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hanaasbananas · 1 year

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Not a Date

Summary:

nine years after Adrien and Marinette went their separate ways, they find their paths crossing again as adults. Deciding to catch up for old times sake, both are firm in their belief that it is not a date.

Or is it?

written for the @mlwritersguild February 2023 event. Prompts: "lost", "translate", "poetic", and the bouquet emoji 💐

AO3

It was a miracle that she heard him at all.

Once, long ago, Marinette might have called it destiny. She might have gushed about how the universe had conspired to perfectly time a lull in the music blaring through her headphones with a turn down into a quieter side street, away from the bustling town centre.

She had outgrown such fantasies now, of course. But whatever it was–fate, luck or even just sheer coincidence–the result was that Marinette turned when her name was called…

…and promptly dropped her phone.

Adrien caught it before it could hit the ground. Handing it back to her, he rocked back on his heels, laughing delightedly as she gaped at him. “It is you!” he exclaimed “I knew it! How have you been?”

Marinette blinked. “ Adrien?”

He looked…gorgeous, as he always had, but somehow her ex-boyfriend had managed to become even more devastatingly handsome with age. Gone was the perfectly styled hair and the spotless designer clothes that had been such a staple of their teenage years. In their place, was a well worn cable knit jumper, and hair so unruly Marinette had to clench her hands into fists by her side, resisting the urge to run her fingers through it.

More than that though, Adrien looked comfortable in his skin, his eyes bright and smile genuine. The sight was enough to make her heart flutter in her chest and Marinette was suddenly very glad for the cold air that masked the reason for her flushed cheeks.

As she watched, mesmerised, Adrien impatiently pushed up the glasses that were sliding down the bridge of his nose, his lips moving even though…

Marinette frowned, realising belatedly that he was still talking.

“–ong are you in town? We should get coffee or lunch sometime, really catch up properly.”

“Oh!” Marinette’s voice was high and almost breathless. “Yes! Definitely! I’m actually moving back to Paris so I’m staying with Maman and Papa right now. You should totally swing by, they’d love to see you as well–” Stopping abruptly, she forced herself to stop babbling, inhaling deeply before continuing at a much more sedate pace.

“I’m free this weekend if you are? We can go to…go to–” she hesitated, remembering the café where they had spent so much of their time when they were younger. Would he think that it was strange that she suggested the place? That she was still hung up on a relationship that ended almost a decade ago? Would he change his mind about catching up or–

“Our old place, right?” Adrien interjected, cutting through her spiralling thoughts as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. At her hesitant nod, he grinned, almost blinding her with its brightness.

“That sounds great!”

“It’s not a date.” Adrien exclaimed. Glaring at Plagg in the mirror, he continued. “We’re just old friends, meeting for lunch. Friends do that all the time. I had lunch with Nino the other day too, and that wasn’t a date either. Just like this isn’t.”

“Sure,” Plagg drawled, rolling over on the bed of toilet paper he’d made for himself and eyeing Adrien derisively. “but Nino isn’t your ex. And you only spent about five minutes getting ready to see him. How long did it take you to choose your shirt today?”

“Right, that’s it–”

Plagg cackled as Adrien shooed him out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. “You know I’m right!”

Rolling his eyes fondly at his kwami, Adrien picked up his razor to carry on shaving–this time in blessed silence. Really it was no surprise that Plagg was going on and on about him meeting Marinette for lunch. He’d never understood why they’d broken up in the first place, no matter how many times Adrien had explained to him that it had been for the best.

Maybe he might have felt differently if the relationship had imploded. If it had ended in devastation, with anger and shouting and resentment to taint all the happiness they had once shared. Instead, it had ended quietly, with no one to blame but circumstances beyond their control.

For that, he would be forever grateful, because while unfortunate, it had given him warm memories to look back on on the days that he had felt particularly lost in London. In fact…taking out his wallet from his pocket, Adrien flipped it open and pulled out the small strip of photos he kept hidden behind a family photo with his cousin and aunt.

The strip was creased through the middle from where it had been folded and unfolded many times, the once sharp corners curling and peeling back with age. In the photos, they were in a photobooth that Marinette had dragged him into–one they’d found in a clothes shop–and she was laughing delightedly, her arms wrapped around his shoulders as he kissed her neck, her cheek and finally her mouth. Their cheeks were flushed as they beamed at the camera in the last photo, and Adrien couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips before he put the photo strip away once more.

It wasn’t a date, no. But he couldn’t wait to see Marinette anyway.

He really had missed her.

“It’s not a date.”

Behind her, Tikki rifled through the box of mementos on Marinette’s desk. “Then why have you got all this old stuff out?” she asked innocently, doing a terrible job of hiding the laughter in her voice.

“I was just…” Marinette paused with her mascara wand halfway to her eye. “Reminiscing.”

“Reminiscing on your relationship. I still don’t know why you broke up, you know.”

“We grew up.” Marinette huffed exasperatedly. “Long distance was never going to work so we figured it was better to end things when it was still good, remember. Before we had the chance to grow apart, you know? Anyway I’ve always been sentimental. You know that.”

That wasn’t technically a lie. Marinette was very sentimental, keeping ticket stubs and receipts and anything with a good memory attached to it. Adrien had always teased her about it back in the day–until the scrapbook of their relationship had become hefty enough to hurt when she swatted him with it.

Truthfully, she hadn’t thought about the scrapbook for a long time. But after seeing Adrien again, the first thing Marinette had done when she got home was dig the old box out. She’d spent hours poring over the pages, trying to translate her old illegible handwriting and allowing old memories to wash over her like a familiar blanket.

That’s all they were though. Memories.

“I guess…” Tikki said doubtfully. “So it really is just a friend thing?”

Marinette nodded firmly. “ Yes.” It didn’t matter that her heart fluttered every time she thought about seeing Adrien again, he hadn’t said anything to suggest that it was anything else, and she certainly wasn’t going to. “Now come on,” she said, turning to grab the box “let’s put that away.”

Picking the box up in one hand, and attempting to put the lid back on with the other, Marinette swore under her breath when it tipped out of her grasp, scattering the contents all over the floor.

“Damn it!” glancing at the clock, she swore again, staring down at the mess in dismay. There was no time to tidy it all up, not if she wanted to be on time.

Decision made, Marinette opened her purse for Tikki to slip inside and then stepped gingerly over the small bits of paper littering the floor, making sure to watch her every step. It would just be her luck to slip and fall now and she wasn’t taking any chances whatsoever.

She was halfway out the door when something bright caught her eye. Bending down to pick it up, Marinette laughed out loud as she looked at the crumpled red packet in her hand, jelly rings emblazoned across the front telling her what the packet had once contained.

They had been so innocent back then, thinking that ‘always’ wasn’t just a word but something to believe .

Unbidden, the memory of that day came to her. She thought of Adrien kneeling in front of her and presenting her with a jelly ring, his eyes glittering with mirth. It had been a cloudy day, she remembered, the sun breaking through the clouds at just the right moment to make Adrien’s hair look like shimmering gold. His proposal had been filled with sweet puns, neither of them able to hold back their laughter even as he’d slid the jelly ring onto her finger and declared them engaged.

Marinette shook her head, dispelling the memory, though she wasn’t able to get rid of the warm feeling blooming in her chest. That was all in the past. A memory to look back on fondly and nothing more.

Unless…

No. Marinette dismissed the thought. She was just going to meet a friend. There was nothing romantic about it.

Plagg was never going to let him hear the end of this.

He’d felt his kwami sniggering in his pocket the entire time that he was in the supermarket trying to find the right flowers, so when Adrien knocked him with his wallet when it was time to pay, it was only slightly unintentional.

It was worth it though, to see the smile on Marinette’s face as he presented her with the bouquet of pink lilies.

“You remembered?” she asked.

“How could I forget?” Adrien countered. Bumping her shoulder as they entered the café together, he resisted the urge to take her hand, shoving his hand in his pocket instead. “Of course I remembered.”

Marinette blinked. “..oh.”

Tone it down, Agreste, Adrien chided himself mentally when Marinette turned around abruptly, her cheeks red. It’s not a date. Still, he found his eyes lingering a little on Marinette’s face, taking in her flushed cheeks and windswept hair. It was longer than it had ever been when they were together, cascading past her shoulders in a dark waterfall and as he watched, she pushed a strand out of her eyes impatiently, scanning the café for somewhere they could sit.

In the days leading up to their meeting, Adrien’s biggest worry had been that their conversation would be awkward and full of silences. That the ease they’d had around each other in the past was just that–a thing of the past.

He needn’t have worried.

They talked for hours, slipping so effortlessly back into their old dynamic that Adrien almost wondered if the last nine years had been a strange dream.

Eventually, when they couldn’t justify any more refills– when Adrien’s cheeks hurt from smiling for so long and Marinette couldn’t speak without dissolving into fits of giggles–they got up to leave, too wrapped up in each other to care about the irritated looks other patrons shot their way.

Outside, the cool evening air was a welcome relief from the warmth inside the café, though as the wind ruffled his hair Adrien noticed that the sky was heavy with clouds threatening rain. Beside him, Marinette shivered slightly and zipped up her coat.

For a long moment, they simply gazed at each other, neither willing to look away or be the first to move in a different direction, to let their time together end. Adrien had thought it would be easy to say goodbye again, but before he could stop himself, he found himself asking-

“You’re at the bakery right? I’ll walk you home.”

“Oh!” Marinette said. “No, you don’t have t–”

“Marinette,” Adrien interrupted her, stifling a laugh at the way her mouth clicked shut. “I want to. C’mon.” Holding out his arm, he raised an eyebrow expectantly until Marinette–hesitantly–threaded her arm through his. A thrill ran through him at the contact and he bit his lip to hide his smile. “Let’s go.”

They were much more subdued as they walked, their conversation quieter. Between them, the knowledge that their time together was coming to an end weighed heavily on them the closer they got to the bakery.

It was strange, Marinette thought. How many times had they made this exact walk–shyly at first after their first date, and then more confidently as they learned to navigate the change from friendship to relationship . They’d both been so nervous –stealing glances at each other and blushing when they were caught but carrying on anyway.

Marinette almost felt the same way now, as if she were a teenage girl again, giddy with joy at being on a date with her crush.

Adrien, on the other hand, didn’t seem nervous at all. But then, he’d always been good at hiding things. She remembered what an incorrigible flirt he’d been–especially when he was Chat Noir, but that had been a facade more often than not; a fragile mask put up to keep his distance from others. It had been a long, slow process to peel away the mask and expose the boy behind it, but Marinette would never regret it.

Not that she had reason to.

Because now… Adrien was so much more self assured. He carried himself with a confidence that only came with age, no longer afraid to hide his sincerity but embracing it instead.

As if sensing her gaze, Adrien looked down at her. “Penny for your thoughts?” he asked.

Marinette shook her head. “Don’t waste your money, they aren’t as interesting as you’d think.”

“Oh I think I’ll be the judge of that .” Adrien grinned and her breath caught at the teasing glint in his eye.

It seemed like some things never changed.

“Wellll…” Marinette drew out the word, looking down at the ground. Scuffing the toe of her boot on the ground she shrugged. “I was just thinking about how much we’ve changed.”

“For the better, I assume?”

“Well I know I have,” Marinette said jokingly, “but I’ve been trying to come up with a way to bring it up nicely all evening and there isn’t a way, really– you’ve become quite insufferable since we last saw each other.”

“Ah,” Adrien sighed. “That’ll be Félix’s influence, I’m afraid.”

She sniffed in mock derision. “Yes, I thought so. I–” Marinette’s lip wobbled when she looked up at Adrien, struggling to hold back her laughter at the sight of his solemn expression. “I–”

Adrien was snickering to himself now too, and Marinette clapped a hand over her mouth just as a loud guffaw escaped her mouth and echoed around them in the quiet street.

“Oh my god.”

“What?”

“ Oh my god.” Marinette marched ahead of Adrien, her cheeks burning with mortification. Hearing him catch up behind her she sped up, calling over her shoulder. “You didn’t hear that. You did not hear that.”

“I totally did,” Adrien’s voice rumbled with laughter. “ Stop,” he grasped her by the wrist. “ It was cute!”

Marinette whirled around, incredulous. “It was not!”

Adrien was grinning at her. “It was adorable.”

“Shut up.”

“Not until you admit it.”

“I will admit nothing.” Marinette snapped, though she felt her embarrassment fade a little–replaced by a warmth in her chest– at the fondness in his expression, “change the subject.”

“Alright.” Adrien pretended to think for a moment. “Tell me what you were really thinking earlier.”

“Wh–I did!”

Adrien shot her a look that said come on, now , his eyebrows raised. Well. She did ask for it.

“I’d just been thinking, you know,” she began slowly, as they carried on walking side by side again. “I know we didn’t want to break up, back then before you went to London, but…I’m glad we did. It did you good, I think.” Seeing his surprised expression, Marinette hurried on, practically tripping over her words. “Unless living with your aunt and cousin really sucked and was a terrible experience and–”

“No,” Adrien cut in before she could spiral into a tangent. “You’re right. It was the right thing to do…at the time.”

At the time . Marinette’s breath caught at the words. What could he mean, at the time ? Without really meaning to, Marinette found herself turning to him and asking, almost in a whisper:

“And now?”

“And now…” Adrien echoed her. Scratching behind his ear nervously he stepped forward and reached out to her, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Adrien’s fingers lingered for a split second–just enough for her to feel the warmth against her skin–before dropping to his side. “Let’s just uh…” he hesitated. “Let's just say I’m glad to be back.”

“I–”

“We’re here,” Adrien said softly, nodding to something behind her, and with a start Marinette realised that they were standing at her doorstep. Warm light from the bakery spilled out into the street, illuminating Adrien's face and Marinette was reminded once again of the countless other times he had walked her home before.

And what had come after.

“Oh.” Marinette exhaled the word. “Well, um…thanks for walking me,” glancing up at the overcast sky she said just as a fat raindrop landed on her forehead, she laughed. “I was gonna say you should hurry before it starts raining but…do you want to come inside and wait it out instead?”

“No, it’s fine,” Adrien shook his head quickly. “I should be able to make it back before it really gets going.”

“Okay!” Marinette tried to hide her disappointment “yeah okay if you’re sure. Um.” Before she could stop herself, she strode forwards, enveloping Adrien in a hug. She had to reach up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his shoulder as he held her around the waist.

It wasn’t a date. She knew now that a part of her had wanted it to be, but she would content herself with this hug instead, and the time they had spent together. It was more than enough.

Pulling away, Marinette smiled up at Adrien who looked down at her, his green eyes blown wide with surprise. “I’ll see you soon.” She smiled ruefully, pecking him on the cheek. “Let’s not leave it as long this time.”

Adrien made it halfway down the street before he turned around.

What am I doing? He asked himself. His cheek was still tingling from Marinette’s kiss, and he could feel her gaze, watching him still from the front step of the bakery.

What am I doing? The voice in his head repeated, louder this time and Adrien had no answer for it except to turn on his heel and walk–no, run back down the street.

The rain was coming down in earnest now, soaking him through in seconds, plastering his hair onto his face. Adrien squinted as he ran, struggling to see through the rain lashing down. Twice, he stepped in an unexpectedly large puddle and found himself with trousers plastered uncomfortably to his legs.

As he approached, he saw Marinette turn to enter the bakery and went faster, ignoring the squelch of his shoes.

“Marinette!” Adrien called out loudly, just as she began to close the door behind her. She turned in surprise.

“Adrien! Wh–”

He came to a stop in front of her, breathing heavily. “Marinette,” he said again, quietly. “I’m going to kiss you now. Is that okay?”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “Yes,” she whispered.

Adrien grinned. Surging forward to cup her face in his hands, he captured her mouth in a kiss. It was familiar and unfamiliar all at once as her hands flew to his neck, pulling him closer and Adrien felt her lips curve in a smile against his. He hadn’t realised just how much he’d missed this, how much he’d forgotten until he was forcibly reminded–what a fool, to think that this could have ever been anything but a date!

As the rain poured down on them, she set his body ablaze with her touch, fingers tugging at his hair as they kissed and kissed and kissed as if making up for lost time.

How poetic, he thought, distantly, in the part of his brain that was still capable of it. Our first kiss was in the rain too.

#banana writes 🍌#miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrinette #ml fanfic #my writing #ml writers guild

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sneaks-the-hammock-jockey · 1 year

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Looking for a way to participate in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom? try joining us in Miraculous Discordance, a fan server where we chill and chat but also participate in monthly events and daily challenges to help writers! We also share fic recommendations and fan art. Decembers event will be Fanfiction tropes bingo-this is for writers and readers, and has a *spicy* option as well! To play join the server and grab a card, fill out the numbers and return it, and come December first you will get a card back with tropes from the list that matches your numbers.

Events aren't mandatory and just for fun, we also have emoji that I make, so if you like my art they are worth checking out too.

#ml #ml fanfic #ml writers guild #ml writing prompts #miraculous fanfic #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #ml fandom

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stormiclown · 9 months

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So, fun fact: Before pursuing a degree in child psychology, my mom was a writer for a very popular show in the early 2000s. I'm not mentioning which one, but it received dozens of awards and accolades.

I'm mentioning this because when I asked her about her opinion about the writers strikes, she said and I quote, "This reminds me of 2007".

For those who don't understand this reference, she was talking about the Great Writers' Strike of 2007. I was a newborn at the time, but she was there, and she described it as death by a thousand needles.

Some of the best written shows of the decade (2000-2010) turned to garbage water overnight, including the one she was writing for before the strike happened. Keeping Up With The Kardashians became very popular. Reruns were dominating the time stamps on cable TV. Just a whole bunch of craziness that made it difficult for film and TV to bounce back.

I don't think the executives in Hollywood realize just how bad things are going to get for them if they don't start cooperating with their writers and actors. Even though my mom is not a screenwriter anymore, she fully supports the strike and hopes that things get better for the next generation.

The obscenely wealthy (and lazy) executives better start adhering to the (very reasonable) demands of actors and writers about paying them enough so that they can make a living and not replacing them with AI because people will be dancing on their graves at this rate.

#sag aftra #sag strike #writers strike #hollywood #not ml #wag strike #stand strong #writers are the backbone of any story #writers guild of america

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ladybugs-and-black-cats · 2 years

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When You Just Want Sleep…

Hey there, Readers! It’s been a long time since I’ve written a story promo post for my blog, but…I’ve been so quiet on here lately, so maybe it’s time to liven things up with a little something new!

So, you know that feeling when you’re tired but your family just refuses to sleep. You beg them to sleep because it’s good for them and they insist that they will…eventually! Well, that’s exactly how Adrien feels about Marinette in my new oneshot! Here’s the deets—

Title: I Must Espresso My Concern

Summary: Marinette asks Adrien to make her a cup of coffee so she can continue her late-night work on her fashion designs. Adrien, however, is tired and just wants to go to bed…and to convince Marinette that she needs sleep too!

Word Count: 1181

Written For the @mlwritersguild March (“First/Last Lines”) Event!

***Special Thanks to @lunamaxwritesitall from the @miraculousfanworks Discord Server for title help!***

Link to Story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41496432

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #miraculous fanworks #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #adrienette #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #new oneshot alert #ml fic #miraculous ladybug fic #miraculous writers guild #march event 2022

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flightfoot · 2 months

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Adrien Angst Fics and Series that finished in 2023

So I love some good Adrien angst and hurt/comfort, and I figure a bunch of other people do as well! Hopefully these fics scratch that itch! They're all from the collection I set up earlier for the fics from 2023 that I recommend! I've got 31 fics in here. It's a popular genre that I like a lot, there are a lot of fics for it!

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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Guilty by Association by @rosie-b

Marinette respected Adrien’s strength and courage more and more every day. No matter how many times people threw nasty words or literal tomatoes at him; no matter how many companies refused to work with him anymore; no matter how clear it was becoming that he would never be forgiven for his father’s crimes, he chose to greet new people with a smile and hope that this time, someone would recognize the kind heart hidden behind his hated name. She wished she’d had the chance to meet him before she’d accidentally ruined his life. Written for the Ml Writers Guild September event ‘back to school’

I love how Marinette keeps reaching out to Adrien, trying to protect him, even if it doesn’t always work. To let him know that she’s in his corner at least. Hawk Moth had to be taken down, but the consequences for Adrien… she never wanted anyone to get hurt in the process.

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oh, look now, there you go with hope again by @ladyofthenoodle

After the defeat of Hawkmoth and his accomplice, Chat Noir, Marinette is ready to return to her normal life, but she can’t escape Adrien Agreste, who was sentenced to a fate many consider worse than prison: public school. Specifically, her public school. Still, that doesn’t mean she has to interact with him, does it? Except, if she doesn’t… who will?

I love a good enemies au, and seeing the aftermath of an enemies au… that’s rare. She’s wary of Adrien, but with how he’s being bullied, and how he’s just taking it in the hopes of being accepted, she can’t help but reach out to him.

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Disintegrated Pancakes by @scribeofrhapsody

Adrien had started expecting the family breakfasts. He had NOT been expecting his father to collapse in the middle of one.

I’m shocked I haven’t seen more of this sort of thing, with Adrien finding out his father’s Monarch via seeing the Cataclysm wound. I love that Alya gets involved in this, being the person Adrien runs into after fleeing the room, and then Adrien getting to talk things out with Gabriel and Nathalie. Thankfully Gabriel is at least not completely incapable of being reasoned with here, or things could have gone worse than they did. It’s a nice little read, though with an ambiguous ending (at least at the time when I write this).

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with this ring by @thelibraryloser

She thought “you and me against the world” had sounded like lopsided odds before, when she hadn’t even dreamed “you against me” was a possibility. Or maybe she had dreamed it, but at least in those dreams he’d had cold blue eyes and a stark white mask. The villain she’d fought today had looked at her through her partner’s own bright green eyes. It wasn’t meant to be this way.

Short and sweet Sentiadrien enemies canon divergence fic here! I adored Marinette finding out why her kitty seemed to have “betrayed” her, and the righteous anger on his behalf once she figured out that it wasn’t of his own free will. Her comforting Adrien about it was just… really good. It’s a Hawkmoth Defeat fic too, so the immediate aftermath gets covered as well. Adrien needs a hug.

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Nothing Else Matters by LiquefiedStars

Marinette couldn’t figure out Chat Noir. He was supposed to be her partner, but instead ended up working for Hawk Moth. Still, her heart betrayed her and when a strong connection forms between them, Ladybug goes to Chat looking for answers, finding out more than she bargained for.

Sentiadrien enemies AU fic! He never wanted to fight against her, but Gabriel caught him before he could transform for the first time, and with his father using his Amoks against him, he had no choice.

I like that there’s a solid explanation for why Fu let Adrien keep his Miraculous even though he’s been working against Ladybug, I don’t often see explanations for that that I’m satisfied with.

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Slowly Fading (from my misery) by @wehadabondingmoment

“You’re looking awfully deep in thought today, minou.” Ladybug’s gloved hand stroked over his hair and Chat Noir closed his eyes with an unstable breath. He got like this sometimes. Lately, it had been getting worse. Or: Gabriel likes using the rings to order his son around. After a while, it starts having effects on Chat Noir as well. (The more often Gabriel commands Adrien to act a certain way, the more it gets ingrained in his mentality. He suffers because of it.)

This is a gorgeous fic. Adrien’s been puppeted around, forced to obey orders for reasons he doesn’t understand, for so long, so often that a lot of times his own body doesn’t even feel like his. A lot of residual orders keep on bubbling up and stopping him from doing what he wants to do, and he just… doesn’t understand why. Considering how Adrien looked in Pretension when Gabriel forced him to go to his room so he could talk to Marinette alone, and how desperately Adrien tried to head back there but couldn’t make himself open the door, how terrified and confused he’d seemed, I think his feelings here, his mindset, is pretty close to canon.

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all of your flaws and all of my flaws (are laid out one-by-one) by @coffeebanana

Ladybug and Marinette have both been acting strangely since Monarch’s defeat, and Chat Noir would give anything to know why—to be able to help them. He just…didn’t expect his answers to come when Ladybug drags him to his father’s statue in the middle of the night along with a bag full of spray paint.

If you felt unsatisfied with Adrien being left in the dark about Monarch, with Ladybug lying about Gabriel being a hero, this is a great fic to read. Marinette’s breaking down keeping this secret, seeing people treat Gabriel as the hero she told people he was, until she finally snaps and has to do SOMETHING, has to tell SOMEONE the truth.

Which Chat takes pretty well! He knows how persuasive his father could be, and he’s mostly just relieved at finally hearing someone say that Gabriel wasn’t a hero. It’s still a lot to cope with though.

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Falling (sick) with you by @chocoluckchipz

Nothing would be easier than taking a pair of earrings off an unconscious Ladybug. Doing so would bring his mother back and end their decade-long strife. He shouldn’t be hesitating when a chance of a life time presented itself to him. He should not be looking for excuses and reasonings as to why spending another twenty or so years fighting this woman rather than pleasing his father and giving his mother another chance at life was not such a bad idea after all.

Ah, I love a good enemies au! Even when they’re enemies, Chat is unwilling to hurt Ladybug. Though honestly, he makes himself out to be more of a villain than he actually is, it’s pretty obvious to everyone that he’s not trying as hard as he could to get her earrings. There’s very good reason for that.

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adrien agreste and the consequences of tweets making fun of yourself by Anonymous

Well, Adrien thinks, what’s the worst that could come from a few poorly thought-out tweets lightly ribbing his own civilian identity?

I love the focus here on how people just assume what Adrien’s thinking and feeling and act on his behalf, without actually waiting to see what HE wants, and Adrien’s growing frustration. How they create a version of him in their heads, but don’t care to check with reality to see whether he actually wants their “defense”.

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what makes a human (am I?) by GraceM_TheStoriedLife

Adrien comes to Marinette’s out of nowhere. Usually Chat is her rock. Tonight, it’s her turn. (Or, in which Adrien discovers some secrets he’s not prepared for and Marinette is as Marinette-y as always.

So Adrien discovers he’s a sentimonster and immediately runs to Marinette for support. It’s as cute and angsty as you’d expect. She is, of course, very supportive of him. Also some discussion of Gabriel being abusive, since both she and Nino had been trying to get Adrien to see that. Especially with how, exactly, Adrien found out he’s a sentimonster. He can relate a little better to Felix’s experiences now than is healthy, I’ll just say.

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Vengeance Noire by @phiellydinyia

After a horrific argument with his father, Adrien escaped from the mansion with his heart in pieces. In hindsight, it made sense why an akuma was sent his way. He shouldn’t have let his emotions get the better of him. But he never expected Plagg to be even more upset than he was. He never expected his own kwami to be akumatized. To become the threat of a city he swore to protect. And what’s worse is the fact that Chat Noir can’t jump in to save this one. But Ladybug can. And that’s why he has to find her as quickly as possible, suit or no suit.

I love some good Adrien angst, especially with a delicious side order of Plagg and Adrien’s bond with each other. Even as Adrien’s barely functional, though, he’ll do everything in his power to save Plagg, even if Plagg wishes he wouldn’t go quite that far.

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This Distance Between Us by @coffeebanana

After defeating Monarch, the search for the Peacock Miraculous brings Ladybug and Chat Noir to a hotel room in London. But it’s hard to enjoy the victory when Ladybug can’t figure out why Chat’s been so quiet, why he seems so sad. How’s she supposed to help if she has no idea what’s wrong?

This is a great Sentiadrien fic, with Chat freaking out about it and feeling like he’s not worthy of Ladybug’s affections, but not telling her what’s actually wrong because he thinks she won’t want him anymore if she knows. Of course, he’s wrong about that.

Also there’s a pretty intense confrontation with Felix, pissing Chat Noir off is a bad idea.

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Rocking the Cat-Eyes by @buggachat

“I like being a girl.” “That’s the alcohol talking,” Marinette snorted. “I’ve always been a li’l jealous,” Adrien admitted. “… Of what?” “That you get to be a girl,” Adrien murmured, “and I don’t.” — When Marinette and Adrien host Girls’ Night at their apartment, Adrien is easily welcomed to attend as “one of the girls”… but has a bit too much to drink. Some drunken confessions are spilt, some assumptions are made, and most of all… Adrien is confused.

This is a great Genderfluid!Adrien fic. Marinette actually figures out that Adrien’s not entirely cis before he does, and tries to let him know she’s supportive… but unfortunately Adrien comes to some incorrect conclusions…

Anyway it’s a lot of fun, and Adrien rocks a dress and makeup!

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Family by @unecoccinellenoire

“You know,” Nino grins, “if you need advice on being a big brother in a year or two I’m sure I could help.” The bottom of Adrien’s stomach dropped out. — Adrien struggles with the concept of his father and Nathalie having children.

So this is a world where Adrien and Marinette managed to defeat Gabriel, taking his Miraculous, with them giving him an ultimatum: they won’t out him as being Hawk Moth so long as he doesn’t cause any more trouble and does right by Adrien. Gabriel does, in fact, move on finally to Nathalie, giving Adrien a lot of mixed feelings to deal with. He still loves them both despite everything, but he’s also angry at them and he definitely does NOT want them to have children, both because he thinks they’d like any biological child they had more (he’s also harboring guilt from indirectly being the cause of his mom’s death), and because frankly, they screwed up too much with Adrien for him to want them to inflict that on another child.

And then there’s also Adrien dealing with the realization that he’s a Senti on top of that and wondering why he and Felix look the way they do, what Emilie’s reasons were.

It’s mostly just Adrien getting to talk things out, navigating this emotionally fraught situation he finds himself in now that the dust is settled.

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When Secrets Come Undone by SortaArtsy

Ladybug promised not to tell Adrien… but she never promised not to confide in Cat Noir. What happens when Ladybug unintentionally vents to the one person who wasn’t meant to know any of it? ****MAJOR SEASON 5 SPOILERS WARNING! **** May not be season 6 compliant when it comes out.

This is a “Adrien finds out what everyone’s been keeping from him post-S5″ fic, and I think it’s handled really well! He feels very hurt, betrayed, and disbelieving initially about being a Senti and his father being Monarch (…mostly being a Senti, it ain’t that hard to believe that Gabriel was a supervillain), and is angry at everyone who kept it secret from him, but he still handles it well, going and talking to the people involved, getting their reasoning and perspective.

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Wanted: Catnap by SortaArtsy

Adrien Agreste has barely been sleeping, trying to be everything expected of him. What happens when he spreads himself too thin? Sick!Adrien/ Cat Noir

Adrien’s just pushing himself so hard, trying to do his regular duties, until his illness forces him to rest. I love how concerned everyone is over him - even GABRIEL eventually relents and wants him to rest. It’s just cute and nice and fluffy.

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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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and I thought I heard you sing by @into-september

When Hawkmoth has been defeated and unmasked, Marinette is left with two problems and no solutions. First, that Adrien is further out of her reach than ever before, and no-one can tell her how to get to him. Second, that Cat Noir is far more troubled than she knew, and the only thing she can do is wait for him at the place they agreed to meet.

It’s your classic “Hawkmoth’s defeated and taken into custody but that means Adrien’s in for a rough time” sort of fic. Everyone’s worried about Adrien and wants to give him what comfort and support that they can, but he’s being hidden away from everyone (which I mean, honestly that’s a good move), so that’s not really possible. Plus, Ladybug’s noticed that Chat’s having a tough time in his civilian life, which worries her.

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Betrayal by @jennagrinsoverml

MAJOR EPHEMERAL SPOILERS!! Ladybug planned to use Viperion’s power of Second Chance to get Chat’s identity to Su-han without Chat knowing or agreeing. Of course, then the world went crazy, and she didn’t go through with it. But when an akuma exposes Ladybug’s plan to Chat, he doesn’t know that. He just knows that his Lady betrayed him. He deals with his feelings in the best, most mature way he can think of. He disappears.

So I, like a lot of others, wanted more follow-up on Ephemeral, and particularly on the betrayal of trust it was for Marinette to try to trick Chat Noir into giving up his identity to a third party without his knowledge or consent (I wrote my own take on that at the time, called Transcient, that I’m proud of). This fic did a good job of exploring that, with Adrien reacting in a manner that made sense to me (repressing his negative feelings about the situation as much as possible and trying to justify it to himself, but still feeling terrible despite his own best efforts), and how Marinette realized that she messed up, since Luka keeping it secret that he knows hers and Chat’s secret identities caused her to be upset as well. It did a great job of exploring those negative feelings and letting everyone talk things out, explain their viewpoints, and rebuild their relationships afterwards, which is something I really value.

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I’ll give myself a name (something stupid and pretentious) by @bbutterflies

Nino looked at the number and didn’t recognize it. Usually he wouldn’t answer, but he had nothing better to do – and could still really use a distraction – so he did. “Hello?”

“Hey, Nino.”

Nino stood up quickly, chest tightening. He knew that voice. He’d been waiting to hear it again for over two years. “Adrien?” he whispered.

“Yeah. It’s me."

When Monarch is defeated (and revealed to be Gabriel Agreste), Chat Noir immediately goes missing. Adrien disappears not long after. When Adrien finally shows up in Paris again, Nino would do anything to make sure he doesn't disappear again.

Ah this is lovely, Adrien’s been in a lot of emotional turmoil since Monarch’s defeat, convinced that everyone would hate him, SHOULD hate him, for not realizing that his father was the villain, and should hate him even more for disappearing like he does. But slowly Marinette and Nino get through to him, convince him that they just want him back.

And also Adrien and Nino smooch. Multiple times. So that’s a bonus XD.

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Two Steps Back (One Step Forward) by @buggachat

Sure, Adrien hadn't been texting her as often as he used to. And sure, Nino noticed it too. But just because Adrien had struggled with depression in the past, didn't mean he was struggling now. Surely, he'd tell her if something was wrong. Right?

Marinette just missed him, and she had a tendency to catastrophize. Surely, he was fine.

But if he wasn't... well, she wasn't above hopping on a flight back to Paris to make sure.

—————

Marinette's at an internship in New York, and Adrien has a depression relapse.

Once again buggachat comes out swinging with a fic centered around Adrien being super depressed and his friends charging in to help him, despite him not wanting them to because he feels like a burden. It’s not easy and Marinette goes through a lot of emotional turmoil, especially since his apartment is in bad enough shape that it can’t be changed to something that a human should be living in without also going shopping, but gradually she helps drag Adrien out of the hole he’s gotten himself stuck in. The emotions are on point and just... if you want to read a hurt/comfort fic with Found Family helping one of their own who’s struggling and doesn’t think they deserve it, this is a great fic to read.

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If only I could break free by megetstoread

It started with Adrien being upset about going away, but led to a lot of revelations.

Another Sentiadrien fic here! After telling Adrien that he’s being sent to London, Gabriel takes advantage of Adrien being distraught to akumatize him. Luckily Ladybug’s right there and deakumatizes him before he can even do anything, but it shakes both her and Chat, leading to her allowing him to tell her a lot more about his home life than usual, and for her and Adrien to investigate to see whether there might be more to Adrien’s inability to stand against his father than just psychological abuse.

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Dr. Walker & Kitty Hyde series by @pearl484-blog

Summary of the first fic, Rain Falls, Everybody Lies:

Chat Noir loves the rain. He loves the danger. He loves the excitement, and he especially loves how much Catwalker hates it.

Jekyll and Hyde AU

Adrien AUGreste Entry 3: Rain

So like the summary says, and the title indicates, this series is inspired by the popular conception of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - not how the book actually goes, but how it’s portrayed in popular media, with Jekyll splitting himself in two, with a “good” side and a “bad” side.

During Kuro Neko, instead of just changing his appearance through changing his mindset, Adrien took more extreme measures, sealing off his “undesirable” characteristics, his anger and sadness and all his sharp edges, into the ring so he could assume a more placid, genial persona that’d be more accepted - Cat Walker.

But Chat Noir’s still there, taking over whenever Adrien gets too testy, and desperately trying not to be pressed out of existence entirely. With embodying Adrien’s sealed anger and snappishness and rebelliousness, he’s not too kind to the other heroes - he already felt looked down upon and ignored before this, and seeing them accept Cat Walker while he’s fighting for his life doesn’t endear them to him either.

The series isn’t unfair to them - this isn’t a case where one party is entirely in the wrong and another’s entirely in the right. Marinette, Zoe, Nino, and all the others - they did wonder about what was going on with Chat, but he wasn’t in a position where he could see it, and he did have legitimate questions about how much Ladybug would budge on things, if he’d told her what he was going through. It’s a series that emphasizes characters hurting and lashing out in some terrible ways, but that hurt still being respected, and working things out, trying to get everything to a better place.

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The Parable of the Caller by @nemaliwrites

A week after Hawk Moth’s identity has been revealed, Adrien finds himself with nowhere to go, nothing he can do, and worst of all, strange gaps in his memory he can’t explain. In a stroke of luck, he stumbles upon a burner phone filled with voicemails from one of the Saviors of Paris: Chat Noir himself, who disappeared following Hawk Moth’s arrest.

But with each new voicemail Adrien listens to, he’s forced to confront the fact that there might be some kind of connection between himself and Chat Noir — and discovering it might leave him more broken than before.

I absolutely adore this fic, it’s a fantastic character study for Adrien! Basically in this universe, Ladybug and Chat Noir talked about who should be Guardian, with Chat eventually convincing her that he should be the one to take it on, primarily due to the whole “the Guardian gets amnesia about Miraculous-related matters” situation, and wanting to protect Ladybug from that. Then he finds out Gabriel is Hawk Moth, they take him down, and he relinquishes the Miracle Box and his guardianship to Su Han - all without having a Reveal with Ladybug, since well, he’s not in the greatest shape mentally at the time.

It’s a real treat to see Adrien’s thoughts and feelings about one of the Heroes of Paris leaving him all these voicemails, treating him like this close friend for reasons he doesn’t understand, and just seeing Chat Noir as this outside person. He’s got a very different viewpoint on Chat when looking from the outside than he would from the inside, with being able to see his heroic and good qualities far more easily when he doesn’t know that he is Chat.

Also Marinette’s struggling in the background of the fic with the loss of her partner and guilt over sending Adrien’s father to prison. It gets touched on at various points, and you can tell that she’s having her own story off to the side that we’re just not entirely privy to, what with this tale being told entirely from Adrien’s perspective.

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call it even by @anna-scribbles and @sha-nwa

After a year of dating, there is one thing Marinette knows for certain: it's her and Adrien against the world. Through it all, Adrien is kind, patient, and endlessly understanding—even as she tries her best to keep her secret superhero identity hidden from him along with the rest of the world.

Nothing could ruin it, not even the supervillains of Paris: Hawkmoth and Chat Noir.

(adrinette dating // ladynoir enemies au)

This is one of those fics where Adrien and Marinette are REALLY going through it emotionally, with them starting off with wildly different perceptions of each other when untransformed, and then reckoning with the person they love the most being someone they think of as a villain, with all the betrayal and doubt that involves. Especially with Adrien having been lied to extensively by his father, and not knowing who or what to believe.

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drowning (in plain sight) by @buggachat

Everybody had expected Monarch's defeat to be a moment of triumph. Nobody had expected Gabriel Agreste, unmasked and mind frayed from continual abuse of the miraculous, crying out to all who would listen and making Paris certain of one thing:

His son, Adrien Agreste, is one of his sentimonsters.

And now he's missing.

Nobody can find him— not even the superheroes, and not even his closest friends. But Marinette, Nino, and Alya aren't ones to give up so easily. They'll find him, no matter what it takes.

(But, geez, would it kill Chat Noir to lend a hand?)

I’m sure everyone saw this one coming. If there’s one thing buggachat’s good at, storywise, it’s capturing raw, tumultuous emotions, frantic breakdowns as the characters desperately try to navigate bad situations. This was a real treat to read, as I’m betting most people reading this will agree, given just how popular the fic has been. It also has a ton of fanart, both by buggachat and by random fans, if you go looking for it (there’s a drowning in plain sight tag which I’d advise perusing).

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Eventually by @lucid-ao3

Adrien’s life has been dictated by rules, monitored, and controlled for years. He has learned to compartmentalize. It’s not that bad. It always gets better, eventually. Doesn’t it?

Recovery can be an unexpected obstacle when you didn’t realize you were being hurt in the first place.

OR: How Adrien lives and copes with the emotional abuse inflicted on him over the years, and how he ultimately could overcome it.

If you want a good “Adrien doesn’t realize how abusive his father is but slowly buckles more and more under his tyranny, until things come to a head, and he actually gets the HELP HE NEEDS” fic, this is a good one!

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Not a Monster at All by @book-sandwich

Adrien Agreste overhears a conversation he shouldn't, and a revelation sends him falling onto the terrace of the only person he can trust: his good friend (?) Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Takes place sometime after the first two episodes of season 5!

As you can probably guess from the title, this is a Sentimonster Adrien, Monarch takedown fic. Adrien’s going through a tough time, and Marinette’s just trying to be there for him as his whole world’s collapsing around him. Unfrotunately, they still don’t know what the object is, or how likely Gabriel would be to control Adrien if he hinted that he knew the truth, which leaves Adrien in a precarious position - still not having done an identity reveal doesn’t help matters.

It’s a really solid fic for the genre, though since it started up before the later parts of season 5, there are a few things that don’t match up with the canon information we obtained later on.

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Awaken by InkyIbis

The previously white butterfly, now oozing black and purple as a conduit of the butterfly miraculous powers, flutters softly within the silvered-gloved hand.

It sits there for a long time.

"Go, my akuma," The soft sigh pushes the butterfly, the akuma, out towards the despair of a love not returned. The same ache within his chest. On a level so great that he's willing to sacrifice the city to mend it.

It's okay if he's the villain for now. He'll force the miraculous of creation and destruction to be revealed, and once he gets his hands on them, none of this pain, none of his loss, will ever happen.

This is essentially a canon rewrite for Miraculous (specifically seasons 1 and 2, with a bunch of the events mixed around) that focuses primarily on Adrien, with his relationship with Nino being the main driving relationship of the fic. (Don’t worry, Marinette’s still treated fine, she’s just not the focus). This is the best “rewrite Miraculous with more of a focus on Adrien” type fic I’ve seen, with it reworking the plots of the episodes so that they’re different enough to be their own distinct thing - it’s not trying to just rewrite the canon episodes but from Adrien’s POV, there’s a lot of lore changes going on as well, and things occur in different orders.

Like lorewise, Chat’s given a more important role in cleaning up the mess the akumas leave, with his power helping to cleanse akuma victims and he and Ladybug needing to use their powers in tandem in order to cast Miraculous Ladybug. There’s also no Miracle Box holding the kwamis. Instead, Chat sometimes surpasses his limits and ends up summoning kwamis, which is dangerous to him, but very useful.

What really makes this fic great though, is its focus on Adrien’s emotions. You really get a feel for Adrien’s insecurities, especially when it comes to not feeling like he’s good enough for Nino, with not wanting to bother him when he absolutely should, with feeling like he’s not a good enough friend to him, and then there’s dealing with all of Gabriel’s usual abuse on top of that.

Speaking of Nino, this is an Adrino fic (though several characters get crushes on Adrien, Nino’s the one who matters most for this), though a slowburn one. Nino’s clearly head-over-heels for Adrien, but Adrien has like, no context for what a romantic crush feels like and is basically viewing Nino the way he viewed Marinette in canon prior to season 5. He clearly cares for him a lot, including romantically, he just... doesn’t get it.

Anyway, if you want an interesting canon rewrite fic from Adrien’s perspective with Adrino as the main pairing, this is a good story to pick up!

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one does not love breathing by @wackus-bonkus-maximus

All of Paris watched as Hawkmoth murdered Chat Noir, taking the Black Cat Miraculous for himself. Ladybug swears revenge, but her enemy—and every miraculous in his possession—disappear without a trace.

Six years later, a new team of villains launches an attack for the last remaining Miraculous: Volpina, armed with new powers; Queen Bee, with questionable loyalty; Argos, the new holder of the Peacock Miraculous; and Cat Walker, who Ladybug hates the most.

Takes place after S4 - Strike Back.

This is a simply phenomenal fic. You get to explore a lot of different perspectives, like Felix, Kagami, Marinette, and Adrien’s, just to name a few, and see their different thought processes and plans and priorities, and how it can cause their plans to collide with each other, even when they all ultimately are aiming for a good outcome for everyone. The characters are pretty complex and can mess up at times, even when they’re doing things (or not doing things, looking at you Luka) with the best of intentions. It was a joy to read and a real nail-biter the whole time, I actually wrote a fic for it halfway through just to resolve some of the tension for myself, One Does Not Love Shadows.

It also features the version of Luka I’ve connected best with to date, as he feels like Luka, but also is a lot more fleshed out, and can make some major errors while simply trying to avoid missteps. It’s helped me get a better handle on a character who I’ve generally had a lot of problems with really understanding.

It is an M-rated fic, though I think Wackus is being overly cautious on that front. There’s no sexual content and I wouldn’t put the violence or gore above a T-rating, so I wouldn’t let the rating scare you off.

#miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic rec #adrien agreste #angst #adrien angst

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rosie-b · 2 months

Text

Between Twilight

Figured I'd post the story here too, since that's what I usually do!

This fic was written for ML Writer's Guild, from one of this month's prompts. You can read it on AO3, below, or on the MWG blog! And feel free to send us some more asks to answer <3

She only ever comes in the evening. The quiet moments just before dusk, when the last rays of the sun are still bidding the city goodbye, that’s when she visits him. It was the time that they'd agreed upon, back in the beginning of their unusual arrangement. Then, Ladybug was free from her daily chores, and there were fewer people outside looking up to spot her. Then, Adrien’s schedule was finally empty, and the short gap left at his bedtime — early, for models need their sleep if they’re going to look pretty — could be filled with a visit from his dearest lady.

“Are you sure that you’re okay with this?” she’d asked him in a hushed, anxious voice that first night. She’d looked beautiful in the low lighting, her blue eyes wide and staring at him, his modeling lipstick already staining her lips.

He had smiled in response, moving closer to caress her flushed cheek before placing a kiss there.

“Of course I’m sure,” he’d whispered close to her ear. “You’re all that I’ve wanted for years. If I complained about how I can finally have you, I’d be lying, because I would die for just a glimpse of your smile, Ladybug. Keeping this secret is a tiny price to pay in comparison, and much more than I’d dared to hope for.

“As long as you’re sure, too,” he’d added, suddenly remembering how nervous he’d been only minutes ago while making his confession.

Ladybug had smirked as he’d leaned back, not wanting to leave but not sure if she wanted him to stay.

She’d pulled him closer, pressed a kiss to his cheek as she placed her hand on his back, and then dipped him down. The blood had rushed to Adrien’s cheeks as he processed what she’d done, and she leaned down close to him.

“Of course I’m sure, Adrien,” she whispered to him, and when her lips finally touched his, he knew he’d found heaven.

But they were fooling themselves, and they both knew it. Their relationship was born of a dying dream, in the face of the dark nighttime which kills hope and love. In the final moments of the day, at the last glow of light, she could visit him. And then at nightfall, he would be left all alone. That was what they both knew when they’d agreed to this, to the clandestine meetings and the kisses stolen from the very hands of fate.

Just like the daylight, the chance for them to be together was dying, and once they’d caught Hawk Moth (together, though Ladybug didn’t know that part yet), there was no guarantee that Adrien would ever see his lady again, as a civilian or a kwami-powered hero. This was what he had chosen, and most of the time, he was all right with his reality.

But sometimes he wished she could visit him during the day, that they could walk down the streets like real— like openly dating couples did. He wished he could wave her goodbye as she left and not wonder if that final kiss had marked the last one of all time for them.

He wanted to be able to give her roses.

That was one unfairness he hadn’t expected, though Ladybug had, in her wisdom.

“My family would notice them,” she’d told him regretfully. “Maybe just one every now and then should be all right. But more than that, and it will be obvious I’m hiding someone from them, though they wouldn’t know who.”

She was right. So, Adrien never gave her more than one rose at a time, and even those came sparingly. Someday, when they’d revealed their identities and promised to still love each other, he could give her a whole bouquet, Adrien told himself. He would make sure it was the most beautiful bouquet anyone in Paris had ever seen.

He dreamed about it on evenings like these, in the moments where the clock’s counted time was late but the sun’s light still kept the sky mostly blue.

He dreamed to pass the time, because he was waiting for her.

As twilight began in earnest, he began to prepare for her, making sure that his room was tidy and checking his face in the mirror one more time. He endured Plagg’s lazy teasing and fed him cheese to shut him up, then sat back on the sofa by the window, waiting for the sound of a yo-yo.

He closed his eyes and listened as his mind lingered on roses and kisses at the beginning of night.

“You look pensive today.”

Ladybug’s voice surprised him, and his eyes flew open.

“Lovebug! You know I’m always happy to hear your voice, but you don’t need to sneak up on me like that!”

She laughed, the sound loud and clear. “I wasn’t sneaking, my prince. I think you were falling asleep, was the problem. Did you get tired of waiting for me?”

Adrien’s brows furrowed as Ladybug sat down next to him. “I wasn’t,” he said. “Wasn’t falling asleep. Could never get tired of waiting for you. You didn’t tell me not to call you Lovebug,” he pointed out, feeling slightly concerned. “Are you feeling okay?”

Ladybug reached over and folded his hand in hers.

“I’m fine, Adrien. You already know my preferences, so why should I have to repeat them all the time?”

Adrien watched her in disbelief. “You just scolded Chat Noir for calling you Buginette this afternoon. Why are my nicknames special?”

“Because you are!” Ladybug said with a smile that dimmed when he didn’t laugh. “Okay. You looked pensive, like I said, and a little sad. I didn’t want to scold you while you were looking like that. And… you still do, kind of, look like that. What were you thinking about before I came?”

Adrien nearly jumped. “Oh! Nothing! No, it was just a long day, and I was waiting for you, which was fine and you weren’t late and I was okay, really.”

“You were okay?”

Ladybug wouldn’t let go of his hand. That was fine, only he really felt like getting up and pacing or maybe hiding himself in his bedsheets and taking the express elevator down to the center of the earth, so it could hide his embarrassment there.

“I am okay, Ladybug. Really.”

She frowned and watched him closely.

“If you say so. But you know you can tell me anything, right?”

Adrien nodded. “I know I can.” But you can’t, he added in his head.

Or maybe out loud, judging from the hurt look on his girlfriend’s face. Perfect.

“I didn’t mean to say that! And I didn’t mean it like that, either! I just meant, well, it’s unfair for you, isn’t it? That I can tell you anything—" Well, not really. “—but you can only tell me so little, even when you want to say more. It’s unfair to you, not me.”

“Yes, it is,” Ladybug said, chewing on her lip. “Yes, it is unfair to you. Is that what you were upset about?”

Adrien spun around to face her fully. “No! It wasn’t that, I was just— I was wishing I could give you roses. Not just one, but a whole bouquet, or maybe one flower every day, or both. It wasn’t anything else.”

Ladybug still looked unsure. “But I’m the reason you can’t give me more than one flower,” she said slowly. “Are you mad at me? Did I do anything?”

This was going much worse than Adrien had wanted it to.

“No! I’m not mad, I swear! You’re also the reason I have someone to give roses to! And I’m really happy about that!”

Ladybug seemed to relax a little. “Okay. Then, what’s bugging you?”

“That it’s not a good time to make use of that pun,” Adrien joked.

Ladybug was not impressed.

“You know what I meant. If you’re comfortable sharing with me, then please do! I want to be here for you, Adrien. Please let me be.”

There wasn’t much he could say to that.

Adrien sighed. “I’m not upset. I really am being honest about that. I guess it just bothers me sometimes, that this is all the time we have together. I’m glad we have it, and it’s more than I ever expected I’d have, but doesn’t it seem a little like we’re cursed, that we’re fighting fate doing this?”

Ladybug shook her head. “What do you mean? I thought it was a blessing that we could have this time at all.”

“Well, yes! But haven’t you thought about it? How we can only meet while day turns into night, in between twilight and dusk and darkness? Is this all we’re allowed to have? When Hawk Moth is gone, when you beat him the way I know you’re going to do, what happens? You told me before that you might need to give up your Miraculous. If that happens, how will I see you again? What if this is all the time I’ll ever have with you, and I can’t even give you enough roses to make it feel as special as it is?”

Ladybug’s face softened. “It always feels special enough to me, with or without the roses. Just being with you means so much to me! And, Adrien, I promise we will have more time than this. When Hawk Moth is gone, I— I might need some time, but then I promise I will tell you who I am, under the mask. And we will be together in the day, go on dates in the park and kiss and not worry about the rest of it. I worry, too, you know, but at the end of the day, you’re always there for me. And I think, that’s enough. We are blessed, Adrien. What we have is a miracle. It could never be a curse.”

Adrien smiled and tried not to cry.

“Thank you,” he choked out. “I’m sorry for worrying. That was silly.”

“It was just your big heart showing how much it cares,” Ladybug said, tapping the spot of his chest where it lay. “I could never complain about that, and you better not apologize for it. I love you, Adrien. Just remember, we’re stuck between twilight now, but after that, after the night that follows, then comes the dawn. And we will have it one day. Together.”

“Together,” Adrien affirmed, snuggling into his girlfriend’s warm arms. And they stayed like that, together, watching the stars emerge, waiting for dawn.

#rosie-b writing #ml fanfic #ladrien #miraculous ladybug #ml au

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mlbigbang · 1 year

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2022 General Fic Rec List

It's the end of the year which means it's finally time for the ML Big Bang's yearly fic rec lists! We're really excited to bring you our contributors' favourite fics started this year to supply you with plenty of reading material while you're waiting for the Big Bang fics' publication in January.

deliverin' by @fragileizy 5,750 words, General, 2/2 chapters

“Is everything okay?” “Yeah. Yes, of course it is, I just”—she swallows ash and ice—“it was just the Book I was reading. It, uh… their family separates after a bit, and it’s all a misunderstanding, and—” she can’t finish. She’s not allowed to. “Do you need a hug, Jules?” I need you to stay, she wants to cry. You’re my only brother. And I’ll miss you so terribly when you’re gone. Every day, I’ll be alone without you, because Mom will try to visit as often as you always visit me, but she’ll keep feeling guilty for the rest of our time together because she knows how upset I am. And she’ll be upset, too. I’ll never be able to watch her cry, but I’ll hear her. And I don’t think I’m strong enough to deal with that. “I do,” she says instead, wings closing up around her like a ball. “Please. Just for a little while.”

"Cute!!!"

Telling the bees by @feather-dancer 5,768 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

Chloé and Zoé have a routine where at least once a week they meet up somewhere for a chat which is an excuse to get away from their shared mother and to vent as much as anything. Folklore says it is very important to keep the bees up to date with the coming and goings of their keepers, these two are no different. Part of Haven of Strays.

"Canon has denied us any real Zoe&Chloe sisterly content. It's up to the fanfic community ot make up the difference. This author does all that and more in a weighty interaction between two sisters who are not friends, but are sisters."

Chaotic Company by ADeadmansBliss 5,450 words, Mature, 1/1 chapter

It's been nearly a week since Adrien's acquisition of a new pet and unfortunately traumatic injury is not something that can be recovered from quickly. Bored with only an unconscious former hero for company he decides to sneak out to find some entertainment which goes fine until Hawkmoth decides to ruins it.

"It's unlike anything I've read before and it's so super fantastic!!!"

Stranger Acquaintance by @bugchat 1,885 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

Marinette just wants to live her Special Agent life as quietly as possible. Put bad guys behind bars, maybe make friends with three people at work, and eat pizza once they close a case. What makes its way into her life is a mop of blond hair with a stunning smile and too much of a back-talking mouth to be healthy for her.

"It's an good AU concept with fun dynamics, and it's a short, easy read! Detective Marinette and her team of four being Alya, Nino and Kagami. There's so much room for sequels if the author chooses to!"

maybe shake a tambourine by noirshitsuji 1,703 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

Written for a Miraculous Writer's Guild blog request: Start a story with "I need a place to stay." Felix looks at his cousin, sometimes. Looks and wonders. The silver ring he’d taken to wearing a couple of years ago is gone. But the Adrien he’s known since childhood isn’t there either, and, much as Felix would like to attribute the tapping he’s noticed his fingers do every time Adrien doesn’t answer one of his questions to annoyance, he knows it’s truly because he feels unnerved by it all.

"It's a lovely exploration in Felix's character and his feelings toward Adrien while absolutely teasing a glorious plot about Adrien, Marinette, and Gabriel"

(may we write it all down) in cursive light by @sunfoxfic 3,503 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

Since retiring as a journalist, Alya hasn't been involved in an interview in several years. But now that her identity is out, that's about to change.

"An amazingly written future!fic that beautifully explores a time long after Hawkmoth's defeat and "our" heroes' retirement."

Off the Mark by @buggachat 4,632 words, General, 1/1 chapter

Ever since Nino's (frankly embarrassing) akumatization into Rocketear, Chat Noir's behavior had taken a strange and sudden turn in the presence of Carapace, and Nino could only think of one possible explanation: Chat Noir hated him. Somehow, Adrien didn't seem to agree.

"Any fic that focuses on Nino and Adrien being bffs is important. After Rocketear, Nino may have rambled a bit to Adrien about how weird it's been being around Chat Noir. Adrien is weirdly invested in this problem. A lot of misunderstanding leads to heightened emotions and eventual revelations. Just a really good examination of the difficulties of secret identities and being best friends."

Infestations and Maladies by @sunfoxfic 100 words, General, 1/1 chapter

Bunnix called Chat Noir to go to a mysterious version of the timeline and fix… something.

"A well-written drabble exploring a reverse Chat Blanc. A very clever concept written in a very clever way!"

In Memory Of by @graaythekwami 3,012 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

Gabriel Agreste was never good with kids, but his granddaughter needed him.

"A very interesting story with a dark backstory, but it's very sweet and well-written."

I Am Your Ghost by @emmalylis 1,559 words, General, 1/1 chapter

Adrien attends one of Gabriel’s galas in his mother’s old dress.

"Adrien in a dress. Need I say more?"

goodbye, goodbye, goodbye (you were bigger than the whole sky) by @hanaasbananas 865 words, General, 1/1 chapter

Distantly, he hears the music still blaring behind him, the song mocking in its cheerfulness, imprinting itself into his memory as the soundtrack to his devastation. For a moment–the longest of his life–everything stands still, the universe holding its breath and then Sabine shrieks and it shatters like glass beneath his feet.

"This is short but its just so damn sad😭 hit me right in the feels"

Moon mission by @ultrakart 2,789 words, General, 1/1 chapter

For Fei, escaping her past is as difficult as trying to escape the Earth’s orbit.

"Kart is the king of the Shanghai special and this is such a sweet short fic that showcases just how great his writing over it is."

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #fic recs #ml fic recs #general fic #ml big bang #ml big bang 2022 #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #gabriel agreste #chloé bourgeois

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ao3feed-ladynoir · 2 months

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#AO3 Link #FanFiction #AO3 Ladrien #❤️#🐞#💚#Ladrien #♥#R:G #A:ChatatonicOne #Fluff #Angst

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mlwritersguild · 9 months

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Adrinette roommates AU with "there was only one bed" please (ily mia)

Fervor Lullaby, by @chy-tea93

AO3 link; Just One Bed, Roommates AU, Aged-Up Characters, Post-Reveal Pre-Relationship, Mutual Pining, Reverse Love Square AU, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Summary:

“So… looks like we’re sharing a room then.”

Marinette nodded in agreement. “And a bed.”

---

It really should have come as no surprise. They’d gotten a small place to keep rent costs down after all. But the listing had said two bedrooms. What it really should have said was one-bedroom and extra closet. If it could even be considered a closet, there was hardly room for one twin bed and a small dresser and that was if you didn’t like seeing the floor.

Gabriel’s accounts had all been frozen post-defeat and Adrien had only the funds made when modeling – before he decided to quit. Marinette had a little in savings as well from working at the bakery. They both had just enough to pitch in on the security deposit. Whoever had taken the photos of this place did an impressive job, the ‘second’ bedroom looked at the very least, useable online. It was the only available apartment on a top floor in their price range, so they had taken it sight-unseen.

“So… looks like we’re sharing a room then.”

Marinette nodded in agreement. “And a bed.”

Not like they could back out now anyways, money had been paid and they needed this – to be independent. Even if it was going to be more awkward than ever before.

“Don’t worry, I don’t wiggle too much and at least the bed is larger than either of us are used to.”

“It’s quite large, yeah.” She was worried, but not because of him.

Her nights usually ended with the blanket somewhere down on the bottom of her room back at the bakery, head hanging off the side and more often than not, there was drool. And that was when she didn’t have nightmares, she was ten-times worse after one. How on earth was she going to make it through one night without embarrassing herself?

“Honestly, I’m kind of excited. It will be like having a sleepover every night.”

“Heh. Yeah. A sleepover! I sleep love-overs!”

Adrien gave her a quizzical look and dang-it if that signature chat-like glint in his eyes didn’t make her weak in the knees.

“Ookay then. Um… I’m going to go unload my suitcase and then take a shower. We can figure out dinner afterwards?”

“Sure. Yeah. Okay. I’ll unpack the food my parents sent.”

Marinette felt his arms wrap around from behind and pull her into him, his breath tickling as he nuzzled her neck. “Thank you for moving in with me, Mari.”

She stiffened, willing the goosebumps to back down. They didn’t. Adrien hummed behind her before pulling away and heading into the bedroom. Their bedroom. She was doomed. Completely doomed.

---

“It was so nice of your parents to send cookies!”

“And cheese croissants!”

“You two are insatiable.”

Tikki and Plagg had quickly made themselves at home in the middle of the kitchen table, both munching on the aforementioned treats. Marinette could tell how much they absolutely loved being able to be around each other out in the open. Despite the strange atmosphere that had hung around her and Adrien ever since finding everything out, seeing the two Kwamis happy had been worth it.

“So, Pigtails, Tikki here says you are in love with a certain cat boy I know.”

“Shhh Plagg! I told you that in confidence!” Tikki all but yelled.

“I thought there were no more secrets! I’m going to need an extensive amount of camembert if this is how it’s gonna be.”

“Would both of you quiet down? This apartment is small!”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Kitten gets really into his shower routine.”

“I… didn’t need to know that. And yes. To answer your question, I am and kind of always have been… but it won’t be an issue! He made it clear that in love with someone else and I want him to be happy. Once we both get better jobs, we can find a bigger place with our own rooms.”

The two Kwami stared at each other with knowing looks.

“Right. Like I said. Camembert, stat!”

“Plagg! Be nice!” Tikki tossed a crumb towards the tiny cat that he easily dodged.

Marinette opened the fridge and grabbed a wheel, popping the container open and placing it on the table, much to Plagg’s delight.

She decided she might as well start unpacking her suitcase (they would slowly move the rest of their things over the weekend) and made her way into the bedroom. The one thing this place had going for it at least was the sheer number of pillows stocked in the closet. Those would make a nice barrier to prevent Adrien from being kicked off of the bed. Maybe.

Foregoing her bag for the moment, Marinette collected every last pillow she could find, including a couple from the tiny not-a-bedroom bedroom across the hall, and began creating a wall down the middle of the bed. Getting it right took some wrangling as some of the pillows were just too soft to really create much of a barrier, but after a few tries it looked – decent.

Surveying her work, Marinette leaned against the dresser opposite the foot of the bed. She could do this. Sharing a bed with her best friend who turned out to be her other best friend that she was most definitely not in love with (she totally was) would be easy, especially with the pillows to prevent any sort of contact.

“Wow Mari, your work rivals the great wall of China.”

Adrien’s voice caused her to squeak and look towards him. Her arms flailed as she felt herself tip backwards from the momentum of her turn only to be caught by her partner’s arms.

“Sorry, Mar. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Psh. Me? Scared? Nah. Just felt like flying!”

He raised a brow. She was truly on a roll tonight.

“Well maybe save the flying for the suit, no?”

“Good idea.”

“So, what’s with the pillow wall?”

She felt her cheeks flush, which was just absolutely lovely. “I, uh, kick a lot so I thought it might be safer for you this way.”

“Oh.”

Why did he look so disappointed? She needed a distraction, or the kicked kitten look he suddenly had was going to break her.

“Dinner! We need to have dinner! Otherwise, we won’t sleep well!”

He looked surprised at her sudden change of subject but thankfully didn’t comment on it, instead following her train of thought. “Want to order some takeout? I’m not really good at cooking at the moment and it’s been a long day with signing paperwork and everything.”

“Takeout would be great.”

🗝️🗝️🗝️

Adrien was used to Marinette’s usual quirkiness, but tonight she seemed more on edge. He figured it had to do with the fact that they were unexpectedly sharing a room and a bed. In all honesty, he was excited at the notion. With everything that had gone down after his father had been defeated there hadn’t been much time for them to just be together and he missed the way they used to just hang out and relax.

They had put on a movie to watch during dinner and though things had mostly been comfortable, tonight was more strained, both eating in silence rather than engaging in their usual banter. Hopefully the jitters of moving into their first apartment away from their parents for the first time would wear off quickly.

He was incredibly grateful to Marinette. Before they’d officially revealed themselves, she had supported him after Gabriel was publicly outed. She never once made him feel like he was less of a person for being related to the tyrant. That’s why, when he accidentally saw her detransform on her balcony one night shortly after a now non-eventful patrol, he didn’t hesitate to leap down and reveal himself. This amazing woman who had remained by his side, no matter how bad it could possibly look for her future career or what other people said, turned out to be the savoir of Paris. It made him love her all the more.

“I love this movie.”

“Can we get three kittens? Please? Marie can be yours!”

“Don’t let Plagg hear you say that he might be offended.”

“I’ll just get him more cheese.”

Her laugh rang out and oh how he loved that sound. It was more addictive than any drug in his mind and he quickly decided he needed more of it. Leaning across the couch he reached for her sides and began tickling. It worked like the luckiest of charms. Lured in by the melody of her laughter, Adrien scooted closer to her, reaching up to get her underarms and neck. She squirmed and giggled as he drew closer, until he had her completely pinned underneath him.

Marinette looked stunning with rosy cheeks, eyes alight and a smile on her face. This was how he always loved to see her, something that he hadn’t experienced in months. So caught up in the moment, he let his guard down long enough to allow her to tickle him in return and make him go tumbling to the floor, laughing all the way.

“Crap! I’m sorry! Are you okay?”

“I’m good!”

“Stinker. You play dirty.”

“Nah. All’s fair.”

He chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

“I’m going to go get ready for bed, you okay cleaning up?”

“Absolutely.”

She didn’t move from her spot, both of them sharing a look that felt more intimate than most. He should just pull her to him and kiss her. Really, what was stopping him from doing just that? It had been a few years, but she’d once said she loved him as Chat. He had told her he was in love with someone else, having fallen for Marinette all those years ago on his very first day of public school. There was a chance she still felt the same way, right? She hadn’t dated anyone in all their years as friends, of this he was certain.

Right as he gathered up the courage and began to sit up, she rose. Try as he might, the disappointment was sure to show.

“I’ll be in soon, just let me know when you’re decent.”

“Will do.”

He watched somberly as she softly closed the bedroom door behind her.

🗝️🗝️🗝️

Heart racing, Marinette sat on the bed for a moment attempting to collect her thoughts. Every point of contact he’d made on her had left lingering flames. She needed to dial it back because there was no way in hell she was losing her best friend over her stupid feelings. No way at all.

Her mind wandered back to that night on her balcony, mere months ago. She had landed after an outing with Chat, something she was worried would become less and less now that their main enemy had been defeated, and quickly detransformed. The thud of his boots on the deck behind her had made her jump, but as his detransformation fell she could only smile in pure adoration. Her two favorite people in all the world had turned out to be the same person and she had never loved him more.

Unfortunately for her, she knew Adrien was in love with someone, and that someone was not her. They’d managed to make it through, even if things were more awkward and, with her parents’ blessing, had decided on renting the apartment together.

Adrien could hardly afford to rent even a studio by himself and without hesitation she had suggested they be roommates. Would it absolutely destroy her when he finally brought that special girl home? Yes. Was she going to go through with it anyways? Yes. The whole ‘just one bed’ thing really was a curveball she hadn’t seen coming.

Sighing, mostly to herself, but partially in hopes that Tikki would hear (she didn’t), Marinette changed into her pj’s and did the rest of her nightly routine in the small two-piece bathroom attached to the bedroom. Time for the strangest sleepover she’d ever had.

---

“You’re really sticking with the pillow wall, then?”

“It’s for your safety, trust me.”

“You can’t be that bad.”

“I assure you; she is!” Of course, Tikki made an appearance now.

“Oh?”

“I have a habit of kicking and ending up in odd places on the bed.”

“I mean… I could just hold you so you can’t go anywhere.” He winked. She blushed.

“Ha! Funny one.” She climbed into her side of the bed, forgetting the comforter that was still on the floor from her earlier construction.

“You, uh, gonna be warm enough, Mari?”

“Mmhmm!”

An involuntary shiver gave her away and Adrien laughed softly as he brought the blanket up and over her, tucking it in around her shoulders.

“There. Snug as a bug in a rug.”

A snort escaped her.

“You know you love me.”

He had no idea.

Adrien turned off the light, though the city lights illuminated the room enough that she could still see everything clearly. They would definitely need to invest in some black-out curtains. The bed dipped as he climbed into the bed, causing her to tense as she kept herself from rolling towards the center and into the makeshift barrier.

“Huh. The pillows are quite supportive when I’m on my side.”

“Mmhmm.”

She felt one push into her back a little.

“Squishy too.”

“Goofball.”

“But I’m your goofball.”

“Goodnight, Adrien.”

“Goodnight, Mari.”

---

That morning she woke up by some miracle in relatively the same spot as she had fallen asleep in. It would seem that the pillow wall had remained largely intact as well… except for the arm that had made its way through it and was currently wrapped around her waist. That would explain why she hadn’t moved.

Gently, she lifted said arm and slid out of bed placing her personal pillow underneath, so she didn’t wake him. After gathering some clothes for the day, she stole a glance at him before heading to the main bathroom to shower. Adrien was smooshed up against the barrier, golden locks hanging in his face, mouth partly open as he slept. He looked so incredibly peaceful, something he had long deserved.

She could get used to waking up to this every day.

---

And she did.

A week had gone by with her waking before Adrien, his arm breaking the barrier to snuggle her. Somehow, she had managed not to completely karate kick him off the bed yet, though there had been a few mornings where the blankets were a complete mess.

Today had been long, the bakery busier than usual due to an influx of tourists for the season. Marinette was a walking zombie at this point, wanting nothing more than to curl up and sleep.

“Welcome home!” Adrien stood over the stove, cooking what looked to be a box of pasta and something else, with a large grin on his face. He wore the light pink ‘life is what you bake it’ apron that he had gotten her on their friendiversary last year.

“Hey. Thanks.”

“I watched a video on how to make pasta. Tikki helped me with the marinara so it’s a little bit on the sweet side. But I haven’t burned the place down yet!”

She walked over and dipped her finger in the sauce to taste. It was on the sweeter side for sure, but in a good way.

“Thanks, Adri.”

“You’ve been working hard lately, and I wanted to try and do something nice.”

“Well, I am certainly not complaining. And lucky for us, my parents sent home some bread!”

“I might have called and asked them to set some aside…”

“You’re too sweet. I’m going to go get cleaned up and then I’ll join you.”

His smile did nothing but melt her heart. If only he realized what it was he was truly doing to her.

🗝️🗝️🗝️

Adrien had been super excited to make dinner but watching Marinette actually enjoy what he had prepared made him giddy. She’d been putting in extra hours at the bakery, trying to save up money for when they were in school next year and couldn’t work as much. He’d been trying to find somewhere to work but didn’t have many qualifications at the moment, aside from modeling. His dream was to teach le primaire music. Not to mention, it was hard to find someone who would hire him, being the son of a former magical terrorist and all.

Much to his delight, the one bed thing hadn’t turned out to be much of an issue. The first night he had tossed and turned, unable to find a comfortable spot until he’d finally decided to snuggle the makeshift wall. He’d awoken that first morning with his arm shoved through and holding Marinette’s Pillow. He could only conclude that he had snuggled her throughout the night and that she hadn’t wanted to wake him or make him feel bad. After that he had tried his hardest to fall asleep facing the edge of the bed but always woke up in the same position.

He was surprised at the fact that she hadn’t been as violent in her sleep as she and Tikki had tried to get him to believe. There had been a couple of mornings that she had yoinked the covers right off of him and wiggled around but nothing near as crazy as he had imagined. Tonight, however, she seemed to be thrashing more than she had been the last week.

“N-no. Cht. Pllse dnt do ths.”

Her mumble startled him, more-so because she had mentioned him than her voice itself.

“Mari?”

“Please, no!” Her voice came out as a strangled yell.

Facing away from him, she lunged backwards, nearly knocking him off the bed as she began to kick and knock both the covers and bottom half of the pillow-wall off the bed. Righting himself, he leaned up to look over the leftover pillow. Her arms were wound around her chest as her feet continued to kick, almost as if she was running from something.

Out of the corner of his eye, watched Tikki as she flew over and rested atop Marinette’s head, gently stroking her chosen’s hair.

“Nightmare?”

“She has them about once a week. It only gets worse from here.”

“Oh Jeeze.” His heart was racing. “Is there anything I can do?”

“She’s going to hate me for this, but I think it would help if you held her. She’ll begin to call out for you soon and sometimes will sleepwalk in search of you.”

His heart sank at that. He’d had no idea.

Tossing the rest of the pillows to the floor, Adrien sat up slightly before moving closer to her, cautiously reaching out and rubbing up and down her exposed arm. Marinette stiffened before quickly turning to face him and wrapping her arms around his torso. Thankfully her kicking seemed to have slowed down.

“Kitty. You came back.”

“Always, love. Always.”

He held her tight as her dream seemingly played out, listening as she mumbled incoherently. After what felt like hours, she finally stilled and began breathing evenly once again.

“That was amazing Adrien. She has never calmed down that fast.”

“No?”

The little red kwami shook her head. “No. You remember when she told you about you being akumitized as Chat Blanc?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s what her nightmares are usually about. First you destroy the world, then, sparing her, you destroy yourself. She always tries to stop you but never makes it in time.”

“Oh wow. I never knew it had affected her so much.” He lightly brushed the hairs that had collected around her face away, tucking them behind her ear.

“I think having you here is going to be a really good thing. You both need each other, she’s just too scared to do anything about it.”

Scared? Marinette? He had never known her to be too terribly scared of anything. Nervous, sure, but never scared. Even when she had told him the story of his akumatization, she’d been calm and levelheaded. Marinette began to stir in his arms, pushing against him slightly, her brows arched in confusion, seemingly unsure of where she was.

“Mari?”

Her eyes slowly blinked open.

“Adrien?”

“Yeah, its me. You had a nightmare.”

“Oh. OH.”

“You alright?”

“I… I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Not at all, love.”

She looked up at him, confusion written in her eyes.

“Tikki filled me in. She thought that my holding you might help, and she was right.”

“Love?”

“A new nickname I thought I’d try… if you like?”

She frowned and looked away for a moment before locking her gaze back on his.

“Love. But… what about…”

“Mari, there’s no one else. It’s always been you. From the moment we met.”

Her eyes widened as the information sank in.

“M-me?”

“You. I love you Marinette.”

Though he didn’t expect what came next, he would forever be grateful it had. Marinette’s arms wrapped around his neck as her lips crashed into his, desire and longing coursing through her. His hands reached up to cup her face, pulling her closer as he deepened their kiss. It was everything he had ever dreamed of and more, the woman of his dreams here in his arms holding him like she never wanted to let go. Deep down he knew she never would.

🗝️🗝️🗝️

Life so far had been a whirlwind of emotions and crazy clichés, but lying in Adrien’s arms, knowing he loved her just as much as she loved him, Marinette had never been more thankful for this little home they’d quickly made, complete with ‘just one bed’.

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