Chapter Text
'I, Wang Fu, hereby relinquish the Miracle Box, and name Ladybug the new Guardian.'
The words swarm around Marinette's mind as she returns home that evening. The blue-eyed girl places the Miracle Box on her desk, and flops into her chair. Her muscles ache, yearning for the comfort of her bed, just as they often do after fighting a supervillain. But this battle had been so much bigger than that. Everything was different now, everything had changed. Master Fu had lost his memories, she was the Guardian of the Miraculous. It was surreal. It changed everything.
What would she do now? She's 15 years old, she can't handle being a Guardian. Master Fu could hardly handle it at her age- he'd lost two Miraculous’ when he was about 15, and that's what had eventually led to the tyranny of Hawk Moth. Marinette herself had lost one, the Bee Miraculous. She'd recovered it, but that wasn't the point. She wasn't cut out for it, her training was so far from complete. Fu had only started training her to be Guardian a few months ago. She barely knew anything.
Hawk Moth’s plan had been vindictive, well-plotted and had almost worked. Without Master Fu relinquishing the Miracle Box, Hawk Moth’s plan might have worked. He wouldn’t just have claimed the Ladybug and Cat miraculous: he would have had all of them. He and Mayura already possessed the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous, which they had used for evil. They even had the Bee Miraculous, which was powerful enough. Each of their Miraculous was powerful on its own, but together, it had been proven that they were a terrifying adversary.
It had been her fault that Hawk Moth's plan had progressed as far as it did. She'd led him straight to Master Fu, she'd failed. Now Master Fu had lost his memories and she was the Guardian of the Miraculous. She's going to have to repeat that fact over and over again until it registers properly. Sure, Master Fu had been preparing her to become a Guardian, but neither of them expected for her to become Guardian this soon. He'd become the Guardian at 14 years old, sure, but even he had admitted that she was too young right now to be Guardian. Here she was though.
"Marinette? Are you okay?" Tikki asks, floating in front of her. Marinette gives a half-hearted smile in response.
"It's been a long day." Marinette says, before getting up, and picking up a towel from her storage chest.
"I'm going for a shower." The blue-eyed girl mumbles. Tikki hovers quietly, watching as Marinette pulls up the hatch, and descends the steps. She understands that Marinette is feeling stressed, she's bound to. Being the Great Guardian of the Miraculous was bound to put undue pressure on her, pressure that she hadn't expected when she woke up this morning. What would they do now?
The next day, Marinette wakes at 11pm. She'd awoken many times throughout the night, not being able to sleep without hearing Fu's relinquishing of the Miracle Box. After climbing out of bed, she approaches the Miracle Box, and gently runs a hand over it. It lacked its former wooden feel, now sporting a glossy coat. Marinette sighs deeply before pulling some wood from behind her mirror. She'd scavenged it a few weeks back, intent on making more storage in her bedroom. To flex her hand at building furniture was an invigorating challenge, one she was quite looking forward to taking. Now, she'd have to use it to build a hiding spot for the Miracle Box instead.
When she starts sawing, her phone starts ringing. Marinette turns to see the caller ID. Luka Couffaine.
"Hey Luka." Marinette smiles.
"Hey Marinette. Are you doing anything right now?" Luka asks. Marinette glances between the box and the wood, half sawed.
"Yeah, I'm just making a new box for my room." She says. Well, it's a half-truth.
"Okay, that's cool. Do you, uh, fancy any company? I can pick up some lunch on the way?" Luka offers. Marinette smiles at the offer.
Luka has always been sweet, from the day they met. He was different to Adrien, but not in a way that made Marinette like him any less than she had liked Adrien. But that chapter of her life was over now. If she'd learned anything since meeting Luka, it was that he cared deeply for her, and was a much better fit. She wasn't a mess around him, although she still retained her clumsy nature, that for some reason, he found endearing. She'd never understand how. She'd always been clumsy, but this year she was clumsier than ever. It had started with Adrien, but now it was just instilled in her personality.
"Luka," Marinette laughs. "I live above a bakery. I'll get some pastries and cakes from downstairs."
"Alright. I'll see you soon." Marinette can hear Luka smiling through the phone, which makes her smile in return.
"Bye, Luka." Marinette hangs up, and gets up to get the food from downstairs.
"Hi, sweetie." Marinette's mom greets, as the young girl collects some fruit from the bowl. "Are you okay? I heard you get up in the night."
"I'm fine, Mom. I was just thirsty." Marinette explains, opening the fridge and pulling some milk out. She pours some into a glass, and takes a large gulp.
"Luka's coming over to help me with something. Is that alright?" Marinette asks. Sabine smiles.
"Of course. Is it a band project?" Sabine asks.
"I'm going to build a new cupboard for my room." Marinette explains.
"Okay, well have fun sweetie. I'll send some pastries and snacks up with Luka."
"Thanks, Mom." Marinette walks back up the stairs with the fruit in hand.
When she pushes through, she sees the Miracle Box on the floor where she'd been measuring. She'd have to finish her measurements and hide the box under her pillow. Her bed was probably the only part of her room Luka wouldn't venture to. Looking around, Marinette realised there was a lot in her room she'd have to fix. Like the Adrien posters lining her wall for example. Luka probably wouldn't be a fan of that. He knew of Marinette's crush on Adrien, and seemed to accept that. He'd made it clear he was willing to wait for her, to be patient with her. He'd been there for her yesterday after she'd returned to the merry-go-round to find Master Fu gone. Before Miracle Queen attacked Paris. Before Master Fu relinquished the Miracle Box to her.
She got to work quickly. Tikki helped take the posters down, whilst Marinette gets dressed and does the measurements for the box. Once they were done, she stashed the box behind her long cat pillow. It was more decorative than she'd first intended when she made the purchase. She supposed it was also kind of ironic given how her superhero partner was the holder of the Cat miraculous. Highly ironic, actually, now that she's thinking about it. Once she's made sure the box can't be seen, she stores the pictures of Adrien under her bed with the others. She'll sort that out later.
"Marinette, Luka is here!" Sabine calls as Marinette pulls the bed drawer closed. The hatch opens, and Luka climbs through.
"Hey Marinette." Luka says, looking around and brandishing the bag of pastries.
"Hey!" Marinette waves from the bed, and climbs down. She trips over one of the wooden slabs, landing on the floor before Luka can catch her.
"Are you okay?!" The blue-eyed boy asks, putting the bag of pastries down.
"Uh huh." Marinette smiles, embarrassed. Luka helps her up, grinning at her. She still didn't understand how her clumsiness was so endearing to him.
"So, what's this box for?" Luka asks, gesturing the mess of wood on the floor.
"Oh, I just need some more storage for my new fabric collection." Marinette says. Sheesh, all these months of being Ladybug had made her good at lying on the spot. Now she'd have to do it more, being the Guardian.
"I can't wait to see your new designs." Luka says, taking a seat and picking up the saw.
"So these are the measurements? What's with the circle shape?" He inquires. Ah. Marinette hadn't thought about that one.
"I, uh, saw this box on a website for a store in New York that I'm thinking of buying when we go. It just doesn't match with the look of my room." Not one of her better excuses, but Luka takes it nonetheless. Sweet Luka, who probably deserved better than a girlfriend who would constantly have to lie to him constantly. Being with him and her friends at the riverside yesterday had distracted her from the events of the Battle of the Miraculous. But how long would that last now?