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sariahsue · 5 months

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Wherefore Art Thou My(stery) Lady

When a failed attempt to let Chat Noir down easy ends with Ladybug learning his name, she does what any lovesick teenager would do: teases him mercilessly. (Season 2/3 era.)

Chapter One

It figures, Adrien thought, as Ladybug carried him to safety. It figured it would be a dog-themed akuma. And that it would find the only cat-themed superhero in the city, even though he wasn’t currently transformed. It figured he would have to be rescued, cradled bridal style, and that Ladybug would hug him so tightly that--

Nope. Akuma. Focus on the akuma that was currently tearing through the streets, barking at people until they literally froze in terror, digging holes a hundred feet deep, and probably chasing his own tail. Focus on the lurch in his stomach as they jumped from building to building, the honking of the cars stuck in traffic, the flash of the sun reflecting off skyscraper windows. Focus on anything except for how warm she was, how firmly she held him, how her lips--

Nope, nope, nope. The wind in his hair. Birds chirping in the distance. Anything.

Ladybug bounded gracefully over the Agreste mansion's protective outer wall and landed on the grass, held him for a few seconds longer than was necessary (he noticed with elation), and then carefully set him down.

“Well,” she said, her smile wide and bright. “Stay safe! I wouldn't want anything to happen to you!”

Adrien watched her until she was nothing more than a red speck, then raced out through the gate, so he could find somewhere to transform. Ladybug needed her partner.

---

The akuma was easy to defeat, after Ladybug called her Lucky Charm. It was a box of caramel chocolates. No, they didn't feed any to the dog. Caramels made a wonderful, sticky trap when they were all melted together. Who knew? His genius partner, naturally.

Chat Noir picked up the (sadly not heart-shaped, just plain old rectangular) empty box and brought it over to her. “Look at what I fetched for you.”

“Thanks, Dog Noir,” she said, reaching out a hand for it.

He stuck out his tongue, preparing to toss the red and black box back to her, before realizing he could get one more pun out of it. He held it with both hands and gently placed it into her outstretched palm. He didn't let go until he'd caught her eye and said, in very serious tones, “For you, My Lady. And may I say, you look very fetching.” The box slid out of his hands, and Ladybug's expression morphed into a frown.

Within moments, the victim was back to normal, the holes had been removed from the street, and Ladybug was staring him down.

“I've told you,” she said.

“You've told me lots of things, Bug. You're going to have to be more specific.” Though he was fairly certain he knew what she wanted to say. Another rejection.

“You aren't going to win me over.”

Being prepared didn’t soothe the disappointment. “Would you mind if I kept trying anyway?”

Ladybug's face softened, and her hand went to her earrings as they beeped a warning. Two more minutes. “Thank you for the compliment, but it's not going to work.” She didn't sound exasperated, just sad. “I have to go.”

“See you at patrol later?” he asked as she threw her yoyo.

“Of course,” she said. “Keep in mind what I said, though.”

How could he not? Chat Noir sighed loudly once she was out of sight.

He still had three and a half minutes before he transformed back. Enough time to get poor dog-man home before anyone noticed Adrien was missing.

---

Patrol that night started out more formally than it usually did, and he knew it was due to his earlier declarations. Ladybug kept her distance from him physically and emotionally, only speaking when it was necessary and staying two or three rooftops ahead of him. He wasn’t getting the feeling that she was mad. Her tone was kind. And she always checked to make sure he was keeping up, even stopping to wait when she needed to.

Maybe she just didn’t want to give him any false hope.

Over the course of the hour, he steadily creeped closer to her. By the time they had reached the Louvre, they were side by side like they normally were. So naturally, Chat Noir let his curiosity get the better of him and asked a question that had plagued him for months. “So what's my rival like?” he asked. “Is he as funny and as handsome as me?”

“How should I know?” she said. “I can hardly see your face.”

Surprised by her sudden teasing, he quickly offered, “I could change that.” Which of course, he realized as soon as the words were out of his mouth, was about the most unhelpful thing he could have said.

Ladybug scoffed and took off, leaving Chat Noir to figure out how to fix his latest mess-up. She didn't seem too averse to answering questions, so maybe all he had to do was try again?

He stayed level with her, but gave her some space, choosing to run across the rooftops on the other side of the street. Headlights created a glow beneath them, a river of light that cast her in a warm haze.

After a few minutes of silence, he tried again. “I'm very handsome,” he said, trying to play it off. “Would you believe me if I said I was a superhero by day and a supermodel by night?”

“Pfft. No.” She stopped on a wide balcony and smiled at him.

He leaned over the edge of the roof to look down at her. “Maybe I just play one on TV then.”

“Unlikely.” She threw her yoyo and zipped away.

“No, really, what's he look like?” he called after her. “You can tell me that much.” They usually ended their patrol near Collège Françoise Dupont, which was convenient for him. And ever since Alya had discovered the little tidbit about Ladybug's history textbook, he’d started to suspect that the ending location was more than just a convenience for her, too. She probably lived nearby. They landed on the school's roof at the same time, and he thought she would just take off after that question, but for the second time, she surprised him. She sat down and leaned back on the flat top of the building. To the civilians below, only her feet would be visible, dangling over the edge. Chat Noir stayed as close to her as he dared, sitting by her knees, close enough to touch her if he reached, and stared down at the school’s stairs beneath them.

Ladybug chewed her lip like she was thinking. Did that mean she was figuring out her answer? Or was she figuring out how to say no nicely?

“He looks... a little bit like you,” she said, letting her feet kick against the side of the building.

“What if he is me?” Chat Noir asked. He hesitated before scooting closer, not wanting to push her. If she ran off again, she'd probably just go home.

“But the chances of you being the same person are really slim.”

“So what does he look like then? White kid? Blonde?”

“Green eyes, too,” she said.

“So he’s probably me.”

“Will you stop?” She held both arms straight up above her and then let them fall wide to either side of her. “There’s thousands of people in Paris that fit that description. He’s not you.”

“You said it yourself. The chances are slim. But that implies there’s still a chance.”

Chat Noir was trying really hard to convince himself that he was just teasing her. There was no way he was lucky enough to really be the guy she liked, but his mind drifted back to earlier that afternoon. The way she had held him when he wasn’t transformed, smiled at him, made sure that he stayed safe. What if the boy she liked was Adrien Agreste?

What would it be like to walk hand-in-hand with her at school? Or have plans together on the weekend?

It would hurt more to hope if he turned out to be wrong, but he couldn't help himself. She made him hope like nothing and no one else in his life could.

“Would it be bad if we were the same person?” he asked after it was clear she wasn’t going to answer his last comment.

“Not bad,” she said. “Just weird. You’re really different.”

“I thought you said we were both devilishly handsome, amazing, with perfect comedic timing–”

Ladybug laughed and shoved him. “Perfect comedic timing? You?”

“As evidenced by your laughter right now.” He gestured to her. She looked over at him from where she was lying down.

Her smile was glowing, brighter than the cars passing them on the street. Brighter than the moon. “You’re both wonderful people, I’ll give you that. Sometimes dorky, but I’m happy to know both of you.”

Chat Noir felt his face going hot at the unexpected praise.

“And sure, you look kind of similar. There. Are you satisfied?”

“We go to the same school,” he blurted out. “What are my chances now?”

“Chat!” She bolted upright to face him, eyes wide. “You can't just give away information like that!”

“I didn't-”

“We go to the same school?” she shrieked.

“I don't know!”

“So what made you say that?”

“Well, I thought maybe–” There was no way out of the mess he’d just created. Ladybug was on her knees, both hands on the roof of his - probably their - school. “I... the textbook?” he finished timidly. Even if that had been a false lead, he’d effectively just told her which school he attended, and he wasn’t sure how she would take it.

“Alya!” Ladybug growled, rubbing the heel of her hand into her forehead. When she faced him again, there was a big red spot.

“So... you really do go to my school?” he asked, patting a patch of roof next to him.

“You... you've known this... Alya released that video ages ago. You knew we went to school together, and you haven't come looking for me?”

The fragility in her tone caught him off guard. “Of course not,'' he reassured. “What kind of privacy invader do you take me for? I ought to be offended!” (The irony of the statement wasn’t lost on him.)

Ladybug didn't laugh, just quietly said, “Thank you. We go to the same school. Huh.”

The crisis he’d unintentionally created seemed to have passed. Hope bubbled up again. Most kids their age had crushes on people from school. “My chances?”

“Are slightly increased, but I'm fairly certain you're two different people. In fact, I'm not even sure we've met at school. I would have remembered meeting someone as loud and obnoxious as you.”

“Unlikely,” he muttered, but it was quiet enough that she hadn't heard him. “So this guy, that may or not be me...”

“He's not you.”

“What do you like about him?” He acted so differently at school. He didn’t think she would recognize him. Would he recognize her description of him? Maybe she would let it slip that the boy she was crushing on was a celebrity or famous or something.

It was hard to ignore the niggling doubt that said raising his hopes would only hurt more later.

“You really want to do this to yourself?” she asked, echoing his thoughts.

At the very least, he’d learn more about his Lady. What had won her over so soundly? (Maybe he would have a better shot with her if he knew that.) “Sure.”

“He's kind,” she said immediately. “He's the type of person who would help someone out even if they hated him. When we first met he went out of his way to apologize to me for something that was my fault. And he has the most amazing amount of patience I've ever seen.” She smiled while Chat Noir frowned. That didn’t sound like him.

“I mean,” she continued, “he has enough patience to deal with C-- this student that no one likes. And he's just so gentle and sweet and... yeah.” She sighed. “That's why I like him.”

She stared out over the lights of the city, but he was certain that she wasn't seeing a single building. Her face was peaceful and shining. It was a good look for her.

“Even if it turns out he's not me, he sounds like a nice guy.” He wasn't as great as Ladybug described, not nearly as kind or the well of unending patience, though that's what he tried to be like.

Then again, how many blond, green-eyed, white boys were there in the school? His chances had to be pretty good, didn't they?

“What makes you think he's not me? The personality difference?”

“I've seen you two in the same place at the same time.”

Chat Noir's heart sank. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up. He knew he shouldn't have. And yet he had anyway. His ears drooped, and he grabbed his tail and started weaving it through his fingers, just to have something to do.

“Oh, Kitty.” Ladybug looked over at him. “I'm so sorry.”

“Maybe... maybe you just thought that you--”

“Please don't,” she said. “Please stop doing this.”

“But maybe you just thought--”

“Chat Noir!”

He turned to face her, slowly, deliberately. “I'm not giving up. If he's not me, I'm going to keep trying to win you away from him until you ask me to stop.”

Ladybug shut her eyes in defeat. “I should.”

But she didn’t, the hopeful piece of his heart whispered. He really wished it would shut up right now.

“Would it be easier for you if I did?”

“I–” What did he want? He felt at war with himself. Determination to keep going. But giving up might eventually make the pain of rejection stop.

She was looking at him with so much compassion and caring. The constant declarations annoyed her sometimes. He knew that. But she didn’t hold it against him and still asked if he was okay. Despite everything, he loved her. That was that. “I’d rather be able to express myself. But only if it doesn’t bother you.”

She shook her head, eyes down. “It’s fine.”

“Who is he?” he asked.

“I already told you, I can't tell you,” Ladybug said. “We can't know anything about each other. It's--”

“Then we can’t know for certain that he’s not me.” It was false hope at this point, but it was the only hope he had, so he clung to it. She'd seen them together. Maybe he had saved this guy’s life.

She stood. “I'm sorry, Chaton.” She zipped away without another word, up and over Marinette’s bakery and out of sight.

Chat Noir didn't feel much like being a superhero right now, but he didn't feel like going home so early either. He slowly climbed down the walls, detransformed, and trudged his way back to the mansion on foot, his hands in his pockets.

---

The next time he saw her was two nights later, their next patrol. She had arrived first, which was unusual, and was pacing at the top of Le Grand Paris, waiting for him. The sting of her rejection had been his companion for the past 48 hours, and it flared up a little when she turned her bright, blue eyes on him.

“Evening, My Lady,” he said, bowing elegantly. “I hope you've--”

“I have an idea.”

Chat Noir was still bent at the waist, and the grandeur of his gesture was broken by his sudden jerk upright. That sounded urgent. “What kind of idea?”

“Uh...” Ladybug didn't usually hesitate like that, and he realized that it probably hadn't been urgency in her voice, just anxiety. Ladybug kept going. “How I can prove you two aren't the same person without revealing anybody's name.”

“Oh.” Stellar way to start a patrol.

“Here's my plan. So after I went home the other day, I felt bad that you felt bad and then I had to figure something out, so that you could be happy again, and I promise I won't go looking for you.” Her words tumbled and tripped over themselves. “And I thought that it would probably be best if you could just stop thinking the way you were thinking, but no one’s identity will be compromised, and this is kind of dangerous if I’m wrong, but I’m not wrong, so if you don't want to do this it's fine, and of course you couldn't be the same two people, and--”

“Ladybug.” He hadn’t heard her babble like that for at least three months. Whatever her plan was, she was obviously presenting it to him against her better judgment. Her arms curled around herself, like she was terrified. Her hands were tight balls.

“I went through all of last year's yearbook. Are you in there?”

He nodded slowly, uncomprehending. “Yes?”

“I checked everyone, well, all the boys who look like the two of you. There's a bunch of people who match your general description, and none of them have the same initials. And no one has the same first initial as him, so I thought-- you could tell me what your first name starts with, and...”

And she could crush his heart once and for all when it didn’t match.

Or, his traitorous heart whispered. Or maybe…

“Don't worry about me,” he said, resigned. It was a silly hope. He would just go back to his original plan of winning her over.

Ladybug hugged herself tighter, fists clenched, staring at his shoulder. “Are you sure? Because we don't have to do this.”

He squared his shoulders to brace himself. “A.”

“A?”

He nodded.

“Your last name?”

“What do you need it for? You said no one else has the same first letter.” She didn't answer, and he couldn't tell if this was a good sign or a bad sign.

“Another A,” he said.

Aside from her fists loosening slightly, she gave no visible reaction, though he thought he heard her breathing pick up a little.

“Ladybug?”

“Ladybug has to go home now,” she whispered.

He blinked. “What about patrol?”

Without so much as a backward glance, she slipped over the side of the hotel. He watched as she skittered away over the rooftops and toward the direction of the school. What was that reaction? It looked bad. Those were bad feelings she was having. Did she leave so she wouldn’t have to hurt him again? Or some other reason?

Chat Noir finished the patrol route on his own, not sure if he should feel hopeful or despairing.

Ch 2

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Author's note: Hello! Welcome to my Big Bang contribution! This story has seven chapters and will update every Saturday! Thank you to @toadashi who did some great artwork for it! To @cardiac-agreste for beta reading. To @jennagrinsoverml, for being so interested in this half-formed story that I eventually finished it. And to @mlbigbang for hosting this event!

Here is the artwork for this fic! :https://www.instagram.com/p/C1l539rowbO/?igsh=cmloaWRyaWVkdThv

#ml #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #ladynoir #fanfiction

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ultrakart · 1 year

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Ladybug shows up for patrol one day to find Chat Noir waiting for her, and he’s holding a pair of paper cups. He tells her that he’s always wanted to make a cup phone like you see little kids do in movies, but he’s never had anyone to try it with. So here he is now, asking Ladybug to do it with him.

It’s a cute idea! So she obliges. But what about the string...?

Then she glances at her yoyo and she’s like “oh that works”.

10 minutes later Ladybug and Chat Noir are chatting over a cup phone that stretches for literally miles over Paris.

#ml #miraculous ladybug #ladynoir #ladybug #chat noir #love square

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flightfoot · 3 months

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Best Lovesquare-centric Fics And Series That Completed In 2023

So the majority of fics I read include the Lovesquare in some capacity, but I figured people might appreciate a list of great fics that really center around them, particularly romantically.

As with the other lists like this, these fics all come from my previous reclists for ML fics I really liked that finished during 2023. So if you like these, you might want to look through the collection I set up for all these fics.

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home is where the fight is by @rosie-b

Nadja Chamack’s voice greeted Adrien as he sat up straight, wiping his clammy hands on his pants and ignoring the black kwami floating by his shoulder. “—shocked to see our heroine fall in battle today, taking a direct hit from the akuma just as she detransformed. Parisians are torn between blaming Hawk Moth and Cat Walker for their roles in this tragedy, which ultimately revealed the civilian identity of Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Adrien turned off the TV and lowered his head as his vision blurred. Written for Ladrien June Day 7: Injured

I adore this fic! Which shouldn’t be a a surprise, it’s no secret that I love Sentiadrien Enemies AU. Adrien’s so worried about Marinette getting hurt, and wishes that he could help keep her safer, could tell her what’s really going on or get rid of the ring or something, but he can’t. Still, he IS able to find clever ways around some of his father’s more problematic orders. Loopholes for the win!

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Patrolling with a friend for Christmas by @seasofsilver

Adrien just wanted to gift his Lady some time off and hang out more with Marinette during the festive season - it didn’t exactly go to plan, but somehow ended up… better?

This was adorable! Chat Noir tries to give Ladybug a break by recruiting Multimouse to replace her on patrols for a bit, and Ladybug returns the favor by recruiting Aspik to replace Chat. Yep, it’s Snekmouse!

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Under the Umbrella by @fruitdragon1a

Almost everyone has a soulmate. What are Adrien and Marinette supposed to do when they meet theirs? ML Secret Santa gift for Mei! Merry Christmas! Thank you to Now Loading and Rewan Demontay for beta reading this fic!

So this is a version of soulmarks I haven’t seen before. Around age six, soulmates get a soulmark that shows what their soulmate is thinking when they first meet them. Though I guess it doesn’t register while transformed, since it only counts for this one when Adrien and Marinette meet as civilians, and not when they first meet as superheroes.

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you don’t even know me at all (but I was made for loving you) by @ladyofthenoodle

They didn’t remember each other. The hospital told them there’d been an accident—brain damage—but Alya had told them the truth, later. Who’d they’d been to each other. What they’d given up, and why. But even with their memories of each other gone, Adrien and Marinette are still inextricably tied together—by law, by their social circles, and by their hearts. And in the apartment they share, there’s only one bed.

Yep, it’s the “there was only one bed” trope XD! I especially love how it was used here, how Adrien and Marinette are strangers now but they had a whole life together, and they pine for each other even without remembering, and how Marinette just can’t believe how in love with her Adrien is even though he doesn’t remember her. I loved the emotional turmoil the two of them went through together in the fic, and the resolution, it’s great!

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Until I Found You by @linnieluna

Working their way up to a settled adulthood, Marinette and Adrien, now 23, gain a reason to believe that they are expecting—way earlier than they ever planned. Still unwed, it evokes a revelation on Adrien’s behalf. Was it time to take the next step forward?

I loved the emotions here, how Adrien and Marinette reacted to the results of the pregnancy test, how complicated their feelings about it were - and how it prompted Adrien to take action. It’s a really sweet fic!

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From school bells to wedding bells by @linnieluna

When the superhero duo takes on another exhausting fight against an akuma, Chat Noir does what he never hesitates to do and takes a hit for his partner. The problem being: neither of them knew what power the akuma possessed. That is… until he is transported into the future. More specifically, to his friend Marinette’s wedding.

Ah I love time travel fics! Older!Marinette’s surprised, Younger!Adrien’s bewildered, and Older!Adrien is off knowing exactly what happened and giving his younger self some subtle heads-up.

It gives Adrien something to look forward to, to cling onto, through bad days in the future at least!

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u + me = love by @xiueryn

Marinette has a massive crush on Adrien. He has a crush on the superhero, Ladybug. When he says the only person he’ll invite as his plus one to an event is Ladybug, Marinette takes her chance to romance him for the night. AU. (a fanboy and fangirl start to date.)

This is just a fun Ladrien story. Ladybug is happy to oblige in Adrien’s fantasies, and no one else believes that he’s actually dating Ladybug.

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Miracoffee by @pauliestorylover

Ever since the last Mr Pigeon attack over nine months ago, Hawkmoth has fallen off the face of the earth, seemingly for good. There’s never been a better chance for an identity reveal—but after keeping her identity a secret for so many years, Marinette feels incredibly nervous about one. When Chat Noir accidentally finds Ladybug working at a café, Alya comes up with a brilliant idea. If Ladybug and Chat Noir interact regularly in a civilian setting, surely they’ll move towards an identity reveal without outside interference?

Adrien Never Goes To Public School Coffee Shop AU here! It’s funny how he clocks Marinette as being Ladybug IMMEDIATELY. And then after discussing it for awhile, decide to make a bit of a game of the identity reveal, having Chat come in on pre-determined days and seeing whether Ladybug can figure out who she is, all while they get to know each other, even if in passing.

Love the other Miraculous heroes making cameos as well, Marinette seems annoyed that Nino cosplaying as Carapace actually doesn’t tip anyone off XD.

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For the Sake of a Ring by @rosie-b

An akuma that transfers people’s consciousnesses into other universes hits Ladybug, sending her into a world where everything is the same… but instead of earrings, she’s wearing a ring on one hand! She’s only just arrived in this universe, but already Plagg seems to have gone missing. It’s up to Marinette to figure out what happened before she’s sent back home! This fic takes place in the future, after Season 5, but it does not contain any leaks or major spoilers. Please keep the comment section spoiler-free, too!

This is really cute, Marinette gets transported into a world where she’s married to Adrien and is really confused as to why and how they got married at sixteen. Adrien’s just an adorable puppy who thinks his wife is the most amazing person in the world!

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His Princess and Her Knight by @seas-of-silver

Adrien, Marinette, Nino and Alya have a group assignment about how the past has shaped them into the people they are today, but they’ll make a discovery that’ll send them searching for answers.

This fic is adorable, Adrien, Marinette, and Nino uncover that they all went to the same preschool together, with Adrien and Marinette immediately latching onto each other, Adrien being the knight to Marinette’s princess, and also making friends with Nino. Sadly he was pulled after two weeks, but it made quite an impression on him.

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A Friendship Not Abandoned (Just Delayed) by @nomolosk

Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste first met as tiny little kids, but then Adrien had to move away. When they finally meet again, will they even remember each other, much less become friends again?

Poor Adrien keeps on saying or doing just the wrong thing to give Marinette the impression that he’s a bully like Chloe when he’s not, and he keeps desperately trying to fix it. So a bit of an enemies au in that way, since Marinette doesn’t like him much. He does gradually manage to convince her that he’s a good person though.

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The Mer-Human Race by @rosie-b

Bringing her hand closer to his lips, Adrien tried to plant a kiss on it, but Marinette pulled away before his lips could touch her. “Save it for your girlfriend,” she said teasingly. “Or do you still not have one yet?” Adrien smirked and crossed his arms. “It’s a girl,” he said. “And I know her in real life. That’s all you get. Now, let’s get back to planning, shall we? We have a mermaid to beat.”

Lovely world-building here! Merfolk and humans have had a treaty for a long time, so there’s a tradition where merfolk can challenge humans to a race, and whoever wins gets to ask for a reasonable sort of reward (in Marinette’s case, she wants to be allowed to captain a ship at a younger age than is usually allowed). Alya, Nino, and Adrien are naturally very encouraging towards Marinette, and luckily for her, a nice merman going by the name of Chat Noir shows up and challenges her to a race…

Yeah you can see where this is going XD. It’s fun, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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A Mousey guest by charliepoet13

Adrien Agreste has finally managed to break away from his father and make his way out into the world. One faithful night, after settling down in his new home, he spots a strange guest.

Adrien X Multimouse fic here! So this is inspired by the Borrowers, with little people the size of mice living amongst ordinary-sized humans, and Marinette got a little careless here XD. But soon finds that Adrien’s friendly and not a threat. It’s adorable and reminds me of the The Littles book series that I read when I was a kid!

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Caught In A Multimouse Trap by @a-flaming-idiot

Adrien was having a rather slow morning. That was until he discovered a tiny superhero trapped in his home and decides to be a bit of a hero even out of his suit.

This was adorable! Adrien does his best to care for the little miniature superhero caught in a mousetrap, bandaging her up as best as he can (thankfully only her tail got caught so it’s more of a phantom pain than an actual injury) and just… it’s really cute.

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do you think I have forgotten about you? by @roseinaugust

Based on the song ‘About You’ by The 1975. Memory Loss. Told in alternating time lines, one leading up to and one dealing with the aftermath of Marinette relinquishing the Miracle Box and the guardianship. Marinette struggles with her life after losing her memory, though there is a persistent voice that calls to her that always seems just out of reach in her memory.

Beautiful memory loss fic here, with seeing Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s relationship before she gave up the Miracle box, juxtaposed with the present day, when Adrien is only a stranger to her. I could really feel how Marinette was struggling with navigating these new circumstances, with her friends seeming to expect her to remember, to be who she was to them, to Adrien especially, before, and her just… not knowing whether she can do that. It’s got a happy ending though, for those who are concerned about that.

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How Marinette Learned to Stop Worrying And Love The Ball by @rosie-b

Hidden from the crowds thronging around the busy fairy portal in Paris’s town square, a fae gate sits at the edge of the forest, locked, rusty, and full of ancient magic. Marinette thinks that this abandoned gate must not work anymore… but one day, a fairy disguised as a black cat steps through it.

Ah, Fantasy Soulmate AUs, my beloved XD. This ain’t the only one of this fic type I’m gonna be recommending. This is just a cute fluff fic without much strife. I love Marinette and Chat Noir being able to be childhood friends via his visits, even if he has to pretend to be her cat whenever he comes over, and I ESPECIALLY adore Alya being his chaperone and quickly becoming friends with Marinette in her own right. It ain’t a complicated plot, but it is a nice and warm fic.

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Stay Weird, Ladybug by @diadraws

Ladybug receives an invitation at the end of a patrol! Contains some of my own headcanons, most notably: MIRACULOUS HOLDERS ARE CREATURES!!! They get actual animal traits when transformed instead of just a costume. My tumblr is diadraws where I elaborate some more on my headcanons which may add some additional context to this fic if you are interested! CONTENT WARNINGS: *major* depictions of panic attacks, discussion of child neglect/abuse, and a minor emetophobia (vomiting) warning towards the end.

I’ve loved the comics and fanart I’ve seen dia create for this AU, with Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s more animalistic designs, so reading a fic set in that AU was a real treat! It’s mostly just a Ladrien sleepover at Adrien’s house, but it’s very nice and cozy, with some good character development of Adrien helping Ladybug with panic attacks she keeps having.

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Our Tales Are Endless (That’s Why I Tell Them) by @joonapeach

Marinette lives a simple life - one surrounded by pretty dresses, fresh macaroons, and the calming view of Paris. It’s a life she thinks she has always fit in. And yet sometimes, when a certain boy comes by her shop with a flower and a new adventurous story, she can’t help but wonder if there’s something else she’s missing.

This was a truly gorgeous story. It’s the classic “Marinette gives up the Miracle Box and loses her memories” storyline, exploring her life two years later. Even though she’s had time to heal and recover, she still feels like she’s missing something, something big. At least Adrien’s stopping by regularly to tell her stories about Ladybug and Chat Noir, even if she doesn’t understand why they resonate with her so well.

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a winter so warm by @rosekasa

winters were hard for even the best of vampires, but at least adrien had marinette to keep him warm with her cuddles. december was going to suck without her. so it was only to be expected to get extra cuddles in before she left, right? (well, not really, considering those heating supplements he was taking, but she didn’t need to know about that).

This one’s mostly just cute cuddly adorableness! It’s basically like all those “Marinette gets the Ladybug trait of needing to cuddle up to someone for warmth”, but with Adrien instead. And of course featuring Marinette being a very talented witch who just wants to help Adrien stay warm when she isn’t there XD.

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The Power of Love by @nedjsmlfavs

In which Ladybug announces that she’s pregnant via her long term boyfriend and Chat Noir is a supportive partner. After all, he can hardly be upset when he’s been dating his Princess for years!

A different take on the show’s tagline (“The Power of Love Always so Strong”) written for Valentine’s day 2023.

This is just a sweet, fluffy fic about Ladybug and Chat Noir finding out they’re having a baby, revealing to each other, getting married, and becoming parents. Gabriel actually tries to do better here, as he does actually care about getting to know his grandchild, and realizes that he can’t undo this timeline without undoing his granddaughter’s existence as well.

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Villainous Matchmaking by @nedjsmlfavs

When Chat Noir is tragically unable to attend an event with Ladybug, the mayor calls in a favor from a designer ‘friend’. Now she’s attending in style, on the arm of the hottest male model in Paris. Which would be fine if it weren’t for one, tiny issue: Paris’ favorite domestic terrorist now knows how Ladybug feels about his son. This leads him to his greatest plan yet, using Ladybug’s extremely obvious crush on Adrien Agreste to akumatize Chat Noir.

A Ladrien/“platonic” Ladynoir fic

This is adorable and hilarious. Gabriel keeps on “accidentally” releasing things which makes it looks like Adrien and Ladybug are a couple in an effort to make Chat Noir jealous, while Adrien and Ladybug ae just over-the-moon about getting to spend time together and finding out that the other person loves them XD.

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Fate, Destiny... A Hamster by @mostmagical

After finally moving into his very first apartment per Ladybug’s suggestion, Adrien discovers something no movie or TV show could have ever prepared him for: someone else's hamster.

Marinette was so excited to have her first pet. If only it would stop escaping!

At least now there’s an excuse to talk to the new neighbor.

(Adrienette Never Met AU)

Funnily enough, this is based on a true story. Specifically, the author’s own experience of having her hamster run out and be found by a neighbor.

Anyway, this is adorable! Marinette and Adrien become smitten with each other extremely quickly, with Marinette’s hamster keeping giving them reasons to talk. Very effective wing-hamster, that one XD.

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Through the Looking Glass by @jheqiawrites

Adrien is a lonely child, cut off from the outside world by his parent's strict rules. But when he discovers a window in his closet and sees a young girl looking back at him like his reflection, maybe he has hope for friendship after all.

Poor Adrien here, he makes a long-time friend (who everyone thinks is an imaginary friend), and has several great years interacting with her as his parents grow more concerned with him not growing out of it... and then Emilie dies, Gabriel orders the window destroyed, Adrien’s put on medication to suppress his “hallucinations” (which also makes him forget Marinette) and he’s just kind of left like that for the next several years, until he’s an adult.

Luckily, while Adrien forgot Marinette, Marinette never forgot him, and he’s not too difficult to track down...

This is some really cute Adrienette, if you want a “forgotten childhood friends-to lovers” Adrienette story, you should check this out!

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Miraculous Conception series by @ladynoirfanao3

Summary of the first story, The Power Of Creation:

Everyone knows that Ladybug's cure fixes everything after the destruction wrought by Shadow Moth's akumatized villains. After an akuma with an unfortunate power leaves Ladybug and Adrien in an awkward position, Marinette has never been happier to simply forget. However, she soon discovers that her miraculous ladybugs have a limitation on their curing ability, a limitation that puts her in a situation she never expected to be in.

So basically, Ladybug and Adrien run into each other just as an akuma makes everyone in the vicinity extremely horny, and when they both start remembering things again, they’re in a pretty... compromising position. But it’s just an akuma so they put it out of their heads, until Marinette discovers she’s pregnant and has to decide what to do about it, whether to keep the pregnancy, tell Adrien she’s Ladybug and is having his baby, what to do with the earrings when she’s too pregnant to be Ladybug, etc.

I really enjoyed it! Just watching Ladybug and Adrien try and navigate the situation, especially with secret identities thrown into the mix.

The main fics in the series are basically the same story, it’s just that the first one is from Marinette’s perspective, while the second one is from Adrien’s. The Power of Creation is rated M while the Power of Destruction is rated E, but for both fics it’s just rated that for a single sex scene that occurs in the fic (with it being the same sex scene in both fics, just told from two different perspectives).

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you made me a hero - reverse crush short stories series by @non-fantasy

This series is just plain fun! Like the title says, it’s a reverse crush AU, so Adrien’s head-over-heels for Marinette, while Ladybug’s smitten with Chat Noir. Which means that Adrien’s constantly trying to woo Marinette while Ladybug’s attempting to have normal conversations with Chat Noir (and failing), and both of them are oblivious to each other’s feelings.

I love the way non-fantasy executes it, with Alya literally carrying around a spray bottle because of how eager Adrien is, and Ladybug being VERY SCARY if you ever lay a finger on Chat Noir (seriously akumas will literally beg for their akumatized object to be broken just to escape her wrath).

Oh, also, Ladybug regularly stops by Adrien’s room so they can both lament how difficult of a time they’re having wooing their crushes, and just have fun together.

There’s a lot of entries in this series - 29 of them in fact - but most of them are pretty short, making it great if you want to devour some quick, cute, hilarious romcom action!

Some stuff does actually change over the course of the series, it’s not just slice-of-life. Like identity reveals, dating, and even Hawkmoth’s defeat, so there’s clear progression and changes in circumstances as well.

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Dreams of You by @chocoluckchipz

Dreams had long been his only escape. Dreams of Ladybug, the girl who had always been there for him.

If only in his dreams. And only while she was also sleeping.

Because with the first rays of sunshine gliding over her skin, with the first fluttering of her eyelashes, from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, memories of Adrien would vanish from her mind.

She would go on living her life.

He would always be the only one who remembered.

At least until they meet in the real world and fall in love all over again, something that would’ve been easier to do if Adrien wasn't a prisoner in his own home.

Chocoluckchipz has some of the most beautifully executed lovesquare fics I’ve read, and this is no exception. Most of the fic is dedicated to Adrien wooing Marinette, spending time with her, with her own dream self acting as his wingman, giving her tips on how to get her to fall for him, all the while frustrated that she can’t share memories with her waking self, and that she and Adrien can’t share as much information as they’d like while asleep, due to limitations of the “curse” that allows Adrien to share dreams with his soulmate.

It’s not all cute Adrienette fluff though. There’s a threat in the background waiting to erupt, as the weirdness of Gabriel’s ultimatum to Adrien about finding Ladybug or else being forced to marry Lila keeps on gnawing at him - and with good reason. This is a world with magic and kwamis still, and that fact makes itself very relevant in the last third of the story.

It’s a well-written tale and very much worth a read!

#miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic rec #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrienette #marichat #ladynoir #ladrien

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sizzleissues · 1 year

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Future holders AU

Some stuff cut off

Missed the bit of the fandom where everyone did this so here’s my two cents. The cat miraculous holder is Emma A. Dupain-Cheng ofc!

More stuff under the cut!

So here’s some things I imagine happen in this

Basically Marinette at some point relinquished guardianship and Ladybug and Chat Noir retired. (Debating to have a little bit of past angst by keeping the memory wipe)

Years later on Emma’s 16th birthday, an akuma crashes through the roller rink. Adrien got everyone to safety and Emma finds a strange box in the room he put her in. Joined by Crimson Bird (we’ll get to her one day), they defeat the akuma and learn of the return of the once thought to be destroyed Butterfly miraculous. Violet Empress

Emma doesn’t know her parents were super heroes and they won’t find out she’s one for a bit.

She’s a roller skating champ and only gets better with the added cat agility. Still crap at walking tho.

Emma is a big fan of the ‘old’ heroes and collects merch from the time. Her dad seems to be very good a sourcing ultra rare ladybug and chat noir stuff…

Once she debuts as Kitty Bo, she finds a Kitty Bo costume in her Dad’s wardrobe. She assumes its for her for the next con as he’d been hinting that with the new Chat Noir someone could have a new costume. Ofc this makes her panic because ‘what if he realises??’. On the day, turns out this costumes for him! Kitty Bo is apparently his favourite ‘new’ hero. While Chat Noir is her’s.

(Secretly they are both very pleased by these facts)

Plagg is ofc delighted his next holder is the daughter of his previous. This leads him to being an annoying little git. The only thing keeping his from running to Adrien is the identity protection thing. Eventually a midnight cheese escapade leads to a very damning sighting by Adrien and some quick lies about needing a quick recharge while patrolling. Adrien starts crying, Plagg leaves, it is all very confusing. Meanwhile Emma is in her room jamming out, unaware her kwami nearly exposed her.

I’m not sure how the reveals will go yet. The AU is Adrien & Emma centric as I think Adrien’s strive to be not like his dad and Emma wanting to live up to her’s in two ways unbeknownst to her is interesting.

The proper reunion is very emotional and Emma lets her dad transform for a bit, giving the public a shock. Marinette gets to borrow Tikki too and they go have a romantic evening on the Eiffel Tower, a defining spot of the relationship they couldn’t visit after giving up the miraculous.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanart #adrien agreste #emma agreste #but she’s got Marinette’s last name because Adrien lost Agreste #The A does stand for Agreste tho #miraculous #chat noir #ml fanart #mlb fanart #Future heroes au #Im late to the party. But hopefully some of this is new #futures au #mine

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bbutterflies · 4 months

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marinette walks into class one day to see everyone huddled around adrien tapping on his phone and she’s like uhhhh what? and nino says “he knows how to play minesweeper!” and marinette gets closer to see adrien is, indeed, playing minesweeper (he does not know why this is impressive but everyone seems happy to watch him play so he’s content to keep playing) and then later at patrol chat noir is like “oh hey ladybug do you know how to play minesweeper?” and she, very cautiously, says “no… do you?” and he beams and goes “yeah!”

internally ladybug has a crisis and just thinks to herself I have a thing for absolute nerds

#I was gonna draw this but that sounded like a lot of work so here u go have my thoughts #ramblings #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng

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princesssmars · 1 year

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Hello! ^.^ I really enjoy your writing I’m not really sure if your taking requests at the moment but if you are I was wondering if you could write some more poly miraculous ladybug with a fem reader about Adrien, Marinette, and reader cuddling and falling asleep together while watching a movie or talking to each other just some fluffy stuff if it’s not to much trouble thank you! 😊

first off thank uuu for the request i love when yall send stuff in <3 sorry it took so long i was trying to finish my own planned fics and i suck at writing quick but heres a short lil thing <3

sometimes you could swear your girlfriend and boyfriend were telepathic. itd be comforting to know they understood you so well if it wasnt actually a bit terrifying.

it was in the way that for marinettes birthday you planned a small suprise for her at school, only including your most trustworhty friends to help and join so she wouldnt find out, and said girl coming downstairs to the decorated courtyard like it was just a regular afternoon. she did say thanks and give you a kiss on the cheek, but you were still kind of dissapointed.

not to mention that friday a few weeks ago, where after a hard day at school and helping at your parents shops you quickly headed out to get yourself some snacks for a self-care and study night. as soon as you set the bag of goodies on your nightstand, you heard your dog downstairs barking at something. after quickly checking on him and coming back, you let out a shout as two wide and guilty green eyes stare back at you with a mouth full of your pastries. adrien later said he could tell when you would get yourself some snacks to wind down, which didnt help your suspicions.

but besides that, the way they seemed to know what was happening in your brain was an immense relief. it was the last day of junior year and the start of summer break and you couldnt be more relieved. most of your friends and classmates had plans to hang out with each other the next following days, leaving the afternoon to spend by yourself until then.

marinette and adrien had told you that morning that they'd likely be bisy that night with patrols, leaving you to sit in your room listening to music. even though you knew you would see everyone often starting the next day, you couldnt help but feel a sense of loneliness. your partners seemed to be going on more patrols and attacks lately, and it always left a cold feeling in your chest to know they were out risking their lives without you.

you felt yourself nodding off when a force landing beside you in bed makes you jolt upwards, relaxing when you see its just adrien still in his chat noir suit. mari is still suited up as well, dropping a baby pink tote onto your tv stand.

they tell you theyre sorry for being away so much and wanted to make it up to you, bringing a few of your favorite movies and maris favorite blanket that smells like strawberries.

after changing into pairs of pajamas they left at yours and snuggling into bed with you, you fall asleep to the sounds of a movie about a girl falling in love in paris, while you cuddle up with the two people who have made you do the same.

#miraculous ladybug x reader #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #marinette dupen chang #marinette dupen chang x reader #marinette x adrien #marinette x reader #adriennette #adrien agreste x reader #adrien agreste #adrienette x reader

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kawaiichibiart · 3 months

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....fuck it, here's more stuff in my AU where Felix becomes Argos as early as S1/S2:

He talks his mom into letting him transfer to DuPont. So what if he's already graduated? This way he and Adrien can bond!!

Kinda a repeat of when Lila joins the class, he's just not lying (much) to people. (By not lying much, I mean he pretends to be a nice, good, boy, but he's secretly enjoying bidding his time to be an absolute menace, bonus points to him if he can get Adrien in on it).

Nino likes him instantly after he hears Felix refer to his uncle as "that whiny, candy cane, little bitch? What about him?"

Lila returns and immediately believes Felix is Adrien but gets surprised when Adrien walks in a few minutes later. To her further surprise, he pulls his "twin" away from her and takes him to the back, to their seats (another thing she was unaware of). Nino is sitting with Marinette and Lila has to sit with Alya.

Felix, indeed, managed to get Adrien to act like a little menace (there are his bonus points). The rest of the class doesn't know whether to feel proud or betrayed.

People send the Ladyblog pic after pic, video after video, of Chat Noir and some guy (?) dressed like a bird. Some have even captured a clearly mad Ladybug in the background.

Argos makes his "official" debut after that.

Reporter: Chat Noir, why have you been patrolling less with Ladybug? Are you replacing her with Argos? Chat Noir:...he knows things about me, I know things about him. It's complicated but only to people who aren't....us. Reporter:... Are...are you not concerned? If he knows things, he could risk your identity!! Chat Noir: Nah, it's fine. He loves me too much. Argos, in the distance: FUCK YOU!! Chat Noir: See? (:

Fast friends with Kagami. Neither have any understanding of social cues.

Unsure where he stands with Marinette. On the one hand, she seems to genuinely care about Adrien and wants to see him happy. On the other hand, where the fuck did she get his schedule? He doesn't believe she uses it for all her friends/classmates. He's calling bullshit on that.

Gives Nino free ammo to use against Gabriel.

Ladybug still tries to get him to hand over the peacock Miraculous, or at least tell her who he is. He continuously tells her to kiss his ass.

He's also done that to Hawkmoth.

Akuma of the Day: HAND OVER THE PEACO- the peacock Miraculous?? But, don't you- Hawkmoth: YES, YES, I WANT THE LADYBUG AND CAT MIRACULOUS, BUT THAT, THAT- Argos: Go ahead, take your time. What am I? Hawkmoth: HE STOLE IT FROM ME, I WANT IT BACK!! Argos: let me think about it... No. Hawkmoth: HAND OVER YOUR, I MEAN MY, I MEAN MAYURA'S MIRACULOUS!! Argos: You can join Ladybug (Ladybug, knowing what's he's about to say: Hey!) and the Guardian in kissing my ass, this Miraculous is mine. Argos: bitch.

#felix graham de vanily #felix fathom #miraculous au #argos #mlb argos #miraculous argos #early bird au

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rayraygo1267 · 8 months

Note

Felix: Hey adrien did you see m-

Adrien: Plagg claws out! *transforms*

Felix: . . .

Chat noir: Uh...

Felix: Adrien What the f#ck

Chat noir: Meow?

*Some days later*

Ladybug: chatton, why all of a sudden you havent been coming for patrols as often?

Chat noir: *sweating nervously* uh

Argos: *sneaking out to destransform with a whole board of chess*

*Some minutes before*

(On a random rooftop)

Chat noir: checkmate!

Argos: sh#t adrien youre good

Argos: wait is that- *squints and sees ladybug in the distance* sh#t thats ladybug good luck cousin *hides behind an random chimney*

Chat noir: *sweating nervously* hi m'lady how was your day?

*Back to the present*

Chat noir: *sweating nervously* y-you k-know m'lady my personal life has been very busy

Ladybug: chatton why the f#ck are you sweating so much, if you keep this up youre gonna cause an flood like when the siren was akumatized

Chat noir: *sweating nervously* uh um oh my m'lady is getting late and i have to go home so uh bye *leaves*

Chat noir and Argos: *drops on an alley and destransforms*

Felix: sh#t that was close

Adrien: yeah, but now lets head home an play some more chess

Felix: absolutely

And it was suffice to say that Chat Noir was *sweating nervously*

Hehe I love this! All Felix and Adrien wanted was to play one game of chess!

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dragonwritersblog · 10 months

Text

These Hands Of Yours (Let Me Protect Them)

Read on AO3

For @xhanisai after I reblogged this post and immediately came up with this after the S5 finale. I have many thoughts but the main one was mostly “MARINETTE MY GIRL YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER!” but yeah, I decided to base this after the finale because I feel like it fits with that post that she made. I managed to write this with the help of the caffeine from my tea, my remaining will to live and the neuro-spicy brain juice swirling around in my head. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this Akari!

The image of her tears-stained cheeks, red eyes and running nose was something Adrien didn’t think he was going to get out of his head for quite some time. He had comforted both Marinette and Ladybug many times before for different reasons, but this was the first time he comforted the same person on both sides of the mask.

It had started earlier this evening when they were both on patrol, Ladybug had met up with them at their agreed spot on a rooftop. The first sign he noticed something was wrong was how tense she was. Sure, she had her signature sweet smile and adorable sass, but her grin seemed more strained, and her quips were forced rather than seamlessly rolling off her tongue.

When asking her if she was alright, she brushed it off with a nervous laugh and swung away to start patrol. Chat Noir thought about chasing after her, but decided against it, knowing that if he continued to press on about it, the less willing she would be to tell him what was going on. They met up again twenty minutes later, but this time the sass and smile were gone, replaced with a face clouded with gloom and her posture slouched. He asked again if she was sure she was okay, only to be given a single nod before Ladybug attempted to swing away again; key word, attempted. For when she threw the end of her yoyo and prepared to jump, her clumsiness seemed to strike, and she nearly lost her footing. If it hadn’t been for Chat Noir’s quick reflexes and grabbed her wrist to pull her away, there was a definite chance she would’ve been injured.

He asked her one last time if she was okay and something inside her seemed to snap. Her eyes began to water, and her bottom lip trembled before launching herself into his chest and began to sob, strained cries ripping from her throat. Chat immediately scooped her up into his arms and walked over to a chimney, sitting them both down with her in his lap as he stroked her hair.

“I’m s-sorry, I’m so sorry!” she wailed, her tears leaking onto his leather covered shoulders as she buried her face into his neck.

“Shhh,” he buried his claws into her hair, gently taking out her hair ties and began stroking through the soft dark locks to sooth her, “You don’t need to apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You don’t understand!” she hiccupped, her small hands gripping the back of his suit as her entire body began to shake with more sobs, “I was stupid, I was really stupid this time Chat!”

Another tremor wracked through her body, causing Chat Noir to start purring, hoping that the vibrations would ease the panic threating to bubble to the surface. The purring seemed to be working, for he felt her trying to even out her breathing, though it seemed that she struggled as she would let out a cry once in a while that just shattered his heart every time he heard it. “Whatever it is, we can get through this together like we always do.”

“Not this time Chat!” she whimpered, “It’s just gonna make things worse if I say it. Everyone’s already so happy I can’t say it.”

“Then don’t say it to everyone,” he took one of her hands, his thumb stroking the top as her face peeled away from her shoulder to look at him, “Just say it to me, and let the rest just follow.”

“I…he…he should hate me!” she sniffled.

“Who?”

“Adrien!” her chest began to heave again as her other hand clawed at her face, “He should hate me for what I did!”

“Adrien Agreste?” Chat Noir inquired, starting to put the pieces together, “If this is about what happened to his father, Gabriel made that choice to help save the city. It’s not your fault, he doesn’t hate you for that.”

While true, a part of him was still grieving the loss of his father, he was glad that in those remaining moments his true self came to light for what he would do for his family. With that information in mind, it was something he could live with. However, it seemed that what he said just made his Lady feel worse as ripped her hand that was held in his to claw at her neck as she cried harder.

“No, no, no!” She began to rock back and forth, red marks were starting to contrast against her pale skin on her jaw, making Chat Noir grab her hands into his own large ones so she wouldn’t cause further damage to herself. “He shouldn’t have died; I shouldn’t have let him die! Then the wish wouldn’t-”

She clamped her mouth shut, praying that Chat Noir didn’t hear that last part. Unfortunately, his enhanced hearing was able to catch those last few words, the boy turning to her slowly. “What do you mean about the wish?” his tone was slow and steady.

“I-I didn’t…that wasn’t what I…t-that’s not what I meant to say-”

“-Ladybug,” she nearly jumped at the sound of his voice, the intensity making her nerves twist again, “What do you mean about the wish?”

He didn’t look or seem angry, but she knew that this was a conversation that he wasn’t going to change. Trying to compose herself as much as she could, she began to explain.

“He-he tricked me,” her own voice seemed to start shaking, “M-Monarch tricked me.” She felt his claws trail up and down her back to try and relieve some of her panic as her stuttering continued. “He tricked me. He tricked me. He tricked me.”

“It’s okay,” he whispered. He thinks he has a bit of an idea now. “Monarch is nothing but evil. He would do anything to get what he wants. Don’t blame yourself for Monarch making Gabriel sacrifice himself, you did all that you could.”

It didn’t seem to make her feel better, her eyes were still wide open and spilling tears as her breathing worsened. She began to shake her head. “Monarch tricked me. Monarch tricked me!” she turned to meet his gaze, “Gabriel was the trick!”

Chat Noir raised a brow in confusion. How was Gabriel the trick? His thoughts were interrupted as Ladybug’s rambles became more frantic.

“Monarch tricked me! Gabriel tricked me. Gabriel tricked me. He tricked me!”

A pit began to form in his stomach. No, no there’s no way. It felt like pieces of a puzzle starting to finally click together. Or to put it more simply, two men – two horrible men – began to mould into one monster. It was only confirmed when Ladybug opened her mouth again.

“Gabriel is…was Monarch,” she gripped his hands as the memory flooded back into her mind, “He started saying these things and I though that maybe, just maybe, there was still some good him. How could I be such an idiot?! To fall for a few nice words and suddenly it’s enough for me to give him Tikki and Plagg!”

Chat wanted to tell her that she wasn’t an idiot, that he understood being manipulated by that man – if you could even call him that at this point – that she did everything that she could in that moment. But at the same time, Monarch was his father! He had spent the last few weeks wondering how he could ever live up to how great his father was in his sacrifice. When in reality, there was no sacrifice, just an act of cowardice and his lady was left to pick up the pieces. He forced himself to repress a disgusted shudder. No wonder she looked like she was about to break down the minute he saw her arrive.

“How can he look at me like that?!” she asked aloud, the question not being directed to anyone, “Even when I keep lying to him?!”

Chat Noir tucked a loose stray hair behind her ear, “Lying to who? About what?”

“Adrien,” the name alone made his breath hitch, “Every time I see him, he just looks at me as though I handed the world to him by just simply being there, and he doesn’t even know what I’ve been keeping from him!”

Oh, that made sense…wait. Adrien hadn’t seen Ladybug since she gave him his father’s ring. The way she was speaking about him was as if they had seen each other many times before. Did he know her outside of the mask? Could he even be that lucky?

“I don’t know if I can keep doing this,” she continued, “I don’t know if I can handle him looking at me like that whenever we’re at school, or play video games at each other’s houses, I don’t think I can be able to keep it together when he takes me to the little coffee shop down the street that he knows that I adore. He’s done so much for me, cares so much for me and yet I’m doing this to him, and he doesn’t even know what a horrible person I am!”

School…coffee shop…dates…A chill rushes through his veins, realisation seeping in. The girl he was holding in his arms, her hands glued to his in a desperate sign practically begging not to be alone, was someone that he knew far closer to him than any of his friends. Someone who he knew that already had so much on her hands that just got piled on after everything that was said to him. It can’t be.

“I SHOULDN’T BE LADYBUG!”

Was the last thing that tore from Marinette’s throat as her suit disappeared, leaving behind the love of his life in her pyjamas, Tikki nuzzling her cheek to try and calm her as the wave of panic and weeping returned.

He drops everything that was circling in his mind - his father, the wish, his Lady’s identity – and wraps Marinette up in his arms as much as he can, purring and keeping her as warm as he can with his body heat. Her left arm was wrapped round his torso while he kept a hold of her right hand in his own. He takes a look at her ungloved hand, hundreds of little scars leaving their marks on her skin, leaving a mocking reminder of how much she failed that day.

The fact that Monarch…no…the fact that his father was so selfish and vile that he went out of his way to not only emotionally damage, but to go as far as to try to physically damage his Lady just for a wish. Was his own son not enough? Was he that self-centred to ignore his only family left while claiming that he was doing this for his child? How could he use that to justify hurting and manipulating such a sweet and kind person as Marinette?!

“This is my fault,” she whispers, her voice raspy and sounding sore, “This is all my fault. He should hate me, I’m a terrible person and a terrible Ladybug.”

“No,” Chat Noir shook his head, a slight growl escaping with the word.

“I’m really sorry,” she whimpered, “I should’ve told you; you have every right to be angry with me, you’re my partner, you deserve to know.”

Did she…did she think his anger was directed at her? “Oh Mari,” he pressed his lips to her hair, “I have no reason to be angry with you. Never, ever blame yourself for the cruelty of others. You don’t need to apologise for any of Gabriel’s actions.”

He takes her other hand and clasps them in his again, making sure that her attention was focused on him and only him. “Since the moment I met you, you’ve been pressured to put the weight of Paris on your shoulders. From our friends to the other civilians, even yourself, it might not have been said out loud, but you definitely felt them giving you that responsibility. You are so strong; I’ve seen the remarkable things that you have accomplished with your hands. How you’ve protected so many people, to figuring out any lucky charm thrown your way, to even fighting the most feral akumas. But it’s also left its impact on you as well, and eventually, the weight that your hands have carried for so long has started to take effect. It doesn’t make you weak, no, however it is something that you don’t have to do alone. We’re the bug and cat team, we’re meant to share the weight, not take the burden from the other. And know that I know, I’m gonna make sure that you never feel such a weight again, both in and out the suit.”

She tilts her head in confusion before a flash of green made her squint and look away. When she looked back, she gasped, for there in front of her, in his pyjamas and zip-up hoodie, was none other than the boy she swore to protect from all the darkness she held so that he would never be burdened with. “Adrien?”

He pressed a kiss to her hand, “Hi Princess.”

Her eyes filled with tears again, she tried to make sure that Adrien would never find out about this, not at the expense of his happiness and now she managed to screw that up as well.

He was more prepared this time when she let out more apologies, taking off his hoodie, wrapped her up in it and pressed her face to his chest as he tightly embraced her. He purred louder and more even to make sure she was relaxed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Adrien!” she blubbered out as he rocked them back and forth, “I should’ve told you, but you were finally happy! Finally free with your life and I didn’t want to take that from you!”

“It’s alright, shh, it’s gonna be alright,” he let her continue to sob, his main priority at this point was her and taking care of her, “I’m okay, we’re okay, it’s not your fault.”

A few minutes later, her sobs turned to quiet sniffles. He took another look at her face, his stomach twisting when he saw just how exhausted she was, the guilt had really taken an ugly toll on her. Tikki was still cradled in the crook of her neck, having fallen asleep while soothing her holder. He stood up, holding her in his arms as he called out for his transformation phrase and jumped off the rooftop, making his way back to the bakery.

Once he landed on her balcony, he released his transformation again before going through her trapdoor window and gently placing her onto the bed.

He lifted her upper body he raised her duvet and placed her under it, making sure she was wrapped up safe and warm before joining her under her blankets, wrapping her up in his arms again and resumed his purring. Tikki had woken up and moved from Marinette’s neck to her hair, Plagg joining her as he buried himself in her dark locks and he began to purr as well.

Adrien could feel her body struggling to relax, constantly shifting from trying to letting herself by soothed by the warmth and love she was being given to stiffening back up again as though she didn’t feel as though she were allowed to.

His brows furrow in concentration, forming a plan in his head on just how to help his princess within this moment. He looked at their hands again, having conjoined again while in the midst of her much needed cuddles. He raised her dainty pale hand to his lips, gently pressing them against the tips of her fingers, making her look up at him and pausing her internal dilemma.

“I’m not surprised that you’re Ladybug,” he told her, “I mean, I am a bit shocked at the sudden reveal, but it makes so much sense that you’re her. The kindness with how you treat civilians, the creativity when figuring out any lucky charm thrown at you, not taking any nonsense from anyone – all of that comes from Marinette.”

He presses two more kisses to the back of her hand and laid it on her pillow and started stroking her palm in small circles with his thumb, taking notice that she was focused on the lazy motions and the soothing feeling it gave her. “It comes from everything I’ve seen you do outside of the mask,” he continued, “How you treat our friends and students outside of our class to make sure everyone is happy, coming up with ideas for not only your fashion but with baking, drawing and so many other projects, and you refuse to let others be walked over and stand up for those who aren’t able to do it themselves. All that comes from you! And all those amazing things come from your amazing hands.”

She tried to smile; it wavered a little, but she wanted to show how much his words meant to her. She wanted to believe him, she wanted to believe him so badly! So why wouldn’t the final image of Gabriel leave her mind?! Why did it have to keep reminding her of how much she failed.

She curled in on herself, the brainstorm building up again. Luckily, Adrien seemed to take notice. “But those hands have been hurt way before you became Ladybug, haven’t they?” he asked, making her thoughts pause as she peered up at him through her eyelashes.

“Despite saving the city multiple times, its far from the first time your hands have been used in that way,” he brushed his thumb over a faded scar, one that he noticed from the first time he met Marinette. Back during the hat contest, before everything, when he gently brushed his hand against hers to take her winning hat, he saw it on the top of her hand and was curious as to how it got there, but he didn’t want to pry. Now, after knowing all she went through, he had a bit of an idea on how she received it.

“All those years that you had to defend yourself from Chloe’s ruthlessness to the point you were terrified to go to school, and then Lila trying to do the same to you as well. Not to mention, you always tried to take on everyone’s problems, whether if its Kim and Ivan fighting, or Alix trying to pick a fight with someone, you’ve constantly found solutions to the point that they just keep coming back to you for help,” he continued, “They see you as the only way to fix a problem instead of trying to figure it out themselves. I know that you’re afraid of our friends getting akumatised, but you can’t take on everybody else’s burdens if you’re already being dragged down by your own.”

Marinette whimpered, every word he was saying was ringing so true that it hurt to listen to. Adrien sensed her distress and pressed a few more gentle kisses to her cheeks and forehead; he knew she had to hear this, but he knew that there was already going on in that head of hers for her to finally be confronted with both her greatest strength yet biggest flaw.

“And now knowing that you had to defend yourself from my father, both with and without a miraculous,” a bitter taste formed in his mouth as he remembered how Ladybug tried to fight Hawkmoth after Tikki and Plagg took back their miraculous. His father might not have known it was Marinette at that time, but he did know that the person he was fighting at the time was defenceless and vulnerable to the extreme damage he inflicted. “The fact that he would do that to you, that he tried to go out of his way to hurt you and then proceeded to trick you…...I’m so sorry Marinette. I’m sorry that you’ve kept this to yourself just so you could protect me but,” he looked at the scars on her hands again, the ones that Gabriel left there permanently, “No one was there to protect you from what he did.”

“-But you’ve already protected me for so long!” Marinette injected, the sudden volume startling Adrien a little bit, “You’ve already done so much for me, even when I pushed you away you were always by my side even when I didn’t deserve it. Even after keeping this from, you, how could you still want to be my partner…I don’t deserve this.”

He pressed a finger to her lips; she looked up as their eyes locked with one another, anxious blue met a frustrated green, but not at her. “Don’t ever say that again,” he murmured, his voice low and laced with both hurt and concern, “You deserve so much more than you’ve been given. You barely ask for anything, nothing even, and yet no one can even give you that.” He brought her hands to his chest, right above where she could feel his heart drumming softly, “You are so incredible, so talented, so amazing. And it hurts to watch that being stripped away every day, as Marinette and Ladybug. You think that you need to take on so much more than you already do, that you have to feel this horrible, but you don’t! Ladybug wasn’t meant to be on her own and neither was Marinette. You don’t need to do this alone anymore Princess…please, let me in, let me help you, let me share and protect the world that is threatening to fall out of your hold.”

“I-I-I,” her voice broke a little, the weight of his words was hitting harder than she thought it would, giving her a sense of peace and relief that she hadn’t felt in so long. But she knew that she wouldn’t be able to hold onto it forever, something was going to make him realise that she was a terrible partner, and he would finally realise that. “I can’t. I can’t take your happiness away after you fought so hard for it, I can’t let you be dragged down with me. I should’ve been smarter that day, I could’ve found another way – I could’ve! That way you don’t have to be here now to feel burdened by me!”

“I can assure you that never have, or will, burden me with anything,” he let go of her hands and wrapped both of his arms around her smaller form in a silent promise of never letting her go. “I’m here because I want to be. Gabriel has always found a way to trick others for years, he tricked us both when he first thought he was Hawkmoth, he’s managed to talk his way in and out of situations without anyone batting an eye and he has manipulated me for years into thinking that I was wrong about everything. And the fact that all of Paris believes that he’s some kind of hero while you’re suffering in silence after everything he put you through just proves how much of a monster he is. And I feel sick knowing that I believed that too for a while.”

Marinette shuffled in his arms. Ever since she became Ladybug, defeating Hawkmoth was the only goal she knew that she had to complete. She sacrificed everything in order to do that, her hobbies, her love life, even herself to some degree. And yet when the time came, she failed. Part of him just wanted Adrien to scream at her, tell her that she messed up and messed up bad. But seeing him look at her with the utmost love after she thought he would hate her for keeping these secrets and failing to complete the most important task of their lives, even after finding out that Hawkmoth was his father, a part of herself felt as though he were telling the truth about everything he said in that moment.

He let one of his arms fall and clasped her hand again, bringing it to his lips, “You’re not alone anymore Marinette. No matter what the future holds for us, we’re going to go through this together. You didn’t mess up; you didn’t fail, and you deserve to be happy. I’m here now, so please, let me take care of you as you took care of me and everyone else,” he gently pressed his lips to her knuckles as one more promise, “It’s you and me against the world.”

The dams broke once more as Marinette buried her head in his chest, wailing once more as he gripped her tightly with as much protection as he could give her in this moment. He let her cry as much as she needed to, stroking her hair as she got everything else out of her system while whispering and presses comforting kisses to her forehead.

A while passed before her cries turned to whimpers and her whimpers turned into soft, even breathes. Looking down, he saw that she had cried herself to sleep. Judging by the bags under her eyes and how deep she seemed to be in her dreamlike state, this was probably this first time she properly slept since her battle with Hawkmoth.

Her arms were tightly wrapped around him, as though she were begging him to stay – as if he could ever leave her after what happened. With one arm wrapped her waist and the other round the back of her head, he cuddled softly into her, relishing in the soft content noise that left her throat. The kwamis retreated to the other side of the pillows, giving their holders much needed space while close enough in case they needed them.

Before he allowed himself to fall asleep however, internally, Adrien made one more promise to her. I won’t let this happen to you again Marinette, not after this. No matter what, I’ll keep you safe and never let your hands carry that type of weight ever again. Now that I’m free for him, nothing will stop me from protecting you or leaving your side.

Only after making that promise, did he join her in sleep.

(In the morning.

“Plagg, how do you cataclysm a dead person?”

“Adrien I just woke up what the fuck.”)

I am so sorry it took this long! I swear I should’ve gotten it out sooner but it’s here now and I hope you like it! <3

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fruitdragon1a · 6 months

Text

WIP pt 2: Loveybug AU

just hit 1600 words!

anyway, enjoy another snippet of the wip :D

“Plagg, claws in.” Adrien stumbled over to his bed and collapsed face down on the soft sheets, then turned over to face the ceiling. “She’s… gone.”

His kwami looked unusually somber, all traces of his usual sarcastic personality gone. He was probably hungry, but he hovered protectively over Adrien’s shoulder to provide comfort instead of going to find food. “I’m sorry, kid. That couldn’t have been easy to hear.”

“She can’t just be gone, though, she’s the Guardian!” Adrien said. “But why’d she stop being Ladybug?”

Plagg shrugged. “Kid, to find that out, you’d have to ask her.”

“But… that’s not possible,” he mumbled. “And there can’t be a Chat Noir without a Ladybug. I can’t be Chat Noir without Ladybug.”

“You have a Ladybug, though. The new one, Loveybug.”

“But she’s not Ladybug!” Adrien sat up, desperately trying to get Plagg to understand. “I can’t be Chat Noir without Ladybug at my side. Not Loveybug. She’s nice enough, but she’s not my partner.”

Plagg just listened in silence.

“It’s like, if, I don’t know, Sass or some other kwami suddenly replaced Tikki as your ‘other half’. It would be weird and wrong, right?”

“I don’t think it’s quite the same thing, kid,” Plagg said gently, “but I get what you’re saying. Then what are you suggesting?”

Adrien sighed. “I don’t know.” He sighed. “I don’t know.”

“You aren’t the only holder of the Miraculous of the Black Cat, you know,” Plagg slowly suggested, obviously trying to get Adrien to understand something.

He cast a confused look at his kwami. “Last I checked, I was the only holder of the Black Cat Miraculous?”

“Not to Ladybug, you aren’t,” Plagg reminded him. “Remember Cat Walker?”

Adrien’s eyes widened.

Plagg flew over to Adrien’s desk, returning with a wedge of Camembert that he stuffed into his mouth. After he swallowed, he continued to speak. “Sure, Chat Noir may not be Chat Noir without his Lady, but that’s not true of Cat Walker, is it?”

“But… It’s still me,” Adrien said.

Plagg shook his head. “You know that, and I know that, but nobody else does. And that means you can build a new dynamic with Loveybug, and people won’t ask incessant questions about where Ladybug went, and you won’t be burdened with all the baggage that being Chat Noir comes with. And maybe Ladybug will see your disappearance and try and seek you out as Cat Walker to find out what happened.”

He was slowly beginning to warm up to the idea.

“So? What do you say?”

Adrien glanced up at Plagg, then glanced out the window at the glittering Eiffel Tower in the distance. At the place that was once his and Ladybug’s special place… now somewhere Ladybug would likely never return to. So why should he return as Chat Noir? He’d still be protecting the city… just with a different mask.

He turned to face Plagg, schooling his face into a determined expression. There would be time for sadness and grief later. “Let’s do it. Plagg, claws out!”

“Wait you just finished your patrol–” Plagg’s rushed words cut off as he was sucked into Adrien’s ring. A moment later, Cat Walker stood in front of his bedroom mirror, taking in his new look. It seemed like he would have to get used to it, as Chat Noir wasn’t coming back. Not unless his Lady did.

#miraculous ladybug #loveybug au #my writing #wip #adrien agreste #plagg #cat walker #mlb plagg #ml fanfic #mlb fanfic

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literaphobe · 4 months

Note

i don’t quite get the clothing conventions of tvl, can you explain it to me please?

OF COURSE ANON MY DEAR

so here’s how clothing SPECIFICALLY works in the Secret Base:

- whenever ladybug and chat noir detransform in there, their magic suits come off, but their masks and head gear stay on (yes the cat ears. when tvl!ladybug first introduced tvl!chat noir to the Secret Base she said ‘you can take the cat ears off yknow it’s allowed’ and he was like ‘nope! Secret Base and I are in agreement - the cat ears stay ON’ or something <- not in any tvl scenes btw just something I thought of)

- they don’t Feel the masks tho, they’re just visually there, and also ladybug can take down her hair ties whenever and chat noir can take down his cat ears whenever!!

- the Secret Base does this with magic 👍 and quantum masking 👍 the part with their clothes is a bit more interesting -> they can wear whatever they want from their real lives. this is because the Secret Base disguises their clothes slightly. the easiest way to imagine this would be if for example - marinette wears a pink shirt w hearts on it, but when she steps into the Secret Base, ladybug appears to be in a red shirt with stars

- LIKE that’s just an example of how it COULD work tho. to tvl!chat noir’s knowledge, he just knows that if he saw ladybug’s civilian self outside wear the Exact same thing she wore inside the Secret Base, he wouldn’t recognize it

- and yes, they DID test this. they got like, some random shirt, and she wore it in the Secret Base, and then later on she showed him that same shirt on patrol and he was like ‘I don’t recognize that at all’

- why do they need the clothes to work the way they do? it’s to basically have Being In The Secret Base simulate real life as much as possible! bc while the Secret Base is for safety, and the kwamis’ protection, it’s also a contingency plan

- as briefly described by tvl!chat noir in ch1, 23 year old ladynoir have been facing a crisis over the years -> people GIVING UP their miraculous due to various reasons. one of the most recent factors is Work Responsibilities. in THIS ECONOMY it’s hard to be a superhero AND have a job, and some of those difficulties involve Secretly Getting Away, whereas the STRESS of it all… yeah. so, to cope w that, tvl!ladybug decided HEY CHAT NOIR! if either of us ever get fired - FUCK NEEDING MONEY. we have magic. we’ll cope!!!!! <- she’s secretly scared he’ll leave like the others. and he’s the only one who she might lose Forever bc she doesn’t know his identity, whereas she knows who literally Every other holder is

- this got out of hand. I hope u understand how clothes work in tvl’s Secret Base now!! feel free to ask any other questions :)

#ask #tvl #btw everyone tvl ch3 is out!!!!!

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seas-of-silver · 7 months

Note

"I'm sorry Master Fu, but... I don't think I can do this anymore."

‘I’m sorry, Master Fu, but… I don’t think I can do this anymore.’

Adrien watched as Master Fu’s eyes bugged out. ‘What?’

‘I can’t keep doing this anymore,’ Adrien repeated.

‘You don’t want to be Chat Noir anymore?’ Fu asked, voice strangled with panic and alarm.

‘Of course I want to be Chat Noir,’ Adrien answered, ‘but I can’t keep being him if things are going to stay this way.’

The panic and alarm gave way to confusion. ‘Do you mean with defeating Hawk Moth?’

Adrien shook his head. ‘I mean being a part of this team.’

-oOo-

Chat Noir landed on the rooftop where Ladybug was already waiting to start their patrol. His heart skipped happily at the mere sight of her, and he sighed in relief. Since that brush of lips, that near-kiss he had with Marinette at the wax museum earlier that day, he had been an absolute mess of emotions, wondering if his heart was so fickle that one little kiss could make him fall for someone who wasn’t his Lady. But now, with his heart doing its usual routine of happy backflips upon seeing Ladybug, he decided that all was right in the world (and that he could examine his newfound - perhaps temporary? - feelings for Marinette later).

‘Good evening, m’lady,’ he greeted as he sat down next to her at the edge of the rooftop.

She turned to him, smiling happily. ‘Hey, Chat!’

He couldn’t help but smile in return. ‘You are in a good mood. Did you have a good day?’

Ladybug grimaced like she had just bitten into a lemon. ‘Wasn’t the greatest, but luckily not as horrible as it could’ve been.’

‘Oh?’

‘I’d rather not dwell on it,’ she said, before shaking her head, and her expression cleared. ‘But I’d rather talk to you about something far more pleasant!’

‘I’m all ears,’ he said, wiggling his faux cat ears, and grinned when he was rewarded with a giggle. She turned where she was sitting to face him, struggling to sit still as if she were a puppy and he was holding a bone in his hand.

‘How’s your training with Master Fu going?’ she asked enthusiastically, the words practically bursting from her. ‘I’ve been desperate to ask for ages, but I didn’t want to bombard you too early, because I didn’t want to jump too far ahead of where you might’ve been in your training, but surely you’ve learnt enough for us to talk about most things freely together, and-’

‘Ladybug, wait,’ Chat cut in, and she paused, her arms comically frozen in the air from when she had been waving them about excitedly, ‘what training?’

Her arms dropped and she frowned. ‘Uh, the training on the Miraculous?’

‘I’m supposed to be getting training?’ he asked, and her frown deepened.

‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘When was the last time you saw Fu?’

‘Saw him? Uh… when we fought against Party Crasher? But if you’re talking about having an actual sit-down conversation with him-’ she nodded, ‘-then not since after we faced Syren.’

‘Syren?’ she repeated incredulously. ‘But that was months ago!’

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘but that chat was more like a general overview rather than anything I’d consider to be training.’

‘Ugh!’ she exclaimed, jumping up to her feet and starting to pace. ‘What is his problem?’

‘What do you mean?’ Chat asked, turning where he sat to face her.

‘Back around the time of us facing Syren, you were getting frustrated by your role and being left in the dark with identities and all things Miraculous, remember?’ she began.

‘Yeah, I remember,’ he responded. ‘I almost quit that day.’

‘What?’ she yelped, swivelling around to face him. ‘Y-you almost left? Why?’

He cringed; he had never wanted to admit to her how low he had felt that day, but now that it was out, he supposed he should address it.

‘I didn’t feel like you trusted me,’ he confessed, his heart breaking as he saw the pain in her eyes. ’Suddenly, there are more Miraculouses, and I didn’t know about them until you put them into play. There were new team members that just popped up mid-battle that you didn’t trust me with their identities. When we started being superheroes, it was just the two of us, and the only secrets we had between us were our identities, but at some point, that changed. I felt less like your partner and more like your out-of-the-loop sidekick. I had no knowing where it all went wrong, and your lips were sealed tighter than a jam jar. I didn’t feel valued.’

‘A-and now?’ Ladybug asked, her voice soft but the guilt was earth-shatteringly loud. ‘After Master Fu spoke with you when Syren was over, did those feelings change?’

Chat sighed.

‘They lessened for a time,’ he admitted, ‘because he had explained he was training you, and that’s why you couldn’t tell me everything. He told me that he was the Guardian and gave me an overview about his role, he handed me the power-ups, and then he left. And that was enough for me back then, getting some answers for what was going on, but it’s still hard. Even after Syren, I still don’t know our temporary teammates identities, so only you can go get them and bring them to the battle. Only you and Master Fu knew how to make our power-ups. I don’t know where Master Fu lives, so I can’t just go talk to him. I… if I think about it too much, it hurts.’

Arms wrapped around him.

‘I am so sorry, Chat Noir,’ Ladybug apologised. ‘I told him to stop leaving you in the dark, and when he said that he’d take care of it, I thought he was bringing you up to speed, not just giving you a one-off chat. I hate keeping secrets from you, especially things to do with the Miraculous. Never doubt that I trust you with my life and the Miraculouses - you are my partner and my best friend.’

Chat returned the hug. ‘Thank you, Ladybug. That means a lot.’

She pulled back and looked him in the eye. ‘I promise you, Chat Noir, that I’ll talk to Master Fu and make this right.’

-oOo-

’After that, she gave me your address so that I could reach you in case of important discussions that need to happen, and for emergencies,’ Adrien explained, watching as Master Fu frowned deeply.

‘She should not have done that,’ Master Fu said sternly.

‘Yes, she should have,’ Plagg retorted, staring the old man down. ‘If she hadn’t given him your address last night, I would’ve brought him here anyway, and he would’ve learned your address either way. But she trusted him, and so should you.’

‘What makes you think I don’t trust him?’ asked Fu. Plagg stared at him, unimpressed.

‘Did you not just hear everything my kid just told you?’ Plagg responded dryly. ‘Ladybug and Chat Noir’s relationship almost fell apart, Adrien was going to give up being Chat Noir altogether, leaving Hawk Moth a step closer to victory - just because you couldn’t bring yourself to trust Adrien as much as you do Ladybug.’

Fu seemed unmoved by Plagg’s words. ‘He can’t just give up - he has a responsibility-’

‘And what about your responsibility to him?’ Plagg countered. ‘Has he done something wrong?’

‘No.’

‘Has he proven himself less reliable or trustworthy than Ladybug?’ Plagg continued, cutting Fu off.

‘No, but-’

‘Has he ever showed any signs of wanting to betray Ladybug or wanting to join Hawk Moth?’

’No, he hasn’t-’

‘So then-’

‘Because there are extenuating circumstances!’ Fu yelled.

‘Like what?’ Plagg yelled back.

‘I can’t say, it’s too dangerous,’ said Fu tersely.

‘Can’t or won’t?’ Plagg shot back.

Fu didn’t answer, opting to silently fume with a red face.

‘Does Ladybug know what you aren’t telling us?’ Plagg prodded.

Fu pursed his lips, but averted his gaze in discomfort.

‘I’ll take that as a “no”, then,’ Plagg stated.

Adrien was finding this conversation frustrating. He knew Ladybug would talk to Fu sometime soon - she had only made her promise last night, after all - but he decided to try and talk to the Master himself when his fencing lesson cancelled last-minute and he had some free time on his hands. The last few instances he had met Master Fu, the old man seemed kind and understanding, so Adrien thought this discussion would go smoothly. How wrong he was.

There was no reason for Fu to not trust him - the man had said so himself! There was something Fu was hiding, and he clearly wasn’t willing to disclose whatever it was that was preventing him from trusting Chat Noir the way he does Ladybug. Adrien opened his mouth to speak-

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Adrien jumped where he sat, turning to look at the intruder as Plagg zipped under the table.

‘Fu! You have some explaining to do!’

The door closed shut with a quiet click. Eyes met.

‘Marinette?’ he asked. He had never seen her like this before. Her body was tense like a lioness about to pounce on her prey. Her heavy breaths foretelling a storm of epic proportions. The fire in her eyes burned like a bushfire raging in the peak of a dry summer. She was livid. But not at him.

‘Adrien? What are you doing here?’ she asked evenly. No stutter. No stumble. No sweet blush or cute little smile.

‘Marinette, this is very rude of you-’

‘I’m here for a personal matter,’ Adrien said, cutting off Master Fu as he held Marinette’s gaze. ‘You?’

The blue fire blazed. ‘I’m also here on a personal matter,’ she began, turning the inferno towards the old man across the table, ‘and it’s a matter of urgency.’

Marinette looked like she’d eat Master Fu alive if Adrien left them alone. Adrien didn’t know if he should hold her back from ripping Master Fu apart for whatever he had done to rile her up so much, or if he should sit back and enjoy the carnage, but one thing was absolutely certain - he was staying put.

‘Why don’t you sit down and join us? Adrien offered brightly, ignoring the wild eyes Master Fu was sending him. Marinette, too furious to question Adrien’s motives, sat next to him.

Master Fu cleared his throat. ‘Uh, well, since these discussions are both personal matters, we should discuss them without mentioning other people’s names,’ he suggested.

Adrien agreed, and Marinette nodded stiffly beside him. Secret identities needed to remain a secret… then again, Adrien thought that if he was allowed to entrust anyone with his identity, Marinette would be at the top of the list.

‘Why don’t you go first, Marinette?’ Adrien suggested, earning him a curious look from her. ‘I’ve been here a little longer than you have, and you said your matter was urgent.’

Marinette nodded with a small “thanks”, before turning towards Master Fu.

‘I have this friend,’ she began, ‘and you know him well, Mr.Fu. And you have done him a great disservice.’

‘What happened?’ Adrien asked.

‘My friend and I were working on something together, and we had been for a good few months before I met Mr. Fu. Mr Fu decided to give me tutoring in the area me and my friend were working in,’ she explained, her voice unusually even for the fury that emanated from her. ‘I kept asking and asking Mr. Fu to tutor my friend as well, but he refused, citing “security reasons”. But my friend had noticed the sudden difference between my level of knowledge and his, and began to question it, and I could see him getting upset when I couldn’t answer him because I had made a promise to Mr. Fu here that I wouldn’t share this knowledge with anyone - that promise was a condition of my tutoring.’

Adrien could understand her friend’s perspective. Maybe he should meet this friend and teach him some breathing techniques to avoid being akumatised.

‘One day, I told Mr. Fu that it was time for my friend to be brought into the loop, to be trained the same way I was.’ Marinette was on a roll now. ‘He had agreed, and promised that he’d “take care of it”, which I thought meant bringing my friend up to speed, but no! I just found out yesterday that it was just a quick little one-off chat that did barely enough and my friend still feels on the outer! Things haven’t been fixed!’

Something was niggling in Adrien’s mind, whispering that this friend of Marinette’s had an eerily similar situation to himself, while the rest of his brain fought to ignore that very thought.

‘I can’t believe you, Mas- Mr. Fu!’ Marinette exclaimed as she jumped to her feet, body tense with anger, ready to fight. ’The way you’ve been treating him is totally and unnecessarily cold! Why? What’s he ever done to you? He is just as much of the team as I am, and instead of guiding him and teaching him, you’ve been treating him like a mushroom - keeping him in the dark and feeding him shi-’

‘Marinette!’ Master Fu gasped. Adrien almost pouted; he had never seen Marinette so mad to be on the verge of swearing, and he never knew that he wanted to hear her swear until now, and Fu just prevented him from hearing it. Yet another thing Adrien wasn’t able to experience, thanks to the old man. All the while, that niggling feeling grew stronger.

Instead of looking abashed at Master Fu’s scolding, Marinette looked even more infuriated than before, and a lot more hurt.

‘He almost left!’ she shouted, tears forming in her eyes. ‘He almost left his job, he almost left me because of you! Before you came, we trusted each other, we were partners, equals! But your blatant favouritism towards me and obvious disregard of him made him distrust me! He didn’t feel valued anymore, and almost left! This needs to change!’

Tears started to fall from her eyes. This was his Lady. She was crying for him, and he didn’t know what to do.

‘I can’t do this without him,’ Marinette declared. ‘He is the only reason I stayed after that first day, and if he goes, then I go.’

Adrien’s heart leapt into his throat. If he ever needed any proof she cared about him just as much as he did her, that was it. He stood up, placed his hands onto her shoulders, and gently turned her to face him.

‘You can’t go, m’lady,’ he told her gently, watching her eyes cloud with confusion before widening with realisation, ‘Paris needs you more than I do.’

‘I can only stay if you do, Kitty,’ she responded with equal softness, voice hitching with wet hiccups. ‘Paris needs both of us, because I can’t do this without you.’

He held his arms out and she all but jumped into them, hugging him just as desperately as he was hugging her. Adrien knew that he still needed to resolve the issues with Master Fu, and there was the whole matter of the unexpected identity reveal to deal with, but that was for Future Adrien. With Plagg resuming his staunch defence of Adrien to Master Fu (now joined by Tikki), and with Marinette in his arms, he knew they’d be okay.

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