#bless nino for caring so much about him

[ilikekidsshows]

Adrino nation is here for blessed crumbs (otp game) please !!

Rate Your OTP Game

Crème de la crème | Excellent Taste | A Worthy Sailing Vessal | A fine ship it is | The Finest Crack in the Den | Unorthodox yet not Unwelcome | It is a good | Overrated | It is acceptable | Forgive me but I am not familiar with the source material | I would not consider myself a fan | Just because you are contrarian doesnt make it good | What dump did you find this? | In the lowest pits of the Abyss is where your taste was forged.

It doesn't get much better than Adrino. These guys' are Miraculous' number one use of the Because I Knew You, I Have Been Changed for Good trope, which is my favorite pairing trope bar none. Their meeting is such a formative experience for them both, a great deal of their characterization in the series comes from what they learn from knowing each other.

Adrien learns, bit by bit, that he doesn't deserve to be treated badly by anybody, not even people who love him. He learns that he deserves to be a priority in the lives of the people who claim to care about him. He learns this through the fact that Nino always tries to prioritize Adrien, and he vocally protests Adrien being mistreated. Nino shows Adrien how he deserves to be treated.

In return, Adrien's immensely approachable manner breaks through the self-imposed isolation Nino had going on in 'Origins'. Adrien's yearning for human connections and companionship makes Nino find value in these things as well. He starts connecting with his other classmates, seeing them in a new, more positive light even after knowing some of them for so long (like his crush on Marinette in 'Animan'). Nino learns to fight, because someone has to fight for Adrien.

These two are compatible outside of their character arcs as well. They're both really heroic, they care care more about what happens to others than themselves. They're both incredibly nurturing, Nino is a really good big brother and Adrien has a clear way of connecting with kids both as Adrien and as Cat Noir. They're both passionate and emotional about things that matter to them.

#miraculous ladybug #adrino #adrien agreste #nino lahiffe #rate your otp game

[nightlychaotic]

The Proposal Con

“So you know how they’re all booked for tonight’s tour?” Marinette asked, as the pair’s tacos arrived.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I have an idea. My friend, Alya, does this thing where she and her boyfriend, Nino, pretend to get engaged to get into places and get free stuff, and well…. I have a ring.”

“So you want to get engaged?”

“Just to get in. We can break up right after the tour.”

Dick laughed, grinning as he picked up his taco. “So what’s the plan?”

She shrugged. “We run in and act all excited that we just got engaged. They’ll have to let us in then.” 

“What if I proposed right there on the spot? Then they’ll have to believe it.”

“You don’t think they’ll take us at our word?”

“In Gotham? There'd be no way. We’re a jaded breed," he told her.  Marinette gave a small snort, turning pink at the small noise.

“Clearly.”

"However in New York City, we have a chance.”

"You think so?"

“Absolutely. How about this? I’ll go in and tell them I want to propose tonight. I’ll say we’ve been traveling and I wanted to book tickets in advance but I couldn’t. Tell them how special this place is to you and it’d mean the world if they could squeeze us in. If we’re lucky the desk clerk will be a romantic.”

“You don’t think that’s too much?”

“Not at all.”

“Well then,” she murmured, pulling off the delicate rose gold ring from her finger and holding it out to him. “What do you say we finish up here and do some quick practise of acting as a couple. He took it, taking care to pocket it somewhere it’d be safe with a grin. “Sounds like a plan.”

—-----------------------------------

Couple Practice was- interesting to say the least. Marinette found herself struggling not to blush from time to time as they navigated the okays and things to avoid in their “relationship.” What kinds of small signs of intimacy were okay, what to stay away from, and currently, the art of hand holding.

“We should interlock fingers.”

“Hmm?”

“We should interlock our fingers,” Dick repeated, letting go of her hand, changing his grip so their fingers interlocked in the grip, as they walked. “Like this. It’s a more intimate hold.”

“Oh.”

“This feel okay? Comfortable?”

“Perfect. It’s perfect. Fits like a glove.”

“Does it now?” Dick asked, glancing over with a grin, as Marinette blushed softly, turning her head.

“Yes. It does. Now I think it’s about time you try and see if we can get those tickets,” she told him, giving two soft quizzes before letting go of his hand as they stopped outside of a small fabric store across from the tour building.

“I’ll be right in here when you’re done,” she told him. “Good luck.”

“I’ve been blessed now. Our plan will be sure to succeed.”

She laughed, shaking her head as she disappeared into the fabric store with a grin.

“Hi,” Dick greeted, grinning. “I was wondering if you could help me out.”

“I can try. What can I do for you today, Sir?” the clerk, Cindy, according to her name tag, asked.

“I know you’re booked for tonight. And I know this is totally all my fault but I’m in town for the night with the woman I love. She’s across the street looking at fabrics. We just got back from visiting her family in Paris. And I want to propose to her tonight on the tour. I know it’s full. And this is all my fault. But I was wondering if there was any way you could make space for two more people?”

“Oh, that is so sweet of you! Let me grab my manager. She’s the one to ask about all this.”

“Thank you so much.”

“It’s no problem.”

Dick watched as she left, ducking into a back room for a minute before reappearing with a stern looking older woman.

“Here he is. He wants to propose on tonight’s tour before he and his girlfriend leave town.”

“I see. Well unfortunately the tour is fully booked. I’d be happy to put your name on the waitlist, but it is quite long already.”

“Isn’t there any way you could squeeze us in anyways? She’s been dying to come here since moving to the States, and it’s our anniversary of when we first met.”

“Oh please, Darlene. Can’t you make an exception just this once.”

“Rules are rules. And a soft story is not going to make an exception.”

“Oh she’d kill me if she knew I was about to do this,” he sighed, about to take a move out of Bruce’s book.

“And what is that?”

“How much extra would you want to squeeze two more people into tonight’s tour?”

“You can’t be serious.”

“A hundred each? One fifty?”

“I’m sorry? One fifty? As in one hundred and fifty dollars?”

“It’s only fair since I’m making a last minute request and it’d mean the world to me if you could get me in,” he told her, scribbling out a check for the promised amount. “Thank you so much. Truly. I appreciate it,” he said, smiling as he handed her the check. “6 o’clock?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“See you then.”

“Good luck tonight!”

“Thank you!”

—-----------------------------------

Marinette was grinning, soaking up all the information the tour guide was offering

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You are one of my absolute best friends. I will never forget when I first met you 5 years ago today, in that alley in Gotham and you whipped me across the face with a plank of wood because you thought I was another mugger like the three you had already taken out.” Marinette felt the heat rush to her cheeks as he said that, a few soft chuckles echoing through the group as he continued. 

“Looking back on it- I think that was the moment I fell for you. Both literally and figuratively. You apologized so profoundly and then proceeded to do the same thing later that night, only reaffirming my feelings,” A soft laugh escaped as he mentioned that, only the second time had been in masks, and instead of a wooden plan it had been Lady Noire’s bo staff, her first night out. 

“Despite our rough start I found myself chasing after you, determined to get to know this fiery fashion designer from Paris who makes the best pastries I have ever tried. We have had our ups and downs. We have gone through thick and thin together. You are one of the most talented people I have ever known and you never fail to amaze me. From your designs, to your insane plans, to your baking. Everything you do you put your heart and soul into it and I can’t imagine not seeing everything you have yet to accomplish. And I can only hope you won’t ever run from me again as much as you did at the beginning, even though I know you enjoyed the game of cat and mouse. I love you. And it has taken me far too long to come to that realization. Marinette, will you do me the honor of being my partner? Will you marry me?”

Marinette nodded, taking a deep breath, cursing him silently for making her feel so emotional with a fake proposal, before giving a soft “yes” as he slid the ring on her finger before scoping her up in a hug and spinning her around. She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“May I kiss you?” he whispered, as she rested her forehead against his.

“Someone’s committed.”

“I’m a performer through and through.”

She gave a small nod before meeting him half way, smiling into the kiss as he gently set her down. Finally noticing the applause of the other guests in the tour group. Several coming up to offer their congratulations and one of the workers, tears in her eyes, excitedly getting Dick’s number to send the video and pictures she took for him, saying how beautiful it was as Dick intertwined his hand with Marinette’s.

Leaving the tour was a whirlwind as the “couple” finally managed to escape, walking down the sidewalk hand in hand for a bit.

"Don't you think you were laying it on kind of heavy back there?"

"Not at all. I meant every word," he told her, she let go of his hand, freezing in the middle of the sidewalk as he continued on a few steps.

"What?"

He stopped, turning to face her, a faint blush covering his cheeks.

“I meant every word I said in there, Mar. You’re amazing, and one of my best friends, and I love you. But I don’t want to risk losing you so you can just ignore-”

She didn’t give him the chance to finish before leaning up and kissing him for a moment before pulling away. “Don’t plan on my ignoring it, Songbird. Especially after that speech you gave back there, because .”

“So where does that leave us?” he asked.

“Well you did just propose to me….”

He grinned, taking her hand once more. “We’ll get you an actual ring tomorrow.”

“And tell our families as well?”

“Yours. I want to see how long it’ll take mine to figure it out.”

She laughed. “You’re joking.”

“You have to be curious.”

“Alright, alright I am.”

“I knew it.”

She laughed, giving him a small shoulder check, before resting her head on his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get going. We have a long, traffic filled drive ahead of us.”

“After you, Love.”

“Love?”

“I can not call you that if you don’t like it.”

“No. It’s perfect, Darling. Now, really. Come on,” she said, pulling him along. He laughed as she did, the two of them wandering down the New York City sidewalks to begin their next adventure.

#MGIMixer #Maribat #Dickinette #No Beta this is Mixer #Fake Dating #Gotham City Circus

[msweebyness]

Class of Heroes AU: Science Kids (w)Bonus Headcanons)

A continuation of my Disney Hero AU, I would like to thank the lovely @artzychic27 for allowing me to use their OC’s from Mendeliev’s class, and for giving me the ideas I used for Nathaniel and Nino. I hope you like my choices!

Jean: Kuzco. Flamboyant and overdramatic to the core, this young emperor was sent to the school to learn how to focus on others and properly carry out his duties. (Still a work in progress…) They love to be the center of attention and head the school’s drama department.

Denise: Wreck-It-Ralph. A video-game baddie brought to life, beneath their tough exterior lies a caring and protective friend who’s tired of being labeled as a ‘bad guy’ due to their… destructive tendencies.

Simon: Peter Pan. A curious forever-teen with the ability to fly and a penchant for making wry and sarcastic comments, he loves to tell stories of his adventures back home. Though he’s considering leaving Neverland due to his growing feelings for Denise.

Cosette: Robaire. The lead singer of a famous and beloved pop group, 4-Town. They decided to take a break from performing in order to attend school. It has legions of fans who would jump at the chance to spend even a moment with her, but only one blonde has their eye…

Reshma: Isabela Madrigal. The eldest of a family blessed with magical gifts, Reshma often feels the pressure of needing to be the perfect daughter, though she’s learning to let loose more with help from her friends. Has the power to grow flowers.

Ismael: Genie. Alix’s childhood friend (She found him much younger and used her first and only wish to free him.), Ismael is sharp as a tack with the wit to boot. He can still use much of his power, but likes to pull pranks and use it for snark purposes.

Aurore: Blue Fairy. Caring and motherly, but also rather strict in terms of behavior, Aurore watches over her class and is always quick to act when there’s a problem.

Mireille: Simba. A young human/lion hybrid Queen-to-be who is fearful of the responsibilities and timid in the face of adversity, her newfound friendships at school help her gain the courage she will need to stand up to her evil uncle. Very worried about making her late mother proud.

Lacey: Tinker Bell. Spunky and creative with a fiery temper, this tinker fairy is always on the hunt to try new things. She doesn’t like being told what to do, and will challenge someone she feels has hurt her friends, especially Simon, her lifelong bestie.

I immediately knew that Jean was Kuzco. Who else could he be? As a bonus, here are some HC’s from my AU!

* Juleka will sometimes get extremely upset and start ‘beasting out’, tearing apart everything in sight. Luka will soothe his sister by playing music, one of the few ways he can still communicate with her since becoming a piano. The curse’s deadline looks closer every day. (I used the 2017 version for this particular part, where they’re becoming real household objects.)

*Ondine has a year to fulfill the terms of the witch’s agreement. If the one she loves declares their love to her and seals it with a kiss, she will be able to remain in the surface world. If not, she’ll turn back into a mermaid and be the witch’s slave. And she can’t tell anyone about it.

*Tomoe was blinded fighting with Mor’du(He probably needs a new name since they’re not Scottish, I’m open to ideas). (She serves as Elinor and Fergus.) It’s a big part of the reason she keeps her daughter so close, fear of her being in danger again. Naturally, she hates bears.

*Aurore was the one who brought Sabrina to life, and as such feels responsible for her, in a way. She looks after her like a big sister and tries to keep her on the right track.

*Tikki and Plagg both serve as Mushu for Marinette, with Plagg filling the role more closely and Tikki actually trying to be helpful.

*Kim is Alix’s favorite victim when it comes to her thieving habits. You would think he’d learn to check his pockets around her.

*Marinette fell for Adrien when he used his power to heal a wound she had gotten training. One of the first things she told him was that he had a beautiful voice.

*Nino frequently misplaces his wand, and it’s led to to some mayhem around the school…

*Reshma is quite protective of her youngest sister, the only one in the family not to receive a gift, often defending her from the ridicule of others.

*Jean has a burning hatred for llamas. No one knows why.

#ml au #miraculous ladybug #disney au #science kids #artzychic27 #mlb ocs #akuma class #mendeliev’s class

[bernard-the-rabbit]

what’s the name of clelia's brother?

also, is it correct that pellegrina married a dude that’s like twice as old as her?

and i'd love to know more about nino's side of the story. did he know about clelia’s and pellegrina's relationship? did he have actual romantic feelings for clelia or were they more like friends that got married because it was expected?

Clelia's brother is Guido! I'm writing a kind of one shot about him and Luigi (clelia's youngest brother)'s death from the point of view of their father but i'm stuck on a bit bc I gotta do researches about burying procedures in 1880 italy.

And yep Pellegrina's husband is pretty older than her (i need to change a few things bc he is WAY too old rn) and their marriage was purely out of interest, and he was pretty uninterested in her (thing she was very happy about bc he is a man and he is old and if she manages to marry someone that doesn't care about what she is doing she considers that a blessing)

And Nino god..I love him. He is my sad pathetic malewife. He was absolutely in love with Clelia like in love LOVE with her. And he couldn’t not notice about them but i think he never truly wanted to know, not till Clelia's death and seeing Pellegrina outside his house. I think Nino always knew that Clelia's heart was already for someone's else and, as much as it hurted him, he tried to make peace with it. But i think that knowing that you are one of the reasons why the love of your life isn't completely happy and satisfied hurts you pretty bad. His relationship with Pellegrina can develop thanks to their shared love for Clelia, at the end they are the same so, even if they start with not too much simpaty directed towards the other, they soon become close friends and pretend spouses

#bern oc #i'm having so much fun answering these #does anyone care? not really but i love them to death #all my characters <3 #mwah mwah i kiss all of them on the forehead #and it also gives me the opportunity to flash them out bc the only complete story is the witch one #so yep yep

[noctallawriteheartecanwrite]

Deer Caught in my Headlights Prologue

Rey's Memory April 12th, 11:29 PM

Mendelson Reisender. The Comforting Traveler. 

I didn’t truly know him until much further down the line. But I first knew met him at that stupid party.

“Alana I swear if you don’t hand me that you estúpido de mierda-!” Alana finally with an evil smile on her face, handed me back my choker. With a huff, I clasped it back on around my neck before mumbling.

“Gracias puta estupida.”

“I thought we said no more insulting Alana?” I glanced toward Yori before also taking my beads back from the girl.

“She took literally my only choker- which is all the jewelry I have by the way! No la insultaré si deja de jugar conmigo!”

“English Rey, we only know like every 2 words you say when you talk that fast.” I just flipped them off and walked to the bathroom, I could hear them talking about me but I don’t care. They all thought I was rude and bitchy, only Alana really liked me. The only reason we talked to each other was because we all loved music, I just… had a different sound than theirs.

It didn’t take too long to section off my hair and tie it to the ends of each silver bead how Izzy had shown me some years ago. Sometimes I wondered how I had been blessed enough to have ended up at Alana’s house, then I thought back to why I had my own room here and why I couldn’t see my own madre anymore.

“Music won’t get you anywhere! tú niño inútil, ojalá nunca hubieras nacido.” Her voice still rang out in my ears some days. A constant presence, a dull anger that resonated through my being. That anger fueled me every day, I wanted to prove her wrong…. but I also wanted to get rid of her from my memories. 

A knock on the bathroom door snapped me from my thoughts as it opened to reveal Alana. She gave me a smile before signing out her words.

‘People are arriving, Schummer is looking for you by the way.’

“Schummer? What does she want, I’m not a mula de la droga.” Alana just rolled her eyes before leaving and I sighed before looking into the mirror one last time. My skin was unnaturally pale, something that normally dissuaded people to believe my latino status. It used to be warmer and more tan in color back when we still lived in South America.

‘Toma a tu hijo de puta y sal de mi casa!” I used to be different. I took a deep breath and stepped out into the hallway. I had only been in the bathroom for half an hour at most yet the house was suddenly bursting with people. 

“Hey, Rey~ Been looking for your sexy ass everywhere.” I felt an arm wrap around my waist as Nino pulled me into his chest, a drink already in his hand.

“Nino~ That better be for me if you have any dreams of having fun with me tonight.” The man rolled his eyes before handing over the red solo cup to me, with a hum I took it from his hand and tilted the edge towards my mouth. The taste of vodka and lime burned my throat, but a good burn. One that would loosen my tongue way more than normal, and let me stop thinking of all those bad things.

“So you singin’ tonight?” I shrugged my shoulders as I swirled the liquid in the cup around.

“Eh, if Kay doesn’t beat me to the punch.” With another quick sip from the solo cup, I let Nino lead me into the party.

#romance #lgbtq #gay #fiction #original work #writer

[chatonne-rousse]

My most-used Tumblr tag has always been I'm unrepentant Adrienette trash. But I have a feeling there's about to be a new contender for first place, and that's protect my precious cat son, which I use any time I reblog or post something where Adrien/Chat is hurting.

I can't say I appreciate the spike in its usage, especially since I wasn't using it sparingly prior to this season!

How much are they going to hurt this boy? 😭

#protect my precious cat son #stop hurting adrien 2k21 #ml spoilers #adrien agreste #poor boy needs therapy #stat #bless nino for caring so much about him #miraculous ladybug #guiltrip

[polyghostfacehours]

something about stu and billy with a s/o that unironically likes shows like hell’s kitchen and kitchen nightmares? like their s/o started watching clips of it as a meme but now they’re a real fan and watched all the seasons of it

(definitely not me!)

ASDFGHJKL SO little known fact, but I'm actually a HUGE fan of Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares (also Hotel Hell lmao). These shows are just such endless sources of entertainment, especially when watching it with other people! Modern!AU of course.

---

Poly!Ghostface Watching Hell's Kitchen/Kitchen Nightmares:

Stu would probably join you pretty early on in watching it. Nay, scratch that: he absolutely would join you.

Billy finds the memes amusing, and has for sure seen clips of it before, but it isn't until you and Stu are about 3 seasons deep and he keeps curiously peeking over that he joins in.

Also because he felt left out lmao. Watching TV tends to be a Together activity for you guys.

Billy loooves trash talking the people in the shows, especially the more narcissistic restaurant owners. The more delusional they are, the more Billy loves ripping them a new one.

Bless you and Billy, because for MONTHS after the Nino episode in KN you can bet your ass that Stu will be yelling "I'M NINOOOOO!!" anytime he walks into the room. Hold Billy back so he doesn't kill him.

In a twist, Billy loves when the women's team proves the men's team wrong about their abilities. It's less to do with Billy being a sudden feminist and more in the sadistic pleasure he derives from seeing someone knocked down a peg. It's delicious.

Y/n: WHAT ARE YOU? - Stu: *CRIES* AN IDIOT SANDWICH

Billy, after you cook him anything ever again: Where tf is the lamb sauce?????

Stu, slipping in without a condom: It's föcken' RAAAAAW

Billy's favorite winner is Christina Wilson. Stu's favorite winner is either Heather West or Dave Levey.

Their least favorite chefs are too many to be named. Jason, Ranjit, Jen, Thomas, Russel, etc etc. What can I say, there aren't that many people Billy and Stu like in general besides themselves and you.

Stu was so disappointed when he found out Amy's Baking Company closed. He was so, so ready to drop the cash to get you all to fly out and visit them. He wanted to troll them so fucking BAD.

Billy loves Gordon Ramsey. Like so much. Out of the three of you, he's probably the biggest fan. On the outside he plays it cool, but on the inside he gets giddy when Gordon rips into someone.

If you bring up the idea of a horror movie with a chef as a slasher, prepare for some notebooks, alcohol, and snacks being busted out while you guys sit in a circle on the bed bouncing ideas off each other, laughing, and just shooting the shit. You have a blast staying up into the AM just coming up with the plot, characters, etc. and screenwriting this faux horror flick with your boyfriends. Billy especially has fun that night and it's a memory that sticks with him forever.

Stu cried out in anguish when he found out that Jean-Phillipe was no longer the maitre d' on HK. He fucking loved that guy. JP was his bro, man ✊😔

Stu wishes Gordon would bully the waiters on KN lol

Billy doesn't. He wouldn't admit it, and he isn't sure why he feels this way considering he's kinda terrible himself, but he's weirdly glad that Gordon is always nice to the waiters.

Kinda mirrors their killing habits tbh. Billy kills those who he felt either deserved it (Maureen, Sidney), he felt was necessary for the plan (Himbry) or both (Randy, Casey, Steve, Tatum). Stu just went along with it and didn't really care who he killed, simply excited to do it.

OR if this is an AU-AU where they didn't go through with some or all of it, then it's just bc Stu likes trolling people in general and Billy hates authority.

You can BET that Stu will wanna go visit Hell's Kitchen. He knows if you go you aren't guaranteed good service or a meal, but he wants to go just to watch Gordon in action.

Stu will also wanna visit the more bougie restaurants that the winners get to work at. Like the minute all three of you have the time, ya'll are going.

Billy wants to actually learn how to cook the perfect risotto. If he succeeds this goal (and he will eventually bc this man is patient and determined af), you can expect it everytime he cooks from then on lmao.

Maybe, juuuust maybe, if you guys are encouraging and help out, Billy surprisingly finds his calling and passion in cooking and grows up to be a Michelin Star chef LMAO.

#billy loomis #stu macher #billy loomis x reader #stu macher x reader #ghostface x reader #ghostface #poly ghostface #poly!ghostface #poly ghostface x reader #poly!ghostface x reader #slasher imagines #slasher x reader #slashers x reader #slasher headcanons #scream 1996

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 34

Man these parts are getting harder and harder to churn out. A lot of plot points converging and real life ramping up. Hopefully you all enjoy this. Please comment your thoughts on the chapter. And if you really liked it, Reblog it. Thats the best way to get others to see it. Also, Please let me know your thoughts. Your comments fuel me.

(Master Post)

_____________________________________________________________

Masquerade surveyed the classroom. Her former classmates now her masked servants. It was fitting how they were all silent. Before, they listened to her because she told them exactly the things they wanted to hear, now they listened because she had power over them. It was kind of poetic in a way.

She looked across the classroom, she realized that there seemed to be more people missing than she initially realized.

“We are missing someone. Aside from Marinette, who is missing?”

The controlled classmates looked amongst themselves. Trying to figure out who was the one that was not in the class.

“Is it Chloé?” Miracular inquired, trying to answer her master’s request.

The akuma looked around.

“Huh… Oh yea, she isn’t here. Well she isn’t important. I was thinking someone else.” Masquerade answered. She looked to her most recently made akuma servant.

The Bubbler, the akumatized version of Nino stood motionless. As if he was not registering what was going on.

“Bubbler? Do you know who is missing?”

The multicolored akuma said nothing. Not even looking in the direction of the mask maiden.

“Bubbler! I order you to answer me!” She commanded with fiery rage.

The akuma turned to face his master, now responding.

“Adrien is missing.” The bubbler answered, his voice robotic and as emotive as a speak and spell.

“So, Adrien isn’t in the room. What a shame. I was planning on turning him into my handsome little knight.”

Masquerade thought for a moment.

Has Adrien been akumatized? Lila wasn’t sure she had ever seen or heard about him getting akumatized. She knew that the class had pretty much gotten hit at least once or twice at some point from what she had heard and read from the ladyblog. But if that goody-goody Marinette hadn’t been akumatized, Adrien likely hadn’t been akumatized either.

“Alright my servants! We have a new mission. I want you to lock this school down! No one is allowed in or out. Anyone you find, bring them to me. If they can be akumatized, then they are joining our cause.”

“Time breaker. Guard the perimeter outside of the school. Anyone outside of Ladybug and Chat noir trying to get in. Tag them, but only if they are suspicious of what’s going on. Stay hidden otherwise.”

“Timebreaker nodded and began skating out of the room in a rush.

“Horrificator, once Timebreaker is outside, seal all the exits in the main building.”

The masked monstress nodded and sped out of the room.

“Dark Cupid, Stoneheart, Princess Fragrance, Miracular and Reflekta. I want you to split up check all of the rooms and bring me potential akumas.”

The five akuma nodded and made their way out the door.

“Gamer and Robostus. I want you to hack into the airwaves. I want access to every Electric device in Paris when I give you the signal. But make sure to be subtle. I don’t want anyone to know about us until I tell you.”

The two nod and start working to get that ready for her.

She focuses her attention to the bubble making akuma that was giving her problems earlier.

Considering how hard it was to break him down, it was understandable. She had saved him for last for a reason. Because he was the hardest one to crack.

He was a relatively calm individual, able to keep a level head. But even he had his weakness. His confidence. Once that was shaken, seeing his entire class taken, knowing his girlfriend was under her control, he couldn't resist another moment. In a way, it was the most satisfying charm on her bracelet.

“Now Bubbler, you are going to go and locate Marinette and Adrien for me. Put them in a bubble and bring them to me. Help that girlfriend of yours.”

The bubbler nodded yes despite severe shaking. Seems even now he is trying to resist the control of the mask.

“Troublesome, but it is only temporary. He will break soon enough.” Masquerade mused to herself.

She looked at the near empty room with contempt. This was hardly a place where she could exact her vengeance. It was so… lame. Though a thought occurs as she realized who she had left standing at attention without orders.

“Evillustrator, I have a special request for you.”

________________________________________________________

“What is this?” Chloé screeched. “My daddy bought me the best phone plan in the city. How can I not have service right now?!”

The nurse felt a chill run down her spine. Could the akuma block out phone signals? Is that why there is no attention being given to the school? How could they call for help? How would anyone know of the akuma attack? Would Ladybug and Chat noir be able to help them?

The nurse started to feel herself going pale, she was just supposed to be a school nurse. Worst thing she needed to deal with was a scraped knee or give a kid an ice pack. Now she has a woman that collapsed on the bed and an akuma that is somewhere in the school. She had just moved to Paris a few months ago. It was her dream to live in the city of love, get her career going, find a nice guy, and just live the good life. But no one told her that supervillain attacks would be so personally connected to her situation? She had heard about this crap in New York and in America. But Paris? It was too much. What if Ladybug and Chat noir didn’t fix everything? What if this was where her story ended. What if…

“Hey!”

The nurse turned to her attention to the voice. It was the brash blonde teen that was complaining.

“You look like you’re going to pass out. Just a heads up, I am not taking care of you.” Chloé commented.

Angela felt her face heat up with annoyance.

“Listen you brat. I don’t have time to deal with your attitude. I have a woman that is out cold from exhaustion in a building with a hostile akuma.”

“Good, at least you aren’t going to faint. I don’t need any more whinny women fainting on me”

The nurse paused, did the girl say that just to help her not succumb to the grim situation?

Chloé started making her way to the door.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“You already got your hands full with the annoying assistant. I need to make a call to daddy. So, I am going to head out the building and try there. Try not to get ripped apart by an akuma, I still need more ice when I get back.”

Angela blinked. This girl wasn’t scared of the akuma. She was actually going out to do something reasonable. If she could call for help, it would mean that this whole thing blows over.

“Okay, I’ll stay here. Be safe.”

“Yea whatever.”

Chloé headed out the door.

Angela felt a ghost of a smile grace her face.

‘Maybe that girl isn’t a complete brat after all.’

__________________________________________________

The shapeshifting sentimonster growled as it smacked the locker. It lost both primary targets. And worst of all, Ladybug appeared to make this even harder. Masquerade needed to hear about this.

“Master, Marinette and Adrien have escaped my sight.”

The sentimonster heard a sigh of disappointment from the other end.

“It is fine Simularé, They wont be able to escape the school anyway. They will be found soon enough. If anything, this is a blessing in disguise. Having them be the last targets will have them bare witness to how devasting it will all be.” Masquerade answered. “Any news on Ladybug and Chat noir?”

“That’s the other bad news. Ladybug arrived, I am assuming that’s how Marinette managed to escape, and ladybug also took Adrien away as well. No sign of chat noir. But if you know one is here, the other is likely soon to follow.”

There was a brief moment of silence, as masquerade mulled over the information she had received.

“Actually, that works out well for us. Meet up at my location, I have the other students out looking for them, I need your power for something more important.”

“Yes master.”

Simularé shifted back into its phantom form, moving quickly down the hallway to obey her master’s request.

Just as it left, Ladybug popped out of a nearby locker. Relieved it didn’t notice.

“That’s not good, Masquerade likely got everyone in the classroom.” The red heroine said aloud.

She activated her communicator and tried to contact chat noir. But there was no sound.

“Damn it. No signal. Lila likely cut the communication as soon as she realized it.?”

“No worries Buggaboo, I happen to be on site.” A voice called out.

Chat noir jumped out of another locker to reveal he was there.

Ladybug felt a bit of relief at her partner’s appearance. She could tell he felt the same. Better a situation with two heroes.

“Been here the whole time?” The spotted heroine asked her cat crimefighting comrade.

“Just arrived a few minutes ago, I figured something was up, so I decided to take a quick peek. Cat curiosity and all that.”

“And you assumed it was with Collège Françoise Dupont?”

“It seemed like a solid guess.”

“Considering the track record, that is reasonable.” Ladybug conceded.

“Ever wonder why it is always this school and never any of the other schools? Paris is a big city. You would think Hawkmoth would decide to branch out to the other schools in the city.” Chat noir inquired as they started walking down the hall.

“I assumed its just a coincidence.”

“Shot in the dark, maybe he has a kid that goes here. He is pretty old” Chat noir dissed.

“I can’t imagine anyone that would want to date Hawkmoth.” Ladybug joked.

“What about the blue lady? She seemed crazy enough.”

“And now that image is burned in my mind. Thanks kitty.” Ladybug sarcastically commented. “Despite the mental scarring, I am glad you got here. Seems a repeat offender got herself an upgrade in the akuma powers department.”

“Lila.”

“How did you know?”

“I was reading the ladyblog, Alya did great work on that article.” Chat noir praised. He mentally applauded his quick thinking.

“Right, kind of the reason I felt the need to keep an eye on this place. But sadly, I was too slow.” Ladybug responded a tad gloomy.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. We will finish this akuma before lunch.”

Ladybug heard a footstep from the end of the hallway.

“Get down!”

Ladybug tackled the cat hero down. Just narrowly avoiding a neon pause symbol, which now suck on the wall.

“Looks like Lila has been busy.” Chat noir noted as he turned his face to the direction of the attacker.

Ladybug looked at the akuma. The white mask covering her friend’s face. Lady Wifi was back.

“Alya…”

The two heroes got into a fighting stance and prepared to take down this controlled akuma.

________________________________________________

The halls were empty and lifeless as the two visiting teens made their way cautiously down the halls.

“Oddly quiet in here.” The fencer commented. “What do you think Luka?”

“Well last time we entered a place with an akuma in it, it was brimming with armored minions. Maybe this akuma has more stealth?” The Musician commented. “So, I don’t think you will be fighting as directly as you are use to Kagami.”

Kagami nodded at that, not exactly happy or sad regarding that remark. Her plan was to see if she could help her friends get out of the building, grab her textbook, and get out. She wasn’t really that interested in fighting a superpowered foe at this moment in time.

The two ceased speaking when they heard approaching footsteps.

“Someone’s coming.” Luka noted.

The two duck into the nearest room.

The two stayed close to the door as they listened to the sound of the approaching figure.

Kagami dropped to the floor silently as to check and see if she could get a visual.

She could only see what appeared to be costume boots of a larger figure. Which made the expert fencer believe it was not friendly.

The figure stopped, looking at the door. The two teens felt their neck hairs stand on edge as they did their best not to make a sound.

After what felt like an eternity, the figure passed the door without checking. Once the sound of his footsteps could no longer be heard, they let out a sigh of relief.

“That was way too close for comfort.”

“Agreed. I would prefer a direct confrontation next time, much less nerve-racking. “

The two carefully open the door and exit the room.

“Seems we found the akuma.” Luka commented. “Now we just need to avoid it and.”

“You mean akumas.” Kagami corrected.

“Akumas?”

Kagami tilted the boys head to look in the same direction she was looking, and sure enough she saw a rather large rock like creature walking the halls.

“Oh… well that is bad.”

Kagami pushed him back into the room and closed the door. Locking it before the rock giant could notice them.

“I’m surprised.”

“By the fact there is an 8-foot-tall rock beast outside?”

“No, by the fact you didn’t try to fight it.”

“I don’t have a weapon.” Kagami replied flatly.

Luka raised a brow at the comment, unsure if the fencer was serious or not about fighting that thing if she had a foil.

“Is something wrong?” A third voice came from behind them.

The two teens turned around, preparing for the worst. Though they were relieved to see it was just an old janitor… in a Hawaiian shirt. Despite his odd dress, he did give off a kind aura. One of a trusting old grandpa.

They noticed that the room seemed to be a sort of teacher’s lounge, with a small counter with a sink and cabinets. As well as a fridge to keep food cold and stored. A place in the school where teachers would come to get a quick coffee or store their lunch.

“Oh good, you aren’t an akuma.” Luka sighed with relief.

“An akuma?” The old man asked.

“Yes, it is very dangerous out there right now. There are multiple villains outside. I would recommend staying put while we go out there and help handle things.” Kagami explained.

“Quite bold of you to go out there against those monsters.” The man responded.

“Don’t worry, we will be careful. We just need to make sure we can get as many people out as we can so Ladybug and Chat noir won’t need to worry.”

“Ah, how selfless of you. You both seem quite capable for ones so young.”

“You’re very kind, but we are just doing what we can. Our friends are out there and they need our help.”

Kagami goes to the door. Checking to ensure the coast is clear again.

The old man pats the musician’s shoulder.

“I am sure you two will figure a way to help your friends.”

“There are too many outside this room.” Kagami grumbled. If only I had a way to fight them.”

The mysterious janitor smiled.

“Say… I did happen to see Ladybug earlier.”

The two teens turned their attention to the old man.

“You did?” they asked in unison.

“Yes, she happened to drop something while rushing. Would you two be so kind as to return them to her when you see her.”

The two of them glance at each other and shrug. The old janitor might be senile.

“Sure… We can give it to her.” Luka assured the old man, trying to remain polite.

The old man moves to a closet, where out of view of the two teens, an elaborate chest with the symbol of the guardian’s decorates the top. He quickly gets two smaller boxes and closes the closet.

“Ah! Here they are.”

He hands the two a small box each. Their eyes go wide.

“They seemed important, so I didn’t want to just leave them on the floor. But I have a feeling you two will take good care of them.”

The two teens were engrossed by the boxes in their hands. They recognized them immediately. These were the boxes Ladybug used when handing out miraculous.

“Where did you find…?” Kagami tried to question, but noticed the old man was no longer there.

“He’s gone…”

“Actually, I am over here.”

The teens look in the opposite direction they were looking in order to see him at the end of the room getting a snack from the fridge.

The duo decided that maybe this old guy wasn’t all there after all and figured it would be best to go somewhere and utilize the ‘gift’ they were just given.

“Stay in the lounge where it’s safe okay?” Luka asked politely.

“Of course. I am not paid if I am not working.”

The two teens checked the door again, and once the coast was clear. They both slipped out of the room.

After he knew they were out of sight, the old man chuckled.

“The senile routine works every time.”

“Master, you really cut it close with that one.” A small turtle creature exclaimed as he popped out from the closet.

“The universe works in mysterious ways Wayzz. What are the odds that there would be an attack on the school the very day I decide to hide out as a janitor?”

“Considering the frequency of akuma attacks, very likely.”

“True, but how about running into two individuals that Marinette had picked to be heroes.” Fu followed up.

“That is quite a coincidence.”

The guardian pulled out his phone and noticed he didn’t have a signal.

“It seems I can’t get a signal to notify her of the reinforcements I sent her way. Likely it would be the same on her end. So, it is a good thing I acted in advance.”

Fu moved to the closet where he kept the miraculous.

“I can’t help but shake the feeling Ladybug and Chat noir will need all of the help they can get.

“Don’t worry master, I am sure Ladybug and Chat noir will be successful.

“Let us keep an eye on things. They might need another ally to turn the tide.

________________________________________________________

“I am guessing you are also familiar with what’s inside here?” Kagami inquired as the two stealthily moved in the hall.

“I may be familiar with it.” Luka commented.

Kagami contemplated the statement. She figured out the truth.

“Seems we both have used a miraculous then?”

“It appears we have. Though I am not sure Ladybug will be thrilled that someone knows I have helped her.”

“I understand the sentiment. Though lets simply agree to keep it between us.” Kagami answered. “Friends do keep secrets like that if I’m correct.”

Luka smiled at the comment.

“Your secret is safe with me.” Luka assured.

“As is yours.”

The two found the locker room and quickly moved inside.

“Coast is clear.”

The two opened the boxes and as they did two magical creatures appeared in front of them.

A floating creature with multiple spikes appeared in front of the fencer, while another floating creature that resembled a cobra stood in front of luka.

“It is a pleasure to see you again Mistress Kagami.”

“It’s been too long, Longg.” Kagami smiled. Happy to see her kwami friend.

“Hello Luka, itssss been a while.” The snake kwami greeted.

“Happy to see you too Sass.” Luka fist bumped his kwami.

The kwamis stop and turn to see the other kwami there.

“Does Ladybug know about this?” They both ask in unison.

“We will inform her after. Right now, there is a lot of danger.” Kagami exclaimed. “Ladybug needs our help.”

The two kwami nod and prepare to fight.

“Consssider us accomplissses.” Sass answered.

The two teens put on the miraculous.

“Sass! Scales Slither.”

“Longg! Bring the storm”

The two teens transform into their heroic alter egos.

Kagami shifting into the dragon miraculous hero Ryuuko, and Luka changing into the Snake hero Viperion.

The two stop to glance at the other.

“So, what should I call you.” The snake hero asked curiously.

“Call me Ryuuko. And what about you mister snake?”

“Viperion is what I am going with.”

“Fitting.”

“As is yours.”

The two give a nod of comradery before making their way out of the locker room. They had to go help Ladybug.

__________________________________________________

Ladybug dashed across the hallway, avoiding pause symbols being flung at her by the conniving akuma.

She slid underneath one of the symbols and preformed a daring slide kick to knock Lady Wifi off balance.

While she was unstable, Chat noir charged and used his baton to make contact with her white mask. Believing it was the obvious weak point.

“Got it!” Chat noir exclaimed triumphantly. The strike of the staff knocking Ladywifi a good several meters. Before lying flat on her back.

“Wow, that is a tough mask. I thought for sure that was the weak point.” Chat noir commented.

Lady Wifi stood up robotically.

“There must be a way to snap her out of it. Unless Hawkmoth is learning from his mistakes.” Ladybug hypothesized as she got up from the ground.

“Well I got nothing.” Chat noir shrugged.

Another set of footsteps approaching caught the hero’s attention. The recognized the multicolored bubble maker the moment they saw him.

“Nino… You too?” Chat noir said under his breath.

The Bubble maker used his bubble wand to summon two large bubbles to capture the heroes. Bringing back flashbacks of their first encounter with the bubble akuma.

Chat noir and Ladybug expertly slide between the gaps of the attack, resulting in Lady Wifi getting hit with the large bubbles and being sent flying into the wall via bubble prison.

Chat noir lunged at the Bubbler, his quick pounce pinning him down before he could attack.

“Maybe I can destroy his mask with…”

“Wait Chat noir!” Ladybug called out.

Chat noir paused.

“What if your cataclysm doesn’t free him?”

“And then I am left without the power before a recharge.”

“Exactly. We need to hold off on using our powers right now.”

Chat noir wanted to save his friend. But he knew his partner was right. They needed to conserve their powers before facing Lila.

The Bubbler managed to get the cat hero off of him with a burst of strength. Knocking Chat noir to the ground.

Lady Wifi had gotten free from the bubble attack and was now blocking the other entrance.

Ladybug and Chat noir moved back to back, Ladybug facing the ladyblogger turned mindless akuma slave and Chat noir facing the akumatized DJ.

“Any ideas, Buggaboo?”

“Seems they can’t adapt. They are pretty much mindless slaves. Which makes sense since Lila wouldn’t want them to think for themselves.”

“So you’re saying their movements are simple.”

“Which means they are exploitable.”

Chat noir felt relief watch over him. He knew Ladybug had a plan.

_____________________________________________________

“EWWWW!” Chloé screeched in disgust. The front entrance to the school had been covered in a pink slime.

She wiped her hand on the cleanest section of wall she could find. This was not her day.

“What is with this nasty gross akuma? First, I can’t call Daddy to come and pick me up. I can’t even post about it! How will Ladybug know to save me? Or better yet, get me the bee miraculous so I can help her save the day?”

Chloé decided to try another exit, since she had no plans of sticking around without knowing if she was going to be given a miraculous or not. Plus, she did say she would call for help, and doing that would make her look good in potential hero points.

As she was walking, she bumps into something in the middle of the hall. Which was bizzare since the hall was clear.

“Ouch, right on my bruise. What the hell is…”

Chloé felt her anger shift to fear when she watched as the empty hall now contained a familiar akuma.

“Sabrina?”

The akuma turned to her, her face covered with a white face mask.

“Eww. Your akuma form looks even tacker than before.”

“Take potential akuma to master.” The akumatized Sabrina stated in an emotionless tone. Repeating the order, she had been given.

“Oh no you don’t! Sabrina, I order you to listen to me!”

The akuma ignored the blonde’s command and slowly walked towards her.

“Sabrina… I am warning you. I am going to yell at you over this later if you don’t stop right now.”

Chloé started slowly backing away. She wasn’t sure of what to do.

“Listen… if you stop right now… I’ll uh… let you take a pick of one of my old sweaters.” Chloé bargained, not intending to let her pick one of the ones she actually liked.

Chloé felt her hand touch the sealed door, and knew she was at the end of the hall. She was boxed in.

“This is so unacceptable.” Chloé stated, preparing to get captured. But a flash of Red and Black came out of nowhere and kicked the akuma hard to the wall.

“Ladybug! I knew you would like save me!” Chloé jumped and hugged her savior.

“Im not ladybug.” The heroine spoke.”

Chloé released the hug as she examined who her savior was.

“Who the hell are you?”

Chloé had never bothered to learn the names of any of the other miraculous heroes. She sometimes forgets chat noir’s name.

“Ryuuko.” The dragon heroine stated calmly, almost regretting saving Chloé.

“Did Ladybug send you? Cause it would have been better if she got me to help.”

Ryuuko decided to ignore Chloé’s comment.

“Now we need to leave before she… Where did she go?” Looking at the dented locker that no longer had an akuma lying on the ground.

Suddenly the akuma popped out of nowhere about to strike from above with her tonfa and steal Ryuuko’s powers, but was stopped when a small harp smacked her face.

“She appears to have invisibility.” A voice called out.

The two turn to see the snake hero as he caught his harp on the rebound.

Chloé took a moment to look over the snake hero. She had to admit, he was pretty cute. Not Adrien cute, maybe she would start learning the names of the other heroes.

“Quick thinking Viperion.” Ryuuko thanked the snake teen.

“Just following your lead.” Viperion responded. The two giving eachother a respectful smile. They both seemed to have gotten used to working together.

The akuma got up. Its white face mask making the akuma’s expression unreadable. But its body language exuded rage.

“Seems we aren’t going anywhere until she is taken care of.” Ryuuko said as she stared down the akuma.

Viperion turned to chloé.

“You need to go and get to safety.”

“Okay!” Chloé says as she runs off.

“How come she didn’t give you any sass?”

“Because I already have him.”

Kagami had to admit that was a clever response.

“Not what I meant, but Chat noir would love that joke.”

“I will be sure to tell him it later.”

“Stick to playing guitar. You’re a better musician than comedian.”

Before they could get off anymore banter. The akuma went for another attack.

________________________________________________________

Simularé entered Ms.Bustier’s classroom.

“I am here.” The ghostly sentimonster announced.

“Excellent.”

The sentimonster looked up to see that the classroom it was expeciting to see had been altered into what appeared to be a rather glamourous throne room. The windows covered by white curtains with the design of an akuma in black. The platforms and stairs had been altered to be marble. And at the top, where Lila’s desk once was was now a golden throne akin to something one would see in a castle. Though despite the impressive change in the classroom it was still being designed. The akuma known as the evillustrator was still creating more furnishings for the room.

“Simulare, I have an order for you.” Masquerade stated as she sat on the new throne. Clearly confident in her position.

The sentimonster approached her master. Stopping only a few feet away.

“I want you to create a mirage over the school. Since Ladybug is already in the school. It would be best if you made sure no one notices whats happening here. I don’t need any additional heroes popping in yet. Let’s handle her before making things public.”

Simularé nodded.

“Understood. But what should we do if she…”

“I have everything under control. Just follow my orders.”

Simularé ceased her questioning.

“As you wish master.”

The sentimonster shifted into her Volpina form and headed out of the classroom.

“She is getting arrogant in her power. If things do go south, I will need to step in.” Simularé said to herself. But for now, she knew she had a role to play.

_____________________________________________________________

And that ends part 34.

Seems things are REALLY heating up. Will Viperion and Ryuuko be able to help Ladybug and Chat noir?

Will Ladybug and Chat noir be able to get through to their brainwashed friends?

Will Masquerade's gambit be enough for her to get her vengeance?

Whats Simularé's deal?

Find out by staying tuned and sharing. Remember Reblogs help content creators and if you do enjoy my content, the support really does help

#ml #ml fic #miraculous ladybug #soulmate survey #soulmate searcher #miraculous fanfiction #ladynoir #masquerade akuma #lukagami #ladybug #chat noir #chloé bourgeois #drama #build up #Fan akuma #fan sentimonster #luka couffaine #kagami tsurugi #bubbler #lady wifi

[passionfruitbowls]

in the end, it’s always you - ch. 3

Rated: T Word count: 1k

written for @adrinetteapril day 3 - Yes

Read on AO3 

—————

It didn’t take long for Marinette and Adrien to arrive at their destination - the roads were less busy, since it was coming up for 5pm and any families with small children had gone home for the evening.

Adrien sighed quietly as they went along, gazing at all the surrounding buildings to pass the time. In the window of one apartment complex, he saw what looked like a couple embracing each other, and smiled. Over the past few years, Adrien had come to appreciate the little acts of love and care he saw all around him; it was so unlike the cold and empty house in which he’d been raised, where even the smallest bit of affection from his father was a blessing in his eyes.

Adrien winced; he didn’t like to dwell on his father, not after the seemingly endless hell he’d put him through. He could still remember it all so vividly, that day when the man known as Hawkmoth was locked behind bars for good. The mad glint in Gabriel’s eye when Adrien ripped the brooch off him, his angry cries for help as he was shoved into the back of a large black van, which fell on deaf ears. Every now and then, when Adrien closed his eyes, he could still picture the glares Gabriel had shot in his direction from across a cold and quiet courtroom.

He tightened his grip on Marinette’s waist, hoping that it wouldn’t hurt her.

The weeks that followed the trial were all a bit of a blur to Adrien; his clearest memories were the Super Penguino contest he and his friends had held at Alya’s house, that one time he fell asleep next to Marinette in the back of her parents’ car, and the warm breakfasts her maman had made him every morning.

It was moments like those that had inspired Adrien to keep going, in spite of how bleak everything seemed. At a time when he felt undeserving of compassion and love, that was exactly what he had gotten; it was like an all-encompassing warmth which told him what he needed to hear. It wasn’t your fault, there’s no way you could’ve known, you’re alright now.

————

“We’re here.” He heard Marinette say as the motorcycle came to a stop, bringing him back to the present moment. They both climbed off and removed their helmets, and before Adrien could do anything else he found himself being pulled into a tight embrace.

“I missed you so much, dude.” Nino said tearfully as he clung to Adrien for dear life. Adrien smiled and reciprocated the hug.

“I missed you too.”

Once the four of them had all exchanged welcome hugs, they went into the house’s hallway where Marinette and Adrien took off their jackets.

“I’ll go and make some drinks for you both!” Alya exclaimed before dashing out to the kitchen. Marinette blushed and raised her hands.

“Oh, Alya, you really don’t have to-”

“Nonsense! We haven’t seen either of you in, what, weeks? It’s only fair that we treat you with hospitality!”

Before any of them could say more she had pulled out four glasses, and began searching the cabinets for an appropriate drink. When Marinette and Adrien gave him confused looks, Nino just shrugged.

————

“Oh my God, I completely forgot to tell you guys the news!” Alya said after about half an hour of them exchanging funny stories from the past month. Adrien shuffled forwards to the edge of the sofa, listening eagerly.

“What news?”

“I’ve been invited to attend the Versailles Masquerade Ball in June!”

Marinette’s jaw dropped, as did Adrien’s.

“You’re joking!”

“I most certainly am not.” Alya said with a grin.

“Wha- how?” Adrien asked. “Aren’t the tickets really expensive?”

“Oh, they definitely are, but being considered a rising star in the world of journalism can have its benefits, if you know what I’m saying.” She winked.

“Alya, did you…receive VIP access?” Marinette gasped.

“Yes! And not only that, but they said I could take up to three other people with me! Imagine, the four of us going to Versailles together, wouldn’t it be awesome?”

Marinette and Alya both jumped to their feet, squealing and flapping their hands with excitement.

“Oh gosh, I-I’ll have to make clothes for us, we’re gonna have to look as presentable as possible! What type of fabric should I use, cotton, chiffon? Wait, no, it’s meant to be Baroque clothing, isn’t it? I guess it would have to be silk-”

As Marinette began considering outfit ideas, Adrien lay back on the sofa and remained silent.

Despite having never gone to Versailles himself, Adrien’s mother had told him stories about the time she went there when he was small. Even looking back on it now, it sounded just like every other social gathering he’d attended throughout his childhood: overly decorated, and filled with conceited people whose idea of a casual conversation was as dull as could be. Not to mention, how would those people react to seeing him, the child of someone who was essentially a domestic terrorist, there?

Adrien’s scepticism towards the whole thing must have been obvious, because suddenly Marinette paused and sat down next to him, resting a hand on his arm like she always did when he was feeling glum. She looked at him with obvious concern, and Adrien realised that she was silently asking him if he was okay. He gave a small shrug.

“Alya-” Marinette began, “maybe it would be better if just you, me and Nino went.”

Alya and Nino exchanged looks, understanding what Marinette was trying to tell them. For a few moments they were all silent, until Nino asked, “Adrien, do you want to go?”

Adrien opened his mouth to say “No”, but suddenly he was hit with a realisation, the realisation that a night at Versailles would mean a night of being with Marinette, laughing and bantering like they always did but with a lot more opportunities to get closer, not to mention all of the dancing (oh God, the dancing!). It was everything he could possibly ask for and more.

“Yes.” He said as a smile crept across his face. “Yes, of course I’ll go with you guys! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Nino and Alya cheered, while Marinette looked fondly at Adrien and gave his hand a squeeze. His heart skipped a beat, and he squeezed back.

#adrinette april #adrinetteapril2022 #adrinette april 2022 #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fanfic #ml fanfic #adrinette #adrienette #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #pfb writes

[marrys-dream-world]

if we’re bound to be something, why not together? (chapter 14)

Read on AO3

First / Previous / Next

Notes:  A mother isn't supposed to pick favorites, but this chapters was really enjoyable to write, so I hope it'll be to read too! Honestly, if it went on a little longer, it could be it's own story. Day 14: Scandal.

Adrien woke up to his phone buzzing. 

Usually that didn’t bother him much, he was used to waking up early for photoshoots before school started or for early morning piano practice or even for a rescheduled mandarin class if there was a particularly nasty akuma attack that canceled the previous one. But, on this beautiful Friday morning, he had been gloriously free and planned to wake up at the blessed hours of 7:30  am. So why was his alarm going off at 7? Doesn’t it know how much of a precious commodity sleep is after fighting a cranky late night Gigantan?

When picked up his phone, though, he noticed it wasn’t actually his alarm, just the constant buzzing of his phone. 

400 unread messages in two chat rooms, his screen said.

“Turn it off, kid.” Plagg grumbled on the pillow by his side. 

"Sorry." Adrien said, turning off the phone's buzzing and unlocking the screen. 

The two chat rooms were both the class one and the one he was in with Nino, Alya and Marinette. Even more concerning was when he opened Ladybug's app there were messages both in the group chat with her and Rena Rouge and their private messages from around 2AM, an hour after he arrived home from fighting Gigantan and half an hour after he fell asleep. Did he miss an akuma? But there was no official alert. 

Wincing at Ladybug's last message "chat noir, if you don't answer me right now, god help you-", he opened up his private chat with Rena. Seemed as good a place to start as any. 

what does the fox say

look, chat, it’s okay if you don’t wanna talk about it in the group chat

i know ladybug can… overreact sometimes. trust me, i know.

i know we haven't been working together for long, but i see you as my friend. i'm not gonna publish anything on my blog, okay?

pls respond

Chat-terbox

Rena, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. 

what does the fox say

for real?

Chat-terbox

… yes?

what does the fox say

you know what, that makes sense

check our group chat then

chat room: furries *wink wink nudge*

what does the fox say

uh, guys, you awake?

lady of OUR hearts

always, what's it?

what does the fox say

usually i'd tell you to go to bed, lady, but i think you guys should check this out: link

Adrien opened the link and he wished he didn't, that he just asked Alya to explain everything to him. The link took him to a news blog page and right in the title was "[Breaking News!] Paris' Hero Chat Noir in a secret relationship with Gabriel's new muse, Lila Rossi?" and beneath it was a weirdly high definition picture of him carrying her bridal style. 

Oh no. 

lady of OUR hearts

… is this a joke?

what does the fox say

girl, i don't think so, it's been published in a ton of sites, this is just the most reputable one. @Chat-terbox did you know about this??

lady of OUR hearts

@Chat-terbox you explain yourself right now

Chat Noir, I'm not joking

What the FUCK is going on???

what does the fox say

… maybe you should calm down? it could be nothing.

lady of OUR hearts

alya, as much as i wish I could unsee that picture, i can't, chat noir explain yourself

what does the fox say

oh no you're real name angry now

@Chat-terbox pls answer

lady of OUR hearts

why her out of all people??? you know what she's like!! she's a lying liar who lies!! tell me this is one of her lies

Chat Noir

Chat Noir!!

@Chat-terbox

what does the fox say

maybe he's sleeping, gigantan was very grumpy today

lady of OUR hearts

or maybe he's taking care of this pr disaster with his GIRLFRIEND

what does the fox say

don't you think you're taking this too seriously??

lady of OUR hearts

(deleted message)

(deleted message)

(deleted message)

what does the fox say

girl, omg

lady of OUR hearts

(deleted message)

(deleted message)

and that's why you should raise your standards 

what does the fox say

ladybug, you can't say that

lady of OUR hearts

oh, really? i have even MORE to say

(deleted message)

(deleted message)

(deleted message)

what does the fox say

i'm begging you to reread your messages

lady of OUR hearts

(deleted message)

okay maybe i got away from myself in the heat of the moment  

Adrien shuddered to think about what the hell she had deleted. Better not to ask, for his own sake. 

what does the fox say

maybe??

lady's of OUR hearts

shush you

@Chat-terbox pls respond i promise i won't be mad if it's

okay, maybe i would a little

or a lot

chaton, that's literally rock bottom

what does the fox say

chat, put her out of her misery, she's spiraling

lady of OUR hearts

rena, I'm completely fine, shut up

@Chat-terbox answer right now or i'll break your kneecaps

what does the fox say

that's it, to bed with you, young lady, or i'm telling you mom

lady of OUR hearts

more betrayal??

He gulped, starting to type. Hopefully some sleep would have calmed his lady down a little. 

Chat-terbox

Sorry, girls, I just woke up. First of all, that picture is entirely out of context: Lila fell off her room's window after Gigantan hit her building. I was just helping her!

lady of OUR hearts

oh i bet you were

what does the fox say

*sigh*

Chat-terbox

Listen to me, my lady, I don't have anything with this girl. She has been really shady since we fought that akuma Oni-chan and I've had run-ins with her as a civilian that didn't go well. I wouldn't date her, really. 

lady of OUR heart

… ig you are known for having good taste.

Chat-terbox

The best taste ;)

lady of OUR hearts

fine, fine, we still have to fix this

what does the fox say

don't worry, leave this to me! all i need is a good old interview with our chaton here this afternoon and it'll all go away

lady of OUR hearts

our what now

what does the fox say

omg lady we're all friends here

Chat-terbox

Jealous, my lady? ;)

lady of OUR heart

as if

At least he wasn’t in danger of getting his head bitten off by Ladybug anymore. Sleep ruined, Adrien went off to get ready for his day, tackling the now 200+ messages in the class chat. He caught sight of Marinette’s unusually colorful language in the chatroom with her, Alya and Nino and decided that maybe he could read that later. A skeptical Alíx was the one that first sent the link around 5AM (why was she up so early??) and then the chat exploded in debate.

chatroom: ms. bustier’s class 👩‍🦰 ✍️ 💅🧠

bro™

idk guys, isn't it fake? i don't think cn would do this to lb, he never seemed the type- not that I know him personally, nope, never. 

roses are red

I know what you mean, Nino, he and Ladybug always look so in love 🥺💕 right, Jul?

julekas are blue

👍

mýlene’s boyfriend <3 <3

i mean, chat noir is the person i’ve seen pine the most in my life. and my seatmate is nathaniel.

nath - new lb&cn webcomic chap is OUT

unprovoked???

Markov's Father

There's no sign of adulteration in the picture, everyone. Markov has analysed it since it came out and nothing.

Markov

😔😔😔

bro™

@lila-loopsies can you clear this up? only if you're comfortable

mýlene - actress & activist

poor Lila, her phone must be blowing up rn

Poor Lila. Adrien thought ironically, rolling his eyes. He wished he could be blowing up her phone right now, but there was no discernible reason Adrien Agreste would demand to know why she’s pretending to date Chat Noir other than pure sympathy. 

Grabbing his bag and a still sleeping Plagg, he headed downstairs to have breakfast (alone, of course, his father had dozens of requests to give his opinion on his muse dating Paris’ superhero) and an already needed ibuprofen. He hoped school would be better in person than in the chatroom. 

He soon found out it wasn’t. 

“What’s going on here? He asked as soon as he stepped into class. Marinette, surprisingly earlier than him, and Nino were furiously arguing with Kim and Alíx, gesticulating strongly with their hands. 

“A friendly debate.” Alya said, bags under her eyes and an American sized cup of coffee in her hands. 

Adrien winced. “Didn’t sleep well?”

“Didn’t sleep at all.” She said, sipping on her coffee. “Had to fix up some stuff for a friend.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Not your fault.” As far as she knows. 

The door opened and the whole room stopped. Lila Rossi, skin glowing and impeccably dressed, came in and grinned at them. Adrien felt nauseous. 

“Good morning, everyone!” She chirped. 

“Lila.” Marinette said seriously, looking no more well rested than Alya. “Clear this up for us right now: are you dating Chat Noir or not?”

“Oh, Marinette, you’re interested in my love life? You’re making me blush.” Lila said coyly, lifting a hand to her cheek. “Unfortunately, I can’t confirm nor deny anything, company orders.”

“Oh, that’s bull-”

“Marinette, please, it’s a company thing.” Rose pleased, sensing a fight. “But oh, Lila, if it’s true, dating a superhero? That sounds so romantic!”

“I think it’s a normal amount of romantic.” Juleka said, crossing her arms. 

Rose slid closer to her girlfriend. “Really? Because I’m dating my hero and I think it’s very romantic.”

Juleka softned. “Rose—”

“Anyway, sorry that I can’t tell you anything.” Lila interrupted, clearly upset the attention was shifting away from her. “I would if I could.”

I bet you would. Adrien thought, bitterly. 

As the rest of the class flocked Lila to get something out of her (bar Alya, who still looked dead on her feet), Alíx put her arm around Marinette. 

“It’s alright, Marinette, you don’t have to pretend.” 

Marinette raised an eyebrow. “Pretend to what?”

“We all know you have a crush on Chat Noir.” At that, both Adrien and Marinette froze.

“W-what- I don’t- what-”

“We didn’t say anything because we knew you were trying to move on from your crush on, you know— “Alíx briefly looked at him and he wondered why she was trying to avoid Luka’s name. “— but you know your dad getting akumatized and yelling at Chat Noir for breaking your heart was on the news, right?”

“O-oh, that.” Marinette stuttered, looking red. “It’s not about it at all! I just think we should hear a more definitive answer before deciding they are together!”

“Alíx.” Adrien cut in, making them both look at him. “I think Marinette is being very fair. If Lila can’t tell us for sure, maybe we should wait for Chat Noir to say something? It’s better than assuming things about other people’s relationships.”

“Yes! That’s what I meant, thank you!” Marinette shouted triumphantly. 

“Wow, Adrien, right on time. What a hero.” Alíx said, smiling teasingly. “Guess you have a type, Marinette.”

With that, Alíx went to her seat, leaving behind a fire-truck red Marinette and a confused Adrien. 

The rest of the day went on pretty much the same: people would flock Lila, she would give them a non-answer that would make them go crazy and he, Nino and Alya would have to drag Marinette away from a heated argument. By the time he got Alya-as-Rena’s message of the time and place for his Ladyblog interview, he could have wept tears of joy. 

“Hello, ladies.” He said, landing on the rooftop in front of Alya and Ladybug. “Ready to help me kill Chatila?”

“If I never hear that word again it’ll be too soon.” Ladybug gumbled, puffing her cheeks.

Adorable. He bit his lips to keep from saying it. 

“Just be yourself, Chat Noir.” Alya said, positioning him in front of her portable light and pointing the camera at him. “Alright, go.”

“Hello, people of Paris, how are you doing today? It came to my attention that there have been some rumours about my love life and can I blame you? Who wouldn’t want a piece of this cat?” He winked at the camera and Ladybug groaned. “But fortunately for all the girls out there, I’m still very much single. I wouldn’t date any civilian that could be a target for Shadow Moth, it would be incredibly irresponsible of me and besides…”

He looked at Alya, who was nodding at him, before turning his gaze to Ladybug.

“... I think I made myself pretty clear on where my interest lies.” He smiled, as lovesick as Plagg always accused him to be, and was blessed with Ladybug’s rosy blush. 

“And cut.” Alya said, smirking. “I think that’s a wrap, people.”

(Next day, #ladynoir was trending once again)

#why is writing chat stuff so fun #ladynoir #chat noir #ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain chang #alya cesaire #lila rossi #ml fic #if we're bound to be something why not together #my stuff #miraculous ladybug

[galahadwilder]

Future Perfect

This is my @mlsecretsanta fic for @crispypata! Crispy asked for DJWifi and Bunnyx, so I delivered.

*

It’s been a long week, and Alya is grateful for some alone time. While it’s always nice to have the others around, there’s an unstated pleasure in being the only one of her friends awake this early. Nino and Marinette are always asleep until very shortly before class, and Adrien may be awake, but his driver won’t be here for at least another twenty minutes. That’s a precious twenty minutes away from her sisters, away from anybody else. A precious twenty minutes of quiet.

Normally she’d spend this time updating the Ladyblog, moderating comments, writing posts, but after last night’s battle she just… she needs some time. Time to herself.

She’s shaking, just a little. She’s not even touching her phone. For the first time in a while, she’s actually reading a physical comic book—specifically, The Mighty Majestia Issue #48. Her first comic. A gift from her father when she was a little girl. It used to make her feel better when things were going bad. She needs that, a little bit, today. The feel of the paper under her fingertips.

It wasn’t her first near-death experience—she’s had a lot of those since Hawkmoth appeared in Paris. But Ladybug almost hadn’t made it last night. Alya had gone running after the Akuma, like usual, and…

A body flops down next to her on the bench. The warmth and weight of it—she glances to the side, and meets the familiar warm eyes of Nino.

“You okay?” he asks, laying his hand on top of the comic. “You haven’t read this since before we met.”

Alya nods. “Last night was bad,” she says.

Nino nods. “Yeah,” he responds. “Yeah it was.”

He doesn’t say anything else.

Alya is rarely the most perceptive person—more passionate than perceptive, honestly, though not for lack of trying (she tries really hard, it’s just… hard to tell what other people aren’t saying sometimes)—but she cares, and Nino is at school forty minutes before he’s usually awake and he seems unusually tense. She closes her comic. “Babe?”

Nino sighs, looking down as he picks at a hangnail on his thumb. “I can’t keep watching you die, Als.”

Alya’s heart judders. “You’re not okay, then.”

He shakes his head. “I mean Rena Rouge is one thing. I know you can protect yourself, and Ladybug is right there if things go bad. But every time I see you chase after a giant baby with no protection but that sexy plaid shirt...”

“I have a responsibility, Nino!” she says.

“I know,” Nino says quietly. “I can’t really ask you to stop, either.”

Alya swallows. “Are you... breaking up with me?”

Nino looks at her for a moment, then snorts. “Hell no.” He reaches up to Alya’s cheek, brushing her hair away from her ear. “You ain’t getting away from me that easy, girl.”

Alya relaxes, leaning into his palm. “Attaboy,” she says.

Nino grimaces. “I might… need a day or two to process, though.” He swallows. “I’m sorry.”

Alya’s heart falls. “You’re sure.” It’s not a question—Nino doesn’t make decisions half-cocked the way she does. He thinks, and considers, and once his choice is made, he sticks to it. That surety—that stability—is one of the reasons she loves him. Even if right now it’s hurting her.

“I’m sure,” he says. “Just… I need a few days after. You know.” He hangs his head. “Seeing you die again.”

Oh, God, Alya wants to slap him. And maybe a year ago she would have. But today-Alya is not last-year-Alya, and, instead, she just drops her head a little. “It was a bad one, wasn’t it,” she says.

*

Alya trudges out of class, dragging her feet. It’s been a difficult day, to say the least, and Marinette—bless her—may be trying to help, but there’s not all that much to do.

“We could go to my place and stuff ourselves with Beignets,” Marinette offers, with her characteristic hyperenergetic movement. “I know you love the Majestia movie?”

Alya shakes her head. “I relax a bit better when I move,” she says. She looks at the basketball hoops. “Can you stick around for…” She catches a hint of green out of the corner of her eye—a familiar shade, one that she’s seen quite a lot. She blinks. “For a few…” She turns her head, and there—staring down at her from the roof of the school—is Carapace. “Uh.”

Marinette follows her gaze. “What are you—”

Carapace’s head jerks as he seems to realize that he’s been spotted, and he leaps down out of sight.

“What is he doing?” Alya murmurs.

Marinette’s iron fingers wrap around her bicep. “Alya,” she hisses, “that’s not Carapace.”

“What do you mean?” Alya says, turning her head, just in time to catch a glimpse of Nino—as Nino, not as Carapace—walking out of the locker room on the opposite side of the school from where Carapace disappeared. It’s too soon, too fast—there’s no way he could’ve come around the school that quickly.

“Excuse me,” she says, bolting towards her boyfriend. She grabs his arm and yanks him away from Adrien.

“Babe... what?” he says, looking at her like she just grew a second head.

“I just saw Carapace on the roof,” she hisses.

His eyes widen behind his glasses.

*

They didn’t really discuss it, at least not verbally, but they both pretty easily came to the decision that whoever this is, stealing their identities is not something this person gets to get away with. They don’t even talk it through before they’ve agreed to chase this imposter down.

“You’re sure he went this way?” Nino asks as they charge off down the street toward where Alya had last seen the false Carapace.

“Yes, I’m—!” Alya starts to snap, before she catches herself and—stopping her headlong charge by pressing a palm into a nearby wall—breathes in. “Sorry, sorry.” She glances at him. “Pretty sure, yeah.”

“God, I wish I had my shield,” Nino mutters. He grabs her hand and meets her eyes with his characteristic Nino Soft Look. “If this ends up being a bad one, please take cover?”

Alya grimaces. “The Akuma is using your face, Babe,” she says.

“Please.” His voice is calm and soft.

Alya thinks about how distraught he was this morning, how little she wants to do that to him again. “I’ll—I’ll try.”

Nino smiles. “That’s really all I can ask, isn’t it.”

Alya smiles, tugging him along. “You knew I was crazy when I asked you out,” she says, building carefully building back up to a run.

Nino snorts, vaulting over a street barrier. “That I did.”

*

It takes barely a minute before they reach the spot where the false Carapace must’ve gone, leaving them looking down wide avenues packed with people—none of whom are wearing a green hood.

“We lost him,” Nino says, puffing.

“I mean,” Alya gasps, “duh.” She leans onto her knees. “He’s got—powers, and we—we have, what—about eight—months of parkour training?”

A familiar whizz-crack comes from above, as a spotted red figure drops down in front of them. “Alya!” Ladybug says, glancing confusedly at Nino. “Did you see where Carapace went?”

“Nope,” Alya says. She leans in toward Ladybug, carefully eyeing the other people who are watching the exchange. “Definitely an Akuma, then?” she whispers, quietly enough that nobody else is alarmed.

“Maybe?” Ladybug whispers back. “Or a Sentimonster, or. Well. One other thing.”

Alya’s eyebrows narrow. “What other thing?”

Ladybug shakes her head. “Probably not important,” she says. She straightens and backs away, whipping her yo-yo in rapid circles. “Everyone stay calm and quietly evacuate the area,” she says in a clear, authoritative voice. “Calmly, please! Everything is under control.”

There’s a growing undercurrent of panic in the crowd at Ladybug’s words, but there’s a force behind her last sentence, a reassurance, that passes calm through the crowd like a ripple. Much to Alya’s surprise, there’s no stampede, no rush to flee. Everyone actually listens, beginning to carefully file away, emptying out the street.

“Any chance we could get our Miraculi?” Nino asks. “I don’t like this.”

Ladybug glances over her shoulder at him. “Not until Chat gets here,” she says. “I can’t just leave the Akuma without anyone containing it.”

A black blur drops out of the sky, rolling and springing to his feet next to Ladybug. “Good thing I’m here, then!” Chat says, leaning his elbow onto her shoulder.

Ladybug rolls her eyes. “Always so dramatic,” she says, turning to her partner. “Can you hold down the fort for a few while I grab backup?”

Chat eyes Alya and Nino. “So long as the Ladyblogger doesn’t get herself killed, yes.”

*

There’s still been no sighting of the fake Carapace by the time Ladybug returns carrying the bracelet and the necklace. Chat has been running across the rooftops, spying into alleyways, but hasn’t seen scale nor shell of him.

“Alya Césaire and Nino Lahiffe,” Ladybug intones, holding the two Miraculi aloft. “I’m trusting you with the Miraculous of the Fox and Turtle.” She purses her lip. “I’m going to ask you to switch, though. I don’t want us mixing up our Carapi.”

Alya grimaces, but Nino just nods. “Makes sense,” he says, taking the necklace and draping it around his neck. It sparks, and a tiny fox spirals out from it. “Trixx, Let’s Pounce!” Nino calls.

He flashes orange, sparks running across his whole body, and suddenly Nino is gone, replaced by an orange-clad superhero. He still has Carapace’s hood, peaked down over his forehead, with ears poking through holes in the top. Leggings are tucked into combat boots, black gloves cuffed over white-and-orange sleeves. He looks down at his arms, twisting his hands to look at both sides. “Hmm,” he says. “Pretty cool.”

“What should we call you?” Ladybug says.

Nino meets Alya’s eyes. “What about… Reynard?” he says.

“Reynard it is,” Ladybug says. She turns to Alya, handing her the jade bracelet. “You ready?”

“Always,” Alya says, sliding the bracelet onto her wrist. “Wayzz, Shell On!”

She feels her hair lift into a high ponytail as her glasses meld to her face into a domino mask. Unlike the Rena Rouge transformation, which slims her down, she feels herself bulking up. Armor plates slam into place around her chest, shoulders, and thighs. Everything feels heavier, but also stronger, more stable.

Reynard whistles. “Damn, babe,” he says. “Green looks good on you.”

Tortue Verte grins. “You expected anything else?” she ask. She absently lifts the shield. “Damn, this thing is heavy,” she says, looking at Reynard. “How do you even lift it?”

“Practice,” Reynard says, twirling the flute. “This is really light!”

“It’s basically bamboo,” Tortue replies, slinging the shield onto her back. “You ready?”

Reynard sheathes the flute on his own back. “Let’s take this guy down.”

*

Tortue Verte’s super jump is a lot like Rena Rouge’s—though, given the balance between her being slightly stronger with the Turtle and also being heavier, it’s a little weird to balance. She gets more distance but less height with each jump, and since her brain keeps expecting Rena’s jump arc, she keeps misjudging where she’s landing.

She lands hard on the side of her foot, twisting her ankle and stumbling shoulder-first into a chimney with a yelp. Her ankle is struck by stabbing pain, and she immediately collapses onto her side. She lies there on the roof, huffing, feeling desperate and foolish. This is not what she was hoping for.

She carefully drags herself up the chimney into a sitting position, carefully pulling the shield from her back and dialing Reynard.

“Hey babe,” he says, his orange-hooded face filling the screen. “You good?”

She shakes her head. “Landed bad,” she says. “I think I twisted my ankle.”

Reynard’s eyes widen behind his goggles. “Where are you?” he says. “I’ll be there in a—”

“Babe!” she interrupts. “Akuma. I’ll be fine up here.”

“Are you sure?”

She nods. “I’m sure,” she says. “Give that fake hell.” She hangs up, then collapses backward against the chimney with a gasp.

“Sorry I didn’t catch you,” a voice—a familiar one, but one she can’t quite place—says from behind her. “I think you’d have broken a few of my bones.”

She whips her head around to see a red-haired woman dressed in blue and white, bunny ears sprouting from her head, leaning on an umbrella as if it were a cane. Tortue tries to leap to her feet, shield up, but pain spikes through her ankle the second her foot meets shingle. “Augh!”

The woman immediately drops the umbrella, and her arms are around Tortue’s body. “Careful,” she says. “Don’t want to put too much weight on that.”

“Don’t touch me,” Tortue growls.

The woman laughs. “Relax, Foxy. I’m not an Akuma.”

Tortue blinks. Foxy? She’s wearing the Turtle, not the Fox, which means… “You—you know who I am.”

The woman smirks and throws up a peace sign. “The name’s Bunnyx,” she says. “Wielder of the Miraculous of Time, from ten years in the future.”

“Prove it,” Tortue says. “What’s Ladybug’s real name?”

Bunnyx snorts. “You’re not getting it that easily… Alya,” she says. “Also, Nino’s sort of downplaying how worried about you he is. You really should start being more careful before you give him a heart attack.”

Tortue stares at Bunnyx, then blinks. “...Okay, you’re for real,” she says. “What are you doing here? Are you warning us about something?”

Bunnyx shakes her head. “I brought Carapace and Rena back from my time for one reason,” she says. “Future Hawkmoth has discovered Ladybug’s identity, which has put her daughter in danger.”

“Daughter?” Tortue says.

Bunnyx continues as if she hasn’t heard. “Ladybug asked me to bring her back in time to protect her from Future Hawkmoth, but I needed backup just in case she followed us. You and your boyfriend were the obvious choice.”

“Where is she?” Tortue says, trying to work her way to her feet. She hisses as pain lances through her ankle again.

“Jeez, stay down, Tortue!” Bunnyx says, carefully easing her back into a sitting position. “You need to be careful. We need you for this one.”

“Don’t bother,” says a voice that sounds like Tortue’s own as an older, taller Rena Rouge lands in a crouch. “I had absolutely no self-preservation at that age.”

Carapace lands next to her, softer, gentler. “You nearly killed me like eight times,” he says, cradling a baby in his arms. He looks down at Tortue. “Hey, babe.”

Rena rolls her eyes, gently punching Carapace’s shoulder. “Don’t flirt with young me, you butt,” she says.

Tortue stares at the baby, wide-eyed. “Is that…” she murmurs.

Rena nods. “Our god-daughter,” she says.

Carapace smiles. “Do you want to hold her?”

*

“She’s… mine?” Ladybug says, gazing down into her daughter’s emerald-green eyes.

The baby laughs, reaching up toward her mother’s face and pressing her chubby palm into Ladybug’s cheek.

“Who’s the father?” Chat says to Bunnyx, hope shining in his eyes. (Tortue admits to herself that she’s just as interested in finding out.)

Bunnyx smirks. “Oh, Kitty Noir, you know I can’t tell you.”

Chat looks crestfallen. “Not even a hint?”

“She’s so small,” Ladybug whispers, pointing a finger at her daughter’s face. The baby laughs again, gripping her mother’s finger in between her hands.

“You said she’s my—our god-daughter?” Tortue says.

Rena laughs. “My boyfriend has spent more time pampering this little terror than he has me lately,” she says. She turns and pokes Reynard in the chest. “You’ve got some growing to do, babe.”

Carapace rolls his eyes. “Please don’t flirt with the babies, babe,” he says with a smirk.

The laughter that follows seems to come from everywhere and nowhere, and Tortue looks around, unsettled.

“...Wasn’t that funny,” Carapace mutters.

Bunnyx walks toward the edge of the roof, looking down. “Missing the point again, Shelly?” she says, pointing down. “It’s starting.”

“What is?” Chat says.

“ATTENTION PARIS!” a booming, feminine voice echoes deeply through the sky as if it’s rebounding off the very atmosphere, followed by a sudden eruption of Wagnerian opera. “YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO JOIN THE RANKS OF ODIN’S MIGHTY WARRIORS IN VALHALLA!”

“Ah,” Chat says, nodding. “Akuma time.”

“Bad one,” Bunnyx agrees, nodding. “We picked today for a reason. Two illusionists needed at minimum.”

Tortue gingerly attempts to stand, only for the pain in her ankle to spike like a jagged piece of bone. “Ah!” she yelps, collapsing backward.

Immediately, two sets of hands are holding her up—Reynard’s and Carapace’s. “You okay?” Reynard says, his eyes soft and concerned.

Carapace swallows. “I’m sorry, babe, but I—” He glances at Rena. “We are going to need you to stay out of this fight. You’re injured.”

“I can help!” Tortue protests.

Carapace shakes his head. “I know how much it means to you to be out there with us, but A—um, sweetie, I need you alive, okay?” He smiles, glancing back at Ladybug. “Besides, um. Someone needs to keep the baby safe.”

Reynard raises an eyebrow. “You are a braver man than I,” he says.

Rena laughs. “Oh, it’s just ‘cause she’s a baby,” she says. “He knows I’d rip his throat out if he tried that.”

“You are also much less suicidally reckless than she is,” Carapace shoots back.

Rena shrugs. “Fair point.”

Ladybug approaches, carefully laying the baby into Tortue’s arms with a look of regret. “Stay safe, okay?” she says. She looks down and presses a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “And keep her safe.”

Tortue swallows, overwhelmed by the—the everything. The trust Ladybug is showing her, the softness of the moment, the sadness in the child’s eyes as her mother goes back off to battle… it’s too much.

“I’ll do my best,” she croaks, trying not to tear up.

*

Carapace had carried her away from the battle. Vilekyrie controlled the sky, making it difficult to keep the baby out of her reach, but he’d found her a little out-of-the-way cubbyhole that nobody would come looking in during the attack. Or, well. Not a cubbyhole, really. More of a luxury suite at the Hotel Gran Paris.

“How did you know nobody would be here?” Tortue had asked him.

He’d only smiled in reply. “Spoilers,” he’d said. “Love you forever, but I gotta get back there.”

“Good luck!”

Now, about forty minutes into the battle, she can hear the clash of swords, the clanking of armor, the screaming of horses as they flew past her shaded window. She’d looked outside earlier, caught a glimpse of the copies of Vilekyrie flashing across the sky—copies of her that kept growing by the moment—and the marching of ghostly Viking soldiers on the ground: the Einherjar she’d selected from Paris’ citizens, transformed into undying warrior spirits. It doesn’t seem to be going well, but then, she doesn’t really have the best vantage point.

The baby is fussy, fussier than she was when Ladybug was around—Tortue can only guess that it’s because she wants her mother. The room has been stocked with formula and fresh diapers, and, thanks to her experience with the twins, Tortue has plenty of experience with taking care of a baby, but the girl just won’t settle down.

There’s a quiet footfall on the balcony—not a Vilekyrie, and the Einherjar can’t seem to climb. Tortue turns around to see the balcony door creek open, followed by a pair of large orange ears. “Hey. Mini-me,” Rena says. “You hanging in there?”

Tortue smiles, rocking the baby gently in her arms. “You didn’t tell me her name,” she says. “Feel weird just calling her ‘baby’.”

Rena ducks around the door, shutting it behind her, then bends down, cooing over the child’s delighted face. “HellooOOOooo!” She tickles the baby’s nose with her finger, and the girl laughs.

Rena looks back up at Tortue with a sheepish smile. “Sorry,” she says. “No names. Spoilers.”

Tortue rolls her eyes. “Am I always this aggravating?”

Rena gently wraps her arms underneath the baby’s back, lifting her from Tortue’s arms. “Pretty much!” She turns back to the baby and blows a raspberry.

“What’s up?” Tortue says. “Why aren’t you with the others?” As if to punctuate her point, an explosion sounds in the distance, and Tortue raises an eyebrow.

“Needed to talk to you,” Rena says, sitting down on the plush velvet bedspread across from her. “Also, I told them you were planning on running into the combat zone, so…”

“I was not!” Tortue yelps, leaping from her desk chair. The baby immediately squeals in distress.

Rena grins. “I know,” she says, gently tickling the child’s nose. “But they believed me when I said it, and by the time they figure it out…”

Tortue sighs. Gods, her older self is annoying. “What do you want, Alya?”

The animation in Rena’s face slackens, and she looks down at her own stomach. “I… want to show you something.” Keeping one hand under the baby, she reaches behind her and unslings the flute, opening the space within. “Take a look.”

Tortue reaches inside the extradimensional storage space inside Rena’s weapon, confused—and then her fingers close around something small, round, and metal, and she understands. “You’re going to propose,” she says, fishing the ring out of the flute. She stares at it, entranced.

“Yep,” Rena agrees with a nod, gently bouncing the baby. “Bought the ring last week.”

Tortue doesn’t even know what to say in this situation. Is it… weird to congratulate herself? Some situations, there aren’t just good responses for.

Rena sees her face and laughs. “Don’t look so shocked, Mini-me,” she says. She carefully rocks Ladybug’s baby, staring into her green eyes. “I mean, you always knew we were gonna do this eventually.”

“Yeah, but… kinda young?” Tortue says, handing the ring back to Rena.

“Ladybug’s younger.” Rena absently places the ring back inside her flute, still bouncing the baby in her other arm. “About a year younger than you, actually.”

Tortue blinks. She’s—well, she figured out a while back that Ladybug wasn’t actually 5,000 years old, but she’d always assumed she was, maybe, Anansi’s age? The thought that Ladybug is younger than she is... “Yikes.”

“Yikes is right,” Rena says. “And she has anxiety. So every time you go running face-first into danger like you’re never gonna die…”

“Is this a lecture?” Tortue says.

“Little bit,” Rena responds.

Oh, great. The last thing she needs right now is a lecture from herself of all people.

Rena rolls her eyes. “Listen, Kit, sometimes—sometimes Ladybug isn’t gonna be there. She doesn’t always show up, you know.”

Tortue narrows her eyebrows. “Yes she does?” That’s, like, the big consistency. Aside from that one time where the Akuma and the Sentimonster were in different cities, Ladybug has shown up for every single Akuma battle.

Rena shakes her head. “She has a life, Alya. And, well, sometimes she needs Chat to cover for her.” She looks toward the curtained window, toward the sounds of the battle still filtering in from outside. “And sometimes, Chat and Viperion get taken out early, and the only person who can use the Ladybug is you.”

A chill runs down Tortue’s entire body. The responsibility of using the Ladybug Miraculous—it’s terrifying. It hadn’t even occurred to her that it might pass down to her, that—oh, no. This is… this is what Ladybug feels all the time, isn’t it?

“Listen, however you feel about Nino now?” Rena says. “It’s nothing compared to what it’s going to be. He and I, we’d do anything for each other.” She breathes in, stroking the baby’s head. “Which means that, well, you and I need to stay alive.”

“The Miraculous Cure—”

Rena shakes her head. “It’s good, but it’s not… 100% reliable. Sometimes, Ladybug can’t be there.”

Tortue’s mouth opens, closes. Opens again. “Oh.”

Rena stands and places a hand on her younger self’s shoulder. “Alya, someday, you’re gonna get hurt. You’re gonna get hurt in a way that Ladybug can’t fix, and you’re going to wonder if you even deserve this Miraculous. If you even deserve Nino.” She looks down at the baby with naked fondness in her eyes. “I’m telling you now—you deserve way more than you realize. But if you want to make it to see our wedding...” She trails off.

Tortue waits for her to finish, but Rena doesn’t say anything else. The implications in Rena’s words are disconcerting, and Tortue asks the question that’s burning inside her chest. “Am I going to die?”

“Of course you are,” Rena replies. “You’re going to die a lot. But some of them are going to be harder to come back from, and Alya.” Rena’s eyes bore into hers. “You need to come back. Okay?”

“Okay,” Tortue whispers.

“Miraculous LADYBUG!” Ladybug calls from outside, and pink insects swarm across the room. There’s a brief moment of pain as Tortue’s ankle snaps back into place, immediately replaced by cool relief as the pressure vanishes.

Rena puts a finger to her lips. “Don’t tell Reynard, okay?” she says. “About the ring.”

Tortue mimes zipping her lip.

Rena nods. “Thanks,” she says. “Oh, and one more thing—you’re also gonna need to be more careful if you want to get into a good journalism school. Nobody wants to be the professor that killed the Ladyblogger.”

Tortue blinks. She… hadn’t even thought of that. “That makes sense, I think?” she says.

The balcony door creaks open and Carapace peeks through. “Hey, guys,” he says. “How’s everything going in here?”

“Really great!” Tortue says. She eyes her older self. Rena is fidgeting, looking away from her boyfriend’s face, and Tortue realizes—if she doesn’t make the push, Rena isn’t going to do it. “I think Rena has something to tell you.”

Rena glares at Tortue. “Betrayal!” she hisses.

Tortue laughs. “You’ll thank me later.”

Carapace glanced between them, confusion written across his face. “Um, what’s going on?”

Rena takes a deep breath, then carefully hands the baby to Tortue. “Hold her for a moment?”

“Of course.”

Rena looks at her boyfriend, then drops to one knee, fishing the ring out of her flute. “Nino Lahiffe. Will—will you, um…”

Carapace gasps and covers his mouth with both hands, his eyes shining wetly. “Alya?” he whispers.

Both of them sit in shocked silence, staring at each other, frozen, and after a moment, Tortue gets fed up. “Babe,” she says. “Say yes.”

Carapace glances at her, then back and his girlfriend... then lifts his fiancée bodily into the air in a crushing, spinning hug.

“Yes, yes, yes!” he crows in delight.

*

The portal closes, leaving just the four of them behind.

Ladybug huffs in relief. “You know, I love Bunnyx, but… every time I see her, it’s a brand new disaster.”

Chat looks at her in confusion. “Every? Isn’t this only the second time?”

Reynard sidles up to Tortue Verte. “So, how was meeting your future self?” he says, as Ladybug and Chat quietly discuss something else off to the side. “Mine was a lot more confident than I expected.”

Tortue snorts. “Kind of a butt,” she says. “But then again, that’s not much of a surprise, is it.”

Reynard coughs. “I invoke my right to not incriminate myself,” he says.

Tortue smacks his shoulder. “You’re such a dork.”

Reynard smiles. “Your dork.” He looks at where the portal vanished. “For quite a while, apparently.” He turns back to Tortue. “She tell you anything interesting?”

Tortue smiles, thinking about the proposal, about how happy she and her Nino were. About all the advice her future self gave. She has a lot of work to do.

“Sorry, babe,” she says. “Spoilers.”

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #djwifi #original content #my fic #Alya cesaire #Nino lahiffe #ninalya #Rena rouge #carapace #turtle!alya #fox!nino #bunnyx #bunnix #mlsecretsanta 2020 #mlsecretsanta2k20 #emma agreste

[miraculousluvbug]

WINGLESS | Ch. 7

***New to Wingless? Start at Chapter 1!

CH. SUMMARY: After Chat learns Ladybug told Rena her identity, Plagg's solution is simple: tell someone he's Chat Noir so they're even! Duh.

Unbeknownst to the three wicked stooges, Paris’s favorite cat boy sat perched upon a rooftop adjacent to the mansion, ogling the interaction between his father, his trusted assistant, and his absolute least favorite person in the entire world.

Next to Hawk Moth, of course.

As they tittered and conspired in the darkness, Chat Noir narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t help but find the whole thing . . .

Shady.

“Claws in.”

Plagg whizzed out of the ring and looked up at his holder with sad kitten eyes. Adrien avoided making eye contact, practically drilling a hole into the ground with the intensity of his glare. He hugged his knees to his chest and picked at his shoelaces.

“That was pretty rough, kid.”

Adrien sniffled and roughly smeared away his tears with the back of his hand.

“I was hoping her explanation would make me feel better, Plagg.”

Adrien hugged his knees tighter.

“But it made me feel so much worse.”

“Oh, Adrien,” Plagg crooned, shoulders drooping. He hesitated for only a second before flying to Adrien’s shoulder and nuzzling his holder’s neck.

“She doesn’t want to know me, Plagg. Am I really that bad?”

“Not at all. I already told you that no other Chat Noir could be you. I meant it. You’re the best Chat Noir I’ve ever had.”

Adrien’s sniffles quieted, but the tears persisted. He had no idea how to stop them now that they had started. With gut-wrenching envy, Adrien watched the person he hated most engage in chit-chat with his father as if it was the most casual occurrence. The man even went as far as sharing whatever was on his tablet, a feat Adrien had been trying to accomplish since before he could remember. His father always claimed to be private, unwilling to share any kind of imperfect designs with his own son.

But there Lila was. Conversing with his father more than he himself had in the past week.

And Ladybug had given her most sacred secret to Rena Rouge.

Was he invisible?

He felt so small.

Lost at sea.

A blip in the turbulent waters that no one knew was missing.

He was a boy overboard with no life raft. And no one knew to look for him.

His soul was cold and his heart felt numb.

“You know what?” chirped Plagg suddenly, snapping Adrien out of his spiral. “Ladybug is the new Guardian, right?”

Adrien nodded hesitantly. Where was he going with this?

“What’s her only rule?”

“We can’t know each other’s identities.”

Plagg hovered in front of Adrien’s eyes and flipped onto his back, making a show of nonchalance. If this was gonna work, Plagg had to make the kid think it was kind of his own idea. “Who can’t know each other’s identities?”

Adrien was unamused. To him, Plagg was beating a dead horse.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

Plagg popped open one eye. He didn’t need to open both for Adrien to see the blatant impishness in them.

“So Ladybug and Chat Noir can’t know each other’s identities. What about . . . other people?”

The blonde ball of despair perked up, hair bouncing into his eyes, though they immediately narrowed at his Kwami’s scheming.

“But Master Fu--”

Plagg interjected, “--who isn’t the guardian anymore.”

Adrien blinked.

Kwamis, Plagg was so close to convincing his kid to be selfish for once. He just needed a push! A hefty, premeditated shove off the Fu-forsaken cliff!

“It’s like I’ve always said. Beg for forgiveness, not for permission.” Plagg folded his little paws across his chest, floating right up to Adrien’s nose. Adrien went cross-eyed trying to maintain eye contact. “Ladybug told Rena. So the question is: who’s Chat Noir going to tell?”

“It’s--” Adrien spluttered. “It’s risky, Plagg!”

“And so is being depressed,” Plagg snarled back, surprising Adrien. “Any other person gets minorly inconvenienced and akumatized, who saves them? You--” the Kwami jabbed a paw into Adrien’s nose “--and the bug. But you or Ladybug get akumatized, who saves you?”

Plagg saw the cogs turning in Adrien’s head. He briefly speculated who his kid might choose. Nino would be the obvious choice. He wasn’t as close to Kagami any more, but telling her the secret that had broken them apart would certainly be one hell of an apology. It could even, say, potentially repair what the secret had fractured.

There was also the off chance Adrien might choose Pigtails, who coincidentally doubled as Ladybug. Plagg would have to raid the Agreste kitchen for popcorn if that happened.

“If . . .” Adrien began.

Yes? Plagg internally coaxed.

“If I were to choose someone . . .”

Come on, Adrien.

“I think it would be . . . Nino.”

Yahtzee.

Plagg clapped his paws together over and over, rousing Adrien from his feet like a drill sergeant. “All right, then! Let’s go, let’s go! Hustle, bell boy. We’ve got places to be!”

Adrien reached into his pocket and pulled out a squishy triangle, letting loose the most intoxicating aroma Plagg ever did smell. It circled the pair and made Plagg salivate. “Don’t you want this first?”

Did I really forget about camembert? Plagg wondered incredulously.

“I--” Plagg scrambled for an excuse to atone for the touchy-feelies interfering with his one true love, but he came up short. “Of course I want that!”

Adrien smiled fondly at his Kwami and threw the camembert into the air. Not one to miss a beat, Plagg zipped and caught the cheese in his mouth, devouring the thing in one fell swoop.

“Now we can go!” said Plagg, belching remorselessly. Naturally.

Adrien chuckled. When he opened his mouth to say the transformation phrase, however, he faltered. Was he really going to do this? It . . . It felt disobedient, like he was betraying Ladybug. But could she really hold it against him, if she had needed to do the same?

Would his partner reveal herself to be a hypocrite?

The budding consequences of revealing himself to Nino weighed so heavily on his shoulders that he wasn’t sure how he would manage batoning into the air once transformed. The aptitude for disappointment just felt so tangible to him, as if it were physically chaining him to the rooftop, a meaty claw so solidly wound ’round his ankles it threatened to pierce his skin.

The thought that Nino might hate him for keeping the secret in the first place made home in Adrien’s cerebral cortex, further immobilizing him. It pulled up a chair and opened the morning newspaper like it was meant to be there, meant to remind him that not everything was just simple. Straightforward. Without fallout.

A tender paw touched his cheek, wiping away a runaway tear.

“Kid,” whispered Plagg. His eyes were misty.

Is that . . . because of me? Because he cares about me?

Holding his gaze a moment longer, Adrien uttered the words that once changed his life forever and seemed to be forever following him with new and improved ways to spice up his routine.

“Claws out.”

The energy washed over him like a cold shower, springing him into action. The need to move, to run, to fly nipped at his heels and before he knew it, he was vaulting to his best buddy’s.

If Adrien was honest, telling Marinette, his dearest friend, was his first instinct. He gripped that realization like it would fly away at a moment’s notice, at the slightest spook (he was on the precipice of truly understanding what his good friend Marinette really meant to him). But he had heard from Nino that Alya and Marinette were holed in for a “girls’ night,” so . . . Nino was the next best thing.

Nino was far from second place, however. Sharing the burden of his greatest secret with the guy who got mad at Gabriel Agreste on Adrien’s behalf was like a breath of fresh air. More than that, it was like Adrien would finally be able to steady his head above the tide.

(Telling Marinette would have been like sprouting gills and uncovering the mystery of the sea up close and personal, but Adrien didn’t want to unpack that particular conclusion yet.)

Wasting no time, Chat Noir landed nimbly on Nino’s apartment balcony and tucked his baton back into place. Giving himself just one more moment before life as he knew it was spun upside down--for better or for worse was yet to be determined--he raised a gloved claw to the sliding glass door and timidly knocked.

Nino’s balcony wasn’t decorated like Marinette’s. A few bikes of various sizes loitered against the railing, collecting dust. A few helmets hung limply from their handlebars, occasionally shifting to and fro in the passive wind. Chat could discern by the light-up training wheels which bike belonged to Nino’s little brother, Chris. The bike--which Chat realized must be new since his last visit--sported black spots against its red frame.

Chat shook his head fondly.

Someone obviously developed an appreciation for the bug after their last akumatization. But as the evening breeze softly twisted the helmet, the vision before him melted him into a puddle of endearment. Nino’s kid brother apparently also had a thing for Chat Noir.

The evidence?

A black helmet topped with an acid green paw print and two plastic cat ears to boot.

Un-fur-tunately, as much as the sight was incredibly thera-paw-tic, it also made his heart throb. His body ached for a larger family, from head to toe and down to his bones.

Adrien didn’t dream often in his sleep, but when he did . . . Oh, when he did, he was blessed with visions of him entering a cozy one-story home (his) and immediately being greeted by giggling and the blinding smiles of three faceless children (also his).

While his hopelessly romantic heart yearned for Ladybug to be his other half in that tender fantasy, lately his subconscious had a habit of inserting a particular blue-haired classmate. It baffled him at first, but he figured seeing her family photo that one time during Animan in addition to experiencing the Dupain-Chengs’ bolstering hospitality personally as both Adrien and Chat Noir made Marinette a safe space for his lonely imagination.

Whoever she married would be one lucky bastard, that was for sure.

The curtains behind the glass door swept dramatically to the side, revealing a bewildered Nino in Rena Rouge-themed pajamas.

“Chat Noir?!” he exclaimed. The glass between them muffled his voice.

A quick scan beyond Nino told Chat that his friend was home alone, but he knew he needed to be certain. “Are you home alone?”

Nino paled before realizing that a superhero asking that question wasn’t as bad as some random adult looking for an easy target. He exhaled, chuckling nervously. “My family went to the ice rink, but skating’s so not my jam.”

So he stayed behind. Good. This was gonna be a piece of cake! Adrien pointed at the door handle and raised his eyebrows in question.

“Oh, right. Sorry, dude!”

Nino clambered to unlock the door and wrenched it open. The smell of broth and herbs hit Adrien square in the nose. His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since lunch. “What brings you here? An akuma?”

Stepping over the threshold, Chat tried to make sense of Nino’s question. Why would he come to a civilian if there was an akuma? “No, no akuma, Nino.”

“Oh, good, ’cause I-- Dude, how did you know where my room is?”

If Chat weren’t there to reveal his identity, he might have had a heart attack over accidentally bee-lining to Nino’s room like he’d been there before. He probably would have said something fishy like “In a house like this, it’s a given!” But he didn’t have to make up some ridiculous excuse. He wouldn’t ever have to lie to his best friend.

Never again.

“Because . . .”

Nino eyed Chat expectantly. His room was a mess. He really wasn’t expecting any visitors and his laptop was still open, his music and film ideas scrawled onto random pieces of notebook paper and scattered across his desk like a madman. Or an artist. Was there really a difference?

“Because . . .” Chat began once more.

Oh, gosh. This was it. He was going to do it. He was going to do the thing! He was alone at sea and no one from the boat had noticed him falling overboard. But maybe, just maybe Nino was the Coast Guard. Maybe Nino would throw him a buoy.

“Because claws in.”

Nino’s entire body went rigid. Crap, crap, crap!

“No, wait--!” Nino shouted, closing his eyes instinctually and reaching for Chat Noir. He had to pull him away from his laptop’s camera field! Had to get him out of sight! Why did he choose now to share Paris’s most coveted secret?!

But . . . he was too late.

The light had already dimmed behind his eyelids by the time his hands were closed around--

“Adrien?” Nino whispered, peering up at his best friend. The duckling he had sworn to protect and teach the ways of life was standing where Chat Noir should be.

Adrien smiled and opened his mouth to respond, but a high-pitched laughter rang out and the joy he felt was quickly replaced with sheer terror.

Nino grinned sheepishly.

“Uh haha, you remember my girlfriend Alya who I sometimes Skype with while working on scripts?” Clumsily, Nino rubbed comforting circles into Adrien’s arms as if he could rub away the embarrassment.

“You said you were home alone.”

“Actually, I said my family went to the ice rink.”

Adrien’s eye twitched.

Plagg, who couldn’t have foreseen this turn of events, hovered off to the side and figured if he didn’t move, he could pretend he was invisible.

Sure enough, Adrien craned his head to find an unhinged Alya screeching like a fox (he had seen a video of them laughing once on YouTube; they were so adorable!) from Nino’s computer screen. Behind Alya was a familiar cork board of friends and, well, lots of himself. The walls were pink. She was at Marinette’s like Nino said she would be.

Adrien had expected gasps. Finger pointing. A million questions. What he hadn’t expected was Alya laughing like he was the butt of a joke.

After a good minute of cackling and awkward waiting from the boys, Alya sighed and wiped a tear from her eye. Then she spoke, a dazed smile on her lips.

“I cannot wait to strangle that Hawaiian-shirt-loving Master of Unnecessary Manipulation.” Her words were completely contrasted by the amusement in her voice.

Adrien tried not to faint.

-----

We're now caught up with AO3 here on Tumblr (AO3 is where I first started posting this). Yay! :D Also, was anyone expecting Rena to be there? 😌I wasn't. 😳 Follow me for updates and check out my Instagram where I post art!

(7/?) Previous | Next

#mlb #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fanfic #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #miraculous ladybug fanworks #miraculous ladybug au #miraculous au #miraculous fanfic #miraculous fanworks #miraculous ladybug fandom #ao3 fanfic #ao3 #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien agreste #lila salt #lila rossi #ladybug #chat noir #plagg #gabriel agreste #ladynoir #adrienette #marichat #ladrien #miraculous fandom #love square #miraculous season 4 #rena rouge #nino lahiffe #carapace

[chocoluckchipz]

A Soulmate for Christmas - 1

No one but you see your soulmate mark. Not unless your soulmate touches it, and even then, it only glows for a moment. Most consider that a blessing, but Marinette would say it’s a blessed curse. Because how was she supposed to find the boy who left a black cat mark on her hand fifteen years ago in the city that wasn't even located in France? So when she finds a model flaunting the mark she put on him all those years back in a magazine, she has hope for a moment. That is until she notices the article discuss his imminent engagement to someone else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, what’s the emergency?"

Marinette’s hand emerged from under the covers, pointing in the direction of her desk. "The new Paris Fashion. Page thirty."

Alya whistled upon reaching the said page. "Looking good, M Agreste. Good enough to turn my best friend into a hot mess with a single picture."

"This isn’t funny, Al. Look at his chest!"

"Pure lean muscle. Perfectly toned. He's growing up nicely. Though, I fail to see why this is a big enough emergency for you to make me bail on lunch with Nino."

"Look. At. His. Chest." Marinette crawled out from under the comforter and stomped toward Alya, pointing at the particular spot on the picture. "This. Look at this."

"A ladybug tattoo? So—Wait!" Alya looked up at Marinette, her finger pointing to the ladybug mark painted on his chest. "Are you telling me that’s his—" 

"Right where I put it!" Marinette cried, ducking back under her covers. "See? He exists! I told you. I can’t believe you were doubting me all this time!"

"Well, excuse me, but you were five, and he sounded too good to be true. Little boys don’t usually go out of their way to help crying girls they don’t know find their flirting grandmas at a fashion show in Milan. Little boys don’t kiss said little girl’s hand as a farewell while they are at it. And they certainly don’t ask for the girl to kiss their soulmate mark into existence as close to their heart as she possibly could. ‘So, they won’t forget her,’ right?"

"So, he could always keep me close to his heart," Marinette corrected. "But that doesn’t matter now. You were right. That boy doesn’t exist anymore, and this one isn’t as good as I thought he was, so whatever. I’ll get over him and move on. There are plenty of guys out there. One of them is bound to like me more than money, fame, and prestige."

"What do you mean? Shouldn’t you be happy your crush is your soulmate?"

With a pitiful groan slipping her lips, Marinette buried her face into her pillow. "Ugh! I can’t believe I ever felt guilty for crushing on him. I thought I was a horrible person betraying my soulmate for some handsome, sexy supermodel. Foolish me. He doesn’t deserve any of my attention."

"Marinette, seriously. What do you mean?"

"Read the article."

Alya fell silent as soon as she noticed the title. "‘Paris’ most eligible bachelor reveals… a long-time secret relationship with his childhood friend Kagami Tsurugi. Doesn’t deny Christmas Eve engagement rumour.’ Oh."

"And you know what the worst part is?"

"What can be worse than discovering that your long-time crush is your long-lost soulmate and then finding out he’s been not only dating someone else but very likely will propose… tonight?"

"How about being at the same party at the same time. As a waitress."

Alya swore under her breath and put the magazine down. "Mayor Bourgeois’ Christmas Gala?"

Marinette nodded. "The article said they both confirmed they will be attending. I'll get a front-row seat to my soulmate's proposal to someone else. Lucky me."

"Then don’t go," she said, sitting down beside Marinette. "I’ll go in your place."

Marinette couldn’t let her do that. Nino was going to propose tonight, so Alya couldn’t be anywhere but with him. "You’re spending your first Christmas with Nino’s family. I’m not standing in the way of that."

"I can spend New Year Day with them."

"You’re going to the French Alps with your family that weekend. Don’t try to weasel out of it. Your mom has been planning that trip for months. Nora’s flying in specifically for it."

"I’m not trying to weasel out. I’m trying to help you, M."

"And I appreciate it, but I’m not making you go instead of me."

"What about your father?"

"The doctor said he shouldn’t be getting up for at least another week or his leg might not heal properly and he’ll end up with a prospect of a surgery which we’re trying to avoid."

"Then, I’m sure Rose or Juleka wouldn’t mind stepping in."

"No." Marinette sat up on her bed. "They have plans, and I’m not going to ruin them. I’ll just have to grow a pair and face him like the strong, independent woman I am. Or rather go help Maman and avoid him at all cost. He’s not even going to recognize me anyway. I didn’t. Not until I saw that photo."

"That’s true. I doubt he remembers much about you. You were babies when you met, so just stay away from him and keep your hands covered. That way even if you accidentally touch he won’t see it. A pair of gloves perhaps?"

"Mayor has uniforms for all the servers, even those coming in with the caterers, so no gloves for me. But as long as I do my job and pretend like I’m not in the same room with my soulmate who clearly didn't think me worthy enough to search for and instead decided to date this very famous, very influential, extremely rich girl from his own circle, I should be fine."

"I’m so sorry, M." Alya wrapped her arms around Marinette, bringing her into her chest for a cuddle. "Men are stupid. Some more than the others. Especially the rich and spoiled ones."

Marinette scoffed bitterly. "Don’t I know it. I got plenty of examples from being in the same class as Chloe Bourgeois for years." 

"Isn’t Adrien Chloe’s friend?"

"I think so. I was hoping Adrien wasn't like her. Clearly, that isn't the case."

"You'll get over him soon, and we'll find you a nice, handsome, smart man who will cherish and love you for who you are."

"Soulmates are so last century anyway, right?" Marinette swallowed back the knot in her throat. No matter how much she tried to convince herself, this hurt. "I’m sure he doesn’t even remember meeting me. We were five. Who would be holding on to a memory of a random girl in Milan? And even if he did remember me, he probably thinks I live there. I thought my soulmate lived in Milan until he decided to show off his stupid soulmate mark to the whole world. Who does that, anyway? Those are supposed to be one of the most intimate of details of one’s life. You don’t just show it to everyone, and certainly not to the whole world while announcing your engagement to someone else." 

Her eyes fell to her hand where, invisible to everyone but her, an image of a black cat lay, a mark Adrien Agreste left there more than a decade ago with his first kiss to her skin. Just like a mark of a ladybug appeared on his chest when her lips touched it upon his request. He said he wanted to keep her close to his heart, so it would be easier for him to find her.

What a load of BS.

"Have you ever thought that, perhaps, that could’ve been a message to you?" Alya asked. "He went through the trouble of painting over his soulmate mark for the photoshoot so others could see it. It has to mean something. No one is dumb enough to think that if Adrien Agreste releases topless photos while announcing something as big as a possible engagement, there would be at least one person in France, or even Europe for that matter, who wouldn't see it. He knew his soulmate would see it."

Marinette laughed. Bitterly. "Yeah, a great message. ‘Here is my soulmate mark, my dear soulmate. In all the years I knew you existed, I didn’t bother to find you. But I did make sure that this picture, in which I showcase to the whole world the mark you left me, came along with an article where I discuss how much I love my girlfriend you'll never compare to in status, money or looks. Not that I even care about your feelings, announcing that an engagement is in the near future for me and my darling childhood friend.’ Yeah. This is definitely a message, Alya. He says ‘Screw you, Marinette. I’m better off with Kagami Tsurugi, and I thought you should know that.’"

Alya wrapped her arms around her tighter. "First of all, only brainless idiots would take status and money over love. Second, you’re the prettiest, smartest, and the most successful woman I've ever known, and third, you're an amazing and wonderful person who's on her way to becoming one of the best designers in Paris, so don’t you bring yourself down because of a stupid man who doesn't realize what he lost."

"It's my fault anyway. That's what I get for letting that stupid, cute boy kiss my stupid hand at a stupid fashion show in stupid Milan."

"You were five, M. And he was a dashing gentleman, helping you find your grandmother in a strange city you got lost in. You couldn't have known he's your soulmate. No one could have."

"Right. And he won’t recognize me, so I’ll be fine. He won’t even look a waitress’ way. Nothing to worry about. I’m very much certain the only person he’ll be looking at will be his future bride-to-be, so I have absolutely nothing to be scared of. Not that I’m scared, because I’m not. I just don’t want to be humiliated. Not that I’m already humiliated, but at least no one knows about it. That'll be awful if anyone else finds out—"

Alya grabbed her face and turned to look at her. "Marinette, breathe. Calm down."

She took a few deep breaths and tried to relax. Alya was right. This was fine. She’d be fine. Everything would be just peachy.

"As long as he doesn’t touch your right hand, no one will know. I still insist I go instead of you. Nino will understand—" 

"No. I’ll go. I can do it."

"Yes, you can, and you’ll be fine, but if anything happens, you have my number. I’ll be there in five minutes. You got me?"

Marinette nodded, pulling Alya into a hug. She was an amazing friend, and Nino and she were going to be insanely happy together. One day perhaps, Marinette would meet someone too. Someone who, just like her, was betrayed by their soulmate. Or someone who had lost theirs. Someone who would be kind and gentle and, like her, would just want to be happy. 

Someone who was not Adrien Agreste. 

Next >

Read it on A03, FF.net. WattPad

Buy the author a Ko-fi for Christmas

#miraculous ladybug #adrienette #soulmates #adrinette #fluff #light angst #misunderstanding #happy end #aged up #no magic au #soulmate marks

[chat-noir-always-here]

Marinette and Anxiety

First, lets count all the things Marinette has that Adrien doesn’t have:

She has a healthy and positive home environment

Both of her parents are living, active presences in her life

Tom and Sabine love Marinette unconditionally

On top of having loving parents she has extended relatives who care deeply for her

she is allowed to go out and have friends over

going to public school is treated as a necessity rather than a privilege

she has, to some degree, or at least more so than Adrien, knowledge of socializing and is able to perceive signals better

she is on good terms and has a history with almost all of her classmates

she is allowed to explore her hobbies

she is allowed to choose her own occupation 

she has the freedom to do whatever she wants with her schedule outside of school and curfew

I could go on but I trust my point is clear? Marinette is blessed with many of the things Adrien has been denied. Worse, everything listed above falls under the category of “normal” “common decency” or “necessity.”

Long post is long and I don’t like cuts because I’ve lost a few posts in the past using them. Please filter the tag “long post” i use it for walls of texts like this one.

But Mari’s life, despite being vastly different and more fulfilling than Adrien’s, isn’t perfect.

In order to understand Mari’s struggles we need to take a look at her history.

We see in Origins that Marinette has been the target of Chloe’s bullying for a long time—three years or perhaps even longer. As is the case with many victims of bullying she lacked the courage and confidence to stand up for himself and more or less suffered in silence until Alya encouraged her to fight back.

Something to understand about bullying: it drastically warps someone’s perspective. Not only in how they view themselves but the people and environment around them. The end result? Some form of isolation and possibly PTSD. Bullying victims tend to be either physically/mentally withdrawn, or both.

Not a lot is known about Mari’s life before the Origins episode, but given that none of her classmates stood up to Chloe except Alya, we can infer that they have grown accustomed to Chloe’s treatment of Mari and are likely not especially close with her at this point in time. 

In her “In defense of Chat Noir” video, Toon Ruins states that Adrien isn’t especially close with his classmates yet either, saying he is “that friend that your mutual friends invite along and is just kinda there.” Its not unreasonable to presume that Mari was in that spot before she became Ladybug, befriended Alya, and developed enough confidence to stand up for herself as well as others.

It would also help explain why her friends were so quick to doubt her when Lila accused her in the Ladybug episode. Despite everything she’s done for them between Origins and Ladybug, they simply haven’t been close for very long and as Alya pointed out the evidence “was stacked against her.” Of course Alya and Adrien believed her because they are closer with Mari than practically any of her other classmates.

Adrien glaring at Lila when Marinette calls out to him for help. I cannot~~~~

Of course there was another, more obvious reason they doubted her: her feelings for Adrien and how intense she is when acting on them, which as Alya puts it served as her supposed “motive” for “hurting Lila.”

Marinette has often been seen crossing lines that are better off left uncrossed when it comes to Adrien. Her friends, especially the girls, are even somewhat aware of how intense these feelings are. (i.e. Alex’s comment during Gigantitan “Marinette knows a lot about Adrien it’s kinda creepy”).

More often than not, Mari wants to go somewhere mainly for the sake of seeing Adrien. Examples of this are when she’s supposed to wait for Nadja to come pick up her cake and during Simon Says when she is grounded for valid reasons . Often times there is some obligation involved—her promise to show up at Alix and Kim’s challenge and her promise with Nino in Simon Says—but chances are if Adrien weren’t there she wouldn’t want to go so bad (until an akuma showed up that is).

Something to understand about this: Mari has little to no opportunity to see Adrien. Worse, her history of being bullied and her previous status as an “acquaintance” rather than a “close friend” gives her at least some modicum of understanding about his situation. She empathizes with Adrien and cares for him, and is aware of his loneliness. During her life before Ladybug she likely longed for someone who would comfort and console her, and yeah probably found some relief with her mom given how Sabine seems aware of Chloe’s treatment of her daughter.

 But Adrien has no one, and knowing that makes Mari all the more anxious when he doesn’t show up for their social gatherings as well as driving her desire to be the source of love and comfort he so desperately needs.

I won’t deny Mari literally breaking the law for Adrien isn’t okay. Sneaking into his home, stealing his phone, and kissing his statue (its a statue in an important museum. Chances are you’re not supposed to touch those, let alone kiss them) are simply NOT OKAY things to do. A lot of this behavior earns her some hate from the fandom and some well-deserved scolding from Tikki. But rather than making me hate her, or call her a stalker, I’m mostly concerned that she doesn’t understand how bad that is. 

But Chat Blanc was a game changer. Adrien would NEVER have seen Ladybug in his room if she hadn’t taken her sweet time inspecting his belongings, smelling his pillow, etc. Meaning Adrien could have had her present and not known about Ladybug (he may have been curious as to how Mari’s gift got past security though). 

However since Marinette WAS seen by Adrien, he was able to learn her secret identity which led to this:

This is a scenario she never expected. And as she learns this was caused by her own poor judgement, she wastes no time in saving Chat Noir, erasing her name from her gift and allowing Adrien to believe it’s a gift from his Brazilian fan club instead of from her, Marinette.

Chat Blanc was one of the last episodes of s3. Safe to say she probably won’t be breaking into anything anytime soon (theres some debate over the chronological order of the episodes, but if I recall this one takes place either in the last four or five episodes on most lists). She nearly lost her kitty for good after all--that’s not a price she’s ever been willing to pay.

This likely wouldn’t have happened at all except Mari’s life as ladybug has caused her to become accustomed to certain behavior in order to keep her secret. Yeah Mari stole Adrien’s phone right out of his locker—and no that wasn’t okay. But remember when she stole her textbook back from Alya? Taking it right out of her bag when Alya wasn’t looking? Just so you know, in the French version, Mari tells Tikki she wrote her name in that textbook. So her secret identity was in grave danger and she had to act quickly.

You’re damn lucky Alya didn’t crack that book open the minute she got it, Mari.

Anyhoo the point is this: Mari is applying what she has come to know as “acceptable behavior i do to protect my secret identity” to her situation with Adrien and misinterpreting it as “acceptable behavior I do to keep Adrien from possibly rejecting me and crushing my soul.” And in her head, they’re similar even though the consequences of either secret coming out are vastly different.

Really think about the context of that voicemail she sent Adrien—if she had accidentally butt dialed Adrien while taking to Tikki about her life as Ladybug and then had to go steal his phone to keep him from learning the truth the fandom wouldn’t have had nearly as much beef with her over that as she wasn’t the one who created the “secret identities rule.”

The reason the two secrets are equally crucial in keeping, in Mari’s mind, is likely due to her overwhelming anxiety. Which even before she became the Guardian of Paris and then the Guardian of Miraculous she was still an anxious person.

She didn’t have much confidence or even a large support network. But in the span of one day she was entrusted with the safety and well being of every single person in Paris.

She didn’t believe she was cut out for being Ladybug but was denied the option of refusing the position and told to just do her best.

She knew going out she would likely screw up the job and given her task failure wasn’t really an option.

Then her worst fears were realized when she failed to capture her first akuma and many citizens were turned into stone statues. The only way to turn them back was to allow Ivan to be akumatized so she could defeat him and take his akuma. The very knowledge of which crippled her and caused her to give up the ladybug earrings.

She tried to go back to her normal life but couldn’t. Ivan was akumatized, Alya’s life was in danger and Chat Noir was struggling to the point he got captured and needed her help. So she took up being Ladybug again in order to help them.

What was she supposed to do? Watch?

From the very beginning she had no say in the matter. Her life as Marinette wasn’t and isnt easy—she has plenty of her own problems but she was given a Miraculous and basically condemned to being at war with Hawk Moth indefinitely.

Ever give a thought as to why the French government allow these two vigilante teenagers to handle the situation? Because ordinary people can’t. In other words if Mari thought only of herself she would give up the fight and ignore all the ensuing damage. But she can’t. And she won’t. She has a job to do. She could give up her miraculous but that would mean taking the pressure off her shoulders and dumping it all onto someone else just as it was dumped onto her. She cant bring herself to do that and even if she could—who would she possibly give it to?

Just imagining that kind of pressure makes me want hurl from nerves. And as of the S3 finale its gotten worse as she has lost Fu, the person who could give out Miraculouses to other people in case she never comes back one day.

Hawk Moth would win. Game over. That’s what it would mean.

Ladybug and Chat Noir know what Hawk Moth winning would mean better than anyone else does. Of course they won’t walk away from this fight. But that means they have to juggle their double lives until its over, and apparently have to do it again with a second hawk moth later on in the future.

And again, even before all of this Mari had a lot she suffered from. Chloe bullying her, feeling lonely, being clumsy. Clumsiness is mortifying--it truly means suffering. Being the class clutz is like being the class laughingstock. Mari seems to handle it fairly well.

 Until she’s around Adrien. I mean look at her!

Poor girl can’t stand looking so uncool in front of her crush. Even though he seems to find her clumsiness endearing.

Going off what was said in my “Debunking: Adrien is perfect” post, Marinette is hyper-sensitive to Adrien’s situation despite not really knowing the full extent of his suffering. 

Marinette doesn’t know Gabriel is Hawk Moth either, but she does understand Adrien is lonely, isolated and in need of a source of love and comfort. She also understands to some degree that his heart is delicate, so she constantly handles him with kid gloves and looks on him with a perfection filter. We see how Mari reacts to upsetting Adrien in Malediktator when she softly whispers an apology after Adrien expresses his sorrow over everyone celebrating Chloe’s departure. She seems pained and distraught over causing him to be upset. Thus the reason Marinette calls Adrien perfect isn’t that she never sees any of his flaws--she just cannot acknowledge or process them under these conditions. She’s too busy trying not to hurt him. 

Marinette can comprehend Adrien’s situation, couples that with her own past experiences of bullying/ loneliness/ being a clumsy laughingstock. That combined with her love for him and her anxiety-warped common sense, led to the behavior which has earned her some disapproval from the fandom at large.

 But really? Marinette’s not a terrible person. Anymore than Adrien is.

 Adrien’s sometimes-obnoxious-flirting is brought on by his desire to “not look lame” in front of Ladybug. Ergo, his own insecurities are amplified around her because he too lacks confidence.

 Likewise Marinette’s stammering and clumsiness are amplified around Adrien, as is her anxiety and her desire to be cool in front of him.

 They both feel they have to prove themselves to the other in some regard. And they both have past and present experiences that have left them hurting and/or warped their judgement in some ways. 

 This doesn’t make Mari’s irrational behavior any more acceptable than Adrien’s troubles make his leading Kagami on and lying to Ladybug acceptable. It’s not acceptable. But Mari is no more deserving of hate than Adrien is.

They’re just a couple of stressed out kids, folks

#long post #marinette dupain cheng #Marinette #adrien agreste #adrien #miraculous ladybug

[chatonne-rousse]

Orange You Glad I'm Not Seeing Green (Nope, Totally Not Jealous At All)

A continuation of my Gifts from the Heart series, the whole of which is written as a gift for my dear friend @sketchy-panda.

Read it on Ao3 here.

Follows Great Minds (and Kind Hearts) Think Alike, which can be found here.

*********

The first forty-two minutes had gone so well.

Marinette was acting weird, but a normal, endearing weird - the kind of weird that warms his chest with affection and makes him smile. There is no one quite like her, and Adrien knows her friendship is a sweet blessing indeed. Even if it takes a moment or two to decipher her jumbled sentences sometimes. Even if she's a teeny tiny bit of a disaster.

When Ms. Bustier had paired them up for a literature project, he was thrilled. Adrien would never scoff at the chance to spend time with his dear friend, much less to enjoy a window of escape, however short, from the echoing silence of his own home. He'd turned to her with unabashed excitement to find her cheeks and ears pink and a strange mix of joy and terror in her eyes.

"Yay!" she'd squeaked, the word accompanied by awkward jazz hands. This had prompted a nudge under the table from Alya that didn't escape his notice. With that, she'd taken a deep breath, set her shoulders, and asked if he'd like to come over after school to work on it together.

Would he ever! The wave of happiness that had risen in his chest must have shown on his face, but when Marinette's smile had softened to match, he realized he didn't care if he grinned like a fool in front of the class. An afternoon with a friend - a friend! - was such a rare treat. And he's already read The Three Musketeers, so he'd been sure this would be a breeze.

And it was. Until six minutes ago, when they realized that the plate of cookies they'd been snacking on had dwindled to one. This discovery came by way of both of them reaching for it without looking, hands meeting over the plate amidst blushing cheeks and murmured apologies. With an awkward laugh, he'd taken the final cookie, carefully broken it roughly in half, and offered the slightly larger piece to his wide-eyed project partner.

Their fingers brushed in the handoff. She breathed a thank you. He smiled graciously.

It all happened so quickly after that.

Before he could take a bite of his cookie, her elbow had knocked into her glass, sending orange juice across her desk, her lap, his stocking feet.

"Disaster!" Marinette had shrieked, prompting Mrs. Cheng to peek through the open trap door a few moments later, looking first at her daughter dancing frantically around her now-toppled desk chair and then to a bewildered Adrien, still holding half a cookie in one hand and Marinette's keyboard, rescued from the rogue wave of orange juice, in the other.

She'd just smiled. "I'll bring up some towels, dears."

Adrien could only nod.

Now, Marinette stands in front of her sink, wiping the front of her pants with a damp towel and sighing every thirty seconds. He's barefoot, his socks whisked off to parts unknown, ostensibly to be laundered, though he'd protested that wasn't necessary. Their cookie and juice supply has been refilled, and calm has settled over the room again. Sort of.

"I'm so sorry, Adrien," she says quietly, a tinge of misery at the edge of her voice. "I'm so clumsy."

He tries to make her smile the best way he knows how. "It's okay, Marinette. Orange you glad it didn't get on your drawings for the project?"

She stops trying to clean off her jeans and raises her eyes to his. "Did you just...?"

His eyes gleam. "You know, workers in the orange juice factory will lose their jobs if they can't concentrate."

Her surprised giggle is incredibly gratifying. He takes it as a green light to continue. "Do you know what language oranges use to talk to each other?" When she shakes her head, he gleefully answers, "Mandarin!"

"You'd fit right in, then!" Marinette laughs heartily, the sound making his grin widen until it hurts. (It's worth it.)

"Well, I am very a-peeling. I have a real zest for life."

She groans, though she's still laughing, and facepalms with the hand holding the towel. Adrien watches as she realizes how sticky it is against her face, throws it on the counter, and blushes when she makes eye contact with him once more. His own smile never dims. Making a friend laugh like this is one of life's great joys. Laughing with a friend like this is one of the greatest.

Finally, she washes her hands at the sink and he takes a moment to right her desk chair, gazing around the room to the sound of her drying her hands. Magazine photos of him still remain, though they mix on corkboards and wall collages with pictures of friends and family. His own face smiles - truly smiles - back at him from several of them. He remembers each of these days, shining memories with beloved friends that he treasures. He's glad Marinette treasures them, too.

His gaze slides to the corner of her desk, near her sewing machine and a large box he assumes is full of sewing notions, and his breath catches. There, on twin display stands to keep them upright, are two figurines he doesn't know how he missed earlier. Ladybug holds her yo-yo in her right hand, Chat Noir's baton is held in his left. Their tiny plastic hands clasp in the middle, just as they were molded to do for the 1st Anniversary Special Partners Edition figures he would know anywhere.

Marinette sits back down in her desk chair, looks at him, then follows his gaze to the figurines. Adrien turns his eyes to her.

"I didn't know you were a superhero fan, Marinette!"

She laughs a nervous laugh as a blush rises to her cheeks. "Me? A fan of Chat Noir? Psssh." She waves a hand as if to dismiss the idea.

He isn't sure if he should be offended or gratified. He'd certainly prefer the latter.

"Why wouldn't you be a fan? I am. I think the heroes are awesome."

"You do?" she breathes, eyes wide.

"Of course! Paris is lucky," he elbows her arm gently and winks, "to have them."

Her giggle makes him smile again. He always feels so light and so carefree here, in her warm home, with her friendly parents and a plate of cookies and the sweetness she seems to radiate in his presence. Paris is lucky to have superhero protectors, but he's lucky in his own way to have found this kind of gentle contentment in a world denied to him for so long.

"I guess we should get back to the project--"

"Where did you get them?"

They each speak at the same time, twin blushes and stammered apologies following just as with the cookie incident.

Marinette breaks the ensuing awkward silence first. "One of my best friends gave them to me."

"I'm not surprised," Adrien responds with a grin. "Alya might be the biggest fan in Paris!"

The blush on her cheeks spreads to the tips of her ears and her eyes widen before she blinks. "Oh, um...it wasn't Alya." Marinette looks at her hands in her lap and then back up to him. "But she does have this set. She's kind of obsessed."

Strange, he'd never heard about any other best friends from Nino or Alya, though that didn't mean Marinette didn't have a very close online friend or someone in the design community she just hadn't talked much about before. He hopes this person knows what a good friend she has in Marinette, that she treasures her like Marinette deserves to be treasured. Though of course she'd gifted her with the set of figurines, so this friend at least knows quality merch when she sees it. Adrien's heart warms at the thought of Marinette having such good friends. She deserves nothing less.

"Adrien? Are you okay?"

He blinks twice, shaking himself from his reverie. "Oh. Yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You were far away for a minute there."

He smiles warmly. Marinette is so thoughtful. "I promise. I was just thinking what a great best friend she must be to have given you such a cool gift."

"Oh," she says quietly, looking at the figures again, though Adrien is still focused on his friend. He watches as her eyes soften and her smile turns gentle before she speaks again. "He definitely is. There's no one better."

Her gaze snaps to his again. "I mean! I'll bet you're better! At being hot. I mean cool! I mean..." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "So! The Three Musketeers, eh?" She pulls her notebook back in front of her and opens it to a random page that contains nothing having to do with Alexandre Dumas. She laughs nervously, resolutely staring at the page and not the boy beside her.

The boy who hasn't breathed since her quiet "oh." The boy whose brain is still stuck on one word.

He.

Adrien can feel his smile turn brittle at the edges and forces his face to remain neutral, but it's difficult all of a sudden.

It shouldn't bother him. It shouldn't affect him at all. Marinette is friends with Nino, Kim, and Max, and he doesn't think twice about it. Why should he? This is different, though, somehow. An unknown entity. A boy friend he's never heard of who makes her expression soften like that, with memories of private jokes and gift exchanges and laughter. Probably. That's probably what it's like with Marinette and her other best friend, who isn't Alya and whose name he doesn't know.

An odd feeling twists his stomach. Adrien doesn't like it.

"Well," he starts, sliding his own notebook over and opening to the last page they'd been working on before the orange juice spill, "he has very good taste in Ladybug and Chat Noir merchandise. I have that same set myself."

"You do?" she squeaks, and their eyes meet again.

"I do. But I didn't take mine out of the packaging." He chances a cheeky half-smile at her, the knot in his stomach loosening just a fraction at the smile she returns. "Mine will be pristine when the set is worth millions someday."

When she laughs, the tension in his chest dissipates like springtime dandelion seeds, floating away on a sudden breeze of fresh, sweet joy.

Maybe Marinette's mysterious best friend can make her laugh like this, but right now, Adrien is the one sitting beside her - something rare and precious and not to be taken for granted - and it makes no sense to do anything other than enjoy the moment.

#gifts from the heart series #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrien 👏 loves 👏 marinette 👏 #but he's not jealous at all #why would he be? #gift fic #love you sketchy! #miraculous ladybug #ml fan fiction #ml fic #my writing

[yeet-noir]

Nino sugar!

Nino is an amazing character and so under appreciated both in show and in canon. Nino is sensitive, caring, and lively which is a great addition to the show.

Nino has this energy that is, dare I say, chaotic good? Who else could  demand a party be thrown from a powerful, influential man after entering the inside that man’s own home, blowing bubbles and ultimately seen as completely disrespectful and foolish from said man and THEN DJ at a major fashion event he had that had the media buzzing. Name another character who could ever, I’ll wait.

On a more serious note, it is that type of energy that shows how much heart Nino has for others.

He is willing to do anything for his best friend Adrien regardless of social repercussions that he might endure. Twice he has thrown Adrien a party despite how difficult it is to get that accomplished because Adrien has been deprived of group gatherings his whole life. 

Nino also went up against Alya’s sister Nora when she was being unreasonably paranoid about going out in public. Nora is stronger and more intimidating than Nino, but that didn’t stop him from trying to stand up against her to make Alya happy. 

He also sacrificed himself in Zombizou in order for Ladybug and Chat Noir to further themselves. And the way he did it was precious because he comforted Alya despite knowing she was compromised. 

Nino is brave no question about it, but he we got to see him grow more into that. He can be a nervous dude, but it is something he been overcoming. Inspiring.

Nino is also a dork and I mean that in the most loving way. Animan was iconic because of how he suddenly developed a crush on Marinette and needed Adrien guidance on how to handle it. And then he realize he and Alya clicked when he spent time with her. Bless his heart. 

Nino also is just a really good boyfriend overall. Nothing but pure love between them. He wants Alya to be safe, but also trusts Alya to keep them safe. There is just so much respect. He also spends a lot of quality time with her dancing, going to the movies, and hanging out. 

He is also a parkour legend. 

To summarize Nino is just that good of a friend and boyfriend no questions about it. 

SEND ANYTHING FROM MIRACULOUS AND I WILL SAY SOME ML SUGAR

#Anonymous #miraculous ladybug #nino lahiffe #ml sugar #ml character sugar #mine