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goggles-mcgee · 6 months

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Ashes of Rage: Act 1 - It Would Take A Miracle

Chapter 4 of the story for @miner249er

AO3 Last Chapter

Summary: Luka's heart had never felt so broken, his world so dark and his music so static. He hasn't had any motivation to do anything besides stay in bed. It would take a miracle to make him do so...or a sympathetic and determined kwami.

It Would Take A Miracle:

Static.

All he could hear was static.

There were no melodies, there were no solos, there were no symphonies. All it was was disheartening static and Luka didn’t know what to do. His life three days ago had been so loud and comforting but now it was silent, muddled and so dark. He felt listless and refused to get out of bed. It was a good thing that he and Juleka got their own rooms finally, it had taken a lot of convincing for his mom to let them clean out one of the storage rooms and turn it into his new bedroom. It had actually been Marinette who had convinced his stubborn mom and it had made Marinette all the more wonderful. She was always incredible, but seeing her out stubborn the most stubborn person in Luka’s life had only made him love and value her more. A fresh wave of tears washed over the forlorn teen at the thought of his crush and friend. His heart twinged with a twisted pain he was slowly getting used to. Pain. He was in so much pain. He wanted it gone. He wanted her back. But like every time before, his pleas and wishes were ignored and just led to more heartbreak.

His appetite was all but gone and he barely ate what his mom made or bought him, he still drank though and maybe that was why she wasn’t pushing. He hadn’t showered in three days but with the way he was feeling he knew it would be longer. It was hard to get out of bed even if it was to use the restroom, taking a shower just felt like too much work. He would see the shower and a barrage of thoughts would crash into him, reminding him all he would have to do to feel clean again and it was like he was tranquilized or something because he would just feel this bone-deep tiredness that wouldn’t go away no matter what he did so it would just lead to him laying in his bed and starting the twisted routine all over again. It was like he was in one of those groundhog day movies or like his own power Second Chance, was glitching and not letting him out of the situation.

Luka’s emotions felt too big for his body, his skin itched with his frustration and the days passed without a shower, his teeth ached in his longing, his muscles screamed in his sadness, his heart clenched in its breaking and his lungs drowned in his guilt. As much as he craved to do something, anything he also couldn’t help the thoughts of ‘why?’ Why do anything at all when his world had crashed and burned around him? Why plead for things to be different when his prayers fell on deaf ears? Why get up when nothing he did would bring back Marinette? It was a lot and there was never a break form the never-ending torture. Not even his dreams were safe. Dreaming of Marinette led to more heartache even if the dream was normal to past ones he had had that had previously brought him endless joy. The nightmares were the worst but he would take them over the bittersweet ones that just made his longing deeper and his hope stronger. But reality would hit him once his eyes opened and he would cry for many minutes, maybe even hours. Time didn’t register to him really.

The only reason he knew how long it had been since he had showered was because of his mom and Juleka. He knew they were trying to help but he had been angrier than he honestly expected after Paris learned of Team Miraculous’ Finale Fight, he hated it but that was what everyone had now dubbed it. It hadn’t been a fight, at least not from his and the rest of the team’s point of view. No one knew what exactly happened in the underground chamber since the only ones who could tell them were two comatose Kwamis and three villains who would probably twist the events. It was hard to come to the realization that Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste, even for Luka who had the unique skill of ‘reading someone’s heart.’ That’s what others referred to it as but according to his long talks with Sass, Luka seemed to be someone who could read a person’s aura which mixed with his Synesthesia. He had Chromesthesia, specifically, but his was more along the lines of seeing color and the color had a sound. He saw colors in a lot of things but it was constantly people, their auras and tones of voice would bring color and the color would bring the music.

It did get overwhelming sometimes and it had been a big factor in him doing his schooling online for a while which turned into permanently. He just enjoyed it more than when he did go to school and his former teachers told him they saw remarkable improvement in his grades. He still met up with his friends, they still hung out and had study sessions, so he was still a social teen but he didn’t have to worry about migraines or coming across weird to other people who weren’t his friends. His former bandmates in Kitty Section had also been really understanding and never treated him differently and helped him when some days were just too much. But they changed, their music’s changed and it had been jarring, when he eventually left the band he knew it had been inevitable. There was no doubt in Luka’s mind that if he hadn’t quit he would have been ‘politely’ fired and he had strong feelings about that. The one constant had been Marinette, when the others changed she didn’t. She remained strong and melodious.

Even if she was going through something her melody was still recognizable. He was still coming to terms with the fact he would never hear her song any time soon or ever. She had been there when he left the band, she had been there when he begun fighting with Juleka more than normal and she had been there when he decided to get to know his dad more. She had been such a strong light guiding him through some of the roughest seas he had ever experienced. Kagami had also been a constant presence before everything happened. She was a calming presence and often kept him and Marinette from getting lost in their projects. Both he and Marinette tended to get distracted easily and they both fed off each other’s energy and Kagami would be the one to keep them grounded and focused. Kagami’s music was a new sound he had gotten used to hearing and it was easily in his list of top ten songs from people he heard. When Marinette, Kagami and he would get together he would hear such wonderful melodies.

Marinette had often joked that they were the Three Musketeers with how often they would hang out together when they could. Without Marinette it felt like a knife to the heart to use the group chat between the three that was titled as such so he and Kagami never touched it when they spoke. Phone calls were still too much for Luka at the moment so the two just texted each other but it still brought him comfort all the same. That was probably another reason why his mother wasn’t pushing too much, it probably would have been a different story if he had cut off all his friends but especially Kagami since his mom knew how close they along with Marinette were. But he still overheard his mom talking on the phone over how worried she was and how she didn’t know what to do. Luka always felt like telling her she was doing all she could and just comfort her but he didn’t have the energy. He suspected she was talking to his dad or Penny, most likely both. He knew from the sounds of it his dad wasn’t doing so well either with the news.

“Snakelet…”

The voice of his Kwami cut through the current haze Luka found himself in but he couldn’t bring himself to look at his friend but he did manage to hum as a response.

“I have thought about what I could say that would make you feel better for ages. I came to the conclusion that no words I could offer would make you happy. Nor satisfied. But I don’t want to leave you with no words from me. I…I am lost. I have been through this situation more times than I’d like to admit and yet all those instances have left me with no answers.” Sass admitted in his soft voice as he flew to sit in front of Luka’s face on his pillow. Luka couldn’t look away, he wouldn’t look away, he knew it would hurt his small friend if he did so.

“Though there are few words I can give you that express my condolences and support, I simply will say, I am here for you.” Sass said and did his best to give Luka a hug, though it was more like he laid himself on Luka’s nose. “I am here for you and I will continue to be here if ever you need me.”

Luka felt himself begin to cry again, which astounded him as he felt like he was all out of tears. “Sass…” He choked out, he tried his best not to sound like he was going to sob but he knew he failed when he felt Sass try to hug him harder.

“What do I do?” He asked in a small voice once his small cry ended. Sass was no longer on his nose but instead sat in his hands as he finally sat up after what felt like ages.

“ We do our best to move forward.”

“We?”

“I did say I will be with you. I mean it, every step of the way, I will be here.” Sass didn’t say he promised but Luka could hear it in his tone of voice. It was a promise but it felt like more. It felt like a lifeline.

Luka couldn’t really think of an appropriate response without risk of crying again and he already had a cry-headache settling in. “What…What do we do?”

“We need to go to…Ladybug’s house, her room specifically.” Luka was about to protest that suggestion, because he was absolutely not ready to do that. He didn’t think he would ever be ready. “I know that is probably the last thing you want to do Snakelet, but I can’t communicate with the other Kwami to see if one of their holders can do it. The Miracle Box is sitting in…Ladybug’s room unknown and unprotected. If someone with ill intentions were to find it there would be great difficulties and more tragedy.”

“More?” Luka felt his anger rise at an alarming speed. “Hasn’t there been enough?”

“Luka…I understand you are in pain and worried. I…I am also going through the same. My friends are unconscious and unresponsive…I…I can barely feel them even if they are in the same room.” At Sass’s words Luka’s anger all but left him in an instant. “Besides obtaining the Miracle Box and keeping it safe, I feel something telling me that Tikki and Plagg need the Miracle Box. I can’t explain and I know you are hurting, but-”

“Okay.”

“-it is…Wait. Okay? You…You will do it?” Sass asked and the wide-eyed hopeful look on his face broke Luka’s heart a little bit more. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he wasn’t the only one hurting even if it felt like it at times.

“You and me, Sass, you…you said you were here for me and I’ll be here for you. We’re friends.” Luka said softly as he brought the Kwami to his chest in the best hug he could give, it was somewhat like the hug Sass gave Luka earlier. He wanted to make Sass feel as safe and loved as the Kwami had made him feel despite their size difference. After their hug Luka forced himself to get out of bed and ignored how weak his legs felt and softly said his transformation phrase. It felt weird being Viperion even though it really hadn’t been that long since he had last transformed but there was this odd feeling like being in his hero form was wrong without…Ladybug there to lead. Ladybug, it was easier to think of her as Ladybug, it didn’t lessen the pain but it made it just a bit more bearable. But now he was going to her house, to her room and he knew what it looked like, smelled like and there would be no way to think of her as Ladybug when he was in there.

He had to do this though. For Sass and for Ladybug, he would rather die than let the rest of the Miraculi fall into the wrong hands. He'd be damned if he didn’t protect the city that Ladybug loved with her whole heart and soul. So he made his way to her home, to her tower. He and Kagami often joked about Marinette being the princess in the tower and Mari-Ladybug only laughed. She loved her tower. Kagami once joked when it was the two of them that Kagami was M-Ladybug’s knight while he was her minstrel. He had laughed and agreed but later he would think about it and decided he would be a knight if she needed him to be. Though she had needed him and he hadn’t been there. Nope! No! He would not fall down that line of thinking as he was jumping across rooftops and using his lyre to help him along the way. It was a weird day when they found out his lyre could turn into a crossbow, the end of his “arrows” could also change into a grappling gun.

Apparently he and Sass had been bonding pretty well and slowly harmonizing which is why his lyre upgraded to one of its forms. The arrows of the crossbow themselves were weird as he didn’t carry a quiver or anything but an arrow would be equipped if he needed it. Some had no arrowheads, some had normal arrowheads, others had barbed arrowheads, and sometimes the arrows had string attached to them. Whatever kind of arrow he needed, it would show up on the crossbow already loaded. Sass had told him that that showed just how in tune the two were becoming and that soon they would probably be able to communicate with one another while Luka was transformed. It was something he had been looking forward to. He was sure it would come in handy and besides, he already talked out loud when transformed, it may have looked weird but he had been talking to his kwami even if he didn’t think he could hear him at the time. He hadn’t but now he would, hopefully soon.

Finally, Luka touched down on the roof of Ma-Ladybug’s tower and looked around in sadness as he noticed the plants up there had wilted. Before he could talk himself out of it he opened the hatch of the roof and jumped through and onto the floor of the bedroom. Some dust had begun to settle and it broke Luka’s heart more but he willed himself to take deep breaths before he dropped his transformation. He and Sass needed to be able to talk and they weren’t quite at that stage of being able to communicate with one another. As the transformation dropped he looked down at the dirty pink bag that he had taken to looking after and opened it to look at the kwamis who slept inside. Tikki and Plagg, as he had learned from Sass, were normally darker in their colors but looking at them they seemed shades or tones paler, well according to Sass.

“So what are we looking for?” Luka asked as he refused to look anywhere else but his kwami.

Sass had opened his mouth, probably to respond but both of them froze when they heard thumps coming from the roof and the unmistakable murmur of voices. Luka scooped his kwami out of the air and quickly hid behind M- Ladybug’s .( Ladybug. Goddammit .) chaise. The light in the room was off and he himself had been wearing some of his darker clothes…er well, pajamas. Both kwami and teen held their breath as the hatch to the roof was opened and down came two? No, three, actually make it four, people. It took a minute for Luka to recognize them as his teammates. He didn’t know whether or not to greet them but that choice disappeared when a purple kwami and blue kwami flew out from somewhere and floated in the middle of the room.

“Please don’t be scared!” The purple one pleaded. “I am Nooroo and this is Duusuu. I am the kwami of the Butterfly Miraculous while Duusuu is the kwami for the Peacock. I know that alarms you but please listen. I called my friends here and they probably don’t know why or just had a feeling they had to come here so you followed.”

Barely after speaking, the kwami - Nooroo, was sped into by Sass who flew so fast the two kwami shot off into the air. Luka figured there was no point in hiding anymore and stepped out from his hiding place and awkwardly waved at his teammates. They seemed to be in shock before Noc-Turtle mumbled something and their transformation dropped revealing Marc Anciel. Fox-Tail’s jaw dropped before he hastily said his detransformation phrase and there stood Nathaniel Kurtzberg who hurried over Marc and hugged him. Donryu had been looking at Luka the whole time and quietly made her way over to him, once she was in front of him she too dropped her transformation and there was Kagami. It shouldn’t have shocked him as much as it did but the two just stood there staring at each other before they heard an odd wheeze come from Bee-Witch who was staring at everyone with wide eyes. She too dropped her transformation and only to the shock of Marc and Nathaniel, she turned out to be Chloe Bourgeois.

“I don’t know how to handle all these revelations at the moment but I can work through them later with my cat.” Marc said, clearly still in some shock. “Er-Nooroo right? Can you explain more?”

Nooroo who was in the middle of a kwami group hug along with Duusuu nodded and reluctantly left the hug. “Like I said, I was able to call you all here to meet, I had to borrow power from the other kwami in the Miracle Box though. I’m not at full power and even then my messages would have been more feeling than anything. Sorry, I’m rambling. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to talk so freely.”

“You are fine, Our Friend.” Pollen reassured while glaring at everyone else like she was daring them to argue.

“Take your time.” Sass murmured from his spot next to his friend. Luka wanted to comfort the little kwami but he didn’t think it would help given how Luka could imagine he was treated by his former user. If Luka were him, he would be wary of humans no matter how well intentioned.

Nooroo took a deep breath and nodded. “I…I don’t really know where to start. What I have to say is…shocking to say the least. I know all of us here have been through a lot…have lost a lot…but I felt like if I stayed quiet I would be betraying Ladybug just…just like Chat Noir did.”

It was quiet. So quiet. Until Nathaniel choked out a small, “What?”

Duusuu merely nodded in response along with Nooroo. “It was awful. Chat Noir and his father planned the entire thing. Chat Noir planned to be suspicious of Gabriel Agreste once more and had you guys purposefully find out he was guilty of being Hawkmoth. Ladybug was the big target and you guys would have been just…collateral. So when Ladybug proposed the ambush…”

“Uncle Gabe already knew.” Chloe stated in a voice full of disgust even if her eyes were filled with tears.

“He did.” Nooroo confirmed. “Chat Noir played his role well and the ambush was happening so fast. Ladybug could barely try and fight back before she was secured to the chair. She was so angry…so heartbroken…she did all she could to fight against Gabriel and his son…”

There were some gasps among the humans at the information but Luka merely took a much needed breath in. He had guessed as much since the only ones in the house after the explosion had been Adrien, Gabriel, Nathalie and the body of Emilie Agreste. It just clicked. Sure Chat Noir could have disappeared like Marin-Ladybug did but that didn’t feel right. Chat had already been acting off before the ambush and confirming he was in fact Adrien was like the final nail in the coffin. Luka had had suspicions of who the Chat was and just whose side he was on but after everything, the confirmation was bitter. According to Sass, Luka had known who he and Ladybug were but the memories of their identities faded as a safety measure to keep the team’s identities safe. Luka would only have kept the memories if both heroes had accepted he knew and trusted him. It was weird but Luka just chalked it up to Miraculous Magic.

He wished he had been able to remember, if he had then maybe all of this wouldn’t have happened. He wouldn’t be standing in M-Lady…no. He had to stop. It didn't matter how much he told himself, Ladybug was Marinette. Marinette was Ladybug. They were one and the same and denying it to himself was more likely to hurt him than bring him healing. He couldn’t delude himself anymore. It hurt, it hurt so much, but he had to acknowledge the truth because that was the only way he’d be able to move forward and help protect the city that Marinette adored. He missed her. He missed her so much, but he had to do the healthy thing and not try and separate her from herself. It would be like he wasn’t giving her, her due credit and Marinette deserved so much credit. “If Adrien and his dad got the earrings…then why did the mansion explode like it did?” Luka asked so they could continue. They could all mourn and scream and cry after, but right now they needed information.

“I’m not sure.” Nooroo admitted. “Everything was happening so fast. Gabriel was so close to making his wish and magic was everywhere in preparation. But I felt it, it was this enormous feeling of betrayal and anger that washed over all of us. Tikki looked so scared and worried and Plagg looked shocked. I had turned to where I felt the emotions and it was no surprise they were coming from Ladybug…but just as I looked at her, there was this awful cracking and whistling. Like something was breaking through the roof and flooring at high speed. I panicked as did the other kwami but Tikki looked…she looked like she recognized what was happening.”

“She looked like her heart broke.” Duusuu mumbled, their voice was soft and scratchy. They seemed to be in pain.

“The room filled with this bright, bright red light and then next thing I know…the mansion exploded. Ladybug was nowhere to be seen.” Nooroo flew over to Luka and pointed at the open pink bag in his hands. “Tikki and Plagg know what happened, but because of all the ambient magic, plus the overwhelming emotions swirling in the air, and their own merging being interrupted, they were hurt.”

“Something like this hasn’t happened in a long time.” Wayzz admitted.

“So there is a way to help them?” Kagami asked.

Wayzz nodded. “Yes. But it will take time…a lot of time. I’ve never seen them so bad. The best we can do is return them to the Miracle Box. It will heal them, but the damage is great and as I said, it will take time. Nooroo, I imagine you called us here, not only to tell us the truth but also because of the Miracle Box.”

“That’s right. The Miracle Box will be vulnerable if there is no one to watch over it as it heals our friends. I sensed the box here and that’s only because Duusuu and I are both still being affected by the interrupted magic. We’re more sensitive right now.”

“One of our holders will definitely protect the box.” Pollen declared. “They are all brave heroes.”

All the humans looked at one another in disbelief. Marinette had been guarding this box all while being Ladybug? They knew she was amazing but this was something else entirely. Luka sadly guessed that this is why she was always so stressed. If they had to watch this box and protect it then so be it. He’d do it for Marinette, no matter the cost. Now all that they needed to decide was who to send the box with.

Next Chapter

#mldc #mldc crossover #ml x dc #mldccrossover #ml red lantern au #red lantern marinette #mldccrossover Luka Couffaine | Viperion #mldccrossover Kagami Tsurugi | Donryu #ml salt fic #chat noir salt #adrien agreste salt #mldccrossover Marc Anciel | Noc-Turtle #mldccrossover Nathaniel Kurtzberg | Fox-Tail #mldccrossover Chloe Bourgeois | Bee-Witch #mldccrossover kwamis

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adrinoir · 1 year

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Headcanon: Adrien Agreste is Trans? (Part 4)

I absolutely love writing about this headcanon. Feel free to read my other sections of the trans headcanon: part one, part two, and part three.

Usual disclaimer: this is just for fun! Obviously cis boys can have these same qualities and traits. Don’t take it too seriously. These are all just things I’ve noticed. Also please keep in mind I haven't watched anything beyond Kwami's Choice: part 1 when I'm writing and posting this (so, I'm using what I currently know).

The incredibly strong dislike of modeling

This relates back to part one where I talked about Adrien’s discomfort in being a model. I had mentioned modeling is all about body - your face and body being everywhere, having to pose in front of a camera all the time, having to walk down the runway. There's a lot of visible discomfort we see in Adrien whenever he has to model.

Anyhow, what I want to add is that this discomfort never eased up for him despite the many, many years he had to model. He was extremely adamant about quitting. Obviously, modeling is a very stressful job as is, especially with the amount of gigs and events to attend and the insane fans who want to know where he's at, plus he said he just wants to be treated as a son by his dad. However, having gender dysphoria is something that can really be heightening this discomfort and desire to quit.

I feel like there are a lot of people out there who would desire to live this lavish lifestyle of being a model, but Adrien can't stand it. So therein lies the question: aside from the normal stress, what is heightening his strong dislike for this job? It could also be the fact that it's keeping him from getting to try out new things he'd enjoy doing, but also consider that his father controls his life as a whole, it isn't just his modeling position getting in the way. And, as I've previously said, there's a lot of visible discomfort, which could easily be what's making him dislike modeling even more.

Additionally, Adrien's face is now not only plastered on billboards, but on almost everyone's Alliance ring. Gabriel scanned Adrien's entire body and created this AI version of him to relieve him of his modeling duties. However, Adrien is still uneasy and doesn't like seeing his face and voice on just about everyone's device (if they have him as their option and not Lila). Yes, it's obviously weird for him to see a fake version of himself saying things he never recorded. But, 1) his face has been all over Paris for years (MASSIVE photos of him), and 2) this should not be incredibly shocking behavior for Gabriel Agreste. So, is there some dysphoric discomfort here, too? Possibly. I know it's a stretch, but it's definitely a small piece to take into consideration.

He often lets people perceive him how they want to

I had also mentioned in part two that he's a people pleaser and melds himself to be who other people want him to be. I want to add, he also lets people define who he is instead of trying real hard to correct them; he lets them think what they want of him.

A good example of this is in Lies when Kagami is trying to draw Adrien. He tries to pose as a cat to try and vaguely show his Cat Noir side; to be silly. But, Kagami doesn't believe this. He even promises her that this is who he really is, that being silly is part of who he truly is. However, Kagami pushes him against a wall, stares directly into his eyes, and says he’s perfect and, "There. This is really you." To which he answers, "Do you really think...?" and just lets Kagami kiss him. Yes, Kagami was being a bit forceful (like, oof. She shouldn't have done that). But, Adrien didn't try to tell her she's wrong. He let Kagami perceive him in her own way.

Why doesn't he correct her? It could be because he wouldn't want people knowing he's trans. It’s a very scary thing. You don’t know how the people who claim they love you will react. Letting them think what they want to doesn’t raise suspicion that he’s hiding something, and clearly his effort on trying to open up to her more didn’t even work in the first place.

You could say he acts like "being silly" is such a big, important part of him that he feel must be hidden at all costs, because it seems that he thinks that him being silly and telling puns would possibly give away that he's Cat Noir. BUT him posing that way for Kagami and him telling cat jokes in the middle of class (in Ephemeral) proves that notion wrong.

One could say he also doesn't want people to know he's dealing with a bad home life, but it's been common knowledge from the start that he has a controlling father. Nino has come up with plans on multiple occasions to free him from his father so they can hang out together. Kagami's mother and Gabriel are friends. It's how Adrien and her met, and Kagami makes it very well known that she's aware of how controlling Gabriel is.

In Elation - one of the most recent episodes - he mentions to Marinette that his fans "wouldn't be such big fans if they knew who was really behind the mask". So, even now, he still feels the need to hide his truer self and that he wouldn't be liked for who he truly is. But, let's think about this for a moment. He has fans both as Adrien and as Cat Noir. He has friends who know his situation and care about him. So then…what is being left out that he feels people won’t like about him? THAT brings us to the next point.

Why does he think people wouldn’t like him?

With all that being said (in the last section), there’s no exact, definable reason as to why Adrien says people wouldn’t like the real him. So, this could mean Adrien is hiding something we as the audience can’t even see.

It’s obvious Adrien has underlying insecurities. But, it seems there’s more than just those insecurities, and this could be him possibly being trans and internally struggling with that gender dysphoria.

People like what they see in Cat Noir - his silly puns and kind heart. People like what they see in Adrien - his kindness and friendliness. So, why will it be problematic once people know they’re the same person? There’s no solid reason.

I had mentioned in my other parts of this headcanon that he’s very closed off which can be pretty common amongst closeted trans people. Adrien thinking people won’t like who he truly is without any definable reason could contribute to that. He doesn’t want people to know he’s trans because he feels they’d think very differently of him and may not like him.

Think about how quickly he believed Marinette in Elation when she said she liked Adrien but doesn’t anymore. It shows that sign of insecurity and dislike for himself. When the girl he likes shows so many signs that she like him throughout the entire show but denies that, he doesn’t believe her. It’s really sad.

The closeness with his mom

So, we aren’t given much background on Emilie, but one thing we do see is that she’s closer to Adrien than Gabriel is. However, what makes them close? We’re never given a reason.

There’s that possibility she’s manipulative like Gabriel but in a different sense, one that makes Adrien like her despite being abusive. But, of course there’s the possibility that she isn’t, which makes her the better parent.

So, if it were true that she never abused Adrien, that leaves the question: what makes them close?

Hypothetically, if my headcanon was actually canon, she could be the one parent who supports Adrien being trans. That reason alone would make them closer, but could also be just one reason amongst many others.

The headcanon still works if I flip it

What if instead of Adrien being a trans guy who already transitioned, he’s a trans girl who hasn’t transitioned yet? I know that might sound like a massive stretch, but I’ve heard this headcanon from other fans and there’s some good back up for this, too.

We all know Gabriel is a very abusive father. We all know Adrien’s childhood dreams were nonexistent because was forced to be who his parents wanted him to be (or he’s forcing himself to please them). What if this is because they don’t support Adrien when he told him he felt like a girl? That’d mean he’s forced to continue living as a boy to please his parents, because his parents don’t accept the fact that he’s trans.

And modeling? That discomfort in having to show the body he has this disconnect from the body he was born in but still has to have pictures taken of all the time.

And him overcompensating his masculinity as Cat Noir? Trans people who are still questioning or don’t have a choice to transition can overcompensate to try being comfortable in the body they were born into. For example, a trans guy who can’t transition might try to be a very feminine girl (makeup, dressed, etc) or a trans girl who can’t transition might try to be a very masculine guy (get real muscular, grow out their facial hair, etc).

Just about every reason I’ve listed in all parts of this headcanon work just the same if Adrien was supposedly a closeted trans girl which makes this headcanon even more interesting imo.

Also, we do see him shirtless in Mr. Pigeon 72 which some people say debunks this whole headcanon that he’s a trans guy. BUT, this isn’t necessarily true. 1) Puberty blockers exist 2) it supports the flipped version.

This flipped headcanon would also be extremely sad if it is true that Adrien is a sentibeing. The ability to change Adrien to be the gender he connects with would be possible, but his parents chose not to recreate another version of him for their own sake. Or, they did possibly try but it’s what ended up wrecking the peacock miraculous, which might’ve made them feel some hostility towards Adrien.

There’s other characters in the show that are canonically queer

There’s absolutely no denying that there are queer characters in the show. Even though it’s not directly stated that Juleka and Rose are dating and that Nathaniel and Marc are dating, it’s made very clear that they are just based on their interactions.

I also heard Marc is based on one of the staff’s gender fluid friends, which is really cool! That’s direct queer representation that they clarified outside the show.

If you know anything about Disney, you’ll know there’s some homophobia and transphobia around the company. For instance, I also watch The Owl House where the main character Luz is openly bi and Amity is openly lesbian. They end up crushing on each other and dating. They directly state in the show that they’re girlfriends, show Luz coming out to her mom as bi, and have scenes of Luz and Amity kissing. There’s also Raine who’s an openly non-binary character - they directly refer to Raine with they/them pronouns. Their VA is also non-binary. And what does Disney do, despite how incredibly successful this show is? They wouldn’t let the creator renew it.

So, other Disney shows such as Miraculous and Star vs the Forces of Evil show queer characters without directly saying that they are. People might refer to that as queer baiting, but with Disney’s proof of being homophobic and transphobic, I can understand why these shows wouldn’t directly say what these characters’ sexualities and identities are.

Anyhow, considering how they massively hint at Rose and Juleka being girlfriends and Marc and Nathaniel being boyfriends, there’s that possibility that other characters in the show are queer, too. That’s why I and many other fans of the show can easily create these queer headcanons for many of the characters. There’s a lot of signs in the show.

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mikodrawnnarratives · 2 years

Photo

Look at that, only a few days before pride month is over and I’m only NOW finishing one of the drawings I wanted to finish.

It’s speed running time/j

In my rewrite, Adrigami happens for VERY different reasons and they almost never have romantic feelings for each other lol. As I figure out Kagami and Chloe’s arcs, all I know for certain is that these two definitely have an enemies to lovers arc together. Chloe wants Marc and Nathaniel working on their comic, but Kagami just makes herself home after ONE invite from her other artist friend and Chloe has to deal. Chloe doesn’t go down without a fight.

BTW, shoes.. are the devils creation. At least when it comes to drawing them.

All the characters are in SOCKS for the other panels because they love me.

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iwriterandomcrap32 · 1 year

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Disney movies that remind me of Miraculous ships:

Adrinette-Cinderella

Djwifi-Aladdin

Julerose-Tangled

Marcaniel-Wreck-It Ralph

Myvan-Beauty and the Beast

Kimdine-The Little Mermaid

Chlobrina-Princess and the Frog

#miraculous #miraculous ships #miraculous shitpost #adrien x marinette #nino x alya #juleka x rose #marc x nathaniel #mylene x ivan #kim x ondine #chloe x sabrina

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blackbutlerfandomnerddomain · 1 year

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Okay but like imagine in Miraculous Ladybug they one day do a episode in which a "geek" gets akumatized and their power was to make all of Paris a real life D'n'D/LARPing fantasy like shield in which Marinette/Ladybug is a half-elf fae of sorts who works as the party's healer or a paladin, Adrien/Chat Noir is a half-elf warlock, Kagami is a Druid, and Luka is the party's bard. Adding on is Nathaniel as a half-elf rouge and Marc is a healer. If that wins I will make a poll to see who will get drawn first.

Another idea I have is the guys have a sleepover at Adrien's place while the girls have a slumber party at Marinette's. Kagami would successfully lie to her mother to go to Marinette's party while Mari helped Adrien convince his father for him to have the sleepover (difference apparently).

A joke that could happen would be the play on a guy sneaking into the party pretending to be the pizza delivery but instead it's Luka and Adrien doing Adrien's first "prank" then an akuma would happen/Lila would cut the power for being a salty bee-witch.

#fun idea #miraculous ladubug #mlb au #miraculous ladybug au #miraculous ladybug rewrite #mlb episode idea #lowkey shippy #luka x adrien x kagami x marinette #lukadrigaminette #marionette x adrian x kagami x luka x nathaniel x marc #poll #online polls

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artzychic27 · 1 year

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How about a miraculous rock and riot au?

CUE ROCKABILLY MUSIC!

It’s Paris in the 1950s

Two rival gangs are on top at Francoise DuPont, the Venoms and the City Royals

The Venoms consist of Zoé Lee, Reshma Leghari, Lacey Greene, Aurore Beauréal, and Mireille Caquet

The City Royals consist of Austins Armbruster, Boulet, Quinlan, and Tomassian

One day at school, Zoé has her first disaster lesbian crush when she comes across Cosette Bellamy and sets out to try and impress her and hopefully strike up a conversation which will lead to them going on a date

Her plans all suck at first until it’s the end of the day and Zoé friggin talks to them! They hang out, Cosette meets the gang, and a while later, they’re dating but no one knows because… It’s the 50s

Later, it’s another turf battle between the Venoms and the City Royals. The turf being fought over? The bleachers

Zoé remains calm and civil until Armbruster says some sexist shit, making her snap and tackle him into a nearby lake. The fight ends as a draw because they need to fix their hair

When Zoé calls them on their old-timey rotary phone and vents about Armbruster, Cosette suggests a night out, and Zoé happens to know just the spot

The Drive In!

It’s going nice at first until Cosette notices (Read: Hears) some couples making out, and Zoé is quick to assure them that she wouldn’t try anything and goes off on another disaster lesbian rambling until Cosette kisses her

But… They’re not the only ones sneaking around. A few cars over is Austin Tomassian with his date, president of the Thespian Club, Jean Duparc

They’ve been keeping their relationship a secret from the other Austins for about… Two years now

Jean confesses that he’d like Tomassian to finally come out to them, but he becomes petrified by the mere thought of it… But, he doesn’t like sneaking Jean around like he’s some dirty secret, either

Before they can talk some more, Armbruster suddenly turns up and honks the car horn, interrupting their date. Armbruster, Boulet, and Quinlan question Tomassian why he’s with Jean until Jean explains that Tomassian was just thanking him for helping him study for a test

And the excuse works like a charm… Only now, they’re having their date with the Austins

After that disaster of a night, it’s a new day at school and the Venoms and City Royals are at it again. This time over a parking spot. Before either of their cars can reach the spot, a motorcycle beats them to it

The rider is none other than the new student, Marc Anciel. Noticing the other students fawning over them, one things clear to both gangs, they need them to join

But Marc doesn’t give two shits about either gang and just wants to be a genderless badass motorcyclist

After finally managing to ditch the Venoms and City Royals, Marc takes refuge on the bleachers… Only for Mireille to find them

While she assures them she’s not trying to recruit, Marc remains skeptical… Until Mireille explains how she used to be a member of the City Royals until Zoé noticed how upset she was

This confession helps them to become friends and gets Marc to inform Mireille that they’re already the leader of their own gang, the Nukes (Cuz they nuke gender)

The Nukes consist of Marc Anciel, Denise Cabello, Simon O’Connor, and Ismael Prisk… And by unofficial extension, a certain redhead Marc’s been hanging out with

More Cosette and Zoé content!

Zoé’s bemoaning the fact that she and Cosette rarely spend any time together until she recalls a club on the outskirts of town, one that’s inclusive

But… The night they go, the bouncer will only allow Zoé in due to new management

Cosette assures Zoé that it’s fine, but Zoé’s not leaving without threatening the bouncer by informing his wife of his affair. With that threat, Cosette falls in love with Zoé even more

They settle for a date by the Seine, nice and private where they can kiss all they want

When they get to discussing prom, Zoé has serious doubts they’ll be let in, but Cosette makes a bet with her

Cosette: If we’re accepted, then you owe me a dance.

Zoé: It’s a deal.

During one class, everything’s going totally normal… Then Jean decides to “accidentally” push Tomassian’s books off of his desk and offers to help pick them up because Quinlan will pound him if he doesn’t help

When everyone’s gone to lunch, Jean and Tomassian have some much-needed alone time that ends with Tomassian pinning Jean to the floor… But then Zoé walks in on them because… she left her jacket

After school, the two secret couples meet up at the diner and explain how they started dating, their preferences, all that

Long story short, Cosette is bisexual and isn’t cisgender, Zoé’s a lesbian, Tomassian is gay, and Jean’s pansexual and demiromantic. But since it’s the 50s and those terms haven’t been spoken yet, they say

Zoé: Well, I never liked men.

Cosette: I just think everyone’s pretty is all. Also, I’m a girl but at the same time, partially? I’m not sure.

Tomassian: I just… Never got into girls.

Jean: I’m with Cosette, everyone is pretty, but I need to know the person. Like on an emotional level.

This sweet moment is interrupted by the Venoms and City Royals barging in

Just when they think their covers have been blown, Aurore’s freaking out over Zoé being on a date with Austin

Zoé/Tomassian: …

Cosette/Jean: …

Zoé: … *Holds Tomassian’s hand* You can’t stop love, Aurore!

And now, as of this moment, Zoé is no longer a member of the Venoms and Tomassian is out of the City Royals

… Well, that happened. Let’s see what the Nukes are up to. Ah, yes, forging essays and other assignments for cash

They’ve been doing this since Middle School. Ismael’s the lookout, Simon’s the dealer, Denise is the distributor (No one ever suspects the one in the skirt), and Marc is the brains behind the whole operating

While Simon is handing business with another student, three angry students storm up to him and flaunt their failed assignments and vow to never order from the Nukes again

*Later*

Ismael: Boss. We got ourselves a problem.

Marc: … *Turns around in their swivel chair with Nathaniel in their lap* Lay it on me.

Turns out what happened is that they sent out a bad batch of papers, which is bad because now no one will buy from them again

Marc urges them to all come up with a plan… They’re screwed… That is until Marc reminds them about the final exams. They can’t predict the questions, but they can write them

Its an easy job, all they had to do was replicate the old tests and boom, sneak into the school, dodge the janitor, replace the new tests with the old and boom. No one will know

And just for the hell of it, Simon adds ‘Other’ with the ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ boxes

Back with Zoé and Cosette: Aurore, Reshma, and Lacey still aren’t talking to Zoé. Mireille’s the only one and Zoé considers confessing, but this feels different to her

Cosette explains to Zoé that it’s the lie her friends are so upset about and that it’d be better to tell them all, but Zoé’s still having some doubts and is worried they’ll see her differently

Cosette’s able to assure Zoé that everything might work out in the end right before it kisses her and right before Cosette’s dad (Cool parent by the way) walks in the room

And Zoé, like any disaster lesbian, leaps out through Cosette’s bedroom window before Mr. Bellamy could see her

Now with Jean and Tomassian- Sleepover at Jean’s house!

Jean loves that he gets to see Tomassian with his glasses on all the time and not when they’re in private

And Tomassian is relieved to no longer have to keep up a certain image and finality gets to be his sweet, flustered, sometimes romantic self

Of course, they’re gonna cuddle in bed and kiss each other until they both fall asleep

Flashback to the day the Venoms and City Royals were formed, why Armbruster hates Zoé, blah blah blah… Present day

The remaining City Royals are out recruiting when Reshma, Aurore, and Lacey confront them, demanding that they do something about Tomassian, but since Tomassian’s no longer a City Royal, they aren’t doing anything

Things get heated and they start to draw in a crowd… Then Reshma high kicks Quinlan in the nose

It’s an immediate detention for the Venoms and City Royals, even Zoé and Tomassian

Arguments break out again, and Aurore demands an explanation from Zoé. Having enough, Mireille tells them all to cork it and even comes to Marc’s defense when Lacey uses the wrong pronouns

Having enough and just wanting everyone to shut up and stop repeating the same questions, Reshma asks Zoé why she was so drawn to Tomassian in the first place until Zoé finally snaps

Zoé: IT’S NOT TOMASSIAN!

Everyone: …

Zoé: … I don’t want to lie anymore.

Mireille: Zoé-

Reshma: Lie about what?

Zoé: It’s Cosette… I’ve been dating Cosette…

Everyone: … COSETTE?!

Austin T: … Zoé’s not the only one!

Austin A: You’re dating Cosette, too?

Austin T: What? No- I… Jean’s always been my best friend… I love him. I love him so much!

Reshma: Wait a minute. Zoé and Cosette… Jean and Austin T… You mean… I’ve been keeping my relationship with Lacey secret this whole time for nothing?!

Lacey: Babe-

Aurore: Holy shit!… I like girls, too! The-their soft skin, their beautiful eyes, their curves- Oh, God! I love them so much!

Austin A: *Sobbing* I thought I was the only one!

Austin B: Wait, you have a boyfriend?

Austin A: Not exactly. They’re that person from the other class who wears those hockey jerseys, Beck…

Mireille: Now wait a gosh-darn second! Is there anyone else who’s going to come out?

Everyone: …

Austin B: … *Raises his hand* I don’t like anyone.

And with… That out of the way, things are back to normal… Sorta

Let’s see what Marc’s up to- Oh! They’re on a diner date with the one and only, Nathaniel Kurtzberg

Everything’s going well, a platonic kiss here… Then Marc catches feelings and runs out the door where they find the Nukes spying on their date

Marc: Fellas! Thank God you’re here. I need your help!

Denise: Having a crisis?

Marc: I think I like Nathaniel!

Denise: You’re realizing this now?

Marc: But I’ve never liked anyone before! I thought I was-

Denise: *Cups Marc’s cheeks* Honey. There can always be exceptions.

Ismael: *Hugging Simon’s arm* You should ask him to prom!

Marc: I couldn’t! That’s…

Ismael: C'mooon, Marc! Go!

Marc *Pushing them away* Alright, alright! Off with you!

So instead of a diner date, Marc takes Nathaniel out bowling to try and impress him. Then it all comes down to it

They ask Nathaniel out… On a group date with the Nukes… Fuck

Simon, Denise, and Ismael are not letting this go and call Marc a disaster every chance they get. Then they help them ask Nathaniel out the right way, and it involves a record player

Nathaniel: *Looks out his window to see Marc holding a record player over their head and with the Nukes singing backup*

Marc: Well I’m sure I’ve met the sweetest boy in town. His smile gets me jazzed, with him I’m never down! I don’t care what people think, so let’s prove them wrong…

*Nathaniel runs outside, and Marc runs over and takes his hands*

Marc: Nathaniel! Will you go with me to prom? *Nathaniel kisses them*

*The Nukes cheer as Denise tosses rose petals*

Now as for Cosette and Zoé. Cosette knows their girlfriend well, enough to know that Zoé will be so distraught over Cosette figuring out she wanted to ask them to prom and would sigh all dramatically while hanging upside down from a tree that they had the Venoms drive right past them with a sign hanging upside down from the back of their car reading, ‘Wanna go to Prom With Me?’

Bisexuals may be disasters, but they’re smart

Jean’s promposal is pretty simple, nothing flashy, just a note… Which Tomassian can’t read because he doesn’t have his glasses on

Then he just comes out and asks because they can’t find Tomassian’s glasses anywhere right before kissing him

At school, everything’s going just fine and well… Until Damocles makes the following announcement that anyone not conforming to 50s standards will not be allowed into prom

Of course, the Venoms are pissed and are putting a plan together to go to prom with their dates and wear the clothes that they want. Of course, that would involves teaming up with the Nukes and City Royals

The City Royals and Jean are lounging in the courtyard when Beck approaches them. While Austin A is all flustered, Austin Q strikes up the conversation and Beck informs them all that the Venoms want to meet with them after school

They do and prepare for a fight, but Zoé makes it clear that’s not what they’re here for.

Realizing that this is about prom, Austin A brushes her off because it all comes down to their gangs

Mireille: City Royals, Venoms, Nukes, what’s the difference? Why do we need teams anymore?

Cosette: Mireille is right.

Mireille: I always am.

Hearing this, Zoé stands her ground and offers a truce. Austin A is reluctant until Beck brings up that they want to get a photo with him

But before anything gets serious, Aurore reminds the City Royals they need to apologize to Mireille for not helping her in her time of need

And while they do apologize and Mireille forgives them, she hugs the City Royals (Plus Jean and Beck) except for Armbruster

Armbruster: *Pouts* Where’s my hug?

Zoé: Alright, Armbruster. So we’re all on?

Armbruster: Let’s give ‘em a prom they’ll never forget.

It’s the night of Prom

Zoé: *Through a walkie-talkie* Armbruster, come in Armbruster!

Austin A: What about my codename?

Zoé: I’m not calling you Elvis.

Austin A: Ugh, fine! What’s the situation?

Zoé: *Waiting outside the school with Cosette* Things are looking clear from here. Any updates on teachers?

Marc: *Standing at the side of the school with Nathaniel* Marc here. The faculty already seems to be inside the venue.

Zoé: Should we just go ahead with Plan A? Walk right in and hope the adults are too drunk to care?

Marc: We could probably… *Nathaniel taps his shoulder* Wait- What is…

*Nathaniel points to Adrien and Nino crying on their way to their car*

Marc: … I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.

Zoé: … Cosette, looks like it’s time for Plan B. *Gets up on top of her car* Alright, everyone. It seems like we can’t take the easy route. I never expected to be standing here in front of all of you, but we want the same thing! This is our night! We wanted to rock and roll… but now… We have to ROCK AND RIOT!

Everything’s calm at prom… Then the Venoms and City Royals drive their cars right through the entrance to the prom

While the teacher chase after them, they steal snacks, do an amazing group photo bomb, Quinlan kisses someone else’s date for the hell of it, and Nathaniel, Zoé, and Tomassian carry their dates out bridal style because heels are evil!

And the very moment they left, students started dancing with same sex partners and wearing whatever they want

The Venoms, City Royals, and Nukes find themselves in the woods and just lie down on the ground because starting a riot is exhausting

Cosette: I think you owe me a dance now.

Zoe: What? They didn’t let us in. We weren’t accepted.

Cosette: Look around.

*Jean and Austin T are cuddling, Reshma kisses Lacey’s forehead, Austin A and Beck are making out, Ismael, Austin Q, and Austin B fist-bump, Aurore and Mireille are lying against each other, Marc and Nathaniel are wrapped in each other’s arms, and Simon is wrapped in Denise’s arms*

Cosette: So… Mind if I have this dance?

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #nathaniel kurtzberg #marc anciel #zoé lee #jean duparc #mireille caquet #aurore boréale #the austins #mlb ocs #Nino x Adrien #rock and riot #mlb au

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purplerose244 · 1 year

Text

Special delivery

Here we go again! Another wonderful @mlsecretsanta! Thank you for hosting this beautiful event every year! 💕

This year my present is for @gyroshrike! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish you the best New Year! I really had fun with this fic so I hope you enjoy it, in full Christmas spirit! 🎄🎄

The link to the AO3 posted fic is here!

Summary: Adrien just wants to see his friends and spend time with his girlfriend on Christmas, Marinette just wants to have fun at the party and see her boyfriend on Christmas. When it looks like the merry day will be filled with nothing but disappointment, how about the local heroes do what they do best and intervene to save the day?

Could Chat Noir truly hope for some luck on this fine day?

To be fair, Christmas had to be the unluckiest celebration for him – second only to his birthday, or his friends’ birthdays, or just general parties… maybe he should had stopped partying in general. So, if all of his physics lessons were worth it and if something could go wrong it will, it had to happen today. With that being said, this is not what he had expected after learning that his father had somehow caught a cold in this specific period and completely disappeared from the radars, pretending like he had been somehow present in the house before. That had felt like a weird kind of déjà-vu, somehow there was no way to normally celebrate with father on this specific day. When Nathalie had even dared to ask Adrien to stay at home in case his conditions improved enough for a small party, there had been absolutely no doubt in his mind that some air needed to be taken.

Yes he did leave a message this time, yes he did make sure someone got his back making sure no one panicked – Gorilla was the best –, he didn’t want a repeat of last time. Besides, he just wanted to run around a bit, maybe lick a bit of snow, let it out over the fact that he had turned down his friends’ party in the vague hope of a normal Christmas and he was once again disappointed.

He would have expected an akuma coming his way, honestly. He would have not blamed Hawk Moth even – alright that wasn’t true he wasn’t that desperate.

Yet apparently, he hadn’t been the target.

“I am Prizencer!” The reindeer-looking akuma raised up his horns, that shined like the snow covering the city of Paris. “Christmas is a stressful occasion where you have to spend and save money and feel uncomfortable! I’ll make sure nothing of this tedious festivity remains!” Rays of lights started to hit all over and, in a blink, decorations of holly and stars were gone. Along with the people and the building those decorations were near to.

The little upsetting scene of all the merry decorations of the city disappearing had been going for a solid thirty-second lapse, and it wasn’t like he didn’t want to jump in it and save the day. In all honesty, Chat was simply a bit taken back.

Sure it was horrible, sure it was frustrating, but… that was his reasoning?

“Festivity stress? Really?” He rotated his staff, just to have something to do with his hands while contemplating. “I’m not saying it’s not valid, but-”

“Not worth interrupting a day of shopping and Christmas activities?” Chat Noir touched the side of his nose. As usual his lady was on point. “Although the fact that we both have stuff to do and we’re frustrated by this is a point in his favour. The poor guy might’ve stayed up all night finishing the present for his one and only, only to realize the kind of stitch he made is tight and not very tight and wondered for an hour if take it as it is or accept the fact that perfection doesn’t exist and the world is flawed and cruel…” She blinked, closing her mouth for a second. “… just a hypothesis.”

Chat giggled. Confident Ladybug was impossibly charming, yet when the genuine girl that he knew was there came out of the mask every once in a while, it made him want to know her even more. Of course, this was not permitted, although he felt a little more peaceful about it ever since the both of them got committed and serenely told each other.

Was he still starstruck by her every move? Yes, of course, but who wasn’t in Paris – aside from Hawk Moth and being a villain was no excuse anyway.

“That went personal pretty quick, milady. Is Christmas affecting you as well?”

“Well, it did until yesterday evening, then I had a bit of a wakeup call.” She sighed and oh, who had dared making her feel even slightly unhappy? “I was hoping to spend time with my boyfriend today, but apparently that won’t be possible. I knew it was a possibility, it just sucks you know? You were expecting some special time but you kinda have to adapt.” Ouch, alright, murder tendencies at bay. Too relatable to talk bad about. “I guess I’ll give him the present after festivities, although I hope I get to see him eventually.” They had talked about their relationships before, on a very vague account.

It sounded like a long-distance, even, from how complicated it seemed to be seeing each other.

“… is it food? The present I mean.” Ladybug arched an eyebrow, Chat Noir raised his hands in surrender – yep Prizencer was still wreaking havoc, whatever, it was gossip time. “Hey, just saying, if you need someone to make sure not to waste good holiday food I’m down!”

“That’s more of a pig thing and less of a cat, you know.”

“Alright, I’m kidding! I’m feeling you, I’m also probably not gonna see my girlfriend today. There were complications at my house, you know.” A romantic like him not having a special Christmas kiss now that he was finally with Marinette, it was absolutely outrageous. “I’ll have to be satisfied with her Merry Christmas message from this morning…” There had been so many hearts in that single text – Adrien had answered with double the amount.

Ladybug looked at him and smiled sadly. On one side, bonding over tragedy was a bit melancholic. On the other, having each other’s backs for this too? Awesome.

“Same here. To think I was so excited for it too, and there are so many parties all over the city!”

“Oh yeah, I heard Kitty Section is holding a concert in one too? Over the Seine?”

“Yes, that one! Oh, it was so beautifully prepared, captain Anarka really never do things by halves!” All of his classmates were certainly going to be there. Except him. Woo was him. “Mm… it’s not far from here, you know? How about we get this over with, then go have a peak? Maybe your girlfriend is over there, but no name calling of course!”

Bless her bless her bless her bless her-

“That’s a great idea!” Whoops, how did half the city disappear already? Did they really stop to talk that long now? “Uhm, maybe you should…?”

“Maybe I should. Lucky Charm!” In a wonder of ladybugs and sparkles, a red and black dotted Easter egg appeared. “Oh, yeah, I guess he wouldn’t care to hit stuff about other holidays… what a sad egg though, not even a bow?” It was quite plain, yes.

Chat Noir couldn’t help himself.

“Not as sad as the Agreste mansion, that’s for sure.” Ack, that wasn’t supposed to come out. Too late, his lady’s eyes were already on him. Alright, no need to panic, he did slip up before and he could play it cool. “Nothing, it’s just that I’ve passed nearby while coming here. The place is pretty alright, but there’s no one in there celebrating or doing anything.” To be honest he would have liked to see even just Gorilla or Nathalie enjoy themselves, like having a coffee and some buche de Noel in the kitchen. But no, anyone and everyone in that house had to only serve Gabriel Agreste.

Ladybug didn’t seem satisfied with the answer, and for a terrifying second Adrien feared she didn’t believe his carelessness. Then he saw worry in her eyes.

“But aren’t Gabriel Agreste and his son celebrating?”

Ah, right, she was the most compassionate girl in the world. Silly cat, rookie mistake.

“Huh, I think I saw Mr. Agreste in bed? He looked sick so maybe that’s why there wasn’t anything going on.” She was speechless. In retrospect, perhaps it was shocking from an outsider knowing that such a wealthy family was spending Christmas in bed – and in pain in his own case, but that was personal. “Uhm, maybe they’ll be more active on Boxing Day? Let’s just focus on the akuma.”

“Oh, Adrien…”

“What did you say?”

“I said prepare Cataclysm and wait for my signal, I’ll get his attention through the Lucky Charm and use it as a decoy. The akuma is probably in the wallet between his horns.”

“You most certainly did not say that, but you’re the boss!” That confidence meant that things were going to be taken care of quickly at least. Besides, Chat was almost one hundred percent sure she was an Adrien Agreste fan so that was probably where the fuss came from. In a couple of jumps he was behind the akuma, hand out. “Cataclysm!” It went pretty fast from there, it looked like the lady was suddenly quite in a hurry. She straight up threw the egg in Prizencer’s face, who was double confused from the attack and the anachronistic present, so he had all the time to jump on his back and free the akuma. The guy came back as a very sweaty waiter man pretty quickly.

“No more evil, bye butterfly, yadda yadda! Miraculous Ladybug!” Alright now she was very clearly eager to leave. “Sorry kitty, I know I was the one to propose the concert, but I realized I need to do something really important!” Oh. So much for the enthusiasm.

That was on himself though, believing in a good Christmas? Really?

“That’s okay. What do you have to do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I gotta talk to someone. Then I have to pick up someone else, maybe… I’m putting it together as I go!” She extended her fist and he, of course, hit back. “Pound it and Merry Christmas, Chat!”

Aaand she was gone – limping a little, wait maybe that was his imagination. That was quick, it looked like finding a new purpose on this day had done wonders to her mood. Chat wasn’t quite sure what had changed and if it had to do with that quick talk about the Agrestes – talking about himself in third person was never not going to be weird –, but at least she had something to do.

Unlike himself. Well, aside from bringing home whoever this waiter was.

“Hello sir, how about I get you back home?”

“Oh, thanks Chat Noir! I’m really sorry about this!” He looked genuinely distressed, like he needed to vent – therapists in Paris were all getting their specialization in akuma PTSD, right? “I’ve been working nonstop at the ‘Lost Navigator’, the famous restaurant, and the stress made me lose it!”

“No worries, it’s understandable.” He took out the baton, sighing a little. Going to the party with Ladybug would have been fun. Perhaps he could still go have a peak on his own, or even joined in, but what if someone questioned his presence with so many people around? Wondering how did he appear out of nowhere? “Hold onto me and relax, I’ll get you back in no time.” Or maybe he was a bit resigned at spending this day on his own. Why would this even change after all? “Hang in there sir, I’m sure your luck will change… Christmas is just hard work for some people, huh.”

***

Could Ladybug truly hope for some luck on this fine day?

Now, she was a designer and one extremely creative person, so hands down themed festivities were her absolute favourites. Yet whenever something so happened to be very important to her, and whenever her entire being started to be focused on that event and that one only, life tended to be quite funny with her.

Funny, as to say that if life was fiction and someone was looking from above, seeing her trip in the only trait without snow on her way back home would have been pretty hilarious to see – huh, what a wild concept. For her, of course, a sprained foot wasn’t particularly amusing, but hey it was Christmas! Better work hard to make sure she had all presents ready for it. Wait her boyfriend had declined the invite to the party so she wasn’t going to see him? She had sobbed maniacally all over Tikki the last night but hey it was Christmas! Better focus on the party even without her favourite blondie. Wait her sprain was so bad she couldn’t walk and she didn’t want to make others worry about her so she had decided not to come at all? She was angry and couldn’t even stress walk but hey it was Christmas! Better make happy thoughts and look over photos of Adrien to calm down.

Wait, her boyfriend apparently got disappointed by his father for the umpteenth time and was not going to be celebrating like he had said? She had added another reason why Gabriel Agreste wasn’t going to be invited to their future wedding but hey it was Christmas!

… oh enough Christmas, her buttercup needed her!

After a quick pause to de-transform – Tikki looked so conflicted between supporting her but worrying about her injury, she deserved more cookies for later – she was charged and ready for action. The little detour all the way to the Seine had been necessary solely to check if having Adrien around was going to be a problem with the amount of people, but somehow the Liberty was a sturdy as ever, even with a quarter of Paris’ population on it – laws weren’t allowed on board, so perhaps even science was banned. From above Ladybug had seen Alya, Nino, Nathaniel, Mylene, Ivan, basically the entire class aside from the ones that shall not be named – she wanted to be nice on Christmas, not seething. It looked so fun, she really wished she could just stop there.

Unfortunately, every movement and step reminded her of her sprain, even in full Ladybug costume. It had softened but it still hurt, she would have not forced it if it hadn’t been for the akuma. She didn’t want people to worry about her and look at her as the usual clumsy Mari, besides she wasn’t going to be able to stand up anyway so there was no point.

Even if it hurt, even if it made her sad, it was no reason not to power through and give someone else a bit of a bounce back from last year’s Christmas.

It took a bit longer to get to the Agreste mansion than usual, pushing her foot more and more. Just like Chat had said, not like she had not trusted him for a second: the place looked great, from the windows lots of very expensive decorations could be seen. Yet no party, no dinner, no happiness around. It looked even lonelier than the first time Marinette had seen it, it was like all the hope had been pushed on the outside so it couldn’t get in.

To give credit to Mr. Agreste he was, in fact, in his room. He didn’t look particularly unwell but perhaps she wanted to judge him with all of her strength – no one she knew was going to blame her for it. No matter anyway, she certainly wasn’t here for him.

She just had to circle the house a bit to look over that specific window. Oh, he was laying onto the bed so miserably, moving his lips as to talk to someone – maybe he had headphones?

Ladybug smiled a little, knocking. Adrien gasped.

“Ladybug?!” His voice arrived to her a bit muffled. He hurried to open the window, a bit smile on his face. Ah, this was already better. “What, I don’t, what are you doing here?” Yes by dating Adrien she had learned about her boy’s old little crush on her superhero persona. Yes it was impossibly adorable seeing him so gushy about her, while still giving her plenty of room.

She thought for a moment, imagining herself as the most passionate person she knew – Chat Noir, easy choice – and pulling on her best playful side.

“Oh-oh-oh, Merry Christmas! I’ve come to deliver a very special present today!”

Adrien blinked. Yeah that was probably a bit out of there for her.

“A present for me? Oh, you didn’t have to come all this way! You must be busy.”

Ladybug grinned. This was fun, she could understand why Chat liked to mess around so much.

“Oh, there seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding! I have no present for you!” She acted fast before he could even think of making a disappointed face. She sprinted and scooped him up between her arms. “Because you’re the present!” Oh she had been wishing to do this for so long now and there was no way to do that without the costume’s super strength. This moment was going to be highlighted inside her journal – ‘Dear diary, today I held up Adrien like a prince on a Christmas day, I think I exhausted half my life goals in one day so I’ll sleep for a week’.

Her boyfriend was red, blushing didn’t even begin to describe how he was. He had a natural light complexion and right now it brightened his cheeks beautifully. It took such an effort not to kiss him right about now – the poor guy probably would have straight up fainted.

“I’m- uh- huh- what?!”

He wasn’t making it easy on her to hold back smooching.

“I heard from a friend of mine that you’re not spending a good Christmas. Well then, I believe there are several people that cannot wait to see you today, so I’m bringing you to them.”

Finally lucidity in his eyes. Adrien parted his lips in wonder.

“Wait, really? You saw my friends?”

“They’re at the Liberty. If they had known about you being on your own, I’m sure they would have tried to break into the place and as a superhero I can’t have that on Christmas day!” Alright now Chat Noir was really rubbing onto her, better not freak her boy out. “You don’t have to be alone, especially not today. If you’re okay with it, let me take you there.” She really didn’t want to leave him here, in a cold room, with no one to celebrate with.

“Of course I’m in! Thank you so much!” Look at him brightening up like the sun, seriously what kind of unbreakable stone was Gabriel Agreste’s heart made of? “Just, uhm… could you give me a second?” He patted her awkwardly and she – regretfully – let him back to the ground. He sprinted towards the door, leaving her alone for a couple of minutes. After that he was back, panting and smiling. “Sorry! I had to warn Gorilla, since last Christmas me disappearing was a bit of an event.” Ah, yes, when she freaked out and accused a random civilian – Adrien had to stop being involved with akumas, it was better for her heart. “I’m ready now!” He looked at her expectantly.

Oh. Ladybug smirked a little. He loved being scooped as much as she loved doing it, huh?

“Well then, let’s not waste any more time!” She quickly grabbed him between her arms once again, feeling that thrill in the stomach – like, you know, the excitement of being alive for this exact moment. “Hold on tight, I promise not to let you fall. Trust me.”

“Always.”

He needed not to talk for the rest of the travel, because that gave her weak knees and you couldn’t have that while jumping from one building to the other.

The Seine wasn’t too far from the residence and the Liberty was docked pretty close as well, so it didn’t take her nearly as much time as usual to get into the designated place – yes, not all akumas spawned conveniently outside of her own school and yes, Paris wasn’t little. The only problem was that annoying foot that was still bothering her, giving her a reminder every once in a while, of how flipping clumsy she still was despite being a superhero for over a year now. For the life of her though she wasn’t going to make a fool of herself right now, especially not by dropping the most requested teen model of Paris. Sure it had been established by Adrien that he found her adorable nonetheless, but she wanted to be cool at least with the suit. At least. Please.

Her wish seemed to be granted, as they managed to land nearby the party with no casualties. The Liberty was covered in holly and Christmas lights all over, it was shaking by the sheer power of the music playing onto the bridge and it looked like tonight no police officer was going to make a fuss about it – mostly because Officer Roger was right there dancing like there was no tomorrow.

Almost as soon as Adrien made his way towards the Liberty, Nino caught sight of him and went to tackle him on sight.

“Dude, you’re here! Awesome!” He tilted his head, noticing his entourage. “And you’re with Ladybug! Double awesome!” As that one affirmation had caught the attentions of other people, Nino looked around. “And you got no bodyguard or Nathalie around! Triple awesome!”

Adrien beamed – heart be still.

“Stuff happened, but never mind that, you don’t need another motive to hate on my dad.”

“Whaaat, no way!… My list of reasons can always get longer!” This was why Nino was the best. He pointed at the party with a thumb. “Come on, let’s party!”

“Yes, right away!” Adrien turned to her, smiling. “Thank you so much Ladybug, you don’t know how much this means for me! It’s the best Christmas present you could’ve given me!” Oh, did he know how easy he made it all worth it? How fast it was for her to thank the stars for being here, just to have one of his smiles? If he did, man he was taking advantage of it. “Alright, I’m ready! I can’t wait to see Marinette, is she wearing something awesome as usual?” Oh, did he also know how much she was affected by all of his words? Nino was making a face as well. “… what?”

“Sorry Adrien, Mari isn’t here.” Whoa, when did Alya arrive? And when did she start taking pictures of her? And why she was questioning her after knowing her journalist impulses for so long? “Girl gave me no explanation. Not like she has to, I know she sprained her foot.” What?!

“What?!” Good thing Adrien’s shout covered hers. Seriously her best friend was too good of a journalist in the weirdest of situations. “Is she okay?? Why didn’t she say anything?”

Alya made a sad smile.

“The usual, not wanting to worry people. But since she can’t walk there’s no helping.”

“… maybe.” Adrien blinked a little, giving a quick look to his hand. “Uhm, thanks again Ladybug! But I gotta go to the bathroom really quick, sorry!” With the same speed witnessed before the boy was gone, almost leaving a cartoonish puff of smoke behind. That was unusual, although Marinette knew how random that boy could be.

Too bad she couldn’t see him more than this for tonight.

“Have a good party tonight, everyone! Be safe!”

“Whaaat, I was gonna ask you for a Christmas interview!”

“Maybe next time, Alya! Bug out!” With that she was back into the sky, going for the quickest route to bring her back to her bed, a cup of chocolate and a bunch of cat videos. Not the Christmas night of her dreams, but it was going to have to do… unfortunately. She sighed, aiming at her house with the eyes. “Awesome Christmas Marinette, Awesome Christmas.”

***

Could Adrien truly hope for some luck on this fine day?

Despite being universally known as an extremely oblivious person – it took Chloe, Lila, Kagami, Marinette, Marinette and Marinette for him to realize it –, there were times when he was quite aware of the situations. Not many times, he could admit that, but after being disappointed over and over by people he didn’t even need to name, one tended to develop a certain acknowledgement. Maybe it was sad how he was mostly conscious only over how life liked to give him a cookie as a prize, then hit him with an empty box. One little peak of happiness, only for that one door to slam violently in his face.

He had no idea how seeing Ladybug and being carried bridal style over Paris on Christmas could had ignited that annoying pattern, yet the moment Adrien heard about his favourite designer being literally grounded in her house, even that idyllic dream meant nothing anymore. Of course it was never this easy, of course something bad had to happen. It was Christmas after all.

Except you know what? There was no way he was sitting this one out, whining and waiting like he didn’t have the power to change things. If he could have his favourite hero pay a visit in this special day, there was no reason why Mari couldn’t have the same treatment.

… well alright, the reason was that Adrien had forgotten to ask Ladybug for help, since he really wanted to get Marinette himself. Hopefully she was going to be okay with the cat.

The Liberty was literally vibrating with music, Kitty Section was playing at full volume and as much as Adrien couldn’t wait to put into practice what he and a certain someone had been working on, it was going to have to wait. He ran through the people, dodging Nathaniel sneakily making a sketch of Marc while he wasn’t there – was this how it felt to look at obliviousness from outside, whoa – and almost bumping into Ivan.

“Adrien, you’re here!” It was rare to see Ivan so brightened up, perhaps it had something to do with the big colourful sweater he was wearing – ‘On the naughty list’, which meant that by the law of matching sweaters Mylene was ‘On the nice list’, which was to be expected. “We thought you weren’t going to make it, Marc was freaking out! Ready for the plan?”

Right, that, absolutely.

Not before Marinette though.

“Yes but in a minute! I really need to get to the bathroom!” He almost jumped two steps, then turned around. “Random question, are there windows in this ship’s bathroom?”

Ivan blinked.

“Huh, I think so?”

“Perfect! Thanks!” There had to be less conspicuous ways to get to a secluded place with an opening to pretend to be busy without anyone disturbing him. Tonight there was no time for bright ideas anyway, he was a kitty on a mission – also Ladybug was in charge of the brain cell anyway. “Ah, there we go!” The bathroom was empty and, luckily, with a pretty accessible window. He hurriedly locked the door behind him, took a deep breath, then opened the porthole. All the time for Plagg to come out and smirk at him. “… what?”

“Running away from home without a second thought, Ladybug contributing with your escape, and now you’re being all mischievous at a party! Finally some action!” Right, this kwami was the embodiment of the devil on his shoulder. “Too bad you’re getting suspicious for a cheesier reason than Camembert, but as a Christmas present, I’ll avoid puking.”

Adrien rolled his eyes, snickering.

“Wow, thanks. I’ll have to wrap another form of cheese for you to put under the tree.” It was half ironic half true, and Plagg was already drooling. “But that comes later! For now, Plagg, claws out!”

There he went. The change was always pretty dramatic, it was like a rush of excitement that made his entire body stronger. It was amazing every time, but he was too focused on the goal to care right about now. He had already taken a good look at how beautiful everything was tonight, he was a hopeless romantic and despite how much Christmas felt like a bit of a depressive holiday, it was a view coming out of his most vivid dreams.

They weren’t worth it without her though.

Marinette’s house was a bit of a strategic point, not only because it had a nice view over the park and was a pretty high standpoint, but because the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie had to be a magnet, especially on such a special day. Of course it was closed at this hour, which was a bit of a pity, but it wasn’t like he could had gotten in without gathering lots of attention on himself – one would think he was tired of people being all over him in both lives… that one would have been right. It was still so beautiful, a little place of sweet magic, just for how deeply loving was the family living under this roof.

Okay, Adrien surely was completely gone for this girl, but he knew more people than would have wanted only good things for Marinette than people looking for her downfall – name-calling was not necessary – so he didn’t really blame himself. Now, if he knew this gorgeous, smart, clumsy, dreamer of a girlfriend, she was definitely on top of the rooftop despite the cold.

Ah-ha. She was also sitting down, even though her standard position was leaning onto the railings, which meant Alya was right and her foot was pretty bad. She was also pouting, which was an immense waste on such a beautiful face.

Time to turn that frown upside down.

Luckily, it so happened to be one of his specialities.

“Well well well!” She somehow managed to jump from sitting all the way to the ground. Seriously, how could he not have heart eyes for her? “Good evening princess, come here often?”

“Chat, what…?! You…!” She slowly tried to get up again and he felt a bit guilty for scaring her so much, so he hurried to help her up. “You don’t get to appear out of nowhere with such a lame opening line! What are you doing here, my parents’ shop is closed!” Was it really so obvious to think he was here solely to get some treats? On second thought yes it was. “And I don’t have any saved in my room this time, so you won’t find anything to eat.”

“Why do I feel like a stray cat anytime I come here?”

“I don’t know, why do you?” Now she was grinning, crossing her arms. “I’m glad to see you though, being on my own wasn’t how I wanted to celebrate… uhm, Merry Christmas.” How dare she being anything other than ecstatic, that was not going to stand.

Chat Noir took out his staff, playing around with it as his usual.

“Merry Christmas to you too, but I’m afraid this isn’t a pleasure trip. I’m currently on an extremely serious mission, in order to prevent the arrival of new akumas in the city!” She was more worried than expected at the prospect, a little more than he would have thought considering that he was joking around. “I recently learned that a certain person couldn’t attend a certain party, therefore so many of her friends are very disappointed not to be able to have fun with her.” He smirked when her face changed. “We wouldn’t want people to turn evil because they couldn’t see their favourite designer, right? Think of the field trip Hawk Moth could have!”

Maybe he was kidding around, maybe it wasn’t that weird of a reasoning considering that several akumas had been born because of something Marinette related – of course, he really couldn’t talk.

Marinette blinked, then she smiled shily.

“I didn’t want people to worry about me.”

“I’m afraid that is officially mission failed, but we can still turn it all around! How about I escort you tonight? It will be my little present for you!” He totally stole that one from Ladybug but honestly how to blame him, that was totally his style and she totally stole it from him. “Don’t worry, flying with Chat Noir Air is the smoothest and funniest experience of all, you’ll see!” As long as there weren’t gigantic gorillas running rampant over Paris, that was.

“Oh Chat, you don’t have to!” Mari shrugged a little, despite her smiled getting wider. “I’m fine, I can see my friends and my boyfriend another day… I guess.” Ah, she could be more convincing than this, their class representative. That was a good sign, she wanted to come.

Chat smiled at her, letting just a bit of Adrien out.

“But your boyfriend wants to see you today.” She immediately gaped at him. “The blonde one, right? I peaked at the party, he was looking everywhere for you.”

“He was?” She blushed, her eyes lightening up. “Oh, Adrien…”

It took everything inside of him not to kiss her right now. Instead, he extended his hand.

“If I were him, I would want you to hurry up and reach me as soon as possible. I promise you, the party at the Liberty is exceptional, you’ll love it.” She was still hesitant, he sighed. “You’re always helping others out, how about tonight you let others take care of you? Don’t think about how the others will feel, just this time.” He wanted her to have a great night. He wanted the both of them to have a great night together. She deserved it for always being everyone’s rock. He hoped he deserved it for giving a hand at keeping Paris safe.

When she grabbed his hand at last, he felt like his night was already so much better.

Ladybug was much more graceful at going from one roof to the other, but from how Marinette would cheer for every little jump and turnaround he felt like he was doing a fairly good job. Carrying a princess all the way to a Christmas party was obviously amazing, and the fact that he wasn’t doing it to run away from an akuma even more incredible.

Maybe Mari was feeling the same from how at ease she seemed to be, and how elated she was when they arrived at the party. It took nothing for Alya to take sight of her best friend and going for the hug, making sure to be careful of her foot.

“You silly, hide something like this again and I’ll spoil you to death!”

“You can make better threats than this, Alya.” Marinette laugh, the whole night shook. She turned to him. “Thank you so much, Chat Noir.” He really wanted to hold her. Grab her hand. Kiss her.

He didn’t. Not now. He bowed instead.

“My pleasure. Have an enchanting night, princess.”

He needed to change first.

***

Could Marinette truly hope for some luck on this fine day?

So far, it was going quite incredibly. Maybe it was her superhero nature, but helping out others was already a thrill of itself, so knowing that bringing Adrien to the party had been the highlight of his night had been already such a wonderful moment of the day – also just, seeing him, but that felt like a given at this point. Not enough to make her stop whining about her misfortune, and how freaking swollen was her foot at this point, and how her parents were out on a Christmas dinner thinking she was out with her friends making her feel awful for lying, and how her friends knew she was injured and were worried, and how her butt hurt from sitting, and how-

It turned out that seeing her partner, even without her suit and something menacing approaching, was better than any other medicine – although yes she did take something for the pain, she wasn’t dumb. And like every day ever since they had started to save Paris, he surprised her, giving her a chance at turning this day all around.

At times like these Marinette was sorry that she could never love Chat Noir, the way he used to love her. She was sure that he would have treated her well, they would have had lots of fun, and they would have taken care of each other. Those thoughts were always filled with what ifs.

In her life, though, it could only be Adrien.

At the end, she was happy he had moved on, and she was happy her dream had come true… so why in the name of the Miraculous Ladybug couldn’t she enjoy the moment?!

Marinette was currently resting her chin over her hands, while her elbows were over her knees. She was watching everyone dancing around, standing up over their completely fine feet, having the time of their lives. While she had been forced onto this chair by her friends, with nothing but a glass of soda as a refreshment and giving some unenthusiastic sips as entertainment. The situation had been protracted for some time now, it was seriously getting on her nerves. There had been no one to talk to, nothing to have fun with, and no buttercup in sight.

What was going on, exactly?

“Hey Marinette.” To be clear, she was happy to see Nathaniel, very much so even. With that being said, his wasn’t the voice that she had been looking for. If only she could just stand up. “So, random question, do you have any idea why your Adrien was intercepted by my Marc to go who knows where? They’ve been away for some time now.”

Alright, she could interrupt her current bad mood in favour of her favourite activity: being nosy about his friends’ love stories. She grinned immediately.

“Your Marc, huh?”

“My- as in my partner, as in work! We have the comic book, remember!” There was nothing more endearing than a redhead getting red, it was truly a sight she was happy to be here for. Now if her boyfriend could just magically appear before her, that would have been even better. “I’m not saying something’s going on, but also he was really tense tonight, more than usual. Now Adrien comes out of nowhere, and suddenly he looks relieved? What’s happening?”

Well that was odd. Marinette shrugged.

“Beats me, I have no idea.” As she said that though, from the stage there was movement. A swift idea came into mind the moment Kitty Section, complete with blonde pianist, appeared. With an extra keyboard. “What if…?”

She didn’t have to wait. Rose was quick to get to the microphone, giving a quick wink to the rest of the band, then to the audience.

“Hey everyone! This is Kitty section! It’s me Rose, and Luka, Juleka, Adrien, Ivan-”

“Go Ivan!! You’re awesome!!”

“Ahah, you don’t have to say it every time we introduce ourselves Mylene, I think you’re breaking Ivan!” The kind giant looked pretty steamy from there in fact, red in face with vapor coming out of his ears – also with a smile going from one ear to the other, yeah he was probably fine. “Anyway, I hope you’re all enjoying the music! We interrupt our usual songs for a special request, one of our friends have a really special message for his special someone! It’s his first performance so please be gentle! Give it up for Marc Anciel!”

It was quite the feeling seeing the shy writer marching all the way to the keyboard, even while looking at absolutely no one but his feet. He gave one terrified look at Adrien, who nodded with a dazzling smile. Then he looked up, right where Nathaniel had been left completely speechless. It would have been too easy teasing him over how he knew right away this was for him.

It became meaningless when Adrien started to play, an accompaniment for Marc that was going for the simplified version of the song.

All I want for Christmas is you.

It was such a corny, extremely obvious choice, and maybe that made it all the sweeter for Marc to be this obvious in his intentions for once. As soon as the song picked up the rhythm, becoming joyful and fast, it felt like the day had reached its brightest moment, the one she had been wanting the entire time. Nathaniel was completely gone, smiling tearful, getting closer to the stage almost unconsciously. The people reached out, humming such a well known and even repetitive song.

Marinette couldn’t move anyway. She was fine with it, for once. She was more than happy to take her time to admire him like this.

Adrien was handsome. It was kind of a given as he was a model and that was his job, but that went beyond that; it felt like moments like these, when he was lightly sweaty and still a bit on edge for running away from home, where the times when he was the most attractive. Adrien was talented. Without taking for granted all the work he did daily through his studies and lessons, there were so many qualities and curiosities of him, some that always came out when least expected – the most recent had been him knowing all types of Camembert for some reason. Adrien was kind. Not when he did the perfect son act to please his father, not when he forgot his own needs to appease his loved ones: when he was mindful of the people around him, and helped them with all of his might.

There was a time when Marinette genuinely thought this boy had absolutely no flaw, and that had been superficial of her. Somehow, the more she got closer now, the more this gorgeous buttercup somehow showed twisted petals and even some annoying horns. The more she found out how every imperfection made him even more perfect.

She didn’t realize the song had ended, yet she felt his eyes going over her. Gone where the times when she used to wonder if he was ever going to see her the way she saw him. There was no hiding the adoration coming from those two emeralds.

Marinette had to close her eyes for a moment, basking into what she had, beating herself up for going into such a bad mood over nothing.

When she opened her eyelids again, he was walking towards her.

“Hey.” He leaned onto her, and kissed her. It made her giggle. “Sorry it took me a while.”

“To get to the party despite probably not being allowed to, to come and say hi since you’ve been busy with helping Marc out, or to kiss me?” Adrien genuinely looked conflicted, it made her laugh even more as he sat on a chair next to her. “That was a wonderful thing you did, I think you guys made Nathaniel and Marc’s night.” Looking how the redhead was hugging his likely now boyfriend, who looked like he just won the Pulitzer Prize, that sounded about right. “It’s been such a night filled with sharing and giving favours… you won’t believe who brought me here tonight.”

Adrien tilted his head, casually holding her hand. He had the delicate skin of a prince, yet the callouses of a fencer, he had fingers of a pianist, yet ruined nails out of stress. She was so happy they had gotten close enough for her to notice it all.

“Someone careful I hope, is your foot okay?”

“It doesn’t hurt as long as I don’t think about it, ouch.” Right, these kinds of jokes weren’t good on her extremely worrywart boyfriend. She smiled. “I’m okay, and you might not believe it, but the knight in shining black cat leather that carried me here can be surprisingly delicate when he puts his mind to it.” It was probably a weird image to be associated with Chat Noir.

Her boyfriend widened his eyes, a bit slowly for being told that the local superhero dragged his girlfriend all the way here. Maybe it was the normality at this point.

“No kidding! The one that brought me here was Ladybug!”

“What?! Are you serious?” Did she sound surprise enough? She had been a superhero for so long and she still had no idea how to confidently keeping up appearances. “What a coincidence, I wonder if they’ve been around specifically on Christmas to look after random civilians like us.” It was pretty incredible though, that after bringing Adrien to the party Chat Noir had been the one to return the favour. It made her smile.

Adrien snickered.

“I wouldn’t call me, heir of the Agreste empire, and you, talented designer and trusted artist of Rockstar Jagged Stone, random citizens.” Was he implying that she was not, in fact, just a normal girl with a normal life? “But yeah, it was really cool of them. Ladybug is simply amazing.”

Marinette grinned, clenching her hold onto his hand.

“Yeah, she’s a pretty cool hero.”

“Not just that! She’s so beautiful, smart, creative and courageous… just like you.” He snickered, leaning his head against her. “I always thought of you as our everyday Ladybug after all.”

Oh, the irony. Perhaps one day, if and when she was going to be able to reveal herself, it was going to be extremely fun seeing his baffled expression at realizing who she had been crushing on for so long – as a matter of fact, the exact same person… with two different outfits. For now, she was just incredibly blessed over the fact that no matter what version of her was in front of his eyes, he had the same devotion for her nonetheless. She wanted to make sure he knew how much it meant for her, she wanted to show it to him every day.

“You’re so sweet. You kinda remind me of Chat Noir instead.” He immediately looked at her with eyebrows raised, she burst into laughter. “In a good way! Chat is incredible, it’s a huge compliment I promise!” She hummed a little. “Just like he does, you always try your best to help others. And you’re so funny too, and endearing… just like him.” She hoped that despite everything, Chat Noir was having the best possible Christmas.

Adrien was frozen for a moment. Then, looking happily content, he nuzzled her hair with his nose, scooting a little closer to her. It was cold outside, but between them it was warm.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone telling me I’m similar to Chat Noir.”

“They should, he’s incredible… you know, I used to have a bit of a weird crush on him.” She giggled, knowing that months ago she would have never been able to admit it. “Like, I knew I liked him, just never as much as I like you. But I appreciate everything he does.” Maybe it was a weird thing to say to her boyfriend, but she didn’t want to hide it.

“Oh.” Adrien froze again, then snickered. “Wow. We’re really perfect for each other.” He kissed her head, making her melt. “I hope Ladybug and Chat Noir are having a great day.”

Marinette smiled, thanking everything that she was right here, right now.

“I hope so too. Merry Christmas, Adrien.”

“Merry Christmas, Marinette.”

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