Archive of Our Own

"Nothing?"

"Nathalie remembered, like always. But from him? The usual." Adrien sighed as he rummaged through his closet for something to wear. He tugged a pale green shirt into view of his phone, which rested propped up on a shoe box.

Marinette hummed in annoyance, but nodded at his choice before disappearing out of view. There was a sound of paper rustling as Adrien slipped the shirt on.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's how Père's always been since…" Adrien went silent, thumbing the hem of his tee before letting out another sigh and shaking away the negative thoughts. "It doesn't really matter anyway. I'll be seeing you today and that's the best gift I can ask for on my birthday." He picked up his phone and smiled at it as he left his closet, even if he wasn't sure she was looking at hers.

He heard a banging noise from the other end and a faint groan, worrying him somewhat. A second later however, a frantic "I'm okay!" sounded and he relaxed, chuckling and shaking his head as his girlfriend came back into the frame rubbing her head.

"I don't understand how your dad can be like that about your birthday. Papa wouldn't let me out of my room without at least giving me the biggest hug he can. It just sounds… cold," Marinette grumbled.

"Like I said, at least Nathalie puts in the effort to say something. She's probably reminded him and been ordered to gift me the same fountain pen from him like she does every year," Adrien said. He looked from his phone at a knocking on his bedroom door. "Coming!" Darting his gaze back to the call, he smiled. "Better get going. See you in a bit, Marinette."

"Happy birthday, Adrien," she replied, speaking so genuinely and sweetly that he was sure he was showing her the goofiest grin in response. He loved that warm smile she gave, waving at him right before another knock at the door forced him to inevitably end the call.

Quickly, he grabbed his school bag and motioned for Plagg to sneak into the pocket of his shirt, then bolted towards the door, opening it with his lopsided grin still on full display.

Greeting him on the other side was the Gorilla, stone-faced for a moment before cracking the slightest smile and giving Adrien a gentle pat on the shoulder. Having known his bodyguard for a while, Adrien understood that to mean "happy birthday."

And honestly, it was the second best birthday wish he'd gotten today.

Hugging the present closer to herself, Marinette stood at the top of the school's steps, nervous but patient. Next to her, sat on the top step, was Alya, who glanced up from her phone at her BFF, rolled her eyes, and smiled.

"Relax, girl. He said he's on his way, right? What's got you all tensed up?" she asked.

"What if he doesn't like it?" said Marinette, looking out in the distance, shoe beginning to tap a frantic rhythm.

"'Doesn't like it?'" Alya repeated, not understanding for a moment, then connecting the dots a second after. She scoffed and stood, grabbing the other girl's shoulders and turning her so they were face to face. "Marinette, you need to chill out. I saw it. It's fantastic. You could probably give him a pile of wrapping paper and he'd still love it."

"Yeah, but his dad's probably made bet--"

"His dad could never. Not for Adrien. You said it yourself." At Marinette's expression of hesitation, Alya crooked a brow. "A fountain pen?"

Finally, Marinette sighed, letting loose all the tension in her muscles. "You're right… But…"

"'But' nothing. He's going to adore it. Believe in yourself, Marinette," Alya insisted, releasing her friend the moment they both caught a glimpse of Adrien's ride coming to a stop in front of the school.

Once the boy exited the vehicle, he was greeted by Nino, who had been similarly awaiting Adrien's arrival. "Happy birthday, mec."

"Thanks, Nino." Immediately, Adrien's attention shifted to Marinette, waving sheepishly up at her.

For a brief moment, they were both lost simply staring at each other. That is, until Alya nudged Marinette, breaking the trance and urging her silently to go down and 'do the thing.'

Staving off the fear, if only for this, Marinette made her way down the steps, flanked assuredly by her BFF. Now, finally standing in front of him, she felt her heart flutter excitedly.

"Happy birthday, Adrien," she said, holding out the present for him.

He was blindsided, not having noticed it in her hands previously, then awestruck and even uncertain. Then, eagerly, he opened the gift, green eyes glimmering with joy when he saw the scarf. "W-Wow! It's-- You really made this for me?"

"Of course. Do you like it?"

"'Like it?'" He wrapped the scarf around his neck, nearly purring at its softness. "I love it! I love it! I love--!"  Tears welled up in his eyes and he pounced, picking Marinette up and spinning her around in the tightest hug imaginable. "You're amazing, Marinette," he said once he set her back down on her feet.

"Th-Thanks," she murmured, blushing madly.

"Oh, Adri-kins!"

Seeming more like a cat than he did, Marinette jumped out of his hold. She was shoved aside right after, Chloé making her presence quite known by attempting to replace Marinette's previous spot.

"Happy birthday, Adri-kins. Did you get my gift?" questioned Chloé innocently.

"N-No? But did you see what Marinette made me?" He presented one end of the scarf to her eagerly.

Chloé grimaced, shying away from it and giving Marinette a brief, disgusted look. "That's… ugh… nice, but my gift is much better. I'll just have to call those slackers at the delivery place and make sure it arrives to your house quickly. Wouldn't be surprised they were tired, considering how big it is," she bragged.

"Right," Adrien drawled, not quite believing her.

"Anyway," spoke Nino as Chloé retreated up the stairs towards a confused Sabrina, "did your dad say anything about hosting a birthday party?"

Surprised but thankful for the change in topic, Adrien shook his head. "Doubt he'd agree to one either. He didn't even have the decency to say anything to me this morning."

"No way."

His gaze shifted to a disbelieving Alya and he chuckled. "Marinette said the same thing this morning, but it's true."

"Your old man can't be that bad, dude. Let me talk to him after class. I'll convince him, then we can invite everyone in the class, I'll DJ, you and Marinette can get a slow dance moment, then we chill out in your room after. Trust me. It'll be cake," Nino declared, draping his arm over Adrien's shoulders in reassurance.

"Sure, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Miserable man couldn't even cancel a photoshoot for his birthday. Marinette honestly didn't believe it, at first. Then the Gorilla arrived to pick Adrien up  after classes ended and she nearly transformed into Ladybug to go confront Gabriel Agreste at that alone. She was, however, assured by Adrien that he'd be fine.

"Promise?"

"Of course, my lady," he whispered, grinning cheekily at her pout. "I'd feel even better if I got a visit from my favorite bug tonight."

Rolling her eyes but smiling back at him, Marinette tapped his nose. "For the birthday boy, she'll see what she can do." And with that, Marinette watched her boyfriend's ride disappear with him inside it.

"Marinette," hissed Tikki from within the girl's purse, "your room."

"Oh! Right!" Reminded of her mother's warning from this morning, Marinette bolted towards her home. If anything, taking the time to clean up her room meant less time she had to wait to see her partner before patrol.

Then again, maybe Hawkmoth would make himself busy today. That could save Ladybug the trouble of having to wait. But that was asking a lot from an adult that only seemed to care about controlling people rather than helping. If she was being honest with herself, Hawkmoth sounded about as miserable a person as Adrien's father.

Adrien groaned as he faceplanted onto his bed, finding the joy he had previously been experiencing thanks to his girlfriend and friends completely drained out of him in the hour he was at that photoshoot. Not only had Vincent been insistent on using that initial energy for more vibrant poses, but he'd forced Adrien to keep that smile plastered on throughout the whole thing. This left Adrien's face aching and his happiness all but dried out. It also gave him a pounding headache.

"Can't they keep it down out there?" whined Plagg from the corner of Adrien's bed, sat with another chunk of camembert in his lap. "Some of us are trying to enjoy second lunch."

Wait… That wasn't a metaphorical drumming against his skull?

Sitting up, Adrien heard the sound better now. Not just drums, but a whole song. Music. Someone was playing music in his yard. He glared at his windows, showing nothing but his usual view of the Parisian sky and the high walls bordering the manor.

"Ladybug?" he muttered, glancing over to his kwami.

Plagg shrugged. "How should I know? She's your girlfriend."

Well, Adrien shouldn't have been surprised there. What did surprise him was the fact that none of the three adults in this house were doing anything about the music. Surely someone would have--

He stood and ran to the window at the sound of screaming.

Down below, a crowd had formed. The familiar faces of most of his classmates greeted him, along with a few adults that seemed to be acting very… abnormal. Stilted, almost robotic, yet smiling from ear to ear.

Marinette. Marinette was down there. Stood next to a green-hooded figure Adrien didn't recognize. Said mystery person slammed what appeared to be a comically large mallet with the head of a speaker into the grass. As if the volume of the music playing needed to be higher, that action made the bass tremble through the building.

If that didn't scream akuma, then Adrien didn't know what did.

But who? Why? Why here at his home? What were they doing with Marinette?

Adrien didn't know, but quite frankly, he didn't care to find out. "Plagg, claws--"

Before he could finish the phrase, the akuma sprang up towards the window, latching onto the glass and cackling right at Adrien.

The green sleeveless hoodie and glowing neon purple shutter glasses were certainly different, but Adrien could already see where the butterfly had to be. The one visible object blackened by Hawkmoth's influence; the headphones.

Nino's headphones.

"Adrien!"

Oh boy…

"Stand back!"

Intimidated, Adrien did as he was told, the window vibrating faster than the music until suddenly, it shattered.

Without a shred of fear, the akuma stood on the glass shards, presenting himself excitedly to his friend. "Surprise, mec! Come on! I'll take you to the rest of the crew and we can really get this birthday party started!"

"Nino, what happ--"

"Hate to harsh you on your birthday, dude, but I go by Discordance now." The now properly identified akuma extended a hand out towards his friend. "Life of the party, bringer of tunes, and hater of adults."

"Why?"

"Because it's your birthday and you deserve a party just like everyone else. No matter what your old man says," the akuma declared, the last statement coming out in a snarl.

It should've come as no surprise that Adrien's own father had been the catalyst for this, and yet here Adrien was. Surprised.

"Now come on! Can't keep everyone waiting! Your girl's down there too and I'm sure she's itching to get that slow dance with you!" Reoffering his hand, Discordance grinned with an almost wicked anticipation.

Okay. So on one hand, Adrien definitely should do something to stop this akuma because that's what Chat Noir and Ladybug are supposed to do. But on the other hand…

"C-Can I have a moment to freshen up first? I just came back from a photoshoot and all. I'll come down myself," Adrien requested.

Discordance's smile faltered, but then he gave a casual shrug and laughed. "Fashionably late to his own birthday party. I get you, dude." The akuma stepped back towards the broken window, shoes crunching bits of glass. "Don't leave everyone waiting too long though. We're all here for you, birthday boy, you know?" With that, Discordance jumped back out of Adrien's room and into the awaiting crowd below.

Adrien let out a heavy sigh of relief, running a hand through his hair and turning to where his kwami had previously been lounging on Adrien's bed. "Plagg, we--"

"Do we really have to?" questioned Plagg, floating right in front of his holder. He tossed the camembert in his tiny paws up and swallowed it in one hearty gulp seconds after it began to fall back down. "I say you should relax. Enjoy the party with pigtails and all your other friends."

"But Nino's been akumatized! A-And the adults are under some kind of mind control." Not to mention Marinette was also down there, likely trying to escape the crowd and transform.

"This could be the only chance you have. Live a little, have some fun, then you and your girlfriend can take care of the akuma after," the kwami suggested, patting at Adrien's head.

"I don't think Marinette would appreciate me ignoring the problem right in front of both of us."

"Then you'd rather go back to your dad telling you no all the time and never letting you do what you want?"

Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose. He really shouldn't be listening to such a bad influence. He really, really shouldn't. And yet…

Seizing the opportunity, Marinette skirted away from her classmates ever so carefully. She had no clue if the adults the akuma had under his control would alert him to any odd behavior. She saw her own parents amongst them, forced to help with this party for Adrien by baking an impromptu cake.

Initially, when she was in her room, she and Tikki heard music coming from downstairs, which tipped her off only because it wasn't anything like what her parents even liked. Not only that, but it was loud. When she went down to investigate, she hoped maybe it was an unruly customer with a speaker in their bag or something to that effect.

But no. It was an akuma. Specifically Nino. Marinette understood immediately that the boy's attempt to get his friend that party had gone down in failure. And, of course, Hawkmoth was nothing if not an opportunistic hunter, swooping down at the first sign of anger to akumatize an innocent teen.

She wasn't sure which adult was worse between the villain and Adrien's father.

Thankfully, Nino-- or Discordance, as he called himself now-- wasn't antagonistic towards Marinette, allowing her to go back upstairs to grab her purse and fill Tikki in on the situation before returning back to be taken to Adrien's house.

Now here she was, sneaking into Adrien's home to find a place to hide and transform.

It was still weird to remember she was dating the son of her idol in fashion designing, which meant actual, literal wealth and a mansion for a home. A bizarre contrast compared to her home above her parent's bakery.

As she shut the front door behind her, she searched the foyer for any sign of life around, fortunate to find none. She didn't exactly have an idea as to where her boyfriend's room was, but considering the akuma was probably still up there, that wasn't where she needed to be yet.

Right now, Marinette needed some place like a bathroom or closet to disappear into and transform. Tiptoeing towards the stairs, she heard voices, laughter, distinct sounds from the music and crowd out in the yard. As she neared the fork in the stairway, she listened closer, hearing what seemed like an argument from the right path.

When a door opened nearby, she flinched and froze in her tracks. Was that the akuma?

"I knew you'd see reason, kid."

That sounded like… Plagg?

"This is coming back to bite me the moment she finds out."

Oh no. Now she definitely understood.

"Adrien!"

Sure enough, she saw his blond hair appear into view at the top of the stairway for a brief second before hearing him yelp and disappear. Hurrying up the rest of the way, she came to a halt in front of the fallen form of her boyfriend.

"Man, you work quick, pigtails," said Plagg from his resting place on Adrien's head.

"No thanks to you, stinky," Marinette replied dryly while helping Adrien up.

Tikki shot up out of Marinette's purse, glaring daggers at her counterpart. "You were trying to convince him not to stop the akuma, weren't you?" At the cat kwami's lack of response, she tugged at one of his pointed ears. "You're the kwami of Destruction, not laziness. You need to be responsible for your holder's sake, not teaching him to shirk his own responsibilities."

"Aw, calm down, sugarcube," Plagg yowled in protest. "It's just a party, not the end of the world."

"People are in danger, Plagg. As much as Nino might mean well, with Hawkmoth involved, things can only get worse, not better," Marinette said, then glanced at Adrien, who gave a sheepish smile.

"Would you believe me if I said I was arguing the same thing?" he asked.

She did. But she wasn't about to let him think he could decide to do the opposite anyway. With a crook of the brow, she hoped the 'and?' went without saying aloud.

"Okay, okay," he grumbled, slumping his shoulders and pouting. His gaze shifted guiltily to the floor. "But can you blame me for wanting to be just a teensy bit selfish?"

"No," she admitted plainly in return. "I don't." She placed a finger under his chin and made him look back at her. "As much as I wish we could though, you and I both know Hawkmoth wouldn't let the fun last forever. Nino's in danger. And the rest of our classmates too."

"It's not fair."

"I know, but I can make it up to you afterwards."

That made those green eyes shimmer with delight. "You're the best, Marinette."

"I could say the same about you, handsome," she said with a giggle. "Now let's save our friends. Tikki, spots on!"

"Right! Plagg, claws out!"

Discordance had it all planned out. After he gave Adrien the best party ever, he was hunting down Gabriel Agreste and showing that buzzkill the hard side of his mallet. Then give any other adults or authorities that try to stop him what for too.

For now though, this party was enough. Marinette's parents were going to finish up an awesome cake, the class was enjoying the music and refreshments set up already, and Marinette herself was--

Wait. Where was Marinette?

"Hey! Dudette!" he called to Alya nearby from his perch on the massive speaker.

She turned her attention away from her phone, seeming unintimidated by him and his power. "Yeah?"

"Where'd girlfriend go?"

"Marinette?" At his nod, she shrugged. "Probably went to talk to him, I guess? She seemed pretty worried."

Discordance scoffed. "Why? I already told her I wouldn't hurt her or Adrien."

"Because you're an akuma? Being under Hawkmoth's control is already a pretty high bar on the danger scale," she said bluntly.

"I am not under Hawkmoth's control," he growled back, only to receive the painful reminder in the form of a vice-like phantom grip of his skull. His music stopped, replaced with an audio feedback screeching.

"Say that again and I'll put a harsh end to this little playdate of yours. Now get me those Miraculous!"

The pain subsided, as did the shrillness.

"Told you," said Alya cheekily.

The akuma growled, standing and balling his hands into fists.

No way! That wasn't fair! He wasn't being ordered around by some oppressive jerk adult!

But how else would he repay Hawkmoth for giving him these powers?

Repay him? Hawkmoth was the idiot for giving him them!

He could do better without anyone telling him what to do.

Shaking his head wildly, Discordance bared his teeth. "I answer to no one but myself," he declared defiantly.

"You answer to me!"

The party guests, who were already on edge around him, all started to back away from the akuma as the music struggled between playing and a popping static. The adults bordering the festivities made grabs for any of them they could, ensuring they couldn't leave even if they wanted to.

"No!" Discordance pulled the purple shutter glasses off and threw them to the ground, their neon purple glow flickering frantically. He picked up his weapon, bright orange eyes narrowed in a heated red rage towards his supposed 'leader,' and slammed it down once-- twice-- and another for good measure. "I don't! No one tells me what to do! Adults ruin everything for everyone no matter what and I'm sick of it! Now I make the rules! I say adults should listen to kids! Or suffer the consequences."

"Not if we have anything to say about it!"

"Ladybug! Chat Noir!" Alya shouted, her hope echoed in the chorus of cheers that followed.

Discordance grunted in frustration as Ladybug landed in front of him.

"Hope we're not crashing the party too late," Chat Noir joked as he dispatched a few of the adults with the blunt side of his baton, freeing the teens being held captive and motioning for them to hide in the Agreste manor before landing next to his partner.

"Oh, no, dudes," said the akuma with wicked glee. "The party's just begun now that you’re here!" With that, Discordance sprang up, mallet held tight in his hands.

Knowing what was coming, the duo split, heading in opposite directions.

"I don't know what's so special about you two," Discordance said as the song playing from his weapon roared with new life. "But it can't be anything important if that idiot moth wants it." His gaze danced between the two heroes before he decided. "I think I'm good to squash another bug."

Ladybug dodged forward, noticing a second after that she was stepping on shards of what used to be the glasses he was wearing earlier.

That wasn't a good sign at all.

As Discordance's weapon met the ground, the bass erupted through the earth. Cracks traveled and burst to the rhythm, headed right for the heroes.

Chat Noir yanked Ladybug away from an opening chasm, then extended his baton, bringing them both over the high walls of the mansion’s border for temporary cover. "Yeesh. And I though I was good at destroying things," he quipped.

"Really giving you a run for your money, mon chaton." Ladybug hummed in thought.

"You want me to distract him while you pull out a charm and come up with a plan, my Lady?"

"Good idea, but--"

The duo was knocked away as the wall exploded with the sheer force of impact from the akuma's mallet.

"Run all you two want, but you can't hide from me," Discordance said as he propped the weapon up on his shoulders confidently. Behind him, the adults stood ready to attack with him. He pointed a finger at the heroes while the song turned discordant. "Get them!"

In a roar of chaos, the civilians charged, with Ladybug and Chat Noir having no choice but to reluctantly knock them all away as they made grabs for her yo-yo and his baton.

Discordance laughed, confidence boosted by the struggle, as was his amusement.

That is, until something hit the back of his head.

He growled and turned to find the source.

And there Alya stood, another stone in her hand ready to throw. So were a few of the others like Ivan and Kim.

"Hey! What's the deal? I'm trying to give you dudes a wicked party and this is the thanks I get?" shouted the akuma.

"'Wicked' in a different sense, sure, but this isn't a party anymore," Alya declared, steadying her aim.

Discordance readied his mallet for the assault. Then a thought hit him. Tightening his grip on his weapon, he changed the music again with a smirk. "If you want to be like that, then you guys are no better than the adults. And that means I can break you too."

"Ladybug!"

Said hero thought fast at her partner's call. "Lucky Charm!"

From the brilliant pink light came a shield, which fell into Ladybug's hands as quickly as she needed it to. Without hesitation, she launched herself towards the swing of the mallet. The impact of weapon and magical metal sounded like a gong.

Discordance lurched backwards, not having expected the retaliation or its rebound. In frustration and defiance, he attacked again, swinging down with all his might.

Again.

Again.

Again.

"Stop it!"

Nino froze mid-swing, gaze darting about. That sounded like… Adrien? And yet, the birthday boy was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, Chat Noir scampered towards a tired Ladybug, putting himself between them. Green eyes met the akuma's orange. For a brief moment…

No. Impossible.

"You're no better than them."

"What?" Discordance said in a hiss.

"The adults. The ones you claim to hate? You're just as bad as they are. Don't you see that?" Chat Noir said.

The music stopped.

"Th-That's not true!" Discordance denied, shaking his head. He hefted his weapon up again.

"Cataclysm!"

Chat Noir kicked the akuma back, his right hand grazing the mallet enough for his power to turn it to dust between his claws. "You forced your friends here," he reminded Discordance. "You made these adults follow your orders without question. You made yourself an authority that would punish those who didn't agree with you."

"B-But I…" Discordance cowered back when Chat Noir grabbed at the headphones around his neck. "I just wanted my friend to be happy on his birthday," he admitted hopelessly.

"And you made no one happy in the process, despite your best intentions."

"That's not… fair."

"Not everything in life is."

Ladybug grabbed one end of the headphones while her partner gripped the other tight. Together they pulled until they inevitably snapped.

"Catch!"

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

Discordance was finally replaced by Nino, while the damage around them all was repaired by Ladybug's magic.

Cat ears flattening against his head at the sound of the bell on his collar, Chat Noir glared down at the confused boy while Ladybug knelt down to assure him everything was okay again.

It's not fair. Why could it never be fair for him?

Why did Père get to be an overbearing, controlling yet non-existent and neglectful father?

Before his thoughts could turn any kind of destructive, Ladybug freed the butterfly from the bell, a gentle ring sounding, then purified it.

Like flipping a switch, Chat Noir instantly felt better, purring in delight and butting his head against his partner's shoulder.

And as if to ruin the brief moment of respite, Ladybug's earrings and his ring beeped harmoniously.

"We'd better get going," Ladybug said hurriedly, taking Chat Noir's wrist. She waved to Alya and the others. "Hate to crash the party and run, but I'm sure you all can handle it from here. Cat and bug out!" With a toss of her yo-yo towards the highest point of the Agreste manor, both heroes sprung off.

Most everyone left as quickly as the heroes did, but Nino and Alya lingered long enough until Marinette was inevitably kicked out of the manor by Nathalie and a reluctant Gorilla.

"At least you were lucky to get back in," Nino said as they headed to Marinette's place. "I couldn't even get through the gate to apologize to Adrien."

"I'm sure Ladybug and Chat Noir took the time to check up on them before leaving, right, Marinette?" Alya assumed, giving Marinette another perfect alibi that she happily accepted as her story with a nod. "See? They probably gave Adrien the word that you were sorry. Besides, it's not your fault."

"Feels like it is."

"Don't beat yourself up, Nino," Marinette added to the assurances. "Adrien appreciated what you were trying to do, even if you were an akuma."

"Uh… Really?"

"Of course. But next time, he'd prefer a party with less akuma."

The trio laughed together.

Curled up in his bed, head nestled in the softness of his new scarf, Adrien watched his kwami enjoy what was likely the sixth or seventh camembert piece of the day. Mentally, he was exhausted.

His own birthday was spent barely enjoying it and dealing with his father's rudeness towards his best friend's offer to do something nice. Meanwhile, Père had no gift to give or care to even say something directly to Adrien.

What a hypocrite.

There was a tapping on the window, making him jolt up in fright. Not again.

Thankfully, it was only her. Her radiant smile, as beautiful as the Parisian sunset behind her, drew him to let her in.

"Happy birthday, mon chaton," she whispered as she hugged him.

Gods, she was perfect.

"Thanks, my Lady. I couldn't ask for a better way to end today," he said, content to simply stand there, looking into her bluebell eyes and take in every bit of her until he could commit every detail of her face in and out of costume to memory.

"Spots off."

In a small flash of pink, Marinette replaced Ladybug, but his feelings for the girl in his arms didn't change in the slightest. In fact…

"I didn't know you had freckles."

She blinked owlishly, thrown entirely off guard by his comment before turning red to the tips of her ears and burying her head in his chest.

He laughed and stole her away to his couch, setting her down gently. "Don't worry, Marinette. I think they're cute."

She pouted up at him. "Yeah, well… I think you're cute."

"Fair enough."

"A-And handsome and a perfect partner and an amazing boyfriend that I don't deserve in the slightest and…" She sighed. "I wish I could give you a better birthday than this."

His heart fluttered helplessly in his chest. "What you've given me is more than enough, my princess."