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flightfoot · 1 year ago

Note

i think you rec fics if i'm wrong i'm so sorry. any fluffy fics with all 4 lovesquare sides? - though just ladynoir/adrienette would work too.

Yep I give those recs! This is actually one of the tricker cases, because on the one hand there's a lot of them and on the other hand they're interwoven with a lot of other things and often don't have specific tags to search with, so I'll see what I can do. I'm mostly just looking for fluff fics that have more than one side of the Lovesquare represented.

I Put A Spell On You by dazaimaru

Friday, October 25. 6 days until Halloween. It’s their first high school Halloween dance, and Marinette and Adrien are ready to throw on some non-superhero costumes for once--that is, until an akumatized witch spoils the party and threatens to reveal what lies underneath everyone’s disguise. With Hawkmoth taking full advantage of the spooky season, the days leading up to Halloween are certainly going to be thrilling! Especially considering Marinette’s growing feelings for a certain black cat…

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Fate, Destiny... A Hamster by @mostmagical

After finally moving into his very first apartment per Ladybug’s suggestion, Adrien stumbles upon something no movie or TV show could have ever prepared him for: someone else's hamster. At least now there’s an excuse to talk to the new neighbor. (Adrinette Never Met AU)

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Villainous Matchmaking by @nedjsmlfavs

When Chat Noir is tragically unable to attend an event with Ladybug, the mayor calls in a favor from a designer ‘friend’. Now she’s attending in style, on the arm of the hottest male model in Paris. Which would be fine if it weren’t for one, tiny issue: Paris’ favorite domestic terrorist now knows how Ladybug feels about his son. This leads him to his greatest plan yet, using Ladybug’s extremely obvious crush on Adrien Agreste to akumatize Chat Noir. A Ladrien/“platonic” Ladynoir fic

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Painted Canvas by @wehadabondingmoment

And then, Adrien would send her a selfie, acting as if he was some secret agent trying to not get caught and he was so ridiculous that Marinette’s heart ached at the thought of being away from him. Hushed phone calls, his voice sounding like honey; in moments like these, she wasn’t Ladybug, only a teenage girl drunk on love. Or: Adrien and Marinette are soulmates and it still takes them years until they finally meet. Also fencing.

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Professeure (of your love) by @mostmagical

“We should do it.” Her voice came out in a screech. “What?” “Just a fake wedding at graduation,” he said, like it wasn’t completely crazy. . . After ages of letting Paris believe their beloved superheroes are married and in love, Marinette's superhero partner turned fellow teacher wants to apply the same logic to their civilian lives and put on a fake wedding for their students. Only problem is, for Marinette, the being in love part is very much not an act.

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From School Bells to Wedding Bells by @linnieluna

When the superhero duo takes on another exhausting fight against an akuma, Chat Noir does what he never hesitates to do and takes a hit for his partner. The problem being: neither of them knew what power the akuma possessed. That is... until he is transported into the future. More specifically, to his friend Marinette's wedding.

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The Power of Love by @nedjsmlfavs

In which Ladybug announces that she’s pregnant via her long term boyfriend and Chat Noir is a supportive partner. After all, he can hardly be upset when he’s been dating his Princess for years! A different take on the show’s tagline (“The Power of Love Always so Strong”) written for Valentine’s day 2023.

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The Rules of Engagement by underworkedoverwhelmed

When tragedy sends Adrien Agreste racing back to Paris to run his father’s fashion house, Marinette doesn’t expect much from her very new, very rich boss. At least not until she is set up on a blind date with a very familiar face. Much to her surprise, Adrien Agreste was hiding far more secrets behind his stoic business-like mask of temporary CEO. Maybe as many secrets as she had been trying to hide for years. As they grow closer, Marinette fears her mask isn’t nearly as foolproof. Day after day, it gets harder for her to keep all her secrets well hidden from the surprisingly sweet man who insisted on staying by her side as often as possible. Only she couldn’t afford to fail. Not when her biggest secret could spell the end of the job she’d dreamed about for years.

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Dreams of You by @chocoluckchipz

Dreams had long been his only escape. Dreams of Ladybug, the girl who had always been there for him. If only in his dreams. And only while she was also sleeping. Because with the first rays of sunshine gliding over her skin, with the first fluttering of her eyelashes, from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, memories of Adrien would vanish from her mind. She would go on living her life. He would always be the only one who remembered. At least until they meet in the real world and fall in love all over again, something that would’ve been easier to do if Adrien wasn't a prisoner in his own home.

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Tell Me Why You Love Me by @linnieluna

“Anyway, that piece of paper contains the name of this texting app. It’s completely anonymous, so you can download it, make your account with no attachments to your personal life, and communicate with me outside our suits. I included my username on the paper, too, so you can add me once you’re done." Her partner skimmed through the words on the paper and nodded his head. “Brilliant as always, M’lady. I’m surprised we didn’t figure this out sooner within our superhero careers.” “Yeah, it would’ve been nice to have this before, but hey, better late than never. Make sure not to have your phone screen on the messages if you’re going to leave it somewhere. We don’t want anyone reading our texts. Also, this is for emergencies only. No jokes or puns. I can only deal with you for so long.” “I don’t know if I can agree to that last one,” he said. Now 22 and working full-time, Marinette and Adrien seem to be getting busier and busier, which means fewer opportunities to keep track of akumas and show up on time. With the idea of using a messaging app to communicate with each other without revealing their identities, their lives immediately grew to be easier... until it wasn't.

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Soul Searching by LiquefiedStars

Marinette was devastated when her soulmate turned out to be Adrien Agreste and not her sweet, loving partner Chat Noir. Despite their misunderstandings, she is willing to give Adrien a chance, even if he doesn’t seem all that interested in her. After all, they are soulmates and the universe says they are meant to be together. A Soulmate AU.

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Love is Blind by @jennagrinsoverml

Tired of all of his potential girlfriends being blinded by his face, his fame and his name, Adrien takes a chance to compete on Love Is Blind: France, where he hopes that dating without seeing each other—or learning each other’s names—will finally help him to be lucky in love. What will he do when he realizes that his Lady is one of the contestants, however? And will he be able to win her heart where he’s never succeeded before? Meanwhile, Marinette is looking to meet the right guy after years of pining away for someone who has only ever seen her as a friend. She’s not entirely sure if she can fall in love with someone without seeing them, but the things that have always mattered to her most are the kinds of things that can’t be seen. What will she do when she realizes her heart is being pulled in two directions? And will she be ready to make a decision in time?

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Over and Over by stcrsquad

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has had the worst day possible. She's failed to confess to Adrien (again), made an embarrassment of herself, and got into a fight with Chat Noir. Adrien Agreste has had the worst day possible. He is tired of being pushed aside by everyone, including his crime-fighting partner Ladybug. Luckily, fate (and Bunnyx) works in mysterious ways because they wake up again on the same day. A do-over. Except it keeps happening. Can the two figure out what they need to fix to break the loop, or will they be stuck forever?

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Graine de toi by MireilleTanaka

Ladybug and Chat Noir think they’re close, until they begin waking up in one another’s skin. AU: Adrien is homeschooled, and he and Marinette have never met. Written for Adrinette April 2020, Day 17: Life Swap. The one prompt snowballed into a multi-chapter fic. Loosely inspired by Your Name (Kimi no na wa), but no need to have watched it to read, since there's no actual plot connection except the premise of swapping lives.

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Knight in Shining Amour by Cakedecorator

Marinette is the daughter of the castle bakers, and she herself is the royal seamstress. She lives her life making clothes, helping her parents, and generally living a simple life. However, she also laments the loss of her childhood friendship with Prince Adrien, and remembers the promise they made when they were five years old. Resigning herself to the reality that she would never be able to marry the prince, and assuming he'd forgotten their promise, Marinette tries to live her life without letting loss get to her. However, her love story begins a new chapter when she's approached by Cat Noir, a debonair new knight in the castle.

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Evergreen by tanyatakaishi

Everything was gone. The entire cityscape had been obliterated, leaving them in a valley of trees. Blue mountains, peaks dressed in snow, stretched tall in the distance and at their foot lay an array of vineyards, miles wide with no civilization in sight. AKA: two heroes lost alone in the woods with no cheese.

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Someone to Watch Over Me by @dfcfanfics

Adrien is used to his father taking him for granted and treating him poorly, especially since his mother's disappearance... but it's never been anywhere _near_ this bad before. Between that and trouble at school, his life is in quite the downward spiral. He's been putting on a brave face, but he's struggling... and his friends are starting to notice. One special friend in particular. Marinette is determined to help him, any way that she can -- with _and_ without her mask. But when Akumas fly towards Adrien, he soon finds himself more deeply entwined in Marinette's life AND Ladybug's private life than he'd ever imagined. Can Adrien possibly decide between the two angels who are making his life worth living again? Can Marinette process Adrien's crush on Ladybug AND his growing feelings for her? And can Gabriel stop laughing long enough to launch his master plan? A fluffy DFC - buggachat Ladrienette jam. 10/15: Our story is now complete with the posting of Chapter 24, the epilogue. Thank you so much for reading, as always.

#ask #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #ml fanfic rec #adrienette #ladynoir #marichat #ladrien

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botherkupo · 2 years ago

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Rules: post the first lines of your last 10 fics posted to ao3. if you have less than 10 fics posted, post the first lines of all your fics.

Thanks for the tag @chocoluckchipz !

1: two idiots and a hamster

Marinette was fine. Absolutely fine.

2: leave a message after the beep

Adrien’s schedule was always packed, but it got even worse when he had to juggle extracurricular activities with his superhero duties.

3: what excellent boiled potatoes

Marinette prodded a potato on her plate as if it had personally offended her.

4: between the lines

Serious question

5: bedroom talk: the awkward edition

Adrien sighed dreamily.

6: keeping in character

“Ladybug, you know this is the best chance we have,” Chat Noir said, catching her hand before she could swing away on her yoyo.

7: detransformation dilemma

“No, no, no,” Adrien muttered as he leaped from building to building, his ring beeping warningly.

8: heroes and lullabies

Adrien's vision dances with stars and blurry splotches.

9: a purse named Tikki

Adrien Agreste knew it was polite not to eavesdrop on conversations.

10: Marinette and the moving castle

The castle creaked and wheezed its way up the hill, green smoke puffing out of its chimneys like a sickly mist. For most people, it would have been a terrifying sight. Wizard Chat Noir ate pretty girl's hearts, after all. But for Marinette, sprawled on the grass next to a seven-league-boot, and creaking and wheezing more than the castle, it was as welcome as a cup of tea after a long day.

Whole paragraph for the last one cause I can lol

Tagging (no pressure) @emletish-fish @carpisuns @heartfulselkie @rosekasa @gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights @overworkedunderwhelmed and anyone else who wants to do it

#tag games #fic stuff

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nirby-wirby · 1 year ago

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Trick or treat!

Ahshdhdhdhs I love the crow picture!! Thanks for the ask :)

For you, I’ll share a snippet of my most recent miraculous crack fic WIP. The context is that Marinette and Adrien, who are in the early stages of their romantic relationship, get stuck in a magical hamster ball:

The akuma seemed angry at their parents for not allowing them to get a hamster, so they were trapping everyone in hamster balls. Adrien only slightly sympathized with them; he’d always wanted a hamster. He’d name it—

“Oh no, this is bad. This is very, very bad,” Marinette muttered beside him. She gripped his hand tightly, her other hand in a tight fist.

Felt a pang in his heart at her fear and felt the need to comfort her. “Well, I don’t think it’s too bad,” he said with a soft smile, “At least I’m here with you.” He watched as a pretty blush spread across her cheeks, but all he got in response was a weak smile. “Besides,” he continued, “I’m sure Ladybug will be out there soon.” He couldn’t promise that Chat Noir would since he was stuck in the hamster ball with her.

To his surprise, she only seemed to grow more anxious at that. “I don’t know about that…,” she whispered. “But maybe Chat Noir will?” He stiffened. No, Chat Noir would not.

(Ask game)

#miraculous ladybug #nirby writes #my writing #nirby answers #ask game #mutuals :)#adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrienette #lovesquare stuff

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mystical-renaissance · 2 years ago

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Marinette

Age : 13

Female

Is the younger sister, her older sister by two years is Brigette

Her father works at a bakery/pastry shop that he owns, his father (grandfather) works with him, even if he wishes he would rest. Her mother is a Lawyer.

Mari feels as though she’s been cursed or is just simply unlucky. Often getting herself in embarrassing situations or scenarios. Or breaking things, tripping over nothing, and if it's raining her umbrella will mysteriously not open and she will always get splashed on by passing cars.

Her favorite animal is a hamster because they're so cute and tiny, but another is a ladybug. This is all because when she was six Mari tripped and fell down the stairs of course getting injured Brigette trying to make her sister feel better gave her a ladybug charm bracelet of hers and told her that ladybugs are said to bring good luck and good fortune. Plus in Chinese culture red is said to be a lucky color. After that Mari was obsessed with ladybugs not so much for the color red but pink which is technically a shade of red so it counts ( not really).

She still wears the charmed bracelet to this day. And now it’s possessed by a magical Ladybug creature that turns her into the hero ladybug.

She has a childhood best friend her name is Alya

Mari has a dream of being a renowned fashion designer with her own brand, but for now she makes her own outfits that she doesn't really wear. Except for a jean jacket she customized and a pink pair of shorts. (only because she promised Alya). She’s trying to learn to be more confident. Baby steps are key.

She’s not really allowed in the kitchen of the bakery due to her being “accident prone” so instead she runs deliveries for her dad. Something akin to “Kiki’s Delivery Service” that’s just the vibe I get probably due to how Mari's dad is built so dramatically which reminds me of the husband from that movie. It also might be because they both bake. She travels on a moped to do her deliveries.

When she turned 12 her parents made a promise that the girls could have their own rooms. Both girls wanted the “best room” , the attic space which was a huge space with a balcony. It was the ultimate room, but since they both wanted it they basically had a mini war over it, going to the great length of even creating a PowerPoint presentation over why either of them deserve the room. Their parents, tired of their constant bickering, decided to pick Mari in the end due to her needing space for her fashion projects. Either way they both finally get their own rooms and the parents are happy that things are going back to normal, except for in the morning when they can hear Mari screaming at Brigette for hogging the shower.

Tikki is with Mari at all times until she transforms. Tikki hides as a stuffed doll if Mari’s family or friends find her. Tikki doesn’t really talk. She is the size of a kitten.

Marinette always tries to see the bright side of things and always carries a go getter attitude. Even if she thinks she's riddled with bad luck she tries to stay optimistic about things. Even if she trips for the hundredth time she will always get back up, clean herself off and have a smile on her face as if to say nothing wrong. But that’s not all true, she wishes that for once in her life she could do anything without embarrassing herself, hurting herself or others, and to not be known as the clumsy or accident prone girl that she is. She wishes for once she could have good luck, like the ladybug she so admired for that sole purpose. Good luck. To be confident and unashamed to be herself like Alya, never second guessing herself and being firm in what she wants and believes in like her sister. To not be bogged down by one's emotions and to truly be herself without the fear that she’s going to ruin things or break something. She wants to feel proud of her works instead of doubting her own capabilities. Something like her father. She just wished that luck was on her side and she could become her best self.

All of her desires seem to come true one day when a fairy-like creature emerges from her bracelet. And seemingly granting her wish by turning her into a ladybug bug themed hero. Who can seamlessly conjure up good luck but also turn her into a dreamed version of herself. Something she thought was a simple fantasy is now reality. She can walk and not trip on her feet, she doesn’t stammer in her speech, she feels like she’s on top of the world and more confident than ever. She feels like a whole new person and someone she doesn't ever want to separate from. Even if she can only be that way for a couple of minutes. She wants to stay or at least keep ladybug for as long as possible, but how long could that last for before things get complicated and before people get hurt due to the action of her selfish desire?

Mari also has a small crush on her sister's friend Luka, but he tends to treat her as he treats his little sister.

Her favorite pastry that her father makes for her when she leaves for school is a Chocolate Croissant/ Pain au Chocolat.

#fanart #concept poster #miraculous ladybug #digital art #cute art #cover page?#ladybug au #creative writing #fanfic #illustration #clip studio illustration #character info #marinette cheng

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uptoolateart · 2 years ago

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All the Missing Pieces - Ch 6

PREVIEW from Chapter 6:

‘A family.’ He turned the words over in his mind, counting the syllables, imagining the letters written down and tracing their shapes with his mental eye.

‘You…do want one someday…don’t you?’

A vision filled his mind, the same vision that always came to him when he tried to imagine becoming a father someday. A vision that made his blood run cold – of his own image blurring with Gabriel’s. Of becoming Gabriel.

‘It’s not that I don’t want one. It’s more like…I’m as unsure about how that will look as I am about what pathway to choose when I go to lycée.’ This was an inadequate response that didn’t begin to touch upon the real issue, but he didn’t have the energy to go into this fresh set of fears.

She shook her head. ‘You’re…you’re right, I’m sorry. We’re only fifteen, anyway. What am I doing, putting this on you. We have years to work this out. Of course, you don’t want to think about this now.’

‘It isn’t that. It’s more….’ He clenched his fists as he fought to find the words. ‘You have everything planned out – right down to the hamster. And I get it. That’s what you’re like. In or out of the costume, you’re Ladybug, and that’s what first made me fall in love with you. I love your mind, Marinette. I always have. I’m just…not that person at all. I’m not a planner. Plagg says I’m not even a thinker. When I do think about this future that’s coming for us….’

She laughed softly. ‘You make it sound like it’s some kind of monster with teeth.’

‘Isn’t it?’ He wasn’t joking.

She scooted closer to him. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this serious.’

‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt this serious.’

She licked her lip. ‘Listen.’ She took his clawed hands. ‘Forget the family, okay? Forget all of it. Maybe I plan too much. There’s a risk, there, because I get these fantasies in my head and then if things don’t work out the way I dreamed, I get disappointed. Like, really disappointed. Like, the world is going to end and maybe we’ll all be sucked into a black hole. I mean, who knows what’s going to happen over the next five years, right?’

He blinked as pieces slotted into place. ‘You were planning on starting a family at twenty?’

‘Um. No.’ She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. ‘I also didn’t plan for Emma at twenty-five and Louis at thirty.’

He blinked some more. ‘Wait. What are we naming the first one?’

‘Hugo,’ she said immediately.

He choked back a laugh.

‘You don’t like the names?’ She sounded genuinely concerned.

‘They’re fine,’ he assured her. ‘They’re beautiful. And the kids will be beautiful too, just like their mother.’

Ooh, that was the right thing to say. He knew it as soon as he saw the way her pupils dilated before her eyes softened in that lazy way that invited him to kiss her. Maybe Felix was right. He might not have had a career plan, but he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life.

He moved in closer, so their knees touched. ‘Twenty might be a little young. Could we push the five-yearly baby schedule back a little? Give us both time to finish a degree, maybe, and find our feet?’

‘All of it is negotiable,’ she said. ‘I value your opinion.’

He laughed and shook his head. ‘Only you, M’lady. Only you.’ He leaned in for that kiss, and she kissed him back. He pulled her into his lap, so her legs were around his waist. He wanted badly to feel her with his actual fingers, but he also didn’t want to de-transform and end up with Plagg watching them and listening to them and, worst still, commenting on them. In this big bad future that was coming, they would definitely need to take off their miraculous in such moments.

The kiss deepened, and it hit him that in this future there really would be such moments. The end of childhood meant the beginning of a new phase – the beginning of freedom. No more hiding on rooftops when their parental figures thought they were in bed. They would live in a house that was all their own, where they made the rules, and they could do these things whenever they wanted.

Read at Ao3

No archive warnings apply but please read tags - rated Teen+

#ml fanfic #mlb fanfic #ml fic #mlb fic #ml fanfiction #mlb fanfiction #fanfiction 2023 #fanfiction #fanfic #ml adrien #ml marinette #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #ml ladybug #cat noir #chat noir

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swimmingelectron · 1 year ago

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I have an idea. What if lb says that she loves hamsters, actually. More so than cats or dogs. And for a second, chat almost turns on Rose too.

But suddenly, one multimouse flashes through his mind. Marinette. Someone who used a miraculous excellently on her very first try. Someone who, despite that, didn't get a second chance at being a hero. It's like lb is protecting mari.

There's more to it.

Anyway, mari also loves hamsters. Mari really likes lb. Mari even claims that lila isn't lb's friend. Mari is always nervous during akuma attacks, always runs off somewhere to hide away alone. As though she is expecting to meet someone.

Lb and mari love each other. That's the only way. And really, chat cannot blame lb. If he hadn't met her... anywho. Also he can't blame marinette either. Lb is perfect!

But knowing lb, she wouldn't allow herself to be in a relationship with a civillian. Especially if she wants to protect her. And she surely wouldn't reveal her secret identity to her for the same reason.

Chat has been stupid. Oh, so stupid. Lb is taken, and he has been talking about his feelings for lb to her girlfriend! He must apologise.

Before concluding their next patrol together, chat clarifies his intent. "I'm sorry, m'l- ladybug. I found out your secret feelings. I understand your feelings now. I won't push my feelings on you anymore. I just think you shouldn't let society or hawkmoth stop you from being who you are. But either way, know that I'll always love you and be there for you. All the same, don't hurt your partner. Other partner, i mean. Civillian. Your- uh- civillian partner is my best friend. I will kill both of you for both of you, okay? Uhm, yeah, that's all, sorry. Oh, I'm rambling now, bye" chat swings away to meet marinette at her balcony.

He watches as ladybug finds an alley nearby, and the detransformation lights up the wall. A few moments later, marinette exits the alleyway, a little messed up and a little worried. He knew it. A rendezvous point. And he might have been wrong about the reveal or, well, or mari keeps her eyes closed like the sincere girl she is.

Either way, chat concentrates on marinette and dilligently keeps his eyes off of the alleyway. Marinette gets home and up to her room. Chat knocks.

"Chat noir? What are you doing here?"

"Hi mari, i wanted to apologise. You see, uh, i found out about your thing with lb. And i totally support being gay. You and lb are absolutely perfect together, and i must have been a fool to not only not realise but to yak on about my crush on lb when you guys were dating. And I am sorry about that, and i promise to support you two however possible because you are both important to me. But please, don't ever hurt her feelings because i will fight you for her. But all the same, if she ever hurts you, just say the word, and I'll make her pay because you, princess, are also very, very dear to me, and-"

"Chat, what are you TAlking aboUT!?"

"Marinette. You don't have to hide from me that you're dating lb."

"I'm NOT!!!"

"Whatever, suit yourself. Just know that i support you, okay? No matter what. I'll pull strings as my civilian self and employ our other friends to the cause so that you may one day be able to date freely. And I'll fight hawkmoth off as soon as possible so you can learn her identity and go out as civillians too."

Chat left the moment his ring started beeping and did not hear marinette calling after him.

A dog, a cat and a ladybug.

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flightfoot · 6 days ago

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Hey dude! I'm in dire need of a little help. For you see, I have been writing a fanfic for the past couple of months (ML fandom) and have come to the jarring and embarrassing realization that I *clap* don't know *clap* what *clap* I'm *clap* doing *clap.*

It's my first baby and sometimes I want to throw it against a wall. The words just don't come when I need them and I can't even finish half a chapter in one sitting.

Anyways, I was kinda maybe hoping you could throw some ML fic recs my way? I'm scared I'm gonna mess up the romance aspect (which is half the story), so it would be super awesome and magnanimous of you if you could recommend some fanfiction with good chemistry between Marinette and Adrien. Preferably, as either their civilian or their superhero selves since those are the main pairings I'm working with.

Thank you for reading, have a good night, bless your ML-loving heart.

Huh. I mean, there's a lot of great Adrienette and Ladynoir fics out there... hm. I've got some that I think are good to learn from. I tried t avoid ones that are too AU, since the circumstances don't map on as well.

Not A Monster At All by @book-sandwich

Adrien Agreste overhears a conversation he shouldn't, and a revelation sends him falling onto the terrace of the only person he can trust: his good friend (?) Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Senti-person Adrien fic that takes place sometime after the first two episodes of season 5!

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Fate, Destiny... A Hamster? by @mostmagical

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Blue Crayons by @talkstoself

After the eventual defeat of Hawkmoth and spending five years away, Adrien comes back to Paris to find his friends don’t blame him the way he blames himself, in fact they’re happy to have him back. Nino and Alya are married, Chloé’s nice now (sort of), and Marinette even had a baby!

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Into The Unknown by NUMBER1ANGIRL

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has been Ladybug for 12 years now. She’s been fighting Hawkmoth by herself in this time, without the partner she was promised. When Hawkmoth is defeated, she starts fighting a new villain, and the strange ache of something she wasn’t aware was missing.

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Evergreen by Tanyatakaishi

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Someone To Watch Over Me by @dfcfanfics

#ask #ml fanfic rec #miraculous ladybug #adrienette #ladynoir

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frostedpuffs · 10 months ago

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juleka is a wolf like her brother. she loves dyeing her hair fun colors. she embodies the term "sparkledog"

wayhem is a fainting goat. every time he is around Adrien it's a task not to faint

Marinette, like a hamster, enjoys "burrowing" in her bed at night. she will be sleeping under all her pillows and blankets. you will not find her

during winter, marinette will not hesitate to use adriens tail as a scarf. he does not mind this. it means he gets to walk extra close to his gf

after winter, when the weather warms up again, Adrien sheds his winter coat. there is fur Fucking EVERYWHERE. Marinette keeps scraps of it and uses it to needlefelt

rose is something like a deer or a sheep (haven't decided.) but she wears a headband with a unicorn horn on it

just like Adrien purrs when he sees Marinette, his pupils dilate HUGE. you know the look. the puss in boots look

Kim is a buck and an extremely competitive one at that. he will try to get every other creature with horns/antlers to spar with him. when winter comes and his antlers shed, he reeks of insecurity

the reason Adrien loses his fluffy tail when he transforms into chat noir is because his tail was voted Fluffiest in Paris and he doesn't want to get recognized

Marinette can't use wooden pencils. she'll end up gnawing through them without realizing it

max is a mouse. a computer mouse...haha...get it?

Adrien has all the cat enrichment in his room. the rock climbing wall is replaced with the biggest cat climbing tower. scratching posts...dangling feather toys...you name it.

he also makes sure to always keep his claws trimmed short. don't want to accidentally scratch any of his friends!

the bakery sells lots of different food varieties for different species. Marinette loves the seed cakes most. Adrien is partial to the catnip croissants

oh god please don't ask me if catnip gets him high

also don't ask me how carnivores get their meat in this au. that's a beastars problem I prefer not to think about

some thoughts about furry au:

while Adrien is still a model, he also participates in "cat shows", which are like the real world counterpart we have, except its more to show off agility and a well-groomed coat...but this often results in Adrien batting a cat toy around on stage and the audience going "his FORM! it's immaculate!" i don't think he'd like participating in these shows very much. he finds them fake (and boring. Because he always wins)

marinette, like a hamster, uses her cheek pouches as a place to store things. she will bring her friends snacks this way. they are polite and accept the treats...even if they're like "umm...this was in your mouth?" sometimes she forgets she put something in there until someone points it out

Adrien's fur is softer than soft. supremely soft and conditioned. he takes very good care of his coat and brushes it daily. this may or may not be because his mom scared him as a kid telling him if he doesn't take good care of his fur, it'll fall off and he'll look like his father (a sphinx cat)

nino's tail is almost always wagging. especially when he is with alya. that is one happy dog

you know how baby hamsters start as "pinkies" with no fur? yeah that was Marinette. have fun with that visual

lila tried to say she was a rare breed of fox for the longest time. people bought it

gorilla is a silverback gorilla. you can't change my mind. it's practically canon

chloe is extremely conceited about the fact that she is a mink

Felix still tries to impersonate Adrien. when people question where all Adrien's perfectly groomed fluff went, felix tells them he had a bad trip to the groomers. that becomes a headline in all the magazines

when Adrien first develops a crush on Marinette he physically cannot stop himself from purring at the sight of her and Nino has to discreetly be like "bro, your motor started up again"

whenever luka is getting into a really good jam it's hard to stop himself from howling to the music

#furry au #ill come back when i have more thoughts

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miraculouscontent · 3 years ago

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"I'm thinking of confessing to Luka."

The girls’ heads darted up at the words. Marinette stiffened, but didn't take it back, opting to squeeze her hands together on her lap rather than let her nerves show.

It was time to say it, she figured. Everyone had gotten together for a sort of "reminiscing" party - Rose would use any excuse to get everybody in one place, really - and they were even adults now. She was still fighting evil as Ladybug, but she had a better handle on it than when she was a teenager. Maybe it'd be a little more work than if she wasn't a superhero, but she could still try for the kind of relationship she'd always been denied when she was younger.

She'd long grown out of her lousy crush on Adrien (complete with a well-imagined slap to the kwami of love, if there was one), as well as out of her dream of the three kids and a hamster. At least for now, she wanted to live in the moment and be happy.

Luka made her happy, and she wanted him to know that.

The girls, however, didn't seem to agree. They exchanged glances with each other around the table, all showing various expressions but none of them that Marinette could define as "good." The only possible exception was Juleka, who seemed more conflicted than anything else. Marinette didn't think much of it though; this involved her brother after all, so it was natural to be hesitant. Really, she'd only said anything to the girls at all because she secretly wanted Juleka's approval.

"What?" Marinette asked when everyone continued to stay silent.

Alya leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed, and although Marinette couldn't see her lower body due to the table, she imagined the legs being crossed as well judging from the subtle shift in posture. "Girl, Luka's crush on you was ages ago."

Marinette frowned. "I know."

Alix scratched the back of her head, her hat tipping forward from the motion but going ignored. "Do you think he's gonna still be in love with you after how into Adrien you were?"

"This isn't about that," Marinette insisted a bit curtly, her fists clenching in her lap. Honestly, she'd wanted to say something like, "Adrien was so long ago," but didn't bother. Despite such a silly crush having happened when she was in her early teens, the girls never let her forget about it, whether to tease her or be under the genuine belief that she still had feelings for Adrien somewhere. It just wasn't true and made her all the more upset when thinking about how Adrien hovered over her even if she wasn't the one bringing him up.

She wasn't stupid either, wholly aware that Luka might not feel the same anymore but wanting to confess anyway. He'd always been incredibly understanding and receptive to how she felt, so he'd be surprised at the very worst. Even if he rejected her, she still hoped that they could spend more time together, regardless of if he was willing to see if his feelings could come back. The party even provided the perfect opportunity for that, as she could confess once he arrived - so long as Ivan, who was hanging out with a few others nearby, and the rest of Kitty Section didn't swarm him - and then they could spend the rest of their time having fun.

Mylene waved Alix off as if silently scolding her, then turned to Marinette. "We say this with love, Marinette, but you can't expect Luka to put his heart in the freezer for you."

"I don't."

Juleka, rubbing her arm and reminding Marinette of back when they were teens, finally tried to speak up, "Um—"

"Oh!" Rose exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "And have you seen him and Zoe together? They're so cute! They both have the crazy shoes, the highlights, the ripped pants, and those accessories on their wrists!"

Marinette slumped in her seat, failing to see how any of that was relevant to forming an actual relationship, but gave up trying to convince the girls. Seeing Juleka sinking down in her seat, no longer taking part in the conversation, she wished she could more easily do the same.

Maybe it was a bad idea to tell all of them. She should've kept it to Juleka alone.

Alya looked ready to say something else, but her eyes darted upwards without warning, the rest of the girls following suit. Hurriedly, they'd gathered themselves up, offering Marinette a wave before walking off.

Marinette stood, taking a few steps in preparation to chase after them, but stopped when she felt a presence behind her. An arm came around to her front, holding a red rose so close to the point where it nearly touched her, and she took it as a natural reflex to having something handed to her.

"There's no need to be discouraged, m'lady," Adrien's voice ran out. "Our friends are just looking out for you. We're different from everyone else, and that makes us special."

She glanced Adrien's way without looking directly at him. She was already feeling bitter and he wasn't helping. "What do you mean?"

"We've been a team since the beginning and we've always stuck together. I've loved every moment of fighting akuma with you - you know that - but we're still living double lives. No one else can go at the pace we go when they only live one."

She grit her teeth, biting back a response. Her and Adrien's situations weren't anywhere near comparable regardless of whether or not he was right that they were both living two lives. He adored being Chat Noir, but she hated being Ladybug and everything that'd come with it.

"I'm your loyal, patient partner, so I'll wait for you forever," he continued. "That's the magic of our connection. We were the only ones chosen, and destiny tied us together. There's no one else who can have with you what I have."

His voice then lowered to a whisper, his breath misting off her ear as he talked. She was sure that he'd intended it to sound dreamy and warm, yet she could only shudder from the chill going up her spine.

"Isn't it romantic, lovebug?"

No, she thought, eyes shut tight as her hand unconsciously tensed. A thorn from the rose's stem pressed into her skin, causing a trail of blood to flow down onto her palm.

It's not romantic at all.

—————

Fighting against the cold night air, Marinette hugged her knees to her chest as she sat on the sidewalk just outside the ice rink from all those years ago. She still recalled Luka's hands on her waist, the warm smile when he offered to take her out onto the ice, and how the warmth of his hand permeated their gloves to reach her own hand.

Extending her hand out, she turned the rose back and forth in her hand, eyeing the multiple thorns that almost seemed like a metaphor for the roadblocks on her way to a happy love life.

No, there weren't enough thorns for that.

She wished it could've been different; wondered if it could've had she gotten with Luka earlier on. Had she gone on the subway with him, maybe they would've been together earlier. Maybe she would've been so used to dating him that she'd be able to plan better, or he would've seen that her having to leave was an anomaly rather than the norm for those specific dates that had always seemed to spite her.

She didn't have any expectations that Luka would feel anything in particular for her nowadays, but Adrien's words still stung. She could never truly have anyone but Adrien himself, because so long as the butterfly was still on the loose, there wasn't any other soul going at her pace.

And certainly not Luka, who always seemed to be ahead of everyone else in emotional maturity at the very least.

Then, almost as if summoned with her thoughts, Marinette caught familiar shades of blue and black out of the corner of her eye. Looking up from the rose, she saw Luka standing there, seemingly out of breath as if he'd just been running.

"L-luka?" She straightened in surprise. She'd left the party before he'd even shown up, so how...?

"Jule told me that you left," he explained like he'd read her mind. "I was worried that something happened."

"How'd you know I was here?"

He could only shrug, averting his gaze and adjusting his jacket from the run he'd apparently gone on. "It took a few tries to get it right, but after a while, I just... followed your song."

It was a very "Luka" answer, one that she understood without him elaborating further. He reasonably wouldn't know how she felt yet, so all he could go off of was whatever little information Juleka might've given him.

"Are you okay?" He approached, kneeling down to be more level with her. "You don't have to talk either if you don't want to."

Not immediately answering, she hugged her legs to herself a little tighter and brought the rose back in with them. Luka's eyes followed it, then widened in shock.

"You're bleeding..."

She looked over, having forgotten about the wound she'd accidentally given herself. The way she'd turned her hand upon moving had caused a few drops of blood to drip down onto the road, thus making Luka aware of the injury.

He searched himself, almost in a panic, then directed his gaze to her purse. "Can I borrow your sewing kit?"

"Ah." She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that he remembered that she carried it everywhere with her. "Sure? Why—"

Given that her hand was still bleeding, he reached over to her purse himself, saying a few short words to Tikki as he reached inside to pull out the little set of supplies. He opened it, pulling out a pair of scissors that didn't really fit his larger hand. Still, he set the kit aside and grabbed at one of the rips in his pants.

Marinette realized what was happening and held her hand out, dropping the rose in shock. "L-luka! You'll ruin them!"

"They're already ripped," he said dismissively. Not giving her any time to argue, he cut a long piece of fabric along his pant leg, the tear looking blatantly different from the rest of the pre-made ones.

After cutting the torn piece in half, he set the scissors aside, then took her wrist and used one half to clean the blood off her hand as best as he could.

"I'll take better care of it later when I can," he promised, "but this'll have to do for now."

She blushed at his delicate touch, wondering how she wasn't supposed to fall deeper in love with him when he fretted over her like that. He worked He worked slowly and steadily, ensuring that he was doing everything as properly as he could. Pressing her lips together, she found it hard to continue staying silent about how she felt about him.

"I'm just... coming to terms with a few things," she admitted, figuring that was enough for a conversation starter.

He glanced at her, then focused back on the wound. "Like what?"

She gave a half-hearted shrug. "Love, I guess. Just that I probably can't have a boyfriend unless it's..." She gestured at the fallen rose.

"What?" His expression shifted somewhere between confused and disgusted. "Marinette, you should be allowed to be with whoever you want."

"That's the problem!" She sighed. "I'm Ladybug, and now—then, it was already too late. I wasted away so many years on being a superhero, so no one else is going at my, um..." She looked down at his hands delicately tying the other half of the fabric around her wound, though Luka untied it upon being dissatisfied with how he'd done it. "...my tempo?"

The corners of his lips twitched at the music dialect, though he suppressed the emotion easily enough. Looking at her seriously, he argued, "Everyone goes at a different tempo, whether they have a double life or not, and I'm sure whoever this guy - or girl - is would happily love you back, especially if they loved you honestly before."

"What if they're you?" she challenged. She hadn't meant for her confession to be so blunt, nor be blurted out like it was, but it was already out there and she didn't try to excuse or take it back.

Luka, meanwhile, froze in place, his eyes darting up from her hand to meet her gaze. Even his hands, which had gotten into a rhythm of retying the knot over and over until he was happy with it, became entirely still.

Marinette waited patiently at first, though grew concerned when she suspected that he wasn't breathing. Slowly, she pulled her hand away, his hands hovering in place and still holding the ends of the knot like he didn't realize what she'd done.

"Luka...?"

He jolted, jarred back into reality. His hands pulled apart to continue what he'd been doing, but the knot merely tightened around nothing now that her finger was gone.

"Me?" he asked, his voice a little higher than usual.

She nodded, smiling shyly at him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I have a lot of regrets over everything that happened and it took me a long time to move on from them. It's okay if you don't love me anymore, or don't want to give us a second chance. I just wanted you to know how happy you make me, that's all. I know you've always—"

"Who gave you that idea?" he suddenly interrupted.

"What? What idea?"

He opened his mouth, but stopped, realizing belatedly the issue with the knot he made. Undoing it without even a hint of embarrassment, he held the fabric out to her expectantly, waiting for her to lift her hand again to clarify, "That I might not love you anymore."

"Ah... no one?" she replied, then hesitated before adding, "Well, I wasn't really sure. I didn't want to assume anything, but then I told the girls at the party and they said—"

He titled his head back and groaned, as if physically pained. "Please don't listen to them. Not paying enough attention to the ideas they were putting into your head was my regret."

She cringed at the memory. "I-I didn't mean to listen to them or anything! And—I still told you, because it was never about you loving me or not loving me anyway."

"Thank you," he said, sounding genuinely grateful. Then, as he tied the knot to keep the fabric wrapped around her wound, he continued, "and I definitely still love you, Marinette."

"Y...you do?" she asked, almost with a squeak attached to the end.

He grinned at her, and it was clear how absurdly happy he was. "You were worried about the tempo, but just because a song is slow doesn't mean it's bad. I just get to appreciate each note longer before the next one plays."

She actually squeaked that time. "B-but I don't have anything new to offer you!"

"You don't need anything new," he retorted. Taking her hand, he brushed his thumb across the fabric he'd placed there. "You are already more than enough."

She tried to keep down her smile, but it was hard when he wasn't making any effort to suppress his own. "I-I just—can't believe you waited this long."

He shook his head. "I was never waiting, because I didn't have any expectations that you'd like me back one day. It's just like what you told me; you make me happy, and that's all the reason I needed to keep loving you." Running his other hand along the fresh tear in his pants, he began, "Besides..."

"Besides?" she echoed, leaning in hopefully to prompt him to continue.

Her curiosity just made him smile wider. "I still enjoyed what we played, whether it was romantic or not, and being together is just another verse to add to our duet. I'm already glad to be your friend, and if you want me to be your boyfriend on top of that—"

She answered him by pushing herself forward, her hands sliding briefly across his shoulders so her arms could wrap around his neck. The fallen rose was crushed under her sole, going completely unnoticed as her lips met Luka's in a passionate kiss. Luka stalled briefly, needing to place a hand behind him to keep them both from crashing down onto the pavement, but then his arm went around her waist and he kissed back.

It was worth the wait, feeling as if their unfinished "project" from their first date was finally being completed. Marinette quickly found that she fit perfectly in his lap, and Luka made noises in the midst of their kisses that were just as embarrassing as hers. Even after they pulled apart, she nestled her head against his shoulder, her hum of contentment harmonizing with his own.

"I definitely don't feel like going back to the party," she murmured.

"Me neither."

After they'd properly cherished the moment, Marinette felt Luka shift and glanced down to see that he'd pulled out his phone to check the time. When she looked up at him questioningly, he gave her a reassuring smile in response.

"Do you want to take the subway together, Marinette?"

The question brought back the exact scenario she'd been wondering about before, and his soft eyes told her that he knew full well what he was doing. She even suspected that he'd been thinking about the same experience when he'd figured out where to find her.

"I'd love to," she answered, sealing the deal with another kiss.

She went to get off of him, figuring that his legs must've been getting sore from sitting on the pavement in addition to dealing with her weight, but Luka grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her down into another kiss. She didn't have it in her - didn't want - to protest, so she kissed him back. What started as a quick kiss turned long, then from one kiss to two, then more until they were both certain that they wouldn't be inclined to go anywhere so long as they were too busy making up for lost time.

"...We'll catch the next one," she decided.

Luka muffled his agreement against her lips.

#MC's Writing #writing: story #Pro LukaMari #Lukanette #category: salt #salt: girl squad #salt: adrien agreste #salt: love square #((Pretty light on salt compared to other fics but still.))

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justrandomfanfictionskh · 2 years ago

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Mary Todd pt 2

Present Day...

Marinette took a deep calming breath and smiled. It was over. It was finally over! One month ago today, Ladybug and Chat Noir had discovered Hawkmoth's secret lair. The battle was hard for more than one reason, and not one of them left without some sort of new scar. But after three hours of fighting with fists, words, and magic, they had done it. The final Miraculous Cure had swept over Paris and everything was put to rights, just like in the story. Marinette sighed as she drifted into more sobering thoughts.

"What's wrong Marinette?" Tikki said as she flew up to look at the girl in the mirror.

"Nothing Tikki," Marinette said as she continued to apply her makeup. "Just thinking about...everything."

Tikki hummed as she came to sit on the counter. "What's everything?"

Marinette chuckled, but said, "Oh you know, Chat, Adrien, Hawkmoth, Paris, family, Justice League..."

"But those things should make you happy!" The small goddess exclaimed.

"They do," Marinette with a smile, "But they also make me confused." Tikki hummed and waited for her chosen to continue. "I guess..." she finally said, "I just thought that once we defeated Hawkmoth, everything would be simple. Finished. I would find the love of my life and we'd live happily ever after with five hamsters or something."

"Is that not what you want now?"

"Yes. No. Yes and no. I don't...Tikki...things were supposed to get simple. But something in me...something in the pit of my stomach is telling me that once I get on that stage, things are only going to get more complicated. And I don't..."

"Don't what, Marinette?"

"I don't even know who my brother is," Marinette said the words in barely a whisper, and with them came the crashing wave of guilt and shame that threatened to drown her ever since Marinette had gone over to Alya's under the guise of a sleep over. What they were really doing was having a Miraculous meeting in an attempt to discover who Hawkmoth was. Right in between the investigation and the ice cream, Max had suddenly declared, "Oh my gosh! Marinette, why didn't you tell us you were adopted!" Marinette had frozen as memories of darkness, cold, and pain rushed over her culminating in a single image of soft blue eyes and a kind voice, and a name, a nickname, Jay-Jay. The rest of that night was spent making sure Marinette didn't get akumatized, as the weight of guilt and shame spiraled her anxiety into a crescendo of noise and tears. How had she forgotten her brother? It was enough to make her snap as the weight of everything that was happening in her life crashed into her like a tidal wave. Max had had to teleport them out of Paris before she could calm down, and explain herself.

Her friends had changed after that. They started taking on more Miraculous responsibilities, and school responsibilities. Luka got a job at the bakery so she wouldn't have to fill in for her parents. Alya took all of the minor class president duties on herself. Adrien eased off on the flirting. And Lie-la wasn't allowed within five feet of her, if any of them could help it. Marinette was grateful. With the pressures of Ladybug and everyday life eased a bit, she was able to focus a little more clearly. In the six months that her friends had stepped up, Marinette was able to get twice as much done as she had before. But that didn't stop that niggling worm of guilt that whispered at her pure audacity. She had forgetten her brother. But Hawkmoth had still been active, so Marinette had pushed it aside and focused.

But now...

"Marinette," Tikki said wiping the single tear from her chosen's face. "It's ok. I'm sure your brother will understand. Besides, it's not like you completely forgot him. You remember somethings right?"

Marinette nodded and at Tikki's insistence, she told her everything she could remember about her life before. "Our home was always cold. But Jay-Jay always made sure I was warm. He gave me a pink jacket. There was always a lot of noise, but Jay-Jay would block it out with stories. He told the best stories. I don't remember all of them, but they were always about the Knitting Fairy. The Knitting Fairy would help everyone, and fix everything---"

"That sounds familiar," Tikki giggled.

Marinette smiled and kept taking, "He had bright blue eyes, and a kind voice. And he always made me feel safe." Marinette wiped another tear as she stopped talking. That was it. That was all she could remember. Dark, cold nights of memories had been replaced by the warm, sunny days of Paris. Harsh voices and indistinct words were traded for the soft, clear words of her parents. And Marinette was happy that they had. Except, it meant that she had left her brother behind. It meant that she had abandoned him. And Marinette didn't know if she could ever forgive herself for that.

Tikki nuzzled into Marinette's cheek, and soon Marinette was swarmed by the soft, warm, and tiny arms of all of the kwami in her possession. She laughed dryly as she let them comfort her. And when they were done, Marinette did feel better. So she cleared her throat, stood up straight, drew on her Ladybug confidence and said, "Alright. New mission, tomorrow we start looking for my brother. But tonight! We party!"

The kwami cheered and soon every last one of them was buzzing around her room in a way that was far from helpful, as they tried to help. Marinette laughed at them and closed her eyes. Tonight was a celebration. She could be happy tonight. She didn't have to worry about tonight. It was going to be ok.

. . .

Marinette stepped out of the limo to the overwhelming sounds and lights of cameras and reporters. She did her best to smile and wave, as she moved down the red carpet, but she was far from being comfortable. Jagged Stone had her arm, and he was a grounding presence as she fought to stay calm. She dreaded the moment when he would give into the public and stop to answer every single question, but as it turned out she didn't need to worry. Jagged moved at her pace, and only stopped once to answer only one question of a single reporter.

"Jagged who designed your suit?"

"The one and only MDC of course! My honorary niece, Marinette!" The next thing Marinette knew, she was standing by herself as Jagged, Luka,andJuleka recreated the Will Smith meme with her front and center. Marinette was certain, her face was the color of a tomato as the cameras increased. But Luka quickly saved her by straightening his own suit and taking her arm.

"What was that?" Marinette said through gritted teeth.

"What?" Luka said with a mischievous smile, "It's your first red carpet. Did you really think we weren't going to show you off?" Marinette shook her head as they passed through the pavilion wall.

The city had blocked off the entire area around and under the Eifel Tower for the grand gala that was meant to celebrate Paris's heroes and their victory. Shielding the exclusive party from the press with giant white pavilions, the park had become a world of its own. And what a world it was. String lights lit the party like Christmas Time. Violins and cellos filled the area with the contrasting harmony of a piano. And the cheerful and excited murmur of a guests dancing on a polished wooden floor and mingling on the freshly cut grass, filled the space with warmth and cheer. The women looked like queens and princesses, and the men looked like kings and princes as they glided through the park. Marinette was so captivated by the elegance and grandiose of it all, that she almost didn't see the pièce de résistance, the Eiffel Tower. Luka gently tapped her arm and pointed. She gasped. The tower shone a brilliant Ladybug red as black spots danced across the metal sides. Marinette felt the tears forming in her eyes as she laughed.

But before she could say anything she was caught up in a hug that almost crushed her lungs. She laughed as she saw a mass of blonde hair. "You deserve this," Adrien whispered. "You deserve all of this!"

"So do you, Chaton," Marinette whispered back. "So do you."

Adrien pulled back and looked at her. The weight of the last month had settled heavily in his once bright green eyes. The shock of discovering the truth about his father and Natalie had broken him in a way, that Marinette was not sure would ever heal. Marinette herself had no idea how to help her friend as she was drowning in her own issues, but thankfully neither of them were in this alone. Luka kissed his boyfriend playfully, as Marinette turned to Alya and Nino, who were pushing through the crowds, shouting about the tower and how wonderful it was. Kagami was walking elegantly behind them with Chloe and Zoe. Marinette still wasn't exactly sure how the two sisters had managed to get on the same page, but Marinette had decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth. Drifting back to her thoughts from earlier Marinette decided that her original dream for a world without Hawkmoth, was not to far off.

Life had become simpler. Luka and Adrien were dating and trying to convince her to date both of them, thus removing one source of her anxiety. Chloe was using her impressive powers of persuasion for good. Nino and Alya were talking about rings. Lila was gone. Zoe had just gotten accepted to an acting school in America. Juleka was being scouted by a modeling agents. Lila was gone. A publisher had just called Marc and Nathaniel about their comic. Max was getting internship offers right and left. Lila was gone. They had all managed to graduate, despite the unending akuma attacks. MDC was overflowing with so many commissions, that she had a waiting list three years long! And did she mention that Lie-la was gone!

As Marinette watched and listened to her friends chatter and laugh, she smiled and hugged Tikki through her bag. Everyone was getting their happily ever after. Everyone, except her. She tried to shake the self-deprecating thought away, which ended with her drifting into a state of happy complaisance. She refused to feel sad and guilty tonight. Not when everyone else was happy, and with the future looking so bright. Not with the damn city projectinghercolors of the fucking Eiffel Tower of all things! So she smiled and wandered over to the bar. Maybe a glass of wine would lift her spirits to the boisterous exuberance everyone else seemed to be feeling.Or maybe something stronger, she thought idly.

There were already two tall men already there, but only one turned to look at her as she approached.Cute, she thought noticing how his red hair contrasted well with his black suitBut why is he so tall. She smiled but didn't give him or his friend much thought as she ordered her drink.

"Aren't you a little young to drink?" the man with red hair said in broken French.

Marinette blinked at him. He was smiling in a way that she supposed was meant to be flirty, and she guessed it could work on her if she let. But she decided to mess with him instead, and so said in perfect English, "Not in France. But if you think I'm too young then why are you ogling my dress?"

His friend snorted, and the red-head flushed with a cough. "I didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry. I was trying to be clever. I just...can I get a do over?"

He waited for Marinette to respond which she appreciated as the bartender paced her drink. Marinette considered it before thinking, "What the hell, its not like I'm ever going to see him again," and nodded. The red-head beamed and holding out his hand said, "I'm Roy Harper, 20 years old, and my favorite color is red, which is why I was staring at your dress. It's very beautiful. Please don't think I a douche."

Marinette smiled and taking his hand said, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, 18---"

His friend began choking on his drink, and they both turned to face him concerned, with Roy exclaiming "Woah, Jay you ok?"

His friend nodded and muttered, "Sorry, wrong pipe." He then straightened and faced Marinette. He was almost as tall as her Papa, but not nearly as broad. Although he was still the size of a barn door. His black hair was slicked back and for some reason he had a white streak in the middle of it, like a skunk. But what caught Marinette's attention were his eyes. They were blue, tinged green around the edges, with a vibrancy that almost seemed unnatural. And through Tikki, Marinette felt a strange aura around him that was both familiar and foreign, comforting and terrifying. And those strange eyes were staring at her with absolute terror.

After an awkward moment, Roy cleared his throat and cautiously said, "So anyway, it's nice to meet you Marinette. This is my business partner and best friend, Jason Todd."

(a/n I have no idea how consistent I will be updating this. But I'm also posting on ao3 under the same name. Let me know if you want me to tag you!!)

@laurcad123 @craftgremlin

#maribat #marinette dupen chang #marinettexroy #batfam #jason todd #miraculous ladybug #mlb x dc #dc x mlb

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aidanchaser · 2 years ago

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Happy holidays, @light-my-star! I’m pinch-hitting for your Secret Santa for the @mlsecretsanta. I hope you enjoy this fic. I did read through all of your Ao3 fic and about half of your bookmarks to make sure I could put together something you would enjoy.

Rating: E for EXPLICIT Word Count: 8K Giftee Tags: LoveSquare, Romance, Friendship Additional Tags: Identity Reveal, MariChat, Mythology References, Safe Sane and Consensual, Porn With Plot

Art: Eros and Psyche by Károly Lotz (1890) Poem Frame: “Eros and Psyche” by Robert Bridges (1885)

Read on Ao3: By Her Side

Read on Tumblr below

His face and figure though she could not see, She wished not then nor asked what night denied: He was the lover she had lacked, and she, Loving his loving, was his willing bride. O’erjoyed she slept again; but when anon She woke at break of morning, he was gone; Only his empty place lay by her side.

—“Eros and Psyche” Measure III by Robert Bridges

Marinette was used to waking to an empty bed, his place already cold and her pink curtains fluttering in the window he had escaped through. She knew he couldn’t stay, and she wasn’t allowed to want him to stay. She wasn’t allowed to know who he was.

But she wanted to know who he was, and she wanted it more and more desperately with each night they spent together.

She ran her hand along the pillow, pressed flat where his head had been, and tried to remember what it was like to run her fingers through his fine blonde hair. His hair was so fluid beneath her fingers that she imagined it had to be part of the magic of his transformation. No boy was allowed to have hair that silky.

Her fingers caught on a snag in the pillowcase and she remembered the way his claws had dug into the fabric on either side of her head and the way his hips had pressed flush against hers.

Marinette groaned and got up to splash cold water across her face before she dressed and headed into work. She didn’t have a morning to spend missing her nighttime lover. She had a job to get to.

Working at Gabriel as a pattern developer had given her a lot of experience, but it was about as stressful as working the bakery on Christmas Eve, as if every single day of her life was a swarm of people begging for more King’s Cake. There was, however, one exceptional highlight to her job.

Adrien Agreste.

He came to her floor occasionally, and every time he did he stopped to say hello. They were schoolfriends, after all. And though he had officially stopped being the face of the brand a few years ago, every so often he would agree to one of his father’s campaigns or designs and his face would flood their floor for a few weeks. And somehow, it was always one of the pieces Marinette had worked on.

Marinette knew it had to be nothing more than coincidence, but then again he had liked her designs when they were in school together. So maybe there was something to it…

Marinette buried the thought in her sink as she spat out her toothpaste. That had been a childhood crush. Sure, she had liked Adrien. She had daydreamed about the hamsters they might own someday. But she was an adult now. She had a proper love life.

Well, as much as she could call her evening trysts a proper love-life.

Marinette waved goodbye to her parents, who were already hours into their work, which started long before sunrise. As the shop bell jingled behind her, she reminded herself that her relationship with Chat Noir really was deeper than late-night hookups.

They often spent hours laughing on her rooftop, or sometimes they just laid down in her bed and talked. Sometimes they watched silly videos on Marinette’s phone for hours before he slipped away, back to whatever life he lived when he took off his mask.

Maybe it wasn’t a traditional relationship. Maybe there weren’t dinner dates, and maybe she could never meet his parents, but it was still something more than just really great sex.

Though, they had never promised each other that they were exclusive. Marinette might have made that promise privately—she just couldn’t picture having a proper boyfriend who would take her to dinner then be okay with her saying good night to go sleep with one of Paris’ most famous superheroes—but she wondered often if Chat Noir had someone else in his life. He had an entirely different identity, a world she had no idea about, and maybe there was another girl there.

She didn’t ask him those kinds of questions; she couldn’t. She couldn’t know anything about who he was, and she had set that rule herself to protect them both.

But despite her heroic intentions, she found herself wondering just exactly what Chat Noir looked like beneath his mask. Were his eyes still green, or was that part of the cat miraculous’s magic? Was his grin still just as mischievous, or was that something he saved for her?

Her mind was just drifting to her memory of the shape of his teeth, something her tongue was overly-familiar with, when the elevator doors of the office building opened with a jarring ding and an even more jarring vision of blonde hair and green eyes.

There were several reasons Marinette arrived to work shortly after sunrise. For one, Marinette had a habit of being late—though not just work. She was late to parties, late to family dinners, late to everything. Managing her time as a superhero was only part of the problem. She simply struggled with time.

So for her job at Gabriel, she made a point to arrive early. Hours early. It made her appear studious and dedicated, and it also gave her some wiggle room if she ever had to slip away during the day to face an akuma.

Another perk of being early, one Marinette never took for granted, was how empty and quiet the building was. It made for an perfect workspace. She could safely ignore emails until everyone else’s workday began. No one was complaining about the coffee pot being empty. No one was asking her opinion on a texture or drape. Maybe she’d get the same peace and quiet at home in the mornings, but she didn’t like to work by herself at home. Besides, she got her best work done when the office was empty, which it usually was this early in the morning.

So when the elevator doors opened to reveal Adrien Agreste, her heart did a double-take.

He smiled brilliantly, and the fluorescent lights that Marinette usually found hideous suddenly seemed like a halo behind his golden hair.

“Good morning, Marinette,” he smiled, and stepped to the side to make space for her. “You’re here a bit early.”

“Er—yeah, you too,” she smiled, and adjusted her bag self-consciously before stepping inside. She had grown out of her silly stutter around Adrien when she had grown out of her crush on him, but her heart seemed to have forgotten that as it jittered around in her chest.

“My father’s a bit under the weather today, so he sent me to grab a few things from his office,” Adrien said. “It’s certainly easier to slip in and out of the building when there aren’t a dozen people trying to say hello to me or one of my father’s producers ready to corner me and talk me into another shoot. What’s your excuse?”

“Quieter work space,” she said, and wondered why she felt out of breath. She spoke more quickly, trying to cover up any odd ticks in her voice. “And mornings are sort of empty at home. With the bakery, everyone’s up well before sunrise and it’s just so… quiet in the mornings. I might as well get busy and be here.”

Adrien paused, green eyes both wary and concerned, as if she had just confessed something unexpected. True, she had gotten close to a confession, to the private truth that she would never admit it to anyone, not even Alya, that the most important reason Marinette liked getting to work as early as she did was because she did not have to spend time thinking about how empty her room felt once Chat Noir had left, but she had not given Adrien any real details that would help him put that together. The only person who knew how she spent her nights, besides Alya, was Chat Noir himself.

As quickly as it had come, Adrien’s concern flickered out, doused in his usual, relaxed smile. “I hope you don’t overwork yourself,” he said.

A younger Marinette would have melted in that smile. She knew now it was the smile he had developed during his days as a model—his performative smile. She had been proud the day she had realized she could tell the difference between his earnest happiness and his pretended politeness. It was a sign of how much their friendship had grown, and she really did like being friends with Adrien.

“I don’t overwork myself,” she promised, though that was a bald-faced lie. Adrien knew her too well and had known her too long to believe she had any ability to balance her work-life.

And, as she had hoped, his polite smile gave way to his genuine one. His green eyes softened and he even laughed a little.

Marinette’s heart clawed its way up her throat like it wanted to leap out of her mouth and onto Adrien. She thought of the soft, leather-like texture of Chat Noir’s padded gloves against her thigh in an effort to soothe her heart.

As his laughter faded, Adrien’s fingertips drummed against his denim-clad thighs. His eyes seemed to wander past Marinette, as if it was somehow easier to take in her warped reflection in the chromatic walls of the elevator, rather than stare directly at Marinette.

If Marinette didn’t know better, she would think he was nervous.

“Are you working on any interesting projects right now?” he finally asked, and the two of them fell rather comfortably into a conversation about work. Work was common ground for the two of them, and there was nothing especially intimate about it. It was nice.

When the elevator door opened onto Marinette’s floor, Adrien abandoned his trip to his own office, and followed her to her desk as she talked. She showed him the sketches she’d been assigned and the pattern pieces she had drafted. They talked about textures and weights and deadlines, and Marinette remembered how nice it was to just talk to Adrien. She had Alya and Nino, of course, and even Kagami and Luka, but none of them understood her world the way that Adrien did. He had grown up in this industry, and she didn’t have to explain herself or try to make him understand what she saw in a piece.

They made coffee and talked about his projects, and she loved the way his eyes lit up as he talked about the new shoots he was planning. He had ideas for lighting that were outside of her area of expertise, but she listened all the same, and knew enough that she could at least ask insightful questions.

She was all too sorry when the elevator dinged, announcing that someone else had arrived for work, and Adrien hurriedly said his goodbyes. She wouldn’t have minded if talking with him had been her entire day. The way everything else had disappeared while they talked, the way time hadn’t mattered and work hadn’t mattered and missing Chat Noir hadn’t mattered…

It reminded her of her conversations with Chat Noir, the way it felt like it belonged in another world, a better world outside of her day-to-day.

But Marinette was used to her life being fragmented into a variety of pieces that never seemed to make up the full picture. Her relationship with Chat Noir was one part of her, her patrols as Ladybug and that friendship with Chat was an entirely different part, and she would just have to put her friendship with Adrien into another box, separate from who she was at work and separate from who she was with her other friends and family.

She knew it wasn’t normal to think of herself in so many pieces, but she’d gotten into the habit to protect her identity as Ladybug, and she didn’t know how to else to manage it.

The day passed, thankfully, without an akuma attack. She was able to focus on her work without worry, though she did wonder if there might be a way to catch Adrien before she left the office. Though that thought was silly, she told herself. He didn’t hang out at the office. And besides, she didn’t need to seek out Adrien for companionship. She had patrol with Chat Noir in just a few hours.

When Marinette did finally take to the Paris rooftops as Ladybug, she was no longer thinking about her conversation with Adrien. That conversation belonged to a different person, a different world. She wasn’t thinking about work, either, which was as distant from her in this moment as the moon was from the earth. She was thinking only about the way the air felt warmer, the way her skin prickled with the magic of her suit, and how excited she was to see Chat Noir again.

As a friend, this time. He was only her friend when she wore this suit.

But when she found him on top of Le Grand Paris, she had a hard time remembering how to be appropriately friendly rather than the flirtatious habits she’d developed as Marinette.

“Good evening, chaton,” she smiled, and had to clasp her hands behind her back to keep from running her fingers through his impossibly silky hair.

“My lady,” he said with a sweeping bow and a mischievous grin that set Ladybug’s heart working double-time. “Shall we?”

And he held out his hand like he was asking her to dance. Her heart screamed to take it and pull him into a kiss, but she would have plenty of opportunities to do that later. She settled instead for reaching for his hand but drawing away at the last moment and leaping off of the hotel.

She heard his laugh as she fell, and her heart beat against her ribs as if it was going to smash through her bones and fling itself at Chat Noir. Her cheeks grew warm and she tried to tell herself she was too old to be this silly about a boy. But she could think her affection was silly all she wanted; her heart had its own agenda.

It was hard to talk as the two of them leaped across the rooftops of Paris. Words were whisked away by the wind rushing past their ears, and complex thoughts were often lost in the focus on judging the distance of a leap or searching for the next point to hook her yo-yo around before swinging into the night sky.

It was not unlike a dance, really. She and Chat Noir had had years to perfect their performance and synchronize their sweep across the city. The stars served as their musicians and the whole of Paris was their ballroom.

She paused on the rooftop of a residence and placed her hand against a cracked chimney for balance. Chat Noir crouched into a perch beside her.

“It’s a quiet night,” she said.

The hum in his throat might have been a purr and it made her chest ache with the desire to be back in her own bed, with that purr pressed against her palm.

“It’s nice to just spend time together,” he said, though he sounded distracted and Ladybug’s heart ached to know if he was distracted because he was thinking about Marinette.

She couldn’t help herself. She had to press. “Are you doing anything later tonight?” She bit down on her lip, hoping he wouldn’t notice her coy smile.

His mask twitched as his eyebrow quirked and he looked up at her. “I have plans,” he said, which she found painfully vague. “Did you have something in mind?”

“Oh, no,” she said hurriedly, kicking herself for daring to bring it up at all. “Actually, I have a date tonight.”

Not that Marinette and Chat Noir ever scheduled their evenings. It was just expected that he would come by and see her after his patrol with Ladybug. They didn’t exactly have a way to communicate as Marinette and Chat Noir.

“Really?” both his eyebrows lifted now. “And you don’t need me to chaperone, do you? I’d hate to see Paris’s greatest hero taken advantage of.”

“You don’t trust my taste in partners?” she asked.

His clawed hand pressed against his chest in a dramatic gesture of faux-insult. “My lady, you know I believe your taste in partners is only the best.”

She couldn’t help herself. She bent down and kissed his cheek before leaping off the rooftop once more.

She didn’t know why she felt so daring tonight, so willing to push the boundaries of her relationship with Chat Noir in this part of her life. Was she that desperate to have him again? Or had her friendly, comfortable conversation with Adrien been too painful a reminder of what she and Chat Noir could never fully have?

This time, their dance led them to the top of the Eiffel Tower, a familiar vantage point for their patrols.

After a moment of silence, Chat Noir offered, “Maybe all the akumas are on holiday.”

Ladybug laughed. “It has been exceptionally quiet all day. Maybe they’re taking a sick day.”

He laughed, too, and every bone in her body sang out as he did. She wanted nothing more than to pull him against her and kiss him as if both their lives depended on it.

“Why don’t we call it early tonight?” she asked, more because she was so desperate to get home and wait for him to join her than she was ready to say the evening was probably safe from an akuma attack.

“So you can get ready for your hot date?” he teased with a grin and her cheeks flushed.

She tossed her head, hoping to hide her embarrassment in indignation. “Maybe.”

He leaned against the railing that encircled the peak of the tower. The mischief in his eyes withered as he surveyed the city’s glittering lights. His shoulders shifted with the weight of his thoughts and when he spoke again, his voice was soft, almost serious. “Does your date… know you’re Ladybug?”

She heard the hurt in his voice, and it occurred to her that he wanted to tell Marinette who he was just as desperately as she wanted to know it.

But right now, she was Ladybug. Though she was having a hard time keeping her desire boxed up in the life of, “Marinette-who-enjoys-late-nights-with-Chat-Noir” she managed to hold onto her heroic senses.

“My date can’t know I’m Ladybug,” she said. As wonderful as it would be to enjoy Chat Noir here, on top of the Eiffel Tower, with all the stars to witness their love, they would have to stay confined to the secrecy of Marinette’s bedroom, to dark, hidden kisses, whispered affections, and empty beds come morning. There wasn’t any other choice to make.

Chat Noir’s clawed fingertips clinked against the iron railing as he drummed his fingers nervously. “Isn’t it hard?” he asked. “Knowing there’s a whole part of yourself that you can’t share with them? Seeing them in your other life and knowing you can’t even tell them how you’re really feeling?”

She reached for his hand. She wanted to scream, to hold him, to kiss him, to fuck him, to drop her mask and just tell him the truth.

And then what? She’d face another akumatized version of him? She’d have to reset time again to prevent the end of the world?

A devil on her shoulder whispered, Bunnyx hasn’t come calling yet, but ignored it.

“It isn’t forever,” she assured him. “Just until we get the miraculous back.” But the words felt hollow even as she said them. They’d been at this for so long, since they were just kids. When did it end?

Hollow or not, Chat Noir accepted her encouragement. The slump in his shoulders lifted, and he stretched like a cat uncurling from a nap. The familiar mischievous twinkle returned to his eyes and Ladybug could not help but remember her conversation with Adrien that morning, how he had moved so fluidly between his performative smile and his earnest smile. Chat Noir seemed to be doing the reverse. Her heart ached with sympathy but also, in the tiniest of places, pounded with pride that she knew him so well. If only she could offer better comfort. She’d have to do her best to please him when he came to visit tonight.

“Same time tomorrow?” he asked with a smile.

“Of course,” she replied, and leapt back into the city.

But Psyche said “Thy love is more than life, Having thee thus leaves nothing to be won: For should the noonday prove me to be wife Even of the beauteous Eros, who is son Of Cypris, I could never love thee more.”

— “Eros and Psyche” Measure III by Robert Bridges

By the time she said, “Spots off,” Marinette’s heart was already moving at a million miles per hour. She hurried through the checklist of tasks she always did post-patrol in anticipation of Chat Noir’s arrival.

One: brush teeth.

Two: comb hair.

Three: apply appropriately flavored lipgloss.

Four: make the bed.

Five: change into something cute.

Once, Marinette had done step five before going on patrol, thinking how much easier it would be to be already dressed in something light and lacy as soon as she returned home. It had been just her luck that she and Chat Noir had ended up having to retreat and recoup in Paris’s sewers during that akuma fight. She’d never been so mortally embarrassed in her life and never been so glad that she had their secret identities as an excuse to keep Chat from seeing her. She’d also never made that mistake again.

Just as she pulled the pale pink silk slip over her head, she heard the familiar thud on her rooftop. Hastily, she sat down on her bed and tried to look casual and inviting. She leaned back on an elbow and bent one knee up. She let her other leg dangle off of the edge of the bed.

But as Chat Noir dropped down from her rooftop trapdoor and landed on her floor, instead of the intrigued purr she expected, he laughed.

“Have you been waiting for me like that all day?” he asked.

She pouted and tried for indignation. “I heard you arrive.” She may have been waiting all day, but it certainly hadn’t been to banter with him.

“Should I try again with a bit more stealth?” he asked.

“No.” Marinette sat up and grabbed his hands. He laughed as she pulled him into her bed and that laughter flooded her veins as his lips fell against her collar and his hot breath danced across her skin.

Chat Noir’s laughter dissolved into a pleasant purr as she insistently moved his hands down to her hips. His mouth moved to meet hers and she both melted into her mattress and pressed herself up against him at once.

His padded fingers, careful of the claw-like ends of his gloves, gripped her hips to keep her still. She trailed her hands up his arms and to his shoulders, where she dragged her fingers along the nape of his neck. He hummed into her mouth as she ran her fingers through his hair, pausing to avoid the decorative ears still pinned in his hair.

“Lights?” she managed to gasp between a desperate kiss.

“You’re so impatient,” he whispered with a grin. But he obliged, and with a practiced ease, stretched over her to reach the switch of her lamp. He tugged on the chain and her room plunged into complete darkness. Not even the light of the moon breached the edges of her curtains.

“Plagg,” he whispered, “claws in.”

There had been a time where she’d been nervous about Tikki and Plagg bearing witness to her and Chat Noir’s evenings, but Tikki assured her that Plagg enjoyed spending time with the other kwamis in the Miracle Box, and besides, after her thousands of years of existence, she was no stranger to the human drive to pursue pleasure. It was one of the oldest, most divine acts of creation, after all.

It comforted Marinette to know that the kwamis had more interesting things to do than sit around and wait for her and Chat Noir to be done. And, really, after their first night together she had stopped worrying about the kwamis. She had more interesting things to think about.

Like the way his now bare hands slid under her nightgown and trailed up her ribcage until they reached her breasts. She moaned into another kiss as he squeezed gently and ran his thumbs over her tender nipples. She dragged her hands back down through his hair to the collar of his cotton t-shirt and tugged.

Though it was a tragedy to break their kiss, it was worth it to get them both undressed. She tugged his shirt over his head, then he kicked off his shoes and socks while she shimmied out of her panties.

Someday they would get to enjoy the sight of each other. Someday she’d get to see what color his eyes really were and the expression on his face when he came, but tonight they just had to enjoy what they could in the dark.

She heard him undo his belt buckle and reached eagerly for his waist to pull him closer. She liked getting to take off his jeans and tug down his briefs. She liked to keep some control over the experience, something she had once confessed to Chat Noir afterwards, grateful he couldn’t see how red her face must have been. He had been quiet for a long moment and she had wished more than anything to see his face, to know what he was thinking.

Finally, he had said, “I like taking care of you, but… I also like when you’re leading the way.”

She’d been less hesitant about taking charge after that conversation.

As he kicked off his jeans and boxers she pulled him on top of her. His knees bracketed her now bare hips and she slid her hands up along the back of his thighs and over his firm, toned ass. She’d stared at it on patrol a dozen times before—and been distracted by it a few times in the middle of an akuma fight—but she still hadn’t seen it properly, despite how intimate they had been.

She shook off the disappointment by bringing one hand to his front, stroking his length. He hummed appreciatively into her ear, cheek pressed to cheek. Then, as she trailed her other hand up his spine he yanked his head away with a gasp, like a cat leaning into a stroke.

“Marinette—”

She bit down on her lower lip and wished desperately to know what his face looked like, to his lips half-parted, to see just how much he wanted her. Was it as bad as she wanted him?

Though she, heartbreakingly, had never actually seen his dick, she was overly familiar with its shape and how it changed with his arousal, and she knew exactly when it was ready for a condom.

As she reached for her bedside table drawer, Chat Noir drew her other hand away from his spine and pressed his lips to her palm. He trailed his mouth along her arm, up into her neck. She draped her arms over his shoulders and fumbled with the condom package as they kissed. He slid one hand down stomach, not slowing until he reached her sex and she moaned into his mouth.

His hands were soft, as fluid as the rest of him, as his thumb rubbed her clit and his fingers dipped inside her. She shivered and whimpered softly as the cool metal of his ring brushed her sensitive skin.

He kissed the corner of her mouth apologetically and took a moment to tug off his ring and leave it on her bedside table. They were, both of them, fully exposed in the dark, save for her earrings.

But she could not dwell on the thought long as his hand returned to her pelvis and his fingers slid back inside her. He seemed to stretch to fit her, rather than the other way around and her moan turned into a soft gasp.

She let the foil wrapper fall to the floor. His teeth caught her lower lip as she tried to pull away. and he tugged on her lip gently before letting go. It was hard to keep track of her thoughts as he refused to remove his thumb, but she managed to bring the condom down to his cock.

He grabbed her wrist with his spare hand and gently guided her back, pinning her hand to the bed.

“Chat—”

His breath was suddenly hot on her ear and she wasn’t sure when his lips had gotten so close to her again. “Ladies first,” he murmured. Carefully, he pushed her shoulder back until she was lying on the bed.

Distantly she recalled her desire to pleasure him after seeing his sad eyes on the top of the Eiffel Tower, but that thought vanished as he dragged his knuckles across her slit. She gasped and twisted one hand in the bed sheets; the other tightened around the latex ring in her hand.

His lips pressed against hers once more, briefly, then he and his hands were gone, and she had a bizarre moment where she wondered if he had left before he felt his hands on her thighs, gently pushing them apart.

She moaned as his tongue pressed flat against her clit and gasped as his thumb returned. He kissed the edge of her hip, then her ribs, then sucked gently at her nipple.

“Chat,” she begged as his hand moved, fingers sliding in, thumb sliding down, then fingers out and thumb up— “Chat,” she repeated again, at once desperate and grateful.

He kissed her and she moaned into his mouth, wondering, not for the first time, what his real name was and if she would ever be able to use it. Her hips bucked eagerly with each slide of his hand, and as she continued to gasp, “Chat,” he moved his hand, keeping pace with her breathless pleading.

Though she did not feel entirely in control of herself as his hand slid in and out of her soaked folds, she knew that he was moving by her lead while taking care of her. And it was the thought that they were both content in this rhythm as much as his touch that pushed her to clench tightly around his two fingers and hold as she came.

Her grip on the condom loosened, even as he continued to slide his fingers in and out of her. It was sticky with her sweat and she stretched her hand back to her nightstand to grab another. She fumbled for a moment, vaguely aware of her fingers brushing against his discarded ring before gripping the handle of the dresser drawer.

“Your turn,” she whispered.

“I think I want to watch you come again,” and though she couldn’t see the mischievous grin on his face she could hear it in his voice.

“Unless you were born with your cat vision, I don’t think you’re watching much of anything.”

“If you’re as mouthy as all that, then I haven’t been working hard enough.”

“I’m the mouthy one?”

She leaned up to kiss him again and this time, when she went to fit the condom over his cock, he did not stop her. She wrapped her hand around him, pumping him slowly as she rolled the latex down the length of his penis until he was fully covered. She let him set her pace, as she had set his, and used their slow, lazy kisses to guide the rhythm of her hand.

He was, like a cat, good at pretending he was uninterested. His hands bracketed her hips gently, like he was doing little more than guiding her through a waltz. His kisses were lingering, made of long draws on her lips and tongue like he was savoring every taste.

But when she stretched her thighs apart and carefully guided him to where she wanted him, where she had wanted him since she had woken up to her empty bed that morning, all his laziness vanished.

The sound that slipped from between his lips was something between a hum and a purr and he tightened his grip on her thighs. She hoped it bruised, just so she could have some part of him left in the morning when he was gone.

He thrust into her and she dared to reach her own hand down, hooking a finger in alongside him and rubbing her clit in time with his thrusts.

He whined, “Mar—” but he couldn’t manage the rest of her name as she pressed her mouth against his, as if she could consume all of him and keep him here with her forever.

She worked herself to a second orgasm before he had quite finished his first, but as she clenched down around him, he was not far behind. His mouth dropped into the crook of her neck, alternating between kissing and gasping for breath. She slid one hand through his hair soothingly and left her other to lazily rub out the sharp edges of her second orgasm. His hand joined hers at her clit and gently she tipped his head back up into another kiss.

Their hands rubbed against her sex not so much for the pleasure of it but purely for the intimacy. Her leg hooked around his and his other hand slid behind her back as if he could promise more support than the bed beneath them both.

She would have liked to stay like that until dawn. Lazy kisses, gentle strokes, the occasional nip amidst long, warm breaths.

But he wasn’t allowed to stay that long. Morning had to come, night had to end, and he had to leave before the gray light that preceded sunrise.

Slowly, she untangled herself from him to clean up. He whined and grabbed her leg.

“Chat,” she murmured, wishing it didn’t sound so much like an apology.

“It doesn’t have to be over yet,” he said.

“I’m not kicking you out.” At least not yet. She kissed his forehead then pulled out of his grip.

She disposed of the used condom, cleaned herself up, and slipped back under the covers. It was hard not to feel pleased when Chat Noir slid his hands over her hips and pulled her close against him.

“I do have to be up early for work,” she said as he kissed her shoulder.

“No you don’t,” he murmured into her skin with an absurd amount of surety. He ran his hand up and down her thigh, picking up their lazy, intimate touches right where they had left off.

“I do,” she protested, and turned around to face him, though it didn’t let her see him any better.

He took her hand in his and pressed it to his lips. “You don’t have to be at work as early as you usually are. You could just go in when everyone else goes in.”

“How do you know I go to work before everyone else?”

“I stalk you in the mornings,” he said, and she felt his mouth curve into his familiar, mischievous smile beneath her fingers.

“You’re unbelievable.”

He trailed his hand back along her arm until he reached her neck and he pulled her in for another kiss. It was soft, brief, nothing like the desperate, hungry kisses they had exchanged earlier.

“I want to stay,” he murmured.

She sighed. “Chat…”

“I’ve got cheese for Plagg in my jeans. I can transform back as soon as it’s light out. Please let me stay, Marinette.”

Her heart ached. Of course she wanted him to stay. She wondered if he knew just how badly she wanted to say yes. But how could he know?

It occurred to her that she had no idea what sort of life he went back to. He might have been joking about stalking her in the mornings, but what if he really did linger even after she woke? What if he had the sort of home he wanted to avoid returning to?

“Okay,” she said. “You can stay.”

He kissed her again, so eagerly she thought for a moment he was going to start in on another round, but his energy waned back to their lazy, afterglow level of gentle caresses and lips brushing against lips and whatever else was within reach.

Before long, though, Chat was asleep. Marinette was tickled to discover he snored ever so softly, much like a cat purring in their sleep. She stroked his hair, enjoying the soft texture beneath her fingers until she, too, closed her eyes and wandered to dreams.

And so most happily her life went by, In thoughts of love dear to her new estate; Until at length the evil day drew nigh.

— Eros and Psyche” Measure IV by Robert Bridges

Marinette woke with sunlight streaming through her window and had the brief thought that she didn’t remember buying silk sheets for herself before she realized it was not her soft pillowcase that her fingers were stroking. It was Chat Noir’s hair.

She smiled, more pleased than she had expected to find him still in her bed well-past dawn. But as her gentle strokes crossed the length of his head she realized that there were no magically-pinned, leather-like cat ears for her to fondle. His head was bare and his face…

Right now, his face was buried into her chest. Her heart raced as she considered her choices.

She could cover him with her blanket and wake him. She could try to slip away without waking him, without looking at him.

Or she could wake him, maybe look at him just long enough to see what color his eyes were. She didn’t have to know his name. She didn’t have to memorize his face. Just long enough to know if his eyes were really green…

She squeezed her eyes closed. What was she thinking? She was Ladybug. She couldn’t know Chat Noir’s identity, anymore than he could know hers.

“Chat?” she murmured, trying not to sound anxious. She didn’t want him to wake in a panic or move too quickly. Gently she squeezed his shoulder. “Chat, wake up.”

He pressed his face deeper against her chest and groaned in protest. His fingers laced together behind her back and pulled her against him, like she was little more than a comfortable pillow.

“Chat Noir,” she tried again, a little more firmly this time.

He shifted with another irritated groan and then, quite suddenly, went very still. His hands at her back fidgeted for a moment before he said, with only a touch of worry, “I’m not wearing my ring.”

Distantly, Marinette remembered him removing it so he could finger her. She kept one hand in his hair, keep his face clasped to her chest, and turned, searching for the glint of silver on her nightstand. She did not see it.

“I… think I knocked it off the night stand when I was looking for a condom,” she said and groaned.

Blindly, Chat Noir fumbled for her blanket and pulled it over him. She slipped out of the bed and searched her floor for the ring. She didn’t see it on her rug. She didn’t see it under her nightstand. She didn’t see it under the bed…

Desperation grew in her chest. Where was it? She combed her fingers through her rug’s tight fibers, wondering how she could have missed it. She came up empty handed. She fumbled again beneath her night stand, and found nothing but dust. She tore apart the piles of fabric shoved into the corners of her room and found nothing.

“Marinette?” he asked, voice muffled by her duvet. “What’s wrong?”

“I… I can’t find it,” she cried.

He hesitated for a moment then asked, “Are you dressed?”

“You can’t come out from the covers.”

“No, not for me. For Plagg. If he’s around, he might be able to find it.”

She hadn’t taken off her nightgown, but she grabbed a clean pair of underwear and tugged them on.

“I’m dressed enough,” she sighed, and turned to the Miracle Box. She double-checked that Chat Noir was still buried under her covers before opening up her sewing box and revealing the magical home of the kwamis.

“Plagg?” she asked, but it was Trixx who popped his head out of the box.

“Plagg’s not here,” Trixx whispered.

Marinette stared at the small, fox-like creature. “What?”

“He and Tikki left last night. They didn’t come back yet.”

Marinette’s heart raced. Tikki had only left her once before, and it had ended poorly. Why would Tikki leave her now? And with Plagg?

She double-checked that her earrings were in place and they were. She chewed on her lip worriedly. “Chat Noir, I don’t think Plagg’s here,” she said.

Chat Noir muttered something that sounded vaguely like a curse into her mattress. Then, in a much more clear and much less annoyed tone, he asked, “Can I get up and look?”

Marinette leaned back against her desk and covered her hands with her eyes. “I’m not peeking.”

She heard the rustling of her bedding, his grunts as he crouched down to search the floor for his ring, and his soft call for Plagg.

“Plagg, where are you? I have some—you little shit. You took my cheese and left?”

She listened to Chat Noir pull on his clothes and she tried to picture him in a t-shirt and jeans. It didn’t seem to suit him. She was too used to the magic, leather-like fabric that clad his body like a second skin. She couldn’t imagine drowning his shape in anything as heavy as cotton or denim.

“Any luck?” she asked through her hands.

“Maybe Plagg ate the ring too,” Chat Noir grunted. Her bed squeaked as he sank back into it. He let out a long, slow sigh. “Marinette, this is stupid.”

“What?”

“This… this secrecy. It’s okay. You can look at me.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

“No one can know who Ladybug and Chat Noir are!”

“Sure they can,” he said.

“No, they can’t.”

“Rena Rouge knows who Ladybug is.”

Marinette’s heart raced so fast she thought it might burst. “How do you know that?”

“Carapace told me. Besides, Ladybug says she and I can’t know each other’s identities because someone has to be able to save Paris if one of us was akumatized. It doesn’t mean someone else can’t know our identities. It’s just us two. It’s fine for you to look at me, Marinette.”

“I can’t.” Though she so desperately wanted to.

“Yes, you can.”

It felt as if all her fragmented pieces were crashing down around her. She needed to get ready for work, she needed to know why Alya had told Nino she knew who Ladybug was and why Nino had told Chat Noir. She needed to find Chat Noir’s ring and she need to protect Ladybug’s identity. All the parts of her clamored for her attention and she desperately tried to hold onto both how much she loved Chat Noir and her responsibilities as Ladybug at the same time. “I can’t!”

“Marinette… I promise, it’ll be okay.”

And though it was just as terrible as opening her eyes and seeing his face, though it broke the secret that had to be kept between them just as surely as if she knew his name, she could contain all her separate boxes no longer. “But—but I’m Ladybug!”

The creak of her bedsprings was deafening against his stunned silence. After a moment, his bare feet padded against her hard floors, then her rug, then her hard floors again. He hit the floor beside her with a thud, and put his hands on hers, gently pulling them away from her face.

“Marinette…”

She stubbornly resisted. Even as he tugged her hands to him, she kept her eyes scrunched up tight, blocking out all daylight.

Chat Noir pulled her hands to his lips. “Ladybug… Marinette…” He paused, as if he was tasting the two names together. He smiled against her fingers. It wasn’t quirked with mischief. It was soft, gentle, earnest.

“Marinette, please open your eyes. What’s the worst that could happen?”

The end of the world, she thought.

But the secret had already broken, and the world hadn’t ended yet. Maybe this time… Maybe this time it could be okay.

Though her lips shook and her heart threatened to burst, her hands were steady thanks to his grip. Slowly, she opened her eyes. First, she squinted against the sunlight, then blinked as the halo around his golden hair grew more clear.

She started with his eyes—green. Not cat-like, but still a brilliant green. His nose seemed tiny without the dark mask to give it shape, but his cheekbones stood out and her eyes drifted down to his lips, pale and soft and then, quite suddenly, she saw all of him at once.

“Adrien?” she shrieked.

He laughed and kissed her wrist. “Yes.”

“Adrien Agreste?”

“The one and only.”

“But…”

“I know,” he smiled, and pulled her against him.

She was suddenly very aware of his clothes and her thin nightgown. “But—” Marinette struggled to make sense of him. She wanted to take his clothes off and touch him just to prove that it really was him.

“We’ve been so silly all these years,” he said. “I’m glad to finally know the truth.”

She wanted to disagree. She didn’t think she had been silly at all, but she did not have the sense to be indignant. All of the compartments and fragments of her life came crashing down. Her conversation yesterday with Adrien, her years of falling in and out of love with Adrien and him with her…

“But—” She didn’t have any real protests. She just couldn’t put it all together. It was like she had all the pieces of the puzzle but she couldn’t make them fit. Or maybe she just didn’t want to.

But then he kissed her and, yes, this was her Chat. There was no question. Chat Noir was Adrien and Adrien was Chat and she loved him.

And she knew that he loved her.

She broke their kiss, but only to pull him back to his feet and guide him back to the bed. She didn’t have to be at work at sunrise, and she was going to love him by the light of day. And maybe the world would end when it was over, but she was going to have this. She was going to have this as long as she possibly could.

She slid her hands underneath his t-shirt and he, with a beautiful, mischievous grin that looked just at home on this face as it always had on Chat’s, obliged and began to remove the clothing he had only just put on.

Marinette was aware of only Adrien, of only her Chat, of the way the sunlight glinted off of his hair and the way his skin creased as he bent beneath her and the way his lips glistened in the dawn.

She was entirely unaware of the pair of kwamis, hovering just behind her curtains. Plagg twirled a plain silver ring around his tiny paws.

“It’s about time,” he grunted.

Tikki looked less certain. “I suppose we’ll see.”

“Eh, Fluff’ll fix it if we’re not ready. But I’m tired of watching him tiptoe around her. Aren’t you tired of watching her mope all day?”

Tikki smiled. “Yes. Let’s give them space.” She flitted up to the rooftop, and Plagg, ever keen to chase his lady, followed eagerly.

But lo! I, love, am come, for I am thine: Nor ever more shall any fate malign.

— “Eros and Psyche” Measure XII by Robert Bridges

#marichat fic #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fic #marichat #light my star #idk why tumblr isn't letting me tag you directly #hopefully you see this #ml secret santa #ml secret Santa exchange #ml secret santa exchange 2022

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ninadove · 2 years ago

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As suggested by my ✨ awesome girlfriend ✨ @paracosmicfawn:

Marinette brings home the hamster she always wanted. Adrien takes one look at them in their cage and breaks down in tears. He "can’t take the sight of the poor creature being trapped like that, with nothing but a foosball table — I mean, wheel!!! To keep them entertained!!!"

Long story short, the Tsurugi household has a hamster now.

#miraculous ladybug #felix graham de vanily #kagami tsurugi #feligami #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrinette #adrienette #mlb spoilers #mlb representation #The hamster’s name is Fortinbras #Because Felix is incapable of choosing normal pet names #He’s a little offended that Adrien would compare the hamster condition to Sentibeing plights

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uptoolateart · 2 years ago

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All the Missing Pieces - New Fic

The first sequel to Breaking Free is LIVE. I’ve posted the first 2 chapters today, to give a feel for the structure of the fic.

PREVIEW from Chapter 2:

Students milled in the courtyard, talking before classes started. One by one, every head pivoted in Adrien’s direction and the conversation died a swift death.

His chest tightened. This had been a terrible idea. Maybe he could just drop out. Resume home schooling. Nino’s parents had jobs, but they could hire someone to teach at the mansion, just like Gabriel had done, all those years.

The idea was developing into a delicious fantasy of isolation, when suddenly there was Marinette.

‘Hey, kitty,’ she greeted him under her breath as she captured his hand in one of hers.

‘M’lady,’ he returned just as quietly, and they shared a smile full of the secrets they shared.

There were others who knew those secrets, though not many. Nino. Alya. Rose. Juleka. Zoe. Luka, though he didn’t attend their school. It was a relief to know there were a handful of friends they didn’t have to pretend for. But there was still the rest of the world.

Alya, beside Marinette, moved in to give Nino a morning hug, taking him away from Adrien.

Marinette stepped in towards Adrien and leaned her forehead against his. Once, she had been so shy, hardly able to string a sentence together. Now, she gave him this gift of affection while fellow students walked past, watching – whispering.

‘You got this,’ she murmured in a voice just for him – a voice that made those three words mean so much more than they had when Nino had said them. ‘You and me against the world, remember?’

Of course, he remembered. ‘Aren’t I supposed to say that?’

‘Yeah, well. That’s when I’m the one breaking down.’

He pushed his hands under her arms, hugging her around her waist. ‘You think I’m breaking down?’

‘No. But you might, if we don’t kick this right away. Want me to summon up a lucky charm?’

He shook his head against hers. ‘You're my lucky charm.’

‘You’ve always been so cheesy, kitty.’ He heard her smile in her voice.

‘And you’ve always been too proud to admit how much you love that about me.’

‘True.’

‘So, what’s the plan?’ he asked. ‘You lead and I follow, right?’

‘Uh-uh. Never again, kitty. We’re partners. Equal partners. I’m never shutting you out or keeping secrets from you again, as long as I live.’

Read at Ao3

At 14, Adrien stepped into the time burrow and saw the truth no one could have guessed. When he came out, he was changed forever. And after defeating his father, he was finally free...or was he?

At 37, Adrien has everything he ever dreamed of – married to Marinette, three kids, the hamster – but none of it has turned out as expected. Marinette’s career is such a success that she’s never home, Hugo is an angsty difficult teenager, and Adrien is still struggling with his secret identity as a sentimonster.

And now, Lila Rossi is back after more than 20 years. But has time changed her? Or is she up to her old tricks?

***Alternating timelines between age 37 and ages 14 upwards, this is the first of a series of sequels to Breaking Free (summary in Ch 1 end notes). This new fic is fully written. The one after is planned out and will be from multiple POVs. The one after that…well, the mental cogs are spinning, and I’ll figure out the details along the way. I opened a massive can of worms with something in Breaking Free, and it’s all spiralling hard, people. Enjoy the chaos!***

No archive warnings apply - Teen+

Tags:

I might be writing this series until I die

Sequel

Adrien’s POV

Unreliable Narrator

Multiple Timelines

I needed a spreadsheet to plan this

Set in the future

Aged Up

Post-Monarch’s defeat

Post-Reveal Pre-Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Sentimonster Adrien Agreste

Existential Crisis

Bonding with Felix

Pining over Marinette

Heavy Angst

Also humour!

Marital Drama

Parenting Drama

But I promise Adrinette will work things out

Self-Discovery

Healing

I had too much fun with the Lila scenes

Occasional swearing but nothing gratuitous

Occasional sex but nothing graphic

Nothing worse than anything I've read in any other book marketed for teens

#ml fanfic #ml fanfiction #mlb fanfic #mlb fanfiction #ml fic #mlb fic #miraculous fanworks #ml fanworks #fanfiction 2023 #adrienette #adrinette #ml adrinette #adrien agreste #ml adrien #marinette #ml marinette #lila rossi #ml lila #ml hugo

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themaribatpit · 3 years ago

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A Return To Gotham: Chapter 1

Prompt: Target (Jasonette July) @maribat-calendar-events

Rating: T

Ships: Jason Todd/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Contains: OC children, tooth-rotting fluff,

A/N: Sorry these are coming out at a snail’s pace, been very busy with other life stuff. We hope you enjoy it as these ideas have been in the works for a while now. - Maribat Girl

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Marinette sat bored at the cash register at her family bakery, it had been a slow day. She watched people walk past, with a customer or two stepping in. She hoped business would pick up, she checked her watch, school should be closing soon and then they'll get a wave of customers.

Jason emerged from upstairs carrying their infant son asleep in his arms, wearing a frilly pink apron, wiping his sweat with a towel. "Have the kids come home yet?"

Marinette chuckled as she saw her husband in a pink apron, in all their 14 years of marriage, she still never expected him to turn out like this. "Not yet, school won't be over for another five minutes." She gave her husband a kiss on the lips.

Their child stirred and cooed in his father’s arms "Wakey-wakey, happy to see me, kiddo?"

"I'm pretty sure Louis likes you more," Marinette joked as the baby laughed in Jason's hands.

Laughter quickly turned to cries, Jason gave a quick sniff before passing the baby to Marinette "Do you mind doing it? Customers probably don't want any surprises in their pain au chocolat."

Marinette laughed at Jason's crude joke and brought the child upstairs for a diaper change, while Jason took over the register.

On cue, students from Collège Françoise Dupont across the road flooded in for treats and snacks. Students selected their favourite bread and cakes and queued to pay, one student however just grabbed one from the display and began eating.

"Hey! That girl didn't pay!" One student yelled and pointed.

"I live here dumbass," the girl said as she took another bite from her palmier.

Jason couldn't help but chuckle from his daughter's response "Welcome home Emma," he said with a grin.

Emma smiled back "Palmiers are great as always," she said as she made her way behind the counter.

Emma Todd, handsome, clever and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence, and had lived nearly thirteen years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.

As the sudden rush of customers died down, a young boy entered all on his lonesome. There was a large backpack over his shoulder and a sketchbook tucked under his arm. “I’m home.”

Jason greeted his son with a smile, “Welcome back Hugo, how was school?”

“Good, can I have some macaroons?” Hugo asked politely. Jason nodded in response and gave the boy macaroons in a paper bag. “Thank you,” Hugo said as he made his way upstairs.

Hugo Todd, clumsy and scatterbrained, eight years of age with a love of art that rivalled his mother’s love of fashion. He carried his sketchbook almost everywhere and would usually get sidetracked and draw whatever caught his attention.

Hugo took after his mother, and little did he know, Jason kept his many drawings over the years in a little drawer in his study. Hugo would also watch in awe as their hamster, Marron, made his way through his cage. Emma took after Jason, and in more recent years he pretended not to notice his copy of Dracula being moved ever so slightly every time he saw it on his shelf. Jason made sure to keep his copies of Madame Bovary, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and Thérèse Raquin far out of her reach. Hugo was a gentle soul who wouldn’t hurt a fly, while Emma was brash and stubborn. She was a lot like him that way, but Jason always hoped her sharp mind would be used as a tool and never a weapon.

If you had told Jason over two decades ago that his trip to Paris would end with him meeting their local heroine, falling in love with her, and raising a family with said heroine, he would have laughed in your face. Yet, here he was, as Marinette and her family welcomed him with open arms into their lives. They didn’t know or care about his past, they treated him as part of their family. Marinette was the only one who knew the truth about his past, considering that they first crossed paths as Ladybug and Red Hood. He told her all about what happened, from fighting crime at Batman’s side since he was 13, to dying at 15 and being brought back to life, to becoming one of the most formidable crime lords in Gotham. It should have had her running for the hills, but she also got her powers at a young age and took on the heavy burden of becoming the Guardian of a box full of magic jewelry. One morning, Sabine caught him in Marinette’s room hastily putting on a shirt to cover the bandages, she gave Marinette a knowing smile before inviting them down for breakfast. Not long after they got married, Marinette got pregnant with Emma. Considering his own sordid family history, Jason couldn’t even imagine raising one kid who wouldn’t turn out as messed up as he was, nevermind three. Yet, so far his children weren’t afraid of him, they weren’t fending for themselves on the streets, and they weren’t going toe to toe with criminals every night. So, he told himself he was at least doing something right. He still kept tabs on what went on in Gotham, but he hadn’t spoken to anyone in the Bat clan for some time. Jason had been given the chance to begin anew in Paris, and so far it worked out well for him.

Jason was brought out of his thoughts with the jingle of the door opening “Welcome to the Jason & Marinette Boulangerie Patisserie.”

A young woman with blue hair entered the shop and chuckled as Jason said his line, “Must you say that tacky line all the time Uncle Jason?”

“Just for you Lian,” Jason said as he hugged the young woman. “How’s your old man? What’s that crazy asshole done now?”

Lian sighed, “He asked Auntie Emiko to team up as Red Arse,”

“Oh shit, here we go again,” Jason jokingly groaned.

“He misses you, keeps asking me to check up on you and make sure you’re staying out of trouble,” Lian said as she looked through the various loaves of bread and pastries.

“Bold words for someone who once tested out their flamethrower on the shower,” Jason retorted. “Is he staying out of trouble?” Roy fought his inner demons with tooth and nail, in hopes of becoming the father that Lian deserved.

Lian tapped her chin thoughtfully, “It’s been 30 days since one of his experiments blew up in his face,” she remarked jokingly, “So, yeah I’d say he’s doing okay.” Lian pointed to the loaf she wanted, “I’ll have the Boule,”.

“Good choice, it’s on the house,” Jason said as she packed the loaf into a paper bag. “The door’s always open for him to visit himself if he’s ever free,” Jason said as he gave the bag to Lian. “Also tell him he’s not getting any freebies,” Jason quickly added as she walked out of the shop with her free loaf of bread.

Roy was one of the only people who knew what really happened to Jason, not that he told him, he just found him. Emma was a toddler at the time, when one afternoon, a familiar face with a hideous auburn goatee walked into the bakery. Jason tried to keep his back turned, hoping Roy wouldn’t recognise him. He’d managed to make a new life for himself here, and the last thing he needed was his past showing up on his doorstep once more. He busied himself kneading the bread in the back room, while Sabine was working the counter.

“Jason!” Sabine called out to the back room, “Give this young man a fresh loaf of pain de campagne,”

Jason swore internally, “Uh, the next batch of brioche needs a bit more kneading,”

“Oh that's fine, Tom can help you there, can’t you darling?” Sabine asked her husband. He gave a quick nod and walked into the kitchen.

Jason walked out with the requested loaf of bread, already packaged into the shop’s signature paper bag. Roy squinted his eyes slightly as Jason handed him the bag, “You look familiar…”

“Is that so?” Jason kept his gaze low, as he pulled his hair net down.

“You American as well?” Roy asked, knowing the answer as he clearly heard their exchange earlier.

“Yeah, I’ve been living here for a few years,” he said and hoped that would be the end of it. Roy would walk out of the shop and leave him to his new life. The trouble was that he knew Roy, he’d seen him persistently tinker away at his inventions and it was unlikely that this trait of his ever faded.

“Seriously, you remind me of an old friend of mine,” he said, the goatee twitched as he smirked, “his name was also Jason, and he just kinda fell off the face of the earth one day.” “Is that so? Wondered what happened to him?” Jason asked, he looked out the window at the pedestrians strolling past.

“Dunno, some people thought he died.” Roy shrugged, Jason wondered if he was better off having Bruce thinking he got himself killed a second time. Roy looked around to see if anyone was listening before he whispered, “Personally, I never believed it, I thought he was too stubborn to die a second time.”

Jason sighed, resigned to his fate, “Been a while, Roy.”

“So it really is you, what are you doing here?” Roy ran up and enveloped his friend in a hug.

Jason hugged back a little reluctantly, he wasn’t too happy about an aspect of his past reemerging. But, in the case of Roy, he was willing to make an exception.

Sabine gasped when she came back and saw them, “Two old friends meeting again, how lovely. How did you two meet by the way?” she asked.

“Dude, what’s your cover story?” Roy whispered.

“Um, our families were close,” Jason quickly answered Sabine.

“Jason, go take your break, it's fine. Catch up with your friend.” Sabine shooed the two out of the bakery.

Jason and Roy walked into a quiet alley near the bakery to talk, “So, you became a baker?” Roy said as he tried to hold back his laughter.

“Mhmm, I’ve left all of ‘that’ behind. I got married and settled down, I have a daughter too,” Jason admitted.

“Ah, so who’s the lucky lady?” Roy winked, unaware of the fact that he literally summed up his wife in two words.

“My wife’s family owns the place, that tiny old lady you saw a moment ago is my mother-in-law,” Jason told him.

“Do they know?” Roy asked, “About literally anything that happened in your past?”

“Only my wife knows, and no one else. Red Hood has no place here, and I intend to keep it that way. I’m not raising my daughter to fight supervillains,” he doesn’t know what he would do if something bad were to happen to Emma and his veins burned with rage at the thought. Marinette could hold her own, but neither of them planned on passing the torch to Emma.

“Fair enough,” Roy said.

Jason exhaled, “I’m trying to lay low, I guess you could say I took this chance to start over. I don’t want word getting out, especially to Bruce,” he explained “I sure as hell don’t want them to become a target either.”

“Hey, what do you take me for? Some loud blabbermouth?” Roy put his hand to his chest in a show of being hurt.

“Yes,” Jason responded bluntly, and there were too many people close to Roy with the power to go rooting around in people’s minds.

“Ouch, fine point taken. I won’t tell anyone, you have my word.” Roy raised his fist towards Jason, he responded by bumping his fist.

Jason smiled as he reminisced of his chance encounter with Roy all those years ago. Ever since then him and Lian would occasionally stop by the bakery whenever they were in Paris. Over the years, Roy had become more and more busy, either fighting crime in Star City or helping rear a new generation of heroes in Jump City.

“The kids and I are going for a quick walk in the park,” Marinette announced as she walked down the stairs, stroller in hand and their following behind her.

“Alright take care,” Jason said.

That afternoon in Paris, Terry McGinnis stepped out of the taxi into the heart of the city. He gaped at the beautiful sights, the Haussmann Architecture of the surrounding buildings. “Wow, so this is Paris, it's just like the post cards.”

“Stay focused, Kid,” Bruce said over the headset, “You’re looking for the ‘Guardian’, and our only lead is Ladybug.”

#jasonette july #jasonette july 2022 #jasonette #maribat #ml x dc #dc x ml

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