#i meant for this chapter to be 3 scenes not just 1 but nino and plagg are literally the most fun to write sdfjs | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kasienda · 3 years ago

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The Five Minute Adventures of Snake Noir: Ch 7 - Five Minute Adventures of Ananta

Chapter 1: I Want It To Be You

Chapter 2: Best Friends

Chapter 3: Best Laid Plans

Chapter 4: A Thank You

Chapter 5: Unwanted Revelations

Chapter 6: Miraculous Abuse

Chapter 7: Five Minute Adventures of Ananta

Adrien’s room felt more like a prison than it ever had before, and he had always felt like the walls were closing in on him a bit, and so that afternoon he had snuck out to Nino’s the second he had managed to chase Nathalie out of his room.

Nino’s room - despite being small and cramped - never made Adrien feel claustrophobic. Adrien suspected it had something to do with the company.

“What should my snake name be?” Nino asked out of nowhere.

“You’re not going to use it!” Adrien objected. “You don’t need a name.”

“Come on, dude! Just for fun!”

Adrien sighed. “Basilisk.”

Nino tapped his lips in consideration. “It’s okay. I don’t feel much like the king of anything.”

“Python.”

“Boring.”

“Diamondback.”

Nino’s eyebrows furrowed together. “What does Diamondback have to do with anything?”

“It’s a type of snake,” Adrien explained, and then turned to Nino with a smirk. “But it’s also a type of turtle.”

Nino just shook his head. “That’s a better reason not to use it. No associations with turtles! We gotta keep my identity super secret!”

“The best way to keep it secret is to not use the snake at all!”

“What about something to do with time?” Nino asked, ignoring Adrien’s objection.

“Cronos.”

“Also boring! Dude! Why are you so bad at this?”

“I don’t see you coming up with anything.”

“Because you’re definitely the cooler of the two of us,” Nino said.

Adrien shook his head. “Nino, I named myself Black Cat. I’m not super original when it comes to names.”

Nino laughed. “Fair point.”

“And you are just as cool as me,” he insisted, though he whipped out his phone anyway and typed out a search for ‘names related to time’ and started scrolling through various sites with baby and pet names.

“What do you think of Baqi?” Adrien asked. “It means eternal.”

Nino frowned. “That’s an arabic name. Do you think me taking on an arabic name is potentially identity revealing?”

“Okay, here’s one in sanskrit. Ananta.”

Nino nodded. “A bit of a mouthful, but I like it.”

Adrien’s eyebrows rose. “A mouthful compared to Carapace?”

Nino laughed. “What’s it mean?”

“Infinite.”

“Dude! Perfect. Let’s go with Ananta. I wonder what I look like with the snake.”

Adrien groaned, seriously regretting in that moment giving Nino the Snake instead of Ladybug.

“Do you not want me to?” Nino asked seriously.

Adrien waved his hand in encouragement. “Just do it. I’d be curious too.” He was curious, too.

Nino grinned and scrambled to his feet. “Sass! Scales slither.”

Adrien found himself mirroring Nino’s excitement. These silly stupid moments with Nino were the ones that were keeping him sane at the moment.

The rest of the time he was a bit of a mess.

Keep reading on Ao3

Adrien found himself a lot more resentful of his homework than normal when it stole away most of his time to spend on his friends and on himself now that he was used to being able to finish at least half of it in the space of five minutes as far as the rest of the world was concerned.

And it didn’t help that it was suddenly so much harder to pay attention in class since he was hyper aware of Marinette sitting right behind him every single day.

Seeing her in general was really hard because he knew how she felt. He knew that if he asked her out she would likely say yes, and he had to hold himself back. Before he had given up the snake, he had been able to scratch that itch by visiting her in the evenings in a time loop.

Now? Now, he had to survive off of her garbled greetings and flustered blushes.

He lived for her blushes. The blush that had always been there since he had apologized to her in the rain the day they met. He had thought she was just shy and self-conscious. But now, it was easy to recognize that she didn’t do it around anyone else - not even Chat Noir. That blush was reserved for Adrien Agreste and Adrien Agreste alone.

It meant that she loved him.

It was a good thing that it didn’t take much to trigger. Just a simple greeting often did the trick.

“Good morning, Marinette.”

And the pink would bloom across her cheeks like flowers in spring every time.

That blush kept him from going out of his mind. It reminded him that she still loved him even if she wasn’t able to say it.

A god, he hoped that she didn’t say anything because right now, he wasn’t ever going to be able to say no.

“G-good morning, Adrien.”

He smiled. Her stutter was less reliable. She was getting better at talking to him, which he figured was a good sign, but he also loved that he could still fluster her on occasion. “How are you?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she said.

He didn’t like that answer. He knew that it wasn’t real. He turned to her as she sat down, and leaned into her space. “Marinette, how are you, really?”

She looked at him in surprise. “I’m… things were rough for awhile, but I think I’m starting to get a handle on the new order of things.”

“I’m glad.” And he meant it. Telling Alya had clearly changed things for her for the better. He was so glad she didn’t have to hold the weight of the world alone anymore.

“How are you?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I’m still figuring out my new order of things, but I like to think that things are actually trending in the right direction.” It might even be true. He wasn’t sure, to be honest. He was definitely getting better at coping with the absolute insanity his life had become if nothing else.

“Will you let me know if you need anything?” she asked.

He smiled. “Of course.”

It wasn’t everything he wanted. It wasn’t everything he knew the moment could be.

But… it was enough.

At least most of the time.

When it wasn’t, he called Nino and screamed about the injustice of it all, whines about how unfair and unreasonable his father was, cursed Shadowmoth’s existence to all nine levels of hell, ranted about how much he just wanted to be able to be done with it all so that he and Ladybug didn’t have to worry about akumas or the end of the world. They could just be teenagers.

They could just be happy.

But Shadowmoth clearly had other plans. After a lull, the akumas exploded both in frequency and awfulness. The encounters were taking longer to handle - especially without the benefit of the snake - and Adrien was having a much harder time explaining his disappearances and his father was suddenly breathing down his neck even more than usual.

“Your marks have not been up to your usual standard, Adrien.”

“I’m sorry, father.”

“Need I remind you that you promised you would continue to excel if you started at public school? If you cannot maintain the usual standards of excellence, I will not hesitate to return you to lessons with private tutors.”

Adrien hung his head. “Yes, father.”

“In the meantime, you will spend less time with your friends until your grades improve.”

Adrien sighed, and trudged back to his room. The punishment meant almost nothing because as far as his father was concerned, he only was allotted an hour a week with his friends, and usually a photoshoot got scheduled on top of his scheduled “friend time”. And of course, Adrien was actually hanging out with Nino almost every day without his father’s knowledge.

But he felt exhausted anyway. He was tired of shoots, he was tired of homework, he was tired of Akumas, and he was most definitely tired of pretending. Tired of pretending for the sake of his father’s company image, tired of pretending he wasn’t worn down to nothing from all the responsibilities of both his personas, tired of pretending Marinette was just a friend.

He flopped onto his bed only for the akuma alert to go off two minutes later. Adrien groaned. It was the second one that day and the fifth one that week.

But Adrien dragged himself to his feet anyway. At least he would get to see Marinette again.

But it wasn’t Ladybug he ran into on the scene.

It was Ananta.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Chat Noir demanded.

Ananta was hiding hunched over in an alleyway with the whole akuma scene in clear view. “Just offering a little insurance. I haven’t actually engaged in any of the battles, but they’ve seemed a little rough lately.”

“Battles?” Chat Noir repeated. “As in plural, as in more than one?”

Ananta winced. “Yeah, I’ve been doing this for the last four or five akumas because things have seemed super dicey for you. But I haven’t actually engaged with the akuma or anything.”

“How many loops?” Adrien asked harshly.

“So far, none. You’re that awesome, dude!” Ananta raved, clapping Chat Noir on the back. “You would have known if I had been through a loop because I’d have to intervene to give you the info on the last loop, right?”

Adrien relaxed. “Right.”

....

But the akuma after that, Nino did intervene.

But at least Ananta had managed to stay out of Ladybug’s sight and out of any pictures.

And after the fact, Nino had insisted he had only needed three loops to defeat that akuma.

“I don’t like it,” Adrien had insisted anyway. “Please, don’t use it anymore.”

“Dude! I’m not doing this for some adrenaline rush. I’m not like Alya who goes looking for trouble, or like you who insists on throwing yourself in front of the blasts. I’m doing this only because it’s clear that Hawkmoth has stepped up his game, and you need support.”

Adrien started to object.

“Ladybug needs support, too,” Nino added.

Which was such a low blow. Because Adrien was never going to be able to argue with that.

“Unless you want to take it back?” Nino offered.

Adrien considered it. He didn’t want Nino to get stuck in a battle loop. He didn’t want Nino to experience anything like Desperada. At least in his own case, he was already damaged and traumatized by what he had experienced.

But even the idea of taking it scared the crap out of him. Because there was no way he wouldn’t use it to visit Marinette.

He missed her with every fiber of his being. It had only been three weeks. Three weeks where he hadn’t been able to have a conversation with her without filters, three weeks since he had been able to kiss her. He hadn’t been able to kiss her for like three weeks. Three excruciating long weeks where he hadn’t been able to tell her that Adrien and Chat Noir were one in the same. Where he had been truly seen for all that he was and truly loved because of it.

And the more time that went by the less convinced he was that he’d be able to come out of that loop.

“No, you should still hang onto it,” he whispered.

“Or if you wanted, we could give it back to Ladybug,” Nino suggested. “She could hand it out to whoever Viperion is.”

Which was reasonable. Though Adrien wasn’t sure he wanted Luka to experience a bad battlefield loop either.

Then the akuma alert rang simultaneously from both their phones. Adrien covered his hands in his face.

“Gah! Does he never sleep?!”

“Come on, mec. Let’s go.”

“I’m coming! I’m coming!”

During the battle, Nino had intervened, but he hadn’t intervened with Chat Noir; he had spoken to Ladybug in the final loop. The battle had gone amazingly smoothly after that, but Ananta slipped away before the traditional fist bump and Ladybug was not pleased.

She was pissed.

“You lost the snake?!” Ladybug demanded, her blue eyes flashing in anger.

“I didn’t lose it!” he said defensively. “I know exactly where it is.”

“You gave it away? Why?”

His claws tore through his own hair as he took a deep breath. “Because… it wasn’t safe with me anymore,” he admitted softly.

Some of her anger faded, replaced with concern. “What does that mean?”

“I can’t explain without telling you things you’ve told me not to tell you.” Which was mostly true.

She fidgeted on the spot, considering. “Can you tell me who he is?” she asked.

He laughed. “Definitely not.”

“What?! Why not?”

“I gave it to my best friend, Ladybug. If you know who he is, you’ll know who I am. And that apparently might lead to the end of the world,” he bit out sarcastically.

She frowned. “Are you okay?”

“No,” he admitted.

“What can I do?” she asked.

“You can’t do anything,” he told her gently. “I’m handling it.”

“I… I don’t like not knowing what’s going on with you,” she admitted.

He laughed darkly. “Welcome to my world.”

She blushed. She actually blushed! He had made her blush as Chat Noir! Sure, it was probably more out of embarrassment than love, but he would take it!

“I guess I deserved that one,” she said.

He took her hand and squeezed it. He wished he could sweep her into his arms and kiss her senseless, but he couldn’t risk that. “I know exactly how frustrating it is to be left in the dark.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He shook his head, squeezing her hand through their gloves once again. What would it feel like to hold her hand when neither of them was transformed? He wanted to find out. He wanted it so bad.

“I’m not trying to make you feel guilty,” he said. “I just want you to know that I understand. And I will tell you everything when it’s safe. In the meantime, can you please just trust me?”

She nodded. “Absolutely. You know that I do!”

And he did, now, didn’t he?

He smiled.

“I’m just… I’m scared that if something happens to you, the snake will be lost,” she said.

“The person I gave it to knows how to get it back to you in that case,” he said.

“And how would he get it back to me?” she asked.

“He’d give it to you or to Rena Rouge during a patrol.”

She seemed startled at his inclusion of Rena Rouge, but she nodded. “You trust him?”

“I trust him more than I trust myself. And as much as I trust you.”

“And they can handle the side effects of the snake?”

Adrien sighed again. That was the million dollar question, wasn’t it? Could anyone handle the effects of the snake? “He’s done really well so far. This wasn’t the first battle where he’s been here, offering us a bit of insurance.”

She winced. “Yeah, the akumas have sucked lately.”

“Tell me about it.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry that I questioned you. I do trust you and your judgement. Your friend can keep the snake as long as you think it’s best.”

“Thank you, LB,” he said softly.

She nodded and smiled. He returned the expression and offered her a friendly salute.

Then he vaulted straight for Nino’s family home.

“How many loops?” Adrien asked without preamble.

Nino rolled his eyes. “It was nineteen this time. But it wasn’t bad at all, dude. Kinda weird and trippy, but not so bad.”

But Adrien didn’t like it. He feared the number would keep growing. How many loops was too many?

Adrien didn’t know.

…

His father had missed eight dinners in a row, and Adrien couldn’t decide if he felt relieved or disappointed.

On one hand, his father’s absence meant Adrien could ask to eat in his room, which meant he could escape the mansion that much sooner. And Nino actually wanted to spend time with Adrien.

It also meant he’d avoid his father’s censure about everything from his last photoshoot to the way he held his fork. Adrien simply did not have the energy to be on his best behavior.

But his father’s continued absence also felt like it reaffirmed Adrien’s fears - that his father didn’t care. And the longer his father’s absence the more desperate Adrien was for any sign, no matter how small, that his father had thought about him at all.

When his father’s scowling face did join him at the dining room table on evening number nine, Adrien regretted ever wishing for his father to make an appearance.

“Your grades have dropped unacceptably low,” were the first words out of his father’s mouth.

Adrien fought off his eye roll. He literally had two B’s and the rest of his classes were A’s. Admittedly one of them was borderline, but he didn’t think anyone else’s parents in his class would have found his performance subpar even if this was the lowest his own grades had ever been in his life.

“You also didn’t behave professionally at the last photoshoot. You arrived late and your hair and make-up had to be redone.”

Adrien sighed. That had been four Akumas ago. Or was it five? Honestly, Adrien was losing track.

“We didn’t get all the shots we needed. It has been rescheduled for Monday morning. You have two weeks to turn around both your attitude and your grades,” he father said without an ounce of warmth or concern, “or you will return to home schooling.”

Adrien sighed. “I’m sorry I have disappointed you father. I have been… having a hard time maintaining my motivation lately.”

Gabriel’s expression did not change at all. “Why?” he asked.

Adrien froze at the question. He didn’t know what to say because he knew there wasn’t a correct answer. And not answering at all wasn’t acceptable either. He was going to lose here no matter what.

He shouldn’t have said anything other than he would try harder.

Well, if he was screwed no matter what, might as well go with the truth.

“I think I’ve been depressed lately,” he admitted.

“You’re not qualified to make that assessment.”

“I suppose not,” Adrien conceded. But would his father offer to send him to someone who was?

Most likely not.

“What do you have to be depressed about?” Gabriel asked coldly.

And something within Adrien just snapped. Whether it was his sleep deprivation, being beyond overworked both physically and mentally, or his longing to drop all the masks, or some combination of all of it, Adrien didn’t know.

“Are you kidding me right now?” Adrien demanded. “Every second of every day of my life is planned without my input or consideration. I have no control. But I do all of it anyway. I train for national fencing competitions, get perfect scores, work I-don’t-know-how-many hours a week modeling for you. I have no space to breathe, let alone enjoy anything. I feel like a programmed robot going through a routine!”

The room fell into silence as Adrien’s tirade ended abruptly. Every muscle was locked and tense, waiting for punishment and condemnation. And despite that, Adrien couldn’t bring himself to regret it because, well, he was screwed either way at this point, so he might as well go down with a bang.

“Are you finished?” his father asked. He didn’t raise his voice, but Adrien flinched anyway.

“Yes, father,” he said meekly.

Gabriel removed his glasses and began cleaning them. “Clearly, I have expected too much of you.”

Adrien knew better than to find any relief in that conclusion.

“I will arrange with Nathalie to have your schedule adjusted. She will add additional recreational activities suitable to a boy of your age, and reduce your current obligations significantly.”

Which translated to they would remove him from school and schedule his so called free time with activities that Adrien had no interest in or with other teenagers he didn’t know.

“Father, I appreciate your concern,” he said formally. “That will not be necessary. I was having a weak moment. I will work harder,” he promised, though Adrien knew he wouldn’t be able to manage much more at the moment.

His father nodded. “I look forward to seeing notes of your improved performance this Friday.”

And now he had five days instead of two full weeks.

Adrien wanted to scream. And he did scream later that night when he had escaped to Nino’s bedroom for the tenth time that week. He ranted and complained about the unfairness of it all, and Nino just listened with rapt attention.

“Can I at least deck him, dude? Please?” Nino asked when Adrien had finally run out of steam. “Just once? He won’t even remember!”

Adrien laughed. “It won’t help anything.”

“I might feel better,” Nino disagreed. “You might, too.”

And then an akuma alert sounded from both of their phones.

They both groaned, but a second later, they had both transformed and were leaping out of Nino’s bedroom window.

The akuma was a porcupine the size of a bus. It’s spines did not look remotely friendly. That first impression solidified tenfold when the akuma started hurling the spines off its back like javelins in a jousting tournament.

But despite his initial misgivings, the fight could not have gone more smoothly.

Ananta had barreled both he and Ladybug out of the way, and helped them identify the akumatized item pretty much instantly. The whole encounter lasted about three minutes.

But when he turned to Ladybug and Ananta for their traditional fist bump, Ananta had pushed past the offered fist and tackled him in a hug. Adrien returned the embrace with a surprised grunt. A second later he felt Nino’s quaking form in his arms.

Apparently, the fight hadn’t been all that smooth afterall.

“How many loops?” Adrien asked softly.

“You don’t want to know,” Nino sobbed into his shoulder.

“Ananta,” Adrien growled.

“1,674,” Nino admitted.

Ladybug tried to reassure them both with small hands on their shoulders. Nino just pulled her into the hug, too, and didn’t let go.

“I’m really glad you’re both okay,” he cried and then he dissolved into wracking sobs again. Chat Noir and Ladybug both held him tightly.

But Ladybug couldn’t stay, as she was about to time out. She pulled away from their group hug with a concerned frown.

“Are you going to be okay with him?”

“Don’t worry,” Adrien assured her. “I’ll take him home and make sure he’s okay.”

“I’m sorry I have to run,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Adrien said again, before wrapping one of Nino’s arms over his shoulder and vaulting them both up to the nearest rooftop.

He then ducked them both into a secluded alleyway that Chat Noir had used to transform before. Nino hadn’t stopped crying the entire time.

“Nino, can you hear me?”

Nino nodded.

“You need to lose the transformation, so we can feed Sass. Can you do that?”

Nino managed to follow the instructions through hysterical sobs. Adrien followed suit and both kwami’s ate a slice of Plagg’s cheese. It was a sign of how serious everything was that neither kwami complained. Adrien transformed again.

“Okay Nino. You need to transform again, and then start a loop. Stay in that loop until you’re able to stop crying, you got it? It doesn’t matter how long it takes. I will be here with you the whole time.”

Nino was still shaking and crying, but he managed to choke out the transformation phrase and called for his second chance.

Instantly, Ananta stood before him, infinitely calmer than he had been just a second prior.

“Woah,” Adrien said. “That’s weird. How long?”

“Just a few hours,” Nino said, his voice was quiet, but it was steady. Adrien wrapped him into a hug.

“Thank you,” Nino whispered.

“As you have told me many many times, as many times as you need, whenever you need.”

“I don’t know how you have dealt with it so well,” Nino said.

“I mean, you don’t remember all the times I was as much of mess as you were just a few seconds ago.”

“I remember you freaking out about learning Ladybug’s identity,” Nino countered. “I… I didn’t understand why you didn’t want me to use it for battles. I… get it now.”

“I’m sorry,” Adrien whispered.

Nino shook his head. “The alternative would have been so much worse, dude. You would have lost this one.”

“Thank you for saving our lives then. I’m sorry for what it has cost you.”

Nino shrugged. “I think I’ll be okay. Can I keep it for a few more days? Abuse it a bit?”

Adrien nodded. “Yeah of course. Abuse it like crazy and it will put space between you and what happened.”

Nino nodded, and actually smiled. And for the first time, Adrien was positive things would be okay.

“I already have some ideas,” Nino said.

“Do I want to know?” Adrien asked.

Nino’s grin was wolffish. That was a no.

“Have fun, dude.”

…

Nino still felt shaky the next morning. It was too easy to close his eyes and see his best friend impaled through the chest, his green eyes wide in shock. But it almost worked out in his favor because it hadn’t taken any convincing for his parents to agree he should stay home from school. They thought he was coming down with something - that he had chills.

He didn’t correct them.

He just rocked himself back and forth, nursing the tea his mother had brought up to him, and waited for both of them to leave for work. The second the door had closed behind them, he had bolted out his window as Ananta.

The freerunning helped, but it wasn’t enough. He had just gotten too good at it - he could leap across rooftops almost without thinking now, and certainly without any fear. What could seem terrifying after everything he had seen the day before?

And that was how Nino found himself on top of the Eiffel Tower staring down at the ground below - the ground that according to his best friend was 324 meters below him. Adrien had said at one point long before Nino had ever known of his friend’s superhero identity that it would take just over eight seconds to fall to the ground, probably a little longer because of air resistance.

Nino had never thought anything of why Adrien had taken the time to calculate that. He had just assumed Adrien was a nerd who liked physics and had too much time on his hands. Now, he found himself wondering if Adrien had calculated that for an entirely different reason.

Nino activated the second chance and leapt off the tower backwards with an ecstatic whoop. He slid his fingers across the bracelet five seconds into his fall, and rematerialized at the top of the tower giggling.

Now, that was base jumping. He performed the trick dozens of times diving off the tower in different angles and positions.

He knew Sass did not approve. The kwami had said as much when he mentioned the idea this morning. Adrien likely wouldn’t either, but Nino would only tell him well after the fact.

But the adrenaline rush was exactly what he needed to wipe away the memories from the day before.

Next, he had broken through his homeroom’s window, and swept Alya up in his arms. He definitely noticed Marinette’s disapproving glare, and Adrien burying his face in his hands, but he didn’t have to care about this. In four and a half minutes, this would have never happened.

“Ask me to tell you that I love you,” he said.

She arched her eyebrows. “Am I going to regret this?”

“Nope! No repercussions today.”

“Tell me that you love me,” she said, her face alight in a grin.

“I love you,” he said.

“How much?”

“More than a superhero,” he said.

She smiled, and her fingers locked around his neck. Then he kissed her hard. The whole class was catcalling behind them, and Ms. Bustier was trying to restore order.

Alya was giggling against his lips. “I can’t believe you.”

“I’m just getting started,” he promised.

He went through hundreds more loops abducting Alya from parts of her day. It was different every time, and he was insanely grateful that she played along as soon as she realized it was him each time without even knowing that he was having a tough time.

Or maybe, she did know. Like, she had covered Ananta’s exploits the day before on the Ladyblog. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to read the post, but someone had no doubt had caught the tearful group hug at the end of the battle, and Alya would have had a better guess than most what that likely meant.

And so when he showed up as Ananta and revealed himself to be her boyfriend she would know that had been him.

She didn’t ask questions or demand explanations. She just laughed and kissed him over and over. She let him abduct her from their dreary classes over and over and bury his face in her curls and wrap himself in her protective embrace until his senses were overwhelmed with all things Alya.

God, he loved her so much.

The tricky part was then trying to escape from each of their teachers. Surprisingly Mendeliev had been the easiest to slip around, but Bustier had given him quite the run around.

Once the school day was over he had followed Adrien’s limo home. He had intended to spend a few loops just being stupid with Adrien, but once there… well, he had been wanting to give Gabriel a piece of his mind since Nino had befriended his son. He had only held back because Adrien wanted him to, and Gabriel was terrifying. If only one of those things had been true, Nino thinks he would have pushed it ages ago.

Ananta set the timer from the rooftop of the mansion and then broke through the front doors.

Nathalie jumped to her feet, but he ignored her and stormed straight for Gabriel’s office.

Gabriel rose to his feet more slowly than Nathalie had to face his intruder.

“Gabriel Agreste, I’m here to tell you that you are the absolute worst parent.”

The older man gestured Nathalie away from the door. She stepped back, but she did not close the door.

“You are trespassing on private property. I demand that you leave,” the stoic man said, barely raising his voice, which Nino found infuriating.

“No! Not until I’ve said my piece.”

Gabriel took a visibly annoyed breath. “You’re clearly a teenager.”

“Your point?”

“You’re hardly qualified to judge my parenting approaches.”

Nino wanted to pull his hair out.

“Except that I am because I’m the one who picks Adrien back up everytime you tear him down!”

Gabriel considered him stoically for a moment, his hands hidden behind his back.

“Mr. Lahiffe, I have already banned you from the premises. Your adopting an anonymous persona does not negate those rules.”

“Your rules are stupid and unfair! Adrien is amazing! He gets the highest grades! He has an insane work ethic, and is always kind and respectful to everyone! He does everything you ask of him! And then he does more! He’s an Olympic level fencer and is fluent in three languages!

“And somehow, you still find him wanting. You never give him the time of day. You never tell him you’re proud of him or that you love him! At best, you ignore him, and at worst you take the time to point out every tiny fault!”

“He internalizes everything you say, everything you ask for. He tears himself to pieces trying to meet your impossible expectations, he buries his struggles and doubts, and you don’t even acknowledge his effort or his love for you.”

Nino was shaking in rage at this point. Gabriel still seemed unaffected.

“Are you finished?” The man asked indifferently.

“No! I’m not! I don’t know if you know how much you’ve harmed him! How many times I’ve been legit worried that he was going to hurt himself or give up!

“Somehow, he’s been able to survive it. But not because of any of the crap you’ve taught him about being strong and exceptional. He’s just that resilient!”

“Which is a good thing because he’s also Chat Noir!”

Gabriel’s lips tightened and his eyes narrowed, and Nino wanted to run a victory lap for finally getting a reaction from the asshole.

Nino barreled forward. “He manages being a superhero in between all the hoops and circus you run him through! And if he’s been struggling more than normal lately, it’s only because Hawkmoth has been putting him through the wringer.”

“Nathalie!” He called.

Nathalie marched into the room so fast, Nino was convinced she had been waiting right outside the open door the entire time listening in.

“Didn’t we eliminate the possibility of Adrien being Chat Noir during Gorizilla?”

Nathalie typed something into her tablet and handed it to him.

“It looks like we did not get facial confirmation, sir. The person we presumed to be Adrien was wearing a helmet.”

Gabriel removed his glasses and began cleaning them. “My own son, this entire time.”

Nino felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise at Gabriel’s emotionless words that felt like a prison sentence.

Nino’s miraculous beeped.

Gabriel’s stormy grey eyes shot toward the sound, and Nino took an involuntary step back.

And then Adrien’s father did something Nino never would have predicted. He lunged forward and struck Nino in the knee, and grabbed for the snake miraculous.

Nino dropped to the ground in agony, and jerked his arm just out of reach behind his back.

“Second chance!” Nino screamed, sliding his other hand over the switch, grateful that he had so much practice in the last few days that the motion was automatic.

He was back on the roof of the Agreste Mansion. His knee cap was fine, but his heart was roaring in his ears.

That had not gone as he had been expecting. Not at all.

Gabriel had actually attacked him and tried to take his miraculous.

Nino wasn’t sure what it all meant. But he knew it couldn’t be good.

...

#miraculous ladybug fanfiction #platonic adrino #nino lahiffe #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #ladynoir #hurt comfort #supportive friends #coping #identity reveal #time loops #the five minute adventures of snake noir #my own content #ml spoilers #ml s4 #this fic keep writing itself #write just the fun part project #happy reading

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miraclekittyandbug · 4 years ago

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Ten Questions With A Twist Chapter 2

Hey guys! Here’s chapter two! I’ve decided I will be posting a chapter every other day. There are seven chapters on this story and they have all already been written, so you won’t have to wait for me to write them before they can be posted. Enjoy!

~Chapter 1 ~ This Chapter ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ Chapter 6 ~ Chapter 7 ~

Adrien was distracted. Having had a fitful night of sleep, he was mostly focused on staying awake during classes, not necessarily taking notes. Once lunch rolled around, Nino pulled Adrien to the side.

“Hey, dude, did something happen with you and Marinette?”

Adrien responded that he wasn’t sure what he meant.

“Well, you’re really distracted, and so is she, I just figured you guys got into a fight or something.”

“No, I barely talk to Marinette outside of class,” he clarified.

“So…” Nino narrowed his eyes at his friend, “So you guys aren’t secretly dating?”

Adrien’s jaw hit the floor. “What!?”

“What do you mean ‘what?’, it is so obvious you’re in love with her!”

Adrien stuttered and flung his hands, grasping at invisible somethings as he tried to figure out where the hell this came from. “It can’t be obvious, because it’s not true! What even makes you say that?”

“Well mostly the way you look at her.”

“I look at her the same way I look at anybody else!”

“Nah, dude. If you looked at my girlfriend the way you look at Marinette, we would have to have a serious conversation.”

Adrien was at a loss for words. “This is ridiculous.”

“I’m just saying!” Nino raised his hands, signifying innocence, “You guys would make a cute couple! You like her, she likes you, it isn’t a far stretch to think that something was going on. And I think you’d make each other really happy.” Adrien could only stare. “Just think about it, dude.”

Adrien thought about it for around thirty seconds. Then he saw Marinette and Alya wave himself and his friend over to eat and, though he tried to push the thought from his mind, he suddenly couldn’t stop thinking about it.

He had visions of himself and Marinette. They would sit on the same side of the table, rather than opposite sides as they sat now. He would use that excuse to lean into her, just to be more aware of her presence. He pictured going to the movies with her again and using that trick they use in movies, pretending to yawn so he could put his arm around her and hold her close. His heart did a spin at the thought, but he found himself being drawn back to reality.

“Yeah, Adrien and I will totally sit with you guys.” Nino said, and Adrien nodded, mostly to shake those thoughts out of his head. For the first time, he had to remind himself that he was in love with Ladybug. Not Marinette.

Soon enough, the group of four friends were sat around a table, chatting absentmindedly about something random. (The exact topic of discussion was unknown to Adrien. Tired as he was, he was more concerned with pushing food around his plate and not thinking about Marinette).

“Are you okay, Marinette?” Alya asked her friend. Reminding Adrien that he still had to interact with the bluenette. They were friends, after all. “You seem really out of it today.”

Adrien looked up to see that Nino had been right. Marinette was also looking really tired and distracted. She was blushing and had organized the food on her plate according to color, but was glancing up at Adrien every so often. “Yeah, I just…” She looked up and made eye contact with Adrien before outright asking, “What’s your favorite color?”

Adrien just stared at her, wide eyed and slack jawed. A million thoughts went through his head at once. He finally settled on Wow, that’s a coincidence. But that isn’t so weird, right? It is a pretty common question, even though it was kinda out of the blue. “My favorite color is green, but I’m also rather fond of orange.”

Marinette smiled and the world seemed to shine brighter for it.

The warning bell rang, signalling that they had about five minutes before lunch was to end. Both students started shovelling food into their mouths, suddenly aware of their own hunger.

A few more classes went by when they heard a scream coming from not so far away. Phones started going off left and right, alerting the entire class that an akuma had been sighted a few streets down. Ms. Bustier reacted as she normally does, calmly asking everybody to move away from the windows, calling for each student as she did so. When Marinette failed to respond to her name, the class found that she was missing.

“Didn’t she just go to the bathroom?” Rose said, stress underlying her voice.

“I’ll go find her!” Adrien quickly called, leaving the classroom before anybody had a chance to point out the fact that it wouldn’t be proper for him to search for her in the women's restroom.

Once out of the classroom, Adrien rushed towards the nearest broom closet, looking up and down the hallway to make sure there was nobody to see him. He called for his transformation and immediately vaulted out of the nearest window, ready to assist his Lady in taking down yet another bad guy.

Soon enough, the akuma was tracked down and purified. Having finished up this particular villain fairly quickly, Ladybug and Chat Noir stood back for a moment admiring their work. Ladybug decided to let Chat in on a secret.

“His favorite color is green,” She said, blushing profusely.

Chat was amazed! “That’s my favorite color too!”

Ladybug threw her yoyo and made one more comment before zipping away, “Sure, but are you rather fond of orange?” And off she went,

Too late to see Chat’s very very VERY shocked face.

And that gut feeling from the night before was back, now, and stronger than ever. But this time it was telling him to think. He went back to class and proceeded to think hard. And here’s the thing. Adrien liked to consider himself smart. And no person with two brain cells could deny that that was more than coincidental wording. That was word for word what he had told Marinette earlier that day. A moment of clarity shone through the clouds of his mind and left him with one piece of information: Ladybug goes to the same school as Adrien. It all makes sense! She must go to his school because she overheard Marinette ask him that question earlier that same day! They’re even usually at the scene of an akuma at the same time so even that makes sense! It wasn’t until fifteen minutes before class ended that the next series of realizations hit him: causing his flat hands to slam against the desk, getting everybody’s attention.

Ladybug is in love with Adrien Agreste

Adrien Agreste is secretly Chat Noir

Ladybug is in love with Chat Noir

Lucky for him, Adrien is both of those people

The entire class stared at him. His green eyes wider than they thought possible. His arms straight with his hands flat on the desk in front of him, sweat starting to gather on his collar. He only snapped out of it when Ms. Bustier waved her hand in front of his face and asked him if he was alright.

“I-uh- I just remembered I have a photoshoot after school. Nothing else. I’m good. Sorry.” He picked up his pencil and put the lead to his notebook, trying to prove that he was ready to learn now,

Ms. Bustier saw right through his act, but decided it was close enough to the end of the class anyway. “Alright, well that’s as good of a stopping place as we’ll get to today, so I’ll just remind everybody to finish their homework and that there will be a quiz on Friday.”

Adrien let out a sigh of relief. After a realization like that, he was most certainly not ready to learn. He rushed out of the room and to his locker, desperately trying to get away from prying eyes. He needed to have a conversation with his Kwamii regarding what the FUCK to do about this! His lady was in love with him! This was amazing news! But also… kind of terrible.

Ladybug was set on them not knowing each other's identity, but what did he do now? He hadn’t meant to come so close, but he had! Now he was so close to finding out who she was and he couldn’t turn back. He knew what Ladybug would say. She’d tell him to not dig further, to let it go, and to move on without looking back. Adrien didn’t think that was possible though. It was like when he and his lady both de-transformed on either side of a door. He was on one side, lonely Adrien, and on the other was the love of his life in her everyday clothes. He wanted more than anything to open that door. To view his Lady in all her citizen’s glory. But she trusted him.

So now what? They were in the same situation, but with the door slightly open. They were both about to cross that line. He looked down and could see her feet. She was wearing flats, not tennis shoes. Her pants weren’t blue like his, but he couldn’t quite make out the right color. Directly across from him, her hair was visible. Just as blue-black as it had always been. Her hair was tied back in hair ties rather than ribbons like her superhero alter ego. Her eyes were deep blue and staring right back at him and the rest of her face…

That’s as far as he got. As he stepped into the back of the car with Gorilla at the wheel, he let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. That feeling was back again and it told him that he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t drop it when he was so close, just inches away from knowing who she truly was.

And so, he had decided. And as easy as that, a plan started to form. A way that would bring him and his lady closer than they had ever been.

~~~~~~~~~~~

And there’s chapter two! I’m working on another fic after this one that’s a little similar, but that one is going to take a while, so feel free to leave requests in my inbox! I really look forward to writing for you!

Chapter 1 ~ This Chapter ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ Chapter 6 ~ Chapter 7 ~

#10qwat #miraculous ladybug fic #miraculous fic #mlb identity reveal #adrientte

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thelastpilot · 5 years ago

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Knighted- Chapter 8

oops okay i know i never update but take this as an apology? :Dc More Royal Guard!Nino and Princess Alya!

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6 Chapter 7

Nino loitered uncertainly in the corridor a short distance from the King’s chambers, pulling with undeniably shaky fingers at his royal seal. Being dressed in Full Armor did not fill him with as much pride as it had before, instead now it serves as a reminder for the scrutiny he was about to be under.

Nino leaned out from his hiding spot in a random archway, hoping his two-sided luck would hold and Adrien might appear. He just wanted some kind of reassurance that he looked appropriate for an audience with the King. The last time he had one he had been in torn worker’s clothes with too-big tattered boots and an old sword at his hip. The things he wore now were significantly more impressive but… if he wore any of it wrong he’d look just as much like a farmer as he did when he first got there.

All the senior guards had conveniently ignored him this morning… so he had no confirmation one way or another.

The thought made his hands feel hot as he struggled to repress that twist of anger. So much hard-won ground had been shattered underneath him last night. Part of him resented the Captain for causing such a scene, but no doubt she had her own opinions. He couldn’t even imagine how long she must have fought and struggled to be acknowledged even once by the royal family, or perhaps her motivation was more on behalf of her men. He couldn’t tell, not like he even knew what this was all about yet, but even as far in as the royal chambers he could practically feel all the veterans rooting against him, hoping he would be punished somehow. Like that would somehow be fair.

There were a few who didn’t care about his summon, Kim for one. He had caught wind of Nino’s little scene with the royal family from all the gossip, but it hadn’t occurred to him to mind at all. He was just sad he had missed it since it sounded so hilarious, and though Kim probably didn’t mean it as supportive per say Nino was grateful for it regardless. And the Captain has relaxed as well after her initial outburst so… he had no idea where he stood with her. Still, whatever allies he had retained hadn’t been around to help him get ready. He had only ever worn full armor once, and while he was reasonably sure he had done it right, he felt abruptly…

Alone.

Nino waited as long as he could, pulling at the straps of his armor and trying to keep his anxiety from paralyzing him as the seal slipped and folded. The more he tugged at it and the more it bunched and slipped, the more stranded he felt.

Servants and messengers passed him quietly, their duties sending them streaming passed like he was left to stand on a solitary bank, untouched by the current. He was almost out of time to stall now, and he took a moment of his privacy to breathe.

For the first time in a while… he felt like a farm boy. Holding his father’s sword in a field and pretending to be a soldier.

He breathed deeply again, attempting to steel himself in whatever way he could, when-

“It’s the loop.”

The voice could not have been gentler, but the guard jumped regardless, turning quickly to face the interrupted stream.

Nino looked and found a servant meeting his gaze, the girl looking apologetic for startling him but raising her free hand to point at his shoulder. “The seal,” she explained, her voice girlish and sweet, “If it doesn’t catch it won’t stay, you can’t pin it or it will slip when you move.”

The girl smiled warmly and shifted the weight of the basket on her hip. She was dressed plainly, like a worker, but her natural beauty could not be hidden in simple clothing. Her dark black hair poured loosely on her shoulders, and she matched him with kind, blue eyes as she waited for a response.

“The- oh-,” he finally answered, feeling a little lame as he tried to look. His armor was too bulky to allow him to see what she might have meant, but before he could come up with the words to ask she was placing her things against the archway and stepping forward to help him.

“It’s easier to do it as you’re getting dressed,” she coached gently, stretching up onto her tip-toes to fidget with the weighty cloth. She smiled when he tilted his shoulder down to make it easier for her, now crouched a little awkwardly but trying to be accommodating.

He was quiet for an unsteady moment more, but when she stepped back to examine her work he couldn’t help but blurt out, “T-thank you!”

“Anytime,” she answered genuinely, making a show of checking for any other problems.

He hurried to hold his arms out, eager and relieved to have the second opinion. He smiled and sighed happily when she nodded, finding no other faults and nodding her head once more in confirmation.

“So everything’s good?” he double checked anyways, grateful that she was humoring him, even if she laughed a little.

“Fit for a King,” she reassured him.

The stranger bent down to retrieve her things but Nino beat her to it, quickly picking up her basket so he could hand it to her.

“Thank you so much,” he said again, laughing a little. “Genuinely. You have no idea how much better I feel having someone to tell me I don’t look like an idiot.” He rubbed at the back of his hair a little with a gloved hand, a gesture he could never really kick. “I get… uh, nervous,” he admitted.

To his surprise she laughed again, the sound of it sweet. “Everyone does, it’s okay. But I am glad I could make you feel better.”

“What’s your name?” he asked quickly when it looked like she was going to leave.

“Marinette. And I know who you are,” she answered with a slight curtsy. “It’s very nice to meet you Nino.”

Nino stood there with a dumb expression on his face, opening his mouth as if to respond but falling short, settling for a frown when she laughed at him again. “… my captain might have a point about my name getting around.”

“It’s not a bad thing, honest! It’s just that, well, the servants talked a lot about you when you first showed up.” She gave him a little shrug and another one of her smiles, gesturing with her head down the hallway. It took him a second to realize she was urging him to get going, probably having some sense that he was going to be late. “It makes sense for all of us to know who you are.”

“I guess…,” he allowed, glad when he noticed she was heading the same direction as him. They walked a little while. “Do people… like me?”

She laughed again and he frowned at her playfully, but she didn’t seem to mind making fun of him. And, honestly, that was pretty nice.

“Yes Nino, people like you, you’re a hero to a lot of them you know.”

“Oh, well I-… hm,” he hummed quietly, naturally walking with practiced steps now as they made their way towards the royal rooms. After a moment he said, “I never really set out to be a hero or anything. I was just trying to find paying work.” He mulled it over for a second and gave her a shrug too. “Guess I got a little overzealous.”

He shared in her laugh this time, some of the posted guards he passed giving him a look, but he didn’t care. The servants that passed them in hurried errands watched them curiously, a few of them smiling even, and that held a lot more weight to him, he realized.

As they walked and talked lightly about not much at all, it occurred to him that he might be worrying a little too much about what people thought again.

A simple thought that probably wouldn’t stick but… hey, he was trying.

He hadn’t been very far from his destination when he faltered, so it wasn’t much of a walk until they were passing the royal chambers he was familiar with, Marinette pausing in front of the door he recognized as Alya’s. He couldn’t help but peer at it curiously, Marinette diverting his attention for a moment with a curtsy.

“Thank you for escorting me, sir,” she said for show, Nino aware for the first time of the two guards posted outside the princess’s room watching them intently.

“No problem mam,” he replied with a bow, Marinette giggling a little at the informality. He swore he heard one of the guards huff, but whatever. Screw them.

He was done trying to impress people who didn’t matter.

“Thank you again,” he added, lingering a little to look through the gap she created as she opened the door. He couldn’t see anyone inside, the servant possibly looking to complete a task while the princess was away.

“Anytime,” she repeated.

It was too short but… they both looked at the posted guards, and reluctantly they let their interaction end. Nino was quite possibly going to be late now and that was completely unacceptable, but he had gotten so caught up in the small talk.

As Marinette disappeared inside he was left to hustle down the hallway, hyper aware now of the servants as he passed them. The hallway wasn’t too crowded as he crossed the short distance to the King’s chambers, but a few of them looked. A few of them smiled.

And he felt a little less abandoned.

The King’s Chambers were empty as he paced his room, wanting to enjoy this rare moment of solitude but his mind too heavy with guarded thoughts. He didn’t even find peace enough to sit, though he wouldn’t have been able to. Every chair in his well-furnished chamber was stacked with parchments and letters, each one a source of distraction. He paused for a moment and picked one up, finding yet another confirmation of attendance, which was good, he supposed. More arguments to be had, more things to discuss. All the same things, so little ever decided. He had managed to spare his children from this particular round of discussion, even Alya though she of course assumed it was out of punishment. Still though, he knew she wouldn’t complain.

As soon as his thoughts turned towards his daughters, he was interrupted by the familiar wrap of an armored hand on the door.

“Your summon is here for you, sire,” one of his personal guards called in, his voice stilted and professional.

Otis stood for a moment… frowning. … had he called for someone? A servant perhaps. To send something? He hoped not, he had nothing to be sending. Or did he have something and he had just forgotten? That was probably… bad. If he had sent for a messenger, he definitely had a message that needed sending, but- hm…

“Come,” the King called, fully prepared to make something up. One perk of being the King is that you usually went unquestioned, but he felt a little haggard and old to have something slip his-

The door opened and a tall guard stepped calmly through, and the moment the King saw his face he was relieved to have his conversation with the Captain the day before suddenly spring to mind.

RIGHT.

“Yes, yes, I remember now,” he muttered out loud by way of greeting, gesturing at the guard as he took a post near the door closing behind him, bowing obediently. “Excellent, you’re right on time. I intended to speak with you in person. Nino, yes?” he confirmed his name despite being fairly certain of it, if only to give him an opening to respond.

“Yes Your Majesty,” he replied right away, his voice firm.

The King paced closer, his hands folded behind his back as he examined him. He had not scrutinized him this closely since Adrien had first brought him to be considered, having not even seen him again until yesterday. He was dressed appropriately and held himself more confidently then he had when they had first met, but he had grown since then. Not is stature, but something else.

He was made of something stronger now.

The King looked away from him, enjoying the moment but not having long to spend on this. His eyes wandered over the many papers and tomes that required his attention, but he looked back to the boy to give him what focus he was due.

“Did your Captain inform you of the nature of this summon?” he asked plainly, lifting a stack of papers from one of the chairs nearby.

“No sire.”

“Really?” Otis replied, shrugging a little. “I suppose I didn’t tell her much. When I asked her about your performance, she was begrudgingly honest.” The King couldn’t help but smile at him with humor. “I think a guard sticking out so much annoys her, but between you and I she has no room to be so critical.”

He rolled his eyes, and Nino was struck briefly by how humanizing that was, though the King himself did not seem to notice.

“I still remember when that tiny woman fought her way through the entire Knight’s Tourney and lit the social hierarchy of the castle on fire just by showing up,” he continued with a chuckle. “Comparatively? You are very quiet. But second to a hurricane is to be expected.”

There was a moment where the boy said nothing, but when he looked up at his silence the guard smiled. “The Captain carves a figure sire, I don’t want to make her angry.”

“Wise man!” Otis exclaimed, rewarding him with a smile and enjoying how this seemed to make him relax a little.

This young lad has been here for a season now, but despite what may have been his best effort he still did not quite vanish into the crowd like he must have intended. However, he could understand why his daughter’s might have been intrigued by that difference.

“I have duties for you to attend to, so I will keep this brief. I’m sure you have taken notice of the number of visitors the castle is entertaining at the moment…?” Otis let it hang in the air, waiting for Nino’s ‘Yes Sire,’ before continuing. “Well, we will be expecting a good deal more within the coming weeks for political purposes and the castle will be crowded as a result. I’m sure you can understand that security is our highest priority.”

“Of course sire,” he obediently replied, looking serious.

Otis gave him a slight nod of approval, elaborating as he stepped away to look over the papers crowded on his desk. “With every noble comes an entourage of guards who aren’t ours and servants we don’t know. Things are bound to be overheard and whispered about before long… For the most part the people give me their good faith, but the air within the castle grounds is sure to be tense, in time.” He looked over at the guard standing attentively, eager it seemed to show him that same good faith he spoke of. He nearly smiled again but kept his expression even.

“In times like these, I worry about my daughters. With so many people in the castle I tend to restrict their movements and they resent me for it, but my intentions are good. We have many guards and this is their home, but until we have our privacy it is best if they stay in this wing of the castle, unless needed elsewhere.”

Otis made a vague gesture with his free hand, pointing out towards the direction of the hall somewhat dismissively.

“We have our regular detail of course, they will remain, but when it came to their personal guard you came to mind.”

The King had been looking through the papers in his hands with distraction but glanced up just in time to catch the shock running across the young man’s face. He mastered it quickly of course, fumbling for a professional distance but his earnest nature betraying him somewhat. This time Otis couldn’t help his smile, seeing what his wife may have meant when she spoke of him. He did seem… young. But he wasn’t a fool. He had spoken to both the Captain and Adrien directly on this matter, and even if Alix had done so with distaste, she gave a fair and honest report on his abilities. Whether she was pleased or not to have her senior guards passed over, she assured him that the young man was capable and driven.

“They like you,” the King explained, raising an eyebrow slightly and was glad to see that the boy still had enough wits about him to look nervous. “They told me all about you yesterday… I was skeptical, but it was my wife who encouraged me to reconsider. It was her suggestion that we assign you to them.”

He continued to watch the boy carefully, attempting to gauge his emotions and finding this moment important. The safety of his children was no small consideration.

“They are bound to hate me for cooping them up,” he continued, sighing, “but I am prepared for that. The least I can do is give them someone they like. They might get bored eventually but it’s worth a try if it means keeping them happy.” He grumbled a little at how this might go poorly for him… and after a moment he narrowed his eyes, sealing the guard to the spot.

“My daughters mean everything to me, your first priority is always their safety. However, if you can manage to also keep them happy and behaved… I encourage you to try.”

Otis relaxed only slightly and looked away to give the boy room to release the breath he was holding. “Who knows, they might even listen to you. You’ve had great luck before, perhaps you’ll have some more.”

“Thank you, your Majesty,” the boy said somewhat breathlessly, his expression awed and determined. It was very similar to the look her had given him before, when he was awarded a place in the castle. “It is… an honor, sire.”

The young guard bowed deeply, overwhelmed it would seem. Otis nodded and waited for him to stand, looking him in the eye. Nino did not look away at first, perhaps he did not think to. Little things like that showed where he came from, but as he hurried to correct himself Otis had faith that he had practice where it counted. Maybe not in courtesy or court proceedings but… he seemed earnest, and incredibly loyal.

When the boy had stood before him as he was sworn into the guard, he had sworn his fealty with an intensity he could never have appreciated from one of his people; his greater, humbler people. He could do with more time, and teachings… but there was also something else. Something unteachable that Adrien had assured him of.

He would gladly give his life to uphold what he had sworn to, and that intensity gave him some small comfort. It was a position of relatively little risk, for now. He was the last one in a long line of obstacles between the world and his daughters, but that final barrier was an important one. He was curious to see how this farmer would do.

“You will be assigned as the personal guard of my twin daughters; you are not to leave their side until the visitations have concluded. Then we will see what to make of you.”

Something flashed across his face, just minutely.

Oh.

The twins?

Oh. Yes, of course.

Of course, he had meant the twins. That made a lot of sense. He had just sort of assumed- but, well he had said they. He just thought he meant- well the daughters. But yes, the twins. He was to watch the twins.

Nino wrestled with the pride that grew within him, in a war for his life with the grin threatening to compromise his composure. He was bursting at the seams with energy, completely overwhelmed with determination. Within one audience he was again aware of the seal on his shoulder, the vibrant purple of it so present in his mind he thought he might drown in it. HA! And so many of the old bastards in the guard were waiting for him to fail! Hoping he would be punished!

The King milled around his desk for a moment, murmuring to himself and sifting through papers, and despite his confidence high he felt another spark of unease as he was unsure of what to do. He hadn’t actually been-

“That will be all I imagine,” the King finally said, “You are to defer to your Captain for orders and instruction, though I imagine the Knights may wish to speak with you as well. You are dismissed, but Nino,” he added abruptly, cutting off the bow the boy was about to give him. He looked him in the eye again, stressing his authority. “Remain attentive.”

“I- yes, of course Your Majesty,” Nino managed, his pride somewhat deflated by what seemed to be doubt, but he shook it off easily enough as he bent into a deep bow. Fine then, he thought to himself as he stood up straight, turning and leaving with measured, confident steps.

All he could ask for were opportunities. Chances, risks, that’s all. His whole life here was a series of gambles he stubbornly leaned into, again and again, and he wasn’t about to quit now. Part of him was ashamed of himself for ever wavering, letting his worries get the better of him as he quaked in the hidden archway like a child. Everyone was waiting for it to collapse in on him, and maybe he was as well. But until then, he thought, marching down the hall standing above all the others,

I’m not stopping.

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

“STOP! Stop that both of you!”

Nino’s desperate shouts were met with mischievous laughs, overlapping each other and shrieking shrilly as he dashed through the ruined chamber, snatching Ella from the edge of her balcony as her sister screamed and ran passed him, diving for her bed and crawling underneath. Ella flailed in his arms, still in one of her formal dresses despite the fact that she was supposed to be in bed AGES ago, rebelling against him as they had the time of their lives. “Etta! Get out of there right now!”

All he got back was her screaming laughter, kicking further beneath the bed as Ella finally wrestled free and ran to join her, laughing hysterically as Nino caught one of her ankles, tugging her back. As he pulled her back and groaned in frustration he fell heavily to one knee, Ella tucked underneath one arm as he crouched and fished his free hand underneath the huge bed frame. He barely caught the edges of Etta’s dress with his finger tips but it was enough to get a grip, apologizing in his mind to the seamstress he knew was responsible for their dresses repair and tugging harshly, sliding the giggling princess out into the open so he could glare at her.

This was SO not his damn job.

“Your handmaidens are going to be here any minute so both of you settle down! It’s bed time and I expect you to listen!”

“You can’t tell us what to do!” Etta piped up, her face scrunching up as her playful sneer was ruined by her laughter. “We’re princesses!”

“Oh, don’t even try it,” Nino muttered, scooping her up under his other arm and toting them towards the bed as they laughed and laughed, knowing full well that excuse didn’t work anymore.

The twins thought they were so funny, nobody entertained them like they could entertain themselves. Separated they were docile but together they were ridiculous, and honestly it was his own fault.

He’d been at this for two weeks now and he was losing his mind trying to contain the monsters he had made of these two little girls.

Everything had started out just fine. It had honestly made his day to see the look on their faces when he was presented to them as their personal guard. They had been in public company at the time so they did their best to restrain themselves, their parents strict lessons on formality no doubt ringing in their ears but they still grinned up at him with joy. He didn’t bother to hide his warm smile in return, letting them be excited, and letting himself be a little excited as well. He took his position very seriously, but he was relishing in the opportunity he had reflected upon before. How these kids could not be children, there in the halls or even in the body of the castle. They had been children only a few times since he had met them and they had come to know his name, twice in a hallway and once in a field… and he had wished then that he might give them more of that.

But THIS was bullshit.

Nino tossed them both roughly onto the bed, giving them a glowering look that they both seemed unphased by, rolling around and laughing to themselves. He gave a heavy sigh and smoothed down their dresses, in the middle of reminding them to be lady like with their skirts when there was a knock on the door.

“Speak,” he called out, having to project to be heard.

He immediately sighed in relief when the familiar voice of one of their handmaidens reached him, turning and heading towards the door as he said, “Enter.”

The girls sat upright but were still laughing to themselves as the handmaiden entered, carrying their sleepwear in her hands and greeting them sweetly. However, when she looked up at Nino her greeting died in her throat, instead replaced by a sympathetic chuckle.

“Having a hard time?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” he grumbled sourly, allowing the princesses to hear him and grimacing at their chorus of laughter. Nino gave the maiden the most genuine look of frustration he could possibly muster as he abandoned the girls and crossed over to her, saying quieter, “The other way of putting it is not age appropriate.”

He got a laugh out of her like he had been hoping, her muffled giggles into the cloth she was holding enough to mollify him a little (only a little). Mylene, as she was called, looked up at him with pity, and then suddenly held out her things for him to hold.

He took them in confusion but watched obediently as Mylene slowly reached up to tie back her thickly corded hair with a long cloth, her expression settling into the most relieving thing he could possibly see.

The mom face.

He sighed audibly as she snatched back their things from him, calling out in a sing song voice, “Now, your highnesses,” and it was utterly effective.

The twins halted in their bouncing, growing still as their maiden strode towards them, scolding them in that same, oddly firm sing-song tone. “You know it’s time to be getting ready for bed, so it’s not very fair to give your guard a hard time now is it?”

Etta and Ella were quiet, shooting each other looks before mumbling something like, “Well you weren’t here-,”

“Yeah so we were playing and-,”

“Well,” Mylene cut them off, busying herself with gathering them up despite their protests, “me running a little behind is no reason to run rampant, so let’s get you two ready.”

She waved her hands at them dismissively as their complaints got more pronounced, and Nino couldn’t help but smile smugly when they glared at him. It was a petty victory to have to rely on the maidens again but he didn’t have that way with them yet, he was a guard not a caretaker. Usually at least one of their four maidens was with them, the leader of the bunch being Mylene, but in the brief time where they were not… it was chaos.

He had no one but himself to blame.

He jolted from his thoughts when Mylene suddenly turned on him as well, coming at him quickly and shooing him with her hands, pushing him out the door while explaining, “Go! They need to be washed and changed I’m already late as it is, go!” And then he was out in the hallway, left to breathe a blissful sigh.

Thank god for the maidens… it was almost an entirely genuine prayer, he thought it with as much reverence.

Nino posted up near the door to the twin’s room, relaxing a little more than he might normally since his presence was clearly superfluous. There were six other guards in this hallway alone, not to mention how many of them were posted nearby. The other guards looked over at him when he was pushed out into the open, but quickly returned to minding their spaces and he was left without their attention.

This was more or less his routine, having gone through a similar schedule every day for the last two weeks. What the young princesses were expected to do to occupy their time changed every day, but their movements were so restricted through the bulk of the castle’s meetings that for the most part they spent their day in the same wing they slept in. Nino was forced to stand by quietly as they diligently practiced and studied, watching over them as they saw to their lessons and whiled away their time. There were very few pockets of chaos as they did this, normally reserved for when he was escorting them back to their rooms for the evening to sew or read. That’s when they would start getting rowdy, and he would have to corral them inside when they were at their most energetic. Of course they would be, they were asked to sit and curtsy and sing for hours during the morning and early afternoon, they were children of course they get hyper. So, he tried to be understanding of their little outbursts but god it was so hard to manage. The handmaidens had a masterful approach by now that he did not, and since he was their most interesting ‘new friend’ he was put through quite a bit.

The maidens had gotten to quite like him, thankfully, Mylene being one of the only ones he had actually met beforehand. He often saw her hanging around Ivan, waiting for him to be done with his shifts or crowding around to watch him spar. No doubt she had been with him before realizing she was going to be late, but who was he to ask. The thought made him smile.

That was a little inappropriate, a royal guard and a handmaiden, but it wasn’t so bad. He was noble born but its not like he was a duke or anything, and she was high up in the inner circle as one of the young princesses’ caretakers. So it wasn’t so bad, and almost no one minded. Not that Ivan had admitted to it yet, despite everybody’s teasing.

The only other servant in the royal company that he recognized before starting was Marinette, and that was only by a handful of hours. He knew her now to be the chamber attendant to Her Royal Highness Alya Cesaire, but he did not get to see her often. A few pleasant conversations but not much more yet.

It was starting to get late as his mind slowly began to turn towards the twin’s older sister, but he was distracted before long by the gentle, distant call of his charges from inside.

He smiled, both at their insistence of telling him good night, and at the fact that he would soon be off duty. He was working for the entirety of their waking hours so breaks and privacy were rare and short lived. Still though, as a result the pay was astronomically better and just two weeks of work put him miles ahead in his family’s winter fund so… he wasn’t going to complain.

The job had plenty of perks too, he supposed.

He knocked before entering and shut the door quietly behind of him, in a significantly more even mood now that he had had a moment to recollect himself. He was actually about to apologize for being rough with them when he looked up and across the room to their bed and was disarmed by a smile.

“Hello farm boy,” Alya greeted quietly, focusing more on tucking the girls in for the moment, but glancing over to receive his returning smile. And his little bow.

“Hello Your Highness,” he answered without hesitation, gesturing to the door on the left wall that connected this room to her own, “I hadn’t realized you were in your room. I apologize if we were being loud.”

“Oh I’m always in my room,” she grumbled quietly, moving a strand of hair from Ella’s face and only speaking up to say, “And I don’t mind the noise. It sounded like the girls were having fun, even if,” and she glared at them, “it was at their guard’s expense?”

The twins giggled but did not answer, offering no apology whatsoever and Alya looked back just in time to see Nino roll his eyes.

The girls were still giggly but it looked like they were getting tired, Mylene still somewhere nearby it sounded like, probably wrapping up for the night. His replacements to guard the door should be arriving soon, and everyone was getting ready to end the day.

Nino was just in the process of deciding whether or not he was allowed to strike up a conversation when Alya stood up a little abruptly, smoothing her somewhat simple (but still elegant) dress with her hands. She leaned over to kiss both of her sisters on the forehead, stepping away towards him with the intention to pass him it seemed like, and he squashed his disappointment at the missed moment. Tomorrow maybe… but she seemed to be busying herself, already at the hall door by the time she was addressing her sisters.

“Sleep tight you two, and don’t be making a fuss. You’ve been a little too rowdy today and I’m going to be giving your Night Guards a special instruction to come and put you both to bed if they hear anything. So stay in bed.”

She gave them what felt like a fake glare and Nino had no doubt they intended to ignore her entirely but… that was night guards problem.

Still though he raised an eyebrow at her hasty exit, leaving as soon as he arrived and forgoing the door that just went to her room. Instead she was going to take the hall, so she could pass on a message? But she could have just asked him to do that, he was the one passing off to them anyways.

He was going to suggest this when Alya just opened the hall door, giving the twins a final good night and Nino a goodbye of his own, before she quickly but quietly shut the door behind her, and he was alone with the girls once again.

Well the girls and Mylene but she was busy.

Nino was still looking at the hall door with a frown when the twin’s tried to get his attention but…

“Sir Guard,” Ella whined, “Ninnoooo,” and he finally turned, clearly distracted and looking back towards the hall a few times.

“Yes?”

“Goodnight!” Etta exclaimed, like it was obvious, waving a little though he was fairly close to her. Her sister copied her and Nino waved back, smiled, but then looked back to the door, a bad feeling creeping up on him.

The twins were saying something more but he started to make a hasty exit of his own, mollifying them with a few warm goodnights and assurances that he would see them in the morning, but heading quickly for the door as well.

Because it had taken him a moment to realize but the replacements for the night weren’t actually there yet.

Nino opened the door with a little more gusto then necessary and left his charges pouting a bit but he had something slightly more pressing to be concerned with.

Nino entered the quiet, stuffy stone hallway with a significant spike in awareness, not taking anything lightly just because there were others around to watch his back. Mostly because, judging by the gap in security, he wasn’t actually as covered as he had assumed.

He looked down towards Alya’s room and felt a horrible crawl of dread against his skin as he saw her two personal guards waiting obliviously a good distance away, distracted by something and talking amongst themselves. The two of them were still of course doing their job and guarding the door, but…

Nino had a terrible feeling that they were under the impression it was occupied.

‘Okay, okay that’s fine. We don’t need to freak out yet, she couldn’t have made it too far surely someone would have seen her,’ he thought to himself placatingly, looking frantically down both ends of the hall and not seeing much besides a good chunk of guards who couldn’t have possibly missed that. So she must be back inside because how could they have not seen her.

Right so… Nino shifted his weight uneasily, the clink of his boots muffled slightly on the plush, ornate rugs left everywhere. She was out of his sight for… maybe thirty seconds, which was growing rapidly as he hemmed and hawed. He had every reason to assume that surely the six other guards in the hall had seen her standing there, taken her message on behalf of the night watch and escorted her back to her room. Yeah, that’s what happened probably, he probably just missed her.

He tried to let himself breathe a little, but he felt warm and uncomfortable for awhile more anyways. That was pretty irresponsible of him… in his defense he had been directly called in by royalty and could not disobey and there was plenty of presence in the hall, and his position inside the room always constituted that room as guarded regardless of the positions at the door, but if he wasn’t at the door and someone left then he was left relying on everyone else to catch it.

And he didn’t like relying on anyone else.

But what could he do really, order one of the others to watch his door for him? Half of the guard hated him, and the royal hall was almost always reserved for senior guards so usually everyone in the hallway hated him. So they would likely not listen to him anyways, or report him for negligence.

Oh well that was a great thought… they were probably just waiting till the ends of their shifts now to tell Alix about how Alya left the twin’s room unattended.

It was like, two seconds… ugh.

The severity of their watch really must be driving the daughters crazy at this point, and Nino fought a frown at the thought. Two full weeks of constant uninterrupted watch, and it would keep on for a few more days, or so the servants had told him.

Nino continued to bear the stiff silence of the hall, the only sound the occasional chatter from Alya’s guards a ways away from him. He watched them with a skeptical eye for a while, wondering where they got off chatting so much. And moving so much, every few minutes one of them would wander off and check the windows, looking around before returning to their post.

With such diligence, inconsistent though it seemed to be they surely saw Alya leave, and surely returned her to her room. It was almost as certain that this likely irritated her which… he completely understood. He mourned his own privacy while working so closely with the twins, he couldn’t imagine that being the entirety of his life. The rumors he had heard over time of the princesses (mostly Alya) sneaking off or even attempting to evade their guard (again, mostly Alya) had been entertaining when he heard them, but now as they occurred to him they seemed a little dismal. And also a little alarming, but again, six guards in a hallway. Wasn’t even a problem. Some of them weren’t even facing this door and a few of them were talking amongst themselves but still, six.

Regardless, he wished he could offer her royal highness some kind of reprieve, more so then kind smiles and informal chit-chat whenever he could spare it. If he could give her freedom he liked to think he would, so long as she didn’t try to run off on him.

Which she wouldn’t do, and hadn’t done, especially not now.

…

Doubt clung to his back as he started to shift uneasily in place, trying to decide just how much stock he was willing to put in rumors versus the capability of his fellow guards. He watched her personal detail start talking again, laughing at something and turning away… and his fear for the worst grew past his ability to give good faith.

“Ehem,” he eventually dared, every guard in the hallway instantly turning to regard him and nearly all of them sneering. He swallowed slightly but straightened his back, trying and failing to be casual as he said, “Um, just a status report. Before I leave for the night um… but where is the eldest princess? She’s… in her room, I suppose?”

There was a brief disbelieving silence before four of the guards just straight up ignored him, the final two being Alya’s personal detail who snorted condescendingly.

“Obviously,” cracked the senior guard, his partner laughing meanly as if to mock him. “What the hell you think we’ve been doing all day?” The two shot each other a look, shaking their heads at his idiocy and returning to their not so diligent guard,

of a completely empty room.

“Ah,” was all Nino replied.

Fuck.

#alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #djwifi #miraculous ladybug #royal guard!au #nino!royal guard #princess!alya #royalty au #tlp writes #knighted #ml fic knighted #ml fic #my writing #knighted chapter 8 #7k

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2manyfandoms2count · 4 years ago

Text

You can count on me (I will be there for you)

The chapters keep getting longer, you’d think I have control over them but obviously not, oops

New this week: More people join the scheming and the “we know who Chat Noir is” gangs (none of which are Marinette), Mayor Bourgeois cries, there’s background Lukloé, there’s the Nino-taking-care-of-Alya scene (if you can call it that) I talked about in the tags of this post, and we’re finally officially ready to roll into the Agreste Mansion.

Enjoy! xx

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Chapter 6

As Marinette steps back inside, she feels like she’s breathing a million times better than she has for the past month. She feels lighter, too. The upbeat music playing from the loudspeaker feels like a theme song, encouraging her to go forward. They have a plan, and it’s pretty foolproof at this stage; get all the necessary protagonists to the room acting as a backstage area for the band, and have a chat. No overthinking needed.

She spots Max in the crowd, in the middle of a discussion with Kim and Markov. The sentient robot is just as key to the plan as his creator, as she doubts that Gabriel Agreste would leave any numerical information lying around in the open, unprotected. Especially information that could tie him to a master criminal. She also has a feeling that they might have to deal with security cameras, which Markov and Max will probably know how to hack into.

A little to their right, Kagami and Nino are politely listening to André Bourgeois, whose glistening eyes scream his awe of the ceremony. Marinette can almost hear him gush about how he can’t wait for Chloé’s own big day to arrive.

“Looks like our friends are warming up for their duties.” Alya walks in behind her and they both observe the poorly disguised agony on Nino’s face, as well as the tension in Kagami’s shoulders. “You go and save them, I’ll get Max.” Alya pushes her lightly in their direction, and starts for the left.

Marinette stumbles forward, but turns back briefly as a thought crosses her mind. “By the way, did Adrien tell you what he was up to now? He didn’t come back earlier, which turned out for the best, and, well, it’s not that I want to avoid him, but…”

“...you don’t want to justify why everyone’s gathered without him if he walks in on us?” Alya smirks.

“Yeah.” The bride winces. She hates the thought, but she kind of hopes that Adrien will stay out of the way until they have to leave.

“Trust me, girl, he’s not going to show up.” Alya pats her shoulder in a highly suspicious manner. She’s beaming like she knows something that she doesn’t, and it doesn’t bode well. “Relax, he’s fine! Well, as fine as someone who’s been harpooned by a reporter and a photographer for a special interview might be, but it’s not like he’s been kidnapped or anything.” Alya makes a mental note to check if Mirages can be caught on camera when Ladybug is away, and if so, to maybe snap a few pictures of fake-Adrien for an article to support her lie. Just on the off-chance Marinette decides to follow up on it. There will no doubt be plenty of articles on the wedding itself, but since Adrien is busy running around in leather spandex, there probably won’t be that many one-on-one interviews with him in the press.

“Ouch.” Marinette winces. The thought that the man really deserves a medal for everything he went through, and everything he’s bound to go through before the end of the day crosses her mind. She’ll have to think of an appropriate gift to thank him.

“Don’t worry, he said he was used to it when they dragged him off.” Alya shrugs. “Anyway, let’s go, we can’t leave Chat Noir waiting out back for too long, he’ll get antsy.”

Marinette nods and makes her way towards the now crying mayor.

“Hi, Mister Bourgeois, thank you so much for coming today.” She pats him gently on the shoulder, and gestures for a nearby waitress to come around so she can grab a napkin off her tray. She mouths 'thank you' to her, before handing it to the mayor.

“It was such a wonderful wedding, congratulations to you two lovebirds.” He wipes his tears. “I’ve taken notes for Chloé’s wedding, I’m sure she’d love something like this, if she settles down. She works so much.” More tears spill over, and Marinette winces.

Chloé has taken after her mother and become something of a fashion mogul, although her relationship with Luka (which isn’t really a fling anymore at this point, since she’s been drawn back to him like a wave to the shore for the past five years) seems to keep her fairly grounded. She seems very relaxed when she’s with him, as happy as Marinette’s ever seen her , and she sometimes wonders if something very lavish like this would actually still suit her friend. Her money would be on something a little more bohemian (even though she doesn’t doubt that a lot of money would be spent for the wedding to look simple and ethereal).

“I wouldn’t worry about her, your daughter will get there when the time is right.” She pats his arm sympathetically, Kagami and Nino nodding along. Her gaze wanders around, searching for the blonde, and she spots her hanging just shy of the dancefloor, seemingly engaged in an intense staring contest with Luka while he plays on the stage. Marinette conceals a smile at the very obvious tension between the two. Something tells her she wouldn’t find Luka with his bandmates during Kitty Section’s break.

Maybe Chloé’s very obvious gawking is the first step towards making her relationship public.

“Anyway, I need to borrow these two for a bit, thanks again for everything!” Marinette shakes Mr Bourgeois’ hand before pushing her friends towards the back room. It doesn’t take much for them to start power walking towards the exit.

“Thank you so much for getting us out of this, dude, I thought I was going to pass out! It’s been over half an hour since he’s started talking to us. We just asked him to pass on some plates for the cake!” Nino whispers.

“I love Chloé but I was ready to tell him about Luka if it meant he would stop listing all the ways she’s so great and wondering why she’s still single.” Kagami lets out an exasperated sigh.

“Don’t thank me just yet.” Marinette grimaces. They might have escaped Bourgeois small talk, but they’re in for a far worse prospect; Agreste small talk. She doesn’t know which option she'd prefer: having to listen to someone blabber on, or having to make a distinct effort to keep the conversation going.

They enter the backstage room, which is full of lighting apparatus, music equipment boxes, and all sorts of cables. A small table is set up on the side with water bottles and a bowl of chouquettes, which, of course, has reeled in a black-clad target.

“Nino, Kagami, you remember Chat Noir.” She shakes her head with an amused smile at the sight of her partner, hunched over the bowl, stuffing his face. He looks up suddenly, like a deer caught in headlights, and gobbles down his mouthful.

“Hi!” He smiles a little guiltily, brushing stray sugar from his collar. “Cool to see you guys again.”

“Hey dude!” Nino’s smile widens as they fist-bump. Kagami nods at him as Alya, Max and Markov join and greet them.

They stand silently in a circle, the three newest conspirators looking at each other, then at the others, with a raised eyebrow.

“Guess why we’re all here.” Alya grins, barely containing her excitement, rocking on the ball of her feet.

Max clears his throat and pushes his glasses back up on his nose. “Seeing that Chat Noir is here, and that as far as we know, aside from Marinette, we all have a history of being picked as Miraculous wielders, I’d say there’s a 96.85% chance that we are gathered here for Miraculous reasons. And that being said, I want to say that there’s a 98.26% chance that Ladybug is nearby.”

“Nice deductive skills.” Marinette nods and Chat Noir lets out a low whistle. You’re correct on both fronts.” She stands a little taller, and looks at them all in turn as she speaks. “I’m Ladybug, and I need your help today.”

Nino and Kagami all but gape at the reveal.

Max’s smile is as smug as it gets for him. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Markov and I had calculated that there was a 99.45% chance that you were Ladybug, given that you’ve never been akumatised, that you always seemed to disappear during attacks, and that Ladybug always seemed to arrive very quickly when the akumatisation took place at school.”

“Affirmative. I would have checked with my facial recognition software but Max asked me not to.” Markov chimes in.

“That’s really impressive.” Marinette crosses her arms over her chest, thanking whoever was out there for not granting Hawkmoth a tech-savvy genius friend and robot, and half wondering whether she should ask them who they think Chat Noir is, and check their results with him.

“So Adrien and you both married your collège crushes then? That’s pretty nice.” Kagami smiles.

“Except that Ladybug is in love with Chat Noir, and they're dating. It’s been all over the Ladyblog for at least a year .” Nino frowns and looks towards Alya. He’s had to run after her countless times after the superheroes' relationship had become official, to make sure she wouldn’t fall from the rooftops when she chased Ladynoir dates. As ecstatic as she was when she came back with a couple of exclusive shots, there'd always been an ankle, or at least a scratch, he'd had to bandage. He'd once seen her standing on her tiptoes on a rather flimsy tree branch, and he'd thought his heart was going to give as she'd leaned forward, the branch wobbling menacingly under her, to snap a picture. He’d ranted about it to Adrien, and not too long afterwards, their favourite superhero duo had been spotted hanging out in much more accessible places, much to everyone's delight. Nino didn't know if it was a coincidence, but his blood pressure sure was thankful.

Chat catches Alya’s eyes before she can say anything. He shakes his head in warning. Not now. Her smug grin dies on her lips, and her shoulders droop a little in disappointment.

“Yeah, Adrien and I are… a façade.” Marinette’s lips spread into a tight smile. She hopes that her friends will understand.

“He looks so in love, though.” Kagami says quietly, and Marinette feels another wave of guilt hit her.

Her smile falters.

Alya looks at Chat Noir and raises her eyebrows; Nino and Kagami are very defensive of you, are you sure you want them to continue down this road without saying anything? He shakes his head, again. There’s another way.

“Trust me, guys, it’s 100% acting. Yes, maybe he’s tapping a bit from his Ladybug crush days, but he promised me that his feelings were gone. I think he’s secretly preparing to start a Hollywood career.” Chat Noir shoots everyone a dazzling smile, the one which has earned him millions of euros across the years, and which his father insured for about as much money. Nino twitches a little at the sight, squints, and Adrien knows he’s piqued his best friend’s suspicions. He winks at him, and watches realisation dawn upon his face.

Nino squints again, and nods towards Marinette. Chat shakes his head. On the other side of the circle, Alya beams as she observes the quiet exchange.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” Marinette clears her throat, eager to change the subject, “I need you, and actually, so does Adrien.”

“Is he alright?” Kagami asks.

“He’s fine. Just needed a little dérobement from the press.” Chat Noir mimes a fencing parry, hoping she’ll make the connection. However much they trained, it always seemed like they came back to the Battez-Tirez when sparring together, and its effective parry, the dérobement. They hadn’t competed in public for a while now, preferring to rent out fencing halls when they were both in town, so they could catch up at the same time. Only the two of them would really know what he was referring to.

She nods in understanding, and he sees her shoulders untense as she turns towards Marinette with a small smile. “Understandably so. I’m guessing you have a plan, then?”

“Yes.” Marinette lets out a sigh of relief at her cooperation, and mentally thanks Chat for always knowing what to say to ease any tension. “Here’s how it’s going to go, if you’re up for it: Max, Markov, Chat Noir and I will head to the Agreste Mansion to do a little research on Gabriel Agreste and his possible ties with Hawkmoth. During that time, Alya will be hanging out with Adrien and Mirage-ing me so no one suspects that I’m gone.” She doesn’t pick up Nino and Kagami whipping their head in Alya’s direction, nor the latter’s smug grin. I know too. In fact, I was the first to know. “Nino and Kagami,” their heads whip back to her, “you guys are on Agreste and Sancoeur surveillance duty. They are not to leave this place before you get my signal. You’ll have your Miraculouses in case things get complicated.”

Kagami raises her hand. “If we’re not transformed, how will we communicate with you?”

Marinette doesn’t have the time to look stumped because Max steps forwards. “I got that part covered.” He digs into his pockets and pulls out seven earpieces, which he passes around the circle. They all look down at the simple yet clearly very sophisticated piece of equipment they’re holding, and Max nods to encourage them to put them in, Markov flying down to help them synchronise.

“Should I bother asking why you’re walking around with these?” Alya asks.

He shrugs and pushes his glasses back up. “It's basic equipment. You never know when it could come in useful.”

“Thanks, Max.” Marinette smiles.

She’s about to ask if anyone has any questions when Alix, Juleka and Rose stroll into the room. Marinette mentally goes through the wedding's timetable; this must be Kitty Section's break, if she can tell by Rose and Juleka's slightly sweaty appearance. The three ladies slow down when they see the group break the circle to face them.

“Hey everyone. You missed one hell of a performance out there. Luka was on fire on the guitar, and I think Chloé almost fainted.” Alix smirks as they approach. “Oh, hey Chat Noir.”

She reaches out for a chouquette, earning herself a vaguely threatening look from him, which she shrugs off. Marinette notes that she seems rather unsurprised that he’s hanging out with them. Her friend is actually very relaxed even by Alix standards, when she assumed any onlookers would deem their congregation at least slightly suspicious.

Then again, the woman has access to the Burrow of Time. Everything must be alright, if she’s not panicking.

“How come you’re here? Is somebody in trouble?” Rose asks the question Marinette expected, confirming that Alix must have been monitoring the situation, and takes a swig from her water bottle. Her voice is a little hoarse from the singing, but it still makes her sound like a slightly frightened child.

“Erm… Not really, except…” Marinette trails off, a good excuse eluding her as she’s scrutinised by two of the three ladies, Alix’s left eyebrow shooting up, as if she’s curious to see what she’ll come up with.

“Except for the wedding presents!” Chat Noir swoops in to the rescue, draping an arm across her shoulders. “Our lovely bride here is very tempted to open them without Adrien, but he knows her so well, that he hired me specifically to prevent from doing it.”

“Well, well, well, that’s not very cash-money of you, Marinette.” Alix tuts.

“Oh, I can put you out of your misery for ours!” Rose jumps up and down excitedly, and Juleka smiles behind her bangs.

“Yay!” Marinette exclaims feebly.

“It’s actually a joint gift from all of Kitty Section, and Mylène; we heard that you and Adrien were moving into a new apartment now that you’re married, and Luka thought a good sound system would probably be the last thing on your mind when you bought your furniture, so we went with that! And we also made you a playlist to slow dance to, it’s going to be so romantic!” She sighs.

“That’s so sweet of you guys.” Marinette looks at her friends and feels bad for lying to them when they’re so thoughtful. She hugs Rose and Juleka in turn, making sure they can feel how grateful she is. She’ll find Luka, Mylène and Ivan later.

“Want to hear what I got for you, too?” Alix asks with a smug smirk.

“Sure, if you feel like sharing.” Marinette’s smile is genuine.

“Right, so, I found this great mystery box online where they deliver you clues and then you have to solve it, a bit like an escape room, you know? Except wherever you want, at your own pace. I thought you’d appreciate it.” She shrugs, and pops another chouquette into her mouth.

Marinette and Chat Noir exchange a look. They’ve got their plate full with this mystery, and once it’s over, Marinette is pretty sure she’ll lay off the detective work. She might don the cap again for Adrien if he really wants to, but she isn’t even sure of that.

“That sounds amazing!” Alya answers instead of her, eyes glinting in excitement. “Would you send me the link? I’d love to do something like this too.”

“Sure, if you want!” Alix shrugs. “You could also hitchhike Adrien and Marinette’s game, you can participate with as many players as you want.”

Alya turns towards Marinette with pleading eyes, and her friend rolls her eyes with a smile. Of course she’d be welcome on her team. Isn't that exactly what's happening right now?

“Anyway, we should head back, the next set is starting soon.” Rose clears her throat. “It was nice seeing you guys! Stay strong, Marinette. Adrien will be back soon, you’ll open your presents together!”

“Good luck up there! Honestly you’re doing great, can’t wait for the dances!” Marinette hugs her, then Juleka, and holds Alix back.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” She pulls her slightly aside, and nods to Chat, who takes the lead of the group. He starts handing out the Miraculouses.

“Yes, boss?”

“You’re probably aware of what’s going on, what with the Rabbit Miraculous and everything…” Marinette gestures widely. “Would you keep an eye out in the Burrow, and make sure we’re not messing up anything, timeline-wise?”

“Yep, no worries! As of now, you’re doing great.” She grins.

“Super, thank you.” She sighs in relief and squeezes her friend’s arm. “I’m sorry I didn’t sound more enthusiastic about your present, earlier, I’m sure it’s amazing.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I know it’s not exactly what you need right now, but as you know, I see everything. It’ll be a hit.”

“Looking forward to trying it out, then!”

“Good. Now, go back to your scheming, I’ll keep an eye on things. I’m guessing Alya and the others have a way to communicate with you, if I see anything?”

“Yes.” Marinette smiles.

“Okay, well, I hope I won’t need it, but I’ll let one of them know if I do.” Alix pats Marinette’s arm and turns around. “Good luck out there!”

“Thanks!”

Marinette smooths her skirt, takes a deep breath and walks back to her schemers with a confident smile.

“Everybody okay?” She asks, and all nod. “Cool, because it’s go time.”

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just-a-friend-but-not-really · 5 years ago

Text

If She Tries ch.3

Okay, it is long overdue, but the ideas kept coming and I kept writing but here it is. Thank you so much to @laadychat who has helped me with grammar and ideas. Without her this chapter would have been a hot mess

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

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

“Miss Bustier, please continue the lesson as usual.” Miss Bustier looked at her, mouth wide open like she wanted to say something but afraid of the outcome. Understandable since she was literally sitting in Chat’s lap. For professional purposes of course. Not because she liked the way he held her, or the way she felt him tense whenever Lila came near her and definitely not the way his hold of her became protective the second someone looked at her. Nope.

Marinette was pretty sure she heard miss Bustier mumble something about not getting paid enough for this shit. “ I was going to talk about Alexander the Great, but due to reasons I honestly don’t have the mental capacity to teach at the moment,” She walked towards the door, “ I’m going to talk to our principal about our uh situation.” and with those words she left the class.

Okay, so maybe this wasn’t ideal. Or maybe it was. Despite the dangers of having her partner by her (civilian) side, she always missed him. When she heard a lame joke, she thought about how he would react. How he would bend over with laughter if it was a cat pun and then look at her with those-those soft eyes.

And so what if she was being selfish? She did so much good for everyone else, couldn’t she just get one day where she was technically still doing good? Even if it meant she got something out of it?

Alya got up from her spot beside them. She walked in a manner that only could be described as Determination! When she reached the front she turned around and whipped out her phone. Marinette should have known that Alya wouldn’t give up an opportunity to get views on the Ladyblog.

“Chat Blanc, care for an interview?” Marinette had a suspicion she was already recording, if not live-streaming. It was after all still an akuma “attack”.

Nino got out of his seat and made his way to his girlfriend.

“Alya, are you sure this is a good idea?” Nino asked cautiously, despite being somewhat used to akumas, he still valued his life.

To be honest, Marinette hadn’t been paying attention to the scene before her. Her mind was focused on one thing, and one thing only; Chat.

Whenever his grip tightened, her heart would speed up. Which was silly really, because she was used to being close to him.

It’s just nerves

But was it really just that? She didn’t feel nervous or scared in any way. She had encountered Chat Blanc before, but this time no destruction followed him. So clearly it was different this time. He was different this time.

Was he allowed to make her heart race like that? Damn this cat! Even akumatized he managed to make her go soft.

She could feel his head on her shoulder. Suddenly he started whispering to her, “Would me kissing your neck make you uncomfortable?” His head was turned towards her and his words were drawn out in a way that could be considered teasing. The answer to his question was a simple no. It would make her far from uncomfortable, but would Chat regret it when he was back to normal? Wasn’t it his judgement that was clouded? Right now she just wanted her normal Chat Noir to be asking her these questions. Her normal Chat Noir to be holding her this close. Her Chat wanting to kiss her.

“No.” she whispered low enough that only he could hear, and in that moment she realized how completely and utterly head-over-heels in love with her kitty she truly was.

“I’m sorry, Alya,” His voice was filled with venom as he said the name. “but I have more important things to do.” His lips found her neck and he slowly began kissing her, somehow Alya didn’t see this.

“Like what?”

His lips left her neck,

Why did his lips leave my neck?

No stop that brain-Mari, get a grip.

“Like literally anything else.” His attack on her neck carried on, and this time it didn’t go by unnoticed. Alyas eyes widened and exclaimed,

“I’m sorry, but are you making out right now!?” Marinette cursed herself for letting it get this far, mostly because Alya would never shut up about it. Like ever.

Chat Blanc looked up, never removing his lips from her neck, “Yes.” The answer was pressed into her neck, and despite the mumble she was sure everyone heard it. Especially if the reporters reaction was anything to go by.

“Chat?” Okay now or never, find the akuma and get your kitty back, you can do this!

He stopped kissing her neck, almost as if he was afraid he’d hurt. She hated this. Making him feel insecure about how she felt. She knew what she wanted and she was truly hoping that he knew that too. So she took his hand and squeezed it. She felt the comfort wash over him.

“Yes princess?” His voice was still a whisper and despite having everyone looking at them, she felt like they we’re alone. This was her moment, their moment.

Get yourself together, you need to focus!

Finally, something we can agree on...

“Hold on a second princess, I just had a Meow-alous idea,” His lips once again left her neck, and she found herself, once again, disappointed by the absence of them. “Alya, I changed my mind. I would like to do the interview.”

nopenopenopenopenopenope

Alya, who had previously discussed(more like argued, but that's none of her business) if she had a death wish with Nino, focused on Chat Blanc. Her eyes scanned the scene, and she swiftly decided, that this could be her biggest scoop to date!

“Great!” It was clear that her concerns about Chat Blanc were long gone, “So tell me, why did you get akumatized?”

Was Alya trying to doom Paris? Cause it sure seemed like it! Oh kwami, what if he got so emotional thinking back that he destroyed something? She knew how much power the other Chat Blanc had held, so her concerns were...growing.

“I was scared I had lost my princess,” His arms curled around her waist in a secure hold, “So Hawkmoth gave me the so-called upgrade, now I can fully protect the light of my life.”

Wow, just wow.

“Okay but why haven’t you gone after Ladybug? Hawkmoth always wants both miraculouses, right?”

That was...a very valid question, that she hadn’t even thought of. Why hadn’t he gone after Ladybug, when that’s what Hawkmoth wants him to do?

“Since I was already transformed when I got akumatized, my dear kwami, was able to destroy the connection. He can’t hear or see me, and I can’t hear or see him.” He pulled her closer, his head finding its place on her shoulder. She would have to thank Plagg when all of this was over, knowing that Hawkmoth hadn’t been able to see her sleep and cuddle up with an akuma, was reassuring.

“What are your plans, since you’re not working for Hawkmoth?”

“My princess has been fighting her battles alone for far too long,” His head moved away and his white gloved hand turned her face towards his. Not that she needed much convincing anyway. “And as long as I, her faithful knight, am here, she won’t ever be alone again.”

“What battles? Sure, she doesn’t get along that well with Lila, but I wouldn’t call it a battle.” Sweet, unknowing Alya, you just triggered a chain reaction.

“Are you sure about that?” Marinette could tell, despite his calm and collected voice, that shit was about to hit the fan. She did not look forward to this.

Suddenly a familiar brown haired girl walked to the front. Lila Rossi apparently couldn’t stand that all attention wasn’t currently on her. Typical.

“How long have you been uhm...like this?” Alya ignored the italian girl’s hand on her shoulder.

“For the past-” He looked at the clock, “-9 hours”

“And you’ve been together this entire time?” Marinette could see the wheels turning in Alyas head. What was she thinking about?

“That is correct.”

“But that doesn’t make sense!” Rose had tried to keep her distance from the whole situation, but something clearly wasn’t adding up.

“What do you mean it doesn’t make sense?” Marinette asked.

“Lila said that she and Chat Noir hooked up last night, and that he left early this morning,” Lila said what? “I just thought that he went to your place this morning…”

“Well to your information,” Chat pulled her closer (if that was even possible), “ I spent the night with my princess.”

“You spent the night?” Nino had stepped forward as the big brother type of friend that he was. No doubt that everyone would be thinking that something had happened.

“He spent the night.” Marinette answered.

“So Lila lied?” Alya looked like her entire world had just shattered. Truth be told, it probably had. Marinette couldn’t even begin to imagine the heartbreak Alya was going through, despite having been warned. Marinette however, couldn’t stop the next sentence that came out of her mouth.

“I mean she has been for the past couple of months, but thank you for noticing”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Only one more chapter left! How are you guys feeling? Cause I’m feeling great! I love feedback and once again thank you for your support @laadychat and @mochegato

@punof-agun @nervoustrashfanfictionreader @adrianarfox

#mariblanc #ml fic #if she tries #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #Lila Rossi #chat blanc #chat noir #marinette dupain cheng #my fic

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andtheyweredeskmates · 5 years ago

Text

Of Latte’s and Lingerie- Chapter Seven

I finally finished finals tonight so I wrote a celebratory chapter. Hope you guys like it!

Previous Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6

AO3

TAGLIST: @catsssmeow

One would think that after years of working for his father, Adrien would have known what he was getting into. One would think.

Alas, he was still caught by surprise at the implications of attending his father’s events. His father’s fashion show was in four weeks and yet he found himself a little overwhelmed with the arrangements that needed to be made. For one, there was a car service, because driving his own car was apparently out of the question. For another, Adrien was required to see a stylist prior to the show and apparently nearly everyone had booked up. So after three hours of coordinating with Nathalie and calling in favors, he found someone willing to take him. Adrien was a little disappointed that he no longer had Nathalie to take care of booking these things for him and he had to take care of it himself. Likely because his father wanted Adrien to at least suffer a little from the consequences of “being an adult”. Adrien supposed there was little room to complain. Besides, normal people made their own appointments for everything.

There was, of course things that Nathalie and his father did take care of. Like for example, the seating arrangements. There was a whole world of politics in the fashion industry that trickled down into every detail, down to the last chair. Adrien was grateful he wasn’t expected to entangle himself in that shit show of a web. Gabriel no doubt, knew his son well enough at the very least to know Adrien would never be good at dealing with that.

Despite all the fuss and a few hours of stress, Adrien was couldn’t help but be a little excited. After being cooped up for years he’d come to realize that at heart, he was a social butterfly. When it came down to it, events like this were always filled with people he’d known since he could crawl and there was comfort in the familiarity.

Adrien found himself wondering about Marinette. Surely she’d be there, in the front row. It was possible that Adrien would end up next to her. Adrien smiled at the thought. He knew how exciting it had to be to have her work shown at such an exclusive event and it made him happy to think about being able to see her get excited. He wondered how she would react. He still didn’t know her very well but he could tell she wore her heart on her sleeve. He could imagine her bubbling with joy when everyone saw how talented she was. Not that Adrien had ever seen her work but to work for Audrey Bourgeois or get a compliment from Gabriel Agreste, you had to be top notch. Adrien knew that better than anyone.

Adrien sat in his thoughts for a long time, laying across his leather couch and staring aimlessly at the ceiling. It was eight o’ clock on a Wednesday and he wasn’t entirely sure what to do. His train of thought had begun with the classic, should I cook or order in dilemma and without coming to a decision, his mind had run all the way to Marinette.

He chuckled a little at the thought of her this morning. She’d been so panicked. He thought of her wild black hair and the shoes in her hands. It seemed so out of place in such a tranquil little coffee shop. But it had been a welcome surprise. Adrien had always enjoyed a touch of spontaneity.

Adrien was interrupted from his thoughts when Plagg hopped onto the couch and settled himself on Adrien’s chest.

“Hey Plagg,” Adrien said, smiling softly as he scratched his cat’s midnight black ears. Plagg merely responded with soft purring.

“Food, huh?” Plagg looked at Adrien with wide eyes, as though prompting Adrien to elaborate.

“Yeah I was thinking take out too. Maybe I’ll have them bring you a little side of cheese.”

“Meow.” Adrien laughed.

“Yeah I know buddy, I know.”

…

When Marinette got home she slumped on the couch and curled up.

“Tikki. Why did you let me invite Alya over with wine last night?” Tikki ignored Marinette and continued playing with a stuffed macaroon that Sabine had bought her for Christmas.

Marinette thought about her day with a scowl. It started rocky and ended worse. She ran late to work, totally embarrassed herself in front of hot guy from Dunn’s, still didn’t figure out his name, had several unpleasant interactions with her boss, most notably about the upcoming fashion show. God Marinette hated planning. The fashion industry would be the death of her, and Marinette was sure of it.

“So, Audrey, I was thinking. I have this friend named Juleka and she’s a model and she would be a perfect replacement for me in the show. She’s beautiful. I’d be happy to send you her portfolio.” Audrey had sighed and rolled her eyes at Marinette.

“Marinette, I’m going to be very blunt with you. I don’t want anyone else. I’m trying to help you. You’re an amazing designer and you’re very beautiful and I think it’s an excellent way for you to be recognized by some of the other big brands that are going to be at the show. So stop trying to get out of it, you’re going to model the red piece and you’re going to like it. Understood?”

Marinette was conflicted. On the one hand, Audrey had given her two compliments in one sentence (which was a miracle all on its own) and on the other hand she was forcing Marinette to wear the red-

“THE RED PIECE?”

“Yes, it’s a flattering color. You look damn good in red and don’t act like you don’t know it.”

Marinette could feel her face turning a deeper shade of red than the red piece itself. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she got. She would be in front of dozens of elite fashion industry workers in nothing but a couple dozen pieces of lacy strings she’d sewn together. She’d be in front of Hot Guy…. In nothing but lacy strings.

Marinette was hungover and she was already feeling the need for another wine night.

Marinette pulled her phone from her pocket and glanced at it reluctantly. She found herself pulling up the Hot Guy’s contact info.

Coffee Buddy

Suddenly Marinette pulled a very uncharacteristically bold move

Hey, this is Marinette. Thank you for the hair tie. Sorry I didn’t get much of a chance to talk.

Well, maybe not that bold.

…

Adrien slurped on his Ramen when he heard his phone buzz. He picked it up automatically and squinted at the unknown number.

Once he read the message, he smiled.

Hey Marinette 😊 Its no problem. You seemed a little preoccupied.

…

Marinette was surprised at how quickly the Hot Guy responded. She almost convinced herself for a moment that maybe he was as lame as she was and had no one else to talk to.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Yeah, sorry. Work. I was running late and Audrey isn’t really the forgiving type

Marinette felt her stomach grumble. It was definitely time for food.

Coffee Buddy

I’m sure you’re super busy. Are you excited about your show? Marinette scoffed.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Well, technically it’s Gabriel’s show and honestly… I’m really nervous

Marinette could feel the little tingle in her gut when her phone pinged. It had been a very long time since she’d felt like that. At least since college.

Coffee Buddy

Don’t be. I bet it’s gonna be great. Besides, I’ll be there to pump you up. I’ve heard I’m an excellent hype man.

Marinette groaned.

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” she grumbled. She typed out another message before routing around in her freezer.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Well that’s sweet of you. It’s going to be a very long night for me.

Coffee Buddy

Maybe we can sit together.

Marinette snorted as she pulled out frozen pizza.

Oh I doubt it, Audrey has me doing…

Marinette thought about it for a long while before typing out the rest of the message to send.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Oh I doubt it, Audrey has me doing a lot of behind the scene stuff during the show.

Maybe hot guy would find out eventually what she meant but Marinette wasn’t ready for that conversation.

Hey dude you’re gonna see me in fancy underpants with a billion other people. Sexy right? Marinette rolled her eyes. No way. She was not having that conversation.

Coffee Buddy

That’s a shame. Are you going to the after party?

That had been another topic of discussion that had come up at work. The After Party. Audrey was insistent that Marinette attend. Marinette on the other hand, had other ideas. Like going home to wallow in embarrassment.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Um… TBD. I haven’t decided.

Audrey was likely not going to let Marinette win that battle either but Marinette could dream.

Coffee Buddy

Well they’re super fun. I’ve been to nearly every Gabriel show and the after party is the best part. It can get a little wild. But I promise, if you stick with me, I’ll show you a great time.

Marinette had always been told that when it came to flirting she was absolutely, hopelessly clueless. Alya had never seen a woman so unaware of the advances of prospective lovers. It was possibly Marinette’s greatest weakness.

Now with that being said, once Alya pointed it out, Marinette had tried to pay better attention. But really, it wasn’t so much paying attention as much as overanalyzing friendly behavior until she convinced herself that it was vain to assume anyone would want to flirt with her. In short, Marinette had not gotten any better.

…

Adrien wasn’t quite sure why, but Nino showed up at Adrien’s apartment shortly after 9. Adrien didn’t complain. He enjoyed the company. Nino couldn’t say the same. At least, not that night.

“Are you even listening? Who are you texting?” Adrien just smiled softly at Nino.

“Have you ever heard of Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” If Nino had been taking a sip of his beer the moment Adrien said that, he probably would’ve spit it out.

“Uh, yeah dude. I went to high school with her. I had a huge crush on her all sophomore year. She’s a fashion designer now right?”

“Wow, that’s so cool. I met her at a coffee shop the other day and she’s really nice. I’ve been texting her for about 20 minutes now.”

“So… she’s single now huh?” Adrien cocked his head in confusion.

“Um, I don’t know. Was she single when you knew her in high school?” Nino laughed.

"I'll take that as a no. I guess she was dating a boy?"

“First of all, he was not a boy. That dude was all man. Luka Couffaine. He was in a super sick metal band that supposedly did really well in America. Second of all, how are you talking to a girl and you don’t even know if she’s single?” Adrien gave Nino a contemptuous look.

“We’re not talking-talking. She’s just a friend. We only just met yesterday.” Nino snatched the phone out of Adrien’s hand.

“Gimme that,” Nino said. He began scrolling through Adrien’s texts.

“Hey!” Adrien protested. Nino rolled his eyes as he tossed the phone back to Adrien.

“You are so full of shit dude. ‘I’ll show you a great time?’ That’s literally a tacky pickup line guys use at the bar.”

“What? That’s not even a pick up line. I don’t think you even know what a pick up line is,” Adrien grumbled. Nino snorted.

“Dude, do you know what a pick up line is? I’ve known you for what, two years now? And never once have I ever seen you go after anyone. I thought you were asexual or something.” Adrien looked at Nino with another look of contempt.

“I’m not asexual. I just got my own stuff going on you know. I’m trying to get my shit together so I don’t wreck someone else’s.” Nino rolled his eyes.

“Whatever you say dude. Only thing I’ll tell you then is that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is probably one of the most kickass girls you’ll ever met so if you do decide you like her, you better respect the shit out of her, got it?”

“Sure thing dude.”

Next Chapter

#my fic #miraculous ladybug #mlb fanfic #mlb #adrienette #adrinette #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #nino lahiffe #coffee shop au #fanfic

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thewritewolf · 5 years ago

Text

Adrien, Agreste No Longer: Chapter 7 - New Life

Adrien puts his old life behind him and starts again.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 (Final)

Read on Ao3

There was a knock at the door. Adrien rubbed his eyes as he sat up in bed, Plagg still snoring away on the pillow beside him. Reaching out one finger, he scratched Plagg’s belly until he rolled over. Some part of him was expecting Nathalie to barge in, but that chapter in his life was over. Not only was he no longer living in the mansion, with a room that had no lock, he’d never have to see Nathalie again. The thought was bittersweet to him.

Instead, Ken - his dad - spoke through the sturdy door. “Breakfast is almost ready, kiddo! Come on down when you’re hungry!”

Another change from his usual routine. As long as he had known him, Gabriel had never made food of any kind. He’d always said it was a commoner thing to do. Even when Emilie was still around, the most they ever did was bake sugar cookies every now and again.

It was a far cry from the banquet of breakfast foods he saw once he got dressed and made his way into the dining room. Adrien’s jaw dropped as looked at all of the dishes that Ken had prepared.

“Is this all… for us?” His gaze bounced between Barbie reading a newspaper at the table and Ken, cooking yet another dish on the stove.

“Of course, sweetie!” Barbie said warmly, smiling at him. “Although,” she added with a teasing smirk as she looked at her husband, “it looks like Ken went a little overboard today.”

Ken wrung his hands in front of him. “Sorry, everybody! Definitely my bad. I just… I wasn’t quite sure what you wanted yet, Adrien, and every time I’d make a dish I’d remember another and think ‘Ohhh, he’d definitely like that one!’ and well,” Ken gestured helplessly at the twenty or more different meals he’d made. “...I might have gotten carried away.”

“Don’t worry,” Adrien said with a laugh. “I’d love to try them all! You can get to know me a little better.”

“Oh that’s a wonderful idea!” Barbie clapped her hands together. “We can each try some of each dish. It’ll be like a speed round of learning about each other.”

Over the next hour, the three of them did their best to work through the dishes that Ken had made. Just as promised, Adrien got to know his new family a little bit better - and not just about their taste preferences.

The way they acted around each other, so full of love and respect… it was something he’d never really seen before in his household. While his adoptive parents had loved each other, Adrien remembered all the times that his father had called him “emotional, just like his mother.”

But with Barbie and Ken, it felt like they loved each other just as much for their strengths as for their faults. They laughed together. They fought together. He’d never heard either of them say anything bad about the other. They were inseparable, two parts of a greater whole. Just like…

Just like him and Marinette. His Ladybug, in the spots or out of them.

He had a sudden urge to see her, pulling him out of the moment. Just as he opened his mouth, Ken cut him off.

“You want to go see her, don’t you?” His dad had his chin resting on his hand as he looked at Adrien with a sly smile.

“Y-yes!” Adrien blinked in surprise at him. “How did you know?”

“Let’s just say we know the look.” Ken looked at Barbie. “What’s his schedule look like, sweet heart?”

Barbie pulled out a folder from seemingly nowhere and Adrien’s heart sank. He should have known he’d never fully escape the dreaded Schedule.

“Well, I found the one that Nathalie had made for him, then I sent it to Skipper for some trimming.” Adrien perked up when he heard that. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all? “Looks like you’re pretty clear for now,” Barbie turned the sheet of paper she was reading to Adrien. It was a completely blank schedule. “Although we’ll have to talk later about which of your extracurricular activities you’ll want to be keeping. Fencing, photoshoots, basketball, and all those language practices… you’d barely have time for anything if you kept up like that!”

Adrien bit his lips and tried to keep the tears back, looking down and scrunching up the fabric of his pants in his fists. Before he knew it, both of them were by his side, Ken crouching down beside him and Barbie wrapping him in a hug.

“Oh, kiddo, it’s alright,” Ken whispered soothingly. “We know its a lot, but-”

“Thank you,” Adrien said, his voice warbly through the tears. He couldn’t meet either of their eyes or else he’d be pushed over the edge and really become a mess. “Just… thank you.”

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

An hour later and Adrien was walking, unattended, to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. The very thought put a spring in his step and a bright smile on his face, the absolute opposite image of the boy who had just finished crying to his new parents. A little makeup to hide the red, puffy eyes and he was good to go.

He knew his friends were visiting the bakery based on the pictures they had been sending him over the last half hour. They had always been so patient with him, even when he was forced to cancel plans at the last minute. His heart soared when he realized he’d never have to do that again.

The bell over the door to the bakery rang as he stepped through. Mrs Cheng looked up from the cash register, her face lighting up when she recognized him. When she opened her mouth to speak, he quickly put a finger to his mouth and gave her a sly smirk. Her mouth snapped shut and she ran out from behind the counter to give him a big, warm hug. One that he gladly returned.

“They’re up in Marinette’s room,” Sabine whispered into his ear. “Be careful of the third step, it squeaks.” She gave him a wink as she resumed her spot at the counter.

He made his way to her room, having a similar scene play out with Tom Dupain. Had all this love been all around him this whole time? Without him realizing it? He’d assumed that his home life had been a little unusual, but the more time he spent outside of it, the more he realized just how bad it had been.

Those depressing thoughts were pushed aside, though, as he silently tread up the stairs - being very cautious by skipping the third stair entirely. He swallowed nervously at the threshold, listening to the voices of his friends just above. He only just barely managed to contain his excitement as he knocked on the trapdoor to Marinette’s room.

“Come in!” Marinette cheerfully replied as the conversation quieted down.

He raised the trapdoor and stepped in, the lingering smiles on his friend’s faces turning to shock as they realized that he was standing there in front of them. For once, he’d made it there in the flesh rather than just by phone call.

The first one to react was, of course, his best bro Nino. He nearly went tumbling down the stairs when he collided with him, holding him tight in an eager bear hug. Alya was much more subdued as she gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

“Nice you could make it, centerfold,” Alya said, grinning. She tugged at Nino’s arm. “C’mon, babe. Let’s give the lovebirds a moment to themselves. It’s been one heck of a week.”

The trapdoor slide shut, but Adrien knew that Alya was almost definitely still lurking nearby, ear pressed to the door. Which was only one of many reasons why Adrien’s next words were spoken so softly.

“I missed you, buginette.”

Her face turned red. “Saw we j-just couple ago days?”

“And I missed you every moment since then.” His smile became more tender and his voice dropped to a whisper as he closed the distance between them. Despite the proximity, she didn’t step back, only looked up at him with stars in her eyes. “You don’t have to be nervous around me, bugaboo. It’s just me - Chat Noir. Your pawesome partner.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes, but when she looked back at him, she met his eyes without hesitation. “And so humble too.”

“Mhm,” he hummed, resting her forehead against hers. “I’m glad you realize I’m the full package. Anything else you want to say to stroke my ego before we let them back up?”

“Nothing to say no.” Marinette said coyly. Before he could ask what she meant, she grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him down the last bit to her level, pressing a kiss against his lips for what felt like forever.

“N-now, let’s get this party going,” Marinette said with false confidence, leaving him kiss drunk in the middle of the room as she rushed past him. “I want an audience this time when I kick your butt in Mecha Strike.”

#Miraculous Ladybug #barbie: life in the dreamhouse #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrienette #Barbie #Ken #Nino Lahiffe #Sabine Cheng #Alya Cesaire #ml fanfiction #my writing #Adrien Agreste No Longer

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votederpycausemufins · 6 years ago

Text

Lila Gets Exposed 5

This is a one shot series I’m doing that is also posted on Ao3 here I’m fine with getting recommendations for other chapters

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6]

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

Lila - will the real Lila Rossi please stand up?

note: mentions of kidnapping

It had been a normal day of school, class had already started and Marinette was running as fast as she could to school to at least be under five minutes before the start of class. Unfortunately, someone ran right out of an adjacent street and right into Marinette.

Marinette collapsed and her purse went flying. She did her best to grab it but first she noticed who ran into her. It was a girl about her age. The girl had an Italian complexion, olive eyes and chestnut brown hair.

“Look… I’m already late Lila.”

The girl looked right at Marinette. This girl did look like Lila, but also different. Her hair was all even, she didn’t have bangs and it was all messy. She had a bruise on her cheek and a fearful look in her eyes. “H-how do you know my name?”

That shocked Marinette. “You… you look like someone in my class, Lila Rossi.”

“But that’s my name! I’m Lila Velia Rossi. I was kidnapped a few years ago. But I’m alive! I escaped.” She looked back to where she came from. “I just escaped, come on!”

Lila Velia grabbed Marinette’s hand and started running, dragging the designer along. Fortunately Marinette grabbed her purse before they left the scene. “Look, if we can hide ourselves for a minute or two, I can call Ladybug to help you?”

“A Ladybug? How will that help? You need to call the police! I need to get back to my mom in Italy.”

“No, Velia-” “It’s Lila.” “Calling you Velia because I know another Lila who looks like you and she’s horrible and I don’t want that association. Ladybug is a superhero. She and Chat Noir have been saving the town for the past year or so.”

Velia looked skeptical. “Look if we find something, sure, but not until then.”

Marinette nodded and she carefully opened her bag and mouthed for Tikki to text people about where she was. “Can I ask some questions?”

“Sure, just don’t stop us.” Velia quickly replied, yanking them around a corner at the last second.

“If you’re from Italy, why is your French so good?”

“My father was from France and my captors were as well.”

“Alright, do you know what your mom does? Like what’s her job?” Marinette hoped it wouldn’t be-

“She says she works at an embassy.”

Marinette cursed under her breath. “And how old are you?”

At this, Velia shook her head. “I don’t know. I haven’t had birthdays and not sure how many years it’s been exactly.”

Marinette was about to ask another question when Velia yanked them into a doorway and pressed up against one wall of it. Marinette followed suit and the two stayed quiet and barely dared to breathe for a few minutes. Finally, Velia stopped hiding. “Please, if you think it would help, call the ladybug.”

Marinette nodded. “I don’t want many people to know I know her so they can’t take advantage of me so I’m going somewhere else, but it will be close by. I promise, I’ll come back or she will show up, okay?”

“I don’t believe you. I haven’t believed much in a long time… but I suppose I have to. You’re my only chance right now.”

Marinette nodded, gave Velia a hug, and ran to a place to hide and transform. She waited a minute to make it seem like she was coming from across Paris before returning to the spot Veila was. But the scene had changed. Velia was being grabbed by an unfamiliar man and she looked terrified. “Hey, back off!”

“Oh, Ladybug, don’t worry, my daughter is just having a fit.”

Ladybug threw her yo-yo at him, smacking him in the face. “No, I already heard the story about what’s going on.”

Since the man wasn’t an Akuma victim, she easily separated him from Velia and tied him to a light post. She pulled the main part of the yo-yo a bit further out and called the police and attempted to call Chat Noir, but he of course wasn’t transformed.

After the calls, she walked over to Velia. “Hello, I was told that your name is Velia?”

“It’s Lila actually, but the girl who was helping me was calling me by my middle name.”

Ladybug gave a nod. “Alright, well my name is Ladybug. The police should be here soon, and as soon as they are, I’m going to visit someone else.”

“Um, who?” The Italian asked.

“Her name is Lila Rossi. She’s from Italy and moved to France recently, has a mother who works at an Embassy and loves to lie. So either she has lied and pretended to be you, or she has stolen your identity and has been you in a way.”

Velia looked shocked at that, and to pass the time, Ladybug talked with Velia about everything that had happened on both of their ends. Velia about how she had been living, and Ladybug about the fake Lila. They weren’t able to learn too much, but at least enough before the police showed up. Ladybug explained things to the police and after they had Velia’s captor in cuffs. She told them not to contact the school yet as she wanted to be there in case the imposter tried anything. They agreed, especially Agent Roger since Sabrina was his daughter and in that Lila’s class.

Ladybug quickly swung to the school and entered. She quickly spoke to the principal so he knew what was going on and hopefully wouldn’t complicate things. He allowed Ladybug to go to the classroom, especially when he heard the police were on the way.

Within a few minutes, the heroine was out the door. She took a deep breath and walked in. The lesson came to a halt and everyone looked over.

“Ladybug!” Alya called out. “What are you doing here?”

“Is there an akuma attack?” Adrien asked, jumping out of his seat.

Ladybug waved in a motion to calm them down. “No, no. I was just here to talk with a certain classmate of m-yours.”

Alya looked around and then spotted Lila, who was slowly sliding down to hide herself. She may not know about the real Lila showing up, but Ladybug could still out her as not being friends with her. “Oh! Lila! She says you two are friends!”

Ladybug nodded. “I think we are. I’m glad she has a friend, after everything she’s been through.”

Lila looked calmer now. “Yeah, but being in those dangerous situations can help people.”

“Well, not really. Alya, can you hand me your phone?”

“No way, recording this right now.” She nodded her head towards Nino, who had moved to sit next to her moments after the hero entered. “You can use Nino’s.”

Ladybug took the phone as distant sirens could be heard. She searched ‘Italian girl kidnapped Lila embassy’. They were likely to be words featured in an article about Velia. The first result mentioned Lila’s ‘return’ as did the second. The third somehow managed not to be related. The fourth, however, was exactly what she was looking for. She opened the page and put it down in front of Alya for her to read.

“Wait, Lila, you were-”

Ladybug stopped Alya. “Yes. We’re friends as well as Marinette and her.”

Nino looked confused. “Uh, sorry dude, but those two get together like oil and water.”

“They seemed fine together to me.” Ladybug said shaking her head. “I mean, who wouldn’t like the person that saved them from being rekidnapped.”

Various people started talking at once. “Kidnapped? Lila was kidnapped.” “That’s what you get for bragging.” “She’s strong for getting out.”

“Yes. The police were notified and currently have Lila with them.”

Now the class was confused. “But…” Rose started. “Lila is right here.”

Ladybug looked around. “No, I’m not seeing her. That girl up there looks similar though. What’s your name?”

“As Rose said, my name is Lila. We’re best friends, remember? I helped saved Jagged Stone’s cat. I help with environmental projects with prince Ali.”

Ladybug frowned. “Sorry, but the first time I met someone like you is the same day you were akumatized into Volpina and I called you out for lying about us being friends because I don’t like liars and saying we’re friends could endanger you.”

“Lila, how could you lie to us?” Rose asked, sounding disappointed.

“No, Ladybug’s lying! She just hates me!”

Alya gave Lila a look. “Well then you were at least lying about you two being friends then, huh?”

“Wait, no, that’s not what I mean!”

Ladybug spoke up again. “So I want to ask again. Who are you really, because the real Lila Rossi has been found.”

By now the police sirens could easily be heard, and Lila realized what they meant. She got up and began toward the door, but stopped and took a one eighty. She grabbed for the butterfly heading towards her but Ladybug’s yo-yo caught it first.

“The police are on their way to question you. Hopefully we will learn the truth in the end.”

“No! No this can’t be happening! You were all listening to be and pushing Marinette away. Why did you have to ruin everything again Ladybug?!”

“Because you act against me. If you acted more truthfully and kindly, it would have never come to this.”

The police eventually came and took the fake Lila away. A DNA test was taken and it was shown that Velia was really Mme. Rossi’s daughter. The fake Lila, who still would not give her real name, had run away and learned she looked almost exactly like Velia, so she took the girl’s place.

Since identity theft was a crime, Velia asked if she wanted to press charges, though it would have to go through her mother. Velia quickly agreed, as she believed that if everyone knew she was still missing, they would have found her years ago.

Neither girl was seen for a month until, in the fake Lila’s place, Velia started attending classes. She became fast friends with Marinette and eventually, after recovering enough, she was given the mouse miraculous and joined the hero team.

Note: on Ao3, people have had some questions. to sum everything up: Velia was kidnapped a few years ago. The story about her being missing ended up on the news. Lila saw the news report as well as the picture of Velia. She wasn’t a fan of whatever life she currently had and since she looked so much like Velia, she ran away from her old life and pretended to be Velia and became the new Lila.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #ladybug and chat noir #lila rossi #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #adrien agreste

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dfcfanfics · 5 years ago

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Looking Back At 2019

Greetings! Your sixth-favorite old man who churns out Miraculous fanfics is back again, casting his eyes on the year-about-to-end and what came of it.

Throwing my ramblings behind a cut, for the benefit of those who are less than fanatical about them.

Okay! Still here? Great.

Stories that I wrote in 2019 included:

Longfics:

Let’s Take It From The Top: The conclusion to this one arrived in January. This was a long-running alternate universe story, the longest I had written at that time, rebooting the Miracuverse with two alterations:

1) Gabriel brought the Cat and Moth, not the Peacock and Moth home from Tibet.

2) Gabriel was willing to listen to Nooroo’s pleas to not use his powers selfishly.

That simple starting point cascaded into a very long chain of surprises and reinventions of familiar Miraculous events. Old faces with new Akuma identities, including a new one (Firefly) for Marinette before she ever becomes Ladybug! A Wish gone awry that eventually threatens all of France -- and perhaps more. Good Gabriel exploring the possibilities of Nooroo’s powers while attempting to save his son. The eventual emptying of the Miracle Box in an all-out showdown. Adrien in pink sweatpants. The answer to what happened to Atlantis. And my very first piece of fanart received ever, from the incomparable @yunyin.

It’s a lesser-loved piece of mine, but I think there’s some very solid writing in it, so if you skipped over it I’d encourage you to check it out.

Someone To Watch Over Me: My labor of love. This was inspired by absolutely perfect Ladrien concept art from @buggachat, which I will never hesitate to link. I fell in love with it, considered how I would work it into a longer Ladrien idea that was bubbling in my brain, and reached out to @buggachat with a first-chapter draft. She gave me the go-ahead to continue with it, and I hope she likes what I did to her poor characters along the way. ;)

Adrien’s attempted Akumatization and Ladybug’s last-second rescue leads to far more than either of them bargained for. Marinette reaches out to Adrien with comfort and affection in both of her identities -- and finds Adrien responding to both in kind, as much as he is capable of in his somewhat emotionally numb state. Slowly, she cracks his shell and a Ladrienette triangle forms. Though obviously Marinette would be fine with being Adrien’s girl in either identity... he doesn’t know that, and the slow burn to full-on romance is quite the ride.

All the while, Gabriel is watching his son closely, as his master plan requires someone with emotional ties to Emilie to be Akumatized and Adrien is his last-hope selection. He watches the evolving relationships, ready to pick off whichever one ends up broken-hearted when Adrien makes a choice and the triangle collapses... and is curious when that doesn’t seem to happen. A dinner party at Marinette’s proves memorable, followed by one at Adrien’s that proves... life-changing for all.

24 chapters, 230k words, my longest chapter ever, an Adrien moment that startled many readers in a very good way, and many other delights.

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time...: This one wasn’t supposed to be a longfic. It started out in my mind as a wacky farce, responding to how Heart Hunter / Miracle Queen ended and examining where the Adrigaminette triangle might go. But the more I wrote at the beginning, the more I started digging into the emotional possibilities and felt like, well, this could actually go places.

This picks up with Marinette overwhelmed, hiding out in her room. The blossoming relationship between Kagami and Adrien, the new responsibilities of Guardianhood, knowing what happened to Master Fu, and many other questions are screaming inside her skull and she is out of answers. A ring of her doorbell shatters everything, though, as it reveals a sobbing Kagami; in this version, he tries being her boyfriend but abruptly cuts it off, admitting that he loves someone else. And we all know who that someone else is... and now Ladybug knows that, too.

And our heroine... snaps.

12 chapters so far, a deliberate experiment in writing shorter chapters (each one is under 5k) that has been... well, challenging to both myself and my readers. The response has been good and it is nearly complete; I’m thinking maybe four more chapters unless something changes.

Not-so-longfics:

Two Hearts That Wax And Wane: The first of a small handful of response fics to Puppeteer 2, specifically the car scene near the end, which I found to be one of the definitive moments of the entire Season 3. It certainly created veritable oceans of salt on Tumblr, so I decided to try to make something sweeter out of it.

Marinette has heard “the girl that I love” from Adrien’s lips... and it certainly wasn’t referring to her, at least as far as she knows. So... now what? Adrien isn’t sure what Marinette’s reaction meant, but he knows that he screwed up somehow, and that he needs to make things right with her or potentially lose a very precious friend. And so four chapters follow, one from each Love Square side’s perspective (Adrienette, Marichat, Ladrien, Ladynoir in order).

Angst segueing into fluff, as is my usual formula.

Full Stamen Ahead: A five-parter that makes an utter shambles of the French education system. (If you’re sensitive to Americanizations, this is not the fic for you, unless acres of fluff serve as a sufficient antidote.)

The school is promoting a Carnation Day, in which white, pink or red carnations are delivered to students for a nominal fee. Marinette decides that she’s finally going to confess her feelings, but an interruption by Chloe disrupts her red-carnation attempt. Seeing an opportunity, Chloe responds with a nasty plan of her own... and chaos soon reigns.

Five short chapters of high school antics, detective work and flower petals.

Just One More Minute...: Another fic inspired by Tumblr art, this one by Ladybeug. After five hours of fighting an Akuma, our heroes tumble together to a rooftop, unable to move another inch. They’re about to detransform, and they know it. But... surely... they could rest for just a moment before they act, couldn’t they?

One-shot.

Playing A Familiar Chord: Puppeteer 2 response fic number two, this one from a Lukanette perspective. After hearing what she did in the car, Marinette returned home feeling completely disheartened. Who might be out there that she could turn to, talk to, call on the phone and get a male perspective on about what just happened? Who could be her Big Brother today, even though they both know that he’d like to be more than that?

One-shot. Fluff, comfort, and a Luka who’s smitten but remains assertive as well.

After the Storm Breaks: Heart Hunter/Miracle Queen response fic, examining what might come next. A short time after the finales, Adrigami is fully enabled... as is Lukanette. A party that Adrien, Kagami and Marinette all attend becomes awkward, so Adrien calls Marinette to make sure that they’re still on good terms... and a lot of unexpected truth comes out.

One-shot. Fluff, comfort and friendship. Exploring a far stronger Adrienette forming even while they’re each dating other people.

A Little Promise I’d Made Myself: A super-fluffy one-shot. It’s a New Year’s Eve party at Rose’s house, and while Adrien is having a good time, he notices that Marinette is sitting off by herself. So he joins her, and as the countdown to midnight approaches, Marinette wonders if she has it in her to give him a real New Year’s kiss...

Crack and Silliness:

Assorted bits of insanity, response fics and stuff that popped into my head.

The Logical Conclusion: Ladybug examines why all the Akumas center around one particular classroom... and presents Chat Noir with her theory as to whom Hawkmoth must be.

Reservoir Kwamis: Quentin Tarantino’s film Reservoir Dogs from a Miracuverse perspective. Maybe three people will enjoy this.

Getting Things Backwards: Backwarder response crackfic. Adrien opens Marinette’s “love letter”... which is actually Fu’s constipation medicine prescription... and interprets it in a very different way.

First Times Are Always Awkward: On Ladybug and Chat Noir’s first outing against Stoneheart, Tikki is not fully aware of modern technology... like cell phone cameras. So that “Kwamis cannot be photographed or recorded” extends to their magic as well -- like certain costumes. Alya ends up with quite an eyeful when she watches the footage she captured...

Communication Breakdown: In an emergency, Plagg needs someone else to accept his power, don the ring and be a hero. He’s in a room with someone who is able and willing. But when it comes to saying “Claws out” aloud, there’s one little problem...

Busted, Said The Kwami: Kwami Buster response crackfic. Adrien finds himself dreaming of a midnight visit by Ladybug, who becomes Multimouse, who acts... unusually. This is not Plagg’s first rodeo with size-changing heroine fantasies, though.

Nooroo Uses A Swear Word: He sure does.

Options Include...: A response to an Instagram post by Adrien. Marinette sees Adrien admiring Nino and Alya’s relationship, and pining for one of his own, and reacts...

Leave Some Stones Unturned: Wayzz and Marinette investigate Master Fu’s studio, as Wayzz is aware of many secrets hidden away there in Fu’s absence. They find a pair of Kwamis who are not from the Chinese set, and whose concepts and personalities startle Marinette greatly... (Little Feat fans will appreciate this one.)

If you’ve reached this note, I thank you regardless of whether you’ve actually read my stuff or not. :)

I thought Season 3 had a lot of interesting components and a lot of very flawed execution, both in where it chose to take the characters and the usual nightmares involving episode ordering and character consistency. I sincerely hope that the hiatus before S4 will allow Team Astruc to present a more coherent and consistent approach in 2020.

Tumblr salt of You’re Not Writing The Story How I Want You To! and My Ship Must Sail NOW! will continue, obviously. That’s life. But Tumblr salt picking apart writing choices and characterization in what they actually put out there... that I can get behind. The Marinette Defense Squad remains vigilant. My hat is tipped to the many Tumblr folk who approach these episodes with a critical but supportive eye; recognizing what’s good, pointing out what’s not and wanting what emerges to be great.

Best wishes to all in the new year, particularly @brittsarts, my tireless artist friend still plugging away at the comic-ization of Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright and doing fantastic work at that as time and energy allow.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #fanfic #rambling #old man reviews where all his free time went

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lils-writes · 5 years ago

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“À Quoi Ça Sert L’Amour” - Ch. 7

First | < Previous | Chapter 7 | Next >

AO3

CHAPTER 7 - When Fear Strikes the Pure Hearted

Adrien’s head turned towards the door as a bell chimed. His eyes grew wide as he saw the woman come in, her eyes glued to her phone as she pushed back a strand of red hair behind her ear and rearranged her glasses. He couldn't do this. He felt sick to his stomach. And, with all the emotions buzzing through his stomach, his knees gave him, his body falling to the floor. It was a silent fall, not a sound as he pressed his back against the counter, pulling his knees to his chest. He could feel Marinette’s piercing blue eyes staring at him, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn't help but bury his face in his knees, hugging them as he trembled like a scared puppy. He couldn’t help but feel horribly sick.

“A coffee and a croissant, please.”

Adrien felt a shot of pain rush through his body. Instinctively, his hand caught Marinette’s leg, his long nimble fingers wrapping around her ankle. She had barely had time to take a step before standing still, most likely staring down at the boy. There was a beat of uncomfortable silence before the woman cleared her throat.

“I’m rather busy today, so if you can’t make my coffee, I’ll go somewhere else.”

“I’m sorry! I just got distracted for a second!”

With that, with the tension of the scene, Adrien let go of Marinette, letting her get back to her job. He had been here for only a few minutes and he had already failed her. He hadn’t even served one person that he already messed up. He deserved to be scolded. He deserved to be punished. He deserved to be punished for his incompetence. Adrien Agreste wasn’t meant to work with the public. Adrien Agreste was meant to the puppet of the public eye. Adrien Agreste was-

“Adrien?”’

The blond lifted his head to the soft voice next to him, his shaking calming a little. Marinette’s hand gripped his shoulder, her blue eyes big and worried as she crouched next to him. And for a moment, Adrien forgot why he was on the floor, why he had his knees pressed against his chest, why he was trying to make himself so small. He forgot why he had felt such tension in his muscles. He forgot why he had felt such an irrational, yet strong fear.

“Are you alright, Adrien?”

Slowly, Adrien nodded before letting his head rest against his knees again. His breath slowed and so did his heartbeat. Everything was getting back to normal. 1, 2, 3, 4, breath in, breath out. And repeat.

“Can I get you anything? Are you sure you’re okay?”

Finally, finally, Adrien felt he was gaining control over himself once again. Still, slowly, he lifted his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Finally, he found his voice.

“It’s okay. I’m okay now. Just, just a moment.” Adrien let his head and back lean against the back of the counter, taking another deep breath. “Everything will be okay. I just… I wasn’t feeling too good.”

“Did you have breakfast? Did you drink enough water? It’s hot out! Maybe it’s just-”

“Marinette, it’s okay. I’m okay. I just,” Adrien caught his bottom lip between his teeth, pausing for a moment. “I’m not used to talking to people. I got nervous. Usually, I’m all scripted, I pose, I never have to think for myself. I got nervous and panicked. I promise to do better next time.”

Marinette still fussed over him, her voice wavering as he pulled himself back onto his feet. However, she didn't have much time to dwell on his well being. It took a grand total of one minute before someone else came in to be greeted by Adrien’s smile and sweet voice. He would be getting the hang of this in no time.

______________________________________________________________

Adrien sighed as he let his body fall onto Nino’s worn in couch. He wondered how many hours his friend had spent on this couch, playing video games or scrolling mindlessly through his phone or talking to some friends. Perhaps he had even done some work on this couch, editing songs on his computer. Adrien wondered how it felt to have a normal life, without the ever growing expectations of his father’s business. He wondered how it felt like to be a normal kid, not a model, a pawn, a business tactic.

“Whatcha thinking about? It better be about the next cheese you’re buying me.”

Adrien glanced up to find Plagg carelessly floating around the apartment. He watched as the cat kwami hopped from one bookshelf to another, inspecting whatever little gadgets Nino had as decorations. Adrien couldn't help but giggle as Plagg put a triangular candle in his mouth before spitting it out.

“Plagg, you can’t eat those; they’re decorations.”

“Well I know that now,” the kwami deadpanned.

Calming his laughter, the boy patted his shoulder where the black cat came swooping to, happily nuzzling the spot as he got ear scratches.

“You’ll get a reasonably priced cheese selection tomorrow, I promise. I’ll go grocery shopping after work. I should have enough money to treat you.”

Plagg purred against Adrien, his soft rumbling calming the boy. The thought of his job worked him up, finally recalling the horrors of the morning. The rest of the day had been just fine, nothing to worry about, but that morning as she walked in, it was horrible. It made his stomach twist in a way it rarely did and he didn't like it. He didn't like how it made his breath hitch, his head spin, his heart thump. He didn't like the fear that paralyzed him.

“We’re going to have to go home soon, Plagg.”

Adrien’s voice seemed strained as Plagg lifted his head, his big green cat eyes staring right at the boy. Adrien had paled as the words fell out of his mouth like a cursed poison. He seemed numb, gone.

“Father will want me back soon; we’ll have to go back to the mansion. We- I will have to go back home, to my normal life.”

With every word, Adrien’s eyes lost their life, their spark, their excitement. But what truly got Plagg was the way he said ‘Father’, as if he was seeing Gabriel as his father once again. No, as his owner.

“Why? Why would you go back to the prison you want to call home?” Plagg hissed, his little paws gripping at Adrien’s shirt. “You think I didn't notice today? You think I missed the way you crumbled as Nathalie came in? We’ve been gone for a day and I have rarely seen this much vigor in you. I only see you this happy when you’re Chat Noir. When you’re-” Plagg’s voice faltered, “when you’re free.”

“Tomorrow, I’m going back.”

“How can I change your mind? How can I keep you here? Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted? A normal life? Haven’t you always dreamed of being on your own? Adrien, this is your chance! You can go out whenever you want! You won’t have to worry constantly about being caught! No one is out that door, guarding you constantly. You’re a man now! This is a once in a lifetime chance! This is your moment! This is the moment you become Adrien. This is the moment you stop being a pawn to the Agreste company! This is the moment you-!”

“I don’t want to lose my father like I lost my mother.”

“You’ve already lost him years ago!”

A thick silence filled the apartment, a silence more deafening than a thousand explosions. Plagg held a paw over his mouth as he stared at his chosen. All color drained from Adrien’s face; he stared blankly ahead of him in Plagg’s general direction. His bright spring green eyes lost all their expression. The boy was nothing more than an empty shell of a human. He was nothing more than his body. Even the power outage that hit the apartment didn’t affect him; nothing got him to move from the couch in which he sank in, drowning, losing himself.

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siderealscribblings · 6 years ago

Note

1/2 Dude, I love your story a lot, but I seriously think you're shooting yourself in the foot by trying to make people wish Adrigimi was endgame. All you're doing is undermining the plot and emotional investment in your story. The hostile backlash to Marinette you've complained about a while back is directly related to you using all your time on building up Adrigimi instead of giving Adrienette redeeming moments. You've given us ZERO scenes of properly showing loving moments between

her and Adrien. Snark and leaning on the canon you’re in the process of dismantling is not a substitute for a relationship. So much of Marinette’s fall from grace hinges on Marinette’s love for Adrien and you’ve utterly failed in showing us that love because you were building up the Adrigimi love instead. I’m sorry for being so blunt, I adore the plot of T&C and can’t wait to see where you’re going with it,,but in this regard, Mari’s character really suffered just so you could build up Kagami’s.

1) I was mostly joking about making people wish Adrigami was canon.

2) I take issue with the fact that you say there’s been NO loving moments between Marinette and Adrien (the graduation talk, the modelling scene, the cafe date, their first date, their second date, the bakery scene, Adrien comforting Marinette after her first fight with Chat). This is a plot-driven story and not a romance driven story; romance in this story is a side-plot to drive the drama, not the plot in itself. I’m not going to spend scene after scene lingering on cute Adrinette moments because I have a lot of world to build. There are plenty of shipping stories (many by me) that linger on nothing but that and I wanted to do something a little different.

3) I have deliberately kept Love Square fluff to a minimum here. Adrinette’s relationship is strained because of Ladynoir’s fight. Marinette gets the guy she wants, but can’t fully enjoy it because she chose him over her partner. Likewise, Adrien has to detach from his relationship with Marinette (to the point where people assume infidelity) because he’s at odds with Ladybug.

The point I was trying to make is that one side of the Love Square cannot be canon without a reveal because of the fact that they’re lying to one another (even for the best of intentions). They are keeping a huge portion of their lives secret from one another and at some point, that’s going to take its toll. They get together, but they don’t get to be totally happy, and the lack of serious Adrinette moments is meant to underscore that.

4) Marinette has dozens and dozens of canon episodes to build a fully realized character; Kagami does not. I need to compensate for that in my fic if I want her to be a fully fleshed character that has weight in the story going forward. Kagami (and to a lesser degree, Luka) have to play catch-up while Marinette has years of canon to build off of. Kagami needs more development than Marinette at this point because she’s still pretty poorly fleshed out in the show.

5) This chapter is not a Marinette-centric story. There are a lot of Marinette-centric stories (many by me) but much fewer that give Adrien a chance to develop. Marinette will be the central focus of the second chapter of this plot, but this is Adrien’s tale; Adrien’s ascendency to become the superhero he was always supposed to be. Alya, Nino, Chloe and Kagami are part of that rise, while Marinette is falling along the same path that Gabriel is going down.

6) If deeply platonic moments between Adrien and Kagami are enough to “undermine your investment” in this plot, then I’m sorry to say but I’m not gonna back off. I love Adrigami, and even though they’re not going to be romantically involved, they will always love each other. Adrien has zero other meaningful relationships in the show (remind me the last time he and Nino hung out on screen together?) while Marinette is surrounded by friends, well-wishers, and admirers. Adrien needs a support system that doesn’t revolve around Ladybug or Marinette (just like Marinette has a support system that doesn’t revolve around Adrien or Chat)

In conclusion, I haven’t “utterly failed” at anything; I have successfully achieved everything I want to do with this story and I’m still having a blast doing it. I have a plan for this that goes beyond this first part and Kagami’s involvement needs to be the way it is for this to work. If that’s too much of a dealbreaker for you, thanks for playing, grab your giftbag on the way out. This story might not be for you, but it is for me.

#t&c #writeblogging #long post is long

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hari-writes · 7 years ago

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Three Sides to the Story - Chapter 7

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Pairings: Adrien/Marinette Marinette/Chat Noir Summary: It’s been almost three years since Adrien Agreste walked out of Marinette’s life. An accidental meeting at a party starts a course of events that will either drive them together or further apart. Meanwhile, Plagg and Tikki have had enough of their holders’ indecision and obliviousness.

Read on A03

16th March

Adrien’s good mood didn’t last over the following days. In spite of feeling like he was walking on air after his brief chat with Ladybug and the calm he always felt after spending time with Marinette, the past few days felt like they had been designed to destroy all traces of his smile. Now, the first of three days of modelling for his father’s internship competition had arrived and neither of the first two candidates was his Princess.

Each candidate had to fit their outfit to Adrien, then had thirty minutes to make any adjustments necessary to make the items ready for the photoshoot. They then had to style the whole look from a large selection of hats, scarves and jewellery. Next, while Adrien and Vincent completed the shoot, Gabriel would interview the candidates on their designs. From where he stood under hot lights, Adrien could hear everything they said.

The first tuxedo he modelled was very classic and well made, but it didn’t feel very inspired. The design student was very self-assured while talking to Gabriel and was able to justify his design choices. Adrien knew that this would impress his father - he respected people with conviction - in spite of how cautious the final piece was. As much as his heart wasn’t in modelling anymore, Adrien enjoyed his morning.

A second fitting in the afternoon meant he ate a meagre lunch. A text from Nino to cancel their planned meet-up that night due to a last-minute DJing gig was a further disappointment. From there, it went from bad to worse.

The second candidate’s design was far more avant-garde and his outfit was possibly the most uncomfortable thing he’d ever worn. It fit badly and the material was hot and it made his skin itch. The guy then chose to style it with so many accessories that Adrien was afraid to move in case one of the many pieces of costume jewellery caught on the open-weave trousers. The choice of colours was a cacophony of clashing tones and Vincent took an age to adjust the lighting so he could get acceptable shots. Every moment in the suit was torture.

The guy’s interview seemed to be going well, though. He was confidently explaining the reasoning behind his design and Gabriel was responding positively to him. To Adrien, it sounded incredibly pretentious and he instantly disliked this contestant.

His character judgement was vindicated when the makeup assistant accidentally scattered a little translucent powder on the collar of the jacket while she was mattifying Adrien’s increasingly sweaty face.

“You stupid girl!” Candidate number 2 shouted, “how dare you defile my work.”

“Ok, take it easy.” Adrien stepped between the angry student and the red-faced makeup assistant. “It was an accident and it’s just powder, it’ll dust off. Nothing is ruined.”

“Listen, model,” he spat, “your job is to display my work, nobody asked for your opinion. You’re just an overpaid mannequin.”

Gabriel rose from his seat now. Adrien caught his eye and tried to communicate that he had this under control. He really didn’t want Hawkmoth getting wind of this situation and his father had a habit of stirring up negative emotions in even the most zen people.

“You’re right.” Adrien dropped his voice, attempting to diffuse the situation. “My opinion doesn’t count here, but the guy whose opinion dictates whether you get this internship is right over there and I know you don’t want to make a bad impression by squaring up to his son… So, can we all move past it and finish the shoot?”

One insincere mumbled apology to the makeup assistant later, the guy was back in his seat, talking to Gabriel Agreste like nothing had happened. His father looked almost impressed with the way Adrien had handled himself. However, Gabriel held ancillary staff like makeup artists in low regard so the whole scene in all likelihood didn’t bother him

Adrien was still shaking. How dare someone be so rude? It was lucky that Hawkmoth was evidently Out of Office right now or he’d have had a tough job excusing himself from under his father’s nose.

Finally, back in his own clothes, Adrien washed the makeup off his face and restyled his hair. By the time he reached the reception area of the photography studio they were renting in Montmartre for the week, his father was gone. The receptionist caught his eye and, after verifying his name, handed him a note.

Nathalie’s hurried handwriting simply read, Gabriel is leaving for Grasse tonight in preparation for tomorrow’s meeting. Make sure you are home by curfew. Back tomorrow PM. N.

He shouldn’t have expected anything different, shouldn’t be disappointed, but he was. Adrien thought his father might have at least waited to say goodbye in person. What more did Gabriel want? Adrien played the dutiful son, followed his rules and waited expectantly for the day his father showed him love or respect. Why did he torture himself like this?

»»————-————-««

17th March... just

“Princess!!! Are you awake?”

Shouting like an alley cat at 1 in the morning?! I’m going to kill him and have his damn bell as a trophy...

Marinette did not enjoy being woken up from a deep sleep, even less so when the one waking her was perfectly able to use more stealth. There was something odd about his voice, though…

“Are you trying to wake the entire neighbourhood, Chaton- oh!” When she threw the window open. she wasn’t expecting to see... “Adrien?! What the hell are you doing here? How do you know where I live?”

The blonde-haired boy stepped back to get a better view of her window and promptly fell off the pavement. He sprang back to his feet with impressively cat-like agility for someone so obviously hammered.

“Whoa. Are you ok? I think this street is wobbly.” He slurred.

“You can’t leave him out there, Marinette,” Tikki said, “he’s in no state to find his own way home from here.”

With an exasperated sigh, Marinette grabbed her robe and went down to the street to rescue a drunken Adrien before one of her neighbours tried to shut him up in a less charitable way. He was sprawled against a parked car when she threw open her front door. It was a miracle that he hadn’t set off a car alarm.

“Come inside, you idiot.” She gasped. “It’s freezing out here.”

She darted out the building just enough to grab his arm and pull him into the lobby. Once inside, he leaned against the wall, looking like he might slide down it at any minute. Sighing, she pulled his arm around her shoulders and heaved him up the stairs to her flat. Luka stuck his head out his own bedroom door as she passed. He gave her a ‘should I be concerned?’ look and she shook her head and smiled reassuringly before opening her own bedroom door and pushing Adrien through it. He made a beeline for her desk chair and slumped in it.

“Make yourself at home.” She said, her voice dripped with sarcasm, even though she knew he wouldn’t notice. He was acting like he’d been there a hundred times before. Considering she never told him she’d even moved out her parents’ home, it was disconcerting. “Sit tight, I’m going to make coffee.”

As she filled the coffee maker with water, her mind was racing. Tikki was equally confused.

“Why is he here, Marinette? And what could possibly have driven him to get so drunk? It’s not like him. Where is his bodyguard? What will his father say?” The red and black kwami asked.

“I can’t answer any of those questions, Tikki,” Marinette whispered. “I can’t imagine his father knows he’s here. I hope he wasn’t caught by any paparazzi.”

“Same here.” Tikki agreed, “I can try to- well, let me see what I can think of while you tend to Adrien.”

“Thanks, Tikki.”

Marinette reached into the cupboard for the Good Coffee, the stuff she usually reserved for exam revision and all night sewing sessions. She guessed it should be strong enough to at least start sobering up Adrien. While she was waiting for the water to heat and drip through the grounds, Tikki suggested she take a few cookies back and Marinette popped a chunk of Camembert on the plate, too. When she and Adrien were together, Tikki always asked for the cheese when Adrien was around so Marinette got into the routine of always adding a piece to their snack plate. Old habits were like muscle-memory and she didn’t think about what she was doing until it was done.

Marinette had to open her door with her knee then back somewhat inelegantly into the room so as not to drop the overfilled tray. She set it down on a clear space on her desk before scuttling around the room, picking up stray sketchbooks and fabric swatches and setting them in a pile next to her now empty dress form. After Cat Noir’s help the other night, she had completed her contest outfit and it was safely zipped up in a suit carrier at her parents’ place. The final assessment for her course was now weighing on her mind and she’d been trying to create a mood-board for the collection before tiredness postponed the activity.

She poured two mugs of coffee, adding milk to both and perched on the end of her bed with her hands wrapped around the mug. She scrutinised the boy in front of her as he swayed in her seat.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked.

“Did you know there’s an Irish pub down the street?” He slurred “It’s great craic. There are so many different whiskeys, I didn’t know that. DId you know that?”

At least that partially explained what he was doing here, her flat was nearby. However, there were at least 4 Irish pubs between his house and hers so she still had questions. Firstly, why was he drinking alone? She had never known him to be drunk and she was sure Gabriel forbade it.

“Anyway,” he continued, “I realised I left my phone in the limo, but I couldn’t remember where I was meant to meet Gorilla.”

“Shit, Adrien. Your dad must be going mental.” Marinette said.

“Oh, no, he’s out of town tonight. He’s meeting his perfumiers in Grasse tomorrow morning.” Adrien laughed bitterly. “He mustn’t disappoint his suppliers, you know, only his son.”

“Still. I’m going to text Gorilla and let him know you’re safe.” She picked her phone up off her bedspread and started scrolling through the contacts. It was funny, she’d long deleted Adrien’s number, but she couldn’t bring herself to remove his bodyguard’s from her phone. She found the number and fired off a quick message to assure Gorilla that Adrien was safe and best sleeping off the effects of the alcohol before he came to collect him. He replied to thank her for looking after his charge.

“Ok, they’ve called off the search party.” She said as she placed her phone on the desk “Now, are you going to tell me what going on with you? You’ve never been drunk before.”

“How would you know?” Adrien’s eyes narrowed, “A lot had changed since we last spoke.”

“Touch é .” She conceded and sipped her coffee. She figured that if she could let the silence hang long enough, he’d be compelled to talk. She took a cookie from the already cheeseless plate and silently offered Adrien one. He took it and concentrated on the surface of the snack, avoiding her gaze.

Eventually, he spoke.

“Why does my father hate me?” He asked and silent tears fell down his face.

Marinette drew him into a tight hug. She wanted to tell him that Gabriel did love him, that he was just hurt and broken and unable to communicate his love right now. She wanted to hold him until he stopped hurting, but she knew that there was only one person’s word, one person’s embrace that could help Adrien, and he wasn’t known for acts of affection.

Suddenly, he pulled away from her arms and looked at her with a panicked expression. The colour drained from his face until his complexion had a greyish tinge.

“Adrien? Do you feel sick?” Marinette asked.

By way of answer, Adrien lurched forward as Marinette grabbed the wastepaper basket with reflexes borne of seven years of superheroing, tipped out its contents and shoved it under his face. As he wretched into the hot pink bin, she was thankful she opted for the plastic version and not that cute wicker one with the flowers on it. There was nothing else she could do, but rub his back and wait for the heaving to subside.

“How much did you drink, Adrien?” she asked, not expecting an answer.

»»————-————-««

He woke up in a bed that wasn’t his own, head pounding, throat raw and mouth dry. He wanted to sit up and check out his surroundings but the duvet over him felt like it weighed several tonnes. The room was unfamiliar, yet comforting at the same time. He’d been here before, but he couldn’t place it, his memories were too foggy. Forcing his body into an upright position (he was sure the room was swaying) he finally realised he was in Marinette’s bedroom. How did I get here?

“So, you’re awake, idiot boy?” Plagg was more irritable than usual this morning. “You are so STUPID. What if there was an akuma last night? What if you ran into more paparazzi? Your father would never let you out of his sight again. You could have waved goodbye to being Cat Noir, and for what?”

“Sorry.” Adrien managed to croak.

“And why did you come here of all places?! You’ve only been here as Cat Noir before, how are you going to explain knowing the address?” Adrien tried to speak, but Plagg was far from finished. “I’m all for letting lose - you’re far too uptight most of the time - but you were reckless last night.”

The bedroom door opened with a click, saving Adrien from Plagg’s diatribe. Marinette brought a steaming mug to him, her expression was concern and amusement.

“He lives.” She said with a chuckle. “Here, it’s sweet tea. You need to replace fluids. I’ll bring you some water too.” Adrien just nodded.

“How are you feeling?” She asked.

“Mortified. I don’t even know how I got here, I’m so sorry.” He bowed his head.

“I’ll fill you in on everything you did and said, I promise. Let’s just wait until you’re feeling less fragile, though.” She said. The words were achingly familiar.

Silence hung between them

“Every day. In case you were wondering.”

“I don’t…” Marinette started.

“ I r egret walking out on you, every day.” He said.

“Adrien, you don’t have to say that.” She didn’t want to dredge up painful memories.

“I do. Have to say it, I mean. Because it’s true.” Adrien stumbled over his words and Marinette was reminded of herself in school, struggling to get a coherent sentence out in front of her crush. “I regret the way I spoke to you, what I said and I especially regret walking away from you. Can you ever forgive me?”

“I already have.” She said. “I could never bear a grudge, particularly against you.”

“You’re amazing Marinette.”

“I think you’re still pissed, Adrien.”

»»————-————-««

On a shelf, high above their heads, two kwamis groaned and shook their heads.

“You were rather tough on him this morning, Plagg,” the red and black bug said.

“I’m still mad at him for taking you away from me.” Plagg huffed.

“I get that and I’m mad too, but giving Adrien a hard time isn’t going to change that.” Tikki reasoned, “We’ve got a chance to get them back together now, let’s use the opportunity to put them in each other’s paths as much as possible.”

“I say we pop out and frighten them. Force them to work this out.” Plagg whispered.

“I’m closer to agreeing with you than you’d believe, Plagg. These are our most infuriating charges yet.” Tikki concurred.

#ml fic #ml fanfic #my fiction #My fic #my writing #marinette x adrien #adrienette #tikki and plagg #a03 fic

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3laxx · 7 years ago

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⭐

⭐- What’s a scene/paragraph you’re proud of?

I suppose you meant that to be a question for Breeze? :D

And ooooooh so many! But the three I can just remember spontaneously are these:

1. The worst misunderstanding - Chapter 1“Alya-… Do you-… Do you pity me?”The brunette had stopped dead in tracks, a light breeze playing with her hair as she turned to see her best friend’s cheeks wet. She had bitten on her lip and stepped forward to embrace Marinette.“Of course. Chloé’s trying to turn your life into a living hell, so who does not?”Marinette had pushed Alya away, shaking her head to not see her friend’s irritated face.“So she was right! You’re only my friend because you pity me-… How we actually met, it was because of Chloé picking at me again.”“Marinette, wait, that’s not what I’m saying-”

2. Marinette stirring up new hope - Chapter 31“And-…”, he hesitatingly asked, “How do you feel now? About your burden, about your… ‘solution’, as you called it?”She smiled.“Let’s just say, I have another plan now. I realized I have people by my side who still value me, so I have to bring back Ladybug.”, she met his gaze confidently and smirked as she saw the big question mark in his expression, “It’s easy. I just need a chance to talk to Chat Noir and then – well, okay, hopefully – Ladybug will be back. She may not be the same as before, but she will be twice as powerful and Hawkmoth will experience that when she lays her hands on him for making all of Paris feel that awful for months. And he will be rather sorry.”

3. Marinette proves to be a real hero - Chapter 51 “Lucky Charm!!”A knife fell into her hands and she immediately knew what to do with this one. No uncertainty, no unnecessary thoughts. He was right before her and he was afraid. She had the chance to make him pay now.It would be so easy to let the knife come down and slit his throat. It would be so easy to let it sink into his chest and watch the life draining out of his eyes. It would be so satisfying to have him die in front of her.“Nino, please-… Please come back to me! Don’t-… Don’t leave me, c’mon-…!”She heard the sobs of her best friend echoing through the room. Her voice cut through Ladybug’s adrenaline rush and made her hesitate. Her hand with the knife in it sunk a bit, losing all exertion.Hawkmoth grinned and pushed his sword into his cane, gathering his butterflies around him. A cloud of white butterflies rushed past her, creating a rustling breeze, towards the window.And with a quiet laughter, he was gone.

Btw there’s so much more connected to the last scene but nobody can understand yet because it’s too subtle ;P

#miraculous ladybug #fanfic #ask meme #writer ask meme #breeze #freckles speaks #hhhhhhhhhh the memories

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thelastpilot · 6 years ago

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Knighted- Chapter 7

Oh snap. IT’S HERE

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Now ill admit while the later scenes were fun as heck to write i had to cross a lot of time in the beginning so its a lot of telling but its gets better, i just need to set up a thing and then i can do all the fun parts. For those of you who havent read it, its a Royalty AU. Aw yeah

Enjoy!

Nino’s job, when all was said and done, was exactly as he had defined it to be before.

His job was to be dangerous and stand in front of a door, and oh man was he standing in front of one right that very moment.

An important door. Nothing more important than important doors and deciding who was important enough to enter important doors, now that was important. Now surely he wasn’t remotely important enough for this particular door but he sure was allowed to be watching it, and he was currently, right that second, watching the hell out of that door.

God damn he was so bored…

Nino shifted in place, repressing a sigh and trying not to resent the elegant stone hallway he waited in. He was very close to the center of the castle so the architecture was at its finest, the hall he was helping to watch was literally attached to the throne room so it was about as deep into the castle as one could get. Normally he’d be excited about this since it was clearly something big, but when he had made his way to his post he became aware of just how many guards had been called. The hall was very large and had a good amount of entrances, but even for all those entry points the number of guards had seemed large to him. Essentially his entire unit was present, so he was a little chagrined to realize the assignment was nothing special.

Still though, it was a little odd. It spoke to the sheer volume of important people who had been called to this meeting, and part of him fought off a vague sense of unease.

When they had first stood by and allowed entrance, he had watched noble after noble pass through, whispering hurriedly and wondering why they had been summoned, a few looking stoic and calm as if they already knew.

Again he wished he had been stationed inside instead of out here, and he suppressed another sigh. Eavesdropping was one of the perks of the job to be honest, he might not get to make any decisions but at least he got to listen to some of them. Unfortunately, fancy people were usually careful about exactly where their guards were, so even when they paced the hallways and passed him by at his various posts he only caught bits and pieces, never enough to interest him.

It was drilled into the royal guards repeatedly that doing anything with any information you might happen to overhear was treason, and of course Nino had no genuine intentions behind knowing anything, but it was human to wonder. Something to think about other than doors at least.

It had been a little less than two weeks since his escort mission with the princesses, and though he had really tried his best not to expect anything fun he was dying for something interesting again. He had been pushed back to door duty like he had expected once he returned, getting congratulated by his Captain for seeming like he did a pretty good job but not giving him anything better really. He was off the guest rooms at least and had a little more variety than normal, but it was usually doors. Patrol once! But mostly doors.

It wasn’t all dull and he still felt a lot of pride in his job, but he kept reflecting on that huge pinnacle of pride he had felt marching through the gates, bearing his seal and standing tall above the others, even just for a second. He was back to his normal armor and his normal places but he had a taste for it now and he was looking desperately for more opportunities to prove himself. Still though, he had been lucky for even that one shot, he had a feeling he was going to have to be patient.

He had seen the Princess twice since then, though she hadn’t seen him. They weren’t always required to wear their helmets inside the castle since it mostly just served to restrict vision, but one of the times she had passed him he had been forced to be wearing it. Some fancy someone had been visiting and seeing guards at the entrance with all the bits and pieces was impressive, he guessed, made them all look more uniform, but it meant that she had missed him. Not like she should have been looking for him, or like she might have even noticed but still, he had been essentially invisible in a line of identical copies as she went out with her father to greet whoever it was. Earl of whatever, he hadn’t really been paying attention.

The second time he hadn’t been wearing a helmet, or any of his armor actually, and she had missed him again. He had no chance of standing out that time, not like she did, and her gaze had passed right over him.

He had been in town in plain clothes for his own purposes, enjoying some time off and spending a little money he wasn’t used to having yet. He had just bought a toy for his little brother he thought he might like and had been heading back to the castle to either send it or store it until he might see him again, when he got caught up in a large crowd around the castle gate. It didn’t take long to figure that she had caused the disturbance, people of the kingdom calling out to their princess as she made a brief appearance of some kind. She was swarmed with guards obviously and far from the people she waved to, but he thought that she must still enjoy it. He imagined it must be pretty nice to have people crowd to you and call out to you adoringly, but as her eyes passed over him and cast out over all of the people who stood there he thought, maybe not. She stood tall and beautiful and separated, unable to pick out any of the faces or know their names.

There were parts to both sides, he supposed.

He had seen the twins only once, and they had actually been close enough to notice him. They were together, like always, walking obediently behind a pair of handmaidens taking them off for some lesson somewhere. He had been guarding a boring door during a boring day and was actually starting to space out a little when he turned at the sound of someone approaching, waking up instantly to see the two little girls.

It felt kind of silly, but he wanted them to notice him, sad when he saw how quiet and orderly they appeared. They were just children, but not here he guessed, not when their backs were pulled up and straight by the draw of the castle.

They were perfectly practiced, and as they started to pass by him he knew he didn’t have much time to do anything, or even really have the opportunity to. However right as they were walking by, the senior guard he was paired with straightened to attention and gave a formal salute in acknowledgment. Nino quickly copied him, thrilled when Etta looked up at the movement and looked over them both. As soon as her eyes landed on him he gave her his warmest and friendliest smile, and a little nod of his head for good measure.

He couldn’t deny the warmth that shot through him when she recognized him, her face lighting up and smiling back instantly. She waved at him and he risked a little wave too, and another for Ella when her sister got her attention. They only had a brief moment, unable to stop or slow but they told him good morning and said his name, and he said good morning as well. They looked over their shoulders for awhile once they passed him, glancing back a few times more as they walked the long hallway. They whispered to each other and smiled at a memory, hopping a little as they went. And suddenly they were children again.

He smiled thinking about it, trying to focus on his appointed stone hallway but distracting himself. It had made him wonder at what Alya might have done if she had seen him, that she might smile at the memory too. Her teasing goodnight hung in his mind and he shifted his weight again, aware of the fact that she was somewhere inside.

It must be really important then, this meeting. The King and Queen were both in attendance, as well as the entirety of the council and their board of advisers. Alya had entered with her parents from another entrance, he had just heard of them being there from the less important important people who came through his door. He couldn’t imagine the twins being allowed though, not if it was something tense or gruesome.

Nino turned at a sound, any change at all enough to catch his attention when his post was so monotonous. He saw the guard appointed on the other side turn as well, both of them aware suddenly of a distant shouting from inside. Nino barely had time to shoot the other guard a look before a whole rabble of voices picked up in response, a whole crowd of people abruptly trying to be heard. There was a loud booming voice above all others, and then suddenly there was quiet, the room returning to its state of discussion in an instant and he knew that this must be the king.

The other guard raised an eyebrow, making a slight face of ‘yeesh’ before leaning back, both of them returning to their stance but still straining to listen.

It was completely impossible to hear any words, not even when a single voice shouted out in disgust, but the tone none the less worried him. He tried to just mind his business, but his thoughts turned to Adrien. He was definitely inside as well and he wondered if he would tell him if he asked… probably not though. Not like it was any worry of his.

He had managed to see Adrien once so far, and it had been honestly incredible. He had stolen a moment of his time during the night, going to his room after his last shift had ended. He had been in his room alone like he said he would be and seemed ecstatic to see him though he tried to hide it at first. He was quick to give some half-assed pretense to his own guard who was stationed outside and rushed him in, and the moment they were clear he dropped all formality like he did whenever they were alone.

He had clasped him warmly on the shoulder and ran off to grab him a drink, surprising him with his eagerness as they found a moment to just be people, like Adrien sought so desperately. It was a little difficult at first, but again Adrien’s genuine nature always got the better of him. It never took long for him to forget that they were from utterly different places, even as they discussed their differences. They talked about farming and castles and cities and people. They discussed home and harvests and horses and wine, and they talked about fighting too. Nino was unsurprised to learn that Adrien had extensive training as a swordsman, having briefly saw his skill first hand when they had met in the woods what seemed like years ago now though it was only in reality a handful of months.

It had been forced to be brief, but it felt important, and good. It was nice that from the very beginning he had someone who was wholly on his side.

Now though Adrien was alone with whatever was burdening the state, but there was nothing he could do for that. He could listen but he doubted Adrien would speak, and suddenly he hated that he could give so little to him in return. Nearly nothing, except maybe friendship… from time to time.

They were all so far from him. And he was as close as he figured he would ever be. Closer than a farmhand at least, but more distant that a friend.

He could only be so much.

… but that wasn’t that sort of the point of all this?

Nino frowned to himself as he stared out at nothing, only servants in sight as they waited to enter since the meeting was surely drawing to a close. He tightened his grip on his spear and grappled with himself, wondering again just how many rules he was daring to break here. Even his place at this damn door was a risk as far as societal norms were concerned, though for the most part that scandal had simmered down. Still, he should just be happy. And he was! He was grateful, but time and again he found himself wanting more, and wanting to do more and be more. He wanted to be a friend to a lonely prince, and he had already done a lot to be things he shouldn’t so why not? Isn’t that why he had snuck off to see him in the first place?

Ugh.

He was going to get hanged one day.

Nino snapped out of his grumbling commentary at the approach of a murmur, a budding sound building up inside the hall. The other guard he was with turned to face him and Nino mirrored him quickly, preparing to stand by as the nobles cleared the room.

The doors were opened by another luckier pair of guards from inside, both of them a higher rank than he or his companion. Promotions came with the cooler gossip, he supposed.

All four guards stood by in their various positions as people much wealthier than him filed out, and suddenly his perfectly memorized boring stone hallway was crowded with men. Some were old, a few were young, and all of them seemed…

Nino looked around, trying to keep the movement subtle so as not to stick out, but slowly scanning the faces he saw, noting how all of them appeared… unsettled. They all seemed keen to whisper but kept it tucked inside, waiting for another moment alone to discuss things too important for unimportant people to overhear.

Nino refocused as more disconcerted council members shuffled past him, all of them without exception engrossed in thought or some raging emotion they were keeping to themselves. Though the crowd was thick it was eerily devoid of talking, and Nino felt unease crawl beneath his armor.

Another man shifted in discomfort, though the burden he bore on his shoulders was not weighted in chain mail. Instead it was sagged with the mantle he carried, and his neck ached with the ghost of a crown he could not forget.

The Good King sighed, allowing himself a slight expression of frustration, if nothing more. He reached up a weary hand and held his face for a moment, looking at nothing and thinking of everything.

“Why do I feel like the more people who talk the less anything happens…” he heard his daughter mutter nearby, definitely intended for him to overhear and a much deeper sigh built in his chest before his queen spoke for him.

“The voices of the council matter Alya-,”

“Of course they do, the council I have no problem with. It’s the ten men speaking for one opinion each that takes up so much time,” Otis looked up in time to see his daughter sat with her back straight defiantly, matching her mother’s gaze. “How many times do we have to listen to these people repeat themselves? We have said nothing new!”

“Alya!”

“The entire meeting! That entire meeting was three things said five hours ago and a hundred iterations on each!”

“That’s enough,” Otis spoke pointedly, and though Alya’s mouth was open she hesitated, and slowly closed it.

He watched her for awhile more, Marlena looking between them both before standing. She silently fixed her deep purple gown and stepped away, leaving the King with his daughter alone for a moment, the hall deserted except for a few trusted guards.

Otis watched her carefully and was unsure of how he felt about the way that Alya challenged him, refusing to look away even if she remained silent like he had ordered. Defiant in what ways she could be, and he couldn’t decide if he was proud of that or not.

“I understand your frustration Alya,” he said after a while, the first to look away as he usually was between them. “I was always the same, and clearly in some ways I still am. It’s frustrating to go through these paces, but even if the people echo each other we have to listen to each. All of them deserve a chance to speak, and we can not proceed until we have heard them.”

“I know that…” she said slowly, her understanding at war with her impatience, and he understood that too.

“Then exercise it. It is necessary now, soon we won’t have the time to be patient. We must listen while we can listen.”

The lull in conversation was thick with energy, and Otis was bracing himself for whatever Alya had brimming up from beneath the surface of her obedience, when the sound of a heavy door swinging open distracted them both and suddenly he had two incoming targets.

The connecting entrance to the throne room had been opened wide, allowing two little princesses to barrel inside from where they had been playing together with their handmaidens. They stormed by their mother who had gone to let them in, bringing a sudden and desperately needed warmth to the grim hall they wallowed in.

Ella ran forward to climb into her father’s lap, her sister doing the same to Alya who seemed to accept that for now at least her time to argue had been lost. Otis was sure he had not heard the last of her opinions, but by his own advice he knew it was important to hear her too. Just hopefully when she was prepared to be a little more constructive.

Otis lifted up one of his youngest and allowed himself to be distracted by relief, glad to have his family here with him. He had more discussions on this matter to endure, but for now he could just indulge the babble of his twins, preferring this din to the one that had previously dominated the hall. He gently wrangled a wayward lock of his daughter’s hair back into place as she spoke, ignoring her probing questions about the meeting and asking her instead about her games.

The twins took the bait easily, dropping the subject of their failed eavesdropping without much persuading. Alya was still ruminating quietly but did not shrug off her mother’s gentle hand when she came up behind her.

It took Marlena a little effort, seeing as Otis was happy to remain where he was, but after a few gentle pushes she managed to get both Alya and Otis to their feet, the two of them carrying a twin each as she gently guided them to their rooms for some genuine alone time. She did not have much more time to see her husband before he was called away for more arguing, and she wasn’t willing to lose this moment just yet.

Their group moved together towards the side entrance, choosing the most direct path to their rooms instead of the way they had come and allowing their guards to converge and trail behind them, more up ahead standing to the side to allow them to pass. They passed over the cold stone floor and yearned for the warm sunlight their sheltered walk back would give them, and would have been content in their family’s quiet moment had an eager little nine-year-old not suddenly shouted,

“Hello Nino!”

The King looked down at his daughter in his arms with confusion, following her distraction and about to remind her to be polite when he spotted the guard she was practically falling out of his arms to wave at, and the poor guy looked like he was going to fry.

Nino was stood less than five feet away from the entire royal family, having been taken by surprise because he was kind of spacing out, but standing at electrified attention when he realized that the King and Queen would be passing through his watch. He had already been on full alert, straightening himself to stand as tall and firm as he could to look as impressive as the guards around who outranked him. He hated that he had done nothing to fix his appearance and resented that he was not dressed in full armor, having not anticipated their proximity at all. But this?

This was way, way worse.

Nino was stood ramrod straight as Ella excitedly greeted him, Etta now leaning over as well and calling to him too. From behind the great stature of the King he was aware of Alya sliding into view, noting him with a smile that quickly evolved into a smirk as soon as she saw how caught out he looked.

There was a moment where he did nothing, the King and now Queen fully regarding him where he stood, all of them looking at him while he just totally stood there, frozen.

It was the slight hesitation in Ella’s wave that broke him out of it, his heart torn between refusing to move and saying something back, cause was he supposed to?? The rule was speak when spoken to wasn’t it? So-…

“H-hello Your Highness,” he answered quickly, Ella’s face lighting up when he acknowledged her. He tore his eyes away from the powerful presence of the King and smiled as best as he was capable. He gave another to Etta, too scared to risk a wave but bowed instead, sparing another ‘Your Highness’. He thought he might be allowed to lapse into silence, but then Alya spoke up suddenly as well, clearly expecting her own.

“Hello Nino,” she greeted him, smiling as he bowed but only because he seemed so uncomfortable, not for any desire for formality.

“Hello Your Highness,” he said again, getting hung up on a ‘Nice to see you again’ or anything else and deciding to say nothing more. It took everything he had not to squirm, the Queen assessing him and asking her oldest present,

“Do you know this guard?”

They were all still stood in the doorway, the other guards getting tense at the proximity as well and Nino could see them shooting each other glances behind Alya’s back, probably wondering what was happening just like he was.

“Yes Mother,” Alya supplied happily, her smile audible in her voice. “Do you remember our trip out into the field a few weeks ago? Nino was assigned as our personal escort, he made quite an impression.” Alya then stage whispered without really trying to hide anything, saying so that even he could hear, “Do you remember that bunny story the twins were telling?”

“Bunny story?” The King echoed aloud, and Nino thought he might collapse on the spot. To his absolutely profound relief however the Queen did not acknowledge her husbands questioning look, instead turning towards Nino with recognition.

“Oh yes! My daughters spoke of you, the guard who came from the territories. My husband mentioned you as well, I had wondered how you’ve been doing. It is nice to finally meet you.”

Nino wasn’t sure what he looked like in the moment, looking into the Queen’s face and affronted with a powerful intimidation but also… admiration. The Queen was lovely and powerful, looking him in the eye and not shying away. She looked every bit like her children, but also holding a grace that they did not yet have, an elegant purple and gold dress cascading around her and trailing slightly on the stone floor.

The Queen’s gaze was an intense and unwavering as her daughter’s, and though he was taller than her he felt infinitely small in comparison. Still though, she smiled gently and greeted him with interest, like two people passing in a hallway.

“I-it’s an honor, Your Majesty, to meet you,” he barely managed, bowing as deeply as he was capable of.

He could hear Alya’s tittering laugh though he dare not look away from the Queen, and he was sure he looked pathetic in the moment, so desperate to be viewed as impressive as the others but sure he was failing. Then again, he didn’t see any of them getting talked to.

The King hummed suddenly, wrangling his daughter back into place in his arms. Ella looked up at her father, asking innocently, “Can he come with us? I want to ask him things.”

“Yes! Like, have you done anything fun?” Etta piped up.

“Have you found anything new?”

“What were you doing?”

Nino wasn’t entirely sure whether or not he was expected to respond when the King quietly corrected, “He is working right now my dear. Don’t distract the guards from their duties.”

Ella pouted as the King stepped forward, making it clear he intended to enforce the sentiment, even if he himself looked entertained.

The Queen laughed a little as her family started to head out again, sure the guard would appreciate a little room to breathe from underneath their attention. However she did not miss the warm, yet nervous smile he gave to her daughters, nor the tiny wave goodbye he risked when he thought she wasn’t looking.

The twins were beaming over the shoulder of their father and sister, and though she only glanced back once Alya was smiling too, noticing her mother watching her and looking forward down the corridor.

Marlena could hear the guards whispering as they left, no doubt interrogating the new guy about what had transpired, though she hardly thought it was gossip worthy. The new recruit was hurriedly defending himself, and she had to restrain a chuckle as they finally moved out of earshot.

She turned her attention forward again, enjoying the sight of Ella sitting up in her father’s arms telling a story as he just stared at her in amusement.

Etta took turns telling it with her sister as they walked, Alya occasionally nodding her head in confirmation whenever her father looked over at her in confusion.

However to all of their surprise the King eventually frowned.

“He sounds easily distracted,” the King muttered, and Marlena watched as Alya suddenly jumped in, instantly defending him.

“He was alert the entire time father, it’s why he even went with them. He played with them so he could keep a closer eye on them without ruining their fun, and he wasn’t too proud to do it like some of the others may have been. He wanted to make them happy while not compromising their safety, that’s what you want from the guard isn’t it?”

“Yes!” Etta agreed from her sister’s arms. “He said we could play as long as we let him play too, he didn’t make us stop. We found the whole family of rabbits again because he helped.”

“And he gave them such a nice memory,” Marlena added in defense, matching her husbands unsure glance backwards with a slight shrug.

“Hm…” the king hummed again, looking down at Ella as she continued to squirm in his grasp.

“He was very nice to us. I like him.”

“Are the other guards not being nice to you?”

“No they are. But…,” Ella paused thoughtfully, nodding as she said, “He’s nicer. He smiles more.”

Otis hesitated, then decided to say nothing, mulling this over as the twins drifted towards new topics. They did not notice their father’s distraction, as he distantly replayed the shouting and the nothingness of the meeting they slowly left behind them.

His steps felt loud to him, in the corridor.

Heavy.

He thought of those five repeated grating arguments, and accepted that the world around their gentle home was growing more dangerous, more restless. And for his daughters, he wanted them to be happy and safe, chasing pleasant memories of rabbits burrowed in a field before they were too old. Before they were forced to listen in frustration like Alya.

As much as he could let them play he would… without risking them. He and the farmboy were alike, in that way.

---

“N I N O L A H I F F E”

The name was shouted so loud, and so suddenly, that Nino nearly sliced his hand open in a fountain of blood, the sword he was cleaning jerking away from him as he jumped and clattering loudly to the stone floor of his chamber. One of the other guys he shared it with was in there too, sitting on his bed across from him, frozen stock still and staring at him fearfully.

Nino’s heart was instantly racing as the captain’s voice echoed through the guard rooms, and he knew she knew he was in there, and he had absolutely no idea what he had done wrong.

When she yelled his name a second time he scrambled to his feet, skittering into the hallway and nervously barking a reply. “Y-yes Captain!”

The plain stone chambers of the guard were uncharacteristically full, many of the simple wooden doors swinging open so the fellow members of his unit could poke their head out and look at him, and then the captain. However, as soon as they saw the fiery woman stood at the end of the hall with her armored hands planted firmly on her hips they instantly retreated, leaving the new guy to die.

There was a pretty decent handful of frightened looking men behind her as well, a couple gauging whether or not they could make it to their rooms before anything happened but too scared to pass her.

The short woman said nothing else, just standing there in the main chamber at the mouth of the hallway, waiting for him.

She watched him cooly as he approached, Nino unable to keep himself from glancing at her weapon which was, for the moment, still sheathed. He had never seen her without her armor on before and now was no exception, her entire visage terrifying and he was racking his brain for why he was in so much trouble right now.

He stopped about eight feet away from her, hands tight to his side as he stood at attention.

“Why, the hell, is it Lahiffe,” she finally spoke, “That I keep hearing your name, everywhere I go?”

Nino paled slightly, managing a weak and questioning, “Ma’am?”

“For having no solid name I sure have been hearing about it a lot, far more than a member of the guard should be getting mentioned by anybody.” She paused for effect, crossing her arms. “Let alone the Royal Family.”

She examined his expression, unsurprised to see wild confusion running rampant. So she continued, staring him down and speaking firmly.

“You’ve been making noise, and I don’t know what you’ve been doing but you’re sticking out and I can’t really make up my mind whether or not I think that’s a good thing. Only thing I can think of is that special assignment I gave you and now, all of a sudden, I keep catching your name. Even though we’ve done hundreds of these types of jobs Lahiffe, every single day, for the first time since I’ve had this rank,” she paused, drawing in a deep breath and freezing him solid with a look, “I’ve gotten a request.”

“...request? Ma’am?” he said fearfully.

“Yeah. A request. For you.

From the King.”

#knighted ml fic #royalguard!au #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #princess!alya #royalguard!nino #djwifi #chapter 7 #etta cesaire #ella cesaire #otis cesaire #marlena cesaire #alix kubdel #my writing #tlp writes #knighted #sorry marinette #i really didnt think it was gonna take this long to get to you #she'll show up eventually

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freedom-shamrock · 7 years ago

Text

A Little Secret - Chapter 11

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Rolling the Moth in Flour

"Thank you, and have a fantastic day," Marinette said, handing change back to the customer she was helping. The phone in her pocket buzzed in a series of long and short vibrations. Adrien had thought he was so witty plugging in a morse code setting for emergencies, and to be fair, he only triggered it when it was truly urgent.

"I have to take this, Mama," she said, tapping her pocket.

Her mother let out a little sigh, glancing at the busy bakery before nodding. "Do what you need to, but try to be quick about it."

Ducking into the hall, she slipped out the phone and unlocked it just as the SOS vibrated to alert her of another message.

AA : You were right. I should've listened.

AA : I'm so sorry, Princess.

No puns. No emojis or emoticons. He'd flat out dropped his identity in that last one.

Gasping against the sudden fear clutching at her chest, she staggered into the railing, dropping to the bottom step as she stared at the two messages, desperately waiting for more. What had she been right about? When hadn't he believed her? No. When hadn't Chat believed Ladybug… or rather, when had he not wanted to listen? There were plenty of times they disagreed or butted heads. It could be anything, but this was probably something important. Something memorable.

"C'mon Chaton," she whispered. "I need more than that to go on."

"What's the matter Marinette?" Tikki asked, peeking out of her nest in Marinette's hip pouch.

She turned the screen to her kwamii as she sent a reply.

MDC : Please tell me you're okay. You're freaking me out.

Her phone rang, Adrien's goofy gaming photo popping up on her screen. "Adrien? Are you…"

"Listen here, Ladybug," a man barked at her. She knew that voice. "I have your precious Chat Noir, and I must say, he's much more fragile without his tacky kitten suit."

She covered her mouth with one hand to hold back the urge to scream. Even if he was lying, which she very much doubted, she couldn't let him hear how much his words worried her.

Hawkmoth continued. "If you ever want to see him alive, and without any missing pieces, you need to bring me those charming stones in your ears."

Hawkmoth had Adrien. He had Chat's ring. She felt like throwing up. Tikki flew up and brushed one tiny paw against Marinette's cheek, and it was enough for her to pull herself together despite the fact that she wasn't currently Ladybug. "Your word is worthless, Hawkmoth," she snapped. "I need proof that you have my cat."

"Having his phone and his ring aren't enough?" the man taunted.

"Having his phone and claiming to have his ring aren't enough," she corrected. "Let me talk to him."

"I don't think he's in a talking mood," Hawkmoth drawled.

"You want my earrings?" she asked with a casualness that surprised her. "Then you damn well better let me talk to my cat."

There was a rustle and a clatter. Then came a groan that she was too familiar with. Chat Noir only made that sound when he was hurt and couldn't shake it off.

Hawkmoth's voice was a little distant now, as he must have been holding the phone away from himself. "Talk some sense into that girl you care so much about."

"Why… would I do that?" Adrien demanded, his voice strained and wheezy.

"You used to be so biddable, so eager to please," Hawkmoth snarled, disappointment clear in his voice. There was a slap, and Marinette flinched, even though she didn't hear Adrien react. "If you want me to show her any kind of mercy, you will talk to her. Now."

She was strangely proud of her Kitty for getting so thoroughly under Hawkmoth's skin even without his powers. She hadn't even registered that her vision had gone blurry, that her eyes were leaking heavy tears until they dripped onto her phone.

"Hey Princess," Adrien said quietly. She could practically see his ears drooping with his low tone. "I'm so sorry, Bug."

"How badly hurt are you, Kitty?" she asked. Apologies and forgiveness could come later. Right now she needed to focus on anything that got him back to her.

"Physically or mentally?" he asked playfully, making her want to reach through the phone and shake him.

"Both."

"My right hand is very much broken, and I have a lovely array of bruises that will require significant makeup for tomorrow's photoshoot," he said. "Though with the split lip and black eye, I'm thinking we're rescheduling that."

His emphasis on his modeling seemed a strange disconnect in the situation, which meant he was probably giving her clues.

"I miss Plagg," he said softly, his voice catching a little. "And I don't like being part of a collection."

There was a sudden fumbling of the phone and Hawkmoth spoke again. "You've spoken with your skinned cat," he said brusquely. "Are you prepared to discuss terms?"

"Are you prepared to turn Chat Noir over to me?" she asked, knowing she couldn't trust anything he said, but hoping to pick up on any additional information that would help her. Whatever came next was sure to be the hardest part of her entire superhero career.

"Hmmm. I get the feeling you need to think about this before you'll be truly willing to negotiate," Hawkmoth said, the disgusting smugness he'd displayed during Stoneheart in full force.

"I assure you, I'm ready now," Marinette promised.

"I've watched your career, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng," he said. "It is highly unlikely that you're in the right mindset for this. You need to stew a bit in uncertainty. I'll be in touch. In that time, you should consider that I am now the master of both the butterfly and the black cat. You can not hope to defeat me." There was a click followed by silence.

Marinette met Tikki's eyes. "He knows who I am."

Tikki's little paws came up to cover her mouth.

Quickly wiping her face with both hands, Marinette stood up. "I'm not going to be able to focus if everyone I love is in danger." She shot off a text to the class group, telling everyone to get out of town. She was glad they'd covered evacuation recently in social studies. Between regular terrorism and akumas, it was a new component of the national curriculum. Hopefully they all took her message seriously. "We'll move my parents to safety, then I can focus on rescuing Chat Noir and Plagg." She followed up with a separate message to Alya and Nino, adding Chloe in a last minute decision, letting them know that Adrien was a hostage, but not an akuma.

Tikki nodded once in encouragement.

"Spots on."

Adrien focused on the throbbing in his hand while he picked at the knotted silk tie holding his left foot to the chair. He stopped when a soft whooshing noise alerted him of his father's approach. When this was all over, if his Lady managed to save him, he was going to have a nice breakdown, complete with screaming and smashing things. How had he not seen that his own father was Hawkmoth? Why had he so foolishly pushed aside Ladybug's theory? To be fair, it seemed even Plagg was taken by surprise when Hawkmoth jumped him this morning, fresh out of the shower. In retrospect, it would have been really useful to know miraculous bearers could be akumatized.

"Your former kwami is a savage without manners," Hawkmoth announced, stepping into the low light. Yep. His father knew a lot about imagery and setting a scene. His purple suit had more black now. Looking completely out of place, Chat Noir's ears perched atop his gray helmet and a belted tail flicked agitatedly around his knees.

Adrien smirked at his own lap, wiping the look away when he raised his head. "I wonder why." Sure, the black cat of destruction was bound to whoever had the ring, but he didn't have to cooperate in the way his father was accustomed from his long-imprisoned kwami. "You didn't hurt him, did you?"

Gabriel's eyes narrowed slightly as if he was trying to get a joke. "They are indestructible, Adrien. Surely you knew that."

Adrien shook his head. "Oh they're tough, but they can get sick, hurt, or even die."

Gabriel let out a delicate sniff. "You need to have a firm hand with these creatures. You've clearly been coddling it."

Adrien shrugged. "Plagg has a very sensitive digestion. If you don't want to be picking destruction demigod hairballs out of your slippers and hair every morning, you should be sure to observe his diet very carefully." He looked away, wondering how long it would be before Ladybug found him and if he'd be any help to her at all. "Why haven't you turned me into one of your pet monsters?"

Hawkmoth narrowed his eyes. "You are not in the right frame of mind to accept a butterfly." It seemed that annoyed him. Perhaps he'd been banking on turning his son against Ladybug.

"Okay. And why do you have me tied up again?" He held up his bound wrists. Seeing his hand made him vaguely queasy; it looked more like a plump glove designed by a five year-old who wasn't sure which way fingers were supposed to point. "I mean, after slamming my hand in the fire door, I'm not exactly on my game."

"I've watched you fight, Adrien," Hawkmoth bluntly stated. "A broken hand is hardly a handicap."

"When I'm Chat Noir, sure," he agreed. "But as Adrien…" He shook his head. "I'm not used to this level of shock, and nothing's helping me with the pain, so my head's a mess."

Hawkmoth straightened up. "You are an expert fighter and tactician. Those skills are merely enhanced, not created, by the suit." His pleased smile was smug and creepy. "I'll be proud to have such a bright son and heir in the future."

Adrien stared at the man, strangely chilled. "You'll be proud in the future, but not now?" he asked. "That's messed up, Hawkdad."

"Everything around me in this moment is temporary, including you."

"Isn't that always the case?" Adrien asked, pretty sure this wasn't a philosophical discussion.

Hawkmoth glared at him. "You aren't real. No one in this reality is," he explained. "Once I have Ladybug's miraculous, I will be able to rewrite the last four years, so it frankly doesn't matter what happens to this version of anyone, including you." He crossed his arms over his chest. "The real Adrien Agreste will not have your rebellious streak; he will have never had the ring. Everything will be restored to the way it was supposed to be."

In this morning's unexpected assault, Adrien had abandoned any hope that there was something good left in his father. His delusional explanation, his ease in writing off others as not real made it clear just how dangerous his father really was. There was nothing worth salvaging in Gabriel Agreste, and he found himself considering fatal attack options that he'd avoided in the past. Though Adrien was not currently in possession of the ring, he was still Chat Noir, and he was going to do whatever he had to, to help his Lady.

"You're sure?" Ladybug asked Master Fu as she helped him gather his tea service.

"They will be safe here with me," the old man promised. "Wayzz keeps this place shielded and hidden. Kwami magic is such that others can not be compelled to guide him here."

She nodded. "Thank you."

"It is a pleasure to aid you in your darkest hour, Ladybug." He bowed. "Do you have a plan?"

Ladybug nodded. "I have a backpack full of cookies and cheese. Interfering with his use of the ring is my first step. Even if I just get out with Plagg and Adrien, that will be enough of a victory. We know who he is, so we can go back and take him down later."

Master Fu nodded. "That's a reasonable starting point."

"If we get a chance to reclaim the butterfly today, we'll do that, too, because ultimately, we're under siege until that's done." She was calm now, her superhero side letting her tuck her nearly debilitating fear into a box to unpack at a later time. "But I am willing to retreat with Chat Noir if needed."

Master Fu smiled, clearly proud of her. "You are one of the most remarkable people to ever wear the earrings, my dear. It has never been more clear that I chose right with you."

"Thank you, Master." She bowed and followed him into a back room where her parents, Alya and Nino were sitting on cushions. Too concerned about Marinette and Adrien, they'd refused to leave Paris, so Ladybug brought them here. She'd offered Chloe refuge as well, but the mayor's daughter had elected to work with her father, covertly assembling emergency response teams throughout the city.

"Ladybug," her mother said, standing up when she slid the tray onto the low table. "Where's Chat Noir?" Her fingers were knotted tightly together. "Why isn't he here?"

Ladybug bit her lip. "He's gathering intelligence. He's the only reason I'm going to be able to go after Hawkmoth before he chooses to summon me." It wasn't a lie. It had only taken a few minutes of puzzling over the clues with Tikki before she realized that Gabriel Agreste, once known as The Collector akuma, was Hawkmoth. He'd hurt his own son to get the ring, which he'd probably known was the black cat miraculous for years. "I'm hoping it'll be enough of an advantage."

"When you see him, could you please give him a hug from me?" her mother asked. "He's like a son to us."

"He and Adrien, both," her father added.

Ladybug nodded. "You know…" Was this the right time to lay the groundwork? "When this is over, Adrien is going to need all the love and support he can get." She'd told them about Gabriel, compelled to give them that much of the truth.

"He's always welcome in our home," her father said, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Our daughter adores him, too." Her mother smirked.

"Whatever happens," Nino said, "we've got his back. Make sure he knows that. And we don't care about whatever baggage he's gonna have, or what the press has to say about him. We're here for him. Anytime."

Feeling her heart warm with the support and love for her partner, Ladybug smiled, suddenly more confident that she could do this.

"Be safe, Ladybug," her mother said.

While Gabriel could have taken Adrien anywhere in the city, she suspected they were still in the ostentatious cold mansion. Her ability to locate and track magic had a limited range, and it made sense to start there. Taking the familiar route she used for her weekly visits, evading the security cameras, she landed lightly on Adrien's window ledge. Her preferred entry was slightly ajar, and she mentally thanked her Kitty for the foresight. Shoving her fingers between the panes, she forced it the rest of the way open.

Adrien's room was a mess. Clearly this was where his father had attacked him, probably already suited up, since it was the only way she could see Gabriel having a physical advantage over his son. Taking a slow breath, Ladybug closed her eyes and felt for the magical signatures. She was surprised to find three. One was pale and nearly undetectable. Did Gabriel have another miraculous in the house? If he wasn't using it, she needed to grab it to keep it out of the fight. The strongest signature was a muddy with swirls of purple and green, clearly Hawkmoth. She was surprised to find a pale green magic not far from Hawkmoth. Adrien didn't have his ring, but as the true Chat Noir, his power still clung to him.

She let out a little line on her bandalore and spun in a tight circle. "Lucky Streak," she whispered. She and Chat had kept their newer powers hidden from the press, practicing them during training and using them sparingly in battles. This one gave her a good luck advantage for five minutes.

Creeping out of Adrien's room, she moved quickly through the quiet and seemingly empty house, following the signal of the dormant miraculous. She slipped into Gabriel's office, a place she'd visited twice before. The magic was coming from a golden painting… no. From behind the painting. She had a sudden urge to tug at the lower left corner, and she'd worked with magic enough to know that it was helping her. The picture swung out to reveal a wall safe.

"Tikki, spots off." As the sparkles of her transformation faded, she was already digging in her day pack for a cookie. "Can you get in?"

Tikki beamed up at her holder. "Between Lucky Streak and my own natural luck, no problem." She took a bite of the cookie and then phased through the safe while she was still chewing. After a moment, the door popped loose.

Marinette opened the door to find her kwami cradling a peacock brooch. "That's the other miraculous missing from Master Fu's set." Even without her fully enhanced super abilities, she could feel the magic. She took it gently in hand. "I'll tuck it into my pack for safe keeping."

"You don't want to wear it?" Tikki asked.

Marinette shook her head. "I'm not its chosen, Tikki. I couldn't do that." Master Fu had spoken of the pain a kwami endured when claimed by someone ill suited."

"Spoken like a true Ladybug," Tiikki said proudly. "We still have about two minutes of Lucky Streak left. Spots on?"

Marinette nodded. "While I can feel the entrance to Hawkmoth's hideout right behind me, I don't want to give him that much warning." She smiled, gathering her courage. They could do this. "Tikki, spots on."

Adrien tuned out Gabriel's pacing and random self-talk, focusing instead on the sudden laxity in the ties around his ankles. He drooped forward, feigning exhaustion and picked cautiously at the knots. In his time as Chat Noir, he'd come to recognize that chance was really just another form of magic, and he wasn't going to let it slip away. It was slow work, using just one hand, but his fingers made steady progress.

He'd gotten both ankles free when he looked up, just in time to see Ladybug crash through the leaded windows of Gabriel's ostentatious lair. The glass shattered and flew everywhere. He jumped to his feet, bracing himself for the inevitable need to run through the shards. Any harm he took to prevent damage to her would be worth it. It always was.

Ladybug landed in a crouch, her bandalore shooting out in Hawkmoth's direction. "Lucky Break!" she called, pulling back on her string.

Adrien's eyes went wide, and he felt a genuine smile on his face, the first since he'd been jumped in the bathroom. When they'd first learned about their failsafes, they'd tested them out on each other. It had been quite unpleasant to be on the receiving end of Lucky Break, not unlike having your soul sucked out through your hand. He was in a good position to make that judgement, since he'd been through both experiences.

Hawkmoth doubled over, letting out a shrill scream as a Faraday cage of magic flared around him. Ladybug ducked close enough to catch the black kwami as he spiraled out of range of the reaction. Then she was in front of Adrien, freeing his wrists and returning Plagg to his unbroken cupped hand.

She grinned at him, but it was grim. "That evens the odds a bit."

Plagg would be out until he'd been fed, so now she just had Hawkmoth, an enraged and wounded madman to deal with. "He's completely delusional," Adrien said quickly. "He considers anything other than himself to be not real. He has no qualms about killing me."

Her eyes went wide. She'd probably hoped to appeal to his love for his son, and Adrien didn't want her wasting her time on that. Her earrings beeped. Hitting the black cat's failsafe was a huge energy drain on both sides. Her kwami would need a recharge soon, and without superpowers they didn't stand a chance.

"I love you." He was pretty sure she knew that, but didn't want to risk leaving it unsaid.

She sighed, her shoulders drooping. "You're going to do something stupid, aren't you."

He shrugged. "Probably." He handed Plagg back, offering her his best charming Chat Noir smile. "You need a diversion, Mi'lady. Feed Tikki, and prepare to save my ass."

"Spots off." She moved behind the chair, swinging a daypack off her shoulders. "I intend to save everything attached to your very fine ass," she commented without even looking up.

The moment the magical feedback collapsed, Adrien dropped his left shoulder and charged Hawkmoth. He sent their long-time adversary sprawling across the glass-littered floor, then pounced on him, much as he would if he were fully Chat Noir. He was able to keep the upper hand for a few moments, grabbing Hawkmoth's neck and holding him down.

Years of working out and moonlighting as a hero made him stronger than average, but Adrien was still very much human outside of his Chat Noir suit. It wasn't long before he was sliding across the floor, glass snagging on his shirt and slicing into his back. He was just able to roll backward and up to his feet before Hawkmoth pulled an epee out of his walking stick.

"You've fulfilled your purpose," Hawkmoth snapped. He plunged the tip of the blade into Adrien's chest, just below his shoulder.

He heard Marinette gasp across the room. His shoulder was on fire and he couldn't move his arm. "I'm not an insect for you to pin to your board as part of your collection," Adrien growled, trying to focus on his gasping breaths rather than the pain. He had to keep Hawkmoth distracted. Just a little longer.

"You're a feral stray that needs to be put down." Hawkmoth sneered at him. "My prize bug is watching. I think I'll give her a show." He moved to pull back the sword, but Adrien's hand shot out and grasped the grip between Hawkmoth's hand and the subtle lower guard.

"She's not. Your . Bug," Adrien spit. "And that perfect son you want, in that reality you think you're going to create? He doesn't exist. No matter how many times you rewrite me, I am Chat Noir. With or without the ring." While Hawkmoth stared at him, his jaw open in shock, Adrien moved his hand to wrap his fingers around the ring in question. "It was drawn to me because I am naturally chaos and destruction." His knee came up and his foot shot out twice in quick succession, the first catching Hawkmoth in the groin and the second in the chest and throwing him backward.

He barely managed to keep hold of the ring as the sword was yanked out of his body. He let out a scream and fell to his knees, pushing aside the awareness of wet warmth over his chest as he moved the miraculous to his teeth to fumble it onto his left hand.

"Claws out, Kitty," Ladybug called, her bandalore zipping past him to knock aside Hawkmoth's blade.

A freshly fed Plagg flew out of Ladybug's hand to the ring as she ran to join her partner. The suit would stop the bleeding, it would buffer him from the pain, but they needed to wrap this up.

"Cat's Claw!" Chat Noir shouted, surging to his feet. His right hand was encased in something resembling a boxing glove with large silver spikes. His left slashed out, cutting through Hawkmoth's sword as easily as if it were Marinette's father's mocha mousse.

Hawkmoth took several steps back, his wide eyes showing more white than blue. "What… how are you doing that?"

Chat Noir smirked. "Only a real black cat can call on the special pawers. Even when you had the ring, they wouldn't have worked for you."

While Hawkmoth was distracted by Chat Noir's partial lie, Ladybug tossed out her bandalore, twisting her wrist just so. The red and black disk spiraled around Hawkmoth, binding his hands down to his sides.

Chat raised one claw-tipped finger, pressing it lightly to Hawkmoth's neck. The man flinched uncomfortably. "Want to see how well your suit holds up to my amped up mojo? Are you willing to risk seeing if My Lady's healing powers can fix the mess I can make with this?"

"Don't play with your food, Kitty," Ladybug chided lightly, more for show than anything. Adrien deserved to terrorize his father. She reached out and tapped the butterfly at the center of the villain's neck. Raising her hand quickly, she slapped Hawkmoth under the chin, knocking his head back. Heroes didn't beat the crap out of people, even if they could fix all the damage, and she was finding it necessary to remind herself not to break all of Gabriel's teeth. "Would you like to do the honors, Chaton?"

"I'm a cat, My Lady," he said, as if reminding her. "I love bringing you gifts. Mice. Birds." He curled his claw under Hawkmoth's collar. "Moths." He gave a tug, ripping the fabric of the suit a little as he yanked the brooch free. A wave of purple light washed over Hawkmoth, revealing a very sullen and disheveled Gabriel Agreste.

Chat Noir bowed to her, holding out the miraculous. "Please accept this shiny bauble as a token of my affection."

She smiled at him. "You're such a thoughtful Kitty."

"Is there anything else I can get you?" he asked. "I'd offer you my father's heart on a platter, but," he shrugged. "He hasn't got one."

She shook her head slowly. "As delightful as that sounds, I have places to be. A very dear friend of mine has had a terrible day, and now he has to move. But I obviously can't just leave."

"Would you like some police?" Chat Noir asked brightly, as his ring let out a beep.

"If it's not too much trouble."

"Gift wrapped or…"

"Unboxed, please, Chaton." She grinned at him. "Convenience, you know."

"Plagg, claws in." He gasped and his breathing went fast and shallow. "Oh fuck…" he muttered, hunching over.

"You gonna be okay, kid?" Plagg's slightly nasal voice asked.

"Yeah." It came out as more exhalation than voice. "But I'm looking forward to suiting back up like never before." He closed his eyes as if that would help block out the pain.

"Buggy showed me where the cheese was," Plagg pointed out. "I'll just help myself."

"Good plan," Adrien agreed.

Ladybug tugged on her line, tightening Gabriel's bindings until he let out an undignified squawk. "You okay, Kitty?" she asked. He'd lost more blood in other battles, been more seriously hurt even. But he didn't generally have to unsuit in those cases. "You're doing great, you know. I'm so proud of you. Mama and Baba are going to be so proud of you, too."

He tilted his head to look up at her, a pained grimace on his face. "How do you always know what to say?"

"I know you," she said.

"All right kid," Plagg said as he floated over, holding Marinette's cell phone. "We're going to take a few pics of you to give to the police as evidence of what happened to you."

"What?" Ladybug demanded. "Is that really necessary?"

"You want him held above reproach, and unless you plan to unmask yourselves to Paris, you'll need evidence once the cure fixes all of this." Plagg fiddled with the screen a moment. "A'right. Straighten up as best you can. I want a good angle on that bloody mess."

So used to complying with photographers, Adrien moved as his kwami asked. Holding out his broken hand, now a phenomenal deep purple. He swore a few more times as he tried to lift his shirt to show the scoring from the glass shards.

"Perfect." Plagg handed the phone to Ladybug. "Now say the words, Kid. You need high level pain support."

Adrien muttered the magic phrase. "Plagg, claws out." He let out a sigh as the transformation dulled the pain. He grabbed his baton and tapped the paw for the communicator. Once the police were notified, he escorted Ladybug and his trussed up father out of the secret hideaway and to the front door. They bound Gabriel with the same silk ties he'd used on Adrien so Ladybug could call the miraculous cure.

"Hey," she said, nudging his arm with hers as they stood at the bottom of the grand staircase. "You wanna go pack a suitcase?"

He stared blankly at her for a moment.

"I was fully serious about rehoming you," she said, offering a tentative smile. "My… uh, my parents sort of invited you to move in with them when I… uh… Ladybug put them in hiding." She shrugged. "I didn't have a chance to tell you that earlier."

"I can move in with you?" he asked, his eyes going soft and kittenish.

"I mean, we'd understand if you want to stay here…"

"Oh hell no," Chat Noir said, putting two fingers over her lips. "You sure you won't need Chat?"

"Chat Noir is delivering the miraculous to the proper authority," she said primly. "And I will be escorting Adrien Agreste to a home with less painful memories."

"I only have happy memories at your house," he pointed out. "I'm going to pack. I'll be back as soon as I can."

While she waited, Ladybug called on her last special ability. "Lucky Star," she whispered, opening the compact and pointing it at Gabriel Agreste.

"What was that?" he demanded after the pink light faded.

"I suspect you'll see eventually," she said. It was a special spell that bound the knowledge of miraculous magic. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't reveal his own son as Chat Noir. If anything, it would compel him to protect their secrets through misdirection.

Chief Raincomprix and several of his officers had just pulled up when Adrien charged back down the stairs, wearing a backpack and dragging a large suitcase. He dropped his luggage and darted into his father's office. He must have done something with the security system because the gate swung open.

Handing Gabriel over was easy. After four years of working with superheroes, the Paris police force trusted the duo completely. They scheduled a meeting for Ladybug and Chat Noir to debrief with them the next day, and sent detectives to investigate the secret chamber and gather evidence. They let Adrien leave without hesitation after Ladybug assured them she had proof of his mistreatment at Gabriel's hands.

"I'm really glad Plagg suggested the pictures," Ladybug said, leading Adrien through a dark alley. With a quick look in each direction, she dropped her transformation, letting Tikki join Plagg in the daypack of snacks. She turned toward Adrien, one hand on his arm. "This doesn't feel real yet. "

He shot her a small smile. "It doesn't," he agreed.

"When it does, I'm probably going to completely lose it. "

He wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah. Me too," he murmured.

"I'm texting your parents," Tikki called from inside the pack. "Go straight home. Let them take care of you. "

"I have two miraculouses to return to Master Fu," Marinette said, trying to force the responsibility to override her drive to just go home."

"He'll meet you there," Plagg said. "Along with Nino and Alya."

"Two?"Adrien asked, worry and confusion creeping into his voice.

"The peacock was in your… Gabriel's safe." She let herself listen to his heartbeat for a moment. "We need to return it along with the butterfly. " She felt him relax against her.

"You've been through a lot today," Tikki added. "You need rest and comfort."

Marinette gave Adrien a tight squeeze before loosening her grip and stepping back. "C'mon Kitty. I know a great place to get brunch. They have amazing cocoa."

"I love your family's cocoa, " he moaned.

"As a bonus, it comes with a new family." She took his hand, giving a little tug to get them moving again..

"Where do I sign?"

"You haven't asked what the catch is," she pointed out.

He grinned. "You're the catch."

"I walked right into that, didn't I," she said with a giggle.

"Mmm hmmm." He took a slow breath, exhaling with a sigh. "Hey Mari?"

"Yeah?"

"I know some of what comes next is going to suck. And I may not always seem to appreciate you and everything you've done for me," he said. "But I'm so glad you're here with me. I wouldn't want anyone else to be my Bug."

"Yeah. Well, I wouldn't want anyone else to be my Kitty." She gently bumped him with her shoulder. "And we'll get through this like we always do. Together."

Chapter title - "To roll someone in flour" is a French idiom equivalent to "pulling the wool over someone's eyes" or to fool or trick someone.

Huge thanks to @soundofez and my betas: Karnival and @chatbug-jk

I'd not done a project like this before, and it was pretty fun. It's really only in the last two months that I got the hang of Discord (dinosaurs can learn!), and it was great to see the camaraderie there.

#Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Big Bang #fanfic #my writing #soundofez #A Little Secret

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