#anyway adrien deserves to watch their performance!! :) he missed out!!!!

[sleepysebris]

that's one way to find out @halfahelix brought up imagine adrien with the peacock and I didn't get very far with the rest of that thought cause this was the first horror to enter my brain after

#it's supposed to be amok vision or something i hope it comes across that way #the feathers are NOT leaving the rings lmao #i realize now how wrong it could look #anyway adrien deserves to watch their performance!! :) he missed out!!!! #miraculous ladybug #my art #ml representation #ml representation spoilers #ml s5 spoilers #senti twins #sentimonster adrien #adrien agreste #felix fathom #kagami tsurugi #feligami #my ml comics

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 86: Unity!

The next day, Lila was in her hospital bed being visited by Lorenzo. They were reminiscing about their time in Italy and having a generally fun time. Their giggles were interrupted when someone else opened the door. Lila was expecting a nurse, a doctor, or maybe one of those miraculous experts she met the day before after Gabriel left, but was surprised to see that it was none of the above. “Alix?”

Alix walked in, pulled up a chair, and sat down next to Lorenzo in front of Lila. “Hey.”

“Hi…” Lila replied awkwardly.

After a bit of silence, Alix asked “Well, how are you doing?”

“Oh, um, I’m feeling alright,” Lila answered. “Well, I guess as alright as I can be.”

“Right…” Alix responded. An awkward silence permeated.

“Why are you here?” Lila asked, breaking the silence like a plate crashing to the floor. “I’ve done nothing but manipulate you and your friends.” She sunk into herself. “I don’t deserve your friendship.”

Lorenzo was shook. Alix simply smiled and said “Yeah. You probably don’t.” Lila looked up. “But whether it be kindness or foolishness, I think we’re willing to give it to you anyway.”

“Why?” Lila demanded.

“Well, I don’t know about anyone else for certain,” Alix explained, “but for me, it’s a case of I can spend time disliking you, or I can see that you’re trying and at least move on, if not help you try. And I don’t have the time to waste hating someone who is trying.”

Lila was stunned. She looked at Lorenzo who smiled and chuckled. She looked back at Alix and started crying. “Lila, are you OK?” Lorenzo asked.

“Yeah” Lila sniffed. She wiped her eyes, although tears kept coming. “I’m alright.” For so long, Lila was trapped in the darkness of trying to make herself seem like an amazing, untouchable, Goddess. She was pushing other people away to push herself upwards. However, it felt lonely, which is what she was trying to avoid in the first place. Yet she had a hard time realizing it until it swallowed her whole.

So when someone was reaching out to her honestly and earnestly, and she was fully committed to doing the same, it all hit her at once. She hadn’t felt like this in a long time, and she liked it. Lila looked up and smiled at Alix. Alix reciprocated the smile. Nathalie looked on, assured that things will be alright.

Meanwhile, Adrien came into Marinette and Emilie’s room. “Hey” he said upon entering. He looked and saw Marinette was alone. “Where’s my mother?”

“She’s beginning physical therapy,” Marinette explained.

“Oh” Adrien said, surprised and delighted by the news.

“Some of the doctors were worried, but she insisted she get a start” Marinette continued.

Adrien chuckled. “That’s mother alright.” The couple shared a giggle. “It might be better this way.” Marinette seemed puzzled. Adrien’s smile widened. “Someone’s been missing you.” He took out a box and opened it.

As the box opened, Tikki appeared. Marinette was overcome with delight. “TIKKI!” she gasped.

Tikki flew up to Marinette as fast as she could and hugged her cheek. “Marinette!” The two snuggled each other. Once the little hug was over, Tikki said “I’m glad you’re OK.”

“Me too,” Marinette responded. She averted her gaze for a bit. “I feel like I should have asked you.” Tikki was curious. “About the ultimate move thing. I mean, after what happened with you and the previous holder of the wolf miraculous…”

“Marinette, it’s fine,” Tikki said. “The lucky charm gave you the idea for a reason. In spite of needing to perform that move, both you and her are amazing Ladybugs, and nothing can change that.”

Marinette smiled and blushed. “Thanks Tikki.” Adrien stood there, observing but not interrupting.

As the days went by, the recovery process progressed for the patients, as well as Paris itself. While the city had seen a great deal of damage from Hawk Moth, the Nurushwa attack was on a whole other level. While the miraculous cure did its job, the city was still in shock, and it needed some time to readjust.

During this time, Gabriel was meeting constantly with lawyers to figure out the details of his case. He was making certain arrangements to make sure everything goes smoothly. Meanwhile, Marinette and Lila were getting visits from their classmates to make sure they were doing well, and in Lila’s case, assuring them that they could bury the hatchet.

One of the processes of Paris’s recovery was a self-imposed quarantine. This was an effort to maintain order, get accounts from everyone involved, and maybe trap this Nurushwa figure. However, this was a temporary process, and nearing its end. Among those set to leave Paris once this quarantine was over, Travis and Cassandra were some of the most anxious.

Vlad was meeting with them in their hotel room. “It sucks that we gotta leave soon,” Travis lamented. “I was getting used to having you being in the same neighborhood as us, just like old times.”

“Hm,” Vlad grunted. “I’m going to miss it too. But we’ll never be too far apart. We have cellphones and such.”

“Right…” Travis reluctantly agreed. “It’s just not the same, you know?”

“We can come visit whenever, you know,” Cassandra said.

“I guess that’s true” Travis said, cheering up slightly. He sighed. “Part of me wishes we could just move here, you know? Not only are you here, but the friends you’ve made are amazing.”

“Well, what can I say?” Vlad asked. “Only the best for me.”

Meanwhile, Cassandra chuckled. “Are you sure this isn’t about one friend in particular?” she insinuated.

Travis was caught off-guard. “Well,” he blushed, “I can’t say she isn’t one of the BIGGER reasons… But you must feel it too, you know? The general presence of Vlad’s friends here.”

“Of course,” Cassandra said. “I just can’t miss an opportunity to tease you.” Travis rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, Kagami was doing some fencing training. Longg was watching her. She was working aggressively, and losing focus. Longg imagined it had something to do with the conversation they had when they got home after the attack and the incident with Katelyn.

Flashing back, Kagami walked into her room. She sat in front of her tv and started playing video games. Longg floated out beside her. “So, um, why did you tell Travis and Cassandra you’re Ryuko?”

Kagami shrugged. “I guess I felt like it.”

“It’s a little unorthodox,” Longg informed her.

“I know…” Kagami replied. She had just been defeated in her game. “Ugh. Fine.”

“Fine what? Longg asked.

Kagami sighed. “I think I’ve made my decision.”

“‘Decision’?” Longg inquired.

“Yeah,” Kagami answered. “And as amazing as Luka is, I think I actually like Travis more.”

“Oh” Longg said, realizing what Kagami was talking about. “So that’s why?”

Kagami nodded. “I figured if we were going to end up going out, he’d have to know the truth at some point or another.”

“So, if you don’t mind,” Longg began, “what was the deciding factor in all of this?”

Kagami smiled. “Like I said, Luka’s great...but Travis has this air about him. He’s just so passionate and free, and I feel like I want that out of a potential boyfriend, you know?”

“I see” Longg said. “So, when are you going to tell him?”

“That, I’m not sure,” Kagami said. “This whole time has been crazy...I want to wait until things settle down a bit before I go jumping into this.”

“That sounds fair,” Longg replied.

Back in the present, Kagami was making mistake after mistake in her training. She threw off her helmet and said “I can’t take it anymore!” She went to go change. Once she was finished, she stormed out of the house.

She started out walking, but then sped up into a run. She was on her way to Le Grand Paris, hoping that he’d be there. When she arrived, she stopped, caught her breath, and composed herself. She walked in, and calmly took the elevator up.

When she got to the floor they were staying in, she left and hurried down the hall. She arrived at their room. She hesitated at first, but she shook herself out of it and knocked. The knock was gentle, but forceful.

Vlad opened the door. “Kagami? What’s up?” Kagami brushed past Vlad. “OK?”

Kagami walked up to Travis. “You!”

Travis seemed confused over this confrontational Kagami. He pointed to himself and said “Me?”

“You!” Kagami repeated. She sighed and loosened her tension. “When I first came to Paris, I thought I was the best there ever was, the best there ever is, and the best there ever will be.”

“O...K…?” Travis said, confused. Vlad and Cassandra were looking on equally confused.

“But right away, I was made apparent of my flaws,” Kagami went on. “As time went on, I’ve slowly learned to overcome those flaws, or at least work towards that. Yet when we first interacted, you seemed to fall in love with me almost instantly. At a time where I kind of hated myself, and I took my anger out on you.” Kagami intensely stared at Travis. “Do you think I’m perfect when I’m not?”

Travis was puzzled. He looked at Vlad and Cassandra, neither of whom were able to help. He turned back to Kagami. “Well...that’s...um…” He sighed. “To be honest, being perfect is overrated.” Kagami was confused. “I didn’t say any of what I said because I thought you were perfect. I said what I said because I thought you were amazing. You still are. But perfect is a bit much to expect, you know?”

Kagami smiled. “Yeah. I do. Hm. Today, while I was practicing fencing, I started to lose focus.” Travis was stunned. “This was the first time since the battle against that Nurushwa thing that I did.”

“I’m sorry…” Travis said, unsure of what else to say.

“Don’t be,” Kagami said. “Because it was the first time since the attack that I had a focus to lose. That I can let my mind think about other things. That I don’t have to worry about a monster peering over my shoulder.”

“Oh” Travis said.

Kagami closed in on him. “I was thinking about you. I think you’re amazing too. So...um...will, uh, will you go out with me?”

Travis’s face was now beat red. Kagami was also blushing, but she looked a little more composed. Still, blushing, Triavis laughed a little. “Hah. Of course.”

Kagami grabbed the lapels of Travis’s jacket. “Oh yeah?” She pulled herself in closer, pressing her body against his. “Prove it.” She gave him a kiss. Travis was taken aback for a second, but wrapped his head around what was happening and focused. He wrapped his arms around Kagami, squeezing her tenderly.

Once the kiss was over, the two looked at each other. They noticed the other was blushing, and started giggling amongst themselves. Travis then said “Now THAT was truly amazing.”

“Congratulations you two,” Cassandra said.

They looked at Cassandra and Vlad, who were smirking, but supportive all the same. “Hm hm. Thanks” Kagami said.

The following day, Mylene and Ivan went to visit Lila, who was also getting a visit from Lorenzo, because of course. “Hi Lila. Lorenzo” Mylene said upon entering.

“Hey,” Ivan said. “How are you all doing?”

Lila giggled. “Well, I’m doing better with all of the visitors I’m getting.” She looked down. “It is nice. After all this time, all of this double-dealing, it is nice that there are people who are willing to give me another shot.”

“It happens to the best of us,” Ivan explained. “If you’re willing to change, people will be there to help.”

“Speaking of helping people,” Mylene said, “the food pantry’s been missing you for the past couple of days Lorenzo.”

“Ah ha ha” Lorenzo laughed. “Well, uh…”

“It’s fine,” Lila said. “I’m in good hands. You’ve been here enough to know that.”

“Right…” Lorenzo said. “It’s just...I’ve missed you...a whole…”

“I know…” Lila said. “I’ve missed you too. And I also missed me as well.” Lorenzo smiled, as did Ivan and Mylene.

Meanwhile, Adrien, Vlad, Travis, Cassandra, and Kagami were visiting Marinette. “Are you two really leaving tomorrow?” Adrien asked.

“Yeah,” Cassandra answered. “We figured we should visit before we’re off.”

“Well, it’s always a pleasure,” Marinette said. “Whenever you come here next, we should hang out more.”

“Hopefully you’re not laid up in a hospital” Cassandra replied.

“Of course,” Marinette responded.

“Let’s hope things aren’t as hectic either” Vlad noted.

“Yeah, there sure were a lot of ups and downs this time around,” Travis added. He looked over at Kagami. “But I will say, this trip went out on top.”

Kagami walked over and embraced him. “We have something to tell you.” Adrien and Marinette were curious.

Travis wrapped his arm around her. “Heh. We’re kind of going out.” Adrien and Marinette were stunned. Kagami gave him a kiss on the cheek to highlight that.

Marinette smiled. “Congratulations you two.”

Kagami turned to Adrien. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

Adrien smiled. “Of course not. I have a wonderful girlfriend, and you have a wonderful boyfriend.”

Kagami smiled back. “Thanks Adrien.”

After they left the hospital, Vlad looked at his cohorts. “You go on ahead. I’ve got something to do.”

“You sure?” Travis said.

“Yeah” Vlad answered. “If I don’t catch back up to you today, I’ll definitely be there to see you off tomorrow.”

“Well, if you’re so determined, then I guess we’ll seeya” Cassandra said. “And good luck.”

“Yeah,” Kagami added. She nodded. Vlad nodded back and left.

While Vlad was walking, Beyyo popped out. “Um, just out of curiosity, what are you doing?”

Vlad sighed. “Mr. Agreste, Lila, Kagami… heck, practically everyone. They’re all starting to move forward. And I need to do the same.”

At the Liberty, there was a knock. Juleka answered. “Vlad?”

“Hey” Vlad said with little emotion. “Can I speak with Luka?”

“Oh. Sure” Juleka said. She left to get Luka.

Luka arrived. “Vlad?”

Vlad tensed up. “Listen.” He stood silent. Luka waited patiently. “GAH!” Vlad vented. Luka flinched. “Sorry” Vlad said, calming down. Luka readjusted himself. “I just have to say it. I..sort of have a thing for you…”

“I’ve noticed,” Luka said nonchalantly.

Vlad’s face grew a little red, but he pressed on. “But I can’t keep holding out for a light that isn’t going to come. So, I need to know now: Is it possible that the two of us could go out? Or are you straight?”

Luka chuckled. Vlad was stunned. “I’m sorry. But that whole speech just now was incredibly adorable.”

Vlad’s face grew redder. “You-You’re not answering the question.”

“Isn’t he?” Beyyo asked.

“Let’sssss wait and sssssee” Sass responded.

Luka grabbed Vlad’s hand. “I’d say it’s more than possible.” He moved in and gave Vlad a kiss on the cheek.

Vlad’s face was entirely red. “Wh-Where did this come from?”

Luka rubbed the back of his head. “Well, I’ve been thinking a lot. About me, and what I want out of someone. I mean, I was a bit down when Marinette started going out with Adrien, but you can’t hang on to one person like that forever. Otherwise, you’re just a one-hit wonder, you know.”

Vlad was taken aback by Luka’s explanation. “I...was sort of thinking the same thing...I needed an answer, otherwise I couldn’t move on…”

“And it’s things like that that made me realize, you’re someone I’d want to go out with” Luka said. “Plus, your impassioned speech was, again, adorable.” Vlad turned his head, a little embarrassed. Luka smirked. “C’mon.” He grabbed Vlad’s head, turned it towards him, and gave him a kiss, this time on the lips. Vlad was surprised, but followed through almost instantly. A few minutes later, all of Vlad and Luka’s friends got a picture of the two of them announcing their new relationship.

The day after, Kagami, Vlad, and Luka were there to see Travis and Cassandra off. “Seeya!” Vlad said.

“Of course!” Travis exclaimed. “And congratulations yourself!” Vlad blushed, but Luka took his hand, and he calmed down. The two started to wave.

“Don’t have too much fun with us!” Cassandra said. The two started getting on the train.

Kagami called out. “Hey!” Travis looked at her. “Promise you’ll call when you get back.”

“Heh” Travis laughed. “What do you take me for?” They both smiled at each other. Travis and Cassandra got on the train, and it started going.

Meanwhile, Alya and Nino were visiting Lila. Of course, they also forgave Lila after Lila apologized. They were having a good time. But then Lila’s face went from happy to somber. “What’s wrong?” Nino asked.

Lila looked at the two of them. “Do you know if Marinette’s coming?”

“Marinette?” Alya wandered.

“Yeah” Lila said. “She’s the one I want to apologize to the most.”

“Oh, um, well…” Nino sputtered.

Lila sighed. “She’s not coming, is she?”

“No no, she’ll come,” Alya replied. “It’s just…”

“It’s fine,” Lila said. “I know a lie when I hear it. I can’t say I’m surprised. Marinette is the one I was the worst to. I can’t imagine she’ll forgive me.” Alya and Nino were awestruck. Lila turned back to them and smiled again. “But thank you two for coming. Honestly.” Alya and Nino nervously laughed.

A little later, Alya and Nino entered Marinette’s room. “Hey guys,” Marinette said.

“Um…” Nino pondered. “What are we telling people who AREN’T in the know?”

Marinette was confused. “Ugh” Alya groaned. “Lila wants to know if you’ll come and visit.”

“Lila?” Marinette wondered.

“Yeah, she’s upstairs,” Nino said. “Room 303.”

“And she’s resigning herself to thinking you won’t forgive her” Alya added. “Um, you will forgive her, right?”

“Huh? Oh, of course” Marinette said.

Alya said. “Good. Because I know you girl, and you got SUPER worked up about her.”

“Yeah…” Marinette said, embarrassed. “When I think of something, I’ll let you know.”

“Great!” Nino said. The three of them had a little visit, but Alya and Nino had to leave. Adrien hung around a little bit, but also left eventually.

That night, Marinette’s mind drifted towards Lila. From what everyone who visited her told her, she really was ready to turn over a new leaf. When she was through apologizing, she was pleasant and fun to be around.

She thought about what Alya told her. Lila really believed that she wouldn’t forgive her. Of course, Marinette had every right not to and then some, but darn it, that just wasn’t who she was. If she can forgive Hawk Moth on some level, she can forgive Lila.

Marinette looked around. Mrs. Agreste had already fallen asleep after another exhausting day of physical therapy. She decided to follow her lead and give it a go. She moved herself to hang her legs off of her bed. “Now or never.”

She gently flung herself downwards. She landed on her feet. She had only done so to use the in-room bathroom, and even that was a bit strenuous, since previously she had been unconscious for a week. She started moving to the door.

By the time she reached it, she was already breathing heavily. She proceeded to open the door. She had been in plenty of situations where she needed to move something heavy when she was Ladybug, and it felt like that. Still, she opened the door and continued to walk.

She had to lean on the wall for support. She was feeling the strain of every step. Yet she was determined all the same.

She made it to the elevator. She got in, pressed the buttons to head up, and leaned back against the wall. The elevator granted her a small reprieve. “You can do this.” The elevator opened. She lifted herself back up and headed out.

She didn’t have to go very far to find room 303, but it felt like a struggle all the way. She arrived at the door. She placed her hands on the handle, and began opening it, calling upon the same strength she used to open her own door.

When she slid the door open, there was a loud sound, which woke up both patrons of the room. Nathalie turned the light on. As soon as she saw a fatigued Marinette wandering into the room, she immediately pressed the “Call Nurse” button. Lila just looked at her in shock and said, “Marinette?”

Marinette looked up at Lila. “Lila…” That was all she could muster before passing out.

Marinette woke up back in her own bed. She was greeted by a doctor. “You gave us quite a scare, Miss Dupain-Cheng,” the doctor said.

Marinette looked down. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright” the doctor noted. “Frankly, I admire your drive, but we should work on baby steps.”

Marinette looked up and smiled. “You’re right.”

“I’m sure with your adventure last night, you’ll do great, '' Emilie said from her bed.

Marinette looked over at her. “Thank you Mrs. Agreste.”

The door opened up.It was Lila. She rushed over to Marinette’s bed. “Marinette! I’m so sorry.”

“Lila? What are you doing here? Marinette asked.

“Well, um, you did come to my room last night,” Lila said.

“Right…” Marinette replied. “I came because Nino and Alya told me that you were asking why I hadn’t visited yet.”

“Oh. That makes sense” Lila realized. “Well, don’t worry, Mr. Agreste explained everything.”

Marinette was confused. “He did?”

“He was here this morning,” Emilie jumped in. “After he heard about what happened, he came to make sure you were OK. When the doctors told him you were stable, he was relieved. He would have stayed, but he said he was busy with the upcoming case.”

“I see…” Marinette said.

“Marinette,” Lila began, “had I known he’d attacked you like that, I would’ve understood.”

Marinette was confused. Before she could say anything, Emilie said “Remember? You were offered the butterfly miraculous to continue Hawk Moth’s mission. And when you said no, he attacked you. Thankfully, Cat Noir, Judgement Wolf, and Ladybug figured him out just then and saved you.” Emilie winked.

“Oh” Marinette said. “Yeah.” She looked downward. “Lila. I don’t want you to think I wouldn’t forgive you. I mean, from what everyone has told me about their visits with you, you sound so sincere about wanting to make it up to everyone. I can’t be mad at that.”

“But you were the person I was the worst to,” Lila admitted.

“I know,” Marinette said. “And trust me, there were days where there was nothing more that I wanted than your complete humiliation.” Lila was stunned with this honesty, but understood it. “But I can’t live in that animosity. I just can’t. Ladybug is working so hard to fight for peace, and I want to be able to live up to that.”

Lila’s face was filled with mixed emotions. “I’ve been living in that animosity for so long. And I thought I enjoyed it, but it all came crashing down on me, and I realized I didn’t want that anymore. But I thought it was too late, so I kept running because that was all I was good at.”

Lila smiled. “But when Ladybug said she wanted to save me, I was overjoyed. She could have left me for dead, and I would have understood it. But she wanted to save me. So now I want to live up to Ladybug’s light too.”

Marinette smiled and reached out her hand. “Friends?”

Lila was about to shake her hand, but instead dove in for a hug. Lila started crying tears of joy. “Friends.” Marinette was startled by this hug, but returned it once the suddenness wore off.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fanfic #Marinette #adrien #alix #lila #Tikki #emilie #vlad #Beyyo #kagami #longg #sass #Luka #juleka #mylene #ivan #alya #nino

[p-artsypants]

Longest Night (24) Shocking

And Marinette had thought Highschool had been hard. Right now, in this moment, she'd give anything to go back to those petty arguments and gossip fueled drama. But she couldn't. Instead, she and Adrien were trapped here, being punished, humiliated, tortured, for being heroes, all broadcasted for the world to see. At least she and her kitty were in this together. For now. Whump!Fic

Ao3 | FF.net

Just as a pleasant reminder: this story will have a happy ending, one that is better than ‘they both died and were free from their suffering’. I wouldn’t do that to you guys.

This chapter, we go back to Marinette and Adrien. There is gross misuse of a needle and thread (Trigger warning), and some shocking revelations (pun intended).

—

A small room. Concrete walls, ceiling and floor. A single metal door, with a cold metal table and chair. Illuminated with single flickering lightbulb, casting a sickly yellow light around the surfaces. This kind of room most people would avoid. It offered no comfort, no safety. It held secrets, and no mercy.

To Marinette, it felt like home.

Silence had been a constant companion this last month. Where as Marinette had gotten used to Tikki’s constant presence before, now she was startled by noise. Any noise. She could hear from this dank, secluded room, the sound of water running. Most likely someone else getting a shower.

And the light. There was only an old bulb to illuminate the room, but it was still much too bright for her eyes. So she rested her head in her arms on the table top. The icy water from her power washing still clung to her body, the hospital gown hanging on her turning damp. There was no warmth from the table or chair. Only cold, hard, unforgiving silence.

All there was to do was wait. All there ever was now.

Wait for death.

Something heinous happened in the dark. Every minute of every day, she stewed in fear, in anger, in injustice. The cold bony hand of wrath squeezed her heart, crushing compassion, mercy, and care from her very soul.

No one was coming.

Then she could let them all go. If they were watching, then they could all suffer with guilt.

Sure, she was Ladybug, but she was also a kid. Didn’t that mean anything to anyone? Or were they all expecting her to save herself?

But they had abandoned her. With whatever had happened back at school. The facts were blurry at this point, but she remembered everyone shunning her.

So why would her being Ladybug change anything?

But Adrien…

Her heart softened. He didn’t deserve whatever fate had befallen him. He had fought so hard, so valiantly, there was no blame on him.

He was the only person she could forgive.

But he was gone. And now she alone.

Alone in the silence.

So now the question remained: Dare she save herself?

What kind of life awaited her outside, anyway? What kinds of things were they saying about her?

Ladybug, the failure. The little girl that fooled the whole city. The disgusting pig.

There’d be hell to pay. She’d show Salo what revenge really looked like.

They thought Ladybug was red? She’d give them red.

Marinette sat up slightly, her bangs shielding the light from her eyes. She looked down at her hands.

Bony, dry, callus, and bruised. The hands of a corpse. That’s what she felt like at least. This was some sort of limbo she lived in. Half aware, plotting and calculating her revenge…the other half…twisted. The hallucinations in the cell were so vivid, so real. It was hard to tell the difference between them and what was real.

I’ve gone insane. She insisted in her mind. Normal people didn’t think like this. Normal people didn’t daydream about strangling people with their intestines.

This room was too big. She wanted back in the closet.  

The door opened again, Salo and one of her henchmen escorting another prisoner onto the bleak room. They had them by the arm, and all but shoved them into the room before slamming the door shut behind them.

Then suddenly, Marinette wasn’t alone in the silence anymore.

A young man, tall, pale. He was just a skeleton with skin stretched over him. He was incredibly bruised, and his legs were stained with filth. His blonde hair was drenched and also looked stringy and dull.

Did she look like that too? She wondered.

The young man toddled into the room, using the wall for balance.

Then he looked up, and met her eyes.

An impossible green. A green that haunted her for days. The green that accompanied the last echoes of his voice.

My Lady! My Lady!

It was Adrien.

And she hadn’t recognized him.

Marinette bolted from her chair and staggered over to him.

“Kitty?” She whispered, ever so gently.

Tears gathered in his eyes as he reached his one working arm out to caress her face. “My lady?” His whisper was even softer, his voice was gone, and he only spoke with the air in his lungs.  

“What have they done to you?” One hand held his cheek, as the other rested on his chest. She could feel his ribs, and the dent in his sternum she had caused with her crowbar.

He didn’t answer, his lips pulling into a thin line.

Adrien leaned down, pressing a soft kiss on her lips. Then he rested his forehead against hers. There was a purr deep down in his chest, a remnant of being the Black Cat for so long. He still only spoke with a breath. “For better or for worse, in sickness and in health. I may have been forced to say that, but I take my vows seriously.”

“Kitty…” She cried, resting her hand on the back of his neck. “I love you so much. I thought…I thought they had killed you by now.”

“They gave it a good shot.” He nuzzled against her. “But as long as I know you’re still with me, I’ll keep fighting.”

Her fingers curled into his skin, her voice dripping with ferocity. “I will never leave you.”

The door opened again, much too soon for both of them, and they clung tighter together.

“Together again for five minutes and you just can’t keep your hands off of each other. Young love…what a joke.”  Salo’s voice pierced through their bubble.

Adrien didn’t look up, didn’t give her any attention. His lady was back in his arms, and that’s all that mattered.

“So selfish.” She scoffed. “You two aren’t even interested in the guest I’ve brought?”

Marinette shook her head. She didn’t want to see anyone from outside. They all abandoned her, abandoned them, why should she care?

But Salo had never given them a choice, and so they were dragged back into that big room where evil persisted.

The lights were blinding, and they both had to hide their faces in their arms.

Then they were being chained up, and there was nothing to do but clench their eyes shut and wait until they adjusted.

“What’re the stats, Harken?” Salo asked a corner of the room.

“Over 2 million online. We have some from Japan and Australia tuned in this time too.”

“My my, this is becoming a very big deal.”

Marinette, squinting heavily, peered up and looked around. The room was still pretty bare, save for a wooden chair that sat between her and Adrien.

“You two missed out on so much while you were sleeping. You remember my Eddy, right?”

Neither of them answered, but it was a given. The arrest of Edward Savauge is what had gotten them here in the first place.

“Well, looks like he’s been released on lack of evidence. No witnesses. Sure is interesting, don’t you think?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. It really wasn’t the surprising. It just sucked that their effort of bagging him had gone to waste. “So?” Marinette asked. “There’s no reason to keep us anymore.”

“On the contrary, Miss Bug. Now there’s no possible way I can let you leave. Not even if you pinky promise that you won’t say a word.”

“I figured as much.” She drawled.

“Now, don’t you want to know what’s being said about you out there?”

“Not particularly.”

“Come on, aren’t you just the tiniest bit curious?”

“If you’re trying to egg me on, I’m assuming it can’t be good.”

Salo laughed. “Boy, you are so full of spite! I love it!” She called over her shoulder. “Pasolini, I think you can bring our guest in.”

Marinette looked over to Adrien, who’s eyes were downcast. Seemed he was just as unenthused about their guest as she was.

A young woman was ushered in. She had a bag over her head.

But Marinette recognized the orange sweater immediately.

The girl was shoved into the chair before Salo ripped the bag off of her head.

Adrien and Marinette shared looks of disgust.

Salo grinned. “Glad you could join us, Miss Rossi. I’m Salo, and I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

Lila, for all the acting that she had performed, was downright terrified. “Please, let me go! I didn’t do anything! Please!”

Salo looked to her prisoners, finding them stone faced. “Why Marinette, aren’t you happy to see your best friend? And Adrien, I know you must feel guilty for cheating on her with Marinette, but you must be happy to see your girlfriend, right?”

Adrien scowled at them both, not saying anything with his mouth, but volumes with his eyes.

“Hmm, there seems to be some misunderstandings here. Let’s see if we can find that interview.”

The tv behind Salo lit up, Lila’s face on it with a news ticker underneath. She was teary-eyed and delicately dabbed her cheek with a napkin. “It sickens me. Adrien isn’t actually Chat Noir, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng isn’t Ladybug. You see, Adrien and I…well, I see no point in keeping it a secret anymore, we were dating. Under the radar, of course, he’s not allowed to date. And then he told me that he came up with this idea of a performance piece and asked if I wanted to play the role of Ladybug. I said no, absolutely not, and so he broke up with me. I think the whole wedding bit was really just a ploy to make me jealous and have me crawl back to him. But now I know that he’s just sick and wants attention. Marinette has been that way since I met her. She’s always tried to get attention and lied to do so. I think we should all stop giving it to them and turn off the stream.”

Lila turned pale and shrank in her seat at the absolute rage on Marinette’s face, as she turned her gaze to stare at Lila.

Salo shrugged. “Well Marinette, looks like we’ve been found out. Now everyone knows about our performance piece. And Adrien…your relationship isn’t so secret anymore, I’m afraid.”

Adrien trembled in his anger, before an inhuman sound ripped from his throat. The sound of a caged animal breaking.

Salo just laughed at him. “Mm, interesting. I wonder…who’s lying?” Sang Salo. “Ladybug always wants justice, right?” She leaned on Lila’s shoulder, a spool of thread with a needle in her hand. “Then will you snitch? Knowing that snitches get stitches?”

Lila sobbed. “Marinette, I’m sorry! You know me—Always good for a j-joke!”

“Ah ah ah, I wasn’t talking to you Miss Rossi.”

Marinette saw the needle and thread for what it was. Another torture device. Maybe the old Marinette would have taken the easy way out. ‘Taken the high road’ so to speak, and let things unfold by themselves. She would give Lila this lie, setting her free, and saving herself from unnecessary pain.

But this Marinette was ready to hit where it hurt, no matter the sacrifice. And Salo was giving her the platform to do so.

“A joke.” Marinette repeated. “I’m a joke to you.”

“No! That’s not—! What I mean is—“

“My suffering has always been a joke to you.” Marinette interrupted. “When you got me expelled for something I didn’t do. When you tricked everyone into thinking I was some sort of creep. When you endangered me as Ladybug by taking Chat Noir out of the fight with a lie.”

“But—no! I was—I was just trying to make friends and get Adrien to like me! None of that stuff was on purpose!”

Marinette scoffed, and turned her head away. Even here, after all this, Lila was still lying. Arguing with her was not worth it.

Salo was the one to poke the bear. “So you hate her, Marinette? Having her here angers you?”

Marinette considered this. Then answered coldly. “No. She is annoying. Irritating. If you had asked me when I first came here how I felt, I would have said yes, I hated her. But now, after all I’ve felt, all I’ve learned…what I feel for her is not nearly what I feel for you, Salo.”

“Oh!” Salo rested a hand on her chest. “Aww, Marinette, I feel the same for you! Would you…be my enemy?”

Marinette glared at her. “I hope you choke.”

Salo laughed. “She’s so sassy! I love this new Ladybug! What about you, kitty cat? How do you feel about all of this?”

They looked to Adrien, who was staring at the floor. He looked like he wasn’t paying attention.

Salo snapped in front of his face. “Hey, I asked you a question, Pussy Cat.”

He looked up at Salo, then at Lila, and then back down to the floor.

Salo whistled lowly, “man, isolation was not good for you.”

Adrien didn’t respond to that, and kept his gaze on the floor.

To the outside, he looked resigned and obedient, but in his head, dark thoughts of revenge circled. Violent, unnatural, evil thoughts.

“Well,” said Salo, patting Lila’s head. “If having her here isn’t that big of a deal, I might as well get rid of her.” Her hand went to her hip.

Lila started crying. “Marinette! Please help me! Tell her to let me go! Please! I beg you!”

Marinette let out a dark laugh. “You think I can do anything? You think if I had any power, I wouldn’t have saved myself by now?”

Salo withdrew the gun, pointing it between Lila’s eyes.

“Please Marinette!”

Salo smiled. “My goodness! Ladybug, savior of Paris, would allow a civilian to get hurt?”

“Lila isn’t a civilian.” Marinette corrected, her voice deep. “She’s a parasite. A liar and a manipulator. She hurts everyone around her, and only causes trouble. Her disappearance would only be a good thing.”

The barrel rested between Lila’s eyebrows. “So I can dispose of her? You don’t mind?”

Marinette shrugged, her face blank. “Blow her brains out.”

Lila sobbed. “I lied!” She screamed. “I lied about everything! This is real! There’s no performance going on! I never dated Adrien and Marinette never lied! Marinette never took any pictures of Adrien! She never stole anything! She didn’t cheat on her test! She didn’t push me down the stairs! I never met any celebrities! And I hate Ladybug!”

Salo looked at her with surprise. “What? Is this a confessional?”

“I told the truth! Isn’t that what you wanted from me?”

Salo barked a laugh. “You think this is about you?! You’re such a stupid bitch! I can’t believe you actually thought you had anything to do with this!”

“…then…why was I here?” She asked, trembling.

“You were the one broadcasting yourself all over the news! You know, I thought you did have some connection to them, but you actually lied and put yourself in trouble! You’re such an idiot. Why did you think this was a good idea? You’re so desperate for attention that you painted a giant target on your back.” She laughed again, being amused by the whole thing. “You have the gall to believe that you’re important in any capacity? My revenge is against Ladybug and Chat Noir! If you have nothing to do with them, then you’re useless to me!”  

“Marinette!” Lila screamed. “Help me! Please!”

Marinette glared at her. “Even if I could, I wouldn’t.”

Lila cried out, bawling her eyes out, pleading with everyone.

Then the barrel of the gun pulled away. And Salo started laughing. “Wow, harsh. And I thought I went through petty high school drama.” She clicked the gun back into the holster. “But I can’t let Marinette have to satisfaction of you being killed. Warren?” She nodded to a man in the back of the room. “Take her out to some park and leave her. They’ll find her.”

“Yes ma’am,” said the brute.

“But before you go…I want Miss Rossi to witness this.” She held up the spool and needle, holding it in the light. “Pasolini, if you would be so kind?”

Marinette didn’t show any outside signs of panic or fear, but tightened her hands into fists.

Pasolini came from behind, resting one hand on her shoulder, and the other other throat, tilting her chin up.

“You’re not going to fight?” Asked Salo. “No screaming? No kicking?”

“Why? Is it not as fun for you if I behave?” Marinette bit back.

Salo grinned, snapping a rubber glove onto her hand. “You got me there. Still going to sew your mouth shut though.”

Marinette looked to all the world calm and collected, as Salo used a sharpie to mark the inside and outside of her lips, creating the guide.

She took hold of her bottom lip and pulled it forward.

Marinette’s eyebrows drew together as the needle pierced her skin, going in the bottom and out the top. There was no numbing, no relief, only stinging sharp pain. Even when the needle was through, the cotton thread ripped through the puncture. Then Salo moved to the top lip, puncturing through the bottom to the top, and then back down again.

Under and over, a basic stitch pattern. Marinette didn’t make a peep, but the tears still rolled down her cheeks. Blood oozed from the piercings, smearing around and turning Marinette’s mouth red.

Finally, Salo made one last stitch, eight in total, and made sure it was pulled tight. Then she tied it off and snipped the access. “I’m not much of a seamstress, but I think I did pretty good!”

She brought a mirror over so Marinette could see her new look. The way she had done it forced her lips into a pout, and right around the edges there were little black lines were the thread was visible. Testing the strength, Marinette found she could very slightly open her mouth, enough to maybe drink some water, before it hurt.

“Ah, much better! Now I don’t have to listen to your god awful annoying voice anymore!” Salo cheered.

Marinette tore her gaze away from her reflection, to glare at Salo. There was a threat in her eyes, but it would continue to be unvoiced.

“What do you think, Adrien?” asked Salo, turning to him. “You’ve been awfully quiet this evening.”

Adrien whipped his head up, his face full of rage, eyes burning, and hissed at her.

Salo grimaced. “Yikes. Nothing worse than a poorly behaved kitty. Well, we’ll just have to train that out of you.” She waved at a man in the shadows, gesturing him forward. “Warren, you can escort Miss Rossi out now. I don’t particularly care for keeping her around.”

The room went into motion. Lila was bagged again and dragged out of the room, while other devices were brought forward.

For Adrien, it was a large metal rack, with straps for the arms and legs, and a link for the collar around his neck. It almost looked like a cross. He was strapped in, both arms, and his feet were splayed apart.

Then they attached pads with wires to his palms, the pads of his feet, the underside of his arms by his armpits, and the area right below his bellybutton.

Marinette watched all of this with a careful eye, not able to ask questions, but extremely wary. She could have sworn she had seen those pads in a movie or something.

Next, the men moved two metal hoops on stands on either side of her. They weren’t too big. Large enough to comfortably fit her arms through. At it seemed exactly what they wanted her to do.

Then finally, Salo brought over two buckets and a pitcher of water. “Well, don’t you look just absolutely curious?”

Marinette flicked her eyes over all the components in the room, an answer to her question starting to form.

“Now this is a fairly simple device of my own design. You’ll be putting your hands through these hoops, and holding up these buckets of water. As time goes on, I’ll add a little water at a time. All you have to do is hold them still. If you touch the hoop…well…” Instead of finishing the sentence, Salo rested a wooden dowel on the edge of the ring, just touching it ever so briefly.

A spark flew off of it, and Adrien’s whole body seized up for a second. He let out a grunt of pain.

“The longer you touch the ring, the longer the shock. But you can handle this, right? Ladybug is so strong!”

But Marinette wasn’t about to tell her that it was only because of the earrings that she had such heightened strength. It’s not like she could, anyways.

Two goons took hold of her arms and fed them through the hoops. They placed the handles of the buckets in her hands, and then taped her fist closed, so she couldn’t drop them. With the buckets in place, it was impossible to pull her hands back through the hoops.

Even with a few inches of clearance on all sides, she still could feel the static around her wrists. It didn’t help that she was still pretty wet and she was holding metal buckets.

“One last thing,” Salo snickered, placing a bag over Marinette’s head. “Can’t have you knowing where the ring is, right?”

Despite the tape, Marinette clenched the bucket tighter. If that spark was any indication, she’d be shocked too, and a shock could contract her muscles and freeze her in place.

Then water started to pour into the buckets. Just about a cup on each side. But Marinette had lost a lot of muscle in isolation.  

“15 minutes, and then you can go back in your little cage.” Salo giggled, the chair Lila had sat in scrapping across the floor. “Oh, and by the way, if you touch the ring for too long, you could kill Adrien. Those bolts will cross the body, passing by his heart. I know his heart stops when you walk into the room, but let’s not get too literal, huh?”

Maybe it would be a mercy to kill him. Surely it would be painful the whole time, but…no. No, she couldn’t do that. It was just her twisted brain obsessed with death.

Five minutes in, and she was already struggling. Her shoulders, biceps, and even her neck hurt. She hadn’t hit the hoop yet, but it was only a matter of time. Salo added a little more water.

At seven minutes, her arms lowered the tiniest amount too much and she touched the bottom of the ring, sending out a bolt of pain up her arm for a millisecond.

Somewhere in front of her, Adrien barked in pain.

Shortly after, the pain had mostly disappeared, only leaving a slight tingle behind instead.

Another minute passed, and Marinette sank again, the touch lasting a little longer this time. She yelped in pain, pulling at her stitches.

“Uh oh, are we giving up already?”

Marinette was sweating, her muscles trembling. Her elbows felt like they were hyper extended and her wrists ached. The metal handle dug into the crease of her fingers.

Another round of tears cleaned streaks on her dirty face.

Another touch, longer this time. And when she over corrected, she touched the top too, her whole arm convulsing and violently jerking.

Adrien wasn’t fairing much better. He closed his eyes, unable to watch, and waited for the inevitable pain to come.

The first was short, and it also didn’t even hurt. It just caused all of his muscles to contract. The wires in the paddles left a tingling sensation behind.

The next one was worse. There was really no way to describe the sensation except for painful. Excruciatingly painful. A flash of white behind his eyes, every muscle in his body contracting, tightening, and feeling like he was tearing apart. The bolts burned his skin, heat zipping across his flesh and into his bones.

Each touch, even the most gentle, brought agonizing pain to every inch of his body.

He knew he was screaming, but it was unbidden. Happening without his consent.

Once the shock had ended, and the pain had just about subsided, another shock would be inflicted.

Marinette felt like her arms were going to rip off. There couldn’t be more than a liter in either bucket, but they were just so heavy.

She trembled as she tried to hang on. But finally, at the 14 minute mark, her arms gave out, and she collapsed, bringing the rings down with her to the floor.

Sparks flew everywhere, not just burning her arms, but the rest of her as well.

Adrien’s screams sounded like a garbage disposal in the sink. His voice had been destroyed in isolation, and all that was left was gurgling and yowling.

Then it all stopped.

Marinette laid on the floor, her arms itching from burns. She was exhausted, and couldn’t find the strength to do anything but breathe.

“Is that it?” Someone asked.

“Johnson, Check for a pulse.”

Marinette felt someone holding her wrist. “She’s still got one.” Then she waited on bated breath. “He’s got one too.”

Salo pulled the hood off of her head as men ripped the tape off her fingers. “Wow! What a shocking development!”

Marinette opened her mouth to protest, finding the thread looser, but not undone. She also tasted a lot of blood.

Salo plucked one end of the thread and pulled it tight again. “Hmm, that might just leave a scar.”

Marinette pushed up on one arm so she could look at Adrien.

He hung lifelessly by the wrists. His skin was blackened in some areas, in bolt shaped lines. His hair had fluffed up from the static.

Salo snapped in front of his face, but there was no response. “Ugh, guess we’re done. Can hurt someone who’s unconscious, right?”

They were lead back to the first set of cells they had been kept in. She wobbled, but walked on her own, while Adrien was dragged by his working arm.

The tiny cell was almost comforting. Being in the cold, quiet dark. Tucked into a small corner of the world.

She couldn’t speak, but she moaned, making noise to get Adrien’s attention.

He didn’t answer.

Not that she really expected him to.

With a sigh, she slid down to sit, resting her feet against the door.

It groaned in response.

That’s right, these cells were just old ductwork that had been repurposed. The metal wasn’t very thick, like sheets of steel, but it was sharp.

An idea started to roll around in her head. Risky, but plausible. If they were desperate enough.

She was certainly angry enough. But the truth of the matter was that she wasn’t doing anything without Adrien.

So she waited.

Her body demanded rest, but she knew she couldn’t indulge. Not yet. Her arms throbbed from holding up the buckets, and her legs ached from standing after sitting for so long.

But enough wallowing in pain. Now was time for action.

She reached under the door towards Adrien’s cell, her arm fitting a lot easier than when they were first inducted. Perhaps her wasting would be beneficial.

She stood back up, and ran her hands all over the inside of the cell, finding a small camera. She twisted it so it faced away from the door. Then she knelt and got to work.

Very slowly and quietly, she pushed on the bottom of the door, easing it away from her. No sudden movements, or the metal would rattle loudly.

Only a few minutes passed before Adrien groaned from his cell, and shifted, the metal groaning. “My Lady?” He whispered.

She grunted back.

He reached his arm under his door towards her.

For assurance, she patted his hand, but went back to work.

Soon enough, the metal had bent far enough that she could fit her shoulders through. She had to be careful, or else she’d cut herself.

As her feet cleared the threshold, her heart began to pick up in anxiety. She was out. But they weren’t free yet, so she knelt in front of Adrien’s door, and began pulling.

Adrien caught on quickly, and moved the camera just like she had.

This was it. Marinette was banking on the idea that Salo and her men had gotten cocky, and had lowered security for the night.

If not, they were in for a world of pain.

Finally, Adrien was able to crawl out of the little space they had created. He met her eyes in the dim light and smiled at her.

Phase one complete.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #chat noir #ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #fanfiction #longest night #torture #tw needles #adrienette #adrinette #ladynoir

[kpohe8]

This is basically Miraculous Ladybug as a dance AU, but imagine a dance AU where:

- Francois Dupont High is a prestigious dance school for all styles of dance

- Gabriel Agreste runs prestigious school but works with Ballet mostly

- Marinette works with her parents at the bakery but dances around the park with Nino (childhood friend)

- They both dance multiple styles (mostly hip hop)

- Nino said he's going to the prestigious school

- This makes Marinette sad because she won't be able to see one of her only friends anymore

- Marinette is, however, caught dancing somewhere (in a park late at night, or in an alleyway perhaps) by Miss Bustier (one of the best teachers at the school)

- She offers Marinette a scholarship there

- Marinette and Nino start working on auditioning together

- Auditions into school begin a week later or something

- They don't really know anyone so they keep to themselves

- Chloe Bourgeois is all annoying and makes an impression on them

- Chloe is all over pretty boy Adrien Agreste, giving Nino and Marinette the wrong idea about him (they think he's a spoilt brat like her)

- Chloe performs her audition with Sabrina, immediately recognising her as the star of the show

- She focuses on ballet

- Adrien auditions after her, all by himself, and it's obvious he does a lot of training outside of school with how precise his technique in everything is

- He focuses on ballet too but he can dance other styles

- Another girl (Alya) auditions afterward, she isn't as good as Adrien but definitely has potential

- She does ballet but with a mix of contemporary

- Marinette and Nino audition after her and definitely impress

- They do a mix of contemporary with ballet (or something else honestly I don't know which mix would be good in a situation like that)

- Everybody else auditions but we don't really care lmao

- While everyone waits for the results, Alya walks up to Marinette while Nino fills his water bottle up

- Adrien and Nino start talking while Nino fills up his water bottle and they get along quickly

- Nino learns that Adrien is Gabriel's son, explaining his precise technique and effortless yet perfect form

- Marinette and the other girl (Alya) gush over how amazing the other was but their conversation gets cut short due to the results being announced

- All names are called except Alya's

- "Why the sad face? Didn't your name get called?" Marinette asked the girl. She sadly shook her head.

"Hey, what's your name?" She asked the girl.

"Alya Cesaire."

"Thanks."

- Alya's obviously upset but Marinette confronts Nathalie (the person running auditions) as everyone else chats in the studio

-"Sorry Nathalie, I'm not trying to be rude but I believe Alya deserves to go here as much as everyone else on that list. Maybe more than some," Marinette tries. Some people who were announced weren't as good as Alya so she was confused as to how they got in.

"Who are you exactly?"

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Well Miss Dupain-Cheng," Nathalie said as she skimmed over her notes on Alya. "While your friend Alya does hold potential to go to Francios Dupont, she does not meet the physical requirements.

"She doesn't meet the physical requirements?" Marinette was shocked to hear that the only reason her friend didn't make the cut was because she didn't 'meet the physical requirements'. "That's so stupid! This is a prestigious school of dance-"

"Miss Dupain-Cheng-"

"Not some modeling clinic-"

"Miss Dupain-Cheng-" Nathalie warned. Everyone else in the studio paused their conversation to see what was happening. Nino and Adrien also saw what was happening and Nino cursed under his breath at the girl. Adrien looked confused.

"This school is meant for anyone capable of working their heart out to fulfill dreams-"

"Marinette," Alya tried.

"Not a place where you fat shame and criticise one's body-"

"Marinette," Nino said more sternly as he grabbed her arm.

"What?" She finally stopped her rant and saw that all eyes were on her. There was a more fiery glare coming from Nathalie.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I'd like you to come with me to see Mr. Agreste in his office."

- Adrien hid his face in his hands

- Chloe smirked

- Nathalie walked out of the studio with her clipboard clutched in her arm. The girl grumbled under her breath how unfair it was for Alya and her to be put in the situation.

- Marinette grabbed her bag out of frustration and was about to follow the instructor out of the door until a different arm grabbed her attention.

"Hey, Marinette right?" Alya asked shyly. Marinette's face softened and smiled politely at the girl before her. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that."

Marinette's face was more genuine this time as she felt sorry for the girl. "It was nothing. If you need anything try and find Nino and me." Marinette gestured towards Nino before leaving.

- Marinette has a meeting with Gabriel, Nathalie, and Ms Bustier about her small incident

- The only way for Alya to go to the school would be for Marinette to give up her place

- Ms Bustier could see the conflicting battle in Marinette's eyes and slowly see her heart crumble at accepting her loss at going to the school

- "If Marinette gives up her position for Alya, Marinette could work with the costume and design people. With her experience being a dancer she would model said costumes and designs."

"I could also help make them too! In my spare time if I'm not dancing then I am thinking about the different types of costumes I could design and create."

- So Marinette ends up going to the school but as a costumes and designs person so she tends to be behind the scenes a lot of the time

- Ms Bustier approached Marinette after the meeting to ask her if she would still like lessons. She could teach them after hours when no one else was around. Ms Bustier asks Marinette to wear a Ladybug mask whenever she practices so no one knows who she is

- Marinette agrees immediately

- With the many hours spent on designing and dancing, Marinette slowly begins to live at the school 

- Ms Bustier makes sure that she has her own room and shower and bathroom within the school that she can use

- She also slowly learns every crook and cranny of the school and uses vents and tunnels frequently to spy on Ms Bustier's classes (Ms Buster knows about this of course)

- Ms Bustier also makes sure that Marinette gets out and spends time with friends every once in a while

- Marinette's parents are okay with the new arrangements as their daughter frequently visits them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

- Nino and Marinette begin to drift over time

- Nino and Adrien become really good friends

- Marinette and Alya become really good friends

- Alya and Nino start talking and getting closer too

- Alya, Adrien, and Nino all hang out

- Chloe bullies Alya every now and then but she has Nino and Adrien to back her up

- Nino frequently talks about Marinette and misses her greatly

- Marinette begins working on a new project (hint: it's a ladybug costume)

- One day after school, Adrien hangs back to practice on the big stage but sees someone dancing gracefully and he's drawn to her (hint: it's Marinette)

- When she notices him watching, she squeals in surprise before sprinting off to hide

- This is a recurring thing but with different styles on dancing

- Adrien wants to know more about her, so he mentions his sightings to Alya and Nino

- Alya immediately knows it's Marinette, Nino doesn't really know

- Both decide to help him out anyway

- "You said she wears a mask right?" Alya asked. Adrien nodded. "What if you wore a mask too? I mean, the both of you wouldn't know who you guys would be right?"

Adrien's unsure of the plan

"Yeah!" Nino agrees straight away. "Make her comfortable around you, pull a few moves on her. If it doesn't work out, at least she wouldn't know who you are right?" Nino smiled at the logic before a look of worry crossed his face. "She doesn't know who you are right?"

Adrien shook his head. "No, she's only heard my voice. She's only ever run away from me."

"Well next time you see her, it's going to be different." Alya announced. "You'll have a mask and make sure she doesn't run away. You guys will dance together and hopefully, you'll know her name!"

Now Adrien's on board with the idea

"I know the perfect person to help you!" Alya smirks. Nino admires said smirk.

- Alya texts Marinette and tells her everything that's going on and Marinette becomes a flustered mess. She's seen Adrien dance before and he intimidates her as much as he is supposedly infatuated with her.

- It doesn't help that Marinette's things seem to be all over her room in the school as Adrien finds his way to her room.

- Marinette hides the mask in her pillowcase, hoping it doesn't break as he knocks on the door.

"Hold on!" Marinette calls as she finishes tidying up the rest of her personal belongings. She leaves her desk untidy because that's something that can be left untidy. She opens the door for Adrien. "Hi," she huffed out.

"Hey, you're Marinette right?"

"Yep, that's me."

"Alya and Nino have told me so much about you," he smiled. Marinette's sure her heart stopped working momentarily. "All good things of course."

"Really?" He nodded. "Adrien right?"

He bowed. "At your service."

"Well thank you, Adrien. Alya's told me that you want to impress a mystery girl?" He nodded eagerly. "Well come on in. Sorry in advanced for the mess that is my little hideout." She walks in and Adrien followed.

- They start discussing everything he knows about her and why he's so infatuated with her. Marinette struggles to keep it professional but she manages.

- The bell rings, signaling the end of break, so Adrien heads out. They exchange numbers so they could meet up again to further discuss their plan.

- Before he leaves, he turns to her a final time and says, "Hey, I think I remember you from auditions. You stood up for Alya right?"

She blushes under his gaze. "Y-yeah, that was me."

"That was really cool of you to do that. I always thought that it was wrong for the school to accept people for their body shape and not their talent, and it's rare to see someone stand up for it - especially standing up to Nathalie."

"R-really? Th-thanks."

"Well, it was nice to finally meet you Marinette." And with that, he turned to leave,

"You too Adrien."

- Marinette and Adrien have a few more rendezvous before he finally gets the courage to meet the mystery girl in the mask.

- He has his own mask

- Though, Marinette didn't think meeting Adrien like this would involve many puns, or much flirting

- "Your mask, it really brings out the blue in your eyes."

"Yours too, but brings out the green in them."

"Your mask reminds me of a Ladybug."

"Yours reminds me of a black cat."

"Maybe you'll have to call me Chat Noir."

"Then maybe you'll have to call me Ladybug."

"Anything for you, M'Lady,"

Cue the hand-kiss thing that Chat does

"Careful Chaton, you wouldn't want your ladybug running out on you again."

- They meet more often and dance too

-Marinette gets inspired to make a Chat Noir costume

- Soon, Marinette starts falling for Adrien, both sides of him

- Adrien is head over heels Ladybug and constantly gushes to Marinette about how amazing she is

- Marinette becomes Adrien's councelor

- Alya becomes Marinette's councelor

- Alya informs Nino about everything

- Ladybug's and Chat Noir's meet ups become regular

- Adrien ends up asking Alya to sneak in and record some of their routines because Ladybug and Chat Noir have built up some chemistry and have become really in sync with each other

- The video goes viral

- Marinette finds out with the rest of the school online and doesn't know whether to be angry at Alya, or thankful

- Ms Bustier immediately recognises both of her students

- Gabriel immediately recognises his son but is very intrigued about who the female is

- He creates auditions for a production that he'll create involving the routine that both Ladybug and Chat Noir used in the video

- Everything leading up to the play is chaotic - especially for Marinette who now has to make a Ladybug and Chat Noir costume (she's already got a headstart on both though)

- Due to the chaos, Ladybug hasn't been able to meet with Chat Noir (well that and people have been trying to sneak in and watch them and she likes her alone time with Chat)

- Marinette apologises but Adrien's like "Don't be sorry, it's not your fault."

- More chaos from production

- Chloe ends up being chosen for the lead with Adrien with Alya being her understudy

- Chloe doesn't quite get the moves and it isn't as normal as performing with Ladybug so Adrien goes seeking for Marinette's help

- Adrien burst into Marinette's hideout while she laid on her bed reading. "You auditioned and got into the school, yes?"

 Startled, Marinette shoots up from her bed and nodded.

"Great! Then you can help me."

- He continues to explain how it doesn't feel right to dance with Chloe and how he misses dancing with Ladybug

- "I may not be Ladybug," Marinette says, "but I could try and learn the choreo. I just don't know it." She states, like a liar

"I'll teach you, and I'll lead."

- So they dance, and Adrien feels rather comfortable immediately

- Both get pretty lost in the moment

- BOOM! KISS

- Both go really awkward and Adrien leaves after saying a quick "Thanks."

- Marinette royally fucked up and she knows

- Adrien's left pondering his feelings for the masked beauty and his beautiful friend

- It's almost time to showcase the production but Adrien still doesn't feel right dancing with Chloe

- Somehow he realises that it felt right dancing with Marinette because BOOM! REVEAL

- Marinette also finished the Chat Noir costume

- Gabriel's been coming in himself for rehearsals and knows that Chloe isn't the right person for the lead role but since he couldn't find the actual person then he has to stick with the next best shot

- Adrien finally manages to convince his father that he may have found the right person for the lead role

- It's two days before the showcase and Marinette's finished the Ladybug costume. She tries it on and begins dancing the routine with music.

- She fails to hear the many footsteps coming up to her room.

- She's so concentrated that she doesn't notice her door opening, revealing a lovestruck Adrien, a happy and snickering Alya and Nino, a pissed off Chloe, an impressed Gabriel, a neutral Nathalie, and a proud Ms Bustier

- When she finishes a pirouette on pointe and sees everyone at her door, she screams and falls back onto her bed (luckily not ripping anything off her costume)

- Marinette ends up taking the lead role much to Chloe's dismay

- During showcase and right before they begin their routine, Adrien leans in and whispers in her ear, "You know I love you M'Lady."

- Marinette doesn't have a chance to respond because they both have to dance

- When they finish, Adrien has a lovestruck smile on his face

- Marinette leans up to his ear and whispers, "I love you too, Chaton,"

- BOOM! ANOTHER KISS

- This time it was on stage in front of an audience so the crowd goes wild

~~~

- Time lapse to after the showcase

- Tom and Sabine are invited backstage and cry happy tears when they see their daughter

- Marinette cries too

- Nino comes over to give Marinette a massive big brother bear hug

- Alya does the same

- Adrien comes back to Marinette's side to entwine their fingers again

- Sabine demands to know who everyone is

- Nino introduces Alya as his girlfriend (earning a slap from Marinette)

- Marinette proceeds to tell Alya off for keeping it a secret

- Adrien addresses himself as Marinette's boyfriend and Marinette turns as red as her costume

- Alya proceeds to tell Marinette off

- Gabriel inserts himself into the conversation and introduces himself much to everyone's surprise

- He praises Marinette on her talent, telling her that she can now go to Francois Dupont as a student, then leaves

- Everybody's left gobsmacked but cheers afterwards

- BOOM! ANOTHER KISS

THE END

HOLY SHIT THAT GOT OUT OF HAND But yeah imagine something like that

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #chat noir #marinette #marinette dupain cheng #adrien #adrien agreste #ladybug x chat noir #marinette x adrien #miraculous ladybug dance au #dance fic idea #writing prompt #miraculous ladybug writing prompt

[unforgetabelle]

Lords, Lies & Ladybirds :LadyNoir July

part: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20

21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  

ao3

Reveal

Adrien hefted himself over the back garden wall, not bothering to even check the eternally deserted alley before lowering himself on the other side of the wall with an accomplished sigh. There were some benefits to the maze of a garden his father insisted on upkeeping in his mother’s honor. Adrien had tried to remind Gabriel that his mother had much preferred wildflowers, but the more traditional and refined high hedges ended up working in his advantage anyway. Adrien disappeared  into the garden and the servants likely assumed he was just that fond of nature or, more likely, they didn’t care where the young man had run off to as long as it left the house empty.

Adrien grinned at the thought, happy to give the servants their freedom in the house if he could. His mother would have like that thought.

His smile softened then as his hand when to the small circle of metal hanging just under his shirt at the center of his chest. He’d been thinking of his mother quite a lot lately, the joyful aura she’d always emanated seeming more and more at the forefront of his mind. Marinette had more than a little to do with that, her own love and acceptance of him a sensation he could lose himself in happily. As his fingers traced the contours of his mother’s garnet ring securely tied to a ribbon around his neck, his anticipation for tonight only intensified, hoping beyond hope that once the air was completely clear between them, Marinette would agree to surround him with such contentment... for as long as they both shall live.

Taking a deep breath to try and release the tension that came with the bundle of trepidatious excitement that coursed through him, Adrien hastily prepared his Chat the commoner disguise. Untucking his shirt a bit at the back and mussing his hair to achieve the more disheveled look, he nodded in satisfaction before turning to walk towards the street.

The smile flew from his face at what he saw there.

Standing in evident shock at the mouth of the alley was the person whose very existence moments ago had sent his heart racing in a joyous chorus.

Now, it pounded for a very different reason.  

“Adrien?” Marinette called to him, her voice only an echo of its usual vibrance as she stared at him in disbelief. Her skirts blew softly around her legs as the gentle breeze passed through the buildings just as her hair wafted around her face. He recognized a flower there, a lavender spring he’d picked early that morning, hanging limply in her windblown tresses. She made no move to fix it, frozen as she continued to stare at him.

“So it’s true.”

“Marinette,” he spoke finally, taking long strides until he was in front of her, but when he caught sight of the expression looking back at him, he dared not touch. Never on her face had he seen as woebegone a look as she wore in that moment... and he and his lies had put it there.

“Marinette,” he tried again, lifting a hand to her face, but she took a step away from him.

“M’Lord,” she responded, betrayal clear in her eyes even as he hastened to look away.

“Don’t call me that,” he spoke finally, his voice no louder than a whisper. “You said it wouldn’t matter.”

“And you said you weren’t a noble!” She shouted back, throwing the bouquet she still held in her hands at him as she took a step forward and poked him in the chest. “You let me stand there last night, the fool, as you joked about being Lord Adrien. Well, the joke is on me, I suppose.”

“M’Lady, no--”

“Even after we vowed to finally be honest, all that fell from your lips were falsehoods,” her yelling vanished in that moment and her broken whisper pierced through his heart with every syllable she muttered. “Was it all a lie, Chat?”

“No, Marinette,” Adrien finally closed the space between them, his hands moving to cradle her face. “No. I would never--”

“But you did,” she insisted. “You lied to me, Adrien. You stood there and promised me no more secrets, you promised me you were of common folk. After I promised to love you no matter who you were, you lied...effortlessly.”

“Not about anything important!”

“You and I both know that’s not true,” she closed her eyes, sinking into his hands for only a moment before stepping away. “But that is beside the point.”

Adrien watched as she took a step back, crossing her arms and then letting them fall at her sides again, her inner discomfort manifesting clearly in her movements. He stood motionless, helpless, until she finally raised her eyes to his again and spoke.

“Are you...Are you ashamed of me?”

“What?” His voice was shrill in the silence of the alley as he felt physically taken aback at her question. Out of all the things he expected her to say, all the accusations and declarations he would have deserved, her asking is he was ashamed of her had never once crossed his mind. “No! Why would you ever--of course not!”

“Then why hide who you are?” Marinette looked at him with pleading eyes now, and he hated himself even more for somehow bringing forth such an insecurity in the unstoppable woman before him. She deserved so much better.

“I bared my soul to you,” she continued. “And it still wasn’t enough. What else am I supposed to think other than the obvious? That as much as you  might love me, you could never deign to marry a businessman’s daughter? A commoner. What else could there be but shame of me? Shame of where I come from?”

“Shame of myself!” He shouted finally, desperation evident in his voice, but he didn’t care if she heard it. He was desperate. Desperate to make her understand. Desperate for her to know that there was nothing failing in her. It was in him. It was all him. “Shame of my class. Shame of my family, of who my father is and the atrocities he commits in the bastardized name of god!”

He threw his hands up as he started to pace in the small alleyway, his frustration at himself and the situation he’d created finally overflowing, just as he feared it always would.

“Everywhere I go, on the seldom occasions I’m even allowed outside of the house, I am Lord Gabriel Agreste’s son and heir. Future Lord Agreste and, presumably, heir also to his reformative tasks. I am looked at with awe or scorn, but Marinette,” he stopped, turning towards her then. “I am never truly seen. But Chat…”

“Can be everything Adrien can’t”

“Exactly! Chat is freedom,” he dared to take a step forward. “Freedom to live a life. Freedom to have friends.  Freedom...freedom to fall in love.”

When she didn’t back away from him, he took the risk and grabbed her hands in his.

“Chat is me. He gave me to freedom that led to you. And the thought of you ever looking at me the way people look at Adrien. Bug... I don’t know if my heart would ever recover.”

“But I know you, by whatever name you choose to call yourself,” Marinette squeezed his hands, pulling him closer as she tucked their joined fingers against her collarbone. “I don’t care what the world calls you, or however many titles you have. I trusted you. I placed all my secrets in the palm of your hands and knew you’d keep them, and me, safe. Because I know you, my love. Don’t ...Don’t you know me?”

“I was scared,” he breathed the words out, letting his forehead fall to hers in defeat.

“I know that now, but minou,” her voice hitched on the name.  “How can I trust you if you lie to me? How can I be your partner if you don’t let me see all of you, even the parts you hate?”

“I want to make this right. I need to make this right.”

“I...I may need some time.”

Adrien closed his eyes at her words, pain at the thought of losing her because of his own fear coursing through his veins.

“You were ready to run away with Chat last night,” he reminded gently.

“And then Adrien broke my heart this morning.”

Adrien cringed. Her voice wasn’t accusatory, but the undeniable truth there stung nonetheless.

“I...I understand,” he managed to choke the words out even as his throat felt unbearably tight with the tears he refused to shed.

“I love you.”

Marinette’s quiet words accompanied the soft kiss she left on his cheek before disentangling herself from his embrace.

“As I love you, ” he responded.

But as he watched her walk away, Adrien couldn’t help but fear that it wouldn’t be enough.

~*~

The performance that night went off flawlessly, no one else seeming to noticed the uninspired performance Chat gave nor the missing costumer. Adrien, however, felt her absence keenly.

With a forlorn wave to Nino, who seemed to know better than to invite him out for post-performance drinks, Adrien shuffled through town towards his house. Never before had he been so grateful for his knowledge of the backstreets town as he was tonight.  It allowed him to interact with exactly zero people during his journey. When he arrived at the alley behind his house, he pushed aside the threatening melancholy that came with the memories of that morning and quickly found his familiar footholds. In a matter of second, he crested the stone wall and landed with a near-silent thump on gravel path of his back garden.

Adrien walked from out behind the hedge, expertly weaving through the maze despite the lack of light, but stopped when he reached the main clearing. When he recognized the shadow seated on the small bench there, he realized that it was possible for his day to get even worse. The strike of flint echoed in the night and a moment later, his father’s face stared back at him, illuminated in the soft glow of the candle.

“Where were you?” Gabriel asked without preamble. Adrien remained silent and his father sighed in resignation.

“How long will the secrecy continue, son? How long until you start to shoulder your own responsibilities instead of running from them?”

“I believe I’ve made it very clear that I will not be following in your footsteps, father,” Adrien spoke softly, but articulately. Shoulders rigid as he looked down at his father, Adrien held his ground regardless. The facts hadn’t changed.

“Be that as it may, you are still the heir to the title. You’re position is a staple in the community, and you cannot comport yourself as a vagabond and still maintain the dignity of your post.”

“Because it’s all about appearances, isn’t it?” Adrien shook his head in disbelief, feeling his posture slump. He didn’t have the strength to argue with his father. Not tonight. So he settled for honesty instead. “You act as if mother didn’t do the same. I may have been young when we lost her, but I still remember walking the market with her every Saturday. The people loved her. They respected her, and not because they feared her.”

“Yes, well... Emilie,” Gabriel said his mother’s name with a wistful sigh and Adrien startled at the sound of it. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard his father speak her name. “Emilie was special.”

Adrien watched as Gabriel seemed to deflate at the sound of her name. All the pomp and circumstance he typically held so closely fading away until it was only a man sitting front of him. A man who had lost so much and had relied on the anger of his situation to sustain him. A man who was clearly exhausted of it all.

“It’s dangerous,” Gabriel finally spoke again, and Adrien couldn’t remember his father ever sounding so...open. “I’ve already lost your mother. Do you know what it would do to me if something happened to you, too?”

“Probably the same thing it did to every Catholic mother, father...son and daughter whose loved one was imprisoned or worse because of your vendetta.”

Adrien watched his words as they seemed to finally impact his father. For once, he hadn’t spoken them in anger. Blanketed in the gentle safety of the night, he let the truth fall from his lips without rancor, and they finally seemed to reach Gabriel.

“Is that truly what you think of me?”

Gabriel leaned forward on his knees, his breath releasing from his body in a single defeated puff, extinguishing the light of the candle in in his hand. Through the darkness, his voice spoke again.

“Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I take more righteous enjoyment in my job than necessary, but it is for your protection as much as it is to fulfil my duty to the crown. They took your mother from us, Adrien, and I--” his father paused to clear his throat before continuing in a hoarse whisper. “You couldn’t possibly understand what it is to lose half of your soul, and I pray you never do.”

Adrien blinked in the darkness, his body motionless at his father’s statement.

What it is to lose half your soul.

Somehow his father, who he’d assumed to be the most emotionally disconnected person he’d ever encountered, had managed to take the sensation that had been consuming him all day and put it into succinct words. That’s what it was. At the thought of possibly losing Marinette, his soul was crying out for its other half.

Adrien heard movement and looked up at the feeling of his father’s hand on his shoulder. The moon was at his back, throwing Gabriel’s face into the shadows, but Adrien’s expression was on full display, the anguish in his eyes evident to his father.

“Who--” Gabriel began, but hesitated as his son flinched and changed questions.

“Where have you been going, son?” He asked again.

“Somewhere I can be free,” he responded truthfully, no longer avoiding the question. He was done with the lies. “Somewhere people accept me.”

“Somewhere...theatrical, perhaps?”

Adrien saw a glint in the darkness and knew his father was smiling. He suddenly wished he could see it. It had been so long since his father had truly smiled.

“Perhaps,” he allowed, still cognisant that Gabriel had raided the theater not too long ago. “But how did you--”

“The lines I’ve heard from your room in the last few months are most assuredly not from your approved course of study...and you have a tendency to practice ungodly hours of the morning.” A cloud had covered the moon, and in the equalized light, Adrien just made out the quirk in his father’s eyebrow. “Our rooms are not that far apart, son.”

“I suppose I’m not exactly quiet in my practice either,” he joked back uncertainly, the strange camaraderie with his father unfamiliar.

“No, but then you never have been a quiet child,” Gabriel responded, a laugh evident in his voice as he did. It was a bizarre tone, but not unwelcome.

“So...you approve then?”

“Absolutely not,” he responded immediately, but continued with less force. “But I refuse to formally disapprove of something that seems to make you so happy, despite the havoc it is wrecking on your sleeping habits...and on my nerves.”

“On one condition,” he added, and Adrien tensed, prepared for the other shoe to drop. “You formally begin shadowing me. In my non-reformation work that is,” he was quick to add before continuing with a smirk. “And that you take a guard, as inconspicuous a one that you can find, and use the front door on your next escape,” Gabriel looked down at him with a shake of the head and his following words were so paternal Adrien had to force himself not to roll his eyes. “Really, Adrien, you’re lucky you haven’t broken your neck climbing over that wall. Honestly.”

“Deal,” Adrien agreed, smiling at the exasperated tone in his father’s voice. He couldn’t even find it in himself to be annoyed at his request to be guarded. He’d won such a battle tonight, and they hadn’t even fought. “Th-Thank you, father.”

He wondered if this was all a dream. If he would wake up tomorrow to find nothing had changed. It was nearly impossible, the shift he’d seen in his father overnight.

Adrien waited for the reprimand. The admonishment for his rebellion, the laugh that proved this compassion and honestly had all been one long joke, but it never came.

Instead, he felt his father’s hand squeeze his shoulder just as he passed.

“Be safe, Adrien,” his words traveled to Adrien in a whisper as he left the boy alone in the garden. “And have faith.”

Hey.

So if you saw my post a few days ago, you know this Gabe redemption kind of snuck up on me...I’m not mad about it though ;) Also! This story is now 32 days because I’m weak for an epilogue :D

#miraculous ladybug #ml #loveladynoir #ladynoir july #ladynoir #reveal #Shakespeare AU #unforgetabELLE

[unforgetabelle]

Lords, Lies & Ladybirds :LadyNoir July

part: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  

ao3

Friends

“Alright,” Nino slammed down his tankard, the thud pulling Adrien out of his daydream and pointing his attention back at his friend. “Where have you been?”

“What do you mean?” Adrien asked, deliberately taking a bite of the meat on the plate, even though it was tough and overly salted. While he envied the freedom of the common folk, if pub food was anything to go off of, he did not begrudge them their food.

“I mean, you’ve been in dreamland since we’ve sat down. Either you’re nervous about tomorrow’s performance--which would be noble, but boring of you-- or,” Nino’s face broke out in a grin as he leaned forward. “You not been dreaming of the play at all, but rather something far, far sweeter.”

“What?”

“Please, you’re a young, handsome man. You’re certainly eligible enough, and probably not scrimping for cash if my memory of your fine clothes when we first met serves me,” Nino smiled as Adrien’s eyes went wide. “Well that, and the clear way you’re forcing yourself to choke down this food.”

Adrien  slumped in his seat, pushing the plate towards Nino who had already eaten his share with gusto. If he wasn’t fooling anyone anyway, he definitely wasn’t going to eat whatever mystery meat the barmaid had slapped on his plate.

“Your point?”

“My point is you are a man in your prime and clearly someone has caught your fancy.”

“You mean a girl?”

“If that’s what you like,” Nino replied with an unconcerned shrug and Adrien gave into defeat, flopping over at the waist and dropping his head into his hands. “What’s her name?”

Adrien rubbed his eyes, but when he looked up, the smile on his face cut through every emotion.

“Ladybird.”

“What?” Nino asked, confused but letting a smile creep onto his face as well.

“Who,” he corrected. “And I am so in over my head, but when she smiles, I cease to care,” he admitted. Nino just shook his head in what Adrien felt was commiseration. Without a word, they clinked their glasses.

“Well, my friend, if you think you have lady troubles,” Nino smiled sadly at Adrien. “Let me tell you about …”

~*~

“Lady Alya!” Marinette cried in mock scandal, smiling as her friend entered her room and immediately unlaced and dropped her corset. She tossed it against the wall dramatically, both girls cringing as it narrowly missed the small stand where the bowl housing her goldfish sat, another talisman of goodluck from her mother on the announcement of her engagement.

“If I have to go to one more formal introduction, I might scream,” Alya dropped to the floor in front of her, her petticoats billowing like a cloud around her as she glared toward the whale-bone torture device and addressed it directly. “Do you know how satisfying it would be to watch you burn?”

Marinette snorted from behind her embroidery, hands still moving in a trancelike manner as she outlined the flowery border of the handkerchief in the darkest thread she owned, a near-black brown.

“What are you adding there?” Alya had leaned up onto her knees and peered down at the linen in Marinette’s hands in confusion. She looked down herself, taking in the border completely for the first time and noticing what Alya meant. She was so accustomed to working without thinking on these little trinkets her mother always like to send to relatives that she hadn’t even realized something new was emerging in her typical flowery border.

Peeking up from behind a red poppy was an unmistakable pair of animal ears. Cat ears, she realized. Black cat ears. She felt her face flame, and tried to hastily put away her stitches, but Alya was far quicker than her, especially when she sensed a secret. Her friend grabbed the cloth out of her hands, and then fixed Marinette with her stare.

“And just why, miss, are you blushing over a…” she glanced down, squinting momentarily to make out the form, before looking back up triumphantly. “A black cat?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marinette tried to raise her chin indignantly. “He’s just a cat.”

“He, hmm?” Alya smirked, and Marinette mentally cursed her best friend and her quick mind. Alya missed nothing. She stared her down for a few silent moments before letting her smile drop and giving Marinette a pointed stare instead. “Spill.”

“He’s a new player at the theater and his name is Chat Noir and I met him before when I bumped into him on the street one day and he knows I’m a woman and his eyes are the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen and his smile does dangerous things to my heart---”

“Woah, woah! Slow down there, girl!” Alya dropped the handkerchief and placed her hands on Marinette’s shoulders, watching as she took several measured breaths.

“You mean to tell me,” Alya began again, after having processed Marinette’s nearly incoherent ramblings. “That you are in love with a boy at your theater who is helping you keep your secret.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re just telling me this now?”

“Yes.”

The girls both stared at each other in silence before Alya spoke once more.

“He really chose the stage name ‘black cat’?”

Marinette opened her mouth to find some defensible response, but only came up with one thing.

“At least it means he’s educated in french?”

Alya allowed her that, giving a dubious nod, before both women broke out into peals of laughter that ended with them sprawled out on the floor, shoulder to shoulder as their legs pointed towards opposite walls.

“And I’m not in love with him,” Marinette protested belatedly.

“Oh no? What about his dreamy eyes and gorgeous smile?”

Marinette paused, trying not to get lost in the memory of his laugh as it flew unbidden into his mind.

“It’s just a crush, some harmless flirtation.”

“He’s keeping your secret, Birdy,” Alya reminded her softly. “He clearly cares about you, too.”

“He’s just a friend,” Marinette insisted.

“So nothing to worry your betrothed then?’

Alya’s words brought her up short, and Marinette realized she hadn’t thought of the man she’d promised her hand to since she’d run from him in the theater that night. The same night she revealed her true identity to Chat.

“No, nothing to worry about,” Marinette managed, hoping the more she said it, the more she’d believe it herself. Because she had to. She had to believe it, because it had to be true. Marinette had known for years who she would marry, and had not resigned herself to her match, but rejoiced in it. Not many maidens got to marry one of their dearest friends and the kindest man she’d ever known. Her hand fell instinctively to her pocket, where the notebook he’d given her always resided, and she felt her heart warm at the love she’d already held for her future husband.

But then she thought of the way Chat’s fleeting glances and secret smiles had made her feel, something she’d never hoped to experience and felt her heart clench with guilt.

She turned her head to find Alya already looking at her, her hand reaching up to touch her friend’s head in concern.

“Just be careful, Marinette. Our dear Luka could always find another match, but he doesn’t deserve to be publically betrayed.”

“It’ll be fine,” Marinette tried again,but Alya still looked unconvinced.

“Okay,” she responded regardless.

A little late today, but I’m let me tell you, I’m having a week. Thank you to everyone who’s commented and liked this story so far! It’s right up my nerd alley, so I’m glad it is for some of you too!

#miraculous ladybug #loveladynoir #love ladynoir #ladynoirjuly #ladynoir july #ladynoir #Shakespeare AU #fanfiction #unforgetabELLE