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#had to put in some soft mari and felix to make up for the lila drama
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Part 10
link to part 9
This part is about just one episode, it’s quite important to the au wich is why Iv given it it’s own part, basically, Lila becomes the peacock miraculous holder, this all takes place after feast but before the battle of the miraculous
Lila is at the Agreste mansion getting tutored by Adrian sins she’s so behind *eye roll* she sees Nathalie faint and Gabriel take the peacock brooch  away from her, she follows Gabriel and sees him go into his secret evil villain layer 
Later she goes up to him and straight-up says “I’d make a much better Mayura than Nathalie” Gabriel is taken back by this “ don’t try denying it, Also I know Adrian isn’t the most perceptive guy but you might wanna try hiding all of this a bit better” Gabriel would be losing his shit right now if he wasn’t so impressed by the girls confidence (Gabriel she literally just called your son and idiot and your impresses? Da fuck)
Gabriel being the stupid, evil, sadistic, terrible father that he agrees to partner with Lila and gives Lila the peace miraculous whenever she will be useful (because that’s gonna end well)
The first time he calls her in to fight she takes full advantage of the situation to cause havoc for the class, she creates a sentimonster version of Adrian, Gabriel pulls Adrian out of school for the day for a modelling gig to keep him occupied, when felix asks what’s going on Nathalie just says “Gabriel has decided to focus more on adrians career, after all hes the real Agreste heir, Gabriel needs to put in some more training time with him so you’ll be driven to school alone” felix just closes his eyes for a second to proses that verbal slap across the face and says “right, I’ll be off then” he decides to walk to school and pick Marinette up his way while Lila sends senti monster Adrian to class
Sentimonster Adrian then walks into the art room where Mari and Alix are helping out marc and nath, it starts off fine, but then at lilas command senti-Adrian switches and starts calling bath and marcs work creepy and disgusting “this isn’t art it’s basically a toned-down version of stalking? Do you really think any of Paris’s heroes wanna see your creepy drawings, this is just fan fictions...neither of you are anything special” Mari is taken back by the outburst, this doesn't seem like the Adrian she's grown to know, Alix, on the other hand, is already at boiling point “like you'd now anything about art Agreste, you have as much depth as a glass of water, and for your information ladybug as seen there comic and loves it, she even asked for a signs comply when it’s complete” “then she clearly has no taste just like i already suspected” that’s when Mari sees this can’t be Adrian “Adrian I think you should leave” once he’s gone she turns to the other three and says “I don’t think that’s Adrian guys” nath-“what do you mean? That sure as hell looked a lot like Adrian to me” Mari-“when has Adrian ever said anything remotely bad about anyone? Especially ladybug?” Marc-“she has a point...we should find Alya, see if she can send lb a warning about a possible Akuma” as there talking Alix slowly backs out of the room to transform
After leaving the art room senti Adrian *being pupeted by Lila* went off to hurt as many people as possible and successfully caused juleka, Alya and max to be akumatised, the key insults *by Lila* being:
To Alya-“the fact you call yourself a real journalist is a joke, your nothing more than a half baked gossip blogger using her so-called hero for attention” to Juleka-“your pathetic, your just a scared, sad, emo princess that’s obsessed with her best friend and has no real opinions for herself *evil chuckle* or her own voice, speak juleka...just speak” to max- “you wanna know why your always alone?” Max-“but I’m not alw” “I’m speaking max! You're always alone because nobody likes a know it all, you make all your friends feel less than, you hurt everyone you love, that’s why you’ll always be alone, forever”
Once she’s transforms lb gets a call from bunnix “finally! Iv been try to get ahold of you for 2 whole minutes lb! We have a possible akuma at dupont” “have you gotten ahold of chat?” B-“radio silence” lb-“this isn’t good” B-“don’t stress red we can Handel an Akuma by ourselves” lb-“I don’t think it’s an Akuma though...I think it’s a sentimonster”
After 5 more minutes of failed calls to chat Lb tracks down Felix and tells him he needs to transform “I can’t get ahold of chat Noir and we have a big issue on our hands” “but there isn’t an Akuma” “but there will be...I BELIVE there’s a sentimonster in the school parading around as your cousin Adrian Agreste” felix just rolls his eyes “of course there is” lb-“ felix there’s no time for your broodyness, so drop the dramatics for now and transform...chop chop”
Chat shows up halfway threw the fight “I’m so sorry bugaboo, I was stuck at the other side of Paris, I couldn’t get away from my civilian duties and faster” lb-“it’s fine chat, Renard Arctique and bunnix have lady wifi, Reflekta and know it all (‘know it all’ is Max’s akumatised name, he has the ability to know everyone’s biggest insecurities and uses it against them making it the only thing they can think about) I kneed you help tracking down the sentimonster before it cases any more akuma’s” Chat-what’s the sentimonster of?” “Adrian Agreste” *chats giving lb the biggest oh shit face* they hunt down senti Adrian and after a major fight with himself (hehe) Chat and lb manage to defeat it, then they join Renard and bunnix to finish off the akumas
Yeah she was defeated but lila calls it a successful day, she managed to cause 3 akumas without really lifting a finger or damaging her own rep and proved her usefulness to Gabriel, she calls that a win in her book
The next day when Adrian walks into class with Felix, all eyes are on him, he try’s to apologise to the class but lila runs up to him pushing Chloe out of the way to engulf Adrian in a tight hug *chloes fully red in the face with rage* Mari leaning over to whisper to felix “this should be good”
lila- “it’s okay Adrian we know it wasn’t you! You’d never say such hurtful things to us” alix-“you weren’t even at school yesterday lie-la” lila-“that’s because that THING attacked me on my way to class, calling me all sorts of horrible things, but lucky I’m professionaly trained in yoga and was able to comtrol my emotions, I just had to run home and send ladybug a warning obviously alix” felix- “you’ve been professionaly trained to control you’re emotions yet you e been akumatizes about 5 times...what a joke” lila glares at felix
Sensing tension Adrian interjects “I’m still sorry everyone, I hate that something looking exactly like me hurts any of you, I’d never wanna case anyone of you pain” Chloe gets up and pulls Adrian out of lila’s tight hold “it’s okay adrikins we know that your the sweetest person alive anyone who believed that impostor is utterly ridiculous ” felix grones and murmurs “I’m gonna be sick” Mari smirking “want me to get you a bag”
After sitting down Nino says “don’t worry dude your friends know you, I never had a doubt about it, the second I overheard what it said to Alya I knew that wasn’t you, you wouldn’t hurt anyone” “thanks Nino” “no thanks necessary here bro, if you wanna thank someone it should be Marinette” looking shocked Mari interrupts “what? No! No no no you seriously don’t have to say anything, I was just doing what anyone else would do” Felix looked at his girlfriend and gave her a soft smile
Felix-“it’s true Adrian, she’s the one that talked Nathaniel and marc down after your evil doppelgänger verbally attacked them, then she told them it couldn’t be the real you, because you wouldn’t hurt s fly *trademark Felix eyeroll* she even got everyone to spread the word around school and got word to lb, she was a total hero” Marinette looks at Felix with a small smile and slight blush, Adrian breaks the soft AF moment by saying “I don’t know what to say Marinette, thank you, thank you for having so much faith in me” Mari-“of course I have faith in you, I know you, Adrian, you’re good person” jokingly she giggles and says “a little dens (talking about Kagami) but you have a good heart...down to your core”
After school Nino and Mari join Felix and Adrian at the mansion and chill around playing video games...okay so Felix technically  Doesn’t play any of the games he just sits next to Mari and watches as she demolishes Nino and Adrian at every single game, he can’t help thinking how beautiful she looks when her smile is wide and toothy, her face is slightly pink from yelling with excitement and her eyes are wide and bright...she’s the definition of beautiful
Link to part 11
Tags-
@lunar-wolf-warrior @bamagirl513 @persephonebutkore @charlietheepic7 @7-sage-7 @spicybelladonna @akana-sama @goggles-mcgee
Edit: link to art I made for this part
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ladyanput · 4 years
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ClassSalt where Jagged does another interview in the bakery and with permission he gets to film in Mari's room. The class are watching it live, still think they're kinda friends with Mari. Surprise surprise there's no pics of them hanging only of Mari's designs, Luka, Kagami, and Felix and when asked by Jagged Mari just smirks in a way they know they fucked up and she says "the class I was in at Dupont aren't friends." and bam they're outed in public bc she's out as MDC so everyone knows it them
The class was buzzing with excitement, all gathered at Alya's place as they watched the TV. The newest designer, MDC, had become the biggest hit in Paris amongst teens and adults alike. Whoever they were, MDC just seemed to know exactly what people were looking for.
Many of the students in Miss Bustier's class wore the anonymous designer's designs, more so lately as Lila had revealed to them that she was actually best friends with the designer! She had been the source of inspiration for the Miraculous themed hoodies that were recently released.
"I can't believe we're finally gonna see who MDC is! I bet he's really handsome!" Sabrina giggled, squirming eagerly in her seat.
"Do you think he'd design us some dresses for graduation?" Rose piped up, a hopeful sparkle in her eyes. Graduation from lycée was just around the corner, many looking forward to finally be free from school forever.
"I'm sure he will, Lila will put in a good word for us." Alya grinned, her phone out, all ready to write updates on her blog about this suspenseful reveal.
The class watched in bated breath as the show's intro song played, then a pretty reporter appeared on screen. Estelle Desrosiers smiled brightly at the camera, sitting in a chair, in a very familiar room.
A familiar pink room."
"Hello Paris! This is Estelle Desrosiers, here in the room of the famous MDC and her head model!" Estelle spoked brightly, her green eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. The camera panned over to a couple sitting on a couch, and the class flinched when they heard Alya drop her phone.
"Marinette...?" She whispered out, the blood slowly draining from her face.
"That's right, Paris, the beautiful Marinette Dupain-Cheng is the one who has taken the world by storm! At the age of eighteen, she is the youngest designer to have grown to such heights!" At Estelle's words, Marinette blushed, but kept her bright smile, her hand gripping Adrien's as the camera focused on them.
"Now, Marinette, how did you manage to find the time to start this brand of yours? You're still in high school, after all." Estelle was practically bouncing in her seat as she spoke.
"Let me tell you, Estelle, it wasn't easy." A soft chuckle left Marinette as she sat up a bit more in her seat. "You see, my time was always taken up by being class president, planning parties for friends, or making those friends special outfits for dances. If my life was still like that, I still probably wouldn't have this brand going."
"What do you mean?" Estelle tilted her head slightly, looking cartoonishly confused, playing it up for the camera.
"Most of my friends tossed me aside when something new and shiny came along." Marinette's smile strained slightly, but a supportive side hug from Adrien emboldened her. "And with them ignoring me, I found myself with more free time. And Adrien here let me stay at his apartment to get the big projects done, the ones I didn't want any unsavory people to steal."
"Apartment?" Nino whispered in surprise, his brows rising in shock. "Since when does the dude have an apartment?"
"He got one a year ago." Juleka chimed in, drawing the class's gaze to her. She flinched and quickly lowered her gaze. "From what Luka told me, Adrien made money from modeling for Marinette, so he put it in a bank account his father couldn't access."
"It probably also helped that my lovely princess did commissions for a lot of family celebrities." Adrien spoke up, planting a soft kiss on Marinette's cheek. Then his sharp gaze met the camera's and his grin grew sly. "Such as Jagged Stone, Clara Nightengale, Prince Ali... She knows them all personally. Hell, she has Jagged Stone on speed dial."
As Estelle and the couple kept talking, the camera panned around Marinette's room, showing off the designer's very pink work space, with her mannequins, her sewing machine, her walls plastered with designs and sketches of possible projects.
"Wasn't... Wasn't there more on Marinette's walls?" Kim swallowed thickly as a lump formed in his throat.
Alya could only stare, realizing Kim was right. All of the pictures of Adrien was gone, so was the massive schedule, the wall of pictures of Marinette and her class. They were all gone, no trace of them seen anywhere. Not even a framed photo on her computer desk. M
It was then Alya realized she hadn't bee in that bedroom in years, not since Lila became her best friend.
The class listened in stunned silence as Marinette and Adrien went on about how they pulled this off, with the help of a few friends, how Adrien managed to get free from his abusive father (that no doubt going to greatly damage the Agreste fashion brand), and how they ended up dating.
"To be honest with you." Adrien got a bit of a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "I probably wouldn't be dating Marinette right now if I didn't grow a spine. Because of a new girl in our class, everyone kinda ganged up on her, and I watched from the sidelines like a coward. But I had a long talk with a close friend and he made me see the error of my ways."
"This class of yours, did they see the error of their ways as well?" Estelle frowned, raising a delicate brow.
Marinette smiled at the camera, a smile that the entire class felt was the swinging of the axe.
"Not in the least. But oh well, thanks to them, I got to where I am today. And I'm much more careful with who I trust."
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edorazzi · 4 years
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It’s the post everyone’s been waiting for! 
It’s taken a little while for me to get around to this, but it’s worth it for being able to make a full reaction post. This is really long so I’ll put it under a cut, but check it out for my complete scene-by-scene reaction of Miraculous’ “Felix” episode! (´∀`)♡
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Okay, I’ve been putting this off for days now so it’s time to finally get to it. I’m comfy and undisturbed and have my supplies ready to go.
I know next to nothing about what I’m going into. I’ve seen a little bit here and there because some people haven’t tagged their content properly, but I haven’t watched either of the trailers. I haven’t even looked directly at the images of Felix which have been going around. I’ve tried to stay as blind as possible, so as a result I’m pretty excited but also very anxious. I’ve taken two beta blockers today and I’m considering taking a third.
I usually liveblog episodes on our Ladybug PV Discord server (message me for an invite!) but this time I’m making a proper post out of it. I’ll be typing up my reactions as I go then cleaning everything up a little bit afterwards. I think it’s the first time I’ve done something like this on my blog so here goes!
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- “Script: Thomas Astruc” NO. HE REALLY COULDN’T JUST STEP AWAY FROM THIS EPISODE GRACEFULLY, COULD HE. HE HAD TO GET HIS HANDS DIRTY. I’m not going to say “fuck this man” but, you know, identical sentiments. I’m opening my chocolate bar.
- God, Emilie looks more like ET every time I see her. Such an awkward model.
- Oh but wait, Sébastien Thibaudeau was on the script? That does actually give me some hope! Next to Zag himself he’s the only writer on this mess of a show I trust. HE FIXED WAYHEM, CAN HE DO FELIX A SOLID TOO? PLEASE. PLEASE SÉBASTIEN OL BUDDY OL PAL OL FRIENDA MINE
- Does Gabe have anything else to say to his wife other than monologuing his Miraculous plan over and over? They say people in comas can still hear things but Emilie’s probably double unconscious from how boring her husband is.
- DON’T LIKE THAT KNIFE SOUND EFFECT FROM THOSE RINGS. Am I supposed to find it sweet that Gabe’s taking such good care of their wedding bands or is he about to use them for evil? Also where’s Felix.
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- ADRIEN SWEETHEART. I maintain that it’s weird to have a statue of your wife/mother/self in your own garden but it kills me that he’s just sitting there in front of it like a lost kitten.
- “Of course, someone will get you right away.” IS THAT FELIX. WAS SHE ON THE PHONE TO FELIX. WHERE’S MY SON, NATHALIE HAVE YOU SEEN MY SON
- That wide-eyed look Adrien turns up towards the window is killing me even more. I’M SO SAD. I see he also hasn’t noticed he’s sitting in the middle of a giant butterfly circle, unless he’s so used to it being Gabe’s logo that he’s just not paying it any mind. When was this all built? Has Gabe always used a butterfly motif even before he got his Miraculous and it was just a great coincidence, or did he commission this whole garden area after Emilie went missing? I guess you could pass it off as eccentricity but in the real world that would be a HUGE red flag that Gabe murdered her. I dunno man.
- DON’T WAVE AT HIM LIKE THAT, NATHALIE. YOU RATTED HIM OUT IN 5 SECONDS IN THAT THEORETICAL FUTURE WHERE YOU DISCOVERED HE WAS CHAT NOIR. YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT THIS BOY. >:V
- “It’s been one year.” HAS IT? Hasn’t Adrien been at school for at least a year now? Didn’t his mom vanish two years prior to that?! Maybe she’s talking about how long Gabe has been fighting Ladybug and Chat Noir but knowing this show’s messy timeline it could be anything. WHERE’S FELIX.
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- That’s the song from Chat Blanc! Was that something his mom taught him? OH NO, I’M EVEN SADDER NOW. This is what I mean about Sébastien’s writing, we’d never get this kind of focus on Adrien from Garbage Man Astruc. This kind of character exploration does wonders for ML whenever it’s brought up so I hope this is consistent.
- SHIT, GABRIEL’S OUT OF THE HOUSE. SOMETHING’S WRONG. THOSE EXPENSIVE LEATHER SHOES HAVEN’T TOUCHED ACTUAL GROUND IN YEARS. ADRIEN GET OUT OF THERE.
- I do like that Adrien doesn’t get up when his dad comes to stand right next to him like that. It’s just informal enough. He’s waiting for Gabe to make the first move this time and that’s nice development considering how stiff and cold their relationship was in S1.
- OOOOH GABE THAT’S AN AWKWARD CROUCH. Any lower down and his back is going to go. He’ll be stuck there. I do LOVE that he’s trying though, I don’t even know what he’s going to say to Adrien but this is already SO good.
- “There’s something important I have to talk to you about.” Finally time for The Talk, huh.
- GABE PLEASE. ADRIEN’S WAY TOO CHIRPY TO HAVE ACTUALLY CAUGHT ON TO WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY. HE THINKS YOU’RE TRYING TO SAY YOU LOVE HIM OR SOMETHING ELSE RIDICULOUS
- “I’ve noticed how close you and Nathalie have become!” CLOSE ENOUGH. Still in the ballpark of Adrien thinking his dad has real human feelings! 
- “HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK SUCH A THING??” I GENUINELY LAUGHED OUT LOUD AT HOW ANGRY GABE WAS ABOUT THAT. I’m not sure what to think of the “Nathalie replacing Emilie when Emilie’s technically still alive” plot either but GABE’S DECIDED FOR ME. Also good job yelling in your son’s face when you were JUST having a moment, good luck getting back up off your knees in order to storm away, old man.
- Oh alright, he did get up, but it was with a strange angry bow-legged prance. I think he still had trouble.
- I love the way Adrien just kinda wide-eye-blinks at him, like Gabe’s emotional outburst is going totally over his head. He’s been dealing with akuma FAR too long to be bothered by this.
- Guests, plural? I’m guessing Felix is one of them but is he with someone else? That makes sense given he’s (as far as I’ve gathered) the same age as Adrien so he wouldn’t be running around far from home unchaperoned, but OHHH this is so interesting.
- So they ARE claiming it’s been one year since Emilie vanished! This just doesn’t work as a Season 3 episode, especially with Nathalie and Gabe’s romantic development being as far along as it is. Emilie’s been gone for at LEAST three years by this point! Read your show bible once in a while you horrible garbage man!!! Also ADRIEN SWEETHEART THAT’S A LITTLE PREMATURE. You can say “went away forever” when you’re three years into her disappearance, the anniversary of one year really isn’t long enough to claim she’s never coming back!
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- OH NO, IT’S THE GIRLS. I’m already bored. Unless Luka is here I really just do not care what they’re all up to. I haven’t missed Marinette at ALL in the first two-and-a-half minutes and I don’t want to see her now. WHERE’S FELIX.
- I’m sorry, how are Lila, Chloé AND Kagami all on a video call together without any blood being drawn? Also for god’s sake PLEASE leave Adrien alone, you want to ask first if he’d LIKE some company or if he’d prefer a quiet personal day to think about his mom? OF COURSE NOT MARINETTE, YOU WOULDN’T WOULD YOU. 
- Okay, a video message is definitely a better idea than trying to break into his house AGAIN. At least then he can watch it whenever he feels up to it. The first good, safe, noninvasive idea Mari’s had for SEVERAL episodes when it comes to Adrien.
- I’M REALLY TORN WHEN IT COMES TO THE ENGLISH DUB. On one hand I hate how little screentime Nino has when he’s not just being Alya’s fashion accessory, but on the other hand I’m so glad they switched scenes the moment Nino started his video because I CANNOT handle his dub voice. Nino just deserves better in general really.
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- HE WAS CRYING. MY BOY WAS CRYING AGAIN. I’M NOT COOL WITH THIS. IT’S NOT ABOVE YOUR PAYGRADE TO GIVE HIM A HUG, NATHALIE.
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- ALRIGHT HI ELSA. IS THIS HIS AUNT? THAT’S SPOOKY. 
- Her name is Amelie? So their parents had twins and named them Amelie and Emilie, and they turned out the same right down to the over-the-shoulder Dead Anime Mom hairstyles? That’s lazy parenting down to a tee, can’t mix your twins up if you never have to learn the difference between them in the first place! But that’s INTERESTING that Felix is (I assume, still haven’t seen him yet) from Emilie’s side of the family, I’ve always had the impression he was a petit Gabriel.
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- OHHH THAT’S MY BOY! I CAN SEE MY BOY IN THE DOORWAY!!! OH MY GOD GIVE HIM TO ME. GIVE ME FELIX. GIVE ME MY SON.
- ADRIEN IMMEDIATELY JUMPING ON HIM IN A HUG IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. WHILE FELIX’S HAND IS STILL OUTSTRETCHED FOR A HANDSHAKE. I know this episode is going to go downhill because there’s no way it won’t, but this one single moment is EVERYTHING I WANTED. I should just close the tab now and leave it at this, I really should.
- “Do you remember when they used to have so much fun pretending to be each other? Once they had you and Emilie fooled for a whole weekend!” WHERE HAS THIS BEEN FOR MY ENTIRE ORDEAL GETTING THROUGH THIS SERIES. I don’t even care if this Felix is a stone cold bitch, it’s enough to know he and Adrien were besties when they were kids and Adrien still wanted to hug him the second he walked through the door. AMAZING.
- “I WON’T BE FOOLED A SECOND TIME.” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, GABE. THEY WERE PROBABLY TODDLERS. ARE YOU JUST SO USED TO GETTING YOUR ASS HANDED TO YOU BY CHILDREN THAT YOU’RE SUSPICIOUS OF EVERY SINGLE ONE NOW
- Aww, Felix is American (dubbed, anyway). I was really hoping he’d be British with all the references to London over the last season. He does have a nice voice though! I can tell he shares Adrien’s actor but he’s got the softness I’d have expected from his character. There’s kind of an interesting look about his face though, I wish they’d tweaked it a bit to give him a sharper look but I guess he IS like 14, he can afford to still have a bit of baby-cheeked roundness. I’m going to find the positives in every part of this because I will NOT give Garbage Man Astruc the satisfaction of being disappointed like I know he wants me to be. It’s been a fucking war from the moment I saw his name in the writing credits and my best weapon is being pleased about everything in this episode.
- Okay, he looks a little better in the following closeup where his eyes are slightly narrowed. I think it’s the slightly-below-the-chin angle which doesn’t really work for his character model with his soft cheeks and high collar. FELIX IS A BABY.
- WHY WILL NOBODY SHAKE HIS HAND. Adrien hugged him instead and Gabe is ignoring him completely, Felix is clearly so perplexed and I love it. He’s fourteen! He’s fourteen and doing his best with social graces but NOBODY WILL HELP HIM.
- “Felix, you know your uncle’s never been the physical sort!” HE KICKED HIS OWN SON RIGHT ACROSS PARIS IN THE LAST EPISODE BUT SURE, IF YOU SAY SO.
- “Oh, how sweet! You’re still wearing your wedding band!” YEAH? IT’S BEEN LIKE A YEAR?? Again this would make more sense if it had been around three years like we KNOW Emilie’s been gone for, but picking someone out for still wearing their ring after 12 months?! And why isn’t Amelie more emotional about this anyway, isn’t it her sister who’s missing? I wouldn’t be poking fun at MY sister’s husband for keeping his ring if SHE went missing. No wonder Felix seems like he turned out weird.
- I CAN’T MAKE OUT THE NAME OF HER BRANCH OF THE FAMILY AND IT’S KILLING ME. SOMEONE LET ME KNOW WHAT THAT WAS. Graham de Vanily? I can’t place the words. I mean I’m going to keep calling Felix “Agreste” no matter what but I’d like to know what canon is trying to get at.
- “It’s been a long journey from London” I KNEW IT, I FFFFFFFFFUCKING KNEW IT. SO THEY ARE BRITISH?! BUT THEY HAVE AMERICAN ACCENTS?! I mean I guess they’re French first and foremost, but what the fuck is with the American accents if you’re making a POINT about them being from London?! I can’t wait for the French audio to be released, I really want to know what Felix sounds like there. Regardless AAAH MY SON IS FROM MY CITY, I’M SO PLEASED.
- “TakeFelixtoyourbedroom.” EASY GABE THEY JUST MET, ALSO THEY’RE COUSINS
- Poor Felix looks so depressed being saddled with Adrien. Sweetie it’s okay, think positive! You could be stuck with Marinette and THAT would be a true nightmare.
- Now why does Felix keep glancing at Gabe? Is there something going on there? Is he suspicious about what happened to his aunt? I can’t imagine he knows anything about the Miraculous so what’s the deal here?
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- UuuuuUUUUGH we’re back with the rest of the gang. I’M NOT INTERESTED, SHOW ME MORE FELIX.
- “Help me Tikki! What would you tell a Kwami friend who’s lost their mom?!” You’re talking to a 5000-year-old demigoddess, Mari, I don’t think she’s gonna relate.
- MARI YOU CAN’T CONFESS TO ADRIEN. NOT AFTER CHAT BLANC. GABE WILL LOSE ALL HIS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TO WRECK THE LOVE SQUARE AND ALSO THE MOON’S GOING TO EXPLODE. WHY ISN’T BUNNIX HERE TO SLAP THE TABLET OUT OF YOUR HANDS
- Should Tikki really be encouraging this?! I have no idea where in the timeline this is supposed to be. Maybe this is at a stage where she doesn’t know Adrien is Plagg’s chosen so there’s no reason to steer Marinette away from bonding with him. Or maybe every episode just plays by its own rules and there’s really no such thing as continuity in this series. I want to see Felix again.
- YANKING AT AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE ON THE OUTER EDGE OF A BOAT ISN’T GOING TO END WELL. DON’T. I do love how :D Alya is about it though, if nothing else I love what a supportive friend she is.
- Oh, the tablet didn’t go into the water! I’m genuinely surprised by that. Though I imagine Felix is going to fuck things up in some way so he’ll probably be the one to destroy the video somehow. We all know the relationship development isn’t allowed to move forward so SOMETHING’S going to happen to it.
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- Thank god we’re back to the mansion. I’m surprised and pleased that (for now at least) we’re only getting the girls in small doses and the plot is mainly focused around the Agrestes. Gorizilla is my favourite episode to date and it did a similar thing with allowing Marinette to be a side character for once along an Adrien-centric plotline, so hopefully this episode will be similar. I’m liking its odds so far but who knows what Horrible Garbage Man Astruc has up his sleeve.
- “I’m really sorry I didn’t come to your dad’s funeral.” I’M SORRY WHAT? PARDON ME? THAT’S AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM I DIDN’T EXPECT. As a side note I love Felix being killer at basketball for some reason, he doesn’t look like the athletic type at ALL but he still made that net over his shoulder without even LOOKING. Goddamn. Can everyone please appreciate how cool my son is!!!
- “My father thought it would be too hard on me, considering everything that’s happened this year.” So Felix lost his dad VERY RECENTLY. OUCH. DON’T LIKE THAT. Or I DO like that because it’s already giving his character some extra depth when we’re still only just getting to know him, but on an emotional level I don’t like that. 
- “He’s very... protective of me.” CHAT BLANC REALLY WAS A HOT MESS OF AN EPISODE WASN’T IT. 
- Now Felix is giving Adrien a hug?! I didn’t see that one coming. My canon Felix would mean it but I don’t quite trust this new Felix yet, he’s probably up to something.
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- WHAT A JARRING PIANO TRANSITION. Also why?! What does he have to gain from swiping Adrien’s phone? He’s probably got a terrible roaming plan on his own mobile, that’s always my problem when I go to France. If you truly loved your cousin you’d let him browse Reddit on your phone, Adrien. This is worse than not coming to his dad’s funeral.
- PLAGG KNOWS SOMETHING’S UP. He ought to, in another life he and Felix are STILL dealing with each other.
- Okay I take back what I said about Felix’s voice. Bryce Whatshisface isn’t doing a very good job separating the tones. I can buy that Adrien and Felix sound very similar but their delivery should be completely different! I really do want to watch this in French, I get the feeling it’ll sound much better.
- AH YES, HERE WE GO. I’m getting the feeling this is Garbage Man’s part of the episode. Squished cheese aside, I do like the implication Felix does (or did) card magic and karate. I’m thinking of that Mickey Mouse episode where he vanishes Donald’s car keys with a hand trick except it’s Felix vanishing Marinette’s phone when she’s about to text Adrien or something. I’ve got to draw that.
- “Mind if I take a shower?” WHY, FELIX. I mean I’d probably want to shower too after the London-Paris commute (and I’m sure he’s only going in there to wreak havoc, put food colouring in Adrien’s shampoo bottles or something) but what a weird time to ask!
- I mean Plagg has a point about difficult home situations not justifying bad behaviour (and I feel like that’s not what’s going on, with how he was glaring at Gabe I think he’s behaving like this for some other reason), but Felix’s dad LITERALLY DIED. Like they had a funeral and everything. Emilie is just “missing”. They’re SIMILAR but that’s still a false equivalence because Adrien’s got hope to hold on to and Felix doesn’t.
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- So we’re not going to talk about how Felix got into Adrien’s passcode-protected phone? I guess he could have done the fogging-up-the-screen trick from Oblivio. Standing around in a steamy bathroom in three layers of clothing is a great way to sweat yourself out and ruin your hair though, way to get even more gross than a five-hour commute between countries.
- “Of course that idiot has a crush on a superhero!” EASY THERE, MR HOWLING-ON-A-ROOFTOP-BECAUSE-HE-SAW-THE-GIRL-HE-LIKED. WE’VE ALL SEEN THE PV.
- I’ve just noticed Felix has a ring too! I don’t know how I missed that before this scene! That’s NICE. He’s still not allowed to have it on his middle finger (LET HIM SWEAR) but that’s a nod back to Chat Noir which I really appreciate!
- ROSE HAS BEEN ON THE HELIUM. SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT THERE.
- FELIX KNOWS CHLOÉ! THAT’S NICE, THAT’S GOOD. I LIKE THAT. That’s also a really nice little video from her, I love the few small moments we’ve had that affirm she and Adrien really ARE friends, whether she wants to date him or not. 
- OOOH HE DELETED THE VIDEOS. I’m curious about him borrowing Adrien’s clothes too, are they going to dress the same? You’d think Adrien wouldn’t give someone an exact copy of the outfit he’s currently wearing but I genuinely don’t know if he owns anything different. I hope they don’t just use two Adrien models for the rest of the episode, please let me see Felix properly :/
- WHY. HONESTLY, WHY. CAN I PLEASE GET AN EXPLANATION FOR WHY FELIX IS DOING THIS.
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- OOOH MARI YOU’RE NOT GONNA LIKE THIS. I can imagine Felix is going to say something nasty and that’ll set the girls off and bring about the akuma of the week. I’m mildly entertained but I’m still not engaged with this idea without any proper explanation. We’d better get something by the end of the episode which justifies what’s made Felix do this, because “he’s just evil lol” would be a reeeeally low move from Garbage Man Astruc. 
- MARI SWEETIE. YOU’VE GOTTA LEARN TO CHECK A ROOM IS EMPTY BEFORE YOU RUN INSIDE AND START FREAKING OUT VERY LOUDLY. LUKA’S HEARD ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. 
- Luka is such a nice character. Why does he get to be so high quality when Felix has been turned into a cheese-smashing phone-stealing gremlin? I mean I KNOW why, but I’d like to think the showwriters are better than this. They’re not, but I’d like to think they are.
- WHAT A VIDEO MESSAGE. I love how Luka’s just sitting there grimacing while Mari speeds off into battle, he doesn’t know what she’s about to do but he knows better than to try stopping her.
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- Back with Gabe and Nathalie. Is this what was being foreshadowed when Gabe claimed he wouldn’t be fooled by the boys’ identity switch twice? Is he GOING to be fooled again or will he be the one person who can tell immediately that this isn’t his son? 
- “FELIX.” WOW, HE REALLY WASN’T FOOLED TWICE. RESPECT. He may have trouble getting up off the ground if he sits down too low but he can at least identify his child in a difficult situation like this, props to Gabe this week.
- “All this disappointment might just help us get rid of our unwanted guests!” SHUT YOUR MOUTH, FELIX IS A DELIGHT. The only unwanted guest here is Astruc on the writing team.
- “Felix... I told you that you couldn’t fool me twice.” Way to blow your identity in five seconds Gabe. I guess he hasn’t sent out the akuma yet so this might just be a personal monologue, but he starts addressing his victims directly so often at this stage that I’m really not sure what they can or can’t hear. SHIT’S RISKY.
- OH OKAY, SO HE’S SENDING THIS TRIPLE AKUMA AFTER FELIX? AND/OR ADRIEN, DEPENDING ON HOW HARD IT IS TO TELL THEM APART? I guess that’s what he means by getting rid of their guests, if the house is attacked by a monster (or monsters?) they aren’t going to want to stick around, but I REALLY HOPE YOU’RE TAKING ADRIEN’S WELLBEING INTO ACCOUNT HERE GABE OL BUDDY :/
- “TIKKI, SPOTS ON! MNUURGH” ME TOO MARINETTE. I’M REALLY ONLY 12 MINUTES INTO THIS.
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- I’m gonna be honest, I’m not really interested in the girls. I was hoping for a real triple akuma (like Oblivio was apparently Alya and Nino together) but they’re all just villains we’ve seen before. There’s stuff I could comment on here but I just want to see more of Felix, that’s what I’m here for.
- “Nathalie, get Adrien to a safe place far from his cousin!” YOU’RE REALLY JUST GONNA SACRIFICE FELIX LIKE THIS. I guess that makes sense, I WAS complaining during Chat Blanc that Adrien is Gabriel’s weak point, so all things considered I’m not surprised that he’ll protect Adrien but just flat-out wants Felix dead. Fair enough.
- WOW. I THOUGHT ADRIEN WAS GOING TO BE HEROIC AND DEFEND FELIX BUT HE WANTS HIM DEAD TOO. Or was that a double bluff to make the akuma think he MUST be Felix so he can lead them away and keep his cousin safe? He’s just run off with a wild cackle so I’m thinking it’s the latter. HE’S A GOOD BOY AND A TRUE HERO.
- I also find it kind of funny how Nathalie will jump in harm’s way to defend him when there have been INNUMERABLE other episodes of Gabe just setting an akuma directly on Adrien for the hell of it. Maybe because there isn’t really any ‘harm’ here to start with; the three girls’ powers are probably the least violent of all the akuma we’ve seen so far.
- AM I REALLY ABOUT TO SEE FELIX DRESSED AS ADRIEN DOING KARATE. I HOPE HE’S GOOD AT IT.
- OH MY GOD HE IS GOOD AT IT. That’s cool! I was expecting him to totally flop considering how badly his imposter trick went down a few minutes ago, but it’s nice to see he’s as capable at fighting as he is at basketball. When do I get to see his magic card tricks?
- YEAH I FEEL THE SAME PLAGG. WHAT’S EVEN HAPPENING. Not that I think Adrien shouldn’t save Felix, I just want to know WHY Felix felt like he had to do this in the first place! I feel like “can I PLEASE get a waffle” except instead of watching the employees fight I’m watching this episode careening away with no pauses to explain what’s going on.
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- FELIX C’MON. STOP CAUSING PROBLEMS ON PURPOSE. I can tell Garbage Man Astruc still has the reins here because causing even MORE trouble even AFTER Adrien saved his ass is a completely illogical course of action. PUT SÉBASTIEN BACK IN THE WRITERS CHAIR.
- “WHICH PART OF THE WORD ‘NO’ DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!” Oh perfect, great, can’t let this episode end without accusing Felix of not respecting consent! That’s a hot button issue and if Garbage Man Astruc can get him on that bandwagon then fans HAVE to hate this character! Great move! Fucking pillock!
- WOW CHAT THAT’S MEAN. I guess accusing Felix of having no friends is justified in the context of the episode but yikes :(
- Was that a flash of humiliation from Felix there? God will one of the writers PLEASE save this character, PLEASE don’t let this episode end without someone getting him out of the Garbage Man’s big meaty claws.
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- Excuse me WHAT? Felix is talking directly to Papillon?! So he knows about all the Miraculous stuff?! Oh NO, is this about getting his dad back? I don’t know whether the One Wish is common knowledge (I don’t think it is?) but maybe Felix put the pieces together on his own back home, so all his behaviour here has been trying to incite an akuma that he can take advantage of to appeal to Papillon?! Or he could just be a bitch all on his own, which is probably what the Garbage Man would prefer, but this makes a lot of sense all of a sudden.
- BRO HE NEARLY DIED. BRO. BROOO.
- “I hope you’ve learned your lesson!” YOU’RE NOT EVEN GONNA ASK ABOUT THE PAPILLON THING? YOU CAN’T JUST TREAT THIS AS A REGULAR DISTURBANCE, FELIX KNOWS SHIT ABOUT THE MIRACULOUS YOU GUYS--
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- FELIX’S MOM IS REALLY GOING TO BLAME HIS DEAD DAD FOR THIS? HARD YIKES. NO WONDER FELIX IS WEIRD.
- I’m expecting this isn’t over, because Felix still clearly wants something specific that he didn’t get, but I’ll take this cute hug for what it is. He didn’t have an evil expression behind Adrien’s back this time either and the music is all soft and nice, plus he FINALLY got a handshake from Gabe, but I absolutely do NOT imagine this episode will end without getting an extra shot in at the PV fans somehow. We’re not getting off this easy.
- Why doesn’t Gabriel want Adrien to go after Felix? Is he scared he’ll try to run off, or ask them to stay longer when he really wants to get rid of them?
- AHAHA FELIX STOLE GABE’S RING. WHAT A BRAT. Was that the “jewelry” he mentioned wanting in return for helping Papillon? I figured it was a Miraculous thing but maybe not.
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- OHHH, look how much Felix loves his mom! This is such a sweet scene. I particularly like the idea that Amelie was trying to get the rings back to give one to Felix because the way she was speaking to Gabe made it sound like she wanted them Just Because. But you can’t mention some wild story connected to the rings and then not explain it! I want to know what that is, I want to know why Felix is so fascinated with it!!!
- ALSO, FELIX GETTING A BIG KISS RIGHT ON THE FOREHEAD. EXCELLENT. I’ll fucking BET this is another scene Sébastien sneaked in because it’s such an emotional quality shift from the whole clone mess. Like what the fuck even WAS that.
- Yep, Felix is still evil! WHY THOUGH. WHAT’S GOING ON. CAN I PLEASE GET A WAFFLE
- I was expecting a worse ending, but “Felix can’t ever come back to Paris because Gabriel will kill him with his bare hands if he does” is decent enough. If there’s no further confirmation (and NO, anything Garbage Man Astruc tweets later on does NOT fucking count so don’t try me) I’m going to take it that he WAS actually sorry for what he did to Adrien. That’s better than nothing.
.
.
WELL THAT WAS AN EPISODE. That actually wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be - it could have been a lot better but it could have been a lot worse too. The beginning and end were nice enough even if the middle part was Garbage Man Astruc’s usual atrocious mess of self-service, though I do particularly despise the hamfisted consent issue shoved in there just to generate extra reasons to hate the character. WE GET IT, YOU DON’T LIKE FELIX. OFF YOU FUCK. 
I’ve slept on this next paragraph to give myself time to formulate some concrete thoughts about the plot, so... Well, it was a mess, that’s for sure. They spent way too much time establishing how oH sO eViL Felix was and not nearly enough time actually explaining his character. 
Why is he acting out like this? What has he got against Adrien in particular? Is he really sore about Adrien not supporting him at his dad’s funeral or is that just what Adrien thinks is his problem? What was his relationship with his dad before he died? Was his troublemaking all about trying to provoke an akuma and ask Papillon to help him get his family rings back (which he was clearly trying to steal from the moment he walked through the door, only Gabe wouldn’t shake his hand the first time), or was that just a side effect of causing shit for no reason? Did he mean his apology to Adrien at the end? WHAT was the deal with the rings and the story attached to them? There’s a whole interesting story buried in here which just got completely overlooked by the emphasis on how terrible he was and that’s really disappointing. 
I did like his damaged-but-still-good relationship with Adrien though, there’s still hope there and maybe Felix (if he ever shows up again, which I only hope he does if it’s NOT another excuse for Garbage Man Astruc to shit on the PV fandom again, for the love of FUCK don’t give this guy multiple opportunities) will start coming around and making the effort to be a better cousin since Adrien’s given him a second chance. I don’t know. What I liked just as much was Marinette actually barely being in this episode at all, for the first time since Gorizilla she’s ALLOWED to be the supporting character again and that’s GREAT.
I don’t really know what else to say. I’m exhausted. Adrien’s a darling and I think I prefer my Twin AU, though canon Felix being a delightful little gremlin who causes problems-on-purpose is something I can work with in the future too. 
Thanks for coming on this... interesting journey with me! I posted a set of tweets last night which I’ll leave here to finish up:
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jasmine-the-fox · 4 years
Text
From a little prank to true love
OK so... I was reading this MLB prank story from @thyladyanput and I really loved how Felix was doing a prank but ends up falling for Mari who felt the same way... So I thought about a story a little like it... But as a TMNT crossover!
Felix hated his cousin Adrien, he’s perfect they say! He’s so kind they exclaim! He can’t do no wrong they believe! But he knew it wasn’t true! He knew that his cousin Adrien Agreste is a blind idiot. Soulmate of Ladybug Bah! That was a load of BS and he knew it!
But how to prove it? They were having lunch together, his mother had sent him to Paris to try and “fix” the bond between him, Adrien and his uncle Gabriel after that little incident he pulled the last time he visited, as they ate his uncle’s assistant came in to speak with Adrien about a girl being at the door so Felix decided to follow and watch from afar... Knowing it was going to be a fan who will try to dress up and impress Adrien.
Only it wasn’t, instead it was a girl with long brown hair tied in a braid over her shoulder, purple rimmed glasses that perfectly framed her dark brown eyes wearing a casual outfit “Thanks again for letting me borrow your notes! It really saved me for the missing work I have to do!” she claimed making him raise a brow as Adrien smiled “No problem Jasmine! That’s what friends are for right?” he said and Felix did not miss how broken she looked for a second at his words... Which gave him a plan.
“Right... Friends... Well I should be going now!” she said and with that left the mansion to head home he believe, it was then that he got an idea... He did look like his cousin... So why not be him for a little while? But he had to do a few things first.
Getting a stain on his clothes was easy, he just went up the stairs to take a shower (it ended up on him too) grab Adrien’s clothes, do his hair like his cousin and leave without being seen... Simple enough, now he had to find Jasmine, he did notice a few girls giggling towards him... Well towards Adrien really as he then kept going to look for Jasmine as he wondered where she was, but to his luck he found her walking down the street towards him, she was focused on her phone texting someone so he stopped and waited for her to bump into him.
The reaction was just as he thought, she quickly yelped in surprised as she noticed him as Adrien “I’m so sorry! I was so deep into a conversation with one of my brother’s that I wasn’t looking!” she claimed making him smile softly “It’s fine Jasmine” he said as he then combed his fingers through his hair “Hey listen, I got out of the mansion because so much is happening so I thought maybe... We could go eat something together?” he asked and mentally smiled when she blushed at him “S-sure! That sounds great!” she exclaimed making him smile as they got going.
They went to a simple café, he suggested it because he doesn’t eat sweets all that often because of the calories and he really wanted something right now so she agreed to it, they sat down and ordered before talking “I never really got to know you... Always hanging out with Nino or doing some photo shoots... Or your being dragged around by Chloe, Lila or someone else from the class” she explained as Felix felt anger rise in him at what she was saying... All this time his cousin never tried to hang out with her!? He wasn’t going to make him just regret not seeing this... But make him pay.
Even so... He didn’t know much about his cousin... So he could tell her about himself right? So he told her about himself, what he wanted to do in life (he thought to also say as Adrien that he wanted to quit modeling when he had the chance) once he has his own place he wanted specific pets, his favorite thing to do (when he’s not “modeling”) favorite color pretty much everything about himself while claiming it as Adrien... And she smiled! Asked him further questions but he of course asked back to her.
After they ate, he and Jasmine went on a walk together, just looking around and having fun as slowly Felix knew that he would need to end all of this as he brought her home “You know, I really had fun today” she said with a smile “But all in all... I never got your name “fake Adrien” so who are you?” she asked and he went pale “When did you-” “Figure it out?” she finished with a giggle “Remember when you were talking about pets? One of them was a bird... Adrien has a feather allergy” she explained and her facepalmed at his mistake.
“Felix” he said making her look at him “My name is Felix Graham de Vanily” he said making her smile “Felix... Nice to meet you then Felix, i’m Jasmine Hamato” she responded and he smiled “I actually wanted... To say thank you... For opening my eyes” she said making him look at her confused “I had a crush on Adrien, always wanted to tell him how I felt and... I wanted to tell him today when I was returning the notes I borrowed from him” she explained as he remembered that moment “But when he called me a friend... My heart broke and I just gave up... But then you came and today by just getting to know you... I fell in love all over again” she said as he blushed.
“Stupid hairstyle!” he grumbled as he then fixed his hair the way he always did making her giggle “Now that’s how you look” she said with a soft smile making him blush yet again “Anyways... I wanted to thank you... I had so much fun for my last day in Paris” she said and that made him froze “What?” he asked making her softly smile towards him “A girl in my class, Lila Rossi she claimed something about me that the school decided to expel me... I warned them they would regret it... But they regretted having me here so i’m heading home to New York and telling my school how François Dupont is a terrible school that believes a liar for anything that happens” she said making his eyes widen in shock to her words.
He couldn’t believe it, some liar got her expelled “My school will take care of it... More than likely they’ll report the school here as dangerous or something like that” she explained making him nod “Come in... I want to give you something to remember me by” she said making him nod and follow her inside, he followed her to the couch where he sat down as she walked to her room to get something which made him wonder what it could be, he looked around and saw very little inside which told him she was leaving the next day “It’s not much, but I hope you like it” she said making him look up to find a fabulous and incredible japanese writing kit.
“You said how much you love reading, and you wrote your own poems so I thought you might like this” she said as he stood and took it in hand, he smiled at it and her “Thank you... I’ll take good care of this gift” he promised making her smile and nod “I know you will” she replied, they spoke a little longer and he even helped her pack a bit before he left her place with the kit... Adrien ran over to him shock and a little upset with him being dressed like him again but Felix promised he did no prank and his clothes was a quick reach for him so everything was fine.
The next day he felt sad, Jasmine was gone, he was barely listening to Adrien talking about how amazing Ladybug is and about how his father was allowing him to hang with his friends “You can come too Felix! My friends will love meeting you!” he said but Felix wasn’t listening... He also knew he would be forced to go with him but he wasn’t going to stay, the moment he had an opening he was leaving them and doing his own thing.
The car left with Nathalie making them know how long they would stay before she comes back for them, the second Adrien wasn’t looking he left to get back to Jasmine’s place, he had to see it one last time before he does anything, when he saw it his heart broke at the sight of the for sale sign... But was confused at the letter in the mailbox, he walked over and was surprised when he saw his name on it.
Of course he opened it and he was surprised to find it was from Jasmine, she was telling him her number and how she was more than happy to show him around New York when he comes to visit, and she promised him the time of his life making him smile, she then wrote about how she already felt empty without him by her side as she wrote the letter... And how she was Ladybug, this surprised him as she explained how she wouldn’t be coming back to Paris to help “Cat Noir doesn’t even care about helping... Only trying to push me to date him” she wrote which made sense... Everyone in Paris wanted them to be dating so why should she stay?
Even so... She wrote how much he would miss her but wrote all of her contacts so if he wanted to talk to her he could, he smiled and put away the letter with a smile as he walked around Paris while thinking about her... He knew Paris didn’t care about her so why should he care about Paris? When he goes back to London, he was going to message her, see if she could come over to meet his mother and also buy her something to return the favor with the kit she gave him... He would also tell her how he felt about her and ask her if she would be his girlfriend.
After a while, he headed back, he knew Adrien might not notice how he left but he still didn’t want something bad to happen, he arrived just two minutes before the car arrived so he got inside and waited ten minutes before Adrien got inside “Ten minutes late Adrien... Your father won’t be pleased” Nathalie said making Adrien look down in shame as the car began to move, Felix didn’t talk to his cousin until he had to leave for London, it was then he spoke to him and his uncle and then left with his mother “I met someone... She was sadly wrongly expelled and left for her home” he said making his mother turn to him in surprise.
“Tell me about her” she said and he did, her name, where she left for, who wrongly accused her and how she was expelled for it “She said her school would make sure they were hated for it” he said making his mom nod “They deserve it, accusing someone of something that isn’t true and they had no proof about it being true is wrong... They need to be punished for it” she said making him nod as she then made him look at her “Try and invite her over... I want to meet her” she said making him smile and nod “That’s the plan... I also want to give her something in return for giving me this Japanese writing kit... And ask her to be my girlfriend” he said making her smile of joy at his words.
Next
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multifics-canary · 5 years
Text
Marinette's New Shield ch. 3
Ch.1 ch.2
A/n: guys thank you so much for waiting patiently on this :'D it means a lot!!! Fair warning, it's a cliffhanger. Enjoy! I dont own miraculous ladybug
Marinette was exhausted. Ruby had almost been Akumatized hours ago, but managed to not turn and keep the akuma. After that whole ordeal, she had told Chloe to take the girl home to rest. The plan she had to expose Lila was practically gold, but it also involved practically destroying the ladyblog.
Alya worked so hard for that, she would be crushed.
And yet it wouldn't have been such a problem if she checked her own sources and asked Ladybug herself. The Culpa siblings practically spoke in her head, shielding her mind from all the negative things. Ruby seemed younger than Felix, almost the same age as Adrien, but she was fsr more mature in every way. If Marinette didn't recieve the miraculous, she would bet Ruby would've gotten it.
Speaking of which.
"Tikki?" The young girl called out to the red kwami, surprised by the silence. A few seconds passed, before the little red blur appeared before her. "Tikki! I got worried you were captured or something."
The little god giggled, kissing her chosen's cheek. "I was just out getting a bit of fresh air. You should check on your friend. You don't know what effects the akuma does, especially if she was still touched by the akuma."
"You're right." The noirette said, going to stand up, only to hear her phone buzz with a text. Looking at her kwami, she picked up the phone, seeing that it was a message from Marc.
Marc 1:34pm: hey mari. I know we havent talked in a bit, I went on a family trip and got really sick coming back. I was talking to Nath about all of us meeting and reviewing the next comic to publish, but he says some girl named Lila told him that she could talk to a famous writer-- who's dead mind you-- about helping us publish it. Nath was also skeptical, given that I told him the writer was dead. Nath wants to verfiy something with you, so is it cool if we meet up tomorrow? Sorry for the long text.
Marinette read and reread the text. Nathaniel wasn't one of the active Lila worshippers, but believed it to some degree. But thanks to Marc, she was probably going to get a friend back. She held back tears as she stared at the text, feeling Tikki hug her cheek.
"Marinette its okay. Let it out." The little kwami said softly. And for the first time since Lila came back, Marinette cried, letting go of all the stress she's held.
Losing her friends.
Being called a bully.
...Having someone believe her.
For the first time in a while, Marinette cried for herself.
°·°·°·°·°·°·°
Ruby laid down on her bed, soft music playing on her speakers as she wrote to her brother, not leaving out any detail of the plan and asking what should be changed.
After sending the email, because her brother liked to keep it professional, she moved her laptop, opting to grab a book and read. Stretching, she stood from her bed and went the small shelf she had and grabbed a book, only to throw it in a direction when she felt someone in the room. She turned, seeing Ladybug smile at her while holding the book in her hand.
"Ladybug, I didn't expect you to arrive." Ruby said, raising an eyebrow at the heroine. The spotted hero just smiled, walking over and handing the book.
"I wanted to check up on you. Though it has been a few hours since you were almost Akumatized, there could be some effects that could happen later." Ruby nodded, going over to her bed. She sat on the edge and gestured for Ladybug.
"It would also be a bit suspicious if Ladybug came to someone's place in the middle of the day if there wasn't an akuma." The girl crossed her arms, seeming relaxed. But Ladybug knew Ruby was still a bit on edge.
"How are you feeling, honestly?" Ladybug asked, staring at Ruby. The girl in question sighed, looking down.
"A bit shaken. I know magic affects how you look and sound, but with Hawkmoth it was different. I know him, I'm almost positive about it. But I can't bring myself to get any evidence without hurting people I care about. I've always been able to have a sixth sense on everything, that's why they called me the more sensible one out of me and my brother." Ruby explained, fiddling with her sleeve.
Ladybug was in shock. Ruby probably knew who Hawkmoth and could possibly end this terror on Paris. But she knew she can't force her to reveal anything. Instead, she opted to listen, thinking that she could possibly a good holder in some near future, if she talked to Fu about it.
"I don't know if you know Marinette," Ruby started, grabbing Ladybug's attention, "but she's a good person in a bad situation. The tones she gives off are both spring and storm and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if that storm came to prove everyone wrong. All I want to do is help her."
"The plan will work, Ruby." Ladybug said, smiling softly as she placed a hand over Ruby's, causing the girl to look up. "Sure it'll take a bit more time, but talk it out with those you trust. Chat Noir and I will back you up as well." The young Culpa relaxed, eyes shinning brightly as she stared at ladybug.
"Thank you Ladybug."
"Of course."
°·°·°·°·°·°·°
Next day
"Rubes!" Ruby looked up to see Lila walk over to her, a sweet smile on her face, though her eyes held a dangerous glint. In the distance, she saw Alya and the other mindless sheep stare, as if encouraging Lila to talk with her.
The girl sighed, closing her notebook and standing up, just as Lila reached her. "Hey Rubes. The others encouraged me to talk to you about Adrien. So I was hoping we could compromise." She said sweetly, but Ruby could feel the bad air around her.
"How about we talk about this in a more private location. That way we're not interrupted." Ruby narrowed her eyes as she spoke softly, gesturing for Lila to walk first. A scowl replaced the girl's fake smile and she walked forward. The young Culpa looked back and saw Adrien stare at her in worry, standing next to Chloe and Marinette, who wore the same expressions.
Make amends, Adrien. I'll be back in one piece. She stared at them for a bit more, offering a small smile before walking off with Lila.
They entered a quiet room, Ruby fumbling with her phone before putting in her front pocket, just as Lila turned around. "I don't know what kind if game you're playing, but let me make this clear, Adrien is mine. And I'll ruin you just like I did to that baker girl." Lila sneered, her glare practically murderous. But Ruby wasn't effected.
In fact, Ruby smirked, walking forward confidently to the girl and watching as she lost her edge began stepping back. Her back hit the wall and she started to panic as Ruby placed a hand on the wall next to her head. "Oh sweetheart, I'm not playing any games. I said it before when I said Adrien is like a brother to me. If only you stopped your lies, maybe you would have a chance. And if you played for the other team." Ruby said cheekily, leaning forward. She watched as Lila pale before blushing madly, pushing Ruby off of her.
Ruby just composes herself, her eyes turning cold as she stared at Lila. "You had you're chance to apologize. Keep the sheep for all I care. Before I leave, I'll make sure Marinette gets the attention she deserves. She's not someone you can manipulate to suicide, unlike those in your last school." She paused, seeing the color drain from Lila soon hearing that.
"And Adrien is not a prize for you to win. You claim to have all these connections to famous people. But none of them check out. Especially since you claim to be friends with those who were dead long before you were born."
"So what if I lied?! They'll believe anything I say! Its not my fault that girl killed herself for having other bully her! They just wanted to hear interesting tales--"
"And yet, it was you who whispered the lies in their ears. Just like you're doing now. With connections such as yours, you would be smart to think about what you say. Before this, I was told that Marinette was almost gone and that you've caused at least 4 akumas to go after her. Not to mention that you willingly have been Akumatized."
"How do you know all this?!" Lila shrieked, her face red and she balled her hands into fists. Ruby gave an unimpressed stare, crossing her arms.
"A real reporter checks the facts. There were cameras around Paris, and unlike the ladyblog, my blog is backed up by a big company. Alya is lucky I'm not blacklisting her blog for false information. Not yet anyways." She turned, ready to walk out, when she stopped, glancing back at the fuming girl.
"And claiming to be friends with Ladybug of all people, when you knowingly want her dead, is putting a big target on your head. Plan all you want to call me out, I'll be waiting for the extremes you to achieve that." With that, she left the room. Lila fummed on the spot, wondering how a brat like Ruby knew so much.
I'll make sure everything you say is a lie, Ruby.
Ruby took out her phone from her pocket, smiling at the recording before saving it and making a copy of it. She walked back to her spot, hearing pairs of steps walking towards her. Looking up, she saw Alya with some of the girls around her, as well as Marinette walk towards her.
They stopped and stared at each other upon reaching Ruby. Both looked uncertain, Alya more hateful than Marinette's. Ruby, getting agitated, stands up stepping between the two before words can be said.
"Look I don't know what kind of drama you both have, but its petty. Whatever Lila has told you about Marinette can't possibly be true, but would you know, Alya? Seeing as you never asked Marinette." She stood in front of Marinette propectively, staring down at Alya.
"The rivalry between me and Lila over a boy is ridiculous and I would never stoop thst low just to keep someone I know away from soemone else. Now if you'll excuse me, I have something to write." Alya and the girls stared in shock as Ruby walked away, Marinette scurring after her.
"What-- forget it. Let's find Lila." Alya said after recovering, the others nodded and following the checkered shirt girl.
°·°·°·°·°·°·°
During lunch, Ruby went to find Marinette, when she saw she was with two boys. One with black hair and a red jacket while the other had red tomato hair and a dark grey cardigan. They were talking, Ruby couldn't hear however due to being far, but found out Marinette was crying. The girl was about to go iver there, when Marinette lunged herself at the two boys, hugging him tightly.
She smiled at the scene and turned away, knowing she can find Marinette later. Instead, she walked out to the courtyard, when a scream echoed out. Ruby ran and saw the Alya and others run away, as an akuma jumped down from a ledge, looking around.
"Lila it's okay!!" Alya yelled, dodging a projectile that was aimed for her. The reporter managed to active the akuma alert, causing everyone in the school and in the area to be alert of what was happening.
"You!" Ruby turned and saw Lila stare at her menacingly.
"Oh my, this proves my words even more. You're after me right? Let's see if you can catch me Rossi." Ruby smirked, dashing out to the front doors, an enraged Lila behind her.
"Lila no! Whatever Ruby said wasn't true!" Alya had yelled trying to follow. But something began to block the front doors. "Lila!"
The girl looked like a spider, her skin deathly pale, eyes red and enraged staring as Ruby ran. Surprisingly, she was fast, but since Lila was an akuma she could catch up. People had already left the scene when the alert sounded, everyone in the streets going to designated shelters until the akuma was dealt with.
Ruby didn't know how long she had been running, but when she reached the Louvre and saw no one, she relaxed. The air drastically changed and she turned, watching as Lila stalked over to her.
"Just because you know about my lies, doesn't mean anything. I can ruin you like that girl and make you look like a fool! But Hawkmoth wants to know if you actually know who he is." Lila smirked, shooting out a thread from her hair and throwing at Ruby. The girl dogded at the last second, though she knew that she can't dodge forever.
"So you're a truth seeker? Or stealer to make them you're own?" Ruby remarks, dodging multiple threads.
"Shut up!!" Lila screeched, throwing double the threads than before. Ruby's wyes widen, knowing she can't dodge that many, when a figure jumps in front and blocks all of the threads. Ruby hears Lila snarl lowly as she stared at Chat Noir.
"Looks like the cat has come to play."
Chat Noir doesn't reply, only giving a deadly glare to Lila as he stood protectively in front of Ruby. The sound of a yo-yo echoed and Lila was wrapped from the waist up and yanked back to the wall, crumbling on top of her. Ladybug lands next to Chat Noir, both of them watching as Lila picks herself up from the rubble.
"You okay, Ruby?"
"I'm fine, Ladybug." Ruby panted, stepping back as Lila let out a scream.
"Ladybug. Why don't you come here for a bit. So I can get a good look at your earrings." Lila growled, before lunging at the three. Chat Noir quickly grabs Ruby and they all dodge out of the way.
They land on a roof that was fair distance away from Lila, Chat Noir setting down Ruby gently. Ladybug noted that her partner was quiet, which was unusual for someone like him.
"Theres a chance the akuma could be in her earring, hair tie, or bracelet. She wasn't carrying any purse when I talked to her." Ruby states, looking at Lila with a calculating look. "She's after me. I can be a distraction while you guys--"
"What? No!" "Out of the question." Both heroes reply at once, startling the young culpa.
"We have-- duck." Ruby suddenly said, pushing both heroes quickly as a thread shot towards them. The thread hit her and felt heat in her throat and felt her body being pulled. Vaguely she heard the heroes scream her and suddenly she felt herself being held tight.
She heard Lila laugh and move away from the heroes. "Now, lets find out what your hiding, shall we?"
General tags: @kristycocopop
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nxrthmizu · 4 years
Text
-Lordbug, Robin, and Kitty Noir- Chapter Eight: In Which A Lot Of Things Happen
/Part One//Part Seven/
Description: In which Chloe has some news, in which Damian is forced to do modelling, in which the beloved Mr. Pigeon finally appears. 
Warnings: A little cursing, I think. And a little tiny bit of self-harm but it’s mentioned because she’s starting to recover. Go Mari! :)
Anddd it’s been forever since I updated this one… Ahahaha. Okay. Let’s go on with it >>>
“Morning, Damian!” Marinette waved brightly. “I brought you a macaron.” She handed him a paper bag, which he supposed had the said macaron inside it. 
“Thank you.” He nodded at her, his sling bag around his shoulder as Tikki peered out of his hood. He hissed, tugging at his hood, ushering the Kwami to stay out of sight. Tikki dove into his bag in a huff, pouting. 
“Is there something stuck in your hood?” Marinette peered over his shoulder as he coughed awkwardly. 
Damian cleared his throat. “Yeah, a bee. It’s gone now.” 
Marinette nodded. “Oh, okay.” She shot him a sweet smile. “Shall we?” 
He glanced up at the steps leading into the school, turning to look at the girl beside him. “Another day to deal with Rossi.” He mumbled under his breath. 
Marinette rolled her eyes. “Come on, Damian. Let’s go.” 
“Mari!” Chloe, who had bonded tons with the bluenette after the akuma incident (They’d sat together during lunch, too) beamed as she bounded up towards Marinette’s seat, slamming her hand on the bluenette’s desk. “Guess what?” 
Marinette, who’d warmed up with the blonde, raised an eyebrow with an amused grin. “What?” 
“I’ve got news. Do you want to hear the good news, or the better news first?” Chloe grinned. 
Marinette pretended to deeply consider her options. “Um, good news first.” 
“First of all, my mom wants you to participate in one of her fashion shows. You’re allowed to bring a few of your own designs.” Chloe told the girl with a grin, waiting for the bluenette’s excited reaction, and she was not disappointed. 
Marinette’s eyes gleamed in excitement. “Really? That’s- That’s so amazing! Thank you so much, Chloe!”
Chloe waved it off like it was nothing. “You deserve it, ‘nette. Now, for the better news. Guess who’s coming to Paris!” Chloe squealed. 
Damian rolled his eyes at Chloe’s excitement. “Maybe keep it down, Bourgeois? This is a classroom.” 
The blonde scowled at Damian’s remark. “Oh, shut up, Fu, and let me finish. Who invited you into the conversation, anyway? Quiet.” Chloe turned away from the green-eyed boy towards a Marinette who was stifling her laughter. “Alright, guess who?” 
Marinette tapped her finger on her lips, humming thoughtfully. “Um… I don’t know, Rachel’s… Dad?” 
At the name of the girl, Chloe darkened. “Um… She left.” The blonde fidgeted. “Sabrina came into the hotel, and… Well,” Chloe coughed awkwardly. “Sabrina told R-Rachel that I was a bully, and that I was mean to Lila, and…” Chloe cleared her throat. “That’s unimportant. The important thing is that my mother met up with… A special someone in Gotham,” Chloe lowered her voice, a glint shining in her blue eyes, “And that someone wants to see your designs. My mom’s showed,” The blonde looked around, but no one was paying any attention to them, “Bruce Wayne your designs.” 
Marinette looked like she was ready to combust from sheer excitement. “Oh. My. God. Really?” Marinette beamed. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” 
“Apparently, once he heard your name, he demanded to see you. He’s booked a flight for tomorrow.” Chloe grinned. “I’m so proud! You’re going to be famous, Mari!” 
Damian was about to strangle his father. Dick must’ve mentioned his angel’s name to his father, and the moment Bruce caught sound of her name, he’d demanded to see her. Typical. 
Chloe turned to glare at Damian. “You’re proud of her, aren’t you?” 
Damian rolled his eyes, but mustered up a little smile. Marinette looked so hopeful, and there was that beautiful, beautiful light in her eyes- “Of course.” He scoffed. “Good job, Mari.” He smiled, green-eyes twinkling in approval. 
Marinette blushed. “I’ll have to see him tomorrow, then. The both of you have got to come with me.” 
Chloe nodded her head vigorously. “Duh, obviously I’m coming with you. He’s going to be around to see the fashion show, so you definitely need to get some people to model some of your designs. Think you got enough time?” 
Marinette bit her lip, slowly nodding. “The two of you would be perfect!” She exclaimed. Damian blinked in confusion. Surely she didn’t mean… 
“Oi, I didn’t agree to anything.” Damian defended himself. “I’m not modelling.” 
Marinette pouted. “But you would do such a good job at it! Besides, remember I gave you the clothes I made when you got soaked? You owe me one for that. Please, Damian?” 
Chloe smirked. “Oh yeah. I had my driver drive close so you’d get sprayed.” If glares could kill, Chloe would’ve been evaporated on the spot. 
“Fine.” Damian sighed. “I’ll do it. But after this, I don’t owe you.” He gave a pointed look at the bluenette, who was too excited to notice. 
“The two of you come to the bakery after school.” Marinette grinned. “I have so many ideas! We’ve got to finish it before tomorrow, so-”
“Akuma!” 
All three teens simultaneously groaned. 
“Come on.” Chloe grumbled. “Not again.” 
“The two of you get to safety.” Damian instructed just as Ms. Bustier entered the classroom for first period, ushering the students out of the classroom, following akuma procedure. “I think… Um, Adrien went to the toilet just now. I’ll go get him.” 
Chloe and Marinette both nodded, hurrying off in the chaos to the girl’s toilet. 
��
“What is it this time?” Robin squinted at the akuma. “Is that a…” He blinked. “Is that a giant flock of pigeons?” 
Queen Bee rolled her eyes. “Your time has come, bird-boy! It’s your, uh, cousins, the pigeons.” Robin glared at the yellow-dressed superhero. 
“Alright, girls, you’re both pretty.” Kitty groaned. “How exactly do we defeat a giant flock of angry pigeons?” 
Robin sighed. “I have an idea.” 
“What happened?” Mr. Ramier rubbed his head, confused on a lawn outside a building. 
“You were akumatised.” Kitty explained with a  soft smile, reaching out a hand to help him get up. “But everything’s okay now.” 
He nodded as he patted himself down, still confused. “Are- Are my pigeons okay?” 
Robin interrupted. “Yes, yes they are.” He flicked a white spot off his uniform- One of the many pieces of pigeon faeces that landed on him. “They are fine, but I need to make a quick visit to the self-service laundry.” He glanced at the two girls giggling beside him. “Please tell me Paris has self-service laundries.” 
“You smell utterly horrible.” Chloe pointed out bluntly as the three sat down for lunch. 
Damian rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Bourgeois. I got caught in the akuma.” 
“If Lordbug showed up then his miraculous cure would’ve fixed it.” Marinette said thoughtfully. “Pity, he never shows up anymore.” 
Damian coughed, setting down his fork. “Excuse me for one moment.” As he walked away, he cursed. “Why didn’t I think of that?” 
Chloe tilted her head as Damian walked away. “Is it a coincidence, or…?” 
“Hmm?” Marinette swallowed. “Sorry, what was that, Chloe?” 
The blonde shook her head. “Nah, that would be ridiculous. Nothing.” 
“Hmm.” Marinette hummed, chewing on her food, frowning when her jacket sleeve slipped down, revealing a few faded scars. 
Chloe nodded in approval. “You haven’t been hurting yourself. Good.” She smiled. “That’s more like it.” 
Marinette blushed. “I have you to thank. It’s hard to believe we went from enemies to best friends in like, two days.” 
Chloe scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, Dupin-Cheng.” She punched Mari playfully across the table. “We’re still enemies.” 
“You smell way better.” Chloe commented as she caught a whiff of Damian’s jacket as the three friends (Classmates, Chloe said. Just classmates and nothing more.) descended down the stairs towards the road. 
Damian rolled his eyes. “Did I ask you for an opinion, Bourgeois?” 
“She’s right, though.” Marinette interjected with a smile. “Did you put on some cologne or something?” She sniffed. “You smell like flowers and macarons.” 
Damian groaned internally as Tikki (The one who showered him with ‘cologne’) giggled within his hoodie. 
Chloe moved closer to get a whiff. “Ooh, she’s right. You’ve got to tell me what brand this is, it smells utterly wonderful.” 
“Is ‘utterly’ your favourite word, Bourgeois?” Damian snarked. 
Chloe shrugged as they reached her limo, parked neatly outside the school gates. “Well, guess who gets to walk to the bakery on his own. If you say sorry, maybe I’ll reconsider.” Marinette laughed in the background at her two friends. 
“As if I’d apologise for something that’s true.” Damian snorted. “See you in ten, Bourgeois. Bye, Mari.” 
The two girls laughed as Damian grumpily begun his walk to the bakery. 
“Since when did he start calling you Mari?” Chloe pondered, smirking at Mari after the car begun to drove off. 
Marinette paused, a confused look going over her face as she scrunched up her eyebrows. “I didn’t notice.” 
Chloe threw her hands up exasperatedly. “The two of you are so blind, I give up. It’s utterly ridiculous.” 
/Part Nine/
---
(Tag list! @yin-390 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @constancetruggle @the-navistar-carol @never-neverland @rayray384 @mystery-5-5 @black-streak @bluerosette23 @seraphichana @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @mikantsume @graduatedmelon @thebookwormfairy @crazylittlemunchkin @shizukiryuu @screamingtofillthevoid @serenacross200 @zestyzealot @redscarlet95 @roseinbloom02 @beautym3 @resignedcatservant @sizzling-fairy-oil @tinybrie @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @lunar-wolf-warrior @northernbluetongue )
Aye i haven’t updated this in forever (Sweats nervously ehehehehe) Sooo the thing is does anyone have an idea for Chloe’s s/o because I kind of felt like rachel wouldn’t work??? Was going to use felix, but then remembered I killed him. Sigh. Oh yeah and Happy New Year people, love you all~
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Um, can you do a story or maybe a oneshot about a future akuma-based(?) with Mari getting hit by the akuma and in her arms is her future daughter,Emma? Everyone thought the father was Adrien but Emma denies it.
Based on @nobodyfamousposts‘s Felix Culpa AU. Hope I did it justice
It happened so fast, the akuma sprung out of nowhere--something about being a fortune teller and bringing people’s futures to life--and before anyone could run to her, Marinette was zapped in the school yard. Everyone was horrified--they’ve never seen Marinette get affected by an akumatization in front of them before. 
However, when the light faded, she was fine. A little disoriented but fine. What was strange was that she was holding a little girl that looked like a miniature version of her. 
“Mama!” the little girl cried, hugging Marinette around her neck. The class was in an uproar at the little girl’s statement while Marinette was gaping dumbly. 
“Marinette doesn’t have a kid!” 
“It looks just like her though!”
“Oh god, I’m an aunt and I didn’t even know it!” 
“Hold on guys!” Adrien tried to calm everyone. He turned to the little girl who eyed him with disdain. He blinked, surprised a little girl could have such venom in her gaze. “Um, sorry, but what’s your mommy’s name?” he asked kindly. 
The little girl huffed, not liking that these people thought she was stupid. 
“Marinette of course! I know my mommy when I see her, thank you very much!” the little girl exclaimed. Marinette, on instinct, started to try and soothe the child. The child looked imploringly at her with big watery eyes. Marinette gulped. “Maman, tell these dummies I’m your daughter! I’m your precious Emma!” 
“Err well... I...” Marinette stammered and the little girl, Emma’s, lip quivered and Marinette sighed, pulling her close. “Yes sweetie, you’re my precious Emma.” Marinette reassured the little girl. 
“So, what, is this kid really Marinette’s?” Alix voiced out. 
“They do look eerily similar.” Nathanial pointed out. 
“This akuma did say they have the power to bring your future to the present. There’s a 95% chance this really is Marinette’s daughter from the future.” Max concluded, adjusting his glasses. 
“Well, I guess congrats are in order. Nice job dude! You got a cute kid.” Kim patted Adrien’s back. Adrien coughed violently, his entire face erupting into a blush as others also gave well wishes. Lila was the only one silent, and she looked angry.
“Oh come on, what makes you think it’s Adrien’s daughter?” Lila said irritatingly. The class blinked, surprised at her tone. Lila quickly fixed herself. “I mean! She seems a little rude to be Adrien’s! I’m just worried we’re jumping to conclusions!” she put on a timid act. Some shrugged but others still eyed her suspiciously. Marinette didn’t bother calling her out, knowing it would only lead to trouble, and just concentrated on holding Emma, who was eyeing Lila with a waspish glare.
“Well I mean, come on,” Nino spoke, “She’s obviously gotta be Adrien’s cause... you know...” Nino waved his hand. 
“Know what, Nino?” Adrien parroted. He had no idea how the class came to this conclusion. Though thinking about it, a future with Marinette, it didn’t really sound bad. In fact, imagining it, it was quite pleasant. A giddy smile broke on his face at the thought of them living on an island, taking care of Emma, with a hamster. 
“What? That she has a crush on him?” Lila cut in. Everyone gaped while Adrien’s jaw dropped. Marinette looked positively mortified, and the class looked incensed on her behalf. 
“Not cool, Lila.” Ivan said. 
“Yeah, she should’ve been allowed to tell him herself.” Rose chimed in. Lila didn’t back down. 
“I’m sorry, I just thought Adrien knew and was being too polite.” Lila fake sniffled. For once, Adrien didn’t want to defend her. 
“He’s NOT my daddy!” Emma finally had enough of the mean lady being a jerk to her mom. She reminded her of that one lady that harassed her mom on the job and tried to plagiarize her mom’s work, but luckily the lady was the one to get caught and got fired. She clutched Marinette tighter, trying to protect her from the idiots. “My Papa is cool! This guy is a spineless jellyfish!” she pointed at Adrien. 
“W-wha? Me?” Adrien pointed to himself dumbly. Emma nodded, smirking proudly. Why did that smirk seem so familiar? 
“Yes! My Papa said so once!” Emma proclaimed. 
“Wait, if Adrien’s not your father--who is?” Alya asked. She had to know who ended up with Marinette. She always thought it was going to be Marinette and Adrien together, and looking at the rest of her class, sans Lila, everyone else thought the same. 
“What’s with all the noise? I can hear you from inside the classroom.” a familiar voice deadpanned and everyone caught sight of an annoyed Felix Culpa, straightening his bag. 
“PAPA!” Emma cried, finally letting go of Marinette to grasp onto Felix’s pant leg. “I knew you wouldn’t be far! Where Maman is, you’re always close by!” Emma praised him. The class blinked. 
“Emma... what’s your last name?” Mylene asked tentatively. The child brightened. 
“It’s Emma Culpa of course!” she exclaimed proudly, sticking her tongue out at them. That’s when they saw her eyes, exactly like Felix’s. 
And that’s when they collectively lost their shit. 
“He has FEELINGS????” Nino jumped back, as if horrified. Some of the others took a step back too. 
“I didn’t think he had the capability to reproduce other than asexually...” Alya stated. 
“H-He called me a spineless jellyfish???” Adrien murmured, still in shock and disappointment at the realization who Emma really was. 
“I’m right here you know.” Felix said, irritation clear in his tone. Marinette’s face was bright red. She couldn’t look Felix in the eye. 
“But Felix! You have a kid! With Marinette!” Kim exclaimed, gesturing wildly. “And apparently you guys get married!” 
“Right out of college!” Emma chimed in happily. Felix’s eyes widened and a flush overtakes his features. Suddenly he can’t look Marinette in the eye either. 
“Errr, Emma, sweetie, Mama has to do something, do you mind staying with Papa a bit?” Marinette hurriedly let out. Emma eyed her knowingly, smiling. 
“Of course, Maman. Papa will take care of me.” Emma had no doubt about that. Marinette sighed in relief. 
“Okay, I’m going to go try and find Ladybug and Chat Noir. See if they can reverse this.” she then ran off. 
“I actually have to go too. Photoshoot and all--bye!” Adrien hurriedly ran off in the opposite direction. Everyone blinked. 
“You know, now that I know she ends up with Felix, I guess there goes my they’ve been running off to make out every akuma attack theory.” Alix stated. 
“Well, that means you owe me twenty euros then.” Nathanial chimed in delight. 
“You only bet against me because you thought you’d end up with her or Luka would!” Alix protested. 
“Yes, but I didn’t state that in terms of the bet, so pay up.” 
“Ugh!” 
Felix just sighed, walking away from them, Emma following excitedly. 
-------------
“Hey, Felix?” Felix turned to see Adrien eyeing him with a determined stare. The akuma was gone, and with it, his apparent future daughter. The realization that he would have a daughter with Marinette one day was still registering in his mind. “I’m not going to lose.” Adrien promised. 
Felix caught Marinette’s eye in the corner of his eye, watching her blush cutely and immediately look away. A soft smile came upon his features the more he watched her. 
He knew he wasn’t going to lose either. 
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myownworldstayout · 5 years
Text
New Friends Ch. 12
Ch.1 / Ch.11 / Ch.13
(Are you ready for more fluff?? you’re gonna get more fluff.) (also, It’s long so warning lol)
“Marinette, I love these dresses!” Aurore sang, twirling around in a sleeveless purple dress, which stopped short just above her knees.
“The casual outfits are quite nice as well.” Kagami complimented, studying her black, ripped jeans and rose red top, matching her black boots.
Marinette blushed slightly at the praise, though it was hardly noticeable since she was still fiddling with another outfit on one of the manikins. 
“Thank you so much! I figured you guys would like those.” 
“I still can’t believe you made these.” Wayhem commented, picking at the collar of his bright green, short sleeved shirt. 
“Do the jeans fit okay?” She asked, turning to get a good look at the three. 
Wayhem grinned. “They’re perfect.” 
Marinette smiled brightly, nodding with satisfaction as she focused on the manikin again.
“It’s a shame Felix couldn’t come to your house with us. He’s missing out on some great fashion.” Aurore giggled, sitting down on the chaise and smoothing out her dress.
“Actually, I already gave him an outfit. He’s gonna meet us at the concert.”
Aurore sat up. “Really?” 
“Yep!”
During lunch period that morning, Luka invited them to go to Kitty Section’s concert. They were holding it in the square this time, and the crowd was hopefully going to be big. Aurore and Wayhem were more than happy to go, since they always loved Kitty Section’s concerts, and Kagami promised to work something out in her schedule. Felix was reluctant at first- concerts were always so loud and pushy -but when Marinette excitedly agreed to go, he gave in.
The group became so hyped for the event that they decided to dress up for it as well. That was when Marinette remembered she had some outfits at home that she’d been working on. So Aurore, Kagami, and Wayhem came to the Bakery to try them on while Luka prepared for the concert. 
“The real question is how you convinced Felix to come to the concert in the first place.” Kagami said, shifting comfortably on the chase next to Aurore.
“What do you mean?” Marinette asked obliviously, pulling one of the pins from between her teeth and sticking it into a skirt.
“Felix hates concerts.” Kagami stated bluntly.
“I can’t imagine Felix liking anything loud or crowded to be honest.” Wayhem joked, slipping his hands into his pockets.
“Pretty much. His exact words were, ‘why listen to music at a loud, people-infested park when I could listen to the same music alone in my quiet bedroom?’” Kagami smile.
Aurore and Wayhem laughed at that, but Marinette furrowed her eyebrows.
“Why do you think I convinced him though? Maybe he decided to just try it out on his own.” 
Wayhem scoffed and lightheartedly replied, “You kidding? He was so going to stay home until you said you were going.” 
“He did suspiciously agree right after you did. Even though he said no the first time around.” Aurore joined in, a coy smile spreading across her lips.
Marinette pursed her lips, turning back to her project to hide her embarrassment. Felix didn’t agree just to be with her, right? 
The image of him walking her to her house around the first time they met flashed through mind.
She shook her head.
He just wanted to go to the concert since everyone else was going. They were all friends, after all. It would be silly to stay home instead of hanging out with all of your friends.
Yes, it had nothing to do with her, and this certainly wasn’t going to be another Adrien situation.
Marinette stilled.
Adrien.
“Marinette, are you alright?” Aurore asked, noticing her pause.
She drew in a breath, steeling herself. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. I was just thinking about..”
“About Adrien?” Wayhem finished, sitting down on the floor next to Marinette’s rolling chair, across from the girls.
Marinette nodded in confirmation, keeping her eyes on the skirt.
The group quietly waited, their gaze soft, understanding. Marinette would speak if she wanted to do so.
“They haven’t noticed my unofficial absence for weeks.” she finally began, more of thinking aloud. “They didn’t care that I haven’t spoken a word to anyone, that they haven’t talked to me for weeks. It wasn’t until I actively ignored Adrien that they got upset.”
Marinette sighed, massaging her temples. “It’s like they don’t even care about me as a person. It’s all about their egos or hurt feelings or something just- just all about them.”
The group nodded along, letting her work through her thoughts. Though Marinette appreciated it, it also sort of ached. Because she had never had something like this before. Not with Alya, or Adrien, or anyone else she knew for years in that forsaken classroom. It was always “Marinette, you’re overreacting”, “Marinette you’re being ridiculous”. It could never be, “you have a right to be angry”, or “your feelings are valid whether they completely make sense or not”.
Come to think of it, even despite Lila’s influence, they’d had trouble before. Mostly when Marinette decided to have any sort of feelings besides pure happiness. Of course, Alya and the others weren’t entirely to blame. Adrien was normally the one to scold her on that front. 
She looked back up at the others. They sat there patiently, waiting for her to either finish her concerns or change the subject. It was her choice.
She reveled in that thought. Her choice. It felt as if this entire school year had flown by without giving her a single glance. She’d been forced into more things than she liked to admit. 
Being ladybug, for example. She loved Tikki with all her heart, but Marinette still found herself a tad bitter about how she got the miraculous. Would she have accepted if Master Fu asked her straight up? Probably not, but it still would’ve been nice to get a say in the matter. 
The point is, choices seemed to be new for her. She was sad that it turned out this way, but if it meant she could make choices, that she was finally free in a sense..
“There, done.” Marinette then smiled, leaning back to check her work.
Aurore and Wayhem gasped.
“Oh, Marinette, it’s beautiful!”
~~~~~~
Felix grumbled to himself as he got ready for the concert.
Why did her agree to go to this? Concerts were loud and crowded and everything he despised, really. Why couldn’t he just stay home and watch the concert live at the very least? That’d be much more preferable.
He pictured Marinette’s smiling face, her eyes shining with excitement and anticipation. 
“You’re coming too, right Felix?” She had asked.
Seeing that expectant and hopeful look in her eyes… how could he say no?
He remembered her quietly squealing a “yes!” and pumping her fist in the air when he said he would go.
The group was surprised, though none argued. Especially when Marinette started rambling about “New outfits” and “Fitting sessions after school”.
A frown tugged at the corner of Felix’s lips.
They were all at her house now, getting ready for the concert. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to be there. Unfortunately, he needed to come home first to inform his mother about the new schedule and do a few things.
As expected, she was more than eager to let him go to the concert.
“When are you going to invite them over?” she asked for what felt like the fifth time that week.
“When I feel the time is right.” Felix said, repeating the same answer he always gave. 
His mother put on a pout, but only huffed and left the room to start supper. 
Felix smiled towards his mother’s antics as he straightened his new tie.
Marinette had shown them lots of sketches for clothing designs, but her actually making the clothes was a completely different story.
And she’d done and amazing job. The clothes she made for them not only fit their personalities well, but also seemed like they could be bought from a store.
Felix noticed a few crooked stitches and some loose buttons, usual mistakes that are perfected over time. Considering she was only fifteen, the handiwork was extremely impressive in his opinion.
The outfit wasn’t all that different from his usual one. He still had his black dress pants and dark grey vest. However, his familiar, lighter grey of a button up, long sleeve shirt was replaced by a black one with the sleeves stitched up to his elbows in a quarter sleeve style. Instead of his black tie, Marinette gave him a striped green and black tie to use. How she got the measurements was beyond him, because the clothes fit perfectly.
“Have fun at the concert sweetie! If you need me or your father to pick you up, just give us a call.” His mother cooed as he opened the front door.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Felix said with a small smile, waving and walking out the door.
-
The walk was longer than what he was used to, but he left earlier than necessary so he took his time. Nevertheless, he still got there about twenty minutes before the concert started. A few people were lingering in the square, either curious about the commotion or waiting for the concert to begin. In the center of the square, right in front of the glass pyramid, Felix spotted Kitty Section preparing themselves for the performance. Luka was tuning his guitar with Juleka, Rose was checking the sound system, and Ivan was testing his drums. 
Felix noted that the others were wearing their normal outfits while Luka was obviously wearing a “Mari original” as they called it. He was wearing a dark-ish blue, checkered button up shirt with black jeans. His shirt was unbuttoned to reveal a navy blue t-shirt underneath. In the middle of the navy blue T-shirt was a white jagged stone, similar to the black one on his white t-shirt he normally wore.
Luka glanced up, smiling when he noticed Felix. 
“Hey! I see you’re wearing your new outfit, too. Mari did a good job, as always.” he commented, setting his guitar to the side and standing up.
Felix nodded with a smile, looking over his clothes once more. He ignored the side glances he received from his classmates. He figured they wouldn’t be pleased of his presence, but he was here for Marinette, not them.
Speaking of which, “Where are the others?” 
“They’ll be coming soon, don’t worry. Marinette wanted to make last minute tweaks on the other’s outfits.” Luka explained, waving off the question. “I didn’t expect you to come. Concerts don’t seem to be your thing.”
“They’re not. I only came because-” Felix cut himself short. Telling Luka his real reason for coming probably wasn’t the best idea.
Unfortunately for Felix, Luka was good at filling in the blanks.
“Because Marinette wanted you to, right?” he finished with a knowing smile. 
Felix gave him a glare in response, not denying or confirming anything.
Thankfully, people were already starting to pile into the square. Therefore, Felix and Luka were quickly surrounded by chattering fans, distracting them from the conversation. 
“I have to go up on stage. Good luck finding Mari in this mess.” Luka chuckled, before disappearing into the crowd as well.
Felix hummed in displeasure, turning on his heel and heading for the back of the crowd. Maybe it would be better to find them if he weren’t so smothered.
“Felix, there you are!” 
He stopped, looking in the direction of the familiar voice he’d come to know quite well.
What he saw brought his thoughts to a screeching halt.
It was definitely Marinette- you could tell from her signature ponytails and unmistakably bright smile -but her clothes almost made her seem like a different person entirely.
She wore a pitch black blouse which was tucked into a bright red skirt covered in black polka dots that hung just above her knees. Her black heels, which were red on the bottom, drew attention to her toned legs. Now that Felix thought about it, Marinette’s arms were pretty toned as well. She was fit in general, to be honest.
A light blush dusted Felix’s cheeks as he pushed the thought out of his mind.
“What do you think?” Marinette beamed, twirling to give him a better look. 
Felix swallowed, briefly at a loss for words. Could you blame him, though?
“Did you make that?” he managed to ask.
“Yeah! It’s not too bad is it?” Marinette said shyly.
Felix shook his head almost vigorously. “No, It- you look-” he paused, taking a second to compose himself. “You look.. Stunning.” 
Now Marinette blushed, a delightful pink that somehow complemented the outfit. 
He pulled a soft smirk, but then it faded as he looked her up and down again and squinted.
Marinette frowned. “What is it?” 
“Do you mind if I try something?”
“Try something?” Marinette repeated, blinking in surprise.
“Yes, with your hair if that’s alright?” He said, reaching up and gently touching one of her pigtails in thought.
“O-Oh, uh- Sure, I g-guess.” Marinette stuttered, her blush deepening.
Without another word, Felix moved around behind her, carefully starting to pull the ribbons out. It might have been his imagination, but Felix thought he felt her shiver when he started combing his fingers through her hair to straighten it out.
“Alright, I’m done.” He stated after a few minutes, stepping around to her side again.
Marinette brought her hands up to her hair, lightly feeling around to figure out what he did. 
“Thank you.”
Felix shrugged. “My uncle is a fashion designer after all.”
Marinette smiled, opening her mouth to respond when someone else called out to Felix.
“Felix! We finally found you! Oh, and you have Marinette that’s even better!” Aurore shouted over the crowds, moving towards them with Wayhem and Kagami in tow.
“Wow, I love your hair.” Wayhem complimented when they caught up to the two.
“Felix did it.” Marinette grinned, absently touching her hair that had fallen around her shoulders.
“Felix did?” Kagami raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk playing at her lips. 
The blonde didn’t respond, keeping an indifferent expression. That might have been more condemning than if he had said anything at all.
“Well, it totally makes the look.” Aurore smiled, pulling a pocket mirror out of her purse and handing it to Marinette.
The hair-do looked much nicer than Marinette expected. Apparently, Felix took out her two pigtails, using the two ribbons to tie her hair into a half up half down style. This caused it to look like she was wearing a big red bow instead of her ordinary ribbons. Having her hair pulled back certainly topped off the outfit as Aurore had said. The red bow brought out the skirt and the hair that fell around her shoulders, along with her bangs, shaped her face nicely. 
“Wow..” Marinette muttered, brushing her bangs somewhat to the side.
“Mhmm~” Aurore hummed with a smile, taking back the pocket mirror. 
“We should get to the front, or somewhere near there. The concert is going to be starting soon.” Felix spoke up.
“Yeah, but there’s so many people..” Kagami said with a frown, standing up on her tiptoes to look over the growing crowd.
“Oh, let’s hold hands so we don’t lose each other!” Wayhem suggested, grabbing Aurore and Kagami’s hands. 
Felix winced, though no one noticed.
Aurore grinned, turning and grabbing Marinette’s hand.
Marinette turned to Felix, holding up her hand.
“So we can stay together.” She smiled.
Felix hesitated. He didn’t like touch. Never enjoyed physical contact with anyone, really. Even his mother, who he loved dearly, was someone he could barely stay around for long due to all the hugs she smothers him with.
There wasn’t a specific reason he hated being touched, he just did. Felix assumed it was mostly from his father, but he couldn’t tell for sure.
That was why he was surprised when he took Marinette’s hand. Because he.. He actually didn’t mind her touch. It wasn’t all that bad. Her hand was warm and her grip gentle, loose enough that he could let go if he wanted, but tight enough that they shouldn’t be separated.
Her grip then tightened suddenly to keep from losing him when they got deeper into the crowd.
For reasons unbeknownst to him, Felix squeezed her hand back. 
He caught a glimpse of Marinette glancing back at him in surprise, before turning her attention back to the crowds.
“Alright, Paris, are you ready!” Luka called over the microphone.
The group stopped. The crowds cheered.
Marinette didn’t let go of Felix’s hand. Whether she was distracted by Luka or just didn’t think about it, Felix found that he was okay with it. 
The music began, causing Felix to look at the stage as well. Half way through, Marinette and the others started dancing. He didn’t join in, but his hand swung around with Marinette’s occasionally. That was when he noticed she was still holding Aurore’s hand as well. In fact, they were all still holding hands. To stay together.
That’s right. To stay together, nothing more. Felix reminded himself, even if he wasn’t sure why he needed to remember that.
-
The concert lasted for about an hour, along with a few added encores.
“And now,” Luka began, wrapping up the show. “I’d like to make a special shoutout to the girl who not only made my outfit for tonight, but also designed Kitty Section’s costumes and album covers from the beginning. Mlle. Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”  
Felix saw Marinette’s eyes widen as the spotlight landed on her.
Luka grinned, walking to the edge of the stage and holding out his hand.
Marinette, still in shock, slipped her hand out of Aurore and Felix’s grasp and took Luka’s hand.
He ignored the sudden coldness he felt from Marinette’s absence as the girl was pulled up on stage.
“This is also a ‘Mari Original’.” Luka announced eagerly, gesturing to Marinette’s outfit.
The ravenette smiled sheepishly, fiddling with her skirt a bit to contain her nerves.
The crowd gave a hearty round of applause. Her friends clapped the loudest, of course, and Wayhem whistled. 
“That’s all I’ve got folks. Thank you and goodnight!”
~~~~~~~
Marinette’s heart pounded against her chest even half an hour later. Luka did love his surprises, she just wished they didn’t involve so many people.
“Where does this go?” Wayhem asked, holding up a box of sound equipment. 
“Over there is fine.” Luka answered, pointing to a few other boxes nearby.
Wayhem nodded, hobbling off in that direction. Marinette giggled at the odd posture.
It was nice though, she thought, being appreciated. Getting the credit she deserved for her work. What did she do to deserve these wonderful people?
“I~ think that’s everything?” Aurore more of asked, looking around the now empty stage.
“Yes, I believe so.” Felix agreed, crossing his arms and searching for any lost or forgotten items as well.
Marinette smiled towards the blonde. He’d been full of surprises that evening. Since the first week she met him, actually. She was also happy to say that the outfit she created looked good on him.
“Thanks for helping out guys.” Luka said appreciatively, setting the last few boxes onto their stacked pile. 
Juleka, Rose, and Ivan mumbled their “thanks” as well- Rose being as cheerful as ever. Marinette and Felix might rival Chloe in low popularity at school at the moment, but they still helped out.
“You don’t have to thank us.” Kagami insisted. Her phone then buzzed in her pocket, and she sighed when she saw the message.
“My driver’s going to be here in a few minutes. Anyone need a ride home?” 
Luka scratched the back of his head. “Actually.. Can you take Juleka and I home? It’d be hard to take all of the boxes home and mom doesn’t have a car..” 
Kagami smiled. “Of course, it’s not a problem.”
The exchange seemed to remind Felix of something, and he turned to her. 
“What about you?” He asked, glancing at her as he took out his phone and pressed on his mother’s contact icon.
“Sorry?” Marinette blinked, looking at Felix and standing up on the stage.
“Do you need a ride home?” he elaborated, waving his phone slightly.
“Oh no! I’m alright, thank you-” 
Marinette then paused, and looked to the streets. It was getting a bit dark. 
“On second thought, that would be nice.” she smiled.
Felix returned the smile, before walking away to call his parents.
-
Marinette yelped as she stumbled down the steps of the stage, right into a firm pair of arms. 
“Are you alright?” Felix asked, concern lacing his tone.
“Ah, y-yes. I’m so sorry..” she sighed, struggling in his arms to stand back up.
Felix lifted her to her feet. “It’s fine. As long as you’re alright.”
Marinette blushed, suddenly noticing how close they were and Felix’s lingering arms around her waist. She lightly touched her right cheek, which she somehow managed to scratch on the way down.
“Honestly, I don’t know what possessed you to where heels. You can barely walk around in your usually flats.” he then added, frowning at the injury. 
Marinette chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. Though his tone was sarcastic, she knew he meant it as more of a joke than anything. It was hard to read Felix when they first met, but after a few weeks of hanging out with the group so much, she managed to figure him out a little.
For one, he wasn’t as stone cold as he appeared to be. Felix might be brutally honest and strongly opinionated, but he did care. She’d seen it over the past few weeks. He just had a hard time expressing his emotions.
Not to mention that ever since he arrived at school, Lila hasn’t bothered Marinette as much- if at all. She couldn’t begin to explain how thankful she was for that. 
“The car’s here. Are you ready to go?” The blonde in question interrupted her thoughts, gesturing to a grey car that had just rolled onto the street. 
Marinette nodded, saying a quick goodbye to the others and following Felix to the vehicle. 
Felix opened the back door for her, which she found sweet. When she got into the car, though, Marinette was a tad surprised to see Felix slide into the seat next to her and close the door.
She looked to the floor to calm herself. Taking deep breaths, smoothing out her skirt, fixing her hair. The car pulled onto the street and started towards the bakery.
“T-thanks for the r-ride.” she finally said, wincing at the stutter.
Why was she nervous? It was just Felix.
Just Felix. Marinette mentally repeated. 
“It’s no trouble.” Felix assured, brushing off the comment. 
“I didn’t know you had a chauffeur.” She commented thoughtfully.
Felix glanced at her from the window. “Well, I would certainly hope so. My family does own and run several banks around the country.”
Marinette’s eyes widened. “Wait, really?”
“You didn’t know?” Felix raised his eyebrows, straightening in his seat.
Marinette shook her head dumbly. Then again, how did she not know Felix’s family ran the banks? She’s known him for weeks hasn’t she?
The boy stared at her for a moment, then simply hummed and turned back to the window. 
Silence filled the car. Marinette found it frustrating. Usually, she could talk about anything or everything with Felix. Now, she was at a loss for words. Why was that?
-
When the car stopped in front of her house, Marinette shuffled out of the vehicle, Felix following behind her.
“Thanks again for the ride home.” she said, throwing him an appreciative smile. 
“Any time.” Felix replied softly. 
A frown suddenly flickered across his face and he lightly touched the side of his lips. “You’re lipstick’s a little messed up.” 
Marinette blushed, bringing her hand up to fix the error. 
He was looking at my lips? 
The thought nearly gave Marinette a heart attack, and she shoved it to the back of her mind. That didn’t mean anything. Felix was just observant like that.
“No, wait- you missed- here let me do it.” 
Before Marinette could respond, Felix was in front of her again. He tilted her chin upwards, gently grazing his thumb across her lips.
Marinette’s heart skipped a beat at the gesture and her eyes flicked to his.
His eyebrows were knitted together as he focused on fixing her makeup. It was all too obvious that he wasn’t trying anything.
“It’s such a lovely shade of red..” he murmured absently, stroking her lips one last time for perfection.
Oh, if Marinette thought she couldn’t blush any deeper..
The poor girl was about to blabber out some sort of reply when a car horn blared next to them, signaling for Felix to hurry up. The two jumped apart, glancing at the impatient chauffeur. 
“G-Goodnight!” Marinette nearly squeaked, holding back another cringe of embarrassment. 
Felix gave a small smile, though, not seeming to mind. “Yes, goodnight.”
With that, he got back in the car and left. 
Marinette went back inside as well, hand on her lips and thoughts racing about the night she just had and the new feelings she might have just experienced.
Tag list: @unabashedbookworm @bluerosette23 @minightrose@kuroko26@im-here-for-the-content @angstyrastuff @clumsy-owl-4178 @fanboy7794@choaticneturcl @bigcheeseyboi @burntnugget-tae @ayuchan07@honorisfortheweak @knightrose15 @mjisntme@rhub4rb @simplythebestbug@wilhelmares@zebrabaker@dargeon-lissa @kristycocopop @alumneia @kaydenth3gayden @thornangelic727 @flirtshobi @whatamessofwords
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pandawritespoorly · 4 years
Text
Teamwork
Author’s Note: What?? Panda posting a work where Marinette collapses/is overworked/is sleep deprived/etc?? That's never happened before!
Sarcasm aside, I finished this a while ago, and figured I should probably post it before it's lost among my docs. This is basically along the lines of the early concept art where there was a team, rather than just the two heroes. I didn't use Bridgette though because 1) I don't really have as much experience writing for her, and I didn't want to start just yet, and 2) The personality I imagine her with isn't like Mari's in that she probably wouldn't overwork herself to this extent or be so stubborn about it.
Also, I'm sure you're all familiar with the 'Lila wants *insert big school event here* rescheduled after Marinette has already planned it, and Marinette gets pressured into changing it anyways' story prompt sort of thing. That's what's going on here.
Summary: Tikki isn't about to let Marinette run herself into the ground. Time to have the team intervene.
Ladybug really can’t wait for the weekend. She’s absolutely exhausted, and once she doesn’t have to worry about school, she’ll be able to sleep.
Well, once she’s got some of her planning done for the potential of a rescheduled school dance and if she’s going to be up, she may as well bake some stuff for the bake sale, because so much money of the school’s budget will be lost if Lila does manage to convince everyone to force her to change the date of the dance and if she’s going to be baking, she should really bring in some cupcakes for the class, because she needs to do something to make sure that everyone doesn’t turn on her, and if she’s making cupcakes maybe she can fit in a nap while they’re in the-
No. Her time would be better spent on designs for the dance. She’s got her own dress designed, and materials purchased, but everyone probably expects that she’ll be making theirs, so she needs to get that done and-
Suddenly, the heroine is limp, having fallen asleep mid thought.
And mid jump.
Before she falls far, a green blur races over, catching her and landing with her on the next roof. Gavroche looks at Kid Mime, both of their faces filled with concern.
They had just been about to call out to Ladybug to alert her to their presence, when she’d just… dropped. She’d gone from jumping across the rooftops to wilting entirely, collapsing in the air.
It’s worrying to say the least.
“Ladybug?” Kid approaches her, but the girl barely stirs.
Gavroche passes her to the other boy. “I’ll go grab Mel and Chat.”
Kid nods, sitting down on the roof with the spotted heroine and holding her carefully while waiting for the other three to join them.
Ladybug frowns, stirring a little more and sitting up on her own.
“Bug?” He squeezes her hand a little. “You up?”
“...yeahhh, ‘m up. ‘m up…” she slurs, opening her eyes.
“That’s good. You scared us-”
“Sorry.” She blinks, seeming to realize who she’s talking to and where she is. “Kid?”
“That’s me.” He forces a gentle smile, his worry not ebbing at all.
“So ‘m patrollin’?”
Before he can tell that no, she is not going to be patrolling now or anytime in the near future, she’s standing. The girl stumbles, tripping over her own feet and heading back towards the roof.
She falls onto her miraculous partner, Gavroche having returned with both Chat Noir and Melodie.
The cat hero looks at the girl slumped against him. “Are you feeling alright, My Lady?”
She hums half-heartedly.
“Maybe you should go home and rest,” Melodie suggests, “You aren’t in any state to be out right now.”
“No, I’m up!” She straightens, stepping away. “I’m up…” She teeters, and Chat preemptively grabs her. Instead of fighting, she just leans back, using him for support.
“Really, you should be going home.” Kid agrees. “You clearly need to sleep.”
“Nah, I jus’... need t’ bake, an’ reschedule… plans in case…”
Chat sits down, letting her rest against him, and they all follow suit.
“No, you need to sleep. That should be a priority.” Gavroche argues. “Patrol is canceled.”
Ladybug seems determined to try and patrol anyways.
Melodie plays a soft tune on her flute, a slower version of what she’s taught them to recognize as Ladybug’s song. She slows it further, and plays even softer over a few minutes and eventually puts the instrument down.
Ladybug is out, sleeping calmly in Chat’s arms.
“Thanks,” he whispers.
“No problem. I’ve had to pull that trick on these two more than once when they think they can get away with not sleeping.”
“Hypocrite.” Gavroche mutters.
“That said, we know better than to try and go out on patrol when we’re tired enough to collapse,” Kid Mime frowns at his exhausted friend.
“Has she mentioned anything coming up that could have made her busy enough to forget to sleep?” Melodie asks, “I don’t remember her saying anything…”
“No, she’s been normal. Seemed busy, but not any busier than usual,” Chat comments. The other boys nod in agreement.
They end up letting her sleep for two hours or so before waking her up and telling her to go home and sleep.
They can only hope she listens.
---
“Marinette. You should stay home sick today,” Tikki pleads.
“’m not sick though.”
“You may as well be! You almost fell off a building last night, just take a break!”
Marinette shakes her head, ignoring how her brain feels fuzzy. “Can’t. Lila… she could do sumthin’...”
The girl begins heading out of her room. “Marinette, if you don’t let yourself rest-”
“‘m fine.”
Alright then. Tikki settles herself in her chosen’s purse. If that’s how it’s going to be, then so be it.
A Kwami may not be able to do much, but the girl’s superhero partners?
They’d certainly be capable of stopping her.
Especially because Tikki is releasing the spell. Any fellow superhero that Marinette trusts will recognize her now.
She honestly should have done this sooner, but she wanted to give the girl a chance to see reason.
Oh well.
---
Felix is sitting on a bench in the courtyard, reading. He glances up when someone walks by, returning to his book. It’s just Marinette.
Marinette who looks oddly like-
He does a double take and sure enough, he can’t miss his classmate’s resemblance to his partner.
It’s more than that though. Marinette is Ladybug.
How on Earth did he miss that?!
He watches her cross the courtyard.
“Plagg?”
“Yeah?”
“Marinette is Ladybug.”
The Kwami looks at him from his pocket, studying him. “Huh. Sugarcube must’ve dropped the spell. Guess ‘m doin’ that then. Yeah, Pigtails is Pigtails.”
“You gave them both the same nickname, how did I-”
“Magic, kid. Now go talk to her.”
That’s what it takes to shake Felix out of it. He snaps his book shut, putting it in his bag, which he pulls over his shoulder as he hurries after the girl.
“Marinette.”
“Hey, Feli’sss...” she mumbles, dragging herself across the courtyard.
“You cannot seriously be planning on attending school today?”
“‘m not sick. ‘s fine.”
He blinks at her. “That is a foolish excuse. Simply lacking illness does not make you well.”
She doesn’t respond, so he continues, “Given that you quite literally fell off of a roof during patrol last night, I do not think you have any sort of case here.”
She pauses, finally looking at him.
“Kitty?”
“Yes, now honestly, what are you doing-”
“Didn’ fall, I jump’d…”
For one moment, he was horrified, before he remembered the exact circumstances of the incident. “Semantics. Either way, you were - and still are - tired to a point where it is dangerous for your overall health and safety. You should not be at school today.”
“Gotta’ watch Lila…”
He pauses, glancing to where the Italian girl has just arrived at school. Frowning, he pulls Marinette into an empty classroom. “Is Lila the reason you are so exhausted?” he growls.
As usual, it takes her tired brain a moment to understand the question. While she’s thinking, the door opens.
He recognizes Allegra, the girl who opened it. They’re in the same music class, and her friend Claude has a habit of making obnoxious puns whenever he sees Felix. She and Allan are bearable though. This must be their usual classroom.
“Hello.”
The girl just stares at him. He raises an eyebrow.
“Allan, Claude, get in here and tell me I’m not hallucinating.”
“Why? You seein’ flying elephants or someth-” Claude cuts himself off as he enters the doorway. “Well. Okay. Not what I expected from today, but alright.”
“I guess this is an ‘or something’, then?” Allan comments.
“What is going on with you three now?”
Allegra shakes herself out of her surprise. She strolls up to him, sticking her hand out. “A pleasure to finally meet you outside of the suits, Chat Noir. I’m Melodie, that’s Kid Mime, and-”
“Gavroche,” Allan finishes.
Felix blinks a few times. “What.”
He hears Plagg cackle, “What, kid, didn’t listen when I was dropping the spell? Your team can recognize you.”
Felix glares at the Kwami who is now floating in the open, “I was rather distracted, and you failed to elaborate. In fact, you were the one to dismiss the conversation and rush me to move along.”
Plagg shrugs, “Not my problem.”
“So you’re Plagg.” Allegra studies the Kwami.
“And you’re Ladybug.” Claude approaches the pigtailed girl. She’s completely forgotten Felix’s question, and is staring at the trio that has entered the room.
“Hi?”
“You shouldn’t be at school, dear.” Allan chides her gently. Marinette just keeps blinking at the people around her, her exhausted brain doing little to connect any dots besides the fact that these are her teammates.
“Tikki’s Bugs are stubborn. Have fun trying to get her to go home,” Plagg comments as he curls up under Felix’s collar.
The other Kwami shoots out of the purse. “Plagg! They’re not all stubborn!”
“Just most of ‘em.”
Marinette still doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on, looking entirely lost as she watches everything going on in front of her.
Felix ignores the Kwamis, turning back to Marinette. “You did not answer my question. Is Ms. Rossi responsible for your current state?”
They all give her a moment to respond.
“No… I jus’ gotta’ make sure ‘m ready if we resc’edu’l-”
“For which she is entirely to blame.”
“What’s going on?” Allan asks.
“Our class consists of mindless sheep, who are infatuated with the tall tales of one Lila Rossi. She is currently working on convincing them that Marinette must reschedule the entire school dance so that she may attend.”
“They actually believe her?! I thought they were all humoring her!” Claude is incredulous.
“That’s ridiculous! The dance is a school event! We can’t just change the date! The class presidents have already spent most of the budget for it! It’s non-refundable!” Allegra fumes.
“Exactly!”
“So ‘m gonna do bake sale, an’ then-”
“No. No, you don’t have to worry about it being rescheduled.” Allegra goes to Marinette, giving her a hug. “Even if they tell you to, you can’t because you aren’t the only one in charge of it.”
Marinette slowly blinks a few times. “Then I shou’d pr’bly start designin’ their-”
Felix stares in shock as he realizes what she means. “Marinette. Please tell me they don’t expect you to design and make each of their outfits by hand.”
“‘s only fair…”
“How?” Claude challenges, “How is that fair in the slightest?”
Marinette seems to mumble something as she slumps further, the exhaustion beginning to win out.
The bell rings, and she jumps. Suddenly a little more aware of what’s going on, she shakes herself a little. “We gotta’ get to class now!”
“Honey-”
“Bye! I’ll see you between classes?”
“Yeah, but-”
Marinette smiles at all of them, then rushes away. They all stare at her, before Felix sighs. “I will follow her, as I fear she may collapse in the hallway.”
“We’ll make sure that everyone knows what Lila is trying to do. I don’t think anyone thinks it makes sense to reschedule a school event for one girl,” Allegra growls.
---
Marinette is trying to pay attention in class, she really is.
Her mind is determined to stay awake, well aware of all that she needs to do. All the tasks she needs to complete.
Her body, on the other hand, isn’t having any of it. Too many nights of no sleep, and her limbs are like weights, hanging in her seat and dragging her down.
Her eyes keep closing, no matter how many times she forces them open, they just keep slipping closed.
She falls to the side, leaning against her seatmate. Felix.
Chat Noir.
That had been a nice surprise.
She smiles softly.
“Ms. Dupain-Cheng? Is the lesson not-” Ms. Bustier cuts off suddenly.
Nonetheless, Marinette sits up again, eyes mostly closed, but doing her best to seem attentive.
Through her blurry vision, she can sort of see her teacher. The woman looks uncomfortable for a moment before she turns back to the board and continues on in the lesson as usual.
Bustier sufficiently cowed, Felix turns back to Marinette, who is swaying slightly and staring puzzledly towards the front of the room.
“Marinette,” he whispers, “You may rest again. Ms. Bustier is allowing it.”
She nods, returning to her previous position. Her eyes slip shut a few times, before they stay that way, and she dozes against the boy.
He does his best to sit still, and mentally thanks his ambidextrousness.
---
When lunch begins, a few classmates seem to be considering waking her, but he glares at them until they get the message.
“Geez, you know you could just talk t’ people, right?” Allan teases, showing up at the door just as the last classmate leaves.
“Self expression, Al’. That’s just his true self.” Claude appears. “Truly, I’m so proud, look at him with his very own personality.”
His glares are less effective on the two boys than his classmates, and before he can say anything in response, Allegra interrupts, “Those two are just taking advantage of the fact that you can’t do anything other than whisper and scowl at them with our fair lady right there.”
The braided blonde approaches the pair who are still seated, nudging the fatigued girl slightly. Bleary eyes crack open, and her mouth moves in a shadow of mumbled words that never get verbalized.
“Claude, get over here so you can carry her.”
He nods dutifully, coming over. Allan sees Felix’s expression and grins. “Sorry Fe’, but if someone saw you carrying an unconscious girl they’d think you were disposing of a body.”
“No one would think something so outlandish.”
Claude reaches for Marinette, who complies with being picked up, holding on like a koala. She doesn’t bother attempting to ask where they’re taking her.
Mostly because all her brain can register is that these are her teammates, and that’s more than enough for her. She’s safe.
The quartet keeps their conversation down, carrying the girl out of the class, then the school. Crossing the street, they enter the bakery. Once they explain a little to their friend’s parents, they’re allowed up, and easily find Marinette’s room.
“Here we are, sweetheart. This is your stop.” Claude starts to set the girl down.
Marinette teeters on her feet slightly, blinking around at her surroundings. She realizes where she is and shakes her head.
“Oh yes,” Allan counters, “This is where you’re supposed to be.”
She shakes her head again, still using Claude for support. Allegra thinks for a moment, then drags Marinette over to the chaise. “Alright. Then we’ll sit here, and I’ll try different hairstyles on you.”
Marinette blinks, which they take as confusion.
“Well, we’ve got to do something while we’re here, and I want to see what you look like without pigtails!”
Marinette is too tired to notice how the girl hums as she works, a quiet tune that’s familiar to the others. Allegra slows the song while she combs out Marinette’s hair with her fingers. Separating it into three parts, she starts making a loose braid, still humming.
By the time she’s finished with the braid, Marinette is asleep.
“Stubborn child,” Allegra whispers, standing and guiding Marinette’s body to lean backwards in a more comfortable position.
“Have you spoken to the other class presidents about Ms. Rossi’s ‘request’?” Felix inquires.
Allegra huffs, then her face splits in a grin. “Oh yes. I explained everything, and needless to say they were rather… angry. I don’t think Lila will be lasting much longer.”
---
Ladybug runs along her usual patrol route. She’d slept for a few hours, then woke up and moved on with her usual routine. It was for the best, given how many hours she’d lost.
She can just count those towards her sleep quota.
Her patrol is interrupted when she sees Gavroche sitting on a nearby building with an unimpressed look.
“Ladybug. You’re supposed to be resting. You’ve missed too much sleep.”
“I already slept for a bit. I’m fine. I should be patrolling,” she argues.
He responds by taking out his communicator, contacting every member of the team with one button. “You guys will never guess who I ran into.”
He never breaks eye contact with her, and she glares at him.
He responds by taking a picture of her and sending it to the other heroes.
“We both know you can’t outrun me. Accept your fate.”
“I don’t need to sleep!”
“Yes you do. You’re running yourself into the ground, and as your friends, we can’t just let that happen. You were barely conscious this morning.”
Chat Noir was the first to arrive, though Kid Mime and Melodie weren’t far behind.
“Ladybug. What do you think you’re doing?” “I was doing patrol.”
“Patrol was canceled, remember? Last night.”
“We’ll start patrolling regularly again once you have a regular sleep schedule.”
She huffs. “I’m not even tired.”
Melodie shakes her head. “Maybe not on the surface, but your song is exhausted.”
When Ladybug doesn’t respond, she continues, “I can show you. I don’t like forcing people to sleep against their will, because it makes me feel gross, but if you’re okay with it…”
Ladybug sighs. “...fine. But if I don’t fall asleep, I get to patrol.”
Kid seems to consider this, nodding. “Deal.”
The others look at him in disbelief, but he has a mischievous grin on his face, and they just go along with it.
Melodie straightens, taking a few moments to prepare herself before beginning the song. Once again, they recognize what she’s told them is Ladybug’s song. This time, however, she’s put more detail into it. It’s how Ladybug’s song sounds right now, not just the general feeling of it.
At a glance, it’s the usual. A strong, confident tune that makes you want to smile. Under the surface though, something lurks. As Melodie continues, she pulls the coverings away, bringing it to light.
It’s a slower song. Almost every note seems like it could be the end, as though it’s just going to drop and the song is going to end. Each one drags itself out into the air wearily.
Ladybug is no longer standing with the near perfect posture she had moments before. The longer the song drags on, the heavier her eyelids seem to get, and the more she droops. When she starts to sway, Chat walks over to hold her.
She fights a little to get herself back to a standing position. It doesn’t last long, and she’s leaning against her miraculous partner again, fighting to keep her eyes open.
Melodie puts her flute down, sitting down quickly. Sure, Ladybug is still awake, but there’s no way she’ll stay that way much longer.
Chat is holding her against his chest, likely purring while he rubs circles on her back. Ladybug keeps prying her eyes open, again and again. Finally, they close and stay closed. There’s a tense silence for a moment as they all wait to be sure she’s actually asleep.
Finally, Kid breaks the silence. “Well, aren’t you two sweet,” he teases.
Chat frowns. “It was simply the most logical way to get her to sleep quicker.”
“Mhm. And the fact that your tail is wrapped around her?” Gavroche raises an eyebrow.
Chat scowls, which does nothing to cover his blush.
“Kid, why would you agree to her deal? She shouldn’t be patrolling,” Melodie asks, suppressing a yawn.
“Well, if no one did, then she probably would have pushed it and made sure each one of us agreed. This way, I agreed to it, but you guys? You never said a thing, so if she tried to patrol, then we still technically fulfill the terms of her deal while being able to keep her from patrolling. Win-win. Not that I thought she’d stay up, just-”
“Good to have a back-up plan. Alright.”
“Mhm!”
“Well,” Gavroche says, “Chat will obviously be the one to take our Bug to her bed. Melodie, I’ll take the long way to my house so that I can stick with you. Can’t have you pulling a Ladybug on us.”
She nods tiredly. “That’s fair. Probably for the best - that took more out of me than I expected.”
With that, they all go their separate ways, Chat holding Ladybug delicately.
It’s only when he lands on her balcony that he realizes she’s still clinging to consciousness. Not really aware of anything, but not quite entirely asleep yet.
Her transformation drops as he enters her room. Her Kwami flies off.
“Marinette, it is time for you to sleep.”
She murmurs quietly, shifting as he places her on her bed.
Marinette has been drifting in and out of sleep. First she was on the roof, and Melodie’s song was really starting to get to her. Then she’s was with Chat. Then she was on her way home, Chat carrying her.
Now she can hear him speaking, and her very quick attempt to open her eyes show him leaning over her, facing towards her. She couldn’t make out much more.
Everything feels so heavy, and she just wants to sleep. For whatever reason, it won’t come again, and she lies there helplessly, waiting.
Someone (who was just here again?) pulls her blankets up around her, and tucks her hair out of her face. She feels gentle purring (when did she get a cat? Did her pillow come to life?) and that’s what eventually pulls her down into a deep sleep.
When her teammates come by the next day, late into the morning, they find she’s asleep. High fiving each other, they leave a note to contact them when she wakes up. She’ll need some help with the classes she’s slept through, but for now, she needs the sleep more.
---
Author’s Note: Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any thoughts, theories, constructive criticism, or anything really in my ask box, in replies or through reblogs. I love seeing what you think!
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starshine583 · 5 years
Text
New Friends Ch. 19
(So this chapter is basically an aftermath to a lot of the stuff that’s happened so far. After this chapter, I am going to stop weekly updates so I can take the time to develop more of the plot line. Enjoy!)
Ch.1 / Ch.18 / Ch.20
Felix always hated the idea of love. It was too unpredictable, too messy. Not to mention, It was also completely unnecessary. He never understood why everyone seemed so taken with the concept. Even watching his parents made him sneer as he grew older. They acted as if their marriage couldn’t fall apart in seconds due to some minor arguments. No, he’d decided a long time ago that love wasn’t for him.
But standing here now, holding Marinette close with her lips on his. He realized it wasn’t all that bad. The electricity from her touch coursing through every corner of his body was an addicting feeling. Her hands coming up to dig through his hair drove him crazy in a way he didn’t know was possible.
“I love you too.” She mumbled against his lips, sending his heart soaring. 
He opened his mouth to reply when the person sitting closest to them loudly cleared their throat.
Marinette and Felix flushed, stepping apart. He’d forgotten they were in a restaurant.
“Why don’t we start walking back? Lunch period is almost over anyway.” Marinette suggested, rendering him breathless with her soft, bluebell eyes.
Felix nodded lamely and laced his fingers with hers. “Is this alright?” 
The shining grin on her face was all the answer he needed as she gave his hand a loving squeeze. “It’s perfect.”
~~~~~~
To say the class was shocked when Felix and Marinette came to school hand in hand was an understatement. Even Lila gasped at the new couple as they took their seats in the back.
“What the heck is this?” Alya blanched, gesturing towards their entwined hands.
“What does it look like?” Felix asked, as if it was obvious- which it was. To make it completely clear, though, he placed a sweet kiss on Marinette’s forehead. 
The ravenette blushed, but leaned into his touch with a fond smile.
A whole new wave of surprise washed over the class at the sight. They’d never seen Felix show so much affection before.
Some thought it made sense, whether it be because the two already spent so much time together or simply because “Sweet and Sour” work well together was for you to decide.
Others- such as Alya -either couldn’t wrap their heads around it or flat out rejected the idea entirely. 
Adrien fell into the latter category.
Marinette and Felix.. They were dating?
Sweet-as-sugar Marinette was dating Salt-incarnate Felix? He just couldn’t see that happening. But a glance at the back proved that was exactly what was going on. 
Felix and Marinette sat together, hands held and shoulders touching. Marinette smiled her bright smile he hadn’t seen directed towards him recently as she talked. Felix smiled warmly down at her- a rare smile Adrien had only caught a glimpse of twice in the last month.
They were very much in love, and for some reason that made Adrien’s stomach twist. Why did it bother him so much?
~~~~~~
“Unbelievable.” Alya grumbled, watching Felix and Marinette from afar as they talked to the “Marinette squad”. Everything looked normal, standing on the front steps of the school, except Felix had his arm around Marinette, hugging her close every now and then.
“I kind of saw it coming.” Nino admitted with a shrug.
Alya glared, though not necessarily at him. “What do you mean you saw it coming!” 
Her boyfriend frowned, tipping his hat. “Well, they always hang out together.. And Felix doesn’t talk to the rest of us. So it makes sense that they ended up together.”
“What about Adrien?!” Alya nearly flailed her arms in exasperation. 
Nino scoffed, something he’d been doing a lot when the blonde was mentioned. “What about him? He never showed any interest in her anyway.” 
The words were bitter, a hidden layer underneath that Alya was dying to know about. He still wouldn’t tell her what happened between them. 
“Well, wasn’t Marinette bullying Lila because of Adrien?”
Something akin to anger flashed in the DJ’s eyes, but he didn’t say anything.
Alya frowned, turning back to the couple just in time to see Felix kiss Marinette’s cheek. Their group cheered in response, quickly swallowing Marinette and Felix in a group hug. They all looked so happy that it made Alya sick. If Marinette wasn’t interested in Adrien anymore, why was she still hurting Lila? Nothing was making sense. 
“Hey guys! Are you ready to go?” Lila suddenly asked, pulling Alya from her thoughts.
“Yes! We are gonna have a blast at the ice rink today!” Alya said excitedly, linking her arm with Lila’s.
Nino shifted uncomfortably. “About that.. I can’t go.” 
Her face immediately fell. 
“Why not? We’ve been planning this since last week.” 
Nino’s gaze flicked to Lila, then to the school stairs. “Sorry, I’ve got a lot of homework to catch up on.” 
A sniffle brought their attention back to Lila. 
“You’re not coming? I was so looking forward to all of us hanging out together.” The brunette lamented, resembling a kicked puppy.
Alya almost sat down from shock when she saw Nino briefly roll his eyes. What was his problem today?
“Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not coming. Have fun.” He replied shortly, already walking down the school steps.
She thought she was full on hallucinating when she caught a glimpse of Nino and Marinette subtly waving bye to each other.
“You don’t think he’s mad at me, do you?” Lila said tentatively, hugging her chest as she watched him leave.
Alya immediately shook her head. “No, no! I’m sure it’s not your fault. He’s just going through some things.” 
Lila nodded, though she still seemed unsure. “Okay. I trust you to help him out.” 
The red-head smiled. That’s right. She was his girlfriend, and it was her job to help him out when he needed it. She would get to the bottom of this. If Nino was actually starting to talk to Marinette again, that would explain why he was being rude to Lila. 
Alya’s eyes filled with determination. She couldn’t stop Marinette from going down the wrong path, but she would be able to stop Nino. She had to, no matter what.
~~~~~~
Marinette grinned from ear to ear as she swung her and Felix’s joined hands back and forth. He told her he was in love with her! This was the best day of her life!
“Ugh, we’re so close! Why can’t Andre just pick a spot and stay there?” Aurore whined, studying the GPS on her phone. 
“It’s not as special if you don’t have to put in effort for the ice cream.” Luka pointed out with a smile.
The group had been overjoyed when she and Felix announced their love for each other, and immediately suggested a trip to Andre’s to celebrate the new couple. Marinette eagerly agreed. This would be her first trip to Andre’s with someone special!
“I think walking to a shop would be enough effort.” Wayhem commented, gaining a snort from Aurore.
“Stop complaining. Andre’s right there.” Kagami scolded, pointing ahead to the ice cream cart in the distance.
Aurore and Wayhem perked up and, upon spotting the cart themselves, broke into a sprint to get to the ice cream truck. 
Luka laughed and picked up the pace with Kagami, leaving Marinette and Felix behind.
“Are you sure you want to share an ice cream? I thought you didn’t like sweets.” Marinette asked, looking up at her boyfriend. Her boyfriend!
The blonde met her gaze with a soft smile that melted her heart. “I don’t, but this sounds special to you. So I’ll try it anyway.” 
Marinette didn’t know her grin could get any wider. 
She stepped up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re the best.” 
Felix’s cheeks tinged pink, but he chuckled. “For trying ice cream?” 
She giggled, grabbing his arm with her free hand and leaning on his shoulder. “For everything.”
Felix squeezed her hand, lightly caressing the back of it with his thumb. “I love you.”
Marinette hummed. She wanted to listen to him say those words to her over and over again. 
“Guys, hurry up!” Aurore urged, now holding a chocolate ice cream. 
“If you take any longer, we’re gonna have to walk to Andre’s new location!” Wayhem joined in, holding a cotton candy and lemon ice cream.
Marinette laughed, while Felix rolled his eyes, but they picked up the pace nonetheless.
“Ah! A new couple! It’s as clear as day from the look you share.” The ice cream vendor cooed. He spun his ice cream scooper in his hand and scooped a few different flavors from the ice cream buckets, packing them all onto one cone.
“May this ice cream help you seal your love, so you can overcome any trials you face.” Andre said happily, handing them the cone.
The two thanked him, before sitting with the rest of the group on the benches.
“So, which one of you guys confessed first? It was Mari, right?” Aurore asked once they sat down. 
Marinette and Felix blushed. They hadn’t filled them in on all the details yet.
“Actually, Felix said it first.” Marinette said shyly, glancing towards Felix. She could tell he was flustered about the whole thing. I mean, who wouldn’t be a little embarrassed about blurting out a declaration of love in front of a restaurant full of people.
To their surprise, Aurore scrunched up her nose in annoyance while Luka and Wayhem laughed. 
“Seriously? I thought for sure you’d be the one to tell him!” She huffed, taking something out of her pocket and roughly putting it in Kagami’s hands.
“Was that- did you bet on us?” Felix asked, a hint of agitation in his tone.
Everyone turned sheepish except for Kagami, who gave a smug smirk. 
“It was easy money. How could I refuse?” 
“But you’re rich!” Aurore flailed her arms, obviously still bitter about losing the bet.
Kagami only shrugged, taking another bite of her ice cream.
Marinette couldn’t help laughing towards their antiques.
“You know, I hope things never change.” She sighed blissfully, looking over her group of friends with a fond smile.
They returned her smile, nodding in agreement. This circle of friendship they had formed was something to be cherished. 
And the relationships. She thought to herself, watching as Felix took a bite of their ice cream. He kept his expression neutral, but she saw his eye twitch, signifying his dislike for the dessert.
Her heart swelled with love and happiness. Yes, she had something good, and she would make sure to cherish every bit of it.
~~~~~~
Adrien was still thinking about Felix and Marinette’s declaration of love well past school hours. Even as he jumped across rooftops to go meet his Lady for evening patrol he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Felix had never shown any signs of emotions besides spite and anger before. How Felix could look at Marinette so fondly and be so gentle was beyond him. He heard they even went to get ice cream together at Andre’s. Everyone knew how big of a deal that was.  
As Chat Noir neared their traditional rendezvous point to start patrols, his previous thoughts were set to the side when he started to hear laughing and talking. One voice was easily recognizable as his Lady. No one else had a laugh like hers.
Bouclier and Ladybug were sitting on the rooftop together- way too close, in his opinion. Were their hands touching?! -and they seemed to be laughing it up about who knows what. Her laugh was so heartfelt and whole that he would usually be elated to hear it had it not been for the fact that he knew Bouclier was the cause. Whatever happened to it being just them? Chat Noir and Ladybug. Yin and Yang. Why was she so intent on hanging out with other guys and ignoring him?
“I hope I’m not interrupting.” He spoke up, barely containing a growl.
The two jumped and looked back at him with a mix of surprise and embarrassment.
Too absorbed in each other. What if I had been a villain? 
“Oh, Chat Noir. You’re here.” Ladybug said light-heartedly, standing up. No, ‘hey Chat. How was your day?’ No ‘I’ve missed you, Kitty’. Just ‘oh, you’re here’. Did he even matter to her anymore? Or had he been some cheap amusement for her until she was able to have a new playmate?
His Lady didn’t acknowledge his silence, instead starting a ramble about the patrols. “So, since we have Bouclier now, I was thinking we could take West and East like usual, except Bouclier would take North. Then we could all meet up at the South and-”
“Yeah, yeah. that’s great, Bugaboo. Can I talk to you for a sec?” He interrupted, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and guiding her to the other side of the roof. This had gone on long enough. They needed to take action before Bouclier caused a serious rift between them. 
Ladybug glanced back at the turtle-themed hero, who now on his feet, and motioned for him to stay put. Perfect. She could tell this was a serious conversation.
“Do you really think having Bouclier on the team is necessary?” Chat Noir asked once they were “alone”. 
Ladybug’s eyes widened in surprise, then she gave him a small glare and crossed her arms. “Yes, of course he’s necessary. We need all the help we can get, Chat.” 
Chat held up his hand defensively. “Absolutely! I totally agree with you, My Lady. It’s just.. Does he have to be a permanent hero? The temporary ones have worked fine so far.”
Ladybug sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Bouclier lightens the load for us. It’s easier to manage the job if we have more people to spread the responsibilities to.” 
“But we’ve always been fine before!” Chat pointed out. “Sorry, LB, but three’s a crowd, and I, for one, don’t enjoy being singled out.” 
Ladybug’s gaze shot back up. “Wha- you- no one is being singled out.” 
The black-clad hero crossed his arms and pulled a small pout. “Yeah, you say that, but then you’re off joking around with that guy during fights. I’m telling you, he’s going to cause trouble and I want him off the team before he comes between us.” 
He really hoped she would agree. That Ladybug would think it over and realize where he was coming from. The dynamic between the Cat and the Ladybug was a delicate thing that needed to be protected if they were to capture the akumas. They shouldn’t risk tipping the scales on some random guy who’s filled with nothing but spiteful remarks.
Unfortunately, though, Ladybug wasn’t exactly understanding as much as she was rageful. 
She sharply inhaled, getting right in front of him so he could see exactly how much fury swam behind her bluebell eyes. “Let me tell you something. Bouclier is a brilliant addition to the team who has helped us so much in the week that he’s been here.” She jabbed her finger into his chest. “And I will not take him off the team just because you are jealous.”
Chat Noir scoffed in disbelief. She thought this was only about jealousy? I mean, yes, that was the core of it, but there was still more than that. Their dynamic was suffering because of Bouclier, and since neither of them could leave- their miraculous were too important -then it only makes sense that Bouclier should be the one to go. It was like she didn’t even listen to him because of his feelings for her! 
But fine. He can see how far their partnership goes, if they ever even had one in the first place. 
“If he’s such a brilliant partner, then I guess he won’t have trouble covering my section of patrol.” He huffed, stomping over to the edge of the roof and taking out his baton. Obviously, he wasn’t needed there. Ladybug and her brilliant addition should be able to do just fine without Chat Noir.
He ignored her protests as he propelled himself towards the mansion. Let them patrol the city on their own. Then see what she thought about having permanent heroes on the team. Ladybug would come running back to him before patrol tomorrow night.
~~~~~~
The next day at school, Nino scribbled down as much information as he could about Lila and all of her lies. If he wanted to convince the class that she was lying, he’d have to have proof and would need to be able to counter any excuses she had. Now, this might be going a bit overboard since he wanted to talk with his classmates privately, but you could never be too careful.
Who should he start with though? Juleka and Nathaniel don’t really pay attention to the drama, right? He should be able to sway them over easily, maybe ask them to talk with Marc and Rose about it..
“What are you doing?” Mylene asked next to him.
Nino jumped, scrambling to flip his notebook closed. “O-oh -uh- nothin- nothing much!” 
After his argument with Adrien two days ago, he knew he couldn’t sit with him anymore. So he changed seats to be next to Mylene. She was so quiet, though, that he would sometimes forget she was there. 
Mylene frowned slightly, eyeing his notebook with suspicion. “Sorry, you looked really focused for a second. I was just curious.” 
He smiled nervously and looked down at the notebook as well. Lying was never really his forte.
On second thought, why would he need to lie? He wants to convince the class right? Why not start with Mylene?
“Actually, do you mind if I talk to you about something? We’ve gotta be quiet though.” He began, re-opening the notebook and giving Lila a cautious glare.
Mylene nodded, curiosity reflecting in her eyes as she inched closer. 
Nino got back to his page of notes, lowering his voice to a whisper. “You know how Mari said Lila was lying? I think she’s right.” 
Mylene reeled back, shock written all over her face. “Why would you think that?” 
Nino pushed the notebook over for her to read. “I thought something was off so I tried to look up some of her stories, but I couldn’t find any. She hangs out with a bunch of famous people, right? Wouldn’t something like that be in the news or on a post somewhere?”
Mylene didn’t respond as she read over the notes, her frown deepening the further she got. Finally, she set the notebook down and looked at Lila, who was happily chatting with Alya.
“I don’t know, Nino.. Lila’s super sweet. I have a hard time believing she’s actually been lying to us.”
“What about Mari?” Nino argued. He was getting close! She was almost on board! “Wasn’t she super sweet? Think about how she was before Lila came. Or even after. Has Mari ever done anything unfair or mean to us?”
Mylene quietly thought it over. Nino didn’t interrupt. He knew changing your views on somebody could be pretty hard, especially when they had no concrete evidence to go off of.
She then sighed, fiddling with the metal spirals on the notebook. “No.. you’re right.. Marinette wouldn’t lie like that, would she?” 
The guilt she felt was clear, but Nino couldn’t help getting excited. She believed him! They were going somewhere with this!
“It’s hard to take in. Go ahead and investigate for yourself, too. I need all the help I can get.” He admitted, stealing his notebook back to continue writing.
“Help? For what?” Mylene asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
Nino glanced at the brunette in front of them again. “For exposing Lila for the person she really is.” 
Mylene followed his gaze, bitterness slowly spreading  across her features.
“I’ll talk to Ivan.” She said dutifully. “You can keep working on the list, and we’ll talk to who we can.” 
Nino nodded with an appreciative smile, before turning back to his notes.
One down, too many more to go.
Tag List: @unabashedbookworm@bluerosette23@minightrose@kuroko26@im-here-for-the-content@angstyrastuff@clumsy-owl-4178@fanboy7794@choaticneturcl@bigcheeseyboi@burntnugget-tae@ayuchan07@honorisfortheweak@knightrose15@mjisntme@rhub4rb@simplythebestbug@wilhelmares@zebrabaker@dargeon-lissa @kristycocopop @alumneia @kaydenth3gayden@thornangelic727@flirtshobi @whatamessofwords @offically-over-it @flashflashitsash@thewingting @aegyobutpsycho2 @zoeytheweeb@zeyheartstaylor@friedchickening @roseinbloom02 @totalgaydrama @god-is-dead-and-so-am-i @bitterheart12224 @krunchy-tuna @trapezoidoxide @izzynuggets @imfreakingmagical@vixen-uchiha @dani-ari @azureocean33 @tinkerbela @drama-queen-supreme @nerdyleafeon @tinybrie @jarofbuttons  @crazylizardlove @hauntedfreakdeputyhero@legendaryneckjudgestudent @coniferyl @chocolatecustarddanish@evil-cricket @derpingrainbow @crazylittlemunchkin @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @never-neverland @hetalia-lover-is-here @resignedcatservant @maritrash28 @cadencehood @kiara-rose-blackthorn
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myownworldstayout · 5 years
Text
New Friends Ch. 4
Ch.1 / Ch.3 / Ch.5
(Here you guys go!)
Adrien grew impatient as he lingered on the front steps of the school. Where was Marinette? They had the same class so he knew she got out of school when he did. What else did she have planned? 
Aside from that, how many other people was she going to tell about Lila? Adrien wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Weren’t they in this together? She agreed not to expose Lila so what was going on? 
His pacing came to a pause when he heard a familiar voice. 
Adrien turned to see Marinette walking down the steps, muttering to herself about her schedule and homework assignments. Before he could call out to her, though, they made eye contact. 
(Change to Marinette’s PoV)
Marinette and Adrien both froze, staring at each other for some time.
Finally, Adrien found it in himself to move. 
“We need to talk.” 
“Adrien, I don’t thin-” 
“Mari, please.” The boy pleaded. 
This caused Marinette to hesitate, biting her lip. 
Taking the opportunity, Adrien took a step forward, lowering his voice. 
“We agreed not to tell anyone. What are you doing?” Even though his voice was solely one of concern, Marinette felt herself getting upset.
“I didn’t deliberately find people to tell, it just happened.” She defended. “After yesterday, I was upset and Luka found me. He was worried so I told him what happened.” 
“But this isn’t the way to take care of Lila-” 
“I wasn’t taking care of Lila, I was taking care of me!” Marinette raised her voice slightly, but quickly brought it back down. 
Adrien stalled, not expecting her outburst. 
“No one believes me, Adrien.” 
“I believe you.” 
That’s not enough. Marinette thought, a bitterness rising in her throat.
Adrien, unaware of her true feelings, took another step forward, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Any other day she would have melted at his touch. 
Not today. 
“So believe me when I say exposing Lila isn’t the way to get others to believe you.” 
Anger flared up in her chest and she yanked her shoulder out of his grasp. 
“Really? Because it worked.” 
“Mari, it’ll only make you look bad-” 
“And I don’t look bad already?” 
“If you just let her lies crumble themselves-” 
Marinette let out a huff, opening her mouth to argue. 
“And how long is that going to take?” A voice interrupted instead, taking the words right out of her mouth. 
The two looked up to see Felix just now exiting the school, walking down the steps towards them.
“Felix, this doesn’t concern you.” Adrien said calmly, trying to be patient. 
“If the class is dumb enough to fall for Rossi’s lies so far, no matter how incredulous, it wouldn’t surprise me if she kept her grip on this school until we all go off to college.” Felix continued, not acknowledging Adrien’s insinuation to leave. 
Marinette, though it pained her slightly, agreed with everything Felix was saying. Lila had been stringing the class along for a while now- a month, at least. Who’s to say they’ll ever catch onto her lies? 
“We have to have faith in our friends.” Adrien, however, seemed to strongly disagree, and it made Marinette uncomfortable. 
“Why should she? They didn’t have any faith in her.” Felix responded curtly. 
This threw Adrien. He looked to Marinette for help, which was a grave mistake. 
The girl panicked, stuttering out a few “uhm”s and “well”s as she fiddled with her hands. 
“Is everything okay?” 
Marinette then felt a soft hand on her shoulder. Another savior. She glanced up at Luka, meeting his electric blue eyes with appreciation. Kagami, Aurore, and Wayhem were right behind him, all looking on the scene with a mix of concern and suspicion. 
With so many people now involved, Adrien didn’t see a point in trying to continue the conversation. 
He blew out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. 
“We’ll talk more about this later..” He grumbled, before turning on his heel and walking to his awaiting car. 
No. Marinette thought as she watched him drive off. We won’t. 
She had made her decision, and not even the charming “ray of sunshine” could change her mind.
~~~~~~
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Tikki asked later that night, not to dissuade her, but to make sure Marinette wasn’t going to regret it.
“I.. yes. I’m sure.” Marinette’s eyes filled with determination. “Felix is right. Why should I have faith in them when they didn’t have faith in me?” 
She didn’t think she could blatantly ignore her friends, but she would stop blaming herself for Lila’s actions. Marinette wasn’t going to let that be the focus of her life any longer. She would fight back when she felt the need to, but maybe she could just ignore Lila for now?
Tikki didn’t argue with her. She simply helped her holder with her homework for the evening. At least Marinette had some friends again. If she wanted to spend time with them, what was the harm?
~~~~~~~
Marinette walked into class the next morning feeling much more at ease than the day before. Sure, Lila’s lies still bothered her and they would undoubtedly give Marinette more trouble later. However, Marinette told herself, that was all the more reason to enjoy this moment of peace. So, as Lila rattled off her newest story to her mesmerized fans, Marinette quietly took her new seat in the back. 
Felix wasn’t there yet, giving Marinette some time to think of what she could do with her new group of friends. They could come over to her house to play games or bake treats together. Or maybe they could go on a picnic together! Marinette could bring all kinds of sweets, along with a blanket of her own design and complimentary drinks or- 
“Oh, I almost forgot to ask, do we get Marinette’s treats before or after Miss Bustier’s class?” Lila suddenly asked, bringing Marinette’s daydreams to a halt. 
The class, for once, appeared to be just as confused as her. 
“Marinette isn’t bringing any treats today.” Alya spoke up, giving the ravenette a questioning look. 
Marinette shook her head, confirming that she had indeed not brought any treats this morning. 
“Oh! My mistake!” Lila apologized, flailing her hands a bit. “I just thought since Marinette is such a good friend to you guys that she brought in cookies from the bakery once a week? Now that I think about it, I don’t even know where I got the idea.” 
Marinette glared at the Italian girl. It was obvious she was just trying to get free cookies while stirring up more trouble.
Somehow, the class rallied behind her and Marinette found herself pressured to make them cookies, for she would be awful and horrible and the worst if she didn’t. But then, Marinette felt compelled to. A spiteful thought poked the back of her head and festered and clouded over Marinette’s mind. 
Her lips curled into a smile. “Sure, I can bring some cookies to class tomorrow if you want.” 
They wanted cookies? Alright. She’d give them cookies. 
The class let out a few cheers and excitedly began chatting to each other about their favorite flavors. 
Not even a few minutes later, though, the excitement died in their throats as Felix Culpa walked into the classroom. He was met with eyerolls, glares, and a few bitter grumbles. 
Felix ignored all of them, walking straight to the back seat, once again sitting next to Marinette. 
“Good morning.” She greeted with a smile, pleased he chose to sit next to her again. This time, he couldn’t use the excuse of not being able to sit anywhere else, since almost all of the were still empty. 
Felix hummed in response, pulling out another book he had started the day before. 
At least he’s not ignoring me like everyone else. Marinette considered, studying him for a moment. 
“Hey, Marinette. Why don’t you come sit over here?” Alya suggested, keeping her glare on Felix. 
Oh, now you want to sit with me? Marinette thought irritably, but she kept a smile. 
“That’s okay. I wouldn’t want to take Lila’s seat. Tinnitus is a serious issue, you know.” Although her tone was innocent, it was also just a bit too sweet. 
Felix hid a smile behind his book, but Alya frowned. 
“Lila can sit next to Adrien, it’s fine.” She reasoned. 
Now Nino frowned. He didn’t like being sacrificed to sit in the back with the wet blanket. 
“Oh, please, let the pastry girl sit in the back. The farther from me, the better.” Chloe cut in, rolling her eyes. 
Alya was quick to turn her glare to Chloe. 
“I’m sure she’s just as happy to be away from your sorry attitude.” The reporter snapped. 
Felix raised an eyebrow towards her behavior, Marinette furrowing her eyebrows. So Alya would defend her against Chloe, but not Lila? Weird.
“Guys, no one has to fight.” Lila spoke up, probably starved of attention already. “If you want to sit next to Marinette, I’ll move to back. I’m sure I can borrow notes after class?” She offered, slowly rising out of her seat like a lost kitten. 
Of course, the class rushed to comfort her. 
“It’s really alright.” Mylene assured. 
“You can stay in your seat.” Rose smiled.
“Marinette said she was fine anyway.” Alya swiftly recanted her previous request towards Lila’s pity party. 
There it is. Marinette and Felix seemed to think at the same time. 
Lila finally “gave in” to their persistence and remained in her seat. Around that time, Mrs. Bustier walked in, demanding the class’ attention, and started the lesson. 
The class settled in their seats and got out their tablets. Marinette stayed in the back.
~~~~~~
Felix blew out a sigh as he powered off his tablet to put in his backpack. It was just his luck that he was placed in the most incompetent class of his new school. Nevertheless, he supposed there were some people who weren’t complete idiots. 
“Luka said they’re eating at the cafeteria again today. Are you gonna join us?” 
The girl next to him smiled warmly, hoisting her bag over her shoulder.
Marinette. 
Although she could be obnoxiously sweet and a bit naive, she was also sensible, hardworking, and honest. Those were qualities he could admire. 
“No, I’m going to the library.” Felix answered, picking up his brown, leather bag as well. He hadn’t had a chance to go through their book collection at the school yet. 
“Oh.. alright.” Marinette faltered. Was she disappointed? That was a first. 
She then pulled another bright smile, covering it up. 
“I’ll see you after lunch then.” She said hopefully, waving as she hopped down the steps. With that, she was gone. And Felix was by himself again. 
He stared after her for only a moment, before starting for the library. If he remembered correctly- and he usually did- it’s the room to the left of the gym. 
Felix ignored the hateful looks and whispers he received as he walked. Truth be told, he didn’t mind his classmates hating him. In fact, he quite enjoyed it at times. It made things much easier to focus on his work. Quietly. He was actually a bit enthusiastic about seeing their book collection. He’d heard it had quite the selection. That was a main reason he transferred to this school. 
Unfortunately, he was only able to get to the gym when someone called out to him. 
“Felix, wait up!” Lila nearly cooed, running over to him. 
He kept walking, ignoring her greeting. 
She was persistent, though. 
“I’ve been wanting to talk with you!” She beamed, coming up to hang loosely on his arm. “I felt like we got off to the wrong start.” 
Felix jerked his arm out of hers, quickening his pace without a word. He wasn’t interested in whether or not they got off to the wrong start. Lila was too flamboyant for them to ever be friends. Not to mention her lies and manipulations of the whole class. Felix might be cold to the touch, but he, at least, had morals. 
Lila flinched and took a step back, her hazel eyes glazing over in shock. She knew Felix was more closed off than her other classmates, but that usually worked. 
The girl recovered quickly, shaking her head and catching up to Felix again.
“Are you going to the library? I haven’t been there recently, but my uncle owns a library the size of this school back in Italy. Do you mind if I accompany you?” She asked sweetly. 
“Yes.” Felix answered shortly. This boy wasn’t budging. 
It was then Lila’s smile fell, her eyes getting wide and teary. 
“I-I didn’t mean to bother you..” She began, her gaze cast to the floor. “I just wanted to be friends.. Was it something I said? Did-” 
Lila gasped. “- did Marinette say something to you?” 
Felix’s fresh glare told her everything she needed to know. 
“She did say something! Felix, please understand, whatever she told you isn’t true. Marinette doesn’t like me very much.. I know that, but-” 
Felix let out a frustrated groan, causing Lila to pause. 
“I don’t care what Dupain-Cheng said.” He bit off. “That isn’t the problem.” 
Lila frowned. 
“Then what is?” She asked in a hopeful tone. If she could find out the problem, then she could fix it. After all, Lila couldn’t have someone siding with Marinette. Once one person does, others might start to join in, and all of her hard work would go to waste. 
 Felix’s reply, however, shattered her hope in an instant. “You.”
“I- what?” 
“You are the problem.” He repeated, shooting her another icy glare. 
The blonde didn’t pay attention to her sputters, simply walking passed her towards the library. Felix had business to attend to, and Lila wasn’t it.
~~~~~~
Lila scowled as she stalked back to the classroom for next period. That did not go as planned. That was worse than when she confronted the pigtailed girl. 
At least Marinette gave her a reason as to why she didn’t like her. Felix just brushed her off without so much as a care in the world. That might have been what irked her the most. 
Everyone had their quirks. Everyone had their ticks. And Lila had a specialty for finding those out and using them. But Felix, Felix wasn’t as naive or open as everyone else. He was guarded from the start. That was a problem she wasn’t quite sure how to fix. 
But as frustrating as it was, that wasn’t what she couldn’t wrap her head around. 
“Are you okay?” Alya asked as they slid into their seats. 
Lila looked up at her classmate, pulling a tight smile. 
“Of course! Just thinking about homework.” She lied, stealing a glance towards the back. 
Marinette appeared to be absently talking about something while doodling on her tablet. Felix intently listened, throwing in a comment or critique every now and then. 
That’s what Lila didn’t understand. 
He’s cold to everyone. She nearly growled at the thought. What’s so different about her? 
Out of everyone in the class, Felix just had to talk to Marinette, the only person who wasn’t blinded by her lies. 
“Class, attention please.” Mlle. Bustier spoke up, tapping her pointer to the chalkboard.
Lila’s eyes suddenly lit up as something clicked in her mind. 
“You are the problem”, Felix had said. That was why he talked to Marinette. She was the only one who didn’t like her. 
Lila felt a smile spread across her lips. Very well. If she couldn’t persuade Felix to her side, then she would flush him under with Marinette.
Tag list: @unabashedbookworm @bluerosette23 @minightrose @rhub4rb @clumsy-owl-4178 @kuroko26 @angstyrastuff @fanboy7794 @choaticneturcl @dargeon-lissa @kristycocopop @alumneia 
(Again, sorry If the tag doesn’t work. some of them just won’t cooperate)
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myownworldstayout · 5 years
Text
Prompt #17 Akuma!Felix
@felixmonth
Alya shifted in her seat to fix a glare on the infamous “Marinette group”. Luka, Aurore, Kagami, and Wayhem appeared to be comforting Marinette at the cafeteria table. Felix sat next to the ravenette, glowering right back at Alya.
“She’s such manipulator!” Alya huffed, wringing her hands through her hair in frustration. “Look at them! Giving her all of that undeserved sympathy while Lila’s the one that’s been suffering!”
Lila had come in that morning crying. All the brunette wanted to do was make sure Marinette was alright since she’d been acting strange lately, but when she tried to ask Felix about her, the blond blew up in her face, going so far as to slap her. 
Marinette came into the classroom a few minutes later. They explained what had happened between Lila and Felix, but she hardly even reacted to their story. Alya almost felt insulted when Marinette calmly turned to Felix, asking for his side of the argument. As expected, he spouted out some bull-faced lie about Lila attempting to black mail him for information and failing. To everyone’s surprise, Marinette believed it full heartedly, going to sit with him in the back once again.
Alya didn’t entirely mean to chew her out in front of the class. She tended to lose more control in a rage. Nevertheless, it was nice to finally vent her frustrations. Marinette’s been an extreme jerk as of late, especially to Lila. She needed a good talking to. Now, though, to Alya’s annoyance, the students from class B were babying her. She vaguely wondered when Marinette even started hanging out with people that weren’t from her original class.
Adrien glanced towards Lila, not mentioning how happy she seemed despite “suffering” all this time. 
“I’ve known her since kindergarten.. How did I not see it?” Nino shook his head.
“M-maybe,” Adrien began cautiously, “Maybe this is all a big misunderstanding? You guys know Mari-”
“We thought we knew Mari.” Alya cut him off, turning her glare to him. “You saw what happened today, She’s a menace! Just like your cousin.” she said curtly, looking back to the group. 
Felix wasn’t glaring at her anymore, instead looking towards Marinette in concern. She had her face buried in her hands with Luka and Aurore putting supportive hands on her shoulders. 
It was odd seeing Felix show emotion for anything, let alone a person. It caused Alya to pause, and really, really study the blonde. 
Of course, she didn’t get to entertain the thought too much because a flick of purple caught her eye. Alya gasped.
It was an akuma, but it wasn’t heading for her, despite her anger. The akuma was flying towards-
“Marinette!” Wayhem gasped, standing up and pointing to the black butterfly. Students around their table began screaming and running for exits, Luka and the others tensed and took a step back, and Marinette..
Marinette just froze. She stared at the akuma in horror, yet acceptance, as if she had been expecting this for a while now.
Just before the akuma could touch Marinette’s earrings, however, Felix stepped protectively in front of her, holding up his book as a shield. 
To everyone’s mutual terror, the akuma merged with Felix’s book instead, creating a purple, butterfly shaped mask in front of his face. 
All Alya remembered next was seeing Marinette’s eyes widen and being yanked towards the exit by Nino.
~~~~~~
Marinette tried not to think about Alya’s acidic outburst or Lila’s malicious smirk from that morning, but that was all Felix talked about during their lunch period. He was angry- understandeably so - and when the others heard what happened, they were infuriated as well. 
She held back the tears as they tried to comfort her. Marinette shouldn’t have needed comfort. None of this should have happened in the first place. Adrien should have stuck up for her. The class shouldn’t have believed Lila over her. After everything she’d done. After everything she’d sacrificed, they-
“Akuma!”
Marinette’s gaze snapped upwards. 
Sure enough, a black butterfly was heading straight for her. 
She needed to run. Ladybug wasn’t allowed to get akumatized.
But Marinette stayed put, simply watching the akuma grow closer. Maybe this was how it was supposed to be? She had already been nearly akumatized three different times now. Perhaps Marinette was meant to get akumatized. Maybe she could finally let out some of her anger and frustrations without being judged or at fault. Chat Noir would turn her back to normal, right?
Yes, Maybe this was a good thing.
That thought was shattered in an instant, though, when Felix threw himself in front of her. He was protecting her.  
Reality slapped Marinette in the face as Felix became shadowed in a purple glow, and her Ladybug instincts finally kicked in.
She shot to her feet, eyeing the boy warily. “Felix?”
At the name, Felix- or an akumatized version of Felix -looked up. He wore a blood red suit with his black, button up shirt and tie. His blonde- now turned pitch black -hair was slicked to the side, and his silver eyes had turned a dark, inky grey with flecks of bright red. 
“Marinette..” Felix breathed, immediately stepping towards her. 
Marinette took a slight step back, hesitating when Felix lightly cupped her cheeks. 
“Don’t worry. Everything’s gonna be fine now. You won’t have to deal with those idiotic classmates of yours anymore.” His voice was so soft and sweet that Marinette wasn’t entirely sure she was talking to the same, stiff classmate she knew.
“But Felix, I don’t-”
“My name isn’t Felix.” He cut her off sharply, though the gentleness never left his eyes. “It’s Karma, now. I’ll be back. Stay here.”
Before Marinette could say anything else, he was off, running in the direction of her other classmates. She stood there dumbly, bringing her hands up to touch her cheeks. Akumas were rarely so gentle. Not to mention his voice, soft and sweet and-
“Marinette, let’s go!” Tikki whispered from Marinette’s purse.
Marinette startled, absently nodding her head. She had a friend to save. That wasn’t going to happen with her standing around.
With that thought in mind, she spun on her heel and darted for the bathroom.
~~~~~
Chat Noir leaped towards the school as fast as he could from the place he transformed.
Why couldn’t Marinette just let Lila be? He warned her that someone would get hurt if she kept prying. This is exactly the reason they needed to let Lila go in the first place!
The cat heroine sighed as he landed in front of the back entrance to the school. Now he was going to have to fight Marinette when she could have avoided being akumatized at all. 
The walls around the door fell to decay and crumbled within seconds, causing Chat Noir to pause and hold his breath. The anticipation clouded the air as footsteps approached him in the wreckage. He tensed, slipping into a fighting stance as he unhooked his staff. 
“Marinette, please, I don’t want to fight you.” He pleaded.
“Well, that’s rather fitting then, isn’t it?” a cold voice responded as a man in a blood red suit stepped out of the smoke. “Because I’m not Marinette.” 
Chat Noir blinked, his stance slacking a bit. “Then who-” 
He was cut off by a sudden paralyzation that swept over his body, causing his limbs to feel rigid and stiff. 
“Chat Noir,” The akuma began, taking out a black book from his suit coat and opening it, “You constantly push your feelings onto Ladybug, despite her protests, and leave her to fight for herself. As punishment, you will no longer have any feelings to push onto her.” he informed with an icy glare, slamming the book shut. 
As soon as the akuma did so, a sharp coldness flooded into Chat Noir’s chest. Emptiness, numbness. He thought he would be angry towards the accusation, or scared of what the akuma meant, or even worried for Marinette, but he wasn’t.
He didn’t feel anything. Or rather, he couldn’t feel anything. The thought would have terrified him had it not been for the circumstances. 
“Felix, you have to stop this!” 
Chat Noir barely registered the red blur landing in front of him. 
Felix? He was the one that was akumatized? What about Marinette?
“My name is Karma.” The akuma said cooly, slipping his book back into his suit jacket.
“Please, you need to calm down. I’m sure we can solve this situation without an akuma.” Ladybug tried to reason
Karma shook his head, his expression darkening. “Marinette is always in trouble and hurting because of the jerks in her class. She is too nice to ever do anything against them. That’s why I’ll do it.”
Ladybug looked pained towards the answer, unhitching her yo-yo but not making any moves to attack. Why was she taking so long? She’d never tried to reason with an akuma before. How did she know it was Felix, anyway?
Chat had a hunch he would be angry if he could feel anything.
“Marinette wouldn’t want this!” Ladybug tried again. Why was she so reluctant to fight?
“No.” Karma agreed. “She wouldn’t She always tries to see the good in others, putting their feelings ahead of her own, and I lover her for that. So I will be selfish for her.”
A scarlet color spread across Ladybug’s cheeks, blending in with her mask. 
Chat’s patience officially wore out.
“My Lady, we need to cleanse the akuma.” He stated dryly, taking out his staff and lunging for Karma.
The akuma’s eyes never left Ladybug’s as he disappeared into thin air. 
Chat Noir stumbled, whipping around to try and find where Felix went, but Ladybug was already flinging out of her yo-yo.
“What are you doing!” Chat demanded, raising an eyebrow towards his partner.
Ladybug flinched, looking back at him with worry and exasperation in her gaze. “We have to find him before he hurts anyone!”
Chat Noir faltered at the urgency in her tone. He wanted answers, but despite the hollowness aching in his bones, he knew he should be worried as well. So he listened to her as he always did and followed his lady.
(Sorry, this one was a little rough. I’m tired lol)
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pandawritespoorly · 4 years
Text
With Time: Chapter 37 - Alya
Author’s Note: Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀 Today's the day that every American tells anyone who'll listen about how they're actually kind of, sort of, partially Irish, if you, like, go back far enough to their great grandmother's cousin's half-sister who married some guy who...
Alright, that's enough of teasing my country. This chapter being posted on a holiday is purely coincidental, so there's not really any mention of it in here, also it wouldn't have been relevant.
I don't know about you guys, but the state I live in is taking the self-quarantine thing pretty seriously. I hope my chapters can help you from going too stir-crazy. I have been writing and baking like crazy (and playing Plague Inc, because, come on, I can't not). Several colleges in Michigan are moving online.
Stay safe you guys! Be sure to disinfect whichever device you're reading this on if you haven't recently.
That's enough about the coronavirus. You're all here for Alya, and I'm prepared to deliver. Enjoy! 
Chapter Summary: Alya and Marinette have a very important (and long overdue) talk.
First | Previous | Next
Chloe: I heard that fake reporter was coming over to ‘apologize’ today, so here’s some stuff to really drive your point home.
 Marinette: wait where did you get those pictures
Marinette: have you had them this whole time???
 Chloe: I have my ways. Don’t question me Dupain-Cheng.
---
Adrien <3: Alya wants to know if it’s a good time for her to come over.
 Marinette: yeah
 Adrien <3: I can tell the others, we can come over.
Adrien <3: Make sure she doesn’t try anything.
 Marinette: kitty.
Marinette: she won’t try anything
Marinette: she just wants to talk i can handle myself
 Adrien <3: Of course, I know you can.
 Marinette: adrien
 Adrien <3: Anyway, she’s headed over. I’ll let the others know so we can wait in the park and glare at her. It’s the least we can do.
 Marinette: or you could go about your day as usual and not bother with needless interruptions
 Adrien <3: We were already going to hang out, now we’re just coming by earlier. You can’t run from our love and support.
 Marinette: You don’t need to do that.
 Adrien <3: I’ll make plans that have nothing to do with that then.
---
Hug This Boy: So who wants to go to the park outside of the bakery for reasons completely unrelated to the fact that Alya is coming over to talk to Marinette. It’s just a coincidence if we go to check on Marinette afterward and maybe hurt Alya if need be.
Hug This Boy: Completely unrelated. 
 Patisserie Princess: Adrien.
 Hug This Boy: It’s so fun watching the grass grow.
 Kid Mime: o absolutly
Kid Mime: its so green
 The Mom Friend: yep
 Melodie: So fascinating.
 Felix: Most definitely.
 Patisserie Princess: …
Patisserie Princess: this isn’t necessary
 Melodie: Well how else are we going to look at the grass that happens to be right outside your house?
 Kid Mime: yea mari
 Patisserie Princess: oh she’s here ive got to go
Patisserie Princess: all of you are to go about your day as usual
 Hug This Boy: Wow, the next event on my schedule is ‘watching grass grow at the park that happens to be outside of Mari’s place’.
 The Mom Friend: wat a coincdence same here
---
“Alya,” Marinette states, opening the door, “Let’s go to my room.”
She nods numbly, and the pair make their way upstairs, ignoring the glares from Tom and Sabine.
They both sit on the floor of her room, and they sit in silence for what feels like an eternity.
Alya breaks first.
“Mari- Marinette. I’m sorry. I was supposed to be a reporter and I didn’t even bother to fact check! I just believed her because I was so- so- so infatuated with her stories! She sounded so cool! She’d been everywhere and met everyone, and then… she hadn’t. It was all a lie. You were right. When the slides changed during the competition it felt like everything stopped. I couldn’t even process that everything she’d told us seemed to be a lie. Everyone apologized to you yesterday, and I should have the moment I knew the truth, but I wanted to process it first because… well I mean now I’m trying to avoid acting before thinking- Not that I’m suggesting that you made anything up, or something like that! I’m not! I just wanted to make sure I had all my thoughts in order. I’m so sorry,” Alya says hurriedly.
“You’re not wrong,” Marinette agrees, “You completely threw me out for someone you didn’t even know. The whole class hurt me, but Alya… you hurt me the most. More than Lila - sure, she tore me down enough that I was definitely in a bad place… but you?” she sighs, “Do you even- Alya, do you remember the first week of school? Do you remember Thursday? Can you just… go through it with me? How did we go from making plans to… that?”
Alya is tearing up, but nods. “I didn’t know anything was happening until I got there. Lila was sobbing hysterically, and she looked awful. A few of the class were already with her, and she said she had something to tell us, but wanted to wait for everyone. She said she’d already talked to Adrien. When everyone got there she said that she was being bullied. Regular insults, cyberbullying, attempts at isolating her, so much and it was all so awful. Afterwards, we were all obviously furious and spent at least five minutes convincing her to give us a name. All she managed was to say your name and then she started sobbing and wouldn’t speak anymore. Then class started, and you came in like everything was normal and just made me more mad, I absolutely hated you,” her voice cracks, “So when class was over we all confronted you. We thought you were lying, we thought you threw yourself down the stairs for pity points. We figured if Chloe was coming to your defense, then you must be a bully, and when you left and didn’t return we just took that as you running away. Going to start over in a new place.”
Alya is openly crying now, staying as quiet as she can.
“That’s not how I saw it. You know, to this day my memories of it are vague, and there’s like half of it I can’t remember period. I spent hours just dead, staring at nothing,” Marinette takes a shaky breath, preparing herself. That day is still the hardest part to talk or think about for her, even all these months later. “I went to school in a good mood, you know, because we’d talked for the first time in months and were making plans to hang out. Lila had been gone for a while and I figured that she wouldn’t be back and I could have more of a break. Everything seemed normal in class, I was worried about being late, especially with Adrien gone. Then class ended. You were yelling at me, maybe Nino too? I couldn’t breathe right, and I tried to leave. You grabbed my wrist and suddenly everyone was yelling, and then the door slammed. You were surprised and I twisted myself away, falling down the stairs. By then I’d realized the door slam was another person and I was scared, so I ran. Chloe and Sabrina found me in the bathroom, and from there I don’t know, but others have filled me in. Chloe brought me home and apparently took pictures. Then Maman must have had me go to my room. Chat Noir said he saw me on my balcony and I was completely unresponsive. He sent me to bed, and then it was the next day.” Somehow, Marinette manages to get through the story with minimal voice cracking and tears.
Alya makes a choked sound, more tears falling. After a moment she croaks, “Can I see the pictures?”
Marinette looks at her. “What? Why?” “I deserve it. I was the reason you fell and I need to see what I did.”
Marinette pauses. She didn’t intend to show anyone the pictures, they were obviously upsetting. She’s sitting on the counter, slumped and staring downward. She had expected her eyes to be haunted, or sad, or something like that, but they were just… empty. Nothing at all. Somehow it’s worse that way.
Her red-rimmed eyes and dried tear tracks are proof of her earlier crying.
Marinette is covered in fresh bruises, on her arms, legs, and the one on her face. She got scratches near most of them, the angry red of the skin outlining and accentuating the bruises. Her wrist is clearly sprained - swelled and bruised. Her Maman is in front of her, cleaning her up as best she can, applying bandages and putting an ice pack on the wrist.
“Are you sure? You don’t need to see them. They’re-”
Alya nods. “I deserve it.”
So Marinette turns the phone to her.
Alya covers her mouth in horror, fresh tears coming to her eyes. She won’t let herself look away. She flips through each picture repeatedly, growing more and more upset. Her expression changes momentarily, confusion to sickened understanding.
“I’m so sorry,” she sobs, “I’m so so so sorry. I never- There’s no excuse- I- I’m so sorry.”
Marinette takes the phone. Seeing the screenshots that Chloe sent, she winces. She still doesn’t like reading them, somehow the pictures of her are more bearable so she switches back to those before shutting the device off.
“Why?” Marinette asks, “What on Earth was going on that day that you thought I deserved to hear those things? I wa- n-need to know.”
Alya shakes her head. “There’s no excuse. I… I was having a bad day, and then Lila told us that Ladybug had sided with you and I j-j-just got so mad. It felt better than just wallowing in self-pity. You s-sent that text and I just u-used you as some sort of p-personal punching bag. I t-t-texted you for a while, and then Adrien, Chloe, and Sabrina showed up. I guess Sabrina grabbed my ph-phone when I was d-distracted with Chloe and deleted your contact. I sp-spe-spent the rest of the day mad at you.”
Marinette stares at a corner of her room, her voice soft. “I was at lunch. I was already having a bad day, and I had found out you deleted the Ladyblog so I was thinking about you and wondering where I went wrong and how much you guys hated me, which was honestly the usual, but moreso.” Alya barely stifles a cry. “I meant to text Allegra, but I’d taken the wrong phone to school. I made myself read each text, and it was everything I’d been t-telling myself, so that was…” Marinette looks away and takes a deep breath. “My friends found me, and somehow I got to the library. I don’t…. I don’t really remember much until I got home, and Adrien was there and I decided to tell them why I transferred.”
“I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry.”
Marinette shakes her head. “I didn’t have you come over so we could compare events. Alya, you were my first friend, my best friend, and you just… left me. I don’t understand.” Her voice cracks.
Alya reaches toward her slightly, then remembers herself and draws back. Guilt claws at her inside, and it feels like it is coursing through her veins. “I- always thought that you had deceived us. That you had somehow faked kindness and that Lila was finally showing us the truth. I was d-disgusted with myself for ha-having ever called you my friend, and I just wanted t-to d-d-do everything I c-could to make it up to Lila for it. I thought- I started avoiding you near the end of school because you seemed like you were changing for the worse. Then that first week back just seemed to prove it. I’m so sorry, Marinette.”
Somehow, something about her words angers the designer. She’d been doing her best to stay calm, but something in her wants to make Alya understand how she was hurt and hurt her back.
“Oh?” Her voice is scathing, and she fakes disinterest, exaggeratingly inspecting her nails. “See, to me, I felt like I was losing my best friend. I had been so sure that Lila’s threat to take all my friends away would never come true. I told myself that sure, we weren’t as close, but you didn’t hate me. Then I returned to school. Wednesday we made plans to hang out, do you remember? I was so hopeful after that, and then you were the first to turn. All of you just threw me out - do you have any idea how badly that messed me up? How long it took me to believe I was worthy of being cared about after that?”
Like someone watching their neighbor’s house burn in the night, Alya stares as Marinette continues.
“I still haven’t recovered properly! My anxiety is so much worse now, because come on, look what Lila did in less than a year! Who knows what could happen! A part of my mind is still constantly waiting for people to leave me again, and while I no longer believe it- thank goodness- actually no! Thank my friends, because they stayed. They cared about me, when I didn’t even care about me and I would never have recovered without them! So yeah, while I no longer think that they’ll leave me, there’s a part of my mind forever wondering ‘what if they do’. I thought I’d lost them before. You met them after an akuma attack and Lila was with you, and I saw them talking to you and I was so sure that they would find out about everything and then they’d start looking at me in disgust too, that I’d be forced to watch more people drift away, to lose people again, and then I’d be alone again! They didn’t even know what happened yet! They found me having a panic attack and the first thing I said was that I’d prove to them that I wasn’t lying! I was so desperate! I didn’t want to lose them too! And…” Marinette exhales, fury dying down and giving way to exhaustion. “Look. We used to be so close, but no matter what, that can’t happen again. There’s a rift now. I don’t hate you, and I’m not saying I never want to speak to you, maybe years from now, we could maybe be some sort of friends, but we can never be best friends again, if we ever were.”
Alya nods. “Th-th-that’s fine. I don’t deserve you. Y-you’re b-be-being too nice as it i-is.”
Marinette’s heart breaks. She wants to comfort her so badly, but she won’t lie, and she’s beginning to feel that maybe it’s okay to think someone doesn’t deserve her. She has value, and if people don’t treat her that way, then she knows who isn’t worth her time. She won’t agree with the statement though, that just feels too mean, and she can’t bring herself to say it to her face.
The two sit in an awkward silence for some time, interrupted only by Alya’s barely stifled sniffling and sobbing. Marinette grabs her phone.
 Marinette: would you be up to talking with alya?
 Adrien <3: What did she do?
 Marinette: r talk went fine i meant for the way she treated u.
 Adrien <3: Oh.
Adrien <3: Sure.
 Marinette: well be on r way down
 “Alya? I think you should talk to Adrien. The way he was treated at school is inexcusable,” Marinette says coldly. She flips up on the messages app as she turns off her phone.
The other girl nods shakily, and they head downstairs. When they reach the entrance to the park, it’s not hard to spot her group of friends. The five of them are out on the grass, chatting with each other. Marinette walks over to them, staring down at them. “Watching the grass grow, huh?”
They all turn to look at her, there are several cries of ‘Mari!’ from everyone but Felix who just remarks, “Oh yes, it is indeed very intriguing.”
She can see the barely concealed smirk on his face, and she just rolls her eyes. “Goodness, you guys.”
“How did it go?” Allegra asks, eyeing Alya warily.
“It went fine. She’s here to talk with Adrien.”
Adrien nods, standing to give Marinette a quick hug before walking with Alya to the other side of the park.
“...I feel bad. She’s so upset,”  Marinette mumbles.
Allegra hugs her tightly, and Marinette can tell she’s scowling. “As she should, after what she did.”
“Still.”
“You care too much, that’s all,” Claude justifies, “Too much empathy, which isn’t the worst trait to have.”
“We can hate her enough for you,” Allegra growls, still watching Alya.
“She doesn’t deserve that. I don’t want her to hate herself for this, that’s not good.”
“Oh, ‘Nette. I’m sure she won’t hate herself, prob’ly just be pretty guilty for a while.” Allan reassures.
Felix adds, “Even if she did, it would not be your fault in the slightest. You cannot control what other people think.”
Marinette frowns, unconvinced.
Claude musses up her hair, earning an affronted squeak from the girl. He ignores her, saying, “Anyways, do you want to hear about the grass we’ve been watching? I swear it’s grown a whole one thousand twenty fourth of a millimeter.”
“Did you actually watch grass grow?”
“Well, that’s what we said we were gonna’ do, isn’t i’?” Allan teases.
Marinette shakes her head, sighing.
“Actually, it’s technically spring right now, how are you doing?” Allegra asks.
Marinette grins. “I’m back to normal, but in a few weeks? Once flowers start blooming I’m going to be a little hyper, so prepare yourself.”
“Wonderful,” Felix mutters, “Two Claudes.”
“You love meeeee!!” Claude flops towards him, teasing.
“I suppose.”
“So, is that from the same thing that makes you try to hibernate?” Allan checks.
“Yup! I really like spring! Flower crowns incoming.”
“I am all for flower crowns!” Claude crows.
“I’m guessing Adrien knows about this?” Allegra says, “He seemed to know something when spring was brought up, but decided he was going to be all cryptic about it.”
“It’s just more fun that way!” The boy in question returns, going next to Marinette.
“He’s not wrong.”
“Oh, of course you would agree with that, Claude.”
They bat their eyes innocently. “Why, Allegra, I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Pfff. Yeah, you’re definitely the picture of innocence, buddy.” Allan rolls his eyes.
Claude gasps. “Allan! You’d betray me like this? Does our friendship mean nothing? Et tu, Brute?”
The boy puts the back of his hand on his forehead, falling backwards.
“Oh no! Claude feign-ted!” Adrien cries.
It takes a moment, but Claude is the first to get it, cracking up. Marinette just sighs wearily, soon followed by Felix. Allan and Allegra understand at the same time, the former laughing, and the latter groaning.
---
Author’s Note: How was that for a chapter? Originally, I was going to have her friends see the pictures, but it didn't quite fit in, and it wouldn't have led to anything big, so I dropped it.
Were you surprised there wasn't a strong language warning? I was when I was proofreading.
Hey, who wants to see the results of the survey? Do you want them later today or on Saturday (to give it a full week)? Also, there's some great extra responses from that bit at the end, so do you guys just want to see all of them or have me find some highlights? If you haven't taken it, please do, because I'm having a blast. Also, should I do another survey for a dumb debate like this, because I already found another great question.
(Can you tell I've been cooped up inside only leaving to walk the dog or get groceries? A little stir crazy here. My dog is just happy I'm home more.)
Regardless, I look forward to any and all comments you have for me! You guys make me smile!
P.S. I haven’t done a ‘things I’ve overheard’ in a while. I’ll probably post one soon.
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pandawritespoorly · 4 years
Text
With Time: Chapter 36 - Apologies
Author’s Note: Here we are! Not all of the classmate's apologies are seen here, but they all do apologize (to Marinette. Adrien gets separate apologies). We've got a strong language warning for 'fuck', but I'm also giving a heads up that Claude's chaotic energy is strong in this chapter. My friend was ready to riot. I love my child.
Chapter Summary: Marinette's former classmates finally apologize.
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“He’s probably sleeping on the chaise,” Allegra guesses. The four of them are back at the bakery, and Tom and Sabine told them that Adrien stayed the night.
“I’m glad that he got t’ stay somewhere other than his house,” Allan remarks as they climb up to Marinette’s room.
Claude is the first to note the empty chaise, and they grin. Putting his hand to his mouth in excitement, he hurries to the loft, fist pumping and cheering quietly. Taking out his phone, he squeals, “Guyssss, they’re cuddling.”
After taking ample pictures, they hop back down so the others can see. All three of them take more pictures.
Adrien is lying on his back, head against the pillows. Marinette is tucked under his chin, arm thrown over his chest, mouth slightly agape. Adrien’s right arm is hugging her back, and their legs are somewhat tangled together.
“This is precious.” Allegra bounces where she stands, looking over the pictures.
“I almost want to let ‘em sleep,” Allan comments.
“Almost,” Claude repeats, going back to the loft, “Mari, Adrien, it’s morning!”
The two don’t react, but a few more calls of their names and some gentle jostling of the mattress prompts Adrien to open his eyes. Blinking a few times to clear the sleep from his eyes, he brings a hand to face, rubbing at his eyes with the heel of his hand.
“Hey, Claude.”
“Hello, sleeping beauty. You rest well?” they tease.
Adrien smiles softly, mumbling, “Better than I would’ve back at the house. B’sides, Mari’d been overworkin’ herself again. Had t’ make ‘er sleep prop’rly…”
“That’s nothing new,” Allan sighs, “I think you’re the only one who can actually convince her to sleep, Adrien.”
“It’s a gift.”
“You guys are adorable.” Allegra shakes her head.
“Mostly Marinette though.” Adrien stretches, sitting up properly. The girl in question doesn’t wake, just mumbling sleepily and slipping off his chest, “Mari, it’s time to get up.”
He pokes her a few times, but she just bats his hand away, grumbling.
Claude snickers.
“Marinette, come on.” Adrien lifts her to a sitting position, she opens her eyes to glare at him. Noticing Claude, she waves lightly.
“Hello to you too, Princess Charming.”
She sighs, sitting up on her own, “I guess it’s morning?”
“No, it is midnight,” Felix deadpans.
The friends snicker and the three make their way down from the loft. Allegra holds up her phone, “We all have pictures of you two being absolutely precious, so we can send them to you. Maybe for your wedding?”
Marinette sticks her tongue out defiantly, “Maybe, we’ll just elope.”
“Claude would still find out, then they’d just drag us all there to be there. Y’ can’t escape from Claude,” Allan retorts.
“Nope! No escape from me!” Claude hugs Marinette tightly, making her laugh.
“Did you guys eat dinner before you went to sleep?” Allan looks at them suspiciously.
Adrien rubs his neck. “Uh… do cookies count?”
“No.” Allegra crosses her arms.
Claude lifts Marinette off the floor slightly. “The babies need to eat!” He cries.
Marinette kicks her feet fruitlessly, unable to reach the floor.
“Shortie,” Claude teases.
She scoffs, “Excuse you!”
“All in agreement with Claude’s statement, say ‘aye’,” Adrien announces, raising his hand.
There’s a chorus of ‘aye’s from everyone, making Marinette scowl.
“Betrayal. Complete and utter betrayal.”
---
The friends are wandering around the city, no real plans for the day. The citizens of Paris have been kind enough to leave Adrien alone when they notice him. When they make their way to the Trocadéro, they spot Max, Alix, and Kim.
Marinette studies them. Max is sitting on a low wall with a laptop and several notebooks surrounding him. He looks frazzled, and is repeatedly looking to his calculator to calculate something. Markov floats above him, seemingly in a better state than his maker.
Alix is skating in tight circles, gesturing wildly and speaking in a rushed, anxious voice to Kim. The boy is pacing, talking with her as well.
Markov spots the group of six first, smiling and waving in a friendly manner, but doesn’t mention their presence to the three teens he is with.
Marinette stands straighter, squaring her shoulders and walking closer. Her friends follow behind her, but walk a little ways away to give her space. They’re careful to keep an eye on the three classmates.
They haven’t earned any trust.
“Kim. Alix. Max,” she nods at each of them, and they turn to stare at her, “Hey, Markov! Good to see you again!”
“Ms. Marinette!” He greets her, flying over, “Thank you! The plan worked, Max and his friends have been cured!”
The three in question continue to stare at her, seemingly frozen.
Marinette smiles, turning to gesture at her group. “That’s good to hear. Do you remember my friends?”
The robot nods, flying over to them. “Of course! I am programmed to recall any human or animal I am introduced to! Greetings, Allan, Claude, Felix, and Adrien!” He turns to the braided girl, “By my calculations, you must be Allegra! It is nice to have properly viewed your face!”
She smiles, “Nice to meet you too!”
“Marinette!” Alix is the first to break from her stupor, running to the girl. When Marinette noticeably stiffens, seemingly preparing for something, Alix stops. “I’m so sorry.”
Marinette just stares at her, waiting.
“I- We- I never should have believed her. Lila. None of us should have! All of her stories were complete nonsense! I should have known that you’d never do the things she said you did! You were the best part of our class, and we fell apart without you, I- I’m just so sorry, and she did horrible things, and I just- I don’t know how to say how sorry I am.”
Marinette sighs, then speaks flatly, “You’re right. You shouldn’t have believed her. You shouldn’t have treated me the way you did. I didn’t deserve it, and even if I did do those things you wouldn’t have achieved anything besides just causing more hurt.” She turns to speak to all three of them, “I could honestly press charges, on many counts for so many of you. I’m not going to though, because I can guarantee that the hurt you’re all feeling now is merely a fraction of the pain all of you caused me, and I wouldn’t want to draw that out any longer for anyone - even Lila. Maybe someday, years from now, I can forgive you, maybe we can be friends, but there’s no undoing what happened, and we’ll never be as close as we used to be.”
Alix nods in understanding, then shakes her head, “You shouldn’t. None of us deserve that, after what we did.”
Marinette shrugs. “Maybe not.”
“Marinette?” Kim steps forward, “I’m sorry too - we all are. There wasn’t any reason for us to believe her over you, especially since you were, well, you. You were our class president, our everyday Ladybug-”
“Oh, fuck, she turned us against Ladybug!” Alix whispers in horror.
“-and you didn’t deserve any of it, I’m sorry.”
“Thank you, Kim.”
He nods sorrowfully, stepping back and fidgeting with the strings of his hoodie.
Max steps forward, looking down focusing on cleaning his glasses on his shirt. “M-Marinette. I apologize. Ever since the concert, I’ve been trying to run through my calculations to figure out where I went wrong. None of this makes sense, and logistically, I should have figured it out. Especially since Markov was so confused- I- He- He’d say that things weren’t adding up, and I would brush it off as a glitch in his system or a computer error. I should have known to factor in human error.” His normally steady voice is shaky, and he can barely keep it steady, staring at her with teary eyes.
Marinette’s heart can’t resist the urge to comfort him. She knows they don’t deserve to be comforted, but she hates seeing people upset.
She opens her arms slightly in an offer of a hug, and he nods shakily, hugging her tightly. Alix races over and just about knocks them over when she joins them. Kim, not to be outdone, does the same, and the four teens hold each other for a long moment.
It feels like goodbye.
They separate, Max and Kim blinking furiously and Alix with tears running down her face shamelessly. Marinette gives her one last tight hug before turning to head to her friends.
“Adrien?”
The model turns at Alix’s soft call. He waits.
“I’ve met so many creeps at the museum, I should have been able to recognize Lila for what she was. I’m sorry that you had to go through that, you didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry we helped her, I’m sorry we ignored you, and I’m sorry for being blind. I- I hope you have a better life, with better friends. They seem pretty great.” She wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand, smiling sadly. The boys nod sincerely.
Adrien turns slightly, looking back at his new group. Marinette has tears in her eyes, but she’s smiling wide, which is a look he’s grown accustomed to being on her face. Allan is hugging her tightly, and Allegra is talking with her. Claude is cracking puns - if Felix’s disappointed face and Allegra’s scowl is anything to go by. Claude glances up and raises an eyebrow at him, making sure he’s okay. He nods, and the other boy grins, turning back to the others.
“Yeah. Yeah, they are.”
---
“Cereal is a soup though!” Claude insists.
Felix and Allegra sigh in unison.
Allan shrugs, “I’m with Claude, it’s definitely a soup.”
“Thank you!”
“But it’s not!” Marinette cuts in, “By definition, soup is-”
“-a liquid dish-” Claude interrupts.
Marinette ignores them, continuing, “-a liquid dish typically made by boiling meat, fish, vegetables, in stock or water! Do you boil your Cheerios, Claude?”
“‘Typically made’!” Allan quotes.
“Not to mention,” Claude starts, “The definition had an ‘etc’ after the list of what you add, which leaves it open to interpretation!” “Mari, you can’t avoid the truth. Cereal-”
“-is not a soup!” Allegra, Felix, and Marinette speak over him.
“-is a soup.” Adrien finishes.
“By your logic, the Seine is a soup of river water and boats!” She gestures wildly to the river beside them.
“It does have fish!” Allan raises a finger, gesturing to show he thinks she has a point.
“Well, duh,” Claude adds.
Adrien puts an arm around Marinette’s shoulder, “Good to have you on our side, Marinette.”
“I want a divorce!” She goes over to Allegra, staring at the ground, “Kill me. Kill me now. The Seine is not a soup.”
Allegra hugs her, patting her on the back comfortingly.
“What was that, Ma-Ma-Marinette? I live on a soup?”
Marinette wheels around, turning to the blue-haired boy leaning over the railing of the Liberty. “Luka! You’re smart and reasonable! Please tell them that cereal isn’t a soup! Neither is the Seine.”
He hums, closing his eyes and strumming on his guitar. “I think… that anything can be a soup if you truly believe.”
Marinette stares at him in shock for a moment, then throws her hands up in the air and walks away, “Nope! Nope! Can’t do this! I’m out! Sayonara! Goodbye! Farewell! Au revoir!”
Her friends snicker. She turns back and returns, sighing.
“Ignoring your blatant lies, how are you? It’s been a while.”
“Pretty good. Better now that Jules isn’t under that siren song anymore,” He smiles at her, “Thanks for that, by the way.”
She raises an eyebrow, “How’d you know I was responsible?”
“That whole thing had your song written all over it. I was there.”
Allegra snaps her fingers, pointing at Luka. “That’s where I know you from! You were a part of the competition!”
He nods, “Yeah.” He strums on his guitar, thinking over something for a moment, “You were… with the flutes? Adrien was on piano, obviously.”
She nods.
“How are you?” Luka asks Marinette, “Your song is… different. A good different.”
Allegra, Claude, Allan, and Felix seem confused by his meaning.
“Much better than I was, now that I’m out of Dupont.”
“They wouldn’t let your song soar. You were forced into a decrescendo that threw everything else off. Now?” He nods approvingly, “It’s much better.”
“You didn’t know me before Dupont,” she points out.
“Anyone can tell when the music is wrong.”
She tilts her head and squints at him, “Hmm.”
“Uh, what song?” Claude interjects.
Marinette shrugs, unsure how to explain.
“Jules and Rose are ready to see you,”  Luka says out of the blue, “You can head on back to them, Jules is probably expecting you.”
Marinette smiles, turning to her friends. “I’ll be back. Luka can explain his whole song thing while I’m gone.” She waves as she boards the boat, heading down to Juleka’s room.
It opens slightly when she knocks, and the girls inside wave her in.
Rose looks close to tears, and Juleka isn’t much better.
“We’re so sorry,” the taller girl manages. “Luka had always told me to be careful near Lila, and I just… never believed him, never cared. You were always so you, I should have known better than to think you’d do what she said you did.”
The designer smiles weakly.
Rose finally breaks, sobbing and rushing to hug Marinette tightly. She can make out some of the muffled apology, and gets the gist of it. She returns the hug, which only seems to make Rose cry harder.
“W-we d-don’t des-deserve y-y-y-you!”
Marinette just continues to comfort her as best she can until the girl quiets down. Rose goes to sit next to Juleka, who now has a few tears rolling down her cheeks silently.
“I won’t deny that you guys hurt me. Deeply. It took me months to recover from that properly, and I’m not sure if I’m even done healing yet. I… I can’t even begin to describe how… awful it got. I don’t hate you-”
“You should,” Juleka argues, “You should.”
Marinette sighs, “What would that achieve? No, I’m not going to continue this cycle. I don’t forgive you, and I’m certainly not going to forget, but I’m not going to hate you. I put enough energy into hating myself these last few months, I’m not about to waste energy that way again.”
Juleka shakes her head.
They talked for a while longer, before Marinette eventually had to go. Returning to the top, she sees all of her friends chatting happily with Luka. Felix is the first to spot her and she gives him a tired smile.
Luka turns, playing something on his guitar that matches how she feels perfectly as usual.
“It was nice seeing you, Luka.”
“It was nice seeing you, Marinette.”
Waving goodbye, the group moves on from the houseboat. By now, it’s beginning to grow dark out, and eventually the group grows smaller as more of them go home when they pass by. In the end, it’s only Adrien and Marinette. He’s going back to his house, but some of his stuff is at her place, so he gets to stop there first.
At the park outside of her house, her remaining former classmates are waiting. Alya isn’t there, which is a relief.
They need to talk separately.
One by one, Marinette speaks with each of them, Adrien watching vigilantly by her home.
Nino is last.
“Nette? It was really uncool of me to treat you the way I did. Y-You were the best part of our class and I just let everyone throw you away. I threw you away. It- I have no excuse. Lila lied, but we didn’t even question her, even when you pointed out the flaws. We ignored e-everything, and I just- I’m sorry. We grew up together, and it took a day for me to decide that meant nothing.”
“Nino, I won’t lie,” she notices how the boy winces at the phrase, “You and Alya hurt me the most out of the entire class. You went from my best friends to my worst enemies so quickly. I’m not sure you’ll ever fully understand how much that had me questioning my self worth. I spent months thinking I was nothing but some awful burden, and it was only recently that I finally realized that I didn’t do anything wrong. I made so many excuses for you and none for myself. I’m not going to hate you. I’ve spent long enough dwelling on nothing but hate that I’m done giving energy to that. I’m not forgiving, and I’m not forgetting, I’m just tired. Tired of dealing with this situation that never should have existed in the first place if my ‘friends’ had trusted me, tired of… a lot. Consider us a little worse off than strangers - because at least strangers haven’t caused me months of emotional pain.”
Nino nods tearfully. Marinette sighs. “I don’t hate you. I really don’t. Goodnight Nino.” Giving him a quick hug, she turns to head to the bakery. Adrien meets her halfway and she just about asks him to carry upstairs because she is completely spent. Her poor sleep schedule tied with everything that happened today, it’s no surprise she feels dead on her feet.
“How are you holding up, my lady?” He puts an arm around her, squeezing her a little.
“Eh,” she manages.
She knows he can see through her, but she’s not particularly focused on hiding her lack of energy at the moment.
“Then it’s time for you to get to bed.”
She nods, she really doesn’t have a problem with that plan.
---
Author’s Note: Marinette is probably being too lenient on them, but she's Marinette, so what else would you expect?
Disclaimer: Claude & Co.'s opinion on cereal does not reflect the author's opinion. That said, the author would love to see where you guys stand on that matter.
Alya is next chapter, so don't worry that she's not here. Also, I'm going to try and write all/most of the remaining chapters of With Time by the end of  this weekend. I want to finally get rid of that question mark. Once I have it all written I'll probably start updating more too! (Tuesday would be my extra update day, so if I do finish the story by this weekend's end, then expect Chapter 37 on Tuesday!)
Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any thoughts, theories, constructive criticism, or anything really in my ask box, in replies or through reblogs. I love seeing what you think!
P.S. Okay, I'm getting curious. What's your stance on soup? I, of course, went overboard and created a survey, so I guess answer it if you want?
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pandawritespoorly · 4 years
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With Time: Chapter 21 - A Cat and A Bug
Author’s Note: Sorry the update is a little late today! I had plans I'd forgotten about in the morning and didn't have the chance to post the chapter beforehand. Without further ado, chapter 21: (Heh. I'm posting chapter 21 on the 21st).
Chapter Summary: Adrien and Marinette continue to hang out at her house, dealing with the aftermath of a reveal.
First | Previous | Next
“Plagg, Claws In.”
Adrien sits in Chat’s place, watching Marinette vigilantly, as though he can stop what has already happened.
“How are you doin’ kid?” Plagg sits next to Tikki on the cat pillow.
“I don’t know Plagg… she’s been right here this whole time. Shouldn’t I have realized? I was - am - so worried and I wanted to be there, and I didn’t even realize I already was there,” he looks to the Kwami, “Shouldn’t I have recognized her?”
“Adrien, the miraculous keeps you from recognizing each other. You still saw that they were similar people. Heck, you called her an ‘everyday Ladybug’. You recognized her as best you could without knowing they were one and the same.”
“Do you think she’ll be okay?”
“I think she’s getting better, and it will help now that you know and are in her everyday life. She’s not entirely better, I mean, sheesh, that paper she wrote…”
“Ladybug wrote that paper. About herself,” he covers his mouth at the realization, glancing down at the sleeping girl, “Oh, Mari…”
He notices the fallen notebook, picking it up. He’s about to put it back, but, well, curiosity killed the cat. It’s not like it’s her diary.
He opens it up.
 Things to Accept:
You messed up.
Everyone Most people at Françoise Dupont hate you
You don’t know how to do friendship properly. 
People want to believe you’re a bad person
You’re a terrible hero, and Paris deserves better.
You’re an obsessive stalker-ish creep.
No one actually likes you.
You shouldn’t be trusted with responsibility
 It just keeps going. He turns the page, hoping for an end, and instead is met with another list.
 Rules To Be Better:
Don’t cry
Smile
Be nice to people
Apologize when you mess up (again)
If someone needs a favor, do it
If asked, you’re doing good
Laugh at jokes, even when tired/sick
When tired/sick, do not show it
Take care of akumas as quickly as possible
Only lie if absolutely necessary - honesty is important
Adrien, Claude, Allegra, Allan, and Felix have been nice enough to put up with you, don’t make them regret it.
Don’t do anything that could attract an akuma to you
 He feels the tears prick at his eyes and shuts the book, ignoring the rest of the content. He’s seen enough.
“Kid?” Plagg has noticed his distress, “Adrien, what happened?”
Adrien hands him the book wordlessly. The God flips through it, frowning, “She must have kept this from Tikki too. When did she make this?” “How long has that been there?!”
Marinette shuffles in the bed, but shows no other sign of waking.
He looks to her again, he wants nothing more than to scoop her up and take her somewhere safe where those people can’t get to her.
He puts the notebook on the shelf, but at the front, where he can see it. No way he’s leaving without addressing that.
As if he’d be able to forget it.
“Kitten, you should rest.” Plagg, looks at him sincerely.
“But Mari-” “Pigtails is sleeping. It’s winter, she won’t wake up before you. Take a nap.”
“I don’t want to leave her…”
“So don’t! You’re a cat! Flop on top of her. You’re basically a heated blanket, she won’t mind, you’ve done it during patrol before anyways.”
Plagg has a point. Adrien sighs, falling across his friend and blinking at her slowly before he falls asleep too.
--- 
As usual, it doesn’t take much for him to wake up. He hears some shuffling, and shoots up, glancing around him to be sure nothing is wrong.
He notices Marinette first - she’ll always be the one he’s drawn to. She’s almost awake. Now that he knows she’s Ladybug, he knows how to read her even easier. Her room is warm enough now, and with him right there, she’s about as awake as she ever is in the winter.
Well, she will be in a moment.
“Kitten, you should transform, you don’t want to stress her out too much.”
“Plagg’s right. It’s been quite the day, let her know if you’re going to detransform.” Tikki is awake too.
Adrien nods, transforming as she comes to. She doesn’t notice him as she props herself up on an elbow, but he sees the moment everything catches up to her and the tears that come to her anguished face break his heart.
“Mari?” He speaks softly, so as to not startle her.
“Chat?”
“How much do you remember of what happened?” If she doesn’t remember much he’ll try and spare her of the worst bits.
She’s silent, and he can see every expression as she relives what happened. It would seem she remembers quite a bit then. She pauses, frowning in confusion.
“I- Did I- Do you… do you know who I am now?” She sounds almost horrified, and he guesses she’s being too harsh on herself. He wants to tell her this isn’t a bad thing - shout it until it gets through, but that would only turn out badly.
He settles for smiling softly, ”I do. You’re amazing, Princess.”
“A-are you sure?” 
“I am absolutely certain. You are my fa-fur-ite purr-son.” He sneaks some puns in, hoping to draw her away from what must be a negative train of thought.
She scowls at him half-heartedly. She hesitates, looking uncertain, “So, you’re not...you’re not disappointed?” she gets quieter as she speaks, looking away and unable to meet his gaze.
“Oh, Bug. Never.”
She smiles, but she doesn’t seem entirely convinced.
“Do you want to detransform?” “Do you want me to? It’s alright if you don’t want to know.”
She shakes her head, ”No, it’s only fair.”
He nods, willing the transformation away silently.
Adrien sits in front of her, and Plagg flies off to be near Tikki, who has been watching silently. This isn’t for them, it’s between their chosens.
Marinette sees him, and sits shocked for a moment as she processes this.
Something seems to occur to her, and a smile slips onto her face. She covers it with her hand, but the grin only grows, turning into soft giggles, before she’s fully laughing.
It’s the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard.
“What? Adrien Agreste running around in a cat costume too much for you?”
She shakes her head, still trying to muffle her laughter and hiding her smile behind her hand, “No- no! It’s, it’s- It was a square! The whole time! It was a love square!”
He doesn’t quite get what she’s getting at, cocking his head at her, eyes shining in merriment, “What now?”
“Okay- okay. So-” She’s really trying her best to explain between her fits of laughter, “So. You, liked Ladybug, and Marinette was ‘just a friend’-” she held off the laughter too long and it spills out again.
He waits patiently.
“Ladybug wouldn’t date Chat Noir because she liked Adrien, and we were just-” She speaks through her continued laughter, “Stuck in a love square! We liked the opposite sides of each other- well I liked both -but it’s funny because it’s just so stupid!” she breaks into laughter again.
He takes a moment to process what she said, and he doesn’t ask for confirmation, because it feels right - fitting - that they both liked both sides of each other - and he’d hate to interrupt Marinette’s joyousness. It’s contagious, and soon he’s laughing too.
“I guess the square is a line now.” he says after they’ve begun recovering.
She seems surprised, almost as if she’d assumed he no longer cared for her, “Y-yeah, I guess it is.”
They sit in a comfortable silence for a moment, then her eyes land on the notebook, immediately noting its incorrect position. She turns to him - panicked.
“D-did you s-see that?”
“I did. It fell when I came in.”
“I-I-I’m sorry. I-” Her hands are shaking with her voice, he can see the horror on her face.
He cups her hands carefully.
“Marinette. You shouldn’t be apologizing. Not everything is your fault.”
“B-but-”
“Marinette. Trust me. You’re trying to take all this blame and it’s not for you. You haven’t been able to move forward because you’re still dwelling on it - you’re trying to figure out ‘where you went wrong’ but you haven’t been able to figure it out because you didn’t.”
She shakes her head.
He grabs the notebook, opening it up. He points at the first point.
 You messed up.
 “We’re going to go through each of them okay? You’ll explain why it’s there, and I’ll correct it. Can you do that?”
She nods hesitantly, “That one���s obvious. They all turned on me because- because I did something wrong, They’re good people, so I must have done something bad to earn it.”
Oh, he hopes his heart will make it through this.
“Or. They messed up. Good people can make mistakes too.” Not that some of them deserve that title anymore, but if he’s trying to correct her, he can’t shove a bunch of opposites at her, “They made the mistake of believing Lila, because they got so hooked on her stories that they forgot that you matter just as much.”
She looks doubtful, but nods, pointing to the next one.
 Everyone Most people at Françoise Dupont hate you
 “Lila turned everyone there against me. They hate me now.” She says it like it’s just as obvious as the last one.
“Not ‘everyone’. You crossed that out.”
“Well, except for you.”
“Okay, but not even most people there like Lila. It’s only Bustier’s class. The rest of the school is completely indifferent to her. Even most of the class doesn’t hate you.”
“Alya hates me. So does Lila.”
“So that’s, what? Two out of 15?”
“14.”
“15. Markov counts. As for the rest of the school, most people like you! I’ve heard several people still talking about you, they miss you. Everyone thinks my class is completely insane.”
She smiles a little at that, moving to the next one.
 You don’t know how to do friendship properly. 
 “I messed up the only close friendship I had. In a single day.”
“It wasn’t in a single day. It was months of Lila weaseling her way in between you and Alya so that your friendship was weak. She knew she had to separate you two so that she could get to you more easily. If you need more proof that you are capable of being a good friend, I can always text the group chat. Claude would probably find a way to teleport here.”
She smiles, “They probably would. Allegra would start a mob.”
 People want to believe you’re a bad person
 “Lila said she only tells people what they want to hear, and when she told them I bullied her, they believed it.” “That’s how she starts. Frog-in-a-pot style. She says little things that’ll get her attention and sympathy. Once she’s in people’s good graces, she begins dropping small things that are harder to believe. By that point she’s trusted, and she starts small enough that she can build up to bigger things. She had months, Marinette. Months to do all that.”
 You’re a terrible hero, and Paris deserves better.
 “I messed up a bunch. I’ve gotten hit by a bunch of akumas, and I fell off the Eiffel Tower. I keep attracting akumas - that’s the opposite of what I’m supposed to do.”
“I’ve gotten hit even more than you. Does that make me a bad hero?”
“No! Never!” She sounds both horrified and furious, but he continues.
“Exactly. As for the akumas, you’ve fought off every single one. That’s heroic, and as sad as I am that you had to do those things, I’m so proud and impressed. I knew you were amazing.”
She blushes, moving hurriedly to the next one.
 You’re an obsessive stalker-ish creep.
 “I had gifts for you for years. Like, for years into the future. I had your schedule memorized and on a chart, and I had all those pictures…”
“Marinette. You made gifts, and I’m certain they were based around things I liked, not what you wanted me to like. You got rid of them though, so it doesn’t matter right now. You had my schedule memorized, I don’t even have it memorized. You weren’t using it to stalk me, to my knowledge-”
“No! I only used it to figure out when we could hang out! All of us! Since you were always so busy! I only used it to steal your phone once-”
“You what?”
“Moving on-” “That was you?!”
“Moving on!”
 No one actually likes you.
 “People wouldn’t actually want to hang out with-” She cuts herself off.
“What?”
“I think that one is phrased wrong?”
“I think that one is wrong. I told you, people at school miss you. You made an impact - a positive one. Claude, Allegra, Allan, and Felix love you. I love you! All of Paris loves you!”
She blushes.
 You shouldn’t be trusted with responsibility
 “I’m a bad hero, and I was a bad class president.”
“We’ve already been over the fact that you’re a fantastic hero, and you were a great class president. You listened to what people wanted and tried to fulfill requests. You planned events well.” She nods. Then nods again, slower. He takes in the way she’s slumping slightly, and smiles at her, “Do you want to leave your bed? You can be closer to the heaters if you’re on the floor.
They climb down, and lean against her chaise lounge, he grabs a blanket and their phones, settling it over them. Tikki and Plagg stay on the bed, catching up.
Once he sits again, Marinette leans into him, cuddling as close as she can to his warmth and holding the blanket tightly.
He could look at his phone, but for now, he just wants to sit with her and appreciate the fact that he finally knows who she is.
He loves her so much.
The snow is really coming down now, fully blizzarding. Marinette’s breathing has evened out and her grip on the blanket has loosened.
Their phones ding.
Checking his, he sees an ongoing conversation in the group chat.
 The Mom Friend: is evryone safe inside? theres gunna be a blizzard
The Mom Friend: how r u holding up mari
 Kid Mime: i’m at home!!! im watching a bunch of disney and i have hot chocolate and popcorn!!!!
Kid Mime: ariel could have tried miming
Kid Mime: it realy could hav helpd her
 Melodie: I’m home. Just made hot chocolate for my brothers. I’ve got some too.
 Felix: I am also at home.
 The Mom Friend: same here
The Mom Friend: mari? u sleeping?
The Mom Friend: adrien u still at her place?
 A is for Awesome: Yep!
A is for Awesome: She fell asleep on me while we were doing homework.
 The Mom Friend: ok im glad shes not outside
 Melodie: How long did she last once the snow started?
 A is for Awesome: She fell asleep immediately, then she woke up and we talked for a while, and she fell asleep again.
 Kid Mime: when she wakes up tell her i said hi
Kid Mime: and i love her
Kid Mime: and that shes gud desiner
 A is for Awesome: I will!
 The Mom Friend: remind her 2 eat
The Mom Friend: an everythin claude said
 A is for Awesome: So, um. It may or may not be the case that neither of us have eaten at all today? We may or may not have both completely forgotten.
 The Mom Friend: …
The Mom Friend: wat wud u guys do without me?
 Felix: Die. You and I are the only reasonable ones in this group, but while you intervene, I am content to simply watch them make poor choices.
 Melodie: HEY! I’m reasonable!
 The Mom Friend: u 2 need to eat. same goes to any1 else in this chat that need a reminder
 Kid Mime: wat about /u/ allan????
Kid Mime: have /u/ eatn recntly?????
 The Mom Friend: i am eating a sandwich rite now
 A is for Awesome: I’ll have Mari and I eat something.
 Before he does so, there’s something else he has to do. He separates himself from Marinette carefully. It’s difficult because being a superhero has made her strong and she doesn't want to give up her heat source, but he manages to escape.
She lies on the floor, frowning. He’ll make this quick. He climbs up to her bed, grabbing the notebook, and rips out the pages she’s written on. He carefully writes his own version of the things she’s put in, before putting it back where it belongs.
“Plagg, I’m gonna’ transform quick.” He warns the Kwami, who nods in understanding.
“Claws out!” Chat Noir grips the torn pages and moves to the balcony. The air whips around him violently, his black suit a stark contrast to the white flakes all around him. The city is coated in snow, and he can see his breath when he exhales heavily.
He looks at the revolting papers in his ringed hand. 
“Cataclysm.”
He watches the dust blow away with the wind, then turns back to the trapdoor, letting himself inside.
He releases the transformation before his ring even beeps, and hands Plagg some cheese as he returns to his Lady. She’s still on the floor, laying on her side, seemingly working on waking up, but only squinting and frowning at the ground.
He lays down on his stomach, looking at her.
“Hi Princess.”
She looks up to see he’s returned and her face lights up, though the exhaustion is still clear, “Kitty!”
“Are you hungry? Neither of us have eaten.”
“Don’ need t’ eat.” Maybe the blizzard has gotten to her. She’s on the edge of her ladybug-mindset, thinking she doesn’t need to eat if she’s in hibernation.
“I doubt that. Would you like to get something to eat with me?”
She shakes her head, “‘ugs?” She reaches one hand toward him weakly.
He holds her offered hand in his own, “What if I give you a hug, and then you eat. You can sit next to me.”
She finds this to be an acceptable compromise and nods.
He scoops her up and carries her down the stairs. On the way he comments, “Claude wanted me to say hi to you for him, and that he loves you, and that you’re a good designer Allan agreed, though he also wanted me to remind you to eat.”
“‘re nice.”
He sets her down gently at the table extracting himself from her arms. He sets water in front of her while he makes a sandwich for himself. There’s a variety of fruit in the fridge.
Ha! Winter brings out the ladybug in Marinette, and now that he knows she’s a ladybug, he can play into that. The superhero duo know each other’s tendencies well, and he spent a lot of last year bringing fruit to patrol in case she’d forgotten to eat. It was one of the few foods that the ladybug in her would accept without much fuss.
He gets a small bowl and mixes a variety of fruit together for her, being sure to give her lots of grapes. He gives her the bowl and grabs his sandwich and water to sit next to her.
She’s resting her head against the table, already asleep again. The kitchen isn’t as warm as her room.
“Hey, it’s time to eat.” He nudges her carefully, and she glances over to him drowsily. He points out the bowl to her and when she registers its contents she flashes him a stunning smile, eating slowly.
He eats too, finishing well before her. She’s eaten maybe a quarter of the small bowl before she slows more, tipping towards the table. He moves the dishes out of the way to avoid her face-planting onto them.
He grabs her hand, leading her up to her room again so that the heat can wake her up. For now, he settles for wrapping her up in the blanket again. The Marinette-burrito flops onto his lap.
 A is for Awesome: We ate.
 The Mom Friend: good
 He finishes the rest of his math homework. That’s all he’s got. It’s winter break now (thank goodness, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to keep from doing something to Alya) so he’s free. At least for the next few hours that is, then he’s back to his jam-packed schedule. He should give himself another assignment…
Adrien thinks for a moment, trying to think of something for him to do while he’s stuck at Marinette’s.
He thinks back to her laughter following his reveal. That’ll be his goal.
Maybe he can record her this time. He loves her laugh.
She’s laughed at puns before, it just takes a lot. He’ll start there.
Poking her a few times until she blinks up at him, he says, “Do you want a brief explanation of what an acorn is? In a nutshell, it’s an oak tree.”
“...okay.”
She’s too serious for this. She missed his pun!
“Mariiiiii!”
She blinks more, “...hi?”
“Here. Sit up.” He gets her to lean against his shoulder. Close enough.
“Why?” She sounds confused, probably because he just woke her up. She’d have woken up soon anyways. Otherwise it wouldn’t have been so easy to get her to look at and talk to him.
“You’ve been sleeping for a while. I want to talk to you.” She moves to sit across from him, squinting at him suspiciously.
“You were bored, weren’t you?”
“Purr-haps.”
She groans, “You woke me up for puns.”
“Actually, I wanted to tell you that I just got over my addiction to marshmallows, chocolate, and peanuts. I’m not gonna lie, it was a rocky road.” She looks out at the blizzard desperately, “Winter take me.”
“I’m a big fan of whiteboards. I find them quite re-markable.
“I asked my friend if she likes to play video games. She said, ‘Wii.’”
“Oh dear Kwami.”
“The machine at the coin factory just suddenly stopped working, with no explanation. It doesn’t make any cents!”
She shakes her head, but she’s too tired to keep the facade up for long. He knows she likes his puns. 
He leans forward, grinning, “I’m only friends with 25 letters of the alphabet. I don’t know Y.”
“Neither do I. Why are you like this?”
She’d added on, he’s certain he’ll catch her soon. He readies his phone out of sight.
“Why can’t you run through a campground?”
She only raises an eyebrow.
“You can only ran, because it’s past tents!” He beams at her innocently, “A man sued an airline company after it lost his luggage. Sadly, he lost his case.”
“Poor guy.” She’s looking away, focusing elsewhere.
“So what if I can’t spell Armageddon? It’s not the end of the world.”
She can’t hold out forever.
“How about bird puns, they’re very egg-citing.”
He’s got plenty of material.
“You don’t seem very emused.”
“Trying to annoy me with bird puns? Well, toucan play at that game!” She retorts.
He gasps delightedly, “You punned at me!”
As expected, the dam soon breaks and she starts snickering, covering her mouth. It evolves further until she’s fully laughing again. He’s been recording her, and encouraging her with dumb faces and jokes too quiet for the camera.
He wants to tell her to stop covering her face, but pointing out the habit will only embarrass her, and then she’d stop laughing. She drops it as the laughs die down, smiling at him.
Noticing his smug face, she shakes her head,“Was that your goal? Really?”
He holds up his phone, “I wanted to be able to hear your laugh whenever. It’s been saved.”
“Oh you did not.”
“I did. And now… it’s been sent to the group chat!”
“We will get no peace.” 
As soon as she says it, their phones go off. Checking it, they see Claude has been the first to view the video.
 Kid Mime: MARINETTE U SOUND ADORABLE Kid Mime: DID ADRIEN ALREADY TELL U THAT I LOVE U Kid Mime: I LOVE UR LAUGH Kid Mime: ADRIEN TEACH ME UR WAYS
 A is for Awesome: Puns.
 Kid Mime: IM ALREADY ON GOOGLE Kid Mime: I NEED EVERY PUN
Kid Mime: E V E R Y P U N
 Melodie: We’ll never get a break now.
Melodie: It’s nice to see you laugh, Marinette.
 Patisserie Princess: im never leaving the house
Patisserie Princess: i laughed at a pun
Patisserie Princess: i /made/ a pun
 Felix: Understandable. I will try to visit often.
Felix: I suspect you have been spending too much time with Claude and Adrien.
 The Mom Friend: aw mari
The Mom Friend: u gotta leave the house eventually
 Patisserie Princess: do I?
 Kid Mime: I WILL COME TO U Kid Mime: ADRIEN HOW MANY PUNS DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE HER LAUGH
 A is for Awesome: Depends on how tired she is.
A is for Awesome: Just don’t stop. Don’t give her a chance to recover.
 Kid Mime: ALRIGHT I WILL KEEP THAT IN MIND
 Melodie: The floodgates have been opened.
 Felix: Indeed.
 Kid Mime: IM GONNA RESEARCH PUNS Kid Mime: BYE
Kid Mime: LUV U GUYS
 The Mom Friend: bye
 Melodie: Bye.
 Patisserie Princess: bye!
Felix: Goodbye.
 A is for Awesome: Bye!
---
Author’s Note: These babies are cute. I love them so much.
The next chapter will be Wednesday, for Christmas. Just fluff, the purpose of the chapter is really just for the sake of all of them interacting in an angst-free way. So you get a bonus chapter. That's not all though! I really want to write a interlude of Tikki and Plagg's conversation in this chapter. It wouldn't really fit in here, and adding it as a chapter feels weird seeing as it would be sort of out-of-order. I'll post it as a separate one-shot, and leave a link here when it's up.
Hey! You all remember Honey Bee? Well a lovely little angel drew her! She looks so great, and I love it so much, link is here!
I haven't been writing much this month (apologies to those wanting chapter 2 of A Shy 'Sparrow'), this week in particular has been stressful. With my being on break now, I think I'll be able to write more. I had a few things that really struck me and I wanted to write them so we'll see how things go!
I feel like I'm forgetting something. If I remember it I'll edit this note.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any thoughts, theories, constructive criticism, or anything really in my ask box, in replies or through reblogs. I love seeing what you think!
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