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Adrien woke up feeling… funny. His eyelids felt heavier than usual, his body more tense and warmer than usual. At first he had thought the tiredness was from a late-night akuma, but after his morning shower he still felt weird. Natalie had stopped by the dining room to remind him of his schedule for the day as he was served breakfast but Adrien’s vision swam.
“-and remember to thank the crew- oh, Adrien?” She walked up to him and placed her palm on his forehead. She frowned. “A little warm.”
“I’m all right, Natalie.” Adrien offered her a smile.
He saw her hesitate but she looked at her tablet and shook her head. “Are you coughing?”
“No.”
“Sneezing?”
“No.”
“Stomach issues?”
He hesitated for a moment but then said, “Not really, just not hungry.”
She looked at his barely touched plate with a frown. “Take the fruit with you to school. Movement will help awaken your appetite.”
He nodded and she retreated back to his father’s study. Adrien sighed as he placed some berries on a napkin. He stood up from the empty table, grabbing his bag from the floor and headed out his house. The Gorilla was waiting, patiently, as always for him. Adrien greeted with a soft, “Good morning,” at which his driver’s eyes narrowed in concern.
Adrien waved the concerns off as he showed him through the rearview mirror his berries. “Just need some food in me.”
His driver nodded and the rest of the car ride was silent. Soon enough, the car pulled in front of Francoise-Dupont and Adrien’s body felt tense all over again. It dawned on him that he would have to deal with Chloe’s brashness and loudness, Lila’s irritating attitude and the general noise of teenagers. His stomach plummeted at the thought, he bawled his hands onto his white shirt for support and stepped out of the car with a soft, “Thank you, see you later.”
After that, Adrien didn’t recall much of what happened during school. Thankfully there was no akumatized villain that he had to deal with and he wasn’t too sure he could’ve in his state. Even Plagg kept throwing him concerned glances each time Adrien clutched at his stomach as it twisted. He wasn’t able to take notes for his classes and he had softly asked Nino for his, of which his best friend acquiesced. Usually Adrien didn’t contribute much to his classes or conversations with his classmates, but he did enjoy talking with his friends. So, of course, it was Marinette who kept giving him curious looks. Her curiosity finally broke at lunch.
Alya and Nino were too engrossed in discussing which version of Super Penguino was best when Marinette leaned over and whispered. “How are you?”
He appreciated the question and shrugged. “I’m okay, just feeling a little weird.”
She frowned, her blue eyes darkening in concern and he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, quirking her right eyebrow.
“I think you’ve been more forward ever since you presented,” Adrien said and he was stunned to watch as Marinette’s face slowly steamed red. She hadn’t done that in a while and he panicked. “Not that it was a bad thing, like ever! You’ve always been protective over your friends and I like that!”
Marinette shook her head and tapped her cheeks roughly a few times before she looked at him again. “Sorry, I’m trying to learn what it means to be an alpha,” she whispered.
“I think you’re doing great,” Adrien reassured her. “I was just noticing it more, you know? Sorry for making you feel weird.”
Marinette’s eyes glazed over for a second before she snapped them shut and when she opened them again they were their usual bright, bluebell color. She smiled at him. “Thank you, and I hope you feel better soon.”
“I do too, Marinette.”
The rest of the school day was uneventful, but he still hadn’t figured out what was wrong with him, so he told the Gorilla to take him home instead of his scheduled commitment. He was sure he couldn’t go through with any modeling shoot or anything else as he felt sicker by the hour.
Now, he laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to think why his stomach was feeling funnier by the second. He was also confused why his room felt hot all of a sudden. He called out to his kwami, “Plagg, do you feel hot?”
His friend paused his snack time and flew over to Adrien. He sat on Adrien’s chest as he said, “Nope, if it were my camembert would be too runny and that’s no good!”
Adrien frowned. He felt too tired to verbalize his thoughts.
Plagg rolled his eyes. “C’mon, what is it?”
Adrien was silent for a while and after a nudge from Plagg he sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I feel warmer by the second, my head hurts, I guess, but it’s my stomach that’s killing me. It’s like my insides are being… squeezed.”
Plagg floated over to Adrien’s face to meet him at eye-level. “Isn’t that the presentation thingy you humans go through?”
“Presentation, but I-”
Adrien’s throat went dry as he widened his eyes. Oh, he was presenting. And it looked like he might be an… omega. The secondary gender his father had not planned for. Adrien was expected to be an alpha like his father, so he knew all about alpha presentation, ruts, etc. He knew nothing about omega presentations. He was fucked.
He told Plagg as such. “I’m so fucked, he’s going to be so dissappointed.”
Plagg bumped his forehead onto Adrien’s. “Explain.”
He sighed, closing his eyes as the next wave of cramps (of course, that’s what they were) hit him. He groaned and after a moment he finally told Plagg, “I’m an omega.”
“Lovely, now that you’ve figured that out I’ll go back to my cheeeese.”
“No, Plagg, you don’t understand.” Adrien sat up, his kwami finding a seat on Adrien’s cusped hands. Plagg looked at him and Adrien sighed. “I didn’t study for this type of presentation. I don’t know how long it’ll last and I can’t risk not going to school or doing poorly at school because then my father will find out. Then he’ll be disappointed in me again and I- Oh no, I’ve heard about omegas that go into heat after presenting. I don’t have a heat partner and I’ve heard it can be painful, Plagg what do I do?”
Plagg hummed. “First, you are what you are, your Father would suck more if he disliked you for it.”
“Plagg!”
His kwami rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. You know who has gone through a presentation and probably knows about omegas?” Adrien looked at his smirking friend with a confused look. Plagg sighed, he yelled, “Ladybug!”
Adrien’s eyes widened and his heart began to pound in his chest. “Of course!” he exclaimed, but he winced at another set of cramps. He keened as he realized they were more intense than the last ones. He also noticed a scent. It was overwhelmingly lemon scented with vanilla and almond undernotes. “Plagg?”
“Nu-uh, it’s not me, it’s you!”
“Me?” Adrien lifted his arms and sniffed his underarms, he did notice that he smelt different but it was when he raised his hands to his face that he was hit with the new scent. He looked at his wrists and noticed that scent glands had swelled. Oh no.
Plagg was right to suggest going to Ladybug for help - she had presented almost a month ago, Adrien did want help from his partner, from his lady but he didn’t know what her scent was. She had worn scent blockers ever since her presentation noting that it would be risky to know it. Everybody’s scent was different, meaning that Adrien could potentially identify it in civilian form and figure out who Ladybug was. So, if he went to her, she would know his scent and it would mean compromising their secret identities. He couldn’t do that to her.
He racked his brain for other options. Nino? No, his best friend was a beta and his only experience with presentations were alpha ones as Alya was one. It was then that he came to a realization and he grinned. “Plagg, claws out!”
Now, as Chat Noir he made his way out of his house and into the evening streets of Paris. A familiar balcony came into view after sometime, more than usual as he had to pause every so often because of his cramps but he had made it!
As he landed on Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s balcony he realized he had no idea how he would explain to his friend why Adrien was there. He groaned knowing that he should’ve gone through the bakery, but then her parents would detect his change of scent and potentially not allow him to seek their daughter’s help. Parents got protective over their pups' presentations knowing a heat or rut could happen.
He was about to jump over to another rooftop to rethink his plan when he heard movement in Marinette’s room and he panicked. He quickly uttered a soft, “Claws in.” His detransformation was quick and he was thankful as the balcony’s door opened, making way for his friend.
Bright, blue eyes looked at him in confusion. “A-Adrien?”
“Um, hi, Mari, sorry for dropping by but I-” He flushed, unused to asking for help. He was normally offered help by his friends and sometimes he accepted, but asking for it was something new. It was another wave of cramps that had him clutching his abdomen that he continued to say, “I need your help.”
Marinette widened her eyes at his obvious discomfort and nodded hurriedly. “Of course, come in!”
Adrien climbed down into Marinette’s room and immediately he was hit with a potent scent. He whined and tumbled onto the bed in a daze. It was a mistake as the sheets and the pillows were emitting that new and delicious scent. It was mainly blueberry with notes of chocolate and cardamom - Adrien liked it. He buried his head further into the softness of the pillows, noticing how his cramps seemed to settle and he let out a shaky breath.
“Yo-you’re presenting,” Marinette whispered. Her eyes were wide as she observed him shamelessly nuzzle her pillows.
He flushed red and shakily sat up. “Sorry, I- I needed help.”
She blushed as well but she shook her head and looked at him more firmly. “Adrien, I do want to help, but first, why aren’t you getting help from home.”
He looked away, he ran his right hand through his hair and shrugged. “I didn’t ask for help, I can’t.” Marinette’s scent shifted into something more sour and he flinched. “Sorry.”
“Oh, no! Don’t apologize, wait.” He heard her take some deep breaths and her scent reverted back to sweet blueberry. “I’m not mad at you, just upset for you.”
He looked back at her and saw her looking at her hands. He reached over and gently placed his own hand over hers. She looked up at him, smiled and asked, “What’s that for?”
He grinned. “For feeling upset for me, I know how much you care.”
She flushed red again but her smile didn’t falter. “Of course, I care. I- I’m your friend.”
Adrien hummed, wondering why his stomach churned weirdly at “friend”. He removed his hands from hers and hugged himself as he explained, “I wasn’t supposed to be an omega, so I don’t know how my presentation is supposed to go. I don’t know anybody else or feel comfortable with anybody else to help me with this.”
Marinette surprised him by taking his right hand and gently tugging him down her stairs. She let go as he reached the bottom and his hand felt cold. She rummaged through her closet until she found what she was looking for. She handed some sweatpants, a T-shirt and a hoodie to him.
“Here, the first step is comfort, so your jeans and button up need to go. My grandmother bought these a few sizes too big, so don’t worry about them not fitting.”
He nodded. It did make sense to wear comfortable clothing during a time like this. He took his button up shirt off and began to lift his black T-shirt off when Marinette squeaked out, “Ad-Adrien, wait!”
He flushed when he realized he was about to undress in front of his friend. “I wasn’t thinking, I-”
“It’s okay, just let me go down to the kitchen for some water and snacks while you change, yeah?” She grinned as he nodded and headed down the stairs.
He could faintly hear her parents talk to her and focused on removing his shoes then changing quickly. The clothes didn’t smell much like Marinette at which he frowned but reminded himself that they could probably cuddle on her chaise or even her bed! He felt giddy and thrummed in excited nervousness.
“Woah there, what’s that grin for?” Plagg floated up to Adrien with a smirk.
Adrien rolled his eyes and playfully swatted his kwami away. “Shut up, Plagg. You said get help, so here I am - getting help.”
“Right, from your “just friend” Marinette,” Plagg teased.
“Yes, my very good friend. Her scent is nice and I… I feel safe here.” Adrien pet Plagg, his friend leaning into the touch for a second before he flew away a few inches.
He huffed. “All right, good for you. But where’s my cheese?”
Adrien rolled his eyes. “You’re on top of a bakery, Plagg, take your pick.”
Plagg narrowed his eyes but nodded. “Fine, a change of pace will only allow me to appreciate my camembert even more!”
Then there was a knock from the wooden trapdoor and Plagg hid by Adrien’s clothes that he had folded. Adrien answered with, “Come in, Mari.”
His friend came up with a plate of snacks in one hand and a teapot in the other. He widened his eyes and helped her with the teapot as he remembered how clumsy she could be. She thanked him with a shy smile. “I didn’t want to make more than one trip in case you needed me, I mean, my help!”
He smiled at her. “Thanks Mari, I already feel a lot better that you’re back.”
She nodded and she got a serious look in her eyes again. “I do know how to help you. My mom is an omega and a lot of people, including me, thought I was going to be one, so it was a surprise when I wasn’t cramping but my teeth hurt like hell.”
Adrien had noticed how Marinette had suffered toothaches, when she fully presented, her canines were more pronounced for a week leaving her with a lisp of which he found adorable. He looked at her mouth now and noticed how they were less pronounced. For some reason, he felt saddened at that.
He wasn’t sure what look he had on, but Marinette did notice him looking at them. She reassured him, “Every omega is different, so the needs are different. Some just need a friend, some need scenting, cuddling, etc. Don’t worry about my canines, all right? They don’t enlarge unless I want them to. It’s also not likely for you to go into heat, but if you do I won’t be able to help you.”
“Why?” Adrien was startled by his own question, but it was a genuine one he had. He knew Marinette would not hurt him.
Marinette’s face was as red as Ladybug’s suit and Adrien worried he broke her until she answered his question, “Because it’ll be your first heat, meaning your father should be informed. You won’t be able to consent-”
“I consent now,” Adrien blurted out. He felt shameless for saying that, but it was true. It might be her scent that calmed the heat coursing through his body and soothed his cramps, but he trusted her even in his most vulnerable.
Marinette gaped at him before she sucked in a deep breath. “Adrien, I’m sorry but I don’t know if I can do that, I-”
“Oh.”
Even Adrien noticed how his scent shifted to smell more like rotten lemon.
Marinette tried to explain, “It’s not you, Adrien, I just… I’m in love with someone.”
Oh, he knew this or rather, Chat Noir knew this. Buttercup, what a stupid name for a stupid boy. How come he couldn’t tell that his everyday Ladybug was in love with him? She was so kind as to accept Adrien’s forwardness. She was being a good alpha, helping those in her pack. Adrien made the right choice in coming here and he would take whatever she could give. He didn’t want to go into heat, but if for some reason he did, he had wanted to spend it with an alpha like Marinette.
He sighed. “It’s all right, Mari. I also don’t want that to happen, but I just wanted to let you know that I trust you.”
She smiled at him, her body more relaxed. “So, what do you want to do now?”
He looked up at her bed. “Could we cuddle, please. I really like your scent.”
She nodded. “Come on.”
They climbed onto her bed, Marinette laid down first and Adrien laid down next to her. Face to face, kwami, they were close. She grinned at him. “For the record, I like your scent too.”
Adrien blushed. “Can I get closer?”
She bit her lip but nodded. He hadn’t specified what he wanted to do, but she just accepted his wishes and it made his heart swell. He got closer to her to lay his head on her chest, he wrapped his arms around her middle. He heard her breath hitch and he worried it was too much, but Marinette rested her chin on his head so he relaxed further into her. She tentatively began to entangle their legs together and he allowed her. He sighed when they were finally entwined and he could feel her warmth seep into his body. It wasn’t unpleasant like the internal heat he had been feeling all day but rather it felt more refreshing.
He wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way - quiet but comfortable in the silence they shared. At some point, he noticed that the evening gave way to the darkness of the night and he wondered if Natalie or his father noticed his absence. They rarely did as he usually had dinner alone, but he had flaked on his commitments for the day, so that was bound to raise some concern. He then remembered that in his rush for help he had forgotten his phone. He figured that it was a sign to just enjoy the warmth of his… friend.
Their comfortable existence was interrupted by a sudden loud boom. They both sat up and listened as another boom followed the previous one. From Marinette’s window they could see as colored lights followed the sound. Adrien groaned at the thought of having to fight an akumatized villain knowing that he had to get scent blockers before meeting up with Ladybug. He couldn’t take some from Marinette, hers were for alphas not omegas. At another boom Marinetter detangled herself from him and sat up. She looked nervous.
“Don’t worry, Ladybug will take care of it,” he said. He missed her warmth already but said nothing, not wanting to be seen as needy. Though, his cramps came back stronger making him whine and groan.
Marinette clutched his hands and ran her own wrist scent glands over his own. “Or Chat Noir.”
Adrien’s head was fuzzy from her scenting his glands, the combination of their scents washed over him. It was better than any blanket he ever owned. “Right, so let’s keep cuddling.”
Marinette giggled. “We will, I just… need to check on something downstairs! Not something! Someone! Some people, my parents!”
Adrien blinked at her.
She bit her lip. “My parents get weird about akumas, so I want to make sure they’re ok.”
She was so nice, her whole family was nice. He knew she wanted to be a good daughter, unlike him, but he kind of needed her. She noticed his silence and said, “What if I scent your neck with mine? Neck glands are the most potent and it can last long while I check on my parents.”
Adrien flushed, his hands fisting the material of his borrowed sweatpants. Neck scenting was so… intimate, but of course, he didn’t mind, it was Marinette after all. He nodded. “I would like that.”
Such a good alpha, went unsaid because Adrien wasn’t sure if she would like to be referred to that way. A question for another time.
With determination in her eyes, something he was familiar with witnessing, she leaned into his space. First, he craned his neck to the left, his right scent gland exposed and at her mercy. She craned her own neck and the scenting began. She was right, it was so much more intense than the cuddling, more intense than the wrist gland scenting. He was heady with her scent and he briefly wondered if her canines were pronounced, if they were, if she would sink them into his neck, claiming him and rendering him her omega.
He shuddered and she asked, “Are you all right?”
Breathlessly, he answered, “Yes, the other side now, please.”
He craned his neck to the right ready for her scenting and she quickly complied with his wants. She was careful, she grazed softly and purposefully, leaving no room for unexpected reactions. He wondered if other omegas had asked for her help before, but the thought quickly vanished as their scent glands met and Adrien practically melted. Marinette gently helped him lay back down on her bed and covered him in a blanket that seeped with her scent.
“I’ve got to go now, but I’ll be back,” he heard her whisper.
His eyes were getting difficult to keep open so he just kept them closed, too enraptured with her scent and how it melded so well with his. His cramps long forgotten about, but he still wanted her to stay. He whined as such but was met with a gentle shush, “Patience, Adrien.” Then there was a quick kiss to his forehead and Adrien was gone.
The next thing he knew was that he had fallen asleep and he was alone. Alone but still in Marinette’s bed, in Marinnete’s room but she was nowhere to be found. He frowned and wondered for how long he was out. Then he heard some bumps and thuds on the balcony. He feigned sleep just to focus his hearing. Has the akumatized villain not been defeated yet? Who or what could be on his alp- Marinette’s balcony? And at this hour?
He clutched onto the blanket as the door to the balcony opened and he heard a familiar voice say, “Oh, I forgot.”
Then there was some shuffling as Marinette climbed onto the bed careful to not disturb Adrien and he heard her climb down the bed. How did she get up there without going over him? Why was she scentless? Adrien admitted that he was surrounded by her scent, but the room smelled less like her when she left like earlier when she got him some tea and snacks. So it was weird for her to be scentless, unless she had put some scent blockers on, which was still strange because there wasn’t a reason for that.
He opened his eyes but remained still. They quickly adjusted to the darkness and he watched as Marinette stood in front of her vanity and removed her scent blockers. Mhm, so he was right about that. He took in her scent as it filled her room more completely and began to relax when he heard a small voice. It was one he recognized despite only having heard it a few times. It was Tikki, Ladybug’s kwami.
And to his surprise, he was right. The small, red kwami was whispering to Marinette and gesturing to the scent blockers. He blinked several times, but oh no, he wasn’t imagining things. He looked at Marinette for her reaction. Maybe this is the first time they’re meeting, but Adrien was quickly proven wrong as Marinette pulled out a macaron and fed it to Tikki then scratched beneath her chin.
Oh. Marinette was Ladybug. He was in love with her, both sides and the sleepiness was wearing off, allowing him to yearn for his alpha’s scent. He sat up, noticing how Tikki quickly hid and Marinette stilled.
She turned around and looked at him with a stained smile. “Hi! Ladybug took care of the akuma and my parents are alright, I just got here, hope you slept well, I-”
“You’re Ladybug.” Adrien mentally cringed as soon as the words left his mouth. It wasn’t how he wanted to approach the situation, but his mouth and brain were still finding their footing after his nap.
He saw how Marinette’s face whitened and she began to tremble, her scent souring. That would not do. Adrien climbed down the bed and walked to Marinette. He took her hand and rubbed his scent glands over hers. “I- it’s okay.”
She seemed to settle somewhat, but there was still panic in her eyes. “You can’t tell anyone, Adrien, it’s not safe to know, Monarch could-”
“Monarch has hurt us plenty already, M’lady,” he said and her breath hitched.
She stared at him in disbelief, he felt her pulse race. Adrien couldn’t have that. He called out to his kwami, “Plagg.”
There was a sigh from the bed and from under the covers, Plagg emerged. “This was not the way I thought the reveal was going to happen, sugarcube.”
There was another sigh and Tikki came out from her hiding place with a shake of her head. “Tell me about it.”
Marinette made a noise and waved her hands around. “Agh! Tikki?”
“Yes, Marinette.”
“Agh, Plagg?”
“Nice seeing you again, pigtails.”
Then she turned to look at Adrien. “Petit minou?”
He grinned at her. “The one and only.”
She broke out into a huge grin. Adrien was happy she was happy with who he was underneath the mask. Though he didn’t expect her to engulf him in a hug, he wasn’t complaining.
He chuckled, glad to be able to touch her but then he remembered about the existence of Buttercup. “Careful, m'lady, someone might think you like me more than your Buttercup.” Marinette stilled in his arms and his smile dropped. He had said the wrong thing, fuck. “I was only joking, I-”
Marinette removed her head from his chest to look up at him. Her face was red. She sucked in a breath before saying, “Adrien, you’re Buttercup.”
He blinked at her, then tilted his head hoping that could get some of his blood in his head flowing. “I’m Buttercup, the boy you’re… in love… with?”
She sighed, eyes downcast. “Yes, and I know you don’t love me anymore as Ladybug and not as well, me, Marinette, so-”
“I never stopped.”
“What?”
“Loving you, I never stopped,” he told her. He raised a hand to touch her face. “I don’t think I could ever… stop.”
She hugged him tighter and he relished in her grip. “Really? You love me?”
He nodded fervently. “Ladybug and Marinette, I fell in love with both.”
It was true, he had fallen for his superhero partner but Marinette had always been a constant force of good, of support and she reminded him so much of well… her superhero self, of course he would fall in love with his friend too. He couldn’t pinpoint the moment she went from “just a friend” to “I’m in love with her” but it didn’t matter. He wanted her and he hoped she wanted him just as much.
She was silent for a moment but he knew she was just gathering her words, she wasn’t running away or deflecting. She raised herself on her tiptoes and craned her neck to scent him. He keened and he wanted to buckle at how sweet her scent was, especially now that he could be his alpha. She moved her hands from around his torso to cup his face and said, “I love you too, Adrien, my kitty.”
Adrien grinned and touched his forehead against hers. “Mhm, my alpha.”
“Yes, yours and my omega,” she whispered.
Her eyes shone with so much happiness. Adrien hoped that she could see the same in his. He glanced down at her lips and when he looked back up, he noticed he had been caught. An apology was caught in his throat as she leaned up toward him. Adrien closed his eyes and met her halfway. Their lips moved softly and tentatively against the other for the first few moments then they both gained some confidence. Their presses became more sure and hotter as their lips slid hungrily against the other.
Marinette pulled back and Adrien whined. He tried chasing her lips for more but she placed a hand over his mouth. He frowned and was about to ask if he did something wrong, but she beat him to it.
“Adrien, sweetheart, you’re in heat.”
Adrien leaned back, his lips detaching from the palm of her hand, with a confused look. “Wh-what?”
It was then that he noticed the spike in his scent, the notes all appearing, note just the lemon. Then he realized he was heating up, not just internally but on the outside as well. And the cramps were building back up in intensity. But the worst of all was the wetness he felt in between his legs. He flushed bright red, an apology at the tip of his tongue when Marinette beat him to it, again.
“If you were serious before about me helping you through your heat, I can do it.’
She was shaking a little, but her gaze was determined. Adrien also noticed how her canines had enlarged and he shuddered at what they could do to him. His father would be upset, they would most likely miss school, their friends will have so many questions. But everything was worth it to be with her, to be hers.
“I’m sure, I want you to claim me.”
Marinette grinned, a beautiful red painting her face and neck. “That can be arranged.”