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galahadwilder · 5 years ago

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The Agreste Letters, Ch. 11

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The Agreste Letters Archive

This chapter sponsored by @alexseanchai

AO3

"This is mine?" Nooroo said, staring wide-eyed into the can of peanuts.

"All yours," Adrien said. He reached into the can, held up a nut. "You earned it, buddy."

Nooroo gasped, then dove into the can, spraying peanut bits over the sides of the can like a delighted woodchipper.

Plagg floated up to Adrien's shoulder, holding a slice of cheese between his paws. "He's feeling better," Plagg remarked, taking a chomp out of the slice. "It's good to see."

Adrien reached up with one finger, scratched under Plagg's chin, chuckling as the Kwami began to purr. "I think we all are," Adrien said. "Needed to get out of that house."

"Glad you finally admitted it," Plagg said, shoving the rest of the cheese into his mouth, barely managing to chew before his breath rotted it to gas. He chipmunked his cheeks before swallowing. "Been trying to get you to leave for ages."

Adrien smiled, sweeping the peanut crumbs off Fu's kitchen counter and gently sliding them back into the can. He heard a happy little trill from Nooroo as he dolphin-breached the surface of the peanuts, plunging face-first back into the nutty mass.

"Do you think Mari's okay?" Adrien said, absentmindedly stirring his pot of mac and cheese. "Today was kind of..." He sighed. "Overwhelming."

Plagg scoffed. "You should check yourself, Greyling," he said, flitting down to the brooch that Adrien had hooked onto his belt and smacking it gently. "Nooroo's got long-distance empathy for emergency situations."

"Really?" Adrien said. "Huh, that must be... how Father..." He trailed off. Even now, he didn't want to think about it.

Plagg grimaced. "Keeping it on all the time must've exhausted the poor bug."

"No wonder he's so ravenous," Adrien said. The timer on Fu's oven buzzed, and Adrien shut off the stove. "See? Didn't burn it!"

"I'm impressed," Plagg said, swooping down to sniff it. He stuck out his tongue. "That is not cheese!"

"It's good enough," Adrien said, spooning the macaroni into a bowl. It looked kind of gross, if he was being entirely honest, but he wasn't in any position to complain—he didn't want to wake up Fu just so he wouldn't have to eat Easy Mac, and besides, it smelled delicious to his hungry stomach. "Hey, Nooroo?"

Nooroo's head popped out of the can. "Yes, Master?"

Adrien laughed. "Just Adrien, remember?"

Nooroo frowned, his eyes downcast. "Right. Yes. Adrien."

Oh. Oh no. Adrien knew that look. He'd seen it in the mirror enough times.

"Hey," Adrien said, quiet. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm sorry," Nooroo murmured.

Adrien speared a piece of macaroni with his fork, offered it up to the Kwami. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said. "Want some Easy Mac?"

Nooroo pounced on the fork, devouring the macaroni in one bite. Then he floated upward, wiping his mouth. "Did you need me for something?"

"Yeah," Adrien said, scooping his fork into his bowl. Ugh, that squishing sound was hell on his ears. "Can I borrow your empathy for a minute? I want to check on Marinette."

"Anything for Ladybug," Nooroo said with a soft smile... and Adrien's brain caught fire.

His consciousness flooding with emotions, sensations, little triumphs and frustrations from everyone in the building pouring into his scalp. He could feel Fu's guilt pressing down on him like a mountain, even through the Master's dreams; two floors up, he could feel two men sharing a first kiss, tentative and nervous and sweet. Three doors over, someone had burned their dinner, while one floor below that a mother was singing happy birthday while holding a cake—he could feel her fear at the flame, held so close to her face, in the sweat of his palms.

"Concentrate," Nooroo said. "Push through to find her."

"It's not that ea—" Adrien started to retort, but then suddenly, it was. Half an arrondissement away, he could feel her tugging at his soul like a bright spark at the end of a string-can telephone. He was at the center of a web, and everyone he cared about was connected to him, Nino and Alya and Chloé and Kagami all fluttering at the edge of his consciousness, but there, burning brightest with joy and love, was Marinette. He felt his heart expand in his chest. His Princess, his Lady, so happy, so bright, so... scared?

Something darker flitted across his awareness. Something angry and hateful. A toxic, uncontrolled torrent of emotions, a sickening hurricane no body should have been able to bear. And there, in the eye...

"Nathalie?" he breathed, his eyes widening. "What is she... what's wrong with her?"

Nooroo closed his eyes and shivered. "Duusu is dreaming," he said, "and she can't wake up. Every emotion Madameoiselle Sancouer is feeling is... amplified. Toxified. They're in a... Gabriel called it a 'feedback loop.'"

"Neither one of them is in control," Adrien said, horror in his voice. He turned, locked eyes with Plagg, who seemed just as shaken as he was. "She's..." He gasped, following the threads of Mayura's hate toward their source. "She's going for Marinette!"

"Quickly!" Nooroo said. "Speak the phrase!"

"Flutter on!" Adrien yelled, yanking Nooroo into the brooch.

Iron Maiden's fist drove into Mayura's stomach, powering through her ribs and smashing her across the bakery, the peacock crashing through the bakery wall into the kitchen beyond.

Nice punch, Greyling said in her mind.

"Thanks," Maiden replied. She raised her fist, twisted it, could see the cords of muscles shift beneath her iron skin. One thought could drive her epidermis outward, forming sharp spikes like her medieval namesake to puncture even Mayura's near-invulnerable skin—but she knew it wasn't going to be enough. "Get your furry butt over here," she said. "I can only keep her occupied for so long."

Yes ma'am.

"Bring Trixx and Wayzz, just in case." She spared a glance toward her mother, unconscious, her body twisted, and set her jaw. Her mind slipped into tactical mode, Ladybug mode; she couldn't worry about the injuries yet. She could take care of that later.

Master Fu is asleep...

"Then wake him up!" she yelled.

Alya flinched, and Iron Maiden blinked. Right, she thought. She thinks I'm an Akuma.

Nino dragged himself up the counter, wheezing through broken ribs, and tried to hold up his fists. "St-stay—stay a-away from us," he gasped.

Iron Maiden swallowed. That look of fear in his eyes—she could feel her heart squeezing. "Stay down, Nino," she murmured. "I'm not going to let her hurt you again."

Nino blinked, shaking, the pain of standing obvious in his hunched frame. "What?" he said.

Maiden rolled her neck, popping the vertebrae, as blades began to grow from her knuckles. "Get them out of here," she said. "I'll keep her occupied."

Mayura rolled onto her arms, began pushing herself upright. "Ladrona!" she screamed, her voice quaking with rage.

"Go," Maiden said, then dropped her shoulder and charged.

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The Agreste Letters Archive

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aalissy · 5 years ago

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Nerve Wracking Confessions

Yay! Chapter 15 of Dreaming in Black and White is finally done!! Sorry it took me foreverrrrrr. I hope you can forgive me <3. Updates should be less of a wait now, hopefully. It’s a more angstyyyy chapter today, so be prepared for that hehe.

AO3

Marinette paced atop her balcony, tugging her pigtails madly as she muttered to herself. Tikki floated hesitantly nearby, a sympathetic look entering her eyes as she watched her owner angrily rant to herself.

“Marinette?” her kwami called out hesitantly, stopping the girl in her tracks as she slowly turned to face her.

“What am I supposed to do?” tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as she whispered desperately.

Tikki rushed over to the girl, hugging her cheek tenderly as she sighed, “Oh, Marinette.”

“A-and I can’t talk to Alya about this without her asking a million questions like, ‘When did you start liking Chat Noir?’ ‘How did you even meet him?’ ‘What about Luka?’” Marinette’s features paled considerably as she gazed off into the distance horror-struck, “Oh god... What about Luka?! I can’t hurt him, Tikki! I just can’t! Even if he isn’t my true soulmate, I just w-”

A curious voice cut her off from behind, “Who isn’t your true soulmate?”

Marinette yelped, jumping about five feet into the air as she spun around to face the last person she had expected, or even wanted to see. Quickly, she whipped her head back around to make certain Tikki wasn’t visible as she watched the tiny kwami phase through her trapdoor. The designer tensed before calling out a, “See you in class tomorrow!” and pretended to stuff her phone back in her purse. She turned back to Chat Noir with an oversized, awkward smile as she scanned his features for any sign of suspicion. Finding none, Marinette blew out a quiet sigh of relief before chirping over-exaggeratedly at him, “Chat! What are you doing here?”

“Just coming to check up on my purrincess. I missed you, Marinette,” he shot her a soft grin, and despite her best efforts, her heart melted.

Soon enough her awkward smile slipped away to a real one as Marinette came closer to rest on the railing beside him. She hummed happily as she looked up at him, “I missed you too, Chaton. Even if you did just visit me yesterday,” she teased, bumping her shoulder against his body lightly. And if we don’t count that you just saw me in patrol a few hours ago, she giggled silently to herself.

“Were you talking to Alya just then?” he nodded down at her purse.

Marinette frowned curiously, wondering where he had gotten that impression, opening her mouth before slamming it shut. She quickly nodded her head overenthusiastically, another wide, awkward smile spreading across her face, “Yep! Mhm! We had just finished talking when you had arrived.”

Shoot, I can’t believe I completely forgot that I was pretending to talk to Alya in order to cover for Tikki! How am I this stupid? Marinette winced to herself mentally, turning away from him to stare out at Paris as a deep, red blush bloomed across her cheeks. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye as she tried to assess whether or not he had caught her in yet another lie.

Chat merely nodded, his own gaze remaining fixed on the buildings in front of them before clearing his throat as he began to speak almost nervously, “And you were... talking about soulmates...” he trailed off, finally turning away from the city below them to lean closer to her, searching her eyes with his own.

Was that an almost hopeful look that flickered within his gaze or was she just seeing things? “Chat... I... do you like me?” the words that fell from her lips surprised her partner as well as herself as both of their mouths fell open. In the next second, Marinette’s hands flew up defensively as she backed away from the railing, “I-uh, never mind! I know you’re in love with Ladybug!” nervous, high-pitched laughs escaped her as she continued to back away from him, “I have no idea why I just asked that! Ignore me!”

As she continued to retreat away from him, she noticed Chat slide away from her balcony railing, watching her bump against the wall, “Marinette?” he called her name cautiously.

Marinette’s eyes quickly darted away from his own, moving around quickly until they landed on the trapdoor below her feet, “Brr! I’m cold! Are you cold? Great! Let’s go inside then!”

Throwing the hatch open, Marinette landed ungracefully on her bed, wobbling slightly as she began scolding herself mentally, What are you doing?! Can you be any more awkward?! Why did you even ask Chat if he likes you? Good luck getting out of this one, Marinette. Quickly, she turned to her ladder and began scrambling down it, noticing as she did so that Chat had neatly landed on her bed.

“Marinette?” he called after her, causing her to pause halfway on her bedroom floor, “Where are you going?”

“To get us some croissants,” she squeaked out nervously. Clearing her throat to lower it back down to a reasonable tone, she beamed brightly, “You’re hungry, right? Who am I kidding you’re always hungry, so I’ll just go do that then,” she explained in a rush, still not turning around to face him.

Seriously what am I doing?! I sound like a hyperactive chipmunk, she screeched at herself in her thoughts, I’ve only ever been this flustered around Adrien! This has never happened with Chat before! What am I going to do?

A warm, gloved hand wrapped around her wrist and she screeched, jumping about five feet into the air once again. Turning around she was met with a sheepish looking Chat Noir.

“Sorry,” he murmured, scratching the back of his neck anxiously, “I just, I mean that, well... I was wondering what you and Alya were talking about on the phone?”

Again, her partner seemed to have an almost hopeful look in his eyes and Marinette had to shove the corresponding glee away as a small pile of butterflies fluttered delicately within her stomach. Clearing her throat nervously, Marinette managed to stutter out, “W-what do you mean?”

“Well it sounded like you said you and Luka weren’t actually soulmates, and then I think you asked me a question that I might have misheard,” his voice dropped to a quiet whisper as he searched her eyes desperately, “Did I mishear, Marinette? What was it that you asked me on your balcony?”

The designer’s body deflated as her gaze lowered to the floor. How could she lie to him when he looked and sounded like that? Like his entire life rested upon what she said in response to his own question.

“Chat, I...” she started and then stopped, her gaze still focused entirely on the floor.

The hand wrapped gently around her wrist moved to lift her chin up slowly, causing her to look into the sparkling eyes of her partner, “Marinette, please don’t lie to me.”

“I-I asked if you liked me?” she asked hesitantly, chewing her bottom lip nervously as she gazed up at him from beneath her lashes.

“Would it change anything if I said yes?” Chat’s eyes flickered between her own, searching for something she wasn’t certain she could give.

Clenching her eyes shut, Marinette opened her mouth to respond, “I-,” shaking her head, she managed to tear herself from his grasp, feeling her own heart wrench painfully as she backed away from him, “Chat, I-we can’t! I’m dating Luka!”

Her eyes opened slowly and she watched as his expression transformed from shock to determination, “So you didn’t tell Alya on the phone just now that Luka wasn’t your soulmate!”

“No!” she blurted out before shaking her head, “I mean yes! I mean... it’s complicated,” she let out a frustrated groan before tugging on her pigtails.

“Then help me to understand. What did you mean Marinette?”

Blowing out a long exhale, she released her pigtails, feeling them spring back into place as she gathered her thoughts. After taking another deep breath in, she began to speak, “Luka and I aren’t soulmates in the literal sense of the term. We’re able to see color together, yes, but it’s only the one color. Blue,” almost against her will, Marinette took a few steps closer to Chat Noir, “I still don’t know what color your eyes are. O-or what any of the colors in this room are,” she gestured around them before falling backwards onto her chaise with a low groan.

“What does that mean?” Chat’s voice called from above her, causing her to blink up into the eyes of her partner who was staring down at her curiously.

“I don’t exactly know,” Marinette shrugged, letting out a bitter laugh, “I’ve been told that though some parts of our soul are able to connect the other half just isn’t as compatible.”

A thump sounded next to her, and she turned her head to see her partner had landed next to her with an indiscernible look on his face, “C-could it be because your true soulmate is still out there?”

Marinette sucked in a stuttered breath as she felt Chat’s hand come to rest atop her own. Letting herself relax in his warm embrace for a few, tender moments, she let her eyes flutter closed. Not for the first time she wished that she had accepted Chat’s feelings as Ladybug when he confessed about a week ago. Maybe things wouldn’t be as complicated...

When he squeezed her hand gently, her eyes slowly opened to face him once again, intent on telling him the truth. That he could never be her soulmate, and, even if he was, would only ever be able to see blue. When she stared into the adoring, lovestruck eyes of her partner, however, her heart gave a sharp tug and her lips parted as she froze. Tension filled the room as they continued to stare at each other. Finally, Chat managed to cut through the awkwardness with a wide, teasing smile, “Marinette, do you purrhaps like me?”

With a sputtered laugh, she grabbed the pillow atop her chaise and threw it at his face, “Seriously?! You’re going to ask me a question like that with a pun!? What is wrong with you?”

“It got you to laugh, didn’t it?” he batted the pillow aside easily, “So I thought it was pawsitively clawsome!”

With another sputtered laugh, she flipped over and buried her burning, flushed face into the chaise, “I hate you,” she muttered, her voice muffled slightly from being buried in the mattress.

“What was that, Marinette?” Chat poked her shoulder, “It sounded like you said you like me,” he sang cheerfully.

Her head popped up as she glared over at him, “I did not!”

“Well I like you,” he said, poking her shoulder once again. His smile was still wide but his eyes told another story. They were wide and uncertain like he was waiting for a response from her. A response she still couldn’t give.

“Chat,” Marinette started warningly, pushing herself off the chaise to clear her head and give her some space away from the infuriating cat.

He watched her retreat warily, standing up himself as she stopped in the middle of her room, “I was merely answering your question, Marinette.”

Letting out a frustrated growl, she ran a hand through her hair, “Chat! We can’t!”

Her partner walked a few paces towards her, causing her to squirm uncomfortably before he stopped, “Fine, I’ll leave you alone,” and with that, she blew out a quiet breath of relief before he spoke again, “If you can tell me right now that you have no feelings for me.”

“W-what?” Marinette exhaled, her face turning an ashen color.

Chat came ever closer, cupping her two hands between his own, squeezing them gently as he searched her eyes with hope and love brimming just below the surface, “Can you tell me that, Marinette?”

“I-I...,” she stuttered, her own eyes darting around her room to avoid his gaze.

“Just tell me the truth, Mari. I’ll leave you alone if you say so. Cat’s honor,” the superhero winked at her.

Marinette sucked in a harsh breath of air, “I-I can’t... I-I don’t...”

“Please look at me, Marinette,” he said gently.

With those words, her eyes were dragged back to his own and the love and admiration shimmering in his light grey eyes caused the butterflies she had been stamping down to release in a flurry. Hanging her head sheepishly, she answered his question, “I can’t tell you that Chat.”

“Yes!” a shout caused her to look up in alarm, “She likes me!”

Quickly slapping a palm over his lips she shushed him, “Are you trying to wake up my parents?! Be quiet you mangy Tomcat!”

“Sorry,” he grinned at her sappily after she removed her hand, “But you like me.”

Slapping her forehead, Marinette groaned quietly. What in the world am I going to do about him? With a sad sigh, she looked up at him and took a few steps back, once again putting distance between them, “Even if I do like you, Chat... don’t you see that this will never work. I’m dating Luka and I’m not even your soulmate. What happens if I do break up with my half soulmate and you end up finding the one person who can give you more colors than I can.”

His ears flattened above his head before a fierce determination flashed across his face, “I don’t care about seeing colors, Marinette. All I need is you.”

A choked gasp escaped her before she could stop it. Sucking in a harsh breath through gritted teeth, she shook her head against the massive wave of butterflies that fluttered in her stomach upon hearing his words, “You know that’s not true, Chat. Seeing the color blue was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I’m not going to hold you back from that. I’m sorry Chaton. I’m sorry that I can’t give you any colors. I wish I could... I really, really do. But I just can’t,” she shrugged faintly.

Suddenly, he rushed forward, taking her hands between both of his as he leaned down to look at her, “I don’t care about any of that, Marinette. B-but why don’t we try something?”

“Try what?” the designer asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“W-well, i-if you say that you’ll go out with me, we can see if your hypothesis about colors is really correct,” he squeezed her hands comfortingly, gazing down at her with so much awe and love that she couldn’t stop the small smile from creeping across her lips.

Scrunching her eyes closed, Marinette shook her head fiercely, “I can’t Chat! We’re not soulmates! It just won’t work!”

“Even if we aren’t, I still won’t care! I’m in love with you Marinette!”

The words startled her enough to fling her eyes open. She jumped back and away from him, her mouth falling open in surprise, “I- you... what?”

“I love you, Marinette,” Chat repeated himself more fiercely.

“Y-you do?” she whispered quietly, before firmly shaking her head, ignoring the pounding in her chest that implored her to reciprocate his words, “But, Chat, don’t you see... I can’t love you back.”

Marinette watched as the last embers of hope in her partner’s eyes fizzled out. Her heart gave a sharp tug and she was suddenly flooded with longing. A strong urge to wrap the boy up within her arms and never let him go filled her. But she couldn’t do that, she had to reject him, for both their sakes, even if it felt like her own heart was breaking along with his. Wrapping her arms around her sides as a form of comfort, she watched Chat open his mouth before closing it once again.

“I-I’m so sorry, Chaton. If I had figured my feelings out sooner this wouldn’t have happened,” she swallowed against the lump in her throat.

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry,” he shook his head, staring at her with a look that she couldn’t quite decipher, “I should have realized sooner.”

A light frown creased her brow as Marinette tried to understand the emphasis he placed on his words. Realization hit her quickly though, causing her to wince sharply, I can’t believe I forgot that he doesn’t know I’m Ladybug. He has no idea that I was the one who rejected him first. If only I hadn’t gotten rejected by Adrien... I would have easily accepted Chat’s offer to see if we were soulmates and saved us both this heartache.

Her arms tightened around her sides as she blinked against the buildup of tears that gathered within the corner of her eyes, “I guess we’re both idiots then,” she smiled weakly.

“Yeah, I guess we are,” he sighed, climbing up the ladder to head to the trapdoor above her bed. Chat seemed to hesitate slightly under it but she just kept her mouth shut, watching as he disappeared into the night.

When he vanished from her sight, Marinette buried her face in her hands letting the tears finally fall. It wasn’t too long before her kwami came over towards her, wrapping one of her cheeks up within her tiny palms, “Oh, Marinette. I’m so sorry.”

The designer sniffled, lifting her head up to give a wobbly smile to Tikki, “It’s alright, Tikki. It’s over and this was something I needed to do. I just... I never wanted to hurt him, but I did! Twice!”

Her kwami didn’t say a word. She merely nuzzled deeper into the girl’s cheek, trying to offer even a minuscule amount of comfort. Marinette smiled down happily at the kwami, cupping her gently after she wiped the tear tracks from her eyes, “What would I do without you, Tikki? You’re the greatest friend a girl could ever have!”

“Aw, thank you, Marinette. I love you too,” the small, bug-like creature beamed down at her.

Attempting to shake off any last remnants of her sadness, she grinned softly at her kwami, moving over to her wardrobe to change into her pajamas. Once changed, she snuggled into bed, whispering a goodnight to her kwami who had curled beside her pillow.

“Goodnight, Marinette, I hope you feel better in the morning.”

“I hope so too, Tikki. I hope so too,” she murmured, turning over and falling into a restless sleep.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #fic #fanfic #marichat #adrienette #ladynoir #ladrien

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