Archive of Our Own

Bzzz.

Bzzzz.

Bzzzzz.

Groggily, Marc reaches for his phone on his nightstand to savor the last few moments of sleep. He knocks over a hopefully closed water bottle and feels through a small pile of crumpled paper until he finally feels his phone. Giving his arm a slow stretch to get out the stiffness, he holds his phone over his face, wincing from the bright glare shining through his eyelids.

He exhales and opens one eye, then gets it over with and opens the second. Marc groans and rubs away the last bit of sleep to unblur his vision... He instantly regrets waking up. Who even came up with these names? And why the hell is he Sleeping Beauty?

Operation Fairytale

Princess Charming: Hey Nath, Marc! Just checking in!

Princess Charming: I know it's early, but how's the storybook coming along?

Merida:You mean “instruction manual on how to make Adrien your boyfriend but it uses whimsical designs”?

Cinderella: 🤣

Tiana: Hey, none of that this early

Tiana: Nath, Marc, no pressure, buuuuut...

Tiana: How's it coming along?

Little Mermaid: Here's an idea. Why do you switch from an anime style to pre-Renaissance Gothic and art nouveau and see how easy it is?

Merida: 🤣

Tiana: Okay, someone didn't have coffee

Little Mermaid: Yeah, and I'm juggling Marinette's fairytale instruction manual, my commissions, homework, and the comic

Princess Charming: Thank you again for doing this, Nate!

Princess Charming: I don't think I say that enough; you and Marc have been an amazing help with this

Sleeping Beauty:Yeah, it's so wonderful to put in all this hard work, only to watch you backout at the last second when Adrien so much as smiles at you

Sleeping Beauty:/j

Merida: Okay, not gonna poke the bear today

Cinderella: Same

Belle: She'll get there!

Beast: Eventually

Belle: Have faith, Juleka💕

Snow White: Marc, are you okay?

Sleeping Beauty: Yeah, just tired. You know, with this, school work and the comic Nath and I were so focused on before we got dragged into this shipping stuff

Sleeping Beauty: It's fine. Totally fine

Little Mermaid: I LOVE devoting all my time to drawing romance scenarios and going through half my sketchbook trying to figure out Adrien's exact hairstyle

Little Mermaid: /hj

Cinderella: I feel like you're trying to tell us something...

Cinderella: Any idea what, MARINETTE ?

Tiana: And she's offline

Tiana: I'll see you guys at school

Beast: Make sure you two take a break

Belle: Bye!

Marc lies back in bed with a long-suffering groan. It's not that he doesn't like helping Marinette... Scratch that- he HATES it. It's nothing but "Adrinette this," and "Adrinette that," and "Marc and Nathaniel are the experts on romance, and we need them for everything since our plans failed because Marinette is a disaster and if she can't even blink in Adrien's direction, it's obvious she has no chance at ever being his girlfriend! " 

Okay, that last part isn't probably what they're thinking, except maybe Zoé and Alix. They're about as done with these plans as he and Nathaniel are. Alix is only involved because she's part of the Girl Squad, and as she said to him before, "I'm only in on these crazy schemes to make sure they don't do anything illegal... Again." He doesn't know how Zoé got roped into these plans, but she hates them, too.

"One minute, I'm implying to Marinette that I like her THAT way and pouring my heart out to her about how I was bullied at school, the next, I'm helping her sneak into the Agreste mansion in drag. I don't know how things work in France, but she'd be caught and blasted all over the news in America , turned into a meme, and become the next Jodie Arias."

On any other occasion, Marc would feel bad for her, but- and this is not to be mean- he thinks Zoé dodged a bullet there. As time went on, he and Nathaniel started noticing how... Off these plans were.

The whole sneaking into the mansion plot should have been a giveaway for how far Marinette was willing to go, but that was the first time they had seen the lengths she would go to.

During the incident where he got akumatized into Reverser and she was floundering around Adrien, at the time, he thought, 'Oh, she's just anxious around her crush; that's cute.'

Later, he recalled the Fill My Shoes segment at the bakery and the many photos of Adrien on her wall compared to those of her friends.

'Okay, not so cute.'

After that, Marc decided to keep his distance from any Adrinette-related activities. Then the universe threw a curve ball in the form of Alya asking—practically begging him and Nathaniel—to help with an Adrinette plan. And like any fifteen-year-old, they accepted the cash payment because they needed money.

He and Nathaniel talked about it the day after. Well, it was more like he dragged Nathaniel into an empty classroom. After telling him for the fifth time, "No, this is not a private make-out session," Nathaniel heard him out about his concerns and expressed his own. Alix told him about Operation: Secret Garden- this insane plan involving an illegal fake parking sign that would have gotten Adrien's bodyguard in trouble with the law if any nearby officer were stupid enough to think it was a real sign.

... And Roger did think it was a real sign.

So they told themselves, "It's only this one time, and then we're done."

But they just kept coming! Plan after fucking plan. They haven't had a moment to themselves in weeks because everything is about Adrinette. They knew they couldn't back out when they got added to the group chat.

Every day, they're churning out new schemes to get Adrien and Marinette alone together, to make it so no girl will go near Adrien, to help Marinette sneak into the mansion, to make it so they end up as partners for every group project, to help Marinette sneak into private events Adrien is attending and so many more that if the police were to do a random inspection, Marc and Nathaniel would likely end up in jail for a "conspiracy to stalk and intimidate" charge if those even exist.

That's not even the worst part if he's being honest.

The problem is that they're cutting into his studying time. Homework- he can easily knock half of that out during study hall, but barely has room to study. Last week, he got a 13.99 on a quiz he should have aced! But nooo, Marinette needed a comic about how she foils Gabriel's plot to send Adrien back to homeschool as an emergency instruction manual on what to do if that ever happens. She wouldn’t shut up about it, and he'd be the bad guy if he told her, "It'll be done when it's done!" because that girl cannot handle the truth.

Nathaniel's not doing too well; he can tell from his more personal drawings. They lack the same passion they usually have, almost as if drawing nothing but Adrinette for the past couple of weeks has made him lose his touch. The poses are uninspired, the faces aren't as expressive, and he's only drawn pigtails on the female characters.

... They're so fucked.

Yawning, Marc braces himself as he doesn't want to get up from bed, face the world, and go through with yet another Adrinette plan... But he has to go to school and not leave Nathaniel to deal with them alone.

The need for sleep weighs him down, but he gets up. "Fuck."

"I'm telling mom you said a bad word."

He whips his head toward the door, where Kiran leans against the frame, smugly sipping a juice box.

Marc's weary expression shifts into a smirk. "Then I'll drop you off at school and tell all your friends that you wore pull-ups until you were four."

The younger holds up his hands in mock surrender. "You win. And the joke's on you; I wore them until I was two, you beanpole." He moves out of the way before Marc throws a pillow at him. "Missed me!" he hollers, running down the hall. And for a moment, Marc's bad mood diminishes.

Bzzz.

Scratch that.

But to his relief, it's only Zoé texting him.

Punk WLW & MLM (Plus Aro & Emo) Solidarity

Joan-Jetts-is-My-Bae: You good?

Ziggy-Stardust-is-my-Stylist: Did my obvious sarcasm give it away?

Tony-Hawks-Protects-Gays: Oh, THAT was sarcasm? The tone indicator threw me off

Tony-Hawks-Protects-Gays: But srsly

Ziggy-Stardust-is-my-Stylist: A full eight hours of sleep would be wonderful, but noooo

Ziggy-Stardust-is-my-Stylist: Adrinette needs to happen NOW

Joan-Jetts-is-My-Bae: The more I'm in this chat, the more I'm relieved I didn't go further with my crush on her

Tony-Hawks-Protects-Gays: Yeah, she was gonna full-on make a yandere shrine to you

Whitney-Houston-is-my-Queen: Remind me what I saw in her

Joan-Jetts-is-My-Bae: She's cute. Not my type, but still

Whitney-Houston-is-my-Queen: That's it? Am I shallow?

Ziggy-Stardust-is-my-Stylist: Nath, you are deeper than the ocean

Whitney-Houston-is-my-Queen: That's all I wanted to hear 💕

Ziggy-Stardust-is-my-Stylist: 💕

Tony-Hawks-Protects-Gays: Gross. I'm going to school

Tony-Hawks-Protects-Gays: You two, get some sleep during study hall, or something. I'll give you my notes

Joan-Jetts-is-My-Bae: We'll handle them

Marc cuts his phone off before anyone else can text him, dragging his feet out of his room. It's gonna be a long day, he knows it. He has to make it a whole day without falling asleep.

He can do that.

"Marc?... MARC!"

"Huh?!" Marc jolts upright from his desk, accidentally hitting the top of his head against Lacey's chin, which makes her release a pained hiss. He blinks a couple of times until the reality of the situation hits him. "Oh God! Lacey, I’m so sorry."

Lacey rubs her chin and replies, "It's okay; I can take a hit. I should have seen that coming, anyway. Are you alright? You just fell asleep while writing—like, knocked out immediately. There's drool on the pages and everything." She points to a small wet spot on the corner of a page, causing Marc's face to flush with embarrassment.

"We briefly entertained the idea of letting you sleep for a few extra minutes," Ismael remarks from his desk, a playful smirk creeping across his face. "But then we saw the drool, and no one wanted to see all that."

Marc sighs long, exasperated, his shoulders slumping with fatigue. He knows Ismael was joking, yet today, he feels too worn out to engage in the playful banter. "It’s so reassuring to know how much you care about me, Ismael," he retorts, his tone sharp. The weight of his tone makes him realize how harsh it sounded, especially when he notices Ismael's eyes widen in surprise.

Before he can apologize, Jean quips, “Ouch, someone's definitely in a mood this morning." His voice has a teasing yet genuine tone in his attempt to ease the tension. "C'mon, tell your favorite person who pissed in your cereal."

The noirette slumps forward, resting his chin on the table as he rubs his temples. "I was staying up late writing- I know that's no reason for snapping," he quickly adds, shooting Ismael an apologetic look. "But I'm just behind on a couple of things"

"You mean those highly disturbing, detailed, and very illegal Adrinette plans Marinette and her friends have dragged you, Nathaniel, Zoé, and on occasion, Luka and Kagami into?" Simon says without looking up from their tablet as they edit the soundtrack for a video. "Marc, no offense, but you're an accomplice to a girl who needs five years' worth of therapy."

Marc rolls his eyes. "What part of that was supposed to offend me?"

Simon instead turns to Reshma. "Remember how weird she got after Kim's prank last year?"

"How could I not? She started taking candid pictures of guys she thought were cute and said they were for 'research,' " she says, using finger quotes, "when I asked."

Lacey nods. "I think Lamont- my old fencing teammate- mentioned seeing her staring at him. Like, no context, just staring between classes, during lunch, and at the lockers."

Denise shakes their head. "Yeah, that girl ain't right."

She adds, "It's why he transferred. I miss seeing him, but even guys need to feel safe."

"You know her friends tried to recruit me for their Adrinette b.s. a couple of weeks ago?" Cosette gags. "Ambushing me and asking to do her makeup in new creative ways to get Adrien's attention. I'm all for helping build self-confidence, but like hell I'm wasting my products on that girl every day just for a guy who's probably not even that into her. If she wanted to stand out more as a designer- you know, have a look, sure, I'd do that. But you know how Marinette gets when she's told no."

Zoé snickers. "You mean she love-bombs the shit out of you with pastries, clothes, and tickets to Jagged Stone's next concert until she begs you in front of people as a last resort? She did something similar to me when I first got here. I bumped into her and said it was my fault. The next thing I knew, I'd got several boxes of pastries and an invite to see Kitty Section perform."

"You lucky bitch," Cosette teases and elbows the blonde in the arm. "She made me this top. I'll admit it was cute, but I lied and said it wasn't my size because I'm not going to be in anyone's debt, especially if it'll get me arrested. Did you hear what they did with a No Parking sign?"

"Hey, do you know how tense I got when she defended me from Chloé when I got akumatized again?" Aurore rubs her temples. "I was expecting her to take me to the bakery for some pastries to make me feel better, but then the next thing I knew, I owed her later."

As his friends discuss Marinette's less-than-flattering qualities, Marc again wonders if he can escape this before losing his sanity. He's tired, has gone through one journal in just two weeks, and is falling behind on quizzes.

He doesn't even realize he's beginning to drift to sleep until he hears the click of Mme. Mendeleieve's heels. "Good morning, everyone. I hope you had a good weekend..."

'Yeah, only a good weekend for me involves writing the outline for a story in which Marinette is a knight who saves Adrien from his evil father, and they ride off into the sunset and plan a future with three kids and a hamster.' Marc pinches his wrist to wake himself up, but to no avail.

"... be sure to turn in your homework after the lecture."

When it feels as if a two-gallon bucket of ice water gets poured on him, THAT's when he wakes up.

Nathaniel has never experienced such a frantic rush in his life. When the bell rang, he hastily shoved his books into his bag. He knew all too well that the Girl Squad would be eager to corner him about the latest comic—no, storybook —between classes. He felt an immense wave of relief that Alix was there to divert their attention.

As he sprints down the staircase, he maneuvers through the crowded courtyard. His mind is preoccupied with searching for Marinette, and as he looks over his shoulder, in his distraction, he fails to notice that he is about to collide with another student until it is too late.

"Shit," he mutters under his breath, instinctively wincing. "I'm sorry- Oh, hey, Rainbow," he says when he realizes he bumped into Marc. "Hey, I gotta- a-are you okay?" His brow furrows as he assesses Marc's demeanor. The tiredness in his eyes does little to make the scowl across his face less effective. If anything, his noticeable bags only make him look madder.

"Not. Now." Without another word, he keeps walking.

Part of Nathaniel wants to follow him and make sure he doesn't get Akumatized- attendance be damned- but Lacey seems to be reading his mind and gives him an assuring nod as she stops by him. "I'll keep an eye on him, alright? And, Nath? Take care of yourself, too, please." With a pat on the shoulder, she runs after Marc while Nathaniel reluctantly turns and heads to class.

Heading to his usual desk, Nathaniel blinks when he sees he's the first person there. Usually, he's the tenth person to arrive, oftentimes dreading coming to Mme. Mendelieve's class, but with the Girl Squad and these plans, he's gonna take whatever escape he can get—even Mme. Mendelieve looks surprised but says nothing, though her brief look of concern doesn't go unnoticed.

'Does she know what happened to Marc?'

As the other students file in, Mme. Mendelieve starts to pass out their graded homework. "Class, be sure to take plenty of notes today. I don't need to remind you of your upcoming test." She walks by Nathaniel's desk as he's taking out his notebook, and the redhead, sucking in a quick breath, looks at his grade and sighs in relief. 15.99. But when he flips the page over to see what questions he missed, his brow furrows when he sees the sticky note stuck to the back.

See me after class.

That's it. No explanation.

He's been doing better in her class, raising his grades and only drawing to take notes, so what does she want to see him about?

He thinks back to Marc and wonders if this has something to do with his mood. She'd likely want to talk to him before she calls his parents, assuming something is happening at home.

'Did he fall asleep in class?' Nathaniel wonders to himself. He knows Marc has been tired lately, and he has, too, but not to Marc's extent, he notices. Having to come up with all these different storylines, working in romantic tropes without them being too cliche, and... Characterizing Marinette and Adrien's disturbingly specific three kids has kept him up.

Nathaniel can knock out several sketches at a time and get away with not coloring them if he highlights them with colored markers, but Marc is running on fumes, affecting his work. Last week, while reading some of Marc's fanfiction on AO3, he quickly texted him while reading a new story to let him know he had written the f/m characters' names as Marinette and Adrien.

That should've been when he told Marc they needed to quit the Adrinette plans, but nooo, because he can't say "No" to Marinette without feeling like a jerk.

How the hell does she do it- make people feel guilty for not supporting her crush on Adrien? Maybe it's the whole catastrophizing thing she does, where she always thinks about the worst possible outcome if Adrien chooses another girl over her, which won't happen because she keeps scaring them off. Now that he thinks about it, she did the same thing to him and Marc at some point when they told her one of the comics- no, instruction manuals would be a little late.

There is no way out of this without Marinette unintentionally—or maybe intentionally—making them feel guilty—No! No, she can't be doing this on purpose, right?

He never thought he'd be thinking about Marinette that way. When they first met in Cours Élémentaire 2, she seemed like a typical nice girl. She made hair bows and wallets out of duct tape, helped the other kids draw clothes, and even split her lunch with him when he forgot his.

Now, a couple of years later, she has a shrine to Adrien in her closet and has her friends working 24/7 to help make her dream life a reality by any means necessary.

Yeah, he needs to burn some drafts. Since he changed his style for those, the police shouldn't be able to trace them back to him, so it'll be fine... Maybe. Zoé will definitely help cover for him and make any evidence disappear with their money.

Nathaniel jolts when the bell rings.

Did he spend all that time zoning out? He looks down at his notebook and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees a couple of notes, so that he won't be unprepared for the test. But when he packs up his belongings, he considers the sticky note in his notebook and remembers Mme. Mendeleieve still needs to see him after class.

Giving Alix a quick nod as she leaves the room, he gathers his bag and walks over to the purple-haired teacher's desk.

"Don't worry; you're not in trouble, Nathaniel," she says, her tone lighter than usual.

He rubs the back of his neck. "I figured. Is this about Marc?" Her eyes widened momentarily as if she wasn't expecting that question. "I noticed he seemed a little off after your class. Did something happen?"

"Yes, and while I would normally call his mothers for something like this, I figured you might know what's happening with him. Nathaniel, is Marc getting enough sleep? He's dozed off in class several times and missed a couple of questions on a homework packet, or two."

What's he supposed to tell her?  'Well, you see, Marinette and her friends are having us help them with their Adrinette plans, and are keeping us- Marc, mostly- up at night.' Yeah, that's a great explanation. "Uh... Not as much as he should."

"Well, I can understand the incorrect answers, but sleeping in class is what concerns me. And I say this because I am worried, but he forgot to do yesterday's homework."

Now it's Nathaniel's turn to look shocked. That would certainly explain his bitter mood earlier. Marc has never once forgotten to do his homework. While Mme. Mendeleieve—strict as she may be—gives one-day extensions for 75% of the grade, he knows Marc is beating himself up.

She continues, "Look, I won't hound you for answers on what might happen with him; that is Marc's business. But if you know something, could you talk to him?" The redhead nods. "Alright, get going and have a good rest of the day."

"You too, Mme. Mendeleieve," he says on his way out and darts for the locker room, the boy's bathroom, and into a stall where he proceeds to hit his forehead against the door. "Damnit." Now he needs to put a stop to this. Guilt be damned, his boyfriend's GPA and health are on the line here! He'll calmly explain to the Girl Squad, especially looking Marinette in the eye, that they cannot do this anymore. Marc is not getting enough sleep, his grades are suffering, and these plans are probably illegal. Yeah. That sounds right.

He blows his bangs off his eye and storms out while mentally reminding himself of his plan and what's at stake, so he doesn't back out. He spends ten minutes looking for Marinette before finally finding her in the library, where Adrien happens to be.

It could go wrong, or it could go well. Adrien may overhear something Marinette doesn't want him to know.

Either way, he's saving his boyfriend and strapping him to his bed... Thank God he did not say that out loud.

Even Lacey moves out of his way as he storms past the shelves, almost as if she’s worried he'll knock her over.

With a quick exhale, Nathaniel says, "We need to talk. Now. It's about these... What the hell? These fucked up Adrinette plans. Marc is tired; he forgot to do his homework, and I'm not doing so hot either, but Marc is worse off. And another thing, I ain't exactly crazy about helping you sneak into Adrien's house like some creep, and Marc has better things to do than use his brain to help you plan your day around bumping into Adrien near André's cart. You are working us to the bone, in case I didn't clarify, and you are guilt-tripping us. It's not only us, but the girls, too. Just ask Zoé and Alix; they hate these schemes as much as we do, and I am certain Alya, Myléne, Juleka, and Rose have better things to do than devote their time to making your love life a reality. They did it so easily, so why can't YOU? Why do you have to drag people into your insane soap opera where every girl Adrien looks at is the enemy, and sneaking into a guy's heavily secured house is the epitome of romance? Do us all a favor, and suck it up, ask the guy out, and cry into your pillow like the rest of us if he doesn't like you back because that's life."

He winces and braces, shutting his eyes as if expecting some explosion. While he's glad he said it, Nathaniel also remembers they're threatened by a deranged butterfly/peacock man who can turn people into villains if they cry too much.

But to his surprise, there are no tears, accusations of being a bad friend, nothing. He flinches when he feels a hand on his shoulder, but to his relief, it's only Lacey. "She's wearing earbuds." She points to the pink wire connected to Marinette's phone and the earbuds he's now noticing. So he wasted an excellent speech for nothing.

"Damnit," he hisses. "... Did Adrien at least hear?"

She shakes her head and points so Nathaniel can see the earbuds in Adrien's ears. He buries his face in his hands and groans while the blonde pats him on the shoulder.

"It was a good speech," she says, walking Nathaniel out of the library. "Come on, you'll get her next time. Hey, why don't you go and check on Marc? Zoé's trying to keep him from killing Ismael because he confiscated his journal so he’d sleep."

The redhead sighs and follows her out, but his gaze lingers on Marinette briefly before the door shuts. Lacey takes him to Marc's usual spot under the stairs, and his eyes shoot open when he finds the noirette being restrained by Zoé while Ismael stands a few feet away with his journal.

"I'll take it from here," he says to Ismael, who hands him the journal with a two-finger salute. Zoé follows after giving Marc a tight hug.

"Better you than us," he hears Lacey say before walking off.

"Nath, just hand it over, I need to finish a couple more pages and-"

"No."

Marc blinks once, then twice. "Excuse me?" The tone from sleep deprivation scares him, but Nathaniel's not backing down. "Nathaniel, I'm serious."

"So am I. Marc, you need to rest-"

"I will rest when I'm done with this bullshit plan," he hisses with enough acid in his voice to disfigure steel. "Because if I take a break, I'm gonna have to deal with Marinette spamming me about when it'll be done, and during that period, she'll send more of her oh-so-amazing ideas for how to make sure Adrien has the perfect twentieth birthday and how to keep certain types of girls away from him, and I'll have to start from scratch AGAIN! She, of all people, understands how long a creative process is! She doesn't hear me asking for a new jacket and then asking every hour when it'll be done!"

Nathaniel curls in on himself when he notices the other students' eyes on them, including Alya, who looks hopelessly conflicted. Before he can speak, Marc snatches his journal and gathers his belongings.

"I would LOVE to be able to get away with not having the exact shade for Adrien's eyes and not to be critiqued for not writing Adrien not being in love with Marinette enough after she gifts him a hamster for his seventeenth birthday, but the universe loves to screw me over! Tell Mme. Mendeleieve, I'm sick, because when lunch rolls around, I know they will be hounding me about when their cringeworthy instruction manual for Marinette's sorry-ass love life is done, and I cannot. DEAL WITH THAT NOW!"

Turning on his heel, he storms out of the school. Nathaniel looks around and sees that even Mme. Mendeleieve witnessed his outburst but didn't stop him. After that, he has no doubt she'll probably excuse his absence.

Sighing to himself, Nathaniel makes his way to the locker room to get everyone's eyes off of him, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees Alya looking at him before quickly turning and walking away.

Great, now he's upset two people.

"Ah, a poor soul watching his love crack and falter under the weight of so many burdens, knowing he will never stop , and he is forced to watch him suffer."

Shadowmoth infuses his magic into the butterfly and sends it away as an Akuma.  "Fly, my wicked Akuma, and blacken his heart!"

Nathaniel's thumb hovers over Marc's contact. As he contemplates calling or texting him, texts from Zoé and Alix come flooding in.

Joan-Jetts-is-My-Bae: Nath?

Tony-Hawks-Protects-Gays: Hey, Kim told me what happened

Joan-Jetts-is-My-Bae: Nath, I know you're blaming yourself, and stop it

Joan-Jetts-is-My-Bae: Please

Tony-Hawks-Protects-Gays: I can check on him during lunch hour

Nathaniel cuts his phone off and mutes it. He leans against the row of lockers, sliding down its smooth surface until he’s sitting on the floor, and tucks his face into his knees. Why didn't he say no the first time? Why didn't he drag Marc out of the Adrinette plans after Alix told him everything wrong with them?

The denim muffles his groan as frustration and helplessness twist inside him like a cord tightening around his ribs. He wants Marc to stop pushing himself so hard, but-

"He will never stop, no matter how much it hurts him. How agonizing it must be to see the one you love suffer, yet be unable to save him.”  

Nathaniel grits his teeth as he tries to locate the infected object. "Shut up."

Monarch’s voice turns more persuasive. "And why shouldn’t you? You love him. You only want what’s best for him. But words alone will never be enough, will they? No, he will resist and insist he is fine, even as he burns himself out. But you could have the power to protect him. To wrap him in a world where no harm—not even his stubbornness—could reach him?"

"... I... I don’t want to hurt him."

"Never. This is love. You will be giving him the peace he refuses to take for himself. A gentle slumber away from the world that drains him. Wouldn’t that be nice?"

He could keep Marc away from all of this and finally let him rest. "I just want him to be safe…”

"Then take my power. No more stress. Just peace. Let the thorns grow around him, let the flowers cradle him. Become the guardian he needs. Of course, everything comes with a price. Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous. Do we have an understanding, Vine Weaver?"

"Nothing will ever harm him." A pulse of dark purple energy surrounds him, and in his place, a figure shrouded in black with curved black horns grows from his head. From his chest, vines grow and curl around his torso, arms, and legs, thorns bloom into jagged armor on his arms and horns, and flowers bloom in several places. His vision flickers green, and his grip tightens on his staff.

He will protect Marc and ensure that no one—not even Marc himself —can hurt him again.

Vine Weaver stabs the floor with the end of his staff. Cracks form spider webs along the surface, and from them erupt multiple thick thorn-covered vines that take over the room and burst through the walls and ceiling. Paying no mind to the screams of students and teachers or the panicked cries of those outside, he taps his foot on the floor, and from where he stands, a huge flower blooms with him standing in the middle.

He coaxes the petals to close around him, and the flower descends into the cracks.

The sun's light shines through the sheer curtains of Marc’s bedroom, illuminating the pillow covering his face. He shouldn't be resting. He's behind on the comic. He should make up the homework, get the Girl Squad off his back, and work on Marinette's God-awful storybook. He groans, gets up, somehow having more difficulty than earlier, and promptly falls back into bed.

It’s as if today wants to weigh him down.

Then suddenly, a strange, floral scent reaches him, soft and heavy, twining around him like silk. Marc slowly sits up, and his breath catches in his throat. Vines creep in from under his door, through a vent, and his window, each blooming with different flowers as they snake toward him. He throws some pens and pencils at them as he backs up against the wall, but it’s useless.

That’s when the floor starts to split open. From it bursts a massive flower in the middle of his room, and he drops the pen he was about to throw out of shock. The petals peel back to reveal this tall, elegant, and otherworldly figure. They step forward, their presence as soft as the petals falling from their body.

The Maleficent-like horns alarm Marc momentarily until enchanted flowers bloom and cover the thorns, as if to reassure him.

The obvious Akuma’s glowing green eyes—well, eye since a large rose covers the other one—lock onto him with an intensity that sends shivers down his spine, but beneath the menace, there was something achingly tender in that gaze—something protective.

Marc barely has time to react before the Akuma is in front of him, crouching down, one clawed, vine-wrapped hand cupping his cheek. “You need to rest, mon amour.”

”N-Nathaniel?” He stammers.

”Vine Weaver now, my love,” he whispers, his voice smooth and rich like the petals of the roses growing along his arms.

Marc opens and closes his mouth because—oh, my God, this is strangely hot. But no, his boyfriend is Akumatized and saying he needs to rest, and he knows he caused this with his outburst. Nathaniel, his classmates, and his teacher were only trying to help, and he snapped at them.

“Nath,” Marc murmurs, shrugging off the sudden tiredness. This isn’t like earlier, though; it’s like a thick haze around him. “Pl-please, you need to…” A finger presses against his lips.  

"You have done enough, my dear writer. You push yourself too hard.” With an elegant flick of his wrist, Vine Weaver summons a single gardenia from the vines around his arm, its pale petals glowing faintly. He brings it to Marc’s face, letting its fragrance wash over him as he shushes anything he’s trying to say.

The effect is immediate. Marc’s head lolls slightly, his muscles going loose, his mind drifting into warmth and quiet.  

“That’s it,” Vine Weaver coos, guiding Marc to his feet with effortless grace. “Let me take care of you now.”

Marc barely registers how Vine Weaver lifts him, cradling him in strong arms. His body sinks into the embrace like he belongs there.  

Vine Weaver carries him across the room, and Marc’s hazy vision catches glimpses of vines creeping along the walls, their thorns glistening as flowers bloom in their wake, spilling over bookshelves and wrapping around his desk. Feeling the plush sensation of petals beneath him, he realizes he is no longer in his bed, but something softer.  

A bed of gardenias, lavender, and blood-red roses. Thick vines curl around its edges like the protective embrace of a stone wall, their thorns turned outward, ready to defend.  

Vine Weaver lowers him onto the floral bed with the utmost care, smoothing stray curls from Marc’s forehead. “There. No more stress. No more pain. Just rest and beautiful dreams.”

Marc blinks up at him, fighting to keep his eyes open. “Nathaniel…”

Vine Weaver’s expression softens. A single Psychotria elata blooms from his vines and presses a feather-light kiss to Marc’s forehead. "Sleep, mon cœur. I will keep you safe."  

And with that, Marc finally lets go, sinking into the embrace of enchanted petals, the scent of gardenias lulling him into the sweetest slumber.

”Protect him, my lovelies,” he coos softly to two thick vines that curl around him like snakes. “I need to take care of two pests, and my darling Petal needs his rest. If anyone,” he hisses. “Dares to disturb his slumber, have at them.” With gentle pats to the vines, he cups Marc’s face one last time before a braid of vines carries him out through the window, where he sees the rest of his vines coiling around buildings and growing through the road’s pavement, and his hungrier plants devouring anyone within two miles of his petals.

It shouldn’t be long before Ladybug and Chat Noir arrive, but his lovelies know to attack on sight. Until they show their faces, he might as well have some fun with Marinette.

With that, the vines take him back to DuPont.

Fortunately for Lacey, the reflexes she’s developed over the years from doing parkour around Paris help her to swiftly duck and dodge any vines that try to grab her, and the carnivorous plants miss her by just a hair. And while she may not be as strong as Denise, she can hold her own if any vines manage to grab her.

After stabbing a vine with her pen and leaving it to writh like a snake trying to escape a hawk’s talons, she maneuvers her way into the locker room, finding the source of the monstrous vines if the massive hole in the floor is any indication. Having tested out Max’s video games before, she knows that the “heart” of the boss is the most complicated thing to take out, and there’s no way a pen will do anything.

So, she sidesteps it and pushes her way through the vines toward her locker.

The door’s dented, likely from vines pushing up against it, but Lacey can barely fit her arm through the gap and pulls out what she needs- her épée and her rock-climbing equipment. She straps the climbing harness around her and secures her necessities before putting on her climbing claws.

Some students called her paranoid for having all this stuff in her locker. They haven’t seen the trunk in the back of her closet in case Frozer returns and brings on another ice age.

Making sure the steel claws hook easily into the vines, Lacey takes a deep breath before returning to the courtyard. If Jean were with her, he’d probably make some joke about Audrey 2, but he’s currently trapped inside a pitcher plant.

Speaking of… Lacey scales up a massive vine to get to the second floor, gripping onto it tightly as it writhes in response to the hooks in it, but she jumps off just before it can flick her away, and she heads for the art classroom, which is looking more overgrown than she remembers. A giant pitcher plant sits in the middle of the room, surrounded by other, smaller ones with roots that appear to be connected to the main one. But, compared to an average-sized person, they’re still pretty big.

Ever so carefully, she steps over the slithering vines and avoids what is definitely poison ivy. Whoever is behind this is not playing around. The moment the claw of her glove makes contact with the center plant, vines surge towards her, and with swiftness, Lacey unsheathes her épée. It’s stiff enough to help her fend against the vines, but she doubts it’ll last.

Honestly, she NEEDS to learn how Kagami stabbed the floor with a Sabre of all things. It’s the second most flexible, and fencing swords shouldn’t be able to stab through a solid floor.

She may also need extra help with her awareness, because a sneaky vine snaking near her ankle just tripped her. Lacey slashes at it with her claws, but they keep coming.

That is, until Chat Noir arrives.

The cat-themed hero— with the skill that says he fences when he’s not saving Paris— fends off against the vines with his staff and cuts through them with his claws, giving himself an opening to go for the center pitcher plant and slash it at the roots. It and the smaller pitcher plants, along with a couple of vines, wither and shrivel up before crumbling and releasing the trapped students, who are frightened and covered in what can only be the plants’ digestive acid.

While Chat Noir helps calm them down, Lacey checks on Jean, who is shaken but okay besides the holes in their clothes. “Hey, let’s get you out of here, okay?”

"That’s not gonna be any better,” Chat Noir chimes and parts some vines covering the window. Lacey’s eyes bulge out of their sockets when she sees the garden Paris has turned into. It’s giving her flashbacks to late Saturday night sleepovers with Jean when they would watch Danny Phantom, and the episode, Undergrowth came on.

Looking back, Undergrowth Sam may have been part of her bisexual awakening.

And it seems Jean remembers, judging by his stupid, smug smirk.

”Alright,” Chat Noir continues. “Everyone, stay where you are. Don’t go outside and… I don’t know, stab any vines that try to come in with pens, or something. I passed by one on my way here with a pen sticking out of it, and it looks like the ink is slowing it down.”

Lacey tries not to blush and instead cleans the plant gunk off her épée. However, she doesn’t go unnoticed by Chat Noir. “Why don’t you come with me? I can use an extra set of hands before m’lady arrives, and you seem to know your way with a foil."

Of course, she wants to help a hero, but before she can calmly say yes and retain her dignity, Jean eagerly says for her, “She would LOVE to help you!” He gives the blonde a thumbs up and grins while she lightly slaps his arm and hisses,  “Dude!” to which he sticks his tongue out.

Before the gremlin can embarrass her even further, she follows Chat Noir out of the room, but not before sending Jean a look that says, “I’ll get you back for this.”

Chat Noir closes the door and looks out at the chaos before them. He splits his staff in two, extends them both, and tosses one to Lacey. “This should be more durable.”

Lacey tests the weight in her hands before quickly using it to hit a vine coming for her. She beams. This is gonna be awesome. She and Chat Noir work side-by-side, freeing any students trapped in plants, guiding them into empty classrooms, and cutting through vines, but they seem to keep coming. It’s not long before they hear a familiar whizz! Ladybug lands, her suit and hair covered in plant gunk.

"Sorry I'm late,” she says, squeezing some of the gunk out of her pigtail.

When the heroine’s eyes land on her, Lacey tries not to go into fangirl mode, especially when she asks, “Lacey, right?” She barely manages a jerky nod, her messy bob getting in her eyes.

Before Ladybug can say more, a thorn-covered vine surges for them, and they duck out of the way just in time, the vine missing them by only a hair. The heroes exchange a nod before Chat Noir secures an arm around Lacey and vaults her up to the roof while Ladybug fends off against the vine, tying it up with her yo-yo and giving it a firm pull, slicing it into chunks.

”Damn,” is all Lacey says when Ladybug rejoins them. Thankfully, the roof isn’t too overrun, and the vines are spilling off the sides. “So, what’s next? Are you guys gonna leave me up here, take me home? What’s happening?”

Before Ladybug can answer, Chat Noir suddenly grabs their arms and pulls them a rather large rose. He puts a finger to his lips and points. They poke their heads out ever so slightly and see the cause behind the world’s largest garden.

"Marinette,” he croons as the twisting vines lift him above the foliage. “Come out, come out wherever you are. I can’t risk you and your friends waking my dear petal up. I’m sure my lovelies would love to nibble on something sweet.”

Lacey doesn’t notice how Ladybug’s skin turns a paler shade than it could rival her own skin which has never even seen the sun. No, she’s more focused on the voice. It’s got this almost ethereal echo to it, but if you take that out, he sounds like… “It sounds like Nathaniel, guys.” She does hear Ladybug gulp, but not Chat Noir, who seems to be getting over his surprise that she figured it out quicker than he could with his enhanced hearing.

”Well, that’s out of the way, but why would he be after Marinette?”

"I can think of a reason or two,’  Lacey thinks to herself, but doesn’t say out loud because now is not the time to be petty, not when her friend turned into a Maleficent-Poison Ivy love child. Honestly, Shadow Moth is just making these too easy. “You guys can focus on that later. Also, I’m just spitballing here, but that staff is probably where his Akuma is. You can also check every flower on his body, but that big one covering half his face looks suspicious.”

The heroes look at her, then each other.

"Lacey,” Ladybug finally says and opens her yo-yo. “I’ve got something to ask you.” She looks around to make sure the Akuma isn’t close by and reaches into her yo-yo, which, to Lacey’s surprise, is much deeper than she expected. Ladybug’s whole hand dives inside before pulling out Rena Rouge’s zipper charm, only as a necklace… Her Miraculous…

… Is she?… Is this girl seriously about to?

"Lacey Greene, this is the Miraculous of the-"

Before destroying their eardrums, Lacey slaps a hand over her mouth and nods. After she’s calmed down, she asks, “Why me, though? N-not that I’m saying ‘no,’ but why me? Why are you letting me use a Miraculous? This is- this is… WOW.”

Chat Noir snickers behind his hand while Ladybug clears her throat. “Well, you know your way around unconventional weapons-“

”Yeah, a yo-yo, jump rope, flute, trampo, giant paintbrush, bouncy ball, tambourine and lyre seem like strange choices for weapons. I guess the tambourine’s little cymbals could be sharpened into blades and the flute as a blow dart, but- Wait, I’m rambling. Sorry, continue.”

Ladybug blinks. “… And you were willing to put your safety on the line to help your schoolmates, and the Fox Miraculous would be our best bet for this fight. We need someone quick on their feet who can create illusions under pressure.”

Chat Noir nods. “I saw what you could do back there. Plus, the flute is no different from my staff or your épée. You’ve got the athleticism down, and you could easily identify which plants to take out first. It would be a crime not to make you a temporary hero.”

Lacey is trying so hard not to cry right now. Before the tears pour, she takes the Fox Miraculous and fastens it around her neck, watching as the fox tail charm transforms into a silver dog tag. From it, a small burst of orange light emerges and floats in front of her, taking the form of an odd-looking fox.

"Cool! A new kit!" they chirp, flying around her. "The name’s Trixx, Kwami of Illusion, at your service. Let’s hope you’re as good as my last kit; she set the bar pretty high.” Lacey notices Chat Noir roll his eyes, but decides not to get involved in... this.

"Well, it’s nice to meet you," Lacey says, holding her pinkie out for Trixx to shake. "So, what do I do? Is there an incantation or something?"

"Close. Just say, 'Trixx, let’s pounce' to transform, and "Let’s rest'' to turn back," Trixx replies.

She nods. “Trixx, let’s pounce.”

Lacey is surprised when Trixx flies into the dog tag, but she won’t lie, it feels strangely warm. An orange mist spreads from the now fox tail-shaped charm, surrounding her and putting her in a cream-colored bodysuit that quickly gets some add-ons. A pair of white cargo pants is followed by a sleeveless, sand-colored hoodie with a white front and fox ears larger than Rena Rouge's attached to the hood. A sand and white mask follows, and her hair turns into a pixie cut with white tips. She has sand-colored gloves with sharp-looking claws at the tips, a tail, and sand-colored boots with black laces.

Chat Noir gives her new attire a once-over. “I guess the Miraculous merged with her gear?”

It takes Lacey a moment to realize what he means. Looking again at the tail, she sees it's actually her climbing rope, coiled and colored to resemble a fox tail. Her climbing claws have also become actual claws. “Okay, this is awesome.”

“What should we call you?”

“Let’s go with… Fennec,” she declares, hearing Chat Noir say something along the lines of, “That’s oddly appropriate.” A crash follows.

“Stay hidden,” Ladybug tells Fennec. “He doesn’t know you’re here.” With a two-finger salute, Fennec watches as they prepare to battle whom she now dubs Malefi-Ivy, staying low and occasionally loading thorns into her flute to use as blow-darts, trying to stay concealed under the thick canopy of vines.

As Fennec loads in more darts, she notices something through a gap in the vines. While buildings are covered in various plants, one stands out in the distance—Marc’s house.

Unlike the others, Marc's house is surrounded by vines adorned with flowers in different shades of pink and red. Fennec supposes it makes sense, considering Malefi-Ivy is Nathaniel, but it still seems odd that Marc’s house stands out instead of Marc himself unless something precious to him is inside.

Glancing back at the heroes, she maneuvers through the vines, stocking up on thorns just in case. The closer she gets, the more hostile the plants seem to become. Again, it makes sense. Akumas are usually protective of their loved ones. The day she gets akumatized—though she won’t let that happen—she's going to wrap her brothers in bubble wrap.

After slicing through a particularly aggressive sundew with her claws and defeating some giant Venus flytraps, she scales the wall to Marc’s balcony. She finds that only the dangerous plants are at ground level. It seems Malefi-Ivy didn’t account for people climbing up the side of the wall. Or maybe he did, because her movements are becoming sluggish.

Fennec grunts as she parts the vines blocking the window and slips through a small gap...

And she definitely plans to tease Nathaniel about this once everything is over.

There lies Marc, sleeping on a bed of flowers with his hands resting atop him, reminiscent of a modern Sleeping Beauty. She wonders how this relates to the Akuma’s power, but then the drowsiness returns, and she sees the cause. Gardenias and lavender—the ultimate duo when it comes to knocking people out. She occasionally leaves the two near her brothers’ window when they’re having trouble sleeping.

Recalling how Ladybug and Chat Noir could breathe underwater using their Miraculous, she splits her flute apart, putting one half to her mouth to filter out the overpowering scent and help her stay awake. Before bringing the other half to Marc’s mouth, she flinches back as the flowers start pulsing.

“That can’t be good.”

“MARC!”

She swings at the vines, slashing with her claws, but they keep coming. “Damn flower—motherf—SHIT!”

“How eloquent.”

Vine Weaver catches the next thorn dart between his pointer and middle fingers. “How curious. For a moment there, I could have sworn Ladybug or Chat Noir got their hands on my rose.”

Fennec beams. “Oh, my gosh! Seriously? Was it the silhouette of my outfit specifically, or the ninja skills, or-" Noticing one of the vines still in her grip smacking her wrist, she sheepishly drops them.

The akuma raises a brow. “Little foxes don’t belong in gardens, and certainly not near my rose.”

Fennec decides to do something probably stupid.

She leans against the flower bed where Marc is resting. “Rose? Really? That’s your name for him? No offense, but it’s pretty cliché. I mean, roses are the most basic symbol of romance in history.” She sidesteps out of the way of a vine before it can pierce her like the back wall.

”But, if you think the most basic flower is what he’s worthy of, who am I to-?"

”SHUT UP!”

So blinded by rage, Vine Weaver didn’t notice Fennec reaching for her rope. He doesn’t react in time to her lassoing him by the waist and using her momentum to toss him out of the window. With him incapacitated, she plays a quick tune on her flute.

“Mirage.” A giant signal appears over the Anciel home to alert them, and she jumps out of the window after Vine Weaver, leaving Marc in the safe confines of his room.

”Put her in the ground,” Vine Weaver hisses, pointing his staff at her. Seven monstrous Venus flytraps burst from the ground and surge toward Fennec. She pries the maw of one open with her flute and binds the rest with her rope. She charges at Vine Weaver, but a bizarre-looking plant spurts between them. It opens its leaves and hits her with a powerful blast of purple mist, throwing her off and allowing a thorned vine to hook around her waist and throw her into a wall.

'Where are you two?!’ She glances back at the signal. ‘This thing better follow me!’  Fennec picks herself back up and runs through the streets, the signal trailing after her overhead. “Sorry! But I’ve gotta make like a tree and leave!”

Her claws cut through the thick vines and quickly regrow behind her. Fennec gulps but continues to taunt him. “Race you to the finish vine!”

”Oh, my GOD! SERIOUSLY?!” Vine Weaver’s grip tightens around his staff. The thick vines under his feet move faster, clipping buildings when they round a corner and sending debris crashing down.

Fennec winces. “Damnit.” When rounding another corner, what should have been more street is now replaced by a wall of vines. She hurriedly plays a tune on the flute, the signal becoming brighter and even making sounds, but Ladybug and Chat Noir are nowhere in sight. “Where are you two?!”

”Oh, my dears must have done their job,” Vine Weaver purrs. The vines he rode upon position themselves into steps and curl against him like pets or maybe loving children when he touches the ground. “By now, Ladybug is probably a snack for some sundew and Chat Noir… Oh, who knows? And once I have you out of the way, no one will stop me from ensuring my rose knows peace… Would you like to know how?”

If he had a mouth, Fennec is sure she’d be disturbed by his smile.

”By destroying all of the pests!” He sends a vine to grab and pin Fennec to a brick wall, making sure it slams her hard against it. “This city is filled with vermin! They have no place in my garden! Locusts! Termites! Roaches! I’ll have every one of them turned into sustenance for my pets! Marc will finally know peace once they’re all gone. But to take out the infestation, I need to find the root of it all!” His flowers pulsate once more. His lower eyelid curls upward. “And it seems they’ve found her.”

Fennec watches him go, flower petals trailing behind him. “Son of a bitch.” On some weird instinct, she says, “Reality,” and the illusion disappears, followed by her Miraculous regaining three minutes while the vine continues to restrict her. “Okay, who could that overgrown weed be talking about? Oh, lemme guess, Marinette, who else?”

"What’s tall, green, and leafy’s deal with her?”

Chat Noir lands from a pole vault, covered in what Fennec can only describe as plant guts. A green, slimy substance coats his hair and leather suit, noticeably wedged in his wrist cuffs. She even caught a glimpse of chunks in the soles of his boots when he landed.

He notices her gaze. “Yeah, it turns out there are man-eating plants. If you’re smaller than it, it’ll eat you.” He shreds through the vine with his claws. “Ladybug used her Lucky Charm to get us out of there, but, uh… Have you seen her around? She went to recharge.”

"We can call her later,” Fennec says. “Right now, Poison Ivy’s twin brother is after Marinette. He said she was the cause of all of this. I mean, he used plant metaphors and did NOT appreciate my clever puns-“

"His loss.”

"But I got the gist of it. I was there when Marc blew up in front of everyone before all this, so Nath’s gonna go after her.”

"The question is: where?”

“Well, Nath’s got this fairytale theme going on with Marc in his room- Don’t ask. It’s like a scene out of Sleeping Beauty. So, if he sees Marinette as the villain in all of this, Prince Carnatian will want it to be super dramatic and Disney-fied when he confronts her.” She mimes a mic drop, and Chat Noir mimics a brain explosion.

Chat Noir points ahead. “And I can think of the purr-fect setting.” Fennec looks to see the Eiffel Tower slowly becoming covered by winding vines and blood-red roses. It’s weirdly elegant. “Let’s get a move on!” While he vaults, Fennec uses her tail-rope like Ladybug’s yo-yo.

Marinette’s ribs rattle as she sprints through the streets, occasionally colliding with towering pitcher plants and having to crawl under giant sundew petals.

"Marinette! This will only be worse if you keep running!” Vine Weaver’s voice echoes. “Pests shouldn’t stay in gardens!”

She barely manages to escape into an abandoned building and realizes where she is when she notices the Cuban-themed decor— The Cabello family’s cafe. There’s bound to be a dessert left on one of the tables somebody abandoned when the plants took over the city. A rose thorn tore a hole through her purse for Tikki’s macarons to fall through.

As she’s searching under a table, Marinette jolts up and hits her head on the underside when she hears a throat clear and looks up to see Cerise Cabello of all people. She has always admired the other young designer’s work on her socials and has tried to DM her before, but there has been no response. She even tried asking Denise if they could link her up with their twin, but they only responded, “I’ll see what she says.”

If she weren’t running for her life, she’d be excited.

"Can I help you?” Cerise asks, a tone in her voice that Marinette can’t quite distinguish.

"Oh! Uh, I was just running from some plants and on my way in, I dropped my…. Bracelet! It was my grandmother’s, and I know Ladybug’s power will put everything back to normal, but-“

"Based on what I’ve seen, Ladybug’s power only reverses damage caused directly by the Akuma,” Cerise interrupts, looking very uninterested in the conversation. “Best of luck, though, in finding your bracelet.”

Marinette blinks, not expecting the response, and awkwardly laughs. “Hey, maybe if you find it while you’re working a shift, you can just DM me or even text!” She’s already pulling out her phone. “I’m fine with whichever-"

"OR I can hand it to Denise, and they can hand it to you since you both attend the same school.” Cerise taps a few things on her phone, and Marinette can see her switching from one account to another by the reflection from her glasses. “I just feel that makes more sense.”

"… Y-yeah.” Marinette feels Tikki nudging her with as much force as possible with her tiny nubs for hands and remembers her mission. “It was great meeting you, but I think I should go-“

"And apologize?”

… Now THAT caught her off guard.

When she and Chat Noir were battling Vine Weaver earlier, she had to shove down her anger as he insulted her.

He called her a bad friend, emotionally manipulative, and self-absorbed when she is none of those things! She has always been kind to everyone— baking pastries, sewing clothes, helping them with their problems, and more! The worst had to be when he said Adrien deserved better than “the likes of her,” as if she were the worst choice imaginable when there are people like Chloé and— ugh—  Lila.

She doesn’t get where his anger is coming from, or Marc’s obvious dismissiveness. She could hear it in his texts that he’s not as excited to help as her girlfriends, and honestly, it hurts. If he didn’t want to help her and Adrien get together, he could have just said so before, but they’re in too deep now! There are still so many more scenarios for him to write out, and she needs to be prepared with the perfect dialogue, or she and Adrien will never date, get married, have three kids, and a hamster!

Cerise continues, “Word gets around fast when you have a twin going to a school known as an Akuma hot-spot. Denise tells me everything, including Marc’s meltdown earlier. Among other rather concerning things.” She narrows her eyes at the pigtailed girl, making her take a step back. “Apparently, a girl is going around following her crush, taking pictures of them without consent, sabotaging girls who get too close, and putting up fake No Parking signs. Told me to keep my distance from that girl. In fact, I had blocked her on my socials because she would NOT stop DMing me.”

She laughs, and Marinette forces herself to laugh, too. Maybe… She wasn’t talking about her?

Cerise blows some short curls out of her face. “Anyway…” She gives her arms a stretch. “You’re free to stick around and find your bracelet, but I think someone in a position similar to yours should go out and face the music, you know?”

Marinette stammers for a moment before making a run for it without any food for Tikki.

Cerise shakes her head. “Dodged that bullet.”

Tikki chastises Marinette. ”She’s right, you know, Marinette.” She cuts her off. “You and your friends have been putting some pressure on Marc and Nathaniel for your plans.”

"Tikki, you don’t understand-“

"What is there to understand?” The Kwami flies in her face. “Why do you need Marc and Nathaniel’s comics for your plans? And you don’t think Adrien would be weirded out knowing you’re having them write and draw romantic scenarios about you two?”

Marinette blushes, embarrassed. “W-well, he’ll understand when-“

"When you’re dating and married?” Tikki deadpans. “Marinette, if just having your immediate friend group to help with your plans didn’t help, what made you think adding Marc and Nathaniel would?”

She doesn’t have an answer for that, and honestly, Marinette doesn’t think she needs one, either.

Marc and Nathaniel seemed more than happy to help with that amazing Knight and Princess story they wrote and illustrated about her and Adrien the first time. If they wanted to stop, sure, she’d be devastated and try to convince them to stay and help before eventually relenting, but they stuck around because they’re good friends and friends help each other.

So… What was there to apologize for? It’s not like they’ve been planning dates lately, so she’s not interfering with that. They also slowed down on updates for their online comics to help make Adrinette a success. That shows how much they care!

"Wretched weeds must be found,” a voice croons.

She pales and asks Tikki, “Do you have any energy left?” Met with a head shake, Marinette books it off in the opposite direction of the voice, dodging the once still vines and plants that come alive again and try to grab her as the voice draws closer.

"Wretched weeds must be CUT.”

She trips over a succulent bursting from a crack in the concrete. A vine wraps around her ankle and slithers up her leg and the other until they both encase her body as she writhes. The dense foliage parts for her like a curtain, and Vine Waver steps forward, petting a giant carnation like a house cat. “Thank you, dearies. You did so well.”

"Nath, please-“

"SILENCE!” The ground shakes slightly with a strike from the end of his staff. “Before I turn you and the rest of this city into mulch, I’m going to take immense satisfaction in watching my lovelies torture you.” The summoned vines drag her down through the hole they sprouted from. Seconds later, massive pink tulip petals spread from beneath his feet, encase and pull him down.

Chat Noir and Fennec arrive seconds after Vine Weaver and hide behind a wall of foliage. He circles Marinette like a shark, her unable to do much but blink and shake or nod her head. Chat Noir narrows his eyes and nearly retches.

During his home school years, he’s read up on plenty of Wattpad fanfiction. And after sorting through the garbage, he found some one shots based on anime tropes he was fascinated in. There were shōnen protagonist power-up stories, some light yaoi with kuudere themes, maybe some yandere— but probably most unsettling to him was hanahaki.

That’s what Marinette’s current situation reminded him off.

Pink cherry blossoms flood her mouth, a handful of petals fluttering when she tries to spit them out, but they keep refilling. Nathaniel wouldn’t… Would he?

"Do you feel that? The sign of your unrequited love? The sign that he will see you as NOTHING but just a good friend?” With malice in those green eyes, he throws a glowing dust-like substance in her face, and more cherry blossoms fill her mouth. She coughs.

"Oh, my God,” Fennec whispers, horror etched across her face. “Is he-“

"Everyone suddenly dropped everything and adored and worshiped your little fantasies— a nice, big house, three children you’ve already named, a hamster because you love hamsters. But based on your romance track record, I hardly see that happening. Truth is, Marinette, you’re poison. When was the last time Rose and Juleka had a moment to themselves when every waking moment is about you and your PATHETIC plans? Is Alya’s calendar filled with plans for dates with Nino or scheduling meet-ups to discuss your deluded fantasies and schemes? And I’ve hardly heard Myléne talk about anything to Ivan that was not. About. You.”

He sighs and turns away. “But worst of all? Working my darling petal to exhaustion, knowing he’d never want to say no and hurt your feelings, knowing he knows how important these plans are to you.” He raises his staff. Seconds later, Fennec nearly trips while trying to loosen Marinette’s binds when the metal creaks and rumbles. A part of the floor is pried apart, metal loudly creaking.

A powerful floral scent hits their noses, and Fennec uses the oxygen mask as she recognizes the scent. Chat Noir follows. The flower bed from Marc’s bedroom rises, with him still resting peacefully in the middle.

Vine Weaver glides over to him and caresses his cheek. “He can rest so much easier. He’ll never stress again. Not when you’re out of the picture. Then it will just be us and our dearies.” A small Venus flytrap nuzzles against Marc’s cheek, to the Akuma’s endearment. “I know,” he coos. “Papa looks so cute when he’s asleep.”

The tender moment doesn’t last as the flowers on his body pulsate. He whips his head around to search for the disturbance, and looks back at Mainette, still tied up. He narrows his eyes and stalks toward her, the faint orange haze going unnoticed.

Chat Noir stays perfectly still, miraged as a plant. A bead of sweat streams down his face when Vine Weaver gets closer… And closer… Closer-

WHACK!

He’s knocked out with Fennec’s flute.

Vine Weaver staggers to his feet and sends vines after her, only for her to shout, “Reality!” And with his sudden reveal, Chat Noir to blocks them with his staff. Amidst the battle, Marinette escapes from the vines loosened by Chat Noir’s claws earlier, but her movements are slowed by her current condition. She coughs up more petals on her way down the stairs.

”He-he gave me hanahaki?” She gasps and grips the rail as her knees slowly give out.

Tikki says, “Hold still.” She rubs her nub hands together and presses them to her chest. Marinette can’t describe the sensation, but she wants to say there’s a mini tornado in her chest. The petals pour out of her mouth as if swept by a breeze, followed by the glowing dust Vine Weaver threw in her face.

”I created a small, controlled wind in your lungs to guide out the remaining petals and the spores. Your breathing should go back to normal.”

Marinette takes a deep breath, in and out. She straightens back up and nods to the Kwami. “How am I supposed to transform? I won't make it to the bakery."

Tikki looks and spots the solution. A single prickly pear cactus growing near some succulents. The fruit is sweet enough. She flies over and takes several bites of it, then reminds herself to ask Marinette for more later.

"Okay, I'm ready!"

"Tikki, Spots on!”

Chat Noir’s back hits the wall. He bounds back to his feet, and while he deflects Vine Weaver’s attacks, Fennec tries to grab the Akuma’s staff with her rope. Joining them suddenly is Ladybug.

Using her interruption, she ties up Vine Weaver while he’s caught off guard and tosses him off the side of the tower. "Thanks for holding down the fort, guys!"

Fennec raises an eyebrow. “Yeah. Is this a normal thing?”

"I’ve learned to stop questioning it,” says Chat Noir. The temporary fox narrows her eyes with her lips pressed thin, but says nothing.

"Lucky Charm!” Of all things, she’s given, “A pack of tennis balls?”

"I was hoping for pesticide,” Fennec deadpans. Spotting vines creeping up the sides, they run into the elevator, the door shutting just in time. “So, what’s the plan?” She asks, eyes darting between the two of them. “Just putting it out there, I have some tennis experience and can throw.”

Ladybug’s eyes dart around for anything. All she saw was that glimpse of Vine Weaver making his way back up before the door closed. “I’m not sure yet.” The elevator dings and opens. They were prepared for Vine Weaver and maybe a few carnivorous plants, not… Whatever that thing is.

The roots worked like legs, extending into a massive, thorny stem with faint red veins beneath. It looks like a cross between a pitcher plant and a venus flytrap. Giant dark green-to-red leaves and red petals frame the head like a mane, and it has a tongue that drools green saliva. Vine Weaver sits atop its head.

Fennec can't tell if his expression is manic or pissed.

"Take their Miraculous! NOW!" The plant monster roars and surges forward, lashing thick green vines at them that dent the metal structure. Chat Noir's back hits a tree trunk that grew from nothing with a hard thud, and Ladybug's yoyo tangles with the many vines.

Fennec blocks thorns used as projectiles with her flute and braces for cover beneath the foliage floor. As she catches her breath, she realizes... Her flute is wooden. It's magic wood, and her rope-tail is magic rope.

She picks up one end of her rope-tail and starts getting to work. She snaps her flute in two, loops the rope through one end, and rubs the two together. 

She resurfaces and grabs the Lucky Charm tennis balls when a spark appears.

"Hey-!"

Fennec resumes rubbing the two halves together. "Sorry, you were taking too long- YES!" She grins. It's a small flame, but it's something. She ignites the first tennis ball, aims, and throws it directly at the plant monster's roots. The next hits the head.

Vine Weaver screams and jumps down, watching in horror as his creation writhes. Fennec throws the last ball at his staff when he's distracted. When the fire eats at the wood, he hastily throws it. Mid-air, the Akuma emerges from the staff.

Fennec steps on the flaming halves of the flute while the heroine does her Miracle Cure. Any injuries she sustained from the fight have healed as she approaches Nathaniel and helps him up. "Well, hey, Poison Ivy. You put up a fight back there."

Confusion crosses his face for a moment before he facepalms. "Shit."

"Yeah," she draws out. "But, hey. At least you can say you got a cool outfit."

"I can say the same for you," he manages to say with a slight smile, then realizes. "Marc! Is he hurt?! Did I do something to him?!"

Fennec carefully grips his shoulders. "Hey, look at me," she says, using the tone she often reserves for her little brothers- not like talking to a child, but keeping a calm, even tone to assure him nothing's wrong. "Marc's safe. In fact, you gave him the princess treatment throughout this entire thing."

She gives a smug grin when he blushes. "I'll give you a lift to your place if you-"

"Could you take me to Marc's house instead?"

There's something more in his voice she can't put her finger on, but she doesn't dwell on it and nods. "Gimme one sec. Hey, you two! I'll hand back the Miraculous after I drop Nathaniel off!"

Without waiting for an answer, Fennec secures her arm around Nathaniel and takes off. She listens as he gives directions despite knowing where Marc lives, but keeping him talking is good. She lands on the balcony to Marc's bedroom and taps on the sliding door. 

"Nath!" Marc exclaims, relieved, and opens the door to meet him in an embrace. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, and I just-"

Nathaniel gives him a warm smile and cups his cheek. "Rainbow... Let's get you to bed, okay?" He guides him back into his bedroom without giving him a chance to respond.

"Who was that?"

"We'll talk later."

"Is she a new hero?"

"Yes. Bed."

Fennec smiles, closes the door, and leaps away.

In his room, Marc sits slumped over as Nathaniel removes his boots. He could've taken them off himself, but Nathaniel is not letting him do anything. "Nath-"

"Ah-"

"But-"

"Nope. You're going to get real sleep. Not for five hours, not from Akuma powers- REAL sleep," he asserts. "You're going to forget your journals and all your secret Wattpad accounts."

Marc sputters. "I don't have Wattpad."

"Suuure." Nathaniel smiles smugly and pulls out Marc's hair tie to let his black locks fall freely. "Now lie back. I'll be here until I'm sure you're not faking so you can get up and write."

"You're the worst," Marc says, but he's too tired to have any bite in his voice. Reluctantly, he gets under the covers and instantly melts into his sheets. He leans in when Nathaniel runs his fingers through his hair, and while that will result in even worse bed head in the morning, he can't find it in himself to care.

The redhead softly smiles and leans in to kiss his forehead. "Get some rest, Rainbow." He glances down at his pocketed phone when it vibrates and unlocks it to find a text from Alix.

Punk WLW & MLM (Plus Aro & Emo) Solidarity

Tony-Hawks-Protects-Gays: It has begun!

Alya's thumb hovers over the icon for her calendar app. She's been mulling over this since Nathaniel got akumatized. If she sees what she thinks she'll see, then...

The auburn-haired girl takes a breath and taps the icon. Behind her glasses, her eyes widen in shock and then realization. Dates marked with a pink flower fill up more than half the month. There are only two dates with a turtle emoji, but one shares a space with a pink flower.

She scrolls to last month. Same result but with two more turtle emojis.

She reaches under her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. How did she get so swept up in all of this? At first, it was just the two of them in Marinette's room talking about ways for her to confess to Adrien, but now there are all these elaborate plans with more people.

All of it got so out of control... Or maybe it was always out of control and she didn't want to see it.

Alya is loyal to a fault, to a bad extent. Nora said it's because she has too big a heart, or maybe it's because she is too obsessed with helping others—friends, fake friends who show their true colors later, and now best friends.

It got her in trouble back at her old school, and a part of her wondered if Marinette's Ladybug luck kept her and the girls out of trouble with that parking sign scheme.

"... I'm an enabler," she finally admits and flops back on her bed. She holds her phone over her face, deletes all the Adrinette flags from her calendar, and then calls Nino.

"Hey, babe! I was about to call you! I got some killer footage of Nath as the Maleficent-Poison-Ivy akuma and the new fox hero before a plant ate me! Don't worry, though, babe, she can't hold a candle to Rena! I mean, she's cool, for sure, but have you met you?"

Alya laughs. What'd she do to deserve him?

"Nino... What are you doing tomorrow after school?"

"Huh? I thought you, the girls, Marc, and Nath were doing that whole thing with the heart-shaped balloons and Marinette on a skateboard."

She cringes because it sounds worse out loud. "I did some thinking and, uh... I haven't been the best girlfriend lately."

"What? No, babe-"

"No, I have. Mari's my bestie, I love her, but these plans and what Marc said earlier-"

"What'd he say?"

"A LOT. Right now, I wanna spend time with my boyfriend, get some ice cream, see a bad movie, and play video games."

"Alys, I am crying right now because that is my ideal date!"

She can hear him fanning his fake tears. "I'll see you tomorrow after school. Love you."

"Love you more." 

After a beat, she hangs up and sighs. Now that that's sorted out, she's gotta think of what she'll tell Marinette tomorrow. She creates another group chat. The second after she's added, Alix texts the smirking emoji.

Marinette sneaks—or what she thinks is sneaking—into school, keeping her shoulders hunched and her bag covering her face, but it only makes her more obvious. She was there for Marc's outburst before Nathaniel's akumatization, and during that brief period, everyone looked at her strangely.

Victoria quickly turned her wheelchair in the other direction when she saw her approaching. This one girl, whom she didn't really care for after she got a role in a play and would hug Adrien's character, gave her the side-eye.

Even Austin Armbruster looked uncomfortable around her. Austin Boulet bluntly said, "He knows how you get around blondes with green eyes and doesn't want you sabotaging Spinelli."

Rude much? She wasn't even interested in Austin like that and never sabotaged anyone! She protected Adrien from bad influences, like that girl in the play. She acted nothing but cold to her when she tried to discuss the scene where she hugged Adrien, and she was so dismissive.

To make things uncomfortable for her, she tailored the bodice of her dress to be one size smaller because anyone that cruel needed some attitude adjustment. She had managed to squeeze herself into it the night of the play and hid a tear or two with a shawl that did nothing for the costume.

It didn't exactly humble her, but it was something.

Did Marc have to air out her crush like that for everyone to hear? She tried so hard to keep her feelings under wraps, and sure, maybe some of her classmates figured it out, but she didn't need everyone at school knowing.

She sighs with relief when she makes it to the locker room and hastily grabs her books while ignoring the weird looks on everyone's faces.

"Didn't she have that weird shrine to Adrien in her room? Remember? The show with Jagged Stone in her family's bakery?" Someone whispers.

... Okay, maybe her crush wasn't a secret to everyone else.

Marinette ignores them. Her friends will back her up and help her smooth things over with Adrien in case he overheard Marc yesterday, and things will return to normal.

"WHAT?!" She screams, her voice bouncing off the classroom walls. Alya cringes, but Alix gestures for her to continue. Were they all in on this?

"Mari," Alya says slowly. "We're taking a break from the Adrinette plans. All of us. Me, Alix, Juleka, Rose, Myléne, and I'm sure Marc, Nathaniel, and Zoé are done, too."

"B-but, how could you- I thought you guys cared." Marinette tries not to cry. How can they just betray her like this?

Alix sighs, clearly frustrated. "Marinette, we do care. We care so much that we did illegal shit to help you! The schedule? The parking sign? Breaking and entering? Yeah, it's a damn miracle we weren't arrested as your accomplices!" Myléne attempts to calm her down, but Alix shrugs her hand off her shoulder. "No, Myléne, she needs to understand that this is just wrong!"

"But-"

"No! Marinette, I'd support you 100% if this were a normal crush. But keeping a detailed schedule that spans three months and using Marc and Nathaniel to figure out how to break into someone's house without issue is so wrong."

Marinette looks around at her friends. Myléne refuses to make eye contact, Rose rests her head on Juleka's shoulder and looks at her feet, Alya hugs herself and looks off to the side but occasionally looks at her, and Alix is the only one looking her in the eye. Did they all feel this way? But they all had such a good time coming up with these plans for her. They put so much of their time and effort into things, even Alix.

"We're not saying this to hurt you, girl," Alya quietly says. "You just... Need a reality check. And frankly, we need to think things over. Looking back, I haven't been a great friend. Friends help each other, but not in the way I've been helping you. I cleared my calendar to spend more time with Nino and my sisters, Juleka and Rose wanna go on a date that isn't the same day as your plans, and Myléne hasn't had a proper date with Ivan in three weeks."

Myléne murmurs, "Three and a half."

"And believe it or not," Alix says. "I like family nerd game night at home. It's fun to watch Jalil freak out and flip the board." Hearing a sneeze, she whips her head toward the door. Upon opening it, Kim, Ivan, Nino, Max, and Nathaniel fall to the floor in a stack.

"Heeeey," Ivan awkwardly says. "How are things?"

Kim laughs nervously and quickly gets up. "Hey, this isn't the boys' bathroom! Nathaniel Kurtzberg, what on earth were you thinking?"

"Smooth," Nathaniel deadpans. Alix helps him up.

"How's Marc?"

"Kiran's got him tied to the bed." When he sees Marinette approach, he holds up a hand. "Marinette. Marc and I are done. We have other things to do besides illustrate every Adrinette scenario for you. I'll give you the sketchbooks and journals with everything in them later because I don't wanna look at them anymore."

"Look at what anymore?"

Adrien flinches when everyone turns to him in sync. He blinks, confused, and asks, "Is everything okay?"

Nino bites the inside of his cheek. His bro is seriously oblivious. He doesn't want to make Adrien uncomfortable this early in the morning. He sighs. "I'll tell you later." He ignores the strained sound from Marinette and adds, "Hey, maybe you should switch seats with someone, dude, I got a cold. Wouldn't want you catching it and your old man flipping out."

The blonde buys it. "Yeah, feel better, man. Nathaniel, could I sit next to you?"

Marinette gawks while everyone takes their seats. The bell rings, snapping her out of her stupor. She sits beside Alya, becoming disheartened when she moves away from her slightly and busies herself with her phone until Mme. Bustier arrives.

Lacey sets her phone down on the bench. "Marc's still not answering. Can't tell if that's good or bad."

"Let's say good," Reshma says while reapplying her gloss in front of her locker mirror. "Let's assume he is resting and thinking of his well-being." She closes her locker and joins Lacey on the bench. "He'll be back tomorrow, but maybe try not to bombard him with questions."

Lacey scoffs. "I don't bombard. And if I do, it's because I care." She sticks her tongue out when Reshma lightly ruffles her curly bob. "Quit it," she says, but her blush tells a different story.

"Aw, I can't help it," Reshma coos. "Your hair reminds me of this fox my cousin took care of at his father's zoo."

The blonde girl becomes very quiet.

That was oddly specific.

Slowly, she meets Reshma's gaze, and the taller girl gives her a knowing smile and a quiet, "Gotcha." She pulls out her phone and shows Lacey some clips people managed to get of Fennec during her debut. "I looked over the videos and recognized some of your moves. The climbing gear was a bit of a giveaway."

"Uuuuugh." Lacey pulls her letterman jacket over her head. Reshma giggles, wraps an arm around her, and pulls her to her side. "Was I that obvious?"

"Only to me. If everyone else knew, you would be swarmed by news anchors and bloggers." She pulls Lacey's jacket down and fixes her hair. "Your secret is safe with me... Foxy." That nickname, combined with the quick peck on the cheek, brings a light dusting of red to Lacey's cheeks.