#slight lila salt

[mariharem-trash-heap]

The Sketchbook

Trouble is brewing in Caline Bustier’s classroom at Collège Françoise Dupont. In the center of it? Marinette, a ruined sketchbook, and Chloé as the prime suspect.

Notes:

Another take on the infamous ‘sketchbook’ trope. I wanted a self-indulgent "class has more than two braincells” fic to tide me over.

Also, oof this screwed me over - I’ve spent literally months trying to write this. To the requesters, I’m working on them as much as I can - there will probably be one going up sometime this week.

It was supposed to be another normal morning. Marinette had hardly enough time to drag herself out of bed and get dressed before she was hurrying off to school, a croissant in her mouth.

She checked her phone as soon as she got to the front steps of the middle school with a frown. The group chat for the art club had been strangely silent as of late, and it wasn’t just because of the deal with Lila.

One part of her was gripped with guilt - what if they just made a new chat without her? It certainly would be quieter than kicking her out of the usual one.

She knew things had been stressful and a bit strained, what with Lila’s lies driving a wedge between them the harder she tried to get them to listen to her. She knew some of them may feel a tad uncomfortable picking sides, and she knew for certain that some of them didn’t think as highly of her as others did.

When she thought of Nathanael, she had to wince - and quickly grabbed her croissant with her free hand, as she’d accidentally bitten too far into it and it had begun to fall from her mouth. After the Evillustrator incident and the Reverser debacle, she was sure he’d never want to speak to her again.

She heaved a sigh as she made her way to the locker room. She grabbed her stuff and shut it harder than she thought, the loud noise making her flinch. As she made her way to her classroom, she stopped short at Nino and Nathanael standing outside of it, looking around as if trying to find something.

“Miimo?” She muttered around her croissant, taking it out and swallowing the bite. “What’s going...?”

“Marinette!” Nino’s head shot up and he looked even more panicked as he held out his arms. “Mari, dudette, I didn’t know-- I swear I didn’t know.”

“Didn’t know what?” Anxiety prickled at her chest as she looked from him to Nathanael. “What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry,” the redhead breathed, soft eyes full of guilt. “I didn’t know she would do this.”

“You’re scaring me.” She shook her head, trying to peek past Nino’s body. “What...?”

He moved to block her view, but it was too late.

Marinette’s mouth dropped open, the croissant falling from her hand at the same time as her bag. Butter from the pastry seeped down the side and onto the floor.

Ten shocked faces looked up at her from inside, and she could swear she saw a hint of a smirk on Lila’s face for a split-second before it faded to one of nervousness.

“Hey, hey,” Nino grabbed her into a hug and in the next second she could feel hot tears trickling down her cheeks. “Breathe, ‘Nette.”

“It wasn’t... I swear it was nobody from the art club,” Nathanael spoke up. “None of us were even near your locker when it got stolen.”

“Marinette,” Alya started as she made her way towards the door. “Mari, girl, I’m so sorry--”

“M- my plans,” the artist whispered. “My sketches... my designs...” she hiccupped, and her voice cracked. “They’re ruined.”

“Breathe,” Nino repeated, and his arm tightened around her shoulders. “Babe, could you...?”

“Yeah,” Alya nodded and made her way back to her desk. Her seat in the very back, the top of the stairs, and the sketchbook.

Crumpled and ripped pieces of paper littered the tabletop, the book in question looking worse for wear. Silence settled atop the students as she began to carefully uncrumple them as best she could, Marinette’s sniffles filling the gaps of quiet.

“Why?” She whimpered, gripping Nino’s shirt tight. “Who would do this? What have I done?”

“Watch out for butterflies, guys,” Alix warned as she made her way through the classroom to the door. Nino and Nathanael simultaneously stiffened and began looking around for the cursed dark-purple menaces. “Marinette, I know it looks bad, but--”

“Guys?” Adrien’s voice rang out from the other end of the hall, and oh no, why did he have to show up while she was such a mess--?! “What’s going on?”

“Bro, now isn’t the best time,” Nino began.

“Why? What’s wrong with...?” Adrien’s voice trailed off as he saw the room. A soft gasp escaped him, one that made Marinette heave another low, moaning sob.

“When we got here this morning, it was just sitting there,” Nathanael quietly filled him in with a frown. “Nobody knows who did it. The art club is sure it wasn’t one of us.”

The blond paused, feeling the weight behind the artist’s words. “You don’t think it was... Chloe, do you?”

“I can’t think of anyone else, we’re all accounted for.” The redhead raised a brow at him, folding his arms. “You wouldn’t defend her if she tore apart Marinette’s book, would you?”

One look at the weeping girl on his best friend’s chest and he was vigorously shaking his head. “No, of course I wouldn’t! An artist’s portfolios are sacred! I’m just... confused. Chloe wouldn’t do this.”

“Oh really?” Alya’s voice rang out in disbelief. “What rock have you been living under, Adrien? Chloe has done way worse than this before.”

“Yeah, don’t you remember when she sabotaged Marinette’s gift to Ms. Bustier?” Kim chimed in.

“Or how she let my watch get broken?” Alix groused.

“Or when she mocked Nathanael’s drawings and got him akumatized?” Rose piped up, earning a nod from her girlfriend.

“Or when she threw a tantrum because she couldn’t be Queen Bee and got herself akumatized by choice?” Max emphasized, adjusting his glasses.

“Guys, please,” Adrien pleaded, raising his hands. “I know she’s done worse than this before, but... do you really think she’d stoop to this level? Her mom is a famous fashion mogul and she knows my dad is the biggest designer in Paris - she knows the importance of this stuff!”

“Oh, like she’d care about that when it happens to belong to Marinette!” Ivan scoffed. Beside him, Mylene frowned, clutching his hand and nodding in solidarity.

“But... but she wouldn’t want...” Adrien trailed off. She wouldn’t do this because she doesn’t want to make me upset. Belatedly he realized it might sound more self-centered had he said it out loud.

“Chloe is a bully, Adrien,” Lila spoke up, voice dripping with honeyed concern. Marinette’s grip tightened on Nino’s shirt, something that made the boy look down in confusion. “It’s obvious she did this to get back at her!”

“I did what to get back at whom?” Chloe questioned as she walked down the hall. Her nose was in the air like usual, and Sabrina simpered behind her.

“You stole Marinette’s sketchbook and ripped it up, didn’t you?!” Alya exclaimed, a rather thunderous expression shadowing her face as she pointed accusingly.

“I did what?!” The socialite balked. Turning to Sabrina, she ordered, “Remind me of where I was from the moment school ended yesterday to this morning.”

“U- um, let’s see,” the girl muttered, pulling out her phone and typing furiously.

“Drop the pretenses, we all know it was you,” Alix sighed. “This is such a Chloe thing to do. I’m surprised you’re trying to make us think for a minute that--”

“I got it!” Sabrina yelped, interrupting the pinkette with her waving her phone back and forth. “Chloe had a manicure directly after school, followed by an hour of sunbathing by the pool, and then back to her room, where I did her homework until dark and I went home. This morning...” she scrolled down, “...she picked me up in the limo and we drove to school, where we are now.”

“That proves it,” the blonde declared, tilting her chin upwards. “There’s no way I did it.”

“I’d believe you,” oh great, here came Lila again, “except for the fact that leaves a large window of time where you could’ve broken into school and stole the book!”

“What in the world makes you think I’d be caught dead trespassing on school property just to look for a stupid sketchbook?” Chloe snapped, folding her arms. “I’m Queen Bee! I value my beauty sleep way more than whatever Dupain-Cheng scribbles in class.”

“Was Queen Bee,” Nino muttered, but the blonde pointedly ignored him.

“Oh yeah?” Alya argued, Lila placing a hand on her shoulder as if to hold her back. “Remember when you stole Marinette’s design for Gabriel Agreste’s design competition?”

“Or when you had Sabrina try to steal her diary?” Alix agreed. Then with a snicker, “By the way, nice going on the box trap, ‘Nette.”

Sabrina winced, holding her wrist at the memory.

“Face it, Chloe, you’re nothing but a big bully.” Kim spoke up with a withering look. “You’ve had it out for Marinette since we were little. And yeah, I may have had a thing for you before, but that don’t mean I’m gonna stick up for you now! You went too far this time!”

Chloe looked utterly flabbergasted, eyes darting back and forth between the angry students before finally settling on a silent Adrien.

“Adrikins,” she implored, “you have to believe me. I didn’t do it this time.”

Adrien searched her face for a couple long seconds before he looked away with a sigh.

“Adrien,” Lila spoke up, her voice dripping with concern, “you don’t seriously take the word of a bully over your friends... right?”

“Well, I- I...” he floundered, gesturing back and forth between Chloe and Marinette, who had finally stopped crying and was hiding her face in Nino’s shoulder.

“Okay, let’s all calm down,” Max interrupted, catching everyone’s attention. “This is getting us nowhere, and we still have nobody to blame for the book. Let’s rewind and work through it line by line: where were each of us between yesterday afternoon and this morning?”

“I’ll go first.” He gestured to the door. “I was at the library to work on my half of the science project, then I went home and worked on Markov.”

“I can tell you for certain that I was with Marinette after school,” Alya began confidently. “We worked on our project together and after I went home for dinner I stayed there all night.” She nodded towards her boyfriend. “Nino can vouch - we were texting for a couple of hours, right?”

“Yeah, I have the text log to prove it.” He nodded firmly. “And I was at my house babysitting my brother.”

“I remember you telling me about that,” Adrien softly chimed in with a smile. “I can offer my phone if anyone needs to check me.”

“Okay, so that’s Alya and Nino that have solid alibis,” Max nodded. “Who else? Alix?”

“I was with my dad at the museum for most of the afternoon,” she answered, jerking her chin towards Kim. “Then he called and asked about the math homework, and so I helped him through it for a while.”

“I was at the pool hanging out with Ondine for a couple of hours before I went home to do homework,” he added with a nod. “Ondine will cover me!”

“Kitty Section was practicing!” Rose piped up. “Leka’s mom can confirm if you want!”

“So that’s Rose, Juleka, Ivan, and Mylene as well,” Max hummed. “And Adrien... we don’t need to ask.”

The boy blushed, ducking his head. “Fair.”

“I was hanging out with Marc all day yesterday,” Nathanael nodded, tossing his head to get the hair out of his eyes. “If you need me to ask him to verify...”

“I’ve already told you where Chloe and I were,” Sabrina added, nervously hugging her phone to her chest. “S- so that leaves Lila!”

All eyes fell on the girl, who stiffened under the scrutiny.

“Hey, guys,” Alya started disapprovingly. “You can’t possibly think...”

“She’s the only one who hasn’t said anything yet,” Max pointed out.

“Yeah! Kinda suspicious how the quietest person in the room hasn’t said anything in her own defense yet, huh?” Chloe jeered. “Give it up, little miss innocence - where were you last night?”

“What about Marinette?” Lila pointed out instead, eyes narrowing. “She hasn’t said anything either.”

“Marinette’s sketchbook got destroyed,” Nino answered incredulously. “Why the heck do you think she’d sneak over here to destroy it herself? Can’t you see how distraught she is?”

“Yeah, she’s not the type to do that,” Alya confirmed, folding her arms. “What’s with you, girl? Are you implying that Marinette wanted to stir up drama?”

“W- well, I just--”

“I know where she was,” Adrien spoke up.

Marinette stiffened, finally daring a peek up at him. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she quickly looked back down when she felt a string of snot trickling between her nose and her sleeve.

“I-- er, I have a friend,” he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “They like to keep an eye on my friends for me, since I can’t always... y’know, be there to help. She was in her room the entire time.”

(It wasn’t like he was about to out himself as Cat Noir - but if they could believe Lila was Ladybug’s best friend, surely they’d believe him if he said he knew a certain mischievous cat hero, right?)

The students fell silent for several seconds. Alya narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

Then she grinned, nudging Marinette’s shoulder. “How sweet,” she cooed. “I guess our sunshine really does care a lot, huh?”

“W- well, you’re all my first friends,” he murmured bashfully. “If there’s something I can do to help, I want to be able to.”

Marinette’s face burned bright red to the tips of her ears, and she hid her face even more in her arm.

“That leaves you,” he continued, staring Lila almost defiantly in the face. “Where were you? You still haven’t defended yourself.”

“I- I was shopping,” she answered, tilting her chin and looking back through her lower lashes. “Then I went home and had dinner.”

“Anyone able to corroborate this?” Max questioned.

Everyone looked to the girls.

Alya slowly reached for her phone, a contemplative frown on her face as she scrolled through her messages.

“You told me you and your mom were going to take a day trip to Disneyland Paris with the Spanish ambassador,” she accused, showing the class her phone screen. “You never told me you were shopping.”

“I didn’t have enough money for what I wanted to do, plus the ambassador was busy and my mom got called back last minute, so I gave up and went to the mall,” Lila countered defensively. Almost too defensively. “I don’t have to report to anyone whenever I change my plans.”

“Oh, no, I’m not accusing you of...” Alya scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “That’s not the point. So Lila’s out too. Maybe it was someone else from another class? Who has a grudge against Marinette?”

“Didn’t Marc get akumatized that one time?” Adrien asked, turning to Nathanael.

“He forgave both of us,” he answered quickly with a shake of his head. “No way. Marc isn’t the type of person to hold grudges like that. He likes Marinette.”

“Is there anyone else? Jean? Mireille? Aurore?”

“No, not that I know of,” Nino slowly shook his head.

“Then who destroyed the book?” Max huffed in frustration. “None of this makes any sense. None of us hate her enough to do it, nobody else hates her enough to do it...”

“Wait,” Lila spoke up. “Wasn’t there an akuma last night?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that!” Adrien agreed almost a touch too loudly.

“How would you--?” Alya began, then realized her mistake and shook her head. “Oh yeah, overprotective dad.”

“And I keep tabs on the Ladyblog,” he admitted. “I like seeing Ladybug and Cat Noir defeat akumas when I can’t see them myself. It makes me feel safer.”

“Yeah, there was an akuma last night,” Rose remembered. Then she cupped her hands over her mouth. “You don’t think...?”

“I don’t think they had a grudge at Marinette, but it’s possible,” Juleka spoke up with a shrug. “But I would think the Ladybug Cure would heal the damage.”

“Unless someone did it while we were all on lockdown,” Alya surmised with a hum. “Ugh, this sucks. Max, you’re the genius, what do you think?”

“It’s hard to say,” the boy answered, taking his chin in his hand with narrowed eyes. “It’s too bad I left Markov at home today - he would have proven instrumental in spotting the loose thread.”

“Guys,” Marinette said weakly, “it’s... it’s fine. I’ll just try to salvage what I can and... I’ll get over it.”

“What?” Adrien stared at her in concern. “But... but Marinette, that’s your work. You’ve spent so much time on it.”

Nino cast him a suspicious glance, and the blond backpedaled, “I- I mean, I’ve seen you working on it during break. You can’t just throw it away.”

“I’m gonna have to redo everything anyways,” she pointed out, finally straightening herself up and wiping her eyes. As Nino handed her a handkerchief, she quietly thanked him and blew her nose.

“But...” Adrien looked incredibly lost as she folded the soft cotton and stuffed it into her pocket, promising to wash it as soon as she could.

Nino just shrugged, halfheartedly smiling and murmuring, “You need it more than me, dudette.”

“I know I’m not much of a... fashion artist, but... I can help?” Nathanael offered. “I know a few of those designs were for our comic...”

“You’re so brave, Marinette,” Lila gushed, and the noirette looked up to see the student giving her a sickly-sweet smile. “You really are a class representative. After all, it is just a sketchbook - at least whoever did it didn’t target you instead!”

It’s not just a sketchbook, she wanted to spit back at her. Instead she tried to calm herself the best she could by taking a deep breath and looking instead to Nathanael.

“I appreciate the offer, Nath,” she murmured. “Thanks.”

“Students!” Miss Bustier called as she made her way up the stairs. “What is everyone doing in the hall?”

“Miss Bustier,” Adrien spoke up firmly, “someone ruined Marinette’s sketchbook. We were trying to figure out which one of us did it.”

“Yeah,” Alya chimed in, folding her arms across her chest.

“Oh dear,” the teacher’s confused expression melted into one of concern as she turned to her star student. “Marinette? Are you alright?”

“I’m... I’ll be fine,” she reassured with a plastered-on smile. “It’s just a sketchbook, right? I can just start another one.”

“Make sure you watch out for akumas today,” Bustier warned, patting the girl’s shoulder before the students parted to let her into the classroom. “Now we need to begin class - the bell’s due to ring any minute now.”

As if on cue, the bell sounded, startling a few of them.

Alya chuckled, placing a hand on Marinette’s back. “C’mon, why don’t you sit with me today?”

“Am I chopped liver now?” Nino feigned hurt. “Babe. I got snotted on and you’re leaving me?”

“Oh hush, my bestie needs me more today.” She winked at the boy as she moved past. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll let you sit with me in the afternoon?”

“I guess I can take that,” the boy shrugged with a huff of a laugh. He turned to Adrien. “Girlfriends, I tell you.”

Adrien followed them with his eyes for a second before sighing. “I hope she’s gonna be okay,” he commented softly.

“Nette’s tough - if anyone’s gonna bounce back from it, it’d be her.” Nino nodded, nudging him with an elbow. “Besides, she has you to check up on her, right?”

“Of course! I’ll have to see how she’s doing at lunch.” A smile spread across the blond’s face, even as Chloe clung to him and all but dragged him into the room.

As he sat down in front of Alya and Marinette, he turned and gave her a meaningful look.

“Mari, I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I really am sorry. I had no idea this would happen.”

“It’s okay, not your fault,” she sighed. “I should’ve been more careful to take my book home last night.”

He stared into her face for several seconds before his lip quirked up into a half smile and he patted her hand, turning around before she could turn bright red.

Hopefully she’d heard what he was trying to say.

Sparing a glance at Lila, he gave her a disapproving frown before turning to face the board. He wouldn’t be so careless this time.

This was more than just lying - and Lila had no idea the war that she’d just started.

#slight lila salt #akuma class sugar #the ruined sketchbook trope #adrien sugar #bustier's class isn't stupid #they also aren't blindly accusatory either #well except for chloe #but tbh i can't blame them #realistic lila #realistic ml

[red-balloon12]

Everybody Hates Lila (And Why It’s Concerning Sometimes)

Lila Rossi is not a stranger in the Miraculous fandom. In fact I’d argue she’s more infamous than Gabriel in some cases. She’s despised by nearly everyone and while some reasons are more justifiable than others, she’s all around not a good person and a mid at best character.

But here’s my deal with it. The fandom hates this girl to I’d like to say an….unhealthy degree. Like the amount of salt this character gets is unmatched. And I feel like the causation of all of this salt doesn’t really live up to the response.

Lila is a liar who causes characters to act out of character very often. And not only that but she also is Marinette’s main rival now and is a jerk to her. She’s underutilized and her lies aren’t that convincing and yet the story wants to convince us she’s more important than she really is pre butterfly miraculous.

This is Lila’s character summed up. At the most I’d expect is frustration mixed in with mild dislike. Reasonable but not over the top. Instead though, I see SEVERAL people make so many salt fics and talk so much shit about her that I just have to sit down and say….y’all need to chill. You all seriously need to chill.

The fandom talks about this character like she’s the spawn of Satan, something we’ve been criticizing Astruc for doing with Chloe, all because she doesn’t have as many redeeming traits as her. Did we forget that they’re BOTH kids? Both of them still have room to improve on themselves.

And I’ll admit it, I was one of those people who kept on saying “Why demonize Chloe when we have Lila” but thinking on it now, neither of them deserves to have that fate. If we REALLY need a character to do the whole “people don’t change” thing, why not Gabriel?

It’s so much better to have this lesson taught to adults to not be like Gabriel, to accept change and loss and to be better. To teach how heavy the impact of a lost love can be and how old age isn’t an excuse to be “stuck in your ways”.

Plus the lesson works better for someone who’s older than for teenagers who’s literally at the stage of their lives where change is everything. And I’m not saying Lila needs to be redeemed or she isn’t allowed to be a villain. What I’m saying is that the over salting on her character, a character that can be easily fixed and patched up, is kinda dumb and kinda annoying to see…especially when some people do like Lila.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, don’t think I’ve forgotten what happened years ago with that one fan that claimed that they loved Lila. That’s what happens when you take salting on a character WAY too far. And I can say that it’s only gotten a little better.

I just don’t understand why people can’t spend their energy talking about how to make a character better instead of salting on them 24/7 and this goes for all of the characters in ML.

I’m gonna be in the minority when I say this but Lila doesn’t deserve to be salted in as much as she does. She deserves reevaluation and a true villain arc. The constant bashing and insulting her at any chance ain’t it.

But you wanna know the thing that frustrates me the most about the Lila salt? How she started getting salted on in the first place. Aka, her being another barrier to Adrienette.

If y’all don’t know already, I don’t like the lovesquare and even back then I didn’t like it. And when I started seeing people hate Lila for this reason, I got very annoyed. It’s the same reason as to why people hated Kagami and it’s a stupid reason (imo). At least the other reasons why she’s hated had some foundation and sense.

TLDR: Lila is a mess but she’s not a mess that’s beyond repair but the constant salting on her and her character isn’t going to do anything. (If you really wanna salt on someone, salt on the writers for making her writing so subpar)

#miraculous #miraculous opinions #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #lila rossi #Lila sugar(?) #ml fandom critical #fandom salt #slight ml writers salt

[miraculousdeservesbetter2024]

MAJOR Revelation & Collusion salt/vent incoming:

Look, I’m sorry if I’m misunderstanding something here, but I really dislike these episodes.

Why? To me, it seems like that guy is using Gabriel (the main villain and known terrorist of Miraculous) as the main "mouthpiece" for the fans who have the gall to take up for Chloe or call out her bad character portrayal (“You have a wonderful life, power, wife and a daughter”).

It also feels like the exact same thing when it came to Lila in Revelation, using the whole “Chloe is capable of change” speech for her own advantage, similar to what she tried to do with Marinette in Chameleon with the whole "friendship and not fighting over a boy" speech. It’s like he’s using them both as mouthpieces to represent the fans who still think Chloe can change or has potential.

So basically he's saying "Only psychopaths think that. You should listen to Marinette when she says Chloe is incapable of change because she’s the protagonist, and you shouldn’t listen to Lila and Gabriel when they say that Chloe can change because they’re the antagonists!”.

It’s really frustrating because any other time, we are made to feel sorry for Gabriel despite everything that he’s done, now we shouldn’t listen to him??? This is really disappointing to think about because he’s ruining Marinette's character this way. I still like Marinette and I really do think she deserves better, but I’m starting to see why people are starting to dislike her. She's becoming ANOTHER Thomas self-insert (on top of the MANY he already has in the series). The guy loves himself TOO much, don't you think?

I'm going to be completely honest here. As a Marinette fan, I still think the way SOME critics go about describing/criticizing/disliking Marinette and her character isn’t necessarily correct, but I must say that it’s still understandable. This guy is basically making her into his own personal mouthpiece, making S5 Marinette’s portrayal the worst as it has ever been 😓

Which is really a letdown because I love Marinette. It’s Chloe’s “Darnation arc” all over again. He’s ruining characters and development just to push his own morals and fill his own ego to the brim and it’s a shame.

And before anyone says:

“Geez! I swear to god people act like they know Chloe more than her own creator!” 🙄

Maybe your right, but MAYBE it wouldn’t of turned out that way if the show wasn’t so inconsistent and contradicting all the time! This is another reason why I think people have so much animosity towards characters like Andre, because the story portrays him as the victim “this entire time” who only got into politics to please his father and Audrey, pretending that he was never a corrupt politician on his own free will. It’s questionable because…he made his own bed. He choose the life that he has now, to have a child with a despicable woman, choose to spoil Chloe rotten, not to discipline her when she was being rotten to other people, and choose to not be there for her for emotional support.

I’m not saying that Chloe bares no blame at all, but it’s not ENTIRELY her fault just because “she’s her own person”. There is such things as bad parents & bad role models 🙄 You don’t have the right to give up on your daughter, saying things like “you have a terrible/cruel daughter” or “you tried everything in your power to help” when all you really did from the beginning was enable her, let her make everyone’s lives miserable and not be there for her like your should have. Yeah, she’s horrible, but at least she has the excuse that she’s a child. Your not only a grown man, but her father.

This goes for other figures in her life also (Audrey, Bustier, her butler, heck, even Ladybug to a degree). People are right, not everybody is responsible for holding her hand through redemption/reformation (and I agree) and to coddle her every time she does something wrong, but to say that “they’ve tried everything/their best”…just isn’t true. It’s more of an excuse to give up on her. Then JUST SAY THAT instead of trying to convince everybody that you did everything that you could.

Enabling =/= Helping.

#andre salt #gabriel salt #slight marinette salt #Chloe salt #chloe bourgeois #collusion salt #lila salt #thomas astruc salt #anti thomas astruc #Thomas salt #mlb critical #ml critical #bustier salt #Audrey salt #miraculous ladybug #ml #mlb #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous #miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir #miraculousbeezcentral #andre bourgeois #rant #salt #marinette dupain cheng

[goggles-mcgee]

Replaced: It’s The Latest News

Second Chapter of the story for @miner249er

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Summary: Alya prided herself on being the Number 1 Ladybug journalist in all of Paris. She was the one who got exclusive interviews, she was the one who got recognized in a sea of reporters and news channels on the scenes of akuma battles and she was the one who had been trusted to be Rena Rouge. So imagine her surprise when a rival Ladybug blog has the latest Ladybug scoop, not just a scoop, no, they had Ladybug as a guest and she gave them the honor of hosting her announcement. 

Alya tried her best not to feel betrayed.

Alya prided herself on her journalism skills. Her blog was the culmination of those skills. It was definitely a step up from going around her old neighborhood with an old tape recorder (her father’s) and a little handheld journal to write whatever she found that caught her eye or ear. She upgraded to using an app on her phone to record herself or whatever juicy lead she was following and a note app that let her type out quick notes that she would later transfer to her computer so she could flesh out her story. It was a beautiful if not meticulous process, one she found almost methodical. Oh it was hard work don’t get her wrong but it was work that paid off and it was work that deserved to be recognized. Alya had a talent and she knew that, ever since she was a little girl she knew she had wanted to be a reporter. It was different than most kids her age, especially when her and her family had been living in Louisiana in the States.

Moving to Paris had been a big move but when her mother had gotten the job offer by the mayor of freaking Paris to work in his hotel restaurant it had been an easy decision to let her mom follow her dream, the whole family had agreed. Besides, from what her mother had told her and her sisters, their ancestors had lived in France for a substantial amount of time before they fled to the States and settled down in New Orleans. When Alya had asked why their ancestors had fled her mother had been particularly avoidant of the whole thing, she always said it wasn’t the kind of story she wanted her little girls to know. Of course her father had agreed with his wife, that was what led Alya down her path of journalism. Down her path of justice. Her ancestors were her past just as much as her mother’s, she should be able to know why they had fled to the states in the first place. 

War had been ruled out pretty fast, as it was something her mother denied when asked and she knew her mother wasn’t lying. When her mother lied she tended to bite her lip and scrunch her nose. It was an obvious tell. When her father lied his left eyebrow would twitch just the slightest bit. Nora rarely lied, her older sister was someone who wore their emotions on their sleeves, but on the rare occasions she did lie she would give this awkward smile. Now the twins were still at that stage where if they lied they looked off to the side or giggled, it was horribly obvious. Alya knew all her family’s tells so she knew when her mother lied or told the truth, her mother quickly caught on to that fact and just refused to talk about their ancestors all together. She wanted to know the story, no, she craved the story! She needed to know and so she set out to find the truth. 

It made her feel like a secret agent! Hunting down the clues, following leads if she got any. It was thrilling. In the end it wasn’t that big of a shock, Alya had honestly been expecting the fleeing of her ancestor (who she found out was a woman called Fayette) to be something big and shocking like running away from an assassin or an arranged marriage to a wealthy family and her ancestor had a torrid love affair! Something dramatic! In the end it was because Fayette wanted to travel while her father firmly denied his daughter’s wish because, though she was the youngest daughter, she had responsibilities. The family had a farm and Fayette knew she would either live a life on the farm or have to marry to get away from the farm and that wasn’t something she wanted so she ran and caught a boat to the States. 

Though it wasn’t the story she had been wanting nor expecting it was still something that she had hunted down and found herself and it had made Alya feel so good and accomplished. Her mother and father hadn’t been so happy with her, nor had her grandparents but nothing could have dulled her flames that day. She told everyone about it, even those not in the family, it was a story she found, so she figured she had every right to share it. Nora had been interested to hear about it but when she found out Alya was telling her friends at school and the neighbors, she got mad just like their mom and dad. That was the night that Alya got lectured about what she shared, because that was a story about the family, one that was supposed to stay in the family. 

Alya really didn’t see why it mattered. It’s not like Fayette did anything bad, so she saw no problem with sharing the story about her ancestor, but her parents told her it would have been fine if she had asked permission. That was also the night that Alya decided it was better to ask for forgiveness than to beg for permission because she knew her parents never would have given her their say to share the story. Okay maybe she didn’t know for sure but she liked to think she knew her family members well enough to know they wouldn’t have so she stuck to her thought to ask for forgiveness. Plus, reporters never asked for permission to follow stories they just did! And she was going to be the best reporter ever. 

Maybe that was a childish thing to still believe in but Alya knew she had the skills and the drive to reach for it. Sure she had some hiccups but those were merely bumps in the road towards her shining future! Alya had grown since those small mistakes and so had her blog, her blog was truly her greatest accomplishment. Her blog would also be the key to getting her future, it was her portfolio, her experience, it was her everything. A large part of her success she credited towards Ladybug, if it wasn’t for the hero, her blog wouldn’t have found its focus nor its audience, but it was her who built it to what it was today. It was her hard work, her editing, her research, her talent that made it what it was. Perhaps she sounded smug but Alya firmly believed she earned the right to.

Lately though her posts weren’t getting as much traction as they usually got. The numbers were still high but not nearly as high as they had been months ago and Alya had no idea why. She hadn’t done anything differently. She still posted the latest akuma fights, she still posted random facts that correlated with the animal or whatever thing the Kwami of a Miraculous represented, she still posted interviews with Lila. Her content was the same perfect formula she had created and observed as being her most popular, so there should have been no significant drops, and yet there was. Sure Alya could go to her comments and try and see what the people were displeased with but it was getting harder to find the actual constructively critical comments and the haters. 

Ever since her first interview with Lila she had been getting massive hate, that’s not to say she never got any before but that interview seemed to set off a chain reaction of hate comments. They called Lila every name under the sun that was synonymous with ‘liar’ and they called Alya many names too but more often than not she was labeled with ‘sell-out.’ Lila, of course, apologized for the hate her interview brought. Apparently she had quite the following of people who hated her and tried their best to denounce everything she did. Alya had brushed it off but to be honest it was a pain because those comments took up so much of the comment sections of her posts that she basically gave up blocking people and deleting comments. It was just too much work. What made it worse was that Alya’s best friend seemed to believe those people. 

Marinette was never someone who didn’t give someone a second chance or believed rumors right off the bat, and yet she was whole-heartedly against Lila. It hurt. It hurt because Lila was amazing and kind and generous and just everything that Marinette was and if that girl could just open her eyes, Alya was sure they would be friends. Apparently that wasn’t going to happen, or at least not any time soon, so until Marinette could grow up Alya had decided she needed space from her BFF. The girl squad knew and agreed so they too held Marinette at arms-length when they interacted with her. They hoped it would make the girl realize she was in the wrong and apologize but she hadn’t. 

It hurt to admit but Alya missed Marinette, she missed how they would pass notes during class (well back when they sat together), she missed how Marinette was always ready to help her if Alya needed her, and she missed their sleepovers. There was so much she missed but those were the things that first came to mind because in class her and Lila didn’t pass notes, Alya had to take class notes for Lila and herself because of Lila’s wrist issues. Alya loved Lila, she really did, but Lila promised help but she had so much already going on that she often forgot. And sleepovers, Alya missed not stressing out about them, every time Lila came over for a sleepover she felt like her house, her very room, wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t a very nice feeling so somewhere along the way she stopped offering sleepovers. 

Another thing she missed was how excited Marinette got for Alya when she got a new scoop on Ladybug and the Miraculous Squad. Her joy amplified Alya’s. Nino was always excited for her but it wasn’t really the same, and so was Adrien, another local Ladybug Fan, but again, it wasn’t the same. 

Speaking of Ladybug it seemed like the hero was avoiding her. Lately after an akuma battle the hero left the space no matter if her Miraculous was beeping or not. She would  give a couple of answers to the press and then yo-yo away. Usually she would give Alya a little interview or at least wave to her camera but lately that stopped. It stopped and Alya wasn’t sure when it actually started to stop and that scared her because that meant her attention slipped. Her focus slipped and as a reporter focus was crucial.

“You good babe?” 

Alya blinked out of her thoughts and gave Nino a small smile and a shrug. “Yeah I guess. Just a little anxious I think.” 

“Of the upcoming announcement?” Adrien asked from his spot next to Nino. 

They had all headed to the park next to Alya’s house when Mireille and Aurore notified everyone at school and on their blog (MiraculousTales another blog about Ladybug and the other heroes that defended Paris-Alya was loathe to admit it was a good blog) that they had an interview with Ladybug who wanted to make an announcement. 

“Partly.” She admitted as her focus went back to Nino’s laptop that had said blog on display. “But I don’t really want to talk about the other thing right now.”

Nino gave her a knowing look but nodded anyway while Adrien just looked confused. The poor boy always looked confused these days. No not confused, well okay, yes he looked confused but he also looked frustrated a lot. Alya and Nino just chalked it up to problems with his dad, it seemed like the model had a new event or photo shoot going on each week. Alya had half a mind to report it to her parents and see if anything could be done because surely that had to be illegal. She had even considered writing a piece on it but Alya wasn’t stupid, she knew if she wrote about Adrien and his awful work hours that she could very well be sued by Gabriel Agreste and really her blog didn’t need that. Plus she didn’t exactly have proof, nor was her source confirmed, two things that were very important in the field of journalism. 

“Oh look! It’s starting!” Adrien announced as he bounced in place. Alya couldn’t help the fond smile that slipped through, if she didn’t know better she would say Adrien was a bigger Ladybug fan than her. 

“I wonder what this whole announcement is for.” Nino mused as they heard the voices of Mireille and Aurore greet the viewers from the screen.

“I don’t know…Usually they let everyone know what their next videos are going to be about, same with announcements. I mean they at least give a brief synopsis of the announcement or if it’s a surprise they say it is. This feels like something else.” Alya mumbled as she stared hard at the screen. Whatever Ladybug had to announce she knew it was going to be important so of course she had her notepad and pen out just in case. 

“Hey Lovelies! Aurore here, I know, not who you wanted to see, but before we bring in our special guest Mireille and I had a couple words we wanted to say.” Aurore said with a bright smile, Alya felt a little bad when she wished the girl would hurry up and announce Ladybug already, but well, they promised Paris’ number one hero and if there was one thing Alya understood about running her own blog was that the people were impatient for their content. 

“We know you guys are eager to see our guest and hear her announcement,” Mireille said softly, “but we just wanted to take a moment before that to let you guys know how grateful we are to each and every one of you for following our blog.”

“Yes, we are so grateful. We never imagined the blog gaining popularity so fast. So we just wanted to thank you, our wonderful followers, as well as those who helped us set up this blog. A special thanks goes out to Claude Beauréal, my cousin, for doing the coding and technical stuff for the blog as Mireille and myself are awful with technology not related to our phones.” Aurore admitted with a laugh as she held up her phone to show a picture of said cousin to the viewers. 

“See, if this wasn’t an important announcement Claude would have edited a picture of himself on the screen so you guys could see him better, though I’m sure you will see a picture of him somewhere on the blog following this video.” Mireille said with her own laugh.

“Very true Mireille! We would also like to give a special thanks to the designer of the blog who helped with the layout and the icons, Paris’ own Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Aurore made a heart with her hands towards the camera before her smile broadened and she straightened in her seat. “Now that the thanks have been given, please welcome our guest, the beautiful, the talented, the miraculous…Ladybug!”

Alya felt like she had been on a rollercoaster back in the States, one that traveled with a fair. It looked fun but you still looked at it with skepticism because while it looks fun you don’t know how much you trust it despite the fact you know the machinery is constantly being checked over. Alya had willfully boarded that rollercoaster and already her stomach had dropped, Marinette had designed their blog’s layout? She didn’t know how she felt about that. The first emotion that came up was betrayal followed by rage followed by this chest clenching sadness. All to end with numbness, but then the introduction of Ladybug had her heart swooping, her pulse rushing and she pushed all thoughts of Marinette away in favor of her favorite hero. 

“Thank you for the warm welcome you two.” Ladybug smiled at the two girls as she strode into frame and took a seat across from both Mireille and Aurore. Alya bitterly thought of all the times Ladybug gave her that smile and how it always made her feel so warm, so special, so important. 

“Huh. That’s weird.” Nino mumbled.

“What? What’s weird?” Alya questioned right away.

“Uh, well, there’s a lot of seats there for just three people.”  He replied.

“Maybe they didn’t have time to take out the other seats?” Adrien said, though he posed it as more of a question. Nino just shrugged while Alya frowned. 

There were a lot of seats.

“You are always welcome on our blog Ladybug.” Mireille gave the spotted  heroine a shy smile.

Ladybug returned the smile with one of her own. “You’re too kind. Now, I don’t want to take up too much of your or Paris’ time but I felt like this needed to be addressed. There may be some of you who have noticed and those of course who haven’t, but…there have been some changes as of late to do with what you have dubbed us as, ‘Team Miraculous.’”

“Changes?” Aurore asked.

“Yes. First off, it has fallen to me to let you, the people of Paris know that Chat Noir has decided to be a solo hero. We are no longer partners. I can’t nor will I, disclose his reasons why. Those are his own. So just know his actions are also his own and are not affiliated with myself and the new ‘Team Miraculous’.” Ladybug was as she always was in her interviews, business as always but her words were like a rock being thrown at a window.

“New team?” Alya whispered in horror.

“Dude…I wonder why Chat left.” Nino said as he shook his head like he still couldn’t believe Ladybug’s words. Adrien…Adrien was oddly silent and very focused on the screen with a scowl on his face. Alya felt for him, she figured it was because he was such a big Ladynoir supporter like herself and this was like a cannonball to the ship. It seemed like it was well and truly sunk. 

“Maybe she’s just announcing that the temporary heroes are going to be permanent? I mean they haven’t been called in a while but with Chat ditching her she is going to need help.” Nino mused in excitement, one Alya shared, maybe Ladybug was just too stressed with Chat leaving to notify them of their new status’ as the permanent heroes! That had to be it!

“Now I noticed the not so subtle air-quotes over ‘Team Miraculous.’ Why is that?” Mireille asked.

Ladybug hummed as she leaned back in the chair she had been provided. “You’re observant. It’s because the old team was disorganized, we never had an official name. Frankly it was a hot mess. The new team does actually have an official name now and this is a good time to introduce you all to them, I would like to introduce you all to 'The Court of Miracles’.”

Alya’s hopes dropped as fast and hard as her heart and stomach. 

The first to appear on screen was a new Bee hero. She strode in with her two high pigtails swaying behind her. Her pigtails had black streaks curl around them to end at a point and she had ribbons near the base that came up to slightly curl above her head like antennae. The ribbons were black and ended in little yellow pom poms. The black of her gloves came up to about mid-bicep, her black boots came to about mid-thigh. Her body suit was striped black and yellow like a bee but it did have a white fur collar and it looked like she had poofy shorts reminiscent of Victorian bloomers, the stripes on the shorts were vertical instead of horizontal. Above the shorts seemed to be a silver belt that looked to be like a honeycomb design. 

“This is Honey Bee.” Ladybug introduced and said hero waved to the camera before taking one of the empty seats.

Next came out another girl, the new Mouse hero. Her short hair was in a half-up half -down style with the part that was half-up was styled into little buns, the color of her hair was black that faded into a soft pink. Around the buns were false mouse ears, the outside of the ears were gray while the inside were pale pink. Her gloves were black and slightly puffed out at the wrists with gray ribbon on the wrist, you could faintly see pink mouse paw-prints on the hand of the gloves when the hero waved. Her boots resembled her gloves and her suit was mostly gray with pink details. The shoulders of the suit were puffy like a fancy dress shirt and it seemed like there were edges of sleeves that, like her gloves and boots, fanned out. Only instead of gray ribbon for detail there was black ribbon. 

The collar also resembled that of a dress shirt only rounded and black. There was a pink bow there on the collar and there was a bigger bow wrapped around her waist, much bigger, tied in the back and the end of the ribbons wound around each other to mimic a tail. If you looked closely you could see what looked like a jump rope tied under the ribbon on the waist. Alya distantly thought she kind of looked like a magical girl from an anime. “This is Merry Mouse.”

The hero that followed Merry Mouse was like a punch to the gut for Alya, she barely even felt her eyes tearing up as she saw the new Fox hero. He was tall and his hair was an ombre of burnt orange to white, it was a little long so it was pulled back in a little ponytail, fake fox ears were attached to what looked like a Newsboy cap sat atop his hair. His suit looked like a three piece suit that Alya had seen men wear in the orchestra, though it looked a little old fashioned she noted, she wasn’t quite sure what made it so, but they were meshed together it seemed. It wasn’t a bad look she bitterly admitted to herself. Hell, she herself had given her Rena Rouge look a tailcoat somewhat. To top off the look, the Fox hero had ankle length boots. Of course everything stuck to an orange, white and dark brown color palate.

“The new Fox hero, Foxtrot.” Ladybug said with a warm smile at the replacement. 

“Hello.” Foxtrot said softly with a wave as he took a seat.

Another hero came out briefly after Foxtrot and Alya had to bite her lip so she didn’t make a sound or worse yell something out in outrage. The next hero was the Turtle hero. She was elegant as she walked out, her head high, her short hair was a dark green that looked almost black. The suit itself was a bit intimidating to Alya for being the Turtle but it did look cool. The suit under was dark green like her hair but she had what looked like a black kimono over it. Over the kimono in sparcing pieces were what looked like armor in the fashion of samurai armor. They looked like turtle shells, spiky turtle shells and they too were black like the kimono. Her hands were covered by the dark green material but if you looked closely it looked like she had claws. 

“This is Genbu.”

“It is an honor to be here.” Genbu said as she took her seat.

“It’s an honor to have you.” Mireille said.

“Wow. The new Turtle looks…” Adrien muttered. Alya flinched when he spoke, she completely forgot he had been there. Alya turned to look at her boyfriend who was staring at the screen intensely, she knew the feeling. She grabbed his hand and gave it a soft squeeze, one he returned. 

“Next we have Striker.”

Striker seemed to be the new Snake hero. He walked on screen with a quiet confidence, his hair was a little hard to see because of the hood that covered it, it was no surprise that the teal hood looked like that of a snake. The hood itself was attached to a tunic vest, the front of the vest looked like the belly of a snake and was a pattern of aquamarine and seafoam. The suit underneath the vest was dark, clearly it was a mix of green and blue too but Alya honestly only knew a handful of colors because of Marinette’s fashion rants. The boots that went to mid-calf were the same color as the back of the tunic vest and hood and also that of the gloves. It was a simple but effective look. When Striker sat and waved at the camera it was the hair that shocked Alya, the hair was pure white. 

“And finally we have Vouivre.”

Alya didn’t know if she could handle any more new heroes. How could Ladybug replace them all? Not just temporarily, she made that perfectly clear, these clowns were there to stay and it burned Alya. And yet, she couldn’t look away. The last hero walked on screen, the first thought Alya had was, wow this chick is tall. The second thought she had was, I would not try to take that girl on in a fight, Miraculous or not. Vouivre had short fiery red hair that looked like it was slicked back due to the wind and nothing else. Two black horns sat in her hair and in the middle of her forehead was an eye shaped ruby. Her suit was this gorgeous emerald green and the pattern looked like scales, the green and scales wrapped around her left leg and vanished into her boots. It was very reminiscent of a tail. Around the ankle of the left boot was a golden ring. The boots themselves and the right leg of the suit were black. Around her waist and neck were what looked like strings of pearls and to top off the look were the symbols of the chest.

“This is the Court of Miracles. We are Ladybug, Honey Bee, Merry Mouse, Foxtrot, Genbu, Striker and Vouivre, along with our two Chamberlains who work in the shadows we swear to protect the people of Paris.” Ladybug said with such conviction that Alya flinched. 

“Marinette?” Now that caught Alya’s attention and she silently thanked Adrien for the distraction no matter how distraught the boy sounded. She felt like she was about to have a mental breakdown. When she got home she was certain she was going to be sobbing into her pillows but for now she was going to indulge in whatever caught Sunshine’s attention. 

The sight that greeted her however threw her for another loop, one just as big as the damn announcement. Now Alya would be the first to admit it had been a while since she had seen Marinette and to be honest she hadn’t really paid that much attention to the girl but she didn’t think much would have changed. Evidently she was wrong. There Marinette was walking with Luka Couffaine like there was no where she would rather be, with long fucking hair. Since when had her hair gotten so long? And when did she dye the underside of her hair pink? The same pink that matched her high-waisted plaid skinny jeans. She wore thick heeled silver boots that gave her some height, though she was still smaller than Luka. She wore a black cropped Jagged Stone shirt that Alya knew she had cut herself and she was wearing Luka’s jacket. 

The trio of Alya, Nino and Adrien watched the two teens walk by as they remained oblivious of their audience and talked animatedly about the same announcement they had been watching. Alya felt her heartbreak when Marinette didn’t even glance at them but she also felt this overwhelming fury, she turned to complain at being unnoticed but caught sight of Adrien frowning at the retreating forms of Marinette and Luka while he rubbed at his chest. 

“You okay there Sunshine?” She asked in lieu of complaining. 

“What?” Her question seemed to snap the boy out of whatever thoughts he had been drowning in. “Oh…yeah. Yeah I’m fine.” 

Alya didn’t know if she fully believed that but she was more than happy to let the issue go in favor of talking about the new heroes and how there was no way they would be better than the old ones. 

___________________

Honey Bee- is Aurore if you guys did not guess. I considered also giving her the name of Honey Queen but I decided she wanted to distance herself from Chloe's version of the Bee. Though her aesthetic does have some parts to it that are reminiscent of royalty.

Merry Mouse- is Mireille. Her appearance is based on a headcanon I have for the girl and that is she loves Magical Girl animes/shows, and since the Miraculous Transformation takes your ideas and wants into mind she has a more Magical Girl look than most of the heroes. 

Foxtrot- is Luka. I gave him this Miraculous because after Miracle Queen he can't keep the snake and he holds a creative patient soul that I believe would mesh well with the Fox Miraculous, add to that his mischievous side and I thought it was a good fit. His look is inspired by men's fashion from 1914, because that is when the Foxtrot started up and was popular. (he is also the one that cast illusions of Mireille and Aurore as their hero selves partaking in the announcement.)

Genbu- is Kagami. I gave her this Miraculous because she is fiercely protective of those she loves and is loyal too and because Genbu (who was worshipped as a God and known as Black Warrior/ Black Turtle) is seen as a warrior deity. This is because the shell of a turtle is like a suit of armor. So it is no surprise that Kagami wanted to look like a mighty warrior. 

Striker- is Marc. I gave Marc this Miraculous because he is patient and more than willing to hang back and observe so he can help out. He chose the name Striker because it sounded like a cool superhero name from the comics he loves so much and because he liked to compare being the Snake Hero to that of the snake "sudden striker" in Sunzi's Art of War. His look is based more on a traditional hero look mixed with a rogue look since he thinks himself a background hero.

Vouivre- is Ondine. I gave her this Miraculous because she is a fighter and determined and loyal. Her look and name are taken from the description of the vouivre in The Drac: French Tales of Dragons and Demons. I headcanon Ondine being obsessed with fairytales so when she was given the Dragon Miraculous she immediately remembered the stories of the vouivre and thus her decision for her hero look and name was made. 

The two Chamberlains that Ladybug mentioned in her Court are Chloe and Sabrina, they offer the heroes support from the shadows. Chloe still wanted to help the hero but knew she couldn't do that as a hero anymore so she offered her aid in support and finances if the hero needed it and where Chloe goes, Sabrina follows. 

Next Chapter

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #ml salt fic #alya cesaire #slight alya salt #lila rossi salt #marinette dupain cheng #marinette deserves better #alya cesaire salt #adrien agreste #adrien agreste salt #nino lahiffe #nino lahiffe salt #background lukamari #background lukanette #mireille caquet #aurore boréale #luka couffaine #kagami tsuguri #tsuguri kagami #marc anciel #ondine miraculous #ml ondine #replaced commission #goggles commission #goggles writes

[writer-rider-flirty-thirties]

Marinette wants them to hurt. 88/101 of Fanfic Wars (2022)

#Fanfic Wars 2022 #Bre's Fics #What Could Have Been by Sting #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #marinette dupain cheng #akumatized marinette #Princess Justice #lila salt #alya salt #slight nino salt #another surprise hit

[ravennm84]

Making Your Own Luck

Quick story I wrote while thinking of Plagg’s love of cheese, Tikki’s love of cookies, and the different ways we associate with good and bad luck. Sprinkle in a little Lila salt and you’ve got some wonderful brain candy to tide you over until the next story. Warm-Fuzzies and enjoy!!

There were more than a few abilities that kwamiis had that normally weren't used. Kaalki could improve her holder's horseback riding ability. Pollen could help flowers grow when she spent enough time in an area. 

Tikki's power over luck and good fortune was very well known. But it wasn't only her lucky charm, but her ability to take away luck. Now, this wouldn't give someone bad luck, that's Plagg's thing and had started the whole black cat crossing your path superstition. It would just set a person's luck to zero, and their actions afterwards would determine if it turned good or bad. This is where the concept of karma and the saying 'making your own luck' came from.

Normally, these were abilities that kwamiis kept to themselves or would become a side effect of being active for an extended period of time. Tikki was able to control that ability easily… until her holder came across that Italian rat, Lila Rossi. Oh, how she wished for the chance to reset that girl's luck and let karma determine her punishment. It would be so easy, just a second of physical contact and all her luck would disappear. Then everything she did would continue to build and grow, not that the little Goddess had to guess which way it would go.

 Then, one glorious Tuesday morning, Lila accused Marinette of stealing her orange pen. Tikki had been eating her blueberry and lemon curd macaron while reclining on a silk scarf when the girl snatched the purse she was in. Marinette tried to get it back, horrified when Lila opened the latch and shoved her hand inside. 

The purse jostled roughly to one side, causing Tikki's cookie to fall to the floor as the stolen pen slid out of the girl's sleeve and into the purse. What happened next occurred so quickly, that she would always claim, while ignoring Plagg's jokes and side eyes, that it was a complete accident. Tikki grabbed the pen, touching Lila’s fingers as she pushed away and fazed through the bottom of the purse. With all the chaos of Lila keeping the purse out of Marinette’s reach and Mme. Bustier, demanding that everyone calm down, no one noticed the kwamii fly under the desks, drop the pen under Lila’s chair, and return to Marinette to hide in her backpack. 

"...but she took my pen, I saw her put it in-"

"If that is the case, you tell me and I will handle it," Bustier said sternly, displeased that her lesson had been interrupted and her pregnancy hormones giving her a shorter fuse. "Give Marinette her purse back, now." She did, barely hiding her smirk. "Marinette, may I please take a look inside your purse?" 

Hands shaking from the adrenaline, having a flashback of the last time her bag had been searched, and worried about Tikki being found, Marinette wanted to say no. It was only when she spotted Tikki out of the corner of her eye, head poking out of her backpack and giving a reassuring nod, that she handed over her purse.

A few seconds later, Bustier handed the purse back and cast a disappointing scowl at Lila. "I believe you owe Marinette an apology." 

Shock broke through Lila’s façade as she sputtered. "But… but she took my favorite orange pen. I swear I saw-"

"Isn't this it?" Nathaniel asked, causing everyone to turn and see him pick the pen up from under their shared desk. 

Sputtering a bit more, Lila clenched her jaw before giving Marinette a terse "sorry" before stomping back to her seat. 

Plagg knew exactly what his Sugarcube had done, he'd felt the slight spike of power after the cookie had shattered on the floor and that brat had shoved her hand into Pigtail's purse. The embarrassment of apologizing in front of the class was just the start. He knew the girl wouldn't accept defeat so easily, and the consequences would keep growing. 

And he was not disappointed. 

Lila tried to trip Marinette in the cafeteria, and ended up stubbing her toe on a table leg hard enough to cry real tears. When she attempted to switch their homework assignments in Mendeleiev's class, the teacher not only spotted the switch but proved it in front of everyone by comparing handwriting. That got Lila a week of detention. 

Then, at the end of the day, Lila accidentally dumped her water bottle all over Marinette’s head and backpack. Despite acting oh-so apologetic and reminding everyone about her weak wrist, she wasn't getting the support or assurances of "it's not your fault" that she expected. Many glared at her while others ran off to get towels to help Marinette. Realizing that she miscalculated and did too much on a single day, Lila made a hasty retreat outside. Only to get absolutely soaked when a car sped through a puddle on the street. 

Plagg laughed his little whiskers off from that one. But he knew it was just starting. He couldn't wait to hear about what happened away from school. 

~oOo~

The following morning, Lila looked like she'd been dropped into Dante's Inferno and spat back out just in time for school. What happened didn't even have anything to do with Marinette, so she couldn't blame it on her. That just annoyed her all the more.

While storming home wet from the puddle, she kicked a pebble that hit a bird, then a flock of birds swarmed her while she ran for two blocks. She shoved a neighbor out of the way when she got to her apartment building, and the door flew back and cracked her in the nose. It bled for over ten minutes. 

She went to the mall for some retail therapy, coupled with a five finger discount, and was caught immediately. Her mother was called and she was banned from the mall for life. Greta was not happy with her daughter and gave her extra chores as punishment. While Lila was muttering mean and disrespectful things about her parents while cleaning the bathroom, she didn't account for the volume of her voice or the bathroom tiles echoing what she said. Her grounding was extended. 

All this made Lila’s mood particularly volatile when she arrived at school that morning. Not bothering to pay attention to what was around her, she gave Mireille a shove out of the way, making the girl stumble down the stairs. A couple seconds later, Lila slipped on the wet steps and fell all the way to the bottom. Her classmates saw the whole thing, and although they were miffed that she pushed someone, they still helped Lila to the nurse to get checked out. Nothing broken, but there were multiple new bruises to match her black and purple nose.

In class, Marinette had to resist the urge to stare at the hot mess her bully had become in a single day. The rest of the class had noticed too. Nathaniel decided to move up a row to sit with Ivan. Rose and Juleka cast wary glances in her direction whenever Lila started muttering to herself. Even Mme. Bustier had to tell Lila multiple times to stop talking with the threat of detention. 

By the time lunch came around, Marinette made sure to be with one other person at all times. With how unhinged Lila was getting, she didn't want to risk being caught alone with her. Luckily, Ivan, Rose, and Juleka wanted to talk with her about the new designs for Kitty Section, so she was covered. 

Lila noticed how the class was starting to avoid her. Fighting off the urge to curse and scream at them, she took a few deep breaths to clear her mind. She'd been rushing too much for the last two days, she knew that. Trying to compensate for her failure was only bringing more attention to herself and the sheep were noticing that something wasn't right. She had to slow down and make them come to her.

For the next few days, Lila backed down. She smiled at her followers, paid attention in class, and would occasionally look at her phone in distress and act like she was fighting off tears. By Monday morning, things were going better for her. She'd avoided getting in any more trouble with her mom and teachers, she'd texted a fake apology to her classmates, and admitted that she was going through something that was causing a lot of stress. When some of them asked what it was, Lila timidly said that she was too nervous to say anything else. She knew they would bug her and assure her that she could tell them anything. 

Monday morning, just as she planned, everyone was encouraging her to trust them and tell them what was bothering her. Seeing that Bustier and Marinette weren't in class yet, she knew now was the time to strike.

Squeezing her eyes shut as she harshly pinched the inside of her elbow to bring tears, she started weaving her story. "It's just, someone's been bullying over text. It's so bad. She keeps telling me that I'll lose all my friends and that I should just kill myself," she said between forced sobs as she dropped her head into her hands. "And it never stops. Sh- she texts all day and into the night. And when I tried to show my mom, the messages were gone. I don't know how, but it's like my phone got hacked and the messages disappear after I've read them."

Max mentioned that there are self deleting message apps, but he wasn’t familiar with them. Then he looked at her searchingly. "You keep saying 'she', that would indicate that you are aware of who is behind this?"

Doing her best surprised face, Lila shook her head. "I can't say, none of you would believe that Marinette would-" she gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh no, I really shouldn't have said anything."

Lila watched as the sheep exchanged surprised looks while Adrien glared at her, but he wouldn't say anything. His father would have made sure of that. 

"You're saying that Marinette, our class rep, has been bullying you over text?" Alix asked, unease evident in her tone.

She shook her head while turning up the water works. "I knew I shouldn't have said an-anything. She's your friend, too."

"You said she's been doing this constantly?" Mylene asked, eyeing her carefully as Lila nodded. "When did she last send you one of those texts?"

Sniffling, Lila rubbed her eyes to give herself a second to think. It felt like these were leading questions, like they knew something she didn't. Meaning they'd probably spent time with her over the weekend and would have noticed her messaging Lila constantly. But since everyone was here and Marinette wasn't…

"Right before class. It- it asked if I was dead yet." Another sniffle and she was sure the class was wrapped around her fing-

"Marinette was right! You are a liar!"

Lila was so surprised by Kim's outburst, she forgot to keep crying and stared at everyone as they glared at her in disgust and moved away from her.

"I can't believe we almost bought that crap you were selling!" Alix turned away, face turning red in anger.

"But- but it's the truth! I-"

"There is a .03% chance of what you said being true." Max interrupted, staring down his nose at her. "At this point it is better that you admit it."

Casting a desperate look around the classroom, she was surprised that no one looked supportive. Even Adrien looked absolutely done with her. Realizing the jig was up, she let her expression morph to anger and annoyance as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Wow, I'm surprised you idiots figured it out. Usually you do exactly what I say after faking a few tears. I'm curious, what gave me away?"

The sudden change in the Italian girl gave them a bit of whiplash, but Nino answered her. "You ruined Marinette’s phone when you dumped your water on her. She isn't getting a new one until this Friday. No way she could have been messaging you at all."

"Huh, I guess it was worth dumping that on her, even if you idiots started to notice." Then she shrugged and stood from her seat. "Oh well, good to know for my next school, this place was getting stagnant anyway."

Kim blocked her way. "You're not going to get away with-"

"Shut it, you stupid jock. I've already got Bitch-stier and Dumb-ocles eating out of my hand. When I tell them you're ganging up on me, all of you will get detention while I walk free." Sidestepping her soon-to-be former classmates, she gave them a sarcastic wave and smile as she bid them "ciao" and opened the door…

To come face to face with a furious teacher, principal, and her mother!? What's she doing here? Did they just hear what I said?

The thought barely finished when her mother reached out, literally grabbed her by the ear, and dragged her out the door. The class watched in shock as Mme Rossi screamed and lectured her daughter all the way to Damocles' office. 

They would be informed days later that Lila had been sent to military school in Italy. In lycee, they heard rumors that she had been arrested for stalking a local celebrity in Venice. During university, Alya found an article about Lila Rossi being sentenced to 30+ years in prison for attempting a ponzi scheme. It had failed terribly and her victims got all their money back, but Lila would have to serve 5 years for each of her victims. 

Not that it mattered to them anymore. The class was too busy with their own lives and futures to put much thought into some lying brat that they went to school with for a little while. 

Bonus:

Tikki fought her grin as she watched Lila being dragged away by her ear as she and Marinette came up the stairs. Sighing with relief, she was about to enjoy a well deserved treat when she heard a familiar snicker behind her.

"Nice going, Sugarcube. Couldn't have done it better, myself." Plagg cackled as he passed her a cookie before indulging in a wedge of cheese he'd brought with him.

She grudgingly took the cookie before looking away from him. "It was an accident, I touched her hand when she tried planting that pen in my holder’s purse. What happened was her own doing and not my fault."

"Su~re. And the fact that she interrupted your cookie time and dumped your macaron onto the floor had nothing to do with it?"

The look she gave him had Plagg laughing on the inside. Only on the inside.

"That was a perfectly baked, blueberry macaron with a tart, lemon curd filling. I only got one bite before it got dumped to the floor. A price had to be paid."

Plagg watched with great affection as his Sugarcube took a bite of her sweet treat. Oh yes, he'd learned millennia ago not to interrupt cookie time. Just like Henry the VIII, that Lenin guy in Russia, and a few others. They had experienced the wrath of the goddess of creation when interrupting cookie time, though Plagg was the only one to know why things went so bad. It made him smart enough never to do it again.

Taglist:

@2confused-2doanything @7-sage-7 @aadnrsstar @abrx2002 @awkwardromances @bayball @babylovebug18 @botanicalfoxx @back-cats-and-broken-mirrors @caffeinetheory @cheshire5210 @chocolateherringtacofan @city-of-all-tunas @classycollectorreviewworld  @corabeth11 @chocolatechipcookiesandcamembert @darkened-flame @delightfulcookiesrecipespizza @fandom-trapped-03 @ghostmaster83@iamblinkmarvelarmy @interobanginyourmom @izang @jesussavedevenme @kazedancer @kitten12113 @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @lilypotter2018 @lunataravler @ladylupuscrow @maskedpainter @ miraculouslydumb @nerd-nowandforever @naruwitch @ola-is-dead @pandacatxd @plushbookworm @plz-excuse-my-inner-ravenclaw @pheonix-biach @pandora-fucking-box @raiderofthelostbooks @ramos123 @rowanrouge @rowanyx @ren121 @seesea22 @seraphichana @sashakoi @shypeacekitten @smartlanceisreal @tazer6787 @that-girl-sakea @thecrazyfantrollshasmoved @the-smallest-kittenz @tishwinchesterannabethjackson @t1dwarrior-of-earth @ulmban @with-forward-motion @wonderbat91939 @zoiechance

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous justice #lila lies #lila salt #lila bashing #class redemption #badass tikki #tikki and plagg

[flufflepuffle296]

The Perfect Day

Hello!!! I wrote this prompt post-(ish)-s3 pre-s4 era where there was a lot of salt so this is about 3 years old I wanna say? So that’s why it’s so outdated so HEAVY Alya/Lila/Adrien/Tom and Sabine salt with a lot of Chloe sugar and slight Marigami (best ship) because *this was the vibe at the time* (ayyyy Kendall Jenner) on this page SO if that is not for you fair enough love that for you now SCROLL ON you have had many warnings about how old this is.

Also because this was written before all of s4/a few s3 episodes the lore is very much not present here and outdated so tough luck!

⚠️trigger warning!⚠️

Talking about s*icide here. Please stay safe and do not read this if you think it may trigger you even the slightest bit. Look after yourself! (Also I’m not trying to romanticise sewerslide in any way here (if you want the trauma dump version of how we came up with this you’re welcome to it) but if there is something that shouldn’t be in a post please do let me know and I will remove it but HEAVY TRIGGER WARNING).

SALT FOR (almost) EVERYONE

The Perfect day:

Marinette alarm startled her eyes open at exactly 4am. She scrunched her face up at the prospect of consciousness, but her expression softened slightly when she remembered: today was going to be the perfect day.

The perfect day, to die.

She clambered out of bed, and went downstairs to make her favourite breakfast, with a hot chocolate on the side and mountains of whipped cream, just how she liked it. She had spent the last week trying to convince herself out of this, but it was the only solution.

She was numb.

She was always going to be numb.

Nothing made her feel (that being a full sentence in itself) truly, wholly happy in her being anymore.

She went back upstairs to her balcony and ate her breakfast as the sun rose, squinting at her city. As she finished the last bite, she realised a good swing around Paris was just what she needed, so effortlessly transformed and pulled out her yo-yo, setting out for the Eiffel Tower, the source of so much inspiration for her designs.

Or rather, her *old* designs. She hadn’t the energy or mental strength to do anything she loved recently, nothing sparked much happiness or felt worth it. Her last design was about 2 months ago, but all it did was make her sob at the realisation that she was a failure and a fraud; nothing matched or was cohesive in any way. But in a way, realising her lack of talent when it came to her recent designs was sort of a net positive she concluded.

It meant it stung less when Lila spilled juice all over them, when Alya said they looked better smudged and ruined, or when Adrien delivered his father’s disapproval.

So instead she just watched the rest out the sunrise from her favourite spot, not picking out the different angles in the monument for a ridiculous geometric gown, or whatever her most recent fantasy was.

After another half hour, she sprung back home and got into her favourite Sunday dress, twirling her hair into her cutest hairstyle that the night before she had meticulously studied for hours on Pinterest, that she had always wanted to try. She packed her bag, three letters included, and ran out to catch up with her only real friend at a Francois DuPont.

Alya had left her a long time ago. After all, Lila had “no reason to lie”. She was “perfect”. Marinette was “just jealous” and “refused to cooperate”.

Because after all, it was always Marinette’s fault.

Marinette wished Alya the best in life, but she wasn’t going to waste much more energy on her. She was drained enough as it was.

Chloé was waiting for her, grinning ear-to-ear as she held up her first try at macarons for Marinette to critique. Marinette bit into the surprisingly good attempt at the cookie as they walked up to school together, laughing at Chloe’s sudden inability to swallow a cookie without choking. They walked to the back of the class and sat in their seats, ignoring their classmates.

It’ll all be over tonight anyways.

She spent the lessons talking with Chloé, as it wasn’t like she’d ever need the information after tonight. She encouraged Chloé to reminisce on their favourite times together, such as the day they realised they were different enough to be the same, or the day they realised that they (platonically) loved one another, and were the closest thing each other had to a soulmate.

That was also what Marinette considered a “perfect day”…

…Was Chloé going to be alright tomorrow?

At lunch, the pair met up with Luka and Kagami and went out to a cafe for food and orange juice, before sprinting after André the ice cream man and getting sweetheart ice cream together, Chloé paired with Luka, and Kagami with Marinette (“platonically” of course!). They parted ways once the hour was over, as they had to return to school, where Marinette spent the time daydreaming, recalling childhood memories from before Francois DuPont. This was going to be the last time she would ever remember them, after all.

They were let out of school at their usual time, thankfully no akuma that day, and Marinette, Chloé, Luka, and Kagami briefly chatted outside the gates, before parting ways. Marinette hugged them all tight as she left, handing them her letters and telling them not to open them until midnight AT LEAST.

She returned home, and watched her favourite films, favourite shows, and had her favourite meal for the very last time.

She kissed her parents on the cheeks, which was the most contact she’d had with them in a while, after Lila decided the bakery was her favourite Boulangerie, and she went upstairs to peacefully watch the sunset.

She would never have to deal with Chat Noir again and his flirting sexual harassment, so she decided to enjoy being Ladybug one last time. She transformed and went her usual route, ending up at the Eiffel Tower to finish watching the sun go down, swinging back home whilst it was still just barely light, taking notice of the cool air stinging her cheeks; the first real feeling she’d had in months.

Tikki begged her not to go through with it, but Marinette had made her decision, and renounced Tikki, telling her to find a new Ladybug; her only real plea being to warn them about Chat Noir prior.

Tikki was distraught, but Marinette used her guardianship to send her off and push her away — she needed to be alone for this, she wouldn’t let Tikki under any circumstance.

But Marinette didn’t want everything to be over quite yet, the air was too still, so she turned to her dust covered mannequin, and slowly stitched the zipper onto her old project that she never had the creativity or energy to finish. She tied a figure of 8, and snapped off the thread, taking notice of how it frayed.

Looking at it finally finished, it wasn’t as horrific as she made it out to be in her head a couple months ago, but still, not good enough to convince herself she had any worth.

She looked over at her clock.

10:30

I guess it’s time…

Marinette climbed up to her balcony and stepped over the railing, peering down. She took a deep breath…

And jumped.

She lay in the air, feeling as if she was floating for a second, waiting to to hit the ground. She thought she heard her name, but knew no one was around…

“MARINETTE!”

She felt a clawed hand grab her waist, knocking the air out of her as the two beings shot into the sky, the black figure clutching her tight.

She opened her blue eyes, and stared into Chat Noir’s brown ones.

…Brown?

…This wasn’t Chat Noir?

The black cat landed on a roof, hurriedly demanding to know if she was okay, in a voice that Marinette recognised must be —

“Kagami?!”

The black cat set her down on her balcony and explained that when Tikki was renounced, she was so distraught and furious she renounced Chat Noir of Plagg, revealing Adrien Agreste. The two Kwamis sailed around trying to find someone when they came across Kagami coming back from late night fencing. They quickly told her to read her letter as they were near incomprehensible from stress. Kagami briefly skimmed the letter before immediately snatching the nearest miraculous - the ring - and transforming into the black cat before sprinting across the rooftops as fast as she could, rushing to Marinette’s aid still clutching her letter. She arrived just in time to see her topple over, and saved her just before she hit the ground.

Marinette started sobbing in Kagami’s arms. Kagami sobbed with her a few minutes, promising to never let her go. She eventually picked her up once again and carried her to Le Grand Paris, where she banged on Chloé’s window. Chloé opened it and let the two crying girls in, announcing Luka’s presence as he happened to be in the room teaching Chloé guitar. He rushed to the girls when he saw them collapsed in each other’s arms. Marinette was feeling the first emotions she had felt in months, refusing to leave her saviour’s side, clutching to Kagami. Luka and Chloé listened as Marinette vented how she had been feeling, or rather the fact that she hadn’t been feeling anything, whilst Kagami stroked her hair and wiped her face, kissing her forehead every so often to remind her she was safe.

Chloé had a room prepared and the four of them off school the next day, booking Marinette in for a highly rated therapy appointment. The four friends snuggled in each other’s arms, Marinette in the middle. They fell asleep immediately, crashing from the excitements of the past hour, except for Marinette, who lay awake just a few more moments to make a promise to herself.

Every day, from today, I will make into the *perfect* day.

—————————————————————————

Hello me again!!!! I had a few other endings in case we weren’t feeling this one so just quickly:

Alternate ending 1) She jumps. When midnight comes around her friends open her letters and rush to her place, only to find police and an ambulance declaring her dead, and if you want some more angst, Chloé and Kagami storm into the school the next day scream-crying at their classmates whilst Luka repeatedly whispers “I couldn’t save her” crying in his mum’s arms. (Very depressing)

Alternate ending 2) Marinette realises that she doesn’t want to die. Why should she? She’s just spent today just doing what makes her happy? She should live like this everyday! She has so much to live for! Sure therapy is needed and some communication too, but she can do it. (Yayyy happyyy)

This was for the most part written when I was around 14/15 so if the sentence structure is a bit shit I’m gonna blame it on that (and not my lack of progress in writing in the past 3 years!)

#Alya salt #Lila Salt #Adrien salt #Marigami #marinette deserves better #mlb salt #Chloe sugar #cat noir salt #mlb salt fic #chat noir salt #tom and sabine salt #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #mlb #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #kagaminette #chloe bourgeois #marinette dupain cheng #kagami tsurugi

[alien-slushie]

Hi! If it's okay, can you write a maribat Damian X Marinette with class salt, Alya salt, Adrien salt, Lila salt and Bustier salt based on this prompt please? 🙂 (I send you a link 'cause the prompt is a bit long sorry! ^^')

https://at.tumblr.com/sayuricorner/maribat-salt-prompt-adopted-sisterenigma-au/xcl9fupxbi9s

Disclaimer: I don't hate any MLB characters, salt drama is just funny, and I want to get my writing enthusiasm back. Don't like, don't read. And any hate comments that are not constructive criticism will be laughed at and then ignored so don't waste your own time.

Thank you for the prompt, this was a lot to read and comprehend, and I wanted to include as much as I could from what was provided in the prompt, but this turned out pretty messy and bad, so I am so sorry if this isn't how you imagined. Anyway, let's get into this.

Contains: Batman crossover, (Mild)Class, (Mild)Adrian, Lila, and Bustier Salt, cannon typical violence, brief mention of child abandonment, Daminette, Le Coin de Sayuri's OC as a Main Character(as the prompt asks), Not beta read, (kinda)implied past Batman x Riddler.

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

Title: The Weird Life fo Jade Dupain-Cheng

Jade Dupain-Cheng, the older daughter of Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng. In complete honesty she was adopted, though for your own safety you shouldn't bring it up as a slight towards her. Jade had come to terms with her birth, how she was found, by chance, in a Gotham dumpster as a baby by her grandma Gina and was adopted by her parents, so her adoption being brought up never really bothered her. Her parents loved her, her sister loved her, her extended family loved her, and that was enough for her. But the Dupain-Cheng family was tight knit, and proud and did not take shots fired at their family lightly, and while they didn't try to hide the adoption or anything so absurd, Jade was as much their blood and Marinette was. But no matter what the Gotham snark seemed to be ingrained into her blood.

Oh Jade was every bit as golden hearted as her sister, but she had every shred of snark and scrappy intelligence that was needed to survive the streets of Gotham. She was smart, and wordsy, she could twist and tangle anything anyone said to make them embarrass themselves. Though, she was too well raised to use it against anyone that didn't deserve it(ie, anyone who slighted herself, her sister, or her family). And though she was only born four months before Marinette(to the day, hilariously enough, born March 9th), she took her role as Marinette's big sister very seriously.

They were in separate classes, the school feeling that pairing siblings together encouraged in fighting, cheating, and/or co-dependance. It did little to curb Jade's involvement with her sister's class however. She loved her sister, truly she did, but she was a naturally hard worker on the best of days and a supreme over achiever on the worse, she just didn't know how or when to stop herself, As a result Jade had a rather bland feeling towards Marinette's class. She didn't necessarily like them, but she also didn't hate them. She did wish they showed Marinette proper appreciation from time to time but while rude, they weren't doing it from a place of malice. There was the issue with her crush on Adrian that Jade had to deal with, what with Marinette's female classmates fanning the flames into borderline obsession, but Marinette was always one to be talked down, and the harsh tongue lashing the girls got after the Beaver Incident(do NOT ask) but a swift end to that mess. And do not get her started on the Ladybug situation. Jade hated Hawkmoth /before/ she knew Ladybug was her sister, but afterwards she was determined to see him burn. Initially she was in shocked, as anyone would be, but looking back it had been pretty obvious, and after sitting in a borderline comatose state for three hours, Jade was extremely proud of her sister and for her sake, and maybe her own, never spoke a single word about knowing, not even a few weeks later when Ladybug appeared in her room.

After finding out Marinette was Ladybug everyone else sort of fell into place and she was able to connect who everyone else was, except for Chat Noir, as he had been chosen by someone else and not Marinette. Because of that, Jade was somewhat unsurprised when the spotted hero appeared at her window with a Miraculous. She knew that things were tense between Marinette and Alya, so while the fox being replaced wasn't a surprise to her, her being the replacement had been. And thus, Silver Fox was born.

And through it all she had only ever been akumatized once, after she found out about the idiot storm that had overtaken her sister's class. Marinette hadn't spoke a word to her about Lila. Oh she knew Marinette had been unfairly expelled, and while pissed she had let the matter go for Marinette's sake once the matter was cleared up, and then she was asked to go to the nurse's office to escort Marinette home. Marinette was quick to assure her that it was an accident, she had gotten into a fight with Alya and the girl had shoved her down in a moment of anger, but kept pushing and it all came out. The lies, the betrayal, the slights made towards Marinette by the people who were supposed to be her friends. Her anger and frustration had consumed her, and in her moment of weakness, she took the butterfly. Her time as an akuma had been short, she would never willingly hurt her sister, possessed by a butterfly or not, but it did happen. Using her akumafication as an excuse Jade pushed to be moved to Marinette's class, and while the teacher, Bustier especially, were hesitant, Sabine Dupain-Cheng made it happen. With her presence in class Marinette became outcast but no dared hurt or bad mouth her.

Not all was bad though, Chloe did seem to be making a turn for the better. While the would-be princess was by no means friends with them, she had sloppily apologized. She still obviously had a long way to go, but it was a start, no matter how minimal it was. Marinette's crush on Adrien also slowly dried up, and one night the girls spent carefully removing her collages off the walls before breaking into the ice cream tub.

And then the Cultural Exchange Program was announced. Jade was surprised on where they would be going. Gotham was /the/ most dangerous city in all of America, why would any teacher from anywhere agree for a class of 13-14 year olds to go there of all places, school necessity or not? According to Marinette, Ms. Bustier used it as an example and Lila had latched onto the idea, and Marinette had been out voted. Jade was even more surprised the parents agreed, Marinette and Jade were only permitted because Jade was curious about her birth city and their grandma Gina would be in the city to watch over them, even then they were given strict rules they had to follow, such as: not going out at night, no going anywhere without their safety keychains(equip with: bear mace, a mini taser, body alarm/gps, seatbelt cutter, whistle, foldable knife, and window breaker, both customized with little yarn dolls, curtesy of Marinette), and calling them every breakfast, lunch, and dinner, no matter the time difference. Though from a few whispers she gathered the other students didn't tell their parents where they were going, or outright lied because they knew they wouldn't be allowed to go.

Something told her the exchange was going to interesting.

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

The Cultural Exchange Program was to las three months, and for the first month everything was fine. There was a slight language barrier, Jade and Marinette was stuck having to deal with the class 24/7, and culture shock was real, but other than that things were generally going very smoothly, they were roomed together and other than a confusing couple of times they were ambushed by rogues, only to see Jade and turn tail for some reason(?), the Americans seemed nice enough. Damian Wayne had been a right pain in the butt, but Marinette fully body flipping him to the ground in Gym class seemed to turn his whole opinion around, for them at least, as he went from pain in the butt to rude but somewhat polite.

Yes Jade laughed when he awkwardly asked her on a date. Yes Jade laughed when Marinette agreed and he turned 50 shades of red all at once. And yes Jade tore Adrien Agreste apart when he got on Marinette's case for "agreeing to date Damien just to out Lila as a liar!", followed by another ripping to shreds of Lila when she claimed, "Marinette is a no good, boyfriend stealing has been that would amount to nothing." Neither Adrien or Lila were very popular with the class after that, seemingly coming to their senses a little too late.

But everything came crashing down when she and Marinette came face to face with the Riddler. It had been like looking into a funhouse mirror, she looked so much like him, but also so different. She could map out their similarities, even the inflections in their voices were similar! The Riddler fled and Marinette guided a shocked Jade back to their dorm.

The next morning Jade contacted Poison Ivy, a rogue who had taken a liking to Marinette, and together they were able to meet with the Riddler again. With Marinette's hand gripped tightly in her own she explained the circumstances of her birth and they got a blood test drafted. It took a few heart wrenching days, but they got the results back.

Positive.

There was only a 1% chance the Ribbler, Edward Nygma, was not her father.

When Jade called their parents that night, she told them everything and was reassured that if she wanted a relationship with her father that it was okay with them, and they just hoped she'd keep them updated. Jade cried wrapped in her siters arms while on call with her parents, and later set up another meeting.

Meeting her birth father again was awkward, especially when Batman dropped by to check over the situation. Jade was unsure of the relationship between the two, but it was somehow more awkward than her own relationship with the estranged Rogue. According to Robin, who dropped by with Batman and was chatting Marinette, suspiciously enough, there used to be some serious tension between the two, and while it was still tense it was now more just awkward. But as Jade sat back and took in everything that had happened in her life, no matter how weird or crazy, she actually quite enjoyed it.

#miraculous ladybug salt prompt #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #lila salt #maribat #daminette #lila rossi salt #class salt #bustier salt #Adrian salt #chloe redemption

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Hi! I love, your work, by the way! I was wondering if I could get a Tim x Adrien story. With a side of childhood friends to lovers? Like Tim and Adri met at one of the Drakes Parties? But also I want a side a relationship reveal, but with Class Field Trip to Gotham City salt. Also, also Tim and Adrien already know each other superhero identities.

Basically all of Lila's lying, Tim x Adrien's relationship, is revealed at one of the Wayne Gala's.

I have never shipped Adrien with anyone because I have zero grasp of his character and I gave this my best shot. I lost control of the plot somewhere and It turned into this monster. I know you guys might ask me to continue this but my answer is no. And Class Redemption because why not?

[Masterlist]

-------

THE STORY OF THEIR LIVES

Ten-year-old Adrien smiled as the old lady pinched his cheeks. Even in Gotham, he can't escape the obsession old wealthy women has with his ‘chubby’ cheeks.

While she commented on how cute he was (at least that is what Adrien thinks she is talking about, he had slacked in his English lessons a little bit and she was using the English word for cute a lot), he scanned the lavishly decorated ballroom for signs of his mother.

She would be more willing to distract the nice lady than Père while Adrien made his escape. Instead, he locked eyes with another boy around his age.

“Help me!” Adrien mouthed to the other boy in English.

Tim was ecstatic at meeting another child his age at the boring gala his parents made him attend and concerned when they started asking for help.

Once he got a glimpse at who was holding the other boy hostage, he winced in sympathy. Ms. Milson may look like a feeble old lady, albeit dressed in more expensive clothing than your average grandmother, but her hands are like crab pincers which Tim had been the victim of many, many times.

Tim recognised the other boy as Adrien Agreste, French model for his father’s, Gabriel Agreste’s, brand. Said blonde’s cheeks were turning a worryingly red and Ms. Milson took no notice as she continued to coo about how cute he is.

Once Adrien realised that Tim was looking at him, he widened his eyes so comically and mouthed at Tim for help. His pleading green eyes, similar to that of a sad kitten, made Tim cave in to help despite the potential damage Ms. Milson will inflict on his cheeks.

 Tim sighed and tried his best to make sure his smile didn't look like a grimace, “Ms. Milson.”

“Timothy, darling, where have you been hiding? I have been looking for you everywhere …” Ms Milson babbled on as she predictably reached for his cheeks after letting go of Adrien’s. Tim tried to stay still and not flinch at her approach.

Holy crab pincers, Batman. It hurts so bad. Why was he doing this again?

Adrien, behind Ms. Milson, rubbed his cheeks and gave Tim a bright smile in gratitude which made Tim’s stomach feel funny.

Are all models this pretty? Honestly, he could see why Gabriel would openly try to break child labour laws and use such a pretty face.

“... and you have grown so big. Timothy dear, have you met this boy yet? He’s your age. His name is…erm….what was it again, dear?”

“Adrien Agreste, Madam,” he replied.

“Well, Adrien, this is Timothy,” she said as she pulled said boy’s cheek and Tim grimaced from the pain, “and his parents are the one hosting this lovely gala.”

“Oui.”

“Ms. Milson, can Adrien and I go play?”

“Of course, dearie,” She finally released Tim’s cheek from her grip and gave it one last pat, “I remember when my boys were your age. Oh look, there’s Richard. I haven’t seen him in a while. He’s growing up into a rather smart young man. You boys go have fun now.”

By then, Tim had already grabbed Adrien’s hand and dragged him across the room, out of Ms. Milson’s sight.

“Sorry, about dragging you, Adrien. But if we don't get out of there, she will come pinch us again.”

“It’s fine. No cheeks being pinched is good.” Adrien said in a slight mix of French and British accent.

“I was afraid that you might not understand me.”

“I have a family in London so I learn it but there are some things about English that I find confusing.”

“Don’t worry, even Americans sometimes find the language confusing.”

They stood there and stared at each other. Tim used that opportunity to study Adrien. His blonde hair was well-combed and all of his clothes were all obviously Gabriel branded. So another reason for Gabriel coming was to promote his new line. 

“Do you want to be friends?” Adrien bursted out asking.

“Yeah,” Tim absentmindedly answered, deep in thought about his observations of Adrien before registering the question, “Huh, I mean, sure. We can be friends.”

“Adrien, what are you doing here?” A blond woman who is likely to be Adrien’s mother called out due to their resemblance.

“Mama, this is my new friend, Timothy.”

“Nice to meet you, Madam. My name is Timothy Drake. My parents are the hosts of today’s gala. I hope you are enjoying your evening.”

“Such a polite boy. But you don’t need to be like that with me. Are you boys having fun?”

“Timothy was going to show me around.” Adrien exclaimed, before lowering his head and quietly asked, “Can I go with him, Mama?”

Emilie smiled and bent down to pat his head, “Of course, you can, mon cher. Stay inside the mansion at all times. I will be staying in the Ballroom the entire time. Come find me when you want to go back to the hotel.”

“Okay, Mama!” Adrien smiled brightly, causing the funny feeling in Tim’s stomach to increase and his face felt hotter. Tim held out his hand (why was it sweating so much? ) for Adrien to grab.

Emilie tried to resist the urge to squeal as she watched the two boys walk away, giggling like the children they are supposed to be. She was going to persuade Gabriel to let Adrien keep in touch and be friends with the son of the Drakes.

------

Adrien tuned out Lila’s voice as he stared out the airplane window of his first class seat. Lila was also somehow in first-class and she was making as much use of it as she could. As soon as the seatbelt sign was off, she had spent every second of her time sitting next to him, stating that first-class chairs were big enough for two. All of his requests for her to go away fell on deaf ears. (Does she actually have tinnitus or is it selective hearing?)

Many of the other passengers had put in earplugs or headphones to avoid her but Adrien had not much luck as Lila stopped his every attempt to do the same. 

On paper, the class was on their way to Gotham City for their school field trip. As an Agreste, he got a seat in first class and unfortunately along with Lila, who by some miracle managed to get his father to get her in.

The truth was that it was just a cover for the Miraculous Court, who were sitting in business class along with the rest of their classmates, to get into Gotham to escape Shadowmoth’s scrutiny and discuss with the Bats about the Paris situation. For Adrien, it was an excuse to see his boyfriend, Tim Drake-Wayne again. Or also known as Red Robin.

The two boys had kept in contact over the years. Tim began to reach out more after he learned about the akuma situation and patiently endured Adrien’s crush on Ladybug. Luckily, one identity reveal later, Marinette and Adrien decided that they were both better off as friends. Marinette had long moved on from her own crush on ‘Adrien Agreste’ and in the suits, Chat Noir no longer flirted around Ladybug.

Soon after, Tim and Adrien confessed to liking each other and started dating in a long distance relationship.

After a long talk with the rest of the Miraculous Court, they agreed to let Adrien tell Tim about his identity. They thought that as a Wayne, Tim would be able to connect them to Batman and get them the help they needed. It hasn’t been long since the Court was formed and properly established. Between school and the akumas, they don’t have the proper manpower or resources to investigate Shadowmoth.

The second identity reveal was more chaotic than the first.

—--

Adrien, transformed as Chat Noir, was nervously standing in front of his computer screen where a shocked Tim was frozen for the past few minutes.

“Tim?” Adrien asked worriedly, “I know this is a lot to spring it much on you and you might not believe it-”

“No. No. Babe, I believe you. It’s just… wow, my brothers are not going to leave me alone if they find out about this.” Tim looked down thoughtfully and tried to process the fact that his boyfriend wears a leather catsuit on a regular basis to battle.

“Tim, are you okay?”

“I am fine. So you are Chat Noir. I know that but my head can’t seem to get around to that fact.”

“Oh. Wait. Plagg, claws in.” Adrien said and a green light flashed over him. Tim takes a double take as the camembert on Adrien’s desk starts floating.

“On second thought, I think I should get some sleep if I am hallucinating floating cheese.”

“Tim! What have I told you about your sleep schedule.”

“Relax, Adrien,” a nasally voice was heard, “your boyfriend’s fine. He just couldn’t see me because kwamis don’t show up on cameras. Remember Kwami Buster?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Who was that?” Tim asked.

“Plagg, he’s basically a god that allows me to transform into Chat Noir. Cameras can’t seem to work on him and that’s probably why you think that there is a floating cheese besides me.”

“Right. Right.” Tim placed his head in his hands, “So to recap, you are a cat-themed superhero. Specifically one of the main heroes that are fighting that Butterfly Man.”

“Shadowmoth.”

“Okay. And you are powered by an invisible god.”

“He looks like a black chibi cat actually. You can’t see him because of the cameras. I think there’s a picture Marinette drew of him somewhere. Hold on.” Adrien went out of frame for a moment before returning with a sketch of Plagg.

“Wow.”

There were points in Tim’s life when he thought that things can’t get weirder and they did. His boyfriend confesses to being one of the heroes that the JL had been trying to make contact with for the past year but couldn’t, due to a frustrating combination of magic and politics. That is making its way to the top ten weirdest.

“Tim?” Adrien’s hesitant voice brought him back from his thoughts.

“I am fine, Adrien.” Tim reassured, “It was a lot to process but I believe you. You should be glad that I have made this line so secure that even Lex Luthor would have trouble listening in. I don’t think you would like your father knowing about this.”

“Oh thank kwamis. Well, the other reason I am telling you this is because I need your help contacting Batman. As a Wayne, you probably know how to do that. At least I hope you have a way.”

Oh. Tim wanted to laugh.

After many months of failing to get into contact with the Miraculous Court, an opportunity simply landed on Tim’s lap in the form of his boyfriend. Now, he had a decision to make.

“Tim?”

“Adrien, I also have something I have been keeping a secret.”

“It can’t be that you are also a superhero, right?” Adrien joked, “Cause what are the chances that both of us are heroes.”

Adrien’s smile faded, upon seeing Tim’s completely serious face.

“No. No. No. No way. Non. Non.”

“Adrien, I am Red Robin.” Tim interrupted Adrien’s denial session. Cackling was heard through the speakers which Tim assumed was from Adrien’s floating cat god.

Adrien went silent for a moment before asking, “Who’s Red Robin?”

It was Tim’s turn to be shocked into silence. His boyfriend didn’t even know who his hero identity. Granted, he never talked about the Bats of Gotham in detail to Adrien besides mentioning that they ‘save’ him a few times and his family’s alter egos weren’t as public as the Parisian heroes. But still.

Tim slapped his hand to his forehead in despair, “My boyfriend doesn't even know who I am. Granted, I am not that much of a big deal but that hurts.”

“I’m sorry,” Adrien apologised, “I only know about Batman and his sidekick, Robin.”

“I’m fine. Don’t let Damian know that you called Robin a sidekick.”

“Your brother is Robin?”

“My entire family is in on it.”

“Is Alfred Batman then?”

Tim laughed.

“Come on, Tim. I want to know who he is.”

“It’s Bruce.”

Adrien felt his brain trying to process the information. “What?”

“Bruce Wayne is Batman.”

“Are you sure you are not making fun of me for being honest and telling you my superhero identity?”

“Nope. Completely serious. I am the hero, Red Robin. If you search up about the Teen Titans or the Young Justice, you will see my name beside them. I am best friends with the older Superboy and Kid Flash.”

They spent the rest of the call, talking about their alter egos.

—--

After months of planning over video calls to somehow get most of the Miraculous Court out of Paris so they can discuss the Shadowmoth problem. A class trip to Gotham was what they came up with.

Adrien was jealous of Marinette, Kagami and Luka who went ahead of the class a few days prior, using Jagged Stone’s tour as a cover.

Marinette had came clean to her parents about Ladybug and they pulled her out of Dupont to be homeschooled. (The official reason was so she can focus more on her career since Jagged named her his favourite designer and she had more work. The real reason was so she can focus on taking down Shadowmoth.) She was there as Jagged’s costume designer.

Luka had persuaded his father to take a detour in Gotham so it coincided with the class trip and Kagami was a tagalong as Luka’s girlfriend. How they managed to persuade her strict mother Adrien didn’t know. 

Chloe and Zoe had stayed behind, partly because the sisters didn’t want to go to Gotham and partly so there would be someone to hold off the akuma until the others portaled back. The final three members of the Miraculous Court, Alix, Alya and Nino, were in business class with the rest of the class.

“Adrien~” The sickly sweet voice which felt like bugs crawling up his skin, called for his attention, “Can you tell this lady who I am so I can get my drink?”

There was an attendant who looked frustrated and tried her best to hide it behind a professional smile. Adrien knew that look all too well, seeing it on many of his co-workers’ faces when Lila was on set for a photoshoot.

“What seems to be the problem?” Adrien asked the attendant, a practised smile on his face.

“The young lady wants wine but we can’t do that because she’s underage.”

“See, Adrien, she’s being unreasonable. I already told her that I am 18 and I can drink.”

“Lila,” Adrien said gently, “I am sure the nice lady is working hard to make sure you are comfortable but unfortunately, it is the law in America that the drinking age is 21. She doesn’t want you to get in trouble.”

“But, Adrien-”

“ You can drink when we get back. It’s only for a few days. You don’t want to get kicked out of this trip for causing trouble. Right, Lila?”

“Fine. Can you get me a soda then?” Lila asked the attendant, who nodded and walked away in relief. (She was gonna tell the others to be watch out of the entitled girl in first class)

“And can you get out of my seat please?” Adrien interrupted, “I want more leg room to myself right now so I can sleep.”

Lila dropped her smile and her lips began to tremble, preparing to cry and cause a scene.

Adrien looked at where Gorilla was sitting. The bodyguard was getting ready to intervene if Adrien wanted him to. He gestured to show Gorilla that he had it handled.

“This flight will take hours and I think both of us having our own space instead of being cramped in one seat for that long will be more comfortable.”

“But Adrien, I want to be together with you.”

“And I don’t.”

“Adrien, how could you?” Lila started crying.

“Lila, we aren’t even dating. I don’t like you getting into my personal space. I only tolerate you because you are my classmate and for some bizarre reason, my dad deemed you good enough to be my friend.”

“I thought we had something,” Lila sobbed.

“Hey, girly,” a dark-haired man from a seat over snapped, “The guy’s reasonable in wanting his own space so quit your whining and get over your delusions before I drag you back to your seat and gag you.”

Lila immediately went silent and looked at Adrien with an expectant look. He simply tilted his head in the direction of her seat. Lila turned to find the man glaring at her.

Knowing she lost, Lila slowly went back to her seat.

Adrien sighed in relief and turned towards the man with a look of gratitude,

“Thanks a lot for the help.”

“No problem. She was getting on my last nerves too.”

“I am sorry that you had to deal with her.”

“It’s fine. Us bros got to stick together on things like this.”

Finally, peace and quiet. Adrien put on his earphones to listen to the playlist Nino had made for him and enjoy the rest of the flight.

------

Tim rocked his heels nervously as he waited for Adrien and his class to show up. Bruce had put him and Dick in charge of the tour of Wayne Enterprises for the Dupont class. Dick was there to do the actual tour guide duties while Tim was there to pass on the meeting details to the Miraculous Court by discreetly blending in with the class.

And also because he was a sap who missed his boyfriend. Jason and Dick would never stop teasing him about how he spent 40 minutes in the bathroom to get ready. Was it wrong to look good in front of his boyfriend who he hadn’t physically seen in 1 year, 3 months and 23 days?

The bus carrying Adrien and his friends finally arrived. Dick elbowed Tim in his ribs to focus because Tim couldn’t stop staring at his love. Adrien immediately brightened when he spotted Tim besides his brother. Tim had to wonder if Gotham was sunnier than usual.

Unfortunately, their moment was interrupted when a brunette girl latched onto Adrien’s arm, blabbering about why ‘Adrien-boo’ didn’t help her when she needed help getting off the bus. She reminded the Waynes of the gold diggers who would throw themselves at Bruce and only viewed him as a trophy and money dispenser.

Adrien had an uncomfortable smile as he tried in vain to make the girl let go of his arm. She instead doubled down and gripped harder on his arm, making him grimace. The rest of the class was oblivious of Adrien’s pain as they huddled around the two and cooing about how cute they look and underhandedly berating Adrien for not helping Lila out. Thankfully, the one Tim recognised as Adrien’s best friend, Nino, stepped in while his girlfriend, Alya, smoothly redirected the class attention to the tour.

Dick gave them a bright smile and introduced himself as the tour guide. He shook hands with the teachers while Tim made his way towards his boyfriend, careful to not be noticed. He found Nino fussing over the marks on Adrien’s arm a little bit away from the group who were distracted by the fact that they were meeting the eldest Wayne child, Richard Grayson. Seeing the marks, Tim saw red.

Tim was aware about the girl, Lila Rossi.

She was a manipulative liar who had been causing a lot of trouble for the Miraculous Team by trying to isolate Adrien from his friends and slandering the rest of them with false lies. She also nearly got Ladybug akumatized which made the over-stressed Marinette finally decide to tell her parents about the Miraculous to ease the burden. However, once her main target and who she perceived as a ‘rival’, Marinette, was gone, Lila was hell bent on making Adrien hers.

Gabriel, the only person who Tim thinks can beat his parents for ‘Worst parent of the year’, had employed that snake as a model because apparently she was a good influence on Adrien and the reason why Adrien’s actual friends are no longer allowed at his house.

Overall, Lila was a person that should be taken care of immediately. Already, Tim had formulated many plans to get rid of her, preferably somewhere as far from Adrien as possible.

While Dick started the tour and Lila left Adrien in favour of trying to gain favour with a Wayne, Tim sidled up next to his boyfriend who was in the back with his friends.

“Hey, love.”

Adrien lit up and hugged him, “Tim!”

Nino and Alya gave the two thumbs up before shielding the two boys with their bodies to give the couple some privacy and prevent Lila from seeing.

Tim hugged him back and gave him a peck on the lips, “Are you okay?”

“Great. I am doing fine.”

Tim did a small frown at the answer. He laced their fingers together and slowly brought Adrien’s hand up to his lips which made Adrien’s cheeks turn pink at the gesture.

“You made me promise to not lie about not sleeping,” Tim said, “So I wish you won’t lie to me about the wounds that girl inflicted on you.”

“Tim, it’s nothing.” Adrien tried to reassure his boyfriend.

“It’s not. I have seen this kind of thing on a lot of people from Gotham. I don’t want what happened to them happen to you too. People who leave these kinds of marks are bad news. Besides as your boyfriend, I have the right to be worried about anyone who hurt you. I want to unleash hell upon her but I am not doing it now since you guys suspect that she has a way to contact Shadowmoth. So what can I do for you?”

Adrien smiled gently, touched by his boyfriend’s sincerity and squeezed his hand, “I want Lila to leave me alone.” His voice, soft and vulnerable. “Everyone else in the class is pushing for me to be with her. Father is not helping. I wish he didn’t send Lila to breathe down my neck and report back my every move to him. I want to be able to relax without her hounding me when I want to be alone. I don’t want my arm to hurt because of her nails. I want to be able to hang out with my friends without having to sneak around. I wish I could say I love you to you in public and tell people I have a boyfriend without the worry that my father would lock me up in the mansion.”

"As you wish.”

Adrien snorted, “Does that make me Buttercup, Westley?”

“You are beautiful enough for the role,” Tim flirted, making Adrien blush.

The blond cleared his throat to recompose himself, “So about tonight?”

“We will meet you on the rooftop of your hotel.”

“Marinette, Luka and Kagami can portal over with the horse.”

Tim looked towards the group in front of them, “Would they notice if you were gone for a moment?”

“Alya and Nino would cover for me. I can tell Gorilla that I am meeting up with you.” Adrien said, wanting to know what Tim had planned.

“I can tell Tam to not let anyone into my office for a while. My office has a rather comfortable sofa. How about we spend some time catching up,” Tim suggested and he kissed Adrien.

Plagg peeked out of Adrien’s jacket pocket and interrupted them, “Hey, kit, if you are going to go lip-lock with your lover boy, I am going to join Trixx and Wyazz in blogger girl’s fanny pack. I heard that they were going to play cards.”

Adrien spluttered but didn’t refute Plagg’s request.

“Don’t cause trouble and I will leave some cheese for you to eat. Please behave, Plagg.”

“Yeah, yeah, just go enjoy your tryst.”

Adrien tapped Nino’s shoulder to grab his attention as Tim grinned. He texted Dick to drag out the tour as long as possible. 

Was it mean of him to throw his brother to the wolves while he go and make out with his boyfriend?

Yes.

But Tim never had any guilt throwing his brothers under a bus and wasn’t starting now. He dragged Adrien into his office which he had cleaned every surface beforehand in anticipation of this and dear god, Heaven has never tasted so sweet.

—---

Chat Noir paced back and forth nervously on the rooftop. It was easy to slip out when Adrien and Nino shared a room while Alya and Alix were the same and they had stuff pillows under the blankets in case one of the chaperones does a bed check. They managed to get up to the roof, unseen with the help of the Fox miraculous.

There was a slightly muted thud which he heard thanks to his enhanced hearing and alerted Chat Noir to the arrival of the Bats.

“Ti- I mean Red Robin.” Chat Noir ran and hugged his boyfriend.

Until he heard throat-clearing and realised it came from the Batman.

Chat Noir hoped that his embarrassment wasn’t visible as he slightly moved away from Red Robin.

“Ummm, bonjour, Monsieur Batman, sir. I- um We- errr,” Adrien stuttered under the intense gaze from Batman, “So anyways, LB called me and they were a bit late because Shadowmoth had the worst timing. Am I right?” He gave a nervous chuckle, “It’s one of the recurring akuma which are easier to deal with unless Shadowmoth gave them a power up. Which might take a bit longer. But they will definitely be here. Definitely. So um-” Adrien babbled, nervous because while he had experiences with Jack Drake and the Brucie Wayne persona, Batman was on a different level than the other two and he was losing his cool.

“Relax, Batman’s not going to hurt you.” Red Robin rubbed his shoulders.

Just then, like the miracle she is, a blue portal opened to allow three people Chat Noir was very happy to see pass through.

“LB! I am so glad you showed up.” Chat Noir hugged his best friend.

A cough came from where the two other heroes were standing from the sides.

“Sorry, I am glad to see you too. Viperion and Ryuko.”

“Yeah, sorry for being late,” Ladybug said in a professional tone, bringing her hand out towards Batman for a handshake, “Shadowmoth has been very active these days. Anyways, thank you for meeting us.”

Batman accepted it, “The Justice League has been wanting to make contact with you for a while now. Sorry that we haven’t been unable to find out about the situation in Paris until this year. We have monitored you from afar and I see that you have done a great job keeping the akumas under control by yourselves. What can we help you with?”

“Yes. First-” Ladybug stopped mid-sentence as she stared at Robin.

“Ladybug?” Batman asked, confused.

The heroine ignored him and glared at Robin who also looked confused.

“You!” Ladybug pointed at him menacingly, “Al Ghul, you fucking bitch. Why are you still alive?!”

Robin lets out a curse in recognition to which Batman reprimanded with a “Language”. “The same goes for you, Cheng. I thought you blew yourself in Taiwan,” Robin hissed.

“Whatever. You owe me for saving your life.” Ladybug retorted.

Chat Noir made a time-out gesture, “Hold on, you two know each other? And what is this about blowing yourself up, LB?”

Ladybug sighed, “I will give you the long story later but Al Ghul and I do know each other. That’s because we were once engaged.”

“WHAT?!” Everyone looked back and forth between the bird and the ladybug.

“Those weren’t rumours?” Red Hood said, voice filled with disbelief.

“You knew Baby Bat was married?” Nightwing turned his head towards Red Hood.

“I am not married, you idiots. Only engaged. Grandfather wanted to unite the power of the Chengs with ours so he proposed an engagement between the two of us.” Robin explained.

“The old man got too greedy. The engagement got cancelled and our clans had been feuding until the League’s fall.” Ladybug continued.

“Is this a Romeo and Juliet kinda thing?” Rena Rouge asked.

“Fuck no. I think we are cousins, something-times-removed through our grandmother or something.” Ladybug looked disgusted at the idea and Robin had a similar look of disgust on his face.

“And I am not marrying a child,” She added.

Robin scowled, “Just because you are three years older than me, does not mean you can call me a child. But I will express a similar sentiment about not marrying you.”

“That’s effed up. I thought Ra’s can’t get more crazy.” Red Robin shuttered at the thought.

“Hello,” Bunnyx cut in, “I thought we are discussing the Shadowmoth thing and not about what family problems LB and Robin has with the crazy grandpa.”

“Right,” Ladybug cleared her throat and went into details about Paris and what help they required.

—--

“Monsieur Batman, there is one last thing I need to talk to you about,” Ladybug said, her eyes telling him that it was important. The others had left for patrol, joined by a few of the Miraculous Court so the Bats can assess the Court’s ability. The only ones left on the rooftop were Batman, Ladybug, Chat Noir and Red Robin.

“Robin, you can come out,” Ladybug called out.

“Tch.” Robin appeared from where he was hiding after he had done his rounds, mad that he had been discovered.

“Chat, how about you go with Red Robin? It’s not about Shadowmoth.”

“You okay, LB?” Chat Noir gave her a look of concern.

“I am fine, Chat. Just family secrets.” She gave him a small smile as an apology.

“It’s fine. I get it.” Chat Noir reassured her and turned to Red Robin, “So about this place you said you would show me.”

“Oh you are going to love this.” Red Robin grabbed his boyfriend tightly and grappled away.

Once they were out of sight, Ladybug turned back towards the father and son pair, “Okay, I lied. It was about Shadowmoth’s potential identity. I just didn’t want Chat to know about this.”

“And you used me as an excuse to get rid of them?” Robin asked with a raised eyebrow.

“A very convenient one,” Ladybug replied, causing another round of bickering.

“Back to what you were talking about. This information is somehow related to Chat Noir.” Batman cuts in to which Ladybug nodded.

“I wasn’t lying when I said that it was family secrets. This will break Chaton if he knew,” Ladybug nervously said, “Since I started home-schooling and getting the support of my parents, I have been using my free time and family’s resources to investigate who Shadowmoth might be. We already know that he is in regular contact with Lila Rossi and Felix Fathom, Adrien’s cousin, is aware of who he is. There’s not much evidence but the only one with the connection with the two is…” She trailed off.

“You already have a suspect.”

“Gabriel Agreste might be Shadowmoth.” Ladybug revealed before going into more details about her theory.

Somewhere a little far from the rooftop, sitting together on a perch, hidden by the shadows, Chat Noir covered his mouth with his hands as tears flowed down his masked cheeks while Red Robin hugged him tightly to offer comfort.

—--

The saying ‘Curiosity killed the Cat’ could be said of Adrien.

There were many things he wanted to know. Everyone in his life had their own secrets and Adrien had come to learn that secrets were secrets for a reason.

Pushing Ladybug’s boundaries to reveal hers and her unwillingness to tell him anything had cost them their easy-going partnership and broken to the point of Shadowmoth nearly winning. It was then that they had their identity revealed to each other. Their friendship as Marinette and Adrien also took a hit.

Luckily, thanks to the two kwamis’ stubbornness, they were able to build their relationship to the way it was before although there was a bit of tension here and there.

Marinette learned to be more open with Adrien and other people instead of keeping it all to herself and Adrien learned to not be so pushy about revealing them and wait for them to be told when the time comes.

That said, Marinette’s family history is one of the things that everyone in the Court wanted to know about. They knew there was something off and there were times when something didn’t fit quite right with the image of a very friendly family that runs a bakery business. The Dupain-Chengs told all of them to keep it to themselves for their own safety.

However, the interaction between Ladybug and Robin had aroused his curiosity.

“Tim,” Adrien asked as they admired the Gotham skyline, “can you find out what they are talking about?”

“They still have their comms in so I can. I was going to do it anyway because I want to know what their deal is.”

After a few minutes, Ladybug’s voice can be heard through Red Robin’s ear piece which the two boys huddled around.

“...didn’t want Chat to know about this.”

“And you used me as an excuse to get rid of them?”

“A very convenient one.”

“What did LB want me to not know about?” Chat Noir thought out loud as the pair bickered.

“Back to what you were talking about. This information is somehow related to Chat Noir.”

Batman’s gruff voice cuts in.

“I wasn’t lying when I said that it was family secrets. This would break Chaton if he knew. Since I started home-schooling and getting the support of my parents, I have been using my free time and family’s resources to investigate who Shadowmoth might be. We already know that he is in regular contact with Lila Rossi and Felix Fathom, Adrien’s cousin, is somehow aware of who he is. There’s not much evidence but the only one with the connection between the two…”

Tim connected the dots about what the topic was about. He looked over at his boyfriend to find his cat green eyes watery.

“You already have a suspect.”

“Gabriel Agreste might be Shadowmoth.”

Adrien took in a sharp breath and choked. Tears started to fall. Tim caught him before he accidentally pushed himself off the ledge and held Adrien tight. Tim muted the comms and whispered a mantra of ‘It’s going to okay’ as he rubbed soothing circles into Adrien’s back. (A part of him idly wondered why the ones he dated have supervillain daddy issues.)

------

The next day, Adrien met up with Tim at the Gotham Museum of Antiquities. He had told Mme. Bustier and Gorilla that he was expecting to meet with a friend who lives in the city. It took a lot of work and Nino and Alya’s help to convince Lila and the class to leave him alone. Tim showed up in the middle of it and Adrien didn’t like the way Lila’s eyes lit up when Tim introduced himself.

“Adrien~ you didn’t tell me that your friend was a Wayne,” Lila gripped Adrien’s arm and leaned on it, “Why didn’t you want us to meet him?”

Adrien pushed her away and got closer to Tim instead. He positioned them in a way that used Tim as a human shield against Lila.

Tim  grabbed Adrien’s hand behind his back, hidden from the eyes of the class, and squeezed it in reassurance. He gave a glare to Lila who tried to make a grab for his boyfriend.

She took a step back at the sudden show of hostility.

The glare was replaced so quickly, that Lila wondered if she had imagined it, by the polite mask reserved for formal events and interviews.

“That’s on me. I told Adrien not to tell anyone about it. Didn’t want to attract unwanted attention and all that. The price of fame is big as I hope you will understand, Miss.”

“Oh, I am Lila. Lila Rossi. You might have heard of me.”

Tim lets his grin turn sharper, “Oh, I didn’t ask but I am very aware of who you are, Miss Rossi.”

Lila opened her mouth to say something, only to be ignored as Tim turned towards the rest of the class with a charming smile, “And if you guys don’t mind, I would like to join you on the tour.”

As predicted, Lila latched onto Tim while Adrien stuck to Tim’s other side.

Tim dropped his smile and gave her a cold look that can freeze the Sahara, “Miss Rossi, would you mind letting go of me?”

“You don’t mind Adrien touching you.”

“I have known Adrien since I was a kid. You however are a stranger and I don’t like strangers touching me.”

“But you are Adrien’s friend and his friends are also my friends.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t see the same and I feel rather uncomfortable with your advances. My boyfriend might not appreciate you hanging on to me.”

Lila made some excuses about Italians being affectionate and needing support in case she fainted due to her poor health. (No way was Lila letting a golden ticket go that easily. Famous people have paparazzi following them and a break-up might be bound to happen if there are pictures of Wayne with a girl in his arms floating around.)

The class backed her up but Tim wasn’t going to deal with this bullshit. 

“Well, if you are that concerned for your classmate, I have no choice but to help her out.” Tim sighed in defeat. Lila tried not to smile too widely and show her glee at the victory but the smirk on his face gave the girl an uneasy feeling.

The next minute, Lila found herself in a wheelchair pushed around by Gorilla while Adrien and Tim were nowhere to be seen and supposedly exploring the VIP section together which Tim had reserved earlier only just for the two of them.

Tim had gone up to the Receptionist desk and returned with a wheelchair that had an annoying squeaky wheel, muttering about getting better disability aids at the Museum. He managed to reason with the whole class that this was a better way in case Lila passed out and they would just have to bring her back with the wheelchair instead of dragging her unconscious body around.

Lila had tried to stop the boys from separating from the group but Adrien already had permission from his father to go hang out with Tim since Gabriel was not going to miss the chance to be on good terms with a Wayne. There was nothing she could do but sulk as she listened to the boring tour and cursed Timothy Drake-Wayne.

Meanwhile, Tim and Adrien were having a nice time, looking at the exhibition of the history of the entertainment film industry. Tim had used his connections as a Wayne to arrange the exhibition for their date.

After looking around for a fair while, Tim felt that it was safe to approach about what happened last night.

“So did you and Marinette talk it out?” Tim asked as he caressed Adrien’s face which had concealer on to hide his eyebags from crying and little sleep.

When Chat Noir and Red Robin returned, Ladybug immediately knew that they knew and took Adrien away for a private talk.

“I sort of get why she didn’t tell me. Like she said, there was little concrete evidence and it was just a theory. One of the many possibilities but just a little more plausible than the others,” Adrien replied, closing his eyes and resting his head on Tim’s shoulder while Tim wrapped his arm around Adrien to pull him closer. Plagg flew up into Adrien’s hair and purred.

“There is something else that is bugging you, isn’t there?”

“It just- It feels like she doesn’t trust me. Marinette had told me that she does but I can’t help and feel that way.”

“Why?”

“There was time during our first years as heroes and Ladybug thought that my father could be Shadowmoth because we found out that he had the Grimoire in his possession. Ladybug wanted to investigate it and I threw a fit because I didn’t want to believe my father could be the ‘bad guy’. Then, he got akumatized and we dropped the subject.”

“So because of what happened back then, you think Marinette doesn’t trust you.”

“From her point of view, I stopped her from pursuing one of the big leads we had since we began and I am the son of our prime suspect. It’s understandable if she wasn’t able to trust me completely.”

Plagg stopped his purring and somehow gave Tim a look that said, ‘don’t fuck this up’.

“I don’t think she thinks that way.” Tim soothed Adrien, “The way I see it, she kept it from you because she knew you would be hurt if you knew that Shadowmoth might possibly be your father and she was trying to have it confirmed to see if it was true or not by collecting more solid evidence. I would have done the same in her shoes.”

“You think so?”

“We love you, Adrien. Although her love is different from mine,” Tim kissed Adrien and touched their foreheads together, “we just don’t want to see you hurt. I already dated people with supervillain for fathers so this won’t change a thing. I will still love you because you are still Adrien, the one for whom I would give my everything to see you smile.”

“Tim, I love you too.” Adrien whispered as he returned the kiss.

“That’s my cue to leave. It’s getting to lovey-dovey here for my taste,” Plagg grumbled. The kwami was disgruntled to be ignored by the two boys and then took off through halls devoid of people for something to entertain himself with instead.

As time went out, the kisses became longer and heavier.

Adrien thanked Tim’s genius idea to reserve the exhibition just for the two of them. Between the vigilante work, akumas and the thousand miles between Gotham and Paris, they never got to do makeout sessions like this often and they were going to make every moment of it count.

—----

When Tim and Adrien showed up from their own private tour, Adrien looked a little flushed. Alya and Alix wolf-whistled while Nino put his fist out which Tim fist-bumped.

After a few quick whispers, Tim broke off and walked towards Mme. Bustier with whom he exchanged a few words.

“Attention, class,” Mme. Bustier called, “Tim has some exciting news for us.”

“Thank you, Madam. So this is a last minute change to your plans and we weren’t able to confirm it yesterday during your tour of WE but you are all invited to our annual Thomas and Martha Wayne Charity gala this Friday, which is two days from now,” Tim announced, causing the class to burst into excited chatter.

“Since I know that you might not have brought along formal wear, we have arranged a shopping trip tomorrow and contacted your parents or guardians to send you money to buy something to wear. We will also arrange for you to rent something if you want. That is all.”

Alix leaned towards Adrien and whispered, “Dude, your boyfriend is awesome.”

“I know, right?” Adrien agreed.

“Thank kwamis that Fluff made me ask Marinette to make a formal suit for me a month ago.”

“I think my father hoped that something like this might happen and that’s why he made Nathalie pack a tuxedo. Just in case.”

“Do you know why he invited the entire class and not just you?”

Adrien put his index finger on his lips, “You will find out in due time. Tim told me to keep it a secret. But here’s a hint. It starts with a L and ends with an A and rhymes with Liar.”

Alix mock-punched his shoulder, “You are making all the single people jealous.”

Adrien just laughed.

—----

On the day of the gala, Adrien found a suit delivered to his hotel room with a note.

It was from Marinette saying, ‘Tim ordered me to make this in a week. So you better wear it instead of what basic white monochrome piece your father made.’

Nino laughed when he read the note as Adrien opened the package to reveal a red tuxedo jacket with a gold floral pattern. Its collar and inner lining were black. There was a similar vest, a white shirt, a black bowtie and black suit pants. As he examined the suit, he saw robins and cats hidden among the floral designs.

[Dear god, help me how to describe clothes better.]

Adrien blushed when he saw the words ‘Property of Tim Drake-Wayne’ and a downward arrow stitched near the bottom of the jacket’s inner lining. Plagg and Nino both cackled at Adrien who buried his face into the jacket.

“Oh, camembert, Pigtails is evil. This is perfection. Why did Tikki get her and not me?”

“Quiet, Plagg, before someone hears you and comes in.” Adrien admonished him.

Plagg quieted down but snickers still escaped him.

“You have to admit that it’s funny.”

Adrien’s phone dinged and he checked to see it was a text from Marinette, ‘I better see you wearing it because I pulled three all nighters to finish it on time.’

“She must have worked a lot for her to be this pushy about it,” Adrien observed.

After changing their clothes, the boys headed down to the lobby after meeting up with Alya and Alix on the way. (Marinette had also sent the others MDC originals.) Only a few of their classmates were done but they all complimented Adrien on his suit.

The only chaperone following with them to the gala was Gorilla and the rest, including Mme. Bustier, had opted out for a spa day since the gala has good security and nothing to be worried about.

Soon, two limousines arrived and Tim came out of one.

The black-haired boy was wearing a suit, similar to the one Adrien was wearing except his colour scheme was black and the same green shade as Chat Noir’s eyes, instead of Adrien’s red, gold and black. However, his bowtie was a golden-yellow like Chat Noir’s bell. Adrien laughed as he realised that they were wearing each other’s colours.

“Tim!” Adrien happily greeted and hugged his boyfriend.

“Hey, Adrien. Your ride is here.” Tim resisted the urge to kiss Adrien’s hand. He couldn’t yet because of the Plan.

“Wait, we get to ride in a limo?” Kim asked excitedly.

“Courtesy of Wayne Enterprises.” Tim explained and then asked, “Where are the rest of you?”

On cue, the elevator door opened to let Lila and the rest of their noisy classmates out. Their chattering stopped upon seeing what Adrien was wearing.

“Adrien?” Lila sounded angry for some reason.

“Didn’t you say that Gabriel made matching outfits for the two of you to wear to the gala?” Rose piped up, confused.

Ah. So that’s explained a lot. The dress design itself was beautiful, made of purple silk and white laces and elaborate patterns. Adrien could say it was one of his father’s finer pieces. However, it still would have looked better on a mannequin than it would on Lila and just screamed expensive and pretentious. Adrien remembered the suit his father wanted him to wear and realised that it indeed would have matched the dress Lila was currently wearing.

Adrien straightened his suit and with the most innocent and clueless face he could muster, told them, “I was told to wear this one.” 

“Don’t you have another one? A spare one? One that is white?” Lila insisted..

Adrien tapped his chin for a moment as if in thought before replying with a, “Nope.”

Since he had enough fun out of Lila’s reaction, Tim clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention and announced, “Since everyone is present, it’s time for us to go.”

Lila’s complaints were unheard over the cheers of excitement as everyone walked towards the limos.

It went according to Tim’s plan when Lila threw another tantrum about not being in the same car as Adrien and stating there wasn’t enough room on the larger and more spacious limo the class was given while Adrien, Tim, Nino, Alya and Alix went on the other. Tim calmly explained that Adrien had only been allowed to name three people to go in the same car as him and Lila wasn’t on the list. Lila cried about her ‘Adri-boo’ not choosing her as she held Adrien in a desperate grip. However, Adrien had the courage to do whatever he wanted and face no immediate consequences since his father was thousands miles away in another country.

He pushed her off, “Lila, I never said this before but you make me uncomfortable. You may say that it’s because Italians are affectionate people or whatever but it doesn’t change the fact that I hate the feeling of you touching me everywhere. I also don’t like that you go around telling people that we are dating when we are not and you ignore me when I say not to do that. I also have someone else I like.”

“It’s Marinette, isn’t it?” Lila accused him.

Adrien rolled his eyes.

“Marinette isn’t even here. And no, it’s not her. He is someone very special to me.”

The class gasped in surprise at the reveal.

Adrien continued, “He listens to what I want and does everything to make me happy. He doesn’t care about my looks, or money, or fame. He only sees me as Adrien. Not Adrien Agreste the model. And I am very happy that he likes me back. So fuck off, Lila.”

Adrien hurried and got into the car while Lila stood there in shock. Alix, Alya and Nino quickly followed. (trying to hold in their giggles.) Gorilla got into the front passenger seat.

“We will see you at the gala,” Tim cheerfully waved at the class before closing the door and the limo drove off.

-------

Camera lights flashed as they exited the limo and reporters tried to grab their attention. While the Miraculous Team was used to it as heroes, it was different from the attention they were being currently given.

The class later arrived and were mostly flustered by the reception. Lila tried to ignore what had happened at the hotel and just enjoyed the red carpet moment that she believed was for her. However, there was less enthusiasm from the sidelines than she was pleased with. But you have to take what you can get.

Suddenly, the reporters stopped their barrage of light when they were given a piece of news in their earpieces and they rushed to the other end of the carpet near the entrance where Adrien and Tim were posing side by side, with arms wrapped around each other.

Lila’s heart stopped when she realised what the reporters were shouting at the couple,

“Tim and Adrien, is it true? Are you two dating? How long have you been together? Why come out now?”

Tim raised his hand for silence and the reporters quieted down like obedient dogs eager for treats, “You must be talking about that post Adrien made earlier this evening so to answer your questions,” He and Adrien leaned towards each other for a passionate kiss which had Lila screaming internally in rage and the crowd roaring in delight.

“I hope that will suffice.” Adrien threw out before Tim dragged him inside. Nino, Alya and Alix rushed after them to not be caught by the media burning with questions.

Around Lila, the class was in a similar state and interrogating her if she had known or giving her empty words of comfort.

Lila wanted to scream but she didn’t want to look like a mad woman in front of the cameras and tried to hurriedly get the class inside. “We should get inside. Then, we can ask Adrien what this is all about. It was so mean of him to pull a prank like this without telling us.”

The crowd started up again when Jagged Stone exited from the next limo in all his rock and roll glory. He was accompanied by his son, up and coming musician and heartthrob for teenage fans everywhere, Luka and his girlfriend, one of the youngest Olympic gold medalist fencers, Kagami. They were followed by MDC, Jagged’s favourite and mysterious designer, a young prodigy in a fashion world and whom many notorious and tough fashion critics only have praises and compliments for. Many have tried to speculate who she might be but to no avail.

The reporters erupted a flood of flashing lights at the rockstar’s group, Jagged Stone, drawing most of their attention. Lila seethed that she was outshone and the attention she ‘rightfully’ deserved was stolen by someone else. However, since there were cameras everywhere, she couldn’t act out but just continued to smile and wave despite no one focusing on her.

“It’s Jagged Stone!” Ivan pointed out. Most of the class turned around to look at the rockstar behind them who had a look of impatience.

“Can you kids move? You are holding up the line.” Jagged said impatiently.

“Hey, dad. Luka. Kagami. M.” Juleka waved awkwardly from where she was standing next to Rose and Jagged’s face morphed into a smile.

“Jules, my daughter. Why didn’t you tell me you were in Gotham? I would have come to see you if I knew. Anyways, I am glad to see you….” Jagged chattered on as he hugged Juleka who fist-bumped with Luka as a greeting while in her father’s embrace. The rockstar kept on talking about meeting Brucie again.

“Hello, M. Stone.” Rose greeted.

“Rosie, hope you have taken good care of my daughter.”

“Of course. And these are our classmates.”

Luka cleared his throat to get their attention and said, “ Dad, how about we move along so the people behind us can get in?”

The former Kitty Section members felt a little awkward, considering they broke up because Luka didn’t like how the class treated Marinette and falling so easily to Lila’s lies.

“Sure. Let’s go, kiddos.” Jagged walked past the class with one arm around Juleka’s shoulders and the other around Luka’s. Rose and Kagami followed closely behind. MDC, who wore a mask to conceal her identity, didn’t spare a glance to the class as she sashayed past in her gorgeous blood red evening gown.

Lila felt indignant about being ignored and tried not to show it as she followed the other group, cheeks burning from humiliation. Luckily for her, the class was in awe of meeting one of their favourite celebrities to question why Lila wasn’t mentioned at all during the conversation.

And MDC, there was something about the way the designer stare at her throughout the conversation between Jagged and the class that made Lila feel uneasy.

—------

The class stepped into the large ballroom, looking like they had stepped into a movie. Elegant crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings, a pyramid made of champagne flute glasses, a buffet table laid out with mouth-watering appetisers to snack on, a fountain with a statue of a nearly naked woman pouring out water from her golden pitcher, classical music softly played by musicians from a balcony while rich and fancy danced, chatted and mingled among themselves.

Lila’s mouth was wide open in shock. The events she had been attending as Adrien’s plus one, thanks to Gabriel, weren’t as lavish as the one before her. While Timothy might be out, Bruce Wayne had adopted several over the years and she just needed to catch the attention of one of them. Then, she can go to galas like these all the time. With her becoming a legal adult that year, she won’t have to go through the tedious process of convincing her mother to move here. She could just apply at one of the local colleges.

Lila had unconsciously rubbed her hands together like a typical scheming villain which Sabrina noticed.

“Lila, are you cold?” Sabrina asked worriedly.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you were cold. You seemed to be rubbing your hands together for warmth.”

“Don’t worry. It's just a little chilly. I am fine.”

“Really?”

“Well, the truth to be told, I still can’t believe what Adrien did earlier. What was he thinking?”

“About him being boyfriends with Tim?”

“Yes! He pushed me away and told me that he didn’t like me. Now he is kissing a boy just to prove a point.” Lila covered her eyes as if to hide her tears, “He didn’t have to go that far to hurt me.”

Sabrina pursed her lips and said nothing as she rubbed Lila’s back to comfort her. She exchanged doubtful glances with Mylene.

Adrien’s declaration of not liking Lila had given the class the realisation that they had never considered his feelings when plotting to bring the two of them together. Right now, seeing Adrien contentedly swaying to the music with Tim made them feel guilty about how they treated him and only encouraged Lila to get closer to him.

—---

While the class might be gullible, they weren’t entirely stupid. The Wayne Gala was attended by many famous faces, many of whom the class admired.

After the initial starstruck awe of the situation faded away, it didn’t take long for the class to realise that Lila was ignored the people she claimed to know and have ‘helped’. Ignored wasn’t quite the right word. There was no hint of recognition when they look at Lila. Only smiling and nodding before walking away.

Then, Lila would tell them that the person was busy these days or they had something on their mind or she would backtrack and say that they weren’t as close as she had said. Lila really loved making excuses. Sometimes, the class had to point out who certain people are when Lila once claimed to have known them to be like ‘family’.

There was a sense of dread among the Akuma Class as the night went on. There was voice in the back of their heads that sounded a lot like Marinette whispering, “She lied. She lied to you. She can’t do what she said she can. She lied. She lied and you believed her.”

The doubts and suspicions built up. The class didn’t want to believe Lila would lie to them. If so, was she ever really the nice sweet girl they thought she was? While Lila went around trying to find a Wayne child to suck up to, the class exchanged quiet words about their suspicions.

“Guys, I don’t think Lila is who she says she is.” Sabrina blurted out.

“Oh thank human’s common sense, I thought I was the only one,” Max exclaimed.

He brought out his phone, “I had Markov run searches for if Lila had done anything she had said to have done in the past year based on Markov’s recordings of her claims. There’s nothing.”

“What? What do you mean, Max?”

“There should be at least some traces of Lila on the internet, like paparazzi pictures, a post mentioning or hinting at her involvement, some credit given to prevent copyright lawsuits or news articles on the events Lila said to have attended. There’s nothing. Not a single thing. I even told him to run facial scans on pictures of parties that many celebrities attended. Other than the ones that Gabriel was invited to, there is not even an accidental shot. Either Lila loves her anonymity so much that she will edit herself out of pictures which is unlikely given how much she loves being in the spotlight or she lied to us.”

“Marinette!” Mylene cried out in realisation, “She was telling us the whole time.”

“We should have listened when she told that Lila was lying to us,” Kim added.

“Oh my god, what have we done?! We made her drop out.”

Someone slow clapped, drawing their attention.

“I suppose I didn’t give you enough credit. You aren’t complete morons if you still have enough brain cells to work out that you were being played like puppets on a string.” Tim Drake stood before them, smirking like some evil mastermind about to reveal his schemes.

The class spotted Adrien hanging out with Luka, Kagami, a blonde girl in a stunning purple gown and an Asian girl in a gorgeous midnight blue dress.

“Tim. What are you doing here?”

Tim made a displeased expression and explained, “I was going to introduce you to some of your idols that I invited for this purpose and subtly shift the topic towards Rossi. One by one. So all of you will figure out that Lila Rossi is nothing but a lying snake. No offence to the snakes.”

“How do we know that you didn’t set the whole thing up?”

Tim rolled his eyes, “Oh please, some of these people have enough wealth of their own that I can’t even bribe them. It would just be a waste of everyone’s time. The most I did was just sent some invites and made sure that they would come. Can you believe how hard to was to get a hold of Tony Stark? And he didn’t even show up. I bet if any of you go ask any one of them if they knew Lila Rossi, they will say no. So either a whole lot of people are lying or your ‘friend’ lied to you. I don’t know why. For the popularity.  Fame. Or just some lap dogs she can use to get through school. I don’t know but I know that everything that came out of her mouth is not true.”

“Why are you doing all of this?” Ivan asked.

Tim held up two fingers, “Two reasons. Reason one is of course Adrien. He’s my boyfriend and I don’t want her around him. Reason two is also why I don’t want her around him. But first.”

Red heels clicked across the marble floor as they approached the group.

“Let me introduce you to the lovely Mademoiselle MDC,” Tim gestured behind him towards the masked woman who they saw with Jagged Stone earlier.

She removed her mask, revealing a familiar face that made the class gasp her name.

“Marinette.”

“Hello. It was nice seeing you again,” Marinette said in a way that reminded them of the evil smart assistant to Tim’s evil mastermind.

“We are so sorry,” Mylene apologised, “We drove you away because we didn’t want to believe you about Lila.”

Marinette gave her a small smile that didn’t look forgiving, “Save your apologies until this whole fiasco is over.”

She took out her phone and all of their phone dinged as they all received the link she texted.

“What’s this?” Kim asked as they all opened it. Sabrina dropped her phone in shock at the news articles about Lila’s past victims. Chills went down their spines as they kept scrolling, unable to look away in horror because this was someone they went to school with every day and smiled at them so innocently. They were all playthings to her.

“Lila wouldn’t. She wouldn’t do something like this.”

Marinette’s face remain neutral as she replied, “But she did. She just hadn’t had the chance to go that far yet. I got out before I became one of them.” Marinette pointed to the phones to show what she meant.

Suddenly, Tim and Marinette looked in the same direction and the class followed their gazes to Lila was making her way through a crowd towards them. Marinette put her mask back on and the two blended into the surroundings like they were never there.

Lila grinned, happy that Duke Thomas-Wayne, newest addition to the family, gave her his fake number. He was still a little green and awkward but she can work with it.

Now, today she just got ‘dumped’ by Adrien and got the class’s sympathy. She could play into that and milk it for all it’s worth for the last few months until graduation. Then, she could make an effort of moving on from Adrien and slowly introduce Duke as her new love interest.

The only problem might be Gabriel. He might terminate her modelling contract since she let something like Adrien’s boyfriend slip through. Once she managed to get Duke to be her boyfriend that problem might be easily solved. Bruce Wayne was said to love his kids, going to as far as to built a zoo for one of them as a birthday present. So if one of his kid asked for his girlfriend to get a modelling gig..

Lila sipped the champagne she managed to snatch from a passing waiter and mentally patted herself on her back. She drained the flute and made her way towards the class, a tad wobbly from the alcohol she had. She made sure her face was one of heartbreak and say she drunk out of despair.

However, the atmosphere around her minions were so chilly, that Lila almost immediately sobered up.

“Guys, there you are…” her voice trailed off upon seeing their glares. “What’s going on?” She tried going for meek and confused. The weak ones like Mylene wavered but Kim pointed at her with anger, “We know, Lila. Drop the act.”

“Know? Know what?” Lila tried to think, assessing the risk of keeping the act up or moving to another school and starting all over again.

“Lila, stop. We know that you lied.”

Lila stopped like they asked and grinned so smugly that the class felt like there was someone else instead of Lila in front of them.

Lila opened her mouth and hell broke loose.

------

A year later, Adrien laid in Tim’s arms and sighed in contentment. Finally peaceful days were upon them. With Batman’s vast resources, they were able to confirm Shadowmoth’s identity as Adrien’s father. The final fight was not only physically exhausting but emotionally draining considering who he had to fight. Both Marinette and Tim offered the option for Adrien to sit out since it might be painful for him while Tim fights as Chat Noir on his behalf. To which, Adrien declined.

In the end, he got another closure of what had happened to his mother and buried her. The Waynes helped with the media fallout of him being Shadowmoth’s son. Adrien was seen as Shadowmoth’s naive and sheltered son who had no idea what his father id although there were still some wary eyes when he goes out in public. He had donated most of the wealth Gabriel spent decades accumulating to akuma relief and therapy for the trauma his father caused the whole city. He only kept the amount that was left by his mother for college and savings to use until he found a source of income from a job he likes doing. 

The Miraculous Team announced their retirement but agreed to come back if the Justice League calls on them.

Marinette had gone to the Order’s Temple to complete her guardianship training and kept them updated with a reassuring text once a month. Luka and Kagami were engaged while Alya and Nino were each focusing on their careers and college before deciding to get married or not. Alix was the only one of them still using her Miraculous to do Bunnyx stuff. Chloe and Zoe were kicking ass and taking name as the Bourgeois sisters. A pair more terrifying than their mother.

The Akuma class or the part of the class that listened to Lila were steadily getting their lives back on track after the number the she-devil had inflicted on them.

As for the Italian herself. She was nothing but a distant nightmare.

The night of the gala of where she was exposed, it was attacked by Two-Face and Lila got shot while trying to escape. Luckily for her, she was only shot in the leg and just  needed a surgery and weeks of physical therapy. Lila was very upset about her perfect body being marred and the bloodstain on the expensive dress. The class gave her the cold shoulder so she had no one to help her with her very real disability as she recovered.

Lila’s mother went to the school to complain about how her daughter got shot when she was reassured that Lila would be safe and all of Lila’s lies came to light. Turns out Signora Rossi was aware of her lying habits but not that she had Lila was capable of forging her parent’s signature on documents and doctor’s notes, and the many months she skipped schools. That day, Signora Rossi came home to a anonymous thick manila envelope that contained evidence of Lila bullying and harassing people from the her past school and until now. The akuma fight was a tough battle but the Miraculous Team managed to defeat her within an hour.

By the end of next week, Lila was gone and Tim investigated into the matter to see she had been sent to some disciplinary school.

 Life was peaceful..

Until a portal opened up in front of the couple and spat out a very young black haired kid with green eyes dressed in a cat suit who looked at Tim and Adrien with wide eyes and said, “Papa? Daddy?”

#maribat #maribat fic #ml x dc #mlb x dc #adritim #Timdrien #Tim x Adrien #idk what the ship is called #lila salt #maribat class salt #maribat class redemption

[flightfoot]

What filters do you use for miraculous

On AO3? These are the ones I've accrued over the past few years. Most of them are geared towards filtering out salt, but I also filter out M and E rated fics because I usually only read those if I'm actively looking for smut, which isn't usually something I do with Miraculous, and filter out all of Maribat and Felinette, since while I'm okay with those two ships/fandoms in principle, in practice they tend to be filled with bashing and it's soured me on those two as a whole.

One of my followers also gave me a "no salt skin" for AO3 which has been very useful. There are a lot of redundancies between my filter list and the No Salt skin due to me acquiring them separately. Here's the CSS for the No Salt skin.

.blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/Lila%20Rossi%20Bashing/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="saire%20Bashing/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="Chat%20Noir%20Bashing/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="/tags/Classmates%20Bashing" i] i), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/ml%20class%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/salt%20fic/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/adrien%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/marinette%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/saltinette/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/alya%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/lila%20bashing/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="/tags/salty%20marinette%20dupain-cheng" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/lila%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="lila%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/lila%20rossi%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="/tags/master%20fu%20bashing" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/master%20fu%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="alya%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="adrien%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/alya%20cesaire%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="master%20fu%20salt" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/chloe%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="saire%20bashing/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/slight%20ml%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/ml%20salt%20fic/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/chameleon%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/ml%20s3%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="ml%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/adrien%20agreste%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/ml%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="ml%20salt/works" i]) { display: none !important; }

The No Salt skin by itself isn't really enough to actually stop salt from showing up, but that's mostly from it not filtering out Maribat, and Maribat's insistence on not tagging its salt since the concept that all of Marinette's friends and family have horrifically mistreated her is often just taken as such a given, it's not even recognized as not being the norm.

#ask #ml fandom salt

[jacquesthepigeon]

"I’ve decided square stans aren’t allowed to include Alya in their comics if her only role is to shill the square"

But do you think that's worse or just as bad as Salt fics that turn her into Lila's henchwoman?

You ask this like I haven’t complained about salters taking it too far in the past lmao

They’re separate issues, with one being about the black best friend trope and the other about exaggerating her slights, no reason to bring them up in the same post

[mariharem-trash-heap]

Five Times Lila Lied to Marinette’s Family...

... And the One Time They Decided to Do Something About It.

(Request) Marinette was beginning to lose hope that anyone would believe her about her classmate’s lying habit... until her grandmother turned to her one day and said, “Jagged Stone is in England. What is this child talking about?” And, as they say, it was all downhill from there.

Notes:

I don’t usually do 5+1 fics anymore, but I had a good time reversing the trope that Mari’s family believes a literal stranger over their own blood.

1) Gina Dupain

Despite Grandparents’ Day being squarely during summer break, Dupont decided to hold a party to celebrate. Every student, current and upcoming, was invited along with their grandparents.

As it happened, this year Marinette’s grandma happened to be in town for the week, and when Tom mentioned the party at dinner, she was delighted.

“Oh, Marinette, why don’t we go?” She asked, turning to the teenager with sparkling eyes. “It will be fun! I haven’t gotten to properly meet your friends, either...”

Marinette paused in sipping her water, before setting the cup back down and nodding with a smile. “Sure, why not?”

-0-0-0-0-

The party was going smoothly, or as smooth as it could be, by the time the two walked over from the bakery. Gina had dressed up in her best pantsuit, and Marinette went in a nice blouse and capris.

Almost immediately, Marinette’s face brightened and she made to hurry away, but at the last second remembered her guest and tugged at her arm. “I see Alya. Let’s go.”

“Oh, Alya,” Gina murmured. “That’s your friend, right?”

“Yep, we’re best friends.”

“I see.” A smile spread across the older woman’s face.

“Mari!” Alya seemed to have spotted them too, as her own grin appeared and she reached to hug the noirette.

The two squeezed each other tight for a few seconds before they pulled away. Marinette looked to Nino with a smile, one that he returned.

“Alya, this is my grandma,” she introduced. “Nonna, this is my friend Alya, and her boyfriend, Nino.”

“It’s good to actually meet you properly this time!” Gina chuckled, nodding to the kids. “Dating already, are you? Goodness, you kids grow up too fast.”

“We just started dating this year, actually.” Alya smiled, locking her arm into Nino’s. “It’s nice to meet you, Marinette’s grandma!”

“Oh, please, call me Nonna.” Gina shook her head, eyes twinkling.

Marinette looked around with a slight frown. “Let me guess, Adrien couldn’t make it?”

“You know how his dad is,” Nino lamented with a huff, stuffing his hand in his pocket. “I doubt he even has grandparents to come, anyway, so he would’ve felt weird about it.”

“I suppose.” With a sigh, the girl wilted a little.

“Hey, cheer up.” Alya bumped her with her elbow, a secretive look on her face. “I know something that’ll cheer you up - Jagged Stone is coming to Paris again!”

The girl’s eyes widened as she searched her face. “Wait... really? When?”

“It’s supposed to be a secret, but since you’re my bestie I have it on good authority that he’s scheduling a trip next week.” With a wink, her friend added, “You can thank Lila for that info!”

Gina watched as her granddaughter’s demeanor changed. In an instant her surprise wilted into suspicion, only for a moment, before she schooled her face into a more neutral expression. “Oh, is that so?”

“Yeah, she’s here if you wanna get it straight from her if you want!”

Exchanging a look with her grandma, Marinette forced a smile. “You know what? Sure. Let me hear it from the source.”

She almost felt bad at the way Alya brightened up. Turning to her boyfriend with a murmur, she rushed off, pulling him in tow.

“What was that about, Marinette?” She questioned.

“Oh, just a girl in my class.” She answered halfheartedly with a shrug. “She has all these impossible stories she likes to tell. I’m not sure a lot of them are real, but everyone else seems to buy them.”

With a frown, the woman hummed in thought. Glancing down the hallway to where the girl and boy had run off to, she mused, “Jagged Stone is in England. What is this child talking about?”

Marinette froze, out of the corner of her eye.

“I’ve been meaning to keep it a secret, but for your birthday I’ve been speaking with your parents to take you to a concert of his.” She smiled in amusement at her granddaughter’s surprise. “Unfortunately, he’s going to be in England for another few weeks, so we would have to go out of the country for it.”

“Oh, Grandma,” Marinette breathed, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug.

“It’s not the surprise gift I wanted it to be, but-- Marinette?” Gina paused, concerned, when she felt wetness gathering on the front of her blouse. “Are you alright?”

“I’m-- I’m just fine,” came a little sniffle from below. “I’m perfect, actually.”

2) Roland Dupain

“Marinette!” Roland greeted happily, opening his arms so that his granddaughter could throw herself in for a hug. “So good to see you. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well, Grandpa,” she answered happily as she squeezed the old man tight before pulling away. “How are you?”

“Much better now!” He stepped out of the doorway, allowing her in. “Apparently Paris is trying a new youth program, calls it the Senior Outreach Program.” He snorted. “I’m far from senior, I’m still in my prime. But anyway, they sent the most charming little girl - she’s been helping me get used to all this confounded new technology.”

“That’s great, Grandpa,” Marinette answered, hanging her coat up by the door as he shut it.

“Yes, I think she goes to your school,” he said next, and it sent a pang of dread through her body. “Lila Rossi, is it? She’s had a lot to say about how welcoming your friends are.”

And there it was.

Marinette tried her best to smile at him, though it came out looking almost constipated. “Oh, really? How nice.”

“I admit, I was a little skeptical at first, but apparently she grew up in the same exact region of Italy that I lived in for a time!” He chuckled. “Very small world, isn’t it? We had a wonderful time talking about our families’ traditions and recipes. Turns out she’s related to the Marianis! Isn’t that neat?”

“She is?” Well, that would be news to her. Marinette gently said, “Grandpa, she’s been telling all of us that she’s related to the current president of Italy. There’s been no mention of the Mariani family or anything - not even when I mentioned having Italian ancestors.”

“Eh? Really?” He squinted. “Marinette, ancestry doesn’t just go one way, you know.”

“Believe me, if she was related to one of the oldest restaurant-owning families in Italy, she would have mentioned it, especially after Alya told her my parents own a bakery.” She insisted with a frown. “Especially since she’s apparently gluten-intolerant.”

This got Roland’s attention. “Gluten intolerance?! She helped me bake a loaf of bread just yesterday! She didn’t mention anything about any gluten intolerance, or whatever you kids are making up these days!”

“She’s a liar, Grandpa,” She answered.

“Well!” He scoffed with a scowl, turning to head for the landline. “I’ll be having words about this with her supervisor! Sending me a child with a supposed ‘gluten allergy’... of all the nerve...!”

All Marinette could do was sigh as he grumbled to himself while dialing, hoping that her time with her grandfather hadn’t been spoiled.

3) Wang Cheng

"Uncle Wang?” Marinette startled in surprise as her great-uncle walked into the room with a smile. “What are you doing here? Where’s Papa?”

“I’m going to be the one giving the cooking lesson today,” he replied, patting her on the head as he passed. Setting down the giant pot he’d brought with him, he asked, “Has your mother taught you how to make xiaolongbao yet?”

“Ah, no, not yet,” she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “We’ve both been too busy to try. The bakery got a huge order this week, and I’m trying to plan a picnic day for the class...”

The man seemed a little disappointed, but he shrugged. “Well, that’s alright. Perhaps I can stop in and we can make them together, all three of us.”

“That would be great!” His little great-niece smiled up at him, and it warmed his heart.

-0-0-0-0-

The cooking lesson went on without a hitch - someone had spoken to Chloe, he surmised, because the blonde teenager didn’t so much as look at him the whole time and allowed Sabrina to mix the ingredients into the soup for her.

There was someone new here this time, however - a brunette with long hair and a tanned complexion, one who was chatting amiably with a couple of other girls as they mixed their soup together. Or rather, she was not; her partners were mixing it for her, as she claimed she’d sprained her wrist. Marinette had just rolled her eyes, surprising the man. That was not like his great-niece, or so he’d thought.

Indeed, the girl spent much of her time waving her wrist about, this way and that - but whenever he walked over to inspect their progress, suddenly it was still and limp again on the table, a doe-eyed, innocent look on her face. It was all too suspicious.

By the end of class, he leaned in to Marinette’s ear and whispered, Marinette, who is that girl with the sprained wrist?”

“That’s Lila,” she responded dismissively. “She’s lying about her wrist being sprained. She just doesn’t want to make soup today.”

Oh. Well that was troubling information. “Does she not like soup?”

“I don’t know, but if she’s in a group she’ll find any way to get out of doing work that she can.” She spared a sympathetic glance to the two girls with her. “I feel bad for Juleka and Rose, honestly. Rose is so kind that she can’t bear it if she can’t help someone in need, and Juleka seems to believe her wild stories...”

Most troubling indeed.

“I see,” said the man, gathering up his supplies. “Well. Have a good day, Marinette. I’m coming over for dinner - perhaps then I can help you and Sabine.”

Her answering smile made the troubling clouds over his mind dissipate somewhat.

4) Tom Dupain

Tom hadn’t expecting the volume of middle-schoolers walking into his bakery one afternoon. But the happy chatter and smiling faces of his daughter’s classmates were no unwelcome sight as he fixed a smile on his face and leaned forward. “Welcome! What can I get for you today?”

“We wanted to bring Lila to check out your bakery,” Adrien explained with a winning smile as the girl in question shuffled behind him. “She’s never had proper French pastries before and was curious to try some.”

“Oh, of course! Lila, is it? You’re my daughter’s new classmate.” He nodded politely to the brunette. “What would you like? We’ve got a large arrangement.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” the girl seemed timid, like a fawn, her large eyes looking back and forth across the display case. “I hate having so many choices...”

“Well, might I recommend an éclair?” He gestured to the little plate of custard-filled dough. “We’ve got chocolate, raspberry, and orange as our specialties today.”

“That sounds marvelous, I’ll take orange, please.” The girl flashed a pleasant expression.

“Orange it is!” He turned to pluck one of the pastries carefully, placing it in a liner and setting it on the counter. “Since you’re one of Marinette’s classmates, I’ll give you a discount - just €2.75.”

“O- oh,” here came a disappointed frown. “I, ah, this is embarrassing. I forgot my wallet today.”

“Oh, it’s no problem!” Alya spoke up, raising her own. “I’ll cover for you.”

“You really don’t have to,” she simpered.

“You’re our friend,” she reassured with a wink. “I’ll pay for it, Mr. Dupain.”

“Alright, is there anything else I can get you kids?” He accepted the notes and gave her change before handing the éclair to the brunette.

One by one the other kids spoke up, happily asking for this or that, until Adrien said, “I’d like a gougere, please.”

Tom chuckled, winking at the blond. “Cheese bread? I thought the day would never come. No problem.” As soon as he walked a few steps away to grab it, he heard it.

“Oh...” A tiny murmur from the brunette girl, Lila, he’d noted.

“What’s wrong?” Alya was asking quietly.

“I... I forgot I’m lactose intolerant,” she sheepishly answered. “I didn’t bring my medicine with me. And this is kind of stale...”

“Oh, girl, why didn’t you say something? Why’d you choose the éclair?”

“I didn’t want to cause trouble...”

As he turned back around, Alya straightened up and Lila paused her squirming.

“Is there a problem?” He asked kindly.

“Lila’s éclair is stale,” she stated. “And she’s lactose intolerant.”

“Stale? Already?” His brows raised to his hairline. “I just made them this morning. Are you certain?”

“This is why I didn’t want to say anything,” the girl muttered as she covered her face with one hand. “This is so embarrassing, Alya...”

“Forgive me, but I make my pastries at most a day in advance, and that’s for more complicated things like mille-feuille,” he explained. “Why didn’t you speak up? I’d have gotten you something lactose-free from the back. We always try to cater to customers with food allergies.”

“I forgot,” she said quietly.

“Well,” Tom sighed, “Are you feeling alright? Do you need some Lactaid?”

“I’ll be fine,” Lila insisted, though a troubled expression came over her face.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it,” Nino volunteered.

“A free éclair? Heck no, I’ll eat it,” Kim retorted.

Tom stood there, brow furrowed in thought, as he handed Adrien his bread. The boy looked uncomfortable and apologetic, even as he paid for it.

He would have to speak with Marinette about this development.

5) Sabine Cheng

“Marinette?” Sabine gently knocked on her daughter’s door after dinner with a plate of cut strawberries and whipped cream in hand, brow knit in concern despite the frustration still smoldering in her chest. “Baozi?”

A shuffling from inside, and her daughter’s emotion-choked voice cracked, “What?”

Sabine hesitated. What could she say to make things better? She hated fighting with her - she hated fighting with anyone, at that - and while her head was screaming one thing, her heart was pleading another.

“Are you... are you alright?” She tried instead, her voice dropping into a more worried tone at how desolate she sounded.

There was another pause, before Marinette’s voice answered again, sounding much worse. “No.”

Sabine gave a quiet sigh. “Can I come in?”

Don’t be like your mother, her heart whispered. Talk to her. Be understanding.

At a noncommittal noise, she took a chance. Opening the door a crack, she peeked in to see no Marinette in sight; but when she looked up at the girl’s bed, a head poked up to look.

“I brought you dessert, since you missed it,” she explained as gently as she could, a grimacing smile on her face. “Why don’t you come down so we can talk it out?”

For a moment, the girl didn’t move.

Then, finally, after ducking her head back down and something akin to soft murmuring from above, she slowly slid out of bed, covers retracting to show her mussed hair and blotchy face.

Sabine’s latent anger finally began to flicker out, and her eyes softened as Marinette slowly came down.

“Oh, bǎobèi,” she murmured, setting the plate down on the chaise and opening her arms.

Without a word, her daughter flung herself into them and squeezed her tight, hiccupping as the tears began to flow again.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“I’m sorry for yelling too, Marinette,” Sabine soothed, brushing back her hair and holding her tight. Her heart ached for her teenage daughter as she began to cry, soaking the front of her shirt. “I would like to understand what’s going on instead of fight you about it. Will you tell me, so I can make things better?”

Marinette shakily nodded and hummed a response. As she pulled back, her face red from her tears, she answered, “There’s-- there’s this girl. In my class.”

“Go on,” the mother encouraged, brow knit in concern.

“And- and she lies, like all the time, and I’m the only one that knows she’s lying.” She sniffled, brushing away strands of hair that stuck to her face. “None of my friends believe me about anything she says, and-- and Adrien--”

“Breathe, sweetheart,” Sabine gently ordered, brushing a thumb across her cheek. “What about Adrien? Doesn’t he stand up for you?”

“No!” Marinette burst, fresh hot tears spilling down her cheeks. “All he said was that she isn’t hurting anyone with her lies, but-- but she’s hurting me! She’s hurting everyone because they believe her about all these things she promises, and-- and I don’t want them to be disappointed and upset when she doesn’t pull through!”

Sabine’s eyes hardened and she nodded, painful memories of her husband’s akumatization fresh in their memories. Tom had been so distraught, worrying about Marinette falling prey to that horrible butterfly-toting villain tonight.

“I’m trying so hard not to say anything about it, but-- but now she’s lying to you, and I can’t stand it!” Marinette sobbed, hiding her face in her mother’s chest. “I’m not bullying anyone, I swear! I’m not like Chloe!”

“I believe you, bǎobèi,” her mother soothed, running her fingers through her hair. “I was shocked, and upset, but I believe you. We’ve raised you better than that.”

“I’m just so tired of being singled out all the time,” she sniffled. “The very first day she came back to school, she threatened to steal all of my friends. And it’s working. I don’t want her lying to my family too!”

Sabine continued to murmur to her, holding her tight. It broke her heart to see her daughter so broken over this, and as she sat with her, listening to her talk about everything that had happened in the past month, the fiery anger in her gut rekindled itself - though not at Marinette.

She had to do something about this. But first, she thought, offering a cream-covered strawberry slice to her sniffling teenager, to comfort Marinette.

+1) They Do Something About It

The next morning, Tom and Sabine, along with Tom’s parents and Sabine’s uncle, marched over to the school, box of pastries in hand. After talking about it for much of the night previously, they had come to the conclusion that something needed to be done about their daughter’s new bully.

Principal Damocles spluttered in surprise as they entered his office. “Oh, well- well hello, Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Cheng, ah - Dupains, and...”

“Wang Cheng,” the man offered. “I’m Marinette’s great-uncle.”

Damocles squinted for a moment, before adding, “Chengs. What, ah, what brings you here this morning? Classes have only just begun.”

“We need to discuss something very important with you, Principal,” Tom answered, extending the box. “But first, would you like a pastry? Freshly baked.”

The bearded man’s eyes lit up in delight. “Don’t mind if I do, thank you.”

Roland and Gina sat down before his desk, the rest standing, as he picked out a croissant with butter glistening along its still-steaming surface, watching as he carefully ate it above the napkin provided.

“Now,” said Sabine pleasantly, “We’ve had some concerns over behavior coming from our daughter’s classroom lately. Perhaps you could lend your thoughts about the situation?”

“Miss Bustier’s classroom?” He questioned, wiping his beard free of crumbs. “Ah, yes, yes, I’ve heard some concerns from her about some developing behavioral problems between a couple of her students. Your daughter has been... acting rather bizarre, as of late.”

“Bizarre how?” Tom questioned. “Bizarre as in being rude and bullying her friends, or bizarre as in coming to class early?”

“Bizarre as in, oh, how to put this gently...” Damocles cleared his throat and threaded his fingers together. “Dupain, Cheng, your daughter has been unfairly targeting another student for perceived wrongs and causing distress on her part.”

Sabine’s eyes darkened for a second, before Tom spoke up. “Principal Damocles, I’m afraid we’ve heard another thing entirely - and it’s not just us, but her grandparents and great-uncle as well.”

“That’s right!” Roland added, a grumpy frown on his face.

“My great-niece would never bully someone,” Wang’s face was pinched with disappointment. “Are you sure you’ve heard correctly?”

“Unfortunately so.” Damocles pressed a button on the intercom. “Madame Bustier, would you please make your way to the principal’s office?”

“The stories we’ve heard at home have been quite different,” Sabine said as soon as his finger left the button. “My daughter was distraught when we told her about the girl she’d supposedly been bullying. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body!”

“I have had evidence of the girl lying, myself,” Gina supplied, folding her arms across her chest. “This past July, in fact. However long this has been going on, I’m disappointed that it’s gone as long as it has.”

“W- well,” the principal cleared his throat, “surely her teacher will have more to add that I cannot.”

As if on cue, there was a polite knock at the door and he called, “Come in, please.”

Caline Bustier stopped short as she stepped into the office, brow knit in confusion and concern when she saw the group. “Um, you called for me, principal Damocles?”

“Yes, yes, please, come in,” he answered. “I’m sorry for pulling you away from your instructions, but I would like your input on a discussion.”

“Of course,” said the redhead, and as she closed the door and walked in, she smiled at Tom and Sabine. “Hello, Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Cheng.”

“Madame Bustier, it’s come to our attention that our daughter is being bullied right under your nose,” Sabine said bluntly, causing the teacher to startle. “Yet the story we’re hearing from school is that she’s the one doing the bullying?”

“Oh, well- bullying is a strong term,” she answered hesitantly, clasping her hands together. “But yes, there have been some disagreements going on in the classroom recently, involving Marinette and another student.”

“I do hope you aren’t about to tell me my own daughter would cry and lie to me about a girl promising to make her school life terrible.” The woman’s eyes narrowed.

“She- she said that?” Caline stopped short, a shocked pull to her expression. “Who on earth would tell her that?”

“The very girl she’s supposedly bullying,” Tom answered for her, folding his arms across his chest. “A girl named Lila. And nothing is being done to keep her safe from bully behavior? I have to say I’m very disappointed in Dupont. Marinette has been being bullied by Chloe Bourgeois for years now, and not once has anything been done to remedy that. Now another student is bullying my daughter and the report from school is that she’s the one being a bully? Not my Marinette.”

“That’s right,” added Gina with a frown. “My granddaughter is not the type to be a bully.”

“I understand that you may have some contrary opinions, being that it is your daughter, but unfortunately this issue has been going on for quite a while now.” Caline had the audacity to look disappointedly at them. “Marinette is supposed to be a representative for our classroom, but has fallen quite short in being an example.”

“Give me examples of her bullying,” Sabine ordered. Behind her, Wang placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Well,” said the younger woman, “there was an incident on Lila’s first day of school. She was happily making friends, but Marinette tried to dissuade them and paint her in a bad light. I, personally, thought she was jealous, and I tried to stand up for the new student.”

“Jealous, perhaps, but Marinette would never warn others away just because of that. We’ve raised her to be truthful and justice-minded.” Tom retorted. “What else?”

“Well, there is the fact that she continues to be obstinate and stubbornly refuses to accept Lila’s ailments.” Ticking them off on her fingers, “she has admitted to a number of allergies and injuries that Marinette has mocked and called her a liar for, she has refused to help her out when she needs it, and has led a bad example for the other students when it comes to accepting someone different.”

“Well?” Roland demanded next. “Have you verified those allergies and injuries? Because she never told me about any gluten allergy, and I made bread with her! She didn’t look sick to me!”

“Not all allergies and ailments manifest themselves the same,” Damocles reminded.

“She should’ve at least looked sick!” The old man retorted. “Tom told me all about gluten intolerance - not once did she even look it! And now you’re telling me my granddaughter is dismissive of something like that? Not on your life, she isn’t!”

“Marinette goes above and beyond in trying to help others, even when it negatively affects her,” Wang added. “In fact, I distinctly remember hearing that she was a star student in your classroom at the beginning of this year. She’s never once gotten in trouble for bullying, and it’s not like her to suddenly become nasty.”

“W- well,” Caline shifted from foot to foot, unsure, “there is a matter of personal drama between girls, but...”

“Are you telling me my daughter would bully someone else just because they like the same boy?” Sabine’s voice was deadly quiet.

“I’m not saying so, but I am saying--”

“You’re saying that my daughter is so flighty and possessive that she would emulate Chloe Bourgeois just because a new girl happens to have a crush.” Tom flatly accused. “Believe me, Madame Bustier, I’ve been on the receiving end of many, many discussions about this boy she likes, and not once has she ever shown signs of being this person you’re telling me she’s becoming.”

“You haven’t had to teach her for several hours a day almost every day of the week.” The redhead’s face was pinched.

“So allow me to sit in one day, just so I can see what kind of situation my daughter is in,” Sabine pressured. “Let me see what’s happening with my own eyes.”

“That wouldn’t be a very good way of diagnosing the issue, Mrs. Cheng,” Damocles patiently explained. “If Marinette knew her mother was going to be in class with her, she would be on her best behavior.”

“But would the other students?” She pressured, leaning in. “What reason do they have to care about my approval? My daughter’s bully certainly doesn’t - do you remember the time she tried to frame my daughter for pulling the fire alarm and stealing her bracelet? Because Tom and I certainly do. Do you remember when she showed blatantly racist behavior towards my uncle and ruined his soup, getting him akumatized? Because we certainly do. You have done nothing to curtail the treatment she has been getting for years now, and we are sick and tired of having to watch our daughter become this anxious, beaten dog of a person because you don’t feel like doing your job.”

“If we stir up trouble with her father, our school’s good standing would suffer tremendously,” the principal defended.

“You would look the other way on a deviant’s behavior just because of who her father is? You disgust me, Damocles. I thought this school had more integrity than that, but I suppose I was wrong.” Anger finally flashed in the father’s eyes, and he leaned in, towering over the balding man. “If you cannot get your affairs in order and start cracking down on this misbehavior, then we are pulling Marinette out - and you can say goodbye to the extra services we’ve been offering the school. No student discounts on baked goods, no baking lessons, no catering - no nothing!”

Caline and Damocles watched helplessly as the family stood, angry and disappointed with them.

“For a school named after a famous hero of France, you sure are showing how villainous you can be,” Sabine bit out, hands clenched. “We’re taking Marinette home early today, at lunchtime. If I hear one more ill word from her about this bullying situation, we’re reporting you to the Ministry of National Education. And don’t you even think about strong-arming her into staying silent about this - Marinette knows she can trust us, and I will not stand for anyone blackmailing my daughter into suffering in silence.”

“You need to investigate this girl,” Wang scolded. “More than once my great-niece has told me she fakes her injuries to get out of doing her fair share of work. She faked a sprained wrist when I helped your class with their cooking lesson - where is her mother? Does she know her daughter is getting hurt all the time with nobody else to help her but her classmates and friends?”

“At the very least, you need to discipline her,” Tom emphasized. “If she truly isn’t acting maliciously, you need to help her understand what behavior is and is not acceptable at school. You are educators. You need to act like it instead of kowtowing to every last little whim of your children; today’s youth needs guidance, not friends.”

“Of- of course, Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Cheng,” Damocles stammered. “Is- is that all?”

“We’ve said our piece. The rest is up to you.” With a cold smile, the parents added, “Good day to you both, Principal, Madame.”

#miraculous ladybug #mild salt #slight Lila salt #5 + 1 fic #realistic lila #long post

[sunfoxfic]

Transcript: So, what I've spent my afternoon doing is creating a skin on AO3 that blocks out tags and partial tags of things that have to do with Miraculous salt and character bashing. Um, and also MariBat. Um, and so, I am currently on the ML salt page on AO3 - so anything that's been tagged ML salt. I took the specific ML salt tag off of the skin, but all of the other tags have managed to catch every other fic that has been tagged with ML salt. It's a game changer. /end transcript

And of course, the skin:

.blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/Lila%20Rossi%20Bashing/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/MariBat/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/Maribat%20-%20Fandom/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="saire%20Bashing/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="Chat%20Noir%20Bashing/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="/tags/Classmates%20Bashing" i] i), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/ml%20class%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/salt%20fic/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/adrien%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/marinette%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/saltinette/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/alya%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/lila%20bashing/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="/tags/salty%20marinette%20dupain-cheng" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/lila%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="lila%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/lila%20rossi%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="/tags/master%20fu%20bashing" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/master%20fu%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="alya%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="adrien%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="Ladybug*s*Damian%20Wayne/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/alya%20cesaire%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="Ladybug*s*Jason%20Todd/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="master%20fu%20salt" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/chloe%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="saire%20bashing/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/slight%20ml%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/ml%20salt%20fic/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/chameleon%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/ml%20s3%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href*="ml%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/adrien%20agreste%20salt/works" i]), .blurb:has(a[href$="/tags/ml%20salt/works" i]) { display: none !important; }

You have to follow the instructions from this AO3 work to make it work (you may have to change the options for your browser, and it may not work with every browser; I personally have not gotten it to work with Firefox on my Android).

#also a bonus voice reveal #ml fandom salt #sunny's skin

[hisuianserperior]

Spoilers for pretention and revelation.

First pretention, my man Félix MVP and Marinette also deciding to be ten times more badass. Tomoe is competing with Gabriel for worst parent and miraculous while Kagami and Félix are being all romantic and he's preventing her from being controlled. Great episode

The revelation, I really hate Lila Rossi which makes the fact this episode is great annoying. Gabriel is a petty asshole who is losing to a sausage haired liar somehow. And what was that with Lila and her mom or moms, this is why you don't skip episodes people but can this girl be so evil she's pretending to be someone else's daughter. The writers have definitely been reading salt fics with all the interactions,slight Ms Bustier bashing, akuma Lila mind controlling people and Adrien admitting his advice stupid. Rossi has all of Gabriel's secrets and I can't wait to see what's next.

#miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #lila rossi #miraculous revelation spoilers #miraculous pretension spoilers #tomoe tsurugi #kagami tsuguri #félix graham de vanily #miraculous argos #ms bustier

[goggles-mcgee]

Replaced: She’s a Star Now

Newest chapter in the story for @miner249er

Beginning

Last Chapter                   Next Chapter

Summary:  The girls decided they were overdue for a hang out in their favorite park. Rose was delighted but the park and small things kept reminding her of their former friend Marinette. She knew she missed the girl but she would never admit it to the others and a big part of her hoped the girl missed them. If she did it certainly wasn't enough to set aside whatever she had against Lila. But Rose was an optimist, that is until she saw just how much they were missed.

                                      ��  __________________

The Jardins des Tuileries was truly the Girl Squad’s favorite park to hang out in. It was picturesque and made Rose feel like she was in a fairytale no matter what direction she looked. It always made her feel unbelievably happy when they had the time to visit and just have the day to relax and do whatever they had planned. Though it had been a while since they had been able to go due to Lila’s busy schedule and since they deemed it ‘Their’ spot, none of the girls wanted to go to the park without their sweet Italian friend. To be honest though Rose did feel guilty that they were there considering that said friend wasn’t even in Paris that weekend. Lila apparently had some sort of party to go to that she couldn’t miss considering the host was a close personal friend. They all understood of course but they had been bummed out since they had planned a day in their park, but Lila, ever the kind soul, said they could go without her and have fun since they had already had everything planned. She had looked sad at giving her permission and at first they hadn’t wanted to go without her but Alya had been in a mood lately and they wanted to cheer her up with some good old fashioned girl time. 

Their favorite journalist had lit up when they had talked about visiting the park and truly it had been awhile since all of them could hang out and not just in smaller groups. That was why they had all been so excited and put their everything into planning and working around everyone’s schedules, Lila had even been free! But then she remembered that party a little last minute but Rose could never be frustrated with her like she knew some of the girls had been at the news. It wasn’t Lila’s fault she had a bad memory, apparently she used to have a photographic memory but because of an accident that occurred when she saved the lives of an elderly couple, she had lost her photographic memory and had problems remembering things ever since. Rose had helpfully reminded the girls about that before they got too frustrated and just like that they had let it go, not that they had said anything to Lila but Rose didn’t want there to be tension when Lila got back from her small trip. 

Rose knew there was tension anyway and the source was Alya. No one knew what was wrong but after the interview Ladybug did on Aurore and Mireille’s blog the reporter had been in a mood. At first Rose had been like most of the class and thought it was because Ladybug and Chat Noir were no longer partners but something told her that was not the issue. Contrary to what a lot of others thought of her, Rose’s head was not constantly in the clouds and she could be observant. Alya had many signs when she was in distress over her favorite hero duo, her hands were either ink stained or still had her compression gloves on them after a long night(s) of writing or typing, she tended to wear worn t-shirts rather than her beloved flannels and she always had this fire in her eye. There was no fire this time. Her hands were still ink stained, but her nails were bitten. She was wearing the worn t-shirts, but it was the same shirt days in a row. Then there were her eyes. Oh her eyes. 

Rose loved peoples’ eyes, she knew how creepy that sounded but she was very much a believer of the saying that eyes were the windows to the soul. If she could draw she would have sketchbooks full of her favorite people’s eyes in her life. Her all time favorite eyes were Juleka’s even if she hid them behind her hair, she sighed as she thought about her best friend who seemed to be more busy as of late. She missed the girl’s honey-hued eyes, but she understood that her friend had things to do, but those eyes held everything her shy friend couldn’t say. They lit up with joy, practically sparkling like the amber pieces she hid in her treasure chest in her room on her boat. When Juleka was angry, Rose thought her eyes resembled one lone piece of yellow apatite that was in the same treasure chest as the amber. Honestly Rose could go on and on about Juleka’s eyes, or really any one of her friend’s, the point was she saw how dull Alya’s eyes were and that was never a word she would use to describe Alya’s eyes. Ever. 

Even now, they were dull as all of them started setting up their picnic. She pretended well enough though Rose observed, as it seemed like no one else noticed the too-wide smile Alya had painted on or the tense way she held her shoulders. Or maybe they had and they were just like Rose, holding their observations to themselves. Either way, they just wanted to have a nice time and bringing up whatever was bringing Alya down was sure to bring the whole group down. It sounded cruel but that’s just how they operated. They hung out and had fun until the end of their planned outing and that’s when they would bring up anything bothering them, so Rose would be patient and wait till the end of their hang-out to ask Alya and be there if her friend needed comfort. It felt weird to wait because she really wanted to know if her friend was okay and what was troubling her and waiting and not asking made her feel this crushing weight of guilt. 

Thinking about it, this hadn’t been how they used to do things in the group. When it was Marinette with them they had no problem asking what was troubling each other or simply bringing up their own troubles because they knew they could talk it out or have the group distract them. Rose could admit to herself that she missed how the group was and she could also admit it was because of Marinette that the group used to be so open and wonderful. Marinette made them all feel like their troubles weren’t as big as they felt they were in a good way, she was a shoulder to cry on and you could always count on that no matter what, and she was always determined to help or fix whatever the issue was. Rose missed Marinette, she would admit that to herself because she could admit it to no one else, she missed those blue-bell eyes. They never spoke about her anymore and to be honest, Rose hadn’t thought about her in a while. 

Her heart clenched at the thought. That used to be one of her best friends. They used to gush about the latest romance movies and the latest installments of the C-dramas they followed thanks to Marinette’s Mom's love of them. They used to have sleepovers, one-on-one and with the group that was made all the more fun and cozy by Marinette’s parents letting them bake their own sweets. Marinette used to help Rose pick out the perfect stickers for her scrapbook no matter how long Rose took, she had been endlessly patient with her. Marinette had been one of the first people she wanted to show a finished song or poem to because her excitement and joy were so infectious.  Marinette was kind, compassionate, loving, loyal, and overall wonderful. She had been a great friend, one Rose had thought she had known and one she had ultimately lost. No, not lost, Rose and the others had pushed her away, but all the blame couldn’t be put on them. Marinette had been extremely rude to Lila and had continued to do so and make the girl feel awkward and unwelcome so they simply stopped…everything. They stopped talking to her, they stopped hanging out with her or inviting her to hang out and slowly the hole she had left had been filled by Lila. 

It’s not like they had meant for it to go on for so long. They had genuinely thought that Marinette would cave and apologize for her behavior towards Lila and that they would all get past it and become friends. Marinette was a lot of things but they had forgotten, she was also incredibly stubborn. She thought she was right so there was no proving her otherwise despite them telling her how good a person Lila was and all her charitable deeds, it was like it went in one ear and out the other. It had been frustrating until eventually they forgot, it sounded awful when Rose thought about it but they well and truly forgot about what they had been doing and in the process they had forgotten about Marinette. They were having so much fun welcoming Lila and then just being her friend! She always had amazing stories to tell and advice to give, she had connections that she graciously promised to make for them, and she was such a strong and kind person despite life making things hard on her with chronic illnesses and such. 

“What’s going on in that head of yours Pinkie Pie?” Alix’s voice pulled Rose from her thoughts.

“Oh nothing, just got lost in a stray thought is all. It’s a beautiful day today isn’t it?” Rose deflected as she did best.

“Very! I’m just glad it’s not as windy as it’s been.” Mylène chirped as she set down a plate of cheeses and sandwich meats on their picnic blanket that Alix brought. 

“Oh I know what you mean,” Alix said as she popped a grape into her mouth and placed down her own dish of sliced fruits and bread on the blanket. “My dad nearly had a fit the other day because he had the window open and his paperwork almost escaped with the wind.”

“Poor thing.” Alya giggled behind her hand, it was so good to hear her giggle. She too brought something for the picnic, her mom had made the girls some roasted red pepper tapenade that Rose was especially looking forward to with the baguette Alix had brought. Alya also placed down the Quiche Lorraine they had bought from a traiteur on their way to their spot, at first they had had their hearts set on some tomato tarts despite it not being summer, but the smell of the Quiche Lorraine won them over in the end. 

Rose smiled as the girls spoke and placed down the lemon meringue tart she brought as well as the juice. She had bought the tart before they had all started gathering to meet as she was assigned dessert for this particular day. They all took turns to bring the dessert ever since…ever since Marinette was no longer part of the group. No one spoke about it but Rose knew, she knew each time they bit into whatever dessert the others brought that it didn’t compare to anything they could have gotten at Tom and Sabine’s. She felt bad saying that about the new boulangerie & pâtisserie she and her parents went to but she knew it in her heart to be true. Ever since the class cut ties with Marinette, it was awkward to go to Tom & Sabine’s and act like everything was normal and Rose really didn’t have the heart to try and do so. That was when Rose had told her mother about Marinette’s change in character and why she hadn’t been going to Tom & Sabine’s to get her pastries and bread.

Her mother had been upset for her and rather down about not going to Tom & Sabine’s for their goods, they were regulars, but her father hadn’t minded much. He had actually been a little happy to try and find a boulangerie closer to home. He had and luckily it was a boulangerie & pâtisserie just like Tom & Sabine’s but what he didn’t want to admit and what her mother wouldn’t voice out loud was that it was nowhere near as good as the treats they had grown accustomed to. Her mother had begun to not so subtly ask her if things with Marinette were better and Rose wanted to cry every time she asked, because goodness did she want things to be better. 

Rose wanted Marinette to be part of the group again, she wanted them to all be together. She wished whatever Marinette thought Lila had done or whatever thing she was jealous of could be resolved so they could all be one big group of friends again. Rose just knew that Marinette and Lila would get along if Marinette would just give the Italian a chance, but Marinette was blinded by her love. Where once Rose would have thought that to be peak romance and devotion, now she found it slightly aggravating. Kind of like all the times their Team Adrienette Plans failed because Marinette couldn’t do what was planned. Rose was a believer in True Love but love still took hard work, her parents were a glowing example for her, so every time a plan failed she couldn’t help but feel like Marinette hadn’t been trying hard enough. 

Doubting a friend was always an awful feeling

“I wonder what’s going on over there.” Alya mumbled.

Rose blinked her thoughts away as she turned towards where Alya was looking. It was the bit of the park that was closer to the Place de la Concorde, it seemed like people were evacuating the area but not in a hurry so definitely not an akuma, besides they hadn’t heard the Akuma Alert go off. 

“Well this might have something to do with it.” Alix announced as she grabbed a paper off a tree and brought it over to them. “Seems like they are going to be shooting a music video of some kind over there. They rented the space, just that space, not the whole park. So like we can watch from a certain distance if we wanted,” 

“Oh that sounds cool!” Mylène said as she too looked over at the spot where people looked like they were setting up tables, trailers and other equipment. 

“Did you guys want to go over?” Alya asked.

“Nah. We just set up our picnic, we would have to put everything back and then find a new spot and that just sounds like too much work to do on an empty stomach.” Alix groaned before she sprawled out on the grass next to the blanket. 

“To be fair we haven’t taken out everything,” Alya teased as she reached into her lunch bag and brought out a small container, “I forgot to bring out the butter.”

“Alix brings up a good point. What if we eat then go see what the music video is about? I mean they are just setting up right now.” Rose suggested.

“Betsy Bubblegum gets it!” Alix said from her spot on the grass which made Rose laugh, she adored the nicknames Alix came up with for her. They had a good mellow time just enjoying their picnic and Rose couldn’t remember the last time they had had such a peaceful day. Lila just made life so exciting and interesting but it was nice to just be once in a while. Though, she did miss Lila and wished she could have joined them on such a beautiful day.

“Hey girls! Surprise!” Rose perked up when she heard a familiar voice and turned to see Lila walking towards them. She was so happy to see her friend that she jumped up so she could embrace the girl. 

“Lila! What are you doing here?” Alya asked, her mouth agape.

“Oh it was the darndest thing.” Lila said with a wave of her hand as she sat on the picnic blanket and got comfortable. “The party for my friend got canceled. I can’t say who they are as you guys know, biiiiiig celebrity who didn’t want anyone to know they are vacationing here in Paris, but poor thing ate something bad I guess and got sick.” 

“Oh that’s awful!” Mylène gasped. “Where did they eat?”

“Well, I don’t want to say anything. I’m sure the staff was just having an off day or something…but they said they had gone to eat at Le Grand Paris.” Lila confessed. Rose stiffened when she saw Alya go absolutely rigid, the smile on her face froze. Rose hoped she had heard wrong, because if she didn’t she didn’t like the odds of Alya not exploding at Lila for her comment. Especially because Alya had been off for a while so this was not a normal Alya they were dealing with, this was a stressed Alya.

Alya opened her mouth and Rose braced herself but just before Alya could say anything they all heard Mylène’s soft voice, “Is that Kagami?”

All of them turned so fast to see Kagami who strode over to the part of the park that was being used for the music video. Rose had no idea what she was doing over there but she was pretty sure that was not where she was supposed to be. She could hear Alix fill Lila in over what they were doing over in that spot and how the Italian made a sound of interest. It was with that one sound that they all decided to pack up their things and move closer. As they got closer Rose saw Kagami show a couple security guards-who Rose guessed was with the music video crew-a badge of some kind and was let through. 

“I wonder what Kagami is doing over there.” Alya mumbled.

“Well, she is rather pretty, maybe she’s a background dancer or something.” Rose suggested. 

“Isn’t she a sword person thingy?” Lila asked. “Not to judge or anything, but why would she be involved in a music video? It just doesn’t seem like something she would be interested in.”

“Well maybe-” Mylène had begun but cut off as they saw another arrival of people they knew walking towards the film location of the music video. This time a known duo. Aurore and Mireille this time walked the path towards the security guards, Aurore was shielding the both of them with her parasol and the two giggled about something. They showed the guards badges and Rose watched in shock as the two made their way over to Kagami and gave the girl a friendly greeting and hugs. Kagami hadn’t even looked awkward nor like she wanted to push them away, she actually looked happy. Genuinely happy. 

“They know each other?” Alix asked but no one answered. 

“This just got weirder because I’m pretty sure that’s Ondine heading over there as well.” Alya said clearly shocked. 

And she was right too. Ondine, with the kind of confidence that Rose envied, strutted over to security guards to show them her badge all the while waving at Kagami, Aurore and Mireille. Once she was given the okay she ran up to the trio and pulled them into a group hug which made the small group break out into giggles. It was such an odd little group that Rose was kind of thrown for a loop as she watched them interact and she could tell her friends were as well. She could see Alya’s fingers flying across her screen texting Kim, probably questioning him about Ondine but as much as Rose loved Kim, she knew he probably had no idea what Ondine was doing there. She was trying to guess what the next surprise was going to be but nothing would have prepared her for seeing Luka and a completely different Marinette.

“Mari…” Alya breathed out when she too saw their former friend. 

It was a shock, perhaps the most shocking thing that they had seen yet. She just looked so different from their former friend that it was hard to believe that was who they were seeing walk hand in hand with Luka. For one, her hair seemed to be longer since she had it up in loose space buns, the shock wasn’t that it was longer and they hadn’t noticed, no the shock was the fact the underside of her hair was dyed a light pink. Rose heard the girls muttering something about her looking like a punk or dressing in punk fashion but Rose had sat through many of Marinette’s fashion rants and this looked more grunge than punk but really she was no expert so she wasn’t sure. She had on a well-worn cropped Jagged Stone tank top that was most likely Luka’s judging from the size, underneath that was a pale pink tank top to cover any skin that would have been showing from the over-shirt. Her pants were black and high waisted, they were capris and the cuffs themselves had a pink plaid design on them that was also on where the pockets looked to be. 

Rose gasped when she realized Marinette also looked taller and her eyes dropped to see Marinette was wearing black platform boots with pink laces. She had one fishnet sleeve that went from her mid bicep to her wrist on her left arm and it was adorned in various kinds of bracelets, one that Rose just recognized that she saw Ondine, Kagami, Aurore and Mireille wearing too. Oh…Friendship bracelets. On her right hand she had a black fingerless glove and a black cuff bracelet on. Around her neck was a matching cuff choker but attached to it was a Jagged Stone guitar pic, one of Luka’s Rose guessed. Marinette completed the look with a pink plaid bandana on her head and some round black sunglasses. It was a very different look but Rose thought she looked breathtaking. 

They all watched silently as Marinette and Luka made their way over to the security guards all the while swinging their hands back and forth between them cutely. The guards let them in right away, no badges necessary. The odd group of friends, because really that’s what they had to be, all rushed together to give out hugs and greetings and just talk and laugh and Rose…Rose felt breathless. Marinette took off her sunglasses and Rose watched as her eyes lit up in joy as she interacted with her friends. She saw how her eyes softened when talking with Luka and she absolutely could not ignore the smile she wore the entire time. Rose couldn’t remember the last time she saw Marinette smile or look that comfortable. She missed that. She missed making Marinette laugh and smile and she felt like she wanted to cry just watching the little friend group interact. 

“She looks…” Lila began. 

“Happy.” Rose cut her off. “She looks…happy.” Happy without them. 

It would be a couple weeks later that the Girl Squad found Marinette’s YouTube channel where the music video that had been shot at the Jardins des Tuileries was posted. They had watched it silently like when they had watched the new friend group meet. It was good Rose admitted, and it hurt to admit, because that used to be her friend and one person used to be her bandmate. They had watched other videos they had found on the page, all music videos, and they had been stunned. They hadn’t even known that Marinette could sing! But it was that song from the Jardins des Tuileries music video that haunted them. 

It was a song about finding new friends. Better friends.

Next Chapter

#ml salt fic #ml girl squad salt #lila rossi salt #slight salt for all the girls in a way #marinette makes new friends #mild angst i think #rose lavillant #alya cesaire #rose lavillant salt #alya Césaire salt #mylene haprele #mylene haprele salt #alix kubdel #alix kubdel salt #lila rossi #lukamari #lukanette #marinette dupain cheng #kagami tsuguri #ml ondine #mireille caquet #aurore boréale #luka couffaine #I'm tagging the character salt even if it is a slight salt on all the characters #replaced commission #goggles commission #goggles writes #miraculous ladybug

[staynoonaz9290]

Temptation - S2 (Ch. 9)

Where Maddie and Lila are back six months later, still managers of Stray Kids, navigating the world of incubi, and worse… Dealing with unexpected feelings

Group: Stray Kids

Pairing: Each SKZ Member/Fem! Reader (Third Person-Lila and Maddie)

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Warnings: Sexual Content (a LOT of sexual content-please don't read if this makes you uncomfortable), Sex with multiple members (at separate times), Sex-to-survive (Incubi/Succubi), Desperation, Oral Sex (M-Given/F-Given), Fingering, Language, Supernatural Love, Excessive Drinking, Crack Fic, Age Difference, Slight OOC, Slight Angst, Love Triangle

Word Count: 4,082

Main Masterlist | Stray Kids Masterlist

COMPLETE

8 | 9 | 10

Maddie and Lila sat side by side in Maddie’s room, back against the headboard, something mindless on TV as they shared a bag of salt and vinegar chips, talking about just two nights ago in Busan.

“I didn’t expect Changbin to be so…” Lila trailed off, her cheeks dusting pink.

“Sexually appealing?” Maddie suggested with a grin. “Yeah. Neither did I when we hooked up.”

They giggled, taking turns grabbing more chips as Lila sighed.

“I guess he’s an incubus so we shouldn’t be surprised. And, I mean, when you look at him-”

“Right; he’s obviously hot,” Maddie nodded quickly in agreement. “But it’s just… he’s Changbin, you know?”

She knew her best friend’s struggle all too well; she remembered how surprised she’d been, having to help Changbin in that closet all those months ago.

His hands pulling hard on her hair, the way his body felt so nice beneath her fingers, the hotness as he whispered her name-

“Oh- gross-”

Maddie shook her head violently, Lila turning to her in slight surprise.

“We’ve gotta talk about something else,” she smacked a hand to her forehead. “Basically, Changbin was hot and it’s surprising, and be prepared for it to haunt you for the rest of your life-”

“I’ll never look at him the same,” Lila giggled.

“You really won’t,” she agreed before throwing a chip into her mouth.

“Well it seemed to help, because they all killed it on stage that night,” the younger continued. “Literally everyone. That was one of my favorite stages they’ve done so far.”

“Mine, too!”

“And I think whatever you did for Felix really has been helping,” Lila added, grinning a little. “He did so well.”

“Yeah,” Maddie was giggling, eyes darting from hers. “He really did.”

She thought of Felix for a moment, and how much happier he’d seemed since their night of baking together.

Maddie smiled to herself; that’s all she'd really wanted to do…

Help Felix.

When she glanced at her best friend again, the girl was checking her phone, eating another chip as she texted someone back.

Maddie felt slightly guilty, not telling Lila the entire truth about what went down with Felix that night in the kitchen, but she’d decided the information wasn’t really necessary.

Not only had Felix so clearly not wanted Lila to know he had feelings for her, but Maddie also didn’t see how Lila knowing this information would be helpful.

Her best friend’s heart was clearly set on Chan, and telling her would do nothing but make Lila feel guilty, something Maddie knew she and Felix both didn’t want.

Felix looked like he was trying to move forward- seemed happier in more ways than one- and Maddie thought for now, what Lila didn’t know wouldn’t kill her.

If the girl ever specifically asked, then she would of course, tell the truth.

“Anyway-”

She broke the temporary silence just as Lila was locking her phone.

“-they really did kill it the other night. I’m so proud of them.”

Lila nodded in agreement, but this time, the smile faded from her face a little as she fidgeted with her fingers, Maddie’s eyebrows furrowing.

“What?” she asked, turning towards her.

“I don’t know if Chan was too happy,” she admitted quietly.

“Oh…” Maddie trailed off as she thought back to that night. “I definitely noticed he was a little… irritated. But I thought it was just stress.”

“Was he stressed before we got there?” Lila asked.

“I mean… kind of…”

She remembered how Chan had been before Lila and Changbin had arrived; worried but keeping it together, insisting he stay behind and help Maddie no matter how many times she told him she’d be fine, knowing he had so much to do behind the scenes…

She remembered seeing how often he checked his phone, checked the clock on the wall, glanced at the door, clearly worried about Lila and Changbin; not only that they’d make it there on time, but also safely-

And then when they’d finally arrived and Maddie had joined them, she’d seen the slight relief on Chan’s face, the way he smiled lovingly at Lila- so very different than the way he smiled at everyone else- and she’d thought the man was okay…

So it’d surprised her when Chan had met them on stage just ten minutes later, looking stressed, biting his lip, rubbing his eyes as if tired, a little quieter than usual.

“Did something happen?” Maddie asked, watching Lila fiddle with the ends of her hair, green eyes meeting Maddie’s.

“I saw it again,” she said quietly. “The red in his eyes.”

Maddie stared at her for a moment, somewhat surprised.

“Maybe he’s going rogue,” she joked.

And Lila smiled, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

“Shut up,” she said with a laugh. “I think… I don’t know, I think Chan was angry when he found out I was the one who helped Changbin before the show.”

Oh.

Well, Maddie couldn’t say she was too surprised.

“I mean, it makes sense,” she admitted gently. “He’s obviously head over heels for you, bestie. And it’s no man’s dream to hear his girl is hooking up with other dudes-”

“We’re not,” Lila argued indignantly. “I wasn’t hooking up with Changbin, I was helping him. It’s my job…”

“Believe me, I get it,” Maddie backtracked a little, realizing her wording wasn’t the best. “This whole situation is just…”

She trailed off, sighing a little as they looked at one another.

“Maybe you guys should talk about it,” she suggested lightly. “He doesn’t really have a right to get upset with you if he’s not telling you what’s going on. But also, if you’re noticing all this eye color stuff, it might be best for you to… you know. Tell him.”

Lila nodded, and Maddie watched her mull over the words for a moment, quietly pressing her lips together.

“You’re right,” she finally said. “I’ll talk to him soon.”

Maddie smiled, reaching into the bag of chips again as Lila turned a bit, raising an eyebrow.

“So, enough about me…” she began slowly.

This was never good; it almost always meant Lila was about to say something serious.

“What’s going on with you?”

“What do you mean?”

But Maddie already knew where this was going-

“With Jeongin… and Hyunjin.”

Her stomach flipped automatically, and she shifted the chips in her hand for something to do, avoiding Lila’s eyes.

“You mean like… us spending time together?”

“Yes.”

And while Lila didn’t say anything else, she didn’t have to, Maddie knowing exactly what she was asking.

Why are we spending time together?

“Well, I… I like hanging out with Jeongin a lot,” Maddie said softly.

“As… more than friends?”

Lila was asking all the tough questions, but her voice was quiet and understanding, Maddie turning to her, not all the way knowing the answer...

“I mean…” she trailed off. “He’s super fun to be with and when he smiles at me, it makes me kind of… giddy? I guess-”

“Yeah, I don’t know how you survive that, bestie,” Lila teased, giggling. “His smile is killer.”

“It is, and…”

Maddie was biting her bottom lip, thinking of all the times they’d spent together lately.

“We talk a lot- mainly me, honestly- and he’s super sweet… much nicer than I am, and he’s always so patient and calm…”

She smiled.

“We have fun together.”

“You have to keep it on your head-”

“What?”

Maddie was giggling and a little drunk, sitting side by side with Jeongin on the living room floor, the two of them playing a board game she’d never heard of.

“The name-” Jeongin pointed to the card in her hand, speaking between laughs. “It has to be stuck on your head so you can’t see it-”

“How?”

Before Jeongin could answer, she was attempting to press the card into the skin of her forehead, letting go and watching as the paper fluttered to the floor.

He pulled a red plastic circle from the box, laughing too hard to speak for a moment, Maddie realizing what he was holding-

“You have to wear the headband-”

Maddie remembered that night so clearly, happening just weeks after the guys had come back from Christmas break.

How much they’d laughed, in such goofy moods they’d hardly made it through two rounds of any of the games they’d picked out.

And they’d only continued to hang out from there…

“Basically, they’re best friends, but they kiss because they want to practice.”

Maddie was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, Jeongin sitting at the table, drinking iced tea and listening as she talked about the newest novel she’d started working on.

It was a warm summer day; the windows were open and the fan was on, the smell of outside refreshing despite the heat.

She’d been talking for a while, almost an hour now, but Jeongin was still there without complaint, smiling softly.

He’d asked to hang out with her hours ago, and she wasn’t sure what he’d wanted, but she was sure it wasn’t this.

Nevertheless, there he was, handsome and moving some dark hair out of his eyes, letting her go on and on.

“That’s not weird, right?”

Maddie was rambling, she knew, but she wanted to make sure it all made sense-

“I mean, it sounds stupid when I say it out loud, but there’s a whole trail of events that lead up to it, and they also have feelings for each other and just don’t know it…”

“I don’t think it sounds stupid,” Jeongin told her quietly. “It sounds interesting.”

“Thank you,” she smiled warmly at him, pacing once more as she started swinging her arms. “So, anyway, so they kiss each other, right? And nothing has ever been the same since-”

Maddie remembered that day, too.

How she’d been in the middle of writing a little novel; an idea she’d had for a while and had just recently started to work on.

She wasn’t sure how, but she’d ended up telling Jeongin the entire story- from the very beginning to the very end- and he’d listened to every bit of it, never complaining or trying to veer her attention away…

Knowing how much she needed to talk it out.

“Does this look okay?” 

Maddie was hurrying toward Jeongin, pointing at her latest sad attempt at a messy bun, watching his face.

But Jeongin just laughed, reaching out to fix some pieces of her bangs, his touch against her face leaving a light, tingling sensation upon her skin.

“It looks fine,” he said, smiling gently at her.

“Thanks,” Maddie laughed a little, a small stutter in her chest. “You’re the best.”

It was only a week ago that he’d done that, and remembering the way his eyes had moved up and down her face had her stomach flipping even now, Maddie shaking her head a bit.

“Jeongin’s just…” she didn’t know how else to say it. “Like, perfect.”

She laughed to herself.

“I would be concerned about age, but I guess that ship has sailed.”

Honestly; Maddie missed when that was her biggest issue.

Lila giggled loudly, taking a bite of her chip before raising an eyebrow at her.

“So what about Hyunjin?”

And Maddie knew this question was coming, but it didn’t make it any easier to answer, her eyes darting from Lila’s again as she swallowed hard.

“Well, for one, he annoys the crap out of me-”

“Yes, we all know this,” Lila quipped, making Maddie giggle.

“But you know. Hyunjin’s funny. And I…”

She shrugged.

“I like spending time with him, too.”

Maddie was laying on her bed, waiting for Hyunjin to meet her in her bedroom, knowing the man was coming back from recording his solo dance video- Play With Fire- and had asked if they could hang out.

When he opened the door, she was right in the middle of a chapter of her book, only looking at him for a moment before her eyes were back on the page, knowing if she looked too long, Hyunjin would distract her.

“I’ve gotta finish this chapter,” she said, seeing him walk to the other side of her bed in her peripheral vision. “Sorry-”

“It’s fine-”

He flopped down so dramatically, the entire mattress shook, Maddie giggling before he was rolling onto his side, chin resting on her arm.

“Is the book good?”

But when she glanced over at him, there was something black in his hair, and Maddie was jumping back with a quick yelp, losing her balance and toppling over the edge of the bed.

She could hear Hyunjin’s hysterical laughter from above, Maddie rubbing her arms as she sat up quickly, the man scooting to the edge of the mattress-

“There’s a bug!”

It was the first thing she’d thought, but when her eyes darted to his head again, she realized it was a black ribbon, Hyunjin’s face buried into the pillow as he continued laughing-

And then she started giggling too, realizing how funny she must’ve looked, flying off the bed, laying on the floor now, the sheets caught on her ankles.

He finally lifted up, holding his hand out to help her off the floor before pointing to his head.

“It’s a hair ribbon.”

She couldn’t help but laugh under her breath, remembering how Hyunjin had pulled her back onto the bed, the two of them laughing all over again, so hard they couldn’t breathe, Maddie begging him to take the ribbon out and throw it away so they could stop giggling.

She remembered him dangling it over her face, Maddie swatting it out of his hand and throwing it away herself, Hyunjin still laughing when she came back across the room.

They were always teasing each other like that.

Maddie sat close to Hyunjin in his bed, both still shirtless from the sex they’d had earlier, her bare arm pressed against his own as his laptop sat on his legs, their drama playing quietly.

She’d come by for some late night fun- something to ease her mind after such a stressful week- and Maddie should’ve left hours ago.

But Hyunjin had convinced her to stay again, reminding her there were only three episodes left of the drama he’d roped her into watching, and now they were on the last one, Maddie completely engrossed in the story, comfortable against him.

The finale was sad- heart-wrenching, really- not at all the ending she’d been expecting, and Maddie was surprised by the tears welling in her eyes, blinking fiercely.

She used the blanket around both of them to dab at her cheeks, and when Hyunjin turned to her- hair still sticking up in all directions- his eyes were a little glassy as well.

“Are you crying?” she teased, voice thick with her own tears.

“No-”

He sniffled, both of them laughing.

“I’m gonna tell everyone.”

Hyunjin sniffled again, smirking as he pushed his arm against her own.

“Go ahead,” he said with a shrug, turning back to the screen. “You were crying, too.”

Maddie grinned again, remembering how long they’d stayed up, discussing how much the ending sucked. She’d fallen asleep right in the middle of him talking, something he didn’t stop teasing her about the next morning, or even the next few days after…

“You look pretty smiley,” Lila remarked with a smirk.

“Shut up,” Maddie was laughing before she could help it, shaking her head with a heavy sigh.

“So, if Hyunjin is funny and you like spending time with him,” Lila began slowly. “Then why does he annoy the crap out of you?”

She looked away from Lila again, exhaling with a huff.

“He just-”

But how did she explain?

Hyunjin held the remote above his head just as Maddie was about to swipe it from him, smiling smugly at her.

“My hotel room, my choice of TV show-”

They were on a three day trip with the group in Thailand, and he’d asked her to come to his room for the night, the two of them having hooked up just a few hours ago.

Maddie was tired of whatever RomCom movie he had on, wanting to watch something else, but when she’d tried to change the channel, he’d gotten the remote before she could.

“How come that rule doesn’t apply when it’s my hotel room?” Maddie complained, making a swipe for the remote again and failing.

“Because we never stay in your hotel room.”

Hyunjin was taking great pleasure in teasing her, and Maddie was annoyed with him, sitting up more completely and grabbing for the remote for the third time.

He laughed, dodging away and losing his balance, falling to the mattress. Maddie fell with him, giggling despite herself, catching the fall with her palms, and landing on top of him.

Then she was frozen, her face so close to his, eyes wandering down every feature, stomach in knots. 

And Hyunjin was looking at her as well- for a moment, seeming almost as captivated as she’d been- before he was smirking a little, a small flicker of purple in his eyes.

“This would be a lot easier if you’d just let me have the remote, Maddie.”

She rolled her eyes, remembering how he’d won.

How that stupid movie had been on all night and- even worse- Maddie had gotten into it, staying in his room to watch until the end…

Hyunjin just had a knack for always getting his way.

“We’re all set.”

Maddie looked up from her phone at the sound of Hyunjin’s voice, her eyes wide.

She’d been sitting on the cold stone bench at the subway station, desperately looking for a way to get all eight of them to Busan before 7:00 pm-

But she watched as he took a stack of tickets from behind him, fanning them out with a smug grin on his perfect face.

“What?” Changbin was shocked, getting closer to take a look. “But how did you get them?”

“I convinced her to let me buy them,” Hyunjin said with a shrug. “They were the last ones left for this subway.”

“Oh my god-”

Maddie was just so relieved, the words slipping from her lips before she could help it.

She really thought she’d just ruined everything when she’d messed up those tickets…

Standing from the bench, their eyes locked for a moment, and then-

“Thank you!”

She wrapped her arms around him in a spontaneous embrace.

Hyunjin chuckled close to her ear, hugging her back as Maddie’s cheek dropped to his shoulder on instinct.

“It wasn’t that hard,” he muttered. “I just asked if we could buy them so they wouldn’t lose money on unsold tickets-”

Maddie remembered when he’d said that so casually- like it was the easiest thing in the world to just charm the pants off of everyone- and how he’d made it sound like she should’ve done it, too…

How he’d told her he just knew how to talk to people and it wasn’t because he was so incredibly good-looking, no matter how many times throughout that subway ride she'd told him otherwise…

As usual, Hyunjin always thought he was right.

“I’m telling you, the guy from Reply 1997 was in Infinite.”

Maddie was indignant, making grilled cheese in the kitchen as Hyunjin leaned against the counter, shaking his head.

“No,” Hyunjin was already taking his phone out of the pocket of his jeans. “It was Block B.”

“Block B?” Maddie’s eyebrows furrowed, and she quickly checked the bread of her sandwich, making sure it wasn’t burning. “No- it’s definitely infinite. Woohyun!”

Hyunjin was concentrated, still typing on his phone as she turned around to look at him.

His face fell a little when he stopped scrolling.

“Okay, you’re right,” he said with a sigh. “It is Infinite…”

“Ha! See? You don’t know everything like you think you do!”

She was teasing of course, but Hyunjin had been arguing pretty fiercely with her about it-

“Yeah?”

He was suddenly smirking, turning his phone around so she could see, shaking it a little.

“Well, you don’t know as much as you think you do either, Maddie. His name is Hoya. Not Woohyun.”

She shook her head, remembering how annoyingly smug he’d been about that.

How she’d told him messing up the name wasn’t as bad as messing up the group, and they’d gotten so into that debate, she’d ended up burning her grilled cheese after all-

“He’s just so full of himself.”

Maddie finally found the words she was looking for, stuffing three chips in her mouth and chewing them fiercely, Lila laughing beside her.

“Bestie, I hate to break it to you, but he’s always been full of himself.”

Maddie swallowed quickly.

“And now you see my dilemma.”

“So you do have a dilemma.”

“Wha-”

“I thought there was no dilemma with Hyunjin. That you guys were just hanging out for stress relief.”

Maddie had walked right into this one, her mouth snapping closed.

They were just hanging out for stress relief.

Or…

Well.

She couldn’t help but think about it; how many times they’d been in one another’s bedrooms, hidden in closets, locked themselves up in bathrooms…

Kissing, yes; Touching, yes; Having sex, yes.

But also talking about their days, getting into shows, sometimes just reading webtoons together after a hookup, barely speaking, but so very comfortable together…

Was Maddie always stressed out every time she came to see him?

Was Hyunjin always worn out and in need of a feed every time he saw her?

Everyone was getting out of the car, Maddie lingering behind to finish an email to BamBam, telling the rest that she’d meet them inside.

Hyunjin had lingered behind too, saying something about needing to call his parents, and yet he hadn’t made any calls, Maddie glancing up when she was done with her email, raising her eyebrows at him.

“I thought you were calling your mom.”

But he just smiled- the softer, one-sided one she got sometimes from him, her heart skipping a beat in her chest- and then he was leaning forward, pressing his lips against hers.

An immediate heat was spreading across her cheeks, Maddie’s eyes slipping closed automatically, heart pounding against the walls of her chest, Hyunjin’s hand sliding casually up her side.

When they broke for air she was pulling back to look at him, feeling surprised.

“What was that for?”

But he just grinned playfully, leaning close again, lips centimeters from her own.

“I just wanted to.”

Maddie didn’t have time to ask what that meant, Hyunjin already kissing her again, hand running further up her shirt.

And when their lips moved together, there was a certain feeling to it Maddie couldn’t explain; her head going fuzzy, throat tight, air caught in her lungs. 

Her fingers threaded through his hair and Hyunjin’s breath hitched, sending a spark through her system-

“Maybe we should just stay out here for a minute.”

His words were breathy and whispered in the little space between them, Maddie wrapping her arms around his neck as she smiled.

“So basically you just want me to yourself.”

She was mostly joking, and he laughed softly, his hot breath against her mouth almost more than she could take-

“Yeah sure,” he muttered, already coming to kiss her again, fingers now curling a bit, holding her waist in the best of ways. “Think whatever you want.”

Maddie hadn’t known what was to come.

That they’d be making out in the back of the SUV, his leg lodged between her own, moving against her, their breathing a little too loud for the complete quiet of the car.

Maddie holding him, never feeling like he was close enough when they were like this, Hyunjin’s heavy exhales against her parted lips, the two of them getting so lost in each other…

And while that had always been the point- while it’d always been so easy to forget about the real world when they were together…

Neither of them had been stressed or in need of anything when that’d happened.

Maddie swallowed hard, realizing the lines were starting to blur…

There was a lot less “This is to take the edge off” and a lot more “I just like the way this feels”.

She shook her head quickly, a strange twist in her chest as she bit her lip, feeling anxious as she looked at Lila.

“Honestly…” Maddie said, sighing heavily. “I really don’t know anymore.”

To Be Continued...

8 | 9 | 10

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