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Chapter Text

Marinette Dupain-Cheng ran into the classroom just before the bell rang and her heart sank at what she saw. The class was, once again, rearranged. Apparently, Lila’s newest medical condition, which was so rare that nobody in the class had heard of it, needed her to be close to the sunlight. So, she now sat right next to the large windows.

After months and months of Lila’s unending reign, Marinette had gotten used to sitting alone in the back, or the front, or the middle. No matter what the new seating chart was, she was always alone. Sighing, she started walking up to the back where her new empty desk waited for her. At least nobody would pay attention to her up here. Though, it seemed nobody paid attention to her at all anymore.

Once she was settled, Marinette pulled out her books and observed the room. Adrien was next to Lila, obviously. Alya sat behind Lila and, surprisingly, Sabrina sat next to her. Chloe, it seemed, was also exiled to the back of the room. She sat across the aisle from Marinette and offered a small smile when she saw Marinette looking at her. ‘Enemy of my enemy, I suppose’ Marinette thought. She was about to say something when Ms. Bustier walked in.

“Good morning class. Today we will be reviewing…” Marinette started to zone out as she saw the date written in her book. Tomorrow was the fashion show. Adrien would be wearing the hat she made, which she was less excited about now that she didn’t see him through rose-colored glasses, but more importantly, she would be making her official introduction into the world of fashion.

- - -

Audrey Bourgeois. Audrey Bourgeois, the Style Queen, was here and she saw her hat. Her horrible, awful, synthetic feather hat. Marinette was spiraling. She was freaking out, barely able to focus as she gave her stupid, pathetic, ugly hat to Nathalie and went to the audience. Her career was going to end before it had started.

Chloe had been there too, more like her old self than Marinette had seen her in awhile. It was strange, but refreshing. At least someone can maintain their old confidence after dealing with Lila for so long. Though, Marinette could see the pained look in her eyes everytime her mother called her by the wrong name.

Marinette was pulled out of her thoughts by Adrien turning into a statue of glitter before her.

- - -

“Chloe Bourgeois, I present to you the Miraculous of the Bee, which grants the power of subjection. You will use it for the greater good and return it once we have defeated the akuma,” Ladybug held out a small box to Chloe, who gladly accepted.

- - -

“This hat is not a Gabriel original, is it?”

Marinette was trembling. Her life was over. She stopped hearing what the others were saying. Audrey Bourgeois was talking right to her. If her career was ruined she might as well listen.

“So what do you say, Marinette,” Audrey asked, “Care to join me in New York City?”

The room froze. Everyone was looking at her waiting. Her parents. The Agrestes. Chloe.

"Would- would it be alright if I took some time to decide?”

Audrey, though incredibly annoyed, didn’t want to lose the new talent she had just discovered, so she allowed Marinette three days to decide and get ready to leave.

- - -

There were no akuma attacks in the three days she had to consider Audrey’s offer. However, Hawkmoth was not the only villain Marinette had to deal with on a daily basis. She walked back to the classroom after lunch to a crowd of people around her desk. As she got closer she saw the torn pages and broken spine of her sketchbook scattered about. Lila was loudly crying and gasped when she saw Marinette. The noise caused the group by her desk to turn to her and they all looked furious.

“Marinette, how could you!” a voice cried. Alya.

“I- I don’t. I don’t know what. What you’re talking about, Alya,” Marinette tried to say, all confidence gone. The remains of her sketchbook were as broken as her heart. All the time and energy she spent on those designs were wasted.

“You stole Lila’s designs and told Gabriel Agreste that they were yours to try and get a job because your family’s bakery is going out of business,” Alix yelled at her.

“It’s fine everyone,” Lila sniffled from the front of the class. Her meek tone didn’t hide the sharpness in her eyes as she glared at Marinette. “She was just trying to help her family.

It’s not her fault the bakery has rats. Oh no! I wasn’t supposed to say that.”

“We don’t have rats, Lila.” Marinette turned towards the class, “And all of the designs in my sketchbook are mine.”

“As if we’d believe a liar like you, Mari,” Alya’s word stung, but she didn’t see the tears in Marinette’s eyes as she went on, “We saw you hanging out with Chloe on the news the other day, I can’t believe you’d stoop so low and hang out with a bully like her.”

“I can,” one voice called. Marinette was too busy holding herself together to notice who it was. She was too focused to hear the other awful things they said. She was too broken to protest as an arm wrapped around her shoulder and she was walked into the hall.

“Try to take deep breaths, Marinette.”

She couldn’t breathe. They hated her. She was so alone. Nobody cared about her.

“You’re not alone, Mari. I’m here. But I need you to calm down.”

The words were soothing. She was able to blink away some of her tears and look at the face in front of her. There were blue eyes in front of her. Harsh, icy blue eyes. Chloe’s eyes

“Don’t let their words get to you. You have more talent in you than all of them combined.”

“Chloe? What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to do what’s right. Somebody recently had enough faith in me to let me be a better version of myself and I’d hate to let them down. But don’t worry about that right now. Just try to calm down.”

After a few minutes of quiet breathing, Chloe said, “I think you should go with her. My mom, that is. I was- am jealous that she noticed you more than she has ever noticed me. I was never good enough for her, but you are and I have to respect that.”

“But you still want me to go?” Marinette asked, shocked by Chloe’s confession.

“I have always been mean to you Marinette. I am sorry for that if I haven’t said it before. But Lila won’t ever be sorry and her followers can’t see how much they’re hurting you. You don’t deserve that. Going to New York with my mom is maybe your one chance of escape.”

“But- ”

“No, Marinette. I know you like to put every single person in the world before yourself, but you are in a bad situation, so don’t tell me my mommy issues are more important than you,” Chloe’s words were kind, but not soft. She would not take no for an answer. “Plus, the thought of you turning down the offer of a lifetime is utterly ridiculous,” she said in the most overly dramatic way possible. Both girls chuckled and once Marinette had calmed down all the way, they went back into the class.

- - -

Her parents had agreed to let her go to New York. Master Fu and Tikki had decided that a temporary Ladybug holder would be able to replace Marinette for a while. Chat Noir was furious with her, but Chloe’s words and encouragement kept her afloat. When she brought her bags to the helicopter, she couldn’t help smiling.

“I’m glad you made the right decision, Marinette,” Audrey called from across the park.

“Me too, Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe said from beside her, helping carry some of her bags.

Once everything was loaded up, Marinette hugged her parents and said goodbye. They looked like they were about to cry, but Marinette knew they were happy for her. She turned to Chloe and smiled.

“Thank you for convincing me, Chloe,” Marinette said. They weren’t quite friends yet, but there was nothing but sincerity in her voice.

“Thank you for believing in me, Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe’s hand brushed her new earrings as she said it. They hadn’t discussed it, but somehow Chloe knew who had left the box in her room.

With one more goodbye to her parents, Marinette joined Audrey on the helicopter and left Paris.

Chapter Text

“After weeks of hearing whispers of a new Ladybug patrolling on the rooftops, a new hero, calling herself Beetle, has finally made a public appearance,” Nadja Chamack looked extremely excited to be one of the first reporting on Beetle. “The following footage is a clip from the battle and may not be suitable for all viewers.”

A video of the Eiffel Tower appeared on Marinette’s laptop. Three blurs raced around the Tower. One black, one red, and one an obnoxious pink color. From the distance the video was taken from it was difficult to see how the akuma was defeated, but eventually the Miraculous Cure flew above the city and the figure in red descended the tower with a young girl in her arms.

When she landed, the new hero, dressed in a slightly modified version of Ladybug’s outfit, set down the girl and got on one knee to talk to her. The crowd of reporters rushed in, but she only paid attention to making sure the victim was okay. Once she had decided that the girl would be alright, she turned to the crowd of reporters and cameras. She simply said, “Ladybug is temporarily out of commision. She has chosen me as a replacement, but I will return the Miraculous to her once she returns. You may address me as Beetle.”

Nothing more was said and no follow-up questions were answered. Beetle simply looked back at the little girl, who was being comforted by her parents, and left.

Marinette smiled at the screen. She had been nervous that her choice wouldn’t turn out well, but she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. Beetle would be a good hero. She hadn’t fallen into the claws of the media like Marinette had when she was Ladybug. Still, something cold lingered in the back of Marinette’s mind. Something that made her dangerously curious. Something that made her look up the LadyBlog and read the post about Beetle.

I can’t believe this wannabe insect is trying to replace Ladybug. She refused to answer my questions today after her mediocre defeat of a pretty basic akuma. I, your faithful LadyBlogger, got the inside scoop from my bestie, so you wouldn’t have to settle with the lame mainstream media reports. Anyway, Lila talked to Ladybug this afternoon. The REAL Parisian heroine told her that Beetle bullied her into handing over the Miraculous. I don’t trust this new hero and you shouldn’t either.

Of course. Marinette shouldn’t have expected anything less than this from Lila and Alya. Hopefully, Beetle wouldn’t be too deterred by their tall tales. She really should close the tab, but she scrolled to the comment section. She was pleasantly surprised by the support for Beetle that she found. She quickly sent an encouraging text and decided that it was time to get to work.

Her new office in Style Queen Headquarters was large and had everything she could ever want to design something. Large windows filled a whole wall and Marinette gazed out towards the New York City skyline. It was stunning and when she first walked in a few weeks ago, she was struck with inspiration. Even after growing accustomed to the sight, it still took her breath away. She took out her new sketchbook, larger and better quality than her previous one, and began to work.

- - -

The class was already clearly divided. There were those who thought Beetle was a menace and those who didn’t care. Chloe, though it bothered her, stayed true to her promise to Tikki and didn’t comment on the new hero. In the weeks since her mom’s akumatization, she had gotten used to her seat in the back. Sure, it was lonely, but she could take notes while also keeping one eye on her classmates.

Without Marinette to bully, Lila had chosen Chloe as her new target since all of the class already hated her. If she let down her guard, Chloe would find herself ‘accidentally’ tripping over her own feet. Her classmates all somehow forgot to invite her to events. Even Adrien wouldn’t glance her way when she tried to talk to him.

Losing Sabrina and Adrien hurt. Chloe knew she wasn’t as good of a friend as she could have been, but nobody ever showed her how and they left her so quickly that she wondered if they were even friends at all. It was too easy to let the thoughts of loneliness and isolation drift into her mind when she was alone in the back of the classroom. A slight pressure from her pocket brought her out of her thoughts as Tikki gave her a reassuring hug. Right. She had class to focus on and an ally by her side if she needed one and a friend across the sea if she needed advice. She wasn’t alone.

When Ms. Bustier walked in, the debates about Beetle settled, but continued in hushed whispers as the day continued.

- - -

The view was stunning. Of course, she had seen it as a civilian and as Queen Bee, but there was something freeing about sitting on top of the Eiffel Tower as Beetle. The Parisian skyline never looked so beautiful. Seeing it from the rooftops and monuments, running and jumping and leaping through the buildings, Chloe never felt closer to her city. Even after growing accustomed to the power and the feeling of helping the people of her city, it was the view that never failed to take her breath away.

Chapter Text

The class was arguing when Adrien walked in. Honestly, it didn’t even surprise him anymore. He was too tired to care who was fighting or what they were fighting about. Beetle had kept him up all night with training again. It was ridiculous. The only thing she seemed to care about was being prepared for an akuma attack, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but her all-work, no-play attitude quickly got on his nerves.

Thinking about Beetle made him wince. Is your life more important than the millions of lives that are threatened everyday by Hawkmoth and his akumas? Her words from last night still stung. He only suggested that they didn’t have to train every single night and that he had a life outside of Chat Noir, but she lashed out at him. He knew Ladybug chose her for a reason, but that didn’t mean he got along with her replacement. Six months without his Lady and he was desperate for her return.

“Adrien!” a shrill voice cried from across the room. “Would you please tell Chloe that she can’t have one of her mother’s employees give her presentation for her?”

Adrien sighed. Of course Lila and Alya hadn’t dropped this subject yet and of course they wanted to drag him into it.

“Lila, Ms. Bustier let us invite anyone to help with our presentation on our parents' careers. It was implied that the guest would be our parents, but if the employee was approved, then it’s fine.”

“That’s right, Lila,” Ms. Bustier cut in, glad to finally have a chance to settle the argument. “Chloe’s speaker will be a guest in our classroom, like Nino’s father was yesterday. She still has to do the majority of the presentation on her own, but inviting others is a good way to learn about possible career paths. Now settle down, everyone. We will be starting soon.”

“I don’t think I need some lame intern at Style Queen to tell me about the world of fashion,” Lila said, in her best attempt of a whisper, but it was loud enough for everyone, especially for Chloe, to hear. Chloe, however, seemed unperturbed by the comment. Lila hadn’t been able to get under her skin all day, so she kept going. “I already have an incredibly successful career at Gabriel, which is a far greater company than Style Queen could ever be. I guess failure just runs in the family.” Still no response.

Well, no response she expected.

“I don’t see how Gabriel can be better than Style Queen when they can’t even hire hairdressers to make their models look decently professional and not like they have two sausages as a poor excuse for bangs.” Everyone turned their head towards the door. Even Adrien, who had practically passed out on his desk.

Standing just inside the doorway was a young woman. She was wearing short heels, a black pencil skirt, and a red blouse. Her dark hair was left unbound and it fell just below her shoulders. Her face was the same as when they had seen it last, yet her soft features and stunning bluebell eyes weren’t set in their usual smile. She kept her face neutral, like she wasn’t excited to see her old class, and she was staring daggers at anyone who seemed like they would try to talk to her.

Adrien decided that the look on Marinette’s face was simply towards Chloe because Audrey sent her here to help with her daughter’s presentation. Everyone knew that the two hated each other. Disregarding that, he decided that she looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her. New York suited her. She was wearing a bit of makeup and she stood up straighter.

“Marinette! You made it,” Chloe cried, rushing up to hug the girl. If the class was not shocked enough by Marinette’s entrance, they were all stunned when they saw the greeting between the old rivals.

“I’m glad that I could make it,” Marinette said to Chloe, then turned to the rest of the class. “It’s so good to see all of you again.” Her tone of voice was harsh. Nobody in the class could determine if she honestly meant it or not, but those who had even a bit of self-preservation decided they should be a little afraid of their old friend. It was clear they had made the right choice when she smirked at them all, mischief glinting in her eyes. Even Adrien, oblivious as he was, noticed the change in her.

Today, Adrien thought, is going to be a nightmare.

Chapter Text

The day before Marinette walked into Ms. Bustier’s class, Tikki watched her bugs paint their nails. The girls were in the middle of a casual conversation. It was nice to see the two people who needed help the most find a friend in each other.

Chloe and Marinette kept in contact over the past six months. At first, it was to make sure Beetle was doing alright and there were no Miraculous emergencies. As time went on however, their relationship morphed from an alliance of outcasts to a valued friendship. They always met up when one was visiting the other’s city. Marinette had somehow gotten Audrey to acknowledge and appreciate her daughter and Chloe always calmed Marinette down when she felt she wasn’t good enough. Time zones didn’t cause many problems for them. Late night training with Chat Noir and early mornings in the office meant they were available to the other most of the time.

“Your mom asked me to tell you that she wants you to visit soon,” Marinette examined the design she had finished painting on one of her nails. “Too much?”

“I think it’s nice,” Chloe responded as she glanced at the design. “Anyways, I’d love to go back to New York with you, but you remember what happened the last time I visited.”

Marinette shuddered. The akuma wasn’t necessarily a dangerous one, but the city was greatly damaged by the time Chloe managed to fly back to Paris. “I know, but she actually called you by your name and said please when she asked me. Plus, you deserve a break. Beetle is better at taking down Akumas than Ladybug ever was.”

“That is not at all true. Ladybug always had a plan.”

“But Beetle- ”

Before her bugs could start this argument again, Tikki cut in. “You know, Marinette will be in Paris for a while, maybe you could visit New York for a bit while she’s staying here, Chloe.”

Both girls fell silent. They hadn’t discussed who would get the Miraculous once Marinette was back in Paris for a long period of time. Audrey sent her back to look over the design department of the Parisian branch of Style Queen Magazine.

“I can’t share my power between both of you at once,” Tikki added, when neither of her bugs responded, “but you both are good fits for the Ladybug Miraculous and sharing the responsibilities might make life easier to handle.”

Once both girls agreed and the matter was settled, the conversation drifted to their classmates and the chaos they planned to let loose tomorrow. Marinette was tired of hearing Chloe’s daily tales of bullying and Chloe, though a much better person than she was months ago, still had her sights set on revenge. Lila’s reign has gone on for too long. Most of the class, they’d agreed, were good people who just fell into a liar’s trap. But the others, those who put the two girls through hell, they would see just how dangerous the holders of the Ladybug Miraculous could be.

Once the sun had set, Marinette went home to the bakery and Chloe transformed to go train with Chat Noir. Ladybug wasn’t ready to reappear just yet. Tomorrow would be filled with enough faces from her past and Marinette didn’t need to add another to that list.

- - -

“You’re late, Chat.” Beetle didn’t even turn around to face him. She just kept her gaze on the skyline.

Chat Noir sighed. “Sorry, I just had some work to finish before I came here.”

“You seem to have that same excuse every single night.” She took out her yoyo and did a few practice spins with it.

“Is it an excuse if it’s true? I do have a life outside the mask, you know.”

“And you think I don’t?” She finally turned towards him and paused. “We don’t have time to argue, let’s start training.”

After an hour of training, they decided to spar and Beetle easily pinned him. “This is why you need more training. I took you down by myself and I’m half your size. If I were under the influence of an akuma or an akuma tried to fight you in physical combat, the whole city could be at risk.” She walked back to the edge of the roof, scanning for any trouble.

“Beetle, we train every single night. We take down akumas with no issue. I’m tired. I’m tired of going to school exhausted. I’m tired of training. And I’m tired of you bossing me around. I think the city would be more at risk if I was trying to save it exhausted than if I took a day to focus on my real life.”

“Is your life more important than the millions of lives that are threatened everyday by Hawkmoth and his akumas?” When he didn’t respond she went on, her voice softer, “We can stop nightly training, but not until after tomorrow night. I’m sorry if I pushed you too far. Good night, Chat. Go get some sleep.” And then she jumped into the night.

Chat was left standing on the roof, thinking about what both of them had said, his claws digging into his palms.

Chapter Text

“It’s so good to see all of you again.”

The words made Lila grit her teeth. She should have guessed something was wrong when Chloe started putting up a fight to have her guest come for the presentation. She didn’t think Marinette would still be a threat, but it seemed she would have to actually work to maintain her power today.

“Mari! I’m so sorry Chloe dragged you into this!” Lila cried, then adding in a loud stage whisper, “I’m still shocked that she threatened to get you fired to act like her friend for a day.”

Lila smiled when she got the desired effect. The class was whispering to each other about how horrid Chloe was. Chloe was seething and Marinette was frozen, no doubt trying to think of a response that wouldn’t be twisted against her.

Faster than Lila expected, Marinette began to respond, but paused to look next to Lila. To where Adrien was sitting and frantically gesturing at Marinette to stop talking. He was trying to be subtle, but his exhaustion and panic made it very obvious.

“Did you have something you wanted to say, Adrien?” Marinette innocently asked. Her eyes narrowed on him, daring him to tell her to back down. The class was quiet for a few seconds as Adrien searched for words.

When he finally spoke, it wasn’t in French, but Mandarin. “I know you’ve been gone for a long time, but she’s still in danger of being akumatized. Don’t forget the high road.” Before Marinette had left, he tutored her enough that he knew she would be able to understand him.

He did not know that she would be able to respond to him in Mandarin. “The high road leads you nowhere. You need to think more about what damage your actions could cause instead of preventing damage caused by others.” Before he could respond or anyone could ask what they were discussing, she switched back to French and said, “Anyway, Lila, the threat of being fired doesn’t hold much sway when you’ve worked for Audrey Bourgeois for six months. Plus, you know I’m always happy to help out a friend.”

Lila smirked at her opponent. That response was well crafted and didn’t have many holes, but Lila didn’t need to use logic when her audience was a class full of idiots. “But you told me that you’d never help with my presentation when I asked you.” She heard gasps throughout the room, but they were quickly cut off by Marinette’s response.

“Maybe that’s because you never asked me and I am not a representative for your mother’s job. It wouldn’t make sense for me to help even if you had asked.”

This was not the Marinette that Lila was used to. She stood her ground and Lila could tell that she was just warming up. This might go very poorly if Lila couldn’t get a grip on the situation. She turned around to Alya and whispered, “How much longer do you think Marinette will stall for Chloe?”

Alya easily took the bait and raised her hand. “Excuse me, Ms. Bustier? Shouldn’t Chloe start her presentation?”

- - -

The lunch bell rang right after Chloe finished her presentation. She knew none of her classmates had paid attention, choosing instead to focus on Marinette. They all looked incredibly eager to ask her questions. Instead of acknowledging them, Chloe watched Marinette turn and walk out of the class and followed her.

Before they could reach the door, the class had scrambled down from their seats and gathered around them. Alix was the first to get there and asked, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To lunch. Has the schedule changed since I left?” Marinette responded, and kept walking into the hall.

“But don’t you want to hang out with us and tell us about your job?” Mylene was more polite than Alix, but her voice was still demanding.

“No. I don’t. Excuse me, we’re trying to go to lunch.”

Kim, who had rushed ahead of the group, stuck out his foot into Marinette’s path. If she was back to her old bullying ways, he didn’t see why he shouldn’t let Clumsinette deal with the consequences. He was not ready to deal with the consequences himself when Marinette, maintaining her stride, stepped directly on his foot with her heel and didn’t even look at him.

Kim cursed and shouted, “Why would you do that!”

“Do what? I didn’t trip over your foot like you intended, but I don’t see why that’s anything to shout about.”

The class kept asking questions, but the two girls paid them no mind. They just continued walking. When someone grabbed Marinette’s arm, she whirled to face them.

“Girl, you don’t have to eat lunch with Chloe. Come with me, Lila, and Adrien.” Alya had broken through the small crowd with Lila and Adrien right behind her.

“Why would I want to do that, Alya?”

“You haven’t seen your bestie in six months and I thought you might want to hang out with me. Plus, Lila knows the head of the design department of Style Queen Paris and offered to get you a promotion now that you’re out of Bourgeois’s claws.” A quick glance at Chloe, “Well, one of their claws.” Marinette was about to respond, but Alya wasn’t finished. “And we all know about your crush on Adrien, so of course you’d want to spend lunch with him.”

“How do I even begin to respond to that?” Marinette took a step closer to Alya. “I know, let me begin by saying that you are not my best friend and you haven’t been since you started believing lies about me and pushing me down. You did not reach out to me once since I left and, according to my parents and Chloe, never asked about where I had gone.” She glanced towards Adrien, who was blushing, then back at Alya. “Not only was that public declaration of my crush inappropriate, it was also uncalled for and untrue. I could never date someone who has the moral backbone of a worm.” She turned towards Lila, “As for you, everybody here knows the head of the design department of Style Queen Paris since I am the head of the design department. I don’t appreciate your lying about me and the company I work for or your slander of my boss and my friend. Your attempts of buying friendship with fame and power might work on the rest of the class, but you’ll have to try harder for it to work on me. So, no, I will not be eating lunch with the three of you,” She turned to face the rest of the class, “or any of you. Have a nice day.”

Chloe smirked as everyone tried to process what Marinette just said. She had so much more she wanted to add, but that could wait. The class didn’t need to know what she thought about them. They didn’t need to know that Marinette would be rejoining the class in the mornings while she worked in the afternoons.They didn’t need that this was only the beginning.

She and Marinette walked out together.

- - -

A few minutes later, they were both squealing in the kitchen above the bakery about their first success and what would come next.

Chapter Text

Marinette had spent the rest of the day setting up her new office and she was utterly exhausted, but she couldn’t keep stalling. She touched her familiar earrings long after the sun went down. Even untransformed, the power surging through her made her anxious. The last time she had been Ladybug, she told Chat that she was leaving and he had been angry with her. She wasn’t sure how he would react to her return, especially with how upset he’d been with Beetle last night. She didn’t want to keep him waiting any longer, so she transformed and went to look for her old partner.

- - -

Beetle was late. She threw a fit last night and now she was late. Chat Noir was getting recklessly impatient and he didn’t feel like waiting for her.

His hair was ruffled by a soft breeze and he ran. He needed to taste freedom today and if Beetle wanted to yell at him, she could. His feet pounded on the rooftops. The air was refreshing and he felt the burdens of his life being lifted. This is what he loved about being Chat. No training, no fighting, no rules, just freedom.

The city blurred around him. He didn’t know where he was going and didn’t care. He was ready for this day to be over.

When Chat finally stopped, he was shocked by where his feet had taken him. He hadn’t seen Marinette’s balcony in months. But now, standing on the rooftop opposite of it, he couldn’t stop thoughts of the girl from surfacing.

Everything about her was unexpected. The way she looked. The way she acted. The way she had spoken to him. She was harsh and strict and absolutely beautiful. He could not figure out what had changed between them as he replayed the day in his mind. She had been so kind before and never argued against the high road.

Then he realized. We all know about your crush on Adrien, Alya had said. Marinette had a crush on him. Had a crush on him. Her words to Alya had been sharp and he hadn’t exactly been very attentive, but he could hear it with crystal clarity as he stood alone on the roof. I could never date someone who has the moral backbone of a worm. Maybe she couldn’t date or even listen to Adrien. The thought upset him for some reason, but Chat Noir could still be her friend. She would take his advice on being gentle with Lila if he was a hero.

As he prepared to leap onto the balcony, he heard footsteps behind him and froze. Beetle always seemed to show up at the worst times. He waited for her to reprimand him about being late to training, when she spoke. The voice, however, wasn’t Beetle’s.

“Still spying on civilians, kitty? It’s been months and you still haven’t changed.” He whirled around as fast as he could. Standing on the edge of the roof, casually, as if she hadn’t walked out of his life half a year ago, was his Lady.

“Bugaboo! You’re back! I’ve missed you so much!” He ran towards her, but she sidestepped him when he went to hug her. “Is there something wrong, my Lady?”

“I’ve had a long day, Chat. Then, after everything, I went to where Beetle said you guys meet, but you weren’t there. I’ve been looking all over Paris for you and I find you staring at this citizen’s home, like you were going to go talk to her. And please don’t hug me or call me Bugaboo.”

“You don’t understand. I’m friends with this girl.” Ladybug raised an eyebrow at him, but he kept going. “She came back to school for the first time in a while and caused a scene. I just wanted to remind her that she needs to be nicer to those at a greater risk of akumatization.”

“Well, I guess your initiative is impressive, but that is completely inappropriate.”

“What? Why?”

“For so many reasons. First, everything about you, including your age, is unknown by the public and you’re attempting to speak to a teenage girl in her room in the middle of the night.” Chat tried to interject, but Ladybug didn’t even acknowledge him as she kept going. “Second, it is not your responsibility to deal with teenage drama. Thirdly, did you ever think that talking down to her could put her at greater risk of being akumatized. And lastly, why are you friends with a citizen as Chat Noir? That is putting her in danger in many different ways, but it is also putting you in danger of being revealed.”

“Bugaboo, how I’ve missed your overreactions. Beetle was never as silly as you.”

“Chat, none of that was an overreaction or me trying to be silly.” Her voice was sharp and it reminded him of the new Marinette. In a lower volume, but one she knew he would be able to hear, she said, “Thank goodness Beetle was serious about the job or there might not have been a city for me to return to.”

Her words sparked something in him. A realization that overshadowed the negativity of her last phrase. Ladybug was back and he wouldn’t have to deal with Beetle anymore. He said as much to her and was so overcome with joy that he wrapped his arms around his lady.

Chat Noir was hugging Ladybug one moment and was thrown onto the ground the next.

“I already told you once not to hug me. I won’t repeat that warning again and I will only tell you this warning once: do not talk poorly about the holders of the Ladybug Miraculous, Chat.”

“Bugaboo, I would never dream of talking poorly about you. I respect you more than anyone else in the world.” He tried to stand up, but he was stopped by her yoyo wrapping around him.

“You just don’t get it do you?” She looked incredibly disappointed, but there was something else as well. She was mad, furious even. “You say you respect me, but you have never once acted like it. You have no regard for my wishes or my boundaries. You treat everything like a game and can’t even realize when I’m trying to be serious. You’ve been openly rude to Beetle, someone I considered worthy enough to take my place, because you too were bitter that I left to recognize that she is also your teammate and the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous. That’s extremely disrespectful to both of us. I’ve had a horrible day, but I wanted to see you again and I regret that decision.” She withdrew her yoyo and prepared to leave.

“My Lady, what happened to you? You’re not acting like yourself.”

“Some people grow up. Maybe you should try it” She paused. “Beetle will still be fighting akumas with you until further notice. She said she canceled training so you could rest, so don’t waste your nights by meddling in the lives of others.” And then, in a blur of red, she was gone.

- - -

By the time Marinette was able to sneak back into her home, she already started to cry. Today had been so long and trying and she couldn’t be strong forever.

As she was walking back to the bakery, she saw him still standing on the rooftops, staring in the direction she had left. Part of her felt guilty about what she told him, but the other part was proud that she had finally been assertive enough to say it.

Even though she knew he was out there and would see her, she needed a breath of fresh air. She wanted to be in her safe place. Her balcony always calmed her down. When she stepped out into the cool night, he turned to look at her. Green eyes met blue and they stared at each other for a moment. Tears trailed down Marinette’s cheek and blurred her vision. When she tried to blink them away, Chat Noir disappeared into the shadows without a word and Marinette was left alone to cry.

Chapter Text

Alya walked into class the next day a few minutes before the school day started. Yesterday had been a disaster and she would not be caught unawares today. She used her spare time to observe her classmates to see what the general mood of today was.

Lila, Adrien, and Chloe had yet to arrive. Seeing how everyone would react to them would be telling. The members of Kitty Selection and Myléne were chatting quietly around their desks. Nathaniel was talking to someone whose face Alya couldn’t see, but she assumed it was Marc from their dark hair, red hoodie, and dark jeans. Kim and Alix were being loud and competitive, as usual. Nino, Max, and Sabrina were discussing last night's homework.

Seeing Nino made Alya’s heart hurt. Things had been tense between them since Marinette had left. They didn’t have time for each other and they didn’t talk as much, but they still enjoyed the time they spent together. It wasn’t until Lila told her that she heard Nino flirting with other girls and Alya confronted him that Nino broke up with her. She tried to not let it affect her, but whenever she thought about him she felt unlovable and broken.

She turned away from them as Adrien walked in. There was no hint of the smile he wore everyday or the brightness in his eyes. Something was wrong. When she inquired about what it was, he just shook his head and sat down.

Chloe was the next to enter. She caught Alya staring and stared right back. After a tense moment, her eyes flicked to the back of the classroom, to Marc. Strangely, she smiled at Alya then walked to her seat without a word.

With nothing better to do until Lila arrived, Alya took out her phone. She had a few notifications from her blog and social media, but she also had a text from Lila. It read: hey girl, I won’t be in class today. there’s a really big photo shoot today at Place des Vosges and of course they need me there. Being left out of a photo shoot might explain why Adrien seemed so bummed out. Lila loved to talk about how much fun they had together. Being forced to go to school, Alya decided, was dull in comparison.

Eventually, the bell rang and the class settled a bit.

“Good morning, everyone.” Ms. Bustier examined the class as she walked in. When she saw Lila’s empty desk she asked, “Does anyone know where Lila is today?”

“She’s at a photo shoot today at Place des Vosges.” Alya was quick to respond, reminding everyone that she always got the information first.

“No, she’s not.” A voice from the back of the room said. Everyone turned their head in that direction to see that the person they all glanced over and ignored, assuming it was Marc, was actually Marinette. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking offended at what she just heard.

“Excuse you? Do you think you know better than me about the whereabouts of my best friend?” Alya was not about to be humiliated by Marinette two days in a row. “Why are you even here?”

“First, I know for a fact that Lila’s not at Place des Vosges today because there is a Style Queen photo shoot there today and we’ve had the venue booked for months. Second, I’ve been re-enrolled in Françoise Dupont and will be attending morning classes here while I’m working in Paris.”

Ms. Bustier, sensing the tension rising between the two girls, stepped in. “We are very glad to have you back, Marinette, but how can you assume Lila is lying?”

Marinette with no love or sweetness in her voice responded, “Glad to be back.” The chuckles around the class were silenced by a glare from Marinette as she went on. “As I have just said, I know Lila is lying because there is no Gabriel fashion shoot at the park today. I know that because I work for the company that’s there today and Lila is certainly not a model for us.

“I don’t want to waste more time from your lecture, Ms. Bustier, but how can you assume Lila is telling the truth?”

“Marinette, I am shocked. We have always believed that people are innocent until proven guilty here in my classroom. Your behavior is-”

Ms. Bustier was cut off by the sound of sharp laughter. “I’m sorry. That’s hilarious. Things must have changed a lot since I left because that has not been my experience.” Marinette took a deep breath to calm the laughter. “Also, is my word not good enough to prove her guilt? Do you have any evidence to think otherwise? A work form or a call from her mother? Have you even talked to Lila about it?”

“No, but-”

“She texted me. That should be enough proof.” Alya turned towards Adrien and Sabrina. Adrien had a talent for calming Marinette down when she got like this, but he wouldn’t look up from his desk. Sabrina, who would support her on any issue, looked dazed, as though the conversation had reminded her of something awful from her past. Her father, Alya recalled, had said nearly the same thing before getting akumatized.

“It really shouldn’t,” Chloe snapped, “but we should begin class.”

And so they did. The rest of the class was surprisingly uneventful, but Alya struggled to pay attention since she kept looking back to stare at Marinette and Chloe sitting together in the back. They didn’t talk or gossip and seemed to focus entirely on the lesson, but there was something off about the two of them and Alya was going to get to the bottom of it.

Chapter Text

Lila walked back into the cafeteria halfway through lunch. She had spent the morning relaxing and planning on how to get back at Chloe for bringing in Marinette. On her way to school, she took selfies by the photoshoot to corroborate her lie.

As soon as she walked to the table, the class turned towards her, eager to hear her stories. She didn’t notice the unease between everyone until she realized that Chloe was also looking at her. That was unusual, especially when it was paired with the smile on her face that made Lila’s insides scream ‘RUN’.

“How was the photoshoot, Lila?” Rose asked, ignoring the tension, or simply not recognizing it.

Lila wasn’t one to stall and jumped right into a story about her busy morning and the wonderful time she had. As she did, she watched her classmates reactions to try to get a better read on the situation without asking. The more logical classmates seemed wary, but still enthralled. Alya was angry, which meant somebody had pushed her or questioned her skills. Adrien looked miserable, but she couldn’t figure out why. When she looked back at Chloe, she flinched and stopped talking for a moment. It wasn’t intentional, but it gave Chloe enough time to comment.

“I didn’t know you worked for my mother, Lila.” Her voice was sickly sweet, but revealed nothing.

Lila had to proceed carefully if Chloe was out for blood today. “What do you mean by that, Chloe?” She knew she had made a mistake when Chloe’s smile twisted into a smirk.

“The photoshoot at the park today was for Style Queen magazine, not Gabriel.” Lila was so focused on coming up with an excuse that she failed to notice Chloe taking out her phone and starting to record a video.

“Well, you know fashion brands are so competitive, but Gabriel and Style Queen are so close because of their CEO’s that I’m allowed to do photoshoots for both.”

Adrien sat up at that. “Lila, I don’t think-”

But Lila didn’t need Adrien to tell her not to lie today. Yesterday was a disaster and she had to redeem herself. “It’s not my first time modeling for Style Queen, but they didn’t run the prints so I’m not surprised you haven’t heard that I’ve done it before.”

“So you’re saying that you’ve specifically modeled for another fashion brand while also modeling for Gabriel.” Chloe’s tone made it clear that she knew for a fact she hadn’t, but her classmates looked amazed.

“Yes. I’m just that good.”

“Wonderful.” Chloe once again smiled at her and then stopped the video she had been recording. Adrien had gone pale, but his expression was unreadable.

“Chloe, what were you recording? What’s that?” Alya cried at her.

“Oh, this? It’s just evidence that Lila has broken her contract with Gabriel and possibly with Style Queen if she has one.”

Oh. Oh no. Lila’s mind was racing to try and fix this mess. The class stared blankly at her. Adrien had tried to stop her but the look he gave her made it clear that he wouldn’t help her. The only other option she could choose right now was pity. And if she was going for pity, why not kill two birds with one stone.

Lila broke down into tears and cried, “Chloe, how could you? Do- do you really hate me so much that you would try to get me fired. I- I can’t believe I trusted Marinette when she told me that- that I could do the photo shoot. She told me it would all be alright because she- she was an executive and the contracts didn’t matter to her.” Her crocodile tears had once again fooled her classmates.

They were all about to start yelling at Chloe and proclaiming how terrible Marinette was when they heard Marinette’s voice. She had left for work at the beginning of lunch, but she wasn’t going to risk Lila twisting words further than they expected.

“Why on Earth would I tell you that? And who would be stupid enough to believe that?” Marinette said as Nathaniel turned around his tablet. They had been video calling for a while. Marinette felt bad using him like this, but she did enjoy the conversations they had before Lila came in.

“You p-p-promised.” Lila made her lips quiver. Marinette was truly a thorne in her side and she would have to try harder than usual to keep the class from thinking too much.

“I did no such thing. It would be ridiculous to promise something like that. Contracts are not something that you can just ignore if you feel like it. But there’s also the fact that you lied about being at the photoshoot.”

“I was there!”

“No you weren’t. It just so happens that I’m there right now. Say hi, models.” Marinette pointed the camera towards a handful of models. All of them were in various stages of hair and makeup. The shoot had been going on for a while and they were being prepped for their next outfits. A few of them looked up and waved. They were not old, but it was clear that Lila was far too young to be modeling with them. The camera turned back to Marinette, “It’s an all day shoot and everyone here is very busy so I have to get back to the office, but if you have any more lies, we can talk about them tomorrow.” She showed an id card to a security guard as she left. Another trick, Lila didn’t have an id card.

Before Lila could refute her, Nathaniel turned the tablet back to face him, put his headphones back on and started to say goodbye to Marinette.

Lila was seething. She was losing power and had to regain it the only way she could at this moment. She ran out of the cafeteria. She knew Alya or another useless classmate would run after her to try and comfort her, so she could only hope Hawkmoth was fast enough.

- - -

“Miss Rossi. I am once again offering you the power to get revenge. You will be able to manipulate reality from the shadows and will call yourself Shadow Shaper. In return, you must bring me the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses.”

“Thank you, Hawkmoth.” She smiled as the shadows around her grew into cracks and then became real. She felt the building tremble and she stepped into the darkness.

Chapter Text

Marinette felt conflicted as she walked towards the office building. Though her classmates had not changed since she left, she still felt like she was being too harsh. Just because she was willing to speak up for herself now, didn’t mean she felt great about being mean. There was a give and take with these types of things and she hasn’t found the balance yet.

Growing tired of the moral dilemma she would have to face eventually, she shifted her thoughts to her surroundings. She had visited Paris in the last six months, but it was still surreal to be back in her hometown, walking down the street like it was just an average day. There was the ice cream shop her parents took her to when she turned ten. There was the sidewalk she nearly face planted into while running around the city with Alya. There was the bridal store that she would walk past as a kid and stop to stare at the beautiful dresses in the window. There was one of the rooftops where Chat had confessed his love. Some memories she smiled fondly at, while others reminded her of why she left.

The streets that were so engraved into her memories seemed to have a shadow over them. Marinette would have ignored it, but there was something unnatural about it, something that unsettled the core of her being. She didn’t slow her pace, but she was more alert as she continued on her way to work.

As attentive as she was, she couldn’t sense the presence watching her from the shadows, stalking her prey.

- - -

Lila Rossi, or Shadow Shaper as Hawkmoth wanted to call her today (he really needed to get better at naming people), was on a warpath. She had spent a small bit of time causing a distraction at the school. What was a bit of structural collapse compared to the damage she was already planning for Marinette. She was lucky she still retained her consciousness while akumatized so she would remember every bit of pain on Marinette’s face.

The girl was oblivious to Lila. She faded into the shadows and didn’t make a sound. Marinette froze and spun around a split second before the sounds of Françoise Dupont crumbling rang out from the city. Lila slipped through the shadows and moved to stand in Marinette’s path.

“Hello, Marinette. I thought I should thank you for the opportunity.”

Marinette was about to respond, but the annoyance in her eyes faded into fear and pain as Lila willed the shadows around Marinette’s feet to grow and surround her and become flames of darkness.

- - -

When all of the students were safely out of the building, Beetle allowed herself to run towards Marinette’s last known location. She hated that she couldn’t get to her closest friend sooner, but she had a duty to uphold, Miraculous Cure or no. She had partially caused this akuma and she would not let anyone be hurt by Lila, not anymore.

As she swung over the rooftops, Chat Noir close behind her, she could help but beat herself up about the situation. Being this aggressive didn’t work before. This wasn’t who Marinette, even the new and improved Marinette, was. It wasn’t at all what she had worked to become. She was responsible for the safety of Paris, but also for the safety of Marinette, who was possibly in more danger now than ever. Lila didn’t like to hold back.

That much was evident as the two heroes reached the photoshoot. Tents and equipment were knocked over and very damaged. The grass and trees looked like they had been scorched. This was not a good sign.

“Is anyone hurt?” Chat Noir called to the crowd of people since Beetle was too stunned to move. Everyone was familiar with the akuma attack protocol, so they had already checked amongst themselves.

“Yes, but they are all minor injuries. We’ll be fine.” One of the models that they had seen on Marinette’s facetime spoke up. “The akuma,” Terror flashed in her eyes, “she left. She’s looking for a young girl named Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Any clue where this girl would be?” Beetle asked. She didn’t need to. She knew the route Marinette would’ve taken to get to the offices. She knew she would’ve covered about half the distance since she hung up the call, maybe less if Lila had gotten to her. If Lila had-

“She was going to the Style Queen office. It’s downtown, but she was walking.”

“Thank you.” Chat Noir’s voice pulled Beetle out of her growing panic. She unbuckled her yoyo and willed it to get to Marinette as fast as it could.

- - -

Marinette was in pain. It was evident from the rooftops a block away. Lila’s joy was also very clear from where Chat Noir and Beetle were hiding.

“What’s the plan?” Even though she had the Ladybug Miraculous, she was never a goodstrategist. And now, watching her friend burn in shadows, plotting something smart was the last thing on her mind.

“It looks like the akuma is in her bracelet. We both go down. I’ll distract while you get Marinette to safety. Once she is, you’ll distract Lila while I cataclysm the bracelet.”

“Sounds simple enough.”

They jumped down to the street. Chat Noir was saying something to Lila (she insisted her name was Shadow Shaper and Beetle would’ve called out Hawkmoth for such a lame name, but she was a bit busy). Beetle rushed to Marinette and tried to free her. Her hands would’ve burned if not for Tikki’s magic. The fire felt too hot and too cold at once. Just the small contact with it was agonizing. She couldn’t imagine what Marinette was going through. What she had gone through. How long had it been since she got trapped? Why didn’t Beetle show up sooner? She could’ve stopped this. She could have-

“Lucky Charm.” Marinette’s voice was weak. As if it took all of her energy to say the two simple words. Beetle met Marinette’s eyes, nodded, and followed her advice.

In an ideal world, Tikki would have provided a flashlight to destroy the shadows, or a fire blanket to safely extinguish the fire around Marinette. But alas, the world hates her, Beetle thought as a small red and black dragon shaped paperweight landed in her hands. Marinette looked just as confused. A quick glance at Chat was enough to know that she was running out of time to get Marinette to safety. She had to focus. Panic wouldn’t do her any good in this situation.

Light. Her yoyo. Beetle quickly grabbed her weapon, slid it open as if she were going to cleanse an akuma, and pointed the brilliant light right at Marinette.

- - -

Lila was running out of patience with the alley cat. Somehow, he managed to avoid all of her shadow traps. He kept jumping around and keeping her focus away from Marinette. Or at least he thought he was doing a good job of capturing her focus, but she noticed the second her flames disappeared. She turned her attention to the two girls. Marinette looked like she was about to faint and Beetle wasn’t doing much better.

“Oh no! You’ve figured out my greatest weakness! Light” The sarcasm in Lila’s voice was almost palpable. She started walking towards them, still frozen in place. “See, the thing about light,” she gestured towards Beetle, “is the brighter it is, the stronger it casts shadows on the world.”

Before Beetle could lower her yoyo, Shadow Shaper reached for the shadows behind Marinette and sculpted them into ropes to hold her down and keep her here while she dealt with the Beetle and Chat Noir. These shadows were stronger, darker. Marinette wouldn’t be able to do anything. Keeping the fire burning for that long was fun, but a bit tiring and she didn’t need to be weak right now.

“Cataclysm!”

The sneaky cat had gotten close to Lila as she dealt with Marinette. He was too close and too fast for her to react and his hand wrapped around her bracelet. It didn’t crumble.

“What? How did you-” Chat was stunned into silence when he saw the orb of destructive magic floating above him. Lila wrenched her wrist out of his grip and moved to gain control of the cataclysm. It obeyed her commands and floated around, as if she were taunting him.

“This is fun, isn’t it. Her light makes me stronger and I can control your shadows. Care to give up?” She knew the answer already, but she was allowed to have her fun before she took their miraculouses.

“Never.” Chat charged at her, despite her having the upper hand.

- - -

Marinette sat in her shadow bonds. There was no point in struggling, so she analyzed the situation. When she figured out what Tikki was trying to tell them, she made a small noise to get Beetle’s attention. She couldn’t speak, but she did her best to convey the message but looking at the paperweight, then to the sky, and back to Beetle.

Chloe’s eyes widened and she nodded. Good. She understood.

Marinette expected her to run off, to go get the dragon miraculous. Instead, she shouted at Lila to look over at her. Then, with all of her might, threw the lucky charm right at Lila’s head. Lila was unable to stop it or dodge, so she brought the cataclysm shadow up as a shield. The paper weight crumbled to the ground in ashes and the cataclysm bubbled out of existence.

“Thanks, B!” Chat Noir had been having a difficult time fighting while avoiding the ever present threat of his own power.

“Anytime! Can you cover for me a bit longer?”

“You have about five minutes!”

Marinette knew it was already less than that. She just hoped Chloe could manage something in time.

- - -

Chloe dropped her transformation as she stumbled into Master Fu’s parlor. It had taken her one and a half minutes to get here and she didn’t have any more time to waste. She quickly explained the situation, while feeding Tikki a cookie.

“There is not enough time for you to bring the miraculous to a temporary holder. You must do it.” Master Fu was moving to unlock the Miracle Box and take out the Dragon Choker.

“But I’ve never merged before. I’m not that powerful.”

“You can just transform with Longg, do what you need to, and then retransform with me to capture the Akuma.” Tikki suggested. It would be risky, but it might work.

“It will be risky, young lady,” Longg said as she put on the choker. “Additionaly, not many people are suited to the essence of the Dragon Miraculous. The dangers you will face can only be avoided by true courage and strength.”

Chloe nodded and took a deep breath.

“Longg, bring the storm!”

- - -

Chat Noir was running out of time. He hadn’t been able to grab Lila’s bracelet, but he’s been able to limit the amount of damage she was causing. Most of it was directed at him, but still. His ring beeped again. He was pushing his luck staying here with a minute remaining, but if he left, Lila would be able to escape or hurt Marinette.

He had to stop himself from glancing at Marinette. She seemed so empty and pained. He knew this would happen if she tried to push Lila. He warned her about it and she brushed it away, but he couldn’t bring himself to be upset. She had been right in a sense. He shouldn’t have been more concerned about Lila than her, but this wasn’t the time for his self-evaluation.

Dodging a branch of shadow, he looked in the direction Beetle had ran off in. There was still no sign of her return. He couldn’t keep waiting.

He took one last swing at Shadow Shaper. Once it connected and Lila was knocked back, Chat Noir leaped onto the rooftops and detransformed. He peaked over the ledge towards Lila as she got back up. She didn’t even look around for him. She just walked right towards Marinette and got ready to bend the shadows around her back into flames.

- - -

Chloe was not ready for sensation that would come from transforming into air and wind. She felt free and wild and powerful. A part of her wanted to give up and float through the sky and never return to her human form, but she kept her mind focused on the task at hand.

She flew higher and higher into the sky. Faster and faster. When the air started to thin and the clouds started to form around her, she readied herself.

She came out of wind dragon. She began to fall.

She called water dragon. The wind snapped at her. It stung.

She willed water to form into a cloud. She stretched the water vapor into a thin sheet across the sky. She could see the ground again.

She kept moving the water until the sun was hidden and muted. The ground was getting closer.

Chloe dropped her transformation and for a moment, she was just Chloe, free falling above Paris. There was no past, no present, no future. It was just her and the sky. There was no class, no liar, no friends. Just Chloe.

But the world didn’t need Just Chloe right now. She called on Tikki and transformed into Beetle.

Chapter Text

Lila couldn’t help but smile. Both of the heroes of Paris have run away and hid. Pathetic. And now, without them, she was free to do whatever she pleased. Her first order of business was to get rid of the ever-present thorne in her side known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Marinette was still trapped in her shadow bonds. They had become weaker since Beetle’s light had disappeared, but they could still be shaped. Lila reached out her hands. She could tell Marinette knew what she was about to do. A second before Lila could twist rope into flame, a scream rang through the air.

Lila almost laughed to herself. Marinette was still a coward after all. She really hadn’t changed. But the scream- it was more of a yell, really, a war cry- did not come from Marinette. It came from behind Lila. Then, from the same direction, a thunderous thud.

When Lila turned, it took a moment to register what she saw. The dust and dirt had been spun up into the air, obscuring her vision. The ground was slightly cracked, as if it had broken on impact. There was a figure in the slowly clearing fog, no more than a silhouette. They were in a three-point landing pose and breathing heavily. If they were injured by the fall, they showed no sign of it.

It chilled Lila’s blood. If Beetle and Chat Noir weren’t going to stand in her way, whoever this was might. She unknowingly took a step back when the figure stood up. She reached out for shadows. She needed something, anything, to defend herself with.

But there was nothing. No darkness or shade. Everything she had set up as a trap or manipulated before had disappeared. Well, not quite. It was still there, but it was faded and thin. She turned back to where Marinette was tied up, only to see the girl stumbling away from her- or the recent addition to the fight- as fast as she could.

The person behind her chuckled. When she looked back, she saw Beetle, looking stronger, prouder, and much more powerful than before.

“Who would have guessed that your one true weakness would be overcast?”

“Stay back,” Lila needed to regain control before Beetle could get close to her bracelet. “You haven’t defeated me yet!” She focused all her effort on forming the meak shadows around her into a weapon. It felt weak and pathetic, but it was something.

Judging by Beetle’s smirk and step forward, she wasn’t fooled at all. “Don’t make this difficult for both of us. Just give me the bracelet.”

“No.” Lila took one small retreating step back. “Stay away or you’ll regret it.”

“What could you possibly do to me that would make me regret this.” Another step forward.

“I’ll tell everyone that you attacked me.”

“I’ll tell everyone that you were akumatized and maliciously attacking a Parisian civilian.” Another step closer.

“I’ll tell Chat Noir that-”

“Chat Noir is watching from that rooftop over there. And even though he may not like me, he’d still trust my word over yours.” She was getting too close for Lila’s comfort. Total retreat wasn’t even an option anymore now that the alley cat was back in play.

“I’ll tell Ladybug-”

A cold, harsh laugh. Beetle was close enough that Lila could see the challenge in her eyes. “You’ll tell Ladybug what exactly? I may think you’re an annoyance, a pest, but Ladybug? She thinks you’re a threat. She thinks that you might be working with Hawkmoth. So you’d better have one good story to convince her.”

Lila tried to cut her off, but Beetle kept going. “Did you think the heroes of Paris just ignored your frequent akuma attacks? Or how you’re always involved when one of your classmates is targeted? Or how you impossibly retain your consciousness and motives during and after your akumas? Or did you think we were really that stupid, Lila?”

Lila was caught in a very bad situation so she did the only thing she could do when her words became useless.

Beetle caught her wrist before her hand could hit her face. She said nothing as she pulled off her bracelet and snapped it. She had the akuma purified before Lila could react and turned away from her like she was nothing.

Chat Noir landed right in front of Beetle. He seemed nervous, more nervous than when he was actually fighting the akuma. “B, we should talk.”

“I know, but I need to start with an apology. I was feeling very anxious two nights ago and I took it out on you. Though I still stand by what I said, I said it too harshly and I didn’t listen to what you had to say.”

“I, uh, I was actually going to apologize to you. I talked to Ladybug yesterday and, well honestly, I feel awful. She-”

Beetle cut him off. “Whatever happened between you two should stay between you two.” Sure, Marinette had told her the basics, but she felt like she was intruding on something private. Those two didn’t have the best relationship and it wasn’t going to heal if they were both leaning on her for support.

“I just think that I haven’t been paying attention to how my actions were affecting others. If you can, could you tell her that she was right. And that I’m sorry.”

Beetle nodded and then the heroes went their separate ways, completely forgetting about the girl listening from the shadows.

Chapter Text

Besides Alya yelling at her about who knows what and her classmates being varying levels of irritating, the rest of Marinette’s week at school was relatively uneventful. And she was getting incredibly suspicious.

Lila hadn’t brought up how she was akumatized because of Marinette. She hadn’t lied at a large scale. She hadn’t tried to manipulate the class against Chloe and Marinette beyond the small comments here or there. She had no in-class reactions to what Marinette had said in class and at lunch on Wednesday.

Adrien also hadn’t said anything to her. Marinette thought she was due for a lecture on how to take the high road, but he didn’t ever approach her. Sometimes she’d catch him looking back at her during class or staring at her from across the locker room, but she couldn’t interpret the look on his face and he’d quickly look away when she met his eyes.

Over the weekend, she voiced these concerns to Chloe and Tikki.

“Maybe she’s turning over a new leaf and we don’t need to worry about it.” Tikki suggested.

“Unlikely. I think she’s trying to slowly maneuver the class to prepare for her newest attempt to knock us down,” Chloe responded. “But this strategy is just so unlike her.”

“That’s what’s throwing me off! I can’t wrap my head around whatever she’s planning.”

“Maybe we should just plan for some general worse case scenarios instead of worrying about all of the possibilities. After all, my bugs have always been better at problem solving than predicting the future.”

“You’re probably right, Tikki. We’re bugs, not rabbits and we should address the situation to the best of our abilities.”

“When did you get so wise, Chloe?”

“I’ve always been wise, Dupain-Cheng. You must not have noticed before.”

Chloe’s use of the old nickname caused the group to break into a fit of laughter. When they were finished, their conversation was replaced by more pleasant ones and their fear was forgotten.

- - -

Alya Cesaire did not have a good week. She had to deal with Chloe being more obnoxious than usual, Marinette coming back to Francois Dupont, and seeing Nino happy even though she still felt like a train wreck weeks after their breakup. Despite all of that, today was possibly the best day of her life.

In the past six months, views on the Ladyblog have steadily decreased. She had no idea why. She consistently posted articles about the heroes and the mythos of the Miraculous. Some people called her out and said she didn’t have proof, but everything was based on stuff Lila had told her so it had to be true.

Alya was so lucky to have a friend like Lila. She constantly helped and supported her when the rest of the world didn’t seem to care. She looked out for her, warning her about toxic people and relationships, like Marinette and Nino. She even helped her pursue her career in journalism by giving her advice and inside scoops from the heroes themselves.

Inside scoops like the one Lila had just shared.

Ladybug was going to officially return soon.

The details around the situation were still too secret for Lila to tell Alya, but the information she could share was enough to write a fantastic article before the information got out to the general public. This was her chance to bring the Ladyblog back to popularity. Her mind was already rushing to put it together.

“Oh, Lila, you are the best! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Lila offered a small smile, “You’re so welcome. I would do anything to help out my bestie.”

“I’m so glad we’re such good friends. This is going to change everything!”

When Alya hung up the video call to start writing, Lila couldn’t help but grin. Alya had reacted exactly as she expected. Now, instead of the class getting mad at Marinette for causing one akuma attack (which would also mean admitting to becoming an akuma), she would have the Ladyblog gain popularity and Alya would stick closer by her side. If all goes to plan, which it should, she’ll be able to spread her lies and slander to a greater community and she won’t have to worry about her guard dog betraying her.

If Marinette and Chloe wanted to play the long game, then she would set herself up to win the war.

Chapter Text

Chloe wasn’t going to be in class this morning, so Marinette decided to head in early and alone. It was a little strange to find the classroom empty after years of showing up late, but it was a peaceful emptiness. One that felt more like a choice than the isolation she experienced all those months ago.

Marinette started to sketch when someone new walked in. She looked up to see Alya with her hair in a messy bun, notes written all over her hand and arm in black ink, a pen tucked behind her ear, and her eyes trained wholly on her phone as she typed. She didn’t even notice Marinette as she went to her seat and kept working. Seeing her made Marinette smile.

Maybe it was the peacefulness in the room, maybe it was the familiar sight of Alya totally focused on an article, maybe it was a complete accident, but something caused Marinette to speak up.

“Working on a new article?” It must have been something important if her old friend was this worked up about it.

“Yeah. It's gonna be a-” Alya cut herself off when she realized who asked. “Why do you care?”

“You always get a certain look in your eye when you’re writing. I was curious.”

“Planning on sabotaging it?” The accusation didn’t quite hit it’s mark. It was probably because the majority of her focus was elsewhere, but it was still something in Marinette’s mind.

“Nope. Like I said, I was just curious. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in the process of writing.” A few more of her classmates had entered, confused at the somewhat polite conversation between the two. Marinette didn’t want it to be seen as a move in the game she was playing with Lila, so she just told Alya that she’s looking forward to reading it and returned to her designing.

She didn’t see Alya staring down at her phone, not thinking about or writing her article, but contemplating if her first friend at Françoise Dupont still read her blog, even after all the fallout. Alya didn’t know the answer was yes.

“Looks like little Marinette is already cowering in her corner.”

Marinette looked up to see Kim and Alix at the front of the classroom. Their posture made it seem like they were having a private conversation, but Kim’s voice was loud enough that it caught the attention of the class.

“Don’t worry, Kim, we can still trip up Chloe when she goes to join her.”

“I don’t think that will be an issue,” Marinette cut in. They weren’t expecting that, but they really should have when they were very publicly threatening her. She simply closed her sketchbook and looked directly at them. “Chloe will not be in class this morning. She has a meeting to go to.” One as Beetle, but they didn’t need to know that.

“I thought last week you said that people needed proof to take the day off or does your moral code not apply to you and your friends?” Alix asked proudly, like she had just caught Marinette in a trap.

Unfortunately for her, she did not. “I’m not excusing her from class. I trust that she has handled any matters of attendance herself, but it’s not my job to do it if she hasn’t. I was just letting you two know that she’s not here so you don’t need to waste your breath or energy on threatening her.”

Aggression flashed in both of their eyes, but Kim recovered first. “It’s probably for the best that she’s not here. After all it would be pretty sad to watch me rough up her only friend.”

“Excuse me?” Did Marinette know this would rile up Kim? Yes. Was she doing this on purpose? Maybe. Was this the wisest course of action? Definitely not, but it was early Monday morning and her impulse control was practically nonexistent.

“I said that it would be sad if she had to watch me beat you up.”

The next words that Marinette said made everyone freeze, from those who had been fully invested in the conversation to those who were barely awake.

“I bet that you can’t.”

The class had been free from Kim’s bets since Alix won the race months ago, but nobody knew if he was still allowed to be challenged. Nobody had ever tried. It would only end in regret or pain, maybe both. This was new territory.

Whispers started to fill the room. The doubt, confusion, and terror filling the room was palpable.

“Is that allowed?”

“Oh my goodness-”

“She’s insane!”

Max’s voice cut through the “Technically, the terms of Alix and Kim’s bet only restricted Kim making bets. There was nothing about whether or not he could accept them. To put it plainly, he would not be invalidating any former agreements.”

That caused even more chaos. As much as the class disliked Marinette, she just put herself into a very bad situation.

Adrien, who had walked into class, put two and two together when he saw Marinette and Kim glaring at each other and Max reciting the rules of an old bet. Ever the pacifist, he tried to deescalate the situation, “Maybe we should-”

“I accept!”

The rest of the class sat in silence and watched the two decide on terms.

“Very well. If you can’t beat me up, you have to stop bullying, threatening, and abusing me and Chloe.”

“Deal. And when I beat you, you have to publicly apologize to the class and have to dress in the most horrendous outfits you have for a week.”

Marinette considered for a minute. She didn’t like that idea, but knew if she tried to bargain she’d end up in a worse position. It was one of the many lessons she had learned from dealing with him since they were kids. “Deal. Fight during the break?”

“No. During lunch. There’s more time to gather a crowd.”

“You’re still an attention seeker, but fine. I assume we're using The Standards.”

The Standards were a list of rules for fights that made it nearly impossible for teachers to punish students for fighting. Nobody really knows how or why they came to be, except for Nino, Kim, and Marinette, who were the ones to write them after Kim got suspended six years ago for punching someone who was picking on Nino.

“We don’t need The Standards if we fight off of school property.”

“I was under the impression that you wanted an audience and didn’t want to be arrested.”

“Fine. The Standards at lunch with the previously stated consequences. Anything else to add, Nettie?”

She supposed the old nickname was supposed to throw her off. “Nope. Max?”

It was a moment before Max realized that he needed to respond. Like everyone else, he was too stunned by the all-business interaction between the competitors. “Yes?”

“I’m appointing you as referee.” Marinette glanced at Kim for any opposition and found none. “We’re following The Standards. You’re in charge of deciding who wins the bet. The time limit of the bet will be until the end of the fight.”

Everyone stood in uncomfortable silence waiting for someone to say something else on the matter. Adrien looked like he might, but Ms. Bustier walked in and started the lesson.

- - -

When Chloe and Lila walked into school at the mid-morning break, they were met with whispers and gossip that neither of them were happy with.

Lila was prepared to show up with a grand story and push the class a bit further from Marinette. She was annoyed that the whole school was talking about the person she hated most, but at least she could twist it in her favor. She was very, very wrong. Apparently everyone knew the exact situation surrounding the bet and no matter how hard she tried, nobody paid attention to her for long.

Chloe was exhausted from having to deal with her father all morning. He didn’t treat her nearly as well when she was Beetle and he just didn’t listen to her side of the argument. She was looking forward to ranting about it to Marinette, but by the time she found Marinette, all thoughts of the Mayor had left her mind.

“What are you thinking? Are you stupid? That was rhetoric, I already know the answer and in case you don’t, it is yes, you are stupid. I love you to death, but you are just so ridiculous sometimes! I leave you alone for half of the morning and you pick a fight against the biggest jock in the class!”

“Chloe, I-”

“No, I’m not done yet. Not only did you pick a fight with him, you made it a bet! You challenged Kim to a bet! Something so unbelievably foolish and entirely unprecedented. I’ll hear you out, but if your reason does not impress me, I have a whole lot left to say.”

“I have a totally reasonable plan, but I have to wait until lunch to tell you.” Chloe started to interrupt her, but Marinette kept talking. “I promise that I’ll be smart and safe. I’ll even pinky promise if you want me too.”

“Marinette…”

“I’m serious, Chloe. You don’t need to worry. I know that’s pointless to say that, but trust me.”

“Trust you? If I didn’t already trust your judgement with my life I’d call you insane! Class is about to start again, we should get going.”

Marinette knew that Chloe’s concern was genuine, even though her way of expressing it didn’t seem like it. She wrapped her arm around Chloe’s shoulders as they walked, smiling despite the stares and whispers around her.

- - -

Ms. Bustier eventually gave up trying to wrangle the class. It was absolutely impossible when they were all distracted by something that was going to happen at lunch, but nobody would tell her what it was. She stopped instruction five minutes before lunch and let them do what they wanted.

Adrien took this as his chance to convince Marinette to back out. He knew she was doing it to prove a point to him and he didn’t want to see her get hurt. After learning that she used to have a crush on him and Ladybug’s dismissal, he couldn’t help but notice how pretty she looked and how cute she was when she was being stubborn. If anyone could talk some sense into her it was him.

He walked to the back of the class and was shocked by cold glares from Marinette and Chloe. He decided the best plan of action was to be warm and nice.

“Hi, Chlo. Hi, Mari. How are you guys today?”

“Nicknames, Adrien? Really?” Chloe raised an eyebrow at him. It seemed his plan was already being shot down. “What do you want?”

“I, uh, I just wanted to talk to Marinette.” His confidence was cracking and it did not go unnoticed.

“Okay, what did you want to say?” Marinette asked, clearly uninterested, not that Adrien noticed.

“Oh, I was hoping we could talk in the hall. Alone?”

The two girls shared a look that seemed to convey a whole conversation in a matter of moments. Something must have been decided because Chloe suddenly looked annoyed and Marinette smirked.

“What are you interested in talking about? Surely, anything could be said here”

“Please, Marinette. It’s serious.” He gave her his most flattering model smile and glanced towards the door to try and convince her. He missed her rolling his eyes as soon as he looked away.

“Fine.”

Once they were out in the hall, Marinette put her hand on her hip, looked him directly in the eyes, and flatly asked, “What do you want to tell me this time?”

“You shouldn’t go through with the fight. It’s reckless and you will get hurt. You need to back out before it’s too late. Please, if you can’t do it for your own self preservation, do it for me."

Marinette let out a sharp laugh. “I’m sorry. Do it for you?” He saw her roll her eyes this time. “Why on Earth would that provide any motivation to quit? No, if my closest friend couldn’t convince me, neither can you. I’m not going to drop out.”

“Marinette, please be reasonable.”

“I am being reasonable. If I was being unreasonable, believe me, you would know. Is there anything else?”

“If you want everyone’s attention this badly, you can get it a different way. Kim is going to hurt you.”

“Is that what you think? I’m just trying to get attention. No, I’m trying to get Kim to stop hurting me. To stop hurting Chloe. Clearly, you don’t have a grasp on the whole situation and even if you did, there’s nothing you could say or do to convince me to drop out.”

Adrien couldn’t figure out what to do. He wasn’t getting through to her and couldn’t figure out why. He had another card up his sleeve though.

He grabbed her by the shoulders, closed his eyes, and leaned in.

He was trying to kiss her. He expected her to kiss back. He hoped that she would realize her old feelings were still there and they could spend lunch going on a date or maybe making out, he didn’t really have a preference as long as she didn’t fight Kim.

He was not prepared for her hand to grab him by the jaw and push his face away from hers. When he opened his eyes, he saw a fire burning in her eyes. Not the romantic kind, the rage fueled, violent kind.

“Was your stinky cheese breath supposed to convince me? Or were you trying to kiss me?” She took his hands off of her shoulders and pushed him further away.

“Marinette-”

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to touch a lady without her permission?”

He was about to say more, but the lunch bell rang and students began filling the hall.

“If you ever try to kiss me again, I won’t be as reasonable as I was this time.” He nearly flinched as she threw his previous words back in his face. She turned away from him as if he were nothing to her. He supposed that that wasn’t quite wrong.

Chapter Text

Marinette faced Kim from the opposite side of the chalk circle in the courtyard. She didn’t know who had drawn it, but they did a fairly decent job. There were no in-fight consequences for accidentally leaving the circle. It was there to keep spectators at a distance and give a chance for surrender if a competitor couldn’t handle it. Marinette didn’t plan on ever stepping out and she knew Kim wouldn’t either.

From what she could tell, most of the school was watching, either from the courtyard or the second floor walkways. It did nothing to calm the nerves that had appeared after her encounter with Adrien. She wasn’t worried about her plan, but it had been a long time since she had fought in front of this much of an audience.

Audrey had insisted on her taking self-defense lessons while in New York and she had obviously learnt a lot from her time as Ladybug, but Kim was on the boxing, track, and swim teams. Where she was nimble and fast, Kim was strong and steady. As far as she was concerned, they might be evenly matched. Physically, at least.

Strategically, Marinette had a great advantage. When Kim got angry, he did not fight smart. He was easily riled up and did not keep sight of the fight as a whole, but simply his next move. Marinette had experience keeping a clear head and anticipating her opponents next move. She could evaluate their styles and adjust accordingly.

Nobody knew about her advantage, though, so she knew many of the bets placed today had not been in her favor.

Max started explaining the basic rules of The Standards. Not for Marinette and Kim’s sake, but for the benefit of the crowd. No hits to the sensitive areas. No scratching or biting. First person to be down for five seconds loses. Step out of the circle to quit. Any serious injuries will automatically pause or cancel the match. No spectators are allowed within the circle. There were many more rules, but Marinette had stopped listening long ago. She knew the rules and wouldn’t let herself worry about them now.

When Max was done, he stepped out of the circle and officially started the match with a whistle blow.

Kim was the first to move. He ran across the circle and used his momentum to drive a punch right towards Marinette’s gut. It would have knocked her down and ended the match if she had not quickly dodged to the left, out of Kim’s reach.

He recovered quickly and turned to face her. He settled into a defensive stance to prepare for her next move.

Marinette didn’t move towards him though. She stood with her shoulders back and her hands held behind her.

“Was that all you’re going to try?” She asked. She tilted her head a bit and blinked twice. The way she said it didn’t sound like a taunt, but she knew it had hit its mark when Kim responded.

“You’re not gonna fight back? I should have known you were too much of a coward.”

“I don’t want to make it too hard for you.” She said it as innocently as the last, but it had more of an effect.

Kim charged at her again. He threw a series of blows, but she carefully avoided each one. From the outside it looked like a choreographed dance. A give and take between the moon and the sea. One pulled by the other, but it was always out of reach. They traveled around the circle, Kim never slowing his attacks and Marinette never growing less graceful.

As predicted, they were evenly matched.

Marinette kept her hands behind her back, both to provoke Kim and to keep herself from attacking Kim. She kept moving and out of his way. By this point in the fight, she knew that he put all of his weight on his leading foot when throwing a punch. She knew that he favored his left side. She knew that he left himself vulnerable when he tried to sweep her feet out from under her and that he couldn’t predict where she was going to end up when she moved away.

She ducked under his right hook and smiled at him. “Just like the good old days. Don’t you think?”

“You didn’t know how to dodge half as well back then.” Another swing.

“You couldn’t attack quite as fast back then.” She leapt to the opposite side of the circle and held up her hand.

He nodded and didn’t approach, respecting her request. He seemed to need a break as well, but was too proud to admit it themselves.

“When was the last time it was you and I in the ring?”

“I think it was when you wanted me to bake you eight dozen cookies and I said ‘Fight me’ as a response.”

Kim laughed and Marinette found herself giggling too. Somehow, they ignored the rest of the school watching them. Somehow, in the midst of a fight, they were talking like they used to. They were both reminded how close they were as kids.

And how far they had drifted apart.

But they were still in the middle of a fight and a bet that neither one would back down from, regardless of their former friendship. Neither agreed with the other morally and they both had a point to prove. So, when they both had caught their breath, the fight resumed.

It continued the way it had before with Kim on the offensive and Marinette not attacking at all. The crowd seemed upset by the turn of events. The fight wasn’t very exciting when nothing was landing and nobody was getting hurt. Some of the crowd left to go get lunch, but others got restless.

“Just hit him!” Somebody called out from the upper level. Nobody had seen who had said it, but it was hard to spot a Kwami if you didn’t know what to look for. Similar shouts started to ring out from around the crowd.

Because of that, Marinette decided that the fight had gone on long enough.

Kim threw another punch and in one swift movement Marinette dodged, grabbed his wrist, pulled him off balance, and stuck out her ankle for him to trip on. When he landed on the floor, the crowd cheered, finally excited to see some action, even if it meant the fight was over.

Marinette counted to three and offered a hand to help him up.

When Kim grabbed it, he pulled, causing her to fall onto the ground. He twisted and put a hand on her back to stop her from getting up.

Five seconds later, Max blew his whistle again and declared, “The winner of the fight is Kim!”

That got more cheers from the crowd. Kim stood up and raised his arms in victory. When he noticed Marinette had stood up beside him with her hand outstretched, he reacted by pushing her hand down.

“Seems like I’ve won and you owe the class an apology,” He called her a phrase that should be frowned upon, but he had just won a bet against the class bully and he didn’t really care.

Marinette didn’t seem that perturbed, though. The crowd was starting to disperse and she saw her class grouping up near the circle. “Careful, Kim,” she warned, “you wouldn’t want any of the class to think you’re breaking the terms of our bet.”

“Are you crazy?” Kim asked.

“Kim just won the bet, not you!”

“Yeah, you owe all of us an apology. Right now!”

“Actually, I think that I won the bet.” Marinette stated simply, looking at Max for confirmation.

“While you did take down Kim first, he was not down for five seconds, so that doesn’t count as a victory.”

Marinette sighed and rolled her eyes. “I know that. I meant that while Kim won the fight, he still lost the bet.” When she saw everyone staring at her in confusion, she continued. “I did not bet that Kim couldn’t beat me in a fight. I’m not that much of an idiot, despite what some people believe. I bet that he couldn’t beat me up. I don’t know what most of you consider as being beat up, but there’s not a scratch or bruise on me, nor did Kim manage to land a single blow.”

“That’s- that’s-” Kim managed to force out. His face was turning red with anger and despite just failing to hit her once, he looked like he wanted to strangle her.

“That’s technically true.” The majority of the class looked scandalized at Max for siding with Marinette, but he took his responsibility to be unbiased far too seriously to care.

Chloe had to roll her eyes at her friend. She could be so dramatic when she wanted too. Purposefully baiting Kim into a fight, putting on a show for the whole school, seeming so close to the edge of victory only to fail, yet still coming out with favorable results. Chloe couldn’t think of anyone else who could orchestrate such a thing. She had no doubt that’s what she planned from the start. Marinette tended to scheme when she was half asleep.

“Well, if the referee says it’s so, there can be no viable opposition without you seeming desperate and bitter. It was nice playing against you and I’d love to talk more about old times, but I let the fight go on for far too long and I have to get to work.”

Marinette turned and walked away without another thought or word. If anyone wanted to say anything, they were too stunned to do so. Chloe joined up with her and they both walked out. Before the main doors closed, the class saw them get into Chloe’s limo and drive away.

The reactions of the class varied once the dust settled. Some were furious. Marinette had made a big scene. She had made a fool of Kim. Some were confused. Kim had beaten her, why was she acting so important. Some were impressed. She had avoided everything Kim had tried, only letting the fight end when she wanted to. She handled the situation wonderfully. Lila was busy figuring out what to do next with Kim now out of commission. Adrien was still hurt from her earlier rejection, but he found her skill incredibly attractive.

The most surprising reaction of all, however, came from Kim.

He laughed.

Only Nettie could plan such a spectacle. As kids, she always had a way of twisting words against him to end up winning. He felt stupid that he didn’t see it coming. He should have known that she would never risk wearing hideous outfits for a week without a plan.

His anger was washed away by memories of when they were kids and thoughts of how maybe they hadn’t changed that much after all.

- - -

“You’re still an idiot, but I’ll admit that you are a very clever idiot.”

“You’re just upset you didn’t figure it out until my grand reveal.”

“I’ll have you know that I am upset for more reasons than that!”

Marinette, whose exhaustion was starting to set in now that the adrenaline was gone, laughed and leaned on Chloe’s shoulder.

“Thanks for trusting me.” Marinette meant it. Chloe knew how to work around The Standards and stop a fight if she needed to. But she didn’t. She didn’t transform to try to stop it as Ladybug. She didn’t try to talk her out of it once she had asked for her trust.

“Thanks for letting me.” Chloe meant it, too. Marinette could close up and push people away when they tried to look out for her. But she didn’t with her.

They sat in peaceful silence, both girls considering the wonderful friend they had found.

When the moment had ended, they started complaining and gossiping about their mornings and everyone they had dealt with. They let themselves pretend to be normal for the rest of the ride. Not superheroes or teenagers waging a classroom war. It was nice.

Chapter Text

Breaking News: Ladybug is returning

“Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news! I’m Nadja Chamack, coming to you live with breaking news.

“This afternoon, an amatuer journalist, Alya Cesaire, revealed insider information on her website, the Ladyblog. The article in question is about the long awaited return of Ladybug herself. Despite the Ladyblog’s recent dip in credibility, her article titled ‘Bug In’ has been reviewed by professionals and has been decided as truthful and reliable.

“While it is too lengthy to read on air, we highly suggest you go read it.”

- - -

“Come on, Chloe. Pick up, pick up, pick up!”

Marinette was pacing in around her room. She had run to her computer as soon as she heard the news. After scrolling halfway through the article, she couldn’t keep still. The anxiety was starting to eat her alive.

“Hello? Marinette, I thought we were going to meet up in half an hour. Did I get the times wrong?”

“No, no, no. It’s not that. It’s- argh! Chloe, can I come over now? It’s important.”

Sensing her friend’s anxiousness, she was quick to reply, “Yes, of course! What’s wrong? Did something happen? I’m always here for you no matter what, you know that, right?.”

Marinette, who had made it downstairs to the bakery, was now in earshot of her parents and a few customers. “I can’t tell you right now. But I- I will, I promise. I’m heading out now.”

“Okay, that’s fine. Is there anything I can do for you once you get here?”

“Read the Ladyblog.”

- - -

When Marinette made it up to Chloe’s suite, still shaking, she was greeted by a fuming Chloe. Her frazzled nerves convinced her that Chloe’s anger was directed at her. Deep down, she knew it wasn’t, but that couldn’t stop her mind once she’d focused on it. She started rambling all sorts of apologies and excuses. She was so distracted that she didn’t realize she’d been moved to the couch until she was being cuddled by Tikki and Chloe.

“Oh, Marinette, this is not your fault.”

“It’s okay. We’re here. This isn’t your fault.”

“But-”

“Nor is it your obligation to fix it alone. We’ll figure this out.”

Marinette wiped away her tears (when had she started crying?) and choked on a sob.

“I’m here. Don’t worry, I’m here.”

Chloe kept repeating her words over and over until Marinette was finally able to catch her breath and reply.

“This is too much. Why? How? I can’t even wrap my head around all of this!”

“Like Chloe said, we’ll figure it out together. This hardly changes our plans. The only thing we need to focus on is how to move forward.” Tikki had settled onto Marinette’s hair and focused all of her energy on soothing her bugs.

“I don’t see how it doesn’t change our plans!” Chloe was trying to restrain her anger, but was not doing a very good job of it now that Marinette was doing better. “We were going to be very precise with Mari’s return, but now it’s expected. So it leaves two options: Marinette can never be Ladybug or it has to be at the next akuma! Even if Alya’s not credible, all of Paris is buzzing with the news. No statement I give can counteract that.”

Tikki floated over to Chloe, as she seemed to be needing her comfort more at the moment. “If you are unhappy with the only options you see find more. Make a new path if life has knocked you off of your old one.”

“Spoken like a true ancient creature of creation,” Marinette, who was feeling much more like herself, joked. “We should take time to consider what our goals are, both short term and long term.” She put her hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.”

- - -

After a long night of talking and a long morning of class, Marinette was content to finally be in her peaceful, Ladybug-discourse-free studio. It was her safe place, full of fabrics and designs. She was finally able to calm down and focus on something productive.

Her serenity lasted about an hour.

“Marinette!”

She looked up to see Tikki floating towards her as fast as she could.

“Tikki? What-”

“There’s an akuma coming after Chloe. It was getting too dangerous to transform so she gave me the earrings.”

Marinette was too shocked to respond. All of their carefully detailed plans were shattering around them as fate forced their hand. She took the earrings and put them on.

“Tikki, I don’t know about this…”

“You can do this, Marinette. It’ll be just like it used to be.”

“Alright.” She took a deep breath and tried to center herself. “Tikki, spots on!”

Chapter Text

Marinette didn’t have time to acknowledge the changes to her suit or the citizens waving at and recording her. She could only focus on getting to school as fast as possible. Tikki didn’t say where the akuma was, but if Chloe was in danger that would be the most likely place.

The thought of Chloe being hurt or targeted made her shudder and nearly miss her landing on the next roof. It had been a long time since she had to save anyone and it was a bit jarring to start with her closest friend. It had to be bad if she didn’t even get a chance to transform.

Marinette pushed those thoughts to the back of her head as Françoise Dupont came into view. At first glance, there was nothing wrong with the school. But when she stopped to investigate the situation, she noticed some brambles growing unnaturally up the sides of the building. She made a mental note to be wary of plants until she fully knew what the akuma’s powers were.

There were no signs of Chat Noir, so Marinette decided to leap onto the school roof.

She almost puked when she looked into the courtyard.

Standing in the middle was the akuma. She had short bright red hair and blood red eyes. She was wearing a truly horrendous outfit and was surrounded by thorns and vines. They wrapped around her and spread out to the walls of the classrooms, though those didn’t seem to deter the plants much.

The worst part of the scene were the bodies of her fellow students littering the ground, wrapped up in the akuma’s briars. They were mostly unconscious. The thorns were digging into their skin and they seemed to be bleeding out, dying the white roses on their restraints red.

When Marinette was able to calm her shaking, she scanned the crowd for Chloe and found her at the feet of the akuma, where the briars were thickest. The roses on her were still mostly white, despite her being fully unconscious. It must be at least somewhat magical damage.

A student on the second floor hallway was cowering against the wall when a vine wrapped around their ankle. In a matter of seconds, they were on the ground fully wrapped up. The akuma turned towards them and raised her arms up.

“There will be no escape from me. You will bleed for the pain you’ve caused those who care most about you.”

Marinette shuddered as the vines tightened and white flowers bloomed.

“What’s the situation, Beet-”

Marinette turned to face Chat Noir, who was too shocked to speak. Whether it was from the sight of the akuma or her, she couldn’t tell. “The akuma seems to be upset about someone close to her hurting her. Her vines can take someone down in seconds. Be careful.”

- - -

The fight lasted longer than Marinette would have liked. She even had to recharge Tikki half way through.

In the end, Chat cataclysmed the briars closest to the akuma and she was able to grab the object with her yoyo before they grew back.

The only thing she wanted to do after she cast the Miraculous Cure was check on Chloe, but that was too risky to do as Ladybug. She instead went to see the victim, who turned out to be Rose. She supposed the theme made more sense now.

“Are you alright, miss?”

“La- Ladybug? What happened? Did I-?” Rose looked like she was about to cry and Marinette couldn’t stand to see her gentle classmate breaking down.

“Shh, it’s all going to be okay. Alright? I’m here with you right now. Can you help me out with something though?”

Rose, unable to say no to helping Paris’s hero, nodded.

“Can you tell me five things you can see?” She did. “What about four things you can feel?” Rose became more grounded as Marinette continued, asking for three things she could hear, two things she could smell, and one thing she could taste.

“Thank you, Ladybug.”

“Of course. If you’re able, could you answer one more question for me? What caused you to get so upset.”

“There’s a girl in my class. She used to be such good friends with everyone, but recently she’s only been friends with this other girl. I don’t really know how they became friends. They never liked each other. But today, Lila was talking about how she saw the second girl hurt the first when they got into a disagreement, about you actually.

“When I thought about it, I realized the girl had been colder and more tense since she returned and she seemed especially anxious this morning. I- My mother was trapped in an abusive relationship for the longest time before she recognized it. I guess I just got really upset about somebody being hurt and manipulated by their only friend.”

Marinette was shocked. Out of all the lies that Lila could have caused an akuma with, she was not prepared for that one.

“It’s very kind of you to look out for your classmate like that. You should go talk to her when school gets out. I’m sure she’d appreciate it.”

With that Marinette turned to leave, only to see a crowd of reporters waiting for her. She barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes as she walked towards them. Beetle never took questions, which made her life much easier. However, she had a PR problem right now, so she would need to talk to them eventually and sooner was better than later.

“I will answer five questions before leaving.”

All of the reporters started shouting, trying to get their questions in. It was too much for her to pick out any specific question, so she pointed to Nadja. All of the other reporters quieted.

“Ladybug, welcome back. May I ask why you are returning right now?”

That one was easy enough. Beetle got trapped and nobody else could stop the akuma. But she couldn’t say that. “As I’m sure you all know, there was recently an article posted speculating my return. I’m unaware of the anonymous source the article quoted, since the only people who knew about my return were Beetle and Chat Noir. I was planning to debut later but since the article’s publication caused a bit of chaos, I was forced back into the mask to set things straight.” She pointed towards another reporter.

“What were you doing while you were gone?”

Pursuing her dreams far away from this nightmare city. “That’s classified, I’m afraid.”

“What is going to happen to Beetle now that you have returned?” Another reporter called out.

She had no idea. “We have not discussed the topic beyond the present.”

“How close are you to stopping Hawkmoth?”

Far, far from it. She hadn’t even thought about a plan to stop him since she’d returned. “We are working continuously to stop that monster from terrorizing this city. While I can’t publicly comment on our leads, I would like to encourage everyone to take care of their mental health and be considerate of others. I will take one more question.”

“Are you back for good?” The voice startled her. It was Alya who asked it. If Marinette had seen her earlier, she would have predicted her asking something about Lila or her relationship with Chat.

Was she back for good? No. But the people of Paris would find that too distressing. She could have a mass akumatization on her hands. “As I said, I have not discussed how to proceed with my partners yet. However, if we decide that it is best for me not to be the permanent Ladybug holder, I will still be here to serve and support Paris when I am needed. That’s all the time I have for right now. Bug Out!”

Marinette threw her yoyo and flew up onto a nearby roof. She sat down and put her arms on her knees. She needed to get back to work, but she really needed a breather. It was too much all at once and she barely maintained her composure.

Her yoyo beeped, so she opened it. There was a message from Chat. Sorry I left so quickly after the fight, Plagg couldn’t hold the transformation much longer. could we meet up tonight for a patrol? I need to talk to you in person. She hoped it was about something important instead of another excuse to ask her out. He barely spoke to her throughout the fight and never looked at her in the eyes, so she assumed it was the former. She sent a quick okay and sighed.

When Marinette climbed through a window to her studio, she was greeted by a totally safe and healed Chloe. She dropped the transformation and ran to hug her friend. Almost immediately, both of them were crying.

“I- She crossed a line. I’m so so sorry, Mari. I- I couldn’t. I-”

“I forgot how much it hurt to see people you care about hurt. I was so scared I was going to fail.”

“She said that I-”

“I know. It’s okay. We’re okay. I know what she said.”

In the end, Marinette took the rest of the day off. She and Chloe had a lot to discuss and needed each other’s support. Their plan had been to go have a nice spa day, but Marinette pulled Chloe into an arcade the past on the way. They spent the evening playing games, winning prizes and ignoring hero duties and homework.

If Tikki used a bit of her luck to let them win a jackpot twice, she wouldn’t admit it. It was nice to see her bugs smiling and getting a break. They carried more on their shoulders than anyone their age should have to. If bending the magic of the world so they could get the giant stuffed animals they kept joking about was her best way to help them, maybe the rules could be ignored for once.

Chapter Text

Chat Noir hadn’t given a specific spot to meet up in and he wasn’t in any of their typical patrol starting points.

So that left Ladybug jumping across the rooftops, searching for a sign of where he’d be. Despite her typical powers, she’d had no luck so far. There were no randomly cataclysmed objects, no Chat Noir fans pointing at the roof tops, no intricate dates set up where only she would find them. Though, she was kind of glad about that.

His tracker was disabled and he wasn’t responding to her messages, so she didn’t even know if he was transformed or not. After an hour, she decided to head home and try again tomorrow.

And would you believe who she found napping on one of her lounge chairs?

The very person she had spent her night looking for.

- - -

Chat Noir hadn’t meant to fall asleep on Marinette’s balcony. He had been doing his best to avoid it since last week, but he passed it on the way to meet Ladybug. And he did a really exhausting photoshoot in the afternoon. Well, one thing led to another and…

“Chat?”

He leapt out of the lounge chair. He was expecting to see Marinette. It was her home after all. Unfortunately for him, his Lady was sitting on the railing, staring at him with an arched brow.

“Uh, hi, Ladybug. I, uh- What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you. Because you had asked to meet me tonight. And then you didn’t show up.” He didn’t want to risk checking the time, but the sky had gotten much darker while he was asleep. She must have been looking for a while.

He waited for a moment. He didn’t know how to respond. He owed her an explanation, but everything he could think of saying would end poorly for him. So, he elected to stay quiet.

“I don’t feel like standing here and chatting,” she started, not noticing his internal struggle. “I want to go home and sleep, so what did you want to talk about?”

“I messed up, Ladybug.”

“Could you be more specific?”

“I was a total idiot. I didn’t respect boundaries. I feel awful and really need to apologize.”

“Okay?”

“Well, will you help me figure out how to apologize?”

It was as if the gears in Ladybug’s head stopped. She stared at him for almost a minute before muttering, “What?”

“Well, you are better with people than I am and I need to apologize to this girl because I think I really like her, but she might hate me, especially after-”

His rambling was cut off by a louder “What?”

Ladybug looked shocked. He didn’t know why. She had helped him with stuff like this before she left, so he didn’t think it was that big of a deal. He told her that, only to be given a look of anger.

“I don’t get why you’re so upset. I really don’t. I’m sorry, but could you please help me?”

Ladybug took a deep breath. “Chat, I’m upset because I thought you were going to apologize to me.”

That was unexpected. “What do I have to apologize for?” He honestly couldn’t think of anything. Sure, they had a fight, but she instigated that. He had asked Beetle to tell Ladybug sorry on his behalf, so they should be all good.

“For messing up and crossing boundaries. If not from last week, then from before I left.”

“What?”

“Clearly, you have a pattern of falling for girls and trying to push them into relationships when they don’t reciprocate your feelings.”

“That’s not-”

“Go get some sleep, Chat.” A glance towards the lounge chair. “Clearly you need it.”

As she turned to leave, he put a hand on her shoulder. “Wait. Aren’t you going to help me?”

“Just apologize to her. Be specific and make it clear you know what you did wrong. Don’t try to change her opinion of you or try to use it to ask her out. Just apologize.” She removed his hand from her shoulder, “And stop touching people without their permission.”

Before he could respond, she was jumping to the next rooftop.

- - -

Marinette had circled back to her home as Ladybug, staying out of sight. Chat was still on her roof, staring at where she had left. It didn’t look like he would be leaving anytime soon, so she settled down and got ready to wait.

The only thing she could think about was the poor girl that had managed to catch Chat’s attention. After dealing with his ‘affection’ for years, she was glad that he had finally moved on from her, but it left a sinking feeling in her stomach knowing that he’d probably attached himself to someone else. At least she can avoid him without risking the safety of her entire city.

- - -

Chat Noir hadn’t moved since Ladybug left. He was so shocked at how unhelpful she was. Sure, she gave some good advice at the end, but she seemed so unwilling and upset. He just didn’t understand girls, maybe she was jealous. He’d have to make it clear next time that he’d still be willing to date her if things don’t turn out well with Marinette.

He sighed just thinking about her. Sure, she always called Lila out and liked to pick fights, but she was so pretty and so bold. He kept kicking himself about not seeing her six months ago, when she still liked him and was willing to take the high road. But there’s no time like the present and if he apologized to her tomorrow, he would be one step closer to asking her out. It would be perfect.

Chapter Text

“Hey Marinette?”

Rose was standing in front of their desk. She looked a bit nervous, but Marinette and Chloe elected to ignore it in favor of a hopefully pleasant conversation.

“Hi Rose,”

“Good morning, Rose.”

She seemed surprised to be addressed by Chloe as well, like she forgot they both sat together.

“Oh! Um, good morning, Chloe.”

Chloe understood that Rose didn’t really want to talk to her, so she went back to scrolling through Instagram. After an uncomfortable pause, Rose remembered what she approached them for in the first place.

“Marinette, would you like to maybe get lunch with me today?”

“Oh, that’s very nice-”

“I get it if you don’t or you’re busy. I just realized that we haven’t spoken at all since you got back and I wanted to catch up. It was stupid for me to even ask-”

“I would love to get lunch today.” Marinette knew why Rose wanted to talk and why she was nervous about asking in front of Chloe. “Thanks for asking.”

The confirmation was enough for Rose. She gave a quick thanks and then skipped back to her seat. The rest of the class didn’t even seem to notice the interaction, which Marinette counted as a blessing. She didn’t want to drag sweet Rose further into the drama than she needed to be.

When Ms. Bustier walked in and began class, Marinette was smiling. She missed lunches with Rose and despite the inevitable conversation they would have, she was looking forward to it.

- - -

Adrien forgot he had a photoshoot in the morning. He was so excited to apologize to Marinette and then ask her to lunch, but all of his hopes and dreams were crushed when Nathalie woke him up before sunrise and the Gorilla drove him to the studio instead of school.

At least it was a short shoot.

He was able to make it to school before the mid-morning break ended. He ran into the courtyard to try to find Marinette.

She was sitting on a bench off to the side with Chloe. They were having a very animated conversation, though he couldn’t hear what it was about. Their conversation abruptly ended when they saw him approaching.

“Good morning, guys!” He thought that if he was cheerful and sunny it would make them stop glaring at them. He was wrong.

“Agreste,” was all Chloe said. Marinette only nodded.

“Okay… Marinette, could I talk with you?”

“I don’t think you would listen if I said no.” That wasn’t really an answer, so he kept pushing.

“Is that a yes?”

“No, but for the sake of saving my breath, let’s say it was.”

“Cool, do you want to walk to class as we talk or…?”

“No.”

“What? Why not?”

“I was in the middle of a conversation before you walked in and I don’t feel like going to class yet.”

“Plus, you wouldn’t want him to try to kiss you again.”

“That too,”

He didn’t really know how to regain control of the situation now that the girls were laughing at his expense. This would be much more difficult to do this with Chloe here.
After years of friendship, Chloe knew all the ways to throw him off guard.

“Chlo, could you give us a moment?”

“Hmm, let me think.” She waited for a moment, feigning contemplation, before looking him dead in the eyes and cheerfully saying, “Nope!”

“Please, Chloe. This is important.”

“If it’s so important, stop wasting time and just say what you want to say.” He wasn’t expecting that from Marinette, but with how she’s been acting lately, maybe he should have been.

Nobody moved, but the girls made it very clear that they would not break first, so he surrendered.

“Fine. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable when I tried to kiss you.”

“Thank you for the apology.” With that, Marinette turned back to Chloe and started talking about a stray cat that was lingering around the bakery, completely ignoring him. He hadn’t seen any stray cats, but he couldn’t let himself get distracted. He finished Phase One of his plan, but he still had to ask her to lunch.

He awkwardly coughed to try to cut into their conversation.

Marinette looked back at him with mock surprise. “Oh, Adrien, you’re still here?”

That was a bit harsh, but he kept going. “Yeah, I wanted to- I um,” It was hard to speak when two sets of piercing blue eyes were staring into your soul. “Would you like to get lunch with me?”

“Sorry, I can’t.” She was about to start talking to Chloe again, but he was starting to get offended.

“Why not?”

“I already have plans. Now, are you done? Like I said, we were in the middle of a conversation.”

“But can’t your plans be rearranged?”

“No, they can’t.”

“Surely, spending lunch with friends is more important than some trivial meeting. I bet you don’t even want to go to it.”

“Exactly! What a good point. See, Marinette, he usually comes to his senses.” Chloe wasn’t making much sense herself. He was the friend he was referring to. Once again completely ignoring Adrien, she turned to Marinette and asked, “Have you decided where you are going to eat with Rose? I heard there’s a good seafood restaurant that just opened nearby.”

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Marinette responded, “but I wouldn’t want to risk her eating any shellfish. The last time she ate shrimp, she had to go to the hospital. Maybe we could go to the cafe we ate at last week.”

Adrien couldn’t take it anymore. “You’re going to lunch with Rose?”

“Yes, was it not obvious enough?”

“You’re really choosing her over me?”

Her expression softened a bit. “Oh, Adrien, I’m not choosing her over you. She simply asked me first and I’d hate to cancel.”

He couldn’t tell if she was being sincere or not, but he decided she was and only needed a bit more of a push to go out with him. “I guess that’s fine.” He sighed, dramatically. “I was hoping not to eat alone. Again. In the vast emptiness of my house. This is my one day off at lunch for a week and I didn’t want to spend it without friends. Oh well…”

“That’s too bad, Adrien. Maybe there’s someone else available. Oh! You could ask Lila. I’m sure if you agreed to get lunch with her, she’d help you with your acting. At least when she’s being pathetic, she pulls it off well.”

“Mar?” Chloe asked quietly, if he hadn’t been Chat Noir for so long he probably would have missed it. A silent conversation passed between the two girls. It was impossible to interpret and he felt more awkward standing here now than when they were actually talking.

Abruptly, they both turned towards him. “Very well, it’s settled.” Marinette declared.

“What’s settled?”

“I’m going to have lunch with you, Adrikins!”

“Thanks, Chlo, but I’d rather-”

“Eat alone in the vast emptiness of your mansion?” Marinette asked.

“Yeah, Adrien. We’ve been friends for so long and I feel like we haven’t talked in ages. Plus, you already said you’re free for lunch.”

It felt like a trap. It probably was a trap, but there was no way out. “Fine.”

“Wonderful.”

Marinette and Chloe stood up, got their bags, started walking to class, and left Adrien, scared and frozen, by the bench.

- - -

Near the end of a long, boring, history lesson, Marinette and Chloe whispered to each other in the back of the class.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yeah, Rose is sweet and hopefully I can dispel any rumors. And you? Are you sure about this?”

“Pretty sure. Someone needs to knock some sense into that boy’s head and I’m the best person for the job.”

The bell rang.

And it was time for lunch.

Chapter Text

On their walk to the cafe, Marinette found herself enjoying her conversation with Rose. It had been a long time since she had talked to her one-on-one.

“–then the cops showed up with about a million noise complaints, but they liked our music so much that we weren’t fined.”

Marinette could hardly talk through her laughter. “I miss Kitty Selection rehearsals so much. They are never boring.” She opened the door to the cafe and let Rose walk in first. The cafe was cozy and warm. She felt her shoulders relax as soon as she entered and she led Rose to a small table in the corner.

“You can come stop by sometime. I’ll have to check with everyone else before, but they’re at the same time as before.”

“I would love that, Rose. I listened to the EP that you guys published while I was in New York. It was really good.”

“Thanks! We’re working on another one right now. Plus, some music videos for the first.”

“If you ever need costumes, just let me know.” Rose looked shocked, so Marinette tried to clarify. “I know I was charging quite a lot before I left because all of the things I made for free were making it difficult to fund my hobby. But with my income and more professional commissions, I’d be able to give you guys a good discount.”

“That’s so sweet, but we already have someone for costumes on the videos we have lined up. Why the sudden change of heart?”

Marinette was very confused at that. She was always interested in helping Kitty Selection, but now she was in the financial position to do it without charging them standard prices. When she said as much, Rose raised her eyebrows.

“But Lila said you didn’t want to work with us because we weren’t famous enough.”

Of course. It was naive to think Lila hadn’t spun some lie about that. It wouldn’t change anything once Marinette cleared it up, but it was a bit more damage control she needed to do. “I don’t know where she heard that from, but it’s not true.”

“Oh.. but she said she texted you.”

“Rose, I didn’t tell anyone the new phone number I got when I left. Also, Lila has never had my phone number even before that.”

“Why would she say that then?” Rose sounded hurt. She had such a gentle heart and Marinette didn’t want to be the one to break it.

“I’m not sure, but don’t let anyone ever tell you that you need to be famous to be good. You are wonderful musicians and anyone would be lucky to help you get your big break.” The white lie was grating. She knew exactly why Lila had said it, but calling it a lie would make Rose upset.

Rose looked up at her with tears in her eyes. She wiped them away and thanked Marinette for the sweet sentiment.

After a moment of silent understanding, Rose softly said, “I had a reason for asking you here, you know.” Marinette, even knowing what it was, didn’t know what to say so she just nodded for Rose to continue.

“It- um, well, the other day, Lila pointed out that Chloe never really let you hang out with anyone else and always got uncomfortable when you left the room with Adrien. She- well, she also said that she saw Chloe hit you. It might not seem like much to you, but I, um, I wanted to check to see if you were alright. It seems a bit toxic. I also wanted to tell you that I’ll always be here for you no matter what if you need a reason to get away.”

Marinette’s heart melted at the concern in Rose’s voice. It had been a long time since one of her childhood friends was concerned about her and it felt different. “Thank you, Rose. It- It’s very kind of you to say something about it. However, truly and sincerely, Chloe has not hit me and I fully trust that she never will.” She took a deep breath and continued, “The reason I’m usually around her is because, until recently, nobody else wanted to be around me.”

“Oh.” There was really nothing else Rose could think of to say. Partly because she had been so wrong about the situation and partly because she realized that she was one of the people Marinette was talking about. Months ago, she had not argued when the seats were changed or when the class tore up her sketchbook. Her sketchbook. If somebody had done half as much to her song journal as they did to her sketchbook, Rose would have been akumatized. But Marinette wasn’t.

Until now, she had forgotten everything Marinette had done for her, and everyone else for that matter, too. She was so kind, generous, and righteous. Memories of Marinette standing up for her and comforting her flooded Rose’s mind. How could she have been turned away so quickly? As hard as she tried, Rose couldn’t connect the two different versions of Marinette and what caused her to become so mean. It’s like one day she was honest and good. Then the next day she’s calling Lila a liar and ditch–

“She’s lying isn’t she?” The question shocked both of the girls.

Marinette, who didn’t want to upset Rose anymore, simply said, “She is.”

“But, but,” Rose, who’s world had just shattered, was trying to grasp for straws, “Alya says you’re just jealous, but that wouldn’t make sense either. You haven’t been blushy nervous around Adrien since you got back and you have a successful career. But she’s, and you, and- Oh what have we done!”

“Rose, it’s alright.”

“It’s not alright. We were awful! I can’t believe- Oh, Marinette, I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you for the apology. It’s not your fault you were misled and you didn’t have an active part in mistreating me, but my wounds still might need time to heal. I hope you can understand that.”

“Of course I understand!”

After transitioning to a more pleasant conversation and getting their food, Rose suddenly froze. Marinette, who was enjoying the story Rose was telling, looked up to see wide eyes and a panicked face.

“I have to tell Juleka. Oh my goodness, Juleka and Ivan don’t know yet! I have to-” Rose, now out of her stupor, was digging through her bag for her phone.

Marinette, all too familiar with where this would lead Rose, rested a hand on Rose’s arm to stop her. “Not now.”

“But-”

“Lila is a snake. If you tell them while they’re with the rest of the class and you’re with me, she’ll figure out how to turn them against you. She might be able to do that regardless. Plus, there is no guarantee that they’ll even believe you.”

“They’ll believe me. They know I’d never lie to them.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” Marinette replied quietly, “and it led me to being alone in the back for months.” When Rose’s face fell, she quickly added, “But if they try that, I will be there for you.”

- - -

“Why are we here?”

“For lunch? I knew you were oblivious, Adrien, but I didn’t think it was this bad,” Chloe joked. They were being seated at a fancy, but not too formal, rooftop restaurant. She thanked the maitre d’ as she sat down and opened her menu.

“I meant, why aren’t we eating at the hotel?” Chloe could tell he was rolling his eyes, but she didn’t look up from her menu. The niçoise salad sounded very good.

“Well, I invited you to lunch, so it’s only natural that it’s my treat. The gesture of paying for your meal loses its virtue when we eat for free, even if that sounds incredibly pretentious.” She paused for a bit, glancing at the entrees. When she noticed he hadn’t responded she added, “Plus, the dining room is supposed to be for guests and I wouldn’t want us to disrupt them.”

After a few more moments of Adrien’s silence, she finally looked up. He was staring at her like she had just grown another head. She set her menu down and waved her hand in front of his eyes.

“Adrien?”

He snapped out of it with a start.

“Are you okay?” Chloe asked slowly.

“Sorry, I’m just not used to you being generous, or self-aware... or considerate... or-”

“I get it. Thanks, I think? Anyways, that’s what happens when you do your best to ignore a person for over half a year: they change.”

Neither of them said anything as that statement settled. Luckily, their waiter broke the silence.

After ordering, Adrien tried to start another conversation, “So… how are things with Marinette?” It wouldn’t be a lie to say he just wanted to talk about Marinette. Maybe convince Chloe to convince Marinette to date him. He definitely didn’t sound desperate.

“Smooth, Agreste. But, that’s actually a good transition to what I wanted to talk about.”

“What? What is there to talk about?”

“I mean, it’s not directly about Marinette. It’s just generally related to her,” she paused for a bit to look him directly in the eyes, “and how you’ve been treating her.”

“I don’t really see how that concerns you, Chloe.”

“Well, you like her and she’s my best friend, so it’s automatically my business.” She kept talking over his objections. “But that’s not the point right now, pretty boy.”

“Then what’s the point?” Adrien was starting to sound genuinely upset with her, so Chloe couldn’t really stall anymore.

“Who do you think your romantic role models while you were growing up?”

The question, as random as it was, was easy for Adrien to answer. “My mother, the entire collection of Disney royalty, and…”

“... And?” Chloe prompted, despite knowing who the last person would be.

“... you, I guess.” Adrien didn’t sound too happy to admit it, but it was true.

“Okay, so as everyone at this table will readily admit, I was not a good person. I was a pretentious, spoiled brat and the way I treated others reflected that.”

Adrien didn’t really know where she was going, so he decided it would be best not to cut her off.

“I’m only able to tell you this because I’ve talked about it with my psychologist enough to be comfortable with it,” she took a deep breath before continuing in a harsher tone, “and I swear, Agreste, if you mess up my progress for me, I’ll never let you forget it.

“Anyway, my parents did not have a good relationship. They both were- are- too greedy and self-absorbed to care about the other. After watching my mother leave and abandon everything, I broke. It wasn’t pretty. My butler told you I had the flu and couldn’t have guests over, but that wasn’t the truth. I spent weeks sobbing and mourning someone who wasn’t dead. I wouldn’t sleep or eat and my father just ignored me.

“Then, one day, I just stopped. At that moment, I think I subconsciously decided that I wouldn’t care about anyone anymore. I didn’t want anyone to ever abandon me again. I didn’t want to live through that pain. I wanted, no, needed people to care, but I wouldn’t care about them in return.

“Getting Father, and later Sabrina, to answer every beck and call was a wonderful imitation of actual affection. But you? I tried to detach myself from you, but you wouldn’t let me. No matter how bratty or mean I was, you still called me a friend.

She paused and looked down, knowing what she said next would upset him.

“And then your mother disappeared.”

“Chlo...”

“I’m sorry. I’ll stop if you want me too, but I think we both need to hear this.”

He didn’t say anything, so she took it as permission to keep talking.

“You were so beat up about it. When I was finally allowed over, your father seemed to care about it even less than mine did. You were so alone and I remember thinking that my only friend, the only one I couldn’t push away, was dealing with something much worse than I went through. I couldn’t keep trying to abandon you. You were so scared of people disappearing on you and I couldn’t add myself to that list. Since that option was out, the only to make sure you wouldn’t leave me, was to never give you a choice. I became clingy and demanding and jealous and possessive. All of those things had reasons behind them, but that doesn’t make them right. It doesn’t make them healthy.

“I’m sorry for doing that to you, even if we were just kids at the time. I feel ashamed every time I think about how I treated you.”

Adrien didn’t know what to say. Chloe had just told him so much that she’d managed to keep hidden throughout their years of friendship. It was a lot to think about.

Noting his lack of response, Chloe decided to continue, “So, at least one of your role models for showing affection, was deeply hurt and treated you in a way that nobody should be treated. I know you think it’s normal to act like that around someone you like, but I am telling you as clearly as I can that it’s not. But since I wasn’t able to tell you this when I realized it, I have to watch you make my dear, dear friend uncomfortable with almost identical tactics to the ones I used with you.”

The waiter arrived with their meals at that point. Neither of them tried to start another conversation for the rest of their meal. Chloe was too busy trying to not regret spilling her (second) best kept secret and Adrien was too busy processing it all.

By the time Chloe paid the check and they arrived back at school, Adrien was so overwhelmed by all of his thoughts and feelings. One thing stood out to him, a single thought that was present throughout all of his considerations: He was wrong and really needed to change.

Chapter Text

Adrien was too busy rehearsing his apology to Marinette that he didn’t notice what time it was. Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem, since he had a god of destruction and his father’s assistant to keep him on track. This morning, he had yet to see Nathalie for some reason and, well, maybe Plagg shouldn’t ever be trusted with that sort of responsibility.

When he finally looked at a clock, Adrien quickly grabbed his backpack and ran out of his room. He had just about five minutes to get to school before class started.

“Adrien.”

He was almost out of the front doors when his father’s voice echoed through the foyer. He turned around to face his father, expecting the typical cold, stern man. Instead, he was greeted by a disheveled man who looked panicked. More panicked than Adrien had ever seen him. His arms were still behind his back and his posture was as good as ever, but he was tapping his foot, which was not a normal habit. His jacket was wrinkled and his hair looked like he had over styled it and it was now deflating. These were not good signs.

Adrien would have to proceed with caution. “Yes, Father?”

“We are having guests over for dinner. I expect you home at an appropriate time.”

And then, he just walked back into his office. There was no scolding for running through the house or for being behind schedule. He was blankly staring at the spot his father had vacated before Plagg nudged him and he remembered he had places to be.

When Adrien arrived in the class right before the bell, he didn’t see Marinette anywhere. Chloe was on the phone with someone, but she wasn’t smiling so she doubted it was Marinette. Students were clustered into groups around the room, but none of them had the person he most wanted to see.

He didn’t have time to consider more before Ms. Bustier walked in and started teaching.

- - -

“Tikki, this is a nightmare.”

“You can handle this, Marinette!”

Marinette was pacing around her office with a sketchbook in hand, but stopped to glance at Tikki. “I can handle this? Tikki, Audrey should be arriving in Paris this afternoon! I don’t have nearly enough time to get everything together.” Her nervous energy was building up again, so she started pacing again.

“But she’s not coming in until Monday. You’ve got all weekend,” This was a level 8 Marinette panic. Tikki knew that Marinette would keep throwing excuses at her until she got to the root of the issue, so the best thing she could do would be to redirect them. “What else do you have to worry about?”

“What else? What else! Tikki the print deadline is the end of the work day!”

“You’ve had those designs done for weeks now.”

“Well, yes, but it means I have to be at the office all day,” When Tikki didn’t say anything, she kept rambling. “And being at the office all day means I can’t be in school right now. And not being in school right now means I can’t stop Rose from doing something stupid and then I can’t be there with her when the something stupid goes wrong. And I can’t be with Chloe right now. I know that her and Audrey are better now, but I know she’s probably nervous and I- I. Oh Tikki! What do I do?”

So that was the issue. Tikki loved Marinette so much. She was a brilliant bug and a great leader, but she always needed to fix everything. That’s good for a superhero, but really bad for a teenager with anxiety in a very complex situation.

“Marinette, you are not obligated to make sure everyone else is okay.”

“But-”

“Nope. They are their own people.” She floated off the desk and over to Marinette. “You have helped both Rose and Chloe as much as you can at this moment. You gave Rose advice and warned her. If she chooses to ignore that, it is her decision and nothing you say right now can dissuade her. As for Chloe, you talked for hours last night. She’s probably nervous, but she’s in class right now. You can call her at lunch, but right now you have work to do.”

“I- Thanks Tikki. I needed to hear that.” She moved back to her desk and took a deep breath.

- - -

That same morning, before Adrien left the house and Tikki calmed down Marinette, Rose Lavillant walked into class and approached Nathaniel.

She didn’t say anything to him. She didn’t even give her typically warm smile and a bright hello. All she did was place a folded piece of paper on top of his sketchbook and walked away.

Then, she walked over to Kim. He was talking with Alix and she couldn’t risk everything in plainly handing him a note, so with more sneakiness than one would expect from her, slipped another folded piece of paper into the pocket of his hoodie.

Nathaniel immediately opened his. Kim found and opened his halfway through class when he realized he didn’t have a pencil and started frantically looking for one. They both contained the same message, written with a pink glitter pen:

Emergency Meeting. Art Room. After School. Come Alone.

Chapter Text

Nathaniel was getting anxious. Nobody ever included him in class activities, excluding Marinette, of course. So, being handed a secret note by Rose then having to wait until the very end of the day to learn what the emergency is was not something he was experienced with.

He, thankfully, had made it to his final class without combusting from worry. Art was usually a fun period for him. He got to hang out with Marc and work on his projects without being interrupted. But because of the stupid piece of paper in his pocket, he couldn’t even focus on the storyboard he and Marc were drafting.

“Are you alright, Nath?” Marc asked. Marc always knew when Nathaniel was panicking, somehow. Or maybe muttering under your breath while erasing and redrawing the same thing ten times and scanning the room for signs of danger just wasn’t that subtle.

Nathaniel responded with a cheerful, “Nope.” He didn’t know what Rose was planning, or who else would be there, but if she didn’t want him to tell Marc she should have said it was a secret emergency meeting. Without looking at him, he passed Marc the note. “Rose put this on my desk as I was sketching before class this morning.”

After reading over the paper a few times, Marc handed it back to Nathaniel. “So, what’s your plan?”

“Plan?”

“Yeah, plan. It’s Friday so there’s no art club after school which means Mr. Haberkorn will lock up the room once we all leave.” Their teacher was generally very calm and supportive, but if there was one thing he hated, it was art being disrespected. The art room was supposed to be a safe space for both artists and art. After countless accidents of art being destroyed in school, he offered the room as a place to store art when students weren’t working on it. After somebody decided it would be fun to try free form spray painting after school unsupervised in roller blades, Mr. Haberkorn started locking the room too.

Nathaniel has never been good at plans. Sure, he was creative, but that didn’t translate well to his social skills. Luckily, he wasn’t alone. As the writer of the comic duo, Marc had written plenty of convoluted escapes, break-ins, and other miscellaneous schemes. As they continued to work, Marc whispered his idea to Nathaniel.

A few minutes before class ended, Marc approached their teacher. After mentioning stomach cramps and eating something bad, Mr Haberkorn looked ready to have another student take him to the nurse. That wouldn’t work. When Marc pretended he was about to throw up-all over Mr. Haberkorn’s current work in progress, his teacher was personally guiding to the nurse’s office as quickly as he could.

Once they were down the hall, Nathaniel ducked behind the clutter of paintings and canvas. He really needed to thank Marc later, but for now, all he had to do was wait.

- - -

Kim was excited. An emergency meeting? How fun is that! It was kind of lame that it was in the art room, but that couldn’t distract him from the fact that someone had chosen him to come to a secret emergency meeting.

Ever since he found the note this morning, he had been planning spy-movie montages of ways for him to get into the room after school. He boiled it down to three objectives:

Step one: Lose any tails. The note specifically said ‘Come Alone’ so he had to ditch anyone who tried to follow him and he couldn’t be suspicious about it either.
Step two: Get into the art room. This was easier said than done, since the teacher locks the door, but locks aren’t an issue for Secret Agent Kim.
Step Three: Attend the meeting, join a secret agency, do spy things, save the world, get an Olympic Gold Medal, and walk away to a cool soundtrack while an explosion goes off behind him.

Okay, so maybe Step Three is a bit far-fetched, but it could happen. The first two steps are definitely important.

He was ready to put his plan in place when the final bell rang. He was walking to the lockers incredibly casually when Alix called out behind him.

“Hey, Kim! Wanna go to the park? I heard they’re installing a new track.”

That was really tempting, but spy missions come first. “I’d love to Alix, but I already got plans for this afternoon.”

“What? Are you afraid I’ll beat you again?”

“No! I-”

“Are you a chicken?” His first step of the plan was going terribly as Alix started to draw a crowd by making taunting chicken noises.

Spy missions come first. Spy missions come first. Spy missions come-

“I’ll race you again, Alix!”

“Really? Are you sure you’re not too scared?”

Rather than fighting back, Kim took a deep breath and yelled, “First one to the park loses!” and began running out of the school before Alix had time to process.

Instead of going to the park, he took a sharp turn around the side of the school and hid behind a bush. He waited a bit to be sure nobody followed him, then silently declared step one complete.

Now that Kim was outside, he couldn’t go back inside to get into the classroom, which really only left one choice. He snuck to the other side of the school building and located the art room window. There were paintings and inspirational quotes taped all over it so it wasn’t too difficult to spot from the outside. The real issue was the fact that the art room was on the second floor.

After a few quick stretches, Kim started to scale the building.

When he made it to the window, he shoved the window open and, well, to put it nicely, he fell into a pile on the floor of the room and just stayed there out of utter exhaustion.

He would’ve stayed there two if not for the sound of keys rattling and unlocking the door.

- - -

Rose was ready. She was going to take Marinette’s advice to not tell anyone, but yesterday afternoon Lila had said something rude about Marinette and the class just believed it. They didn’t even consider any alternative or perspective. Now that she could see the truth, she couldn’t let others be hurt by Lila, even if it was a risk.

Last night instead of doing her homework, she debated who she should tell first and how she would tell them. Eventually, she decided on Nathaniel and Kim. Nathaniel was an obvious choice. Lila never really paid him too much attention and he was still friends with Marinette. Kim was a less obvious choice, but in the end, she remembered how his face softened for a split second when Mari won the bet and decided he would believe her.

The ‘how’ to tell them was a bit trickier. She knew it had to be away from the rest of the class, so she wrote up her notes in her lucky pen. Everything else after that, well, she was still figuring it out.

When school got out, she slowly packed up her stuff and said goodbye to her friends. She was hanging around the courtyard when Kim and Alix ran to the park. In fairness, she wouldn’t be surprised if Kim hadn’t even found the note. But she knew Nathaniel would be there, so she waited until Mr. Haberkorn was down the stairs to approach him.

“Excuse me, Mr. Haberkorn. I think I left my notebook in the art room, could I go get it?” She knew he had already locked it and she knew he typically had places to be after school on Friday, so she wasn’t surprised when he handed her the key and made her promise to give it back to him early Monday morning. “Yes, of course! Thank you.”

She walked up the stairs and unlocked the art room.

She was not expecting to see somebody seemingly collapsed on the floor and Nathaniel peeking out behind the paintings, his face as red as his hair.

“Uh, guys?”

The person on the floor looked up, revealing Kim, and Nathaniel stepped out from hiding.

“Rose? Nathaniel? Did you guys get secret messages too?” Apparently scaling a building couldn’t keep Kim down for long because the idea of being a secret agent refilled his head and he hopped up, full of adrenaline.

“Well, not really. I gave you the note.” Rose quietly closed the door behind her and moved further into the room.

“Oh. So I guess you’re not recruiting me to be a secret agent?”

“What does that- no, I didn’t,” Sometimes it’s best not to question Kim. If she did, she would never get to tell them about the real purpose of inviting them here. “I asked you guys to come to this emergency meeting to talk about everyone’s favorite classmate.” She sat down at one of the tables and once they joined her she took a deep breath. “Before I continue, I need you guys to promise to let me finish and not tell anyone what I told you.”

“I promise,” Nathaniel said at the same time Kim said,

“Sounds like a secret agency to me.” Nathaniel elbowed him in the ribs and he quickly added “I promise.”

“Alright. Well, Lila Rossi is a liar.”

- - -

They didn’t believe her at first. Kim tried to storm out before being reminded of his promise. It took her twenty minutes of debunking lies for them to finally see the light.

And they were heartbroken.

“So nothing she said was true?”

“There could be small truths or white lies, but it would be hard to sort out. I’ve spent all day trying to see if she’s said anything truthful at all.”

“Has she?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, what do we do know?”

“If we tell the class,” Nathaniel started, “then they turn on us and we’re exiled.”

“If we do nothing,” Kim offered, “We feel horrible and Lila continues to treat Marinette horribly.”

“Yes, but mostly the Marinette thing. Right, Kim?”

“Right.”

“Okay. So, we can’t outright tell the class and we can’t do nothing. We have to be strategic about this.”

“There’s a little problem with that, Rose.”

“Which is?”

“I don’t mean to speak for you or Kim, but I am awful at being strategic.”

Neither Rose nor Kim disputed the fact and an awkward silence fell over the art room.

Chapter Text

“Miss Dupain-Cheng?”

Marinette’s assistant, Naomi, had tried to get her attention over the intercom three times before giving up and decided to speak with the designer directly. Upon seeing the frantic mess of fabrics and papers around the office, she couldn't help but smile. She loved her job and Marinette was a wonderful girl, but the idea of a high schooler being put in charge of Style Queen Paris’s design department was still so absurd. Audrey Bourgeois truly put the ‘insane’ in ‘insanely talented’.

Not that Naomi would ever say anything like that out loud. She appreciated being employed.

Marinette, who had been stressing over two different fabric samples, looked up towards Naomi and dread filled her stomach.

“Yes, Naomi? Is it Audrey? Oh no, I knew she’d come to the offices as soon as she got to Paris. This is a nightmare. Has she been waiting long? I should-” She was already scrambling around the office trying to tidy up a bit.

“No, Marinette. It’s not Audrey,” Naomi tried to cut in as quickly as possible. She had seen the girl in spiraling panics much worse than this one and didn’t really want to see her go through that again. When Marinette looked confused, she added, “It’s just your 3:30 appointment. Trust me, everything will be alright.”

“I have a 3:30 today? I thought my next meeting wasn’t until 4:30?” Once the panic had subsided, Marinette was able to think logically and a 3:30 appointment did not fit into her very logical, planned down to the minute schedule for today.

“It was arranged yesterday. I’m sorry if I forgot to tell you, but I did add it to your calendar. It was so last minute, but Mr. Agreste’s assistant said it was critical to have it today, so I hope you don’t mind.”

Mr. Agreste. Of course. Why wouldn’t Marinette need another thing to worry about?

Better to start this meeting sooner than later, she supposed.

“Thank you, Naomi. I’ll be ready to see them in a moment.”

As the door clicked shut, Marinette took a deep breathe and organized the loose papers on her desk. She neatly moved all designs away from where they could be easily seen since everyone at Style Queen knew Gabrial was desperate for decent designs these days.

She heard the door open and close, but chose to examine a layout sample instead of addressing whoever was sent to hold the tablet for Mr. Agreste today. Honestly, that man should be able to use teleconferencing without making assistants go places, but that wasn’t Marinette’s concern.

She simply made a few notes, set the sample aside, and picked up a folder with the results of one of the recent shoots. One of the lessons Audrey had taught her in New York was to always be the most powerful person in the room. If you are nervous, make them nervous. If they came to you, make sure they know that. If you don’t know what they want, don’t let them know what you want.

Was it nice? No, but nice doesn’t get you anywhere in fashion.

When Marinette made to pick up another file on her desk after reviewing the photos, her guest cleared their throat.

Marinette knew that sound. She knew exactly who made it. She would be stupid not to recogize the sound that always meant there was a lie that needed everyone’s attention, so everyone could hear the horrible thing Marinette had said.

Instead of freezing or looking up at Lila like a deer in headlights, she set down the folder and picked up the next file, as she had intended.

When Lila sighed, loudly and dramatically, Marinette didn’t do anything besides saying pointedly, “Did you have something to say, Miss Rossi?”

“Yes, Marinette, I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t.” Her tone was full of annoyance. She didn’t enjoy being kept waiting, but her choice of words made one thing clear.

“You aren’t here on behalf of Mr. Agreste? I was under the impression I was meeting with him.”

“No. Now would you look at me when I’m trying to speak with you or are you going to keep being a nervous, little schoolgirl?”

The attempt to shift the power balance, however pitiful, did not go unnoticed by Marinette. So, she looked directly into Lila’s eyes and gestured towards the chair in front of her desk. “Please, have a seat. I wouldn’t want your feet to get uncomfortable in those knockoff Louboutin heels.” It might be a low-blow, but the fakes were clear as day and didn’t even look good with her outfit. It was an insult to Style Queen to wear them into this building, so she might as well say something.

If Lila wanted to test Marinette’s authority on her own hometurf, she would regret it. After a silent staring contest, Lila begrudgingly sat down.

Marinette stood and walked across the room to the door. She opened it, told Naomi to call security so they could escort Lila out of the building once their meeting was finished, closed it again, and asked, “So, what is so important that you needed to lie to my secretary to get this meeting? Not that I’m that surprised.”

Lila scoffed and crossed her legs. “I wouldn’t have expected you to be so blunt about it. Typically, you just anxiously avoid any confrontation and try to undermine me through slights and rumors. I’m impressed.”

“I don’t know what world you’re living in if you believe that is the case, but regardless, there’s nobody here for you to poison with fancy promises. Your attempt at cornering me has led to a private meeting with me, in my own office. If you do stir up trouble, it’s your word against mine. So, stop trying to find an advantage in this situation you’ve created for yourself and tell me what you came here to say.”

As Marinette sat down, Lila began to monologue about this and that and how she would destroy Marinette’s reputation and get her blacklisted from the industry and turn her family and Chloe against her. To be honest, Marinette wasn’t really paying attention, but Lila was too distracted by her pre-prepared speech to notice.

That was until Lila said, “I wouldn’t want any bugs to be caught in the crossfire.”

What?

Marinette must have said as much, because Lila smirked.

“I said, it would be a shame if any bugs got hurt in this little feud of ours.”

Tikki, who liked to nap in her desk drawer during meetings, phased out so Marinette could see her. She seemed just as confused as Marinette, but her presence was reassuring.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it sounds like you’re threatening the beloved heroes of Paris.”

“It’s a good thing you know better, then.” The threat was clear as day, but Marinette had to tread carefully to figure out how much she knew.

“How could any lie you spin pose a threat to them? Hypothetically speaking, of course.”

“I think the media would love to know how close you are to the heroes. It would be a shame if somebody heard that and started targeting you. Hypothetically speaking.”

That was a relief to hear. Even though that was a little more information than Marinette wanted to have out in the world, it could be a lot worse.

Lila thought she had trapped Marinette right where she wanted her. “So here’s what you’re going to do.” She stood up and slammed her hands down onto the desk. “You are going to keep to yourself and stay out of my way. Keep trying to convert our stupid little classmates to Team Marinette and something bad might just happen,” She scoffed. “Not that any of your attempts will ever work.”

Marinette, not wanting to let Lila get an upper hand, stood up as well. “If it’s so unlikely that any of my ‘attempts’ will work, what’s the point of coming all the way to my office to threaten me? Scared?”

“As if you could scare me. It would be impossible for you to overthrow me.”

“If you say so.”

“So are you going to stop trying or am I going to have to make myself more clear?”

“If you are so sure it’s impossible, then you shouldn’t have to worry about me letting our classmates know that you are a manipulative, lying snake.”

That got the reaction she was looking for.

“How dare you! When I- Oh you are so going to regret saying that!”

Lila kept fuming, arms waving and voice rising, oblivious to Marinette calmly sitting down and hitting a button on the intercom that would let Naomi hear what was happening.

The door flew open within seconds. The security she had requested was standing behind Naomi.

“Ah, Naomi. Is my next appointment here?”

Lila stopped screeching for a moment to see the scene behind her.

“Would you be so kind as to escort Miss Rossi out of the building? It seems she manipulated Mr. Agreste’s assistant into scheduling this meeting.”

“Of course, Miss Dupain-Cheng.” One of the security nodded and approached Lila.

“Don’t touch me! Do you know who I am?”

“You may be a Gabriel model, but you’ve overstayed your welcome here, miss. I don’t think you’ll find it quite so easy to sneak your way into these offices again,” Naomi said, swiping through some information on her tablet. “Actually, you won’t even be welcome in this building again without being invited.”

Lila, while escorted towards the door, turned back to Marinette with fire in her eyes. “You’ll regret this, you little-”

“If you think you can scare me in my own office, you are sorely mistaken.”

“I will destroy you!”

“Lila, you already know how much I hate lying. Why do you keep doing it?”

As the door closed, Marinette released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“You did well, Marinette,” Naomi said from her place by the door. “I’ve been in this industry long enough to know who will and won’t succeed in fashion based on how they react to situations like that.”

“And?”

“I understand why Audrey is always so proud of you.”

The comment made Marinette feel warm inside. She had dealt with her fair share of people who were jealous or wanted to take advantage of her over the past six months. It was rare for the adults around her to remember that she was still just a normal girl with anxiety and teenage drama. Hearing Naomi supporting her meant a lot.

“Thank you, Naomi.”

“Of course. Plus, Miss Rossi is the type of girl who quickly tries to climb to the top before crashing and burning.”

Both of them laughed and spoke a bit more before returning to their work.

After the confrontation, Marinette found herself more focused, but the threats Lila made still lingered in the air. If she truly knew something, Marinette would have to be extra cautious in their following encounters. Being connected to the superhero known for not interacting with civilians more than necessary was a risk for anyone, but it was even worse for someone who knew so many secrets of the Miraculous.

If Lila was prepared to put the whole city at risk, then Marinette was starting to lose interest in holding back.

Chapter Text

The Agreste Mansion was cold.

Not that it surprised Chloe, but she still didn’t like it. It was cold and lifeless and reminded her far too much of her childhood.

Their oh-so-gracious hosts were not there to greet them upon their entry, an act that did not go unnoticed by her mother, so now they were waiting in the main dining room. Chloe knew Mr. Agreste did it on purpose. As nicely as they dressed or as warmly as they smiled (not likely, though), this was still a business meeting between the fashion moguls.

Her mother, not one to be out maneuvered, took the tardiness in stride. Causing a scene, which typically would be the go to reaction, would make them bad guests and then put them in the wrong. Instead, she walked around the table, examining the cutlery and glasses as she went, and sat at the head of the table.

“Chloe, dear. There’s no need to stand around by the door. Come sit.”

Chloe considered for a brief moment. It was an extreme break in etiquette as far as she was concerned, but Chloe was hungry and the Agrestes were keeping them waiting. So, she followed suit and sat down next to her mother, in Adrien’s typical spot if she recalled correctly.

Their parents may be the ones fighting for the upperhand, but they would be using Adrien and Chloe as pawns.

And Chloe, who decided months ago she was done being used as a pawn, was ready to be her mother’s right hand man in this battle.

- - -

“Adrien,” His father’s voice was cold. It was always cold when he was angry with him. Or upset. Or disappointed. “You are not to make a fool of me tonight. Understood?”

Adrien did nothing but nod and check his watch. It was six minutes past the hour, so their guests were either late or his father was up to something.

“Mrs. Bourgeois is here on friendly terms,” Well, at least Adrien knew who it was now, “but I have an official meeting with her next week. I don’t want you to mess up my proposal by being as incapable as you typically are when it comes to navigating social situations.”

That hurt. Honestly, sometimes Adrien wondered why he always wanted his father to give him more attention because it never felt as good as he imagined. The ring on his finger and the kwami in his pocket were the only things keeping him calm.

“Yes, Father.” His words were automatic and sounded as empty as he felt, not that his father noticed. His father never noticed.

“Then let us go greet our guests.”

They walked in silence until they reached the entrance to the main dining room. Before his father could open the doors, he simply said “Do not disappoint me, son.”

Adrien couldn’t respond before his father opened the door to the dining room.

“Good evening, ladies. I apologize for the delay. I had an important business emergency to attend to.”

Mrs. Bourgeois stood up from where she was seated to greet his father. From where she was seated at the head off the table, in his father’s spot, Adrien noted with a fair bit of horror.

“Gabriel, it’s been too long. I was so disappointed when I heard you were in New York without paying a visit.”

As Adrien walked over to his chair, he realized that that too was occupied. His father hadn’t mentioned that Chloe would be here. Well, to be fair, his father never told him anything.

“Hey, Chloe,” Adrien said while their parents exchanged pleasantries. “We didn’t really talk at school today. How are you?”

Chloe, despite having spilled all of her secrets to him yesterday, looked at him with the same level of contempt she usually reserved for Lila and her lackeys. Then, she smiled at him. It was obviously fake, but it wouldn’t be as obvious to someone who didn’t know her like he did.

“I’m doing well, thank you. How are you? You seemed quite distracted at school today.”

“Oh. That. Yeah, I was just a little nervous. I needed to apologize to-”

“Please, let us sit down. I think dinner should be ready in a moment.”

Adrien would have liked to think that his father’s interruption was accidental, but the glare he sent him while the others were distracted by sitting down made it clear that it was very intentional.

- - -

Dinner was not in fact ready in a moment.

By the time food arrived, Chloe was absolutely exhausted. It had been almost half an hour since the Agrestes arrived and everyone at the table was insufferable. Gabriel was clearly trying to guide conversation in a certain direction. Chloe didn’t know what it was he wanted to talk about but it didn’t matter because her mother wouldn’t let him gain an inch of control over what they talked about.

Their slights and backhanded compliments took too much energy to detangle, but she needed to keep up with the conversation. Adrien either was too oblivious to catch the double meanings or he was just trying to keep things pleasant. It was clear Gabriel didn’t appreciate his son’s attempts at participating in the conversation, but that didn’t seem to stop Adrien.

During a pause in the conversation near the end of dessert, Adrien spoke up again. “That’s a lovely dress, Mrs. Bourgeois.” There was no sarcasm or hidden insult, just an average, everyday complement.

Gabriel looked annoyed, but Audrey looked proud and Chloe knew why.

“Why, thank you, Adrien. It was a gift from my head designer of Style Queen Paris.”

Chloe tried not to smile as she recalled Marinette’s panic before she gave her mom the gift. If she remembered correctly, Mari had stayed up for 27 hours trying to finish that dress. .

Adrien was not as successful at keeping a smile off his face.

And, for some reason, neither was Gabriel. Not that Chloe would consider the slightly less stern look on his face a smile.

“Ah. Your prodigy. I’ve heard so much about her.”

“She is truly talented.” Audrey was practically beaming with pride and Chloe tried her hardest to ignore the icy jealousy bubbling in her stomach.

“Marinette made that dress?” Adrien asked, in awe. Chloe couldn’t help but notice how much he looked like a puppy with that stupid smile.

“She did. She designed and produced it.”

“You’re lucky to have found such talent at such a young age. If I recall correctly, you discovered her through one of my competitions.”

“That’s true. I don’t believe I’ve ever thanked you for pushing her into my arms.” She proceeded to not thank him by saying, “Besides, she’s not that young.”

“Oh?”

“She’s the same age as Adrien and Chloe. She’s even recently re-enrolled in their class.”

Chloe doubted Gabriel knew Marinette was in a class with his son, but if he was surprised, he didn’t show it.

“Still having her lead a department is an interesting business decision. Though, Style Queen has always been a bit … experimental.”

“You could say the same about Gabriel Fashion,” Chloe was tired of dancing around insults and being polite. It may be the way of the fashion world, but she was also raised by a politician. “I mean, wasn’t Adrien even younger when you declared him your primary model? And come to think of it, Lila Rossi, another model in your employ is also the same age as us.”

“She’s right,” Adrien added, but was ignored by everyone else at the table.

“While that may be true, Chloe, there is a large difference between two models and the head of design. Not that I’d expect you to know that. Until a few months ago, I can’t recall you ever taking an interest in your mother’s career.”

There was a saying about Gabriel Agreste in the fashion world: The man could shoot someone directly in the heart with his eyes closed. Somehow, he always knew what to say to make someone feel insecure. He always knew what small phrase could make someone feel incredibly vulnerable. He always knew how to break someone down into an emotional wreck with a simple offhand comment. Nobody knew how someone who didn’t seem to have any emotions could be efficient at manipulating the emotions of others.

While Chloe was far from an emotional wreck, the comment about not being close to her mother stung.

“I’m afraid that’s my fault, Gabriel.” She was not expecting her mother to respond, much less take the blame for something they were equally guilty for. “I never talked to Chloe dearest about my job much when she was younger. The fashion industry is far too vicious for a child.” She didn’t try to hide her look towards Adrien. Chloe knew that Audrey and Adrien’s mom didn’t like Gabriel forcing Adrien into modeling, but their attempts to dissuade him never worked.

“Are you-” Gabriel sounded angry, but Audrey pushed on.

“She always seemed to prefer learning about Andre’s career path. In my opinion, a good parent should never try to make their child just like them when the child shows favoritism to their partner.” Chloe could’ve missed her glancing at the portrait of Emilie if she blinked.

Chloe had almost forgotten the weeks she and Adrien spent putting together their own little movies and shows because he wanted to be an actor like his mom. He started modeling a month later.

“If you think-”

“Not that I was ever the best parent. But regardless of all that, someone recently told me that it is better to try your best to be a good parent than ignore the past.” Marinette had told her that. It was only a few weeks into her job and she could’ve easily been fired for defending Chloe and opposing Audrey. “So, I’m trying to keep Chloe more involved now, but only when she wants to. It would be cruel to force her into something she wasn’t happy with.”

Adrien was pushing around the food on his plate. For all his cheerful obliviousness, he knew who this conversation was really about.

Even if she couldn’t do much, she owed it to Adrien to at least try to steer the conversation away from him. So, Chloe spoke up, “Mother, perhaps we should-”

Her plan failed almost immediately since her speaking made her mom pause which gave Gabriel the perfect opportunity.

“Perhaps you should leave.”

Nobody was fighting for the chance to speak now.

“Audrey, it is one thing for your daughter who knows nothing about my company to insult my business model. It is another matter entirely for you to attack myself and my family through thinly veiled advice. Advice that is not needed or wanted. So, I believe it is time you leave my home. Thank you for coming to dinner.”

He stood up and he started walking to the side doors of the dining room.

Audrey Bourgeois would never let anyone else have the last word.

Before he could make it out of the room, Audrey and Chloe were at the opposite door, ready to make their departure.

“Thank you for having us, Gabriel. The meal, as usual, was wonderful,” she took a small step in front of Chloe, “The company, however… If you ever speak about my daughter that way again, I doubt you will still have a business within a year's time. Even if she was as uneducated as you claimed she was, which she is not, she deserves your respect as a house guest, as your son’s friend, as your friend’s daughter, and, should she be willing, as the future co-CEO of Style Queen. Good night.”

Audrey turned on her heels and walked out of the room. Chloe had to tear herself out of her stunned stupor to catch up with her as she walked the halls of the mansion towards the door.

“Mom?” Chloe didn’t know how to even ask everything she wanted to.

“I’m sorry you found out about it like that, darling. I was going to bring it up with you and Marinette later this week. Since you are so good at business and she is so good at design, I thought it would be a good fit.”

Chloe felt warm inside. Not the overwhelming heat of anger, but the warmth of being home and being loved. For all her mother adored Marinette, Chloe hadn’t even realized she loved her just as much. But revealing something like that to Gabriel and showing her hand? That was how the Bourgeois family showed affection, by protecting someone even if it meant a personal setback.

“If only it wasn’t for that selfish, waste of talent who has the nerve to call himself a father. If he hadn’t insulted you and wasn’t such a horrible person, I wouldn’t have gotten defensive and ruined the surprise.”

“It’s alright, Mom. Really. Thank you, for everything in there.”

“Thank you, dear, and you’re welcome, but it’s not alright. If Emilie could see how he has stolen the joy from her son, this house would be in ruins by the time she was done with him. I wish I could do more than just insult him but nothing I’ve looked into has worked. He is just so ignorant and so-”

As they were walking toward their car, Audrey was too busy ranting and Chloe was too busy trying to process motherly love that they both missed the purple butterfly flutter from the direction they had come from and land on Audrey’s necklace.

“-unloving and so…”

“Clothes-minded, I am Hawkmoth.”

- - -

Once Audrey and Chloe left, his father didn’t even glance at him before leaving, so Adrien was left alone.

It wasn’t long before he noticed that he was crying. He couldn’t figure out if the tears were caused by him once again realizing what an awful parent his father was, missing his mother again, or the feeling of having someone defend you.

The way Audrey talked about him indirectly felt more caring than anything his father had said to him in the past year.

“Cheer up, kid,” Plagg said. Adrien hadn’t noticed him until he had spoken, “No matter what you’re going through, you’re stuck with me.”

Plagg pounced onto Adrien’s tear soaked face in what Adrien decided was an attempt at a hug. It was rare for Plagg to show affection, so Adrien savored the face hug for as long as possible.

Plagg was warm and soft and smelled really, really bad, but Adrien was happy for the comfort, so he chose not to comment on that last part. After a moment, Plagg even started purring.

It was like he could ignore everything. He could ignore his father and Hawkmoth and Lila and Marinette and Ladybug and Beetle. He could ignore Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste and just exist. Despite the tears, despite the cold, empty dining room, this moment seemed peaceful.

It probably would’ve stayed that way had he not heard a distinctly Chloe-sounding scream.

Chapter Text

Oh no.

Oh God!

Oh fu-

“Chloe,” Her mother’s voice was strained. The purple outline around her face was flickering, like she was fighting, like she was struggling. “Chloe, darling, I love you so much.”

She may have been crying. Chloe probably was too.

It has been a long time since she felt loved and supported by her family, and Hawkmoth just had to go and ruin it.

“Mom, you can fight it. Please, I know you can.”

“Run, darling.”

And then she was watching as her mother was overtaken by bubbling dark magic.

Chloe screamed, then she was running.

- - -

“Hey, Chlo. How was dinner? Just as insufferable as we imagined?”

Marinette had stayed late at the office to tie up some loose ends so she would be fully prepared for Monday. She had called Chloe earlier to tell her about Lila’s stunt, so this call was a bit unexpected. Not that she minded.

There was no response from the other end of the call besides heavy breathing.

“Hello? Chloe?”

“Audrey. Akuma. Agreste mansion. Need. Ladybug.” Her words were labored and it took a moment for Marinette to process them, but as soon as she did, she called on her transformation and Ladybug was zipping across Paris.

- - -

The view from the rooftops was … weird. Even after knights and mummies, mind control akumas were always strange. Ladybug wasn’t even sure she could classify Audrey as a mind control akuma. As far as she could tell, any clothes that were hit by Audrey’s power became under her control, including the ones that were being worn (the people wearing those clothes did not seem too pleased).

“That’s unnerving.” Chat said as he landed next to her.

“Tell me about it.”

“Any plans?”

“The akuma is most likely in her necklace,” The pros of having a close friend who witnessed the akumatization and also knows how to contact you when you’re transformed are unending. “I haven’t figured out how to get to it yet. Besides the minions, her reflexes are sharper. Sneaking up won’t be a valid option.”

“Any hints from the magic yoyo?”

One eye roll and one “Lucky Charm!” later and Ladybug was left staring at a beautiful hair comb.

“Are accessories out of her power range? Maybe you can throw it at her?”

“No, Chat. This is a replica of a Miraculous. I’ll be right back!”

She was already running away when he called out, “What am I supposed to do?”

“Stay hidden! I won’t be long.”

- - -

Chloe felt so useless. She was eating ice cream and watching the news safely from her hotel suite while her mother, who had just made her feel loved, was gathering an army of clothes to storm Agreste mansion. When she figured out who Hawkmoth was, he was going to regret it (and, you know, terrorizing all of Paris, but she was focused on this at the current moment).

The knock on her balcony door was unexpected.

In truth, she should have predicted her best friend standing there, but she was having a rough evening.

“Why aren’t you fighting my mother?” was Chloe’s greeting when Ladybug let herself in.

“Because I need help,” Marinette held out the intricate box Chloe hadn’t realized she’d been holding and said, “Chloe Bourgeois, I present to you the Miraculous of the Bee, which grants the power of subjection. You will use it-”

“Yeah, yeah, greater good and all that. No need to act high and mighty.”

Chloe snatched the box from her outstretched hand, opened it and stuck the comb into her ponytail.

“Hello, my queen!”

“Hi, Pollen. I’ve missed you. Buzz On!”

After she was transformed, the two heroines took off towards where Audrey was last spotted.

“Will I ever get to be the Bee hero when my mother isn’t akumatized?”

“Shut up, Chloe. We have places to be.”

Chapter Text

Hi. This isn’t a new chapter. Sorry to disappoint.
I hope you can accept this rambling explanation as apology enough

I no longer really exist in the ML fandom. I wasn’t in a great place when I wrote this. For a long time I’ve considered deleting it, but I think it would be a disservice to those who enjoyed it. And to myself

I loved writing this, but I also know when stories need to be told and when it would hurt more to hold on to one. I never imagined myself finishing this. It originally started in my mind as a prompt I wanted to see someone else write. They never did, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I finally wrote it. I wanted it to be a one chapter thing, probably just the prologue and Marinette’s return, but I couldn’t stop writing.

But I got over ambitious and overwhelmed. I went from writing on the floor of my childhood bedroom during the first few months of the pandemic, scared out of my mind, to trying to find a spare moment in between classes and essays, still scared out of my mind. I never thought I would be a writer. I still don’t think I’m a good one but every comment, every kudos, they made me believe in myself just a bit more. Even if I could never write the next chapter. Thank you

Since I have no plans for continuing this, a quick summary of what I wanted to happen before the end:

Marinette and Chloe make amends with Chat/Adrien. They all recognize the circumstances of their lives have made it difficult to see each other eye to eye.
Alya realizes that Lila has been manipulating her and isolating her. She eventually talks things over with Nino and while they don’t immediately rekindle their relationship, they are back on the road to friendship.
I never intended for this fic to include any relationships. I think I pushed both Adrien and Marinette a bit too far OOC for it to make sense anymore and I always pictured Marinette and Chloe as best friends/sisters.
Audrey stops Gabriel from being a dick to kids and eventually declares Marinette and Chloe the heirs of her company. Marinette handling design and Chloe handling business.(Also her akuma, if I’m remembering right, was gonna be really goofy and control clothes? Still a tough and heartfelt fight, she is able to recognize Chloe and end the akumatization herself (how? idk i didn’t get that far), but a bit of silliness to cut the drama)
I’m not sure how I would’ve written the class and Lila. Lila’s actions would be revealed, but I’m not sure if there would be great dramatics to the whole affair. She’s sneaky and this I feel her demise would be equally as such. I don’t know if the school would do anything because the never really did anything in the first place. Her downfall would be righteous though and it would have been at the hands of all three heroes, not just Chloe and Marinette.
Marinette probably has trouble with forgiving the class but even in this fic she’s still a kind person at heart, so she will get there eventually
I never planned for a hawkmoth defeat. To me, this story was always about the smaller, more personal challenges one faced. I do think the heroes once united could defeat him, but they needed to get there first.

That being said, I never wrote any of that into being, so feel free to call whatever you were imagining or hoping for canon. The story has left my hands. I’m sorry if I have disappointed you, but holding onto this was causing me more harm than good

For the last time, thanks for reading
<3