg. Spoilers below cut plus speculation that might count as spoilers GET ON MY LEVEL:

ETA: this post was in my drafts and really old so there is a point where I start talking about the current reactions I’m having.

First off I’m predicting Chloe becomes the Bee miraculous wielder. (Which became pretty obvious when you considered her color scheme and the silhouettes in the intro, maybe but idk I’m excited to see how the hell that plays out. Also hoping she choses to go by anything that roughly translates to ‘Queen Bee’.

I mean we all kinda figured Alya was gonna get to be the fox miraculous wielder—Rena Rouge was awesome as fuck.

Also I have recently reacquainted myself with the fact that Nathalie was fucking shitty before we knew she was at least somehow vaguely aware of Gabriel Agreste being shady af. So now I think if anyone’s gonna get the Peacock miraculous it’s her

Now time: wow okay I was right about that stuff (pretty sure it was getting obvious at that point, but w/evs) ahem, now to my current freak out

1st: I feel like party crasher was released out of order, I think the episodes where viperion and pegasus first get their miraculous probably were canonically before that, based on the casualness of their appearances and Ladybug already knowing their names.

Also also Iove Chloe’s character development. I saw her ripping the photograph at the end as her getting over her hero worship and letting go of that attitude/energy. After all that photo was going to be her akumatized object, I would want to get rid of something like that too if it wasn’t something more important to me.

ALSO CHLOE IS TO DATE THE ONLY PERSON WHO STOPPED GETTING AKUMATIZED BEFORE IT FINISHED AND EVEN REJECTED THE AKUMA. Granted she’s had the experience a few times, but seriously, Chloe is pretty strong and we need to recognize that.

Also Bunnix. Just Bunnix all the way. Lila is fixing to take over Hawkmoth and try and get her wish to be perf or always believed or whatever (maybe to have her parents actually care?).

Idk I just wanted to rant a bit <3

ETA: THERE’S MORE SINCE THEN

I posted in little reaction posts but Adrien tried for months FOR MONTHS I haven’t checked the math with the number of times he said he attempted yet but I hope the miraculous ladybug effect makes that trauma less fresh boy howdy. It’s not even that he couldn’t save her it’s that the whole point was they needed an extra miraculous wielder not just different powers... obvs but still poor baby Adrien.

Also Hawkmoth just unleashed a sociopath on Marinette’s whole life, knowing that she is a nice, talented, well-liked lynch pin in her social group that he has never been able to get at before. Like Idk how much he signed off on, but he did not try and pull a Gabriel stealth fixes this girl’s life move or anything. Her dad was straight up just gonna make her learn to bake and not continue any schooling or fashion.

THEY WRECKED HER WHOLE LIFE THO

okay okay I’m okay

Also not only did Chloe not get akumatized during that moment (again) she also protected Sabrina, I know the order of the episodes is always all over the place but Stormy Weather 2 should probably be the the first or second episode of this season (since Stormy weather was the original first ep anyway, but Chameleon is so clearly meant to be an introduction to a world where Lila is more present) because that’s the farthest back for Chloe character development-wise

This is the rise of ButterfLila her getting into fashion is gonna get her close enough. Still wondering what her wish is? To make all her lies true? To make her Ladybug? Just to ruin Marinette’s life? Get Adrien to love her? I mean she’s the fakest meanest person, she already gets to model with Adrien.

[paganinpurple]

Be Careful What You Wish For - Ch 4

Will write for coffee

This chapter was commissioned by the lovely Simply_Zerah from AO3 who I would totally tag but I’m not yet 100% sure if they have the same Tumblr URL lol

Enjoy!

Adrien and Nino find themselves in an alternate timeline where Hawkmoth never attacked and so the Miraculous heroes were never chosen. Just how much has changed in this universe? And how will they find their way back?

AO3

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7

A shadow sat atop the Parisian rooftops, the Place de Vosges a less than ideal perch for one attempting to stay hidden, but Chat had never been very good at sticking to a low profile.

His baton open in front of him, he was zoomed in on the windows of the Agreste mansion, checking them one by one, vainly attempting to catch sight of the person he hadn’t seen in years. The one he desperately wanted to lay eyes upon again.

He sighed despondently as he desperately tried to merge together the picture he had in his mind’s eye of his mother -warm and sweet with such a lovely youthful face- with the one Marinette had shown him pictures and video clips of. It had been obvious to him that she would look so much older now, that was just to be expected after fourteen years. Although she had aged gracefully, the lines on her face, and the distinguished streaks of grey were still apparent. But that wasn’t what had unsettled him.

From the pictures and videos he had seen, she rarely seemed to smile anymore -or at least not the way he remembered it. In his memory there was a wonderful light to her, a glow which lit up the entire room she was in whenever she graced someone or something with her radiance. In the past, she had always shown warmth with her whole face, expelling pure joy and love when she did. Her photographs now seemed to consist solely of modelling expressions, her head held high and face blank -aloof and unattainable. The video interviews he had watched showed her smiling at reporters and other fashion icons, but the look almost had a calculated and almost wrong look to it. The sweetness seemed false and her face held none of the energy he remembered. The smile never reached her eyes.

She looked almost tired.

There was a soft thud beside him, and it was so recognisable that Chat never even took his eyes from his baton screen as he continued to cycle through the windows. “Thought I’d find you here,” said Carapace as he settled himself on the tiles below, “Any luck?”

“Nope. No sign of her or my dad,” he said with a sigh, “Though if you check out my old bedroom, you’ll see yours truly.”

Carapace’s head lifted abruptly in shock. “Really?” he asked, lifting his finger to tap the side of his goggles as he too zoomed in on the mansion windows. A few seconds of silence passed as Carapace adjusted his focus until he finally spotted the figure slumped over on his front on the white couch, having apparently dozed off while watching TV.

“Wow,” he told Chat with a sarcastic snort, “Attractive.”

One of alternate Adrien’s arms had clearly been thrown over his forehead before he rolled over onto his stomach and was currently lodged between him and the couch awkwardly. His shirt sleeve was sure to leave strange lines on his face when he finally moved. He had also managed to wiggle his knees beneath him so that his butt stuck up in the air and, of course, he was drooling, the light from the television making the moisture glisten so it stood out even from this distance.

Chat sniggered despite his dark mood. It had been unsettling at first -to spot himself- and it had only added to his list of things to freak out about internally. As it turned out, it wasn’t the same as seeing an advertisement or an interview like had often happened years ago, because he was too actively aware that this was another living version of himself. But he had to admit, Marinette was right when she told him he looked utterly ridiculous while he slept. Why did she always have to be right about the embarrassing things?

The picture on his baton screen cut out unexpectedly and a harsh ringing tone sounded on it, startling a yowl from him. It only took a second for him to calm himself, one hand on his chest to try to slow his thumping heartbeat, before he raised an eyebrow at Carapace. He recognised the number showing on the display and he knew there was only one way that number would have known how to contact his baton. “She’s always been better at getting you out of your own head than me, dude,” the other hero said with a small smile he noted was laced with sadness, before he leapt to the edge of the row of buildings in order to afford Chat some privacy.

Taking a deep breath and screwing his green eyes tight shut for a moment, he exhaled deeply before finally pressing the button to answer the incoming call. “Hello?”

“Um, Hi…Adrien?”

His chest ached horribly at her hesitance. She even sounded unsure about a simple phone conversation. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“Nino said you might need to talk to someone,” she said, a hint of trepidation in her voice, “He…he seemed to think…that it should be me.” A pregnant pause followed and Chat remained silent for a moment as he considered how to talk to her. Normally he would spill out everything to Marinette -every painful and ugly thought that briefly passed through his mind, but that wasn’t what people did to someone who barely knew them. And this particular Marinette wasn’t likely to know how to deal with his rants, because she was in fact a stranger to him.

“I…miss you,” was what finally fell between the empty ends of the line.

“Well, um, I guess I get that you kind of do, even though I’m right here because actually I’m not. I mean, I might be me but I’m not your me if you know what I mean, and I guess you do ’cause that must be all you’ve had to think about since you got here. I must be so different and after all you love me-”

There was a muffled squeak as she pulled the receiver away from her face and he heard the distant remains of “Ohmygod did I really just say that?!” as she panicked. “Anyway, what I mean is,” she said, returning to her rambling, “how are you- Uh, Adrien are you okay?”

He absolutely wasn’t okay, he was far too busy trying to keep the volume of his laughter at a minimum so that he wouldn’t alert any of the Parisians in the park below to his presence. Tears began to stream down his face as he shook in utter mirth. He sobered up a little when he heard a hum of disapproval from her end of the connection but continued to break out into little giggles as he spoke.

“You’re not that different,” he told her, stopping momentarily to give a snort as he tried to repress another wave of laughter, “you still ramble when you’re flustered.”

“Oh.” She sounded a bit embarrassed and he could almost imagine the blush dusted across the bridge of her nose. “I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be.” Her refused to let her spiral into self-doubt right now. Not when he was finally feeling somewhat human again. “I think it’s funny when you do that. It’s…cute.”

“Oh!” Now she really sounded embarrassed.

“Honestly, I think it helped. Things are different here. But…you’re still you.”

She remained quiet and if it wasn’t for the whisper of breath his hearing detected on the other end, he would have thought she’d hung up or left.

He wiped away a remaining tear from the corner of his eye. “Thanks, Mari,” he said, and he couldn’t have held back the affection in his voice if he tried, “I’ll be back soon. I’ll see if I can pick up some peppermint hot chocolate on the way, though I might need to send Nino to get it, so I don’t get recognised.”

It was her favourite drink on chilly nights or when she was in desperate need of extra comfort of some kind and he expected her to comment on that, but she didn’t. “It’s going to be okay, Adrien,” she said, “You’re going to fix things.”

“See you soon, My Lady.” He ended the call a moment later, a hint of a blush on his face from his automatic use of the pet name he’d always used for her. She hadn’t said anything or spluttered at it, and that just made the dusting of pink across his cheeks intensify.

Just as he was moving to depart, Carapace reappeared, landing beside him once again. “Dude,” he said, shaking Chat’s shoulder as he did and pointing at the same window he had been trained on for the past few hours, “There’s something floating above Other-Adrien’s head. Take a look.”

Opening his baton again, he zoomed in on his alternate self’s sleeping form, narrowing his eyes as he tried desperately to focus on the tiny blue blur moving around him rapidly. The thing slowed for a moment to land on the golden tresses beneath it and Chat gasped.

“Is that a Kwami?” he asked.

Will write for coffee

[freedom-shamrock]

Bare With Me - Chp 3

Also on AO3  You can catch the previous chapters there or on Tumblr (though there’s not a lot of plot here, so it’s not strictly necessary). Chp 1  Chp 2  Chp 3  Chp 4

Adrien couldn't decide if he should be pacing or casually drape himself over Marinette's lawn chair.  Past experience indicated that both had the potential to appeal visually, but what would Ladybug prefer?

He was still pacing when the distinctive zip of her yo-yo announced her arrival.  He looked up just as her feet touched down, and he made a point to use the wide-eyed expression his photographers wanted when they were aiming for a sweet and innocent look.

He smiled, delighted to see her cheeks darken slightly.  "Welcome back," he said,  throwing her a little finger wave.  "Everything go all right?"

Ladybug nodded.  "Yep.  Chat and I got it all taken care of. It's safe to bring you home."

"Great.  Uhm… so why was I in particular danger?"  Having helped fight the Re-Modeler, he knew.  But Adrien Agreste had been stranded with no cell phone, radio access, or clothes, and had no way to know what was going on.  "I didn't cause the akuma, did I?"  He aimed for a horrified reaction, because, seriously, if he had caused it, he'd feel terrible.

"No, no, no."  Her hand settled on his shoulder, as she rushed to soothe him.  Damn she was sweet.  "It wasn't your fault the photographer and designer preferred you."

Actually, it was totally his father's fault.  The man was a colossal dick, and that was to people he liked.  "Oh.  Was it Johann, then?"  He sighed.  "I would've been more than happy to give up today's shitty shoot for him."

"He probably would have been fine if he hadn't run into Chloe while he was getting over his frustration," Ladybug pointed out.

"Ugh."  His reaction didn't have to be feigned at all.  "That girl needs to take akuma prevention sensitivity training."

Ladybug giggled.  "So are you ready to go home?  I'm sure your… family is concerned about you."

He snorted.  "My handlers, you mean."  Her hesitation had suggested she knew more about his home life than the average Parisian.  He didn't really want her to drop him off and head on her way.  Not yet.  "Nathalie is probably completely freaked out."

"Ah!" Ladybug said in bright discovery.  She held out her yo-yo and opened it in communicator mode.  "I can call her and explain.  Do you think that would help?"

Adrien nodded eagerly.  It would certainly minimize the urgency of the situation.  When she offered the device to him to dial, he pretended to misunderstand and just reached over her to enter the number.

"Hello, this is Nathalie Sa…"  His father's assistant hesitated.  She'd answered in video phone.  "Ladybug.  I see you have located Adrien.  His father will be most grateful."

"It's no problem at all," Ladybug said, her professional hero mode in full force.  "As soon as I realized the Re-Modeler was targeting him, I moved Adrien to a secure location.  I'm sorry.  I didn't even give him time to grab his phone."

"I understand."  Nathalie turned her focus to him.  "Adrien… are you naked?"

Adrien shook his head quickly.  "No.  But I'm less dressed than I'd normally be out in public.  Good thing it's dark out."

It was subtle, but he could see the amusement in Nathalie's face.  "I won't tell your father if you don't, and if you can manage to avoid being caught by any photographers."

"Thanks Nathalie."

"I'll bring him home right now Ms. Sancoeur," Ladybug promised.  "He was concerned that you'd be worried, so I wanted to contact you first."

"Do I have anything before 10:30 tomorrow morning?" Adrien asked.

She looked down at something, probably her tablet.  "There is nothing on your schedule until noon."

"Great," Adrien said, happily.  He had no reason to push Ladybug out after she brought him home, and she had a fresh transformation.  "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Nathalie gave him that rare smile of hers.  "I'll inform your father that you're safe.  Don't stay up too late."

The screen went dark and Ladybug closed it.  "All right.  Ready for another ride?"

He grinned.  He'd love a ride other than the one she was offering.  "Anytime you want, my L- lovely bug."  Dammit.  Channeling his inner Chat Noir was risky.

She scooped him up again and swung them back in the direction of his father's mansion.  Once she'd safely landed back in his room, he could see the pink in her cheeks again.  She was out of her element, and there was no previously established protocol for hero behavior in this situation, and he loved seeing her a little out of her element.

"Thanks for going out of your way to protect me," he said, wanting her to feel comfortable with him.  At least enough so that she wouldn't leave too soon.

She beamed at him, back on familiar ground.  "All in a day's work."

"It was the best part of my day, to be honest."  Granted, any time in her company was the best part of his day, but this had been extra nice.

"Oh."  She smiled, looking bashful.  Though he was sure he'd never seen his Lady look like that, it was incredibly familiar.

He shrugged.  "I don't have a lot of terrific days, and that's just how life works.  But today was phenomenally bad."

She took one of his hands between both of hers.  "I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm glad I was somehow able to make it better."  She shook her head.  "I think it says a lot about your life that being targeted by an akuma was the bright point in your day."

He laughed.  "I guess."  He reached back and rubbed the back of his head nervously.  "Umm, would you, uh want to hang out a bit?"  Oh god.  He'd done it.  He'd asked her to stay.  Did he sound too desperate?  When she stared at him, seemingly unable to respond, he tried to fix it.  "Uh.  Sorry.  That was probably weird.  I just thought--"

"Yes!" she blurted out, cutting him off.  Her face went nearly as red as her suit as she started to fidget.  It was another oddly familiar behavior.  "Uh… to the hanging out.  Not the weird part.  It's not weird."  She closed her mouth and her eyes and took a deep breath, then faced him calmly.  "I'd love to hang out."

Relieved, he beamed at her.  "Great.  So… "  He looked around his room, trying to remember all the things he'd learned his Lady enjoyed.  But his brain wasn't braining.  Stupid brain.  "Uhm.  We could… watch a movie or play video games."  He gestured to his personal arcade.  "I think I'm ziplined out, but… uh…"

Once again, his Lady saved him.  "I love video games."  Her gaze flicked over him.  "Uhm… not to be one more person in your life telling you what to do, but, are you going to put on clothes?"  She pointed to his towel.

Yes.  An opportunity.  He could use this.  "Ugh," he groaned.  "My life revolves around clothes.  Scratchy clothes.  Sweaty clothes.  Holy-crap-I-can't-breathe-in-this clothes."  He grabbed his face with both hands and dragged down.  "I'm not sure I can possibly clothes right now, my… Ladybug," he whined.

Her giggles reassured him.  "Have I just discovered Adrien Agreste's deepest darkest secret?" she asked, tapping her lips with one finger.  "You're a naturalist at heart."

"Sssh!"  He shushed her, pretending to be panicked.  "Not so loud.  Can you imagine what that would do to my father?  His career?  I mean, Ladybug, this is serious.  You.  Can't.  Tell.  Anyone."  He planted his hands on his towel clad hips.

She patted his cheek, and he was pretty sure he stopped breathing.  "Your secret is safe with me."  She took a small step back, pink in her cheeks again.  "While your body is nothing to be ashamed of, I mean, seriously, it's not… but I'm not used to hanging out with naked boys.  At all.  So maybe you could find the least clothing-like item you have so I don't get all distracted and lose every game we play?"

He thought for a moment, running through his usual options for when he had to wear clothes but didn't want to.  Plagg gave his thigh a light scratch.  "Oh!  Uh… I might have something that'll work.  Just… gimmie a minute."  He headed for his huge walk-in closet.  "Have a seat, make yourself comfortable."  He waved vaguely to the couch before ducking into the closet.

He tugged the knot on the towel, dropping it on the floor.  "I'm sorry, Plagg," he whispered.  "You're hungry, I know."

The miraculous black cat hovered in front of Adrien's eyes.  "Naah.  I'm good.  I'll just phase into the mini-fridge for a snack."

"Oh… what did you need?"  This was a surprise.

Plagg smirked in a decidedly not cat like way.  "You want to get the girl, and it's obvious that showing some skin is working wonders for you.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should redesign the suit…"  He shook his tiny head.  "Naah.  Don't want to damage your fragile skin.  Anyway, you have the perfect thing to wear in this situation."

"I do?"

Plagg darted out and returned with a black utility kilt.  "Trust me on this, kid.  Ladies dig a man in a kilt.  And as a bonus, it's traditional to go commando."

Adrien's face hurt from the size of his smile.  "I love you Plagg.  You're the best."  He'd forgotten all about the kilt, which he'd bought online to go with a costume that he never ended up getting to wear.  It had been just a smidge loose three months ago, but now it fit perfectly.  He idly wondered what would happen if he started wearing it around town or to school.  

He popped out of his closet, to find Ladybug going through his high scores on the DDR.  Yes.  He could make that work to his advantage, too.

"Hey Ladybug, is this all right?"  He struck a simple pose, did a three point catwalk turn, and paused facing her.  Had he ever seen her eyes so round?  "Is that a yes?"  He looked down at the kilt, hanging just above his knee.

She let out an odd wheezing squeal, sounding a bit like a teakettle, and when he looked back up, she was on her knees, still gawking at him.

"Is it that bad?"  He was pretty sure that wasn't the reason, well, he hoped that wasn't the reason.

She shook her head vigorously, apparently unable to look away.  "Of course, only you could go from towel to clothes and have the clothes be sexier.  What the hell?"

He barked out a laugh.  Plagg was going to get so much camembert.  "Oh, well if that's all…"  He walked across the room to her.  "I wasn't sure if it looked horrible or something."

She held up one finger.  "I think it's physically impossible for you to look horrible in anything.  Hell, I'll bring you a burlap sack to wear and I bet it would be hot."

He felt his lips twitch.  "Scratchy, too,." he added, covering his mouth at her mock scowl.

"You're extremely attractive, and I'm certain you know that."  The way she looked at him felt like she was reading his mind.  "You're a supermodel , for god's sake."

"Wait… you're familiar with my work.  Are you a fan?" he asked eagerly.

She rolled her eyes.  "I live in Paris, of course I'm familiar with your work."  She sighed.  "And yes.  I'm a fan.  Have been for years.  I'm an amateur designer myself, actually, and I've grown up watching you model."

"That makes me so happy."  He beamed at her.  

"Yeah, well if I have a heart attack, it'll be because of you and that goddamn kilt."  She let out a huff and forced herself back to her feet.  "I have to be up at six, so we should get started if you want to play."  She looked mortified, and hastily added.  "Uh, video games."

Teasing would be too Chat Noir.  It also hadn't worked, and he didn't want to chase her away.  "So, I saw you eyeing up the DDR, want to start there?"

She shrugged.  "I'll warn you it's not my strongest game, but I've never played as Ladybug, so maybe that'll help.  I expect you'll kick my ass though."

"Ladies first."  He caught himself mid nod, before he could go into a full bow and moved to stand near the scoreboard in case she needed any help navigating the system.  She pulled up one of the songs that came with the most recent upgrade, toggling through the options relatively quickly.

The music started and she was off to a good start.  The difficulty wasn't terribly high, but she was decent.  While he'd seen her do all sorts of random regular person things during their patrols, it was surreal to see Ladybug on his DDR.  

"You're excellent!" he said as her score came up.  "From the way you were talking, I thought you'd be tripping off the pads."

She laughed, such a lovely joyful sound.  "The suit helps.  Regular me is not nearly this good.  Though I haven't fallen off in a while."

He picked his current favorite song, not coming anywhere near his high score because he was still pretty tired after the day.  His score was higher, but he didn't point it out.  "Do you do freestyle?" he asked gesturing for him to take over.

She waved one hand.  "A little, but again, not great."

"I think freestyle's a lot easier, especially if it's hard for you to get your feet to move where the programmed dances tell you to."  He'd been working with Marinette on freestyle mode, because she just had a tough time with her foot-eye coordination.  "I have a friend who has a lot of trouble with the regular mode, but she's pretty amazing in freestyle."  He shrugged.  "Plus it's more fun than rapid foot tapping.  More like actual dancing."

Ladybug smiled indulgently at him.  "Okay.  One freestyle for each of us.  Then I probably need to head out."

When her chosen song started, he nodded.  "Marinette likes this one, too."

She winked at him.  "Great minds think alike."  Her freestyle was fantastic, much more relaxed than the stiffer action of her previous turn.  She favored a lot of the same moves as his classmate.  Her whole body was part of the dance, and she was smiling.  God she was gorgeous when she was having fun.  She bounced happily off the pad and waved him toward it.  "Your turn, Mr. Dreamy Model."

"Do I have an official Ladybug-granted nickname?"  He clasped his hands together.

She laughed.  "Yes.  Henceforth you shall be known as Mr. Dreamy Model, though since I know you so well from our little visit, I get to call you Dreamy."

"Yes!"  He hopped onto the pad and picked out the song "Don't Bother Me."  He'd been working out a fun routine with it, though he'd skip the hand and head stand to avoid overtly mooning or flashing his guest.  As he spun and kicked, he realized that he liked the way the kilt flared and swished around his legs.  Unfortunately it distracted him enough that he finished out his routine on autopilot, executing a flip that landed his feet on the farthest right sensors.  He felt the fabric of the kilt pull away from his legs and flip before it eventually dropped back down.  

Oh shit.  

Mortified, he glanced up and saw that Ladybug appeared to be frozen, her face an odd combination of delight and surprise.  He scrambled to his feet and reached on hand out to touch her shoulder.  "Ladybug?  I'm sorry.  That was rude.  I… kinda got caught up in the game."

"Ah!"  She sounded surprised, and strangely out of breath.  "Very rice noutine."  She looked up at him, with a very familiar deer-in-headlights expression.  "Must go.  No time to gawk… er talk.  I'll just show myself out."  She mechanically headed for the same window they'd used earlier.

Had he broken her?  "I'm glad you stayed for a bit," he said, following her.  "I'm sorry you've got to go, and… if, by some chance, I haven't completely offended you, and you want to stop by again sometime, I promise I'll wear real clothes."

Spun abruptly to him, her eyes wide.  "A kilt is a real article of clothing, Dreamy, and I expect to see you wearing it again."  

"Oh."  He blinked a couple of times, slouching with relief.  He'd flustered her, but nothing irreparable.  

"Besides, how many ladies have been treated to the rare and glorious Assgreste full moon?"  With that parting shot, she bounded out the window.

Again, points to @seasonofthegeek for helping me to see the absolute dearth of Nakedrien out there.

If you’re interested, Adrien's routine looks a lot like this.

[youcancallmecirce]

MariChat May Day 13: SIN

I took some liberty with this prompt, as well. I’m trying to keep this to a single, continuous story arc, and I wasn’t ready for them to get naughty just yet. So, you’ll just have to make do with LUST rather than SMUT this time.

This is for @siderealsandman. You set the sin bar high, my friend. If anyone wants to read incredibly well written sin, go check out Sandman’s AO3.

****************

Marinette checked her reflection in her mirror for the umpteenth time, because she was too antsy to sit still. Which was silly. She didn’t even know that he would be coming over. She swung away from the mirror with a groan, and began pacing. They hadn’t made any plans, but he had made a habit of dropping by on Friday evenings. He didn’t always come, but he did whenever he could.

And since she’d finished her Chat Noir outfit earlier in the week, she’d decided to go ahead and put it on, to surprise him with the complete look. After his reaction to the choker, she was quite looking forward to seeing his reaction to all of it. But what if he didn’t show tonight? What if he showed, but he thought it was ridiculous? What if he thought it was slutty?

She stopped. Why was she freaking out over what Chat Noir thought of this outfit? Sure, a bit of anticipation and even nerves made sense. She did want him to like them, after all. But this level of anxiety was over the top, even for her. It was just Chat Noir, and regardless of what Alya thought, they weren’t dating. It wasn’t like that for them, it wasn’t anything like she was waiting for Adrien to show up.

“Get a hold of yourself, girl,” she muttered. She resolutely pulled a new library book from her desk, and sat on her chaise to read. Either he would stop by, or he wouldn’t. She opened the book to the first page, and set about getting herself engrossed in the story.

It was late when Adrien was finally released from that stupid black tie affair with his dad. It had been boring and superficial and excruciatingly long, just as those events always were, but this one was worse because it fell on a Friday night. It had somehow become routine to go visit Marinette on Fridays, and now, he couldn’t stand to miss one. So, even though it was probably already too late, he called for his transformation as soon as he was sure that Nathalie wouldn’t be bothering him any more for the night.

The journey across the rooftops was freeing, as it always was, and he’d managed to lose some of the tension from that interminable dinner by the time he reached her balcony. Her lights were still on, which was always a good sign. He peered in through her skylight, and saw that she was curled up under a blanket on the chaise, with a book. He tapped on the glass to get her attention, and waved. Her face lit up when she saw him, and when she waved him in, he wasted no time in joining her.

“I’d given up on you coming over today, Chaton,” she said as he came through the opening in her ceiling.

“Eh, I got tied up as my civilian self.” He pulled the trap door closed behind himself, and began to climb down from her bed. “I almost didn’t come over, as late as it is. And had your light been off, I’d have turned back.”

“Well then, I’m glad I left my light on.” She pushed the blanket back to stand, then turned to set her book down, and Chat realized that she was wearing something other than her customary pink.

She was wearing black.

No, she was wearing black and green.

His colors. She was dressed entirely in his colors, and he quite suddenly forgot how to breathe. It must be the outfit that she’d designed from her sketches of him. She’d elected to stay surprisingly close to the design of his suit, and the sight of Marinette’s trim form clad in something very much like his suit was wreaking havoc with his equilibrium.

She’d made herself a pair of black skinny jeans, but rather than using black thread and a traditional cut for pants, she had cut these to echo the lines of his suit and stitched them with heavy green thread. The result was striking, to say the least. When she’d bent to put down her book, he’d gotten a very good look at the horizontal line across her derriere, as well as the twin lines that traveled down the backs of her legs, making them appear even longer than they were. The waist band sat at her hips, like the belt that circled his own body, and was likewise stitched in the heavy green thread.

By this time she’d turned to face him, and he saw that while her top also echoed the lines of his suit, she’d taken greater creative license with it. It was not made of denim, like the pants, but of matte satin, and was trimmed all the way around in piping of the same green as the thread. In some ways, it resembled a cheongsam, though she’d taken a great deal of liberty with that, as well. She’d clearly modeled the shape of the cap sleeves on the lines on his shoulders, so that they came to gently rounded points. In place of the high neckline, she wore her bell collar necklace above a low “V” neckline that would have shown cleavage on a bustier woman. The green line continued straight down the middle of the shirt to the hem, and was further embellished by two matching green frog closures.

She’d found a way to combine the style elements of his suit with elements from her own heritage, and the over-all effect was stunning, and…provocative. He moistened suddenly dry lips with his tongue, and allowed his gaze to rove over her again.

“Um, Chat? I-is it ok?”

He jerked his eyes to her face, finally aware that he had been staring, and saw that she was watching him anxiously. “Guh, Marinette, you look—er, I mean, this is—this is incredible! And—are you wearing chopsticks in your hair?”

“I am!” She turned to show him her hair, which she’d coiled into a bun and secured with a pair of shiny black chopsticks, which were embellished at the ends with tiny green paw prints. “So, you like it?”

“Like it?” He stepped closer to her, and touched a claw to the paw print on one of the chopsticks with something nearing awe. Not only had she dressed herself in his colors from head to toe, but she had made every last bit of it herself. She’d all but marked herself as his. “I fucking love it,” he breathed.

She whirled to face him, grinning happily, and he found himself staring down into her blue, blue eyes, which were presently very, very close to his face. His gaze dropped from her eyes to her lips without consulting him first, and in that moment, he found himself faced with a very intense desire to sweep his hand over her curves, pull her against him, and press his lips to hers. He watched in fascination as her grin faded, and her pink tongue darted out to moisten her lips before tugging the lower one in between her teeth. His breath caught, and he found himself swaying toward her.

“Ch-Chat,” she whispered, and he didn’t know if it was a question or an invitation or a rejection, but it was enough to bring his brain back online.

He straightened abruptly, and took several hasty steps back, aware that his pants were feeling uncomfortably tight. What in the hell? Where had all of that come from? She was watching him, wide-eyed, with something like disappointment on her face. He mentally kicked himself, hoping that she wouldn’t notice his uh, problem. Why did he have to go and make it awkward between them? He cleared his throat, uncomfortably aware that he was probably blushing enough for it to show around his mask. “S-sorry about that. I, um, ahem, I love it. You did a great job.”

She opened her mouth to speak, apparently thought better of whatever she was going to say, and closed it again. She looked down, tugged at the hem of her shirt nervously, and one half of it pulled briefly away from the other, revealing a flash of the skin beneath.

The shirt didn’t close all the way down, he realized. Those frogs weren’t just decorative; they were the only things holding the silly thing closed. He leaned heavily against the ladder behind him, feeling poleaxed all over again.

“Thanks,” she finally said, with a small smile.

He blinked, an idea forming in his mind. “Hey, uh, Princess?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you mind if I took a couple of pictures?” Crap, was that weird? He really hoped she didn’t think it was weird.

Her smile broadened, and it reached her eyes again. “Not at all.”

He tugged his baton from behind his back, and brought up the screen. After tapping the pad for the camera, he snapped a couple with her facing him, and lowered it again uncertainly. “Could you, uh…”

“Turn around? Sure.”

She smiled again, and turned away from him so that he could photograph the back. She had her head turned to the side, so he was able to capture her face in profile. Had she always been so…sexy? He gulped, and hoped that she couldn’t hear. “Perfect. Thanks, Princess.”

“Of course!” She moved to the desk, then, and picked up her phone. “Would you mind taking a selfie with me? I don’t have any pictures of us together…”

“Only if you promise to give me a copy.”

“You know I will, Chaton.” She brought up the camera on her phone, and moved to stand beside him, but the angle was weird.

“Here.” He took the phone from her hands, and stood behind and just to the side of her, and held his arm out to take the picture. He pretended not to notice that her face was right next to his, or that only a few centimeters separated their bodies. He took a few pictures before straightening and taking another step away from her.

He was discovering that her proximity was inversely proportional to his ability to think. He managed to say goodnight without embarrassing himself, and then made his escape. When he was safely several houses over, he stopped and looked pensively back toward her balcony.

They’d grown close over recent months, and he considered her one of his dearest friends. If he had found himself attracted to her, he’d chalked it up to the fact that she was a pretty girl and he was a normal 17 year old guy. He’d never thought beyond that, because he’d been so focused on pursuing Ladybug. It hadn’t occurred to him that he might develop feelings for someone else, and if anyone had asked him yesterday if there was something between him and Marinette, he’d have scoffed.

Now? He wasn’t so sure any more. She’d somehow left him aching without ever touching him, so whatever else he felt for her, he definitely desired her. He adjusted himself in his pants with a sigh, and continued on his way.

**********************

Anyone want to guess what he’s going to be doing when he gets home?

[loosescrewslefty]

Ladybug has another reason to suspect that someone at Gabriel's company is connected to Hawkmoth in some way and decides the best course of action is to go undercover and investigate from the inside. Chat Noir is skeptical of her suspicion, but absolutely encourages her idea once she tells him what she plans to do. Initially, Ladybug wants to have herself hired in as an intern or a gopher, but Chat rejects that idea and insists he has connections that can get her in as a model. Ladybug is 't entirely sure about this at first, but Chat seems like he knows what he's talking about and she trusts her partner, so she agrees.

Chat helps her put together a disguise that is different enough from her civilian look to pass the grade, and she makes sure Chat knows what her disguise looks like (going by the name 'Lily Bonheur') so he can help her out if things get dicey.

"Lily" freaks out when Chat Noir's connections end up being with ADRIEN AGRESTE who is clearly thrilled to be able to help out a superhero (he swears he can absolutely keep her secret, and for a second 'Lily' almost swears she hears snickering from his bag?) With Adrien's advice, Liky quickly gets the hang of being a model and the photographer is amazed at how natural the chemistry is between the two, which leads to 'Lily' getting a contract with Gabriel.

Needless to say, between Adrien being super eager to help her and her trying not to swoon over all the attention and admiration he's showering her with and Lila eventually showing up and taking an immediate and violent dislike to 'Lily,' Ladybug ends up having her job of investigating Gabriel's company cut out for her.

*bangs fists on table* CIVILIAN LADYBUG AU! CIVILIAN LADYBUG AU! CIVILIAN LADYBUG AU!!!

I want to make this au, but I have no idea where to start with it right now.