Chapter Text
Marinette never thought she would be relying on another miraculous. The ladybug earrings were supposed to be the only one she would primarily use. But here she was, reaching into the miracle box to grab the familiar coin shaped pendant. She placed it around her neck, and it transformed into camouflage mode, perfectly suited for her.
“Marinette, school starts in 5 minutes, are you ready?” Sabine called from downstairs. There was school today. And somehow, she completely forgot. She rushed to get ready, and as much as she loved her pajamas, she couldn't wear them to school, so she had to change.
She walked out of her bedroom looking somewhat ready. She wore a pink cami top with black polka dots, a black shrug with white flowers, a pair of blue jeans with pink flowers embroidered onto them, as well as pink ballet flats with black bows on them. Her hair was tied up into her two signature pigtails with pink ribbons in her hair, which was pulled out of her face to show off her ears. They had also changed camouflage mode, maintaining the appearance of two silver bows.
“Morning Maman.” She tried to say somewhat happily, but she was just exhausted. Last night was spent trying to talk to her team, but nobody wanted to listen.
You lied to me Ladybug. I thought I could trust my partner.
His voice kept ringing in her head. He was heartbroken, and also furious. The fact that he had called her Ladybug instead of whatever nickname he had decided he liked that week also terrified her.
“Here's your lunch!” Sabine dropped a brown paper bag into Marinette's hand, and she gave her mom a quick kiss as she ran out the door. It was 8:05 AM, and attendance would definitely be called soon.
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”
“Present!” She burst into the classroom, out of breath from running. Her backpack was half falling off her, and sweat was dripping from her face. But she saw her boyfriend, Adrien Agreste, sitting in his seat next to her usual one, and her face lit up. He was waving her over, and after wiping something from her face, she came over to him in the back row. The teacher told the class she had to leave for 5 minutes, and as soon as she exited, Adrien turned to face Marinette.
“Good morning!” He smiled, and gave her a small pack on her cheek. She blushed from pure embarrassment as she heard a sigh from the front of the classroom. Of course, it was Alya Césaire, her former best friend.
“Do you mind? It's 8 AM, I don't need to hear you guys being all lovey dovey behind us. It's gross.” She made a little retching sound as parts of the class giggled. It was mostly Chloe's annoying little followers.
“Don’t you have a boyfriend, Alya? You should know what it's like to love someone.”
“I do. But that doesn't mean that I'm kissing him 24/7.”
“What's your problem? It's me kissing him one time and it's such a big deal–”
“You know that's not my problem. And you should know out of all people what my problem is exactly, Dupain-Cheng.”
Marinette immediately froze up. Chloe's voice entered her mind, the same one that would call her that while relentlessly bullying her. Alya would know this. Just like how she knew everything else about her. Just like how she knew–
Oh. Right. That's why she hates her.
“Alya. That's enough. Don't disrespect my girlfriend like that.” Adrien was leaning over their shared desk, eyeing Alya down. But she instead stood her ground, and stood up herself.
“Maybe someone like her deserves a little disrespect at times. Do you know the kind of lying bitch she is?” Adrien balled his fists up, and they were getting white from how tight they were.
“I know my Marinette. And I know that if she lied about anything, she wouldn't want to hurt anyone. She would never do anything for malicious intent.”
“Really. Marinette, explain yourself how you lied about–”
“Alya. That's enough. Please, sit down.” Nino begged from his seat next to Alya. Seriously, Marinette didn't know how he tolerates her. But Alya seemed to have a soft spot for her boyfriend, since she immediately calmed down and sat next to him.
Marinette finally had the chance to grab her binder and pencil case. The binder was a black one she decorated with stickers, and the pencil case was a polka dot one matching her top that she sewed herself, just like her backpack. It was just one large compartment, but it worked well enough to hold her fancy school supplies she saved up by working at her parents' bakery.
She took out a calligraphy pen and made a header for the notes she was going to take today when she caught Adrien staring at her backpack.
“You still have the keychain?” He asked softly, grabbing onto the paw print keychain she had bought. She had commissioned an artist to make matching ladybug and chat noir keychains for her and Adrien. She, of course, took the cat one. Not to avoid suspicion of her identity, but because she simply liked the design better. Adrien was ecstatic to get the ladybug design keychain and immediately put it on his bag the minute she handed it to him.
“Of course I do. Because who doesn't love a reminder that her boyfriend is her everyday Chat Noir?”
“And who doesn't love a reminder that his girlfriend is his everyday Ladybug.” He gave her a long kiss, but his voice started playing in her head again.
I thought I could trust my partner.
Being called an everyday ladybug didn't help with her feelings.
Adrien absolutely loved his girlfriend. And he didn't like that she felt off today.
He spent the entire period wishing she could cataclysm whatever burden she was holding. Because it was clear that she was. Maybe she was just scared to tell. He wanted to trust her, but after what happened last night, he wasn't sure even the most “trustworthy” people were truly kind and caring.
You lied to me Ladybug.
She had lied to all of them. Everyone. Which he could get past. They were heroes not like her. But him. The one person it would truly matter to. Her partner. Her ride or die. The person who would sacrifice himself for her.
She lied to him. About everything.
Not only her. But Kagami? Felix? They had been on it too. Maybe even Nathalie could've been involved. No, he couldn't ask her. This was meant to be a thing between the Miraculers. Only them. And as far as she knew, he wasn't one.
Could she even be trustworthy either?
Still, whatever that was hurting Marinette hurt her deeply. Pained her so much that she couldn't tell anyone. Even if she wanted to. And if there was anyone she'd ask for help with that burden, it was Alya.
So why did they hate each other? Or rather, why did Alya hate Marinette, and why did Marinette look so…guilty?
“Adrien? You zoned out again.” Marinette giggled, and he tried his best not to cry as he let out a small laugh. It was still Marinette, who managed to point out everything he did with a smile. Gosh, how much he loved her.
“I couldn't help but notice how beautiful you are, Marinette. That's why I did.” He grabbed her hand from under the table as she used the other one to write notes.
He heard it first. The buzzing of a phone. Having the cat miraculous definitely gave him much better hearing. He felt the movement of Plagg from underneath his shirt, and he turned to grab his phone from his bag. The familiar buzz was from an Akuma Alert. Of course it was. Soon, the other phones started buzzing up as well, and as everyone panicked, he grabbed Marinette out of the classroom.
“Adrien? Where are you taking me?” Marinette yelled as his grip grew stronger on her wrist. She wouldn't be able to do anything now if he was with her the entire time. He shoved her into the nearest closet and locked it from the outside. She started banging on the door when he yelled something from the outside.
“You need to stay safe, Marinette. Trust me on this. You'll be fine in there.” She kept banging and yelling as she heard his footsteps disappear, and Tikki appeared in the closet beside her.
“At least you still have some light!” She optimistically said, and Marinette gave a small smile. It wasn't the best to be shoved into what appeared to be a storage closet, but she could hopefully find her way out.
It took around 10 minutes and a lot of creativity.
She knew her winning strategy as Ladybug wasn't always luck. It was her. Her ability to create solutions when it wasn't obvious. It was no wonder that she got the power of creation after all. But why would Chat Noir get the power of destruction?
But with the help of a few supplies, she managed to pry open the door. As she got ready to step out, she heard…nothing. It was completely silent. She ran back into the closet before turning to Tikki.
“Tikki, spots–”
“You can't transform into Ladybug. Remember,?” It was Mullo, who was also accompanying her.
“Right. Thanks for reminding me, Mullo. Do better Tikki.” Tikki sighed as she just stared at her. The guardian. A 14 year old girl. Bossing around millions if not billions of years old creations. Especially herself, who was as old as the universe.
“Alright, Mullo, get squeaky!” Marinette yelled, and with a flash of pink light, she transformed into Multimouse. She hadn't done so in a long time. And deciding she had no better option, she ran out of the closet and into the unknown.