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Marinette could deal with random, encouraging notes in her locker. She could handle the daisies that sometimes appeared on her desk, attached to notes with her name to let her know it was no mistake. She could even deal with the looks she got as a result from her entire class wanting to know who was the anonymous person who kept on leaving her things without letting her know who they were.
But she simply couldn’t handle this – standing in front of the entire class with enough tickets for all of them to watch Jagged Stone’s next show.
Gifts were a nice concept, of course. Marinette wasn’t about to refuse getting any gifts from the people who cared about her and who wanted to express their gratitude or whatever for her. She liked giving gifts as well, after all. But her anonymous-something (or Fluttershy, as Alya liked to call them) couldn’t just throw money at her out of nowhere. Why would a random person buy HER tickets for the entire class? It didn’t make any sense! And yet the note at the top of the pile of tickets said that the tickets were meant specifically for the class, and her of course. And that Jagged Stone gave them freely after hearing she was the one they were going to be given to.
The moment her classmates realized what the tickets meant they cheered happily and raced to her seat in order to get their tickets, their eyes shining. Beside her, Alya was smirking. “You’re secret admirer is getting bold.” She sing-sang to Marinette, making the girl cringe.
As much as Marinette was flattered at the attention from Fluttershy, this whole thing made her uncomfortable because she was already dating someone. But, of course, with her luck she ended up dating the one person she couldn’t tell anybody about. Which meant she couldn’t tell her classmates or even this Fluttershy person that she was unavailable, because to them, she was.
A part of her brain kept reminding her that the gestures were never really romantic. As much as flowers were romantic, Fluttershy never got her roses or anything that symbolized love. Only daisies, as if he was only trying to bring a smile to her face by bringing her a happy flower. And the notes Fluttershy left her weren’t flirty. They only reminded her of good things, bringing a smile to her face without fail. This person, whoever they were, were after her happiness, and nothing more.
When she told Chat Noir about the notes, feeling guilty, he waved it off without a second thought, telling her he trusted her completely and that it didn’t bother him at all. And she felt both pride at the pure trust he showed and love towards her dorky, leather-cladded boyfriend. Seriously, she couldn’t even remember why there was ever a time when she didn’t love him this way. How could she have been this blind?! Adrien didn’t feel this way towards her and it was time to move on, and with Chat Noir’s random and frequent visits it wasn’t hard to fall for him, especially because around her, when she didn’t wear her mask, he was more vulnerable in a way she couldn’t believe she’s never seen before.
It also helped that he was there mostly to cheer her up. At least at first. He told her the first time he dropped by out of nowhere that someone from her school who cared about her told him about how miserable she was with Lila around and whoever this person was… they worried about Marinette, so they asked Chat Noir to pay her a visit and make sure she was alright. Back then she thought it was weird that someone at school beside Adrien and her knew about Lila’s lies, but accepted his presence with a grateful smile, nonetheless. She could use the company. And after that he just kept on coming until the fateful day when they sat together and played Mega Strike III in her room and without looking away from the screen (he was losing), Chat confessed his feelings to her. He didn’t even have the time to pause the game before she hugged him tightly, muttering her own confession with a bright smile.
They kept it a secret from everyone, even her parents. Marinette worried about her father being a little too overprotective after the whole Weredad situation and Chat Noir wanted to keep her safe, which meant she couldn’t be seen with him publicly. Which left her room as their only place to hang out. Chat loved it. She didn’t mind as long as he was right there beside her. Alya once walked in on them cuddling on her bed while watching a cat-video (he was addicted and she was on her way there as well), and Chat quickly explained to the Ladyblogger that they were this close only because of the cold. It wasn’t cold at all, and Alya didn’t seem to buy the excuse, but Chat used her silent treatment as his chance and left Marinette to handle the girl on her own. Thank you very much, oh, sweet boyfriend.
And throughout all of this time, Lila kept on lying to everyone, wrapping them all around her little finger and smirking at Marinette with this knowing smile, daring her to try and contradict her words. But she couldn’t because she just knew Lila would be able to twist her words until somehow Marinette would end up with the heated glares of her friends trained on her. Adrien was right, she should just let it go.
Adrien…
Well, he wasn’t enjoying himself either, Marinette knew. Lila latched onto him, her hands always twisted around his arms, bringing them closer together. It looked like Marinette was the only person to notice his grimaces from the closeness of the girl, but he always looked at Marinette and shook his head in a silent plea for her to not say anything. So she seethed silently and watched as Lila made the entire class believe Adrien and her were dating in secret. As if that girl knew anything about secrets. Who TOLD people they had a secret they couldn’t tell them and then just spilled it out like that? Why were her friends buying into this??
“Wow, Marinette!” Lila exclaimed happily, lifting a ticket from the pile and beaming at it. “Whoever this is who bought you those tickets – he really seems to care a lot about you if he got all of us into watching the show.” She sounded sincere but there was a spark in her eyes that made Marinette hold her breath, awaiting the inevitable mic-drop. “I can’t wait to go and show you all to the backstage – I mean, Jagged would love for me to be there and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me bringing a few of my friends along.”
The faces of everyone were absolutely joyful. Marinette watched with a hidden scowl as her classmates bought the lie immediately without even questioning it. Marinette was smarter than that – Lila said she’d do them all a favor, sure, but in the end she would probably find some kind of an excuse as to why she couldn’t actually take them all backstage. Some excuse as to why Jagged Stone didn’t even seem to notice her when they were just oh so close ever since Lila rescued his kitten.
To everyone’s surprise, though, Adrien cut in. He took a ticket with a sad smile on his face and then set it back down in front of Marinette, looking sheepishly at the girl with an apologetic look in his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Marinette. I wish I could come but I have a photoshoot scheduled then.” He shrugged helplessly and then turned to Lila, his brows drawn together in confusion. “Lila, did you not get the email with the details? You ought to be there as well. My father requested you specifically.”
Her expression fell at his words and Marinette couldn’t help the feeling of relief washing all over her. Of course she felt bad about Adrien missing out on the show but Lila? The less she got to see of this girl, the better. Her friends comforting the girl, promising to film as much of the performance as possible and to call her later on couldn’t even dampen her mood. She sent Adrien a sad smile which he answered with his own one, but then her smile widened and she turned to look at Lila. Poor Lila who won’t be able to attend the show.
Suddenly getting those tickets wasn’t that bad after all.
“Oh, you should have seen her face!” Marinette cackled into her pillow and looked over at Char Noir as he tried to free his hands from a simple Chinese finger trap. He was seriously struggling with it, his expression thoughtful and determined. Normally, he’d be listening to her intently, trying not to distract himself with anything else. But today the moment she began relaying her adventures at school with Lila and the tickets he busied himself with the trap. It wasn’t necessarily weird, just unexpected. “She looked like she was about to choke someone, I’m not even kidding.”
Chat hummed and tugged at his fingers again. They didn’t budge and he groaned in frustration. “You sound WAY too enthusiastic about your classmate missing out on all of this.” He noted, his green eyes not leaving the task before him.
Marinette snorted. “When it comes to Lila, I could brag all day.” She scoffed. “And she deserves some bad luck every once in a while, don’t you think? She can’t possibly be Miss Perfect all the time. People don’t get to be happy all the time – it always has to end. And this is a small moment but I’m going to make the most of it.”
“You know,” Chat tugged again but once he realized it wasn’t helping he let his hands fall to his lap and his piercing gaze locked with hers, sending chills down her spine. God, she really had it bad, didn’t she? And here she thought falling for Adrien was a whole thing… Chat Noir made her crush on Adrien look like a child’s game. At least now it wasn’t one sided and the guy actually liked her as well. “You being evil is kinda hot, but I wasn’t actually talking about Lila. You mentioned your other classmate not coming, right? Your crush.” He said the last two words in a suggestive voice while wiggling his eyebrows.
Scoffing, Marinette scrunched up her nose and looked away from him, her heart pounding. It still felt weird, knowing Chat Noir dated her after learning she had a massive crush on Adrien. It was like he wanted to know more and more about how she developed feelings for one of her classmates when he ALSO liked her. Since when did boyfriends want to know about their competitions, so to speak? And he never appeared jealous, just intrigued, like the idea of Marinette liking Adrien Agreste was amazing and incredible. She mostly felt stupid.
The thing was… both Chat Noir and her were still pining after different people apart from each other. Chat Noir liked Ladybug and Marinette liked Adrien, and because of that their relationship seemed awkward and unrealistic at first. No, it wasn’t the fact that he was an actual superhero (she was as well, after all). And it lasted until Chat made them both sit down and talk about everything. She’d told him about Adrien, and his reaction to hearing about who her crush was seemed strange (he choked on his croissant and then grinned, bemused, at her). And then he had told her about Ladybug, which she had to suppress a wince at. Because she WAS Ladybug, and she did like him back. But it was so complicated now, she didn’t even want to open that can of worms.
By the end of that night the two of them had come to an agreement. Marinette and Chat Noir would date – after all, they liked each other, why shouldn’t they? – and if anything changes with their crushes, they will bring it up as quickly as possible and try and figure the next step together. Instead of fighting their own hearts, they chose to explore and live a little together. They deserved to be happy, didn’t they?
“Of course I’m sad about that,” Marinette rolled her eyes at the boy beside her and received a smug look from him. “And I wish Adrien could come too because he deserves to enjoy and have fun as well. But instead of looking at the empty half of the glass… I’m looking at Lila, and her misfortune is just about making my day THAT much better.” She smirked by the end of her sentence and Chat Noir laughed and shook his head.
“You’re the sweetest person I know and yet whenever you brag about Lila’s less than stellar moments I’m reminded you actually have this whole other side of your personality which I’m just dying to explore. Seriously, this is hilarious. Jealous and protective Marinette is the best sometimes.” Chat tugged again at the trap and then his shoulders slumped and he held out his hands for her.
Marinette chuckled and freed his fingers easily, making Chat grumble under his breath before he threw both arms around her to snuggle closer to her. She knew from her time as Ladybug that Chat tended to get physical a lot – he liked hugs and friendly touches from the people around him. But she never actually realized how bad it was until they started dating. All of a sudden he was all over her, demanding hugs and cuddles and hair-brushings. Marinette seriously began to realize just how touch-starved the guy actually was. She knew his home life wasn’t the best out there, but this made her squirm in her place. She couldn’t ask him about it (and she knew he might actually answer her) but she had the feeling he didn’t get much attention from his family and with his friends he didn’t always feel comfortable enough to give and take those small, friendly gestures. So he enjoyed Ladybug’s company, and now Marinette’s as well.
Humming gently, Marinette let her head fall onto his shoulder. “I wish you could come to the performance.” She whispered.
Chat exhaled slowly. “Me too, Princess.”
The day after the show Marinette entered the classroom and found all of her classmates surrounding Lila with their phones held out for her to see the videos from the concert. The girl herself smiled at the screens although there was somewhat of a grimace hidden behind her usual, innocent smile. The annoyed look she sent towards Marinette for a brief moment made Marinette feel that much better – she both enjoyed Jagged Stone’s show AND didn’t have to tolerate Lila’s presence.
Even with Adrien missing, Marinette enjoyed her quality time with her friends, screaming the lyrics to the songs they all knew by heart and just shouting gibberish whenever they didn’t know what Jagged was singing. By the end of the night Alya’s voice was gone and she pouted at Nino, trying to talk to him without being able to utter a single word out. Mylene had a balloon in the shape of Jagged’s guitar that Ivan got her and she waved it proudly in the air or strummed the invisible strings while bobbing her head to the beat of the songs, grinning wildly at everyone around her. Max’s head was stuck inside his phone as he tried to sing along with Jagged, using his phone to read the lyrics to the songs and looking proud at his mild success. Alix and Kim argued over which one of them knew more of Jagged’s songs (it ended with a draw) and Marinette herself found her way to the back of the stage after Penny noticed her in the crowd, so the girl ended up talking to Jagged Stone himself.
So all in all, it was a great day. Marinette really had a blast, and she had Fluttershy to thank for. With a broad smile, she made her way to her seat and stopped for a moment in front of Adrien who stared at the rest of the class with something that almost resembled annoyance. But that couldn’t be, right? Sure, he knew Lila was a liar but he never actually seemed like he minded her lies THAT much… right?
Before Marinette could open her mouth the boy turned around to face her, his expression morphing into a gentle smile. He almost looked angelic like that. Not letting her nerves get the better of her, Marinette smiled back and then quickly pulled out of her backpack two items, handing them over to Adrien. The boy’s eyes grew larger at that and she let one of her hands tug at one of her pigtails lightly anxiously.
“I… I figured since you couldn’t come… I could get you something from the show?” Marinette babbled quickly and pointed at the items. “And then Jagged Stone talked to me and he gave me a CD of the whole show on film, so I thought I could give it to you since… you missed it.” She looked away for a moment and then waved the other item. “And when I told him you couldn’t make it he took this poster and signed it for you. I don’t know if you want it, but… yeah, it’s yours.”
“Wow!” Adrien’s eyes grew larger and larger and he took the CD and poster from Marinette before swiftly getting up and hugging her, causing the girl to squeal in surprise. That made the rest of the class to notice Marinette’s arrival and suddenly they were all staring at the reddening Marinette and joyful Adrien. Oh God… she was going to combust, wasn’t she? A few moments later Adrien pulled away, his smile wider than ever. “Thank you, Marinette. This is awesome!”
And suddenly there was a shocked, hurt gasp from the green-eyed girl in the center of the group of classmates and Marinette’s shoulders tensed as she got ready to handle whatever Lila was going to throw at her next.
With a hurt expression on her face, Lila stood up, her lips quivering. “Oh, Marinette… did you not get anything for me too? Adrien and I were both stuck at the photoshoot yesterday and had to miss the show – you didn’t forget about me, did you?” She asked pathetically, making the rest of the class to turn their gazes back to Marinette, expecting the girl to have something for Lila as well. Well, she didn’t. Why would she? She could barely stand the girl – she wasn’t going to look out for more free stuff the girl might benefit from. Lila didn’t need Marinette’s extra attention.
When it was clear Marinette had nothing, the questioning gazes of the classmates turned to scowls and disappointed looks. Of course, how could their sweet, loving, kind and caring Marinette forget about poor Lile who suffered from so many things and had, apparently, the worst luck. Except for the times when she was utterly perfect, spending her time with famous people.
“S-sorry. I guess I forgot about that…” Marinette gritted out. “Besides, I didn’t buy those things specifically for Adrien – I just got them for free from Jagged.”
Lila shook her head, her hands pressed against her heart as she gazed at Marinette with something that looked a lot like pity. “Oh, Marinette… it’s okay. You don’t need to lie about your connections to justify yourself. We all know how much you care about Adrien.” She said sweetly and Marinette’s eyes widened in alarm although Adrien didn’t seem to notice anything unusual quite yet. “You must have just been too focused on that to remember me. I understand.”
Cringing under their intense glares, Marinette hunched her shoulders and sat down at her seat, feeling like suddenly yesterday wasn’t worth it after all. Her eyes fell on the bright pink note resting on her desk, folded and covered in a pretty, little daisy. A shaky smile made its way to her face despite being accused of lying by the liar herself. Music is life. That’s why our hearts have beats. She read the words written on the note and let her fingers fiddle with the gentle flower.
At least one person in this school seemed to care about her mood. For a split moment she lifted her eyes. They fell on her friends as they promised Lila they’d give her the things they got at the concert to make sure she had something from the show after she had to miss it. Then she turned to Adrien who rolled his eyes at the rest of the class before smiling down at the signed poster.
He looked up and met Marinette’s eyes. “Thank you, Marinette.” He repeated quietly.
“No problem.” She replied easily and then turned to look out the window of the class, wishing a certain black cladded cat would pass by the window. Of course he didn’t – he had school too. She still liked to think about him thinking about her somewhere around Paris. At least she had a few people on her corner.
“Meep!” Marinette screeched loudly.
At the sound of her voice Chat Noir looked up from his textbook, his body tense as if ready to fight off whatever it was that he assumed was attacking her. Although at the sight of her holding her phone away from her body and restlessly hopping from one foot to the other while looking distressed he relaxed a little. With a small smile on his face he shook his head and went back to looking at his homework while Marinette kept on panicking.
“Are you okay, Princess?” He asked gently, obviously trying to mask his amusement with concern. It didn’t work, but Marinette was too busy freaking out to really pay attention to his lack of empathy towards her at the moment.
Waving her phone as far away from her body, Marinette started pacing around the room, looking around as if she could possibly find a place to hide her phone and forget about it forever because this was just impossible. This couldn’t be happening. Not to her, not to anyone. This was too unrealistic to be her LIFE. Although one glance at the still active screen proved her wrong and made her cry in alarm once more. This time Chat Noir let go of his homework in favor to paying her slightly more attention.
Bouncing in place, Marinette gave the screen of her phone another long glance before she abruptly let it go, throwing it to the other side of the room. It landed on the chaise safely, screen turned up. Marinette squealed to herself and then tugged at her hair in distress, her eyes snapping towards Chat when the boy got up from her desk chair and walked towards the chaise. He chanced a quick, questioning look towards her and when there was no objection coming from Marinette – she was still pretty much out of it – he bent down to read the messages on the screen of her phone.
For a few moments he just read quietly and then his bright eyes lit up and he beamed up at Marinette. “Wow, Marinette!” He picked up the phone and read the messages again, as if he couldn’t get enough of it. Marinette both wanted to do the same and to hide under the covers of her bed forever and avoid the outside world for as long as possible. “Clara Nightingale wants you to design her clothes for the next tour? That’s awesome!”
“Meep!”
“And she invited you to her next show!” He whistled at the rest of the conversation with Clara. Marinette couldn’t really blame him for it – it was really nice of Clara Nightingale herself to both ask for Marinette’s help AND to invite her and ALL OF HER FRIENDS to her next show in Paris! Which would be, by the way, in less than a week! “Oh, hey, and you already agreed to it. Good for you, Marinette!”
The girl finally let all of the energy in her body fizzle out. She inhaled deeply and then dramatically fell onto the floor of her bedroom, her legs tucked under her. Chat watched her with amusement laced in his features and she could only imagine how insane and silly she looked in his eyes, but instead of running away from her, claiming she was too crazy for him to handle, he stayed and gave her this fond look that sent her heart soaring delightfully.
Taking in a shuddering breath, Marinette lifted her gaze until it locked with Chat Noir’s. “What… what if I mess it up, though?”
In less than a moment, he was right in front of her, grinning at her gently, like he could tell she wasn’t kidding about this and that he wasn’t supposed to take this lightly. It was amazing, how he could just read her like an open book after such a short time together. Then again, they were partners, even if he didn’t know that. They worked together all the time and reading each other’s body language was like second nature to them. So even without being aware of it, Chat was probably doing the same thing he would have done had she been Ladybug right now.
“You won’t mess it up. You’re Marinette Dupain-Cheng and you’re amazing and awesome and everything you make is absolutely stunning. Clara Nightingale is going to regret not asking for your help sooner than this!”
Her eyes sparkled at that and for a moment she ducked her head, her cheeks burning. “What would Ladybug have said??” She tried to sound scandalized but Chat just kissed her on the cheek and with a finger under her chin, made her lift her head back up so they’d be at eye level.
“She would have agreed with everything I just said and more.” He stated firmly.
Marinette smiled at her friends when they jumped up and down to the beat of the song playing in the background. Clara Nightingale was on the stage, singing beautifully and dancing fluidly as always, looking absolutely angelic with the new outfit Marinette had made for her. If only Marinette had the energy to enjoy this performance even more… but after working for so many hours just to make the outfits for Clara… she just couldn’t bother to even stand up and sing along.
But she didn’t really need to get up and scream at the top of her lungs to be happy. She knew her friends were all absolutely ecstatic about going to another famous performance for free that she couldn’t help but enjoy the experience with them, even if it wasn’t exactly as fun as last time. She was just glad she could be with her friends and make them smile this wide. It almost made her want to do the exact same thing over and over again. Only… without exhausting herself, maybe?
And the best part about this show was that Adrien could be there as well. He was currently standing next to Nino, beaming up at Clara Nightingale and looking completely joyful. Marinette knew this expression didn’t come to him easily since his life was basically a lot of disappointments one after the other, so to see something she did bring this much joy to Adrien? Yup, she was more than happy to tire herself up a thousand more times if it meant Adrien ended up happy.
Unfortunately, Lila was there this time as well. She stood right next to Alya and beamed up at the stage and the singer on top of it, her face a mask of joy. It was the only thing Marinette found annoying about the whole ordeal. And, even worse, was how Lila managed to lie soothingly to everyone once more. Because two weeks before, Kim and Alix asked about the performance and begged Lila to get them tickets and the liar told them she couldn’t because there were no longer any seats available. So sadly, Clara did her best but couldn’t find any more to get for her favorite prodigy, Lila.
When Marinette showed up the next week with the tickets for the show and gave each a precious ticket, Alix and Kim both turned to look at Lila, their brows furrowed in confusion. After all, how was it possible that Lila – Clara’s personal friend – couldn’t get the tickets while Marinette got them for a simple (har-har) job? But Lila convinced them it was probably given to Marinette and the rest of them because Clara knew they were in the same class and could finally get the empty seats. Somehow… Marinette’s class fell for that.
When Chat Noir heard Marinette’s frantic rant about Lila’s lies, he mostly stayed quiet. True, he probably didn’t have much to say since he wasn’t really a part of all of this stupid teen drama, but he also valued his life and Marinette was walking around with pins and needles, trying to finish her projects as fast as possible, meaning she was rather dangerous, even to Paris’s superhero.
“Hey!” Marinette blinked her eyes at the sound of Adrien’s voice. She looked away from the stage and found the boy standing next to her, a smile on his face. His green eyes gazed down at her and for a moment he looked a little confused. Then his face brightened and he sat down in the seat to her right. “You look really tired!” He called over the mayhem of people singing (AKA screaming).
Nodding, Marinette let her head hang low a little, as if she was falling asleep. She could fall asleep, honestly, even with all of this noise around her. She’s gotten used to getting her sleep whenever it was possible. “Yeah, I’m exhausted.” She admitted. Then her eyes drifted over to the dancing Nightingale and she smiled. “But it was definitely worth it.”
They both looked at Clara for a few moments, just appreciating her new outfit. It was light and colorful and matched her personality, skin tone, hair and eyes just right. It swished around her as she moved like a dancing wind and made her look almost like an illusion. A beautiful illusion. Smiling happily, Marinette noticed the way Adrien bobbed his head in appreciation, his eyes sparkling.
“This looks great, Marinette.” He said earnestly. And then he leaned his head a little towards her. “You know you don’t have to be here right now if you’re that tired, though, right? You deserve to get some rest.” She blinked at him when he gestured towards the exit with his head questioningly, as if asking her if she wanted to leave. When she pursed her lips and nodded slowly, he grinned and unceremoniously pulled her onto her feet. She yelped, caught off guard for a moment, but then steadied herself and let him lead her forward, weaving between their friends to get out.
Of course, Lila had to ruin it. The girl seemed to notice they were leaving because she just appeared in front of them out of the blue and began to whine about how something was wrong with her ankle – she twisted it, apparently. Marinette watched her through half-lidded eyes and yawned, not entertained, while Adrien smiled politely, nodding his head and suggesting Lila would go to find someplace to sit. Or to give it a look and make sure her ankle was okay.
Before Marinette even knew what was happening, Lila was hanging off of Adrien’s arm, pulling him away from Marinette and towards the seats, explaining to him how she needed someone to help her walk. Just gaping at their backs, Marinette felt truly invisible. And then she determinedly turned around and walked back towards the exit. Deep down, she knew it wasn’t Adrien’s fault – he just didn’t know how to say no when people swarmed him like that. But she still felt like she was supposed to be the one he was focusing on.
Covering her mouth to hide another yawn, Marinette staggered away from the loud area and towards the familiar street where her house was. She looked down at her phone to see what time it was. Still pretty early. Her parents were probably closing off the bakery, so she could get in from the back and avoid them. She just really didn’t want to explain to them that she was on the brink of collapsing after working too hard. It wasn’t something they’d appreciate, after all.
“May I offer you a ride home, Princess?”
Marinette’s head snapped up and she smiled warmly at the black-cladded figure perched on the edge of a rooftop, looking down at her with his mesmerizing, toxic green eyes. He jumped down and landed next to her gracefully, his body leaning against the metal baton of his.
“Oh, please.” She said honestly and found herself practically stumbling into his arms. He caught her quickly and she found his eyes observing her face carefully. “I’ve never been more exhausted in my entire life.” She admitted and yelped a little when the boy just scooped her up and began to skip towards her house.
“You look annoyed.” He noted absently. Marinette wondered how he managed to pick up on such a small thing after only seeing her for less than a minute but decided not to ask. This could only lead to a conversation she wasn’t ready for quite yet. “Did something happen? I thought this was the day of Clara Nightingale’s show. Wasn’t it?” He asked. “I thought you love her.”
Nodding against his chest, Marinette closed her eyes and tried to ignore the way her stomach swooped. It felt different to swing around the city on her own, with her yoyo and suit. It was quite strange to do so with Chat Noir, though. Not unpleasant. Just… not the same. “I do! And it would have been much better had I gotten more sleep but I’ve been so busy working on those outfits she wanted that I barely even closed my eyes for more than two hours a night and now I had to sit there and pretend to have fun when Lila somehow managed to save her skin once again. I don’t know how she does that! Ugh, I swear this girl can mind control people!”
Char Noir chuckled lightly for a second and then landed softly on the balcony, his legs making no sound. He let Marinette down but didn’t move away, as if sensing he had to stay there and hear out more from the girl. But she didn’t want to talk about it any longer. Sure, she was upset because Lila just up and stole Adrien to keep him away from Marinette, but the pang in her chest wasn’t THAT painful this time around. It was more like a dull ache. What she did feel was the longing to see Chat again. And he was right there with her, so that was great, wasn’t it?
And so she just wrapped her arms tiredly around him, feeling the way he tensed at the touch as if not expecting it at all. Then his hands settled on her back and his chin fell on top of her head. “H-hey, is everything okay?”
“I’m glad you’re here.” She mumbled quietly and closed her eyes when he didn’t say anything, probably trying to figure out what to say now. So, using the silence, Marinette let her mind wander for a few moments until her eyes snapped back open and she pulled away to look straight into Chat’s eyes. He blinked at her in surprise, obviously taken aback by the sharp movement that seemed to come out of nowhere. “You started coming here because of Fluttershy, didn’t you?” She asked, almost teasingly. His expression turned shocked and a little fearful, like she was going to be upset over this. “You know who it is.”
“Umm…” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and looked around, trying to spot something that might save him from this conversation. Marinette didn’t really find it that terrible. She didn’t get why it flustered him this much. So what if he knew who Fluttershy was? She wasn’t going to squeeze the person’s identity out of him and she wasn’t going to be upset about him hiding it. It didn’t really matter, after all. “I’m… umm… pfft! No…! Why would you think that?”
Marinette grinned. “You’re a terrible liar, Kitty.” She chuckled and flicked his bell lightly, making it chime softly. Chat Noir began to shift from one foot to the other, looking like he was on the verge of freaking out. “Relax, I won’t ask you who it is.” She said dismissively and Chat’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Besides, I’m too tired right now to really think about anything. Oh, Alya would have loved it, though…” Her eyes widened. “I have to call Alya! She’d freak out if she doesn’t find me!”
And she left him standing on her balcony in favor of running into her room to call Alya and get to bed. She did manage to apologize the next day, though, when he showed up to check up on her. Plus, she got to tell him that Fluttershy admitted they were the one to talk to recommend Marinette as a great designer to Clara.
“Oh, no, Ladybug and Chat Noir aren’t together, silly.”
Marinette glanced up from her newest sketch at the sound of Lila chuckling, her tone making it sound like her statement was the most obvious thing in the world. Lila was behind her, so when Marinette looked up she actually found Adrien sitting there, his body twisted around to look at the liar in her place in the back. His brows were pinched and he had a frown on his face.
Turning around, Marinette stared at Lila who was sitting in front of Alya and her recording phone – probably another interview for the Ladyblog, huh? She chuckled at the camera like she was the funniest person alive and no one could ever disagree with that. Well, Marinette could. She could definitely disagree and glare at Lila who kept on spouting lies to her friend. Lies that Alya uploaded for the world – mostly Paris – to see.
Tilting her head to the side, Alya glanced at the screen of her phone for a moment, like she was checking to see that Lila was still in the center of the frame. “They’re not?” She asked, sounding astounded. Marinette cringed and quickly swiveled back around. Adrien’s eyes fell on her and he seemed to observe her with worry for a moment before he focused on the girls in the back again. “Really? But isn’t it kind of obvious Chat Noir is in love with Ladybug? I mean, he flirts with her all the time.”
“He actually hasn’t been flirting for a while, though.” Nino noted from his place, probably standing behind Alya.
Lila nodded at him even though he was off camera and then beamed at Alya and her recording phone. “Yes, that’s because we’re dating!” She said. Marinette’s eyes widened and she saw the way Adrien’s confusion and annoyance switched to anger and shock. He glared at Lila for a moment longer and then looked at Marinette like she was the only person he knew who wouldn’t believe this stupid lie. Which was true, but the intensity of his look almost caught her off guard.
She wanted to slam a door in Lila’s face. She wanted to dangle her off the Eiffel Tower. She wanted to let the next akuma get to her before saving the city. She wanted her to suffer for lying about her kitty. Not just because they were a thing, but because she was okay with Lila lying about her – to some degree – but Lila lying about her partner was out of the equation. Not happening. Nope, no. No, no-no-no-no. Absolutely not.
“Oh, that’s really interesting, Lila.” Marinette said, loud enough for all of the class to hear. They turned to look at her, confused and a little apprehensive about what she was going to say. Adrien opened his mouth to say something but then just smirked a little and let her have the stage. “You and Chat Noir – that’s amazing. I’m really happy for you. Though I guess you must feel pretty bad sometimes, knowing he only turned to you after your best friend kept on turning him down.” She said sweetly.
Adrien’s jaw dropped and Lila’s eyes blazed for a split moment that went unnoticed by everyone else. She looked like she was already trying to think of a way to turn this around while the rest of the class looked mostly uncomfortably with the thought of Lila being the second choice.
In a way, Marinette supposed she was calling herself Chat’s second best, but she personally knew it wasn’t true. First, because she was also Ladybug, which meant he’d loved only her all along. And second, because Marinette knew Chat Noir – actually knew him – and he wouldn’t have settled for someone unless he really did feel something fierce and intense. After all, he’s been pining after Ladybug for such a long time instead of moving on when he could probably date other girls.
She was a little surprised at the concern shining in Adrien’s eyes as he looked at her, like he couldn’t believe she had just said that, either. Why he looked so hurt by her statement was a mystery to Marinette, but she ignored it in favor of focusing on Lila. The girl was going to open her mouth and somehow make Marinette look like the bad guy, and Marinette didn’t feel like going down that road without a fight. Not this time. Maybe.
“Aw, silly me. I didn’t mention that I WAS his first choice.” Lila said.
The class turned to look at her again with their full attention, drinking in her words. Marinette narrowed her eyes, barely even aware of Adrien moving to sit next to her, his hand hovering like he was considering putting it on Marinette’s arm to calm her down. But she was calm. She was extremely calm.
Alya tilted her head to the side. “Wait, but I thought Ladybug – “ She focused the camera on Lila’s face but her eyes looked at the girl from above the screen.
“Well, when I said no at first, he just moved on to her. I felt really bad for her, actually. That’s why she always said no, of course, because she knew he wasn’t over me yet.” Lila said innocently. Rose wiped a tear from the corner of her eye like it was the most touching love story she’s ever heard. Marinette wanted to smack her head against the wall.
There was a strange look on Adrien’s face. There was an emotion there that she couldn’t decipher but it made it all twist up in a way that was so unfamiliar with his delicate features, it just didn’t compute. Because how could Adrien – soft, gentle, common-sensed, friendly Adrien – look this upset? This annoyed? This bugged? This irritated? This angry? He couldn’t. It just didn’t add up, okay? It made no sense. But it was there at Lila’s words and his hand finally landed on Marinette’s arm, squeezing tightly, like he was trying to control himself – not her – and force his body to stay in place and not react.
“That’s so ridiculous.” Marinette grumbled.
“Yeah, I know.” He responded lowly. He looked at Alya’s phone with disdain and then sighed and shook his head from side to side. “This is ridiculous. How can Alya fall for all of this? Shouldn’t she know Ladybug and Chat Noir better than anyone else? She both was a Miraculous holder and the only reporter to get these many interviews with them both.”
Marinette nodded in agreement until his words suddenly clicked in her mind and she gaped at him. He looked taken aback and confused by her reaction. “Wait, you know about Alya??”
He furrowed his brows. “Know wha – “ He slammed his mouth shut all of a sudden and his face blanked out, like he was trying to hide his emotions the best he could after realizing his slip up. Marinette stared at him. How could it be that Adrien knew? Even Chat Noir didn’t know about Alya being Rena Rouge! Shadow Moth knew, but that was it. The others didn’t. No one else did. Well, except for Nino.
Nino… who was Adrien’s best friend! Marinette gasped and then quickly cast a look around – Adrien did the same, but she wasn’t going to let him decide they were isolated enough if she could make sure herself – and then snapped her eyes back to him. “Oh, my God! You know about Alya and Nino, don’t you?” She demanded in a hushed whisper.
“Uh…” Adrien looked everywhere but at her before a look of confusion overtook his features. “Wait, how do YOU know?”
They stared at each other until Marinette sighed and started tapping her foot on the ground. “Oh, uh, I figured it out.” She said, trying to sound nonchalant. Adrien couldn’t know how she really knew about Alya and Nino because the truth was, well, that she was Ladybug and they were Rena Rouge and Carapace thanks to her giving them their Miraculous. “You know, it wasn’t THAT hard to put together. I mean…” She quieted down and blinked at him. “How did YOU find out?”
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, Nino told me, actually.” He admitted. “When, uh, he thought Chat Noir and Alya had something going on between them?” He said. Marinette remembered that. She also remembered how ridiculous it all was. “Before he got akumatized, he told me about it and I don’t think he meant to tell me about… THAT,” He glanced around again, looking anxious. “But he was really out of it – he just let it slip. I haven’t told anyone. I didn’t think anyone else knew.”
Marinette wanted to groan in frustration. Nino TOLD Adrien? What was wrong with him? It was supposed to be a secret! Never mind, though, since Nino wasn’t even a holder anymore. He couldn’t be because Shadow Moth knew about him. She stared at Adrien who had to keep those two secrets from everyone, including the fact that he himself was once chosen as a holder only to, sadly, fail. It must have been excruciating to keep his mouth shut. Of course, Marinette had a big secret identity she couldn’t speak about to anyone, too, but it was different. That was her identity. Adrien was keeping his mouth shut about a secret that wasn’t even his own.
They both turned to listen to Lila’s web of lies once again. The girl talked straight to Alya’s camera again, smiling like she was a movie star and not a high school student that couldn’t even tell the truth for over five second straight. She was a bully but the people following the Ladyblog were being fooled into thinking she was a saint that knew Ladybug personally. They believed she knew who the girl under the mask was. If only Lila knew… if only others knew… simply revealing to them that Marinette was Ladybug could absolutely snap Lila’s mouth shut and their minds back on track because Lila was obviously NOT Marinette’s friend.
“I wish we could prove she was lying.” She muttered quietly. Adrien hummed a little. “I mean, she’s lying to all of our friends. As much as it hurts that they choose to believe her over anyone else, I don’t want someone like Lila to control them like puppets. I wish we could do something.”
With a nod, Adrien turned his back on Lila and the others. “Me too.” He sounded thoughtful.
She needed to get somewhere safe and de-transform to give Tikki a cookie to eat after the fight. Plus, she needed to get home early because she knew Chat Noir was going to drop off at her room and she wasn’t going to let him just show up to an empty room when she should be there. If she wasn’t there, it would look suspicious. Her comfort was that Chat also had to recharge after the fight against the latest akuma, so at least she had a little more time.
Landing on a rooftop and preparing to take off again, Marinette got ready to toss her yoyo when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. For a moment she thought it was Chat Noir and looked at the rooftops around her, but then she looked down and found Adrien standing there, waving at her sheepishly, like he was a little surprised that she actually stopped at his call.
Heart beating loudly in her chest, Marinette hopped down to his level until they were face to face. She was strangely aware of how she had to crane her head up to be able to look him in the eye – he really grew up since his first day of school. She put on a smile and tried not to look like she was beyond curious as to what Adrien Agreste wanted from Ladybug of all people.
“A-Adrien!” She stammered. Because of course she did. She took in a deep breath and tried to calm down. “What, uh… what do you need? Did someone get akumatized again? Is anyone hurt? Are YOU hurt?” Her hands itched to come up and move him around in order to make sure he was unharmed.
Adrien smiled at her, still, looking like he was okay – just a little anxious. “It’s nothing like that.” He promised quickly. Marinette relaxed a little, but not enough. He was still there, clearly wanting something from her. What could she do for him as Ladybug, though? “I was just wondering if you could maybe help me with something. It’s… I guess it’s not as dangerous as fighting akumas, but it’s definitely still serious.”
She cocked her head to the side, her hands messing around with her yoyo. Chat Noir was going to wait for her. She was almost out of time. Her earrings beeped and she grimaced when his eyes flew over to them, realization dawning on his face. “L-let me just…” She pointed at a nearby alleyway she could use. “I just need to recharge.” She told him. “Just… I’ll be right back. Don’t peek.” She warned him.
“I won’t.”
Her transformation fell the moment she was alone and Marinette fished for a cookie from her purse which Tikki ate quickly. When the girl looked up, she saw Adrien standing with his back to her, respecting her need for privacy. That was… that was something she probably wouldn’t have trusted with most of the people in her life. De-transforming nearby and risking the chance of this person checking to see who she really was.
Chat Noir admitted to have nearly slipped after their fight against Lady Wifi. But never pushed. Not to the point where she was uncomfortable about her identity. He could have easily looked at her during their fight against Dark Owl, but he didn’t. And apart from Chat, Adrien was the only other person she let stay close to her, knowing she was without her mask.
Looking back at Tikki, Marinette smiled when the Kwami swallowed the rest of the cookie. “Ready?” She asked. Tikki nodded determinedly and Marinette smiled at her. “Spots on!” She waited until her transformation took over and then she lifted her gaze back up to find Adrien facing her again, a smile still on his face, though he looked a little tense. She walked closer to him again. “Okay, I’m all ears.”
“Okay.” He nodded and then seemed to try and find the words. “There’s this… there’s this girl in my class, right?” He started talking, and he almost sounded nervous, like the thought of mentioning all of this to Ladybug was weird or wrong. She just hummed. “She’s… she’s super smart and kind and thoughtful and she just CARES about everyone. Pretty sure you’ve met her – Marinette.”
Marinette stared at him and tried to hide the surprise at hearing Adrien talking to a superhero about her. She nodded a little to let him know she was following and that she knew who he was referring to. As if she could not recognize herself! She forced her mind not to concentrate on all of the nice things he said about her, knowing that wasn’t going to lead anywhere, and tried to focus. Adrien talked like it was serious. Did she do something to him? Was he upset? Did he know she was Marinette?? No…
Right?
“Well, she’s being bullied.” He said and Marinette had to suppress the urge to just freeze there, very obviously, and give her identity away. Adrien was… worried about her? Being bullied? And his first action was to turn to Paris’ superhero? Well, that was a pretty big step, wasn’t it? “Do you remember Lila Rossi?”
“The girl I yelled at at the park?” She asked, voice only wavering a little bit.
Adrien didn’t seem to notice. “Yeah, her. She keeps on lying – with every breath! I guess… I thought it was alright at first because it was harmless and no one was getting hurt. She just mostly lied about knowing famous people and getting the class to like her for it. But it’s not just that anymore. She’s turning the whole class against Marinette and she nearly got her expelled. I mean, the only reason Marinette could come back to school was because I… sorta… kinda… threatened Lila?” He rubbed the back of his neck.
Marinette stared at him in awe. Adrien was the reason she was allowed back? She never did know what made Lila lie about having a lying disease. To think that Adrien was behind it… he made her say it so that Marinette could come back to school… It wasn’t even an option up until now. Not in Marinette’s book, at least. She thought Adrien wasn’t going to act against Lila, ever. But apparently that wasn’t the case. He was helping. From behind the scenes, sure, but helping.
Her heart stuttered. “You’re the one who gave her the tickets to Jagged Stone’s show…” She whispered. Adrien looked a little confused at the fact that she knew about it and Marinette was suddenly very aware of the fact that she wasn’t supposed to know that. But, luckily, he didn’t ask her how she knew about it and instead nodded simply. Fluttershy was Adrien. Oh, God… “What-what do you need from me, then?” She asked, feeling strangely tingly all of a sudden.
Adrien has been trying to help this entire time. Adrien has been there, leaving notes of encouragement on her desk for such a long time now. He was the one who sent Chat Noir to check up on her. He was the one who recommended her to Clara Nightingale! He’s been helping her deal with Lila from behind the scenes for such a long time now… and she was going to have to act like she didn’t know! Oh, he left her the tickets to Jagged Stone’s show specifically at a time when he knew Lila wouldn’t be able to be there. He was a Jagged Stone fan and he still helped Marinette, knowing he wouldn’t be able to be there, either.
She wanted to hug him. She couldn’t hug him.
Smiling, Adrien looked like he was actually encouraged by her question, like it meant she knew what he wanted and was willing to help. Of course she was willing to help. God, he was trying to help her by asking for help FROM her. She wished he could know about the irony of it all, but she had to keep her mouth shut. She was going to have to find a way to thank him for all of this. No present was going to be enough.
She wanted to tell Chat Noir about it so much!
She didn’t get to tell Chat Noir about it. When she got back to her room at long last, Chat Noir wasn’t there yet. It was a little strange, since it took Marinette longer than anticipated to get back after the akuma attack, but she decided to overlook it and just wait for him. Instead of dwelling on the question of what was holding her boyfriend back, Marinette tried to think of something to give Adrien as a thank you for everything.
And then, eventually, Chat Noir showed up, looking like he was a little out of breath after hopping all the way over. He jumped into her room through the trap door and landed on her bed tiredly, his baton resting next to his outstretched hand. Marinette chuckled at him from her place on her chaise and rolled her eyes at his dramatic entrance.
“Sorry.” He mumbled, not bothering to get down. “Between the akuma attack and talking to Ladybug a little afterwards, I must have lost track of time.”
Opening her mouth to dismiss it and hop right into telling Chat about Adrien being Fluttershy, Marinette ran his words in her head one more time before she froze. She furrowed her brows a little in confusion. “Umm… you talked to Ladybug? During the fight, right?” She asked slowly.
“Oh, that’s why I was late.” He explained and sat up, his green eyes looking at her at long last. Marinette stared back, feeling a little numb. “I had to ask her something. It’s nothing – just needed help with this… thing.” He evaded easily and grinned at her. Marinette just stared back. Chat’s grin dimmed a little as his lips tugged down in concern. “Hey, you okay, Princess? You look a little – “
“I’m fine!” She cut him off abruptly. Chat Noir blinked in surprise and he definitely didn’t look like he was believing her. But what could she do? Tell him that she was Ladybug and that the only person who talked to her was Adrien? Tell him that she knew what Ladybug was asked to do? Tell him that she maybe… maybe knew who he was??
There was that other option – the option that Chat was just lying to her about where he was before coming and that he was up to no good and didn’t want her to know – like cheating on her. But the fault with this theory was that Marinette knew Chat Noir better than anyone, and he wasn’t lying. Plus, he was such a loyal person – he was never going to cheat on her or any girlfriend he might have. She wasn’t willing to even entertain the thought because that was ridiculous.
But another thing that was ridiculous was that Adrien was Chat Noir. It made no sense, yet it made perfect sense at the same time. He had the same features as the boy and the same postures, like he was sometimes just taking his time to stop and get a professional picture taken by no one. He was naïve and loyal like Adrien. They were both allergic to feathers. They were both the nicest people Marinette has ever met. They were both into puns. They both liked Ladybug. Heck, earlier on, when Adrien called for her, Marinette thought it was Chat Noir.
God, she was dating Adrien.
She’s been rejecting Adrien!
Wait, Adrien was in love with her. They were dating. They were a thing. She couldn’t… she couldn’t date Adrien Agreste without revealing to him that she knew who he was, and if that happened, she felt like she was going to have to tell him who she was, too.
Wait, they were crushing on each other the entire time. There was no problem to solve – no unrequired love. They were just blind to the truth and Marinette was going to murder Tikki and Plagg for not saying anything despite it being such a toll. On the both of them.
She was vaguely aware of Chat Noir climbing down from her bed to stand in front of her, his worry evident in everything about him. He looked like a curious cat. He looked like a curious Adrien. God, they were both chosen by Clara Nightingale to appear in her song in full costumes of their alter egos! So she wasn’t the only stupid one to almost go through with this! Sure, Adrien was kind of forced into it, but she actually let it happen to her. They were seconds away from revealing their secrets to the world.
They had kissed! More than once!
“…nette? Marinette??” He waved his hand in front of her face and Marinette blinked a few times to draw herself back to the present. The present in which Chat Noir – Adrien – was standing in front of her, one of his hands resting on her upper arm gently, like he was trying to ground her. “What’s going on? Are you okay??”
She blinked at him once more and then threw herself at her boyfriend who yelped in surprise but accepted her into his embrace happily. Snuggling close, Marinette closed her eyes and tried to relax. She could relax – she was with her partner and best friend. She was with her classmate and ally. She was with the person she trusted most in the world. The two people she trusted most in the world, all wrapped up in one.
“I’m okay. I’m okay.” She whispered. He tightened the hug a little and Marinette calmed down even more. “I just figured something out – don’t worry. I’m really, really happy.”
His fingers ran through her hair gently as he hummed. “You have a really weird way of showing it, Princess.” He noted but he sounded like he was no longer freaked out. “Wanna share with the class?”
Marinette smiled. “Maybe another time.”
She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Which wasn’t very unusual – she was pretty sure Alya was smirking at her from her seat – but it has been a while since Marinette felt this drawn to Adrien’s back. He was sitting there, writing down whatever Miss Bustier was talking about and Marinette could only sigh and think about how everything just made sense all of a sudden.
Every once in a while Adrien turned around, probably feeling her eyes on him. He didn’t look like he minded it. Instead, he offered her a smile each time, though there was also confusion there, too. Marinette knew it was because she wasn’t even trying to hide it. She was openly staring at him at this point and she had no idea how to make herself stop. She was allowed to stare at her boyfriend, but he had no idea that she knew about him being her boyfriend, which probably made it weird. Maybe it looked like she was on the verge of cheating on Chat Noir. Which was stupid, but had she not known the truth about Adrien and Chat Noir being the same person…
Well, it was easy to come to this conclusion.
Of course, Marinette wasn’t the only one staring in the class. Lila’s eyes have been boring into her back since the moment Marinette took her seat. Marinette didn’t even need to turn around to know that the girl’s eyes were on her and she had no idea what she’s done to make her this upset today. They haven’t even interacted! Marinette did everything in her power to not react to anything that came out of Lila’s mouth. Honestly, it was easier now, knowing her kitty was sitting right in front of her, always keeping an eye out to keep her safe.
It's been a month since Marinette figured out who Chat was. She knew it was weird that she was still so caught up on that fact and that she couldn’t take her eyes off Adrien, but she just couldn’t help herself – she was happy! She was happy because her long-time crush was her boyfriend who was also her best friend and the person she trusted most in the world. It was a lot to have in one person. She was really lucky, and she knew it.
But then the bell rang and the class started chattering between themselves and Marinette’s ears picked up on Lila – it wasn’t hard with her practically announcing everything to the entire class – claiming that she had dumped Chat Noir for being disloyal and annoying and a prick and always getting in the way during akuma attacks.
Marinette was seething. Seething wasn’t even a big enough word to describe it. She was seeing red. She was about to combust. She was steaming, burning, flaming, raging. She was losing a battle against herself, trying to hold her emotions at bay. She was furious. She was bursting. She was –
She was confused because Adrien was clearly hearing all of this, yet he didn’t react one bit. Other than hunching his shoulders a little and trying to busy himself with whatever he was still writing in his textbook, he didn’t let on that he minded too much. Which only made Marinette even more furious, because how could he just sit there and accept the fact that someone thought he was all of those things and more?
“I mean, what kind of superhero has the power to destroy things? It doesn’t make sense.” Lila continued. Marinette clenched her fists and tried to pretend like this didn’t bother her. Like she didn’t care. Like she was oblivious to the false words coming out of Lila’s mouth. Because she was lying, she was good at it. And Marinette wasn’t going to fall for that because she knew first-hand that those claims weren’t true.
Kim hummed. “Yeah, that’s true.” He noted.
Lila grinned at him sweetly. “It’s pretty obvious he can’t really help much. I wouldn’t have been able to help if all I could do was destroy things. Ladybug’s power is so much better because she can create things! She just has to put up with him most of the time and try and find something for him to do. It’s really daunting on her, actually. In fact, she complains to me about it pretty often when we meet up.”
Her body was trembling as she tried to suppress her anger. She closed her eyes and breathed – in and out – slowly to force herself to keep calm and not react. She couldn’t react. If she did, it won’t end well – probably for her. Unless she really did unleash everything she had on Lila, and then the girl would probably end up in a hospital room or six feet underground. Whichever came first.
And then she felt a brief touch on her shoulder and her eyes turned around to see Adrien looking at her worriedly. “Hey, are you okay?” He whispered.
She frowned. “No. I’m not.” She turned back to glare daggers at Lila. “I’m losing it! How are you so CALM about it??” She demanded and stared back at him.
Adrien shrugged and gave her a sad smile. “We both know she’s lying, anyway. It doesn’t matter what she says because it’s not true.” He said and his eyes fell on her hand messing around with a little note that was left on her desk. Another one from Fluttershy, like every day. Marinette kept them all in her room, safe and secure. Usually, it helped calm her down. This time she felt absolutely numb with rage. And then Adrien’s eyes widened. “Marinette, watch out!”
Her eyes swirled around just in time to see the akuma flying towards her – towards the note in her hand! She shrieked and jumped over her desk to avoid it, practically falling on top of Adrien in her attempt at running away from the little, purple butterfly. The class erupted into chaos at the sight of the akuma and they all watched Marinette as she tried to get back up, Adrien, helping the best he could while also grunting a little from the pain of someone JUMPING ON HIM. What was she thinking?
She frowned at the akuma and quickly stood up, running away with a yelp. She tried to imagine Tikki floating next to her, telling her to stay strong and not give into her anger and frustration. Just like she did back when Marinette was first on the verge of akumatization. Luckily, it seemed to work. Marinette calmed down and then butterfly hesitated before turning around and flying towards Lila of all people. And the girl didn’t even try to run – she WELCOMED the akuma with open arms!
“What is she doing?!”
“Stop her!”
“Lila, that’s an akuma! Run away from it, not towards it!”
“Oh, my God, are you crazy? Is she crazy??!”
Marinette had only a few seconds, she knew that, before Lila caught the akuma. But instead of looking at the girl or the butterfly, she found herself glancing at Adrien. He looked like he was tenser than usual, debating on whether or not to do something stupid. And then his eyes locked with her and she knew what he was going to do. Because he was Adrien, and of course he would do everything to try and protect everyone in that room.
Well, if he was going to do what she thought he was going to do, Marinette was going to join him.
“Plagg, claws out!”
“Tikki, spots on!”
Apparently, that shocked him more than she had anticipated and instead of going after the akuma before it could reach Lila, he gaped at her, leather suit on and all. The rest of the class did, too. Marinette pressed her lips and focused. She was going to deal with that later – now she had an akuma to catch. So she pulled out her yoyo and threw it at the akuma, pulling the butterfly towards her and purifying it quickly.
Lila was absolutely seething. “YOU!” She screamed and pointed at Marinette with an accusing finger. The others all backed away from her, clearly caught off guard by her sharp, loud voice. Plus, you know, she just tried to reach and akuma. “Why is it always YOU?!”
She was prepared to reply – Marinette almost always felt like she had to be on guard around Lila, arguments at the ready – but before she could even open her mouth, Chat stepped between the two of them, as defensive as ever. He didn’t look at Marinette, but at Lila. Even though his back was to her, Marinette could almost imagine the look of pure protectiveness on his face. Because Chat Noir would always protect Ladybug. And she knew he would also always protect Marinette. It was just something she almost grew to expect from him. And she would do the same for him, of course, if she only got the chance.
And then Chat Noir spoke up and his tone of voice was colder than ever before, almost reminding her of that broken timeline. “No, nope. No way. You’re not pinning this on her this time, Lila.” He said, his baton held in his hand tightly, like he was actually ready to fight her on this. Marinette smiled. “You and the fact that you’re willing walking towards akumas. What the hell?”
With a gasp, Marinette moved to stand next to Chat instead of behind him, her eyes not leaving the furious girl before them. “Chameleon! You chose to get akumatized that time, too!” She exclaimed and everyone turned to look at her, horrified. Chat Noir’s toxic-green eyes looked at her with the same fierce gaze he gave Lila, but with softness etched into it. “That akuma wasn’t coming for Lila. It was coming for me! I saw it and freaked out before Tikki helped me. And then it flew away.” She glared at Lila. “You’re helping Shadow Moth!”
The class burst into chaos at that. They all believed her – because she was Ladybug. Not because she was their classmate, Marinette – and started shouting at Lila who backed herself into the corner of the room, her hands trembling by her side. Alya was being held back by Nino, clearly wanting nothing more than to just tear into Lila. Same went for Alix and Kim who had to be stopped before they could actually hurt the girl.
Eventually, Rose went to call for the principal and they all stood there and made sure Lila couldn’t escape. Marinette had to purify two more akumas that flew towards either Lila or her classmates – she couldn’t be sure. Although maybe they were actually there for Chat Noir?
Her eyes drifted over to him every few seconds, worried. He looked like he was mainly trying to focus on Lila, to make sure she couldn’t get out of there and to keep the others from hurting her. She couldn’t read his expression, sadly, so she had no idea what he was thinking about all of this. She knew it was a shock to realize Lila was actually on Shadow Moth’s side. It was such a horrible thing to find out… How could anyone help the villain??
But what if Chat Noir was upset with her? What if he was upset that Marinette was Ladybug? What if he was upset because she knew who he was and didn’t bother to tell him? What if he decided he wanted nothing to do with her after this?
A part of her – the rational part of her brain – knew that it wasn’t true. He still cared. Probably even more now that she was the two girls he cared about more than anything. Plus, he just stepped before her to protect her. She knew what he was like when he was mad at her and it wasn’t that. But it still hurt… it still hurt to think that maybe… maybe he was upset. Maybe he was frustrated or annoyed. Maybe he was disappointed.
Once Principal Damocles got there, heard what they all had to say, freaked out a little bit about Ladybug and Chat Noir being there (luckily, no one told him who they were. And when Lila tried to say something, they all just let him think it was another desperate lie) and took the lying girl out of there with plenty of warnings to not believe anything that came out of her mouth, Marinette turned to face Chat only to find him already looking at her with a grin on his face.
“Shall we, My Lady?” He opened a window for her and she chuckled and shook his head at the little bow he added to it. Alya screeched from her place and whipped out her phone, looking like she was going to go nuts soon.
Marinette shot her a warning glare. “Don’t post it, Alya.” She said and her friend just nodded, motioning for her to head on out while still recording the entire thing. Well, some things never change. Marinette smiled at Chat and then whipped out her yoyo and pulled herself out of the school building and towards her own balcony, Chat Noir close behind.
Obviously, it wasn’t a long trip since the bakery was right next to the school – just across the road. But Marinette still managed to spiral out of control, her mind supplying her with reasons for why Adrien might her after all of this. For why he might take a step back and claim she wasn’t worth it after all. What if she was good as Marinette, a normal girl, but not enough to be Ladybug? What if he thought she wasn’t anything like he’d wanted her to be behind the mask?
So it surprised her when before she could even find her balance on her own balcony, his arms already wrapped themselves around her tightly in a hug that felt so familiar. It was almost as relieved as the one he’d given her after she jumped into Animan’s mouth and came out, letting her partner know that she was still alive. She waved the surprise away the best she could and hugged him back, leaning her head on his shoulder and letting herself bask in the familiarity of the posture.
“You already knew, right?” He asked, not pulling away just yet. Marinette didn’t try to get away from him, either. She was quite happy in his arms. It was a place she knew all too well, at this point. She nodded. “I gave myself away, didn’t I?”
She chuckled and nodded again. “But it was in the sweetest way possible.” She added and he snorted but didn’t argue her point. Maybe because she was obviously right. He’d asked her, as Adrien, to say in a video that Lila was lying – to tell everyone that she wasn’t her friend and that Lila, in fact, hated her guts. He said he was collecting those from different, famous people Lila supposedly knew. Well, now it was probably useless since the class all believed Marinette, already. But it was still the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her. Apart from risking one’s life, of course. Which… he did, as well. “I was going to tell you. I really did.”
Chat finally pulled away. He didn’t look upset or irritated or annoyed or angry. He had his usual goofy smile on his face, like the conversation was amusing rather than enraging. “I know, Bugaboo. I don’t blame you for not saying anything.” He said it almost like it confused him – to think that Marinette was expecting a different reaction. “Really, if anyone should be upset here, it’s you. You nearly got akumatized because of some lies Lila had to spread about me. Which is adorable, but please don’t get akumatized because of me – it’s definitely not worth it.”
“It definitely does.” She insisted. The look he gave her almost broke her heart – like he just couldn’t see how she could possibly be right about this. She put a hand on his arm, squeezing a little. “We’re a team, Kitty. We’re MORE than a team,” She added as an afterthought and his face split into a blinding, satisfied grin. “So if someone says anything bad about you, I’m not going to just sit there and do nothing about it. No way.” She shook her head determinedly.
The look on his face was more intense than ever before. She was used to his heart-eyed look turned her way as both Marinette and Ladybug. He’s always been this way. She wondered what it would look like as Adrien instead of Chat Noir. But right now… it wasn’t like those past looks. It was like the intensity of them combined into one that cut right through to her heart. It was pure love shining at her. If only it could hold akumas back, the city would be safe forever.
“I love you.” He said simply.
Her heart stuttered in her chest. Or… well, it felt like it, but she was pretty sure that if that ever happened to her, she could die. Or at least get to a hospital. Though at that moment even the thought of getting hospitalized didn’t seem too bad. If that was the cause of it, Marinette would live in the hospital to hear more of it. Live in this moment forever. She wanted nothing more than that.
She smiled, somewhat bashfully. “I-I love you, too.” She whispered, a lot less confident. Of course she wasn’t as confident – Chat Noir (Adrien!!!!) was always the one to confess his feelings like it was second nature. She was the blabbering mess that couldn’t get two words out around her crush. But it still made him relax. She had no idea how tense he looked up until his whole body seemed to exhale the air trapped in it. She smirked. “Though maybe my parents should meet Adrien this time, instead of Chat Noir.”
Chat Noir’s grin froze a little. “Oh, my God, I get a second chance at that.” He breathed out, saying it like the words were sacred. “Please pray that my bad luck won’t allow for your father to transform into a scary guard again. I still have nightmares from that fight.” He shuddered, but there was a little bit of humor in his voice, so Marinette was only a little worried about that.
She chuckled and opened the trap door, motioning for him to follow her in. “Sure. This time it’ll be my mom.”
“It’s not even funny, My Lady.” He whined.