#just imagine for a second the plan lady noire would come up with to catch a laser pointer dot

[trainsinanime]

What so many of you fail to consider is that for Marinette, being Ladybug is crucial enrichment. If you don't throw an Akuma into her enclosure (the city of Paris) every now and then, she will develop behavioural issues and go insane from boredom. On the other hand, whenever that does happen, giving her an Akuma usually calms her right down. It's like a dog toy, or a laser pointer for a cat.

This is a fairly common thread through most episodes. At the start, Marinette has a problem, often involving Adrien, and she goes completely insane over it, trying to find solutions that are just buck wild. And usually, an Akuma appears, Marinette focuses all her mind on that for a while, and then realises that she went too far and calms down, because now her brain has been sufficiently stimulated and she burned off her excess energy.

Yes, defeating Akumas is stressful for her, no doubt, but I think it's even more clear that not doing that is causing far more stress behaviours to appear in her. She is an excellent guardian and strategizer, great at analysing situations and coming up with plans, and if you don't give her a proper outlet for that, she will come up with her own, often with humorously disastrous results.

So the (admittedly few) posts saying that Marinette shouldn't be Ladybug, or deserves to retire, are getting it all backwards in my opinion. If you retire her, you'll have to give her something else to do. Otherwise, the next time they're in the supermarket, she will build a weird contraption out of a shopping cart, canned beans and a quizz magazine to parkour to the top shelf, instead of asking Adrien for help.

So be a bit more careful with how you treat Marinette. If you force her to sit still, she will not thank you.

[graaythekwami]

YES, yes, yes 👏. Make. That. Fic. (Just imagine! Peacocks flying after everyone to amokitze them hehe.)

They had him. Hawk Moth was cornered on the Eiffel Tower, the five heroes pressing in close. Scarlet Moth was no more, his army of akumas were no more. Ladybug felt her heart hammering, knowing that this could finally be over. They could claim his Miraculous, free Nooroo, and free Paris. They knew they had the upper hand, they could see the fear in Hawk Moth's eyes.

Then she heard the sound.

Not quite a screech, but not a honk either. But still the cry repeated, through the silent city, gradually growing louder. Hawk Moth's eyes flickered to above them, going wide as a shadow fell over them.

The large blue blur dove down in front of them, large wings whistling through the air, and a flowing tail of feathers trailing behind the avian. The creature rushed towards Hawk Moth's abandoned cane, merging with it with a flash of blue.

The heroes didn't have time to question what had just happened, as a giant purple bug was materializing behind Hawk Moth.

-------

There hadn't even been a fight, the giant insect having blown them away, and right as Ladybug came in to strike it had vanished, alongside Hawk Moth.

What hadn't vanished, however, was the bird that had reappeared.

"A peacock?!" Queen Bee cried, watching the bird as it sat upon the remains of Hawk Moth's cane.

"Rrrhhhahhh! Rrrhah!" The peacock shrieked, raising his head up high.

"The second Miraculous that was lost..." Ladybug muttered.

"Was a Peacock!" Chat Noir cried, eyes widening in realization.

Rena Rouge glanced between them, then at the bird. "A Peacock Miraculous...? But that still doesn’t explain where the bird came from?"

"Well Hawk-dude does send out butterflies," Carapace said.

"And Ladybug has her Miraculous Ladybugs," Queen Bee snapped.

"Yeah, but those are tiny!" Chat protested, pointing to the peacock, who was now preening himself. "What do we do with this guy?"

"Um... Maybe my cure will send him back to wherever he came from?" Ladybug muttered, throwing her Lucky Charm up into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

A wave of pink light flared out from the Charm, which immediately swept across the tower and the city, pink ladybugs humming within. As it surged out their eyes returned towards the peacock, waiting to see what would happen as the cure faded.

Hawk Moth's cane was gone, but the Peacock was still there, preening his feathers.

In the end Queen Bee volunteered to bring him home.

-------

The Peacock's holder first attack turned out to not be their last, and more peacocks were sent out to create what soon became known as sentimonsters, fighting alongside Hawk Moth's akumas.

It honestly didn't take long for Paris to come to fear the noise that could be heard above the honking of traffic and the chatter of talking:

"Rrrhhhahhh! Rrrhah!"

Immediately the Paris crowd scrambled to escape the shape descending from above. The large blue bird wasn’t the most graceful of flyers, his large tail trailing out behind him, but he wasn’t slow either. He swooped after the fleeing crowd, wings flapping wildly as he tried to descend down onto them.

Most civilians managed to flee into nearby stores and buildings, and the ones who hadn’t were bolting down the streets. The peacock stood there on the sidewalk, before sprinting after the nearest fleeing person with startling speed, crying out.

"Rrrhhhahhh! Rrrhah!"

He opened his wings, diving at the man’s shoes, vanishing with a flash of light, allowing another sentimonster to appear.

-------

“You have to purify it, My Lady!”

“Peacocks don’t fit into my yoyo!”

“Hurry, it’s getting away!”

-------

People started to carry umbrellas with them to use to ward off peacocks.

The items that the peacock started to hide in was now mostly umbrellas.

-------

“M. Agreste! M. Agreste!” A reporter cried as Adrien and Gabriel exited a limo. He glowered at the man in annoyance, but the reporter didn’t back down. “Recently you’ve volunteered to take the peacocks that create sentimonsters into your garden, why?”

“Because they needed somewhere to go,” Gabriel said stiffly. “And rescue centers were getting overwhelmed with the numbers that were showing up. I have the money and resources to care for these birds, and my wife was always fond of peacocks. I am simply doing what she would want me to do. Just like we don’t blame the akumatized villains for their actions, these birds don’t deserve to take blame either.”

“That’s so noble of you, M. Agreste!” Someone else cried.

“I have more important things to do,” Gabriel said stiffly, laying a hand on Adrien’s shoulder to guide him away. “Let’s go, son.”

“Yes, Father,” Adrien said softly.

“You heard it here first, folks! Gabriel Agreste says rescue animals, and don’t point blame! What honorable actions.”

“More like the peacocks were just getting expensive to smuggle in without anyone knowing,” Gabriel muttered under his breath, and his son looked up at him in pure confusion.

-------

“Do we have to do this?” Plagg muttered with a yawn as they walked out through the night. “We could be sleeping, or eating cheese. These birds are stupid.”

“You heard what Father said,” Adrien muttered, camped out in the Agreste Gardens, near the roost that had been built for all the rescued peacocks. All of them were peacocks, no peahens, all of the bright blue male birds fast asleep.

Adrien didn’t know what his father planned on doing when spring came when they needed to separate all of the peacocks, but right now he was more worried about what his father might else be planning.

“You get to catch one this time,” a voice muttered, and Adrien stiffened up, retreating further into his hiding place. “I got all scratched up last time.”

“I’d rather not, sir.”

“It’s for your Miraculous!”

“A Miraculous that’s taking my life force.”

“...Fine. I’ll catch one...”

Adrien held his breath, listening to the sounds of his father and Nathalie. Plagg had seen disinterested until the word ‘Miraculous’ had been said, and suddenly the kwami was on alert, staring out at the two figures moving closer to the peacocks.

“Maybe this would be easier if we kept them in the lairs like the butterflies...” Nathalie muttered.

“The birds would eat my akumas!” Gabriel protested. “And if not them then the caterpillars or chrysalis. Annoying little birds, aren’t they... will that one due for an amok? It’s pretty small.”

“Whatever one you want to grab, sir,” Nathalie said, sounding exhausted.

“Psst, kid,” Plagg whispered in Adrien’s ear, who was stiff as stone. “We need to go find Ladybug, now.”

Adrien didn’t trust himself to speak, instead giving a sharp nod. He waited until his father disturbed the peacocks in his attempt to catch one, the sound of wings flapping filling the night, and used the chance to retreat. There was no point in waiting until morning, not with the information they had now.

-------

At the crack of dawn Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur found themselves in handcuffs as they were lead from the mansion, the sound of the ‘rescued’ peacocks singing in the morning sun.

"Rrrhhhahhh! Rrrhah! Rrrhhhahhh! Rrrhah! Rrrhhhahhh! Rrrhah!"

“Are you okay, Chaton?” Ladybug asked softly, laying a hand on her partner’s shoulder.

He leaned into her touch just like an actual cat. “I will be in time, Princess.”

“Anything I can do now?” She asked. “I told the police that I moved Adrien somewhere safe after you told us what you found, so no one will be excepting you for sometime.”

“Hold me?” He asked quietly, and immediately he found himself wrapped in her embrace, and he let out a low purr. “I love you, M’lady.”

“I love you too, silly kitty,” she whispered back, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"Rrrhhhahhh! Rrrhah! Rrrhhhahhh! Rrrhah!"

Ladybug glowered up towards the peacock enclosure, the birds calling out together. Chat Noir let out a small laugh, wrapping his arms around her. “I guess another home will have to be found for them.”

“Do you think Chloe would take a few dozen more peacocks?”

[bevvydraws]

Sweet Justice (cont.)

1, 2, 3 , 4 , 5

Chapter 6

Princess Justice gripped at her hair in increasing frustration, somehow her fancy up-do still staying relatively neat, “What the hell just happened?!” the knights around her looked at her with concern, but not daring to step any closer to the volatile girl. Even Hawkmoth didn’t seem to dare try and reprimand her. Princess Justice felt her emotions fluctuate out of control, and she gripped the nearest railing and tried to calm herself. 

Chat Noir knew her intentions, he wouldn’t actively work against her, and he’d explain everything to Luka--no, Harmonia. This was just a minor setback. Focusing her gaze on a random point in the distance, her mind raced with different strategies. It’s likely that she wouldn’t convince Hawkmoth of her ability to capture Chat Noir twice. She was lucky she got away with it the first time, especially since now Chat wouldn’t have reservations about using Cataclysm with another partner to cover in case he needed to detransform. 

Harmonia had thrown a heavy wrench in her plans, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be angry about it anymore. He hadn’t known any better, and she almost found herself flattered that he would take on such a huge responsibility to save her. To actively work against her would be going against what he truly wanted to do, which would be joining her ranks. She gripped the rail tighter, forcing herself to focus on coming up with another strategy. However her thoughts trailed back to him wanting to join her ranks, something nagging her about it. 

Her eyes widened in realization as a strategy popped into her head. The thought of using violence against the two boys she cared deeply for almost making her hesitate, but it was the only way she could think of. All she could do was hope that Harmonia and Chat Noir trusted her as much as she trusted them. With newfound determination, Princess Justice looked out over her knights who looked back at her with anticipation in their slightly glossed over eyes.

“My loyal knights,” she started, “We’ve hit a slight snag, but this will not delay what is inevitable for long! If we cannot gain the cooperation of these so-called heroes, who claim to fight for justice, then we will force their cooperation!” She held her hand out for Alya to hand her the staff she had tossed to the side absentmindedly. As soon as it was in her grasp she raised it high and continued, “We will not relent! We will not falter! We will not fail!”

The knights below shouted with excitement and agreement, moved by the words of their leader. Their formation became even tighter, if it were possible. Princess Justice could not help the grin on her face, feeling rejuvenated by the encouragement. Putting her arm down, Princess Justice revelled in the feeling for only a second longer before continuing, “Remember, our aim is not to hurt, only capture. While the false heroes are not on our side, they are better for us if they are unharmed than if they are hurt. Hawkmoth, the one gracious enough to grant me these abilities, will deal with their justice accordingly himself. He’s certainly earned at least that much.”

With a quick glance to the roof, she spotted the tips of what appeared to be leather cat ears. Fighting back the grin on her face, she looked over her knights once more, “Let the hunt begin.”

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

Chat Noir looked at Harmonia, “My Lady is so smart,” he practically swooned. 

Harmonia nodded, “At least now we don’t have to worry about our plans conflicting with each other.” His gaze was fixated on a point in the distance, “Now we just have to fight her enough to be convincing while letting ourselves be captured.” 

“Do you think it would be more convincing if we both used our powers?” Chat Noir asked. 

“I don’t really think it’s something that we should risk. We need to be able to use a lucky charm to fix everything after Hawkmoth is defeated. And we don’t know if our transformations will hold while under her control,” Harmonia frowned, “But not using them will really complicate things. Normally you and Ladybug wouldn’t have any hesitation to use your powers, regardless of who the akuma was.” 

“You’re right,” Chat nodded in agreement, “We even had to go up against our best friends, multiple times, and we used our powers without hesitating.” 

“So how are we going to manage to do this convincingly?” 

Chat had a pensive expression on his face for a moment, then frowned, “Well, I have an idea, but it isn’t going to be easy.” Harmonia said nothing, and Chat took that as a cue to continue. “While it’s true that I’ve had to fight my best friend before, and did so without hesitation, I’ve never… I’ve never had to fight against someone I love as much as I love her.” Chat looked at Harmonia from the corner of his eye, but didn’t see any signs of agitation and continued, “The truth of the matter is, I could never use my power against her. Ever. Unless it was absolutely necessary. And I imagine it’s the same for you.” 

Harmonia nodded, “You’re right. That’s why both of us are at a disadvantage, at least if we were trying to actively fight against her. But this could work to our advantage. The only thing is, Hawkmoth has no idea we both love her.” 

Chat sighed, the frown still present on his face, “That’s why this isn’t going to be easy. We’re going to have to make sure Hawkmoth doesn’t question the love we have for her.” Harmonia still didn’t let his emotions show on his face, and Chat only frowned more.

“But is that fair to Marinette?” Harmonia asked. 

“No, but at this point we don’t have another option.” Chat looked down at the roof they were sitting on. In the silence, they could hear the sound of the knights marching in formation and taking to the streets of Paris. If either of them leaned forward, they would likely see them, but neither hero moved from their spot. “Marinette would stop at nothing to save us, to help us, even if it wasn’t fair to herself or to us.” 

Harmonia nodded again, “You’re right…” 

The two would have to put their feelings out there for everyone, including Hawkmoth, to see. While neither were ashamed, it was a vulnerability that neither were prepared for. Especially when paired with the odd circumstances of fighting alongside their rival for her love. 

“We also need to be prepared to face the effects of the macaroons,” Chat Noir warned, “It’s the only way we can convince Hawkmoth.” 

Harmonia was silent for a moment, and below Princess Justice’s voice could be faintly heard. He looked at Chat Noir, “We can do this,” he said confidently. 

Chat Noir managed a grin, which Harmonia reciprocated. With a quick fistbump, the two leapt off of the roof to wait further ahead of where the knights were marching. 

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

Princess Justice sat on the makeshift throne that was now being carried by four knights. Her army marched ahead of her, some trailing behind in case of heroes attempting to “catch her by surprise”. She knew that they had heard her plan, or at least she hoped they’d heard enough of it to understand what she was going for. Now all she had to do was rely on their acting skills. 

She kept her gaze fixated on the roof tops above, and wasn’t surprised in the slightest when a few minutes into their march, a red and black blur flashed in her vision before two figures crashed into the middle of her army. “They’re here!” she shouted, “Capture them immediately!” 

The knights converged Chat Noir and Harmonia, who fought them off. The two seemed to work flawlessly together, which slightly surprised Princess Justice in the back of her mind. She was snapped out of her mini train of thought by shouting. 

“Marinette!” Chat Noir called, “Give up! I don’t want to hurt you!” his voice sounded pained but determined, fighting off knights even as he looked her way. His baton twirled effortlessly in his hands as he fought. 

“Please!” Harmonia chimed in as well, “I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to you.” Using his yoyo he swung one knight in the swarm of knights, knocking some down like bowling pins. Even with the mask covering his mouth, his voice was clear.

Princess Justice was taken aback by the genuineness in their voice. She wasn’t quite sure they were acting, but knew that she had to trust them to follow her plan. “Try and stop me, heroes,” she said, her voice carrying over the din of the fighting, “No amount of Cataclysm or Lucky Charms will stop me. You’ve lost.” 

Harmonia and Chat Noir shared a brief glance, their emotions unreadable but to Princess Justice it seemed like a look of agreement and understanding. 

“You know there’s no way I could use Cataclysm against you, Marinette. Please, please just listen,” Chat Noir begged. 

“And I don’t what the Lucky Charm will have me do, and I’m not going to risk hurting you. Just let us save you!” Harmonia pleaded. 

“I don’t need to be saved!” Princess Justice slammed her fist against the armrest of her throne. “Your petty pleas mean nothing to me. You refusing to fight against me only makes you seem weak. Why should I listen to either of you?” She wasn’t sure where this was going, and fought back the uneasiness she felt in her gut. 

“Because…” Chat Noir’s voice rang out, stopping his attempts to fend off the knights. 

“Because…” Harmonia said at the same time, also stopping all attempts at defense. 

“Because we can’t hurt the one we love!” they said together just as the knights overtook them. The two heroes were hidden from her sight, but their words still rang clear in her head. Her cheeks flushed, and it took all of her strength to keep from letting out a squeak. She had to remain composed. 

For the second time a butterfly appeared before her face, and Hawkmoth’s voice almost managed to drown out the sound of their declaration of love bouncing around her thoughts. Almost.

“If I would have known it would have been this easy,” Hawkmoth’s disembodied voice mused, “I would have pursued you as an akuma even sooner…”

“Their emotions made them weak,” Princess Justice spoke, the words making her feel heavy as she spoke.

“Their weakness is our strength, Princess Justice,” Hawkmoth continued, “You’ll have no trouble turning them with your macarons. Then they’ll have no choice but to hand over their Miraculouses on a silver platter to me.” 

“Just make sure there is no interference on our way to you, Hawkmoth. You’ll get your justice soon.” 

With that, the butterfly faded from her vision just as the two heroes were brought before her and forced on their knees. Princess Justice hopped down gracefully from her throne, pulling out two macarons. Princess Justice tilted up Chat Noir’s head, his eyes meeting hers. His gaze was filled with love and adoration, but Princess Justice refused to get side tracked. She held a macaron up to his lips, almost unsure. And with a quick nod of reassurance, Chat Noir took the macaron in his mouth and ate it with no hesitation. 

Not waiting to see the effects, Marinette moved to Harmonia. She was unsure if his mask would move down, unsure of what to do if it didn’t. But thankfully she didn’t have the problem. She assumed that since Harmonia was willing to let the mask slide down, she was able to slide it down his face. This allowed him to smile at her, the same smile he gave her when he professed his love for her the first time. She shook her head, put a macaron in his mouth, and slid the mask back up to cover his face. 

Now all she had to do was wait, and hope they could overcome their injustices.

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

taglist:  @fandom-trapped-03 , @justafanwarrior , @ultimatetornshipper , @lunadensmidnightprowl​ , @starpony999​ , @minth0l-illness , @the-bollywood-miraculous-girl​ , @akioshiwarrior​ ,  @queencommonsense ,  @id-dance-with-draco ,  @all-mights-asscheeks

[chatonne-rousse]

Lullaby and Good Night

When two-month-old Emma wakes up in the wee hours of the morning, Adrien employs the unique combination of purrs and piano to help his daughter fall back to sleep. His heartfelt song carries Marinette from dreams to reality and back again.

A little story of sleep deprivation, the power of music, and two hearts overflowing with love for their family of three.

Read it on Ao3 here.

*****

The dream is lovely, but clearly a dream. There's no reason, much less space, for a grand piano to be situated on a rooftop, gleaming in the city lights and the nightly glow of the Eiffel Tower, but here they are.

Ungloved fingers glide across the keys, filling the air with a melody she feels in the depths of her heart. It's more than pleasing to the ear, far more than just a beautiful tune, though every stroke of the keys is perfect. This is his heart speaking to hers through music, pure love in every note. Tears spring to her eyes unbidden and she wipes them away quickly, the feel of her suit cool against her skin.

She gently places her hand on his leg, red and black against the green and grey plaid of his...pajama pants? His muscles flex beneath her fingers as he deftly works the pedals and she closes her eyes, letting his closeness, his scent, the feel of him beside her, right where he belongs, wash over her in a heady rush.

Words are unnecessary in this halcyon moment. I love you echoes all around them in the night air.

As dreams always do, this one drifts away on tendrils of contentment, leaving Marinette with a smile on her face even before her eyes open. Warm and cozy under the duvet, she reaches for her husband, ready to snuggle close and chase a few more hours of sleep - or, at least, as many blessed minutes as the adorable alarm clock they created would allow them.

Expecting warm skin and the body she knows every inch of by heart, it's a surprise to find the other side of the bed empty. Well, it's a momentary surprise. One or the other of them leaving the bed in the middle of the night has become commonplace in the past few months, but Emma will be sleeping through the night before it ever becomes normal to be alone in bed without him.

Wakefulness comes quickly from that point. Figuring she’d been awakened by Emma’s fussing but hearing no sound from the crib nearby, she takes several long moments to blink in the darkness and orient herself to time and place.

A soft melody reaches her ears when she sits up, and there's no stopping the smile that crosses her face.

In all these years, hearing him play the piano has never lost its magic.

With rarely a sour note, the technical prowess gained through years of grueling practice is evident, but his genuine enjoyment for the instrument shines brightest.

His life has long since been his own, happily shared with his beloved family on his own terms, with infinite support to chase dreams he would never have entertained in his youth. When he works the occasional modeling gig, it's because he chooses to do so. When he fences, it's because he enjoys the sport. When he plays the piano, it's because the act of creating and sharing music brings him joy. Simple as that. The latter is one last vestige of connection to his mother, a way to escape a difficult day for a little while, a method of bringing beauty into the world that doesn't involve smiling for a camera.

Marinette knows all of this, knows that when her husband sits at the piano he requested to be placed in their living room, that it's an extension of the man she loves, a precious gift that he gives of himself every time he plays.

She pads silently to the crib and peeks in, finding it empty.

A picture is starting to form. She hurries into the living room, bare feet silent on the hardwood floor.

It's another surprise, then, to find someone other than Adrien at the piano. She'd expected him shirtless and clad in those green and grey plaid pajama pants, with sleep-mussed hair and a tired smile. Instead, she finds Chat Noir, holding their daughter in one arm as the other hand plays a soft lullaby.

When she slides in next to him on the piano bench, the smile he sends her is indeed tired, but also full of tenderness and a touch of wonder. That's common - his awestruck joy at becoming a father, at seeing the love of his life become a mother, has left him with a permanent soft shine in his eyes. Marinette would have said she couldn't love him more, but he's proven her wrong at every turn. It's a good thing the heart has an infinite capacity because, between Adrien and Emma, hers seems to grow daily.

"Not that I mind," she murmurs, reaching over to caress the back of her daughter’s head and marveling as always at the fine softness of her wispy hair, "but why is a superhero in my living room playing the piano in the middle of the night?"

He chuckles quietly. "You know how much our kitten loves my purr. I thought it would soothe her back to sleep."

Our kitten. It makes her emotional every time he says it.

"It does, Minou, but we both know you can purr without the suit." She shakes her head. "Because that's a thing in our lives, for some reason."

The laugh he stifles shakes his chest and the infant held against it, but, Marinette notices suddenly, Emma's eyes are wide open anyway. She doesn't make a peep, simply gazing up at her daddy, with one tiny hand curled against his suit, directly over his heart. Limned in moonlight from the balcony's double doors, they're an ethereal vision, almost too beautiful to be real. Even as she laughs quietly with him, she's helpless against the tears that finally spill down her cheeks and wet the front of the old t-shirt she sleeps in.

He's used to the spontaneous tears by now, and presses a kiss to her cheek.

"To answer your question, My Lady, I can purr louder and longer transformed, and she loves the feel of the suit." He gently touches the back of his daughter's hand at his chest and meets her silent gaze. "Don't you, my precious girl? You love your Daddy Kitty, yes you do."

That startles a laugh that Marinette doesn't even try to hold back now that she knows Emma is awake. "Let's revisit that name later, Adrien."

At this point, the half-delirious laughter they share is that of two exhausted parents awake for the second time between midnight and dawn.

"These claws make playing a total pain, though." He lays his free hand gently on top of the keys with a little scale of five successive clicks. "Worth it for my favorite kitten, though."

Emma looks so peacefully comfortable in his arms, Marinette hates to separate them, but— "Was she hungry?"

"Dirty diaper," he says, patting Emma's bottom. "She wasn't crying, I just happened to hear her fussing a little. Didn't want to wake you up since you were just up with her—" he glances behind him at the clock on the wall, squinting at it to make out the time in the dimly lit room. He gives up trying to calculate and looks at Marinette with a wry smile, "—a very short time ago. We've been hanging out for...a while."

She wonders what "a while" means, but she's beyond grateful to have a partner so willing to get up and tend to their little one in the middle of the night. His thoughtfulness is never really a surprise, but she has yet to find its boundaries - his kindness and care are seemingly infinite. Marinette can't imagine a better husband, father, partner.

Aaand she's crying again.

"You sure you're okay, Mari?"

She nods and smiles at him, sniffling. She reaches for the baby and he hands her off with practiced ease. Within a moment, Emma roots against her chest and Marinette lifts the hem of her t-shirt to let her nurse.

Adrien slips away but returns immediately with her nursing pillow, which she takes with a grateful smile, sighing in relief once it’s in place between her lap and the baby cradled in her arms.

Taking one look at Emma, Adrien puts his hands up in mock-surrender. "Fine, fine, I get it. I've got a cool suit and strong muscles and I can purr, for heaven’s sake, but mommy wins every time, because I can't do that."

"Darn right," she says with another laugh, before her expression softens. "And...thank you, my love. I slept just long enough to get in one nice dream."

The eyebrows he raises are hidden, but his mask moves with them, big green eyes alight with mischief. "Dreaming about a certain cool cat?"

"And his strong muscles? Maybe."

He hums. "We should...recreate it."

"You don't even know what I was dreaming about, you tomcat!"

"Ah, but you were there and I was there and it was nice, so whatever it was, it sounds great."

She shakes her head and grins at him. "I would love to recreate it, Chaton."

Green light fills the room as his transformation falls, leaving the tired, shirtless dad with sleep-mussed hair and plaid pajamas she'd originally expected to find at the piano. He catches Plagg and gives him a scratch between the ears.

"Thanks, buddy. I appreciate your help."

Plagg's huge yawn morphs into a sleepy half-smile that shows one fang. "No problem, Kid. But I'm going to bed...after a cheese break."

"Good plan. You've earned it." He smiles after his kwami as he zips off toward the kitchen.

Alone once more with only the sound of Emma nursing and Adrien rubbing circles on her back, sleep creeps back in at the edges of her consciousness, darkening the corners of her mind and making her eyelids droop.

Adrien shifts next to her, reaching over to brush the back of his fingers against Emma's cheek; the movement brings Marinette back from the precipice of sleep. She blinks several times at her daughter, perfect and beautiful in the pale pre-dawn light - a miracle created without magic, Ladybug's ultimate lucky charm.

She's halfway to tearing up again when she hears a jaw-cracking yawn beside her and gives him a watery but sincere smile. "You can go back to bed, Minou. We'll be right there."

Though his eyes are half-closed, he shakes his head. "It's okay, I can wait for you."

Marinette repositions Emma to the other side and latches her before placing a hand on Adrien's plaid-pajama-covered leg. Unlike in her recent sweet dream, the hand is ungloved and they're in the quiet of their apartment instead of a rooftop, but the feeling of being blissfully happy and loved beyond imagination is identical. If she's just a bit more tired than she was in her dream, well, that's life with an infant, isn't it?

"Will you play for us, Adrien?” she asks, quickly adding, “if you want to."

The radiant joy that lights his face makes her heart soar, and she falls just a tiny bit more in love.

"For the two ladies I love more than anything?" He bends to kiss Emma's head, then meets Marinette's lips for a soft, lingering kiss. "The world."

"A song will do, Kitty. I'm too tired for the world right now."

He nods sagely. "Right as always, My Lady."

She giggles when he straightens his spine and theatrically flings nonexistent coattails behind him off the piano bench. Exaggerated for show, he places his bare foot above the pedal and positions his hands over the keys as though he's playing to a packed concert hall. He flashes a brilliant grin over his shoulder at her just before his fingers meet the ivory.

The song he begins is soft and plaintive, neither a lullaby nor a romantic epic but a heartfelt mix of the two. Gentle and lovely, the melody he coaxes from the keys reflects his own heart in vivid detail. She hears his devotion to his beloved partner in the deep, solid chords that anchor the piece, his effervescent delight at being a father bubbling over in the tinkling trills at the top of the scale that he plays softly so as not to rouse Emma. With a sweeping glissando, he returns to the center of the scale and lets each note tell Marinette how truly, deeply, eternally he loves her.

It's one of the most profoundly beautiful things she's heard in her entire life, a gift of love for her and for their daughter. It's overwhelming.

Emma's eyes have closed as she drifts off, her lips fluttering occasionally against Marinette's skin. When she's sure Emma is asleep, she lets the hem of her t-shirt fall to her lap again and brings the baby to her shoulder. Cradling her close, she lets her eyes slip shut and sways languidly with the melody. The tears that wet her cheeks are inevitable at this point, her chest so full of emotion she could burst.

Adrien's impromptu moonlight concert concludes on a quiet arpeggio layered over a lingering chord, fading into silence when he finally lifts his foot from the pedal.

He takes a deep breath and turns just as Marinette surges up to meet him, her lips moving against his with her heart's own echo of his song.

I love you. Emma loves you. We're so lucky we have you. You're the best dad. You're the best partner. My heart is yours forever.

When they break apart - gently, of course, so as not to wake the currently-sleeping baby - she imagines his expression of lovestruck exhaustion is mirrored on her face.

"I love you so much."

"Mmm. I love you, too."

A pause.

"I'm so tired."

The laugh they share is one of pure commiseration.

"I know. Let's get back to bed and see how much sleep we can get before our kitten wakes up again."

Adrien carefully takes Emma from her before he stands and starts up a quiet purr, reaching out his free hand for Marinette to take. She lets him help her up and lead her back to their room, watching as he settles Emma back in her crib with the utmost care. When he joins her beneath the duvet once more, she finally snuggles up to him as she had intended a half hour ago, before she found the bed empty and Chat Noir in her living room.

She smiles against his chest and listens to his breathing even out. Chasing precious sleep herself, Marinette lets the memory of his song fill her mind as she drifts off, hoping for another dream as beautiful as the last.

[linhlotus]

Tales of Lovebug and Kitty Noir Ch 5: Pixelator.

Marinette walked out of the elevator and past the front desk.

“Failed as a gopher already, Dupain-Cheng?” She heard Chloe laugh from the desk.

Marinette ignored her and kept walking, but before she was out of earshot, she heard Adrien say, “I’ll be right back. There’s something I forgot to do.”

She was a few blocks away from the hotel when she felt the eyes. When Marinette turned, though, she didn’t see anyone watching her. She shivered and started walking faster.

Even after she got to the Eiffel tower, she still couldn’t shake the feeling of someone watching her, so she backtracked to a nearby alley to see who it was. When no one followed her, she thought she was imagining things.

“What’s a pretty little lady like you doing in a place like this?”

Marinette whirled around. “Oh, it’s just you,” she sighed.

“Did I scare you?” he smiled. It was a kind smile that made Marinette melt.

“Yes,” she admitted.

“Sorry, Purrincess. I wasn’t trying to.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s fine, Kitty. Do you want to help me?”

“With what?”

“I need to get Jagged Stone some Eiffel Tower glasses with the Parisian flag on them,” Marinette explained.

“I’d love to help.”

“Okay, let’s go then.” Marinette motioned for him to follow and started walking out of the alley.

Chat grabbed her arm. “Hey, where do you think you’re going?” he grinned

She looked back at him, quizzically. “To the Eiffel Tower? Where was I supposed to go?”

“Don’t you want me to give you a lift?”

“Oh. Yes, please,” she smiled up at him. The prospect of being so close to him was too good to pass up.

He scooped her up and readied his baton. “Hold on, M’lady.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. It felt wonderful to be in his arms, pressed against his chest. It felt safe. She wasn’t even scared when Chat leaped up to a nearby roof. Although, part of that may have been because she did this as Lovebug.

Chat landed near the Eiffel Tower and set her on her feet. Was it her or was he reluctant to let go of her?

They saw a vendor selling sunglasses with little Eiffel Towers on the sides. Marinette was about to buy a pair when Chat set his hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked up at him. “What is it?”

“Don’t you think it would be better to make sure the glasses are exactly how he wanted them before you give them to him? That way, you won’t have to redo it and if you got it out of the way, we could go get that ice cream you promised me.” He smiled, his eyes twinkling.

She had an idea. “Hey, Chat, can you take me to my room? I need to get something.”

“Of course, Purrincess.”

------

“And . . . Voila!” Marinette held up her masterpiece. She turned to Chat. “What do you think?”

“They’re way better than the ones you almost bought at the tower. I’m sure he’ll love them. I might just buy a pair myself,” he grinned.

“You don’t have to buy them, I’ll make a pair just for you. You can call it a present for saving the city every day.”

“Hey, maybe I could model your designs!”

“Really?!” That way, they could see each other all the time! “I can pay you in sweets.”

“I wouldn’t say no to that . . .” he rubbed the back of his neck. “Why don’t we drop off these amazing shades and then we can write a contract.”

“Perfect! Come on.” They made their way to the balcony and Chat picked her up again. Oh, this was heavenly!

He leaped to the hotel and set her down. When they walked in, no one was there. Not Chloe, not Adrien, not even the hotel staff. Where was everyone? Marinette heard a series of muffled screams and crashes from above.

She rushed toward the stairs, yelling after Chat to follow her.“Come on!”

“Wait, Marinette, it could be an Akuma!” Chat rushed to keep up.

“Then I can help.”

“But you might get hurt!”

“Not if you’re there to save me.” Marinette stopped in her tracks catching him a bit off guard. Going by his side, she grabbed his shoulders and gave him no option but to look solely at her. “I'll be fine. It's probably nothing.”

“If it’s an Akuma, you have to leave immediately.”

“Deal,” she agreed. “Now let’s go check it out.”

She turned and they made their way up, checking each floor before moving on. When they got to the fourth floor, Marinette saw a man with what looked like a camera attached to his face. He watched them for a second and then pressed a button on his head.

Chat dived in front of her as a flash of white enveloped them.

When she regained her senses, all she saw was white.

A thud resounded around her and she looked down to see Chat on the floor. “Are you okay, Kitty?” she asked, kneeling next to him.

“Yeah, I’m fine, but what about you?”

“I’m alright. Where are we?”

“I don’t know, let’s see if we can find a way out.”

After walking for a few minutes and seemingly getting nowhere, Marinette looked to the side and saw- a crocodile?

“Chat, look. Isn’t that Jagged’s crocodile?”

“Watch out, M’lady, I’ll protect you.” Chat leaped in front of her and brandished his staff. “This is all my fault, I never should have let you come with me.”

“No, Kitty, look at me. We’re both fine. We just need to make a plan. If I hadn’t come, I would’ve worried about you the whole time.”

He considered this for a moment. “Fine let’s go make a plan, but we’d better put some distance between us and the crocodile.”

They started walking and it didn’t take Marinette long to come up with an idea. “Hey, we haven’t tried going up.”

“That’s true . . . but what if you fall?”

“I won’t.” She grabbed his arm. “Come on, let’s try it.”

Chat sighed and picked her up. “Hold on.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest which seemed to make him relax ever so slightly. Chat pressed a button on his baton and they shot upward.

After a few minutes, Chat pressed another button and they stopped. “It’s no use. It just keeps going.”

“Let’s go back down and try something else.”

He nodded and brought them down.

“Why don’t you try your cataclysm? If it doesn’t work, I’ll turn around when you change back,” she suggested as he set her on her feet.

“That might work!” Chat said and Marinette could see that he believed it was the best idea yet. “CATACLYSM!” he said and slammed his hand against the ground.

The ground cracked and disappeared and Marinette grabbed Chat’s arm for support. They reappeared in the hotel with Jagged’s crocodile bellowing down the hall.

“Let’s get out of here,” Chat said.

“I agree.” They backed into the stairwell and slammed the door behind them before running to the first floor where Chloe was throwing a tantrum.

“This is all your fault, Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe screamed when she saw Marinette.

“How is this my fault?”

“If you had been at the hotel like you were supposed to be, that hooligan wouldn’t have targeted me.” Chloe flipped her hair. “Because of you, my hair is ruined and Adrikins is nowhere to be seen!” she whined, turning to Kim and pretending to cry on his chest.

Marinette was fuming.

How could Chloe accuse her like that? She was the one that gave Marinette the job of ‘gopher’ anyway! If anyone was to blame, it was Chloe, herself. Not that she would admit it.

Chat settled his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him, her expression softening. “Just ignore her, she’s not worth it.”

Marinette nodded. She knew he was right it was just hard with Chloe constantly getting on her nerves.

They walked out of the hotel and saw the Akuma again. This time, he was preoccupied with a civilian down the road, but he turned to them once they disappeared.

“So, you escaped. That won’t happen again.” He noticed Marinette. “Ah, who is this? Is she your girlfriend?” Marinette and Chat both blushed and looked away. “She’s very pretty. She’ll go very nicely with my other photographs. What do you think, Chat Noir? Wouldn’t she look good next to Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale?”

Chat glared at him. And- was he growling? Marinette had never seen him so mad. It was kind of fascinating to compare to the soft expression he so often gave to her. She felt honored that it was on her behalf, but at the same time, he was scary.

“Oh, didn’t mean to jiggle your tripod.” The Akuma laughed.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “That was so bad.”

“Hey! You’ll pay for that!”

He pressed a button on his head and Chat knocked her to the ground just in time, but her arm still got hit. Chat grinned at her from a few inches away. “You just keep falling for me, don’t you?”

“This isn’t the best time, Chat.”

“Sorry, M’lady. Couldn’t help myself.”

He stood up and offered her his hand. When she tried to accept it, though, her hand went right through. Chat looked horrified.

She couldn’t quite understand what was going on. She hadn’t been hit directly so she’d thought she was in the clear, but maybe it just had different effects. Marinette tried again with her other hand. This time, it worked. She just couldn’t use her right hand.

He let go of her hand and instead picked her up. “Hold on, Purrincess. Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

Marinette wrapped her good arm around Chat’s neck and let her other one hang by her side. Chat leaped onto the roof of a neighboring building.

They arrived at her balcony and Chat set her down on her chair. He was about to leave, but she grabbed his tail. “We have to figure out where the akuma is. You said Lovebug was unavailable for a while, maybe she’s still busy.”

She couldn’t let Chat know she was Lovebug and he was sure to find out if she transformed with her arm out of commission. What were the chances that two people who looked remarkably similar would have gotten the exact same injury at the same time? He’d never believe that.

He turned back to her.

“So we need to get something to trap the akuma in and you can deliver it to Lovebug with the other one.”

“You’re right. Any ideas?” he asked, sitting in front of her.

She thought for a moment. His weapon was on his head so that could be it. Did he have anything that didn’t match his outfit? She didn’t think so. That was their best bet.

“I can’t think of anything other than his camera. What about you?”

“I agree with you.” He stood up. “I’ll be back when I’m done.”

Marinette stood and adopted a defensive stance, bracing herself for his inevitable objection. “No.”

“What?”

“I’m coming with you.” She crossed her arms. As best she could, anyway.

“Absolutely not. You don’t have a miraculous.”

“Yeah, but I have ideas. And I have you. I know you would never let me get hurt.”

“But I already have,” he growled and gestured to her arm. “You were hurt because I couldn’t save you.”

“Technically not, because it doesn’t actually hurt,” she grinned.

“It doesn’t matter. You’re not coming. I will not put you in danger again.”

“If you don’t take me, I’ll follow you. And then you won’t be able to protect me.”

He glared at her for a few minutes, but Marinette could tell it didn’t have much spite behind it. “Fine, but if I tell you to do something, you listen.”

“Agreed,” she chirped.

He picked her up and she held on to him again.

He leaped to where they’d last seen the akuma and landed in an alley, settling her on her feet.

They looked around the corner and spotted him immediately.

Marinette pulled back and Chat turned to face her. “We need to get close to him.”

He pursed his lips but didn’t argue.

“Do we know what he’s after?”

Chat held up his baton. “Well, let’s check the news.”

They watched a video Nadija had managed to take before she was turned into a photograph, as well as one from Alya. They both said the same thing; the Akuma had been identified as Vincent Asa who now went by Pixelator and he was after Jagged Stone. But, curiously, he wasn’t seeking vengeance. Well, not really. At least, he wasn’t openly threatening Jagged so that had to be an improvement.

“I have a plan. You go recharge and get Jagged. I’ll stay here and wait for you.”

“But-”

She cut him off, “No time to argue, Kitty, just go find him.”

He scowled but extended his baton. “Don’t get near him. Just wait right here until I get back.” Then he was gone though she could still hear him landing on the rooftop. She turned back to keep an eye on Pixelator and found herself looking right at him.

“I see your pretty little kitty left you here all alone.” He pressed a button on his temple and, for the third time that day, a beam of white light shot at her. She jumped to the side, barely getting out of the way in time.

“He’ll be back.” She was confident in that at least, but whether she would make it till then was what worried her. She just had to keep from getting hit and she’d be fine.

After a few minutes of dodging attacks, there was still no sign of Chat and Marinette was getting tired. Pixelator sent another beam of light at her and she leaped out of the way, but when she tried to take another step, she collapsed. Pixelator must have remembered what happened to her arm and decided to incapacitate her before he returned her to her frame.

Marinette tried to scramble away, but with two unusable limbs, she wasn’t going anywhere. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited to be hit by another beam, but there was a yell from somewhere behind the akuma that made her eyes fly open.

“Hey, leave her alone!”

It was Chat! Perfect timing!

“A little bird told me you were looking for someone.”

Jagged Stone stepped out from behind Chat. “Hey, Vincent! I heard you wanted a photo.”

“The name’s Pixelator now. Come here so I can immortalize you.”

Jagged started walking to Pixelator and while he was distracted, Chat rushed over to help her up.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ve been better, but I think I have an idea for how to help Jagged.” She picked up her purse. “Can you open this for me?”

“Sure.” He opened it and was courteous enough not to look inside, which was nice because otherwise, as he would say, ‘the cat would have been out of the bag’. He held it out to her. “Here, I’ll hold it for you.”

“Thanks.” She used her good hand to pull out a small makeup mirror. “Help me over to them.”

“Are you sure abou-”

“Please, Chat.”

He sighed but helped her up and they hobbled over to where Jagged kept repositioning himself in an attempt to stall.

Pixelator was getting fed up. “Enough!” He smiled sadistically. “Look into the lens.”

Marinette hurled the mirror as Jagged braced himself for a hit that never came. Instead, the beam bounced off her mirror and hit Pixelator. He vanished, leaving the visor in his place.

“Great job, Purrincess!”

“Did you bring something to capture the akuma with?” she asked.

He held up a jar. “Yeah.”

“Go, quick so no one can do any more damage.”

He snapped it and a purple butterfly fluttered out, its wings glittering evilly in the sun. Before it could go more than a few feet, it was caught in a jar and a lid was snapped over it.

Chat turned back to her. “Do you want me to take you home before I go look for Lovebug?”

“That would be nice,” she admitted.

He scooped her up which was really awkward after what Pixelator had done to her. She held onto him with her good arm as he jumped across the rooftops. When they got to her house, he opened her skylight and lowered her onto her bed.

Marinette waited until she was sure he was gone before calling Tikki out of her purse. “We have to fix this and purify the akumas. TIKKI, SPOTS ON! LUCKY CHARM!” A mirror fell into her hand.

Marinette waited until she was sure he was gone before calling Tikki out of her purse. “We have to fix this and purify the akumas. TIKKI, SPOTS ON! LUCKY CHARM!” A mirror fell into her hand. </p>

“A little late for that. Don’t you think? Oh, whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore.” She threw the mirror into the air. “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!” Ladybugs flew all around her and she sighed as she regained the feeling in her arm and leg.

“Time to go find Chat.” Lovebug opened her skylight and swung away. When she finally found Chat, he was leaping toward Notre Dame. “Chat Noir! Chat Noir!” she called.

He turned and they landed on a roof to talk. “Sorry I’m late. I had some trouble getting away. Do you have the akumas?”

“Yeah.” He handed them to her.

As Lovebug opened the jars, she told him that she had already used her lucky charm and the miraculous cure so she had only a few minutes. She purified the akumas and leaped back to her house as fast as she could, detransforming as she dropped onto her bed.

A few minutes later, Chat popped his head in. “Hey, Purrincess. Ready to go drop off Jagged’s glasses and get some ice cream?”

“Yeah, let me just go get a notebook. We still have to write that contract.”

When Marinette got home after her afternoon with Chat, all she could do was lay on her chaise and sigh. The day had been perfect and she hoped they could do something similar together soon.

Thank you to my wonderful beta @valiantlyjollynightmare!

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[gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights]

Rating: G

Summary: The battle isn't going quite as planned, but Marinette always has faith in her partner, no matter what miraculous the two of them wear. (Or: Mister Bug and Multimouse get trapped in a closet.)

Word Count:  1675

XXX

“I’m so sorry Mari—Multimouse,” Mister Bug corrected himself.  “I should’ve used my Lucky Charm before Stormlight locked us in here.”

His voice guided her in the darkness, and she fumbled towards him.  Fortunately, in the hotel’s custodial closet, there wasn’t far to go.

“It’s not your fault.  I should’ve known this was a trap.  Hawkmoth’s been too smart lately to give us an akuma out in the open.”  

She bumped into a few unidentifiable objects (ow that hurt her shin) before reaching her partner.  Her hand twined with his automatically.  Before she could remember she wasn’t Ladybug, that this wouldn’t be one of their normal touches, he squeezed back.

“I’m the professional here.  That means it’s my job to stop clowning around and get us out safely.”  His voice was uncharacteristically serious.  

She wished she could catch a flash of his green eyes, his smile, anything.  But the darkness was too heavy for even his yo-yo to illuminate.  Stormlight’s power fed on any kind of light that came on in the building, shooting it up towards the thunderstorm brewing in the sky.

“If only I had my night vision.”  He pounded a fist on the locked door.  “Or my Cataclysm.  It’s too early to use my Lucky Charm now.  Or at least, I think it is…”  

He trailed off with a sigh.  “I wish Ladybug were here.”

Marinette scooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder.  She knew they needed to get out and defeat Stormlight, but they’d never win if her partner felt he wasn’t up to the task.

“I bet she wishes she was here, too,” she murmured.  “She wouldn’t have lent you her miraculous if it weren’t important.”

He laughed hollowly.  “I’m surprised she trusted me with it at all.  The last time I was Mister Bug, all I did was screw things up.”

Her eyes widened, not that it helped her see any better.  “No you didn’t.  You and Lady Noire beat the akuma and sentimonster just fine.”

“Only because she figured out my Lucky Charm for me,” he said.  “Why didn’t she give the ladybug miraculous to you?  You pulled off that crazy plan when we fought Kwami Buster.  I bet you’d make a great Ladybug.”

Her face heated under the praise.  Of course, the whole reason he had her miraculous right now was because she couldn’t be Ladybug.  Lila was too close to figuring out her secret identity, and she felt like she could hardly breathe at school anymore.  If Marinette could lose her trail by being Multimouse for a few weeks, maybe things could go back to normal.

But either way, she needed Mister Bug.  What if something terrible happened to her?  She was the Guardian and Ladybug.  She needed someone ready to take her place if the worst happened.  Under Wayzz’s direction, she’d already begun to train Nino as an apprentice Guardian.  

But being Ladybug was in many ways more difficult.  She needed someone who could think on their feet, who wouldn’t flinch at running into danger.  Someone who understood how important it was to keep their identity secret.

As much as she hated to ask it of him, there was no one else who could do her job better than Chat Noir.

“You’re going to make a great Ladybug too, Mister Bug.”  She smiled reassuringly before remembering he couldn’t see it.  “Don’t get discouraged.  We’ve always been able to win together.”

“I don’t think one time counts as always,” he muttered.  “And like I said, you came up with that plan.  Do you have any more big ideas?”

She bit her lip.  “Not really.  I can’t see a thing in here either, and I can’t feel enough space under the door to crawl through if I use Multitude.”

“Great,” he grumbled.  “How long do you think it’ll be before Stormlight shows up and puts us out of our misery?”

“Don’t talk like that Chat—uh, Mister Bug!  We’ll find a way out… somehow.”  She rested her forehead against the door.  “I trust you.”

He’d always been there for her.  During Stoneheart, Gamer 2.0, Miracle Queen—like the tide, he always rose when she fell. 

“...Thanks, Multimouse.  Sorry for bugging you with my problems.”

She laughed even though the pun wasn’t that funny.  It was just a relief to hear a fraction of her partner’s humor return.

“I’ll go ahead and use my Lucky Charm.”

She heard his yo-yo whizz up into the air, though it was weird not to see any pink flashes as the Lucky Charm materialized.

He yelped as the object bounced off his head and landed in her arms.

“What even is this?”  She felt the soft object—no, multiple objects, bound together, like a… “A bouquet of flowers?”

“Now I really wish Ladybug were here.”  He sighed wistfully.

She was grateful he couldn’t see her cheeks pinken.  “Keep your pining to yourself, Buggaboy.  It’s time to use that big brain of yours and get us out of here.”

“You really think my brain’s big?”

“Focus.”

“Right, right.”  He took the bouquet back from her.  “Huh… these aren’t real flowers.”  She heard the distinctive sound of him sniffing.  “Yep, definitely fake.  The petals smell like fabric, and there’s some kind of wire in the stems… that’s it!” 

“What?  What’s it?”

“Use your Multitude, and take this.”  He squeezed her shoulder with one hand, the other pressing a wire into her palm.  “You can get inside the lock and pick it!”

She grinned.  “Sounds like you’ve unlocked your true powers already.  Get ready to pick me up.”

“Of course, Mousinette.”

She unhooked the jump rope from her waist.  There wasn’t much room in the closet, but hopefully she’d still be able to pull off her power.

“Stand back,” she warned.  Her side grew cold as he retreated.

Her jump rope thwaped against shelves and other unseen objects, but she still managed to shout “Multitude!” and toss it into the air.  It wrapped around her seconds later, and then she was splitting apart.

She’d only used Multitude once before, and it felt just as weird the second time.  It was almost like her appendages had each disconnected, but were controlled by her same mind.  At least the darkness meant she didn’t get disoriented by seeing out of eight sets of eyes.

Mister Bug’s hands finally bumped into her.  Well, one of her anyway.  She honed her focus on the Multimouse in his palm.

“Gotta be around here somewhere… ha!”  He slid her into the lock.  “You think you can get that picked before I transform back?”

“Piece of cake.  Or should I say piece of cheese?”

“You know, I’m almost starting to miss the smell of stinky cheese…”

Her heart twinged.  He was probably missing Plagg as much as she missed Tikki.

She pushed that thought aside and focused on bending the wire to fit the tumblers.  Without her sight, it was more difficult than she’d anticipated.

“Need an extra paw—er, hand?”  Mister Bug asked.

“Paw is right.  Can you lift a couple of my duplicates up here?”

“I’ll carry you anywhere, little Mouse.”

She bit the inside of her cheek.  Because she was distracted, each of her duplicates ended up mimicking the action.  Why did it feel so much different when her partner flirted with Multimouse than with Ladybug?  ...Would he just flirt with any girl he partnered with?

Stop that.  Chat Noir—er, Mister Bug—can flirt with whoever he wants.

She split her attention between three pairs of arms, weaving the wire through the lock.  His miraculous beeped just slightly off-beat from hers.  Why was this taking so long?  Surely she should just be able to twist the tumblrs and— 

The lock finally clicked.

“Phew.”  Mister Bug pushed open the door.  No light came out the other side, but she could feel a faint breeze.  Stormlight’s tempest must be picking up.  “I guess I shouldn’t have worried.  Even if we detransformed in there, we wouldn’t have been able to see each other.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to see you, you mean.”  The three of her duplicates leapt out of the lock, joining back with the rest of them.  It was easier to focus once all of her was in one piece.

“Right.  After you, my La—er, Multimouse.”

She froze in the doorway.  “What did you just say?”

“Um, after you?”

“No, after that.”

“...Multimouse?”

Maybe she’d misheard, or imagined his slip.  That had to be it.  There was no way he could know her identity, right?  She’d feel so much better if she could see his face.

“Sorry.  I shouldn’t lie to you.  I almost called you my Lady, but don’t—don’t read too much into that,” he said quickly.  “Your voices sound so similar, and I guess I just miss her too much.  Not that I don’t appreciate you!  You’re amazing, Mari—er, Multimouse.  I couldn’t do this without you.”

Phew.  She was safe for now, but maybe she should try disguising her voice more in the future.  In the dark, it must be even easier to hear her as “Ladybug.”

“Er, ah—no worries, Mister Bug.  I know how important she is to you.”   

Come to think of it, his voice had sounded awfully familiar himself… no, just wishful thinking again.

“Heh.  Thanks for understanding.”

Thunder cracked outside, making her jump.  

“We better get moving,” she said.  “There’s no telling how much power Stormlight has by now.”

“And we’ve still got to recharge before we face him.”  He squeezed her hand.

Then he lifted it to his lips.  

Her own lips parted at the gentle kiss he left on her knuckles.  Her heart beat fast and hard enough to match the thunder outside.

“I… don’t suppose that was because I reminded you of Ladybug, was it?”  She asked.

“No.  That was a thank you.  For believing in me.”  

Though she couldn’t see his smile, she could hear it in his voice.  A soft smile spread across her face in return.

“Always, Mister Bug.”

[haymaker-mva]

A different choice, a different chance

Part 1/2: Desperada

So I've fucking given up on my “mental health break.” No sleep for the wicked!

This fic’s pretty much, “What if Marinette picked Luka for the snake miraculous first, and what would happen if that led to her realizing that what she was pretty much a stalker?”

Enjoy the fic that my brain spawned and would not let me leave alone!

1 - 2

“W-wow…” Alya stuttered in surprise. “It never hit me that the plans we did messed with others… It just seemed so harmless at the time…”

“That’s the same thought I had. It seemed like just being a schoolgirl with a crush, but I really have gone too far, haven’t I?”

-

Ladybug looked between Adrien Agreste and Luka Couffine. She had one snake miraculous, and two guys to choose from. After casting her luck charm, Ladybug had gone to get backup, telling Adrien and Luka to go hide. She set up Luka’s guitar with the pigeons and escaped. She quickly retrieved the snake miraculous from Master Fu, and went on her way. As she flew back through the city, Ladybug’s mind drifted.

For some strange reason that seemed specifically like a crush, Mainette had chosen Adrien to play with Jagged instead of Luka, who was much more suited for the job. The guilt ate at Marinette, but Ladybug had to get her head in the game.

Ladybug slid into the sewers again, and began calling out to Luka and Adrien. She had to make sure they were safe, and perhaps give one of them the miraculous she currently held if her instincts were leading her the right way.

She heard Luka answer her, and she made her way towards his voice and quickly found them in a normal tunnel. Adrien and Luka were both there, though they seemed quite a bit worried.

Now back to where we were. Ladybug looked between Adrien and Luka. Her heart ached for her to choose Adrien, but her instincts pulled her towards Luka. She was so close to giving Adrien the snake… but then the guilt from Marinette’s earlier mistake smacked her in the brain. Ladybug shook her head to clear her thoughts, and grabbed Adrien’s wrist.

“Luka, go hide around that corner. I have to hide Adrien somewhere else, I’ll be back to make sure you’re safe.”

-

Adrien ran through the sewers with Luka, just trying to get away from the akuma. Every time Adrien tried to lag behind or get lost around a corner, Luka would find him and make sure they weren’t separated. It was nice to have a friend that cared so much, but Adrien needed to become Chat Noir, and Luka was making it ten times harder!

After Kwami knows how long of this, Ladybug found them again thanks to Luka’s loud voice. Adrien could tell what this was; Ladybug went to get backup. He knew his partner. A tiny war waged in his head. On one hand, being chosen by Ladybug would be great. But on the other hand, Adrien was Chat Noir, and being chosen would not be so great.

So when Ladybug pulled him aside, his heart both sank and soared. His Lady truste him outside of the mask too…! But he needed to be Chat Noir…

Ladybug pulled them into a locker room, and paused to catch her breath. She opened a locker, and motioned for him to get inside.

What?

Ladybug wasn’t choosing him? So what was she doing? Noticing the confusion on Adrien’s face, Ladybug elaborated.

“I needed to spit you two up to make it harder for Desperada to get you both in one go. I also need to find that dang cat, and find some backup,” Ladybug griped. She collected herself and let out a breath. “Anyway, go hide and only come out when you see the ladybugs.” Ladybug waved and ran out of the locker room, shutting the door behind her and leaving Adrien conflicted.

Was it good or bad that Ladybug didn’t give his alter ego another miraculous?

-

Soon the fight was over and the miraculous ladybug was cast, and everything was back to normal. Well, not exactly. Seeds of doubt had been planted in Marinette’s head…

-

As Marinette sat on her bed after the fight, she replayed a lot of scenes in her head. All of them about Adrien. All the times she messed something up, hurt someone, or sacrificed something because of him,in one way or another. There were too many times. Heck, it happened just that day with Luka and playing with Jagged!

Marinette’s mind flashed back to the day that Manon got akumatized into Puppeteer the second time. Adrien had specifically mentioned loving another girl, as well as indirectly and almost actually rejecting her.

All of a sudden, she felt stupid.

He never loved her, and she didn’t want to hurt yet another person, especially him, trying to obtain Adrien’s affections. Marinette frowned sadly. She really had hurt so many people. Granted, she always apologized and fixed things. Take Kagami for example! They got orange juice together pretty much every week. But that didn’t change the fact that she had still hurt people with her stalkerish schemes.

And looking at her wall, she followed the thought that she had also crossed over into stalker territory. Not just her wall, Marinette had even stolen his phone at one point! Gotten his bodyguard in trouble! Invaded his room as Ladybug, and took full advantage of his trust in her. She wasn’t even properly friends with him; she could barely speak a word in his presence!

Marinette facepalmed. How could she ever have dreamed of dating a guy that she couldn’t talk to? She remembered something her mother told her a long time ago, when she had started liking guys.

“Remember, Marinette. Don’t choose the better guy, choose the guy that makes you the better girl. Never go for the one that brings the worst out in you. It’ll only lead to disaster if you can’t control yourself.”

Marinette had never really taken that advice into consideration, because of her short list of crushes. But now it was all she could think of. Why did she even like Adrien? She could barely recall. She told herself it was his personality, the kindness he displayed, the trust he had in others… But that was just his naivety, wasn’t it? She liked him because he was afraid of losing his friends by being anything but polite. Adrien only went after her so that she wouldn’t hate him. Their class was small, of course he wouldn’t want to have any enemies.

Marinette slapped her cheeks. She wouldn’t think bad of Adrien. Even if he was her crush, and she was a bad one herself, he was still her friend.

I think I need to call Alya.

-

“I think I’ve gone too far with Adrien.” Was the first words that rushed out of her mouth. Cringing at the implication, she rephrased. “As in, my crush has gone too far.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where is this coming from?” Alya responded.

“I chose Adrien today. To play guitar. Over Luka, who is literally in a popular band, and would you look at that! Plays a guitar.” Marinette deadpanned, sitting down in her desk chair. “I’ve also conspired with Chloe to ruin Kagami’s dress, stolen his phone, gotten his bodyguard in trouble with a police officer, literally have his schedule mapped out and memorized, and my walls are covered in his face. And that’s just to start.” The words tumbled out of her, and though she knew it was bad, seeing it all out on the table was unsettling. Knowing she had done all that.

She really was a stalker at this point.

“W-wow…” Alya stuttered in surprise. “It never hit me that the plans we did messed with others… It just seemed so harmless at the time…”

“That’s the same thought I had. It seemed like just being a schoolgirl with a crush, but I really have gone too far, haven’t I?” Marinette said, placing the phone in front of her computer, which was displaying Adrien’s face.

She put her face in her hands, elbows resting on the desk.

“I think we’ve all gone too far.” Alya stated, surprising Marinette. “My job as your bestie is to even you out and tell you when it’s time to calm down. But I didn’t even notice.”

“Nonono, Alya it’s not your fault I went crazy.” Marinette told her best friend. It really wasn’t any of her friends' fault. “Let’s move past that though. What now?”

“Huh?”

“What do I do now? I can’t let this keep happening. Something needs to change.”

“Maybe tone down your advances? Get rid of the schedule? This doesn’t mean you have to give up, it just tells us that we need to rethink our strategy” Alya suggested.

“I… I think I have to move on.”

“What?! Why?” Alya exclaimed. Marinette could imagine her face, Alya’s eyes wide and her glasses slightly slipping.

“Face it Al’s, I can’t even talk to him. He loves another girl, and that girl is most likely Kagami. And she and him are possibly dating. I’m still friends with her, I can’t ruin their relationship.” Marinette sighed, her mind conjuring up Kagami and hers’ orange juice meetups. Marinette couldn’t do that to someone she considered a friend. A rival in love would be okay, but Kagami had clearly won over Adrien. So, Marinette had to move on.

“I… It’s just strange to think about you not being in love with Adrien.” Alya puzzled.

“Honestly, I understand the feeling.” Marinette took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. She snapped forward, “But we’re gonna have to get used to it!” She declared, standing up and bringing her arms up determinately.

From that point forward, she really did.

1 - 2

[kasienda]

A Miraculous Reveal - Instagram

I forgot to post this here! Inspired by a prompt from @ladyofthenoodle. She also figured out how this one should end because she’s genius like that. Hope you enjoy! 

~~~

Marinette stared unhappily at the photo on her computer screen. Part of her thought she should be overjoyed at the revelation before her, but in the moment, she only felt frustrated. What was that stupid cat thinking?! Could he be any more obvious? If she didn’t know better, she’d think he did it on purpose.

“Marinette?” Tikki’s familiar voice called. “What’s wrong?”

The dark-haired girl sighed, and then gestured halfheartedly to the picture on her instagram feed. “Do you think I should be more mad at Adrien for uploading this picture? Or at Plagg for being difficult in the first place?” Tikki looked at the picture of Adrien sitting at his desk leaning forward to the camera with light from tall panes of glass windows lighting up his hair in a golden glow. As someone who collected all things Adrien, the picture honestly wasn’t the best Marinette had ever seen. His face looked washed out, and he had bags under his eyes. He just looked tired, and she couldn’t help but worry about him. Especially now that she understood that his plate of responsibilities was larger than she had ever imagined. The image was further spoiled by a random plain white sock floating upright in the air behind him. It was so stiff it could have been hanging from a clothesline.

Marinette observed Tikki carefully as the kwami considered the picture, watching for any reaction. At times, her kwami was amazingly expressive, but Marinette had come to learn the embodiment of creation could pull off quite the poker face when the need arose.

“I don’t see Plagg,” the red sprite finally concluded, her eyes furrowed together in seeming confusion.

“Really?!” Marinette scoffed. “That’s what you’re going with? I already know that kwamis don’t show up on camera, Tikki. What else could that be?”

Ao3 Link Ff.net

“Photoshop?” TIkki suggested lightly.

Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Maybe Adrien threw the sock backwards when he took the picture,” her kwami said.

Marinette crossed her arms over her chest, not remotely convinced by Tikki’s attempts to dissuade her.  “It’d be blurry, Tikki.”

“Not if it was at the height of its arc.”

“It wouldn’t be at this angle,” Marinette argued, pointing at the artifact. She didn’t like physics, but she couldn’t help pick up on some things being a superhero fighting akumas over the rooftops of Paris. “This is like it’s hanging upright. If it was flying through the air it would be bent and floppy.”

Tikki sighed, her mouth opening in search of another argument, but no words left her lips.

“You know who else might know that kwamis can’t be photographed?” Marinette asked rhetorically, and then answered the question herself. “Papillion.”

“Yeah, Adrien needs to delete that photo,” Tikki agreed.

Marinette laughed at Tikki’s sudden change in tune. “Oh, you think so?”

Tikki didn’t bother to respond to the “I told you so,” and Marinette found herself looking at the picture. His eyes were actually green. After her stint as Lady Noire, Marinette hadn’t been certain that her partner’s eyes were that vibrant shade of fresh spring grass. But they were, and for whatever reason that little detail made her feel like she knew him.

And of course, she did know him. He was Adrien. But now… She couldn’t help the giddy little smile that burst over her face as the reality of Chat Noir’s identity really sunk in, and she loved him even more.

“I’m glad that you’re happy,” Tikki observed softly. “That it’s him.”

Marinette twirled around in her chair towards her kwami. “Yeah, me too,” she admitted with a blush. “But goodness, he makes things so difficult sometimes! Why doesn’t he think things through?!”

“Let’s go yell at him!” Tikki encouraged, executing an excited dance in the air.

Marinette laughed. “Alright, then! Tikki, Spots On!”

…

Adrien lay back on his bed, one arm behind his neck supporting his head, and the other hand holding his phone up in front of his face, watching the likes and comments come in from his latest Instagram post. He didn’t really know why he always watched the reactions come in live. The constant notifications and attention from people he had never met had lost its joy and appeal ages ago, and yet, he still couldn’t help but check the recent post every few seconds anyway.

And this post was special. He had an ulterior motive.

“Do you think she’ll figure it out, Plagg?” Adrien asked, daydreaming of a certain Ladybug darting through his window.

“I’d say that’s a pretty good bet!” the mischievous cat like kwami said, snapping the t before phasing out of sight.

Adrien dropped the phone and looked up. “What makes you say…”

Ladybug stood in his window frame. Her blue eyes narrowed as they landed on him, and he wanted to hide from her obvious displeasure.  

“...that?” he trailed off. He leapt from his prone position on the bed, and slid forward, allowing his legs to hang over the mattress as he sat smiling at his mostly unexpected guest.

“Hi, Ladybug! What brings you here?” Adrien greeted brightly as if it was totally and completely normal to have a superhero standing in his open window. Which, if he counted himself, it kinda was…?

Her glare turned frostier, even as she jumped gracefully from the window sill to the marble floor. “Don’t play dumb, Chaton. It doesn’t suit you. Delete it now!”

“Delete what?” Despite her command, he figured it was in the interest of his survival to pretend he had no idea what she was talking about.

“The photo that you just posted to Instagram!” she growled.

He grinned. Ladybug had arrived within thirty minutes of him posting the photo. “So, you follow my Instagram?”

To his shock, pink flushed across her face. “That’s s-so not the point!” she spluttered.

His grin widened. “I always told you, you’d find my unmasked face irresistible.”

Her eyes hardened. “You need to delete that photo now, Adrien!” she barked harshly. “If I could figure it out, Papillion and Mayura can too!”

His grin evaporated in an instant. Shit! He hadn’t thought about that. He darted back to his phone that lay abandoned on his bed, rapidly unlocked it, and then swiped and tapped his way through the app. “It’s done,” he reported, all his bravado gone. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”

His partner’s form slumped in relief and she let out a frustrated sigh. Her resigned exasperation with just that dash of disappointment cut deeper than anything she had actually said. He had been needlessly reckless and for selfish reasons. It seemed so obvious now.

“It’s probably not gone, though,” he admitted softly. “I have crazy fans that screen cap everything. And repost stuff. I can’t control any of that.”

“It was only up for like half an hour. I can’t imagine it got too far or that most people will understand its significance. And it’s not the most flattering photo of you honestly, so hopefully less people felt the need to save it.” She flicked a piece of lint off her shoulder, not making eye contact. “How many likes did it have?”

“Around five thousand,” he reported.

“Five thousand?” she repeated in disbelief, her bright blue eyes as wide as the Seine. “I don’t think I could get that many likes in a year! God damn celebrities!”

“Ladybug could,” he told her confidently. “If she had an Instagram.”

“I’m not getting an Instagram as Ladybug!” she countered hotly.

“Why not?” he asked with genuine curiosity. “I imagine you could post some beautiful pictures of the city.”

“Because of stuff like floating socks!” she snapped back. She started pacing in front of his window in agitation. “I might not catch something in the background, and then I would give away my whole identity! I’m not willing to put my friends and family in danger for likes!” she lashed out at him.

His shoulders wilted. She was right. His father had a lot of resources and could probably protect himself even from a supervillain. Maybe Kagami too. But what about Nino, Alya, and Marinette?

“I-it wasn’t for likes,” he whispered, but the objection felt weak even to his own ears. He had only wanted one person to see it. Her. He just wanted her in his life. His actual life. Was that so bad? But his plan had worked better than he thought possible. She had figured out his identity. And that meant…

Knots formed in Adrien’s stomach as the implications sunk in. “You’re right. I didn’t think. Are-are you going to take my miraculous, now?” He wasn’t brave enough to look at her face. He hadn’t thought about the consequences at all. He hadn’t thought about the fact that other people, including his enemies, might recognize the properties of a kwami. Didn’t think about the fact that he didn’t know how to survive without the freedom of Chat Noir. No, he had only been thinking that Ladybug would understand the significance of the photo and if she “accidentally” figured out his identity, then she couldn’t be mad at him for telling her. He had only wanted her to see him and understand him. She was his partner. His other half.

He risked a glance up at her continued silence. She looked like she had been hit by a bus at the question. Her eyes were blown wide and her mouth hung open, and she still didn’t say anything.

“That’s the consequence, right?” he prompted when she didn’t respond. “Someone figures out my identity, I have to give up my miraculous?” He shrugged, trying to hold up a strong front. “That’s what Plagg said a few weeks back anyway.”

He slipped off the ring and held it out to her, his eyes burning with threatened tears.

Her gloved hands reached out, and he clamped his teeth down on the sob that wanted to tear out of his throat. Her gloved hands, which felt strange touching his bare skin, carefully closed his fingers around the cold metal circle and pushed it back towards him. He looked up at her in surprise. Her eyes glistened with her own unshed tears.

“Maybe I should take it. That was Master Fu’s rule, but Chaton…” she whispered, and then rapidly shook her head with her teeth pressed down into her lower lip. “I can’t do this without a partner.”

“You could find a new partner. One who is more worthy of your trust.”

She scoffed. “I can’t just find another partner! They don’t fall from the sky. And yes! I’m not going to lie! You drive me absolutely crazy sometimes! With the flirting and your stupid puns while I’m trying to figure out how to use a lucky charm! When you wouldn’t take no for an answer after asking me out for like the third time. When you fell for fake Ladybug just because you wanted me to love you even though it was so obvious she wasn’t real. And oh my god, you accepted Sass when you were already Chat Noir! Ugh!”

His shoulders slumped, and his eyes burned with unshed tears. When she laid it all out like that… maybe she needed to find a new partner. Someone who understood the responsibilities his power brought him, and would respect her boundaries, hopefully better than he had.

She dropped to her knees in front of him, and her red gloved hands gently took his own, and squeezed reassurance. She tilted her head down to catch his fallen gaze. And she smiled softly at him.

“But Chaton, you’re also the person who can figure out my crazy plans with almost no explanation, the person who has taken hit after hit for me. I’ve literally watched you die in my arms, more times than I prefer to think about. I have the nightmares to prove it. You talk me up and encourage me when it feels impossible to succeed.”

She gripped his hands harder. “Hell! I would have quit being Ladybug on the first day, if it wasn't for you. I don’t know how to tell you this, but I need you. No one else can even come close to replacing you. Not even if I trained them to fight because you do more than watch my back. You just know how to lift me up when my world has fallen apart.”

Hot tears slipped past his defenses as her words settled into his being, planting soft seeds of warmth.

“Please don’t cry,” she begged.

He wiped his tears away furiously. “Thank you, LB. it feels really good to hear you say all that. Sometimes, I’m not sure where I stand with you. Some days I feel like your best friend, and other days, that annoying weird kid you wish you never had met.”

“Chaton,” she crooned. “I care about you so much. I promise I have never once wished that I hadn’t met you. You have become a huge part of my life!”

“You too, LB! You’re the best thing in mine.”

She blushed and fidgeted. It was actually weird to see her as anything other than confident and focused. Her nervousness relaxed him, made him remember she was just a teenager like him.

“I love you,” he blurted into the growing silence. “You make me feel like I have value and a purpose. Like I’ve done something good, and that I’ve done it well. I don’t feel like that very often. And I know I’ve said it before, and I’m not expecting anything, but I just… I wanted to say it just once… as myself.”

“You love me,” she repeated, her form rigid as she stared at him with wide eyes as if she couldn’t believe it.

He laughed. “Yes! Why do you sound so surprised? I’ve only told you three times before!”

“But that was Chat Noir. Adrien told his friends he was in love with someone but he didn’t give a name. I’m the person Adrien is in love with.”

He placed a hand absently to his neck. “It’s not like I could tell my friends your name. It’d be dismissed as a celebrity crush.”

Then her comment registered and his green eyes shot up to her masked ones. “Wait! How do you know that I told my friends that?”

She glanced toward the window, and took a step back. “Uh… well, you see…” she stuttered. And that was weird. He’d never seen Ladybug so nervous, and yet, her body language tickled his memory with its familiarity.

“Do I… do I know you in my civilian life?”

Ladybug bolted to her feet. “Well, this has been fun,” she said rapidly, a nervous smile stretching across her face. “I need to get going now. Remember to be more careful with your social media accounts. See you at patrol tomorrow, Chaton!”

He darted in front of her before she could launch her yo-yo out his window, his mind awhirl. He had only told three people that he was in love with someone. Nino, Marinette, and Kagami.

None of them seemed likely to share that information with anyone else.

And Ladybug definitely wasn’t Nino.

He had seen Ladybug with both Marinette and Kagami. But… his lady was clever. She might have tricked him. And of those two, only one of them made sense.

“Marinette?”

Her face fell into her hands. “Tikki’s going to kill me.”

Warmth burst in his chest like a firework going off. Adrien felt like he was floating above the ground. He was just that elated. He knew Ladybug’s identity. And the girl behind the mask? She was amazing! And she was already his friend.

He stepped forward and seized her in a hug. “It’s you!” he laughed, giddiness spilling from every fiber of his being.

She didn’t reciprocate. Instead, she remained frozen in his embrace - awkwardly patting his shoulder. He immediately let her go and backed away with an arm to the back of his neck as his nerves caught up with him.

“Sorry,” he muttered, heat blooming in his face. “I am so excited to know that you are Marinette, I… I got carried away.”

“H-how can you be s-sure that I’m Marinette?” she asked, pink spreading from her mask to her ears.

He smiled fondly at the suddenly very familiar stutter. “You know I can see the resemblance now, right? It’s really obvious. Plus, who else could live up to Ladybug, but Marinette?”

She fidgeted and turned away from his gaze. “Y-you can’t tell anyone.”

He rolled his eyes and took another step towards her. “I know how the superhero schtick goes.”

She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him. “Really? Have you already forgotten why I came to visit you today?” And here she was all Ladybug righteous fury.

He blushed. “I only did that because I wanted you to know who I was. No one else. And trust me to guard your secret better than my own. I know you have a family to protect.”

“You say that like you don’t,” she observed with a frown.

He shrugged. “I mean, I guess I have my father. But I hardly ever see him. So does it count?”

Adrien immediately regretted saying that as an awkward silence descended upon them. A silence that he had no clue how to fill.

“I’m sorry, Adrien,” she finally whispered, and then she took a step forward and her spotted arms encircled around him.

“What for?” he asked in surprise. He stood frozen uncertain and amazed at this turn of events, before he let his arms wrap around her petite form and his chin rest on her shoulder.

“I just… I don’t think I ever understood why having a connection with me as Ladybug was so important to you,” she whispered in his ear. “I didn’t realize that it would be just as difficult to make friends in your civilian form as it would be as Chat Noir.”

He pulled back a little, but just enough to take her hand and bring it to his lips. He kissed her knuckles as he always did. But unlike usual, she didn’t pull away or rebuff him. In fact, her cheeks blazed red the way Marinette’s often did in Adrien’s presence.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“F-fine,” she stammered, snatching her hand out of his hold like she had been burned.

“You just... usually pull away sooner. And your face is all red,” he pointed out, gesturing to her cheeks with his free hand.

She punched him in the shoulder. And it hurt more than he was willing to admit. He wasn’t transformed at the moment, but he tried to play it off.

“You don’t have to be a jerk about it!” she admonished him.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowed in genuine confusion.

“You’re making fun of me,” she whined.

“I swear that I’m not.”

“Then why do you keep teasing me about being embarrassed?” she shot back.

“I… you’re embarrassed?” he asked. “What on earth would you have to be embarrassed about? You’re amazing!”

“You know who I am! You can remember every time I’ve put my foot in my mouth or embarrassed myself horribly in front of you with every attempted confession,” she spoke rapidly, her hands waving around wildly. And he found himself smiling softly. This behavior was all Marinette. And he loved it. Then her words registered. His eyes widened, and time froze and he felt as alert as he did facing an akuma. He could see her hands fidgeting nervously, her heaving chest as she struggled to replace the air she had just used, the faint pink still staining her cheeks, and her blue eyes darting away in self-consciousness.

“Confession?” He tried to keep the hope out of his voice, but he failed.

Her eyes widened before her face fell into her hands again, as she mumbled incoherently into her palms. And god, this blending of Marinette and Ladybug right in front of him was making him dizzy. He stepped forwards again and gently pulled her hands from her face, revealing swirling orbs of blue that peeked out from under her dark eyelashes.

“I’m the boy? Me?” He asked. Her blush darkened, but she gave a slight nod. He laughed in absolute delight. “I’m the boy,” he repeated, but this time it was a revelation and not a question. If he felt like he was floating before, he was flying now. And he was never going to come back down to earth again.

“Me. Adrien. I’m the boy you love,” he rambled, a grin as wide as the Seine stretched across his face. “You rejected Chat Noir-me for Adrien-me.” He was never going to stop smiling.

“Adrien,” she whined, over enunciating all three syllables of his name. “Stop looking so pleased with yourself!”

He shook his head. “But you love me. Ladybug loves me.”

She blushed yet again, and offered him a gentle smile. “Yeah… I guess she does.”

He caressed her cheek and leaned into her space. “May I kiss you?”

She nodded.

His right hand cupped her while his left slipped his fingers between hers. His lips pressed into hers. Just a touch, lingered there for a moment relishing in the gentle contact. She felt soft, warm, and tasted sweet like fruit-flavored candy.

It wasn’t his first kiss.

But it was the first kiss he could remember.

He pulled away to see her face still lost in the contact. Her eyes were closed with her head angled up, and she had the smallest smile. Warmth bloomed in his chest at her expression.

Posting that picture had been the best idea he had ever had.

Unless of course, Papillion figured him out. That would lead him straight to Marinette whether or not the villain had cause to suspect she was Ladybug.

His stomach turned to ice.

No… he wouldn’t let that happen. He would protect her. He was Chat Noir, and Chat Noir always protected his partner. He always did whatever needed to be done, whether he had to sacrifice himself or just simply created a distraction.

His eyebrows shot into his forehead. That was exactly what he needed to do!

“I have an idea!” he exclaimed.

...

Ladybug refused to open her eyes. She wouldn’t recover if she opened them only to discover that the last two minutes had only been a dream.

This wasn’t her first kiss, and it wasn’t even her first kiss with Adrien. But the first one had been in the middle of a battle with no time to savor the moment. This is the kiss she would choose to cherish in her memory.

He pulled back, and she tried not to chase him, but she wasn’t ready for him to go.

“I have an idea!”

Her eyes finally blinked open at the excitement in his voice. “An idea?” she asked. “F-for what?” Why was she still stuttering?!

His meadow-green eyes were vibrant, and he still held her hand. The contact was grounding her even if the gloves of her suit remained between them. “To solve my floating sock problem. We need a distraction. Can you detransform?”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “What? Why?”

“Please?” he begged and somehow his eyes got wider and softer, and his lower lip trembled in an over-exaggerated pout. She was going to have to work on her resistance to that look. “We could do this as Ladybug and Adrien. It might even work better at solving the sock identity vulnerability, but it would do that by putting your identity more at risk if we show any public affection in our civilian identities. It’s better to do this as Adrien and Marinette.”

“Spots off,” she whispered. Chat Noir was the person she trusted most in the world.

The familiar buzz tingled down her form, and Adrien was staring at her like he’d never seen her before all over again.

Her face and neck blazed in sudden embarrassment. “What?” she asked, looking down at her fingers.

“I just… it really is you,” he whispered, his voice filled with awe. “I mean, I knew that, but… but now, it’s real.”

Tikki took that moment to flutter up between them. “Marinette, what are you…?”

Marinette waved her off. “Not now, Tikki! It’s too late. I’m sorry!” She turned back to Adrien. “What did you have in mind?”

He grinned so brightly. Seriously, she was going to get sunburned from his smiles, and reached a hand out to her. “Come here,” he directed as he pulled her into his arms. It was terrifying how good it felt to be held in his arms. She felt hot and cold, vulnerable and safe, nervous and loved. And she felt it all at once. It was quite the heady experience.

Then he touched their foreheads together and she got lost in his eyes, which beamed with absolute adoration all directed at her. Heat pooled into her cheeks at the intimacy of their unwavering eye contact.

She chided herself. They had been in far more intimate and compromising positions in their suits. But right now, they were without their masks. And she felt so much more vulnerable.

But also giddy with joy.

After only seconds had passed, Adrien pulled out his phone, and snapped a few pictures of them, but his eyes never left her face until after he finished. Only then did he glance down at the screen to view their results.

“What do you think?” He asked, swiping through the burst of shots as he turned the screen to show her.

Looking at the pictures, Marinette couldn’t breathe, let alone speak. The only thing more powerful than seeing Adrien’s love sick eyes focused intently and unerringly on hers was seeing her own expression mirroring his own. She brushed his hand away and went through the pictures herself more slowly, tears threatening to drop from the corner of her eyes when she landed on her favorite. In the image, Adrien was smiling like a child tasting sugar for the first time in its life, while Marinette looked dazed like the world had just been turned upside down, which it had, but in the best possible way.

She had to clear her throat before she could speak. “This one,” she said, handing the device back to him.

“I like this one too,” he agreed as his fingers flew across the small touch screen, setting up a new Instagram post. He turned the final result towards her, so she could read the caption.

Spending the afternoon with my new girlfriend.

“What do you say? Are you ready to become social-media-official with me?” he asked with a smirk. But his free hand was rubbing the back of his neck.

The nervous tick threw her, and she realized he wasn’t just creating a distraction. He was also asking her out, and he was nervous. Somehow that calmed her.

She bit her lip and nodded again. And suddenly he was kissing her again, and she hoped that she never got used to the sensation. It was perfect. Even though she disapproved of his recklessness, part of her was really glad that he had posted that picture if it meant she could have a dozen more moments like this.

When he pulled away, he buried his head into his phone once again. She frowned at how quickly he was distracted, and looked over his arm to see what he was adding to his post.

When I kiss her, I feel so dizzy I see spots.

“Adrien!” she scolded, slapping his arm. Was he seriously going to risk her identity for a stupid pun! He laughed, and immediately deleted the sentence. “Okay! Okay! How about… the princess of my heart?”

“Totally over the top cheesy!” she screeched, trying harder to wrestle away his phone.

Before she succeeded, he hit the “share” button. Then, he immediately surrendered the device to her, and pulled her back against his chest, his chin resting on her shoulder as they stood cheek to cheek, looking at his phone, which was already lighting up and buzzing with dozens of notifications. Marinette watched in abject fascination. This was almost unfair.

Within two minutes, Marinette’s cell had started ringing, and over the next five minutes, Alya had called fourteen times and left four voicemails. Exasperated, Marinette texted her back.

I’m trying to make out with my boyfriend. Quit interrupting!

That ought to get her to shut up.

Sure enough, Alya sent her a squealing emoji in response and then there was silence.

Within ten minutes, the new photo had exceeded the five thousand likes of the deleted picture. Congratulatory and heartbroken comments poured in almost faster than Adrien or Marinette could read.

Another five minutes passed, and the newly formed couple jumped apart at the sudden pounding on Adrien’s bedroom door.

“Adrien, would you please open this door right now and explain how Ms. Dupain-Cheng came to be in your room without going through the front door,” Nathalie called from the other side of the wooden barrier.

“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” Marinette whispered, stepping away from her new boyfriend - she had an actual boyfriend - and towards the window.

Adrien immediately grabbed her hand. “Actually, it might be better if you stayed?” he said nervously. “I may not have thought this entirely through either… as this photo is obviously in my room. It’s easier to explain sneaking you in here than is explaining where you disappeared to.”

“Adrien!” She hissed. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Hopefully love me forever?” He suggested with an exaggerated grin.

“Adrien!” Nathalie yelled through the door.

Marinette laughed. “You might want to open the door before your father's assistant gets akumatized.”

“You’ll stay?” he whispered, his trembling eyes the only sign that he was scared to face the dragon on the other side of his bedroom door alone.

She nodded, and threaded her hand through his. “You and me against the world, right?”

“The world plus Nathalie. She’s scarier than the rest of the world,” he said cheekily even as he unlocked and opened the door.

God, Marinette was completely in love with this dork. And she was going to have to put up with him, his ill-thought-out-over-th-top schemes to impress her, and his stupid smug smirk for who knew how long.

Maybe forever.

But then again, maybe none of those things were so bad.

[sassyduckqueen]

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 40

Here's heroes day!!! God, this is the longest chapter I've ever written! A whooping 17,000 + words :O so if you decide to read this chapter, get a drink and get ready for a long read. Anyway, this was super fun to do. As for the akumatized heroes, I've got some fun facts about their chosen names in this. Culpeo, Abeille and Leatherback become Void Fox, Frelona and Tortue Serpentine. Void Fox is a reference to a type of Kitsune, known as the shadow fox, the void kitsune or dark kitsune. Frelona comes from the french word for Wasp and Tortue Serpentine is Snapping Turtle in french, which my friend Naruwitch suggested then we have Ryuko and Aspik. Ryuko becomes Okami and Aspik becomes Aapep. Now Okami is a legendary dragon who tends to be portrayed as evil and Aapep is another name for an ancient Egyptian deity who is the personification of chaos and takes the form of a giant snake. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter :D

Oh and also I recommend going back and re-reading Reverser. I've edited it a little to work in with this chapter and Volpina.

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Chapter Forty: Heroes Day

"See you next time, Bug a boo!" Lady Noir called out as she ran off in a different direction then him. He smiled and shook his head before running off towards the Seine. He jumped off the building and threw his yoyo, swinging across the water and towards the Liberty. He landed on the roof and backflipped off before jumping through the porthole to his room. He landed on the floor as his transformation dropped before catching Tikki. Both of them let out a yawn before Luka stumbled to his bed and fell onto it almost instantly before crawling into it. Tikki helped him pull on the covers before gently kissing his forehead before curling up on his stomach as he breathed in, having fallen asleep straight away. However, his alarm went off two hours later, causing him to groan and hide his head in the pillow.

 "Five more minutes," He mumbled as it kept ringing. He groaned and slammed his alarm, silencing it before trying to go back to sleep. However, his second alarm went off, making him groan even more. Once again, he turned it off and went to fall back to sleep but the final alarm went off, turning on the radio. As the person on it talked, Luka groaned, wanting nothing more to sleep and was mentally cursing Hawkmoth for creating an akuma at 3.30am. However, his eyes widen when the host mentioned Heroes day and he jolted up, wide awake. Tikki gasped and jumped as he did before he grinned at her and jumped out of bed.

 "Are you ok?"

 "It's Heroes day!" He gasped, getting dressed and grabbing his school bag before he stopped with wide eyes. Tikki rose an eyebrow. "Oh no! I forgot to plan a good deed! Uh!! I am an awful human being,"

 "And the fact that you were up all night saving Paris isn't enough of a good deed?" She asked, causing Luka to shake his head.

 "Unfortunately not. You see heroes day is when everyday citizens preform a good deed for everyone's benefit " He explained, making her pull a thinking expression. "Besides, it's not like I can't tell anyone about been a hero and two it would count as Anatis' good deed, not mine... well, I'll just do what I did last year,"

 "What was that?"

 "See what happens and improvise," He grinned, making her smile. "Last year, Rose ended up needing help with something so I helped her. I'm sure there'll be someone I can help this year too,"

 "That's a great idea, Luka," Tikki smiled as he handed her a cookie. She happily bit into it as he made sure he has his books before pulling on his usual hoodie. He glanced over at the jacket Marinette made him and smiled to himself before turning to Tikki, who had finished her cookie. He opened his bag for her and she flew in before he closed it and left his room. He grabbed a piece of toast from the kitchen and gave Anarka a kiss on the cheek before heading up to where Juleka was. Almost instantly, he was hit with the emotion of the city, making him grin. All of Paris was singing today and it was a gorgeous song. For a second, he closed his eyes and let himself bask in it's crescendo before Juleka cleared her throat.

 "What are you doing?" She asked, as he looked at her.

 "Listening to the music of the city," He replied, making her roll her eyes before he grinned at her. "Shall we get going?"

 "Sure," She nodded, walking off. Luka shook his head and followed, smiling to himself. They passed several stores and saw lots of balloons. Luka smiled a little as he saw Juleka go bright red when she noticed several Culpeo themed things.

 "So what's your good deed for today, sis?" He asked, making her look at him.

 "Oh... well, me and Rose are sharing a good deed," She mumbled, moving the bangs from her eyes a little. "We're planning to doing a collection for Prince Ali's charity,"

 "That's a great idea," He grinned as they came to the school, along with some of the other kids. Rose was already there, waving happily and Ivan was stood with Mylene. They greeted Luka and when inside almost straight away.  Luka looked at his phone and decided to linger for a little bit. He closed his eyes and breathed in, once again listening to the melody of the city. He opened his eyes as he heard a familiar melody. Marinette was running over, causing him to look at his phone again. She was on time but only by a few minutes. She stopped to take a breathe, causing him to smile. "Hey, Melody, you ok?"

"Luka!" She gasped, jumping. The box she was holding flew out of her hands but he caught it, causing them both to let a sigh of relief as he handed them back to her. "Uh sorry,"

 "No, no... I'm sorry," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to make you jump,"

 "Ooh, it's ok!" She grinned before holding up the box. "Want a macaron?"

 "Sure," He smiled, taking a chocolate one before gently kissing her cheek. She blushed and smiled shyly. "Thank you,"

 "N-No problem," She gasped before jumping against as the bell rang. "Ah that's class! We have to go!! See ya for lunch! I have a favor to ask!!"

 "Ok," He nodded as she ran off. He shook his head and smiled a little as he walked to his classroom. He walked in and took his seat as Kagami waved at him. He smiled and waved back as Aurora rushed over with Jean and Mireille and wished him a happy heroes day. He wished them one back as Ms Mendeleiev walked in and clapped her hands.

 "Alright, students, we have an assembly so let's move it to the gym," She ordered, causing them to get up and grab their bags. They walked over to the gym and took seats as the other classes came in. There was a stage at the front with a couple of teachers stood on it already. Luka took a seat next to Aurora, who smiled at him. He smiled back as the rest of the classes took their seats. Marinette walked past with Alya, shaking her head as she walked behind her.

 "I don't get it, Marinette... I know you and Lila don't get on but she isn't lying about this," She sighed, making Luka frown as Marinette turned to her.

 "Not lying?! Alya, you know she's a liar!" She gasped, clearly stressed. "It is literally on your blog,"

 "Ok so it was a one time thing and who wouldn't want to know the heroes?" Alya gasped, shaking her head. "Besides, I asked her about that and she apologized. Sure, it wasn't cool to do that but she just wants friends, Marinette and she promised not to lie again so why would she be lying that she's in Achu?"

 "Because she's a liar, Alya," She gasped, looking annoyed. "Even Miss Bustier questioned her!"

 "Yeah and Lila literally showed us that she had permission from both her parents and her therapist," Alya sighed, pinching her nose. "Been away has been good for her. You know it's stressful getting akumatized. I mean you took a day off after yours,"

 "Exactly! I took a day! One day! Not weeks!" She gasped, making Alya roll her eyes. "And none of us got a 'trip' around the world to deal with our stress,"

 "True but her mom is also there and she's the Italian ambassador," She stated, making Marinette roll her eyes. "Look, why don't you give Lila a second chance for your good deed for heroes day? I know she was lying but trust me, girl, she's turned over a new leaf,"

 "No! She hasn't because she's lying!" Marinette gasped, sitting down and crossing her arms. Alya sighed and shook her head as Miss Bustier walked in front of the school and clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention.  

 "Hello everyone and welcome to our annual heroes day assembly," She grinned, causing everyone to look at her. "Now I know everyone may have a hard time working out what good deed to do for today but let's not forget today is about been able to be a hero for one day and your good deed doesn't have to be something huge liking helping save planet earth. It can be anything from making small donations to a local charity to helping an elderly neighbor. All we need is..."

 "A little imagination! Hoo, hoo!" Mr Damocles called as he ran onto the stage in his owl costume. "This year, Anatis and Lady Noir have been our heroes, protecting us from the terrible Hawkmoth. They have shown us that heroism is beyond comic books and fairy tales! Heroism is real and it is up to you to show how Anatis and Lady Noir have brought out the best in all of us, by been every day heroes! Now a few of our students will tell us their eyes to be everyday heroes! For those of you who have yet to work out a good deed, their suggestions may be able to inspire you! Over to you, Miss Bustier!"

 "Thank you, Mr Damocles," She smiled. "From my class, we have Nino Lahiffe and Alya Cesaire. Care to tell what you two have planned for heroes day?"

 "Of course, Miss," Nino grinned, standing up. The whole student body faced him, causing him to take a deep breathe. "I gotta admit. I never use to do anything for anyone before but Anatis and Lady Noir have showed me what been cool is really about... so, this year, I'm gonna visit the elderly down at the retirement home and play them all their favorite songs!"

 "Excellent, Nino," Miss Bustier smiled, clapping along with everyone else. "Alya?"

 "Last year, I wrote an article about public buildings providing disabled access," Alya stated as she stood up. "But after seeing Anatis and Lady Noir going that extra mile every single day, I decided that I too could do better... so I got the mayor's approval to improve facilities so disabled kids can actually attend our school!"

 She sat back down as she got a round of applause. Mrs Mendeleiev stood up next as the applause died down.

 "From my class, we have Aurore Beauréal and Kagami Tsurugi," She stated, causing both girls to stand up. "Girls, care to tell us what you have planned?"

 "Yes, Mrs Mendeleiev," Aurore nodded as everyone looked at her. "Me and the others at the Kidz plus tv studio will be doing a live show with celebrities guests and all proceeds we get will be donated to a number of children charities,"

 Everyone applauded again, making her smile as she sat down. 

 "Kagami?"

 "I have signed up to volunteer at a soup kitchen for a couple of hours on the weekend," She stated, getting a round of applause but she held her hand. "My family will also be making a considerable donation to a number of charities who help the blind and the visually impaired,"

 She got a huge round of applause for that one. She sat back down as the other teachers introduced to of their students who proceed to tell them what their good deed would be. Luka frowned to himself as a little as the whole thing made him feel like he wasn't doing enough. It wasn't that he was jealous of the other students. Far from it but compared to what they were doing, just helping a person out seems so small and trivial. He let a sigh out and looked around. He frowned a little as he saw Marinette didn't look happy either. He decided he would ask her what was wrong for lunch. Aurore leaned over to him and gently poked his arm, causing him to look at her.

 "You ok?" She asked, making him nod.

 "Yeah," He whispered back. "Just not sure I can match up to whatever one else is doing,"

 "I'm sure you'll do a cool deed, Luka," She grinned, making him give her a small smile as Mr Damocles took to the stage again as the lunch bell rang.

 "Alright, everyone, now don't forget that we have the parade this evening," He shouted before dismissing everyone. Luka got up and headed over to Marinette but before he could reach her, she bolted off causing him to frown but she did say she needed to talk to him. He took out his phone and messaged Juleka, saying that he was going to grab dinner at the bakery before heading there. He hummed a little as he walked there, glancing over and smiling as he saw the huge balloons of Anatis and the other heroes. His phone vibrated, causing him to take it out and read the text. Apparently, Marinette was going to be hosting a massive tasting party after the parade tonight and has invited everyone. She and the rest of Kitty Section will be going so she thought she'd inform him off it. He texted back, saying he'd love to go before walking over the bakery door. He knocked on the door and entered, causing Sabine to look up and smile. Marinette was talking to her father, who was looking at a list nervously.

 "That's not the same as every year, Marinette," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. 

 "How about just half then?" She asked, looking at her hand. "500 Macarons, 100 pies, 300 sweet buns and just a thousand croissants! That should be enough!"

 "Is that for the party at the park tonight?" Luka asked, making her jump and turn around. She grinned and nodded before turning back to her dad. 

 "You can do that... right?" She asked but Tom frowned and sighed, scratching the side of his head.

 "If I didn't have this giant Anatis cake to finish by tonight, I would gladly rise to the challenge but there's simply no way I can do both," He replied, making Marinette frown and look down. Luka frowned a little too. "I've committed myself, Marinette. I can't let the mayor down,"

 "I committed myself way over my head and now I'm gonna let everyone down," She sighed, slumping down on a stool. Luka frowned a little and moved over to her. She looked up at him with a sad expression. "Sorry, Luka,"

 "It's ok, Marinette," He smiled in a reassuring manner. 

 "You know it's not too late to tell your classmates the truth. I'm sure they'll understand like Luka has," Sabine smiled at him, causing him to nervously look down.

 "But it won't be very heroic..." Marinette muttered, looking down. 

 "Of course, it will," Sabine smiled, trying to reassuring her. "Been brave enough to face one's mistakes is heroic,"

 "You're right!" She gasped, jumping up and grabbing an apron as Luka rose an eyebrow. She rushed over to the door before turning to them as Luka rose an eyebrow. Her parents on the other hand appeared to be use to this. "If I get to it right away, I'll have enough time to make the macarons myself!"

 With that, she disappeared into the apartment, causing her parents to sigh as Luka shook his head a little. While he loved how passionate and enthusiastic Marinette was, he worried about her a little bit. Sabine cleared her throat, making him look at her as she held out two bags.

 "Would you mind making sure she's eaten, dear? Tom needs a hand with the cake," She smiled as he took the bags.

 "Of course, Mrs Cheng- I mean Sabine..." He muttered before nodding and heading into the apartment. Marinette was mixing something in a bowl and appeared to have already started to make the macarons. She grinned at Luka who placed the bags down before giving him the bowl and checking on the macarons in the oven. However, they were burnt, making her groan and sink to the floor, tears filling her eyes. Luka put the bowl down and knelt down next her as she sniffed.

 "This is just one big failure," She sniffed as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm a terrible everyday hero..."

 "No, you're not,"

 "But I haven't done any heroic at all today... all I did was bring macarons to class wherever else is doing so much more. Alya is helping disabled kids, Nino is going to visit old people, Adrien is helping his classmates and all I've done is brought in stupid macarons," She mumbled, looking down as tears roll down her face. Luka frowned and gently wiped them away. She hugged her arms and let out a small sigh. "I doubt that made anyone's day..."

 "It made mine," Luka stated, causing her to look at him. She narrowed her eyes a little, looking for any sign of pretense or lies but her eyes widen when she didn't find any. Instead, she saw sincerity and honesty. 

 "T-That really made your day?"

 "Yeah," He smiled, causing her to blush as he looked to the side. "No one's ever offered me a macaron before... anyway, I think the bravest thing you can do is just tell everyone the truth... they'll understand,"

 "But that will ruin the whole party..." She mumbled, looking down as he frowned.

 "It's not the end of the world if it doesn't happen," He replied, making her sigh before he gently moved a stand of her hair. "I don't want to see you burn yourself out just to please everyone else, Marinette,"

 "Luka..." She muttered, blushing before gently leaning in and kissing his cheek. "Thank you,"

 "Let's have our lunches,"

 ~Meanwhile~

 "Lila?" Mrs Rossi stated as she knocked on her daughter's door. A few minutes later, Lila opened it and smiled falsely at her, though she was more focused on her phone. "Were you on the phone earlier?"

 "Oh, yes, it was my boyfriend, Adrien," She gasped, making her mother nod. "He just misses me so much,"

 "You weren't lying to me, were you?" She asked, briefly looking at her. Lila mentally cursed Anatis as his live interview with Alya had almost revealed her for the lying fox that she was. However, she did damaged control as best as she could. With Alya, she claimed that she just lied to be popular as she was afraid that no one would like her, especially since Marinette seemed to have it in for her. Alya was weary at first but she also was too willing to give Lila a second chance, especially Lila 'promised' not to lie again. She also convinced her that she didn't realize that she had overstepped boundaries with certain people and was learning how to understand social interactions with her therapist. Alya lapped it up and easily forgave her. The school, on the other hand, wasn't as easy but Anatis and Hawkmoth unintentionally gave her the perfect reason. She was far too stressed out to possibly come back to school right now. She knew she couldn't get it to last forever but it was a temporary solution. As for her parents. Well, that was the easiest. Her father dotted on his little princess, refusing to believe a word of Anatis' interview as he believed the ladyblog was ran by an amateur tabloid writer. He wasn't exactly wrong but this man is believed that Elvis Presley was abducted by aliens so pulling the wool over his eyes wasn't exactly hard. When he questioned it, she just turned on the water works and since he didn't want to upset his precious princess, he would drop it and ignore it. It helped that he worked aboard a lot of the time. Her mother on the other hand wasn't as easily convinced and she was forced to take a similar route to Alya. Of course, she promised not to lie again and to go to a therapist to get help but her mother's job worked to her favor as well. Since she was constantly busy with her job, she trusted her husband to arrange a therapist for Lila and since Lila was his little princess who could do no wrong, she was able to convince him to send her to a very basic therapist who was certainly not equip to deal with a teenaged pathological liar who knew how to exploit people's weaknesses and strengths to her advantage. She had even convinced the 'therapist' that she needed time of school to help her deal with the trauma. Contrary to popular belief, this wasn't the first time she had been exposed. The only difference was it wasn't a superhero who called her out last time. It was some snotty nosed kid who thought that people actually cared about what he thought. That's where she came up with the whole been bullied thing. It did wonders for her that time but she would have to play her cards a little differently this time. Most because she was dealing with a superhero but there's also the fact that someone else might catch on her lies and get akumatized. "Well?"

 "Of course not, Mama," She sighed, making her mum frown. She began to 'cry' as tears rolled down her face, causing her mother to gasp. "Y-You don't believe me, do you? I'm trying so hard to be a good person and you d-don't even believe me,"

 "Of course, I believe you, mia bella," She gasped, looked distressed. Her phone vibrated, causing her to looking at her phone as the sound of cheering caught Lila's attention. She moved over to her window and frowned as she saw people cheering in the streets. Huge balloons of Anatis, Lady Noir and the other heroes moved past, making her scowl as she closed the blinds. Her mother walked over to her. "It's just... Well... that interview Anatis did..."

 "B-But I didn't even do half of those things... I know I told the principle that Marinette had stolen off me but I really thought she had because of how she was treating me and because of what Chloe Bourgeois told me," Lila replied, making her mother frown as she took in her points. Seeing her chance to poison her mother's mind, she smirked a little. "It's not like Anatis is competent anyway..."

 "What do you mean?"

 "Well, he lost a miraculous which ended up in the hands of Chloe Bourgeois who used it to cause a crash and then was akumatized but he didn't take responsibility for his actions," She pointed out, noticing her mother had a thoughtful look. "I don't hate Anatis but he could at least own up to his mistakes instead of blaming someone else. After all, he blamed the Style Queen for it. I understand that Chloe is her daughter but none of that would have happened if he hadn't been careless..."

 "You have a point, mia bella," Her mother replied, making Lila smirk a little. "And these akumas are concerning. I'll bring it up in the next embassy meeting. Ciao, mia bella. Your lunch is in the fridge. I'll try not to be home too late,"

 She kissed her hand and walked off, failing to notice Lila's wicked smirk before she glared at her closed blinds. She turned on her heel and walked over to her laptop, logging back on. She went onto a news website and the ladyblogger, growling as she saw the recent video from Alya that was devoted to Anatis and the other heroes. It was showing a bunch of floating balloons that had the faces of the heroes on it. She growled as she saw the Anatis one and rolled her eyes at the Culpeo one. She was the better and the original fox. Volpina was the best and these were just second rate heroes compared to her, especially that pretender Anatis. He may pretend to be the kind hero that everyone loved but she knew the truth. He was a cruel and malice bully, who deserved to fall for calling her out. Sure, she lied but it wasn't hurting anyone and he didn't have to ruin her chances with Adrien. He would be hers by now and she would be worshiped by all of Paris as the true hero if it wasn't for that goody two shoes and his dumb sidekick, Lady Noir. She nearly had him at her mercy with that Marinette illusion but that stupid cat worked out it was an illusion. She didn't think it was possible to hate someone more then Marinette but that was before she met Anatis. At least, Marinette was easy to torment and it was child's play to get her expelled. Targeting Anatis wasn't going to be as easy. In fact, it would be the most challenging take down of her life, which is why she had prayed every night that Hawkmoth would choose her again. She longed to have her powers back and squash that nasty bug. 

 "Liar," She growled, flicking through different channels as she glared every moment. All of them showed something on Anatis and his pathetic team. They showed him stood next to the mayor, waving shyly at the cameras or standing with some little kids in Anatis themed merchandise. "Traitor! Coward!"

 "In honor of the wonderful Anatis, who has saved my son, Adrien, and myself and who has relentlessly protected us everyday, I have financed this tribute to him and his team of heroes," Gabriel Agreste stated, causing Lila to stay on that channel as she stared at the screen. Gabriel moved his hands together and looked up at the camera. "Anatis is clearly a true hero... unlike false heroes such as Actis, Lady Copycat and Volpina!"

 Lila gasped and threw her laptop against the wall in rage. How dare Anatis think he is better then her?!

 "I hate you, Anatis!!" She screamed as she began to trash her room. She would give anything to be Volpina again right now. Then she could show Paris who Anatis really was. She would reveal him for the monster and fake he is. After all, he ruined everything for her and she was yet to have her revenge. She swiped her desk before sinking down to her knees before hugging them. "I hate you, you stupid bug!"

 The sound of fluttering got her attention, causing her to look up and gasp in surprise as she saw an akuma right near her. It flew into her bracelet, causing it to turn dark as a connection with Hawkmoth formed. A wicked smile came across her face as she felt him inside her head.

 "Volpina," He stated, making her grin even more.

 "Hawkmoth,"

 "Your dreams were once a reality until Anatis turned them into a nightmare," He declared as she stood up. "Reclaim your power of illusion and make this heroes day a nightmare for all Parisians,"

 "With great pleasure, Hawkmoth," She declared, moving her arms up in front of her face before moving them to the side. The purple smog engulfed and transformed her into Volpina. She climbed out the window and jumped across the rooftops until she got to the Eiffel Tower. She jumped up and landed on top of it before stepping onto the fencing. She narrowed her eyes as she looked down at the city, happily celebrating their heroes. Noticing a helicopter near by, she smirked and listened to what the reporter was saying with her fox hearing.

 "Look at these Parisians," The blonde reporter stated as they filmed live. Volpina's smirk increased. "So happy to be parading in honor of their heroes,"

 "Well, that won't do," She stated as she narrowed her eyes. "That won't do at all,"

 Smirking to herself, she took out her flute and placed it to her mouth as she envisioned the illusion she wanted. When it was clear in her mind, she played a tune on the flute, creating a ball of light at the bottom of it. She threw it towards the parade, causing a bright orange light to cover it. When it disappeared, there stood Lady Noir facing a very scary looking Anatis.  

 "Look, Mummy," A little girl stated, pointing to the balloons. "Annie looks weird,"

 "Come on, sweetie," Her mother stated, kneeling next to her. "That's not Anatis... that's..."

 She gasped as she looked over and saw Anatis and Lady Noir. Only her daughter was right. This Anatis didn't look like his normal self. Unlike the normal one, he had pure black hair and his skin was a little paler then usual. His outfit was reversed with red spots and sides on a black back ground instead of red background with black spots and sides. He also had long black gloves that showed off his hands, revealing his nails were black and his boots were completely black and styled like combat boots. His mask, yoyo and earrings were reversed as well, along with his boots but the bit that really sealed was the dark smirk on his lips and his eyes. His normally blue eyes were replaced with black scleras and crimson irises. Not only did he look terrifying but he wasn't standing with Lady Noir. He was fighting her. Luckily, the cat girl was giving it as good as she got but it was a scary sight.

 "Anatis?!" She gasped, causing other people to look as he grabbed Lady Noir and threw her his shoulder, sending her flying across the Culpeo balloon. She managed to recover and landed on it, taking out her baton as Anatis let out an evil laugh that send shivers down the spine.

 "Move out of the way everyone!" Lady Noir shouted, panic clear in her voice. "He's been akumatized!"

 He jumped across to the balloon she was on and laughed again before looking at her with a psychotic grin.

 "What's the matter, Kitten?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. She growled but didn't answer. "Cat got your tongue?"

 "Annie, this isn't you!" She gasped, clearly not wanting to fight him. "You can fight this! You can fight against Hawkmoth!"

 "Aww, such sweet words, kitten," He replied, playing with his yoyo. "But you didn't take one thing into account!"

 He threw the yoyo at her, causing her to knock it back as he grinned.

 "Oh and what's that?" She asked, charging at him. 

 "I don't want to!" He grinned back, jumping up and slamming his fist towards her. Luckily enough, she jumped out of the way before he could hit her, making him growl before he straightened up and narrowed his eyes. She narrows her back as he threw up his yoyo. "Dark Charm!"

 "D-Dark Charm?" She gasped as he summoned a huge blade and grinned evilly at her. She gasped as he charged at her, trying to cut her into tiny pieces before she managed to grab the sword and threw it away from the scene, causing him to growl.

 "You think that will stop me?!" He roared, trying to kick her and hit her. She dodged and blocked his attacks before he threw his yoyo at her. She managed to move her head but he brought it back and threw it again, causing her to move and jumped back as the helicopter filmed them. Distracted by the yoyo, she didn't see his foot coming until he kicked her, causing her to fall back. She landed on her feet and faced him as he spun the yoyo, walking towards her. She backed away as he smirked evilly. "It's over, Kitten. You know I can't be beaten so give me your miraculous!"

 "Never!" She screamed, running away from him. He smirked evilly and ran at her, spinning his yoyo. She jumped up and he followed, clashing with her in the air. She intentionally got the upper hand but he headbutted her and hit her with his yoyo, sending her flying onto the Leatherback balloon as he landed on it. Blood was dripping down her chin as she weakly looked up at him.

 "I'll tell you one more time," He started as everyone gasped, looking at them. "Give me your miraculous,"

 "No," She growled, getting back up and taking a fighting stance. "If Hawkmoth wants a ring so badly, he can go to the jewelers like a normal person,"

 "Now, now, Kitten," He scolded, glancing at her. "It's rude to deny a request from a friend of a friend. Clearly, I'm going have to teach you some manners,"

 "We're not gonna be friends until you're deakumatized, Annie," She shouted back, causing him to growl and throwing his yoyo towards her. She caught it around her arm and held her hand to it. "Cataclysm!"

 "I don't think so, Kitten," He growled, yanking her towards him and grabbing her hands, holding one behind her back and one in the air. She struggled against him as he moved his lips closer to her ear. "I've always wondered what would happen if your cataclysm was used on a person... let's find out, shall we?"

 "No!" She cried out as he slammed her charged hand onto her chest, causing her to gasp as a tear rolled down her cheek. Her body appeared to turn to coal and disappeared into dust as the wind blew. He laughed and picked up the ring, holding it up as he looked at it as a purple mask appeared over his face.

 "You've won, Hawkmoth. I have both the ring and the earrings!" He declared, making everyone panic before the mask disappeared. He held up his hands like a typical villain and laughed evilly. "Fear, people of Paris! Your heroes have fallen and there is no one left to save you!"

 He let out a wicked laugh before swinging away, leaving devastation in his wake. Volpina smirked to herself as she grinned from the Eiffel tower. That when even better then she expected. A purple mask appeared around her eyes, making her smirk.

 "My dear Volpina, you've performed your role very well for the time being," Hawkmoth declared as she smirked. "We will meet again, very soon,"

 "I'll be waiting, Hawkmoth,"

 ~Hawkmoth's Lair~

 "So much sadness! So much disappointment!" Hawkmoth declared as he looked up at the window. "I can feel the chasm of despair and fear able to open about to open and swallow up every single Parisian... my dear Volpina, you've performed your role very well for the time being. We will meet again, very soon,"

 "I'll be waiting, Hawkmoth," She replied, causing him to call back the butterfly he used to grant her powers. With that one called back, he took another one and corrupted it before turning to Nathalie.

 "Are you ready, Nathalie?" He asked as she walked over.

 "They've been keeping you from achieving your dream for too long," She declared, looking up at him. "I will go to any length to end the reign of Anatis and Lady Noir,"

 "Good," He declared, looking at her before he placed his hand on the tablet she was hold and lifted it up. He placed the akuma on it, causing it to enter the item and set up the psychic link before him and Nathalie. "Catalyst, you've always been my most loyal supporter. I give you the ability to boost powers,"

 She nodded, transforming into a strange looking akuma. She had periwinkle skin and wore a black helmet with a red visor with black edges and a red spike pointing towards the back of her head, leaving her mouth exposed. She was also wearing a black dress suit. It had stiff shoulders, a dark red front and swan neck collar with red arrow-shaped sections in the center. The sleeves covered her entire arms, with the tips of her fingers fading into red. She also had pocket-like ridges on each side of her hips, and her pant legs came down to her feet, turning into red high-heels with red soles and tips. She took Hawkmoth's arm and placed her other hand over the top of his cane, infusing it with a crimson energy.

 "Hawkmoth, I give you the power to release as many akumas as you desire," She declared as he looked at her. "From now on, you are the almighty scarlet moth,"

 A red energy traveled up from his feet, transforming his outfit into a crimson version. He grinned as the transformation was complete. He took out his cane, spinning it before tapping multiple butterflies with it. Each one turned into a scarlet akuma, causing him to smirk even more before addressing them.

 "Fly away my little akumas!" He declared, continuing to tap more butterflies with his cane. "Find the Parisians as they despair over Lady Noir and Anatis' final hour and evilize each and every one of them!"

 He threw his arms out, causing the scarlet akumas to flutter out of the window and decent on Paris as he smirked at them. Once they had left, he turned to Catalyst.

 "Stand here while I head to the Eiffel tower," He ordered, getting a nod of her before he dropped his transformation and left as Gabriel Agreste. It would be much easier to get to the tower as Gabriel Agreste then as Hawkmoth after all.

 ~At the Bakery~

 "You ok?" Marinette asked, causing Luka to look up from his phone. "You keep looking at your phone... Am I boring you?"

 "Oh, no!" He gasped, shaking his head. "I was just keeping an eye on time so we're not late for the rest of school,"

 "Ah, ok," She smiled a little as she cleared up their lunches. They had disposed of the burnt macarons as well. "What time is it anyway?"

 "Nearly time to head back actually," He replied, getting up. "Shall we head back to school? I've got double art,"

 "Lucky you," She huffed, grabbing her bag and walking with him into the bakery. "I have double maths,"

 "Ouch," He replied as they waved to her parents. Sabine gave him a grateful smile and a thumbs up before grabbing something for Tom as they left. Almost as soon as they stepped out of the bakery, Luka was hit with an intense amount of fear and despair that it actually caused him to stumble back and grip his head in pain, causing Marinette to look at him with worry.

 "Luka?" She gasped, moving over to him. "What's wrong?"

 "I.. I don't know... I just... never mind..." He muttered, looking to the side. While she knew he was a musical empath, she didn't actually know how deep his empathic abilities went. Most people would think that the music is his empathy but they are far from it. The music is simply how he projects it into the world but it's not the ability itself. For him, the feelings that he plays, he actually feels them as if they are his own. He can feel other's pain and symptoms when they are sick or their sorrow when they are down. Music was an outlet for him as it can become too much to have everyone's feelings as well as your own. It especially helps with the whole akuma thing. Marinette gently took his hand, making him look at her.

 "You can tell me," She smiled, making him look at her before nodding.

 "The world sounds different," He replied, making her frown. "Like this morning, the song of Paris was glorious this morning. Everyone's hearts were singing happily at their fullest,"

 "And it's changed?" She asked, making him nod. "To what?"

 "It's fear..." He muttered, making her frown. "Something isn't right..."

 Before she could question him any farther, he grabbed her hand and ran as fast as he could to the school. As soon as they walked through the door, Marinette realized he was right. Everyone was in the courtyard but they were completely silent and looking at their phones with horrified expressions. Marinette looked at Luka before the two of them rushed over to Juleka, Rose and Mylene. 

 "What's going on?" Marinette asked, causing Rose to look up at her before she showed them a news broadcast on her phone.

 "Lady Noir defeated," Nadja Chamack stated, looking heartbroken. "Anatis in the clutches of the terrible Hawkmoth! This is Paris' worst nightmare!"

 "What?!" Marinette gasped as Luka frowned deeply. "I... I don't understand..."

 "A-Anatis was akumatized..." Mylene sniffed, making her frown deeply. "Lady Noir tried to stop him but he used her cataclysm on her..."

 "No..." Luka gasped, looking what the girls mistaken for distraught as they nodded. Marinette covered her mouth as Jagged Stone appeared on the video.

 "Anatis defeated?" He gasped, playing a sad song on his guitar as Clara Nightingale looked heartbroken. "Nothing will ever be rock and roll again!"

 "We'll have to cancel the concert?!" She gasped, causing him to play his hand on his head dramatically and pull her in for a hug.

 "You're right, Clara," Nadja gasped, sadly. "There's no sense in celebrating Heroes Day either,"

 She closed her eyes sadly as Luka frowned and Marinette looked afraid before she turned to him.

 "You were right..." She gasped but the sound of screams came from the video, causing them both to look back as the camera turned, showing red butterflies fluttering towards everyone. Clara and Jagged ran away from them as Nadja attempted to swat them but then one of them went into her mic and engulfed her arm with a red energy, causing her to fall back before the video briefly cut off. Marinette looked at Luka, who was frowning deeply.

 "Akumas?" She asked, frowning.

 "Red ones..." He muttered as the video went back online. This time showing Prime Queen.

 "Dear viewers, what does makes sense is getting ready for the coming of..." She declared, gesturing to the side as Guitar Villain rose up, causing Luka to grit his teeth a little.

 "Our New Lead Rockstar..." He stated, playing his guitar as Frighteningale spun onto the screen.

 "Scarlet Moth!!" She sang, making both Marinette and Luka gasp. Literally as hundreds of Scarlet Akumas fluttered over the school. One of them aimed for Marinette but Luka grabbed her and pulled her to him, glaring at it and daring Hawkmoth to come at him. He would keep his promise and hunt him down. The butterfly seemed to know what he intended as it fluttered away from him, causing Marinette to look up at Luka with awe as students and teachers began to get akumatized as they panicked. One flew over to Mylene, turning her into Horrificator. Ivan backed away as one came towards him but Luka ran over and pulled him away from it as a number fluttered over to Juleka and Rose, who were backing away from them. Adrien and Kagami backed away and ran from the school as fast as they could. He didn't blame them.

 "T-This is bad..." Juleka gasped as she and Rose backed away from some. "R-Real bad... Aah!"

 "Juleka!" Luka gasped, causing one to come at him again.

 "Don't let fear get a hold of you, Juleka!" Marinette called out, causing his heart to flutter. The akuma stopped, confused about his conflicting emotions and giving him a chance to came down. He took a deep breathe before glancing at his sister and Rose.

 "Marinette's right!" He shouted. "Don't let fear control you, Jules!"

 "Remember, there's a hero in everyone of us!" Miss Bustier added in as they moved in closer to people.

 "As long as we show we aren't scared! Hoo, hoo!" Mr Damocles added in as Nino ran past. Almost instantly, he got turned into the Bubbler, causing Alya to cry out before she turned into Lady Wifi. Luka frowned as more people panicked, creating more fear. He climbed onto a bench and looked around before he placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, getting everyone's attention.

 "Everyone, listen!" He shouted, making people look at him in surprise. "We can beat this because they are nothing but stupid little butterflies and we are Parisians and we do not go down without a fight! Jules, you are not easily scared! And Rose, thinking of pink and fluffy kittens!"

 Juleka took a deep breathe and began to calm herself down, glaring at the akumas at it.

 "That's it!" He grinned. "Don't let fear get the better of you,"

 Rose nodded and took a deep breathe too, glaring at the butterflies as well. Luka jumped down as Dark Cupid swooped down, terrorizing a few people and allowing them to turn into akumas. Marinette was helping a few people escape as Luka rushed over to her, along with the others.

 "We can't stand here," She pointed out, making him nod. "Or we'll end up been akumatized,"

 "It might sound crazy but we need to split up and find a safe hiding place in the school," He points out, making everyone nod and split. He rushed over to the boys bathroom and opened his jacket, causing Tikki to fly out. 

 "This is bad!" She gasped, causing him to nod.

 "There's too many to fight at once. We need to see Master Fu right away," He muttered before transforming into Anatis. He slipped out of the bathroom and made his way to the roof, keeping low as he saw the akumas. They were leaving the school, making him let out a sigh of relief but he did wonder where they were going. He had a feeling he would find out but he needed to get to Master Fu's. He jumped off and swung off, landing on the rooftop. He swung down to the ally but stopped as he felt like he was been followed. He glanced around but saw nothing. However, he didn't go to Master Fu's shop. Instead he opened a manhole and headed down there. He moved around the corner and frowned as the manhole was opened and closed again. He narrowed his eyes as Vanisher moved down and threw is yoyo at her but to his surprise, she dodged it and charged at him, knocking him back. She dived at him but a baton knocked her back, causing her to dodge. Taking the chance, he got his feet and grabbed her glasses, breaking them before catching the butterfly and purifying it as Vanisher turned back into Sabrina. He let it go as Lady Noir grabbed her baton and rushed over to him. 

 "Annie!" She gasped, hugging him. He hugged back. "God, I was so worried when I didn't see you on the roofs,"

 "I'm sorry, Kitten," He gasped before glancing to Sabrina, who was confused. "I had a tail to get rid off,"

 The two of them looked at her before Lady Noir let go and Anatis walked over to her. She gasped and backed up a little, causing him to frown but he knelt down in front of her as Lady Noir walked over. Sabrina gasped and looked at her in surprise.

 "Lady Noir? You're alive?!" She gasped, making both heroes frown before she looked at Anatis. "And you're not akumatized?!"

 "Akumatized?" He asked, making her nod before looking at Lady Noir.

 "Y-Yeah, everyone saw it on the news!" She gasped, making him frown even more. "You were akumatized and you killed Lady Noir... but it wasn't real because she's here right now and you're you... you are you, right?"

 "Yes, Sabrina," He smiled, causing her to hug him. 

 "I'm so glad!" She gasped, tears rolling down her face. "It was just..."

 "An illusion," Lady Noir muttered before Sabrina jumped on her. "Whoa!"

 "An illusion..." Anatis muttered, standing up before his eyes widen. "Volpina!"

 He turned Sabrina, who had let go of Lady Noir.

 "Sabrina, head back to the school. It's probably the safest place right now," He stated, making her nod as he walked over to Lady Noir and began climbing up after her. 

 "I will do, Anatis!" She grabbed. "And when I get there, I'm gonna tell everyone not to lose hope, cause the real Anatis and Lady Noir are still going strong!"

 "Well, it is heroes day after all," Lady Noir grinned as she opened the manhole.

 "And we wouldn't miss it for the world," Anatis continued before the two of them climbed out of the sewer and ran to Master Fu's shop. Checking that no one was around, they headed inside and knocked on the door. Master Fu answered it, looking afraid.

 "I always knew that Hawkmoth would one day realize how powerful he could be," He muttered, letting them in. "That day has come,"

 He walked over to the phonograph and took out of the miracle box, placing it in front of the two heroes and opening it.

 "Anatis... Lady Noir... you must pick an ally you can trust to fight along side you this mission," He stated as the draws popped open. Anatis reached for them as he looked at him, working out some sort of plan. "Once the mission is over, you will get the miraculous back from them and return it to me,"

 Anatis nodded and looked around at the miraculous. He honestly didn't know what to expect. Lady Noir leaned near him.

 "Take them all, Annie," She whispered, making him look at her. "They're need to be as many of us as possible..."

 "No, Kitten. In this case, less is more," He stated, surprising her. "We don't have time to find new holders and explain everything again. We need allies who already know what they're doing,"

 He grabbed the bee, the fox, the dragon and the snake before looking up at Master and gesturing to his bracelet.

 "May I, Master?" He asked, causing Master Fu to take off the bracelet and handed it to him. "Hawkmoth wants miraculous and that's exactly what he's gonna get,"

 "You got a plan?" Lady Noir asked, leaning on her baton as Anatis took out his yoyo and checked something before she walked over to the draw with the little boxes in. She grabbed enough for the miraculous as he walked over to her.

 "The akumas are all heading to one place," He stated, showing her. "The Eiffel Tower... we're gonna head there too... as soon as we have help that is,"

 "Calling in the cavalry?" She grinned as he placed the miraculous in the boxes. He put the fox, the bee and the turtle in his yoyo before handing the snake and the dragon to her. She took them and put them in her pocket.

 "Once you've collected Ryuko and Aspik, head to the Palais de Chaillot," He stated, getting a nod of her as he walked over to the window. She moved over and quickly gave him a kiss on his cheek, making him blush before he saluted her and dived out of the window. He landed on another building and saw Lady Noir heading to the neighborhood where Kagami lived. He smiled a little before diving off that building and swinging through the city. He landed on the school building and jumped down into the courtyard before looking for Ivan, Rose and Juleka. He found Juleka and Rose in one of the locker rooms, trying their best to fend off scarlet akumas. Juleka was holding Rose and gently talking to her while trying to keep her own emotions under control but he could tell they weren't going to last much longer. Just as two akumas fluttered towards them, he burst through and caught them with his yoyo, causing both girls to look up and gasp. "I don't think so,"

 "A-Anatis?!" Rose gasped as he let the two purified butterflies go. Juleka stared speechless as Rose began to cry tears of joy. "It's really you?!"

 "Yes," He smiled, causing her to hug him. He gently hugged her back as Juleka walked over before sighing. "I'm really sorry for what I'm about to do. I know that I'm able to reveal your secret identities but I haven't got time to find excuses to give them you separately,"

 He took out two of the boxes from his yoyo.

 "Culpeo and Abeille," He stated, holding them up to them. "I need you both,"

 "You're Culpeo?!" Rose gasped with massive eyes as she held her face, causing Juleka to blush as she took her box. "So cool!!"

 "And you're Abeille?" She asked back as Rose nodded with enthusiasm as she grabbed her box. "Awesome,"

 "Why didn't you tell me though?" Rose asked as Juleka opened the box and allowed Trixx to manifest.

 "It was suppose to be a secret, right?" Trixx grinned as Juleka put on the necklace.

 "Trixx, let's pounce," She mumbled before swiping her necklace as Trixx got sucked into it. She swiped her hand over her eyes, creating her mask before holding out her arms as the orange energy spreaded over them and her body, creating her outfit. She swiped her hands over her hair, creating her ears and changing it to orange and black before swiping her hands down her back, creating her tails. An orange light appeared on her back, creating her flute and completely the transformation. Rose squealed in pure excitement as Culpeo nodded at Anatis. "Ready when you are, Boss,"

 "Good," He smiled before looking at Rose, who nodded and opened her box. Pollen manifested and bowed to her.

 "Greetings, my queen," She smiled, making Rose smile. "It is good to see you again,"

 "Same here, Pollen," She replied before fixing the comb into her hair before holding her hand up. "Pollen, Buzz on!"

 She threw her head back as her hair turned honey blonde and black strips appeared in it before holding up her arms as a golden light traveled up her body from her feet, creating her suit before the second light appeared, giving her gloves and adding the black detail to her suit. She swiped her hand across her face, creating her mask as her transformation completely.

 "Let's go kick some akuma butt!" She declared, causing Culpeo to giggle and Anatis to shake his head.

 "Head to Palais de Chaillot but stay low," He ordered, making them nod. "Lady Noir is collecting Ryuko and Aspik and I need to find Leatherback. I'll meet you there as soon as I've got him... be safe,"

 "You too, Anatis," Culpeo nodded before taking Abeille's hand and leaving through the window. Anatis turned on his heel and left the locker room.

 "Now if I was Ivan, where would I hide?" He muttered to himself before clicking his fingers. "Of course,"

 He ran to the music room and looked inside before opening the door and looking around. He found Ivan hiding under the table as best as he could as he hugged his knees but as soon as he saw Anatis, he jumped up.

 "Is it really you?!" He gasped, making Anatis nod. He lifted him off the floor as he crushed him in a hug before putting him down. "I'm so glad you were deakumatized.... but Lady Noir..."

 "Is alive and kicking," Anatis grinned, making Ivan look at him in surprise. "And I was never akumatized. It was just a cruel illusion, engineered by Hawkmoth and excused by Volpina, to create mass panic and sorrow,"

 "That's awful," Ivan gasped, looking disgusted. "Mylene was re-akumatized... I would have been too if my pal Luka hadn't helped me... you know you should consider him for a miraculous. He's really brave,"

 "I'm sure he is but right now, we need to focus on the task at hand," Anatis replied, trying not to give away how happy he was that Ivan saw him as brave. He took out the last miraculous box. "I need Leatherback's help. You up for it?"

 "You bet ya, Anatis," Ivan grinned, taking the box and open it. "Sup, Wayzz,"

 The two of them did a secret handshake before Ivan slipped on the bracelet.

 "Wayzz, shell on," He declared, causing Wayzz to be sucked into the bracelet before stomping his feet on the ground and pushing his arms out, causing a green energy to creating his outfit. The green energy burst from the center off his chest, creating his emblem that resembled a turtle's shell attached to a harness. The energy traveled down his arms, leaving a gray strip in it's place before causing green spikes to burst from his gloves before he pulled down a pair of goggles over his eyes as the blonde tuff of his hair turned a forest green, completing his transformation. "Alright, Boss, what's the plan?"

 "We're heading to Palais de Chaillot," Anatis declared before the two of them ran out of the music room and jumped up to the roof, heading to the Palais de Chaillot.

 ~Meanwhile~

 Lady Noir jumped across the roofs until she came to Kagami's house. She dived down into the garden as Kagami practiced her fencing. She stopped as soon as Lady Noir landed in the garden and rushed over to her.

 "You're alive?!" She gasped, causing Lady Noir to nod. "And Anatis? Is he... still akumatized?"

 "No, he never was," Lady Noir explained, making Kagami frown deeply. "It was an illusion,"

 "An illusion?" She asked, frowning deeply. "That was an extremely cruel one,"

 "Indeed but part of Hawkmoth's plan," She replied, reaching into her pocket and taking out a box. "Which is why we have a plan. You in?"

 "Of course," Kagami grinned before taking the box from Lady Noir and opening it, causing Longg to manifest. "I'm honored to see you again, Longg-sama,"

 "The honor is mine, Kagami-san," He replied, nodding and making her smile as she put on the choker. "We shall accomplish great things together.

 "Indeed," She replied before holding her arms out. "Longg, bring the storm!"

 Longg got sucked in her choker. She held her fingers in the peace sign and moved them across her eyes, creating her mask. She threw up her left hand, creating a dark light that created her glove. It traveled down her arm and body, creating her outfit as she held out her other arm. She held her head up as a golden light covered her hair, creating her horns before the same golden light created her sword on her back and the tail detail on her suit, completely her transformation.

 "Alright, let's go find Adrien," Lady Noir grinned.

 "I believe he should be at home with his bodyguard," Ryuko stated, getting a nod of Lady Noir. "As soon as the red akumas hit, we escaped. Both of our parents have been akumatized and we wanted to make sure they were ok,"

 "Understandable," She nodded as they jumped across roofs, coming to Agreste Manor. Lady Noir held out her hand, causing Ryuko to stop. Adrien was there in his room but he was been guarded by Gorizilla. The two girls dived off the roof towards them. With Ryuko keeping Gorizilla busy, Lady Noir grabbed Adrien and jumped to the roof with him, placing him down before joining Ryuko and breaking his akumatized object before grabbing a jar and capturing it in a jar. The two girls jumped back on the roof as Adrien started at them.

 "Lady Noir! You're alive!!" He gasped with relief. "And Anatis?"

 "Not akumatized and never was," She smiled before she handed her the akuma jar to Ryuko and took out the snake miraculous, holding it out to Adrien. "Annie needs help. You in?"

 "Anything for my friends," He replied, taking it and opening. Sass manifested and nodded to him as he slipped on the bracelet. "Sass! Scales slither!"

 He held up his hand as Sass got sucked into the bracelet. He moved his hands over his face, creating his mask and giving his hair green streaks. The teal green energy moved down his body creating his outfit before a ball of teal light turned into his lyre. He grabbed it and placed it on his back, completing his transformation. 

 "So what's the plan?" He asked, looking at the girls.

 "We're meeting Annie at the Palais de Chaillot," Lady Noir replied, spinning her baton. "Shall we go?"

 Ryuko and Aspik nodded before the three of them jumped off the building and headed to the Palais de Chaillot. They ran across the buildings until they came to the Palais de Chaillot and jumped on it. Lady Noir grinned as Culpeo and Abeille was already there. Abeille was gently leaning on her and Culpeo was patting the bee's head, making Lady Noir smile. They were very cute together.

 "Hey, foxy," Lady Noir grinned, causing Culpeo to gasp and look up. "How's it going?"

 "Lady Noir," She gasped as Abeille looked up as well. "I'm really glad to see you're ok. Anatis told us it was a trick but still,"

 "I get ya," She nodded, looking around. "Where is my handsome partner?"

 "Getting Leatherback," Abeille replied, smiling as they moved over to the edge of the building and looking at the akumas. Lady Noir frowned a little as she looked at them but they didn't seem to be planning anything, just waiting. She wondered why. "They've just been stood there for about 15 minutes,"

 "Strange," She muttered as she heard the sound of a yoyo. She turned around as Anatis landed on the building with Leatherback. "Hey, Turtle, good to see you again,"

 "Lady Noir!" He grinned, hugging her as Anatis smirked. "I'm glad you're alive!"

 He put her down as Ryuko threw the glass jar at Anatis. He caught it and looked at it before he opened it and caught the akuma before releasing the now purified butterfly before he signaled for all of them to moved over to the edge and hide as he looked down at the akumas. He narrowed his eyes as it reminded him off Princess Justice's reign but it appeared that she wasn't here. However, almost every akuma that ever was had turned up yet they weren't running wild like they did with Princess Justice. They were just stood there. Lady Noir moved over to him.

 "So what are they doing?" She asked in a hushed voice.

 "They're waiting," He muttered back, making everyone frown as they moved a bit closer to him.

 "For what?" Aspik asked as an extra person jumped onto the Eiffel tower, causing Anatis to narrow his eyes and clutch his fist a little. The rest of them gasp in shock as they stared at the person. "Is that-"

 "Hawkmoth," Anatis stated, causing his mini army to look at him. "In the flesh,"

 They watched as Prime Queen sent up one of her flying camera, causing Hawkmoth to look at it.

 "Anatis! Lady Noir! Behold my powerful army!" He shouted, gesturing to the akumas. "And have no doubt that today belongs to Scarlet Moth!"

 "Not for long," Anatis muttered, glaring at him.

 "He better not get too cocky or I'll slam my shield into his face," Leatherback grinned as Aspik smirked.

 "It's only like ten villains to everyone of us," He grinned in a chilled back way. "Who wants Hawkmoth? How about we rock, paper or scissors for him?"

 "No need for that game, danger noodle," Ryuko smirked, holding her sword. "For he shall taste my blade,"

 "I'll protect you no matter what, Culpeo," Abeille gasped, determined.

 "No, I'll protect you," Culpeo gasped as Lady Noir leaned next to Anatis as they both glared at Hawkmoth and his Scarlet army.

 "So what's the plan, Annie?" Lady Noir asked as Anatis narrowed his eyes. The akumas had started to chant 'hail, scarlet moth' repeatedly, causing Anatis to frown even more as questions popped into his head. Scarlet Moth held up his arm, silencing his akumas. He smirked as Prime Queen's cameras focused on him before addressing them.

 "Anatis! Lady Noir! I can feel your close present," He stated, smirking as he brought down his arm before lifting his other into a fist shape. "If you want to save Paris and all it's people, I'll give you one last chance!"

 He threw out of his hand dramatically.

 "Give yourselves up and bring me your miraculous!" He shouted as Anatis watched with a worried expression. Lady Noir moved a little closer to him and gently placed her hand on his arm, causing him to flinch a little before looking at her and his team.

 "Annie?" She asked as he looked back over. "Want to share what's on your mind?"

 He frowned before sighing a little.

 "It's like he's been preparing for this for a long time...." He sighed, making his team frown as he glanced at them. "But we... we're not prepared for this..."

 "Yes, we are," Lady Noir stated, making him look at her in surprise. "We've faced all of these akumas before... this is just like Princess Justice's reign but on a slightly grander scale. Only this time, you're not alone. There's seven of us this time,"

 "Yeah, Hawkmoth doesn't stand a chance," Aspik grinned as the rest of the team nodded. Anatis looked at them all, seeing nothing but determination in their eyes.

 "Alright but if we're gonna do this, we have to have a plan," He muttered, glancing back over to Hawkmoth and his army. "If we want to win, we have to fight Hawkmoth even though we've never fought him before,"

 The team nodded as Anatis stood up and climbed onto the edge of the building.

 "Hawkmoth!" He yelled, getting the villain's attention. "I hope you liked Volpina's illusion... because me and my team will never hand over our miraculous!"

 "And we've got a better idea!" Lady Noir shouted, joining him before she pointed at Hawkmoth. "You're gonna give us your miraculous!"

 Culpeo, Abeille and Leatherback stood next to them, on Anatis' side.

 "You may have an entire army of akumatized warriors!" Leatherback shouted, clicking his hands.

 "But we're a team of heroes!" Abeille added in, taking out her spintop.

 "And we're gonna kick ass..." Culpeo added in, albeit quieter then the rest. Ryuko and Aspik jumped up and stood next to Lady Noir.

 "So bring it, old man!" Aspik shouted, making Hawkmoth frown a little.

 "We're ready for a fight!" Ryuko added, smirking before tilting her head. "Are you?"

 The seven of them took their fighting stance, making Hawkmoth laugh. 

 "I understand you want a fight," He stated, smirking. "Then so be it. Guitar Villain, Frighteningale.... Music!"

 The two musical villains began to sing and play as some of the scarlet army charged towards the heroes. Anatis nodded and jumped down with his team, charging towards them. They could hear Prime Queen narrating the fight as they ran towards them. Anatis narrowed his eyes as he couldn't see her around. He could see Lady Wifi, Pharaoh, Mime, Timebreaker, Style Queen, Troublemaker and Desperada running towards them on the ground while Bubbler, Stormy Weather, Reverser, Sandboy and the Puppeteer flew towards them. Rogercop and Malediktator stood at the back, along with the giants.

 "Don't forget our main object!" Anatis yelled towards the others. "We want to get to Hawkmoth!"

 "Well then let's go for the big, bad boss," Lady Noir grinned, getting a nod of Ryuko and Aspik as Stormy Weather lifted her parasol towards the sky.

 "Cyclone!" She shouted, creating a whirl wind that lifted up Desperada, Trouble Maker and the Mime. 

 "Horus, give me your wings!" The Pharaoh shouted as his head transformed. He flew down towards Lady Wifi and picked her up. Timebreaker smirked and sped up on her skates as Style Queen turned into glitter. Stormy Weather directed her parasol towards Anatis, shouting Thunderbolt as she did.

 "Leatherback, shield!" He shouted, causing Leatherback to throw it as a bolt of lightning headed towards him. It blocked it, causing Stormy Weather to growl and pull back her parasol. The wind disappeared, allowing the akumas to fall. Desperada went to hit Anatis but he jumped back as Ryuko ran over and held out her sword as Mime and Troublemaker landed behind her. Mime mimicked a sword while Troublemaker clicked her pen before the three of them charged towards them. "Your weapons are no match for Ryuko's sword. Show them what you've got,"

 "Lightning Dragon!" She shouted, transforming into a bolt before repeatedly attacking the three akuma, keeping them busy as Anatis dived back as Lady Wifi fired at him. Leatherback jumped in front of him and blocked her attacks. 

 "Abeille! Pharaoh's pendent!" He shouted, causing Abeille to throw her spintop and break it. Pharaoh transformed back into Jalil Kubdel, causing him to drop Lady Wifi. Anatis captured the butterfly as Lady Wifi threw a symbol and landed on it, flying upwards. However, Jalil was still falling. "Culpeo! Rescue!"

 "Good aim, mon cherie," She smiled as she slid and caught Jalil before turning around and throwing her flute at Lady Wifi's phone and turning her back into Alya. Abeille jumped and caught her as Anatis captured her butterfly too. Bubbler dived towards Ryuko as she blocked Mime's invisible sword. Lady Noir jumped over to her and used her baton to pop the bubbles he created as Apsik slammed his lyre into Desperada, which caused her to fall onto Troublemaker, who was attempting to fight Leatherback. Unfortunately for her, she clicked her pen at the wrong time which allowed Desperada to knock her down. In turn, she dropped the pen, allowing Leatherback to break it as Apsik grabbed Desperada's guitar back and slammed it into the ground, breaking. Anatis captured the freed akumas as Lady Noir blocked Bubbler's sword with her baton. She grinned and stomped on his foot before grabbing him and throwing him towards the mime, who was too distracted by Ryuko to notice Bubbler flying at him. Both villains fell to the ground, causing Mime's hat to fall off. Ryuko impaled it as Lady Noir jumped and landed a kick at Bubbler's sword, crushing it. Anatis captured those butterflies next before jumping back as Stormy Weather started to fire at him. He caught Timebreaker skating towards him, causing him to backflip and throwing his yoyo, destroying her skates as Lady Noir extended her baton, allowing Abeille to balance on it as Stormy Weather fired a bolt towards Anatis again. She threw the Bee heroine towards the weather witch, who used her parasol to protect herself. Abeille brought her leg down on it, breaking it and freeing the akuma. Lady Noir dived and caught Aurora as Anatis caught the loose akumas. Leatherback and Culpeo ran towards Rogercop, using Leatherback's shield to protect them from been hit. Culpeo threw her flute over Leatherback, causing Rogercop to dodge it but Anatis broke his whistle while he was distracted, capturing that akuma too. He jumped back as Style Queen went to slam her staff at him. Lady Noir  dived at her and began to fight her as Ryuko ran towards Leatherback, who held out his shield. She jumped on it, causing him to throw her into the air and towards Reverser. She cut his plane and caught Marc before dodging Sandboy's attack. Aspik jumped over them and threw his lyre at Sandboy's pillow, ripping it. He caught his Lyre and the little boy who fell to the ground. Anatis caught their akumas as Lady Noir wrestled with Style Queen. He jumped over them and threw his yoyo, breaking her rose and capturing that akuma.

 "By the power invested in me, I declare your miraculous are mine," Malediktator shouted, throwing balls of light at them as Puppeteer charged towards them. Since she didn't have her dolls with her, they couldn't be used in battle but it appeared she could control people she hit with her wand as she got Alya to try and attack Lady Noir. 

 "I'm sorry!" Alya gasped as she tried to punch the heroine, allowing Malediktator to fire a ball of light towards her. Anatis jumped over and blocked it as Leatherback threw his shield at Malediktator, who knocking him back. Abeille jumped at him and grabbed his sash, tearing it and freeing the akuma as Leatherback grabbed his shield and held it up again. This time, Abeille ran and jumped onto it, flying towards Puppeteer. She wrapped her spintop around her wand and pulled it from her hands, snapping it when she caught it. Manon flew from the sky but Leatherback caught her and put her down as Anatis caught the rest of the lose akumas. Lady Noir pushed Alya towards the other civilians.

 "Your days of attacking innocent people will soon be over, Hawkmoth!" Anatis declared, throwing up his yoyo. "Lucky charm!"

 He frowned as he caught a tennis racket before he glanced around, working out what to do with it. His luck vision lit up a canal boat, a lamp post then finally his team as a plan came into his mind. He smirked before nodding to his team.

 "Get ready," He stated, turning to the akumas. "I'm gonna need all of you,"

 The team nodded but before they could do anything, the sound of arrows been fired caught their attention. The people they rescued suddenly turned angry and aggressive, showing off black stained lips as they glared at the heroes. Anatis' eyes widen as Hawkmoth released and handful of akumas that turned them all back into their akumatized selves, causing Anatis and his team to go the defense. Lady Noir glanced up at the sky before gasping.

 "Hawkmoth is using Dark Cupid to create all the negative emotions he needs!" She gasped as Dark Cupid flew up into the sky and aimed his arrows at Anatis, causing him to jump out the way and the fight to start up again. Ryuko was fighting against the Mime while Aspik was up against the Bubbler . Culpeo and Abeille were going against Style Queen and Malediktator as Leatherback was trying to fight off the Pharaoh and Troublemaker. Anatis was blocking Desperada's attacks while Lady Noir was fighting Lady Wifi, all while Dark Cupid led the air bound villains in an assault on the team. 

 "This is a nightmare!" Aspik called out as he dodged an attack from Reverser and hit Bubbler with his lyre before grabbing it and kicking the mime as Ryuko cartwheeled away from Stormy Weather's attack.

 "Stay focus!" Anatis shouted as he jumped down and tripped up Desperada before blocking an arrow aimed at Leatherback. "We can't let them win,"

 "Fall on them like rain, my scarlet akumas!" Hawkmoth shouted, causing Anatis to look at him as he thrust his cane into the air. A huge swarm of Scarlet akumas fluttered up from behind him, causing Anatis' eyes to widen in horror.

 "Oh no," He gasped as they fluttered towards them. He turned to his team as they continued to fight. "Watch out!"

 Lady Noir gasped as she looked over before pushing back Lady Wifi and landing a kick on her, sending her flying. Lady Wifi smirked at her as Puppeteer and Sandboy flew down towards her, shooting at her. She jumped back as Aspik fought with the Pharaoh, who managed to knock away his lute and grab his arms. Aspik managed to get free and kicked him back, glaring at him.

 "Aspik! Watch out!" Ryuko called out, causing him to look behind as Dark Cupid fired an arrow at him. His eyes widen as she dived in front of him, taking the arrow. He caught as she fell and gasped as her lips turned black. She shoved him back and glared at him. "Keep your hands off me, you snake!"

 "Ryuko..." He gasped as an akuma fluttered towards her. Anatis caught it before it could hit her.

 "Ryuko! Don't let any negative emotions over take you or you'll get akumatized too!" He shouted, blocking Rogercop's attack as she sunk down, trying her best to fight it as she held her arms. "That's what Hawkmoth wants,"

 "It's going to be ok, Ryuko," Aspik gasped, moving closer to her and causing her to look up.

 "Coward," She growled before trying to attack him. "You're not worthy enough to be a hero!"

 He grabbed her and restrained her as she struggled against him. One of the akumas tried to take advantage of the situation but Abeille dived over and blocked out the attack as Culpeo fought against the mime. Style Queen and Malediktator began to attack Abeille, causing her to move away from them. Ryuko slammed her fist into Aspik's rib and threw him over her shoulder before opening her arms and allowing an akuma to flutter into her choke.

 "I am now... Okami!!" She declared, turning into a scarlet version of her self as Apsik looked up at her in horror and fear. Almost instantly, an akuma flew into his bracelet, covering him in a red smog as Anatis looked over.

 "Apsik!" He shouted before blocking an attack from Pharaoh. 

 "There is no more Aspik," He declared as the smog disappeared, showing a scarlet version of him. "There is only Aapep!"

 He then dived at Anatis, causing him to jump back as he slammed his fist into his ground. Leatherback threw his shield at him but Aapep dodged it as Okami charged at him. Abeille dived out of the way but Despair Bear jumped at her and forced her to stop. Culpeo jumped and landed in front of her, spinning her flute to deflect Dark Cupid's arrow but Lady Wifi threw a pause icon at her, trapping her too. Dark Cupid fired two arrows, hitting her and Abeille then akumas landed in their miraculous.

 "Culpeo! Abeille!" Anatis called out, getting knocked back by Pharaoh. He kicked him back as they turned into scarlet akumas.

 "Culpeo is no more, pest!" She growled, charging at him and trying to fight him. "Only Void Fox exists!"

 He blocked her attack as she tried to attack him relentlessly. He managed to kick her back and jumped away but the akumatized Abeille jumped at him, trying to sting him with her now unlimited venom.

 "Stay still, cockroach!" She growled as he back flipped away. "Frelona orders you to!"

 Malediktator smirked and held up his fingers to his mouth.

 "By the power invested in me, I order to stand still," He declared, throwing it towards Anatis. However, Leatherback pushed him out of the way and took the hit, allowing Dark Cupid to fire an arrow at him and a scarlet akuma to fly into his bracelet.

 "Leatherback..." Anatis gasped before jumping out of the way as the newly villain threw his shield at him.

 "Don't call me that!" He growled, catching it. "I'm Tortue Serpentine now!"

 "Annie!" Lady Noir gasped as a number of akumas dived at her. She fought them off as Anatis blocked and dodged the attacks aimed at him. "Now would be a great time to use that lucky charm!"

 "I need all o us for it to work!" He called out, rolling out of the way of Frelona as she tried to sting him again and block several attacks with his yoyo. "I can't do anything with it now,"

 He jumped over and landed next to her, holding up his fists as she held up her baton. All of the akumas began to move in on them, causing both heroes to try and look for a point of escape. However, there wasn't one. The two of them blocked the attacks as best as they could but they really needed to get out of there.

 "How are we gonna get out of this?!" Lady Noir gasped as she blocked another attack. Aapep managed to get pass their defenses and dived at Lady Noir but Anatis grabbed him and pinned his arms behind his back, in cased he had already activated his second chance. Anatis nodded at Lady Noir, who threw up her hand and summoned her cataclysm before slamming her fist into the ground. Anatis threw Aapep away from him as the ground cracked beneath them and gave away, causing the two heroes to fall into the sewers. Wasting no time, they swam away from the scene and climbed out of the water. Anatis helped Lady Noir out of the water before the two of them took off. Judging by the fact that they were still running and hadn't been ambushed, Aapep hadn't activated his second chance. They ran as fast as they could, heading deeper into the sewers as they did. Anatis frowned as his earrings beeped before glancing at Lady Noir.

 "I'm about to transform back," He declared as they saw forked tunnels up ahead with a wall between them. "I'll take the side of the left, you take the right,"

 "Kay!" She nodded, jumping across to her side. He jumped across to the other side and sighed as his transformation dropped. He caught Tikki and took out a macaron for her. She happily took it as he heard Lady Noir call off her transformation and give Plagg some cheese. "Enjoy it but don't take too long,"

 "Let's share it," Plagg replied as Tikki suggested the same thing with her macaron. Both holders thanked their kwamis before eating their halves.

 "You ok, Annie?" Marinette asked, causing Luka to sigh.

 "Hawkmoth has never akumatized so many people in one go. The amount of akumas was... worrying to say the least and he looked different..." He frowned, thinking about it. He called the akumas scarlet akumas and he was referring to himself as Scarlet akumas. Not just that but the amount of them was well in the hundreds. "Something's changed,"

 "He must have worked out how to boost his powers," She sighed, thinking. "Just like we did. Though I don't think he did it with magical food or potions.... Annie?"

 "Do you still think we can win?" He asked, making her frown a little. He sounded small and so unsure of himself. Despite the fact that she couldn't see him, she knew he was holding his arms and looking down. She placed her hand on the wall as he let out a small sigh.

 "We can't give up hope," She declared, causing him to look at the wall. "People are relying on us,"

 "But our whole team crumbled," He sighed, looking down. "I failed to protect them..."

 "Annie, listen to me. You did not fail. Hawkmoth cheated and that's all there is to it," She stated in a firm voice. "As for a crumbled team... well, let's go back to what we know works. A duo! You and me against the world, Annie,"

 "Thank you, Kitten... I needed to hear that," He muttered, making her smile a little before they hear the sound of snarling and running. "They've found us,"

 "Time to make a quick escape," Marinette grinned before noticing the flowing water. "You like Water Rides, Annie?"

 "Don't forget to put your diving gear on," Luka replied, taking out a green macaron as they both ran towards the edge and dived off with their eyes closed. He threw it towards Tikki, who ate it as Marinette did the same with Plagg. "Tikki, power up!"

 "Plagg, Power up!" She shouted as they free-fell towards a pool of water. "Aqua Plagg, Claws out!"

 "Aqua Tikki, Spots on!" He shouted. They both transformed then hit the water. Once underneath, they opened their eyes and swam into a tunnel but Syren appeared to block their way, grinning. They heard a splash, causing them to look behind them as Animan in the form of a fish swam towards them. Anatis grinned as Syren charged at them. Lady Noir grinned back as she blocked Syren's attack. She knocked her weapon out of her hand and broke her bracelet as Anatis tied Animan up with his yoyo and broke the button on him before catching the akumas. Animan and Syren turned back into their civilian selves, causing Anatis and Lady Noir to give them their weapons so they could breathe before swimming off with them into the Seine.

 "It's gonna take a long of time to deakumatized these villains one by one," Lady Noir pointed out as they swam.

 "Which is exactly why we have to take on Hawkmoth directly," Anatis replied as they swam. "I think his cane is the source of his power up. I'm not sure how he did it but if we can destroy it, it should revert him back to normal and free everyone from his control,"

 "Good plan but we can't do it from the water," Lady Noir pointed out as they both swam up and jumped out of the water, landing on the ground as they transformed back into their normal forms. As soon as they did, Timebreaker skated towards them, holding her hand out. However, Anatis clocked her before she could get them and broke her skates again, capturing her akuma before jumping to the bridge in front of the Eiffel Tower, causing Hawkmoth to glare at him. Ondine and Otis ran off as Anatis faced Hawkmoth with Lady Noir stood next to him, holding her baton behind her back.

 "Hey, Hawkmoth! You're not gonna wanna miss what happens next! Time to show everyone that the real Anatis and Lady Noir are back!" He yelled out before taking out his yoyo. He pressed it open and threw it up in the sky, releasing all the purified butterflies he captured and causing a white beam of light to escape from it. Almost instantly, he could feel the change in the city's song and smirked as he closed his yoyo, knowing Hawkmoth could feel it too. "You feel that, Hawkmoth?! It's called Hope!"

 "No more escaping for you, Knaves!" Dark Blade called out, causing Anatis and Lady Noir to face him and his army. "Down with the enemy!"

 "Time for a little detour, kitten," Anatis suggested as they began to back away.

 "Couldn't agree more, Annie," Lady Noir nodded before they ran off, causing the akuma army to follow them as they ran as fast as they could through the streets of Paris, trying to avoid the akumas that followed them. The ones from the sewers climbed out and joined the hunt. Lady Noir looked at him as they ran. "Got any ideas?"

 "Besides running and surviving?" He asked, glancing at her before they both look ahead and saw a barricade of cars and a bus. The two of them jumped over it, rolling as they landed before noticing those behind it. Both heroes blinked as none of other then Nora Cesaire climbed onto the bus and lifted a broom up. Chloe and Nathaniel joined her, along with Tom, Sabine and Gina. Alya's mother was there too as was Anarka, Tomoe and a number of others. 

 "Parisians!" Nora shouted, getting their attention. "We can be heroes just for one day!!"

 "What?! A revolution!" Dark Blade yelled before pointing his blade towards them. "Charge!"

 "Charge!" Chloe shouted back, causing the Parisians to run into battle. A number of them grabbed the akumatized heroes from windows as Gina moved over to them, along with Anarka and Marlena Cesaire before helping the heroes to their feet.

 "Are you two ok?" Anarka asked, causing Anatis to nod. 

 "It's awesome seeing you two again," Marlena grinned, clearly happy to see them as Gina placed her hand on Lady Noir's shoulder.

 "Parisians are all on your side,"

 "We're slow them down, Lad," Anarka grinned, clearly thriving in the chaos. "You two go save the world!"

 "Leave the akumas to us," Gina grinned, causing Anatis to smile.

 "You guys are amazing," He gasped as Lady Noir nodded.

 "Thank you so much," She added as the two of them turned and ran off before jumping onto the rooftops. They came to a stop as the giant akumas arrived but the Parisians distracted them too, giving Anatis and Lady Noir a chance to get to the Eiffel tower. The two of them worked together against Glaciator and Gamer, causing them to take out each other before they jumped up and landed on the Eiffel Tower, rushing over to where Hawkmoth was standing, causing him to gasp as he turned around. Lady Noir held out her baton as Anatis spun his yoyo.

 "It's just us three, Hawkmoth," He declared, causing Lady Noir to summon her cataclysm before he threw up his yoyo and summoned his lucky charm. He caught the little box and opened it before glancing at Hawkmoth, stopping as he got a shiver. This was too easy but he knew he couldn't let Hawkmoth catch on. He lifted his arm in front of him so the box reflected what was behind him before grinning. "It's a sign, Hawkmoth. That your miraculous will end up in this box,"

 "Are you sure you're not making a mistake?" Hawkmoth asked. "How do you know that my wish wouldn't be beneficial for everyone?"

 "Hm! I doubt that!" Lady Noir gasped as Anatis stepped forward. He moved his hand behind his back and pointed to his shadow. 

 "Even if it was, there would be a price," Anatis shouted, hoping Lady Noir got when he meant. Using the box, he saw her glance downwards towards Hawkmoth's feet. "Why don't you tell us your wish, Hawkmoth?"

 "Give me your miraculous and find out," He replied as Lady Noir flicked her hair in a way that made it look like a nod. Anatis hid his smirk. "Unlike you, I'm not afraid to use these powers. Since you're so good, why did you never bother to change the world for the better?"

 "We are changing it... by our actions..." Anatis stated, making Hawkmoth frown. "Instead of just wishing for it or taking advantage of innocent people,"

 They moved forward to him as Anatis held out his hand with the box so he could still see behind him.

 "But it's not too late.... you can fight for good with us," He stated as the real Hawkmoth climbed behind them with two akumas in his hand. Anatis placed his hand on his yoyo, waiting til he released the akumas. "Now!"

 Lady Noir destroyed the Hawkmoth illusion and blocked Dark Cupid's arrows as Anatis captured the two akumas. She threw her baton at Dark Cupid, breaking the button on his chest. The akuma escaped and Anatis captured it, returning Dark Cupid back to Kim before he caught him with his yoyo and lowered him to the floor before the heroes faced Hawkmoth. 

 "No!" Hawkmoth growled.

 "You're such a coward," Anatis growled. "But did you really think we were stupid enough to fall for that?!"

 "No where to hide now," Lady Noir smirked as Hawkmoth growled. The two heroes charged at him and began to fight him. Anatis blocked his attack with his yoyo before he knocked him back. Lady Noir instantly took over, using her baton like a bo staff and attacking him relentlessly, annoying Hawkmoth until he got annoyed enough to try and beat her with his cane. Seeing his chance, Anatis threw his yoyo and snatched his cane out of his hand as Lady Noir flipped over to him. Hawkmoth charged at him but Anatis threw to Lady Noir, who caught it with her charged hand, destroying it. Hawkmoth returned back to his normal form as a number of white butterflies fluttered away. "As Annie said... it's over!"

 "Alright, Kids," Hawkmoth growled with a look of determination on his face before he got into a fighting stance and held up his fists. "Watch what a man who has nothing to lose can do,"

 The two heroes charged at him as he ran towards them, fighting him as best as they could but Hawkmoth was so much stronger then they were. He used his limbs and height to his advantage, beating them as he did until he knocked them onto the floor. Anatis tried to push himself up as Lady Noir's ring beeped. Hawkmoth smirked as he walked towards them.

 "You're never going to win," He declared, walking towards them. "You're still so green, young heroes. You can't even stay transformed after you use your powers!"

 He went to grab Lady Noir but before he could, Anatis slammed his foot into him, knocking him back before he got up, surprising Hawkmoth as he held up his arms in a strange position, similar to a snake.

 "Annie..." Lady Noir gasped as he stood in front of her. 

 "I'm not done yet," He snarled, making Hawkmoth smirk before charging at him. To his surprise, Anatis managed to hold his own, using his hands to hit Hawkmoth with powerful jabs but gradually Hawkmoth got the upper hand, knocking him back. Hawkmoth smirked and lifted his arms to beat the knocked down heroes but he went flying when a shield was thrown into him. Leatherback jumped with the other heroes and caught it, allowing Anatis and Lady Noir to jump. Anatis threw his yoyo around, creating a net around the Eiffel Tower that trapped Hawkmoth. Ryuko clicked her fingers as the seven of them stalked towards Hawkmoth. Abeille held up her spintop and called upon her power, ready to sting him as he backed up. "It's over, Hawkmoth,"

 However, a blue mask suddenly appeared around his eyes, causing his expression to change to one of genuine surprise. Anatis frowned deeply as they moved closer.

 "No, don't do that!" Hawkmoth suddenly gasped, making everyone confused. Who was he talking to? The mask disappeared and he sunk to his knees, apparently admitting defeat. Anatis took another step forward but as he did, a giant moth suddenly appeared, causing the heroes to gasp before it began to flap it's wings, causing a gush of wind that sent the heroes flying. Anatis tried his best to hold onto his yoyo as he grabbed Lady Noir's hand, stopping her from been blown away.

 "What is that monster?!" He gasped as his yoyo's string up wrapped, sending him flying. He threw his yoyo and wrapped it around the moth's tail, pulling himself and Lady Noir towards it so they could attack but it vanished as soon as they got near. They landed on the Eiffel Tower and looked around as the others returned. Anatis moved over to the broken cane as a darkened feather escaped it but as it fluttered away, it turned back to white. Lady Noir walked over and looked up at it as the others looked around for Hawkmoth.

 "A feather?" She questioned as he frowned before his eyes widen. 

 "Master Fu mentioned that the Butterfly Miraculous wasn't the only lost miraculous," He muttered, making her look at him. "There's another one... the Peacock and I think we just saw it's power,"

 "Anatis, Hawkmoth is gone," Culpeo stated, making the team move over and look around.

 "He must of have escaped when that monster appeared," Lady Noir sighed before they moved over to the broken cane. Abeille leaned down and picked it up as Aspik and Ryuko frowned deeply. 

 "The timing of that monster was too good," Ryuko muttered, frowning.

 "But where did it come from?" Aspik asked, getting a nod of the rest of the team.

 "Another miraculous holder," Anatis answered, standing next to them. "Which means Hawkmoth is no longer working alone. He had help from the owner of the Peacock miraculous,"

 "Well, maybe this can help us track him," Lady Noir muttered, taking the cane from Abeille but it disappeared, making them all gasp.

 "There goes our chance at tracking him," Leatherback frowned as Anatis sighed.

 "He must have detransformed," He muttered as his earrings beeped along with Lady Noir's ring. "We've gotta split, guys... but first..."

 He held up the box and threw it into the air.

 "Miraculous Ladybugs!" He shouted, causing it to burst into the magical swarm and fix everything before the heroes headed back into the city. Leatherback, Abeille and Culpeo followed Anatis while Ryuko and Aspik followed Lady Noir. Landing back on the school roof, Anatis jumped down, followed by Leatherback who detransformed and gave back the bracelet after saying goodbye to Wayzz. Anatis thanked him before jumping up to the roof, where Abeille and Culpeo were waiting. They detransformed and said goodbye to their kwamis before handing back the miraculous. Anatis thanked them before swinging off into the city back to Master Fu, briefly de-transforming on his way there. Meanwhile, Lady Noir dropped off Ryuko and Aspik at Kagami's house. The two of them detransformed and said goodbye to their kwamis before handing her the jewels without hesitation. 

 "Thank you for your help, you two," Lady Noir smiled.

 "Thank you for trusting us," Kagami replied, bowing a little before her ring beeped again. "Send my best to Anatis,"

 "I will," Lady Noir nodded before jumping off into the city. She briefly found somewhere to hide before her transformation dropped. Taking out some cheese, she threw it towards Plagg and headed to Master Fu's place. Arriving there, she re-transformed and entered through the open window, smiling as Anatis placed the fox and bee back in the box. She moved next to him and placed the dragon and the snake back, allowing Master Fu to close the box and lock it away.

 "You both did very well today," He stated as he moved over to them. "But I sense something is troubling you, Anatis. Would it help to share what's on your mind?"

 "The owner of the peacock miraculous helped Hawkmoth escape..." He muttered, frowning. "And I feel like Hawkmoth was planning this... I think Princess Justice was his inspiration for this attack... since she was arguably one of his most successful and intelligent akumas, he took her plan and evolved it... he was calling himself Scarlet Moth and had amplified his own powers... it was concerning..."

 "Yes, it does seem that way," Master Fu agreed, making both heroes frown. "We were lucky that she did not make an appearance though... however, I think you two have earnt a well deserved rest. Go and celebrate this victory. It is heroes' day after all,"

 "That's a good idea," Anatis nodded before getting up. "I have something I need to do,"

 ~After the Heroes Day Parade~

 Marinette frowned to herself as she walked towards the park. She wasn't sure why but Alya asked her to meet her there at 7 pm, despite the fact that she told pretty much everyone that she couldn't do the party. Alya also insisted she bring a box of macarons. Luckily, because of the time, she was able to make some from scratch and these ones didn't burn. She saw Alya stood outside and waved towards her, getting her attention. Alya rushed over and smiled.

 "Did you bring the macarons?" She asked, confusing her but she nodded. "Good! Right, close your eyes!"

 "Uh.." She blinked. "Alright?"

 She closed her eyes and allowed Alya to lead her into the park. She frowned as she felt Alya leave her side, making her nervous.

 "Ok! Open your eyes!" Alya gasped, causing her to open them. She gasped as she took in the scene in front of her. Fairylights had been put up and tables had been set up. All kinds of food covered them and there were several picnic blankets with people on. Everyone who she had invited were there and it was exactly how she imagined it. Tears filled her eyes a little as she looked around.

 "Oh my gosh..." She gasped. "But... I don't understand.... I cancelled the picnic because I couldn't provide the food I promised,"

 "We know," Kagami stated as she walked over, holding a tray of food. "Which is why we all brought a dish each,"

 "You're always helping people," Rose gasped as Juleka nodded. 

 "Like when you helped me with my photo curse," She muttered, pushing her hair out of the way as Nathaniel and Marc came over.

 "Or when you helped me and Marc meet so we could create a comic book,"

 "Or the time when you helped me escape so I could see my mother on the big screen," Adrien piped up as she looked around. "That's why we all jumped at the chance to help you. You do some much for us so today it was our turn to help you,"

 "B-But... I still don't understand..." She gasped, confused. She was sure she cancelled the picnic. "Not that I'm not grateful... cause I am but I definitely cancelled the picnic so who asked you all to help?"

 "I did," Luka stated, making her turn around in surprise as he walked over. "That's why I was looking at my phone all lunch,"

 "Y-You did this for me?" She asked, tears appearing in her eyes as he nodded. She suddenly hugged him, causing him to stumble back a little as he caught her. "Thank you so much,"

 "It's fine," He muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's heroes day so this is the least I could do,"

 "You're my hero, Luka," She muttered, causing him to blush before she kissed his cheek and looked at him before the two of them joined the rest.

 ~Later that Night~

 "Hey, Annie," Lady Noir grinned as she joined him. He was sat on a rooftop, writing down something down. "What ya doing?"

 "Working out a code," He muttered, looking up at her as she sat down next to him before he handed her the note pad. He had written down several colour codes on there. Each one corresponded to a threat level. The lowest threat was Code Gray for weak akumas like Mr Pigeon. Code Black were for akumas like Lady Wifi. Code Yellow is for akumatized miraculous holders that weren't them. Code Orange was literally reserved for Volpina. Code Blue was for the peacock holder and Code Purple was for Hawkmoth. "I'll be adding more as time goes on but what do you think so far?"

 "It works but what's Code Red?" She asked, making him frown a little.

 "It's the warning if I'm ever akumatized..." He muttered, making her look at him. "The list isn't finished yet but I think it helps to have codes. That way we can prepare... speaking of preparing... I think we should train the newbies and look into calming techniques,"

 "That's a good idea," She nods before looking at him. "You are ok right?"

 "Yeah, I'm good, Kitten," He smiled, placing the notepad in his yoyo. "Are you?"

 "Yup,"

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

Next Chapter: https://ultra-sassyduck.tumblr.com/post/638625574156419072/miraculous-rise-of-anatis-41

[miraculouscontent]

A portion of Team Miraculous defeating akumatized Alya:

By the time Heavy Matal managed to catch up with Lady Wifi, she had already stepped off that stupid fast-forward symbol she could ride and was in the midst of throwing her pause symbols at Ladybug and Chat Noir. They were dodging skillfully, which Heavy Matal was grateful for since it meant he didn't cause any trouble by trailing behind.

Possibly hearing him, Lady Wifi briefly stopped, her phone still directed towards Ladybug and Chat Noir. She looked back at Heavy Matal, giving him a smirk. "You're definitely no Carapace."

Ladybug glared from the opposite side of Lady Wifi. "Mata doesn't need to be Carapace to help us take you down! Watch!" She took out her yoyo, then threw it up in the air. "Lucky Charm!"

The yoyo's light soared upwards, taking a large, rectangular shape. Ladybug looked confused, then held her arms out as a ladybug-patterned mattress fell into her grasp.

"Uh..."

Chat made no comment, though if he had, Heavy Matal imagined that it would be, "This is no time for sleeping on the job, m'lady."

Ladybug focused on the mattress itself along with her surroundings. Meanwhile, Hawk Moth's symbol flashed over Lady Wifi's face, almost like a flashing alarm.

Immediately, Lady Wifi placed a finger on her phone's screen. Ladybug noticed just in time, steeling herself up and throwing the mattress forward, vertically so. The pause symbol was shot in her direction, Ladybug pulling Chat behind the mattress alongside her just as the mattress itself was hit.

The mattress froze in place, essentially shielding both of them. Heavy Matal blinked, completely unsure of what was going on.

Had Ladybug glanced at him for a moment, or had he imagined it? Was he supposed to do something? Everything had happened so quickly.

Lady Wifi let out a laugh. "Seriously? That's your plan? Hiding from me?"

Heavy Matal flinched as she turned back to him, staring at him with a critical gaze. However, just as she began to hold her phone up, Hawk Moth's symbol appeared over her face again, causing her to frantically look back to where Ladybug and Chat Noir were.

Was that the plan? Using him as bait? As a distraction? A sacrifice?

Lady Wifi squinted, looking suspiciously between Heavy Matal and the mattress. After what seemed like a moment of internal debate, she turned her back on Heavy Matal, focusing on heading to where Ladybug and Chat Noir were hiding.

In a way, it made sense. She really didn't see him as a threat, and Heavy Matal wasn't exactly the stealthy type. She'd know if he ran at her to stop her plan.

But, at the same time, he didn't have to run at her, which he knew more than well from the time he saved Nino.

Without any more thought, Heavy Matal reached for his shell and threw it forward. It soared, spinning as it went, and Lady Wifi was expertly struck in the back of the head. She yelped in pain, her phone flying out of her hands as she fell to the ground.

The shell returned to Heavy Matal's grasp. It was no manhole cover in terms of weight and impact, but it served its purpose well enough.

The phone skidded against the concrete as it landed a sizable distance away. However, it was still in front of the mattress' path, and Heavy Matal immediately realized a problem.

Lady Wifi wasn't knocked unconscious. There was no way he could reach the phone before her. Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't leave their place at risk of not making it in time and being promptly being shot.

Heavy Matal felt a spike of panic as Lady Wifi recovered from the hit and began to scramble back up. He needed a plan - a strategy - or Ladybug and Chat Noir wouldn't be able to come out behind their makeshift shield.

Shield...

Instinct kicked in, Heavy Matal holding his shell up. As quickly as he could, he yelled, "Shell-ter!"

The circular area around him flashed green, Shell-ter forming with its typical hexagonal pattern.

And, thanks to the size, it formed with Lady Wifi inside of it. She grunted as she ran into the inner part of the shield, looking around in confusion before noticing that, unlike herself, her phone was outside of the shield's radius.

Her hands tightened into fists. She glared at Heavy Matal, finally setting her sights on him as she charged in his direction.

"Let me out!" she demanded, pounding on his chest. Without her phone though, she was helpless, Heavy Matal easily trapping her with his free arm.

"Ladybug!" he called out. "Now!"

Ladybug rushed out from behind the mattress, eyes set on the phone. She stomped her foot down on it, the akuma flying out a moment later.

Heavy Matal watched as Ladybug captured and purified the akuma in typical Ladybug fashion. When the white butterfly went free, he considered it safe enough to drop both Shell-ter and Lady Wifi herself.

Lady Wifi groaned, falling to her knees as she was de-akumatized back into Alya. Ladybug picked up the restored phone, walking towards Heavy Matal and dropping the phone into Alya's lap on the way.

"You did great!" she complimented. Looking almost smug about it, she added, "I don't doubt my teammates for a second."

"Wait." Heavy Matal paused, processing that. "That was your plan?"

She nodded. "Sorry I couldn't say much about it. I knew from the start that Lady Wifi would underestimate you because—" She paused, mouth briefly closing. "...Well, anyway, I still couldn't say anything or she would've figured it out."

He gaped, surprised that she trusted him to such an extent. As he averted his gaze and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, he caught sight of Chat glancing at Ladybug only to then look away.

That relationship was still tense after the livestream, it seemed. Heavy Matal pretended not to notice and fist-bumped Ladybug on his own.

He and Ladybug then grabbed the mattress together, throwing it up in the air as Ladybug called out for Miraculous Ladybug. The magical ladybugs swept over the city, and though Heavy Matal had considered taking Alya back himself, Chat was already heading in her direction.

Thus, he left alongside Ladybug, leaving Chat and Alya to themselves. Chat attempted to comfort Alya, but she brushed him off, saying nothing as she stared at the phone in her lap.

Then, still without a word, she picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts. Apparently, she was looking for Max, though Chat didn't know why.

[currentfandomkick]

Marinette did Not sign up for this part 5

so, this happened. i would feel bad, but the characters hijacked this story after chapter 1 and i’m just along for the ride and checking that words makes sense.

First part here Previous Here ao3 Here

--

“Hey Alya, you haven’t been getting more hits on your blog from Gotham lately, have you?” Marinette asked.

Alya rolled her eyes as honestly, could her bestie be any less obvious? She could see the “new” necklace. The one that only shows up when Multimouse is on call. Honestly—why is it everyone keeps thinking she doesn’t know who’s who? She’s the Fox—Illusions and Truth are her bread and butter.

“Now that you mention it,” Alya pulled up her latest stats. “Yes. The whole site—jeez these guys must have just found out and want the scoop from the best source in Paris,” Alya preened.

Marinette acted… different after she got that answer. Moved in on herself. Alya could feel the attempt at a cover-up before she even asked.

“Hey, is something up?”

“Nothing! Nothing is up, why would something be up! Ha, that’s a good one Alya!”

Ah, the miraculous-related tic was in full swing then. Marinette isn’t exactly the most in-the-know miraculous user, and the Mouse is always taken back after its been used. She could be forgiven for assuming Alya, the expert in all things Miraculous second only to the Original duo and their boss, would not know that something was going on in a certain spotted heroine’s life, and it was all hands on deck.

“Okay,” Alya switched to her theory notes, “Any new names to add to the ‘would not be surprised if they were Hawkmoth’ list?” Marinette is a goldmine on this topic, and while miraculous adjacent, definitely able to ease the whole ‘not in control’ and helpless feelings this situation was probably stirring in her girl. She knew it was for herself atleast.

Marinette perked up with a familiar ‘I know what you will say, but lets do this anyway’ type of sly smile. “Okay, so we do agree that it has to be someone that knows Gabriel’s schedule and doesn’t want to interfere with it for the most part, right?”

“Well,” Alya wasn’t letting this hunch go anytime soon, no matter what LB and Chat said about evidence against. She knew she was onto something with it, and for all she knew, some miraculous magic could be interfering. “I still say it could be him and Natalie taking turns, but that doesn’t rule them both out.”

Marinette shot Alya a look, of the ‘I strongly disagree, but feel it is futile to remind you why’ variety.

“I’m kidding, your boss isn’t Hawkmoth, I know… He’d totally have better designs for akumas if he was.”

Marinette leaned forward conspiratorially. “You should have seen him tear into the Bubbler one when I brought it up as an example of horrible design. His face was perfect!”

Alya would love to imagine the many, many ways to torment Gabriel after what she and Nino have come to understand about the man from their friends. Ranging from negligent and uninvolved control freak at best to manipulative, victim-blaming, and abusive POS. If Adrien and Marinette were a little less attached (re: not pedestalling the man so much), then she could get them to see the truth and they could go over the pair’s options to get them both away from his BS and make the man pay for the all the crap he put Adrien through, and was starting to put Marinette through. Why else would the girl be running herself ragged—especially the past week—if the man wasn’t a demanding asshole boss?

“That’s great, next time, get a pic or vid and share the love.”

“I will, so I met another one of his suppliers and…” Alya began to take vicious notes, glad for Marinette’s attention to detail on these things. It made looking for possible Hawkmoths much easier on her and Max—yes she knows who Pegasus and Cowboy are, Markov in a hat is still Markov in a hat. It was a wonder that no one else noticed.

Alya grinned when she saw Trixx peek out of her hiding place, a wide smile that reminded her exactly why Alya could catch everyone’s identity while her friends still hadn’t put together she’s Rena; a Fox casts illusions. To do that well, you have to learn to seek and see the truth, and get your evidence. And Alya? Is a damn good fox.

----------

Tim hates his stupid insane list of designers. He managed to knock of half by using his own damn filters, thank you very much for dominant genes from the Wayne side that could be seen visually. It knocked out a good chunk (about two thousand out of five thousand) on hair alone. He decided he would let it keep running for those that linked their socials to their psueds and aliases.

The problem was the handful (about ten) that didn’t. He’d have to meet them in person, used his glasses to get pictures, and run those against social media posts in Paris to find out who these more private designers were—all to find out if they really are in the right age range, and if their natural features do put them in the ‘likely a Wayne’ category for Wayne dominant traits (and those possible given Bruce’s own DNA makeup, which he doesn’t know Tim has. Hey, he’s the Robin that Gets Shit Done, never said he was the polite one. That’s Dick’s job, not his.)

---------

Adrien hates not having Plagg with him. Not that Tikki isn’t great and all! Really! Just… he misses him and his stinky cheese, okay?

“Adrien,” Natalie knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Natalie entered the doorway, but no further. “When is Marinette free for consultations next? we have a high end client who would like to commission her as soon as possible.”

“Give me a minute…” Adrien checked his ‘overseeing Marinette’ schedule on his phone. “Uh, she has walk-ins around four until five tomorrow.”

“Excellent. Will she be at her home or the studio Gabriel has provided for consultations?” By her tone, he could tell which Natalie and Father would prefer.

“Let me check with her.”

“See that you do.”

Adrien sent a lipstick, X arm lady, and house emoji to Marinette.

In a minute she sent back a thumbs up and apartment building emoji.

“Studio it is.”

Natalie nodded. “Excellent choice. I will let them know to be there at four ten, given Marinette’s… difficulty arriving on time.”

Adrien grimaced a bit on that as yeah… no longer having a Danger sense meant her punctuality was… not very good.  “Are they speaking to Marinette or MDC?”

He’d need to know if he should just pick her up or not. MDC didn’t have to get picked up—designers to celebrities are allowed to be late and can blame it on getting caught up in a few details on a commission design for a walk-in consultation. Marinette was tied to the Gabriel Brand and needed to reflect that, therefore, be there on time and ready.

“Marinette for now, though they expressed an interest in MDC as a budding designer, and they are well within the MDC price range,” Natalie hinted.

Adrien kept the hiss growing in the back of throat quiet. Marinette chooses who MDC works with, not his Father.

--------

Stephanie is both delighted and upset when she sees Cass. As its Cass—she probably figured it out already damn it!—but its Cass and she missed her since she left a few months back for a mission and got caught up in the Chinese crime scene again.

“Hey Cass!”

Cass grinned when she saw Steph and made her way over.

“Found her!”

Stephanie was gutted. She really wanted to win, just this once, at a detective thing. You know, be the normal one that managed to out-do the prodigies and geniuses. Not to be again. “Oh, that’s great. Where is the baby bat?”

Cass shook her head. “Not her, Soup Girl.”

Stephanie opened and shut her mouth. Then lit up as she still has a chance! “Oh, right—right! You said you wanted to meet her a while back.”

Cass nodded. “Her family is nice.”

“Did you talk to her or…”

Cass shook her head. “Busy.”

“Ah.” That made sense. “Well, uh, still competing?”

Cass raised an eyebrow. That was a yes.

“Maybe we should work on helping her on the hero side of things together, you know, so we don’t freak her out when we all swarm her place. Make the whole thing a bit less…”

“Dramatic.”

Stephanie nodded. It would help ease the girl into the family, and keep Cass on that case instead of finding Baby Bat for a bit. Win-Win for Stephanie and Baby Bat.

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

Chatte Noire really, really hates dealing with akumas. She's built for strategy, to see tricky parts and work out how to make them safer for the team and minimize risk. She is not made to be Chatte Noire. Yet here she is, in an akuma attack, trying to play the role of a Black Cat—identify and destroy threats to the team. Problem is, she lacks Chat Noir's heightened ability to sense danger. In fact, she lacks it completely--and she knows the team isn't happy.

The attack is taking longer than it would if she was Ladybug. This would be over if she had just managed to keep her big mouth shut and not talked to Aquaman. Then the Justice League wouldn’t be involved. Then the whole promise to Murder Robin would not be broken and Paris would already be saved for the day instead of dealing with another Sandboy attack going on well into the night, with a cure that won’t be able to handle fatigue, energy renewal or relax the body for sleep post ‘I’m scared out of my mind’ fear.

She made sure to avoid this Sandboy’s attacks and she would save whoever got caught. Her Cataclysms may not be as strong as Chat’s (his do make the whole thing go away) but she is just as quick on her feet and just as good at getting civilians out of danger.

“Chatte!”

“On it Buggaboy! And not yet!”

It was too off for the Lucky Charm. They’d need Viperion, and he was stuck underwater with Aquaman trying to get him out at the moment. Until then, she just had to minimize damage, keep civilians away from their nightmares hunting them down, and keep moving and planning and work everything out while playing bodyguard for the team at Cha—At Mr. Bug’s call.

She hopes things turn out okay.

Then she sees a bat symbol and the world vanishes.

----------

Red Hood blinked when he saw some girl running around on rooftops in… Isn’t Chat Noir supposed to be the cat one? Where the hell is Ladybug—and why is some guy in her place? Shit, did the baby bat lose her miraculous or was it stolen? Damnit, now he has to steal it back for her!

“Okay, how did LB get hit when she isn’t even here?” The fox girl groaned as she dodged another attack. “Aren’t these guys supposed to go after who’s scared of them?”

The bee girl rolled her eyes. “More than just Ladybug can be terrified of the bats. They’re the Ghosts, remember?”

“Hey, can we argue about fears and who has rights to them some other time?” fake ladybug asked, flinching and moving closer to the Turtle guy. “Uh, Chatte, that way!”

Cat girl—Chatte— said something he didn’t catch and grabbed a kid stuck in a mob and bounce out.

“I—” the boy threw his hands up. “We’re screwed. She really, really isn’t getting the whole Cat thing.”

Red Hood pulled out his guns, checking that the darts were loaded and aiming for Spots.

“Chatte---guy with a gun!”

This time cat girl managed to look over and froze. She started… hyperventilating? Shit—kid’s having an attack.  

Red Hood lowered his gun and made sure to get closer to her---seeing as the other heroes—Dragon girl, Monkey boy and Snake Guy were busy with the bee and fox girls trying to circle some kid on a pillow. No clue where the other kid in black was, but the cat girl losing it? that was his current focus.

“Kid, come on, breathe.”

“Oh my—” the kid looked at him like he was the threat. “Fuck, no—I shouldn’t have talked back to---shit. Shit, now I’m gonna—”

“VOYAGE!”

Just like that, Red Hood was dropped into Gotham harbor. Jason didn’t even get to look around to see what happened. He did manage to tread water and work out which was to go to get to shore.

“Oracle!”

“Jesus Hood—sending Robin to your location. What happened?”

“Some kids stole baby bats’ jewels, some akuma attack, the actual cat thief was hyperventilating and then I end up here.”

“Oh, B is not going to like this.”

“I already don’t like it.” Batman growled out over comms. “Did someone say voyage?”

Red Hood wracked his somewhat waterlogged brain. “In French, yes.”

“One of the local heroes.” Jason could feel Bruce’s annoyance. “Why were you in Paris.”

“Well,” Red Hood kept swimming to shore. “When you find out a long lost bat is in life threatening danger, one must locate and meet this possible winner of the ‘avoided having crappy parents raise me’ lottery to give a well-earned ‘congrats, you’re a well-adjusted person in a family of crimefighter! Mazel tav.”

“Hood.” Robin began on a private channel. “We need to talk.”

“Gotta go B, life to live, baby bat to find.”

“Red Hood!”

“Bye!” Red Hood climbed out of the harbor, finding his baby brother on his motorcycle that was definitely not Bruce-Approved.

“What’s up buttercup, didja miss me?”

Robin scowled at him. “Of course not, the world is more peaceful without the drivel that falls out of your mouth.”

Red Hood snorted. “Yeah, and that’s why you hide in my room all the time.”

Robin refused to make eye contact, shoving Red Hood onto his bike. “Is it true, did my sister lose her miraculous?”

“Unless she’s B and Catwoman’s lovechild and she decided to embrace it.”

Robin was quiet on the way to the cave. “…how long would it take to get the pilot to return and take me to Paris?”

“…you’d make it there around their in time for dessert.”

Robin frowned. “that’s not soon enough.”

“Closest you’ll get. And don’t’ think you’re going alone.”

Robin frowned. “I am not exposing my sister to you.”

“She’s our sister first of all,” Red Hood corrected. “and second of all, I have a bet to win, and I’m behind thanks to this portal guy. So I’m coming.”

Robin rolled his eyes. “Only if you get past Father and Alfred.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Robin smirked as they pulled into the Batcave.

“Father, I believe Red Hood needs your full attention given he was in the harbor for so long, and we all know how cold they are this time of year.”

Jason decided Damian was by and far his least favorite sibling in that moment. “Wait, B, no, look—no signs of hypothermia, no shaking, just need to change and—”

“I will check and ensure you don’t develop it with Alfred on standby.”

Jason glared at Damian, already stripping from his Robin gear with that self-satisfied smirk. “Traitor!”

“I simply want what is best for my siblings, how is that wrong?”

----------

I hope this gave you all a good idea of what’s going to happen next… I do love the Batfam and all, but some of their approaches here… no good and need to have that hit over their head.

And if I’m screwing up ladybats characterization, feel free to let me know so I can fix it---going off what I could find from DC fans and lore but I also do not know these characters inside and out, and want to do them justice.

OH and for anytime i refrence princess Justice, got a refrence for you now! picture the one made by @tinymelonbug right here with the only (maybe?) change being that below the cut it is cut off as a romper: Here 

TAGS:

@heldtogetherbysafetypins @laurcad123 @raisuke06 @chaosace @jeminiikrystal @toodaloo-kangaroo @kris-pines04

[ominousunflower]

Glad It’s You

for Day 27 (Naps) of @adrinetteapril

Summary: After fighting four late-night akumas in a row, the heroes of Paris are desperately in need of a nap. (Post-reveal, pre-relationship.)

Word count: 3147

Read on AO3

____________________________________

With ten minutes of class left, the sound of a book slamming against the desk startles Adrien awake.

“Sorry, Madamoiselle Bustier!” Nino says, as the entire class turns to him. “I, uh, was testing the acoustics in here.”

A vague frown flits across Madamoiselle Bustier’s face. “Please test the acoustics outside of class time, Nino. Now, as I was saying, several of the themes in Shakespeare’s plays recur in popular works today…”

Adrien yawns and slumps back in his seat, struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Dude,” Nino hisses. “I’m running out of ways to keep you awake.”

He has a point. In the past fifteen minutes, Nino has dropped his book, kicked Adrien’s leg, faked a coughing fit, hit the desk to “kill” a bug, and yelled, Wow, look at that fat pigeon outside! And none of it has kept Adrien awake for more than a few seconds.

“Sorry,” Adrien mumbles. His jaw stretches in another yawn. “I was up late doing homework last night.”

“Are you in extra secret classes I don’t know about?” Nino whispers. “Because I’m pretty sure you have just as much homework as the rest of us.”

“Modeling,” Adrien says with a shrug, which is his go-to excuse whenever I was up all night fighting akumas and sentimonstres won’t do.

A few seconds of silence pass, during which Adrien nearly nods off again. Then a loud shriek from behind him sends a jolt through his veins, and he jumps to his feet, scanning the room for danger.

“Alya,” Madamoiselle Bustier says, her voice edged with exasperation. “Are you alright?”

That was Alya? Adrien hadn’t even recognized her voice. He’s not sure he’s ever heard her make a sound like that.

“I thought I saw a spider,” Alya says.

“Don’t you like spiders?” Alix asks.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t be startled by one!” Alya says. “Sorry, Madamoiselle Bustier. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Sighing, Adrien lowers himself into his seat, his heart still pounding from adrenaline.

Nino snorts. “Looks like Marinette is having trouble staying awake, too.”

Adrien twists in his seat to look at Marinette—his confidante, his partner, and, of course, the secret love of his life. (Or maybe not-so-secret, considering he’s confessed his love on multiple occasions.) Their eyes meet, and Marinette gives him a bleary-eyed smile that crinkles the shadows under her eyes.

“You too?” he whispers.

She nods. “No amount of caffeine can save me.”

“Oh? So the sight of my stunning face doesn’t get your blood pumping?”

Marinette rolls her eyes, and just that simple action makes Adrien’s heart skip a beat. He’d thought it would take years for him and Marinette to have this sort of casual camaraderie—and then, to his delight, he’d discovered that she was Ladybug, and Marinette had discovered that he was Chat Noir.

After the inevitable week-or-so of awkwardness—during which Marinette compulsively made cat puns every time she saw him, and Adrien tripped over his feet every time he saw her—they’d settled into a comfortable rhythm, and now, it’s as if they’ve been best friends since birth.

“Please pay attention, you four,” Madamoiselle Bustier says. Adrien reluctantly tears his eyes away from Marinette and turns back around. “I’d rather not rearrange the seating chart, but I will separate you four if I have to.”

They all blurt out assorted apologies, and with a nod, Madamoiselle Bustier continues with the lesson.

Somehow, despite the fog in his brain, Adrien makes it to the end of class without falling asleep again. As soon as the bell rings and everyone begins gathering their things, though, he folds his arms and buries his face in them.

Behind Adrien, Alya says, “Marinette! You awake? Are you getting lunch with me and Nino?”

“I—” Marinette breaks off, audibly yawning. “I think I’ll go home for lunch so that I can take a nap.”

“Good plan,” Alya says. “You look exhausted.”

“Probably because I am?”

“Listen,” Alya says, “I’m all for productivity. But maybe you should take on a little less work? You’re barely getting any sleep with all these commissions.”

Ah, if only it was a question of taking on less work. Adrien is sure that Marinette, like him, would love to be fighting fewer akumas. Unfortunately, Papillon’s supervillain agenda doesn’t seem to take their sleep schedules into account.

Adrien wonders when Papillon even sleeps, since he seems to send akumas at every possible time. Do he and Mayura take shifts using the Butterfly Miraculous? Is Papillon an insomniac? Or does he just set an alarm on his phone before he goes to bed? Siri, set an alarm to “send akuma, muahaha” at 02:48, please.  

“What about you, dude?” Nino asks. He nudges Adrien’s arm. “You going home for lunch?”

“Mm.” Adrien slowly lifts his head and glances in Nino’s general direction. “Yeah, I don’t really have a choice. But maybe I can get a nap in, too.”

“You two go ahead!” Marinette says. “I’ll wait for Adrien.”

Alya and Nino say their goodbyes, and then Adrien and Marinette are sitting alone in the classroom.

“Come on,” Marinette says, patting Adrien’s shoulder. “The sooner we go home and eat, the sooner we can sleep.”

“Screw Papillon,” Adrien says in response. He gets to his feet and nearly topples over, his head swimming with sleepiness. Marinette’s hand on his arm steadies him, and he turns toward her and lets his forehead fall against her shoulder. “I’m sick of this,” Adrien mumbles against Marinette’s shirt. “I mean, it’s been, what? Five nights in a row with akumas and sentimonstres? Or has it been six?”

“Only four, actually,” Marinette says. She pats his back. “He’ll slow down eventually, minou. We just have to push through.”

“Ugh.” Adrien slumps against Marinette, reveling in how soft and warm she feels. “I think I could nap right here.”

“Not an option,” Marinette pokes his cheek. “Let’s go. We’re wasting precious naptime by standing here.”

Grumbling to himself, Adrien shoves his books and papers into his bag—not caring that his homework sheet gets crumpled and ripped in the process—then slings the bag over his shoulder and follows Marinette out of the classroom.

Their arms brush as they walk, a habit formed from being Ladybug and Chat Noir for so long. The two are used to casual touches, to staying close so that they don’t get separated, and those habits have carried over into their civilian lives. Of course, Adrien’s not complaining, even if Marinette’s gentle touch sometimes makes his face flush bright red.

Really, how is it possible that she’s Ladybug? It makes perfect sense, and yet, he hadn’t thought that Marinette Dupain-Cheng could get any more amazing. Occasionally, he still has trouble wrapping his head around the concept.

“Hey,” Adrien says, bumping his shoulder against Marinette’s as they start down the stairs. “We’re a pretty great team, huh?”

Marinette laughs. “You’re always saying random things like that.”

“It’s not random,” Adrien says with a blush—though really, given how tired his brain is, he’s not sure he’s able to hold a coherent conversation. “We’re a great team, so no amount of sleepiness can make us lose.”

“Well,” Marinette says, a smirk tugging at her lips, “that may be true, but—eek!”

She stumbles and pitches forward, and Adrien wraps his arms around her, pulling her against him before she can tumble down the stairs.

“Careful, buginette,” he says, leaning close until their noses are almost touching. To his delight, she doesn’t pull away. “Falling down the stairs might be quicker, but I imagine it’s a lot more painful, too.”

“I—uh.” Marinette blinks her bright eyes, the ones that make Adrien fall more in love every time they look at him. “Nice reflexes.”

“Thanks. I try.”

She jabs a finger against his chest. “But you could have caught me without hugging me, you touchy-feely tomcat.”

“Well,” Adrien says. He fumbles for a response, which is hard when he’s exhausted and holding onto the girl he loves. “We’re standing on an es-câlin-er, aren’t we?”

“You’re awful,” Marinette says, wriggling away from him. Adrien grudgingly lets go of her, since she seems to have regained her balance. “That pun wasn’t even endearingly bad. It was just bad.”

“Rude,” Adrien says. Marinette begins to descend the stairs again, and he instinctively grabs her hand in case she trips a second time. “Do you know how hard it is to pun on one hour of sleep? I’m doing my best.”

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Marinette teases.

Adrien smirks. “For you, my lady, the sacrifice is worth it.”

Marinette just snorts and rolls her eyes again.

When they reach the bottom of the stairs, Adrien releases Marinette’s hand. Her fingers stubbornly cling to his for a moment, though he supposes it’s just her slow reaction time.

“Um, so,” he says, as they cross the courtyard. “I guess you don’t want to get lunch together today? Since we’re both trying to catch up on sleep?”

That’s another new development, since they learned each other’s identities: spending their lunch breaks together. Although Adrien’s father doesn’t let him eat lunch at school, he doesn’t care whether Adrien eats lunch in the dining room or his bedroom. Lately, then, Adrien has been taking his food upstairs, and Marinette has been sneaking into his bedroom as Ladybug. It’s a thousand times better than sitting alone at the end of a big empty table, and Adrien cherishes any chance he has to spend more time with Marinette.

“I can still come by!” Marinette says. “I’ll just leave a little early so that I have time to go home and sleep.”

You could sleep in my room, Adrien thinks, but he decides to keep that suggestion to himself. “Sounds good,” he says instead. “I’ll text you once my food is brought up.”

They go their separate ways once they reach the sidewalk, and Adrien slowly climbs into his car. Somehow, he almost falls asleep on the brief ride to his house, but when the car stops, he rallies just enough to drag himself inside the mansion.

Nathalie meets him at the door. “Are you eating in your room today?”

“Yeah,” Adrien says, yawning. “Have the cook send the food upstairs, please.”

The moment he sets foot in his room, he pivots toward his bed and trudges toward it, kicking off his shoes as he does.

Energetic as ever, Plagg phases through Adrien’s bag and circles his head, making him slightly dizzy. Although Adrien isn’t the biggest fan of camembert, he envies Plagg for being able to recharge just from eating the stuff.

“Ah, the good life,” Plagg says. “Slacking off in the middle of the day, sneaking your lady love into your room for a surreptitious date—”

“It’s not a date,” Adrien mumbles. “It’s just lunch.”

“Yes, and that’s entirely beyond me,” Plagg says. “You’re in love with her, and she’s clearly in love with you, so it only seems natural that—”

“Sleep,” Adrien says, as he throws himself onto his mattress. “Too tired for romance. Naptime.”

“Well, that’s a first,” Plagg says, his voice receding as he flies off toward a bowl of snacks on the coffee table. “Not that I’m complaining. You’re unbearable when you go on and on about your bug.”

A minute later, there’s a quiet knock on the door.

“Come in,” Adrien says, his words muffled by his pillow.

The door opens, and footsteps pad over to the nightstand by his bed. Adrien hears the sound of a tray being set down, and then the footsteps retreat just as quickly as they arrived.

“Thank you,” Adrien mumbles, and the door clicks shut.

His mind floats toward dreamland, vague shapes moving behind his eyelids, snippets of sound swirling in his head as he slips into sleep. His body feels heavy, sinking all too happily into the mattress as he finally gets the rest he needs.

“Adrien?” a quiet voice asks.

Adrien curls up, his fingers digging into the blanket. “Mm.”

“Oh!” the voice says. It kind of sounds like Marinette. Or Ladybug…Maribug. Ladynette? Whichever. He loves all of them. “You’re sleeping. I guess that explains why you didn’t text me! Um, I brought my lunch, but I can just take it home and let you nap.”

“Wait,” Adrien murmurs. He flails an arm out, blindly reaching toward the voice. “Sleep.”

“Yes, I’ll let you sleep! That’s what I said.”

“No.” Adrien summons every ounce of strength in his body to turn his head, peering up at the girl standing next to his bed. Maribug is transformed right now, wearing her red and black suit with a yo-yo strapped to her waist. “Detransform and sleep.” Eyes fluttering shut, he pats the mattress next to him.

“Oh. B-but—but that’s your bed. And you’re in it.”

Adrien whines and lifts his arm again, beckoning Ladynette toward him.

“I guess I can sit here until you wake up,” she says. “That won’t hurt, right? Right.”

Adrien hopes she’s talking to herself, because he’s too tired to respond. The mattress dips as she sits next to him, and Adrien immediately snuggles closer, wrapping an arm around her waist. His fingers dig into loose cloth, like a shirt, and he realizes that she must have detransformed without him hearing.

He cracks his eyes open just long enough to look up at her face. Marinette squeaks, staring down at him with wide eyes. Smiling, Adrien closes his eyes and presses his face to her side.

Fingers stroke his hair, scratching the spot where his cat ears would be if he was transformed. Adrien feels a familiar warmth bloom in his chest, the kind that would become a purr if he was Chat Noir right now.

“Lie down,” Adrien murmurs, his words barely coherent. “You need sleep.”

He hears Marinette yawn above him. “Well…it would be a waste to go home, now that I’m here. Maybe just a few minutes.”

The mattress dips again, and Marinette shifts beneath Adrien’s arm, sliding down the mattress until his arm is draped across her waist. He doesn’t need to open his eyes to know that she’s stretched out alongside him—he can feel it, the same way he senses her movements during battle without looking.

For a minute, Adrien hovers on the edge of sleep, acutely aware of the space between their bodies. Heat-seeking, touch-starved, he’d love to close it; but the first move is Marinette’s to make, not his. She already knows where he stands.

Then, just before he drifts off, the space disappears. Marinette’s arm wraps around his waist, pulling them closer together, and she presses her cheek to his chest.

And suddenly, Adrien is very, very awake.

He holds his breath, afraid that this is a mistake—afraid that she’ll change her mind or retreat at the slightest touch. Her face is warm against his chest, her fingers idly toying with the hem of his shirt, and Adrien can sense each breath she takes, can hear the occasional sigh accompanying her exhales.

Even though he’s frozen in fear, he’s pretty sure he’s in heaven.

“Relax,” Marinette mutters. “You’re too tense.”

Adrien’s breath gusts from his lungs in a laugh, and he tightens his arm around Marinette’s waist, tugging her closer. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he says.

“I’m very comfortable,” she says. “This mattress is way nicer than mine.”

Adrien hums. “Well, my window’s always open, you know.”

Marinette snorts and nuzzles against him. “It sounds like you’re propositioning me.”

“You know I’m innocent.” Adrien hesitantly moves his hand to Marinette’s back. “Is this okay?”

“Mm hm.” A moment later, Marinette’s foot brushes against one of Adrien’s calves, her leg settling over his. “Is this okay?”

“Y-yeah.” Taking a deep breath, Adrien rests his chin against the top of Marinette’s head. Every point of contact he makes between them, he feels like he’s stepping off the edge of a cliff, falling into a ravine that could either hold spikes or a trampoline at the bottom. “You know, I wish we had more moments like this.”

“Hugging?”

“Resting,” Adrien says. He sighs. “I know I said we’re unstoppable, and we are…”

“But?”

“I’m tired,” Adrien whispers. “Marinette, I’m exhausted. And so are you. I don’t know how we’re going to keep this up.”

Marinette is silent for a long moment. “We have to,” she finally says.

“Yeah,” Adrien says. He runs his hand up and down Marinette’s back, then reaches up to play with one of her pigtails. “I guess we do.”

“We’ll figure it out,” she says, and her words are less clear this time, garbled by sleepiness.

“Like we always do,” Adrien says, allowing himself a small smile.

“That’s right. You and me, against the—” Marinette breaks off in a yawn. “Against the world.”

Hearing his words from her mouth—words he wasn’t even sure she remembered—Adrien feels his cheeks heat with a blush. Grateful that she can’t see his face, he presses his lips to the top of her head in a featherlight kiss.

Marinette moves, and Adrien’s afraid she’s about to scold him. Instead, though, she tilts her head back and presses her lips to his jaw, a soft kiss that doesn’t quite reach his cheek.

Adrien’s face burns hotter, and he buries his face in her hair to hide his blush.

Marinette giggles, her body shaking against his. “You blush easily.”

“I don’t,” Adrien mutters.

“It’s cute.”

“Oh.” Adrien swallows nervously. “Um, so maybe I blush a little.”

Marinette laughs again. When she doesn’t say anything else right away, Adrien thinks maybe she’s fallen asleep—but then she murmurs, “I’m glad it’s you.”

Adrien frowns. Does she mean that she’s glad it’s him she’s cuddling with? Or something else?

“I know we’ve known each other’s identities for a while,” Marinette says, “but—I don’t know if I ever said that. I’m glad you’re my partner, Adrien.”

“Oh,” Adrien breathes. He tentatively moves his hand to cup the back of Marinette’s neck, his thumb stroking the spot behind her ear. Marinette’s words have his heart racing, almost enough to overcome the exhaustion seeping through his bones. “You’re not usually this forthcoming, buginette.”

“I’m too tired to be embarrassed,” she says. “But I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

“Mm.” Adrien resists the urge to kiss her head again. “I’m glad it’s you, too, you know.”

“That’s nice,” Marinette mumbles, and Adrien laughs. He can tell she’s drifting off now, her words barely enunciated, her body going lax in his arms.

And having her so close—having her arms wrapped around him, and his around her—he’s never felt safer. He’s never been more certain that they fit together perfectly. And somehow, he’s never been more in love with her.

Smiling, Adrien closes his eyes and lets himself drift away with the girl in his arms.

[angelofthequeers]

Not a Good Look: Chapter 3

@thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @lady-charinette tagged as requested :)

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4 | AO3 link

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

“Should I use my power now?” Aspik says when he and Multimouse are by his bedroom door, ready to slip out into the house and gather intel on this possible deal between Gabriel and Lila. “Here’s probably the safest place to reset to, and I can always refuel and give us another save point after five minutes once we get to another safe space.”

“Smart!” Multimouse blurts out. With cheeks as red as Ladybug’s suit, she adds, “Sorry! Just…yeah, that’s a good idea, Ad – Aspik. It’s probably not a good idea to wait till we’re caught before setting the save point.”

“Second Chance!” Aspik swipes his fingers over his bangle, setting the snake head back and revealing five teal bars. Then he holds up a finger, rests his other hand on the doorknob, turns it, and pushes it open. Thankfully, the hallway outside is empty, so Aspik gestures for Multimouse to slip out with him.

“I can’t believe I get to do a superhero mission with you!” Multimouse is practically vibrating as she walks. “I mean, it was really cool doing it with Ladybug, but…she’s Ladybug, you know?”

Aspik’s about to respond but they round the corner at that moment and stumble across the maid, Marie Durand. Marie takes one look at them and lets out a piercing scream, and Aspik yelps and fumbles for his bangle as the sound of footsteps from downstairs reaches his ears.

“Second Chance!”

Once more in his bedroom, he heads out with Multimouse again, though this time, his senses are more finely tuned so that they can avoid Marie and anyone else who might be around.

“For the record, it’s awesome doing a superhero mission with you too, Mar – Multimouse,” he whispers. Multimouse jumps.

“O-Oh! I really said that?”

Aspik grins at her and she turns beet red. “Yep. As much as I loved working with Ladybug, I feel like there’s a little less pressure with you. I’m not trying to impress you.” His eyes widen when Multimouse reels back as though she’d been slapped. “Um, not that I don’t – I mean – Second Chance!”

God, why can’t he have Second Chance as a superpower in his everyday life? He’d sell his soul to be able to get out of awkward situations like he just had; and this time, when telling Multimouse how he likes working with her, he makes extra sure to leave out the part about not trying to impress her. He hadn’t meant it like that! He just meant – well, it’s so much easier to relax with Marinette! She puts everyone at ease!

Unfortunately, his confession of enjoying working with her also makes her squeak and trip over her own feet, crashing to the floor so loudly that Marie is summoned to investigate. Just like the last time she’d caught them, she screams, and Aspik is forced to hurriedly use his Second Chance again to avoid being caught.

Okay. Avoid any topic that involves heaping praise on Multimouse. As much as she deserves it, now is not the time for her to be flustered. Really, that one was all on him.

Fourth time: Aspik got so distracted by Multimouse’s twin buns and wondering how to get Marinette to wear them normally that he completely forgot about Marie. Oops.

Fifth time: Multimouse slipped past him as they crept down the grand staircase and her smell of strawberries and vanilla invaded his nose and knocked him off his feet, sending him crashing head over heels and bringing Multimouse down with him. Nathalie had been decidedly unimpressed, but he’d reset before she could snarl out whatever she was going to say.

Sixth time: minor love crisis over how hard it would be to just go out with Ladybug and Kagami and Marinette all at the same time. A close encounter of the Marie kind once more.

Seventh time: Just a dizzy spell. Definitely not distracted by wondering what Multimouse’s lips would taste like and if she’d taste any different when detransformed. Thank god no one else remembers what happens but him.

Eighth time: At least made it past Marie before remembering Ladybug holding Marinette close and devolving into a primate with his single brain cell dedicated to fantasies involving both girls that he’ll never divulge even under pain of death. Caught by Nathalie again.

Ninth time: Got distracted by the way Multimouse’s jump rope tail moved as she turned the corner and then couldn’t look away from her butt. Here lies Adrien Agreste, struck down by the heavens for perving on the butt of one of his best friends. (The superhero suits definitely do their wielders some favours, though).

Tenth time: finally made it all the way to the atelier, quicker this time so Nathalie wouldn’t catch them. Scarred for life when Multimouse divided to make the door opening look like a breeze and Nathalie had been hugging Gabriel from behind and burying her nose in the crook of his neck with one hand splayed across his stomach. Gabriel Agreste in any kind of sexual context? Eww, eww, gross.

Eleventh time: quickest reset yet when he told Multimouse what he’d seen last reset and she’d let out a shrill scream at the thought. Lesson learned: don’t let Multimouse imagine Gabriel Agreste in any kind of situation like that. Good thing Aspik had taken the Snake instead of her.

Twelfth time: took a more moderate pace; not too quick that they’ll catch Gabriel and Nathalie banging or whatever it is they were doing, but not so slow that she’ll catch them downstairs again. Unfortunately, this is the most skewed timing yet.

“– not with Ms Rossi. And Tsurugi-san swears that he isn’t –”

Aspik and Multimouse freeze, but it’s too late to duck back around the corner or into another room hide from Nathalie, who’s frozen at the sight of them. For a moment, both sides stare at each other, mentally daring the other to make the first move, and Aspik might have been faster to react if the previous two cycles hadn’t left him flustered, so it’s Nathalie who breaks the silent game of chicken with a snarl of determination.

“Duusu –”

“Second Chance!”

The world around Aspik dissolves and reforms to place him back in his bedroom. He shakes his head and grabs Multimouse by the wrist when she reaches for the doorknob.

“We should wait ten minutes or so. The timing’s always wrong,” he says, deliberately not mentioning all their failed times when he’d been distracted by her, so Multimouse nods and steps away. They fall silent, waiting until Aspik’s sure that it’ll be a good time to sneak down…but there’s something that’s eating at him from the last cycle. Something about Nathalie’s reaction. Every time, she’s snarled at them and looked like she was going on the attack, but Aspik had always reset before she’d been able to speak. That time, though she’d gotten a word out. What had she said? Duusu?

“Duusu? What does the Peacock kwami have to do with this?” Multimouse says. Oh. He’d said that last bit out loud. But wait, how does Multimouse know who the Peacock kwami is?

“Uh, how do you –?”

“Ladybug told me!” Multimouse blurts out. “But how do you know?”

A terrible thought occurs to Aspik, making his stomach twist and coil like a snake that’s tangled itself in a knot. He swallows around the lump in his throat and rasps, “Nathalie. She said it before I reset.”

Multimouse’s eyes bulge, and she shoots a look at the door and then back at Aspik. “You should detransform,” she murmurs. “We need to come up with a plan now that we could be up against Mayura, so you may as well let Sass refuel.”

“Right. Um, scales rest.” Although Adrien’s got no idea what’s going on with Multimouse, he can’t help but instantly follow her instructions as though Ladybug herself had given them. He directs Sass to Plagg’s Camembert fridge and then sinks down on the end of his bed, watching Multimouse wear a hole in the floor with her pacing and fidgeting and mumbling. She’s so like Ladybug in this moment, just like when his lady is coming up with a convoluted plan…but that’s not fair to Marinette. It’s not fair to compare her to Ladybug just because he loves both girls and it would solve all his problems if they were the same girl.

“No, no, that won’t work,” Multimouse mumbles, toying with a lock of dark hair that frames her face. A momentary gap in the hair reveals the black stud in her ear, the only feature from her civilian self to carry through to her transformation, although Adrien hadn’t been aware that accessories could carry over. Maybe it’s just him.

But…wait. Except…

“That’s very sweet of you!” Multimouse turned her head to show her bare earlobes. “But I’m not Ladybug! I’m Multimouse!”

Then how does Multimouse have earrings now? Unless…no way. There’s no way. Adrien freezes as the fabric of his mind starts to unravel. She’d tricked him! Maribug tricked him! His lady’s been right here in front of him the whole time, and he’d been right to suspect her of being Ladybug, he’d been right, but she’d thrown him off like the devious girl she is! How? The Rat can only divide its wielder. It doesn’t have any powers of deception.

But…the Fox does. And it’s perfectly possible to unify Miraculouses; Dragonbug and Snake Noir had proved that in the battle against Miracle Queen and her henchmen. And theoretically, if there was a Multimouse that had unified with the Fox and hidden away, in the perfect position to create an illusion of Marinette and Ladybug next to each other to throw off Chat Noir…

“Adrien?” Multimouse says when Adrien exhales and runs a hand through his hair. How is he even supposed to process this? He’s loved Ladybug for so long that it’s become as much a part of him as breathing, and Marinette’s crept up on him so slowly with each day that’s passed…but they’re the same person! He’s fallen for the same person twice over! “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Just…deep in thought about implications and stuff.”

Multimouse blanches. “Oh. I didn’t even think…if Nathalie is Mayura, and the Butterfly and Peacock were lost together…oh, Adrien, I’m so sorry.”

Oh. His father could be Hawkmoth. It’s not the first time Marinette’s suspected it – after all, there had been that time that Ladybug had had her suspicions, just before his father had been akumatised – but Adrien’s brain hadn’t even connected the dots from Nathalie’s attempt to summon Duusu until now. And that thought is enough to twist a new snake in his gut, except that this one is one of bubbling nausea.

“But he was akumatised,” Adrien rasps, raising a hand in case he needs to clap it to his mouth to hide a gag. “Can the Butterfly akumatise themselves? Did he do it to throw you – uh, Ladybug and Chat Noir off his scent? If Hawkmoth’s my fa – if he’s, you know, then he must’ve panicked when I lost the book and thought that you were on his tail.”

Multimouse shrugs rather helplessly. “I wish I knew what to tell you. But I hardly know anything about the Butterfly.”

Yeah. But she knows plenty about all the others. “No, I get it,” Adrien croaks. “You wouldn’t know. What do we do?”

“We need a plan,” Multimouse says. “We should find Ladybug and Chat Noir and tell them –”

“We don’t have time for that,” Adrien immediately counters. Multimouse blinks and shuts her mouth with an audible clack, and Adrien vows to apologise later for being so harsh now, but there’s no way he can just sit back and let Gabriel keep the Butterfly for a moment longer than necessary. “I am – I could be the son of Hawkmoth. If anyone else gets akumatised after this…that’s on me. I could’ve stopped him.”

“Adrien, no.” Multimouse crosses over to sit next to him and she rests a gloved hand on his bare one. Adrien’s not sure whether the warm tingles that dance across his skin come from Ladybug or Marinette, but does it really matter when they’re the same person? “The only way you could be guilty in this is if you were willingly helping him. And I know you. I know you’d never help that scum. I’ve seen how you interact with him, remember?”

Adrien ducks his head to hide his warming cheeks. Marinette’s always had such faith in him, whether he’s Adrien or Chat Noir, and even though he can’t figure out exactly what he’s done to deserve such staunch faith from the most incredible person in the world, he’s not going to complain about it.

“But I’ll be guilty of letting him get away with it if we don’t do something now,” he says, praying that there’s no sign of his inner turmoil visible to Multimouse. “If you divide, you should be able to get the Miraculous, right?”

“Yeah but…” Multimouse bites her lip. “We should have more of a plan than that. What if something goes wrong? This is more of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s thing.”

“And like you said, they wouldn’t be able to even get near this place without everyone knowing,” Adrien says. Technically, they’re Ladybug and Chat Noir, but he’s not lying when he says that they could never get near Gabriel as their true superhero identities. “But Multimouse and Aspik? I can keep resetting and tell you where we went wrong. And you can sneak the Miraculous away.”

“I suppose…” Multimouse says. “And we could also get Mayura’s if we knew where it was kept.”

“I think it could be in the vault in my father’s office. That’s where I got the book from, so it’d make sense for him to keep it in there.”

“But we still need proof. We could grab the Miraculouses and give them to Ladybug and Chat Noir, yeah, but it’d be our word against his. I don’t want him to have any chance of getting out of this.”

“Why do we need all these convoluted plans?” Adrien throws his hands up and jumps to his feet, making Multimouse jerk away. “We just need to go in there and get the Miraculouses! This isn’t an akuma battle!”

“I’m sorry, Adrien.” Multimouse wilts. “I just want to make sure that we cover every possible angle. I mean, if your father is Hawkmoth, it’s not going to be easy for you. There’s going to be fallout, from the police and the legal system and the news and everyone. Considering how much your father controls your life, things are gonna change completely for you. And if he somehow manages to slip out with an innocent verdict because there wasn’t enough evidence…”

Oh. He hadn’t even considered what would happen to himself, but of course Marinette’s concern would be him and his welfare. “No, I’m sorry,” he says, once more wondering what the hell he did to deserve someone as amazing as Marinette. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you when you’re just trying to make sure that everything goes smoothly. I’m just…dealing with a lot, but I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

Multimouse smiles. “Apology accepted. I know that learning your father could be Hawkmoth can’t be easy. But I do think we should do this later. Maybe at night when he’s asleep and we can just grab the Miraculous? You said that Nathalie’s out there, and we don’t want to risk Mayura jumping in and making things messy. And we can’t go to the police and get their help to take him down. Even if we had proof, we can’t trust anyone but Ladybug and Chat Noir, and Ladybug said that she trusts us.”

“You really are brilliant,” Adrien breathes. Multimouse’s face stains scarlet in response,

“Yank – um, thank you!”

“But how do we get proof? Unless we stalk him and wait for him to transform, I don’t see how – oh, and we need proof that he’s made a deal with Lila!”

Multimouse is quiet for a long moment. “Do you think…Lila knows?” she says in a hushed voice. “Or at least suspects? I mean, it makes sense for your father to make a deal with her, but…”

Adrien swallows around the lump that suddenly forms in his throat. If Gabriel really is Hawkmoth and he has made a deal with Lila, a lot of things will start to make sense, such as why Gabriel would so heartily endorse a dangerous liar. And if they have made a deal, was it in place as far back as when Kagami was akumatised? Is that why Lila had tried to get Ladybug killed?

“I hope that Lila doesn’t know,” he finally says. “For my own sanity. If there’s a whole plot around using me like – like a piece of meat, like I’m something that can just be exchanged like money…”

Multimouse’s eyes soften. “Let’s go,” she says. “We can fill in the others and then take your mind off it. I’ll tell Ladybug everything when she comes by to get the Miraculouses.”

Adrien just nods numbly, his chest like a lead weight as he struggles to draw in precious oxygen. What else can he do? It’s not like he’s a stranger to being treated like an object – like all he’s good for is smiling and showing himself off for the good of Gabriel – but the thought of being passed around like a shiny object, being used to seal a deal and purchase loyalty in a potential terrorist plot…well, it’s enough to make his stomach try and yeet itself up his throat.

He’s so lost in his daze that he only just notices Multimouse leading him towards bright blue, before his surroundings turn soft pink. There’s a buzzing sound that could be talking but his one remaining brain cell is currently trying to process just how entangled he is in this whole Hawkmoth-Lila plot, how little agency he even has anymore, that it’s all he can do to not break down completely on the spot.

But when his fuzzy vision clears and he’s met with the sympathetic faces of Marinette and Alya and Nino and Kagami, any remaining power he might have over his body dissipates and his legs give out beneath him, depositing him on Marinette’s cool wooden floor. There’s a flash of black and pink and the soft scent of strawberries and vanilla, mingling with the sharp smells of earth mixed with sports deodorant, of warm cinnamon spice, of fresh men’s deodorant. It all anchors him, stops him from floating away, fills his lungs in place of the air that he can’t breathe, and he finally allows himself to break, surrounded by the safety net of the people with whom he’d trust with his life.

[myownworldstayout]

New Friends Ch. 9

Ch.1 / Ch.8 / Ch.10

(It’s here! Are you ready to be thoroughly annoyed with Agreste???)

Chat Noir managed to recharge rather quickly, but when he got back into the fight, Ladybug was nowhere to be found.

“Where could she be?” he thought aloud, scouring the rooftops for his Lady.

“Chat Noir!” Ladybug suddenly called from behind him. He turned around to see not one, but two heroes. Ladybug, of course, and a familiar, bee-like heroine. Except..

“That’s not Queen Bee?” He said in confusion. This new hero had two ponytails instead of one, and they were longer. Not to mention, she had black fuzz lining her waist and.. Were those shoulder pads?

Ladybug smiled, gesturing to their new friend. “Chat Noir, this is Bumblebee. She’s gonna help us out.” 

Bumblebee gave an excited wave and a bright grin. 

Chat squinted, putting his hands to his hips as he scrutinized the new hero. Then he smirked. 

“Any friend of My Lady is a friend of mine.” He extended his hand, which Bumblebee gladly took. 

Unfortunately, the introduction was interrupted by another loud crash. 

“Bumblebee, you know the plan.” Ladybug nodded to new recruit, who returned her nod before leaping onto another rooftop. 

“Chat Noir, help me distract Nocturne a little longer.” She then ordered next, glancing at him and jumping off the roof towards the crash. Chat followed without question, using his baton for momentum.

-

It didn’t take long to overlap Nocturne once again. To Ladybug’s dismay, there were even more people asleep now. Nocturne cackled as she flew through the streets, touching anyone she could with her staff.

“Hey, Sandman! Looking for us?” Chat Noir called out to her, causing the akuma to pause. 

“As a matter of fact, I was! Hawkmoth still needs those pretty jewels of yours that he’s so obsessed with!” She shouted, bolting in their direction. Ladybug and Chat Noir scattered, basically starting a game of cat and mouse. 

Nocturne raced after them, tapping anyone else she came in contact with along the way. She was so focused on the two main heroes, she didn’t notice the yellow blur following close behind her. 

“So, what’s the plan again?” Chat whispered, peeking around a chimney. Nocturne was currently searching the rooftops for them. They didn’t have much time till she found their hiding spots.

“You’ll see.” Ladybug smirked, landing next to him.

“Ah! There you are!” The akuma grinned, causing Chat to jump. She raised her staff, and Chat went to dodge, but Ladybug just stood there with a smile. 

He almost called out to her when the akuma suddenly sucked in a breathe, going completely still. That’s when he saw Bumblebee standing proudly behind her, clipping her top back to her side.

“Great Work!” Ladybug praised, pulling out the akumatized item, which was a balled up piece of paper.

“Thanks, it went better than I expected.” Aurore smiled appreciatively. 

Ladybug broke the akumatized item, then purified it. That was when Bumblebee’s miraculous beeped. 

“It was nice meeting you, Bumblebee. Maybe we can see each other under better circumstances next time.” Chat Noir joked, leaning on his baton with a cheshire grin.

“Not likely, kitty.” Ladybug smiled, giving a small wave. Bumblebee waved as well, before leaving with Ladybug to give back her miraculous.

~~~~

The two managed to sneak back into the gym without a problem. Thankfully, everyone was still groggy from waking up, so no one was there yet. Aurore detransformed, handing Ladybug the miraculous.

“If there’s anything else I can do to help, just let me know!” She said sincerely.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for your help today.” 

Aurore nodded, then ran off to find her other classmates and make sure they were alright. Ladybug did something similar, except she ran to the girl’s bathroom first to detransform.

 -

When she emerged, she found more students roaming the school halls to go back to their classes. Specifically, a blonde boy dressed in grey determinedly searching the school rooms. It was only when his silvery grey eyes met hers that he faltered.

“Cheng!” Felix called out to her, immediately walking in her direction.

“O-oh, hey Felix!” Marinette smiled.

“Where have you been??” He almost yelled once he caught up to her. “You’re not supposed to run off when there’s an akuma! What were you thinking!?” He continued in a scolding manner, nearly grabbing her by the shoulders to shake some sense into her or something. 

Marinette blinked at him, not used to this kind of behavior from Felix. 

“Ah, sorry. I- uhm, I got stuck in the bathroom.” she chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. 

Felix squinted at her, crossing his arms. How do you get stuck in a bathroom?? 

Nevertheless, he blew out a sigh, lightly touching his forehead. 

“Whatever. Just don’t run off again, alright? It’s both dangerous and reckless.” 

Marinette nodded, though she felt guilty knowing she couldn’t keep that promise to him. She was Ladybug, after all. She had her own duty to protect Paris. 

Even so.. Felix’s response to her sudden disappearance was strange. Was he- no. she was probably just imagining it, right? He couldn’t possibly be.. Worried?

“Let’s go. Class is bound to start back up in a few minutes.” Felix suggested, taking Marinette from her thoughts as he turned around to head back to the classroom. She followed behind him, trying not to replay his words too much in her mind.

~~~~~~

“What do you wanna do now, Marinette?” Tikki asked from the safety of Marinette’s purse. 

“Go home. Luka has band practice. Kagami has sword training, and Aurore has to figure out her presentation for the weather cast tomorrow. I think Wayhem is just gonna study at home.” Marinette explained, glancing down at her kwami.

“And Felix?”

Marinette flushed, though she wasn’t entirely sure why. “Well, he’s-”

“Marinette, wait up!” She was interrupted by Adrien, who was running up to catch her. 

Panic flashed across Marinette’s features, but she forced a smile.

“Oh, Adrien..” 

“Hey! I tried to catch you yesterday, but you’ve- uh- you’ve been busy.” Adrien chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

“Have I? I guess I have. There hasn’t really-”

“I wanted to apologize.” 

Marinette stalled. He wanted.. To apologize?

“I should have noticed earlier why you were so upset about Lila.” Adrien continued. “You were hurting over this and I didn’t notice.” he placed a hand on her shoulder with a soft smile. 

Marinette sucked in a breath. Was Adrien really agreeing to finally do something about Lila? 

“So, what are you saying?” She asked anyway, just to make sure.

“I’m saying,” Adrien sighed. “That I’m here for you. We’re in this together. I know it hurts to see Nino and the others get their hopes up like that, but when Lila finally sees what her lies are doing, everything will go back to normal. Until then, you can talk to me about anything when you need to.”

Marinette scoffed. He had single-handedly built up and shattered her hopes in a matter of seconds. 

“Wait, wait, wait.” she interrupted, taking a step back. “So we’re..not exposing Lila?”

“What? No, I thought we agreed not to?” he furrowed his eyebrows, clearly confused. 

Marinette didn’t know what to say. She had thought.. Well, it didn’t matter what she thought now. It was obvious her and Adrien weren’t going to see eye to eye.

“I’m gonna go home. I have homework. Thanks for the talk, though.” Marinette gave a tight smile. 

She could tell Adrien was hesitant to let her leave, but a honk from Gorilla persuaded him to let it go.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“See you.” 

~~~~~~

Adrien stared idly out the car window as they drove back to the estate. That conversation could have gone better, but at least Marinette knew he understood where she was coming from now, right?

From her reaction, he assumes she still wants to expose Lila. Adrien was sure she would come around though. Just like Lila needed to see that her lies were bad, Marinette needed to see that Lila could be good! It was only normal to get frustrated sometimes. And he knew Marinette well enough to know when she calmed down, she would see reason and agree with him. She might even apologize for her rash behavior.

As long as we stick together, what could go wrong?

Adrien smiled at the thought. He had a feeling everything was gonna be just fine.

~~~~~~

Marinette plopped into her rolling chair, spinning into the middle of the room.

“I can’t believe him!” she growled, resisting the urge to pull her hair out.

“At least he apologized?” Tikki pointed out, trying to find the bright side.

“Yes, Tikki. He apologized…. Then he turned around and threw that right in my face!”

Did he even care? Did he even mean the words he said? Or was he just trying to keep her quiet as always?

Tikki went silent, obviously trying to find another good thing about the situation. The fact that she couldn’t only made Marinette angrier.

She was about to go into another rant when a light knock on the trap door interrupted her.

“Marinette? Are you up there?” 

Marinette blinked. “Aurore?” 

She quickly got up and opened the trap door.

“Hey!” Aurore beamed, stepping up into Marinette’s room.

“I thought you were at the weather station.”

“Oh, I was! But I found one of my go-to presentations in my dressing rooms. So I came to see you! I was thinking we could-” Aurore suddenly paused, her bright smile fading into a concerned expression.

“Are you alright?” She then asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. You seem upset. Did something happen?”

Seeing her genuine concern, Marinette considered telling her. 

It wouldn’t hurt right? I don’t have anyone else to talk to right now.. Marinette pondered, glancing back at one of Adrien’s photos she had on the wall. He didn’t appreciate her venting to the group last time.

“Is it Adrien?” Aurore frowned, noticing Marinette’s gaze.

Marinette pulled a sheepish smile in response. It didn’t count if Aurore was the one who brought it up, right? On that note, why should it matter what Adrien thinks? He hasn’t really cared for what she’s thought recently.

“Yeah.” she finally answered.

Aurore closed the trap door behind her and took Marinette’s hands into hers.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” 

The fact Aurore was even concerned for her well being at all made Marinette feel better. It showed at least someone cared.

“No.” Marinette smiled.

“No?” Aurore furrowed her eyebrows, confused.

“Nope. I don’t wanna talk about Adrien anymore right now.” Marinette decided. She didn’t want to dwell on all of these negative thoughts, lest she be akumatized. 

So what’s the next best thing? Hanging out with your friends of course.

Aurore blinked, taking in her response. “O-Oh. alright, yeah! What do you wanna do?” 

Aurore was hesitant at first, but once she accepted Marinette’s response, she was back to her bright, cheery self.

Marinette hummed in thought, looking up at her window.

It was in the afternoon, but there was still daylight out. They probably had a few hours until sunset.

Marinette smiled. “Do you think the others are free by now?” 

tag list: @unabashedbookworm @bluerosette23 @minightrose@kuroko26@im-here-for-the-content @angstyrastuff @clumsy-owl-4178 @fanboy7794@choaticneturcl @bigcheeseyboi @burntnugget-tae @ayuchan07@honorisfortheweak @knightrose15 @mjisntme@rhub4rb @simplythebestbug@wilhelmares@zebrabaker@dargeon-lissa @kristycocopop @alumneia @kaydenth3gayden @thornangelic727 @flirtshobi @whatamessofwords

[kittinoir]

Ch. 6 of Echoes of You

Read on Ao3

Adrien waved to Nathalie as he sailed through the foyer but kept going for the stairs.

“I’ll eat in my room tonight,” he said. “Lots of, um, homework to catch up on.”

“Your father is waiting to have dinner with you.”

Adrien froze, one foot on the landing, and turned back around to face his father’s assistant.

“What?”

Nathalie cleared her throat, glancing toward the dining room doors. “Your father has cleared his schedule to have dinner with you.”

Adrien’s stomach dropped. After months and months of waiting for this father to wake up from his grief-wrapped cocoon, he’d finally accepted it wasn’t going to happen. He knew that could happen sometimes, but he’d never imagined his stoic father could be so affected.

If only he’d known it’d take several thousand dollars to get his attention, he thought bitterly.

He instantly regretted the thought. It wasn’t his fault. Without his friends, and school, and…without his Lady, he doubted he’d be much different. But it wasn’t like his father was without a heart. His father would understand why he’d called off the shoot.

“Thank you, Nathalie,” Adrien said, retracing his steps. She gave him a curt nod, checked something off on her clip board, and disappeared into the small office beside his fathers.

Adrien took a deep breath and turned to face the dining room doors.

He’d felt this anticipation before, but usually he was on the other side, wishing and hoping his father would join him. Now he found himself just hoping his father wouldn’t be too disappointed. That they could make the most of a long over-due dinner. 

Still, he paused, his hand on the knob. 

“Hurry up,” Plagg muttered from inside his jacket. “I’m starving!”

“You’re always starving,” Adrien said, but still, he smiled. “This was all I ever wanted, but now… I don’t know if I can make it through the meal. Not while…”

“You’ve got time, kid,” Plagg said, actually gentle for once. “You’ve got time.”

Adrien’s heart ached. “How do you know?”

“Like you said, she’s got a plan,” Plagg said. “Trust me - trust her.”

Adrien thought about it, then nodded. Panic wouldn’t get them anywhere. She’d once said he was a simple, straightforward guy who liked simple, straightforward solutions, but he had a feeling this wasn’t going to be one of those times. He needed to think of a plan.

Steeling himself, Adrien pushed open the door to the dining room.

His father was sitting at the head of the long table, swirling a glass of red wine as he waited for his son. Gabriel Agreste raised a single brow as his son approached the table, but otherwise his face was an unreadable mask.

It didn’t mean anything, Adrien knew, as he took the seat beside his father where his place setting had been laid out instead of his usual seat at the end of the table. His father had always been hard to read, but in the past year the same cold stone façade was all anyone ever saw. Whether he was concerned or angry, Adrien would never know until it was too late.

Gabriel broke the silence first. “Your behaviour today was unacceptable.”

Adrien’s hand twitched as he fought the urge to sink into his chair. He’d heard the posture lecture often enough to know he didn’t want it added to this one. “I know, father. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Gabriel repeated. “I see. Sorry you cost my brand thousands of dollars in lost salary, rental space, and advertising space? Or sorry you snuck some nobody civilian into my shoot?”

“Marinette’s not a nobody,” Adrien said, his temper flaring. “She’s my friend.”

Gabriel’s fork had frozen halfway to his mouth. “What did you say?”

“Marinette’s my friend,” Adrien said even as visions of his father pulling him from school flashed through his head. “I’m sorry about the lost time, but I’m not sorry I brought her. She was the best part of this afternoon.”

“Miss Dupain-Cheng is proving to be quite the negative influence on you, Adrien,” Gabriel said, his eyes narrowing. 

Adrien was surprised to find his heart breaking for the second time that day. He held his breath as he waited for his father to banish him from seeing her like he’d banished Nino, but it didn’t happen.

“You should spend more time with Miss Rossi,” his father said instead. “She’s a young lady with a good head on her shoulders and a bright future ahead of her.”

Adrien had to stop himself from shaking his head in disbelief. How Lila had won over his father, he’d never known, but he was quickly coming to realize letting her fibbing go unchecked had been a mistake, one he wished he could take back. It was just…after the akuma’s he’d faced every day, calling out some new girl who just wanted to make friends hadn’t been worth it. If only he’d seen in time how insidious those lies would turn out to be.

“Yes, father,” Adrien lied. Sometimes the only way to beat a liar was at her own game. “She’s a great co-worker. Very natural.”

Gabriel raised a brow, as though he didn’t quite believe his son, but let the matter drop. “Are you ok?”

It was Adrien’s turn to freeze. His broccoli fell off his fork and fell back onto his plate with a splat but he didn’t even notice. “Father?”

“That…thing,” Gabriel clarified - barely. “It didn’t hurt you?”

“No, father,” Adrien said, fighting against the warm bloom of hope in his chest. “No permanent damage. Or temporary damage, actually. I was changing when the set was attacked.”

“Good,” Gabriel said. Adrien thought he saw his father’s shoulder relax, but told himself he must be imagining it. “Good. Don’t forget to complete the Chinese lesson your tutor outlined for you..”

With that, Gabriel stood, dropped his napkin on his half-finished plate, and headed for the doors without looking back once. Adrien watched him go, at once disappointed and relieved. His father had always been stoic; it’d be stranger if he’d showed any real emotion.

He waited a few more moments before following his father out the door. “I’m done as well,” he said as he passed Nathalie in the hall while she collected the evening newspaper. “Thanks. I’m just going to go work on that Chinese lesson.”

His father’s assistant nodded, jotting down notes on her clipboard. Adrien struggled to not run up the stairs, to not let on that anything more exciting than verb conjugation might be on his mind. He paused outside his door and pulled off his phone, scrolling without seeing the screen just in case she was still watching. He wasn’t eager to escape for any particular reason. No, sir. It was going to be a long, boring night. 

After a minute, Adrien put his phone away and slipped into his room.

“That went better than expected,” Plagg said, zipping out of Adrien’s jacket. “But a meal with no cheese? How depressing.”

“There’ll be cheese when we get back,” Adrien said, opening his window.

Plagg stopped mid-flight and paused to look at his owner. “You, uh, have a plan, then.?”

“Still working on it,” Adrien admitted as he set up his desk in case anyone came to check on him. It was amazing what you could get away with when your bathroom was ensuite. “But…I think there are probably things I know, things I’ve purposely ignored because we both agreed our identities needed to remain secret. Things I can remember if I try.”

Plagg drifted a little closer. “Like?”

“Like how she always seemed to know my friends’ names,” Adrien said as he shut his bathroom door, the light on inside. “Things like that. I was distracted when it happened, and didn’t think anything of it because I also knew their names, but…”

“You don’t mean -”

“I do,” Adrien said, finally turning to face his kwami. “I think I’ve met her. And I think I’ll be able to find her.”

“You’ve gotta be crazy,” Plagg said, swooping into Adrien’s face. “Two million people in Paris, and you think you’ve met this girl before?”

“It’s all I’ve got,” Adrien said with a confident smile. “But it’s somewhere to start. After all, she answered my poem.”

“It was unsigned!” Plagg reminded him. “I don’t want to dash your hopes, kid, but you’re looking for a Ladybug in a rose garden.”

“She needs us, Plagg,” Adrien said. “I won’t let her down. Claws out!”

Chat Noir breathed through the transformation as green light enveloped him. Seconds later he bounded for the open window and rooftops of his city. 

Plagg had warned him about using the Miraculous for selfish reasons. He remembered because it had seemed so odd coming from the lazy, irresponsible and sometimes self-centred kwami, but Plagg had been emphatic. ‘The black cat is cursed enough. No need to invite destruction’. 

But these weren’t strictly selfish reasons, Chat Noir reasoned. For one, he was due to patrol that night anyway. As unlikely as Hawkmoth was to attack twice in one day, it was becoming more and more frequent. Besides, the sentimental part of him was stubbornly clinging to what he did have left of his lady. She’d made the schedule, and he would follow it. 

Secondly, it was part of her plan. Of that he was certain. She’d had to give up the box. She wouldn’t do it without a reason. He faltered and nearly missed the next gable as another thought crossed his mind, one he hadn’t considered before; what if…what if finding her wasn’t part of the plan. What if she’d given it all up, intending to let him finish the fight? What if that was the best she could manage?”

No. She’d said if love was enough she’d still be here. That had to mean he had to use other skills to make up the difference.

And…and…

Chat Noir came to a stop as her message finally, finally sank in. If love were enough, she’d still. “She…loves…me?”

No. No. He had to be misunderstanding. Maybe she’d meant if she’d loved him back, she’d still be there. Or that she did love him, but the way he loved Nino or Alya; or the way he loved her when he was trying not to be in love with her. Or maybe just love in general, as opposed to the dumpster fire of hatred Hawkmoth was usually spewing.

Was that it? Was she trying to tell him that hatred would win? That she had no interest in watching them continue to fight a losing battle?

No. That, he refused to believe. He might not know her, but he knew her. She’d never give up, not even when the odds weren’t in her favour. It was one of the things he loved and admired most about her, that tenacity to see right done. She hadn’t given up. Not yet. He wouldn’t either.

“You’re so lucky I’m not an akuma,” a voice said from behind him, “Or you’d be toast right now.”

Chat Noir spun and found himself face to face with the new Bug. He scowled and vaulted over her to another roof top without a word. He wanted answers, but he wanted peace more, and he couldn’t think when he was angry.

“Hey, hey!” The girl followed him, annoyingly adept with the yo-yo. “Don’t be like that. We have to work together! We’re a team!”

“Let’s get one thing straight,” Chat Noir said, stopping so abruptly she nearly crashed into him. “You and I aren’t anything. Me and my Lady, we’re a team. You’re an interloper, and you weren’t invited.” 

“You need me,” she said, stomping her foot as he took off again. “Only Ladybug can purify akuma’s, and only the lucky charm can make everything right again.”

Chat Noir’s ears twitched, but he didn’t say anything. What was there to say, really? She was right. He might hate the truth, but it wasn’t any less the truth just because he didn’t like it. That had been his life for a long time now; why should this be any different?

He landed hard on top of the Notre Dame cathedral and waited for his new partner to catch up. He tried to practice some deep breathing, but he couldn’t quite put his his anger down. It bled into his voice when he spoke.

“I am not giving up on her,” he said as the girl skidded to a stop in front of him. “There’s something going on here, something we don’t know, and I am not abandoning her.”

The new girl actually rolled her eyes. “No one said you were abandoning her, Kitty Cat.”

Chat Noir was in her face before he even realized he’d moved, mere inches between them. In that moment he wanted nothing so much as to rip the Miraculous from her ears, to blot out the wrong shade of blue staring back at him from behind that mask. “Do. Not. Call. Me. That.”

“Ok, ok!” she snapped, backing up. “Whatever. But seriously. I’m not here to replace Ladybug. I know how it looks, but I’m not trying to be her, I’m just… I’m just a place holder, ok?”

Chat Noir frowned, watching as the new Bug swatted loose strands of hair out of her face. “What do you mean, a place-holder.”

“It’s not some kind of code, Ki - partner,” she said. “That’s what the guardian guy said to me when he gave me the earrings; that they’re not for me to keep, just to hold on to.”

“To hold on to…until what?” Chat Noir asked as his heart began to pound.

The new Bug threw up her hands. “Ugh! As if I know? The only thing he told me was the Ladybug wanted me to hold onto them for her.”

It was like being hit by a tonne of bricks. “She…she chose you?”

The girl shrugged uncomfortably. “Yeah, I guess? Don’t get excited, it’s not like she said why, but…yeah. She did.”

“That would have been nice to know a little earlier,” Chat Noir said wryly, but his mind was already a million miles away. He had been right; his lady did have a plan. She wasn’t abandoning him. She just needed a little help - and so did he. “How do I get in touch with the guardian?”

“How should I know?” the girl said as she glanced down at the street below. “It’s not like I got a tutorial, it was all ‘here’s the Miraculous, go fight that akuma!”

“So there wasn’t any time…” Chat Noir struggled to compile all this new information. It had been days since he’d last seen his Lady, but from the sounds of it she’d only given up the Miracle box in the last 48 hours. 

Part of him ached at that, that she hadn’t come to him for help, but he tucked it away for later. What mattered was that he’d been right. He clung to that knowledge, that hope that everything - that she - was not as out of his reach as he’d feared. 

“So,” he said considering his new, temporary partner, “What do I call you, then?”

“Ladybug’ is just fine,” she said. “After all, I imagine part of the point of giving the Miraculous to someone else is to not alarm the people of Paris.”

Chat Noir shook his head. “You’re not her,” he insisted stubbornly. “I won’t call you by her name.” Nevermind that he didn’t even know her real name. “How about ‘Red’?”

The girl shrugged, though he thought he could detect a current of annoyance. That, at least, was familiar, although it wasn’t tinged with the affection he’d never realized til then was usually there. “I guess that’s fine.”

Chat Noir was about to relent, to try to ease into a new partnership with this girl, but unfortunately, he never got the chance. His worst cat-themed pun yet was on the tip of his tongue when the night exploded with screams of terror. 

[gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights]

Summary:  Marinette had replayed the video enough times. She'd know Adrien's voice saying those three words anywhere. (Set the same day as the episode Felix.  Reveal Fic.  Rated T for kissing, ignores Chat Blanc mostly because my heart can’t take the angst right now.)

~~~

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

“I lo—”

Tikki’s tiny butt sat on the video’s pause button, freezing Adrien’s lips in a perfect o.  

“Marinette, you need to get ahold of yourself.”

Marinette was sure her complexion matched her kwami’s as she dropped her face onto her desk.  “I knoooooow.”

She was being ridiculous.  More ridiculous than usual, anyway.  But something about those words did more than just make her stomach flutter—it felt familiar, though it was probably just from her daydreams.  If he’d told her he loved her before, there was no way she’d forget it.

Her thumb instinctively moved to replay the last five seconds again.  Tikki flew into the small space between her and the phone screen, catching the digit between her arms.

“This is an intervention,” she said in her most authoritative voice.  Considering it was still two octaves higher than the average humans, it shouldn’t have had much effect, but Marinette hated disappointing Tikki.  She was her friend, the only one she could be completely honest with.

And Tikki was pretty good about being honest with her, too.  If the kwami thought Marinette needed an intervention, she was probably right.

“Fine.” Marinette spun in her desk chair, intending to pull out some butcher paper and start drafting a pattern in the few hours before patrol tonight.  It wasn’t likely that Hawkmoth would akumatize two people in one day—or four, considering it had been three for the price of one thanks to Felix’s stunt—but Chat had sounded a little desperate when he asked if they could still meet up.  She hoped he hadn’t planned another impromptu date.  She didn’t know if she could handle that after finding out that yet another one of her plans to confess to Adrien had fallen through, this time through no fault of her own.

Would he have said I love you back to her if it weren’t for his cousin’s interference?  They’d gotten so much closer lately, but…

“I’m not good with jokes.  The girl I’m in love with doesn’t like them, either.”

That she didn’t need a recording to replay.  It was embedded in her memory, like a deep splinter she couldn’t dig out.

He might say he loved her, as a friend.  But beyond that?  She was just setting herself up for disaster.

“Marinette?” Tikki asked.  “Do you need some help with the paper?”

She shook her head, almost whacking it on the desk leg as she scrambled for her supply box beneath.  “No, I got it. You can grab the measuring tape, though.”

She was finally going to mock up the pattern for an airy sundress she’d spent the last week sketching out. Nothing would take her mind off of her troubling love life like the single-minded focus of a personal project.

It worked a little too well, though.  Between drafting each piece, cutting the paper, pinning it to the cheap test fabric, cutting the fabric, pinning the pieces to each other—she barely managed to stop herself from starting the actual sewing when Tikki held up her phone.

On top of a group selfie of her, Adrien, Alya, and Nino, the clock showed 9:29.  Patrol started at 9:30

“Ack!  I’m going to be late!”  She jabbed herself at least ten times getting her pins all back in the pincushion.  Everything else could wait, but she didn’t want to swing in and catch one in her foot later.

“Tikki, spots on!”

By the time she swung across town to the Eiffel Tower, her bugphone read 9:35.  Record time, but still late. So where was…?

“Little kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady…”

The familiar tune was more downcast than Marinette was used to.  Sure enough, when she swung up a few crossbars to Chat Noir’s perch, she caught a flash of his forlorn expression before his usual grin took over.

“Hey there, Bugaboo,” his voice chirped as chipper as ever.  Had she been imagining his earlier mood?  Or maybe he’d just been worried she wouldn’t make it.  Silly kitty.  Regardless of whether or not she returned his feelings, she’d vowed to never stand him up again if she could help it.

“Any trouble on the way over?”  He asked.

“Only with myself,” she admitted, rubbing the still-stinging pads of her fingers.  She probably should’ve put some ointment on them before transforming; the suit irritated the little pricks further.  “Civilian me is still as much of a mess as ever.”

She’d hoped that by dropping non-identifying clues on how much she struggled in her daily life, Chat Noir would see through the perfect illusion he had of her and come to his senses.  Honestly, she should’ve known better.  It hadn’t worked the first ten times she’d tried, and now it only brought a wider smile to his face.

(That wasn’t why she did it, of course.  Even if it warmed her more than she wanted to admit, she only had feelings for one green-eyed blond.)

“The only mess you make is a mess of my heart, my lady,” he said with a wink that had her rolling her eyes.

“How do you even come up with those lines?” She asked with a stifled laugh—at how bad it was, not because he was actually funny. “The internet?”

“I’m paw-fended,” he gasped, claws spread in front of his mouth dramatically.  “I’ll have you know that everything I say is a one-hundred-percent Chat Noir original.”

“Of course.  I should’ve known.  Who else could drop that kind of cheese so seriously?”

“Only because I am serious, Bugaboo,” he reminded her.  As if she could forget.  Bantering back and forth with him was so easy; she hoped she wasn’t accidentally leading him on.  He deserved better than that.

He smiled as he bumped his shoulder against hers.  His voice bared his sincerity as he said, “Hate on my puns all you want.  It won’t change the fact that I love you.”

I love you.

Electricity shot up Marinette’s spine.  No.  No, it couldn’t be— 

I love you.

She’d replayed those words at least a hundred times (two hundred and fifty-three, but who was counting?) in the past day.  She’d memorized his exact inflection, the way he spoke from his heart, even if it was about all their friends and not her alone.  She would recognize his voice saying those three words anywhere.

Anywhere.  Including coming from her ridiculous, pun-loving partner.

“Ladybug?”  Chat scooted away from her, his fingertips digging into the backs of his hands.  “I’m sorry, I—I know you don’t feel the same way, you don’t have to—”

“Adrien?”

He nearly toppled off of the tower. Marinette caught him by the shoulder, holding him in place before he could lose his balance again, or run away, or—she didn’t know what he’d do.  She really should’ve thought this through.  They were supposed to keep their identities secret!  It wasn’t his fault, of course; she imagined if he’d called her Marinette while she was in the suit she would’ve had a much worse heart attack— 

“Who—who’s Adrien?”  Chat forced a grin.

“Oh, no.  You’re not getting out of this that easy.”  She fell deeper into Ladybug mode, still not letting her brain process that—that holy crap this was ADRIEN, Adrien who had just confessed his love to her—to her—!

“Ladybug, please, please don’t freak out, I’m sorry.” It was his turn to grip her shoulders as she tried to breathe.  His acidic green eyes were blown wide, the miraculous transformation hiding his normal soft chartreuse irises.  Still, how could she not have noticed?  It was him it was him it was him and she couldn’t unhear it, couldn’t separate his apologetic voice now from their time at the wax museum when she had almost kissed him and no, now that was even doubly embarrassing because it was CHAT, she’d almost kissed CHAT NOIR— 

“I’m not freaking out!  Why would you think I’m freaking out?”

Her eye twitched.  Her heart just about escaped her ribcage at the soft look of concern her partner was giving her.  Oh, this was bad.  This was very, very bad.

“I know you didn’t want to find out, and I… how did you find out?”  He asked hesitantly.  His hand left her shoulder to rub the back of his neck, and she barely restrained herself from tugging it back.  Or better yet, climbing into his lap and hoping he’d enfold her in his arms.

Bad.  Very, very bad.

“I… well, you see—haha look at the time!”  She sprang up and glanced at her obviously-watchless wrist.  “Looks like we’re too late to patrol tonight.  Oops!  Sorry Ad—Chat!  I’ll have to love you—SEE you later!  Bug out!”

“Ladybug!”  He scrambled to his feet, reaching for her arm before she could grab her yo-yo.  He was Chat and he was Adrien and he was touching her and even through both their suits she felt herself burning.  No, no, she could not be weird with her partner.  Not after she’d turned him down over and over and— 

Part of her wanted to cry.  But Chat—Adrien—had already beaten her to it.

“Please, LB.  Please, don’t go. if you have something against Adrien you can tell me, o-or you can not, but please just… don’t leave me.”  He swallowed hard, his voice thick with the tears already pooling around the lip of his mask.  “Not tonight.”

Tonight.  Today.  The anniversary of Adrien’s mother’s disappearance.

The anniversary of Chat’s mother’s disappearance.

“Oh,” she breathed, feeling like the worst partner—the worst friend in the whole world. She pulled him close, shoving all other traitorous feelings and desires aside, and focused on comforting him.  “I’m so sorry, kitty.  I’m not going anywhere, I just—panicked, that’s all.”

He laughed hollowly.  The sound curdled in her stomach, a sick parody of the cheery sound that usually rang from him.  But he had every right to sound that way, after what he’d been through. His mom was gone and she knew his home life was a wreck and he had so many of his father’s expectations dragging on him, and moonlighting as a superhero on top of that— 

How had he ended up being the carefree one out of their duo?

“You panicked because I broke the number one rule.  I gave myself away somehow.”

“No, chaton.  It’s not your fault.”  She rubbed soothing circles into the small of his back, trying to ignore how she could feel the toned muscles through the leather.  (His suit was much worse for her sanity knowing it was Adrien in it.)  “It’s my fault.  One hundred percent definitely my fault.”

He pulled back enough to stare at her, his head tilted sideways like he really was just an overgrown curious kitty, and her transformation from Ladybug into a puddle-bug seemed all too likely.

“I still don’t know how you did it.  Is this one of those ‘lucky charm’ connections only your brilliant mind can make?”

Marinette giggled into his shoulder, because maintaining eye contact was beyond her physical limit right now.  “Chat, the only brilliant thing about me is how brilliantly stupid I’ve been.”

“I’m still not following, my lady.”  His voice was still a little rough, but no longer dripping with desperation.

She kept up the soothing pattern on his back, just in case.

“I… er…”  There was no good way to say, oh, I recognized your voice because I’ve been listening to you tell me you love me all afternoon, only you weren’t even saying it to me and actually I’m a massive creep and you probably don’t want to be friends with me anymore, let alone be my partner and— 

“Shh, shh, breathe.”

—And now he was comforting her again.  It took her back to the first time they’d met—well, the first time Ladybug met Chat Noir.  She’d been so useless, and he’d been so ready to assure her that she could handle it.  From then on she’d somehow begun to take charge, but without that first push—without him—she’d never have gotten here.

And maybe… maybe leaning on him again wouldn’t be so bad.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her forehead resting against his chest.  He held her tight but refrained from any other soothing motions.  Of course he wouldn’t.  She’d brushed off too many of his physically affectionate gestures before.

“You have nothing to apologize for.”  It was a testament to how serious he was that he didn’t slip in a paw-pun there.  Honestly, she wished he had; she could’ve used the laugh right now.  “I trust you.  I always wanted you to be the first to know my identity, anyway.”

“Chat, I have everything to apologize for.”

She could hardly explain why without giving away her own identity, but she knew it was only a matter of time.  She’d rather have this conversation now than after she’d made a fool of herself—scratch that, she was already making a fool of herself, but it could be worse.  She could accidentally call him Chat in class.  She could boop his nose like she sometimes did as Ladybug.  Or someone could catch her doodling their wedding outfits in her notebook. She was really going to have to stop that, or Alya would wonder why she’d suddenly decided she wanted a “ladynoir” themed ensemble.

Great.  Five minutes into finding out Chat was Adrien, and she was still daydreaming about marrying him!  Get a grip, Marinette!  She hadn’t been this bad around Adrien in months, but connecting him with Chat had short-circuited her brain.  

“I’m not… I’m not like this, as myself.”  She pulled back and gestured down to all of her.  “And I don’t know that you’d still like me if you knew.  You never seemed to before.”

“Are you saying I know you?  Civilian you?”

He didn’t sound surprised.  Had she given herself away, too?  Her spastic reaction earlier did scream “Marinette.”  It wasn’t how she’d dreamed of revealing herself to her partner, but since when did her dreams regarding Adrien ever pan out?

“Yes.  You do.”  She hoped her voice sounded more confident than she felt.  Sure, she was thrilled (and confused and mortified) that Adrien was Chat Noir, but would he feel the same about her identity?

“Can I… can I guess who you are?”  Adrien-Noir asked, his voice fragile as glass.  His hands shook against her back. “If you don’t want me to, I get it, really.  But I… I think I know.  There’s no one else you could be.”

She pulled back, her eyebrows drawn in confusion beneath her mask.  “You’re that certain?  I was so—nevermind. I want to hear it.” Explaining how careful she was to mislead him would only confirm his suspicions, if he was even right.  For all she knew, he thought she was some stranger he knew from fencing or one of his other extracurricular activities.

One of his sly Chat-grins spread across his face.  Normally that would have her worried, but it was a relief to fall back into a familiar pattern.  

(Though how close he leaned in to her ear was new.  And was likely to make her burst like fireworks if she so much as breathed.)

“I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Fire spread through every inch of her.  She jolted in Adrien’s arms, cracking her head against his jaw and making him yelp.

“Sorry!  Oh my—are you kayo—okay?”  She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming.  Adrien said he loved her!  Marinette her!  And then she probably broke his jaw or something—!

“I’m fine—a-at least I think I am, if I was right?  About you being Marinette?”  He rubbed his jaw and smiled hopefully at her.  Yep, she was definitely going to be a puddle-bug.  He’d be scooping her off the side of the Eiffel Tower in a bucket.

She swallowed the giddy laugh bubbling up in her.  “I bet it would be really embarrassing if you weren’t.”

He laughed and scooped her up in a hug that lifted her feet from the metal beam.  “Marinette!  I knew it!”

Pressed close to him, she barely resisted the urge to wrap her legs around his waist and kiss his lips.  He was Adrien and Chat and him, and he was holding her and he loved her!  

The laugh finally escaped, breathless and smitten, as she laced her fingers behind his neck.

“You did.  Somehow.  I was so careful too—you have no idea how hard it is to split yourself and use that many miraculouses at once.  The illusion was perfect though.”  She frowned as she thought back on their fight with Kwamibuster.  “How did you find out?”

“I asked you first.”  He smirked. It was a face he made all the time, it had no right to be so cute now.  It was a just a curve of his lips, of Adrien’s lips—

“If I kissed you, do you think you’d forget about it?”

She slapped her hands over her mouth.  Had she—had she really said that?  To Adrien!?  

“Actually if you could just forget I said that too—”

“Not a chance, Buginette.”

She hadn’t thought his grin could get any wider, but she’d been wrong.  He held her tight, her toes barely brushing the ground. Still, she could escape if she wanted to.   

(She didn’t want to.)

“Chaaaat…”

“Thanks to Oblivio, I forgot the last time you kissed me.  There’s no way I’m forgetting again.”

She flushed as she remembered the picture Alya had taken of them.  Of course, it made sense now—she must have somehow learned Chat’s identity while they were under Oblivio’s influence.  How long had that fight taken?  Did she have a shorter or longer reveal-to-kiss timeframe this time? 

And then the full force of it hit her.  He wanted to kiss her.

Adrien.  Wanted to kiss.  Her.

She lost what little coherent thought she had left as she dug her fingers into his hair and pulled him to her.  Their lips collided roughly, and she felt him gasp before he melted into her.  

From there, it was all a blur.  Some distant part of her mind might have registered how she ended up with her legs wrapped around his hips, how he stumbled back into a crossbeam, how he held her so tightly she might’ve been crushed outside of the suit.  But all of that was faded against the single-minded desire to drown him in the love and desire and everything that she’d kept bottled tight for the past year.

She had no idea how long it was before he pulled back and breathlessly said her name.  “Marinette.”  Those three syllables in that voice had her losing her mind.  She was about to claim his lips again when he turned his head, making her miss and kiss his cheek.  Well.  That wasn’t so bad, either.  She peppered the side of his face, up to the edge of his mask, and he laughed.

“Marinette.  LB.  You can’t hide behind kisses forever.”

“Watch me.”

A kiss to the shell of his ear.  His nose. The sliver of his neck that wasn’t covered by his suit— she felt his legs wobble a little at that one.

“...I stand corrected.”

She giggled at the completely smitten look on his face.  She’d put that there.  Of course, Chat had looked at Ladybug that way before, but the fact that it was also Adrien beaming at her, knowing she was Marinette… All the puzzle pieces finally fit together, grooves sliding into place just as perfectly as she fit in his arms.

“Two can play at that game, Bugaboo.”

Oh.  Oh.  Sure, they’d practically been making out seconds ago, but the soft kisses he now littered across her jaw somehow felt even more intimate.  Their first kiss had been desperate.  These were slower, like he had all the time in the world—and they did.

He wasn’t going anywhere.  He loved her.

She practically groaned in disappointment when he finally lowered her back to the ground.  

Adrien just laughed.  “I had no idea you were so clingy, Princess.”

“I’m not clingy,” she pouted, stepping back from him to prove it.  “But if you think I am, fine.  See if you get any more kisses.”

Three whole coherent sentences.  Wow. After kissing Adrien, she expected to be a stuttering mess, but she was actually finding it easier to channel her Ladybug confidence.  Maybe it was the fact that for the first time, she knew he was as crazy about her too.

“Hey, hey, I never said that was a bad thing.”  He squeezed her tight again, a slight purr rumbling in his chest before he coughed.  

“I think we all know who’s the clingy one, anyway.”  She said, scratching the spot behind his ear until she coaxed another purr from him.  Bad idea.  She couldn’t spend all her time with her lips locked to his.

“Whatever you say, Marinette.”  His tail curled around her.  “So… as mind-meltingly amazing as kissing you was, I think I still remember a certain question I had.”

How she found out his identity.  Right. This had to be the biggest whiplash for him—her literally turning him down last week just to turn around and practically jump him. (Not that he was complaining, obviously.)

She bit her lip.  Lying to him would be impossible, even if she wanted to.  She’d promised a long time ago that she would never lie to him… except for when she had to hide her identity, but that was because Master Fu would want to reclaim their miraculouses if they revealed themselves.

...Which they just had.  Her gut twisted at that realization, which had been lost in her earlier excitement.  But Fu couldn’t just take their miraculouses, right? He was training her to be the Guardian.  Plus, after their fight with Feast, Marinette hoped he would know better.  

She was Ladybug.  Adrien was Chat Noir.  No one else could replace them—not to Paris, and not each other.  

She could deal with Fu.  But dealing with Adrien knowing just how obsessed she was?  That was a different terror entirely.

“Fine,” she sighed.  “It’s really, really embarrassing though.  You’re… probably going to think I’m a creep, honestly.”

Adrien blinked when she glanced up at him through her eyelashes, not daring to watch him directly.  “I won’t judge you, I paw-mise.”

She dropped her head in her hands and stifled a giggle.  At least they were back to puns.  She never thought she’d be grateful for that, but it eased her nervousness.

“You know how you, uh, sent a video to our class today?  To reply to the videos you never saw?”

“Yeah?  What about it?”

“Well… err…”  She was sure her face was challenging the shade of her suit, but he just blinked innocently.  “I may have… singled out the part… where you said, um…”

He was still waiting patiently.

“I took the part where you said ‘I love you’ and replayed it two hundred and fifty-three times.”

She wanted to shove her fist in her mouth.  She wasn’t going to lie, but she didn’t have to be that honest!

Chat stared.  Blinked.

...And doubled over laughing.

Well, this was it.  At least she’d gotten to kiss him once, right?  Hopefully he could forget this enough for them to still work together, because she’d never forgive herself if she ruined their partnership and Hawkmoth got their miraculouses because of it— 

“You—I can’t believe it.”  His arms had fallen while he laughed, but now he pulled her in again, practically crushing her to his chest.  “And here I thought I was the crazy one.”

“Please kill me,” she groaned.

“Never.”  He said with a kiss to her temple that shot lightning across her skin.  “I’m keeping you forever, Bugaboo.  No takebacks.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense.” She paused, searched his eyes for any trace of hesitance.  If anything, he looked giddier than ever.  “You’re not mad?  Or… weirded out?”

“Marinette, I play with action figures of us.  Sometimes they kiss.  I really have no room to talk.”

She gaped up at him.  The image of Adrien making toy versions of themselves kiss—okay, she had to cackle too, because it was too insane to process otherwise. They really were made for each other.

“You do have to promise me one thing, though,” he said, his voice sobering.

“What?” She asked before her brain could start catastrophizing again.

“You have to let me say I love you at least two hundred fifty-four times.  I can’t be beat out by a video of myself.”

He—he was serious.  Right when she was thinking it was impossible to love him any more, he said things like that.

“That’s a lot of times.”

“I guess I’d better get started then, huh?”

She punched his arm lightly and ignored how much she really really wanted to let him do just that. (Maybe with a few more kisses sprinkled between.) 

“Not yet, chaton.  You still have to tell me how you recognized me.”

“Technically I don’t think you finished,” he pointed out, to which she rolled her eyes.

“I’d heard you say ‘I love you’ so many times, I recognized your voice.  That’s all.”

“I would’ve told you I loved you as Adrien a long time ago if it would’ve made you see it.”  He chuckled.  “I wish I had a story like that.  I didn’t know for sure, I just thought… well, Marinette and Ladybug are the two most amazing girls I know, and… I think I hoped it was you more than anything.”

The soft grin on his face threatened to send her melting again.  He’d wanted her to be the girl he loved.  Of course his epiphany had come over something so sweet, rather than her completely embarrassing story.  

“That still doesn’t explain how you saw through me being Multimouse and Ladybug,” she said.  “You really do think with your heart more than your head, don’t you?”

“One of us has to.”  He winked, and she hid a lovestruck smile.  She couldn’t give him the satisfaction of melting at everything he did.  He was still her silly kitty, after all.  “I know it looked impossible, but if anyone could pull off the impossible, it’s you.”

She could pull off the impossible, which right now included resisting the urge to kiss him senseless again.

“You’re the one who’s impossible,” she said with a flick to his bell.  

“And you can pull me off anytime,” he blurted before covering his mouth.  “Uh.”

“Adrien, that doesn’t even make sense,” she said for the second time in the past five minutes.

His face flushed.  “I can’t be at the top of my flirting game all the time.  I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything, to be honest.  The cheesy pick up lines are kind of a coping mechanism.  Not that I’m upset, I’m not!  I’m so, so happy—It’s just—it’s a lot.”

“It is a lot,” she agreed, slipping out of his embrace to sit on the cold metal of the tower.  “Come on, sit with me.  Paris can take care of itself for one night.”

He grinned and plopped down beside her, hesitating only a moment before enfolding her in his arms.

“Thank you.  This means the world to me.”  He kissed the top of her head.  “Today was… well, you know. A year ago today my mom disappeared. I’m doing alright, much better than Father is, but still...”  He slumped against her, his chin resting on her shoulder, their cheeks brushing.  “It’s why I wanted to be with you tonight.  And then everything else—well, it’s better than I could’ve imagined.”

She was afraid it had been too much for him, dealing with their identities at such a sensitive time, but he did look much more relaxed now.  Despite his cousin’s earlier interference, she had managed to help him anyway.  That was the most important thing.

“I’m glad I could help.  I actually tried to tell you in the video Felix deleted… but I love you, Adrien.  And I’ll always be here if you need me.” 

He turned his face so their foreheads rested against each other, filling her vision with his bright green eyes.  The hopeful glow in them could’ve put all of Paris’s lights to shame.

“You love me?”

His breath ghosted over her lips, mingled with her laugh.  She’d said it.  She’d finally said it.

“Of course, minou.  What, did you think I kissed you because we’re just friends?”

“That happened?”  He blinked in fake innocence.  “I don’t know, I think Oblivio might have hit me while you weren’t looking.  You might have to kiss me again.”

She rolled her eyes, but she could only do the impossible for so long.  Their noses bumped as she kissed him long and soft and slow.  Could she ever get used to this?  Each kiss left her soaring higher than the last.

They broke apart giggling and flushed before Chat shyly asked a question.

“Did you mean it when you said you’ll always be here if I need you?  I can be a very needy kitty.”  His voice was all Chat Noir, but his face was the soft, open expression she was used to seeing from Adrien.  

He was worried about that?  But then, there were so few other people in his life who were just there, she realized.  No wonder he had coveted attention from Ladybug for so long.

“Always, Adrien,” she said softly.  “I know I can’t fix everything. Especially about your mom.”  She cupped his face in her hands.  “But being here?  That’s easy.  Never feel bad about needing that.”

“That’s all I want,” he breathed.  “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

He wrapped her in his arms again, and she hugged him back just as tightly.

“Me too, kitty.  Me too.”