#or like chat noir gets hit by an akuma and reacts like “what the flip dude”

[cookiedough77]

i need to know

[pearl484-blog]

Trick or treat! 🧛☠️

Yes! My first ask!

Hmm....here's some cut content for my Adrien AUGreste intial entry of Risk Taker. Originally designed as a prequel for Replay, ultimately thia bad boy spiraled out of control and far away from what I was looking for

Quick Summary: On the worst day of his life, Nino tries to evade his best friend while he tries to kill him. 

It all started when an akuma called Spin Doctor attacked the city of Paris. He looked like an old fashioned stereotype of a doctor, that had been colored in by a kindergartner, complete with a green lab coat, yellow gloves, a red stethoscope, gray skin and a shiny metal disk strapped to his head that looked like a misplaced CD. Unfortunately, that particular part of the ensemble was what fired the beams that mind-controlled his victims. 

His victims were emotionless and parroted whatever lies Spin Doctor declared on loop, and they walked like they were drunk, swaying from side to side and staring at nothing. Or at least that was what it seemed like. It was hard to tell because all of the victims had silver disks for eyes. 

At first, Nino had thought they were blind, but as he was looking through his bedroom window to watch the akuma pass by, he saw a bit of movement. Nino’s eyes darted over to see what it was, and he noticed a mother trying to make a run for it with her toddler before the akuma got close enough to get her. 

Immediately, it was like a flip had been switched. The akuma barely did more than twitch towards her, and the akuma’s victims swarmed the mother enmass. She cried out as her child was ripped from her and she was thrown to the ground. One of the victims grabbed the baby and ran off while 4 others grabbed the mom and held her down. She had screamed in terror until the full mob descended on her, and then she stopped. 

Only, it didn’t sound like she’d just been muffled or subdued. It was like her scream had been a track on a playlist, and at the height of her panic, someone paused it. It was so strange, the Nino could barely react. 

Nino watched the mob with a strange horror as he realized he couldn’t bring himself to look away until he knew the woman’s fate. Had she been killed? Had she been converted? Had she been transformed into something else. Nino could only guess, and when Nino realized that the mob was no more, and he still hadn’t seen a trace of the mother, he understood that he’d never know. 

Nino hid inside his apartment after that, closing all the blinds in his window and barricading the doors. It wouldn’t stop Spin Doctor if he truly wanted to get to Nino, but it might delay him, and it might stop his victims. Thankfully, Chris was at a sleepover with some friends, and his parents were out for date night so they were probably safe if Hawk Moth decided to get his revenge on Nino for being a hero. 

Knowing that this may take awhile and worrying about it wouldn’t help anymore, Nino decided to make some stress hot chocolate and listen to some music on his headphones. Which is why he didn’t notice Ladybug asking him for help until she tapped him on the shoulder. 

He jumped in surprise at that, before he pulled off his headphones. “Ladybug,” he said, “How did you get here?”

She smiled guiltily at him. “You didn’t lock your windows, '' she explained. Nino shrank in embarrassment. Of course he had forgotten. His apartment was so high up, but really, that wouldn’t stop any akumas or Miraculous wiekders. He’d have to be more careful in the future. 

“Oh, uh, right,” Nino said. “Why are you here, Ladybug? I kinda thought I was retired after the whole Miracle Queen thing.”

“You are,” Ladybug said, nervously. “You most definitely are. It’s just that Chat Noir was hit by one of those beams, and I don’t have time to explain everything to someone new, and this akuma is no joke…”

“Say no more,” Nino answered, eager to see Wayzz again. He really did miss the little guy. “I’ll help you.” 

“Thank goodness,” Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief. Then she straighten up. “Nino Lahiffe, this is the Miraculous of the Turtle, which grants the power of protection. You will use it for the greater good.” Nino gave his buddy, Wayzz, a smile as he put on his bracelet. 

“Good to see ya, little dude,” Nino said. 

“Likewise,” Wayzz said nodding. “I’m glad to see you too, even if it is for one last time.”

“Wayzz!” Nino cried. “Shell on!” 

“Okay,” Ladybug said. “The akuma’s only a few blocks from here, and I’ve already sent King Monkey and Ryuko over to deal with him too. I need you to help them distract the akuma and Chat Noir while I get more reenforcements. The victims like to attack heroes more than civilians too, so I’m sure they’ll appreciate someone watching their backs.”

“You got it, Ladybug,” Carapace said, saluting Ladybug before the two went their separate ways. With any luck, this whole thing would be fixed before anybody else came home and no one would be none the wiser. Course, Carapace knew that things sometimes didn’t go quite his way, so he also prepared the mental excuses for why he’d be gone if Mom and Dad did get back home before him. 

When he made his way to the akuma, the situation was a mess. The streets were lousy with akuma victims, so much that it was hard to see the pavement underneath the thick masses of bodies around Ryuko and King Monkey. The two of them kept trying to get to higher ground, out of the reach of the masses, but as a collectivem they grabbed and pulled at the heroes, constantly dragging them back down to their level. The one time that Ryuko did manage to escape, Chat Noir leapt after her, taunting her by waggling his finger and tsking at her, before knocking her back into the masses. 

Watching from the rooftops, Carapace decided that King Monkey was the bigger priority to get loose. After all, he could disrupt the akuma’s power and stop him from making all those victims come to him. So, Carapace hurled his shield into the crowd and forced them to disperse away from King Monkey.

As soon as he was able, King Monkey leapt up and called out “UPROAR”, summoning himself a luau shirt that he hurled right at the doctor. It smacked him right in the face and knocked him off of his perch. The doctor’s disk short circuited and began zapping everyone around him, freeing some people, converting others, and even converting a few into full mirror statues. 

Terrified, Carapace put a shelter around the akuma, out of sheer desperation for it all to stop. When it worked, much to his shock, he wondered why he hadn’t done it in the first place. 

-Chat Noir is revealed to be Adrien after he times out from Cataclysming King Monkey

-Everyone is shocked, but Ryuko, hoping that Adrien is not completely gone, tries to talk some sense into him, annoying the akuma

-Seeing the nasty look on his face, Carapace realizes that the akuma’s about to order Adrien to attack Ryuko

-Carapace throws his shield to defend her, as Adrien tries to punch her in the face

-his shield nails the akuma square in the face

-Enraged, the akuma orders Adrien to kill Carapace, and Adrien begins to chase them.

-Upon seeing that other heroes have shown up, he orders Plagg to use Cataclysm on the area around them to cause maximum chaos and flees

-Adrien chases down Nino with surprising speed as they navigate the building crumbling around them.

-At one point, a wall falls between Carapace and Adrien. For a moment, Carapace worries about Adrien before he sees Adrien get up through a hole in the wall and breathes a sigh in relief as he realizes that Adrien can’t possibly get to him now.

-Only for Adrien to see the hole and start trying to claw his way through it, pulling apart the rebar to make way. Horrified at the damage Adrien’s doing to himself, and terrified of the building falling on top of them, Carapace helps make the hole bigger, and drags Adrien through, deciding to hold him tight enough that he can’t do anything and casting Shellter to protect them.

-When he does, Carapace soon realizes that Adrien has stopped struggling to get him, and is just standing there.

-Finally free of his mind control, Adrien tells Carapace that he thinks they’re safe

-Then Adrien realizes his ring is gone and panics

-Carapace tells him that Hawkmoth stole his ring and tries to comfort him

[miraculousares]

Reflexes

A quick fic inspired by this gif set

Over the last three years of being Ladybug, Marinette had changed in several ways. The two most notable to those around her were both physical. One, she was buff. Like, she could beat Kim at wrestling kind of buff. When she wore bikinis to the beach with her friends, they'd all stare at her abs for a moment. Alya constantly asked her how she had gotten so ripped but never got a straight answer. It's not like Marinette could exactly say that she had gotten strong by fighting villains all day.

The other thing that had become most noticeable was her fighting skills. Few of her friends ever witnessed anything as fighting wasn't a super common civilian issue, but Alya saw her take down a mugger with one hand. Nobody really believed her when she told people about it - "Oh, sweet little Marinette couldn't hurt a fly," they often said - but she still made a note not to startle her or get on her bad side.

One of the most problematic changes that she'd made, though, was her fighting instincts. While it came in handy during fights with akumas, she often found herself judo-flipping her partner, Chat Noir, when he snuck up on her. The worst part was that he never learned to give her some warning, so it wasn't an uncommon occurrence to accidentally throw her best friend off of roofs. Of course, he was always okay. Not only did he have his staff and super-agility, but he'd learned to expect it. That only made her feel more guilty.

~ o n e�� d a y ~

Ladybug leaned against the chimney of one of the several rooftops of Paris. She was looking down at her yoyo's screen, catching up on some fan emails, while she waited for her partner. Suddenly, she felt the sudden presence of someone behind her, a hand reaching toward her. Instinctively, she grabbed the wrist and slammed the attacker down on the ground in front of her. She kept the arm in her grasp and put a foot on the person's chest to hold them down. The laughter that followed registered before the face did. She immediately let go and took her foot off of the blonde and held down a hand to help him up. Once he was standing again, he worked to control his laughter.

"Stupid cat, I've told you over and over again not to sneak up on me like that! You know that I react like that to being startled," she grumbled, closing up her yoyo and attaching it to her hip.

"I know, I know. But it's kinda funny," he wiped a tear from his eye.

"It won't be so funny when you dull my reflexes and I get my miraculous stolen by a villain," she retorted, pushing him playfully but sternly on the shoulder.

"My lady, you could never be dull, not even your reflexes." His eyes shone with adoration and she rolled her eyes. She had to admit that his flirtiness had gotten a lot sweeter in the past few months as they got to know each other deeper and deeper.

"Yeah, whatever, kitty. Are you ready to go on patrol?"

"With you? Always."

The two leaped from the rooftop and began scanning the streets of Paris for any akumas or citizens in need of help. They helped an elderly woman gather the groceries that had fallen through a hole in her bag and helped prevent a traffic collision. As always, they stopped by the bench where Mr. Ramier sat with his pigeons and chatted with him, bringing him comfort. The man had gone through a lot of trauma, having been akumatized over 50 times. Finally, the sun began to set and they decided to call it a night.

~

Marinette stretched and yawned, extremely tired. As soon as they'd gotten home from patrol, they got an akuma alert and had stayed up until nearly 5 am fighting.

"I don't know how I'm gonna make it through the day on only two hours of sleep," Marinette commented as she messily pulled her hair into her signature pigtails.

"You've got this, Marinette! I know you can do it!" Her kwami pressed against her cheek in a hug and the girl felt energized just from the affection from the small creature.

"Thanks, Tikki," she smiled. Then she opened her bag for her to fly into and headed for school.

"Hey, girl!" Alya called from across the courtyard. She was standing near the stairs talking to Nino. Marinette managed to jog over there and greeted her friends.

"Oh man, you look terrible," Nino commented. Alya jabbed him in the side. "I mean, you seem tired. You okay, dude?"

Marinette nodded. "Yeah, the noise from the akuma last night kept me up," she fibbed.

"Oh that's right, it was right over by the bakery, wasn't it? Did you see that villain though? Hawkmoth is really stepping up his game!" Alya continued to talk about the night's battle, giving Marinette a chance to zone out for a moment since she didn't need a rundown of the battle she'd fought. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She jumped and her instincts took over. She grabbed the wrist of the person behind her before they could even tighten their grip and threw them with a slam onto the ground a few feet in front of her. Then, she processed what had just happened and who she had just thrown. She rushed over to him and offered a hand to help him up.

"Oh my god! ARE YOU SORRY? I mean- I'm okay! I mean... uh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay, Adrien?" He stood up and stared at her in shock.

"I told you! I told you she was a damn ninja! Mylene owes me $10," Alya celebrated. But neither of the pair was paying any attention to her. Marinette was too lost trying to decipher Adrien's gaze and why he had yet to let go of her hand. The bell rang and students filtered out of the courtyard and into classrooms and eventually, the two were alone.

"I- ah, Adrien?" Marinette stammered, her face still a bright red but her thoughts more clouded by confusion than romance.

"I guess your reflexes haven't dulled yet," he whispered, his eyes never leaving hers. Marinette paused for a second, trying to figure out why the phrase sounded so familiar before it hit her.

"It won't be so funny when you dull my reflexes and I get my miraculous stolen by a villain."

"My lady, you could never be dull, not even your reflexes."

She felt her knees give out and she fell to the ground. Adrien quickly moved to kneel down beside her. She just stared at the blonde for a while, her eyes wide and brain moving at a thousand miles per minute.

"Chat... Chat Noir?" She finally pushed the words out of her lips, though they were a struggle. It felt impossible. Adrien was so different from Chat Noir. But, when she thought about it, it all made sense. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

"It's really you, buganette," he whispered into her hair, returning the embrace.

"My kitty."

[quicksilversquared]

Move to Safety: Chapter 5 (of 6)

After Adrien just happens to spy Nooroo in his father’s office, he’s sent into an panic. His father is Hawkmoth, which means that Adrien is in serious danger.

Thankfully the Dupain-Chengs are more than willing to step up to the plate and lend a helping hand.

links in the reblog

It didn't take long at all for the superheroes to gather at the warehouse. Everyone was tense, but there was a fair bit of determination and optimism in their group.

The plan was in place. They all knew what they were going to do. The plan was straightforward and in theory, should be easy enough. There weren't too many superheroes that could overcomplicate things or get in each other's way, and they were all pretty experienced.

"Okay, team, we know what to do," Ladybug told them, her expression completely serious. "Vixen, go ahead and do the Mirage. If you want to settle the Mirage of one of us over yourself to get closer and keep an eye on the akuma, that would be great. If your timer runs low before we can get there, you can leave. I can collect the Miraculous in a couple days." She glanced around. "That goes for everyone, really."

Vixen nodded sharply. "Of course. See y'all on the other side!"

With that, she vanished out the window.

"We'll give her a couple of minutes, then go in," Ladybug told the rest of the group. "We'll be working out of here. And remember- no banter. I'll need to give Seabiscuit instructions for the Portal, and any other talking will get in the way of that."

"The banter can come after Hawkmoth has had his Miraculous confiscated and is in custody," Hornet said, nodding. She paused. "Ah, what will we be doing with Mayura? I know that that plan was still up in the air."

"We want to have Hawkmoth's arrest be low-profile until we have her in custody," Ladybug said. Then she glanced towards Chat Noir. "And then- Seabiscuit, you'll have to recharge. Ms. Sancoeur is out of town, so we'll have to use Portal again. Chat Noir, did you happen to get an address...?"

Chat Noir nodded. "I did. And an itinerary." Nathalie, ever-prepared, had had her post-Fashion Week Break itinerary up on her tablet when Adrien stuck his head in to ask permission to go study at Marinette's house. She had been distracted by something on her computer, and Adrien had snuck a stealthy photo of the itinerary. He opened his baton, then tapped the screen. A moment later, a piece of paper spat out. Chat Noir pulled it out, flipping it over to reveal a printout of the photo he had taken. "We can look at it again when we finish, but I think we should be able to go to the house and jump on her when she returns."

Ladybug nodded as she took the itinerary. "That sounds good. Fingers crossed that the timing works out- and that's Vixen," she interrupted herself as her yo-yo let out a ding. "It's time to go. Sass, Tikki, combine!"

With a flash of light, Ladybug's outfit took on a few streaks of green. She glanced down at herself, then cringed.

"Oh, I look like a Christmas tree," she groaned. "Bad combination."

Chat Noir couldn't help but laugh, some of his tension easing away. Ladybug did look a bit ridiculous, but he had to admit that he was glad that she had taken the Snake instead of asking him to take that role. He might have had more experience using the Snake- and more experience than she knew about- but there was also the risk that he would freeze up and not be as effective.

Not that she knew that.

"Okay, focus," Ladybug told them all, smoothing down the greenish skirt that had appeared with her fusion. She flicked her bracelet, setting the timer. "Seabiscuit, go!"

The next couple of minutes, when Chat Noir tried to remember them in the future, all merged together into a little bit of a frantic blur. Ladybug had given Seabiscuit quick instructions to fix his approach to the lair, and hit it just right- Chat Noir found out later, after he asked- after only three tries, opening the Portal right behind Hawkmoth. As soon as the portal opened, Hornet was through with Sting activated.

Hawkmoth hadn't even had a chance to react before they were on him. Chat Noir ripped the Butterfly Miraculous off of him, turning away before the light could fade and Hawkmoth could turn back into his father in front of his eyes.

He already knew that Hawkmoth and Gabriel Agreste were the same. He didn't need to see that, and he didn't need to see the seething hatred and anger in his father's eyes. It would be too much.

"Hornet, please call the police and deliver Mr. Agreste to them when they arrive," Ladybug directed, and Chat Noir could feel her step up behind him, still focused. "Seabiscuit, can you recharge? We need to Portal over to the house that Ms. Sancoeur is staying at in the next couple of minutes."

Seabiscuit nodded. It didn't take him long at all to detransform and recharge, and then they were hopping through another Portal to Nathalie's family's house. It was empty- they were scheduled to be at the beach, and return for a late lunch- so the superheroes could head down to the first floor unhindered.

From there, it was somehow both not a long wait at all and an eternity before Nathalie returned and they ambushed her. One failed attempt at a transformation later, and they had the Peacock in their hands and Nathalie in handcuffs. Her family was gaping as the superheroes took her away, and Chat Noir couldn't help but feel bad for them.

He had had time to get used to the idea of his father being a criminal and having to arrest him. Nathalie's family had just gotten hit in the face with the shock.

"I think we should send one of the city's akuma victim counselors to them," Ladybug murmured to him as they Portaled back to Paris. "They could probably use some help coming to terms with her being a supervillain."

Chat Noir nodded. He would probably want to do the same thing as Adrien, but he had the extra complication of also being Chat Noir and actually having to deal with all of the extra baggage that came with having to fight his own father. At least he had both Marinette and Plagg to talk to. "Yeah. That's a good idea."

"Ah, and here's villain number two," the lead officer commented when they brought Nathalie down. He and his team took hold of Nathalie, pushing her into the back of the second patrol car. "We've got Hawkmoth in the other one."

"Great." Ladybug smiled, then froze at the sound of a crash across the city. "Ah, would you mind waiting here? We can give a statement, but the last akuma is still at large."

"Right, right, of course!"

"Ready?" Ladybug asked, turning to Chat Noir. She smiled, small but warm. "One last akuma?"

"One last akuma," Chat Noir agreed, letting out a breath. He was starting to feel a little shaky with relief- his father's arrest was over, Nathalie's arrest was over, now they were on familiar ground with an akuma battle again- so getting running again before his knees gave in would be a good idea. "Let's go!"

The final akuma was chasing after a retreating Vixen when they arrived. Vixen's timer was going wild, and she shot them a relieved look as she darted into the privacy of an alleyway to finally detransform. Her Mirages had evidently gotten hit out of existence earlier, so she hadn't been able to use them as cover, but they had arrived just in time.

"That's enough from you, akuma!" Ladybug yelled. "Get ready to be defeated!"

"That's right!" Chat Noir chimed in, rushing in to join her. "Hawkmoth is gone- and soon you will be, too!"

  The final akuma battle- more than a skirmish than a battle, since the akuma had been taken off guard by the announcement that Hawkmoth had been defeated- was over in a flash, and then Ladybug and Chat Noir returned to the Agreste mansion. The police officers were still there, though the cars with Mr. Agreste and Nathalie had just pulled away. People had started arriving at the scene, no doubt curious about why the famous Gabriel Agreste was getting arrested. The officers were keeping them back, at least for the time being.

"Ladybug!"

Chat Noir frowned at the small voice, and both he and his partner drew to a stop before they reached the mansion. "Uh, what was that?"

"It's me!" A small head popped out from Ladybug's ponytail, and Chat Noir recognized Nooroo at once. Apparently the Butterfly hadn't been deactivated when Ladybug took it. "Before you head home, there's something I must show you."

Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a look. Ladybug looked worried. "Something more?"

Nooroo wrung his tiny paws. "Y-yes, there's something more. And with Gabriel arrested, it will need to be taken care of sooner rather than later."

"We need to talk to the police first," Ladybug decided after a pause. "We can just give them the basics for now. They're used to us having to leave pretty quickly after battles."

Chat Noir nodded. His gut was churning again, wondering what surprises might be waiting inside. "Yeah. Let's go."

Ladybug jumped down, and Chat Noir wasn't far behind. She approached the chef of police confidently, looking every bit the picture of a superhero that no one was going to cross. He let her take the lead, figuring that she would be a better speaker than him, especially now that he was undeniably distracted.

What did Nooroo need to show them? Something that needs to be taken care of sooner rather than later didn't sound like something innocent, like the Miraculous book. Maybe there was yet another Miraculous, maybe from another box, and Nooroo wanted it to be reclaimed before anyone else could stumble on it and use it for evil.

But then why wouldn't Hawkmoth have used it at all? That just didn't make sense- unless he had just recently found it. But he still would have been frothing at the mouth to try it out, surely. He would have been wearing it, more likely than not, and Nooroo would have had to warn them about it right away instead of waiting for the akuma battle to finish.

So that suggested that whatever Nooroo wanted to show them was something else. And it was almost guaranteed to be something- well, bad.

...maybe it was better not to think about it too much. They would know soon enough, once Ladybug finished talking to the officer in charge.

"We can do a full press conference later this week," Ladybug was telling the chief of police when Chat Noir tuned back in to their surroundings. There were a few news cameras nearby, but they had yet to approach fully. He didn't doubt, though, that their microphones were picking up on every word his partner said. "I'm sure that everyone has a lot of questions about Hawkmoth's defeat and what happened, but- as I'm sure you can imagine- we're all pretty exhausted, and we still have to check on something in the mansion. We'll keep in touch so that we can decide on a good time."

"Thank you, Ladybug," Officer Auclair told her, beaming. "And we'll certainly be doing some interrogation of our prisoners and a sweep of the mansion, plus a number of interviews with people there. We'll let you know about anything we find immediately."

"Thank you." Ladybug smiled at him, and then her eyes flicked to the side, no doubt completely aware of the lurking reporters. "I should tell you, before you do that- we discovered Hawkmoth's identity thanks to the help of his son. Adrien spotted his father with the butterfly kwami and let Chat Noir and I know at once. We wouldn't have been able to defeat Hawkmoth today otherwise."

Both officers and reporters perked up at that, and Chat Noir had to let out a sigh of relief. He had to guess that without Ladybug's comment, he probably would have been dragged out into the public eye under a rather unfavorable spotlight, people wondering about how much he might have known. With Ladybug's comment- well, people were still going to stare and want to get interviews, no doubt, but they would be much less suspicious.

That was probably the best that he could hope for, honestly.

"That is very good information to know, thank you," Officer Auclair told Ladybug. He stepped back, clearly giving her the go-ahead to leave. "And thank you to all of the superheroes for defeating the supervillains!"

The superheroes waved- once to the police, once to the press- and then leapt over the walls surrounding the mansion. Nooroo phased through the door, popping the locks so that the superheroes could get in. Ladybug took the lead, glancing backwards to make sure that Chat Noir was still with her.

"We'll have to go to his office," Nooroo told them, flitting up ahead. "And then use his elevator- I hope I remember the code! We might accidentally end up in the upper lair first."

Chat Noir scooched closer to Ladybug, his nerves mounting. "There's more than one lair?"

"You'll see."

They fell silent as they followed Nooroo into the abandoned office. Their footsteps echoed across the floor, but no one came out to see what they were doing there. Maybe the household staff had already left the house, either because clearly Mr. Agreste wasn't going to be coming back or because the police had already asked them to step out for questioning.

"Step here," Nooroo told them, pointing to a spot on the floor. "You'll have to be close- it's only meant for one person, really." He paused. "Unless you want to go one at a-"

"No," Ladybug said firmly. "We'll stand close together."

Chat Noir nodded, hoping that Ladybug couldn't hear how fast his heart was racing as she stood in front of him, her back against his chest. His theory- his hope- that the thing that Nooroo wanted to show them was just another Miraculous was looking less and less likely. He couldn't think of any reason why his father would keep anything Miraculous-related somewhere other than his office or the lair.

Nooroo flitted over to the painting in front of them, punching in a series of buttons in quick succession. There was a pause, and then the floor they were standing on started moving down- and started moving down fast.

Ladybug's hand tightened around Chat Noir's, her shoulders stiffening. Chat Noir wrapped one arm around her waist, hoping that he wasn't trembling.

He didn't like this.

The floor-elevator shot downwards, lower and lower. There were a few lights along the path, just barely illuminating the tunnel that they were pelting down. It was undeniably spooky, and Chat Noir couldn't stop himself from worrying about what they would do if the elevator broke. The tunnel was tiny, just the width of the tiny platform that he and Ladybug were crammed together on, and it was long. Even when they were moving, he was feeling claustrophobic.

He had to get off. He had to get off now, couldn't this ride be over-

"Hold on, kitty," Ladybug murmured, squeezing his hand. "You're okay. I'm here."

Chat Noir just buried his face in his partner's hair in response. It was better than seeing the tiny tunnel flash past, though it didn't stop him from knowing that the walls were so incredibly close.

Half an eternity- probably just a few seconds- passed before the elevator came to a stop. Chat Noir kept his face down, not wanting to see how small of a space the elevator had taken them to, who knew how many meters before the surface. After a moment, Ladybug squeezed his fingers.

"It's a big space, kitty. You can open your eyes."

Chat Noir blinked, raising his head. Then he blinked at the giant chasm in front of them.

"This is under the city?"

"At least there's not an apartment building above all of this," Ladybug commented, grimacing. "Honestly, the most that should be above it is a park. Then if anything happened..."

She didn't finish her thought, instead stepping off the elevator platform. Chat Noir followed her, eyes flicking around.

There was something about this place that just screamed creepy to him, even without going further into it. There was rust on the walkway that was going over flowing water- if that gave way and they got dumped into that water, that could turn super dangerous really fast- and the lights on the sides of the cavern were just creepy, like ones that he might see in a haunted house. And then, at the far end of the cavern...

There was some muted light coming from somewhere, shining right down on what looked like an underground garden. And in the middle of that garden...

"Nooroo, what's that?" Ladybug asked, sharp and worried. She rested a hand against Chat Noir's arm, making him pause. He had started forward without realizing it, almost drawn to the garden. "This isn't a trap, is it?"

Nooroo shook his head, looking sad. "No trap. Just..."

He trailed off. Ladybug looked worried, but took the lead up the walkway. Chat Noir followed, his ears twitching every which way to try to pick up any sounds that were out of place. Any extra footsteps could be another enemy lying in wait, any excessive creaking from the metal could be a section of the walkway about to give out on them, any out-of-place clicks could be a trap set by Mr. Agreste.

And then Ladybug let out a quiet oh.

Chat Noir glanced forward, pulling his eyes off a flickering shadow on the wall that had caught his attention. Then he froze.

There, in front of them, was his mom. She lay in a glass container, her eyes closed, looking just she had on the day that she had vanished. She was pale in the murky light filtering down into the cavern, but she- she looked fine.

Was she just asleep? Maybe she had fallen under a spell, like Sleeping Beauty or something? Chat Noir's heart skipped a beat at the thought, then soared, hopeful. Maybe they could do something to break the spell, and then- and then-

He might have essentially lost his father because of the arrest, but maybe he could have his mom back.

"Nooroo, what happened?" Ladybug asked quietly. She stepped up next to Chat Noir, her shoulder brushing against his arm. "Can we help?"

"Emilie fell into a coma after using the Peacock for too long," Nooroo told them. He flitted around anxiously, flying up to Mrs. Agreste with a sad look on his face. "It was broken, so it was draining her and damaging her health every time that she used it. So Gabriel used magic to keep her alive as long as possible, and then to preserve her body after-"

The kwami kept talking, but Chat Noir couldn't hear him anymore over the sound of blood rushing in his ears, his heart dropping as Nooroo's words properly sank in. His mom wasn't in a coma anymore. She- she was actually gone. Dead. There was no coming back. No way to help her anymore.

No.

He- had had thought that he had come to terms with the possibility of his mom being dead years ago. She had been missing for ages, and her health hadn't been great before that. He had grieved, he had done a private memorial to her, and he had moved on. But then he had seen her, and for a moment- a glorious, terrible moment- he thought that maybe he could have her back. She looked fine. She looked like she was just asleep.

But she was actually gone.

Chat Noir's knees buckled, his breath coming faster. The whiplash from hope to grief was too much, too fast, too overwhelming. He couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't-

He had to get out. He needed to leave, now, he needed- needed-

"I need Marinette," Chat Noir managed. Maybe his mom was gone, maybe his father was a supervillain, but Marinette knew both sides of him and cared about him and was there for him and gave the best hugs and had been there when he found out about his dad and- "I- I need Marinette-"

"Kitty?" Ladybug sounded alarmed. Her arm slid around him, pulling him close to her. "Oh, gosh. Chat Noir-"

"I need Marinette," Chat Noir insisted. "Pl- please, I need-"

"Oh." Ladybug sounded worried. There was a pause, then, "I'm here, kitty. I've got you."

Chat Noir shook his head furiously, pressing his forehead into her shoulder as she pulled him closer to him. Ladybug was great usually, but she didn't know him. They were friends and partners and had an incredible bond, but Marinette had been his- his pillar for the past couple weeks. "N-no, I want Marinette, she's-"

"I'm right here, Adrien," Ladybug said again, rubbing his shoulder. "I've got you. We can go home soon, I promise. Then we can cuddle in my room. My parents will be fine with it, you know how much they love you. We'll all help you." She pressed her cheek to his. "Okay?"

Chat Noir startled at that, pulling himself back to stare at his partner.

She knew his name. How? Only Marinette knew his name. Maybe she had told Ladybug, except- no. Marinette wouldn't betray his trust like that, and he hadn't noticed Ladybug treating him any different than normal before. Maybe she had just guessed right when he broke down-?

But no. She had mentioned her room, and her parents knowing him which suggested-

He couldn't be this lucky.

"I didn't want to tell you like this," Ladybug murmured, reaching out and pulling him close again. Her thumb stroked his cheek, wiping away his tears. "Tikki and I thought it would be best to wait a couple of days to let things settle down so that we wouldn't overwhelm you with another reveal, but..."

She trailed off. Chat Noir still stared down at her, trying to see past the mask and make out Marinette's features underneath Ladybug's transformation. It was hard, though that might have been because he really couldn't see much of anything right now. Tears were still leaking out of his eyes, making everything blurry. Her voice, though- now that she mentioned it, if Chat Noir hadn't known that it was Ladybug speaking, he probably would have guessed that it was Marinette.

Well. Apparently he would have been right either way.

"Nooroo, how long will Mr. Agreste's spell keep?" Ladybug asked after a minute's pause. Her fingers had threaded through his hair, petting him gently. It felt good, but in a distant sort of way. "If we could have a couple days..."

"Uh...a day or two?" Nooroo offered. "It had to be recast pretty often."

"And if we took her out of the, ah, case?"

"It would break right away."

"Okay." Ladybug let out a long breath. "Once we reclaim the Horse Miraculous, I can jump in here and- and bring her to the right people. The police, probably. They'll know what to do." She hugged Chat Noir close. "We should go now, kitty. Let's get you home."

"But Maman-"

"There- there's nothing we can do to help, kitty." Ladybug's voice wavered, threatening to break, and Chat Noir distantly realized that she was only just managing to hold herself together as well. "I wish there was, but..."

"She died two years ago," Nooroo volunteered quietly. "And had been barely holding on before that."

Two years. That- that had been several years after she vanished. If they- if they had known, if his father had told the superheroes instead of doing whatever it was that he had been trying to accomplish, would they have been able to save her then? If Hawkmoth hadn't driven Master Fu off and had instead approached him to ask for help- if he had seen the Temple and the other guardians return and had called off his attacks then to just ask for help- maybe his mom would be alive now. Maybe he could have had his family again.

But now it was too late.

"We can give her a proper funeral and burial," Ladybug told Chat Noir quietly, shifting against him for a moment before bending down and heaving him up into her arms in a princess hold, just before his knees could fully give way. She staggered for a second under his weight, then caught herself. "She deserves that, rather than being left down here. But we don't need to do anything today, and-" Ladybug's voice wavered again before she caught it. "I can take this set-up to the police tomorrow by myself, so you don't have to see it again."

"I want to help," Chat Noir managed through his tears, curling up against his partner- his best friend, his Marinette- as best as he could. His breath was coming faster, his throat feeling uncomfortably tight, but he had to tell her. He had to make sure that she would let him help. He needed to help. "I want- I'm her son, I should help. I just can't-"

"Shh," Ladybug soothed, pressing her cheek against the side of his head. "Okay, we can try to work with that. Nooroo, where's the spell? If we can cast it again, maybe buy ourselves another week to recover..."

"I can show the spell to you later. Tomorrow, perhaps."

"Thank you." Ladybug squeezed Chat Noir tighter to her. "Would that be okay, kitty? We use the spell once more to keep her- to give ourselves some time," she corrected hastily. "And then when you're ready, we can move her?"

Chat Noir nodded, sharp and jerky. He could do that.

The next few minutes flew by in a blur. They hadn't gone back up the elevator- Ladybug had clearly picked up that he wouldn't be able to handle it- and had instead forced their way up through the skylight. Chat Noir blanked out after that, and only came back several minutes later, detransformed and bundled up in a blanket on Marinette's bed, feeling completely exhausted and wrung out. Marinette herself was next to him, curled up against his side.

"I think my kid's back," Plagg announced, flitting down to land in Adrien's lap- or at least where Adrien's lap would be, buried under several layers of blanket. "Finally! I was starting to get worried, it's been forever. Adrien?"

Adrien swallowed, blinking at Plagg. His eyes felt dry and scratchy. "My- my mom-"

"I know, kid." Plagg let out a comforting purr, pressing up against Adrien. "Marinette told me. I'm so sorry. I wish we could have done something."

Adrien nodded, swallowing again. "She's gone."

Plagg could only purr.

"Nooroo wanted me to pass on his apologies," Marinette said quietly, rubbing her hand against Adrien's arm. "He didn't know that you were Chat Noir, so he didn't know to warn us beforehand."

"He still should have, I think!" another voice piped up, and Adrien startled as Tikki appeared at the foot of the bed. "I think anyone would have appreciated a heads-up. But it had become normal to him after being with Mr. Agreste for so long, so he didn't think of that."

"Oh," Adrien managed to croak, watching as Tikki floated across the bed, struggling to carry something limp and dark- a washcloth? "Okay."

"He and Duusu have gone back into the box for now," Marinette told him quietly, reaching across the bed to take the thing- it was a washcloth- from Tikki. She shifted, adjusting her seat, then started wiping down Adrien's face, washing off the dried trails of tears. Adrien closed his eyes, enjoying the cool, refreshing feel. "Any questions can wait. You got a bad shock."

"Mmm." Adrien relaxed into Marinette's touch, enjoying the attention. He couldn't make himself move, not that he would probably be able to with how snugly she had wrapped him up. Marinette kept wiping down his face, then gently pressed the washcloth to his eyes. It felt good against the puffy skin. He waited for a few minutes, then spoke again. "Mari?"

"Mmhmm?"

"You're Ladybug?"

There was a sigh, and then Marinette sat back. Adrien blinked open his eyes, distantly noting that they felt better already, not quite so swollen and puffy. Marinette was sitting facing him, but her eyes were on her lap. "Yeah. That- that wasn't how I planned on telling you, I'm sorry."

"We knew it was a possibility that something might happen and you would have to do a battlefield reveal, but we- all three of us- thought that the chances of something like that happening was almost nonexistent," Plagg chimed in, flying up into Adrien's line of sight. "But we figured that if we told you- well, the chances of you not being ready and things backfiring somehow would probably be a bigger concern. And we couldn't think of a way to ask without giving things away."

"I wanted to," Marinette said quietly. "So that you wouldn't have to worry about having to tell Ladybug when I already knew, and so that you could know that I was going to be there for you on both sides of the mask. But you were so insistent on Ladybug not knowing, I didn't know if telling you anyway would help or not. If I had known-"

Adrien managed to shake his head. "There- there wasn't any way of knowing. If I hadn't dug in my heels so much about not letting Ladybug know who I was-"

"Okay, okay, let's not get carried away with blaming ourselves," Plagg interjected quickly. "Things could have gone differently, we get that. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that, huzzah."

Adrien had to smile at that. Plagg never changed.

"I'm glad everything is out in the open now, at least," Marinette said after a minute. "I've been trying to figure out how I could tell you, but I hadn't been coming up with anything. Like, would the best way be to just saunter up to your room with a cupcake, knock, and go 'surprise, I'm Ladybug! Have a cupcake!'"

Snorting, Adrien shook his head. "Why a cupcake and not macarons? Or cake? Why is there food involved at all?"

"Bribery?" Marinette suggested weakly, turning back around to settle down at his side. "Minor distraction?"

"Oh, bug." Adrien nuzzled down next to her. As if she would ever need to bribe him to- what? Not be upset with her? She had just been trying her best to respect his wishes and not make things harder for him. He could recognize that much. Adrien paused for a beat, then added, "Ah, just in the interest of full disclosure, I don't think I could eat anything right now. I think- I think my stomach is all twisted up into knots. I'd be sick if I even tried."

"I'm not surprised," Marinette admitted. "I'm feeling a bit ill, too, and I didn't get as big of a shock as you did. Don't feel like you have to eat unless you actually want to." She started rubbing his back again. "Maman came up while you were out, so she knows- sort of knows, at least- what happened, so she already knows not to expect us at dinner. I didn't tell her that we're Ladybug and Chat Noir," she added quickly. "Just that- that they had found your mom and that- that nothing could be done." Her voice got quieter with every word, and Adrien guessed that she regretted bringing it up again. They had more or less changed topics to something less unpleasant before, moving into safer topics for discussion. Now they were right back where they had started.

Adrien felt nausea welling up again, the image of his mother just lying there flashing through his mind again. He forcibly pushed it away, not wanting to break down again. "Okay."

"She said that she's going to look up food that should be less likely to upset your stomach so she can make it for dinner," Marinette added. "So that there will be leftovers for us to eat whenever we feel ready."

Adrien nodded again. "Okay."

"Do- do you want to maybe lie down and take a nap?" Marinette suggested after a moment. "I can unwrap the blankets so that you don't overheat. It might help you feel better."

A nap sounded like a great idea, actually. The cool washcloth had woken him up a little before, but now that Marinette mentioned sleep, that was all Adrien wanted to do. "Yes, please."

"Okay." Marinette pushed herself up and made short work of the blankets, freeing Adrien. "You can scoot down now so that you can lay down properly."

"But this is your bed!" Adrien protested, pushing past the approaching fog as best he could. "I don't want to take your bed away-"

Marinette giggled. "You don't take up that much room. And I don't mind, kitty. Really." She helped him slide down, then arranged her pillow under his head. "How's that?"

"Good. Are you sure-"

"Positive."

"Okay," Adrien managed around a yawn. He reached out, even as his eyes drifted closed, and his fingers found Marinette's. "Stay with me?"

Marinette threaded her fingers through his, giving them a light squeeze. "Always."

  The funeral for Emilie Agreste was a quiet affair. Since her remaining (non-jailed) family- Adrien, his aunt, and his cousin- didn't want it to become a public spectacle, the whole thing was private, by-invitation-only, and had bouncers at the doors. Amelie had managed to track down a handful of Emilie's friends, and Adrien had invited a few of his own friends for support.

And the Dupain-Chengs, of course. He couldn't ask for better support than them. They had closed the bakery for several days so that they could be available for him, even if he had ended up only wanting Marinette's company for a large chunk of that time. They made sure to stock their cupboards with plenty of foods that he could eat even if he was feeling queasy, and hadn't put any pressure on him to eat when he didn't feel up to it. They had even done the work of reaching out to his aunt for him, relaying the news when Adrien didn't think that he could do it, and had handled most of the correspondence about funeral arrangements until Adrien was more ready. While Adrien was spending time with Sabine, Ladybug ventured out on her own to tell the police about their discovery and to cast the spell to give them a couple more days before they would have to deal with Mrs. Agreste.

Going into that cavern again and Portaling the case with Mrs. Agreste in it out a week after their discovery had probably been the hardest thing Adrien had ever had to do. It was hard not to let the memories of shock and grief overwhelm him again, and to keep himself composed while delivering the body to the police. But he had managed it.

And then he went back to the Dupain-Cheng house, tried to drown himself in the shower, and then curled up in Marinette's bed, because it was comfy and Marinette was nearby and she had loads of blankets that he could burrow beneath that smelled like her. She curled up next to him for a bit, then headed down to the main part of her room to give him some space and get some sewing done. The sound of the sewing machine had been really comforting. Adrien dozed off to the sound, happy knowing that his Lady was so close nearby.

He was going to go right back to their house as soon as the funeral was over. Maybe being at the funeral wasn't as hard as getting his mom's body out- or finding it the first time- but it was still pretty draining, and there was really no better place to recover from that. The Dupain-Cheng home just felt so safe, comforting and warm and welcoming.

He would spend time in his own room, but it just... it was different, and it didn't have Marinette in it. Maybe if he wanted to spend some time alone then he would go to his own room, but Adrien liked the quiet company.

The day dragged on even with the limited guest list. There was the service, then a trip to the cemetery to finally bury Emilie Agreste. Then there had been a reception at a hall nearby, at the insistence of Adrien's aunt, and that had been the most exhausting part by far. Everyone wanted to talk to Adrien and express their condolences for both Emilie's death and Mr. Agreste's arrest, and since he didn't have any other siblings, pretty much all of the attention was on him. Amelie had joined him for a bit to divert some of the attention, but it was all just so much.

Adrien was very glad when the Dupain-Chengs decided that it was time for them to go. They waved good-bye to all of the people who had come to mourn his mom, and then the day was done. Finally.

Adrien sighed, leaning back in his car seat as Mr. Dupain maneuvered the car down the streets back towards the bakery. That was done. It was over. He was still going to mourn his mom, of course, but he could focus on something else now. His mom would want him to move on with his life, like he had been doing the past several years.

And thankfully, he had a new family to help him do just that.

[leda-x]

Ladybug has five minutes left with Chat Noir, and she isn't ready to give them up.

Ladybug woke in the cooking section of a library with the word “chance” tumbling from her lips. It was the ancient atrium of a newly modernized building. Like always, she was crouched down behind a bookshelf with Chat Noir at her side.

Far, far above her head, thin marble columns rose upwards, curving into graceful arches to meet in the middle. Early morning light shone through the enormous circular skylight positioned at the center of the atrium’s domed ceiling. It illuminated little specks of golden dust that had been disturbed by them seconds before. The room was empty, sound hushed.

Meeting her gaze, Chat tapped the screen on his baton and the numbers 04:58 began to flash. 04:57… 04:56... He reached down, flipping through a cookbook at his side, stopping at a random page. “Lobster tails meunière,” he read aloud to mark the attempt, green gaze flicking back up for her lead.

There were 2,000 recipes in The Escoffier Cookbook and Guide to the Fine Art of Cookery. That one was new. Ladybug took it as a good omen.

There was nothing but seriousness in Chat’s face right now. Seriousness and a rosy glow of determination and confidence.

Ladybug’s fingers drifted off her bracelet to cradle Chat’s cheek. Her gloved thumb followed the line along the bottom edge of his mask, right at the exposed part of his cheek. She watched the depth and vibrancy in his eyes. Could see a ring of eyelashes through the colored glass. Could feel the heat from his skin. He had a freckle on his upper lip. Not for the first time Ladybug realized her partner was beautiful. The first few times she had stopped to really notice she had cried. An ache started in her throat and grew until her entire chest was sore, until she was breathless with grief.

A blush colored his cheeks and his neck. She watched, with some fascination, the steady beat of his heart through the vein in his neck. It was throbbing quick. He was searching her face for answers now, lip pursing into worry.  “Uh oh… It’s that bad?” Chat joked.

She wasn’t ready. It wasn’t the right time around. Ladybug got up from her crouch and held out her hand.

Chat took it without question and allowed her to lead them both out of the atrium into a modernized foyer, then into an elevator. She pressed floor four. 

“What’s the plan?” he asked as the elevator doors shut. Ladybug could detect a thread of nervousness behind his grin. He was probably wondering why they were going up when the akuma was last spotted below.

Such faith. It cracked her heart a little further every time. Ladybug squeezed his hand, watching the elevator numbers tick so she didn’t have to look him in the eye as she admitted, “No plan.”

The doors opened to an art gallery absent of people.

She let go of Chat’s hand, even though she never really wanted to, and began walking through the exhibit. She could hear the soft sound of his footsteps following her. Extremely large images of sand flicked by in succession. Ladybug didn’t stop to marvel at them.

Chat always did. “Whoah,” he said and she glanced back, catching him craning his neck. “This isn’t a photo. Someone drew this.”

Ladybug used up a few of her seconds to watch her partner, feeling a wash of fondness as Chat placed his hands on his hips and tilted forward, nose scrunched, face inches from the canvas. “LB how long do you think this took to make?”

Years, Ladybug thought. Aloud, she said, “This way.”

Chat let out a low whistle as they passed by a total of ten drawings. Each one looked alike. There were slight variations, however, upon closer inspection. It was the variations in Chat Noir that Ladybug kept discovering that made it impossible for her to stop doing this. They had been here over a thousand times before. Each time was a little different, but always ended the same.

They wound a corner and ended up in a smaller room. Ladybug headed towards the back where a replica of the interior of an old-style french house had been built. There was a bed and a little TV where you could learn all about Château de Blois.

It was the best place she had found for this. She had tried a lot of places. She had already dragged Chat around the entire city of Paris looking for a solution. Not that this Chat Noir remembered any of that.

She gestured at the bed, ignoring the documentary that was playing softly behind her, “I have a lot to tell you and no time to do it. How are we, by the way?”

Chat Noir obeyed, sitting on the bed, cat ears perked straight up, eyes bright now and curious. His knee bounced with pent-up energy. He glanced at his baton. “Three minutes, forty-seven seconds. Why? What’s going to happen?”

“I need you to pretend that everything I’m about to say is true,” Ladybug began.

Chat Noir gave her a funny look like, ‘why wouldn't I?’

Ladybug couldn’t help but smile a bit at that. She crouched down in front of him, placing a palm atop each bouncing knee. “You are going to die in three minutes,” Ladybug said.

Chat froze.

“Your heart. It stops. An arrhythmia,” Ladybug continued, keeping her eyes locked with his, making sure he was following along. They never had time to go over it again. “We’ve been here a lot. Anything you are about to say I’ve tried.” She had tried every hospital, every ER, every doctor; had tried Lucky charm-ing a solution countless times. 

Chat’s eyebrows drew together. His eyes were still present in the room with her, though. They hadn’t glazed off or flicked away in fear. “What?” he breathed. He searched her for a long moment for the joke. 

Ladybug knew better than to so much as flinch or blink right now while he was looking for a way out. Chat’s denial came in different severities every time, but it was never helped by her saying or doing anything until he did first.

A stormy look passed across his face as he took that in. “So... I’m dead and there’s nothing anyone can do about it?” he summarized, grinning.

Ladybug nodded, relaxing a touch. In her experience him grinning was usually the best outcome, even though it did seem a bit deranged. She took her hands from his knees, giving him a bit of space despite every bone in her body aching to hold him close. Even though she had held him so many times, it was always new for him. Too much of her affection too fast could scare him off.

“Wait. What about the cure?” he asked.

“You know Ladybug can’t bring people back to life.”

Chat leaned back a touch. A clawed palm drew up to rest over his heart, expression a bit dazed. Ladybug watched as her partner’s brain spun, processing. Then he glanced back at her, eyes startled. “How… How many times have we done this?”

“Many,” Ladybug admitted. “Each time is a little different. Sometimes you don’t believe me. Sometimes you call your dad. Sometimes you call Nino. Sometimes we just sit together.”

“Nino?” Chat caught.

“I know you are Adrien Agreste,” Ladybug said and then waited to see how he would react.

Sometimes this revelation hit hardest. It was more real, more believable. Often the fact that she knew his name at all was taken as proof she was telling the truth about everything else. That realization typically followed with denial. Sometimes terror.

Ladybug watched closely as Chat’s chest heaved in panic.

A humming noise suddenly kicked off. It was only after it stopped that Ladybug realized the air conditioning had been on. The change shocked Chat back out of whatever place he had gone. “Do I know you?” he whispered.

“Do you want to?”

Suddenly he recoiled, gaze suspicious. “You’re not Ladybug,” he stated, as if the thought had just dawned on him. “This isn’t real.”

Ladybug’s heart sank.

He was standing now, stumbling backwards. His shoulder hit one of the wood beams of the replica, causing him to twist.

With a sigh she reached down and twisted the bracelet back into position.

. .

Ladybug woke again in the cooking section of the library.

Chat tapped the screen on his baton and flipped through the cookbook. “Eggs benedict,” he read aloud.

Ladybug was still reeling from last time. They had almost parted ways on terms she could (maybe) accept. But no— Chat had to get paranoid. Not for the first time she cursed all the replicas of herself that her partner had faced. Maybe if he hadn’t been tricked previously they would have a better chance at this.

“Ladybug?” Chat’s voice broke her out of her thoughts, worried. “What’s wrong?”

“Why do you wake up in the morning?” Ladybug asked, eyes locked down at the book in his hands. At the long pause she got out of her crouch and into a cross-legged position, chancing a look at his face. Sometimes his living face in all it’s animated glory really hurt to look at when seconds before it had been dead.

Chat was staring at her in uncertainty. After a beat he mirrored her, settling down at her side and putting down the book. “That’s a weird question. Why? Something to do with the akuma?”

“Yes,” Ladybug lied. “I need to know.” She needed a break. Even though she never grew physically tired, emotionally she was exhausted. She used up rounds getting to know him better, plucking up the courage to try again to say goodbye again.

He had a grin on his face now. “Usually because of my alarm clock.”

 . .

She was back in the library.

“Grammont pullet,” said Chat Noir, to her right. He set down the cookbook and tapped his baton.

Ladybug laughed. She laughed and then she cried. She wasn’t sure when she stopped doing the first and started doing the second. They sort of happened together, just like all of these second chances and all of these subtle striations.

Chat’s hands hovered beside her arms like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to comfort her. His ears flattened, green eyes distraught. However, when Ladybug leaned in his arms looped around her in an easy embrace, chin resting atop her head.

Eventually emotions passed and Ladybug went quiet, listening to the sound of Chat’s heartbeat and the rumble of his voice as he asked, “What’s the joke?”

“You started the timer after you read the recipe this time,” Ladybug said.

Chat’s grip shifted. He fell silent, as if weighing something, before he admitted, “I don’t get it.”

Ladybug reached up and patted his back. She hadn’t expected him to.

. .

This time around was coq-au-vin.

They had made it to the elevator. This time, Ladybug pressed ‘Floor 4’ right as Chat pressed ‘Basement’. The elevator suddenly had a choice, and it chose to go down, and instead of twisting the bracelet to start over, Ladybug decided to take out some of her own anger on the akuma.

The fight was over before it barely begun.

The umbrella Ladybug tossed to Chat skidded across the floor. Chat stumbled. Ladybug reached down and spun the bracelet before she had a chance to watch him fall.

. .

The last recipe was profiteroles. And it was only the last one, because Chat— like always— surprised her. Ladybug supposed it was only a matter of when, not if. She could only do this so many times before Chat turned it back around on her.

He was glaring at her now, green eyes bright and vivid, unobstructed by goggles. Ladybug internally cursed whenever Chat decided to transform back because it meant there was no more baton— no more timer— and she always felt a bit lost within these three minutes without it.

“How many times have you put yourself through this?” he was asking her, again, since she couldn’t give him a straight answer. Suddenly, and swiftly, he got up from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed and took two steps forward into her personal space before Ladybug had a chance to stumble back. “How many?” he repeated.

“I-I don’t know!” Ladybug answered truthfully, suddenly flustered beyond belief. This was the first time Adrien Agreste had had the audacity to step this close to her, to get this mad at her.

“Marinette,” Adrien realized, sounding a bit punched in the gut. “You’re Marinette. This whole time...”

Not trusting herself to speak, Marinette nodded, eyes wide. The amount of times they had both come to know each other’s identities were slim. Rarely did it ever get this far. From this point on was uncharted territory for Ladybug. This Chat Noir suddenly became very real, no longer this strange version of himself that repeated the same phrases and did the same things over and over. No, all the sudden this profiteroles version of Chat was wholly unique.

“If I die in three minutes—” he began.

“Any second now, actually,” Marinette corrected.

“—you’ll do what, exactly?” he finished.

Marinette knew how bad it sounded, but she said it anyway, “I’ll go back to when you’re not dead.”

Adrien’s eyes flicked to the Miraculous around her wrist for a second, brows scrunching. “And then what?”

Ladybug only had to meet his eyes for a brief second to answer that question.

Suddenly Chat had a strong grip on her arm, yanking it towards him.

It took Ladybug a full three seconds to realize what he was trying to do. “Chat. Stop. Chat, stop,” she hissed, veins icy, mouth dry. If he took the bracelet it was over. She twisted and ripped her arm out of his grip, stumbling back and away. A quick glance down confirmed the bracelet was still there and still activated. She kept it pressed tightly to her polka dotted chest, holding it with her other hand.

Adrien was shaking his head, bits of blond hair falling in and out of his eyes. “You can’t keep doing this,” he said, a little out of breath.

Marinette wondered if his heart had stopped and her fingers rested down upon the bracelet, but after a few seconds passed and he remained standing she let them drift away.

If Adrien noticed, he didn’t mention it. “Other people need you,” he accused. “Paris needs you.”

“Paris can figure it out,” she hissed.

Chat blinked, surprised. His face slowly morphed, surprise bleeding into understanding. “It’s ok, Bug. It will be ok.”

Her throat clenched and it felt like he had cleaved her entire body into two pieces straight down the middle. How? How would it ever be ok? When she thought of her future now she only saw darkness. There was nothing left.

“I know I can’t keep doing this,” she gasped, the words ripping out of her. “I know other people love me, need me. But you’re not the one that has to walk out of here alone." The word 'alone' made her own heart swell ten times too big until it felt like it would burst. She hoped it would. That would be a whole lot easier. She had wished a whole lot of things recently that would have appalled her younger self. “I’m not ready.”

“When will you be?” Adrien asked softly.

A hot surge of anger raced through her and she felt the insane urge to shove him or hurt him or do something because how dare he ask her that. How dare he! How dare he die in the first place! Ladybug was tempted to twist the bracelet just to get away from this Chat and go back to an earlier version who was still malleable and innocent. Just erase this attempt all together from his memory so she would never have to answer.

All she had to do was twist it. But then he’d be right. And if she didn’t twist it, he’d still be right. Because… he was right, regardless. And no matter how many times she could make him forget it, she would never forget it.

Adrien wobbled, taking a few quick steps back until he was slumping back on the bed, face pale. Time’s up.

Her anger evaporated and she was there, tugging him close into her chest, because this was the closest to Chat she had ever gotten in all her attempts. The crown of his head tucked underneath her chin, gloved fingers running through his hair, as she felt all the movement and life drain out of him. It was like this every time. Quick, quiet, sneaky. As quick as a switch. One minute the lights were on, the next they were off.

She had no idea how much time she had before her five minutes were up. If she had to guess it was down to seconds. Her fingers detangled out of blond hair and dragged along her side, along her arm, until they met her wrist and bumped against the bracelet. 

Was she? When would she be? Ready, that is.

[anjuschiffer]

To Kill A Ladybug

I couldn’t help myself but write something for Maribat March, no matter how hard I tried to stop myself. So here’s my contribution to this event. Enjoy!

Maribat March- DAY 15: Gone Wrong

Context: Marinette is Marinette Wayne, the adopted child of Bruce Wayne. She wanted to study in Paris, the Dupain-Cheng’s her host family and family that offered her to use their last name to study in Paris. While they don’t know about her secret identity, Bruce does, but Marinette made him promise to not interfere unless she says so. She didn’t want to rely on her family for help, but fate had other plans for Mari.

----

AO3

He didn’t mean it. Really he didn’t. 

“If you truly cared about me, then why don’t just accept my love for you?!” Chat Noir exclaimed, placing down his foot. Ladybug looked at him with squinted eyes

“Are you being serious right now Chat Noir?” Ladybug said, capturing the akumatized butterfly. “Are you even listening to yourself?”

“Are you being serious?” Chat bellowed, his hand over his heart. “I’ve told you over and over again that I love you and each time you never give me the answer I want to hear.”

“Well sorry to burst your bubble, but I already told you that I don’t feel the same.” Ladybug said, releasing the purified Akuma. “And before you say anything else. I want to clarify something. I’m not interested in looking for a partner, not platonically nor romantically. I want to do this job properly. Until Hawkmoth is defeated, I will not be investing any time into romance.”

Chat scoffed.

“Are you enjoying this Ladybug?”

“Enjoying what?” She really hoped that what she was thinking wasn’t what was going to happen.

“Playing around with me. Playing with my feelings.” Chat emphasized.

He’s going there alright. Disappointed, but not surprised.

“Chat you know that’s not why-”

“Oh I bet it is.” He accused, walking up to her, pushing her back with his finger. “Not only do you like to keep secrets from me, but you also like to play around with my heart.”

 “Chat, that’s not true-”

“Oh, I’m sure it is.” Chat spat, “I bet you’re enjoying all my attention because I bet that no one like the real you.” Something loomed over Marinette, pressing itself onto her being. “I bet the real you adores lying, adores manipulating those around them, not caring at how they hurt others with their words.” At the accusation, Marinette took a step back. 

Again, she was being compared to that girl. That girl that always manages to crawl under her skin. That girl that she was nothing like. Nothing like what Chat was telling her he thought she was. “You do it all for fun, don’t you?” 

“I-I-”

“And maybe I was the first person to actually love you.” He turned to face the city, the chatter and noises became mute. “But how stupid was I to actually love someone like you. Maybe we really weren’t made to be partners. Nonetheless friends.” Chat huffed. “So from now on, do me a favor and take the high road, got it?” He said as he turned to face Ladybug.

 He wasn’t expecting the scene in front of him

His eyes widened upon seeing her face pale, her eyes boring through him, dripping with tears. 

“Is-Is that what you think,” Ladybug started, startling Chat. He’s never heard her voice so wobbly, so... fragile. “Is that what you think is the reason behind me not accepting your feelings for me?” Chat gulped. 

“Ladybug, I didn’t-”

“That I should take the high road?” Ladybug hiccuped, letting out a small giggle afterwards. “That’s the second time I heard that phrase.” She looked at her hands, her tears falling into them. “Both said by people whom I adore and trusted.” She looked back at Chat, who stared back at her with wide eyes, as if he just realized some grand revelation. “Maybe… maybe I really should take that piece of advice.”

With that, she dashed away, Chat’s voice fading as she grew further away from him. 

Little did he know that that was the last time he would ever see her. 

Night turned into days, which turned into a month. A solid month without Ladybug ever appearing. 

Chat had to fight akuma after akuma without Ladybug ever by his side. Sure he had allies, but none could replace the gap Ladybug had left behind. A gap he had caused and ate at his conscience every minute of the day. 

It didn’t help when the day after the whole incident, that Marinette went missing, appearing back to class a whole week later. When Adrien approached her, wanting to confirm his suspicions, she flinched harshly against his touch. After apologizing and telling Marinette that he knew she was Ladybug, her reaction horrified him. 

Marinette went pale, her breathing becoming faster with each inhalation, her eyes quickly darting around the room before she collapsed to the ground. 

Adrien simply stood there, watching and hearing as their classmates scurried to find help, Adrien watching as the world around him moved as he remained still.

A group of paramedics were soon in the class, taking Marinette off to the nearest hospital. 

Had Adrien looked closer, he would’ve seen that she no longer wore the earrings she had once held with great honor. 

He had missed the first of many signs of his bad luck.

That night, Adrien went out on patrol, wiping his tears for what seemed like the umpteenth time. 

Stopping a tiny crime didn’t relieve him of his sorrows, Adrien wanting an akuma to appear so badly so that he can forget the pain swelling in his heart.

That’s when he was taken by surprise, his vision flipping and the air from his lungs escaping him as his back hit the tar of the roof. Preparing to fight back, he froze upon feeling a cold blade pressed against his throat. All Adrien was able to tell from this guy was that he had to have been younger than him, but obviously was more trained than him.

The male was cladded in all black attire, the only color on him were his eyes.

Green met emerald.

“Adrien Agreste.” The person growled, causing the blood on Adrien’s face to drain. How did he know who he was? The only person that knew who he was was the Guardian, but the Guardian had been missing for quite a while.

“Who are-”

“On behalf of the Guardian, I now renounce your duty as Chat Noir. I hereby strip you of your mantle as Chat Noir.” The male spoke, Ariden seeing bloodlust in his eyes. Like if that was going to prevent him from backing off without a fight.

“You can’t just-”

“Orders are orders.” The male said in a monotone voice, shudders rippling through Adrien’s body. “It’s a wonder how she still kept working with such an incompetent asshole like you. If I were Ladybug, I would’ve kicked you off the team the moment I felt you were useless to me or a hindrance to the mission.”

“You know Ladybug?” A scoff.

“Of course. She’s the reason why you haven't been killed yet.” The male pressed his blade further into Adrien’s skin, causing Adrien to whimper. “If it were up to us, you would’ve been skinned alive and then killed.” 

“Us?” Adrien croaked.

“The rest of her brothers. Do you know how much pain you made her go through? For the past week, she’s gone through breakdowns and panic attacks, suffering from depression and anxiety. None of us can touch nor talk to her without her reacting negatively, mumbling self deprecating things about herself.” 

“And that’s just touching the surface.” A new voice added, Adrien watching another male emerge from the shadows. He wore a red helmet, Adrien feeling his heart temporarily stop upon seeing the guns holstered at each side of Red’s side. Adrien didn’t want to know if they truly were real or not.

“All because you threw a tantrum like a child because she said ‘no’ like the right she’s allowed to have.” Another male said, Adrien shifting his eyes to a male sitting on the building’s fence. He got up and started to walk on the fence with no care in the world, almost childlike despite Adrien having the gut feeling that he was the eldest of the new crowd. 

“I didn’t-”

“You’re an idiot if you thought your words couldn’t hurt her.” Another voice chipped. Adrien finally noticed the new person, leaning against Red. “She’s the most kind and caring person we know and you tore her because you’re spoiled ass couldn’t take a rejection. Even I know how to take one.”  

“So you’re going to do what we say unless you want to die tonight.” The young assasin said, Adrien gulping and giving an okay.

-----

Adrien watched as news spewed their opinions and theories of what happened to Ladybug and Chat Noir grew, the media wondering where they went and what was going to happen to Paris now that they were gone. 

Adrien already knew the answer to one question, but was also looking for answers for that second question himself. Where was his Lady? Where was Marinette?

The answer was soon given in the form of Adrien arriving home one day, seeing national forces in front of his house. There he saw his father get escorted to a car. Ladybug stood in the distance, Adrien cheering up upon seeing his Lady.

Or so he thought it was his Lady. 

When he had gone up to talk with her, she simply glared at him, ignoring his pleads of wanting to speak with her. It took the new cat to stop Adrien from pestering his partner.

“She obviously doesn’t want to speak to you.” The cat said, standing between the new Ladybug and Adrien.

“But I have to speak-”

“How insensitive.” The Cat said, shaking his head. “Didn’t you know? The new Ladybug can’t verbally speak? She can only physically speak.”

“What is that-”

“Sign language.” Cat said, narrowing his eyes in an all familiar fashion. “She’s a mute.” With that simple explanation, Adrien was left alone, the police surrounding him and taking him back into his empty home, giving him a briefing of what had just happened.

His Lady was gone, so was Hawkmoth, whom he found out that day was his own father. 

He had no one left. His aunt wanted him to come to England, Adrien compromising with her to let him finish his studies in Paris before heading to England. It worked. He was to live alone, but Adrien denied this fate.

He had one last hope.

However, that faith he had started to dwindle when he later found out that Marinette was no longer in their school, no longer in Paris, nonetheless France. She had left for the States, with a new family.

He was truly alone now.

Adrien struggled to keep his grades up, his health depleting thanks to his lack of self care. He hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days nor had a proper night’s rest. 

He was a wreck and he knew. 

It didn’t help when Damian Wayne came to the school and barged into the class, grabbing Adrien by his shirt collar and punching him square in the face and wanting to give him a few more.

A man with a white streak on his hair had to rip Damian away from Adrien while another male talked with Bustier. 

Under other circumstances, Adrien would’ve been more alert and willing to fight back, but now he didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore and for some reason, he felt like he deserved it.

Nino had helped him get back to his seat, giving him a few napkins to deal with the blood seeping from his nose. Alya then helped him go to the nurse’s office, which then led to him having to be sent to a hospital thanks to having a fracture.

As he sat on the hospital cot, he decided to ring his aunt when he found an envelope with the initials MDC and a ladybug sticker sealing the envelope. 

Adrien opened the letter, the first words caused him to tear up, covering his mouth in attempts to suppress a wail. 

He watched as tears dropped onto the letter in his hand, the paper soaking it, earning a stain. 

He didn’t want their reveal to be this way, to be done in this matter. He had imagined their reveal to be done properly, to be done face to face, not through writing.

Guilt gnawed at his body, causing him to vomit, a nearby nurse seeing this and attempted to help him before calling out for a doctor.

Soon after Adrien recovered, Gabriel  was losing to its opponent MW, Adrien having to shut it down and simply live with whatever his good-for-nothing father had left behind. 

He didn’t have anything to fall back into, having to use his aunt’s connections to get into the acting field, seeing as he had no dream to pursue and acting being the only thing he was decent at.

Another year at the Wayne Gala, Adrien sulking in a corner as this aunt and cousin enjoyed the event to their heart's content. He was only here because his company asked him to represent them. If not… there went his career...

“-introduce my lovely daughter and her fiancé, Marinette Wayne and Garfield Logan.”

Adrien’s eye ghosted over the couple that had gotten onto the stage to join Bruce when they sharply landed on Marinette Wayne, or should he say Marrinette Dupain-Cheng.

He watched as she dazzled everyone with her presence, her midnight hair done wonderfully into a side braid, covered in all different types of flowers. Her simple black sweetheart dress with golden trims matched Garfield own all black suit with golden cuffs and trims. 

That could’ve been him up there. That could’ve been him but he just had to have acted like a child instead of a professional all those years ago. 

What a fool he had been. 

Everything went wrong when he decided to kill a ladybug. 

He had killed their everyday ladybug and then Ladybug herself, although in reality, he had killed the same person twice.

They said killing a Ladybug was bad luck… seems like that was true. 

[toujoursmiraculous]

Thoughts and Reactions to Truth!

Just going to go straight into it because this episode is huge! I really like how at the end of a season and the beginning of another, we see the same scene that leads us out of one and into another. Gabriel fixes the Miraculous and ohhh poor Dusuu thought it was all a dream, being in evil hands. So in a way, the Miraculous being damaged may have been a blessing for her. Dx Too bad it couldn't have been fixed after Marinette got it back :/ But at least Nooroo isn't alone right? Legit only positive I can get from this. ;-; Tikki and her little hats omg it's so cuuuute! I wonder if she makes her little clothes, too awww But the other Kwami's are almost like siblings to Tikki if you think about it. Now Tikki has to share things with them all as they cause chaos all around when she's so used to her quiet life alone with Marinette. Even for a Kwami, that must be hard to adjust to.

Okay so it's almost Prince Ali's birthday that Paris is going to celebrate. Interesting! I'd really like to see him back and a storyline with that. :O Marinette holding something, clearly, that the girls can't see over video chat. Talking to what appears to be herself, reacting to what someone's saying from different sides of her room. Camera flashes going off. And then her phone getting yeeted at her all on a video call with her friends when she's supposed to be alone...considering they're all going to have Kwami's and learn some things later as they become heroes, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if they think back to this scene someday! OH WAIT spoiler for the upcoming episode Gang of Secrets!!! Fair warning. What if this episode with the plushies she said she's going to make, is one of if not the reason they go over and are looking around her room? Because she's been acting sus and they want to know what's going on. Especially after what happens later in the episode with Luka. Okay, back to the episode itself. Her friends observation: You're acting way weirder than normal.... IS ADRIEN AT YOUR PLACE?! I mean, fair point. xD But the thing is, whenever Marinette tends to act weirder or say/do things that Alya and the girls don't understand, it's almost always connected to her being Ladybug/Guardian. Even Lila. If she wasn't Ladybug and dealt with her so much as her, she wouldn't know a lot of things that made her not trust Lila to begin with. So Marinette has to overcompensate to try to hide everything or can't explain her thoughts or feelings about certain situations, so Alya always just assumes her behavior has something to do with Adrien. It really sucks but at the same time, what else is she going to think?

These Kwami are a lot of trouble. xD Now she's even more frazzled, so she calls Luka Adrien. More than once. I've done this where I call my siblings the wrong name more of than I'd like so I can't fault her for it. Her mind's probably a mess, poor girl. Dx "I'm sorry it's just that I cheated on you!" BIG OOF. But this gives me Kim Possible vibes when Ron assumed Kim didn't want him anymore and told her he was cheating on her when he meant to say he was cheating to be on the football team so he could be more worthy of her when he thought she wanted to "trade up" her boyfriend. Our poor Marinette! So frazzled she can't remember when her dates are, when they've been rescheduled. She can't remember her patrols with Chat Noir which are really important. She's getting to the point where it's going to be a wonder she can even function. Dx "But Marinette and I are such a big fan of his" wow this sure hits different. The way they kept quizzing each other to finish the sentence with Jagged Stone trivia was pretty cute. Luka having her finish the line with "Kiss me" that she screamed to the entire theater made me choke on my cake. "Well, if that's what you want." Smooth. "I think, yes. I want to." But you know, it gets interrupted by an akuma attack of course because that's just the way things work! :D And wouldn't you know it, it's Mr. Pigeon. AGAIN. Totally worth interrupting the moment lol Ladybug can't pick and choose, however, so here comes the sequence where she's constantly running off and he starts doubting her. Notice the parallel when Marinette started to like Luka after Adrien could never show up to things? Now Marinette's having trouble showing up and Luka's having issues with it. The second Chat Noir started to sneak up on Ladybug, we all knew he was going to get flipped. But it's so adorable and funny at the same time I love it x333 And that whole scene there of Ladynoir. Obviously it's a Lukanette-centered episode but the Ladynoir in this episode! So good! And you know, it's interesting. First time we see Adrien this episode is for FIVE whole seconds! And the way it abruptly cut off as he opened the car door... yeah you know what, Lies is going to be Adrien's POV or something of this same day. It has to be. He has 2 total scenes one of them is 5 seconds and the other one is 2 seconds. Crazy. We got about 7 seconds of Adrien's face today woo! But ugh here's where we get hurt Luka ;-; "A girl, who as always, isn't here." Ouch. The fact that if Marinette said she loved Adrien still, he'd understand and he'd get it is so sweet, and so sad that it's not even because of that, it's because she's Ladybug and the Guardian and she can't say a thing about it to him at all, that he can't accept. It's the one thing he couldn't deal with that's the issue and that really sucks. AND THIS MOMENT RIGHT HERE HAD ME GASPING AND HURTING FOR LUKA. IT'S THE MOMENT HIS HEART BROKE

But also really guys, did you notice his eyes are different now? Almost like a blue diamond look or something.

Luka trying to fight it, trying to tell Hawk Moth that the truth needs to be willingly told, not forced. But stupid Hawk Moth's able to get him to hold on anyway and gets akumatized. But not before he told Marinette to run. Which was such an awwww moment. x33 I mean, this is definitely getting a bit close to Chat Blanc territory if you ask me. New transformation music is pretty good! I like it. Also can we just appreciate that instead of trying to track down Marinette to get the truth from her, he's instead asking all her friends and family, pretty much any source besides her? AND ROSE'S RESPONSE "Marinette has no secrets because she's the most honest girl in the world!" She thinks so highly of her and it's just so beautiful. Nobody would blame her for these secrets if they only knew either. But awwwwww I love this scene!! And here's the big reveal! (no not that one) Jagged Stone is Luka and Juleka's father. 😮

Thomas today tweeted that Luka and Juleka are twins. Which would have to be fairly obvious after this reveal. There's no way that Jagged, who says he'd be a lame dad and left because he wasn't cut out for it, would have Luka with Anarka, then stay long enough to also have Juleka. I also totally forgot that in the French version, Jagged has an American accent when he speaks. XDD Just the fact that even WITH his truth powers, he asked his mother TWICE who his father was. Both times she said Jagged Stone. He still didn't believe it until he went to Jagged himself omg. This poor poor boy. Luka: 😱*gasp* Marinette: 😲 *gasp* Adrien: 😮 WHY IS THIS SO FUNNY OMG. LIKE I'M WATCHING A TELENOVELA OR SOMETHING. THEY EVEN ZOOMED IN ON THEIR REACTIONS I CAN'T And then Luka just yeets his dad because he wasn't ever there for him. I honestly did not expect Luka having dad issues to ever be a thing in this show, even though I knew he wasn't around. So like... when everything's worked out with Marinette and Adrien in the end, will Luka and Adrien end up becoming friends and bonding over things, like the whole daddy issues thing...? Are we really supposed to believe she has no feelings for Chat Noir? I mean really, look at this.

"I can't imagine what your daily life must look like" ... is she really actually being the one to bring up something about his secret identity? With that face? 😲

Their flirty banter that at this point I don't even think they realize it is, and those soft looks I just... My top ship is Ladynoir and I was not expecting any significant moments of theirs but I got it anyway. Just watching their scenes, I kept going "See, this is why they're meant for each other." My heart is happy despite all the Luka pain! It's helping me cope with it, okay? "When you're ready, I'll be here for you, Marinette." Awww so they're telling us Lukanette is on hold here. Not a guarantee, but at least on hold. He's an option for her later. So now the Adrienette vs. Lukanette for S4 we heard about awhile back makes sense now. Later on this season, probably when things calm down and she gets the hang of things, she'll be in a better position to be with someone. And by then, Adrien will probably realize and understand his feelings for Marinette. So then she'll be in a position to choose between them. Now we know where Luka gets his ability to turn emotions into great songs. That's adorable! Father-son bonding! Gabriel needs to take notes when a man who was never in his son's life as more than his idol has the ability to try to be there, but Gabriel can't. Ugh our poor Marinette, probably thinking she's going to be alone for a very long time just because of a supervillain. That's so wrong she has to feel like this. If you notice, Hawk Moth's akumatizations help people patch up relationships so much of the time as a weird unexpected result of an akuma attack. And yet, he does nothing but hurt Marinette and at times Adrien, the most when he akumatizes people. He makes me so angry! But I'm too tired for a rant about that. At least the Kwami hugs at the end helped a teeny bit anyway! c:

[kittinoir]

Phantoms Ch. 11

Read on Ao3

With just the two of them on patrol, things felt almost like they used to. Almost. There was nothing familiar about the too-casual, lingering touches between them, or in the way Ladybug looked at Chat Noir and felt her heart swell to bursting with affection, but if this was her new normal, she thought she could get used to it.

If only she didn’t have to also get used to the fear that dogged every glance, every brush, every moment. Even as it faded with every day that passed, it never quite disappeared. She sometimes wondered if it ever would.

But not in that moment. Sitting this close to him on the edge of the roof, closer than she ever would have before, their knees pressed together, fear of the future was momentarily held at bay. Adrien had that effect on her. 

“Don’t get mad,” Chat Noir said, breaking their comfortable, if loaded silence, thick with all the things they couldn’t say to each other, “But it’s been…really quiet lately.”

“Don’t you dare jinx us!” Ladybug said, but she couldn’t help a laugh. “But…you’re right. I don’t know if I should be worried or relieved.”

“With Hawk Moth?” Chat Noir said, glancing sidelong at her. “Always worried.”

Ladybug didn’t say it, but she’d grown so use to worrying that it hardly felt like anything anymore. He had a point, though. Hawk Moth wasn’t taking a break: he was gearing up. Someone like that didn’t just disappear.

Almost as though their thoughts had summoned him, both Ladybug and Chat Noir leapt to their feet as someone shot out of the clouds towards them, faster than anything they’d ever seen.

“Koira,” Chat Noir said suddenly, his baton stilling in his hand. Moments later, Ladybug could spot the details her partner had already seen and slowed her yoyo as well. Had they missed an akuma alert?

“What is it?” Ladybug demanded as Koira landed hard, skidding across the roof. He was panting, having pushed Barkk to his limits, but Koira didn’t give off the impression he was staying as he stalked back to them.

“It’s Hawk Moth,” Koira said, loosing the hammer at his hip. He flipped the hammer head down and revealed the screen on the handle, a small black and yellow icon flashing in the top right corner. “We - Chloe…I think she found him.” He met Chat Noir’s confused gaze. “There’s no easy way for you to learn this, but…your father…”

“You’re wrong,” Ladybug said automatically, though Koira’s announcement stirred old suspicions that she’d never totally managed to put to rest. “Gabriel Agreste was cleared a long time ago when he was akumatized.”

“Then maybe you can explain this,” Koira said, thrusting his hammer at them.

It displayed a photo of a portrait and a hole in the ground of what looked like some kind of sitting room or office. It seemed vaguely familiar, but Ladybug couldn’t place it. She read the message attached instead: Still think this is a waste of time?

“So he has another safe in the floor,” Chat Noir said in a voice Ladybug had only heard once before. “So what? Did she find the one behind the portrait, too, while she was snooping through my father’s office?”

Ladybug turned and was met with the same disbelief, the same anger that had come over her partner the first time she’d voiced her thoughts aloud. Now it all made sense. She supposed she should have been grateful he’d followed her lead at all.

“I hope you have more than this,” she said instead of taking Chat Noir’s hand in her own to offer comfort like she wanted to. 

“This is the last message Queen Bee sent before she vanished,” Koira snapped, reholstering his hammer. “The Grimoire came from him. She went there, and then she disappeared.”

“Chloe is always disappearing,” Chat Noir said, and edge of desperation in his voice now. “Whenever things gets hard or they don’t go her way, she vanishes.”

“You know that’s not true!” Koira shouted, and Ladybug had to admit, even if Chat Noir didn’t know that, she did. Chloe had stopped running a while ago. That wasn’t to say Chloe couldn’t have a moment of weakness, but this wasn’t adding up. At least not to that.

“You know what, it doesn’t matter,” Koira said, abruptly turning from them. “The only reason I even came here was because she made me promise that… But it doesn’t matter. Sit here in denial if you want, but I’m going to do what you should have been doing all along: take the problem out at the root.”

He’d made it all of two steps before Chat Noir’s baton swept his feet out from under him, sending Koira sprawling.

“If you think I’m going to let you attack my father because of some half-baked investigation you two did, you have another thing coming,” Chat Noir snarled.

“Enough!”

Ladybug stepped between them, trying to ignore the rage pouring off her partner in waves.

“Koira, if there’s even the slightest chance you’re right, you can’t seriously expect we’d just let you walk into the same trap Queen Bee did.” Ladybug didn’t think she imagined his wince, but it was hard to tell. Felix rarely conceded anyone’s point.

“Chat Noir,” she continued, turning to the familiar stranger her partner had become, “I think we owe it to ourselves and this city to lay these suspicions to rest once and for all.”

Chat Noir reacted as though she’d struck him. “Are you telling me you…believe him…?”

“I’m saying we have to be sure, one way or the other,” Ladybug said softly, silently begging him to understand. “We’ve both been in two places before, too.”

Ladybug turned back to Koira before she could register her partner’s reaction. She knew her stance would feel like a betrayal, but she knew even so he’d see the value in confirming his fathers innocence. At least, she hoped it would be innocence. She could hear Adrien’s voice in her head as clearly as if he’d spoken the words out loud: he’d already lost his mother. He couldn’t lose his father, too.

“Assemble the team,” Ladybug said to Koira. “I want everyone here in an hour or less. No excuses. We’ll deal with this, once and for all.” But first she needed to talk with her partner - without his needling cousin a few feet away.

“But Chloe - ”

“Is smarter and more resourceful than you give her credit for.” Ladybug didn’t miss Felix’s wince this time, and she couldn’t help but hope she had hit a nerve. “And will not be thanking us if all we do is get ourselves captured trying to help her. That’s the worst case scenario. For all we know, she just fell down that shaft and is need of rescue. Chat Noir is right; this ‘investigation’ needs more work. Now go.”

Koira scowled but leapt from the roof without another protest, leaving her alone again with Chat Noir, a prospect that had been much more appealing only ten minutes ago.

“You’re not seriously entertaining this, are you?” Chat Noir demanded as she walked back to him. His baton was trembling in his fist and he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “If he were Hawk Moth, I would know. I would…How could I not…”

He trailed off as the implications began to set in. This time Ladybug did step up to him and wrap her arms around his waist, placing her head on his chest, but she felt him lock up beneath her touch.

“We don’t have enough information,” Ladybug said, avoiding his questions. “But Adrien…whatever we do, we have to be sure.”

He jerked in her arms at the use of his real name, but a moment later, she heard the clatter of the baton against the rooftop and then the comforting weight of his own arms around her as he pulled her close.

“It’s not that it can’t be him,” Adrien admitted quietly as he laid his cheek on the top of her head, “But if he’s been there the whole time…and I could have…”

“Hawk Moth’s crimes do not lay at your feet,” Ladybug said firmly, twisting her face up towards him and refusing to let his eyes stray from hers. “I’ve been to your house during Hawk Moth’s reign. Is it my fault I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary? Tikki’s, for not sensing another kwami’s presence?”

“Of course not, but you didn’t live with him,” Chat Noir protested.

“Hawk Moth isn’t sloppy,” Ladybug said. Why couldn’t she find the right words? “If he didn’t want you to know, you wouldn’t. That’s no one’s fault. What matters is what we do next.”

“And what’s that?” he asked with a bitter chuckle as he dropped his arms. “Arrest him? Storm my house? Fight it out in the backyard?”

“We check our facts,” Ladybug said, reluctantly letting him go. “We check everything. Regardless of who your father may or may not be, Chloe is missing and her last known location is your house. Either she fell down a servants elevator, or…or she found something. If nothing else, we have to look for her, or at least some clues as to what happened to her. For all we know, your father could be a hapless pawn in all this. Maybe all he needs our help.”

Chat Noir blew out a breath as he turned to look out over the city. He was still reeling, she could see that. She couldn’t blame him. If it had been her own father, would she have been so calm? No, she knew, she would not. In point of fact, he would have been chasing her across the city, trying to catch her before she ripped the bakery door of its hinges.

“What do you need?” she asked softly. More than anything, she wanted to hold him, love him, support him the way someone who was more than just a friend could. She couldn’t see how their relationship could lead to that horrible future that dogged her sleeping hours, especially now when he was obviously in so much pain. Could it really be so much worse than the present playing out in front of her?

“I need my dad to not be Hawk Moth,” Chat Noir said without turning. “And if he is, I need to do something. Luckily, I’m as clever as I am handsome.”

Ladybug frowned. “Adri -”

He pivoted abruptly, laying a single clawed finger against her lips. “Ah-ah. Your rule, remember, Ladybug?”

Ladybug’s heart gave a painful squeeze as she beheld his face. The light that had danced in his eyes since she’d met him, the warmth and humour, had shuttered and gone out. She may have put the wall between them before, but he was the one putting it there now. 

’No,’ she wanted to beg, ’Don’t. Don’t shut me out. You don’t have to do this alone.’ Was this how he’d felt all those months she’d been missing? Desperately wondering how to fix something when you weren’t even sure just how it had broken? How to help someone who shut you out?

“You have a plan?” she made herself ask, suppressing a shiver as he dropped his hand from her mouth. He wasn’t alone. She wouldn’t allow it. 

“The beginnings of one,” Chat Noir said as he opened the calendar feature on his baton. “My father is hosting a charity auction at our house in two days as a fundraiser for the foundation he created in… Lots of guests, fancy dress affair, the perfect time to do some reconnaissance and a possible rescue. Kagami, Felix, and I are, of course, already on the guest list.” He paused, and Ladybug glimpsed the momentary slip of his calm. “Chloe was, too.”

“Any chance you can get anyone else in?” Ladybug asked. Normally she was the one who came up with the plans, but she could feel how much he needed this in the absence of someone to actually fight. “A…date, maybe?”

Chat Noir’s eyes were narrowed in concentration as he mentally went through his elusive father’s rules and regulations. “I have to bring Lila. Kagami and Felix have an available plus one, though.”

Ok, she’d be lying if that didn’t sting. Little Lila did anymore bothered Ladybug, but being Adrien’s date? She knew how it would look to the press. Judging by Chat Noir’s face, he knew, too. So why did it matter?

The answer was instantaneous.

Because even if it was contractual, even if it was for show, what Lila would have was more real than the moments she and Adrien stole when they hoped fate wasn’t looking. 

“Kagami can bring Max as her plus one,” Ladybug said as though her heart wasn’t on fire. “If he can sneak away, he can open a portal long enough for a few of us to get in. I’ll go with Felix.”

Chat Noir’s head snapped up at that, but he bit back his protest before he could make it. “Makes sense,” he bit out, the cool facade falling back into place. “Who sneaks in?”

“Luka,” Ladybug said, listing them on her fingers. “Juleka, Mylene, Alya, and Nino. Anyone else?”

Chat Noir shook his head. “The fewer there are, the smaller the risks.”

Over his shoulder, Ladybug could see multiple flashes of colour making their way towards them, weaving around one another like planets caught in her and Chat Noir’s gravitational pull. 

“It’s a good plan,” Ladybug said as her gaze slide back to her partner. “I…Adr - ”

Before she could try again, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Viperion landed on the roof. The others weren’t far behind. She watched her partner greet them, his face a mask of grim determination, no hint of the storm she knew he must be feeling. All this time, she thought she’d been afraid of Adrien’s reaction if he knew she knew his identity. Maybe what she’d really been afraid of was her own feelings about it. Maybe what she’d really been afraid of was the truth. Maybe Adrien was just smart enough to know the difference.

“I heard there’s a major development?” Rena Rouge said as Kele and Aurochs dropped onto the roof as well.

“Possibly,” Ladybug said. “Queen Bee’s gone missing.”

The excitement in everyone’s eyes died immediately. 

“Kidnapped?” Rena Rouge asked.

“Just missing,” Ladybug said. She didn’t want to tell them Felix’s theory, afraid to bias them against a threat that truly might not be there. She’d jumped to so many conclusions in the past, and they’d always lost ground because of it. “Her last known location is the Agreste mansion.”

Predictably, everyone’s gaze swung to Chat Noir. There were even more eyes now, since Phoenix, Pegasus, and Ryuuko had joined them. 

“Why was she there?” Carapace asked.

“We’re not entirely sure,” Ladybug said, skirting the truth. Koira might have said Chloe was investigating Hawk Moth, but they had no real proof of that, though Ladybug could think of little other reason Queen Bee would have for sniffing around the mans’ office. “But her last transmission was from Gabriel Agreste’s office. She hasn’t been seen since.”

“Gabriel Agreste?” Tigress chimed in. “You don’t think - ”

“Let’s wait for everyone,” Chat Noir finally said. Despite his initial reaction, his spine was straight, his voice cool. For a moment, Ladybug’s vision shifted and his suit was white, not black, his eyes a piercing blue in the twilight. 

No. They weren’t the same. Adrien might have that same reckless energy about him right then, but that didn’t mean…he wasn’t…he wasn’t…

They didn’t have to wait long. 

Felix was the last to arrive. Despite the round trip, he still seemed as agitated as before. Ladybug got it; Felix wasn’t the easiest to get along with, but Chloe had been the closest thing he had to a friend amongst them. Hell, she wasn’t in love with the idea of leaving Chloe for another two days, either, but she had to admit it was the best shot at success they had. 

Within seconds of full assembly, everyone knew why they’d been called: one of their own had disappeared in Gabriel Agreste’s mansion.

For once, Ladybug took a step back and let Chat Noir explain the basics of their plan to the team. He seemed to have understood her unspoken wish to keep the ‘why’ of their mission to themselves until the last possible moment, but then he’d always been able to pick up on her silent cues. 

This was different than an after-school slumber party and a candid conversation about what was and wasn’t forgivable, she knew. This was a real mission, and it could have real consequences. She wouldn’t make anyone risk their lives if their heart wasn’t in it.

But one by one, everyone nodded their assent, even Kagami, Alix, and Mylene.

It all came down to the same thing: even bitching and moaning the whole way, Chloe would do the same for them. 

“Alright, then,” Chat Noir said, drawing the meeting to a close as the sun sank over the city behind them. “Let’s go get Queen Bee back.” 

[alexiessan]

Never alone - Chapter Eight - Soulmate AU

AO3

Previous - Here - Next

Master List

It’s kind of funny to write Marinette’s imagination going overboard x)

Hey, anyone ever wrote a Miraculous x Doctor Who cross over? I’ve been bing watching the serie and I’m obsessed with it!

Marinette was tired after this day, but a good tired. Working with Tim was amazing, she has learned so much in just a day and she couldn’t wait for the next.

When seeing everyone on the bus on the way back to the hotel, she was happy to find that her classmates had a good time at Wayne Enterprises. They were all talking about the things they learned and how nice the people they were working with were.

She exchanged a glance with Alya and they fist-bumped, happy that they made a good choice with this trip. They would all mature from this experience.

Arriving at the hotel, despite being tired, the designer also felt restless. She wanted to move, run or something. She wished she could go on a run on the roofs of Gotham as Ladybug but it would be too much risk and possibly compromise her identity.

Maybe Robin would agree to take her on a run on some of the safest roofs.

Marinette was in her room with Alya, reviewing all the notes she had taken while listening to Timothy. She had already filled a few pages of her brand new notebook that she bought back in Paris specifically for this internship.

Looking at the time, she realized that it was almost time for dinner and closed her book. She discreetely took a cookie out of a box and gave it to Tikki. Her eyes landed on the glasses inside, feeling a bit guilty that she kept the Miraculous inactive and that Kaalki couldn’t be with them, but it was safer this way. Hiding one kwami was already a difficult task, but two…

She didn’t want a repeat of Kwami Buster when both Tikki and Plagg were both caught by Mrs. Mendeleiev.

She preferred not to think about that event, Plagg’s presence at her school still unsettled her, despite Chat Noir claiming not knowing what school Françoise Dupont was.

She recognized a lie when she heard one, herself having to make the most ridiculous excuses to cover her superheroing.

But it was better not thinking about it, she wasn’t ready for anything regarding their identities.

And right now, she was hungry.

“Are you ready to go eat Alya? I’m hungry.”

“Yeah, just let me save this on my external drive and we can go!”

She watched as the reporter did just that and started chatting about her day.

“God, Mari, I’m so happy we applied for this program. I’ve learned so much today and it was only the first day. Mrs. Finnigan taught Adrien how to handle the press when they spread false information about him and she told me all about the relations between the public relations teams and the media. I heard from Nino that he has ten pages of notes about copyrights already and it’s not over! He’s already planning to get some of his songs protected!”

“That’s great, Alya!”

The class had an essay to write about their time at Wayne Enterprises when they get back to Paris, and while it should have been a source of complaints from the students, hearing how everyone loved their time there, writing an essay about him shouldn’t be a chore for anyone.

She heard at dinner that some had even started the outline of their essays and the two girls could see how proud Miss Bustier was of her students.

The laughs from the class’ table in the hotel’s restaurant could be heard from the lobby.

His brothers were laughing at his expense and Damian was seconds away from hitting them.

And probably do way more violent things too.

During dinner, Tim related his day with Marinette, smirking at his youngest brother all the while. He was telling them what a sunshine their future sister in law was and how Damian literally ran away from her the moment he saw her in the co-CEO’s office.

And of course, Jason and Dick found it hilarious.

“You spend every night with her as Robin but you can’t handle seeing her as yourself?!”

“Shut up Todd, before I make you regret your words.”

“It’s that he just can’t handle it, Jason! He literally noped out of it!” laughed Tim along with his brothers.

Unfortunately, Tim dodged out of the way of the knife he threw at him.

Maybe he should put something sharp in his shoes when he wasn’t looking. Maybe, then, his brother would just shut up.

The youngest Robin sighed. Siblings were such a drag.

“What the hell is that thing?!”

Robin and Marinette were on the roofs of her hotel for their daily meetings and for once, she was in her pajamas without her contact on. He got used to seeing her with two blue eyes so it was a bit weird to see her with a jade green eye just like his. All that added to his cape that she was wearing, just like every day before, was enough to make the tip of his ears go red.

Damn, she was cute like this.

But it wasn’t what prompted him to react the way he did.

No, what warranted such a response was the tiny red thing that was floating next to her and looking at him with weird big blue eyes and an antenna on its head.

The bluenette laughed.

“This is Tikki. She’s a Kwami and it’s thank to her that I can transform into Ladybug. She’s been- Comment on dit, déjà ? Ah! She’s been granting me my powers ever since I got the Miraculous.”

“It’s very nice to meet you! I’m so glad Marinette found her soulmate!” the… the thing said with a high pitch that hurt his ears.

“So a literal insect is giving you your powers?” he asked, skeptical.

The kwami frowned.

“Hey! Have some respect, would you? I’m not an insect, but a Kwami! I’m basically a god!”

“A… god? This tiny thing?”

Tikki scowled and scoffed.

“I’ll go back to the room, Marinette!”

And without another glance to Robin, she disappeared.

“I think you offended her.”

“Well, excuse me for being skeptical about a tiny thing that looks like an insect being a god.”

Marinette laughed.

“I can’t blame you. When I first met her I called her a blatte-souris. Hm… a croroch-mouse?”

“A cockroach-mouse?”

“Yeah, a cockroach-mouse! Sorry.”

Robin smiled, amused.

“So, yeah. I panicked and all so I wasn’t better than you.”

She clapped her hands.

“Anyway! I was actually hoping that you would accept to take me on a run somewhere, I’m feeling restless.”

“Absolutely not.”

There was a heavy silence as Marinette just looked at him.

“Why not?”

“Do you realize how dangerous it would be? We can’t risk anyone recognizing you! Could you imagine if someone saw Robin and an unmasked girl running around Gotham? The media would have a field day!”

Robin watched as the designer thought about it and could see the moment she agreed with him.

That girl really was an open book, he thought.

“Alright, alright. Then… Maybe you could teach me some basic martial art moves? As you know, I’m basically acting on instincts as Ladybug, but it would help a lot if I actually knew how to fight. Properly. Especially since the Akumas are getting a lot more violent.”

That, he could do.

“Fine. But we’ll need to spar a little so I can assess your skills and see where to go from there.”

The Parisian beamed.

“Alright! I’m ready.”

As she got in a defensive position, the vigilante observed her carefully.

“First of all, don’t make your fist that way. Don’t put your thumb inside, but outside. You could break it upon impact.”

The teenage girl did as he said and he waited a few seconds more before he attacked.

She dodged easily but she didn’t see his next move. Of course, he didn’t put strength in his hit, the goal wasn’t to hurt her but to observe.

She attacked in return but none of her blow hit home.

Two minutes in the sparring and Marinette was on her back, Robin having softly flipped her.

“Again.”

They sparred a few times, each time Marinette lasted a bit longer, but she never lasted more than five minutes.

She was breathing heavily while he barely broke a sweat.

“I’ll be honest with you, it’s a miracle you’re still alive.”

He winced. He hasn’t shown her this side of him yet.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” she scoffed.

Good, she could take it. He was afraid that she would be offended.

He sat next to her as she stayed on the floor, like a starfish.

“We’ll have to start from scratch. I’ll teach you some basic moves but there is only so much I can teach you in less than a week. You really need to take lessons when you get back to Paris, no matter how full your schedule already is.”

Marinette looked at him, giving him a sad smile.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll do it.”

“But you’re not hopeless. You adapt fast.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, every time we sparred, you would last longer.”

The Eurasian girl laughed.

“I didn’t last more than five minutes!”

“No, but in the first spar, you lasted only two minutes. So it’s progress. It shows that you adapt easily. You’re also aware of your surroundings and know how to use it. If you take this seriously, you’ll progress fast.”

He watched as she was still breathing heavily.

“Come on, give me your phone.”

She did as he asked and he took his own phone out too. He unlocked her phone easily.

“And for the love of God, Marinette, put a password on your phone.”

She smiled sheepishly.

He entered his contact information and send a message to himself from her phone and then saved her contact. He gave her her phone back.

“Here, I entered my number. I’ll send you a training program. You need to build up your strength and your stamina. You can’t afford to be out of breath like that.”

He hoped she wasn’t offended. He only did this because he cared and he didn’t want her to get killed fighting Akumas because she wasn’t strong enough.

The way she smiled at him showed him that she knew that.

“Thank you.” she breathed.

Marinette was like an open book, but Robin knew he wasn’t. He didn’t know how to feel that she could read him so easily. Was he already lowering his guard around her?

He sighed. He knew that the answer was yes. He already was lowering his guard. He did it unconsciously because he wanted things to work with his soulmate.

He didn’t want to be the man his mother wanted him to be. Not anymore.

“We’ll start some training tomorrow. In the meantime, I believe I promised you to show you some of my drawings.”

Marinette beamed as he took a few pieces of paper and she straightened, sitting next to him as he showed her drawings of Titus, Alfred the cat and the batcow.

He smiled as she cooed at them.

When she woke up the next day, Marinette cursed Robin. She was sore at some places that she didn’t know had muscles. She had a headache, but that was probably because she only got two hours of sleep, she and Robin had stayed later than usual, losing themselves in their conversations unaware of the time passing.

Marinette heard a noise next to her.

“Marinette, wake up! Breakfast is in twenty minutes.”

The designer cursed once more in her head. It was the first time since the beginning of the trip that Alya woke up before her. The dark-haired girl panicked for a few seconds, already imagining the reporter seeing her green eye. She could already picture her asking questions about her soulmate, who they were and when it happened. She could already see herself screw up and admitting that Robin was her soulmate and it would be on the Ladyblog and it would spread worldwide and Robin would hate her!

She wanted to scream until her mind cleared. Why was she panicking? Hiding her eye was, actually, really simple.

Marinette got up, rubbing her eyes and feigning a yawn as she made her way to the bathroom.

Nailed it, she thought as she closed the door behind her.

Tag list: 

@bigpicklebananatree @animegirlweeb @crazylittlemunchkin​ @northernbluetongue @cutechip @justafanwarrior @iloontjeboontje @resignedcatservant @maribat-is-lifeblood @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @toodaloo-kangaroo @mikantsume @dast218 @amayakans @zestyzealot​ @lunarwolfspn​ @corabeth11​

[hypexion]

It’s time for some season three Miraculous Ladybug thoughts. Now there’s more emotional trauma, extra convoluted secrets, new shocking twists and the same old Hawk Moth failures. Also there’s a worrying uptick of “stand around doing nothing while someone is akumatized“. In one case, Hawk Moth is literally right there! But I digress.

Marinette: After two seasons of the Adrien crush being a barely concerning issue, Marinette has finally slid into full-blown obsession. Which I suppose is a direction a character can go in, even if it’s a lot dumb. This dire shift in behavior is mostly targeted at Kagami, who has done literally nothing wrong. Indeed, Kagami even joins the crowd of people telling Marinette to get it together, blissfully unware that she’s in a superhero show, meaning Marinette simply cannot. The whole Adrien thing even bleeds into her Ladybug side, leading her to accidentally pour more problems onto him when she gives him the Snake Miraculous. Then after three seasons of Adrien pining, Marinette ends up with Luka. Which is perhaps for the better, since she can actually have a conversation with him.

Adrien: Someone get this boy some therapy. And away from his wretched excuse for a father. Now, I’m not saying it’s certain that Adrien’s need for approval caused him to spend months reliving the same five minutes in an attempt to impress Ladybug, just that it’s probably a contributing factor. Either way, the whole Aspik thing seems like it wouldn’t be good for anyone. However, Adrien’s only route for therapy is Plagg, who in spite of his occationally noble intentions, isn’t really enough. Consider the deeply worrying implications of Gabriel being suprised that there’s only joy in his home before continuing.

Also there is now an evil british version of Adrien which is hilarious. Somehow Felix being introduced in the episode after Chat Blanc makes it even more absurb, given the constrast between “abused child destroys France“ and “Adrien’s evil coustwin“.

Kagami: A new hero appears! Then she immediately leaks her identity to Hawk Moth. Kagami somehow appears to lead a sadder and lonelier life than Adrien, which means for a moment, Tomoe Tsurugi manages to come off as a worst parent that Literal Supervillain Gabriel Agreste. Eventually, however, Marinette gets over herself long enought to share the wonderful Friendship with Kagami. But is it just Friendship? Since that icecream scene reads less like “will Marinette choose Friendship or Love“ and more like “does Marinette love Adrien... or Kagami!?“. (It’s just Friendship since Kagami was clearly going to be paired with Adrien from her introductory episode.)

Luka: A new hero appears! You can tell Luka will be a better user of the Snake Miraculous than Adrien because Viperion’s costume doesn’t suck. I’m sorry, but it’s true. As secondary love interests go, he’s very much there, being a creative type to go with the creative type Marinette. Also is it just me or is his skin weirdly flat and smooth? There’s just something about him that just doesn’t look quite right.

Chloé: Who could have guessed that letting Chloé get away with her behavior with no negative consequences would itself have negative consequences? Truly her descent into villainy could not be forseen, not because it’s a sudden turn in her character, but rather the whole plotline needed an extra episode or two of setup somewhere. Now, don’t get me wrong here - Chloé is clearly a bad person, it’s just that there are some steps missing between “tears up a picture“ and “joins the baddies“. Honestly, Hawk Moth’s entire plan with the Bee Miraculous was really stupid and risky, since Chloé could have decided to prove she didn’t need Ladybug by immediately hitting Mr. Moth with her venom ability and taking his Miraculous. He should have pre-loaded it will an Akuma at the very least.

Lila: The other thing I knew about Miraculous Ladybug going in was that Lila exists and a lot of people hated her. Which is something I now understand, although she honestly comes off more as a malevolent narrative force than an actual character. Plus she’s only a threat because everyone seems to think “[She’s] not dangerous, she just craves attention“, ignoring that Lila’s need for attention is what makes her dangerous. She basically coasts on people’s underestimation of her, until she exploits Marinette’s seemingly irrational vendetta against her to “win“ the “war“ that only exists in Lila’s head. Although maybe Marinette should have put some effort into doing anything about the person who nearly got her skewered by Oni-chan instead of harassing Kagami. Can’t really complain about people with only in-universe knowledge thinking Marinette is reacting to Lila and Kagami for the same reasons, especially as to most people, it’s Lila who is nice and personable while Kagami is prickly and mean.

From a more meta perspective, Lila seems somewhat redundant if Chloé is still around and now an antagonist to both Marinette and Ladybug. If Chloé was actually trying to be a better person, Lila could slot into the role of “mean to Marinette“, but in a more subtle way. Alternatively, Lila could be a “reverse Chloé“ who hates Ladybug but who actually wants to be friends with Marinette for whatever reason. As it is now, Lila could probably be excised from every episode that isn’t Volpina, since the whole “frame Marinette“ thing could be done be Chloé, and the whole “Gabriel gets someone to spy on his son“ thing could also be done by Chloé.

Master Fu: Local boy accidentally destroys Ancient Order. Or rather, Ancient Order destroys itself by giving local boy access to powerful magic items. Yes, it turns out Master Fu’s dubious infosec is because he wasn’t a true Guardian, and also that the Guardians are idiots. I really can’t think of another reason why they’d use a real Miracle Box containing the most powerful Miraculous as part of a training exercise. Did they really think that no acolyte would ever be tempted by the powers of the Miraculous? Having ruined Fu’s life, the Guardians manage to flip him off one more time by erasing his memories when he gives up the Miracle Box. Seems like that would cause more problems than it solves.

Gabriel: But what if the worst parent in Paris could sink to even lower depths? With strong competition from both Audrey and Tomoe, Gabriel needs to step up to keep his trophy, by destroying his son’s relationship just so he can akumatize a heartbroken Marinette. Then when it doesn’t work, he akumatizes his own son. He also sends Akumas after teenagers he doesn’t like, flips out when Adrien suggests he might be moving on from his dead* wife, and is now performing his post-defeat rants to his comatose wife. At this point, he’d probably be more successful if he got Nathalie to akumatize him immediately after Ladybug and Chat Noir win.

Hawk Moth: Starting to feel creeped out by just how many of this guy’s plans revolve around teenaged girls. Sure, the genre of “teenage superheroes“ means he’ll be akumatizing a lot of them, but still. He launches a harassment campaign against Chloé, is a little too exicited to akumatize Marinette, and hires Lila to basically be his minion, then apparently starts calling her his muse. Perhaps if he spent less time using teenagers as chess pieces and more time review which Amukas were good and which weren’t, he’d actually succeed at things.

Speaking of success, Hawk Moth finally finds Master Fu and seizes the Miracle Box. Then instead of taking it home and finding a non-deadly Miraculous for Nathalie, he proceeds to give it to Miracle Queen then lose it. As a pity prize, he at least gets the translated grimoire, which allows him to fix the Peacock Miraculous. Now he can accompany every useless Akuma with a Sentimonster, instead of just Reflekta.

Mayura: If I had a Miraculous that slowly killed me when I used it, I would simply not use it unless I literally had no other option. Nathalie thinks differently, and uses the Peacock Miraculous for great plans such as “bring back Reflecta and give her a robot“ and “fail to convince Chloé to join you“. Not only does Mayura fail to achieve anything, the damage to her body means that the actually good plan of “let’s just do Scarlet Moth again“ fails. It would probably be tragic if it weren’t so stupid.

[mikauzoran]

Ladrien/Adrienette/Adrichat: Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: Kiss Forty-Eight

Read it on AO3: Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: ...out of habit.

It was currently not a good day to be Adrien Agreste, he thought as he took a flying leap off the runway and fled amidst the screaming audience from the model who had been akumatized thanks to his father’s pitilessness.

The day of the show, while they were doing their last run-through, Gabriel had decided that one of the model’s gaits was objectionable.

“Stop,” Gabriel called, his voice reverberating throughout the auditorium as the models, technicians, and various crew members held their breath, waiting for hail and brimstone to be rained down upon them.

“You,” Gabriel intoned flatly, indicating Clement, a new model only a few years older than Adrien.

The young man stiffened as if turned to stone by a gorgon, his eyes widening in sheer terror.

“The way you walk is too flouncy. I want you to glide. Try it again,” Gabriel directed.

“Yes, Sir,” Clement gulped, thinking light, diaphanous thoughts as he went back and attempted the walk again.

“No. Stop,” Gabriel growled in irritation before Clement had even made it four steps. “Now you’re too wooden.” Gabriel shook his head in disappointment, bellowing, “Adrien.”

Adrien, who was scheduled to walk last in that grouping and had been waiting in the wings, poked his head out at the summons. “Yes, Father?”

“Come out here and show this amateur how to walk properly. I want him to float weightlessly. Show him how to move gracefully, with dignity,” Gabriel instructed.

“Yes, Father,” Adrien acquiesced, shooting Clement an apologetic look before gliding smoothly down and back up the runway, making it look effortless.

“There. Now that you’ve seen how a professional does it, try again,” Gabriel commanded with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“You’ve got this,” Adrien whispered encouragingly, giving Clement a small smile.

Clement nodded and blew out a determined breath before making his third attempt, trying to reproduce Adrien’s movements.

He’d only made it about a third of the way down the catwalk when Gabriel stopped him again. “That’s quite enough. Marcel.” He turned to the stage manager. “How many looks is he modeling?”

Marcel quickly flipped through the papers on his clipboard. “Uh…Three, Monsieur Agreste.”

“Reassign them to Adrien.” He looked back up at Clement in annoyance. “You have wasted enough of my time. You are fired.”

“Father, no!” Adrien protested. “That’s not fair!”

Gabriel shook his head, unmoved. “Adrien, enough. This is a business, not a charity, and I hired a model, not a marionette. Marcel, have the looks adjusted to Adrien’s measurements. Will the current order allow for enough time for Adrien to change?”

 Adrien was, frankly, surprised that it had taken so long for Papillon to akumatized Clement, but now the mistreated model was shooting silk scarves out of his wrists like Spiderman, out for revenge on Gabriel and, by extension, Adrien.

“My father needs sensitivity training,” Adrien muttered bitterly as he dodged around people scattering in all directions.

Plagg snorted. “Understatement of the year.”

Amid the frenzied shouts of the crowd, a yelp of distress caught Adrien’s ear, and he turned to see Elise, a redheaded model he sometimes traded snarky comments with, fall before The Mannequin (as Clement was now calling himself). Elise held her arms up in a futile attempt to defend herself, bracing for the impact.

“Hey!” Adrien called, picking up a folding chair and throwing it at the akuma. “I believe you’re looking for me.”

The Mannequin turned with dead, wooden eyes and stared Adrien down.

Suddenly, playing the hero without the super suit didn’t seem like such a bright idea as The Mannequin shot out a tentacle of silk scarves, wrapping it around Adrien and lifting him off the ground.

Adrien’s panic was short-lived, however, as Ladybug swung onto the scene.

“Hey!” she shouted as she landed in a crouch. She rose to her feet and glared at the akuma, demanding, “Put him down,” in a tone that brooked no objection.

Adrien swooned a little bit at her command of the situation. He’d always had a thing for strong women, and his girlfriend was, unquestionably, the coolest.

His reverie was interrupted when The Mannequin took Ladybug’s instructions a little too literally and sent him hurtling through the air on a collision course with the pavement.

“Adrien!” Ladybug screamed, launching into action.

She scooped him out of the air and made a break for it, determined to get her Miraculous-less boyfriend to safety until she and her superhero boyfriend could take care of the supervillain du jour.

She set him down on the roof of the nearby Le Grand Paris and pulled back, holding him at arms’ length to frantically inspect him for damage.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” she demanded.

“No, no,” he assured. “Not a scratch on me. Promise. I’m just a little shaken. But I’m fine. Honest.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” she sighed, hands coming to rest on his face, gently cupping his cheeks like she did when she was Marinette.

The gesture had a decidedly non-platonic feel to it, causing Adrien to blink, momentarily confused.

Was she going to…?

Before he could react, she pulled him in, pressing her lips to his in a quick but solid kiss.

“Stay safe,” she admonished, not seeming to realize what she had just done. “Chat Noir and I will take care of everything.”

Without looking back, she took off, returning to the fight.

Adrien stared after her for a minute, perplexed, before he burst out laughing. “Oh my gosh, Plagg. Did you see that?”

“Yep,” the kwami sighed, too tired of the identity shenanigans to really be amused. “You’re both idiots.”

“At least now I don’t have to feel so bad about myself for kissing Marinette as Adrien when I was dating her as Chat Noir because it looks like my Lady just made the same mistake herself,” Adrien chuckled.

“Hilarious,” Plagg remarked wearily. “You’re obviously meant for one another. Now, can we transform and defeat the akuma already?”

“Sure, Plagg,” Adrien agreed with an impish smile. “Transform me.”

 Later that evening when she finally got away from the wreckage of the Gabriel show, Marinette found Chat Noir and Adrien snuggling on Adrien’s couch.

“What are you, an octopus?” she chuckled, surveying the way Chat Noir had positioned himself around Adrien from behind with Adrien sitting between his legs, Chat’s arms wrapped around Adrien’s torso, his chin resting on Adrien’s shoulder.

“We almost lost him today!” Chat whined like the drama queen he was.

Adrien rolled his eyes. “I was fine,” he sighed. “Ladybug had it under control.”

“The platonic love of my life!” Chat yowled theatrically. “Almost dashed to pieces before my very eyes!”

“You weren’t even there,” Marinette snorted, trying to contain a fond grin. But then a thought occurred to her, and her begrudging grin wrinkled into a frown. “…Were you?”

“He was,” Adrien confirmed just to drive Marinette nuts wondering who her masked boyfriend could be in his civilian life.

“I almost transformed right there in front of everyone when Clement grabbed you,” Chat insisted, squeezing Adrien tighter. “Thank goodness Ladybug showed up when she did.”

“Yeah,” Marinette muttered, distracted.

“Speaking of Ladybug,” Adrien snickered. “You will never guess what happened to me today.”

Chat clicked his tongue. “Pretty Boy, I know you went through a traumatic experience earlier, but try to keep up. We were there when Ladybug saved your toned behind when Clement got akumatized. This isn’t news.”

“No,” Adrien insisted turning to whisper conspiratorially at Marinette. “Ladybug kissed me.”

Marinette’s entire body lost all manner of colour, leaving her bleached like a painted sign left out in the elements.

Adrien could practically see the cogs in her brain turning as she put the pieces together and realized that Ladybug and Marinette were two very different people to Adrien and one of them had overstepped her bounds.

“What?!” Chat Noir gasped, pulling back to get a good look at Adrien’s face. “No! Seriously?!”

Adrien nodded, giggling madly. “Seriously. She set me down on the roof of Chloé’s penthouse suite, told me to stay safe, and kissed me. I barely knew what hit me.”

Marinette made a strangled choking sound (which the boys pointedly pretended not to hear) as the full implications of her mistake hit home.

Meanwhile, Chat slapped Adrien on the arm, giving his boyfriend a heated glare. “Do you know how many years I tried and failed to get Ladybug to kiss me? And you just stumble into danger like the dork that you are, and she just lays one on you unprompted like that?”

“Yep.” Adrien grinned widely, enjoying provoking Chat Noir.

Chat pursed his lips, stewing. “…Darn. Maybe she has a thing for damsels in distress.”

Adrien shrugged. “Maybe. It’s not like I’ve really spent a whole lot of time with her, so… Maybe she’s a fan of my work?”

Marinette winced at the thought of Adrien assuming Ladybug was a crazy fangirl who used her position as a superhero to force herself on unsuspecting models. Her mind whirled as she tried to come up with a way to fix this disaster.

Chat hummed thoughtfully. “I don’t know. She’s not really the type to get sucked into a celebrity crush. She’s a really practical, sincere person, and she feels things deeply. I can’t imagine her acting on shallow feelings, so she must really like you.”

There was a beat during which Marinette mentally commended Chat Noir for knowing her so well before an important realization dawned upon him.

Chat’s eyes opened wide as he gasped, “Oh my gosh…what if she knows you in real life?!”

Marinette almost screamed.

Adrien’s mouth rounded into a little “o” of surprise. “You think so?”

Chat nodded enthusiastically. “That would explain it. Maybe you two go to school together or something?”

Marinette needed to put a stop to this before things got out of control. Unfortunately, things quickly snowballed before she could figure out how to shut the conversation down.

Adrien chuckled softly. “You know, I used to have this crazy theory that Marinette was Ladybug. They’re so similar.”

Marinette felt her soul leave her body.

Then it got worse.

“Really?” Chat laughed at the coincidence. “Me too! They’re just both so amazing and talented and strong and resourceful,” he cooed, delighting in the opportunity to wax poetic about his girlfriend.

“Is there something you’re not telling us, Marinette?” Adrien teased, turning to look at her.

He found her complexion as chalky as skim milk and her eyes blown wide in horror. Her mind was going a mile a minute as she attempted to come up with a plausible explanation all while trying to fend off hyperventilation and a panic attack.

“Hey.” Adrien separated himself from Chat Noir and took Marinette’s hands in his own, coming around to kneel in front of her. “Calm down, Marinette. Deep breaths. I’m so sorry. We were just teasing. We didn’t mean anything by it.”

“We definitely know you’re not Ladybug,” Chat assured, resting one hand on her upper arm while the other rubbed soothing circles on her back. “Just breathe, Princess. It’s going to be okay.”

She nodded, vaguely registering their words amid the cacophony inside her mind.

“I didn’t kiss her back,” Adrien promised, trying to give Marinette some reasonable excuse for flipping out like she was. “I swear I wouldn’t cheat on you guys, not even with a superhero.”

“Don’t worry, Marinette,” Chat coaxed, scooting in to nuzzle her hair comfortingly. “I’ll have a talk with my partner and let her know in no uncertain terms that she’s to keep her hands off of my boyfriend.”

“Be nice,” Adrien chastised lightly. “I don’t want to sow discord in your partnership. You two need to work together to save the day, so don’t say anything you can’t take back.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be nice,” Chat sighed, pressing a kiss to Marinette’s temple and giving Adrien’s hair a playful ruffle. “Now, what do you two say to some dinner? I’m starving.”

“Right!” Marinette spoke up a little too suddenly and shrilly. “Dinner! Cooking. That sounds…uh…wonderful. Let’s…make Indian food?”

“I’m down for anything with Paneer,” Adrien volunteered.

Chat Noir snickered. “Plagg would be so proud that you’ve finally come around to the good cheeses.”

That got a laugh out of both Marinette and Adrien, and they headed to the Agrestes’ kitchen to initiate a hostile takeover and set about cooking several rice, vegetable, and bean dishes together.

 That night, Adrien was lounging on his couch in his My Little Pony pyjamas when a rap at the window announced an unexpected guest.

His first thought was that Chat Noir had come to visit him, but then his tired brain remembered that he was Chat Noir.

He looked up from the documentary on Japanese tea ceremony to find Ladybug standing nervously on his window ledge, looking like she’d rather be standing over an open shark tank.

Adrien scrambled to his feet and hurried over to the window to unlock it.

“Ladybug! Hey. Good evening. What a surprise!” he rattled off, mentally rolling his eyes at himself for having no chill.

“Good evening,” she greeted politely, but a pained expression she wasn’t quite able to hide betrayed her unease. “I’m sorry to bother you so late.”

“You’re no bother at all,” he quickly assured. “What can I do for you?”

She shifted anxiously, her left heel lifting so that she could toe at his widow ledge. “I was hoping we could talk?” She bit her lip as she looked at him expectantly.

With a jolt, he realized he was being a clod. He stepped back, out of her way. “Right! Of course. Please come in. Can I get you something to drink?”

She gently lowered herself down into his room and shook her head, polite smile never wavering even though he could tell it took effort for her to maintain. “No, thank you. This should be quick. I just wanted to apologize for—” She looked down to the side, cheeks heating in embarrassment. “—for earlier. For kissing you.”

She forced herself to meet his gaze so that he could see her earnestness. “That wasn’t okay, me…” She turned up her nose in disgust at herself as she thought about what it must have been like for Adrien. “…imposing myself on you like that. I’m so sorry. I had no right, and I—”

“—Ladybug, no,” he cut her off, waving his hands to flag her down before she could tar and feather herself. “It’s fine. It’s totally fine, so don’t worry about it.”

She blinked at him several times, taken aback. “What? No. No, Adrien.” She shook her head, pursing her lips and frowning. “I know you’re a model and you don’t always get a say in the poses you do and the people you pose with, but you have to understand that that isn’t okay. That’s never okay. Not for work, and not when it’s some careless superhero who just rescued you and wasn’t thinking clearly. It wasn’t okay for me to kiss you like that without asking, and I’m truly sorry, Adrien.”

She dropped her gaze again in shame, turning her face from him to hide the disappointment and embarrassment and other conflicted things she was feeling.

“I wish I could give you a reasonable explanation for my actions, but…a heartfelt apology will have to suffice,” she muttered ruefully. “I hope you can forgive me.”

“Hey,” Adrien called softly, stepping in and taking her hands. “Look. It’s really okay, Ladybug. I’m not upset, and there’s nothing to forgive.”

Her brow furrowed as she looked back up, perplexed.

“I talked to Chat Noir about what happened, and he said that you weren’t one for celebrity crushes, so you must actually have sincere feelings for me,” he explained, trying to give her an out because he had caused his girlfriend enough suffering for one lifetime already with all of this identity drama.

Her mouth fell open, and her lips widened.

“We’re guessing that you probably know me in real life, but you can’t explain yourself without endangering your identity, so…don’t worry about the kiss. If you like, we can pretend it never happened,” he offered.

“That… Yes. Please…. Thank you,” she spluttered as her mind struggled to catch up. “Sorry. I can neither confirm nor deny that I know you as a civilian, so…”

“Don’t worry about it,” he reiterated, letting go of her hands to give her arm a comforting touch. “But…if Chat Noir is right and you do have feelings for me, I need to tell you that you are the second most amazing woman I have met in my entire life, and I admire and respect you so much. I wish you nothing but the happiness and love you deserve, but…I need you to know that it can’t be with me,” he informed gently.

Ladybug blinked uncomprehendingly at him for a moment before realizing that her boyfriend was in the process of letting her down easy.

“I’m sorry,” he continued. “A couple years ago, I had the biggest crush on you, and I would have jumped at the chance to stand by your side as your partner, but now…I’ve found the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, and I love her with everything that I am. I don’t think it’s possible for me to ever feel this way about anybody but Marinette. I’ve put everything I have into loving her, so…even if things didn’t work out between her and me, I don’t think I would have anything left afterwards. I wouldn’t be able to be the partner you deserve. I’m really sorry, Ladybug, but thank you for caring about me in the first place. I am beyond honored.”

It took her a moment to wrap her mind around everything he had just said, and, when she finally did find the words to answer, they came out haltingly. “Wow…. You really…You’re really in love with your girlfriend, aren’t you?”

Adrien nodded, a shy smile blooming on his lips. “Marinette is my other half. I’m really sorry, Ladybug.”

“No, no.” She put her hands up in protest. “You’re good. It’s fine. I know Marinette. She’s…” She fumbled for an adequate adjective. “…great. I’m happy for you two. If I had to get beat out by someone, I’m glad it was her. I hope you two are happy.”

His shy smile transformed into a full-on beam. “Thank you very much.”

There was a beat, a small blip in the conversation where neither quite knew what was coming next, that awkward pause between breaths where the uncertainty of whether the next breath would come rushed in.

“Well,” Ladybug remarked succinctly. “Thank you very much, Adrien. Sorry to take up your time, but thank you for hearing me out.”

“Absolutely,” he replied cordially. “It was nice to see you.” He hesitated before deciding just to go for it and see what happened. “Actually…would you be available to stay for a little while longer?”

She arched an eyebrow, slowly loosening the grip she’d had on her yoyo in order to make a quick escape. “Stay?”

“And watch a movie or TV show or something,” he quickly elaborated. “I was getting kind of bored and a little lonely sitting around by myself, but it’s sort of late, and I don’t want to bother anyone, so…since you’re here anyway…what do you say? Maybe we could be friends, if it wouldn’t be too hard for you so soon after I told you I had a girlfriend I was crazy about? I don’t want to be insensitive.”

“No,” she answered hastily. “I mean yes.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, straightening out what she meant to say in her head before giving her lips a crack at it. “Thank you for being so thoughtful. I think I’m going to be fine, actually, knowing that you’re so happy in your relationship with Marinette. Let’s watch an anime or something.”

“Perfect!” he cheered. “How about Cardcaptor Sakura?” He’d been meaning to make Marinette watch it for a while.

“Sure,” she easily agreed, nodding towards his couch. “May I?”

“Go for it. I’ll go get some water and snacks. Make yourself at home.”

Once they were both settled on the couch and Adrien was cuing up the first episode, he paused and pointedly pressed his lips together as if he were debating whether or not to say what he was going to say next.

“Chat Noir actually gave me a message to give to you if I saw you before he did. It’s kind of rude, so I hope it doesn’t offend you, but…I assume you two are on pretty familiar terms with the way he talks about you.”

“What did that alley cat have to say?” Ladybug chuckled, bracing herself for something territorial and ridiculous.

“He said to keep your buggy mitts off of his boyfriend,” Adrien reported, looking away as he feigned embarrassment.

“Oh,” she replied neutrally, trying to act like she was surprised at this news. “…You and…and Chat Noir?”

Adrien nodded sheepishly. “Sort of. Yeah. It’s a bit of an unusual arrangement, but…Chat Noir, Marinette, and I are very happy.”

“Good,” Ladybug decreed with a warm smile. “I knew Chat Noir had found someone, but it makes me happy to know that my partner has the both of you to give him all the love and support he deserves. Chat Noir is really special. Be good to him, okay?”

“I’m working on it. Some days I don’t do a very good job,” he admitted, “but, lately, I’m learning how.”

“Good,” she repeated, sounding satisfied as she sank back into the couch cushions. “Just do your best. He’s one of the good ones.”

Adrien couldn’t quite control the rampant blush that invaded his cheeks from the bridge of his nose to the tips of his ears. It warmed his heart to know she thought so highly of him and wanted the best for Chat Noir. It was good to feel loved and valued.

“I’ll do my best,” he promised, starting up the first episode.

[starshine583]

Surprise Guests

(So, as you all can probably guess, someone asked for more. So here’s part 5!)

A Fitting Situation (This was part 4)

Ladybug was on the scene as quickly as possible, arriving only seconds before Chat Noir.

“Afternoon, M’Lady. What have we got on our hands today?” He asked with a smirk, idly spinning his baton in his hands.

“Looks like we’re about to find out.” Ladybug replied, shifting into a fighting stance as they faced the akuma. It appeared to be girl wearing a fluffed out party dress with an unreasonable amount of bows and streamers on it.

The akuma turned to them with a huff. “Ladybug and Chat Noir. I see you’ve ditched the party as well.” 

The two heroes shared a glance. Ditched the Party? What does she mean?

“I am Banderole.” She continued with a sneer. “And once I have your miraculous, no one will be able to escape my party! Not even Damian Wayne!” 

Ladybug’s eyes widened. Oh, that party. She must have been one of the crazed fans at the banquet. Marinette hadn’t considered how disappointed some people would be if she helped Damian sneak out.

“Thanks for the invitation, but my schedule’s full.” Chat Noir grinned, lunging forward with his baton.

Banderole spun to the side, taking two, long streamers from her dress and cracking them on the ground like whips. 

Ladybug followed after the two with her yo-yo, each keeping one of the streamers occupied. She had to admit, Banderole had some quick reflexes, but with two against one, they were gaining on her.

“Do you see the akuma?” Chat grunted, redirecting another ribbon attack.

Ladybug narrowed her eyes. Akuma.. Akuma.. How was she supposed to find a spot for the akuma when Banderole’s outfit was packed with accessories?

Finally, she noticed something when the akuma ducked to avoid her yo-yo. A bow, bright pink and tied up in Banderole’s hair. It’s the only ribbon that was by itself.

“Yes! Do it now!” She ordered.

Chat Noir nodded, and the two stopped, letting Banderole’s ribbons wrap around their weapons.

Banderole growled, taking another step back only to realize they’d cornered her against a chimney.

“What are you gonna do without you’re weapons now, huh?” Chat asked smugly, waving his staff that still had her ribbon around it.

His smile faded when Banderole chuckled. “Who says I’m without them?”

Neither had enough time to react. The akuma pulled on the ribbons, before suddenly letting go. The ribbons shot towards their targets, swiftly winding around the weapons and heroes.

Ladybug and Chat Noir fell to the ground, writhing around to escape the hold.

“Chat Noir, use your cataclysm!”

Chat Noir grit his teeth. “Can’t. My hands are tied to my weapon.” 

Banderole tutted, easily kneeling next to Ladybug. “You guys have gotten sloppy, haven’t you?”

Ladybug’s blood ran cold at the comment, and the akuma brushed her hair to the side to reveal her earrings.

“I guess it only makes things easier on me. You’re going to love my party!” 

Her mind raced with panic. This was not good! They need a plan! A Lucky Charm! Something!

Banderole reached out to take the earrings, but was stopped when something black flew through the air and hit her wrist.

The Akuma hissed, bringing her hand to her chest and looking around for the offender.

Ladybug and Chat Noir turned their heads as well, just in time to see.. Was that a bat shaped knife?

The weapon circled around the air, landing in the hands of another surprise. A boy, dressed in a costume of red and black with a yellow and black cape and a green domino mask.

“Let the heroes go.” He ordered, standing tall and confident. 

Banderole scoffed, taking another pair of ribbons from her dress. “I don’t know who you think you are, but you are in no position to-”

The “caped avenger” was on her in an instant, using a handstand flip to kick her straight in the chest.

Banderole stumbled backwards, stunned and gasping for air. The boy didn’t seem to care and continued his advance on her.

She scrambled backwards, whipping her streamers left and right to get a hold on him, but he smoothly evaded each attack, getting closer and closer.

It only took a matter of minutes for him to catch up with her again. He blocked her whips one last time, before spin-kicking her square in the face.

Banderole landed on her back, knocked out cold.

Chat Noir and Ladybug stared in shock. That was the first time someone defeated an akuma without the use of weapons or magic. 

Once the akuma was taken care of, the boy pulled the ribbon from her hair, and approached Ladybug.

He must have heard me earlier. She thought as he knelt beside her.

Without a word, he pulled out another- yes, she’d seen it right -bat shaped knife and cut her free.

“Who are you?” Ladybug asked, brushing the streamers off of her and sitting up.

“I think you mean ‘thank you’.” He responded, handing her the ribbon and moving to free Chat Noir next.

Ladybug frowned. “Sorry, thank you. We don’t usually get visiting heroes.”

Especially ones without a miraculous. 

She broke the akumatized item and waited for the black butterfly to appear before swiftly purifying it.

“What’s that supposed to do?” The boy asked, eyeing the now white butterfly as it flew away.

“It stops it from multiplying.” Chat Noir answered as he stood up from his own set of streamers.

The hero narrowed his eyes. “Wouldn’t it be easier to keep the butterfly, then? It’s the cause of the problems, correct?” 

Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a glance. This was obviously his first time in Paris. 

“The butterfly only exists as long as Hawkmoth is transformed.” 

“And by transformed, you mean..?” The boy pressed, gesturing for her to continue speaking. 

Ladybug held back a sigh. The miraculous transformation wasn’t something you could really explain, nor give an example of due to the circumstances. 

She drew in a breath to attempt some sort of explanation when a beeping sound reached their ears, but it wasn’t from their miraculous. 

The boy’s gaze flicked down to his wrist, a scowl of irritation crossing his lips. “Looks like you’ll have to tell me more later.” 

He took out some sort of gun- wait, no. A grappling hook?? -and shot it into the air. He then used the device to swing away in a similar manner that Ladybug does with her yo-yo.

“…Well, wasn’t he a character? Think we’ll ever see him again?” Chat Noir asked, coming to her side.

Ladybug only shrugged. She kind of hoped they would. Something about him struck her as familiar.. in a good way.

But she could think about that later. Right now, she had a miraculous cure to release.

Tag List: @thebookwormfairy @unholykrow @constancetruggle @vixen-uchiha @derpingrainbow @kceedraws @graduatedmelon@starry-bi-sky @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry@sweatyruinsstudentbored @go-n-ef @tinybrie​ @resignedcatservant​ @never-neverland​ @captainmac6​ @drama-queen-supreme​ @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @roseinbloom02 @grimmhallow31 @zazzlejazzle @crazylittlemunchkin @iggy-of-fans @origamieater @kiara-rose-blackthorn @spicybelladonna

[miraculousladyb]

Battles

Happy holidays, @leviaana! I’m your Secret Santa for @mlsecretsanta this year! I wrote you this fanfic, and I really hope you enjoy it! 

Title: Battles Summary: The events of Chat Blanc are still weighing heavily on Marinette’s mind.  Themes: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Romance Words: 3,121 Warnings: Very mild violence, spoilers for Season 3 including the episodes Chat Blanc and Miracle Queen

It was a blustery autumn afternoon in Paris. The trees had lost most of their foliage now, orange scattered the pavements as the leaves danced down the streets. A grey overcast sky hung dauntingly over the French capital, the top of the Eiffel Tower was no longer visible as it had been swallowed by the clouds. The temperature had dropped dramatically over the past couple of weeks, but it wasn't going to deter Marinette from sketching. The bitter breeze kissed her cheeks as she lay back in her balcony deck chair, absentmindedly scribbling away her latest dress design. 

With all the new responsibilities that came with being the Guardian, Marinette found herself needing the distraction of designing more than ever. Her teenage years seemed to have suddenly dissipated with the arrival of the oversized, ladybug patterned cylinder that contained all the Miraculous. Thankfully once she was home and detransformed the box had changed into what looked like a big sewing kit with lots of little compartments. Even though it was in her bedroom drawer locked away most of the time the everlasting burden constantly weighed on her shoulders. 

 Her distraction didn't last too long as the skylight to her window burst open dramatically. 

 "Girl, I have got to show you these pics I got of Ladybug and Chat Noir last night, the Ladyblog is blowing up!” Alya said as she climbed through the skylight, immediately reaching for her phone in her back pocket. 

“And hello to you too,” Marinette said, a sarcastic smirk across her lips. She closed her sketchbook and held it on her lap, knowing her best friend would require her full attention if she was fangirling.

 “Nino and I were walking home from the cinema last night and I saw them! They have to be a couple, look how close they are!”

 Marinette peered over her friend’s shoulder to see the photo in question and she couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto her face. She saw her alter ego and her partner sat on the edge of a random rooftop near the Louvre. Ever since she’d become the guardian, Chat had been worried about her. She noticed he started making a lot more effort during akuma fights; he saved the flirting and puns until the fight was over and instead focused on capturing the akuma as quickly as possible. It was a welcome change and took some of the weight from Marinette’s shoulders, but he was still concerned. In the photo in question, Chat had been quizzing her, asking how she was, how civilian life was going, was she coping with the stress. She’d smiled, hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. 

“As long as I’ve got you, kitty, everything will be okay.” 

He’d blushed, placed a gentle kiss to her head, then rested his own head against hers.

 Returning her gaze to Alya, Marinette said, “Nah, I don’t think they’re into each other like that.”

 Alya scoffed.

 ***

Later that night, Tikki was awoken as her chosen shot up suddenly in bed, panting frantically, her breathing erratic. 

“Marinette, are you okay?” the kwami asked as she floated over, placing her tiny paws on Marinette’s cheek. “Did you have another nightmare?” 

Marinette nodded, still breathing heavily. She shut her eyes tightly as tears rolled down her cheeks, dampening Tikki’s paws. 

“You really need to tell Chat about this,” Tikki said, gently. “You shouldn’t be facing this alone.” 

“I’m not telling him,” Marinette said. “He’ll blame himself, even though whatever happened that caused him to get akumatised was clearly my fault!”

 Tikki sighed gently. “Marinette, you don’t know that.”

“‘Our love caused this,’ is what he said, Tikki,” Marinette sighed, placing a hand to her chest as she tried to steady her heart rate. “I just keep seeing the way he looked at me before he Cataclysmed the beam I was standing on.” 

Tikki folded her arms and tilted her head at her chosen sympathetically. “I still think you should talk to him. He cares about you, Marinette.” 

“I’ll be fine, Tikki, let’s just go back to sleep. I’m sorry I woke you up,” Marinette said, before rolling over in bed to face away from her kwami. Tikki sighed softly, placing a gentle kiss in Marinette’s hair, before she returned to her spot on the pillow to return to sleep.

 ***

 Despite what she’d said, Marinette didn’t get back to sleep that night. She’d cuddled her Chat Noir doll close to her chest and spent hours wondering what she’d done to hurt her partner so badly. 

Naturally, she was late to school that morning. She mumbled a half-hearted apology to Miss Bustier as she slid into her seat beside Alya. She realised she must look a mess this morning, because Adrien was eyeing her over his shoulder, concern drowning in his eyes. She was trying hard to let her feelings for Adrien go, having learnt he couldn’t be trusted with her identity after what happened prior to Chat Blanc, she knew it was a ship that was never going to sail.

“You okay, M? You look like you haven’t slept in weeks,” Alya whispered as Miss Bustier began reading out the daily announcements.

 “I’m fine,” Marinette said, forcing a smile. “I just didn’t sleep great. I’ll have a nap during lunch break.”

Miss Bustier dismissed them to their first class a few minutes later and as Marinette went to grab her bag it flipped upside down, most of the contents spilling out across the classroom floor. She groaned and bent down to pick up her things, ignoring Chloe’s sarcastic comment as she did so. She went to grab her pencil case, but another hand beat her to it. She looked up to see Adrien bent down too, helping her collect her belongings. He flashed her a gorgeous, gentle smile that made her begrudgingly melt inside. 

“You okay? You’ve not been yourself lately,” Adrien said, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

Marinette snorted. “I’m still as clumsy as ever, don’t worry.” 

They carried on picking up her things, but Adrien’s focus was on the girl beside him. “You know I don’t mean that. You’ve been really tired and distracted for weeks now… You know you can talk to me about anything right?” 

Her heart snapped, because she knew that wasn’t true, even if he did want to mean it. She forced a smile regardless. 

“I know, Adrien, thank you. I’ve just not been sleeping well, don’t worry about me.” 

He finished collected her things and handed her bag. “Thank you for helping me, I’m such a klutz,” Marinette said with a sigh. 

Adrien chuckled lightly. “You’re perfect just the way you are. Can I walk you to our next class?” 

She took his arm gratefully. “You can, but I won’t promise I won’t fall asleep on you again.”

***

Marinette cursed Hawkmoth using several different swear words as a collective of screams sounded in the distance. She was across the street from her home, ready for her lunch break nap, when the akuma alarm began to blur across the streets. Diving into a nearby alleyway, she shared a mutual look of disdain with Tikki before calling for her kwami to transform her.

Soon enough she was running across the rooftops towards the sound of the screaming, Chat Noir by her side seconds later. 

“Hey, LB, you know anything about the akuma?” her partner asked. She shook her head. 

“No, surprisingly it seems Hawkmoth hasn’t chosen a target from the local high school for once,” she said with an eye-roll. 

Chat snorted. “Yeah, it seems like the akuma’s near the Eiffel Tower. She’s shot a few people with her laser beam according to the news but no-one’s truly sure what her power is yet.” 

Ladybug sighed. “Guess we’ll just have to stay away from those laser beams then.” 

The pair landed near the Eiffel Tower, the akuma not too far in the distance. She called herself Sherry Holmes, a Sherlock Holmes pun that even made Chat Noir groan.   

“Sherry Holmes? What is she solving murder mysteries as a power?” Chat shook his head with a sigh, scanning the area. Ladybug furrowed her eyes, watching for any change in people as they got hit.

 “I still sleep with my teddy bear!” 

“I spend my Saturday nights watching Sex and the City!” 

“I’m in love with my best friend’s wife!” 

The superhero pair shared a look. “Well, fair to say this akuma is weird,” Ladybug replied. 

“Ah, Ladybug and Chat Noir!” the akuma shouted, rushing over to them, shooting laser beams as she went. Marinette didn’t usually approve of Hawkmoth’s akuma designs, but this one was quite cute. She had the classic supervillain pale skin and dark eyes, but a plaid detective hat rested on her head with a matching bowtie around her neck and a beige trench coat encircling her. In her hand was a magnifying glass that she was shooting laser beams from. “So nice of you to join us, why don’t you tell us your darkest secrets?”

Panic flashed across Ladybug’s face as a laser beam came hurtling toward her. She dived out of the way just in time, Chat Noir following in her wake. 

“Do you think the akuma’s in her magnifying glass?” Chat asked, scanning over her as he dodged the laser beams. 

“I’m not sure, that or she has something in her trench coat pockets,” Ladybug replied. 

“Good thinking, I’ll bet you’re- ahhh!” Chat cried out as a laser beam hit him, suddenly standing frozen to the stop. Ladybug gasped as she rushed to his side. “My name is A-” 

Terrified, Ladybug did the only thing she could to do to silence her partner and pressed her mouth against his, capturing his confession with her lips. He didn’t have time to react once the beam’s effects had worn off as she quickly pulled away, dragging him with her, to avoid getting hit by another laser beam. 

“You okay, kitty?” Ladybug asked. Chat nodded, dazed, as he’d landed on top of her. 

“Yeah, no more confessions ready to slip out, m’Lady.” 

They rolled out the way to avoid another laser beam. Chat shook his head, his mind was whirling at a hundred miles an hour after his kiss from Ladybug, but he had to focus.

They separated again, running on opposite sides of the street. Chat’s eyes darted around the villain, trying to work out where the akuma was. Glancing at his partner he could tell she was doing the same, but something in her gaze was distracted. Suddenly, she tripped, and taking her stumble to her advantage, Sherry Holmes took aim. 

The beam hit her and she felt herself frozen to the spot. Chat, on the other side of the road, looked at her with sheer panic. She could feel the words bubbling up her throat but she couldn't stop them, she couldn't move anything except her mouth. 

"I'm in love with you!" 

The words left her lips as he reached half a foot away from her. Her eyes went wide and she smacked her palms against her mouth as if she could somehow smother the confession back in. 

She had been sure that when Chat had been akumatised and had looked at her with pure hatred that nothing could hurt her more. But the way he looked at her in that moment, his eyes wide with shock and hurt, his mouth gaping in confusion, she was sure she could feel her heart breaking in her chest.   

"Oh god," she breathed. "Chat..." 

Sherry Holmes, meanwhile, looked very unimpressed. "Wow, like I need to be a detective to work that one out. Guess I need to hit you again to find out your identity!" 

Still stunned, Ladybug didn't even flinch as a beam hurtled toward her. Chat grabbed her and pulled her away just in time.  

"Call your Lucky Charm," he instructed calmly, refusing to meet her eyes. "I'll distract her." 

He didn't give her chance to reply before he bounded off, swiping left and right at Sherry Holmes with his baton as he dodged her attacks. It took a few seconds but Ladybug shook herself out of her stunned stance.  

"Lucky Charm!" she yelled to sky, as she pulled her trademark pose. A handheld mirror materialised above her and landed in her hand. She ducked as a beam suddenly went shooting over her head. "Wow, Tikki, you really gave me a simple one today. Guess you can tell my brain is fried."  

The heroine stormed toward the akuma, smirking as she did. 

"Hey Shezza, I'm right here, just try and hit me!" she taunted. 

The akuma snarled, swiping Chat Noir aside so she could take aim at the bug. Just as the beam was about to hit her, Ladybug held the mirror in front of her, deflecting the beam back at Sherry Holmes. She couldn't react quick enough and the beam struck her.  

"The akuma is hiding in my trench coat pocket!" she announced, her face horrified.  

"How kind of you to share," Chat grinned, reaching into her pocket to reveal a mobile phone. He smashed it the ground as Ladybug opened her yoyo.  

"Bye bye, little butterfly," Ladybug sighed, watching as it flew off into the distance. The akuma victim returned to her human form; a petite brunette with deep brown eyes and a pink floral dress, covered by a similar trench coat she'd had as an akuma.  

Chat Noir was about to walk over to her when a hand on his arm stopped him.  

"Chat," Ladybug said softly, her voice breaking. A heavy tension held between them as their eyes met. Ladybug felt her legs shake with anxiety as her heart pounded against her ribcage, her chest feeling so tight she could barely remember how to breathe. "Please let me explain."  

Chat glanced at the akuma victim before returning his gaze to his partner.  

"Go and recharge and I'll make sure she's okay. I'll meet you at our usual spot," he replied. His tone wasn't necessarily cold but it held a horrible sense of formality that didn't sit well with Ladybug. She hadn't missed how he'd avoided their usual victory routine either.  

She nodded, dropping her hand from his shoulder and her eyes to the ground as she blinked back tears.  

With one last glance back the cat superhero, who was now knelt down next to the akuma victim with a comforting hand on her shoulder, she dashed off to find a place to recharge.  

Half an hour later, Ladybug found Chat waiting for her on 'their' rooftop; it was actually some random Parisians' rooftop, but it their favourite place to meet up, it was secluded but still gave a great view of the city.  

His legs were hanging off the edge of the rooftop, his hands resting on the guttering. She approached him slowly, taking tentative steps across the rooftops as though they might crumble beneath her feet. His head suddenly turned in her direction and she jumped in surprise, but quickly composed herself as she brought herself to stand behind him. She was surprised again when he spoke first.  

"The akuma victim, her name is Amy, had suspicions her boyfriend was cheating on her but he always denied it. She was convinced he was gaslighting her, so she investigated and found out he had been sleeping with someone from work. Then she got akumatised." 

"That's awful. Was she okay?" Ladybug asked softly, refusing to meet his eyes. 

"No, but she will be. I waited with her until her friend came to meet her." 

"That's because you're one of the sweetest people on the planet," she said gently. She looked up when Chat scoffed, standing up to face her. "What? It's true." 

"If it's true, why are you so ashamed to have feelings for me?" Chat spat. "Why is that your darkest secret? Not your identity but the fact," he paused as his voice cracked. He broke eye contact for a moment and when his gaze returned his eyes were brimming with tears. "That you’re in love with me. That's your darkest secret..." 

"Because I can't love you," she shouted, tears rolling down her mask. Her words echoed across the rooftops surrounding them. “Our love could cause the end of the world!” 

Chat blinked, taking a step back in surprise. “What… What do you mean?” 

Ladybug took a shaky breath, her voice barely a whisper. “A few months ago, Bunnix grabbed me and took me to the future. She wouldn’t tell me anything about the context, obviously, but the world was in pieces. Paris was destroyed. The only one left was you; you’d been akumatised…” she closed her eyes, blinking back more tears. “You told me it was because of me, because of us…” 

Chat sighed gently. He walked toward her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Why didn't you tell me this?" he murmured into her hair. 

"Because you'd blame yourself, I know you." 

"You mean like you're doing right now? Bug, you've got enough going on with the guardianship. You need to tell me if somethings bothering you." 

She nodded into his chest. “I know, thank you,” she murmured before she paused. “There’s more.” 

“Go on.” 

“You knew who I was. I was transformed and you called me my civilian name.” 

There was a long pause at that. “Oh,” Chat said softly. “Wow. Um, did you know who I was?” 

“I don’t know, but I think so? I think we were together.” 

Another long pause, Ladybug laughed ironically. 

“A lot to take in, right?” 

Chat chuckled lightly. “Knowing I had everything I’ve dreamed of but someone took it away, yeah, just a bit…” 

“I took it away,” Ladybug whispered and he held her tighter. 

“You did no such thing, I don’t care what akumatised me from another timeline told you, but there has to be more to it than us being in love…” he paused, his cheeks flushing. “After all, we’re in love now, aren’t we?” 

She looked up to meet his eyes, sadness drowning her blue irises. “Chat, we can’t. Not until Hawkmoth is defeated, at least…” 

Chat’s ears perked up at that. “So, after we defeat Hawkmoth, I can take you on a date?” 

Ladybug giggled, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. “Silly kitty… I guess you can.” 

Chat smiled, releasing her from his arms. Taking a few steps forward he paused. He reached his hand out to her, his loving expression making her stomach flip. 

“Well then, you and me against the entire world, right?” 

She smiled, taking his hand and entwining their fingers. “Always.” 

Hawkmoth never stood a chance.

[miraculous786]

Miraculous: Heartstring (Akumatized!Luka) > Nine

Masterlist

"Where is Marinette?" Heartstring bellowed, as he chased after Chat Noir. The two had been sprinting for well over five minutes, with Chat's legs beginning to ache, while Luka seemed to not even break a single sweat.

In an exasperated tone of voice, the hero answered, "I told you, she's safe from you!" The reply only seemed to make Heartstring angrier, as he shouted, "She needs to be protected from all the lies!"

The akuma unsheathed his metal sword, and swung it at Chat whenever he got too close. Thanks to his enhanced reflexes, he managed to barely dodge the strikes, still running to the Arc de Triomphe.

When it came into sight, he plastered a strained grin on his face, before leaping onto the monument and taunting, "Well, Heartstring. I for one believe that Lila was telling the truth!"

This seemed to stop him in his tracks, as he began to comprehend what Chat had just claimed. Before anyone could react, the sword in his hand whistled past the hero's head, missing his face by an inch.

He gulped, getting into a battle stance as Heartstring landed in front of him. "Hand over you ring, Cat," he spat out, obviously angry because of his earlier words, "Don't make me want to fight you more than I already want too."

"Too late," he grinned, before pulling out his baton and charging. Without the sword, the akuma seemed weaponless, as Chat began to swipe at him. However, as Heartstring stepped back at a particular strike, he held his hands out, two daggers with a broken heart at the hilt forming.

"Again?" Chat Noir exclaimed, "Sorry, My Lady! Looks like we can't disarm him like we wanted to!"

"Indeed you can't," the villain hissed, throwing the daggers in the other male's direction. Thankfully, a zipping sound reached their ears, as a yo-yo slammed into the weapons, changing their course.

Ladybug swung from a lamppost, performed a flip, and stood beside her partner, in a defensive pose. "We don't have to fight, Heartstring!" she claimed, "You've already helped Marinette!"

His hands clenched into fists, as he hollered back, "Who's to say it won't happen again? If her best friend betrayed her, then who else can she trust? Certainly not the classmates who abandoned her for that liar!"

Marinette was taken aback, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything as he continued, "Taking her somewhere physically safe doesn't mean she's fine emotionally! So, Ladybug and mangy alley cat, we do have to fight, if I want to keep protecting My Melody." His voice took a darker tone at the end, a shiver rolling down Marinette's spine because of it.

"I'll try not to take that insult to heart," Chat joked, "Though that really plucked at my heartstrings." He placed a clawed hand against his chest in mock hurt, Ladybug groaning inwardly at his puns.

The infamous akuma symbol flashed over his eyes again, a scowl growing on his face at Hawk Moth's encouragement. He held his hands in front of him, thin spikes appearing in each one.

He launched an assault with them at the duo, the spikes continuously forming from his fingertips and palms every time he let go of one. The heroes dodged every incoming object, flipping and spinning their weapons to create a shield for themselves.

Ladybug's eyes roamed her surroundings, taking in how there seemed to be no civilians in sight- probably having evacuated earlier. She breathed a sigh of relief, rushing forward with her yo-yo spinning in a shield to block the spikes.

Marinette swiped the yo-yo sideways, hitting Heartstring's hands, giving them a break from the relentless attack. Ladybug attempted to make a swipe for the pick around his neck, only for Luka to grab the incoming hand, and twist it around.

She let out a yelp, roughly taking her arm out of his hold, and shouting, "Chat, distract!"

Almost immediately, he extended his baton outwards, it slamming into the akuma's chest, pushing him back. They males both began to fight on the ground, parrying each other's attacks in an intense match of fencing.

Weighing out her options, Ladybug only had a split second of thought, as she shouted, "Lucky Charm!"

She threw her yo-yo up, it twirling around in the air before a swarm of magical ladybugs formed a fishing net from thin air, landing it in her hands. Her eyebrow furrowed in confusion, as she glanced around, letting out a thoughtful hum.

When her eyes caught sight of the structure of the Arc de Triomphe, and the ground beneath the arch, a smile made it's way onto her lips.

"Chat, get ready!" she commanded, landing on the ground where Heartstring and her partner were throwing punches at each other.

[quicksilversquared]

The Lucky Charm

Normally, when an akuma pops up, it's Ladybug (and Chat Noir) who save the day. This time, though, it's the Everyday Ladybug who came to the rescue.

There are...some side effects.

links in the reblog

The akuma showed up ten minutes after Adrien returned to school, all towering body and glowing eyes and snarling mouth. Most of his classmates shrieked and ran, scrambling for the door, but Adrien hadn't had a chance, trapped at the back of the classroom where he had been getting a book and with the akuma's eyes focused right on him.

This Was Not Good.

"I don't understand why you're after me," Adrien said, glancing around as subtly as he could manage, hoping to find an escape route or a distraction or- anything, really. He couldn't leave Ladybug hanging again, not after there had been several akuma lately who had prevented him from transforming and helping her, but he didn't see any obvious escapes. The akuma was blocking his path, and a table had been flipped onto its side in front of the door, meaning that even if he did manage to sneak around the akuma, he still wouldn't be anywhere close to home free. "I didn't think that I had upset anyone today-"

"I was fired!" the Model Model shrieked, making him cringe back. Hopefully Ladybug's Lucky Charm covered hearing damage. "I was fired for being late once, but you- Mr. Boss's Son, Mr. Gets-Everything-Handed-to-You- you're late all the time, and does anyone care? No! Do you get told off? No! Do you get fired? No!"

Adrien very nearly opened his mouth to dispute that- he wasn't late all the time, maybe once or at most twice a month when an akuma attack ended up overlapping with his photoshoot time, and while the photographer never said anything, Adrien's father most definitely found out and told Adrien off afterwards. There were groundings, there were scoldings, there were privileges taken away and extra assignments given to him- but it was pointless to argue with an akuma. It didn't help anything, they didn't remember it, and besides, if there were any of his classmates still around...

Well. There were some things that Adrien didn't tell them.

"So while maybe you weren't the one to fire me, you're hardly Mr. Innocent," the Model Model finished. She glowered at him. "And if Vincent weren't so fed up with your tardiness, then he would have been more forgiving! It's not like it was my fault that I got stuck in traffic!"

"I could speak to him for you," Adrien offered, thinking fast. Surely Ladybug would know about the akuma by now- Alya would have made a post on the Ladyblog, or at the very least triggered the official akuma alert system- and he just had to buy himself some time until she arrived. "Remind him that there's a three-strike over six months policy."

"And how many strikes have you accumulated over the past six months, hmm?"

Adrien winced, trying to come up with another idea. Clearly the akuma wasn't going to stop focusing on Adrien's tardies any time soon, so he had to change tactics. The offers to smooth things over could come later, after Ladybug purified the akuma and set everything to rights. "I, uh..."

Movement at the front of the classroom caught Adrien's eye, and he stuttered to a stop mid-thought, blinking at the spot where he could have sworn he had seen someone ducking behind Madam Mendeleev's desk. Moments later, Marinette's head popped up over the desk, caught his eye, and then vanished again a second later.

What- what was she still doing here? She wasn't trying to pull an Alya and get close to akumas just to get video, was she? Marinette had more sense than that. Maybe there was a table in front of the door, but the akuma wasn't paying attention to Marinette. She should be able to clamber up and over, no problem.

"You don't even have a defense," the Model Model scoffed, drawing Adrien's attention back to her. "Not even a hint! I'll get my revenge on you, and then that damn photographer, and then- oh, I know what the root problem is here, why you're allowed to get away with everything. And I'll get my revenge on Daddy Dearest, too."

Adrien gulped. He hated it when akumas went after his father, even if he was sometimes surprised that there weren't more akumas targeting Mr. Agreste. Still, if an akuma was going to go after either him or his father...

Well, only one of them had the power to stop the akuma and help Ladybug put everything back to right in the city, so if Adrien had to throw his father under the bus to get away, he would.

"I can't always control if I'm tardy or not," Adrien protested, keeping one eye on the akuma and one eye on Marinette, who had snuck out from behind the desk carrying- was she insane? An extension cord, or maybe cords, he couldn't tell- and was creeping up on the Model Model. "Sometimes other activities run over. And I'm not the one who decides if I get to keep modeling or not."

She snarled at him. "I know that. Didn't I just say that I was going to go after your father, too? I know what you're trying to do- escape seeing any actual consequences, just like you always do!"

The Model Model lunged. Adrien threw himself out of the way. Marinette ducked down under desk level, apparently finally aware that the akuma was dangerous and she should make herself scarce. Adrien rolled across the floor, then pushed himself to his feet and tried to make a dash for the door. The akuma blocked him, still trying to hit him with the purse she carried.

The purse, which no doubt held either the akuma or the akumatized item, and which doubled as the Model Model's weapon, if the excessively-destroyed desks were any indication. He would have to point it out to Ladybug, whenever she arrived.

"You can't run and hide this time!" the Model Model snarled, swinging for him again. Adrien ducked and made another short dash, making sure to step over the cord that Marinette had dropped on the floor so that he wouldn't trip over it. "I'll get you! You might as well stop tryi-EEEE!"

Adrien glanced back, just in time to see the Model Model tripping over the cord that he had just avoided, and his mind short-circuited.

Marinette hadn't dropped the cord. She had tied one end to a table leg, left it slack for him to pass over, and then had pulled it tight to trip the akuma before flinging the heavy end just so, sending it wrapping around the akuma's ankle. The Model Model hadn't noticed yet, still thrown off balance and stumbling in her heels.

Marinette was a genius, and- oh. Oh, she wasn't done yet, was she insane? Adrien watched in equal parts disbelief, awe, and terror as Marinette reappeared behind the Model Model- now the akuma was behind her and the door, which would be bad if the akuma spotted her and switched targets- spinning a second cord in her hand like a lasso. Marinette's eyes were narrowed in focus, tracking the Model Model as she stumbled back and forth. Her entire body was tensed and ready to strike, and all Adrien could do was watch.

Well, watch and keep moving himself, now focusing on moving back and forth just out of reach of the Model Model, playing up the distraction as much as he could since he still wasn't in a good spot to get out of the classroom himself. If Marinette was going to try to play Ladybug, then he would help her as much as he could.

Even if he thought that she was totally nuts. Even if she had somehow pulled off the tripping, trying to lasso a supervillain was just complete, utter madness. Ladybug could probably do it, sure, but Ladybug also had a magic yo-yo, and practice, and superpowers, and-

The spinning cord-lasso reached whistling pitch, and the Model Model paused in confusion, just long enough for Marinette to toss her lasso and tighten it snugly around the Model Model's middle, typing the akuma's arms to her side. Before the akuma could react, Marinette dashed around her several times, wrapping the cord around as she did, then tying a fast knot- her hands practically blurred- and grabbing a chair-

Wait. Wait wait wait. A chair?

Adrien only had half a second to wonder at what Marinette was planning now when she flipped the chair, taking hold of the chair's legs, and slammed it at full strength into the wavering Model Model's back, sending the akuma crashing face-first into the floor. Marinette didn't even wait for the (metaphorical) dust to settle before she was dashing up the akuma, ducking down to grab the purse and ripping it away from the Model Model. Adrien's breath caught in his throat as he stared, disbelieving.

Had- had Marinette seriously just defeated an akuma all on her own, without any superpowers? And gotten away with it unscathed?

Before Marinette could jump off of the Model Model and make her escape with the possessed purse, the Model Model thrashed, sending Marinette tumbling off of the akumas back before she meant to. As she landed on the floor, Adrien spotted her stumble and let out a sharp gasp, clearly landing on her foot wrong. Marinette winced, but amazingly enough, she didn't stop. Instead, she kept moving, pulling herself over the upended table and out the door.

He definitely hadn't imagined the misstep. Marinette's teeth had been gritted and while she hadn't let it slow her down much, she was definitely favoring one foot.

Adrien spared a glance to the shouting, thrashing akuma on the floor, then dashed after Marinette. If the Model Model got loose from the cord, she would go after Marinette right away. Combine a towering, long-limbed akuma and the much shorter, injured Marinette and, well, Adrien could guess how that would end.

Besides, he didn't know what Marinette's plan was. She had a possessed item, and if he and Ladybug couldn't find her, that could become an issue.

Over the table, then down the hall. Around a corner, and then Adrien practically tripped over Marinette, who had fallen on the floor. She was struggling to her feet, using the wall for support, and Adrien winced. Her injury had to be pretty serious if it had made her fall, and that she was still struggling on at all was impressive.

Impressive, but Adrien could help. With only a half-formed plan in mind, he dashed forward and scooped Marinette up like he might as Chat Noir, one arm around her back and the other under her thighs, and almost automatically, her legs wrapped around his waist so that some of her weight was supported on his hips instead of fully in his arms. Adrien gave her one quick adjustment so that they were more comfortable, then took off down the hallway, trying to think of a plan.

If they went for a back staircase, then that might be a good hiding spot. Adrien could claim that he was going up to the rooftops to see if he could find the superheroes, then leave Marinette in a hidden corner and come back as Chat Noir. He would be able to reach Ladybug more easily that way- if she was transformed, at least, he had to hope that she was- and then they could take care of the akuma before it pulled itself out of the purse and infected someone else.

Veering to the side, Adrien ducked into one of the lesser-used staircases in the school, adjusting Marinette again so she was a little higher. They should probably head up to at least the next landing, in case the Model Model got free and glanced in the staircase, but even though Marinette was small and light, it probably wouldn't be particularly easy to carry her up the stairs, at least not in his civilian form.

He could do it, though. Marinette had been so brave and done all the hard work of defeating an akuma, so he could get her up some stairs and to safety.

Adrien's breath came in heavy pants as he dashed up the first section of stairs, doing his best to avoid overbalancing in either direction. He didn't hear any banging or shouts, so presumably the Model Model was still trussed up in Marinette's fabulous handiwork.

Adrien reached the landing, and paused to catch his breath. Before he could start up again, though, a blur of red coming towards them caught his attention, and he stumbled to an abrupt halt, eyes wide.

That was Ladybug's kwami. What was Ladybug's kwami doing here?

"Hello!" Tikki chirped, flying to a stop in front of them. In his arms, Marinette tensed up before twisting to try to see where the voice was coming from. "I'm Ladybug's kwami. She can't get away to transform at the moment, so I'll be taking care of purifying the akuma! All you need to do is tear the purse!"

"Oh, thank goodness," Adrien breathed, turning so that Marinette could see Tikki without craning her neck quite so much and adjusting his grip to compensate for her letting go of his shoulders to rip the possessed purse in two. There was a jerk as Marinette tore the fabric, and then Tikki swooped in to grab the akuma and shove it in her mouth, bright light shining out from between her lips.

...okay, that was a bit weird. But seconds later, the purified butterfly fluttered free, and Tikki beamed as she tossed her paws up in the air and let loose a cloud of sparkles, her Cure rushing around the school. Adrien let out a sigh of relief- and almost immediately, it turned into a gasp of surprise and worry.

Marinette had slumped in his arms, suddenly seemingly drained of all energy. Adrien tightened his grip, frantically glancing between her and Tikki.

"What happened to her?"

Tikki had clapped her paws to her mouth in clear surprise. "Oh! Whoops!"

"Whoops?"

"It's been so long since I cast the Cure without a transformation that I forgot that it, well...it has some side effects," Tikki told him, clearly sheepish as she eyed the slumped Marinette. "It's not nearly as strong without being channeled, and, uh, it drains Ladybug of energy- I don't know why, really-"

"Wait, if it drains Ladybug of energy, why did it get Marinette, too?" Adrien asked, frowning. That didn't make sense. "I mean-"

"Oh!" Tikki exclaimed with a titter, eyes going even wider for a second before she rushed on. "Well, that- that's a combination of factors, really. I mean, if I'm remembering correctly. She was heavily involved in the fight, and the Cure had to do the most work on her, and, uh... and she was close by when I cast the Cure, and I hadn't had enough cookies this morning so I had to borrow more energy than I might otherwise-"

Adrien blinked. "O...kay?"

"So that's why it took her energy, too!" Tikki finished with a chirp. "There might be some lingering effects like some soreness in her ankle, but it'll be all healed and right as rain by tomorrow morning! And I should get back to Ladybug now before she wonders where I went, so good-bye!"

"Bye," Adrien managed before Tikki zipped off. He frowned after her for a moment, still worried. He- he had more questions, really, but he couldn't ask all of them with Marinette still in earshot. He was worried about Ladybug- was she still with friends who could catch her before she collapsed to the floor? What would they think? Should he go and help somehow?- and about how quickly the two girls would recover. Marinette was still pretty limp but stirring enough that he knew that she hadn't been completely knocked out. Hopefully a nap would get her her energy back, but what if Ladybug had been hit just as hard and there was another akuma attack this afternoon?

Hopefully that wouldn't happen. Still, her friends had to be super confused right now, and if Ladybug had collapsed to the same extent that Marinette had, she wouldn't be in any condition to come up with a believable excuse for her sudden weakness.

Maybe her friends would just think that she was sick or something.

After another couple seconds had passed, Adrien gave himself a shake and turned, heading back down the stairs. Tikki had gone up, which suggested that Ladybug and her friends had retreated to the roof. If that was true, they would be coming back down soon, and it wouldn't do for him to still be hanging around.

Besides, with the akuma gone, he had to get back to class. Madam Mendeleev had a track record of not being very lenient with people who stayed missing longer than the rest of the class after an akuma attack had ended, and while he would probably get a pass because he would be returning with an unconscious classmate, it was better not to tempt fate too much.

As it turned out, he hadn't needed to worry. When Adrien returned to the classroom, Marinette clinging to him like a sleepy sloth, his classmates and teacher were all gathered around the deakumatized model on the floor. Rose was working at the knots in the computer cords, doing her best to loosen them and free the model.

Another thing that hadn't gone quite right with the Cure. Normally, the cords would have all been returned to their original spot. Maybe it was because Marinette had been the one to use them instead of the superheroes or the akuma, because the formerly-broken window had been put right.

"Adrien! You got away- bro, what happened to Marinette? Did the akuma hurt her or something?"

Chloe sniffed from here spot on top of her desk, where she had been surveying her nails and the trussed model on the floor. "She's just faking it for attention, Adrikins, just drop her on the floor or something."

Adrien frowned at her, hugging Marinette closer. "She's not, and I'm not going to do that, Chloe."

"Something happened, though, didn't it?" Alya had abandoned Rose's side in favor of hurrying over to Adrien, either for a scoop or to collect her best friend, Adrien couldn't tell. He wasn't going to give her much of either. "Ladybug's Cure was weird, and I didn't see her or Chat Noir arrive like usual, and now Marinette's practically asleep and the akuma victim is still tied up and the superheroes weren't here when she came to and-"

"Alya, slow down," Nino said with a laugh, cutting his girlfriend off. "Let him talk. Adrien was in the room a lot longer than we were, maybe he saw something."

Adrien nodded, his mind racing to come up with a cover story. There were some things that he didn't want to mention with either Alya or Lila in earshot, and the fact that Ladybug had apparently been caught unable to transform on the school property, close enough for her kwami to come looking for them, was definitely one of those things. Ladybug had managed to throw Alya off when she claimed to be 5000, so the last thing they wanted was for Alya to get back on her trail. Still, the best bet was to get as close to the truth as he could.

"Marinette defeated the akuma even before Ladybug could get here," Adrien told his classmates, and all eyes turned to him. On the floor, the model gave him a disgruntled glare as Rose finally freed her from the tangled lasso wire, but he ignored her. He could deal with that later. "She made a tripwire, then made another cord into a lasso to trap the akuma so that we could take the possessed purse and escape. She landed funny, though, so her ankle got injured, and then we ran into Ladybug up on the roof." It wasn't a common place for people to go, usually, so hopefully no one would be able to dispute his story. "The Cure went a little funny because there was no Lucky Charm, though. I, uh, don't think that Ladybug expected that, or she probably would have called for one anyway."

There was an impressed murmur at that, (almost) all of their classmates regarding Marinette with a bit of awe. While it was hardly the first time that a member of their class had fought back against an akumatized villain, no one had ever defeated one before. Most of the time, all their fighting accomplished was buying Ladybug and Chat Noir or escaping classmates a bit of time.

Unsurprisingly, a sour look flashed across Lila's face at the attention that Marinette was getting.

"Oh, that makes sense!" Max exclaimed, and everyone turned to look at him. He looked a little flustered by the attention, but adjusted his glasses and continued on regardless. "Ladybug's Lucky Charm always helps Ladybug defeat the akuma, and it no doubt contains a lot of magical energy. This time, Marinette helped Ladybug by defeating the akuma, which would make her the replacement for the Lucky Charm. When Ladybug casts the Cure, it releases the energy stored in the Lucky Charm to fix the city. Likewise, the Cure took Marinette's energy."

His classmates lit up in understanding, nodding along.

"That makes so much sense!"

"I can't imagine defeating an akuma by myself- that must have been so scary!"

"I bet she outsmarted the akuma, Marinette is fantastic like that!"

Alya waved her phone, the most excited out of all of them. "I gotta get an interview for my blog! My bestie, taking on an akuma by herself, no superpowers needed!"

Adrien frowned at that. A civilian going after an akuma would no doubt become a target for Hawkmoth, either to try to attack as revenge or as a potential akuma victim, since she was crafty enough to defeat an akuma and might be able to defeat the superheroes. If Hawkmoth hadn't seen who Marinette was through his akuma, then they shouldn't just hand over the information. "Alya, I don't know if that's a good idea-"

"It's too bad you didn't get a video, Alya, I bet people would have loved that!"

Adrien tried not to sigh. He would try to get to Alya later, before she could try to harass Marinette into giving an interview.

Rose was clasping her hands together, forever eager. "Marinette is our Everyday Ladybug and a Lucky Charm! That's so amazing!"

Mylène nodded, sending an awed glance over at Marinette, who was doing her best to burrow into Adrien's shoulder. Clearly she was exhausted and just wanted a nap, but she couldn't do that with all of the noise. "It is! Marinette has to be the only person to ever be a Charm, I haven't ever heard of anyone else doing that!"

There were murmurs of agreement all around at that, people nodding in agreement.

And then Lila opened her mouth.

"Actually, it's been done before," Lila spoke up, just loud enough to be heard but not so loud that she would obviously look like she was trying to take attention away from Marinette. Still, she drew more than a few eyes as she laid a careful, modest hand on her chest. "I mean, I don't want to minimize what Marinette has done or anything, but..."

"Have you been a Lucky Charm before, Lila?" Rose asked eagerly, and Adrien's blood started heating up, headed for a slow boil. What Marinette had done was a first, and it had been super brave of her. She had earned the respect and praise that her classmates had been giving her.

Lila had not.

"Just the once," Lila told them, ducking her head as though embarrassed by the attention. "I happened to be in the area, and, well, I saw an opportunity and I took it. And I wanted to help Ladybug, of course, since we're besties. It was harder than I anticipated, but I didn't want to give up, even after I broke my arm."

There were murmurs at that, and the impressed looks were directed at Lila now, not Marinette. Adrien's blood boiled even more. Marinette had twisted her ankle- maybe even broken it, considering that she had collapsed after only getting a short distance away- and hadn't just sat down and given up on the spot, or thrown the akumatized item to Adrien and told him to run. Instead, she had been in the middle of pushing herself up to continue running, pushing on regardless of the injury.

"What akuma was it?" Sabrina asked eagerly, leaning forward. "I don't remember seeing anything on the news!"

"Yes, well, it was one of those akumas that vanished out of public view and was defeated out of sight. They're common enough, of course." Lila shrugged, the picture of modesty. "I don't know what he was upset about, of course, but he kept, uh, making cell phones explode like- like he had a grudge against them or something."

"Ooh, Cellphobia?" Alya exclaimed, already reaching for her phone. Adrien could see questions for another interview dancing above her head, even though there clearly wouldn't be time- after all, Madam Mendeleev had just entered the classroom, and looked none too thrilled about the scene greeting her. "That one was so dangerous, and there was so much damage! And you were the Lucky Charm for that fight?"

Lila nodded, a small smile dancing across her lips. "Yes, Cellphobia was the one! It was so scary, of course, but Ladybug was down and Chat Noir hadn't caught up yet, so of course I had to step in-"

"Cellphobia was a month and a half ago, when you said that you were traveling around Africa to deal with an emergency at your charity there," Adrien interrupted, anger making his words tumble out before he could rethink them. "So you couldn't have possibly-"

Lila sniffled at once, loudly enough to make everyone's attention snap back to her before they could really think about what Adrien had said. "Are you calling me a liar? That's so mean! Cellphobia happened right before I left!"

There were more murmurs at that, and the entire class's eyes swung back to Adrien. He froze for a second, not at all comfortable with the attention. Was now really the best time to get into this argument? Marinette clearly needed sleep to recover, and if Ladybug was in a similar condition, now was not the time to get Lila upset and in an akumatizeable mood. On top of that, Adrien wouldn't be able to get away very fast, because he was carrying Marinette and she would no doubt be a target for Lila.

As much as it pained Adrien- because right now, Lila was trying to steal an amazing accomplishment from his friend and that on top of everything else she had done had pretty much used up all of his patience and then some- he didn't want to get into any sort of showdown right now. Before he could try to diffuse the situation, though, Alya spoke up.

"Maybe you're misremembering when Cellphobia was," Alya suggested from where she had edged closer to Lila, one hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Because Lila wouldn't lie about that!"

There was a snort at that from Adrien's shoulder, and then Marinette lifted her head up slightly, just enough so that she could speak, though her words were still a bit sleep-slurred, as though she weren't completely awake. "Yeah, right. Google is free, Alya. Feel free to use it for once."

There was a shocked silence at that, everyone staring at Marinette. For her part, Marinette had gone back to curling into Adrien's shoulder, clearly done with the conversation. Lila's mouth was open as though to protest, but she clearly couldn't think of anything to say.

At the back of the group, Max looked up from his tablet. "Adrien is correct. Cellphobia's appearance was on the tenth of last month. I sent my notes from class to Lila due to her travels from the fourth to the twelfth, and she told me that she would return to Paris late on the day on the fourteenth, then return to school that Monday. That means that she either lied about being a Lucky Charm during the Cellphobia attack, or she lied about being out of the country for that period of time."

Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien saw Madam Mendeleev perk up at that comment, eyes narrowing in focus. Lila followed his gaze, the barest hint of panic entering her expression.

Well, it was out of Adrien's hands now. Also, Marinette's lack of filter when tired was pretty funny.

"That- that wasn't Cellphobia's first appearance," Lila insisted, her eyes darting around the group. "I wasn't aware that he had been akumatized again when I was away, and the first occurrence was very contained-"

Even Alya was looking doubtful now as she backed away from Lila, letting the hand that had formerly rested on Lila's shoulder fall back to her side, her fingers flexing. "Why would the battle have been bigger the second time around?

"All right, class, stop dithering around and find your seats!" Madam Mendeleev called, cutting off whatever Lila was going to say next. "Adrien, does Marinette need to go to the nurse?"

"I think she just needs sleep," Adrien told her, maneuvering himself into his seat while jostling Marinette as little as possible. He kept one arm around her, just in case she started tipping off balance.

"She can sleep back here next to me, Adrien," Alya said eagerly, leaning forward to catch his attention. "She's fallen asleep at her desk before, it'll be fine."

Adrien could see through that in a second. As much as it pained him to admit it- after all, Alya was his friend and he wanted to think the best of his friends- he could tell that Alya wanted Marinette near her so that she could get the scoop about the akuma fight as soon as possible, either by pestering Marinette during class or pouncing on her straight afterwards, even if Marinette needed more sleep. Still, he wasn't going to call Alya out on that right now. "I'm good, Alya. Marinette can use me as a pillow, I don't mind."

Alya opened her mouth, then hesitated, clearly torn. Adrien didn't give her another chance to argue, though, turning back to the front in time to see Madam Mendeleev escorting the former Model Model out. It was someone who Adrien vaguely recognized- they had maybe had a couple scattered shared photoshoots- and they shot him a dark look as they headed out, clearly not having forgiven him for- well, for not getting fired from the family business, apparently.

Ah, well. Maybe Adrien could have a word with the photography people later and try to make sure that they were being fair with dealing with lateness.

Turning his attention to the front and making sure that he didn't disturb Marinette- who, from the sounds of her quiet, even breathing in his ear, had fallen asleep- Adrien resolved to stay focused throughout class, even with all of the other things there were to consider.

Lila's clearly impending downfall and the fallout from that. Trying to keep Alya from posting anything about Marinette's involvement in defeating an akuma, and from accidentally harassing her friend in her eagerness to get an interview. In general trying to convince his classmates to keep Marinette's amazing work on the down-low for her safety- perhaps he would pay the class a visit as Chat Noir or something so that people would actually listen. But then there was the entire issue of Lila and the fact that- well, Lila was totally the type to use information like that as a weapon. If it occurred to her that she might be able to get Hawkmoth to target Marinette's family, she would make sure to get the information out.

That could be an issue. Maybe Chat Noir should just go to Alya after school and maybe a couple other classmates, ones who might be likely to spread the news. That way, he wouldn't be giving Lila any ideas.

Two classes back-to-back in Madam Mendeleev's room, and then they moved back to Ms. Bustier's classroom to finish the school day. Adrien got dismissed early so that he could carry Marinette to the next classroom without getting jostled around too much by other students, and he caught Alya snapping pictures of the two of them on the way out of the classroom.

Hopefully after school would be early enough and she wasn't drafting a Ladyblog article in class right now. If she was...well, maybe Adrien would have to do some damage control before their next class.

Marinette stirred in his arms as Adrien headed down the hall, doing his best smooth model walk to keep from jostling her. "Wha...?"

"We're just heading to the final class of the day," Adrien explained, keeping his voice low. He didn't know how awake Marinette was, and he didn't want to startle her. "The teachers know that your energy got sapped after the akuma battle, and so they're fine with you sleeping. I can bring you home after school. Just keep napping."

Regardless, Marinette jolted and lifted her head, clearly more awake. "They...know?"

"They know that you took down the akuma," Adrien specified, wondering if maybe Marinette's short-term memory was perhaps a little fuzzy at the moment. "And that you took her akumatized item to Ladybug to purify. Max theorized that you were Ladybug's Lucky Charm for this fight and- well, he said something about transfer of energy and it was a little hard to follow, but that's what everybody thinks now."

Marinette sounded puzzled. "But- we didn't see Ladybug?"

"I know, but the fact that her kwami was here suggests that she was in the school while detransformed and I didn't want Alya to know that." Marinette would understand why, he was sure. Adrien had overheard her arguing with Alya before about the Ladyblog's goal to find out who the superheroes were behind the mask. "And, uh, I don't know how much of it you were really fully awake for, but Madam Mendeleev is on Lila's trail now, I think."

He could feel Marinette's smile against his shoulder as she settled back down. "That's good."

"Mm. It'll be nice to not have to hear her lies all the time, I'll admit." Adrien adjusted his grip on Marinette, letting his cheek rest against Marinette's head as he waited outside of Ms. Bustier's door. He hadn't expected it, but it was such a relief to know that he wouldn't have to listen to Lila reaping the rewards for things that she hadn't done. "I can't believe she tried to claim that she had done the same thing that you did, defeating an akuma on your own."

Marinette didn't respond. It sounded like she had fallen asleep again. Adrien smiled, making sure his grip on her was secure before letting his attention wander, eyes automatically scanning over the school for any signs of trouble. Everything seemed calm for now, though, and hopefully it would stay that way.

If something did happen- if Lila got angry enough about the class discovering her lies and got akumatized- then, well, Adrien would do his very best to protect Marinette and keep her out of harm's way, even if that meant going toe-to-toe with an akuma before he could get away and transform.

After all, she had done so much for him and the rest of the class. Now, it was his turn to help her.

[crowbarstodd]

Course Of Nature (5)

Chapter Summary: A fight! Word Count: 2,507 (it’s a short chapter IM SORRY but this and chapter 4 were originally one chapter that I split in half for pacing purposes) Rating: G Pairing: Daminette Prologue | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six

The Akumatised person they were fighting was called ‘Bud Omen,’ which was considerably better than at least half of Chat’s puns. 

Before his akumatisation ‘Bud Omen’ was a passionate gardener, and from what Marinette could put together, people kept tearing and uprooting his lovely roses. She only wished his anger granted him a non-aggressive ability.

Now, he was an instrument for Hawkmoth, dressed in green leaves, with long, wide, red petals extending from his neck, looking almost like a dog cone. Both his hands had been replaced red flower buds, which didn’t look particularly attractive.

One of Hawkmoths worst designs yet, Marinette decided. The outfit was simply outrageous.

“Finally!” Queen Bee (Chloe), said in lieu of greeting. “Carapace got turned into a cactus, and—“ She was cut off by a giant thorn aimed straight for the two of them. The girls rolled out of the way just in time for the projectile to crash land onto the street and reduce the roads to crumbling pieces. “And this idiot won’t stop throwing thorns at me!”

Queen Bee had turned to yell the last bit at Bud Omen, who threw yet another thorn at her. (Surprise, surprise.)

“Nobody can stop me!” Bud Omen announced. “Not until people learn to respect my flowers!”

Bud Omen extended an arm, though instead of manifesting a giant thorn, a bright green beam shot out towards Queen Bee. Marinate pulled her aside with her yoyo, watching with wide eyes as the red Toyota behind Bee transformed into a succulent, sitting comfortably inside a brown pot. “That’s what happened to Carapace,” Queen Bee said. “I think his right-hand shoots out thorns, and his left-hand does that.”

A dual wielder then. Lucky for him, unlucky for her. “Well it’s creative, I’ll give ‘im that.”

Queen Bee ducked to the side as another thorn was launched in her direction. “I can’t get close enough to use my venom!” She cried, hissing as her hands grazed gravel to prevent the rest of her body from sliding across the ground.

If Bee couldn’t use her power then she was likely to become a quick liability. “Prioritise getting people to safety! I’m sure I can hold out, at least until Chat gets here.”

Queen Bee nodded her head in affirmation, sprinting away to rescue innocents. Taking some time to assess her surroundings, Marinette deduced the safest way to apprehend the villain. Or at least the safest place to direct it. 

There was a park nearby, she remembered, open and wide enough to minimise potential damage created by the thorns, and easy to evacuate as it would give her clear vision of any innocents. “Hey! Uh, flower power!” Marinette called, using her yoyo to sweep Bud Omen to the floor. He saved his fall by extending his arms, but the flowers that replaced his hands wilted and bent out of shape from the impact.

It looked like they were real flowers and susceptible to damage. That was sure to be useful for later. Bud Omen grunted as he rose, running after Marinette who was already on her way to the park. “Clear out!” She yelled as she approached. “Akuma!”

The citizens complied easily, filing out in rushed lines like a disturbed ant farm. She was barely a few feet within the park grounds when was pushed forward by a harsh force, the right side of her back aching as she was forced to eat grass. She heard Bud Omen’s stilted laugh and winced. He’d nailed her in the back with a thorn. It hurt like crazy, throbbing as she tried to get back on her feet, but she counted herself lucky he hadn’t gone and turned her into a cactus instead. 

She was saved from further pain when she was scooped into the arms of a familiar black-clad hero. “Chat!” She exclaimed, relieved.

“Looks like it’s not growing very well, M’Lady,” Chat grinned, setting her down to her feet. The park was now suffering from a decent-sized crater, green thorn sticking out of it. 

They hid together behind a particularly wide tree, peeking out from the sides to check on Bud Omen. “Watch out for his left, Chat, you don’t want to become a cactus.” 

“We’ll just have to end it quickly then.”

“That’ll be a bit of a problem,” Marinette admitted. “I’m not exactly sure where the Akuma would be, just that the flower-hands are damageable.”

“Peony for your thoughts?”

“Think you can get to him without getting hit?”

Chat puffed his chest, bringing his hands to his waist. “Of course I can, bugaboo, you just have to beleaf in me!”

Chat Noir jumped out from behind the tree, rolling under thorns and jumping over cactus-transforming beams with lithe granted to him by his miraculous. Aiming straight and true, he leaped straight toward Bud Omen.

The villain had no choice but to parry the close-quarters attack with an arm block. He growled as one of his petals fell, bruised and brown. “How dare you!” He exclaimed. 

Chat hardly had enough time to fall flat on his stomach, barely avoiding a thorn missile to the face. At such close quarters, a hitting move would definitely have taken him out of commission. Her partner showed grace true to his animal, flipping over following beam attacks from Bud Omen. He must have been getting pointers from Nightwing or something, because his usually already-impressive combinations had well smoothed out, and he was confidently executing tumbles he hadn’t proved to know earlier. 

Timing her attack just right, she waited for the exact moment his hands swept upward, eyes narrowed in concentration. Now! Spotting her window of opportunity, Marinette flung her yoyo at the villain, tying his hands together. 

“Uh-oh,” Chat grinned at Bud Omen, “looks like you might be in a bind?”

“You won’t be able to stop me so easily!”

Chat smiled, showing off his canines. He always looked just a touch wild when he was truly excited during a fight. “When I got closer I saw a necklace, M’Lady, might be where the Akuma is hidden.” Finally, a lead! Marinette returned her partner’s smile, digging her heels into the ground as she prepared to end the match. “Let’s get it then, Minou!”

Bud Omen growled. Too stubborn to stop even while obviously detained, Bud Omen shot another beam at Chat Noir. Though Marinette was sure her partner could evade it, she had never been the type to sit back and watch where she could intervene. With a yank, she changed the course of the shot.

It would have been the perfect stop had a new body not occupied the previously empty spot that Bud Omen’s beam was now redirected to.

“Move!” Chat bellowed, springing into action. There was a bright light as the beam made contact, and her blonde partner was left to sit on the floor as a cactus in a pot. 

The newcomer who he’d saved was sprawled on their back, eyebrows in an all-too-familiar furrow.

Marinette gaped. “Robin?”

He dusted himself off, nose wrinkling at the sight of the cactus that was once Chat. “I could have avoided the attack on my own.” He said, “your partner was foolish.”

“Chat is a hero!” Marinette retorted, not at all appreciating Robin’s apparent lack of gratitude. “He helped you because that’s what heroes do.”

A thorn shot to the ground between the two of them, its impact shaking the ground enough for the two heroes to stumble, unbalanced. 

“Shit,” Marinette cursed under her breath. Her grip on her yoyo had loosened thanks to Robin’s sudden appearance, and now they were back to square one. 

Robin tutted. “Should have held on tighter.”

“We don’t have time for this!”

The two of them ducked behind the wide end of the thorn, hiding from the trigger happy villain who seemed intent on turning them both into cacti. “We need to come up with a plan,” Marinette said, thinking back on what she knew. “His flowers can probably be destroyed, and I think he can only use one at a time.”

Robin scoffed, unsheathing the katana attached to his hip. “I have it handled.”

His first step out from behind the shelter of the thorn was celebrated by a yellow body slamming right onto him.

Queen Bee rolled off him, obviously miffed. “What were you doing in my way?” she demanded. 

So brat meets brat. Really, what a great day for Marinette.

“Me? What were you doing in my way?”

“As far as I know it’s my father whose Mayor of Paris not yours. This park is Paris public property, so I’ll ask again. What were you doing in my way?

It was astounding, the leaps and bounds in logic that Chloe could make. Even more so was the way that Robin looked prepared to argue back as though what she was saying was actually relevant in any way at all. She clapped her hands to get their attention. “Queen Bee, this is Robin, Robin this is Queen Bee. Alright now that you’ve met each other, it’s time to make a plan.”

She thought she sounded authoritative enough, but as soon as she was finished talking the two were back at it again. Is this how teachers normally felt? So dejected? “They should call you Bumble, since that’s all you seem to do.”

“Oh? Do people call you unnecessary annoyance, since that’s all you seem to be.”

“Well, well, well. Looks like Hawkmoth will be happy with me.”

That was certainly not Bee or Robin, and they certainly sounded very close. As if Bud Omen had snuck up on them while they were arguing. 

Slowly, the three teens turned, to be met with the towering figure of the villain. They reacted automatically. Marinette swept at Bud Omen’s legs, watching with satisfaction as he fell. A sting from Bee’s ‘venom’ came a second later, paralysing Bud Omen as a Batarang shot out and shattered the silver string around his neck. 

In the blink of an eye, the fight was over, and all Marinette could feel was dumbfounded.

She purified the Akuma, and watched as the city was restored, feeling relief fill her as her partner returned to his cat-clad state. 

“See how helpful I can be now that I have my miraculous permanently?” Bee asked, smug.

Marinette sighed. “It’s still temporary, just longer this time. Until we’ve beaten Hawkmoth for good. Hawkmoth and err… Queen Bee.”

“We should do something about that,” Chat said, coming closer to the little huddle. Robin sniffed as though he was unimpressed, but his eyes shifted to Queen Bee expectantly.

The group fell into a momentary hush, shattered by a disgruntled Bee. “Are you guys serious? You want the villain to keep her name?”

“Well if we knew where she was, we’d ask,” Chat snarked in return. Seeing how she was genuinely upset by the idea, his approach softened. “Just until we take her down, Bee.”

“Ugh, I so don’t have time for this right now.”

Right, she’d used her big move and all. Marinette stole a glance at the hairpin, counting the stripes. There were still two left, which gave them about three or so minutes to figure it out. 

Chat extended his baton, pushing a few buttons. “It’s easy. Just google types of bees. Or even easier call yourself abeille”

Amused, Marinette let out a chuckle. “Seriously Chat? Google? Is that how you got your name?”

Her partner made a face. “Well no, but if I hadn’t been so clever from the beginning it’s what I’d probably do. So, Google search?”

Bee groaned, but didn’t argue. The four of them huddled closer together, leaning in to look at Chat’s baton screen as he did he a quick google search. 

“Ooh! You could call yourself carpenter bee!”

Chloe glowered at Chat, who had the sense to swipe out of the page quickly.

Not one to sit in silence, Robin tutted, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Strange how there’s no imbecile bee. Would have been fitting for you.”

That comment earned Robin a swift kick from the blonde heroine. Her reaction seemed to satisfy him, however, as he didn’t do anything to retaliate.

“What about Andrena?” Marinette suggested, reading from the search options. 

Chloe clicked her tongue, looking quite unhappy. “Well if you think so Ladybug… Then fine. Andrena. But only until we beat that awful hag. Then I’ll be Queen Bee again.”

“Thanks for your co-operation, Andrena.”

Andrena’s miraculous beeped, ending the conversation before she and Robin could fight again (who knew there’d be someone else to butt heads with him so aggressively?) “Well, we might as well all get going,” Marinette said, waving the group farewell.

She ran a couple meters until she was sure it was safe to detransform, only doing so when she was safely tucked away in the crevice of an alleyway.

Tikki flopped into her bag, eager for some cookies. Seeing as there was nowhere she had to be for the time being, she took a moment to breathe, resting her head against the cool brick wall behind her. Her back still ached.

Today was a bit of a mess. She and Robin still lacked the synergy to fight well together, and adding Andrena to the mix seemed to make everything even more explosive. 

There was the fact that Robin was so dismissive of Chat’s help too. She figured why; his admission that night was pretty direct (don’t think about what happened after, don’t think don’t think don’t think -- yeah she was blushing again) but that didn’t mean it was nice or right of him to brush Chat’s actions off to the side like that. 

“Marinette?”

Her head shot up, meeting the poorly disguised concern in Damian Wayne’s eyes. Why he was in this side of Paris, she had no idea, and really, it was inconvenient for him to bump into her while she was doing some deep thinking. Like, did he want her to get distracted and think of something stupid? Probably not, he wasn’t so bad after all, and oh god she hadn’t replied yet. 

“Yes.” Well. That wasn’t any less awkward than the silent eye contact. “I mean, yes! Hello!”

Damian snorted, finding humour in her inability to function like a normal human being. Curse her wandering mind! “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be at the bakery or something?” 

“Uhhh… I got turned into a cactus! Yeah, I was a cactus and I guess someone carried me here or something… HAHAHaha...ha...ha.” She scratched the back of her neck, eyes looking everywhere but his face. She couldn’t even look in his direction until she heard him snigger. 

“Alright then, do you need help going back to the bakery? It’s a bit of travel on foot, and my brother will be around with the car in a moment.”

Marinette searched his eyes. Satisfied when she found nothing but sincerity, she nodded her head. “Thanks.”

End Notes: I feel like I might’ve missed something while editing this so give me a heads up if there’s something I need to fix. It’s 100% not my best chapter, but I had to get it out and over with. Good news is that this chap ends w promise of future Daminette which is something I’m really excited about!

Also! The Queen Bee problem has been temporarily resolved!!! Sort of. Hurdles up ahead, but hey it’s just how it be I guess Tag List: @just-rant-and-write-fic-idea @kceedraws @mystery-5-5 @2sunchild2 @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @treebrosha @mooshoon @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @aarushi-03 @ladylb @crazylittlemunchkin @kurogaya913 @ki117h3dr4g0n @xxmadamjinxx @sidefrienda @7-sage-7 @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @felicityroth @tritaledkitsune @constancetruggle @creator-josie @theatreandcomicfreak @northernbluetongue @yin-390 @ayuchan07 @fatimaabbasrizvi @emjrabbitwolf @resignedcatservant

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