Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Shit!!”

Adrien gave a start. He knew that voice, he had heard it from afar for months now. He turned to see the pigtailed teen sitting behind him.

“Marinette!!” Alya exclaimed. “It wasn’t that bad! All I said was-”

“I heard what you said, but it is bad. This is terrible! The world is ending!” Marinette was sinking lower and lower into her chair.

Adrien looked at Alya and she gave an “I’ll tell you later” gesture. Adrien turned back to the front, thinking about that sudden outburst. He never thought that Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the sweet bakers daughter would ever be caught saying something like that! Obviously, he needed to get to know her more.

Unbidden, his mind returned to a shoot that he had been in about a year ago. He had met a girl, Nadine Trachire, who he had made friends with. She had been surprised when he said that he had no real friends in his life.

“You should always have several true friends in your life. They are the one thing that can make the difference between work and fun.”

Adrien realized the truth of her words now. The times that he was happiest were when he was with Nino. And now that Nino was becoming a sort-of thing with Alya, Adrien had started to call her friend as well. He supposed that Chloe had been a friend, but he had only ever been a trophy friend to her. He had never considered her a true friend, just someone who helped break the monotony of modeling.

Marinette, however, was the one person who Adrien wanted to be friends with more than anything. In fact, he already considered her a friend, but it seemed obvious that she did not see him in the same way. When the Bubbler had thrown him a party, he had searched for Marinette, but he only saw her for a short time, and she had left quickly.

During the time that they were at the hotel, he had seen Marinette glaring at him and Chloe, not even trying to hide it.

When she tried out for the game tournament, she had seemed upset that she had beaten Max. She wanted to be in the tournament, but not with him. In fact, when they were practicing, she kept shooing away the food that had been so tantalizing, as if to spite him.

But then, in a rare moment of friendliness, she had given him a lucky bracelet. He had tried to give it back to her, but she refused. From then on, it was always on his person, even if he had to smuggle it into a pocket on the clothes he was modeling.

If it weren’t for Ladybug, maybe he would even be trying to be with Marinette. In fact, his crush with Ladybug was the only reason that he had been so willing to help Nino try to be with Marinette. That first day when he first saw her, he saw a strong woman who stood up for herself. Later that day, he saw a vulnerable young girl who had to wait in the rain. The next day, she could not stop stuttering at him, and had remained that way. Adrien wanted to see the strong Marinette, and the vulnerable. The strong reminded him of Ladybug, the way that she took command. The vulnerable just made her more endearing, cementing the fact in his mind that she was worth protecting.

“Mr. Agreste. If you could please pay attention.” Ms. Bustierre looked down at him, disapproval evident in her eyes.

“Sorry, I’m just tired from a shoot.” Adrien looked down bashfully, hoping that he had convinced the teacher. She gave a huff of approval and went back to teaching. Nino tapped his arm.

“Bro, why were you so spaced? You were completely out of it, dude. She was trying to ask you a question, but you didn’t even twitch in her direction.” Adrien shrugged, which only made Nino more curious. “Were you surprised at what Nett said? It really isn’t that surprising, dude. She had outbursts like that all the time.”

Adrien thought of that. He had never heard her swear before, and it seemed so out of character. But the more he thought of it, the more it had made sense. Adrien had never really thought too hard on Marinette since she seemed to dislike him so much.

But, maybe there was another thing to see. Something that seemed to only grow more obvious to him. She was a strong person, able to stand up to the likes of Chloe without batting an eye, and yet tender enough to offer a helping hand to anyone who needed help. Then, there was the fact that she treated everyone fairly, and had the respect of everyone in the class, and even most of the school.

She also had great fashion sense, despite whatever Chloe tried to say. And there was the way that she laughed with her friends, the way that her nose wrinkled up as she giggled to things that Alya says, the deep blue of her eyes, the way that her hair seemed to be made out of midnight-

Oh god. Was he? No, he was trying for his Lady. But still, she was endearing in a way that Ladybug couldn’t be. Maybe he was? No, he barely knew her. But, he did. He just ignored it. Now that he thought about it, he felt the same way about his Lady and his Princess. No, he did not have a crush on Marinette. He had a crush on Ladybug. It wouldn’t be right to go after two girls at once. He just wants to get to know her better.

*.*.*

Marinette slumped in her seat. Alya was talking about Ladybug again, and Marinette wasn’t proud of what she had to say. The previous night, Ladybug and Chat Noir had fought an akuma that left the two of them exhausted, and more than a little upset. As Ladybug left, she had said some choice words to the reporters who were nearly assaulting the victim with questions.

“I think that she might be someone at this school.” Alya seemed to be so sure of herself.

“What makes you think that? Did she say something?” Marinette was too tired to be listening too intently, but she still made some comments to keep up appearances.

“Well, she said ‘you guys need to stop pestering that man like Ms. Bustierre on review day. Let him breathe.’”

Marinette felt her voice catch in her throat. Did she really say that? She had been so tired and upset that she did not think that it was off the table. Alya leaned in to show her the video she had captured, and sure enough, those words came out of the speakers.

“Shit!” the word was out of Marinettes’ mouth before she could stop it. She looked up and saw that she had captured the attention of Adrien, who looked at her in shock.

“Marinette, it wasn’t that bad, all I said was-”

“I know what you said, but it is bad! This is terrible! The world is ending!” Marinette had to stall before Alya put any more of it together. Alya gestured to Adrien a hand gesture that said that she would talk to him later. About Ladybug and the fact that she went to their school! Someone could find out about her! “Alya, this might actually be bad. What if Ladybug doesn’t want her identity to be revealed like this?”

“I know, girl. I’m not about to start yelling this all over the place.” Alya placed a comforting hand on Marinette.

Marinette was still distracted as the lunch bell rang, and as she walked out to the courtyard. Alya and Nino sat next to each other, while Marinette sat across the table. They all sat and talked for a few minutes until a throat was cleared quietly near them. They looked to see Adrien standing next to the table.

“Um, would you mind if I sat here? I called home and they said that I could stay at school today.”

Adrien sat next to Marinette when they all said yes. He seemed to be extra fidgety today. He barely even met Marinettes’ eyes. If the other two saw this strange change, they didn’t show it. Alya and Nino were talking about what the soundtrack would be like if Ladybug and Chat Noir got a show. Alya thought that it would be a super intense soundtrack, while Nino thought that it would be more subdued and quick.

Adrien and Marinette sat eating and listening. Marinette couldn’t figure out the reason that Adrien was acting strange. The more she thought of it, the more confused she became. She had seen him sulking because of something happening in his home life, and this was not it. He had never acted like this.

“Adrien, is something wrong? You seem distracted.” Marinette was taken aback by his reaction. Adrien jumped when she spoke to him.

“N-nothing. I fine am, how you are? Sorry, you are fine, how am I? Ugh, sorry. I’m fine.” Adriens’ face started to grow red.

Marinette looked over to her friends, and was surprised to see them looking over at them, incredulous looks on their faces. They stared for several seconds, then put their heads together, whispering excitedly.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck nervously, giving her a half-hearted smile. Marinette returned it, wondering why their brief interaction made the other two friends start giggling and talking like Christmas had come early.

“So, uh, is this what it is normally like here?” Adrien looked between the duo and Marinette curiously.

“Just about. Usually, I just let them talk while I work on some designs.”

“Could you show me some? I would be interested to see what else you have designed since the time you made the derby hat for the competition.” Adrien started fidgeting again.

“Sure. This one is one that I have been working on for a while. Maybe you could give some input, since you might know what you’re doing.” Marinette was surprised by how easily her words came out. Usually, she stumbled through a sentence, but now she was speaking just like she did with Chat.

“Oh, uh, sure, that would be nice. I’m sure you’re perfect. I mean, I’m sure that the designs are as great as you are. I mean-” Marinette stopped him by giggling.

“I know what you mean. Here, what do you think?” She turned her sketchbook to the page with her recent design on it.

“Oh, that is… nice.”

Marinette felt her stomach drop. “You don’t like it.”

Adrien suddenly looked up. “No, that’s not it at all! This is wonderful! I actually didn’t know the best word to describe it, and accidentally made it sound like I was not happy with it even though I am really impressed and I would show this to my father if I had any input in his fashion lines and of course if you gave your consent and I am rambling so I’m going to stop.” Adrien shrunk back, embarrassed.

A squeak from across the table grabbed the attention of the two teens. Alya and Nino stared at them, dumbstruck. Alya had a hand over her mouth, while Nino had his mouth gaping. He snapped it shut, and glared at Alya, giving her some money. Alya laughed and pocketed it with a wink at Marinette.

*.*.*

Alya sat by Marinette after lunch, thinking about the recent developments of the day. And to think that she nearly called out sick that day so she could catch up with homework, since she was behind due to running the Ladyblog. But now that she had come to school, she had gotten two massive scoops. First, Adrien was now acting like Marinette. He was stuttering, and he even started to trip over nothing whenever he was near her.

Then, there was the next thing that had gotten her attention. This was something that was not so surprising. She had her suspicions since day one, and liked to hang it over her best friends’ head. It was so obvious, she seemed to not even try to hide it. It was a wonder that nobody else in the class figured it out, let alone the rest of Paris. But if her reaction that morning was anything to go by, there was no more doubt to be had. She finally had a concrete answer to her biggest mystery yet.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug.

Chapter Text

Adrien was anxious now. He had planned everything that he was going to say beforehand, but recently, anything he tried to say to Marinette always got stuck somewhere in his throat and came out in a jumbled mess.

He approached the pigtailed girl in question, and felt his usual trepidation take over. Before he knew, one of his feet became hopelessly entangled with the other, and he fell right into the pigtailed girl in question.

“Ah, oh my god, I am so sorry, Marinette-”

“Oh, sorry Adrien-”

Marinette sat with her eyes down, cheeks red with embarrassment. They sat on the ground for a few seconds before Adrien could manage to speak.

“Why are you apologizing? I am the one who fell into you. And oh my god, I am so sorry, I didn’t hurt you did I-”

Marinette silenced him with an awkward laugh. “I guess that I am used to having to apologize when I end up on the ground with someone else. And, no, you didn’t hurt me.” She looked at him and it seemed to sink in that she was talking with Adrien. “Ah, um, you aren’t hurt, right? Oh god, I am so sorry. I was in the way, and I tripped you-”

“No, it was my fault, I wasn’t looking where I was going, and my feet just got caught-”

“I wasn’t even looking where I was, and I just stood there not looking-”

Alya walked up and stopped them. “Guys, stop apologizing. It had passed being cute, and has started getting attention from literally everybody in the school.” She scolded them with her arms crossed, but her eyes were filled with mirth.

And, sure enough, everyone within eyesight was staring. Adrien stood quickly, and turned to help up Marinette, and found her already standing, reaching down to help him up. Now they were both standing, bending down with a hand outstretched towards the other. They managed to cover it up poorly with a handshake.

Adrien felt his cheeks become extremely red, and he knew that he had to ask before his courage left. But Marinette beat him to it.

“Hey, would you like to hang out at my house this afternoon? I-if you want to… This might be a little weird isn’t it? Oh no, you think that I am weird now. I’m asking you to my house after just one day of looking at sketches-”

Adrien stopped her with his hand on her shoulder. “I would love to, Marinette. That sound fun! We can hang out and Strike Mecha play… ugh, sorry. Play Mecha Strike.” He needed to get it together.

Later that day, he was walking to the bakery with Marinette. Nino seemed to be excited to hang out with them, but Alya interjected, saying that they had to start their project they were working on. Nino had looked confused, and opened his mouth to protest, but Alya kept him silent with a look.

So, Adrien was on his way to Marinettes’ house. Alone. To spend his afternoon and possibly evening hanging out with her. Alone. Adrien had managed to keep his exterior self calm and collected, but his internal self was screaming and raging around within his head. He was spending time alone with a cute girl who had no ulterior motives other than just being a friend.

It seemed that he was wrong. Marinette didn’t dislike him, and wanted to be his friend as much as he did with her. But he was still confused of her antics around him. She still treated him differently than all of her other friends, and he couldn’t figure out why.

Suddenly, Marinette tensed near him as they approached the door to the bakery. She turned to him with an intense look in her eyes.

“Wait here for a second, please. I need to… take care of something really quick.”

Before Adrien could respond, Marinette was dashing to the back of the bakery, saying hi to her parents. They gave her confused looks, but the look melted off as soon as they saw him. They sat him down in the back, and put some pastries down in front of him. He was surprised with the hospitality given on such short notice. If someone had to wait for someone, they just stood in the entryway. And if they were unexpected, as it seemed Adrien was, they were sent away.

After about two minutes, Marinette came back down the stairs, and gestured for him to follow her up. Adrien did as instructed and went up the stairs. He remembered her room from right before the gamer incident, and it was just about the same. There was an overwhelming amount of pink, a long desk covered with sewing supplies, a clear spot with larger sketchbook, and some writing tools.

Marinette directed him to in front of her computer, where Mecha Strike was already booted up. She really didn’t miss a beat in those two minutes. Adrien examined the walls, and found them unexpectedly bare. But, there were tiny nails in the walls, and minute discolorations in places, like there had been things pinned up and some large posters, but there was no trace of them.

“So, welcome to my room, again.” Marinette seemed to be sheepish, blushing at his inspection of the room.

“This is a fantastic room.” Adrien couldn’t bring himself to say more. He knew that most people would prefer his room to this one, but he wouldn’t. His room was filled with so many things, but none of them were used anymore. It was just a large, spotless prison that was littered with some things that were to entertain the occupant. It was cold and depressing.

This room, though, was different. It was neat, but differently so. It was lived in, with a certain amount of disorder. Some things were slightly askew, and the desk was covered with cloth and other materials. The bed was made, but wrinkled. The window was letting in the same light as his room, but it seemed warm and inviting, rather than distant. Adrien found himself preferring this pink designers room to his perfect, gray room filled with everything but life.

“It doesn’t stand up to your room, does it?” Adrien didn’t realize how much time he had spent looking around until she spoke. He turned and saw her obviously disappointed.

“Quite the opposite. I would prefer this room to my own any day.” Adrien grabbed a controller, trying to get the conversation to something that was not going to drive any more of a wedge between them. She grabbed the other one, and they started playing. They had given up fighting against each other long ago, since Marinette always seemed to win. Now, they fought together as a team. It seemed natural, like they had been doing this for months. Under their combined assault, enemy after enemy fell away. It got to the point that it was no longer fun. Every match was a guaranteed victory for the duo.

Eventually, Marinette stood to go get some snacks. Adrien sat back in his chair, examining the room he found himself in. He had not lied to Marinette. He would take this room any day. In fact, he would take the entire house any day. It was so filled with life, and the rich aromas of a bakery. Her parents had sat him down immediately, making him feel like he belonged there. Not only that, but he felt at home with Marinette. She kept the place so much happier, so much warmer.

Eventually, he had to go home. He figured that nobody would notice if he just slipped into his room and pretended that he had been there the entire time. But, maybe a quick stroll would help his racing mind. He walked around a few new blocks, taking in the sight as he went. Paris truly was beautiful. He spent half an hour walking a five minute walk. He transformed and went into his window.

There was a smash as he knocked into the tv stand and sent a speaker onto the ground. He quickly became his civilian self and started to pick the speaker back up as the door opened. Nathalie walked in, and stared at him for a moment.

“Adrien. Please keep the noise down. Your father is busy working, and does not need such a ruckus being made.”

“Of course, Nathalie.” Adrien hung his head.

“Your father does not want any more distractions from you. If you make more noise, he has given me freedom to give you whatever punishment that I deem necessary.” With that, Nathalie walked out of his room, leaving the door open.

Adrien huffed, and went to the door, closing it carefully. Of course, Nathalie was the one sent to his room. Natalie was the one to scold him about the noise. Nathalie was the one to give him his punishment if he screwed up again. His father couldn’t be bothered with his son, not when there were fashion shows and line ups that he had to tend to.

Adrien decided that he didn’t want to spend more time in his house than he had to tonight. He had to get out, and there was an easy way to do it. He turned to the black shape floating near his bed.

“Sorry, Plagg. I need to go out tonight.”

“I understand. I did hear what she said. Just give me some cheese, and let’s be off.”

Adrien was surprised at the tenderness in his kwamis’ voice, so he made sure to get some extra cheese for the tiny god.

*.*.*

Nathalie stood in the shadows at the end of the hall. She watched as Adrien sneakily went to the kitchens to grab his creature some cheese. Of course she knew that he was Chat Noir. She was in charge of his schedule after all, and she needed to know where he was at all times. As soon as she knew, she went into his room to figure out what she could while he went for some cheese. That was when she found the black creature.

She would never tell anyone, let alone his father. His father would take the ring away, and Paris would lose the black cat. But there was more. Adrien had become so much better as soon as he got the ring. Taking the ring would undo all of that progress, maybe even make it worse than before. No, she couldn’t tell anyone.

Nathalie sighed as she started to go to the camera room. The one thing that Adrien never seemed to realize was the fact that there were cameras pointed at his windows. She had made a habit of making a small loop whenever he left, and when he came back. And she knew that he was going to be leaving tonight. He always got cheese right before he was going to leave, and after what she had said, she didn’t blame him. In fact, that was why she said what she did at the end. She had seen him becoming stressed recently, and she wanted him to unwind. She couldn’t very well just tell him to suit up and leave, so she did what else she could. She took a seat, and watched as he jumped out of his window. With a few keystrokes, she wiped the footage, and used one of the templates she had saved to make the changes and make the deception complete. Whatever she said to the boy, she loved him as if he were her son. She wanted only for him to be happy. At least, he had Ladybug out there.

*.*.*

Marinette might have been freaking out a little over the events of the day. Actually, no, she was freaking out a lot. Her day had started better than most. She had gotten to school on time! But then things got a little derailed. Adrien had walked right into her, and she became impulsive and asked him over to her house. She tried to ask Nino and Alya to come as well, but they had a mysterious project to work on.

The afternoon company wasn’t the main point of concern with her, though. Well, it contributed plenty, but it was not what occupied her thoughts. It was the look on Adriens’ face when she came back with snacks. She had never seen that look before. All evidence of nerves was gone, and he instead looked content. Like he was at home after being gone for a while. That look had made her able to operate more than she would have been able to, but it concerned her. What did his face look like when he was at his own home? Did he have the same look on his face? Or was it the same type of look he had at school, when talking to Chloe? That guarded look that seemed pleasant enough, but he seemed so stiff.

Marinette had to get out and stop thinking about him. She didn’t want to think of him as some sort of depressed teenager in a lonely room.

“Tikki?” Marinette waited until the red shape came out.

“I’m guessing that you want to go out tonight?” The voice came just as exuberant as usual.

“Yes. I need to clear my head a little, and I can’t do it here.” Marinette was glad that Tikki was so understanding.

Transforming, she leaped out over Paris and went to her favorite spot to sit and watch the sunset. However, as she approached the spot, she noticed something different. She was not alone. Chat Noir sat there as well, hunched over, tail hanging limply, ears plastered flat against his head.

She landed lightly, but he still heard. His ears flicked up, and he looked over.

“Fancy seeing you here, my lady.” he smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.

“I see that you had the same idea that I did.” she sat next to him, not missing the confusion that passed over his eyes.

“You also had a terrible end to a great day?” Chat wilted a little bit, but kept his attention on her.

“Well, no, but I am here to think on a problem. Or, rather, to not think about it. Why are you here?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it.” Chat remained looking forward, ears returning to their flat position on his head.

“Maybe, if you talk about it, you might feel better about it.” Marinette placed her hand onto his shoulder. “We are partners, but we are also friends, and friends help friends feel better.”

“Well, I don’t know how much detail I can give without giving too much away, but I’ll try. I had a great day today. I think that I made a great friend. Being at her house was so… warm. But then, I got home. I knocked something over as I went in, and I got scolded for interrupting my father. But the worst thing about it is the fact that he didn’t come tell me this himself. No, he sent another person to do it for him. And he told this person to come up with the punishment if I did it again. I don’t even merit that luxury from him. I just want to be at that warm place, but I have to go back to the cold house that I live in.”

Marinette silently cursed. This did not help her at all. This was the exact thing that she was thinking about. The exact thing that she wanted to forget about.

“Well, let’s just sit together and watch the sunset. Maybe, being with a friend is what we both need.” Marinette shifted closer and Chat put his arm around her. Instead of the usual feeling of resignation that she felt, she instead just felt warm. They sat there, Chat with his arm around her, and her leaning into him. She could swear that she heard him purring.

Chapter Text

Marinette sat in her chair, chewing on her pencil. She had one thing that she had promised herself she would not do, and what did she do? She started to do it. She was beginning to think of Chat as more than a friend. The thing was, she had no idea what to do with this situation. She liked Adrien, but now she was liking Chat? She never wanted to like multiple people, since it always complicated things to massive degrees. Why couldn’t she have an easy life? She used to have the cliche life, with a bully and some good friends, but then she became a superhero, got a crush on a model, and is now thinking about succumbing to the flirtations of her superhero partner.

Alya tried to hold some conversations, but all of her attempts were met with halfhearted responses from someone who was not truly listening. Nino tried to talk to her, but she gave even less of a reaction to his attempts. She responded well to Adrien, though. But only because he was the other subject of her thoughts. What environment did he live in that would make him stare at her house like it was a treasure to be protected at all costs?

Marinette knew that she was probably overthinking things a little, but she couldn’t help it. Chat was her partner, and they had saved each other so many times that some sort of advanced bond had to have been forged. It wasn’t a crush. She could focus on Adrien. But, Chat also had a story to tell, and it sounded a lot like the issue she was facing with Adrien. Chat had another friend to talk to, but he still sounded like he needed to say something to her. When he started talking, he almost couldn’t seem to stop.

Right after school, the perfect distraction to her mood happened. An akuma appeared, another knight based one, called Broadsword. This one had swords that he controlled telekinetically, and brought them back as a cape when they weren’t being used. It was actually pretty neat, if it weren’t a villain. The rest of his outfit was the usual strange that came with akumas. It was a bright blue set of armor, seemingly straight out of a video game. Huge, seeming like it would weigh a few hundred pounds, and yet he moved like he was wearing casual clothes. A leather baldric was set over his shoulder, holding a scabbard.

Marinette landed on a rooftop overlooking the damage. Nobody had been hurt yet, but only because everyone ran as soon as they saw the massive form. Chat landed right next to her.

“Well, he is looking sharp today.” He flashed her one of his trademark grins.

Rolling her eyes, she said: “I think that the akuma is in the baldric he has over his shoulder.” She pointed to the form, and sure enough, the shoulder sling was the only rational thing about the costume.

“Well, I think that we should handle this like usual. I shall run interference, and you shall come up with the fantastic plan that will save us all, my lady.” he winked, but it seemed rather lackluster. Before Marinette could say anything, he was gone. Stupid cat, he was going to get himself killed!

“Lucky Charm!!” Casting her power, she received a super imaginative item: a red and black spotted medieval style shield. She placed it onto her back, and walked to the edge of the roof. Then, her heart nearly stopped.

Chat was doing a great job fighting off the swords, using his baton similar to a fencing foil, but he was obviously about to be overwhelmed. He was managing to parry every strike, taking steps back. Then, it happened. Right before she jumped into battle, he looked at her, a sword managed through his defenses; and stabbed Chat right in the shoulder. Screaming, Marinette jumped right at the akuma, ignoring the shield. She dodged and ducked her way to the figure. Just as she was about to grab the baldric, Broadsword lashed out, knocking her back into a car.

Marinette started to feel her breath catch more than usual. Her knees felt shaky, her vision swam. This hadn’t happened in years. She controlled her breathing and returned to the fight. She knew that she was making it worse, but she didn’t have the time to panic right now.

Again, she dodged and weaved, the shield completely forgotten, and she went to the curled form of Chat. She bent down, put her hand on his uninjured shoulder, and picked up his baton. She used it as a bat to smack away the swords, trying to get close. Broadsword anticipated this, though, and was preventing her from making the distance she needed to.

Suddenly, she knew what he was going to do. The good news, she knew what was going to happen. The bad news, it was too late for her to do anything about it. A sword rushed by her, then abruptly swung back around and stabbed her in the back. A massive impact knocked her forward, and a sharp pain appeared in her back.

She flew right into the body of the knight, and nearly fell to the ground. Dimly, she wondered that she was not dead. She reached around her, and felt the shield on her back. It had caught the sword, which knocked her forward. The tip broke through, and had given her a small stab in her back. But it was enough. She gripped the sword and swung it at the baldric. It sliced through the leather like butter.

As the victim became himself again, Marinette grabbed the butterfly, and threw the shield into the air, crying out “Miraculous Ladybug!” then turned to Chat. She ran to him, and watched the ladybug swarms fix the wound. Chat unclenched, and looked into her eyes.

“Your shoulder is going to be rather sore for a while. You should be careful.” Marinette could barely hold herself together.

“My lady-” Chat reached for her.

“I’m sorry, Chat. I can’t right now.”

“Pound it.” Chat smirked at her, but she still gave a small fist bump.

“I have to go. You should go too.” She stood and slung her yo-yo away, heading to her house. She landed close by, and ran into the bakery. Chat had just been stabbed, right in front of her eyes! He had cried out, falling to the ground, clutching his shoulder. The image of him, curled up in a ball, whimpering from pain was too much. Her breathing started to hitch again as she ran down the street, her vision focusing on the bakery door, her ears filled with her heartbeat...

*.*.*

Adrien had gotten no sleep last night. The previous day, he had gotten such a warm reception at the Dupain-Cheng residence, he didn’t want to leave. It seemed so much like home. Then, he had gotten the fun treatment at his real home, and he had run. But then, he found Ladybug. She listened to his plight with an ear tuned only for him. That only helped his passion for her grow. But his passion for Marinette was also growing. He was torn between his lady and his princess.

The previous night had proven without a doubt that Ladybug really did care for him more than just as partners. She had listened without reservation, and they had parted before he could even ask what she was there for. He had ranted on and on, and she never even got the chance to talk. He felt like a complete jerk.

That was not the only reason that he felt terrible. Since he hadn’t even slept a wink the previous night, he had a massive headache. All of the photo shoots that he was doing, coupled with his terrible diet was sapping all of his strength. The last photo shoot he had done left him with severely aching muscles, which he was really feeling that morning.

Marinette was acting stange today, as well. She was completely spaced for the entire day, not even listening to Alya or Nino, but she responded to Adrien just fine. It seemed that the situation with Marinette had reversed overnight. Now, she couldn’t talk to anyone except Adrien.

Adrien went through his day in a haze. Ladybug cared for him. Marinette seemed so much like home. He cared deeply for both of them. But Ladybug could be listening to him just so that his bad mood wouldn’t interfere with their partnership. Marinette could be hanging out with him now just out of pity.

No, he knew them both well enough that they would not do that. Ladybug was listening because she truly cared for him, and Marinette was truly interested in being his friend. He would be stupid to throw that aside. And his father would not keep a stupid person around.

That afternoon brought screams. That meant an akuma. Adrien transformed and started looking for Ladybug. He found her quickly, scoping out the battlefield. He landed, trying not to show any of his emotions from the previous night, trying to be his usual self. He could tell that this akuma was exceptionally dangerous. He could not have Ladybug be in the middle of that without a plan.

“Well, I think that we should handle this like usual. I shall run interference, and you shall come up with the fantastic plan that will save us all, my lady.” Adrien winked, and didn’t give her time to protest. He jumped into the street, pulling out his baton and extending it to a good sword length. Then, defense started. There were 6 swords in total, all of them trying to hit him at once.

It was a chore to keep them at bay, especially since they seemed to learn. Soon, they were pushing him back, and he knew that it was only a matter of time. He saw a red spot, and saw Ladybug stare at him with fear in her eyes. He looked back, fighting on. He tried going onto the offensive, but he had never done well with offense. And, he did it much too soon. Now, there were two people who were on the offensive. In most situations, it became a gamble, the person who got the first hit usually gained the upper hand. But this was not most situations. This situation had a cat boy fighting a person who controlled 6 swords with his mind. Adrien took another glance at Ladybug, and saw her eyes widen. Adrien looked forward and felt his breath catch, while his mind started racing. But, he knew that there was nothing that he could do, no matter how much training he had. Adrien watched a sword arc towards him, while his baton was on the opposite side of his body. He couldn’t stop it, it was coming right for him. The only thing that he could do was twist his body and hope. There was a burning pain in his right shoulder, going all the way through. He cried out, and fell.

He was on the ground, and Ladybug was in front of him. She danced through the swords, making it all the way to the akuma. But it swept her away like it was nothing, sending her into a car. He saw panic rise in her eyes for a second, but she shook it off. With a hand on his shoulder, she picked up his baton and smacked away any sword dumb enough to get close to her. However, she had no form to her attacks. If she wasn’t careful...

A sword suddenly broke rank, and swung to her back. Chat tried to call out, but his voice failed him. Reaching out, trying to pull her back, his shoulder exploded into a new wave of agony. He curled up, so he couldn’t see it. He could hear it, though. A hard impact, followed by a smack. Then, leather cutting. A familiar cry.

The pain in his shoulder receded, leaving him free to look into the blue eyes of Ladybug, safe and sound.

“Your shoulder is going to be rather sore for a while. You should be careful.” Ladybug sounded shaky, like she was only barely holding her brave face

“My lady-” Adrien reached for her, trying to calm her down. He had to make sure that she was OK, that she knew that he was fine.

“I’m sorry, Chat. I can’t right now.” He could see that. Her eyes were filled with more panic than he had ever seen in them. But he couldn’t leave it at that.

“Pound it.” He tried to smile, but it came out as more of a smirk. She still bumped his fist.

“I have to go. You should go too.” She stood and slung her yo-yo away, heading off.

Adrien stood, feeling unsteady. He had a massive headache from his lack of sleep. His adrenaline was wearing off, he needed to get home. He vaulted to the rooftops, and jumped home. Except, he realized, he was nowhere near his house. He had to get to his own house, damn it. His energy was failing, his shoulder ached, and his head was pounding.

He crashed down onto a roof, not able to stop himself in time. Exhaustion overcame him, and he fell asleep to the scent of freshly baked bread.

Chapter Text

Marinette walked into the bakery from the side door that led into the living space. She poked her head into the bakery to let her parents know that she was home, and headed upstairs. She was barely holding it together, between the recent developments with Chat, and then seeing him get stabbed, her mind was reeling. Her breath would not calm down, her pulse pounded frantically. But she could hold it down. She’s had worse when she was out as Ladybug.

Marinette noticed something different about her room. It was too dim for the amount of sun outside. It was almost as if something was blocking her skylight. Looking up, she lost control of her frantic mind. Chat Noir was passed out on her skylight, breathing shallowly. Marinette dashed up to the window, opening it enough to let herself out. She couldn’t think. She had sent him home, why was he here? The cleansing effects of her power should have fixed his shoulder, he should only have a small ache. Was there something else? Why did he go to Marinette, instead of anyone else? He had only met Marinette a few times, and never for long enough to make a connection. Unless he found out that she was Ladybug! Oh god, what if he did, and he never told her? What if-

Hands suddenly grabbed her shoulders. She blinked away tears that she didn’t know she had and saw green eyes staring intently back at her. Chat was awake now, and saying something. What was he saying? She couldn’t hear anything beyond the rushing in her ears. Then, his voice managed to reach her.

“-with me. Ok? Are you hearing me? Come on, Mari. Breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Do it with me. In… out… in… out… Now tell me about your walk to school today. Tell me what you saw, heard, and smelled.”

Marinette did as she was told and felt herself calm down as she talked. How did she get that worked up over this? And how did he manage to calm her down so effectively? She looked back into his concerned gaze.

“Thank you, Chat. I guess that I have had more of a day than I thought. It’s been a little stressful at school recently.” she looked down, abashed.

“Ah. I do hope that it gets better for you, Purrrincess.” Chat smiled.

“What are you doing here? Why didn’t you go home after the attack?”

“Well, I was, but I guess that I got a little disoriented. I was nearly home, but I sorta… crashed.” he gestured to a broken pot that he had hit with his baton.

“Is there something wrong? Do you need help?” Marinette felt the panic rising again.

“No, no, nothing wrong. Just a lack of sleep on my part, giving me a massive headache. I should be fine. I’ll just be on my way and-”

“No, Chat. Not until you rest a little. You crashed here, remember? I don’t want you to go out and hurt yourself any more. Stay here until you are ready to leave. And I will say when that is, not you.” Marinette realized that she really had no say in the matter, since he was a superhero, and she was Marinette. But he still lowered his ears and nodded.

“Ok, princess. I will.” Chat looked back up. “And, when will I be able to leave?”

“After you get some sleep.” Marinette watched as he picked himself off of the ground, and reached for his baton. He winced as he stretched his shoulder. “Is your shoulder ok?”

“Yeah, it’s just some aftereffects of the charm fixing my shoulder. It just aches. It should pass soon enough. It hurts more than usual, but that could just be because of the fact that it was worse than usual.” he smiled and sat in one of her chairs.

“Do you have to be anywhere in particular soon?” Marinette hoped that the answer would be no. And, as luck would have it:

“No, I am free until tomorrow morning.” Chat looked warily at her. “Why?”

“I might have to have you stay the night, so I can make sure that you don’t hurt your shoulder any more than you already have.” Marinette felt a flush creep onto her cheeks. “I mean, you will sleep on a couch, or my lounge, or something. Just that.”

Chat looked at her with amusement. “Ok. I guess that I won’t be changing your mind on this, so I will do it. If you’ll excuse me, I do have to make a call. So nobody misses me at home.”

Marinette went down to her room, and it changed slightly to green as Chat changed back. A few seconds later, a black shape flew into the room. A kwami. Probably belonging to Chat.

“Well, isn’t this a little ironic?” the small black shape grinned. “I’m Plagg. And you’re Ladybug.”

“You knew? I suppose that makes sense. I guess that means that Tikki knows?” Marinette looked at where she had deposited her purse, and Tikki poked her head out.

“Yes, Marinette. We both had input on our own chosen, and their counterpart.” Tikki smiled bashfully.

“That makes sense. Well, Plagg, I’m sure that you are hungry. Is there anything that you would like?”

“Yes, if you have any Camembert, that would be divine.” Plagg smiled an innocent smile.

“Well, we might have some. If not, I’ll bring something back that’s similar.” Marinette walked out of her room and went to the fridge, grabbing a few different types of cheeses. Coming back, she saw that the skylight was open again, and Chat was standing in her room.

“Well, hello princess. I have returned.” he gave a dramatic bow. Marinette set down the cheese discretely, so as to not give Chat suspicion.

They arranged themselves so that Chat could transform, and they could play video games. Chat sat behind Marinette, out of her sight. Marinette noticed Plagg fly straight to the area where she had set down the cheese. After a few minutes, a black and red shape came out of nowhere, and they went into another corner of the room.

The arrangement when they went to bed was simple. Chat went to the lounge, and Marinette went to her bed. It was dark enough that all she could see of her partner was a dark shape. The shape was curled up and making a noise similar to purring. Marinette smiled as she fell into the darkness of sleep.

Waking up the next morning, she found the lounge empty, except for a note.

Thank you for having me, princess.

*.*.*

Adrien sat in his chair the next morning, feeling more awake than he had for a while. He had slept very well the previous night, under the care of Marinette. She was a comforting presence that he found himself desiring more and more. In fact, the more he thought about it, the less surprising it was that he had gone to her house. It was more of a home to him than his own house.

Adrien perked up when Marinette and Alya walked into the room. He was excited to see if she was as happy as he was. What he saw made his heart sink. She looked sad. Her eyes were downcast, and she seemed more withdrawn than usual. He thought of the note that he had left, and realized that it could have been taken as him just thanking her for the place to sleep, rather than the friendship she had shown.

“Hey, girl, do you have something that you would like to share with the rest of us?” Alya seemed excited about something. Something about Marinette.

“What do you mean?” Alya obviously didn’t buy it.

“Well, when I saw what the akuma was capable of, I decided to make sure that you were not in the crossfire, since you sorta just ran off. I got to your house and waited for you, but it wasn’t you that I saw going into your house.” Adrien felt his blood go cold. Did she mean…

“I’m not sure what you mean, Alya.”

“Chat Noir jumped onto your balcony yesterday, girl. Then, not too long after, you ran in, looking like you were in the middle of a panic attack. Chat hadn’t left yet. I wanted to stay, but I had to get home.” Alya seemed proud of herself for this scoop. Marinette faltered.

“Well, Alya, it is much easier than that. Chat was hurt in the fight, and he crashed onto my balcony. I found him there, and helped him back onto his feet, that’s all.”

“Is that why you came to school today looking all sad and broody?” Alya wasn’t giving this one up without a fight. Adrien didn’t know what to do. He was about to interject, to change the subject, but Alya spoke before he could. “Do you like him?”

“What? How could I like him? I don’t even know who he is!” Marinette reddened.

“Well, obviously, you do feel something for him.” Alya had reached the point of her interview.

“W-well, he is nice. And he can be funny. He also has a certain charm around him. If I knew him in his civilian form, I would definitely consider it.” Marinette became scarlet. “Of course, that is very unlikely to happen. Secret identities, and all that.”

Adrien stopped listening. She liked Chat Noir, and was interested in his secret identity! Adrien felt elation in his gut. She wanted to get to know Chat better. This was great! Now, all he had to do was go to Marinette and offer to tell her his secret identity and…

… And she would be disappointed in him. She seemed to dislike Adrien. Finding out that Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste might make her hate Chat Noir too. If she had no interest in Adrien, why would it be a good thing to know that Chat was Adrien? It would be like finding out that Ladybug was Chloe. Thank god that was off the table now.

Adrien was having an intense mental battle in his head. He wanted to tell Marinette that he was Chat Noir, but he didn’t want to lose her friendship. But, telling her might make her feel better about Adrien. However, it would change everything, and Adrien didn’t want that. He liked things the way that they were, but he wanted to move forward as well. What did he do?

And then, there was Ladybug. He didn’t want to lose her because he started to show an interest in another girl. She never returned his flirty sentiment, but she was now more accepting of it. Did that mean that she was beginning to feel the same about him? He didn’t want to assume, but he did hope.

But then, Marinette helped him out of pure kindness. She acted strangely around Adrien, but that could be two things. She could dislike him, or she could have a crush on him. Adrien didn’t think that it was the latter, since he didn’t want to be the celebrity that assumed that everyone had a crush on him. He just didn’t feel that he deserved such an honor. But still, it would simplify things. But it could just as easily complicate them.

Chapter Text

Marinette was already sitting on the rooftop when Chat joined her. She kept seeing him after what happened. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw the form of Chat, lying on her skylight. He said that he had been having issues because he hadn’t been sleeping. She had a terrible sleeping schedule, and she had never even been close to that level before. When he arrived next to her, she nearly jumped right out of her skin. He had a somber face on, like he was thinking about something that was not pleasant.

“Hello, Bugaboo. I see that you are here for the same reason as me. We have to stop meeting like this.” he sat next to her. “Would you like to talk about it?”

“Only if you want to talk about yours.” Marinette wasn’t surprised by his perception. He always seemed to be able to tell if she was feeling out of sorts. But his presence didn’t help much, and telling him anything would blow her secret wide open.

“OK, if you insist. So, you sent me home after the akuma.” Marinette nodded. “Only, I didn’t make it home.” Marinette knew this, but had to give a shocked response anyways. “Yeah, I know. I really meant to go home, but I found myself on a bakery rooftop instead. When I came to, there was a cute girl staring back at me, absolutely just freaking out. I used a method used whenever I have to mod- I mean, during my day job, to calm her down. And then, she refused to let me leave until I was good enough to her standards.”

“What’s the issue with that?” Marinette didn’t think that she had done anything wrong.

“Well, I feel that I sort of… forced this girl to help me. You should know her, you enlisted her help before. Marinette Dupain-Cheng? I actually know this girl from my day life and I know that she would help anyone who showed up at her door. But I feel that I imposed myself and asked her to do something that she might not have wanted to do.” The somber tone of his voice made Marinette feel bad. It wasn’t anything that she had done, and yet, it was everything that she had done. He felt that he had forced her to help him. “So, my lady, I told you mine. What about yours?”

“What if I told you who I was?” Marinette couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth, but she realized that she didn’t care anymore.

“What? What about keeping out identities secret to each other?” Chat seemed to be taken aback by the suggestion. Marinette didn’t blame him at all.

“We don’t have to, if you don’t want to. I just… want you to know that I would be fine with it now.”

“I think that it is a great idea! Then we can help each other!” Chat brightly said. “But only if you’re sure.”

“Well, I suppose that I can’t make it too easy for you. How about this? You have to find me. That way, we can both be sure. We have to find each other. We have to be serious about this.” Marinette figured that this would give the both of them the time that they needed.

“I accept this challenge. But, I feel that you should give me a clue. In exchange, I’ll give you one.”

“Deal. It’s a good thing that I have already thought of this. Here is my clue. You know the manager of the Ladyblog, Alya Cesaire? I know her personally.” Marinette thought this to be a perfectly good clue. Alya was a very social person, and knew personally nearly everyone in the school, not to mention everyone that she talked to outside of school. It should have been a perfectly safe clue. Her cockiness melted at the look that came onto Chats’ face.

“Alya, hmm? Well, I suppose that I owe you a clue. I have been personally targeted by an akuma. My civilian form.”

“That’s not fair! There have been a ton of people targeted by an akuma!” Marinette was aghast at the unfairness of the clue. He seemed to know something from her clue, but his gave her nothing at all.

“A clue is a clue. Make of it what you will. Meanwhile, I have to get going on yours. I shall see you soon, my lady!” With that, he was gone out the window.

Marinette went home and started to think. Chat might know Alya as well. If he was someone in the class, there was a good chance that she would talk about her suspicions. But, she didn’t know that Marinette was Ladybug. She would have said something.

Sighing, Marinette pulled up the Ladyblog. Targeted by an akuma personally? Well, that means that she could dispose of all of the female targets. That still left too many to shift through. She started to make a list of the possible candidates, and was elated to see that Adrien was on it, from when he was targeted by Volpina. But then she pushed the possibility away. Adrien was so different from Chat, they could not be the same person at all.

Marinette worked well into the night, going through so many names and pictures that her mind was swimming. Maybe Chat looked completely different as a civilian? That would explain why nobody looked like him. But that would make it much harder to find.

Groaning, Marinette put her head down onto her desk. She didn’t even notice that she was asleep until she was waking up with her alarm.

*.*.*

Adrien was ecstatic. Ladybug wanted to know who he was! This was fantastic news! And, she likely went to his school. That was the only reason that she would say that she knew Alya as a clue. She knew Alya personally!! That meant that all he had to do was talk to her about any sort of guesses as to Ladybugs’ identity. He had to be careful about how to approach it, otherwise she would get suspicious, and he did not want her to be looking into his identity.

Plagg went immediately to sleep as soon as Adrien was home. Adrien thought of his clue that he had given Ladybug. He was personally targeted by an akuma? What sort of clue was that? That gave no information! He was so stupid. He had to give her another one. Adrien huffed and fell back onto his bed. He closed his eyes and thought about Ladybug. His mind went into a fantasy about the sword akuma from the other day that was attacking all of his friends. The only way that he could get it to stop was to reveal who Ladybug was. He couldn’t do it, he didn’t know! He was running forward, but he was too late. The akuma raised a sword over its’ head, aimed right at Marinette. It fell-

Adrien had never been more glad to hear his alarm clock before. He shot up, covered in a cold sweat. Now, he had to face Marinette for real.

Chapter Text

Adrien walked into school with a skip in his step. All he needed to do to get closer to his lady was talk to Alya. And, there she was, talking to Marinette. Marinette looked like she had gotten no sleep the night before, but she was still talking animatedly. Alya was smiling along to the conversation.

The bell was ringing, so Adrien had to get to class, but he was so close. He could wait until lunch. The class passed by unbearably slow, Adrien just sitting there twirling his pencil absently. As soon as the bell rang, he was up and turning to the blogger.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” his voice was louder and more forceful than he had meant it to be.

“Sure! Let me just get my stuff.” if Alya was surprised by his outburst, she didn’t show it.

They walked out to the courtyard, and Adrien started his rehearsed conversation.

“So, do you have any guesses about the identity of Ladybug?” Adrien had thought about it, and he figured that a straightforward question would be apt.

“Why are you just asking this out of the blue? You have never shown much of an interest before.” Alya looked at him skeptically. Shit, maybe not that straightforward.

“Well, I was just wondering if you had guesses.” Adrien didn’t like the look he was getting.

“Well, I have a few, but one of them is above the rest. Why do you want to know?” Alya was examining him intently now.

“Ah, well, I was just… wondering?” Adrien felt his facade fading away. He had to end the conversation before she made some sort of leap. Maybe this was a bad idea? It was too late to not do it.

“Ah. I see. Are you interested in my guesses about Chat Noir? Or just Ladybug? You know, Ladybug can’t do anything without Chat. He is important to her.” Alya gave him a sidelong smile.

Adrien felt a warmth spread through his body. It was nice to feel needed. And, she just gave him a great way out of this situation. He could be interested in both of the heroes, and the good work that she had done.

“I am interested in both. I would like to hear what you have figured out. You do good work, so I would like to use that expertise.” Adrien was proud of his recovery.

“Well, I do have one guess for Chat Noir that is now above all others. It was a good one, even if Marinette disagreed, but it is only getting more and more obvious to me.” Alya was giving him a knowing look that he did not understand.

“Well, who is your guess for the two of them?” Adrien felt his heart start to frantically beat. He was so close!

“My guess for Ladybug is- and don’t laugh now- it is-” There was an explosion right outside the school.

“Shit!” Adrien rarely used expletives, but he felt that this situation merited one.

“We have to hide! Come on!” Alya was pulling his arm, pulling him to a closet that was on the opposite side of the school from the explosions. Adrien tried to pull out of her hand, but she had a grip of steel. She practically threw him into the closet, and shut the door behind herself.

“Alya, you have to let me out!” Adrien was frantic. That was a large explosion, Ladybug would need his help! He tried getting past her, but she blocked him.

“Oh, no, Agreste. You are staying here. Call it an experiment.”

Adrien was confused by her, but he needed to get out. So, he did the one thing that he could.

“Can you keep a secret? The second most important secret that you could have?” Alya had wide eyes as she nodded. Adrien took a deep breath. “Oh god, she is going to kill me. Plagg, claws out!”

As the green magic took over him, Alyas’ eyes remained huge, but her face seemed to be knowing. As soon as he was done, she let out a shriek.

“I KNEW IT! You were my biggest choice for Chat Noir! I knew it! I know both of you!” her hands clamped over her mouth at that last part.

Adrien felt his chest constrict. She knew who Ladybug was? Oh god, did Ladybug know this? He would have to tell her! “Well, I guess that you know the most important secret, and the second most important secret. Lucky you. Want a ride?” Adrien picked her up and burst through the door, ignoring Alya yelling at him.

*.*.*

The akuma had gone down the road a considerable distance by the time Marinette caught up with it. It seemed to be blowing gas from a hose, that it ignited with a lighter in its’ hand.

“Well, this seems like a blast!” oh, hey, Chat had arrived.

“Ladybug! Over here! Give me a wave!” Wait, was that… Turning, Marinette was shocked to see Alya. She was just with Alya at school. There wasn’t time for her to get here. Waving, she turned back to the problem at hand. They had to deal with this quickly. She had to ask Alya about anyone who was personally targeted by an akuma who could be Chat Noir.

“Let’s get going, Kitty.”

“Right away, Bugaboo!”

Marinette rolled her eyes and continued on. She caught up to the akuma and was met with an interesting sight. It was a firefighter, but… steampunk. The oxygen tanks on the back were covered in gears, with a hose running into his hand. That was the source of the gas. The jacket had turned black, with gold highlights, and in his helmet had turned into a top hat, with gears attached haphazardly. On his face was the most cliché steampunk goggles. The only regular thing that he had was the lighter in his hand without the hose. That must be the akuma.

They agreed on their regular attack formation, and started on. Chat ran straight in, drawing his attention while Marinette vanished to figure out how to get the lighter. She decided on the riskiest plan of action, and try to get the lighter right before he ignited the gas. With a look at Chat, she knew that he understood. The akuma, who was strangely silent, started to pour out the gas. He held up the lighter. Marinette burst from her hiding spot. It was the most ideal situation she could have asked for, he was holding it loosely, not even aware of her.

Then, everything went wrong. The hand tightened, and suddenly got yanked back. Marinette yelped when she found herself tumbling through empty air. There was also one thing that she did not anticipate. The gas BURNED. She had gone through only a small amount of it, but it stung her eyes and made her throat hurt.

Gasping and coughing, Marinette raised her teary eyes and found herself looking into a small black hole. There was a click, and gas gushed out of it, right into her face. She had thought that the small amount she had gotten into had hurt. That thought was wiped away. If that was pain, this was complete and utter agony. Her eyes felt like they were burning out, her lungs were filled with fire. She couldn’t see, she couldn’t breath. But she could hear. There was another click, but not like the first. This one was not a single click, but more like a clicking scuff. There was a hard impact on her chest, driving all air and gas from her lungs, and she was flying backwards. Her vision was filled with fire. There was an impact on her back, the sound of broken glass, and she knew no more.

*.*.*

Adrien was having a great day, until this god damned akuma attacked. He had been distracted by how close Alya was, and he didn’t fight as hard as he could. But, one whiff of the gas had cleared his head of distraction. It hurt, burned even. He fought, staying away from the gas, and watched for Ladybug. She poked her head out of her hiding spot, and she gave him a look that gave him all the information needed. He almost thought that there was kwami influence with the amount of information that could be passed with one look. This one said that he needed to get the akuma to light the gas.

It nearly worked. The lighter was extended, Ladybug was reaching, but the akuma had caught on to the plan as well. He managed to evade Ladybug, and she tumbled down. She was gasping, tears coming out of her eyes. Apparently, it hurt even more over there. But the villain was not done. As soon as Ladybug was on her feet again, the hose was in her face, spewing more gas. And, the lighter was extended, ready to light. Adrien made the fastest decision that he could, and extended his staff, slamming it into Ladybug, and sending her into a building as the gas ignited.

Adrien was sent flying back from the explosion, ending up right next to Alya, who yanked him up. Without a word, Adrien dashed to where he had sent Ladybug. His staff was gone, but he didn’t care. He needed to know. He reached the building, and saw her. She was lying in an awkward position, but her chest was moving. He dashed to her side.

“Ladybug? Ladybug, wake up! Come on, you need to wake up! Ladybug! Wake up! Ladybug!”

An arm lay onto his shoulder, and he turned to see Alya, holding out his staff.

“I’ll stay with her. Go get the akuma. Capture it with that.” She pointed to a small jewelry box. Hey, they were in a jewelry store. Maybe he should get something for Ladybug when she woke. “I’ll stay with her. I promise. Go get it.”

Adrien didn’t need to be told twice. He gets the akuma, and Ladybug fixes everything, including herself. He jumped out and searched for the akuma. When the street yielded nothing, he went to the roof. About three streets over, there was a large amount of flames. Adrien went there, his mind running at speeds beyond what he had thought possible.

The akuma stood in the middle of the street, burning everything. Adrien smiled at the fact that he seemed to be more singed than before. He landed, glowering at the figure. His throat started to vibrate, a low growl coming out. He hooked his hands, intending on using his claws. He pounced, taking the akuma by surprise. He lashed out, and caught the hose with his claws, ripping it from the pack. To his relief, no gas came pouring out of the container.

The akuma looked at him, rage twisting his features. However, when he saw the fury on Adrien, his face turned into fear. He dropped the lighter, and nearly tripped over his feet as he started to run. Adrien picked the lighter up, and was about to turn back to get to Ladybug, but the akuma stiffened, and reluctantly turned. His face was now terrified, but he still advanced to Adrien. Adrien merely gave him a salute and left. He didn’t want to know what would happen if he stayed to fight.

He was back at the jewelry store in a flash, and was relieved to see Ladybug standing with the aid of Alya. He dropped the lighter onto the ground.

“Are you ready? Or do you want to wait?” Adrien was shocked at the sight of Ladybug. She was covered with burns, and she could not stand without Alya.

“No waiting. I can’t wait any longer.” The usually melodic voice of Ladybug was now raspy and rough. It hurt Adrien just to hear it. Lifting his foot, he stamped down onto the lighter. The butterfly was released, and a white yo-yo flew by Adrien, but fell short by several feet. Adrien grabbed the yo-yo and the butterfly, and threw the butterfly into the purifying glow.

With her famous cry, everything was set back. Adrien didn’t even realize just how burned he was until they were gone, and he felt the relief. Ladybug was back to standing by herself, and her voice was back to normal.

“Well, I guess that we should be off. Pound it!”

Adrien gave her a fist bump, and Ladybug was off. Picking up Alya, he was soon to follow. A short time later, he was dropping her off at the school, and releasing his transformation.

*.*.*

Marinette had never been more thankful for the miraculous fix. When she had woken up in Alya’s arms, she was in a large amount of pain. It hurt to look around, and even breath. Now, things were all better, except for the fact that she felt sore all over. She quickly went back to school before she would be missed, landing in the courtyard and releasing her transformation.

She was walking across the courtyard when she found herself being super confused. Alya was running across the floor, seeming distressed at seeing her friend. Alya gave her a massive hug, almost in tears, but Marinette couldn’t wrap her mind around something. Just about a minute ago, she was about 3 miles away, and now Alya was hugging her. It was impossible to get that far without help.

Marinette realized that there was only one reason for this. Chat Noir had found her already. Had probably already asked her. Luckily, Alya didn’t know her identity, right?

Chapter Text

Adrien did not miss a single bit of the scene that had unfolded in front of him, and his mind was positively spinning. Alya was hugging Marinette like she was something precious. Why would she do that? Marinette had been perfectly safe in the school, blocks away from the attack. Maybe she was seeking consoling after the attack? That must be it.

School had been canceled for the day due to the attack, so the group of friends went to Marinettes’ house for games and food. Adrien was super excited for this. He had wanted to come back ever since his reception the first time. And, sure enough, as soon as they were in the door, the entire group was pampered with food and greetings, and sent off to the living section of the bakery.

Adrien felt at home again. The house was small, and neat. But it had a quality of being lived in that his did not have. They booted up Mario Kart, and soon they were all fighting among themselves. Adrien and Marinette were consistently in the lead, and they soon found themselves being pelted by various objects, both in the game and out of it.

They were soon booting up Mecha Strike, and playing against each other. Marinette and Adrien were up first, and Nino was on deck. Marinette won easily, and Adrien gave up his seat. Alya immediately grabbed him, pulling him away from the other two.

“How are you doing after that akuma today?” She seemed to be truly concerned, which made Adrien feel a warmth in his chest.

“I’m fine. It was just scary to see her like that.” Adrien hung his head. “I have worked so hard for her, to keep her safe. To see her like that was… terrifying.”

Alya gave him a smile and a half hug. Adrien leaned into the hug, smiling back. They broke apart and started trying to sabotage Marinette so that Nino would win. They didn’t succeed, but Nino and Adrien together proved too much for the Mecha Strike Queen. Marinette took her vengeance on the next turn, and made Adrien lose to Nino as well.

Not too long after that, there was a full scale pillow war going on in the living room, the controllers all but forgotten. Marinette was the opposite of the shy girl he had gotten to know, and was now a dual wielding warrior of pillows. All who tried to vanquish her were given a quick end to their efforts. Soon, there was an alliance made between everyone who wasn’t Marinette, and they took her down. Adrien and Nino held her arms, and Alya hit her in the chest. Marinette made a dramatic death scene, clutching her chest, falling to her knees. She called Alya closer, and with her last breath, slammed the girl in the side with a pillow, and finally toppled to the ground. Adrien and Nino looked at each other.

“Well, dude, I guess we win” Nino looked at him with a big goofy grin on his face. Adrien hit him with his pillow, sending him to the ground as well.

A laughter made him grin even wider. It was a beautiful sound. He turned and saw Marinette laughing on the ground, gripping her sides and curling in on herself.

“You should have seen your face, Nino! The look of absolute betrayal!” Soon, everyone was laughing too.

“Well, Nett, I have a proposal for you. And Alya, in fact. Let’s take this winner down a notch, shall we?” Nino looked at Adrien with a wicked, evil grin. Adrien looked around and saw similar looks on everyone else.

“Shit.”

Adrien was pummeled down in a flurry of pillows, and within seconds, there was a large pile of laughing people, with Adrien on the ground beneath everyone.

For the first time in a long time, Adrien was able to relax without having to worry about any plans that he had to worry about. For the first time since his mother had vanished, he felt like he was home. And, as he looked at Marinette, he realized that his stuttering problem with her might begin to get a lot worse.

*.*.*

“S-So, Marinette? Do you think that I-I could maybe while for a stay?”

Marinette looked at the person speaking, and found herself looking at Adrien. They had managed to disentangle each other from the large pile, and Alya and Nino were getting ready to go home.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“OhgodI’msorry.” Adrien cleared his throat nervously. (Wait, nervously? Why was he nervous?) “Could I stay for a little while longer? I- Well- My house is- ummm… I’m having fun here. I was just wondering if I could stay a little while longer?”

“Oh, of course. Um… W-what would you like to do?” Marinette couldn’t believe it. She would be able to hang out with Adrien, by herself!

“Well, I guess… um… I don’t know...” Adrien nervously rubbed the back of his head.

“I have some designs that I could use some help on, and I guess that there is nobody better to ask than you.” Marinette looked at Alya, who was just about to walk out of the door. Alya gave her a look that seemed to say ‘you just made a full sentence around him! I’m so proud!’ Marinette felt panic suddenly start gripping her. “Oh, could you give me a second, Adrien? I’m going to walk them to the door.” Adrien nodded his understanding, and she dashed after her friend.

“Mari, don’t tell me that you’re getting old feet now!” Alya gave her an amused smile.

“Alya, you have to help me! He is staying, and I just invited him to see my designs!” Marinette was beginning to panic a little, but Alya just out her hands on her shoulders.

“Girl, calm down. This will be fine. At least he is interested in being friends with you. Use tonight as a test, to see how he is when you two are alone together.” With a wink, Alya stepped out of the door.

Marinette didn’t know how she was going to survive the night. She walked back to Adrien, and found him sitting in the exact same place she had left him. When he saw her, he jumped up.

“Well, shall we see these designs that I’m sure are as perfect as you?” Adrien froze, and his face went scarlet. Marinette took several seconds to process what he had said. Then, her face went even redder than his. “Ah, that is to say… um… yeah. There is no easy way out of this.”

They went up to her room in silence, and sat at the desk. Marinette showed him several of her designs, and he gave some great advice. However, she only half heard what he was saying. Her mind kept repeating what he had said, and she kept trying to figure out what he had meant by it.

Soon enough, he had to leave, and Marinette immediately grabbed her phone, sending a text to Alya.

FROM: MARINETTE: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

*.*.*

That Friday morning brought another akuma, this one being no trouble to take down. Adrien and Ladybug were swarmed by their usual crowd of reporters. They talked like they normally did, but the reporters were being relentless today. They pressed in, driving the two heroes back. They were in the park, and they were being herded towards the benches. Adrien saw it too late to warn her, and too late to act. Ladybug was pressed back, right into an uneven patch of concrete, sending her crashing down, slamming her shoulder into the corner of the bench.

Adrien sent the reporters away with a growl, and helped her up.

“Are you OK?” Adrien knew the answer he would get, and the answer that was true before she said anything.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She held her shoulder, though. “It is probably just going to hurt later today, though. I don’t have any miraculous cure left to fix it, so I’ll just have to deal with my civilian self.” She gave a smile, and slung herself away before her transformation released.

Adrien went back to his house and thanked his lucky stars that the akuma was early enough in the morning that he shouldn’t have any issues being late to school. After a quick breakfast, he was walking into school, nobody noticing that he had just taken down an akuma. He was concerned about Ladybug, though. He had seen the pain in her eyes.

Adrien took his seat, and greeted his friends as they came in. Marinette was late as usual, but Adrien didn’t think too much of it. But when she did walk in, stomach flipped, his heart thumped hard against his ribs, and his blood ran cold. Her arm was in a sling. The same arm that Ladybug had just slammed into a park bench.

Chapter Text

Adrien sat glued to his seat, not able to move, let alone think. He must be wrong, she can’t be. And yet, it was like a veil was lifted from his eyes. He looked down at Plagg, and found his kwami looking at him with an unreadable face. Was that pride? Concern? Both? Neither? Adrien looked back at Marinette, who was having Alya fuss over the sling. Alya looked over at him, and saw the look on his face. She grimaced, and shrugged her shoulders. She knew. Alya already knew that Marinette was Ladybug.

Now that Adrien thought about it, it seemed to make sense. Marinette was always gone when there was an akuma. The one time that Marinette was there with an akuma, Ladybug was on a secret mission. Of course Marinette wasn’t at his party with the Bubbler. She was busy shutting it down as Ladybug. She had the same body build as Ladybug, the same voice, they even had the exact same hair, god damn it!

“Holy fuck.” Adrien stared at his desk until he heard the sharp intake of breath beside him. He looked at Nino, who was looking at Adrien like he just kicked a cat out of a window into the ocean.

“Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude. You must have just realized something important. I have never heard you swear like that. Like, ever, bro.”

Adrien gave him a small smile, and turned to the front. He had to talk to Alya at lunch, figure out the best way to tell Marinette about it.

Adrien was so deep in thought that when his phone went off, he literally fell off of the bench. He stood back up, and checked his phone. He swore again, drawing the gaze of his teacher.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Agreste?”

“I’m sorry. I have to go. My father decided to schedule a shoot in Milan for the weekend. I have to leave immediately.”

The teacher nodded, and Adrien walked out of the school. He got into the car, and it took off. Not to his house, but to the airport.

“We have taken the liberty to pack some of your belongings. We must leave immediately.” Adrien knew that they would have neglected some of his things, such as a phone charger. They always did, and he would have no opportunity to get a new one. He looked at his phone, and saw that it was at a low charge. He sent a quick text and put it in his pocket. This was going to be a long weekend.

*.*.*

Alya was freaking out majorly. Adrien had figured it out. He had seen Ladybug fall into the bench that morning, and he had seen the sling on Marinette. She watched him realize it, then look at her. The only thing she could do was shrug. She heard his final realization, and the news that he was leaving. A few minutes after he left, her phone chimed, making her jump.

FROM: ADRIEN: My phone is going to die soon. I can’t charge it until I get back. We need to talk when I get back.

Alya set her phone down and sighed. He was damn right they had to talk. He had to do this correctly, otherwise, he could mess up their dynamic. Well, maybe she was being dramatic. But she didn’t want Marinette to feel betrayed. She decided that she had to do something rash. Something dramatic. Something she had no intention of doing before this moment. She had to tell Marinette. She sent back a quick message.

TO: ADRIEN: I can take care of part of it. I need to tell her that I know. About both of you. I’ll talk to you after you get back.

*.*.*

Marinette winced when she stretched her arm wrong again. It was worse than she had thought. She didn’t just bruise the skin of the shoulder, she bruised the muscle of the shoulder. It hurt to move it above a certain degree to her body. Writing was a chore, and she didn’t even want to consider eating. Of course, her trepidation made lunch come by much faster.

However, as she was making her way to the door, Alya grabbed her arm and directed her to an entirely different direction. She was herded to a corner, where there wasn’t another soul in sight.

“Marinette I have something important to say.” Marinette went still. Whenever Alya addressed her like that, she knew that trouble was coming. However she wanted to prepare herself, she couldn’t prepare herself for this conversation.

“What’s this about, Alya?”

“Ladybug.” oh, that’s not too bad. “I know who she is.” oh. That could be bad. “I know why you vanish during every attack, why you seem to try to derail my attempts.” Well, shit. “I know that you are Ladybug.”

Marinette started to panic. She was no stranger to panic attacks, but she hadn’t had one for months. Now, she has had two in as many weeks. Alya expected it, however, and put her hands on her shoulders.

“Look me in the eye, girl. Like that. Good. You know how to breathe? Good. Like that. Keep looking me in the eye, dammit. Good. You’re doing great. OK?”

Marinette, calming herself down, started to truly think about the situation. She had not done anything specific recently, except the shoulder, but that wasn’t enough for Alya. Not since the Lady Wifi incident. That meant that she had known for a while, and had kept it quiet. But the fact that she was bringing it up now…

“That’s not all. I know who Chat Noir is.” Alya was looking her in the eyes, waiting for another attack.

“But that is not enough to reveal that you know who I am. Why mention it?” Marinette was not looking forward to the question, but she figured that she could always freak out later.

“Chat wants to know who you are. And he wants to know how to tell you.” Alya tightened her hands on her arms. Marinette sighed in relief.

“We did have a game going on. I told him that if he wanted to figure out my civilian self, he could and I would not stop him. I trust him. I trust you. I will still freak out about this later, though.”

“Well, he really wants to know who you are. As it turns out, Chat Noir also personally knows Marinette.”

At this, Marinette pulled back. “I don’t know anyone even close to Chat in my personal life.”

Alya laughed. “You act different as Ladybug. Why wouldn’t he act different as Chat?”

Marinette had no answer. Now that she knew what Alya wanted to talk about, her mind was beginning to take over again.

“OK. I guess that I can meet up with him tonight, and talk to him then.”

“He will be unavailable until Monday. He is out of town.”

“Oh, good. More time to freak myself out. How did he find out? How did you find out? Who else knows who I am? Oh god, what if Hawkmoth knows?” Marinette found arms circling around her, and tucked herself into Alya. “I am glad that you know. I wanted to tell you since the beginning. I just couldn’t.”

“Oh, Mari. I know. I am not upset that you didn’t tell me. Don’t ever think that. I am here for you, whether you are in the mask or not.” Marinette didn’t know how much she needed to hear that until the words left Alyas’ lips.

They sat thus for the rest of the lunch break, and they went to Marinettes’ house after school. Now that Alya knew, Marinette wanted to share everything. That she could, at least. They talked all through the afternoon, until Alya had to leave.

Marinette had to stay up, thinking about Chat. She found herself wanting him to know. He wanted to figure it out so much that he seemed to have revealed himself to Alya just to get any information. He knew her personally. These were interesting developments, and she was excited to know who he was.

Unbidden, her thoughts turned to Adrien. How was he doing at the shoot? And, why did he swear in class? Twice, in fact. Maybe he was just really upset about his shoot. He might have wanted a free weekend. That might be it, he just wanted to have a weekend to himself. With that thought, she found herself falling asleep.

On Monday afternoon, Marinette was suited up and looking at the most recent akuma. It just made brainwashed people to follow it around. Due to responsibilities in the bakery, she was late to the party. Now, there was a massive herd of people following the akuma, all milling about and looking for her and Chat. This could be difficult. If she fell into the middle of them, she would be overwhelmed quickly.

She wished that her partner was at her side, but Alya said that he was unavailable until Monday. Maybe he would come in early? No, that was just wishful thinking. She had to work with what she had. There was a sharp crack from the crowd, and a clanging sound behind her. She found the source quickly, and felt her face go pale. One of the victims had found her. And he had a gun.

She had to figure this out, and fast. She did not know if her suit would protect from bullets. She looked down into a window and spied Alya, who was looking up at her with concern. Marinette looked back at the akuma, who was also looking at her. She had to move. She jumped to another rooftop as another gunshot rang out, barely missing her.

That was the next hour for her. Dodging the several people with guns, trying to not get shot. Going rooftop to rooftop, while the crowd of civilians grew larger and larger. Wishing for Chat to get here. Marinette didn’t know if she could take the akuma down by herself. Maybe not even with Chats’ help. This was going on for too long. She landed on a rooftop that had no access, and transformed back. Feeding Tikki, she looked over the edge, and was taken aback by the crowd of people. It almost looked like the entirety of Paris.

Transforming back, she started to search for the akuma again. It wasn’t hard, it was just sitting at the Eiffel Tower, surrounded by a massive crowd. She searched for the item and saw it instantly. A necklace was glowing purple on it’s neck. Marinette was frustrated by the fact that she couldn’t see more about the person. She didn’t even know if it was man or woman.

She looked for the best area to get to it, and saw nothing. She would have to fight her way to the akuma. Looking at the crowd, she saw Adrien standing with the crowd. Her heart nearly gave away at that. He was back, but he had been taken. Her mind was set. She was going to take that necklace and purify the shit out of that akuma.

She jumped down the building to the clearing, and started to run towards the akuma. People tried to stop her, but she just pushed them out of the way. She heard the familiar clack of a baton on cement, and turned to see Chat vaulting to her. She was happy to see him, but he was a little late. But his face was not determination. It was fear. He pointed, and she turned. There was a civilian stalking towards her, with a gun in his hands. Three things happened at once.

A gunshot.

Pain.

A cry from the throat of her partner.

“MARINETTE!!!!!!”

Chapter Text

By the time Adrien had boarded the plane to to home, his phone was dead. As he expected, he had no time to get a charger, so he had to tough it out. And, it was tough. Marinette was Ladybug. It was so obvious now. Same hair, same eyes, same voice, never seen at the same time. Marinette filled his head for the entire weekend. On Monday morning, he was on the plane heading home. He had picked up a charger at the gift shop, and charged it on the plane, so he could text Alya as soon as he was back on solid ground. As soon as he landed, he grabbed it to talk to Alya. What he found was beyond what he expected.

There was a text from Alya already. The contents made his blood freeze and his stomach hit his toes. His heart beat frantically, his lungs unable to get enough air.

From: Alya: Akuma is here. Ladybug needs help ASAP

Adrien glanced at Nathalie, who was checking her own phone. She nodded, and shoved him into a bathroom that was under construction. She gave him a look, and herded him into an empty bathroom.

“Get in there and help her. I know who you are, and I won’t stop you. Get in there, then get out there. I will meet you at the bakery that you like so much. Lunch is on me. I’ll call your father and let him know that we will be late.”

Adrien was stiffly walking, but his mind was racing. Nathalie also knew? For how long? Did she tell his father? He had to get to Ladybug, though. A sight grabbed his attention. Who was that? Is that… Was she really here? No, she was supposed to be in Italy, he would know if she was here. Adrien had to get to Ladybug. He darted into the bathroom, and left through a window. He followed the crowds of mindless people, making sure to remain unseen. He figured that the crowd was going to either Ladybug or the akuma. Either would be preferable.

Adrien neared the Eiffel Tower, and was met with a welcome sight. Ladybug was running across the courtyard, pushing people out of the way, heading for the obvious akuma. But, something was wrong. It was too easy, the akuma was not stupid. A civilian ran behind Ladybug, and lifted something. A gun. Of course, some civilians had guns. It was hard to get a gun, not impossible.

Adrien jumped off of the roof, using his baton against the ground to propel him. This was no longer just his partner in the suit, she was also his friend out of it. Ladybug looked at him, and he pointed. But it was too late. There was a bang, and Ladybug staggered back, right into a bat swung at her head by another civilian.

“MARINETTE!!”

Adrien didn’t mean to yell her real name. But he figured that nobody near him would remember it, and the Akuma didn’t have the butterfly over it’s face. Hopefully Hawkmoth wasn’t paying attention. Ladybug lay on the street, bleeding and unconsious. Adrien approached quickly, and let out a sigh of relief. It was just the side of her shoulder. She was still conscious, but she didn’t seem to be aware of anything.

Adrien picked her up, and started running. He had no idea what to do with a wound like this, he needed help. He couldn’t trust hospitals to not be overrun, though. He had to get other help… Nathalie. She would know what to do. She would understand. Where did she say she would meet him? The bakery he liked so much. Of course, she would check his phone location sometimes, she would know how often he had been to the bakery recently.

Adrien ran right through the doors of said bakery and was met with… silence. It was completely empty. Not a single person was in the bakery. But maybe the back? He walked to the back, and opened the door. At least, he tried to. The door was blocked with something on the other side.

“Hey, is there anyone there? Nathalie? Are you there? Tom? Sabine? Anyone? Please, Ladybug is hurt!”

While the beginning of his frantic yelling had no effect on anyone on the other side, the end had an immediate effect. There was a large sound on the other side of the door, and it swung open immediately. Tom Dupain stood in the doorway, and grabbed Marinette. Adrien followed as Marinette was set onto the couch.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Adrien sat on the couch opposite of Marinette. He jumped back to his feet when Nathalie appeared.

“You know, if you want to keep your identity secret, you shouldn’t call for me like that.” Nathalie looked at Marinette, and her face dropped. “This is a deep wound, but it should be just fine.”

Tom and Sabine looked relieved. Adrien was puzzled by their reactions, but before he could ask, they spoke.

“Do you know her identity?” Adrien could only nod, looking at them with trepidation. “Please say it. I want to hear it. Don’t worry about us, we won’t tell.”

Adrien couldn’t. Not to her parents. Not with Nathalie. Marinette would be furious with him if he did. Tom walked to him, putting his hand on Adriens’ shoulder, giving him strength. Adrien made up his mind.

“Marinette- Marinette is Ladybug.” Adrien figured that they should know. Marinette might be mad, but he would deal with it. They deserved to know.

“We know. We just needed to make sure that you knew.” Tom looked at Adrien with sympathy.

Adrien could only stare. How did they know? Well they were her parents. They probably figured it out as soon as she appeared on their televisions. He wished he could say the same about his father.

“There is also the other fact that we know. I’m sorry to just spring this on you, but I think that you should know. You calling for Nathalie confirmed it. You can release your suit, Adrien. You are just tiring that creature out.”

That made sense. Adrien had put all cares of them knowing him out of his mind. It was Marinette who was in trouble. He had brought her to her parents, who had met Nathalie, who probably told them that Adrien was meeting them there. When he asked about Nathalie, it would have confirmed it. Adrien released his transformation.

Plagg immediately went to the couch, examined the earrings on Marinette, then spoke in a quiet voice. Marinette relaxed, and fell into a more comfortable sleep. Then, her transformation released, revealing a red kwami. The kwami went to Adrien.

“Hello, Adrien. I am Tikki. Don’t worry about her, I just put her to sleep so she can recover from the shock. I think that you should also get some rest. You look tired.”

That was true. Adrien was exhausted. He hadn’t slept since late Saturday evening, since he had to get to the airport early Sunday morning. Then, he had to hunt down the akuma. However, he needed to get back out there, get the akuma. He started for the door, but a large hand grabbed him, pushing him to the couch, despite his protestations. Plagg floated up to his face, and lay a hand on his forehead. Darkness gathered in his vision, and he fell into the couch, already dreaming.

*.*.*

Marinette woke to a cold pressure on her left shoulder. She was on something comfy, and familiar. There was the smell of bread all around her. Looking down, she saw that her suit was gone, Tikki was sleeping on the back of the couch. Wait, couch? Why was she in her living room? She looked around, and her eyes fell onto another figure on the other couch. It was too dark to see who it was, but she knew who it was: Chat Noir. The last thing that she remembered was Chat rushing to her as she was… wait. She was shot, wasn’t she? She tried to sit up, but a lance of pain went down her arm, making her cry out. There it was! She also had a massive headache. What was that about?

Footsteps approached and there was a thin figure in front of her. It called that she was awake, and it was joined by familiar forms. A large man and a short woman. Her parents. But Tikki was right there next to her, in view of her parents! They would find out! And also about her shoulder! She had to hide it! But, she couldn’t move! How would she hide it? Her parents would find out, and so would this mystery lady, and Chat would, maybe even Hawkmoth, and everyone! Her parents would take Tikki away, Chat would leave her because she was just boring Marinette! This mystery woman would tell someone, and they would also talk about who Chat was, and they would both be forced to give away their miraculous, and Hawkmoth would win

Marinette knew that she was in the middle of a panic attack, but it was only a dim realization in the back of her mind. Her parents were concerned, the thin woman fiddling with her fingers, but they didn’t move. Her parents were never very good at calming her down for some reason. They tried, but they couldn’t get through her panic, so they just waited for it to calm down, making sure that she didn’t hurt herself. The trio watching her all looked at something on the other couch, but Marinette couldn’t care about any other distractions. There was a crash next to her, like someone knocking things aside, and a hand grabbed her shoulders, lifting her into a sitting position, and before she knew it, she was looking into a pair of green eyes.

“Marinette, calm down. Look into my eyes, right there, yes good. Breathe with me. In… out… in… out… keep going. Good. Keep looking at me. No, don’t look at them. Just look at me. Not my nose, my eyes. Good. Keep breathing, in… out… good. Keep going. Keep looking at me. You’re doing very well. Now, tell me five things that you see, in as much detail that you can.”

The familiar voice managed to calm her down, forcing her to comply. Chat was there, free to move around. He lifted her up to sit, which meant that she was also able to move. She looked at her shoulder, and saw that there was something attached to it, making it cold. Chat wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace.

“Mari, I’m so glad to see you awake. I was worried. Tikki said that you were in a mild state of shock, but you weren’t responsive. I’m sorry, I meant to tell you in better circumstances.”

Marinette started to put things together. The civilian had shot her, and Chat had screamed her name. She remembered being carried, but she didn’t remember where she was going. She remembered comforting voices, then nothing.

The lights turned on, and she had to avert her eyes from the sudden brightness. She felt Chat flinch with the same reaction. That was when she realized something: Chat was in his civilian form. If she pulled away, she would see him.

“Are you sure that you want me to see?”

Chat grabbed her shoulders. “Yes.” he pushed lightly, and she was looking into green eyes. But, not the green eyes of Chat Noir. They were the green eyes of Adrien Agreste. Adrien was Chat Noir. It made so much sense. It was as if a veil was taken away from her eyes, and she could now see clearly. Adrien was so similar to Chat. Same hair, same shade of eyes, Adrien and Chat were never in the same area at the same time.

“Mari?” Adrien looked concerned. Marinette was just staring. But, she realized something. There wasn’t any sort of negative emotions. She wasn’t angry, she didn’t feel like it was some big shock. In fact, she was happy.

“It’s you! It’s always been you! Oh my God. This is...” Marinette looked at his eyes. She had been too quiet. He must think that she didn’t like him! “This is amazing! I am glad that you are you.”

Adrien visibly relaxed. Marinette then remembered the other big identity thing. She looked over to the three people still in the room. Her father walked over and took her from Adriens’ arms.

“Don’t worry, Mari. We already knew. What sort of parents would we be if we didn’t recognize our own daughter saving Paris? We could not be any more proud of you.”

Marinette felt a rush of relief. They weren’t going to stop her. They were supporting her. She looked to the other person in the room, and recognized her as the personal assistant to Gabriel Agreste, Nathalie. Adrien was talking to her quietly. She also knew them both. Marinette was glad that it was just them, nobody else. She was glad that they knew. She had never wanted to lie to them, she just wanted to keep them safe. Her mother joined the hug, and at the same time, Nathalie pulled Adrien into a hug of her own. For that moment, things felt right.

Chapter Text

There was a slight issue with the happiness of the hug. Marinette remembered about the akuma that they had yet to take down. She pulled away from her parents.

“We still have to take down the akuma.”

Adrien went to her side, pulling her to his side as he sat on the couch.

“Yes, I actually have an idea for that.”

*.*.*

Adrien was actually a rather good actor. The years he had spent as a model had honed his physical acting skills, while he practiced the emotional side in his free time. He thought that talking to his father with tears in his eyes might work. When that didn't happen, he still practiced, since it was a good mental exercise. So, it was no issue to approach the akuma with tears in his eyes, and a murderous glare set on the akuma. He started his speech with the most venomous voice he could muster, while giving it the emotion of a man who just lost everything.

“You. You took her from me. I watched it happen, I watched as the bullet wound took her life from her. I held her as her last breath her body, I had to fight to stay by her side long enough to see that she would not be disturbed. You may think that this is a victory, sitting there with that smug look on your face, but you have made a mistake.” Adrien lowered his voice until it was little more than a growl. “You left me alive to take vengeance.”

The look that Adrien gave the akuma was frightening enough that it stood and ran…

…right into the waiting arms of Ladybug.

*.*.*

Marinette was shocked, to say the least. Adrien told her that his acting skills were pretty good, but this was a whole new level of amazing. Now that she knew that Adrien was Chat Noir, she had a new understanding of both of them.

The plan was simple, just get the akuma to run, and Ladybug would catch it, get the object, and purify it. So far, it was going without a hitch. Adrien finished the speech in a voice that made Marinette almost run herself, and the akuma turned and smacked right into Marinettes’ waiting arms. It was a man, the host of a talk show. She ripped the tie off of him, and ripped it, releasing the butterfly. Marinette grabbed it, and released her Miraculous Cure, sighing in relief when the burning pain in her arm vanished.

Once all of that was over, Marinette and Adrien went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, well above where tourists were allowed. There, they sat and admired the city, basking in each others’ presence. Adrien was the first to speak.

“I am glad that it’s you. As soon as I figured it out, I knew that I had to tell you, but I was forced to leave before I could, and my phone died with no charger. But, coming back, I was happier than ever to be at your side, since I knew who I was going to be fighting with.”

Marinette looked at his eyes, which were already looking at her.

“I am glad too. I wish that I found out through better means, but I am happy that it is you.”

“Well, let me fix that for you,” Adrien fixed her with a mischievous grin. “Hello, I am Chat Noir, cat themed hero of Paris. I am also known as Adrien Agreste, teenage model, and heartthrob of many a girl.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Damn it, now I have to deal with the pun-spewing egomaniac all day, instead of nights.” She gave him a playful shove. “Well, if we are doing this formally, hello, I am Ladybug, hero of Paris. I am also known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the amazing fashion designer, and bane of Chloe.”

Adrien laughed, and Marinette found herself drawn into the fits of mirth with him. They sat laughing on the tower until they figured that they should go to the bakery.

Five minutes later, they were sitting on the couch opposite from her parents and Nathalie, for what promised to be a very awkward talk.

“Marinette, Adrien, we have come to a decision about your exploits.” Marinette and Adrien exchanged a look at the tone of her mothers voice.

“We have decided that we cannot prevent this from happening, so we will not try to stop you.” Her father looked at the two of them with the beginnings of a smile on his face.

Nathalie, who was so serious when they came in, now had a smile on her face. “We will provide covers for each of you. We will give notes to the schools that will excuse you from class if there is an attack, and will give an alibi if you need to get out of something extracurricular. When you go on patrol, let us know when you leave, and when you return.”

Sabine took over from Nathalie, saying: “Adrien, if you need a place to stay, please feel free to use the couch down here. If either of you need medical aid, come here first, and we will help you to the best of our ability. We know that secret identities are important, so we will only risk a doctors visit only if necessary.”

Tom started to speak again. “This is also not particularly for superhero business only, Adrien. Nathalie informed us that sometimes, you house can be… a bad place to linger. If that happens, and you need somewhere else to be, please just come over here.”

Nathalie spoke again. “Marinette, the same offer is made to you as well. There is a couch in Adriens’ room that you can use, as long as he is not also using it. I imagine that it will not need to be used because of a personal issue, but that invitation is also extended. If needed, I can escort you out of the house in the morning without being seen.”

Adrien and Marinette could only sit and stare in wonder. Not only were their parents OK with them being superheroes, but they now had a strong support system! Looking over, Marinette saw tears in the corners of Adriens’ eyes.

*.*.*

Adrien could not believe this! He had spent years under the oppressive rule of his father. Even when his mother was around, he could not get out of it. Now, here was Nathalie and Marinettes’ parents, telling them that they had a support system. This was more support than Adrien had ever had. If his father knew that he was Chat Noir, his heroic adventures would come to a close.

Adrien and Nathalie were invited for dinner, so they sat and ate with the family in the living room. Nathalie was about to take Adrien home, but he asked to stay and talk to Marinette for a few minutes. He had something to do, something that he had wanted to do since the end of the week, but there was always something blocking his way. He talked quickly with her parents, and got a double thumbs up from both of them. Adrien took a deep breath and walked to the small figure who was grabbing up the plates and cups.

“Marinette, could we go somewhere that we could talk alone for a minute?”

Marinette looked at her parents, who nodded, and then led him to her room. “What’s this about? We can now talk about superhero stuff down there, they all know.”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “I know. This isn’t superhero stuff, though. I-” something caught his eye. He walked to her desk and picked up a piece of paper. “What is this? A jacket?”

Marinette looked at him with wide eyes. “That isn’t anything special, it’s just a rough sketch. Are you trying to avoid talking about what you want to talk about?” There was a new thing in her eyes now: doubt. It wasn’t something that he had seen since their first day as superheroes. Adrien hastily tried to relieve her fears.

“I’m not trying to avoid it, it’s just… I’ve never done this before. I might be a little nervous.”

Marinette looked at him, confusion evident in her face, but she waited for him to speak.

“Well… the thing is… um… would you… wouldyouliketogotoamovieorsomething?”

Silence filled the room. Silence so stifling to Adrien that he nearly fell over. Oh god, she was going to say no. She had rejected Chat for so long, and now she was going to reject Adrien. She-

A squeak filled the air. It started off quiet, and slowly got louder. Marinette looked at him in shock. Adrien realized that the squeak was coming from her slightly open mouth. He was about to say something, but she beat him to it.

“YES!!! YES I ABSOLUTELY DO!!”

Adrien was shocked, then ecstatic! She said yes! If he stayed for too much longer, he might just hug her and never let go.

“Awesome!! I’ll text you with details, but I gotta go, Nathalie is waiting.”

Adrien bounded down the steps, and practically skipped to the car. She said yes!! She said yes!! His heart seemed to be beating to the rhythm of “a date… a date… a date” and he could not get he smile off of his face. He sat in the car, driving around the people still milling about after the effects of the akuma. Adrien didn’t see them, though. He was too busy with thoughts of Marinette, of Ladybug. He was going on a date with her!! This was a dream come true!!!

They pulled up to the gate and Adrien felt his mood crash down. There was something wrong. There was a figure standing by the gate, smiling and waving. It was her. He thought that he saw her at the airport, and it seems that he was right. His mind filled with Italy, when he went there for a few weeks. His father insisted that he date a girl, for publicity. He was modeling with her, and the dating would help the selling of the line. But, she had taken it too far. She had taken the fake dating, and tried to make it real. He considered her a friend, but in this situation, she seemed to be the worst thing to possibly happen to him. Once the car stopped before the gate, Adrien stepped out and walked to meet her. Nadine Trachire looked back at him with her large brown eyes. She had not changed much since he last saw her. She was tall, with wavy brown hair and large brown eyes. She had the body of a model, curvy, but thin. Her nose was small, and her lips full. Any other man would have been taken by her beauty. But Adrien was now spoken for.

“Hello, Nadine.”

“Adrien!! Hi!! I thought that I saw you at the airport, but you vanished so fast!!” Nadine Trachire was standing by the gate, nearly vibrating with nervous energy.

“What brings you to Paris, Nadine?” Adrien hoped that her answer was not the one that he feared.

“Why, to continue where we left off, silly.”

Adrien felt his world shake and crash down. Of course. She wanted to continue dating him. Now, he was in trouble. Only two words dominated his mind.

Well, shit.

Chapter Text

Adrien looked at Nadine, taking her in. She was almost entirely the same, but her hair was longer, and she was growing more into her body. She was extraordinarily beautiful, but Adrien already had Marinette. Nadine was here to try to date him for real, but Adrien had no intention of letting this happen. He would not let it happen, he just started something with Marinette!!

“I tried texting you and calling you, but you never answered.” Nadine looked put out by that news.

“My phone was destroyed, I had to get a new one. Unfortunately, I never memorized your number, so I couldn’t get it back.” That was true, Adrien had found himself trapped as his civilian self by an akuma, and his phone had been destroyed. The akuma didn’t cause the damage, so his phone was not fixed by the miraculous cure.

“Oh well. I am here now, so we can continue on!! I got permission to stay for the rest of the school year, so I can see you!!!” Nadine was practically bouncing with glee. Adrien had quite the opposite reaction. He was acting like he was happy to see her, and in usual circumstances, he would be. But right now, his mind was screaming at her to go away and leave him to be with Marinette.

“Where are you staying? At the “Les Grande Paris”?” Adrien hoped that it was a distant hotel. Of course, he had literally the opposite of luck right now.

“My father talked with yours, and I am staying at your house!! Isn’t that wonderful?”

Adrien gaped at her. Nathalie gasped. Even the gorilla looked put off. Nadine was staying there, at the Agreste house? No, that couldn’t be. Adriens’ father would have said something. Wouldn’t he?

One thing was for certain. Adrien was not looking forward to school tomorrow.

*.*.*

Marinette was seething. She sat in her seat, and watched the drama playing out in front of her. Adrien had escorted a brown-haired girl into the classroom, and introduced her as Nadine. Marinette had gotten a warning text from him the night before, saying that she was going to be trouble, and that he would explain at patrol that night.

Now, though, she was taking over Ninos’ seat. Of course, she couldn’t do it in a way that made sense, she had to make him move to where Marinette sat, sending her to the back corner of class, far from Adrien. He tried to intervene, but she insisted. Now, Marinette sat next to Lila, who usually kept to herself, and ignored everyone else. Now, Lila was glaring at the back of Nadine's head. Marinette was trying to be as unobtrusive as possible, but she could tell that Lila didn’t appreciate the new seating arrangement. This was going to be fun.

Marinette watched Adrien and Nadine throughout the day, watching as Nadine stuck herself onto his arm, looking over his notes. She watched as she hugged him around the waist as she giggled when she got something right. She watched as she leaned against him, putting her head on his shoulder. The most surprising thing to Marinette was Chloe, though. Chloe had started to stop draping herself over Adrien all the time, and took a more reserved approach, acting more like friends. And now, Chloe was also glaring at Nadine. At one point, Chloe looked back at Marinette, and gestured at her phone. Marinette looked down and, to her amazement, saw a new text. From Chloe.

Chloe :( : We need to talk. Meet me at the front doors during lunch.

Marinette was astonished. Chloe, willingly talking to her? Asking to meet up? Through text? Marinette didn’t even remember that Chloe had her number. Her mind was reeling to the point that she decided to humor the drama queen, and meet up with her. She sent a text to Alya, canceling their plans for lunch, and waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally, the lunch bell rang, and the two girls jumped up, almost running to the front doors. As soon as Marinette arrived, Chloe grabbed her by the arm and dragged her along.

“We are going to lunch. Come one.”

Marinette stumbled along as she was dragged by the arm. She waved an awkward wave at Alya and Nino, who were looking on like they were planning on following. She held up her hand, telling them to stay. They did, reluctantly.

Chloe pulled her into a cafe, and sat her into a booth that was obviously set aside for her.

“I know that something is going on between you and Adrien, so don’t bother trying to hide it. Also, I will not try to get between the two of you, that is not what this is about. I care about his happiness, and I can see that you make him happy.”

Marinette could only stare at the blond sitting across from her. “Well then, why are we here?”

“Nadine. She needs to go. I don’t care how, I don’t care where she goes. She needs to go.”

Chloe had a look of steel in her eyes, telling Marinette that in this respect, they were allies. Chloe was telling her about this, because Marinette had the reason to do something about it. They were to work together in this respect.

“OK. What are we going to do?”

*.*.*

Adrien was very confused. And awkward. But mainly upset. He had walked Nadine into the school, telling her that the seats all around him were all filled up, and her only reaction was: “We’ll just have to fix that, now won’t we?”

The result was Marinette sitting as far from him as was possible in the classroom. He supposed that it was his own fault, he had mentioned Marinette to Nadine the previous night, and she obviously didn’t like what she had heard. Nadine was jealous of Marinette, and Marinette was likely getting jealous of Nadine. Oh god, this was going to be fun.

Adrien also had another massive problem: Nadine was in the room right next to his. If she heard anything, she would investigate, and see that he was gone whenever he was Chat Noir. He had to be extra careful now. Maybe he should ask Nathalie for help in that regard, she would know what to do.

Adrien had planned to talk to Marinette during lunch, but she just about flew out of the door when the bell rang. So did Chloe. That was strange. Adrien followed Marinette, and what he saw surprised him: Chloe was standing by the front doors, and when Marinette arrived, Chloe grabbed her arm and dragged her away. Adrien was about to follow, when Nadine snaked her arms around his waist.

“Well, those two seem to be drama queens, running out of class like that. Come on, Adrien, lets go get something to eat.”

With that, Nadine dragged him down the street to a cafe that she had seen on the way to school. Adrien looked around, remembering this place. Chloe liked to come here often and… there she is. With Marinette sitting across from her. The two were talking, Chloe looking determined and Marinette looking grim. Chloe said something, and waited for Marinettes’ reaction. Marinette looked down, obviously thinking about something troubling, then looked up with a look of determination that matched Chloe. It was truly a terrifying sight.

“Adrien, you need to order. Adrien! Oh, he’ll have what I’m having.”

Adrien looked back to see the waiter walking away, and dearly hoped that Nadine got something good. But, she was a model, and Adrien knew all too well what models ate.

“Ah, thanks Nadine. I suppose that I spaced out for a second. What did you get?”

“Never mind that. What were you looking at?”

Alarm bells sprang to life in Adriens’ mind. If she knew that Chloe and Marinette were here, she could get worse than Chloe on a bad hair day. He had to get them out of here. He pulled out his phone and frantically typed under the table, not caring about typos.

*.*.*

Marinette was listening to Chloe, when both of their phones went off at the same time. They looked down and saw that they both had a text from Adrien.

Adrien <3 : yoi ned ti gry pit og hete. Nsdune and I sew here and dhe wsntd ti get yiu iut.

“What is he saying?” Chloe looked at her phone, trying to decipher the text.

“You need to get out of here. Nadine and I are here and she wants to get you out.” Marinette knew that was what it meant. She had experience deciphering Chat Noirs texts during battles where they had to stay silent.

Marinette and Chloe looked up and scanned the cafe, looking for the duo.

“There!” Chloe pointed behind Marinette. Turning she saw the two sitting, but Nadine was standing, saying something to Adrien, who looked right at them. Hands grabbed Marinette by the face, and she found herself being pulled into Chloes’ face.

*.*.*

“I have to go to to the bathroom.”

Adrien turned and saw that the bathroom led her right past the table with Chloe and Marinette. He met the blue eyes of Marinette, and tried to convey urgency, but was interrupted. Chloe grabbed Marinette, and pulled her in. For a kiss. She also wrapped a scarf around the distinctive hair of Marinette, hiding it from view. Nadine passed, giving them a quick awkward look, and made her way into the bathroom.

*.*.*

“If you tell anyone about that, I promise that I will end you.”

Chloe was whispering into her ear. They were not in a proper kiss, but a stage kiss. Their lips were right next to each other, and a scarf wrapped around Marinette. To any outside observer, they would look like they were passionately kissing. And, that posed a problem with this situation.

“Chloe, people saw us walk in, and sit right here. Nadine didn’t, but several other people did. You are the mayors’ daughter. And now, you are kissing me. You know what they’ll think.”

The color left Chloe as she leaned back.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry!!! Let’s go back to the school and hope for the best. I didn’t see any paparazzi...”

The instant they arrived back at the classroom, Alya grabbed Marinette and yanked her to the side of the room, whisper-shouted “What the hell is this?” and shoved her phone into Marinettes’ face. It was a picture of Chloe and Marinette, sitting in the cafe, apparently kissing, while Chloe reached around Marinette in a gesture that seemed romantic.

“It is actually very simple, we were thinking about how to get Nadine to back off of Adrien. Where did you get this picture?” Marinette hoped that it was from Alya following them to the cafe and taking a picture herself. But it was not so.

Alya hit the corner of the picture, having it shrink down to size, showing a quickly written article on a popular news site. The headline read “Is Paris’ own princess coming out of the closet?”, and was asking for information about the girl getting kissed. It was quick, merely an article to hold over until the full article was written and released.

Marinette looked around, and was relieved to see that nobody was paying special attention to her or Chloe, so she could have some piece and quiet until…

Sabrina screeched, and swung to Chloe. “What is this, Chloe?” Sabrina was showing Chloe her phone, and Chloe immediately grabbed it, turning off the screen.

“Not your business, that’s what, Sabrina. I’ll tell you later.”

Alix perked up. “What is this about?”

Sabrina wrenched her phone out of Chloes’ hand. “This.” Sabrina showed her phone to everyone in the class. It merely showed the web page, not the picture, but everyone knew the layout. They all pulled out their phones, and looked at the news.

“Chloe, I didn’t know that about you. Since when?”

“Wow Chloe, that’s actually pretty neat.”

“Who is the lucky girl?”

“She looks pretty familiar.”

“She has pigtails, and dark hair. That’s all that is needed. Who do we know has dark pigtails?” Max, of course, is the one who figured it out and said it gracelessly.

Everyone gasped, and looked at Marinette. They looked between her and their phones, not believing it. As one, as if they rehearsed it for days, they let out a singular phrase. “What the fuck?”

Marinette felt her knees go weak, barely managing to stay upright. “It-… well-… we-…” She couln’t think enough to bring words to her mouth. They all looked at her, eyes wide, then started laughing.

*.*.*

Adrien walked into the classroom, trying to ignore Nadine hanging off of his arm. When he entered, the class was in the middle of a heavy silence, then everyone started to laugh. He looked for the source, and found Marinette, standing by the wall, with Alya standing shocked behind her. Marinette looked like nothing more than a frightened rabbit facing down a hound. She turned and ran down to the door, not even looking at him as she sprinted into the hall. He expected to hear the distinctive laugh from the other side of the room, but didn’t. He looked at Chloe, and was met with something he had never seen. Chloe looked like she was about to cry, and had no idea what to do. Then, he knew what this was all about: the kiss in the cafe had been found out, and now everyone with a phone knew. Adrien turned, looking out the door to where Marinette had vanished.

“Oh, no.”

Chapter Text

Adrien parted ways with Nadine as soon as he entered the house. He looked at Nathalie, and gave her a signal that said that he had some Chat business to take care of. He closed his door and went immediately to his computer. Pulling up several news sites, he looked up the kiss. What he found was not good, nearly every news station had picked up the kiss. And, several of them had found out who Marinette was, and where she lived. Someone had released the information to the public.

There was a knock at his door, and Nathalie entered the room. “What is the trouble, Adrien?”

“This might not seem like an issue, but believe me, it might be more of an issue than Nadine being here.” Adrien gestured to his monitors, letting them tell the tale.

“So, Nadine being here makes you have to be more careful, but how does this make it worse?”

“The press will be constantly watching Marinettes’ house. She will not be able to leave as Ladybug without being seen.” Nathalie thought for a moment.

“You should call Marinette and talk to her. She might be able to give insight to her situation.”

Adrien grabbed his phone and let Nathalie lead him to a more soundproof area of the house. It would not do to have Nadine overhear what he had to say.

Dialing Marinettes’ number, he waited. Marinette picked up quickly. “Hello, Adrien. I am sorry, but I am busy.”

“Wait, I need to talk-”

The line went dead. Adrien stared at his phone. At the end, there was another voice, one that he was certain belonged to Chloe. What was she doing with Marinette?

*.*.*

Marinette sat in her desk chair, while Chloe took the lounge.

“What can we do about the reporters that are now hounding my footsteps? I can’t sneeze without pictures being taken.”

Chloe leaned back, thinking. “I do not want to tarnish my reputation, since it will also ruin my father. I also do not want to put the whole thing onto your shoulders, or they will be out for blood. I think that we could chalk it up to experimentation? You know, finding out about yourself?”

Marinette thought it over. “That would work, if it were anyone but the two of us. Everyone and their dog knows that we don’t like each other.”

Chloe seemed to shrink into herself. “Yeah, you’re right.” Her voice came out so soft, that Marinette could barely hear it.

“Right?” Marinette was looking at Chloe, who was hunched and looking at the floor. “If it helps, I don’t hate you.”

Chloe looked up, startled. “You don’t? But I torment you so often!”

Marinette gave a short laugh. “Yes, but you never let it get too bad. You drag me down, but you never did anything truly terrible. The closest you got was the diary incident. I never truly hated you. I just got fed up with your shit is all.”

Chloe gaped. “Did you just-… you did… you just said...”

“Shit? I say it all the time.”

“But, you always seemed so innocent! I mean, you never seemed like the type!” Chloe was staring.

“Yeah, that’s what Adrien said. I thought the same of him until I overheard him say ‘holy fuck’ the other day.” Marinette laughed.

“You have corrupted my poor sunshine child!!” Chloe held her hand against her chest in mock shock, a gesture that Marinette didn’t think she would ever see.

“Well, someone had to do it. Might as well have been another ‘sunshine child’.” Marinette smiled, and Chloe gave a smile back.

Marinette suddenly realized that she was holding a conversation with Chloe. Not only that, she was enjoying it, bantering, and having a good time. Her phone rang, and Marinette saw that it was Adrien. She looked at Chloe and rolled her eyes. “Speak of the devil.” Marinette answered “Hello, Adrien. I am sorry, but I am busy.”

Chloe looked up. “Wait, Adrien is calling you?”

Marinette had already hung up the phone. “Yeah, but we still have something to discuss. I like your idea, especially since I needed a good way to tell my parents. I guess that telling all of Paris would do the trick.”

Chloe gaped. “Wait, you’re-… but Adrien...”

Marinette was surprised at how many times she had rendered Chloe speechless within the last few minutes. “Well, I am neither straight nor lesbian. I’m right in the middle, in the magical realm called Bisexual.”

Chloe laughed. “After the kiss, I think I might be too!” Chloe suddenly went scarlet and shut her mouth, turning her gaze to everything except Marinette.

It was Marinettes’ turn to be speechless. Did Chloe just… “You mean that… you liked it?”

Chloe nodded.

Marinette laughed, and Chloe managed a weak smile, obviously embarrassed. Marinette wheeled her chair to Chloe and grabbed her hand. “Don’t worry. I liked it too. More than I thought I would. And it wasn’t even a real kiss!”

The smile that lit up Chloes’ face was dazzling. Marinette couldn’t help but smile along. Chloe squeezed Marinettes’ hand. “Well, I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me after this.”

“No, I do, actually. I would like to be your friend, now that I have seen this side of you. I know why Adrien put up with you so much, now. You are actually sorta… nice. Sometimes.”

Chloe smiled. “I think that I should get going. I will schedule an interview with some of the news stations soon, and we can put this business behind us. We will just be two teenage girls who met up to try to settle our differences, and things got complicated. Keep it short and sweet. Deal?”

Marinette nodded, and Chloe started for the trapdoor. Marinette called out “Chloe?” When the blond turned back, Marinette mumbled “Thank you.”

Chloe smiled and went down the trapdoor. Marinette heard the distinctive voice come in from the window, and then the crowd dispersed.

*.*.*

Adrien waited patiently for the reporters to leave. He knew that what he was doing was risky, but even Nathalie said that he needed to talk to Marinette. He was laying down on the roof of the bakery, right next to the balcony, waiting for some sort of all clear. He heard Chloe exit the bakery and give a short speech to the crowd of paparazzi. After a while, they left, leaving the way clear for him to go onto the balcony.

Tapping on the trapdoor, he was let in by a bewildered Marinette.

“I though that I told you I was busy.” came the scolding tone.

“I heard Chloe say something before you hung up. I knew that she would leave soon.” Adrien transformed back and sat on the lounge. “We need to talk.”

“Give me a second, first. I need to tell my parents that you are here. I assume that this is about superhero duties?”

At Adriens’ nod, Marinette went down her stairs. After a few seconds, Tom poked his head into the trapdoor. “Adrien, my boy, why don’t you come on down. There is no need to keep secrets now, and we might be able to help.”

Adrien nodded, still not used to having Marinettes’ parents help them like this. He walked down the stairs, and sat at the table next to Marinette.

“So, something has come up that might make going on patrol… difficult. I have a guest staying at my house, named Nadine Trachire. The walls of my house are rather… well… not soundproof, so any loud noises I make will be heard. Nadine was set in the room next to mine, so she will be able to hear what I do in my room. I can’t even hold conversations with Plagg without tipping her off.”

Marinette stepped in as well. “There is also another development. As everyone here knows, Chloe took it upon herself to kiss me. Well, it was a stage kiss, but to everyone else, we kissed. We just came up with a way to make the problem go away for now, but until that happens, I don’t think that I can go on patrol from the balcony like I usually do. I will have to slip away and go from somewhere else.”

There was a silence while everyone thought of a solution to the problem.

Sabine spoke first. “Adrien, I think that if you talked to Nathalie, she might be able to make arrangements for a temporary area for you to leave through. Marinette, I don’t know how to solve your situation.”

Tom nodded. “I think that you might have to slip out the back door, and try to evade the news sharks.”

Marinette nodded. “I think I can handle that. If needed, Adrien can help make a distraction to keep them from seeing me.”

Adrien nodded. “I think that Chat Noir walking into a bakery to buy sweets will make more headlines than some girl who kissed the mayors’ daughter.”

Tom and Sabine winked. After another quick conversation, Adrien pulled Marinette away from the group.

“There is another thing about Nadine that I think you should know.” Adrien pulled in a breath, not wanting to say anything. “She thinks that we are dating seriously. She honestly thinks that we are in a strong relationship, and nothing I say persuades her. She just thinks that I am joking around. I’m sorry, but that is going to put a damper on things.”

Marinette looked back, disappointment evident on her face. “I guess that I have to deal with it until she leaves.”

Adrien looked down at his feet. “She is staying for the rest of the school year.”

Adrien heard Marinette gasp. Then, silence. He looked up and saw Marinette in the middle of a deep thought that she was obviously not a fan of. “I guess that she has to go through with it. But I will have nothing to do with it.”

Adrien frowned. “What? What will who do?”

Marinette looked at him, her eyes holding a strange emotion. “Chloe came up with a plan for Nadine. That is what we were doing in the cafe. I said no, but she is right. There is no other way.”

Adrien thought of everything that Chloe would come up with, but came up with nothing helpful. “What did she suggest?”

Marinette bit her lip, clasping her hands behind her back, and twisted her torso, obviously upset with what she was about to say. “Chloe did some… digging, and found that Nadine doesn’t have a very good background. And Chloe wants to hang that over her head until she backs off of you.”

Adrien was struck dumb. “Blackmail. You want to blackmail Nadine.”

Marinette looked up, eyes wide. “No! I don’t want to! But, that is all that Chloe and I came up with that would actually work.”

“I will not let you blackmail a friend. Nadine may be a pain in the ass, but she is still a friend.”

Marinette wilted. “That’s why I don’t want anything to do with it. But, Nadine isn’t good for you. Chloe was willing to team up with me, just to make you happy. But, this isn’t what I had in mind.”

Adrien looked her in the eye. “Let me talk to her. I will get her to see reason.”

Marinette looked like she was ready to cry, so Adrien pulled her into a hug. After she seemed to have calmed down, Adrien pulled away. “I need to go, before anyone misses me.”

Marinette nodded, and Adrien vaulted away, back to his house. As he approached, he heard a shrill whistle. He saw Nathalie waving her arms by the door to the garden, beckoning him down. He turned and landed in front of her, transforming back.

“Nadine is waiting in your room. I said that you took a walk in the garden to clear your head, and that you would return soon. I’m sorry, it was the best I could do. I would recommend hurrying.”

Adrien took her words to heart, and jogged to his room. He opened the door, and saw Nadine sit up from the couch, a surprised expression on her face. “Adrien, hi! Thank you for coming by!” She stood and walked over to him, getting uncomfortably close. “I was having trouble with my homework. Math has never been a good subject to me. Can you help me?”

Adrien closed his eyes. Sighing, he nodded. He was going to tell her, but first, he needed an opening. And she sure as hell wouldn’t give him one easily.

Chapter Text

Adrien deeply regretted his choice. It was two weeks after he decided to do something himself, and he still had yet to make any progress in that department, since she never let him talk about anything to do with their relationship. The only thing that he managed to do was convince her to leave him to his own devices after 8:00, but there was a trade-off. He was just about attached at her hip at all times before that. He did manage to convince her that she had to go off on her own during akuma attacks, since akumas would be more likely to take an interest in larger groups of people.

Marinette was also obviously steaming at the ears. Adrien could not fulfill his date promise to her because Nadine would undoubtedly retaliate against Marinette. On the subject of Marinette, there was another activity that she had started to do that mildly concerned Adrien. Marinette had started to hang out with Chloe more, much to the chagrin of Alya, Nino, and just about everybody in the class. But, Adrien had insight that nobody else did. He knew that Marinette was not only acting as a friend to Chloe, but also as the voice of reason. And, he knew that whatever the two of them did to Nadine, it would not be overboard, and Marinette would be totally honest about it.

Adrien was browsing the Ladyblog in his room when he heard the distinctive knocking of Nadine at his door. Cursing to himself, he went to the door, letting the small girl in. She rushed in, nearly in tears.

“I cannot believe her!! That… that… that bitch!!” She was on the verge of crying, but still had enough anger of… something.

Adrien took a step back. He had never heard her swear before, not ever. Tentatively, he dared to ask: “What did this… bitch do?”

Her eyes snapped to his, and he found himself wishing he stayed silent.

“That Chloe...” oh, that made sense. “...and that Marinette...” oh no “...decided to take it upon themselves to spread rumors about me, that I am forcing you to date me. What’s worse is that the entire school is believing them!”

Adrien took a few seconds to take it all in. This was something that he would believe Chloe would do, but with Marinette as a buffer, it shouldn’t have happened.

“Where did you hear this?” Adrien had to trace this to the true source, especially since he thought that it was a fabricated lie.

“That redheaded friend of yours, Alya. She confronted me about it, saying that she would post it on that ridiculous blog of hers.”

Adrien had heard enough of this. He comforted her enough that she would go back to her room, and immediately turned into his alter ego and went to a secluded roof. Transforming back, he grabbed his phone and called Alya.

“Hello?” her voice seemed to be coming from a distance, like she was on speakerphone.

“Alya, hey, this is Adrien. Can we talk? It’s important.”

“Yeah, of course, what’s up?”

“It’s rather… sensitive.”

“Don’t worry, it’s just Mari. I’m guessing that it is about something involving that?” Adrien was relieved, he didn’t have to find Marinette around the city somewhere.

“That is perfect. Um, did you happen to talk to Nadine about a rumor that she is forcing me to date her?”

Adrien was nearly deafened by the sudden shrieks coming from the phone. There was Marinette yelling about the fact that Alya didn’t have to do anything about Nadine, and Alya yelling that she did not do it. They went on for about a minute, before they silenced.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t think that you really did, I was just covering my bases. Now that I know that it isn’t true, I think I know her plan. Nadine told me that you talked to her about the rumor, and that it was being spread by Mari and Chloe. Since it is false, I can guess that she is currently making a post about it under a pseudonym, and then posting it on the school website. Then, everyone will see it, and they will complain. Now, I have a job for you. I will delay us tomorrow morning, I want you to tell everyone about the post, and then tell them to ignore it. That will give light to the truth, and she will be revealed in the lie. It won’t stop her, but it will throw a wrench in her attempts to discredit Mari and Chloe.”

There was silence on the other end, and then the two girls started to laugh. Finally, Marinettes’ voice broke through.

“That is a hilariously over-complicated plan. She was planning on telling you about the rumors, then when you go to school, everyone is talking about it, and when you look into it, there is a post on the school website, probably under a username having to do with me or Chloe. To you, the rumor started, and then someone posted it, and you would no longer trust the two of us. Wow.”

Adrien laughed as well, thinking the same as the two of them. Nadine was getting desperate now, which meant that they were getting to her. Well, sort of. They hadn’t done much. Adrien stopped laughing when he was struck by a thought.

“I have to get home.” With that, Adrien hung up and dashed back home, landing in his room just as a light knock came on his door. Becoming himself again, he answered and saw Nadine standing there again.

“I’m sorry, I know that this is late, but I still wanted to talk to you.”

Adrien stepped to the side, letting her into his room again.

The two talked about inconsequential things until it was time for them to go to sleep. Her actions proved Adriens’ suspicions. Nadine was not getting desperate, she was actually more devious than he had thought. She had wanted him to find out, she was testing his allegiance to her. If she heard him on the phone, she would know that he did not believe her. She was testing him, she didn’t care about Marinette or Chloe, he had asked them to back down. She was making sure that he was hers, and now she thought she knew. Adrien was just digging himself down deeper. Fuck.

*.*.*

Marinette was just saying goodbye to Alya when they both got texts from Adrien.

Adrien <3: Don’t bother with telling the class tomorrow. This was not what it seemed. She was testing me. I’ll explain later.

Marinette and Alya exchanged glances. “I guess that we fight a devious foe.” Marinette smiled and nodded, feeling that they were just seeing the beginning of Nadine’s true ability.

Marinette arrived home, and immediately pulled up the school blog. Sure enough, there it was, a post that condemned Nadine, saying that she was just forcing poor Adrien to date her, in an attempt to make her more popular. It was posted by @QueenoftheworldCB. Marinette almost laughed. Chloe would present herself as the Princess of Paris, since it had a better ring to it and was less cliché.

The next day, the post was all the craze, but everyone had figured out that it wasn’t Chloe, using nearly the same logic as Marinette. What they wanted to know was who posted it. Several theories were thrown around, but none of them were accurate. After all, who would want to throw themselves under the bus like that? Marinette looked at Chloe, and they had a silent conversation. Chloe knew that it was Nadine who posted it, and she also knew the plan Nadine had set in motion. Marinette sighed and went to her seat beside Lila.

Adrien walked into the classroom, with Nadine hanging on his side, and Kim muttered “Well, the poster isn’t exactly wrong.” which set the class giggling. Marinette giggled as well, but cut it short when Nadine looked at her. Nadine gave her a cocky grin, which was noticed by the entire class.

To Marinettes’ surprise, Lila elbowed her in the ribs. “Did she post that on the school website herself?”

“Yes, I do believe so. She is trying to make me jealous, since she knows that I like Adrien. She is also trying to discredit Chloe, which is why she used that username.”

Lila stared incredulously. “Not even I would stoop to that level of petty. I mean, I did lie to him, but I was just trying to make people like me, not try to make others pity me.”

Marinette laughed. “Well, not everyone can be morally upstanding.”

Lila gave her a smoldering look. “And what is that supposed to mean? Are you talking about when I lied about knowing Ladybug?”

Marinette looked Lila in the eyes. “I do not blame you for wanting to make a name for yourself. God knows that I have made mistakes in my life, especially when trying to make Adrien notice me. I one time called him, and it went to voicemail. Instead of hanging up, I threw the phone to my bed and ranted about how gorgeous I find him. It recorded it, and so I stole his phone to delete it.”

Lila gave a genuine laugh at that. “Wow, the moral, uptight Marinette stole a phone just because she said something embarrassing?”

Marinette laughed as well, pulling out her notes. “I may be morally upstanding, but I am also an idiot sometimes.”

Marinette had thought of several ways that the day could go, but none of her thoughts had included becoming accidental friends with Lila, of all people. This was turning out to be a very interesting month. Chloe had recently done an interview saying that the kiss was merely an experiment, which made the people back off, but that still happened. Adrien now had a girl who acted worse than Chloe, and Marinette was friends with the one person who also absolutely hated her. Well, this was going to be fun.

*.*.*

Adrien sat in his seat, uncomfortable as he usually was, with the second body growing out of his arm. He couldn’t get something out of his head, though. Marinette had been laughing with Lila, who he knew Marinette could barely stand. They had laughed together. Willingly. Adrien could barely believe this. He was forced into a fake dating situation that he did not agree with, and Marinette was laughing with Lila. What else did the universe have in store for him?

Chapter Text

Marinette was sitting with Chloe and Sabrina when Alya walked over. “Hey, girl, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Chloe looked up at Alya. “Of course, we were just talking about some fashion. We can continue later.”

Alya looked genuinely shocked. Chloe didn’t insult her, or anything, just said some thing nice and left it at that!!

Marinette stood, and followed Alya, giving a wave to the blond.

“Ok, first things first. What was that?” Alya was giving Marinette a look that said that no nonsense was to be given. “Chloe was actually nice to me, and Lila laughed in class. Laughed!!”

Marinette smiled impishly. “Well, Lila figured out that Nadine posted the article yesterday, and she talked about how she would not stoop to such a level. After that, we just talked about some of the mistakes we have made.”

Alya gave her a blank look. “But Lila was the one who lied to everyone about knowing Ladybug, and several other things.”

“Yes, but there are two differences. Lila wanted people to like her, not force Adrien into her arms through pity. Also, Lila admits that it was a mistake, and feels bad about it.”

“I still don’t trust her, though.”

Marinette laughed. “What makes you think that I do? She is still the person who lied and then became a massive pain in the ass akuma.”

There was a sudden commotion from the end of the hallway, and the two girls turned to see that Chloe and Sabrina were not sitting idle when Marinette left the conversation. They were dragging Adrien along with them, but Nadine was nowhere in sight.

“Hey, girls. Adrien here is going to be a part of the new plan that I have to get rid of Nadine, without stooping to super low troubles. It should even result in Nadine leaving the Agreste residence. Of her own free will, of course.”

Marinette and Alya exchanged looks. Alya spoke up first. “Well, I suppose that we have no other choice.”

“No, we don’t. Now listen up. We have to do this just right if we have a chance. Adrikins, I’m sorry, but your reputation might get a little tainted. Mari, could you include Lila in these plans? If this works, I think that I might be able to solve a bunch of problems at once!”

Later, when class had resumed after lunch, the group had put the plan in motion. Chloe approached the desk where Nadine sat hugging Adrien. “Nadine, dear, could I talk to you for a minute?”

Nadine looked at Adrien, who nodded. “Sure!!”

Chloe led Nadine to the back where Marinette and Lila sat. “I’m so sorry, but we have some bad news to tell you.” Nadine looked at Chloe, a shocked look on her face. Chloe continued “As you may know, Gabriel Agreste is a little… controlling of Adrien. I’m guessing that you were told that you have the go-ahead to date Adrien?” Nadine nodded. “Well, I have some bad news. Gabriel has contacted me, saying that Adrien does not need a model for a girlfriend, he would prefer that he dates a fashion designer, so Adrien can learn some of the craft of making clothes.”

At this, Nadine started shouting “IF YOU THINK-” Marinette slapped her hand over Nadines’ mouth, silencing her. After putting her finger to her lips, she released her hand. Nadine continued, still upset, but quieter. “If you think that I am going to fall for this, you have something else coming.”

Lila spoke up. “I tried to date him, and was even given the go-ahead from Gabriel as well, but as soon as my lies were uncovered, Gabriel threw me aside and pretended that I didn’t exist. It was bad enough that I even got akumatized over it. Gabriel Agreste is an opportunist, and only does what he thinks will make Adrien better, not happy.”

Nadine looked at the three girls, not knowing whether or not to believe them. “So, Gabriel told you to tell me? Why not tell me himself?”

Chloe gave her an understanding smile. “Well, Gabriel does not concern himself with such petty things as making sure that the people in his charge do what they need to do. He tells others to do it for him. The reason that he told me to do it specifically, is because I live in a hotel, and have certain… abilities. I understand if this news would make you too uncomfortable to be in the same house as Adrien, so I have a room set aside if you need it.”

“Does Lila have a room there?” Nadine looked at the girl in question, desperately grasping for something to grab onto.

“Yes, I do. I live in a different area than you would, but I do live there.” That was the one thing that Lila said in this conversation that was not a lie.

This whole plan centered around the assumption that Nadine did not have the specific consent of Gabriel Agreste, and so if she tried to ask him, Gabriel would say that Nadine was not good for him. Adrien was going to go home and talk about Nadine and how she acted (embellishing the truth a little, in order to convince him) so Gabriel would say that Nadine did not have any sort of permission to date his son. Then, Adrien would suggest a designer for a girlfriend, so he could learn the trade. Gabriel would almost certainly agree, and by the time Gabriel realized that there was more in the relationship than professionalism, it would be too late. The hard part about that is that Adrien had to make Gabriel think that it was his own idea, rather than Adrien asking him to do it.

Nadine finally succumbed. “I suppose that it fits with what I know of Monsieur Agreste. Do we know who the designer is?”

Marinette looked at Nadine with a pained expression, which wasn’t very hard. Marinette hated the deception, but she had to do it for Adriens’ sake. Nadine was suffocating him, making it hard for him to have even a small amount of freedom. With a shaky voice, Marinette said “Me. I am the designer that Adrien is to date.”

Nadine looked at her, astonished. “I didn’t know that you were a designer.”

“I am. I’m sorry that I am the one to do this to you, but it is out of my hands.”

Nadine looked down. “I guess that you will make him happy. He talks a lot about you, and he is always so happy whenever he sees you. Treat him well, will you?”

Marinette nodded. “I will. And you get someone who treats you well, and doesn’t have a father who does this to you.”

Nadine nodded. “After school, I will go pack my things.”

“I hope that we can still be friends?” Marinette held out her hand. Nadine smiled weakly, and shook it.

*.*.*

Adrien was sitting in his room when Nadine walked to the door and knocked. When Adrien let her in, he saw tears in her eyes. She had just gotten back from talking to his father, and he had delivered his opinion.

Adrien had been scared of his part of the plan, since Nadine would attach herself onto his hip, and he would not get the opportunity, but Chloe stepped in. She invited Nadine over to look at some of the rooms that she could stay in and choose which one she wanted. Adrien was glad to see that she did not seem too upset. Maybe the lie was that convincing.

Adrien had gone home and talked to his father, which resulted in the strangest conversation he had ever had with his father.

“Father, I don’t think that Nadine should remain here. She is continually draping herself onto me, like I am some sort of artifact for her to show off to the world. I just learned that she intends on forcing me into dating her, no matter what I say about it. I came here to-”

“Adrien.” That one word was enough to make Adrien stop in his tracks. If this plan was to succeed, he needed the full support of his father. “I know what you are doing.” Fuck.

“Father, I can explain.”

“I trust that you have a plan, then?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

Adrien didn’t know what to make of that comment, so he decided that the truth was more fitting. “Yes, father. Chloe has agreed on giving her a room at the hotel if she wishes.”

“And, what if I don’t say yes to this? What if I think that you dating her is the best way for you to grow as a person?”

Adrien sighed. “Well, I suppose that I would have to fight you on that path, father.”

Gabriels’ mouth twitched the tiniest bit. “And, what else did you have planned? An elaborate scheme, I’m guessing.”

Adrien smiled at that. “No, father. That is the extent of this plan.”

“And what brought this plan into being? Why are you so adamant on not having Nadine date you?”

“There is another girl in my class. You would like her! She is a designer, so she could also… help me grow, as you put it. She-”

“Adrien.” That word again. “I fully approve of this. I have watched Ms. Trachire since she arrived, and since then, I have seen a notable decrease in your grades and quality of work at the shoots. I do not think that Ms. Trachire is a good fit for you.”

Adriens’ mouth fell open. “Wait, when did you reach this conclusion?”

“A few weeks ago.”

“And… why didn’t you do anything then?”

“I thought that you enjoyed the company of Ms. Trachire.”

Adriens’ mind reeled at this information. “I… understand. I think.”

Gabriels’ mouth twitched again. “I shall talk with Ms. Trachire, and help you in this situation. When that is finished, and you finish helping her to the hotel, please tell me about this other girl who has captured your interest.”

“Marinette. Her name is Marinette. Thank you, father!!”

Now, Adrien sat in his room, and watched as Nadine walked to his couch, barely holding in the tears.

“I guess that I was just deluding myself.” Nadines’ voice came out as more of a choked sob.

Adrien sat next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry. My father can be a little controlling. Can we still be friends?”

Nadine nodded. They sat on the couch, talking for several more minutes until Nadine went to her room to start packing.

Once she was done, Adrien helped her put her things into the car, but Nadine refused his offer to help her at the hotel, saying that the bellhops can help her there.

So, Adrien watched as the car drove down the street, towards the hotel. Adrien jumped when a hand rested on his shoulder. “Adrien. I would like to talk to you about this other girl.”

Adrien followed his father into the dining room, and they sat at the table. “What would you like to know?”

His father looked at him with a piercing gaze. “I would like to know at least something about this mystery girl who has captured my sons’ heart.”

Adrien smiled as well. “Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She is a fashion designer, who one one of your contests at school, the derby hat.”

“Yes, I remember her. She was talented.”

“She is more than talented. She is amazing!! She...”

Adrien and his father talked about Marinette for an hour before his father was forced to go back to work. Adrien walked into his room with a massive grin on his face. He closed his door, and made sure to do it as gently as possible, taking a large amount of delight in that simple fact. It had been years since he had ever had a conversation with his father that lasted even half that long that didn’t result in him slamming the door.

Adrien lay back on his bed, looking at his alarm clock, seeing that it was about 30 minutes until patrol. Adrien wandered around his room, trying to find something to do for 30 minutes, but his happy mind did not let him focus long enough on anything, so he just circled his room for half an hour.

As soon as it was time, he transformed, and rocketed out of the window. He was at the meeting spot in record time, but Ladybug was already there. She smiled when she saw him coming, but it seemed to be a little off.

“What’s wrong, bugaboo?”

She shook her head. “Nothing, I just don’t like how we went about getting rid of Nadine. I don’t like lying.”

Adrien nodded. “I also didn’t like it, but it was the only way. There… was a slight hitch in the plan, though.”

Ladybug looked up, her eyes wide. “What happened?”

“My father found out what I was doing.”

Her eyebrows scrunched up. “But… I got a text from Chloe saying that Nadine arrived.”

Adrien was looking down, but he looked up slightly, giving her a mischievous grin. “My father was totally on board with the plan. He apparently saw that Nadine was smothering me, so he was disapproving. So, he played along. And, he asked about you.”

“What did you say?”

“Well, I would repeat the conversation, but we don’t have an hour to spare.”

Ladybug looked shocked. “An hour? And you’re this happy?”

Adrien smiled. “There was not a single part of that conversation that I did not like. He was asking me genuine questions, and seemed to be taking a large interest in my happiness. He likes you, and wants to meet you soon.”

Ladybug stared back at him, dumbfounded. “He wants to meet me?”

“Well, he wants to meet the girl dating his son, so yeah.”

The scream of happiness was heard all throughout the block, prompting several people to yell back at her to be quiet.

Chapter Text

Marinette shuffled her feet, holding on tightly to Adriens’ hand. Gabriel Agreste sat at the end of the table, looking at her intensely, a folder open in front of him. “Hello, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Adrien has told me a lot about you.” Gabriel looked down to the folder. “You aspire to be a designer, I see. You made the pigeon hat for my competition at the school. Very impressive work. You have nothing here that I would deem to be bad.” He looked back up to look her in the eyes. “You have my blessing to be with my son.”

Marinette let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Adrien gave her hand a squeeze, letting her know that he was also happy at the turnout of the meeting. They sat down for dinner, eating a meal that Adrien never thought his father would allow him to. It was large and had several items that his dietitian had forbid him from ever eating. Marinette watched him eat with gusto, earning some strange looks from his father. The looks were not of anger, but… sympathy? Regret? Marinette couldn’t tell.

After eating, Gabriel sat and talked to them for a little while more, then had to take care of something for work. Before leaving, he turned to address Adrien. “There is a photo shoot tomorrow, at 2:00. It will be heavily involving rings, I’m afraid. You will have to take off that ring you are so fond of.” With that, Gabriel left the room.

Adrien was staring after him in shock, and Marinette was not faring any better. “Hey, maybe I can tag along with you and carry your ring for you?”

Adrien nodded. Plagg zipped out and looked at Adrien. “Hey, kid. I don’t think that you will have anything to worry about. Don’t stress it!”

Tikki came out of Marinettes’ bag. “You know what might happen, Plagg.”

Plagg just gave her a wry smile. “I think that it should be handled just fine, Tikki.”

Tikki opened her mouth to say something, but then just stared at Plagg. “You think?”

Plagg nodded, then turned to Adrien. “You got anything to eat? I’m starving!”

Adrien nodded and went to the kitchen door and yelled something. A few seconds later, he came back with a platter of Camembert. “The cooks caught me sneaking some a few times, and they set up a system where I just walk in and ask for some.”

Marinette nodded, thinking of how curious the cooks must be about the boy who ate tons of cheese every day. Adrien grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs to his room. They sat there for a while, watching TV and joking around until Marinette had to go home.

Adrien walked her to the door, and Marinette spotted Gabriel standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at her. Marinette thought that he must have made the stairs specifically so that he would look intimidating when he stood on them. Gabriel gave her a small smile and a nod before turning and going in the direction of his office. He seemed to be thinking of something.

Marinette walked home, thinking about what Adrien had to do. He had to give up his ring, the one thing that he had to have on him at all times!! What if there was an akuma, and she couldn’t get the ring to him on time?

Once she entered her room, Tikki swooped in front of her. “Don’t worry about Adrien, Marinette. He will be fine!”

Marinette paced her room, agitated. “What if an akuma attacks? What if something goes wrong and he needs cataclysm?”

Tikki stopped Marinette. “He will be fine! Just trust that Plagg knows what he’s doing.”

*.*.*

Adrien sat on the stool used as the prop for the current set of pictures, feeling his finger where his ring should be. Marinette was not allowed to be at the shoot, so it was just with his normal clothes in the changing room. It felt strange to be without his ring, it made him feel twice as vulnerable.

The shoot went on for hours, making Adrien begin to just become the model, not thinking of anything except the next shot. The director then decided that now was the perfect time to yell at an intern who was bringing in coffee. It seemed that the coffee was not the right order, and she was not going to succeed if she could not even bring in coffee correctly. The girl left in tears, and the only thing preventing Adrien from following her with words of sympathy was the camera in his face.

About two minutes later, there was a rumble in the ground, making the entire crew swear. The director pointed at Adrien, saying that they had all they needed, and that he should get out of there. Adrien let instinct take over, and he ran to the bathroom. As soon as he was there, he yelled “PLAGG! CLAWS OUT!”

There was the sensation of being hit by a truck, and Adrien stumbled back.

*.*.*

Marinette sat in her room, waiting for a text from Adrien saying that the shoot was finished. It had been a few hours, but Adrien had warned her that it might take that long. Marinettes’ phone buzzed, and she grabbed it, fumbling with the lock screen. Instead of a text from Adrien, there was an akuma alert, right where the shoot was.

Marinette quickly transformed, and dashed over to the attack location, and soaked it all in. That akuma had to be the strangest akuma Marinette had ever seen. It was dressed in a brown dress that looked like light brown liquid running down her body. Her hair was done up in a bun, except that it had a handle like a mug on it. The bun looked like a mug, or a teacup. What the fuck was this?

The akuma attacked by spraying brown liquid everywhere from her hands. When Marinette got closer, she realized that the liquid was coffee. Marinette saw the director, covered head to toe in coffee, a glower on his face. The akuma was still spraying him, and he didn’t even try to get out of the way. He just stood there, glaring at her with his arms folded.

“At least you got the order right this time!” The director yelled. Marinette slapped her palm to her forehead. The akuma was caused by an intern bringing in the wrong order of coffee? Was Hawkmoth that desperate to have an akuma today?

Marinette jumped to the outstretched arm, holding it down and letting the director stalk away, muttering under his breath. The akuma smiled at Marinette. “Let’s see what happens when we turn up the heat!!”

The akuma aimed her other hand at Marinette. Marinette ducked just as a steaming hot jet of coffee shot out of her palm. Marinette jerked up, throwing her shoulder into the akuma, sending her flying into a stand of lights. Marinette looked around, and saw Chat Noir stumble out of the bathroom, holding his head. He shook his head and looked up to see Marinette standing there. He dashed to her side, grabbing his baton. “What’s up?”

Marinette pointed. “Coffee akuma.”

Chat chuckled. “Well, I did need a good boost of energy.”

Marinette laughed, and then noticed something odd about Chat. Before she could ask about it, hot coffee shot past them, and they jumped apart. Marinette cursed herself for getting distracted, and ran at the akuma. The akuma was ready, though, and ducked to the side, keeping her foot in the way for Marinette to trip over. She hit the ground hard, and rolled over to see the akuma standing over her.

“Let’s see what happens when hot coffee is poured onto someones’ face!” The akuma held out a hand, only to suddenly disappear, being replaced by a silver bar as Chat knocked her aside. Chat held her against a wall as Marinette walked up and grabbed the intern tag that was hanging around the akumas’ neck. Ripping it, Marinette freed then captured the black butterfly. Luckily, the damage was minimal, so the miraculous ladybug charm was not too draining on Tikki.

Marinette just about threw Chat back into the changing room. “Go change, we have something to talk about.”

A few minutes later, Chat jumped onto the roof where Marinette waited, carrying his clothes. “You wanted to talk, My Lady?”

Marinette nodded. “You somehow managed to transform without your miraculous. And, you didn't change.”

Chat nodded, looking at his hand, where the ring was now placed. He reached into a pocket, and bounced his real ring in his palm. It was black, now, with the claw print on it. “Yeah, I suppose I did. 10/10 would not recommend. It hurt like a bitch. You know when you transform, you can feel the magic surge into you from the miraculous? Well, without it, it just slams into you all at once. Also, I am allowed to keep these clothes. They were tailored specifically for me, so I get to keep them.”

Marinette laughed. “Well, I suppose that we should talk to Tikki and Plagg now, see what they have to say.”

Adrien nodded and released his transformation as Marinette released hers. Tikki and Plagg rushed to each other, giving the other a massive bear hug. “YOU DID IT!!” Tikki yelled.

Adrien and Marinette exchanged glances. “He did what?”

Tikki looked over, but it was Plagg who answered. “The miraculous stones are not the magic used to transform you, but they are rather more of a… guide for the power. If someone were to use the power without the guide, they would be overcome by the power, and would likely die. Only a slight few can handle the power without the guide. Tikki has it easier, since she controls creation. It is easier to control creation, but still not easy enough for just anyone, it still takes a select sort of person. Controlling destruction like that, though, has only happened a few times. Ever.”

Adrien looked at Marinette, confusion still evident in his eyes as he slipped on his real ring, now returned to silver. Marinette looked back with no less confusion. Tikki spoke up, then. “I’m sorry, but we can’t tell you more right now. There are still secrets that you are not ready to hear. When you are ready, then we can tell you.”

Marinette and Adrien nodded, transforming back. “Well, bugaboo, we have all this time left. What do you want to do?”

Marinette looked out over the city. “Let’s race. First one to the Eiffel Tower wins!”

With that, she was gone, zipping through the city with practiced ease. Adrien was quick to follow, vaulting along on his baton. If the citizens of Paris looked at them, they would just see the two heroes quickly moving through the city, but in reality, they were just going quickly towards the best place to sit and relax for a while.

Once they reached their destination, they sat and rested against each other. They watched the street below, keeping a loose eye on the goings on down at the street. Marinette leaned her head onto Chats’ shoulder, and he leaned his head onto hers. For now, things were pretty great.

Marinette jumped at a prickling sensation on the back of her neck. It felt like someone was watching them. Marinette looked around, drawing the attention of Chat, as well. Marinette then saw something that did not belong. On the building down below, standing on the roof, was a tall man in a purple suit, and some sort of hood over his face. In one hand was a cane. His figure seemed to be vaguely familiar… tall and lean, sort of like a model, or someone who gets out regularly.

A low growl let Marinette know that Chat saw him as well. A second later, the form turned into a black mass of shapes, and was gone. Marinette knew what the black mass was: butterflies. She knew that because she also knew who the man was.

Somehow, something had changed, and Hawkmoth was beginning to venture out of his lair. He was beginning the hunt for the two heroes.

Chapter Text

Adrien sat in his room, thinking about the events of the day. It was late, but Adrien couldn’t sleep. Plagg floated up to him.

“Don’t worry about Hawkmoth. He is not attacking you directly, yet.”

Adrien shook his head. “That’s only part of it. The thing that I am confused about is why you didn’t say anything about the ‘true wielder of destruction’ thing.”

Plagg shook his head sorrowfully. “If you knew about it before, it might have ruined it. If you knew, you would have second-guessed yourself and automatically stopped the magic from flowing through you like it needed to. For this reason, you cannot tell Marinette that she can also use her Ladybug powers without the earrings.”

Adrien stared. “What?? I can’t tell her that she can do the same?”

Plagg nodded. “To be fair, it might be that she is not a true wielder of creation. If that is the case, using her power like that would kill her.”

Adrien nodded. “What if she is the true wielder?”

Plagg looked at him seriously, a look that Adrien did not see from Plagg except in dire circumstances. “You cannot ‘test’ her, Adrien. These things will KILL her if she is not the true wielder. Trust me, I have seen Chat Noirs who thought that their respective Ladybugs were the true wielder, and tried to test it. It always ended badly.” Satisfied with Adriens’ expression, Plagg continued. “Any wielder of destruction cannot harm the true wielder of creation. Nothing a wielder of destruction does to the true wielder of creation harms the true wielder, not even the cataclysm of a true wielder of destruction. The two also boost each others’ powers, sometimes to a nearly god-like extent. In that eventuality, Tikki and I sometimes have to leave the wielders. You know the saying: ‘power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ That is what happened to Hawkmoth.”

Adrien nodded. “That makes sense. So, what is the catch?”

Plagg sighed. “Well, to achieve that power, one has to use both of the miraculous powers at the same time. They would have to wear both the earrings, and the ring.”

Adrien nodded. “I figured as much. So, what else can the ring do?”

“Well, I can record some sounds and play them through the suit. It can sometimes be good for distractions and such. It was more useful several… hundred years ago. I can also change some physical features.”

Adrien sat forward. “Such as?”

Plagg smiled. “I can change you into whatever I want you to be.”

Adrien smiled again. “Well, we can use that to our advantage. How does one record the sounds to be played?”

“Would you like to try it out?” At Adriens’ nod, Plagg smiled. “Let’s begin.”

Adrien rolled his neck, popping several of the joints, as well as popped his fingers in a cliché way.

“You know, that actually recorded.”

“Seriously? Damn it.”

*.*.*

Marinette looked at the new akuma in distaste. This guy was walking around in a bright pink tuxedo, and whenever he saw a couple, they would start to hug and nothing anyone else did could separate them. It was sorta disconcerting, to be honest.

Chat landed next to her, with his usual grin on. “Well, this akuma really knows how to keep things together.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, and punched him in the arm. “Shut up. We have some serious business to do.”

Chat smiled. “Of course, My Lady.”

Marinette looked back. “I think that the bow tie is the akuma. Let’s be off!”

Chats’ smile turned into a grin. He then jumped off of the building and landed in front of the akuma. “Hey, there! How are you doing?”

The akuma turned and looked at Chat with dead eyes. “Hello, Chat Noir. I am The Tempest. I help people find whoever they love.”

Marinette landed behind him. “The Tempest? How does that name make sense? Those two are not even related!”

The akuma smiled slyly. “Well, tempest comes in when the two I find are not the correct pair.”

With that, the akuma flung out a hand, sending light to shine on two random people who were walking past each other. The light flared red, and the two were sent flying in opposite directions. Chat managed to catch one, and Marinette grabbed the other with her yo-yo.

The akuma laughed. “You cannot make fate make a different decision.”

Marinette was about to make a retort, when the akuma flung his light at Marinette and Chat. The light pulled the two together, and did not let them stop touching each other. The, the akuma attacked.

Marinette and Chat were now at an extreme disadvantage, since they could not stop touching. The akuma always attacked that point of contact, so no matter what direction they moved, one of them got hit.

The akuma was no longer attacking civilians, it was now focusing on them. Marinette remembered the time when Hawkmoth appeared on a rooftop, then started to keep an eye out. Then, she saw it. Hawkmoth himself, standing on a rooftop, watching the fight. That was when Marinette realized what to do. And, she saw the cops on the street.

“HAWKMOTH!!” Marinette pointed to the rooftop. The cops all turned to look, and saw the figure as well. They started to shoot at him, and he turned and jumped into an alleyway. Marinette then turned to face Chat. “Adrien, I have something to admit, since we are not likely to leave.” Chat looked back at her, his face confused. “I don’t actually like you. I was merely trying to elevate myself into the world. I was using you.” Chats’ face became even more confused.

“Marinette-”

“Don’t speak to me, Adrien. I never actually liked you. You are nothing to me.”

Suddenly, a red light brightened between them, and they were flung apart.

*.*.*

Adrien landed with a hard thud. That was when sudden realization hit him. Marinette didn’t mean any of that, she was merely defeating the spell! The spell drew them close, so they were obviously a good couple. He gave Marinette a broad smile, and got up, facing the akuma again.

“Time to finish this little game.”

He extended his baton, and pinned the akuma against a wall, while Ladybug casually strolled up to the victim, and grabbed the bow tie, ripping it in half. With a flourish, she captured and purified the akuma, and extended her fist to bump his.

After that, they went to Marinettes’ house. Sitting at a table, they thought about what the appearances of Hawkmoth would mean.

“I think that he is testing us to see how we fight. Or, he is waiting until an akuma has us pinned down before he comes in himself to take our miraculous.” Adrien was lounging deep in thought. “Either that, or he has been at every battle, and we just haven’t seen him.”

Marinette nodded, also deep in thought. “If your first suggestion is true, then the final battle is coming up.”

Adrien grimaced. “That means that we have to face Hawkmoth soon. In person.”

“We are not ready!” Marinette leaned forward, burying her face in her hands. “We can’t face him! We aren’t ready to face off against another miraculous user!”

Adrien leaned forward, resting a hand on Marinettes’ shoulder. “We can do it, Mari.”

Marinette gave him a small smile and didn’t say anything more. Tom and Sabine walked in and sat next to them.

“Is it true that Hawkmoth himself was there tonight?” Tom looked worried.

Adrien nodded, twisting his mouth at the memory of the dark shape on the building.

“I think that you need a break.” Sabine looked between the two teenage heroes. “A few days rest will do you good. I will talk to Gabriel, and Alyas’ parents, and see if you guys can go on a short trip. Maybe just a weekend of camping. That way, you will be close enough to respond within a short amount of time if the city is attacked.”

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other, shocked. They had never thought of taking a day off. Tom smiled at their expressions. “I will get the phone.”

*.*.*

Marinette sat down in her seat with a huff. She had gotten little sleep the previous day, between talking with her parents, and trying to sleep with the image of Hawkmoth in her mind. When Adrien walked in, he looked to be in much the same state. He had bags under his eyes, and he shuffled his feet as he approached his seat.

Nino walked in, and Marinette perked up. They had decided to include him in their plans for a trip, so they didn’t seem suspicious. And, it had been a long time since they had hung out with Nino. Marinette missed his company.

“Hey, dudes! How’s it going?”

Adrien looked up from his desk. “Pretty good. You won’t believe what my father said yes to!”

Nino looked skeptical. “That you could actually eat?”

Adrien laughed. “Still working on that one. But, he agreed (somehow) to let me go on a trip this weekend! Alya, Marinette and I were thinking of going on a camping trip.”

Nino gaped. “Your father gave you an entire weekend off?? Dude, that is awesome!!”

“We were hoping that you would join us! We were planning on next weekend. You in?”

Nino looked down, rubbing his bracelet on his wrist. “Umm… give me a little bit to make sure I’m clear.”

Adrien shrugged, giving Marinette a look. “OK. Let us know!”

Nino smiled. “Of course, dudes!!”

When lunch came around, Nino ran out the front doors before they could say anything. A few minutes later, Nino walked into the bakery, where the three others went for lunch. When he arrived, he had a massive grin spread across his face.

“Dudes!! I can go!! It’s a party!”

Adrien had never had a bigger smile on his face. He was actually going camping with his friends! He… wait. “Uh, hey, is this a good time to mention that I have never actually been camping?”

The other three all looked at him in shock, which quickly turned into understanding. He had never had the opportunity to go camping before.

“Well then, Dude, we gotta teach you how to live!! You can’t live until you have learned how to camp properly.” Nino held up a hand like he was a grand leader talking to his followers. “WE SHALL TEACH THIS YOUNG NOOB HOW TO CAMP PROPERLY!!”

Adrien made a shushing motion with his hands, trying to avoid attention. However, the patrons were a lively bunch, and all applauded, congratulating the group for educating Adrien on the important things. Adrien flushed, embarrassed. Marinette stood, addressing her parents.

“Could we get a celebratory cake over here?”

Tom and Sabine gave the group a wide smile, and went to the back, returning with an absolutely massive cake. Adrien gaped, staring at the monumental hunk of deliciousness. It was shaped like an Eiffel Tower, with the grounds and everything made underneath it. The tower was made out of breadsticks and such, while the base was a regular cake. The customers all looked at it in awe.

“Everyone is allowed to have some!!” Tom boomed throughout the store. The first few slices went to Adrien and co. The rest of the cake was taken by the other customers, free of charge. Tom and Sabine walked over when there was a break in customers. “Thank you, Marinette. We have been trying to figure out a good way to announce that cake for a while now. That was certainly a good way to go about things!”

Marinette flicked her hand in a mock dismissive gesture, dramatically turning away. “Oh, stop, you flatter me.”

Tom scooped the small teen up in his arms, and Sabine wrapped her arms around the two of them. Adrien watched, wondering what it would be like to have his own father do that with him. But, he shook off the feeling. No point thinking about things that are never going to happen.

Chapter Text

Soon enough, it was time for the four friends to go camping. Marinette stood in her living room, with her bags next to her. The trip was just from Friday morning to Sunday evening, so her clothes bag was packed light. The campsite they had chosen was near a small river, and was pretty far removed from any town or city, so Marinette had also packed the family tent, large enough to fit her and Alya along with their gear. And, just to be fun, they were all bringing hammocks.

Adrien was beside himself with glee that he was allowed to go on this trip. His father had given him just a small look before saying that Adrien could go. Marinette was also excited. She and her friends got to break Adrien in on his first camping trip.

After another few minutes, everyone was gathered in Marinettes’ living room. Tom was going to be driving and chaperoning (Since they were mere children. Sending them alone into the wilderness is a bad idea.) So, everyone met at the Dupain-Cheng house. Adrien was the first to arrive, and he brought along a carefully crafted amount of stuff. In the days before leaving, Adrien called Marinette nearly every night, asking if he should bring various items of differing importance. Toothbrush: yes. Pants: Definitely. Tablet: you could, but don’t use it during the day. Books: not needed. Charger: provided by Marinette. Luxury items: nowhere to put them, and ruins part of the camping experience.

Alya and Nino arrived at the same time, having carpooled together. Alya immediately started to talk to Adrien (again) about the various things to do when one was camping. Marinette started to help pack up the car, and Nino stood fidgeting with his bracelet before joining Marinette. Soon, after everyone helped, the car was filled and they were off.

The campground was rather distant from Paris, which made Marinette nervous if an akuma attacked. However, they had faith that the police department could contain the issue if an akuma attacked. At least until Marinette and Adrien could get there. Alya and Tom could come up with the excuse for Nino. He had become accepting of the terrible excuses recently, so it shouldn’t be too hard.

During the car ride, Nino picked out songs and everyone sang to them. Adrien knew a surprising amount of songs, only truly rivaled in knowledge by Marinette. Alya, even though she hung out with Nino a lot, didn’t know a lot of songs. They even started a competition to see who could guess what movie certain songs came from, using the main themes only. Adrien stomped everyone in that competition. Marinette knew several movies, but didn’t bother to memorize the theme songs.

By the time they arrived at the site, they were in the middle of a heated game of 20 questions. It was Marinettes’ turn, and nobody had guessed anywhere close, and they were nearly beaten. Nobody had asked any questions that had distinguished her from several other people in Paris. All they knew at that point was that she was a mother of a small child, had dyed hair, worked in a very public job, and was a friend of the Dupain-Chengs. As they were exiting the car, a light suddenly brightened in Ninos’ eyes.

“Do you babysit the little child?”

Alya and Adrien stopped, and slumped down. They knew who it was, now.

“Yes.” Marinette looked at them, all of whom were looking down in shame. “Do you have a guess?”

“Nadja Chamack!!” They all chanted in perfect unison.

Marinette giggled as she turned to the campsite. “We should choose locations for the tents, first. Then we get started on the activities.”

Marinette and Alya chose a spot for the tent, had their tent up, and stashed their gear in it before they decided to give the boys a helping hand. Adrien had no idea what he was doing, but still felt the need to help, so he kept getting in the way, which was bugging Nino to no end. Nino was using a tent he borrowed from home, but he didn’t do things in the correct order, so it ended up very wrong. It was nearly lunchtime before it was straightened out and the boys were set up.

“I think that we have enough time for a quick hike to the river.” Alya grabbed a shoulder bag from their tent and they started walking. As they approached the river, Alya pulled out a camera from her bag and started taking pictures of the scenery. Adrien, Nino, and Marinette all took off their shoes and started to walk around in the river, cooling off their feet. Nino picked up a few rocks and skipped them across a calmer part of the river, catching Adriens’ interest. Nino gave him a crash course in skipping rocks, and Adrien tried it out. Of course, he was perfect at it as soon as he started. He got in 5 skips before the rock hit the far bank and fell into the water.

“Not fair. It took me months to be able to skip 4 times.” Marinette fake pouted, glaring at Adrien, who just smiled back.

“Well, Marinette, it’s all in the wrist. If I remember correctly, you never really got that down. You just throw it in, hoping that it works.”

Marinette smiled. “Well, it is time for me to try again.”

Adrien smiled his beaming smile, which turned into an evil, proud smile as soon as Nino wasn’t looking. He knew what was coming.

Marinette cocked back her hand and tossed the rock across the top of the water. In the time she had spent as Ladybug, she had learned how to throw her yo-yo many different ways. As such, she learned how to use her wrist properly. So, the rock was sent skipping away, making 7 skips before joining the fate of Adriens’ rock.

Nino gaped at her. Marinette gave him a warm smile. “Kneading dough can build muscle if done right.”

“Or wrong.” Nino grumbled in mock disdain, returning her smile.

Alya suddenly piped up. “Hey, it’s lunch time!”

The four teens immediately jumped up and out of the water, racing back to camp. While they had been gone, Tom had been making some sandwiches, and laid them out on the table. Marinette, Nino, and Adrien approached holding shoes in their hands, and Alya walked behind them, putting the lens cap on her camera.

“These look good, Tom!!” Nino grabbed his sandwich while sitting at the bench. Adrien joined him, grabbing a sandwich of his own. Alya and Marinette sat across from them, each biting into their own sandwiches.

They ate and talked, staying clear of the Ladybug and Chat Noir topic that Alya, Marinette, and Adrien always fell into after a while. Nino looked between the three of them with a strange smile whenever they had to change the subject because they were getting too close. Whenever that happened, Marinette or Alya would start talking about a new clothing line from Agreste, or the test that they had recently taken. Adrien would make sure that Nino stayed on that new subject matter. They all felt bad for leaving Nino in the dark, but they figured that now was not the time to tell him. All of them knew that Nino could not keep a secret if his life depended on it. He would always give it away with some sort of tell.

After lunch, they went on a hike. Tom led the way, going on a hike he knew of. It was a grueling chore, but everyone managed to make it. Marinette and Adrien had the experience of being superheroes, Alya had the experience of following the two of them, and Nino was… Well he said that DJ-ing was hard business, since one doesn’t sit at a turntable. They had no choice but to believe him, since nothing else was being said.

The view from the hike was breathtaking. They all had a view of the land below them, covered in trees, with the river snaking along the land, like someone had left out a blue string on some grass. Alya pulled her camera back out, taking several more pictures. Adrien slipped his hand into Marinettes’ hand, pulling her in close. Nino stood next to Alya, waiting until she was done with her pictures. When the cap was back on the lens, he put his arm around her neck. Tom pulled out his phone and, before they could react, took a picture of the two couples.

They stood on the mountain for several minutes before they started to go down. They were almost to the bottom, when Marinette tripped. They were on an expanse of rocky terrain, that went downwards at a steep incline, to the point where they were practically climbing down, rather than walking. Marinettes’ foot slipped as she was about to step off of a particularly large rock. She was about to go off of a large drop, one that would leave her severely injured. Adrien was ahead, next to Alya, turning at her shriek.

Before she fell, a strong hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her rapid descent. She turned, expecting to see her father, but instead saw Nino, holding her up like it was nothing.

“Oh, um, thanks Nino.”

Adrien walked up beneath Marinette, holding up his hands to catch her as Nino dropped her into his arms. “How did you hold her like that? Have you been hitting the gym, Nino?”

Nino suddenly went beet red. “Oh... ah... um… Dj-ing is… hard work?”

Alya walked up behind Adrien. “Hey, moving those turntables really moves the arms, you know?”

Nino looked grateful at the interference. Marinette just chalked up the strength to adrenaline. Adrien set her down, looking over her for any places she might be hurt. At this point, it was just instinct to do so after akuma battles. Alya and Nino gave them a look, but it went ignored.

The rest of the trip back to camp went completely uneventful. They got back to camp when there was about two hours of sun left. Nino and Marinette got to work building the fire, while Tom and Alya started dinner. Adrien wandered over to Nino and Marinette, but he had no idea what they were doing, so he just sat and watched, trying to learn what he could.

After a while, there was a good sized fire going in the fire pit, and the five people sat around it, holding their plates of food. Alya and Nino were sitting shoulder to shoulder, while Adrien and Marinette were practically becoming one entity. Tom sat to the side, watching the two couples with interest. Nino started to hum a song, and Marinette joined in. Soon, all of them were singing campfire songs, and basically having a good time.

Once the fire was out, they went off to their respective tents for some rest. Marinette and Alya slept in the same tent, as did Adrien and Nino. Tom slept in the car. After the usual tent talk, Marinette and Alya drifted off to sleep.

*.*.*

Nino lay awake for a while, thinking about the events of the day. The rock incident was extremely frightening, but luckily, Nino had been waiting for something like that to happen. Nino had spent the entire day laughing at the rest of the groups attempts to hide their little secret. Nino knew that Alya knew, and that Adrien and Marinette had told each other. How Nino knew any of this, he had to keep to himself. And, he could not blame them for not telling him. Alya probably figured it out herself, and there was a rule about superheroes revealing themselves to people.

Nino, however, also had a secret. One that he had to keep secret from everyone. He could only reveal it when he was forced to. Not before.

A voice jerked him out of his thoughts: “Good job today, Nino.”

Chapter Text

The gang were hanging in the hammocks the next day, and Adrien was having a blast. He had never truly had a vacation like this. Whenever he and his father had gone on a “vacation”, it was always something to do with business. Adrien had never had this much fun, and he was just sitting in a hammock. He looked over at Marinette, who looked like she was asleep. He could sit there and watch her in this state of bliss for hours. However, he and Nino had come up with a plan.

Nino silently crept out of his hammock, and went over to Alya. Adrien did the same to Marinette. They grabbed the edges of the hammocks and wrapped them around the girls. Well, Nino did. Alya shrieked and wriggled, but that was nothing to what Marinette did. Marinette grabbed Adriens’ hands, and used them as anchor points to flip herself over and leg tackle him to the ground.

Adrien was planning for this, though. Over the time he had known Marinette, he had learned that it could be a bad idea to sneak up on her. So, as he approached the ground, he used the rope he had grabbed from his own hammock to pin her arms to her sides. He held her to his body until she stopped wriggling.

“What the hell, Agreste?” Marinette glared up at him.

“Yeah, what the hell, Lahiffe?” Alya poked her face out and stared down her boyfriend.

Adrien laughed, while Nino frantically tried to hold Alya still. Marinette had caught on to the situation, and was laying on the ground, laughing along with Adrien. Adrien let Marinette go, and immediately regretted it. Adrien had planned for Marinette to retaliate against him, but she did not. Instead, she launched herself at Nino, knocking him (softly) to the ground.

Adrien looked over, and saw the funniest scene he could have imagined. Marinette was on top of Nino, holding the back of his head to protect it from rocks. Nino had the most betrayed look on his face, his arms still held upwards, like he was still holding onto the hammock. Alya was thrashing around, trying to the hammock off of her and get out. Adrien just sat there, hands outstretched to fend off an attack that was not going to come.

Marinette stood, a giant grin on her face, helping Nino up, as Alya half fell out of the folds of cloth. Adrien stepped forward and helped Alya get completely out of the hammock. Alya immediately reached over and punched Nino in the arm.

“What the hell, Lahiffe?”

Marinette kicked Adrien in the shin, making him jump on one leg. “What the hell, Agreste?”

Nino chuckled. “You just asked that. No need to ask again!”

Alya put on a suddenly sweet face, and walked right up to Nino. Adrien was about to warn Nino that something was up, but Marinette suddenly slapped her hand into his face. Adrien could only hope that Nino would notice that Alya was planning something. Alya put her face close to Nino, and whispered in a purr: “Well, I wouldn’t have to ask twice if you answered the first time.” With the flick of a finger, Alya knocked Ninos’ hat off.

Nino reached behind himself and caught the hat without so much as twitching the rest of his body. Alya didn’t seem to notice, but Adrien and Marinette certainly did. They stared at him, but Nino was still focused on the girl in front of him.

“Ah… well, um… you see… you… we… Adrien and I…” Nino was having trouble. Adrien didn’t blame him. If Marinette had approached him in that manner, Adrien would probably have a short circuit in his entire being. All in all, Nino was doing pretty good.

There was a poke to his stomach, and Adrien looked down. Lo, and behold, his entire being short circuited. Marinette was looking up at him, her hand still over his mouth, a smirk playing on her features. Adrien stared, noticing some aspects for the first time that day. Marinette wasn’t wearing any makeup, and her hair was down. She looked different without her eyeliner and lipstick, not to mention the foundation and blush she sometimes wore. It wasn’t too different, but the subtle differences made all the difference in the world. Her natural beauty, framed by her hair, along with the satisfied smirk, made Adrien feel like he was going to pass out.

“Play nice, Kitty.”

That was it. The final nail in the coffin. But, it also gave Adrien a chance to tip the scales. A smirk played in his own lips as he did his best to speak through the hand over his mouth. “My Lady, when do I ever play by the rules?”

With that, Adrien grabbed her arm, and whirled her around so her back was to him. He wrapped his arms around her, lifter her up, and fell to his back. Adrien was infinitely grateful that they had found a patch of soft grass by the trees to hang their hammocks. The fall was not too painful for Adrien, who made sure to absorb Marinettes’ impact as well. As soon as they were on the ground, Adrien wrapped his legs around Marinettes’ legs, pinning them down as well. Just like that, Marinette was powerless. Or so he thought.

Marinette struggled for a second, then went slack. Adrien relaxed his grip for the slightest instant before remembering who he was fighting, and tightened them back up. But that slight second was all Marinette needed. She slipped her arms up, so her elbows were up by his arms, and used them to pry his arms open. With that accomplished, she drove two fingers to either side of the nerve on his thigh, sending a jolt through his entire leg. It jerked up, and Marinette twisted free.

Adrien lay on the ground, stunned by the display. Marinette bent and offered her hand, which Adrien took. Looking over, Adrien saw Nino and Alya were back on the hammock, watching them.

“Oh, no, don’t stop on out account. Please, keep going.” Nino had a smirk on his face, which Adrien couldn’t place.

“OK.” Adrien didn’t have long to register the word before Marinette was back on him. He turned and just barely managed to catch her arms, and twisted her so she was sideways to him. He bent and grabbed the back of her legs with one hand, while the other stayed behind her shoulders. Straightening, he carried her bridal style to her hammock.

“I think that we have had enough excitement for today.” Adrien set her down in her hammock. He turned back to his own hammock, set right next to Marinette. Laying down, he thought over the trip.

It was Saturday evening, so they were going back in the morning. Adrien had had a ton of fun on the trip. They had gone hiking on another trail just after breakfast, and then went to the river for a while. Marinette and Alya made some flower crowns and bracelets, and forced Nino to model them. Adrien modeled them too, but no forcing was needed for him. He was totally willing to do it.

They then settled down for a bit, playing some games. Marinette was surprisingly good at Uno, but Adrien was the surprising one. Nino had brought up Cards Against Humanity, and Adrien won by a landslide. Even Marinette was surprised.

All in all, it was a good trip. That night, Adrien and Nino packed their things, except for clothes for the car ride back home. Adrien and Nino lay in their beds, talking for a while.

“Bro, I can’t believe that the plan didn’t work!” Nino said, exasperated. They had spent a ton of time the night before planning this.

“I told you. Alya and Marinette are feisty.” Adrien retorted. He did, in fact. Nino didn’t listen.

“Yeah, yeah. We should get some sleep. It’s a long ride back to town, tomorrow.” Adrien heard Nino fuss with his bracelet, something that Nino did often, and then go to bed.

*.*.*

In the girls tent, Alya and Marinette were holding in giggles. They had heard every word from the boys’ tent. The two tents were close together, and the boys were not exactly quiet.

*.*.*

Adrien sat in the car, looking out the window as Paris came into view. It was a sight he had seen several times before, but he never tired of seeing it. Every time was like the first time all over again. They had gotten a call as they approached the city. Marinette and Adrien both, from Sabine and Nathalie, respectively. There was an akuma loose on the city. Apparently, it was just sitting there, doing nothing. For that reason, nobody dared to approach it.

As soon as they dropped off Nino, Adrien and Marinette left the car and transformed. They went to the area that the akuma was sitting, and appraised the situation. Apparently, the akuma had made one single request: nothing could record the battle. Not one single camera was to be trained on the fight.

Adrien and Marinette gazed down at the akuma, trying to figure it out. Before they could, a bright yellow beam shot towards them. They had been seen. Jumping down, the two heroes ran toward the akuma, beginning the fight. The akuma never said a word, just attacked. Adrien looked up, and saw the dark outline of Hawkmoth that had become a staple of the attacks. He just stood on the building, watching the goings on. He never did anything during these battles, so Adrien just ignored him.

They fought the akuma for hours, neither side willing to admit even a small amount of fatigue. They haven’t even been able to figure out what the lucky charm was supposed to do. It was just a fucking fork, for gods’ sake. The police watched, but there was not a single camera in sight. Not even Alya had her phone out.

*.*.*

Nino frantically looked around his room. He knew it was here somewhere!! He had put it in his bag, since Adrien or Marinette might recognize it when in close quarters for so long. He needed to have it!!

“Hurry, find it!!” a voice said.

“I know, I know!” Nino continued searching. He had to find it.

*.*.*

Adrien was beginning to become very upset with the akuma. He never said anything, just shot the beams at them, mainly at Ladybug. This battle had to end, and Adrien would prefer it to be sooner, rather than later. Then, the unspeakable happened. The yellow beam hit Ladybug square in the chest. There was a yellow flash, a streak of blue, and Adriens’ vision went dark.

When Adrien got his sight back, Ladybug was gone. Not even her miraculous remained behind. She was just gone. A swell of fury welled up in Adrien, and he turned towards the akuma, who was looking at his palm with interest. He grabbed the bag hanging on its’ side, and ripped it. Adrien was just guessing, he fully intended on ripping everything off of the akuma one by one, but luck was on his side. The bag released the akuma.

“Cataclysm.” The calmness in his voice surprised Adrien. He reached for the butterfly, and disintegrated it in his fist.

He waited for Ladybugs’ voice, but it never came. Adrien didn’t have the ability to reset the damage done by the battle. Whatever happened to Marinette, it was permanent. All he had to do was find her, though, and it would all be fixed.

Alya approached. “Hey, Chat!! How did the battle go?”

Adrien looked at her. Something seemed… off. She didn’t have her usual spirit of reporting with her. “It wend fine. I’ll just find Ladybug, and be off.”

Alya cocked her head to the side. “Ladybug? But she has been missing for months. Ever since the Stoneheart incident.”

Chapter Text

Adrien woke up for school the next morning to his phone chiming. He had a notification from Nino.

Nino: Have you checked the BlogNoir yet?

Adrien had no idea what that even meant. What was the BlogNoir? Why did it sound suspiciously like the Ladyblog? Adrien searched it, and sure enough, it was just like the Ladyblog, except black and green, rather than pink. All of the videos were just Chat Noir fighting the akumas alone. No Ladybug. The only video that she appeared in was the very first one, when they faced off against Stoneheart. The difference, though, was the ending. Alya didn’t manage to record the last part of the fight, she only got the two heroes going up to the Eiffel tower. When Chat Noir emerged, he was alone. Ivan and Mylene were left to get down by themselves. What made Adriens’ blood run cold was the face that Chat Noir was making. It was the face that Adrien had only made once before: when his mother was found missing. It was the face of absolute and terrible rage.

Adrien got ready for school, that face haunting his mind. He got into the car, trying to signal Nathalie that he needed to talk, but she just gave him a look and turned away. Adrien was puzzled by this, she should have gotten the signal. Maybe she was just too busy.

Adrien arrived in school, and was met with a completely different environment. The students were much more somber, and only talked in hushed tones. Even Chloe was just sitting next to Sabrina, talking about a new designer line coming out. What surprised Adrien the most was Alya. She was just standing by the door, her face betraying no emotion. When she looked at Adrien, her nose wrinkled in disgust, and she turned away.

“She is still salty about the gum incident, bro. Especially after… well… you know...” Nino approached next to Adrien.

“I don’t actually know, Nino. Just yesterday, we were talking like the friends we are.” Adrien didn’t look away from Alya.

“Bro, did you get hit in the head, or something? You and Alya have never been friends. She has never forgiven you, and after… what happened, she just started to hate you even more.” Nino wouldn’t meet his eyes.

Adrien grabbed Nino by the shoulders, and dragged him to the side, out of sight of everyone else. “Nino, I need you to do something for me. I need you to tell me what happened after the stoneheart incident.”

Nino took a deep breath. “Ladybug went missing. Nobody knows what happened to her, but she has not been seen since then. Chat Noir has slowly been going… well… insane. He has grown much more violent, and angry. The akuma victims always come out with some form of injury.”

Adrien felt a cold pit start to grow in his stomach. “And what happened here?”

Nino looked down. “I can’t say it. Not out loud.”

Nino gestured for Adrien to follow, and brought Adrien to the classroom. He pointed to the front desk, the one where Marinette sat before she switched with Chloe. Adrien thought back, and realized that Marinette had switched seats after the stoneheart incident. Adrien turned to see the desk, and his heart fell down to the floor. His eyes filled with tears, and his breathing became labored. There, on the desk, was a plaque.

In Memory of:
Marinette Dupain-Cheng

“No.” Adrien could barely get even that one syllable out, let alone make it heard by anyone but him.

A cold voice came from behind. “So, you have come to gloat over her seat again, have you?”

Adrien turned to see Alya, standing with her arms crossed over her chest. Adrien couldn’t manage to think enough to say anything in return. Alya walked up and slapped him across the face. “Get out of here, Agreste. Go hang with your girl-pal Chloe. You two can laugh at Marinette together.”

A shrill voice came from behind Adrien. “What a great idea, Alya. Adri-kins. Let’s laugh at the brat together!!! It’s not like anyone here actually misses that disaster.”

Adrien turned to see Chloe standing behind him. An uproar came from the class.

“Marinette gave me the courage to talk to Mylene!!” Ivan roared.

“Marinette was the only one who made something for our races!!!” Alix and Kim shouted.

“Marinette was the only one who supported us!!” Rose and Juleka yelled.

Even Nathanael put in: “Marinette was twice the woman you will ever be!!!”

But nobody had anything on what Adrien did. He stalked forward, grabbed Chloe by the shoulders and leaned in close. He growled in her ear: “If I ever hear you talk bad about Marinette again, Chloe, I swear to god, I will ruin you and your father. You know I can.”

With that, Adrien stalked out the door, leaving Chloe standing quietly.

*.*.*

Alya watched Adrien go. She had never seen him act this way towards anyone. He was always so composed. To see him lash out like that was unheard of. Whatever he said to Chloe silenced the blond effectively, and Alya didn’t know what to do with that information. Did Adrien actually care about Marinette? Come to think of it, Adrien never actually said anything bad about Marinette. He just came in, looked at the desk, and sat down, remaining silent throughout class.

Today, though, Adrien had a most peculiar reaction. Today, he was nearly crying. Alya didn’t know what to make of it.

Alya thought back to the event. Stoneheart had appeared, and Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared to fight. Alya was there for their first fight, and they were amazing. In fact, Alya even made a blog for them, called the Ladyblog. But then, Stoneheart came back. This time, something went wrong. Hawkmoth made an appearance, and Ladybug shot him down like nobodies business. When the two heroes went up to the tower to fight Stoneheart, something went wrong. Ladybug and Chat Noir went up, and only Chat Noir came down. He came down, announced that the akuma was taken care of, and then went back up. Ladybug never came down.

For weeks, people thought that Ladybug merely left right after the battle. However, when the next akuma came, and there was no Ladybug, people began to question. Then, after several akumas attacked and there was no sign of Ladybug, it became obvious. Ladybug was not coming back. She had gone missing. All of Paris was in doubt, that Ladybug was missing. Alya knew the truth. Ladybug had been killed. Just like Marinette.

Alya didn’t know Marinette very well, but she knew the small girl enough to know that Marinette was the best person in the entire class. Perhaps the entire school. Marinette had shown Alya compassion, and even became friends with her right off the bat. When Stoneheart attacked, Marinette hid. However, when Stoneheart attacked again, and Alya ran off, Marinette followed her. Alya didn’t know what exactly happened, but Marinette never made it back to the school. In fact, she was never seen again.

Alya never had another friend after Marinette. Everyone was so absorbed in Marinettes’ death, that Alya became just another student. She had no outlet for her sadness. So, she let it all out. It became fruitless to vent it out on Chloe, and that even got her akumatized. However, Adrien never retaliated against her. He just looked down and didn’t say anything.

Today, though, he showed another side of himself. He was showing extreme sadness at the memorial, and he even snapped at Chloe. Big time. Then he left, leaving Nino to just gape after him. Nino was Adriens’ friend. Maybe he knew something.

“Nino! Can I talk to you?” Alya ran up behind Nino at lunch, grabbing his arm.

“Why? So you can yell at me like you do with Adrien?” Nino crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.

Alya hung her head. “Actually, I have some questions about him. I… I may have treated him harshly. He was also acting strange today. Do you know anything about that?”

Nino put his hand under his chin. “Come to think of it, yes. He actually had to get a refresher on everything this morning. And I mean everything, including… well… you know. Her.” Nino looked down, a pained expression on his face. Alya then realized that Nino probably knew Marinette pretty well too.

Alya put an arm around Nino. “Do you want to go get ice cream?”

Nino nodded, wiping away a tear.

*.*.*

She wandered around the streets, looking around. She knew nothing about this place. This street looked like nothing she had ever seen before. There! There was a bakery on the corner! The… Dupain-Cheng Patisserie. She walked by a shop and looked in the mirror. She looked haggard, like she had not slept in days. That was pretty accurate, actually. She had had no sleep. Her hair was still down up in pigtails, though. For some reason, she didn’t look right without them.

She walked onwards, toward the bakery, ignoring the strange looks she got. Opening the door, she saw and smelled the interior. It smelled like… well, she didn’t have the correct word in mind. She saw the owners, and felt like smiling. It was a small chinese woman, and a huge man. They served people with grim faces. Every once in a while, a patron would smile and at their shoulder or arm.

“Oh, dear, you looked famished.” the small woman walked up next to the girl. “Do you have money?” the girl shook her head. “Very well. I shall get you something on the house.”

The girl smiled and nodded, while the woman went behind the counter again, and came out with a large pastry. She guided the girl to a chair, and sat her down. The girl nodded thankfully, and sat down, eating the pastry.

The woman went back to the counter and talked to the man. He looked at the girl, and put an arm around the woman. Then, he went into the back area, and came out a few minutes later with a small jacket. He walked over to the girl.

“Here. This belonged to our daughter. My wife told me that you might need it. My name is Tom, and my wife is Sabine.”

The girl looked up, accepting the jacket. It was a perfect fit. “Thank you.”

Tom looked back at the girl. “If you need anything else, let us know. Feel free to come by whenever.”

The girl thanked them again, and left. She didn’t want to overstay her welcome. She left the bakery to face the night. She thought of what she had faced recently. She had woken up in a strange part of town. She looked over, and saw the end of a strange fight between a boy in a black suit and a person dressed in the strangest clothes. Before she could find out what was going on, she turned tail and ran. She then realized that she had no idea where to go. In fact, every memory before that moment was a blank void. There was a strange blue streak in the sky, but she paid it no heed. There were more important things to think about. Like, who the hell was she?

Chapter Text

Adrien walked to school with his shoulders slumped. He had managed to convince his father to let him walk to school, and was making his full use of the time. He used it to get his thoughts together before school. Alya was treating him distantly, and that was getting some getting used to. Chloe was avoiding him, probably because of how he yelled at her.

Nino also was treating him differently, but he didn’t treat him badly. He just kept himself at a distance. Adrien didn’t mind it. It let Adrien settle his mind sometimes. If he let his mind wander, it kept on going to Marinette. Where was she? What was she doing? Was she… no. Adrien would not think that. Not ever.

Adriens mind also wandered to the event that had happened in his room the other day.

Adrien walked into his house, his head hung low. He scuffed his shoe against the floor as he approached the stairs.

“Adrien.”

Adrien jumped slightly at the voice of his father. “Sorry for scuffing my foot, father.”

“Did you? Well, make sure not to do it again. I need to talk to you. You have been distracted lately.”

Adrien furrowed his brow. “The girl in my class, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I guess that I am feeling her loss right now.”

His father remained silent. “I see. Carry on, then.”

Adrien started to walk to his room, when his father called again. “Adrien, there is a message for you on your desk. It came in the mail. I don’t know where it came from, but I put it on your desk.”

Adrien nodded, and walked into his room, going to his desk. Sure enough, there was an envelope on his desk. Adrien opened it, and pulled the letter out.

Dear Monsieur Agreste
I am aware that the loss of Ladybug is troubling you, so I
would like to give you something to give you hope.

Adrien upended the envelope and out came the last thing that he thought would come out. Two black earrings, a pair that he had seen on Marinette every day. The Ladybug Miraculous.

Adrien put his hand in his pocket, and felt the two earrings. There was one detail that gave him hope. The earrings were black. That meant that they were still active. They would not be active if the wielder was dead. Marinette was out there, somewhere. The problem was that Adrien could not make a public investigation without making literally everyone mad at him. It is hard to search for someone who everyone thought was dead.

Adrien was pulled out of his reverie by an alert on his phone. There was an akuma attack. This was the third attack since the incident, and Adrien was getting very annoyed by them without Ladybug.

Transformed into Chat Noir, Adrien leaped around the city until he got to the attack site. He landed, and watched the akuma for a few seconds, getting a feel for the powers. It was pretty easy, it just made cars unable to move. Something about a runaway car hitting someone, or something. Adrien was finding himself not caring about the “why” of akumas.

Adrien fought the akuma, and was getting extra annoyed. It seems that the akuma makes everything stop moving. His baton was next to useless. Whenever he tried to hit the akuma, it would stop dead in its’ tracks. Adrien was getting fed up with these akumas. All of them were geared towards stopping Chat Noir.

“I bet you miss her, don’t you?”

Adrien stopped. “What do you mean?”

The akuma smiled. “Your lady. Isn’t it disheartening to keep searching for her, only to come up empty handed?”

The scowl that overtook Adrien would have been enough to make anyone blanch. The akuma didn’t have enough knowledge to care. It stood there, a smirk in its’ face, expecting Adrien to respond. Adrien didn’t give it that pleasure.

Adrien extended his baton slamming it into the billboard sign behind the akuma. The sign fell down onto the akuma, pinning it down onto the ground.

“Well, now you get to find the help of someone to get you out of there.” With that, Adrien grabbed the hat off of the akuma, ripped it, grabbed the akuma, and cataclysmed it. The person was engulfed in the usual bubbles, and was returned to normal. Adrien ignored the calls of the person, and walked away.

“I should have guessed. The infamous Chat Noir, here for the fight, gone for the actual hero work.”

Adrien looked over his shoulder. “Maybe don’t get emotional.” With that, he was gone. Usually, he would not talk like that to the victim. It wasn’t their fault. But this was another situation where Hawkmoth rubbed his nose in Ladybugs’ absence.

Adrien entered into his room, only to find it occupied. Who else, but Alya was sitting in his room?

“Hello, Adrien. Thanks for actually showing up to our study session.”

Adrien stood in the window, in a leather catsuit, staring at the girl who had made the last week without Ladybug even more unbearable. And, she was sitting in the chair by his desk, looking at him like she completely expected him to be wearing the suit of Chat Noir.

“Um… Hi...”

“Don’t worry. I managed to figure it out. The study session is just a cover for us to talk.”

Adrien hopped down. “Claws off. About what?”

Alyas’ eyes widened as the transformation gave him his usual clothes back, but she quickly recovered. “Marinette. You are treating her death like its’ new news to you.”

Adriens’ shoulders slumped. “I am going to preface this by saying that you have no idea how great it is to talk to someone about this, especially you. Now, I have one hell of a story to tell you.”

Alya settled down in her chair. “Talk.”

Adrien took a deep breath. “As you know, I am Chat Noir, superhero of Paris.” at a nod from Alya, he continued. “Well, I am actually a part of a team of two. Me and Ladybug. We fought against akumas of every type. Everyone loved her. You even had a blog in her honor, the ladyblog.”

“I am going to stop you there. Ladybug has only ever fought one akuma, and she did not come back from it.” Alya crossed her arms defiantly. Adrien held up a hand.

“I am not done. About a week ago, we fought a strange akuma. He sent out beams of light, but they never touched anything. He also requested that the fight not be filmed. Even you fulfilled that request. You stood and watched as we fought him.” Alyas eyes narrowed in disbelief, and to let Adrien know that he was running out of time. “Ladybug was hit with a beam. Everything went dark. When sight returned, the akuma was alone. Ladybug was gone. Not even her earrings remained behind. The next day, I went to school, only to find that things were significantly different. Things were gloomier, nobody talked about anything. Not even Chloe. When I asked Nino about it, he showed me the desk with Marinettes’ memorial.”

Alya held up her hand. “Wait. If Marinette would have died before Ladybug. Why was it such a shock to find her dead here?”

Adrien closed his eyes, preparing himself. “In this version of things, Marinette did not die before Ladybug. Marinette died at the exact same time as Ladybug.”

Alya sat in the chair, trying to figure out what he meant by that. Then, her eyes widened. “Marinette was Ladybug!! That was why you would always look at the memorial before class!! You saw her body!!”

Adrien shook his head. “Maybe the Adrien that was here before a week ago did, but I did not. But, it does not end there. I think that Marinette is still alive.”

Alya suddenly stood, crossed over to him, and gave him such a slap to the face that the echo was ringing for several seconds. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare try to lure me in with false hopes, Agreste.”

Adrien held a hand to his cheek. “I’m not.” he reached into his pocket and pulled out the earrings. “There are the Ladybug miraculous. Note that they are black, and plain.”

Alya grabbed one from his palm. “What does this prove? They are not the red ones on Ladybug.”

Adrien held up his ring. “My ring turns silver when I am not Chat Noir. When I am Chat, it is black. They change whenever they are not in use. However, if they were dormant, and had no holder, they would be red with black spots. This means that the holder is still alive, and the kwami is still out there somewhere.”

Alya scrunched her nose. “What’s a kwami?”

Adrien laughed. “Well, that is getting into some different stories, but I suppose that we have the time to get into those things.” he held open his jacket. “Say hello to Plagg, my kwami.”

*.*.*

The Girl hung around the bakery a lot. The owners always fed her free of charge, and always offered her a place to sleep, but The Girl never accepted. She didn’t want to impose herself onto them, especially since they had lost their only daughter. She didn’t want to make it seem like she was replacing their Marinette.

That was how The Girl found herself at the site of the latest akuma attack. The Girl always tried to stay away from akumas. They terrified the girl to no end. But, as The Girl watched the fight between the akuma and Chat Noir (based off of what the crowd was shouting), she began to feel a strange pull to the black-clad boy. She felt that she should know him, but she could not figure out why. He just seemed to be familiar.

However, Chat Noir scared her more than the akumas did. Despite the strange attraction to him, he was a terrifying being. When he finally defeated the akuma, he left, merely saying “Maybe don’t get emotional.” as he vaulted to the rooftops.

The Girl watched him go, feeling like she should be next to him, and also as far away as she could get. It was truly a strange feeling. Maybe she knew him from before she lost her memory. Maybe if she found him, she could find out about her past!!

The Girl wandered around for a few hours, not going anywhere in particular. She thought of Chat Noir, and the hazy outline of a blond boy that always appeared whenever she thought of him. She couldn’t make out the details, but she knew that the blond boy was the alter ego of Chat Noir.

The Girl found a strange red thing on the street, and went to go look at it, feeling that it was somehow important. It was a strange creature, a tiny body with a huge head. The head had black spots around it. The eyes were closed, and its’ breathing was labored.

The Girl looked up, and found herself standing outside a massive white house, like a castle. It even had a wall! But, she could see over it well enough. Obviously not a very good wall. There was a set of tall windows, and inside were two people talking. Suddenly, one of them looked over, and The Girl found herself looking into a set of deep green eyes.

*.*.*

Adrien and Alya sat talking about Ladybug for hours. As Adrien had expected, Alya was interested in Marinette more, so Adrien was telling her stories from school and whenever they hung out.

“This one time, she entered for a hat contest being done at the school, and...” Adrien suddenly felt like he was being watched. Plagg also flew over to the window. Adrien looked over his shoulder, and saw a figure standing outside beyond the wall. A figure that Adrien knew very well, as it haunted his dreams every night.

Adrien sprung up, and dashed to the window, hitting his hands against it hard enough to rattle every window along his wall. He stared into her deep blue eyes as they stared back. Adrien noticed that she was holding a red shape gingerly. Tikki!!! She wasn’t moving!! She needed to be fed, and it needed to be now!!!

“Cookies.” Adrien found himself saying over and over again, pointing to Tikki. The girl just stared back with wide eyes, then turned and ran down the street and out of sight.

Adrien turned away, sunk to the floor, and put his head in his hands, feeling tears running down through his fingers. He felt an arm go around his shoulders as Alya pulled him in for a hug. Adrien looked into her eyes and saw the unspoken question.

“Marinette. Marinette was just outside my house.” With that, Adrien finally broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

Chapter Text

Ever since it happened, Adrien was watching. Everywhere he went, his eyes were searching. Adrien didn’t care how long it took, he would find her. All of Paris was his hunting ground, and his prey moved around it. But he was the Black Cat, and he was going to find his little bug.

Adrien also had a new attachment on his hip that looked a lot like Alya. Nino was still quiet and reserved, but Alya was back to nearly her old self. There were times that Alya became silent, but then she would shake it off, remembering that Marinette was alive and well. Nino didn’t have that sort of knowledge.

Adrien had come to terms that Marinette was not going to appear in the classroom a long time ago. However, whenever he heard the terms “The Incident” or “The Victim”, his heart would start to beat frantically with the knowledge that they were referring to Marinette. And that Marinette was supposed to be dead. And that Adrien had to deal with a lack of Marinette for the foreseeable future.

It wouldn’t be very hard, except that Adrien had to face every akuma alone. It had become less of a fight, and more of a brutal beat-down of the villain. Adrien fought every akuma knowing that he was probably going too far. Adrien didn’t care. This was the only way he could get the villain taken care of without harming the city too much.

Adrien was sitting in his room, listening to music when it struck him. Marinette was in a strange place, surrounded by strange people. If he was in that situation, and there was a sudden attack, what would Adrien do? What did the tourists always do? They always stayed and tried to watch the fights.

Adrien flew to his computer, and booted up the Lady- no. The Blog Noir. Adrien pulled up all of the fights that had happened since he had arrived in this crazy fucked up world. Adrien had been watching videos all day when there was a soft knock on his door. He looked up to see Alya standing there.

“Hi. What are you watching the videos for? You’re the star attraction, Adrien. You don’t have to watch it, you lived it.”

“Marinette might be in the videos. It’s what new people always do, they stick around and watch the fight. The native Parisians all just leave the area and go home to wait it out, but tourists always stick around to watch. Marinette might do the same. I’m just checking.”

Alya immediately sat down next to him. “Continue.”

Adrien continued watching until he hit a video that was taken the same day Alya had confronted him. The same day that Adrien had seen her outside his window.

There, at the front of the crowd, watching the fight with a strange sense of interest, was Marinette. She was filthy, her face covered in dirt, her hair a mess, but Adrien could pick Marinette out of a crowd even if she was covered head to foot in mud.

“There.”

Alya leaned in close and took a look. “No way. That… That’s her! She’s right there!!!”

Adrien leaned back, running a hand over his face. “But that was a week ago. She could be anywhere by now!”

Alya shrugged. “No, we know that she will stick to this part of town. She doesn’t know the area, she would stay around here where she is comfortable.”

Adrien nodded. “That makes sense. So, do what do I owe the pleasure?”

Alya shrugged. “Well, I figured that you have a few extra hours, so I would help you study. I know that you are not keeping up with school, since you’re busy looking for Marinette, so I’m here to help. At least, until you have to go.”

Adrien smiled at her, and pulled his bag to himself.

*.*.*

Alya headed home after the study session with Adrien. Well, actually, she almost went home. Alya rounded a corner and saw that she would pass by the bakery, so she decided to head on over. She loved talking to Tom and Sabine whenever she could. They had practically adopted her. Alya had thought of telling them that Marinette was alive, but ultimately decided not to. It wouldn’t do to give them false hope. That is, until now. Now, she had proof. She pulled out her phone and started the video, going to the part where Marinette showed up on screen.

Alya opened the door to the bakery, and walked to the counter. On the way, Alya was surprised to see that a small girl was sitting in a table, munching on a pastry. The girl didn’t look at Alya, but she did stop chewing until Alya passed by. The girl didn’t register too much in Alyas’ mind, so she kept going.

“Hello, Sabine. May I talk to you and Tom? In private?”

*.*.*

The Girl sat at her usual table in the Dupain-Cheng bakery, and ate her pastry. She thought of the strange boy with green eyes. She had done that a lot, recently. She thought of how the boy had looked surprised and delighted to see her, like he knew her somehow. He had also mouthed the word “cookies” and gestured towards the red thing she was holding. The Girl didn’t know what to do, so she ran. She tried feeding the red thing cookies, but it didn’t even budge. Not even to open its’ eyes.

The door suddenly opened, and a girl walked in. She had glasses on, and hair that faded from brown to red. She was holding her phone in her hand, with a picture on it. A picture of The Girl!!! What if she was in trouble? She had to get out of there!

The Girl waited until the other girl had passed, then stood and left the bakery. As soon as the door closed, The Girl started running. She had to get out of there!! She couldn’t get caught!!

*.*.*

“Don’t do this to us, Alya. Please.”

“Just look at the picture!! It’s her!!” Alya held up her phone to the two people sitting across from her.

“Alya, we don’t-”

“Tom...”

Sabine had looked at the phone, and was staring with wide eyes. Tom reluctantly looked up and over at the phone. His eyes went wide in shock. “It’s her...”

Sabine then grabbed the phone, and took a closer look. “Oh my god… It’s the girl!! Tom, it’s the girl who was coming in recently!!”

Tom leaned over and took a look. “You’re right! She’s just in the other room! She came in a few minutes ago!!”

Alya, Tom, and Sabine all stood and rushed over to the diner, just in time to see the door close.

*.*.*

Adrien walked into school the next day, and was immediately set upon by Alya, who was in hysterics. She pulled him away, and started frantically pulling him in for a hug.

“I saw her, Adrien!! I saw her and didn’t even know it!!”

Adrien pushed her off gently. “You saw Marinette? Where?”

“At her parents’ bakery. I went to show them the picture, since I thought that they deserved to know.”

Adrien nodded. “I was going to do the same today.”

“There was a girl sitting in a table when I walked in, and I didn’t even give her a second glance. I just walked right by her!! When I showed the picture to Tom and Sabine, they told me that it was the girl who they had been feeding for a while, but when we got to the diner, she was gone!! She just ran out the door!! Tom and Sabine felt terrible, since they didn’t recognize their own daughter!! Adrien, I saw her!!”

Adrien pulled Alya in for another hug, and she wept into his shoulder. He had felt much the same way when he first saw Marinette outside his window. He held Alya until she seemed ready to go inside. He let her go to the bathroom to clean up, and went to the classroom. There, he was met with a strange sight. Nino was standing by the memorial to Marinette, staring at it with a strange expression on his face, like it was the first time he had ever seen it.

“Hey, bro.” Adrien walked up to Nino, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Paying your respects?”

Nino stiffened and looked at Adrien, his eyes wide. “Huh? What are you- oh. Oh, yeah, I am.”

Adrien guided Nino to their seat, and they waited for class to start. Alya walked in, and Nino did a double take when she sat to the desk on the side, rather than behind them. Nino fiddled with his bracelet, staring at it intently.

Adrien looked at his friend in interest as well. Nino was acting like it was his first day in this strange world, now. Why? Was the effect wearing off? He would have to ask.

Adrien leaned into Ninos’ side. “Let’s meet up at lunch.”

Nino nodded silently, his sides beginning to shake.

Lunch soon arrived, and Adrien grabbed Nino by the arm, guiding him to a secluded corner. “OK, What’s up, Nino?”

Nino looked at Adrien with panicked eyes. “N-nothings up, Adrien. What’s up with you?”

Adrien raised an eyebrow. “If nothing was up, you would have called me “Bro”, or “Dude”. Also, your voice is higher than usual. Now, tell me, what is wrong? You were looking at Marinettes’ memorial like you had never seen it before.”

“That’s because I haven’t, Adrien.” Nino suddenly clamped his mouth shut.

“Tell me how you suddenly forgot, Nino. Tell me, and I will let you in on the secret that made Alya not hate me anymore. A secret that will change just about everything you know about me.”

Nino shook his head. “I can’t, Adrien. I literally can’t.”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “Let’s go. I’m going to show you mine first, and then we will talk about yours.”

Adrien led Nino to a closet, and locked the door. He closed his eyes, and opened his jacket. Plagg flew out, and went right to Ninos’ face. Before Plagg could say anything, Adrien held up his hand, summoning his transformation.

Nino didn’t react. “Well, since you showed me yours, I guess that I can show you mine.”

Nino opened his own jacket, and a green shape came out. “Wayzz, shell on!”

A deep green light overtook Nino, and left a man in a green suit with a hoodie, and a shell on the back standing in his place. Adrien looked at Nino in shock. “W-well, I guess that that explains it.”

Nino looked at him in interest. “Explains what, exactly?”

Adrien released his transformation. “Why you remembered Marinette.”

Nino released his own transformation. “Remembered her?”

“Well, at least the fact that she is alive.” Adrien walked Nino back to their secluded area of the courtyard, and started telling his story. Nino stared on in shock.

“So, Marinette is Ladybug. I did know that, since I have taken over the role of Guardian, and was told the identities of all the miraculous holders, except Hawkmoth. An akuma attacked ladybug, and now the entire world thinks that she is dead. You remember that she is not, and Alya knows that she is not because you told her. You and Alya have also seen her yourselves.” Nino tapped his chin.

“Well, there is another thing that we need to address.” Nino looked at Adrien in interest. Adrien leveled Nino with a piercing gaze. “When did you get a miraculous, and why haven’t you shown up to help with akumas?”

Nino looked at Adrien. “I got it at roughly the same time that you had Nadine arrive. While you were dealing with her, I was getting trained by the previous Guardian. I haven’t shown up to help in Ladybugs’ absence because I… sorta… lost my miraculous. When we were in the car after camping, I took it off, because you or Mari might have recognized it. It got itself buried in my bag, and I was searching for it when Ladybug got whammied. Then, I forgot that I had it, until I saw it lying around and decided to try it on. When that happened, all of my memories came back. I remember everything since the incident like it was a bad dream. So, why do you and I remember Marinette, while everyone else doesn’t?”

Adrien took a deep breath. This was something he had had a lot of time to figure out. “An akuma hit Ladybug with a ray that made everyone forget about her. However, Magic, like everything, has a limit to what it can do. So, everyone who holds a miraculous is not affected by the power. You lost your miraculous at the time of the incident, so you didn’t have that protection until you put the bracelet back on. There seems to also be another layer, which prevents people from even realizing that they are looking at one of the affected people. Even if they knew that person personally. In fact, Marinette had been stopping by her parents’ bakery for the last while, and they never even suspected. The only reason that they know now is because I gave Alya a picture of Marinette from a week ago, and she showed it to them.”

Nino nodded. “We are in some complicated shit, bro.”

Chapter Text

The Girl walked down the road, thinking about the boy with green eyes. She saw his face everywhere, now. His face was literally plastered all over the city, watching her wherever she went. The thing was, she didn’t mind it all that much. In fact, it was a comfort for her to know that he was watching. The unsettling thing was that those eyes also made her think of Chat Noir.

The Girl had seen the boy walking around several times after she found out that they were looking for her, but never let herself be seen. Well, there was that one time, when she let herself be seen to see what his reaction was going to be. As she feared, he began to chase her. He was just another person who was looking for her. The Girl didn’t know why people were trying to hunt her down, but she didn’t want to find out. If it was a good thing that they were looking for her, she was getting by just fine on her own. But, if it was a bad reason, she would be better off staying away.

Still, something made her loath to leave the area. She still felt like she should talk to the boy with green eyes. Could she trust that part of her mind? Could she trust the boy? Maybe she should figure that out soon.

The Girl kicked a can on the side of the street, and it skittered over and hit a trashcan. Then, out of the trashcan came a creature. It was something straight out of a nightmare. It had long spindly legs, and a wide grinning mouth full of sharp teeth. It basically looked like a hybrid of human and spider, with some monster mixed in.

“Hello, Mademoiselle. Out for a walk tonight? Mighty chilly to be outside without a good jacket.”

The Girl froze. This was one of the creatures that sometimes appeared around the city. One of the creatures that Chat Noir fought. The Girl started to back up, but the creature swooped in close, looking her in the eye.

“Allow me to carry you to safety. I promise, I won’t bite. Yet.”

Before the girl could say anything, the creature grabbed her by the waist, and launched up into the air, carrying the screaming girl.

*.*.*

Adrien greeted Nino at school, and they walked into class. “Bro, did you hear about the strange reports going around?”

Adrien grunted. “About the strange creature stalking the night? Yeah, I have heard.”

Nino leaned in close. “Way early this morning, there was a report of screaming. A few minutes later, someone posted a picture of a blurry shape. It seemed to be holding something about the size of a small person.”

Adrien nodded. “I heard that too. I was going to begin searching during lunch. You going to join me?”

Nino nodded as well. “I might as well start to make a name for myself.”

The akuma alert went off on everyones’ phone, and they took it out to check. There was indeed an akuma, and it did indeed have a prisoner. This was one of the rare times when an akuma alert came with a live stream of the news coverage. The cameraman was actually pretty good, keeping things steady. The shaking image was coming from Adriens’ own hand. Because he knew that person it clutched in its’ wiry hold.

“Nino, change of plan. We are getting out of class. Right now.”

“Why, dude?”

“Because that is Marinette being held by that monster.”

Nino took another look at the screen. “Son of a bitch.”

Adrien and Nino gave their weak excuses to their teachers, and left, transforming into their alter egos. They started to go towards where the akuma had been. To their infinite relief, it was still there.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in! And a turtle! Well, this is certainly a very interesting day for me.”

Adrien landed and immediately found Marinette. His hand found his pocket, where the earrings were kept safe. If all went well, he would not have to cataclysm another akuma. He started to walk forward, when the monster surged forward, and there was a sudden flash of blue over them. Adrien felt a tug at the pocket with the earrings, and everything went black.

*.*.*

Marinette watched the akuma slink towards Chat Noir and the strange new guy as soon as they landed. Chat immediately found her with his eyes, then touched his side before turning back to the akuma. However, when he started to walk forward, a blue streak overtook them all. It swirled around for a few seconds, before going towards Marinette. Right before it overtook her as well, it veered upward, like it hit a wall.

Marinette glanced down, and saw an envelope on the ground. She opened it, and took out a paper, reading it.

You do not know me, and may not trust me.
However, you must trust these words.
Chat Noir cannot fight this akuma alone, not without
Ladybug. In this envelope, you will find something to
help you. Put them on, then wake up the red creature, and
be sure to feed it. Everything will come to you, then.

The Girl knew one thing that the letter got right: She didn’t trust this. It just took out three beings, and left something for her. She glanced up, and saw that Chat lay flat on the ground, like he had been set down. The green guy looked like a puppet with cut strings, and the akuma had been thrown into a wall. They would still take a while before they woke.

The Girl grabbed the envelope and upended it over her palm. Two black earrings fell into her hand. “Put them on” is what the letter said, so she did. The Girl opened a small purse she had found, and looked at the strange red creature inside. For the first time, it cracked open its’ eyes.

“Marinette?”

*.*.*

Adrien had no idea what just happened, but he didn’t want it to happen again. He stood, and stiffened. There was a sensation that had become a part of him, one that he felt as acutely as his fingers: there, but not thought of. And one definitely missed them when they vanished. He pressed a hand to the pocket in his suit, and felt nothing. The earrings were gone. So was Marinette. Somehow, it was probably the akumas’ fault.

Adrien stood to his full height, and glowered at the akuma. It rose onto its’ thin back legs, and hissed back. Adrien jabbed his baton forward, like he was going to poke it in the nose. It hissed again and reared back. He stabbed at the feet, and it expertly danced around it. So, it was going to be like that?

A greed shield suddenly flew by, hitting the akuma in the middle of the torso. Adrien turned to see Nino retrieve the shield and give a cheeky salute, which Adrien returned in kind. Maybe this would work out…

Nope. This akuma hits really fucking hard. A thin limb struck out, and sent Adrien skidding away across the pavement, stopping when he hit his head against the building. Ouch.

Nino jumped forward and blocked the next attack, giving Adrien a chance to stand up and stand beside his friend. Nino looked over with a sheepish look. “Is this a bad time to mention that I totally had the ability to choose another ally miraculous wielder, and I totally didn’t?”

Adrien looked ahead. “We can focus on what could have happened later. Right now, we have to deal with what has happened and what is happening.”

A sudden boost of energy hit Adrien, making him suddenly jerk up straight. The sudden boost actually hurt! It was like something he had been missing suddenly returned, like when your leg goes asleep, and when you stand, the blood rushed back in. It’s painful, but it is a good type of pain. The pain of gaining something, not losing something.

Adrien also had no idea what this burst of energy meant. But he was certainly going to use it to his advantage.

He jumped up grabbed Nino’s shield, and rushed the akuma. The akuma was taken by surprise, and took several hits. Adrien was all over the akuma, using the spindly limbs to climb around the body, trying to take it down. However, nothing had an effect, and the element of surprise eventually wore off. The akuma grabbed both of Adriens’ arms and slammed him into the ground.

“Now I am going to take your miraculous. But not without taking another thing first...”

The akuma opened its’ mouth wide, and started to descend towards Adriens’ face. So, it was going to be like that.

Ninos’ shield flew in, but the akuma grabbed it out of the air and threw it away without so much as twitching away from Adrien.

That was when it happened. A whirring sound, like an angel playing a violin. Something hit the akuma in the face, knocking it back. That was when the angel behind the violin spoke.

“What the fuck, Chat? I leave for a while, and everything goes to absolute shit? Seriously?”

Adrien looked up to a nearby building, and his eyes went wide. For there, on top of the building, standing in a fighting pose, dressed in her red outfit, was Marinette.

Ladybug.

She was back.

And she was really. Fucking. Mad.

Ladybug jumped down, right onto the akuma. It held up its’ legs in defense, but she swept them away with ease. She didn’t even bother to look for the akuma, she just grabbed it by the nape of its’ neck and held it up. It didn’t try to fight it, it just held its’ legs limp.

“What do you think you’re doing, trying to eat my partner?”

With that, she literally threw the akuma into a wall. She walked over to Adrien, and helped him up. Without any delay, or grace, or even thought, Adrien threw his arms around her. She hugged him back just as tightly. “We’ll talk after the akuma.”

Adrien nodded, reluctantly letting go of her and turning to the akuma. “Well, we should wrap this up quickly. I have some things to do.”

Ladybug wrapped the akuma in her yo-yo, immobilizing it until everyone was in position. Adrien dashed to the left while Ladybug took the right. To their surprise, Nino came up the middle, filling in any hole to escape that the akuma might have had. Within a few exchanges of blows, the akumatized possession was taken and cleansed. Ladybug looked around, her eyes going wide in evident panic.

“I don’t have a lucky charm!! Tikki said that I would need a lucky charm in order to replace everything! She said that the one from the original fight would be best, but any would do. I planned on making one during this fight!!”

Adrien grabbed her shoulders. “Come with me.” He thanked Nino, then led her to his house and into his room. Opening his safe, he presented a red and black spotted fork. “This is the lucky charm from the original battle.”

Ladybug looked at him with a relieved smile on her face. “Well then, let’s put this all behind us.”

They walked outside, and she released the fork into the sky with a cry of “Miraculous Ladybug”, and the fork turned into a swarm of ladybugs, more than they have ever seen before. It covered every square inch of the city, healing the damage done by Chat Noir in her absence.

That night, there was a news headline that made everyone cheer: Ladybug Returns!!

Chapter Text

Marinette had thought that the miraculous cure would fix everything, but there was something about this situation that it couldn’t fix. Apparently, the initial akuma that started this whole thing was so far in the past, the miraculous cure could not actually fix some things. For example: memories. Marinette still remembered every moment of being a homeless girl without a name. And, she knew that Adrien still remembered when she was dead. The memorial was gone, but everyone knew it used to be there.

In fact, all of Paris was affected. Marinette was not the only person hit with the beam. The akuma had been testing out his powers for a while, so there were several other people who were affected. Also, every beam that Marinette and Adrien had dodged had gone into the crowd of spectators, wiping them away from everyone's minds as well.

Most of Paris had lost someone, and they all remembered who it was, and what it was like to lose them. No matter what Marinette did, she would see everyone who she failed. She could also see what it was like for the people affected by the akuma. She had lived it herself.

Most of all, Marinette felt like she had failed Adrien. She still remembered when she first saw him after her memories came back. He was in the street with the new hero, about to be eaten by a creepy akuma, and yet, he had the biggest smile on his face as he saw her. She took care of the akuma, and cleansed the city, but there was still that happiness that overtook him whenever he saw her.

The morning after her triumphant return, Marinette made her way to school. That was where she saw the actual effect of the akuma. As soon as she got in view of the school, a massive group ran out and started to bear down on her. Marinette had spent a long while on her own, and was not yet used to such large crowds interested in her, and started to panic. The group suddenly stopped when a loud shrill voice screeched “STOP!!”

Chloe walked forward and grabbed Marinette by the arm and started dragging her to the doors. As soon as they were out of sight of everyone, Chloe pulled Marinette closer and hugged her tightly.

“I’m so sorry. I remember what it was like to lose you, and it was horrible. But, it was before we made an understanding. I was horrible. I was sad, to be sure, but I was almost glad as well. During the stoneheart incident, you were still the brat Marinette, and I was almost happy that she was gone. I...”

Chloe broke down in tears, and Marinette pulled her into a bathroom. “I understand, Chloe. I forgive you.”

Chloe hung on Marinette like she was drowning, and Marinette held her back. Chloe eventually calmed down enough to stop crying, and Marinette studied her face. “You are going to need some concealer now. Your eyes are red and puffy. Here, I brought some.”

Marinette reached into her purse and brought out a makeup kit. Chloe peered at it in wonder. “That is an expensive brand!”

Marinette shrugged. “I used to get bad panic attacks, so I needed makeup that would cover it up well enough that nobody would notice.”

Chloe nodded. Marinette took some time to expertly cover up the marks left by crying, and when they left the bathroom, nobody was any the wiser. Adrien walked up with Alya and Nino. Alya rushed forward and threw her arms around Marinette, hugging her tightly. Adrien and Nino stood to the side, watching. Alya looked Marinette in the eye. “How are you doing, girl?”

Marinette smiled. “As good as can be expected.”

“Why did Chloe drag you off like that?” Adrien asked.

“We had an… exchanging of words. Nothing much.” Marinette gave Chloe a sidelong glance, and Chloe nodded in thanks. Her hard-earned reputation would be marred if anyone found out that she had been crying in the bathroom over Marinette.

Marinette and her newly appointed honor guard walked into the classroom and sat down. Alya and Marinette switched places, and Chloe went to sit behind Marinette, effectively closing Marinette into a box of her friends, preventing any large numbers of people from approaching Marinette.

This went on for several days, with the group letting people in based off of what Marinette said. If she felt that she could handle multiple people at once, they would let in two or three. If she got overwhelmed, they would cut it down to one at a time. It went like this for a while, the numbers of people increasing until Marinette could handle the class all at once.

What really became as issue was the fact that Hawkmoth was obviously angry at the fact that his plan was foiled, and was now sending out some pretty nasty akumas. The trio of heroes were getting overwhelmed, barely managing to scrape out a win on some of them. It didn’t help that the new guy, Carapace, did not actually have a lot of experience.

Marinette still didn’t know exactly who this new guy was, but Adrien apparently trusted him, so Marinette did too. He was handy in a fight, he just needed to get some experience.

One day in class, Marinette, Adrien and Nino were sitting in the park, waiting for Alya to join them. They were discussing the akumas when Nino suddenly decided to say something that made Marinette whirl around with wide eyes.

“I think that we need some more help against the akumas. I still have two miraculous still dormant that I can give out.”

Adrien looked over at Nino with a warning glance, and Nino looked over at Marinette with wide eyes.

“Nino?” Marinette couldn’t make her voice work correctly.

“I guess that I never told you, did I?”

Marinette just stared.

“Well, for clarity’s sake, I am the new hero, Carapace. And, since I have taken over the role of Guardian, I know that you are Ladybug and Adrien is Chat Noir.”

Marinette nodded, unable to speak. Adrien stepped in. “What was this that you were saying about a new wielder?”

Nino shrugged. “I think that we should choose another wielder for the miraculous. Specifically, the fox miraculous. I have an idea of who to give it to, but would like your opinion on it.”

Adrien and Marinette exchanged quick glances. “I think that we are all in agreement on the person already.”

*.*.*

Chloe sat back in her chair in shock, staring at the screen. It all made sense!! Chloe had spent the last hour going through the list of people who had been affected by the recent akuma, so she could tell her father to send a small amount of money to their families for therapy. If Marinette was anything to go by, they might need it.

However, Chloe had stumbled onto something massive. She went into the search with the knowledge that Ladybug was one of the victims, and tried to avoid figuring it out. But, it was unavoidable. Chloe knew Marinette very well, and thought that she also knew Ladybug, but was clearly mistaken. Now, though, she knew. It was like a veil had been lifted from her eyes, and the two were clearly unmistakable. Marinette was Ladybug.

If this was a few months ago, Chloe would have held this over Marinettes’ head as blackmail, but now things were different. Chloe fully intended on helping Marinette keep her secret.

*.*.*

Alya sat in her room, editing the ladyblog. She usually wasn’t up this late, and had even told Nino to stop texting her. Nino had been texting her constantly for the last hour, and Alya had finally had enough, so she told him that she was going to bed.

However, Alya was busy putting in a new section for the Ladyblog devoted to Carapace. She was just putting on the finishing touches when a noise at her window caught her attention. She looked and saw a shape outside, opening her window from the outside. After a brief panic, Alya realized who it was and waited.

Soon enough, Carapace entered the room. He walked over to her desk and started to set something down when Alya flicked on her lights. Carapace jumped back and landed on her bed in shock.

“Hey, Nino.” Alya raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing in my room at this late hour?”

Nino looked back in shock. “Firstly, I have two questions for you. Why are you still up, and how the hell do you know who I am?”

Alya sighed. “I got bored of you texting me every three seconds, so I told you that I was going to sleep to shut you up. And, I figured out Ladybug and Chat Noir. Carapace was a cakewalk compared to them.”

Nino slumped back. “Alright.”

Alya sat forward. “Now, why are you in my room?”

Nino perked up. “Oh, I think that you’ll like this.” Nino proffered a black box to Alya, who took it. Opening it, an orange light burst forth, and when it dimmed, a floating orange shape took its’ place.

Chapter Text

Marinette stood on a rooftop next to Chat and Carapace. Chat was standing next to her, and Carapace leaned against a chimney. They had been there for 10 minutes, waiting for Alya to show up. Nino told them that she had taken to Trixx nicely, and that she was excited to be a part of the team. However, she still had not shown up to the patrol. The three had sat there gazing at the sunset, waiting and hoping that she said yes.

There was a loud crash on the ground, and the trio jumped up, waiting for what made the crash to appear. They knew what it was. As expected, an orange blur shot up to the roof and landed in a heap next to them. Alya, laying down on the roof, looked back with wide eyes.

Her costume was very similar to Volpina. It was orange, with a white stomach, and fox ears. On the back was a puffy orange tail with a white tip. Strapped to her back was a flute, similar to Volpina. However, her costume was not quite as… aggressive as Volpina. Although, that was more based off of who was actually inside the suit.

“So, everyone knows who everyone is?” Alya spoke from the ground. When everyone nodded, she stood. “What the hell, Marinette? This is much more difficult than you mentioned!”

Marinette giggled. “You should have seen how I met Chat. I kinda… crashed into him after my first time using my yo-yo.”

Nino stepped forward. “And I almost took out a taxi when I first transformed.”

Adrien looked over. “That was you? I thought that was the akuma that was attacking!”

Nino looked abashed. Alya turned to Adrien. “Do you have any fun first time stories?”

Adrien gave a cocky grin. “Nah. I was slacklining across my baton the first time.”

“You fell off!!” Marinette swatted him on the shoulder.

“That’s because you landed on me the first time you used your yo-yo!”

Alya and Nino burst out laughing. “Seriously? Adrien, you also wasted your cataclysm the first time because you didn’t listen to Plagg.”

Adrien shot Alya a murderous glare, but his smile ruined the effect. Everyone else just laughed.

“Alright, so lets get you better with your powers, shall we? What exactly are they?”

Alya shrugged. “When I mentioned that there had been a fox akuma, Trixx became interested and I showed her the footage. She said that those are the powers, basically. Except that there is one thing that is different: the Fox’s Grin. With that, I can make an illusion real for five minutes, before I have to recharge.”

Marinette nodded, impressed. “That is pretty helpful.”

Alya nodded as well. “I haven’t tried to do anything yet, I only just transformed.”

Adrien stepped forward. “Well then lets try it out. See if you can make an illusion of me.”

Alya pulled out her flute and closed her eyes in concentration. She played a tune, and the end of the flute lit up, then a smoky Chat Noir appeared. His edges were hazy, and his face was unrecognizable.

“Try to focus.” Marinette stepped forward to put a reassuring hand on Alya’s shoulder, but Nino stepped in.

“Actually, think about it. If you focus too much, only one aspect of Chat will be distinct. Alya, just try to get a general idea of what he looks like.”

Alya nodded, and played a tune again. The Chat Noir on the roof suddenly became sharper, the face more recognizable. But, if Marinette looked closely, there were still features that were wrong.

“That’s about as good as it’s going to get.” Alya ended the illusion.

Adrien perked up. “Well, that’s great timing.”

Alya’s fox ears popped up. “I hear it too.”

Marinette and Nino looked over. “Hear what?”

“Akuma.” Adrien grabbed his baton. “This way.”

Adrien jumped off of the roof, and started towards the Eiffel Tower.

“Will we ever get an akuma who doesn’t attack the Tower?” Marinette jumped off and lassoed her way after Chat.

The akuma looked to be extremely simple, just a guy who shone bright lights everywhere. Some dude didn’t like the lighting in a play, it seemed. Marinette found the akuma, a stage light that the guy was carrying.

“MY NAME IS PHOTON. YOU WILL LEARN TO FEAR THE LIGHT.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, and Chat laughed. “At least this one is an accurate name.”

Alya and Carapace stepped forward. Marinette gave Alya a sideways glance. “Hey, what’s your superhero name?”

Alya smiled. “I thought of a good one already. Rena Rouge.”

Carapace grinned. “I like it.”

“I call introducing her!!” Adrien shot off the roof before anyone could say anything. Landing on the ground, Adrien used his baton as a fake microphone. The akuma seemed to know what was happening, and lit the area like a stadium. “Hello, Paris! Welcome to tonight's main event, Team Miraculous VS the akuma, Photon!!! I am your host, Chat Noir, at your service. Introducing tonight's contestants: on team akuma, we have Photon!! Wooo!! And over here on Team Miraculous, we have: The Miraculous Ladybug!!” With that, Marinette jumped down, and landed in a showy manner. “The Marvelous Carapace!!” Nino landed in an equally flashy stance. “Myself, the dashing Chat Noir!!” Adrien struck a pose. “And, tonight, we have a very special treat. Team Miraculous now has a new team member: The Mighty Rena Rouge!!” Alya jumped down, and landed with surprising grace, striking the final pose.

“HA!! YOU THINK THAT A NEW MEMBER AND A FLASHY INTRODUCTION WILL DEFEAT ME, PHOTON?”

Nino stepped forward. “Ummm… yes?”

The akuma laughed, spreading his arms. Marinette rolled her eyes and threw her yo-yo, snaring the light. “Well, Rena, I’m sorry, but your first akuma wasn’t very difficult. Want to do the honors?” Marinette held out the light.

Alya squealed, and grabbed it, but then froze, looking up at a roof. The team turned and saw Hawkmoth standing on the roof, watching them. Alya turned white, and Nino couldn’t stop staring. Adrien looked up, and then back at the two new ones. Marinette got the feeling that Hawkmoth hadn’t shown up when she vanished, and they haven’t seen him since she got back.

“Don’t worry, he did that for a bit before Ladybug got whammied. It’ll be fine.”

Alya smiled shakily, and returned her attention to the light. She lifted it over her head, and smashed it to the ground, releasing the black butterfly. Marinette easily caught it with her yo-yo, and released the white butterfly. That was when it happened.

There was a loud thump behind them, startling them all into turning around. Marinette squeaked, Adrien stumbled, Nino screamed, and Alya literally fell over. Hawkmoth stood on the ground before them, walking forward with intent. He was not going to sit this one out.

Alya stepped forward and cried out “Fox’s Grin!!” and sent forward a large wrestler to attack Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth didn’t even flinch. When the wrestler reached him, Hawkmoth lifted his cane and brought it down hard on the wrestlers’ head. The wrestler went down, and didn’t come back up. They knew that he meant business, and did not mean for them to walk away from this one.

“To the roof! Rena, stay with us until we get there, I don’t want to let him follow you instead of us!” Marinette grappled her way to the roof, followed by the team. Hawkmoth appeared in front of them on the roof, emerging from a swarm of butterflies.

“You think that even with all four of you fighting, you have a chance? I will get your miraculous. And you will not stop me.” Hawkmoth stepped forward, and the team stepped back. Hawkmoth grinned. “You have taken down akuma after akuma, and yet you are scared of me? How pitiful.”

Hawkmoth started to sprint towards them, but was intercepted by a streak of blue. Hawkmoth was slammed into a wall, held there by a tall thin man in a bright blue suit, accentuated with green highlites, and a long tail that looked to be made from feathers.

Marinette remembered that she had seen a blue streak recently, helping them out. This must be another Miraculous holder. Looked like a peacock. It somehow looked familiar. She saw a brooch on the jacket, and pointed it out to Adrien.

*.*.*

Adrien followed where Marinette pointed, and saw what he never thought he would. A peacock brooch on the jacket. Marinette was pointing out what the miraculous was. Problem was, Adrien had seen it before.

“No...”

Adrien knew who the peacock holder was.

Hawkmoth sneered at the man holding him. “Bluebird. How nice to see you again, Partner.”

Bluebird looked back. “Yes, Butterfly. How nice.”

“I never liked that name and you know it.”

Bluebird smiled. “Then you wouldn’t have chosen it. If I remember, you took it upon yourself to name both of us. I never got a say in the matter. I would have much preferred Paon.”

Hawkmoth scoffed. “That name is stupid.”

“So is Bluebird.”

Hawkmoth grinned evilly. “So are you.” and he brought his cane up between them and pushed Bluebird away roughly. Rushing forward, Hawkmoth brought it down on his head, dazing the blue hero. “Let’s show these kids who you really are. Chat will definitely like it.” Hawkmoth grabbed Bluebirds hand, placed it on the brooch, and muttered something quietly. With a blue flash, Gabriel Agreste was revealed laying on the roof.

The entire team gasped, and Adrien felt his blood boil. He looked at Hawkmoth in rage. He ran forward, intending to meet Hawkmoth in battle.

*.*.*

Marinette watched in horror as Adrien dashed in, fury in his eyes. He would not last long against the seasoned hero!! There was an orange flash beside her, and Marinette whirled around to see Nino hugging Alya. “Get her out of here!!”

Nino nodded and ran to the door. Marinette turned back, and saw that Chat was in the middle of a sword fight with Hawkmoth. Marinette dashed over to gabriel and slapped his cheeks to wake him up. Gabriel opened his eyes slowly and looked around. When he saw ladybug, he relaxed, but tensed again when her expression registered. “What’s wrong? Is Adrien OK?”

Marinette nodded, looking over his shoulder. “Yes, but not for long unless we can defeat Hawkmoth. Do you know how to fight him?”

Gabriel shook his head. “He had changed too much over the years, and I have not changed enough. I can be of no help to you.”

Marinette turned around, and was met with a backhand to the face. Hawkmoth held Adrien up by the throat, and was facing Marinette. Marinette stood and slowly walked away from Gabriel, hoping that he could transform and free Adrien. But, Gabriel merely shook his head, and motioned to the brooch. It was still colorful, which meant that the kwami was still inside. Dormant.

Marinette looked back at Hawkmoth. “What do you want?”

Hawkmoth laughed. “What a stupid little girl. You know what I want. Give me the earrings or he will die.” Marinette looked at Chat, who nodded.

“Spots off.” Marinette transformed back, and caught Tikki.

“I will give you two time to say goodbye.” Hawkmoth threw Adrien to Marinette, who stumbled back and fell under the sudden weight.

Adrien stood quickly, and turned to Tikki. “Am I right?” Tikki looked back, a scared expression on her face. “AM I RIGHT?” Tikki nodded solemnly. “Very well. Marinette, you have to give him the miraculous.”

Marinette looked into his eyes. “What? NO!”

“Time’s up.” Hawkmoth grabbed Adrien by the neck again, and slammed him into the wall. The wall cracked, and there were audible pops from Adrien’s neck. Adrien went slack. “Well, that simplifies things.” Hawkmoth reached down and grabbed the ring off of Adrien. Marinette realized what that meant. A miraculous could not be taken without consent. Recognizing defeat, Marinette took off her earrings, giving one last look to Tikki, who was looking at Adrien with interest.

A wail of despair came from Gabriel, who stood and hobbled over to Adrien, clutching his body. Marinette closed her eyes, and held out the earrings. Hawkmoth took them, and put both them and the ring on at the same time. Hawkmoths’ costume turned pure white, and he started to fly off of the ground.

Marinette looked over to Adrien, and saw him cradled in his fathers’ arms. Gabriel had his head down on Adriens’ chest, his face suddenly pensive. Marinette figured that apathy was the only way he knew to cope with loss like this. Marinette figured that she might give it a try.

Hawkmoth started to experiment with the powers, flying higher and dipping lower. He created a car, and immediately took it apart again. He pressed his hand against the door and rust crept outwards, but the door remained sturdy. That was when Marinette realized something. Hawkmoth wasn’t swooping down after flying higher, he was falling back down. He didn’t take the car apart, it fell apart on it’s own.

A sudden noise caught Marinette and Hawkmoth’s attention. Clapping.

Marinette looked over to see Adrien walking forward, perfectly upright, clapping his hands at Hawkmoth.

“Congratulations, Hawkmoth. You done fucked up.”

Chapter Text

Marinette had no idea what the hell was going on. She had to rethink through what just happened. She needed a good way to get her mind around this, so she used the ten-step method she used to use during panic attacks.

1. Hawkmoth grabbed Adrien by the neck, forcing her to give up her miraculous.

2. Adrien was released to say goodbye.

3. Adrien said something strange to Tikki.

4. Hawkmoth decided to attack Adrien, slamming him into the wall.

5. There was a popping sound coming from Adrien as he hit the wall, likely his neck fucking BREAKING against the wall.

6. Hawkmoth took Adriens’ miraculous. This could only happen in two circumstances: if the wielder allowed it, or if they were dead.

7. Hawkmoth had the powers of creation and destruction.

8. Adrien was actually alive, and applauding Hawkmoth.

9. Marinette is really fucking confused.

10. So is Hawkmoth.

Nope. That didn’t help. And yet, there he was. Adrien, walking forward nonchalantly.

Hawkmoth turned to face him as Adrien started talking.

“Are you having trouble with the powers? Don’t worry. I hear it is a common issue with men your age.”

Hawkmoth turned red. “Well, then. I suppose I should show you how serious I truly am.”

Turning towards Marinette, Hawkmoth started to step towards her. Without any spoken word, a black cloud grew around his hand, showing that he had summoned cataclysm. Marinette felt her breath hitch, and Adrien finally had a crack in his facade. He watched silently, but with a tense face, his neck tendons standing out. Gabriel also stood, watching with a blank face. Marinette didn’t know why they were so calm. She would have thought that Adrien at least would be rushing to stop Hawkmoth.

Hawkmoth stopped in front of Marinette, and held his hand near her face. “What do you think? Should I make it quick? No. That is too easy.” Hawkmoth reached down and grabbed her wrist, pulling it up for her to look at, so she could watch herself get eaten away. Marinette watched the black power enter her skin, like she had watched Chat do to several items. She never imagined that she would ever see cataclysm occur on human skin.

Nothing happened.

There was no damage to Marinettes’ arm. Marinette felt the magic burning through her arm, but there was no damage being done.

Marinettes’ mind suddenly went back to a conversation she had had with Tikki after Adrien had transformed without the ring.

“The true wielder of creation cannot be harmed by the effects of cataclysm. No matter who wields it. However, I cannot tell you if you are the true wielder. I cannot interfere with this process. And, you cannot test yourself. This will be fatal if you are wrong.”

Marinette suddenly realized what the conversation between Adrien and Tikki meant. Was Adrien correct that she was the true wielder! Tikki said that he was correct!

Adrien barked a quick laugh, drawing the attention of Hawkmoth. “Well, what a display! Five stars, at least. I’m going on a scale of fifty, by the way. Allow me to show you how it is done.”

Hawkmoth glared. “You don’t have the ring. I’m not giving it back, and you cannot transform without it.”

Adrien turned and looked at Gabriel. “Pere, in the last several months, how much have I been following the rules?”

Gabriel never changed his stoic look. “Apparently, not very much.”

Adrien smiled. “Well, if it ain’t broke. PLAGG, CLAWS OUT!!”

A black shape got sucked out of Hawkmoth, going straight towards Adrien, slamming into his chest. Adrien staggered back with a grunt, but stood again in the guise of Chat Noir.

“So, this is the correct way to do cataclysm.” Summoning his power, Adrien pressed his hand against the door, and it crumbled to dust.

“Allow me to try. CLAWS OUT.” Hawkmoth held out the hand with the ring, but nothing happened.

“MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNOT happening.” Adrien looked over at Marinette. “Care to join me, My Lady?”

Marinette then remembered that transforming without the miraculous was actually something that could happen. “TIKKI, SPOTS ON!!”

A red shape detached itself from Hawkmoth, leaving him in his original costume, and shot towards Marinette. Marinette instinctively thought that it would go towards her ears, but it instead slammed into her chest.

Marinette decided that she didn’t like doing this.

She remembered what Adrien had said about it when he first did it. “It felt like getting hit full force by a truck.” That was very accurate.

Marinette felt the magic run rampant through her body for a few seconds, transforming her much more violently than usual, but after a bit, it became more natural, like it normally was. When she opened her eyes, she was clad in her usual red and black suit.

Hawkmoth now looked genuinely scared, but he recovered, smirked and pulled out a phone from a pocket in his suit.

“Am I seriously the only person who doesn’t get pockets?” Marinette glared at Chat, who grinned back and put a hand in one of his pockets.

“The issue of who has pockets where will have to come later. I have no doubt that I will lose a fight against the two of you. So, I decided to make some insurance in case you decided to give me too much of a fight. I sent out a few henchmen, all of whom went out at different times dressed as you two, and did various crimes in your names. These people have been doing this since the beginning. However, they have not been caught. Yet. I had them plant some evidence. A picture here, a hair there, and now I have evidence of you two doing things from robbing banks to at least one of the recent murders.”

Adrien and Marinette exchanged looks, both of them concerned. “And, if we don’t give up our miraculous, you will send the story viral?”

Hawkmoth smiled. “Yes.”

Marinette smirked. “Well, you’re going down anyways. They can look for as long as they want, and they won’t find us. We won’t need to go out.”

Hawkmoth gave a smile. “We shall see. You have made your decision?”

Adrien nodded firmly. Hawkmoth pressed a button, and stepped forward. “I suppose that I should mention that I have included this location.”

Marinette started forward. “Well then let’s make this quick.”

Hawkmoth brandished his cane. “That is not the plan.”

Marinette jumped forward, and was intercepted by the cane. Adrien came in, and was stopped by a kick from Hawkmoth. The fight dragged on for a few minutes, until Adriens’ ring was beeping insistently. Gabriel sat in the corner of the room, holding the peacock brooch, speaking words over it.

By the end of the fight, Hawkmoth was breathing heavily, but the two heroes were just fine. Eventually, Adrien managed to get his baton around Hawkmoth, disabling him, allowing Marinette to snatch the butterfly brooch at his neck. Hawkmoth laughed.

“Have you not been paying attention? You cannot take it unless I allow it, or am dead. However, I allow you the satisfaction to know you have beaten me. I have stalled you long enough, anyways. Nooro, I reject you.”

A purple flash overtook Hawkmoth, revealing a man in a suit. What surprised Adrien and Marinette was that neither of them had any idea who it was. It was just a guy. They had spent the last long while fighting just a random guy.

“Feel free to turn me into the police. I think that they will be interested in another set of people, though.” Hawkmoth smiled slyly.

Gabriel walked up to Adrien and held out the peacock brooch. “I will handle the police. You get yourself home.”

Hawkmoth’s smile fell. “You will still be hunted. You may not even make it out of the door.”

Marinette stood, putting a hand on Gabriels’ shoulder. “Thank you, Monsieur Agreste.”

Adrien stood as well, nodding his thanks. Then, the two ran out the door. They made it to the first hallway, when an orange shape tackled them to the ground. They disentangled themselves from the shape and saw Rena Rouge standing also.

“We have to go. I just got the alert from the police, they are searching for all of us!!” Nino stepped up behind them. “Alya, did you have to tackle them?”

“I didn’t mean to, I’m still not used-”

“Hawkmoth has planted evidence of at least the two of us committing various crimes throughout the city. He sent the evidence to the police as revenge against us.” Adrien interrupted Alya and grabbed Marinette again. “We have to go.”

Nino walked up to them. “We are too late. Apparently, the police decided to wait for you to get down with Hawkmoth, so they can take custody immediately. They already have the place surrounded.”

Marinette walked over to a window and looked down, seeing that Nino was right. “Shit. Well, we can exit out of a window, if we need to. Le Grande Paris is right across the street. We can meet up on the roof, and figure something out over there.”

After everyone agreed, Adrien threw his baton at the window, shattering it. Nino stepped up. “Do you think that we need to execute Plan B?”

Adrien shook his head. “Not until we know what is going on.” With that, he ran and jumped out the window, followed by everyone else.

Marinette landed on the roof, and was startled to find that they were not alone. Chloe sat on a chair, watching them, a pair of binoculars stashed under her chair.

“Come with me. I saw the fight, and saw that Hawkmoth used his phone right before the police got the anonymous tip about you.” Chloe stood and left without waiting for an answer, leaving the quartet of heroes no choice but to follow.

They followed Chloe into her room, and she locked the door. “The police saw you come here, so Daddy will probably check my room to make sure that I am not hiding any superheroes. So, you will have to be visiting to help me with my homework. I just forgot to tell him.”

Nino stepped forward. “Won’t he be suspicious if, you know, you were having the four heroes he was looking for help you with homework?”

Chloe took a deep breath. “You will have to go back to being civilians. Don’t worry about any sort of big reveal issue. I sorta found out about Ladybug on accident, then figured who Chat Noir would be. Knowing those two, I can guess on who you two are. But that is a story for another time, Daddy is coming!! Don’t be shy, I- fine. Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Nino, feel free to make yourselves at home. Now.”

The heroes looked at each other, then sighed, releasing their transformations. Chloe watched in awe as the flashes of light overtook them and revealed their alter egos. A few minutes later, the Mayor poked his head in. “Chloe, darling. Have you seen- Oh. Hello. I didn’t know we were having guests.”

Chloe looked up from the table, where she was leaning back, not doing any work. “I sent you a text. Did you not get it?” As the Mayor pulled out his phone, Chloe pretended to check hers. “Oh, I didn’t press send, I guess. They’re just helping me with my homework.”

The Mayor nodded and closed the door. Adrien leaned forward and looked out the window. “They are taking my father out of the building now.” The other four people jumped up to look, and saw Gabriel walking out, talking to an officer. The officer nodded, writing something down, and left. “That’s just like my father. He probably said his statement on the way down, saying that he had important business to take care of.”

As if on cue, Adriens’ phone rang. He answered and listened to something for a few minutes with his finger on his lips. “Yes, Pere. I am at Le Grande Paris, with the Mayors daughter, Chloe.” Then, he listened for a little bit more, said “Yes, Pere” and hung up. “My father will be here shortly. He was pretending to talk to a business partner, so it didn’t sound suspicious.”

They went back to watching TV (Which they were doing before the Mayor checked on them) and waited until they saw Gabriel approaching on the security TV. One he arrived, they let him in and thanked the butler who escorted him. Gabriel entered and raised an eyebrow at the scene before him. “You certainly trust Ms. Bourgeois quite a bit. Unless she doesn’t know?”

Adrien stepped forward. “She found out about Marinette after the incident, and used reasoning to figure out the rest.”

Gabriel nodded. “Very well.”

Alya piped up “Hey, before we jumped over, you mentioned Plan B?”

Nino nodded. “It is one of the plans that Adrien and I came up with during the incident.”

“How many plans are there? Is there, for example, a Plan M?” Marinette didn’t even know what she expected the answer to be.

Adrien smiled. “Carapace dies in Plan M.”

“I like Plan M.” Alya punched Nino in the arm to show she was joking.

Gabriel cleared his throat. “Knowing my sons’ sense of humor, I can guess what Plan B is. I think that we should execute Plan B. Do you have a candidate?”

Nino cleared his throat. “Well, no. That’s why it was the emergency recourse. We have to choose the right person. We can start looking right away.”

Gabriel nodded. “That would be best. Now, I think that we should all take our leave.”

Everyone agreed. Nino took Alya home, and Gabriel gave Marinette a ride. Marinette entered her house to her parents waiting anxiously. Marinette entered, and immediately went in for a hug.

“We have every faith that you will get out of this, but we were so scared.” Sabine was nearly in tears.

“I’ll be fine, Maman.” Marinette hugged them back. However, she only wished that she felt how her words sounded.

Chapter Text

Adrien met up with the other three during lunch in a corner of the courtyard, so they could discuss options. Alya stepped forward first. “I think that we should actually be fine. Hawkmoth has been taken care of, we have no reason to go out anymore.”

Marinette made an agreeing noise, but added: “But what if things get out of hand? What if we are needed again?”

“We just have to be careful if that happens. Just don’t get cornered by the police.”

“Nino is right. However, maybe we can just explain the situation?” Alya looked hopeful. Adrien didn’t blame her.

“That might work, but Pere and I got a look at the evidence and it is pretty convincing. Things like cell phone pictures of us in the dark holding stolen items, security footage, etc.” Adrien slumped his shoulders. “We would need some pretty impressive evidence to the contrary to beat that.”

Marinette leaned against Adrien in defeat. “I guess that we just have to hope that we are not needed in the future.”

Adrien shook his head. “That’s not going to be an option. The police are not the only people hunting us. My father explained something to me last night that when he was a still a hero, there was a team of other miraculous users who were held in reserve to hunt down any rouge miraculous users. They didn’t come to take care of Hawkmoth because the two most powerful miraculous were activated to counter the threat by the time they heard anything. But now, the two most powerful miraculous have gained two allies and are now accused of rouge themselves. So, they will most likely come to Paris to take us down. We can’t just not come out anymore, either. They know how the hero thinks, and they will not shy away from extreme tactics. They are not heroes, and have no code like that.”

Nino leaned forward on his knees. “Plan B?”

Adrien nodded. “Things are dire enough now.”

Alya flung her hands up into the air. “What is Plan B?”

Nino looked up. “We have to search for a new Miraculous holder for the final Miraculous stone. The Bee Comb. That’s what Plan B is. Plan Bee.”

Everyone looked over at Adrien, who shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Marinette shook her head. “All jokes aside, we should really figure out who we are giving the comb to, then.”

Nino frowned. “That’s the thing. We don’t have the time to research into people correctly and watch them to make sure that they are suitable. We just have to make a judgment call.”

Wayzz suddenly zipped into view. “Master, there is one other option. I know you have tried it.”

Nino turned his body so the little god was out of view. “You know how I feel about that honorific. And, you know how I feel about that method. I have tried it and the result was not a good one.”

Alya leaned in. “What method? What result?”

Nino closed his eyes. “As the Guardian, I have the ability to… sense who could be a good miraculous holder. However, it is very inaccurate, and I think that my little sense is completely fucked, because my intuition says Chloe.”

Marinette scoffed, but Adrien thought about it seriously. He knew Chloe the best out of all the group, and thinking about it… “I think that we should actually consider this. Think about it. Chloe has made some serious progress recently, and she already knows about us. I think that a miraculous might actually be good for her.”

Nino leaned forward and placed his hand on Adriens’ forehead. “Are you feeling alright, bro?”

Adrien slapped the hand away. “Who was it that figured out our secret identities a while ago, but didn’t tell anyone? Who was it that saw that we were in trouble and immediately decided to help, even thought her father was against the idea? Who is it that has promised her help whenever needed?”

Adrien looked over and was happy to see that Marinette was making a good effort to think about it. “I think you may be right. Chloe has been doing much better, and she might be a good addition to the team. Either way, she will be helping, and I think that out circle of helpers is large enough anyways.”

Nino and Alya sighed. Alya leaned back. “I suppose that I might be a little bit biased.” Nino made an agreeing noise.

“I suppose that I am also a little biased. What you guys are saying makes sense. I will talk to her tonight. I think that you guys should be there, though.”

Adrien nodded. “We will be.”

*.*.*

Marinette swung up on top of a building across from the hotel, where the team had decided to meet. They were surprised to see a massive security force bordering the hotel.

“This is going to make things very difficult. How are we going to get in?” Alya folded her arms.

“Look at her window.” Adrien pointed. “She is on her balcony. If I aim my baton correctly...” Adrien held his baton at an angle, and a beam of light reflected off and hit Chloe, catching her attention. She looked down and pulled out her phone, pointing to it.

Adrien transformed back and pulled his own phone out. A few seconds later, it started ringing, and Adrien answered. “Chloe? Yes, it’s me. We have to talk to you, is there a way that we can talk face to face? No, this shouldn’t be at school. It needs to be private. Yes, we can. See you soon.” Putting away his phone, Adrien turned to the group. “Chloe will meet us here.”

After several minutes of waiting, Chloe came up onto the roof through the roof access door. “Hey. I managed to slip through the guards, but I don’t have long. What was so important?”

Nino stepped forward. “We have all decided that the time has come to make some changes. We are up against some pretty impressive sounding forces, and we will probably need help with things.”

Chloe lifted an eyebrow. “And you would like my help finding someone to help you?”

Adrien shook his head. “No, we have already found someone.”

Chloe thought for a second, then her face turned from skeptical to disbelief. “You are asking me to join your team?”

Nino pulled out a small black box. “Yes. We are. In this box is the bee comb miraculous. It is yours, if you would like.”

Chloe looked around at all of the other faces, her eyes wide. “You mean that I can be in the same team as Ladybug? Hell yeah, I’m in.”

Nino handed her the box, and Chloe placed it in her purse. “You should consult your kwami about any questions you have.”

Chloe nodded. “There are many questions. But, you’re right, no time to explain things. When will you guys be out on patrol next?”

Marinette shook her head. “We can’t risk patrol anymore. But, we still need a place to practice and train.”

“My father should be able to clear out one of our unused warehouses around here. We can train there.” Adrien pulled out his baton. “But, in the meantime, there is a helicopter approaching. We should go.”

The team all went to the door, letting Chloe leave, then went their separate ways. Well, nearly. Nino went with Alya, and Marinette went with Adrien to his house. He landed lithely in his room, and Marinette landed next to him. Adrien quickly transformed back and ran out his door to let his father know he was home. Marinette went to his couch, pulling out her phone to send a quick text to her parents. Adrien returned and sat next to Marinette, pulling her close, while she cuddled close to him. Adrien turned on his TV and put on the movie he had in. Marinette was slightly surprised to find that it was anime. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

They watched the show until they both found themselves waking up the next morning. Marinette rubbed her eyes and pushed herself off of… well… Adriens’ chest. Adrien stirred and opened his eyes. “Did we seriously fall asleep at the TV?”

“I think we did.” Marinette sat up, and Tikki flew into the room, followed by Plagg.

“Marinette! Gabriel managed to wake up Duusu!! He is awake!!”

Plagg flew into Adriens’ desk and downed the camembert stored in there. “You should go meet him. Duusu is probably the most eccentric of all the kwamis. Most people seem to enjoy him.”

Marinette and Adrien split up and got dressed in different clothes, so it wasn’t too obvious that they had fallen asleep together. They made their way to the office, and saw that the door was slightly ajar. They heard voices drifting through the door.

“...you sure that this is true? They might come for them?”

“Yes, Duusu. I think that they are coming.”

“Well then I think that it is a good thing that you managed to wake me up again, Master.”

“You know what I think of that title. I am glad I woke you, though. I don’t know what I would have done if I couldn’t.”

“Of course, Gabriel...”

Marinette grabbed Adrien and pulled him back to his room. “I don’t think that we should interrupt their reunion.”

Adrien nodded. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost Plagg. I understand why we should leave them be for now.”

Marinette sat back down on the couch and pulled Adrien down next to her. Adrien leaned against her, and Marinette scratched his head. “Duusu seemed worried about the Miraculous hunters. Do you think that we should also be concerned?”

Adrien smiled up at her. “I think that we have nothing to worry about. We have my father, your parents, Alya, Nino, and, of course, they would have to fight Ladybug and Chat Noir. They have no chance!”

Marinette laughed then, leaning down over Adrien. Her phone chimed, letting them know that Alya and Nino had arrived. Adrien told Nathalie to open the gate, and soon enough, the other couple entered the room. Marinette immediately noticed that they seemed to be more bedraggled than they had any reason to be. “Did you two actually have a sleepover too?”

Alya glanced at Nino and looked back, giving the most unconvincing “no” Marinette had ever heard.

Adrien burst out laughing. “I didn’t know you two were there yet?”

Nino pointed. “We could say the same about you two.”

Marinette looked down at herself, and saw that she had Adriens’ black shirt on. “I guess it’s a good thing that we didn’t go to see your father, then.”

As if summoned, Gabriel entered the room. “I think we should all meet in the dining room. Make sure that you-” He stopped when he looked at Marinette, then made a subtle glance to Adrien, who was going extremely red. “I shall see you there.”

Gabriel awkwardly left, closing the door again. Alya and Nino looked at each other, then left after him. Marinette and Adrien stood there, embarrassment rooting them to the spot.

Adrien looked down at his shoes, and hunched his shoulders. “He thinks that we did more than we really did.”

Marinette giggled at the look on his face. “Well, I suppose that we should get down there soon.”

Adrien looked up again. “How can I face him now?”

Marinette stepped close. “If we can beat the Miraculous hunters, fending off Gabriel Agreste will be no big deal” Then, Marinette did the one thing she never thought she would ever do. She reached up and planted her lips on his, hugging him tightly. Adrien was taken by surprise, but recovered quickly, hugging her back. They remained like that for a while, before they separated.

“With a demonstration like that, I don’t think that we have anything to fear.” Adrien straightened his back and started out the door. Marinette smiled behind her hand and followed after him. Maybe, if they worked together, they could get out of this.

With a smile on her face, Marinette made her way to the dining room, knowing that no matter what happened, she had the support of her friends.