#nino x lila | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aliensunflower-fics · 11 months

Text

Dating ‘Prince Charming’ Part 2/3

[ Lila is finally starting to learn what its really like to be Adrien Agreste's girlfriend and finding out its not everything she hoped it would be. But while the liar struggles Marinette works toward her goals and meets someone new. ]

[ Prefer AO3? Link HERE! | Part 1 HERE! | Part 3 Coming Soon | Masterlist Link HERE! ]

Chloe made her grand return 3 weeks after Lila and Adrien’s big dating announcement. The bossy blonde had been away in New York with her mother and it was only in retrospect that Marinette briefly wondered if the entire timing of her and Adriens break up and Lila and Adriens announcement had been planned. After all Chloe had not taken well to Marinette dating Adrien and the class president was positive she would not take the news that Lila had swooped in right after their big breakup any better.

As it turns out Marinette had been right at least about Chloe not taking the news well. She’d walked into class early (for her) only to be met with chaos as Chloe and Lila stood opposed and yelling filled the classroom. Despite the fact that Marinette KNEW Chloe would hate whoever dated Adrien the sight was still enough to leave her mildly stunned after all Lila and Chloe had been tag team harassing Marinette since the second she and Adrien had started dating so to see the once allies now locked in a vicious match each using their unique brand of awful against each other… Well it was something.

Luckily Marinette knew she would not have to lift a finger to fix things. Because this? This was Adrien’s problem. And Marinette had no intention of helping or playing mediator. After all Adrien had let Lila and Chloe stomp all over their relationship when they’d still been dating, heck he’d even asked Marinette to simply deal with it so now he could deal with it and Marinette severely doubted that Lila would be even half as accepting or accommodating as she had been.

So while the two wannabe queens duked it out Lila with fake tears and Chloe with vicious mockery Marinette simply glided past the drama and up to her seat where she pulled out her sketchbook and started adding the finishing touches to a sketch of a brand new rock and roll suit for Uncle Jagged. Now that she wasn’t chasing after Adrien 24/7 and making him gifts and worrying about him or Lila or Chloe not to mention trying to keep up with her school work and grades all while also being Ladybug well Marinette had time on her hands and she’d been using it to study, track down Hawkmoth with Alya’s help, spend time with friends but most of all she’d been using that time on her career.

As she wrote in what materials she would need to get a certain sheen effect on the outfit, Marinette noticed the green eyes looking up at her desperately from the front of the class. Marinette glanced up noting how Adrien seemed to be trying to plead with her to help as he tried to reign in his dramatic new girlfriend and attack dog childhood friend; she only cocked her head to the side, smiled and offered him a little wave before continuing with her work. Yeah no way was she willingly throwing herself into THAT.

Sure enough before class could start Adrien managed to drag Lila out of the room and into the hallway no doubt to give her the same speech he had given Marinette when THEY were dating Lila bursting back into the classroom a few minutes later looking like she’d just swallowed a whole lemon only confirmed Marinette’s suspicions.

What Marinette had not expected was Lila openly complaining about ADRIEN at lunch, hours after the incidents of that morning. Marinette ate her steamed bun as she watched with mild surprise as the Italian wailed and threw a veritable tantrum as she told the girls all about how Adrien had put Chloe first and had asked Lila to simply deal with it. It was so painfully ironic that Marinette struggled not to roll her eyes. Honestly after the breakup Marinette had for a brief time contemplated revenge because truthfully. She was hurt and mad but Tikki had talked her out of it claiming that karma would have its way Marinette hadn’t believed the little god at the time too lost in her grief and her ice cream but now? Well now Marinette was starting to understand what Tikki meant. Because Lila wanted to be Adrien Agreste’s girlfriend no matter what it took, and she was only now starting to see what that really meant.

Sure enough in the weeks that followed Lila and Chloe kept each other busy allowing Marinette to for the first time in years relax at school. Of course Lila tried to redirect Chloe’s hatred back at Marinette by telling the blonde about how it had been Marinette who initiated the break up. But Marinette had easily overcome Chloe’s rage with honesty after all she had only broken up with Adrien because she knew they were incompatible and that Adrien would be happier with someone else, something Chloe agreed with though the way in which the blonde agreed made Marinette’s eye twitch just a little.

And then of course there was Adrien who was still trying to get Marinette to step in and help him handle his childhood friend and girlfriend but Marinette had been able to dodge him for weeks until they were having a class meetup at the park. Chloe was not attending due to wanting to avoid the ‘peasants’ as she so called them and Lila claimed she would be late due to an important meeting with some famous person. Honestly Marinette had not even bothered to pay attention. Adrien had noted the lack of ‘problem people’ and had decided to make a bold move calling Marinette out as they all hung out together to ‘talk to her in private’ yeah like THAT was going to happen.

Marinette knew Adrien’s modus operandi very well. He’d call you out, ask to talk to you privately and then lay on the guilt trip. No way was she doing that anymore she’d endured enough of them while they were dating to last a lifetime.

“Actually I would prefer not to talk to you alone, Adrien. You're publicly dating someone and we never know when your fans or the paparazzi might be around. Besides anything you can say to me in private you can say in front of OUR friends.”

Adrien looked like a kicked puppy at her words. But as their classmates quickly took her side and insisted he tell Marinette whatever he needed with them around the blonde was backed into a corner.

“Well the thing is… I was wondering if you could help? With the whole Lila, Chloe situation?”

Marinette wasn’t even given a chance to respond. The second the words left Adrien’s mouth the entire class bristled, many giving Adrien looks of confusion and shock as if he’d just spoken pure nonsense and honestly in a way he had. Nathaniel however was the one who said it best.

“Wait I’m sorry are you seriously asking Marinette to mediate between her long time bully and the girl you started dating not even an hour after your break up with her? Are you serious?!”

“W-Well I just thought-”

“Thought what Agreste? That Marinette should put herself in the worlds worst situation completely ignoring her own feelings just to make your life easier?”

Oof Kim going straight for the throat.

“B-But shes the class president!”

“So?! That doesn’t make her a genie! She can't just clap her hands and fix everything nor should she have to!”

Marinette had never heard Rose sound so upset in her life, which is when the young fashion designer knew it was her turn to say her piece and get things back under control.

“Adrien.” She ignored the hopeful look he shot her. “Not only do I not want to get involved but I don’t think it would help. Chloe doesn’t like me and Lila’s ‘disease’-” she said the word with barely concealed sarcasm “acts up when I’m around. So I’m sorry but no I will not help you with this.”

“But I’m sure if you just-”

The look the class shot him was enough to end the conversation and Marinette let out a relieved sigh as her heart filled with warmth she really loved her friends.

A month after the conversation in the park Lila Rossi got her second harsh wake up call to the ‘true joys’ of being Adrien Agreste’s girlfriend and it was a two for one deal.

Lila had seemingly been under the assumption that once she was dating Adrien her own popularity would rise to meet his but she was starting to learn that wasn’t the case. Adrien still got plenty more photo-shoots then she did and most were still solo and since they were fast approaching the spring fashion season Adrien was plenty busy with more and more shoots while Lila was left waiting for her turn in the spotlight.

Perhaps it was the frustration at not immediately sky rocketing her way up in fame or maybe it was the snide comments from Adrien Fangirls talking about the lack of couples shoots but Lila seemingly came up with the brilliant plan to force the spotlight onto herself by demanding, manipulating and forcing Adrien to take her on big flashy fancy dates where the paparazzi always conveniently found them Marinette had no doubt Lila was the one tipping them off but she kept her mouth shut. It wasn’t her problem.

However while Lila was enjoying her tabloid paparazzi fueled fame the class and more surprisingly Gabriel Agreste himself were beginning to notice the way it was wearing Adrien down. Between his photo-shoots and busy schedule all of Adrien’s precious free time was being filled up by Lila and her many needy antics and it was starting to show in the way Adrien carried himself and how exhausted he seemed.

Nino was the one who led the charge just as he had when Lila manipulated the class into thinking her ‘clingy’ but where Marinette had gotten some hurtful but well meaning lectures about her Adrien obsession which in retrospect DID help her realize her love was unhealthy. Lila was not given such a kind well meaning speech instead Nino got mad, something he rarely let himself become.

As it turns out Lila had worn Adrien down to the point where the blonde was too exhausted to function and he’d nearly passed out while standing and talking to Nino and that mixed with the fact that it had previously been Lila who painted the faux picture of Marinette as the clingy evil girlfriend isolating the boy from his friends was enough for Nino to harshly call her out. The liar did do her best to wriggle out of the situation trying to claim she only wanted ‘some’ private time with her oh so busy boyfriend but Nino was not having it and the class was too happy to back him up.

The more Lila tried to defend and excuse her actions the angrier Nino got and much to the liars annoyance the young musician had proof and plenty of it. Between his text correspondence with Adrien that revealed the model was constantly being forced to cancel relaxing friend days to take Lila out on flashy dates that always ended with paparazzi and fans swarming the location and forcing Adrien into high stress situations, and an extremely detailed schedule planner that Nino had made to keep track of his best buds work life balance (potential evidence to blackmail Gabriel Agreste if he ever threatened to pull Adrien out of school again apparently). The facts didn’t lie and they were showing that Lila was the real ‘clingy’ girlfriend.

Things eventually got so heated between Nino and Lila arguing that an akuma appeared to try and take advantage of the situation. Luckily for everyone Ladybug had been patrolling and stopped the naughty little butterfly from making things worse. In the end Lila was forced to grit her teeth and apologize to her darling boyfriend. Though perhaps what upset her more was the way the class proceeded to apologize to Marinette after the fact for ever accusing her of being clingy and taking up too much of Adrien’s free time.

However Lila still thought she had one last ace up her sleeve, and so after the class luncheon ended the liar proceeded to contact Gabriel hoping to get her new boyfriends dad to reign him in and do her bidding. Unluckily for Lila however Gabriel had been paying attention to the situation and that fact that it had ALMOST led to an akuma made him look even closer into things.

And he was not happy with what he found. The paparazzi pictures and articles that resulted from Lila and Adrien’s flashy dates had started positively enough with headlines and puff pieces about how cute the couple looked together, how it was nice to see the young Agreste in more casual settings with his girlfriend. But as the dates became more and more frequent and Lila’s constant demands and needs grew the articles slowly began to change soon they were discussing the concerning amount of money Adrien must be spending on his girlfriend, how exhausted and stressed the young Agreste heir looked under his strained smiles and was he eating and sleeping enough?

The akuma he’d sent had only further confirmed Gabriel’s negative feelings toward Lila though it did make him re-evaluate the young Lahiffe boy. Gabriel had originally thought the wannabe musician might just be interested in Adrien for money but seeing the lengths he went to defend his friend had the designer impressed and even a little grateful. So when Lila phoned to try and throw the boy under the bus and get Gabriel to side with her, well she had another thing coming.

Marinette heard later from Alya and the rest of the girls that Lila was ‘devastated’ how she’d wailed sobbed and thrown the tantrum of the century as she ranted and raved about Gabriel putting a 1 date a month maximum limit on Adrien and Lila. The two lovebirds could still hang out of course but it would be in the company of the rest of the class or other friends, or if they really wanted some privacy it would be strictly at the Agreste mansion for studying. Lila had told the girls that it was unfair and unjust that Gabriel was trying to get in the way of their love! Alya had relayed to Marinette that while the girls agreed that 1 date a month was a bit rough they all thought Lila’s tantrum was a bit childish especially when they all remembered how Marinette had rarely if ever got to enjoy 1 private date a month with Adrien and never in public.

Of course just because Lila had been told ‘no’ didn’t mean the liar was going to listen. And so she began trying to find ways to manipulate Adrien into ‘accidental’ dates, bugging the blonde to take her out instead of settling for lunch at school or trying to conveniently separate the two of them from the rest of the group during weekend and after school hang outs. But each time Lila tried Nino thwarted her eventually the Italian had gotten so angry at his meddling that she phoned Gabriel again this time to try and get the musician removed or banned or ANYTHING so that he’d back off, so when she instead learned that Nino had been asked by Gabriel to keep an eye out on for his son and that Adrien knew about it well the liar was furious.

Marinette learned later this time from Rose and Juleka that the Italian had tried to go on another tantrum tirade only to be stopped by Alya who would not tolerate anyone badmouthing her lovely boyfriend. Needless to say, Marinette was quick to notice the following Monday how Lila pouted and avoided the Ladyblogger like the plague. Luckily Marinette made sure Alya didn’t dwell on it too much by inviting the girl over to help her brainstorm some new ideas.

Because while Lila was focusing on leeching the fame and fortune off her boyfriend and being met with endless failures and a very hostile guard dog called Chloe. Marinette had been THRIVING. The suit she’d designed for Jagged had gone viral online and soon Jagged was passing on her contact information to a small selection of celebrities Marinette felt comfortable designing for. The fact that her identity was a secret and she had a very exclusive client list had only caused MDC to soar even higher in popularity with the public making it clear that they too wanted access to MDC fashion. And so Marinette had done her research and with the help of Uncle Jagged and Aunt Penny she’d set up an online store where she would sell ready made clothes.

Of course just because Marinette was seeing success didn’t mean she had forgotten about her friends. In fact the entire class minus Lila, Adrien and Chloe knew very well the true identity of the elusive MDC and that was because while Marinette was taking big steps toward her dreams she was helping her friends do just the same.

After all it didn’t take long for the internet to learn that the mysterious MDC designed Kitty Sections outfits causing the band to have a surge of free publicity that led to many people discovering their music and falling in love with the band.

Then there was Nathanial, Marc and Alya who Marinette or should she say MDC collaborated with while designing her ‘hero hoodie’ fashion collection all of them saw a boost in views with Marc and Nathanial’s comic picking up new readers though it was there brand new all original idea that had really flown off the shelves earning them an online cult following. Alya meanwhile got her blog spotted by Lois Lane herself who was impressed with the young future journalist and contacted Alya for a summer internship the scream Alya had made almost gave Marinette a heart attack.

And it didn’t end there. When Nino made a short film with Mylene and Kim of all people as his lead actors and uploaded it for free to YouTube MDC who was well known for supporting smaller creatives and signal boosting them on her social media was more than happy to make a tweet linking to the short film. Nino’s short film had been impactful and powerful despite being a comedy satire on Hawkmoth and it had quickly blown up earning Nino a summer internship at a film studio and Mylene and Kim several job offers. Kim had never been particularly interested in acting but after seeing the outpouring of love and support not to mention with the encouragement he got from his lovely girlfriend Ondine he decided to accept a few offers surprising everyone as he developed a new passion that he and Mylene bonded over.

Max, and Alix were also boosted in a similar way to Nino, Kim and Mylene when MDC retweeted some of their creative endeavors. Alix a video where she had used spray paint to recreate a few classical paintings though that had only acted as a signal boost that allowed the skater to be noticed for her real passion Extreme Sports! When a very exclusive extreme sports training summer camp contacted Alix about her attending she’d squealed almost as loud as Alya had. Max meanwhile had his demo for his work in progress video games retweeted by MDC and saw a huge surge in interest and a few interested investors and publishers even arrived with offers, though before he could agree to anything his popularity ballooned even further when a video of him showing off Markov surfaced. He had later joked to Marinette that while he appreciated the support he wasn’t sure how he felt about suddenly gaining a ‘nerd cult’ as Kim called it.

Of course all of Marinette’s friends knew she was largely responsible for their sudden surge of fame and good fortune and many of them tried to dismiss their own talents and give all the credit to Marinette. But the young designer simply threw it back at them. Yes she had signal boosted them and given them a helping hand but at the end of the day the only reason they had gotten so popular and stayed so popular after the brief burst from her influence passed and the internet moved on to the next big thing was because they were talented and amazing without Marinette.

The only problem with the classes' new found fame. Was that sooner or later Lila was bound to take notice. And take notice she did when Mylene appeared as an extra in one of Lila’s favorite daytime soaps. The liar had been so focused on Adrien and trying to leech her fame off him while beating Chloe back with a stick that she had somehow missed all the major developments. And she was livid.

She was supposed to be the most popular girl in school! She was meant to be the star, the one people admired and aspired to be like! The one they envied but loved too much to truly hate! And when she’d finally gotten Marinette and Adrien to break up she thought for sure that all her dreams would come true. But somehow while she’d been busy trying to reign in the pesky little blonde her classmates had all gone and gotten famous without her. Most of them wouldn’t even BE in Paris in the fast approaching summer since many of them either had internships, specialized camps, acting gigs, or in Kitty Sections case a whole music tour with Jagged Stone that for some reason Marinette was also a part of?!?

None of it made any sense and when Lila had gone looking for how exactly everything had happened she kept finding herself looking at MDC’s social media. The elusive and private designer was apparently a super sucker or something as every week they would highlight some small time random creator. Honestly it disgusted Lila who just handed out fame like that? Fame and popularity was meant to be exclusive! Earned! Something for only the most beautiful and talented of society. Not for chubby little idiots like Mylene or nerdy freaks like Max.

Of course Lila was nothing if not an opportunist. Sure in her opinion none of her talentless, average, classmates actually deserved their new found fame and popularity but the good thing was they were also a bunch of gullible idiots. And if she played her cards right they would surely carry her to the top. She already had the perfect lie, she would simply claim to be best friends with MDC and tell the class that she had been the one to recommend that the designer boost her classmates.

It was perfect. Genius really.

So then why did it fail immediately?

Lila stood in front of the class, her face frozen in shock as she was stared down by 10 pairs of angry glares. She had expected overwhelming thank you’s and the class bowing at her feet but the second the lie slipped out of her mouth the class instead turned on the liar like a close knit pack of wolves smelling a sheep. Honestly Lila could not understand where she’d gone wrong, and even if she had said something that was an obvious lie wouldn’t the class just normally brush it off as her disease? So why is it that they were acting this way?

It was Alya who broke the silence first.

“You want to run that by us again? Lila.”

The Italian girl swallowed the lump in her throat and ignored the obvious warning sign that was Alya’s sharp tone. Forcing a charming smile Lila brought out her sweetest voice determined that she could salvage whatever THIS was.

“I was just saying that I’m so happy for all of you! I didn’t want to say anything at the time BUT me and MDC are such good friends! So when he-”

“He?” Alix snorted and rolled her eyes. “Yeah that about confirms it.”

The entire class seemed to agree with Alix as they all shook their heads and shot Lila disappointed and annoyed looks before returning to their own conversations and or hobbies freezing her out. Ignoring her.

Oh that? That pissed Lila off like nothing else. Her cheeks grew hot as she stomped her foot angrily, regaining their attention.

“You guys think I’m telling lies again! You all promised that you wouldn’t judge me for my disease but you are!” For added effect she started to sniffle and sob expecting the class to do what they always did and feel guilty about their treatment of her and rush to comfort her.

Instead she was met with even harsher glares.

“Uhh yeah no duh we think you're lying because you ARE. We” Alix gestured to the people currently in class. “Have all met MDC and SHE not ‘he’ is a wonderful person who helped boost our careers because she thinks we're all super cool and talented not because you asked her too.”

Lila felt her face screw up like she’d just sucked a lemon but she quickly worked it to her advantage as she began to loudly sob.

“T-That’s not fair! You know I can't help my disease!”

“Uhh yeah no. I’m stopping you there.” Alya stood up looking down from her perch at Lila with her hands on her hips commanding the room, Lois had been training her well. “We can accept that MAYBE your lying disease makes you claim things when your nervous or scared like how you always accuse Marinette of stuff, and we can MAYBE believe that your disease makes you mix up names and words so you end up giving the wrong information out about charities and celebrities and yes MAYBE we can believe that you sometimes make false claims about yourself when your stressed out like that time with Clara Nightingale stealing your dance moves. Whatever! But Lila that right there? You were not having an ‘oops I lied’ moment you were actively trying to deceive us to make the false claim that YOU are the reason MDC noticed us when we know the truth. And when I gave you a chance to correct yourself you tried to double down. That was intentional. That was malicious.”

Lila felt her mouth fall open, her eyes blinking in shock. Too late she tried to recover. Tried to explain away the situation and make herself out to be innocent. But the class was done with her and they made it clear in how they iced her out. Eventually she had no choice but to suck it up and sit down at her seat. Not long later Marinette rushed into class followed by Chloe who was latched onto Adrien with Sabrina in tow.

Soon enough the school year came to an end and Lila watched bitterly through the all seeing eyes of the internet as her classmates left for their internships, job opportunities, highly specialized summer camps, and more. Meanwhile she was stuck at home. Oh sure she got to go on a few out of country photo-shoots with Adrien but her fame was still nothing compared to her boyfriends, and it was quickly becoming less than nothing as her classmates rose in influence and popularity. Come the new school year Lila would need to find some way to force the class back under her heel.

Marinette was having the best summer of her life! Jagged had taken Kitty Section on tour with him and insisted on Marinette coming with them as their designer. Marinette hadn’t been sure at first worried about the Hawkmoth situation and her own career. But in the end Tikki and her parents had convinced her. Her parents loved the idea of Marinette leaving Paris and going to see the world with her friends for a bit, and Tikki had reminded Marinette that she had the Horse Miraculous and could come home anytime, besides Hawkmoth had been getting lazier and lazier with both his akumas and the amount of them. So in the end Marinette agreed and it had been the BEST decision of her life.

They visited England before eventually traveling overseas to America. The sights and sounds and new foods were filling Marinette with inspiration and she’d never been so busy sketching. Then of course there was the great company. Uncle Jagged and Aunt Penny were wonderful and quickly ‘adopted’ all of Kitty Section + Marinette. They'd act like doting parents one second and then the next they’d be ordering way too much pizza for the teens to share.

Of course everyone missed their friends and family but video call existed and it was only for the summer anyway. Ivan was the one who was probably the worst off pouting over his beloved Mylene but the group was able to cheer him up encouraging him to write a song for his girlfriend, the piece he wrote became a new hit single the second they performed it on stage and Mylene had loved it.

The group stopped by Florida first where Jagged took them all to Disney World and then Universal Park, pictures of the rocker wearing mickey mouse ears and a hufflepuff scarf of all things while being followed by a gaggle of teenagers had soon gone viral, after that it was off to New York, and then Metropolis where they spent a bit of time so Alya could see them and hang out. Her internship with Lois Lane was going well but she’d still been relieved to see her friends and get some down time to just chill. After that they went to Gotham, which was Jagged’s home town. Now most parents might veto a place as dangerous as Gotham but seeing as how Paris was under siege by an emotional butterfly themed terrorist and they were from a class particularly used to dealing with deadly akumas on a regular basis well they were able to convince their parents to let it happen. And to Marinette’s surprise Gotham turned out to be her favorite place of the whole trip.

Sure the city was gloomy but the gothic architecture somehow inspired Marinette, and while the people were not outwardly all smiles and sunshine they were kind in their own way. But the thing Marinette ended up loving most about Gotham was its beautiful parks and famous greenhouses. Thanks to the influence of Poison Ivy and Bruce Wayne the city of Gotham had become the greenest city in all of America and it was a never ending source of inspiration for the young designer. Not to mention it was thanks to all the inspiring greenery that Marinette had met HIM.

She’d been walking through one of Gotham’s older parks admiring the beautiful blooming wisterias that had been shaped into a long hallway arch when she got bowled over by a massive terrifying but very friendly dog. Marinette had been terrified at first until she noticed the fast wagging tail and happy smile on the dog's face. Tikki had warned her that one side effect of holding the Ladybug miraculous would be extra friendly animals a rather ‘tame’ side effect compared to the super strength, increased speed, and occasional urge to hibernate when cold but still the designer had never expected to be attacked with friendly happy dog kisses, not like THIS anyway. As she squirmed and laughed she tried to gently push the dog off. That was when the dogs owner had come to her rescue. Yanking his dog off of her while admonishing it Marinette was finally able to sit up and begin wiping the dog drool off her cheek with a laugh.

“Don’t scold the cutie too much I’m okay I swear he didn’t hurt me.”

“Even if he didn’t hurt you he’s been trained better than that. I’m very sorry, please allow me to help you.”

The boy’s voice was cool, firmly polite and matter of fact leaving no room for argument. To an untrained ear he might even sound annoyed or angry but Marinette could tell that wasn’t the case. As Marinette accepted the hand the boy offered and let herself be pulled up she suddenly came face to face with the most beautiful pair of green eyes she’d ever seen.

Where Adrien’s eyes were bright like a blinding peridot green, these eyes were soft and warm like the green of a pine tree and Marinette could feel herself melt into them. It didn’t help that the rest of the boy's face was also incredibly handsome. The designer quickly shook herself out of her thoughts and glanced away not wanting to stare. Instead she directed her attention to her assailant, the dog was sitting now staring up at her with its tail still wagging wildly. Marinette smiled and reached her hand down letting the dog sniff her before she gave him some soft pets.

“Such a softy for a big guy. What's his name?”

“Titus. And I apologize again. He really is trained better than that. I don’t know what came over him.”

Marinette felt a little bad but she couldn’t exactly say that she was the chosen champion of a god and a side effect of that was very friendly animals so instead she shot the boy a smile.

“Don’t worry I just seem to have that effect on animals. Back home the pigeons and crows have started fighting for dominance of my roof and balcony because they both want my attention.”

The boy gave her a stunned look before he made a sound that Marinette believed might be a covered up laugh. She smiled even brighter and offered the boy her hand to shake.

“By the way my name is Marinette. And it's a pleasure to meet you.”

The boy looked at her hand for a moment before he eventually grabbed it and shook it awkwardly.

“Damian… It's nice to meet you too. Though I can tell by that introduction that you're not from here.”

Marinette snorted at that.

“Really the introduction was what gave it away but not my accent?”

The boy seemed to blush a little at that before he coughed awkwardly. Marinette took pity on him and giggled.

“You are correct in your deduction mr.detective. I’m visiting from Paris, France with some friends and my uncle.”

If Marinette hadn’t been too embarrassed to look him in the eyes she may have noticed the spark of curiosity when she mentioned Paris. And had she known who Damian truly was at the time she would have known that his curiosity came from the fact that Batman and the other supers had recently learned about the situation in Paris thanks to Lois Lane taking on a new intern who ran the Ladyblog. Mayor Bourgeois had been doing a good job hiding the situation but he’d overlooked the civilian journalist.

“Hm. We don’t get many tourists. What brought you all the way out here. If I may ask.”

Naturally without much thought the pair began to walk through the park together as their conversation flowed. Marinette avoided using Jagged's name not wanting her new very handsome friend to take an interest in her solely for her connections. Instead she told him that Gotham was her uncles hometown and that this was the last stop on what had already been a pretty busy summer vacation. That turned into her telling him a bit about her family in general which got him talking about his family, he complained about his adopted siblings of which there seemed to be many but Marinette could tell he loved them.

Talking about family made him admit he’d come to the park to get away from them for a little while which got Marinette talking about the park and all the beautiful nature in Gotham which got the two of them talking about the best parks in Gotham and then Marinette brought up her sketches and suddenly they were talking about art and other hobbies. Before they had even realized it they were sitting at a bench together hidden away in the trees and wisterias chatting away. Marinette didn’t know why but something about Damian made her feel comfortable. Maybe it was the way he gave her his full undivided attention, maybe it was the way he made sure not to invade her space without consent or how he didn’t interrupt her when she spoke. Either way she felt safe, felt warm, almost like she was home. And judging by the way he seemed to relax the longer they spoke, his stiff body unwinding and his gaze softening, she thought maybe he felt just as comfortable with her as she was with him.

Honestly Marinette could have sat there chatting with Damian all day in fact it had already been several hours when the pair were finally interrupted. Both of their phones began to ring, Marinette’s with the tell-tale alarm of an akuma attack in Paris and Damian’s with an emergency as the Riddler had broken out of Arkham. The teenagers regretfully had to go both citing emergencies before they departed. It wasn’t until later that they realized they had forgotten to exchange phone numbers.

The akuma back in Paris had turned out to be Lila Rossi, it seems that Adrien’s fangirls had never truly warmed up to the liar and they had been trying to dig up dirt on the girl for months before finally finding there evidence. Alya may have privated the videos of Lila’s lies after finding out about the ‘lying disease’ but apparently someone had copied and saved them beforehand. And those videos had finally made their way out into the public. Luckily no one criticized Alya seeing as how she’d already had the common sense to remove the videos from her blog it helped that Alya also made a post explaining the situation in more detail which led to the general public agreeing that it had not been Alya’s fault when she had a teacher and a principle telling her to believe in a fake ‘lying disease’ clearly it was the adults at fault here not the young girl who had believed in them.

Needless to say the public ripped Lila to shreds for being a serial liar with more of her lies coming to light each day now that she had been exposed. And obviously the Italian had not taken it well and gotten akumatized.

Marinette knew that she should be happy that Lila had been exposed. Her classmates certainly were, but instead Marinette could not help but mope. Damian had been SO kind she really had wanted to get to know him better. The fact she’d completely missed out on getting his number gnawed at her. Little did she know that Damian was across the city thinking the same thing as he sat on a Gargoyle statue.

But fate likes to play funny games. A few days later Jagged got a call from Bruce Wayne, a few of his sons namely Tim, Jason and Dick had heard about Jagged being in town and tjat the rocker had brought MDC the famous designer with him. Apparently they were huge fans and had bugged, pleaded, whined, and eventually threatened a hunger strike until Bruce would ask Jagged to pretty please introduce them. So Jagged got the go ahead from Marinette and the gaggle of teenagers plus Jagged and Penny piled into a big van and drove over to the Wayne mansion.

Seeing it from the outside, Marinette felt only intimidation and dread. It was so huge and they were so rich. What if they were unimpressed when they found out MDC was just some teenage girl? Letting Jagged guide her and her friends push her forward Marinette nervously knocked on the door and let herself be led inside by the kind old man who introduced himself as Alfred.

Walking through the halls in wonder Marinette slowly felt her fingers twitch with the urge to design. But she suppressed it and focused not wanting to be rude. As the group turned a corner into a large sitting room Marinette’s blue eyes somehow found a pair of familiar green. She gasped, he blinked wide eyed.

“Marinette?” - “Damian?”

They blinked again, shocked. Marinette eventually snorted and laughed. Damian found himself smiling as he approached the small girl. And everyone else? Well they were just confused. Except for Damian’s family they were confused and freaked out.

“Is the demon spawn, smiling Dicky bird? Or am I hallucinating?”

“No I see it too Jason. He looks genuinely happy.”

“So it's official.” Tim added “we're all hallucinating.”

After some introductions and explanations things settled down with Marinette happy to take the Wayne’s on as clients. And the Wayne’s in turn being suitably impressed and amazed by the young girls accomplishments though the part they found most amazing was how she interacted with not only them but Damian. She was genuine and kind, no fake smiles or hidden double meanings, nor did she let their money and fame impress or blind her in any way. Jason soon declared her a little sister and Jagged preened and puffed as he gloated about not only Marinette but Kitty Section as well.

The rest of the summer spent in Gotham was tons of fun with Jason teaching Juleka and Marinette how to shoot guns and ride motorcycles, Rose and Marinette learning some of Dick’s gymnastics moves, Ivan meanwhile got along well with the quiet Cass and level headed Duke. Eventually Stephanie and Bab’s returned home as well and they also took to the french teens with ease they organized girl nights where they taught the girls how to break and enter something Marinette had a natural affinity for go figure. The most surprising development however was Luka. The slightly older boy had seemingly set his sights on the awkward coffee addicted Tim and had spent the remainder of the summer wooing him.

But while Luka was wooing Tim there was one other couple slowly forming. Everyone had seen the spark between Damian and Marinette and soon enough everyone was shipping it. The pair were often ‘conveniently’ left alone or were sent on errands that somehow conveniently became accidental dates. Marinette had been guarding her heart after Adrien had shattered it but Damian made her want to take the risk and fall in love. He was charming, polite, kind, sarcastic, and as she’d learned after telling him about the entire Paris situation akuma’s and all he was protective but without going so far as to undermine Marinette’s strength. He trusted her to be fast and smart and strong enough to defend herself (especially after they did a bit of fight training for fun and she laid him flat on the ground) but he did worry and care about her.

But still there was something holding back both teens. Something that shattered near the end of the vacation. Marinette had been caught by a villain. Poison Ivy to be exact. The plant villainess had taken note of the new frequent visitor to her greenhouse but what had really gotten her attention was how the plant life reacted to her. And furthermore how the plant life SPOKE about her. Ivy’s curiosity eventually grew too large and so she snatched up the young designer and brought her home. Luckily Marinette wasn’t particularly scared of Ivy or Harley, sure she didn’t like being knocked out but she felt no real fear, in the end Ivy, Harley and Marinette ended up having an unprompted girls day complete with junk food, ranting, bad American tv and more. Ivy eventually figured that Marinette was some kind of Meta one who had a strong influence over plant and animal life and that was enough for her to adopt the small half Asian girl and inject her with her special blend the same one she’d given to Harley to keep her safe in a town full of crazies.

But while Marinette was perfectly fine hanging out with 2 of the 3 sirens Damian had not taken it so well. He had scoured the city trying to find the sirens newest abode all while he gnawed his lip until it bled. Maybe it was the stress that made him slip up or maybe it was just Marinette being too smart for her own good. But when the young Robin came bursting in through a window yelling Marinette’s name something had immediately clicked and she knew who he was. After she’d calmed the situation down and made sure no one fought anyone else, Marinette thanked Ivy and Harley for the nice day and let Robin carry her away. After talking with Tikki and deciding to be reckless and selfish for once in her life Marinette confronted Damian the next day, revealing her own identity in the process. There was some freaking out and a LOT of talking with Tikki and the rest of the bat clan but in the end it seemed to work out for the best. Ladybug was certainly happy to accept the help anyway even if Chat Noir wasn’t going to be.

A week later Damian finally asked Marinette out. Two days after that they shared their first kiss on the ferris wheel. And come the end of summer Marinette, Kitty Section and surprise guests Damian and Tim Wayne were all boarding a flight back to Paris.

[ Wanna Support Me? Donate HERE! ]

610 notes · View notes

andraedevane · 19 days

Text

I'm gonna say it: Miraculous Ladybug is one of the most toxic fandoms related to the ships and that's a fact. Don't try to tell me I'm wrong.

I saw a lot of pins in Pinterest of Adrigami, Lukadrien, Kagaminette and more ships with comments like "Wtf is this?", "Disgusting", "The only good ship in MLB is Adrinette", "Marinette only deserves to end with Adrien".

Are. You. Serious?

People can ship whatever they want, and if someone ships Lilanette, Chloénette, Alyanette, Ninonette or another ship it's up to them. You don't have to say they're mentally ill for not shipping Adrinette. Just because a ship is canon doesn't mean everyone has to like it. And if you don't like Lilanette, Chloénette, Alyanette or any ship involving Marinette and a classmate of her, just ignore it. Don't watch posts of that ship or read fics just to say you hate it. Because if you do that, don't complain when people decide to do the same with Adrinette.

#miraculous lb #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #luka couffaine #chloé bourgeois #lila rossi #pro adrinette #pro lukanette #pro marigami #pro lilanette #pro chloénette #pro every classmate x marinette #seriously people #calm down #lila chloé alya nino kagami zoe or luka dating marinette is as valid as adrien dating her

64 notes · View notes

mochinek0 · 1 year

Text

Diner Girl

"So, we finally get to meet your girlfriend, in person?" Tim questioned.

"I'm already regretting this decision." Damian declared.

Jason chuckled, "Why? You think she'll like us more?"

"More like drive her away." Damian snarled.

"Relax, Little D." Dick smiled, "We won't do anything of the sort. Besides, it's been three years."

Damian sighed as they pulled up to the diner. Marinette had stated she was busy working until 5pm. The Wayne boys couldn't wait to meet her and asked if they could meet her at her work for a quick bite. They even said they could head out from there and take her home. He knew his brothers would try to convince her to change and go out instead.

Marinette heard the ding of the door opening and turned to see her boyfriend and his family. She smiled and looked at the clock.

'Thirty more minutes until I get off the clock. Maybe they'd like some appetizers.'

The Waynes sat down and saw Marinette subtly wave at them.

"My God, did you see her?"

"It suits her."

"I'm shocked she hasn't dropped anything yet."

Tim quickly took out his phone. He made sure to look interested at it, as he noticed the people in the booth behind them point at Marinette. He made sure his phone was still focused on them as his little brother's girlfriend approached the table.

"Sorry, for the wait." Mari spoke, "What can I get you to drink?"

"Hey, Pixie. Can I get a strawberry milkshake?" Jason questioned.

"Pixie?" she repeated.

"Because you're tiny and cute." he smiled.

His answered earned him a quick kick to the shin by Damian.

"Ow! You brat!" Jason yelled.

Damian flipped him off.

"Ignore them." Dick commented, "I'll take a limoncello float."

"Black coffee." declared Tim.

"Damian?" Marinette questioned, "Chai tea?"

"Yes." he answered.

Marinette smiled and walked away from their table.

"Oh, so she knows you favorites now?" Jason teased.

"Shut up." Damian growled.

"The butter knives aren't sharp enough and you know it." Tim sighed, noticing the girls in the next booth glaring at them.

Tim continued to appear interested in his phone.

'This isn't going to end well.'

Lila smirked as she tipped over her drink and it clattered to the floor.

"Oops." she spoke.

Alya snickered as the drink covered the floor.

"Clean it up, Lila." Adrien declared, "Now."

"Why would I do that, Adrien?" Lila questioned, "I don't work here."

"Well, if that is how you think, I can say you won't have a job anywhere." he replied.

Alya, Nino, and Lila looked at him shocked.

"You can't do that!" Alya shouted.

Adrien smiled and leaned back, "It's my father's company. Father expects perfection everywhere; especially in public."

"But my wrist hurts!" Lila whined, "It's why I spilled it. It was an accident."

He sighed, "We both know you're full of shit."

"Adrien!" Alya gasped.

"You are only special in your own head and it shows." he declared.

"Dude!" Nino cried out, surprised.

Marinette walked towards the table behind them and slipped on the scattered ice. Damian quickly grabbed her, preventing an accident, but the drinks still fell to the floor.

"Marinette!" the manager shouted.

"It-it wasn't my fault!" she stammered.

"You're fired!" he roared.

"But-" Marinette tried to refute.

"It's fine, Habibiti." Damian spoke.

"Yeah." Jason replied, "We'll leave."

The manager glared at her, "See! Now, you are making the patrons leave."

"The only reason we came here was to see Marinette." Dick annouced.

"Besides, " Tim spoke, "maybe you should hire Sausage Hair, there. Seems she'll be out of a job soon."

"Were you spying on us?" Alya shrieked.

"Recorded your conversations, too." Tim commented, "Planning to trip her? Classic."

"You're just jealous that Pixie Pop is better than you." Jason replied.

Lila stood up, in outrage, "I'm the daughter of an ambassador! I am a model for Gabriel Agreste! I travel the world and help with various charities! I know Prince Ali of Achu and Jagged Stone. I help Prince Ali in his environmental charities and I'm Jagged Stone's niece!"

The Waynes laughed. The manager noticed Marinette covering her mouth, but she was laughing, none the less.

'What is going on?'

"One: Prince Ali works in children's hospitals, not environmental projects." Dick stated, "He donates to our charities, all the time."

"Two: Marinette knows Jagged Stone. She is his 'niece', as well as his personal designer." Tim declared, "She doesn't even need this job, but she thought it would get her out of having kids thrown her way for unpaid babysitting gigs, at the last moment."

"Three: You are a waste of space from what Blondie was saying." Jason scoffed.

Damian smirked, "Go ahead. Tell her who we are Agreste. You've spoken to us before."

Adrien relaxed and smiled, "You're the Waynes. Your father is an international billionare."

Lila and the manager's faces drained of color.

Damian turned his glare to the manager, "Four: The only reason we were in your pathetic place was because of the angel in my arms."

"What's so special about her, anyways?" Alya snapped.

"She's my girlfriend." Damian announced.

The Waynes smiled behind him. Lila tensed up and looked between Marinette and the Wayne. Adrien just smiled and the manager sensed he had made a huge mistake.

"Come along, Angel." Damian spoke, "We'll take you home and we'll treat you to dinner."

"I have five restaurants ready to take our reservation in three hours." Tim declared.

Dick smiled, "We can settle it in the car."

"Sorry, I was such a bother, Damian." Marinette whispered.

Damian leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, "You are never a bother to me. Though, you also have to thank Agreste there. He was trying to get the bitch to clean up the mess she made, before you came over."

Marinette smiled, "Thanks, Adrien."

"Oh, you're welcome, Mari." Adrien replied,, "Sorry, you ended up falling and getting fired."

Marinette just shrugged it off, "Like Tim said, I don't need this job. I just tired of Alya and Nino dumping their siblings at me for free babysitting gigs. I mostly took this out of spite. I'll be moving out of my parents' place this year; I didn't want to deal with packing and trying to take care of kids for some people who hate me."

"Come on, Pixie Pop!" Jason shouted, "Let's blow this popsicle stand!"

Dick smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, "We can drop you off and we can go change in our suits that you made us."

Marinette smiled brighter, "They fit, right? Nothing needs to be adjusted?"

"Are you kidding me?" Jason asked, leading the way out the door, "Like a glove! Best monkey suit I've worn!" making her giggle.

"Do we need to stop anywhere to get you dressed up?" Tim asked.

Mari scoffed, "You think I wouldn't have dressy clothes? I have to travel with Jagged to his functions."

"Rock and Roll!" Jason smiled.

Damian kept his arm snug around Marinette's waist as they left the diner with a smile.

"Move, Lila." Adrien demanded.

"Huh?" she spoke, confused by the hostility coming out of his mouth.

"I need to leave." he declared

"But-" Nino spoke.

Adrien pointed to the door as Natalie walked in. She quickly spotted the blonde's coiffed hair and walked towards them.

"Adrien, those were-" she bean.

"The people Lila just humiliated herself in front of and they recorded the whole thing?" Adrien stated, throwing her fully under the bus.

Natalie glared at her as she quickly moved, allowing Adrine out of the booth. Adrien walked around the mess and spotted one of the dishtowels that Mari had dropped onto the floor. He picked it up and threw it right in Lila's face. She sputtered as she removed the soaked towel from her face. It was painfully obvious by the two toned skin color that most of her makeup was wiped off on the wet towel.

Adrien smiled, "You might want to get use to your new job."

"They know Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Natalie questioned.

"Marinette is dating the youngest Wayne. Unless, Mari puts him in a good mood, Lila is likely to-" Adrien declared as his phone went off rapidly.

He pulled his phone out as Natalie looked towards her tablet.

"Oh, never mind. Timothy Drake-Wayne blasted Lila on twitter. The co-CEO of Wayne Enterprise just showed the world how two-faced Father's model really is." Adiren overdramatically sighed, "He posted the whole video of Lila pretending to be injured and purposefully making Marinette slip. He also posted Marinette getting horribly fired and all of the Waynes calling Lila a huge liar to her face. That's really not a good look for Gabriel."

Natalie tightened her grip on the tablet, "I'll call your father to see how he wants to deal with this new situation, seeing as we were suppose to meet the Waynes tomorrow."

Adrien smiled, "I'm pretty sure that the girl Lila got fired is the Waynes' personal designer."

Lila gulped and slowly sat back in the booth.

"If that is the case, I agree with Adrien, Miss Rossi; I would start looking for a new job." Natalie commanded.

Adrien walked out of the diner with Natalie in tow. Lila sat there frozen until Alya reached out and touched her hand.

"It's gonna be okay, Lila." Alya smiled, "It's-"

Lila tore her arm away from the journalist grasp and glared at her. She got up quickly and tried to rush out the door. In her hurry, she had forgotten about the spill and slipped. Lila fell forward but landed awkwardly, attempting to catch herself. She was rushed to the hospital with a broken arm.

As Nino drove Alya home, she sniffled as she looked through her phone. Her blog was being torn to shreds by people around the world. They were pointing out every lie and detail on how everything Lila said was fake. The comment that hurt the most was: I can't believe this blogger wants to be a reporter! Doesn't this girl know the basics for a reporter? It's called fact checking! Google isn't that hard to use!

TAGLIST: TAG LIST: @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @meme991001 @vixen-uchiha @abrx2002 @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @animegirlweeb @insane-fangirl-of-everything @blueblossombliss @nickristus-dreamer @megawhitleycalderonpaganus

595 notes · View notes

trashyangelic · 8 months

Text

𝟬𝟵𝟭𝟬𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 : ᴍʟʙ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ ʀᴇᴏ̨ᴜᴇsᴛ

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢs - Felinette, Chlorina, Adrigami sᴀʟᴛs - Lila Salt, Bustier Salt, Damocles Salt, Alya salt ʀᴇᴅᴇᴍᴘᴛɪᴏɴs - Adrien Redemption, Chloe Redemption, Akuma Class Redemption ᴏᴛʜᴇʀs - Nino Sugar

Due to Alya the consequences are bitting her back and her parents are furious due to her blog so her parents were able to withdraw their daughter into a new school for discipline after hearing complaints from Sabine the most that their daughter harm her daughter for listening to a two faced harlot who lies too much.

Chloe gave Adrien a full-set nagging on him about enabling Lila and letting the class to torment Marinette even she has morals she doesn't ruin Marinette like Lila did. She hinted one thing about Lila threatening Marinette that got off his rockers and forget about the advice he gave to Marinette and decided to join in with Chloe. Chloe also told him that Marinette is with Felix right now who goes as Agros. She even brought Kagami into this to reason with Adrien he shouldn't be a bystander and be a rebellion against his father.

Every single student in the Akuma Class finally realize that Lila is a liar thanks to Luka who had pointed out to Juleka, Ivan, and Rose as for Rose she was talking to Prince Ali yesterday and found out something. Nino had help from Marc who had dragged him and Nathaniel in an empty classroom.

Felix keep Marinette company but also help her destroying Lila with some of his friends that is Allan, Allegra, and Claude but he does spend time alone with Marinette to get to know her after that video he saw in his cousin's phone which was a confession. But Marinette told him she didn't like him anymore after he told her to take a high road advice.

Lila has no idea what she has done with Marinette. But what she doesn't know is that her kingdom started to crumbles bits by bits leaving just Caline Bustier and Principal Damocles by her side..

#miraculous ladybug #lila salt #no lila rossi demption #chloe redemption #adrien redemption #akuma class redemption #chloe x sabrina #felinette #marinette x felix #adrigami #bustier salt #damocles salt #nino sugar #alya salt

47 notes · View notes

comics-and-fanworks · 2 years

Text

ML/DC Bio Mom (Starfire Part 2)

TW for swearing, mentions of suicide, bullying, minor violence

~~~~~~

Marinette’s soon-to-be former class watched in horror as she left with her bio parents. She wanted to leave Paris?? Why?! She was their Everyday Ladybug, they needed her! Who would plan their trips, run their fundraisers, help with their events, and so much more? They began talking amongst themselves, why did she want to leave, and what could they do to convince her to stay? The only two who didn’t look surprised about this development were Kim and Nino, Marinette’s only two allies left in the class. They new Lila was a liar, Marinette didn’t have a mean bone in her body, and they decided to stick by their childhood friend’s side even when it cost Nino his relationship with Alya and Kim his friendship with Alix and Max. They were currently texting Mari a play by play of their classmates’ plans, and soon their lack of shock was picked up on.

“What’s with you two? I thought you’d be more disappointed since Dupain-Cheng is your childhood friend,” Chloe snapped. Nino and Kim looked up from their phones, “Seriously? Why wouldn’t Marinette wanna leave? Our city is currently being held hostage by an emotional terrorist, and with all the shit you all have been putting her through-” “We haven’t done anything! MARINETTE is the one putting Lila through shit and you two took her side!” Alix shouted, cutting Kim off. Adrien could sense things were going south and tried to step in, “Guys come on now isn’t the time! I’m sure Mari-” “No dude, now’s the perfect time since we’re all here. Let’s start with the most recent examples shall we? Lila you said that Marinette’s parents never wanted to see her and that they gave her up because they hated her, then how do you explain the reunion we just saw? You also said she spent the summer doing sketchy things well why do Kim and I have texts from her all summer showing off the complete new wardrobe she had to make? How could she be doing illegal stuff when she was barricaded in her room making clothes?” Nino snapped. He had hit his limit, and so had Kim. Before Marinette asked them not to say anything, because she didn’t want their standing in the class to suffer any more, but they figured that since she was leaving, it was time. Marinette had also informed them about Adrien an his High Road advice, and Nino was almost akumatized. How could his best friend claim to care about Mari when he was fine watching her suffer? As Lila was attempting to think of a response, Juleka beat her to the punch.

“I just texted Luka... He told me that the time she wasn’t spending designing, she was hanging out with him, Kagami, Kim, and Nino. There’s no way she could’ve been doing anything illegal, she has an alibi.” Lila could tell her hold on the class was slipping, “But, but she sent me such awful texts! See! I have them here!” Lila showed her phone conversations between herself and a number, the class, save Nino and Kim, voiced their rage at Marinette. “She told me to kill myself,” Lila wailed, “And that the world would be a better place without me!” Alya shot Nino a nasty glare while going to comfort Lila, the turtle and monkey miraculous wielders were about to respond, when Sabrina piped up, “That’s not Marinette’s number Lila. Her number’s in the class group chat and it doesn’t match,” Lila froze, and so did her fake tears, “Oh... well maybe she has a second phone! That has to be it cause I can’t think of anyone else who’d say that stuff to me!” “We’ll find out,” Sabrina said as she hit the dial button on her phone. The whole table went quite as a phone in Lila’s bag started ringing, and before she could act, Kim swiped it and pulled out the backup phone. He declared triumphantly, “Looks like Marinette isn’t the one with two phones! The numbers match, which proves Marinette didn’t send those texts, you sent them to yourself and tried to frame her! You’re lying!” Finally it clicked for their classmates, if Lila had lied about Marinette’s parents, her summer activities, and her supposedly sending Lila awful texts, what else could she have been lying about? Adrien felt the need to step in, “Guys I’m sure it’s all just a big misunderstanding, there’s no need for any of this!”

“Really dude? We just proved Lila was lying about Marinette, and we have proof she was lying about other things Marinette supposedly did as well! Stealing an answer sheet? It went missing AFTER the test, and we had all seen her studying for weeks! Stealing the pendent? Her locker has no lock on it, and Alya has proven that it’s super easy to break into the lockers at school. Not to mention it was on top of all her things, if she really took it don’t you think Marinette would have hidden it better? And pushing Lila down the stairs? Well check this out,” At Nino’s cue Kim played the video on his phone, it clearly showed Lila walking down the stairs, sitting down, and wailing. “It’s amazing what a request for information can get you these days huh?” Kim laughed, before returning to a serious demeanor, “And that’s not even the worst of it. Adrien knew Lila was lying the whole time. He knew she was manipulating you all and hurting Marinette but instead of supporting Mari, he decided to try and gaslight her into staying quiet,” Adrien’s voice saying, “As long as you and I both know,” echoed around the now silent table. “And here I thought you were a decent person Adrien, if not a little sheltered and naïve,” Nino sighed, the lack of ‘dude’ drove home just how disappointed he was.

As the class sat in shock processing everything they had just learned, Nino and Kim stood up to leave. Looking back Kim said, “I’m glad Mari’s getting the hell out of here. With all the shit you all have put her through, bullying her, destroying her things, and trying to ruin her reputation it’s amazing she hasn’t been akumatized yet! Come on Nino, let’s go help her pack,” With that the two boys left their classmates, who watched as they walked away, “We should give our evidence to Mari’s parents so they can go after the school,” was the last thing they heard from Nino as the two exited the cafe and headed towards the best bakery in Paris.

When they had arrived, Marinette, Tom, and Sabine had just finished explaining everything to Mari’s bio parents, including Hawkmoth and that their daughter was a superhero. While Koriand’r and Dick were both incredibly proud that their daughter was following in their footsteps, it pained them to hear what their baby had to go through. It pained Koriand’r the most to learn just how much Marinette had to repress her emotions. Tamaraneans were naturally in tune with their emotions, since that was the source of their power, and while they were very expressive in those emotions, they still learned to control them. To hear that her daughter had to repress her emotions to the point of barely feeling anything practically put her over the edge. The only thing keeping her grounded was the knowledge that if she lost control, she would be akumatized and would have to fight her daughter and husband. As they pulled their daughter into a hug, the bell over the door rang, and in walked two of her classmates. Dick remembered Marinette telling them about the two boys standing in the doorway, and that they were her only allies in the class. The taller one, Kim if he was remembering correctly, spoke first, “Hey Mari you may wanna put your phone on silent for a good while... Or change your number! We told them about Lila and Adrien, and well, Chloe never hid her bullying so they already knew about that! Our guess is in about five minutes once the shock wears off and they’re done yelling at Lila, Chloe, and Adrien they’re gonna try and message you to convince you to stay.” The two helped themselves to pastries Tom offered, and the boy with the red baseball cap, which Dick assumed was Nino, continued, “Anyways don’t let them effect your decision dudette, you’ve suffered enough, besides you won’t have to worry about Hawkmoth if you’re not in Paris! That doesn’t mean we want you gone dudette, we’re just worried what’ll happen if you stay.”

Marinette smiled, she was surrounded by people who loved her, and wouldn’t judge her for whatever decision she made, and while she’d love to stay with her adoptive parents and her friends, she knew that she needed to go with her bio parents for her own wellbeing. “I, I think it would be best if I went to Bludhaven. I’m really scared of what would happen if I stayed.” The group around her nodded, in complete understanding. “I still wanna come back and visit Maman and Papa though, and Nino, Kim, Kagami, and Luka too,” Marinette said. Starfire and Nightwing nodded, “Of course Baby Bird! You can visit whenever you want, and if you can’t make it to Paris, we’ll make sure they can make it to Bludhaven. We’ll cover flights and all that stuff, don’t you worry!” Dick hugged his daughter, even though he never wanted to leave his Baby Bird again, he would never keep her from Tom and Sabine. Sabine lit up with an idea, “Why don’t you have a sleepover with Luka, Kagami, Nino, and Kim? That way you could spend time with your friends before you head to America, and that would give the adults time to take care of things with the school. We need to beat some sense into that nasty woman who calls herself a teacher and your useless principal,” The other adults nodded in agreement, while the kids in the room cheered.

Kagami and Luka arrived shortly after with their parents. Sabine and Tom had called and explained the situation. Much to their surprise, all of Marinette’s friends’ parents had agreed to let their children stay until she had to leave, their only request was to meet Mari’s bio parents so they would know who would be watching their kids when they went to visit Mari in America. As Mari and her friends ran upstairs to begin their sleepover, the parents got to talking. “So my name is Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne’s son, and this is my wife Koriand’r! It’s nice to meet you all!” “Hello! It’s nice to meet you! Your kids have been amazing friends to our daughter, and words cannot describe how much we appreciate it.” As the gathered parents were sharing similar sentiments, Anarka said what they all were thinking, “You two sound exactly like, and look like the heroes Starfire and Nightwing, ” The two in question paused, glanced at each other, and sighed, “Yeah. We are. The reason we asked Tom and Sabine to raise Mar’i is because my wife’s sister is not necessarily a good person, and threatened to kill Mar’i. We wanted to keep her safe, and we knew that she was safer with them than with us. After dealing with that, we had a few more threats we had to deal with, and by the time that was done Mar’i was already seven. We thought it would be cruel to take her away from everything she’s ever known, so we contacted Tom and Sabine and told them that we were ready whenever Mar’i decided she wanted to meet us. We were surprised to learn everything that’s been going on in Paris, with Hawkmoth, Lila, and her class bullying her.” The gathered parents nodded in understanding, and decided to focus on how to go after Principal Damocles and Miss Bustier.

Meanwhile, up in her room, Marinette and her friends were discussing what to do about Hawkmoth. “We could take him out now, before I leave,” Marinette suggested. The heroes gathered in her room looked at each other and shook their heads. “No. You’re still in a vulnerable state. You need time to rest and allow your mental, physical, and emotional health to recover before we go after Hawkmoth. With your wounds still fresh we can’t risk you being akumatized,” Kagami said, much to the agreement of the others. They looked over at where they had buried Marinette’s phone under a pile of pillows. It was blowing up with her soon-to-be former classmates trying to apologize and demanding she talked to them. “What if you all kept your Miraculous, so that way if there’s an akuma, you all can stall for time until I can get to the fight,” Marinette suggested. The four heroes agreed, and their respective Kwamii shared the sentiment. “Now all that’s left to do is figure out what to do with Chat Noir. If he finds out Ladybug is leaving the same time I am, he might put two and two together.” The group thought about it for a minute before Luka perked up, “What if we tell him that Ladybug’s family is moving just outside of Paris? That way we can account for you not being here to patrol for a while, and why it’d take you longer to get to akumas. We could tell him that your family was tired of dealing with Hawkmoth and decided to get out of his range, but you convinced them to stay close enough for ‘work,’” The group glanced at Marinette’s door. They half expected the cat hero to show up at that moment. After settling on a plan and making sure everyone had their respective Miraculous, the group settled in to watch movies.

Two massive bowls of popcorn and one romcom later, the group was debating on whether to watch Howl’s Moving Castle or Spirited Away when they heard it: A knocking on Marinette’s balcony door. They froze, there was only one person that could be, and it would be no use claiming Marinette wasn’t home, you could hear noise coming from the room. Before she could react Mari found herself stuffed into her bathroom, “We’ll confront him,” Luka whispered, “You hide here.” From the bathroom, she could hear what was going on, “Why did you expose Lila? She could’ve gotten akumatized!” “And let her lie about our best friend? No way dude. What Lila was doing was wrong! She could’ve gotten Marinette akumatized!” “Marinette’s tough she would have been fine!” The conversation was interrupted by what sounded like a popcorn bowl hitting someone’s head. “Ow! Why did you-” “Just because Marinette is though doesn’t mean she has to suffer so someone else won’t face consequences!” Yep, a brilliant throw from Kagami and rock-solid logic as well. “Well, she- Anyways where is she? She said she was leaving, er, Adrien told me she was leaving and I need to show her that’s a bad idea.” “Why do you care anyways alley cat? Marinette’s just a civilian.” “Cause! She needs to fix the mess she made!” “The mess LILA made!” “Well now the class isn’t talking to Lila or Chloe or Adrien and she needs to come back and say everything’s fine so things can go back to normal! So get out of my way!” It sounded like Chat had pushed his way through her friends, and the next thing she knew, her bathroom door was gone.

“Marinette! You can’t leave Paris! You have to apologize and fix everything!” Before her stood a very angry Chat Noir, his belt-tail was swishing back and forth, just like an angry cat. Marinette looked around, she was trapped. The only way out of this would be if any of her friends got the jump on Chat, or she transformed, and she was not about to risk her identity being exposed. “NO! It’s not my fall Lila decided to lie! It’s not my fault Adrien decided to let my class treat me like shit! It’s-” “Adrien did nothing wrong!” “Why are you even taking his side in this?” “Cause he’s my friend and he’s right-” “So you think I should be akumatized? You think my stuff should be destroyed? You think I should be shoved, tripped, have things thrown at my head?” “IT WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HAD JUST TAKEN THE HIGH ROAD! YOU’RE COMING WITH ME AND FIXING THIS!” At that Chat grabbed her wrist and began to drag her towards the trap door. Luka, Kim, Kagami, and Nino tried to stop him, but there was little they could do without revealing their identities. Marinette struggled and tried to break free, wondering why the hell his timer wasn’t done yet. Chat threw open the balcony door and was about to pick Marinette up and leap away... but was met with a readied starbolt right in front of his face. Looking up Marinette saw her bio parents in all their glory. Her mother’s powers were activated, and she was floating just above the balcony. Her hair was literal fire, and she was glowing. Behind her on the railing was her father, batons ready, and looking like he was about to break Batman’s no killing rule. They were not in costume, since they rushed up as soon as they heard their daughter screaming and someone else yelling at her, and quickly put two and two together. Starfire spoke, her voice icy and cold despite the roaring wildfire of rage she felt, “Let go of our daughter. NOW!” Chat quickly dropped Marinette and leapt away, too afraid to fight two adult, trained heroes, and too afraid they’d take his ring. Marinette collapsed into her bio parent’s arms sobbing, while her friends gathered around. They kept watch, waiting to see if Chat would return. The other adults quickly ran upstairs, and Nino, Luka, Kagami, and Kim filled them in one what happened.

“If Chat Noir is bold enough to try and kidnap Marinette, then it’s not safe for her here,” Tom practically growled. What he wouldn’t give to be Weredad right now and pummel that mangy alley cat, but that was not what Marinette needed. Sabine nodded, “We’ll have to speed things up. If her classmates somehow convinced that cat to join them, then Marinette isn’t safe anywhere in Paris. We can’t afford to wait, if he comes back we might not be able to get to Marinette in time, there’s also a high chance she’ll be akumatized in the next few weeks. Her classmates will be hounding her, and now we have Chat Noir harassing her as well.” Dick picked up his phone and sent a few quick texts, “We can have the Wayne jet ready in thirty minutes, and we can leave for Gotham tonight. Bruce is taking care of everything, we’ll stay in Gotham for a bit, and then head to Bludhaven, If that’s alright with you, Tom, and Mar’i.” Sabine and Tom looked at each other and nodded. They hated to see their little girl go, but they knew it wasn’t safe for her in Paris. Marinette’s friends hugged her, and promised they’d come and visit. She also promised her friends and adoptive parents that once things were safe she’d come back and visit, and until then they could video call. She packed her things including the Miraculous box, and then tucked in her bio parent’s arms, she made her way onto the Wayne’s jet. Looking back at her family and friends waving to her (Noting each of her friends had their Miraculous) she waved back. Her bio parents assured her everything would be okay, and that they’d do everything they could to make sure she was comfortable in America. She would be going to a new school, a fresh start. All anyone would know is that she’s from Paris, it was a chance to recover and make new friends. For once she felt hopeful about where her future was headed, and as she thought about all the possibilities, she drifted off to sleep wrapped in her father’s jacket, with her mother stroking her hair.

#marinette deserves better #marinette dupain cheng #lila salt #adrien salt #class salt #nino sugar #kim sugar #ml x dc #maribat #pasteile #miraculous-ninja #doll246 #tog84 #tylindel #jayphoenic #living-on-borrowed-time

399 notes · View notes

starfinss · 2 years

Text

Coup de Grâce — Miraculous 2/2

𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮: Miraculous Ladybug

𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨: Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir + Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug

𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: SFW

𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 7,599

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺:

Coup de Grâce (Noun) A final blow or shot, given to kill a wounded person or animal.

When Adrien starts to put two and two together, he realizes Lila Rossi’s treatment of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng is far worse that he’d ever imagined, and the high road is no longer (and frankly, may have never been) an option. He decides to take matters into his own hands. Game, Set, Match.

Adrien woke the morning after the gala to a phone call.

It was before his alarm, and therefore before Adrien would be answering anything, so he declined the call, rolled over, and closed his eyes again, fully intent on going straight back to sleep.

It rang again.

“Adrien, please, turn off your phone,” Plagg whined, and Adrien grunted, declining the call again.

And, as Adrien expected, it rang again.

Plagg made a soft, disgruntled sound. “I’m going to eat your phone.”

Adrien sat up, brushing his mussed hair out of his sleepy eyes before picking up the phone and finally answering.

“Hello?”

“ADRIEN AGRESTE—”

Adrien pulled the phone an arm’s length away from his ear, startled completely awake by Alya’s shouting. She’d undoubtedly seen Jagged Stone’s livestream, and she indubitably didn’t like what she saw. Why she was awake and screaming at him before six in the morning, Adrien didn’t know, but she was making it very clear that this was his problem, and it was his problem now.

“—She never even TOLD ME—“

Adrien pulled the phone away again, exchanging a glance with Plagg before finally taking a deep breath and pressing the phone back to his ear.

“Alya,” he said, “calm down.”

“Calm do— CALM DOWN?! Don’t you tell me to calm down, you knew about all of this, didn’t you? That she… that SNAKE was lying to me? I can’t BELIEVE I thought Marinette was ever jealous. She knew all along, and I should have trusted her.”

Alya sounded like she was on the verge of tears, and Adrien couldn’t blame her. He’d been the one to tell Marinette to be the bigger person, and that hadn’t turned out well at all.

“Alya,” Adrien repeated, “I feel horrible, too. I told Marinette to take the high road, and Lila ended up bullying her—”

“Wait, wait, hold the ABSOLUTE phone, Agreste, Lila WHAT?! All Marinette said was thats she and Lila didn’t get along, but excuse me— you’re telling me that this BITCH has been bullying my best friend?”

“Yeah,” Adrien said miserably, “I overheard Lila in the locker room with Marinette. Threatening her, calling her names. It was horrible.”

“And you didn’t confront her?!”

Adrien sighed. “What do you think last night was? I couldn’t just tell her off in the locker room, she’d be onto me, no matter how badly I wanted to. I’ve talked to Lila about the lying before, but she never stops. I had to make it stick, and that meant being sneaky.”

Alya was silent for a second before she spoke again. “At LEAST tell me you comforted her. I dunno, gave her a hug, anything? Marinette is sensitive, something like that— going on for that long— oh, God.”

Her voice sounded equal parts miserable and exhausted, and Adrien knew how she felt. He’d felt the same when he finally realized what had been going on.

“Of course, I gave her a hug,” Adrien said, mildly indignant, “I’m not a monster.”

“God, her heart probably was on the verge of exploding.”

Adrien blinked. “What?”

“Nothing, never mind,” Alya said quickly, “I had an inkling of what was going on, Lila threatened Marinette in the bathroom a few months ago, but I stupidly thought she was stretching the truth a little. I believed her, though, I knew she’d never make something like that up. The way she said Lila was acting was… it was scary, Adrien. It seemed almost impossible that she could say those things, Lila always seems so… nice, so genuine.”

Alya scoffed, her voice tight, and angry, and so, so bitter. “But I guess that’s another one of her lies, isn’t it? I’ve been less inclusive of Lila since she makes Marinette uncomfortable, like, you know, not inviting Lila over, or just having time with me and Marinette, but she never told me that Lila was— oh my God, I’ve been such a bad friend.”

“No,” Adrien said, “Lila had everyone fooled. She’s a good liar, I’ll give her that. What matters now is being there for Marinette, I don’t doubt that Lila will try and take this out on her. We have to protect her.”

Adrien paused, “also, why are you calling me this early?”

Alya scoffed tearfully. “You think I got a wink of sleep after seeing that? All I could think about was how I didn’t believe Marinette, my best friend, when she was being bullied. I should’ve stuck with the feeling I got when I knew there was something she wasn’t telling me, because she so obviously wasn’t fine, Adrien, she must’ve felt so alone, and I should have believed her.”

“Then make it up to her,” Adrien said, “apologize, be a good friend, and call Lila out the second you see her at school.”

“Done and done. So much more than done,” Alya snarled, “I’m burying that girl in the fucking ground. She’s dead, Adrien, d-e-a-d, DEAD.”

And with that, she hung up, leaving Adrien sitting, dumbstruck in the darkness of his room.

“It is way too early for all of that,” grumbled Plagg, “what’d she even want, anyway?”

Adrien flopped down on the bed. “You probably heard most of that. She wasn’t exactly quiet. But I’m pretty sure Lila’s life is in danger.”

“Good,” the Kwami scoffed, “she deserves a little misfortune. You have no idea how crazy that girl was driving me.”

Adrien chuckled dryly. “I may have an inkling.”

Plagg fell asleep again in a few seconds, but Adrien wasn’t able to, so he got out of bed and got ready for his morning workout routine. After said routine, he took a shower, longer than usual since he had the time. He was even able to watch a few of his favorite compilation videos of Ladybug before Nathalie came upstairs to fetch him for breakfast.

Said meal passed uneventfully, with little conversation between Adrien and his father. Adrien was still annoyed with him for inviting Lila as his date without running it past him, so that was fine by him. It was only when he was getting into the car to go to school that Nathalie told him he was no longer to associate with Lila Rossi, and that she was no longer welcome in the house.

Adrien pretended to be confused, and when asked why that was, Nathalie simply told him it was ‘bad for PR’ before shutting the car door. Regardless, Adrien accepted the verdict, much more easily than Nathalie expected, Adrien gathered, from her perplexed expression.

That, Adrien decided, was something he could live with.

He was barely in his seat before everything went sideways, and the bell hadn’t even rang yet.

“Dude, what was that?” Nino cried, sliding into the seat beside him, “the class chat is going insane, haven’t you seen any of it?”

“Adrien, we need to talk,” Came Alya’s voice, from somewhere over Adrien’s shoulder.

“No,” Adrien said, turning to Nino, “I haven’t looked at the class chat, I had it muted since last night at the gala since it’s not exactly good etiquette to have your phone buzzing nonstop. And we will talk, Alya.”

Alya looked like she hadn’t slept, and, from what she’d told Adrien, she hadn’t. Her hair was unwashed, tossed into a ponytail, and there were dark circles under her eyes. She looked a bit like she’d gotten dressed in the dark, or, and Adrien didn’t at all blame her if this were the case, she just didn’t care about looking nice today. She had ass to kick, and nobody said there was a dress code for that.

In Adrien’s case, ass kicking, as well as anything that he considered a good time, involved black leather, as well as tossing himself from building to building and hitting things with a stick, but that was just him.

“I can’t believe that she’s been lying,” Nino sighed, clearly wounded, “all this time, to all of us. What else has she— and with the bullying— How deep does it go? Has she ever told the truth at all?”

Alya scoffed. “Fat chance of that.”

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival Marinette, who seemed just a little more upbeat than she had been the day previous. She’d clearly seen the class chat, and with how big of a fan Adrien knew she was of Jagged Stone, she’d undoubtedly seen the stream. Furthermore, she was more than smart enough to know what Adrien had been doing.

Alya sprang from her seat like she’d been ejected from it, tugging Marinette into a fierce hug. The other girl started, but she hugged her best friend back.

“I’m so sorry,” Alya muttered into Marinette’s shoulder, “I’m so sorry that I didn’t believe you, if you don’t forgive, me I understand, I—”

“Alya,” Marinette said softly, her expression blissfully happy, “no, stop, I forgive you. For her credit, she was a good liar. But— I expect you to buy me a whole box of macarons. Y’know, to make it up to me. And I get to pick the movies we watch, for a whole month.”

“Done,” Alya said in an instant, her relief clear in her voice, “super done.”

Adrien decided not to mention that Marinette lived above a bakery, as that would ruin a sweet moment, and that was the last thing he wanted.

“God, M, why didn’t you tell me?” Alya sighed, and Marinette shrugged.

“I dunno, I thought maybe I was being dramatic, and I— I wanted to solve it myself. So I just said that we didn’t get along.”

Alya scoffed. “I was an idiot to have believed that. But I was an even bigger idiot to have believed Lila.”

“Is Lila even here today?” Adrien asked, and Nino chuckled bitterly.

“She’s here,” he said, leaning back in his seat and folding his hands behind his head, “hiding out somewhere, who knows. Little miss pants-on-fire probably wants to do damage control. Not that there’s anything left for her to control. She’s already been removed from the class chat. She’s done-zo, man.”

Adrien tilted his head. “How do you know she’s here? Did you see her?”

Nino chuckled. “Yeah, on my way in. She kept her head down, didn’t look at anyone. I didn’t approach; she isn’t worth my time. Marinette, for what it’s worth, I’m super sorry, too. I should’ve believed you. If there’s anything I can do to make it up, let me know, yeah?”

Marinette smiled, her cheeks gently pink, and she nodded.

“From now on,” Alya said, resting her head on Marinette’s shoulder, “I listen to you. Not some fake bitch with a fake life, girl. And you’re totally allowed to be mad at me, I was a horrible friend.”

The next ten or so minutes was full of apologies from classmates as they arrived, sans Chloé, who, of course, loudly claimed she knew Lila was lying the entire time, a declaration that convinced no one, earning a chorus of exasperated groans. Rose, contrastingly, burst into tears, with not even Marinette’s repeated assurances that she was forgiven providing any comfort. She finally stopped wailing after Juleka peppered her face with kisses, her hiccuping sobs turning into delighted giggles.

It was when Lila Rossi herself entered the classroom that everyone went silent.

Adrien’s eyes passed across his classmates, taking in the downright venomous looks they were giving Lila, but none of those held a candle to Alya. The expression on her face was something Adrien could only describe as apocalyptic fury, her eyes blazing behind her spectacles, her lip curled back to reveal her teeth in a menacing snarl. She probably would have already pounced on Lila if Nino wasn’t physically holding her back from doing so.

“You have some nerve—“ Alya started, but Nino clapped a hand over her mouth, much to her fury.

Lila barely acknowledged the other girl’s anger, her face a perfect mask of impassive and casual, a polite smile glued to her lips. She seemed completely nonplussed by the eyes on her, infuriatingly nonchalant, and if Alya was kept back any longer, Adrien was pretty sure she was going to start foaming at the mouth.

“Oh, Marinette,” Lila said, as though she’d just remembered something while she placed her things down at her desk, “can we talk? It’s nothing big, I promise.”

Marinette shrank in on herself, halfway hiding behind Adrien where he stood beside her.

Softly, and low enough that nobody else could hear, Adrian leaned over to her, just a little, to speak into her ear.

“Say yes,” he whispered, “don’t worry, I’ve got a plan. I’ll be right there with you.”

Marinette looked like she was about to bust into a million pieces, her face the color of a boiled lobster, but she nodded, straightening back up to her full height. A mask of calm slipped over her face, all the worry and fear previously in her expression melting away as if it was never there at all. She was suddenly the picture of confidence, and as Adrien studied her, he realized that this somehow seemed…

Familiar.

“Okay,” Marinette said, her voice even and calm, “I’ll bite. The locker room, in say, five minutes?”

Lila giggled, and something passed behind her eyes, something that made shivers rake down Adrien’s spine. But, just as quick as it appeared, it was gone. Adrien swallowed the swell of unease that caught in his throat, keeping his face blank.

“Sure,” Lila said, pleasant as ever, “Locker room. It’s a date.”

And with that, she turned on her heel, disappearing through the classroom door.

“I have a plan,” Adrien said, after a few seconds of tense silence had passed.

Alya yanked Nino’s hand away from her face. “If that plan involves strangling her, I’m all in.”

“No,” Adrien said, “but it does involve dealing the final blow, if you’re interested in that.”

Alya smirked. “Since when have you been so devious, Agreste?”

“Since someone started bullying my friend.”

And since the high road didn’t work, I’m fighting dirty.

Alya seemed to approve of this. “Okay, okay. Now, what’s the plan?”

The plan was simple. And it all started with Marinette.

Adrien walked alongside her down the hallway, his hand resting on the small of her back to try and soothe her unease, but that only seemed to make her more tense. The mask of confidence hadn’t slipped, but he could tell she wasn’t looking forward to confronting Lila, even with a friend alongside her.

Marinette stepped into the locker room before Adrien did, and the second she did, Adrien heard a heavy thud, and then a gasp of pain.

He’d never burst a door open so quickly in his life.

There was Lila, her face so different from what she usually looked like that she was almost unrecognizable. There was no hint of her usual kindness or soft, silly humor, or the ever present sparkle of sly mischief only visible to those who really looked. Her lips were curled back an a cold, unfriendly sneer, with teeth bared like she was a predator who had caught its prey. And her eyes…

There was nothing behind those eyes.

And that was what scared Adrien the most. Because now, though some small part of him suspected it before, he knew that Lila felt absolutely nothing for the people she hurt. She didn’t do this because she wanted people to like her. She didn’t do this for any conceivable reason that any regular pathological liar would; because she couldn’t help it. Lila Rossi lied because she could, for her own personal gain and for the pleasure she got from doing so. She was a master manipulator. This was a game to her, and she hated to lose.

She simply found joy in tormenting those who kept her from getting what she wanted.

And Adrien thought Hawkmoth was a monster. Lila Rossi didn’t need superpowers for that.

Lila’s fist was clenched at her side, the other drawn back, but then there was Marinette, sitting on her knees and clutching her cheek, and Adrien knew what she’d just done, what line Lila had crossed, and he didn’t even know if it was the first time she’d done so. With a rage he’d never experienced before, Adrien stalked forward to stand in front of Marinette, using his superior height to tower over Lila, staring down his nose at her, his disgust crystal clear on his face.

The emptiness in Lila’s eyes was rapidly replaced with false shock, then fear, and betrayal, and Adrien had no idea how she was so good at pretending to feel after she’d just struck someone in the face with a closed fist, after she had spent her entire time in France making false friendships and hurting everyone she spoke to. He wondered with bitter bemusement what ludicrous lie she was going to use, what she could possibly say in order to get out of this situation.

Adrien expected her to lie. He didn’t expect her to launch herself into his arms, crocodile tears tracing her cheeks, with false, hiccuping sobs shaking her narrow shoulders. He didn’t expect her to cling onto him like he was her saving grace, her manicured nails digging into his skin through his shirt as she held onto him with a vice grip.

“Oh, Adrien,” she wailed, her voice full of sorrow, “Marinette hit me, she just hauled off and hit me! I just needed some help with—”

Everything slowed down. Adrien had been nice to this girl. He’d been good to her, given her the benefit of the doubt, tried to give her every chance in the world for a shred of retribution, to try and prove that she was better than this, that she could be happy without building herself a fragile, falsified house of cards. He tried. And she went and hurt the people he cared about.

Adrien was done. He was done being nice. He was done letting her stoke him like he was an animal in a petting zoo whenever she felt like it, putting her hands where they were very much not welcome, and he was done being polite about refusing her advances, or chucking awkwardly as he pushed her hands away from his body, only to be forced to endure again, and again, and again.

You know what they say about a house of cards. All it takes is a single push to make it all fall down. This was Adrien’s push.

“That’s enough, Lila,” he said, with no hint of malice in his voice, “you can stop now.”

She looked up at him with watery eyes, her face the perfect imitation of someone who was so utterly betrayed, but Adrien was not buying it. He knew what she really looked like now.

“S-stop?” She hiccuped, “stop what? Adrien, please, Marinette, she’s been bullying me since I got here, I know she hates me, and she set you up last night, right? She put you up to all that— that stupidity. Just tell me that’s what happened, and I’ll forgive you, Adrien.”

Adrien shook his head, face still calm. “No, Lila. That isn’t what happened. You know that.”

Her eyes grew frantic. “Y-yes, yes it is! She put you up to that, and you didn’t mean it.”

“Lila. Listen to me—”

“YOU DIDN’T MEAN IT.”

Adrien knew exactly what she was doing. She was seriously, after he knew every single breath she took was a lie, trying to gaslight him. Had she done this to Marinette? The mere thought of it made his anger swell to dangerous levels.

“You wouldn’t do that to me, would you? You wouldn’t want to hurt me.”

Guilt tripping, gaslighting, what else was she going to try? Adrien may as well have been a statue, his expression just as stony as one. His eyes remained fixed on her face, unimpressed, the only indication that he was even listening to her being his eyebrows as they rose into his hairline.

“Lila, stop,” he said, finally, gently pushing her off of him, “that’s enough. No more games. No more nothing. Nobody slandered you, either. Nobody told the entire student body that you were best friends with Ladybug, or that you saved Jagged Stone’s cat, or that you got an expensive necklace from the prince of Achu. You did. All I did, all anyone did, was believe you.”

Lila blinked back her false tears, still trying to sell the wounded victim act, but the only thing it accomplished was making Adrien angrier.

“Just tell me you didn’t mean it,” she whimpered, as if she hadn’t heard what Adrien had just said, “you didn’t mean to force me to be on that livestream. You didn’t, right?”

Adrien started at her, perplexed and mildly amused. “Lila, I didn’t put you on livestream. Jagged Stone did. I didn’t tell him to do that. I don’t control him. You got yourself into this mess by lying, I did not do this to you. Stop looking for people to blame, and take a look in a damn mirror. I’m done with this, I’m done with you.”

He stepped forward, forcing her to take a step back, her tearful expression flickering, but Adrien didn’t care. He was on a roll.

“Because you don’t just lie, Lila. You hurt people. You enjoy hurting people, and that is sick. Something is wrong with you for enjoying tormenting others,” Adrien spat, the temperature of his voice dropping into single digits. “You bullied Marinette because what, she didn’t believe your lies? She saw through you? You felt the need to hurt her, someone sweet, and kind, and just purely good because of a stupid reason like that? Of course you did. To protect your falsified reputation, you took it out on her.”

Lila shook her head rapidly, and Adrien was mildly impressed she was continuing the charade. Her dedication to her act was admirable, even if it was for the wrong reasons.

“No!” She cried, “Adrien, I love you, don’t you know that? I’ve been in love with you since I first saw you. Marinette has been bullying me because she—”

“Save it,” Adrien interjected, “don’t you even try it. If you think I will believe a word you say you’ve got another thing coming. I gave you several chances, because I hate believing that someone is completely bad, and I hoped to God that you weren’t always a horrible liar, that just maybe you could change, but I was wrong. You’re worse than a liar. You’re a bully. And I will not be friends with someone like that, ever.”

Several emotions passed over Lila’s face, and Adrien thought that this might be his first glimpse of what she really felt. He could see the mental gymnastics going at the speed of light behind her eyes as she wiped at her face with the heels of her hands, raising her gaze to meet his once more.

“Does it even matter to you that I just told you I love you?”

Adrien stared at her, and before he could open his mouth to speak, Marinette did it for him.

“Love?” She said, her voice wobbly with emotions, but the scorn interlaced into her tone was almost palpable, “don’t make me laugh, Lila. You don’t lie and manipulate and gaslight someone you love. This is you, seeking control. Because that’s what you want, right? You don’t want love, you want someone you can break down into whatever you want, someone you can own. That isn’t love.”

“Don’t listen to her, Adrien!” Lila sobbed, “I do, love you, I do! You know I do. I love you more than anything.”

Adrien shook his head, his lips pressed together in a firm line. “No. Marinette’s right. This isn’t love, Lila. You need to stop. That’s enough.”

The tears stopped. It was so abrupt it was like someone had flipped a switch, and Lila stood terrifyingly still for a handful of seconds before a new emotion overtook her face.

Rage.

In a flash, she was on Marinette again, screaming profanities and insults, and Adrien rushed forward, past caring about being gentle as he yanked her off of his friend. She was fast, though, as she was suddenly on him, shoving him into the lockers, his back hitting the one of the metal handles with a painful clang that would undoubtedly leave a nasty bruise. Lila’s face was a twisted, feral grimace, her eyes swirling with selfish rage, her breath expelling out from between her grit teeth in seething bursts.

“Fine,” she snarled, “I lied. Yeah, maybe I do like fucking with idiots like Marinette. People like her, with those big, stupid soft hearts, it’s the most fun to watch them crack. To watch them fall into despair, wondering ‘why me’ when there isn’t any reason other than I felt like it. Everyone worships me. I tell those stupid sycophants what they want to hear to get things to go my way. Is it so wrong to want to be in control?”

Lila was unrecognizable, her eyes a horrifying concoction of mania and malice, her mouth split open into a wide, wolfish grin. Her hands were wrapped around Adrien’s upper arms, her nails cutting through his shirt painfully, and she leaned in until her nose was nearly pressed to his.

“Liar Lila, that’s what you wanted to hear, right?” She sneered, “well, I can lie some more. I can ruin you, Adrien Agreste. You’re going to regret siding with her. Watch me tell the principal, the police, that you and that bitch jumped me, a poor, defenseless girl. Watch me tell ruin your spotless reputation, watch me say you touched me. They’ll believe me. I know they will. Because if they don’t, they’re blaming the victim. I hope you liked school, Adrien, or having friends, or fans, or respect. You and Marinette deserve each other. You can be pariahs together.”

Adrien remained unfazed, despite the severity of her threats. In fact, he smiled. And as his grin grew wider, as did the confusion on Lila’s face.

“Why the fuck are you—”

“Alya,” Adrien said, “now’s good.”

The shutter of a camera went off like a gunshot, and Lila’s eyes went wide with horror as she jolted back and away from Adrien like he’d burned her.

“Nah,” Alya said as she finally, finally stepped into the room, “that’s it for you, miss pants-on-fire.”

Adrien watched Alya’s eyes roll as Lila’s eyes welled up with tears again.

“Alya!” She cried, “I was just defending—”

Alya rolled her neck, then her shoulders as she stepped forward, phone in her hand, undoubtedly recording.

“You,” Alya said, her voice dripping with tranquil fury, “can shut the hell up.”

“You don’t understand, Marinette isn’t your friend, she lied to you, I—”

Alya moved more quickly than Adrien had ever seen her move, shoving her phone into her pocket, the blink of the red light telling Adrien the phone was still recording audio.

“Oh my God, Lila, shut up,” Alya spat, her voice saturated with venom. “Didn’t I just tell you to shut up? You what? You lied? You bullied my best friend? Don’t you dare talk to me about Marinette, you two-faced, back stabbing cockroach. I thought we were friends. I can’t believe I ever thought a single word out of your filthy mouth was the truth. You played me and the entire fucking class for a fool, and you will regret that.”

The visage of a helpless, tormented girl drained from Lila’s face in an instant, replaced with her sneer, and she squared her shoulders, stepping towards Alya.

“Regret what? Your friend made herself an easy target. And she’s already so sensitive that—”

Alya did something Adrien was expecting her to do, but it still surprised him nonetheless: she hauled back, and in a flash, she slapped Lila across the face. The impact of the strike sent Lila stumbling back, her eyes wide as her hand rose to cup her cheek. She was stunned to silence, both from the slap and from the terrifying fury rolling off of Alya in crashing waves. Her face had given way to bug-eyed shock, her jaw slack, opposite arm limp by her side. If Adrien didn’t know any better, he’d think that this had never happened to Lila before: she’d never had to face the ramifications of her actions. And Hell hath no fury like an Alya scorned.

“I am talking,” Alya snarled, “mouth closed, attention please.”

Helpless, Lila nodded.

“Like, seriously?” Alya said, waving her hands around in indignation, “and I thought Chloé was bad, but she looks like a fucking humanitarian compared to you. I can’t believe I ever put you on my blog in a positive light. I hope you know that this recording is going to every goddamn person in school. Hell, maybe I’ll post it to the school website, maybe my blog. You know what, I think I’ll do just that. Maybe even Adrien’s fan page. I’ve sure the people over there would love to hear you threatening him. And don’t even think of speaking a single word unless it’s an apology to Marinette. Everyone has had enough of you.”

At last, Adrien saw the first genuine flicker of fear in Lila’s eyes. She backed up further, roles swapped drastically from predator to trapped prey as Alya stalked towards her like she was about to devour her whole, and if she wasn’t stopped, she probably would. But Adrien wasn’t going to stop her.

“Apologize,” Alya said, no, ordered, “by tonight. I’ll have Max add you back to the class chat, just for a little bit. Own up to all your shit, apologize to Marinette, tell everyone what you did, or I will do it for you. And if you ever touch another hair on Marinette’s head ever again, you know you’ll have me to worry about. Now get out of my sight.”

Lila stood still. Her eyes were wide with shock, her jaw clenching and unclenching as she her gaze passed from Alya, to Marinette, then finally landing on Adrien. He stared back at her, expression frosty. She would get no more help, no more second chances from him. Genuine, defeated tears welled up in her eyes, no more of the play acting dramatics to be found as she swallowed back a sob. Without another word, Lila turned, keeping her head down, and ran out of the room.

Silence. It was quiet enough in the locker room to hear a pin drop, interrupted only by the rhythmic sound of Alya’s labored breathing as she tried and failed to calm down. Adrien turned to face her, and watched as tears of her own beaded at her lash line, reappearing even as she blinked them back. She wiped her face furiously before reaching down to end the recording on her phone. In a few taps, Adrien’s phone buzzed, undoubtedly with the audio recording that had just been taken.

“Adrien,” Alya said, “thank you.”

Adrien looked back at her, puzzled. “What for?”

“Sticking up for her, dumbass. Sorry I called you a dumbass,” Alya sniffled. “I mean, thank you for seeing through Lila’s tricks, for supporting Marinette when I—”

Alya bit back another sob, and Adrien wanted to step forward, to try and offer some form of comfort, but she held her hand up.

“I’m not the important one, here,” Alya said, “Marinette is.”

Adrien turned towards where Marinette was sitting, still on her knees, her arms wrapped around herself. Her left cheek was red, undoubtedly in the early stages of a forming bruise. Tears were welling up in her eyes, too, but she wasn’t bothering to brush them away, letting them spill down her cheeks in soundless cries, but Adrien could tell that among the cacophony of stentorian emotions that were thundering in her head, that one in particular was present beyond a shadow of a doubt: relief.

Kneeling beside her and pulling her forwards and into his arms felt as natural as breathing, and the second he was touching her, it was like a dam broke. It was like everything was hitting her at once, with soft, sniffling sobs spilling out as she finally just let it hurt. She pulled Adrien closer to her, burying her head in the crook off his neck, a spot where it fit like it was always meant to be.

“You’re okay, now,” Adrien whispered, and she clung to him more tightly, “she can’t hurt you again. I won’t let her.”

Marinette let out a gasping sob as her fingers curled into the cloth of Adrien’s shirt, just to hold onto something, and he let her, rubbing soothing circles into the small of her back with one hand as his opposite arm wrapped securely around her shoulders, holding her close.

Adrien smiled when he felt Alya move in, wrapping her arms around the both of them, pressing a soft, affectionate kiss to the crown of Marinette’s head, whispering her apologies and promises to do better into the midnight of her hair, and Marinette lifted her chin, leaning up to press her forehead against her best friend’s.

Alya quietly excused herself after that, undoubtedly to upload the audio recording she’d just taken to every social media platform she had an account with, leaving Marinette with Adrien as he continued to whisper words of comfort. She cried for a long time, and Adrien’s heart hurt for her. He knew what it felt like to be alone, to be helpless. Marinette didn’t deserve to feel that way, nobody did.

He wondered if Ladybug ever felt this way. She was always so strong and confident. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her cry, not that any part of Marinette was weak for crying, it was human to cry. Even if Adrien had never seen Ladybug cry, he knew she probably did. It made his heart, his entire soul ache, just the thought of his lady being sad or lonely. The thoughts of her and the beautiful girl in his arms blurred together, and, without even thinking, the words just… slipped out.

“It’s gonna be okay, bugaboo.”

Adrien hadn’t even realized he’d said anything until a few seconds had passed, and Marinette was staring up at him with wide, shocked, teary eyes, an odd mix of recognition and utter befuddlement intertwining behind her bluebell hues.

“You—” She sniffled, “you called me— You called me ‘bugaboo.’”

For all of Adrien’s eloquence, manners, and high society etiquette, he had no idea what to say to that.

He stared back at her like a deer in the headlights, his eyes wide and terrified because he was truly fucked. He’d slipped up, and there was no Ladybug to put things back the way they were, nobody to backpedal and make Marinette forget that he’d just Freudian slipped while she was crying in his arms and he was trying to be comforting— Oh God, Plagg was going to tease him about this for the rest of time.

“I—” Adrien floundered, “j-just uh, forget—”

“N-no,” Marinette said, suddenly panicking, more tears welling up, “no, no that can’t be right, nobody calls me that— I mean nobody calls me that— Unless— Except…”

Adrien had no idea what she thought she knew, or what she was even talking about, but he watched as realization rapidly dawned on her, realization that was completely lost on him.

Her voice was thick with emotion when she finally spoke, a watery smile spreading across her lips, her eyes glossy with unshed tears.

“I thought,” she said, her voice adopting a laughing edge, despite her tears, “I told you not to call me that.”

Adrien stared back at her blankly. What did she—

Oh.

There it was.

It was hitting him like a big semi truck, knocking him flat on his back like a fifty foot tidal wave.

Because it was so fucking obvious.

All those times Marinette seemed to pop up just after Ladybug vanished, how she seemed to know things only Marinette knew, why she got so bent out of shape when Lila claimed that Ladybug was her best friend. Or why Adrien always had a particular fondness for the constellations of freckles on Marinette’s face, just as he did with Ladybug’s. Why Ladybug always adopted Marinette’s stammer when she spoke to him in his civilian form.

It all made sense. All of Plagg’s weird double entendres, all of the winking and nudging his Kwami did when regarding both Ladybug and Marinette.

The confidence she wore like a second skin, her grace and poise and sass that Adrien always told himself was just a coincidence because he saw Ladybug in everything. The way Marinette’s smile reminded him of the same heaven that Ladybug’s did, and again, it had to be a coincidence, because it had to be another cruel trick of Adrien’s chronic bad luck if his lady was here, right in front of him, all along.

Marinette. Marinette. Marinette.

Tears of his own welled up in Adrien’s eyes as he stared at her, awestruck and punch drunk in love as he raised a palm to cup her face, so gingerly, like she was made of glass and precious jewels.

“You,” he whispered, voice drawn taut with emotion, “you. You’re my lady.”

Marinette’s eyes darted away, even though she leaned into his touch, betraying her own hesitance.

“A-are you disappointed it’s me?”

Adrien laughed. He didn’t mean to, but the notion that Marinette Dupain-Cheng could ever be in the same sentence with the word ‘disappointing’ was laughable. Among all of Adrien’s firm admissions that Marinette was just a friend, he saw her as a cut above the rest. Nino was his friend. Marinette was Marinette. She was talented, beautiful, and kinder than anyone he’d ever met in his life. Internally, he’d been struggling for his slowly growing feelings for her, alongside the ones he had for Ladybug for so long he’d grown tired of trying to suppress them.

Being disappointed it was her was absolutely laughable.

“Disappointed?” Adrien parroted, “God, no. No, Marinette, I’m glad it’s you. There’s nobody else I’d rather have as my lady. I’ve loved you since— Since the moment I laid eyes on you. Every waking moment has been thoughts of you, but I understand you’re in love with another boy. I value you as my friend before all of that, I’d rather you be happy and remain in my life than force my feelings on you. It’s Luka, isn’t it? He’s a great guy, and—”

It was Marinette’s turn to laugh, and Adrien blinked at her, almost owlishly.

“Silly, oblivious kitty. So dense.”

Adrien stared, affronted. “Me-ouch.”

“It’s you.” She said, blinking back tears, “Adrien, the boy I love, the one I kept rejecting you for, is you. I’ve been crazy, insane, stupid for you ever since that thing with the umbrella, the day we met. I love you so much that all I think about is you, all I want is you. I’ve tried dating, and sure Luka is wonderful. But he wasn’t you, and as much as I care about Luka, it just doesn’t feel right. I’ve wanted you since day one, Adrien Agreste.”

It took Adrien’s brain a few seconds to catch up with her words, because things like this didn’t happen to him. He was waiting for her to laugh her signature nervous Marinette laugh, speedily telling him she was joking, or for his alarm clock to wake him up, or for anything at all to interrupt this, but he blinked, squeezing his eyes shut once, twice, and his lady remained, enfolded in his arms, those incredible eyes still fixed on his face, a soft, painfully endearing smile playing at her lips.

This was real. She was real.

“I—” Adrien gasped, at a loss for words, “I— you—”

“Yeah,” Marinette giggled, tearfully, “I love you, too, you stupid cat.”

In that moment, after everything Adrien had been through, it all felt like nothing at all, no more than fleeting moments, because here she was, in his arms, telling him what he’d wanted to hear for two years, telling him she loved him just as much, just as fiercely as he loved her. All this time, they’d been chasing each other’s shadows, so desperately smitten with one another that nobody could hold even half a candle.

Adrien made a sound that was an odd mix of a laugh and a sob as he pulled her achingly tight against him, tucking her head into the crook of his neck, reveling in the way she fit against him like she was made to, how soft her skin was, how she smelled like sweet sugar and freshly baked dough. She was perfect to him, with all her flaws and misgivings, they were and always had been something he could more than happily live with, as Ladybug or as Marinette.

“Please,” Adrien whispered into her hair, “can I kiss you, Marinette?”

Marinette stiffened, her face luminescent. “If want to— I mean, if you don’t— I mean—”

Adrien chuckled warmly, his heart seizing in his chest. “Never change, Marinette.”

One of his hands slid down her cheek to find her chin, tilting her face up, and he watched her eyes flutter closed as he leaned in, slowly, finally meeting her lips with his own. It was like everything he’d ever held back was spilling out, a symphony of emotion and sensation and pure, perfect adoration. One of Adrien’s hands slid down to lace into the wisps of hair at the base of her skull, the other cupping her cheek, his thumb smoothing over the gentle curve of her cheekbone, and he could feel her in his blood, thundering through his heart, consuming him whole.

Adrien angled his head to deepen the kiss, pulling back just slightly only to dive back in, kissing her with everything he had, and she was giving back just as much, clinging onto him, her fingers in his hair, and her touch felt like perfection incarnate, like everything he’d ever been missing.

They pulled apart only with great reluctance, resting their foreheads together, blissfully happy and oh so in love.

“Hey, Miss Busiter is looking for—”

Alya’s voice tore them from their focus on one another, but they didn’t separate, even as Alya stared at them with wide eyes, a slow, bordering on manic grin appearing on her face.

“Oh, my God,” she hollered, “it is about damn time.”

Marinette floundered in a way that Adrien could now call utterly adorable without forcing the word platonic down his own throat, making him smile like a total dope, pulling her tighter.

“A-Alya!” She cried, wiping her remaining tears with the back of her hand, “I— we were just—”

“She knows what we were doing,” Adrien laughed, his smile widening when Alya, characteristically, snapped a photo of them still pressed close together.

Marinette sighed. “Yeah, well, that’s… Gonna take some getting used to. Yeah, Alya, this is exactly what it looks like.”

“As much as I’d love, and I mean love to celebrate,” Alya said, her grin earsplitting, “you two are still students. You can hold hands and cuddle and all that after school. Oh my God, Marinette, we can go on double dates! This is so great! We— We’ll talk about it later.”

Marinette laughed, the first truly genuine laugh Adrien had heard from her in weeks, and it made his heart do a funny, jumpy thing in his chest, his stomach twisting into knots. He should have realized who she was earlier from her laugh alone. Unable to bear to let go of her, Adrien kept their hands intertwined as they stood up from the floor, legs stiff from sitting for so long, but they hardly cared about that, not now.

Because everything, every bit of pain was worth it, if it meant being with her. And from the dreamy, adorably dorky way she was staring at him, Adrien was absolutely positive she felt the same.

The classroom erupted into cheers when Adrien and Marinette entered with their hands joined, their proximity far too close to be any kind of platonic, and during break, when Marinette finally asked Adrien to a movie without putting her foot in her mouth, Alya clapped her on the back so hard she went toppling forwards.

But that was fine. Adrien was there to help her up.

They got that double date, Nino and Alya dragging them to some cheesy horror flick that ended up being more funny than scary, and even when Marinette did get spooked at the odd spooky scene, Adrien was there to smooth his thumb over her knuckles. He was there for her. And if Lila came back, as she absolutely would, Adrien would be there, too. She was far from done, and Adrien knew that. He’d done enough damage to send her off for a good while to lick her wounds, but he knew there was only a matter of time before she popped back up like a particularly contagious chest cold. Only this time, they’d be ready.

And Adrien would never let her hurt his lady ever again. That was a promise. So was the absolute pure, sparkling elation they both felt as Adrien walked Marinette home, hand in hand, the setting sun on their backs, blissfully happy.

Adrien Agreste was walking on sunshine all the way home.

32 notes · View notes

ballarimd · 1 year

Text

Some more miraculous webtoon drawings from a while back🌸

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanart #alya cesaire #adrian agreste #alya x nino #mlb fandom #chat noir #my wips #lila moss #chloe bourgeois

18 notes · View notes

wolfprincesszola · 1 year

Text

Table Sitting

Uh so someone actually held me accountable so here’s more Miraculous shit. First fic of the new year, so it’s only fitting that it’s a new year fic~

Also can I just say *spoilers to season 5 (released on Disney+) in the next few words* THEY FED ME MARICHAT CRUMBS AND THEN IMMEDIATELY RIPPED IT AWAY FROM ME I’M SO MAD anyways enjoy~ ——————– Summary: Marinette decides to take Alya’s advice to sit underneath a table during New Years in order to see if in 2023, she could get a relationship. What she isn’t expecting is for Adrien, her very good friend and lowkey-crush to sit next to her underneath the table. Conversation ensues.

Trigger Warnings: None

Content Warnings: Swearing ——————– “What are you doing?”

Marinette looked up to see Adrien snorting amusingly at her.

“Trust me, if the world worked my way, I wouldn’t be under here.”

“Well, why are you here?” Adrien asked, kneeling down to be eye level with Marinette.

“Ah, Alya saw this new thing where if you are under a table during midnight, you’ll get into a relationship that year. Since she and I are the only two single people in our friend group, she begged me to try it. Unfortunately, when I agreed, I didn’t think we would be at a party for all of the class.” Marinette let out a small laugh. “I think Alya’s over there.”

“No, I don’t think she is.” Adrien let a smile dance around his lips as he turned to point to Alya talking to Nino on the couch.

Marinette gasped, “The traitor.”

Adrien shifted all his weight to the ground and motioned to the spot next to Marinette, “May I?”

“Oh please. Just as long as you’re not afraid of being judged about sitting underneath a table.” Marinette moved over so Adrien could have more room. He proceeded to back up until they were sitting next to each other.

“Don’t worry. I never judged you.”

Marinette felt her heart flutter. For some reason, Adrien always knew the right thing to say to her.

“Ah, I never thought you would.” Marinette clicked her tongue, “I’m afraid everyone else would.”

Marinette motioned to the plethora of classmates staring at them with a concerned expression before just waving them off.

“Well, it’s okay, but we’ll be in relationships in 2023 and those losers won’t. Especially your best friend.” Adrien smiled.

Marinette swore that Adrien lit up the world with every smile he gave. At least it lit up hers. She wanted so desperately to be brave enough to tell him her feelings, to tell him that she hoped that them sitting underneath the table would bring her their relationship. But staring at his grinning face, she knew he might not be ready to hear it. Not when they were such amazing friends. Not when he was just fine platonically to her. She wasn’t going to ruin it just yet.

“So what are we supposed to do within the 10 minutes left on the clock?” Adrien asked, looking up at the bottom of the table, tracing his fingers through each curve. Marinette wanted to do the same with his face. She had studied it so much that she memorized the outline. She resisted the urge to trace the air with his outline, his image popping up. There was not one hair out of place in the picture in her mind, and every dimple and mole was present in her image.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think this far.”

“Do you think that Alya just decided not to go underneath the table early?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her for not going underneath it at all.”

“Ah, that’s true.” Adrien snorted before staring off, “My father was supposed to be here today.”

“Really?” Marinette raised an eyebrow, “He doesn’t seem like the type of person to show up.”

“He’s a little controlling…and a lot reserved, but he tries. Sometimes I wonder if he’s ashamed we’re related though.”

“Because he never talks to you?”

Adrien motioned to the doorway where nobody was, “Well, I mean look at the evidence. He hasn’t shown up, and even when he does talk to me, he doesn’t feel like a father. Maybe I’m just not a good enough son...”

Marinette blinked, before turning to Adrien, “Are you seriously worried about not being a good son?”

“It sounds stupid, I know, but…my father is really important to me. He’s the only link we have to family.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow, “Still, Adrien. Every child deserves a parent, but not every parent deserves a child. If anything, he’s not being the correct nurturing parent to you.”

“Debatable.” Adrien shrugged, “I mean, we stopped being close after my mother died. Now that he’s actually making an effort again, it just disheartens me when he doesn’t show up to parties I also go to. Maybe he’s just starting to understand that the universe gave us that space for a reason. Maybe he wants to create that space again.”

“Alright, stop it.” Marinette snapped her fingers, getting Adrien out of his trance and making him turn to her, “Before you start spiraling, I need you to look at me.”

Adrien struggled, but finally managed to look her in the eyes.

“Right, can I touch you?”

Adrien nodded.

Marinette grabbed onto Adrien’s face, bringing them inches apart. She didn’t bother thinking about how close they were, knowing she would faint if she thought about it.

“You. Are. Amazing. You. Are. A. Good. Son. I promise you.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Marinette nodded, “Now repeat it back to me.”

“I am amazing. I’m a good son.”

Marinette tsked, “That was bad. Again!”

“I am amazing! I’m a good son!” Adrien gave a smile and Marinette returned it.

“Just like that, Adrien. When in doubt, remember what I said.”

“Thanks, Marinette…I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re such a great…”

Adrien hesitated.

“Friend?”

“What? You don’t think of me as your friend?” Marinette bumped her shoulder against him playfully, “I see how it is. Don’t talk to me again.”

“No, no, no, no, no!” Adrien flushed, “Please, Marinette, come back. I do really appreciate you and think of you as a friend…I just don’t know if you’d be happy with me calling you a best friend.”

Marinette paused. She had assumed that Adrien was joking, but this was a new development…even if she was still stuck in the friend zone.

“Ah, you’re funny.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh come on, Adrien. There’s no way that you think of me as that close. I stutter around you. I fumble around you. I say the wrong things. Sometimes I say things that are hurtful to you. I mean, Nino’s even told me this before. We can’t be best friends if I make you feel horrible sometimes.”

“Do you actually think that?” Adrien raised an eyebrow, “Marinette, there are so many things wrong with what you said. First of all, you have never made me feel horrible. Nino probably said that as a joke. That’s a me decision though. It has nothing to do with you. Second of all, everyone says wrong things around others. I tell you if you hurt me, which is not a lot. You communicate with me why you said those things and I know you didn’t mean it the way I took it that way. Third, you have anxiety. Of course you’re going to stutter and fumble. I don’t mind. Seriously. Finally, I mess up all the time around you too. Just yesterday, I spilled my entire milkshake on you. You just laughed it off and helped me clean it off. You just changed outfits like you didn’t mind, but I could tell that a part of you was upset over the ruined outfit. You’re probably the nicest person I’ve ever met. I really appreciate you, and I don’t know how you could think that I wouldn’t see you as one.”

Marinette blinked, staring at the boy smiling in front of her. The golden haired boy with eyes that reminded her of the most beautiful evergreen forests. The boy she fell in love with. The boy she saw as her best friend. The boy she was starting to realize was so special to her.

She didn’t want to lose him. Not now or ever. He was starting to become everything to her.

And yet, she wasn’t sure if he thought the same of her. For all she knew, another girl could come along and become his everything while she was stuck there still trying to get out of the friendzone.

“I guess you’re my best friend too then.” Marinette hummed.

“Good, because I was going to grab that kitchen knife and go stab Alya if I wasn’t.”

Before either of them could say anything else, Lila spoke up.

“Alright guys! Listen up, there’s less than five minutes til midnight. I’ll put the countdown above, but I need someone to help with the ball dropping because of my sprained wrist. Anyone want to volunteer?”

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other before shaking their head.

“Marinette! Adrien! Want to help?’

“Nope. We’re under a table.”

“Just…get out from under it?” Lila raised an eyebrow.

“We’ll do it!” Alya volunteered, raising hers and Nino’s hand.

Everyone watched as the two went to help Lila set it up before the chatter started to bubble up again.

Soon, Adrien and Marinette were able to talk to each other again.

A minute to midnight, Adrien asked Marinette, “Oh, shit, I just realized. There was another tradition of New Years, wasn’t there?”

Marinette raised an eyebrow before it came clear as soon as Juleka grabbed Rose by the waist. “Oh shit.”

“Yeah.” Adrien laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “I mean…if you’re comfortable with it…I don’t mind.”

Marinette had been waiting for any moment like this to come her way. She had been wishing for a chance to kiss Adrien. Here it was, beating her up in the face with this opportunity, but she knew what her correct answer had to be.

“No, sorry. Is it okay if we don’t?” Marinette gave an awkward smile.

“Yeah, yeah, no of course!” Adrien nodded, turning away from her and towards the screen with the countdown. Marinette thought she saw a flash of shame flood his eyes. It was the first time he had broken eye contact with her since he started talking to her. It was always Marinette who broke it first.

“Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s your right. I’m not going to force you to kiss me if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s not that.” Marinette sighed, “I really don’t mind. I just…don’t want this to be the kiss between us.”

Adrien raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“It’s hard to explain.” Marinette fibbed, knowing she just didn’t want to rat herself out.

“Try me.”

Marinette usually liked it when Adrien said it, as he always understood what she was trying to say, but this time, she wanted to strangle him.

“Well, I just-I don’t want you to-Adrien, don’t make me say it.” Marinette exhaled, almost pleading with him. “I don’t want to say it.”

“Say what?” Adrien asked.

Marinette turned towards the countdown. 30 seconds left.

Well it was now or never. She could leave it behind with the year. Deep breath and just take the risk.

“Adrien, I like you. Not just as a friend, but more. I like you so much that it infuriates me. And I know that you’re not like someone else I’ve liked because for once, you make me feel calm around you. Somehow, even when I think about you, I instantly relax. I am always so nervous around other people. My thoughts whirl around at light speed around me when something happens, but you put me right at ease. I don’t understand it. That’s why I don’t mind kissing you. I mean, I want to, but I’m not going to let our first kiss be because of-MPHF”

Marinette was cut off with lips on hers.

Adrien cupped Marinette’s face, pressing their lips together roughly as she could hear others around screaming the final three numbers to midnight. She felt her heart soar as they connected as soon as it hit midnight.

Immediately after, Adrien separated, flushing, “Sorry, continue.”

Marinette blinked, “I feel like you didn’t hear me when I said that I didn’t want our first kiss to be because of convenience during New Years. I wanted it to have meaning.”

“It did.” Adrien smiled, “Marinette, you have no idea how much I’ve been wanting you to say those words. I really like you too, and I thought that me kissing you was obvious!”

“No, it’s not!” Marinette shoved Adrien, scoffing.

“Well, next time, I’ll just tell you straight out. Maybe when we don’t have 30 seconds on the clock.”

“Agreed.” Marinette smiled. “...is there any chance that we might do that again?”

“Ah, maybe, if I get a girlfriend before I come out from under this table.”

“Oh yeah?” Marinette smirked. “And who are you gonna ask?”

“You tell me. Who should I ask?”

Marinette just grabbed Adrien shirt, pulling him closer to her, “Alright, Rapunzel, come here and give me an actual kiss.”

“First kiss of the year.” Adrien smiled into the soft kiss that they shared. “And maybe girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend.” Marinette nodded.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #miraculous fandom #mlb adrien #mlb adrinette #mlb marinette #adrienette #fluff #new year #2023 #cw swearing #alya mention #nino mention #lila mention #juleka mention #rose mention #julerose mention #marinette x adrien

7 notes · View notes

frickingnerd · 6 months

Text

adrien with a younger sister

pairing: adrien agreste x fem!reader

tags: brother/sister, wholesome fluff, platonic

gabriel wanted a boy and a girl as children, so each of them had their own purpose and could model different clothes for him

meanwhile, emelie wanted a boy and a girl, to have a complete family – a mother, a father, a daughter and a son!

adrien was born first, while you were born around two years later, making adrien your older brother

adrien and you were best friends as children, though that also had to do with the fact that you only had each other as friends

occasionally, you spent time with chloe, felix and other kids of rich parents, but you always got along best with each other!

adrien was always a protective older brother, making sure nobody made fun of you and made sure you were included in all activities!

when you two grew older, you got to see chloe, felix and co. less and less, making you two grow even closer

you two trusted each other with all of your secrets and were always there to support each other

some days, adrien had to model for gabriel, while you got to sneak out of the house to go shopping

other days, you had to model for your father, while adrien snuck out of the house and watched movies in the nearby cinema!

adrien would always tell you about the movies afterwards, while you always brought him snacks and such along from your shopping trips!

when the two of you were finally allowed to go to school, adrien grew more protective of you

he always made sure you were invited too, when marinette, alya and nino asked him to hang out after school

and if someone like chloe or lila invited him – and only him – he always declined, since he didn't want to befriend people who didn't like his little sister!

#adrien agreste x reader #adrien x reader #adrien #agreste #adrien agreste #x reader #x you #x y/n #x female reader #x fem!reader #miraculous x reader #fluff #headcanons #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #mlb #mlb x reader #chat noir #chat noir x reader

242 notes · View notes

howhow326 · 1 year

Text

Break My Soul

Miraculous Ladybug S4: Nino salt fic (CW: Misogynoir, casual racism)

Alya PoV

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

Last week was surely the worst week of Alya's entire life.

Sunday, Alya noticed something strange about the trip Lila took last week with prince Ali... it never happened. Prince Ali was staying with his grandmother all week because she got sick. Alya was sure that this was all just some big understanding, so when she saw her green-eyed friend walking down the street she asked her about what happened. "Are you calling me a Liar?" Lila spat at Alya, all of her words dripping with venom. "What?! Of course not! I'm just saying that you didn't go with Prince Ali last week. Did you mean the week before or-" Lila cut off Alya before she could finish. "You're going to regret that." Alya tried to reach out to the girl she thought was her friend, but the liar walked away without a word.

Monday was probably the worst day of Alya's entire life. She went to school like normal, but Nino was late. Then, he burst through the door and screamed "ALYA'S CHEATING ON ME!!!", "What??? How could-" "Lila told me everything you DIRTY LIAR!!! AND I HAVE PROOF!!!" Nino took his phone out and showed the class a poorly edited photo of Alya huging some random boy. Alya was speechless, but Nino wasn't. "I'M DUMPING YOU, CHEATER!!!" In that moment, Alya finnally realized that Marinette had been right about Lila after all. Lila wasn't Alya's friend, she wasn't a celebrity, and she definitely wasn't a good person. "Nino, you have to trust me-", "I'LL NEVER TRUST YOU AGAIN, LIAR!!!" and Nino sat next to Adrien quiet the rest of the class. As Alya's heart slowly broke into pieces, Lila's smile grew larger.

Tuesday, Alya and Marinette became fully ostracized from the rest of the class. All of the girls asked the duo to delete their phone numbers, and they didn't say anything else to them. Nino still kept quiet the whole class, he didn't even speak to his best friend. As for Adrien, Alya and Marinette both knew that he knew Lila was a liar, but he argued that going against her would only do more damage. "BS" Marinette muttered under her breath. "Adrien is the most popular boy at school and he has Chloe in his pocket. You really think the class would choose Lila over him?" "I... I don't know anymore." Alya could feel the resentment of everyone in her homeroom crushing her. "H-hey, calm down! We can't get upset or else-" "-Shadowmoth will try to akumatize us, I know. I just... can't take this. I'm sorry I didn't believe you about Lila before." The more Alya thought about how many second chances she gave Lila, the more twisted her stomach became. "Don't apologize, Alya. Even when you believed Lila, you were still nice to me. You are better than everyone in that heck hole." "sniff Thanks girl." Alya said as she wiped tears from her face. The two girls continued to chat, alone togather in the cafeteria. Out the corner of Alya's eye, she could see Lila leading Nino into what looked like one of the bathrooms, but at this point she was over him. Everyone at school hated Alya and refused to talk to her, but at least things can't get worse right?

Wensday, things got worse. That was the day her classmates started bullying her. Chloe, her doormat, and Kim started name calling Alya and Marinette the minute they sat down. Rose cringed at what she saw, but she never spoke up. Mylene looked like she was enjoying what she saw. And Adrien had a dull look in his eyes, like he was above his classmates antics and not a coward. Miss Bustier walked into the class room during the middle of the name-calling, and she was very quick to get Kim to "settle down". But she never stopped Chloe and Sabrina... Alya wondered why, but she knew in her heart of hearts what was going on. Then Nino walked in, a completely different person from the last time Alya saw him. His base ball cap was gone, and his hair had been straightened and slicked up into a hairstyle that resembled pictures Alya saw of American frat boys. His blue T-shirt and jeans were replaced with black dress pants, a black wifebeater underneath a brown vest. His glasses were missing, but he had many watches on his arms. And besides the new Nino was Lila clinging to his shoulder. "HEY GUYS, LILA AND I ARE DATING!!!" Nino shouted in his 'indoor' voice. "Nino, how many times do I have to tell you to be quiet indoors!" Miss Bustier reprimanded him. "Oh Miss Bustier, please forgive Nino. You know how he gets when he's excited!" Lila spoke in her fake nice voice. "Oh, alight Lila. But make sure to control him better next time!" Miss Bustier urged the Italian. Alya did a double take at what the white teacher had suggested. Ms Bustier was always like that, being ignorant of her blatant racism and disguising it as "helping Chloe and Lila". Alya didn't think it was a sin to be racist on accident, but it was a sin to act like you know everything and still act ignorant. As for Lila... Alya didn't know if she was racist and she didn't care. Lila was already weaponizing racism against her and Marinette. The rest of class was much the same, half of the class harassed Alya and Marinette, but Ms Bustier only stopped the non-french kids from "acting uncivilized with each other".

Thursday was much the same, the exact same actually. After class Alya spotted Nino, or new Nino... evil Nino? Jerk Nino? Alya spotted jerk Nino standing on the sidewalk behind the school. Her brain wanted to ignore him, but her heart wanted to make things right with him. Alya knew that she could never get back with Nino, but she knew that he was better than Lila and didn't want her to influence him anymore. "...Nino?" "Ugh, what do you want." Nino bit at Alya with his words. "Look, just hear me out okay?" Nino stared at Alya for a bit, then he turned his head and popped a cigarette out. Oh Nino, Alya thought, when did you start smoking? "I know that you still don't believe that I never cheated on you, and that there's nothing I can say or do to be with you again-" Alya felt a trail of tears go down her cheek. "- but you have to believe me when I say that Lila is a bad influence on you. My heart has broken into pieces, and watching that girl corrupt you into someone your not is grinding those pieces to dust! You have to break up with Lila, for your sake!" For a moment, silence. Nino looked at Alya like she was nothing, a look he never gave her even when he hated her. "Are you done?" Nino blankly asked Alya. "What?" "See girl, the thing is, I never liked you like that. Having my first girlfriend was nice and all, but you were never Marinette." Alya's mouth hanged from her jaw, did Nino not hear me? "Eww, and that's the other thing; you're ugly!" Alya felt like a dagger was being pushed into her heart. "And judgmental, and bossy, and you never let me be a real man. Now Lila, that girl's got everything! She's nice, cute, not fat like you, and she let me be the person I always wanted to be!" "That... that can't be true! The Nino I knew would never speak to me like that!" Then, Alya felt something hard crash into the side of her face, knocking her off balance and onto the ground. As she looked up, she saw Nino's hand raised. "KEEP MY NAME OUT YOUR MOUTH, WITCH!!!" When Alya touched her cheek, she could feel a small cut from one of Nino's gold rings. Alya looked back at Nino, and he spat into her eye. Alya screamed. "Oh shut up!" Ladybug then dropped out of the sky, punched Nino in the gut, and then threw him into a trash can. "M'lady stop, you could have killed him!" Chat Noir meekly said as he fell down moments after Ladybug. "THEN YOU HELP HIM!" Ladybug shouted at Chat Noir. She then scooped Alya into her arms and swung back to Marinette's room. Once they were safe, Ladybug detransformed into Marinette and Alya cried into her arms.

Friday, Alya stayed home. She was treated for a possible eye infection after the Cigar Rat had spat into her eye, and she. Stayed. Home. At 3:00 p.m., Marinette came for a visit. She told Alya how her day was, that Nino and all the rich kids were cutting classes. They might be held back. Then she left. At 5:00 p.m., Nora answered a call from Nino's father, and she told him to never call this number again. Then Alya went to sleep.

Saturday, and Alya stayed home. On the news, Ladybug and Chat Noir were fighting an akumatized Nino. They beat him, but Nino slapped Chat Noir's hand when he reached for him and ran off. That couldn't be good for his reputation. Ayla laid in her bed all morning and afternoon, and she wanted to disappear. She felt like nothing. She felt worthless. She felt unlovable. She felt- "Hey sis, can we talk for a bit?" Nora spoke through a crack in the door. "Sure." Nora opened the door and came into Alya's bedroom, which looked frozen in time. "Alya... what's happening to you? You're not acting like yourself." "Well, me and my bestfriend are being bullied at school. You already know about Nino, and his new girlfriend is the one that caused all this. The classroom teacher is letting this all slide because she puts white girls first, and Adrien is letting this all slide because... I don't know, he's scared." Alya said blankly. Nora looked furious "That's seriously not cool! Why didn't you tell anyone! Why didn't you tell me?!" Alya felt water leak from her eyes. "Because... maybe if I had just lied and said that I was sorry to Nino and believed that Lila went on a trip last week, none of this would be happening. I-" "Alya stop! This isn't who you are! You an ace journalist! You care more about the truth then anyone I know! So stop lying to yourself! You are seen, you are amazing, you are worthy, and you are loved!" and with those touching words, Nora hugged Alya until she stopped crying.

Sunday, Alya's parents asked her to run some errands for them because they thought she needed a breath of fresh air. She was just about done when Lila appeared behind her. "Hi... Alya." Lila spoke in what she thought was the evilest way possible. "Lila, what do you wa-" "Save it. I hope you understand by now what I meant last Sunday. Do understand, Alya, that this is not the end. It is merely the beginning. Tell me, how would you feel if the Ladyblog got hacked? If your big sis got banned from boxing? If Marinette got expelled from school? These aren't empty threats, but the reality you are living. I. HAVE. POWER. I can make heads turn! I can make mountains move! I can do the impossible and the unthinkable! So now you have a choice... choose me over Marinette, and I'll even get you back togather with Nino! Choose Marinette over me... and you will now what it's like to live in H e l l! You don't have to decide today. Just like Marinette, I'll give you some time to think about it." Lila then flipped her hair and walked away like she hadn't talked like a maniac two seconds ago. That made Alya mad.

"Lady Wifi, I am Shadowmoth. You are the most honest person in all of Paris, and yet you're life has been destroyed by the lies of one girl. I will give you back your powers and, in exchange, all I ask are Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous." "I, no-" Alya felt like her head was about to explode from pressure. "Why resist me? After all, I'm the only one that believes you are innocent." Shadowmoth whispered into Alya's ear. For a moment, Alya was about to accept Shadowmoth's offer, and smash Lila's head. But then she remembered the truth "No Shadowmoth! You aren't the only one that believes me! Marinette, my best friend in the whole world has always supported me! Ugh, I renounce your power!!!" And with those words, Alya broke the hold Shadowmoth had over her.

Last week was surely the worst week of Alya's entire life.

And this week was surely the best. Alya and Marinette went to school like normal, all apart of their master plan. "Honestly, I don't even like black girls" Nino said in his "indoor" voice. "Their too loud, annoying, and aggressive!" "Haha, Nino, aren't you black too?" Lila asked while, for the first time in her life, genuinely laughing. "What??? No! I'm not black, I'm just a dark skinned Arab!" Nino said, oblivious to the fact that people can be black and Arab at the same time. Not so oblivious to the fact that he was uplifting one race to put down black people, playing coon for an Italian girl. "The difference is?" Lila asked, not because she wanted to know but because she liked seeing her boyfriend humiliate himself in public. "Well, black people aren't cute like me!" Nino shouted in his indoor voice. All of the white kids, minus Rose and Juleka, plus Kim, laughed at the anti-black joke. Max cringed, but didn't say anything. Alya decided to raise her hand, for the plan to work. "Ms Bustier, are you seriously going to let him say that about my people?" she asked, knowing Ms Bustier definitely would. "Alya, it's just a harmless joke. And Lila, I told you to keep Nino under control!" Ms Bustier commanded. "Sorry Ms Bustier. Um, can I go to the bathroom?" Lila asked. Not like she needed to ask, since Ms Bustier would do everything she wanted in order to teach the class to "uplift white women". As she was a foot out the door, Lila winked at Nino. "Oh, uhh, Ms Bustier! Can I go to the bathroom too?" "It's not 'can I', it's 'may I'! And you better be back in 15 minutes young man! I won't have you making sexist jokes all day and failing my class!" Ms Bustier shouted at him. Per usual, Ms Bustier only stands up for black girls when white girls are threatened. Nino scurred out the room to go smoke with Lila, or drink with Lila, or do something else with Lila. Per usual, Lila and Nino didn't return to the classroom, which caused Ms Bustier to sigh. "I knew Nino was a bad influence on Lila". For a second, Alya wanted to scream at the ignorant teacher, but then she remembered that Lila didn't corrupt Nino. She only brought out his true colors.

The next day was the best day of Alya's life. Marinette's plan was quite simple for once, record the classes awful behavior and post it onto the Ladyblog. The website had actually had a lack of updates for a few days because of the drama, so when it randomly posts evidence of the beloved creator being bullied and racially harassed, Alya's entire family got akumatized and attacked the school. After Ladybug stopped the attack, alone, a full investigation was launched into Ms Bustier's homeroom. Apparently the woman used to be a kindergarten teacher, and before that she was a Trans Exclusive Radical Feminist living in Britin. And she was guilty of tax evasion. Alya almost felt sad for her. Almost. Chloe, Sabrina, and Kim were all sent to seperate reform schools full of kids that were 10x nastier than they were, pure karma. Ivan was planning a mass shooting on the school and told Mylene, who though he was joking. He got sent to a psyche ward, and she got a "slap on the wrist" of 1,000 hours mandatory community service.

The next day, Marinette and Alya were invited to a special news interview where they discussed, at length, the lies Lila had told. The special guest, aside from them, was prince Ali, who admitted he didn't know who Lila was. Lila then asked Max to permanently delete the Ladyblog off the Internet as a favor from "saving his life from a ball of paper". Max considered it, but then he remembered Lila's racism. So Max called the news segment and gave them a voice recording of Lila asking him to destroy the Ladyblog to hurt Alya. On live TV. With almost everyone in Paris watching.

Thursday, Lila broke into the news studio to spread "the truth" that Shadowmoth is Gabriel Agreste and that Alya is working with him. She was arrested and placed into an asylum far away from modern technology, a place where she would never "hurt hurself" again. Marinette and Alya had a little laugh at her desperate attempt to stay relevant... then Alya put the pieces in place and realized she was right. Marinette used the rooster Miraculous to gain the power of X-ray vision and looked through the Agreste mansion, only to find a ridiculously sized basement with a... coffin inside. Gabriel's mansion was raided within the hour. Shadowmoth attempted to put up a fight, but Ladybug had a new team of miraculous holders that were actually good at their jobs helping her this time. Gabriel was apprehended and to be brought before a U.N. court for international levels of terrorism. Chat Noir, who was Adrien, had his identity found out by all of Paris. On accident. Ladybug considered taking his miraculous away, but Rena Furtive convinced her otherwisr on the the condition he never become Chat Noir again. "Keeping Plagg might make him grow a spine" Rena argued. "Either way, if he commits a crime with a miraculous, he is definitely going to jail." "Oh, definitely." Before the day ended, Marinette finnaly got togather with Luka, the only person besides Alya that actually supported her. Luka also gave a stern talking to Juleka and Rose, who apologized to the duo for everything they didn't do. They even offered to become friends again, but Alya declined. It was nice they don't have their heads stuck up their butts anymore, Alya thought, but it will take more time to forgive them.

Friday, everything felt right with the world. Adrien moved to London to live with his aunt, and with him gone only one last blight remained. Afterschool, Nino approached Alya on the sidewalk. "So you thought you could ruin my life again and get away with it, YOU BLACK WITCH!!!" Nino screamed at Alya. "Are you done?" Alya blankly asked him. Nino raised his hand, but this time Alya caught him.

Then she punched him in his teeth.

I will not do this ever again.

#miraculous ladybug #ml salt fic #lila salt #nino salt #ml class salt #kim salt #ml Kim salt #Ayla sugar #marinette sugar #Adrien salt #chloe salt #lila gets exposed #miss bustier salt #ml writers salt #ml salt #alya cesaire #white feminism #ninola #nino x lila

138 notes · View notes

knifedancer · 7 months

Text

Not Dating

Day by day, one by one, Marinette’s classmates noticed that the young designer had gotten closer to Felix. Close enough to be considered dating. Finally, the entire class is convinced that the two ARE dating.

The only problem is that Felix nor Marinette seem to know about it.

Felix (PV) x Marinette, posted to AO3.

~~~~~~~

~~~SCENE 1: Lila~~~

Lila was walking down a shopping district when she caught sight of her favorite victim—er, classmate eating at a nearby café. Carefully maneuvering around the outdoor patio in a way so that she would not be seen, she noticed that Marinette was not alone… Across from her sat the snobbish cousin of Adrien’s: Felix Graham-Agreste. The Italian narrowed her eyes as she took in their chummy atmosphere. ‘When did they get so close?’

“Oh my gosh, Marinette! What a coincidence!” The liar called out as she exited her hiding spot.

The designer’s countenance darkened a bit as the liar approached, her voice dropping into a flat irritated tone. “Lila.” The snake’s eyes gleamed with a cruel light, her smile becoming a bit sharper.

“What do you want, Rossi?” Came the exasperated, blunt voice of her pale blond companion. Rude.

“What? Can’t I say hello to my classmates? I stop by this café all the time; the owner is like a father to me. I highly recommend the pasta!”

“It’s a boba café, they don’t sell pasta!” Cried the exasperated class president.

“Well, it’s on the secret men—”

“Hi, order number 42?” A waiter interrupted, pointing to the little plastic table number resting beside Felix’s elbow. “Who had the honeydew milk tea?” Marinette raised her hand and he set it before her. “And one matcha milk tea for the gentleman. Please enjoy.”

The two teens stared down Lila as the waiter left two straws and returned to his post inside to take orders. She scoffed as she sauntered away, pretending to look over the posted menu while spying on the pair. ‘Perhaps I can get something good to lie about at school tomorrow…’ she thought, watching them from the corner of her eye.

“Mm, this honeydew is delicious!” The bluenette remarked while sipping happily on her drink.

“Let me try,” Lila watched as Felix grabbed the drink right out of Marinette’s hands.

“Hey! Don’t steal all my tapioca pearls, jerk!”

The blond brought the same straw to his lips to take a sip. “Hmm, you’re right, not too sweet.” The designer’s scowl transformed into a smug smile as he set the glass back down in front of her, continuing to enjoy her drink without a second thought.

‘Did they just…indirectly kiss?! Oh my, talk about juicy gossip!’ Lila’s lips curled into a wicked smile; she couldn’t wait to twist this into a new story tomorrow!

~~~ The next day…

“You’ll never believe this, girls. Marinette was on a date with Felix!” Lila sobbed, “After I told her how much I liked him, too!”

“Aw, Lila…I’m sure that’s not what it was,” Mylene comforted the girl.

“I saw it! They were all lovey-dovey, sharing a drink—” The liar attempted.

“Girl, are you sure that your lying disease isn’t acting up again?” Alya asked skeptically as Lila tensed. “I mean…Marinette and Felix? Pfft, that’d never happen!”

“Does seem rather far-fetched,” murmured Juleka in agreement.

“But I really saw—" she tried again in vain.

“Shh, it’s okay. Why don’t you tell us more about your recent trip to Achu instead, Lila?” Rose begged the flabbergasted liar.

~~~SCENE 2: Adrien~~~

It was Saturday and the teen heartthrob of Paris had just finished a photoshoot early. Nathalie had even agreed to let him enjoy a little free time! ‘Too bad Nino is busy with Alya today,’ he thought glumly as he looked around the park. Spying his favorite designer’s balcony in the distance brought a smile to his face once again. ‘Maybe Marinette would want to play some UMS III!’ Destination set, Adrien began crossing the park at a leisurely pace, enjoying the sun and the breeze on such a pleasant day.

He watched as kids chased each other through the park, vendors sold balloons and treats, and friends picnicked on checkered blankets. The model smiled as his roaming eyes noted happy couples – like the two giggling college students holding hands as they walked, Marinette and Felix lounging under a tree, the young man chasing—WAIT. Marinette and Felix were what?

Adrien’s eyes locked back onto the pair beneath the tree in disbelief. Felix was sitting with his back against the trunk while reading the book he held in one hand. Sprawled out between his knees was a slumbering bluenette, her sketchpad forgotten on her lap while her fingers still twitched with the pencil between the digits. Her body was slumped slightly to the right, her head lazily resting against his cousin’s chest. Dumbstruck, he continued to stare as Felix brought his free hand up to turn the page before returning it back to its original place, his silver ring gleaming in a wayward sunbeam as his fingers idly played with one of Marinette’s pigtails.

They looked…comfortable. Closer than he remembered them being.

Marinette seemed to stir, her eyes squinting slightly against the sunlight before she began to shift. The blond’s hand extracted itself from her hair, his eyes falling away from those crisp white pages to gaze down at the girl in his lap. The bluenette resettled on her left side, half curled against his chest and readily fell back to sleep. With unbridled fascination, Adrien watched a soft smile spread across Felix’s face before his hand cupped around her cheek to gently play with the short hairs that curled in front of her ears. His smile never wavered as his eyes returned back to the book in his other hand as if the whole exchange had never happened.

Felix looked…happy and, perhaps, in love?

‘Are they…dating?’ The model’s brow scrunched in thought, considering the whole exchange as he quietly walked in the opposite direction. ‘Good for them. I should congratulate them at school tomorrow!’

‘Maybe Luka is available for a jam session,’ Adrien pulled out his phone to call the older boy.

~~~SCENE 3: Adrien and Alix~~~

After school the next day, while waiting for his ride, Adrien flagged down his cousin coming down the stairs. Felix gave his usual short greeting before expectantly looking at him. Noting they didn’t have much time to spare, he decided to cut to the chase.

“I noticed you and Marinette have gotten rather close recently,” Adrien smiled warmly.

“Yes, she’s been very welcoming and warm. She grows on you, much like a fungus,” the snobbish blond replied while his eyes drifted towards the entry way as if looking for someone.

“Come on, Fe! You don’t need to be so obtuse. She’s really special, isn’t she?” The model raised his eyebrows, attempting to put a heavier meaning behind his words. All he got was a distracted, affirmative hum in reply. Settling a hand on his cousin’s shoulder, his grey eyes shifted back to Adrien. The model looked directly into Felix’s eyes with a bright smile, “I just wanted to tell you that I’m really happy for you two!”

His cousin’s face scrunched up in confusion but, before he could question the green eye blond, his attention was captured by a shriek coming from the stairs behind them. Felix turned just in time to catch a flying bluenette against his chest with an “oof!” before she could hit the ground.

Alix jumped down from the top step and swooped around them in her skates, looking frantic. “Oh my gods, Mari! I’m so sorry, I thought you saw me coming. Are you okay?”

“Kubdel, what the hell were you thinking? You know Marinette has her head in the clouds 80% of the time!” Felix scolded the pink haired girl while setting the young designer down on her feet, keeping her in the protective ring of his arms. Turning to her, his tone became a tender and worried murmur, “Are you alright, princess?”

“I’m purrfectly fine, she didn’t mean to bump into me! Besides,” Alix and Adrien watched as her smile turned fond, “you caught me before I could get hurt. My hero.” She pretended to swoon and, although Felix scowled, his eyes remained soft. They watched as he took her bag from her shoulder and then grabbed her hand. Neither classmate missed how the grey eyed boy threaded his fingers through hers.

“You’re likely to fall over if I don’t hold onto you. Let’s get you home in one piece, shall we?” He nodded to the two as he led Marinette away, the unlikely duo murmuring to themselves – smiling and laughing as if in their own little world.

“Are those two dating?” Alix inquired with obvious confusion.

“Yup, I saw them cuddling in the park over the weekend. I was pretty surprised but I’m happy for them. I think she’s good for him,” Adrien grinned.

“Huh. I always thought she’d end up with you,” the pink haired girl shrugged and skated away from the now blushing blond.

“Wait, what?!”

~~~SCENE 4: Amelie~~~

The Graham-Agreste family didn’t travel outside of Paris much these days but, when they did, it was usually for a week at a time. Amelie had warned her son about the impending trip to visit a business contact in Greece and he seemed less than thrilled. She suspected it had something to do with the sweet classmate he had been spending so much free time with. She wasn’t blind but pretended to be whenever Felix’s face softened and an unconscious smile spread on his face when he would receive a text from her. She even had her own ringtone! And today? Why, Amelie was in for quite the treat because that very classmate appeared at their door just a few hours ago to help Felix pack for his trip.

She didn’t miss the chance to remind her teenage son to leave his door open as she didn’t wish to be a grandmother…yet. Nor did she miss both turning bright red at the implication of her words.

Amelie had checked a few times – while walking down the hallway, she didn’t want to cramp his style – and noted that he had left the door ajar as requested. This allowed her to catch snippets of their muffled conversation and laughter in passing. Not that she was trying to eavesdrop, but those joyful sounds made her so happy. It made her heart swell that Felix had finally found someone he could relax and be himself with! Her grumpy little man had made a friend – a girl friend no less – and Amelie was over the moon!

‘Come to think of it, it has been a while and they are awful quiet…’ she internally mused. ‘Better go check on them.’

The older blond set down her crossword and headed upstairs, approaching the bedroom door as quietly as she could. She heard nothing as she paused outside the door. Curiosity getting the better of her, she pushed the door open soundlessly. She had to bite her lip to stop from cooing over what she found!

Felix’s carryon was packed and set at the foot of the bed with care, a light jacket draped over the handle in preparation of their early flight. A single lamp on his nightstand was on, illuminating the scene before her in the dusk-colored room. In the middle of the duvet lay the two teens, about a foot apart but facing each other, unconsciously holding hands as they peacefully napped side-by-side. Tiptoeing to the end of the bed, Amelie pulled out her phone and snapped a few silent photos – noting with glee the tiny smile on her son’s face as he slept. With an airy sigh through her nose, she silently departed so the two could rest.

‘They make such a cute couple! I’ll have to frame these photos for when they get married…’

~~~SCENE 5: Juleka and Nathaniel~~~

A few weeks later, Madame Bustier had paired up students for an art history project. Juleka and Nathaniel had scheduled some time during lunch to study in the library, hoping to get the necessary books for their chosen historical figure: Marcel Duchamp. They greeted the librarian and headed towards the art history section, flipping through various books to find the most relevant information. Suddenly a giggle cut through the quiet and caught the attention of the two studious classmates. Peeking around the end of the row and looking toward the beanbag chairs in the reading nook, they spied two teens engaging in a tickle fight. Their eyes widened as they realized the grinning blond was none other than Felix and the snorting giggles were escaping a very pink, writhing Marinette.

“Is that…are they…” Nathaniel questioned under his breath, Juleka nodding vaguely to confirm that she was witnessing the same thing. This was not the work of an akuma.

They watched silently as the bluenette twisted and struggled to evade the blond boy’s nimble fingers, eventually ending up tangled and panting in an embrace that resembled a human Gordian Knot. Her legs were draped across his lap and an ankle hooked around one of his, her arms weaved and locked around his upper torso, her fingers driven into his hair. Felix’s head rested against her collar bone, his eyes shut, and lips curved into a smug smile. Their bodies were pressed so tightly together that not even a breeze could get between them. “You could have just told me you wanted to nap! Gods, you’re such a cat sometimes!” Marinette scolded softly with a huff of laughter, her fingers petting the skin and long hair at the base of his neck as the boy seemed to melt further against the young designer.

“Do you think they’re dating?” Juleka whispered in amazement.

“Certainly seems like it,” the red head replied.

~~~SCENE 6: Mylene and Rose~~~

“…And the whole park just looks so lovely with all those new trees planted! Thank you for helping with my beautification project, Rose!” Mylene expressed happily to the strawberry blond beside her as they wandered into the cafeteria.

“I was so happy to help. The flowers are going to smell amazing when they begin to blossom!” Rose swooned softly before bumping into someone in her distracted state. “Oh, hey Marinette! What have you got there?”

“Hey guys! I made bento boxes today, want to see?” The bluenette opened the two boxes for their perusal. Inside were tiny hotdog octopi piled so close together that they seemed to be kissing, slices of fried chicken, rice balls with seaweed hearts stuck all over them, and a small salad filled with heart shaped veggies. The two girls cooed over each detail, noting the obvious theme…

“Did you make these for your crush, Marinette?” Rose chirped sweetly, “So romantic!”

“Wh-what?! N-no, no! I just made these because I wanted to…” the young designer blushed crimson at their words and nervously rubbed the back of her neck. “I kind of fell down a YouTube rabbit hole with Kagami the other day and became super obsessed with the idea. I’m not very good though, I still need a bunch of practice…”

The colorful dreadlocked girl smiled kindly, “I think it’s really sweet! You know, I bet Adrien would—”

“Oh shoot! Sorry, girls, I promised Felix we’d have lunch together to work on our project and I really want to eat before this gets cold,” interrupted a distracted Marinette as she packed up her bento, her face scrunched as she took in the grumpy blond at the far end of the cafeteria.

“Sure, see you later, Mari!” Rose and Mylene watched as their friend crossed the room to sit with Felix. “They’ve been spending a lot of time together lately, huh?”

The mousey girl nodded, watching in fascination as their class rep seemed to scold the pale blond for only eating an apple before spreading the two bento boxes between them on the table. Felix responded with an eyeroll from the other side of his book, but Marinette just gesticulated her hand brandishing chopsticks to wave off his arguments. They were taken aback a moment later when she scooped a mouthful from the box and blew away the steam, then offered it to the boy with a silent ‘say ah!’ The grump seemed to huff before dutifully taking the morsel into his mouth, not letting her feeding him interrupt his reading. Marinette smiled brightly and continued to feed them both in this fashion, completely oblivious of the two shocked girls watching from afar.

The petite bubbly girl squealed with joy! “Do you think she actually made the bento for Felix? Oh my goodness, she filled it with hearts!”

“And he accepted it! We’ve got to tell the girls!” Mylene gushed, thrilled to see their sweet friend find love and appreciation.

Looks like the Adrienette fan club needs to disband…

~~~SCENE 7: Kim~~~

It was date night with his girl, Ondine. He had lost their bet at swim practice, so she got to pick the movie – some American “classic” called Grease playing at a small, off-the-beaten-path theater. She seemed happy so Kim wasn’t about to complain. ‘I just hope it’s not a total chick flick! I’ll have to catch the latest John Wick with the guys next weekend…’ he internally sighed. It was early evening on a weeknight, a few bored employees manned the front, and very few patrons were in attendance. Most appeared to be couples out on their own dates. The two athletic teens settled into their seats near the back – prime make out territory for couples, oh yeah – just in time for the lights to dim.

Suddenly, about five minutes into the film, the entry door on the opposite side of the auditorium opened with a loud BANG and made everyone present jump. Kim heard a familiar voice call out a whispered “sorry!” before catching sight of a couple quietly making their way down the aisle and settling a few rows down from where he was. One tall, lanky, dour blond and a shorter, contrite looking bluenette… Wait, was that Felix and Marinette? As Ondine hummed and danced in her seat to ‘Summer Lovin,’ Kim curiously watched as the duo took their seats in the back half of the theater. Once seated, there was some sort of frantic movement from Marinette before Felix settled his arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer; the young designer’s head coming to rest against his chest. Kim’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline and his jaw dropped.

Were they on a DATE?

Distracted, Kim draped his arm around his girlfriend and stared off towards the screen unseeing for a few moments, the gears in his head slowly turning. They arrived together. They seemed cuddly with each other. His eyes widened. ‘Wait, they…’ He glanced over a few times to verify, ‘…they sat in the make out section!’ By the time the characters were dancing around the carnival to ‘We Go Together,’ the Vietnamese boy noticed out of the corner of his eye that Felix had long ago rested his head on top of Mari’s and had occasionally rubbed his cheek against her dark hair.

Maybe it wasn’t really them?

The credits rolled and the dim house lights came on, allowing him to get a better look at the couple as they got up to leave. Oh, yup, it was definitely Felix and Marinette. He nodded along as Ondine gushed about the film, watching his classmates ahead of them from his peripherals. Marinette was gesturing widely, her eyes lit up in a way that only happened when she spoke about fashion. The grouchy teen was gone, a warm smile on his face as he gazed down at the girl beside him. Once outside, he watched as the smile turned into a frown once again – this time only because the bluenette was shivering. He thought he heard the blond murmur “are you cold, Bug?” but he wasn’t sure. For the second time that night, Kim was shocked as Felix shrugged out of his coat and draped it around the dark-haired girl before pulling her close as they walked down the street.

Ondine looked between Kim and the couple, tilting her head a bit. “Isn’t that your friend, Marinette?”

“Yeah…” the taller boy replied hesitantly.

“Wow, she and her boyfriend make such a cute couple!”

~~~SCENE 8: Chloe & Nino~~~

Nino’s groan of frustration was so loud that it reverberated off the walls of the hallway, “Chloe! Look, I’m not thrilled about having to do this report with you either but I’m not going to let you just not do anything!”

The haughty blond girl huffed, crossing her arms with a pout. “I can’t believe you’re going to make me do…” She paused, her mouth opening and closing like she was attempting to spit out something foul tasting, “…homework, Lahiffe. I have far more interesting things to do – like my mani-pedi! These hands don’t just look perfect all on their own!”

“Just use your phone to search for some information on Louise Bourgeois. You insisted on picking her since you’re related but you have to do more than pick the topic!”

Chloe scoffed and turned towards the other blond that had wandered out of the classroom, “Felikins, tell Lahiffe here that a young woman like myself has important needs!”

Felix settled against the wall beside the classroom door and rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to reply when a stumbling blur came through the doorway and seized his attention. Nino watched in fascination as Adrien’s cousin quickly spun – was he always that fast? – and caught the figure in his arms, his face scrunched up in confusion and concern. As he raised himself from a crouch, the DJ was able to see he now held a barely conscious Marinette.

“Dudette! She okay?” Nino stepped closer with an outstretched hand, worry evident in his tone. Sure, he hadn’t been able to hang out with her as much lately, but he knew her! His oldest friend tended to push herself too hard and take on too much, plus she had developed a sensitivity to cold recently… Made her susceptible to getting sick very easily.

Then something unexpected happened that stunned them to silence... The grey eyed boy leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, his face transforming from worry to shock before effortlessly scooping the limp bluenette up bridal style. His voice softened, “Marinette, you have a fever! Did you go out without your jacket again?” He huffed as the girl whined weakly in his arms. Turning to the two of them, his tone became all business once more, “Excuse me, it seems I need to take her to the nurse.” The two shocked classmates stepped aside as a very fierce looking Felix hastened down the hall like a man on a mission. Nino could swear he heard Felix’s voice echoed a ‘what am I going to do with you, princess?’ as he turned the corner, but Felix surely wouldn’t say something like that… would he? Then again…

“Did Felix just…kiss Marinette? Do you think they’re dating?” Nino wondered aloud.

His words seemed to snap Chloe out of her stupor, she spun to face him and screeched in disbelief, “What?! Dating? Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

~~~SCENE 9: Sabine & Tom~~~

Sabine was a patient, protective, intuitive woman. She watched her beautiful daughter trip over herself for a boy in her school – a model, no less – she just shook her head. Adrien seemed like a sweet boy but distracted and flighty. Tom thought he seemed like a good match for their sweet girl at first and welcomed him into their home like they would a future son-in-law; Sabine was unconvinced though. Not that she would treat the sweet teen model without her usual kindness – he was her little Bǎobèi‘s friend, after all. He just wasn’t the right one.

However, about half a year later Marinette came home with another blond boy that immediately caught her attention. The new boy, Felix, looked similar to Adrien but was entirely different. Sure, both boys were respectful, handsome, and polite… However, where Adrien was falling over himself for approval and acceptance, Felix walked with a gait that seemed to communicate he needed no one’s approval. She watched with interest as their friendship developed and noted with a smile that the grumpy boy balanced out their daughter’s overexuberance. She softened his hard edges; his quiet support allowed her self-confidence to blossom. He brought structure and order; she ruffled his feathers and introduced some spontaneity to his life. Sabine and Tom had friendly bets going that the two would become something more, but nothing had shown that that was happening. There had been an obvious change in their dynamic a few weeks ago and the bakers were thrilled! Perhaps this was the moment? No.

At this rate, her daughter was going to cost her $30 if they didn’t get together by the end of the month…

It had been a couple days since a worried Felix carried a feverish Marinette home from school. He made sure to come by each day with notes, assignments, and to inquire about her health. Sabine could tell by the way his eyes drifted to the back stairs during each visit that he wanted to see her – not that the taciturn blond would admit such a thing. The two teens were in the living room watching a movie now that she was feeling better. Sabine smiled softly as she washed a few dishes in the sink, ‘As if illness would keep that boy away from your side, Bǎobèi…’ The blond teen was sitting a respectful distance from her daughter on the couch as they chatted about the plot quietly, smiles on both of their faces.

Marinette began to shiver, her body not quite recovered, and whined about feeling cold. Sabine watched as Felix rolled his eyes before getting up, eliciting a louder whine from the girl on the couch. He passed the kitchen with a nod and wordlessly went up the stairs to the designer’s room, returning with a thick fluffy blanket as if he was used to fetching things in their house or for their daughter. Odd. The boy proceeded to drape the blanket over his blue-eyed classmate, carefully tucking it around her whole form before lifting her feet and encasing them as well. Marinette made happy noises as she began to settle in when a sudden movement made her squawk with indignation. Sabine turned in time to see Felix sit closer to her, Marinette’s feet on his lap as he began to unconsciously rub them through the cover of the blanket.

The older bluenette smiled, watching the two returning back to their bantering. Sabine quietly dried her hands and went back down to the bakery. Tom was going to want to hear all about this!

~~~Later…

Tom and his wife tiptoed up the stairs, hoping to catch a glimpse of the two teens without their notice. There, on the couch and basking in the glow of the DVD menu, lay two sleeping teens. Their daughter was cocooned in the blanket like a caterpillar going through metamorphosis, only her head was visible. However, laying slightly behind and draped over the blanket was the slumbering form of Felix. His arms unconsciously pulled her closer, causing their Bǎobèi to hum happily.

“Better be ready to pay up, honey,” whispered Sabine with a grin. “This boy is definitely our Nǚxù.”

Tom chuckled softly, pulling out his phone and opening the notes app. “Do you think he’ll like strawberry crème for their wedding cake?”

“Perhaps lemon, it would go very well with that cream cheese buttercream you’ve been testing out…”

The two adults retreated back to the bakery to continue their discussion, leaving the two teens blissfully unaware that the details of their anticipated nuptials would likely be hammered out by the end of the week.

~~~SCENE 10: Sabrina & Roger Raincomprix~~~

Lt. Roger Raincomprix returned home after his evening patrol, dropping his keys on the entryway table before letting out a long sigh. Tonight had been a long shift but he needed to speak to his daughter before she went to bed… He plodded down the hallway to her room and knocked when he saw the light still shining from beneath the door. “Sabrina? Are you still up, pumpkin?”

“Come on in, Dad!” Roger nervously pushed his way in, finding his smiling daughter dressed in her pajamas and sitting at her desk. “We have a big test tomorrow, so I was just getting in one last review before going to bed.”

“That’s good, honey. We need to have a talk,” the officer sat on the edge of his daughter’s bed and fidgeted with his hands. He wasn’t sure how to broach this topic with his teenage daughter but, some things had happened that evening that made Roger realize that he needed to make sure she was being safe.

“Something wrong, Dad? Did something happen on patrol tonight?” Sabrina’s tone became pensive, concerned for the serious look that her father was sporting.

He dropped his eyes to the floor, flexing his hands in and out of fists as he spoke haltingly. “Yes. Uh…well… Pumpkin, you’re a young woman now. Hormones are hard to deal with as a teen and you’re…going to meet someone special…and you’re going to have some urges—”

“DAD!” The scandalized cry brought his eyes up to meet her own wide, cyan-colored eyes. “Are you…trying to give me the ‘birds and the bees’ talk?”

He swallowed thickly, “Yes, sweetie. You’re sixteen now and—”

His daughter crossed her arms and gave him a flat look as she interrupted again, “I don’t even have a romantic interest right now, Dad. We already covered this in Sex Ed. What is this really about? What happened on patrol?”

Roger gave a long sigh and his brow furrowed. ‘I shouldn’t tell her what happened but… Sabrina wouldn’t tell anyone.’

He cleared his throat. “There was an incident with two of your classmates tonight in the park—”

“WHAT? Who?”

“Sabine’s daughter, Marinette, and that blond kid…what was his name again? Not the model.”

“Felix Graham-Agreste?”

He snapped his fingers, “That’s the one! Caught the two of them in the park canoodling…”

~~Earlier…

Lt. Raincomprix whistled softly as he walked past the hero statue in the park. It had been a quiet shift besides the akuma – not that he could assist with that! – which the heroes apparently wrapped up a few minutes ago, if the recent swarm of ladybugs was any indication. ‘I wonder what those two do after the fight? Chat Noir seems suave, he’s probably some playboy…’ Suddenly a crash and groans were heard. Roger pulled out his flashlight and rushed toward the bushes where the noise originated. There, he found two teens he recognized from his daughter’s class in a compromising position…

Felix Graham-Agreste was slouched back against the trunk of a tree and Marinette Dupain-Cheng was slumped forward between his knees, both staring towards the light with wide eyes. Their hair and clothes were in disarray, small twigs and leaves attached to the strands as if they had been rolling through the bushes. One of the bluenette’s hands was resting upon his thigh, while the other was gripping the front of his belt. The blond had a hand on the back of her head and the other pressed against her upper back, as if pulling her towards him. Felix’s shirt had been untucked and ridden up to expose his stomach; Marinette’s shirt gaped open in the front where a few buttons had popped off to reveal the lacy shoulder strap of her bra.

“What do you two think you’re doing? A park is no place for a lover’s tryst!” Lt. Raincomprix exclaimed.

The two looked each other over briefly before turning red in the face, the small girl squeaked in embarrassment as the boy pulled her close to cover her exposed décolletage and flaming face. He cleared his throat to try to regain some semblance of decorum. “Our apologies, Officer. We weren’t… this isn’t… this was an accident…”

“So are many babies that come from young teenage relationships, son. I understand, I was a young, hot-blooded man myself once.” Roger chuckled at the memory of his adolescent escapades. The two teens in front of him rose to their feet, a flustered Marinette clutched the front of her shirt closed as a more composed Felix kept an arm around her while he continued to shield her from view with his body. “Head on home. I don’t want to be finding you two in the bushes after dark again, you hear?”

The two teens nodded and started the trek back towards the bakery, Roger could hear the bluenette muttering about this being all the boy’s fault. Before they could escape the park, the officer called back out to them. “Oh! And remember to use protection!” He could see the pale blond stiffen and a new flush of red go up the back of his neck at the comment. He chuckled and murmured quietly, “Kids these days…”

~~~Present…

“…I know they’re in your class and you’re all about the same age. It’s totally natural to express your love that way. I just wanted to have a talk with you to make sure that you’ll be safe.” Roger smiled at his daughter and ruffled her hair. “Alright, pumpkin, thanks for hearing me out. Just wait to give me grandkids until you’re a bit older, hm?” He chuckled and walked from the room with a wave. “Sweet dreams and good luck on that test tomorrow!”

A gaping Sabrina stared at the door that her father closed behind him, trying to grasp the facts – Felix and Marinette were apparently caught in a park together.

Were they even dating? It was obviously serious!

Or was he just using her?

How had no one noticed?

She needed to talk to Chloe!

~~~SCENE 11: Max~~~

The cafeteria was busy when Max Kanté wandered in, almost every seat was taken, and a few students had even braved sitting on the notoriously filthy tabletops. Markov scanned the area and found an empty chair near the resident grumpy blond in the corner – was he saving it for someone? Or perhaps most were just too intimidated to ask? Based on various factors, the bespectacled teen calculated that he had a 64.8% chance of success approaching him verses someone else in their class. He’d take those odds.

Approaching the distant table, he noted that Felix Graham-Agreste was focused – leaned forward on elbows and brow furrowed – on a laptop screen in front of him and, once he was within two meters of his target, that it appeared he was playing a video game. Max’s curiosity was peaked. “Hello Felix, apologies, I noticed you were playing a game. I was unaware you were a gamer. Perhaps you would be interested in being a beta test—”

The blond winced slightly and sat back, looking up at the suspender-wearing boy with a wry smirk. “I’m not, Kante. I am attempting to try a game recommended to me by an acquaintance. I’m afraid this endeavor is likely fruitless.”

“Oh,” Max paused, unsure how to continue the conversation. “Well, if you change your mind, I wouldn’t mind a non-gamer perspective. My games should be user friendly to professionals and novices alike.” Felix hummed in response, his eyes returning to the screen where 32-bit sprites bounced in place while awaiting orders. ‘Likely an emulator game considering the archaic graphics,’ he thought to himself.

He cleared his throat and rested his hand on the back of the open chair. “I actually came here to ask if I could take the chair or are you saving it?”

Felix’s eyes flickered over the item before he waved dismissively, “Take it. I’m not saving it.”

“Many thanks. Enjoy your game.” The blond teen snorted in reply and turned back towards his computer.

Max moved to a table nearby, settling in to eat with a few members of the AV club to discuss the latest technology released at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES). While one boy animatedly spoke of the newest VR technologies, the bespectacled boy noticed Marinette swerving between the tables; he raised his hand to greet her, but she only gave a wave in passing before stopping beside Felix. Unusual. The distance between them was not great and, though he did not mean to, he could not help eavesdropping inadvertently.

“Hey Felix! Are you…playing a game?” The bluenette leaned over his shoulder, tilting her head at what was displayed.

“Yes, although not very well.” He chuckled softly.

“…But you don’t like video games,” he hummed as she paused in thought. “What brought on the change of heart?”

Felix roughly cleared his throat and preoccupied himself with brushing nonexistent dust from the keyboard keys rather than meeting her eyes. When he finally spoke, Max could barely hear his voice over the general din. “…You enjoy it.” Were his ears red? That had to be a trick of the light!

Marinette whipped her head towards him, blinking a few times as she absorbed his words. Max could see the instant they sunk in: her cheeks took on a rosy glow, her eyes softened, and a sweet smile spread across her face. Were they…flirting? Max was unsure. She leaned in a bit closer, “So…what are we playing?”

Felix seemed to recover some of his normal composure at her reply, “Final Fantasy 7, unfortunately.”

“Wait, the original 1997 release? I love that game!” Marinette glanced around for a chair, frowning when she didn’t see one available. She contemplated the tabletop with a quick swipe of her hand, grimacing at finding something sticky. She wiped her hand lightly on her dark wash jeans and mumbled something that made the boy scoff. They seemed to exchange a look before he sat back and made a gesture in front of him.

Wait! Was Felix Graham-Agreste offering what Max thought he was offering?

No! Couldn’t be! There was only a 13.7% chance that…

Max stared with wide eyes as the blue-eyed designer smiled graciously before casually taking a seat on the blond’s lap – as if this was an everyday occurrence! – before proceeding into a detailed breakdown of the game mechanics and basic strategy. Felix loosely looped an arm around her waist to hold her steady while her hands fluttered about to emphasize her words. The pale blond rested his chin on her shoulder, his eyes attentive and focused on the screen once more, nodding along while his body language communicated contentment. Lifting the sleeve of his green polo shirt, Max pinched himself to make sure he was not imagining this strange manifestation, then glanced around for an akuma for good measure. Nope, this was real.

‘Looks like I need to adjust my calculations…’ he thought, baffled.

~~~SCENE 12: The Whole Class~~~

After a few long days of presentations and exams (and multiple late-night stress-induced akumas – midterms, amirite?), students were rewarded with a school board mandated half day as a “stress relief” measure. Dupont’s was scheduled on Wednesday and teachers had doubled up on homework assignments, but Madam Bustier’s class wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth! The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and they had time off from school! They quickly arranged for a potluck styled picnic in the park and most of their group had arrived by the allotted time…

“Hey, where’s Marinette and Felix?” Max questioned.

“Don’t know about Felix but you know my girl, she’s always running late,” Alya chuckled.

“They’re probably coming together!” Rose chirped from beside a nodding Mylene. Juleka seemed to be murmuring something about a Felinette fan club to a perplexed Ivan.

The Ladyblogger scoffed, “Yeah right. They can barely stand each other at school.” Alix seemed to be quietly chuckling at something Nathaniel was muttering about from the shade of a nearby tree.

Nino and Adrien shared a look beside a smug Kim. “They seemed pretty chummy to me,” the jock shrugged while the other two boys nodded emphatically.

Lila crossed her arms with a huff, “I tried to tell you, Aly—”

“Pardon our tardiness, someone couldn’t pick what flavor juice they wanted…” interrupted Felix with an annoyed tone.

Everyone turned to see the grumpy blond, who had suddenly appeared and was setting down a few boxes of pastries from the boulangerie. He was dressed in a crisp white linen button up, the long sleeves belying the warmth in the air, with his typical grey vest and slacks. Trailing behind was a contrite looking Marinette carrying a large jug of grape juice, her flirty grey skirt and short-sleeved white blouse with white embroidery seeming to match Felix in a casual way. Most present would agree that that was the best way to describe the pair: formal vs. casual, yet somehow complimentary. Well, most people anyway – Alya called it a coincidence!

“There were too many options,” she protested with a scoff, “rich people apparently like to have a bazillion different kinds of juice!”

“It’s called ‘having a selection’ and that’s not even a number!” The boy snarked back, wandering closer to Adrien with an eyeroll. The designer grumbled as she poured herself a cup of juice.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s get this party started!” Nino cried while pumping a fist in the air, cueing Max to start up the tunes while the group mingled over snacks and students settled into a rough circle on a collection of picnic blankets.

Everyone was laughing and having a good time, although many were stealing glances at the bluenette and pale blond as they seemed to coordinate or maneuver around each other like some kind of elaborate dance. His hand steadying her elbow as she wobbled while getting up, her wordlessly placing a few extra cheese squares onto his plate, a tap or a smile or a shoulder bump somehow communicating each other’s needs without words. The food began to dwindle after a couple amicable – if scrutinizing – hours passed. All that remained was a handful of badly bruised fruit and the dwindling drink supply. It was during a moment when Marinette was refilling her cup with juice at the nearby table and Felix turned a certain way that it happened…

“Uh, Fe… You have something on your collar.” Adrien pointed towards his own neck to indicate the general location. “Did you spill something on yourself?”

“No,” puzzled the teen in question, popping open the top button, pulling the collar away from his neck and into the edges of his field of vision.

“Yeah, dude, it kinda looks like lipstick?” Nino helpfully contributed.

Felix face morphed into a flat look of irritation before leaning back to call over his shoulder, “You got lipstick on me again?”

‘AGAIN?’ The class thought simultaneously, shocked speechless.

Oblivious to the turmoil he had created in their classmates, the grumpy blond turned to speak directly to the approaching bluenette. “What is it with you and always leaving marks on me, hm?”

Jaws slackened, unsure what to make of such a bold statement. However, Alya’s eyes had zeroed in on the exposed skin around Felix’s collar bones and shoulder… which were covered in light scratches. Scratches that were obviously made by human fingernails rather than by an animal. ‘As if given in the heat of passion…’ The thought caused her to choke on a bite of food and left her coughing roughly to clear her windpipe.

“It’s not like I meant to—AH!” Marinette’s toe caught on a rock, lurching her forward and causing the grape juice to go airborne. As if in slow motion, everyone watched in silent fascination as the purple stream crashed down on Felix. With a bland look and soft growl, the now wet teen dragged a hand down his face and looked into the bluebell eyes staring at him in horror. A silent conversation seemed to pass between the two as everyone held their breath – Adrien’s cousin was not known for being forgiving, especially when it came to his clothes. After a couple seconds, the young designer scrambled up and began to blot his face and neck with a few wrinkled napkins that she had crushed in her hand when she fell.

“Oh gods… I’m so, so sorry, Felix!” They watched as his brow furrowed and he captured the wrist of one fussing hand in his. Just as he was about to open his mouth to give a – likely scathing – retort, she suddenly perked up with a determined glint in her eye. In one fluid motion she reversed his hold and yanked them both to their feet. “I know! Let’s go back to my house so you can change, I have one of your shirts from last time!”

With a quick tug and a brusque ‘see ya’ over her shoulder, the two were off! The drenched blond stumbling after the exuberant bluenette bounding gracefully across the grass, moving so fast that they were quickly out of earshot. Leaving behind the cacophony of vocalized reactions of their friends and classmates to such a proclamation…

“Wait—”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN—”

“…Last time?”

“Do you think that means they…”

“DUDE!”

“…my ship…”

“Damn, get it, bro!”

“Did you see…”

“I told you so!”

“What just happened?!”

“Ridiculous! If you hadn’t already told me, Sabrina, I would not have believed it.” Chloe’s muttered words, although not loud, cut through the din and silenced all present. Twelve sets of eyes landed on the duo as if seeking answers or insider gossip.

“Wait! What do you know, Sabrina?” Alya questioned with narrowed eyes.

“Well…” she hesitated, looking around nervously before dropping her eyes to the checkered pattern of the blanket she sat on. “My dad said, the other night…”

~~~SCENE 13: The Confrontation~~~

No one was really sure how it started but the newest ‘golden couple’ was in the middle of an argument during their free period. Madam Bustier had left to gather more materials for later coursework. Everyone watched with silent interest as Marinette and Felix seemed to forget that the rest of the room existed, teasing smirks and flashing eyes only for each other.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah!”

“You and what army?”

“I don’t need an army, I can best you all by myself.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

The class collectively held their breath as the two edged closer and closer. The space between them on their shared bench disappeared as they leaned in, eyes locked together as grey gazed deeply into blue, nose to nose and humid breaths mingling as they continued to banter. Marinette’s bangs brushed Felix’s forehead as he tilted his head and his features adopted a more cocksure appearance, as if he was challenging her. She leaned ever closer, their lips only a whisper apart as their voices dropped in timbre. Time seemed to slow to a stop in the classroom. The anticipation was so thick that it was choking every ambient sound into silence…

“JUST KISS ALREADY!”

In an instant the spell was broken. Everyone jumped at the screeched words and searched for the source. There stood a panting, flushed Juleka. Her hands planted on her desk as she leaned aggressively forward, a fierce fire burning in her eyes as they bored into Marinette and Felix – as if the strength of her will alone would make it happen. A few groans were heard as the couple leaned away with widened eyes, only now realizing they had an audience.

“What did you say?” questioned the pale blond, his lips turning down into a frown.

“We’re saying you don’t need to hide your relationship anymore,” Ivan smiled softly.

“Guys, what…” the young designer chuckled incredulously.

“We know you two are dating,” answered Kim plainly.

Marinette and Felix’s ruddy complexions mirrored each other, their eyes looking like they might pop from their sockets. The two tripped over their words to contradict but neither were able to get more than a “we’re not—“/”that’s not—” as their tongues tumbled about uselessly in their mouths.

“Don’t even try to deny it, we’ve all seen you two. It’s not like you’re very subtle, Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe crossed her arms and stared down her nose at them.

The tall blond boy was the first to recover, his brow furrowing. “Wait, what do you mean you saw us?”

“I saw you cuddling in the park,” Adrien offered softly.

“And in the library,” Nathaniel contributed while Juleka got herself under control.

“All of you know that Marinette is very physically affectionate, especially when she’s cold.” Felix defended.

Alix scoffed, “What about holding hands and carrying her bags?”

“She’s also incredibly clumsy and regularly hurts herself. I do that to keep her from faceplanting every three meters,” he argued while Mari chuckled softly.

“You two regularly share drinks,” Lila rolled her eyes at the gasped “sorry for not believing you, girl!” coming from Alya beside her.

“And made him bento lunches!” squealed a lovesick Rose.

“Hey! I told you I made those on a whim!” the young designer cried.

“Then why were there so many hearts?” Mylene innocently questioned.

The bluenette blushed, “They were supposed to be flowers…I’m not very good at cutting shapes with a knife.”

“Well, Ondine and I saw you all lovey-dovey at the movies,” presented Kim with an eyebrow waggle.

She crossed her arms and huffed, “I was researching 1950’s American fashion for a design!”

“Uh…dudette…we saw him kiss you,” Nino nervously murmured. Although, by the way the whole class gasped, they had heard him. The Moroccan boy quickly added, “it was on the head!”

Marinette squeaked and looked at the slightly pink boy beside her. Felix turned to meet Nino’s eye, “…she was ill with a fever and I had my hands full, if you will recall.”

Lila’s tone turned salacious, “That doesn’t even cover the scandalous moments…”

“You did seem awfully cuddly playing video games at lunch the other day,” Max stated while adjusting his glasses.

“B-but th-that was…” the designer stuttered weakly before being interrupted.

“Sabrina’s father caught you hooking up in the park,” Kim smirked and winked towards Felix, who showed the telltale signs of a flush spreading up his neck and ears.

“Not to mention the lipstick and scratches!” Alya leaned towards Marinette and whisper shouted, “I didn’t know you had it in you, girl!”

“And he has clothes at your place from last time,” purred the Italian.

“That’s…” the bluenette swallowed hard, “I-I-I was tr-trying to save a k-kit-kitten from the tr-tree in the p-park. F-Felix ca-caught me when I s-slipped, damaged hi-his clothes… He left his sh-shirt for m-me to repair it and he for-forgot to p-pick it up.”

The blond kept his eyes down, his voice was quiet but still carried in the small classroom, “I recently discovered a new allergy to a certain laundry detergent that makes me very itchy and I’ve been scratching myself…”

“Um…what about the lipstick?” a bashful Adrien murmured.

“I hav-haven’t gotten m-m-much sleep lately…” began the designer, pressing her palms together in her lap nervously.

“…She has a tendency to fall asleep on me if I carry her,” Felix finished quietly, his grey eyes holding unreadable emotions.

“We’re just friends,” they flatly replied, their expressions reflecting some internal conflict while unable to meet the other’s eye.

Most of the students collectively groaned again as they hunkered back down into their seats, unable to stand that phrase. Fourteen sets of eyes exchanged looks as the information sank in. The couple’s explanation made a lot of sense in hindsight… Nino and Kim had known Mari for years and she was overly physically affectionate. ‘Plus Alya knows the girl was even more so with cold weather,’ the Moroccan boy thought. He and Kim shrugged it off, who were they to judge? Many others are willing to brush it off as a misunderstanding now that the excitement had passed.

On the other hand, Adrien seemed to grow more flustered since the declaration of friendship, shooting furtive glances towards Marinette – his imagination running wild with the idea of cuddling with the soft, sweet-smelling baker girl. ‘Maybe she and I…’ He was jolted from his daydreams by a tap from Nino’s pen on his arm. The model’s ears and cheeks felt like they would permanently sport a pink coloration. A few Adrienette fan club members squealed quietly as they observed his reactions. However, there were a few classmates that were still suspicious – such as Chloe and Sabrina – that quickly found home with the handful of Felinette shippers as they charted their theories. Some things just felt too convenient and damn, if they didn’t make an adorable couple…

REET! REET! REET!

The akuma alert popped up on every phone in the class, everyone opened it to see the location— BOOM!

RIIIIIING!

A plume of dust rose above the rooftops from a few blocks away and the school’s evacuation bell blared overhead. The students quickly grabbed their things and calmly evacuated away from the action. They all failed to notice a still pink Felix Graham-Agreste grab the hand of a flustered Marinette Dupain-Cheng before running furiously in the opposite direction…

~~~ BONUS SCENE~~~

The akuma took longer than usual. They were both off their game. First, the heroes had been distracted and submerged in the thoughts contained within their own minds. Their communication suddenly became stilted and awkward, filled with embarrassed laughter that would die out like a sputtering engine running out of fuel. Then it was as if they were hyperaware of each other – every touch, glance, and proximity – causing them to jerk away at the most inopportune times.

The worst part?

It wasn’t caused by the akuma.

The issues were not resolved by the Miraculous Cure. So, after recharging – and getting a peptalk from – their kwamis, they rendezvoused on the top of a tall building where they would not be overheard. Feet dangling over the edge, they decided to clear the air.

“I just can’t believe they thought we were dating!” Ladybug cried, her hands fluttering anxiously around her head.

"That cover story about the kitten in the park was genius though." Chat Noir chuckled, “I’m honestly not as surprised. You did suddenly act much closer to me after you revealed your identity.”

“Excuse moi? I was NOT the one that revealed to you! I seem to recall saving your leather-clad butt from being revealed to all of Paris.” The spotted heroine poked him in the shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah…” the black-cloaked hero rolled his eyes, “and you happened to drop your transformation right as we barreled headlong into that broom closet. You landed right on top of me!”

“Fine, I saved both of our asses, Alley Cat!” she grinned teasingly.

Chat threw his head back with a joyous laugh, a more natural grin spreading across his face as he flirtatiously waggled his eyebrows. “Alley Cat who? Our classmates seem to think I’m a House Cat now, Bugaboo.”

Ladybug’s cheeks pinked under her mask at the implication of his joke, her eyes breaking away from his to refocus on another point on the skyline pensively. Had he said something wrong? The lines of Chat’s mouth tugged down at her reaction, leaning closer in an attempt to meet her eyes again when her whisper froze him in place.

“…is the idea of being MY kitty so ridiculous…?”

His eyes widened. Chat swallowed thickly, his mind supplying the same sweet moments their classmates had witnessed and more as his face burned up. Perhaps even a bassinet, family dinners, and kisses. Gods, that sounded…purrfect. A wide grin blossomed from the ashes of his frown and he leaned into her peripherals to catch her eye with a flirty wink.

“Does that mean my princess would like to become my queen?”

The bug-heroine’s eyes snapped to meet his, filled with enough warmth and love to knock the air from his lungs. Within seconds, a playful sparkle and a bright smile broke across her face as she leaned right into his personal space to peck his cheek. His face grew hot, smile lopsided, and he could swear his spine melted a little.

“If you can catch me, Kitty,” launching herself from the building with a laugh as she swung away.

Shaking himself from his stupor, he pulled out his baton and plunged off the side. Challenge accepted. He had a bug to catch!

‘Looks like our classmates will have more to talk about tomorrow…’

**Note: I plan to write a sequel eventually!

139 notes · View notes