Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a visit to a family friend in Mustafu, Japan that altered the course of history for the better. Seven-year-old Marinette Dupain Cheng sat excitedly in the back of the taxi alongside her mom, staring at all the buildings that passed through the window. They soon pulled up to an apartment building where a short lady with green hair was waiting outside. She grinned upon seeing the taxi.

“Inko!” Sabine laughed joyfully as she and the woman embraced. “Goodness, it's been so long!”

“Feels like decades! You even have a kid now!” Marinette stood behind her mother, staring at Inko curiously.

“Marinette,” Sabine smiled at her daughter, “This is Inko; a friend from my old university. Say hi.”

“H-hi.” she stammered. “Nice to meet you.”

“Sabine she’s so adorable oh my god-” Inko rambled. She knelt down so she was at eye level with Marinette. “Nice to meet you too. Why don't we head inside, my son is excited to meet you both. Mitsuki will be coming by later too.”

“Inko you didn’t say you had a kid too! Wait did you and Hisashi-” Inko turned red as Sabine started laughing. “You’ll have to tell me the full story inside.” The three of them headed into the building, with Marinette running up the stairs, giggling the whole way. She reached the top of the stairs, only to collide with someone running towards them, sending them both falling back toward their parents.

“Marinette!”

“Izuku!” Both women rushed to catch them before they could hurt themselves.

---------

The two children were now seated on the couch; bandages on their knees and elbows, and juice boxes in their hands. Sabine and Inko were talking in the kitchen; waiting for some tea to boil.

“Sorry that I ran into you,” the small boy avoided her gaze. Much like his mother, he had curly green hair and freckles.

“It’s okay. I also ran into you! I’m Marinette. Nice to meet you!” she grinned at him, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Izuku. Do you like heroes?”

“Heroes?” Marinette tilted her head in confusion. Izuku grabbed Marinette by the wrist and led her to his bedroom.

“Yeah! Like All Might or Endeavor!” He pointed at his posters, “They stop bad guys from doing bad things with their quirks!”

“What’s a quirk?” Izuku stared at Marinette with wide eyes.

“Its a superpower! Almost everyone gets one by the time they’re five. Most people become superheroes so they can use their powers for good!”

“Woah just like in the comic books…” Marinette was in awe. “So do you have a superpower?”

“The doctor said I’m quirkless.” His eyes were brimming with tears. “I don’t get to have a superpower.”

“Oh. Well I’m quirkless too so we can be quirkless buddies!” Izuku proceeded to burst into tears and grabbed Marinette in a bone-crushing hug.

“Thank you. Everyone’s been telling me that there’s no point in trying to be a hero because I can’t get a quirk.”

“Well they’re liars. If you want to be a hero then you can be a hero! I’m going to be the world's most amazing fashion designer. It’s not as cool as being a hero but I’m not going to let anyone stop me!” Izuku stared at her like she was the sun, fiery and passionate about what she wanted to do.

“Tch. Looks like you found the perfect friend for you, Deku.” Marinette and Izuku turned to see a blond boy with fiery red eyes standing in the doorway.

“Kacchan…”

“What does ‘deku’ mean?” she whispered to Izuku. He looked down at the floor, crestfallen. Marintte turned to the blond boy and repeated her question.

“It means he’s a useless nobody. Everyone knows you have to have a quirk to do some good in the world.”

“Yeah?” Marinette got off of Izuku’s bed and stood in front of Kacchan. “I guess you can’t have any of the cookies or cake or macarons my maman and I brought with us.”

“Wait what?” Kacchan and Izuku stared at her in confusion.

“Well you just said you have to have a quirk to do good things and since Paris is a place with no quirks, then stuff from Paris isn’t good to you. So Izuku and I get to take all the sweets for ourselves.”

“Hey!” Kacchan protested as Marinette walked over and handed Izuku a cookie.

“You get a cookie when you apologize to us and promise to not call Izuku that mean name.”

“So what? She’s your bodyguard now?” Kacchan glared at Izuku. Marinette smiled and nodded at Izuku encouragingly.

“No, she’s my friend and she’s right. Deku is a mean name. So either apologize or no cookies and you can sit with auntie Mitsuki in the living room.” Marinette made a whole show of pulling the box from her backpack.

“So, Zuku, that’s your new nickname since we’re best friends now, these are macarons. They’re like little sandwich cookies and they come in different flavors. The pink ones are strawberry flavored, and the brown ones are chocolate flavored with a little bit of cocoa powder.” She winked at Izuku, who instantly got the message.

“Ooh they look soooo good, Mari! That’s your best friend nickname by the way. What’s the green one?” Izuku asked eagerly. Katsuki stared at the macarons in interest.

“Its a green tea macaron! Maman suggested them because you and your maman have green hair. There’s lemon ones in here for Mme. Mitsuki and Kacchan but since he doesn't want any…” Marinette reached for a lemon macaron.

“Fine!” Katsuki threw his hands up in defeat, “I’m sorry for saying quirkless people are useless and that you're a Deku. Can I have a macaron now?” The smiles from Marinette and Izuku were bright enough to blind everyone in a five-mile radius.

“Sure Kacchan!” Marinette handed him a macaron.

“My name isn’t Kacchan, it's Katsuki!”

“Then I nickname you Suki!”

“That’s a lame nickname!” Marinette responded by throwing one of the many All Might pillows at Katsuki.

“You’re a lame nicknamer!”

“Why you…” Katsuki grabbed another pillow and tackled Marinette in retaliation. Izuku mumbled a silent apology to his All Might pillow before swinging it at Katsuki.

“Nice hit!” Marinette beamed. She grabbed another macaron as Katsuki recovered from the blow and charged at Izuku, giggling like a maniac.

“You’re going down, nerd!”

“Don’t worry, Zuku! The power of macarons will save you!” Marinette hopped from her spot and joined the fray, wielding macarons in one hand, and a pillow in the other.

Ever since this fateful day, Marinette, Izuku, and Katsuki have remained best friends. Every summer, Either Marinette would make the trip to Japan or they would come to visit her family in Paris. Had Marinette not been around, things might have gone differently for the two boys. Just like how, many years later, Izuku and Katsuki’s presence in Marinette’s life changed it for the better.

Chapter Text

“This is going to be amazing! It’s been way too long since I’ve gotten to hang out with you in person!” Marinette squealed over FaceTime.

“Chill, Pixie, its been like what? A year? Two?” Katsuki rolled his eyes, but did nothing to hide the smile on his face.

“It’s been one year, eight months, and twenty-four days,” Izuku answered automatically, “Not gonna say hours and minutes because of timezones but you get the point.”

“Is the point that you're fucking creepy and that Pixie should be concerned for her safety?”

“Sounds like someone’s salty they have to wait a week before meeting up with us.”

“You seem to forget we’re in the same dorm, nerd; I will come over there just to kick your ass again. Plus it ain’t my fault the old hag is forcing me to go to this shitty fashion show with her.”

“You’re really going to insult fashion shows in front of an aspiring fashion designer?” She crossed her arms.

"I'm not making fun of it, I just think that if you're not into this shit then it's a waste of time."

"Always making fun of our hobbies, Kacchan. This is why you have to wait a week." Katsuki responded by getting up and turning off his camera.

"It was nice knowing you, Zuku."

"Nah don't worry, he wouldn't dare try to-" Izuku never got to finish his sentence as he was tackled out of his chair. Marinette laughed at the pair of them. However they froze as someone started pounding on the door.

"Midoriya, are you okay?"

"I'm good, Iida! Thanks!"

“Lay off, four eyes!” Katsuki scowled.

“Anyways,” Marinette interjected, “Zuku are you gonna be okay? This is the first time you're coming here with a quirk. If it goes haywire or you lose control of your emotions-”

“Don’t worry, Mari, I’ll be okay!” Izuku smiled at her. Immediately after accepting All Might’s offer to be his successor, Izuku called Marinette and Katsuki to explain what had unfolded. This proved to be fruitful as Katsuki was able to help Izuku train up before the entrance exam (because receiving the quirk on the day of the entrance exam is just absurd) and Marinette was able to design some shoes that were durable enough to keep up with his new quirk.

“The reason I’m asking is that there’s something I haven’t told you guys about Paris. It happened last year and the whole country was kinda told not to spread the word about it, but since you’re coming here, you’re likely going to see it for yourselves.”

“See what?” Katsuki spoke up. Marinette took a deep breath and readied herself.

“Pairs has a supervillain.”

-----

“You think this is gonna work, Kacchan?” Izuku questioned as they walked into the main office building.

“Are you doubting me, Nerd? If there’s a villain in Paris that we haven't heard of, then chances are that either they’re new enough that no one gives a damn about it or it's being hidden by the teachers and other heroes.”

“Okay, but how are we going to get into the- Kacchan!” Izuku cried out as a familiar weapon bound his arms.

“Ahem.” The pair of them turned to see Aizawa standing in the doorway.

“Ah shit,” Katsuki muttered just as he got dragged away by the teacher’s capture weapon.

----

“So would either of you want to explain yourselves or should I skip to the part where I put you under house arrest?” The two of them were now seated in front of the teacher in the teacher’s lounge.

“I-It’s a bit of a long story,” Izuku muttered.

“No it's not,” Katsuki turned to his teacher, “There’s a supervillain in Paris and we wanted more information about it.” Aizawa narrowed his eyes.

“And where did you get that information from? Paris is a quirkless territory; they wouldn’t have made it past the borders without getting caught.”

“We have a friend there,” Izuku answered, “I’m going to visit her next week and she warned me about him because he uses emotions.”

“Plus, you can’t really get us in trouble for anything as we didn’t do shit yet.” Aizawa let out a long-suffering sigh.

“Problem children I swear,” he mumbled. "What's their name? I'll see if there's any information on them."

"Hawkmoth, sir." Aizawa stared at the pair, unimpressed.

"Hawkmoth?"

"Trust me, I was laughing when I heard it too," Katsuki chuckled.

"Fine. Give me a couple of minutes. Do not leave the room." Once their teacher left the room, both of them let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought we were done for," Izuku muttered.

"Oh please, we're Sensei's favorites he wouldn't do crap to us," Katsuki leaned back in his chair. "hey, Zuku, you're gonna be getting there before me."

"Okay?"

"Try not to get angry while I'm not there to kick your ass into next week. Last thing any of us want is to be some shitty puppet for a D-list villain.”

“Aw it almost sounds like you’re worried about me, Kacchan,” Izuku grinned, “Don’t worry, I’ll be okay. If anything, Mari and I are gonna have our hands full when you come because of your quick temper.”

“I don’t have a quick temper!” Katsuki protested angrily.

“You’re kinda proving my point…”

“You little shit-” Their conversation ceased as Aizawa came back into the room.

“Unfortunately, there isn’t anyone on the quirk database that matches the person you described.”

“Which means it might not even be a quirk,” Izuku realized. Aizawa nodded in agreement.

“Since you’re going to Paris already, try to investigate what’s going on and report back. You have permission to use your quirks only if you confront a villain. If there’s a hero there, you listen to them as they likely know how to handle the situation. Understood?” Izuku and Katsuki exchanged matching smiles.

“Understood, Sensei,” they replied in unison.

Chapter Text

Marinette sat bored at her desk, keeping herself mildly entertained by flicking a pencil back and forth across her desk in the back of the classroom. Mme. Bustier went on about the plot of the latest novel the class was reading (she had already read the whole thing, she did not want to hear crackpot theories about Sydney Carton still being alive, thank you). Overall, it had been a pretty normal day. But like most mundane things in Paris, it was naturally interrupted by something. Thankfully, it was just a fire drill. As all of the students headed to the courtyard, Marinette stumbled, nearly falling down the stairs. While she was able to stop herself from falling, she was not able to stop her belongings from spilling out in front of her.

“Watch where you’re going, Marinette!” Alya scowled. She was latched onto Lila’s arm as the pair went down the stairs. Lila flashed a knowing smirk at her.

“Yeah, she totally tripped you,” Nathaniel appeared from behind them.

“Really? I couldn’t have guessed,” she answered sarcastically.

“Although it doesn't make sense,” Juleka appeared on her other side and helped Marinette pick up her things. “Normally they wait until you’re alone or inside of our classroom to pick on you.”

“Yeah, so none of the other classes can report her behavior. Stay on guard, she’s planning something, I can feel it.”

--------

“So Jagged went on to write a whole song about me after I saved his crocodile from a swarm of poachers!” Lila bragged to her entourage.

“Woah…” Kim stared at Lila in awe. “That’s amazing, Lila!”

“You’re so kind!” Rose grinned at her.

“It was nothing really,” Lila answered bashfully.

“How do they fall for this stuff?” Nathaniel watched them with disappointment, “Marc can write better stories than her tall tales in his sleep. And he barely sleeps!”

“Trust me, I gave up trying to figure them out a while ago,” Marinette sighed.

“The only person I feel bad for there is Adrien,” Juleka watched him try to edge his way out of the group, only to be grabbed once more by Lila. “Apparently, he has to be nice to her or he runs the risk of upsetting his father.”

“Another reason Gabriel Agreste is on my hitlis- huh?” Marinette was interrupted by someone covering her eyes. Nathaniel and Juleka stared at the person in confusion.

“A hitlist isn’t very heroic if you ask me,” Izuku grinned. “And here I thought Kacchan would be the first of us to commit murder.”

“ZUKU!” Marinette tackled her childhood best friend in a hug. “You’re here! I’ve missed you so much!”

“I missed you too! I also missed breathing!” he winced as she tightened her grip. Marinette released him from her hug of death and turned to where Nathaniel and Juleka were watching the pair of them.

“Guys! This is Izuku, he’s been one of my best friends since I was seven! Zuku, this is Nathaniel and Juleka! They’ve stuck with me through everything that’s happened here- Uhh I mean, they’re just incredible people!”

“Nice to meet you guys!” Izuku grinned at them. “Mari’s told me a bit about you guys.”

“Same here,” Nathaniel answered, “you’re shorter than I imagined.” Marinette promptly burst out laughing much to Izuku ’s displeasure.

“I’m still taller than Mari so that’s a win in my book.”

“Once I learn how to walk in heels it's over for you both,” Marinette threatened.

“Speaking of threats…” Juleka mumbled out. She side-eyed the approaching trio of Alya, Alix, and Kim.

Something wrong, Mari?” Izuku narrowed his eyes, “Would this have anything to do with ‘everything that happened here?’”

“Wait, you caught that?”

“Marinette!” Alya spat, “Lila just told me what you did to her sketchbook yesterday.”

“Her non-existent sketchbook you mean?” she shot back.

“Lila has a sketchbook! It’s just at home so no one steals her designs.”

“Which is exactly what you did yesterday!” Alix spoke up, “You stole her designs and then destroyed her sketchbook!”

“Last I checked,” Nathaniel crossed his arms, “Lila doesn’t draw or design. Plus, you can’t draw with a sprained wrist.”

“Her wrist healed,” Kim protested.

“In a day?” Juleka raised an eyebrow.

“Mari?” Izuku whispered. Marinette sighed and turned to face her best friend. But before she could say anything, she was interrupted.

“And who is this?” Alya glared at Izuku. “Your latest boytoy? Or some schmuck you have tricked into believing your innocence?”

“Her best friend,” he channeled his inner Katsuki and glared right back, “And who are you?”

“Her best friend up until a couple of months ago.”

“So you replaced Alya after she saw you for what you were?” Alix scoffed, “And with someone who doesn’t even go here?”

“Izuku’s been my best friend since I was seven years old. You and Kim have literally seen him in the bakery before with Suki,” Marinette snapped at the pair.

“What you were? Mari?”

“They think I’m bullying a classmate because I don’t buy into the lies she tells the class.”

“Wait what?” Don’t get angry. Focus on happy thoughts. Izuku repeated mentally.

“Lila isn’t a liar!” Alya barked, interrupting Izuku’s mantra, “You’re just a petty bully that will do anything to get yourself noticed by Adrien!”

“Here she goes with the whole Adrien spiel again,” Nathaniel rolled his eyes.

“Well, this time it isn’t going to work!” Kim declared triumphantly. The journalist smirked as she pulled something from her bag. Marinette instantly went pale. For in Alya’s hand was her commission sketchpad.

Chapter Text

“All you have going for you is your designs! You don’t have the looks and you definitely don't have the personality. So take that out of the picture and Adrien won’t even look at you,” Alix smirked. That’s why they tripped me!

“Alya, give that back right now,” She demanded.

“And why should I listen to anything a lovesick bully has to say?”

“I’d sooner buy the fact her hair is red before I’d believe Marinette’s a bully,” Izuku said, “Now give her the sketchbook.” Alya and Alix exchanged glances before nodding in agreement.

“Sure,” Alix took the sketchbook from the journalist and tore right down the middle. Marinette cried out as if she had been struck. “You can have what’s left of it.” Happy thoughts, Izuku. Happy thoughts. Mari needs you right now. Do NOT GET ANGRY.

“Alix, stop it!” Nathaniel stepped forward but was blocked by Alya. Izuku soon found himself in a similar position with Kim. Juleka was bracing Marinette by the shoulders as she cried out for the skater to stop.

“Guys? What’s with all the screaming?” Lila walked over to the group. “It was kinda bugging my tinnitus.”

“Oh, sorry Lila,” Kim apologized, “We were just getting payback for what Marinette did to your sketchpad.” Alix tossed the remaining scraps of the sketchbook to the ground, satisfied with the damage. Happy. thoughts.

“That’s Lila?” Izuku whispered to Juleka, who nodded in response.

“Oh you guys didn’t have to do that for me!” she smiled at them, “I really don’t deserve friends like you!”

“Please, girl,” Alya patted her on the back, “We’ll always have your back.”

“Thanks guys. Would you mind if I talked to Marinette alone real quick?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Alix asked hesitantly.

“Don’t worry, she wouldn’t do anything out in public; there’s too many good people that would stop her.” Satisfied with her answer, Alya, Alix, and Kim returned to where the rest of their class was hanging out. Marinette immediately rushed to grab the remains of her sketchpad before they were lost to the wind. Her friends wasted no time and soon joined her.

“Here, let me help,” Lila said in her sickeningly sweet tone. She reached for the same scrap as Marinette and grabbed a hold of her wrist. Marinette glared up at Lila.

“You would think that by now you would have gotten in line like the rest of them, but I guess you just like being an outcast so much. If you thought this was bad, just wait, Maribrat,” Lila snarled, tightening her grip. “I’ve already taken your friends from you and your crush. By the time I’m done with you, you won’t have a future, I will take everything from you.”

“Go ahead,” Marinette’s voice wavered. Izuku felt his heart break a little. “You’ve taken most of it already. What’s left are things you could never take from me.” She broke Lila’s grasp, grabbed the remaining scraps, and bolted out of the school.

“So we’re stooping to destruction of private property now, Rossi?” Nathaniel scowled.

“You should be glad it wasn’t your sketchbook, Kurtzberg,” she snapped before turning to Juleka, “You at least are too shy to say anything so I don’t have to bother with you.” Juleka winced at the retort.

“What is wrong with you?” Izuku’s voice was barely restrained, “All this because they didn’t buy your lies?” Do not get angry Do NOT GET ANGRY DO NOT-

“Hm? You don’t look like you’re from here so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. I only tell people what they want to hear. It’s up to them if they want to believe it. Those who don’t, well… you saw for yourself. Ciao!” Lila laughed before walking off. She immediately grabbed a blond boy by his arm, much to his visible discomfort, and walked into a nearby classroom with him. The laughter of Marinette’s classmates grew louder as Alya detailed what they had done and Izuku saw red.

Elsewhere (In a lonely man’s attic)

“My my… a quirked child in Paris,” Hawkmoth hummed, “Such raw anger and protectiveness makes for such perfect fuel for my akuma. Fly away, and give this hero hopeful more power!!!”

Chapter Text

“How could you all be so cruel?!” Izuku roared, “She’s been your friend for years and you turn your back on her for some- some bullshit lies!”

“No one told her to start bullying Lila!” Alya protested, “It’s not our fault she can’t handle what she dishes out.”

“Marinette never bullied anyone! This girl is lying to you for her own sick thrill! Do you even have proof that any of these claims actually happened?!”

“Do you have proof that they didn’t happen?!” Izuku glared at the journalist.

“You can’t prove a negative!”

“Then you have no room to talk!”

“Oh for god’s sake-” His sentence was cut off by another presence entering his head.

“Guardian, I am Hawkmoth. These people have made your loved ones suffer for promises of grandeur and empty lies. You have much power and I can add to them to help you bring them to justice.”

“N-no. I’m not going to use my powers to hurt people,” he gritted out. Izuku fell to his knees. Nathaniel and Juleka stared at Izuku with wide eyes before heading in the direction Marinette had run off to earlier.

“I understand. There’s a lot at risk if you do, after all. Which is why I will be giving you a different power and a different look. This way, no one makes the connection to who you are and you can ensure your loved ones get the justice they deserve.”

“This would be nothing more than revenge! Even so, It’s not mine to take!”

“But your friend isn’t able to. Isn’t meddling when you don’t need to is the essence of being a hero? What kind of hero would you be if you couldn’t protect your closest friend? All I ask for in return is the miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir. The earrings and ring respectively. Now give in.” Izuku grabbed at his head, fighting for control; but to no avail. He instantly activated Blackwhip to keep everyone away from him.

“Every-everyone run!” he screamed as darkness consumed him.

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

Lila stealthily exited the school as everyone around her was running for their lives. The lights around her all suddenly blew out. The only thing Lila could see was a glowing white halo and glowing pupilless eyes to match waiting ahead of her. Green lighting illuminated the silhouette that slowly approached Lila. However, the silhouette stopped suddenly, much to her relief. She began to back away but the second she turned away from them, they were gone.

“Hello, Lila,” a soft voice whispered in her ear. Lila jumped back, startled. “Our conversation wasn’t quite done yet. What do you say we continue? This time, don’t walk off in the middle okay?” The liar scrambled away from Guardian but Blackwhip snatched her like a Kraken grabbing its prey.

“Someone help me!” Lila screamed out as she was dragged across the floor.

“Don’t worry, as All Might always says: I am here,” Guardian hauled the liar to her feet, “And I’m going to help you out, the same way you helped Marinette and every other student that’s ever stood up to you.”

“Lila!” Alya had run after her best friend. “Hey! You leave her alone!” Guardian paused and turned towards the journalist. Lila was squirming in his grasp.

“And why would I do that? Not my fault she can’t- ah how did you say it earlier- deal with what she dishes out.” Blackwhip tied itself around Lila. “But don’t worry, you’re next,” he promised as he leaped out of the bullying with Lila in tow.

-----

“MARINETTE!!!” Nathaniel screamed. Marinette looked up, startled, from where she was trying to repair her sketchpad just as Nathaniel barreled into her room. Juleka was right behind him.

“Nathaniel? Wha- are you okay? What’s going on?”

“Give me-” he wheezed, “Give me a second. God, I need to do something more athletic.”

“Your friend got akumatized,” Juleka said, “He was resisting it when we came to get you but I have a feeling that he gave in.” Marinette shot up from her seat.

“Zuku’s been akumatized?! Dear Kwami this is bad this is really really bad-” she rambled.

“Don’t worry, you’ve done this a trillion times by now as Ladybug,” Nathaniel reassured her.

“No guys he’s different. He’s from Japan; a quirked area. Almost everyone there has their own superpower so now Hawkmoth’s taken advantage of that!”

“Wait, superpowers are real?!”

“I’m literally a superhero.” An explosion echoed outside the bakery before the conversation could continue further. The three of them climbed onto Marinette’s balcony just in time to see the villain hop out of the building carrying someone over their shoulders.

“You need to go,” Juleka told Marinette. She nodded and climbed back down to transform. Ladybug soon hopped over the buildings and in the direction Izuku went.

Don’t worry, Zuku, I will save you, She promised.

Chapter Text

Chat Noir met her on the roof of a building right next to the Grand Paris Hotel.

“Lovely to see you as always M’Lady,” Chat Noir greeted, “I managed to evacuate the civilians in the building but the only exception was the penthouse suite, which I’ve noticed a lot of villains used as a hideout.”

“Focus Chaton,” She reminded him.

“Right. So what’s the plan? Observe and then strategize?” Ladybug nodded in response.

“The villain is a strategist outside of this so we have to be smarter than him. We have an advantage in that he’s not from Paris so he has no idea what we can do.” Chat Noir stared at her in surprise.

“Hawkmoth akumatized a tourist? That’s going to cause some international problems.”

“Don’t I know it,” she pinched the bridge of her nose, “Now lets go see what’s happening.”

-------

“There,” Guardian tightened the ropes binding Lila, “Nice and secure.” Without the darkness to hide in, Lila was able to get a good look at the akumatized victim. He wore a black ankle-length tailcoat with white trimming on the edges and a high-necked waistcoat underneath. His signature red shoes were replaced with black platform boots. Guardian pulled out his phone and turned on the audio recorder. Since he didn’t have his notebooks, this will have to do.

“What do you want with me? We both know I’m a liar, big whoop. Do you intend to beat me up for lying?” She sneered, “Not very heroic if you ask me.”

“Who said anything about beating you up? If I wanted to do something like that, you’d be dead by now,” he answered dismissively. “Instead, I’m going to give you the chance to confess to everything.”

“And if I refuse?”

“For my sake, I hope you do,” his usually bright grin went from a warm comfort to a cold dread, “Because then I’ll get to test out my new powers' potential impact on my quirk. If only I had my notebooks on me,” he sighed in disappointment. Lila paled ever so slightly.

“Did you just say quirk?”

“Oh? Are you scared, Lila?” Blackwhip loosely wrapped itself around her neck, “Your accent gives away that you’re not originally from Paris so you know about quirks I’d assume. So then are you surprised that you have crossed someone else with a quirk? Much less a combative quirk?” Lila stretched as far away from Blackwhip as she could and regained her composure.

“You’re going to force me to confess?” She changed the subject “And what if after Ladybug and Chat Noir save me, I just say that you forced me to say that stuff?” Lila narrowed her eyes at Guardian.

“A fair point. If I want all of Paris to know that you're a good-for-nothing liar,” Good, he changed trains of thought, Lila smirked. “I’d need to set a baseline identifying my power to the public,” he mumbled, “I’d need another hostage so that I could have them confess truths that are already public knowledge. But nothing too harmful as if someone is angrier than I am, I run the risk of losing my ability.”

“Would you stop mumbling so much- oomph!” Lila was cut off by Blackwhip covering her mouth.

“Does this fit the description of anyone you know, Hawkmoth?” Guardian asked aloud.

-------

Hawkmoth stood in his lair, eyes wide with excitement. The boy’s analysis was unlike anything he had seen before.

“This was a very good idea sir, now suggest Ladybug and Chat Noir so we knock two birds with one stone,” Natalie spoke up.

“Actually,” Hawkmoth mused, “exposing Lila Rossi will create enough akumas in its wake for me to have an army of them. Combine that with a sentimonster for each one and the heroes will be outnumbered.”

“You’re going to help him achieve his goal? What if he calms down after that? We would lose a perfectly good akuma and an asset in Lila Rossi.”

“Rossi was always a disposable asset; Not to mention, this particular akuma was a risk. Not only do I run the risk of other countries getting involved, but should I oppose him, he might turn his sights on us and attempt to figure out our identities using his analysis skills.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Natalie conceded, “So who are you going to suggest?”

Chapter Text

“Let me go!” Chloe Bourgeois struggled against Guardian’s grip. “This is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! I didn’t even do anything to you!”

“I’m well aware. I just need you to be my test monkey. Like the opening act to a show. You like shows don’t you, Mlle. Bourgeois?”

“Test monkey? Who are you calling a monkey you eyeless butler wannabe- Hey!” Guardian wrapped Blackwhip across a struggling Chloe’s torso just as they arrived on the roof of the Grand Paris Hotel. A building away, Ladybug and Chat Noir watched the scene in confusion.

“What’s he doing?” Chat Noir asked.

“I’m not sure. Especially since Chloe had nothing to do with this.”

“How’d you know that?”

“Um, my friend- Marinette told me! Yeah she saw him get akumatized and Chloe wasn’t even at school when it happened.”

“Makes sense.”

“People of Paris!” Guardian’s voice echoed through the streets. “I am Guardian! The bringer of truths and justice and the destroyers of liars. I know my time as an akuma will eventually end, but I want what happens as a result of me to last forever!” Guardian shoved Chloe forward. He removed the halo on top of his head and threw it at Chloe. The halo stopped above her head and she stopped struggling against her restraints. Chloe’s eyes went from their usual blue to the same empty whiteness as Guardian's. Another halo appeared above his head to replace the one on Chloe. “Now speak and tell Paris the truth! Tell them everything that’s led you to this moment!”

“My mom abandoned me and went to New York with my sister Zoe,” Chloe confessed, “I tried forever to be like her so she would come back and love me. But after a while, I realized she wouldn’t come back for me so I became bitter. I started bullying everyone. Then Ladybug came and I decided to try to be like her and even that didn’t work. I became Queen Wasp as a result and exposed all the other miraculous holders.”

“What is she doing?” Chat Noir stared at her in horror.

“I guess his power is to force the truth out of everyone using the halo on his head. Plus it looks like we can only deflect the halo. If it comes close enough to us, it’ll land on our heads anyways.”

“So this is like Truth but way more powerful? We’re gonna have to be careful.”

“Agreed. Now let's go stop Chloe from making herself into Paris magazine’s next big scandal.” However, before either hero could move, Guardian removed the halo and Chloe’s eyes returned to normal. The halo immediately disappeared into thin air.

“Thank you, Chloe. You’re free to go.” Chloe scrambled away from the akuma, nearly tripping on one of the lounge chairs. She decided to hide behind the elevator. “Now that you all know what I can do, I present to you the reason I am here.” Blackwhip shot across the roof of the building and grabbed Lila.

“Let me go!”

“Yeah, only way I’d let you go is if it were on the edge of the roof here. But even that’s a bit much for me.” He removed the halo once more and tossed it at Lila. “So start talking- why did you destroy Marinette’s sketchbook?”

“Mind if I answer this one, professor?” Chat Noir slammed his baton into Guardian. Ladybug hooked her yoyo around the halo and pulled it off of Lila’s head. As her eyes returned to their normal color, she glared at Ladybug.

“About time,” Lila hissed.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir,” Guardian observed the pair, “I don’t want to take your miraculous- I’d stay silent if I were you, Hawkmoth- but if you try to stop me then I will have to stop you first.”

“‘I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that,” Ladybug readied her yoyo. “Now surrender your akuma. I’ll only ask you once.”

“Yeah its a bit much to go this far for a bunch of lies,” Chat commented. Ladybug stared at him incredulously.

“We’re coming back to that later,” she told him sternly.

“So the heroes of Paris are a couple of enablers?” Blackwhip split into five different pieces, each one pointed at the heroes like knives. “Sorry, but I will not be surrendering to the likes of you.” Guardian charged at Ladybug; a halo in one hand and manipulating Blackwhip in the other.

Chapter Text

Ladybug immediately ducked as Blackwhip struck right above her head, turning the wall into a pile of debris. She tried to sweep his feet out from underneath him, only for Guardian to jump.

Chat Noir extended his baton so that it struck the villain right in his chest. He grabbed the baton and, using his enhanced strength, lifted Chat Noir off the ground instead. Guardian landed on the ledge of the building just as Chat Noir went flying off the side of the building.

“Chat Noir!” Ladybug’s yoyo wrapped itself around Guardian’s swinging arm and the sudden resistance caused him to drop the baton. She pulled him towards her and when he was close enough, she grabbed him by the arm and flipped him, sending him into the pool behind them. Chat Noir, meanwhile, had grabbed his baton midfall and used it to land safely.

“I’m glad cats always land on their feet,” he muttered before starting the climb back to the rooftops. Using Blackwhip, Guardian propelled himself out of the water. He scanned his surroundings, only to see Lila had managed to free herself from the ropes and was now trying to get off the roof. He scowled and began to head towards her when he was interrupted by Ladybug’s yoyo pulling him back.

“Sorry, but the same trick never works twice,” Guardian removed another halo and tossed it at the heroine, who was forced to retract her yoyo and use it to deflect the halo. “You’re still much too new at this to keep up.” The villain charged at Ladybug, who was immediately put on the defensive. Blackwhip lashed out at the heroine in every direction while Guardian went into close combat.

“Lila does deserve what's coming to her but to do it like this?” Ladybug sidestepped to avoid his punch and responded with a punch of her own directed at his side. “It becomes vengeance, not justice. Heroes don’t take vengeance, Zuku,” she said softly. Guardian blinked in confusion, his eyes flickering green for a brief moment before returning to their empty white. He kicked the heroine, sending her across the rooftop and right into the closed elevator.

“Izuku is gone,” Guardian said through gritted teeth. “And as long as I’m in control, he’s never coming back.” Blackwhip wrapped itself around Ladybug and dragged her forward. But before he could place his halo on her, a baton came smack down onto Blackwhip.

“Well its a good thing that our specialty happens to be removing control from butterflies,” Chat launched himself at Guardian while Ladybug freed herself. Guardian narrowed his eyes at Chat Noir.

His fighting style is more primarily focused on using his baton and hands if it comes down to it. He mused, That would mean that his footwork is much weaker. And unlike Ladybug, he’s more likely to attempt close combat so if I can get him in close enough… Guardian retracted Blackwhip much to the hero's confusion. Chat Noir took advantage of this and went in, wielding his baton as a sword. He blocked a strike from Chat’s baton and did a drop sweep to knock Chat Noir onto the floor. Guardian grabbed Chat’s baton and tossed it off the side of the building. Ladybug rushed in to help her partner but was interrupted as Blackwhip flared to life once more and started using the furniture around them as ammo. Chat Noir got to his feet only for Blackwhip to tie them together.

“Two-on-one is a bit unfair, Chat Noir. No hard feelings about this.” The hero was raised into the air and hurtled off the side of the building at breakneck speed.

“Chat!” Ladybug hopped off the side of the building after her partner. So Ladybug prioritizes the safety of her partner and/or civilians over the capture of the villain. Good. At least they have that right. Now, where did Lila go? Guardian scanned his surroundings until his eyes locked on a flash of orange running through the streets.

“There you are,” he grinned.

Chapter Text

Ladybug helped Chat Noir out of the crater created from his crash.

“Are you okay?” she glanced over him for any injuries.

“Could be better,” he dusted himself off, “He’s much tougher than the previous akumas.”

“It’s because he has a quirk, making his power even stronger than it already is.” A shrill scream echoed through the streets.

“Lila,” Chat Noir grabbed his baton and took off in the direction of the scream. The two of them soon landed in front of Guardian, who had tied up Lila with Blackwhip.

“Now let’s continue where we left off.” Ladybug used her yoyo to wring the halo out of the villain’s hand.

“I hope we weren't interrupting anything important.”

“Sorry to get your hopes crushed, but you were. It’s alright though because I’ll continue in a second since you’ll be too busy to interfere.”

“Busy with what?” Chat Noir asked. Guardian smirked as Blackwhip spread across the ground like a spider web and started wrapping around all the vehicles it could find.

“Dodging.” Ladybug pushed Chat Noir out of the way as a limousine was thrown at the two of them before swinging out of the way herself.

“You had to ask,” she growled. “Move!” A car came flying at them, crashing into the building they were perched on.

“Maybe your lucky charm could help?” Ladybug nodded and activated her charm only for a hand grenade to land at her feet. “Yeah, we’d need a lot more of these if we’re going to beat him.” Chat Noir ducked as a bus came flying at him. Ladybug stared at the grenade in confusion before recalling a conversation/argument that happened a while ago.

“I will do as I damn please!” Katsuki huffed.

“Suki, you’re putting grenades on your hands. Isn’t Auntie Mitsuki a fashion designer?! How is she okay with that?!” Marinette said, exasperated.

“The old hag has no say in this.”

“That’s Kacchan for: he didn’t show her,” Izuku teased.

“Yeah, well why don’t you tell Pixie what your costume looks like, you Walmart brand All Might?” Marinette raised an eyebrow at Katsuki’s suggestion. Then she realized what exactly her best friend had done.

“Zuku, my loveable green bean who I care for a lot, please tell me your costume is not the green All Might onesie that you drew out as a kid.”

“My costume is not the green All Might Onesie I drew as a kid,” he repeated. Katsuki was beside himself with laughter as Marinette groaned.

“Why are you guys like this- Suki stop laughing I’m showing your costume to Auntie Mitsuki- Okay you know what? I have a little time on my hands so here; Zuku send me your analysis and I’ll try to design a costume suited for you guys.”

“Wait, this is actually calling for backup.” Ladybug turned to where Chat was batting away a sedan. She hopped into the fray and tied the Blackwhips that were sneaking behind the hero together before they could pin her partner.

“Thanks M’Lady.”

“No problem! So listen, the lucky charm is calling for backup; it's not an actual weapon. Can you cover while I go get them?”

“I’ll do my best!”

------

“Let me get this straight. In the hour from when he texted me to now, someone managed to piss off the nerd, who is literally a walking happy face, enough for that shitty butterfly fucker to take control of him?” Katsuki summarized, “How does he get uncontrolled?”

“I have to destroy whatever the akuma went flying into, which my friend told me was his glove,” Ladybug answered, “The issue is, we can’t get close enough to grab it. His quirk is insanely powerful without Hawkmoth’s additional power forcing the truth out of people. We can’t risk close combat without him getting a halo on us.”

“So one hit by that halo and I’ll spill my life story?”

“That’s what we’ve seen.”

“All right Pixie, give me a second to talk to my sensei so I don’t get myself expelled,” Katsuki got off the couch and headed for the door.

“What- Pixie? I am not a pixie,” Ladybug rambled, “Besides, what kind of name is Pixie anyways?”

“Its the nickname I gave you when you were nine and decided to cut your hair into a pixie cut. If you're talking about how I guessed your identity, I’m not an idiot. You're the only person in Paris the nerd would get akumatized for.” The door clicked shut behind him, leaving a bamboozled Ladybug in the middle of the dorm.

Chapter Text

“Damn, he’s tough,” Chat Noir batted away another car like it was a baseball. The villain ducked as it came flying overhead.

“Stay put, Lila. If you try escaping again, it will not be pretty.” Guardian hopped down from where he had finished tying Lila again and landed on the other side of the street.

“Chat Noir, all I want is to make that liar pay. If you continue to get in my way, I will have to take your miraculous.”

“Sorry, but if you want me to give you a ring, take me out on a date first.” He smirked, “Plus Lila’s lies don’t really hurt anyone, they’re just tall tales.” Guardian’s eyes went wide at the hero’s response. Green lightning surrounded his body.

“So you know?” he seethed, “You know and you continued to let people suffer because of her?!”

“The only thing that people suffer from her is a minor headache!”

“Tell that to that blond boy who’s getting harassed by her unwanted advances and inappropriate touching! Tell that to Marinette who became a pariah in her own class, nearly lost her whole future because of her, and is getting bullied for no reason!”

“Harassed?” Chat Noir hesitated. Guardian took advantage of the hesitation and charged at Chat Noir, One for All at the ready. The hero braced himself for the blow, but it never came. A deafening boom rang through the streets and Guardian bounced back. Ladybug and a blond boy with grenades on his hands landed in front of Chat, shielding him from any further damage.

“Whiskers, can you move?” he questioned. Chat Noir nodded. “Then you and Spots need to get the hell out of the blast zone.”

“Wha-”

“I’ll explain in a second,” Ladybug promised. Trusting his partner, Chat Noir followed Ladybug onto the rooftop. Once the cat was away, Katsuki turned towards Guardian.

“So you were here for a total of an hour and you already went and got yourself possessed by that shitty butterfly extra hah, nerd?!” Katsuki rolled out of the way of a Blackwhip and fired a barrage of mini explosions at Izuku. “Do you just have a knack for doing the exact opposite of what people tell you to do or what?!

“I go by Guardian. If you’d known what they have done, you would join me, Kacchan,” He snarled as he landed on the roof. “Marinette’s been suffering at the hands of her classmates and nobody has helped her. So I will.” Ladybug stared at Guardian with wide eyes. Katsuki flashed a look of concern at Ladbug before quickly turning back towards the villain.

“Izuku …” she muttered.

“Pixie’s more than capable of handling herself.” He propelled himself upwards and then right at Guardian. “Those extras in her class are complete idiots, sure, but who the hell made you judge, jury and executioner?” He delivered a roundhouse kick that sent Guardian skidding across the building. Guardian landed on his feet and, just as Katsuki was about to land a direct hit, grabbed his arm and swung him. Katsuki went crashing through the building. Guardian hopped through the hole made by Katsuki and stood over him.

“So who’s the explosive guy?” Chat Noir asked.

“His hero name is Ground Zero. But he’s Guardian's childhood best friend. According to Marinette, their other childhood friend, they’ve never beaten each other in a fight; it's always been a draw. So if anyone can fight Guardian to a standstill with that powerful quirk, it's him,” Ladybug explained. “Once he’s unable to fight, I’ll take the akuma from him.”

“So we just sit back and enjoy the show?”

“We make sure no civilians get caught in the crossfire,” she hopped from the building she and Chat were on to grab a civilian that nearly fell in the hole Katsuki made.

“I am merely filling an unoccupied position. If you were truly her friend, you would understand I am doing this for her sake. You saw the bullying I went through before my quirk came in, I nearly gave up on everything because of it. So if I have to be a villain so that Marinette never goes through the same thing, then so be it.” Blackwhip pinned Katsuki to the ground as Guardian removed his halo.

“Go ahead and put that shitty ring on me. I’ve got nothing to hide. But there’s no way in hell I'm going to let you be someone’s puppet.” Guardian moved to put the ring, but found himself hesitating. His eyes flickered back to green much to Katsuki's confusion. Is the nerd fighting it? His eyes soon turned back to white and Katsuki wasted no time in tossing a flash grenade, temporarily blinding Guardian. He got to his feet and punched Guardian hard enough to knock him out of the side of the building and back onto the streets. Keep him talking. The nerd has more of a chance to fight it off that way. “All those times you’d butt into my business have finally come back to bite you. Did she ask you to do this or are you continuing to butt into people’s business?”

“I’m trying to protect her!” He growled, “I am Guardian! Her Guardian!” Green lightning danced around his feet as he ran at Katsuki, who proceeded to step to the side and launch an explosion at his back. Guardian flipped out of the way and met Katsuki in a grapple.

“The hell you are! Is that what the whole halo getup is for? You think you’re protecting her?!” He shouted, “You ain’t doing shit but hurting people because some lowlife villain gave you a crap promise of revenge! What kind of hero hurts random ass people to protect people?”

"WHAT KIND OF HERO WOULD I BE IF I CAN'T PROTECT THE ONE I LOVE?!” Guardian shot back. It was as if the world had fallen silent. A faint smirk lingered on Katsuki’s face. Ladybug, meanwhile, looked like she was one step from passing out. Chat Noir was torn between defending his princess and grabbing some popcorn. “I love her so much, Kacchan, and I refuse to let someone I love so much suffer because of a bully.”

“About damn time you realized. Honestly, watching you two pine over each other was getting exhausting.”

“Wait wha-” Guardian never finished his sentence as Katsuki released the grapple and kicked Guardian in the knees. Guardian stumbled backward but Katsuki was still on the offensive. He propelled himself into the air and landed behind the villain. Just as Guardian recovered, Katsuki clocked him over the head with his grenade glove and the akumatized villain crumpled to the ground.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Spots! This what you wanted?” Katsuki grabbed the gloves off of his friend and tossed them to Ladybug. She handed the gloves to Chat Noir, who used his cataclysm to destroy them.

“R-right. No more evildoing for you, akuma. Time to de-evilize!” She casted Miraculous Ladybug to repair the buildings and in doing so, the ladybugs released Lila and Chloe, leaving them right in front of the heroes.

“You sure took your time, Ladybug!” Chloe snapped, “You couldn’t have stopped him before I nearly spilled my whole life story out to these- these-”

“Extras?” Katsuki supplied with a smirk.

“Yes! These extras! Thank you, someone gets me!”

“Ugh…” Izuku groaned as he sat up, “What hit me?”

“Um, that would be mr. boom boom over there,” Chat Noir answered, “Are you okay?”

“Physically? Yeah, Kacchan’s hit harder before. Mentally? No. I am very confused.”

“I’m gonna hit you much harder once we’re back home you damn nerd,” Katsuki leveled a glare that would make his teacher proud at Izuku. He shrunk back in fear.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Um, I went to visit Marinette- Marinette! Is she okay?”

“She's alright,” Ladybug stepped forwards, “You got akumatized by Hawkmoth. He takes advantage of people’s negative emotions and turns them into supervillains.”

“Shitty power if you ask me,” Katsuki scoffed. “Wait, spots, he doesn’t remember anything that happened during the fight?” Ladybug shook her head in response.

“What happened during the fight?” Izuku asked, but was ultimately ignored. Katsuki bit back a laugh. “What happened?”

“That’s the side effect of being akumatized,” Chat Noir explained, “Pretty sure it's so we can’t track him or something.”

“Well that’s stupid. Speaking of stupid…” Katsuki turned to where Lila was slowly creeping away. “Hey! Fox-tails! Where do you think you’re going?!” Izuku’s face scrunched up in disgust as Katsuki dragged her over.

“Kacchan, she’s the reason this all happened! She tore up Mari’s sketchbook and has been telling Mari’s class-”

“I know. You told me some of it while you were being bug-controlled.” If looks could kill, Lila would have spontaneously combusted from the glare she was receiving from Katsuki. Ladybug and Chat Noir’s timers started going off.

“And that’s our cue to leave,” Chat Noir bowed dramatically. “Welcome to Paris! See you around!” The two heroes hopped over the rooftops.

“They didn’t even offer me a ride home,” Chloe grumbled.

“You live right there,” Lila pointed out at the hotel behind them. Chloe rolled her eyes and went back into the hotel. Lila turned towards the two boys. “So now what? Going to threaten me into admitting I’m a liar in front of everyone?”

“I’ll do more than a threat, fox face,” Katsuki growled. Izuku got to his feet and stood next to his best friend.

“Yeah? Two Japanese tourists beat up the daughter of an Italian ambassador. Would love to see the aftermath of that one. They’d revoke your licenses faster than you can say hero.”

“Dammit,” Izuku mumbled before facing Katsuki, “We can’t act without any proof otherwise it's gonna look like a quirkist crime.” Lila laughed triumphantly at the two of them.

“Here, I’m going to guess you aren’t staying long so listen up. You two either get in line, or I’ll make Marinette’s life hell after you two are gone. Her entire class already hates her but I won’t stop there, I’ll turn her parents against her, I’ll ruin her fashion designer career, I’ll drive her to the point where she’ll want to take a swan dive off the roof and pray we don’t meet in the next life.” Izuku stiffened at the threat. Katsuki had said those exact words to him after a particularly nasty fight between the two of them in middle school.

“Why you-!” Katsuki took a swing at her, which was immediately intercepted by Izuku. Lila opened her eyes when she didn’t feel anything hit her.

“Don’t. They’ll kick us out before we can even hang out with Mari.” He looked between Izuku and Lila.

“Fine. Just call the Pixie so we can get away from this bitch already.” Izuku nodded and pulled out his phone.

“Holy shit…” he muttered. His small chuckles soon turned into full blown laughter, much to Katsuki and Lila’s confusion.

“Did I hit you too hard and knock a few screws loose, nerd? The hell’s wrong with you?” The grin on Izuku’s face was just as blinding as it was when he was a kid.

“Kacchan!” he said between breaths, “Kacchan, look.” He turned his phone so Katsuki could see the screen.

Which was still recording from the fight.

Lila went pale as Katsuki laughed uproariously.

“Even as a shitty villain, you’re still a goddamn genius, Zuku!” He clapped his friend on the back. After calming down, the pair faced Lila, who was too shocked to move, once again.

“So Lila,” Izuku smirked, “Anything you’d like to add?”

Chapter Text

The next few days were a blur. Ladybug (who was apparently Marinette to Izuku’s delighted surprise) took Katsuki home for the fashion show and brought him back in time for the real show at school.

The class took the news that Lila was a liar with mixed reactions. Some were furious that they had been played and almost got akumatized as a result. Others realized how badly they messed up and instantly began working to make things right with Marinette. Alya and Alix got served lawsuits for the destruction of private property (as it was Marinette’s commissions' sketchpad they had destroyed) while the rest of the class, sans Nathaniel and Juleka, were served weekend detentions for the rest of the year and barred from extracurriculars by their parents.

Izuku turned his phone over to the school board as evidence and, combined with Katsuki’s “encouragement” of Adrien to grow a spine and report what she was doing to him, Lila was expelled from school. However, this was not the end of it. She had tried to attack the trio while they were at Andre’s and was immediately met with a fist to the face by Marinette (of all people). From that incident, she got assault charges added to her sexual harassment charges. But the real cherry on top of the metaphorical sundae was, while in court, she had willingly tried to take an akuma; which sealed her fate and got her sentenced to life in prison without parole.

It had been a week since Lila’s arrest. Chloe, much to Marinette’s surprise, got along quite well with Katsuki and the two of them were now in the bakery helping out Marinette’s parents (Chloe baking was yet another surprise she had not expected, she’d have to ask Suki how he managed that one). She had managed to piece together the remains of her sketchbook and was redrawing them in a new sketchbook when Izuku came up.

“Hey,” Izuku knocked on the door, “I’ve been banned from the kitchen until I can stop dropping things.” He sat down on the floor next to her.

“Butterfingers,” she teased him.

“I am not, I’m just accident-prone.”

“You’re both because you drop things and you break your bones every other week according to Suki.”

“Curse you Kacchan,” Izuku muttered as Marinette laughed. The two of them soon settled into a comfortable silence, with Marinette sketching and Izuku reading on his phone.

“Hey, Mari…” Izuku eventually broke the silence “So I was able to listen to the whole recording of the fight…” Marinette went pale as she realized where this was going. “And I just wanted to say that I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable with what I said. I’m not sure if akumas just make up feelings or fuel already existing ones because if that’s the case then there’s a chance that not everything I said would be taken a face value which sucks because that’s absolutely not how I wanted to tell you that and-”

“Zuku,” Marinette interrupted, “Akumas do not make up feelings, otherwise my job would be a lot harder. But they have been known to make rash declarations based on those feelings already in them. You know your emotions the best out of everyone, so only you would be able to tell if Guardian was spilling his heart.”

“He was,” he blurted out, “I never stopped trying to be a hero because I had someone to protect, someone that I loved too much to let the world try to hurt them. You were the first to see me for who I was rather than see me for my quirklessness. I don’t know what would have happened if we didn’t meet that day and I’m honestly scared of what could have happened. You saved me that day, Marinette. You were the first person to give me hope again. You’re my hero, Mari and I love you.” Marinette gently set her pencil down and got out of her chair. Izuku stood up, staring at her in confusion. She immediately grabbed him in a bone-crushing hug.

“You’ve always been my hero, Izuku, quirk or no quirk. And I love you too, just not as a villain because fighting you was the scariest moment of my life.” Izuku's laughter was muffled as his head was currently buried into Marinette’s shoulders.

“Thankfully we won’t have to worry about that ever again.” Marinette released Izuku from the hug. “Plus I think Kacchan won’t hold back if I went villain again.”

“You've got that right.” The two of them turned to where Katsuki and Chloe were standing in the doorway. “So are we going to go or what? The movie starts in about 20 minutes.”

“We’re coming, Suki, just give us a second,” Marinette answered, giving him a look. Katsuki looked between the two of them before his eyes widened in understanding. He nodded, grabbed Chloe, and headed downstairs. “So now what?” she asked Izuku. “We’re in love with each other but my previous crushes weren't exactly healthy so I’m not sure what to do. Should we kiss? Announce we’re boyfriend and girlfriend? Why is this so confusing?” Izuku smiled at Marinette’s rambling.

“Well, now we live with the fact that we’re in love with each other and take it one day at a time from there. We can go as fast or as slow as you’d like.”

“In that case,” Marinette held Izuku’s hand, “Lets go. We’ve kept those two waiting long enough.” The two of them went downstairs, joined their friends, and headed off to the movies hand in hand, and not a negative thought between them.