#anyways i just need one where marinette comes out her trap door while adrien is transforming ok

[ladyofthenoodle]

PATIENTLY waiting for the what if reveal fics from these two episodes. please someone feed me.

[miraculouscontent]

“Sentibubbler” summary? “Sentibubbler” salt?

Why not both at the same time?

Something a little experimental, though also somewhat reminiscent of some of my past videos. Calling it “summasalt” for now, based on the word “somersault” because this episode was an exercise of my patience.

It’s basically just me going through the episode with my usual episode summary, but salting along the way instead of making you guys read a wall of text without any images or clips or me making snarky comments.

(By the way, yes, I did in fact have caffeine before recording.)

script below for anyone who wants/needs it:

"Sentibubbler" begins with Marinette having food with the Cesaires and I already know this isn't real because Marinette is actually getting to interact with her best friend's family. That's only happened, like--when, two episodes of Season 2? [”Sapotis” and “Anansi”]

Marinette sees Trixx and points out how they're supposed to be a secret, and Alya asks why while calling Marinette "Ladybug." Marinette plays dumb but is told by Nino that everyone already knows her secret. Chloe is also there, chiding Marinette for her identity rule - it's not Marinette's rule but after "Reflekdoll" I've just gotten used to Marinette being blamed for things she didn't do - and Marinette goes to question Chloe's apperance when there's a knock on the balcony door. Alya invites Shadow Moth in and--[Shadow Moth has to duck to come inside]--huh, I thought Sole Crusher was seven episodes ago.

Anyway, now obviously, Marinette is just being ridiculous and overemotional as usual, because why would Marinette ever think that Alya would reveal any information to--["Feast"]--oh yeah, that's right.

Tikki doesn't transform Marinette and says that Marinette shouldn't have trusted Alya with her secret. Enter Chat Blanc, who says that they can be together now without any secrets. Not really sure what this episode is aiming for with the mixed message of "your identity rule sucks" but also "your fault for trusting someone instead of having a mental breakdown," but a’ight. Trixx also gets another dig in on Marinette for giving Alya the fox miraculous.

Marinette wakes up from her nightmare and panics, but Tikki reassures her that Alya is loyal. [”Chameleon”] Mm. Also, that kind of support might've been nice from Tikki literal seasons ago when Marinette could've used a confidant.

Wayzz - I swear, they've had eyelashes more often than not in this season - points out that Trixx is mischievous and Xuppu talks about Trixx being the cause of the Loch Ness monster rumors, which worries Marinette further. Marinette runs out in her pajamas and I can already predict that neither Tom nor Sabine are going to check on her later or care.

Marinette finds the Cesaires looking for something, their words vague enough for Marinette to think that they're talking about Trixx. Alya brushes Marinette off and tells her to help with looking instead of lecturing her.

Marlena makes a comment that reminds Marinette of her nightmare, only increasing Marinette's stress. A tarantula crawls up a ladle and Marinette freaks out when she sees it, which Marlena has a laugh at because Marinette's anxiety, fear, and panic is hilarious, guys!

This is my laughing face. [not a laughing face]

Nino exits, having been too afraid of the spider to leave the room, so Nora compares Marinette to him. Nino tries to play it cool, then changes the subject to point out Marinette's pajamas. Alya wonders aloud why Marinette showed up and Marinette tries to act casual, but Alya sees through it and states that she doesn't usually lose things when someone lends them to her.

I presume the exception is Marinette's trust. OH-HOOOOHHH, we'll get there.

Nora takes a jab at Alya for losing the spider and Marinette drags Alya away to talk. Nino tries to join but Alya states that it's between her and Marinette, which makes Nino sad.

Nino, does the phrase "guys' time" ring a bell by any chance?

Marinette is explaining her nightmare and is simply told to calm down by Alya, though Marinette is briefly startled by a phone ringing. Marinette puts together what she knows that Shadow Moth knows, including that Alya is Rena Rouge, adding on that Shadow Moth could steal the fox necklace if he figured out that Alya has it permanently. Alya reassures her that no one will ever know and Marinette states that this must include Chat Noir. Alya agrees and brings attention to the fanny pack around her waist, which Trixx has been hiding in, and Marinette has Trixx promise not to show up at the dining table like in her nightmare. Tikki tells Marinette that everything will be fine and Marinette admits that it was silly of her to worry, which it was! ...If you ignore all the anxiety, mental scarring, and constant pressure to be perfect or risk Paris lighting itself on fire, much like I presume they accidentally did with their original script for this episode.

Alya tells Marinette to trust her and also herself - I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Alya, thank you - then Alya loses her temper at the phone continuing to ring. She leaves to find an empty living room, then answers the phone only to hear Shadow Moth on the other line. Alya turns upon hearing Marinette scream to see that Marinette has been trapped in a bubble. Cue the reveal/return of the Bubbler, who is definitely Nino akumatized and not--like--a sentimonster, because the episode didn't spoil it at all with the title of Sentibub--

show, this is freaking embarrassing. Why even bother akumatizing someone when you can mold a sentimonster with the exact power you want?

At least they reveal it quickly, though that also means I have to live with the knowledge that Shadow Moth wINKED AT ALYA, NO.

Anyway, Shadow Moth tells Alya that he wants her to betray Ladybug. Marinette, meanwhile, is panicking over being unable to transform while in public, whereas Tikki remains calm and reassures her that Alya will figure something out and it's why Marinette gave Alya the fox miraculous in the first place.

Weird, I thought it was for the show to continuously validate Alya as a worthy choice for a confidant despite repeatedly covering up her sINS and so the show can push for more anxiety on Marinette's part while simultaneously not having to make a new hero model for Alya, which they would have to do if the realistic decision had been made to give Alya a different miraculous due to Shadow Moth knowing her identity as Rena Rouge.

Marinette texts Alya to inform her that the Bubbler is a sentimonster and so Rena can tell Chat not to use Cataclysm on him or the bubbles will burst due to the sentimonster's lack of control.

Hate to burst the show's bubble but Alya could literally see Nino up in the sky and they could see her; the bubbles are in viewing range. Did this even go through a quality check?

Alya goes to look at Marinette's text, but the phone is bubbled away by Sentibubbler. Marinette sees the phone floating by and panics, only to be reassured again to trust Alya and at this point I vaguely wondered if I was watching this episode on repeat. Tikki also adds that Alya has never let her down - [”Ladybug”] MMMM - and Marinette agrees, also certain that Chat Noir will show up soon.

Oh yeah, he exists. Oh no.

Cut to the Agreste mansion where Adrien is watching the news - dude, how is there never anything better on when you need to be told that there's an akuma? here, look, I'll show you [”Silencer” Lukabug clip] there, much better, see? - and it's pointed out that the bubbles are identical to the ones Bubbler had, yet Nino is in one of the bubbles. Adrien readies himself while Plagg is - for once - okay with leaving since his cheese isn't "edible" yet.

I feel like he should be a little more concerned about Marinette being in a bubble.

Meanwhile, Shadow Moth is explaining to Alya that Ladybug will come to give her the fox miraculous due to the bubbled people in the sky - plenty of other choices that aren't within breathing range of the obvious danger zone, but a'ight - and SentiBubbler will catch Ladybug. Alya brings up Chat Noir saving her but Shadow Moth states that she'll create an illusion of Ladybug and Rena to lure Chat Noir, who won't see Sentibubbler coming, at which point Rena will hand Shadow Moth her miraculous. He adds that her loved ones will only be returned once all three miraculouses are in his possession, though if she tries to warn the heroes then Sentibubbler will send the bubbles into space, too far for any hero to save them.

[clip of space power-ups] Hm.

Also, I would've just let her keep the miraculous as an extra bribe since he doesn't need the fox and she wouldn't have time to recharge anyway - at least to his knowledge - but that's just me.

Marinette is relieved that Alya still hasn't been captured--TIKKI, I KNOW, YOU'VE BEEN PARROTING THIS ALL EPISODE, I KNOW--but Marinette changes her tune when she sees Alya blindly calling out for Ladybug's help, unaware that Alya is buying time. Marinette laments the idea of transforming there and having using the rabbit to go back in time to reverse, as that's never a good thing (seconded), but gets the idea for Tikki to take her miraculous to someone else. Tikki rejects the idea, as the earrings won't go through the bubble, and Marinette realizes that Chat Noir is their only hope.

I mean, it was nice knowing them. Sure is interesting how Marinette has only been getting herself into these situations where she requires saving when the show needed to present Alya as a valid choice for a confidant.

Meanwhile, Chat Noir is leaving a message for Ladybug about the bubbles in the sky, saying that he'll wait for her; I already see where this is going and I don't like it.

Alya mutters to Trixx about how they need a plan to release Marinette. Through Alya Vision, we're shown Sentibubbler, a bowl of fruit, and the bathroom door. Alya tells Sentibubbler that she needs to go to the bathroom and - wow, we're really doing this, aren't we? - which Shadow Moth rejects. Shadow Moth is also on top of a building holding a coffee cup which honestly makes about as much sense as the rest of the episode, so whatever. Alya claims that she can't wait and that it'll be awkward for Ladybug to find her like that, which gets Shadow Moth to relent but also remind her of what's at stake if she tries anything. Alya states that she can't do anything without a miraculous anyway, then purposefully falls onto the table, concealing her long enough for her to transform and allowing an illusion of herself to go to the bathroom while she escapes. She detransforms in the twins' room and feeds Trixx with some grapes that she'd picked up.

Alya explains her plan to trick Shadow Moth and Sentibubbler since they don't know that she has a miraculous, though she also has to make sure that Chat won't ruin things. Rena then proceeds to call Chat Noir and claim that Ladybug wanted her to call him with her plan, but adds that it's a two-person plan and Chat himself isn't needed, so he needs to wait for further instructions. Chat demands that Ladybug call him to tell him herself, but Rena insists that she can't, as Ladybug is very busy. She warns him not to use Cataclysm if he sees the Bubbler, as he's a sentimonster, then promises to talk to him later before hanging up.

She uses Mirage again, making the Alya illusion reappear as well as creating a Ladybug. Chat Noir, infuriated at being left out, destroys part of a building with his baton. He then dismisses the action because Miraculous Ladybug will fix it.

Spoiler alert, it will, which is a very fascinating detail! I mean, I can't imagine another situation where a hero did something while there was an akuma going around and Miraculous Ladybug decided to help 'em out, but it just goes to show what happens when you're the writers' pet. Just look a little pitiful and they'll give you all the sympathy in the world.

By the way, didn't expect them to actually confirm my theory that Chat Noir does Chat Noir things because he knows that Miraculous Ladybug will fix it anyway, essentially allowing him to earn brownie points from Ladybug via sacrificing himself regardless of how it affects her mentally, yet here we are and I don't know whether to be sad, angry, disappointed, or a mixture of all three.

Chat Noir sees the Ladybug illusion jumping off and gives chase, refuses to stay where he is. Marinette, seeing that Rena Rouge's illusions are active, panics at the sight of Chat Noir, as the illusion will vanish if Chat touches it.

I like to imagine the immediate concern is the idea that Chat Noir will try to take Ladybug's hand while trying to flirt.

Anyway, Marinette flails inside the bubble in an attempt to reach Chat Noir, while illusion Alya and SentiBubbler get into position. Chat Noir watches what he perceives as Ladybug heading into the Cesaire house with Alya, but Marinette gets to him in order to tell him not to go anywhere. Chat complains about everyone telling him to stay put, but Marinette explains Rena's plan to him. Chat is skeptical of how she knows that, to which Marinette insists that she saw it from where she was. Chat Noir relents with a sigh and stays where he is.

SentiBubbler watches as the illusion of Alya and Ladybug talk to each other, Rena making it look like Ladybug is piecing together what happened and refusing to give Alya a miraculous ever again due to Shadow Moth knowing her identity. She claims that she'll find another holder and give them an even more powerful miraculous, which interests Shadow Moth and gets him to follow after the Ladybug illusion. Once Sentibubbler leaves as well, Chat sees this as his chance to stop the sentimonster, as the Ladybug illusion will vanish if it's touched. Marinette strokes his ego for the token love square moment of the episode, and Chat Noir fights SentiBubbler while Shadow Moth goes after the Ladybug illusion.

I'm noticing a real lack of tension in this episode. Once Alya has her plan, it's kind of a clean sweep from start to finish with no interference or unexpected roadblocks in the way. Even Shadow Moth following the Ladybug illusion goes fine, with Shadow Moth even punching a building thinking that Ladybug actually got away from him.

Dude, it's fine, Miraculous Ladybug will fix it, just put on your best sad face. Maybe Chat Noir gets it from you actually, is treatment from the writers a hereditary thing?

Sentibubbler and Chat Noir are still fighting. Shadow Moth shows up and Marinette tries to warn Chat, but Chat gets caught in a bubble and Marinette apologizes; she doesn't have anything to apologize for but after "Reflekdoll" I--wait I already did this.

Chat Noir uses Cataclysm to escape, only to get caught in another bubble. I'd just like to throw out there that this guy's a hero three seasons going and the love interest for the main character, yet his role in the episode has amounted to complaining about the authority of a hero Ladybug chose, throwing a property-destroying tantrum over being excluded, and wasting his power without a single thought which just got him captured again.

Chat, does the name "Syren" ring any bells by any chance? I'm just sayin', you could always quit. In fact, wasn't it you literally one episode ago saying that you understood if Ladybug couldn't always come get you? Then, after seeing the jump from "Glaciator" to "Frozer," I'm about as shocked as rubber.

Back with the competent one, Alya notes to Trixx that Rena Rouge can no longer be seen by Shadow Moth or else the jig is up. She transforms and texts Marinette to be ready, creating an illusion of Marinette that simultaneously hides the real version, allowing her to transform into Ladybug.

Chat Noir's bubble gets dragged down and Shadow Moth gets SentiBubbler to mute Chat Noir's bubble.

[clip from “Silencer” where Ladybug takes amusement in Chat being muted]

Ladybug uses Lucky Charm and receives a pot, her Lucky Vision spotting Shadow Moth's coffee cup, then SentiBubbler, then the tarantula trapped in a bubble. Ladybug deduces that the cup is the sentimonster's object, then pulls the horse miraculous out of her yoyo and unifies it with the ladybug--oh.

Oh my.

You know, it's times like this where I'm reminded that the show knows nothing about fashion... or girls... or good writing actually--there's just a lot of stuff they don't know.

Sentibubbler does a countdown, then starts sending the civilian bubbles up into the sky. Chat Noir is about to de-transform while PegaBug notices of Shadow Moth's two miraculous, up for grabbin'. She notes that she won't be able to catch everyone, so she forms a portal behind Shadow Moth and goes for the coffee cup first, thus putting her in control of SentiBubbler, who happily brings the bubbles back down at her command.

Shadow Moth erases SentiBubbler from existence though, causing everyone to fall, but Chat and PegaBug manage to catch them. PegaBug de-transforms and presents the Cesaires with the tarantula, which had been trapped inside the lucky charm. Ladybug and Chat Noir watch Shadow Moth escape and Ladybug laments that it could've been the end of Shadow Moth once and for all because it's not a Miraculous episode without Marinette being at fault or feeling guilty in some way! Chat Noir reassures her [*by “reassure,” I mean he might as well have said, “Well, you saved ME, so you did great!”] - wow, that's two token love square moments for the price of one episode, don't I feel spoiled - and Ladybug leaves to retrieve the tarantula's tank.

Rena Rouge is waiting for her and they hug, with Rena repeating that she doesn't lose something that someone gives her. Ladybug states that she never should've doubted the idea of giving Alya a miraculous and Imma just give you guys a counter real quick. [counter that shows that Tikki has complimented Alya four times, Alya has complimented herself/told Marinette to trust her thrice, and Marinette has said that she was wrong thrice]. Miraculous Ladybug is cast and everything returns to normal, with Alya explaining what she did and Marinette being relieved that Shadow Moth won't be going after her anymore. Alya confidently asks if she was smart and Marinette is happy to praise her, confirming it and stating that Alya is a real superhero and honestly? If the narrative wanted to marry Alya this badly, they should've just used some of the budget to buy a ring instead of projecting onto the other characters.

Then again, the apparent budget can't even afford a new hero model nor new akuma to a very noticeable degree, so I guess they're taking what they can get.

Alya praises Marinette as well for her work as PegaBug and they do a fistbump, thus ending the episode. There's also this ever-so-lovely post-episode scene with Gabriel and Nathalie where Gabriel laments the fact that Ladybug never makes mistakes which--I... has he even watched the series at all? Gabe, babe, Babriel Agreste, it's literally part of the show's formula that Marinette makes a mistake in every episode and she felt guilty like a minute ago over not yoinking your miraculouses when she had the chance, where have you been?

But, yeah, anyway, the episode.

Needless to say, not a fan. Like I said, the show seems so intent on immediately validating the choices they make with Alya in order to make her look like a better character. "Gang of Secrets" basically replaced her with someone different at the end of the episode, and the episode immediately afterwards in chronological order, "Mr. Pigeon 72," did everything it could to push Marinette out of her guardian position long enough for Alya to figure out the grimoire despite having zero onscreen experience with it, the episode even trapping Ladybug in a situation that forced Rena Rouge to come into play to validate that decision as well.

And now we have "SentiBubbler" here following immediately after "Optigami," desperate to reassure its audience that Alya is cool, smart, truthworthy, and that not needing to make a new model--sorry, I mean Alya continuing to have the fox--was a good decision. All the while, they continue pushing Alya's flaws under the rug [Note that it’s not even considered that Alya is even remotely at fault for Shadow Moth going after her specifically after her stunt in “Optigami” when no one else but Ladybug and Chat have ever given out a miraculous], hiding them instead of Alya actually acknowledging them, the only reason she did so in "Optigami" being the same as in "Gang of Secrets"; to make her look good while Marinette makes a big decision in their relationship.

The episode tries so hard to drill in this idea that Alya is a good friend who can be trusted, and I'm just not here for how much they try to hammer it in. Marinette's very real anxiety over Shadow Moth's power and ability to plan things is played off as her being silly instead of something to be concerned about, and instead of giving her a hug and trying to help her calm down - [clip from “Heart Hunter” of Luka hugging Marinette] I miss Luka - she's just told to trust and believe and hAVE fAiTh in Alya.

Shadow Moth is an adult; he has abilities that the teenage heroes don't. I'm not even saying that Marinette isn't overreacting [Basically, her concern about Shadow Moth is valid, especially after “Optigami” where her identity was almost found out], but she has anxiety and some obvious trauma over "Chat Blanc." I was already upset that Alya got a free pass to Marinette's identity, but the constant stressing over how much Marinette should trust her just doesn't affect me when I know Alya and I know the kind of stuff she's done that the show blatantly ignored in favor of pushing for her.

But okay, show, I'll give Alya the benefit of the doubt that she doesn't deserve. Let's say that she's turned a new leaf, and has become the reliable, trustworthy, and loyal partner that Marinette deserves. I'm sure that Alya has Marinette's back, and will never go behind said back in order to do something completely unsurprising and wholly indicative of the character I actually know her to be.

Especially not a mere three episodes later...

[mc-lukanette]

*crawls over completely exhausted* No Canon Lukanette... Need fluff... maybe salt too...

Luka gave Marinette's parents a smile as he waited for Marinette to come downstairs, though to say he was concerned was an understatement. He and Marinette hadn't been dating for long, but he knew something was wrong due to her song singing even more stress-filled notes than usual. He wanted to talk to her about it, but also wanted her to open up to him herself when she was ready.

Wanting to focus on smiling for her when she came down, Luka shook off the thought and stared up at Marinette's trap door. Seeing that she hadn't come down yet - understandable given that she had no idea he was there - he pulled out his phone and navigated to her contact. However, just before he could tap on it, there was an abrupt, loud, and unusual noise coming from Marinette's room, followed by the sound of Marinette yelping and presumably hitting the floor.

Luka gasped. “Marinette!”

Not even thinking, he hurried upstairs, phone clutched tightly in his hand as he pushed the trap door up and let himself in.

Over a dozen tiny kwami were speeding around her room, each with distinct voices and one of whom he recognized as Sass. He'd initially thought that the Liberty was chaos, and it was, but there was something different about fifteen little melodies all moving around simultaneously and wreaking havoc. They hadn't even seemed to notice that he was there.

There was also a ladybug-patterned ellipsoid lying on the table in the middle of it all, though Luka's eyes fixated mostly on Marinette lying there on the floor, now staring at him with wide eyes as he took in the whole situation.

"L-luka!" she greeted, voice forced. "W-what a surprise! I mean, you must be surprised at my toy collection! See, there's—there’s this magnetism thing going on that lets them seem like they're flying and—"

She was cut off as one of the kwami accidentally dropped something to the floor, making her flinch from the loud noise. Even the sound all around the room was overwhelming, the little beings ignoring Marinette’s panic in favor of playing with her things.

That's when the tears started, subtly at first until Marinette let out a whimper.

Ignoring all the revelations he just went through, Luka hurried to Marinette's side, helping her up and checking her for injuries. "Marinette, are you okay—"

"You know!" she cut in, running her fingers anxiously through her hair. "You're not supposed to know!"

He took a breath, recognizing that he was going to have to deal with these revelations now. "It's okay. I promise, I'd never—"

"No, it's not okay!" she argued, throwing her hands out. "I've been guardian for just a few days and this—this isn't—! I already—and now the kwami are out—!" She slumped and dropped her gaze to the floor, ashamed. "I'm a bad guardian. I'm a bad girlfriend. I couldn't protect you from knowing!"

"Marinette, you're not a bad girlfriend. You—" He paused, something occurring to him. "Protect me...?"

He hadn't been Viperion for long, but Luka remembered the importance given to secret identities. He understood that it was a form of protecting oneself and one's loved ones, meaning that a permanent hero like Ladybug needed to keep hers a secret the most.

"Is..." His stomach twisted in knots as he remembered all the dates she'd had to either miss or postpone. He bent down, trying to look at her face, and when he still couldn't, he gently cupped her face and encouraged her to make eye contact with him. "Is that why—"

"Yes! That's why I have to keep cutting our dates short, and not being there for you, and not going on patrols with Chat, and why I haven't had time to take those stupid Adrien pictures down! I can't do anything right!"

At some point, the volume of her voice had finally drawn the attention of the kwami, who all stared at her like children watching their parent having a breakdown and feeling awkward about it. Luka paid them no mind, his heart breaking as he processed all the information Marinette was telling him while all he could do was pull her into a hug and just hold her.

"I'm sorry I found out like this," he admitted, running his hand up and down along her back. "I'm glad that I know but I would've wanted you to share that secret with me instead."

"I-I'm sor—"

"Please don't apologize, Marinette," he gently begged. "I hate hearing songs with meanings I don't agree with. You don't have anything to feel sorry for. If I had the ladybug earrings instead, I would've had to do the same thing as you, and you wouldn't have asked me to apologize, would you?"

She looked up at him, expression pained and full of so many burdens that he couldn't believe he hadn't seen before. He brushed her fringe aside and rested his palm against her forehead, concerned about how pale she seemed and worried that she'd stress herself to a cold.

She leaned into his touch, then further until he was forced to move his hand away. She buried her face in his chest, surprising him as she hugged him tightly. Her song turned from the harsh wail of an electric guitar to the mellow tones of an acoustic, and he sighed in a mixture of relief and happiness.

"...Luka," she murmured, lightly clutching whatever fabric she could reach. "The movie. We'll miss it at this rate."

He hummed, half in response to what she said and half in content. "You're so much more important than the movie."

His heart skipped a beat when she actually giggled, her grip on him loosening and the hug turning to something she did because she wanted to, not for comfort. "More important than Jagged Stone?"

He chuckled, burying his face into her hair as he returned the hug. "Always. Even my idol can't compete with my muse."

She leaned further into him, her melody picking up hints off a bell chiming happily. She almost knocked him over from how much of her weight she was putting on him, but he didn't protest and even enjoyed it; it meant she was trusting him with her secrets instead of shouldering the weight herself.

"I know I couldn't have known," he began, "but I'm sorry that our dates took up your time. I never wanted to cause you any stress."

"But I wanted to!" she insisted, jolting up to look at him. "It's just—it's been a lot, and—"

He placed two fingers against her lips before she could start rambling. "Marinette, I don't need to go on normal dates to have fun with you."

She blinked, waiting for him to move his fingers before asking, "Y-you don't?"

He smiled. "Of course not. I can hang out here while you work, while you do important stuff."

With a small, amused snort, she pulled away from him and wiped any stray tears away. "You're 'important stuff.'"

He grinned like the love-struck fool that he was, then shrugged. "Well, I'll still be here anyway then, right?"

"That's true." She paused, glancing off to the side in consideration, then looked back at him as she asked, "in that case... would you help me with something?"

"Anything," he answered immediately.

She pointed, his gaze drawn to her wall full of Adrien pictures. "Like I said, I haven't had the time, and... I've been wanting to remodel forever."

He was more than happy to help, and there was a selfish part of him that considered it far better than any movie they could've seen.

—————

It took a bit more time than either of them anticipated to take down all of the images, but between the two of them, it wasn't a hard job. The biggest time-waster during the whole thing was Marinette's rambling, but Luka welcomed it wholeheartedly.

Due to not watching much TV, he honestly hadn't heard about what'd happened when Jagged Stone had been at the bakery and the camera crew had invaded Marinette's privacy, and he couldn't believe how much mental stress she must've gone through. After all, even though he and Juleka shared a room, there was still a divider for when they needed their privacy, so he wasn't unaware about how personal it was to have one's room recorded without their consent, even if nothing embarrassing got caught on camera.

It seemed cruel to know that Paris' supposedly lucky superhero was perhaps one of the unluckiest people he'd ever known.

Almost on cue, just when the last picture was down and Marinette was debating on what to do with them, her phone went off with a ringtone that sounded very much like danger. Looking over, there was a butterfly symbol flashing on the screen and Marinette's expression faltered at the sight of it.

"Akuma alert," she said flatly, with a pout that would've been cute had he not known what it meant. She hesitated, eyes flicking from him to her phone. "Um... look, I... I have to—"

"Go," he interrupted with a reassuring smile. "I'm not going anywhere, and I'll be here when you're done."

"But—" She frowned and glared at her phone, clearly knowing that she had to leave but not wanting to.

"I mean it, Marinette. It's okay."

She looked at him like she'd never heard those words from anyone else before, eyes vulnerable but fond. She gave him a nod, a brief smile flickering across her face before she turned away and rushed to the stairs. She shouted for her transformation on the way out and Luka watched as her clothes shifted into her ladybug-patterned bodysuit.

When she was completely gone, Luka felt a sudden unsteadiness and leaned against the table for support. It wasn't that he was shocked exactly to hear that Marinette was Ladybug, but he was still overloaded nonetheless.

As his hand rested on the table, he felt the heel of his palm brush something and looked down to see the pile of Adrien pictures next to him. It sent another rush through his body at the reminder that she'd asked him to help her take them down. He was dating her, sure, but he wasn't foolish enough to think that there were no lingering feelings for Adrien. He knew where she stood and he was okay letting her test the waters with him, as she did have feelings for him and who was he to complain if his crush wanted to date him? Besides, he couldn't help wanting to see if maybe it would truly make their bond stronger.

Looking at the wall now, clear of anything but the pink paint, he knew this was real and ended up wishing he'd brought his guitar.

Then, remembering the akuma alert on Marinette's phone, Luka pulled out his own and began to search, eventually finding what she already had: a direct link to watch streams and updates on whatever akuma or sentimonster shenanigans were going on. He knew well enough that he would only give himself anxiety from it, but he wanted to watch his girlfriend in action as a form of support.

Gosh, Ladybug was his girlfriend.

He took a deep breath to steady himself as he watched the footage, his eyes locked to the screen and only shifting when he felt various figures drawing close. He looked up to see that the kwami had all gathered around him, watching the screen closely.

"So..." the pig-looking kwami began, fiddling with their own paws like they knew they were being awkward. "Have you ever wanted to be a hero?"

There was a hiss off to the side, Sass cutting in with, "He already has me."

Luka wasn't feeling up to smile at that, debating with himself before sighing. "Marinette works really hard, and her song is full of sour notes right now," he said. Stepping away and heading for the chaise lounge, he sat down and added, "I hope you can figure out how to rewrite them."

The kwami all exchanged looks, some confused by the metaphor and others who perhaps understood but didn't know how to follow up on it. Luka didn't give them his attention, focusing on the akuma battle playing on his phone.

As he'd expected, it made him a little nervous actually seeing Ladybug in action due to now knowing it was his girlfriend fighting out there. He believed in her abilities and mentally cheered her on, but he just kept remembering all the akuma he'd known about and how stressful it had to have been.

Off to the side, some of the kwami joined forces to help pick up some of the items they'd previously dropped on the floor. It was only after Marinette's room looked as it did before that they properly joined Luka to watch the battle with him.

It was a start.

—————

The battle between Ladybug and the akuma (and Chat Noir was there he supposed) seemed to be getting into its final verse when Luka heard the sound of the trap door being grabbed and clicked open, making him jump. He was only able to whisper a, "Hide," so the kwami could act before Sabine peered inside the room and took a curious look around.

Apparently, they all thought that huddling against his back was a great hiding spot, and he could only smile sheepishly at Sabine while attempting to ignore the weird feeling.

"You're still here?" Sabine asked. "I thought you were going somewhere, and..." She raised a brow, looking around once more. "Where's Marinette?"

"Ah," Luka began, his mind rushing for an excuse, "we actually decided to have our date here instead. Marinette just went up to her balcony to grab something."

It didn't feel good to lie, though he also felt a sense of accomplishment in protecting Marinette's secret. Was this what Marinette dealt with all the time; having to lie to people even if she didn't want to?

Sabine glanced up briefly to where the balcony was, then back to him, slightly confused but rolling with it. "Alright. Do you two need anything?"

"No, ma'am. Thank you though," he replied, hoping it didn't sound forced.

Thankfully, Sabine nodded and left without asking any further questions, the kwami emerging and clinging to Luka while they peered at the now-closed trap door. Luka breathed a sigh of relief, then went back to watching the akuma battle on his phone.

The rest of the fight took a couple minutes, and all that was left to do afterward was wait for Ladybug to return. Once again, Luka wished he had his guitar, making a mental note to get all of his feelings out when he got home, as typical music apps just didn't do anything for him.

An expected "thump" eventually came from the balcony, and the kwami drifting away from Luka as Ladybug descended and landed on her bed. She saw Luka staring at her and initially flinched, but it was clearly a reflex from people seeing her as Ladybug where she shouldn't be, and she hurried down to meet with him afterward. Luka hopped to his feet, not hesitating to meet her halfway and envelop her in a hug, earning a squeak out of her.

"L-luka?"

"Sorry," he murmured. "Just... I got to think about everything you must've gone through without m—" He choked off, suddenly embarrassed, then corrected, "—someone to help you."

She blinked, then giggled and hugged him back. "You're my boyfriend. You're apologizing for hugging me and being worried about sounding selfish?" She nestled her face against his shoulder and he blushed at how warm she was. "Don't. I like it when you're a little selfish, Luka. It grounds me; makes me feel like you're not totally out of my league."

Luka scoffed, nuzzling his head against hers. "You're in a league all your own. I'm literally dating a superhero."

"Trust me, it's not as cool as it sounds."

"I disagree. I think you're really cool."

She blushed profusely. "H-hey..."

He chuckled. "By the way, your mom came to check up on us."

Ladybug gasped, then pulled back, eyes wide and concerned. She was clearly about to apologize, so he cut her off before she could.

"I told her that we were having our date here and that you were getting something from the balcony. Everything's alright."

Her shoulders eased. She let out a sigh of relief as her head fell back against his shoulder. "Thank you."

He hummed contently, resting his hand along her back and keeping it there. Then, realizing when Sabine came up earlier and might do it again, he reminded her, "You're still Ladybug."

"Huh? ...Oh!" she said, though with less panic than normal and unwilling to recoil from the happy spot she was in.

He heard the whisper of her de-transformation phrase and winced as the light engulfed her, slowly turning her back into Marinette. He felt the spandex under his hand turn into fabric and Marinette's breath against his skin as she exhaled.

A kwami that Luka deduced was Marinette's flew a small distance away, eyeing Luka warily and semi-critically. Luka didn't blame her - he wasn't supposed to know - but he also knew that it was far too late to change anything now, and there was no way he was going to abandon Marinette or pretend he knew nothing. He imagined that the kwami knew that too.

"...I'm Tikki," the kwami greeted finally. "It's nice to meet you officially, Luka."

Luka gave her a nod in return, then stiffened somewhat as Marinette squeezed him tighter, burying her face further against him like she truly cherished him.

"It's still a lot," she whispered. "Is it okay if you hug me a little longer?"

"Of course." Though, he paused for a moment before adding, "Would it be more comfortable for you if we move to your chaise?"

"Hm?" She pulled away just enough to look down and realize that they were still awkwardly standing at the bottom of the steps to her bed. "Oh! Yeah, I mean—I didn't even—"

"Hey." He tenderly cupped her cheek, offering a smile. "I didn't complain, did I?"

She looked briefly surprised, making him wonder just how much she'd had to apologize in the past. They slowly made their way over to the chaise lounge, Luka settling down and opening his arms for her so she could settle onto his lap and snuggle against him. He leaned back against the chaise, throwing his legs across the length of it, then wrapped an arm around Marinette to make her feel secure.

"This is nice. It's... um—" She peeked up at him, then grinned shyly. "—melodic? Is that what you'd call it?"

He couldn't stop himself from snorting.

Marinette blushed in embarrassment. "H-hey! I'm trying, okay?"

"I know." He took a strand of her hair in his hand and stroked it. "You always try, and I love that about you."

She let out a series of whines at that, but doesn't protest the compliment either. She nestled against his chest, keeping her face turned away enough to still talk to him without her voice being muffled.

"I just... want to know more about you, Luka," she told him. "You're so sweet and I felt awful having to ditch you. Didn't it bother you?"

He gave a one-armed shrug. "You were busy. I unders—"

"Luka."

He stopped, meeting her firm gaze and knowing that he wasn't getting out of this easily. He sighed, admitting, "...Yeah, it bothered me, but it wasn't because of you or that I didn't trust you. I... see—my dad..." He rubbed the back of his neck, realizing that he'd never told anyone this story before. "I never knew who he was. I asked my mom so many times, but she never gave me an answer. Whenever you had to leave and lie to me, I..."

"Oh." She raised herself up more to meet him closer to eye level. "I'm so sorry—wait—sorry, you told me not to apologize—Sorry! I did it agai—ACK!"

He laughed, feeling warm and delighted by how much she cared about him and wanted him to feel secure in their relationship. He squeezed her shoulder in reassurance, wanting to nuzzle her for how cute she was being and just barely able to hold himself back.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you were looking out for me, but you deserve someone to look out for you too."

She pouted a bit at the heartfelt comment, then smiled and raised her hand to settle on his along her shoulder.

He hummed, pausing purposefully for effect before asking, "...So, what does the great guardian Marinette want to do now?"

"Oh my gosh, Luka."

He grinned, happy to compliment her until she was completely red. "How about the brave and heroic Ladybug then?"

"Luka."

He reached up to caress her cheek with his thumb. "But, if you ask me, I like the kind, sincere civilian Marinette best."

"LUKA!"

—————

The rest of their "date" passed by smoothly, Marinette's parents having left them alone so as to not interrupt anything. Marinette had idly brought up the idea that the movie might still be playing - just at a different time than they planned on going - but Luka brushed off the idea and insisted that he was happy there and didn't need to go on a "real" date with her to have fun, opting to leave it up to her.

And... yeah, neither of them were willing to leave their current position and exchange it for having to sit in different seats at a theater with other people around. They opted to just stare at the ceiling and talk, the kwami having respectfully retreated to Marinette's bed to give them privacy.

Talks of their past meetings and when she left to become Ladybug soon turned into a game of finishing Jagged Stone lyrics. Luka, either by being the bigger fan or just having an easier time remembering them, ended up winning in the end, though he couldn't have expected Marinette to follow up by immediately leaving his lap. He'd held back a whine at the sudden lack of warmth and wondered if maybe she'd been teasing him with some sort of punishment by going away.

But then she'd returned with a tiny pink gift box, and inside was a guitar pick necklace signed by Jagged Stone himself.

"He came into the bakery the other day and I had him sign it for you," she explained. Taking it out to fully present it to him, she asked, "Do...do you like it?"

"I love it, Marinette," he replied immediately, reaching out to feel the guitar pick and properly appreciate it. "I can have this?"

She smiled in response, holding the necklace out in a gesture that made his heart skip a beat, realizing that she was offering to put it on him herself. He leaned close, feeling the light brush of her fingers against his neck as she slipped it onto him. He silently hoped that it was durable because he was absolutely never taking it off.

Marinette's hands lingered on the string even when the necklace was fully on, Luka meeting her gaze to see that she was looking at him with all the love he'd ever dreamed of her offering him. He didn't say a word and neither did she, but with a light tug on his necklace, he was pulled towards her into a kiss. It was definitely too deep for their first but also so nice that neither of them cared, and not even the Ladybug revelation could outmatch his surprise at being so readily smooched.

Luka reached for the hand grabbing his necklace, Marinette letting go of it so they could thread their fingers together. His song was going crazy as she leaned forward, clearly wanting more from him and him being wonderfully helpless to resist her. He breathed her in, his other hand finding its place on her side. Her own hand rose up so her fingers could settle against the back of his neck, and he couldn't bring himself to be embarrassed by the sound he made when she started playing with his hair.

She didn't even pull away when their kiss broke, merely pressing her forehead to his while they each caught their breath. Despite the boldness she'd just displayed, she somehow couldn't maintain eye contact and ended up looking elsewhere while all he could do was stare at her in a daze.

"S-sor—" She paused, remembering again that he told her not to apologize. "I-I mean, I'm... not sorry? I—ah—remembered you saying that music is simpler than words, so I just—I thought that maybe I shouldn't ask you with words and just... play it instead?" Luka could feel the heat radiating from her blush as she hurriedly added, "Um... is that okay?"

He answered her with another kiss.

[artzee-bee]

End of all things [1] | Chat Noir x witch!reader

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug (Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir)

Summary: Y/N had been Chat Noir’s friend and moral support for a long time now. Even though she had magical powers too, she never liked getting involved with akuma attacks, but now, as Hawkmoth’s gotten control of the miraculous of creation, she couldn’t stay indiferent anymore. She had to save her friend and Paris!

Genre: Mostly angst? A little fluff

Warnings: canon typical violence, mentions of death/dying

A/N: This was requested, but as I was writting it, it got very long and I’ve decided to post it in 2 parts. I’m not gonna post the request just now, so as to not spoil the rest of the story but Part 2 will be coming out on friday!!!

Part 2

~~~

Chat was pacing around the room, waiting for you to be done with your potion. You had heard from your parents that there had been a new akuma attack today, but as the news reported, the two parisian heros took care of the problem in no time. For this reason, Chat’s presence at your house felt unusual. Normally he would stop by when he needed to rant, when he was in need of comfort and reassurance but the fight today went well, so what could possibly be bothering him?

“Ok, I’m done” you said, screwing the cap on the little bottle and placing it on your shelf “Wanna talk?” you asked, to which Chat gave you a shy smile

“Yeah, a little”

You made your way to your bed, motioning for him to follow you. You got under your covers and passed him his favorite plushie, a cat to no one’s surprise

“So what’s up? Is it about the fight today?”

“Well no it’s more like a...personal problem?”

“Oh…”

“Claws out” in a rush of light and electricity, the infamous hero vanished before you, transforming into Adrien Agrest

“Well, what is it?” 

Adrien revealed his identity to you months ago. You first met him as Chat, but when you really got to know each other, he decided you needed to know all of him. Well, he needed you to know all of him.

You listened to him rant until way past midnight. Until you were both too tired to stand up straight, so you laid down in your bed, covers up to your necks, muffled stories told in between yawns. You listened carefully, giving him your full attention. He fidgeted with the collar of the stuffed toy and you used your magic to make 2 hot chocolates. Eventually, everything that needed to be said, was said. You offered Adrien to watch a movie, since that always cheered him up, but he refused

“It’s late and I have a photoshoot early in the morning. My makeup team will be angry with my dark circles anyways, better not make it worse” he joked

Adrien transformed back into Chat and you cast a safety spell on him, which you did every time he left your house late at night. He always teased you about being ‘too protective’, but deep down he found it sweet how much you cared and wanted to know that he would get home in one piece.

“Night Chat” you said, wrapping your arms around the hero

“Good night Y/N!”

The next few days went by quietly. You hadn’t run into Adrien at all, but you texted a bit back and forth. Sunday evening however, things took a toll for the worst. You turned on your tv, ready to catch up with your show when you heard Nadja Chamack’s voice doing the news report

“It seems as though Rena Rouge and Chat Noir are struggling to stay on their feet! They have taken shelter under a fallen bus, leaving Ladybug alone to defeat Hawkmoth'' your pulse skyrocketed. As you watched the screen you could see Chat and Rena off to the side, struggling to catch their breath. Rena seemed to be in pain while Chat was trying to help. Ladybug was using her yoyo the best she could in order to protect herself from the supervillain, who was wielding his cane like a sword over her head. The fight was clearly going in Hawkmoth's favour! You grabbed your jacket and ran out the front door and onto the empty streets of Paris, towards the Eiffel Tower, where the fight was taking place. 

People screamed at you from their balconies to go home, warning you about the fight and the danger you were putting your life in but you didn’t care. All you could think about was how they needed you. Chat needed you! Every late night talk and every inside joke shared between you two replaid in your head like a broken record. Behind Chat’s tough mask, his alter ego of hero and protector, was the fragile figure of Adrien Agreste. The young blonde boy who cried during romantic comedies, who liked to have his hair braided and forgot how to speak when someone complimented him. If you didn’t help, the heros would loose and he would most likely die! Alongside Ladybug and Rena who, even though you didn’t know their real identities, were still young girls. As you ran down the street, you heard kids crying inside one of the homes. You ran past but at the last second you heard Nadia’s voice coming from their tv

“Ladybug was akumatized”

You approached the Eiffel tower from the side, where you could see everything going on. In front of the tower, right next to Hawkmoth, stood Marinette Dupain-Cheng, dressed in a tight, dark red suit, darker than Ladybug’s. Black butterflies replaced the dots of the heroine's suit and the purple butterfly mask of Hawkmoth’s control was shining over her face. Marinette was Ladybug! She did, in fact, get akumatized. On the other side, you saw Rena and Chat, struggling to stay up right. They were obviously in a lot of pain and extremely tired, but Hawkmoth was merely mocking them.

“After all this time” Chat spoke up, but his breaths were shallow and rapid “I thought you’d know one thing about us! We don’t give up without a fight. Never will. Especially not against you” and with that, the two ran at each other.

“It doesn’t have to end like this, you know?” he said “We don’t have to fight to death. I wouldn’t want to have that on my conscience. All you have to do is give me your miraculouses willingly. The town will be safe, you will be safe! It’s the most heroic option you’ve got. You won’t be any good to Paris if you are dead”

You knew this was not just another fight between them. This was it. Either the heros won or everything they’ve worked for would be lost. Hawkmoth would win and get his hands on both miraculous and god knows what kind of destruction that would bring not only upon Paris, but the world. You focused all your energy in one spot in the air, right between where Chat and Hawkmoth were supposed to clash but before they could reach each other, you sent a wave of energy that blew both of them apart, like a bomb. Hawkmoth flew back into the Eiffel tower while Chat hit the pavement with a thud. Confused and certainly disturbed, both of them began looking around for an answer as to what happened when, finally, Hawkmoth’s eyes landed on yours.

“Aha, miss Y/L/N. What a spectacular honor to finally meet you!” you didn’t reply, instead you stood tall, maintaining eye contact

“I know a lot about you. Seen a lot. Felt a lot of your emotions. None of them can compare to the powers I’ll have with the two miraculouses. With Ladybug’s earrings and the guardian under my control, I’d say my mission here is almost over’’

“Y/N get back!’’ Chat screamed but you were too involved now to run. This was your fight too.

“It is time you give up Hawkmoth. Paris is not yours, neither are the miraculouses. We will destroy you, no matter what it takes!”

“Listen to yourself, kid! <<Destroy me>>? The most you can do is pull a rabbit out of your hat…” before he could finish his sentence, you snapped your fingers in his direction and instantly, the ground around beneath Hawkmoth and akumatized Marinette, fractured. From within the cracks, many tangled plants came out, encapsulating the 2 villains. You sprinted towards Chat and Rena, ignoring the signs of struggle coming from the prison of weeds.

 Alongside the two superheros, you hid inside a corner coffee shop, which was now empty.

“Y/N, you need to leave!! You are putting yourself in too much danger!” Rena told you, as she collapsed to the ground from exhaustion

“Stop with that already! I am here and I’m not going anywhere!”

“Yes you are!” Chat looked at you. His voice was calm and yet, his eyes were filled with disappointment “You are not a superhero. This is our job!”

“You need help”

“No we don’t!” Chat had never, in all your years of friendship, raised his voice at you, let alone yell “ You need to stay safe! You could die! Hawkmoth doesn’t care about anything if it helps him get what he wants! I am ready to take that risk. Rena is too” you both turned to the red headed hero, only to see her slowly nod “But I can’t allow you to take it”

“You can’t tell me what to do”

“I don’t want you to die!” he screamed again “I love you and I will never forgive myself if you don’t come out of this alive!”

Before you could say anything, you saw Hawkmoth and his minion, through the cafe window, cutting through the last of the plants and escaping your trap. You grabbed Chat’s arm and pulled him to the floor, from where you could not be seen

“We’re in this together now” you said in a stern voice, looking the blonde kid right in his eyes “Whether you like it or not '' this time, he simply nodded.

You stuffed your hands into the pocket of your jacket and pulled out 3 little bottles, containing a mate, green liquid. You had prepared one for each of the heros, now you’d only need two.

“Here, drink this!” You handed each of them one “Regeneration potion. Should put you back on your feet.” as soon as they finished drinking the brew, you could see color coming back to their faces

“Where’s Marinette’s akuma??” 

“Her necklace” replied Rena “It’s a gift from her kwami”

“Got it. You deal with Hawkmoth. I’ll bring Marinette back!”

Chat and Rena exited through the front door, grabbing Hawkmoth’s attention. He called out to Marinette to attack, but before she could take a single step in your direction, you had snuck up behind her. Using a simple invisibility spell, you managed to exit unnoticed behind the two heros. It finally felt like the fight had truly begun. From the corner of your eye you could see Chat and Rena doging Hawkmoth’s attacks while you, were doing your best to get your hands on the stupid necklace! Even though she couldn’t see you, Marinette seemed to almost always know what your next move was. She would expertly block all your attack and would keep you an arm’s length away at all times. Finally, you had enough and in one swift motion, you pinned her back to your chest, ripping the necklace away. A wave of black and purple took over the both of you and when it vanished, all you were left with was a half unconscious Marinette in your arms. You dropped her to the ground slowly as she was coming back to her senses. You wanted to talk to her but your thoughts were driven away as you heard Chat scream bloody murder.

On the opposite side of the platza, you saw Hawkmoth rip Chat’s ring off his finger, forcing him to detransform. The exhausted figure of Adrien Agreste fell to the ground with a thud. Hawkmoth had, indeed, gotten his hand on both the miraculouses.

[mikauzoran]

Adrien Trapped in AU-Land Chapter Banner Production in Progress/Sneak Peek

Hi guys! So, if you’ve been following my art journey, you might have heard me mention that my end goal is to be able to do illustrations for some of my fics. The inaugural project I have in mind for this is Adrien Trapped in AU-Land. There’s an akuma, and canon Adrien gets bounced around into alternate universes which all seem to be trying to set him up with Marinette.

My art has improved by leaps and bounds over the past month, but we’ve still got a long way to go, so I’m starting off with rough drafts of the chapter banner images for each of the AUs. I’ll need to do one for the prologue too, but I did the coffeeshop/café AU first because it’s the first AU, and I had a strong mental image of what I wanted to do.

Anyway! Here’s the first rough draft. It’s a takeaway cup from the coffeeshop Chez Plagg next to two chocolate chip cookies. (That’s a piece of Camembert on the label of the takeaway cup.)

It turned out okay. The cookies aren’t wonderful, but the takeaway cup is so-so. It’s alright for a rough draft anyway. I’m going to be redoing everything once I get a tablet and start doing things digitally, so this is good enough for now. I’m sure I’ll play around with the colors too. I’m not sure that I love this. XD

Here’s the lineart before I colored it. I might do some other versions and play around with things.

I’m a little stumped as to what I’m going to do for the banner images for some of the other AUs. I know what I want to do for the ballet AU, but I really only have general ideas for the other ones. I’ll be doing: coffeeshop, ballet, fashion designers/enemies, life swap/kwami swap, royalty/Cinderella, fake dating, and roommates. Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions? Any AUs you’re particularly excited for?

Here’s a snippet from the Coffeeshop AU. It’s also a reverse crush AU, so Coffeeshop Adrien has a hard time talking to Marinette when she comes into the shop. Also, the kwamis are people in this universe, since it’s a universe where they don’t have powers. Canon Adrien’s consciousness is currently in Coffeeshop Adrien’s body.

[Adrien] kept it together until Marinette stepped up to order.

“I’d like a tall chai latte with a shot of mocha, please,” she requested with a smile that nearly knocked Adrien’s lights out.

No wonder this world’s Adrien was so overwhelmed by her.

“C-Coming right up,” Adrien stuttered, fingers fumbling with the menu screen.

He didn’t fair much better during the rest of their brief stay. Try as he might, he couldn’t come up with a single thing to say to the pretty girl across the counter.

It felt rude to interrupt after she finished paying and turned to talk to Tikki while they waited for their drinks.

All Adrien could do was wonder why the Marinette of this universe was friends with Ladybug’s kwami. Did that mean that Ladybug was someone close to Marinette? Did they travel in the same circles?

Adrien remained completely distracted until the young women were out the door.

“Well,” Plagg sighed. “You didn’t do any better than the regular Adrien. Didn’t you say you were friends with your world’s Marinette?”

“Yeah, but Marinette back home isn’t that ridiculously gorgeous,” Adrien complained and then stopped to reflect. “Well, I mean…she is. Marinette is incredibly attractive, but I don’t usually think of her like that because we’re just friends, and it’s weird to think things like that about someone you’re just supposed to be friends with, so…”

Adrien gave a helpless shrug. “I was just taken aback.”

Plagg slowly began to nod in understanding. “You’re in denial about your feelings for your world’s Marinette.”

[sassyduckqueen]

Don’t Pull My Strings- ML Prompts and One Shots 8

Ok so here's the story featuring Puppet Queen and Marionette. I worked them into a request for my friend, @naruwitch​, where Marinette and Luka get akumatized and Adrien learns his inaction and bad advice has serious consequences. I had a lot of fun writing this so yay me. Also I'm closing requests for these prompts for a little bit. I have a few I need to catch up on so I'll reopen requests when I'm caught up but I'm not sure when that will be. Anyway hope you guys like this :)

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

Tears rolled down Marinette's face as she held onto the lucky charm Adrien had given her for her birthday. She was sat on her chaise lounge with a number of her handmade dolls near her. She had a Volpina one on the floor, along with the Bubbler and the Lady Wifi doll. She had been talking to them as if they were their real life counterparts. She was trying not to bottle up her hurt as she knew it wasn't healthy. Normally, it worked but today she was finding it harder then usual. Today in class, Lila had claimed that Marinette had attacked her and had been bullying her. As a result, Alya and Nino had renounced their friendship with Marinette and turned their back on her. They completely believed Lila's lies about her supposedly bullying her and told Marinette in front of the whole class, including Miss Bustier, that they would couldn't be friends with a jealous bully like her, which in turn had caused the rest of the class to turn against her, expect for Juleka. She had been the only one who tried to point out that it wasn't Marinette's normal behavior. Sure, she had her moments when she got jealous of people but always got past it. As usual everyone ignored her but the real blow had came when Marinette tried to stick up for herself and tell them the truth. Hoping that Adrien would tell the truth, she turned to him and asked him to tell them. Adrien, however, didn't. She wasn't sure if he panicked or if he just didn't want to call Lila out but he turned around and said that he didn't know what she was talking about. As if that wasn't bad enough, he then pulled her aside and told her to drop it, telling that 'they were just lies', that 'no one was getting hurt' and long as they both knew, it didn't matter if Lila was lying or not. She didn't stay after that. Despite Miss Bustier calling for her, Marinette rushed home and straight into her room, where she cried for a few minutes before taking out her dolls. She tried to talk them, telling them about how she felt but the real string of betrayal had come from Adrien. Since she didn't have a doll of him, she took out the lucky charm he had given her but instead of talking, she just began to cry again. In a simple act of trying to 'keep the peace', he had broke her heart in two. She jumped a little as she heard a knock on her trapdoor.

 "C-Come in?" The trap door opened and to her surprise, Luka climbed through. As soon as he fully in the room and the trap door closed, Marinette rushed over to him, throwing her arms around him. He caught her and held her close as she began to cry.

 "Ssh, it's ok, Melody," He whispered, leading her back over to her chaise longue. Marinette let him sit her down before he sat next to her and held her close to him. "Juleka messaged me and asked me to come by to check on you. She didn't tell me what happened but mentioned that you ran out of the school in tears,"

Marinette nodded as she held onto him. He frowned a little as he held her, stroking the top of her head.

 "Li-Lila's been telling everyone that I've been b-bullying her," She sniffed, making him frown. He knew she wasn't capable of bullying anyone, giving how she reacted with Chloe. She only ever stood up to Chloe. She never was malicious about how she spoke to her and definitely didn't single her out or torment her. Luka frowned as he held Marinette. He was certain the bully in this situation was Lila. He had met the girl when she came to one of Kitty Section's practice. Unfortunately for him, he ended up with a migraine for the rest of practice. When she had gone home, he told the rest of the band that she cause his headache. The very next day, he ended up getting kicked out of the band. Juleka had tried to defend him but she was outvote by two to one. Since they were discussing kicking him from the band, he didn't get a vote. He was upset by it but suspected that it had something to do with Lila so he did his own digging into her, seeing if he could find out anything on her. He already believed Marinette when she had told him that Lila was a liar and he knew her claims about been Ladybug's best friend and knowing Jagged Stone were bull but he wanted to find out what else he could find. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything other then the ladyblog but it didn't surprise him. Marinette's gentle sobs caught his attention, causing him to frown as he rubbed her back. "T-They believed her, Luka. A-Alya and Ni-Nino to-told me that t-they couldn't be friends with me a-and the r-rest of the c-class d-did the same,"

 "What about Adrien?" He asked, feeling unsure. Marinette had told Luka that Adrien knew about Lila's liars and had given her advice. Not that you could really call it that but while he didn't agree with Adrien's advice, he was happy that Marinette had someone else on her side. Or at least, he hoped that he was but judging by Marinette's heartbroken expression, that was not the case. "Melody?"

 "I a-asked him to tell them and he d-didn't. He said he didn't know what I was talking about and th-then he pulled me aside and told me that L-Lila's lies aren't h-hurting anyone and as long as we knew it didn't matter if she was lying but she's hurting me, Luka," She cut off as another sob escaped her lips. Luka frowned deeply and hugged her again, causing her to lean into him as she closed her eyes. They stayed like that for a good ten minutes or so before Marinette slowly looked up at Luka with an expression that made his heart break. She looked down at the lucky charm in her hand with a hurt expression. "She's hurting me... do I not matter?" 

"You matter more then anyone in the world, Melody," He whispered, gently placing his hand over the lucky charm so she didn't have to look at it. It still hung from her hand but she had glanced up, looking up at him as he gently kissed her forehead. "He isn't worth your time or your tears,"

 "I-" She began before her eyes widen as an akuma entered the lucky charm. Luka's eyes widen at the same time as well before a purple butterfly mask appeared over their eyes. Tikki gasped from her hiding place and rushed over as Hawkmoth's voice echoed in their minds. 

 "Puppet Queen.... Marionette... I am Hawkmoth," The villain said in their heads. "So Lila Rossi has spreading her lies again and turning everyone into her puppets. Well, I'm giving you two the power to make them your puppets and let the truth be known. In return, you will get me Ladybug's and Chat Noir's miraculous... do we have a deal?"

 "Rossi will no longer pull the strings," Luka muttered as Tikki gasped and carefully took the earrings off Marinette's ears before she could reach for them. She flew over the window and gasped back with a sorrowful look before fazing through the window.

 "And the truth will play out," Marinette replied before the purple mist engulfed them, changing the lucky charm into a cross control. Luka's form flopped forward as if he had become inanimate as the purple mist disappeared from Marinette. Her eyes were closed but she was holding two identical cross controls in her hands. Her hair was a little bit longer but in the same style as before. It's color had changed. It was a bright blue with bright pink tips. She was wearing a light pink shirt, a brown corset belt with an over skirt attached to it and dark gray shorts. She had a red jacket with a gold hem and gold buttons and a pink ribbon around her neck. She had white stockings on but one only when up to her calf where the other was thigh high. She had black Mary Jane styles shoes and dark gray fingerless gloves on her. Her mask was light pink and her lips were blood red. However, her skin resembled porcelain and was 'broken' in some parts, making her look like a broken doll. She opened her eyes, revealing cold blue eyes that were dull and lacked emotions. She glanced over to where Luka was stood as the purple mist disappeared from him. He was standing but his torso was slumped forward and his arms hung motionless by his side with his head bowed, causing his hair to flop in front of his eyes, which were closed. Like her, his skin resembled porcelain but there were no cracks across his face. His hair was the same shade and cut but he was no longer wearing his usual clothes. He was dressed in a light blue shirt with a black ribbon around his neck that was secured with a blue brooch, which resembled a sapphire. He had a black waistcoat with a red hem and a dark blue belt around his waist. His pants were black but had patches of bright fabric sew onto them as well as some tattered patches. His boots were dark brown with a red heel. He had a mask around his eyes which matched his waistcoat and his nails were painted black. Unlike Marinette, who had cross controls, he had string attached to each of his fingers and his wrists resembled a doll's joints. She tilted her head aside before walking over to her sewing machine. She placed her cross controls down on the table, next to her sewing machine before grabbing the materials she needed. She turned it on and sat down, beginning to work on more dolls. A purple butterfly mask appeared over her eyes, making her frown as Hawkmoth asked her what she was doing. "Patience, Hawkmoth. We only seven dolls between us and as you well know, those ones will only work for me. He needs his own set. Besides no one knows about us yet,"

 "Very well, Puppet Queen but I expect results," He growled before disconnecting it. Puppet Queen smiled and continued working. She stopped when she heard her mother calling her name and got up. She grabbed one of her cross controls and connected it to the Volpina doll, causing a real life size Volpina to appear out of pink smoke. Like Marionette, she was stood completely still with her torso and head hunched over and her arms hanging at her side. Puppet Queen moved her controls, causing Volpina to stand up before she took out her flute and played a tune, creating a ball of light at the end. She threw it in the room, engulfing it in a bright orange light. The trap door opened, revealing Sabine but she did not see Volpina, Marionette or Puppet Queen. She just saw Marinette and Luka curled asleep on her chaise longue. Deciding to leave them in peace, Sabine closed the door and disappeared downstairs to let the captain know that Luka would be staying over that night. The illusion disappeared, causing Puppet Queen to let out a small sigh before she detached the strings on her Volpina doll, making the full size version disappear before she continued to work on the dolls.

 ~Next Day~

 Puppet Queen stretched as she finished the last doll, putting it with the others. Hawkmoth had checked in on her a couple of times but in the end, decided to let her make the dolls. She had made Marionette a set of dolls based on her classmates. She was unable to make one for Adrien as she didn't have the right material for him and there was no point in making one of herself. She also decided not to make one of Juleka as the girl had tried to defend her. It wasn't her fault that she was easily ignored. Besides, she wouldn't want to hurt Marionette in that way. Juleka was still his sister. She had made some more akuma dolls for herself. Ones with powers she thought as useful. She picked Silencer as his power would be useful to shut people up. She made an Oni-chan doll because she had the power to track Lila and give her a horn. She wouldn't admit as Marinette or Ladybug but she found it very satisfying to see Lila terrified and with the horn on her head. She had a field day when she realized it grew every time she lied. She picked out Malediktator as well as Stormy Weather and Reverser. She picked Malediktator and Reverser because their powers were useful but she actually just picked Stormy Weather because she liked the look. Her inner designer influenced that choice. With all her new dolls done, she picked the class dolls and placed them on the ground in front of Marionette before standing up and gently cupping his cheek.

 "It's time to play, Marionette," She declared, Almost instantly, Marionette opened his eyes, revealing their color. They had changed green again but unlike his previous forms, they weren't full emotion at all. In fact, they looked almost lifeless and glazed over. He straightened up, clicking a little as he tilted his head to the side with a slightly confused expression. She giggled a little. "I made you some dolls,"

 He glanced down at them before glancing back at her with a puzzled expression.

 "I didn't have enough material to make an Adrien doll," She replied, frowning. She would have loved to have seen him been controlled like the dummy he is. Maybe then he would realize how much Lila's lies hurt. She frowned a little before hearing another click as Marionette lifted his arm and gently placed his hand on top of her head, patting it in a comforting manner. She smiled a little before shaking her head. "I'm fine,"

 He moved his hand from her and gave her a smile, making her giggle again. However, he turned his head to the side and lifted his arm, pointing to the trap door. Puppet Queen frowned and picked up her cross controls, reattaching one to the Volpina doll, re-summoning her then attaching the other one to the Lady Wifi doll. She used Volpina to create an illusion of Marinette and Luka leaving the house and saying goodbye to her parents before using the Lady Wifi doll to lock the trap door so they would not be disturbed. She knew full well that Miss Bustier wouldn't notice if she wasn't in class today and even if she did, she wouldn't bother calling her parents right away. Satisfied that they wouldn't be disturbed, she detached the dolls and turned back to Marionette, who was leaned down. He picked up one of the dolls, which happened to be Nathaniel's and tilted his head to the side before looking at her, as if asking permission. She smiled and nodded, causing the strings attached to his fingers to move on their own and connect to the doll, attaching themselves to the arms, legs and neck of the doll. He let go off it, causing it to fall onto the floor, slumped as he held out his hand and wiggled his fingers before he moved the doll, causing it to straight up and look around. Puppet Queen smiled and grabbed her computer chair, moving it in front of Marionette before grabbing her own dolls and placing them in front of her. She picked up the Ladybug doll, allowing her strings to attach to it before letting it fall to her side, slumped as well. She moved her hand, causing the doll to stand up straight.

 ~Meanwhile in School~

 Nathaniel was doodling in his book as he listened to Mrs Mendeleiev rambling on about science when he suddenly slumped against the desk, like he had fallen asleep. Mrs Mendeleiev noticed and began to tell him off before he suddenly stood up and walked from his desk, making her frown. He walked over to the white board and picked up a pen before beginning to write the same sentence repeatedly on the board, causing everyone to gasp.

 Lie-la, Lie-la, fox on fire

 "Nathaniel! Stop that at once!" Mrs Mendeleiev demanded, causing him to stop before he turned his head slowly towards her, making her frown as his eyes were completely glazed over like he wasn't living at all. It made her extreme uncomfortable as he turned back and continued to write. "Nathaniel, that's enough,"

 He completely ignored her, making her frown.

 "Nathaniel! I said stop that at once!" She barked but he ignored her again. "That's it! Go to the principle's office,"

 He stopped, making her think she had gotten through to him before he wrote on the board again. This time he wrote no but then stopped writing on the board before he turned his head slowly again and smiled at her, making her jolt back. However, he turned to the class with slowed movements, causing the class to feel freaked out.

 "Hickory dickory dock, a Fox went up the clock. The clock struck one. The fox fell down and broke her crown, Hickory dickory dock," He sang, causing the class to look at him with a mixture of confusion and fear. "Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock,"

 "What the hell, Nathaniel?!" Alya shouted, causing him to turn and glance at him. 

 "Ah, the tabloid writer," He deadpanned, making her frown. "Wait your turn,"

 She blinked as he walked over to Lila with slowed movements. He stopped in front of her, making her blink at him.

 "Lila the Liar. How ironic that your name has lie in it," He replied, making her gulp.

 "I'm not-"

 "I'm not done talking!" He shouted, slamming his hands down on the table before tilting his head to the side. "I know you're a liar. Liar, Liar, Liar, Liar-"

 Alya frowned as she noticed something shining above his head, making her frown. She grabbed the nearest pair of scissors and cut the shining thing, causing her to realize it was a string. She noticed four others and cut them too as Nathaniel tried to grab her, causing him to slump as soon as she cut the last string before he straightened up and looked around confused.

 "What? How did I get over here?" He asked, looking around confused but the sound of slow clapping caught the rest of the class's attention. Alix was slowly clapping in a mocking manner, making Alya look at her with concern before she stopped and looked at her.

 "So you're not as dumb as you look," She replied, making Alya frown as she smirked. "And here I just thought you were nothing more then a trashy tabloid writer,"

 "I'm not a tabloid writer," Alya growled back, making Alix laugh. "Who are you anyway? You're clearly not Alix!"

 "I'm Marionette," Alix replied, doing a dramatic bow before her limps hung a little. She looked up and tilted her to the side as she smiled. "And you're all my puppets now,"

 "Marionette?" Alya questioned, frowning but Lila gasped. 

 "Oh, no. It's Marinette!" Lila cried, crocodile tears rolling down her cheeks. "She must off been akumatized to get revenge on me! It's bad enough that she bullies-"

 "LIAR!" Alix suddenly screamed, cutting Lila off. "One I am not Marinette! Two! Marinette never bullied you! You bullied her!"

 "You would say that, Marinette!" She cried out, causing the rest of the class mutter. It did make sense that Marinette would have gotten akumatized over this. They had stopped been her friend but it's not their fault she was a bully. Before they could get say anything else, Ladybug flew through the window and landed on the floor before straightening up. Lila gritted her teeth but gave a fake smile. "Oh, Ladybug! Thank goodness, Alix has been possessed by Marinette! She's using her to bully me!"

 "No, she isn't," Ladybug replied, causing everyone to gasp. "Marionette isn't Marinette, Lie-la,"

 The class blinked at Marinette's word before Alya gasped. 

 "Wait, how did you know about Marionette, Ladybug?" She asked, causing the rest of the class to gasp and back away from the heroine. "She's only just appeared,"

 "Because, Alya, he's my loyal knight," Ladybug smiled, making the class gasp in shock and question why she was working with an akuma. She completely ignored them as she threw her yoyo up in the air. "Lucky charm!"

 A giant sword appeared out of thin air, causing the class to gasp before Mrs Mendeleiev ordered them to retreat, following them as they ran out of the classroom. They locked the door behind them, causing Ladybug tilted her head to the side before she gave Alix a smile. She would make sure they didn't escape.

 "I'll get the doors," She replied, kicking the door down and walking out as Alix followed. "Lila! Alya!! Why don't you come and say hi to your favorite hero?!"

 ~In the Courtyard~

 The class ran out of the class as soon as Mrs Mendeleiev shouted at them to do so. She locked the door behind her and ordered them to escape the school while she informed the headmaster of the situation. The class ran down the stairs and rushing over towards the doors as they did but to their surprise, Lady Wifi, jumped down in front of them and fired her commands at them. They managed to dodge them but Lady Wifi took the chance to use her lock command on the main doors. Alya gasped and ran over to the locker room, opening the door. The rest of the class followed her, rushing inside as they heard the door been kicked down and the fake Ladybug calling out for Lila and Alya. Nino turned to her, causing her to look at him.

 "Ok, how is Lady Wifi here when you haven't been akumatized?" He asked, making her frown.

 "It must be the akuma," She replied, making most of the class agree with her. "But if Marionette can use akumas, why not just go for that in the first place?"

 "Didn't Ladybug refer to Marionette as her loyal knight?" Mylene asked, causing Alya to nod and for the rest of the class to be confused. "But if Marinette is Marionette... why did Ladybug call her a he?"

 "Isn't it obvious?" Chloe asked, crossing her arms and causing everyone to look at her. "Lila was wrong. Marionette isn't Marinette. I know Hawkmoth isn't very creative but even he's not that dull,"

 "But if Marionette isn't Marinette and is in fact a boy, who is he and why is he after Lila?" Nino asked, making everyone mumble in agreement. Juleka gasped to herself and grabbed her phone, causing Rose to glance at her. As usual, no one else paid attention to her as she tried to call Luka but it went straight to voicemail. As soon as she hung up, she glanced up to see Rose staring at her with glazed over eyes. She gasped again and went to say something but Rose lifted her finger to her lip, making a shush noise before she blinked and looked around confused. She noticed Juleka looking at her.

 "Juleka, are you ok?" She asked, making the goth girl nod before she looked around. "Where's Adrien?"

 "I don't know," Juleka replied, glancing around. The blonde boy was no where to be seen but before they could do anything else, the door was sliced open by the fake Ladybug as she held her sword. Alix stood next to her, along with Lady Wifi. However, Cat Noir's baton flew above them, cutting the strings attached to them, causing Lady Wifi and Ladybug to disappear and Alix to slump before she gasped and looked around as Cat Noir jumped down and ordered the class to follow him.

 "What the hell?" She asked but she didn't have time to think as Nathaniel grabbed her arm and ran out of the locker room. 

 "Cat Noir, the doors are locked," Alya gasped, making him frown before he jumped down in front of the door.

 "Leave it to me," He grinned, lifting his hand. He went to summon his power but a bolt of lightening made him jump out of the way. "What the?"

 "I don't think so, Kitty Cat," A voice gasped, making the class look over. To their surprise, Stormy Weather was hovering above the courtyard. "No one is leaving here until I say so,"

 "Why don't you come yourself instead of hiding behind these puppets?" Cat Noir asked, making her laugh. 

 "And let you take my akuma? I don't think so," She giggled, making him frown. "I don't think so. Marionette, sweetie, be a dear and keep our favorite feline busy while I deal with the liar,"

 "Marionette is gone, Puppet girl," Cat Noir grinned, making her frown a little. "I destroyed his strings,"

 "Dumb kitty cat, I'm not Puppet girl. I'm Puppet Queen!" She laughed, making him frown. "And what makes you think Marionette is gone, just because you destroyed his strings?"

 Cat Noir went to answer back but ducked as Kim suddenly took a swing at him. Ivan suddenly grabbed hold of him, causing Stormy Weather to laugh as he struggled.

 "Take his ring, Mon Cherie," She ordered as Juleka looked around panicked. Nino walked towards Cat Noir, reaching for his ring. "We'll grab the earrings later,"

 Cat struggled, kicking Kim back and freeing himself from Ivan. Kim stumbled back before charging at him with Ivan. Stormy Weather smirked and turned over to the rest of the class, who had moved in front of Lila, expect for Juleka, who was torn about things. She realized that Marionette was Luka which meant this Puppet Queen was Marinette. Somehow, they had both been akumatized.

 "Move," Stormy Weather growled, pointing her umbrella at the class. However, none of them moved out of the way, causing Stormy Weather to narrow her eyes but before she could strike, Juleka moved in front of the class, holding her arms up. Stormy Weather's eyes soften a little as she looked at the Goth girl. "Juleka, move. You're protecting a liar,"

 "I know," She mumbled, making the rest of the class look at her with shock. She looked up at Stormy Weather as the puppet narrowed her eyes. "But I don't care about her. I care about you and my brother. Just tell us where the akuma is, Marinette,"

 "I'm not Marinette anymore!" Stormy Weather shouted as the class stared in surprise as well as Cat Noir, causing him to get punched by Ivan. Stormy Weather flew down and landed on the ground, walking towards Juleka and the class as Lila began to cry fake tears again. "Do you want to know why I got akumatized, Juleka? Because those people you're trying to protect turned on me like a pack of rabid dogs the more Lie-la claimed I harmed her! It didn't matter that some of them had known me for years or that I never even got physical with Chloe! It didn't matter that they were no-"

 Stormy Weather disappeared as Alya cut the strings, causing Juleka to gasp in surprise. Cat Noir kicked out and sliced Kim's strings with his claws before diving out of the way as Ivan tried to punch him. Alya grabbed Kim's arm and pulled him out of the way as Ivan continued to fight Cat Noir. He kicked him back, knocking him to the floor before slashing his strings with his claws. Ivan slumped before sitting up and looking around confused. Cat Noir helped him to his feet before turning to Juleka, who was playing with her hands.

 "How did you know that was Marinette?" He asked, making the class look at her before she sighed.

 "Because of what happened yesterday," She mumbled, making him frown. As Adrien, he knew that but as Cat Noir he had to play dumb. 

 "Why? What happened?" He asked, making Juleka frown as well.

 "Lila accused Marinette was attacking her and bullying her, which caused Alya and Nino to call her out and disown her as a friend," She mumbled, making him frown. He remembered as clear as day. Marinette's broken expression was almost enough to get him to tell the truth but then he realized that if he told them, they would throw him in the trash as well. After all, the class didn't believe Marinette so why would they believe him and the only reason why this was all happening was because Marinette couldn't be the bigger person and walk away. After all, Lila thrived off attention and if she didn't have it and was ignored, she would just disappear like a tabloid newspaper. Also it would keep the peace with the rest of the class since they wanted to get on Lila. He just didn't understand why Marinette just didn't follow his advice and take the high road. He was sure that Lila would end up exposing herself. Of course, he didn't think Marinette would get akumatized over it. She hadn't been akumatized before so he thought she would be fine. "But she isn't the only one akumatized,"

 "What?" Cat gasped, looking up at her. He didn't expect that at all. Juleka was playing with her hands again. "Juleka?"

 "Luka is as well..." She mumbled, making Rose gasp as Ivan and Mylene stared at her, along with a lot of the other class. The color drained from Cat's face as he stared at her too. This was worst then he expected. When Luka was Silencer, he was a formidable opponent. After all, he took Ladybug's voice and was tactical as he thought them but teaming up with an akumatized Marinette... well, this was not a good thing. "Luka went to check on her yesterday to make sure she was ok but he didn't come home last night. Ma said that Mrs Cheng had decided to let him stay over but..."

 "Are you certain that Luka is also akumatized?" Cat asked, making the goth girl know.

 "I tried to ring him earlier and it went straight to voicemail," She mumbled, making him frown. "I think Marionette is Luka as Puppet Queen is Marinette,"

 "Very good, Juleka," A voice echoed before Oni-chan jumped down and landed in the courtyard, causing Lila to gasp and hide behind Ivan, who glared at the puppet. Cat Noir charged at her but she blocked his attack and threw him into the rest of the class, knocking them down before jump over to Lila, who backed away. "Well, you know how this power works already, don't you Lie-la?"

 "I d-don't know what you're talking about," She gasped, backing away.

 "Let me remind you," She replied, taking out the sword but Cat Noir blocked it before she could hit her.

 "Marinette, listen to me, you don't have to do this," Cat gasped, trying to get through to her. "Just give me your object and I'll bring it to Ladybug,"

 "Silly Kitty, Ladybug isn't coming," She grinned, making him frown before she knocked him back and diving at Lila, pressing her sword to her forehead. Cat Noir got up and knocked into her as the class gasped. Lila felt her forehead, gasping as she felt a horn on there. How was she going to lie now? Oni-chan got up and smirked at her before lifting the sword to fight with Cat Noir.

 "Marinette, this isn't who you are," He gasped, holding up his hand. "Didn't Adrien say you were the everyday Ladybug?"

 "Agreste is a traitor," Max growled, making everyone look at him with surprise, expect for Oni-chan. Seeing the chance to run, Lila slipped away and headed back into the locker room. Not that it mattered, Oni-chan could easily track her. Instead, she leaned against her sword to watch Marionette rip into Chat. Max walked over to him and poked the hero in his chest surprising him. "And you sound just like him!"

 "No, I'm just-"

 "Don't lie!" Max roared, causing the class to step back in fear. They should try and escape but they were too interested in what the Puppet had to say. "You don't care about Marinette! You just want to keep the peace, just like Agreste! Well, all of this is because of that dumb model! He's known from the beginning that Rossi is a liar since he was there when Ladybug called her out but he doesn't care that she's lying to his classmates and making people's lives miserable! No, all he cares about is keeping the peace and taking the 'high' road! Well, the high road is bullshit! Lie-la isn't gonna lie herself into a corner and even if she did, it isn't down to him to decide who gets hurt by her lies!"

 "Adrien never said-"

 "Shut up! I'm not done!" Max roared. "He told Marinette that it didn't matter if they both knew. Well, it does matter! Did you know she's nearly been akumatized almost everyday for the last few weeks and every day she resisted because she didn't want to hurt her friends?! Did you know she cried herself to sleep over these people who turned their backs on them every time that lying fox spun a new story?"

 Cat Noir frowned as he glanced down, feeling bad. He didn't think she had been so torn up by the whole situation. She didn't seem like it when in class. Alya stepped forward. 

 "If Marinette had been resisting been akumatized this long, why did she end up akumatized this time huh?" She asked, placing her hand on her hips and holding the scissors threateningly. Max turned to her and smiled.

 "If I answer that and you don't like it, are you gonna cut my strings?" He asked, making her blink before he rushed forward and grabbed the scissors off her. Cat went to charge at him but stopped when Oni-chan pointed her blade at his throat. Max crushed the scissors in his hands, making the class gasp before dropping them on the door, rendering them useless. "No, no...you're gonna listen to me. The reason why this time was different is because of you and Adrien, Cesaire. You turned your back on your so called BBF and having been so for ages but yesterday was the last straw. You believed Lila that Marinette had assaulted her and renounced your friendship with her in front of everyone without a single shred of proof. And you wonder why I call you a tabloid?! Honestly, that's too nice for you! And Agreste! Urg! He knew Lila was a liar and when all of you... expect you, Juleka... turned on her like a rabid pack of dogs and she begged him to tell you the truth, he ignored her and worst denied it! As if that wasn't bad enough, he then proceed to pull her aside and told her to drop it because and I quote 'it's just lies' and 'no one is getting hurt'. Well, news flash, you mangy cat! Her lies are hurting someone and that someone is Marinette or doesn't she not matter?!"

 "Of course, she matters-"

 "Then Agreste should act like that instead of choosing a liar over her!" He shouted, making Chat step back. "And that is what was different this time! The two people who Marinette believed would always have her back turned on her! Marinette had been able to resist the akumas before because she believed that no matter what she had Alya and Adrien on her side. It broke her heart when they turned on her. There's only so much pain and hurt a person can take and this time she just didn't have the strength to fight the akuma,"

 "But Adrien was just trying to-"

 "Keep the peace," Max growled, making Chat gulp a little. "Well, if he hadn't been trying to keep the peace, hadn't given Marinette that frankly awful advice and actually told the truth about Lila, then we would not be here right now, would we chat?! We also wouldn't be here if Alya actually checked her sources like she should have! Tell me, Alya, did you even have proof that Marinette attacked Lila?"

 "Of course, Lila-"

 "Did you seen bruises? Cuts? Injuries?" He asked, making her frown. "How about text messages? Or any witnesses? Did any of you actually see Marinette targeting Lila like how Chloe targets people? Or did you just see her trying to tell the truth? Well, it doesn't matter what you saw,"

 "What do you mean?" Alya asked as Oni-Chan walked over to Max. Cat Noir went to move over but Oni-chan pointed her sword at him as Max moved his arm over to her.

 "Don't worry, Chat. We're gonna make sure Lila shows her everyone her true colors," She replied before her horned glowed and they disappeared, causing Officer Roger to appear in their place. Alya gasped as she looked around, causing Cat Noir to look at her.

 "They're going after Lila!" She gasped, making him blink. "We have to help her!"

 "The best way to help her is to find Puppet Queen and Marionette. Did Marinette come to school today?" He asked, making the class frown and shake her head. "Then she might still be at her home. Stay here. I'll go stop them,"

 He jumped up onto the roof and out of the school, heading over to the bakery. He went to jump up to Marinette's balcony but jumped back as a number of red bubbles were fired at him, exploding as they did. He blocked them with his baton and dodged a green one before he glared up at the balcony. Bubbler was stood on the edge but was surrounded by a number of red and green bubbles. If Chat tried to get in the balcony, he would get attacked and possibly end up trapped in a bubble but he also knew he could get in through the bakery. He rushed inside, causing Tom and Sabine to look up in shock as he rushed by them and into their apartment. Sabine rushed after him as Tom began to tell the customers that they were closed and ushered them out, locking the door behind them before he jointed his wife. Chat rushed up to Marinette's room and tried to open the trap door but found it was locked. He held out his hand and summoned his cataclysm, slamming his hand on it. It broke the lock on it and he forced it open, rushing inside but he found the room empty. He frowned and knelt down as he saw a number of dolls on the floor. He walked over to one of them and picked it up, frowning. It was one of Kim but it had strings attached to it's limbs and neck but the strings looked damaged, like they had been slashed by claws. 

 "Chat Noir, what's going on?" Sabine asked, getting his attention as he turned around. 

 "Where's Marinette?" He asked, making her frown. "Did you see her this morning?"

 "Yes, she left for school with Luka. He stayed over last night," She replied, making him frown. "Why?"

 "Are you sure you saw her?" He asked, noticing the doll of Lady Wifi and Stormy Weather. Puppet Queen was able to use the abilities of the akumas. He gasped as his eyes widen before he turned to Sabine. "Mrs Cheng, what dolls did Marinette have?"

 "Well, she had Ladybug, Lady Wifi, Bubbler, Volpina and of course one of yourself," She replied, making him frown. "Chat Noir, please tell me what's going on?"

 "I'm afraid Marinette has been akumatized," He replied, making her gasp as Tom got there. "She has the power to use these akuma puppets to summon the akumas and use their powers,"

 "But we saw her come downstairs!" She gasped, making him sigh.

 "She must of used Volpina's power to create an illusion," He replied, walking over to her sewing machine and seeing a number of materials that could be used to make dolls. She had a number of akuma dolls and Marionette must be using the dolls that resembled his classmates. He leaned down and picked up the Alix doll. Like the Kim doll, it's strings were tattered. "Had she made any dolls that resembled her classmates?"

 "No," Sabine answered as she looked at the doll in his hands. "Marinette's never showed me that one,"

 "She must of made them before they attacked them," He frowned before it clicked. They couldn't have been akumatized this morning. Marinette, in her right mind, wouldn't make dolls that resembled her classmates and if she did, she probably would have given to her classmates. "Did you see them last night?"

 "Yes, she had fallen asleep in Luka's arms," She replied, making him frown. "It's why we let him stay over. He's been a godsend during this hard time,"

 "Hard time? You mean at school?" He asked, making her nod.

 "We're trying to build a case against the school due to their mishandling of the situation," Tom explained, making Chat frown.

 "Mishandling?" He asked, getting a nod of them. "I don't want to pry but how did the school mishandle? And what situation? It will help me understand why Marinette got akumatized,"

 Tom and Sabine looked at each other with identical expressions.

 "Well, for one thing, her expulsion but she's been severely bullied and when we met with her teacher, she had the nerve to let us about how our daughter should apologize and forgive her bullies!" Sabine gasped, making Chat frown a little. He wasn't sure what to say. "She kept going on about Marinette setting a good example and how she should preach forgiveness and that's not even getting started on Mr Damocles,"

 "Well... correct me if I am wrong but isn't forgiving a good thing?" Chat asked, half expecting the bakers to bite off his head. However, the two of them shared a glance and nodded at each other. "Shouldn't Marinette be the better person and ignore them?"

 "Chat, have you ever been bullied?" Sabine asked, making him frown. Of course, he hadn't. He had been home schooled all of his life and by the time he got into normal school, he was famous. No one in their right mind would try to bully him out of fear of what his father might do. He shook his head, making the bakers frown as Tom gently placed his hand on Chat's shoulder. "Imagine you were in school and a boy in your class came in and told a glorious story that you knew was fiction... but when you tried to tell everyone the truth about the boy's story, he spun it so you seemed like the bad guy and a bully. So that everyone around you began to distrust you. How would you feel?"

 "Well, I'd feel awful but surely my friends would believe me when I told them the truth," Chat answered. 

 "What if they didn't?" Tom asked, making him frown. "How about this one? What if the same boy claimed you had pushed him down the stairs and that you had stolen something off him? Say a watch his grandfather gave him and you were expelled despite the fact that your locker had been broken into on a number of occasions and that there was no real evidence that you had pushed him down the stairs. How would that make you feel?"

 "Well, I'd be frustrated and hurt," He replied, frowning. Those situations mirrored what happened to Marinette.

 "Ok now imagine if you told your teachers what was happening and they just told you to be the bigger person and forgive your bullies. To show them that they don't need to bully but they get worst. They twist your words and make you seem like a bully. That boy continuously targets you no matter what. He trips you and threatens you but when ever you try to stick up for yourself, he makes it look like you were bullying him and begins to convince the rest of your classmates to ignore you and isolate you. He convinces your classmates that you're not worth their friendship and to give you a taste of 'your own medicine'. They begin to bully you in revenge of you bullying the boy despite that you're actually innocent but when you try to tell them, they claim you're just jealous," Tom explained, making Chat frown even deeper. If that really happened to him, he'd feel awful. "But imagine one of the students knows about the boy lying but instead of telling everyone and trying to support you, this student keeps it to themselves, believing that the boy will reveal himself and that no one is getting hurt by it. That they're worried that the boy will ended as an akuma but they don't even acknowledge that you're hurt by this. That you could be an akuma. Now imagine that happening every single day without fail. Imagine your teacher refusing to help you and blaming you for been a victim, even when your parents come in try and get a solution. How would you feel, Chat Noir, if that was what you had gone through? Because that's what our daughter has been going through the past few months. She has been fighting off akumas almost every day. It is exhausting trying to fight them off and we have tried our best to help her but it wasn't enough. She didn't have the strength anymore and now she has fallen prey to that madman, all because of a liar and Adrien's stupid advice,"

 "I... thank you for explaining it to me, Mrs Cheng and Mr Dupain. It has been enlightening," He replied, holding back tears. He had never thought it had been that bad but with the way they explained made him realize it had been so much worst then he realized and he had only made it worst by been quiet. He claimed Marinette was his friend yet he completely turned his back on her when she needed him. All because he believed that Lila wasn't really a threat and would disappear like a tabloid. Well, he was wrong and now Marinette, one of the strongest people he knew, had broken down and Hawkmoth took advantage of her, which resulted in both her and Luka been ensnared. The worst part was he was to blame. Because of him, two people had fallen victim to Hawkmoth. He turned to Tom and Sabine with regretful eyes. "I will do my best to get Marinette back, I swear,"

 With that, he ran outside to find the akumas and recharge Plagg.

 ~Puppet Queen and Marionette's POV~

 Marionette suddenly dropped his control on Max, causing Puppet Queen to look up at him and frown as he tilted his head and looked up at the skylight before pointing to it. She frowned deeply as she looked at it. He had warned her when her parents came up and chances are he could feel someone else coming up as well. Chat Noir. Once he worked that they would going after Lila, he would try and track them down. It's what she would do and though Chat acted like a clown, he wasn't stupid. He would work out that they were at home once the class told them that she hadn't turned up yet. She lifted her second cross and attached the strings to the Bubbler puppet, creating him on her balcony before gasping as she saw Chat coming towards the bakery. She directed a number of bubbles towards him as she turned to Marionette.

 "Collect the dolls that can be used and placed them in that basket," She ordered, causing him to move as she used Bubbler to set a number of bubbles around the balcony to stop Chat from getting in that way. With that done and most of the puppets collected, she freed the Oni-chan doll and Bubbler doll before placing them inside the basket. Marionette gave it to her and picked her up bridal style before jumping up onto her bed and through the skylight. He landed on the balcony as they heard Chat trying to get into the room. Marionette tilted his head and jumped to another roof, just as Chat used his cataclysm to get into the room. Marionette jumped across the city before landing on the top of the Eiffel tower. He jumped down, landing in front of Gustave Eiffel's office before putting Puppet Queen down and ripping open the door to the office. She smiled as he held it open for her and stepped inside. He followed and closed the door as she placed the basket on the table and took out the Lady Wifi doll. She attached her strings to it, making Lady Wifi appear before using her to lock the door as Marionette moved the wax figures off the chairs and placed them in front of each other. He took out his dolls and sat down, taking control of Max again as Puppet Queen switched Lady Wifi for Silencer and took out Oni-Chan again. She needed to make sure Chat couldn't use his power again to get into the office, once he found them. That should keep him busy enough while they dealt with Lila. 

 ~Tikki's POV~

 Tikki didn't know what to do. Marinette and Luka had been akumatized and she knew she couldn't tell Chat. If she told him then he would realize who Ladybug was and it's not like she could turn to Master Fu. There was the chance that he would try and take her from Marinette and she was certain that he would panic. No, she had to find a temporary holder for herself. Keeping herself hidden, she kept an eye on the apartment, hoping that maybe Marinette and Luka would resist been the akumas and break the object. However, they never did. She briefly thought they had when she saw them leaving the house but that thought disappeared when they did. She curled to herself and kept watch. She gasped when she saw Chat Noir come to the bakery and frowned when he had to go through it instead of in the balcony. She kept hidden when she saw the two akumas jump away from Marinette's room and frowned when Cat Noir left about ten minutes later. He looked upset but she had a feeling that he might finally understand Marinette's situation. Her parents must of told him. Her eyes widen and she mentally cursed herself for not thinking about it before. She knew who turn to. After all, the perfect person to save Marinette was none other then her own mother. With new hope and determination, she flew over to the bakery and headed inside.

 "I can't believe we didn't notice our little girl had been akumatized," Sabine gasped, making Tikki frown before she gasped. "Oh no, Luka was up there with her. You don't think she hurt him, do you?"

 "No, I don't even Marinette would, even as an akuma," Tom replied as Tikki flew into the back, causing the two adults to see her. Tom instantly screamed as Sabine looked at her with curiosity. "W-What is it?"

 "I'm a kwami," She replied, making them both blink. "My name is Tikki. Pleased to meet you,"

 "A kwami? But you look like a ladybug?" Sabine asked, frowning when Tikki looked down a little sad. "Is something wrong?"

 "I'm afraid so," She replied, making the bakers frown. "As a kwami, I can power up miraculous and give people super powers. To be precise, I give Ladybug her powers,"

 "Then why aren't you with Ladybug?" Sabine asked, frowning as Tikki looks sad again. "Is Ladybug ok?"

 "N-No, she's not," She gasped, tears in her eyes. "L-Ladybug needs help... she's... she's..."

 "Marinette," Sabine replied calmly, making Tom look at her with surprise as Tikki sniffed. "She is Ladybug, isn't she?"

 Tikki nodded, making Tom gasp.

 "H-How did you know?" She asked as Sabine gently cupped her with her hands.

 "My daughter gets akumatized and then Ladybug's kwami turns up. If Marinette wasn't Ladybug, she would have been saved by now," Sabine confirmed, making Tikki nod. "So what do you need me to do?"

 "I n-need someone to wear the earrings," She explained, making Sabine nod and take them, putting them in her ears. "But you must give them back to me once we've done,"

 "I will... but will you find a new Ladybug after this?"

 "I... I don't want to..." Tikki admitted, surprising Sabine. "Marinette's my friend and she is the best Ladybug I've ever known. If anyone can defeat Hawkmoth, I know she can but-"

 "Then we need to save her," Sabine smiled, surprising Tikki. "How do I transform?"

 "Say Tikki, spots on," Tikki explained, making Sabine nod. "You must capture the akuma or it will multiple and the special power is Lucky charm. Since you're an adult, you won't detransform after five minutes,"

 "Ok," Sabine nodded. "Tikki, spots on!"

 ~Back to Chat Noir~

 Chat jumped across the roofs as he headed back to the school, trying to work out where the akumas would go and hoping to come across Lila before they found her. While Plagg charged up, he went to visit Master Fu and told him that Ladybug was missing. Master Fu seemed shocked to find out that Marinette had been akumatized. He had given Adrien the fox, the turtle and the bee miraculous, telling them who could use them. He was surprised to find out that Rena and Carapace were Alya and Nino but he didn't have time to think about it. He needed to get back to the school. He jumped down and noticed Lila running down the street with Oni-chan and Max chasing them. He jumped down and slashed both of their strings before grabbing Lila and jumping away with her. For once, she didn't try to shout at him and just held onto him. He brought her back to the school and put her with her classmates, ordering them to split up and hide. As soon as the rest of the class began to run off, he pulled Alya, Chloe and Nino aside.

 "I'm so sorry to do this but Ladybug is missing," He explained, taking out the miraculous. "I need Rena Rogue, Carapace and Queen Bee,"

 "About time," Chloe gasped, grabbing the comb and fixing it into her hair. She greeted Pollen before transforming into Queen Bee. "Well, are you two gonna transform or not?"

 "Right," Nino replied, grabbing the bracelet and transforming into Carapace. Alya nodded and grabbed the pendent, transforming into Rena Rogue. "Ok, what's the plan?"

 "It seems that Puppet Queen and Marionette can't use the puppets who's strings we cut," Chat explained, getting a nod of the others. "We have to destroy the strings of all their puppets to force them to come and face us,"

 "Alright," Rena replied. "But how do we get them to send their puppets to us?"

 "They'll come for Lila," Chat replied, walking outside with the others. "Chances are she's probably ran off already,"

 "Really?" Rena asked as Chat took out his baton and smirked. "You tagged her?"

 "I did," He replied, putting the baton away. "She's heading towards Tuileries garden. Let's go,"

 The four heroes jumped up and out of the school, heading towards the Tuileries garden. Almost as soon as they got there, they heard Lila scream as Reverser attacked her. She dived out of the way as Reverser growled and saw the heroes, flying over to them and attacking them. 

 "You're defending a monster!" Reverser growled. "From heartfelt to heartless! Reversion!"

 Chat dived out of the way and ducked as Queen Bee jumped over him and kicked Reverser. Meanwhile, Rena and Carapace rushed over to Lila, who was getting up. They helped her up and tried to get her to move but she gasped and looked at them with worry.

 "I can't move!" She cried out. Rena went to lift her up but Chat knocked into her, causing her to fall as Carapace turned. Reverser smirked and hovered over them as Queen Bee charged at him, slamming her fist into the ground as he jumped out of the way.

 "Queen Bee, what the hell?!" He gasped as she engaged with him. Reverser began to attack Chat and Rena, keeping them busy. With none of the heroes defending Lila and her unable to move, Puppet Queen smirked as Malediktator manifested in the pink smoke on a building near by, waiting for the right moment. "Queen, stop attacking me!"

 "I can't!" She gasped, grabbing him and throwing him. "My body is doing this on it's own!"

 "What do you mean?!" Carapace gasped, blocking her punches as Chat and Rena teamed up to take out Reverser. However, that proved to be very difficult. Seeing the perfect chance, Malediktator lifted his fingers to his mouth.

 "By the power invested in me," He whispered, creating a ball of light and throwing towards Lila's chest. It hit her, causing the heroes to gasp as they saw him. "I order you to tell the truth and nothing but the truth!"

 Rena growled and destroyed Malediktator's strings as Chat took down Reverser. Lila covered her mouth, trying not to tell the truth but it was too late.

 "I hate Ladybug!" Lila suddenly gasped, causing everyone to stop as Malediktator smirked. "I wish she was dead and I'm not her best friend! I despite her with all my might. So much so I willingly took an akuma and helped Hawkmoth. I lied about Marinette too. She never threatened me or bullied me. It was the other way round. I threatened her and bullied her,"

 "Why?" Chat asked, making everyone look at him.

 "Because she knew I was lying and was in my way," Lila replied, smirking evilly. "The best part is she's not the first person I've done this too nor will she be- Aaahhh!!!"

 "What's wrong with her?" Rena asked as Queen Bee threw Carapace into a head lock before she looked at them. Lila was continue to scream, gripping her head as tears filled her eyes.

 "I'm making her suffer, just like how she made my melody suffer," She replied, making the heroes gasp as she smirked. "You had no idea I could do this, did you?"

 "It's Marionette! He's controlling Queen Bee and Lila!" Rena gasped before she threw her flute above Queen Bee, cutting her strings and causing her to blink before Carapace threw her over his shoulder and placed his shield against her neck, making her gasp. Chat went to run over to him but Rena suddenly began to attack him.

 "Rena!"

 "Oh, please, I'm definitely not Rena right now," She smirked, tripping him and pinning him down. "Time to take that ring,"

 "Catac- hmm!" He gasped as Silencer suddenly placed his hand on his mouth, causing his voice to disappear. Silencer held up his hand to his ear and stole Chat's voice, causing Rena to smirk and reach for his ring but before she could a boomerang flew across the area, destroying all the strings. Rena blinked and helped Chat up as they looked around before a woman dressed in a ladybug themed outfit appear. She had short black and red hair, the classic ladybug mask on but she wore a red tunic with black spots with black pants, black gloves and black pants. She was holding the boomerang in her hand, causing Chat to notice that it was Ladybug themed. He gasped but no sound came out, making him frown.

 "I think Chat is trying to stay 'Ladybug?'" Rena replied, causing the woman to shake her head.

 "Not quite," She replied, making the heroes blink. "I'm Lady Beetle, Ladybug's mother,"

 "Whoa," Carapace gasped. "Is Ladybug ok?"

 "Yes, she is fine. The poor dear broke her leg though. Hence why I'm here," She replied, making Chat frown. "Only it only happened the other day, Chat Noir and she was very upset that she couldn't tell you but she needs her rest,"

 He took out his baton and texted something, causing her yoyo to vibrate. Lady Beetle took it out and read it.

 "I'm glad you do," She smiled before turning to Lila, who had ran off after been freed from Marionette's control. "So I see you found the truth about Miss Rossi,"

 "Y-Yeah," Carapace mumbled, glancing to the side as Rena frowned. "She was lying but what I want to know is how Marionette was able to control us?"

 "Marionette?" Lady Beetle asked. "I thought the akuma is Puppet Queen?"

 "It is but it's also Marionette," Queen Bee replied. "He can control people where Puppet Queen can summon and control past akumatized villains and I think I know how he was able to control us. It's public knowledge that everyone knows that Chloe Bourgeois is Queen Bee and since he was controlling our class members, it makes sense that he could control me as well. Since he knew that Chloe and Queen Bee are the same person, he could control me even when I'm Queen Bee,"

 "If that's the case then he must have known our identities too but how did he find out?" Rena asked, causing Lady Beetle to frown. "Only Ladybug knows our real identities,"

 "But where did you think she got the idea to give them to you?" Lady Beetle asked, making them look at her. "Someone must have suggested people for her to pick as Miraculous users,"

 "Oh my god... of course!" Rena gasped. "Marinette must of been the one to recommend us! Well, expect Chloe but she was able to get me that interview with Ladybug... oh god, I've been such an idiot,"

 "Same here, dudette," Carapace gasped before frowning. "We need to save Marinette and Luka!"

 "I assume you have a plan?" Lady Beetle asked, making the young heroes look at her. 

 "Well, the plan was to destroy all of the puppets in order to force them to face us in person but honestly, I'm opening to any idea you have," Rena replied, getting a nod of everyone else.

 "We'll stick with that for now," She replied, frowning. "But I don't think Lila was Marinette's only target. Chances are she's gonna go after Adrien Agreste as well,"

 "To Agreste manor then," Rena declared, jumping off with the rest of the team following her.

 ~At Agreste Manor~

 "Where is he?!" Volpina growled as she, Lady Wifi, Mylene and Sabrina searched through Agreste manor and Adrien's room. Unfortunately, the heroes burst in before they could search farther. Volpina played her flute, creating several versions of herself and Lady Wifi as Mylene and Sabrina tried to attack the girls but with Lady Beetle on their side, they soon cut the strings of the akumas and their classmates. Carapace and Queen Bee checked on Mylene and Sabrina, who were confused. Almost instantly, the Bubbler manifested and attacked them with a full on attack, causing the heroes to jump back and move Mylene and Sabrina out. It was so fierce it was almost desperate, causing Lady Beetle to realize that it was desperate.

 "I think they're running out of Puppets," She replied, dodging a bubble and destroying it's strings, causing a second Chat Noir to manifest. "Out the window!" 

 The group jumped out the window, causing him to chase them. Lady Beetle lead them to the school and landed in the courtyard, spinning her yoyo. Almost instantly, Rose jumped at her but Rena and Carapace grabbed her, allowing Chat Noir to slice her string as the puppet Chat Noir landed on the ground.

 "Marionette!" He called out before jumping out of the school. The heroes chased after him, causing Queen Bee to throw her spintop around his waist. He smirked and disappeared in pink smoke, causing her to land on the roofs with the others.

 "Marionette must have run out of puppets," Lady Beetle declared, making the group nod. "And that Chat Noir is Puppet Queen's last one..."

 "So if we destroy his strings, they'll be forced to face us," Carapace explained as Chat nodded. "But she won't manifest it unless we force her,"

 "We need to find them then," Lady Beetle replied as Chat texted her something. She read it and frowned. "So they were in Marinette's room originally but had to escaped... hmm.."

 She took out and checked something.

 "I think I know where they are," She replied, holding up the yoyo. "The Eiffel tower had to be evacuated after two people, believed to be akumas, broke into Gustave's office,"

 "They must be hiding there," Rena agreed before the rest of them jumped away and headed there. The police were surrounding the tower but hadn't actually gone up yet. The team climbed up and landed on the very top.

 "Cataclysm!" Cat Noir shouted, diving at them with his hand out stretched. The original chat slid over and grabbed the fake, slamming his hand into the door, destroying it before the fake chat began to fight with them. The other heroes rushed over but stopped when they saw Marionette stood in the door way. He tilted his head, causing it to click as he did before stepping forward in a slowed manner. One of his leg was slightly twisted and his head was tilted to the side. The group stepped back from him, creeped out but he took advantage of the situation, firing his strings at them. Lady Beetle and Queen Bee jumped back but Rena and Carapace weren't so lucky. Marionette twitched his fingers and moved his hands, forcing them to fight against the other two.

 "Use venom on him," Lady Beetle ordered, causing Queen Bee to nod and jump up as Rena charged at her.

 "Venom!" She declared, throwing her spintop and catching it. She jumped down and dodged Carapace's attack, allowing Lady Beetle to capture Rena and Carapace with her yoyo. She jumped up and slammed her spintop in the middle of his chest, freezing him, along with Carapace and Rena. 

 "No!" Chat Noir screamed as she did, allowing the real chat to destroy his strings before Queen Bee, Lady Beetle and Chat to run inside the office. Puppet Queen jumped up from her chair and fired her strings at them but they dodged them and Lady Beetle threw her yoyo, capturing the girl. It broke her heart to see Marinette with cracks on her skin, reflecting how broken she felt on the inside. "No! Let me go!"

 "It's ok, Marinette," Lady Beetle spoke in her motherly voice, causing the girl to look at her with tears in her eyes. Her strings stopped in the air as she looked at the woman in front of her. Chat glanced at her, unsure what to do. "It's going to be ok,"

 "How can it?" She asked, tears rolling down her face. "Everyone hates me!"

 "No, they don't," Lady Beetle reassured, stepping closer. "Your parents don't, Luka doesn't and I don't. Lila has been exposed. Your work is done,"

 "I..." Marinette gasped as Lady Beetle took the cross controls out of her hands and broke them in half. Nothing happened with the first one but when she broke the second one, the akuma fluttered out. She opened the yoyo and captured it before releasing it. She took the boomerang off her back and threw it up into the air, declaring the magical words. Marinette collapsed to the floor as she turned back into herself, tears rolling down her face as she looked up and blink, seeing Lady Beetle. "I... I was akumatized, wasn't I?"

 "Yes," She replied, kneeling down. "But it's ok now,"

 "I'm sorry," She muttered before her eyes widen. "Oh no! Luka! He was with me when I was akumatized! Oh god, he's gonna hate me for sure,"

 "I don't think he is," Lady Beetle smiled, helping Marinette to her feet and leading her out of the room. Luka was stood with Rena and Carapace, looking stressed out but as soon as he saw Marinette, he rushed over to her and engulfed her in a hug.

 "Marinette, I was so worried," He gasped, holding her close to him. Marinette closed her eyes and pressed her face into his chest, missing the looks of guilt from Carapace and Rena. Chat cleared his throat.

 "Um we should go," He stated, getting Rena, Queen Bee and Carapace's attention before turning to Lady Beetle. "It was nice working with you, Lady Beetle. I hope Ladybug's leg heals soon,"

 "I'm sure it will," She smiled as the four heroes left the tower. "Why don't I get you two home? I'm sure your parents are worried about you,"

 ~Later that Day~

 "Marinette?" Sabine asked, coming into her room. Marinette looked over as she came in and closed the door. "I think we need to talk,"

 "Y-Yeah," She replied, nodding as her mother sat on her chaise. "The captain wasn't angry was she?"

 "No, she wasn't. She was worried about you," She replied, making Marinette nod but she looked sad and Sabine knew how Marinette was. She was blaming herself for her and Luka been akumatized. Sabine walked over to her and sat next to her. "Marinette, no one is angry that you were akumatized. It was not your fault. I know you feel guilt but you were pushed over the edge. I know you've been resisting akumas for months and I am so proud that you were able to but I need you to know that it is ok that you were akumatized. You're not weak or evil because of it,"

 "I just... I just couldn't take any more, Mama," Marinette gasped, fresh tears falling down her cheeks as she covered her face. "Lila turned the class on me and they believed her. A-And Adrien... he just let her... he knew she was lying and he let her, saying it wasn't hurting anyone but it was hurting me,"

 "Ssh, it's ok," Sabine stated, wrapping her daughter in a hug as the girl cried her heart out. "Let it all out, Marinette,"

 "B-But akumas?" She gasped, looking up at her mum but she didn't seem worried.

 "Don't you worry about those nasty little butterflies," Sabine reassured, rubbing her back. Marinette nodded and just let tears fall as Tikki guarded the house, consuming every single akuma that came their way. Gradually, Marinette calmed down and wiped her eyes as her mother smiled. "Feeling a little better?"

 "A l-little," She admitted but both knew she had far to go. "It still hurts though,"

 "I'm afraid it will but like all injuries, it will heal over time," She reassured, gently kissing her forehead. "But there is something else I need to talk to you about,"

 "It's about the miraculous, isn't it?" Marinette asked, playing with her hands. Sabine nodded. "How did you find out?"

 "Tikki came to me," She replied as Marinette listened to her. "She wasn't originally going to tell me but I worked it out. She was very distressed and worried about you,"

 "Y-Yeah, Tikki's sweet like that," Marinette replied, unsure of what will happen. Will Master Fu take her miraculous away? She knew she couldn't handle losing Tikki but she was glad that Tikki went to her mother to save her. "Thank you for helping Tikki and saving me,"

 "You don't need to thank me, sweetie," Sabine smiled, rubbing her arm. "I'm your mother. It's my job to look after you. I just wish you had told me before,"

 "I c-couldn't," Marinette frowned. "Master Fu... the man who gave me Tikki... insisted that I couldn't tell anyone my identity but I guess it doesn't matter now. There's no way Chat doesn't know..."

 "Well, actually, he doesn't," Sabine replied, making Marinette look at her. "I told him that the reason why Ladybug couldn't make it to battle was because she broke her leg. It does mean that you might not be able to turn up for battle for a few days but when you tell him, just say your leg healed faster because of the miraculous. I know he'll buy it,"

 "But you wore the miraculous?"

 "As far as he knows, I'm just Ladybug's mother," She smiled, making Marinette hug her. "Only me and your father know about your identity now and we have some ideas to help you deal with this burden,"

 "Wait... you're not going to make me retire?" She asked, blinking in surprise. 

 "Part of me wants to but I don't think it's been Ladybug that made you miserable. I think it was everything else," She explained, making Marinette nod. "And I don't think breaking you and Tikki up would be good for either of you,"

 "But Master Fu-"

 "Leave this Master Fu to me," Sabine stated, making Marinette nod. "Now I'm thinking you should get some rest then went you're feeling a little better, we sit and talk about how to go forward,"

 "O-ok, Mama," Marinette nodded before heading up to her bed. Tikki flew in and smiled at Sabine, who smiled back before she went downstairs to her husband. She let him know that Marinette was resting before she started to make dinner. After a couple of hours, Marinette came downstairs and had dinner with them before they began to discuss how to help her. Marinette was prepared for them to send her back to Miss Bustier's class but to her surprise, her mother suggested having her transfer class or if she preferred transfer schools. She said she would have to think about it but she knew she didn't want to go back to Miss Bustier's class. Sabine and Tom agreed. They then decided it was time to talk to Master Fu. Marinette called him and asked him to come to the bakery. It didn't take long for him to arrive but when he did, he was surprised to see her parents. They invited him in and began to talk. By the end of it, he had agreed that Marinette should be allowed to keep Tikki and that if she wished to step down from battle, that Sabine would be allowed to become Lady Beetle again. Marinette couldn't help but feel relieved. It was a nice feeling, not having to lie to her parents about her identity. They swore they would be extra careful about becoming akumas as well. Marinette couldn't be happier with the outcome.

 ~A Few Days Later~

 Marinette took a deep breathe as she looked up at DuPont High. It had been a week since she and Luka had been akumatized and a lot of things had changed. She intentionally thought that Luka would hate her but to her surprise, he didn't. In fact, he reconfirmed his feelings for her and they had grown closer. She took another deep breathe and smiled a little as Luka gently took her hand in his. She asked him to come with her and her parents when they were called to come back into the school. They were also going to use the chance to finalize her transfer to a new school, which happened to be his school. Luka was more then happy to help her through today. They had also brought the family lawyer with them. She glanced at him before glancing at her parents with a nod. The four of them walked inside, causing a number of students to look towards them. Almost as soon as she walked through the door, Alya charged up to her.

 "Marinette, I can't-" She started but Luka stepped in forward of Marinette with a glare that reminded her of Marionette.

 "Back off, Cesaire," He almost growled, making her gulp. 

 "I just want to see how my bestie is," She replied, placing her hands on her hip.

 "Your bestie?" Marinette asked, surprising her as she stepped aside. "I'm not your bestie, Alya. In case, you've forgotten you renounced your friendship with me,"

 "Well, that was before Lila was revealed to be a liar," Alya pointed out, making Marinette frown. "So we can go back-"

 "No, we can't," Marinette replied, making her frown. "I'm sorry, Alya but I can't be friends with someone who's a bully,"

 "But I'm not!" She argued before gasping and stepping back as she realized what Marinette had done. She had used the exact same words that she had when she renounced her friendship. Marinette spared her a glance before their lawyer handed her a file, making Alya blink at it. "W-What's this?"

 "You have been served, Miss Cesaire," She replied, making the girl blink. "My clients are suing you for emotion distress and harassment. As you are a minor, a copy has been sent to your parents,"

 "W-What?" Alya gasped but Marinette ignored her. They moved on, followed by her parents who glared at her. Her shoulders slumped and she walked over to Nino, who comforted her. The next person who walked up to them was Adrien but unlike Alya, he had actually looked remorseful and like he hadn't had a lot of sleep. However, Marinette didn't feel sorry for him. In fact, she didn't feel anything for him. She was officially done and over Adrien Agreste.

 "Marinette..." He muttered, looking at her as she crossed her arms. Naturally, Luka was at her side, ready to defend her if he needed to. Tom was glaring at the young boy as well. The only one who didn't look angry was Sabine but her expression wasn't much better. It was one of pity. She pitied him. He licked his lips and looked at her. "Marinette, I am so sorry. I should have told everyone from the beginning that Lila was a liar and I should have supported you. I don't have the right to call you my friend,"

 "You're right, Adrien, you should have," Marinette stated, harshly. "And we're definitely not friends. Friends help each other and have each other's backs but you never did that because I didn't matter to you,"

 "I thought that she would disappear, just like a tabloid,"

 "I get that your upbringing has affected how you interact with people, Adrien but there's only so much that can excuses," She explained, making him frown. "I can't sue you as technically you did nothing but that's exactly it. You did nothing. Now if you excuse me, Adrien, we have to sort out something,"

 With that, they walked away and headed into the office. To their surprise, Lila was sat on a chair with her arms crossed. Behind her was a woman who they guessed was her mother. Mr Damocles, Miss Bustier and their case worker from the school board was there. She instantly walked over to Tom and Sabine and shook their hands.

 "I am so sorry for the trouble my daughter has caused," She stated, making them nod. "I requested that you be here so Lila can apology for her actions,"

 "Mama!" Lila gasped but her mother glared at her, making her go quiet.

 "You will be quiet unless I say so," She glared, making Lila gulp as someone knocked on the door. Marinette's family lawyer walked over and let Officer Roger in. "Now you will apologize to this girl and her family for the stress you put her through,"

 "I am sorry, Marinette," Lila mumbled but it was obvious she didn't mean it. Miss Bustier, on the hand, stood up and clapped her hands together.

 "Well done, Lila," She smiled before turning to Marinette. "And what do you say, Marinette? Do you accept her apology?"

 Marinette took a deep breathe as Luka squeezed her hand before she looked at her teachers and Mrs Rossi.

 "No, I don't," She replied, making them gasp but her parents gave her proud smiles. "It's clear that Lila doesn't mean it and even if she did, her apology does nothing. It doesn't undo all the pain and suffering she's caused me. It doesn't undo that she tried to isolate me and destroy my life so no I'm not going to forgive her but I am glad she is here,"

 "Mrs Rossi, here," The lawyer stated, holding out papers. "Your daughter has been served and is been sued for slander, defamation, emotional distress, cyber bullying and assault,"

 Lila stared at Marinette in surprise as the lawyer turned to Mr Damocles and Miss Bustier, handing them both files.

 "You both have also been served," She explained, making them blink. "You are been sued for emotional distress, abuse of authority and child abuse and neglect. My clients' are also filing charges against you ad Miss Rossi. I recommend you get yourselves a good lawyer because I will be pressing for prison time. Officer Roger, if you may,"

 "Mr Damocles and Miss Bustier, you are under arrest for child abuse and neglect. You have the right to remain silence but anything you do and say can be and will be used in a court of law," He declared as a couple of other officers came in. "And Miss Lila Rossi, you are under arrest for physical assault, obscuring the course of justice and terrorism-"

 "Terrorism?!" Mrs Rossi gasped before looking at Lila. "What did you do?"

 "According to our sources, Miss Rossi confessed to working with Hawkmoth willingly," Officer Roger explained, maker her mother go pale and gasp. "We have video evidence of her confession,"

 "I was cohered by her!" Lila screamed, pointing to Marinette. "She used her 'powers' to force me to tell that lie!"

 "Officer Roger, my daughter would not-" Mrs Rossi started but cut off as Roger showed her the video showed Malediktator hitting Lila with a ball of light before ordering her to tell the truth before she confessed everything in front of the heroes below the person filming it. Sabine hid her smile as best as she could.

 "As you can see, she was ordered to tell the truth. There was no threat, no blade to her neck," He pointed out, making her sit down as the other office went to place hand cuffs on Lila. However, things took a dramatic turn as an akuma into the room. Lila broke free from the officer and made a grab for the akuma with a wicked smirk on her face, placing it into her bracelet and accepting whatever power Hawkmoth promised her. During those moments, Luka pulled Marinette out of the room with her parents. Lila, now Obscurer, came looking for Marinette. Chat Noir was first on the scene but soon Viperion and Ladybug turned up. Chat was happy to see her and asked about her leg. Ladybug told him that the miraculous made it heal a lot faster before telling him to focus on the fight. Obscurer was defeated in record time and Lila was arrested as soon as she was deakumatized. She was dragged out kicking and scream in front of the whole school and Alya had even caught it on her live stream. She rushed over to Ladybug, asking for an interview but Ladybug refused it. She told Alya she needed to talk to her and Nino and that she would come and see them later before calling Chloe to the side. She explained to Chloe that she could never give her back the Bee miraculous as it was too dangerous, especially if another akuma got a similar power to Marionette. Chloe was disappointed but understood. Ladybug nodded and ran off with Viperion. Marinette came out from her hiding place with Luka. He gave her a smile before they joined her parents and left DuPont for the last time. Marinette linked her hand with his, giving him a smile as they followed her parents to the bakery.

 ~Later That Night~

 Alya gasped as she saw Ladybug at her window. She woke up Nino and let her, followed by Viperion. She was excited until she saw Ladybug's expression, making her and Nino frown. 

 "Alya, Nino.. I'm sorry to say this but I will not be calling on Rena Rogue and Carapace anymore," She explained, making them frown. "As of tonight, you two are retired and should the need for the fox or the turtle come up then new holders will be found. I advise you not to harass the new members when they appear and to accept my decision with grace. Understood?"

 "Y-Yes, Ladybug," Alya muttered, glancing down as Nino nodded. "C-Can we ask why?"

 "There is a number of reasons but the main ones are due to Marionette been able to control you, Chat and Queen Bee having to learn your identities and your recent behavior in your civilian life," She explained, making them frown.

 "But we didn't know Lila was a liar!" Alya argued but Ladybug held up her hand.

 "While that is true, you still had a choice and you decided to harass someone. It didn't matter if you believed her to be a bully or not, you still choose to do that. You turned on someone who you called a friend so how can I trust you won't do the same to me?" Ladybug asked, making the two frown. "But I am partially responsible for this. As soon as I heard about the Lila interviews I should have tracked you down and cleared up the situation. For that, I am truly sorry but it also goes both ways. You never once asked me if I was her friend or tried to check your sources, Alya. Instead, you just believed her and brushed off your friend's concerns as jealous. You never thought to verify Miss Rossi's claims both about me and Marinette. I may be partially responsible it but you are equally responsible for that as I am and Nino, you threw one of your oldest friends under the bus and picked the side of a girl you barely knew,"

 Nino frowned and looked down as Alya looked like she was about to cry.

 "For the record, I wish it had never come to this," Ladybug sighed before turning to to Viperion. "Viper, let's go,"

 "After you," He replied as she went to leave.

 "W-Wait... Ladybug, can I ask you something off record?" Alya asked, making Ladybug stop and nod. "W-Was it Marinette who recommended us to you?"

 "Yes, it was," She replied, making Alya feel worst. "She saw heroes in both of you-"

 "And we turned out to be villains," Alya gasped, sinking to her knees. Ladybug frowned and didn't say anything as she left with Viperion. Nino wrapped her arms around Alya as she cried. "We fucked up so bad, didn't we?"

 "Yeah, we did,"

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

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If anyone else wants to be tagged for the next prompt, let me know. However, requests are closed for now. I have a number of requests to finish up so I'll be reopening them when I'm all caught up

[ravennm84]

Lyre Festival Justice

Here is the sequel to Lyre Festival Fraud where you get to see exactly what happened to Lila during her long weekend after she went back to Italy. I thought, at first, that I may have gone to far with the salt... But it’s Lila and I really don’t like her character. So, Warm-Fuzzies and enjoy this salty goodness!!

It was a beautiful day in Rome and Lila was enjoying her shopping spree around the city. She and her mother had spent the first few days after moving back to Italy unpacking and getting settled. It was Sunday, and her mother had to go to the embassy to make sure that all of her paperwork had transferred from Paris, which gave Lila the opportunity to spend the money she’d gotten from the idiots from her old class. Really, she couldn’t believe how stupid they all were to have just handed her over €2,000 for a luxury vacation in Venice. She should have gotten at least €3,000 from the class, but that Mari-brat and stick-in-the-mud Adrien had convinced some of them that she was lying. Oh well, €2,000 was better than nothing.

Best part, none of it could be traced back to her. They travelled to Venice on their own, nothing had been written down, her old mobile phone was disconnected and in a landfill somewhere, and she would just tell her mother that she had gotten all her new clothes at a thrift shop she remembered from the last time they’d been living in Rome. And if the idiots got in trouble and tried to say that she was involved, she’d turn on the tears and her mother would side with her like she always did. Seeing a little cafe, she stopped in to get a good cappuccino, it had been too long since she’d had a deceit cup of coffee.

It was mid afternoon by the time she got home. She had made a stop at the thrift store to grab a couple of their shopping bags to hide the real ones inside. It felt wrong to put a Versace skirt in a bargain bag, but one does what one must to keep her life going smoothly. Opening the door to the apartment, she barely caught sight of her mother sitting on the couch before Lila started gushing about how great it was to be back in Italy and all the things she’d missed. 

She prattled on for a couple minutes before noticing that her mother hadn’t said anything. Turning to look at her, Lila flinched when she saw her. Something was seriously wrong, the last time she had seen her mother so angry was when she’d told her that her dad was cheating on her. That hadn’t been true but they had ended up getting divorced anyway, which was to Lila’s benefit since the man had always called her out on her lies.

“Is everything okay, Mama?” She asked cautiously, doing her best to sound and appear small and innocent.

“Sit down.”

Her tone left no room for argument. Lila set down her bags and sat in the chair across from her mother.

“Mama, wha-”

“Be quiet!” She snapped, and Lila shut her mouth. This actually seemed worse than the fight her parents had before they divorced. “I received a very strange email on Friday night, from a former classmate of yours in Paris. It seemed that the majority of your class was under the impression that we were throwing a party for a lot of important politicians, celebrities, and musicians on a private island and you had invited them. I told myself, ‘not my daughter, she would never do something like that’. But the email went on, with a list of the students that were supposedly going on this trip and gave you money for the expenses. Again, I thought ‘Lila would never be so cruel as to steal money from her friends right before we left Paris’. So I told the person who sent me that detailed information, that I would handle it. I still thought it was a joke.”

The teenage girl didn’t even have to listen to the end of this story, she knew that goody-two-shoes Marinette had ratted her out. Lila was fighting every instinct she had to run and lock herself in her room, but if she moved even a little her mother would stop her. She could only sit there and hope that she could come up with some kind of lie to convince her mother that she was being set up.

“Then when I went into the embassy today, my boss pulled me into his office and started grilling me as to why I allowed seven unaccompanied minors entry into the country. I tried to explain that I had no idea what he was talking about, and then he started reading off the names. Do you want to guess why those names sounded so familiar?”

By this point, Lila was practically curling into herself to make herself appear smaller. She had to say something, any lie that would make her mother believe her and only her. Turning on the tears, she buried her face in her hands and spoke between sobs. Fake crying always gave her a few extra seconds to think before she had to speak. “I swear, Mama. I didn’t want to do it. Marinette forced me to take those papers from your office to give to our classmates so they could get into the country without their parents. I never took any money from them, I swear! Marinette was bullying me the entire time we were in Paris, I was scared of what she’d do to me if I didn’t do what she said. You’ve got to believe me!”

“So you’re saying that you didn’t tell your class about some non-existent party on a private island, had no knowledge of who was coming into Italy, where they were going, or anything like that?” Her mother’s eyes narrowed as she brought out her mobile phone.

Her hands were shaking as she kept her face buried in her hands, something about her mother’s tone  and the way she spoke made this feel like a trap. But she couldn’t backtrack now, Marinette was her way out and she had to stick with it. So she nodded as she continued to sob into her hands.

“Then please explain this to me.” Her mother turned the phone towards her and Lila looked up, her face falling in horror when she heard her own voice. It was a video of her telling her class about who was going to be at the party that she and her mom were organizing, how she was going to need to know for sure who all was coming before the weekend, and Marinette had somehow gotten video of Alya and Nino each handing her €300!

It took longer than she would like to admit for the shock to wear off, but she was smart enough to stick to her original story. “It’s fake! Marinette must have made it to get me in trouble. Max probably helped her, he’s really good with computers. It’s all too convenient to be true. I mean, she sends you all this information about which people are going, how much money they gave me, and a story about a party on a private island in Venice, that anyone would be able to see is clearly fake. Can’t you see that I’m being set up?”

Her mother’s eyes grew harder as she stood from her chair, causing Lila to shrink even further into her own. 

“You say that this is all a set up and you had no idea where your classmates were going in Italy, but you just told me the exact city where they were found. You left them waiting on a dock for you to come ferry them to that non-existent private island, and don’t even bother saying that you know which city because of the video I just showed you, because it never names the city they were in.”

Well, crap. She was about to try another tactic, but her mother cut her off before the first syllable left her mouth.

“Young lady, do you have any idea how much trouble you are in?” she yelled, her face beginning to turn a purplish-red and began pacing the room. “You forged my signature on multiple federal documents, endangered the lives of multiple minors, committed theft, and god knows how many other laws you’ve broken. I can’t protect you from this! You will be facing federal charges for what you’ve done!”

Lila felt her stomach drop to her ankles. “But-but that was all in Paris, and I had diplomatic immunity while I was there!”

“It became an international incident when you forged an ambassador’s signature on federal documents that endangered minors! My boss gave me a choice,” her voice grew even harder and colder than before. “Either you answer for what you’ve done and plead guilty, or I lose my job and we both go to trial for what you’ve done.” 

“You’d let me go to jail for one little lie? It’s not like anyone got hurt!” Lila screamed, standing from her chair in a panic. This was much worse than she’d imagined. 

“And what if they had been?” Her mother screamed back. “What if they had been kidnapped and sold into human trafficking? What if one of them had fallen off the dock and drowned in the channel or hit by a boat? I would be held responsible for that because you forged my signature! Do you not care about the people around you at all? What is wrong with you?”

“But nothing happened to them! It’s their own fault for being stupid enough to believe such an obvious lie. And you’re taking their side over mine? How dare you call yourself my mother and claim to love me!” 

“Don’t you dare try to blame me for your bad behavior!” Her mother yelled back as she advanced on her, making her fall back onto the chair. Mme. Rossi looked back at the shopping bags she had knocked over when she had turned, revealing the Versace bag. Tilting her head back, she took multiple deep breaths before looking at her daughter.

“This is what’s going to happen. You are going to return everything you bought today, and you are going to explain to the managers of each store exactly why you are returning everything.” Lila was about to protest, but one look from her mother had her mouth snapping shut. “We will also be clearing out your savings to pay back your classmates for the money you took, their travel expenses, their parents travel expenses, and any money they lost while being away from their jobs to retrieve their children. After that, you will be standing trial for forgery and fraud. If you know what’s good for you, you will go before the judge and apologize profusely for what you’ve done and listen to everything the judge tells you. If you’re lucky you may receive a lenient sentence; but either way, you can expect your next school to be a reformatory school. And if you try to fight me on any of this, I will let a court appointed attorney with no experience handle your case instead of the family lawyer. Have I made myself clear?”

No longer having to fake her tears, Lila nodded to her mother, resigning herself to the fact that her life had been ruined because her mother didn’t love her and Marinette didn’t know how to keep her nose out of where it didn’t belong.

~oOo~

The rest of the day, Lila was forced to return everything that she bought back to the stores and tell the managers how she had stolen the money from her classmates and then abandoned them in a country and city that they weren’t familiar with. The people that overheard her were horrified by what she had done and the managers banned her from ever shopping in those stores again. After all, if she was willing to steal money from her friends, there was little doubt that she would steal from the stores.

After everything was returned, she was taken to the embassy where they recorded her confession on how she lied to everyone, forged her mother’s signature on the documents she stole, and how she scammed over €2,000 from her former classmates. After the confession was taped, she was taken outside of the embassy and handed over to the police to be kept in a juvenile detention center. She screamed at her mother, not believing that she would just hand her over like that, but the woman looked down her nose at her and said, “It’s time for you to face the consequences of your actions, young lady.” 

When she arrived at the police station, she was relieved to see their family lawyer was waiting for her, although he was less than thrilled by what she had done. He explained that even as a minor, she could be serving 2-6 years just for the forgery of the documents, that wasn’t even factoring in the scam or reckless endangerment of seven minors. If she were to be tried as an adult, she could be serving 6 years for each document, facing serious fines and more time for each classmate she endangered.

After hearing that, Lila had to rush to the trash can to throw up. She couldn’t believe that one little lie could get her into so much trouble. But this wasn’t her fault, none of it was. If there was anyone to blame, it was that goody-two-shoes Marinette Dupain-Cheng. After all the effort she went through to destroy that girl, she just wouldn’t back down. She would make that girl pay for what she’d done. As soon as the charges were all dropped, she would do everything she could, use every dirty trick in the book to force the nosy girl to end her life and stay out of hers.

But that would have to wait for now. For the time being, she would do what her mother said and play her part. Act like the innocent girl that had gotten caught up in her own fibs while trying to make friends in a new country. She didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt or in trouble, she was just so overwhelmed and she is so sorry for everything that happened. She would need to cry a lot, that was a given, but she could do this. Just fake it until she could get her revenge on the girl that ruined her life.

~oOo~Three Months Later~oOo~

Lila hadn’t meant to lose control in front of the judge. She’d spent months locked away with a bunch of low-class delinquents, talking to different lawyers and quack-doctors before going to court. She had been the picture of innocence and childhood regret the second she walked into the courtroom, she was sure to get off all the charges against her. But she and her lawyer had been blindsided. 

The quack-doctors had called her a narcissist and a sociopath, in need of desperate help. To prove that, all of her lies, everything she had said while in Paris had been brought into evidence against her. They’d exposed her truancy and forgery at her old school, found proof of her purposefully getting Marinette expelled, and faking interviews on the Ladyblog which brought her more lawsuits from a bunch of the celebrities she’d lied about. 

Some of her classmates had come to give testimony on what she had done and said during her time in Paris. The goodie-two-shoes brat had even come to Italy to give testimony against her, though Lila hadn’t been allowed in the courtroom while she was there, as Marinette hadn’t felt safe to be in the same room. Lila’s lawyer had actually agreed, probably so she wouldn’t cause a scene. And she probably would have. She would have stabbed her in the face with a pencil, in front of the entire courtroom, if she had the chance.

But the worst had to do with the school security cameras. After M. Damocles and Mme. Bustier had been fired for neglectful and abusive behavior to their students, which had been brought about by the investigation into Marinette’s expulsion, the Board of Governors went farther back through the recordings to see how long the bullying had been going on. What they found was video evidence of Lila grabbing an akuma out of the air and putting it into her earring, and then willingly working with the known terrorist. 

To make matters even worse, Ladybug and Chat Noir had sent a video as testimony of the times Lila had purposefully interfered with their rescues and had led Chat away from Ladybug to make her more vulnerable to the akuma Oni-chan. Her lawyer tried to get the video stricken from evidence as he couldn’t cross-examine the two heroes, but it was denied.

Her parents had been sitting behind her when they showed those videos. When her mother saw them, it was like she completely shut down. She heard her say that she wanted to leave, and Lila watched as her father helped her mother to her feet and lead her out of the courtroom without looking back. 

The judge had been absolutely disgusted with her, going as far as to call her a monster for willingly aiding a terrorist. Since she had already confessed to multiple counts of forgery, fraud, and reckless endangerment of minors, and would now be adding slander and other charges from her time in Paris, the most notable being terrorism; he declared that she would be tried as an adult and was likely to spend the rest of her life in prison.

She’d completely lost it at that point, screaming at the top of her lungs as she jumped over the table to attack the judge. She didn’t remember smashing the water pitcher against one guard's head, scratching another guard across the face, or getting tasered in the back. When she woke up, she was strapped to a bed by her wrists and ankles, her head felt really foggy, and there were a bunch of nurses and orderlies that were keeping keen eyes on her.

Lila Rossi spent the rest of her life heavily medicated in a maximum security mental health hospital. Most every night, the nurses would hear her plotting some kind of scheme to show everyone what a loser Marinette was, but then she would trail off about how she wanted to hear the song Jagged Stone wrote for her or the album she’d help Clara Nightingale write. When she saw people, she would ramble and lie about being a princess or a secret agent, and that she was only here to keep her safe until they came to get her. Over the years, it was all written off as the insane ramblings of a very disturbed girl that would be remaining at the hospital for the rest of her life.

[pl-panda]

To marry a Vigilante: Part 1

MASTERLIST || First || Previous || Next

Disclaimer: Masterlist

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When they finally pulled apart, Marinette needed a moment for her brain to restart. She was sure she would melt right then and there. At the same time, she wanted to jump and scream from sheer ecstasy. It was all she ever wanted and now she had it. 

Damian stared at her empty expression. 

“I think you broke her.” Plagg suddenly zoomed out of her pocket, followed by Tikki who tried (and failed) to catch him. 

This was enough for Mari to finally start thinking coherently. “Um… Yeah… I… Maybe…” Or mostly coherently at least.

“Habibti. Breathe. In. Out. In. Out.” Damian guided her. Slowly, Mari returned to her senses. 

“Thank you… I think I might have kinda lost my breath there.” She gave him an apologetic smile. 

“Nothing happened. Now I think I need to leave or my brothers will get some stupid idea and I will have to practice my skill with a sword.” Damian deadpanned. 

“Since I know I can’t stop you, please at least don’t kill them until I get to know them better?”

“I can try, but no promises.” He turned to leave, but she grabbed his hand.

“Oh! Wait!” She fumbled through her pocket for a moment before pulling out a small box. Plagg immediately was pulled inside it (much to Tikki’s amusement). “Damian Wayne. As Guardian of the Miraculous, I give you the miraculous of the Black Cat, which gives you the power of destruction. I trust you to protect it and use it to help others.”

Damian was stunned only for a short moment and definitely didn’t move his mouth like a fish. Definitely. “I accept that honor and thank you for your trust.”

“There is no one I would trust more than you with this. If not for your and your family’s help, I would’ve never caught Hawkmoth or the Cat.” 

“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re brilliant and it was only a matter of time.” 

“Time I might’ve not had. Chat was working with Hawkmoth. Who knows when I would’ve fallen into a trap…”

“It’s all over now, Habibti.” He grabbed her hand. “Everything is going to be better now.” When she smiled he let go and opened the box. Plagg appeared in a flash. 

“For the record, I hate these boxes.”

“Stop complaining. If you stayed there it wouldn’t have been so bad.” Tikki scolded him.

Marinette giggled at the interaction of the two little gods. Damian just shook his head and donned the ring. 

“Can I see how you’ll look?” She asked before her smile took a more grin-like look. “I want to see if you’ll have a cute cat-ears.”

“Maybe when you are in Gotham.” He scoffed. “Thank you, angel. It’s the best Christmas gift you could’ve given me. Your trust means more than gold to me.”

“But Christmas is still a long way away…” Mari tried to dismiss him, but seeing his expression she doubled back. He looked almost scared. Almost, since Damian Wayne did not get scared.

“Angel… Christmas Eve is tomorrow. That’s why your class is leaving on Monday. You are all going to be attending the Wayne New Year Gala next Friday.”

“But… But… Wouldn’t there be decorations in stores? And Santa Clauses on the street? Or at least…”

“There were. Mostly Miraculous themed though. I can’t believe you didn’t notice.” He said with a bit too much amusement slipping into his voice.

“Kwami! Kwami! Kwami!” She started to pace. “I completely forgot! How could I have forgotten Christmas!?” She was close to collapsing. Damian was quickly by her, holding her wrists together to not accidentally get slapped by her flailing arms. 

“Habibti. There is nothing to worry about. You already gave everyone the greatest gift possible by ridding them of that terrorist. I admit I regret that we will not be able to spend our first Christmas together as a family, but the last several months were the best of my life already. You don’t need to give me anything more.”

“But… But…” She was at the edge of crying.

“Marinette. Don’t worry. I have an idea.” Tikki reassured her Chosen. “Go tell your parents to pack everything.”

“But… Maman and I must be here at six on Monday” She tried to argue. 

“You will be. Kaalki owes me a favor.” The kwami dismissed her. 

“But… But I can’t just abuse the miraculous.”

“Marinette. All Kwami love you. They would be happy to help you if the need arose.” Tikki nuzzled into her cheek. Mari finally relented.

“Fine… But I’m buying her three boxes of sugar cubes,” she said with conviction. 

The two kwami giggled and Damian cracked a smile. 

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

Adrien cursed loudly. He barely managed to escape those damn heroes. And to think that his Lady marries some American ragtag instead of him? That’s how she repaid him for his loyalty? For all of his sacrifices? That was just a travesty. 

But it didn’t matter in the end. She didn’t deserve to be Ladybug anyway and now finally, the world could be free from her. Of course, heroes could try to save her. They could even succeed. But he made a point. He severed all the ties with that cursed bitch. Now he could focus on his true soulmate: Marinette. She was the real Ladybug. She was loyal, honest, brave, kind, selfless, beautiful. They’re made for each other. In a perfect world, they would be with one another if he was not blinded by the imposter. She had a crush on him in the past, but he ruined it. Now he had to work trice as hard to get her to join him. 

“Don’t worry mother. We will have our family again.” He said, looking at the stasis chamber. 

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

When Marinette and her parents exited the portal in Wayne Manor, they were greeted by Alfred the Butler and Alfred the Cat. 

“Ah. Young Madame Marinette, Madame Cheng, Master Dupain. It is my pleasure to welcome you. I was told you would be arriving through… extraordinary means.” He greeted them. 

“We’re sorry for all the trouble we’re causing you on such short notice.” Marinette immediately started to apologize.

“You are no trouble at all. Definitely not compared to the usual Christmas mess.” He dismissed her apology. She wanted to protest, but the cat jumped onto her and she instinctively grabbed him and hugged.

“I see Alfred the Cat likes you, Angel.” Damian’s voice came from behind. Immediately, Marinette whirled around, only to stare into a pair of green eyes. 

“Damian!” She wanted to hug him, but the cat was a bit in the way. Instead, she just leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. They both smiled. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Sabine spoke. “Is Cassandra home? I would like to meet my niece. We spoke several times over the phone, but meeting in person is…”

“She is in the gym, practicing ballet,” Alfred informed her. 

“Thank you. Tom, be a kind husband, and carry my things to our room. And don’t forget the bag.” She patted Tom’s cheek before leaving. 

“Come, Habibti. I will show you the garden.” Damian grabbed her waiting hand.

“Take my bags too, dad? Thanks!” Mari shouted without looking back before she, Damian, and the cat left the room, leaving Tom with half the house packed into bags. 

“Why do women carry so much with them…?” He sighed. 

“It’s a mystery of the world that we, mere mortals, will never know, Sir,” Alfred answered in his usual tone. 

---------

“Cassandra?” Sabine asked, leaning through the doors leading to the gym. The mats that would usually cover the ground were all rolled in the corner to make space. A large mirror covered the entire right wall. A lone girl in a white ballet outfit danced to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet music. 

The girl did not answer or break her dance, but Sabine noted that her gaze shifted toward doors in the mirror. It was just a short moment to assess the threat without breaking concentration on whatever one did. It was the same as she often did. It was an instinct learned through years of training. David Cain better stayed in that cell or else.

When the song ended, Cass turned the music off and walked closer to Sabine until they were standing about a foot apart. 

“You’re a great dancer.” The woman started. Cass only nodded in response. 

“Practice.” She said. There was more awkward silence where the two measured each other. 

“I’m sorry sweetie. For what happened to you. If I knew, I would’ve searched for you and gave you a proper home.” A tear appeared in Sabine’s eye. When they spoke through video, it was mostly about meaningless things to get used to one another or neutral subjects. Now, in person, Sabine wanted to get all regret off her heart. 

“No… fault.” The girl answered. “All… good.” 

“Can I… Hug you?” Sabine asked, fully aware that not everyone liked physical contact.

“Hug?” Cass asked. To this day, only Dick or Tim wanted to give her hugs and it was rare. “Okay?” She more asked than agreed, but her aunt responded by slowly pulling the girl to her heart. 

“I’m still sorry. If I see my sister, she is gonna get her ear screamed off.” She assured the girl. “How could she… You’re such a sweet girl.”

Cassandra Cain smiled. She liked being hugged by that woman. And the image of her mother cowering before her older sister was too funny. 

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

“Damian!” Marinette shouted as he dragged her through the garden. It was much colder in Gotham than in Paris. And it was still only late morning here while she left Paris in the afternoon. She was a bit tired. 

“I want to show you something, Angel. Come on! Before my brothers find us and drag me into their ‘Christmas spirit’ stuff.” He groaned at the thought.

“Christmas is important!” She argued.

“Definitely when you are here.” He answered easily. It was lucky he was too focused on the road to look back because she blushed… hard. 

They walked through the forest that was on the manor grounds until they entered a small clearing. In the center, there was a stone garden gazebo with the fire burning in the center. It definitely gave heat, but little smoke dispersed in the air before it could alert anyone to that location. There were several stone benches inside.

“I found it during one of my… escape attempts when I was younger.” He admitted. “Now I use it as a retreat from my brothers. The herb mixture I use as fuel gives no smoke.”

“Why bring me here?” She asked. 

“I just thought that we should enjoy the peace before the hurricane that my brothers become washes over us.”

Mari giggled. “I met your brothers.”

“No. You saw them. I had to live with them for the last five years. They are crazy.”

“It can’t be that bad… right?”

“Last year Todd set the Christmas Tree on fire.” He deadpanned.

“Okay, that might’ve been an accident.” She tried to argue. 

“Four years ago Grayson decided to show his acrobatic skill to put a star on the top of the tree. He ended up crashing it on us and the dinner table.”

“It… happens?” She said, but with less conviction. 

“Two years ago, Drake decided to surprise Brown and bought her a life-sized statue of them made out of chocolate.”

“It doesn’t sound that bad…” 

“Except that insomniac idiot accidentally ordered it made out of chocolate ice cream!” 

“Oh…” Marinette didn’t have an answer for that.

“So as I said, they can be a bit much.”

“Don’t worry. I still think it could be worse. My Nona once gave my parents a motorbike with two sidecars as a Christmas gift.”

“Tt. That sounds normal.” 

“Except one of them was made as a crib for me. I was one at the time.” 

Damian cracked a smile.

“I still think you will thank me for showing you this place.” 

“May I remind you that you will all be stuck with my mom for the better part of the exchange. She will keep them in check.” Mari huffed. 

“I don’t doubt that.” He pulled his phone and showed her a photo of Sabine standing over Talia. The next one was of unconscious Talia with Tom standing over her with the broken chair.

Mari giggled and she would later swear that Damian laughed a bit. Not that anyone saw them. Well, no human. Alfred the Cat could hardly testify.

------

Masterlist // Next

[heartsywritesthethings]

The Tickler (Part 2)

Author: GA!babe

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Part I

~~~

For Marinette, it was surprising that she hadn’t been akumatized due to Lila’s constant lying. A part of Marinette wondered if Lila was even capable of telling the truth ever since all she ever she did was lie all of the time.

What did help her get through her day was the fact that she knew that at least Adrien wasn’t falling for her constant lies. While the class swarmed around Lila during lunch hour and asked about her totally true adventures around the world, Adrien sat next to Marinette to keep her company.

Of course, it was incredibly nice that Adrien was wanting to spend time with her, it did kind of hurt that even Alya was sucked in. 

“You know, I’m kind of proud of Chloe,” Adrien said, pushing around his noodles in his bowl as he watched Lila spin more and more lies to those around her.

“Huh? Chloe?” Marinette asked, looking over at her crush, finally tearing her gaze and attention away from Lila.

“Yeah. Not only did she invite everyone in the class, but she’s also been warning me about Lila as well. Not that I need it, but it’s still nice that she was thinking about me.” Adrien said, smiling softly. Marinette opened her mouth to snap something snarky back at him, but held her tongue. While she had never really gotten along with Chloe, she knew that Adrien had a soft spot for her. 

Chloe and Adrien had been friends since diapers. Both of their parents were in high positions of power and had to deal with both incredibly alone and surrounded by people all the time. While Adrien took to being a celebrity more gracefully than Chloe had, it was hard to deny the amount of similarities the two of them shared.

“You know,” Adrien started, “I didn’t realize how ticklish you were, Marinette. If I had known, I would have tried to pick you up differently,”

Marinette turned a very nice shade of pink as she remembered how Adrien had saved her from being run over by Alix. 

“Ohhhh yeah! Well, don’t flurry! Worry! I-it wouldn’t have really mattered where you picked me up anyways. Your beautiful hands– I mean–your soft– the hands –you–because it’s bad, like, everywhere. That wasn’t even the worst of it. Not that it gets worse or you’re worse or–ACK!” Marinette had rambled until Adrien poked her in the side. Marinette jumped, almost toppling off of the chair. 

Adrien laughed and caught her by the arm, stopping her from falling completely onto the floor. A devilish twinkle shown in his eyes, something familiar that Marinette could swear that she had seen before, but never in Adrien.

“Adrien! Marinette!” Lila called over to them, waving her hand to bring them over. And suddenly the playfulness between Marinette and Adrien disappeared. “What are you two doing over there? Join us!”

“No thanks, Lila,” Marinette said through gritted teeth, straightening herself out on her chair. Lila pouted and turned to Alya and Nino.

“Gosh, guys, I just don’t understand why Marinette hates me so much. I thought you all said she was the nicest girl in the class.” Lila said, just loud enough for everyone to hear. “I’m starting to feel as if she might just be jealous of all of the attention you guys are giving me,”

“I’m not jealous of–” Marinette started, standing up from her chair before Adrien laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her from continuing any further.

“Calm down, Marinette. ” Adrien said softly, looking up and down at his friend. Sure, she was usually awkward and pretty clumsy, but she had never bee quite so angry. Not only did it hurt to see such a good friend so upset, but aside from himself, Marinette was the only one in their class who had never been akumatized before. 

Lila started visibly shaking before tears started to pour out of her eyes. The crowd around her quickly came to her rescue with Rose handing over several tissues and Kim wrapping an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. 

“What’s wrong, Lila? Are you okay?” Rose asked worriedly.

“I-I think I’m just s-so upset brings back too many terrible memories from when I was akumatized. I…I think I’m having a panic attack,” Lila said, her breath quickening as she said so. The gaggle of students surrounding Lila all turned to Marinette, giving her the stink eye. Marinette clenched and unclenched her fists as Lila was walked out of the cafeteria by a gaggle of students. 

Just outside of eyesight of the others and Adrien, Lila turned and smirked at Marinette.

~ * ~ * ~

Somewhere hidden in the depths of Paris, France, Hawkmoth stood in his lair. Sweet, unbothered butterflies fluttered around him. As the intense negative feeling from Marinette washed over him, he took a deep breath in and sighed.

“Finally,” He sighed, stepping up onto a small pedestal to get a better vantage point of the city. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you have evaded my akumas for so long, but now…this negative emotion is one so strong coming from you.”

Hawkmoth held out his hand and a pure white butterfly gently landed in his palm. He clasped his other hand on top of it, filling it with as much power as he could. Soon, the once beautiful white butterfly was a deep purple, almost black. He took the hand off of the top of the butterfly and watched it fly out of the small opening in the window. 

“Fly away my little akuma, and finally evilize this miserable girl,” Hawkmoth said as he watched his akuma leave. 

With Marinette akumatized, finally, the miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir would be his. What a sweet monster Marinette would become.

* ~ * ~ *

“Marinette!” Adrien cried as Marinette stormed out of the lunch room and into the hallways. It seemed as soon as she had left, Lila pounced onto Adrien, taking his hands in her own. 

“I thought she would never leave,” Lila huffed, placing herself in between Adrien and Marinette’s path. Adrien’s worried look turned into a scowl of disgust as he looked down at the school liar. 

“You look like you’re feeling better, Lila. Where did everyone else go?” Adrien asked, glancing over Lila’s shoulder to see where Marinette had gone. 

“I told them I needed space to breathe. Your classmates are all so nice, Adrien. I don’t know what Marinette told you but it was all–” Lila began before Adrien placed his hands on her shoulders and physically moved her out of his way. 

“Lies? You would know plenty about that, Lila. I told you to start being nice to Marinette,” Adrien said. Lila was the only one who could ever get him and Marinette this angry it seemed like. 

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted it. 

An Akuma. And he had a terrible feeling as to who the target was going to be.

Adrien’s heart sank. No. Not Marinette. 

He glared at Lila one last time before sprinting out into the hallway to go find his friend, leaving Lila in the dust.

Out in the hall, Marinette was curled up against a bench in the far corner of the common area. There were too many girls in the bathroom for her to be upset in private and going home just seemed far too dramatic. Her kwami, Tikki, flew out of her handbag.

“Marinette, you can’t keep getting so upset over Lila! It puts you in danger,” She warned.

“I know, Tikki,” Marinette sighed, pulling her knees up closer to her chest. “It’s just so frustrating. I feel like no one listens to me and…it’s not like I ever expect anything in return, but…”

“What do you mean, Marinette?” Tikki wondered.

“It’s stupid, Tikki.” Marinette grumbled, looking away. Tikki rested her little hands on Marinette’s nose.

“When it comes to your feelings, nothing is stupid. Even if they’re negative,” Tikki insisted. Marinette smiled a little.

“I know that when I do nice things for everyone, no one owes me anything in return. It’s not like I expect anything in return, but this…when they all take Lila’s side…I feel as if they didn’t even notice all the hard work I put in every day, you know?” Marinette said, sniffling as her emotions began to boil over.

Being both the bright and bubbly Marinette and cool and collected Ladybug left very little room for her to feel any sort of negative emotion. It almost felt as if she wasn’t allowed to feel sad in either of the lives she was living.

“They see that, Marinette. I promise they do. You’re the best Ladybug ever, even when you’re Marinette!” Tikki said, flying around in little circles to show how she felt. 

Marinette chuckled weakly and poked Tikki in the stomach.

“Thanks, Tikki,” She hummed, her frustration beginning to fade.

“Marinette!” Adrien called. Marinette perked up, hearing her name being called out like that. It sounded as if something was wrong. Tikki hid back in her bag, but she was definitely ready for action.

“Adrien?” She responded. Soon, Adrien popped out from the hall and spotted her, looking relieved. Then, he saw the akuma again and this time, Marinette spotted it as well. She stood up, though she had basically backed herself in a corner when she had been upset.

Quickly, she scanned her surroundings. She couldn’t exactly transform in front of Adrien and now others were looking on to see what the commotion was about. She was pressed against a corner with an akuma coming right for her, but she wasn’t feeling as down anymore, right?

That wasn’t good enough. If she got akumatized, who would save Paris? 

Suddenly, she saw her answer. Just as she akuma was inches away from her, Marinette slid under the nearby bench and popped out on her feet on the other side. Adrien grabbed her wrist and pulled her aside.

“Come on, let’s get you to safety,” He said, tugging Marinette into the locker room and closing the door behind them. He looked around for an open locker.

He had hidden in so many lockers during an akuma attack that it was practically second nature to him, despite his intense hatred of being trapped in a small environment. Surely Marinette wouldn’t mind. 

Marinette was also struggling. She had to get Adrien to safety and then find a place to transform. Having an akuma loose in the school would definitely cause chaos. However, they had both been seen running into the locker room and if she transformed here and left as Ladybug, there would definitely be trouble explaining it. 

Before either of them could think of a plan for transforming, the akuma slid through the crack between the door and the doorframe. Marinette and Adrien backed away from it, neither taking their eyes off of it. Adrien placed an arm in front of Marinette, keeping himself in between his friend and the akuma. If he were to be akumatized, it would mean he would not only be abandoning his lady, but he would probably have to fight her as well. 

“Adrien, I have an idea,” Marinette said. Adrien glanced back at her, confused. Marinette sighed and held up her arms.

“Tickle me.” She said, resigned. 

Adrien was confused, then he understood. If she was being tickled, she wouldn’t have any negative emotions for the akuma to latch onto and if he was tickling her, he would definitely not have any negative emotions. 

Adrien’s wiggling fingers went straight to Marinette’s underarms. They were exposed and the first spot that he definitely knew were ticklish. Almost immediately, Marinette dropped in a puddle of giggles. Adrien followed her to the ground, keeping his fingers wiggling under her arms. 

“Aahahahaha Ahahahdriihihihihihen,” Marinette giggled, letting herself enjoy the tickles. 

“What? I’m hardly even touching you, Marinette.” Adrien hummed, a smile on his face. “Besides, you kind of have my hands trapped here,”

Marinette kept giggling, squeezing her eyes shut. 

“Keheheheheheh-HIHIHHIp gohhohohohoing,” Marinette giggled, her laughter jumping as Adrien brushed up against her upper ribs. 

“If you insist.” Adrien chuckled at her reaction. Once he could get his hands free, he started to target a new tickle spot. 

Next was her stomach, and Adrien clawed, pinched, and poked around Marinette’s belly as she laughed and wiggled around on the floor, but she kept trying to keep her arms up.

Sure, Adrien had seen Marinette laugh before, but never like this. She looked so sweet, carefree, and…beautiful. She should definitely let loose like this more often. Whenever Marinette was around, she always seemed so tense and awkward. It was nice to see this side of her.

His wiggling fingers danced up her ribs and then he hit it. One of her death spots.

“ACK! NOT THERE!” Marinette squeaked, her arms flying down to protect herself. Adrien took her left wrist and lifted it and began poking around her ribs.

“Right where? Here, Marinette?” Adrien teased, poking and prodding while Marinette laughed and laughed. 

“IHIHIHIT’S GOHHOHOHONE! THEHEHEHEHEHE AKUHOHOHOOHOHOMA! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!” Marinette cackled, her face a bright shade of red and tears of mirth beginning to fall down her cheeks.

Oh yeah, the akuma. Adrien looked around and realized the akuma was nowhere to be seen. He ceased his tickling and waited as Marinette giggled herself silly.

“Good thinking, Marinette,” Adrien said softly. Marinette just held up a thumbs up and Adrien laughed.

~ * ~ * ~

“No!” Hawkmoth exclaimed, “The negative emotions have faded!”

He huffed in frustration, feeling his dream slip away from him once again. 

“Stick around my evil Akuma. Our dear Lila is sure to stir up more trouble.” Hawkmoth growled, staring out at the open Parisian sky. He would get those miraculouses.

[fanartfunart]

Fly Away

Episode 3: Despair Bear

Ao3 - First - 2

(Féline Sombre & Paon Lilas designs)

Summery: An AU where Adrien never went to in-person school, not getting the cat miraculous, and found the peacock miraculous. -Chloé, determined to be allowed back to visit Adrien’s house, and discovering Adrien is visiting Marinette, sets up a party to showcase just how nice she can be. (posted in full for tumblr while I have power/internet on my computer :P)

-

Duusu was sitting on top of Adrien’s shoulder when he pressed play on the virtual hello from the class he was almost able to join. Adrien handed him a dried mango chip and he happily munched on it.

 Chloé, of course, was the first person to show up on the video, “Adrikins Hiii! I miss you already~”

 The camera turned around to show Sabrina, who must’ve been recording. She waved “Hi!”

 “Sabrinaaa, camera focused on me. Meee.”

 “Oh, right!”

 Chloé spent at least a third of the video showing him the building as if she owned it. ...Adrien was surprised it didn’t last longer.

 It shifted from the single-take style into more professionally edited together clips of various classmates. Adrien assumed this was where the boy interested in filmmaking had taken over.

 “Yo, I’m Nino, hope you get to hang out outside of school one of these days dude. If you ever need a DJ I’m your man! See you around someday!”

 “Hi, I’m Alya, investigative journalist-”

 Chloé scoffed offscreen, “You wish.”

 “Chloé I will-” the video cut out whatever happened after that. Alya stood a bit prouder, “I run the Ladyblog and am the head of the school blog! If you ever have any curiosity about the school news or superhero news, just check those out! Leave some comments if you want and I’ll get back to you asap! Keep it classy."

 The rest of the class’s videos went about the same, until the very last one. The girl from the bakery frowned at someone off to the side out of sight from the camera.

 “Come on girl, before Chloé comes back.”

 “Hi, I’m er, Marinette. I’m uh, an aspiring fashion designer and my parents own Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. I suggest trying out the macaroons! I brought some on the first day, uh, but I tripped so there weren't many left anyway so you probably didn’t miss anything!” She giggled awkwardly. She trailed off, giving a pleading look towards someone behind the camera. “Alya, I don’t know what else to say.”

 “Whatever you’d say to a new kid!”

 “Uhg, get better friends than Chloé?” She covered her mouth as Alya and Nino laughed from behind the camera. “I- mean whatttt Chloé's er, Chloé. Great evil-er friend… to er, to be setting up this videooo….ohmygosh. Can you edit that out?”

 “I would’ve, but now I’m keeping it.” Nino said. Marinette gasped in offence while Alya and Nino giggled more.

 “What are you all giggling over?” Chloé complained off-screen. Marinette gave a pointed look to the camera, and the video faded into a written message.

 “Sorry I couldn’t properly finish my message. I wish you a wonderful year, and hope you can build great friendships, even without going to school. At least you don’t have to worry about being late! Good luck Adrien -Signed, Marinette.”

 “Awwwwwwww, that’s sweet,” Duusu cried.

 “Yeah, it was.” He got out his phone to text Chloé a thank you. He sighed as he looked at her many, many, many messages of upset about no longer being allowed over anymore. He was just glad she didn’t get akumatized over it….

 He got up, glancing at Duusu. "How about we go visit the bakery and see if Marinette is open to hanging out. My father can't ban me from bakeries, right?"

 Duusu giggled, "Sounds like fun!" He frowned, "Are you only choosing to visit Marinette because she has a good place to tell your father you're going to?"

 "...No… She's just the only person in that video who mentioned a place I can visit at all."

 Duusu just giggled like he knew something Adrien didn't. He shook his head with a smile and grabbed his bag. "Come on, let's go."

-

"Marinette," Sabine called, opening the trap door to Marinette's room. She waved to the group of girls doing a miniature fashion show there. "Your friend's here."

 Marinette looked up from the blog post Alya was showing her, as the other girls continued to put on various jewelry pieces. "Who? I didn't ask anyone else to come over?"

 "A boy named Adrien. I can tell him you're busy if you want me to."

 "Adrien… Agreste?" Marinette tilted her head. He was Chloé's friend. The one that visited the bakery and fell/she pushed. Wait… he was also the guy who she made a feathered hat for who had a feather allergy wasn't he?! Why on earth would he want to visit her? Did he have some sort of ulterior motive? Was he Chloé's spy? Did he want revenge for the feathers?! "Er."

 Alya, Rose, Juleka, and Myléne all oooh-ed at the same time.

 "Oh hush. What uh, do you all think?"

 Alya grinned "Good with me, girl. I wanna see how this plays out."

 Rose nodded enthusiastically and Juleka gave a thumbs up.

 Myléne smiled, adjusting her hat, "He's a professional model right? He probably could give us some tips!"

 Marinette rolled her eyes, lowering her voice to a harsh stage-whisper, "He's Chloé’s friend."

 "The one we made the video for, yep," Alya nodded, "Exactly my point. You said it yourself, he needs better friends than her." ….On the other hand, instead of a revenge-seeking spy, he could simply be that lonely sounding boy they made a video for, trying to escape the clutches of the evil Chloé. Marinette could be the only non-Chloé & minions person he knows! Marinette sighed heavily.

 Sabine sighed softly, "Marinette… he's waiting downstairs. Yes or no."

 "Okay! Okay. I'll go down and bring him up, I guess." Marinette trudged down, ignoring the giggling girls.

-

 Adrien was wandering curiously around the bakery, hands politely behind his back. He noticed the door open and waved enthusiastically to Marinette. She squeaked and closed the door. Sabine raised a brow.

 "You can always tell him you're busy."

 "Nooo, it's fine." Marinette sighed and entered the room. Adrien’s confused head tilt turned into a smile. Like a… puppy. An incredibly patient puppy waiting for someone to play with him.

 "Hi Marinette. I watched that video today! Thank you, it was really sweet of you guys to do that. I hope you don't mind me kinda just… showing up."

 "Oh er… you're welcome. I was actually hanging out with some of the girls who helped make that."

 "Oh! If you're busy-" He gestured awkwardly to the door.

 "No, no, uh, we were just hanging out, you can join us."

 He immediately perked up, "Cool! That sounds like fun!"

 Marinette stared at him in his enthusiasm and nodded. "Come on up."

 Adrien climbed up into the room, Marinette shortly after him. The group of girls all immediately hushed their conversation upon noticing them and dissolved into giggles.

 He chuckled and waved, "Well hello. You all are wearing some lovely hats, is this a fashion show?"

 "We're helping Marinette take photos for her Instagram." Myléne said.

 "And future blog!" Alya added.

 "They've been great models for me," Marinette smiled.

 "Oh really? May I see some of the photos?" Alya handed him a phone immediately. He scrolled through some of the photos, nodding."These are great," he smiled and glanced at Marinette, "You made all these hats?"

 Marinette nodded, giggling. Rose bounced over to Adrien, showcasing a necklace. "She makes jewelry too!"

 "Those are lovely! You're really talented!" He gave Marinette a dazzling smile. She giggled and stuttered something, which was almost a thanks?

 "Hey, you're like, a pro model, right?" Alya asked, "Do you mind helping us? Got some insider tips?"

 "Oh, uh, sure!" Adrien smiled. It would be fun to help them. Probably more so than a regular photo shoot.

-

 Chloé gasped at her phone. Her Adrien in a picture on Marinette's Instagram post? All squished in a group photo with her little squad?! Why is he hanging out with her!?

 She called Adrien, anxiously tapping her nails against the back of the phone.

 Adrien picked up and Chloé did not waste a precious minute. "Why are you at Dupain-Chang's?"

 "Hello to you too, Chloé. I'm just hanging out. Marinette and her friends wanted some help with modeling her fashions."

 "Humph, that ugly stuff? Far too kind of you to do that for her."

 He sighed, "Maybe you could benefit from being a bit kinder, Chloé. It's not that hard."

 She heard a few hushed whispers in the background over the line. She balked. "I- But why would your father let you visit her and not let me, your oldest friend, over!"

 "Marinette didn't steal a book from my father's safe and get him upset enough to get akumatized." Adrien's voice was level. Gentle even. Chloé felt that was probably worse than any direct anger.

 Marinette's voice in the background squeaked out "Chloé’s book belonged to your dad?!"

 "Oh." Chloé muttered. "But actually Sabrina-"

 "I don't care if you got Sabrina to do it or not. I care if you learn from this kind of stuff and become a bit more considerate," Adrien sighed, "Maybe if you showcase some better behavior my father might let you come back over more again. But until then, I can't do anything about it. Sorry."

 "I…" Any defences or retorts died on her tongue.

 Adrien waited a moment, "I gotta go Chloé. Talk to you later, okay? Goodbye."

 "Goodbye...Adrien."

 Adrien hung up and she plopped onto the couch, staring at the earlier text messages between her and Adrien.

 Chloé blinked away tears.

-

 Adrien sighed, turning towards the group of girls, "Sorry. My father kinda banned Chloé from coming over to my house and she's still… very upset about it…"

 "She…" Marinette coughed, "Um. What was that about a book?"

 "Chloé and Sabrina came over and uh, Sabrina got caught taking my father's book. It was important to him. Apparently they lost it… I was hoping they could find and return it and they'd be allowed back but…" He glanced at the floor and shrugged.

 "Right. Right. And where did your dad get this book? Er… Maybe we can get a replacement?" She giggled awkwardly.

 "I don't know. He didn't explain much about it." He waved a hand dismissively, "Anyway, you were uh, suggesting food?"

 "Right!" Marinette cheered, "Shall we raid the kitchen? Maybe dad can teach us a good recipe and we can bake something like we were supposed to at school today." She opened the door and gestured for the group to file out downstairs.

 "Yeah, before the fire alarm interfered," Alya said, walking down.

 Rose took Julika's hand and they made their way down, Meline and Adrien not far behind.

 Marinette waited for them to get out of earshot before whispering for Tiki to come out. She zipped out as Marinette grabbed her purse. "If Chloé got the book from Adrien's house, why did Adrien's father have the spellbook? He was akumatized so he can't be Hawkmoth right?"

 Tiki shrugged helplessly, "You'll have to go over and ask him."

 "Ugh, why is tracing down who had this book like a game of evil telephone?" Marinette groaned.

 "Marinette, are you coming?" Myléne called.

 "Oop! Be right there!" She opened her purse for Tiki to zip into it. She raced down the steps to catch up to her friends.

-

 Jean-Claude arrived with chocolates and Chloé tearfully popped them into her mouth. He lingered despite his job being complete. "May I ask what has upset Mademoiselle?"

 "Adrien doesn't wanna be my friend anymoreeee," She whined, "He's making new friends with other girls. How can he do this to me, Jean-Michel?"

 "Uh, my name is- nevermind. Perhaps Mademoiselle can see comfort with Mr. Cuddly?" He offered the stuffed bear with a light flourish.

 She gasped and grabbed the teddy bear, cuddling it close.

 "If you don't mind my asking Mademoiselle, did he say why?"

 "Something, something kindness and consideration." She waved a hand. She pouted. "What do I do Jean-Yves?"

 "Perhaps Mademoiselle remembers Mr. Cuddly when she was a little girl and how he was always nice to Mademoiselle when she was a child?"

 Chloé pursed her lips, eyes shiny, and nodded.

 "Mr. Cuddly is always kind, even when it doesn't directly benefit him. But that has made him a very good friend. Perhaps, Mademoiselle can follow Mr. Cuddly's example and Adrien  will see how good a friend Mademoiselle can be."

 "Oh you're right Jean-Jacque, Adrien wanted me to show his dad I'm considerate, so I'll show him! Then I'll get my Adrikins back and he'll stop hanging out with Dupain-Chang! Er…. How...should I do that?" She giggled awkwardly.

 Jean-Pierre sighed heavily, looking exhausted already.

-

 Adrien was covered in flour and giggling about it. Juleka wasn't even halfway through a mumbled apology before he was forgiving her. Marinette wasn't sure how he was supposedly friends with Chloé in the first place. Was he mind controlled or something by her?

 Alya slid next to Marinette and grinned "So, are we thinking friendly boy or boyfriend here?"

 Marinette rolled her eyes and shook her head "I am not competing with Chloé over her infamous 'Adrikins'. Blegh."

 "That wasn't a 'ew no' though~ You can't deny he's cute."

 Marinette huffed, "Like, in a cute puppy way."

 Alya snorted and nodded, "Fair enough."

 The group's phones all pinged with the exception of Marinette's.

 They each got out their phones. Adrien raised a brow. "Chloé's hosting a party?"

 "Did you all get one?" Juleka asked, looking around at them.

 Myléne nodded, "It looks like it. Maybe she's taking Adrien's advice and is gonna try to be nicer."

 Marinette scoffed, "Please, it's probably some sort of joke or prank."

 "Did you get an invite?"

 Marinette looked at her phone and shook her head, "No…"

 Alya chuckled, "Well that means it's real and not a joke, doesn't it, hm?

 Marinette made a disgruntled face. Then her phone pinged, "Eeew! I got invited!" She threw her phone, then stumbled to catch it before it landed in the batter. Adrien stumbled and caught it for her. They crashed into each other, pinning Adrien between the counter and Marinette. She immediately backpedaled. He giggled awkwardly and handed the phone to her, stepping back out of her space.

 "This is gonna be so much fun! There's gonna be dancing!" Rose looked up, smiling at Juleka.

 "Wait, you guys aren't seriously considering going, are you?" Marinette squeaked.

 "Why not?" Myléne muttered, shrugging, "Maybe she's really trying to be nice."

 "Chloé? Nice?" She shook her head, "Eugh, whatever, you guys can go but count me out."

 Adrien shrugged, idly fiddling with the dough. "I've known Chloé for a long time. She can be cool, sometimes, really." He looked up. ...Wait, did he have baby-doll eyes like Manon or something?! What is this sorcery? He smiled softly. "Maybe give her a chance, Marinette."

 Marinette pursed her lips and sighed "Yeah, yeah, fine, I guess." Alya’s teasing smirk didn't help at all though.

-

 Chloé had it all planned. She had set up a section for adults as well, having sent invites for some of the teens' parents. Namely, she needed Adrien’s father to see how great of a person she could be. Unfortunately the main person she wanted there...was not. But hey maybe this could work with word-of-mouth…. Parents talk to other parents about how nice random kids are, right?

 So while the adults mostly stayed around the tables talking, the teens danced and played in the ball pit. Jean-Paul had been practically following her around with Mr. Cuddly, reminding her what Mr. Cuddly would do. But, Adrien was there! And! Adrien smiled at her! Every time she was nice! So the plan seemed to be working.

Until he left the dance floor to talk to Marinette and her friends. She barely contained her rage. Actually, she didn't contain it at all. Chloé abandoned her dance with Kim and started marching toward them.

 "Oh, I do need to get some of your guys' phone numbers or something so I don't have to make surprise visits all the time," Adrien said, giggling awkwardly.

 Alya nodded, "Yeah for sure, I'll give you Nino's number too, he's DJing-"

 Chloé was so close to pulling Adrien away until Jean-George blocked her path.

 "Mademoiselle if you-"

 "Move, Jean-Marc!"

 He pulled out Mr Cuddly, and spoke in a squeaky voice, "Oh, Chloé dear, Mr Cuddly is very proud of you-" Chloé gasped and tried to bat the teddy bear away.

 "Is that your teddy bear Chloé?" Kim laughed, leading the traitorous group of teens.

 Chloé gasped and pulled Jean-Louis into the kitchens.

 "I've had it with you and your stupid advice! Ive had it with you, Jean-whatever your stupid name is!"

 "Mademoiselle I was only trying to help."

 "No more Mademoiselle, no more help, no more anything! You're fired!" She marched out, leaving Jean-??? clutching the teddy bear. Somewhere, a very patient Hawkmoth (who purposefully declined an invitation in a subtle attempt to make a teenage girl more frustrated and anxious and make a villain at her party eventually) grinned to himself.

-

 Sabrina was just chilling, really. She'd helped set up the entire thing and now they'd much rather just sit and drink her juice. Just as content as Plagg with an extra piece of cheese.

 Until a teddy bear clamped onto her leg.

-

 Chloé utilized her excess frustration to pull Adrien away from Marinette. "Come on, we should dance."

 "Right now? But, I was talking to-" Adrien half heartedly protested, already stumbling along.

 "He doesn't have to go with you if he doesn't want to, you can't just drag him around," Marinette interrupted, grabbing Adrien's other arm.

 "Chloeee," Sabrina called, brandishing a hair brush like a weapon, "Come here. Let me brush your hair. It won't hurt I promise."

 "Don't you see I'm busy?" Chloé huffed. She tugged on Adrien's arm, except this time she got resistance. Adrien pulled his arm away, frowning at Sabrina.

 "Uh, something's… wrong with Sabrina," he said.

 Sabrina smiled, and leapt toward Chloé.

 Marinette intercepted Sabrina, brows furrowed in determination and flipped her onto the ground. Adrien stared at her.

 "Oh. Wow," He breathed out.

 Sabrina blinked and sat up, "Huh? Why am I on the floor?"

 Marinette frowned, looking around the room, "Er… you were… trying to attack Chloé."

 Sabrina gasped and scrambled to a stand. "Ohno, I… I uh, I need to go." Sabrina anxiously smiled and then ran off.

 "Me too actually… I, uh ...too much orange juice." Marinette ran off, leaving Adrien with- ….Where did Chloé go?

 He glanced around, and found her swatting away… some kid Adrien didn't know. He was pretty sure they were in the video somewhere.

 He frowned and glanced around, before running off to the stairwell.

-

 Marinette shook her head as she hid in the bathroom stall, "Looks like Chloé upset someone. Guess it was only a matter of time. Tiki, Spots on!"

-

 Sabrina raced into the kitchen, "Oh I can't believe I was just mind controlled by an Akuma. Poor Chloé!"

 Plagg cackled in laughter, "You have the power of destruction and you were about to chase Chloé with a hair brush. I can't believe it."

 They rolled their eyes, "That's definitely a good thing. Plagg, Claws out!"

-

 Adrien closed the door to the stairwell, checking that no one was there. Duusu zipped out with a cheer, "You love Marinette!"

 "I- what? I er-" He blushed and glanced to the side, "No I don't," his voice came out squeaky.

 "Yes you do, I know it!" Duusu giggled, gesturing to himself, "      Emotion     Kwami." Duusu tilted his head, "Do you intend to tell her? How? Maybe a cute letter or something? Oh you two would be just so cute together! And we could have more fresh pastries!"

 He sputtered and shook his head. "Focus Duusu. We need to help Chloé," Adrien said, fixing the brooch to the front of his shirt.

 Duusu giggled more.

 Adrien took in a deep breath, trying to calm his own blush. "Duusu, Spread my feathers!"

-

 Ladybug and Féline Sombre were already there… Well that was fast.

 "You finally showed up! What took so long!?" Chloé cried towards the two superheros, as she peered from her hiding spot behind a pillar. ...Or maybe it wasn't fast? Did Chloé call them or something? She has mentioned being their friend. Often. By the annoyance from Ladybug, he guessed she wasn't a very good friend if that was the case.

 "What, not excited to see me?" Paon Lilas asked with a grin.

 "Oh yeah you too." Chloé waved a hand, apparently having just noticed him. ...Paon really needed to work on some dramatic entrances.

 Nino threw a CD disc towards Chloé and she shrieked.

 Ladybug wrapped her yoyo around Chloé's leg, pulling her back and into the ball pit. Féline Sombre leaped up to restrain Nino.

 Nino blinked in confusion, "Huh?"

 "Oh, sorry," Féline Sombre let him go, looking for the teddy bear controlling people.

 Another boy threw a chair towards Ladybug. "How about a game of flying chairs?" He taunted.

 "Love to but," Paon kicked the chair away, landing in a wall, "shouldn't music be involved?"

 Ladybug was grabbed from behind and she pushed Alya off, spinning around to find the teen reporter blinking in confusion.

 A boy raised a table above his head, and Féline Sombre extended her staff to knock it out of his hands. Paon grabbed the table before it flew into any civilians and dropped it on the floor. "Careful kitty."

 "Whoops... But, where'd he go?" Féline asked, turning around.

 Ladybug looked around frantically, trying to find someone who was acting off. Paon Lilas grabbed her hand.

 "What are you doing?" Ladybug tugged away. Paon pulled back, making her stumble forward. "Oh no."

 "Ooo, pretty earrings." He made a swipe towards her earrings and she shoved him back, making him stumble.

 "Knock it off, bird brain!" She exclaimed.

 He growled and tried again with a punch. Féline Sombre vaulted in on her staff and kicked him back into a table.

 Paon Lilas plucked a feather and grabbed a plastic spoon from the table.

 A floating marionette rod was summoned. The strings wrapped Féline Sombre's arms and legs. They gasped as they were dragged forward towards Ladybug.

 "Hey!" Ladybug cried, "What are you doing?"

 "I'm not doing this!" Féline shrieked. She threw a punch towards Ladybug, "Sorry!"

 "Paws off kitty cat!" Chloé called, pushing Féline over.

 "Thanks!" Ladybug called, "Lucky Charm!" And… got an over large crochet hook.

 Paon Lilas growled and motioned his head, the senti-marrionetted Féline being flung back towards Chloé. He charged toward Ladybug.

 Ladybug glanced between the marionette rod and the teddy bear. She grabbed a marionette string with the crochet hook Féline passed her and twirling the hook to properly tangle the string, threw it into a wall. The string snapped, giving Féline control of one of her hands.

 "Féline," Ladybug called. Paon kicked her and she jumped back, "I need you to cut some strings soon!" Ladybug and Paon Lilas fought. She shielded, he swept her legs. He went in for a strike, she blocked.

 "Sure thing, Bug," Féline raised a hand, summoning her destructive power, "Cataclysm!"

 "Now, Chloé if you could be so kind-” She gestured to the captured marionette strings.

 Chloé nodded, taking up the hook and diving for the teddy bear, catching a loop on its back. She tugged and threw it back to Féline Sombre. They touched the Akuma string with their Cataclysm.

 Paon blinked as the Akuma was destroyed, halting a punch. He took in heavy breaths, stumbling back as a wave of fear hit him over the receding fog of mind control. "Ladybug? What are you doing?"

 Fear was quickly replaced with relief and pride. Ladybug grinned, "Just saving your feathery hide with our new sidekick." She looked at Chloé.

 "You haven't defeated me yet!" A small voice squeaked and kicked Paon Lilas in the chin.

 "Watch your step!" Ladybug readied her yoyo to capture and purify the butterfly that was fluttering away.

 "Can someone help me out here!?" Féline Sombre yelled. Paon glanced at the senti-monster strings attached to her feet and hand and then at the spoon he was carrying. His miraculous beeped. He snapped his fingers, pulling the amok from the spoon and dropping it.

 Ladybug threw her crochet hook into the air, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The swarm of ladybugs returned everything in the room to normal. Ladybug and Féline Sombe high fived. Paon Lilas ran. Before either of them turned to look his way.

 Ladybug turned, finding the other miraculous wielder missing. She sighed, "He flew off again."

 Chloé cleared her throat.

 Ladybug blinked and looked at her. "Oh. Er, thanks for helping me back there…. It was very nice of you."

 Chloé smiled, dusting off her jacket, "It was, wasn't it? Did you hear that, Jean-Pascal?! If Ladybug says I'm nice then Adrien and his dad have to believe it!"

 "...Mademoiselle I must admit I have no memory of what just happened."

 "Basically you turned evil and I saved you. Without me the superheros probably never would have succeeded." Chloé explained.

 Both Ladybug's and Féline Sombre's miraculous' beeped.

 "Gotta go," Ladybug said, running up the stairwell to the roof.

 "Same here," Féline said, giving a polite nod to Chloé and Jean-Something. She ran out the doors.

 "Hm. Maybe some of this nice-stuff of yours makes some sense….. Jean-Baptiste, I've decided to keep you on. Don't let the guests all run away, they don't wanna miss what's next!"

 Jean-Pierre nodded "Thank you, Mademoiselle, I will Mademoiselle."

-

 Adrien sighed as he watched Marinette finish her macaroons. He was too tired to make his own. He sat in a chair to avoid any sudden dizzy spells, resting his head on the table.

 Chloé slid next to him, looping her arms around his shoulders. "Sooo Adrikins, I'm really nice now, did you notice? I even let Marinette's dad finish teaching everyone how to make those messy macaroons."

 He pulled his attention from Marinette and nodded. "Yes, it's very nice of you." He smiled a little. She frowned…. Usually smiling causes the opposite response.

 "Ugh, what's wrong? You're not like, super happy. I did everythingggg."

 "Oh uh," he glanced at Marinette again, before looking back at Chloé, "It's nothing."

 Chloé followed his glance and pouted, "Did she say mean things to you? Do I need to tell her her macaroons are appalling or something?"

 "No! No. Please no. We just talked about being nice."

 "Oops! Right…. Wait. You don't like her do you?"

 He blushed and looked away, shrugging.

 Chloé gasped, "Nooo! Ughhh, why couldn't you fall in love with someone unattainable? Like Ladybug or somebody."

 "Huh?" Adrien crinkled his nose, "What?"

 "Nothing~ Fine, fine. We're still best friends forever right though?"

 He huffed a smile and nodded, "Yeah, Chloé, best friends forever."

 "Pinky swear?" She held out her pinky in front of him and he linked their fingers.

 "Pinky swear."

 She let out an exhale of relief, "Okay, make sure to tell your dad I'm the best influence ever now."

 Adrien giggled and nodded, "Sure. I'll try."

 "Perfect. You promised," She grinned and waltzed over to the bakers and began listing off what was wrong with their goods. Pausing at Marinette, she glanced at Adrien and simply passed her by without a word…. Marinette seemed offended anyway.

 Adrien shook his head. Oh, that didn't cause spots in his vision. Good. Satisfied with the conclusion the worst of the battle weariness had passed, he got up to see if Marinette might share some of those cookies. Then, if he had the energy, repair some of Chloé’s emotional damage.

[miraculouscontent]

"Please, get out of my room."

Marinette's hand shook, trying desperately to keep the doll house behind her together enough to protect the Miracle Box. Her gaze fixed on her friends standing there, Rose crouched down to the sad remains of the doll house's roof while the others were looking on in concerned confusion.

Alya stepped forward first, the request apparently denied. "It's nothing, Marinette. We'll help you fix it, don't worry."

Except it wasn't nothing, it was everything, and of course none of the girls could've known that it was everything but it was. She'd barely had the Miracle Box for any time at all and now she was about to be exposed, the doll house feeling like some sort of metaphor for her life.

Raising her voice, Marinette replied strictly, "It's not nothing! Now leave!"

Most of the girls just stared at her, standing awkwardly in place. She asked - no, told - them to leave, and they weren't leaving. Why weren't they leaving?

Her palms were sweaty, making the task of holding up the doll house's wall all the more anxiety-inducing.

Alya huffed, her hands tightening into fists at her sides. "Okay, there's obviously something up—" She crossed her arms. "—and we're not going anywhere until you tell us what it is."

Mylene offered a smile that she clearly thought was reassuring, then held up a bracelet made of yellow threads with five colored beads along them. "We've already given our secrets to this bracelet, so now it's your turn."

Marinette wracked her brain for any memory of said bracelet, wondering if there were a promise she'd forgotten about - wondering if it was an excuse for them showing up out of nowhere - but there was nothing. She didn't even recognize it. Even over the voicemail they'd sent, there was no mention of such a thing.

The wall under her palm wavered, and she had to adjust quickly to keep it in place. She couldn't tell if it was too light or too heavy at this point, but it was ultimately just another thing to worry about that she didn't need. Her gaze flickered to it briefly to make sure it was properly held up, then swiftly focused back on the girls so as to not seem suspicious.

They really weren't going to leave. They were going to force her secrets out of her; force Ladybug out of her, the Miracle Box, everything.

Her stress levels were rising. She was panicking. It was all too much, and she—she...

She snapped.

"I'll—I'll tell you what's wrong!" she began. "You all walking into my room without my permission!"

The girls' mouths all shut in unison, their shoulders tense as they seemed suddenly lost for an argument.

"I didn't want to talk to you, and I definitely don't now!" A particular memory of the voicemail resurfaced, and she was reminded of what they'd said. "I thought you told me that I could talk where and when I wanted to? I thought all of you told me that, and then you showed up anyway?! Why would you lie to me like that?"

The words were bitter, only serving to make her angrier; at them, at herself, and at the whole situation. She hated lying - hated liars - and there was a part of her that couldn't help feeling hypocritical when she had to lie constantly to keep her identity secret.

But another part of her was quick to point out: she lied because she had to. They were lying despite having the choice.

Alya's brows furrowed, and it was hard to tell if she felt genuinely guilty or if she was just trying to think of how save the situation. She glanced back and forth from Marinette to Mylene, then hurriedly took the bracelet and held it out, arguing, "But if we're friends, you have to tell us everything anyway!"

Rose nodded in agreement, fists drawn up to her chest. "And real friends never let each other down!"

Marinette sputtered at first in response, multiple rambling responses trying to come out at once, from reminding them of either their intrusion or their lying to say that they had very much let her down.

Finally, her mouth settled on, "Then I guess we're not friends after all, since I'm letting you down so much! You're always pushing me, and setting things up even when I told you not to, and when everything goes wrong, it's always me who takes the blame, and me who gets teased for it!"

Alix recoiled at the outburst, then averted her gaze, looking somewhere between put off and ashamed as she grumbled, "We were just trying to help."

"I don't want your help! I don't even want you here!"

Marinette breathed shakily, her chest heavily at the emotions building in her chest. She could barely process what was coming out of her mouth and could only wonder how long she'd felt that way. How long had she been holding this in? How much had she been holding in? How long had she thought she deserved to be treated a certain way and took everything like she was the one at fault even if she'd done nothing?

Mental clarity kicked in, Marinette glaring and resolve blazing in her eyes as she asked, "Do you know why I didn't tell you anything?"

They looked on in curious trepidation, obviously not knowing the answer. At first, maybe she hadn't either.

"Because I didn't want you to meddle! Everything just goes wrong and I wanted to just live without worrying about it! I didn't want to  be teased, or talk about Adrien, or be ignored!"

"We don't ignore you!" Alya immediately interjected, taking on an offended tone. "That's why we're here!"

"Then why didn't you know?" Marinette challenged. "You noticed my crush on Adrien, but you didn't notice that I was dating Luka? When he was riding me home from school? When you took all those pictures of us together? I wanted to be left alone to be happy with him without anyone shouting at me about what to do and putting more pressure on me than I already have!"

Rose and Alya shifted in place, not making eye contact.

"You invaded my privacy, you broke my things, and you lied to me! If you're going to make me tell you everything, then—then—" She shook, the tornado of emotions hard to handle. "—then I don't want you as friends! Now get out!"

The girls collectively gaped at her, a few letting out audible gasps and Rose in particular covering her mouth with her hands. Everything went quiet, and Marinette's eyes must've been giving off fire with how any argument lingering on the girls' lips died before they could even come out.

Then, one by one, the girls began to turn and silently walk out of the room, some staying a second or two longer as if Marinette would change her mind if they held to the staring contest a bit longer. Alya was the last one out, her gaze darting up to Marinette one last time in vain.

Marinette just looked away, only reassured that the girls had left when she heard the click of the trap door. She exhaled, her arms stiff and her legs feeling like jelly as everything hit her at once. The gravity of the situation dragged her to the floor, the walls of the doll house falling apart to reveal the Miracle Box to no one but her and the kwami. She'd already cried too many times that day, but the tears were building up again. Anger, sadness, frustration...

Seeing Tikki hover close out of the corner of her eyes, Marinette lamented, "I didn't know what else to do. I didn't have a choice. I was just—and then—and they..."

"I know, Marinette," Tikki said quietly, though it was clear that she had very little comfort to add.

Marinette tried to steady her breathing, but she could see her tears falling onto the floor and knew that she'd lost control of her emotions. In a way, it almost felt relieving, like a weight off her chest that she didn't know had been there, but it didn't stop the terrible feelings from everything that happened that day, and the day before, and the day before that...

"We—" Marinette choked, realizing something and looking up with urgency. "Shadow Moth. He might come after me."

"Ah, but..." Tikki weakly tried to protest, watching as Marinette tried to force herself up.

"Gotta transform. Gotta be ready," Marinette murmured in a daze, her legs wobbling but managing to hold her up. Not letting Tikki get another word in, she hurried to command, "Tikki, spots on."

— — — — —

Marinette hugged her knees to her chest, back against the wall stretching upwards that helped make the bridge where she broke up with Luka. Part of her felt like coming here was some form of self-punishment - a reminder of what she'd lost and why she had to keep it that way - but another part just wanted to be here. It wasn't a good idea to be in her room where everything went down, or where her pictures were, or where the kwami would just remind her of all the things she didn't want to think about. It wasn't like her parents were going to check on her anyway, so she felt it best to be away from it all.

She tried to listen for the melody of the water that Luka had told her about, but every time she thought things were quiet enough to hear it, she would breathe in a little too hard, or Tikki would shuffle around in her purse at a loss for what to say. Marinette sighed in defeat, curling in on herself further and staring at the ground with her eyes half-lidded.

She wished she could go back; back to the day this whole mess started. Maybe she could've avoided Fu, Chloe, and maybe even Alya. She could've stayed in the background, unoffensive and just known as "the clumsy girl," one who didn't lie and leave class unexpectedly with the worse excuses possible. Avoiding Chloe would've meant avoiding her wrath, which meant that there would've been no misunderstanding with Adrien and no "spark" to ignite her crush underneath that umbrella.

Everything would've been so much easier. Maybe she would've met Luka sooner, bumping into him by accident one day and they'd drop all their things, her sketches mingling with his song sheets. They'd apologize and hurry to separate their stuff, then lock eyes and all would be well with the world. She'd stammer out her name when she introduced herself and he'd tease her affectionately, and it'd be okay because she wouldn't be busy being depressed over another guy.

They'd laugh, they'd get along, and there wouldn't be any drama in the way of them getting together. Without her having any responsibilities that would cause her to run off, they'd date, and they'd just... be happy.

Marinette closed her eyes, trying to let herself indulge in the fantasy even if only for a moment. The hold she had on her legs loosened, her hands sliding down until one of her hands brushed the opposite's wrist. She remembered Viperion - Luka - as the hero who thought first just like her and now could never be because of his identity being compromised, yet another by-product of her crush on Adrien in a way.

She exhaled, her thumb futilely brushing over her wrist; over a bangle that wasn't there.

Second Chance...

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, trying to live in fake memories, but when her eyes opened, she still found herself underneath the bridge in a life she didn't want. She stared blankly at the ground, the melody she'd desired still inaudible to her.

It took her a few seconds to realize that the view in front of her wasn't quite what it was before she closed her eyes, and it took a few more to notice the black distressed pants and the shoes splattered with varying random symbols at the corner of her vision. She blinked, unsure if she was seeing properly and wondering if she might be hallucinating after her fantasy, but a quick glance upward caused her eyes to meet Luka's, the brows above them furrowed with concern.

"A-ah," she let out involuntarily, straightening a little. Finally registering that he was there and very real, she inhaled sharply and stood, waving frantically at him as she stammered, "I-I'm so sorry! This is your spot, and I'm taking your spot, and I swear I didn't mean to—" She bent down and brushed her hands along the ground where she'd been sitting, as if she were cleaning it. "—I'll be gone soon, let me just—"

"It's okay," Luka assured while approaching her, his voice even softer than usual but with a tinge of sadness to it.

She stopped, hesitating, then looked back up at him in confusion. They hadn't talked since their break-up and she genuinely thought that he'd be upset with her.

"I'm glad," he said genuinely, "that you can find as much comfort in this place as I do. You don't have to go anywhere."

"...Oh," she uttered, her shoulders easing in mild relief. At least he didn't hate her, she supposed, though the awkwardness in the air was noticeable and she couldn't help noticing that he was keeping a minimum distance of three meters from her.

It hurt.

She fiddled with the strap of her purse, wondering why he was there and how she could've gotten so unlucky as to—well, that part was obvious actually, she'd been unlucky her whole life, but that didn't stop her from wondering what he was doing there. Was it something about his dad, or...?

Against her better judgment, she took a good look at his face, biting her bottom lip guiltily at the tired look in his eyes. He seemed as if he hadn't slept well in a few days, and she couldn't say that she was any different, which made the reason for his expression all the more obvious. It was a terrible feeling, already feeling bad that she made him feel bad and then feeling worse because there was a part of her that was a little glad to have meant so much to him that the break-up actually affected him.  He'd made her feel noticed and seen, something that was rare even amongst her frie—

Ah. Right.

She fidgeted, her feet shifting nervously against the ground. Juleka had been amongst the friends that she'd called out and forced to leave. She wasn't sure how close Luka was with his sister, as most of the interactions she'd seen were when they were in a group, but she was still his family. Did he know?

As if able to sense what she was thinking, Luka spoke up. "Jule told me."

Marinette winced and looked down, ashamed and fully expecting to be reprimanded. She clasped her hands at her waist, trying to mentally prepare herself.

Then, he immediately followed with, "Well, she mumbled it, but I got what she said."

It wasn't quite a joke, but it wasn't anything critical either. Marinette peeked back up at him, her brows scrunched together in confusion. He was smiling sadly, either understanding her or trying to be the sympathetic empath she'd always admired him for.

She averted her gaze, not feeling worthy of making eye contact with him. Sinking back against the wall, she sunk down to her earlier position and muttered, "I-it was for the best. I'm just... better off alone." She flinched at the sting in her chest that the words caused, but continued, "I won't hurt anyone that way. They can't be disappointed in me if we're not friends."

There was a pause, at which point Luka took a few steps closer, still maintaining a distance between them but also closing the gap significantly. "Why do you think you'll hurt people?"

She almost scoffed at that. "You would know why more than anyone, Luka." Though she still avoided looking at his face, she could see his fingers twitch from the corner of her vision. "I lie. I'm a liar! I'm just—" She spread her arms wide. "—I'm going to lie for the rest of my life, and ditch everyone and make them sad and they'll never know why!"

She'd tried to say it in an exaggerated tone to keep things light, but the tears started up. She held them back as best as she could, determined not to cry again when she'd already cried so much.

She heard Luka take a few steps closer, and he observed quietly, "But you don't want to."

"Of course not! But it doesn't matter! I should've known from the start that making friends was a mistake but I did it anyway!" She covered her face with her hands and shook her head. "I can't keep friends! I can't keep a boyfriend! I can barely keep this secret a secret!"

She didn't have to see his face to know that he was processing that. "...You can't tell me."

It was a realization for him, a mix of emotions in his voice and none of which she could place. She imagined he'd thought that it was a secret she'd chosen not to share with him, but that wasn't true.

She lowered her hands from her face. "I can't. I mean, not like—physically can't—it's not like the world would end if I did—" She halted briefly, stiffening at an unwelcome memory of Paris destroyed and underwater. "—o-or, maybe it would! But, it was never about trust, Luka! I trust you, I trust you so much, and I want to tell you so bad but I can't! It hurts but I can't! No one's supposed to know!"

She clutched her head, realizing that the conversation was spiraling downwards fast. She was torn between thinking that she'd said too much and then regretting how little she'd said when she'd broken up with him.

Luka took the final steps to close the distance between then, kneeling down to be closer to her level. "Marinette, I—I can't imagine what your secret could be, but it hurts watching you tear yourself apart like this."

"Well maybe that's how it's supposed to be!" she declared as she met his gaze, his eyes going wide in a mixture of pain and shock. She blinked rapidly, trying to fight the tears. "Maybe I'm just supposed to stay sad and alone forever! I have to do it all myself because that's the rule and it's my burden to carry!"

His heart was clearly breaking for her and it just made everything worse. He reached out to her, hovering his hand over her shoulder as a test and then settling it down with a feather-light touch when she didn't pull away. "I won't force you to tell me, and it's hard to say anything when I don't know what you're going through, but..." He hesitated, clearly feeling like it wasn't his place to say but being unable to help himself. "Couffaines break rules when we want to - when we know we have to - and I don't want to see you break instead."

She raised a hand, tempted to pull his hand from her shoulder, but stopped herself. "I-I don't have a choice. It's too dangerous. I can't let people close to me; I didn't even want to break up with you. You're amazing and sweet and I feel like I can tell you anything, but..." She looked down, defeated. "...you deserve better than this..."

He squeezed her shoulder, though whether it was a mix of offense at the comment, an attempt to comfort her, or both, she wasn't sure. "I can only tell you that I'd never tell anyone if I knew." He paused, as if to consider something, then added, "Even if it wasn't me - if it was someone else you trusted - I just don't want you to carry this alone."

She glanced up at him without moving her head, her mouth moving to reply but she ended up choking, then coughing in response to the air she'd just lost. Luka's free hand found her other shoulder as he leaned towards her, all the concern and love she could ever ask for being offered in his eyes.

He seemed to want to continue their conversation, but found something else to prioritize instead. "Do you want anything? Have you drank any water lately?"

The question caught her off guard until she remembered her coughing and mentally acknowledged that she might've been neglecting herself far more than she should've. Luka's hearing was on point, and she figured he must've heard the dryness of her throat.

She let out a small noise instead of a reply, no words given but Luka understood anyway. He stood up, his hands lingering on her for as long as possible before he turned and began to head back to the Liberty.

She watched him go, an ache in her chest even if she knew he'd come back. It reminded her of the day in the TV station where he confessed and she hadn't given him an answer, or when he'd comforted her after the break-up and she'd just taken it without a word back. It was all left incomplete, with him merely giving her  that respectful smile that told her that she only had to say what she was ready for.

But ready for what, exactly? Ready to talk? Ready for him?

Ready for herself?

"...I—" Her mouth moved on its own, her body leaning just slightly towards him as she said the words she'd always wanted to. "—I'm Ladybug."

It was practically a whisper - equivalent to a pin dropping - but Luka froze nonetheless, his foot mid-raise to take a step that never came. He'd heard her, and he finally moved as he turned to look at her, expression unreadable.

That's when the moment caught up with her, and the panic followed suit. "O-oh—oh no. Oh, I said it—you know—you—" She clutched at her capris, desperate to ground herself, but the hyperventilating was beginning to start, almost harmonizing with the sound of Luka's footsteps as he hurried over to her, closing the gap between them much faster than he had previously.

In an instant, he was on his knees in front of her, arms wrapped around her and lifting her slightly as he pulled her into a hug. She gasped in surprise, still blinking back tears as her senses registered that he was there: his body heat warming her, the fabric of his jacket against her face, the calming color combination of blues and blacks, and the faded scent of his body wash.

"L-luka," she whimpered, "I'm so sorry. Y-you're in danger—"

"It's okay," he assured softly, then again as if to be certain that she heard it, "It's okay."

She hesitated, her breathing still uneven, but she willed herself to release her capris - her fingers feeling stiff from how tightly she'd gripped them - so she could grab at his jacket instead. He responded in kind by hugging her tighter; too tight for a normal hug but just tight enough to bring her back down to reality.

"You're not alone anymore, Marinette," he whispered, "and I'm not going anywhere. I love you."

That did it, and the tears overflowed. She wrapped her arms around him, clinging to however much fabric her hands could grasp as she buried her face into his shoulder. No matter how strongly she hugged him, he didn't complain, simply letting her take whatever she needed from him.

In the silence of the embrace, she could finally hear the river's melody.

— — — — —

Marinette clasped her hands together on the couch, her breathing starting to steady as she watched Luka pour her fourth cup of water since she'd gotten there, the first three of which she'd downed in mere seconds. It was just the two of them there, which was comforting, as Juleka had apparently gone to Rose's house for the rest of the day and Anarka was... well, Anarka, and wouldn't be back until who knew when.

Luka returned to Marinette with a smile, offering the full cup of water to her. She reached for it, then stopped as she noticed how badly her hand was shaking. Taking a few more controlled breaths, she offered him a smile and gently pushed the cup towards him.

At his confused look, she observed, "You haven't been taking care of yourself either."

He opened his mouth, possibly to argue, then looked away from her, his eyes darting around at nothing. She could see the internal conversation in his head, playing out a scenario where he would try to insist, she would insist back that three cups was more than enough for her and he'd also taken none himself, and they would go back and forth until he relented.

His gaze softened, the conclusion to the mental argument clearly reached as he took a few sips from the cup. Rather than sitting on the couch, he sat down on the wooden table in front of it - a typical Couffaine move - so he could face her. Then, offering her a grateful smile, he asked, "How are you feeling?"

She smiled back at him, but it faltered as she stared at her lap, taking the time to legitimately think about the question. She ran her hands along her legs in a slow motion, hoping that it would stop any shakiness somehow.

"...Scared," she answered. "Nervous. Worried. Anxious." She pursed her lips as she realized that she was just listing off synonyms at that point.

Luka leaned towards her, resting his hand over one of the ones on her lap. "But, better than before?" he guessed.

Eyes half-lidded and fond, she nodded. "Yeah, and..." She turned the hand underneath his upwards so she could hold it. "I'm really glad you're here."

"I'm glad I'm here too," he whispered, as if to make sure that this moment was only for the two of them.

They stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other's presence. Marinette was a mess of emotions, but refused to let go of the hand he'd offered her, her thumb stroking along the back of it.

"...Luka," she said after a few seconds of contemplation.

He didn't respond verbally, but he'd also already given her his full attention, and she knew he was listening.

She continued, "You're the last person I'd ever want to lose. If Shadow Moth finds out that you know—"

"If," he gently interjected, though his eyes encouraged her to go on.

"He'll use you. He'll take advantage of you. I don't want anything to happen to you, but I don't want you to leave either, because I really like you and you make me happy and better and—" She huffed, frustrated by the conundrum. "It feels like it's my fault. If I was stronger, or I wasn't so emotional, I..."

"Marinette."

She looked up at the tenderness in his voice. He set his cup down on the table, then slowly pushed himself off, crouching down in front of her as if to make himself appear as small as possible. His other hand found her free one and he held it, making their hand holding perfectly mutual.

"Do you remember the day we met? When my mom got akumatized?"

She nodded. "Yeah, of course."

He nodded in return, going on to explain, "You needed me to hide you, and I needed you to go get—" He caught himself, half-chuckling as the identity revelation adjusted his memories of that day. "—be Ladybug."

Marinette managed a smile. "You were covering for me, even back then."

He smiled back, looking almost too proud of that fact. "And we needed each other. No one can do everything alone, Marinette, so don't say you're sorry for the feelings that made up the song that's been stuck in my head ever since that day."

She swallowed involuntarily at the reminder of his confession. Judging from his smile widening, he noticed it.

"It's hard learning an instrument all by yourself," he continued, "and sad not having anyone to play to."

"And you want to be the whole crowd?" she asked quietly, her gaze drawn to their joined hands.

"Yeah," he answered, not missing a beat.

She took a breath, knowing it was too late to change things but still wanting to acknowledge the decision anyway. "O...okay. Thank you, Luka."

They exchanged loving smiles, and Marinette could've sworn that the eye contact alone was keeping her heart rate down. The future was still nerve-wracking, but she'd been afraid of it even before she'd told Luka her secret, so at least now she had someone who understood her and who she could talk to about it.

The conversation mutually ended there, but then Luka - wholly unprompted - let out an exaggerated sigh and tilted his head back. Curious, Marinette asked, "What is it?"

He grinned at her, a glint in his eyes that made it clear that he was in a teasing mood now that the atmosphere had lightened. "Does this mean I have to watch Chat Noir flirt with my girlfriend?"

She snorted, opening her mouth to reply before stopping as the words behind the joke caught up to her. She leaned forward and squeezed his hand, eyes wide with hope. "Girlfriend?"

He nodded without hesitation. "You said you didn't want to break up with me, Marinette, and I didn't want to break up with you either."

"Y-yeah, but—" She frowned, conflicted. "I'll still have to leave? Nothing's changed except you knowing why."

"I didn't date you so that we could go on dates," he replied. When she tilted her head in confusion at him, he briefly averted his gaze, a hint of shyness appearing on his face before he steeled himself up and looked back at her, clarifying, "I just wanted to be your boyfriend, dates or no dates."

"Oh. O-oh." And that was all she had to say about that, any coherent words burned away from the blush forming on her face.

Luka smiled hopefully, and Marinette quickly decided that bashfulness looked good on him. "So, if you want to make this work with me, then—"

"Yes!" she replied immediately, untangling her hands from his so she could push herself off the couch.

His eyes lit up, his arms spreading wide as she dropped into his lap, and he didn't recoil when she arched up to kiss him, her movements quick to ensure that there would've been no chance for them to be interrupted. She wrapped her arms around him, neither caring about the awkward position on the floor due to being lost in each other's touch.

There was a soft click when the kiss broke, Marinette promptly pulling herself against him and nestling her face near his collarbone, now able to properly enjoy the scent she'd missed for all those dreadful days they'd been apart.

Following up on what he'd told her underneath the bridge, she tightened her hold and whispered, "I love you too, Luka."

Snuggled so close to him, she swore that his heartbeat picked up, though she didn't have to feel it to know that he was happy, what with the way his hands shook against her and how he placed an immediate kiss on the top of her head. She let herself get absorbed in the moment, allowing herself to smile and think only of Luka, the one who respected her choices and feelings from the day they met.

There was no one else she'd rather share her identity with.

[p-artsypants]

I’ll Handle This (10)

In Which Marinette Says the Thing

I was the most excited about this chapter and had most of it written already. :)

Also, I bumped up the rating a bit because there’s extremely mild nudity in this chapter. 

(Ao3 | FF.net)

—

She looked fierce. Nails done, a cute, white skirt (that she hadn’t spilled her breakfast on!) and a red and white polka dot blouse. She was cute, she was hot, and she was ready to nab her man! 

Said man walked into class wearing...

Oh boy. 

A leather jacket, with no shirt underneath, a kilt, and knee high combat boots. There was not a single person that didn’t stare at him. 

“Sup nerds?” 

Nino entered with him, slightly chuckling, like he had heard a very funny inside joke. 

Marinette gawked at him. “Adrien...” 

“Aww! Pooh Bear! Look at how cute you are!” 

Marinette’s initial horror in his appearance turned into excitement. He called her cute! 

“Adrien, do we have to have this dress code talk again?” Miss Bustier sighed. 

It turned out he did have a shirt on under the jacket. A black button-up. He untucked the flaps, and buttoned them, unevenly, to cover his sweet sweet bod. “Better?” 

Miss Bustier shook her head, but urged him to sit down. 

“Soooo,” Alya asked, with a wiggling eyebrow. “Are you wearing that kilt...properly?” 

He grabbed the hem, squeezing his knees together to shuffle shyly. “You wanna see?” 

Marinette burst into color. “Adrien!” 

He laughed, “oh, I’m just kidding. I’m wearing boxers under this.” 

“Alright everyone, get in your seats, it’s time to start!” 

—

Marinette tried to do her very best to stay calm. But the very idea that a confession to Adrien would be happening today kept her distracted. 

She stared at him, watching as he scrawled notes...in Chinese? He really was an overachiever! 

The day passed in a crawl, Marinette fretting every minute. 

Then the lunch bell rang, and students began to pack up for break. 

“Adrien?” She blurted, her hands shaking. 

He turned and looked at her, grinning, and lowering his sunglasses to flash her half-lidded eyes. “You rang?” 

“Um...can we talk together? Er, go somewhere together to talk? I have something I want to tell you.” 

His grin turned into a full tooth smile. “Of course! Where to?” 

“Um...mom’s got stuff for sandwiches, if you want to come over.” 

“Sounds wonderful!” He packed up his bag, and then held out his hand for her. 

He wanted to hold her hand! Ah! 

Nervously smiling, she put her hand in his, and let him lead her from the room. 

At the risk of having a horribly awkward lunch, she took the lead, and led him upstairs to the slowly emptying third floor. 

“What’s up here?” 

“I...can’t wait anymore. If this makes things weird, you could probably catch up with Nino or the guys...” 

He very gently touched her cheek. “I told you I wanted to have lunch with you, and I will. So say whatever you have to say.” He took his sunglasses off and put them on his head. 

Marinette took a huge breath. “Now, I just need to know...who is the real you? Are you...is this who you are, and you were suppressing the rebellious, chaotic side? Or are you putting on a show?” 

He blinked at her, eyes wide. “Whatever do you mean?” 

“I mean...I support whoever you are. I want you to feel free to be you, and celebrate what makes you special, but...” she tucked some hair behind her ear, a nervous motion. “I just miss the boy I fell in love with.” 

“Marinette...” 

“I love you no matter what, though! I promise! I just...your kindness, your shy sweetness and honesty really captivated me. That day when you gave me your umbrella, and you went out of your way to apologize for the misunderstanding. You didn’t have to. I was the one that jumped to conclusions, but you wanted to make friends and get on the right foot with me. Your laughter, your smile...I was a goner.” She hugged the strap of her purse. “So this new version of you has been jarring, but...if I’ve been reading your signs right...?” 

He pulled her into a hug. “Oh Marinette. Sweet, kind, thoughtful Marinette. You’ve figured me out. This is all an act. Except my attitude towards you. I feel the same.” 

“You...love me?” 

“Yes. More than I can express.” 

She raised her head, tilting her chin and slowly closing her eyes. 

The gag kiss during truth or dare was one thing, but Adrien would kill Plagg if he kissed Marinette in earnest like this. 

Instead, he pressed a finger to her lips and smiled at her confused look. “Not yet. The timing isn’t right. If I could give you the world, I would. In fact, anything else, I’ll give it to you. You have my heart, and that will be yours as long as you want it. But I don’t think you want a relationship right now.” 

“I’m confused...” Marinette said, her lips trembling. 

“I want to protect you from my father and Lila. If I make you my girlfriend, they will try to hurt you to get to me. I’d hate to ask you to wait for me, since you’ve finally gotten the courage up to confess...but would you wait?” 

Marinette reached up to hold his face, letting her thumb pass reverently over his cheek. How had she gotten so lucky to fall for a man so thoughtful? So loving? 

“Adrien, I’d wait a hundred years to be with you. It’ll be our secret for now.” 

He kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry. I know you wanted more from the conversation-“ 

“Just knowing my feelings are returned are enough. Thank you.” 

He took her hand again. “You still want to feed me sandwiches? Do I still deserve it?” 

“Of course you do...My Prince.” 

Plagg almost retched, but he schooled his face into an adoring grin before he faced her again. “That’s adorable!” 

“You like it?” 

“I love it!” It was just cheesy enough for Adrien. 

“Then that’ll be your nickname...in secret. No one else will know.” 

“I think you’ll come to find that our little secret will be so much more fun between us.” 

—

After lunch, Plagg and Marinette returned to school. They stopped holding hands as they approached the building, but they stood close and bumped each other coyly. 

The behavior didn’t go unnoticed by Alya or Lila. But Alya was the only one to confront them. 

“You two seem close,” she asked, twinkle in her eye. 

“Oh, we just had a very funny lunch together.” 

“Oh yeah?” 

“Yep. Some great inside jokes. You had to be there.” Plagg sent a wink at Marinette and she seemed to swoon on the spot. 

Plagg let her go back to her seat, ignoring the whispering from the girls behind him. 

They thought he couldn’t hear them. He could. 

Nino bumped his elbow. “Everything cool dude?” 

“Absolutely. I’ll tell you later.” 

—

Later came after school, of course. The second Plagg and Nino were away from school property, Plagg blurted out, “I’m a genius. I got Marinette to confess her undying love for Adrien. Boo-yah!” 

“What?!” Nino shrieked. “Dude! She’s been trying to get that out for months! How on earth—no, wait. I know the answer.” 

“Confidence.” 

“And obvious flirting.” Nino scoffed. “Adrien always threw out the line, ‘you’re such a good friend’ in front of her. It was like wearing a big sign that said, ‘I will reject you!’” 

“I’m right here, you know,” Adrien said, poking his head out of Plagg’s jacket. “And to my defense, I was trying to be faithful to—“

Plagg covered his mouth before he could accidentally reveal Marinette as Ladybug. “No excuses, lover boy!” 

Thankfully, Adrien seemed to realize the mistake he almost made and nodded. “Fine, fine. I appreciate that you didn’t kiss her...again. So now what? Have we fulfilled that part of the contract yet?” 

“Not quite.” He held up the ring. A paw print with three pads faintly shone on the surface. “Once a condition is met, you’ll hear the ring give its telltale beep and a pad will disappear. Once the paw print completely vanishes...well, you’ll be back in your own body anyway.” 

“So...what do I need to do? She already confessed to me.” 

This was a conversation better had without Nino involved. Of course he was a bro, and would be helpful for things. But Ladybug’s identity should still remain a secret. 

“Nino...” Plagg began, with a drawl. “How much do you know about the birds and the bees?” 

Nino sputtered. “HA! BYE!” And he made an about face and hurried towards home. 

“Wait Nino!” Called Adrien. 

“We’ll meet up with you later!” Plagg sang after. 

Adrien looked to his body. “Please tell me you don’t have to...get up to some nasty stuff with my lady. Sure, it’s my body, but you’re like a bazillion years old and I was rather hoping to wait until marriage—“ 

“Calm down, Romeo. No, there’s not any hanky panky involved. I just needed to get Nino to leave without saying, ‘hey leave’. If he’s going to be suspicious, I need him on a whole other wavelength.” 

“Okay, so if there’s no horizontal tango happening, then what are we doing?” 

Plagg slipped the ring off his finger. “You need to spend time with her. Tell her or don’t. Just spend time with her outside of school and akumas and get to know her better. For an alibi, tell her that you haven’t been feeling well and you need to be in proximity of the Miracle Box. Then have her send her earrings to me so things stay even.” 

“Will she go for that?” 

“Probably. You know her better than I do.” 

“What about the ring? Don’t you need to wear it because we’re switched?”

“Nah. It should be alright for a little while. It should stay with my body though.” 

“Okay...I guess...I’ll go see Marinette.” 

“Have fun!” Plagg wiggled his fingers in a farewell and started walking to where Nino had disappeared. 

Nervous as all get out, Adrien fled to the bakery, trying to figure out what he was going to tell Marinette. 

When was it appropriate to come clean? How long should he wait? Should he blab at all? 

Soon, he was hovering above her trap door, and peering inside. Marinette sat at her desk, music playing as she worked on homework. Her head bobbed to some tunes. 

“Okay, she thinks you’re Plagg. So she’ll welcome you in and listen to what you tell her. And if she finds out you’re Adrien, then she loves Adrien and everything will be fine. Right? Right!” He psyched himself up. 

Using his poorly practiced phasing powers, he entered her room and came to float by her desk. “Hiya pigtails!” He chirped, in the typical Plagg style. 

She jerked, before turning to him. Her eyes landed on the ring and widened with surprise. “Why do you have that?! Is Chat okay?! What’s wrong?!” She stood, and nearly knocked over her chair. 

Even Tikki looked surprised. 

“Everything is fine!” He rushed to rectify. Then he remembered Plagg’s crafted lie. “Mostly. I haven’t been feeling very good, so I think I need to be closer to the Miracle Box for a little bit. I brought the ring for you, if you would send Tikki to Chat for a little while. That way he’s covered in case there’s an Akuma attack.” 

Luckily, she bought his dirty fib and started to remove her earrings. “Oh, well if you aren’t feeling well, that means Chat won’t be in top form. We can’t have that! Of course we can trade!” She took the earrings off and handed them to Tikki, before putting on the ring. 

Adrien felt a tingle down his spine as the black metal turned rose gold on her dainty finger. 

“Is he at home?” Asked Tikki. 

“No, come with me, I’ll tell you.” And he escorted her up to the balcony. 

“Did Plagg put you up to this?” She asked, once outside. “This seems like one of his hair brained schemes.” 

“I mean...he came up with the excuse...but I thought Marinette’s confession today would fulfill one of the conditions of the contract, but it didn’t. Plagg said I should just spend time with her.” 

Thankfully, Tikki was the nice one. She patted his paws. “I’m sure you miss her too. I won’t say anything. But I will be having a word with Plagg about this whole thing. He should know that body swaps don’t always work!” 

“Don’t tell me that! I’m struggling as it is!” 

“Sorry!” She giggled. “Why don’t you go on in. Be prepared though. She’s been all sighs since ‘Adrien’ returned her feelings today.” 

If he could blush, he would have. “Oh boy...” 

“Where am I going?”

“Oh, Plagg is staying with Nino now. He left home. And uhhh...Nino knows. About me, not Marinette.” 

She scoffed. “That rascal.” 

“Thanks for understanding, Tikki.” 

“I’m understanding with you, because you’re the victim of a manipulative, chaotic creature of destruction and havoc.” 

“He can be a bit of a turd.” 

“What am I doing? You could be spending time with the love of your life! Now, go on!” Tikki pushed him towards the door before flitting off to Nino’s. 

Suddenly faced with seeing Marinette again, and continuing to lie to her face, he sheepishly returned to her room. 

She had ducked out for the moment, and he found himself alone. 

Alone, but surrounded by dozens of pictures of himself. 

Knowing about her crush put these photos in a different context, for sure. 

“Just a fan” she said. She was a big fat liar too! 

“Adorable, isn’t he?” Her voice grabbed him while he was off guard. 

“Uhhh...I guess? For a human?” 

She giggled, and set down the plate of cheese danishes onto her desk. “That’s Adrien. He’s kind of my boyfriend. It’s not official yet, but he loves me.” She smiled widely. “He told me just today.” 

“‘Kind of’ your boyfriend? You’re okay with that?” 

“He can’t date right now because of his father. But he asked me to wait for him. I’d wait a thousand years for him.” 

His heart hammered in his chest. “What about three years? What if he can’t date until he’s 18?” 

“That’s fine.” She said nonchalantly. “We can still hang out. We can focus on school and drama doesn’t have to come between us...” 

“And if someone else available comes along?”

Marinette couldn’t know the real reason he was asking that question. She just fondly patted his head. “Sorry Plagg. I know you care a lot about Chat, but Adrien...Adrien means the world to me. I love Chat too, but in a different way. And he’s not available, not to me.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Chat will always just be my partner. Can only be my partner. We couldn’t date if I wanted too. It would be too difficult.” She sat back at her desk and sighed. “It would hurt too much.” 

Adrien was struck speechless. How was he even supposed to respond to that? Was that an admission that she actually did have some feelings for Chat Noir? 

It didn’t matter. Not now. “I didn’t mean to put you on the offensive. I was just...curious, is all. I’m happy you’ve found someone who loves you.” 

She smiled at him then, scooping him out of the air and scratching his cheek with her finger. “Thanks Plagg. I hope I didn’t come off as snooty. I know you care about Chat. But he can fight his own battles.” 

Her words made him feel like garbage. She had no idea, of course. Because up until the body swap, Adrien’s battles were not being fought. They were purposefully not being fought, because he was too chicken shit to upset anyone. 

“Yeah...he’s brave alright...” he muttered. 

Marinette settled down at her desk and continued on her homework. 

What was a boy to do? He sat on the desk, and helped himself to the cheese danishes. 

They were almost worth the trip over here by themselves. 

“Enjoying yourself?” Marinette asked, eyebrow quirked. 

At that, Adrien realized with thinly veiled horror that he had been moaning. 

Eek. 

“These are the most delicious things I’ve ever had!” Or maybe it was because Plagg had only fed him Camembert until now. Sure, Plagg’s taste buds were attuned to the foul stuff, but after a while, the same foods over and over get old. 

Marinette just smiled at him fondly and continued with her work. 

Would it be odd to look at her? Would she notice? He certainly found it hard to look away. He couldn’t stare at her during school. Not as Plagg, and not as Adrien from now on. 

She tapped her pencil against her perfectly kissable lips, scrunching her nose and narrowing her eyes as she studied the page. It was adorable, but more so, it was the same face she made as Ladybug, when she was trying to solve her Lucky Charm. 

Was it hindsight? Or if he saw Marinette making that face, would he have realized it? 

Would he have cared enough to look at her?

Of course he would! He argued with himself. Marinette was always special, and her being Ladybug only elevated her in his mind. It was a match that made sense. Of course she was Ladybug. No one else could be so…wonderful. 

But faced with her, and not knowing what to say or how to begin to explain the truth, he had to ask himself the tell tale question:

Did he like Marinette now because she was Ladybug? Or did he always like her, and was only in denial?

He begged it was the second. It had to be. 

Her qualities were the same. There was nothing about Marinette that made him recoil or actively deny her identity. 

Scratch that, Marinette was ridiculously clumsy. 

But besides that, they were the same. 

“Thinking about something tough over there?” Marinette asked. 

“Huh? Oh. Uh...yeah. You know how it is.” Like that made any sense. 

“Right. Like I could understand the problems of a Kwami.” She teased. “If you need to talk, I’m all ears.” 

Soon. Soon he’d explain everything. But right now, he was just too nervous and scared of her wrath. “Thanks Marinette. I appreciate it. But I don’t want to distract you from your homework.” 

She shrugged a little, not wanting to pry, before going back to work. 

Adrien and Marinette shared the cheese danishes, and occasionally talked as she worked. When she got severely stuck, he would throw her a few hints. 

Then she stretched, finished. “Oh thank goodness! I’m so tired, and I could use a lazy evening.” 

“Marinette! Dinner time!” 

“Well, after dinner, I’d like a lazy evening.” She scratched Adrien’s head. “Let’s just hope there’s no Akuma attack.” 

“Fingers crossed!” 

“You’ll be fine up here alone?” 

“Of course. Have fun with your parents.” 

“Oh,” she wilted. “Should I tell them about Adrien?” 

“Why not?” 

“I’m just scared that my nosy parents will ask a hundred questions. And we’re not even official.” 

“Maybe by mentioning it now, when it becomes official, it won’t be much of a shock.”

“And maybe we can avoid another disaster like when my dad got akumatized. You’re right.” She couldn’t help but sigh. “Well, I’ll tell you how it goes!” And she went downstairs. 

Adrien sat on her desk, scanning the walls and taking in all of his pictures. She really loved him, didn’t she? 

And how long had that gone on, and he never noticed? 

Was it okay to snoop? Of course morally and ethically, no, it wasn’t. But he was technically her sort of boyfriend. It couldn’t hurt. 

Right?

So he snooped. Just a precursory glance through her belongings. It was all very innocent. 

Until he found the pink half-circle book. Her diary. 

Maybe it was the influence of Plagg’s magic in him. Or this whole experience was turning him into a rascal. 

But he opened the book and started to read. 

The entries were pretty innocent too. Day to day things, balancing life as a superhero and a student. She mentioned him a few times. Using phrases like, ‘golden hair’, ‘handsome face’, ‘emerald eyes’, and ‘abundant kindness’. She wrote about the times they interacted. From him catching her when she tripped, to the glances they shared. Just the smallest interactions between them, she cherished. 

It almost made his heart hurt with how moved he was. 

And then there was an entry whose content made him feel a different sort of pain. She recounted a day he had not experienced. Her encounter with his akuma, Chat Blanc. 

He read the pages, soaking up every heart breaking moment. All the cruel things he had said to her that he would have never known. Why hadn’t she said anything? Was it too painful? Or did…

Did she think he didn’t need to know?

The diary slammed shut as he was finishing the entry, and a very angry and embarrassed Marinette stood over him, glaring. “Little snoop.” 

“Yeah yeah, cats and curiosity and all that. So sue me.” 

She took the book away and put it in a box with a lid. “Remind me never to leave you alone in my room ever again.” 

“Aw, you’re no fun.” 

She walked away, heading to her dresser. “Are you like this with Chat, too?”

“Oh, I’m much worse. You have no idea.” 

She laughed at him, and took her pajamas out of her drawers. 

Then without warning, she took off her pants. 

And Adrien’s mouth went dry. He watched as she slipped on her pajama pants, and then took off her shirt, and even her bra, before putting on a loose t-shirt. 

He was not going to get that image out of his head for a long, long time. 

She turned to him and started talking like nothing had happened. “So what do you want to do? I’m all done with homework, and so as long as there’s no Akuma attack, I can do whatever I want. What do you and Chat usually do?” 

Adrien didn’t know how to tell her he didn’t really have free time. Plagg just looked up cheese blogs on his phone, or watched a movie while Adrien worked on homework. 

“You pick. I’ll just watch if you want to play video games or design.” 

“I’m actually kind of tired. I might just watch videos in bed.” 

“Sounds fun! Can I join?”

“Sure! Whatever you want, Plagg.” Marinette climbed her ladder up to her loft and settled against her pillows. She pulled a fuzzy blanket around her legs and sighed in content. “Just what the doctor ordered!”

Adrien hesitated a moment, trying to decide where to sit. Her shoulder? Her stomach?

But Marinette took the choice away and patted her chest, just above her heart.

Eagerly, he settled, curling his tail around his body, and absorbing her body heat. She scratched between his ears and made him purr almost instantly. 

This was heaven. When he got his body back, he’d lay his head here. Hopefully, she’d scratch his scalp just the same. 

The videos played on her phone, just memes. Every time she chuckled, her chest would rumble with the noise, and fill him with joy. 

He could hear her heart beating. The heart she had opened for him just today. A heart that he lived in. 

And then her phone started flashing with a red light. And akuma alert!

“Uh oh!” Marinette clicked on the alert, checking out the details. “It’s a sentimonster! Come on Plagg, we can’t leave Misterbug out to dry!”

As she scaled the ladder to her balcony, he panicked. How was this going to work? Was she going to notice once they transformed? Would he be able to hear her thoughts like he could when Plagg transformed?

Would he look through her eyes?

She raised the hand with the ring on it. “Alright! Plagg, Claws out!” 

Nothing happened. 

“Um...Plagg, Claws out?” 

“Oh.” Adrien gasped, “oh no.” 

“Oh no what? Are you broken? Do I need to fix you?” 

“No! I mean—sort of, but you already did your part! I’m just...” 

“Plagg, what’s going on?” 

He sighed, screwing up his lips and unintentionally showing his fangs. “Um...I’m not...I’m not actually Plagg.” 

She stared at him, brows furrowing and eyes narrowing. “Then...who are you?” 

“Promise you won’t be mad?” 

“No guarantees!” 

“Well, okay.” He gulped. “I’m...Adrien?” 

She blinked. “Adrien? Like...no. No no no not like Adrien Agreste, my new supposed boyfriend?!” 

“That’s me! Hi P-Pooh Bear?” 

“What?!” She shrieked. “How?! When?! What—“ she snatched him out of the air with firm hands. “HAVE YOU BEEN ADRIEN THIS WHOLE TIME?” 

“I mean, I’ve been Adrien my whole life,” he awkwardly chuckled. 

“No, no don’t joke with me right now.” She sniffed. “How long have you been like this?” 

“Um...about two weeks now. Since that day he came to school in a crop top.” 

Marinette shut her eyes tight, a few tears slipping past her cheeks. “That long...” 

“Marinette?” 

“So it was all a lie? Plagg’s just—messing with us? With me? You don’t really—“ she squeezed her eyes shut and started crying in earnest. 

“No! No Marinette! Of course I love you! I’ve always loved you, you know that! The second I learned you were Ladybug, everything made sense! I was so happy and I told Plagg he had to win you over. Please Marinette, this was never supposed to be malicious.” He nuzzled against her fingers, offering up a purr. “I promise.” 

With her free hand, she wiped her face. “Alright, well suppose I believe you. What happened? Why are you like this?” 

“I made a deal with the devil. Plagg, specifically. He said he was tired of me complaining all the time. So he said he could solve all my problems if I just agreed to it. Then I woke up in his body.” 

“What problems?” 

“Well...my unrequited love for you, for one.” 

She blushed. 

“My relationship with my father for two, and the third is Lila’s harassment.” 

“Oh, I get it now.” Marinette sighed. “That’s why he was doing all those things...” 

“You mean dressing like a moron and messing with Lila?”

“Yes. And flirting with me.” 

“To be honest,” he scratched the back of his head. “I would have flirted with you earlier if I had known you were Ladybug. I liked you before, I was just trying to pretend I didn’t, because I wanted to be loyal to...well, you.” 

She held him softly in her hands. “We’ve made a mess of things, haven’t we?” 

“It was for our own good. Secret identities and all that.” 

“You almost sound like you just repeat that to yourself, but you don’t believe it.” 

“I had to repeat it to myself,” he urged. “Every day. Because I so desperately wanted to be with you, to spend time with you out of the suit. I was so lonely and I thought, if there was one person I could trust with my identity, it had to be you. But I wanted to honor your wishes. I just hoped to wear you down, eventually.”

She passed her thumb over his cheek and whiskers. “I had been thinking about it, ever since I became the guardian. I wanted to keep you safe, but if something happened to Plagg and you couldn’t transform, no one would know. I’m not upset with you, Kitty. Though I wish this reveal had happened a little more...mutually.” Suddenly, her eyes widened. “What are we doing?! We have a sentimonster!” 

“Aw let him fight on his own! He deserves some sort of punishment for this and I have yet to come up with a good one.” 

She chuckled. “Alright, fine. We’ll give him a few minutes and see how things are going.” 

“You’re taking this better than I expected.” 

“I’m in shock.” She chuckled, a little hysterical. “It took me so much courage to confess…and it wasn’t even to your face. That would happen to me.”

He floated out of her hand and nuzzled her face. “All that matters is that I know. We can’t be together quite yet, but the second I get my body back, I plan to make you mine.” 

“Really?”

“Absolutely, Bugbear.” 

She kissed between his ears. “Okay, My Prince. I look forward to it.” 

The ring on her finger beeped, and a paw pad faded out. 

“What was that?”

Adrien sighed with relief. “The condition has been met.”

“Condition?”

Just then, a swath of Ladybugs rushed over the city, righting whatever the Sentimonster had ruined. 

“Well, looks like he didn’t need our help after all.”

Marinette laughed slightly. “They have been doing this a long time. It probably only took them this long to get it because of travel time.” 

Adrien nodded. “So, just to clarify, you aren’t mad at me?”

“Of course not! It sounds like Plagg tricked you. Though I am mad at you for reading my diary…and watching me change!” 

“In my defense, I was not warned you were going to change.” 

“Still you could have turned around!” She blushed. 

“Sorry, Bugaboo, I guess I was just a little star struck.” 

She bopped him on the nose. “Now don’t try to flatter me to get out of being caught.” 

A yoyo wrapped around the chimney above their heads, and Misterbug made his appearance. His very jarring, ancient appearance. He wore black leggings with a red loincloth around his waist. His shirt was cropped and had billowing sleeves. The mask was just a cloth that tied around his lower face. 

“Well well well, I figured if you weren’t on the battle field, you were busy having a lover’s quarrel.” He smirked, the smile only creasing his eyes. 

Marinette looked to Plagg. “Dearest Sunshine, do you mind terribly if I abuse your body?”

“Be my guest.”

Marinette wound up a punch and socked Plagg right in the shoulder. 

“Ow! Hey, that actually hurt.” 

“I hope you, you monster! How could you hurt my poor, sweet, innocent Adrien!?” She cuddled him close to her cheek.

Plagg scoffed. “Puh-lease. There is nothing innocent about that boy. Spots off.” 

The pink light faded, and Adrien’s body remained. It was almost hard to look at him, even though she knew it wasn’t really Adrien. 

“Oh, now she gets all shy~!” Plagg taunted. “I should have retransformed when I landed. Maybe she wouldn’t have punched me!”

“You deserved it.” Tikki said, flatly. 

“Yeah, whatever. So? How’d it go?” 

Marinette held out the ring. “It beeped?”

“Excellent!” He took it off her finger. “Two to go!” He slipped the ring on and took off the earrings. “Now I just have to focus on Gabriel and Lila. I think Gabe’s getting ready to crack. Lila though, I might have to push a little harder.”

“Thank you for the warning,” Marinette added. “It makes me feel better that I might not have to put up with her for much longer. So I can take a little damage.” 

Adrien frowned. “Can’t I stay with Marinette a while longer?”

Plagg huffed. “I mean you could…but then you couldn’t see the absolute chaos that I planned.”

Adrien winced. “Ugh, fine. I’ll go with you.” He turned to Marinette, pressing a kiss on her cheek. “Bye Bugaboo. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay Kitty. I love you!” 

Adrien’s heart nearly burst with love. “I love you too!” 

“Gross.” Plagg gagged. “Alright, time to go! Adrien, Claws Out!” 

—

Chat Plagg Noir returned to the Lahiffe residence, and swung in through Nino’s window. 

Nino for his part, was nearly dancing in panic. 

“You good, my man?”

Nino shook his head frantically. “There’s a policeman here for you! I tried to stall as long as I could, and said you were asleep and a heavy sleeper! But I think he’s about to burst down my door!”

“A policeman? What for?”

“I don’t know! He just said he had to talk to you!” 

“Claws in.” Plagg walked over to the door, and exited, pensively watching the uniformed man in the living room. 

“Did you have a nice nap?” The man asked, arms crossed. 

“I did, until I was shaken awake. Is there a problem officer?”

“Adrien Agreste, you are under arrest.”

[fandomsilhouette]

engarde to the graveyard (send the people our regards)

They’re nothing more than children, arrested in their growth. They’re the adults of the future, a future that they loath. They’re secret keepers, mysteries, people made of histories too big for their skin. They’re never going to win. 

Happy @felinettenovember​, y’all! Or honestly, at this point, not very happy but you know what? There’s catharsis. @emzurl​ coerced me into it and @musicfren​ held me to it, so there is... an amount. No further promises, though! This is a complete story as of this post. 

Part 1 complete. Part 2 complete. 

Their delight was palpable, tangible in the stiffly shifting smirks that shuffled from person to person when Marinette walked hand in hand with Adrien into the classroom on a Monday morning. In the way Bustier grinned slyly as she announced a permanent seat change that brought Marinette shoulder to shoulder with him every day, holding herself firm in the full force of his lovestruck besotted gaze. 

Even at his sappiest, Felix had always looked at her with weight behind the fluff, with respect and admiration as the scaffolding to cotton candy sugar. Marinette thought of the way she used to sink into beanbag chairs, swallowed whole in the vast endlessness of it, completely lost to herself when she returned from its maw. 

Felix found himself next to a girl he had already broken up with and knew immediately the rumors (the truths) hadn’t spread far enough yet. 

Their teacher reminded each of them, quietly, after class that she was there to keep them safe and happy, and as their guardian she was happy to make the changes to allow them to sit where they would be most productive. 

Neither of them had been productive in weeks. It didn’t seem to matter. 

Akuma fights were almost better. Chat still tailed her, kept her back secure. He took more blows meant for her than he used to, and Marinette stayed awake at night playing them over and over in her head, guilt curdling in her gut like spoiled milk, souring the bitter realization that flooded through her veins when she thought about the way he used to throw himself at her to push them both out of the way, and the bittersweet relief of not having to touch him like that, not getting to touch him like that. 

She shivered in the naked air over her suit and didn’t lean into his shoulder. He twitched in repressed anxiety and didn’t curl his tail around her waist. 

The worst days were the ones where the akumatized was a child. The thing was, adults had long been trained, practiced in the habit of learning how to handle a breakdown. Teenagers had learned what to expect, how to cope, because akumatization was nothing more than more of the feelings they’d already learned to function under the crushing weight of. No one believed them anyways, right, when they said they were hurting, that it was too much, that they needed help. 

To the teenagers of Paris, Ladybug and Chat Noir were heroes not because they defeated the akuma but because they stuck around, held their hand, swung past their window at night and winked, stopped by with cookies and hot cocoa and a hug. 

They were heroes because they were friends, mask or not. 

Children hurt, and it was all they could know for as long as a butterfly plagued them. 

Felix was losing more and more of himself to this charade they had going on, and Marinette was more duct tape than person, and Chat and Ladybug looked at each other in the aftermath of an akuma attack that left another child sobbing inconsolably in the middle of the street, and watched teenagers (fifteen, sixteen, older than either Felix or Marinette could imagine being, now) who remembered too well what it was like to feel that helplessness come forward to rock this child to sleep because their guardian was halfway across the city and wouldn’t know what to do, anyways.

There were no words left to exchange. Chat’s ring had a minute longer than her earrings, so he stuck around to watch the child while she detransformed in a flash of pink. Marinette walked out, and the teenagers (children, all of them, anyways) parted for the now-familiar face around post-akuma emotional wreckage. Marinette untangled the child’s fist from around Chat’s tail, which he had been flicking gamely if only for a momentary reprieve, and pulled the child into her embrace. 

They burst into sobs, soaked her shirt. 

Me too, bud, she thought. They didn’t hear it. Felix might have (heard, listened, understood), but he had slipped away already. 

There were too many children who had stopped being children for this. It needed to end. 

There was something about working together for as long as they had that meant they didn’t have to talk about it. Maybe they should. Maybe they couldn’t. But they knew, and they fought for it as if everything they had been doing was little more than a play-fight, a mock reenactment of a battle, never mind the slaughter strewn through their lives. 

But Marinette started training at nights, and she came to school looking like the way she feels, which was broken and exhausted and in pain, but she studied harder and started goading Hawkmoth through their masks, and set up traps for fake miraculi and tried so hard not to cry.

Felix made a chart of everyone who's been akumatized, because Hawkmoth has admitted between one of Ladybug’s taunts and the next that he's been akumatized, in some perverted, sick kind of boast. He started interviewing people and following butterflies, and writing class notes in duplicate to slip under her door because he's studied all this before. She hasn't.

They turned heroes to detectives, because what was another mask to wear? 

They found him, and it was so anticlimactic. 

Gabriel wasn’t arrested. Emelie was already dying, disconnected from her preservation container (coffin, Felix scoffed under his breath, and Marinette snorted at the truth of it). It didn’t make sense to rob Adrien of both guardians at once, even if he had assumed he’d lost one of them already and was rapidly losing the other. It seemed kinder for everyone involved just to let her go. Instead they pushed Hawkmoth into therapy and broke patient confidentiality just enough to make sure the therapist reports that he’s showing up. Felix lost another guardian in all but the paper trail, and knew how not to flinch this time. 

Ladybug and Chat Noir, or maybe just Felix and Marinette, stood hand in trembling hand, surveying the battlegrounds of a war waged by a guardian of two children and two miraculi he had no right to, the bloody remnants of a childhood visited by trauma and responsibility, the conniving burden that it was, leaving them destitute and on guard for a threat that always, always came. 

There was no funeral coming for what they had lost, no mourners or witnesses for these alter egos finally laid to rest. There was no one coming to save them save the people they had become to save the world, the people they had become to sacrifice the best parts of who they used to be. They stood there in the wreckage of everything they have been and have become, not sure if there's enough of them left to feel whole again. 

But he held her hand, and she could feel his pulse fluttering, an echo of her own barely-there heartbeat but present, so present, still alive. 

There was something to be valued here, even if it took all the half-broken pieces left behind in the two of them combined, and the rest of their lives. 

Because they had that, now: a rest of to look for. A rest to look for. 

There was still so much left to do. Marinette broke up with Adrien, or tried to. He held onto her, grabbing onto one part of her and then another while she extricated the first. Eventually it wore on her, exhausted her, between his befuddled, bewildered refusal to accept her decision and the heavy judgemental glares of the classmates gathered to watch this spectator sport. 

We did this for you, Marinette. We wanted you to be happy. What are you doing, Marinette? Why are you throwing it all away? 

Don’t we matter to you as much as you matter to us?

Yes, she thought. I don’t matter to you at all. She bit off whichever part he grabbed onto, left it behind, another sacrifice, another memorial at an unmarked grave. May this be the last, she hoped, and cauterized her wound with rage. 

Felix was there, a phantom in the audience, ghostly pale and nearly translucent under the yellow fluorescent lights. 

He caught her eye, and didn’t stop looking. 

It felt like, for once, for the first time, the right choice.

[e-milieeee]

four ways to say i love you

Summary: It’s the little things—such as waking up at five in the morning to cook for him or lending her a coat when she’s cold—that mean the world. 

Because Marinette loves her partner very, very much, and she’s so lucky that he feels the same. 

Notes: I was initially going to do one side of the lovesquare, but all sides are equal and therefore have all four sides in this oneshot :) Post reveal, established relationship. A commissioned piece for @mlbforblm—there’s plenty of talented artists and writers who still have slots, so make sure to commission! 

Or read on AO3

Adrien is brushing his teeth when Ladybug comes crashing through his window.

He’s a little later than usual today, still decked in his Ladybug pajamas that he’s so unashamedly  proud of. He has tied his bangs back with an elastic band, and it sits like a little tree on top of his head, water still dripping from his face.

“And here I was, thinking you’d be ready to eat breakfast,” she tsks playfully.

He grins back. “Sorry, M’lady. Plagg turned my alarm off.”

His smile is, as usual, contagious and in a way that can’t help but to smile back. Ladybug returns to his room and takes out the box from her bag, where she’d painstakingly prepared breakfast for him at the expense of a shattered bowl and spilled jug of milk. It’s still warm to the touch, thankfully, and her slightly rough landing in his room hadn’t messed it up too much.

Adrien joins her a couple minutes later. He has taken the hair tie out, but his bangs fall softly over his eyes like it does when he’s Chat Noir, and Ladybug wants to run her hands over it so to feel just how soft it is. She refrains herself, though, as they both settle cross-legged on the ground where she has laid their breakfast out.

His mouth drops open. “Wow,” Adrien marvels. “When you said you were going to make a feast, I thought you’d fry an egg or two and slap it between some bread and that would’ve been it. This is… can you describe food as gorgeous? Because this is gorgeous.”

“Just because that’s the only thing you can cook doesn’t mean it’s all I’m capable of,” she sniffs, but underneath, Ladybug preens at the compliment.

It’d taken a lot of effort, and Ladybug had collected the ingredients the day before and planned every single detail before going to bed. Then, at five in the morning, she dragged herself out of bed looking and feeling like a zombie just to prepare it.

There are four egg rolls drizzled with homemade sauce, then sprinkled with dried seaweed and sesame. Next to that are neat cuts of green onion cake, made from absolute scratch (she burned herself in the process of deep-frying them). Inside the longest container are fried fish, the ones her mother had prepared the night before. Finally, the leftover mooncakes from the Lunar Festival are in the little box, tied with a red bow. Marinette had spent careful care on that one.

“Miso soup,” Ladybug tells him as she hands him the thermos. “Uh… I think I added too much paste and it’s too salty, so you might not want to drink that one. And…” She opens the last box, where a variety of fresh-cut fruit awaits. “For health reasons, there are fruits. Oh! Also a cheese platter for Plagg, but he’s still asleep, so he can have it later.”

Adrien is positively beaming when she unpacks everything. “You’re the absolute best,” he gushes.

“Couldn’t have you starving on your diet, right?” The nonchalant act can only go so far when she’s grinning so wide. “I’m just hoping it tastes as good as it looks.”

“It’ll taste good just because you made it.” He throws her an exaggerated wink, then immediately reaches for his chopsticks to dig in.

Ladybug watches him take a bite out of green onion cake. He chews, swallows, eyes lighting up. “This is amazing, and I promise I’m not just saying that because my diet’s forced me to eat boiled chicken breasts with no seasoning of the past week.”

She giggles. “Just let me know when you want me to bring you breakfast.”

He places a hand on his chest. “I can’t believe Ladybug’s my personal delivery girl. Do you offer lunch services as well?”

“Only for you, kitty.”

His grin is worth getting up for at 5am.

***

Marinette is freezing at lunch break, but they’ve agreed to eat outside, so she sucks it up. At least the lunch she’d packed for her and Adrien is warm.

It’s late autumn now, and the last couple of leaves cling to otherwise bare trees. She regrets the outfit she picked—cute, but not practical. Especially not in this weather. Looking at Alya bundled up in a hoodie and combat boots, Marinette really regrets the dress.

The noodles in the thermoses are slightly soggy, but the flavour is still there. They chat for a while—about upcoming tests, about projects and the end-of-the-year field trip that is still months away, and everything is lovely. Lovely, but cold.

Halfway through, her noodles emptied, Adrien notices her shivering. “Are you cold?” he asks, eyes growing wide in concern.

Alya halts her conversation with Nino as well. “Wait, Adrien’s right, you’re wearing a dress. I’m chilly and I have a sweater on.”

Marinette, who has refrained from speaking for the past couple of minutes in fear of her teeth chattering too loudly, manages to shake her head.

She gets a scrutinizing look-over by Adrien before he makes his verdict. “This isn’t going to do,” he declares firmly. Then, with one fluid movement, he shrugs his own sweater off and drapes it over her shoulders.

“Oh, he’s smooth,” Alya remarks with a wicked grin.

Smooth, indeed. The jacket is wonderfully warm, and, with a content sigh, Marinette slides her arms through the sleeves. There’s also the faint smell of his cologne and it’s so very him that she can’t help the smile that crosses her face.

He opens an arm in a beckoning gesture and Marinette happily settles into his embrace.

***

Because of his father’s strict rules, it’s much easier for Adrien to come by as Chat Noir after school, which he does almost everyday. Sometimes it’s between his schedules, sometimes it’s after, late into the night when both his father and Nathalie believe he’s asleep. Marinette always listens for the thump on the skylight, an indication that he’s there. The trap door is always left unlocked for him, so she only needs to wait as he climbs down the ladder.

It’s nearing nine when he comes this time. She sits at her desk finishing up the rest of the notes when the door creaks open and Chat Noir climbs down.

“Evening,” he greets. “What—ooh, you brought croissants for me.”

He zeroes in immediately on the food that Marinette had, admittedly, prepared for him. Between Adrien’s schedule and that godawful diet his father insisted putting him on and his time sprinting across rooftops and fighting akumas, it’s a miracle that he hasn’t fainted from lack of nutrition. Marinette has made it her personal goal to make sure he’s properly fed, and she ensures there’s a snack waiting for him every time he drops by.

Half a minute later, he’s munching enthusiastically on the food and Marinette can no longer focus on the rest of her notes. She sorts them out—there’s at least four pages that she’d copied in her neatest handwriting—and then hands them to Chat.

“Here,” she tells him. “You missed both physics and mathematics today because of the photoshoot, so I copied the notes from class and re-organized them. I also added a review section from last class so it’s easier to figure out just where we are since the two lessons are connected. And…” She shuffles through her desk once more, producing the textbook. “It’s on page one hundred and twenty seven to one hundred and twenty nine, if my notes don’t make sense. You can study here, if you’d like. My parents won’t be coming back up anyway, so we should be left alone for now.”

The last time her mother had walked in on her and Chat doing homework together, she’d been understanding. Understanding, but skeptical. It had been awfully hard to explain why Paris’ superhero was lounging in her room like he lived there—and much harder more awkward to explain that Adrien was one hundred supportive of her friendship with Chat after her father had become defensive that he had ulterior motives.

Chat takes the papers from her. “You’re absolutely unbelievable,” he tells her, eyes shining in a way only his can. “Seriously, Marinette, have I ever told you?”

She pretends to count on her fingers. “Let’s see… only about six times today. Why? He shakes his head, a grin pulling at the corner of his lips. In one fluid movement, he leans down to pluck the textbook from her hands and plants a quick kiss against her cheek in the process. “What would I do without you?”

“Go hungry, probably? Start lagging behind in all of your classes?” Marinette tsks at him. “God, you’re right. What would you do without me?”

Chat’s laugh is wonderful and full and happy. “Then aren’t I lucky to have you.”

***

The akuma strikes at midnight.

Marinette, about to change into her pajamas after just sending off Chat Noir, curses to herself. She’s tired and not in the mood to transform, but when Chat comes crashing back down from the skylight urgently, she knows she has no choice.

“Akuma!” he informs her, as if the tremors outside could be caused by anything else. “It’s close to here. We should be able to take this one quickly.”

“Why is Hawkmoth even awake?” Marinette grumbles, but transforms nonetheless. Chat waits patiently on the side, though he’s drawn taut, prepared to scramble into action the moment she’s ready. Then they’re climbing out of the skylight, into the light, where the akuma has begun its rampage. The once-quiet night is ripped apart with panic and terror.

The akuma is relatively easy to deal with: a little girl, apparently inspired by Frozen, is decked in full Elsa, wielding similar powers. She covers the streets in ice, a snowstorm whirling around her, as spirals of icy sculptures rise and fall.

Both she and Chat have icicles hanging off them by the time Ladybug purifies the akuma. Even after she releases the Miraculous Ladybug, the cold from the girl’s powers haven’t seeped out of her bones. Judging from Chat’s chattering teeth, he feels the same.

Despite her watch reading 12:32 and the next day hailing as a school day , they stop by at a 24-hour-cafe for hot chocolate. A couple minutes later, seated on the rooftops warming their chilled hands, they’re huddled against each other and staring out at the gleaming cityscape.

“Another successful take-down, m’lady?”

Ladybug laughs as he raises his cup for a toast, and she obliges and bumps her own against him. Hot chocolate sloshes over the lid, splashing onto her suit. She flicks it off. “What a team we make, huh? Now, if only Hawkmoth would get the memo and stop creating his akumas so late. Why is he even up now? Say, do you think he has a life outside of being Hawkmoth?”

“He probably wants to catch us off guard in the middle of the night. Remember that one time we got woken up at three because there was an akuma attack? Plagg wanted to tape my mouth shut so I couldn’t transform.”  

Ladybug groans. “I did really bad on a test the next day because I got three and a half hours of sleep—I fell asleep halfway through the test! It’s— ugh. He’s so annoying.”

“There’s one good thing about midnight akumas, though,” Chat points out.

She takes a sip from the hot chocolate, which, during their conversation, has cooled down to just below scalding. “A good thing?” Ladybug echoes. “Name one good thing, chaton.”  

He nudges her shoulder. “You, m’lady. It’s nice just being alone like this without anyone else, right?”

Then, like he’s said nothing out of the ordinary, Chat goes back to drinking his hot chocolate with infuriating nonchalance.

Ladybug finds herself smiling. “You know,” she tells Chat Noir. “You’re ridiculously good at this. Where do you even get the inspiration to say these things?”

“You.”

“You are completely overdoing it.”

“You love me, admit that.”

“No.”

“So you would get up at five in the morning to make breakfast for just anyone, Bugaboo?”

Ladybug relents. “Okay, maybe a little.”

Chat Noir’s laugh rings crystal clear throughout the night, loud against the crisp air. Ladybug wants to trap that laugh and hold it close to herself. She can’t help but treasure it, after all: it’s a sound that chases away worries, soothes fears, and she thinks she's so, so lucky to hear it everyday.  

“I love you,” he tells her when his laughter dies down. “Don’t forget that, m’lady.”

Ladybug leans her head on her shoulder. “I love you too,” she replies quietly. “You better not forget it, either.”

Notes: Here’s my fics masterlist! 

[miraculous-anna]

Opposite Day (Or DuPont's Worst Nightmare) Part 3: Ladybug is that HBIC

Hi everyone!!! So, here's the next chapter of ODDWN! And from what you can tell of the title, yes, this is where Ladybug and Chat Noir defeat the Akuma, or essentially, the last main chapter. I'm gonna be doing an aftermath obviously, but right now we're gonna focus on Ladybug telling Chat Noir off. Cause let's be real, Adrien doesn't know what "no" means, and Marinette is way too nice to actually tell him off. THANKFULLY, she doesn't have a filter, so this kitty's getting skinned.

Enjoy! :)

(To get a feel for this chapter, listen to either rules by doja cat, or confident by Justin Bieber and chance the rapper. Your choice lol)

♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇

First / Previous Chapter / Masterlist

Walking out of the classroom, Marinette turned to walk down the stairs. "Dupain-Cheng." Marinette stopped in her tracks, and turned around towards Chloe. "What, brat?" Marinette glared. She was hungry, and getting stopped was annoying her.

Chloe huffed at the insult. Turning her head, "I was, gonna say you could hang out with me and Sabrina now that you have a spine, but for that insult I'm reconsidering."

Marinette laughed, clearly mocking the other girl. "No thanks, I don't hang out with entitled brats like you. I mean, seriously? You?" She scoffed, rolling her eyes. Marinette was about to walk away when Chloe growled. "Excuse you?! I am Chloe Bourgeois! I have everything, like you would ever understand!"

"Oh Chloe, we both know you're lying. Even to yourself." Marinette looked over her shoulder, before turning slightly. "What does that mean?" Chloe placed her hands on her hips. "You don't have everything you could ever want, isn't that right?" Marinette smiled in mock sympathy. "Of course I do! I'm the mayor's daughter!" Chloe hesitated, not knowing what Marinette was getting at.

"Yes, you are the mayor's daughter, yes you're rich, but none of those things can give you what you truly want," Marinette shook her head, walking in a slow circle around the blonde. "Your mom left you," Chloe flinched at that remark. Marinette continued, "Your dad isn't there for you," Another flinch, Chloe curled her fists. "You only have one friend, and everyone hates you." Marinette stopped walking, she stood behind her. Grasping her shoulders, Marinette spoke in Chloe's ears. "Poor, poor Chloe. You're alone, and no one truly understands you. But who's fault is that? Who's fault is it that everyone cowers before you?"

Chloe looked to be on the verge of tears, not that Marinette could see. "You want friends, and you want people to care about you, right? No one's ever paid attention to you, and no one cared enough." Marinette sighed, taking on a sympathetic voice. "What are you getting at, Dupain-Cheng?" Chloe whispered, knowing if she spoke louder her voice would crack. "You don't have to be alone, Chloe. You don't have to have people be scared of you. You brought this upon yourself by being a horrible person. But," Marinette let go of Chloe's shoulders. Walking towards the stairs, she turned to look back at the other girl. "Even you can be redeemed. You just have to try."

With that, Marinette left an emotional Chloe at the top of the staircase. "Stupid Dupain-Cheng, what does she know?" Chloe whispered, rubbing at her eyes furiously.

♤○♤○♤○♤○♤○

Running into the bathroom, Marinette locked the door to her stall, and opened her purse. "Marinette! Let's hurry! We've waited too long, who knows what the akuma has done!" Tikki cries in a whisper, flying out of the purse. "I know, Tikki, don't lecture me." Marinette grumbles, calling her transformation.

Now on the roof of her school, Marinette listens intently for the sound of an akuma. Lo and behold, a few blocks down came the screams. "Guess he circled around the city." Marinette murmured, swinging onto the building across the street. There, in the street down below stood the akuma Opposite Man. He had a staff he used to zap people, and had what looked like smoke bombs to affect groups of people.

From what she could tell, Marinette deduced that the staff made you do the opposite of what you're trying to do, and the smoke bomb affects your personality. That's why I felt weird today, and the purple smoke in the air. Marinette thought, suddenly realizing.

She analyzed the scene below, trying to find a way to restrain him, and get his akumatized object. She heard a thump from behind her and internally cursed. She didn't need his recklessness this time. Ladybug had a job to do.

"Hello, M'lady! I've missed you, my bugaboo!" Chat Noir purred, leaning on his staff. Ladybug stood up, and slowly turned to face him, while saying sarcastically, "Oh wow, M'lady and Bugaboo? Using both names which you know I hate? You must be here to be a nuisance --as usual" Ladybug crossed her arms, titling her head with a mock surprised face, before dropping it and glaring at him.

"Me-ouch, M'lady! No need to be so harsh! I'm just here to be your savior! After all, it is what good boyfriends do!" Chat Noir exclaimed, reaching to touch her. Marinette didn't know what he wanted to touch, but it frightened her nonetheless. Normally, she would flinch back, and try to put distance, but the akuma’s powers, no, they didn't let her.

Grabbing his wrist before he can touch her, Ladybug sneered. "Don't fucking touch me, you mangy cat!" Chat Noir tried to pull his hand back, but Ladybug wasn't done. "You know what you are, Chat Noir?" A step forward. Ladybug had the hand with the ring on it, not that Chat noticed. No, he was too shocked his lady was talking back to him. Where was this confidence? She never fought back!

No, no, you can't let your victim fight you! Chat had to fix this! His thoughts were broken when Ladybug spoke again. "You're nothing, but a nuisance, a menace, a reckless little brat, and--" Insult after Insult. Each insult equaled a step closer, till she backed him up against the edge of the roof.

"M'lady! Now, don't get so riled up! You're only acting this way cause you got hit! We can defeat the Akuma and go back to normal!--" Chat Noir rambled, desperately trying not to fall off the tall building they were on. It was three stories, and if he fell, his staff couldn't save him, it was knocked away from him, but Ladybug cut him off. "You mean the akuma I'm going to defeat, you're useless, you can't do anything to help me. In fact, I don't need you at all!" Ladybug shouted, her grip on his wrist getting tighter. Harder for him to break out of, she mused in her head.

"Don't lie, Ladybug! We're meant for each other! You're the only one that doesn't see it. Come on! Let go so we can get you back to normal." Chat Noir rolled his eyes, smiling his signature Adrien Sunshine Boy smile. This would convince her, surely-- Ladybug's expression only darkened. "Right, cause when I'm back to normal, I don't fight you. I'm a doormat when I'm normal, gives you more opportunities to harass and get away with the shit you do. And we're not "meant" for each other, you asshat. You're a horrible person, and I hate you!" Ladybug was screaming by now. She grabbed his fingers, ready to slip off the ring. He looked to shocked at her declaration to notice at first.

"Chat Noir, by order of the Guardian of the Miraculous, You are hereby revoked of your miraculous, and you'll face the full consequences of your actions." He looked enraged at her order, and tried to break free. "Catacly--" He tried to shout, but she laughed. "I'll just tie you up and take it after you transform back forcefully. Like I said, you're fucking stupid." Still laughing, she smirked as he did it anyway.

She let go of him, and before he could run away, tied him up with her yoyo. Quickly attaching him to a pole on the roof, Ladybug rolled her eyes. "I told you, you stupid cat."

Sighing, she waited till she heard the beeping start. Leaning against the opposite wall, Ladybug watched with unnatural satisfaction as Chat Noir yelled, screamed, and demanded she put him down. She couldn't do this to him, he'd cry over and over. To the Ladybug of yesterday, his cries would be answered, and she'd let him down. Apologize and turn around, waiting for him to recharge.

To the Ladybug of now, however, it was hilarious. Hearing him yelling and screeching. He was terrified of the consequences, apparently. Then came the final beep, and then came her devilish grin.

The look of terror on his face caused her to laugh. Before he detransformed, Marinette said one last thing. "Bye bye, little kitty. I hope you rot in hell," releasing him as his transformation fell, Ladybug grabbed Chats, no, Adrien's wrist-- she was too happy, and too satisfied to break down from the new hole in her heart-- and yanked the ring off his finger.

Ladybug didn't look back as she took off towards the akuma that had made it's way down a few blocks. No, not even to acknowledge the screaming pleas of Adrien Agreste.

•♧•♧•♧•♧•♧•♧•♧•♧

Hey there! So, I finished the Final Main Part of ODDWN! Hope you guys liked it, it was a bit rushed at the end, I wanted to get this written by Sunday. Now, by the time you've read this, its Monday (Today). I'll get to writing the aftermath chapter for this story tonight, and it'll be up sometime around this week or the next, depending on how long I want it to be, or what I want to happen. If you have any questions, requests, or prompt recommendations please feel free to send me an ask!!

I hope you guys enjoyed!! Taglist below!

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[linhlotus]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir Ch 5: Pixelator.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yes,” she admitted.

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

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

“With what?”

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

“I’d love to help.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Of course, Purrincess.”

------

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

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

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

“Hey, maybe I could model your designs!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Then I can help.”

“But you might get hurt!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yeah, I’m fine, but what about you?”

“I’m alright. Where are we?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He nodded and brought them down.

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

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

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

“Let’s get out of here,” Chat said.

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

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

“How is this my fault?”

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

Marinette was fuming.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hey! You’ll pay for that!”

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

“This isn’t the best time, Chat.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He turned back to her.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Agreed,” she chirped.

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

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

They looked around the corner and spotted him immediately.

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

He pursed his lips but didn’t argue.

“Do we know what he’s after?”

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

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

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

“But-”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hey, leave her alone!”

It was Chat! Perfect timing!

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

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

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

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

“Are you okay?”

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

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

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

“Are you sure abou-”

“Please, Chat.”

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

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

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

“Great job, Purrincess!”

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

He held up a jar. “Yeah.”

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

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

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

“That would be nice,” she admitted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yeah.” He handed them to her.

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

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

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

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

Thank you to my wonderful beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!

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