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miraculousluvbug · 3 years

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WINGLESS | Ch. 2

***WARNING: Season 4 Spoilers Ahead

***New to Wingless? Start at Chapter 1!

CH. SUMMARY: Of all the people Rena could let slip that she knows Ladybug's identity in front of . . . it had to be Chat Noir.

< < < THREE MONTHS AGO < < <

Ladybug swung from building to building, the exhilaration of a job well done fueling the fire in her veins. Traffic it would seem had resumed immediately, the sounds of wheels on pavement and cars obnoxiously honking ricocheting throughout the city’s architecture. This didn’t surprise Ladybug, seeing as the city had grown quite accustomed to akumas blocking the roads. Once the tips of her toes touched a rooftop, it wasn’t long before she was joined by another pair of boots.

“That went well,” commented Ladybug as she swiveled to face her teammate.

Rena Rouge folded her arms across her chest and popped a hip, lips puckered in a frown. “Are you kidding, girl?”

Ladybug’s face fell. No, she wasn’t kidding. She honestly had felt it went well. Was she missing something? Did a disaster strike while she was focused on her lucky charm? Had her Miraculous ladybugs not corrected all of the damage? Were there civilians hurt somewhere--

Abruptly, Rena clapped her hands on Ladybug’s shoulders and squealed, putting a halt to Ladybug’s internal meltdown. “That went amazing! We’re like a well-oiled machine, you and me. I still can’t believe I get to do superhero stuff!” At the sound of Alya’s impromptu shrieking, some pigeons nearby took flight, cooing what Ladybug imagined was a bird version of crotchety old people grumbling. Not even the least bit deterred, Rena leaned forward into Ladybug’s personal bubble, eyes wide with excitement. “But what I really can’t believe is that I’m doing it all with my best friend!”

Ladybug relaxed her posture and let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. But she quickly regretted it when she got a nice, big whiff of crepes, urine, and cigarette smoke. Ah, Paris. Home, sweet home. However, noticing her thoughts were veering dangerously offtrack, Ladybug shook herself mentally.

So nothing had gone wrong. Rena was just being Rena and drawing out the suspense. Ladybug patted her friend’s right hand--which was still firmly squeezing her shoulder--and smiled sweetly.

“It sure is convenient that I don’t have to hide from you anymore,” the spotted-heroine remarked. “I think half the time I took so long to get to a battle because I always had to come up with excuses.”

Rena grinned with a knowing glint in her eye. “I might be impressed if your excuses were actually good.”

Rolling her eyes, Ladybug turned away from Rena, causing Rena’s hands to fall to her sides. “Hey, you try having to come up with five hundred different reasons you have to flake on your friends and see if you fare any better.”

Rena was about to sass her best friend some more, but the words caught in her throat at the sight of Ladybug hugging herself. She recognized this stance. Ladybug’s head was in what Rena deemed the “Guilt Grotto.”

Rena stepped forward to wrap Ladybug in a warm, girl-you-better-get-your-head-out-of-the-guilt-grotto-or-I’ll-tickle-you embrace when there was movement across the rooftops in her periphery. She craned her head to the right to find the familiar silhouette of Chat Noir vaulting his way over, a goofy grin clearly plastered across his face the closer he got.

In a matter of seconds, he landed squarely beside Ladybug, startling her. Ladybug, the epitome of grace that she was, did a series of awkward hand gestures before falling back on her bum, shrieking.

Chat Noir didn’t even look a teeny bit remorseful.

“Looks like I got here just in time!” he quipped, bowing and sliding his baton back into place on his suit.

Rena held out a hand for her friend as Ladybug voiced her question: “In time for what?”

Chat bounced on the balls of his feet. “Well, for the akuma, of course! You guys were having a quick team meeting, right?”

Rena and Ladybug shared a look. So that’s what he was so happy about. Ladybug opened her mouth to reply, but Rena beat her to it.

“Actually, we already took care of the akuma.”

Chat Noir visibly deflated. His ears drooped and his belt tail started to swish back and forth. “Oh.” He turned to the edge of the rooftop and hunkered down, letting his legs kick to and fro in an attempt to get rid of some of the adrenaline.

Ladybug winced. Chat did not sound happy. Hesitantly, she sat next to him. Rena then took a seat beside her, making her the middle. “Sorry, Chat. I know you like battling akumas more than I do.”

Chat nodded before murmuring, “Thirteen.”

“Hm?” Ladybug scooted closer to him to hear him better, their legs nearly touching. She leaned to her right to get a better look at his face and tilted her head innocently. If she were Marinette then, she might have fallen off the rooftop altogether, but she was Ladybug, and Ladybug had way more poise.

Chat didn’t answer immediately. Whatever it was that he was about to say, Ladybug knew it must be something important if he, the guy who was always upfront about his feelings, found it difficult to say. The guy who told her . . .

It’s precisely when something is important that it’s important to say it.

No matter what.

Ladybug gingerly rested a hand on his arm, hoping he understood what the gesture meant. It’s okay. Take your time. I’m ready to listen.

After a few more moments of staring at his feet, Chat Noir lifted his head so his eyes bore into Ladybug’s. They creased with . . . Was that worry? Sadness? Fear?

“Thirteen,” he repeated, a bit louder. “That makes it thirteen times you and Rena have battled an akuma without me. Since Montparnasse Tower.”

Ladybug was speechless. As she stared ahead, eyes unfocused, she tried her hardest to recall all the akuma battles. It was challenging as her memory loved to fail her when she needed it most. Had he really not been in any of those battles? Had it really been thirteen times?

Had he . . . had he really been keeping count?

Ladybug didn’t know what to say, but she knew she had to say something, anything. But what could she say? Was she sorry?

No, she couldn’t be sorry that the akumas had been defeated, that the victims had been rescued, that she had been able to do so quickly because Alya had been spending a record amount of hours by her side.

She couldn’t be sorry about any of that. She was only sad that he felt sidelined.

That was not her intention.

But she knew what the solution to that was.

And she would rather die before she let Chat Blanc see the light of day.

Somehow, knowing her identity had led to him being akumatized. Somehow, whether it was in an alternate timeline or when their memories had been wiped by Oblivio, she knew that what he said at Montparnasse Tower--that to know him was to love him--was truth. And Chat Blanc had told her what their love did.

Their love destroyed the world.

Their love had killed her.

Their love broke the moon, for crying out loud.

But, most importantly, their love hurt him.

Chat Noir had told her he loved her, many times, and she had even been considering giving his pun-spurting, jokes-at-the-worst-times self a chance. But being forced into combat with her akumatized partner had violently squashed any hope she had for them, for LadyNoir as Alya coined it on her blog. Ladybug would be damned if she allowed that to happen again. And if that meant encouraging him to move on even though it broke her heart . . .

Well, it wasn’t supposed to be easy being a hero.

Ladybug had this entire conversation with herself in a matter of seconds. She was careful not to let her face expose any of her innermost feelings, instead sporting an expression of neutrality. What she ultimately decided to do was tell him the only truth she had to offer. He hated secrets and she hated lying. What a pair they made.

“I wish it could be different,” she whispered.

And oh, how she did. She desperately yearned to tell him who she was, to know who he was, to tell him about Alya and Nino and all the other people she had entrusted with a Miraculous.

She wanted him to know how she grew up, what kinds of things she did at school, how she was utterly ridiculous when it came to her rotten luck (and she tried very hard to push a certain blue-eyed blonde out of her head the moment that phrase came to mind). She was sure he would snicker at all the times she made a fool of herself in front of Adrien, of all the ways she made her own life a living hell with her clumsiness.

Or perhaps he wouldn’t laugh. Perhaps he would pat her shoulder and uplift her with words of encouragement. She didn’t know. After the stunt he pulled with the balcony of candle-lit roses, the boy was a wild card, an enigma. He was complex.

And it thrilled her.

But no matter how she felt about him, they couldn’t know each other that way.

Sighing quietly, Ladybug brought her knees up to her chest and turned away from Chat Noir. If she had been watching him when she responded, she might have seen him look longingly at her, but she didn’t.

Rena Rouge did, though.

Wanting to make her friends feel better, Rena added, “Don’t you worry your pretty kitty head about it. I’m sure all those battles would have taken way longer if we weren’t already together.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir both stiffened. Chat’s gaze flicked from Rena to his partner over and over before they finally rested on Ladybug. “Uh, what does she mean by that?”

Ladybug shot a glare in Rena’s direction, but her eyes softened when she saw that Rena genuinely appeared surprised.

He didn’t know? Rena’s eyes asked Ladybug.

He didn’t know, Ladybug’s affirmed.

One would think Rena was Lady Luck because her pendant had decided that that moment was the best time to beep, and she couldn’t agree more. Now she had an escape route from this conversation. “Welp,” she clapped her hands together, “I’m gonna go chill in that fine-lookin’ alley over there.”

Before Ladybug could agree, Rena sprang from her spot and promptly disappeared. She was a regular magician, and her latest trick was leaving Ladybug with a rabbit to put back in the hat.

Or, er--a cat back in the bag. Whatever.

“What she meant by that . . . ” Ladybug began slowly, like she was addressing a wounded animal. Which, maybe she was but just, you know, emotionally wounded.

“Yeah . . . ” prompted Chat, signalling that he was not going to drop this.

Ladybug quickly jumped to her feet and began her ritual of frantic pacing. “Look, I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while, but I didn’t know how to because I knew it would raise questions that I couldn’t answer--”

A blonde boy in white leather with somber blue eyes appeared in front of her and she dug her heels into the cement, skidding to a stop.

Chat Noir was behind Ladybug now, his voice soft and curious. “Bug?”

Ladybug was frozen in place for a few more seconds before she shook her head hard enough to give herself shaken-baby syndrome and nodded, satisfied that the aggressive head-shaking had rid her of he who shall not be named. She whipped around and started.

Chat Noir was incredibly close.

She didn’t know he had gotten this close.

Geez, his eyes were really cat-like.

He also had a really cute nose--

Ladybug, FOCUS!

Ladybug took a step back. She made it her mission to ogle his bell instead of looking into his dumb kitten eyes. “You--” she began, but Ladybug’s throat was suddenly dry. She gulped. “You know how much I hate secrets and lying. And I know how much you hate secrets and lying. So I’m not going to lie to you. But I may not be able to answer the questions I’m sure you’ll have, so please . . . ”

Ladybug grabbed one of his hands then and held it firmly between her own, pleading with every fiber of her being that this would communicate how much he meant to her even though she knew what she was about to tell him would make it seem like he didn’t mean anything.

Please forgive me, Ladybug’s heart supplied.

When he didn’t immediately take his hand back, she looked up at him. She looked into those dumb kitten eyes and knew without a shadow of a doubt--

She was a masochist.

This was going to hurt. He didn’t like when she was the only one to know Rena’s identity. He definitely wasn’t going to like that Rena knew hers. This would be so much easier if she wasn’t ogling those big, emerald green, beautiful, brazenly dumb kitten eyes.

But she was a masochist. And she needed to see them while they still held love for her.

“I told Rena Rouge who I am.”

There. She ripped off the band-aid. Straight to the point. Zero room for interpretation. After all, her worst arguments started because of her clumsy miscommunication.

Ladybug braced herself for an explosion. She had played this moment in her head a couple hundred times since exposing herself to Alya.

Yelling. There was always yelling.

Sometimes, he stomped away while doing that weird T pose where his fists didn’t connect to his hips . . . a pose she herself was guilty of, too.

Others, he chastised her about her thoughtlessness--to which she responded that she definitely thought about it long and hard that day.

Ladybug braced herself for an explosion because she was sure there was going to be one, especially after seeing him upset about her always running off to Master Fu. He hadn’t even known there was a Guardian for a while.

What she hadn’t braced herself for was the expression on his face.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

His head was bowed.

His eyes were closed.

A lone tear slid down his cheek.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

Her heart thudded against her ribcage, screaming at her to run because he wanted her Miracul--!

No! She refused to finish that thought.

Her head yelled back that he wasn’t akumatized right now, that she wasn’t back there, that she wasn’t with him. She desperately tried to shove the image from her mind. This was more than she could bear. She just--she couldn’t take it! She couldn’t take it because . . .

Because . . .

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

Because he looked just like him.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

He looked like Chat Blanc.

-----

Heya! Thanks for reading. ❤ Check out my Instagram for Wingless updates. I'm also posting pieces of a Wingless cover with each chapter update!

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trustmeifyoudare · 3 years

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The Things We Do (Chapter 34: Illusions)

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The illusions surrounded Ladybug. She blinked. Instead of a burning building, she was on a rooftop. She looked out over Paris, wind blowing her hair in her face.

“Are you okay?”

The words echoed around in her head. She turned around, finding Cat Noir standing behind her.

“You look a little pale,” he continued.

“Sorry, Cat, but you aren’t real.” Ladybug threw her yo-yo at him. It hit him in the head but he didn’t disappear.

“Meow-ch,” he said, rubbing his skull. “What was that for?”

Ladybug bit her lip. He should have disappeared.

An orange blur jumped down onto the roof. “You shouldn’t push it,” Rena Rouge told him. “You know that she is still recovering from her fight with Shadowmoth.”

Ladybug took a step backwards. “What fight?”

Cat Noir reached out his hand while taking a step closer to her. “I know you know which one it is. The one where Nino’s apartment caught on fire. You took Shadowmoth’s miraculous. You saved the day. But you inhaled too much smoke. It… left its mark.”

“You keep blanking out,” Rena Rouge explained. “You keep reliving that day.” Rena Rouge gave her a sad smile.

Ladybug shook her head. “No, this is an illusion. You guys aren’t real.”

Cat Noir walked closer to her. “Okay, now you are scaring me. Maybe we should get you to the hospital…”

Ladybug cupped her head with her hands. “No, I’m still fighting Shadowmoth. I’m still in the burning building.” She coughed, trying to find fresh air.

Rena Rouge grabbed Ladybug by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Gurl, breathe. The fight is over. We won. You don’t have to keep being in the fight.”

Ladybug sank into Rena Rouge’s arms. “I’m scared,” she whispered.

“I know.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“I know.”

“So prove to me that you are real.”

Rena Rouge frowned. “You don’t believe me?”

“Please.”

Rena Rouge stroked the back of Ladybug’s head. “I would if I knew how to. Do I look like an illusion?”

No, she didn’t. That was the scary part of it. Because Ladybug knew this wasn’t real.

She wanted it to be real.

Rena Rouge’s hands lightly touched Ladybug’s ears.

Touched her earrings.

Before she could think, Ladybug threw her yo-yo at Rena Rouge. Rena Rouge went flying backwards, the illusion fading to show Volpina.

Ladybug blinked and she was back in the fiery apartment. Volpina grunted as her back slammed into the wall.

“Your illusions won’t affect me,” Ladybug smirked.

Volpina twirled her flute in her fingers. “Then why are you so pale?”

Ladybug narrowed her eyes. “Lila, you don’t have to work with Shadowmoth.” She held out her hand.

Volpina shook her head. “I didn’t know that I scared you that much.”

Shadowmoth laughed from the other side of the room. “Yes, Volpina, this is the moment you have been waiting for.”

Volpina jumped at Ladybug. Ladybug’s yo-yo wrapped around Volpina’s staff, but not before Volpina yelled mirage.

Scores of Volpinas surrounded Ladybug. They hit her, knocking her to the ground.

Ladybug gritted her teeth as she used her string to trip them. Some disappeared, others fell to the floor beside her.

One of the Volpinas lunged at Ladybug. Ladybug rolled to the side and Volpina hit one of the illusions, causing it to disappear.

Volpina growled in frustration. All the Volpinas charged at Ladybug. One by one Ladybug made them disappear until only one was left.

Ladybug slammed her forearm into Volpina’s throat. With her other hand she yanked the flute out of her hand. “Stand down,” Ladybug told Volpina.

And then Ladybug was flying in the air. She hit the ground, pain throbbing in her side. She looked up. Shadowmoth was standing where she just was.

“Volpina,” Shadowmoth said, “Leave Ladybug to me.”

“But-”

“There are other heroes. She will be all yours after you finish your job.”

Volpina gritted her teeth as she jumped out the window.

Shadowmoth gestured to the dying flames around them. “You can end this all, Ladybug. You just need to give me your miraculous.”

“Never.”

“My wish isn’t evil. I just want my wife back. Is that too much to ask?”

“If you make that wish then someone else will lose someone they love.”

“That is a sacrifice I am willing to risk.”

Ladybug crossed her arms. “Are you really? What if you lose Adrien?”

“Adrien has already chosen his path.”

Shadowmoth swung his cane at Ladybug. She dodged the blow easily.

Ladybug coughed as the smoke entered her lungs. Her vision blurred when she couldn’t get any oxygen.

Shadowmoth took his chance. He slammed his cane into her head.

She crumpled to the ground.

…

Cat Noir ran across the Paris rooftops. The apartment was right in front of him.

He held his breath when he saw Shadowmoth with the Ladybug miraculous.

“Where is she?” he yelled.

Shadowmoth turned over to Cat Noir. He smiled. “Oh, Cat Noir. You shouldn’t have betrayed me.”

“Where is she, Father?”

Shadowmoth raised an eyebrow. “Why does it matter, Son?”

Cat Noir jumped at Shadowmoth. Shadowmoth moved out of the way and Cat Noir fell on his knees. He stood back up. “I swear to God, if you don’t tell me-”

“You will do what? I have Ladybug’s miraculous. Now hand yours over.”

Cat Noir lunged at Shadowmoth again. Cat Noir’s back screamed in pain. Shadowmoth easily flipped cat Noir on his back.

Cat Noir suppressed a wince as his vision blurred. Maybe Alya and Nino were right.

But he had to at least try and save Ladybug and Paris.

He looked up at the ladybug miraculous in Shadowmoth’s hand. He bit his lip. He remembered reading in the grimoire of a different version of his cataclysm. One that would direct the energy in the air.

One that would allow him to destroy things without touching it.

But this technique was extremely dangerous. One mistake and the energy would settle on Paris.

Cat Noir closed his eyes. This was a bad idea. But he was the black cat. Bad ideas were his speciality.

He opened his eyes as Shadowmoth bent over to grab his miraculous. Cat Noir moved his fingers into a flick.

“Cataclysm.”

He released the energy, holding his breath as it collided with the Ladybug miraculous.

His head slammed into the roof as a white wave of energy was released as the miraculous crumbled. Cat Noir was temporarily blinded.

Shadowmoth still hadn’t grabbed his miraculous. He must have realized that there was no point now.

Cat Noir blinked the spots out of his eyes. His father’s face met his.

Except his father’s face was ash.

Cat Noir slided against the roof, away from his father. This couldn’t be happening.

He stood up and looked over the edge of the roof. Paris was completely destroyed.

His transformation fell off. Adrien collapsed on his knees. His eyes widened. He shook his head but couldn’t look away.

What had he done?

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#...i was hoping for longer #but for good news i discovered which class i can write in (physics)#because screw physics #and don't worry i haven't forgotten about rena rouge #miraculous ladybug #cat noir #chat noir #the things we do #lila #volpina #adrien agreste #shadowmoth #hawkmoth #and yes #i do have a plan for this #THIS IS NOT THE END #DO NOT WORRY #I PROMISE THIS STORY WON'T END IN ANGST

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cakejots · 3 years

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this is us trying, Chapter 7 - The Aid

In this AU, they don’t know each other outside of the suit. And in this AU, Ladybug and Chat Noir love each other. But in this AU, Chat doesn’t want their identities revealed.

Written for @ladynoirjuly 2021

notes: this is a coherent story based on all the prompts; each chapter contains at least 3 prompts

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9 | Ch 10

Read on AO3

21. Roommates

The journey to Marinette’s house was a short one, it was no wonder she appeared so quickly earlier on. They went past the Dupain-Cheng Bakery and within a minute, they landed on her balcony.

Lady Rouge? Rena Bug? Rena bug sounded more consistent with her other unifications but he still didn’t know. Marinette slid open her balcony door and stepped in, but Chat didn’t follow. When she realised he had yet to come in, she went to the balcony door.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you sure?” He glimpsed at her. “I don’t want to impose.”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I’m not okay with it,” she rolled her eyes. “And don’t worry, you’re not imposing at all!”

Chat still stood rooted at the balcony.

“You… We can treat it as though we’re roommates?” She tried. “You can sleep on the bed while I sleep on the mattress.”

“Actually, I should sleep on the mattress and you on the bed. I don’t want to intrude on the place where you need your beauty sleep.”

She sighed. “If I agree to that, will you come in?”

He nodded.

“Alright, I’ll sleep in my bed.”

Once he entered, they de-transformed, and Marinette’s stomach growled.

Her arms flew to her abdomen and her cheeks turned pink. “Aha, I haven’t had breakfast…”

“Let me make it for you!” Adrien jumped on the chance.

“Adrien, all I have to do is to spread the butter and jam on the bread,” she chuckled.

“I know. But please,” he activated his kitten eyes, “that’s the least I can do for you.”

Her eyebrow twitched. “Alright, alright.”

He beamed. “And for your drink?”

“Tea, please.”

“Coming right up!” He started to move, but stopped soon after. “Uhh, I might need you to show me the way to everything.”

Marinette laughed. Such a dork.

After they had fun making their breakfast together and feeding each other, Marinette went into her room to get something while Adrien stayed in the living room to browse his public social account. He understood that he couldn’t run from the scandal for long. He needed to know what the public was saying so that he could come up with a suitable statement to address it.

“Chaton, you need some time off from that.” He jumped when her voice appeared so suddenly beside his ear as she planted herself next to him. “So put that away and join me!”

“What are you doing?”

“Designing!” She held up her sketchbook. “What do you think?”

Adrien took the sketchbook from her and focused on the sketch she had drawn. It was a long and elegant A-Line dress with lace-patterned sleek long sleeves.

He smiled teasingly. “Is my lady aspiring to be a fashion designer?”

She nodded, anticipation for his opinion clear in her eyes.

“It’s really classy!” He raised an eyebrow, then wiggled both. “Are you making this for a future date with me?”

She flushed. “I-I know you have something to comment about the dress, tell me!”

He laughed. “Well, it’s perfect the way it is. But since you asked, you can always go sleeveless as well.”

Her eyes sparkled at his comment, a smirk growing on her lips. She flipped a page on the sketchbook still in his hands to show the same dress. But this time, the sleeves are gone, exactly what he had suggested just moments ago.

Adrien’s smile faltered for a second before coming back wider and prouder. “You sure you’re not a fashion designer yet?”

She scratched the back of her head. “I really wanted to intern at Gabriel…”

“Oh.”

“But no worries!” She clapped her hands to disperse the gloomy atmosphere. “Having the model of a fashion powerhouse compliment my designs? It’s more than I could ever ask for.”

“With skills like these, it won’t be long until someone picks you.” He held her hand and rubbed his thumb on the back of it. “Do you have a portfolio? Can you show them to me?”

Marinette’s eyes gleamed. “Can my day get any better?”

They spent the rest of the day admiring her impressive collection of designs.

The yawn that came from Marinette halted whatever they were doing.

“S-Sorry,” she covered her mouth, cheeks reddened. “I woke up earlier than usual today, so I think I’m turning in right now. D-Do you want to join me?”

“I would love to,” he smiled.

She stood to get the mattress but Adrien held her arm. “Actually, is… is it okay if w-we sleep together on your bed?”

Her eyes shone and she squatted down to his level to booped his nose. “Of course, mon Chaton.” She grabbed his hands and led him to the toilet before going to her room.

She jumped into her bed and moved in to give him space. Marinette looked at him expectantly as he stopped at her door. She raised her arms to entice him into her embrace, and it worked. Adrien walked towards her bed and snaked his arms around her waist as he got on, pulling her body flush against his.

“Ahhh,” she melted into him. “Your heat is very welcome right now”

“Did you invite me just to be your personal heater?”

“Maaaybe,” she smirked.

He pulled away and gaped at her, mock-offended. “How dare you.”

She cackled and chased after his heat. “Adrieeen! Don’t do this to meee, come back here!”

Marinette managed to pull him back, her arms caged his neck and legs wrapped around his waist, effectively trapping him.

“Alright, alright,” he chuckled, arms encircling her once again and he kissed her nose. “Goodnight, Marinette.”

Her cheeks burn at the sweet gesture. “Goodnight, Adrien.”

22. Heal

Adrien awoke from his slumber, alarmed that he’s in an unfamiliar room, until he recalled that he was staying over at Marinette’s. He checked his side, and there she was still sleeping as soundly as he remembered just a few days prior.

Marinette wasn’t clinging onto him as tightly as she was last night, but she’s still snuggled up in his personal space. He doesn’t mind that all at, he had his arm wrapped around her shoulders pulling her towards him. Her hand and leg were draped lazily across his waist and leg, and her head was on his chest, rising and falling in accordance to his breathing.

It wasn’t a dream.

She’s by his side.

And he still has the scandal to deal with.

Adrien ran his hand down his face to wipe away any sleepiness before he grabbed his phone from the shelves above him, and concluded Marinette is a pretty heavy sleeper. He shifted quite a bit searching for his phone but she didn’t stir at all. After finding a comfortable position, he went online and browsed through.

There’s the side that’s all rainbowy, sparkles, and flowers. The side that supports his decisions, saying how adorable they are as a couple and calls for the media and harassers to stop their digging and let him be happy.

And then there’s the mob and haters, holding their pitchforks and axes and spreading false rumours, negativity, and hate about their relationship. Demanding them to break up, else they’d boycott him.

He has been in the eyes of the media all his life, he has learnt how to filter out the noises pretty well. He can’t please everyone. They’re all unique with their own taste and preferences. He understood that much. Which was why he really didn’t care if people boycotted him. If they really supported him, they would’ve wished him happiness.

What he really couldn’t stand were the nasty remarks they'd made of Marinette. He knew it was going to come, but to read about them with his own eyes made his blood boil.

How dare they call her these abhorrent names. They are just vomiting words that didn’t describe Marinette at all. Golddigger? Slut? Whore? He was so disgusted that people could scope to that level. She’s the sweetest person he’s ever met and was pretty sure no one could come close to her level. She’s Ladybug! Protector of Paris and people love her. And as soon as she shows up in a different form, she gets hated on? He was never one to be bothered by haters’ opinions, but they are directed at Marinette, the love of his life. He can’t let this slide! This shouldn’t even be happening. Why are humans so ugly? What—

“Adrien?”

Her groggy voice snapped him out of his onslaught of the haters, and he directed his attention to her on his chest.

Those blue eyes were staring at him so intently, and it made him self-conscious. But it also made him finally realise that his heart rate was accelerating and he was inhaling quick and shallow breaths. He was also gripping her shoulder stiffly.

He released his hold immediately.

Shit. Were those what disturbed her beauty sleep?

“Good morning, my lady!” He tried his best to sound as cheery as possible, to hide the fact that he was doing something she had disapproved of earlier on.

“What are you checking on your phone?” Fuck.

“Uhh—”

He wasn’t able to explain because Marinette had pushed herself from his chest to stop beside his head to have a better look.

Adrien could hear his own pulse in his head, and it was amplified by the silence that nestled itself within the room. She must be furious.

“Adrien,” her voice sounded deafening. “I would prefer it if you step back from social media and heal from what you experienced just yesterday.” She frowned and turned towards him. “Is there a reason why you refuse to stop browsing it?”

He let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Adrien didn’t know why he was so afraid of Marinette finding out, maybe he was scared of disappointing her, but her reactions showed that he has nothing to worry about. He supposed he did owe her an explanation for it.

“I… I hoped to get a general understanding of the public’s view on the matter,” his hand reached for hers and his thumb shyly caressed the back of her hand. “So that the statement that I eventually have to release can address them accordingly.”

“Okay, fair enough,” she still didn’t like the idea though. “But could you take more time off first? Or at least, we view them together?”

As much as Adrien admires Marinette’s commitment to solving issues, he truly didn’t want her to be reading those revolting comments about herself. “You really don’t want to see how distasteful they can be.”

“Haters gonna hate,” she shrugged. “I’ve dealt with that in school before. Besides, I don’t believe in liars. ”

Adrien’s eyes widened like saucers. “There were people who hated you?”

“Of course. I’m pretty sure they still do. I know I can’t please everyone,” she petted his head. “So don’t worry your pretty head about how I’ll take them. It’s us against the world, remember?”

“As always.” He smiled teasingly and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her cheek. “And you think I’m pretty.”

“Hush.”

23. Guilt

It’s been a few days since Adrien arrived at her home.

A few days since he had a taste of the potential life he might have with Marinette in the future.

A few days since pictures of them were invasively taken on the night of their reveal and sold to the biggest gossip magazine in Paris.

Adrien still has yet to do anything to address the issue. He had taken Marinette’s wishes to heart and took time off of social media to properly rejuvenate from the traumatic experience he went through in the Agreste mansion. She was right, he himself went through the intense rage he didn’t know he was capable of after reading about the offensive things some members of the public had said about her.

Marinette’s presence was very warm and welcoming. She had made the healing process much faster than if he had been dealing with it all alone.

But it still didn’t ease the guilt that has been eating at him ever since. Adrien knew he had to deal with the media when Shadowmoth’s identity became public knowledge. It was one of the reasons why he didn’t want the reveal to happen right after the final battle. He didn’t want his lady to be caught up in the mess. And to think that all her waiting had been for naught just because he slipped up on the night of their reveal.

He felt like utter shit.

“Marinette, I’m so sorry for dragging you into this mess.”

She was taken aback by the sudden apology. They were currently snuggling on her sofa, Marinette toying with his hair and Adrien lying on top of her chest, arms around her waist, listening to her heartbeat and enjoying the sensation her fingers brought. Nothing about the current situation they were in warranted a need for an apology from his end.

“Adrien, what do you mean?”

He looked at her. “I know how much you value your privacy. I practically put your face out for the world to see.”

Marinette frowned at this. “No, no you didn’t. Why would you say that? You took extra precautions for us to meet up, remember? Who walks in empty parks at 3 am in the morning? Literally no one! So—“

“But think about it, Marinette,” he cut her. “If I didn’t insist on walking you home in our civilian forms, if I had just chosen another date for the reve—”

“Are you saying you regret the way the reveal went?”

“No!” Adrien was flabbergasted that she even came to that conclusion. “Of course not! I would never! It has brought me so much joy to finally know who you are.”

He squeezed her waist. “But I can’t help but think all this mess could’ve been avoided if only I was more careful.”

When Marinette didn’t reply, he took it as she was waiting for him to elaborate further.

“I was so blinded by what I wanted at that moment that I created this mess. I caused you to be in harm's way.” He averted his gaze as tears started to form in his eyes. “The media was one of the reasons why I held off the reveal. I didn’t want the media’s eyes on you. And now, all the time you’ve spent patiently waiting for the reveal has been for nothing, all because of what I did. I was so selfish in my approach. I’m so sorry.”

Marinette held his face in her hands and wiped away the tears. “But you made it right straight away, didn’t you?”

Adrien snapped back to her. “H-Huh?”

“You asked me to transform and leave the area as soon as you realised something was wrong, didn’t you?” She smiled gently and caressed his cheeks.

He said nothing to reject her deduction. She shouldn’t be giving him those looks when he had ruined her life.

His eyes widened as she planted a kiss on his forehead. “You’re selfish, Adrien. But not in the way you think you are. The fact that you're guilty of your actions makes you aware and sensitive to the ones around you.”

She moved to stroke his hair. “You’re empathetic towards others, that’s far from being selfish.”

Her actions were so simple. Yet, her eyes, voice, and touch all soothed him to no end.

Marinette held his cheeks again and pressed her lips to his nose. “Have you actually forgotten that you’re Chat Noir, Protector of Paris? You're the reason why Paris is safe now.”

She pecked his left cheek. “It's not selfish to want something you desire, when giving is all you’ve been doing all this while.”

And then the other. “So Adrien, you don’t need to apologise for exposing me to the media. I don’t blame you for that. At all. Because you’ve done nothing wrong. But I do hope you forgive yourself for being selfish.”

He leaned towards her hand and rubbed his face against them. Her assurance means everything to him.

Marinette regarded him, and added one last sentence to solidify her speech. “I would say I’m selfish too, I refused to let you go when you clearly needed some time and space to yourself.”

“You're not selfish, my lady” he immediately jumped to deny any allegations she made against herself. “Your presence really helped me.”

“Then apply these to yourself too, Chaton. You being selfish made me really happy,” she flashed a pleasant and tender smile to him. Her hand travelled into his hair again and played with them. “I finally got to know who the love of my life is. It's what I’ve wanted for 6 years. So your selfishness has made me really blissful. I think I would’ve been more offended if you weren’t selfish,” she giggled.

Adrien was about to melt into a puddle of goo if she continued throwing those looks at him. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles, hoping to convey his gratitude through his eyes and gesture. “I was heading towards a negative headspace, and I apologise for that. Thanks for pulling me back.”

She smiled, and he knew that it had. “I forgive you, and you're welcome. Treat yourself nicer, Adrien. It's okay to be selfish sometimes.”

Adrien lifted himself off of her and moved to rub his nose on hers admiringly before his lips landed on hers, pouring all of his love and adoration for her into that kiss.

#ladynoirjuly2021 #ladynoirjuly #ladynoir #mesfics #miraculous ladybug #fanfic #mlb fanfic #chat noir #ladybug #alternate universe #light angst #fluff #hurt/comfort #this is us trying

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kittinoir · 3 years

Text

Phantoms Ch. 7

Read on Ao3

Chat Noir had always thought Rose was an odd choice to wield a Miraculous, the only one he had at the time he’d handed them out, but even he had to admit that she was much more of a natural as ‘Kele’ just starting out with the pig than Marinette with the Ladybug had been as the two of them patrolled the streets of Paris.

He and Ladybug had been alternating going out with the new superheroes every other night to help familiarize the citizens of Paris with them and add legitimacy to their status, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss his partner, perhaps more than when she’d been missing. There’d been no time to talk about the things that had happened, and too many civilian ears lingered everywhere else. They’d have to make a date to catch up over more than just text. Er, meeting. Not date.

“This is…amazing!” Kele chirped as they scaled the Eiffel Tower. “I don’t think I could ever get used to this.”

“I haven’t,” Chat Noir admitted as they paused on an empty observation deck. No, his father made sure that, even years later, any taste of freedom felt like a gift - no, a small miracle. “The nights when I get to be Chat Noir are always the best ones.”

“I still can’t believe that you kept it a secret for so long,” Kele said. The city glittered beneath them like the night sky turned upside down, a thousand possibilities at their feet. “It’s not that I want to brag about it or anything, it’s just trying to be sneaky when you have to be. I suddenly get why she’s always late - and always has a lame excuse.”

Chat Noir didn’t have to ask who she meant. He guessed he was lucky in at least one way; he always had a plethora of excuses to choose from.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is thanks for trusting me with this,” Kele said, tapping her heel lightly on the side of the observation deck so the Miraculous anklet tinkled in the clear evening air.

“It wasn’t just me,” Chat Noir said, leaning on the railing. A bit of a fib, but Marinette had been the one to decide to let her keep it. The decision hadn’t truly been his alone. “Ladybug and I chose together.”

“Not the first time,” Kele said. The emphasis wasn’t lost on him. “I still…I feel terrible for her. And how I’ve behaved the past few months.”

“She doesn’t hold it against you, you know.”

Kele nodded slowly. “I know. That almost makes it worse.”

Ah. She hit the nail on the head.

“You’re here now,” he said, relaying the same words Marinette had told him herself. “That’s what matters.”

Chat Noir opened his mouth to say more when screams erupted in the city below, plummeting the previously peaceful night into chaos. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he and Kele looked out over the city. As terrifying as Hawk Moth was, screams were rare. He guessed a person could get used to anything.

“There!” Kele gasped, grabbing his arm as she pointed behind them.

Chat Noir twisted and barely had time to brace himself before the wave of pitch black crashed over them.

The first thing he knew was that, although the temperature had plummeted, it didn’t hurt. The second was that without his night vision, he would have been rendered blind. And the third, was that this darkness was familiar.

“Ad- Chat Noir,” Kele panted beside him, “I can’t s… I can’t see, I…”

“It’s ok,” Chat Noir said, grabbing her hand as she reached for him in the dark. “I can. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think you might be in a little over your head with this one.” It took every ounce of self control to stay with her, to not go tearing off after who he thought might be responsible for the black out. Who he might again have to fight.

Because he really didn’t know if he could do it this time.

So instead of thinking about it, Chat Noir swung Kele onto his back and made his way back to street level.

“Stay here,” Chat Noir instructed as he guided her to one of the steel beams of the tower. “Don’t engage. Crowd control only, if you feel up to it.”

“I’m up to it,” Kele said, even as her voice wavered. There was only resolve in her face, though, so Chat Noir left her to it. He could hear her calling the civilians caught in the midnight tidal wave to her, a beacon in the shadows.

Chat Noir was already pinging messages as he took to the roofs, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm as he ran. Back up required. Any eyes on the prize? He shot the message off to Alya and Juleka, the only two who would be able to navigate the dark with him. He hoped it would be enough.

Part of him catalogued even as the rest of him panicked: the temperature had not continued to drop but was holding steady near freezing, his breath clouding in front of him briefly before vanishing into the shadows. The darkness had encompassed most, if not all of Paris. The shadow never lightened or dimmed, and even with his night vision, he narrowly avoided crashing face-first into buildings.

Chat Noir pushed himself harder as he landed on the roof of the Notre Dame, his chest close to bursting with the effort of not screaming her name as he ran. As suffocating as the shadow was, sound seemed to carry across it like an empty lake at midnight, the cries of his people skipping to his ears like stones across a pond.

Please. Please. Please. Please please please -

The word became a meaningless chant as Chat Noir whipped out his baton and vaulted himself to another roof. Please don’t let it be her. Please don’t do this to me again. Please don’t hurt her, don’t hurt her, don’t hurt her.

The bakery was as still and silent as the rest of the buildings in Paris had become. He didn’t bother to knock before he ripped open Marinette’s skylight and dropped into her room.

“Marinette?” He said, his voice nearly shaking with restraint. “Are you - ”

“Here!”

Relief flooded Chat Noir as her familiar voice came from across the pitch dark room - not Marinette, but ‘Ladybug’, the magic of her Miraculous disguising her voice.

“I tried to call you,” she said as he dropped to the floor, “But I dropped my yoyo and honestly I thought it would be safer to just wait.” She’d backed herself into a corner, one hand on each wall as though to keep herself grounded in the sea of umber.

“I called Rena and Tigress,” he said as he located her yoyo under her desk. “They’re the only one’s who are going to be able to see well enough to take this on. How much can you see?”

“I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face,” Ladybug admitted. “I’m not sure how…”

“Worry about the Lucky Charm later,” Chat Noir said, guessing her thoughts. “Let’s find the akuma first.”

He reached out and took hold of Ladybug’s wrist, turning her hand face up. He placed the yoyo in her palm, but didn’t let go of her as her fingers closed around the compact.

“I thought he’d gotten to you,” Chat Noir admitted, unable to stop himself from running a thumb over her wrist, reassuring himself she was safe. “I thought I was going to have to…”

“I’m ok,” Ladybug said, placing her free hand over his. He could swear he could almost feel the warmth of her skin through their suits. “I’m fine.”

“Of course,” he said, making himself drop her hand at last. “Let’s go save Paris.”

He made it two steps before she stopped him again.

“I’m not going to be able to make it,” Ladybug said. He could see she’d taken two small steps of her own, but she’d barely moved and her hand was held out in front of her in an attempt find the objects in her room before she walked into them.

“I’ve got you,” Chat Noir said without thinking. “Come here.”

He hoisted her onto his back and her arms locked instantly around his neck. Chat Noir felt his heart begin to pound at the closeness of her, but he tried to put it out of his mind as he made for the window again. He and Ladybug touched all the time; the casual intimacy was a necessary part of their job.

Except he had to admit there was nothing casual about this. At least, not to him.

And that was when he knew he couldn’t touch her anymore. Not casually. Not at all. Not if he was going to move on, not if he was going to be her friend. Not unless he absolutely had to.

Was this what she had feared all those times she’d insisted their identities remained secret? Had she been right?

Well. She almost always was.

“Ready?” he asked as he released his baton.

“Ready.” Her voice reverberated through his back, and he braced himself against it. Was she also thinking of the last time they’d been this close, mere hours after her memories had been restored? Was it as much a comfort as it was painful for her as well?

“Rena has eyes on the akuma,” Chat Noir said, reading the message off his baton as he took to the rooftops. “It’s at the Louvre.”

“Any details?”

“Not really. It doesn’t seem to have any additional abilities to whatever this stuff is, but Nadja and her crew haven’t been able to get any footage because of it.”

“Hawk Moth isn’t exactly renowned for his strategy,” Ladybug mused.

“Pretty effective though,” Chat Noir admitted begrudgingly.

“Senti-monster?”

Chat Noir shook his head. “None.”

They travelled in silence for another minute before Ladybug spoke again.

“Have you noticed that they akumas and senti-monsters don’t seem to appear at the same time anymore?” she mused.

“I hadn’t,” Chat Noir said, “But now that you mention it…”

“It’s been a while since they’ve worked together.”

“You don’t think…”

“I don’t know what to think,” Ladybug said, “But the senti-monsters did start getting worse around the same time they started showing up on their own.”

“I don’t even want to think about the possibility of two supervillains,” Chat Noir grumbled. One was bad enough.

“I wouldn’t just yet,” Ladybug said. “It could be a new strategy to try and wear us down. A senti-monster could appear out of the shadows here any second. But…”

“Something to consider,” he agreed as he finally spotted Rena Rouge by the glass pyramids of the Louvre. “We’re here.”

“Inside?”

“Plaza,” he said as he landed behind a bench. “What’d we miss?”

“Not much,” Rena said. “We’re pretty sure the akuma is in a pendant around his neck. Tigress is keeping him busy, but unfortunately the dark doesn’t affect him like it does us. Isn’t there a kwami upgrade for this kind of thing?”

“I wish,” Ladybug said as she slid to the ground. Chat Noir rolled his shoulders as her slight weight vanished from his back, trying to shake the feel of herbed pressed against his, with limited success. “This is going to be a tricky one.”

“Good thing foxes are known for trickery, then,” Rena quipped. “What’s the plan?”

“Lucky Charm!”

“Straight for the throat, then,” Chat Noir said dryly as he watched a spotted sled drop into Ladybug’s hands.

“What is it?” she asked, feeling the round edges.

“Oh,” Rena said, eyes going wide. “It’s a sled. You really can’t see anything?”

“Nope,” Ladybug said, “But that’s ok. It’s time to switch roles.” She reached over to Chat Noir and passed the lucky charm to him. “You’ve got to use this. You’re the only thing lighting up. Maybe a shield?”

“What?” The last time he’d tried to use the lucky charm hadn’t gone so well. “And what are you going to be doing.”

“Distraction!”

He could only watch as she leapt out from behind their bench and began literally announcing her presence, demanding the akuma show itself.

“Damn it,” Chat Noir swore. The akuma hadn’t shown up, but a distant shout told him it was on the way. “I think she could use some help.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Rena said, rising. “Mirage!”

A dozen more Ladybugs began to cartwheel through the plaza before Rena jumped in after them. Chat Noir blinked and suddenly he couldn’t tell which Ladybug was the real one, leaving him with nothing to do but wait and try and figure out the lucky charm as the clock ticked down.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long.

He didn’t notice it at first. It was quiet and stealthy, blending in with its shadows until one of the Ladybugs stumbled away, slapping a hand over her ears.

“Missed me!” she cheered, but the akuma stayed silent, appraising them crowd for a moment before diving in amongst them and striking out. One by one, the Ladybug’s began to vanish.

But Chat Noir had seen then pendant, and he had an idea.

He hoisted the sled in his left hand, activated his cataclysm, and then he, too, was sprinting into the plaza as two more Ladybug’s disappeared, leaving only two and Rena Rouge.

He threw the sled like a discus as the akuma began its final assault, and was rewarded when the akuma’s foot came down on it, sending him flying - right into Chat Noir’s waiting hands.

“Rena!” he called as the cataclysm tore through the pendant.

“On it!”

She snatched up the Lucky Charm as it shot by her and spun, pressing it back into Ladybug’s hands as the last illusion vanished. “Now!”

“Miraculous Ladybug!”

Chat Noir watched as the Miraculous Ladybugs dispersed, blinking in the sudden afternoon light, but Ladybug had already loosed her yoyo to snatch up the akuma.

“What…happened?” The akuma transformation had disappeared to reveal a man in a suit with a museum name tag. “I remember being angry about the state of our more delicate artifacts…they’re supposed to be kept in the dark to preserve them, but then…nothing…”

“You were akumatized,” Rena Rouge said, kneeling by the man and placing a hand on his shoulder. “But you’re ok now.”

Chat Noir left them to it and made his way over to his partner. For once, there were no crowds or camera’s. He saw Juleka briefly appear by the museum entrance, her transformation long-since dissolved, but she merely smiled and nodded before carrying on, following the protocol they’d all agreed on to preserve their identities.

“Good one,” Ladybug said with a grin, holding her fist out.

“Very good one,” he agreed, hesitating only a moment before barely brushing her knuckles with his own. “Though I have to admit it’s less fun being the one watching your partner take the hits.”

“Now you know,” she teased, but the light in her eyes faded a bit. “Listen, there’s something I need to talk to you about. Something important.”

Chat Noir frowned in concern. “Are you ok? Were you hurt?”

“No, nothing like that,” Ladybug said, shaking her head. “I shouldn’t have started like that, I - ”

She broke off as the spot on her earring began to flash, its shrill beeping cutting through the air.

“Looks like it’ll have to wait,” he said. “Tonight?”

“The girls are coming over,” Ladybug said, frustration seeping into her voice. “We need…”

“I know,” he said as his own ring began to count down as well. “We’ll find some time. We’ll decide tonight?”

“Deal,” Ladybug said as she unslung her yoyo one more time. “It’s a promise.”

He watched her disappear, despair curling in his gut. It had to be what happened between them when she was lost, his feelings. She must have been able to tell how affected he still was. Ladybug had rejected him countless times before - so why did it hurt so much this time?

But he thought he knew, even as he took off himself.

He’d thought knowing who each other was would change things. It hadn’t.

But he was still her friend, still her partner, and she wasn’t going to say anything he hadn’t already decided anyway. He’d meant it when he’d said her friendship was everything to him. That hadn’t changed, either.

And he would always cherish that, even if it meant she would never feel the same way about him that he did about her.

#phantoms #I am moving at a glacial pace #and I apologize for that

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dailymlgifs · 3 years

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TOP 15 AKUMATIZED VILLAINS AS CHOSEN BY OUR FOLLOWERS ⇾ 8th Place: Miraculer / Miraculeur

#miraculous ladybug #ml #mledit #miraculousedit #events: top15akumas #ours*#zue*#s3 #3x11 #ch: sabrina #ch: ladybug #ch: chat noir #ch: mayura #ch: carapace #ch: rena rouge

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ladyanput · 4 years

Text

Seeing Green Ch.15 {End}

Warning: light gore.

Once they landed back in Paris, Marinette felt a sense of finally being home, but it wasn't as overwhelming as it used to be. Part of her yearned to go back to Gotham, to be with Damian and the others, there was a sense of belonging there, now that Paris was once again safe.

Oddly, no one once mentioned anything about Marinette being Ladybug. In fact, when she talked to them, playfully suggesting about Ladybug's identity, they all began saying their thoughts, but not once mentioned her. Odd, but she didn't push her luck. Maybe the Miraculous Cure had been extremely generous and wiped their minds? One less thing for her to stress about.

Once she got back to school, her, Miss Bustier, Lila, and Marinette's parents were immediately summoned to the principal's office. Mr. Arquette did not look the least bit pleased, his hands folded neatly as they all shuffled into his office and took a seat.

"I received many disturbing reports while you all were in Gotham, reports that I should have known would happen since I left those children in your care." Arquette spoke, his voice firm and cold as he glared hard at Miss Bustier. "You abandoned a student in the middle of a dangerous city, you left your students roam as they pleased with no supervision, one student stole the money from another, a student was kidnapped and you never once reported it to myself or her parents, much less the police. You even had the audacity to say that her kidnapper did nothing wrong. Caline, you've been on thin ice for quite some time now, but this gross negligence is the final straw. One of the students was even assaulted at the Wayne event and you did nothing to break it up and just stood back and watched. I don't believe we have a place for you here at Saint Louis anymore, not after your behaviour."

"Please, you don't understand, it's all a misunderstanding! Marinette manipulated Adrien and-" Lila began, looking tearful.

"And you," Arquette turned his steely gaze on Lila, cutting her off before she can try and spin another flimsy web of lies. ", You have crossed many lines. Lying about medical records, of how to contact your mother, long series of absences, and I heard much about your deeds in Gotham. Your mother is almost here, Miss Rossi."

"What?! No, she can't-" Lila was on her feet within seconds, her body trembling. Caline, herself, looked quite shaken as well, as if she were about to be sick.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, I am greatly sorry for what you've had to endure all of these years. I should have taken a more firm stance on things, I should have gotten someone else to attend the trip with your class." Arquette turned to Marinette, his expression turning to one of regret. He stood, then rounded his desk, kneeling next to her chair. "I take full responsibility for what happened to you in Gotham."

"No, Mr. Arquette, please. No one thought I would be kidnapped, and luckily Batman saved me." Marinette put in quickly, feeling a sense of relief, now that Miss Bustier would no longer be around. That pressure of being the perfect example was finally lifted from her shoulders. "You're a great principal, you couldn't have known. But I appreciate your actions now, you're more than making up for this."

His shoulders seemed to relax and he nodded before returning to his desk. It wasn't long before Lila's mother showed up, and then the show truly began.

"You've been lying to me? Me?! Your own mother?!" Mrs. Rossi screamed at her pale faced daughter, before pulling a few brown envelopes out of her bag and holding them up. "Do you know what these are?! These are court orders! Court orders from Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, and the Waynes! What were you thinking, having your friend slander their names all over her blog?! You basically accused Jagged of being a pedophile by saying he wrote a song especially for you, that you're his muse!"

"She is also saying she's the personal muse to Gabriel Agreste, ever since she became his model." Marinette put in helpfully, and sat back as she watched Mrs. Rossi got red in the face and continued to berate her daughter.

"And now you'll be going to live with your aunt back in Italy, if these lawsuits don't bankrupt me! I'm only a secretary, Lila, what made you think we could travel like that?!"

Marinette merely watched as Lila was reduced to tears, and expelled from the school. Mrs. Rossi dragged her daughter out and Caline Bustier was promptly dismissed to go and collect her things.

"What will happen to my class?" Marinette asked the principal once she and her parents were about to leave.

"Well, they will get a new teacher, it might be a bit difficult with only a few months left before you all graduate." Mr. Arquette admitted, looking thoughtful. At the tense silence, he cleared his throat. "Miss Césaire will be thoroughly punished for her actions as well, in Gotham. Assaulting another classmate is completely u acceptable. I was told by her parents she is already being punished as we speak."

Marinette left that school, her parents figuring that she needed a day off after all that had happened. So she silently went up to her room and collapsed onto her bed, finally processing it all.

She was finally free of Lila. Hawkmoth was defeated, and she had both Nooroo and Duusu back, after having fixed the Peacock Miraculous.

When she heard her phone buzz, she picked it up and smiled to herself.

{Damian} I miss you, Angel, I hope your flight landed safely.

{Damian} I miss you already Angel. And Plagg's taste in cheese is the smelliest ever. Alfred is threatening to throw him out.

The smile on her face didn't drop for the rest of the evening, as she spent the entire evening messaging Damian.

…

Ladybug stood firm at the podium, her teammates standing with her as they faced the flashing of cameras with stoic expressions, press members shouting out questions. She merely stared at them, waiting for them all to quiet down. The crowd quickly got the clue and did such.

"Today, I am here to announce that Hawkmoth has finally been defeated. The terror he reigned over Paris for so long is finally over." Ladybug announced, and this only caused the crowd to go into a bewildered frenzy once again. Ladybug waited, and the media was quick to quiet again, realizing they had to be polite with this one. "Gabriel Agreste, formerly known as Hawkmoth, has been arrested and placed into the custody of the French authorities."

"What about his son, Adrien Agreste? Was he in cahoots with his father?" A reporter blurted out, and it took everything in Ladybug not to flinch at that name.

"Adrien Agreste was not in league with Hawkmoth, he and his mother are innocent." Well, as innocent as one could be. Adrien had been arrested, but anyone could see the boy needed mental help due to all of the mental abuse and grooming that had been forced upon him by his father. So Adrien and his mother, who had indeed woken up, had moved out of the country, where Adrien was getting good care in a good facility, not that he'd ever leave it, not after all he had done.

"What happens now?" A young reporter asked. Ladybug recognized her from her school, Estelle Desrosiers, a sweet girl who always sought out the truth, but was respectable about things. So Ladybug gave her a gracious smile.

"Well, Miss Desrosiers, the Miraculous will be retired and I shall be leaving the city. There are dangerous villains in the world and the world needs the help of the Miraculous to stop it. They're here to keep the darkness from taking over." She spoke firmly, and everyone could see the hero they had all grown to love and admire. There was much outcry at her stating she was leaving, but she stopped the noise and set a hand over her heart. "I love Paris, I love France. This is my home more than anything, but I cannot stay, cannot sit by as the rest of the world suffers. So thank you, Paris, and embrace your newfound freedom. And here's my final Bugout!"

With that, she and the rest of her team took off, followed by the cheers.

Back in her family apartment, Alya was seething as she sat between her parents on the couch, watching the live broadcast. That should be her up there, basking in the glory of defeating Hawkmoth with Ladybug, if Ladybug had actually used her head and gave her back her Fox Miraculous! No one was better suited to be a hero than Rena Rouge! Or it should at least be her at the front of that media stand, asking all of the important questions, getting the big scoop. But her parents had made her delete her blog. She had lost every single electronic she'd had, due to her actions in Gotham and her recent attitudes towards everyone. She had even screamed at her little sisters to the point she had made them cry.

The future was not a bright one for Alya Césaire.

…

Graduation had quickly arrived and when Marinette left her class, she didn't once look back. Sure, they had all apologized, save for Alya who had been expelled and needed to repeat her senior year, but they had thrown her aside so easily for a complete stranger. The kind of trust she had had with them was never going to exist again.

As she arrived back at her place to pack her bags, she saw Luka, Kagami, and Chloé in her room, waiting for her. They each gave her a grateful smile, before they began giving the Guardian back their Miraculous.

"I'm going to miss you." Chloé whispered as she nuzzled Pollen, then handed the hair clip over to Marinette, who tucked it safely into the Miraculous box. "And we'll miss you too, Marinette."

Marinette smiled and opened her arms, Luka, Chloé, and Kagami moving in for a group hug. The four of them held onto each other tight, before finally letting go.

"Have fun in Gotham." Luka whispered, ruffling her hair gently before he kissed her temple. "Keep in touch."

"I will." Marinette tucked the Miraculous box into the hidden compartment in her suitcase, then made her way downstairs, embracing her parents tightly, tears welling up in her eyes. She was finally leaving the nest, leaving the home that was full of such love and happy memories. But she still felt something deep inside of her calling for her to go back to Gotham, her new home.

Once she got in the taxi, she settled back and glanced down at her phone buzzed, biting her lower lip to hold back a giggle.

{Damian} Once you land in Gotham, go to the Wayne Botanical Gardens. I have a surprise for you, Angel.

"I'll be home soon, mon prince.."

…

Marinette stepped into the greenhouse and grinned at the sight of Damian standing there, next to a checkered blanket and a picnic basket. She dropped her purse and ran towards him, hugging him tightly as he lifted her up and spun her.

"I missed you, Angel." Damian whispered into her ear as he set his giggling girlfriend back onto the ground, then motioned towards the picnic. "I thought I'd surprise you, to welcome you back home."

"And here I thought you and your brothers were gonna throw me a party." Marinette grinned, taking a seat beside him. When he began setting out the food, she felt her smile only widen. "You really spoil me."

"Well hopefully I don't spoil your appetite too much. Jason decided to go into the kitchen today and bake you a 'welcome back' cake. Pretend to like the inedible mess." Damian gave her a wry smile as he poured them both a cup of sparkling juice, before holding his up as a toast. "Welcome home, Angel."

"Glad to be home, mon prince." She tapped her plastic cup against his and took a long drink, unable to wipe the smile from her face. The hour passed with them joking and eating the food Damian had brought, Marinette glanced at the time and sighed. "We should get back. I really want to see everyone, I've missed them."

Marinette stood and stretched her body, groaning softly as she managed to loosen a few tense muscles, then took a step towards the exit.

"Marinette."

She turned towards Damian. Damian met her gaze, then raised his gun. A shot rang out and Marinette stumbled back a few steps, clutching at her chest as a bewildered look on her face.

"D- Damian..?" She dropped to her knees, then was jolted onto her back when he shot her again.

"I thank you, Marinette. The Miraculous are much more powerful than I would have ever thought." He smiled thinly as he made his way over and knelt down next to Marinette, who was choking on her own blood.

Marinette stared up at the boy she thought she was so deeply in love with, tears beginning to slide down her cheeks as she tried to reach up for him.

"I'm glad you were at least useful. You really are a ditz, aren't you?" He stood and ground his foot into the gunshot wounds, making her let out a choked scream.

Marinette's mind was in a whirl, struggling to breathe as her world began to dim.

So she had just been a pawn…? Been used to get the Miraculous…?

He had lied to her?

How could she have been so stupid?

As the light left her eyes, the only thoughts were on betrayal, and the fears of what would happen to the Kwami, to Tikki.

When her body went limp, Heretic grinned.

…

Damian rushed his entire way to the Botanical Gardens, silently cursing Mr. Freeze with every inch of his being. Because of the bastard, he was two hours late in meeting Marinette. He knew she'd understand, but still, no one deserves that. He feared she was angry because she wasn't answering her phone.

He rushed through the roof doors, when a strong coppery smell hit him, a smell he was very familiar with. His body instantly tensed as he reached down the small knife in his pocket, carefully making his way into the greenhouse as his eyes darted this way and that.

And what he saw made his heart stop.

Marinette was sprawled out on the floor, staring skyward, with two gunshot wounds in her chest, a puddle of blood beginning to congele around her. Hovering over her was a loudly weeping Tikki.

"Tikki,what happened?!" Plagg burst from Damian's coat pocket and rushed towards her, hugging her close as his dearest friend broke apart in his arms.

"I- I don't know! I was asleep, I was so tired because I- I'm still trying to help Nooroo through his trauma, and I just woke up! What happened to her, Plagg? She can't be dead, she just can't be! I can't lose her, please, tell me she's not dead!" Tikki wailed.

"Marinette…?" Damian knelt next to the body, cupping her face ever so gently. He felt tears burn his eyes as he rested his forehead against hers, desperately wishing for the reality to not be true. She was gone, he had lost her and he hadn't been here to protect her. The tears began to flow as he let out a sob and hugged the body close. "No, please, Angel, please don't go.."

He sat there and rocked as he sobbed. Eventually, he got the will to call his brothers. They'd have a horrible call to her parents.

…

Tom and Sabine wept as their little girl, their only child, was lowered into the ground. Damian felt numb, like nothing was really worth it anymore. But beneath that numbness was an angry ready to burst forth and cause the death of whoever caused this. The police hadn't found anything, no DNA, no fingerprints, nothing except for Marinette's. Why couldn't they do their goddamned job and find the murdering bastard?!

"Diana, what are you doing here?" Bruce's surprised tone brought Damian's attention, and he watched as Diana Prince approached them, looking grim.

"I am here to honour a brave and dutiful Ladybug. My mother had wished to attend as well, but we did not want to cause much ruckus." Diana admitted, looking down at the casket being slowly covered in dirt. She let out a long, defeated sigh. "But one so young… No one should ever die so young."

"Why would your mother care about this?" Damian snipped, but Diana took no offense, seeing how torn up the boy was. Many people lashed out in their grief.

"She was a previous Ladybug." Diana admitted, noticing Plagg peeking out from Damian's coat pocket. She smiled down at the Kwami and knelt, pretending as if to tie her shoe. "Hello Plagg."

"Hello there, Princess, you've certainly grown." Plagg said rather sadly, before looking away. "Tikki.. She's not doing so good."

"I have no doubt." Diana nodded and stood once again, turning towards Bruce. "What will happen with the Miraculous now?"

"They need to ensure somewhere safe. You said that your mother was once a Ladybug, yes? Perhaps you can take the body back home? I know it would be greatly protected there." Bruce glanced over at his son, who was staring at his ring. "But the Black Cat Miraculous…"

"It can stay here." Diana assured him softly. "You never separate a Black Cat from their Chosen."

"It was the last thing Marinette gave to me." Damian murmured and Diana felt her heart break at how defeated he looked.

"Keep the ring safe, Damian. And Plagg, help Damian as well." Diana reached down and stroked Plagg's head gently once she was sure no one was watching. "I shall take the box home to Themiscyra."

"Thank you, Diana." Bruce turned his gaze back to the grave, his hands curling ever so slightly into fists. "I know Marinette would appreciate it while we hunt down whoever is responsible for this."

"Once you do find out who it was, make them suffer." Diana hissed, a dangerous threat in her eyes. "Or I shall."

…

That night, Diana took the Miraculous box, sans the Black Cat ring, and returned to Themiscyra.

That night, in a graveyard in Paris, several people approached the grave of Marinette Dupain-Cheng and began to dig.

…

Marinette felt as if she were floating, the entire body full of warmth and strength.

She opened her eyes and realized she was seeing nothing but green.

Then something took hold, something indescribable. She burst forth from the green water, letting out a scream of rage as memories began flooding back, memories of her murder. Eyes almost blind to anything around her, she charged towards a faint figure in front of her and body slammed them. When another person came forward, she flipped them over her head. She broke another man's arm and leg.

"Hold her down!" A feminine voice snapped out, and quickly Marinette found herself being restrained on a cold floor, snarling and snapping, screaming out for Damian's blood.

But eventually, that madness faded and she found herself staring at a beautiful woman who knelt over her.

"Who… Who are you?" Marinette croaked out, her entire body still shivering, tears beginning to flow from her eyes.

"Oh Marinette, do not weep. My name is Talia." The woman stroked the hair from the young girl's face, smiling kindly down upon her. "Do not fret, I shall take care of you from now on. You are in safe hands."

{To Be Continued in the sequel}

Taglist: @realrandomposts @interobanginyourmom @ladybug-182 @ladylb @zalladane @mochinek0 @persephonebutkore @urbanpineapplefarmer @vixen-uchiha @angelofmusickaterinapetrova @thewheezingbubbledragon @northernbluetongue @thequestionablyhuman @ginamarie1512 @maude-zarella @2sunchild2 @saphiraazure2708 @ayuchan07 @virgil-is-a-cutie @thepeacetea @miraculous786 @enchanted-nerd @ficsforthestars @emo-elaine13 @caffeinetheory

#Seeing Green #maribat #daminette #damimari

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kasienda · 7 months

Text

Love Remains - Ch 4

Written for @thelibraryloser‘s birthday. (Apparently her birthday is going to last awhile. ^_^).

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

Read on Ao3

Chapter 4:

Ten Days Since Marinette Lost her Memory

Marinette faced the door to her classroom for the first time with a storm thrashing in her gut. She understood that school was for learning and she definitely wanted to be educated, to continue her education. But how could she participate in any of her classes when she couldn’t remember anything that she supposedly had already learned?

“Are you ready to go in?” Alya asked.

Marinette had met Alya all over again two days prior. Her parents had invited her over for dinner. Marinette already loved Alya. Alya hadn’t asked a million questions about what she remembered or didn’t. She had just gone right into explaining things. She told Marinette about her friends and her teachers, shared context for half the unfinished projects that littered Marinette’s floor space, and told her the most ridiculous stories about outings and sleep overs. Alya felt solid and reliable. Her mere presence made Marinette feel brave - like she could face anything.

And so she nodded.

“Marinette!” a girl greeted once they were through the door. And suddenly every set of eyes was on her. They all stayed frozen for a moment, and then all swarmed to circle around her.

She tried not to flinch. She had read her diary over and over to prepare for her first day. The only problem was she had memorized their names, but she didn’t know their faces. And right now, there were so many of them all at once.

“Marinette! It’s so good to see you. We’ve missed you!”

Marinette took in the other girl’s pink summer dress and cropped blonde hair. “You’re Rose,” she said.

The girl’s face lit up. “Yes! Do you remember me?”

Marinette bit her lower lip. “Umm… no. I just read about you in my diary.”

Rose was unphased, her expression just as delighted all over again. “You wrote about me in your diary?!”

“How are you feeling?” another girl asked.

“What about me?” a tall boy interrupted. “Do you remember me?”

Someone elbowed the tall boy. “Shut up, Kim!”

The classroom door whipped open, and yet another girl lit up at the sight of Marinette. She rushed over and cradled Marinette’s hands against her chest.

“Oh Marinette! This is so dreadful! I can’t believe Miraculous Ladybug didn’t bring back your memory. I thought that Ladybug could fix everything. Please know that whatever you need, I’m here for you.”

Marinette pulled away from the hand clutching her own, her heart suddenly pulsing in her throat with the need to get away.

“Lila, don’t even start,” a male voice growled.

Lila?! Old Marinette had a lot to say about Lila.

“Oh come now, Adrien,” Lila cooed, “You know better than anyone how worried I’ve been about Marinette!”

Marinette’s eyes whipped towards the boy in the doorway, her heart pounding even louder than before.

Adrien? The boy whose face covered her wall, and whose name filled up every other page in her diary. The boy who old Marinette had tried to confess to over and over again?!

The boy she had turned down Chat Noir for?

“Yes, I very much remember how we both agreed that we would give Marinette some space,” he hissed out, “until she asked us for something.”

“Of course, I remember that,” Lila said smoothly before she turned back to Marinette. “I just felt overwhelmed with relief at seeing your face, Marinette.”

Adrien continued to glare at Lila until the girl took the hint and made her way to the back of the classroom.

The scowl on his face vanished as he turned to her with a smile that felt incredibly familiar. And not like with so many others where she had a feeling about a person she used to know, but like she had actually seen his smile before in her living memory. But… that couldn’t have happened. Once home from the hospital, she hadn’t met that many new people. Just her parents, Alya, Rena Rouge, and Chat Noir.

And yet, she felt like she had already met Adrien.

“Have we… already met?” she asked, her eyebrows scrunched together.

Several people in the class chuckled.

“Oh boy. Here we go again.”

“Umm… yes, but my understanding is that you don’t remember that.” He tried to put on a brave face, but his sadness leaked out in the way he glanced away and swallowed before turning back to her with another smile.

She stared at him like he was a puzzle. After her initial shock at his name, she wasn’t sure she felt the echo of strong feelings, which felt strangely disappointing. Like, there was definitely something. Maybe her anticipation had ruined it. Or maybe since she had already known what he looked like, she had tainted her first impression.

He seemed nice enough. His first action had been to come to her defense. He felt solid, like she could rely on him.

But was that the same thing as love?

It had felt different with Alya and her parents.

It had felt very different with Chat Noir.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked her, frowning in concern.

She shook her head rapidly. “No, of course not! Why would you think that?”

“Your face was just all scrunched up and you were staring at me.”

“I was not!” she denied, heat building in her cheeks.

“Okay,” he conceded, smiling.

She liked his smile.

…

When the bell rang at the end of the homeroom period she packed up and started out the door without thought.

“Hey! Wait up!” Alya called. It was only when they were halfway there that Alya noticed. “You know where we’re going!”

Marinette froze. “What? No, I don’t.”

“But you were heading exactly in the right direction.”

Marinette shrugged. “I can find fabric in my drawers, too.” It was like her head was haunted.

“Really?! Maybe your memory is starting to come back on its own.” Alya sounded so hopeful.

Marinette sighed. Her memory was definitely not coming back.

…

Literature was dreadful. The class was more than halfway through a novel that Marinette did not remember reading, and when she started over she was confused about where the characters were and why they were doing what they were doing. Apparently she had forgotten a lot of geography and culture in addition to her own life. Ms Bustier was really nice and patient about it at least. She said it was important to see what Marinette remembered and didn’t. And that she might assign her some separate assignments to help her rebuild her foundation.

History was somehow worse. If she was missing context in literature, she was missing the entire timeline of French and world history. She knew nothing. None of the place’s names felt or sounded familiar. It was overwhelming, and her teacher was not patient with her total lack of knowledge.

“I’m totally down to ditch with you, girl,” Alya said after their third class, clearly sensing Marinette’s frustration. “We can go explore the city, just say the word.”

Marinette smiled, but shook her head. “No, that’s okay. It’s definitely frustrating, but I also kinda just… want to know…?”

“Know what?”

“What my life is like.”

Alya turned away. “I’m sorry that you don’t already know.”

Marinette considered her friend carefully. “Are you okay?”

Alya’s attention jumped back to her. “Am I okay? I’m fine! You’re the one who lost your whole life.”

Marinette bit her lower lip. “You lost something too though, didn’t you? Your best friend?”

Alya couldn’t turn away fast enough this time. Marinette saw the tears glistening at the corners of Alya’s eyes. She threw her arms around her best friend.

Alya clung to her, buried her face in Marinette’s shoulder. And Marinette just held her.

“It’s going to be okay,” Marinette reassured. “I don’t know how and I definitely don’t know when, but I know that you and I have never let anything stop us before, and we won’t let this either.”

Alya laughed through her tears. She wiped her eyes. “How do you know just what to say?”

Marinette shrugged. “From what I have gathered, intuition is my strongest skill!”

“That must be hard,” Alya said sadly.

Marinette didn’t necessarily think so, but she didn’t want to argue the point either. She gripped her backpack. “So what’s next?”

“Art class.”

Marinette’s feet left the ground, she was so excited. “I get to just take art? Like, as a class?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t you be able to?”

“Let’s go!”

Art was even more amazing than Marinette’s anticipation - definitely Marinette’s favorite class by far. After the class had started on their current project, her teacher came and checked in with her.

“How are you feeling, Marinette?”

Marinette grinned. “I’m doing okay. It is very nice to meet you. I figured out last week that I could draw, and now I get to take a whole class on the subject? I’m so excited!”

He grinned at her enthusiasm. “Would you like to see some of your old pieces?”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “May I?”

He laughed and waved for her to follow him. He went through piles of work, pulling out select pieces and placing them before her. Marinette’s eyes drank in the sights. Her old pieces were so varied and different from the drawings that filled her sketchbooks at home.

There were abstract pieces that seemed to simply explore the use of color and shadow, pen and ink drawings the showcased shading and stroke styles, she had painted a couple landscapes - an ocean at dawn and a forest with trees dressed in all the colors of autumn.

Her favorite was a watercolor of her kitchen sink. She didn’t know what it was about it that called to her. It was just her kitchen sink with the same faucet, soap dispenser, and sponge, but the painting was somehow softer and prettier. And maybe it was also familiar when hardly anything else she encountered in her life was. She loved it.

But she couldn’t breathe at the sight of the next picture, all of the other pieces were forgotten. It was a two point perspective drawing of the view of Paris’s rooftops. The level of detail was amazing. Marinette knew the exact spot - this was where she met Chat Noir to start patrol. It was a picture that she understood - it wasn’t just the view - it was a place where she felt welcome, safe, and free. And for the first time, Marinette felt like she and the old Marinette were the same person.

The bell rang, and the moment of clarity fell away.

Within moments she and Alya were in the cafeteria, surrounded by her classmates who were once again asking questions Marinette couldn’t answer.

“Did the doctors know anything about what caused your memory loss?”

“Is there any chance you’ll get your memory back?”

“What's it like, not remembering anything? You’re like, what? Two weeks old? How do you know how to talk?”

“Shut up, Kim!”

The girl with dark hair - Juleka? - offered Marinette a hug, and Marinette accepted it, but she still didn’t understand why everyone expected her to be upset. She’s fine.

Well, except that everyone surrounding her with well-meaning concern was just a lot , incredibly overwhelming. Turned out, being Marinette was hard.

When it was time to go back to class, she felt almost relieved, but before they got there an alarm sounded simultaneously on everyone’s phones.

She didn’t know what the sound meant, but every part of her body tensed. She wasn’t scared, but she suddenly needed to take off and fly.

“An akuma,” Alya said.

And then Marinette understood her body’s reaction. She needed to get out of here. She needed to find Chat Noir. She needed to be Ladybug.

Her head spun, looking for a way out, but she was surrounded. There were people everywhere.

“Marinette, do you know what to do during an akuma?”

“You can come with me if you like!”

How would she get away?

Alya grabbed her wrist. “I’ll help you find a place to hide and explain everything.”

Marinette knew she needed to say no, that she needed to get away from everyone - even her best friend, but there was something intense in Alya’s eyes - like there was something she wasn’t saying. And Marinette trusted that look, and so she nodded.

Alya pulled her away from their peers, and into a deserted hallway before shoving her alone into a locker.

“This is usually where you hide during akumas,” Alya said. “You said you prefer to be alone so no one can see if you have a panic attack.”

Marinette nodded. Smart of her old self to come up with a standing excuse to get away. “Thank you,” she said.

Alya grinned, and closed the locker in her face. “I’ll try to find out what we’re dealing with this time,” Alya called as she ran from the room.

Marinette waited a moment to be sure the room was silent.

“Tikki?”

Tikki burst from her purse and flew up to her eye level, offering a bright smile. “Are you ready, Marientte?”

Marinette had no idea, but it didn’t matter because Chat was probably already out there. “I guess we’ll find out.”

When she arrives on the scene, Chat Noir’s already there, herding the akuma away from people expertly with the use of his spinning baton. She watches him for a second, until the akuma breaks past his defenses and sends him flying backwards.

Without thinking at all, she shoots out her yoyo and dives straight towards him. Her yoyo catches, and she’s swinging. Her trajectory lines up perfectly and she catches him with ease. Their hands wrap around each other naturally, like they’ve done this a thousand times before.

Because they have done this a thousand times before.

He smiles so beautifully her heart flies into overdrive.

“Hi,” she says, her cheeks burning.

“So glad you dropped in,” he says as they land on the edge of a roof.

“Sorry it took me so long.”

He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s often difficult to get away. Are you nervous about the akuma?”

Her hands twist against her chest. “Maybe a little.”

He grins and her stomach flip flops. “Don’t be. I’ll be with you the whole time.”

How did the old Ladybug ever focus for a second with her partner around?

But when she turns back to the battle, her nerves fade away. She knows how to do this, the same way she knows how to make a cup of tea or sketch a dress.

They work in tandem, chasing the akuma away from the crowds, and into the open. When they have it surrounded, she calls for her lucky charm.

A wooden spoon - red and dotted in black - falls into her waiting arms. She glances around. It’s a puzzle, a puzzle that requires no memory or prior knowledge to solve. She spots a crate and a pole. The spoon needed to be a lever to tip the crate over to trip up the villain. It was just a matter of getting the akuma in the right spot.

“Chat Noir! The crate!” And it’s absolutely amazing how he just intuitively seems to understand what she wants to do.

A few minutes later, she watches the purified butterfly fly away, a huge grin stretched across her face. She feels so accomplished. She turns to Chat and he’s grinning at her as widely as she must be grinning at him.

He holds out a fist and she meets it with glee. “Bien jiou, M’lady,” he says.

“Bien jiou, Chat Noir.”

Being Ladybug was awesome.

…

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien agreste #love square #partial reveal #ladynoir #memory loss #amnesia #marinette gave up the guardianship and lost on her memories #not as angsty as the trope usually is #happy ending #my own content #love remains

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galahadwilder · 4 years

Text

The Agreste Letters, Ch. 14

The Agreste Letters Archive

"I, uh." Chat swallowed, sucking in his lips with wide eyes. "Wow."

Ladybug giggled. "Yeah," she said, her fingers going slack around his bell. "I—wow."

"You, uh," Chat said, glancing down at her lips, his face reddening. "Youtastelikepassionfruit."

Ladybug froze, trying not to swallow her tongue. "It was... for you?" she squeaked.

"For me?" he squeaked back, his eyes widening against the steadily pinking skin of his face.

It was at that moment that Rena Rouge began screaming.

Ladybug and Chat Noir flinched as the sound shocked them back out of each other's eyes and into the alleyway next to the bakery. Oh right, Ladybug thought. Audience.

Carapace threw his hands over his ears, stumbling into the brick wall. "Babe!" he shrieked. "The hell!"

Rena spun on her toes, her hair and fox ears bouncing, leaped onto her boyfriend, and began violently shaking him. "IT'S HAPPENING!" she screamed, bouncing on the tips of her paws. "LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR ARE KISSING AND LADYBUG IS MY BEST FRIEND AND BABE IT'S HAPPENING!"

Ladybug felt leather slide against spandex as her partner dropped into a protective animalistic crouch. Pressing down on his cat ears. "Too loud!" he hissed. "Sensitive!"

Oh, right. Enhanced hearing.

Ladybug turned to Rena and cleared her throat. "Rena!" she said.

Rena's head snapped around towards her, her face still alight with manic energy.

Ladybug pointed at the ground. "Sit!"

Immediately, Rena released Carapace's shoulders and dropped onto crossed legs like an excited puppy—then her face clouded with confusion as she looked around at the cobbled ground. "What—why did I just...?"

Ladybug offered a hand to her partner, who gratefully pulled his hands from his ears. "Foxes are canines," she said. She pulled Chat up towards her. "You okay?" she said.

He nodded. "We should check on your mom," he said, nodding toward the bakery side door.

Ladybug's heart squeezed as her head came crashing back down, remembering how her mother's back had twisted all the way around. The sickening crunch of Mayura's foot on bone.

Behind her, she hurt Rena stumble to her feet. "Don’t you dare try it, Cara!" the fox shrieked. "Mom's a Carribean Chef! She taught me to make turtle soup!”

Ladybug had known Nino all her life. Even though he was behind her, she could practically see Carapace's mischievous grin immediately morph into a pout as his mouth snapped closed.

Ladybug swallowed, rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she said. "Let's—head in. Everyone else seems fine."

"I am not fine!" Rena yelled.

"Sit!" Carapace said, a smirk in his voice.

The sound of leather striking cobblestone. "Dammit!"

Ladybug pushed past Chat, reached for the bakery door with shaking hands. She knew that, with the Cure, her mother was fine... but she couldn't shake the image of her mother, twisted at the waist, her spine all the way around.

She twisted the handle and stepped inside. "H-hello?" she called. "Ma—" She caught herself mid-word. "—dame Cheng?"

Chat's claw slipped into her hand, squeezing, reminding. I'm here. You're okay. Everything's all right.

Ladybug's heartbeat calmed at his touch. No matter what happened, Chat would be there for her. The two of them against the world.

"Ladybug?" her mother's voice said.

Ladybug's heart leaped at the sound, and before she knew it, she was dashing the last few steps into the bakery, vaulting over the newly-restored bakery counter.

Her parents were standing in the middle of the shop floor, her father bent over, carefully supporting his wife with his massive hands. Sabine smiled. "You made it!" she said. She took a single, gingerly step, reaching out a hand. (Her husband immediately rushed his hands to catch her, and was immediately locked in place by a death glare from his tiny wife.)

Ladybug barely suppressed a sob as her shoulders went slack. That's my Maman, all right. She stepped forward, but then halted—barely remembered not to fall into her mother's arms.

Tom's eyes were only on his wife, but Sabine—Sabine's eyes widened at Ladybug's hesitance. "Oh no," she breathed. "Is—is my daughter all right? I heard... screaming."

Oh. Her mother—she thought Ladybug's hesitance was because something had happened to Marinette. Ladybug opened her mouth, ready to reassure her, before suddenly realizing: she had no response prepared. Her eyes flicked to Chat.

His slitted greens met hers, and immediately, he was all smiles, his body language shifting into "relaxed" in a way that she should've known could only come from someone used to a camera. "She's fine," he said, his voice calm, steady, reassuring. "I took her upstairs." He nodded back, toward the stairwell she'd just left. "She needed some rest."

Tom's eyes narrowed. "And... the screaming?"

Chat smile went crooked, mischievous. "Rena Rouge saw a chicken," he said.

There was a moment where Ladybug's brain tried to catch up with Chat's mouth. By then it was too late to save her dignity—she was already sputtering. She slapped her hand over her mouth, trying to hold in her laugh as she collapsed against her partner.

Her parents turned to each other, suspicious and confused, but then Chat's ring began to beep.

Ladybug bit down on the insides of her lips, trying to hold in her smile. "New power still has the timer?"

He glanced down at his ring, then at her. "Looks like," he said.

Ladybug unslung her yo-yo from her waist. "Madame Cheng, Monsieur Dupain," she said, nodding to both of them. "We should go."

They were barely out the door before Chat was ushering her upwards, looking toward the roof, her balcony. "Go, go," he whispered.

Ladybug pitched her yo-yo over the chimneys and was gone.

Marinette barely slipped back into bed before her parents came charging up through the trapdoor into her room. The wooden flap burst open, Sabine bursting through in a blur of white silk as she dashed across the carpet and straight up the ladder, launching herself onto her daughter.

"Maman! I'm fine!" Marinette protested, attempting to squirm out of her mother's tight hug.

"You fought—" Sabine said, peppering her daughter's face with kisses between words, "—five Miraculous—wielders at once." She squished her daughter's cheeks between her palms. "Your father and I were so worried about you!"

Of course, Marinette had only fought one, and the other four had been either her or her backup, but she wasn't going to say that anytime soon.

The bed squeaked as Tom climbed up the ladder onto it. "It's true," he said, scooping both his giggling wife and his squealing, embarrassed daughter up in his massive arms. He pressed a kiss into Marinette's forehead, then another. "When the news reached us that you'd broken into that boy's mansion, your mother marched out of her with the peel in her hand, ready to fight Hawkmoth all on her own."

Marinette turned to her mother, incredulously. "Maman?"

Sabine chuckled, stroking her daughter's hair. "If Ladybug hadn't shown up, I was going to drag you home myself."

Marinette

"I got Akumatized twice today," she said. "I'm feeling really tired, can I...?"

"Of course, pumpkin," her father said, tilting her head up and pressing his lips to her forehead. "Come get us if you need anything."

"Of course, Papa," she murmured.

"Good night, sweetie," he said. "Love you."

"We love you very much," Sabine added, kissing her forehead. "And we're very proud of you."

Her parents left her room carefully, slowly, glancing back at her every few feet as if to check to make sure she hadn't evaporated. She smiled at them, reassuring them as best she could.

The trapdoor closed, and she looked up at the skylight. "Come on in, guys."

The glass creaked, and a shadow slipped in topped in blond, gently padding onto her bed like his namesake. "H-hey, Princess," he said, his voice breaking.

Marinette blinked. "Are you..." She reached forward, taking his cheeks in her hands. "Kitty, are you okay?"

Orange and green followed him down, and then there were four on the bed. "Dude," Carapace said. "I've never seen you cry before."

"Yeah you have," Chat murmured, pressing his face into Marinette's shoulder.

Rena met Marinette's eyes. "He wasn't doing great when your mom said she was gonna fight Hawkmoth," she said. "But when they said they were proud of you..."

"Oh," Marinette said, turning to her partner, rubbing her hand through his hair. "Oh, Chaton."

Green sparks flew as his transformation released, leather turning to soft cotton as he collapsed further into her chest, sobbing.

"Adrien?" Marinette said.

Adrien met her eyes with his own, wet and heavy. "I... I called her..." He breathed in, his lip trembling, and she could see the devastation in his eyes, worse even than when he'd showed her the letter from his father. "I called her Mom."

The Agreste Letters Archive

#miraculous ladybug #original content #my fic #ladynoir #adrienette #marichat #renapace #ladybug #chat noir #marinette dupain cheng #rena rouge #carapace #sabine cheng #tom dupain #fluff #angst #nathalie sancoeur's a+ parenting #fic #ml fic

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chaoticgeminate · 4 years

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So I had a plot bunny that ran rampant, after reading the post about it being illegal in France to record/take pictures without consent. It was supposed to be short but apparently I can’t do that? IDK, what started as a 1k word blurb sort of evolved into nearly 7k words in like two hours.

So! Just a heads up for everyone before you click the Read More tag. Contained within this insanity is:

Class salt (moderate) Lila salt (major) Alya salt (moderate bordering major) Ladyblog salt (moderate bordering major) Crush reveal on the wrong side of the mask (MariChat) Supportive Gabriel (shocking, I know, but I had too much salt) Supportive Sabine (again, had a lot of salt, wanted some sweet)

[AO3]

Expelled, again.

Marinette stared at the online course schedule that was now hers to complete, after Lila spread a photo shopped picture that led to bullying and her second expulsion, the only change to this time and the last was that her parents were firmly on her side and didn’t want her going back. Once again there hadn’t been any investigations done, Lila’s mother hadn’t made an appearance in the office, and Principal Damocles hadn’t listened to any arguments of the crime that Marinette was being accused of.

Taking a candle, supposedly, to Lila’s homework packets; but Marinette wasn’t an idiot, she knew exactly what that picture was from and a part of her was pissed at the girl squad. The original photo was from a funeral for her great-grandmother, who had passed away recently, Marinette had been burning joss paper and her mother had taken the photo; the original picture had Marinette in tears with her hair done in a loose bun that her great-grandmother had loved to see her wear.

Lila had photo shopped a picture of Marinette wearing a vicious scowl, no doubt from an argument with Chloe, as well as the school hallway as the background; if you really looked there was obvious distortion around Marinette’s neck and a faint lining around her legs. But the Principal didn’t want to hear that, he declared her a problem and got rid of her, which was now leading to an outraged Tom and Sabine with an emotionally distressed teenager.

Then came the slander against the bakery, the Ladyblog outright posting articles about the supposed incident, with tabloids trying to hop on the trail. Thanks to Nadja Chamack and TVi, after the Ministry of National Education had been contacted with proper proof and documentation, the station had Aurore deliver a stunning counter article about the power abuse and out-of-control nature of the staff at François Dupont with her own private experiences adding to it all.

Chat Noir had been the first hero to make an appearance on the news, on TVi specifically with Aurore sitting across from him, his very public denouncement of the Ladyblog had stunned her to tears when she watched it.

“I’m not allowed to go into detail but I’ve met Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she is a hardworking young woman who fights for her friends and stands up for what she believes in, I can honestly say with one-hundred percent faith that she has never been a bully and that whatever she’s being accused of is just another lie because Lila Rossi feels threatened by her.”

“Another lie, Chat Noir?”

“Yes. I’ve spoken to officer Raincomrpix about this already but during the akuma that was faced named Oni-chan, which was created when Lila lied to get into Adrien Agreste’s manor and then kissed him without his consent before sending the picture to every female on his contact list, Lila Rossi also lied to me directly about being injured to separate me from Ladybug.”

“Wait, so on top of sexual harassment and possible stalking charges she could be possibly accused of aiding a terrorist?”

“Correct, but Ladybug and I agreed not to say anything at first because neither one of us could say for certain if she was trying to separate us or be seen carried by a hero so that she could get fifteen minutes of fame, we didn’t want to make that accusation and be incorrect since it’s a rather big one.”

“Why bring it up now?”

“Seeing as her track record is to lie and make things up, Aurore, I’m certain that photo is false and that she created evidence to frame the girl she sees as a threat in order to get rid of her; I’m angry that the school has mishandled this situation, as this is the second time Marinette has been accused of a supposed crime without investigation where Lila Rossi is concerned.”

“I know of the first, Marinette had told me about it, I cannot believe Principal Damocles and Madam Bustier made the call they did without pulling the CCTV footage from the security desk.”

“Indeed. But I’m here to say that Ladybug and I both publicly denounce the Ladyblog, from here on out, because we don’t endorse tabloids of any kind. Nor do we support or endorse bullying, which Alya Cesaire has been doing to Marinette ever since the accusations against her were made, so any more news on Ladybug and I that is correct will be delivered through TVi or through The Catbug News.”

“Oh, my blog? But I just post memes.”

“Well, Aurore, now you’re going to be our go-to; if you promise to help with submitting akuma locations, tips to avoid being akumatized, and a lot more cat memes.”

While his little stunt with the memes was entirely what she expected, though it was fair for him to ask those to continue because they were hilarious (something she would deny if asked), she had been so touched that she’d suited up and hugged him for a straight ten minutes without a single word before she remembered herself. “For Marinette, she wanted me to talk to you, I was talking with her about everything and she’s a little embarrassed because your faith in her made her cry off her make-up.” He’d gotten a funny shine to his eyes before nodding and purr-omising to stop by too on a night he didn’t have a ton of homework to do, then they patrolled as usual, Ladybug had made an appearance at Aurore’s window and given her own interview.

Talking about the emotional trauma, the fact that Marinette had lured no less than three akuma butterflies, and that she was ashamed that the reporter she once trusted had gone so far as to try and attack a business without proof or evidence. The heroine had gone on to agree with Chat, that The Catbug News would be the go-to source along with TVi for any official news that came from the heroes directly, before she looked right at the camera. “I also want it known that Rena Rouge and Carapace, along with Queen Bee for obvious reasons, have been permanently retired and will no longer be seen.” While she couldn’t have used them again after Hawkmoth learned their identities with Miracle Queen, something she’d planned to talk to them about, she’d purposefully made that public as a definite revenge move.

Hawkmoth had tried but with Ladybug and Chat on city watch, patrolling houses of all former heroes, there hadn’t been any akuma that spouted up because she was purifying them before they could reach a target.

That had all been two days ago, now Marinette was enrolled in classes online as the Ministry did their investigation into both incidents, the teenager stared until the screen blurred after a busy day of talking with agents and her new therapist; everyone was on self-harm watch, afraid she’d resort to cutting or starving herself out of misery. Gentle tapping at her skylight made her look up at the glowing green eyes, it was dark enough that they were the only visible thing in the square panel, Marinette moved up onto her bed and pushed the window open before gesturing the hero to enter.

He hesitated a moment, for good reason since this was Marinette and not Ladybug, they’d only had maybe three or four meetings outside of the suit; but he did take up her offer when the thunder rumbled, his lean form landing on his knees so he kept his boots off her blankets. “Uh, hi Princess, I wanted to check on you; Ladybug pointed out-“ He didn’t get to finish his statement at all as she threw herself at him with a wail, finally able to express her gratitude properly as she clung to him, his stiff posture faded as he wrapped his arms around her gently and rubbed her back.

“Ch-chat why is this happening? What did I- what did I do wrong?” It was a question she wondered for a while now, just what happened that led to the universe throwing all this at her, why was it that she always had to fight and struggle for every little thing? His grip tightened and a low croon vibrated through him, not quite a growl and not quite a comforting hum, something between that was a strange mix of human and cat.

His voice was rough and she felt his tears as he sniffled. “Nothing, Marinette, you have done nothing wrong; I am so sorry that this happened, that I let it get this bad without trying to do something about it sooner.” Like always he was trying to take the punishment and blame, in and out of the suit he was trying to keep all the fault and punishment off her, it was both heartwarming and heartbreaking enough that Marinette’s tears grew and her body broke into heaving sobs against his shoulder.

Calming down took a long time, especially since it led to calming him down too now that he was worked up from her own tears and misery, Marinette stroked his hair gently and made sure to help him dry his own eyes. “It’s not your fault, Chat, you had hero things to do and you have a life outside the suit that I don’t know about; but I can promise you that I don’t blame you, or anyone really, except Lila and now Alya and the other. Except Adrien, he did call me to apologize and promise he’d try and come up with something to help, but he was also the only one who knew that she was a liar aside from me. He was right though, in the beginning at least, because she should have lied herself into a corner by now if the teachers and students had paid attention at all. It wasn’t until the first expulsion incident that it got really bad, she accused me of cheating on a test and then stealing her grandmother’s pendant as well as pushing her down the stairs, Adrien tried to speak up for me but Principal Damocles wouldn’t listen.” Marinette couldn’t stop the soft blush or the warmth in her face, even if he didn’t like her back she was touched that he’d tried to do something.

Chat coughed into his hand and glanced around the room. “You a fan of his, Princess?” He nudged her and Marinette decided that she had to trust her partner with something.

“Well, I’m his friend… I hope. But, uh, I wanted to be more; at least, before he met Kagami and asked me to help him on his date with her. I mean, I like him and would love to hold his hand in a totally non-platonic way, but his happiness is more important and if he likes Kagami then I’m not going to interfere with that either.” Kagami was her friend and they had a long talk with a promise at the end, regardless of who Adrien chose (even if it wasn’t one of them) they would be friends and they would not treat whoever he dated with any negative attitude, Marinette was tired of everything she did being about a boy and all her negatives supposedly being about a boy.

There was a high-pitched sound, not unlike a tea kettle boiling, that made her look at Chat; his face was flushed and his pupils were shot wide, tail jerking and ears twitching. “You- him? For how long? If I might ask, I mean, I’m just- I thought you liked guitar boy.” Marinette tilted her head at the silly cat as she thought of Luka, then of the strange up and down relationship with Adrien that she had, before she smiled fondly.

It was sort of embarrassing but it was nice to talk about. “I, uh, didn’t like him at first; I didn’t even know who he was, I followed his father for fashion but most of my stuff is women’s wear so I wasn’t much for watching the men’s portion of runways. I thought he put gum on my seat and when Chloe and Sabrina giggled about it, well, I really just laid into him and didn’t even let him say anything before I accused him of being a bully. But, well, it was after you and Ladybug saved Ivan and Mylene the second time… I forgot my umbrella and it was raining. Adrien was- I wasn’t going to listen to him, but he went out of his way to admit the truth to me, he could have just gone on his way and not confessed anything at all.” Marinette would never forget that gentle, almost pleading expression, that he’d worn.

The lonely Prince trying to make friends. “He didn’t have to try and clear the air between us, he could have made friends with everyone else and ignored me, but he did try to make things right; then he, well, he offered me his umbrella. Since that afternoon I was lost, I fell for him really hard to the point that I still struggle to even talk around him, I mean… I know I’m not perfect but I want to be for him and I’m terrified that if I confess he’d tell me no and then decide that it was too awkward to even be my friend anymore.” A fear that she knew was sort of silly with how valuable Adrien held his friends, something she probably didn’t need to worry about at all, but it was one she couldn’t ignore.

Chat’s blush hadn’t quite died down but he had lost the shocked look, which was sort of a relief, Marinette looked at him and wondered if maybe he’d seen her with Luka sometime and jumped the gun on who she liked. “I don’t think he’d do that to you from what I’ve seen of him, but I won’t push you to confess or anything because that’s not fair to you.” Hearing him say that just brought another wave of emotions down on her that made a swell of relief flood her, she wasn’t at school and that meant no more set-ups by Alya, she could finally do things at her own pace.

“Thank you, Chat. My best friend-“ The words choked quiet and she drooped. “F-former. My former best friend, Alya, was really pushy when it came to trying to get me to confess to him. It’s a relief to hear you say that because you’re the first one.” His hand settled on her back and Marinette sank into his hold, he laid back and kept his feet off the bed as he pulled her into a cuddle with one hand carding through her now loose hair.

Marinette sighed as the exhaustion from stress finally took over, lids drooping as Chat purred her to sleep.

Working on her Physics, puzzling through the equation she had to do, Marinette completely missed her Maman calling out to her and missed the opening of her door. “Hey Marinette!” Adrien’s voice registered after all of two minutes and she abruptly shrieked as she turned, feet tangling in her blankets as she also tried to stand up, a painful kiss with the floor was inevitable until she was practically snatched out of the fall and pulled into a leaning position against Adrien. “It’s just me, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Mouth opening and closing rapidly, her face flushing with color since she was most definitely wearing her Chat Noir onesie that she’d made and never planned for anyone to see, the teen struggled against her blanket snare before shaking her head and clearing her throat.

“You’re fine! I mean, it’s fine- not that you aren’t fine- I mean, uh-“ His hands squeezed her shoulders and Adrien’s fond smile made her brain blank as he chuckled, his finger pressed to her lips and his bangs falling just so as he tilted his head. It was not a look she’d associate with Adrien, since she had only fantasized about his romantic gestures, but it was familiar in a way that she couldn’t quite place.

His cheeks were pink and she felt her own flame in response to his blush. “You’re so cute, Marinette.” Somewhere she thought a record scratched loudly, her heartbeat thundering in her ears at his words as they registered, she wasn’t even sure what color her face was anymore because she was sure that it was purple with how hard it was to breathe all of a sudden. “Uh, wait, I-“ A frantic sort of panic ruined the soft look on his face. “I mean- you are cute but I didn’t want to- I have an idea on how to really end the thing with Lila!” How did that equate to her being cute, she didn’t quite know, but all of a sudden she couldn’t tear her focus from the possible end to it all.

Marinette blinked rapidly and he took that as a sign to continue. “You heard Alix, Alya, and the others; she admitted she took that photo of you to them, they quoted her and Alya had video proof Lila verbally admitted it.” This made her nod warily since she knew that much, it was why the girls had gone on a crusade against her and reported it to the Principal. “It’s illegal in France to take pictures without anyone’s consent, why do you think fans don’t flood my photoshoots and paparazzi are practically non-existent unless they crowd me asking for my allowance?” Everything in her swelled and she couldn’t help but throw herself at him with a squeal of joy because, holy shit, she had everything she needed.

“Adrien Agreste, you genius, I could kiss the hell out of you right now!”

His arms had wrapped around her to hold her steady, as she’d thrown hers around his neck in her jump, so there was no escaping her words as she floundered in a panic and her brain scrambled for something to say. “I wouldn’t stop you, in fact I’d kiss you back if you did.” His voice made her pause, his words registered once her heartbeat muted a little for her poor brain, and then she found herself pulling back to stare up at him as he looked back at her. He slid one hand up to take one of her hands from behind his neck, kissing her knuckles as he wove their hands together and brought it to his mouth, her ears were ringing and she was struggling to even breathe.

A part of her worried that this was all a dream, that she’d wake up and be heartbroken, but when he smiled and leaned down a little she couldn’t find it in her to care. “With your permission?” His request was a whisper and his breath tickled her lips as his forehead pressed to hers, Marinette swallowed as she dipped her head a little.

“Please?”

He sighed into the kiss and she whined softly against his mouth, his lips were warm and soft and perfect, the whine faded to a satisfied hum of delight because she was finally kissing Adrien Agreste. One kiss became two, two became a few more, and soon she found that she quite liked when his hand pressed to her lower back and that he practically purred when she sank her hands into his hair. It was clumsy and wet, their teeth often scraped together as he angled his head to explore her, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with her tongue but she didn’t care. It was perfectly imperfect for a first kiss.

Loud ringing from his cell made him wince and look at the alarm. “I told the Gorilla I’d be out before we couldn’t use traffic as an excuse, I really have to go, but look into suing her for use of your picture without consent. I’ll call you when I finish eating and we can talk about, well, us.” Marinette nodded and practically swooned as he turned to descend from her room, her face was warm and she was really happy, it was amazing. “Oh, uh-“ He peeked at her over the top of the floor. “I love your onesie, it’s really cute with a soft material.” Then he was gone and she was left staring down at herself, realizing she’d just kissed Adrien Agreste while wearing a Chat Noir onesie with cat ears on the hood and a fluffy belt tail that was very detail specific.

Tikki was shaking her head as she emerged from her hiding place, the string of silk lanterns were a great way to offer Tikki more than one place to hide if someone came in, they were all different colors and some had tealights while others didn’t; the Kwami giggled fondly when Marinette abruptly turned and returned to her schoolwork. Adrien still had to eat lunch and Marinette didn’t even know where to begin with pressing charges against Lila for the picture, whether it was the police she had to talk to or just a lawyer, but she had time to find out. “I’m happy for you, Marinette, even if the circumstances leading to this aren’t ideal. Maybe things will be better now.” A dreamy sigh escaped her and the teen knew that schoolwork was a bust until she and Adrien finally talked, choosing to take a break for lunch.

“Thank you, Tikki, I’m going to head downstairs. I’ll bring up some cookies for you.”

Hearing her Maman in the kitchen, grinning at the plate of bao on the table, the teen walked up and began helping with stuffing the remaining pouches of dough after washing her hands and tugging up her sleeves. “Maman, uh, Adrien kissed me.” It wouldn’t do to try and hide anything from her parents, not now that she had their trust in her again, if she wanted to hide being Ladybug and the Guardian than she’d have to admit about the relationship possibly changing. Her mother’s smile was warm and Marinette giggled as her Maman bumped her hip against her since their hands were now covered in filling.

Marinette heard the soft hum, affectionate and loving, before her Maman finally replied to her confession. “He told us when he dashed out that he liked you and wanted to take you on a date sometime when he was free, if his Father agreed to it, Tom nearly stopped him from leaving in order to ask him what the wedding colors would be.” That made her choke and very nearly fling pork filling into the air, laughter from the elder made her look and glare at the mischief in her expression. “Sorry Marinette, I couldn’t resist at all, but he did tell us about the date request. I’m happy for you, baobei, and if you need to talk to us about anything please don’t think we won’t listen to you first.” Marinette knew exactly what her Maman was talking about, since she told them about Evillustrator and they had been there for the Chat Noir fiasco, the elder woman had pulled her aside and talked about consent and STI’s as well as birth control.

While the topic had been embarrassing to endure, she was only fourteen and just the thought of kissing Adrien was enough to get her light-headed, she knew it came from a place of love and wanting her to be educated. Especially since Marinette knew that Alya and Nino had already done the horizontal tango, because Alya had gone right to the girl squad and told them in vague terms what happened, while her Maman knew because Marinette had asked if fourteen and fifteen were too young for that sort of thing. “I know that and I’m sorry I made you and Papa feel like you did something that made it so I didn’t trust you, I just wanted to try and handle it on my own since that’s what I thought I had to do, thank you for understanding. Oh!” Marinette had almost forgotten about the picture thing. “Adrien suggested I should look into pressing charges against Lila for taking a photo without my consent because it’s illegal in France, we know the photo is fake but the school doesn’t think so, if we press charges then she’ll have to admit it was false.” A considering look grew on her Maman’s face before she leaned down to kiss Marinette’s forehead and smiled.

“That boy is a genius, baobei, I never thought of that. I’ll discuss it with Officer Raincomprix after you return to your studies. Now I know you’re waiting on a phone call, instead of helping me why don’t you wash up and take some of the cooked bao to your room.” Marinette grinned and washed her hands after setting aside the last bun she was working on, taking three cooked bao for herself to munch on, she also snagged a few cookies as well as a small bowl of noodles before dashing upstairs. Tikki took her prizes to the shelf that sat just above the trash can, a small toothbrush had been modified to act as a duster so the Kwami could just brush her crumbs into the trash, Marinette pushed her keyboard aside and started eating as she turned on the demo album Jagged had sent her so she could work on the cover art.

Chiming made her answer the video call, Adrien was flushed and she realized he had the phone angled so she could be seen by the others in the room with him, Gabriel Agreste was seated behind his desk and Marinette nearly choked swallowing a mouthful of food. Adrien flushed in a slightly panic. “Sorry Marinette! I didn’t think to text you first, are you okay?” His concern was sweet and she gave him a thumbs up as she downed some water to regain her ability to talk and breathe.

He didn’t look convinced. “I’m okay Adrien, you just startled me, I wasn’t exactly expecting to be seen by too many people.” The unspoken indication to her pajamas were there and didn’t need to be verbalized.

“You are supposed to be comfortable in your own home, Miss Dupain-Cheng, I shouldn’t have asked Adrien to call you while I am an audience without proper warning. I merely wanted to ask you of your intentions with my son.”

Marinette blinked and then again, realizing Gabriel had sort of asked her a serious question. “Well, sir, I just was hoping to at least try and go on a few dates to see if we’re a compatible couple. I really like Adrien, not just because of his looks but because he was kind and he went out of his way to apologize to me for a rather dumb jump of conclusions on my part when he could have just ignored me for the rest of the year. He’s been nothing but kind, patient, and understanding while I really just fumbled around like a spazz worried about being perfect to make him look my way.” It was something she’d been fighting to admit to herself since her therapy visit a few days back, that she was so scared of disappointing people that it made her lose all will to say no or made her do stupid things to try and impress others, it was something her therapist wanted to work with her on specifically.

“Would you be adverse to attending dinner at our home, with your parents, on Thursday? I would very much like to meet you again, in person, with your parents to work out the boundaries and rules. I’d also like to offer some advice in dealing with the public reaction that will no doubt come when it reaches social media that you two are in a relationship.”

Dinner with Adrien and his Father? It almost made her want to hurl that he was, apparently, approving of their relationship being a thing. “Let me, uh, Maman is downstairs; let me find out if she and Papa have anything planned for Thursday.” Marinette took the phone with her as she hurried down the steps. “Maman? Do we have dinner plans for Thursday at all?” The elder turned around and Marinette turned the phone to show just who was on the call.

“Ah, hello again Adrien. Hello Monsieur Agreste. We do not, baobei, would you be asking for a date evening or is this for us to get acquainted with Adrien’s father?” The ridiculous levels of motherly intuition were still a shock and Marinette was wondering if maybe she wasn’t so slick in hiding her hero life, if she was hiding that from Maman’s apparent psychic abilities then it was where any and all good luck had to be going.

“I’d very much like to meet you and your husband in person, Madam Cheng, as well as discuss any boundaries or rules we’d like in place.”

“I think that’s a lovely idea, Thursday evening is perfectly fine, Tom and I can bring desert. Are there any food allergies we need to worry about?”

“None at all, Madam Cheng, do my chefs need to know anything to avoid?”

“Only that Marinette is extraordinarily picky with her vegetables will not touch brussel sprouts no matter how they’re prepared for her.”

“Maman! You’re embarrassing me.” Marinette’s whine earned a chuckle from the older woman along with a forehead kiss and a one-arm hug since she had one hand with bao filling on it still.

A blush had to be on Marinette’s face because she felt warmer. “Oh baobei, I’m your Maman and it’s my job to be embarrassing, I love you.” That made the teen tug at her hood in a guilty sort of way, she hadn’t meant to imply anything.

“I love you too, Maman.” The mumbled reply earned another chuckle from the elder woman.

“I shall ensure that the menu is acceptable to everyone, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Adrien and I still have a few things to discuss, he will be calling you after his fencing lessons today I’m afraid.”

Marinette nodded and ended the call after exchanging goodbyes. “I’m going to go finish lunch now.” Her Maman’s laughter followed her up the stairs and the teen quickly began to shovel food into her mouth.

School had become a warzone.

Adrien stalked by Kim, Max, and Alix as they murmured in low voices at their lockers; it had been a week since the incident and he was no less angry about how everything had turned out. Juleka and Rose were whispering with wide eyes and visual concern for the state of the tension in the room, Nathaniel was walking with his head ducked and hiding behind Ivan as the taller boy comforted the very flustered Mylene. Alya’s rampage hadn’t quite ended yet after he, in a protective decision that was admittedly very petty the more he thought back about doing it, publicly shamed her blog while in his other alias; the Ladyblog had gone from the number one source of Ladybug information to bottom of the bucket after TVi and the heroes had gotten done with it. The reporter was still stomping around spitting fire at anyone who so much as blinked at her wrong, Nino had backed away from trying to talk her down and instead could be found with his headphones on at his seat, Lila was happily sitting in Marinette’s former seat talking about how she and Ladybug were fighting after what they’d done to poor Alya when the reporter was only doing the right thing and making sure a bully was exposed.

People were wary of Lila, now Alya too, after the TVi return fire; naturally so after the station tore apart the interview that rocketed Alya to fame just the night before and Adrien knew that none of his class had seen it yet with just how they were not shouting or even attracting akuma yet. When they did, though, it would be even uglier. The station had contacted Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, Prince Ali’s PR team, and even the Italian Embassy just to prove what happened when a reporter never researched or checked their facts.

“Adrien, you’re still going to help me study today, I cleared my schedule for this afternoon.” Lila had waited for everyone except the teacher to enter the room, to hear the implication that he’d offered to help her before this, usually he would either make an excuse or he’d play along to avoid a scene. But after what she had done and the trouble she caused, hearing the anguished tears and seeing Marinette break down because people she thought were her friends hadn’t even believed her, Adrien was done playing nice.

There was no reasoning with someone who was proving to be a problem in the worst ways. “I never offered to help you study after you lied your way into my home and got my father’s assistant and my bodyguard in trouble because of it, Lila, I deal with enough stalker fans and I’m not going to tolerate my classmates doing the same.” Throwing the word stalker in there was all he needed to do to throw another wave of tension in the room, Chloé and Sabrina both jolted in their seats after they had dealt with a stalker at the hotel during the blank period after the blonde transformed on television, the rest of the class stared as Adrien leveled Lila with a look.

A touch of anger and disgust was blanked before a false confusion and whimper made her look very much like a victim, the fake tears were a decent touch. “I have CCTV footage from the mansion of everything that you said in the hall, when you first told Nathalie that you were there to help me catch up on my work and then when you told me father that Nathalie asked you to tutor me. Along with kissing me without my consent, as well as taking a photo of me without my consent, then sending it to every female on my contact list specifically? Every action of yours has proven that you’ll do and say anything to look good and get what you want, which obviously is me, but I’m no possession and I’m not going to tolerate some fangirl use me as a means to get famous.” He wasn’t shouting at all and his anger was quiet, calmer despite the intensity behind his words, it was very similar to his Father and Adrien could see that Lila was shaking.

But it wasn’t his place to fully expose her, it wasn’t his place to make the class see just yet how badly they’d messed up, he looked right at Ivan in the back row. “Ivan, can we switch seats? I don’t feel safe with Lila hovering behind me.” The taller boy goggled for a moment and then nodded while gathering his things as Adrien did the same, trading places and waiting for the teacher to enter without another word, Alya was staring at Lila who was frantically trying to regain control of the situation until Madam Bustier walked in with a few people.

Showtime was here and it was a lot sooner than he’d thought, which he should have expected after his Father heard the extent of just what Lila had done and caused, the AGRESTE legal team had been launched into action with lawsuit after lawsuit on behalf of the company as well as Adrien personally and the Dupain-Cheng family.

Adrien didn’t hesitate to turn the recorder on his tablet, for Marinette to see later, since it wouldn’t go public. “Lila Justine Rossi you are hereby under arrest for two counts of unlawful photography, one count of verbal harassment, one felony count of truancy, multiple counts of false signatures on legal documentation, and one count of malicious intent to slander an innocent party.” Adrien blinked at just how much they were slamming on her now as her Mother, he could only assume by the quiet stare and droop of her shoulders, watched with a blend of horror and sadness.

Lila didn’t disappoint at all. “I’m the daughter of a diplomat, you can’t arrest me!” The real fear in her voice made it sort of a shriek.

“I suggest you remain quiet, as anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law, your diplomatic immunity was revoked the moment your truancy was revealed and once the French Court is done with you there will be a ban on your VISA as well as your Mothers and you will face justice under the Italian court system per the ruling of the Italian Embassy in accordance with France’s president.” Having her out of Paris was another plus, Adrien would admit, no akuma would pop up in her whole anger and hatred thing and he did cast a suspicious look around the school. But there were no signs of black butterflies, even Hawkmoth seemed to be avoiding this situation.

As she was handcuffed and her things were gathered, tears pooling in her eyes, the girl seemed to finally decide the truth was necessary. “I never took that picture of Marinette, it was photoshopped after Alya sent me a picture of her doing some stupid Chinese ritual thing, she bullied me first and-“ The officer didn’t even allow her to continue speaking.

“We have recorded evidence, from a video posted to the Ladyblog, where you specifically and verbally admitted to taking said picture which led to a vicious slander attempt of a local business. Please keep moving or I will be forced to carry you to the cruiser.” Adrien watched as the officers led them out and Lila finally quieted, he saved the recording to send to Marinette and made sure it went before he deleted it, the room was quiet enough that the buzzing from the fluorescent lights was deafening. Even Madam Bustier was staring outright at the door, sinking into her chair with a very heartbroken expression on her face, but she’d helped lead to this and Adrien wasn’t exactly happy with her either.

Adrien jolted in an instant. “Wait, that psycho photo shopped a picture of my girlfriend at a funeral for her tài lǎo lao?” He noticed the looks and glared at all of them. “Traditional Chinese funerals include burning joss paper.” It really explained the whole reason that Sabine, Marinette, and Tom were so infuriated by everything; Adrien really wanted to go cataclysm her, consequences be damned.

It was Alix who jolted out of her stupor first. “Guys there’s no way Marinette will ever forgive us.” The room burst into frantic murmurs of ‘oh God what have we done’ and ‘how could we have been so stupid’ around him, Alya was shaking in her seat and Nino wasn’t moving, but the worst of all was their teacher who was whiter than paper with tears sliding down her face as she clenched her eyes tightly. There was a light tap at the door before a severe man in a proper suit, along with another severe man in a less formal dress style, gestured to the redhead.

The less formal man entered the room and closed the door behind him. “Good morning students, I am Baxter Kennedy and I’ll be taking over the role as your teacher for the rest of the year, we are aware of what just occurred only minutes ago and as such I have had the Ministry of National Youth and Education send in a psychologist who specializes in youth groups to spend the rest of the day with you. We are quite understanding that nothing will really stick if we try teaching today.” Adrien watched as the severe man returned without Madam Bustier and leaned into his seat.

“I am Doctor Oscar Bennet, I would like you to introduce yourselves before we begin.”

He hadn’t expected a therapy session today but Adrien figured his input wouldn’t be as important. Oh, how wrong he had been though.

Doctor Bennet made it apparent quick quickly that while Adrien’s reasoning for being quiet was sound when dealing with the paparazzi and tabloid spreads, as denying it only made it seem truer, a school bully was an entirely different beast and his request for silence had helped bring things to this point. The model was left exhausted, picked apart mentally, and wondering if he could schedule sessions with Doctor Bennet privately because he’d actually learned a lot about himself and his reactions in his short talk with the man.

Like his relationship with his Father, which was almost nonexistent by this point, was actually a problem that needed to be addressed because Gabriel was prioritizing his grief and his company over his relationship with his own offspring. That his lack of control in things like his attire, his diet, his hobbies, was leading him to being a potential control freak when he did finally gain independence or not being able to exist on his own at all.

Alya had spent ten minutes into lunch screaming at him, blaming Adrien for not speaking up as to why her blog was ruined and she’d lost her best friend, until Doctor Bennet pulled her aside and disappeared into the room set up for him. Alya’s parents arrived not long after and Adrien shook his head, Nino looked a little disappointed but even agreed that he should have trusted Marinette and not blamed everything on her jealousy over Adrien. Nobody else tried talking to him, which was good, or even asked him to talk to Marinette for them.

Things were going to get better, he knew, now that the right steps were in place. Principal Damocles and Madam Bustier, as well as the rest of the staff, were required to take remedial training seminars on bullying; the Principal had been forced to forfeit his position to the man assigned by the National Youth and Education Ministry, Oswald McKinney. Madam Bustier’s teaching license was being revoked until she completed multiple courses on bullying, how to handle claims of plagiarism or theft and even destruction of private property. Chances of her being given to a higher-level class were slim after this, if she even was allowed to teach again, but that wasn’t his concern.

Adrien grinned at the big smile on Marinette’s face as he dipped into the bakery for lunch period and slipped a rose into her hand with a wink, her face flushed and he couldn’t help but press a kiss to her nose, he did squeak when she hauled him down by the collar to leave a searing kiss on his lips before she scampered up into the apartment with a giggle and a reminder that Kagami was waiting for him to join them.

Things weren’t perfect but they were getting there.

#miraculous fanfic #miraculous ladybug #lila rossi #alya cesaire #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #caline bustier salt #lila rossi salt #alya cesair salt #caline bustier class #ml fanfic #chaoticwrites

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flightfoot · 3 years

Text

Ladycat Ch. 5

AO3/FFN

“Wow. You really did a number on this place.”

Chat grimaced. “Apparently he has an alarm system set up. An alarm system that triggers missiles in the walls to fire and kill the intruder. Seriously, how did he even get his hands on those?! Do fashion designers often meet up and talk about weapons trading and brag about having the most deadly secret lairs?! ...Actually considering some of the people my father’s met with, that wouldn’t surprise me.”

A grin slowly spread across Rena’s face. “You really think so?”

“Probably?”

“Feel like investigating some possible crime rings?”

“I think we should focus on bringing Hawkmoth to justice and helping your mother before looking at other possible criminals,” Fu interjected, Ladycat meowing in agreement.

Rena sighed, but nodded.

Honestly he’d rather have continued speculating about his father’s work contacts. Better than having to face up to reality.

Noticing his downcast look, Rena gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’ll be okay,” she told him softly. “No matter what he says, no matter what he does, we’re here for you. He can’t cut you off from everyone anymore, not once his secret identity is brought to light. I don’t know what’ll happen after that, whether your mother will wake up and you can live with her, or whether she won’t and you have to live with someone else. But I’m behind you every step of the way, same as Ladybug,” - Ladycat purred like a motorboat at that - “and it’s not just us. Nino, Max, Kim, Juleka, Alix, all our classmates really, do you think we’d let you go through this alone?”

He gave her a small smile. “I know, but… well, sometimes I have trouble believing it.”

Even with Ladybug, he sometimes wasn’t completely sure. Part of him, the deepest, darkest, most insecure and anxious part, thought she just put up with him because she had to, that she’d replace him at the first opportunity. He’d been happy she brought in new heroes, but… he’d been afraid too. If she had more help, would she even need him? Or want him around?

His father’d always given him that impression - that he was only kept around because he was useful, that his love was transactional and required him fulfilling his functions, his job.

Ladybug didn’t treat him like that. She didn’t always tell him everything, but she cared about his feelings and didn’t withhold her affection just because he messed up somehow. And any time he’d let himself show that he was feeling down, anytime it’d been clear, she’d tried to find out what was wrong and help.

He just… he didn’t want to make her worry like that. Both because he didn’t want her to go through that, and because… well, old habits die hard. He’d tried to put himself out there with his father numerous times. Showing any sign of weakness, and sadness or anger or disappointment, any negative emotions had gotten him ignored at best, yelled at at worst. Safest to put on a brave face.

Ladycat weaved in and out from his legs, brushing herself against him.

He smiled. He may not have had a cat before, but even he knew what that meant - ‘You’re mine.’

She didn’t need him to be Chat Noir - other people could wield the Black Cat Miraculous, and his skillset wasn’t technically required to defeat akumas. With other Miraculous wielders being available, she could’ve just relied on them instead.

But she CHOSE him. She WANTED him. Not because of what he could do for her as the Black Cat, but because of who he was as a person.

Even now she did the best she could to comfort him, to let him know she was there for him, even though she couldn’t speak.

He still might have some days, some times, when he couldn’t make himself believe that she wouldn’t pull the rug out from under him if he wasn’t useful, if he did something she didn’t approve of, like his father would.

But in the end he knew she would comfort him, reassure him if she had any idea he was feeling that way. Because that’s who she was.

He took a deep breath, held it a moment, then slowly exhaled. “Alright. Let’s go.”

-------

Hawkmoth hadn’t had time to do more than throw a tarp over the cataclysmed part of the mansion - to conceal it from prying eyes she assumed, though plenty of people would’ve seen it before Gabriel managed to cover it, it wasn’t like the Agreste Mansion was in some far away part of town with little foot traffic.

Not that it had done any good at that point. Chat Noir had gleefully ripped it off, throwing it out onto the mansion lawn.

Which served two purposes: letting Chat Noir blow off a little steam before talking to that sorry excuse of a father, and distracting anyone who might otherwise have noticed a little bit of debris being moved or disappearing here or there beneath Rena Rouge’s invisibility illusion.

The chamber had been empty, any butterflies trapped within it long flown away. Which was one good thing she supposed; even if Hawkmoth WANTED to become Scarlet Moth again (and if that was a simple matter he would’ve done so earlier), he didn’t have enough butterflies to be nearly the threat he was last time.

The elevator had been unguarded, seeming to invite them to go downstairs - to the heart of all this.

Chat’s eyes narrowed, looking at the elevator and then flicking towards Rena’s, Ladycat’s, and Master Fu’s position - roughly speaking at least, since he could only hear their footsteps and breathing.

Not for the first time Ladycat thanked whatever decided on kwami-given powers that while the Black Cat was blessed with super senses, the Butterfly was not.

Wordlessly he walked to the elevator, the three of them following close behind. Fitting all four of them in that little space without making it obvious that there were three invisible people was uh… a challenge to say the least, but they managed it. (She had no idea Rena Rouge was that flexible. She’d need to grill her about her workout routine later. She knew she did yoga, but DAMN.)

A few seconds later the elevator reopened, revealing the sprawling chamber she half-remembered.

This time marred by an unpleasant stain of purple.

An unpleasant stain of a person.

“I knew you would come,” Hawkmoth declared, back still to the group.

Had he been standing like this the whole time, just waiting for them to eventually come down here so he could be dramatic?!

...Okay that actually fit his M.O. perfectly.

Adrien and Gabriel may be different in the ways that mattered most, but one of the things it turned out they shared? Their overdramaticness.

“You know why I’m doing this,” Hawkmoth said. It wasn’t a question. “You know what wish I need to make.”

Ladycat crouched behind Rena, tail lashing, ears pinned back, holding back a hiss.

Hesitantly Rena put her hand out near Ladycat.

She rubbed her head against Rena’s hand, taking comfort in her presence.

But she never took her eyes off of Hawkmoth.

“Wishes come at a cost,” Chat Noir told him through gritted teeth. “If you know about the wish, surely you know that as well!”

“Whatever the cost, it’s worth it!” Hawkmoth shot back. “You’re her son, my son; how can you pretend you ever loved her, but not be willing to do whatever it takes?!”

“Someone else will pay the price,” Chat Noir said stonily. “You can’t control who or how. You think it’s fair to put someone else through this pain?”

“Fair!” Hawkmoth spat. “Was it ‘fair’ that she was taken in the first place? That the Miraculous she used happened to be broken? Let the unfairness fall on someone else for once. I’m just protecting the people I care about.”

“And that’s all that matters to you. Protecting the people YOU care about. You don’t give a crap about anyone else, do you? Hell, you don’t even care about what the people you love think of what you’re doing, our perspective on this!”

Chat’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute… where’s Nathalie?”

Hawkmoth looked away. “She didn’t understand. She cares about you, you know, but she doesn’t get it. This is best for you - you’ll see that later. Even if I have to fight you first, well - sometimes a father must inflict some pain on children who don’t understand what’s best for them. What’s best for our family.”

A low growling sound came from somewhere close to Marinette. It took her a moment to realize it was coming from Chat.

“WHERE. IS. SHE.”

Hawkmoth waved him off. “Safe and unharmed. By the time she wakes up it will all be over. With Emilie awake, restored to us, she'll know I made the right choice.”

Chat stared at him, shaking his head. “You always do this. Bulldozing over other people’s concerns, their point of view, believing that anything you want MUST be right. That they’ll realize the error of their ways later. Never daring to consider that maybe, just maybe, you’re the one in the wrong. You never even tried to find other ways to wake Mom up, did you?!”

“Do not speak of things you don’t understand, son,” Hawkmoth hissed. “You think I didn’t comb through any magical tomes, scour any sources I could find to look for a cure?! The Wish is the only thing I could find that might work! Even Nooroo couldn’t think of anything else!”

Marinette’s heart sank. She glanced at Fu.

He noticed her gaze, shaking his head.

Fu might have some sources, some knowledge that neither Nooroo nor Gabriel had been able to uncover… but it was unlikely. From what she’d been able to glean in prior conversations, he hadn’t had much training as the Guardian.

Hawkmoth’s gaze hardened. “If you will not hand over your Miraculous, will not help revive your mother, then you leave me no choice.”

Hawkmoth - Gabriel - Chat’s father - lunged.

------

The three of them raced towards Emilie’s pod, trying to avoid the commotion. Chat tried to stay around the edges of the chamber as best he could, luring Hawkmoth away from the central walkway so the three of them could proceed, but it was difficult.

Especially with Hawkmoth having the upper hand.

She and Chat alone couldn’t stand up to Hawkmoth on Heroes Day.

Chat alone? The best he could do was buy some time.

She winced as Hawkmoth caned Chat in the stomach, sending him flying into the nearest wall, leaving massive cracks in the concrete.

A faint hiss started up. It took a moment to realize she was the one making it.

Glancing at Fu, still under cover of Rena’s mirage (her necklace blinked. Two minutes to go before she detransformed) she watched his eyes travel over Emilie’s figure. Opening the pod, he reached in and gently checked her pulse, raised one of her eyelids, put a hand out near her mouth to check her breath.

Grimly he shook his head.

Marinette’s stomach knotted up.

He couldn’t fix her.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

Her head shot up.

Hawkmoth jumped, Chat Noir temporarily forgotten, landing in front of the open pod.

“WHO DID THIS?!”

He looked around wildly, but couldn’t see them - yet.

“What, are you *huff* already done?” Chat Noir asked, grimacing in pain. “I’ve… I’ve got more where that came from!”

Using his baton as a cane he hobbled forward, barely able to stand, yet still serving as a distraction, still trying to keep others out of harm’s way - like he always did.

Unthinkingly Marinette flexed her claws. This… this man KNEW he was hurting his son, KNEW who he was beating until he could barely stand.

He just didn’t care.

Hawkmoth raised his cane, his face a mask of fury. “You’re even more of a disgrace than I ever imagined. If you won’t help me without coercion, so be it.”

“Wha-?” Chat looked up, confused.

Hawkmoth flipped open his cane.

A purple-black butterfly fluttered out.

Making a beeline for Chat Noir.

NO!

Marinette ran, pouncing, catching the akuma between her teeth by the edge of a wing.

“You!” Hawkmoth shouted. His eyes narrowed. “You’re the cat from before. The one who infiltrated my lair.”

Marinette just flicked her tail at him, turning her attention to Chat instead.

She expected him to look relieved.

Instead his face turned an ashen gray.

“Milady, LOOK OU-”

The struggling akuma touched her collar. The one Chat Noir had given her to help keep her safe.

It dissolved into it.

A purple mask covered her vision.

“Well this is a surprise…” a voice rumbled through her head, seeming to hit the core of her being. “But not an unwelcome one. You really care for Adrien, don’t you?”

Marinette yowled, writhing, trying to force out the voice, the twisting of her desires.

But his words were so enticing. He… he just wanted to help her achieve her goals, right? He understood.

“Don’t listen to him!” a far away voice yelled. “Whatever he asks, whatever he promises, it’s not worth it!”

“Only you can help me,” Hawkmoth purred. “Only you can help him. Adrien refuses to take what he needs, to do what must be done for his own happiness. But with your help we can save his mother, repair his family, our family. We can fix EVERYTHING. Isn’t that what you want? To make things right?”

She…

“My Lady, NO!”

She would do this.

For his sake.

He was Her boy, after all.

Purple goo covered her body, transforming her into a more suitable form.

She grew quickly, from being less than a foot long to over five feet, from a kitten to the size of her cousins. Her claws grew, no longer retractable, but razor sharp, her fangs growing out from her face, her pelt darkening until it was as dark as Chat Noir’s suit - a reminder of who she was doing this for.

“Panther, seize Chat Noir’s Miraculous!”

#Ladycat #ml fanfic #Miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire

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miraculousluvbug · 2 years

Text

WINGLESS | Ch. 11

***New to Wingless? Start at Chapter 1!

CH. SUMMARY: So the cat's out of the bag and the milk's been spilled and it kind of feels like the sky is falling, but at least these three doofuses have each other.

Murder was the only thing on Alya’s mind after Chat Noir’s detransformation left behind one Adrien Agreste. In fact, she had never wanted to murder anyone so badly. Not even Chloe.

But the “Guardian” Marinette spoke of? The one who chose two kids from the same school and forced them to keep secrets from everyone they loved and who loved them? The one who pressured them into being child soldiers before their brains were fully developed with crap about being “chosen?” Who put the fate of Paris in the hands of two adolescents not even allowed inside the R-rated section at a movie rental but were apparently allowed to fight until they were bruised, battered, and traumatized?

Yeah, she was willing to go to jail for manslaughter.

Her heart broke for Marinette, whose biggest problem should have been whether she completed her history report on time or if she was going to be able to parallel park for her driver’s test without bumping an unsuspecting car, not if her choice to love and be loved led to the apocalypse.

“I cannot wait to strangle that Hawaiian-shirt-loving Master of Unnecessary Manipulation.”

On the other side of the camera, Adrien was sweating buckets. Alya just saw him detransform! Not even one person was supposed to know, but now two people knew?! And why did she want to strangle a Hawaiian-shirt-loving Master--

“Wait--” Adrien said, eyebrows furrowed as his single brain cell tried to fit a square block in the circle slot of a shape puzzle. He only knew one Hawaiian-shirt-loving Master, but he didn’t think Alya should know about him.

Having recovered from his shock and utterly lacking the ability to read the room, Nino clapped a hand on Adrien’s shoulder and squeezed. “Dude, this is so cool! I can’t believe we’ve been fighting crime together this whole time!”

“NINO!” Alya protested to deaf ears from the laptop.

Adrien gulped. “We?” He surveyed Nino from head to toe once more, taking in his Rena Rouge pajamas with fresh eyes. The Rena Rouge posters plastering his walls were suddenly searing into his retinas. Can the Miraculous change your gender? he pondered.

The devil worked hard, but his one brain cell worked harder.

“Oh, right. I forgot Chat doesn’t know. I’m Carapace, dude!”

Adrien whipped his head so fast he felt faint. Nino grinned at him dopily from beneath the spots in his vision, not a single hint of regret at revealing his secret marring his features. On the contrary, he seemed extremely pleased with himself.

“Y-you’re Carapace?” Adrien’s eyes were blown so wide Alya wondered if they could get any bigger, and that was saying something from the other side of a screen.

While Adrien was stunned speechless by the news, the effects of sharing such intimate secrets among his closest friends settled over him like a comfort blanket until the shock melted into a sweet contentedness, one as velvety and rich as a dark chocolate ganache.

“You’re Carapace,” Adrien sighed, crushing Nino in a hug.

“And you’re that flirty cat throwing himself into danger all the time,” Nino quipped. “Here, I thought you were an innocent duckling. My little baby’s got game!” As the two chuckled, Adrien caught a glimpse of an agitated Alya from over Nino’s shoulder.

Is she disappointed that one of her heroes is just me? he asked himself, his smile giving way to a frown.

Wait.

Alya didn’t look at all surprised by the news that her own boyfriend was a superhero.

Had she already known?

Images of a turtle and fox hero snuggling up to each other once or twice when they thought no one was looking played in his mind like a film reel. Adrien released Nino, not quite taking his eyes off the redhead. “You know, I always thought Carapace and Rena Rouge had a thing going on, but that’s not possible because you and Alya--”

As Adrien stared at Alya, her agitation resolving to worry in the creasing of her brow and pursing of her lips, the recognition bumbled into place, so much slower and clumsier than it had with Nino’s clean confession. His brain had to fight the barrier of the Miraculous magic and--he wasn’t gonna lie--it kind of hurt what with the way his synapses fired and his eyes strained to mentally peel away a magical mask from the image of Rena Rouge in his mind. Rena’s hair was a much more vivid red-orange, her hairstyle way more intricate than Alya’s everyday curls, and Adrien even had to wonder if her lips changed colors when transformed, but . . .

Well, true as the sky was blue, so too was the fact that the girl staring back at him from the computer screen was his other teammate.

“You’re Rena Rouge.”

Alya rubbed the temples of her forehead in an attempt to dissuade the oncoming tension headache. She was counting her lucky ladybugs that Marinette was out of the house, not even wanting to imagine how different this conversation could have gone had she been there. Perhaps she’d serve a plate full of supernova-level panic attacks with a side of catastrophizing and a sprig of heroic guilt for good measure.

“Nino,” she sighed. “The point of a secret identity is to keep it secret. Because, you know--” she waved her hands around wildly and scrunched her nose, reminding Adrien of someone else he knew “--Shadow Moth!”

“Well, yeah, but I wasn’t about to lie to my best bud after he shared his alter ego with me.”

“You’re Rena Rouge,” Adrien whispered dazedly, pointing at Alya first, then Nino, “and you’re Carapace.” He looked his friend up and down again, recalling his own cache of Ladybug-themed nightwear hiding in his armoire. “Well, that explains the pajamas. You know each other’s identities. You’re dating and you know each other’s identities.”

He felt like his legs were going to stop working any second then. He backed away until his calves hit Nino’s bed board and promptly fell back onto the mattress.

“Ladybug let you know each other’s identities.”

Plagg, who had stayed out of sight for the duration of this conversation, drifted to Adrien’s lap and curled up on his thigh. Adrien absentmindedly stroked his kwami to calm himself, but he abruptly stopped when another realization crashed down on him with the full force of an akumatized Tom Dupain-Cheng.

“If you’re Rena Rouge, then you know who Ladybug is,” Adrien said, his voice sounding far away even to himself.

Nino’s eyes bulged out of his sockets. “You know Ladybug’s identity?!” he shouted before clapping his hands over his mouth, praying to Allah that none of his neighbors heard his outburst.

Alya could not pick up her jaw from the floor even if she had tried. The volume inside of this bus was astronomical. Secrets. Secrets spilled everywhere. This was The Office now, and her chili pot had spilled all over the floor. How could she even begin to salvage this situation? Was Bunnyx going to pop out of her burrow hole any time soon? Was this going to lead to Chat Blanc again somehow? Right in front of her salad?!

With a start, Alya noticed both boys had been staring at her and she had yet to answer them. Her head was spinning. She tried to swallow her nervousness and silently wished the Earth would swallow her instead. “Yes,” she eventually confirmed, voice low. She spoke slowly, hoping she looked more confident than she felt. “I do, and it’s not my secret to share.”

Adrien bore a pained expression, and yet again, Alya wanted to commit murder.

Suddenly, the blonde boy jumped to his feet and approached the computer screen in three short strides before placing his hands firmly on the desk and inspecting Alya’s background. “Wait, Alya, you’re in Marinette’s room.”

Alya wanted to die.

“Is Marinette there?” Adrien asked her. “Did she hear everything? Does she know I’m Chat Noir?”

Alya opened her mouth to respond but paused long enough to observe the speck of desire in his eyes. If she could sense his affection for Marinette from the other side of this screen, she speculated what she might have been able to pick up on had they been having this conversation in person. And, well, if there were dials in her brain labeled “Supportive Friend” and “Meddling Friend,” she imagined a mini Alya in her cranial cavity cranking the latter up a couple hundred notches.

She leaned forward, a smirk on her lips and her eyes hooded just a tad. “Why? Do you want her to know you’re Chat Noir, balcony boy?” Alya couldn’t help retorting, waggling her eyebrows. His reaction was immediate.

So he’s not as dense as I thought.

He blushed and tried to hide his cheeks in the collar of his shirt. Alya stifled a laugh. “Oh, yeah. She told me all about your candlelit balcony meant for Ladybug.”

“Smooth,” Nino complimented.

The praise would have boosted Adrien’s ego had it not been for one microscopic, little detail. “It didn’t work,” Adrien muttered, making Alya want to strangle Master Fu once more. For the love of all that was Holy, these two were pining after each other and she wanted to frickin’ yeet herself off a building.

She sighed. “To answer your question: no. My girl’s not here.”

Adrien tried to hide his disappointment, but Alya saw right through him.

They all sat in silence, each member of the team working through their own feelings about the revelations thrust upon them that night.

Adrien turned his back and headed for the door. “Plagg, claws out.”

“Wait, bro, you’re leaving?”

“I came here to tell you I’m Chat Noir. I did that. I wasn’t expecting Alya to know, too. I wasn’t expecting you to be Carapace. I wasn’t expecting Alya to be the person Ladybug trusted with her identity over me. And honestly?” He spared a glance at her over his shoulder. He could feel the sympathy coming off her in waves through the screen. He offered her a smile, the kind of smile that didn’t reach his eyes or touch his heart, but it would have to be enough for now. “I don’t even know if I have the energy to be jealous over that because Alya’s a great friend.”

Thanks, sunshine. You’ll think I’m a superb friend after I’m done working my magic, Alya promised him with the resolve of a vengeful Best Friend (which is a very strong resolve indeed).

“Anyways, I’m pretty exhausted. I just hope Lila’s off the premises by the time I get home.”

Alya’s feathers ruffled. “Lila?”

Chat Noir grimaced. “Yeah. She was chatting up Father when I got home and . . . suffice it to say, the sight made me sick.”

“It’d make me sick, too,” Alya agreed. “Anti-Lila club, anyone?” Both boys tilted their heads at her like two Golden Retrievers. This was the first time either of them had ever heard Alya express distaste toward Lila.

“Wait, I thought you liked Lila. Marinette seemed to be the only one who saw through her lies.”

Alya cringed at that. “Well, some new information came my way that made me see the light, I guess. Like, say, she couldn’t possibly be best friends with Ladybug.”

“Tell me about it. Ladybug loathes her,” Chat Noir chuckled, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Absolutely despises her.”

Nino felt like he was missing a large piece of this puzzle.

“You know, when Lila first came to town, she tried to tell me she was the owner of the fox Miraculous. She had a fake from the Gabriel line and everything. That was when Ladybug swooped in and told me she had been lying about their ‘friendship.’”

Nino still wasn’t following. “Lila was trying to impress Chat Noir?”

“Well, actually, I was Adrien me when that happened,” Chat replied, rubbing his neck in the same fashion he would have as the timid boy beneath the mask. Alya blinked. No wonder Marinette hadn’t pieced together his identity. It was bizarre seeing Chat Noir do that.

“So Ladybug didn’t want Lila impressing Adrien,” Nino surmised, nodding in approval. “Nice. Good for you, man.”

Chat Noir spluttered. “I don’t think it was like that at all. She just hates liars.”

“She must really hate being Ladybug then,” Nino mused aloud.

“Yeah . . .” Chat Noir trailed off, recalling his last meeting with Ladybug just a little under five hours ago.

“All of the secrets were too much. I think--I think I was depressed. I went to bed sad and woke up sad. Akumas were coming for me left and right. So I made the decision to tell Rena.”

Chat Noir had been so focused on the fact that Ladybug had shared her identity with someone other than him that he hadn’t really processed the why. Even as she told him that she trusted him, it didn’t line up with what he knew to be true: she had a habit of withholding information from him. And he couldn’t fathom why her default decision was always to leave him out of the loop. Would Ladybug have ever even told him that Rena knew had Alya not slipped up?

Unfortunately, he had no way of knowing since what was done was done. C’est la vie and all that. Yet, somehow, it always came back to that one fundamental difference between Adrien and Ladybug. Adrien adored his role as Chat Noir. His alter ego was the only freedom he had from his otherwise suffocating life. Ladybug was his only friend to know him without all the bells and whistles that followed the Agreste name. But did the girl behind the spots not feel the same way as him? Could she actually hate being Ladybug?

He supposed he would have to ask her.

When Chat Noir lifted his gaze from the floor, he discovered both of his friends watching him, patiently waiting. He half expected them to chastise him for wasting their time, but he had to remind himself that they weren’t Father and let the subsequent sorry dissolve on his tongue. Catching the hint that Chat was ready to depart, Nino escorted him to the balcony.

As Chat fiddled with the sliding glass door lock (clawed gloves really didn’t help with such coordinated tasks), Nino pulled him into a bear hug.

“Thanks for telling me, bro. I’m here for you, you know that.”

After a moment, Chat returned the embrace.

“I know.”

Reaching past Chat, Nino easily unlocked the sliding glass door for his best friend and watched with a proud smile as the Black Cat of Paris vaulted away into the night. The chilly night air sent shivers down Nino’s spine, so he was quick to close the door and robotically meandered back to his room, his girlfriend waiting for him on the screen. He sank into his computer chair and slid his hat over his face, allowing himself to simmer beneath its darkness for a beat or two.

“Sorry, Alya, but I’m a LadyNoir shipper now.”

Alya couldn’t have stopped the snort that came out of her even if she’d tried. “And what makes you say that?”

“Marinette’s my friend and all, but my boy has his sights set on the bug. I’ve gotta support him, you know? Bros before--” the unamused glare Alya had pinned on him burned a hole through his hat “--not bros.”

“Right. Well, don’t count my girl out yet. Why don’t you just get back to writing your script?”

And so he did. For the rest of their Skype call, the two heard from neither Marinette nor Adrien. Alya worked on a blog piece while Nino brainstormed his film idea, and all was relatively peaceful (well, as peaceful as it could be after finding out your best friend was a spandex-wearing cat boy).

That is, until Nino received a Discord message from Adrien.

22:47

adrienagreste

You’ll never believe who I just bumped into at the park

All alone

Talking to a Chat Noir doll

Nino cocked a brow. Wasn’t Adrien supposed to have gone straight home? Also, hadn’t Alya mentioned something about Marinette going to the park? In fact, he was in the middle of typing Marinette’s name when Adrien’s next text came in. And all this text contained was a single emoji . . .

Just now

adrienagreste

🐞

Who knew an emoji would be all it took?

“So you weren’t gonna tell me being an Adrienette shipper is being a LadyNoir shipper?” Nino spun to face Alya with the smuggest smirk on his lips and his arms folded pompously over his Rena Rouge pajama shirt.

Alya froze. Slowly, she craned her head toward the camera, abandoning her article completely. The two of them stared at each other as well as one could through a screen, sizing the other up, waiting to see who would make the first move. Nino already started the game, but now it was Alya’s choice how to play.

Knowing Nino, however, she knew that hubris in his shoulders and that gleam in his eye meant her efforts would be futile. The mask already slipped off Ladybug in his mind, and there was literally no possible way for her to tie it back on. She slumped.

“How did you figure it out?”

Nino whooped and spun himself around in his rolly chair. “These two idiots have got it so bad for each other and they don’t even know it! This is awesome. It’s like a--a love triangle! No, wait . . . A love square!”

Suddenly, he slammed his hand on his desk. The chair immediately stopped spinning. “Alya, it’s a love square.”

“I know.”

Nino dropped his head onto his table like a toddler throwing a tantrum. “Oh, this ain’t it, chief. They could’ve known each other this whole friggin’ time, Alya. Whoever did this is a monster, straight up. Who’d do this to ’em? To our sweet, little hopeless romantic ducklings? Only a monster!” he wailed.

“There, there,” Alya offered, aware that Nino must be cycling through the same realizations she had just thirty minutes ago after learning Adrien was Chat Noir. She would have been patting his back had they been in the same room.

“Wait. Why don’t we just tell them?” Nino sat up, and Alya was surprised to find actual wetness on his cheeks. Upon seeing the look on Alya’s face, he continued, “We could do it. We could just tell them!”

Alya shook her head. “They’re fighting a guy who infects your mind and manipulates you. Chat Noir throws himself in the line of fire all the time, and he’s even been mind controlled to fight her. Marinette says if either one of them knew who the other was and Shadow Moth akumatized them, he would be able to get both their Miraculous.”

She considered telling Nino about Chat Blanc, but that experience was traumatizing enough for Marinette. The least her best friend deserved was control over who knew about it. Besides, the story wasn’t really Alya’s to tell. After a moment, she added, “And no one even knows what he plans to do with them.”

“Something evil, I bet.”

“Probably.” Alya sighed.

“But, Alya . . . now we know both their identities.”

Nino didn’t finish his question, but the implication hung heavy in the air, nonetheless. So what if we get akumatized?

Alya smirked, a deadly thing when cast in his direction. “I’ve broken out of an akuma’s control before.”

Nino’s jaw dropped to the floor. “You have?!”

“Mhm. Shadow Moo has nothing on your girl,” Alya contended, puffing out her chest in a superhero pose. The stars in Nino’s eyes that were placed there by the sheer awesomeness of his girlfriend sparkled.

“You must teach me your ways, Master Alya.”

They both chuckled and settled back into their chairs, letting a comfortable silence wash over them. When Nino spoke again, his voice was small, tentative.

“Still . . . I wish we could tell them.”

Alya silently watched her boyfriend pause to compose himself as if he were taking a bomb that could blow up the entire world and carefully placing it into a microwave to prevent an explosion. It would always be there, the bomb, reminding him to watch where he stepped lest he knock the microwave over and bring his friends down with him, but now? Now, it was manageable. Languidly, he returned to his script.

Alya followed his example, turning her attention back to her abandoned article but not before she confided, “Me, too, Nino.”

Although she hadn’t meant to learn Chat Noir’s secret identity, she didn’t have it in her to regret her slow fingers, to regret the spilling of their chili pot. Like fate, it had led to this, to her and her boyfriend sharing in the weight that Marinette and Adrien had been carrying on their shoulders alone for so long now. And even if they didn’t know they weren’t alone anymore, even if Alya and Nino were just supporting them from behind like little weight-spotter fairies . . .

Alya didn’t regret it, not one little bit.

-----------------------------------

23:14

ladyblogger

So u wanna 🔪 who did this to them??

DJLahiffe

ADSHF

WAIT

hol up

u kno eho made them keep their identities secret??? 👀

who*

ladyblogger

black_lady_chewing_with_knife.gif

Eye do

DJLahiffe

kombucha_girl.gif

i’m listening, babe

ladyblogger

Mhmm

And how do i kno u have it in u?

It’s an old man

Whose entire wardrobe is Hawaiian button-ups

DJLahiffe

say less

i’ll hide the body

🧍🏽‍♂️

—–

Heya! Wow! Two chapters in one day :D Only for you, dear reader ❤ Check out my Instagram for Wingless updates. I’m also posting pieces of a Wingless cover with each chapter update! We’re so close to finishing.

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