#she almost had me fooled by acting like this was for marinette’s benefit

[ladyofthenoodle]

tikki could’ve very easily told alya to not wear the alliance ring. like girl marinette explained this to you when she decided not to wear it, you couldn’t pass that along to alya?

[justcourttee]

hiiiii i don't know if you take prompts or requests or anything, but would you maybe consider writing a sequel to A Moment Too Late? maybe with a happy ending? i love your writing!!

I tried for what I’ll call a happy-ish ending, but I hope you still enjoy it! 

*WARNING* This piece and part 1 mention attempted suicide and can be difficult for some. Please, please, please be sure you feel comfortable reading about this topic before clicking below the title. 

In The Nick of Time

Damian took his first step into the city of love at 4:00 pm.  

He had a general idea of where to begin, but the combination of no sleep and jet lag was taking its toll. He had tried reaching out to her several times on the flight over, but she ignored his every effort. It could have just been the fact that she was in her classes. She may have been suicidal, but maybe she still took her education seriously?

It wasn’t likely, but it helped put his mind at some ease, hoping he still had time. His first order of business was renting a car. Technically speaking, his father had a villa on the outskirts of the city with a multitude of cars to pick from, but seeing as no one knew where he was, he wasn’t eager to tip them off.

He gazed over the taxis lined up, eagerly looking to take advantage of the tourists piling out of the airport behind him. He didn’t want someone to eager, he just needed someone who looked on the brim of exhaustion. His eyes landed on a poor man propped against his car, his eyes drooping like Tim before his first cup of the day. Perfect.

“Excuse me sir, but I’d like to rent your car from you for the day.”

The man peeked one eye open as he glanced warily over Damian.

“Scram kid, it’s a package deal, me and my car. You can’t just rent one or the other-”

Damian smirked as the man snatched the bundle of money from his hand, popping off the taxi light that stood on top of his car. As Damian slipped into the driver’s seat, he motioned for the man to step back over.

“Here’s a couple of extra bills to catch yourself a taxi home.”

The man’s mouth gaped as if he was searching for air underwater. Damian didn’t even bother to see if he would step back from the curb as he pulled off. The one benefit of the agonizing six-hour flight was Tim’s laptop. Damian had managed to hack into each of the high schools around the city until he narrowed it down to three Marinette’s. After looking at approximate ages and distance, he assumed she had to be the first; one Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Her family owned a bakery a little less than a mile from the high school and on the off chance she hadn’t stayed for any clubs or activities, she should be arriving there at any moment. Damian tapped the address into his phone ignoring the multitude of messages he had between his father and Dick.

It was a simple fifteen-minute drive from the airport.

Damian exhaled sharply as he sped down the exit. Fifteen minutes was enough time. It had to be enough time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .

“Welcome to the bakery! Is there anything I can interest you to today?”

The woman’s face wore a mixture of fake smiles and exhaustion. It might’ve been enough to fool the average customer, but to Damian, she simply looked one gust of wind from collapsing.

“Uhm, I’m looking for Marinette? Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Is she here?”

Instantly her fake smile dropped and the exhaustion settled into the creases of her face. There wasn’t even a hint of worry at the mention of her daughter’s name from a stranger’s mouth. It irritated him.

“Look, whatever she did now, we don’t have any money for a settlement. Maybe you can work out a deal with her, but we have nothing more to give.”

The woman offered him a half bow before pointing him to a small door at the back of the store. He assumed she meant for him to go through it and without another word, he stepped past her. As he made his way up the countless stairs, his irritation only grew.

He was well aware that there were parents out there indifferent to their children, but his soulmate wasn’t supposed to have one. She was always so happy and carefree when they were younger, abusing the bond whenever she could. He assumed it was because her parents had drilled into her that it was within her right too. But after that short interaction, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Finally, a white door came into view. Hesitantly, he reached out the knob twisting without resistance. Inside was a moderate flat with what appeared to be an attic access. As first impressions went, he thought it seemed like a warm and gentle place to grow up in. Very different from the windowless stone building he began in.

He slipped out of his shoes, placing them beside a pair of light pink ballet flats before taking his first step. Someone was home and by the looks of it, it should be his soulmate. Damian contemplated on whether to call out or not. He didn’t want to frighten her, but he thought it might be worse if he just opened random doors instead. Finally, he settled on attempting their soulmate link once more.

“Marinette? Are you there?”

There was no answer, but he couldn’t be sure if that was just the continued strike from his earlier efforts. Tentatively, he took another step forward, his eyes scanning the apartment. It was pretty much an open concept, so he could see everything quite easily. The only thing that eluded him was the staircase leading above.

That had to be where she was.

“Marinette? That’s how you pronounce your name, right?” Damian sucked in a breath, resisting the urge to hit himself. No matter how he intended it, he sounded like he was some stalker here to kidnap her. “I’m not here to hurt you, I just wanted to talk.”

It didn’t sound any better. Maybe he should've stuck with a gentle introduction through their bond. Speaking out loud only reminded him how terrible he was with people. Animals were easier. Everything that needed to be said could be expressed through body language.

Biting the bullet, he decided it couldn’t get any worse than barging straight up the staircase into the attic. As he pushed open the access, the first thought that crossed his mind was-

“A mess,” clothes were strewn across the floor, remnants of paper scattered within the piles. The walls were a soft pink at one point, but it looked as if someone had taken a paint scraper to them, mere flakes hanging on by a thread. For such a well-put-together apartment, the room almost seemed abandoned.

Pulling himself into the room, Damian left his legs to dangle, his toes longing for the security of the stairs just below him. It didn't seem that she was in here either. He remembered passing another floor, perhaps that was also part of their apartment? Just as he decided to plant his feet back onto the sturdy steps, his fingers brushed over one of the scraps of paper he had seen earlier.

Instinctively, he pulled his hand away from the floor, his eyebrows furrowing. Damian was fairly certain that wasn’t how paper should feel. Reaching back out, he gathered a few nearby scraps. Turning them over one by one, a picture began to form. A group of girls, all laughing completely lost in a moment of time. His curiosity bested him as he pulled himself into the room, gathering each of the scraps he could find.

A half dozen photos was all he could form by the time he collected the larger pieces. Most were group shots, but two were of a blonde guy. Upon further analysis, he determined that he was the son of the fashion dictator Gabriel Agreste. He had seen the boy at a couple of Bruce’s international parties.

Perhaps she thought he was attractive? After all, the photos seemed to be ripped from a magazine, unlike the other four. As he glanced around the room once more, he felt like he had finally found a straw to grasp at. A reason she dropped so far, so fast.

But as much as he gathered from her room, he still had no idea as to where she might be. Her shoes were at the door, but it didn’t seem as if she was anywhere in the apartment. Standing slowly, Damian took a step back toward the access he had entered through when a breeze tickled the back of his neck.

His entire body stiffened as his hand moved slowly to where he kept his emergency kunai.

“Is that you, Marinette? If so, you’re pretty good at masking your presence. I didn’t even sense you approaching.”

There was no response, but now that he knew she was there, it was easier to pick up on her shallow breathing. In one swift movement, Damian flicked his wrist backward, ducking to avoid any retaliation.

A soft grunt earned a glance backward, his eyes widening a bit at the sight. She hadn’t even tried to dodge it. Lodged into her right shoulder was his kunai, and just below it, centimeters away from her heart, was a pocket knife. A bright pink light blinded him and instinctively his arms darted out. When he could see again, a petite figure rested against his frame.

“Marinette?” She was unresponsive, a deep ruby dripping from her wounds. “Marinette!”

What was this panic he felt rising? He’d seen comrades die on the battlefield before, wounds more deadly than this. So why couldn’t he move? Logically, he knew he had to act fast, but his body wouldn’t inch.

“You’re her soulmate, right? Do something!” Damian’s head snapped up, but he couldn’t find where the voice came from. Whoever it was, it was enough to break whatever daze he had fallen into.

“Okay Marinette, I have basic medical training and I can patch you, slow the bleeding, but I can’t remove either blade. Do you understand? I’m going to have to move you, quickly and as stable as possible.” Her breathing was shallow, but her eyelids flickered in what he hoped was a response. As gently as her could, he lifted her into his arms, attempting to avoid moving either stab wound. Her soft grunt pulled at his heart. “Hold on a little longer Marinette, please, I need to apologize.”

The stairs were one agonizing moment after another and as he laid her into the backseat of his rented car, he felt winded himself. Sliding into the driver’s seat, Damian quickly pulled out his phone, cursing as it slid through his hands.

“Dammit, where did it fall?” He frantically searched, his heart rate rising with every passing moment. Was this the world’s way of punishing him? He killed and fought and argued every passing moment of his life. He pushed her away and now that he thought he was making a change, he could just waltz back into her life as if nothing had happened? He wasn’t going to make it.

“Just drive, I’ll guide you.” Had he finally lost it? It was the same imaginary voice he had heard before. Perhaps it was his subconscious, a guardian angel? Could he really trust it? “Drive boy, take a left at the stop sign.”

He couldn’t afford to wait another moment so he did what felt most logical; he drove. The drive was killing him, each painful breath becoming slower, a dagger to his heart as they escaped from her mouth.

“Just leave the car in the front, save my friend.” The only thing keeping him going was the voice.

Damian had barely parked, his feet already slamming on the pavement before the engine had stopped. Gathering her into his arms, he burst through the sliding doors, the fear rising in his throat.

“Help! I need help!” He knew his French was rusty, but he had to try. The nurse tentatively approached him, her gasp needing no explanation. A stretcher was rushed, and as they ripped her from his arms, Damian couldn’t help the anger he felt.

“Be careful with her! She’s going to die if they shift too much!” A security guard stepped over, his hands raised as if he meant to calm Damian. He took another step forward, trying to grip Damian’s arm. “What are you doing? I need to be with her! Marinette I’m right here! Can’t you hear me? I need you Marinette! Please don’t leave me!”

Damian watched as they placed the stethoscope on her chest, grim expressions hastening their step.

“Don’t look at her like that! Help her! Please!” It felt as if his lungs were collapsing, his vision blurring. Why was he reacting like this? He barely knew her. In fact, this was his first time ever seeing her.

“Sir, please calm down. They are treating your friend right now, the best thing you can do for her is sit and wait.”

The man led him to a couch where his legs finally caved, his back sinking into the chair. Damian lifted his hands to his face, wiping the tears he hadn’t even realized he had cried, but it only left his cheeks damper than before. Slowly, he pulled back his hands, his stomach plummeting. There wasn’t an inch of skin left uncovered by the red.

“Oh, oh,” Had he really not noticed how much blood she had lost? He was so focused on getting her here that he didn’t even consider if she would make it. “I thought I could make it, I thought I still had time.”

Damian recognized this feeling rising in his chest. It was the same as when he collapsed on the roof, the same as when he heard from her after so many years of silence. Was this what his mother meant by a soulmate bond being a distraction?

He had never understood why people took the insane challenge of fighting his Grandfather for a chance to leave the league in search of their soulmate. If he was honest, he thought it was a pointless endeavor and he couldn’t begin to imagine how someone believed they could pull it off. But, as his chest tightened with the rising waves of nausea, a realization washed over him.

A soulmate bond was so powerful that even if you just met them, you felt the need to protect them, to care for them. You became vulnerable for them, scared to lose them, terrified of how the world would be without them. It was a terrible weakness and a strong ally.

“Can you walk to the bathroom?” Damian felt his head stir, but it was as if it were being pulled by strings, out of his control. “I’ll explain everything if you could just meet me there.”

How could this voice be so all-knowing? Hadn’t it just surfaced from his subconscious as a way to kickstart his movement again? Yet, if that were the case, why did he find himself rising, stumbling toward the bathroom in a daze?

He slipped into the closest stall, collapsing against the door, the minute it locked. Why did he feel so drained? It was less than 500 feet.

“Do you need to sit down? I know that this must be hard on you.”

Damian’s eyes scanned the stall in search of a source for the voice, but alas, he came up with nothing. Sliding to the ground, he chuckled to himself, his hand clutching his shirt.

“I’ve finally lost it. Todd told me this day would come, but how could a dumbass like him even know?”

“You haven’t lost anything, I’m right in front of you, you just have to push through the veil.”

Damian perked up, squinting his eyes at the space directly in front of him. Slowly, but surely, his eyes focused on a red blur until the floating object came into full view.

“Holy shi-” Two paw-like things pressed his lips together, a disapproving look monopolizing its small face.

“Can you keep it down? And what’s with all this foul language? I can’t say I approve of you being my Chosen’s soulmate with a mouth like that.”

It floated a few inches away, crossing its arms as if trying to push the point across. Damian tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. He was positive that he hadn’t had anything. Perhaps this was one of those sleepless hallucinations that Drake constantly rambled on about?

“I know that look, I’m not a hallucination, I’m a kwamii! My name is Tikki and I am Marinette’s partner. Together, we merge to become the superheroine of Paris, Ladybug.”

Ladybug? He had heard Bruce mention a Parisian team. They asked for any heroes to stay out of Paris as their villain was one that manipulated emotions, turning his victims into puppets of his own bidding. No wonder Bruce and Dick were blowing up his phone. They weren’t just worried about him running off, they were also worried about him breaking an international treaty.

Damian blinked slowly as he processed the image in front of him. Kwamiis. He had heard the legend of them back when he was apart of the League of Assassins, but he had no idea they truly existed. Why was his soulmate in possession of the most powerful being in the world?

“It’s a long story soulmate of the Chosen. I have traveled long and wide and have had many wielders before, but never one as capable as Marinette. When I first found myself as her partner, she was clumsy and shy, but so friendly and kind, always going out of her way to help people. Together, we defeated the original Hawkmoth, but in the battle, his kwamii was reclaimed by one of his partners and a new Lady Hawk emerged.”

“Why are you telling me this?” The kwamii shot him a questioning look as if the answer was obvious.

“I’m trying to give you the full picture of where it all began. You blame yourself as the catalyst, but you were only a small stepping stone in her downfall, almost not worth mentioning.”

Damian felt an odd swelling in his chest. It almost felt like, relief? Had he really been this worried that he had pushed her down this path? A lonesome tear trickled from his eye, but he was quick to snatch away.

“Marinette had friends, a boyfriend even. She wasn’t completely lost without a soulmate. After all, her parents weren’t soulmates, and her best friend was rejected by their soulmate too. She was happy.” The kwamii paused, her smile reminiscing before it slowly morphed into a frown. But it all changed when a wretched girl transferred into her middle school.”

“Just one girl changed everything?”

The kwamii nodded, small tears forming.

“She was the real catalyst. The reason everything fell apart.”

Damian lost track of how long he sat listening to the small God. When he stood to return to the waiting room, he couldn’t help but clench his fist in an attempt to calm himself. Marinette had to pull through, she just had to. Damian had to show her that there was more to life than this shitty one in Paris. He had to rescue her like his family had for him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was 36 hours before he was allowed back to see her.

She had been lucky, the knife had missed her vital organs and even though it had punctured her lung, she seemed to be on track for a full recovery, one that she needed to take slowly. Damian dealt with the police on her behalf and thanks to Tikki’s information, he was able to help them identify the mugger.

Tikki had gone ahead to talk to Marinette and to give him time to freshen up. He didn’t have much, but the little he had packed at least got him fresh clothing, clothing not stained with her blood. Alfred would not be happy with him once he returned.

Damian was unsure how to approach her. He had found some flowers in the gift shop he thought were nice and some chocolates as well. But as he stood in front of her hospital room, he realized he hadn’t figured out the first thing he should say to her.

I’m sorry? No, that sounded too arrogant after everything she had been through. My name’s Damian, I saved your life? No, that would be condescending. God, he really hated talking to people.

“Are you going to come in or just sit outside all day?” Her voice sent shivers down his spine. She hadn’t always been this cold, but he couldn’t blame her.

Hesitantly, he reached out, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. She looked angry, slight red emphasized on her pale skin, the dark circles under her eyes protruding as if they dared him to comment on them. There were a million and one wires and tubes poking out in different directions, some hooked to machines, some to random bags of fluid.

Yet, despite all of it, she still looked absolutely stunning.

“Well, sit down or something. You’re creeping me out just standing there.”

Damian shuffled awkwardly to the opposite side of her bed, his legs wobbling as he lowered himself into the chair.

“Uhm, I brought you some flowers-”

“I hate the color white.” Damian felt his eyebrow twitch, but he tried his best to hold back the expression he felt. Gently, he reached back, setting the flowers on the windowsill.

“I-Uhm-I also brought you some chocolat-”

“I’m on a liquid-only diet for the next two weeks.”

Damian could feel the red rushing to his face as he breathed deeply. He knew there was a chance that she would be spiteful, but he hadn’t been completely ready for it. His fuse was short, even if it was his soulmate, he wasn’t sure he could contain the explosion.

“Are you feeling any better?” Marinette scoffed, her eyes never leaving her hands.

“Did you fly all the way to Paris for small talk Damian?” He wasn’t sure how to respond, knowing his next words might be his last. “Ask what you really want to. Like why did I detransform before trying to face the mugger? Or why have I tried to kill myself multiple times even if each time ended in failure?”

“I-”

“Ask me why all my friends left me. Ask me why my master chose the easy way out, forgetting everything before passing on weeks later without even a single message about his death from him or his girlfriend. Ask me why I hate life so much that I just don’t see the reason in living anymore. Ask me if I think you’ll change my mind! Spoiler alert! You won’-”

“God woman, do you ever shut up? Give me five damn seconds to get my thoughts together.”

Damian instantly felt the eyes of Tikki fall upon him, the anger draining from his body only to be replaced by his rising fear. He felt the apology building up, but before he could even let the first word spill out, a bitter laugh cut him off.

“Yeah, I do shut up. But only sometimes. I figured Tikki told you everything. I also figured you’d have questions. I’m not interested in telling my sob story over again and I’m not interested in some knight in shining armor swooping in to save me, Got it?”

Damian tried to speak, but it was as if his voice were caught in his throat. What could he say to her? He wasn’t trying to be her knight? He didn’t need her explanations? Everything sounded so thoughtless, but he couldn’t string together one coherent and earnest sentence to save his life.

“What I am interested in is your nonsensical shouting. You ‘need me’? You just met me, how do you know that you need me?”

If he wasn’t already as red as a tomato, he was certain that was how he looked now.

“I,” he cleared his voice, praying to whatever was listening to keep the crack away, “I just had this feeling swell up in my chest seeing you like that. I was terrified and it scared me. It scared me to feel that way about someone who I had just laid eyes on. I had heard about soulmate bonds and how they affect you. They can strengthen you, but they can also be your downfall. I needed to get to know you, to know how our bond would affect me.”

He paused, the feeling of her eyes on him choking him up.

“I, uh, I know it’s selfish, but I couldn’t let you die. You don’t have to believe me, you don’t even have to listen to me, but I have been where you are before. But before I could even make my first attempt, I had a group of people come into my life, people who lifted me up and saved me. I was scared that you didn’t have that and I arrogantly believed I could do that for you. I’m truly sorry Marinette,  but I refuse to apologize for saving your life. If I could, I would do it over and over and over again as many times as it takes until you decide to keep living.”

The silence was deafening. Even if she just yelled at him and told him to leave, he would take it over this quiet. He didn’t dare look up, he barely felt the urge to breathe. It was as if everything fiber in him was holding their breath, waiting to hear her response, any response.

“You’re really not gonna leave me alone, huh?”

Her voice sounded tight as if she were holding back tears. The urge surged through him to reach forward and pull her into a hug, but he contained himself, defaulting to a simple nod instead. Again, the silence followed, but he was patient. He would wait all day if it meant hearing her speak again.

“Fine. I’m not guaranteeing a damn thing, but I can offer you a start.”

“A start?” Damian risked a small glance up, his heart racing at the sight. She was smiling, a genuine smile. It looked out of place among her tear-stained face, but he would be lying if he didn’t say it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

“Yeah, apparently I’m going to need someone to stay by my side 24/7 when they release me. Someone to take care of me. A stay-at-home nurse if you will. So, I nominate you, Damian. Your response?”

“Absolutely, it would be my honor.” His reply was instant, his smile unwavering even after she chucked her pillow at him, cussing him out in a manner that Todd would be proud of.

Yes, it was just a start. Yes, it didn't mean anything was fixed. But, there was one thing that put his heart at ease.

He wasn’t too late.

No, in fact, he was just in time to save her life. And at that very moment, he vowed to never wait till it was almost too late again.

Despite everything that had happened, he decided he could live with that.

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[boldlyanxious]

Dance...3

Masterlist

Master masterlist

Jason had no plans of informing Bruce which act he was interested in seeing. He thought it might be possible that Tim had given enough details for him to know. But there were multiple dance acts to choose from if he hadn't been told the song. Dick and Tim did not tell Bruce which one it was, but they were very obvious with their 'surreptitious' looks so he was fairly certain that the field of possibilities had been narrowed to the 12 dancers currently on stage.

The dance was fine. Good even. Marinette was not the featured dancer but she wasn't bad. The whole song and dance flowed well but Jason found himself mesmerized by the costumes. They flowed in a way that made them feel like they were part of the dance. They made the music stronger and connected the dancers to each other to bring the emotions of the crowd to a tipping point before relieving them with the final move and note. The dancers did a simultaneous spin while in a circle before they dropped one by one. The crowd stared in awe silence before they could catch their breath to clap.

It was near the end of the show that Jason slipped out to use the bathroom. Apparently he fooled no one, even by actually heading towards the bathrooms. Bruce and his brothers followed as soon as the last act finished to see the girl that Jason was trying to meet up with.

---

Only one other act had a person ready to fix costumes as needed. Marinette was shaking her cramped hand before turning back to the last person who needed help. She was sitting very near Paul, who was similarly occupied, fixing a costume for another of the talent acts. They pooled their resources and worked from the same table to make sure all could have working costumes for the performances. Marinette was happy to reconnect with him. They had classes together at University but they had lost touch and it was nice to hear how he was doing and about others he still knew from their classes.

Paul demanded that someone come over and massage their poor hands and Marinette held her arm out as a grateful performer complied. Others brought offerings of food and drink that Marinette was only too happy to benefit from. Since she was down an arm someone unscrewed the cap before handing her a bottle of water.

"Just dump it all over me. I'm so hot right now, I might actually die." Marinette says dramatically.

"That's a mood," Paul said. "I don't even know how you managed to get out there and dance and still come back to keep doing costume fixes."

"Never again. Nino owes me for life now."

"Well your costumes made the show. Mine were good but I'm glad they didn't follow yours. I don't need that kind of comparison."

"I thought yours were wonderful. They were all different designs too. Mine were all the same with the only changes being color." Marinette patted his arm. "Don't downplay your achievements. Oh, I gotta run and fix Nino. If he keeps wearing it like that he will be downplaying my achievements."

She walked over to Nino and started adjusting his outfit. "The show is almost over; you have to look presentable. You are not just representing yourself, you know."

"It went so well, Marinette. I'm not even sure what I was worried about." He gave her an excited squeeze. "Don't look now but some guy just looked around, settled his gaze on you and he is headed this way."

She turned to look at what he was talking about and her eyes locked on Jason's. Her breath caught. She thought she might have imagined how attractive he was but if anything her tired eyes had not realized just how nice he looked. He was wearing what she considered 'cleaned up casual'. It was nicer than what he was wearing at the grocery store but wasn't overly fancy.

"Jason." She said.

"Marinette." He replied. "It was a nice dance. It took me right back to aisle 7."

Marinette blushed. The crowd around them because denser as the last act had finished and people were milling around, making connections.

"So embarrassing," she said, covering her face. "Please forget that happened."

"But that's how we met. I don't want to forget meeting you." he stepped a bit closer. "That is why I am here. You told me how to find you again."

"I did. I'm still surprised you came though."

"Seemed like that was what I needed to do to get your number."

She found herself bumping into his chest again but this time she was bumped by a suddenly excited crowd. She made a noise as she pushed against him to get back to her feet and then another as he pulled her up and along by her arms. He groaned when he saw who was coming that was causing the excitement with the press.

"I'm so sorry Marinette. We have been seen." He turned to see Bruce walking over to them with determination and ignoring all the questions from the press and fans. Marinette looked super confused and shocked as Bruce walked up to them

"Well Jason, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend."

next

[cornholio4]

Saltinette Aftermath: Luka’s Date

Author’s note: uploading this here. This was a sequel to Saltinette by Freedom-Shamrock written with permission.

Juleka had wished things had been better as of late. Ever since Lila had returned to class; things had been sort of tense when it came to Marinette. While Lila wowed them of her stories of the celebrities that she had met; Marinette kept insisting she had to be lying but everyone started glaring at her and ignoring her.

There was an incident where she got out of the bathroom shaking out and claimed that she was almost Akumatized; Juleka had been concerned but Lila had suggested she was lying for attention and everyone was back to glaring at her.

Juleka was not so sure about alienating her (plus feeling like she wanted to comfort her after she was shaken up) and so was Rose but Alya had told her that they were just giving Marinette some space so she could mellow out. She would apologise and things would get back to normal.

She was not so sure but she knew Alya was her best friend so she must know what she was talking about.

However soon enough Marinette was growing colder to them; when she was at her parents’ bakery at the counter she would leave as soon as spotting her or their classmates. She stopped appearing in class and they were growing concerned.

She didn’t answer any of their emails or phone calls. Asking her parents at the bakery would tell them that she actually switched schools and that she didn’t want to see them. They didn’t give any other answers; not even to the persistent Alya.

Juleka had started feeling a bit guilty and bad about this; while Rose was her best friend she believed that Marinette could be her second. She was not close to her the way Alya or even Nino was; but Juleka missed their class’ everyday Ladybug as she was the one who always ended up helping others if they needed it.

She went out of her way to make sure Juleka was seen in the class photo; it was starting not to feel like distancing themselves of her jsut because of a disagreement with Lila.

Juleka could not bring herself to be as excited about Lila and her stories as before and the same as her classmates; they wanted Marinette to come back and enjoy themselves together.

But the night of her brother Luka in a music competition hosted by Jagged Stone himself was anticipated by herself and her classmates; she would be watching at home on her TV with their mum and her fingers crossed that Luka would win in front of all of France. Sure enough he did and performed with Jagged Stone himself.

She was excited and her mother was now dancing all around the houseboat in celebration. She saw Luka seen with his classmates and friends Alan, Jess and........... Marinette? She was stunned to see Marinette there looking happier than she had been in a long while.

Luka did her that he was going with his friends from his class and he did go to an art academy and being the designer that she was; Marinette would feel at home there. Still; surely Luka would have told her that she was now in his class.

But as she watched the interview Jagged had with Nadja Chamack and he offhandedly mentioned never having had a cat; there was now some doubt as the stories Lila has been telling them. Then she remembered Jagged pointing out that Marinete has designed one of his album covers and she did knew beforehand that she had done so; it then hit her....

Marinette did know Jagged so of course she may know if he had a cat or not; plus he had Fang so having him and a cat as pets would not be a good combination.

She felt like a fool after this.

In the morning when she saw Luka she went up to him, “Marinette is in your class.” She had told him; it being a statement and not a question. Luka had sighed and shook his head. “Did Marinette ask you not to say?” Juleka asked feeling sad.

“I wanted to respect her decision and she was in a bad place when she came to my class; we got her to open up. She admitted she didn’t want to see anyone from your class at the moment; she said she would kick them in the teeth if she did.” Luka told her sheepishly and Juleka felt sad at this.

It was probably an exaggeration; Marinette was not only so nice (too bad they didn’t repay her kindness by being there when she needed them too) but non violent even when she confronted Chloe.

Juleka truly didn’t believe Marinette could get violent or physical if she tried to; it was the main reason she would stop entertaining the idea of her actually being Ladybug when it popped in her head. She was certainly heroic enough to be a Superhero but she could never be a fighter.

Besides she was there with the Class when Ladybug appeared to stop Alix when she became Timebreaker.

“I have been a bad friend, haven’t I?” Juleka asked with tears in her eye and Luka held her in a hug. He did his best to comfort her and when Juleka calmed down she asked “I know Marinette doesn’t want to see any of us, but can you at least tell her that I’m sorry and that I hope she’s happy now?” Luka gave a smile and told her that he will do so.

Later she had met up with Rose who could not stop talking about seeing Marinette with her brother all over Social Media. Alya had gone to them with Mylene and Alix at her tail.

“Did you know my best friend was hanging out with your brother? Have you been hanging out with her behind our backs?” Alya had demanded and Juleka tried to tell her that she didn’t know about any of this.

“Please don’t badger Juleka like that.” Rose had told her and Alya calmed down a bit.

“Well Juleka, you think you can tell your brother to set us up to see Marinette?” Alya asked and Juleka just gave a shake of the head. “What do you mean no? I need to see my BFF more than ever and your brother is my best chance to do so!” Alya had told her with a glare but Juleka stuck to her guns.

“Marinette doesn’t want to see us, we can start being good friends to her again by respecting her decision. I will be asking Luka if you or anyone else have been hounding him about Marinette.” Juleka told her surprising even herself with how bold she was.

At the next school day everyone looked to Lila (she had been ignoring calls and emails since the finals of the competition) as she took her seat looking angry; it seemed that she was upset about the news of Marinette being seen on social media and the news; she tried to give excuses to the barrage of questions.

Finally she snapped as she shouted out “even when the stupid goody good is out of my class; you still make it about her! Do you know how annoying it is muttering about her not being here and she has to go and tell Jagged to tell me off in that stupid interview; as if I was supposed to know she actually knew him! I was starting to wonder if it was worth driving her away from all of you idiots!”

There was silence as Lila quickly realised what she had said and paled; she tried to stammer but everyone began glaring at her as her words sunk in. She was the new pariah in the class and soon enough the entire school.

When Adrien came in he was angry at everyone and took Marinette’s old seat at the back and was cold to just about everyone; even a bit angry at Nino. Juleka was angry at everyone including Lila and especially herself.

If only she had spoken up when she had suspicions.

A month and passed since the competition and the class were basically trying to get on with their lives while dealing with their own guilt (plus ignoring Lila who was blaming Marinette for her predicament and could be heard muttering how was it that she ended up losing when it looked like she had won); Alya basically kept trying to see if she could find Marinette in their usual hang out spots. When she was not doing that Alya was finding it harder to run the Ladyblog; since it seemed like Ladybug was intentionally trying to get away from her wanting to do an interview.

It was a Friday evening and she was on the couch listening to her mother looking over Luka as he was actually going out on a date. Juleka gave a smile looking at her embarrassed older brother.

Juleka decided she wanted to go out to the top and see if she could spot who it was who was going out with her brother. Her eyes widened when she spotted someone on the street waiting in fancy new clothes; someone she had not seen in person for quite a long while.

She knew she should have stayed away but she could not help herself as she walked up to where Marinette was standing. Marinette jumped and was whispering to herself that she should have asked Luka to pick her up at the bakery.

She was a bit happy to learn that it was Marinette that Luka would be going out on this date with; truth be told when she learned that Luka was getting along with Marinette she was secretly excited. She liked seeing them together and though she did help Marinette on her attempts to act on her crush on Adrien; she secretly hoped she would go after her brother.

The idea of having Marinette as a sister in law appealed to her.

Speaking up she asked hesitantly “you’re not going to kick my teeth in, are you?” Mariette managed to let out a giggle. She was still certain that Marinette would not be able to back up that threat.

“Luka told you about that, didn’t he? I know you told him to tell me that you were sorry when he told me that you figured it out where I was going to school now.” Marinette responded looking nervous with a frown.

“And I truly am, for all the good saying it will do I am sorry. Sorry for not trying to give you the benefit of the doubt and sorry for not being there for you. I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t believe me if I say I was a bit concerned and suspicious of what we were doing.” Juleka told her and Marinette had a hint of a smile that disappeared.

“I do kind of miss you all but I still don’t think I am ready to face everyone just yet, still thanks for telling me.” Marinette admitted and Juleka could not blame her.

“Everyone else misses you as well; especially Alya.” Juleka decided to let her know; she was kind of dreading how she would react if she finds out she got to speak to Marinette.

“I would never have been able to tell with all the times I had to empty my spam folder on Alya’s emails alone.” Marinette decided to joke and Juleka gave a small bit of laughter. “Plus the fact that you all asked Cat Noir himself to come talk to me.” Marinette continued but Juleka looked dumbfounded.

“What do you mean? We never asked Cat Noir anything about talking to you; we didn’t even know if he did!” Juleka told her with wide eyes; the only person she could think of who would have a chance of talking to Cat Noir would have been Alya. Or it could be possible one of their classmates did so after they were Akumatized and asked them then if they were not to shaken up.

“Well I don’t know what to tell you, that’s what the Cat told me.” Marinette told her with a shrug, “Plus thanks Juleka for respecting my wishes on not wanting to see the class at the moment.” Marinette told her and Juleka gave a smile in return.

“So no threats on what you are going to do if I don’t treat your brother right?” Marinette asked and Juleka shook her head; she never had to worry about that as far as it being Marinette that she was talking about.

Juleka gave a wave as she got back to the houseboat as Luka walked past the entrance. Juleka told her brother to have fun as she could not help but watch with her mother as Luka and Marinette went on their date hand in hand.

Now that she knew that Marinette was happy and there was a chance of reconciling with her friend; she could continue on with her life. She wanted to tell the class did but knew it would not be a good idea; it would reveal that she actually got to talk with Marinette and they would mean having to face the ire of Alya.

[galahadwilder]

Wingman, Ch. 7: Three Fools in Love

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AO3

Wingman Archive

Nathalie glared at the butterflies that flitted around the lair and growled. It’d been a week since she’d confiscated her employer’s Miraculous, intent on preventing further supervillainy—and yet he insisted on acting like a petulant child, or worse, an addict, demanding the brooch back at every opportunity. It was becoming absolutely unbearable.

She swiped at a butterfly, attempting to smack it out of the air with a dissatisfied grunt, but it simply looped around her hand and fluttered away, uncaring. She gritted her teeth.

How could that man be so obsessed with the past when his present was right in front of him? And his future, if he thought to look?

She loved the Agrestes with all her heart—Adrien like a son, and Gabriel... well, Gabriel. Sometimes it was so hard not to hate Emelie for taking Gabriel from her even beyond the grave.

She knew that wasn’t fair, that Emelie didn’t deserve that feeling, and when she was alive she’d tried to never show it, trying to appreciate the friendship they had over any nonexistent rivalry. But now? Now Emelie was dead. Nathalie’s feelings weren’t hurting anyone except her.

She looked at the brooch in her hand and sighed. This was the truth of what was keeping Gabriel away from her: this power, this promise of return, this empty hope. Sometimes she wished that she were as heartless as her last name suggested. Sometimes she wished she didn’t have to feel anything.

It would be so easy... all she had to do was ask.

*

Ever since Hawkmoth's sudden switch from demanding her Miraculous to demanding she kiss Chat Noir, Marinette had been scared of one thing above anything else: the possibility of Adrien getting dragged into this. Given how focused Hawkmoth had become on love, it was only a matter of time before her feelings for Adrien put him in danger, and there was likely little she could do to stop it.

So when Forget-Me-Not had attacked and she'd woken up not only in his room, but on his lap, she'd been justifiably terrified, for more than a few reasons. Forget-Me-Not's powers were public knowledge, meaning that there was a very good chance that Adrien knew that Ladybug had feelings for him (a disaster on its own - he'd never notice Marinette now), but worse: his house had security cameras. Anyone who had access to them would know how important he was to her, and if any of them got Akumatized...

She had spent so much time worrying about that particular fact that she almost missed the fact that Adrien had lied to her.

"There's nothing, Tikki," she said, scrolling through the last newspaper she could find. She'd spent days exhaustively delving into any reports or videos she could find on Forget-Me-Not, the one that Adrien had claimed Chat Noir had taken care of by himself, but there was no sign of Chat Noir showing up to fight it at all. Nothing on the Ladyblog, nothing on Chamack, nothing anywhere. In fact, as far as she could tell, after wreaking havoc uncontested for two hours, the Akuma had simply vanished, leaving a confused, but untransformed, victim in its wake.

The problem wasn't that Chat hadn't shown up - yes, that was annoying, and something he'd never done before, but she trusted her partner and was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he'd been trapped somewhere public and been unable to get away. Potentially disastrous, yes, but they'd been lucky in that nothing too bad had happened. Forget-Me-Not's powers were such that nobody had really been hurt (except emotionally) and no property damage had been accrued whatsoever.

The problem was that Adrien had been so certain that Chat Noir had taken care of the Akuma, even though Chat's powers weren't enough alone. He hadn't said "Maybe Chat Noir took care of it," he said that he had. 100% certainty.

"Why would Adrien lie?"

Tikki pursed her lips. "I don't know," she said. "Maybe he was stating a theory?"

Marinette shook her head. "I've seen Adrien speak about absolute, provable fact as if he wasn't sure," she said. "He's shy. He wouldn't treat a theory like truth."

"You could ask him."

Marinette laughed. "Yeah, that's a great idea. I see him as Ladybug once every two months at best, and I can't exactly go up to him as Marinette and say, 'hey you lied to Ladybug and I wanted to know why.'"

Tikki settled on Marinette's desk. "Do you trust him?"

"Yes," Marinette said immediately, staring blankly at her computer screen. "Or... maybe? I don't..." She sucked in a breath. "This is going to drive me insane."

*

Adrien, meanwhile, was doing research of a very different sort. He felt dirty about how he'd gotten the knowledge, but Forget-Me-Not had led to a very important conclusion: Ladybug liked him. Civilian him. Which meant she probably knew him.

"You can cross Rachelle off the list," Plagg said. "If she were Ladybug, do you think she'd be able to keep quiet about it?"

Adrien laughed as he uncapped his marker. "Probably not," he said. "She'd spill the identity in seconds." He drew a line through her name on his whiteboard, then stepped back to look over the board, which was full of the names of every girl he knew - divided into categories. Models had the most names crossed out. Fencers was fairly blank, with Kagami's name being the only one with a line through it; it had had a star at first, before he remembered Riposte. Classmates only had a few names up so far, but Chloé's name had about six lines through it in different colors, as if he'd outright attacked it with the marker.

"Okay," he said, putting the cap back on the marker. "What else do we know?"

Plagg lounged in a wheel of camembert as if it were a jacuzzi; Adrien had provided it to keep his attention on the task at hand, and to make sure he didn't "forget" to include any information. "We know she doesn't want you to be doing this," he said, then belched.

"I know, but I'm so close!" Adrien said. "Let's see... what other Akuma told us something about her?"

"What about Heart's Desire?" Plagg said, lifting a block of melty cheese and shoving it down his throat.

"What about him?" Adrien said, then paused. "Wait," he said. "If she saw the person she wanted most..."

"Mm-hmm."

"She saw me," he murmured. "And she said..."

The marker hit the floor. "She said she saw someone in her class."

Plagg cackled. "Getting warmer, kid."

"Oh my god, the history book!" Adrien cried. "Plagg, Ladybug is in my class!" He snatched up the Kwami, who yelped in dismay at being separated from his beloved cheese. "Isn't she!"

"Put me down!" Plagg shrieked, trying to tug himself free of his chosen's hand.

"She's... in my class..." Adrien said, turning to stare at the whiteboard with a dopey grin. "I'm close, Plagg," he said. "And with Hawkmoth out of the picture—”

He heard an explosion from upstairs.

"Um... Looks like you spoke too soon," Plagg said to a shocked and frozen Adrien as pieces of the roof began to rain down into the front garden.

Wingman Archive

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[chatnoirismycinnamonroll]

Only Human: Akuma! Marinette AU (part 3)

Disclaimer: I dont own, and never will I even come close to owning, either Miraculous or Christina Perri's song Only Human.

Tikki raced through the now silent hallways towards her chosen's classroom. She had been trapped in Marinette's purse, held down by the mist, and was only just able to get out. Like everybody else in the school, she had been able to see everything Only Human had shown her classmates. She felt her pain, her sorrow, her anxiety and stress at having to pretend that everything was fine when it wasnt.

Tikki sighed. She knew she shouldn't have held Marinette back from telling someone her identity for so long. All of that accumulated stress had been bound to be released sometime. And boy, what a release it was. Plagg must be so happy at the destruction she knew Marinette had left in her wake.

But, honestly, Tikki couldnt blame her. The way Marinette's "friends" had cornered her chosen in the bathroom had left Tikki piping mad, and if she ever saw them again, identity or not, Tikki was going to give them a piece of her mind. Anyone who thought Plagg was hell to live with had nothing on an angry Tikki. He may be the god of destruction and bad luck, but she was the goddess of creation and luck. You piss her off, and you might just get a new hole in your along with having your good luck run out.

Whoever said cats were the protective ones were highly mistaken.

Marinette sighed. She kept her eyes on the butterfly until she could no longer see it. She didnt want to face her classmates right now, especially since she could remember everything she had done as an akuma. She could remember making Lila bite her own tongue hard enough to bleed. She could remember lifting her and Alya up and slamming them into the ground. She could remember every image she made them see, every memory that she knew would make them feel guilty for treating her the way they had. And she didnt feel any better for it. She had hurt Chat Noir. She had blasted him into the wall with enough force to leave him dazed, when all he was trying to do was help her.

She also knew that she had had no control of herself. She had unwillingly let Hawkmoth push himself past her grief and into her mind. He had used her memories as leverage over her classmates, her....

She couldnt exactly call them friends now, could she? Not really. She looked up at them, seeing Rose and Mylene help Alix out from under a bookshelf and pull her towards Lila, who was still bleeding from her mouth and staring at Marinette with a frightened but hateful stare. Alya was sobbing and Nino was co.forting her, and Marinette's heart gave a lurch as they didnt approach her to see if she was okay, like she did with them after they got akumatized.

She forced herself to look away, forced herself to stand up and ignore their frightened gasps. She couldnt focus on them at the moment. She had to find Tikki so she could reverse her damage, and then she could head home and hopefully nobody would question why Ladybug got there late-

And suddenly there was a red kwami snuggling up to her cheek. She was standing at the front of the classroom, covered in dust and bruises, her hands cut and burnt a little from the struggle of tearing her own akumatized item, her classmates staging her, and her kwami was nuzzling her cheek and crying tears of relief.

"Tikki? Um..."

"Oh, Marinette, you're alright! I was so worried! I tried to prevent the akuma from getting to you, but I failed. I'm so sorry, Marinette. I was supposed to protect you, and you got akumatized anyway." Tikki lamented, tears leaking out of her big blue eyes as she stared up at her sweet, strong, beautiful chosen.

Marinette smiled, accepting that Tikki was giving her identity away because she was obviously going to say something important. "It's alright, Tikki. It wasnt your fault I got akumatized, it was Hawkmoth's. I remember everything, unfortunately, but I do remember that I never said the words. I never accepted his offer of akumatization. He forced his akuma onto me, Tikki. You tried to save me, but he was the one who took advantage of my emotions. Dont ever blame yourself for this, Tikki." Marinette held Tikki in her hands and kissed her forehead, nuzzling the cute being with her nose, getting a giggle out of her.

"You're the best kwami I could ever ask for."

"So it is a kwami."

Marinette looked up, finally acknowledging the others. Chat stood in front of her, staring down at her with several emotions in his eyes. She couldnt tell which was stronger at the moment. She could see the wheels turning in his head, and she knew the instant it clicked for him.

"You.... you're...!"

"A KWAMI? How did you get a kwami, Marinette? You're a superhero? And you never told me?" Alya said, her tears dying down as her eyes narrowed in astonishment and disbelief.

Marinette gulped, not exactly ready to face her classmates just yet. "I... um.. I...."

"She had no reason to tell you, Alya Cesaire. You should know all too well why that is."

Everyone stared down at the little red kwami, who had a serious look on her face that looked oddly intimidating for such a small creature.

Chat gulped, but kept his eyes on Marinette's as he shakingly whispered, "My Lady?" His anger towards his classmates rose further when Marinette nodded tensely, her arms folded and head bowed in a clear, protective manner. Oh, it was on. That did it. The entire class was gonna get a new one ripped into them. Nobody hurt his Lady, especially if she was also his Princess.

He glared at the class and stepped forward, ready to yell at them when a tiny red hand stopped him.

"Dont. You take care of Marinette. I'll take care of her so called friends." Tikki said, her blue eyes glinting dangerously. Chat nodded, turning to head towards Marinette, but his transformation suddenly dropping stopped him in his tracks. Everyone gasped as Adrie. was revealed, and they snapped out of whatever stupor they were in and began to yell, demanding answers from both him and Marinette.

He felt cornered and overwhelmed as they began to doubt him. How could he, Adrien Agreste, possibly be Chat Noir? They were nothing alike! Why didnt he tell them? Was this the only secret he kept from them? Did Marinette know? Why were they keeping secrets? What else did they have to hide?

He backed up until he felt a hand slipping into his, and Marinette looked up at him with reassuring bluebell eyes. He relaxed immediately. How could he not see his lady in her? He should have realized it the moment he called her his everyday Ladybug. He knew there was a reason he was so attracted to Marinette. There was a reason why Ladybug's rare flailings and nervousness so often struck him as familiar and adorable. Now that he thought about it, there wasnt anybody else who could possibly be Ladybug.

He held her hand tightly as the noise got louder and their classmates slowly came out from under the rubble to yell more things at them, and just when he thought he couldnt take it anymore-

"SILENCE!"

Everybody froze. They stared at the glowing red kwami as her eyes flashed with anger. "How dare you all demand answers from her after what you've done to her?! Marinette is not some toy you can just drop once shes no longer of use to you. Shes not some servant you can call upon whenever you want something. She's not some emotionless robot who you can order around and expect her to follow orders without any single input or objection. Shes a human being, just like you! So sit down, shut up, and show her the respect she deserves for having put up with you all for so long or so help me I'll make sure none of you ever have a good day ever again."

The silence that followed was deafening. Everybody slowly sat down amongst the rubble and stared fearfully at the tiny goddess.

The silence was broken by a cackle, and the little black kwami that had come out of Adrien's ring slowly floated his way towards his other half.

"Oh, oh, sugar cube, you're gonna make me split in two. I cant wait to hear what sorts of things you need to say to these ungrateful morons." His laughing suddenly stopped, and he looked at the class with narrowed eyes, his black form a almost a shadow, the only things visible on him were the two glowing green slits of his eyes. "I too would like to see them properly punished for almost destroying Paris by literally akumatizing the only other person who keeps them safe on a daily basis. So if you need a little bad luck on your side, dont hesitate to call me up, sweet cheeks."

Tikki smiled at him, before her eyes turned serious again and she glared at the girls. "First of all, I'd like to say I am very disappointed in all of you. You had no right to just turn your backs on Marinette, especially after everything she has done for you without complaint. I cant believe one little girl's lies are enough to fool you, and they weren't even GOOD lies!!"

Tikki's little antenna began to sway in her anger. "Max!" He jumped, his glasses slightly skipping from his nose. "You're supposed to be the smartest boy in the school. Tell me, how was a rolled up, thin, paper napkin going to gouge your eye out when 1) it was rolled up into a tight ball, 2) headed towards Lila's hand, which was level with your stomach, and 3) your eyes were safely covered by your glasses? Tell me, how?"

Max looked down in shame, having figured that out at some time during the attack. Tikki shook her head and moved onto the next person. "Alya. You've called yourself Marinette's best friend, but you sure didnt act like it at all today. Best friends have each others backs. They trust each other and always listen to each other. This isn't the first time you've disregarded Marinette's words and facts as nothing but jealousy. Not only that, but you chose your boyfriend over your best friend. You didnt protest moving Marinette out of a chair she worked so hard to keep all year, and you didnt even give her the benefit of the doubt when she tried to warn you about Lila's lies."

Tikki began to slowly vibrate in her anger, a low buzz filling the room.

"And then, you have the audacity to te her to show you proof of Lila's lies when you yourself have no proof that what Lila is saying is true. You could have fact checked with Ladybug about being Lila's friend. You could have asked Marinette to ask Jagged Stone if he ever had a kitten. You could have looked up half the things Lila has said on Google and figured out that NONE OF THEM WERE TRUE. And then- and then-!"

Tikki stopped talking as her body glowed to a deep angry red, the black.of her spots looking more like the dark, empty void of space than the sweet, adorable, chocolate chip looking spots Marinette often told her they looked like.

"Sugar Cube?"

"And then, you dared tell her that she was wrong to be angry. That she was wrong to have treated Lila so "mean" when she hadn't been mean at all. You told her it was wrong of her to question Lila and then dared demand her to apologize before then telling her to keep away from you until she did. You ditched your best friend for a new girl, a stranger, with outlandish and interesting stories. I guess Marinette was wrong to have trusted you the way she did, didnt she, little fox?"

Alya reeled back, her eyes back to streaming tears. "I'm sor-"

"Dont. You haven't thought about your actions. Not really. You're not completely sorry, so dont apologize just yet."

Alya quieted down, her sobs silently shaking her frame as she leant against Nino, her thoughts finally calm enough for her to properly analyze them.

Tikki moved on, glaring at the other girls. "And you all. Mylene, Rose, Alix. Marinette has been nothing but kind to you. She has helped every single one of you with something personal. With something important. Both as herself and as Ladybug. And the one moment she makes a mistake, you make her out to be a monster. You, Mylene, know that Marinette wouldn't do anything out of jealousy, especially not after what she did with Kagami and Adrien." Mylene hung her head in shame.

"Rose, you called Marinette the everyday Ladybug, but you had no right to detract your words in such a way. Ladybug makes mistakes too, and you basically told Marinette that since Ladybug is perfect, Marinette couldn't be Ladybug because she wasn't perfect. You faulted her for feeling betrayed and insulted and for showing her emotions. And you had absolutely no right to do that." Rose let a few tears fall as she remembered her uncharacteristic behaviour.

Alix looked at the kwami in shame, knowing what Tikki was going to say. "Alix, dont you ever call Marinette selfish again. And dont ever fault her if she decides to act selfishly for once. I honestly think she can afford to be just a little more selfish sometimes, especially to get the boy of her dreams."

Tikki was back to her normal hue, and her anger turned to disappointment. "You all were pretty despicable today. I could not believe this behaviour from you. I expect much better from all of you."

The class hung their heads, all except Lila. Tikki stared at Lila blankly before moving back towards Marinette.

"Wait, what about Lila?" Adrien protested. He stood up and glared at the little liar. "Shes been spreading lies about both Marinette and herself all day. Shes the reason why everyone is mad at My Lady in the first place. Shouldn't she be lectured and punished as well?"

Tikki stopped her advance towards Marinette. She styled floating in the air for several seconds, before turning back and smiling at Adrien. Adrien instinctively stepped back from that smile.

"Don't worry, Adrien. Lila's been cursed since before I entered the room." Her smile switched from Adrien towards Lila, who stared back with frightened eyes. "I'm very protective of my Ladybugs."

@drarrylover007 @mindfulmagics

[simplejjs]

Unmasking The Love Part 3

Hey guys, sorry this took longer to post than usual.  I was off camping this weekend in 34-50 mph winds!  Yikes!  Cold, and a little scary.  Anyway, here is the next installment.  I will try to get the 4th part posted sooner.  Enjoy!

Unmasking the Love Part 3   (by JJ Sprinkle)

“Marinette?”  Tikki’s gentle voice was almost enough to calm Marinette.  Tikki was perched on the edge of the chaise lounge, watching after Marinette.  “That was a hard day, wasn’t it?”

Marinette sniffled, feeling sorry for herself.  “Yes,” she said, morosely.  Her head was still buried in her arms.

“But I think you handled it well,” Tikki encouraged her.

“No,” Marinette’s voice came, muffled, “I didn’t.”  She raised her head, bright eyes glistening, “I didn’t.  I acted like a fool.  I couldn’t say anything!  I never can.”  She put her head back down on her arms and repeated in a defeated tone, “I never can.”

“That’s not true!” Tikki argued.  “You’re friends with Adrien.  He sees you as a friend, because you *are* a friend!  I know lots of times you get too shy around him, and lose your courage, but not every time!  Remember when you played video games here?  He knows you are kind, and sweet, and dependable.”

“Tikki,” Marinette turned her head, resting on it on her arms but looking at her kwami, “I *always” get too shy.  I *always* lose my courage.  He only thinks of me as a friend because I hang out with Alya and Nino, and they *are* his friends.”

Tikki could hear the defeat in Marinette’s voice.  “Don’t give up, Marinette!” she cried, “Don’t give up on love, or on Adrien, and don’t give up on yourself!”

Marinette sighed, and closed  her eyes.  She said, “I think it’s time to give up on myself.  I hate who I am when I’m around him  I act like an idiot, I can’t speak, I’m not brave.  I’m everything that a Ladybug is supposed to NOT be.  I hate it!”  She pounded her frustration out on the pillow next to her.

“But Marinette, running away from your feelings won’t make you a stronger person.  A true Ladybug *faces* her fears, and even if it takes a while, she sticks it out and overcomes them!  And you’re a true Ladybug, Marinette!”

It was an indication of how low Marinette was feeling that Tikki’s words did not even make her feel better.  Marinette just sighed, and buried her face again.  The room fell silent.  Tikki watched Marinette, worry written on her face, but after a while she flew to a corner, giving Marinette some space.

Later that evening, while working on her homework, Marinette came the closest she ever had to pulling down her pictures of Adrien.  Her inner voice hounded her over her stupidity and cowardice where Adrien was concerned, until finally Marinette jumped up from her chair and faced her wall of photos.  Maybe if she just walked away from him, if she just shut her feelings into a box, she could simply start acting like a normal person again.  She began to grasp the corner of her favorite photo - the one of Adrien, walking, head down, pensive - but instead she gently ran her fingers over it, like a caress.  

Memories of lunch, just downstairs, played out in her mind.  He had been so cute and sincere when he admitted that he didn’t know how to flirt.  Her heart did a somersault again, just thinking about it.  Marinette stared at another of her favorites, Adrien smiling fully into the camera.  She remembered one time, when Alya had invited Marinette and herself to go to the movies with the two boys, and Adrien had smiled at her like that when they shared some popcorn.

The problem was with her,  Marinette accepted, not with him.  It was like Tikki had said.  Marinette glanced over at Tikki, napping in the little bed Marinette had made for her.  The cowardice came from within herself, just like the bravery came from within herself.  Just somehow, when it was someone else’s life on the line, it was easier to be brave.

When Volpina had dangled the illusion of Adrien from the top of the Eiffel Tower, Marinette had almost not been brave.  So maybe, the more love entered into it, the harder it was to be brave?

“Because there’s too much to lose…” she murmured quietly to herself.

Wrapping her arms around her middle, Marinette studied the wall of Adrien’s photos for a few minutes more.  With a deep sigh, she turned back to complete her homework.

By the next day, most of the girls had forgotten the hopes that Adrien had unwittingly instilled in them.  However, there were enough holdouts that Adrien still stuck close to Nino, Alya, and Marinette.  After her night of soul-searching, it was bittersweet for Marinette to spend so much time with Adrien.  He was so lovable to her, that every new interaction with him just cemented him more firmly into her heart.  Yet, her inability to speak fluently or act normally when around him merely taunted her with the personal failings she knew she had to confront.

It was as the four were headed to their own corner in the lunchroom that Marinette realized she could begin facing her fear with little steps - managing one whole conversation with him without stuttering - rather than with one giant step of declaring her undying love.

With this epiphany, Marinette intentionally slipped into the seat next to Adrien’s before Nino or Alya could take it.  As usual, it was hard not to become caught up in Adrien’s beautiful profile, golden hair, and emerald eyes.  But Marinette sternly reminded herself that a ‘normal’ person would not stare wordlessly; she forced herself to jump into the conversation.

“How - How’s your day going, Adrien?” Marinette asked, as if she hadn’t been sitting behind him and watching his every movement for the last four hours.

Adrien chuckled at his own expense as he replied, “Better than yesterday.”

Think, Marinette, think! Marinette’s inner voice half-encouraged, half-scolded her, to come up with something else to say.

Nino beat her to it, “Yeah, but dude, not as entertaining!”

“For you, maybe,” Adrien pointed out, smiling.

“I was thinking,” Nino added, “that except for the part about helping people, Alix could be the girl.”

“What’s the ‘part about helping people’?” Alya asked, curiosity instantly piqued.

Before Adrien could open his mouth, Nino answered, “He has a list of this girl’s characteristics, like she’s smart, and she helps people.”

“Well, Chloe’s out!” Alya quipped.

The four laughed, although Marinette joined in only half-heartedly.  Instead, she concentrated on sneaking a cookie into her purse.

Adrien was pulling pieces of cheese out of his baguette, while saying carelessly, “And kind, and funny.”

Nino glanced at Alya, “I said you fit the funny one.  Strong and funny,” he complimented.

Alya smiled at Nino, gratified by his comment.  She said, “Smart, helps people, kind, and funny?”

“And strong,” Nino said around a mouthful of apple.

Marinette watched Adrien push all of his cheese to the side of his napkin, and wipe the mustard off of it.  “Right,” he said.

Across the table, Alya cleared her throat, and Marinette glanced at her.  She raised her eyebrows meaningfully, then repeated for Marinette’s benefit, “Smart, helps people, kind, funny, and strong.  Huh.  Who could *that* be?”  Marinette’s cheeks pinked, and she looked down at her lunch.  

Say something… say something! she urged herself.  She took a deep breath, and opened her mouth, hoping words would come.  When they did, her voice was unnaturally high, “Um, who told you again about this girl?”  Maybe if it was someone she knew, she would have enough confidence to speak up.

“Uh,” Adrien avoided her eyes, “just someone I know.  From work,” he added.

“Dude, what girl in our class hangs out with the modeling crowd?” Nino asked, honestly perplexed.

Alya was biting her cheek, thinking.  “It could only be Chloe,” she finally admitted.

“Dude, there is no way it is Chloe.”

“I know…” Alya agreed.  She turned to Adrien, “Does he know her because she’s into modeling too, or does he know her from something else?”

Adrien’s neck felt hot under his collar, which suddenly fit too snugly.  This lie was taking on a life of its own, and he saw no way to stop it.  “I, uh, I don’t know.”  Then he added, “I think from something else.”

“Can’t you ask him?” Nino asked.

“Uh, I don’t see them very much,” Adrien replied, then said, “Look, let’s not talk about this any more.  I’ll ask them next time I see them.”

An awkward lull followed, while everyone thought about what they weren’t supposed to be talking about.  Marinette was reviewing the people she knew who might be involved in Adrien’s modeling career, and very quickly knew that this mystery girl could not be her.  Alya was wondering how to point Adrien in the direction of Marinette, without being too obvious, because although she had no confidence that Marinette was this unknown girl that Adrien’s coworker had mentioned, she figured that Marinette was enough like her to get Adrien’s attention.  Nino was wondering if Alix or Juleka were involved in modeling.  Adrien was wishing he had never confided in his friends, and thinking that he should just ask Ladybug about her true identity.

While thinking this, Adrien folded his napkin up around his cheese.  

From his right came Marinette’s soft voice, very curious, “What are you doing with that cheese?”

“Oh,” Adrien felt hot again, caught red-handed, “I like to have it later for snacks.”  He felt Plagg squirming in his breast pocket.

When Adrien turned on the television in the early evening, he was both excited and relieved to see that an akuma attack had just started.  A man in a stylized business suit, with pearl cuff links and and a diamond tie tack, was pulling pink slips off of a pad of paper and throwing them at people like shurikens.  As the pink slips of paper hit the bystanders, the victims instantly fell to their knees and started sobbing.

Adrien noted the location of the attack and called, “Plagg, Claws Out!”  Plagg had just been about to stuff one last slice of camembert into his mouth when the invisible force pulled him, tail first, from his perch.

“Nooo!” he yelled, juggling his cheese before it fell back onto the plate.

Plagg swirled into Adrien’s ring, and Adrien felt power race through his limbs.  In an instant he could feel the supple leather suit encase his body.  He rubbed his cat ears into place, then reached out to rake the air in front of him, enjoying the stretch of his claws.

Turning to his wall of windows, Cat Noir pushed one open and hopped onto its ledge, then vaulted out.  Within minutes he was at the Centre Georges Pompidou, with its colorful pipes and stairways.  Immediately he started jumping before people to bat away pink notes before they hit their targets.

“You are outsourced!” the suited fiend yelled, “And you are redundant!”  He flipped another pink note at a woman, “You are fired!”  Then he turned and said, “And you are no longer needed!”

“It looks like you’re the one who’s no longer needed,” Cat Noir called, blocking more shuriken-like notes.

“I am Boss Man, and you will bow to me or you too will be made redundant.”  He prepared a pink note to fling at Cat Noir.

Out of the sky, Ladybug suddenly jumped in front of Cat Noir, swinging her yoyo and knocking the pink slips out of the air.  “Before you make him redundant, first you gotta stop me!”

Laughing like a maniac, Boss Man replied, “Fine, you’re *both* fired!” and he quickly flipped multiple pink notes at the two.  They each bounded away, protecting themselves with their spinning yoyo and baton.

Ladybug and Cat Noir met behind two of the large, white ventilation pipes, “Am I glad to see you, MiLady,” Cat Noir greeted her.

Ladybug flashed him a quick smile, then peeked around the enormous pipe, “Thanks, Chat, but you were handling it fine on your own,” she replied.

“No,” Cat Noir corrected, “I really meant, I’m glad to see you.”

“What?” Ladybug pulled her head back to stare at Cat Noir, surprised.

Cat Noir blinked at her twice, smiled, then ignored her gaze to peek around the other side of the white pipes.  “The akuma’s gotta be in his pad of papers,” he said.

“Uh, right,” Ladybug replied, pulling her attention back to the task at hand.

Cat Noir then broke her focus again by casually stating, “Let’s get this guy quickly; I have a lot of physics homework tonight.”

“What?” Ladybug pulled her head back again, to stare at Cat Noir.

“Lots of physics homework,” he repeated nonchalantly, “so let’s do this.”

“Uh, yeah…” Ladybug was still staring, Cat Noir’s unusual behavior knocking her off her game.

“So, what’s your plan?” Cat Noir turned closer to her.  Ladybug looked around the courtyard in front of the building.  In the time it had taken them to discuss physics homework, four more Parisians were left crumpled and sobbing.

“Um,” for want of any clear solution, Ladybug threw her yoyo into the air and cried, “Lucky Charm!” In a burst of red and pink light, a red and black eraser dropped from the sky.  “An eraser?” Ladybug asked, and stepping to the side of the pipes, surveyed her possibilities.  With an idea in mind, she turned to Cat Noir and said, “Get ready to stop him as soon as I knock the paper out of his hand.”

Immediately, Cat Noir called, “Cataclysm!” and felt power rush though his right arm.

Ladybug wound up to pitch the eraser, while Cat Noir jumped from the other side of the pipes, across the square, and onto the building girded with external struts.  Ladybug threw the eraser, aiming it to ricochet off of a tall white tower, the side of the enclosed stairway, and to fly directly at the pad of pink papers held by Boss Man.  As the pad was knocked out of his hand, the akumatized victim yelled, “No!”  He dove for the pad, just as Ladybug dove for it, and Cat Noir raked his hand along part of the frame of the building.  The plastic stairway cover fell off, bounced once, and landed like a cage right on top of Boss Man just as he was about to reach his pink note pad.  A second later, Ladybug grabbed the pad of paper, ripped it in half, and a velvety black butterfly appeared.

It flew off, but Ladybug twirled her yoyo, “Time to de-evilize!” she cried, and flung her yoyo after the dark butterfly.  The yoyo snapped shut around it, and Ladybug yanked the yoyo back to her.  Using one finger to open the disk, a little white butterfly perched for a moment, then flittered away into the greying sky.  “Bye bye, little butterfly,” Ladybug said.  Then she threw the eraser into the air and shouted, “Miraculous Ladybug!”  A twirl of pink and red swept through the city, returning citizens to normal, repairing the Georges Pompidou building, and freeing the victim from Hawkmoth’s control.    

“Wha- What did I do?” the gentle man moaned, horrified.

Cat Noir leaped down beside Ladybug, and with perfect timing they both punched fists, “Pound it!”

Ladybug turned to the man, still on his knees, to comfort him, when a woman about his age ran up and embraced him, crying, “Pierre, are you okay?  Don’t worry - everything will be fine!”

Cat Noir put his hand on Ladybug’s shoulder, and spoke quietly, “C’mon, let’s let them be alone.”  He extended his baton and said, “Follow me!”

The battle had gone so quickly, that Ladybug still had four of the five spots left on her earrings.  So, curious, she immediately followed Cat Noir to a nearby rooftop.

He was waiting for her, and as soon as she lighted down he said, “I think we can figure out what happened to that poor guy.  Now, MiLady, how are you?  Last time I saw you, you were pretty upset.”

“Oh!” Ladybug was surprised and touched that Cat Noir was still concerned about her.  “I - I’m fine!”

“Have you said anything to that Adrien person?” Cat Noir pressed.

“Nooo…” Ladybug answered.  Thinking about the last few days, she frowned a little.

“Listen, I’m not saying I want you to flirt with him,” Cat Noir looked away and pretended to frown, “But you were so upset about him, I think you really ought to say something to him.  For your own happiness.”

Another of Ladybug’s spots disappeared, and one of Cat Noir’s paw pads.

“That’s, uh, that’s really nice of you, Cat Noir.”

“Yeah, well…” Cat Noir winked at her, and said, “I’m hoping he’ll reject you.”

Ladybug smirked at him, and joked back sarcastically, “Thanks.”

“But also,” Cat Noir continued, “I think *we* should become more like friends, too.  Not merely partners.”

“I don’t know…” Ladybug was taken about, and hesitated.

“We could easily share more about ourselves without disclosing our true identities.  For example,” Cat Noir was rushing now, as another of his paw pads disappeared, “Is your hair really black as midnight when you’re not Ladybug?”

“Cat Noir, I don’t think this is a good idea.”  Only two spots remained on her earrings, and Ladybug turned to go.

Cat Noir rested a hand on her arm, “Okay, okay, how about something that no one would ever know about anyway!  How about your kwami?”

“Tikki?” Ladybug asked.

“Yeah, we could talk about them.  That wouldn’t matter too much, right?”

“Cat Noir,” Ladybug pointed to his ring, “We have to go now!”  She shrugged off his hand, still resting on her arm, and threw out her yoyo.  As she swing away, she yelled back to Cat Noir in parting, “I’ll think about it!”

Not wanting to get stuck on a rooftop again, Cat Noir leaped down into an alleyway and within seconds felt himself transform.  He punched his fist into his palm, frustrated.

Plagg zipped around him, and mocked, “Aw, is the wittle lovebird sad because his Ladybug flew away?”

“Shut up, Plagg,” Adrien muttered, in no mood to be teased.  He fished some stinky cheese out of his pocket, and sullenly offered it to Plagg, “Here.”

“Mmmm…” Plagg munched on it contentedly.  “Thanks!” he said happily around a full mouth.

Adrien walked home.

To Be Continued….           (by JJ Sprinkle)

Up Next: https://simplejjs.tumblr.com/post/167736308165/unmasking-the-love-part-4