#mlspring2k17

[miraculousstorytelling]

New Year’s Kiss

Hello @toriistorii! Hope you’ve had a lovely holiday season! Here is your gift for @mlsecretsanta! It turned into a sort of fluffy lovesquare reveal that was such a delight to write. I hope you enjoy!

Why did she ever think this was a good idea? Sure, when she suggested it, she thought it was an excellent way to take a new step in their relationship. It felt dramatic and impulsive and maybe even romantic. But now, staring at Chat Noir, seconds away from kissing him and dropping her transformation at midnight on New Year's, Ladybug was terrified.

"You okay, bugaboo?" he asked, soft and caring as he always was when he sensed she was nervous.

"I'm fine," she lied, heart pounding an unsteady rhythm.

"We don't have to do this, you know," he assured her.

Just the offer was enough to melt away some of her nerves. After all, she knew exactly how much he wanted this. He'd been waiting almost two years now, and he'd never pushed her. The truth was, that was part of the reason she'd started falling for him. In fact, right up to the instant they made eye contact, she had been just as eager to learn as identity as he was to learn hers.

They both glanced at the watch Chat Noir had brought along with him.

"Looks like it's almost time." She reached out to squeeze his hands. "Now, you have to promise me something, Chat Noir."

"Anything," he answered without a second's hesitation.

She watched him for a moment, trying to keep her expression serious. "When our transformations fall, and you finally know who I am..." She could see the concern building in his eyes as she paused. "You have to promise you won't spam my phone with cat puns."

He laughed, both of them relaxing a little now that she had helped cut the growing tension. "I purromise."

Another quick look confirmed it was close to midnight.

"Are you ready?"

Five...

"No."

Four...

"Are you?"

Three...

"No."

Two...

"Close your eyes, kitty."

One...

When he did, she moved closer, still scared, but determined to move past that fear.

"Happy New Year," she whispered into his lips, catching a hint of mint on his breath before she pressed her lips to his.

It was everything she'd hoped for. Their transformations released at the same time, leaving a pleasant buzz in the air between them, and he reached out to hold her, warm hands pressing into her back. The sharp taste of spearmint filled her mouth when she parted her lips, slowly mixing with the sugary taste of her lip gloss. She could feel his breath catch when her fingers drifted across the nape of his neck, and she savored the way he moved closer.

She could swear his eyelashes fluttered along her cheekbone when they separated and dove back in for another kiss. Everywhere she was used to feeling the material of his mask was now just warm skin. His cheek against hers, his nose touching hers, his fingers twining in hers were all Chat Noir without the suit hiding his identity.

She wanted to look, wanted to see exactly who she was kissing and who she had been partners with for so long. Part of her hoped she knew him, but she wouldn't be surprised to learn she didn't. Still, she couldn't bring herself to move away when his lips were so soft against hers, and the soft, warm scent of his cologne was somehow everywhere at once.

Eventually, however, she had to look.

So, she pulled away, keeping one hand in his, and she opened her eyes.

Only to see Adrien Agreste staring back at her with wide eyes and parted lips.

Both of them stared, too stunned to say or do anything more than wait for their brains to process what they were seeing. From the corner of her eye, she could see Tikki watching, her eyes wide. Beside her, another kwami was silently laughing at the sight of the two of them frozen in shock.

Finally, Marinette's mind caught up with the present situation. She had kissed Chat Noir before they both detransformed. When she finally looked, Adrien was there instead, which meant he was her partner. She had just kissed Chat Noir, which meant she had just kissed Adrien, because Adrien was Chat Noir, who she had just kissed.

Holy crap. Adrien was Chat Noir.

She screamed and slid back, starling him into a scream of his own as they both separated and struggled to catch their breath.

"You're Chat Noir?" she half-screamed before remembering that maybe she should keep her voice down.

The new kwami was audibly laughing by now, and Marinette could swear Tikki was trying to shush him.

"You're Ladybug..." Adrien whispered, sounding almost as surprised as her. "This whole time... I-"

Tikki flew in between them. "I know you two have a lot to talk about, but there's an akuma coming."

Marinette would have strangled Hawkmoth there if she could. Somehow, she had to swallow every protest, every question, and probably ten more minutes of pure screaming, and become Ladybug while somehow reconciling the fact that she was fighting alongside Adrien.

"Talk about pawful timing," Adrien muttered.

Somehow, seeing Adrien pun like Chat Noir only made the situation more confusing.

"Tikki, spots on!"

  It was easier not to think about it. It was easier to just pretend that Chat Noir was still some silly, mysterious boy in Paris and not her crush. She moved mechanically, dodging hits and formulating a plan while she struggled not to think about the one thing she still had no idea how to handle.

Chat Noir seemed just as dazed as her, which probably explained why the two of them took longer than normal to cleanse the akuma and return Paris to normal. They managed, but even Hawkmoth had to notice that their teamwork was suffering.

Once the akumatized victim had been healed and sent on her way, Ladybug led Chat Noir somewhere quiet to detransform.

"I, um..." Marinette couldn't quite look at him, but she didn't have to see him to feel the tension between them. "I think we should both head home and talk about this tomorrow night. It's late, and we have a lot to think about."

"I..." He hesitated, almost as though he wanted to say something, but instead, he nodded. "That's probably a good idea."

"Night, Adrien."

He smiled, a bit too forced and thin for her liking. "Night, Marinette."

  Marinette didn't sleep at all that night. She fully expected the next day to be a complete disaster, given everything that was on her mind.

"Tikki, do you think I could just pretend to be sick?"

Tikki settled on her shoulder. "You could, but don't you think it's better to face him?"

Marinette frowned, the beginnings of a pout on her lips. "No?"

"Marinette..."

She grumbled the entire time she dressed and got ready for school, ready for a day filled with awkward silences and distractions during class, and with her luck, probably an outfit critique from Chloe.

That didn't stop her from taking an extra five minutes to double check her hair and makeup.

  When she arrived, Adrien was waiting at the bottom of the steps, chatting with Nino and Alya.

"H-hey, Marinette!" Adrien called when he saw her.

She froze.

"I brought some coffee for everyone. Want one?" He held out a paper cup for her, and her eyes widened.

"Uh, sure." She reached out to take it, her curiosity overriding her usual nervous blushing and stammering. The instant their fingers touched, she could swear she saw a blush creep over his cheekbones, and he nearly dropped the cup in his haste to hand it over.

"Sorry. I, um, brought some sugar and creamer, too, if you want any." He rummaged his pockets, maybe hoping to avoid Alya's stunned expression beside him.

"I'm okay. Thanks." Marinette smiled and took a sip, still trying to puzzle out exactly what was happening. "This was really sweet of you."

"Yeah... It was." Alya agreed, a hint of suspicion in her tone. "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing," Adrien answered too quickly, "Just thought it would be nice."

"Nice," Alya echoed, a smirk lifting up the corners of her lips. "Sure."

"Shouldn't we be getting to class?" Adrien readjusted his bag at his side, deliberately ignoring the fact that his cheeks were reddening. "Come on."

Nino shrugged and followed him, but Alya just chuckled and shot Marinette a wicked grin. "That boy has it bad."

  As it turned out, that was an extreme understatement. Marinette was still a little awkward around Adrien, tripping over her words and her feet when he looked at her, but Adrien was a thousand times worse.

He blushed any time she so much as glanced in his direction, and when he had to pass her a sheet of paper, he dropped it twice before he managed to hand it to her. When Chloe started to tease Marinette about her positively dreadful blouse, Adrien interrupted her to tell Marinette she was looking especially nice today.

Normally, that would have reduced Marinette to an incoherent mess, but instead, she smiled and told him he was, too.

Because seeing Adrien stammer and turn away and blush all the way up the back of his neck was strangely incredible. If she had ever doubted that he liked her, too, this reaction erased all of it.

  She made it all the way to lunch before she decided to put him out of his misery.

"Adrien, um, did you want to go grab something to eat?"

He looked back at her, both blushing and grinning. "Yeah, I'd love to!"

Marinette smiled. "Okay. There's a cafe down the street we should try. I just need to tell my parents I'm not coming home for lunch."

"Oh, right. I'll meet you outside."

  She joined him moments later, and he was somehow more nervous now that they were alone.

"I guess we really should have talked last night, huh?" she asked as they passed by a bakery across the street from the school.

"Maybe." He sighed. "I didn't really sleep."

"Me neither," she confessed. "I was worried today would be really awkward."

"Yeah... I did, too. I mean, when you saw me, you screamed, so..."

"That was just because-" She cut herself off, another blush threatening to color her cheeks. "It wasn't a bad scream."

"Really?" He raised a brow. "It kind of seemed like it."

"I just..." She made a face, some of that familiar nervousness rising in the pit of her stomach. "Well..." She took a deep breath and reached out to take his hand. "It was just because I have a crush on you. So, it was kind of a shock."

"Wait." He stopped and turned to look at her. "You do?"

"You didn't notice?" She stared at him. "I couldn't talk to you."

"I thought you were just nervous."

"No! I had a huge crush on you!" She waved her free hand, stunned that he really hadn't figured this out by now. "Why do you think I blushed all the time?"

"I didn't..." He frowned. "I guess that makes more sense now."

"Well, on the bright side, at least I know I'm not the only one." She shook her head and led him down the road. "You were almost worse than me."

"You really had a crush on me?"

"Have, kitty," she teased, "And yes."

He grinned. "If it helps, I have one on you, too. You're pretty amazing, Marinette."

And just like that, the nerves and stuttering were replaced by butterflies in her stomach and a warm rush up her spine. "You are, too, Adrien."

He caught up to her, both significantly more at ease now that they had managed to express what they were feeling. "So, how serious were you about not spamming your phone with cat puns? Cause I have some purretty good ones."

"Don't push your luck," she shot back, smiling too wide to mean it.

[miraculousexchange]

Spring Author Reveals!

In the Rain by Amaranthis for Astrangetypeofchemistry

Glimpse of Accidental Light by Iki_teru for Chiomi

Flowers for a feline by Instantwaffles for a_miiraculer

we die like men by clairelutra (exosolarmoon) for tatemarkhams

Once Upon an Allergy by Megatraven for Baneismydragon

A Ladybug Original by miraculousstorytelling for breeeliss

softly blurred by demistories for Amaranthis

Misdial by breeeliss for Megatraven

at her wit's end by tatemarkhams for overworkedunderwhelmed

roller skates & chocolate shakes by knhknhknh for dear_chaton

You Cannot Keep Spring from Coming by Baneismydragon for demistories

daydream by a_miiraculer for Maerynn

Oh, My Love by Chiomi for clairelutra (exosolarmoon)

Ask Me No Questions by overworkedunderwhelmed for knhknhknh

Je T'aime by Astrangetypeofchemistry for Iki_teru

An Afternoon in the Acacia Garden by dear_chaton for miraculousstorytelling

One Door Closes, One Opens by Maerynn for yestomiraculous

A Place for Spring by yestomiraculous for Instantwaffles

Thanks so much to everyone for participating! Now go read these awesome stories.

[tatemarkhams]

at her wit’s end

AO3 | written for @overworkedunderwhelmed​ as part of the ML Spring Exchange 

“They have to know. I would sooner lock them up in a room and send an akuma right there than let this trip end without them discovering the truth.” Alya stomped her feet, the fire in her eyes downright terrifying.

“You know I’m usually with you,” Nino started, no doubt in his mind that Alya wasn’t making empty threats with what she just said. “But I don’t really think that’s a good idea. Promise me you won’t do that.”

She had gone insane. That was the only explanation.

 Under the strain of their last year in lycée, graduation looming in the distance, university applications, keeping her blog up to date -- her brain had finally started to disassociate from reality and was now beginning to form hallucinations.

 Because there was no other way to explain the fact that the tiny black cat plushie in Marinette’s bag suddenly started talking to her.

 “Hello, Lady? Are you still there?” The floating black cat waved its tail in Alya’s face.

 “Oh my God. Demon.” Alya gasped, petrified in the driver’s seat as she stared at the tiny devil incarnate.

 She couldn’t remember doing anything that would prompt demons to appear out of nowhere – no human sacrifices, or summoning circles. All she was doing was waiting for Marinette and Adrien to drag Nino out of his house while she parked the car. And it was then that she remembered to check Marinette’s bag for anything she might have forgotten – a long standing part of their routine whenever they went away for a trip.

 And the next thing she knew, there was this.

 “Rude!” The talking plushie squawked, flipping its ears at her, which Alya assumed was the equivalent of flipping her off. “I’ll have you know that I am a god of destruction, kwami of Chat Noir. I’m much more stylish than those puny demons.”

 She had so many questions. “Kwami? What’s a – wait a second, you belong to Chat Noir?”

 “Plagg! We’re not supposed to tell her that!” Another voice added – the one red one, the polka-dotted miniature doll that Marinette always carried with her.

 All the while, Alya was contemplating the soonest time she could possibly see a therapist.

 “Don’t you you see, Tikki? This girl could help us end this.” The black thing who was apparently called Plagg said.

 Under her breath, Alya began muttering to herself. “This is it. I’ve officially gone mad.”

 “Alya, you’re not insane.” The red bug thing – Tikki -- said to her gently before turning away to chastise her friend. “And Plagg! You know we’re not supposed to meddle. And we certainly cannot involve Alya in this!”

 “How do you know my name?” Her finger reached out to poke the tiny creatures experimentally. “And what are you exactly? What’s a komi?”

 “Kwami.” Plagg corrected, brushing her finger off of him. “Basically, we’re the reason Ladybug and Chat Noir can do what they do. Their powers come from us.”

 “Plagg, stop telling her things! I still haven’t agreed to this.” Tikki interrupted. “This would cause a lot of complications.”

 “Even more complicated than the situation we’re already in? Tikki, I am so tired of always having to hide because our chosens are both too idiotic to figure things out for themselves.”

 “Still…” Tikki trailed off, sparing a hesitant glance in Alya’s direction.

 “So…” Alya cleared her throat, looking at Plagg with mild shock on her face. “You belong to Chat Noir.” Taking a deep breath, she turned to Tikki. “And I’m guessing you’re supposed to be Ladybug’s?”

 “Bingo! See? Maybe you’re not as stupid as our chosens after all.”

 Alya chose to ignore that comment, focusing on the single fact that still didn’t make sense to her. “But I thought you were Marinette’s?”

 Tikki smiled at her wryly. “I am.”

 It didn’t take much for Alya to connect the dots from there and when she did, she was only thankful that she was safely tucked in the driver’s seat of a parked car. Otherwise, she would have collapsed to the pavement with all her limbs feeling like jelly.

 “Are you saying – there is no way. I would know.” The two kwami before her shared a knowing look. “Oh my god. It’s true. I’m best friends with Ladybug! Holy shit! I can’t believe this.”

 Plagg snickered, voice dropping to a stage-whisper. “If this is how she reacts to it, just wait ‘til my boy finds out. Adrien is gonna lose his mind.”

 “Adrien? What does Adrien have to do with this?”

 “I think I’m gonna let you figure that one out on your own.”

 “Chat Noir’s kwami…” Alya began, trying to process so much information being dumped on her in such a short period of time. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Those two oblivious idiots!”

 The facts were slowly coming to Alya one by one, and with that, the full picture of the status quo. Adrien was Chat Noir. And Marinette was Ladybug. And neither of them knew each other behind the masks.

 Oh, and they were totally, unknowingly in love with each other.

 “Exactly! Now you see why we need your help.”

 “Ignore him, Alya.” Tikki chimed in. “You don’t have to get involved in this. We can just forget this ever happened.”

 Five minutes ago Alya would have given anything to be away from talking plushies and their questionable magic. But the initial shock had worn off, and the feeling of insanity had been replaced with frustration and the need to take Adrien and Marinette by the ear and scream the truth at them as loud as she can.

 “And let two of my best friends live out the rest of their lives in this confusing crisis? Nuh-uh.”

 “It won’t be forever. They will reveal themselves… someday.”

 “When, Tikki?” Plag cried out dramatically, holding on to Tikki’s shoulders and shaking her. “With the way things are going, we’d be waiting another century before they work it out on their own.”

 “We’re not allowed to interfere, Plagg. We’re bound by magic.” Tikki defended, although Alya can tell that her resolve was weakening.

 “We are. But this girl isn’t.”

 “Yes, Tikki. Let me help. These are my friends and I can’t just do nothing.” Alya said, giving Tikki her best puppy eyes. “Please.”

 “Did you learn that from Marinette?” Tikki sighed, and both Alya and Plagg knew that they had pretty much won at this point. “Okay. Fine. But there has to be some rules.”

 She pushed up her sleeves, like she was preparing for a brawl as she leaned over the console. “Alright. What do you need me to do?”

  Alya heard the sound of Marinette laughing before she looked up and saw her friends through the rearview mirror. Nino was lugging three bags behind him while glaring at the other two beside him who kept trying to help him only to have their hands slapped away.

 “We’ll leave it you, Alya!” Tikki quickly bid her goodbye before taking Plagg with her and disappearing to Marinette’s bag once again.

 The car door opened just as the kwamis were out of sight, revealing a bright-faced Marinette. “Guess who tried to pack their entire house for a week-long trip?”

 “It’s hard to decide what to bring and what not to bring, okay?” Nino popped up beside her, throwing one bag after another into the backseat.

 “You know I would have thought Adrien would be the one with a dozen bags on a trip but clearly, I’m wrong.” Marinette snickered as a loud clanging sound came when two of Nino’s bags collided.

 Adrien scoffed. “Please. Between years and years of trips in and out of Europe, I’ve already mastered the art of packing light.” He turned to Nino. “I know for a fact that you are not going to need that frying pan you brought.”

 “Tell that to Rapunzel.” Nino threw his hands up in the air in surrender. “Make fun of me all you like but don’t come crying to me when you run out of tampons and I’m the only one left who has them.”

 “Thanks but I think I have Alya for that, right?” Marinette looked at her expectantly. “Alya?”

 This girl was Ladybug. Talking to her. Ladybug was asking her for tampons.

 “Yeah?” Alya croaked.

 “Something wrong? You’ve been awfully quiet.” Adrien asked.

 And now Chat Noir.

 “I’m good. Good.” She said, leaning over to open the door to the passenger seat. “Just get in the car, you three. We have a schedule to follow and a lot of things to do.” Sneaking a look at Marinette and Adrien, she whispered to herself. “Especially with you two.”

 “Okay, next round. Wall clock, rollerblades, shaving cream.” Adrien listed off, looking up after going through the last of Nino’s bags. “Which one did I make up?”

 “This is a tough one,” Marinette gave it a thought, fingers drumming on the dashboard. “I’m going with rollerblades. Who even has rollerblades anymore?”

 “Bzzzt!” Mimicking the sound of a buzzer, Adrien lifted Nino’s pair of rollerblades for everyone to see. “The correct answer is shaving cream. Seriously, Nino, you bring all this and forget to pack shaving cream?”

 “I didn’t forget.” Nino pouted, snatching his shoes out of Adrien’s hands. “I didn’t think it was necessary when you already have shit ton of products with you. Plus there are convenience stores on every corner for that.”

 “But you thought it was necessary to bring a wall clock.”

 “If you guys are planning to harass me all week long, just stop the car so I can start walking back to Paris.” Nino said, zipping up his bag and crossing his arms over his chest.

 “Nope. No stopping until we get to Rouen.” Alya called out without taking her eyes off the road. “You’re welcome to jump out the window anytime though.”

 “So considerate.” Leaning forward between their seats, Nino mockingly cooed as he pinched Alya’s cheeks. “Aren’t you charming?”

 “Hey! No touching, I’m driving!” Alya slapped his hand, taking a second to glare at him.

 Marinette gasped, sitting up straight and rolling the windows down to point at something in the distance. “Oh, look at the trees! They’re gorgeous.” She breathed in awe. “Can we go have a look? Just a quick stop?”

 Alya turned to Marinette with full intention to say no and stick to their schedule. Until she saw her pleading with her eyes were shining so bright that Alya swears she knew just how powerful that look was. “I guess a few minutes wouldn’t hurt.”

                                                           While Marinette did her wiggle and dance in her seat, Nino was staring at Alya in astonishment as Adrien patted his head in consolation. “What?! How come you make stops for her but not for me? I’m sensing favoritism here.”

 “Marinette’s always been my favorite.” Alya grinned, not even looking at Nino as she pulled over. “And maybe I’ll listen to you when you have pretty blue eyes like that.”

  “I think these are Almond Trees.” Adrien said, picking up one of the pink flowers from the ground for closer inspection. “They’re always the first to bloom during springtime.” He added, reminding Alya that Adrien Agreste was an actual walking encyclopedia.

 “Man, I knew almonds tasted good I didn’t know they looked this good too.” Nino said, already snapping a few shots with his camera.

 “To think that you were complaining about making a stop here.” Alya snickered, poking his sides as they watched their friends walk ahead of them, playing with the petals on their feet.

 “I just like messing with you.” Nino elbowed her back, and Alya had pretend she didn’t feel heat flooding her stomach at the simplest of touches. “Turn around, you two. I wanna get some good shots of you looking at the camera.”

 Adrien and Marinette looked over their shoulders, seemingly interrupted in the middle of a conversation they were having. With that perfect model smile on his face, Adrien put both hands on Marinette’s shoulders to show her off to the photographer.

 “Take pictures of Marinette. She looks perfect surrounded by the trees in her dress.” Adrien said, slowly moving out of the frame.

 It reminded Alya of a time three years ago when Adrien calling Marinette perfect would have floored her, but now her best friend only took it in stride, smiling at Adrien as the color in cheeks matched the bloom of the trees.

 “Yeah, Marinette, spin for us!” Alya shouted, making a twirling motion with her fingers.

 Just to indulge them, Marinette twirled once, the wind billowing in her dress as the flowers danced at her feet. And Alya was pretty sure that all of them there were in agreement that her best friend closely resembled a faerie of the forest.

 “Yes, that looks great! Keep doing that.” Nino encouraged, holding up a thumbs up sign with his free hand while the other kept clicking the camera button.

 “Oh, come on. This is no fun alone.” Marinette declared, walking over the clearing to Adrien who was leaning on one of the trees while he watched her. “Get over here Mr. Model and do your thing.”

 Adrien laughed, allowing himself to be dragged back to the view of the lens by Marinette. “Alright, if you guys really find me that irresistible.”

 He shrugged of his jacket, draping it over his over his shoulder as he flexed his arms and gave the camera a look that was way too exaggerated to be sexy. Marinette only snorted, crossing her arms over chest as she tried to look unimpressed. Though Alya could tell by the smile she was trying to suppress that Adrien’s pose was working on her.

 Dorks.

 Chortling behind the camera, Nino kept giving Adrien and Marinette instructions for poses that were becoming more and more ludicrous as they went. “Dude, wait ‘til I send all of this to your father.”

 Alya felt a sudden rush of déjà vu as she watched the scene play out before her. It was something she had seen, something she had experienced first-hand so many times in the past.

 Asking Ladybug and Chat Noir for a photo to put up on her blog, Chat making wild and extravagant stances for the pictures while Ladybug stood by and watched him with a strange combination fondness and exasperation on her face.

 Wait for the opportunity to arise, Tikki had told her.

 She didn’t realize there was a lens pointed at her face until she heard the click of a photo being taken and Nino was giving her a toothy grin. “Nice. Lost in thought. Looking very soulful.”

 Alya glared at him, pushing the camera away from her. “That wasn’t for you to take a picture of. Go back to shooting the idiots.”

 “She’s right. We’re working very hard on our poses. Give us the attention we deserve.” Marinette yelled, and Alya didn’t realize when but at some point Adrien had ended up carrying her on a piggyback ride.

 Here’s my opportunity.

 “Hey, how about you guys do a fist bump?” Alya suggested. “Like Ladybug and Chat Noir do after a fight?”

 Nino nodded enthusiastically, obviously enamored with the idea. “Oh yeah, that’d be so cool. Give me your best Ladybug and Chat Noir impressions.”

 Alya watched Adrien and Marinette go completely still, both of them tense as nervous laughter escaped their lips. She couldn’t understand how these two friends of hers, who were so very transparent and weren’t sure where to look upon the suggestion of impersonating their superhero selves, could have managed to keep their identities secret for as long as they have.

 “Impression…yeah, of course.” Adrien cleared his throat, crouching to help Marinette get off his back. “We can do that.”

 As her feet found the ground again, Marinette held out his fist to Adrien hesitantly. “So…”

 “No, wait,” Alya interrupted, enjoying the power that came with knowing. “Say their catchphrase.”

 She could have sworn she heard Marinette squeak. “I’m not sure I remember…”

 “It’s Bien Jouie, isn’t it?” Nino wondered out loud, looking to Alya for confirmation which she gave with an eager nod.

 “Right. Um, thanks Nino.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, extending his fist to Marinette. “Here we go.”

 “Bien Jouie.” They bumped their fists and said at the same time, with voices surprisingly loud and clear, like they were always meant to deliver the words with vigor and the adrenaline that came after a battle. It was a sight to behold, in a way.

 The encounter shocked them both, it seemed, as Adrien and Marinette watched each wordlessly with wide eyes. Several heartbeats passed before Marinette broke the tension by dropping to a bow, much like the way Chat Noir does it. “Amazing job, My Lady.”

 Enthralled by Marinette doing an impression of his feline alter-ego, Adrien chuckled and tapped his finger against her nose. “Not bad yourself, kitty.”

 “Got it. That was incredible, guys. ” Nino said, admiring his shots with a big smile on his face. “You make a good Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

 Of course they do, Alya thought, unwilling to count this as a victory despite the outcome. Of course they do.

  “I hate Adrien.” Alya scowled as they picked their way through the crowd in between ratty tents and the smell of sweat.

 “Come on, it’s not so bad.” Marinette said from in front of her, dragging her along and accidentally knocking over an antique lamp in the process. Alya caught it just in time, her reflexes honed from being around Marinette for years now. “Thanks.” Marinette grinned at Alya apologetically, then at the stall owner who just rolled her eyes at them.

 Taking the lead before they had to pay for anymore damages, Alya grabbed Marinette’s hand and waded through the thick volume of people, wondering just how this girl could be the same heroine who did mid-air flips across Paris regularly.

 In the distance she identified the bright red color of Nino’s cap and caught sight of the boys nodding in awe to whatever the vendor before them was saying. No doubt believing every word of a story made up to advertise whatever knick-knacks were for sale.

 “There they are.” Alya breathed a sigh of relief as she moved towards them. “Could have picked Loire Valley, Cote d’Azur, or even La Croisette if he really wanted to go shopping! Literally anywhere in France and he chooses some flea market in Rouen.”

 “At least he looks happy, doesn’t he?” Marinette said hopefully, seeing Adrien smile excitedly as he held what appeared to be a gold chalice in his hands.

 Alya looked unconvinced “Girl, you would crawl through a rat sewer if Adrien said he thought it might be fun.”

 “No, I wouldn’t.” Marinette was affronted, until Alya gave her a dubious look reminding her that she’d done worse in the past. “I mean, I don’t know, maybe? Let’s not talk about it.”

 “Not talk about what?” Nino asked, replacing the conch shell on the display when he noticed Alya and Marinette approaching.

 “Marinette wants to crawl through a rat sewer.” Alya said dryly.

 Beside Nino, Adrien who was admiring the chalice in hand, looked up at them with slight apprehension. “That doesn’t sound very hygienic. Don’t do it, Marinette.”

 “I wasn’t going to. Oh my god.” Marine pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering why rat sewers were even a part of their discussion. “Did you guys get anything good?”

 Sharing a grin with Nino that meant nothing good, Adrien laughed. “Oh, did we?”

 In answer, Nino raised a green bag with a llama stitching on it, which in Alya’s opinion, was the ugliest thing she’d ever seen – quite a feat to achieve considering the assortment of items she’d seen in the last hour.

 “Marie Antoinette’s hand mirror, Titanic in a bottle, a magic spellbook, and this really cool bag.” Nino said, a self-satisfied smile hanging on his lips as he recited an inventory of their purchases. “What about you?”

 Although she could go on and on about her reservations on the authenticity of any of the items Nino and Adrien had bought, she also doubted they would listen. “We had to pay for a snow globe Marinette dropped.”

 “I already said I’d buy you something to make it up to you.” Marinette slumped her shoulders against Alya, blinking up at her in that way she knew her best friend couldn’t resist. “Choose anything you want.”

 “Yeah, you should really get something before we leave.” Adrien agreed, handing over wads of cash to the vendor and stuffing the chalice in the llama bag.

 “You know it’s too early for souvenir shopping, right?”

 “Come on, Alya. Just pick something. I feel bad about making you deal with that grouchy old salesman.” Marinette insisted, dragging her to the table full of gold plated items in front of them.

 The initial plan was to pick out the closest thing she could get her hands on so she could appease Marinette’s guilt and move on, when something on the far right corner caught her eye. “How about those?” She pointed at a pair of faux-pearl earrings, lips curling into a devilish smirk. “We don’t have friendship bracelets. Let’s get matching earrings instead.”

 Marinette stiffened, hands instinctively flying to her earrings – her miraculous, Alya now knew. “M-matching earrings…” Alya had to admit she found a bit of delight in watching Marinette squirm as she struggled to find an excuse. “But I-I already have earrings.”

 “Well they’re not welded to your ears, aren’t they? You can just take them off. Here.” Alya said, reaching for one of the black stones on Marinette’s ear.

 “No!” Marinette cried, taking a step back defensively and accidentally bumping into someone behind her. After a quick apology over her shoulder, Marinette turned to her friends to find three pairs of eyes sending her identical quizzical looks. “It’s…um…the earrings are an amulet to keep the bad spirits away and brings good luck. Old Chinese heirloom, you know.”

 Yeah, I bet. Although Alya had to admit that was one of Marinette’s more reasonable alibis. Besides, it wasn’t like she knew enough about Chinese traditions to express her suspicion.

 “So it’s like a lucky charm?” Alya asked instead, testing to see just how many superhero references she could drop before her best friend cracked.

 Marinette swallowed, running a hand through her locks to cover her ears from her friends’ curious looks. “Y-yes. I guess you could say that.”

 “Oh, cool. Adrien has one of those too.” Nino jerked his thumb at him innocently.

 Well, this is going better than I expected.

 “Does he really now?” There was no need for Alya to fake the bemused expression she was wearing as she turned to Adrien who was currently looking like a baby deer caught in glaring headlights.

 The startled, slightly panicked look on his face was so much like Marinette’s that it took a great deal of effort for Alya not to burst into laughter right there. “What – oh yeah. My ring. I-it’s was my mother’s. The last thing I have of her.”

 “Never seen him take it off.” Nino said, clapping Adrien’s back.

 “Hmm. Interesting.” Alya nodded curiously, her gaze shifting from Adrien to Marinette looking for any sign of recognition or budding awareness, at the very least. “Isn’t that interesting that you’re both really attached to your jewelry?”

 Adrien shrugged offhandedly. “Yeah I guess. But a lot of people are, you know? Jewelry is valuable after all.”

 “Yeah, it’s totally normal thing.” Marinette said, brushing it off to dismiss the conversation and lead it as far away as she could from her miraculous. “But enough with that, so do you want me to get you the earrings or do you want something else?”

 “Less oblivious friends.” Alya said under her breath, cursing her friends’ inability to put two and two together.

 “What did you say?” Marinette blinked, still not catching wind of any of her thoughts.

 “I said we should get friendship bracelets.”

  “I told you we needed all the help we can get.” Plagg smirked, strangely smug for someone whose plan hadn’t been working so far. “Admit it, Tikki. Say it. Say I’m right.”

 “You were right, Plagg. There.” Tikki rolled her eyes. “They shouldn’t be left to their own devices but we haven’t had much progress either. And all this is doing is stressing Alya out.”

 Alya sat over the toilet seat, watching with glassy eyes as the two kwamis bickered in front of her. Tikki was right, this trip was to be a way of unwinding for the four of them – one last hurrah before graduation – but it was doing the exact opposite to her.

 “How do you two do this?” Alya lamented, massaging her temple as she felt the signs of an oncoming headache. “Sit by and just watch them dance around each other for years. I’ve only known for a day and it’s driving me crazy.”

 “Talking about them behind their back helps.” Plagg quipped. “I’ll start. Those two are so dumb I don’t know how they’ve survived until now.”

 “Plagg, no.”

 Alya couldn’t find it in herself to disagree despite Tikki’s protests. “I’d expect this from Adrien who’s still slow when it comes to picking up social cues even now. But Marinette?” She shook her head in disbelief. “For all the time she spends making heart eyes at Adrien, you would think she’d have an idea by now that he’s the same person she runs around with in spandex.”

 “Well, people see what they want to see.” Tikki defended meekly.

 “No, Tikki. They’re dum-dums.” Plagg flying to Alya’s shoulder, unmistakably pleased to have someone on his side. “Right, Alya?”

 “Alya!” Marinette’s incessant knocking on the bathroom door interrupted them before Alya could answer. “Alya, are you done yet? I really need to pee.”

 “Just a second!” She called out to Marinette, pressing the flush button to mask the sound of her talking to Tikki and Plagg. “I won’t let this trip end without them figuring this out, I swear it on my grave. Even if I have to take drastic measures, I will do it.”

 Later that night, Marinette went on with her almost routinely appreciation of Adrien as she and Alya laid on their beds in a cheap motel room. Alya didn’t know how she missed it so many times before but now all her eyes were drawn to was Tikki, peeking out from Marinette’s leg and giving her an encouraging, albeit a little apologetic, smile.

 It wasn’t that Alya minded listening to Marinette describe in detail how Adrien lights up when he smiles or how his laughter sounds like the music of the angels. In fact, she reveled in it – seeing her best friend happy and glowing and hopelessly in love.

 But tonight, all she wanted to do was smother Marinette with a pillow for not noticing that Chat Noir had been giving her the exact same smile, sharing the exact same laugh with her as Ladybug for as long as she’d known him.

  Alya didn’t have to watch the door to know the precise moment Adrien and Nino entered the diner. She could tell by the way Marinette, who had been languidly arguing the superiority of pancakes over flapjacks, suddenly straightened up in her seat and bloomed.

 “Good morning!” Adrien greeted them as he slid next to Marinette inside the booth, looking way too cheery at 9 o’clock in the morning.

 Nino grunted in greeting, plopping beside Alya and letting out a long groan as he cracked his neck. “Did you get my text?”

 “Yup, we ordered your mountain of pancakes.” Alya answered, watching Nino try to massage his own shoulders. “What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well?”

 “Oh, I slept just fine,” Nino said, leering at Adrien who was suddenly very interested in the wood pattern of the table. “But then I woke up, and someone had a death grip on me and was almost choking me to death.”

 “I wasn’t trying to kill you.” Adrien pouted, slightly embarrassed and refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. “I’m a cuddly sleeper, okay?”

 “Okay. Word of warning: Adrien’s cuddles will leave you with sore muscles in the morning.” Nino grumbled.

 “Wait a minute –-“ Marinette cut in, her brows slightly furrowed as she looked between Nino and Adrien. “You two slept on the same bed?”

 “Well… Nino’s things were taking up all the space in his bed so he had to sleep in mine.” Adrien shrugged, looking at her like it was the most obvious solution.

 “You know you could have put all of Nino’s nonsense on the floor, right?” Alya asked the boys whose eyes went wide upon the suggestion like the thought hadn’t occurred to them before.

 “Yeah?” Nino wailed regrettably, making Alya felt equal parts pitiful and intrigued at their lack of forethought. “Where were you last night when Adrien was eating my hair and trying to choke all the air out of my lungs?”

 The way that Marinette’s cheeks burned from across the table told Alya that her best friend most probably wouldn’t have minded being subjected to Adrien’s pain-in-the-neck cuddles.

 “I think I’ll take cuddly sleepers over noisy sleep talkers.” Alya said, glancing at Marinette who sunk into her seat.

 “Marinette talks in her sleep?” Adrien asked just as the waiter arrived with their breakfast, putting down plates of pancakes and cups of coffee in front of them. After giving the waiter a quick thanks, Adrien proceeded to douse his pancakes with a  ridiculous amount of syrup, taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around to regulate his sugar intake.

 “Oh yeah, she’s always been like that.” Alya revealed to the table, ignoring the glare Marinette was sending in her direction. “Babbles about the most random things. Last night, she was going on and on about Chat Noir.”

 It was true. She didn’t even have to lie.

 This bit of information seemed to fascinate Adrien, who was now looking at Marinette with the dorkiest smile Alya had ever seen. “Chat Noir, huh?” Adrien probed, stuffing his mouth in pancakes and not even trying to keep the smugness off of his face.

 Marinette was slack-jawed as she stared at Alya. “I was not talking about Chat Noir in my sleep.”

 “Oh, right. Technically, you weren’t talking about him. You were moaning and gasping his name in your sleep, along with some really explicit things that shouldn’t be discussed over breakfast at a family friendly environment.”

 Okay, so that wasn’t true. Marinette had been mumbling something like “Get down here, Chat” or “Not on the rooftops, Chat Noir” and maybe Alya was stretching it a bit but no one else needed to know that.

 “Oooh.” Nino propped his chin on his hands and inclined his head to a red-faced Marinette. “You were having naughty dreams about Chat Noir?”

 Adrien who had been enjoying his pancakes in relative peace, suddenly choked. The succession of loud coughing that followed made Marinette panic ever so slightly, as she patted his back and shoved a glass of water to his face.

 “I was not having naughty dreams about anyone.” Marinette hissed at Alya, although the expression on her face betrayed her hesitation.

 “Oh, I beg to differ.” Alya arched her brow at her. “You were at it all night. Sounded like you and dream Chat Noir both had remarkable stamina. If you want I can play you a recording, I think I’ve got it somewhere…” Alya took out her phone, pretending to look for the non-existent evidence and hoping Marinette wouldn’t call her bluff.

 “Why would you even record that? No one needs to hear that.” Marinette groaned, burying her flushed face in her hands. ” Oh my God, Alya. Just let me die.”

 “Hey, girl. I’m not judging. Besides,” Alya started, cautioning a look at Adrien who had finally regained control of his breathing. “I kinda see where you’re coming from. Chat Noir’s pretty hot.”

 “I didn’t know you were into Chat Noir.” Nino narrowed his eyes at her.

 “I’m not. But you know, objectively speaking. I mean, that suit hardly hides anything.” Alya said, watching the Adrien’s blush go ten shades darker with every word. “That guy’s got a body anyone would want to get on. Plus, that mask only makes him even sexier, don’t you think?”

 Nino stared into the distance as he mulled the thought over. “Huh, okay yeah, I guess I kinda see your point.”

 “Marinette’s does too. He’s exactly her type. You know blond hair, green ey -- ow!” Alya felt something kick her shin under the table and saw Marinette glaring daggers at her.

 “Can we please talk about something other than how hot Chat Noir is?” Adrien muttered, folding onto himself and trying to hide his shame behind a cup of coffee.

 “Yes, anything but that, please.” Marinette seconded, waving her hand in dismissal and diving right back into her plate.

 “Oh ho ho, would you rather discuss how hot Ladybug is?” Nino smirked at Adrien whose eyes went comically wide at the question. Beside him, Marinette had gone silent, her fork clattering against her plate as she tried to appear unfazed.

 “What? Why would think - you know what? Never mind.” Adrien’s voice was coming out in a higher pitch than usual, and his face was very telling of how he would rather be anywhere else than here, having this conversation.

 “Yeah dude, don’t think I haven’t noticed that you have the hots for Ladybug.”

 “Oooh, Adrien’s got it bad for Ladybug?” Alya knew this already, of course. Adrien’s strange fascination with the superhero rivaled her own, although she had attributed it to a mere celebrity crush in the past. It was clear to her now though, that Adrien was actually head over heels in love with Ladybug, who he didn’t know currently sat beside him.

 “Let’s just say Marinette’s not the only who’s had dirty dreams involving superheroes.” Nino winked at Alya as he took a sip of his coffee.

 “Nino!” Adrien shrieked scandalously while Marinette froze and Alya was sure her best friend had stopped breathing at this point. “New idea! Let’s eat breakfast in silence not talk about dreams that may or may not have happened.”

 “Does that mean I can’t tell them about the photos of Ladybug you keep hidden on your phone?”

 “Nino!”

 Taking a bite of her pancakes, Alya shared a satisfied smile with Nino while two of their friends retreated into their respective cages of humiliation. Already, Nino was proving to be valuable ally in this mission even though he knew nothing about its existence.

  It was a well-known fact that Marinette was an animated person. She had a range of facial expressions that would put a French Mime to shame and a variety of wild hand gestures that seemed to be a permanent accompaniment to her spirited voice.

 Fewer people knew that when Marinette felt really passionate or an overwhelming sense of adoration for something, she went still. Alya treasures that look of tranquility on her best friend even though she doesn’t get to see it often. It happens sometimes, when Marinette is watching Adrien, or when she’s working on one of her designs. Or now.

 Marinette stood surrounded by beds of flowers in bloom, completely enamored by the splendor of it all. Occasionally, Alya would catch her mumbling something to her collar and laughing – something she had always thought was a nervous habit but now she knew was just her talking to Tikki.

 “Marinette picked a good place, huh?” She didn’t hear Nino come up beside her, carrying a brown paper bag in his hands.

 “Yeah, it’s really beautiful.” Alya breathed, surveying the hortillonages in Amiens and finding her eyes drawn to the canoes drifting along the water channels. “Where’s Adrien?”

 “Got recognized by a few collėge students while we were getting something to eat. Turned out they were really big fans of his so he’s out there chatting with them, naturally.”

 “Naturally.” Alya chuckled, casting a side glance at Nino who was grinning back at her. “So…what kind of food do they have here?”

 “All really fresh stuff. Very healthy. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that much plant before.” Nino idly rubbed his belly. “Oh, I got you something.” Nino seemed to remember, taking out a wrap from his paper bag and handing it to Alya.

 “If this is celery or eggplant, I’m gonna lob this at the back of your – oh,” Alya stopped as she tore out the wrap, and suddenly felt tears prickling her eyes at such a simple gesture. Keeping secrets must have been weighing on her more than she realized. “crêpes.”

 “Not how your mom makes them. But I figured you could still use some comfort food.” Nino shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal even though Alya knew how thoughtful it really was.

 “Thanks. This is…this is really nice.” Her lips wrinkle into a gentle smile, thinking about how Nino always managed to know just what she needed.

 “Thought it might make you feel better.” Nino beamed back, and with the sun shining down on him just right, Alya thought he could easily be mistaken for an angel. “You’ve been stressing out since we left Paris. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

 “Yeah, it did make me feel better.” Alya said, biting down on the crêpe and feeling a surplus of affection for her friend. “Thank you, Nino.”

 “Nino! Alya!” They turned to see Adrien running towards them, practically bouncing on his feet when he came to a stop in front of them. “I heard we could ride the boats around the canals, do you wanna go? Please say you wanna go.”

“I wouldn’t say no to that.” Alya said through a mouthful of crêpes.

 “Heck yeah, I’m down. Hey, Marinette!” Nino yelled at Marinette on the other side of the gardens. “Canoe race around the canal, you in?”

 “I’m always up for a chance to kick your butts!” Marinette called back, holding up a thumbs-up sign.

 “Great! I’ll go talk to the canoe guy. He made me sweet deal earlier.” Nino said, handing his paper bag over to Adrien before he went to find one of the park guides.

 “So…” Adrien drawled, rocking back and forth on his heels with a goofy expression on his face. “Did I interrupt something between you and Nino earlier?”

 “What could you have been interrupting?” Alya asked, although she knew very well what he was getting at.

 “Oh, I don’t know.” Adrien said with nonchalance. “But if you’re ever in need of something, you know like advice or a wingman, just say the word, okay?”

 “You? Really?” Alya raised her eyebrows at Adrien indignantly. “You are offering to fix my romantic problems when you can’t even sort out you and Marinette?”

 “What about me and Marinette?” Adrien’s gaze automatically went to Marinette who must have sensed him looking at her because she gave him a small wave.

 “Seriously?” Alya blew out a breath and shook her head. “You two are unbelievable.”

  “Jesus, Marinette! Eyes on the road!”

 “Sorry!”

 Gripping the edge of her seat, Alya heaved a sigh as they narrowly avoided getting hit by an eight-wheeler truck all because Marinette was too busy making googly eyes at Adrien in the passenger’s seat.

 “Marinette behind the wheel is like a roller coaster ride at the amusement park. Pawsitively thrilling.” Adrien beamed at Marinette, making her stick her tongue out at him.

 This odd and ironic loop of courtship that Marinette and Adrien seemed to be eternally stuck in was typically Alya’s source of entertainment and frustration alike. But now all it did was grate on her nerves.

 (And maybe that had something to do with the fact that Adrien “Co-captain of the most oblivious clueless ship in France” Agreste had offered to wingman her relationship for her.)

 It wasn’t like it had been the constant thought running through her mind in the last 24 hours. It wasn’t like she spent all of the previous night wondering what could have possibly made Adrien, of all people, think that she needed help resolving any relationships she may or may not be involved in. It wasn’t like that.

 (Okay, maybe it was, a little.)

 Because the way she saw it, she and Nino were friends. Sure, they’ve spent an awful lot of time together since Ladybug had locked them both in a cage at the zoo to keep them safe from the akuma attack. And if Alya was being honest with herself, maybe she had been harboring a little crush on Nino since that fateful day. And sometimes, he looks at her in that way, like she hung the moon or something, and she thinks maybe he might like her, too.

 But that was beside the point. She had her blog. He had his music. They were both too occupied pursuing their field to work on actual relationship even if they did like each other. They had reasons for not being together, right?

 Her eyes focused in front of her, watching as Adrien retrieved the camera and pointed the lens at Marinette, who puffed her cheeks and made faces at him. The sound of Adrien’s laughter filling the car was the equivalent of an ear-splitting scream to Alya.

 “Your turn to pick.” Nino said in her ear, tapping her arm to hand the iPod over to her.

 She couldn’t be sure what prompted it, but it was suddenly like she was having out-of-the-body experience. Alya could see herself sitting there in the backseat with Nino, huddled together as they shared earbuds and took turns picking songs to listen to. And she could see Adrien and Marinette in front of them, mooning at each other and risking their lives with Marinette’s less than stellar driving skills.

 She felt her blood run cold upon a sudden realization.

 “Oh my fucking God. No.” Alya’s breath hitched in her throat, unable to stop the rush of aggravation she felt at herself for not seeing this sooner.

 Nino was staring at her, his mouth slightly open as he hesitantly held out the iPod to her. “What? You don’t want to ---“

 “Marinette, stop the car.” Alya demanded. The need to do something was immediately eating at her.

 All three of her friends were now looking at her with concern and bewilderment on their faces. Through the rearview mirror, Marinette was shooting her worried looks. “What? Alya, why ---“

 “Marinette, for the love of god, just stop the freaking car. I need to get out.”

 The urgency of her tone seemed to do the trick, because Marinette pulled over in an instant and twisted in her seat to see if there was anything wrong with her.

 Alya grabbed Nino’s arm as she got out of the car. “You’re coming with me.” Before either Marinette or Adrien could get out of their seats, Alya shot them an icy glare. “And you two, stay where you are.”

 It was dumb luck that they stopped in the middle of nowhere which meant that she didn’t have to worry about the judgmental stares from bystanders. She kept her iron grip on Nino’s wrist until they were far in the clearing, a reasonable distance from the where their friends sat inside the car.

 “Uh… what’s going on? Are you going to kill me here?” Nino asked, barely concealing the dread in his voice. “Maybe we should stay within Adrien and Marinette’s line of sight, you know. Not for any particular reason…”

 Letting go of her hold on his, Alya glowered at Nino who yelped and made a zipping motion with his mouth. She nearly collapsed when she fell to her knees and let out a deafening scream. She shrieked until her throat was raw and her nails were digging into the fabric of her jeans so hard that it hurt.

 When she finally stopped, Nino’s eyes were wide as saucers as he watched her. He wasted no time dropping to a crouch beside her, undoubtedly trying not to freak out with her as his arms curled around her around her shoulders. “Are you oka ---“

 Alya stopped him, holding on to his arm before he could move any closer. “I can’t do this anymore, Nino.” Alya blew out a tired breath. Seeing a flash of hurt cross Nino’s face, she added immediately, “Go out with me.”

 “What?”

 “We can’t be like them, Nino. I’ve spending the last few days cursing those two for being so stupid and refusing to address their lack of communication only to realize that I’m doing the same thing.” Alya rambled, half to herself and half to Nino. “We’re not gonna be like that.”

 “Alya, slow down,” Nino cut in, trying to calm her down and looking straight into her eyes.  “What are you talking about?”

 Closing her eyes, she drew in a long breath. “I like you. I like you. And I hate that I waited so long to tell you but the point is I’m telling you now. I really really like you. So will you go out with me?”

 The declaration stumped Nino for a about minute as if he didn’t realize what Alya had just said or he didn’t quite believe it. But then he shook his head, blinking hard to clear his thoughts and began nodding ardently. “Yes, of course. Yes.”

 “Yes?”

 “Yeah.” Nino said, his eyes gleaming when he looked at her. “I really really really like you, too.”

 In hindsight, Alya thought Nino might have been moving in to give her a hug but she was already grabbing him by his collar and pulling him down for the kiss. She felt Nino freeze for a second before she felt him smile against her lips and all she could do was sigh into the kiss because finally.

 Finally.

 The years they waited seemed futile in comparison to the way his arms felt around her pulling her closer, and the steady beat of his heart under her palms. But because there was only so far their inexperience could take them, their glasses knocked over each other and they broke apart laughing.

 Nino rested his forehead against hers. “Does this mean we get to do a lot of that now?”

 Grinning at him, Alya raised a hand to his cheek, about to press another kiss to his lips when --

 “Yeah! Go get it, Alya!” Adrien shouted from the car, leaning over Marinette who was also beaming at them.

 Alya stopped short, sharing a look with Nino before she rolled her eyes and yelled back at their friends. “See how easy that was? Maybe you two should try it.”

 Even from a distance, Alya could see how Marinette flushed pink and looked away, rolling the windows down and shrugging at Adrien like they both had no idea what meant.

 Nino groaned in defeat, his head falling to Alya’s shoulder. “They’re never gonna get it.”

 “No, they’re not.” Alya sighed miserably, already thinking of at least two long conversations she was going to be having involving kwamis and new boyfriends.  “Listen, there’s something I have to tell you.”

  “This is a joke, right?” Nino said, taking of his glasses and rubbing the spot between his eyes. “I mean it would be really cool if this was true but please tell me this is a joke.”

 Alya took a sip of her coffee, patting Nino’s hand consolingly as she remembered the head rush she felt upon the discovery. “I wish it was.”

 After a conversation with Tikki and Plagg that took way shorter than she expected, the three of them have finally agreed to let Nino in on the secret. He was a trustworthy friend to both Adrien and Marinette, and at this point, enlisting his help seemed to be a good option seeing as they needed all the help they can get.

 Nino took a deep breath, looking intently at the two kwamis who were sharing a slice of cheesecake Alya bought for them. “Shouldn’t you two be, I don’t know, staying out of sight?”

 “You’d be surprised at how little people actually pay attention to others.” Plagg said, fitting an excessively large portion of cake into his mouth that Alya swears magic was involved there somehow. “We’re practically invisible over here.”

 “On one hand, it’s like I want to jump out of joy and crush them in a hug because this is really awesome but on the other, it’s like I wanna run around and scream for hours because wow.”

 “It’s okay to be freaked out, Nino.” Tikki said soothingly. “Alya did too when she found out.”

 “Okay, run this by me, again.” Nino nodded slowly, reprocessing the information bit by bit. “You’re telling me that the fate of Paris and its citizen’s rests on the hands of that girl.” Nino pointed at Marinette, walking along the edge of a fountain while Adrien stood by and took photos of her, only to fall into the water with a yelp.

 “Yep.”

 “And her partner is that guy over there.” Nino jerked his head at Adrien, who had put the camera aside and scrambled to help Marinette out of the water only to be accidentally pulled in.

 “Also true. Yep.”

 Nino and Alya watched their friends turn their heads frantically in search for them, until Marinette tapped Adrien’s shoulder and pointed in their direction. The two of them gave Nino and Alya a small wave and thumbs up just to let them know they’re okay.

 “How are we not dead yet?” Nino said through his teeth as he waved back.

 Alya shrugged, itching to take a picture of her friends completely drenched in fountain water like a couple of five-year olds. “To be fair, they’re really good at their job as superheroes.”

 “Yeah, they’re really amazing.” Nino agreed, unable to hide the bout of pride he held for them.

 “But really idiotic as civilians.” Plagg burped, peeking out from the side of the cheesecake to watch Adrien and Marinette climb out of the fountain and dry themselves off.

 Tikki sighed, although even she couldn’t disagree. “We should probably go back. They must be looking for us by now.” Tikki bid Alya and Nino goodbye before taking Plagg by the tail and zipping away.

 “Yeah, they --- oh, hell.” Nino gasped, turning to Alya as another realization suddenly struck. “They’re the reason you’ve been stressed out since Paris, aren’t they? That’s why you’ve been bringing up Ladybug and Chat Noir all the time?”

 “Was I really that obvious?”

 “Apparently not obvious enough for those two.”

 “Nothing is obvious enough for them.” Alya threw her hands up in frustration. “All my efforts trying to get them to figure it out have gone to waste. This is why I need your help, Nino.”

 “I didn’t think this is how we’d be spending our first date,” Nino was shaking head although Alya could tell he was also smiling. “Conspiring to get our friends together.”

 “This isn’t our first date.” Alya said automatically, seeing Nino’s puzzlement she continued, “Um…panther cage? Ladybug locked us in? You shared your headphones with me? Any of that ring a bell?”

 Eyes widening in horror, Nino groaned to himself as he pulled his cap down to cover his face. “Oh man, that’s not any better. I’m the worst date ever.”

 “Not at all. It was kind of perfect, in a way.” Alya said as she leaned over to take Nino’s cap and put it over her head. “Hey, if you think about it, the reason we ended up there is because of Ladybug – because of Marinette. So this whole conspiring to get our friends together is our way of returning the favor.”

 Nino cocked his head to the side to regard Alya. “You know… I like the way you think.”

 “There’s a lot to like.” Alya winked at him. “So what do you say, are you with me?”

 For Nino, doing this one thing to make Alya happy would also mean helping out two of his best friends – like hitting all the birds with one stone. It was a no-brainer. “Of course, I am.”

  “Cabernet Franc.” Adrien said after taking a sip of from his glass, looking at his friends with pleased smile on his face.

 “Correct.” Alya read the label on the bottle, a little annoyed but not the least bit surprised to find that Adrien was right again. “That’s six for six. You’re too good at this.”

 “The rich boy is a wine snob. Who’s surprised?” Nino stared flatly at Adrien.

 “You’re the one who wanted to go here.” Marinette pointed out, barely touching her drink and seemingly content in watching the wine swirl around the glass.

 “That’s because I thought there’d be beer in the cellar tour.” Nino sighed regretfully. “I didn’t think we’d be hearing Adrien list off the names of wines I can’t even spell.”

 “I’m not even that good at it.” Adrien shook his head as he emptied his glass. “You just happened to pick the easy ones. Chlolee’s better at this than me.”

 “You mean Chloé.” Alya corrected.

 “Yes, Chlolee. What did I say?” Adrien looked at her with his brows furrowed in thought “It’s a really hard name to get.”

 Nino’s eyes narrowed into slits, leaning across the table to get a better look at his best friend. “Dude, are you drunk?”

 “I’m not drunk, I’ve only had like seven glasses.” Adrien said, holding up four fingers proudly.

 “Oh honey, you are definitely drunk.” Alya chuckled, immediately shooting up and slamming her fist on the table as an idea formed in her head. “Which means, it’s time for us to catch up. This calls for a drinking game!”

 “No. Nononononononono. No.” Marinette shook her head vehemently. “I don’t like your ideas.”

 “You haven’t even heard them yet.” Alya pouted at Marinette.

 “I don’t need to.” Marinette said dismissively. “I already know this would end with at least one of us passed out, naked, or arrested.”

 “Fine.” Alya conceded, resting her chin on Nino’s shoulders to look up at her him. “We’ll let Nino decide what game to play. Nino?”

 Nino observed as an intoxicated Adrien leaned heavily on Marinette, who was trying to the two of them upright by

 “Okay, um…” Nino began, seeing Alya batting her eyelashes and keeping her lips pursed, communicating exactly just what she wanted him to say. Like it was a completely candid and malice-free thought, he said, “Let’s go around sharing our biggest secrets to each other.”

 Alya pecked him on the cheek. “Perfect!”

 “That’s not even a drinking game.” Marinette snorted at the same time, eyeing Nino and Alya warily while she tried to keep an intoxicated Adrien sitting upright.

 “Sure, it is! Just drink before it’s your turn.”

 “Yeah, Mari, drink.” Adrien said, holding up a glass to Marinette’s lips which she accepted because there was no known universe where Marinette could ever say no to Adrien.

 “Who wants to go first? Okay, I’ll go.” Alya drank from her glass and clapped her hands together in excitement. “Don’t tell anyone… but I had the biggest crush on Chloé when I first saw her. Then she opened her mouth and I immediately wanted to smack her.”

 Marinette scoffed, throwing chunk of cheese at Alya’s hair. “That’s not your biggest secret. You told me that within two weeks of meeting me.”

 “I didn’t know that.” Adrien mumbled, looking at Alya with an amused smile.

 “Nino doesn’t either. Marinette’s the only one who does because it’s embarrassing. And I can’t believe she would undermine the value of my secret when it took a lot to share it in the first place.” Alya fake sobbed against Nino’s shoulder, ignoring the cheese Marinette kept hurling in her direction.

 “Cheater.” Marinette glared at Alya, turning to Nino instead.  “What about you, Nino?”

 “Secret huh,” Nino hummed, his fingers tapping a beat as he gave it a thought. “I’ve got Justin Bieber’s full discography in my music library. But in my defense, his music has really improved in his latest album.”

 “So he says but the most played song in his phone is still Baby.” Adrien said as he raised his glass before taking another drink, making Nino groan in his seat. “No shame in that, dude.”

 “Okay, I think we should be cutting you off.” Marinette took the glass out Adrien’s hands and set it on the other side of the table, determined to ignore the wounded puppy look he was giving her.

 “What about you, Marinette?” Adrien drawled sloppily. “We want to know the secrets of Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

 “M-me? I don’t, uh, I mean --” Marinette stammered, glancing around her helplessly.

 Of course, three out of four people in that table knew two of Marinette’s biggest secrets even if two of them were keeping mum and pretending to be none the wiser. It was the one who was most concerned in said secrets that remained tragically clueless.

 “Adrien,” Alya paused to hiccup. “I think Mari has a secret or two to share with-hic -a secret to share with you, specifically.”

 Tilting his head to Marinette, Adrien focused all his attention on her like he was waiting for her to reveal the nuclear codes.

“N-no, I don’t!” Marinette squeaked, her cheeks the color of crimson as she pushed Adrien’s face away from hers. “Sorry, I don’t have any secrets. Your turn.”

 Adrien squinted his eyes as he racked his brain. “I guess I don’t really have secrets either.”

 Nino and Alya shared a look. What a surprise, the two most secretive people in this group apparently have no secrets to hide.

 “Aside from the astronomical crush on Ladybug?” Nino asked dryly.

 “That’s not a secret anymore since you exposed me.” Adrien grunted. “Betrayed by my own best bud.”

 Alya extracted herself from Nino’s shoulder, resting her chin on her palm to regard Adrien and Marinette. “Oh, come on. That wasn’t a secret to begin with. You were so obvious about it. You and Marinette must have something you haven’t told anyone.”

 “Like, tell us why you both keep ditching class with the worst excuses? Do you guys leave just to hang out without us?” Nino added. “Tell us, we won’t be mad.”

 “I-I uh, um…” Marinette was looking anywhere but them now.

 “Okay, I’ll tell you where I go.” Adrien said, beckoning them closer with his finger as his voice dropped to a whisper. Nino could feel Alya’s knee eagerly bumping his under the table. “I’m always gone because …” Adrien burped and laughed heartily. “Cheese.”

 “Cheese?”

 Adrien gave a single nod before passing out and falling onto Marinette’s lap unceremoniously. Marinette patted his cheek to wake him and called out to him gently, but to no avail. Adrien was completely out of commission.

 “Yep.” Alya commented at the scene as she took a sip from her glass. “That looks about right.”

 Nino sighed in resignation, dropping a kiss on the top of Alya’s head before he stood up and walked to Adrien’s side. “I’ll carry him to our room.”

  “How can they still not realize after this?” Alya growled, glaring at the roll of photographs she was clutching in her hands. “This is Ladybug and Chat Noir I’m looking at, isn’t it?”

 They had found an arcade tucked away in Reims, and despite initial protests from Alya (because she was well aware of how her friends get around video games) they had gone in for an hour to blow their money on claw machines and shooting games. This meant that none of them were in the position to deny Alya’s request to take pictures at one of those retro photobooths where they provided costumes and props for use.

 Upon spotting (hah) the admittedly poorly made Ladybug and Chat Noir costumes and discovering that their popularity outside of Paris, Alya gave a victorious cry and shoved the clothing to Marinette and Adrien respectively.

 There were lips pursed and gazes averted from Adrien and Marinette as they put on their costumes, but no shred of recognition upon seeing each other in a cheap imitation of their supersuits.  Alya didn’t think they could get any more blind as she watched their interaction in that small space.

 Now all she was left with a photograph to serve as proof that her friends were total airheads and she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to crumple it and throw it at their heads or rip it to shreds. Although, the image of Nino as a pirate and herself as a Mad Hatter made her reconsider.

 “Have you considered letting this run its course? Letting them figure it out on their own?” Nino asked, plucking the photo from her hands and tucking it in his pocket, effectively saving it from its demise.

 Alya made a face at him like he just suggested licking the gum stuck on the bottom of his boot. “Let them figure it out themselves, Alya. Have faith in your friends, Alya. God, you sound just like Tikki.”

 “All I’m saying is, maybe the reason why they haven’t figured it out by now is they don’t want to.” Nino offered, looking at Marinette and Adrien who were too preoccupied with a shooting game to pay attention to them. “Besides, what’s so wrong with them not knowing?”

 “That’s is so not the spirit, Nino.” Alya stomped feet, the fire in her eyes downright terrifying. “They have to know. I would sooner lock them up in a room and send an akuma right there than let this trip end without them discovering the truth.”

 “You know I’m usually with you,” Nino started, because there was no doubt in his mind that Alya wasn’t making empty threats with what she just said. “But I don’t really think that’s a good idea. Promise me you won’t do that.”

 Alya considered it for a long moment before giving in. “Fine. We’ll need a new plan, then. Think. What would make them believe that it’s actually Ladybug and Chat Noir in front of them?”

 “I don’t know. What made you believe they were Ladybug and Chat Noir?” Nino asked her.

 She was about to answer when all of the metaphorical light bulbs hovering above her head lit up - a plan was beginning to form in her mind, one that would present irrefutable proof to Adrien and Marinette of each other’s identities.

 “Nino, you’re a genius.” Alya cheered, launching herself at Nino to plant a quick kiss on his lips. “See, this is why I’m dating you.”

 “That’s sweet, babe, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nino smiled at Alya, wrapping her up in a hug.

 “I’ve got an idea. But first, we gotta go get Tikki and Plagg.”

  When Alya came back to their room that night after ditching Marinette for a whole day, she found best friend rummaging through her bag amidst a mess of blankets and pillows strewn all over this floor.

 “Um…what are you doing?” Alya asked as she closed the door behind her. In all likelihood, she knew Marinette was looking for Tikki, who had spent the better part of the day with her and Nino, scheming and wanting to be away from all the obliviousness.

 Marinette who had been too busy to notice hear her arrival before, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her. “You’re back! Oh, I-I was looking for my towel!”

 Alya eyed the pink towel on the bed embroidered with Marinette’s initials.

 Following the line of her gaze, Marinette’s eyes widened, snatching the towel right off of the bed. “There it is! What would I do without you?”

 “Yeah, I don’t know either.” Alya mumbled to herself. “Hey, listen. Since this is our last night here before we go back to Paris tomorrow, Nino and I thought maybe we’d spend the night together –“ Upon seeing, the wide cheshire grin on Marinette’s face, Alya quickly added, “Nothing like that, Marinette, jeez. We’re just gonna make out until we’re tired and cuddle ourselves to sleep.”

 “Sure you are.” Marinette winked at her, tucking the towel under her arm as she put all the pillows and blankets back on the bed. “But fine, I guess if you really want to be with Nino, I’m okay with –“ Marinette froze.

 Here it comes.

 “Wait a minute.” Marinette slowly turned to Alya. “If you’re gonna be with Nino that means you’re leaving me here with…” Marinette threw a pillow at Alya.

 “Ow! Marinette! What? It’s not like you’re gonna be sharing a bed. Why are you so scared of catching Adrien cooties?”

 “Oh, I’m the opposite of catching Adrien cooties, you know that!” Marinette bellowed, crawling into the and burying her face a pillow to scream. After a few seconds, she looked up at Alya pleadingly. “Alya, I can’t be alone in a room with him all night. There’s only so much I can take before I burst into flames.”

 “You’re a big girl, Marinette. I’m sure you can do it.”

 “If you leave me here with Adrien, I’m gonna die.”

 “Then I’ll take care of your funeral arrangements.” Alya smiled at her just as the sound of knocking came from the door. “Whoops, looks like it’s too late to say no.”

 “Hey, guys!” Adrien greeted them as he entered the room, already in his pajamas. “Nino kicked me out of our room. Said you were gonna be sleeping there, I think. I ran out of the room screaming before he could start getting into the specific details.”

 “Yep, I am.” Alya threw the pillow back at Marinette who was busy mouthing colorful curse words at her. “Guess I should be going now.”

 “Good night, Alya!” Adrien waved at her, flopping on his bed for the night while Marinette bid her goodbye through intelligible grunts.

 When she was at the door, Alya turned back, wiping the conniving smirk off her face before she called out to them, “Oh, right. Almost forgot. Nino and I found your toys.”

 “What toys?” Marinette asked, looking up from her pillow.

 Alya had to suppress the laughter forming at the back of her throat as she retrieved something from inside her jacket. “Here,” she said holding out her hand, where Tikki and Plagg laid still as statues. “We found them at the arcade earlier. They’re yours, right? I saw you guys playing with them before.”

 If Alya could have one wish, she would have used it to record that moment so she could look back on it and replay it for as long as she lived. She wasn’t sure the best part was - the quick dive Marinette made for Tikki or Adrien’s slack-jacked expression, like a fish out of water, as he stared at Plagg.

 She thought she could have made a map of every emotion that crossed Adrien and Marinette’s faces. The relief at finding their kwamis who had been missing for hours, the confusion as they found another unfamiliar yet similar creature next to it, and the horrified realization as they recognized what it meant.

 “Really cute.” Alya commented, deciding to push it a little further. “Are they a set?”

 Adrien gulped as he reached for Plagg, casting glances at Marinette who was now openly gaping at him. “Y-yeah. They are.”

 “Well, there you go. Don’t lose them again.” Alya smiled sweetly at them, turning on her heels. “Have a good night, guys!”

 Alya was practically skipping as she made her way out of the room, barely keeping in her laughter as the door closed behind her.

 3…2���1…

 “Holy shit!”

 The simultaneous exclamation came from the other side of the door, followed by a succession of high pitched screams and screeching voices from Adrien and Marinette. It sounded like music to Alya’s ears.

 With an accomplished smile on her face, Alya leaned against the door and sighed. Yep, she was going to be having a good night’s sleep.

  “I really think we should leave them alone for now.”

 “Hush, Nino. You might wake them up.” Alya whisper-yelled as she tiptoed by the entrance to the room, careful not to make too much noise.

 Upon opening the door, she was met with the sight of their friends sleeping together on the same bed in a tangled heap. Adrien had his arms around Marinette’s waist, his face buried on her stomach while Marinette’s hand ran on Adrien’s hair as she softly mumbled something that sounded awfully like chaton.

 On the bedside table were two kwamis, also curled up in one another, finally getting the peaceful slumber they deserved after so many years.

 “Oh, thank god it worked.” Nino exhaled, next to her. “Happy now?”

 “Yeah, let me just…” Alya said, taking out her phone to snap a few shots of their sleeping friends. This was going to good material for future use, maybe for blackmail or maybe for embarrassing wedding speeches. Alya beamed at Nino, standing on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. “Happy now.”

[dear-chaton]

An Afternoon in the Acacia Garden

For @miraculousstorytelling​ and the @miraculousexchange spring exchange

This was super fun to write, I really hope you enjoy this because I totally squealed when I read this prompt seeing that I work in a flower shop and I thought of all the flower puns that I could possibly use, which unfortunately never made it into the final draft lol

Fun fact! Acacia means secret love and you know I had to with Ladrien ;)

Ao3

                 Or the one where Ladybug takes her favorite boy out

On the list of things he needed to do that day, getting whisked away by his lady in red was a nice change in his hectic schedule. Adrien had just gotten home from a particularly tiring morning photo shoot, no matter if Nino had decided to come that day and see what was all the fuss about modeling. Or that he was suddenly a better model than his best bud, he still felt dead on his feet as he shuffled to his room without a word to Nathalie.

All he wanted to do was curl up with a mountain of blankets, his favorite pastry within reach and just die in peace. It would seem however that the universe had other plans. 

A soft knock sounded on his windows, causing him to shift his head to see who it was.

With another knock and a quick flash of red, Adrien jumped from his bed and watched as Ladybug swung into his room.

❝Adrien?❞ She called out, securing her yo-yo on her hip. He groaned in response and flopped back onto his bed. As much as he wanted to be alone, he still felt giddy knowing that she took time out of her busy day to come and visit him.

And especially after the whole accidental reveal last week, knowing it was Marinette under that mask, and that she /didn't/ hate him was very relieving. Hell, just knowing that it was her did not help that he had been crushing on the same girl twice, his stunning partner in crime and the crazy talented designer was one in the same.

Adrien felt his ears burn. Sounds of her footsteps padded closer to him, as he rolled his shoulders and listened for the telltale sound of joints popping before sitting up to face her.

❝Rough day kitty?❞ Her gloved hand ran through his already golden locks, coaxing a small sigh out of him. She gazed down at him as his heart skipped a beat. It was a miracle she couldn't hear it right now because it was the loudest thing he'd ever heard. Still, her stare was almost too intense to bare, glancing away at the last second, blushing.

A bright flash of pink and suddenly Marinette was sitting on his bed with him, humming with content. She continued to mess with his hair, simply feeling energized just by being in her presence. If only she knew how he really felt.

❝Do you want to talk about it?❞ He had never shaken his head so fast, Adrien almost fell off his bed while Marinette laughed at him.

❝Well then, I'll tell you about my day.❞ And that launched her into this whole spiel about how she was looking for a specific fabric for a commission and everywhere she looked, they were sold out.

❝I'm this close to walking in as Ladybug just to get the damn thing.❞ Adrien chuckled, leaning his head onto her shoulder.

❝As much as it is frowned upon to use your powers for personal reasons, you know you can always ask me if you need a fabric Mari.❞

❝Adrien, as much as I appreciate your offer, I really would want to do this myself.❞ He understood her reasoning, but he still wanted to help her, give her everything she deserved and more. He stifled a groan, why couldn't he just tell her the truth that he possibly was just a bit in love with her.

❝What's on your mind kitten?❞ Adrien blinks and sees Marinette staring at him concerned. Instead of answering her, he diverts the conversation.

❝Don't you think it would be cool if there was a greenhouse around here?❞

❝Oh I found one when we were fighting Arachne last week.❞ He shudders at the moment of the spider themed Akuma of the week. It had been a seamstress who designs' had been stolen and passed on as their own. The woman had been hellbent on trapped everyone she saw in her beautiful tapestries.

It was not fun fighting her, the number of times he was thrown into the Seine during the course of the fight, Adrien was just surprised he hadn't come down with something. Especially since he had to hold the damn Akuma underwater until Ladybug got the cursed item, a spider belt buckle, off her to purify it.

At the time, when she had called the reversal phrase and everything had gone back to normal, she had raised her hands in surrender while he glared at her. It was her idea, but both of them knew that getting dragged into the water wasn't part of the plan.

But then again he was the expandable one, Adrien just hated to think what would happen if he didn't do the things he did to protect Marinette.

❝Want to come see it? It's really pretty. Think of it as an extra apology for last week Chaton.❞

❝Deal, just let me change and I'll transform.❞

❝No! I mean you look just fine like that, not that you don't always look fine as fuck... I mean when aren't you ever fine? It's pretty hard to spot you looking like a mess, I mean.❞ Marinette rambled on, eventually her voice softening into a whisper and surrendering finally into the nook of his neck.

He chuckled, patting her head and mentally noting how cute she was and took her word for it.

Without much hesitation, and a promise to Plagg to properly feed him later on, he transformed into Chat Noir while Marinette became Ladybug. All too soon the familiar feeling of power coursed through his veins, as they raced over the rooftops to the garden. He followed Ladybug's lead, as she led them to a closed off garden on the outskirts of the city.

❝Wow,❞ he breathed when they touched down, Ladybug laughing softly as she led him inside and a burst of wonderful smells attack his senses. Being Chat Noir enhanced everything, it was too overwhelming so he released his transformation at once.

Either Ladybug noticed or she didn't, but she never said a word as she disappeared withing the rows of flowers and trees.

❝Adrien there's a gardenia tree here!❞ He heard her call and her squeal of delight. He knew of the sweet smelling flower, but he knew of something, rather someone who smelled far sweeter than anything he had come across so far.

He sighed to himself, following her trail of squeals and laughter, eventually catching up to her and coming to a halt at the sight of a dinner table with a few candles whose light was just enough to see her figure in the darkness.

He almost wished he was still transformed but also was confused.

❝Uh,❞

❝Oh I didn't see you there, you probably already had lunch or dinner or something but I wanted to do something special since I know you've been tired and working hard lately and yeah.❞ She smiled at him, and wow was it hot in the greenhouse was it just him. She looked at him for a response and he walked towards her, taking her hands and kissing her forehead.

It had been the first time since the reveal that he had done such a thing, sure he was still scared and he still wanted to tell her how he felt, but Adrien knew this was enough for now.

❝Shall we take a seat My Lady?❞ She giggled, pushing him away with a gentle shove as he pulled out a chair for her to sit.

It was far from the first date he had always imagined with her if this could even be considered a first date, but since it was with the girl of his dreams, it was just alright with him.

[baneismydragon]

Spring Exchange fics!!!! One of them is mine... go find it LOL Seriously though there are some good fics in here I highly reccomend checking it out

[miraculousstorytelling]

A Ladybug Original

Written for @breeeliss​ as part of the @miraculousexchange​ Spring Exchange! Now that the authors have been revealed, I’ll go ahead and post this to my tumblr.

AO3 Link

“You want me to what?”

“You heard me,” Chloe snapped, tapping her foot impatiently as she stared Marinette down. “It’s in two months. That’s plenty of time.”

Marinette frowned, almost glaring back. “You want me to make a dress for you?”

“Yes,” Chloe answered as though the request was perfectly normal.

“Is this a joke?”

Chloe huffed and looked away. “No. Daddykins already offered to pay you.”

“Wait.” Marinette held up a hand. “Why would you ask me to design your dress?”

Chloe finally looked back at Marinette and sighed impatiently. “Well, you won that contest with Mr. Agreste, didn’t you? That must mean you’re good.”

“But, you could hire a professional. I don’t get it.” Marinette folded her arms over her chest. “Why come to me?”

“You’re my classmate. It’s convenient.”

“I don’t buy it,” Marinette answered, shaking her head.

“Plus, you’re an amateur, so Daddykins won’t have to pay you as much,” Chloe replied with a too-casual wave of her hand.

“You expect me to believe you care about saving money?” Marinette scoffed. “I heard you refused a picture frame because it was the wrong kind of gold.”

“I…” Chloe rolled her eyes and spat out the words like they were poison. “Fine. I happen to like some of your designs. Are you happy now?”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “You do?” It was certainly news to her, given how often Chloe teased her about her taste in clothes. “Since when?”

“Look, are you going to design something or not?”

Marinette paused to consider her answer. Chloe was watching her, all tension and discomfort as she waited for Marinette to decide. Part of her was tempted to smile, say no, and walk away, leaving Chloe hurt and humiliated for a change. After years of being the one Chloe openly mocked at every opportunity, this could very well be her chance for revenge.

On the other hand, she had a chance to change everything by saying yes. After all, being on good terms, or at least not enemies, with Chloe would make her life much more pleasant. Marinette had been her target for years, so being on Chloe’s good side would mean eliminating one of the biggest enemies in her life, Hawkmoth notwithstanding. Besides, at the very least, knowing Chloe was wearing her design to a party honoring Ladybug and Chat Noir might even be a better kind of payback.

Marinette finally nodded. “Yes.”

“You will?” Chloe straightened, eyes wide in surprise. Clearly, she’d expected Marinette to refuse.

“But,” Marinette continued with the barest hint of a smirk, “If I do, you have to pay for the cost of materials and if anyone asks, you have to tell them the truth about who designed it.” Because if Chloe made the experience terrible, Marinette wouldn’t hesitate to use her position as Ladybug to ask her in front of everyone, press included.

“Ugh. Fine,” Chloe grumbled half-heartedly.

“And you’ll need to come to my house so I can measure you.” Marinette looked her over for a moment, mentally noting her proportions. “Do you have any ideas about how you want it to look?”

Chloe finally smiled. “Just a few.”

As it turned out, Chloe was just as demanding as Marinette might have expected. She’d obviously thought through every inch of her dream dress, and she quickly rattled off a list of requirements long enough to make Marinette’s head spin.

Good thing Marinette loved a challenge.

On her way home, Marinette wandered into one of her favorite fabric shops, hoping for inspiration. In the middle of cooing over the new arrivals, she caught sight of a set of buttons, styled perfectly to match Ladybug’s earrings. As soon as she picked them up, her design clicked into place. She bought the buttons and a few yards of fabric and ran straight home.

“Hey, Mom! Gotta go work on a design for Chloe! Bye!”

Her mother watched as Marinette dashed past her. “What? Marinette!”

Marinette skidded to a stop and turned to face her, eyes bright with excitement. “Chloe asked me to design a dress for the party the mayor is hosting for Ladybug and Chat Noir, and I have the perfect idea!”

“Wait, you said yes to this?” Sabine frowned. “This is the girl that made your life miserable for years.”

“I know, but…” Marinette shrugged, some of her energy fading at the look in her mother’s eyes. “I thought maybe she’d be nicer to me and Alya if I did. Besides, you know Chloe. If she likes it, she’ll show it off to everyone. And if I’m going to be a designer, I might have to work with clients I don’t like in the future, too.”

“Okay, I see your point.” Sabine gently patted her shoulder. “I’m proud of you for doing it, but…” She chuckled and resumed stocking pastries in the bakery’s displays. “I don’t like it, and I don’t think Alya will either.”

“You’re doing what?!” Alya shouted over the phone. “Marinette, this is a terrible idea!”

Marinette sighed. “I know, I know…” She looked over one of several sketches she’d made while brainstorming the perfect design. “But, maybe this will change things, you know? Wouldn’t it be nice to not have Chloe making fun of us all the time?”

“Okay, yeah, but at what cost? You’re going to be working for Chloe!”

“I’m going to be working with Chloe,” Marinette corrected. “Not for.”

“She’s paying you to design a dress.” Alya shot back. “You’re working for her.”

Marinette groaned. “Look, I know how it sounds, but-”

Alya cut her off, “And she’s a monster.”

“Alya, I-”

Alya’s voice raised as she continued, “And this could just be some kind of trick! If she hurts you, I swear-”

Marinette grimaced. “Look, it might be. I just think it’s worth the risk.”

“Well…” Alya deflated somewhat. “You know I’m gonna support you, no matter what.”

“I know.” Marinette smiled, relieved that Alya was on her side, despite her best friend’s justifiable reservations. “Thank you.”

“And I will happily fight her for you.”

Marinette grinned. “Of course. And I’d do the same for you.”

“I know. Because you’re a good person. Unlike,” Alya added in an exaggerated, haughty tone, “One Miss Chloe Bourgeois.”

Marinette snickered. “Alya, you’re the best friend I could ever ask for.”

Alya scoffed. “Of course I am.” She lowered her voice as she continued, “And, you know, if you stitch ‘Chloe is the absolute worst’ or ‘Alya and Marinette are the best’ somewhere in the dress, I won’t say a word.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Marinette grinned.

“Call me if you need me.” Alya sighed. “Or just to save me from math.”

Marinette nodded. “Anytime.” She hung up the phone and flipped to a fresh page in her sketchbook, still brainstorming.

“I think it’s great that you’re designing Chloe’s dress,” Tikki said from beside her. “I’m proud of you, Marinette.”

Marinette glanced over at her. “Thanks, Tikki.” She flipped to one of her previous designs and showed it to Tikki. “What do you think about this one? I like the shape, but I think maybe it needs a little something more if Chloe’s going to like it.”

Tikki examined it. “Well, I think it looks lovely.”

Marinette chuckled. “You think all of my designs are lovely.”

“Because they are!” Tikki grinned. “You’re very talented!”

“You’re the best.” Marinette sent her a small smile. “What would I do without you?”

The next day, Marinette met Chloe outside of school. “I have some ideas if you want to take a look.”

Chloe raised a brow. “Already?”

“I was inspired.” Marinette shrugged and pulled out her sketchbook. “I was thinking something ladybug-themed, since I know how much you love Ladybug.”

“Well, obviously,” Chloe answered, rolling her eyes.

“So, this was my first idea.” Marinette showed one sketch to Chloe. “And I was thinking a keyhole in the back with this adorable button I found that looks exactly like Ladybug’s earrings.”

Chloe scrutinized the page for a moment. Marinette suspected she was looking for some kind of flaw to critique. “I don’t like the neckline. It’s all wrong.”

“Okay, well, what about this one instead?” Marinette flipped the page. “I thought a sweetheart neckline would be more your style, but-”

“And I hate the sleeves,” Chloe added, folding her arms over her chest.

Marinette grimaced. “Okay, well, I can change that. What about the design as a whole?”

“I hate it.”

Marinette sent her a sharp look. “Fine. I had some other ideas. What about this one?”

“Boring.”

“You didn’t even look at it!”

Chloe scoffed. “Yes, I did.” She wrinkled her nose. “Who uses tulle these days?”

“Fine! I’ll get rid of the tulle! You said you wanted a wide skirt, so-”

“Is that all you have?”

Marinette grumbled and turned the page to show the last design. “One more.”

Chloe eyed it for a moment. “It’s not...awful.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Try taking off those ugly sleeves.” She considered a moment. “And that keyhole back would be okay with this, I guess.”

Marinette pulled out her pencil and wrote down Chloe’s suggestions. “I can work with that. What about the colors?”

“I can live with it,” Chloe conceded.

“And the shape?” Marinette asked, hoping for a reaction stronger than reluctantly neutral.

“It’s okay,” Chloe answered with a wave of her hand.

“I’ll...come up with some more sketches, then. Are you free after school? We can decide on something, and I can measure you.”

Chloe tapped the screen of her phone a few times, reluctantly answering, “I guess could move some things around and make it work.”

“Don’t strain yourself or anything,” Marinette muttered under her breath.

“What?” Chloe asked, eyes narrowed.

“See you after school.” Marinette closed her sketchbook with a sharp snap and ran off to meet Alya.

“You okay?” Alya asked, immediately sending Chloe a glare. “You look upset. What did she do?”

“Nothing. I just forgot how picky she was,” Marinette answered wearily, resting her forehead on Alya’s shoulder.

“Picky?” Alya shouted. “You’re bending over backwards for that stuck-up brat, and she’s being picky?”

Marinette sighed. “Let’s just go to class.”

After spending her lunch break clearing her room of Adrien’s pictures then sketching design after design, Marinette finally managed to decide on the perfect one, or at least as close to Chloe’s definition of perfect as Marinette could get. Because, if Marinette was going to design a dress for Chloe Bourgeois, she was going to make sure Chloe fell in love with it.

Despite her confidence, Marinette could feel her nerves growing with each step she took as she led Chloe to her home after school.

“And can you believe we have so much reading tonight?” Chloe ranted as she tapped a message into her phone while she walked. “I had plans, and now Sabrina is sick, so she can’t do it for me.”

Marinette tuned her out, mentally refining the dress in her mind. Naturally, she’d need to find a prominent place to put her name somewhere in the stitching just in case Chloe tried to credit it to someone else. Maybe around the keyhole in the back.

“And that history test tomorrow? Please…” Chloe followed her through the side entrance to Marinette’s home and up the stairs. “What does it matter if I know the name of some dumb king.”

Marinette unlocked the front door, deliberately ignoring Chloe at this point. “Do you want any snacks or anything to drink?”

Chloe arched a brow, almost offended by the offer. “No. I’ll eat after we’re done.”

Marinette sighed and led Chloe up to her room, ignoring how Chloe scrutinized their main living area. “Well, I’ll try not to keep you, then.” She shoved open the trapdoor and set down her purse. “Let me show you the design first, and you can tell me what’s wrong with it while I measure you.”

Chloe sighed and tucked her phone in her purse. “Fine.”

Still hopeful that maybe she’d manage to impress her for a change, Marinette flipped open her sketchbook and presented it to Chloe.

Chloe stared, lips parted in surprise. She grabbed the sketchbook and stared, eyes bright as she took in every detail and skimmed the notes Marinette made all over the page.

Marinette watched carefully, heart in her throat. “What do you think?”

Chloe looked up at her and cleared her throat. “It’ll work, I guess.”

Marinette deflated. “Really?”

“I mean, we don’t have all afternoon, so-”

“No, you were speechless for a minute.” Marinette frowned. “And I’m not going to settle for ‘it’s okay’ or ‘it’ll work’. Either you love it or you don’t.”

Chloe pursed her lips and examined it again. “I…” She handed the sketchbook back to Marinette and looked away. “I can’t see a way to make it better.”

“Say you love it.” Marinette didn’t budge, willing to call Chloe’s bluff. “Or I’m starting over.”

“No!” Chloe turned to face her. “Don’t. I like it.” She grimaced, looking as though the confession pained her. “Actually, I love it. It’s perfect.”

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” Marinette took the book from Chloe, smirking as she set it aside.

Chloe scowled. “Can I go now?”

“No, I need to measure you. Take off your cardigan.”

Chloe grimaced and slid off her yellow cardigan, gently setting it on Marinette’s chaise beside her purse. “I could have sent you my measurements, you know.”

“Yes, but I like measuring myself.” Marinette pulled out her measuring tape. “Now, keep still.”

Chloe nodded and held her arms still beside her body, leaving enough room for Marinette to reach through. “You think you can measure better than a professional?”

“I didn’t say that.” Marinette started off with a simple shoulder measurement, quickly jotting it down on the back of her design for Chloe. “I just feel like it’s easier to visualize it when I’m the one who measured it.”

“Whatever.”

Marinette measured the back of Chloe’s neck and a few different sleeve lengths, just in case she had to make any changes. “Okay, I’m measuring your bust now.”

“Fine,” Chloe answered, sounding bored.

“Sorry, am I not entertaining enough?” Marinette grumbled as she reached around to carefully position the measuring tape around Chloe’s chest.

“Sabrina said you had a bunch of pictures of Adrien, but there’s just some designs and pictures of you and Alya.”

Marinette stiffened, but she finished the measurement anyway and jotted it down. “Waist next.”

“Did you take the posters down?” Chloe asked, peeking behind her.

“Don’t move.” Marinette repositioned Chloe’s shoulders. “And yes.” She wrapped the tape around Chloe’s waist, adjusting it until she reached the narrowest point before glancing at the number and writing it down.

“Why?”

“Because you were coming over. Hips next.” She lowered the measuring tape to Chloe’s hips, adjusting it to the widest point and noting the results.

“I’m Adrien’s friend. You think I don’t have pictures of him all over my room, too?”

Marinette rolled her eyes and moved in front of Chloe. “It’s different. I didn’t want you-”

Both girls froze when a loud crash sounded from outside. Marinette ran to the window, and she groaned.

“It looks like an akuma.” She turned to look at Chloe. “Okay, you should stay with my parents. I need to go...look for Alya.”

“What?” Chloe scowled. “But, we’re not done yet!”

“Fine, stay here, then, but I have to go!” Marinette snatched up her purse, quickly making up the first lie she could. “We were meeting up, and I think she could be in danger if she’s outside right now.”

“You can’t just-”

Marinette slammed the trapdoor shut behind her as she raced downstairs. Thankfully, the stairwell was clear, which meant she could transform quickly and get to the akuma before it could do more damage. “Okay, Tikki, spots-”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

“On?”

Chloe, who was much quicker and quieter than Marinette had obviously given her credit for, ran out into the open area just as Marinette began to transform. Everything slowed down as Marinette met Chloe’s wide blue eyes and a bright pink flash lit up their surroundings.

Ladybug watched as Chloe stared, opened her mouth to speak, closed it, then finally screamed.

“Marine-”

Ladybug quickly covered her mouth. “Chloe, you can’t shout my name, okay?”

Chloe nodded, still utterly shocked.

“So, if I take my hand away, you’re going to be quiet?”

She nodded again.

Ladybug finally stepped away. “I have to go take care of this akuma, but when I get back we can talk.” She grimaced. “You should probably wait in my room. You cannot tell my parents about this.”

“But, you’re-”

Ladybug pinned her in place with a single look. “Stay here.”

Chloe nodded slowly and watched as Ladybug ran out to take down what had to be the most inconveniently-timed akuma she had ever faced.

Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated the akuma in record time, and Ladybug raced back to her room. Chloe waited for her on her chaise, and she perked up when Ladybug dropped down from her skylight.

“Marinette!”

Marinette grimaced and released her transformation before meeting Chloe on the main level of her room. “Okay, first things first, I-”

Chloe quickly interrupted her, “Look, I’ve thought about this, and now that I know you’re Ladybug, obviously things have to change.” Chloe grinned. “Since Ladybug and I are best friends, that means we are, too. And it’s a little weird, but-”

“Stop.” Marinette held up a hand and frowned. “We’re not best friends, Chloe.”

Chloe frowned, hurt filling her eyes. “But-”

“You’ve been awful to me for years now.” Marinette folded her arms over her chest and avoided Chloe’s stare. “I know you like Ladybug, but if that’s the only reason you want to be friends, this isn’t going to work."

Chloe took a step back, her brows knitted in confusion. “But, you agreed to design this dress.”

“Yes. I did that so maybe you’d stop treating me and Alya so horribly.” Marinette scooped up her tape measure. “You insult us and make fun of us all the time, and you got Alya in a lot of trouble over a dumb picture.”

“It was an invasion of my privacy!” Chloe protested.

Marinette grabbed Chloe’s shoulders and held her still. “You used your father’s position to punish her way more than she should have been.” She quickly measured from the juncture of Chloe’s shoulder to her waist, then from her shoulder to her bust line and noted both measurements. “You’re a bully.”

“I was just-”

“And I’m happy to take pictures with you as Ladybug and save you, because you’re a human being who should be able to trust in a hero. Plus, I sort of hope you’ll grow up and stop treating people like they’re less important than you…” Marinette measured down to just below Chloe’s knees. “But, all of that doesn’t mean we’re suddenly best friends because you know my identity.”

Chloe watched her, eyes narrowed. “Ladybug is my hero.”

“Yeah,” Marinette wrote down the last of Chloe’s measurements. “And you’ve spent the past several years tearing down your hero’s self-esteem and making her think she isn’t even good enough to be Ladybug.”

“What?”

“So, maybe you should think about that while you catch up on reading for French.” Marinette glanced over at Chloe, her heart still racing from the confrontation. “If you really care for Ladybug, you’ll keep my identity secret. From everyone.”

Chloe folded her arms over her chest. “Of course I will. Look, I love Ladybug. She’s incredible and selfless, and I’m not stupid. I know you didn’t always want to take those pictures, but I thought we were friends.”

Marinette inhaled sharply and set the tape measure aside. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I wanted to be like you.”

Marinette grimaced. “If you’re trying to make me feel guilty, you can stop. I’m not going to.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. “I’m not saying we’re not friends because I’m angry. I’m hurt, and I don’t trust you not to hurt me again.”

“But, I love Ladybug,” Chloe almost shouted back. “Why would I hurt you?”

“I don’t know!” Marinette snapped. “Why did you hurt Marinette?”

“Because…” Chloe almost shrank in on herself. “I don’t know.”

Marinette watched her quietly, considering her options and hoping she wasn’t making a mistake. Chloe had been her tormenter for so long, Marinette had really only ever hoped for a ceasefire. Friendship seems like an impossible goal for them, and Marinette had always rejected the idea every time her mind conjured up the image. “It doesn’t really matter why.” She shook her head, her voice soft. “I’m not trying to punish you. I just…” Marinette finally sat on her chaise, shoulders sagging as she looked down. “You made my life miserable. I can’t just pretend that didn’t happen.”

Chloe was silent, staring at Tikki who had watched the entire exchange from Marinette’s chair. Finally, she murmured, “Ladybug is my hero. I idolized her. I think…” She bit her lip. “I don’t think I know how to be a nice person.”

Marinette looked over at her. “You know, it’s easy for people to be selfish. Being a nice person takes work.”

“So,” Chloe sat beside her, slowly releasing a breath. “Can you teach me?”

Marinette finally managed a small smile. “Yeah, I guess that would be a little miraculous, wouldn’t it?”

“So, she liked the dress?” Alya asked, excitement brightening her voice over the phone.

“She loved it,” Marinette answered. “Said it was perfect.”

“Look at you, Miss Fancy Designer. You even managed to impress the biggest snob to walk the face of the Earth.” She chuckled. “You have to tell Nino tomorrow. He didn’t believe me when I told him you were designing her dress.”

“Alya, you told him?”

“Oh, he can keep a secret!”

Marinette hummed in consideration. “I mean, she promised she’d tell anyone who asked, so I guess it’s not really a secret.”

“Good, cause I’m thinking of making T-shirts.”

Marinette grinned. “Oh, great. Make them Ladybug themed to go with the dress.”

“Oh, of course.” Alya chuckled.

“And… I think maybe she’s open to the idea of trying to be friendlier with everyone.”

“Really?” Alya’s bed creaked as she rolled onto her stomach. “Chloe? Friendly?”

Marinette shrugged. “She said she’s willing to try, so… Maybe we can help her out.”

“Help Chloe out?” Alya lowered her voice as she continued, “She didn’t brainwash you, did she?”

“No,” Marinette laughed. “Look, think about how much better school would be if Chloe was nice.”

“Better school would mean no homework or tests,” Alya corrected. “Chloe being nice would make me think we were in a parallel dimension.”

“You know what I mean.”

Alya sighed dramatically. “Fine. Okay. I’ll try to help her be a decent person instead of a human cesspool.”

Marinette snorted. “Maybe start by not calling her a human cesspool.”

“Only for you, girl.”

The next day, Chloe went to her seat without a snide comment for Marinette or Alya and instead pulled out her phone until Ms. Bustier walked in the classroom.

Chloe walked over to her and spoke softly enough that most of the class missed what she said, but based on the shocked expression on their teacher’s face, it was obviously unexpected. Everyone quickly fell quiet to try and catch a snippet of the conversation.

Nino, by far the closest, turned to Adrien. “Did she just ask to get a copy of the homework for Sabrina?”

Adrien nodded slowly, and Marinette smiled down at Chloe, proud of her first steps.

Chloe collected the assignment and sent the rest of the class a sharp glare. She returned to her seat with a toss of her ponytail.

Well, Marinette leaned back in her seat and sighed, at least it was one step in the right direction.

As the week passed, Chloe paid more attention to Sabrina, insisting on doing her own homework, or at least collaborating. She complained about it to Marinette through a series of texts populated by too many emojis, but Marinette encouraged her that she was doing a great job so far.

“This is hard,” Chloe sent back, followed by two crying faces.

Marinette chuckled and replied, “If it helps, I’m proud of you!”

Chloe took a moment to respond, but when she did, her text had a smiling face and a ladybug beside it. “It helps.”

The next week, Chloe invited Adrien to join her for an afternoon together, encouraging him to decide what they should do. In the end, they stayed in and finally watched a series he’d always sworn she’d like.

“I am watching anime thanks to you,” Chloe texted Marinette as the theme song played.

“All part of being a nicer person,” Marinette answered, adding in a smiling emoji of her own. “Which anime?”

“I don’t know, something about a sailor? All I know is there’s a talking cat and this girl is crying a lot.”

Marinette laughed. “Yeah, I think you might like Sailor Moon, actually.”

Four hours later, Chloe finally texted her back. “Marinette, can you make me a Sailor Moon costume?” Seconds later, she added. “Adrien wants one, too.”

The third week saw Chloe actually take a flyer from Nino when he handed them out to the class. “Sure, I’ll go. You’re DJing, right?”

Nino stared at her as though she’d suddenly grown another head. “Uhh… Yeah.”

“Well, I’ll be there, then.”

Adrien looked positively thrilled. “Hey, I’m glad you’re joining us, Chlo.”

Chloe glanced over. “Yeah, I hear he’s good at it.”

Nino almost tripped when he heard Chloe speak, but Marinette sent Chloe a smile in response. “That’s really nice of you to say that, Chloe.”

Chloe didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the morning.

The next day, she was asking Nino for music recommendations.

The next week, Chloe was chatting with Mylene, looking over her pins and suggesting a few shops that might carry some she didn’t already have.

Ivan watched them carefully, still entirely unforgiving of Chloe after both his and Mylene’s akumatizations.

Chloe looked over at him and waved. “Your girlfriend’s sweet, you know.”

Luckily, Chloe’s knack for reading people had only blossomed now that she was employing it towards treating people well. If anything could earn his trust, it was flattery towards Mylene. Ivan almost melted as he looked over at Mylene and nodded slowly. “She’s the best.”

Chloe glanced back at Mylene. “You should come shopping with me and Sabrina sometime.”

Sabrina grinned from beside her. “Yeah, Chloe knows all the best places to find everything.”

“I’d like that,” Mylene answered, still a bit cautious of Chloe, but like the rest of the class, she was starting to warm up to her.

By the end of the week, Marinette had made enough progress on Chloe’s dress that she was ready to invite her back for the next step.

“Hey, Chloe,” Marinette stopped by Chloe’s desk on the way out the door. “I have the dress ready for your first fitting when you’re ready to stop by.”

Chloe smiled. “I’m free tomorrow after lunch.”

“That works for me.” Marinette grinned. “I’ll see you then.”

“And, umm…” Chloe hesitantly continued. “As thanks, maybe I could buy you dinner?”

Marinette stopped and looked at her, brows raised. “Really?”

“Well, I thought we could go to L’Abeille. It’s one of Daddykins’ favorites.”

“What?” Marinette’s eyes widened. “But, that’s-”

“Consider it a thank you,” Chloe stood and collected her things. “For a lot of things.”

Marinette considered her answer for a brief moment. After all, things were better with Chloe, but she was still wary. Still, Chloe had tried, really tried, and Marinette was proud of her for doing so. “Okay, I’d love for you to buy me dinner, then.”

Alya passed her at just that moment and shot her a concerned look. Despite the fact that she was opening up to the idea of trusting Chloe after seeing how much she supported Nino and Adrien, Alya was clearly still on the skeptical side.

“Great!” Chloe flashed her a grin. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Marinette nodded and hurried to catch up to Alya.

“Did Chloe just say she’s buying you dinner?” Alya asked.

Marinette nodded. “Yep.”

“Where’s she taking you?”

“L’Abeille.”

“L’Abeille?” Alya stopped and turned to look at her. “Marinette.”

Marinette paused and raised a brow. “Yes?”

“You’re going on a date with Chloe,” Alya deadpanned.

“What?” Marinette chuckled. “No. It’s just a thank-you dinner.”

Alya scoffed. “Girl, L’Abeille is not a thank-you restaurant. It’s a date restaurant.”

“Trust me, I think I’d know if this was a date, Alya.”

Chloe arrived at the Dupain-Cheng bakery twenty minutes after Marinette texted her that they’d finished lunch. Chloe greeted Sabine as she walked in, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Cheng.”

Sabine sent her a small smile. “Hello, Chloe. Marinette’s upstairs if you want to head on up.”

“Thanks.” She waved and hurried up the stairs.

Marinette met her in the main living room. “Hey, right on time. Dad and I just finished playing a game.”

Tom walked past them and patted Marinette on the shoulder. “You’ll have to teach me that move later on.”

Marinette shook her head. “Not a chance. If I do, you’ll beat me for a change.”

Tom sighed and turned to Chloe. “I’ve raised a monster.”

Chloe chuckled despite herself, watching as he left to go down to the bakery.

Marinette laughed and led Chloe upstairs. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just upset I keep winning at the new Ultimate Mecha Strike.”

“Adrien has that game.” Chloe followed her. “He keeps telling me you can teach me how to beat him.”

Marinette smirked. “Maybe. I do know a few tricks.” She moved her dress form to the middle of her room, displaying Chloe’s dress. “So, what do you think?”

Chloe gasped. “It’s gorgeous!”

Marinette beamed. “Well, let’s see how it looks on you, then.”

Chloe scoffed. “I make everything look good. Obviously, it’s only going to look even better on me.”

Marinette rolled her eyes fondly. “Okay. Just be careful. It’s still a work in progress.” She gently removed the dress from the form as she continued, “You’ll need to take off your clothes.”

Chloe nodded, slowly slipping off the shirt and skirt she’d worn over. “I know. I figured.”

Marinette looked away and held out the dress, now turned inside out. “Don’t worry. I won’t look.”

“I don’t mind if you do,” Chloe answered softly.

“Oh. Okay.” Marinette glanced back. “I’ll help you into it, then.”

Despite expecting it, Marinette was still caught offguard by the sight of Chloe in a pair of surprisingly flattering and lacy black underwear. Her bra was red with black spots, trimmed with lace, and cut low enough to show off the curve of her breasts. Chloe didn’t look at Marinette as they worked together to get her into the dress. Marinette could feel her mouth going dry, and her pulse spiked as she became painfully aware of every part of Chloe’s body her fingertips touched along the way.

“So, a Ladybug bra,” Marinette murmured, hoping to ease some of the sudden tension.

Chloe nodded, a light pink coloring her cheeks. “It’s custom-made. My favorite.”

“I’m flattered.”

Chloe glanced over at her. “Really?”

“Well, I mean…” Marinette blushed. “It looks good on you.”

“Of course. I told you I make everything look good.”

Marinette moved behind her to fasten the Ladybug button in the back. “Okay. I just need you to hold still for a few minutes.” She moved around and carefully pinned the dress where she could see she needed to make adjustments. “I think…” She circled Chloe one more time. “I’m done.”

Chloe relaxed. “Great.”

“Now, let me help you get this dress off.” Marinette did her best to stay professional, avoiding any wayward glances. Something about Chloe in spots was clearly dangerous to Marinette’s heart. She eased the dress over Chloe’s hips and froze when she noticed a detail that had escaped her earlier. A single red ladybug had been embroidered on the stretch of fabric just over Chloe’s left hip. Marinette’s breath caught in her throat, and she didn’t release it until the dress was off Chloe. “Okay, you can get dressed again.”

Marinette busied herself with positioning the dress properly on the dress form and noting where she needed to resew as she waited for the rustle of fabric to stop behind her.

“That was faster than I expected,” Chloe commented. “We have a little time before dinner. Did you want to do something together?”

Marinette shrugged, still recovering from her own reaction to Chloe. “I was just going to work on some adjustments.”

“Okay. I could stay with you while you work,” Chloe suggested.

“That’s probably going to be pretty boring for you.”

“I don’t mind.”

Marinette frowned, her hopes of talking to Tikki dashed now that it was clear Chloe wasn’t leaving. “Well, you and Tikki could spend some time together. She usually doesn’t have much to do while I’m sewing anyway.”

“Oh, I’d love that!” Chloe brightened.

Tikki flew over from her spot on Marinette’s desk. “Hi, Chloe!”

While they chatted behind her, Marinette carried the dress to her sewing machine, already lost in thought. She wished she could call Alya or talk to Tikki herself. Whenever she experienced a dilemma like this, talking it out was always much easier.

She worked as she reflected on everything that had just happened. Her finger still tingled where they’d touched Chloe’s bare skin, which was objectively unusual. It certainly wasn’t the first time she’d seen a girl in her underwear before. Except, Marinette had never felt more than admiration for the design itself in those moments when she’d seen pictures or watched videos. Even when her friends had modeled their new purchases for each other, she’d never reacted like this. Why would Chloe of all people cause such a strong and baffling sensation just because she was wearing ladybugs all over her? Marinette frowned and paused to readjust her angle.

Something was strange. Ever since the night Chloe had gone out to the smallest, most uncomfortably packed club in all of Paris to support Nino, Marinette had started to believe in her. She’d begun looking forward to Chloe’s strange and sometimes whiny texts. Even the emojis were growing on her. Something had changed between them; something more than Chloe knowing and successfully keeping her secret.

Marinette had an inkling of what it meant. She’d seen enough romantic movies to see the signs, but the idea was just too much for her to accept. She couldn’t even put it into words. She couldn’t feel that way about Chloe. Could she?

Her skin hummed with excess energy, begging her to pace or rant or fight or anything besides just sit there and sew. This was just too much. How was she supposed to accept that her feelings towards Chloe had changed so drastically over just one month. Sure, she was trying to be kind, and sure she was a much more enjoyable person to talk to now, but that didn’t change their history. It couldn’t.

“Marinette?” Tikki’s soft voice broke her concentration and pulled her back to the present.

Marinette paused her sewing. “Yes?”

“There’s an akuma.”

Marinette finished the sleeve she’d been adjusting. “Okay.” She carefully put the dress back on the form and glanced over at Chloe. “I’ll be back soon.”

Chloe nodded. “Be careful.”

“I will.” Marinette smiled and transformed before leaping out her window to go save Paris.

Luckily, Ladybug and Chat Noir managed to defeat the villain well before Marinette’s planned dinner with Chloe. Ladybug even had time to chat with her partner before hurrying back to her room and dropping onto her bed.

“Sorry to run out on you, Chloe.” She released her transformation and climbed down from her bed. “You won’t believe this akuma.”

Chloe held up her phone, streaming a video from the Ladyblog. “Static electricity? Really?”

Marinette laughed. “I said the same thing, trust me.” She raised a brow at the garment bag now draped on the chaise. “What’s that?”

“Well, I’m not wearing this to L’Abeille.” Chloe gestured down to her casual outfit. “I had my driver bring it over. I figured I could get ready here.”

“Oh, sure.” Marinette shrugged, shoving the image of Chloe’s ladybug bra out of her mind. “That sounds good. It’s about time for me to be getting ready anyway.”

Chloe nodded. “I’ll get changed, then.”

Marinette nodded and rushed to her closet. She made a show of looking for a dress, hoping to avoid a repeat performance of the odd feelings that seemed to accompany seeing more of Chloe’s skin than she was accustomed to in class. Marinette quickly pulled out a nice pink dress she’d made herself a few months ago, one of the only things she owned that she could comfortably wear to L’Abeille. She quickly tugged off her clothes to change, mentally busying herself with deciding on accessories and makeup while she waited for Chloe to finish dressing.

“Did you make that?” Chloe asked from behind her.

Marinette turned to look at her, smoothing her palms over her dress as she made sure everything was in place. “Yeah, I-” She paused, quickly examining the shimmering red dress that Chloe had chosen for their dinner together. “Wow, that looks great.” She raised a brow. “Why didn’t you just wear that to the party?”

“I’ve worn this before.” Chloe scoffed. “I can’t just wear any old dress to a party for Ladybug.”

Marinette laughed. “Right, of course. How awful.”

“Hey, I’m doing this out of respect for you, you know,” Chloe sat on the chaise and dug out a small bag of makeup. “I’d appreciate a little less mockery.”

Marinette shook her head and dug out her own makeup stash. “Hope you’re okay sharing a mirror.”

“I brought my own.” Sure enough, Chloe pulled out mirror with battery-operated lights around the edge and set it up on Marinette’s desk.

Marinette settled in front of her mirror. “I’m glad you thought ahead, then.”

“One of my many talents.”

Marinette chuckled and experimented with a few hair styles. “What do you think? Up or down?”

“You should try curling it,” Chloe suggested, plugging in a straightener she’d packed with her dress. “Do you have a curling iron?”

“Ummm… I think.” Marinette sifted through her basket of various makeup and hair products. “Oh, here it is.”

Chloe glanced back and snorted. “Are you serious? That thing’s ancient. Does it even work?”

“Yes, it works. Is being rude to appliances another one of your many talents?” Marinette teased as she reached over to plug it in.

“Hey, I’ve been way nicer lately,” Chloe shot back.

Marinette looked back at her. “Yeah, you have been.” She smiled. “Honestly, I’m really proud of you.”

Chloe relaxed a bit and turned back to her mirror. “Well, I guess you’ve been a good influence on me.”

Marinette hummed in agreement as she brushed out her hair while the curling iron warmed up. “I think you should give yourself more credit. All I did was encourage you.”

“Yeah…” Chloe answered softly. “But it meant a lot.”

Marinette smiled, blushing a bit as she set aside her brush. “I’m glad.”

For the next few minutes, the room was filled with the soft sounds of Chloe picking up makeup brushes and palettes, accompanied by the sounds of Marinette brushing, then curling her hair before she dove into her own makeup supply.

“We should probably be leaving soon,” Marinette murmured as she added a touch of lipgloss and stepped into her heels. “Are you almost ready?”

Chloe nodded. “Just about.”

“Okay.” Marinette turned to look at her. “Well, I’m done.”

Chloe glanced back at her, mascara still in hand. Her eyes widened when she saw Marinette, and she inhaled sharply. Marinette stared right back, stunned to see Chloe with her hair down in soft, loose waves. “You look nice,” Chloe finally managed.

“So do you.” Marinette grinned, coaxing her heartbeat into a more manageable rhythm. “Guess dressing up is another talent.”

“Well, I think we both have that one.” Chloe turned back to the mirror to finish the last of her makeup. “My driver should be here soon.”

Moments later, they were on their way, stopping briefly for Marinette’s parents to take a few pictures.

“Bye, girls! Have fun!” Sabine waved as they hurried into Chloe’s limo.

Marinette waved back before closing the door behind them. “Sorry for all the pictures. Mom really loves this dress.”

Chloe waved a hand. “Don’t apologize. We both look gorgeous.”

Marinette grinned. “Yeah, red really is your color.”

“Yours, too,” Chloe answered with a small smile.

“Hmmm…” Marinette glanced down at her dress. “Maybe, but it isn’t my favorite.”

“Well, lucky for you, pink looks good on you, too.”

They arrived at L’Abeille moments later, and Marinette marvelled at the beautiful exterior. Chloe slipped her arm in Marinette’s. “Come on. The inside’s even better.”

Marinette stared as she walked through the doors, following as Chloe led her through the lobby.

“We have a reservation under Bourgeois.” Marinette barely registered that Chloe was speaking to someone as she peeked into the dining area. Chandeliers hung throughout the room over intricately laid tables, populated by well-dressed people enjoying their meals. Chloe gently urged her forward as they were led to a table near a window.

Marinette sat, still looking around and taking all of it in. “This place is amazing.”

Chloe chuckled and sat across from her. “Wait until you taste the food.”

Marinette grinned and picked up a menu. “Wow…” She scanned the options. “It all sounds incredible. But…” She frowned. “These prices…”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Really, Marinette, it’s my treat. Remember?”

Marinette squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. “Yes, but-”

“You’ve spent hours on my dress. Trust me, you’ve earned it.”

“Well, okay, you have a point there.” She glanced back down at the menu. “We could have gone somewhere less fancy, though, you know.”

“Well, if you want to invite me to dinner next time, you’re welcome to pick where we go,” Chloe answered calmly as she considered what to order.

“So, there’s going to be a next time?” Marinette asked, hoping her voice sounded steadier than it felt. Because, while she’d been reluctant to believe it, Marinette was beginning to suspect that maybe Alya really had been right about this being a date. Even more surprising, maybe Marinette didn’t mind as much as she might have expected.

“Well…” Chloe didn’t look up, but Marinette noticed her cheeks darken. “If you want to.”

“Chloe…” Marinette leaned forward and gently pushed Chloe’s menu down to the table. “What is this exactly?”

Chloe finally looked up at her. “I told you. It’s-”

“I mean it.”

Finally, Chloe closed her menu and set it aside. “I did want to thank you. Really.” She fidgeted with the edge of the menu’s cover. “But, I also wanted to say something, and I figured this was a good place to do it.”

“Okay. What is it?”

Chloe met her eyes, looking more vulnerable than Marinette had ever seen her. “Well, I…” She paused and looked down. “Look, two months ago, I realized I had a crush on Ladybug.” Marinette stared as Chloe took a steadying breath and continued, “And, obviously, I know you aren’t even comfortable being friends yet, so I’m not expecting anything, but I needed to tell you. When I found out you were Ladybug, I didn’t know what to do with those…” She grimaced. “I was confused, I guess. But, the way you treated me lately, I’ve…” Chloe glanced up at Marinette, clearly steeling herself for what she was about to say, “I think I like you, Marinette.”

Marinette inhaled sharply. “You what?”

“You heard me,” Chloe answered, a bit harsher than she meant to, based on the way she flinched after she heard herself. “Sorry. I’m…” She shook her head. “I get that you don’t feel the same. I’m fine with it. I just had to say it.”

“I never said-” Marinette cut herself off and deliberately softened her voice. “I was just surprised.”

“I know.”

“No, I mean…” Marinette sighed. “I’ve been confused, too. I thought it would be harder to forgive you than it turned out be, and I really didn’t ever expect to be friends with you.”

Chloe wilted when Marinette called them friends, but she managed a wry smile. “Well, at least it’s progress.”

“Wait, that’s not-” Marinette groaned. “Okay, wait. Let me… I just need a minute.”

“Why?” Chloe asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

“This is why I wanted to talk to Tikki,” Marinette murmured, covering her face with her hands.

“Talk to her about what?” Chloe demanded.

“I think…” Marinette peeked up at her, through her fingers. “If you wanted to say tonight was a date... If you wanted to see where it went…” She took a slow, deep breath and let her hands drop to her lap. “I’d like that, too.”

“Really?” Chloe leaned in, eyes wide.

“Let’s just say that Ladybug bra had me questioning some things,” Marinette admitted, blushing.

Chloe laughed, her posture easing now that the tough part of the evening was over. “I knew it was lucky.”

After a dinner Marinette barely noticed among all the butterflies in her stomach, Chloe dropped Marinette off at home.

“How was dinner?” Tom asked as Marinette walked past them.

“Good.” She glanced over at her parents. “I need to call Alya.”

“Well, you can tell us all about it tomorrow, then.” Sabine smiled.

Marinette nodded and hurried upstairs to kick off her shoes and dial Alya.

Alya answered on the first ring. “So, how was it?”

“Alya, I just went on a date with Chloe Bourgeois.”

“Yeah, I told you.” Alya chuckled and repeated, “So, how was it?”

Marinette smiled fondly as she flopped back onto her chaise. “Pretty amazing, actually.”

Between fittings, dates with Chloe, and her duties as Ladybug, the rest of the month. Before long, it was time for Chloe’s final fitting, more a test to be sure everything looked the way it should than anything else now that the party was tomorrow. Marinette ran her fingertips over the waist of the dress as she waited for Chloe to arrive. It looked even more beautiful than she’d imagined, painstakingly detailed and sewn to fit and flatter Chloe perfectly.

Her trap door opened, and Chloe stepped in, holding a plate full of pastries and croissants. “Your mom sent me up with some snacks.”

Marinette chuckled. “She said she’d set some aside for us today.”

Chloe set the plate down and pulled off her cardigan. “She mentioned honey croissants.”

“Oh, yeah. I told her how much you liked them.” Marinette gently removed the dress from the dress form. “She said it’s popular with the customers, too.”

“I knew it was a good idea.” Chloe set her clothes aside and walked over to Marinette.

Marinette held out the dress for her, chuckling when she saw what Chloe was wearing. “Your lucky bra? Here I thought you’d want to save that for tomorrow.”

“Why?” Chloe asked, raising a brow as she slipped the dress on. “The whole point was for you to see it.”

“I’m touched.” She helped Chloe fasten the button in the back. “Turn around for me?”

Chloe smiled and twirled. “It feels great.”

“It looks even better,” Marinette added with a smile of her own. She circled Chloe, looking for any flaw that she might need to correct before sending the dress home with her. “I think it’s done.”

Chloe walked over to the mirror, examining it from each angle she could manage. “It looks amazing.”

“Well, of course,” Marinette teased as she put the dress form away. “You make everything look amazing, right?”

“No, I mean it.” Chloe beamed at her reflection. “You made me look even more amazing than I normally do. That takes skill.”

Marinette grinned and walked over to look at Chloe over her shoulder. “Well… I told you that you look good in spots.”

Chloe chuckled and turned to face Marinette, gently resting her hands on Marinette’s waist. “I definitely owe you another nice dinner after all the work you put into this.”

Marinette shook her head. “You don’t owe me anything. You already paid me and took me to dinner.”

“Fine, I’ll just figure out another way to spoil you.”

Marinette laughed. “Oh, is that all? You could just kiss me.” She wasn’t sure who was more surprised by the suggestion: Chloe or herself.

“Really?” Chloe raised a brow. “You want me to?”

Marinette met her eyes. “Yeah. If you want to.” Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as Chloe slowly moved closer.

“Of course I want to.”

Then, suddenly, they were a breath apart and Chloe’s thumb was delicately trailing up her side. Marinette shivered and slid her hands behind Chloe’s neck, her fingers shaking with nervous excitement. Chloe raised a hand to cup Marinette’s cheek, and Marinette turned into the touch, anticipation twisting her stomach as she waited for contact.

Finally, Chloe smiled and gently angled Marinette’s jaw as she moved closer. Marinette’s eyes fluttered closed, and she met Chloe in a soft, sweet kiss that made her head spin. Marinette closed the remaining distance between them, drowning in the feeling of Chloe’s curves pressed against hers. She carefully cupped the nape of Chloe’s neck, and Chloe trembled against her, gasping into Marinette’s lips and whispering her name.

Marinette dove in for another kiss, tasting another pleading “Marinette” on Chloe’s tongue as they moved in for a longer, deeper kiss. Chloe’s hand crept to her back, keeping her close while Chloe’s fingers stroked the side of Marinette’s jaw.

They sprang apart at the sound of footsteps, both bright red and wide-eyed when Sabine stepped inside. “I forgot to offer you-” She stopped and glanced between the two girls. “Oh. I…” Her voice trailed off, leaving an awkward silence in its wake.

“Hey, mom. We were just making sure the dress fit.”

Sabine raised a brow. “Well, if you’re done, I made some tea, and you’re welcome to join me.” She grabbed the trapdoor. “It’s right downstairs.”

The second, the door closed behind her, Chloe shook her head. “You know, for someone with a secret identity, you are a terrible liar.”

Marinette blushed and shot her a glare. “Well, what was I supposed to say?”

“Nothing.” Chloe chuckled and pulled off her dress. “At that point, you just keep quiet and hope for the best.”

Marinette turned to look at herself in the mirror and grimaced. “I’ll keep that in mind next time.”

Chloe snorted. “Next time, we’re not getting interrupted.”

After Chloe changed and Marinette made sure they both looked presentable, she led Chloe downstairs for an awkward cup of tea with her mother.

“Will you be staying for dinner?” Sabine asked, pouring herself a second cup of tea.

“No, my dad’s expecting me,” Chloe answered, stirring more sugar into her drink.

“Well, we’d love to have you over sometime.” Sabine smiled at her.

“I’d like that, too.” Chloe relaxed and took a sip of tea.

Marinette was relieved to see Chloe leave on good terms with her mother, even if Marinette couldn’t quite look Sabine in the eye for the rest of the evening.

The next night, Chloe met Ladybug on the roof of Le Grand Paris. Chloe waved as she landed. “You’re right on time.”

Ladybug chuckled. “Are you my escort for the night?”

“Well, you are the guest of honor.”

“One of the guests of honor,” Chat Noir corrected from behind them.

Ladybug shot him a smile. “Of course.”

Chloe led them down to the main floor, introducing them to other guests. Ladybug grinned and waved at her classmates as she passed them, glad to see that they had also received invitations. The ballroom had been beautifully decorated in black and red with green accents as a nod to Chat Noir.

“Everything looks beautiful, Chloe.”

Chat Noir nodded. “Yeah, this is amazing!”

“Well, you two are out saving Paris every day. The least we can do is throw you an amazing party,” Chloe answered.

“Hey, Chat Noir!” Nino waved from across the room.

Chat Noir grinned and crossed the room to greet him.

“I’m surprised you didn’t ask him to DJ,” Ladybug commented, smiling as Chat Noir struck up an easy conversation with Nino.

“He offered,” Chloe replied, “But I thought he’d enjoy the party more if he didn’t.”

“That’s sweet of you.”

Chloe smirked. “I can be sweet, you know.”

“Oh, I know.” Ladybug blushed, lips tingling with the memory of kissing Chloe. She could almost swear she still tasted her lipgloss.

“Oh, Chloe!” Sabrina ran up to them. “This party is perfect! And you look amazing!”

“Thanks, Sabrina.” Chloe looked her over. “That dress looks great on you.”

“So does yours! Where did you get it?”

“Actually…” Chloe smiled. “My girlfriend made it.”

Ladybug glanced over at her, warmth flooding her chest at being called Chloe’s anything, much less Chloe’s girlfriend. She had to admit, she liked the sound of it.

“Do you mean Marinette?” Sabrina asked.

Chloe nodded, her eyes darting to Ladybug to catch her reaction. “Of course.”

Ladybug grinned, thrilled beyond words. “Well, she certainly did a wonderful job.”

“She always does,” Chloe answered fondly.

Ladybug spent the rest of the evening answering questions and greeting fans, thoughts of Chloe crowding her mind more with each passing moment. Finally, she and Chat Noir left, thanking Chloe one more time for the wonderful event on their way out.

Hours later, once the party was done and clean-up was mostly finished, Chloe collapsed onto her bed, sighing into the comforter. The party had been an incredible amount of work, but it was worth it to celebrate Ladybug.

A soft knock sounded from her balcony, and Chloe sat up.

Speaking of Ladybug…

She grinned and ran to open the door. “I thought you went home.”

“Well…” Ladybug smiled. “I had something else I wanted to say.”

“You did?”

Ladybug leaned in for a soft kiss, cradling Chloe’s cheeks in her palms and savoring the sound of Chloe’s breath catching in her throat. She moved back and whispered into Chloe’s parted lips, “So, girlfriend, huh?”

Chloe nodded, the curve of her lip catching on Ladybug’s as she did. “If you want.”

“I do.” Ladybug leaned in for another, longer kiss, tasting the familiar honey gloss on Chloe’s lips. “It’s perfect.”

[miraculousexchange]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Alya Césaire, Adrien Agreste, Nino Lahiffe, Gabriel Agreste Additional Tags: Weddings, Engagement, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Fluff and Crack Summary:

Four ways Nino and Alya's wedding went wrong, and the one way it went right.

[miraculousexchange]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adrien Agreste/Ladybug Characters: Adrien Agreste, Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug), Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Nathalie Sancoeur, Alya Césaire Additional Tags: Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, First Dates Summary:

This year, Adrien is going to get Valentine's Day right.

[miraculousexchange]

Chapters: 5/? Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Past Adrien/Lila Characters: Adrien Agreste, Gabriel Agreste, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chloé Bourgeois, will add others as they become relevant - Character Additional Tags: Comfort, Non magic AU, Flowers, Recovery, Divorce, Family Feels, Starting Over, friendship feels, Lots of Symbolism Summary:

In the wake of his failed relationship- 24 year old media darling Adrien Agreste struggles to start over with the help of family and friends. The road to recovery is never easy, but no pain lasts forever and while you can cut all the flowers- you cannot keep spring from coming.

[miraculousexchange]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Characters: Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug), Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug) Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s), Roadtrip Shenanigans, Idiots who can't take a hint, Alya knows, And she's tired of everyone's shit Summary:

“They have to know. I would sooner lock them up in a room and send an akuma right there than let this trip end without them discovering the truth.” Alya stomped feet, the fire in her eyes downright terrifying.

“You know I’m usually with you,” Nino started, no doubt in his mind that Alya wasn’t making empty threats with what she just said. “But I don’t really think that’s a good idea. Promise me you won’t do that.”

[miraculousexchange]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adrien Agreste/Ladybug Characters: Adrien Agreste, Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug), Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug) Additional Tags: Identity Reveal, Post Reveal, Aged-Up Character(s), they're just maybe 16 or 17, ladrien, adrien has a rough day being a fabulous model, ladybug decides to cheer him up with a sneaky garden date, mlspring2k17 Summary:

Or the one where Ladybug takes her favorite boy out

[miraculousexchange]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chat Noir/Ladybug Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug), Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug) Additional Tags: I'm so sorry this is so late, wow I'm tired, this is just the beginning, there will be more, life hit hard so so sorry, Fluff, Flowers, spring has sprung Summary:

After an akuma attack, Ladybug is left to wonder if her partner in fighting crime is okay. Flowers make everything better and so do accidental confessions of love?

[miraculousexchange]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ladybug/Chat Noir Characters: Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug), Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug) Additional Tags: LadyNoir - Freeform, Angst, Pining Summary:

I love you. But you can never know.

[miraculousexchange]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chat Noir/Ladybug, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste/Ladybug Characters: Adrien Agreste, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug), Chat Noir, Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug), Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug) Additional Tags: 5+1 Things, Developing Relationship, Rain Summary:

the five times she got caught in the rain

and the one time he did

[miraculousexchange]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adrien Agreste/Alya Césaire/Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Nino Lahiffe Characters: Adrien Agreste, Alya Césaire, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Nino Lahiffe, Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug), Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug), Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug), Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug) Additional Tags: Polyamory, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Synchronized Sneezing, Identity Reveal, Rain, Umbrella Scene, Pigeons, Unedited (for now), Sleepovers, Pillow Fights, Texting Summary:

"After pouring two packs of chocolate powder in each mug, she felt a sudden sensation in her sinuses thanks to the powder that remained in the air. Quickly, she put her finger below her nose, pleased when the sneeze stopped. After that, it was quick work to pour the water and stir the mix in, and just as she was about to bring them out-

She sneezed.

She stared at the mugs of hot chocolate, her eyes impossibly wide. There was no way. She had to be dreaming. She did not just hear three consecutive sneezes come from her friends in the living room."

 Or, a soulmate au where the sneezes of soulmates sync up after you meet them.

[miraculousexchange]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adrien Agreste & Marinette Dupain-Cheng Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe, Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug) Summary:

While spring cleaning Alya and Nino's apartment, Adrien and Marinette end up in a tight spot. Hopefully, when a door closes, another one opens.