Archive of Our Own

“For the LAST time, no, I won’t!”

“But come on, Rena! You’ll love it, I promise!”

“Carapace, I refuse to play RISK!”

“Ladybug! Your friend is broken, and she needs to be fixed!”

“Hey, fix her yourself, she’s your girlfriend.”
“BUT YOUR BEST FRIEND!”

“Hey, I thought I was Bugaboo’s best friend!”
“SHUT UP, CAT NOIR!”

“All of you, stop fighting! I’m trying to paint my nails!”

“SHUT UP, QUEEN BEE!”

This was how most Friday nights started, and tonight was no different. Ever since Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee had joined Cat Noir and Ladybug, Fridays were team building nights. Rain or shine, the only thing that stopped the super heros from meeting up on a rooftop or on the Eiffel tower were Akuma attacks.

The recent akumas had gotten more and more violent, vicious, and determined to get Cat Noir and Ladybug’s miraculous. Battles tended to last two or three hours at the least these days, even with the three new heros. After the exhaustion that came with the prolonged akuma battles, plus school and homework, plus other responsibilities and jobs, the Miraculous Team needed some time to relax and get to know one another. In the beginning the heroes were careful not to get to know each other too well (after all, secret identities were secret for a reason), but after an accidental reveal (or five) the heros were all able to become even better friends, inside and outside of the masks. So the tradition of Friday Team Night continued.

CRUD! I’M LATE, I’M LATE, I’M SO LATE Marinette had, once again, spent too much time on her designs for the new Gabriel contests, got distracted by YouTube, and forgot all about her team hangouts on Friday night. Scrambling, Marinette threw her dark hair into her iconic pigtails, jumped into her shoes, and scooped a lightly snoozing Tikki into her purse.

“Mom! I’m going out!” Marinette called as she trotted down the stairs to her attic room, quickly grabbing a box of sugar croissants on the kitchen counter.
“Where are you going, honey?” Sabine’s voice called from somewhere in the house.

“I’m going to Alya’s for a late night!”

“Okay, have fun, don’t push yourself too hard sweetie! Remember to email your teachers for the assignments you missed this week! Bye!”

“Love you Mom, bye!”

Marinette dashed down another flight of stairs, croissants in hand. She skipped through the bakery, only almost falling twice. She hadn’t left the house in four entire days due to being sick, and Marinette had gotten to the point of wishing for an akuma attack just to escape her stuffy attic room, no matter how cruddy she felt. Calling a quick goodbye to her father, who was pulling some baguettes out of the bakery oven, Marinette pushed the front door open with her back, stepping out into the sunny evening. Marinette began vaguely walking in the direction of Alya’s house, walking casually until she was out of sight of her house; in truth, she wasn't intending on going to Alya’s house that night. Ducking into a back alley, Marinette set her box of croissants down.

“Ready, Tikki?”

The kwami zipped out of Marinette’s bag, beaming up at her chosen.
“It’s been a while! Just say the magic words, Marinette!”

“Tikki, spots on!”

“Father, I have a study group to attend tonight. Is it alright with you if I’m gone for a few hours?”

Gabriel Agreste spared Adrien an expressionless glance before continuing on his fashion designs. Gabriel was slowly giving Adrien more and more freedom, especially since starting school a few months ago, and since the outing was a school event…

“Your bodyguard will drive you to the school. Call him when you need to be picked up. Use your head, and don’t make rash and irresponsible decisions. Forgetting to follow rules will lead to consequences, Adrien. Remember that. You are dismissed.”

Adrien winced slightly, partly at the suggestion of bringing along the Gorilla, partly at his father’s cold and heartless indifference. Bowing his head, Adrien said, “Yes, Father,” and exited the room.

The drive to the school was quiet and long, even though the school was only a few minutes away. The only thing keeping Adrien’s mood up was the thought of the school bag loaded with snacks (and not books) sitting at his feet.

Once the car stopped, Adrien hastily opened the door. Waving slightly to the massive man in front, he watched the limousine drive away, further and further until it rounded a corner and disappeared from view. Adrien smirked. Escaping was almost too easy these days.

Anticipation and excitement pushed Adrien into a bouncy speed walk, causing Plagg to knock around inside of the food-stuffed food bag. Plagg’s ears twitched as he stuck his tiny black head out in annoyance.

“Hey, you want to try walking a bit slower, kid? I’m getting all jumbled in that massive bag of food, you know. There’s barely any room for me!”

“Sorry, Plagg, it’s not my fault you are too fat to fit int here anymore! Besides, I’m just really excited to get to the meeting. Tonight for Miraculous Team Friday, we’re having a game night!” Excitedly, Adrien begun digging through his bag, pulling out a few boxes hidden beneath the food. “ I brought all my favorite games, like-”
“”Adrien, I’m fluffy and perfect, you’re just jealous. And for one thing, I know you’re just excited and rushing to see your Lady love. I’m thousands of years old. I can see right through mortals like you. Especially the teenage ones.”

Adrien flushed. “Hey, Marinette has been sick and I haven’t seen her since Monday, and I’m excited to hang out-”

But the kwami wasn't done. “Secondly, nobody calls it ‘Miraculous Team Friday’, it doesn’t have an official name. This isn’t the Babysitter’s Club, kid. Thirdly… make sure you detransform at some point so I can talk to the rest of the kwamis and eat something too. You brought the Camembert, right?”

Shaking his head, unwilling to encourage Plagg in his apparently very debative mood, Adrien held up the stinky cheese wrapped in clear wrap disdainfully, wrinkling his nose and scoffing. “I brought it all right. If the rest of the food smells like cheese, it’s all your fault. Plagg, claws out!”

Nino and Alya had just come out of the movie theater holding a massive tub of popcorn when the notification on Alya’s phone went off.

“And then that part, with Spider-man?”

“And Gamora with the knife?!”

“Oh my gosh Drax was perfect in this movie!”

“He was!”

“Like when he thought he was invis- here, one sec, my phone is buzzing…” Alya pulled out her phone. The alarm titled, “STUDY PARTY (WINK WINK)” was flashing on her screen. Nino, who was looking over her shoulder, perked up at the notification.

“Guess that means we won’t be going out to dinner after the movie,” Nino fake sighed, grabbing Alya’s hand.

“Don’t worry, we’ll go another time. Besides, we’re going somewhere better.” Grinning, Alya dragged Nino through the streets, skipping like dorks until they found a secluded alley.

“Wait! Do you think we should get more food? I have some candy in my bag, and the popcorn, but do you think it will be enough?” Nino asked, shifting the contents of his bag while he took inventory.

“... Nah, they can have some of our leftovers.”

“Have I ever told you, Alya, that you are perfect?”
Alya laughed. “Not often enough, Nino. Not often enough.”

Nino scoffed good humoredly, then directed his attention to the red hat perched on his head. “Alright guys, the coast is clear!”

Trixx and Wayzz phased through Nino’s hat, still chatting about the groundbreaking motion picture they had just witnessed, barely noticing Nino and Alya standing expectantly, waiting to transform.

“Hey, dudes? Do you mind? Kind of late for our superhero meeting” Nino asked pointedly, shaking the wrist where the Turtle Miraculous was tied. Wayzz smiled apologetically, while Trixx rolled her eyes, smirking.

“Wayzz, shell on!”

“Trixx, let’s pounce!”

Chloe had just finished up in the nail salon when her butler entered the room.

“Miss Chloe, it is time for your Friday night nap. Shall I close the doors?” He asked in his heavy French accent.

“Nap?” Chloe scoffed, confused and insulted. “What do I look like to you, Jean Luke, a three year old? I don’t need a-” Realization dawned on Chloe as she remembered that, to keep her cover, she had scheduled four hours of ‘beauty rest’ every Friday. “Oh, I remember now! Yes, if you could lock the door and turn off the lights, maybe put up a “Do Not Disturb” sign, that would be fantastic. Thank you, Jean Michel!”

With that she sent her butler away, pretending to be prepping for bed. However, the second Jean Jacques had left the room, Chloe pulled open her small mini-fridge, digging around before emerging with a tray of mini sandwiches and fruit salad. Chloe had the unspoken responsibility to bring the ACTUAL food, both for the humans and the kwamis. Marinette liked bringing baked goods to every meeting, Alya and Nino usually just brought whatever was in their kitchen, and Adrien (while, yes, supplying a lot of food) always brought junk food. After all, he never got to eat it at home, so he had to sneak junk as often as he could.

Dashing to the bathroom to finish a quick touch-up to her makeup, Chloe addressed the yellow kwami floating at her side.

“Pollen, honey, how are we looking?”

“Like a billion dollars!” Pollen matched Chloe’s pose in the mirror, giggling. Smiling at her kwami, Chloe let Pollen perch on her shoulder as the blonde scooped up the food bag and headed to the balcony.

Feeling the cool breeze on her face, Chloe closed her eyes, leaning against the balcony rail. Chloe loved the feel of wind on her face, not that she would let anybody but Pollen know. The fresh air smelled better to her than any perfume, no matter how expensive. The air reminded her of happiness, of opportunities, of freedom… It was hard being the mayor’s daughter, especially when Chloe had been a terrible person her entire life. Although Chloe had been working to redeem herself to her family, classmates, and… well, pretty much all of Paris… It was hard sometimes, especially with such a long history of cruelty. Of course her teammates had forgiven her after three months of being a hero and the reveal… but to everybody else? She was the same old rich brat. Nobody saw how hard she was trying.

Sometimes it was easier to sit and watch the city than try to fix burned bridges.

“Ready to go, Chloe?” Pollen zoomed onto the railing, hovering a few inches above the metal and looking curiously at her chosen.

“Yeah. Let’s go meet the others. Pollen, stripes on!”

Cat Noir arrived on the top of the Eiffel Tower first, like usual. After a few minutes of sitting quietly, watching the city below him, two figures appeared in the distance. Rena Rouge and Carapace ran over the building tops below, flipping and jumping and soaring through the night. They reached the bottom of the Eiffel Tower and started climbing. Cat Noir waved down at the two hero, and within minutes they had reached the top of the tower, ditching their massive bucket of popcorn on the food pile Cat Noir had started in a corner.

“Hey bro!” Carapace greeted his best friend with a noogie.

“Woah, dude, don’t mess with the hair!” Cat Noir scooted backwards, swatting at Carapace’s hands and desperately patting his hair back in place. Rena Rouge snickered, shifting her weight to one leg and cocking her hip.

“Yeah, Carapace, we both know how many hours he spends styling it, he might cry if you mess up his hard work!” Rena smacked hands with Carapace, who had burst into laughter.

“Hah Hah, Rena, very funny. Hey, how about we talk about how long you spend on the LadyBlog? Ever thought about how creepy it is to have a fangirl blog about your best friend?”

Carapace ooooooh ed as Rena flushed. To keep up appearances and not raise suspicion, Alya had continued work on the LadyBlog even after she had gotten a miraculous, but now that she knew Ladybug was her best friend… It was hard to not feel like a stalker. Alya could still remember the laughter of her newly teammates when the Ladybug-Marinette-Ladyblog connection was made… Alya was teased for weeks , and even though Marinette had been gracious about it, Alya still found it hard to meet her best friend’s eyes.

“Still more successful than anything you’ve ever done, Agreste!” Rena spat, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Anyone from a distance would have thought the two heroes were rivals, but in truth they were just really close. Really close friends who felt comfortable enough with each other to be ruthlessly competitive and were constantly one-upping each other… and they both liked it that way.

“Did you seriously just say that to a fricken supermodel? Hon, I have something for you.” Cat Noir dug around in his pockets for a minute, digging out a fifty euro bill. Sashaying up to the fox themed hero, he opened her hand and planted the bill in her palm.  “Take this and buy some better insults.” Cat Noir patted her cheek, the image of a gossip girl from a chick flick, and turned back around to fist bump Carapace, who was rolling around on the floor crying and gasping with laughter.

Rena smirked, knowing she had lost their little sass-off. “Not bad, for a rich kid. By the way, I’m keeping this.” Shoving her new fifty euro bill into the end of her flute (which, somehow, was able to double as a storage unit), Rena Rouge scanned the horizons. Her ears perked up when she saw a yellow blur zooming in the direction of the Eiffel Tower.

“Hey look, Queenie’s here.” Rena jumped up onto the ledge, waving to the blur. “HEY, QUEENIE!”

Queen Bee landed daintily on the ledge next to the orange heroine, swinging her food bag off of her shoulder and into her hand. “Hey Rena, is everybody here?”

Carapace answered, shaking his head. “No, Ladybug still has to get here.”

Nodding her head, Queen Bee turned to Cat Noir, latching onto his arm (in a mock way of how she used to latch onto Adrien’s pre-miraculous). Batting her eyes, Queenie pouted.“Well, how is our resident kitten holding up? Have the withdrawls been okay?”

Rena and Carapace cracked up while Cat stood confused. Withdrawls… what… Oh.

Deadpanning, Cat Noir deattatched Queen Bee from his side, stepping back and folding his arms. “Hah hah, very funny. I haven’t been having withdrawals. I’m just… worried about my partner.”

Rena gasped dramatically. “You partner? What does that make us? Next door neighbors?”

“No, you guys are my teammates, but Ladybug… she’s my partner .”

Silence. The heroes all deadpanned at Cat Noir’s wistful expression.

“... Bro, you are so love sick, it’s a bit pathetic.” Carapace said.

Cat Noir’s scoffed. Spluttered in an attempt to defend himself, but couldn’t get any words out. When he finally did, his voice was an octave higher than usual.

“I am not love sick !” the blond spluttered, his face red.

Carapace groaned. “Guys, enough with the drama! Let’s just eat. She’ll come when she comes!” Reaching towards the food, he was about to grab a bag of chips when Cat Noir swatted his hand away.

“Hold up, bro. We gotta wait for Ladybug,” Cat Noir surveyed the horizon, looking for his spotted partner.  “Rena, did she say for SURE she was coming?”

Rena sighed, raising her hand to her forehead and pinching the bridge of her nose. “Yeah, she’ll be here in a few minutes. She probably got distracted with her plans for your dad’s next design contest.

Queen Bee was about to open her mouth to speak when something over Cat Noir’s shoulders caught her attention. Her smirk widened into an evil grin.  “Speaking of love sick, here she comes.”

Cat Noir immediately whipped around, eyes searching desperately even for the smallest glimpse of his Lady, despite the near audible smirks of his friends. When finally his eyes found the red figure leaping over buildings, his heart stopped beating, then accelerated tenfold.

Blackish-blue hair tied in pigtails flew behind her in the wind. Backflipping and twisting in midair, she was graceful, like a ballerina in the sky. Her shiny red and black spotted suit seemed to glow in the moonlight. A spotted mask covered most of her face, except for a few freckles on her cheeks and the biggest, most beautiful eyes Cat Noir had ever seen. Her yoyo sliced through the air, pulling it’s mistress across the sky, closer and closer to Cat Noir, closer than she had been to him in days …

I lied. I’m totally lovesick.

Ladybug threw her yoyo one more time, straight up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Perching at the top, she gazed down at her teammates.

“Hey, guys! Long time, no see!” She called, hopping down to their level. With her back to the team, she set down her box of croissants on the food pile. Turning back to her friends, she was about to speak when Cat Noir crashed into her, gathering her up in his arms, spinning her around.

“Ladybug! You’re here! You’re okay!” He cried, completely ignorant to the smirks and giggling of his team mates behind him. Right now, all the mattered was that his Lady was okay, back with him, and they were together, like they should be.

Ladybug, however, was having a mild panic attack.

She was still getting used to the fact that Adrien and Cat Noir were the same person. Thankfully the stammering and unintelligible babbling on a daily basis had died down, but being scooped up by her crush and swung around? Yeah, that was a different story. After a second, though, she regained herself hugged him back, laughing.

“Cat Noir! Yeah, I’m alright! Not sick anymore!” Ladybug smiled up at him. Gently he set her down, still holding her waist as she held his shoulders, their eyes locking as they panted slightly, blue eyes on green. Yin and Yang were back together again, and right then, all Cat Noir wanted to do was be with her, with the love of his life (even if he didn’t know if she loved him back), and forget about the world around them-

Carapace coughed something that sounded suspiciously like, “Get a room.” Rena Rouge skipped over and patted Cat Noir on the back. “Come on Romeo, I need to see my best friend!”

A bit miffed, Cat Noir grumbled but stepped back reluctantly to let Rena Rouge greet her best friend. Queen Bee joined the group, all three girls laughing and fussing all over each other.

“Girl, you were sick for FOREVER!”

“Ladybug, you look like a trainwreck, no offense.” Queen Bee stepped back from the group hug, scanning over her friend. Up close Ladybug did look a little disheveled… Bags under her eyes, a slight rasp to her voice, and her hair wasn’t as sleek as it usually was.

Ladybug laughed. “I missed you too, Queenie.”

Carapace stepped forward to high five the red clad hero, smiling. “Good to have you back, buggy.”

“Good to be back!”

After a few minutes of the group chatting, Carapace raised his voice above the rest.

“Alright dudes, who’s ready for game night?” Carapace rubbed his hands together, looking over the heap of food with a glint in his eyes. Everyone nodded in agreement, and loaded up their plates full of food. They sat around the portable table in the same order as usual: Cat Noir sat at the head of the table, with Ladybug on the seat to his immediate right on the adjoining side. Rena Rouge next to her, with Carapace sitting at the head opposite Cat Noir. Queen Bee took up an entire side to herself. Everybody snacked on fruit, croissants, chips, cookies, crepes, and assorted junk food as the most difficult and controversial part of the evening began:

“Well, what do you guys want to play first?” Ladybug questioned.

“What did everybody bring?” Queen Bee asked, before people could start shouting out their ideas. The hero's pulled out a wide assortment of card games and board games, dumping them all over the table. Queen Bee inspected the pile.

“Candyland… cute, Ladybug. NEXT!”

“Hey!” Ladybug crossed her arms indignantly, taking the box in her arms defensively. “Candyland is a classic! It’s the cutest game ever!”

“Sorry, girl.” Rena Rouge patted her best friend’s arm sympathetically. “It’s cute, but it's not exactly… Yeah, we’ll just put this one down here.” Rena took the game from a pouting Ladybug and set it under the table. “Maybe we can come back to it later?”

“What’s this game?” Queen Bee interrupted, holding up a board game with soldiers, guns, and large red letters. “Risk?”

Cat Noir and Carapace cheered, screaming, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Ladybug and Rena Rouge groaned, both heads hitting the table at the same time.

“NO! That game takes fooooooorever!” Rena Rouge’s muffled voice dripped with disdain.

Throwing her head up, Ladybug shouted, “What is it with boys and Risk?!”

Carapace didn’t pick up on the rhetoric of the question, and answered. “Well, it’s a game of strategy, and-”

“You get to control armies and defeat your opponents-” Cat Noir interrupted.

“And whoever has the best battle strategy-”

“And the best armies-”

“And the most territories in possession-

“WINS!” The two best friends slapped hands, laughing and getting pumped up.

“Well, that sounds kind of pointless but we could try it. How long does it usually take?” Queen Bee asked. Obviously she had never played or witnessed a game of Risk.

Cat Noir shrugged. “Oh, only about two hours.”

Ladybug groaned again, smacking her head on the table so hard it rattled the legs. Rena Rouge picked up a cluster of grapes and raised her arm threateningly at the bee themed superhero.

“Queen Bee, if you say yes to this game, I will pelt you with as many grapes as I can get my hands on for the rest of my life.”

“And you know what that can do to your hair, Queenie!” Ladybug piped in, taking a croissant and aiming at Cat Noir. He dropped his mouth open in mock shock, and Ladybug had to fight to keep her face straight, despite the oncoming giggles.

Carapace shook his head. “Rena, I love you, but sometimes I can’t believe I’m dating a girl who doesn’t like to play Risk !”

Rena scoffed, nostrils flaring, half amused and half infuriated. “Oh yeah? Well, in that case, you can go and-”

“Okay, guys, okay.” Cat Noir stood, drawing attention to himself. “The girls don’t want to play Risk. Fine, we can play a different game. We need to respect the girl’s wishes, Carapace we can play Risk at my house later.”

Caparace nodded reluctantly, sticking his tongue out at Rena (who was already doing the same). Cat Noir sat back down. Ladybug nodded her approval and grinned at him, eyes twinkling. Cat Noir winked at her, and she had to stifle a giggle when Rena Rouge spoke.

“Fine, I found this American game at the store the other day, it’s called Monopoly. You guys want to try it?” Rena held up a green box decorated with cartoon cities, a game board, and an old man with a suit and large white mustache.

The heroes looked at each other and shrugged.

“Yeah, okay.” Carapace reloaded his plate with chips and mini sandwiches, swatting away Queen Bee’s hand as she tried to take one. Scowling, she nodded her head in agreement.

“I’m down. What about you, milady?”

“Yeah, let’s try it! It shouldn’t take too long!

Forty-five minutes later, the teenagers were a mess of frustration, annoyance, or triumph. Carapace had a stack of fives, Queen Bee was in jail for the ninth time, Rena Rouge had hotels on the every blue or green property, Ladybug had gone bankrupt twice (Cat Noir kept loaning her money), and Cat Noir owned more than half of the board, his stack of five hundred bills sitting gloatingly besides him.

“Bro, you must be cheating!” Carapace shouted for the fifth time.

“I’m not cheating!” Cat Noir protested. “My dad just taught me the ways of business, and I listened!”

“WHY is this game going on so long!” Queen Bee groaned, fanning herself with a small pile of hundred bills. “And why am I so bad at it?”

“Don’t be such a buzz-kill ! Besides, not everybody is as purr -fect as I am at bee -siness, Queenie!” Cat Noir grinned evilly at his childhood friend. Queen Bee glared dangerously at the cat themed hero.

“Hey, everybody, I know what game we could play next!” Queenie’s voice got dangerously threatening. “Exploding Kittens.”

Cat Noir shook his head, a bit scared. “That’s not a real game!”

“Oh, honey , you better bee -lieve it is!”

“Hive never felt so offended! I’m apawlled that somebody would create a game like that!”
“I don’t know, I’m starting to understand the logic bee-hind it-”

“BOTH OF YOU!” Ladybug shouted, throwing her hands up in exasperation as Rena Rouge and Carapace snickered quietly behind her hands. “Enough with the puns!”

Ladybug loved her team, but sometimes she felt more like a babysitter than a superhero. Especially after almost an hour of Monopoly, having just gotten over a bought of sickness, and being a bit worn out by her teammate’s quarreling.

“I have an idea!” Carapace took the Monopoly board and slid everything off into the box. “Let’s play a game that ISN’T a board game for a little bit.”

“Perfect, let’s do something different.” Rena agreed. “What about a round or two of Kiss-Marry-Kill?”

Queen Bee pumped her fist in agreement. Carapace burst into laughter. Ladybug cackled evilly.

“Um… what’s Kiss-Marry-Kill?” Cat Noir asked sheepishly. The girls turned to him in shock as Carapace laughed harder, clapping with mirth.

“You’ve never played Kiss-Marry-Kill before?!” Ladybug cried, causing Cat to flush.

“Wow, Cat, I knew you had a sheltered childhood but this is pathetic!” Rena laughed, a mixture of sympathy and unbelief.

“Well, ladies, I guess you better introduce our innocent friend to his new favorite game then!” Carapace cracked his green-gloved knuckles, adjusting his goggles evilly at his best friend’s confusion.

“Um… okay?” Cat Noir, a bit suspiciously, looked around at his friends smirking down at him.

“Okay, here’s how you play.” Rena instructed. “Somebody says three names, and we have to answer if we would rather kiss, marry, or kill them.”

“Well… that seems a bit…. Weird, but okay, let’s play!”

“I’ll go first!” Queen Bee announced. She stood up to stand behind Cat Noir’s chair, tapping her chin as she thought of a few names for his first round. Cat Noir looked above him nervously, squirming in his chair.

“I got it!” Queen Bee snapped her fingers, leaning over Cat Noir’s chair to rest her folded arms on his. She playfully placed her head on her arm, putting a significant amount of weight on her friend (to Ladybug’s jealousy, not that she would ever admit it). “Kiss, Marry, or Kill… Stormy Weather, Horrificator, or Time Breaker?”

The heroes “oohed” as Cat Noir’s jaw flapped in indignation. “Wait, what? Akuma victims? I had to fight those guys, why would I want to marry any of them?”

Rena Rouge snorted, eyes filled with mirth. “That’s just how you play the game, kitty cat.”

“Sorry, minou, you gotta choose!” Ladybug folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, a smirk plastered on her face that Cat Noir could stare at for hours, if not for the near impossible task at hand.

After a minute of jumbled chatter over Cat Noir’s selections, Cat Noir flapped his arms. “Alright, fine, fine!” Cat Noir cried, “I’ve got my answers! I think I would kill Timebreaker-”

“Yes please she killed you, that was terrifying,” Ladybug interrupted, her face paling a bit at the memory.

“-Kill Timebreaker, and… well, Horrificator wasn’t even human, but Stormy Weather was, but Stormy Weather was pretty hard to beat, and Horrificator all we had to do was sing it a song…”

“Ugh, just pick one, bro!”

“I can’t, I don’t want to marry an akuma!”

“Just pick the hottest one!”

“Um, excuse me?” All three girls turned to Carapace at once.

“Right, right, sorry… obviously that’s gonna be Stormy Weather.” Carapace continued, grinning at the offended looks on the girls faces.

“Yeah, not gonna lie, she wasn’t all that bad looking…”

“CAT!” Ladybug turned to look at the cat themed hero, incredulous to her partner (and secret crush)’s comment.

Throwing his hands up in surrender, Cat tried to make amends. “Hey, hey, I’m just teasing! Besides,” Cat Noir scooted closer to the table, placing his head down in his arms to gaze innocently up at the red clad heroine. “We both know that I would much rather marry you, milady.”

“Well, shame I wasn’t on the list then, huh?”

“Trust me Bugaboo, you’re always on the top of my list.” Cat Noir winked. Ladybug looked a bit flabbergasted, fighting the creeping blush from spreading to her face, so she stuck her tongue out at the flirtatious teenager and turned back to the conversation, where Rena Rouge and Carapace were talking about the perks of marrying a monster versus a moody weather girl.

“Guys, Cat still has to pick!” Queenie interrupted, turning the spotlight back to Cat Noir.

Gulping, aware of the carefully listening Ladybug sitting next to him (whom Cat was unsure of she liked him or not, but was hopeful), Cat Noir said, “Um… well… obviously I wouldn’t want to marry any of them, but if I had to choose one, for practical reasons it would be… Stormy Weather?”

“For practical reasons?” Rena Rouge snorted, leaned forwards, wiggling her eyebrows at the now flushing teenager.

“Well- I… um- well, I mean…” Cat stammered as everybody around him cackled and snorted, causing him to turn even redder. His miraculous suddenly beeped. “Oh guys, would you look at the time, I should probably let Plagg out, I think he’s hungry! Plagg, claws in!”

A flash of green light as Cat Noir detransformed into Adrien, his messy blonde hair now falling perfectly back into place.

“Good idea, Adrien,” Queen Bee sighed, releasing her own transformation. In seconds, Alya, Nino, Chloe, and Marinette all sat where the heroes were seated seconds prior.

No matter how many times Adrien had seen Marinette become Ladybug and detransform again (only a few times, mind you), he was always left slack jawed and awestruck of the grace and beauty of the transformation. A few weeks ago, Adrien could only dream of what his Lady’s identity was. How could he possibly be expected to be totally used to her transforming and knowing each other's identities in such little time?

As the kwamis were released from their miraculous, they collapsed in a pile in the middle of the small table. Plagg, being Plagg, was the first to speak.

“Oh, the pain! My poor aching body, I can’t move, somebody get me my cheese before I melt with agony!” Plagg howled, clutching his tiny stomach.

“Plagg, you drama queen,” Trixx shook her head, rolling her eyes to Wayzz beside her. Shaking herself off, Trixx gazed longingly at the food table. “Hey, Alya, have any food in there for us?”

Alya glanced at Chloe, who nodded. The blonde opened a smaller bag of food, left alone by the teenagers, and dumped the contents out on the table next to the salivating kwamis. Inside the bag were cookie, assorted cheese slices, a few different kinds of lunch meat (like salami, turkey, and ham), salad, and a bottle of honey. The kwamis immediately swarmed the food: Plagg to his cheese, Tikki to her cookies, Trixx to her meat, Wayzz to his salad, and Pollen to her honey.

“Oh, sweet relief!” Plagg cried, much to the other kwami’s amusement.

“Plagg, you pig,” Adrien rolled his eyes at the tiny cat who was gorging himself on the table. Plagg didn’t respond, only throwing a dirty glare over his shoulder as he continued to stuff himself full of food.

“To be honest, I’m not really feeling Kiss Marry Kill tonight. I mean, Adrien’s round was already exciting enough.” Nino adjusted his earbuds around his neck. “Any other suggestions that isn’t a board game?”

“We could play Apples to Apples?” Marinette suggested. She set the package of cards on the table, looking around in question.

“Or…” Adrien began, disappearing under the table momentarily, before popping up with a game box, smiling convincingly. “We could play… “What Do You Meme’! Wait, no, guys, hold on-” Adrien was drowned out as his friends groaned loudly and shook their heads. “Come on!” Adrien raised his voice, trying to get his voice heard. “This game is like Apples to Apples, but with memes! Come on! This is purr fection!”

“Adrien, your puns I can handle.” Marinette grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him close to her face until they were almost nose to nose. “But you force me to play a meme game,” she whispered in a deadly tone. Adrien gulped, turning red at the proximity and threatening look in the girl’s eyes. “And I will push you off of this tower… without your miraculous.”

“Adrien!” Nino whisper shouted, his eyes playfully wide as he pretended to be scared. “Put the game down and run!” Chloe was trying hard to stifle her laughter behind her hand, while Alya bit her lip to keep from exploding. All five of the kwamis had frozen and turned to watch, a few with concern in their eyes, a few with mirth instead.

Adrien froze. Carefully, he set down the game, in front of him, his eyes never leaving Marinette’s. He slowly, deliberately, carefully, removed his partner’s hands from his shirt collar. Both were still for a second.

Suddenly Adrien darted towards the meme box and pack of Apples to Apples cards, scooped them up, and lept out of Marinette’s reach, dashing towards the handrail and leaping on top. He stabilized himself, turning back to grin mischievously towards his friends. Marinette had a small fire in her eyes that Adrien loved so much… so, of course, he couldn’t resist making the fire burn a bit brighter.

“No memes? No Apples to Apples, milady!” He called, smirking from the handrail.

“Adrien, give me the game back.” Marinette ordered, trying to keep her face stern as the corners of her mouth tugged upwards. Of course she wasn’t really mad, but she was going to keep up the act.

“Oh, this is gonna be good.” Alya whispered behind her hand to Nino and Chloe. The grinned in agreement. Nino shoved some more food into his mouth.

Clicking his tongue, Adrien shook his head mockingly. “I don’t know… I think I’ll keep it. Or…” He made eye contact with his partner, daring her to look away. “You could come get it yourself.”

“It would be gone from you in seconds, kitty, we both know this.”

“Oh yeah?” Adrien moved farther back on

“Adrien, you’re going to fall.” Marinette cautioned.

“Isn’t that the point?”

“Why would that be the point?”

“You said it yourself. You’ll push me off the tower. But here’s my question… Why wait for you to make the first move?”

With a wink, Adrien raised his arms straight out, allowing himself to fall backwards off the tower.

Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Chloe dashed to the barrier, pulses racing.

“That idiot!” Nino shouted.

“He’s not transformed!” Alya cried, searching the horizon for any sign of their blonde friend.

“Adrien!” Marinette called.

“PLAGG! CLAWS OUT!”

Plagg went zooming off of the table, screaming as he was sucked into the distant miraculous. Seconds later, Cat Noir appeared, hopping across the rooftops. He waved to the teenagers on top of the tower.

“Come and get it!” He called, before turning and vaulting himself away on his staff.

The heroes turned to each other.

“Why does he have to be so… extra?” Marinette grumbled, a fond and mischeveous smile spreading across her face.

“Well, what are you gonna do about that, girl?” Alya asked, already knowing the answer as Marinette turned to her teammates, a fire shining in her eyes.

“Let’s get him.”

Whooping and hollering, the teenagers threw themselves off of the tower, calling their transformations as they fell, adrenaline coursing through their veins.

“TIKKI! SPOTS ON!”

“WAYZZ! SHELL ON!”

“TRIXX! LET’S POUNCE!”

“POLLEN! STRIPES ON!”

Transforming midair was the most exhilarating feeling Marinette had ever experienced. The wind whipping through her hair, magic sweeping over her, power coursing through her veins; Marinette wanted to live in that feeling forever. As Marinette became Ladybug, her yo yo appeared. Grabbing it from her hip, Ladybug pulled back the yo yo and released, letting it fly further and further until it wrapped around a chimney. Letting the string go taunt, Ladybug swooped in an arch, catching herself and propelling herself skywards. Freedom was her’s as she flew through the sky. After a few swings, she landed gracefully on a building. Turning to look at the Eiffel Tower, she smiled to herself, remembering all of the amazing memories the tower held for her. Her first patrol, bonding with Cat Noir, fighting akumas, holding the first Miraculous Team meeting… Ladybug turned, looking towards the moon, high above, surrounded by stars. She pushed herself into a jog, then a run, then a full on sprint as she soared through the air, determined to find her partner… and her missing card game.

Alright, kitty cat. I’m coming for you… And my cards.

Little did she know that Cat Noir hadn’t run as far as the team had thought. Instead, he stayed concealed on a building nearby, waiting for his Lady to begin the chase. His heart pounded as he watched the love of his life transforming, flying through the air and performing stunning aerobic acts in the moonlight, as if it was nothing. As if she and the sky were one. As if she belonged in the fresh night air.

Cat Noir allowed himself a few more breathless seconds, waiting until his friends had gone a bit further. Deciding they had gone far enough away from his location, he silently slipped off of the roof. He stood still to make sure he wasn’t being followed, then leaped off in the opposite direction, towards the Eiffel Tower. Vaulting himself up to the top, Cat Noir watched his friends “pursue” him. Smiling to himself, he pulled out his baton. He pulled up the turtle miraculous icon and pressed on it, calling Carapace. Seconds later, Carapace picked up.

“Bro, Ladybug wants her game back, and I want to high five you for your spectacular escape. Where are you?”

“I can tell you if you join my team.”

“...What’s in it for me?”

An evil grin spread over Cat’s face, even though he knew his friend couldn’t see it.

“Ever wanted to scare the living daylights out of the girls?”

A moment of silence came over the phone as the turtle themed hero thought.

“You know I do, bro. Now, tell me where you are, so I can come to you.”

“No way, man! You could betray me to the girls!”

“I can’t join your alliance if I don’t know where you are!”

“Don’t worry. I can see you. Head to the Eiffel Tower. Talk to anybody else, the deal is over.”

Carapace had noticeably slowed, and he was about to respond when Queen Bee sprang to the building he was jogging on, falling into pace with him. Ladybug and Rena Rouge stopped about fifty feet ahead, letting their friends catch up.

“Who are you talking to, Shelly?” Queenie asked suspiciously, trying to peer around his head to see the caller ID on his wristband (his telecommunicator was on his wristband, which was more practical than being on a shield).

“Oh, um, nobody…” Carapace said, now halting completely.

“Hey!” Ladybug called. “Get over here, Shelly! We gotta catch Cat Noir before he gets too far!”

A small voice sounded over Carapace’s wristband.

“Aw, you're looking for me? I'm paw sitively touched! You really do care, Bugaboo!”

Ladybug flushed and ran over to Carapace, yanking his wrist up to her mouth to yell into the call. “YOU DIRTY STRAY, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“I would love to tell you, milady, but I don’t think I will…”

“CAT NOIR!” Ladybug was, once again, fighting to keep from blushing and grinning. His goofy ways had finally gotten under her skin, and Ladybug HATED it.

Well. She kind of liked it. But that’s not important.

Rounding on Carapace, she dropped his wrist. “Where is he?” She demanded, determination flaring in her eyes.

“No, no, no, Spots.” Carapace clucked his tongue, his face twisting into a mischievous grin. “Snitches get stitches, and I’m no snitch!”

With that, he sprinted away, jumping on his shell shield (which doubled as a transportation hovercraft) to zoom off into the distance, faster than anybody else could.

Ladybug deadpanned. She turned to her remaining girl friends, standing together. “Is it just me, or are the guys in our group extremely infuriating?”

Rena smiled, and nodded her head. “They truly are.”

“But you love them,” Queen Bee nudged her two friends with her elbows.

Ladybug looked into the distance, fading out for a second. “Yeah, I guess I do… Wait, what?!” She shook her head, her eyes wide as she realized what she had, outloud, to her friends. “Um, I mean, no way, just friends, um- they are both… great guys?”

Rena Rouge shook her head, laughing, as Queenie just gave her spotted teammate a sad look.

“Honey, I could tell you were in love with Cat Noir the day I joined the team.” Queen Bee stuck her arm out to examine her nails.

“Really?! I didn’t even know I liked him, back then-”

“Well, you did. I could see it in your eyes. You liked Adrien, remember? My guess is that you were so adamant on liking Adrien you totally ignored your feelings for Cat Noir.”

Ladybug looked at her teammate, her mouth open. Rena Rouge had a thoughtful expression on her face, nodding her head.

“Wow Queenie. You just read me like an open book.”

Queen Bee smiled. “That’s what I’m here for.”

“You guys do realize that the longer we chat, the further away the guys get?” Rena Rouge reminded her friends, pointing in the direction that Carapace had disappeared in.

Ignoring the dizziness she had been feeling all night (she should have taken it easily tonight, remembering how she had been sick for the past four days),  Ladybug took out her yo yo.. She flicked it a few times, letting it come back to her hand.

“Alright, ladies. Let’s show those boys how it’s done.”

“Let us out, Cat Noir!” Ladybug shouted, sitting in a heap tied back to back with Queen Bee and Rena Rouge. The two boys looked at each other and fist bumped. Once Carapace and Cat Noir had met up on the Eiffel Tower, they had come up with a plan to prank the girls. It involved resulted in the three heroines tied up in Ladybug’s own yoyo string.

“You mangy alley cat, unhand us right now!” Queen Bee cried indignantly, fighting against the yo yo string that was keeping her bound. Cat Noir only tightened his grip on the end of the string, grinning devilishly down at the squirming and glaring girls.

“I don’t know Carapace, should we?” He asked in a sickly sweet voice.

“Bro, I don’t know… We could just leave them here. I mean, they don’t want to play Risk with us, don’t you think they would have more fun here?”

“I think that idea is purr fect! Let’s go shell -ebrate our success, maybe get some ice cream on the way!” Cat Noir winked at his friend, who winked in return.

"...my father is the mayor of Paris?" Queen Bee said, already knowing her old leverage wouldn't work against her superhero friends.

“CARAPACE, YOU LEAVE ME HERE AND I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE!” Rena Rouge screamed at her boyfriend, a ruthless expression flaring in her eyes as she struggled harder.

“And I’ll help.” Growled Ladybug next to her, eyeing Carapace threateningly. The turtle themed hero threw his hands up in surrender.

“Yeah, maybe we could, uh,  compromise?” Carapace chuckled nervously. Cat Noir shook his head in disappointment.

“Bro. You are so weak.”

Carapace let out a resigned sign while Rena Rouge yelled, “It’s not weakness, its being a good boyfriend!” Rena couldn’t help but add, “Not that you would ever know, being single and all…”

Cat Noir dramatically slapped a hand over his heart. “ Meow ch, Rena. I thought we were furr iends.”

“We were until you tied us up!”

“... Touche.”

Cat Noir strutted over to the tied up girls, crouching down in front of Ladybug, toying playfully with the string that kept her bound.

“Ladybug, I’ll make you a deal.”

The spotted hero raised her eyebrows. “What kind of deal?”

“I’ll release you and your accomplices… for something in return.”

“Such as?” Ladybug’s eyes never left her partner’s, starting with an unspoken challenge. Their faces were inches apart. Cat Noir summoned his courage and cocked his head, smirking.

“I’ll release you… for a kiss.”

Carapace let out a low whistle, wishing he had brought popcorn with him for the dramatic scene unfolding before him. This was just getting interesting.

“DON’T DO IT!” Rena Rouge shouted. Her expression was desperately trying to be disgusted, but her eyes were gleaming with mirth, and a smile was tugging at the corner of her lips.

Queen Bee, however, cried, “Do it, Ladybug! Get us out of here! My butt is hurting from the hard ground, and my arms are getting sore! Just do it!”

Ladybug said nothing. She searched Cat Noir’s face with an expression that he couldn’t quite place. After a few seconds of her silence, Cat Noir was about to apologize and laugh off his rash offer when she spoke.

“Release my hands, and I’ll give you my answer.”

Cautiously, ignoring Carapace’ whispered warnings and Rena Rouge’s whispered threats of, “Your’s gonna get it, buddy,” the cat themed hero loosened the string slightly and freed his Lady’s hands. His eyes returned back to hers as soon as her hands were free. On the outside his expression might have been calm and collected, but on the inside his brain was ringing with sirens and alarms and warnings, all flashing brightly at him.

What happened next was so fast that Cat Noir hardly new what happened until it was over.

Screwing up her courage, Ladybug grabbed Cat Noir’s bell and pulled his face to hers. Briefly but firmly, she pressed her lips to his, fireworks exploding in her brain as she did what she had wanted to for so long. Seconds later she released him, blushing furiously and looking away, looking anywhere but her teammate’s shocked, unbelieving, and belated expressions.

Cat Noir.exe had stopped working. He forgot how to breath, how to talk, how to think… The only thought he could have was Ladybug just kissed me Ladybug just kissed me Ladybug just kissed me! He didn’t even realize he dropped the string keeping his teammates trapped.

“You… you kissed me.” Cat Noir eventually choked out, still trying to remember exactly what had happened so he could bottle up the feeling, somehow, and keep it forever.

“Yes, yes I did.” Ladybug responded breathlessly, turning her head to shyly meet Cat Noir’s eyes. His intense expression hit her like a truck. His eyes burned with an emotion one could only call completely devoted, irrevocable, infinite love. Ladybug forgot about her team, about the now loose string around her; her entire world now consisted of her and the blonde boy in front of her, her best friend, her partner, her first kiss and the love of her life. Ladybug wanted to stay there forever…

When Queen Bee coughed awkwardly, Ladybug snapped back to reality. Looking around and realizing her entire team was staring at her with smug expressions on their faces, she hastily rose to her feet.

“Well, I think I should be off, I, um, have to help in the bakery in the morning. Game night over, good job everybody… um… bye!”

With that she gathered her yo yo string off of the ground, waved awkwardly, threw her yo yo as far as she could in a random direction and swung away.

Rena stood, wiping her hands down her legs to get rid of any dirt. “I should probably go too. I have a feeling my best friend skills are gonna be needed in about three and a half minutes.” Using her flute to salute her teammates, she jumped onto the nearest building and disappeared in pursuit of her friend.

Queen Bee sighed from the ground. Rising to her feet, she snapped a hand in front of Cat Noir, who had been staring off into the distance where Ladybug had swung off to. Blinking at the sudden noise, the blond turned to the girl in front of him.

“Hey, kitty, snap out of it.” Queen Bee said firmly but kindly. She gave him a one armed hug, which he half heartedly returned. “I’m leaving, don’t stay out too late, you could get sick. Carapace,” She turned to him. “Make sure he goes home before he catches hypothermia and dies, promise?”

Grinning, Carapace held out a pinkie. “I didn’t know the great Queen Bee had a heart?”

“It’s a recent development,” Queen Bee winked, linking pinkies with her teammate, secretly grateful for his easy forgiveness and lighthearted attitude. She turned and flew away in the direction of Le Grand Paris, leaving Carapace and Cat Noir alone.

“Bro… she kissed you.” Carapace said eventually, letting his excitement leak out of his usually calm and easygoing manner.
Cat Noir grabbed his cat ears and tugged on them. “She kissed me, she kissed me!”

Carapace smiled. He and Alya had been trying to get Adrien and Marinette together for months, and Ladybug and Cat Noir together since Rena Rouge and Carapace joined the team. After listening to Adrien rant for, literally, hours about Ladybug in the past, Carapace was just as excited as his best buddy that she had kissed him… even though he would probably have to endure even more heartsick ranting in the future, at least his best friend was happy.

“Cat Noir, come on. We gotta get you home.” The turtle themed hero punched his friend lightly in the shoulder.

“You go ahead, I’m gonna clean up at the Tower.”

“Are you sure bro? You won’t fall off and die in a lovesick daze or anything?” Carapace crossed his arms and smirked at his indignant friend.

“ Paw lease, if I fall I have eight other lives. Have a little faith, why dontcha?” Cat Noir scowled and reached for his baton, preparing to extend it.

“Alright buddy. Text me when you get home, okay?” Carapace held out his hand for a fist bump.

“Yeah, I will.” Cat Noir bumped his fist against his friends, stepped away, and vaulted himself to the top of the tower. He reached the top and turned to see his friend zooming away via shell shield until he was a tiny dot in the distance, then vanished completely.

Cat Noir looked at the mess atop the tower. The table was littered with games, food was spilled all over, and the area looked like a stereotypical teenager’s room. Cat Noir decided he couldn’t deal with this problem alone, so he detransformed. Plagg flew out of the miraculous ring.

“Alright, Plagg.” Adrien addressed his blinking kwami, gesturing to the food in front of them. “You have five minutes to have this all cleared out.”

Plagg blinked in disbelief. It wasn’t until Adrien said, “Go on,” that the kwami realized what was being given to him. Squealing with delight, Plagg forgot all about his devotion to eating just cheese.The black kwami dived for the food and began devouring everything on sight. Meanwhile, trying to ignore his kwami’s disgusting display, Adrien put the games into his duffel bag and refolded the table the team had put their games on.

Four minutes and forty three seconds later, every single crumb had been sucked into the vacuum that was Plagg’s mouth. Rubbing his stomach contentedly, Plagg drifted to Adrien to lie on his head.

“Alright, Adrien, I think it’s time…” Plagg yawned and circled on Adrien’s head, kneading the blonde’s hair into a suitable nest. “... for me to take… a nap…”

“Sorry, Plagg,” Adrien held out a fist. “We can nap when we get home. Claws out!”

Sucking the groaning kwami into his ring, Adrien transformed. Cat Noir looked around himself to make sure he was alone.

Then, and only then, at the top of the Eiffel Tower, in the city of love, Cat Noir finally allowed a goofy expression to cross his face. He sucked  in a massive breath of air.

“YES!” He shouted to the stars above, spinning in a circle until he was almost too dizzy to stand.

Ladybug kissed me! Ladybug kissed me! Ladybug kissed me!

Finally stopping and regaining his balance, Cat Noir took a few deep breaths. Looking up to the skt, he made a silent promise to the millions of twinkling stars above him; he would get another kiss from his Lady.

It was just a matter of time.