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megatraven · 7 years

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Once Upon an Allergy

The Spring Exchange fic authors have been revealed, so I can post this here now!

This was my exchange fic for @baneismydragon! I hope you enjoy(ed) it, you gave a really good prompt! Shout out to @reyxa for lending me her soulmates au where the sneezes of soulmates sync up.

Summary: "After pouring two packs of chocolate powder in each mug, she felt a sudden sensation in her sinuses thanks to the powder that remained in the air. Quickly, she put her finger below her nose, pleased when the sneeze stopped. After that, it was quick work to pour the water and stir the mix in, and just as she was about to bring them out-

She sneezed.

Or, a soulmate au where the sneezes of soulmates sync up after you meet them.

AO3

"Alright, class, we've got two new students joining us this semester. Please, introduce yourselves for us," their teacher, Madame Bustier, said.

Standing in front of the rest of the class were two students, one that looked excited and fiery, and another that looked shy and awkward. To the class' surprise, the shy one spoke first.

"Hi, my name's Adrien, and I look forward to working with all of you in the future." He punctuated his statement with a quick little wave and a sweet smile.

After he finished speaking, the other spoke. "I'm Alya, and I just moved nearby from across the city."

Madame Bustier gave them both a smile and gestured for them to find their seats. Alya moved instantly, spotting an empty seat in the second row, next to a girl she'd actually ran into before school started. Adrien rubbed his arm, his eyes sweeping across the room. He saw a childhood friend of his waving for him to sit by her, but he cringed when he saw her trying to push her seatmate out for him. In the hopes of letting the poor girl keep her seat, Adrien sat as close as he could by taking the empty seat in front, next to a student that looks uninterested in what was going on.

While the two settled in, their teacher was about to continue speaking when two synchronized sneezes sounded from the back of the room. Adrien and Alya both turned to look, eyes wide at actually having a pair of soulmates in their classroom. They saw a couple sitting next to each other in the row behind Alya, both of them blushing a tiny bit as their hands intertwined.

Patient though she may be, when Adrien and Alya didn't look away, Madame Bustier cleared her throat and brought their attention back to her. It was only then that the two noticed nobody else had turned to gawk, which could only mean they all knew already.

"I understand that soulmates are an interesting topic to talk about, let alone see in person, but we do have class to tend to, Monsieur Agreste and Mademoiselle Césaire." With that, she turned around and started writing on the board. Adrien looked sheepish and stared down at his desk while Alya turned to the girl beside her and started whispering.

"So girl, mind spilling the beans on those two behind us?" she asked, not quiet enough to keep Adrien and his seatmate from hearing. "Are they really… you know?"

The other girl glanced up at their teacher before responding. "Yeah, they found out last semester. Believe it or not, but they actually knew each other for over a year before finding out. They just never happened to sneeze around one another. They only found out when Ivan got a head cold and couldn't stop sneezing through class. That meant she couldn't stop either, and it was… really something. I don't think anyone got work done that day," she laughed.

"Huh. That's pretty cool. Thanks for the deets, uh…"

"Marinette," she said, holding her hand out to shake. "I live above the bakery next door."

"Awesome! Good to meet you, Marinette," Alya said, grabbing her new friend's hand.

"It's nice to meet you t-"

"Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, please keep your attention on the board." Madame Bustier shot her a look, and Marinette gave an apologetic smile. The rest of the lesson droned on, and soon enough, their lunch hour was upon them.

Most of the class filed out, leaving just five people in the room. Alya and Marinette were talking to each other rather enthusiastically. The boy beside Adrien was packing up his bag, and Adrien sat awkwardly next to him, unsure of what to do. Chloe sauntered up to Adrien, smiling widely.

"Oh, Adrihoney, I'm so glad you're finally attending school with me! We can spend a lot more time together and finally find out that we are soulmates!" she exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm. The girls behind him went silent as they watched, and even his seatmate stopped packing to watch the exchange.

"Chlo, you know that's not gonna happen," he said softly. "None of our sneezes have ever synced up, not even that time we found out I was allergic to your feather pillows and I sneezed up a storm."

She waved his words off. "Please, nobody really knows a lot about this soulmate stuff, so maybe it's an age thing. In any case, I'm sure we're soulmates. C'mon, daddy would love to know you and I ate lunch together!"

Adrien winced. "I'd love to, but, uh…"

"He's already got plans with us," a voice behind him chimed. He turned around and stared wide-eyed at Marinette, who looked past him to Chloe. "Yeah, we already planned to get lunch as a group, isn't that right guys?"

"Yep, we sure did!" Alya said with a grin.

"Oh, totally. All bumped into each other this morning and decided then," Adrien's seatmate pitched in.

"Yeah, so see, Chloe? Nino, Alya, Adrien, and I have plans so… maybe next time. Bye," she said, waving goodbye at her.

Chloe scowled and turned on Adrien. "Do you even know who that is, Adrikins? I won't believe you have plans unless you can tell me her name." She pointed at Marinette.

"Oh, uh that's… Marinette!" he said, suddenly thankful that the girls hadn't been very quiet before.

"Ugh! Whatever! We'll get lunch another time then," Chloe huffed, walking away with an angry swish of her hips.

Adrien slumped in relief and turned to the other three. "I don't know how to thank you guys, but I really appreciate it."

"No problem at all. I guess you heard me and Alya talking earlier, but a proper introduction would be nice. So, hi, my name's Marinette."

"It's really nice to meet you. I'm Adrien, but, uh, I guess I kind of already told the class that."

"It's cool, dude. Sorry I didn't really say anything when you sat next to me. Morning classes and allergy season, you know? Anyways, I'm Nino."

"And I'm Alya!"

"Do you guys want to actually get lunch together?" Marinette asked. "I mostly said it because you-" he gestured to Adrien- "looked uncomfortable, but I wouldn't mind actually getting something with you guys."

"Well, I was gonna hopefully get lunch with you anyways, so…" Alya trailed off.

"Didn't really have plans anyways." Nino shrugged.

They turned their attention to Adrien, who wore a small frown. "I'm not sure. I mean, I want to, but I don't know… Can I make a call first?"

"Yeah, no worries! We can wait outside the room for you…?"

"That would be great," he said, giving a relieved smile. The three stepped outside of the room, and Adrien pulled out his phone. He tapped on the name 'Nathalie' in his contacts and held it to his ear.

The call went through, and he heard a voice on the line. "Adrien, I take it you're ready to be picked up for lunch?"

"Uh, well… about that. I, uh, kind of found a group of people from class that asked if I wanted to get lunch with them. I wanted to call and ask if it was okay for me to go?" Silence. "If it helps any, one of the girls lives in the house above the bakery right next door!" he added on quickly.

He heard a sigh, and he could pretty much see the way Nathalie was pinching the bridge of her nose. "You can go with them, but I will need you to text me your location. Send it to your driver too, just to be safe."

"Thanks, Nathalie, you the best! I'll message you guys when I find out!" Not waiting for a response, he hung up and slid his phone back into his bag and rushed out of the room. He hadn't exactly expected the three other students to leave him, but he felt his heart skip a beat at how they were still there, waiting for him. "I can go!" he announced, drawing forth cheers from his new acquaintances.

"You okay with going to Marinette's parents' bakery, dude?" Nino asked. "It's right next door and her parents make like, the raddest food."

"Oh. If everyone else doesn't mind going there, then I don't mind either."

"Great!" Alya clapped her hands together and adjusted her bag's strap. "Let's go then!"

The small group walked out of the school's courtyard, chattering amongst themselves. As it turned out, Alya was a fan of superheroes and comics, Nino loved music and the scores within hero movies, Marinette loved the fashion side of it all, and Adrien was intrigued by the switch from civilian to hero. Their conversation flowed smoothly from one topic to another, and each found themselves able to pitch in a good amount. Despite the short walk over to the bakery, they were already deep into their talk.

"-and anyways, the whole secret identity thing always backfires!" Alya shouted, throwing her hands into the air.

"No, no, it totally makes sense to have one! You can't endanger your friends and family-" Adrien started.

"But if you let them in on it, then they won't be helpless and won't be shocked when your identity is bound to slip!" Marinette exclaimed.

"They won't be in danger in the first place if your identity stays secret though," Nino commented. "And it's not like-"

"Okay, okay, hold on," Marinette interrupted. "Let's order first, and then we can argue about secret identities." She stepped up to the counter and waved at the woman manning the register just then. "Hi, maman! Can we get something for lunch?"

Her mother looked at the three kids behind her daughter, one of whom was on his phone sending a message. "Of course, love. You kids have whatever you'd like, on the house."

All their eyes lit up at that, but Adrien's especially. They picked out several macarons, croissants, and a few pastries before settling in at a table. Their conversation instantly picked back up as if it'd never stopped, and it carried on well past the end of their lunch hour. When they were back in class, they passed notes around, being incredibly careful so as not to get caught. At the end of the school day, they each bid each other farewell, making quick promises to hang out the next day.

Marinette arrived home first, and pulling her phone out of her pocket made her realize she'd forgotten to grab any of her new friends' numbers. With a sigh, she walked up the stairs and to her room, almost missing the tiny box that sat upon her desk. About the same time, Adrien arrived at his own place, and found a similar box laying on his bed.

Both reached to open them, one flinching back and the other watching in awe as tiny balls of light shot forth and floated in front of them.

As the weeks passed, and as news of Paris' new superheroes began to calm down, the group of four became closer. They almost always ate lunch together, save for the times Adrien couldn't get out of having lunch with Chloe. When Adrien announced that his father was allowing him even more freedoms- such as more time to hang out after school- Marinette, Alya, and Nino cheered for him, and Marinette invited them all over for dinner.

"It probably won't be ready for a little while, though. The bakery's usually busy after school, so my parents won't be able to make anything yet. Maybe we can just hang out at the park or go to my place."

"I'm down for hanging at the park! It's really nice out, and you never know, maybe we'll see Ladybug fly overhead, eh?" Alya said with a wink.

"The park sounds great! But I hear it might rain today," Adrien pitched in.

"Ah, Marinette's place isn't far, so if it starts, we can just head over there, y'know?" Nino told them.

"Exactly, so let's go!" Marinette exclaimed, reaching her arms to be touching all of their backs. "To the park, away!" The other three snorted and chuckled at her antics, but played along.

Together, they all made their way to the park, where they discussed homework, the heroes, Marinette's latest designs, Adrien's latest modelling gigs, Alya's new blog, and Nino's music. They were so enthralled with their conversation that they didn't notice when the sky became grey, and only realized it when the first few drops of water hit them.

"Aw, man," Adrien groaned. "Guess we gotta head inside now, huh?" As he said that, the rain started to fall harder, and by the time they all gathered their things, they were already well on their way to being soaked.

Running in the rain proved to be more fun than any of them anticipated, especially in their little group. Splashing through the puddles and fighting over the single umbrella Adrien had brought evolved into a game of tag that involved stealing the umbrella and running away. Each of them were soaked to the bone when their game was forced to end thanks to the umbrella snapping over Marinette's head and refusing to open again. Everyone laughed and leaned on one another to avoid falling over, and they had to support each other all the way to the bakery.

When they stepped through the door, the bell couldn't be heard over the squeals and guffaws of the teens. It took Marinette a few minutes to catch her breath and greet her parents.

"Maman, Papa, is it okay if we head upstairs to dry off?" she asked, a giggle still in her voice even as she sniffled.

Her parents waved her by as they discussed an order with a customer, and she quickly kissed both of them on the cheek before gesturing for her friends to follow her into their house.

"Oh man, this place looks exactly the same as it did the last time I was here," Nino said, letting out a low whistle. "It's been, what? Three years?"

Marinette nodded. "Yep, that sounds about right. We're not big on redecorating the living room."

Alya wiped at her nose and took in the area; Adrien did the same. "Really nice place, Mari," she said.

"Yeah, it's so… homey and warm."

"Thanks!" She grinned. "You guys can hang your jackets up over there, and I can make us some hot chocolate if you all want." When she got a general sound of agreement, she made her way to the kitchen before calling out, "Oh, and you guys can take a seat! Make yourselves at home!"

She heard them all chattering while she prepared the hot chocolate. After pouring two packs of chocolate powder in each mug, she felt a sudden sensation in her sinuses thanks to the powder that remained in the air. Quickly, she put her finger below her nose, pleased when the sneeze stopped. After that, it was quick work to pour the water and stir the mix in, and just as she was about to bring them out-

She sneezed.

She stared at the mugs of hot chocolate, her eyes impossibly wide. There was no way. She had to be dreaming. She did not just hear three consecutive sneezes come from her friends in the living room. Maybe it was just a coincidence, she thought. After all, they were all out in the rain and had sniffling, red noses when they came in.

Determined to believe what was an obvious excuse, even to her, Marinette grabbed the mugs and walked out, only to find her friends staring at one another and then her.

"So, I, uh… I guess it wasn't just a coincidence, huh?" she asked.

Adrien, struck speechless, only shook his head no.

Alya looked thrilled as she rubbed her own nose.

Nino looked perplexed. "I don't understand. You and I have sneezed in front of one another before, but nothing ever happened. Why did it happen now?"

At this, Adrien managed to speak. "I used to read about soulmates a lot, so, um… it's kind of believed that it only happens when soulmates meet each other, right?" They all nodded; they knew that much. "But if you have more than one soulmate, it would make sense, then, that all of them have to meet each other."

"And Adrien and I are new," Alya finished for him.

"That's-"

"Awesome!" Marinette shouted, cutting Nino off and almost throwing the mugs into the air. "I didn't even know it was possible to have more than one!"

"I've actually heard of it before, but it's supposedly a pretty rare thing… Actually that might be the reason why some people never find their soulmate? Because they didn't meet all of them?"

"That kind of makes sense, sunshine," Alya commented, nodding. She looked lost in thought for a minute before her eyes wandered and focused in on the hot chocolate Marinette was holding. "Yo girl, you gonna hoard all of that, or…?"

"Oh! Sorry, I guess the whole thing distracted me," she said, passing a mug to each of them and taking the last for herself. "Do you think we should tell anyone? I don't think I'd be able to hide it from my Maman and Papa very long, if at all. They always have this way of snooping at just the right time."

As if to prove her point, Tom came up and shot each teen a smile that made him seem like he knew too much. He didn't comment on it, though, and said a quick, "Hello!" before going into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Marinette groaned into her hand. "He definitely heard everything, I just know it."

Alya patted her arm. "Girl, it's cool. It's not exactly something we have to hide or can hide. Let's just roll with whatever happens, agreed?" She directed her question to all of them.

"Yeah, man. That's kind of how I live life anyways," Nino said, shooting her a finger gun.

"I think that's fine, too. I've always wanted to know my soulmate, I can't even think about hiding it!" Adrien admitted, though the smile he wore had the smallest hint of sadness in it.

Just as easily as always, their conversations drifted to a different topic, and everything was relatively normal throughout dinner. The only difference any of them really noticed is that their casual touches tended to linger a bit more, but none of them had a problem with it. In fact, they all quite liked the change.

When it was time for all of them to leave, they exchanged hugs all around, and Marinette watched them through the windows until she couldn't see them any longer. Wistfully, she sighed as the rain pounded down on the glass. She had no idea how long she stood there, looking out the window and thinking about everything that had happened that day. The only thing that dragged her attention away from it was a poke to her side. Glancing down, she saw her kwami peeking out of her jacket.

"Hey, Tikki," Marinette whispered, a small smile on her face. "Sorry you had to stay out in the rain so long; you won't get sick again, will you?"

"I should be fine, but I think it'd be a good idea if we had something warm before leaving for patrol tonight." Tikki saw her charge's eyes widen, though she wasn't sure if it was from guilt or shame at having seemingly forgotten.

"Chat Noir…" Marinette breathed, looking back out the window. "How am I supposed to tell him I found my soulmate- er, soulmates?"

"How you deliver the news is up to you, Marinette. But being gentle about it may be best."

She sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go eat some of the cookies Maman made earlier, then I can transform and go out to meet him. Guess I can't shirk my duties just because of this, huh?"

"Nope! But don't worry, you'll do just fine," Tikki chirped.

"Hopefully, anyways."

Holding her jacket open for Tikki, Marinette headed back up the stairs, skillfully avoided the gazes of her parents, and grabbed a few cookies before going to her room. They ate their cookies in comfortable silence, and when the finished, it was time for Ladybug and Chat Noir to meet.

"Maman, Papa, I'll be working on a big project! Good night!" she called to them. After hearing a muffled response, she looked at Tikki. "Alright, Tikki! Spots on!" And like that, her kwami whizzed through the air, flew into the earrings, and Marinette's outfit became that of Ladybug's. She climbed up through the ceiling and stood on her terrace, shivering at the cool rain.

"Hopefully Chat won't mind a shortened patrol tonight," she muttered to herself as she detached her yoyo and flicked it forward. She flew through the air easily, having had a lot of practice since she became Ladybug. There hadn't been many akumas thus far, so she and Chat had a lot of time to practice and learn their ways around the city and around their abilities. Their large amount of practice even gave them the opportunity to find a few different locations to meet up, which they changed up every couple of patrols. They were meeting near the Louvre, and Ladybug saw him already standing there when she swung by. He looked content, the rain sliding down his face and over his suit, although his tail whipped back and forth in an agitated manner.

"Hey, kitty cat," Ladybug said, smiling his way when she landed.

A large grin split his face. "My lady, you're here! I was starting to think you forgot this little old alleycat," he sighed, dramatically leaning into her.

"Please, like I could forget my favorite purr machine," she teased. "I was thinking we could have a shorter patrol tonight, and then maybe chat before separating?"

Chat considered it. "It is getting cold, huh? A shorter patrol would probably be best."

"Great!" She clapped her hands together. "I bet I can beat you back here!"

"Oh, you're so on, 'Bug!" he shouted with glee.

Both launched themselves from the roof, allowing the pounding rain and angry winds to distract them from the conversation they needed to have. Unfortunately, their patrol didn't last very long, and all too soon Ladybug landed on the initial rooftop, Chat Noir just behind her.

"Nice job, my lady," he told her, sincerity clear in his voice.

Her own expression softened when she looked at him. "Thanks, Chaton." She took a deep breath. "I… this next part is kind of hard. I don't want to hurt you by what I'm about to say."

He watched her fingers dance across her legs in a nervous sort of way. He had a feeling he knew what she wanted to talk about, and though his heart ached, he couldn't let her feel so guilty over something that was out of their control.

"I-"

"I found my soulmate today," he interrupted, looking at the ground. "They're really nice, and they care a lot for me. I care a lot for them too." He felt guilty about lying in regards to the number of his soulmates, but have three of them wasn't a common occurrence, and he couldn't risk his identity when his lady's kwami advised against a reveal.

"Y-you did?" she asked, looking up at him. When he nodded, she did too. "Okay. Alright, that makes… me saying the same thing easier. I found mine too."

"And how are they?" he questioned, genuinely curious.

"They're the best. Really nice. We support each other and hang out a lot," she answered, the tiniest and warmest of smiles appearing on her face. Looking at her partner made it drop. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted for us to… you know. If it helps at all, you'll always be one of my best friends."

"Thanks, my lady. And it's alright. Whoever's lucky enough to be paired with you… well, I hope they'll make sure to always appreciate you. You deserve the best, Ladybug."

She stepped forward and hugged him, to is surprise. "I really appreciate it, Chat. You deserve the best too. And thank you, for saying it first. I don't know if I'd have been able to get it out otherwise."

"No problem at all," he murmured, hugging her back. He relaxed into the hug, savoring it before he pulled away, separating them both. "The rain's getting worse. We should both head home."

"Yeah… yeah, we should. Bye, Chat." With a quick wave goodbye, she grappled away, leaving Chat to run back to his own home.

When he dropped his transformation, he immediately pulled out a piece of camembert, knowing his kwami would be asking for it. Said kwami went for it instantly, eating it in a single bite.

"Hey Plagg?"

"What's up, kid?"

"Is it… wrong to still have feelings for someone when they're… when they're not your soulmate?"

Sensing the seriousness of the conversation, Plagg refrained from any unhelpful remarks. "Look, Adrien. We both know you love Ladybug, no point in dancing around it. But you love your friends too. The way I see it, you've just got so much love shoved into your heart that you just want to share it with as many people as you can, and there's nothing wrong with that! If Tikki- that's Ladybug's kwami, by the way- if she were here, she'd say something like, 'Love is a limitless resource, and if the connections of the soul don't reach, try making them reach further.' And that basically means that you should be free to love whoever you want. So keep loving Ladybug. If you want it to be, then it can be- if she reciprocates. Despite popular human belief, soulmates are not a solid, unchanging thing."

"That's… a lot to take in. But thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. You can thank me with more cheese, if you're really grateful," the kwami said, waving off any chance of there being some mushy moment between himself and his charge.

Adrien smiled. "Sure thing, buddy. I'll get you a whole wheel of it."

"That's more like it!" he responded, lazily floating over to Adrien's bed.

Rolling his eyes, Adrien left his room to retrieve the cheese, and used the opportunity to think more on Plagg's words. His heart ached a little less.

As the spring dragged on, Adrien, Marinette, Alya, and Nino only grew closer. Where they simply clapped shoulders or elbowed ribs before, they now laid down over knees and leaned into each other. They were almost constantly touching when they could, and cuddle sessions became a common thing amongst them, just as their happenstances became well-known amongst the other students. Marinette always brought some treat to share, and Nino had a bunch of tracks for their ears only. Alya likes to edit sappy videos and send memes in their group chats to make them smile. Adrien practically exuded love, and he was always providing comfort and attention. They shared their secrets and their dreams, and provided reassurances when Adrien admitted that he didn't really have one.

When akumas appeared, Alya rushed out to meet them and the heroes. Nino was never far behind. They sometimes questioned why Marinette and Adrien never came, but accepted it when the two said they were too scared to get involved.

They all worked well together, and even through their arguments, they never said things they couldn't take back. If Alya and Marinette got in a spat, Adrien and Nino helped them work it out, and vice versa. On the rare occasion that they all argued a different point, they always did their best to give each other space and think it over before convening and working the problem out.

Then, there were the days one or more of them were sick. As it so happened, being out in the rain both as Marinette and as Ladybug the day she found her soulmates had taken its toll on her immune system, and she came down with a cold. In addition to that, her allergies grew worse as spring progressed, and so it became a very distracting to the three not sick.

Every time Marinette sneezed in bed, the other three sneezed in class, and by the end of a single class period, their noses were as red as Marinette's probably was. The other students in class were somewhat annoyed by it (and Chloe was outraged), but they were moreso fascinated by the four soulmates. Alya took on the job of answering their questions and ushered the other two to visit Marinette. With a promise to be there soon, she pushed them out the door and turned to her classmates, armed with the knowledge Adrien had shared with them and the information she'd looked up herself.

Over at Marinette's house, Adrien and Nino went straight up without even knocking, her parents having insisted they didn't need to. They did, however, knock on Marinette's bedroom hatch before entering. When they didn't hear a response, they opened the hatch and quietly entered her room. Despite going over to her house often, they didn't really go into her room much, finding the space in the living room more suited to their needs.

Both Nino's and Adrien's eyes were drawn to Marinette's walls instantly. She had to have had a hundred photos at least plastered to her walls, the majority of Alya, Nino, and Adrien. Many appeared to be candid, taken from her phone. Others were group pictures of them, and a few group selfies littered the walls. On some of the pictures, she wrote little notes, or doodles stars and hearts.

What drew most of their attention, though, was the picture deliberately placed in the center of all of them, one that was larger than the others and framed. It was a tiny bit blurry, but looking at it, they could just feel the pure joy that radiated from it. They both remember the moment it was taken fondly. Marinette had climbed up a tree in the park, and crawled out on one of the branches. Alya, Adrien, and Nino were all perplexed, but watched her go. She reached a little further than the middle of the branch and carefully gripped it before adjusting herself into a sloth-like position.

"Selfie time!" she had yelled, pulling out her phone and holding it out. Alya had burst out laughing, and the others followed suit. Adrien was in stitches, cracking up over how extra Marinette was being. Nino wheezed uncontrollably, and could barely manage to look at the camera. Marinette smiled widely, and looked at her friends with a fond expression as she took the picture. Shortly thereafter, she fell from the branch, and found her friends there to catch her despite their laughter.

Both of the boys sighed at the memory. Nino nudged Adrien and nodded towards the stairs that led to Marinette's bed.

They made their way over, and while they walked up, Adrien whispered, "I wish she was in more of those photos."

Nino agreed wholeheartedly. "Same, man. Maybe we should start taking them, then we can share with her."

"That's a pretty good idea. We gotta get Alya in on it."

"Als will be on top of it, dude."

Adrien cracked a smile. "I don't doubt that," he said as he climbed the last step, moving over to make room for Nino in the limited space at the foot of her bed.

In front of them laid Marinette, who was covered in several blankets and had an ice pack next to her. She slept quietly, her gentle breaths only sometimes hindered by the roughness that came with a cold. She looked pale as she shivered beneath her covers.

Nino frowned and eased himself onto the bed so he could lean over and feel her forehead. "She's really warm, but she's shivering… And there's the sneezing… She also sounded really tired on the phone this morning. I think she's got the flu, dude."

"The flu?" The corners of Adrien's mouth turned down. "She said it was just a cold though."

"She probably tried downplaying it," Alya's voice said from below. The boys looked over the railing and saw her climbing in through the hatch. Her eyes briefly flickered to all the photos before focusing on Adrien, Nino, and the lump of Marinette that she could see. "Make some room, boys, I'm comin' up."

Adrien and Nino scrambled to the side, and when Alya climbed up, she unabashedly plopped herself right on Marinette's bed.

"Poor girl, probably didn't want us to worry, huh? I swear she's too sweet for this world." Alya reached over her and picked up the ice pack, placing it back on Marinette's forehead.

"Well, I can second that. She's pretty much got a wall of proof down there," Adrien commented, looking back over the railing to see the photos.

"Proof of us, maybe. She's hardly in any of them," Alya muttered.

"You noticed that in just a glance? Dude, you gotta help me and Adrien change that by taking pictures ourselves."

"Uh, yeah, I'm pretty much a reporter, Nino. Gotta notice details as fast as I can, you know? And that sounds like a great plan; I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

Silence fell over them, and when they figured Marinette wouldn't be waking up, they all got up to leave.

"Sleep well, girl," Alya said, blowing her a kiss. The other two did the same, and they left to go back to school.

Their day was relatively calm since Marinette was asleep, and the three fretted over whether they should visit her again or not if she was asleep. At least, they did until they all started sneezing every few minutes again. Class ended shortly after, and they found themselves back in Marinette's room, this time with a sleepy-eyed and coughing Marinette.

"Hey, Mari," Nino said softly. "How ya feelin'?"

The girl groaned in response. "Feelin' like you guys shouldn't be here. You'll get sick too," she mumbled from beneath her covers.

"Seeing you is worth the risk," Adrien told her. That made her smile a bit.

"And besides, there's no way we could leave you alone! You're probably bored out of your mind, aren't ya?" Alya asked.

"Mmm, kinda. Nothin' I really can or want to do though. 'Side from talkin' to you guys, anyways." The sincerity in her voice made all of them feel warm.

They stayed and talked with her long into the evening until dinner finished and they had to go to their own homes. A few days of visits later, and Marinette was feeling much better.

She was thankful for that, because now she needed to help Adrien and Alya take care of Nino, who'd caught the very same flu.

While Adrien's, Marinette's, Alya's, and Nino's relationship grew, the relationship between Chat Noir and Ladybug had gone back to normal, for the most part. Chat Noir still flirted shamelessly with her, and she played back from time to time. His puns were still horrid, and her own were just as bad. Really, the only thing that changed between them following the soulmate talk was that they sometimes gushed about said soulmates.

Ladybug had been praising her own for helping her with a contest when a disruption in the form of swarms of pigeons came up. Her and Chat Noir watched as flocks formed all around them, lifting police officers into the air and flying away with them.

"Well… feather we want to or not, I guess we'll have to abandon our current conbirdsation, my lady."

"Those were awful, and you know it, Chat," Ladybug groaned. "C'mon, let's just find the akuma."

Chat Noir hugged Ladybug around the waist with one arm, and with his other, he lengthened his staff so that they had a good view to find the akuma. While they looked for the akuma, Chat had a thought. "You know, my lady-" he smiled- "bird's eye views are always great for finding akumas!"

Ladybug shook her head fondly at him. "Let's just find the villain, kitty."

"Oh, but I did find them! They're right… there!" he said, pointed down to a man squawking and flapping his arms in the park near the Dupain-Cheng's bakery.

"You can't be serious," she said with a giggle. "That cannot be the akuma we have to face."

Chat Noir smirked. "But it is. How do you think we should handle them?"

Ladybug's giggles petered out, and she grew serious once more. "Hmm… well, we don't really know what he actually does yet. Let's get closer for now. Maybe some civilians have learned what he can do- that'd make our job a whole lot easier."

"Good plan, Bugginette. Here we go!" He tipped forward on his staff, and the heroes fell forward. They switched positions, Ladybug grabbing onto Chat Noir as she launched her yoyo across th sky. The two swung close to where the pigeon akuma was, and were somewhat disappointed to find him flying away by flock of pigeons.

"Any chance you can put a tracker on one of those birds, Chat?" she asked. Her eyes looked around the area, happy when she spotted a familiar camera phone with two familiar people behind it.

"I'd love to, 'Bug, but I-"

"Awesome, thanks Chat," she said, cutting him off thanks to her distraction. " While you do that, I'll talk to these two civilians and see if they can tell us anything, okay?"

He sighed, watching the pigeons getting steadily further away. "Yeah, alright. Good luck."

"You too."

With that, Chat used his staff and went after the flock of birds while Ladybug approached Nino and Alya.

"Hey, I saw that you were recording, so I was wondering if there's anything you could tell us about this akuma?" Ladybug asked kindly.

"Oh man, we sure do, don't we Nino?"

"Yeah, dude! That guy can like, control pigeons- really weird, by the way- and they can do whatever he wants them to, pretty much. I saw them making plane formations earlier."

"They can also lift him and other people; I saw a flock lift Officer Roger into the air and cart him away. They didn't really care about bystanders, though."

"That's great info you guys, I really appreciate it. Is there any chance you aw an object that could be his akumatized one?"

The two thought for a moment, and Alya tapped her chin. "The… only thing I can think of was this… bird whistle thing that he was carrying. I didn't really see anything else on his person that could be it."

"Thank you so m-" Ladybug had began to say.

Her words were cut off by Chat Noir slamming into the ground nearby and rolling closer to them. He groaned and tried to sit up, dislodging feathers from his hair as Ladybug rushed over to him.

"Chat! Are you alright?" she asked, worry prominent in her voice.

"I will be, once I get away from all these birds," he sniffed. "I'm allergic to feathers, LB. On the bright side, though, I managed to get a tracker on one of the birds! I guess you could say now's the perfect time for bird-watch-" he sneezed, which stopped him from finishing his sentence.

His sneeze was echoed by three other sneezes, and he froze. Ladybug seemed to be in a similar state.

"Dude."

Another sneeze.

"Oh my god."

And another.

"Are you guys-"

"Adrien and Mari?"

Ladybug and Chat Noir looked between themselves, panic in their expressions, alongside a sliver of hope.

"I, um…" Ladybug tried, unsure of what to actually say.

"Wh-what would make you say that?" Chat asked, giving a laugh that was obviously fake.

"Uh, how about when you sneezed, we did too?" Alya said, narrowing her eyes.

"Or the fact that Adrien's also allergic to feathers," Nino said, a slightly amused grin on his face.

Ladybug sighed, and slumped. "Sorry. For not telling you."

"We're not mad or anything, don't worry. I just can't believe you told each other and not us. For shame!" Alya teased, trying to diffuse the tension.

"Oh, uh… about that. We. Had no idea who the other was," Chat said. "Ladybug's kwami- that's what helps us transform- advised us against revealing our identities for as long as we could."

Nodding, Ladybug added, "This is as much a shock to us as it is to you."

"Okay, but in hindsight… it's actually really obvious. You two are like the bravest little toasters on this side of the Seine, of course you wouldn't be scared of akumas. That also explains how you give us interviews most often."

"What can I say? I love you guys more than all the random, snotty reporters that try shoving their cameras in my face. Plus you're both prettier," Ladybug said, crossing her arms.

"Gotta agree with her there, you're both definitely prettier than the other reporters."

Nino grinned. "Well, obviously. The camera loves us, dude."

"Yep, yep, no denying that one," Alya agreed. "Anyways, are we all just gonna sit here and ignore like, the biggest thing?"

"What's that?" Ladybug asked.

"Um, the fact that on the first day we all met, we were legit talking about secret identities and heroes! Like, that's such a cool coincidence, don't you think?"

"Well, when you put it like that, that's pretty interesting."

"I know, I know. Everything I say is interesting-" the others snorted-" but anyways. Don't you two have a bird to cage?"

Chat's eyes lit up and Ladybug facepalmed. "We sure do!" He turned to Ladybug and held an rm out. "Would the lady care to accompany me on this quest?"

"You dork," she said, taking his arm with her own. "Let's go. We'll see you guys later!"

Ladybug's yoyo whisked the two heroes away. Over the wind, Chat spoke. "I'm very glad you're my lady, Mari!"

"Same, but about you, Chaton. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in stopping crime than my very own soulmate."

Needless to say, the heroes won quickly that day, having been brought closer together.

That evening, all four of them got permission to hold a sleepover at Marinette's house. They all figured that was the best course of action, all things considered. Marinette was just finishing her prep for the sleepover when her phone chimed.

[From: Peaches]

hey girllll, imma be over there in like 2 minutes k?

Nino's gonna be with me

hear from Adrien yet?

[To: Peaches]

no not yet, but he did say he was gonna tke a nap at his place. akuma battle took a toll on him nd our noses :'^(

also i hope u guys brought pillows

and blankets

i refuse to share my warmth

because both of you have cold hands and im not gonna deal w that

[From: Peaches]

our hands may be cold

but ur heart is colder for not wanting to share ur blankets with us smh

anyways ya we brought our own stuff

what do u take us for? heathens?

[To: Peaches]

not sre u want me to answer that question

brb imma text adirn and ee if hes up

[From: Peaches]

lol kk girl

c u soon

wink wink

Marinette snorted at the text and rolled her eyes. She considered texting back real quick, but decided against it when she received several messages from Adrien.

[From: ya boi chat noir]

mmmmmmaaaaaarrrrrriiiii!

im gonna be late!!

nathalie just woke m up

and i hve to talk to my father first

something about

birds and bees??

ik its spring but like why now

anyways

after that ill b there

[To: ya boi chat noir]

omg

oh honey

o sweet heart

oh dear one

you

are too innocent and pure for this world

doesnt even know what the brids and the bees are,,,,

*wipes away tear*

such innocence

much purity

wow

amaze

[From: ya boi chat noir]

whar

what

whats the birds and the bees

mari

...

maei ik ur there mari

what is it

should i b scared

im going to ask alya

cause u have me worried now :-(((

As much as Marinette tried to type a response, she couldn't bring herself to type a good one through her laughter and tears. "Oh my god," she chortled, "Oh my god, he doesn't even know... Thar's. Wow. Oh my god." She tried to catch her breath, and when she was finally able to calm herself down most of the way, her phone chimed with another text.

[From: Ni-no u didnt]

M AR I N E T T E

WHAT DID YOU TELL ADIRNE

aDRIEN

ADRIEN

HE TEXTED ALS

SHES HOWLING WIH LAUGHTER WHAT DDI YU DO

SHE WONT LET ME SEE HER PHONE

[To: Ni-no u didnt]

its not what i did

its what his father is going to do

:'^))))))

rip 'adirne's innocnence

[From: Ni-no u didnt]

what does that mean?????

[To: Ni-no u didnt]

......

the birds

and

the

bees

hahahahahaha

[From: Ni-no u didnt]

omg no

our poor boy

hes gonna die before te sleepover

rip in pieces...

also als and i are at ur front foor were gonna come up

Without responding to his messages, Marinette laughed her way downstairs to greet Alya and Nino. They were already standing inside, and Marinette could hear Alya's loud cackling as she came down.

"Peaches! Nino!" Marinette shouted, throwing herself at them from the steps. They barely managed to catch her and keep themselves standing. "We have to hold a funeral for our dearest Adrien, sad face emoji."

Nino took is hat off and held it over his heart, bowing his head. "He was a great dude. Best little ball of sunshine to ever grace this earth. He didn't mind our cold hands." He looked up at Marinette and shot her a wink.

She scoffed and playfully smacked Alya's arm. "I can't believe you told him that, but wouldn't tell him what Adrien texted you." Alya only laughed harder, which proved contagious when Nino and Marinette joined her. They stayed down by the door so long laughing over what happened, that Adrien texted Marinette again. All three gathered around her phone to read.

[From: ya boi chat noir]

u and alya are dead to me

that ws the worst hting ive ever experienced in my life

and we just fought a pigeon man today

a pigeon man!!

this was worse

so unprepared

my innocence is shattered

also im coing over

be like three minutes

[To: ya boi chat noir]

love u <3

and kk! were all wating by the door

hurry hurry we want to see u

Nino shook his head at Marinette.

"Dude, why is that your contact name for him?"

"Yeah, didn't you just find out he was Chat today alongside us?"

"Obviously. But I changed it to match my newfound knowledge. His old contact name was 'sunshine on my shoulders.'"

Alya snorted. "Seriously? Girl, you need better contact names. And speaking of them... what's your contact names for us?"

"Easy! Yours is 'Peaches' and Nino's is 'Ni-no u didnt.' I personally think they're really great," She said with a dramatic flip of her hair.

"Sure, sure. We'll help you come up with better contact names some other time, but I think I just heard Adrien's town car pull up."

"Awesome, let's go greet him!"

The three opened the door and walked outside, right up to Adrien's car. When he opened the door, he didn't even have the chance to get out himself before Marinette tugged his arm and pulled him into a group hug, which honestly made the whole 'birds and the bees' thing worth it to him. He eagerly hugged back, basking in the warmth that radiated from them. One of them grabbed the bag he was carrying, and then like a group of penguins, they managed to waddle their group hug inside the house.

"So," Marinette started, a mischievous grin on her face. "How'd the talk with your dad go?" Alya and Nino snicked at the groan Adrien emitted.

"He was so awkward and it just made everything like, ten times worse. And he was so blunt! I know he had good intentions, but I quite honestly could have gone my entire life without that talk."

Marinette patted his head. "There, there. Why don't we all go eat some nice macarons and get off this topic?"

"Please, let's."

They split from their hug and walked upstairs, issuing a quick, 'Hi!' to Tom when they passed him. Marinette waved them up to her room and grabbed a box of macarons she'd set aside just for the sleepover before heading up herself.

"Hey Mari?" Alya asked when she arrived. She noticed all three of them were looking at her wall of photos.

"Yeah?"

"When'd you take that one?" She pointed to a photo near the top, one that had the three of them laying in the grass with their eyes closed and Marinette's head in the bottom corner. The sunlight in the photo shone off of Nino's and Alya's glasses, but also created a feathery effect in everyone's hair. There were a few butterflies caught in the picture, and one of them rested in Alya's hair. A couple ladybugs, though small, could also be seen, a couple each on Adrien and Nino. The grass was green and framed them all. It was a pretty nice photo, one of her favorites.

"That was about two weeks ago. We had that little picnic, and I had gotten up to run to my house for the bathroom. When I came back, you guys were laying like that, and you looked so comfortable and content and happy that I couldn't help but take a picture. It probably makes my top five photos. I keep it towards the top so that when I get in bed, I can roll over to the railing and see it."

"Aww, Nette, that's so sweet," Nino said, giving her a quick side hug. Adrien and Alya made sounds of agreement, and Marinette's cheeks turned pink.

"A-anyways, um... do you guys want to help me set up a sleeping and hanging out area? I figured we could just make like, a big nest of our blankets and pillows."

"Oh, but Mari! My cold hands! Are you sure you want to share a 'nest' with me and my cold, cold hands?" Alya asked teasingly.

Marinette scowled and crossed her arms. "My warm and loving nature will warm them," Marinette said simply.

Alya chuckled. "If you say so. I brought three blankets and a pillow and no clothes because I needed to make room for said blankets and pillow, so Mari I need to borrow pajamas from you and also I'm gonna use your toothbrush."

"What? Ew, no, I'm not sharing my toothbrush, you park bench!"

"You can share mine," Adrien said kindly. "I brought one blanket and one pillow."

"Thanks, sunshine. At least Adrien is nice to me."

Nino scoffed at that. "And what am I, chopped liver? I brought an extra toothbrush just for you when you told me what you were bringing, dude."

"Awwwww, you did? You're the best, DJ."

"But how many blankets did you bring?"

"Two. And two pillows. Gotta sleep elevated, ya know?"

"Oh yeah, I totally get it." Marinette clapped her hands together and looked at each of them. "So... shall we get set up?" she asked, reaching for a pillow she'd set nearby earlier.

They all agreed, but somewhere along the way, setting up their area turned into a pillow fight. Marinette was a monster in it, and Adrien, Alya, and Nino teamed up against her. Even the three of them together couldn't defeat her though. Her pillows flew in faces and knocked glasses askew, and her smaller size allowed her to avoid most hits aimed at her. The one time they managed to pull together as a team and pin her with their assault of pillows was short-lived when she grabbed onto one and hit all three of them with it. By the end of their fight, they were all breathing heavily and laughing as Marinette planted her foot on a pillow and claimed herself as the victor. Her opponents bowed before her in an overly goofy manner, and she ended up falling to her knees in an attempt to keep in the laughter.

Not long after that, her parents called for dinner, and they recounted their pillow fight in a long, dramatic speech for her parents, who smiled and laughed along with them. When dinner was finished, they all headed back to her room.

"Ugh, I can't eat another bite," Alya muttered as she flopped forward and landed face-first on her pillow.

"Me either," Nino said, sitting down beside her.

Adrien yawned. "I'm kinda tired now, honestly."

"Same. We should just put on a movie and chill the rest of the night," Marinette suggested. "We can talk about today's revelations during it and just relax and start getting settled for bed."

"That sounds nice," Alya said, trying to muffle her own yawn.

"Then it's decided!" Marinette also yawned, and Nino was the last to do so, following hers.

Marinette brought out her laptop and stuck a movie they had all wanted to see in it. They all settled back into the pillows and blankets, the laptop set on Marinette's legs and angled so they all could see and hear well. Disney music began to play, and soon the movie was underway. Nobody talked for a little while, but finally Alya's curiosity got the best of her.

"So how did you guys become superheroes?" she asked, looking away from the movie.

"Well..." Marinette and Adrien both started. They shared a glance, and Marinette began speaking first.

"It all started with a little box..."

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