#this was supposed to be just a drawing of disabled adrien and it went into a full rewrite of the show :')

[bugstung]

Miraculous Ladybug redesign ft disabled Adrien and some thoughts

[p-artsypants]

I’ll Handle This (12)

In Which Lila Learns about Skyrim

Ao3 | FF.net

Sorry for taking a bit with this chapter. It isn’t even very long. But I was in the hospital recovering from surgery. We’re coming up close to the end of the story, but there’s maybe two more chapters after this. 

(Psst this chapter has hints to the next story I’ll publish after this one...as long as my ideas don’t change lol)

--

Lila was fired. It was immediate when they found out. Everyone sat in class, the lecture normal and lulling everyone into a soft state of sedation. 

Then Lila screamed. The scream was the worst thing Marinette had ever heard. Immediately, everyone turned to look at her in horror. 

She started bawling. Huge gasping sobs of someone who’d been shot. 

“Lila?!” Miss Bustier gasped in shock and concern. “Are you okay?!” 

“I’m so sorry, Miss Bustier!” She wailed. “I just wanted to peek at my email and—and—Mr. Agreste fired me!” 

Plagg had to bite his tongue. He knew she was going to twist this somehow, but her sobbing was so beautiful to see. 

“Oh Lila, I’m so sorry. It hurts a lot to lose a job. Especially when they don’t tell you to your face. That’s no fair.” 

“He-he-he said that Marinette told him that I was making Adrien uncomfortable! She got me fired!” 

Gasps, all around. 

“What?!” Barked Marinette. “I had nothing to do with this!” Not exactly the truth...

“But that’s what Mr. Agreste said!” 

Plagg stood, placing his foot on the seat, the spurs on his cowboy boots ringing with the motion. He put his cowboy hat back on (since Mrs. Bustier had asked him to remove it for violating dress code...again.) “well now. Sounds like we got ourselves in a gosh darn pickle.” 

Nino snorted. 

“Adrien! You never said I made you uncomfortable! Marinette must have lied to your father!” 

He flicked the rim of his hat. “Now slow your roll there, Buckeroo. I know my old man, and even if Marinette was mentioned in his email, it’s likely that he just wanted to place the blame on someone else.” 

Yes, throw the old man under the bus. He still deserves it, even with whole hearted apologies. 

“But you know, I do feel awfully bad for you, Lila. Losing yer job and all. How’s about I make it up to ya? I’ll come sit by you for a while. Keep ya company and cheer you up. Cain’t have gettin’ all akumatized up in here, you reckon?” 

Not that Lila getting akumatized was even a concern anymore. But the world wouldn’t know about Hawkmoth’s surrender until Emilie’s fate was resolved. Adrien’s family deserved that much at least. 

“Oh Adrien!” Lila cried. “You really are such a wonderful friend. But I couldn’t bear to make you move on my behalf. You need to focus on your work.” 

“A cowboy needs to be exceptional at multitasking. That is, as long as Mrs. Brassiere is okay with it.” 

Miss Bustier pinched the bridge of her nose. Usually, she was a very calm and level-headed teacher, compassionate and understanding. But Adrien’s antics were stressing her out massively. “Yes, Adrien, I suppose it’s fine if you move to—what did you call me?”

“Much obliged, Madam. If’en you’ll excuse me...” 

Marinette watched with fascination as Plagg gathered up his materials and moved to the back of the class to sit next to Lila. Then she glanced in her purse, where Tikki and Adrien were hanging out. They both shrugged. 

Due to the retirement of Hawkmoth, Adrien was now allowed to spend time away from the Miraculous without consequence. Plagg assured him that once the final condition was met, no matter where he was, his soul would return to his body. 

So he spent the school day with Tikki, and the evenings with Marinette. It was a sweet deal, and it really gave Adrien the time to bond with her without school or akumas in the way. 

He had even spent the night with her the night before, curled up next to her on her pillow, and purring every time Marinette’s hand glanced his fur. 

Nino leaned back in his seat. “Do you know what he’s up to this time?” 

“No idea...but I am eager to see where this goes.” 

Nino shook his head with a shrug. Two nights ago, when Plagg was arrested, Nino gathered all the money in his savings and went down to the jail to bail him out. 

Only to find out he was already let go. 

So he went back home, and called Adrien’s phone relentlessly, hoping for an answer. 

Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, Chat Noir returned and explained that he was going home now, thanks for having him, he had to watch the mansion because his sort of repentant father was going to Tibet to resurrect his dead wife. 

Nino gave up on logic and understanding, and just made sure Plagg had everything he had brought. 

Now he would wait until the whole situation blew over, and hopefully Adrien himself, in his own body, would explain it all to him. Plagg seemed to oversimplify everything to the point it became vague. 

Marinette, on the other hand, was very curious to see where this was all going. After all, Adrien’s previous tactic of being nice to Lila hadn’t worked. So what was Plagg hoping to gain from the same approach?

Wrassle her with his randomly appointed cowboy charm? 

In science, two classes later, Plagg had elected to sit next to Lila still, despite her protests. 

Marinette was close enough now to hear what Plagg’s master plan was. 

“So there’s like several types of Mer, right? But not like mermaids. This has nothing to do with mermaids. These are mostly elves, but not all. So there’s Dunmer, right? Those are dark elves. And Bosmer, wood elves, and Altmer, high elves. The Falmer are snow elves, but they’re all twisted and savage, because of the Dwemer, which are dwarves!” 

Marinette snorted a bit too loudly, drawing attention from the teacher. 

“Miss Dupain-Cheng, is something funny?” 

“No ma’am, I had a tickle in my sinuses.” 

“Ah, I see. Anyways, as I was saying...” 

Lila always sat in the back of the class, despite her many alleged disabilities. This was probably to get away with the fact that she rarely paid attention during class. 

It was the ideal place for Plagg to harass her and not get caught. 

Poetry in motion. 

“So you get to pick what race you want to be, but you’re always the Dragonborn. Despite the description, you don’t look any different. So a Dragonborn is someone that can devour the souls of dragons so they don’t get resurrected by Alduin. Let me back up, Alduin is an evil dragon that used to rule the world, and he’s resurrecting dragons so he can take over. There’s another dragon though, named Paarthanax, and he’s a good guy. He helps out the Tongues on the Throat of the World. Or the greybeards. Some call them Tongues, but in the game they’re called Graybeards. And the tongues are the monks that teach you to shout. And different shouts teach you different things, right? The dragonborn and the tongues are the only ones that are supposed to know how to shout, but there’s this other dude named Ulfric Stormcloak, and he knows Unrelenting Force, that’s the Fus Ro Da shout I was talking about earlier? He used it to kill high king Torygg to start a war. Oh yeah, so there’s nine holds with Jarls, right—“ 

The day ended, and Lila stood quickly. “Well Adrien, thank you so much for keeping me company today. I’m feeling a lot better. You can move back up to your old spot tomorrow.” 

“Well, you shore are welcome, Pardner. But sittin here in the back has been mighty nice. I think I’ll stay! You don’t mind, do ya? It’s awfully fun to have you as company!” 

Lila’s eye twitched, but she was aware that most of the class was watching them. “Yeah. That’d be...great.” 

“Darn tootin’! Well, you look like you’re in a rush, don’t want to hold you up!” 

“See you tomorrow!” She chirped, before hurrying from the room. As she passed Marinette, a dark look came over her face. The look of someone seething with rage and hatred, but trying to hide it. 

Marinette would have been scared, if Lila hadn’t been dealing with Plagg instead. 

Marinette went home, Tikki and Adrien talking to her from her collar. 

“I don’t know. Plagg was successful with the first two tasks, but I don’t know how he’s going to turn Lila over to the good side.” Marinette mused. 

“I don’t know if he has to. The condition is to just get her to leave me alone. He said he was doing some Pavlovian Jedi mind trick on her.” 

“Well, I sure hope it works. Speaking of, where is Plagg?” 

Adrien’s ears flicked. “He left pretty suddenly after class. I didn’t see him go. Hopefully, he went back to the mansion.” 

“Do you want me to call him?” 

“No, I trust him. He’s got things under control.” 

“Glad to hear it! Ready for snack time?” 

“Oh heck yes!” 

—

Lila had to actively stop herself from stomping all the way home. Frustration rolled off of her in waves, and she mildly wondered why she hadn’t been akumatized yet. 

Adrien Agreste was the most annoying person she had ever met. And oblivious too! He never picked up on any of her subtle hints to get him to shut up! She really didn’t want to be rude, because his friendship looked great on her, but wow. No wonder he didn’t have any friends. No wonder Gabriel was so protective of him. If he wasn’t cute...his personality was like a wet sock. 

And he was weird. Weird mannerisms, weird speech pattern, just weird. Hopefully she could either get used to it, or Adrien would get a clue to stop being so obnoxious. 

Finally, she reached her apartment. 

“Home mom!” She called. 

There was laughter in the kitchen. Her mother had a guest. While not uncommon, there was just a hint of dread that hung in the air. 

Lila walked to the kitchen, only to see Adrien sitting at the table, talking to her mother! How?! How did he beat her here?! How did he know where she lived?! What the hell was he doing?!

“Adrien?” Lila gawked. 

He rubbed his head awkwardly. “Sorry for popping in uninvited. I just...I was worried about you! You’ve been akumatized twice, and I didn’t want it to happen again since you were fired.” 

Lila’s face paled as her mother gave her a stern look. 

“I think you’ve got some explaining to do, Missy. I didn’t know you were modeling. And you never told me about being akumatized!” 

Adrien gasped. “Oh no! She didn’t tell you? I’m so sorry! I didn’t know that was a secret! I won’t say anymore!” 

“Any more?” Mrs. Rossi asked. “There’s more?” 

“Adrien.” Lila bit, in warning. 

“Well...I mean, you knew she was meeting with my father right? Something about being his muse?” 

Mrs. Rossi looked horrified. “What! You were talking to a grown adult man?! Were these visits supervised?!” 

Lila opened her mouth to answer, but Plagg beat her to it. “I don’t think so. Father is a very private person.” 

“Lila Giselle Rossi! You are sooo grounded! No offense to your father, Adrien, but meeting up with an adult man, unsupervised? And to what, be his muse? What does that even mean? It sounds gross!” 

“I swear nothing happened! He just wanted my opinion-”

“On what? What reason would he have to ask a 14 year old’s opinion?”

Plagg winced and looked at Lila. “I’m so sorry, Lila. I came here to help, but...” 

Lila shook with rage. Her mother was a complete pushover and believed everything she said. Now Adrien had sewn the seeds of distrust in her and she wouldn’t get away with any white lies ever again. 

“You’re dead,” She mouthed at Plagg. 

“Adrien, thank you for coming here and telling me all of this. I’m very grateful. But I think it’s best if you head home now. Lila has some chores to do.” 

“I understand, Madam Rossi. Again, I’m really sorry...I just wanted to help.” 

“Oh don’t worry, you did. This is for Lila’s own good.” 

He sheepishly looked to her. “See you tomorrow?” 

Her eye twitched. “Yeah.” 

And Plagg swiftly walked from the apartment, concealing his evil laughter until he got to the door. 

—

The next day at school, Marinette, along with Tikki and Adrien in her bag, arrived at school just a few minutes before the bell rang. 

Plagg was sitting at the front of the room, wearing a Pikachu onesie, and looking absolutely devastated. Nino sat next to him and had a hand over his face, doing his best to conceal whatever emotion he had. 

Everyone else in the room was avoiding them like they had the plague. 

Alya spotted her and came quickly, looping an arm through hers and escorting them out into the hall. “Girl, big news. I know you love Adrien, so this is going to be a blow. But here’s the thing...Lila told us this morning that Adrien came to her house yesterday and told her mom about her modeling job. Apparently, her mom didn’t want her working, and got upset that Lila lied. Adrien’s been insisting that it wasn’t on purpose, but everyone is kind of pissed at him anyway.” 

Marinette said nothing, but bit her lip. She knew that this absolutely was on purpose. 

“I’ll leave your actions up to you, but people are pretty mad at Adrien. Just letting you know.” 

“Who’s side are you taking?” 

Alya scoffed. ��None. I’m staying out of this. Both people are in the right. Obviously Sunshine just wanted to prevent her from being akumatized. He was with her all day yesterday. It’s admirable, really.” 

“It is.” Marinette said with a smile. Though she was smiling for a completely different reason. There were no akumatizations anymore. Everyone was safe now. 

“We better get back in there, class will start soon.” 

So they returned. Miss Bustier was in, and ready to begin the lesson. 

Then Plagg raised his hand. 

“Yes Adrien?” 

“Before we start class, I want to say something.” 

“Go ahead, Adrien. The floor is yours.” 

He stood, and looked to Lila in the back of the room. “Lila, I know I apologized yesterday, but I’m really really sorry about outing you to your mom. I had no idea she didn’t know about your rendezvous with my father. I was just really scared that you were going to become akumatized, and I didn’t want that to happen. My friends are all important to me, and losing you would be like ripping out a piece of my heart. Could you ever forgive me?” 

Marinette glanced Nino’s face, which twitched to hide a smile. Then she looked at Lila, who looked calm, but her hands were balled into fists. 

After many breathless minutes, Lila smiled slightly. “I understand, Adrien. Of course you’re still my friend. I treasure you too! I’m sorry I got so mad.” 

“Hugs?” Plagg raised his arms. 

Lila could pretend to be happy and calm, but the paling of her skin could not be hidden. “Hugs!” 

Plagg brought her in for a squeeze, and the class ‘aww’ed at their make up. 

Except Nino, who let out the tiniest snort. 

Marinette flicked open her purse to look at Adrien. He mimed a gagging gesture back. 

And then Plagg took those last couple steps and joined Lila on her bench. No one tried to stop him. No one spoke up and said, “hey, maybe you should give her some space anyway.” 

They just all let poor, socially awkward Adrien push boundaries and take his seat. Because he had apologized so earnestly for trying to help. And she had forgiven him. So everything was fine now. 

Right?

As the lesson started, Marinette paid attention to the teacher. But occasionally, she’d hear the faintest whispers of Adrien’s voice (Plagg’s voice now). 

“...so it’s commonly believed that the Nord’s came from Atmora with Ysgramor, but they believe that they settled Skyrim, so they’re kind of racist to everyone else. But also, the Empire came in out of nowhere and tried to upheave their way of life, and even told them which Gods they were allowed to worship. High King Torygg was playing cordial with the Aldmeri Dominion, and some of the other Jarl’s didn’t like that. So Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl of Whiterun shouted him to death. Just like the Dragonborn can. Though it’s never explained why he knows how to do this. So this started a whole civil war…” 

Marinette chanced a glance behind her, and noticed that Lila had her head in her hands, and she looked absolutely miserable.

[myladyofsilver]

This is Constance. She started as a magical girl and ended up as a French painter who uses crutches to walk. Constance - or Connie - is also a Miraculous Ladybug OC because, when I got on my Obsessive Bullshit, didn’t have the motivation to make another OC and I though “Underdeveloped magical girl? Sure, I can use this.”

She actually wasn’t supposed to use a wheelchair or crutches, but I read a fic with a disabled Marinette and I liked the idea so here we are.

She is also a fashion designer, that was there before Miraculous, and is a painter.

She has a harem and I am ashamed. I just really like harem fics lol.

Connie originally had twin tails and brown hair, but I liked the black hair better and wanted it down, though she probably ends up cutting it to her shoulders.

Idk why she’s so pale all my white girls are pale oops

She’s a quarter Chinese and three quarters French.

She has nice arms because of her crutches and pushing her wheelchair,

She’s a little religious, she likes to pray and carries a rosary, a gift from her mother.

Connie smokes, and it’s entirely Death’s Fault.

She’s a little fucked up I guess? She’s a kleptomaniac and (even though she’s technically disabled(?)) is often hired to break into old homes to steal shit. She fakes a panic disorder in canon to have a reason to be missing during Akuma attacks.

Constance has aquaphobia from nearly drowning because her parents were too busy arguing. Constance doesn’t like to speak to men out of fear and can be considered selectively mute and uses sign language.

Speaking of her parents, her mother is dead. Her father is in an asylum/prison for killing her. Her father went insane after her baby sister, Ambre, was a stillborn and he murdered her mother and beat her. She now lives with her older half-sisters Kara, Death, and later Verity. They are a part of a larger universe that I’ll explain in a later post. Her aunt also lives with her, but she doesn’t last long.

Constance also picked up schizophrenia and it is completely her father’s fault.

Constance shows signs of PTSD from watching her mother die and her father’s abuse.

Constance is a descendent of a Guardian that survived Feast, and has passive magic.

Personality- she’s flirty and denies it left and right, even though she flirts with everything that moves. She’s a manipulative asshole who uses tears to get what she wants, but is nowhere near as bad as Lila, and is vengeful, swearing to hunt Hawkmoth down for interrupting her flirting abusing the Miraculous. She’s protective and will not hesitate bitch try me Kagami. Better social skills than Adrien (no high road shit) but is apathetic to other’s feelings and only cares when she befriends them. She sugarcoats things but won’t hesitate to cut to the chase when she’s short on time or is just fed up. While she is manipulative, she does understand that being a bitch and hurting others will get you nowhere in life, and is quick to jump to the aid of her friends. She’s intelligent science and artistically wise, but not so much maths and people wise. Constance is secretive, knows she has to live another day and often doesn’t take risks unless absolutely necessary, and likes touch, holding hands or draping herself over others with their consent. Religious but only really prays because it makes her feel better, she does believe in God but not in Heaven or Hell. She really hates pushy guys and people who touch her without permission. She's really creative and wakes up in the middle of night to start a painting or a sketch.

Constance is taken in by her half-sisters in Eden (country I made, later post) when she is around seven, returns to Paris she is when she is eleven and meets Chloe, and become Lady Dove when she is twelve.

OK ACTUAL PLOT NOW

This happens in the middle of the summer break, and Constance is in Paris for the first time in years. She is twelve and skips a grade.

Constance breaks into an abandoned home for Fiona, a client and later possible SO, to find an old heirloom. Constance breaks in through a window and finds some weird shit (weird spell books in code, diaries) and is seriously creeped out, but Kara didn’t raise no bitch so she keeps going, she’s seen creepier in Eden anyways.

Constance (on her crutches) goes upstairs and finds a room with a shine dedicated to a cameo. She picks it up because hey, it’s free real estate.

The cameo is a Miraculous, The Dove Miraculous of Restoration.

Constance freaks and thinks she’s hallucinating and Meme, the Kwami, snaps her out of it, and explains. Constance transforms into Lady Dove.

It’s a lame name but hey, I like it.

In Origins, Lady Dove only appears in Part Two of Origins, because Constance just doesn’t care and thinks that Ladybug can handle restoring the city and cleansing the Akuma. When Ivan/Stoneheart is at the top of the Eiffel Tower and spits out the mass of butterflies, Ladybug manages to get most of the Akumas and panics when they try to escape and get someone, Lady Dove uses a cleansing spell (learned from the tomes) to get the rest and makes her debut.

Also, in this mess Ladybug can only cleanse the Akuma and not restore the city, Lady Dove does that. Meme didn’t tell her that and only said something after the first Stoneheart.

She steals part of Ladybug’s role lol whoops.

Lady Dove cleanses Ivan’s Akuma, restores the city, and sleeps because that’s the first time she used the restoration spell and she’s fucking tired.

That’s Lady Dove, now to Constance.

Constance joins at the same time as Alya, and is Chloe’s friend. She gets mad at Chloe for being rude and scolds her in front of the whole damn class. Chloe get pissed and Constance gives up and just starts flirting with her to make her shut up. Marinette and Alya still end up with different seats and Constance sits in front in her wheelchair and pouts.

Constance tries to talk down Alya in the library and fails miserably.

Watches the fight on the news but otherwise doesn’t do shit

Meme begins her explanation of Miracle Boxes, potions, unification, and Feast. Meme explains that the runes she had Constance draw all around the house were to hide them as long as they stayed inside.

(Second Day) She gets mad at Adrien but is finds out what happened from Sabrina, but doesn’t say anything, deciding it wasn’t her problem. She sits with Chloe and fakes a panic attack to escape, realizing that Ladybug didn’t get the Akuma and god fucking damnit Alya. Lady Dove debuts.

(Third Day) Constance manipulates Chloe into letting her sit with some else, quoting Sabrina’s and Chloe’s strong friendship and how she wants to make more friends. Honestly probably just says she doesn’t want to sit in the front and gets mad when Chloe tries to get others to move. She sits with Chloe and Sabrina at lunch and occasionally in class when she doesn’t want to sit in her wheelchair or the second row.

Constance asks Alya and Marinette if she can join them in the second row, is accepted because she stood up to Chloe, flirts with Marinette, and probably sleeps through class or just flirts because goddamnit I want this bitch to have a harem.

When Adrien arrives, Constance greets him a little coldly but doesn’t ignore him.

She witnesses the umbrella scene and teases Marinette for falling head over heels with him.

MIRACLE BOX

Later on in the week, Constance's aunt dies in a crash. She receives her first Miracle Box, which is the one Meme belongs to because fuck you.

I want a kwami reunion scene with Constance in the background crying for her aunt but being utterly fascinated with the kwamis and the designs of each Miraculous.

The Eagle Miraculous of that box is missing.

Lady Dove introduces the idea of temporary heroes early on and uses her Miracle Box

BTW Master Fu doesn’t know Lady Dove’s identity and disapproves of Lady Dove handing out the Miraculouses out already and not hiding them from Hawkmoth, who might target them.

SKILLS

-Shitty manipulation

-Creation of high-quality paintings and articles of clothing she designs

-High flexibility and reflexes, and high upper-body strength

-Able to wield several Miraculouses at once due to high mental resistance

-Several spells to enhance the Miraculous

-A cleansing spell that can be used to cleanse a mass Akuma

-Can speak French, choppy English, Eden’s language, and learning Mandarin/Chinese and Japanese

STUFF I’M ADDING

She has four friends from Eden- Eshaal, Caitlyn, Himari, and Rowen. They’re not a part of the harem but run the Constance Protection Squad. They come in later one at a time – expect Himari and Rowen, they’re dating and refuse to be separated. Eshaal’s parents are diplomates, Caitlyn’s mother is a war photographer who takes pictures of Akuma attacks and her father is dead, Himari’s mother is a chef and her father a financial analyst, and Rowen’s mother is a painter and his father a general who was sent in to monitor the Akuma situation.

Eshaal is a pop star, Caitlyn is a photographer, Himari is a dancer, and Rowen is an actor. Caitlyn is a workaholic and likes to gossip, and Eshaal is a ball of sunshine and dramatic. Rowen is insecure but very flashy and unbelievably dramatic, and Himari is an introvert but not afraid to be dramatic or cause a scene.

I’ll do a post on them later because I’m still trying to figure out what they look like.

I’m also adding Edward and Thomas DeLeon, twins who join probably after Origins. Thomas is a jealous bastard and is aiming to work in business, while Edward is a musician and shy. Thomas falls in love with Constance and is like Chat Noir but worse with his flirting and declarations of love. He gets Akumatised later and gets beat down. Edward also get Akumatised because his song is stolen.

Thomas finds the Eagle Miraculous and becomes a hero, name pending.

Why Constance has a harem: Her passive magic has something to do with love and naturally draws people to her. This is only amplified when she finds the Dove Miraculous, whose side effects include making people easily drawn to her for one reason or another. So, she’s a walking love magnet :D

OTHER THINGS

She totally sets the classroom on fire to scare off Lila

- “Are you insane?!” “Schizophrenic, actually.”

Forgive the spelling and grammer I’m tired.

[adrienaline-rushed-art]

Hat-trick

@mlsecretsanta gift for @amynchan !! I had a lot of fun making all of this I got carried away it was supposed to be one drawing but here’s some fluff for the soul

Rating: General

Pairing: Marichat/Adrienette

Words: 3354k

Genre: Fluff, and a microscopic angst

ao3 (for better formatting oml)

“You look ready to go out,” Sabine peered through the steam that danced above her mug of hot chocolate, a curious smirk hinting at the corners of her eyes. Marinette glanced up at Sabine as she reached down to grab the package waiting at her feet, “Y-yes, Maman.”   “Dolled up, even,” Sabine added before quickly taking a sip. Marinette stopped adjusting her dress coat to stare warily at her mother. When Sabine’s smile widened, Marinette turned away with a pout, “I don’t know about ‘dolled up’...” Marinette slipped past Sabine and started to open the door, “Bye, Maman, I’ll be back in a bit-” “Marinette! You aren’t going to bake Christmas Eve cookies with us?” Tom’s head poked out from behind the stairs. “Ah… no, Papa, sorry. I was gonna visit… a friend.” “Oh, alright. Have fun!” Marinette smiled awkwardly and turned back to the door with a small wave. “It’s Adrien, isn’t it?” Sabine wasn’t going to let her go that easily. “Goodbye, Maman!” Marinette shut the door with a click. “Bring him some leftover cookies at least!” A faint groan was all that was heard before a second door could be heard slamming shut… followed by the door reopening, some rustling in a distant cabinet, and the shutting of a door again. Sabine turned to Tom, “It won’t be long before she brings that boy home again.” * * * Marinette was still grumbling as she walked down the block. The frosty wind and tiny slips on the patches of rock salt didn’t help her mood either. She couldn’t say she didn’t expect this from her mother, otherwise she would’ve invited Adrien over instead. This way she’d be alone with him. On the downside, it might be a bit awkward with just the two of them. She couldn’t help but imagine a dull, undecorated house, so quiet you could hear your echo return from another floor. No music playing, no mistletoe, no delicious smell from the kitchen. Just Adrien sitting in his room, waiting for the holiday to pass. Ever since she heard from Alya, who heard from Nino, that Adrien hadn’t indeed gone missing last year but had left out of loneliness - something she technically wasn’t supposed to know, but Nino couldn’t keep things from Alya… no one could - she knew she had to bring the holiday spirit to him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be weirded out or annoyed by the gesture. Marinette looked down at the two packages she embraced. She smiled fondly. She couldn’t visit Adrien in a sour mood. Marinette straightened her back and picked up the pace, she couldn’t wait to see him. Just as Marinette was turning to cross the street, something caught her eye. On the roof of the building to her left, a shadowy figure was leaning against the chimney. Chat Noir. His legs were out in front of him, knees bent so he could rest his arms. Marinette stopped for a moment, looking between the crosswalk that went in front of her and the crosswalk that went over to where Chat Noir was. She took a deep breath and crossed the street to her left. “Tikki,” Marinette looked up at the large ‘EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY’ printed on the door in front of her, “Think you could help me out disabling the fire alarm?” Tikki flew out of Marinette’s coat, “Why can’t you transform into Ladybug?” “Well, technically Ladybug isn’t supposed to be out and about any more than Chat Noir is…” “Then why not just call him down? It’s much easier.” “What if he doesn’t want company? He might leave,” Marinette stepped closer to the door with a look of determination. Tikki whizzed in front of Marinette, inches from her nose, “I’m not sure about this. You could get in trouble if you’re caught.” “I know, Tikki,” Marinette looked down at the packages again, then out to the dead leaves being blown about by cold winds, “But this is important.” Tikki lingered for a few moments before sighing and phasing through the door; seconds later the door clicked and Marinette went through. The metal stairs that wound around to the roof from the highest floor echoed with each step. Once Marinette had reached the top, she saw Chat’s ear twitch back before he peeked over his shoulder. “Marinette?” His voice had a bit of a trill to it. He cleared his throat and a low rumbling suddenly stopped. ��Were you purring?” Marinette sat down beside Chat Noir, wincing at the coldness of the asphalt roof; thank goodness the chimney they sat behind blocked most of the wind, which was where the worst of the cold came from. He quickly rubbed his eyes of a light glisten. Chat sniffled, his face looked damp and broken,  “Uh… I guess so?” Marinette watched Chat’s smile twitch into place. Would it be more draining for him to keep the smile up or for her to question him? “Chat, what are you doing out here? Are you ok?” “Yes, of course! It’s nearly Christmas after all,” Chat Noir leaned forward; Marinette could hear his purring roar to another start. She knew what purrs could mean, she saw right through him. Chat touched Marinette’s nose, “What about you? What’s a sweet princess doing out all alone on a cold Christmas Eve?” “Actually, Kitty, you haven’t answered my first question yet. What are you doing out?” Chat rubbed the back of his neck, “Ah, watching over Paris?” Marinette crossed her arms, “You don’t seem so sure. And where’s Ladybug? I would think that you two would’ve agreed to have a small break over the holidays. Is she forcing you to do extra work?” “No! I- I made this decision on my own,” Chat looked away, down at the street. Marinette would’ve asked more questions if he didn’t look like he wanted to drop the subject. It was already enough that she was invading his space, she wouldn’t invade his privacy. Marinette broke the silence first, “I was going to visit a friend.” Chat raised an eyebrow. “Just now,” she continued, “I was planning to visit a friend for Christmas Eve.” He smiled, “Oh, you’re friends with the Ladyblog girl, right? Alya?” “Ah, yes but… that’s not who I was talking about.” “Oh?” “Yeah… I meant Adrien,” Marinette giggled a bit on the name. Chat Noir’s back straightened; again, the faint purr seemed to fade away. He shifted around towards Marinette, “Oh! I, uh, didn’t know you were so close to him.” She laughed, “I didn’t expect you to. Although, we’re not as close as I want us to be… but I guess it’s up to me to help that along, huh?” Chat smiled shyly, “Well, I guess you should get going then.” “No, I changed my mind. Besides, I won’t just leave you here,” Marinette turned to the wrapped box and paper bag settled next to her, “I have something for you, by the way.” Chat peeked around Marinette, “Is it food?” “No- I mean I do have these cookies, but not for now,” Marinette whirled around with the box, “Here.” Chat Noir looked Marinette carefully in the eye, then down at the package. A small card was taped to the front; on the back ‘Adrien’ was written in cursive. His arms tensed before they could reach the package. His voice faltered as he stumbled for words, “Woah… uh-” “Ack!” Marinette scrambled to snatch the card, “I don’t usually remember to sign things…” Chat Noir finally took the package, looking at it with a concerned look, “Princess, is this for someone else?” He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, “Adrien didn’t reject your gift or something, did he?” “What?! No, I- this isn’t some sort of rebound gift or whatever you wanna call it… I just… thought it’d suit you better. I’ll give Adrien something more fitting for him.” “Well…” Chat put the box on his lap, “May I open it?” A bit of wind brushed against Marinette, she shifted further behind the chimney. She saw him do the same and nodded quickly. Chat tore through the wrapping paper. He hesitated to lift the cardboard lid, looking over to Marinette, “I don’t have anything for you…” Marinette’s smile was brighter than ever. She leaned over to touch Chat’s arm, “That’s fine! Trust me, spending time with you is more than enough.” “No...Mari…” “Oh, no you don’t. Don’t even try. Your gift to me can be accepting that.” Chat snorted, “For now. I’m definitely getting you back.” Marinette rolled her eyes, “Sure… well?! Open it!” She clasped her cold hands together, suddenly excited.   He lifted the lid and a small gasp escaped him. Just beneath the folds of the green tissue paper, a dark gray coat could be made out. He quickly lifted the coat away from the packaging. It was a long, wool peacoat with a forest green lining and black trim, and six golden buttons lined in two rows over the front. “Ooh! I was right, it’ll definitely look great on you,” Marinette beamed. Chat blinked in awe a few times, bringing the coat closer to his chest and rubbing his thumb against the collar. He chuckled, “So, you were going to give this to Adrien? Do you have something against his father’s fashion line?” he cocked his eyebrows tauntingly, “you’d think he has plenty of coats.” Marinette tilted her head to the side, “Well, if he does he clearly doesn’t like wearing them! Last year he went missing and was found with nothing but a hat on.” Chat Noir continued to laugh, “He was running about stark naked in the winter?!” “You know what I meant!” “I don’t, actually,” he smirked. Marinette gestured desperately, “He was just… wearing a short-sleeved shirt with jeans and sneakers! Someone put a blanket on him and gave him hot cocoa apparently but…  is he out of his mind?!” She pouted. “So,” Chat began to unbutton the coat, “you thought as long as it was yours, he’d wear it?” Marinette blushed, “No - at least not because it’s mine - but it’d sure as hell be more of my business. Call it a message… and it gives me an excuse to tell him to wear a coat; even if I have to guilt trip him.” Chat gazed into Marinette’s eyes. His wild smile was suddenly tender and sweet. Marinette laughed nervously, “Anyway…” Chat squinted playfully and leaned back on the palms of his hands, “Wow, Princess… I thought you were his lover, not his mother.” “Lover!? Nonono, Adrien and I aren’t- what do you mean mother?” “I dunno… just seems like you’re babying him a bit,” Chat winked, “what with all the scolding for not wearing a coat and giving him a new one.” Marinette’s face fell, “Do you think he would’ve found it annoying?” Chat shot up and took Marinette by the shoulders, “No! I was just teasing; this is sweet, really. I love it, by the way, thanks Marinette,” He brought her into a tight hug. She sat back after he released her, a serious expression abruptly replacing her smile, “Well, even if it was annoying, then good. Someone had to do it. Honestly, sometimes it feels like he doesn’t take care of himself.” Chat raised his eyebrows and hummed thoughtfully. He took the coat, brought his arms through the sleeves and snuggled into it; he felt so much better to be wrapped in the thick wool. It smelled like the bakery, and more importantly, it smelled like Marinette. “How do I look?” Marinette grinned, “Purrfect, but what else is new?” She reached forward and flicked the bell on his chest. Chat Noir’s jaw dropped, “I- you think I’m perfect?” His face attempted a smirk, but his delight was too sincere to pull off prideful teasing. Marinette shook her head, “Now I’ve done it. No, I actually said you look purrfect.” Chat giggled, a wonderfully different laugh that made it tempting for Marinette to continue to feed his ego with pun-infused compliments. Speaking of feed… “Oh, I almost forgot, you seemed hungry earlier,” Marinette reached behind her and waved a bag of chocolate chip cookies right under Chat’s nose. His eyes lit up at the tempting smell and his hips shimmied a bit, “Mmmm, don’t mind if I do!” His hand dove into the bag and grabbed three cookies. He held two of them in his left hand as he bit into the one in his right. While chewing he peeked over at Marinette shamefully. She waved her hand, “Don’t worry about it, take as many as you’d like.” Chat watched a few crumbs fall from his mouth and onto his coat. He chuckled, “Maybe you should’ve given me the cookies first after all.” Marinette mirrored Chat Noir’s laugh, “Silly Kitty,” She dusted the crumbs off of his chest, resting her hand on it for a little while longer. They stared at each other in happy silence until Chat took Marinette’s hand in his, kissing her knuckles; it spread a warmth through her that made the winds forgotten. “You know, Princess, I can’t help but notice you look extra beautiful this evening.” Marinette took her hand back, “So I’ve heard...” Chat leaned in, “Trying to impress someone?” He smirked. “No, this is just ordinary winter clothing…” Chat Noir looked her up and down. She wore a pastel pink peacoat dress with a black petticoat, black buttons, and black lining; a black scarf, and sheer black tights with black boots. Her hair was down; a gray audrey beret sat snugly on top. “Are you wearing the same style coat on purpose? So we can match?” Chat tugged at the collar of her dress. Marinette looked down at herself, flattening out her skirt, “It wasn’t entirely on purpose, but it helped with deciding on the design,” She ran her fingers through her hair, slightly shifting her beret. Chat Noir squinted up at it, “What’s that?” He reached up to pull her beret off, tugging it gently to avoid messing up her hair. “What’s what-” Marinette gasped in horror when a black and green beanie was taken from underneath her hat. Chat unfolded the beanie and read the print on the brim, “‘Kiss me’.” A wide smile crept onto his face as he noticed the green felt twigs and leaves with a red bow tying them together at the very top of the hat. “Now, I don’t mean to bring up your visit to Adrien again, but…” “I- first- th- well I mean- BEFORE you say anything, it wasn’t my idea! Alya got it for me and she told me to wear it and I… it was so embarrassing... well technically I’m still wearing it, right?” Chat made an exaggerated dubious face, “Not really…” He grinned, “But, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you planned to pull this out either way.” Marinette put her hand across her chest, “Whaat? No…” Chat nodded, “Mhmm, you were gonna go to Adrien, wait for him to turn his back and abracadabra out of your hat comes a classic holiday trick… a very sly trick if you ask me. Princess, I didn’t know you played so dirty.” Marinette was bright red, “It’s not playing dirty!” “So you admit it then! You were planning that!” She clamped her mouth shut, her shoulders shrinking a bit. Chat laughed, “Aw, don’t be upset, Mari… I think it was pretty clawver,” he winked. He pulled the beanie over Marinette’s head, “After all, he probably doesn’t have any mistletoe at home.” Marinette perked up, “I was thinking the same thing! So you really think so?” “Of course, have you met his father? He’s lucky if he has a generically decorated Christmas tree,” Chat rolled his eyes, “You kinda need a party to hang mistletoe anyway… and again- have you met his father?” “Well, he had a party last year… sort of.” Chat shrugged, “Did he throw it himself?” “I guess not…” “Then, it was a once in a lifetime thing.” Marinette sighed, “I tried to organize one this year, but everyone seemed busy,” She lifted her head suddenly, “Now I’m starting to wonder if Alya made everyone say no to get me and Adrien alone together.” Chat smiled, he scooted up closer to Marinette, “That’s possible.” “Do you think he would’ve been weirded out? By me just barging in… alone… to hang out for Christmas?” Chat lifted her chin to look into her eyes, “Marinette, your company is always more than welcome,” he looked to the side lazily, “you know, I feel really bad.” She scrunched her face, “Why?” “I kept you from kissing your crush on Christmas Eve, I don’t know how to make it up to you…” he frowned, but his eyes twinkled wildly. She chuckled, “Don’t be ridiculous, I probably wouldn’t even have come through with it, honestly.” “Marinette,” Chat tapped on the mistletoe. “Oh.” Chat waited for Marinette to close her eyes before leaning in. When their lips met, Marinette heard a squeak escape Chat Noir, a small tremble running up his spine. Whether it lasted five seconds or five hours, Marinette didn’t know. What she did know was his lips were surprisingly soft; especially - she regretted to admit - compared to her lightly chapped ones, even covered with a pink lip gloss. They separated slowly, neither of them in any hurry to back up further than a few inches from each other. Chat’s breath still smelled like chocolate chip cookies, Marinette found a small crumb still stuck to his lips as she was staring at them. He stroked the side of her face, “I like this hat better.” She snorted, “It doesn’t even match.” “Oh, please, who wants to match on Christmas?” Marinette lifted her thumb to Chat’s lips and stroked the crumb off, “You taste like pink lemonade.” He blushed, “I’m wearing a flavored lip balm.” “Is it pink lemonade?” “Yeah, actually!” Marinette pumped her fist, “Yes!” “You know… I have a lot more flavors, if that’s the kind of game you like to play,” Chat bit down a smile. She tapped her chin, “Hmm, I’ll have to take you up on that. But not now, it’s almost time for my family’s Christmas Eve dinner.” Chat Noir watched Marinette stand up, trying to brush off what dirt she could from the back of her skirt.  “Oh, alright! Send your parents my-” “You mean you won’t be walking me there, like a true gentleman?” She smiled, rocking back and forth on her heels. Chat stood up and reached for his baton, “How rude of me…” He reached out his hand as Marinette returned from scooping up the bag of cookies and gift scraps. “And you’ll be joining us, too,” She took his hand, letting him drape it around his shoulders. “Me? Marinette, I don’t think your parents would appreciate me barging in-” “They’d love to have you. Please, Kitty? There’ll be lots of delicious food and pastries we’ll never be able to finish alone! We’ll need some help…” Chat launched the two of them into the sky, “Well, I guess a hero is supposed to help others.” * * * A few days after Christmas, Marinette got together with her friends to see a movie. She didn’t quite know what she was going to do when she saw Adrien. No matter how much she had tried to prepare for it, her stomach was still in a knot as she waited outside the theater with Alya. At least this time there wasn’t any news on Adrien ‘going missing’ again, and he didn’t expect her to come nor did he know about her feelings… yet how could she have skipped out on him like that? And with the pawthetic excuse she had, not to mention the horrible pun she just thought up by mistake- “Nice coat, Adrien.” Marinette nearly snapped her neck from how quickly she looked up. As soon as she caught sight of Adrien, her nerves were on edge for an entirely different reason. “Thanks, Alya,” Adrien smiled playfully at Marinette, “Someone special gave it to me.” Marinette smirked fondly. What a dirty trick. more art