#this is a reverse crush ladrien enemies AU we deserve that marichat before things go to shit

[miabrown007]

Adrien Agreste: rich, lonely, freshly aware of the fact that he's expected to take over not a fashion, but a drug empire. Marinette Dupain-Cheng: broke, angry, freshly aware of the fact that bringing down drug empires is a blast. But where would she be without her team, Alya and Nino, and her very good friend, Luka? Not to mention the team’s newest addition, the kind, the funny, the ultra charming Chat Noir. If Marinette likes him, that’s alright, though. It isn’t like she’s dating Adrien Agreste for real. It’s all just part of her ten-step plan to make the Agrestes meet their demise.

with illustration from @art-the-f-up in the chapter!

many many thanks to @ladyofthenoodle and @khanofallorcs for beta-reading! <3

Chapter 1 - Eyes Wide Shut (3,835 words, 1/32 chapters)

Adrien Agreste is at a standstill, perched up way above ground, and he hates every second of it.

Like a marionette waiting for its next command, his arms dangle by his elbows, prim and proper. He has no idea for how long he has to exist like this—because letting him know about decisions affecting his own life feels like a revolutionary concept no one has ever considered—but he knows he is getting tired. If only he knew how to cut his strings; but it's impossible when he barely sees them.

Even if he could, the question remains, what would he do after?

"Raise this arm a little higher, dear." Violet nudges him.

Adrien complies. The more seamlessly he follows the instructions, the sooner he's done with any task. He knows. It doesn't make him hate the process less, though.

He doesn't even know exactly why they are taking his measurements for this particular outfit. The black lounge suit had been an item for the 'dystopian fashion collection', a failure so spectacular in its Gallup poll that the project had been shut down before the first concepts were presented to the wider staff.

But Adrien has gotten over the need to ask questions. He endures the tape-measure’s dance around him silently, and doesn't mention that it's probably overkill to be wearing the black face mask that goes with the suit. Truth be told, it's quite cute with the white whiskers. It's something Adrien can imagine taking a liking to—were it not for the inherent design flaw of making breathing impossible.

All things considered, the collection's downfall isn't such a wonder. It'd have been hard to find any sane person willingly submitting themselves to wearing these masks, bar something devastatingly convincing, like a global pandemic, occurring. Paired with the inbuilt ‘bonus’ of preventing recognition by even your closest friends, Adrien is of the opinion the design never stood a chance.

Of course, haute couture has never been about functionality. Designer items sell by the brand name. This is why the lack of recognition surrounding the purple butterfly used to puzzle Adrien. After all—according to everyone he’s ever talked to—his father is a great and successful businessman. So, he figured, there's a lot he couldn’t know about running a financially successful business, and thus the origins of the Agreste wealth.

Money had never been more than a mere concept to him. His family had always had it. And with money had come the business trips his father had taken twice a month, as well as the myriad of staff around the mansion Adrien had grown up in. It had been just their way of living—cold rooms, deep frowns, and deeper curtsies—and so he’d never stopped to consider: where has all the money been coming from?

In hindsight, it should have been evident.

And Adrien could have seen it— Adrien should have seen it. His only excuse for this blind spot is his very nature: being his father’s son, born more than raised. But even that thin line of defence crumbles under the significance of the issue.

He had tried telling himself that he’d always been trained to drop the questions and follow orders. To look the other way when business papers get signed. To leave banalities be, like the way his mother vanished one day when he was eleven. To turn up the music when the arguments get too loud and pots of cranberry sauce splashed on the tiles. He had tried to convince himself that when he’d started to study the company’s records—instead of studying architecture, like he’d wanted to—they’d all looked oh-so-very-orderly, so really, he couldn’t have known. He had tried, but…

In the end, the argument of ‘how was he supposed to know the family business he’s been preparing to take over is not a fashion empire, but a drug cartel?’ falls flat on its face.

Eyes wide shut don’t turn the lights any less red.

[read the whole chapter on AO3]

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #enemies au #heist au #faoll #felonies and other love languages #marichat #this is a reverse crush ladrien enemies AU we deserve that marichat before things go to shit #miaraculous writing #ml fanfiction