#i have not been able to rest ever since marinettes design dropped yesterday

[bklily]

i have no idea what Adrien is gonna be like but imagine how funny it would be if he was just. completely normal Adrien but now with emo clothes cuz he loves his girlfriend so much

Bonus: OKAY ALSO DOUBLE FUNNY IMAGINE IF HE TRIES SO HARD TO BE EVIL LIKE CLAWNOIR CUZ HE WANTS TO MATCH WITH SHADYBUG AND ITS JUST THIS:

i know its not gonna be this BUT. it would be funny to mE

#mlb #miraculous ladybug #ml spoilers #tales of ladybug and cat noir #tales of shadybug and claw noir #i have not been able to rest ever since marinettes design dropped yesterday #she looks so good and so cringe and so funny #i wanna see adriens and clawnoirs designs so baaaaaad #ml #my art #shadybug #clawnoir #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrinette #love square #miraculous #ml paris special

[p-artsypants]

The Ghost of Smokey Joe (5)

Nightmare

No lyrics in this chapter, because the song in the title has no words. But it really embodies everything I wanted to say with the chapter.

Also, ALL ABOARD THE ANGST TRAIN CHOO CHOOOOOO

Ao3 | FF.net

—

“Do you have those drafts ready for the meeting?” Asked Marinette, peering into her co-worker’s office, a very peppy woman named Jill. 

“Of course! I’ve gotten them matted, just like you asked. 10, right?” 

“Yes! Thank God someone is doing their job right today.” 

“Oh, Marinette, where are your shoes?” 

Marinette looked down to her bare feet. “Oh, I wore pumps that are great for working at my desk and walking to the water cooler, but they got kicked off somewhere around 9 this morning.” 

“That bad, huh?” 

“Have you seen Tim? He’s fixing the sizing sheet and I can’t find him anywhere!” 

“Did you try his office?” 

Marinette’s jaw dropped. “Tim has an office?! Since when?” 

“Since always? Are you okay? You look like you could use a nap…or at least a cup of coffee.” 

Marinette groaned. “No naps! No more coffee! My heart is just a hum now anyway! I haven’t been able to sleep the last few days and last night I didn’t sleep at all. I got this weird phone call—“ she stopped herself before she said too much. “Anyway, yes, Tim does have an office. I forgot.” 

“And he’s always so good at emails, you never need to talk to him. I know. We had this same conversation last week.” 

Marinette groaned again as she covered her face in shame. “Why is Mr. Agreste doing this to me?” 

“Speaking of Mr. Agreste, have you gotten any answers from him today? I’ve sent three emails and he’s not responding at all. Apparently Tim’s having the same problem with Adrien.” 

“I haven’t heard a thing from the manor. Not Gabriel, not Adrien, not even Nathalie. We’re supposed to have a meeting at 2, but I haven’t heard if that’s still on.” 

“Doesn’t Adrien usually come into the office on meeting days?” 

“He did…I don’t know what's up with him. He was being super cagey with me yesterday when I went to talk to him.” She sighed, hunching her shoulders. “I’m worried.” She didn’t disclose the truth of the conversation, that Adrien had effectively ended their friendship. It was too painful, but too fresh to ignore. 

“I’ve been working here since Emilie was still around. Gabriel went through a huge personality shift when she disappeared. Maybe Adrien takes after his dad? Maybe something happened?” 

“Ugh, don’t talk like that, I’ll just worry more!” An alert beeped from her phone, letting her know she had an email. “Ah! An intern’s job is never done! See you later!” 

“Good luck, Marinette!” Jill called. After she left, she added, “you’re going to need it.” 

At two o’clock, the department heads and designers all came together in the conference room. Marinette set up her laptop to the screen and had the presentation open, as well as the Skype call to Gabriel. 

He had yet to join the session, but it was still a few minutes before the meeting officially began. 

“I see you’re wearing shoes now,” said Jill. 

“I don’t know if I could handle the ridicule from Mr. Agreste if he saw me bare foot in the conference room.” Marinette chuckled weakly. 

“As if Gabriel would ever reprimand you,” said someone else. “He adores you.” 

“That must be why he took a vacation and told no one,” she laughed again. Was her filter fading with all this sleep deprivation? Probably. 

Finally, the call started, but Nathalie took the helm instead. 

Before questions could be asked, she announced, “I’m afraid this meeting must be postponed.” No ‘hello’, no ‘thank you for your patience and hard work’. It was enough to make Marinette snap in all of her exhaustion and emotional turmoil. 

“Nathalie, with all due respect, everyone is here and ready to go. Why isn’t Gabriel ready?” She huffed. 

Nathalie glanced away from the camera, a tell that she was about to deliver a great blow. “Mr. Agreste is deceased.” 

The room went silent. Someone dropped a pen. 

Marinette fell into a chair, feeling like the ground was shaking under her. 

“Early this morning, both Gabriel and Adrien passed away. A joint visitation and funeral will be held at the manor on Friday evening and Saturday morning, respectively. Everyone is invited, but it’s not mandatory, of course.” 

Marinette couldn’t swallow the lump in her throat; it was so thick. 

“The fall line will not be released this season. Two weeks paid vacation will be passed on as we prepare the new head designer to take Gabriel’s place.” 

Someone asked, “Who is the new designer?” 

Most heads looked to Marinette, knowing the answer. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng has been determined to be the new head designer.” 

She sputtered out of her shock. “What? Me?! No! Surely not! I’m just an intern!” 

“Intern to the head designer,” someone clarified. “We all knew you were going to be hired as his assistant soon. It was obvious.” 

“But—but—“ she stammered. It was rather obvious, thinking about it. Gabriel was just waiting for her to secure that college degree to make it official. “I can’t! I just—“ Without any preamble, tears burst forth and rolled down her face. 

Adrien was gone. 

Her best friend. The love of her life. Without a goodbye, and on such horrible terms. 

Screw the responsibilities, the job title didn’t matter. She didn’t care at all.

Several arms wrapped around her, her coworkers, her friends, comforting as best as they could. 

“No one is expecting you to jump right in,” Nathalie explained. “You were quite close to both of them.” 

“What about you?” Marinette rasped out. 

“I had my moment earlier. I’m in business mode now. If anyone would like more details, please reach me privately.” 

And she left. Like a whirlwind, leaving destruction in her path. 

“Can you get home on your own?” Someone asked Marinette. 

She thought she confirmed affirmative, but someone led her from the room with an arm around the shoulder. Maybe it was Tim. She didn’t really know. She didn’t really care. 

When she arrived home, she dropped her purse on the floor. Where were her other bags? At the office? Oh well, didn’t matter now. 

Nothing mattered anymore.

“Girl, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

Alya and Nino were home, they were here and alive, and they didn’t know. 

They didn’t know and she had to tell them. 

“He’s gone,” She whispered.

“Who?” Asked Alya, resting a comforting hand on her arm. 

“Adrien…he—he’s dead.” 

“…what?” Nino squeaked out. “H-how? Why?” 

“I don’t know…he and Gabriel—“ she stopped and flexed her hand. Her phone was still in her hand. It held answers. 

She called Nathalie on video. 

“Hello Marinette. I’m glad to see you made it home safe. I was worried.” 

“What happened?” She blurted. “Nino and Alya know that he died. What happened?” Because there had to be a reasonable explanation. 

Nathalie’s face morphed from serious business to pain and pity. “Are you sure you want to know?” 

God, with a preamble like that, it couldn’t be good. Not painless like Carbon monoxide poisoning in their sleep, and not instant like a car accident. 

“Please Nathalie, I have to know.” 

She breathed shakily and admitted, “it was a murder-suicide, as enacted by Adrien. He first stabbed Gabriel, and then himself.” 

“Augh!” Marinette sobbed out. It was an ugly sound that couldn’t be controlled or silenced. 

“I’m sorry. I wish I could lie…but I can’t. Adrien had been acting strange lately…I think Gabriel knew this was going to happen.” 

“No! You’re lying!” Marinette yelled. “Adrien loved his father! He would never—he’s not like that!” 

“Marinette, I saw them. Adrien was obviously deeply disturbed.” 

“SHUT UP!!” She ended the call and dropped the phone on the floor. 

Then she looked to her friends, who were both bawling like her. Nino moved first and pulled her into a tight hug. Alya came around the other side, crushing her in a Marinette-sandwich. 

“You’re right, he wouldn’t do that.” Alya offered. “But they’re both gone, so we can’t prove anything.” 

“If Nathalie didn’t tell the office, then the truth might never come out,” Said Nino, nodding in reassurance. “Only the four of us will have any idea.” 

After a long time, numbness started to set in. There was a degree of disbelief in her still, where she may have heard it, but she didn’t see it. 

That left room for doubt. 

Without a word, she took her phone from the floor and wandered back to her room. 

After the door closed, Tikki appeared. “Marinette…” 

But she wasn’t listening. She was staring at her phone screen, like she was trying to solve a puzzle. 

Then she started a call. 

It rang and rang and rang and rang…

“Hey there, it’s Adrien, I’m not available to answer right now. But leave me a message or shoot me a text, and I’ll get back to you. Hope you have a great day!” 

The phone beeped. 

“Adrien,” she sobbed. “Adrien I know—goddamnit this sucks. I’m too late. I love you so much, and I’m too late. I wish I told you sooner. Even last night when you called—I’m sorry I didn’t know you were struggling. I’m sorry I didn’t know how to help you. I loved you so much and I couldn’t save you and I’m so sorry…” 

“Marinette…” Tikki tried to tell her to stop. 

“This is the closest I could get to telling you. And you’ll never hear it and—“ 

The phone beeped again, signaling the end of the recording. 

She saved it, and set the phone down. 

“Marinette…” 

“What is it, Tikki? What’s so important?” 

“I have to tell you something…but it’s really really bad.” 

“Well, hit me with it. Today is literally the worst day of my life.” 

“Adrien…well, he was Chat Noir.” 

As if the day couldn’t get any worse. 

“What?” 

“Chat Noir. He was Adrien.” 

“But—but he can’t be. You must be confused.” 

“Marinette, he literally wore the earrings before.” 

“I KNOW!” She screamed. “But you have to tell me he's someone else! Because I can’t lose both of them! I can’t do it Tikki!” 

“I know it hurts. You two were literally soul mates. The Ladybug and Black Cat always are.” 

“You’re not helping!” She sobbed. 

“I know, I’m sorry.” 

Tikki allowed Marinette to sob for a while, letting her anguish spill out of her. Tikki just kept watch for the Akuma that never came. 

“You know what you have to do next, right?” Asked Tikki. 

“What?” 

She sighed. “You have to go to the visitation and take back the ring.” 

“I can’t do that!” Marinette cried, horrified. “I can’t! There’s no way!” 

“We’ll he can’t be buried with it. You have to, Marinette.” 

Marinette crawled into bed, still fully clothed and wept and wept and wept until her tears burned her cheeks and exhaustion took hold.

--

All the chapter titles are songs from my spooky halloween playlist that inspired this fic (and their lyrics will be in the chapters)! You can find that playlist here. The playlist will be updated as the fic goes on.

#ml #miraculous ladybug #fanfiction #the ghost of Smokey Joe #adrienette #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #chat noir #ladybug

[anjuschiffer]

Amira Wayne - Chapter 7

:3c

I exchanged @biodad-bruce-month‘s Day 7: Fashion Show with Fight!

Chapter 7: Fight

-

P.Tag: @theatreandcomicfreak @damianette-is-life @toodaloo-kangaroo @elijahcrevan

Tag: @vixen-uchiha @we-want-mini-mini @ramos123 @bluesimani @redscarlet95 @greatcatblaze @promiswords

-

MASTERLIST | FIRST | PREV | AO3

Amira looked at the white board inside her walk-in closet, reviewing the new information she got last night. During last night’s patrol, Amira took a break halfway through, using the time to ask Tikki more questions regarding the miraculous. 

They were earrings, which thankfully, can shift in design but can’t change its original form: earrings. 

So here was Amira, sporting all black studs. Simple and hidden in plain sight. Amira also found out that the appearance of the earrings can always be changed as Tikki doesn’t have to use too much energy to do so. Therefore, Amira has been planning on changing its appearance after every akuma attack, an easy tactic to see exactly how much Hawkmoth himself knows about the Ladybug miraculous.

Next up, her yo-yo. Turns out that it’s more than just that. While it works as a tracker and phone, it only works when Amira is transformed. No yo-yo, no way to communicate with Chat. Because of this, Amira decided to get him a burner phone to make sure the two can communicate outside the suit. Will also help in case they have to communicate during an energy break while there is an akuma. 

Her costume. Thankfully, Tikki had told her that it morphs into whichever design the holder has in their head. With more concentration on the design, the more the costume will have what the holder would want. After patrol, Amira made it her mission to get the utility belt in her design and after plenty of trial and errors, Amira got it. 

Now she had smoke pellets, a taser, a small utility knife and a first aid kit at her disposal. Of course, the belt came with a price - her dagger.

Brushing out her hair, Amira looked at her reflection. She always hated having long hair. While Dick always told her that he liked her hair when it was long (because he liked braiding it for her), Amira never took a shine to having long hair. 

It was a hassle to brush out, to clean. During track (even though she was only on the team for two years), Amira hated seeing other girls have their lucky amulets in their hair. A special pin or hair tie from their fathers and sometimes from their-

“-to Marinette!” Tikki yelled, snapping Amira from her trip down memory hell.

“Tikki, I live across the school. I won’t be late.” Marinette stated, continuing to stare at her reflection.

“I know that, but your phone has been buzzing nonstop!” Tikki said, showing her the multiple texts she was receiving.

Marinette took it, smiling when she saw they were from Wally and Dick, telling her to have a better day at school than yesterday’s disaster. “Are they from your friends?”

“You can say that.” Marinette said, tucking her phone into her pocket, looking at her reflection once again. “Tikki. Can you grab my fabric scissors on the table near my monitors?”

-

“It suits you.” Alya randomly told Marinette after the end of their first class. “Your hair, I mean. Don’t think I didn’t notice it.” Marinette simply blinked, wondering why people always said a compliment before bringing up their actual motives. “Name’s Alya-”

“-Cesaire. I know. Now if you excuse me, I have a class to get to.” Marinette filled in, getting up to leave, only for Alya to grab her wrist. “Let go.”

“Sorry!” Alya apologized, letting go of Marinette. “I just...I just wanted to tell you that you were a bit too harsh on Mlle Bustier yesterday. You should apologize.” Alya didn’t expect a scoff from Marinette.

“I’m not going to apologize for standing up for what I know is right.”

“Mlle Bustier-”

“-should’ve done her job correctly instead of enabling, especially now that Hawkmoth is a threat. But even with Hawkmoth out of the picture, Ms.Bustier shouldn’t have just assumed it was Ivan who instigated the argument. There’s always two sides of a story and we should always make it our job to figure out who is right. Sometimes, we even figure out why things happened the way they did. Sometimes, we find out we are wrong and when that happens, we have to accept it. If not, how else will we grow?”

With those words, Marinette gave Alya a little bow before going to her next class. Hopefully Marinette can find M. D'Argencourt during her break to try and convince him to let her join the fencing club...again.

 -

“Well, that went easier than I thought.” Marinette told herself, walking down the school steps. M. D'Argencour had happily accepted her into the team, proceeding to tell her the team’s schedule.

While it took a while to hunt the coach down, Marinette was about to find him towards the end of the day.

“Why exactly do you want to know fencing?” Tikki asked her from the pocket inside her sweater.

“I just found it...interesting.” Marinette lied, knowing she couldn’t tell Tikki that her father never let her take up the hobby. While Bruce had allowed Jason to learn how to use a sword, Jason quickly dropped it. Dick was also taught how to use a sword, but he complained how annoying it would be to carry it around, hence the reason why he carries escrima sticks.

While fencing wasn’t the same, fencing will help her gain more skills she can use during her fights. You never know after all.

After greeting Tom and Sabine and squishing Bridgette’s cheeks, Marinette made her way to her room, only to find him in there...again.

“If it’s about the Miraculous, I’m still not giving it to you.” Amira said, throwing her school bag to the floor. She whispered the renouncing spell before reaching into her jewelry box, where countless dupes rested. Oh how she wanted to cackle when she saw her father look at her with wide eyes. 

“Amira, hand them over.” Bruce ordered, stretching out his hand in hopes of Amira doing the correct thing.

“Why won’t you trust me?” Amira gritted, balling her fists. “Why don’t you trust me to do the right thing?”

“I do trust you.” Bruce said, taking a step forward. “That’s why I expect you-”

“I can’t just hand earrings over! The people need me! They need Ladybird to-”

“You don’t need to be running around Paris playing hero, Amira. Let Diana-”

“Must I remind you that I was given the earrings? It’s me who they want! Me! And no! I’m not playing hero! Hell, I’m not even a hero! I’m a vigilante! I’m doing what’s right by being Ladybird, by protecting the people the only way I can.” Amira reasoned, looking at her father. “And trust? Doesn’t that go both ways?” Amira set out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding in. “After all, when were you going to tell me about Batgirl? About...the new Robin?”

How Amira wanted to scream when Bruce remained silent. 

“How did you find out?” Amira scoffed.

“Find out? The whole internet was talking about it! My class was talking about just earlier today!”

It happened during break. Just as Marinette was leaving the class, she bumped into the second surprise of the day in the form of teen model Adrien Agreste. 

Adrien apologized for the accident when Chloe pulled him into the class and began to ‘teach’ him what it meant to be part of a school. The only reason Marinette even remained in class at that point was because she heard Adrien talk about this being his first time in a school...meaning that up until now, he had been homeschooled all his life.

Kinda how like she was up until she was around seven to eight years old. But to be homeschooled until 13? How lonely he must have been. Especially when she heard he was the only child at home.

You’re really ungrateful.

Marinette stiffened, feeling her heart pick up in pace upon remembering Jason’s words. She already knew that...she knew, but was it wrong of her to want something else? To want to have something different than what she currently had?

As Marinette was fighting off the beginnings of a breakdown, Alya’s sudden burst almost triggered it.

“Since when did Robin come back to Gotham?!” Alya yelled, rising from her seat. 

Marinette didn’t need to hear any more, running out of the classroom and locking herself into one of the girl’s bathroom stalls. While she hated having breakdowns, Amira was glad to have had one, as it helped her gained more insight on how Hawkmoth’s powers worked.

He can’t control you if you’re in the middle of an emotional breakdown and can’t register his words. In other words, he can’t control you if you’re already out of control. 

Guess it’s good to know that if Joker were to ever come to Paris, Hawkmoth wouldn’t be able to take over him. 

Amira looked at her father, awaiting for his response. “Under different circumstances, I would have forgiven you for replacing Jason with another guy. But it hasn’t been a year since he died and you’ve already replaced him. 

You know how Jason felt, you know he lived with the fear of doing a single thing that would give you a reason to kick him out of the manor. And while you always assured him you would never do that, here you are, doing just that.” Amira watched as her vision went blurry, wiping them away as she collected herself again. 

“I wasn’t replacing-“

“You were. You are. And not only have you replaced Jason, but it seems you’ve also replaced me.” Amira looked at herself. “Batgirl? Really? You know that was the name I wanted to use if you ever let me fight crime alongside you. Of course, that never happened.”

“Amira.”

“At this point, I don’t care what you do.” Amira gripped all the turmoil inside her. “Right now. I just want you to leave.”

“Amira.”

“Leave! I don’t want to see your face Bruce!” Amira yelled, shocking herself at her outburst. 

Bruce? Why did it feel so wrong, yet so right? She tried it again. “I don’t want you anywhere near me Bruce, so leave! Just leave!”

And he did.

As she watched Bruce leave her room with a heavy heart, she slumped to the floor, standing back up when she felt something approach her. “Tikki!” Tikki appeared before her. “Spots on!” A second later, an akuma appeared before her, Amira quickly capturing it. Before letting it go, Amira quickly searched for a glass jar and a box in her desk.

She let the now purified butterfly go into the jar, surprised to see that it didn’t phase through the jar. So it was just a normal butterfly after all. When coated in magic, the magic allowed it to phase through whatever it wanted to to ensure that it made it to its target.

Calling off her transformation, Amira quickly got to work, carefully placing a tracker on the butterfly’s wing. 

“Are you alright, Marinette?” Tikki asked, looking at her holder with worried eyes.

“I’m alright Tikki. I’m alright.”

-

No, she wasn’t alright.

The next day at school, Chloe tried to stick gum in her seat as a revenge plan for once again chewing out Mlle Bustier for allowing Chloe to interrupt the classroom with another one of her stupid excuses. Not to mention Chloe using her father’s position to get away with said excuse.

It didn’t help when Marinette was stuck with Alya trying to ask her about her past in Gotham and Alya claiming to be her friend.

They barely knew each other and this girl was already clinging to her like a newborn chick. 

While Marinette tried to avoid her at all costs, Alya always found her, Marinette hating it. Didn’t she know about personal space?

Her week got worse when Chat accepted the burner phone but refused to be trained by her. Something about him not needing it.

Thankfully, she was able to vent to Dick and Wally, although more to Wally since Dick was busy with university. 

Days went by and even then, Amira knew she was never going to adjust to life in Paris.

It’s only been four akumas and this city already thinks they saved the world. 

While technically they saved Paris, Ladybird and Chat have yet to fight off a Victim that can become a potential threat to the world. Bubbler and Mr.Pigeon weren’t exactly the worst to deal with, but they weren’t the easiest to take down either. As for Stormy Weather and Lady Wifi, Ladybird realized that it was Victims like them who posed a threat to France. Victims with intangible powers were a force to be reckoned with after all. 

But just because the duo saved Paris four times, it didn’t mean their work was done. They had yet to find out who Hawkmoth was.

Oh, did she mention the ridiculous statue they made in her and Chat’s honor because of the four Victims they took down so far? Long story short, she didn’t go to the ceremony and Chat must’ve told the artist something stupid because here they were. Fighting a Victim all thanks to Chat and his loud mouth.

“Chat! Stop trying to regain your honor and let me-” Ladybird yelled, only to get pushed back by his bo.

“No! This is my fight!” Chat hissed, attempting to land a hit on his copycat. Copycat grinned as he parried all of Chat’s hits, flinging Chat’s bo to the side when he saw an opening. 

“He’s good.” Chat said, landing next to Ladybug as he retreated. Ladybird scoffed, gaining an arched brow from her partner.

“He’s good? Got some pretty low standards there Chat. Have you ever seen Nightwing in combat? This guy is nothing compared to him.” With that, Ladybird charged into the fight, picking up Chat’s bo and using it against Copycat.

The two fought, Ladybird noticing Copycat starting to hit her with less force, more sloppily. He was starting to become more aggressive, half of his hits missing. 

“Chat! Switch!” Ladybird yelled, knocking Copycat’s staff from his hands and throwing Chat his own back to him.

With Chat distracting Copycat, Ladybird waited for the perfect- there!

Chat had launched Copycat into the air, Ladybird using this to wrap him with her yo-yo and slamming him down. Holding him down, Ladybird turned to Chat.

“Where’s his akuma?”

“Here!” Chat said, taking out a photo from Copycat’s pocket. Ripping it, it released the akuma, Ladybird unwrapping her yo-yo and capturing the akuma. Now purified and having the tracker implanted, Ladybird released the butterfly. 

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Ladybird watched as everything was returned and fixed. Turning to Chat, she glared at him. “I’ll be done here in a few minutes. Meet you at the rendezvous in a few.”

NEXT

#maribat #bio!dad bruce wayne month 2020 #bio!dadbrucewaynemonth2020 #b!dbwm2020

[sincerelymarinette]

A Recorded Life Sequel (10/10) - Miraculous Ladybug

Words: 2033 Summary: In the finale, Adrien confronts his father and Marinette and Adrien have a date they deserve. Author's Note: Well, here we are, the last chapter! I've been writing this story for over 2 years now and I'm so happy people have enjoyed it so much. Thank you all for reading and sticking with me! I hope you like the finale :) <3

Prev / Masterlist

Breaking News

---

Adrien waited in the cold room that he had not dared to visit in years. He thought for a long time, and finally made the difficult decision to make the trip. He'd been haunted with trauma and nightmares since he was a teenager by this man, but it was high time he went to see his father again, especially if he intended not to see him for many more years.

The doors opened, and Adrien shot up to straighten his posture when he saw his father entering the room with a guard by his side. His hair was flat, which always caught Adrien by surprise, and Gabriel's scowl was deeper than Adrien ever knew. Gabriel wouldn't admit it, but he was surprised that Adrien came to see him. Last time, their conversation did not end well, and Adrien promised he would not come to see Gabriel unless it was serious.

But after many meetings with his therapist, Adrien decided that this was important enough to see Gabriel. It was a few weeks after the fashion show, but he was sure Gabriel was going to criticize it as much as he could.

"Hello, Adrien," Gabriel said as he sat down across from his son.

"Father," Adrien replied. Though Adrien was older now, and doing much better, he was still scared to talk to Gabriel and did everything in his mind to calm himself down.

They stared at each other for a moment in silence, neither one sure how to converse. Finally, Gabriel took a breath and spoke. "I watched some of the fashion show you and Miss Dupain-Cheng hosted."

"I wasn't sure if you would be able to. It was a nice day," Adrien said, not asking for his opinion, but sure he was going to get it.

"I would have done it differently. The timing was off, and you could have had better music. You had your designers redesign some of my work?" Gabriel criticized.

"Well, all of our reviews praised the music and said the models were amazing. And yes, I did. To fit our rebrand and new mission and values. No one wants to wear something that Hawkmoth designed anymore," Adrien said, holding back every muscle in his body to not roll his eyes.

Gabriel shook his head condescendingly. "You're being dramatic."

Adrien took a deep breath to calm himself down before answering. "Maybe. But all of my reviews recently have been better than they were when you were in charge. They like seeing me so active in the company, and our lines launched in stores recently, and business is booming. So I must be doing something right," Adrien said, confidently. Gabriel's jaw dropped, but Adrien continued to talk before Gabriel could interject. "I only came here to tell you one thing, father, but it turns out I actually have more."

"Go on," Gabriel said after composing himself.

"My time in therapy has helped me deal with everything you have thrown at me, and I know you don't approve of it, but Marinette and I are happiest together. We are running The Fashion House together, and we are sure it will be better than you could have ever dreamed. I hope you learn from your time locked away that what you did was harmful, but I know you won't," Adrien spit out, not thinking twice. "And I am going to continue to be happy with Marinette and my friends for the rest of my life, running Emilie's together and keeping Paris safe."

Gabriel shook his head again, not wanting to hear it. "I will be out of here eventually, Adrien, and I will take back what is mine."

"The Fashion House is mine now, and you're going to be stuck in here for the rest of your life. You're delusional if you think you, Paris' Supervillain, is ever going to get out of here," Adrien said. "It's a shame you turned your grief for my mother to evil and will miss out on the rest of my life, but I don't care anymore. It's clear you don't." Adrien didn't wait for a reaction from Gabriel, grabbed his coat, and stood up to walk out of the room. He was scanned out as Gabriel was brought back to his cell, still a bit shocked by what Adrien said to him.

---

It was a warm summer day in Paris, and Marinette and Adrien finally made time for themselves to have a nice date. They had spent so much time working day in and day out, that they decided they could be a little selfish and take the day for a date. No Kwamis, no cameras,  and no one around. It was a nice, well-deserved break for both of them.

They decided the best date to celebrate all they've been through the last few years was to get out of the busy part of the city, and back to the park near the Bakery and the school where they met. The park they spent many days fighting Akumas and filming videos with their friends. Maybe they could even catch a ride on the carousel.

They set up the picnic blanket and started laying out the food. Sandwiches, chips, crackers, and the dessert they got from Tom and Sabine when they stopped by for a quick chat before the date. Marinette's parents were the exception to the no people rule.

They started eating as they relaxed. Every time they came back here, they were always flushed with memories, more memories than what usually came back when they would only visit the bakery. "I'm glad we finally have some time to ourselves. Don't get me wrong, the past few weeks with all the lines coming out has been amazing," Marinette started. "But it's nice to have a few minutes to breathe fresh air."

"I agree, and not have the endless amount of questions ten hours a day," Adrien laughed. "I love what we're doing, but man, it's been tough. Hopefully, now that the rebrand is completed, it will calm down just a bit."

"I bet," Marinette nodded. "Now we just have to worry about new meetings for our fall and winter lines!" She said.

Adrien nodded with her as he took a bite of his sandwich. "I'm happy we chose to come back here; it's been a while since we've been to the park."

"Oh yeah, and it's really nice to not have our date interrupted by Akumas. It's been years, but I still worry," She admitted.

"I know. Nooroo may be living in the box happily, but it's still a valid fear. But you're such a great guardian I know there's nothing to worry about," He complimented.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Flattering only gets you so far, Agreste," She told him.

Adrien shrugged and looked around the park, remembering how much has changed. Photoshoots, videos created with his friends, projects from school, and now dates. "I saw my father yesterday,"  Adrien said.

"Is that where you got off to?" Marinette raised her eyebrow. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't planning on it; I just kind of ended up there," He said. "Well, I was planning on seeing him, just didn't think it would be yesterday. He didn't approve of our show or how we're running the Fashion House, but I told him I don't care. I was going back and forth on asking him some things, but then I saw how he is, still planning revenge and hoping to get out of prison, and I realized I don't care what he thinks. I haven't for years, and I don't need to tell him when I'm going to do something or need his permission. Then I stopped by the bakery to reward myself with talking to your parents, who actually enjoy having me around," He said, not aware that he was rambling about the whole experience.

Marinette put her hand on Adrien's shoulder to catch his attention. "Well, it sounds like you made some good self-discovery and figured you don't need your dad. I'm happy to hear that, because your dad really sucks," She said, with a slight smirk on her face. "What were you going to ask him?"

Adrien shook his head to brush it off. "I ended up bringing it up to your parents, because it's much more important to me that they approved of my ideas. They're good people, Mari."

"So you've said. Is everything okay?" She asked, a little worried he was beating around the answer.

Adrien took a deep breath and nodded slowly. He took another bite of his sandwich, and the meat inside fell out the other end and onto his pants. Adrien started to sift through the basket for the extra napkins as Marinette watched him closely. He slowed his searching as he began to talk. "Yeah, I think I'm better than ever, actually. You mentioned the Akumas earlier, and my dad and Hawkmoth were horrible. And though endless amounts of bad things came from him, there were some good things that came from it that I wouldn't want to change," Adrien said.

Marinette cocked her head, waiting for him to elaborate. "Us becoming superheroes, working with our friends closer than ever giving my mom her proper burial. Us finally becoming a couple; that one I wouldn't ever want to change," He said and looked back at her with a small smile. He pulled the extra napkins out and removed some off the top, revealing a black box underneath. Adrien opened the lid as Marinette was putting together what he was saying and saw the sparkle from the sun once it was opened. "Marinette, will you marry me?" He asked.

Marinette's jaw was dropped as she looked at Adrien. "Was this what you were going to ask Gabriel? If he was okay with us getting married?" She asked.

"Yes, but like I said, I don't care what he thinks. Then I asked your parents, and they said they've been waiting for it for years, so of course they thought it was a good idea," Adrien said.

Marinette giggled and nodded. "Of course, I would love to marry you, Adrien."

Adrien's smile grew wide, and he leaned forward to kiss Marinette. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too."

---

BREAKING NEWS: ADRIEN AGRESTE AND MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG ENGAGED!  By: Alya Césaire <link>

oh my god oh my god oh my god

ITS HAPPENING PEOPLE THE ADRIENETTE WEDDING WILL BE HAPPENING

first alya and nino, now adrien and mari, how will i ever cope seeing them grow up like this

took them long enough! happy for you guys

i remember when adrien first appeared in one of marinette's videos and people shipped them from the start, look where we are now

how it started, how it's going

this is going to be the biggest wedding EVER

will they have the wedding in the backyard of the mansion like they said in the "if we were dating" video from before they were dating

this is the best news of the year

Marinette laughed as she read the Tweets in their trending section, happy to see how excited everyone was. Fans from when she first started her channel following her for years and years, to now watching her get engaged and eventually married. Her parents and friends were beyond excited for the two of them, already ready for the parties and the big wedding (if they decided to go big, that is), and couldn't wait for all to come. Gabriel obviously did not approve, but no one cared, as Marinette and Adrien were going to be happy together without room for negativity.

The Kwamis were excited to shower the wedding with magic, and Marinette couldn't wait to document her road to the wedding. They had to plan, she wanted to make her dress, and she was planning on having a cake tasting session with her parents. Even if they decide not to go big, the celebration with their friends would still have all the fun aspects of a big wedding.

It had been a long few years of battling Akumas and Adrien's father; Marinette and Adrien deserved to be unapologetically happy.

---

@lady-of-the-roses-and-lilies @bookishserendipity03 @avatheexceed @gkz10 @coccinellegirl @kat-thatoneweirdo @strawberryblondish @snow-swordswoman @lilgaga98 @evufries @toodaloo-kangaroo

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #miraculous ladybug and chat noir #ml #mlb #ladybug #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien agreste x marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrien x marinette #chat noir #alya cesaire #fanfiction #fanfic #marichat #ladynoir #adrienette #adrinette #ladrien #a recorded life #lilly writes

[bumblebeug]

Felinette. Nothing Bad Ever Happens to Me Pt. 4

Hello Everyone! I wrote a really long chapter, I hope you enjoy it. @7701deathlyhalfbloodprincess, @captainmac6, @iwantswifttoblessmysoul, @lady-flora-of-slytherin -Thank you so much for your support! And @dargeon-lissa, thank you for replying to my question all the way back at part two! 

So without further adieu:

Nothing Bad Ever Happens to Me Pt. 4 

“Oh, mother,” Lila whispered hoarsely, “I’m sure I’ll feel much better by lunch.”

Her mother’s brows drew together in concern, “Darling, don’t push yourself too hard. You don’t want to make what you have any worse.”

Lila sat up lightly from her position in bed, “Of course Mother.” She blew her nose delicately, “I promise that if I don’t feel up to it, I won’t go. I’d hate for anyone to get sick because of me.”

Mrs. Rossi bent forward and smoothed her daughter’s bangs to the side and planted a kiss on her forehead. “I know dear, that’s what makes you my special girl.”

Eyes closed, Lila leaned into her mother’s kiss and breathed in deeply. Instead of wearing the perfume that Lila spent weeks picking out, her mother was wearing the one her boyfriend had chosen. She wrinkled her nose. She had forgotten that he was back in Italy. Waiting to take her mother’s precious time away from her again. If Lila got her way – which she was sure she would, he would soon be a forgotten memory for her mother too.

Too soon for Lila’s liking, her mother pulled away softly exclaiming, “Oh my. Is that the time?” as she checked her watch. Mrs. Rossi planted another kiss atop Lila’s head, “Dear, remember to keep your liquids up – I have another late night again, but there’s soup in the fridge.”

Mrs. Rossi paused at her daughter’s doorframe, “I love you. Please feel better.”

“I love you too Mother – don’t worry about me; I’ll be just fine.” Lila called to her retreating back and listened to the click of the front door. Lila meant it too; she always turned up on top. She got what she wanted. And right now, she wanted Felix wrapped around her finger like all the others at school. Yesterday’s research had been a failure, Lila thought as she opened her laptop, but today she would discover what the mysterious new boy liked.

----------

Marinette woke up with her first alarm feeling energized and practically sprang from the confines of her sheets. All thanks to Adrien, yesterday had been amazing, she thought dreamily. Well. It had been overall amazing. At first, everything had been a little stiff and awkward but as the day wore on, she gradually stopped worrying that everything would fall apart. It had felt good to be with everyone again. With luck, she thought as she brushed her hair, today would be a repeat. She caught her eye in the mirror as she was tying her hair into her customary pigtails. Hmm. Maybe she could shake it up a bit.

~

Marinette held a fresh box of croissants and waved goodbye to her parents as she left the bakery. She was proud of herself – she had finished up the notes that Felix requested, got to braid her hair, and, best of all, there was a chance she would be able to sit with her friends again today. After all, maybe Lila really was sick. The chill morning air hit her face pleasantly as she walked.

With a giggle, Tikki flew up to Marinette’s shoulder, “You look like you’re going to start dancing in the streets, Marinette.”

Grinning, Marinette gave a little twirl, “I can’t help it! Look how well today is already going. I finished Felix’s notes, sketched out a phenomenal jacket for Jagged, and I even woke up with the first alarm!”

“Not to mention enough time to make your hair so pretty.” Tikki stroked a lock of her French plait. “I told you that everything would work out.”

Marinette giggled at Tikki’s smug expression, “Yeah, yeah. You’re right.” She stroked Tikki’s forehead with her finger, “Patience and sacrifice pay off in the end. Don’t let it inflate your big head.”

Tikki swatted Marinette’s finger in mock outrage, “My head is not big! It’s perfectly kwami sized!”

Marinette rolled her eyes and held her hands up in surrender, “Of course.”

Tikki nestled against Marinette’s neck, not willing to go back in the purse, but wanting to ward off the morning air all the same.

“Hey Tikki?” Marinette’s carefree attitude slipped a little.

“Mmm?”

“Do you think that Hawk Moth is planning something again? Something big?” Marinette gripped a strap of her backpack and dropped her voice, “Like Hero’s Day?”

Just because the class had become more balanced of late, didn’t mean that the rest of Paris was. Every day it was full of frustrated, upset people. The fact that Hawk Moth had scaled back so drastically made her feel antsy. The lack of akumas made Marinette feel uncomfortable like there was an itch that she couldn’t reach. Tikki plucked at the tense fingers to loosen their grip,

“If he is planning something, we’ll be ready for him. You have grown so much since we’ve been together – I know that we’ll be able to handle whatever he throws at us.”

“Yeah… you’re right,” Marinette straightened her shoulders, “We can do anything as long as we’re together.”

They neared the gates of the school.

“You better hid now though. School awaits.”

Tikki gave Marinette one last pat before diving into the opened purse.

-------------

Gabriel Agreste silenced his alarm before dragging his hand down his face. He hadn’t slept last night. Or the night before last for that matter. As of late, his days were a consistent sludge. The upcoming fashion show was eating him alive. He had spent so much time as Hawk Moth, he hadn’t been designing – brushing it off as a future concern. But now the fashion show was practically on top of him and he had very little to show for it.

Groaning, he rang Nathalie and requested she bring him the strongest caffeinated beverage she could find. Cursing himself, he looked over his sketchbook and cursed himself for ignoring the schedule Nathalie had set up for him so many months back. He couldn’t reschedule the show – it would be too suspicious. Enjoy your free time while you can Ladybug, Gabriel thought bitterly. Right now, there was no time for villainy – not when his reputation was on the line.

------------

Felix tapped his pen against his desk, thinking. The student representative had certainly been affected by the change in seating yesterday – her shoulder’s, which had been stiffly pulled back in the morning, had relaxed into a more confident pose as the day wore on. Still. There had been something off – just a flicker of unease that held her back. He wondered what it was. A small part of him hoped that it was some kind of epic intrigue. A secret side to her that she was hiding, keeping her from being her true self. But he dismissed the thought almost as soon as it came. Just because he had moved to a place inhabited by superheroes and villains, didn’t mean that everyone’s life was just as fantastical as the city they lived in.

Today his interaction with her had been brief. She apologized for the delay in notes and offered him a croissant. He declined the croissant, he had the model-standard strict diet, but accepted the notes. Then, nonplussed, she left for the seat she sat in yesterday and that was that. Looks like today is another one of observation he thought as he brought his thermos to his lips.

-----------

Alya gave Marinette a sly smile as she took a croissant, “Trying to doll it up for our resident sunshine boy?”

Marinette blushed, she hadn’t had Adrien in mind when she changed up her hair – but now her mind started to race with possibilities. Adrien might compliment her hair and if she could manage to keep her cool, then they might start dating. And years from now today would be remembered as their anniversary of first getting together. And –

Alya snapped her fingers in Marinette’s face, “Whoa girl, careful – don’t get lost in la-la land so early in the morning, we might never get you back.”

~

“Girl, don’t look now but Mr. Icicle is burning a hole in the back of your head again. You say something to piss him off or something?”

“Pft. No way, Marinette is sweet as sugar – what could she have done to piss him off in the three days he’s been here?” Nino laughed.

Marinette started to turn around only to be stopped by Alya’s firm hand on her shoulder, “What did I just say?”

Alya continued, “Let’s review the facts: first, he’s barely said five words to anyone here! Second, he completely rebuffs any attempt at conversation. Third, he rejected a croissant.” Alya bit into her own for emphasis, “How on earth could anyone with a soul resist one of these? Even Mr. Top Model’s willpower isn’t that strong.” She gestured towards him, “Look – he’s trying to sneak one as I speak.”

Adrien abruptly snatched his hand out of the box, looking abashed, “Well… you said it yourself – Felix didn’t want one, so that means that there’s extra.”

Marinette rested her hands on her cheeks, Adrien was so cute it should be illegal. She knew she wouldn’t be able to speak so she just nodded when he turned a pleading gaze on her.

“Thanks, Marinette!” Adrien said as he helped himself.

Nino glanced up towards the back, feeling uneasy. Felix really was just staring at the group with an unreadable expression. He didn’t like the way that Felix’s gaze lingered on Marinette in particular. “Hey,” he stated cautiously, “Marinette.”

“Mhm?” Marinette replied, still recovering her speaking faculties.

“Alya’s right. He really is focusing some major lasers on you right now.” He pushed his glasses up, “You’ll tell us if he does anything weird…right?”

Marinette’s eyes widened, where was all of this coming from? Did he unsettle everyone that much?  Alya flicked the rim of Nino’s hat down, “What this goofball is trying to say is that Adrien told us that he has a bit of a reputation in the modeling world as being a jerk and that you should watch out.”

“The worst thing I’ve done is give him some notes late.” Marinette tried to turn around again only to be thwarted again by Alya.

“Uh-huh, no way – ” Alya was cut off as Adrien interrupted, “Actually, that might be enough to get on Felix’s bad side. He is… a little temperamental.”

Nino drew her attention again, “Look all I’m saying is that he gives off a weird vibe. Alright?”

Marinette felt a warmth blossom in her chest, Nino really was the right choice for the turtle miraculous. All he wanted to do was protect his friends. Marinette solemnly drew her hand up to her heart, “Nino, I promise that if he does anything I don’t like – I will tell you straight away.”

---------

Sometimes, Felix forgot that books weren’t loud. That no one but he could hear the klaxons blaring as the two intrepid heroes made their desperate escape from the deadly, evil Overlord. For him, once properly engaged, the noise of the action would drown out the meaningless chatter around him until he was running down the hallway with the heroes – listening to them as they planned and worried for their safety.

His total engagement with the text meant that any outside distraction was, to say the least, upsetting as he was jarred back into the real world. The sound would abruptly cut out for a disorienting moment and the characters would fade back into the typeface. It was always incredibly aggravating to be ripped away from a story like that.

“Sorry.” A voice said. Only it didn’t sound sorry at all. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just wanted to say how much I loved that novel.”

Felix placed his thumb on the page and looked up.

“I’m Lila Rossi, by the way.” She smiled wide, “I was the last new kid to transfer here, so I hope that we will become best friends!” She thrust her hand out to shake.

Felix flicked his eyes to her hand briefly before returning to his book. Hopefully, if he made an example out of Rossi then no one else would try to interrupt him while he read. Obviously, his hope was in vain; he made it a paragraph before she started speaking again.

“Oh! I can understand why you would want to get back to it – it’s just such a good book!” She simpered, “If you want, I could get you a signed autograph from the author the next time I see him…I was recently selected as the voice for the audiobook.”

That got his attention.

Felix trained his eyes on her, “Do go on.”

Lila grinned like the cat that got the canary, “Oh yes. I was a volunteer reader at a hospital one weekend and wouldn’t you know it? The author also happened to be visiting at the same hospital! He heard me reading his book and loved how I read it so much that I was offered on the spot to read for the audiobook!” She finished brightly.

“Well,” Felix cocked and eyebrow and pulled his lips into a half smile, “Isn’t this just a happy occurrence?”

The five minute warning bell went off and students began to file in from lunch.

“You better go to your seat Miss Rossi.” Felix said sotto voce, “Wouldn’t want to be late.”

Rossi giggled and sauntered away.

----------

Marinette fought off a groan of disappointment; Lila was back. She turned her eyes heavenward as if to ask why the gods hated her. Guess it was too much to hope for a day as perfect as yesterday. But maybe, she thought as she eyed Lila striking up a conversation with Felix, this was a hidden opportunity?

“Do you think it would be alright if I stayed here? Just for today?” Marinette timidly asked her friends.

Alya sighed, “C’mon girl, you know that Lila needs this seat.”

Marinette felt her shoulders sag slightly, knowing it was a lost battle as Adrien averted his gaze and Nino nodded along with Alya. She didn’t understand why he let them believe her lies.

The warning bell rang.

“Oh Marinette,” Lila greeted with false enthusiasm as she approached, “Do you want to finish today with your friends? I could always sit in the back with Felix.”

“Oh, but Lila,” Marinette answered in the same tone, “Don’t you have terrible hearing difficulty?”

She had her! Lila was contradicting herself!

Lila’s smile was shark-like, “It turns out that my hearing issue was a longstanding symptom of what I was sick with yesterday. But I’m much better now and would be happy to move for today! He and I already have so much in common.” Lila continued slyly, “Plus, I would love to get to know Felix more and share some of the things I wish I had known when I first got here.”

Marinette grit her teeth through her smile. She should have seen that coming.

“That sounds like it was serious.” Marinette pulled her phone out, “Would you mind telling me the name of the disease, so I can look at the symptoms? I wouldn’t want to be caught off guard.”

“I – It’s rare.” Lila hand waved, “I must have gotten it from my extensive travels.”

“I just want to know the name of what you had.” Marinette pressed, “Unless you made it up?”

“Marinette!” Alya spoke up, “That’s enough. If it’s rare then the name is probably long and hard to remember, right Lila?”

“I’m sorry I don’t remember Marinette,” Lila’s eyes started to well up, “I’ve just been suffering for so long with it, the relief of having it gone is so strong that I don’t even want to think about it anymore.”

Alya stood between Marinette and Lila to place a comforting hand on the latter’s shoulder. “Hey,” She said softly, “It’s ok. We understand.” And sent a sharp look at Marinette. “She made a nice offer. What do you say? Swap for a day?”

Marinette’s eyes darted from the empty seat to empty seat, feeling her pulse start to ebb. She bit her lip as she thought about it. It was tempting. It was what Marinette wanted. And that’s what so obviously made it a trap. She turned over what Lila said before Marinette challenged her sickness and the big picture clicked into place. Marinette felt her resolve harden – she had to warn Felix that Lila was a lying snake.

She picked up her bag. “Actually Lila, thank you but no thank you – I should sit in my assigned seat.”

Lila’s face crumpled, “I can’t believe you don’t want me to make new friends.”

Marinette placed her foot on the first step.

“I cannot believe that you would be this petty Marinette.” Alya hissed.

Marinette’s shoulders hunched but she continued upwards.

-----------------

“She’s a liar, you know,” hissed a voice in his left ear, “Whatever she told you – it’s a lie.”

Startled, Felix realized that Marinette was sitting beside him once more. When he frowned at her, she tensed like she was preparing for a fight. His frown deepened further in response, “I’m not an idiot, thank you very much. I know a liar when I hear one.”

“How?” she demanded.

“How?” Felix questioned back sarcastically and rolled his eyes. “Pretty easy to tell it’s a lie when the author of my book has been dead for the last 20 years.”

Her laughter caught him off guard.

She couldn’t help it; the relief of having someone know that Lila was a liar paired with his deadpan delivery was too much for her. The laugh that followed came straight up from her stomach and through her mouth.

“Personally,” Felix leaned closer and murmured, “I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she realizes her mistake.”

Tears of mirth formed in Marinette’s eyes as she laughed helplessly. This was too perfect.

--------------

This was more what he pictured Dupain-Cheng to be like. Mirthful.

He knew that no one who wore as much pink as she did could be as serious a person as she first presented as. Felix found that he liked it better when Dupain-Cheng looked like she fully enjoying herself. He hadn’t actually meant to be funny, but once she started laughing, an impish desire had him leaning forward deliberately to see how hard he could make her laugh.

“Do you think she’ll be able to look me in the eyes once she learns?”

He grinned as the tears started to escape down her cheeks.

“How long do you think it’ll be before she can?” He practically purred.

“Twenty –”   Marinette gasped, “Twenty years!” and promptly collapsed back into giggles.

His smile was toothy and full. This was too fun, he thought and raised his voice so Dupain-Cheng could hear him over her own noise, “Now quiet, you are going to disrupt class.”

She wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

“It’s nice to actually meet you.” Felix said more quietly now that she had herself mostly under control.

“Nice to meet you too.” Marinette sniffled back. She hadn’t laughed, truly laughed, like that in ages. It had felt good to sit with her friends but it felt better to be believed. Tikki was right again, Marinette thought ruefully, she wasn’t alone.

“Let’s be friends,” Marinette said a little impulsively.

“For twenty years,” Felix said warmly by way of agreement and watched with amusement how red Marinette turned as she tried to reign in her composure once more.

-----------

Part One 

Part Two 

Part Three 

Part Five 

Whew! Glad you guys got through it. Gotta admit, there are some parts that I’m not completely happy with, but if I don’t post it now, I never will. 

And fun fact! The scene where Felix is making fun of Lila is one of the scenes that initially inspired me to buck up and finally start writing. 

Comments, questions, and critiques are welcome. Also, if you want to be tagged for the next part - don’t hesitate to let me know!

#felinette #marinette dupain cheng #ml felix #felix culpa #nbehtm #nbehtm pt4 #miraculous fanfic #alya salt #ml lila #lila Liar #alya is quick to judge #ml tikki #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #long post #no beta #ml salt #ml salt fic

[oblivious-embodied]

Are The Stars Out Tonight?

Summary: The stars may be covered, but they are always out and about, waiting to be seen.

All you need to do is wait for the moment they can be seen, and you’ll be shown a whole new, beautiful world.

Notes: This was beta'd by the wonderful @sweetmeatdale! Hello all! Welcome to my fluff! This is... the second fluff fic i have ever written, if i am not mistaken. Amyway, i am just slightly sleep deprived, and it has bleed into how i wrote this. so... Enjoy the tooth rotting fluff i have birthed into this world! and make sure to bring a tooth brush and mouth wash!

(Read here on AO3)

Lying in her bed, Marinette tries to drift off to sleep for what feels like hours. But, when she checks her phone for the time with a frustrated huff, it reads that it has only been 10 minutes since she last checked.

Letting out a long, low groan, she drops her phone and flops back down on her back.

‘Why am I having so much trouble sleeping?Isn’t Tikki always saying that “Sleep is good for the soul”?’

She clamps her eyes shut and squirms under the covers to find a comfortable position. She does this for who-knows-how-long, twisting and turning, grunting and groaning.

With another huff Marinette rolls over and grabs her phone again, only to find that just 5 minutes have passed. She lets out a growl, and looks up to the skylight, looking at the clouds, wondering if there would be a break through them to reveal the nighttime sky and stars.

She wonders if she’s the only one looking at the sky, wishing for the clouds to part.

It’s always such a wondrous thing to see the stars, a rare sight in Paris. It’s been a few months since she’s seen the stars, and she’s finding that she’s longing for those twinkling balls of light.

But there’s a sight she longs to see more than she does the stars.

She turns her head to the side and looks at her phone, but she doesn’t see it, for she is lost in memories and day (night) dreams.

The word “boyfriend” is such a wonderful word. A word that fills her with a warmth that could rival getting a hug from her Papa and Maman. Marinette can’t hide the smile spreading across her lips like wildfire in a dry forest if she wanted to. Not when she thinks about her boyfriend.

For years, she’s fantasized about being able to use that word, to be someone’s and to have someone. Someone she can call at any time to talk about something. About her stresses, her emotions, her thoughts. Someone who supports her through everything.

And, now that she thinks about it, the real thing is so much better than any fantasy she could conjure up. Knowing the feel of her boyfriend against her as they sleep, the feel of his head on her shoulder as they watch a show or movie. The way his hand fits her just so perfectly as they work on their homework. The way his hugs feel. The way he looks at her, with such love and adoration that if the sun were to be turned off, his eyes alone could light the way.

The way he talks to her, with respect, and care, mischief and humor. The way he’s always looking for a way to bring up the mood, searching for a way to make her laugh. To make her feel valued and wanted.

The way he comes to her to vent, the way he lets himself be vulnerable around her.

It’s all so, so much better than any dream, any fantasy. The things she’d dream about before… they are hollow renditions of the real deal.

Adrien Agreste, her boyfriend. The best boyfriend anyone could ever ask for.

Yesterday was their one month anniversary. All they had done was take a fully loaded picnic basket, a laptop, a blanket and a few pillows up to Marinette’s balcony. They stayed up there for hours, laughing at the shows they’re watching, pointing out plot holes and stupid tactics. They shared the food, lowering bits and pieces into each other's mouths as if the other was ruling royalty from the 1800’s. They huddled closer together as the wind blew past them, wrapping the blanket around their shoulders.

It was the most blissful thing she had ever experienced.

Correction, the second most blissful. Nothing can beat the absolute bliss that fills her entire being when they kiss. When the world around them melts into nothing but a muted background as their minds explode with color and love and excitement and contentment.

She remembers the day Adrien came to her, a hand on the back of his neck, his legs shaking ever-so-slightly, his eyes darting around everywhere, but always landing back on her face. Her lips, her eyes, back to her lips, and then her eyes again.

She remembers how his voice sounded, nervous and wavering as he stammered his words through his uncooperative mouth and tongue. ‘H-hey Marinette! It’s uh, it’s been a while since we talked, well, three day but that’s beside the point. I-I, you’re amazing and awesome and so talented and amazing and wonderful and so kind and popular and thoughtful and strong and amazing and i- Ijustreallylikeyouawholelotandiwaswonderingifyou’dliketogoonadatesomtime?’

Her smile grows impossibly wider at the memory. She’s fairly certain that she broke his eardrums from her corresponding screech, and she knows for a fact that he had a few bruises from how hard she tackle-hugged him.

For years, she was the one who was tongue tied around him, it was quite satisfying to see him stuttering and shaking in his designer sneakers. And to see his beautiful, wonderful, sunshine face heat up like the surface of the sun as he registered that they were on the ground, her on top of him.

Some days, it feels like a dream, it all seems too good to be true, but then… Adrien holds her hand, or he hugs her, or kisses her and it feels just so right that it can’t possibly be a dream.

Marinette reaches for her phone and wakes it up, her heart filling with warmth as she looks at the lock screen. It’s a picture of the two of them, Adrien is laying in the grass, his arm extended up and to the side, his other arm wraps around her waist as he pulls her to his chest. He has the biggest, doppiest, heart melting smile she has ever seen (It could put Chat to shame with how big it was), and his eyes were shining so bright the emerald green looked like other worldly stars. His pupils are dilated so much, they seem almost inhuman. Marinette’s eyes are shining just as bright, like the clear sky, or the brightest blue stars. She’s smiling just as big, the edges of her eyes crinkling as her cheeks burn pink. Just a few shades lighter than the blush coating Adrien’s cheeks.

They had spent their third date at the park, eating dinner as a picnic, and messing around the park for hours. Adrien had just barely tackled her to the ground (He took the opportunity to roll midair and land on his back to take the brunt of the fall. He said that he did it because he was raised to be a gentleman and chivalry is not dead, but she has a sneaking suspicion that he was just showing off. She isn’t complaining, though) and he initiated a tickle fight. One that he subsequently lost, because apparently, he is the most ticklish person she has ever met, right alongside Chat Noir.

The tickle fight lasted for no more than 5 minutes, and when it was over, Adrien had pulled her to his chest and he took this picture.

With a content and dreamy sigh, Marinette opens her phone and navigates to her contacts, clicking over to her favorites list and tapping on his contact info. The profile picture she has for him is when they went to an amusement park for their first date, they had just bought some cotton candy and he just stared at it for a solid minute , his eyes twinkling in disbelief, mouth open ever so slightly as the tip of his tongue rests on his bottom lip.

She spent a long time debating what his profile picture should be, it was a close battle between the amusement park picture or a picture that Alya had taken for her when they shared their first kiss on a double date with Alya and Nino. Marinette looks over to the corkboard above her bed, where said picture is tacked to the board. It shows Adrien and Marinette holding hands between them, pressed between their chests, her other hand on the back of his neck as his is on the small of her back. His blonde hair is a mess, and falling to the side as his head is tilted to kiss her better.

Looking back to her phone, she wonders if it’s a good idea to send him a text. To see if he’s awake, and wanting to talk. But… He had two shoots today, he’s certainly fast asleep by now, and she’d feel horrible if she woke him up from his fully deserved sleep.

But… she really, really, really wants to hear his voice. One last time for the night. It would certainly help her fall asleep. (She hasn’t heard his voice all day, you can’t blame a girl for wanting to hear her boyfriend’s voice as she’s trying to sleep!)

But.... he’s sure to be exhausted.

With a disappointed huff, Marinette closes the messaging app and as she’s about to lock her phone, it starts buzzing as the profile picture of Adrien shows up on an Incoming video call screen. A smile splits her face in two as she answers the call, eager to see her boyfriend for the first time that day (Okay, fine! It’s only been 4 hours since he last sent her a picture, but that’s not the same!)

“Hey, Babe!” she calls with unconcealed excitement.

“Hey, Love,” Adrien replies groggily, his hair a damp mess of blonde locks. “What’s up?”

“Not the moon” she grumps, glaring at the clouds in the sky.

At this, Adrien raises an eyebrow. “Uh, I’m fairly certain the moon is up, it’s just hidden-”

“Oh, let me have this, you adorable nerd!” she pokes her tongue out at him, and giggles as he sticks his tongue right back out at her.

She breathes a love-sick sigh, “What’s up over there on your end? Why aren’t you asleep? Didn’t you have two shoots today?”

“Uhhh… “ Adrien’s eyes cross as he focuses on her questions and how to answer them coherently and in the correct order (He does this whenever he’s tired, it is the most adorable thing she has ever seen!) “Yeah, there were two shoots today, they were hot and sticky and yucky and mean and bad and I really wanted you there because it was so boring and I had to model with a girl and she was on my arm and I felt like I was cheating on you, please don’t tell me I was cheating on you, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to, please-”

“Adrien,” Marinette cuts in with a laugh, rolling her eyes, he gets so worrisome and rambly when he’s tired, “you didn’t cheat on me, I promise!”

“But how do you know?” he whines, followed by a ‘fwop’ as he lands face first on his bed, his voice starting to waver.

Struggling to keep herself from laughing, she tries to reassure him. “Adrien, you did- you did not cheat on me. Answer me this, okay?”

“...Okay,” comes his soft, heart warming, and tear bringing mutter.

“Did you kiss her?”

“Oh, hell no ” he cries, the phone shaking as he violently shoots up into a sitting position.

“Did you touch her anywhere you shouldn’t have?”

He turns an incredulous look at her through the phone, “Are you crazy?! Of course I didn’t” his eyes suddenly darken, lips curing into a smirk as he rumbles out, “these hands are reserved for my lady, and my lady alone” Marinette has to repress a shiver at the change in tone.

“Then, you see, you dork, you did not cheat on me!”

Adrien is quiet for a moment, eyes glistening with unshed tears as he looks at her like she’s the moon. “You’re sure?”

Marinette sends him a reassuring smile. “Of course, Love.”

Adrien puts the phone to his chest and falls back on the bed again, a muttered “Oh thank God!” falling from his lips.

“You never answered my question,” Marinette says after a minute of silence, “What are you doing up so late?”

After a second’s pause, the phone screen shifts and Adrien looks at her with squinted eyes. “Why are you awake?”

“I asked you first!”

“...You did?”

“Yes, you doof.”

“Oh… uh…” his eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. “You know, I actually have no idea. I was just… awake?”

Marinette leans into the phone screen, “are you lying?”

“Babe, I don't thin’ i have the men… metal capacity to lie to you at th’s moment in time.”

Marinette can’t help but let out a laugh. It’s true, when he gets tired, he loses his whole ability to lie. “I love you.”

There’s a gasp on his side of the phone and suddenly the phone drops and a whispered “Shit” can be heard before his face appears again, sheepish and excited. “You love me?!”

Marinette quirks a brow in patience. “Yes, love.”

“Like… love-love? Not friend-love?”

“You’re one to talk, mister ‘You’re just a friend’!”

“Oh shhhhhhhhhhhush, you!”

They both dissolve into giggles for a few seconds before comfortable silence falls between them, both of them looking into the other’s eyes.

“What’re you doin’ wake?” Adrien asks, head tilting to the side like a kitten.

“Oh, me?”

“Yes, you.”

“I just couldn’t sleep, is all!”

“Awww, do you want me to come over?”

“Would it be bad if I said yes?”

“No, not at all! I’ll be over in 5 minutes!”

“Adrien, it’s midnight, there is no way you could possibly come over.”

“Sure there is! Pla-”

“Adrien.”

Adrien looks at her, dropping his hand from the fist he had raised up. “Yes?”

“It’s midnight.”

“...Yeah?”

“So everyone else is asleep.”

“Uh-huh… what’s the point?”

“My point is, the Gorilla is asleep, Nathalie is also asleep, and you can’t drive.”

At Adrien’s continued look of confusion, Marinette decides to further elaborate. “This means that you can’t come over, no matter how much i want you to.”

“Oh…” Adrien’s face falls, and he falls to the floor, twirling a finger along the polished grains of the wood. “I’m sorry.”

“Babe, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“But you want me there with you and I can’t be there.”

“Awww, Adrien…” Marinette presses her phone to her chest. “That’s not your fault, don’t blame yourself for that!”

“But I want to be there too!” he whines.

“Love, you’ll see me tomorrow before school.”

“But that’s not enough!”

Marinette opens her mouth to reply, but something he said previously catches up to her and gives her pause. “...Adrien… what were you going to say when you said ‘Pla’?”

Adrien is silent for a whole minute before replying. “Oh, uh… I was gonna say ‘Plague the sleep taker! Because, you know, I was gonna come over and snuggle you and love you and kiss you and sing yo to sleep?”

It… seems a bit far-fetched to her, but this is Sleepy™ Adrien, and he has said weirder things before. (Like that one time he told her about a dream he had in which he was a hamster and he was doing ninja things to get to her bakery to eat croissants.)

“I love you too, Adrien.”

Another gasp, “I love yo too!”

Marinette pulls the phone from her chest and a yawn escapes her mouth as she reads the time on the screen. “Love, it’s really late, it’s time to go to sleep”

“NNnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooo” he growls out, and Marinette has to shake her head to get the image of a cat growling out of her mind.

“C’mon, I’ll see you in the morning!”

“But I want to see you now!” he whines.

“...Then look at your screen.”

Adrien looks from the floor, his finger going still as he looks her in the eyes. “Woah…” he breathes, eyes and pupils going wide, as though this were the first time he laid eyes on her, “you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

Despite hearing this plenty of times before, Marinette can’t help but blush at the unabashed adoration in his gaze.

“I love you, Adrien.”

“Awwww, shucks” Adrien looks at the ground again, tilting his head down as he rubs at the back of his neck.

Marinette sputters out a laugh, “What- who says ‘Shucks’ anymore?”

“OH! I forgot to tell you! I saw Cars yesterday! Mater is amazing and reminds me of Nino in a weird sort of way and McQueen and Sally are so frickin’ adorable and I just- I can’t, I can’t even-”

Marinette laughs at his ramblings, loving the way his eyes light up as he tells her about the things he’s finally able to do. “Dork.”

“Ah, but I’m your dork!”

This elicits a laugh from her. “Okay, you’ve got me there.”

Adrien sighs, it’s full of content. “Yeah, I do have you… And you have me!”

“You sure bet I do!”

They fall into companionable silence once more, and after a few minutes, Marinette looks to her skylight again and gasps as she sees that the stars are out.

“You good, Babe? I mean you are good, you’re the goodest person I know.”

“Yeah, yeah, i’m good, but, can you do something for me?”

“You bet I can!”

“…What do you want me to do?” Marinette’s eyes are transfixed on the stars shining in the clear night sky, but she can hear the way his eyebrows are squished together in confusion.

“Could you look out your window for me?”

A few stumbling steps later, and Adrien replies “As you wish”

Marinette takes a moment to smile at the reference.

“I love you, too. Now answer me this: are the stars out tonight?”

There’s silence, then his voice. “Mare, the stars are always out?”

“Not what I mean. Can you see the stars?”

He goes silent again. “Yeah, I can see the stars.” he says, in awe.  

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”

There’s a soft thump. “They sure are. That’s why I like astronomy so much. So many beautiful things out there.”

Marinette smiles. It’s so nice to hear him talk about his passions. He listens to her talk about fashion and designs all the time, she’s really glad he found something he enjoys too.

“But they only reflect the light you give off.”

Marinette smiles wider, a giggle falling from her lips. “You’re hopeless.”

“Only when I’m not with you, Marinette. Only when I’m not with you.” His voice is full of adoration and love.

“Then I’ll never leave.”

“Then I’ll look for you in the stars.” He says.

“And I’ll look for you in the stitches.” She returns.

#fluff #so much fluff #i think i gave myself diabetes with this one #adrienette fluff #adrienette #miraculous ladybug #sleepy adrien #love-sick marinette #love-sick adrien #two sleepy teens in love

[chanceuseladynoire]

Snow Angel

I started posting my fourth work. You can read it on AO3 here.

Rating:General Audiences 

Category: F/M 

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug 

Relationship: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug 

Characters: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe, Sabine Cheng, Tom Dupain, Alix Kubdel | Bunnyx, Tikki, Plagg 

Additional Tags: Time Shenanigans, aged-up, Fluff, Angst, Kidnapping, Searching, Getting help from unlikely places, Adrien has gone a little crazy, Adrien is in denial, lost kitty, Bunnyx _really _needs to get a lock for her burrow, Miraculous Wish, Relationship Advice, Worried Friends and Family, Season 3 Spoilers, Chat Blanc Episode Spoilers - Freeform

Summary: Where is Marinette? It is a popular question this morning and Adrien is starting to worry. The 17-year-old lycée student (and teen heart-throb supermodel) can't do anything about it, but perhaps a certain cat-themed superhero can pick up her trail.

*Warning: Season 3 Spoilers Ahead*

Chapter 1: Missing

Adrien dropped his school bag next to his usual desk, took his seat, and waited for class to start. He scrolled through his calendar on his phone. Only three photoshoots this week, and the regular piano, fencing and Chinese practices. A chemistry quiz today, history paper due on Friday. It was actually shaping up to be a pretty light week. He might be able to sneak in a few more patrols with Ladybug.

Or perhaps get Marinette to slip one of Paris’ favorite heroes a few cookies on her balcony. Either option sounded fine to him.

Speaking of Marinette, where was she? Class was going to start in two minutes. She’d been making a special effort to squeak into class five minutes before the final bell since starting their second year of lycée and no longer having the luxury of living across the street from school. She probably overslept again.

The seconds ticked by. The bell rang. The history class started. The desk next to Adrien remained empty.

He didn’t start to worry until class ended and there was still no sign of the bluenette. Adrien hoped she wasn’t ill. She had seemed fine yesterday.

He could text her and ask if she was okay, but he felt that might be overstepping. Besides, he didn’t want to disturb her if she was feeling unwell. He decided to try the next best thing to messaging Marinette directly.

[Adrien] Hey. Have you heard from Marinette this morning? She wasn’t in class.

A reply popped up almost instantly.

[Alya] I haven’t. Give me a sec.

Adrien pocketed his phone and walked down the hall to his calculous class. He set his phone on his desk and unpacked his tablet and stylus. The phone’s screen lit up a minute before the bell rang.

[Alya] She’s not answering her phone. I’ll try the bakery next.

[Adrien] Thanks. Class is about to start. I’ll check back in with you later.

Adrien pushed the budding sense of unease away as the teacher began lecturing about integrals.

With his math class over, Adrien once again packed up to move to classical world literature. They were studying Shakespeare’s sonnets. He was gleaning so much glorious material for Chat Noir to use later. It was almost better than his Sunday night ritual of scouring the internet for new cat puns and memes. Almost.

Adrien did his best not to bump into anyone on the stairs as he headed down to his next classroom with his attention focused on his phone.

He had received six new texts and a missed call in the last hour.

[Alya] I talked to Sabine. She hasn’t seen Marinette since last night.

[Alya] She assumed that she just missed her leaving this morning.

[Alya] Mari still isn’t answering her phone.

[Alya] She wasn’t in our French class last period.

[Alya] Let me know when you see her. Okay?

That uneasy feeling from earlier had lodged itself in the pit of his stomach and was growing.

He typed a quick promise to Alya that he would notify her when he saw their friend.

The missed call and sixth text were from Mme. Cheng.

Adrien rounded the last step and stopped out of the flow of traffic before opening the text. The squirming feeling in his gut was getting worse.

[Mama Cheng] Have you seen Marinette this morning? Alya just called and no one seems to have seen her since last night. Tom and I are starting to worry.

Adrien failed to notice his foot tapping out a nervous staccato against the floor tiles.

[Adrien] I haven’t seen her this morning either. I will have her call you the minute I do.

He pressed ‘send,’ hoping that his optimism in stating ‘when’ not ‘if’ he sees Marinette was not unfounded. He didn’t want to start thinking that way.

He stood there, staring at his phone, trying to decide what to do, as the halls emptied and the next period of classes began. He felt Plagg start nudging his hip from inside his book bag. It was the final push he needed.

Adrien hurriedly stopped by the school nurse and told her that he wasn’t feeling well and asked to be excused from his classes for the rest of the day.

The nurse took one look at his pale face and agreed to let the rest of his teachers know of his absence. Having a reputation for being a model student had its advantages.

Adrien walked out the front doors of the school as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself. As soon as he had the freedom of the pavement outside, he ran to the shadows of the nearest alleyway.

Usually Plagg talked to Adrien from wherever he was lounging at the time, but as soon as they were hidden from view, the kwami of destruction phased through the bag and floated at eye level. His tail was flicking back and forth agitatedly. He crossed his stubby arms over his chest and narrowed his toxic green eyes at his holder.

“Well, what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation?” Plagg drawled exasperatedly, but Adrien could read the subtext after four years of partnership. His kwami was worried.

He finally had a name for that feeling crawling its way up from his stomach and grasping at his throat now. Fear. It was definitely fear.

“Plagg, claws out!”

----------

Five minutes later Chat Noir landed on Marinette’s balcony with a soft flump.

Nothing looked out of place, but something... wasn’t quite right. Chat couldn’t quite put his claw on it just yet.

He moved the information to the back of his mind to let his subconscious work out whatever it was. His attention turned to the skylight hatch leading to his friend’s bedroom. He eased the door open and poked his head inside.

Still nothing seemed amiss. Her bed was unmade (not uncommon with how quickly she usually needed to leave for school after hitting snooze on her alarm four times). Bits of pink fabric were strewn across her sewing desk and pinned to the dress form in the corner. Pictures of her friends were taped to the walls. It all looked perfectly normal for her room.

Chat Noir dropped onto the loft, careful to land next to the bed to keep his boots from dirtying her bedding. That’s when it hit him—the thing that was out of place.

There was an unfamiliar scent in Marinette’s room.

He sniffed around the bed. It smelled mostly of pleasant things that he associated with the young designer, like vanilla and sugar. Underneath the comforting scents was another, unfamiliar one.

Chat Noir wasn’t quite sure how to describe it. It smelled... cold. It was like the sharp sting of ice on a bitterly cold day when the wind bites at your ears and nose and burns your cheeks with snowflakes like shards of glass. The scent stood out in sharp contrast to Marinette who smelled like everything warm and comforting.

He took a few minutes to sniff around the rest of her room. He didn’t pick up the foreign scent anywhere except near the bed. He did find Marinette’s phone under her bed. It was on silent and the battery was nearly dead. She had forty-six missed calls and messages. Chat was willing to bet that most of them were from Alya.

He left the phone where it was and pulled himself back up to the balcony.

The icy scent was on the edge of the hatch door. He also smelled it on one of the many potted plants surrounding Marinette’s oasis. Whoever it was must have brushed against the leaves.

The intruder had entered through the skylight from the balcony, just as Chat Noir had.

A string of events started taking shape in his mind. He didn’t like where they led.

A stranger had come to Marinette’s balcony, let themselves into her room, and taken the girl from her bed.

Someone had kidnapped Marinette.

----------

Chat Noir spent the rest of the afternoon sniffing around rooftops near the Dupain-Cheng bakery in an ever expanding radius. From time to time he dropped to ground level as well, but that didn’t seem right for some reason and he inevitably returned to the roofs.

After a few hours, he got lucky. (No one was more surprised than him since good luck was not his forte.)

Someone in a building to the south had left a pool towel hanging out to dry on a balcony railing. A brush of odor on the colorful material matched the one locked in Chat’s scent memory.

He continued searching to the south. He had never put so much effort into tracking before. Why hadn’t he thought to practice before now?

An hour later, he found his next clue. He followed the scent along a straight line of roofs at a full run on all fours. Chat’s mind presented him with two pieces of information as his claws dug into the roof tiles and his legs propelled him forward.

First, the scent was getting harder to follow as more time passed. Second, Chat knew of only three groups who took routes like this. None were great options.

He slid to a stop at the end of the roof line and stood easily on the edge. His breathing was labored and he could feel his heart thumping rapidly in his chest. Anxiety and exertion were flooding his system with adrenaline. Chat’s tail twitched behind him just as Plagg’s had before transforming that afternoon. A low growl slipped past his clenched teeth.

He’d lost the trail.

Chat needed help. He opened the map feature on his baton and searched for Ladybug’s icon. She wasn’t there. It was a long shot anyway. They usually weren’t transformed this time of day unless there was an Akuma attack. Fortunately he hadn’t had to deal with one of those today. Chat could only handle one crisis at a time.

He switched his baton to phone mode and called his partner. It went to voicemail.

“Ladybug, I’ve got a bit of a situation here. Do you remember Marinette Dupain-Cheng? I think she may be a friend of yours, but that’s not important right now.”

He did his best to keep the strain out of his voice. Ladybug didn’t want an update on his emotional state. She only wanted cold, hard facts.

“Look, I think she’s been kidnapped. No one has seen her all day. I went by her house to check if I could find anything and picked up an unfamiliar scent. I’m tracking it south through the fifth arrondissement right now. And, LB, I’m tracking it across the roofs. We might be looking at an akuma or sentimonster, though it’s been pretty quiet for one of Hawkmoth’s games. There’s a possibility it might be a—another miraculous holder.”

He paused for a moment to let that sink in.

“Anyway, call me when you get this. I’m going to keep looking. Bye.”

Chat Noir ended the call and continued his pursuit.

Frustration outweighed his anxiety hours later as the sun started to set beyond the Paris skyline. He hadn’t been able to pick up the trail again. He tracked it as far as he could, but he lost it.

He groaned as he slid down a brick wall protruding from the roof he was currently on. He sat on the plaster and released his transformation. A crackle of bright green energy washed over his body and Plagg sprang from the ring. Adrien handed him a piece of Camembert before the grumpy little cat could ask.

“How’s it going, kid?” Plagg asked, then tossed the chunk of smelly cheese in the air and swallowed it whole. Normally with him it was eat first, ask questions later.

“I lost the trail.” Adrien thunked his head against the bricks behind him. The small pain this caused was a slight comfort in the face of Adrien’s disgust with his tracking skills.

“I know, kid. But, honestly, you did great. It wasn’t an easy scent to find. I’m impressed that you were able to follow it this far.”

If Plagg was trying to comfort him and willingly handing out compliments, it really was the end of days.

Adrien appraised his old friend. “You’re really worried about her, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question.

Plagg stared off to the south. Adrien was sure the little glutton had heard him, but was declining to comment.

Plagg had always seemed partial to Marinette. Adrien didn’t know why. His kwami had never met the girl, but he did seem to bring her up more than Adrien’s other friends.

“Let’s go, kid. There’s nothing more we can do tonight, and I’m sure Pantsuit is wondering where you are by now.”

Adrien pushed himself to his feet. He had no idea what he was going to tell Nathalie, but he didn’t really care right now. Maybe he would do something crazy and try telling her the truth that one of his friends was missing and he had been out all day looking for her. Telling Nathalie the truth. He scoffed. There was a concept.

“Plagg, claws out.”

#Snow Angel by mostlovedgirl #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fan fic #adrien agreste #marinette dupain-cheng #adrienette #marichat #ml season 3 spoilers

[purrincess-chat]

Marinette and the Lost Temple CH3

Finally finished typing this up. Would have gone faster if my cat didn’t sleep on me for two hours and then crawl over me the whole time I was typing it. Things are about to change next chapter ;) Get your bodies ready

Read on AO3

Chapter 3

“Is this really all you’re going to do on this vacation?” Plagg’s voice in her ear startled her into dropping her shovel as he peeked out of one of her pigtails. “You’re just digging in the dirt all day.”

“I’m spending time with my grandmother,” she hissed, casting a nervous glance across the garden to where Grandma Cheng was clipping damaged leaves from her pepper plants. “And we’re not just ‘digging’ it’s called gardening.”

“It’s boring! When are we gonna do something fun?” Plagg whined.

“You told me yesterday to relax, and I happen to find gardening very relaxing,” she said matter-of-factly, retrieving her phone when it dinged in her bag. “Ah, here’s something that should cheer you up. Grandma, I’m gonna take a break and go explore town a little.”

“Alright. We can pick back up this evening when it cools off again,” Grandma Cheng said, waving her on as Marinette removed her gloves.

“Where are we going?” Plagg asked as she cleaned up, and a small smile curled on her lips.

“You’ll see,” she winked. “Mama, I’m gonna go walk around town and mail some post cards to my friends.”

“Okay, sweetie. Lunch should be ready when you get back,” Sabine said as she trotted for the door.

“Is this field trip going to actually be fun, or are you just saying that so I’ll come along?” Plagg poked his head out as they biked up the dirt road.

“As if you have a choice,” Marinette laughed. “I think you’ll find it pretty enjoyable.”

The post-office was only a few minutes away, and she leaned the bike against the side of the building before heading inside. She passed the man at the counter a card that Master Fu had written for her, and he disappeared into the back, returning a few moments later with a box. Marinette thanked him awkwardly before shuffling back outside. Stuffing the box inside her basket, she rode a short ways up the road to a secluded bench along the street to open her gift. Plagg poked his head out the moment she broke the tape, sniffing excitedly.

“Could it be? My precious Camembert!” He flitted from her hair into the box as she retrieved a folded letter taped inside.

Dear Bugaboo- She rolled her eyes.

Here is a portion of Plagg’s Camembert stash. To prevent him from greedily eating his entire allowance for the week in one sitting, I’ve arranged for packages to be delivered each day of your trip. I hope you have a purrfect vacation, and I eagerly await your return to Paris.

With Love,

Your dearest Chat Noir

P.S. Don’t go falling for anyone! I am your one and only soulmate.

“That cat is so full of himself,” she sighed, flipping the letter over. “Nice stationary though, and he has surprisingly excellent penmanship. I wonder how he can afford so much Camembert.”

“His family is super rich,” Plagg said around a mouthful. “I really do have it made.”

“Hey, no personal details!” She covered her ears with a scowl.

“Lots of people are super rich, it doesn’t prove anything,” Plagg waved it away. “Personal details would be telling that his phone is full of pictures of Ladybug.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” She sighed, leaning against her fist. “That cat is so obsessed.”

“It’s hardly different from your wall of photos of that model boy,” Plagg said pointedly with a belch, patting his swollen belly.

“Okay, but that’s-” she started, but when Plagg cocked a brow, she deflated. “Touché.”

“You’re both lovesick, and personally, I find it revolting,” he stuck out his tongue, and Marinette suppressed a giggle.

“C’mon, let’s ride around and see the sights a little,” Marinette prodded him with her finger.

“Eh, you’ve seen one tree and rustic building, you’ve seen them all. I’m gonna take a nap in your bag,” Plagg squirmed away and phased through the box down into her purse, and Marinette rolled her eyes before standing up and loading her bike.

The countryside really was beautiful, but it did make her a little homesick. She hoped that everything was going okay in Paris…

***

“Tikki, can I ask you something?”

Adrien leaned against his fist glumly, swiveling side to side in his chair as he turned a Chinese notecard over in one hand. The small kwami floated over from the bed where she was reading and came to rest next to his stack of cards with a prompting smile.

“Do I have any chance with Ladybug?” He asked, and Tikki averted her gaze. “I keep hoping that she’ll fall for me, but it seems like she’s just getting more and more fed up with me lately.”

“Well, you do tend to flirt during important battles,” Tikki said pointedly.

“I know, but if I don’t flirt during the fight then I don’t get another chance. She always rushes off as soon as the battle is finished. We barely have time to talk,” he said leaning back in his chair with a pout. “Does she ever talk about me?”

“Well,” Tikki rubbed the back of her head, and Adrien deflated. “Ladybug takes her job very seriously, and I think she feels like you don’t take it seriously when you crack jokes and flirt all the time. If you want to win her over then just show her that you’re serious and focus on being her partner, not her boyfriend.”

“It’s not that I don’t take our job seriously, I just…she makes me a little crazy. She’s so smart and incredible, and I just want her to look at me,” he sighed.

“You really do love her,” Tikki remarked, and Adrien’s cheeks flushed.

“She’s the most amazing girl I’ve ever met,” he rubbed the back of his neck with a small smile.

“Just be patient and don’t push. Show her that you can be soft and caring too, and don’t blame her if she doesn’t reciprocate,” Tikki advised. “Doing so is only going to push her away from you.”

“You’re right, Tikki,” Adrien said, shifting his gaze to his lap. “I guess I’m just not good at this stuff.”

“You’re young and learning. Just think of it this way, there are probably people in your life looking at you the way you look at her who feel the same way you do right now,” Tikki said. “The boy Ladybug loves doesn’t see her civilian self either, but she can’t help her feelings any more than you can.”

“What kind of boy could be so blind? How could anyone ignore the most amazing girl in the world?” Adrien scoffed in annoyance, and Tikki averted her gaze.

“Just lay off the heavy flirting during akuma battles, and be patient. I’m sure she will be far less annoyed with you,” Tikki said before hovering back over to her book.

She’d been alive since the creation of the universe, but truthfully, it took every ounce of her will power not to bury her face and scream. Hopefully Marinette’s journey would speed up their fight with Hawkmoth, so they could hurry up and reveal themselves. She wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take.

***

Marinette’s vacation was going swimmingly.

She and her grandmother were getting along, the scenery was giving her all kinds of inspiration for new designs, and for the first time in a long time, she was able to relax. Every morning she woke up and checked the news in Paris to ensure that things were going okay and was relieved each time her partners defeated another akuma themselves. Chat continued to include love letters in each box of cheese he sent for Plagg, but she didn’t mind it so much. It gave her a laugh each time and reminded her of home.

But time was running out, and she still had Master Fu’s request to fulfill. With only a couple days left on her trip, she knew that she would have to make the journey soon.

“Plagg?” She prodded him awake one evening after her shower.

“What?” The black cat moaned groggily.

“We need to come up with a plan to find Fu’s place soon,” she whispered, and Plagg sat up with a yawn.

“Oh yeah, that,” he said, stretching his limbs. “I almost forgot.”

“I’ve relaxed enough, we should go tomorrow,” she insisted, and to her surprise, Plagg didn’t argue.

“We’ll go after breakfast. Tell your family you’re going on a nature walk through that trail your aunt mentioned to get some inspiration for your designs. I’ll take you to the place,” he said with a seriousness she’d never seen from him before, but just as quickly as it had come, it faded. “Got any Camembert left?”

“Not until tomorrow,” Marinette rolled her eyes as a knock sounded on the door. “Come in!”

Plagg darted under the pillows as Grandma Cheng poked her head in.

“I brought you some tea to relax you before bed,” she explained, setting the tray on the old vanity and preparing a cup. “Have you been enjoying your stay?”

“I have,” Marinette said, accepting the cup and taking a sip.

“I know it’s not as exciting as the city, but I’ve loved spending time with you,” she set the pot down and picked up an intricately carved brush. “May I?”

Marinette nodded, turning her back as her grandmother ran the brush through her wet hair, gently combing through tangles.

“Your mother used to love having her hair brushed when she was little. Every night she would come sit in my lap, and I’d brush her hair until she fell asleep,” she said with a small smile. “I see a lot of her in you, and not just in your pretty face.”

“Maman used to brush my hair too. She’d tell me stories about visiting her grandparents in China,” Marinette said, closing her eyes. “Sometimes I wish I could be closer to my Chinese heritage.”

“You are still young, my dear, it is never too late to learn,” Marinette smiled at that, breathing deeply as her grandmother’s hands worked through her hair. She felt like a little girl again, listening to stories before bed.

The next day, Marinette packed a bag in preparation for her journey, silently hoping that no one questioned her too much.

“Marinette.” She jumped at the sound of her own name, spinning around to find her grandmother standing in the doorway. “I’ve been saving something for you for quite some time.”

Marinette tilted her head to the side as her grandmother laid a dark pink cheongsam on the bed.

“It was your mother’s when she was your age. Your great-grandmother sent it as a gift for her birthday. Why don’t you try it on?”

Marinette’s heart lurched, a warm smile curling on her lips as her grandmother helped her into it. She paced over to the mirror and turned side to side to see every angle. It was beautiful, and she felt a sense of pride wearing it.

“Fits like a glove,” her grandmother said proudly. “Normally we only wear them on special occasions, but you should wear it today.”

“Are you sure? I was planning to go on that nature walk Aunt Jie told me about,” Marinette ran her hands along one of her pigtails. “I’m such a klutz, I would hate to ruin it.”

“I’m sure you will be fine. I’ll pack you a lunch in case you get hungry along the way. You’ve got a long road ahead of you,” Grandma Cheng cupped her cheek before retreating from the room.

Marinette turned back to the mirror with a smile before pulling down her hair and tying it up into buns. When she emerged with her backpack, Grandma Cheng was wrapping a small lunch box for her.

“The dress looks so good on you, Marinette,” Aunt Jie remarked. “You really do resemble Sabine.”

“Thanks,” Marinette’s cheeks flushed.

“Try not to get lost,” her mother pulled her in for a hug.

“Don’t worry. I have my phone,” Marinette patted her purse.

“Have fun, sweetie!”

Marinette set out up the road, and after she’d put a considerable distance between them and the house, she dug out her instructions. Plagg floated out lazily as she read over them with pursed lips.

“What do you need these for? I know where we’re going,” he said, sticking his head through the paper.

“You said it had been a while since you’ve been there. Things may have changed,” she said pointedly, and Plagg pressed a paw to his chest.

“You don’t trust me!” He gasped accusingly. “After I’ve put my neck on the line for you, and this is the thanks I get? I am speechless.”

“No, no, it’s not that I just-” Plagg turned away stubbornly, and she sighed, tucking the note away and smiling. “Okay, Plagg. I trust you. Lead the way.”

“This way, if you don’t mind,” he instructed pointing in the direction of the woods. “Or was it that way…”

Plagg led her on a long, winding journey filled with lots of wrong turns and dead-ends. After an hour, she was beginning to suspect that he’d forgotten the way after all until his expression grew solemn.

“We’re getting close,” he said with a tone she’d never heard from him.

“We’ve been wandering around in the woods for a long time, and there hasn’t been anything but trees,” she said with a hint of skepticism.

“That’s because the place we are going is hidden by magic. Only those with a Miraculous can get in,” Plagg said, stopping short and causing Marinette to nearly bump into him. “We’re here.”

Marinette surveyed the overhanging trees with a creased brow as Plagg led the way forward, and as they traveled deeper down the grove, the scenery began to shift and change before her eyes, the ring on her finger glowing green.

“Welcome to the temple of the Order of the Guardians,” Plagg said, holding his arms out to encompass the remaining archway and stone slab. “What’s left of it anyway.”

“So, this is the temple that got destroyed because of Master Fu’s mistake?” Marinette’s eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, he really messed up,” Plagg said, placing his arms behind his head and crossing one leg over the other. “I’m starving after all that walking; did you bring any cheese?”

Marinette rolled her eyes and pulled her purse over her head, setting it down on a nearby stump.

“In there. I’m gonna look around a little, okay?” She said, glancing over her shoulder as Plagg dug out a wedge of Camembert.

“Sure thing,” he waved her on, watching as she cautiously crept forward, and in a flash of light, she disappeared the moment she stepped through the arch.

“Good luck, Marinette.”

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain-cheng #plagg #adrien agreste #tikki #marinette march #my writing

[fieldsofview]

AU Yeah August Day 19: Reverse Crush & Day 20: Coffee shop - “Crushtomer”

You can check out all my fics here on AO3, and the rest of my contribution to AU Yeah August here.  If you’d rather read this on AO3 it’s here.  

Summary: 5 times barista Adrien struggles talking/flirting with the cute customer Marinette, and one time he doesn't. Pure Adrienette fluff.

-1

“Hi! What can I do for you today?”

Whap!

Adrien jumped at the sound of the card hitting the counter with a slap. The girl in front of him hunched over under the weight of her near-exploding book bag. Her loose black hair hung around her shoulders and her sunglasses reflected his own face back at himself.

“Sorry.” She pulled the glasses from her eyes and looked at him with her bright blue eyes. “Can I get a black coffee? Whatever your largest is?”

Adrien chuckled and put on his most reassuring voice. “No problem miss, having a rough day?” He took her card and swiped it through the machine before turning around to fill her coffee from the brewer urn behind him.

She rubbed her hand over her face. “Yeah, sorry. I’ve got an exam tomorrow and I’m so not ready. I don’t mean to be so grumpy.”

“Well, that’s what we’re here for. Caffeine is every student’s best friend.” He smiled at her and handed her the coffee. “Good luck!”

“Thanks.” She picked up her card and sunglasses from the counter and walked away.

With no one behind her to help, Adrien watched her go for a moment before turning around to return to his previous task of stocking straw dispensers. He pressed the button on the headset, knowing Nino had probably heard most of that interaction from where he was cleaning one of the espresso machines. “She was so cute.”

Adrien heard Nino laugh over the headset. “Black coffee girl? Yeah, she was. What’s her name?”

“I didn’t ask.” He groaned.

“Ask her next time, she comes in every day. Always gets a black coffee or a soy latte.”

“She does?”

“Nearly. Usually earlier than this though, but I think I heard her yesterday tell Rose that she quit her internship to make room for her coursework.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been one for flirting at work. It can complicate things.”

“Dude, it’s just a name. What’s the harm?”

“I guess you’re right. I’ll think about it.”

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

-2

It took two days for Adrien to see this mysterious black coffee girl again, and when he did, she looked to be in a much better mood. She came in with her hair pinned back and held herself higher. Her book bag was significantly less full, too. Again, she managed to arrive during one of the few slower moments when no one else was in line.

He smiled when he saw her. “Black coffee again?

“Oh, you remembered?” She smiled. “Actually today I’d like a soy latte if that’s alright. Just a small.” She fished through her wallet for cash this time.

“Sure thing. How’d that exam go?” He punched her order into the screen.

“Well, it went. I think I passed but it’s hard to tell with these things.”

“I bet you did great!” He saw Nino in the background sweeping the lobby of the shop. Nino stopped and looked at him pointedly. “Can I get your name, by the way?” Adrien looked down at the screen when he asked.

“Marinette.”

He typed it in. “Marinette. That’s a pretty name.” He looked up and smiled at her as they exchanged money.

“Why thank you, Adrien.” She giggled as he jumped at his name. “You have those name tags, but I bet a lot of people don’t pay attention to them, huh?”

“Oh yeah,” he glanced down at the name printed on his apron. “Most people don’t notice.”

“It was the same when I worked for my parents. People never noticed.” She glanced behind herself, where a few people had lined up waiting. “Oh! I’m sorry, I’ll get out of your way.”

It’s no trouble, Marinette. Your drink will be out in a moment.” He gestured towards the counter where they hand out most drinks. “See you soon!”

A few moments later, when Adrien had finished ringing up the last customer in line, Nino spoke to him over their headsets. “So can I be the best man at your wedding?”

“Dude!”

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

-3

The next day Marinette came back in, again asking for her soy latte. Adrien wasn’t stationed as the cashier, but rather as the barista making the drinks. She came in when there were quite a few other people, but he tried to talk to her even as he was distracted by making all the orders.

He called over the glass barrier, “Good to see you again, Marinette!”

“You too Adrien,” she called back.

He spun around to the counter behind him and worked on another customer’s iced tea. Looking over his shoulder, he said, “What’re you working on today?” He turned back around to the espresso machine so that he could steam a pitcher of milk for someone’s mocha.

“… so it shouldn’t be too much to do.”

His distraction with the drinks and the noise of the steaming milk made him miss most of her answer. “Sorry, I couldn’t really hear that.”

She leaned forward and increased her voice. “I just was saying that I have a break before midterm exams.” She cringed a little at her volume, especially since the loud steaming stopped halfway through her sentence.

He finished off the mocha and started working on her latte. “That’s great! I don’t think I ever asked, what are you studying?”

“Fashion design and business marketing.”

“Oh wow, doubling up! Good luck to you.”

“Yeah, thanks!”

He handed the drink over to her. “Maybe I’ll, uh, be able to see something you’ve designed.” He felt very sheepish saying that.

She smiled at him, and he only just noticed the beautiful red lipstick she was wearing today. “I could do that. Maybe I-”

“Excuse me, is my nonfat vanilla latte ready? I’ve been waiting here for over 10 minutes.” A middle-aged woman leaned over the counter and looked harshly at Adrien.

He had half a mind to sass her for interrupting his conversation, but that probably wasn’t the best idea. “I’m sorry ma’am. Are you Nancy? I’m working on your drink next.” He glanced at the sticker label for her drink, saying it was only ordered 3 minutes ago, but he didn’t say anything.

The woman, Nancy, didn’t say anything, but she grumbled and hovered by the counter waiting.

“I’ll let you keep working Adrien. Thanks for the latte.” Marinette started walking away before Adrien could say anything.

He huffed and hoped he’d get to see her tomorrow with more success. And if he let Nancy’s espresso shots sit longer than the standard 3 seconds so that they would grow bitter, well, no one would know but him.

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

-4

The next day, Marinette was already seated at a table when Adrien arrived to start his shift, and she had a friend with her. The two girls were laughing away over something Adrien couldn’t hear, and they’d already ordered and paid, their drinks half drank.

He'd hoped to see her later for a refill or something, but sometime while he was cleaning the restroom, she and her friend had left. He joined the other baristas behind the counter to start cleaning the floors and grumbled to himself about missing her.

“Bro just ask her out or something, this is getting ridiculous.” Nino handed him an extra headset as he spoke, obviously wanting to continue the conversation while still being able to work.

Adrien put the headset on and flicked the button before carrying one of the non-slip floor mats into the back room for cleaning. “You know I could never do that, Nino. Dating a customer would be weird. What if she turns me down? Then it’ll make working awkward. Or make her not come back, that’s bad for business.”

“You’re overthinking it. It’s just a date, and you like her. She’s a customer, so what? She’s your one crushtomer, these things don’t happen to you often.”

“Crushtomer? Seriously?” He dropped the mat with a slap.

“Hey, you know I’m right. Just ask her. The worst she can say is no.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

-5

The next time Adrien saw Marinette it was over a week later. She came in looking much like she did the first time he saw her, with her hair down and a bit frizzy. She was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and sunglasses. Her book bag was nearly exploding again. Despite all this, Adrien was excited to see her after all this time. There was no one else in line, too, so it was the perfect time for Adrien to talk to her.

With one quick look, Nino switched places with him so that he could ring her up. “Been a while, Marinette. I thought maybe you’d stopped coming.” He said it with a cheerful, teasing voice, but there was a small note of truth to it.

“I was trying to enjoy some time without exams, but it’s come back to bite me. I procrastinated too much and now I’ve got 4 midterms and a project all due in the next week.” She leaned her elbows on the countertop and rubbed her hands over her face, displacing her sunglasses.

“Oh no, I’m sorry. Black coffee today then?”

“Yeah, whatever you can give me that’s the strongest. I’m going to be here for a long time, and I haven’t slept more than 2 hours the past 2 nights.” She dropped her bag onto the counter with a thud and started fishing through it for her wallet. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking to pull my wallet out sooner.”

Without thinking, Adrien said, “It’s on me today. I’ll put a couple extra espresso shots in there for you. It seems like you’ll need it.”

Her head snapped up so she could look at him. “Are you sure? You don’t have to do that!”

“Really, Marinette, it’s fine.” He smiled at her reassuringly as he typed up the beverage and selected the button for sampling and recovery drinks. After thinking a moment, he said, “Although it might not taste too good, it’ll be quite bitter. Did you want me to put some milk or sweetener in there?”

"Whatever you think is best, Adrien. I’m sure it’ll be exactly what I need.”

He nodded and walked over to make her drink personally. When he finished he handed it to her, “Give it a taste. If it’s awful I can make you something else.”

She smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Tasting it, she said, “It’s great! I mean, you’re right, it is a little bitter, but it’s just what I need.”

“Great! Good luck working on all of that!”

She picked up her bag and started walking towards one of the empty tables. “Thank you so much, Adrien. I owe you one!”

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

+1

A few days later, Adrien was just clocking out to take his lunch break when Nino called into the back room, “Dude!”

“Yeah?” Adrien walked towards the entrance to the main floor and met Nino halfway.

“Your crushtomer is here,” Nino smirked at him.

“Aw, I just clocked out for lunch,” Adrien pouted.

Nino smiled widely. “That’s perfect! Go sit with her on your lunch!”

Adrien’s eyes grew wide, “There’s no way I could do that. I can’t interrupt.”

“Just ask! The worst she can say is no.” Nino started walking back out onto the main floor, leaving Adrien to think.

He stood there for a moment, thinking. Finally, he smiled wide, set on his plan. He ran back to where he’d left his packed lunch and water and then walked out onto the main café floor. He saw her sitting at one of the small tables at the far side of the café, and with one last deep breath, he walked straight towards her.

“Hey, Marinette.”

She jumped a little and pulled her earbuds out of her ears. “Oh, Adrien, hi.” She smiled at him.

He knew he must be flushed, but he tried not to think about it. Taking another breath, he said, “I’m on my lunch break, and, well – uh, I was wondering if, uh, can I – could I maybe sit with you?” He forcibly lifted his gaze to look at her instead of his shoes.

“Sure Adrien, I’d like that.”

Adrien’s smile didn’t leave his face for the rest of the day.

#mlauyeahaugust #au yeah august #adrienette #reverse crush au #coffee shop au #adrien agreste #is a barista #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #is a customer

[perditaalottachocolate-blog]

Kill Gabriel!

Summary:  Gabriel’s talents and inclinations towards micromanaging the lives of people around him were old news, really. But the time has finally come when he overdid it and soon he’ll find a mob of familiar faces knocking on his door. They want his head. The rest is optional.

A birthday crack one shot for Remasa. She knows why. A huge thank you for the lovely @kellarhi​ for beta reading this! Hugs! The characters are aged-up, in case it isn’t obvious.

AO3 / fanfiction.net 

***************

Marinette stepped into the staircase, gently closed the door behind her, smacked her forehead against the wood and counted to ten. And then...

‘I’m going to kill Gabriel Agreste,’ she confessed to the doorknob. ‘He’ll regret he was ever Hawkmoth, that he ever decided to have a fashion empire, and that he designed those red pants he loves so much... because I’m gonna kick him so hard, he’s going to see all the akumas he caused on the way to hell.’

She paused at that to take a breath, turned around, and almost jumped out of her skin when she met Emilie’s surprised stare.

‘Hi, um, hi Emilie!’ she wheezed, wishing the carpet could swallow her now. ‘What brings you here?’

There was a chance, albeit small, that her boyfriend’s mother suffered from sudden hearing loss and hadn’t just heard the death threat Marinette cast in a fit of anger.

‘I was supposed to have lunch with Sabine,’ the woman replied, ‘but now I think I’d prefer to have it with you,’ she supplied carefully. ‘Was it my imagination or did you mention my husband and Hawkmoth in the same sentence?’

‘You heard that, huh,’ Marinette shuffled her feet. ‘Can you pretend you didn’t?’

A slender hand landed on the girl’s shoulder. ‘First of all, I know you well enough to see that something terrible must have happened, because you’re not a person to throw curses easily,’ Madame Agreste assured her. ‘But I’ve been hearing hints about Hawkmoth since I woke up from the coma. I’ve been reading about him too, but no one wants to tell me what  that was all about. Adrien and Gabriel go all red and change the subject. Nathalie says to check the Ladyblog, and Alya avoids me like the plague since I started asking.’

Marinette looked into sincere green eyes, so similar to Adrien’s. There had been an agreement concerning Emilie’s come back. The main point was to never mention to her, what the circumstances of her, ahem, “miraculous recovery” were. But it seemed that the moth was out of the bag.

She sighed in defeat. ‘How about that lunch?’ she offered.

She kept her big fat mouth shut the whole way to the cafeteria. When they found a table and ordered, Emilie looked at her expectantly.

‘Okay now, Marinette, tell me everything starting with the reasons for your outburst at the poor door.’

And Marinette did as she was asked. She started with the fact that as of today, she was unemployed (and possibly unemployable) in the fashion industry because a certain fashion mogul mentioned in an interview that she was his “soon to be daughter-in-law” and “practically already a member of Agreste family”. Then she moved to how he had stated, in that same interview, that: he had already made reservations for the wedding venue; how her wedding dress was coming out nicely, and that thanks to his visionary design, it would “top even royal wedding dresses”; and how the newlyweds would be happy to come back from their “already booked honeymoon” to their “renewed, comfortable and modern apartment at the Agreste Mansion”.

‘But… I don’t understand,’ a very confused Madame Agreste asked after a while. ‘I had no idea you were even engaged.’

A high pitched whine ripped from the back of Marinette’s throat. ‘We aren’t,’ she seethed.

‘Oh. Oooooh,’ Emilie gasped. ‘But what does it have to do with Hawkmoth, dear?’

Marinette took a deep breath. ‘Oh, boy, where do I begin?’

About half an hour, two coffees and quiches later, Madame Agreste rose from her seat and smashed a few bills onto the table.

‘Thank you, honey, for this little talk,’ she turned to Marinette. ‘But let’s go, I believe we have a Gabriel Agreste to kill.’

***

‘We’re going to kill Gabriel A-greste, Gabriel A-greste, Gabriel A-greste,’ Chloe sing-sung as she followed the hail cloud that went under the name of Adrien Agreste to his limo.

‘Chloe, this is not a joke!’ her friend snapped at her.

‘Who’s joking?’ she blinked at him. ‘Do you have any idea how many years I’ve been waiting for this?’

Adrien turned to her, frowning.

‘Okay,’ she amended. ‘Maybe I am joking just a tiny little bit. But I can’t even count all the times I wanted to suffocate your dear old man for how he treated you.’

‘Well then,’ Adrien muttered darkly. ‘You need to stand in line, because as his son I get a go first.’

‘Are you sure though?’ Chloe chirped sweetly. ‘It’s only a ring, after all.’

‘It’s not only a ring, Chlo!’ he finally blew up. ‘It’s a ring, a wedding venue, a honeymoon, living arrangements,’ he counted on his fingers. ‘And let’s not forget all this was mentioned in an international interview before I even got the chance to ask Marinette to be my wife!!!’

The girl winced and looked around. ‘People are staring, Adribear,’ she said conversationally.

‘I don’t care!’ he ranted. ‘I’m going to kill Gabriel Agreste,’ he announced to the accidental audience that had gathered in front of the Hôtel de Ville. Are you with me or not?’

‘Let me just get my gloves,’ Chloe grinned, cocking a hip. ‘We don’t want to leave any fingerprints, Adrihoney.’ Plus it always paid off to keep up appearances.

***

‘I’m going to kill Gabriel Agreste, if that’s okay with you, babe,’ Nino popped his head into the kitchen.

‘Sure, hon,’ Alya sipped her coffee, ‘If you need advice on hiding the body, I heard the Agreste mansion has a great repository at sub basement level.’

Nino snickered humorlessly and sagged into a chair next to her.

‘You know I support you in everything 100% and no matter what,’ the girl reached out to ruffle his hair. ‘But care to tell me where this murderous plan came from?’

‘Apparently Monsieur Agreste wasn’t sure which date to pick for Adrien’s wedding, so just in case he booked three months of my time. As a result I was dropped from Jagged’s jubilee, three large festivals and a movie project,’ Nino rubbed his eyes.

‘Adrien’s wedding?’ Alya raised her brow.

‘Ah, yes,’ he grinned at her. ‘You might want to check Fashionista’s site for their newest interview.’

She had the page loaded even before he stopped talking. ‘Why did no one tell me Adrien  proposed?!’ she exclaimed. ‘I was at Marinette’s only yesterday.’

‘That’s because Adrien hasn’t proposed,’ Nino supplied, amused with her agitation. ‘We went ring hunting, like, three days ago but found nothing he liked.’

‘And you’re saying that Gabriel’s idea cost you…’

‘... at least five gigs with great publicity and hmm… great company as well,’ he finished. ‘You know, I’m tempted to borrow Nooroo and make it look like an accident.’

Alya skipped over the interview once again. ‘Wedding dress... the rings... the venue...,’ she muttered, ‘the honeymoon, apartment at Agreste Mansion?!’ she choked on her coffee.

Nino shrugged.

‘C’mon, babe,’ she stood up and poked her finger into his back. ‘We’re leaving.’

‘Where to?’ Nino goggled at her.

‘To kill Gabriel Agreste, of course,’ Alya shot, grabbing her jacket.

***

Nathalie was having a peaceful afternoon. The rush of calls and e-mails after Gabriel’s unexpected interview for the Fashionista had finally died out and she was able to focus on her actual job. Her boss locked himself in his atelier early in the morning and stayed there, which was another bonus. She could enjoy her coffee and croissant snack and get on with her tasks for the day.

That was, until the intercom buzzed angrily.

It shouldn’t have buzzed at all. Gabriel had no appointments, Adrien minded his own schedule - coming and going as he pleased, and Emilie was supposed to get back in the evening.

It also shouldn’t have buzzed angrily. As standard equipment, it was supposed to be able to sound exactly once, and was always the same tone. So was it her imagination that the bell sounded extremely pissed?

Murrrr-derrrr, murrrr-derrrr, it rang in the empty space of her office. Nathalie looked at the screen only to discover a mob of familiar faces staring back at her. They didn’t look happy and apparently the bell shared their mood.

She punched the button to open the gate and rushed to the door.

Scowling, Emilie crossed the threshold first, with an embarrassed Marinette at her heels. Then Adrien ushered the rest of his friends inside. They all looked furious with the exception of mademoiselle Bourgeois who was apparently having the time of her life.

‘Is Gabriel in his office?’ Madame Agreste asked.

‘We’re here to kill him,’ Alya supplied as a way of explanation.

‘Just imagine the pitchforks and torches,’ Nino added gravely. ‘We didn’t have time to shop. Probably gonna use our bare hands.’

Nathalie’s gaze traveled to Chloe who shrugged.

‘Don’t look at me,’ she said. ‘I’m here for moral support and to hold their metaphorical coats. Plus I wouldn’t wanna miss it,’ she admitted.

Adrien rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and Nino mimicked his movement. Then the assembly chose to approach the door to the atelier.

Nathalie stood in front of it and glared at them. ‘Is this about the interview?’

‘That depends,’ Emilie muttered darkly.

‘It’s not about the interview,’ Adrien sighed, ‘but the interview played a vital part in this.’

‘Now move and let us do our thing,’ Alya piped in.

‘I’m sorry but I can’t allow you to do this,’ Nathalie stated solemnly, clutching her pen like a sword.

‘Are you kidding me?’ Chloe called from the back of the mob.

The assistant took a deep breath and fixed them with a scowl so sour they stepped back.

‘If anyone is going to kill Gabriel,’ she announced, ‘it’s going to be me!’

***

Gabriel was quite content with the fruits of his labor that day. He’d advanced on a few designs that were giving him trouble, including the wedding dress. Ah, he was certain Marinette would love the final result. It would be a perfect wedding gift (one of a few actually), and worthy of a “princess” of Paris, as Adrien was calling her. He based the design on Emilie’s wedding dress, artfully connecting past and future into a stunning masterpiece, if he said so himself.

Keeping everything a secret was giving him trouble, but soon his son would finally propose — hopefully with the ring Gabriel had crafted with the young couple in mind. Then, the soon-to-be bride and groom would choose a date, and he would be able to complete preparations.

Having to do everything by himself, without even Nathalie’s assistance, had been really draining. For example— he didn’t understand half of the emails Nino’s agent sent him when he wanted to book the boy’s services for the engagement and wedding parties, and the afterparty for any remaining guests. Creating plans to refresh Adrien’s old room and adjust it to the newlyweds’ needs was another pain in his red clad ass.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. The amount of matters he had to decide upon had been making him dizzy, but he was content that he would spare Adrien and Marinette so much trouble. It was the least he could do for them after he had turned their school years into a continuous magical war. Thankfully, everyone agreed to keep that a secret from Emilie— Gabriel had no doubts she would have his hide if she ever found out.

He checked the calendar. Exactly one month from now, his interview for the Fashionista would be published. He hoped Adrien would pop the question soon enough, so that everything would be ready. He was admittedly a little bit anxious; because keeping the secret had been so difficult, he may have bragged a bit about his efforts to the journalist. But, he supposed, as long as the people involved would do what he expected before the article came out, everything would be fine.

Now it was time to call it a day and get some rest before Emilie got back for dinner. Gabriel turned off his computer and headed to the door only to be stopped by vexed voices on the other side of it. It sounded as if someone was having a hushed argument about killing someone else.

Ah well, he’d accomplished so many great things today, maybe he could perform another good deed. He definitely had a huge karma debt to pay. He opened the door and discovered an angry mob consisting of his family members and their friends, as well as his assistant.

‘Can I help… you?’ he faltered mid-question.

They glowered at him gravely, making him take a step back under the sheer force of their gaze.

‘Someone died?’ Gabriel asked, confused with their reaction.

‘Not yet!’ the Bourgeois girl chirped  from the back.

‘Not yet,’ Emilie echoed, putting her hands on her hips and quirking her brow.

Uh-oh. He was in trouble. If only he knew why.

#perdita writes #kill gabriel! #one shot #crack #gabriel agreste #emilie agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #chloe bourgeois #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #nathalie sancoeur #adrinette #gabrielie #djwifi #humor #ml fic #a birthday gift for #Remasa

[quicksilversquared]

How To Fake A Marriage Ch. 30

(let’s see if I can get this up before the internet goes again)

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(AO3) (FF.net)

Adrien was concerned.

As winter turned to spring, Marinette had been contacted by more bands (as well as the occasional individual singer) as different rock and alt metal groups discovered that Jagged Stone's album art designer was a talented fashion designer as well. It was good for Marinette, of course- she was going to have one really impressive resume after this- but spring runway was also coming up, and it resulted in one very stressed Marinette as she worked to stay on top of the requests while still keeping up with her work at Madam Rosalie's.

And because Adrien had been wrapped up in his own concerns about finishing the projects, papers, and tests he had for his classes plus getting his applications in and interviewing for summer internships, he had taken far too long to catch on to just how much work Marinette was taking on . It hadn't helped that she had moved her sewing setup back to her apartment after Ben came over for dinner back in February. Since he had been working hard on papers and she hadn't wanted to distract him, she had just kept it over there and spent her evenings after dinner and before bed working in her apartment, unless she was working on album art or doing concept sketches.

He had thought that she maybe was pushing herself so hard because she had a long wait list formed and she didn't want any of the bands dropping her because they had to wait too long for their turn to come up, but that wasn't it.

There weren't any bands that had been wait listed. Marinette had accepted them all (well, all of the ones that agreed to her pricing), and so she had an insanely long list of in-progress commissions that nearly all had deadlines coming up in the coming weeks.

"Bug, you don't have a full time job and a couple commissions on the side," Adrien said in utter disbelief late Sunday evening- or, rather, Sunday night, when Marinette should have already been getting ready for bed, considering how early she was going to have to wake up the next morning to get ready for the Fashion Week runway- as he looked at Marinette's spreadsheet of commissions and the progress and due dates for each one. "This is two full-time jobs plus some, what with the spring runway this week. And you still have spring photoshoots at work after that. How on earth did you even find the time to make the heat pack for Plagg?"

"It got out of hand," Marinette admitted. She looked utterly stressed as she looked at the list of commissions on her computer screen. "I just... they're famous people, you know? Or on their way to getting famous. They're visible. And the styles are something I haven't had the chance to do at Madam Rosalie's place, really, and they have so many fun ideas... I just didn't want to turn anyone down and miss out on that exposure."

"And Plagg?"

Marinette finally smiled, just for a moment. It wasn't even a quarter as bright as her usual smiles. "I did his bag right before bed one night, when I was too tired to do a good enough job on the commissions. It was just a matter of sewing a few straight seams and pinning the fabric right so that the rice wouldn't get under the needle." A pause. "Also, his whining was annoying."

"Most of these people would have been willing to wait a bit for their commissions, I think," Adrien said, trying not to laugh at that last comment. His eyes scanned down the list. It was very organized, he had to admit, with notes on sizes and measurements and themes and links to other sheets with more information. Thankfully there were quite a few that were close to being done, but they also had due dates that were coming up really soon. "How often are you getting contacted? With real requests, I mean. Not individual weirdos that have no idea what it would cost."

Marinette worried her lip as she thought about it. "Every couple weeks, maybe? It's just that there was a whole slew of them after Jagged Stone's album release that I had to put off working on until after Christmas, and there was that article about the outfits I designed for those other groups that got me more attention again, and I'm still working on finishing up everything for those ones. If I just had a break in the requests I would be able to catch up and then be working on commissions at a decent pace and be able to actually enjoy them again, but that's just not happening!"

"Buginette." Adrien rested his hands on Marinette's shoulders and tugged her into a hug. Part of him wanted to get frustrated with her- she should have known better than to take on so much work- but getting frustrated wouldn't help anything. Or anyone. Besides, there were better ways of expressing the same sentiment without being an arse about it, and the last thing Marinette needed right now was any sort of fight. "Love, that's when you tell new people that you're busy. Or if someone you're working with is requesting more pieces, you tell them it's going to have to wait. You put them down on your lovely spreadsheet as on the waiting list, and then contact them once you've caught up and had a little break. You'll do your best work for them then."

Marinette was still not entirely convinced, Adrien could tell. She was scanning her spreadsheet with a worried look on her face.

"You're right," she admitted after several more seconds of silence. She let out a huffy breath. "I just- we always heard in school about how it's hard to break into the fashion industry and that even to get hired by a company can be hard because designers are a dime a dozen, it seems, and I didn't want my chance to slip past me."

Adrien could understand that fear, honestly. He had seen the pile of applications on his father's desk before- and those were the ones that had already made it past several rounds of eliminations. There were a lot of strong candidates, and even people who graduated in the top of their class in university weren't guaranteed to get a position.

Still, Adrien didn't think that Marinette had to worry about that- and no, he wasn't just being biased. Marinette was crazy talented, and she had an impressive resume to back her up, even as young as she was.

Stepping to the side and crouching so that he was looking Marinette in the eye, Adrien put his hands on her shoulders so he could get her full attention. "Bug. Listen to me. You've already broken into the fashion industry. You'll have three years of interning at Rosalie on your resume, plus all of the stuff for Jagged, plus all of this stuff that you have right now. If people are asking after you to the point that you're getting overworked, you are solid in the fashion industry." He gave her shoulders a little shake for emphasis before sliding one hand up to cup her cheek. "But if you overwork yourself like this, you know the quality is going to suffer. It's better to put people on a wait list and work at your own speed than it is to churn out things that aren't original and aren't you and end up falling out of favor because of that. If people want a Marinette Original, they can wait. That's how the fashion industry works."

"I guess." Still, Marinette looked overwhelmed as she looked from Adrien to her spreadsheet. "And I can start putting people on a wait list now, but what about the commissions I already have lined up? I don't know any of the people on here well enough to ask if I could push their due dates back. And it's just so much work, I don't know how I'll get them all done by the deadlines."

Adrien had to think about it for several moments. It didn't take long before a plan started forming in his head.

"How about this- instead of having to cut off by our normal time, I can finish with my homework then or during the day and then come over and help you however I can?" Adrien suggested. "You said you had rivets to put in on some things, right? If you just mark with, like, chalk where you want them pounded in, I could do that. And I can sort out finished pieces into which commissions they belong to, and get shipping labels printed, and stuff like that. I can't sew, obviously, but if you think of anything I can do to help..."

Marinette looked slightly distressed at that. "But Adrien! You have your own stuff to do, with your papers and your midterms and-"

"My papers are largely done, they just need some editing. I'm going to have Ben look at them tomorrow for grammar and spelling and word choice, so I won't have to do that, and then I'll have a few days to go back and make sure that I have everything just the way I want it." Adrien rubbed Marinette's back, working at the tense muscles in her shoulders. "And one of my tests was yesterday, and then I only have two more for midterms. Most of my classes don't really do midterms at this point. They have tests when they want to have tests. I can handle it."

"That would help," Marinette admitted. She sent a slightly rueful look at the pile of finished clothes on her couch. "There's stuff from four or five commissions there and I know they're there- I check off each outfit once I finish it- but I just don't have the time to sort it out."

"Do you have a sheet with descriptions of which outfits are meant to be in each order?"

Marinette pointed to a folder sitting on the low table next to the couch. "Yeah, in there. There should be copies of the designs attached to each one, too."

Adrien headed over to pick up the folder. It was thick, and when he opened it he found a packet for each of Marinette's commissions. There were a dozen of them, all with multiple pieces. That surprised Adrien a bit, considering that none of them had ever worked with Marinette before and she didn't exactly have a site or anything online with photos of her past work. A couple had cover art commissions as well, and from what he could tell, only one of them had that part of their order completely finished- though once again, there were a quite a few that were nearly done, only needing a round of requested revisions.

It was a lot.

Adrien sorted through the pile as the sewing machine whirred furiously in the background. Marinette was right when she had said that there was stuff from several different commissions all mixed together- only instead of four or five commissions, there were eight. Tikki found sticky notes for him to stick to each pile of outfits, and Adrien wrote down the customer's name, what pieces were in each order, and checked off each piece that he had found and put in the pile. What was still needed was written on a different colored sticky note and put on top of the pile.

Slowly but surely, the couch was becoming much more organized.

"This one says that it just needs one more piece before it's complete," Adrien reported after everything was sorted out into neat stacks, flipping through one packet of commission information to double-check. "It looks like a fairly basic tank top, except with some screen printing."

Marinette perked up and the sewing machine's whirring slowed to a stop. "Really?"

"It looks like it, yeah." Adrien handed over the packet. "I've found the two skirts and one completed top. It just needs this one shirt and then it'll be ready to go."

"I think I was waiting to do the screen printing all at once, since I have a bunch to do among all of my commissions and it's more efficient to do it all in one go," Marinette said, scanning the page. "But yeah, I should maybe do that this weekend and I can get a bunch of stuff checked off. Is it supposed to be sunny then?"

Adrien blinked, puzzled- what did the weather have to do with anything?- but checked his phone anyway. Maybe she just needed the sun for the shirts to dry or something. "Yeah, it'll be sunny, for once. At least that's what they think right now. Why?"

"I gotta set the screens in the sun," Marinette explained, which... yeah, honestly, that really didn't explain anything at all. Adrien was still very much confused. "I should have most of the materials for screen printing, but I just have to make the screens themselves. And- oh, if I'm gonna make all of the screens at once, I'll actually need to make more frames. Shoot, and I don't have the time to pick up more materials, and the copy shop is never open when I'm off and it's always packed during lunch and-"

"If you tell me what you need, I can pick up the stuff for the frames and the other materials, and whatever you need from the copy shop, I can run all of those errands," Adrien told her immediately, before she could get too far into one of her panic spirals. "I can go whenever, I just need a list and where to buy stuff. And for the screen printing- do you sew your own shirts for that?"

Marinette shook her head, looking marginally less frantic. "No, I just ordered some pre-sewn ones that I'll print on. Even if it only takes an hour to sew a shirt like that, I have so many orders for them that it would just take forever." Marinette pointed at an unopened box wedged in the corner of the room with a pile of papers sitting on top. A closer look told Adrien that it was the name of each commission, the color and size of the base shirt, and what design was meant to be printed on it. Once again, Marinette had absolutely impeccable organization. "I should check and make sure they're all there, probably, and get them sorted out with their commission sheets, but I don't have the time."

"I can check on that, too," Adrien piped up. He slipped up behind her and hugged her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Are you feeling better about everything now?"

"Better," Marinette agreed. She twisted around to kiss him. "Not perfect, because there's still a lot to do and I feel really stupid for letting it get to this point... but I think I might focus on the little stuff this week, all of the easy commissions and finishing up the orders that just have one piece left and finishing the pieces I have mostly completed and then doing album cover revisions. Once I have all of that done, then I think I'll have a better view of what I really have left to do." She glanced over at her laptop and the spreadsheet on it and let out a sigh. "I might end up having to email some of my customers and asking to push back the completion date a little bit. I've been scrambling so much lately that I just keep hopping from one piece to another because I see the due date and just freak out, and start working on one of their pieces, then see the due date for another and switch again."

"That sounds like a plan," Adrien agreed. He straightened up and glanced around the room. There were four in-progress pieces on the mannequins, and what looked like a couple others sitting around on the floor and on Marinette's kitchen counter. Just by standing here he was starting to feel overwhelmed. "Then you can finish orders and get those pieces cleared out of here so you aren't being buried under an avalanche of clothes. It won't feel quite so overwhelming then."

Marinette nodded in agreement, biting her lip as she glanced back at her computer. "Yeah. And I suppose I can bring my tablet along to Fashion Week and work on the cover art stuff between runways, too. I've got some requested changes to finish up and then a couple complete ones to design. Or maybe it's just one complete one left to design, I don't remember." She reached over, scrolling through her list of commissions. Red, yellow and green boxes told her what was finished, what was in-progress, and what was still woefully untouched. There were way too many yellow and red-coded boxes for Adrien's liking, and he was sure that she felt the same. "I still have to go in every day and go to other presentations and runways for inspiration, but there's enough downtime between stuff that I can probably get some work done. And I could bring my sketchbook and work on some of the preliminary sketches that I still have to do once the covers are finished up. And then I could take a day or two off to catch up, too, maybe, after Fashion Week is over. Or maybe not. It depends on what we have to do at work."

Adrien nodded. He couldn't say that he entirely liked the plan- Marinette was going to be working herself to the bone with barely a moment to catch her breath, and that wasn't healthy- but if she overworked herself now, then hopefully she would get enough done that she wouldn't be keeping herself awake stressing over the unfinished commissions with their ever-looming due dates. And with his tests and paper due dates more spread out this semester than ever before and Ben's help in keeping him on top of his coursework, he should be able to help Marinette without falling behind in his own studies.

Besides, even if he hadn't admitted it to himself fully, Adrien was far ahead of schedule on the essays. His early push meant that his 'rough drafts' were more like fully completed papers at this point, and he probably wasn't going to need to do much editing between when he got the graded draft back and when the final copy was due.

Hopefully, at least. Barring some complete disaster.

"Are you almost done with that piece?" Adrien asked as Marinette turned back to the jacket she was working on. "Because I can understand wanting to finish it, but it's late and you have to get up early for Fashion Week. And you actually have to be awake for that."

"I want to get one more seam done, and then it'll be at a good stopping point," Marinette decided after a pause. "And then I'll be over- unless you want me to sleep over here so I don't wake you up when I get up?"

Adrien shook his head. If Marinette slept over in her apartment, then there would be no way of knowing if she had actually slept. He would rather deal with being woken up briefly when Marinette's alarm went off early in the morning than have her make the last-minute decision to stay up even later to finish a piece and not know. "I'd rather sleep next to you like normal. How long do you think you'll be?"

"Five minutes, tops."

"Sounds good." As he turned to leave, Adrien paused. "Oh, and one thing... Marinette?"

Marinette looked over at him, eyes wide. "Yeah?"

"Everything will work out, I promise. We're Ladybug and Chat Noir, after all." He grinned at her, and was pleased to see her smile back. It was a little muted, but it was a start. "Together, we can do anything."

  For the first time in nearly two weeks, Marinette found that she could actually focus entirely on what she was doing at work. She didn't find her mind floating back to the piles of unfinished commissions sitting in her apartment, or fretting over everything she had to do.

Even if she hadn't made nearly as much progress as she wanted to over the weekend- well, she had had ridiculous expectations in the first place. She had done a good bit of work, and now that Adrien had caught on to her problem, he was solidly on her side. He had managed to get the messy pile of commissions sorted out and organized so that she had a better idea of what she had left to do, and together they had come up with a plan for her going forward.

Well, maybe she had come up with most of the plan, but Adrien's presence and willingness to help had settled the jittery nerves in her stomach and cleared her mind so that she could actually focus. The mountain of commissions to finish didn't seem so insurmountable now that she had Chat Noir at her side and a plan in her mind.

And that focus was needed as Marinette helped models change clothes quickly and got them back out onto the runway. The work was fast-paced and needed all of her attention to make sure the right collars were popped and everything was tucked in in the right places and no wrinkles were visible. Once the last model went through and headed out to the runway, a sigh ran through the changing area and there was a distinct drop in tension. Seconds later, though, everyone pulled themselves back together to start steering models back to their area so they could get changed back into their street clothes and all of the outfits could be packed up and sent back to the office.

Once the last of the things from Madam Rosalie's show were packed up, Marinette snagged her bag and followed her coworkers out of backstage and towards the first of the shows that she had wanted to see. As she walked, she pulled out the wrap that Adrien had made for her- best boyfriend ever, honestly- and dug in hungrily.

"Oh, I'm jealous," Sarah said, eying the wrap. "I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and that's it. I can't cook all that well."

"When did you find the time to put that together, even?" Emily wanted to know, partway through her own turkey sandwich. "I thought you said that you were super-busy with commissions to do, too."

Marinette swallowed her bite and then grinned. "Yeah, I've been swamped," she agreed. "So Adrien has been doing most of the cooking, and he made this for me. He's an absolute godsend."

"D'you think I could bribe him to pack a lunch for me for the rest of the week?" Sarah joked. "I kid, I kid," she added before Marinette had time to think about it. "I should have time to make a proper meal to pack tonight. But that really does look good."

They worked their way through the crowd and into the largest of the runway areas. Once they got into their seats, Marinette wasted no time in polishing off her wrap and pulling out her commissions sketchbook. She wanted to get at least three of her designs cleaned up today, preferably more. Then she could submit all of her sketches to that particular client for approval, and then they would get back to her in probably two to three days, and then she would have to carve out the time to go to the fabric shop and get the materials that she needed, and then-

Her thoughts had started to race again as she tried to feel out a timeline for the commission. Only a sharp jabbing at her side pulled Marinette out of her thoughts, and she looked down to see one of Tikki's eyes peering out of her bag, clearly frowning at her. Marinette let out a breath and tried to calm her racing thoughts.

She was going to try to clean up several sketches today and get them ready to submit for approval. Once she got home, she was going to send the sketches off for approval and finish up the jacket she had been working on and then turn her attention to the mostly-finished pieces. Only once she had her mannequins cleared would she start anything new. If Adrien had any time free, she would have him start to put together the frames for the screen printing.

All she had to do was keep a level head and not start panicking.

As the day wore on, the side of Marinette's hand slowly darkened with smudged graphite. She cleaned up rough sketches while waiting for shows to start, scribbled out ideas to use at Madam Rosalie's during runways, and even got a few new commissions sketches very roughly sketched out. Her hand was starting to ache from being clenched around her pencil for so long by the time she left the Fashion Week grounds and headed home.

"You look productive," Adrien said with a laugh after they pulled apart from their welcome-home kiss and he spotted her grey-smudged hand. "How's your hand doing?"

Marinette wriggled her fingers, trying to loosen them up. "It hurts, but I should still be able to sew with no problem. I might use my quilting gloves, though, just so my hands don't cramp up."

She didn't miss Adrien's concerned glance at her hands, nor the way he immediately reached out to gently massage them. She stepped closer, letting him continue to work at her hands until they were back to feeling relatively normal.

How Marinette had somehow gotten the Absolute Best Boyfriend In The World she didn't know, but she wasn't complaining.

"Let's have dinner first before you do any sewing again," Adrien suggested, steering Marinette towards the table. "I made soup and sandwiches. How was your day?"

Dinner went by all too fast, and then Adrien took care of the dishes while Marinette headed over to her apartment to get pictures of all of her cleaned-up sketches taken and sent before she sat down to finish up the jacket. It would need some snaps and other bling on it later, but she was practically finished with the sewing.

"Is that pile done and ready to sort?"

Marinette glanced up from where she was sewing the pockets in the jacket. Adrien was pointing to a more-or-less neatly stacked pile of jackets and pants and tops on the kitchen counter. She had to think for a moment- why were those pieces over there?- before it clicked.

"Those all need hardware," Marinette explained. "Studs and rivets and snaps and eyelets. It's easiest to do them all at once, I've found, instead of getting all of my tools out and doing one piece at a time." She had marked them all with a marker (dark for the few light pieces, white for the dark ones) with where the studs were meant to go, so she wouldn't have to refer back to the drawings for each one. Like with the screen printing shirts, each one had the commission name on it and the kind of studs (number and size) written on a slip of paper and pinned to the piece.

Technically, it had been Tikki that had been the one to come up with the idea of labeling the pieces like that and it had also been Tikki who wrote up each slip of paper so Marinette didn't have to take the time to do it herself, but Marinette couldn't deny that it was a fantastic idea.

"Aha." Adrien regarded the pile as Marinette turned back to her jacket. "So is that stuff I could potentially do?"

Marinette bit her lip and thought about it. Part of her wanted to say no, because she would have to take the time to teach Adrien how to put things in correctly so that they wouldn't mess up the pieces, but the more reasonable side said yes, please. Adrien was smart and could pick things up quickly, and once he learned how to do the hardware, that would probably be several hours of work off of her shoulders in return for what in all honesty would probably just be a ten-minute demo.

"I'll teach you tomorrow how to do some of the studs," Marinette promised. Those had the fewest tools involved and were the easiest of the hardware pieces to put in. "But for tonight... do you think you could put together some screen printing frames? The wood and the tools are in the hall closet, and there should be an instruction packet there, too."

Adrien nodded and bounded towards the closet. Minutes later, the first frame was halfway assembled on the kitchen floor. Half an hour after that, and several completed frames were lined up next to the fridge as Adrien worked on making several smaller and one larger frame from the remaining wood. Marinette had finished what she could on the jacket and added it to the pile in the kitchen before starting work on a pair of pants.

"Okay, I think it's bedtime," Adrien announced two hours later. Marinette looked over to see him stretching, his t-shirt rising up to expose a thin line of stomach. "Unless you had something else you wanted to get done tonight?"

Marinette blinked and glanced over at the time on her phone. It was definitely later than she had thought. Clearly she had kind of zoned out while sewing. "Oh! Yeah, that's probably a good idea. But, uh..."

She wanted to keep going, in all honesty. She could feel like she was making progress, and she couldn't do that if she went to bed. But Tikki was staring at her from across the room, clearly disapproving of Marinette's desire to just ignore reasonable bedtimes in favor of working.

(Plagg was also there, only he was napping, happily curled up on the heat pad Marinette had made for him. She never got disapproving looks from him.)

"I just wish I had made more visible progress," Marinette admitted. "These pants are almost done, since I had them already started before, and I got the jacket ready for studding but it was already mostly there. And I still have so much to do."

"One day at a time, Bug," Adrien reminded her. He waited until she switched off her sewing machine and then pulled her up off of her chair. "And if you want, I can pick up whatever other materials you need for the screen printing stuff tomorrow. That'll be another thing checked off your list."

Marinette lit up at the reminder. "Yeah! I just need- wait a moment, I need to check something." She hurried to her computer and pulled up the spreadsheet that she had made for all of her screen-printed shirt orders. "I should need six more of the average-sized frames, and the inks, and-" She scrambled for a blank piece of paper and started scribbling down a list, trying to remember what she had and hadn't already bought. Since she had gotten the materials for the first set of commissions, it was just a matter of remembering which ones she hadn't bought stuff for.

Well. It was probably better to overestimate rather than underestimate. Presumably she would get enough orders going forward that she would use everything up long before she had to go back to Paris and if not... well, she had coworkers who could probably use the supplies.

"I think that's all the information you'll need for the fabric ink," Marinette said after several minutes of scribbling. "Any questions, just text me. And I think I should have enough fabric to put on all of the frames, even with six more. And I'll need the pattern transparencies to do the printing at all." She let out a small huff as she eyed the boxes of shirts to be inked. Adrien had sorted them out and thankfully they were all present and in both the correct colors and sizes (though there had been a few terrifying minutes when they thought that she was over a dozen shirts short, before she realized that there was a second box of shirts stashed in the hall closet), but it was yet another pile reminding her of how incredibly far behind she had gotten. When Marinette had initially set the due dates up she had thought that she was being ridiculously generous with the timeline and that the far-out due dates would give her plenty of wriggle room, but now those deadlines were almost here and all she had to show for her work were a million half-finished projects around the room.

"Do you have a flash drive or something with all of the transparency files on it?" Adrien asked, pulling her attention back from her mental berating. "I can run that errand tomorrow, too. I only have two classes to go to and an hour and a half meeting with Ben, so I'll have plenty of time."

Adrien was definitely the Best Boyfriend Ever.

The week continued in a blur of work. Tuesday evening, Adrien finished building the frames and then he and Marinette worked together to get the fabric properly stretched and attached. He had gotten everything that Marinette had asked for during the day, which meant that the screen printing stuff would be all ready to go later in the week. In the evening, Adrien cut lengths of chain for accents on some of the pieces and pressed in studs on a couple of the pieces sitting in the kitchen, which meant that Marinette could sew the liners in and count those pieces as done.

(The best part? Since she had already sewn the liners, putting them in didn't take long at all and Marinette got to feel super-productive as she finished off three jackets in one night. And, making the day even better, they got the news that Alya had gotten past the second round of cuts and her entry had gone on to the proper judges to see.)

During the day, Marinette worked on finishing up requested revisions on album covers in between runway shows, sending them off as she finished and waiting for a confirmation email in return that would allow her to either check the piece off for good or send her back to do a couple more tweaks. Even with all of the stress that she had been under when designing the pieces, Marinette had to admit that she was proud of them. The artwork had turned out wonderfully, and she had managed to push herself with some of the design elements, too. They showed a range of techniques and varied from minimalistic to intricately detailed.

Thursday evening found Marinette still furiously sewing and Adrien pressing in yet more studs in a very decorated jacket. He spent the entire evening working on the piece and Marinette noticed him making a face and shaking out his fingers every so often, especially as it got later.

She felt bad about asking him for his help, she really did- so many studs in a short period of time really made the fingers sore-but he had saved her a solid twenty hours of work so far (two jackets OR two tops OR eight to ten pairs of pants and skirts- her mind started, and Marinette shushed it), and he could ask her for something else to do if he so desired, or even go back to doing his own work.

Speaking of which...

"Are you sure you don't have studying to be doing?" Marinette asked, letting her sewing machine slow to a stop before swinging around to look at Adrien. She wouldn't put it past him to focus too much on her stuff just to be kind, even if he had work of his own. "You've been spending all of your evenings over here. I thought you had papers to write."

"Wrote 'em during the day," Adrien said cheerfully. "And did my studying during the day, too."

"And that's enough?"

"For right now, yes. I don't think I could do it forever, though." He worried his lip, just a bit. She didn't miss it, even though he was clearly trying to hide it so he wouldn't worry her. "And I'll have to take at least one evening to study next week, since I'll have an exam and two papers to finish. And then I have two exams the week before break, and one after."

Marinette nodded. She would probably be done with everything that Adrien could help with by that point anyway. "Take off whatever time you need, really. You've been a huge help." She gestured at the neat piles of clothes stacked and labeled on the couch and at the printing screens, piled neatly on the kitchen counter. "I couldn't have gotten this far without you. I would still be scrambling and panicking myself into a knot." She smiled up at him as he came over to wrap her up in a hug. "I've been able to focus so much better since we came up with the plan to get everything finished."

Adrien just grinned and buried his face in her neck.

"I've managed to get all of my designs finalized and approved," Marinette continued. "And I got revisions done for several album covers and those have been submitted, so I'm waiting to hear back from the last of those. And the one cover that I hadn't gotten a first draft of yet- it's maybe a third of the way done. I'll have to work on that and get it done- well, not this weekend, since I have to finish up a bunch of orders first, but next week at least, so I can get it submitted for critique."

Marinette also sincerely hoped that none of the other people who had had her do revisions needed any more changes. Being able to check all of them off would be a huge relief.

"So how are the studs different than the other hardware you mentioned?" Adrien asked after another minute. He released her from the hug and straightened back up, stretching and twisting to get the aches out of his back. "You said they were easier?"

"Yeah, the others need more than just the one poking tool," Marinette explained. "And they have two pieces that lock together from opposite sides of the fabric. It usually takes a couple tries to get it right." It wasn't that the studs were hard, exactly, just different. There were more steps and more tools, but not that many more. She was sure that Adrien wouldn't have any problems.

"I'm sure I'll pick it up," Adrien assured her. "I might be slower than you at it, but..."

Marinette pulled him back down for a kiss. "That's fine. As long as it gets done, the time doesn't matter. I wouldn't be able to do this without you."

She wasn't even exaggerating. Adrien had been focused on whatever task she gave to him to do, working hard to finish the job. Between the errands he had run, the organizing he had done, his work on the frames, and all of the hardware...

Yeah, it was a lot. It added up quickly.

"Well, then I should get back to work," Adrien told her. "I'm almost done with the jacket, and then it'll be ready for you again."

"No rush," Marinette assured him. She turned back to her machine and started sewing again. The machine hummed, needle a silver blur as it worked its way up the seam, one stitch at a time. "I certainly have enough to do in the meantime."

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #How to Fake a Marriage #the internet here is so shaky #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #POSTING BEFORE IT GOES AGAIN

[ao3bronte]

if i had a wish (i’d wish for more of this)

Also on AO3

2 < 3 > 4 

For centuries, people have traveled from all over the world to visit the temples of the Oracle for their prophecy, an inside scoop into their future. Any question could be answered, any problem could be fixed unless…well, sometimes prophecies were simply too dangerous to share.

A Miraculous Ladybug Soulmate AU.

“Belief is a very peculiar thing: we tend to put more store in a belief we like than a fact we hate.”

Stephen Tobolowsky

le 18 novembre 2011

184 Unread Messages.

Nathalie buries her face in her hands and groans loudly, dropping her phone in her lap. As usual, leave it to Adrien Agreste and his big mouth to make her day difficult once again.

Taking a deep breath, Nathalie rolls out of bed and turns the television on in her penthouse flat, padding barefoot towards the washroom. It’s already tuned to the news station and there it is, blaring along the bottom of her screen like an animated billboard, juicy celebrity gossip fed like fodder to the masses.

Is Gabriel Agreste an hérétique? Sources confirm fashion designer denies power of the Oracle!

Another day, another mess for Nathalie to spend all morning trying to clean up. The cycle never ends...

...and speak of the devil.

Bzzz-bzzz-bzzz

“Nathalie Sancoeur speaking.”

“I need you at the office immediately.”

Nathalie barely resists the urge to sigh audibly, “Yes Monsieur.”

Click.

~

“Maman, what's an hérétique ?”

“Hmm?” Sabine looks up from where she's been updating the bakery’s financials on the family laptop, “Sorry ma belle, I'm working with numbers. What was that?”

Marinette doesn't peel her eyes off of her sketchbook, “I said, what's an hérétique ?”

Sabine’s eyebrows rise past her hairline as she presses the save button and turns around, “An hérétique ? Why do you ask?”

“One of the fashion designers I like is one.”

Sabine slips off the stool and approaches the couch that Marinette has been doodling in her sketchbook on since Sabine had walked her home from her l’école primaire , “Now, you can’t always believe everything you see and hear on TV”.

“I know,” Marinette continues to draw, her tongue peeking out from between her lips, “But still. What does it mean?”

“Well, it means you that don’t believe in the Oracle,” Sabine explains, turning down the volume on the television, “It isn’t something that’s very common.”

“How come?” Marinette uses her thumb to smudge the shading of the skirt on one of her designs, “Is it bad to not believe?”

“It depends,” Sabine sits down beside her daughter, “Everyone has the right to believe what they want to believe in. Some people believe and some people don’t. It’s not necessarily a good or a bad thing, but sometimes people don’t like it when someone else doesn’t believe in the same thing they do.”

“Why?” Marinette puts her pencil down and turns to face her mother, her expression curious. Sabine takes her hands and runs her thumbs over her lead smudged fingers and palms.

“That’s just the way some people are. They think their way is the right way and they push their ways onto others.”

Marinette frowns, “That’s not very nice. People should be able to believe in whatever they want.”

“That’s a very kind thing to say Marinette. I agree with you.”

Marinette nods thoughtfully, “We believe in the Oracle right?”

“We do,” Sabine replies, tracing patterns against her daughter’s skin, “We visit from time to time and she helps us with our questions.”

“Have I ever been to see her?”

Sabine brushes Marinette’s bangs from her eyes and mentally tries to find an hour in their busy schedule to take her for a haircut, “Of course! All babies go to see the Oracle.”

“Really?” Marinette’s eyes widen, “What did she say about me?”

Sabine pulls her daughter into her chest and wraps her arms around her shoulders, her chin resting on the crown of her head to better hide her expression from her daughter’s prying eyes, “Wonderful things. She told me you would grow up to be beautiful and kind.”

Marinette waits for her mother to continue and wriggles out of her grasp when she doesn’t, “What else?”

“Well…”

“Sabrina said that the Oracle told her parents she would grow up to be a police officer just like her Papa,” Marinette begins, extending her fingers and ticking them off one by one to keep track of her story, “And Nino said that the Oracle told his parents that he would grow up to be a musician! He’s really good too, he’s learned to play all the instruments at school. And Max said that…”

Marinette continues to divulge the prophecies of her classmates animatedly, her voice pitching and cresting as she describes each and every detail her surprisingly sharp memory can come up with. Sabine sits back and watches as Marinette counts them on her hands, her friends who have their destinies laid out before them, whose parents have a guide with which to raise their children into the world. Worry gnaws at her stomach as Sabine tries to remember what she and Tom had settled on explaining to her once she’d asked, but they never expected she’d ask so soon.

“So what did the Oracle say?” Marinette scooches closer, shaking her mother from her reverie, “Am I gonna be a fashion designer? Or a seamstress? I’ve been working hard at both and I think I’m pretty good,” she taps her chin, “Oh, and I made a bracelet for Mylène yesterday and she said she really liked it so I think I’d be good at jewellery too.”

“I…”

“Or maybe the Oracle said that I’ll be a stylist! Or a fashion photographer! Or a website designer, since I helped you and Papa make one for the bakery!”

“It sounds like you already know what she said,” Sabine remarks quietly, her eyes glancing up towards the clock.

“Well, Papa always said I was a great artist so I just figured that’s what the Oracle said I would be when I grow up, but did she say anything else? Like what kind of artist I would be?”

Sabine swallows uncomfortably as her tongue works its way around the truth, “No, not exactly.”

“Well that sucks,” Marinette crosses her arms over her chest for a moment before releasing them with a huff to pick up her pencil, “But whatever, we’ll go visit her another time right?”

“S-sure,” Sabine replies, her mind reeling at the breakneck pace of their conversation, “Of course.”

“Chloë says she’s been to see the Oracle four times,” Marinette grumbles, rolling her eyes, “She said the Oracle told her she would be famous.”

Sabine has never been so grateful for a change of subject in her life, “Did she now?”

“Yeah,” Marinette chews on the end of her pencil for a moment, “But I think she might be lying. No one else in my class has gone to see the Oracle that many times.”

“It could be because of her father. Mayor Bourgeoise is a very big supporter of the Oracle.”

“Still. Even if she isn’t lying, she doesn't have to be so snobby about it,” Marinette purses her lips, “Chloë always acts like she’s better than everybody else.”

Sabine shrugs, “Maybe that’s what she believes.”

“Well, it’s not very nice. She’s mean to all of us, even our teacher!”

“That’s not very respectful,” Sabine shakes her head, already quite familiar with stories of Chloë’s shenanigans over the years, “But eventually she will see differently. If she doesn’t, she won’t be in good favour with the balance.”

“The balance?” Marinette blinks, “Like, the stuff we learn about in school?”

“Yes, but it’s more than just stuff that you learn about. The balance is very important,” Sabine leans back into the cushions and makes eye contact with her daughter, “If we want to be in favour with the balance of fate, we have to fill our life up with good deeds and kind actions. We have to be nice to one another and help each other out because if we don’t, or we lie, or we say mean things to hurt people, then we become unbalanced and that’s when bad things can happen.”

Marinette worries her lower lip between her teeth, “What if we do a bad thing by accident?”

“Then you’ll have to work three times as hard to make up for it,” Sabine explains, reaching out with her hand, “Sometimes it’s hard and everyone makes mistakes, so that’s why we visit the Oracle. When we need help or advice or just someone to talk to, the Pythia and her priestesses are always there to help us.”

“But what happens to people who don’t go and see the Oracle?”

“Well, they try their best to be kind all on their own. People don’t have to visit the Oracle to be in good favour. Some people live too far away or can’t afford to take time away from their work and their families,” Sabine runs the pads of her fingers along her daughter’s grass stained jeans, “The Oracle would never punish a person for not being able to come and visit. As long as they do their best to be good to themselves and to the people around them, they will be happily rewarded.”

“But what about people like Gabriel Agreste? The hérétiques ? What about them?”

“Gabriel Agreste?” Sabine raises her brows, “That was the designer, the one you saw on the news?” Marinette nods and Sabine hums consideringly, “Well, like I said before, everyone has the right to believe in what they want to believe and if Gabriel Agreste chooses not to believe, then that’s his choice.”

“But does that make him bad?”

“Of course not,” Sabine shakes her head, “He and every other hérétique in the world aren’t bad just because they don’t believe in the power of the Oracle. The only time someone is bad is when they do bad things, like stealing or lying or hurting others. Some people who believe in the Oracle do these things too, so it has nothing to do with who believes and who doesn’t.”

“So he’s not bad?”

“I don’t know,” Sabine shrugs, “I’ve never met him.”

“Oh,” Marinette stares down at her lap and frowns, “So how do you know who’s good and who’s bad?”

“Well, we have to look at how people treat others,” Sabine flounders for a moment as she tries to come up with the right metaphor, “So kindness is...well, it’s kind of like a boomerang, you know? Like the crooked stick you throw—”

“Maman, I know what a boomerang is.”

“Okay, okay, just checking,” Sabine can’t help but shake her head at her daughter’s haughty tone, “Anyway, the more kindness you send out, the more it gets returned, kind of like how a boomerang comes right back to you after you throw it. The people who are good are the ones who are the happiest because when we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and happy, but it helps us also to feel loved and happy too.”

Marinette eyes begin to sparkle, a smile stretching across her features, “Is that why you and Papa are so happy?”

“It is,” Sabine grins and Marinette launches herself into her mother’s arms, “And it’s why you’re so happy too.”

“I love you Maman,” Marinette murmurs into her mother’s chest, hugging her close, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too Marinette,” Sabine replies, kissing the crown of her head. Marinette is warm and soft against her, a comforting weight against her skin in a world of magic and uncertainty unlike anything she has ever known. Sabine’s path had always been clear until Marinette came into the world, but both she and Tom had done their best to follow the advice of the Pythia to a tee. Everyday they taught her the importance of kindness and love and Marinette was only growing stronger and more beautiful by the day; Marinette may have not been born with a prophecy, but at least they had tried to do something right.

~

le 19 novembre 2011

Nathalie is already seated in the back of the Mercedes when Adrien opens the door and throws himself into the backseat, shaking away the bitter chill.

“I though Papa was going to join us?” Adrien asks, his voice belying the neutral expression on his face as he shakes the rain off of his umbrella.

“He is otherwise occupied,” Nathalie replies, her tone clipped as her fingers move across the screen, typing furiously on what would be the hundredth reassurance email of the day to suppliers and buyers alike, “Your comments yesterday have made things difficult for all of us.”

Adrien shrinks immediately, his posture a reflection of the tongue lashing he’d received only a few hours prior, “I’m sorry.”

“I know,” Nathalie presses send and sets the iPad on her lap, turning in his direction, “But you need to understand that you can’t just say these things to people.”

“I didn’t know what it meant?” Adrien wrings his hands together, the pads of his fingers still wrinkled from when he’d given in and slipped them in his mouth as he’d hid in the washroom. It was a disgusting habit —he knew because everyone repeatedly told him— but he just couldn’t break the urge to chew on something when his feelings got the best of him. If anything, it felt good to hide away for a little while and do something he wasn’t supposed to, like a dirty little secret all his own.

“If it has something to do with the Oracle, or Monsieur’s beliefs on the matter, you are to never answer again,” Nathalie shakes her head, “Clients will always try to get information from you and you must never answer them if you don’t know the correct response.”

“I...” Adrien sighs and closes his eyes, “I know better now.”

“You do,” Nathalie picks up her iPad again, “I have drafted a document on how to respond to questions with regards to the Oracle. Once I’m finished, I will send it to you to study in case a situation such as this arises again.”

“Yes Nathalie.”

“I have also forwarded your modified schedule for next week. Monsieur requested that I book another appointment with Dr. Arthaud.”

Adrien throws his arms into the air and flops back against the leather seat with a pout, “But I told him the pimple is gone!”

“Monsieur doesn't want another,” Nathalie opens her messages again and begins to skim through the ones she'd missed in the breadth of their two minute conversation, “You have a shoot with M. Demarchelier on Wednesday and Monsieur wants your skin to be a reflection of his brand.”

“Clean lines, clean skin, got it,” Adrien grumbles and shifts in his seat, “So where am I going today?”

Nathalie already has his schedule committed to memory, “Second fitting, hair appointment, piano.”

“Hair appointment?”

“Monsieur wants your hair lightened for the summer line shoot on Wednesday.”

“Oh,” Adrien picks absently at the seams of his sneaker, “Makes sense I guess.”

Nathalie doesn't respond right away but she can tell there's something else lingering on his mind. She never pushes too hard when it comes to the youngest Agreste these days, especially since he's only started to develop a bit of a personality lately. She feels a little swell of pride at having being a key part of it; it had been her who had convinced Monsieur to let him leave the house to further his studies, after all.

“How did Maman’s appointment go yesterday?”

And there it is. Nathalie’s fingers falter for a moment, momentarily stumped by the question, “How did you know about that?”

“It was the last entry on the GPS screen,” Adrien explains quietly, fiddling with his fingers again, “Maman is the only one who visits Dr. Vicaut.”

Nathalie weighs her words carefully, the weight of a lie once again on her lips. She'd been trying to keep her ledger clear of the dishonesty that seemed to surround her everyday duties like a shroud but it was getting harder and harder as of late, “Madame did not share the results of her test with me.”

Adrien blinks, his green eyes wide and hopeful, “But did she seem happy?”

Nathalie turns away and gnaws on her tongue for a moment before speaking, “She...did not.”

Adrien turns to stare out the window, his precisely shaped brows furrowed into a frown, “Then I guess I won't be getting a little brother or sister after all.”

Nathalie isn't foolish enough to say otherwise, not when the mood in their estate had darkened so much over the past few years. Monsieur had nearly tapped into every available resource in order to try for a second child, one that Monsieur hoped would be able to continue the family name. For someone who claimed to not believe in the Oracle and the prophecies she gave, he had all but disregarded Adrien as the future heir of his fashion empire.

So, being the resourceful man that he is, Monsieur had turned the cherubic face of his prophecy-free son into the face of his brand. He made for a good model and inevitably a good media story should whatever happen to him actually happen; it was common for children without prophecies to die before reaching adulthood but Monsieur needed to do something with him, and modeling seemed to be it. It bothered both Nathalie and Madame to no end when Monsieur talked about Adrien as if he were just another model attached to his brand, as if on contract until his desirability, or in the case, his life ran out, but what could Nathalie say? What could anyone say in the face of the hurricane force that was Gabriel Agreste, ruthless and enigmatic and positively genius?

Nothing, quite frankly. It had taken her years to build her credibility with the man and she wasn't about to throw that all away just by talking out of turn. She made a six figure salary, she lived in a penthouse studio apartment in Trocodéro of all places, with a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower just outside her window. She worked for a world famous fashion designer and all her suits and formal wear were created by the man himself free of charge, perfectly tailored just for her. With a bank account chock full of well earned cash and a closet stuffed with priceless originals, she had it made in the shade and had no desire to spoil it for a little boy with apparently no future.

Except…

The Pythia hadn't exactly said he didn't have a prophecy, had she?

It keeps her up at night sometimes, the knowledge that the details she had kept from Monsieur all those years ago had affected Adrien’s life in a negative way. She feels somewhat guilty knowing that it's partially her fault but then again, Adrien has never been her son. In fact, Gabriel has always had a way of treating others that is entirely unique to his character and Nathalie knows she's not responsible for his utter lack of commitment to fatherhood. She only hopes that her subtle guidance will help Adrien be a little bit better, a little bit brighter as he grows, stunted and wilted beneath his father's shadow cast upon their home.

An email appears in her inbox that interests her and she opens it, skimming its contents. After the surprising acquisition of an ancient Chinese peacock brooch last month, Monsieur had been steadily focused on a secret side project to learn more about its origins. The museum curator with whom she'd been corresponding with had carbon dated the material of the brooch back to the Zhou dynasty, which she was fairly sure Monsieur would be thrilled to hear about in the unique fashion only he possessed. Nathalie can envision him already, the only clue to his elation a cocked eyebrow and a slightly upturned lip as he thanks Nathalie for the news. She smirks ever so slightly and presses reply, typing up further questions for the curator.

Mme. Dubreil,

M. Agreste has the following questions in regards to the peacock brooch in your temporary possession.

As per your previous assessments, what do you estimate the monetary value of the item to be?

Have you made any progress in determining the meaning of the signature/Chinese character etched into the back of the brooch?

M.  Agreste has been fastidious in his research on the brooch and its origins. I have forwarded you a summary of his findings as well as copies of two ancient texts he found that reference the brooch in antiquity. You will notice a very interesting coincidence in regards to the origin of both texts. Is it possible that there are multiple peacock brooches? M. Agreste is quite curious to know how both Confucius and Herodotus were able to comment on the brooch despite neither region being in contact at the time.

M. Agreste looks forward to your reply.

Nathalie Sancoeur Head Executive Assistant | Gabriel

#miraculous ladybug #soulmate au #ml fanfic #ml #ladynoir #brontewrites #if i had a wish (i'd wish for more of this)

[breeeliss]

[Miraculous Ladybug]: Sealed With A Kiss

a short commission that i did for @erialy​ who asked for a chlonette secret admirer au :) thanks so much for commissioning me love and i hope you enjoy it!!!!

Link to Archive of Our Own: [AO3]

Title: Sealed With A Kiss Summary: "One day I promise you I’m going to be able to tell you these things to your face. I’m going to look into your eyes, take your hands, press them to my lips, and tell you everything. You deserve honesty and sincerity with how much of yourself you give to other people. So I’m giving this to you as a promise. There won’t be a single secret between us."

Sealed With A Kiss

Marinette finds the first one in her locker, wedged between her history test corrections and the packet of maths review sheets she still hasn’t gotten around to completing.

It’s hard to miss the card’s braided border made out of pink and golden glitter that’s meticulously glued on by hand and leaves dust trails of color on her books and pencil cases. There are roses and tulips inked on the corners and in the center is Marinette’s name written in a beautiful script that curls the edges of the ‘M’ and dots the ‘i’ with a heart. It’s too late for secret santa exchanges, too early for Valentine’s Day gifts, and her birthday is months away. She doesn’t get a chance to prepare herself for the enormity of what it must be before she opens the card and feels the pleasant shock warm her down to her toes.

.

I’ve thought about how to say this in person for a very long time. But no matter how gorgeous your eyes are, I can’t stand the thought of staring into them while I say something so personal. Better to write it down where it won’t be lost in translation.

I saw you walking to school yesterday as you passed the flower shop across the street from the bus stop. You looked so lovely in that blue dress you were wearing that I thought I’d give you something to help match it with. I hope I get to see you in it again.

Stay smiling. You’re so pretty when you smile.

.

There’s a coral pink lipstick mark kissed into the bottom corner in lieu of a signature, and the blush on Marinette’s face gets stronger when she realizes that this must have been written by a girl.

She frowns at the message and wonders what the person could’ve possibly meant when they said they had something to give her until she notices something taped on the back of the card. Marinette flips it over and gasps when she finds that there are seven hairpins attached, each one adorned with little blue snowflakes that sparkle when she holds them up to the light. She already knows that they perfectly match the blue New Years’ dress she’d worn yesterday, and despite how inexpensive the gift seems, the thought put into it leaves Marinette sticking her head in her locker to prevent anyone else from seeing how far her smile is stretching. She takes a moment to squint at the additional writing left in the corner and giggles into her sleeve: I love you in braids. Put these in next time you wear one. <3

Marinette practically shoves the card in Alya’s face when she sees her during first period, and no amount of shushing from her friend can keep her from bouncing in her seat and chewing excitedly on the ends of her hair.

“I didn’t know secret admirer messages were still a thing,” Alya laughs, reading the inside of the card. “Sort of sweet that they’d put in all this effort. Do you know who it is?”

“Nope,” Marinette answers. “But I already like them so it doesn’t matter.”

Alya snorts. “You have no idea who wrote this and you already like them?”

“Of course! I mean, it must be someone in school. Maybe from another class or something. But if they can manage to write something so perfect and give me a gift then they must be a wonderful person.”

“Leave it to you to fall for someone on personality and penmanship alone.”

Marinette rolls her eyes and takes the card back. “I’ve hardly fallen for them. I just don’t see the point in being confused or embarrassed when they’re being this cute and nice. And it’s probably a girl! That’s even cuter.”

“Well, you have been wishing for a girlfriend, haven’t you?” Alya winks.

She smacks her shoulder gently and frowns at her friends laughter. “I’m not talking that extreme! I just….wanna figure out who they are so I can repay the favor. And then whatever happens happens.”

“You’re a chronic romantic, my dear. Don’t think I don’t see you hoping for more than just a chance to say thank you.”

Marinette gently ignores her in favor of tracing her fingers over the decorations on the front, and Chloe chooses that exact moment to enter the classroom and pass by Marinette’s desk. She sees the card in Marinette’s hands and snickers over her shoulder without slowing her walk up the classroom stairs. “Still writing simpering little love notes to Adrien, Marinette?”

Marinette smirks at her back. “Still forgetting to blend your contour, Chloe? ”

Chloe laughs and gives Marinette a quick bras d’honneur before sliding into her seat and pulling out her books. “Good one, darling. But the day is still young.”

Marinette dramatically lays her hand over her chest. “The anticipation is killing me!”

They stick their tongues out at each other and return their attentions to their desks while Alya watches and snickers behind her hand. “What?” Marinette asks.

“Oh, nothing at all,” Alya says. “Just glad that the two of you can manage to still have fun with each other after all these years.”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“Please, don’t pretend like you don’t notice that you’re the only one she still messes with anymore. How age matures people….”

Marinette frowns. “Stop reading into things. We’re civil with each other. There’s not much else to it.”

Alya lifts her hands. “Hey, whatever you say. It’s not like I want to get involved in your weird little insult games. Honestly, only you two would ever find that kind of thing enjoyable.”

“We don’t do it for fun , it’s just….how we are,” Marinette defends. She isn’t sure if she can properly explain the almost tame antagonism she and Chloe have developed over the past year — it seems to be something that only makes sense to them — so Marinette gracefully drops the subject and returns it to the main subject of her attention this morning. “Anyway, promise me you’ll keep an eye out in study hall for handwriting that matches this and I’ll try to peek at a few notebooks during class. She’s gotta be in this school somewhere. It feels like she’s right under my nose.”

It turns out that finding her secret admirer is a lot more difficult than Marinette had thought it would be.

To be fair, she doesn’t have much to go on. Searching for matching handwriting quickly turns into a wasted endeavor when she finds out that there are dozens of girls at her school that write loopy g’s and make their r’s and v’s look the same. Even attempting to find girls with the same shade of lipstick — with a bottom lip slightly thicker than the top one — leads to awkward moments where Marinette has to explain why she’s spent half a class period staring at girls’ mouths while being no closer to finding the person she’s looking for. She supposes it isn’t meant to be that simple. There’s no sense in keeping a letter anonymous if the intention is to let Marinette find out who they are so easily. But it makes Marinette restless knowing that there’s someone out there who holds so much affection for her but is too afraid to reveal it. She wishes there was a way to encourage them — to show them that her reaction isn’t one they need to be afraid of.

She waits a couple of days before she wears her blue dress again, this time with a braid thrown over her shoulder and the pins she’d been gifted woven within it, making it look like she’d been caught in the middle of a fresh snowfall. It’s silly to think she’ll find her admirer just by wearing the pins they gave her, but at the very least it serves as the best way she can think of to thank the person for the present. Besides, Marinette gets a lot of compliments on her ensemble that day. Even Chloe stopped in the middle of the courtyard to stare at her for a few long seconds and mumble something about her looking nice before flouncing off to class. She feels more confident that someone somewhere is happy seeing how she’s dressed today. It’s the least she can do since she can’t very well thank them with a gift of her own.

Nothing happens for about a week, and the only reminder Marinette has that there is still someone pining after her from afar is the note that she still has taped to the inside of her locker. But when she returns to the bathroom to bury her head back in her books for the rest of her study block, she seems something sticking out of her binder. The moment she sees the glitter and the familiar ink roses in the corners, Marinette’s hearts leaps for joy in her chest and she can’t pull the letter out and open it quick enough. There’s nothing attached to the back this time, but the handwriting is the same and she gently brushed her fingertips over the dried lipstick mark before she reads the new message.

.

I saw you with the pins in your hair last week! Did you like them? I hope you did. You looked just as charming as I thought you would and it made me really happy that you decided to wear them. It sort of makes me want to get you something else for your hair. Maybe next time! <3

A couple of days ago I saw you sketching in the courtyard. I passed you on the steps while you were working so you didn’t see me, but I saw all of your designs and you’re incredibly talented. You’re going to be a great designer one day. I thought I’d help out and give you a little something to help add some color to your sketches. They might seem like a bit much but don’t worry about it. I want you to have them and I hope you keep them and use them.

Check your bag :) I wish I could see your face when you open them. I bet you look cute when you’re surprised.

.

Marinette folds up the card and starts rifling through her school bag until she finds something tucked near the front and wrapped with pink tissue paper. It turns out to be a brand new set of twelve sketching markers filled with basic colors, just enough to get a good collection started and perfect for cleaning up the fashion sketches she wants to put in her portfolio when she eventually applies to a fashion school. But her jaw drops when she finally checks the brand and realizes just how expensive the markers are. She’s been fantasizing for years about being able to afford them one day, but she isn’t prepared for a stranger being kind enough to simply give them to her and tell her not to worry about it. She’s torn between immediately ripping into them to test them out and being too afraid to touch them. Instead she dips her head forward and lets her hair hide her face as she hugs the markers to her chest and laughs into her notebook.

“It’s gotta be someone rich,” Nino suggests later that day during their lunch pause. “I mean, my cousin does traditional art and she’s always crying about how pricey they are.”

“Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s someone rich,” Adrien says. “Could just mean they wanted to spend a lot of money on her. But they obviously pay enough attention to her to able to pick really thoughtful gifts. It’s kind of romantic if you think about it. They must really like you.”

“It might be a girl too,” Alya gushes. “You’d think that would narrow things down but I can’t think of who it could possibly. Maybe it’s someone from another class. What do you think?”

Marinette shrugs and keeps drumming her nails on the plastic markers. “I can’t think of a single girl who’s ever shown an interest in me. I’m just as stumped as you all are. The only clues I’ve got are these notes and the presents.”

“I think they’re fine making sure that you don’t know who they are,” Alya says.

“But why? They’re being so sweet and they obviously care a lot, but I feel so guilty that I can’t thank them or even return their feelings.”

“Maybe they’re afraid you won’t return them,” Adrien offers. “It’s scary to confess to your crush.”

Marinette sighs. “I know that. I just wish I could find a way to tell them that there’s nothing to be afraid of. I mean, how could I possibly be awful to someone who’s willing to go through all of this trouble?”

Nino winces in sympathy and wraps an arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “I’m sure they have their reasons. And hey, maybe they’ll tell you who they are soon. When they’re ready.”

Alya nods. “And don’t feel guilty. They want to do this for you and they want to tell you how they feel. Just enjoy it. God knows you deserve it with how much time you spend taking care of other people. Maybe they see that too.”

“It just makes me restless is all. Like I wish they’d give me just a small hint. Literally the tiniest thing to latch onto so I feel like they’re not so distant. Right now they don’t feel like anything more than a ghost.”

“Be patient,” Adrien smiles. “You never know what they might be thinking. Maybe this is their way of building up their courage and they’ll start showing you parts of themselves really soon. I mean it’s only been two letters so far.”

“You say that like you know they’re going to send more.”

“Oh, hon,” Alya laughs. “Whoever this is, they have it bad for you. They’re definitely going to send more notes.”

After three more weeks and four more presents, Marinette starts saving up parts of her allowance and her babysitting money in preparation for the day when she’ll finally be able to buy a gift for her mysterious admirer. After receiving a leatherbound sketchbook, a nail art set, rings to match her monogrammed purse, and a bottle of perfume, Marinette feels like she needs to be prepared to really deliver her game when the time calls for it. She almost feels a bit of pressure having to go up against someone who knows her tastes so well and also happens to have the money to spend on her. It doesn’t help that she’s also at a very distinct disadvantage. Still, Marinette tries her best and starts to make lists of things they might like — maybe some lipstick or some jewelry since they seem to have an eye for it.

Marinette agonizes over the list during study hall while she fiddles with her newest present: a hair comb with dozens of little jeweled hearts as the adornment. She isn’t used to wearing hair combs but she wants to try and put it in so that her admirer can see it and feel a little happier today for it. Her tongue sticks out from the corner of her mouth as she tries to get the comb to stay in her hair, but no matter how hard she tries it keeps slipping out from the bun she’s trying to pin up. She must have looked like she was having a really hard time with it because right around when her arms start getting tired, she hears someone clearing their throat next to her.

Chloe’s leaning her hip into Marinette’s study table and holding out her hand. “Hand it over before you hurt yourself.”

Marinette pouts and shoves her chair a couple of inches away from her. “Go away. I’ve almost got it.”

“No, you don’t,” Chloe smirks. She pulls out the chair from the adjacent table and drags it next to Marinette. “Come on, I’m really trying to distract myself from doing maths drills and I can’t keep watching you screw up your hair like this. It’s bothering me.”

Marinette lifts a brow. “Are you sure you’re not going to cut all my hair off while I’m not looking?”

“Oh grow up,” Chloe scowls. “I’m not that petty. Ruining  another girl’s hair is just cruel. I can’t think of anything more tragic.”

“Wasn’t it you who said that not having a backup makeup kit is the most tragic thing you’ve ever heard in your life?”

Chloe sucks in a breath. “Oooo. You’re right. That is more tragic.”

Marinette snorts at the joke and doesn’t flinch away when Chloe sits down. Even though Marinette can’t really call them friends just yet — at least not quite — she can’t deny that Chloe’s amusing to have around sometimes. Besides, it isn’t as if Marinette has any intentions to keep up her studying anyway. So she regards Chloe’s smug expression before sighing dramatically and placing the hair comb in Chloe’s hand. “Don’t make me look like an idiot.”

“I’m offended,” she says as she turns Marinette’s body around so that her back is facing hers. “I’ll have you know these are my favorite hair accessories. Making you look like an idiot isn’t possible with me here.”

“Huh, I didn’t know that,” Marinette says as she digs through her bag and hands Chloe her hairbrush. “I’ve never see you wear them.”

Chloe makes sure to keep her strokes gentle as she combs out the tangles Marinette accidentally made in her hair. “I mean I can’t really wear them anymore since I chopped it all off last year. But when I was little my hair used to be like past my butt. Combs were the only way Maman could keep all that hair up and out of the way.”

“Why do I feel like you with long hair at such a young age was a complete nightmare?” Marinette teases.

Chloe starts collecting Marinette’s hair in her hands and holds the comb in between her teeth. “Because it was . Used to get caught in everything. Like doors and bushes and desks and stuff. Maman used to call me Raiponce because it was that bad.”

“That’s like the most endearing thing I’ve ever heard about you,” Marinette chuckles. “Is that why you eventually cut it?”

“Papa wasn’t really all that good at doing my hair so it was easier to cut it after he and Maman got divorced,” Chloe shrugs. “Ponytails were a lot easier than twists and braids, I guess.”

“And the current pixie cut?”

“ That is because short haircuts are trending right now. And it’s low maintenance. Leaves me with more money to spend on my nails.”

“Oh of course .”

“Prioritization is the key to beauty, Marinette. You can quote me on that.”

“I’ll go write it in my diary.”

“That sounded like sarcasm.”

“Oh it was. Should I have made it more obvious?”

Chloe pinches Marinette’s ear as she takes out her cellphone and snaps a picture of the back of Marinette’s head. She hands the phone to Marinette over her shoulder and starts tucking her baby hairs back into the twist she made. “That good? I can do something else if you want.”

“No no that looks great! You’re good at this. Thanks.”

Chloe turns her around so that she can rearrange her bangs. “Don’t mention it. It’s relaxing so I don’t mind doing it.” She sits back in her chair and sighs, looking proud of her work. “A little birdie told me someone’s pretty in love with you. Did they give you that?”

“How did you know?”

“Sabrina won’t shut up about it,” Chloe says. “Apparently she and Alya saw you open up the last one they left in your locker.”

Marinette curls a lock of hair around her finger while she stares into her lap. “Ah, yeah. It’s a little frustrating. I wish I knew who they were. I hate being out of the loop.”

Chloe hums and looks out the window. “Well. Telling people things to their face is mortifying when those things happen to be important. Don’t blame them.”

“Still,” Marinette says. “When someone cares about you this much, you sorta wanna know who they are.”

“They must be pretty scared of you,” Chloe jokes. She taps the back of her head.“They’ve got good taste though. That comb looks really nice in your hair.”

Marinette preens a little at the compliment. “Thanks. Might have to play around with combs more often.”

“You should. And you should wear your hair up more often, too. Makes you all soft and pretty.”

Chloe says it so casually that it takes Marinette a couple of seconds for her brain to process the compliment and let it melt into a rush of blood that goes straight to the tips of her ears and the apples of her cheeks. She isn’t used to people praising her quite so directly, and the fact that it’s Chloe rattling it off like it’s weightless catches her off guard and leaves her too flustered to even respond to her. The only thing that leaves her mouth is a bundle of choked words stuck in the back of her throat, and it’s at that point that Chloe realizes what she’s said because her eyes widen as she covers her mouth and ducks her head so that Marinette can’t see her face.

“Sorry,” Chloe says shortly. “I just meant that the twist suits you. Makes your hair looks less awful than it usually does.”

It’s such a weak comeback that Marinette doesn’t bother to take the bait and pick their familiar banter up again. Chloe knows it too because she’s wincing and standing up from her chair to tuck it back underneath the table, mumbling something about needing to go back and finish her work before the period ends. But before she leaves, Marinette swallows back her nerves and says, “Thanks. For doing my hair I mean. I’ll try to do more buns..”

Chloe gives her an odd look as if she’s expecting her to call her out on the slip up, but when Marinette doesn’t say anything she drops her shoulders a little and allows herself a kind smile in return. “No problem, Dupain-Cheng..”

Marinette watches Chloe go back to her seat three study tables down and stick her earbuds in as she starts up her maths drills again. Chloe’s words still leave her feeling thoughtful, so she finds herself absently watching Chloe’s fingers card through her short hair that barely brushes the tips of her ears and Chloe’s bottom lip being sucked in between her teeth as she concentrates on her work. It isn’t until her head is tilting in fascination that Marinette realizes she’s being rude staring at someone so openly, so she turns back to her own books, hyper aware of the prickles on her skin that tell her when Chloe is risking her own glances.

She tries to distract herself by running her fingers over the comb in her hair and deciding if giving her admirer a batch of pastries is too much of a cop out.

Marinette isn’t sure how she manages it, but her alarm wakes her up an hour earlier than is ever appropriate to wake up on a Monday, and she’s forced to drag herself out of bed and into her closet after it becomes apparent that she can’t fall back asleep.

She’s stuffing her literature homework into her bag as she crosses the street to school and sees almost no cars on the street and only a few straggling students on the sidewalk. She sort of wants to pass out under her desk and nap until class starts but she supposes she’s better off camping out somewhere quiet to finish the maths homework that was due at the end of the day. Marinette bumps into walls and trips up the stairs as she stretches and yawns, making her way to the locker room for some peace and quiet since the library is probably closed at this hour. She’s about to fling her bag towards the corner of the room where all the benches are when she sees someone standing by the lockers closest to the windows.

Marinette opens her mouth to say good morning until the person turns around to pull something out of their bag and she realizes that it’s Chloe. The girl never comes to school early — she prides herself on being able to perfectly time her rides to school so that she walks into the classroom right when the teacher does. Something about not wanting to sit around doing nothing in the mornings when she could be home catching up on sleep. It’s more than a little strange to see her here when the school’s practically empty, especially because Marinette sort of remembers Chloe’s locker being at the opposite end of the room.

But then Marinette has to bring a hand up to her mouth to muffle her gasp when she sees Chloe pull out a very familiar looking card with pink and gold borders and flowers tucked in the corners. For half a second she thinks that maybe Marinette’s secret admirer has caught an eye for Chloe as well, but it’s a theory that quickly gets shot down when she sees Chloe open Marinette’s locker and place a small, black jewelry box right in the middle of the topmost shelf. Chloe opens the card, carefully kisses the bottom corner, and leaves it propped against the present so that Marinette’s elegantly written name will be the first thing she sees when she opens her locker.

The moment Chloe closes her bag and starts heading for the exit, Marinette leaps behind the door to hide until she’s sure that Chloe is well out of sight. She races to her locker and yanks open the door and has to stare at the card and gift for a moment to make sure that she didn’t just imagine what she saw. The jewelry box has a white gold charm bracelet inside and the card is filled with the same handwriting, the same heart-fluttering words, and the same shade of lipstick still sitting damp and fresh against the paper. Marinette presses the card to her heart and backs up into one of the benches, not trusting her legs to keep her standing.

“Oh my God, it’s Chloe,” she whispers to the empty room, feeling like if she doesn’t say it out loud at least once, it won’t feel real.

Marinette feels a little stupid for not noticing it before. It had taken such a long time for the two of them to get to this weird tolerance for each other that it didn’t seem like they’d ever progress past that. Sometimes you put a lot of hard work into people and your efforts prematurely plateau without turning into the shimmering ideal relationship you hoped it would be. Marinette has always been alright with that. She’s happy enough just to be on good terms with Chloe and doesn’t dare demand more if it isn’t meant to be. But now she reworks every interaction they’ve had and wonders if all the awkwardness and small attempts at civility were actually subtle nudges in a direction that Marinette has never considered until now.

In all the years she’s known Chloe, romantic, lovely, generous, and kind are never adjectives Marinette attaches to her, but here they are condensed into small flashes of affection towards Marinette which makes the discovery all the more charming. Marinette can’t help but hold small bits of adoration for all of the people in her life who put a smile on her face, and she knows it’s the one trait that makes it so easy for her to fall for people and find beauty in the most unlikely of places. So Marinette sits there with Chloe’s gifts in her hands and searches her heart to see if it has the potential to return Chloe’s feelings.

Peals of laughter bubble up in her chest until Marinette is hysterical with delight and warmth because it’s almost too easy to return them. It isn’t just because Chloe is such a beautiful girl. Marinette thinks back fondly to how far the two of them have come since collège, but now there’s a whole world of potential still left in front of them for the two of them to explore together. And Marinette wants to see where it takes them, wants to see what it would look like, wants Chloe to surprise her even more. It feels so good knowing it’s Chloe. Marinette likes that it’s Chloe. She isn’t disappointed or horrified or upset. She feels light and excited, and she can’t sit still for a moment longer.

Marinette picks up her bag and runs from the room, trying to think of all the places Chloe could possibly be hiding considering it’s this early in the morning. She checks the steps outside the school, the courtyard, the music room, and the gymnasium before she makes her way to their homeroom classroom and sees Chloe sitting by the windows and annotating her literature book. Her brow wrinkles when she sees Marinette panting in the doorway. “Uh….morning? You okay over there?”

Marinette lifts a finger. “I….have to….tell you something.”

“O...kay,” Chloe says slowly. “Didn’t think you came to school this early but I guess I’ve got time to kill. This better be good.”

Marinette swallows, pulls Chloe’s card out of her pocket, and starts reading the message. “ One day I promise you I’m going to be able to tell you these things to your face. I’m going to look into your eyes, take your hands, press them to my lips, and tell you everything. You deserve honesty and sincerity with how much of yourself you give to other people. So I’m giving this to you as a promise. Soon. You’ll know everything. There won’t be a single secret between us.”

Chloe’s pen falls from her fingers before Marinette can get through the second sentence. She looks positively mortified and is staring at Marinette as if she’s not sure whether or not Marinette’s going to scream at her or make fun of her. It breaks Marinette’s heart to think that she was so scared of telling Marinette all of these things because she was afraid that the reaction would be something awful, and she doesn’t want to leave Chloe in such sickening suspense longer than she has to.

“I’ve been getting all of your notes,” Marinette says. “Every single one. I tape them to the door of my locker and I keep all of your presents lined up on my desk at home because I love looking at them. No one’s ever done anything this sweet for me ever in my life. And I mean that.”

Chloe stands from her seat and slowly walks down the stairs, her steps soft and careful. “H-How did you…?”

“I just saw you put this one in my locker,” Marinette admits. “I got to school earlier than I meant to.”

Chloe’s nervousness leaves her chest in a forced laugh. “And here I thought I was being careful….”

“You’re not angry, are you? I wasn’t trying to spy.”

“I’m not angry, I’m just….” She rubs the back of her neck and her gaze drops to her toes. “I didn’t expect you to find out before I got the chance to tell you.”

Marinette bites her lip and shortens the distance between the two of them. “So you meant it then? Everything you said? That was real?”

Chloe frowns. “Of course it was. Why would you think it wasn’t?”

“It’s not that I think it isn’t real,” Marinette says. “I know we like to poke fun at each other and play games. But I don’t think you’d ever play those kinds of games. I just want to hear you say it. Just for myself. I wanna hear you say it’s real.”

Chloe starts to clam up on herself and it doesn’t seem like the words are coming easily to her, so Marinette reaches a hand out to link Chloe’s pinky with her own and squeeze to offer some comfort. It makes Chloe blush, but she squeezes Marinette’s finger back and collects all of her courage in one big breath that fills her chest and makes her look taller and more confident. “Well,” she begins. “It’s funny. When you stop playing little girl games a lot of things start to make sense to you. They get clearer and you can start putting names to things. I didn’t have anyone to tell this stuff to so I thought….why not just tell them to you?”

“Without signing your name?”

“It was more for myself than anything,” Chloe explains. “I was holding onto it for so long I just needed to get it out and make sure that you knew, even if you didn’t know it was me. To be honest, I was psyching myself up for the possibility that you wouldn’t want anything to do with me. And I wouldn’t have blamed you for that.”

“You thought I wouldn’t like you back?”

“Of course not,” she says sadly. “I was awful to you for so long.”

“You apologized for that,” Marinette reminds. “We both did.”

“I know, but still. Old wounds run deep.”

Marinette’s heart clenches looking at the vulnerable expression on Chloe’s face, so she takes the note, presses it to her chest, and laces their fingers together. “Tell me.”

Chloe lifts her chin. “What?”

“Just trust me and tell me what you want you want to tell me.”

Marinette is asking so much of her — is asking her to be impossibly brave — and she only hopes that the conviction in her voice is enough to make Chloe feel safe enough to share her secrets with her. It’s a large step for them to take together. They’ve never known intimacy like this, and it’s similar to working a foreign muscle and feeling it ache for the first time. But Chloe’s always been stubborn and strong, and Marinette doesn’t have to question the amount of faith she has in her. She patiently waits until Chloe’s eyes set in determination and the words she’s been rolling around in her mouth finally come out, clear and practiced. “I like you,” she says. “So so much. And I hope you like me back.”

It isn’t even a question. Marinette flips open the card, keeps her eyes on Chloe, and presses her lips right over the lipstick mark Chloe left for her — a ghost of a kiss that serves as a promise. Chloe inhales and sweetness of her laugh makes the Marinette’s next words feel effortless. “I like you too.”

Chloe grins and leans forward until their foreheads knock together and they’re breathing the same air. “Say it again. So I know for sure.”

“I like you,” Marinette repeats. “And I want to keep liking you more if you’ll let me.”

“You don’t even have to ask,” Chloe replies, and Marinette swears she can’t remember a single time where Chloe has ever looked quite so pretty.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #mlb #chlonette #chloenette #chloe bourgeois #marinette dupain cheng #chlonette fanfiction #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #my writing #sealed with a kiss

[rosegardentwilight]

Spiraling Down Chapter 2

A.n.- Two chapters in one week? What are the chances of that? This would have been updated yesterday but the site physically didn't let me. So this was a super fun chapter to write, I'm a sucker for Adrienette (I'm a sucker for all of them, they are my children after all). But I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you want to read Chapter 1 you can find that here

Chapter 2

"Marinette!" Maybe she was dreaming, it was a long day after the battle earlier. She was the one usually chasing the Adrien down, not the other way around. When she heard her name being called again, she stopped instantly recognizing that it was in fact the blonde model running after her.

"Hey, so I wanted to know if you were up for studying together this afternoon for the test Friday, I didn't really get the material that we went over today." If he told the truth, he missed half the day fighting crime, but in order for his Father not to ground him until he was of age, he had to keep his grades as high as possible. Sometimes being a superhero had its setbacks. He watched her face twitch slightly and he grew uneasy, did she not want to hang out with him? They were just going to study. "What about Nino? Did you ask him?" He tried to hide the disappointed features of his face. Had he done something wrong? He knew that she didn't hate him, but she seemed to clam up when he was around or tried to shove him off to a different friend. "He's"- Adrien stopped himself, technically his best friend sworn him to secrecy, but surely by now the plan was already in motion. "He wanted to surprise Alya for their anniversary, he had a special day planned." He would study a different day, but his schedule was filling up quickly with his Father's demands. Marinette let out a snicker, despite the look she received she didn't have the heart to tell him that their anniversary wasn't till next month. Her best friend would still appreciate the early gesture.

"So," He took a step closer to her invading the edge of her bubble. "What do you say?" He didn't remember the last time they had hung out alone, he wanted to reassure her that he still thought they were friends.

"Yes!" Although it was the answer he wanted to hear, he still heard the reluctance in her voice.

"Are you sure?" He never wanted to force her into anything she wasn't comfortable in. With still not being sure where he stood with her, he wanted to tread lightly and give her an out if she wanted it.

"It's no trouble at all!" She waved her hands trying to regain control over the situation, preferably without making more of a fool of herself. The subjects to cover for the test were easy enough, she was fairly confident in her ability to explain it. However, since she spent the afternoon stopping Hawk Moth she had no idea what they covered in class, she was intending on asking Alya for her notes. But she wasn't about to tell him that. His hand flew to the back of his neck rubbing it in a nervous fashion. "Do you want to walk, or we could ride there in the car..." His voice trailed off waiting on her cue. Marinette was trying to stay calm, but she was sure she resembled a fish gasping for water. "C-car would be good." She still kicked herself for turning him down during operation Secret Garden. He flashed one of his dazzling smiles and gave her a wink. "Alright, I'll call Gorilla and tell him the change in plans." The raven-haired girl swore that she had no feelings in her legs as he walked away placing the cell phone against his ear. Surprisingly, their interaction went well, but unfortunately for her; she had hours ahead to get tongue tied. Adrien flashed her a thumbs-up which she returned weakly. What did she get herself into?

Marinette didn't feel one thread of guilt abandoning Adrien at the mercy of her parents' downstairs, she was counting on the distraction to take down all the pictures of the blonde that were scattered across her walls with Tikki's help. It wasn't every day that the super model came to her room, she formulated the excuse that it was Agreste fashion line that she was interested in. After all his Father had used his son for enough of the photo shoots. But she knew herself well enough to know that her calculated words would just leave her lips and end up a jumbled pile on the floor, when it came to him; she would always be a mess. It was nice to live in a day dream when he wasn't around, but if he ever found the pictures she didn't know how that would change their friendship. Tikki stopped that thought train before it crashed and burned in her mind. She had to stop always assuming the worst, Adrien was one of the kindest people she knew; he wouldn't break their friendship off for something so silly.

Tikki quickly fled the second the hatch moved. "Hey, sorry about that. Your parents were wanting my opinion on a couple different pastries."

"I'm sorry they tortured you like that," the dry line cracking a smile on both faces. She eyed the plate of chocolate croissants in his hand as he climbed fully into her room and he let out a sheepish smile and mumbled something about needing energy for studying. She dropped the subject her mind already worried about how she would be able to tutor him in something that she wasn't there to learn in class, but it couldn't be that hard right?

"I feel my brain melting," Adrien groaned dropping the closed text book to the side. They had been going over the study material for an hour and a half and it was discouraging to know that he knew less now than when he started. He started to regret daydreaming of his favorite superhero in class, maybe if he was paying more attention he wouldn't be in trouble now.

"Maybe we should take a break," Marinette agreed. It was better to take little breaks between sessions, but she would be fine with not touching her textbook for the rest of the day. She would have to ask Alya to explain the lesson tomorrow before school otherwise it might affect her test score as well.

It didn't take a minute for the blonde to reach for the croissant his eyes sparkling, he quit halfway to consumption eyeing his friend. "Don't tell my Father." As much as it was part of a joke he was also halfway serious. His Dad would just give him a stern look and then lecture him to preserve his career, and that would require staying as far away from the carbs as possible.

Marinette's laugh filled the room while she crossed her hand above her chest. "I'll take it to the grave."

"I bet that Nino and Alya are out having fun." His textbook was currently tied with his disdain for Hawk Moth, and that was saying something.

"Unless she left him to try and catch a glimpse of Paris's favorite Superhero duo." Marinette used her hands to emphasize their title almost like a movie. She wouldn't put it past her best friend. If Nino was second to someone, it would be her alter ego.

Adrien readjusted his gaze, he didn't mean to stare at her, he just got caught up in another daydream. "There's only one way to find out," he stood up and quickly covered the short distance to her computer before Mari had a chance to protest. He wiggled the mouse pulling the computer out of hibernation. His mouth dropped for a second at the sight of the screen before his whole face lit up.

"I didn't know you followed the Ladyblog."

As soon as the statement left him he wanted to face palm himself. Of course she kept an eye on it, it was Alya's blog. Part of him was hoping that Mari would monitor it as closely as he did. With her help he was sure that he could figure out Ladybug's identity, and by doing so would also re-secure the bond that they had as friends.

"I keep tabs on it," her words drew him back to her. It was the easiest way to see how close her best friend was to finding her out, and the comments she saw on the blog only confirmed that the people of Paris were thankful for them.

"Have you worked with Chat Noir recently?" Every now and then he would name slip around people, just to make sure he knew where they stood with his secret identity. He watched the girl in front of him tense.

"Um yeah, he winds up on my rooftop sometimes," she tried to reply as nonchalantly as possible; maybe he wouldn't make a big deal out of it. She watched as one eyebrow rose, urging her to share more.

"There was this one time, he came to me after he set up something for Ladybug," she hesitated. Mari didn't know if any of this was confidential, but she felt oddly relaxed telling him. "She didn't show up and he saw that I was upset so he wanted to cheer me up."

Adrien knew there was more to the story, because he lived it. But he did fine it interesting that she didn't bring up the guy that broke her heart. He didn't know who he was, but when he figured it out he would get a piece of his mind. The subject was dropped for the moment with full intent to gain more information using Chat, she seemed to be more open to him.

It wasn't until then that he noticed all the drawings scattered across the desk. He picked up one only to see the paper that was hidden underneath.

"You're applying for my Father's internship?" He wasn't fully knowledgeable about all the ins and outs of the program, but it was a summer term in which a student would work under him and supposedly learn the business. If he liked their designs enough, he would put it in the line-up for the next fashion show.

Marinette shyly nodded, she had hoped that it could have been a surprise, if she won that meant that she could spend a significant amount of time with him, but if she didn't then he wouldn't get his hopes up.

"You know, I can talk to my"-

"No!" she blurted out a little too quickly. She was sure that Mr. Agreste already had some preconceived notions about her, the last thing she wanted was for him to think that she used his son to get to him. "I mean, no thank you. I want to earn it."

"Well if it means anything, I hope you win." Her cheeks grew to a shade of red that would match her Ladybug outfit, she needed to think of something, and fast.

"Want to play some video games?" She hoped that the change of subject would distract the boy in front of her, and it worked like a charm; he was a kid in a candy store. She needed a distraction anyway, between the pressure of the upcoming tests and the stress for perfecting her application for the internship she was already dealing with some anxiety. She almost wished that being a super hero was a full-time job.

He nodded eagerly despite knowing that he should be studying, but what could a couple games hurt? If he was to learn anymore today; he would have to participate in something mindless for a bit.

"The controllers are in the drawer on the left," she called out only to realize that she saw Tikki that way earlier with a small pile of her Adrien pictures.

"What's this?" She never knew her legs could move so fast, she ripped what pictures he did have in his hand threw them in their proper place.

"Nothing," she slammed the drawer with her hip hoping that he wouldn't press the matter more. She would need to have a talk with Tikki after he left about where the safe spots to hide the pictures were. She watched the conflict being torn across his face, she needed to act quickly.

As confidently as she could muster, she held out the controller to the Blonde, "Ready to get killed at Mega Strike 3 Agreste?" For some reason it was easier calling him by his last name in her taunts, it made the dialogue less personal and she was less likely to stutter.

"I'm not scared of you Marinette." His own eyes narrowed taking it straight from her hand. Unbeknownst to her, he had spent time practicing waiting for the time that they would get a rematch; this time she would be in for a surprise.

Her smirk grew as she sat down in the chair backwards facing him, "You should be." The topic of video games was one of the few that she had a leg up on the model, it gave her confidence, not to mention the couple of times she caught him gawking at her almost made her feel as invincible as Ladybug.

"Game on," he shot back. The air of friendly competition had engulfed the two, as he took his seat next to her. She reached for the remote and clicked on the television. Her hand froze before she could set up the game completely captured by the news that was scrolling across the screen. Not now, didn't Hawk Moth have a life outside of trying to terrorize Paris? She glanced over at Adrien but couldn't read his expression. Was it wrong that she was disappointed?

"You should go home where you'll be safe." The words stuck to her throat, she couldn't even bring herself to glance back at him and glared at the floor. If she didn't have to transform into Ladybug and go fight the akuma then he could have used her room to hide, but something told her that he wouldn't allow her to run out straight into danger, not as Marinette. He was too much of a gentleman for that. For a brief second, she entertained the thought of letting Chat take the lead and she would show up later, but the guilt sunk in, she couldn't be that selfish; he needed her. This was just part of the consequences that came with being a super hero and having to keep her identity a secret. A small part of her wished she would have known the weight of what she was agreeing to before, keeping this secret was tiring and she was running out of excuses.

"I'll take the back-way home, rain check on the match?" he asked trying to stay optimistic, however; the light mood had faded out of the room only to be reclaimed by a somber one. Although he was having fun with Mari, he knew that his Lady needed him, especially since this was the second attack of the day. "I'll be safe," he added for extra measure sensing her concern; although she would need it more than he would. He was a superhero after all. "I'm sure Ladybug and Chat Noir will save the day as usual," In a blink of an eye he slipped out of her room.

Marinette let her fake reassuring smile falter, although grateful that he didn't put up much of a fight making her job easier, she did worry for him. What if something attacked and she wasn't around to save him?

"What's wrong Marinette?" Tikki buzzed out of her hiding spot, she knew that if her holder wasn't in the right mindset it would throw her off in battle, but they were still on a time crunch.

"We were having a great time," she let out a tired sigh. "Then the akuma ruined everything."

"But Adrien did say he would come over another time." Tikki thought that Marinette did well for her interaction with the boy, so why was she getting so upset?

"It's just sometimes," she paused for a moment, she already knew how her kwami felt about this subject but that didn't detract from her moments of weakness. "I wish I could tell him, things would be so much easier"-

"Marinette, you know you can't." Tikki didn't mean to be short with her, but she needed to snap her out of whatever funk she was in. Her words seem to work as the raven-haired girl's eyes narrowed.

"You're right, Paris needs me. Tikki, spots on." The red kwami obliged melding into the earrings as the red light engulfed her leaving only her super hero alter ego. She rushed to the roof, the smoke from some of the damage was rising pinpointing her destination. A smirk grew on her lips, Adrien was right about one thing, Alya would have put her date with Nino on hold if she heard about the attack. She jumped off her roof headed west, not looking behind her. If she had, she might have seen a green light flicker ever so slightly coming from the alleyway next to the Dupain-Cheng's bakery.

A.N.- Ah, young love. It would be easier if they knew, but then that wouldn't be much of a story now would it? The story moves completely forward from here, just wanted to give a glimpse of part of the time lapse from from Le Paon and Hawk Moth were talking. (Plus although I actually like writing the angst, it needs some fluff. I'll probably be able to update at least once over the next week and from there we'll see. Favorite, comment, reblog? I'm mostly writing this story because it fascinates me, but I wouldn't mind the company as the story unfolds.

#mlb #mlb fanfiction #mlbfanfic #adrien x marinette #ml marinette #adrienette #adrien agreste

[alphapanda101]

Seeing a New Light

 This is a Team project  done with (Wattpad username) Weirdoalert03 as Marenette/Ladybug and APandasThoughts/Alphapanda101 (Wattpad user/tumblr) As Chat Noir. 

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Marinette/Ladybug: Love and hope was always what filled the Dupain-Cheng bakery and house, the key word was 'was'. The young designer didn't know why everything changed, but everything did........One day her parents stopped loving her, she wished she knew what she did....Maybe if she knew, she could have changed it. The bluenette didn't let anyone know anything had changed, she had acted the same, and when she would show up with a bruise, she would blame it on her being clumsy, and everyone bought it....That's when Tikki told her to start covering it up with make up....And to Tikki's word, it worked no one snuck glances at her, when ever there was a free time, Marinette had 'to go and help her parent's at the bakery.' When in reality, she would go and hide herself away.....marinette believed if it weren't for her spotted kwmai, she would 100% be cutting herself in places she knew she could hide away....But she was Ladybug, she had to be stronger than this. Marinette also had been Chloe's victim a whole lot more when the school bully realized the bluenette was quiet and not as strong as she used to be, she wouldn't stick up for herself, she only would for others, and when Mari would go and hide for alone time Chloe always seemed to find her. Marinette had started to believe all the insults her father, her mother, Chloe, and Lila..... She had been keeping this a secret for a little over a year, she was now the girl with two secrets she didn't want out.......((Marinette's Father)) "Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Get your ass down here!" Marinette jumped in her desk seat, and set her pencil back down on her homework. She quickly, and quietly walked downstairs and to her father...."You called papa?" She felt a sharp sting on her cheek, and she she staggered back from the force from her father's hit......She hit her back against the wall, and looked to her feet as she stood back up straight hiding her face from her father's eyes....He didn't like when she looked at him. ((Tom)) "What did I say about talking unless asked a question?" Marinette bit her tongue, and when her father turned red she quickly answered. "Not to speak" ((Tom)) "Exactly, now get your ass in that bakery, and clean up that mess. You expect us to work all day while you just go to school, and then us clean?" He pushed Marinette farther to the door, and Sabine opened it with a look at disgust to the girl she used to love so. ((Sabine)) "You are a sad excuse for a daughter....." Marinette quickly walked downstairs, and cleaned the mess up quickly, and cleaned the kitchen before her parents could say anything. When she was done, they both went to bed, and Marinette exiled herself to her room. Marinette looked in her mirror as she applied foundation to the growing bruise. She winced at the contact, and she took a step back expecting her work...."All done" She whispered....She put away her make up, and looked at the girl in the mirror, then looked a picture of herself from two years before.....She felt like she had been doing an amazing job at hiding it. If designing never worked out, then she knew she could always act....

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat had been on mari's balcony for a good while. He had heard her parents yelling at her about cleaning, and he could have swore he heard Ms.Dupain-Cheng call mari....no she wouldn't. Chat has been here a few times, as chat and adrien. Her parents were kind and loving. So he just sat and waited for her to come back up. Marinette/Ladybug: Tikki said she was going to sleep, and Marinette made her way up to her balcony to be able to let her little kwami rest. She opened her balcony door, and felt the cool wind whip across her face. She opened her eyes, and there sat Chat Noir. "C-Chat?" She was honestly scared to know how much he heard, but she wasn't going to bring it up that would only make it obvious Chat noir/ Adrien: "Hello princess!" I say cheerfully, would she want to talk about it? Chat would ask later. "Your knight in shining armor has come for a visit." I smile at her. Marinette/Ladybug: She rolled her eyes, and chuckled softly. "Nice to know" She said as she walked to her railing. "Were you out on patrol?" Chat noir/ Adrien: He joins her by the railing "Well, for awhile I waited for Ladybug, we were supposed to do it together today, but she didn't turn up so I just did by myself. I had a little stroll by and decided to drop on in and see how my purr-ity princess was doing." he explained with a smirk, I nudge her side and wiggle my eyebrows about my pun. Marinette/Ladybug: Her eyes widened as she realized her mistake. She forgot patrol. She left Chat to do it on her own- She completely forgot about it! "Oh Chat I-I'm sorry you had to do it all alone. I assume it must have been a tiring patrol.." She bit her bottom lip, and smiled at the black cat. *God Mari! You just ditched him to deal with patrol all on his own. Worst. Partner. Ever* 

 Chat noir/ Adrien: "No, it's fine. She probably forgot or had something to do. Nothing really happened tonight so it wasn't a problem." Chat smiled semi sadly, he loved being with or around ladybug but he won't stop her from doing things. He was just happy there wasn't an akuma.Chat noir/ Adrien: That would have been bad.

Marinette/Ladybug: Marinette nodded, and smiled. She knew she couldn't look guilty, otherwise he would get suspicious. "So how have you been Chat?" She asked twirling her hair in between her thumb and forefinger subconsciously.

Chat noir/ Adrien: He looked at her through the corner of his eye. "Not bad. How about you purr-incess?" He ask, with an ear twitch

.Marinette/Ladybug: "I've been good" She said without skipping a beat. She honesty hated lying to her partner, but she didn't have a choice. She wouldn't leave her home no matter how she was being treated. And it's not like it mattered, no one would care Right?

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat watched her eyes as she poke, those oh so familiar eyes. The blue bell eyes she has seem as dark as the ocean, something was wrong. "Are you sure? You can talk to me mari..." He says honestly, fully turning his head to look at her.

Marinette/Ladybug: She waved her hand as if to dismiss the idea/thought. "Its nothing kitty" She said with her perfect smile. She felt her heart twinge with guilt, but she had gotten used to it by now.Chat noir/ Adrien: He looked down at the street below them "I heard your parents yelling mari. I won't force you to tell me anything but I really need you to know that you have someone who will listen." I say, glance to her and back to the ground.

Marinette/Ladybug: She bit her bottom lip as her heart rate sped up. "You heard them yelling?" She asked trying her best not to sound obvious that there was more to it. She knew she could talk to people. But she didn't want to be pitied or look weak and vulnerable. Ecspecially with Chat. She was his partner, Paris' defender, she was strong brave, quick witted. But she wasn't, that was Ladybug, she right now was Marinette. Simple, weak, clumsy, worthless Marinette .

Chat noir/ Adrien: Her voice shook in the middle of her sentence, giving out that there was something more. Chat wasn't the best with people but he wasn't born yesterday. "Yes, I did." I confirm. I heard some sad things while waiting for marienette, I want to believe it isn't true but... 

  Marinette/Ladybug: "T-They were just upset that I didn't help with the bakery today" She shrugged as if to say it was nothing. She side glanced him, and kept worrying her bottom lip. She wondered if she should invite him inside, but she didn't want her parents to hear him. They used to know he would come, but they forbid it once everything changed. And since then, they would always be on top of her room. On her balcony, but he didn't know he wasn't allowed over anymore 

Chat noir/ Adrien: He looked to her, she was biting her lip, she did that when she was nervous. "hm, I see." He didn't believe her, he wanted her to know that, he flattened his lips and put them to the side in a non-believe able smile. Suddenly he flinched as thunder roars in the sky above them, "It looks like it's going to ran soon." Chat stated obviously. They would have to go in soon, now that chat thinks about it mari hasn't let him in for awhile now. 

Marinette/Ladybug: She quietly cursed under her breath. "Of course it is" She answered without thinking. Her eyes widened, and she looked back to the black cat, as she thought up for a reason to be upset about the rain. "Everything on my balcony gets soaked." She frowned hoping he would buy it.

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat just brushed off her disappointment, he could be looking far to into things and just being silly. He leaned closer to her face "I'm serious. Whatever is happening, You can talk to me." he stated, seriously, he leaned down to her level, thought she wasn't all to much shorter than him. "OK?" I ask.

Marinette/Ladybug: Her breath hitched in her throat, as she nodded slowly. He didn't understand how difficult this was, she couldn't just out and tell him, maybe she could just have him keep quiet in her room. Maybe he didn't think anything was going on, and she was just being paranoid.

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat straightened up, she was holding back, but he can't push her any farther. That wouldn't be right. She would tell him when she was ready. A single raindrop falls right in between them. He looked up and soon enough it was pouring rain. "So?" he starts, looking to her with a hopeful glance.

Marinette/Ladybug: She nodded. "Let's go" As soon as the words left her mouth, she was scurrying off to her room to avoid the rain. Since everything changed, she had taken down the Adrien posters, but left a few for inspiration, threw away his schedule, and her room was now always squeaky clean. She quickly closed the door behind the both of them, and smiled at the black cat as she looked around for any evidence of something up, but she only saw her foundation out.

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat looked around, it was much cleaner in here than the last few times, and didn't she have more posters? "Your room is super clean mari, I don't think i've ever seen it this way." Chat jokes, looking over to her desk, foundation? Did she always wear make-up and he just didn't notice? He hadn't been in here in such a long time he couldn't remember.

Marinette/Ladybug: "Ya, well.....I was tired of not being able to find things" That sounded believable right? She shook her head, and sat on her chaise criss crossed.

Chat noir/ Adrien: find things? Mari was normally the type of person that was the type messy where the person who made the mess knew where most everything was. Something was so off about all this. It just wasn't like his princess.

Marinette/Ladybug: Marinette smiled, and picked up a ball of string her eyes held a mischievous tint. "I wonder if yarn makes you go crazy" She wondered aloud doing her best to distract the observant cat.

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat watched the lose string swing back and forth "N-No, It PAW-sitivly doesn't." I stutter, watching the string, was this a distraction? It was wasn't it.

Marinette/Ladybug: "You sure kitty cat?" She asked, as she snickered softly walking closer to the masked hero as she let more string fall, and she swayed it left to right.

Chat noir/ Adrien: He watches it sway "Y-You wound me princess." He says taking a step back.

Marinette/Ladybug: "Why is that?" She asked taking another step closer.

hat noir/ Adrien: "No reason really..." He lies, his hands twitch they want the yarn so bad.

Marinette/Ladybug: She giggled softly, taking another step so now she was in front of him. "Want the yarn?"

Chat noir/ Adrien: "N-N-No. I d-don't need it." he said, convincing himself more than her.

Marinette/Ladybug: "You sure?" She asked, her smile grew to a smirk.

Chat noir/ Adrien: He shakes his head, by then all he can think of is the yarn. It swings, right to left, right to left, and soon enough he jumps for it. He hit the floor with a thump, the yarn in his hands.

Marinette/Ladybug: "Chat!" She hissed, and her face grew pale. "P-Please be quiet" 

Chat noir/ Adrien: He looks up to mari, a sudden sharpness in her voice. "I-I'm sorry, are your parents asleep? Let me apologize, you said they know I come here right?" Chat starts to walk.

Marinette/Ladybug: "N-No Chat stop!" She grabbed his hand. "T-they are asleep......J-Just be quiet..." She nodded slowly, as her stomach dropped. And her cheeks still pale.

Chat noir/ Adrien: He stopped and looked at her, her face is so pale, and her eyes so scared. Chat grabs onto her hand and pulls her to the bed, He sit down and pat next to him "Princess, sit." Chat commands her. Something is wrong and he wants, no, needs to help.

Marinette/Ladybug: She sat down, keeping her eyes on the black cat, as she listened to hear if her parents had woken up yet. "Y-Yea?" She asked trying her best not to sound weak or fucking scared

Chat noir/ Adrien: "What is wrong. Something is wrong. I can see it." he states, he stares at her. Chat wants her to tell him when she is ready but He is to scared it will never get that far.

Marinette/Ladybug: "I-I" She bit her bottom lip, and looked away imaging her face without make-up right now, how she would have two bruises, and a bruise on her back from getting pushed into the wall. "I-I can't" She finished, her voice scared and soft.

Chat noir/ Adrien: "I'm sorry." Chat apologized, with soft eyes.

Marinette/Ladybug: "You didn't do anything" She said, looking back at him, her eyes full of tears that she was trying to hold back......"Y-You don't have to apologize"

Chat noir/ Adrien: "I'm sorry, princess" He says again.

Marinette/Ladybug: She smiled sadly at the cat. "I-It's ok" 

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat wraps her in my arms "I am so sorry, princess." he says honestly.

Marinette/Ladybug: "Chat...." She winced slightly under his touch, but continued on. "I-It's fine"

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat looked to the table, just in his reach is a glass of water. Chat dips him hand in it, and whispers one more time "I'm sorry." Before wiping her cheek with the water, getting rid of the foundation that had sat on her face. He leaned back. "P-Princess." Chat felt tears well up in his eyes, a dark purple bruise in the faint hand shape sitting on her face, it looks so wrong.

Marinette/Ladybug: Her eyes widened, and she quickly covered it with her own hand, and bit her bottom lip as guilt and fear flashed in her eyes. "C-Chat, I-I" She averted her gaze not knowing what to say.....

Chat noir/ Adrien: "W-was it- It couldn't have-." He stumbled over his words and begin to sob quietly "P-princess..."

Marinette/Ladybug: "Chat" She wrapped her arms around him, her face full of guilt.

Chat noir/ Adrien: He wraps his arms around her, he runs her hand through her hair and the other stays on her back, to keep her close. "I'm so, so sorry princess." he sobs into her shoulder "i-It must be so hard for you." Chat didn't know what to do, should he tell a teacher? Should he keep it between them?

Marinette/Ladybug: "Chat you can't tell anyone" She whispered quietly. "Please?"

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat looks in her eyes, he loves those eyes, "I want to help mari."

Marinette/Ladybug: "Then don't tell, please" She begged. "I-I don't want to leave them........Please, you have to promise Chat" She bit her bottom lip as she stared into his eyes.

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat needed to talk to LadyBug, he needed to know what to do, but he could only trust Ladybug. "C-Can I tell Ladybug?" he asked, he needs to ask ladybug, Chat doesn't know what to do.

Marinette/Ladybug: She bit her bottom lip, would that be fair to him. "Yea" She smiled softly, she didn't want him to tell anyone, but she still felt bad for using her alter ego for herself gain.

Chat noir/ Adrien: little did chat know she would tell him the same thing. Little did chat know the rain had stopped. Little did chat know that his lady was his princess. Little did chat know, that he would either lose both of his loves in one hit if he didn't do something, and soon. 

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PART 2

Marinette/Ladybug: Ladybug sat on top the roof while she kicked her feet back and fourth as she ate her pie. She kept side glancing at Chat, he hadn't made a single pun, hadn't flirted, or even smiled. She didn't think he would be affect so much because of her, and she felt the guilt rise up in her once more. "Chat?" She asked setting her pie down. "What's wrong?"

Chat noir/ Adrien: "I.." He starts but closes his mouth, looking down at his barley touched pumpkin pie. He shrugs, it feels wrong, he doesn't know what to do.

Marinette/Ladybug: "Come on..." She set her hand on top of his. "Talk to me, what's going on?"Chat noir/ Adrien: He looks over to ladybug, again he sees those blue bell eyes. He flashes back into Marinette's room, the bruise and her sad eyes. "M-My princess, she..." Tears start to slide down his cheeks. "Ladybug I don't know what to do. I want to help so bad. The bruise was so dark and..." He covers his face, letting out a sob, and he curses under his breath.

Chat noir/ Adrien: Those sad, blue bell eyes had turned into an ocean much faster than he'd ever thought.

Marinette/Ladybug: "Chat" She wrapped her arms around his frame, and petted the back of his head. "Speak slowly, tell me what's going on" She spoke slowly, it wasn't fair to him, she shouldn't have let him know, she shouldn't have let him in, this was her fault!

Chat noir/ Adrien: He takes a deep breath "They hit her ladybug. They hit Marinette. And I can't do a thing about it." He leans into her, his hands slide down his face, so do his tears. "She wants to stay with those, monsters. I don't understand Ladybug, were they always like that? I've been to her house, her parents seemed so nice, they kept offering cookies and pastries." He hick ups, he can't help but cry now, in his lady's arms.

Marinette/Ladybug: She felt her heart plummet at his words. *Your fault, your fault* Her mind kept telling her, and she blinked back the tears for Chat......"How do you know they hit her?" She asked trying her best to sound surprised

Chat noir/ Adrien: "the damn bruise, right on her cheek, I'd bet she has more. I know it isn't her fault, I know that she deserved better than this, but I can't do anything. She probably thinks it is her fault. Both my forms walked in that house, and talked to those monsters. And neither one of me saw that! How did I not see that! I bet if I hadn't seen what I did I would STILL not see that!" he vents, he needed to talk and he wished mari would talk to him. He felt awful.

   Marinette/Ladybug: "B-Both forms?" She asked, her eyes wide as she wondered if he was a customer or not or how they knew eachother. "C-Chat.....She said she wants to stay?"

Chat noir/ Adrien: He nods, but he doesn't want her to, his father may be kind enough somewhere in his heart to let her stay with them. he wished he could do that.

Marinette/Ladybug: "How do you feel about it?" She asked. She didn't realize he would care so much about it, she didn't realize she would do this to him, and she wished she could take it back, she wished she could have sent him away when it started to rain.

Chat noir/ Adrien: "I hate it. I feel like it's wrong she still loves them." he says honestly, the tears stopped but his face stayed the same

.Marinette/Ladybug: She sighed, if this was someone else, she would have told him to tell the authorities because it was the right thing to do, but she was selfish. She didn't want people to look at her as a broken fragile thing, she didn't want people to pity her, she didn't want people to call her weak. She along with Tikki were both quite surprised she hadn't been akumatized yet.

Marinette/Ladybug: She didn't want to leave her home

Chat noir/ Adrien: "I wanna tell the police so bad ladybug, they'd get her, and she could stay with me. My father may be kind enough." Chat said, he didn't realize how many details he was giving his lady, but he didn't care, he just assumed she lived away from here, a whole different school.

Marinette/Ladybug: She hadn't realized it, but a single tear slid down her cheek, and she knew what she had to do...."You need to tell" She said softly, she moved her hands from him, and sat back in her spot biting her lip to stop it from quivering.

Chat noir/ Adrien: "I should? She'd hate me ladybug." he pulls back and looks at her.

Marinette/Ladybug: She shook her head, keeping her eyes on the city. "No she won't, and you know it's the right thing to do. She will understand. You know she will...." 

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat looks down, straight to the bottom of the Eiffel tower. "Ok, I'm going to tell. I'll go as me and I'll tell, not as chat but as me." He said, talking to himself more than he was to ladybug. HE threw his head back and closed his eyes, nodding. "I'm going to tell and she'll stay with me."

Marinette/Ladybug: "How can you be so sure?" She asked, her heart fluttering in her chest. "What about that Alya girl?" She asked,

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat smiled "She'd like that, I think."

Marinette/Ladybug: "Like what?" She asked, her head was starting to hurt.....

Chat noir/ Adrien: "I think she'd like staying with Alya" Chat turns his head and looks at her "Their best friends, I make her uncomfortable in my civilian form." he states with a smile.

Marinette/Ladybug: "She does?" She asked before she can stop herself. She mentally face palmed, and bit her bottom lip. "N-Nevermind"

Chat noir/ Adrien: he nods, ignoring the never mind "yeah, I think I scared her or something." he states "but she would like staying with alya, they'd have a blast."

Marinette/Ladybug: Ladybug still hadn't looked at her partner. She was afraid if she did then she would break, and she couldn't do that. That would give her away, and she couldn't imagine how Chat would feel if Ladybug was Marinette.......He may care for the real her, but he loved the strong girl......."O-Oh...." She nodded as her eyes watched the roof tops.

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat didn't notice ladybug "Do you think she would start feeling better about herself? Ya'know by being around her meow-tastic friend Alya more?"

Marinette/Ladybug: She rolled her eyes. "Much better than you and your puns" She said while nudging him softy...."Maybe you should talk to her about it...."

Chat noir/ Adrien: he chuckled "Maybe, but first I have to go to the police before I lose the courage, so things can get better sooner than later." He said, readying his baton, His ring beeps and he laughs "just in time huh?”

Marinette/Ladybug: She nodded. "Y-Ya....." She smiled softly, her eyes averted from his. Her secret was soon not going to be a little secret anymore. She would have to tell Chat, or who ever was behind the mask. H-He would still love her right? He wouldn't care if Ladybug was just Marinette right?

Chat noir/ Adrien: He smirked "I'll see ya soon bugaboo." He extends his baton and starts do go, before asking "We still gonna do paw-trol together tonight?"

Marinette/Ladybug: She nodded "Yea" *Hopefully if you'd still want to* "Wouldn't miss it." She got up herself. "See you later kitty cat" She swung her yoyo, and was gone.

Chat noir/ Adrien: Chat watched her go with a smile. "Good bye, my ocean eyed princess"

#miraculous #ladybug #miraculous ladybug #chat noir #fanfic #marichat #ladynoir #sad #happy #abuse #wattpad #shamchat

[quicksilversquared]

How to Fake a Marriage (Chapter 3)

Adrien Agreste is excited to go to London to get a degree in Physics- but he’s less excited about the ridiculous list of rules his father keeps giving him, especially since it’s clear that his father doesn’t trust his judgement at all. So what better way to rebel than to fake a wedding with one of his friends as soon as he gets to London? 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

(AO3) (FF.net)

Nino let out a groan as he stumbled to the kitchen table. He hated Mondays, mostly because he hadn't yet broken his habit of staying up far too late on the weekends and so his sleeping schedule got thrown off. He was basically sleepwalking as he slumped into his chair and opened his laptop to peruse his Facebook feed while Alya toasted bread for their breakfast.

"What's new?" Alya called over her shoulder as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "Anything interesting?"

Nino scanned the page with sleepy eyes, brain not quite comprehending the words in front of him yet. He needed his coffee first. "Uh. Ivan and Mylène posted new photos, Alex challenged Kim to a race, Nathaniel shared a drawing, Adrien changed his status to 'Married to Marinette Dupain-Cheng', Rose joined a scrapbooking club, Marinette-"

Alya choked and spat out her coffee all over the counter. "WHAT?"

Nino blinked up, puzzled at the scene in front of him. Coffee was dripping from the kitchen counter and had drenched the toast Alya had already made. "Huh?"

"What was that last one?" Alya demanded.

Nino consulted his computer, puzzled. "Rose joined a scrapbooking club?"

"No, before that!"

Nino looked again. "'Adrien changed his status to 'Married to Marinette Dupain-Cheng'- WHAT?" Nino exclaimed, suddenly awake as he jolted in his seat and stared at his computer screen in shock. "He did what?"

"He must just be kidding," Alya said as she hurried over to Nino's side. "What does Mari's profile say?"

Nino clicked on a few links as he maneuvered to Marinette's page and then he squinted at it. "Her status says...Married to Adrien Agreste. She changed her photo, too. Look."

Alya gaped as she plopped down in the seat next to Nino. Marinette's Facebook page had changed drastically from the previous day. Her cover photo, previously of the London skyline, had changed to a photo with her, Adrien, and three other girls and three guys. Marinette was wearing a blue wedding dress and Adrien wore a tux, and the others were just as dressed up. Marinette had a bouquet of white flowers in one hand. Her profile picture was a close-up of her and Adrien in their wedding attire.

That was definitely not photoshopped.

Adrien's page looked almost exactly the same as Marinette's. He used slightly different photos, though, and his profile photo was of him dipping Marinette into what was possibly the most romantic kiss they had ever seen.

"Bro," Nino said in absolute disbelief as Alya clicked through Adrien's posted photos. There were photos that had clearly been taken throughout the wedding, including one that had him and Marinette signing something and looking very cuddly as they did so.

"I can't believe it," Alya said, pausing on the photo. She looked like she was about to murder someone. "They actually got married. They signed a wedding license. What were they thinking? And why couldn't they even wait long enough to invite us and Marinette's parents?"

"Babe-"

"I DID NOT BUST MY BUTT TRYING TO SET THEM UP FOR YEARS ON END JUST FOR THEM TO ELOPE AND NOT INVITE ME TO THEIR WEDDING!"

  Gabriel didn't check in on his son until two o'clock on Monday. He pulled up Adrien's Facebook page, expecting to see a couple new pictures of the apartment, maybe a status update on how the move went.

He was not expecting to see Adrien dressed in a tuxedo, standing next to a girl in a wedding dress and with the rest of a wedding party around them.

Gabriel gaped at the pictures as his brain shut down and refused to work. After a second, he scrolled down frantically, looking for some sort of explanation that would tell him that Adrien had gotten caught up in some elaborate ruse of some sort.

Instead, Adrien's most recent post read, "Just ran into her yesterday and we decided we had to get married! 3"

Gabriel's jaw dropped and he stared, mind stalling out. No. No way. There was absolutely no way.

"Are you okay, sir?" Nathalie asked as she entered the room with a pile of papers. She frowned when she saw Gabriel's mouth hanging open as he stared blankly at his computer screen. "Sir?"

"He got married," Gabriel said in disbelief after a long pause. "He got married to someone he hadn't even known for twenty-four hours."

That got Nathalie's attention and she hurried over to join Gabriel, dropping the forms on her desk as she did. "Who did?"

"Adrien did!" Gabriel gestured to the computer, tone starting to turn just a bit hysterical. "Look, he posted the photos! He didn't even said anything to me first, or I would have put a stop to it!"

"Tha...that was probably why he didn't say anything, sir," Nathalie managed. She was absolutely stunned as well. She had known Adrien for years and he had never seemed the impulsive type. His escapes, from everything from going to public school to slipping away from his bodyguard to go to a movie, were planned out in advance. He had a plan for everything, and he almost always considered the possible long-term consequences for his actions.

Getting married the day after moving to another country to a girl that he had only just met was decidedly out of character, to say the least.

"I need to get over there now," Gabriel decided, slapping the desk and bringing her attention back to him. "Nathalie, find plane tickets for both of us. We're going to go over there, figure out what's going on, and bring Adrien back. Oh, I knew this was a bad idea..."

Nathalie watched as Gabriel clutched at his hair, launching himself out of his desk chair and pacing back and forth across the room. As he started spinning in panicked circles, Nathalie turned her attention to Adrien's Facebook page. She couldn't spot any obvious signs of Photoshop having been used on the photos, and there were enough pictures that Nathalie strongly doubted that they were fake. The same photos were on the girl's page, and a dive a little deeper into her archives showed that the account wasn't at all new and that it was the same girl in both the wedding photos and in the earlier photos.

Nathalie bit her lip as her stomach filled with nerves. She had been hoping to find some sort of evidence that the photos were faked, but the evidence was piling up that Adrien had, in fact, gotten married after being in London for not even a day. The photos showed absolutely no evidence of photoshopping (and after years of working as Gabriel's personal assistant, Nathalie knew full well what to look for), the girl's account wasn't a fake either.

This was bad. This was very bad. Even ignoring how out of character this seemed for Adrien- was there some sort of blackmail involved? Coercion?- this was bad. The wedding would have all sorts of consequences that Nathalie was positive that Adrien wouldn't be able to handle. The cost to put it all together so quickly must have been absolutely staggering. The dresses and tuxes by themselves must have cost a pretty penny, considering that they were obviously designer, and what were the chances that Adrien had thought to rent the pieces instead of buying them? And on top of that they would have had to rush order the minister, the flowers the cake, the photographer, and reserve the clearly private garden.

Last minute rush orders for things like that did not come cheap. Nathalie knew that well after arranging for far too many last-minute changes for Gabriel photoshoots. And she doubted that Adrien's new wife had paid for any of it. Adrien had probably just volunteered to cover everything, bleeding heart that he was, and the little gold-digger had probably just happily accepted it.

Nathalie groaned as she returned to Adrien's page and saw a brand new post on the top. This one had a video and a caption of "Some wonderful people took a video of our special day so we could share it with everyone who wasn't there! Apologies for not inviting friends and family back in Paris, but we just couldn't wait! 3".

Nathalie was tempted to strangle Adrien the next time she saw him. Of all the irresponsible things...

She could already foresee the headaches sorting out this whole mess would cause.

  The Dupain-Chengs had not been expecting their daughter to call them up Sunday morning with the news that she was getting married to her collège crush. She had explained that it was fake right off the bat, of course, but still. Unexpected.

And also very, very amusing.

Marinette had sent them updates via text all day Sunday as their little 'fake wedding at the courthouse' turned into 'impromptu ceremony in a garden complete with wedding dress'. Her parents had become more and more amused as things got more and more complicated.

"Ooh, they got some really nice photos," Sabine said gleefully as she opened the folder of photos Marinette had uploaded to her Facebook Monday morning. "Ooh, look at her dress! I can't believe her boss let her borrow that. It's gorgeous."

"She should ask if she can borrow it in the future when she and the boy get married for real," Tom said with a grin, leaning over Sabine's shoulder to get a better look at the photos. "It looks good on her. Are you texting her? Tell her I send my compliments to whoever did her hair."

"It does look really nice," Sabine agreed, sending the message. "And her makeup as well! Of course Marinette did say that her boss called in some of the company's hair and makeup people."

"Mmm." Tom grinned at the series of photos of Adrien and Marinette's dip kiss. "Aww, so cute!"

"I'm downloading all of these," Sabine claimed with a grin. "All of them. And my phone background is going to be this picture, right here. They look so into that kiss."

"I'm posting my congratulations," Tom said, grin spreading even further across his face as he reached for the computer. "Be the proud dad that doesn't question his daughter's decisions at all. It'll confuse everyone."

Sabine giggled as she gave up the computer so Tom could type comments for each of the photos. He started with the cover photo and Marinette's profile photo before putting little proud comments on every photo in the wedding album. With another mischievous grin, Tom headed over to Adrien's profile and posted a few "I can't wait to meet my son-in-law!" comments on his page as well for good measure.

"So how long do you give them before they get married for real?" Sabine asked as they closed the computer and washed their hands before heading back into the bakery. "Two years? Three?"

"You really think it'll take that long?"

  Marinette and Adrien were having a very amusing day.

Texts, emails, and phone calls had been pouring from friends and family alike all day, ever since they posted the photos and changed their Facebook status. They gleefully ignored them, letting the confusion increase in favor of pretending they were too busy "honeymooning" to respond.

Of course, they were actually both working for Madam Rosalie- Marinette as an intern, and Adrien in the office filing paperwork as thanks for all of the help Madam Rosalie had supplied- but no one needed to know that.

"Oh, I got a comment from your dad!" Adrien said with a grin when they checked their Facebooks over lunch. "He said, 'I can't wait to meet my son-in-law! Lovely photos!' Nice man. I'm glad I have him as a fake father-in-law."

Marinette giggled. "Ooh, I wonder what Alya and Nino made of that."

Adrien grinned. "Oh, I bet their faces would be precious." He let out a snort at another comment and continued scrolling down. "I'm actually kind of concerned how many people I know actually think I would up and get married to a random person I supposedly met not even a day prior. I mean, I can kind of understand some of our friends from collège and lycée believing us since they know that we knew each other, but I'm getting congratulations from my photographer and a bunch of the models I work with, too...and from the Gorilla? Seriously? I thought he would know me better than that. I thought that he would recognize you for sure."

Marinette peered over his shoulder at his phone. "Any word from your father yet?"

Adrien shook his head. "Nope. I'm guessing that he's been too busy to check my Facebook yet. I'm sure I'll know the minute he sees it."

"What have you been doing for Madam Rosalie?" Marinette asked, changing the subject. "I haven't seen you all morning!"

"Oh, I've been neglecting you, my princess!" Adrien exclaimed grandly with a wide grin, grasping Marinette's hand and planting a kiss on her knuckles with a deep bow. "What kind of man does that to his brand-new fake wife?"

Marinette snickered.

"I've been putting my business degree to work and doing some paperwork for her," Adrien said with a little wince, releasing her hand and straightening back up again. "It's not my favorite thing ever, but it's not particularly difficult either. I'm just glad that she's letting me do something for in return for all the help she gave us yesterday. I'm sure she lost a bit of time getting that all set up for us."

"That was insane," Marinette agreed with a groan. "Everything really looked fantastic, though. I'm glad she helped out, even if it did take up several more hours of my weekend than I had planned for it to."

"I'm really sorry about dragging you into all of this," Adrien apologized immediately with a grimace. "I didn't expect for it to take so long either-"

"Really, it's fine," Marinette said hurriedly, before Adrien could get too far into his apologies. She had learned long ago that he had a tendency to overthink and get too worried about offending or inconveniencing others, and it was best to make sure that he didn't get too caught up in his (often unnecessary) concern. "I had fun, I really did. I would've just watched cooking show reruns all afternoon if I hadn't run into you."

"And quite literally as well," Adrien said, grinning and pressing his lips to Marinette's hand again. She groaned at the joke and pushed his face away with a finger on his nose. "Shall we get back to work?"

"I suppose."

  Shortly after two, Adrien's phone lit up again. He glanced at it briefly before going back to his work sorting through the pile of forms on Marinette's desk, certain that it was probably just Nino or Alya again. And then it lit up again.

And again.

And again.

"Ah, I think Father maybe has noticed my Facebook post," Adrien said mildly as the texts continued to pile up, along with several missed calls. "And Nathalie has as well, it seems."

"Oh, great," Marinette said, appearing in the doorway. She set a fresh stack of papers down at the end of the desk. "Did the trick work?"

"It did. I'm almost a little offended that he honestly thinks that I would be stupid enough to marry someone I just met," Adrien said, watching his phone as the string of texts kept piling up. "And Nathalie believes me as well! Do none of my father's staff actually know me well enough to know that I would never do that? And never mind that, don't any of them remember you? I could understand my dad not recognizing you, but Nathalie and the Gorilla both met all of my friends loads of times."

Marinette giggled. "Are you still getting texts from Nino and Alya as well?"

"I don't even know. Father is burying everything in his freak-out texts and I had stopped checking earlier. If I looked at my messages every time I got a new one, I wouldn't get anything done." Adrien grinned as he set the phone aside and pulled Marinette down into his lap for a hug. "How long should we let him simmer before we let him know we were kidding?"

Marinette bit her lip, thinking for a long second. "A day? I feel like any longer and he would freak out enough that the tabloids would catch on."

Adrien snickered. Marinette gave him a look.

"We don't need the tabloids trying to report on our nonexistent marriage," Marinette scolded him, though her lips were twitching in amusement. "They would never leave us alone again and I'd like to be able to complete my internship in peace, thank you very much."

"Ah, fair enough." Adrien checked his phone again before tucking it away out of sight. Really, this was the best reaction he could have hoped for. He had been a bit worried that his father would see right through him and render the whole effort useless, but it seemed that his concerns had been completely unfounded. "So, do you think my father will be able to get a plane over today, or is it late enough in the day that he won't be able to get a flight until tomorrow?"

  "What on earth could he have been thinking?" Gabriel exclaimed for the millionth time the next morning, more frustrated and impatient now that he was stuck on a plane and couldn't pace and shout without attracting attention from the other passengers. Gabriel Agreste didn't do attracting judging stares from strangers. He gestured to the photos filling Adrien's Facebook page yet again, as though Nathalie hadn't seen them a dozen times before. "He only knew her for a few hours! Oh, I knew I shouldn't have let him go off on his own..."

Nathalie, who had recognized Marinette Dupain-Cheng quite easily after the initial shock had finally worn off (several hours after initially seeing the post, but she wasn't about to admit that), didn't bother to correct Gabriel. She had analyzed the photos and Adrien's post again once her head was clearer (and then she headed back over to Marinette's Facebook page to check it against Adrien's again) and come to the conclusion that it was simply an elaborately staged prank. Adrien's wording was a little too perfect at suggesting he hadn't known Marinette for long when in reality they had known each other for years, and Marinette's page said nothing about only knowing Adrien for a few hours. Still, Nathalie wasn't going to alert Gabriel to her suspicions. She might be wrong, after all.

(Besides, Gabriel had gone a little overboard in his list of Do's and Do Not's for his son and watching his cool demeanor melt to pieces was amusing. As long as this was a prank, Nathalie heartily approved.)

(And, well, even if it wasn't…Miss Dupain-Cheng seemed to be quite a nice young lady, and she and Adrien had known each other for a while. It would be weird for them to skip over dating to go straight to marriage, but it wouldn't be the disaster Nathalie had initially assumed it would be.)

"I should have checked his page earlier in the day yesterday," Gabriel groaned, falling back in his seat with a thud. Thankfully the other passengers in first class had long since decided to ignore them. "Then we could have actually gotten a flight yesterday instead of having to wait."

Nathalie didn't respond. She personally didn't think the twenty hour delay would really make that much of a difference- after all, if Adrien was in fact married, there was nothing they could do about it now; if not, they had wasted money on airline tickets for nothing but it wasn't as though Gabriel's budget couldn't handle the cost. Adrien hadn't responded to the texts she had sent before they boarded the plane, giving him a heads-up that she and his father were coming.

Of course, Adrien could have responded while they were stuck in the plane. Nathalie wouldn't know for sure until the plane landed and she could turn her phone back on. Not having service was making her twitchy.

"Or we could have driven to London instead," Gabriel said, shifting anxiously in his seat and tapping his fingers restlessly against the armrest. "It would have been, what? Five hours, six hours?"

"Slightly over six with good traffic," Nathalie said without looking up. "And no offense, sir, but you get impatient enough on a one-hour plane ride even when Adrien isn't doing stupid things. You hate car rides longer than half an hour."

Gabriel grumbled under his breath and slumped in his seat. He corrected his posture a moment later and pulled out a notebook, stress doodling on a blank page. He didn't say much for the rest of the flight, though he did mutter under his breath quite a bit. As soon as they landed and had stopped at the gate, Gabriel was up and headed for the door, leaving Nathalie to snag their bags from the overhead bins before hurrying after him.

Gabriel powerwalked through the airport, sending people scattering to get out of his way. He summoned a cab with a couple sharp words (because Gabriel Agreste did not take public transportation, no matter how much cabs cost), and soon they were zipping off towards the neighborhood Adrien's apartment was in. Nathalie turned on her phone as soon as she was settled in her seat and frantically flipped through the messages that had piled up. All of them were work-related, most from having to reschedule the few meetings that Gabriel absolutely had to attend and that had been abruptly canceled and a few other messages from the inters that she had selected to attend other meetings and take notes for Gabriel to review later. With a sign, Nathalie finished scanning through them and stuck her phone back in her pocket. The meetings could wait; after all, she didn't know for sure how soon they would be able to head back to Paris.

Nathalie pulled her phone back out as it let out another chime, the custom one she had set up just for messages from Adrien. She raised her eyebrows at the dual texts from Adrien- 'Just made new Facebook post' and 'At Madam Rosalie's fashion business'- before setting the phone aside and navigating to Adrien's page on her tablet. He had posted another photo, set in the same park as before, and with the same wedding party as before. This time, there were more people in the photo, including quite a few in streetwear, and a woman Nathalie recognized as Madam Rosalie. The caption read: 'Thanks to everyone who helped us pull off the impromptu wedding! In case you haven't already guessed, it was completely fake. I'm slightly concerned by how many people thought we weren't kidding though! :D'.

Nathalie was torn between letting out a huff of exasperation and a relieved sigh at the confirmation that Adrien had not lost all of his common sense after all. She suspected that the timing of the prank reveal probably wasn't coincidental; after all, the best way to stop Gabriel from going on a rampage through London looking for his son was to come clean. She suspected that Adrien probably had anticipated this exact reaction from his father and had pulled the prank with the intention of provoking him, but she wasn't about to admit that to Gabriel.

"Adrien has posted something new on Facebook, sir," Nathalie said, holding out her tablet a bit gingerly. Mr. Agreste probably wouldn't break it in frustration. Probably. Hopefully. "You might want to read it."

"More photos with his new wife?" Still, Gabriel took the tablet without complaint, though there was a deep scowl on his face. "He should know better, she's probably some gold-digging floozy- oh."

Nathalie allowed her lips to twitch upwards before resuming her professionally blank expression.

"Ha-ha, very funny." Gabriel sounded completely unamused. "Very mature."

"They did a really good job setting it up," Nathalie said. It was impressive, really, even if it did look like most of the crew involved were involved in fashion and were probably used to staging things for photoshoots and runway shows. They were probably used to setting things up and making them look convincing on short notice.

"I suppose." Gabriel still didn't sound impressed and the scowl was still in place, though it was somewhat diminished. "I still fail to see why it was necessary."

Nathalie really didn't think it was that difficult to figure out. "Adrien probably decided to rebel against all of the rules you set for him. Technically, you didn't forbid him from getting married. Or from pretending to get married." She glanced back down at her phone and leaned forward to tap the cab driver's shoulder. "Change of destination to Rosalie Fashions. Adrien sent me a text," she explained to Gabriel.

"Right." Gabriel handed her tablet back over to her and settled back into his seat, displeased expression still firmly in place. "Let's go talk to my son."

  It was shortly after noon on Tuesday when Nino picked Alya up from work for a quick picnic in the park. As expected, Alya immediately dove back into their discussion about Adrien and Marinette, picking up right where they had left off that morning.

"I wish we could have gone over to Tom and Sabine's bakery," Alya grumbled as Nino spread out their blanket on the grass. "Did you see Tom's comments on Marinette's page? He was totally fine with Marinette getting married in a foreign country with absolutely no warning!"

"I'm guessing that either Marinette called him beforehand or he already had words with her but wanted to put up a positive front in public view," Nino said reassuringly, hoping to get Alya to calm down. The surprise marriage was all Alya had talked about ever since they had seen the post, and Tom Dupain's comments had only served to add fuel to the fire. Alya was absolutely speechless that Marinette's parents didn't seem to have any problem with it, as was Nino. It was just weird. "Or he didn't want to create bad blood with them. Maybe they'll have another ceremony in Paris so we can actually go in person and see them instead of watching a video."

The video, which had dispelled all doubts about the legitimacy of the photos. It had been a lovely ceremony, no doubt, which made Nino wonder how on earth they had pulled that off on such short notice. Adrien didn't know anyone there besides Marinette and Marinette had only been there for a short while, so they couldn't have possibly made that many connections already. Maybe they had gone to a wedding planner. Nino wouldn't put it past Adrien; his best friend was a romantic at heart and would no doubt want the best for his bride, even if he had to pay a ton to get things done on such short notice.

Also, Nino wasn't completely convinced that Adrien was used to being concerned about money. Since Adrien came from such a rich family, he never seemed to flinch at the cost of anything. Hopefully Marinette could help him get better at managing his money before Adrien accidentally spent himself into a hole.

"And he posted on Adrien's page, too! Calling him his son-in-law! Did you see that?" Alya was on a roll. "And a bunch of models from Gabriel were commenting and congratulating him! For eloping! Some of them thought that he had only known Marinette for a day and they still thought it was super cool!"

"Models are cray-cray." Nino had thought that was weird, too, but maybe eloping with people they just met was normal behavior in the model world. He wouldn't know. He had only accompanied Adrien to a couple photoshoots before, and they had been ages ago. He hadn't really talked to many on the models there besides Adrien either.

"And I still can't get a response out of either of them!" Alya finished indignantly. "What are they doing?"

"Do you really want to know?" Nino asked dryly. If Marinette and Adrien had just gotten married, they could very well have decided to have an express staycation honeymoon before Adrien's orientation for classes started on Wednesday. He would rather not think about it. After all, it was their best friends that they were talking about. He didn't want to know what they were or weren't getting up to.

"I want to know what's going on! How on earth could they go for years and years knowing each other and not dating and then they just happen to bump into each other in London and decide to get married right off the bat? It's absolutely crazy!"

Nino's phone beeped with an alert and he pulled it out as Alya continued to grumble. A new Facebook post had shown up on his feed, so he clicked on it as Alya snarled about the injustices of the shotgun wedding. Another photo of Marinette and Adrien's wedding came up, filled with the whole wedding party and a handful of other people, including...Marinette's boss?

Confused, Nino scrolled down to see the caption.

"'Thanks to everyone who helped us pull off the impromptu wedding! In case you haven't already guessed, it was completely fake. I'm slightly concerned by how many people thought we weren't kidding though!' Smiley face. What the hell, Adrien?" Nino exclaimed, cutting across whatever Alya was saying. "What made him think that that was a good idea?"

Alya froze mid-sentence, her hands paused mid-gesture. "What?"

"It was a fake! Adrien just made a post about it." Nino passed his phone over to her. "That jerk! That's a crazy prank."

"Ooh! I can't believe them!" Alya was still steaming, even as Nino chuckled over the prank. It was really clever, now that he thought about it, and wow had they ever executed it well. He had absolutely zero idea how Adrien had managed to pull that off within 24 hours of getting to London. There were just so many details, from the dress and tux and flowers to the cleric and the flower gardens, all without alerting the press. Alya had figured out the previous night that the wedding party was made up of assorted people that Marinette worked with (a fact that irritated Alya to no end, since she should have been the Maid of Honor), so they probably had been easy to get a hold of, but the cleric? The garden? The designer dresses?

Absolutely insane. Nino wasn't believing anything Adrien ever said ever again. Or anything Marinette said either, the jerk.

"And I can't believe I fell for it!" Alya stormed. "Ugh, those jerks!"

"They were probably primarily trying to prank Adrien's father," Nino pointed out. Now that he knew that the wedding wasn't real, it hadn't taken him long at all to put the pieces together. Adrien had been grumbling about his father's crazy restrictions for forever, so of course he would probably take the opportunity to pretend that he had smashed those restrictions into pieces the second he was gone. It was completely hilarious.

….well, okay, he was still a little concerned about how much Adrien had spent on the fake wedding, but other than that it was completely hilarious.

That helped diffuse some of Alya's anger. A grin lit up her face. "Oh, man. What I would give to have been in the room when Gabriel saw that first post. He must have flipped, oh my god."

Nino snickered at the mental picture.

"I can't actually believe that they pranked Adrien's father," Alya snorted. "Oh, that's hilarious. But they're still not completely forgiven," she added. "They pranked us, too. They could have at least given us a heads up like they clearly did for Marinette's parents!"

Nino shrugged, still cackling away. As far as he was concerned, the whole thing was completely hilarious. There was no harm, no foul-

"Oh, shoot," Alya said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts as she suddenly lunged across the blanket for her phone, eyes wide and a slightly panicked expression on her face. "Oh shoot oh shoot oh shoot oh no-"

"What's wrong?" Nino asked, completely baffled as Alya brought up her text messenger on her phone and frantically started scrolling through the messages she had sent. "I'm sure if you said anything rude, Marinette and Adrien will understand it was just said in the heat of the moment."

"No, no- I mean, yeah, I said a couple rude things, but that's not what I'm worried about." Alya tapped Adrien's contact and scrolled up the wall of texts she had sent. "I, uh, might have sent a text to Adrien earlier on basically saying that I had tried to set the two of them up for years, so I was very offended that they didn't even invite me or let me know what was going on. And, uh, if they didn't actually get married, then Marinette probably didn't confess at all and, uh, I just outed her to Adrien by accident."

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #How to Fake a Marriage