#let’s as a society think more about why adrien wanted to go to school | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sasuhinasno1fan · 9 months

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Wish come true - Adrien AUGreste Day 9+10

It took a while for this one to get written and I was a bit back and forth on letting Ameile get the ring just based on the reason for why Gabreil wanted to keep it. I never actually watched s4 and 5, just know from friends hatewatching, and I had assumed the rings had a bigger part in the story but so far, they just seem to be family heirlooms. But again, because it’s not cannon past s3, Felix actually has a relationship with his dad. Anyway, enjoy!

Friends

“Remind me never to do Student UN again.” Adrien said, dropping onto the deck of the Liberty.

It was the Saturday after their schools Model UN and while Adrien lucked out with Lila not participating, she was back in school and made it her mission to make his life difficult by being a nascence. it took the whole class playing shield to keep him from actually hurting her. Chloe surprisingly had been a huge help, giving her a dress down that honestly, was too good to describe. Obviously, the Mayor’s daughter hadn’t done a whole 180 but with most people remembering how her mother treated her and starting to give her the benefit of the doubt, she was coming out from her spoiled shell. She was still spoiled and self-centred, that was Chloe, but Adrien compared her to Cleo from Monster High. She cared and wanted people to know that, it just took a while for her to find the ways of showing it.

“No need to applaud, I’ve arrived!” Chloe announced, stepping onto the ship, stumbling when Sabrina tripped off the gangplank and crashed into her. Her best friend stuttered apologizes when she turned to glare but the blonde took a breath and asked if she was ok.

Baby steps, that’s what it was about.

“Look on the bright side, two days and a full party where we don’t have to deal with her.” Nino said. He was leaning against Alya’s legs as she sat on the stage with Marinette and Alix, still going over the story about the Miraculous and their secret society. She’d been even more into it when the news riel about the sudden return of the Temple, with a very familiar looking mark, ran.

“And even better,” Luka said, kneeling down next to Adrien, “You now have more free time and I’ve gotten ahead in assignments.”

Adrien smiled to himself. “I guess that is something worth celebrating. Other than actually pulling off the school’s first Student UN.”

“Oh my god. Chloe!” Alya called.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“No.” Alya got up, practically shoving her phone into Chloe’s face. “Did you know about this? that this was today?”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “Crap. I can’t believe I forgot. I didn’t think I’d forget.”

“What?”

“Lila’s mom disappeared a year ago.”

“Died.” Chloe corrected. “She died, I’m sure of it. she was really sick, dizzy spells, fainting, confined to her bed for days. I never liked Lila, but I liked her mom. I can’t believe I forgot.”

“It’s been a busy year, what with Hawkmoth and everything.” Sabrina said.

“Not to mention Lila suddenly showing up at school.” Marinette reminded. “I’m sure her mother knows you care.”

“She showed up at school?” Adrien asked.

“Lila was homeschooled. With her dad’s popularity, Emile didn’t want her being stared at. Not like she cared; she was always doing something to make a mess of things. She would be a clothing model for her dad for clothes for her age group and clearly, she loved the attention.” Chloe said. “it started small then, but she started lying to get her way. Emile would catch her a few times but she started to get better and then Emile got sick, so she hid better. All of a sudden, she walks into the classroom with this lie that her father hated that she was being locked away and wanted her to be normal and interact with the people who bought his clothes.”

“Which also brought in the lies she told us basically about how she was involved in all our favourite things.” Alya reminded.

“Which Alya here actually helped expose a little. Did you know she said Jagged Stone wrote a love song about her?” Alix said, putting a hand on the reporter’s shoulder.

“Jagged Stone, is in his 30s.”

“Her lies went crashing down pretty soon after he made a statement about it not being true. Didn’t stop her, but we knew to fact check and before you know it, newest big model on the scene is the biggest scandal no one wants to deal with.”

“But she lost her mom.”

Adrien thought about how she reacted the first day he met her. She had no standing, clearly grasping at anything to be seen. He understood it, keeping up a façade because it was easier, but she seemed to take singular focus on attacking him, insulting his mother and her love. He could blame it on Lila’s own mother and her disappearance, but he didn’t know. The popular kids he me at his schools, a lot were mad at their parents, but unless they were involved in some way with yours, your own parents never made conversation. Any cheap shot about them was about their looks or their jobs, not their ability to love you. he felt bad for her, but it didn’t justify her behaviour. He did feel bad for Chloe though. He wondered if Emile Agreste had been more of a mom than her actual mother.

“Chloe, did you want to go give your condolences?” Adrien asked. “To Gabriel and maybe Lila? I mean, I don’t like her, but if my mama disappeared?”

“We should at least let her know we’re thinking of her.” Mylene said. “But if we all went.”

“She’d lose her head. Or lap it up. Or, I don’t know, maybe be normal.” Ivan pointed out, all valid points.

“her dad wouldn’t want his daughter’s whole class coming by. He doesn’t even leave his house.” Chloe reminded.

“So only a few of us. Chloe, you and Sabrina. Maybe Juleka, since you model for him? And Marinette, since you’re working his internship.” Rose suggested.

“I will be working his internship. And honestly, if Lila hates Adrien the most, she hates me second. She constantly goes after me trying to get me in trouble.” Marinette reminded.

“I’ll go.” Adrien said, shrugging when everyone looked at him. “I don’t like her, but I mentioned to her dad that I liked Solitude. Feels like I should at least let him know how sorry I am.”

“So, Chloe, Sabrina, Adrien and Juleka?”

“Except, Juleka is practically becoming the new face of the brand,” Luka reminded. “I don’t know her well, but I know her enough. If we’re worried what all of us being there will do, do we really think sending her replacement is a good idea?”

“Chloe, Sabrina, Adrien and Luka? if only to stop Adrien when Lila undoubtly pisses him off.” Rose said, Adrien looking insulted.

“Hey!”

“Oh, you know she’ll do it. get filming, I’ll call the limo.” Chloe said.

________________

“Yes?”

Chloe tossed her hair, standing at full hight. Adrien would admit, it was impressive how easily she fell into being her snooty self when she wanted something. There was Chloe who held onto her self-importance and could still be ok to be around and then there was this side, who after a few minutes, you’d be tempted to throw her off the Eiffel Tower.

That was probably why any akuma she caused would take her there.

“We’ve come to pay our respects to M. Agreste.” Sabrina nudged her, leaving her to sigh and roll her eyes. “And Lila I guess.”

“We have guests Chloe.”

“Oh, let her in. I haven’t seen her in years!” that was a different voice, but one that perked Chloe up. She turned to Adrien, who was messing with the plastic covering the bouquet. She smirked in a way that worried Sabrina, who started tugging on her jacket to get her to spill.

The gate swung open and Chloe led them to the door. It was pulled open and Adrien had to remind himself that Emile Agreste had been missing for a year. The woman who stood in front of them was near identical though.

“Chloe!”

“Amelie! It’s so nice to see you again. How is it in London? Great, I’d like you to meet someone. This is Adrien.” Chloe dragged Adrien over, ignoring his questions of what she was doing.

“Um, hi?”

“Oh, my goodness. Felix, Felix! Come over here. Look at this.” grabbing Adrien, the woman dragged him in the house, Chloe still ignoring the questions over what was going on, smiling at the scene before them.

Amelie brought Adrien to stand in front of someone. Someone with the same shade of hair and eyes, near the same height and had the same expression Adrien tended to have when truly annoyed or angry.

“It’s this amazing? Felix, you two look exactly alike. Lila, you must have been so surprised when he came to your class. I hear you’re new?”

“Um, yeah. I’m Adrien Rossi…and this is a little strange.”

Amelie giggled, clapping her hands. “Oh, this is amazing! Emile and I always hoped our kids would look like this, near twins. I always wanted to play a trick on you Gabriel, and switch the kids for a day. Oh, the things the two of you could have gotten away with.”

Feeling a little awkward, Adrien gave the teen in front of him a smile. “Hi, and you are?”

“I’m Felix.” His accented French made Adrien tempted to switch to English, but he didn’t want to assume.

“Oh, and I’m Amelie. Emilie was my big sister. Chloe, why don’t you introduce me to your other friends?”

Adrien glanced over Felix’s shoulder to see Lila glaring at him. She seemed madder than usual, like she actually wanted to hurt him. Eager to get out, Adrien handed the flowers to him.

“Sorry for your loss.”

Felix looked at the flowers before looking back at him. It was strange, seeing such a proper picture staring back at him. Mylene, while waiting for others to finish their video, had braided his bangs into his hair and the fishnet poking out from under his oversized shirt was a definite contrast to his slacks and waistcoat.

“I know you don’t mean my father but thank you regardless.” Felix said.

“Oh, I didn’t know. I won’t say ‘I’m sorry’ because I know every kid who lost a parent never wants to hear that. So instead, I’ll say…I hope the important memories never fade and if they do, you never lose the feelings you had during them.”

Felix looked surprised and Adrien realised he was hoping for a reaction. Just not the one he gave. He took the flowers and handed them to Nathalie, who looked pained as Chloe held court with Lila’s aunt.

“If you don’t mind, Mlle. Bourgeois, this is a family occasion.” Gabriel finally interrupted.

“That’s fine, we just wanted you to know we were thinking of you. oh, and Sabrina.” The red-haired girl took out the SD card that they downloaded their video onto and handed it to Lila. “Just so you know we care.”

Lila dropped the SD card and stomped on it a few times. Whether or not it broke it, Adrien wasn’t sure, but they all got the message. She stormed up the stairs, ignoring her aunt’s yelling to come back and apologize, which turned into a near fight between her and Gabriel about Lila’s behaviour. Adrien took one look at Felix, who’s face still held the same expression, but with a bit of sadness and spoke without thinking much.

“Hey, Felix. Is it your first time in Paris? We’re having a party at Luka’s houseboat; you should come with us.”

A small bit of relief appeared in the green eyes as he turned to his mother. “Can I?”

“I suppose. How about you meet me back here at 4 so we can say goodbye and go to the station together?”

And with that, they had a new addition.

_________________

“Whoa. It’s like a funhouse mirror.” Kim said, looking Felix up and down, who looked annoyed at being gawked at.

“Except I’m sure his temper is the same. Sure, you remember that part, huh Kim?” Adrien said, smiling when the athlete got red and turned back to the party. “Sorry about him.”

“You didn’t have to do this because you feel sorry for me.”

“I only feel sorry you would have had to spend the afternoon with Lila.” Adrien said, taking in the same surprised look Felix had before. “If I felt sorry for you because of your father, then I’d feel the same about a lot of my friends. Lot of single household kids here. Fair amount due to a parent passing away but they have their ways of remembering them and it’s a reminder to us to always remember the important feelings. now, you hungry? Kagami is getting off training soon and she’s bringing freshly made mochi. It’s really good.”

Felix stared at him, like he was trying to figure him out before he turned away. “Not particularly hungry, though I am thirsty.”

It took some time, but Felix started to open up. He was sarcastic and a bit rude but they were all used to it with Chloe. When Kim’s teasing went to far, Felix shut him down with a rather well-timed insult that had the whole group laughing as Kim went red and pouted. His social skills lacked some, which made him bond with Kagami when she finally arrived.

“If they say something pop culture related you don’t get, just nod. They usually figure out we have no clue what they mean and explain to not look stupid.” She advised.

“Thanks Kagami.” Adrien said sarcastically.

Somehow the topic turned to the thing majority of their class shared in common, single parent households. It was a healthy debate of what they felt they missed compared to their friends and classmates with two parents.

“Twice as much worrying? That baby akuma accidently smashed through my room and my dad freaked out. I was in the bathroom, which is the furthest from the skylight so I was fine. but Papa lost it, trying to break in and check on me. Which is fine, I get it. but after Scarlet Bug fixed everything, he came by to check if I was ok while Catseye went to go drop the baby off and my dad’s first reaction is that I’m dating Scarlet Bug! Do you have any idea how mortifying that is? The poor guy didn’t get a chance to explain before my dad tried inviting him to dinner with us.” Marinette went.

“Please, you think that’s bad? Reminder that my dad became akumatized to keep me from leaving.” Chloe threw in. “Your dad got akumatized because he thought you were dumped.”

“Seeing how my dad won’t even talk to me since I came out,” Marc said, “I wouldn’t be too mad about him getting akumatized because he didn’t want to see me hurt.”

“At least your mother wasn’t akumatized because she wants to control you.” Kagami said, taking a sip of tea.

“Or akumatized because she doesn’t enjoy being control.” Luka said.

Felix looked confused. “Is this what we do? Talk about being akumatized? Wait, have all of you been akumatized?”

“Pretty much. I think Marinette is the only person who hasn’t been akumatized. Just all her friends and family.” Nino said.

“Besides, we’ve realised that talking about what happened and remembering the emotions we felt is a reminder that it’s ok to feel that way. If Hawkmoth didn’t exist, we could feel that without consequences. Our reactions would be different. We have to remind ourselves that while we try to keep a check on our emotions to keep Hawkmoth from taking us over again, feeling what we felt is normal. And one day we can feel those emotions without worrying about the really bad consequences again.” Rose explained.

“I think there are some consequences you should still feel worried about.” Felix pointed out.

“So, what would be your trigger?” Markov asked, hovering over the mochi to keep Kim and Ivan from having too many.

“My trigger?”

“A lot of ours was Chloe. Chloe’s was Scarlet Bug believe it or not.” Alya said.

“Mine was a grown man who thought it was ok to threaten kids and act like a child. But got us a contract out of it.” Adrien said. “It doesn’t have to be anything big.”

Felix’s gaze went to his cup, clanging his ring against the ceramic. “My dad. But not his passing. It could have been, he died in an accident but that would have been my mom’s. she lost her sister and the love of her life within a month of each other. My trigger would have been my uncle not showing his face at the funeral, but expecting us to come to his house to mourn his wife. I loved my aunt, but why should my father’s passing be brushed off? I can’t talk about it with my mother and I don’t make friends easy. Most just want something because our family is rich, but I wanted to mourn and because of my uncle I can’t. he doesn’t even seem to understand why my mother wants the rings back.”

“Rings?” Adrien asked.

Felix messed with the ring on his finger. “because my aunt was older, she got the family rings. Used to be told stories about how they had special powers and for a kid who grew up with his father telling him about fae and calling his wife Titania the fairy queen, I liked those stories. After my aunt disappeared, my mom wanted a piece of her back and that piece was the ring. They used them as their wedding rings and he doesn’t seem to get why my mom wants them back. He’s mourned her by hiding away. My mother’s hid her mourning to take care of the company and me. She deserves that much.”

Adrien looked at the ring, as Felix continued to mess with it. it was slightly big, a bit faded but Felix handled it like it was the most important thing in the world. Probably because it belonged it to his father. The ring could have gone to Amelie but instead Felix had it, to remember his father because she had him. and all she wanted was a way to remember her sister. He got why Gabriel wanted to keep the ring if it was his only link to his wife, but he wasn’t the only one who lost her.

“I think you should steal it.” Kagami said. “he lives inside his home, rarely coming out. I’m sure he has other ways of remembering her. The rings don’t belong to him, they did to her and now to your mother. But if you want to avoid getting in trouble, maybe convince your mom to have him sit down and explain her side. Guilt could probably work too if she adds how she can’t grieve her family with nothing to hold onto.” The whole group stared at her. “What?”

“You, are a terrifying person. Look, the point is, you have every right to feel the way you do. Tell that to your mom so she can take care of it. and if that doesn’t work, maybe steal the ring, but only if you feel like he’s saying no to be an ass.” Adrien explained.

“So, steal as last resort?”

“The guy is friends with the mayor of Paris. Try not to get banned before we can hang out again?”

“Again?”

“Well yeah. We’re friends now, you’re stuck with us.”

Felix took in the mix of faces, all – including Chloe – giving him looks that all said they were telling the truth. His usual personality turned people away, but these people were fine with it. he looked at Adrien, a wilder copy of himself and realised his original plan to be an ass wasn’t going to work. They were too stubborn and honestly, it was just easier to give in.

Later on, the train, he watched his mother smile softly down at the ring in hand.

“I have to say, I’m surprised Gabriel was moved enough to give me the ring. I’m sorry I had to use your father as an in.”

“It’s fine. I’m just glad you have it now. Besides, it wasn’t mainly my idea. Got it from a friend.”

“A friend?” she asked with a smile on her face.

Looking at his reflection, he spun his father’s ring on his finger. “Yeah. My first actually.”

#adrien august #adrien augreste 2023

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miraculermarinette · 2 years

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It is so funny to see ML stans saying that the majority of the ml fandom isn’t sexist and racist and that salters are just overexaggerating things. It becomes even funnier when Adrien stans say that Adrien salters are reverse sexist and reverse racist towards Adrien, acting as if misandry and reverse racism actually exist a lot in society. All the examples given below can be compared to Marinette’s treatment in the show and fandom.

Do you know why ML and the ml fandom is considered sexist and racist? It’s because-

1. Males are worshipped by people while females are ignored. A male can do a small decent thing and keep getting praised for it while females can do thousands of acts of kindness and still not be appreciated. Isn’t this what’s happening in the ml fandom? People are still boasting about how Adrien picked up Master Fu’s stick while no one is talking about Marinette risking herself in front of a speeding car. Adrien did not sacrifice going to school by picking up Master Fu. Even if he didn’t, Nathalie can still go to the principal and get him out of class. Chat noir contributes the bare minimum in fights while Ladybug does all the work, but I don’t see many people praising LB for it, instead people are going on about and making gif sets of Chat noir doing stunts and fighting. The same applies to Luka and Kagami where Kagami is often bashed on while Luka is loved by more than half the fandom. Hmmm, wonder why the girls of color are underrated while the white boys are appreciated. (this isn’t Luka salt though. I love him)

Conclusion: Male worship is very popular in the ml fandom and the girls are often hated by the fans.

2. The redemption arc of Alec/ Chloe and Marinette/Adrien. Chloe, a 14 year old female was not redeemed but Alec, an adult male was redeemed in the show, someone who tried to trash a 14 yr old on live tv and made fun of his dream job. Similarly, both our main leads, Marinette and Adrien have problems. Marinette is very obsessive while Adrien is very pushy. But, Adrien who is a male, got to learn from his mistakes and change his actions while Marinette, a female, is still stuck in obsession since season 1. The development that she had in the beginning of the show was also thrown away to serve the plot and bcoz the writers are not creative enough to think of new ways for akumatizations. On top of it, Marinette salters and ml stans are okay with this discrimination because it gives them a reason to salt on Marinette.

Conclusion: Boys are allowed to grow and are redeemable but girls cannot change and are irredeemable. People are ok with shows being sexist as long as it gives them a reason to salt on them.

3. Fans not letting people discuss Marinette’s trauma because Adrien has suffered more. One thing I have seen happen everywhere is that Adrien stans always make a post about Marinette’s suffering about Adrien. They are not ok with people discussing anything besides Adrien and this comes off as pretty sexist. They don’t care about Marinette and her life. They just want to earn pity points for their male lead and do not want the female lead to get attention from the fans.

Conclusion: People don’t care about a girl’s experiences and trauma. Everything has to be about the male and males only.

4. Distribution of mistakes, akumatizations and consequences. A common pattern in the show is that it is always the girls who make the majority of the mistakes, cause the majority of the akumatizations and face consequences for the male leads. Meanwhile, the male leads make minority of the mistakes and their mistakes don’t have any real impact on the story, so they are excused by both the fandom and the narrative without facing consequences. A prime example is Volpina and Copycat, where both Adrien and Marinette made a mistake but Marinette still has to suffer and hated by the fandom while Adrien’s actions weren’t even acknowledged. Marinette has to apologize for things she didn’t even do. She has to make a mistake every episode. Adrien gets everything he wants.

Conclusion: Male leads are perfect and can’t make mistakes while females are the low life creatures who deserve to be punished. This is how the fandom and the show perceives them.

5. People wanting Marinette to be replaced by Luka and Adrien. Whenever someone brings up this argument, I can’t help but feel that they are incredibly sexist who cannot stand the female getting the spotlight. Adrien doesn’t deserve to be the main lead. He has to stay in his home all day long. What will we even see? Him practicing piano everyday? Marinette at least has a life. Do you really want to see Gabriel ranting to his wife’s corpse everyday and Nathalie simping for him to the point she ruins her health? Adrien doesn’t even contribut to the fights these days. Now, I hate the idea of Luka replacing Marinette as the guardian. Why is Marinette not worthy of being the guardian? Is it because she is not perfect and a nice guy tm and gary stu like Adrien? Just because girls can be more emotionally vulnerable than boys doesn’t mean they don’t deserve important positions. No one is taking the role of guardian away from her unless she wants that to happen.

Conclusion: People don’t want females having an important part in a story and want them replaced by boys specifically. I have not seen one person saying that Kagami should take the LB miraculous. It’s always the boys that deserve superpowers.

6. Females are expected to be the heart of the team. They are expected to bend to other’s wills and sacrifice their interests for others. They are supposed to be the supportive, kind and fragile creatures and should go along with whatever the males want while males can be and do whatever they feel like. They are free and will get no consequences and can never disappoint anyone. Stereotypes aren’t applied on males. They can display masculine as well as feminine qualities but women are not allowed to display masculine qualities like confidence and standing up for oneself. God, I hate this so much. And it’s actually true. Ladybug cannot be confident and independent without the fandom bashing her. Chat noir can be as harsh as he wants and can do anything. I guess in this world, only males have rights while females don’t. Remember when the fandom punished Ladybug for standing up for herself and demanding Chat noir to respect her personal space?

Conclusion: Females cannot stand up for themselves in this fandom and show without being humilated.

7. All the females are stereotypes of some kind and their entire character revolves around a male. Their character changes each episode to serve the plot while the boys are allowed to have consistent characters. Marinette’s entire character revolves around Adrien and we never see real friendship between her and her friends because they are always talk about each others’ love problems and love problems only. Kagami and Marinette’s character changes each episode to serve the plot and Adrien and the boys can have consistent characterization. Also, the boys are displayed as amazing, and sympathetically. Their feelings are validated by the narrative and are always the one in the right. The girls are portrayed as violent and embodiments of jealousy. Their feelings don’t matter more than the males. They are the ones in the wrong.

The girls (including two girls of color) are made to fight each other over a white boy and even try to ruin the other’s life. The boys don’t fight over a girl and can still be friends peacefully.

Conclusion: Girls have to be crazy over a boy and fight each other while boys can focus on other things and aspects of their characters that don’t revolve around their love interests.

And all of this is shown in a girl power show. Wow. Just wow.

These are all the examples I can think of right now. Feel free to add more points.

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itsmeevie01 · 4 years

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Bio!Dad Bruce Day 14-Gala (Part 1)

ummm hi? i just wanted to give yall a huge heads up that this IS part one of two, and part two will be added when i have time to go back and finish. both my computer and my phone are acting up, and my tablet has a faulty keyboard. that said, im going to work to get things back on track.

Two days after Christmas, the manor was buzzing with activity. The Kents had arrived the day before, and now everyone was prepping for the annual Winter Gala. Marinette was standing in her room, hands on her hips, glaring at her father as he tried to convince her that no, Marinette, the gala is not that big of a deal. down the hall, Tim and Damien helped Alfred sort through the myriad of suits and other formal wear that the siblings would be wearing the next night. Jason had left on ‘business’, while Dick was watching over the people brought into finish decorating for the occasion. Once the boys’ clothing had been sorted, Alfred moved on to check on Cass who had been studiously avoiding all activity related to the Gala.

In the Crewe Group Chat

Kim: Mari, when do you get back in town??

Chlo: M, there’s damage control to do, do you want me to wait for you?

Max: Marinette, you may want to check your Instagram. I know that you avoid social media in Gotham but…

Chlo: MARINETTE CHENG-WAYNE

Chlo: Pick up your phone

Chlo: MARI

Alix: Chloe, chill.

Alix: there’s only so much we can do if she’s busy today.

Kim: we need to take care of this somehow though.

Alix: do we have ANY OTHER WAY to contact m?

Adrien: why do I feel like I’m missing something very important?

Max: have you checked the news lately?

Adrien: I only really check AkumaWatch, why?

Max: check international news

Adrien: is… is this what I think it is? (Attached is a screenshot of international gossip. At the top of the page is a picture of two teens in hoodies moving away from an airport. They are dragging suitcases and have their heads down to avoid attention. The boy’s hood is thrown back, and his well-known blue eyes are glaring at the photographer. Above it is the title has Timothy Drake-Wayne finally found love? The second screenshot is from farther down the article where there is a picture of Cassandra Cain-Wayne, Damien Wayne and Marinette hurrying along a sidewalk completely bundled up. The caption reads could this be Tim Drake-Wayne’s mystery girl? Who is she?)

Chlo: YES

Chlo: and its gala day so she’s going to be busy af anyways.

Adrien: What do you mean its Gala day? There’s only one Gala today?

Chlo: Duh. Mari is going.

Chlo: Keep up, Adrikins.

Alix: oh god

Alix: does anyone know how her dress turned out? She had been freaking out about it last I heard, and we all know how much M puts by first impressions.

Adrien: Ok, I’m still really confused? There’s only one Gala today? The Wayne Winter Charity Gala, which is really exclusive and a huge to-do? What Gala is Marinette going to???

Nino: dude

Nino: please

Nino: don’t be oblivious.

Mari: what did I miss?

Chlo: DID YOU SEE THE NEWS?????

Mari: um…yes? Jason has been having a ball with all the press. Why?

Chlo: I thought you were trying to be low key?

Mari: tonight

Chlo: IM SORRY??? WHY AM I ONLY HEARING ABOUT THIS NOW????

Alix: well, it’s a good thing you have so many influential friends who keep ending up at the same Galas as you, Mari

Adrien: ok, I’m still confused

Chlo: your going to the Winter Gala, right?

Adrien: yeah? We go every year. The only entertaining part is the fact that the Wayne kids always fight. Otherwise it’s all snobby rich people.

Chlo: I’m taking offence to that, since Alix and I have also been going for years.

Alix: seconded

Mari: to be fair, you both tend to hide away and prank people

Adrien: wait. That was you two?

Adrien: And Marinette, how do you know that?

Mari: omg

Mari: I give up sdjkgb

Class Group Chat

Lila: guys! My friend reached out to me…

Alya: wait! Which friend? Is it…?

Lila: yes! Its Maralynn! She’s sooooo excited about her family Gala tonight!

Alix: Maralynn?

Lila: ok, you didn’t hear it from me, but that mystery girl? Seen at the airport with THE Tim Wayne? That’s her! They’re actually twins!

Chloe: oh! That means that Alix, Adrien and I will see her tonight! Its so cool that she trusts you not to reveal who she is…. (:

Marinette: lol isn’t Twitter convinced that she’s dating Tim? AWKWARD

Lila: Maralynn told me that it wasn’t worth it to go after the rumors. I’m trying to respect her decision.

Rose: that’s so sweet, Lila! I didn’t know that you knew the Waynes!

Lila: I don’t know ALL of them, just Maralynn! We were at boarding school together in Italy for a few years.

Marinette: OH WOW

Nino: Chloe, Alix, your going to have to tell us what you think of her?

Lila: oh yes! And if you see my boyfriend, send my love!

Chloe:…BOYFRIEND???

Lila: oh? You didn’t know? Tim and I have had a thing for a while

Marinette: oh really? Chloe, you’ll have to pass on that she’s thinking of him tonight!

Lila: I mean… not if you don’t want to! I wouldn’t want to be a bother on GALA night!

Chloe: if I see him, it won’t be a bother at all Lila!

Marinette shook her head and set her phone down as the class chat continued to blow up. As much as she loved Chloe, she knew that the girl was instigating Lila for fun. When everything blew up, Marinette wanted to be able to stand back and watch the fire burn, but not be close enough to get burned. When she turned in her room, the garment bag in the corner caught her eye. Inside, Marinette knew, was a long black dress. When she had run the design past Alfred, the English man had given her an approving nod. Later, she had heard him mentioning to her father that at least one of his myriad of children would be able to dress themselves. The comment had made the teen giggle and she had made sure to put every effort she could into the gown. More than anything, she wanted to make her family proud. A knock on the door drew her attention and she turned to find Cass standing there, her own gown held in its own garment bag.

“get ready? Together?” the noirette lit up at her older sister’s suggestion and she nodded excitedly. The other girl moved into the room and hung the bag in her arms over the wardrobe next to Marinette’s. after she had deposited her shoes, the older teen turned to her sister and smiled.

By the time that Tim came to check on them, both girls had finished their Makeup and were working on hair. The makeup artist that Bruce had hired was packing up her stuff and the hair stylist was partway through Cass’s hair. Marinette turned towards her brother with a smile from where she was standing in front of the hidden dresses. “lend me a hand?” He smirked at the frustration on her face.

“Gladly, Little Bit. Which one is yours?” when the girl nodded to the larger of the two bags, Tim frowned. “how big exactly is your dress?”

“Big enough for me to need help getting it on. Its not that it’s exactly heavy either! Its just…poofy?” he laughed at Marinette’s rush to explain and helped her pull the bag off of the dress. When the dress was no longer hidden, his breath caught. The black dress was stunning. He could see where it moved from black to grey to blue at the bottom, and the long full sleeves followed the same style. Hanging on the hanger behind the dress was a black hoop, and a pair of low heels (as tall as Bruce would allow, actually. He had to remind her ten times that although this was a high society event, she was still 14, and didn’t need to be dressing like she was 20.) sat under the layers of the dress. Where he had been expecting glitter and sparkles, Tim was surprised to find that the satin was free of almost anything that glittered.

“wow” Marinette laughed at his reaction and reached for the hoop.

“I know, right? It took forever, but its totally worth it! And, it’s the designers first attempt at this kind of formal. I think she did a great job.” Tim paused at that.

“LB, hey,” his sister tensed at the abbreviation for her nickname before she turned to him. “who exactly designed your dress?”

“Oh, just a small up and coming designer. You wouldn’t have heard of her.” Cass sniggered from her spot by the vanity and Marinette shot their sister a smile. “ok! Let me get the slip on, and then after the hoop is on top, ill need your help with making sure the skirt fits right.”

Marinette would not be over exaggerating if she said that the red carpet was incredibly chaotic. The only thing she could think of that was more chaotic was perhaps the last time Jagged had held a concert in Paris. After she had made it through the gaggle of reporters and the public (was that Mr. Kent, SUPERMAN, she saw standing in the crowd calling out questions? Dam that man was everywhere.) the teen dropped her purse, that held an extra set of shoes, in her seat. The rest of the family wouldn’t be in for a bit. Her father, Dick, and Damien would all be in the receiving line Alfred would be behind the scenes all night, and Tim was already striking up discussions with business partners. Cass was on the other side of the room, looking stunning in her deep blue dress. When her sister had approached her, through her website, about the dress the teen had squealed at the idea of designing the close-fitting dress for her only sister. A Blonde caught her eye and pulled the noirette out of her thoughts. The familiar girl who was making her way over had abandoned her trademarked blues and yellows in favor of a deep red that matched the garnets littering her jewelry. A few steps behind her was another teen close to Marinette’s age with a pink pixie cut slicked down. The other teen was wearing a suit that had perfect tailoring…actually, that was Marinette’s suit. The girl laughed as Chloe and Alix joined her, the shortest of the three standing in the middle to draw attention to her suit.

As the girls caught up, they scanned the ballroom. On the other side, Tim was starting to look frazzled, while Marinette thought she saw Jason slip in past one of the servers. opposite them, Damien and Dick were starting to mingle while Bruce moved to greet the Kents. As she swept her gaze over the room, Marinette blinked. There, looking straight at her was-

“oh no, its Adrien. Chloe I love you and all, but if that boy causes a scene tonight…” Chloe waved away Alix’s worries.

“I already told him to be on his best behavior. I am personally more interested in when Felix will get here. For all his big talk about transferring to a private school in Paris, I won’t believe it until the brat comes to see me.” The group stifled their laughter at Chloe’s put out response.

“as long as he doesn’t come over asking about everything going on, we should be good.” Marinette nodded at Alix’s statement on Adrien.

Look for Part 2 soon! if yall have any thoughts, i’d LOVE to hear them, since i have the basic plot down and im fleshing it out now...

#b!dbwm2020 #ml x dc #maribat #bio!dad bruce wayne month 2020 #marinette dupen chang #My writing #oops it hapened again

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heyitsbugette · 4 years

Text

The Clique AU ─ ✦ Chapter 1 。

Masterlist.

✦Past.

✦Next.

There were certain instances in which the food chain of teen society seemed somewhat fictional to Miss Bustier’s class. In Françoise Dupont seemed not to have a kingdom, no one to lead the top and be a leader… How wrong they were.

The reason why ‘the akuma class’ were not socially despised by the rest of the student body due to it’s infamous reputation, was for certain people of great influence and popularity among the masses. Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The high school’s sunshine and their adorable Everyday Ladybug.

Both a powerful duo that kept Hawkmoth’s favorite group protected by the only privilege of being their friends, the one who unknowingly harbored the heroes of Paris under their cloak.

The eagerness, the subtlety and even the perversity. With grace, the petite darling walked, everyone knew how her walk shouted royalty, her bi-racial features made her even more attractive… And her kindness? Extra points that fueled her charisma. Marinette of course knew how to play her cards, and so she was able to protect Bustier’s class for so long even when the: 'Hawkmoth’s favorite childs’ title rise. However, seems people are ungrateful.

When Lila accused her of cheating on the exam, and not content with that blaming her as a thief was the same moment the sweet girl wounded by betrayal would become the executioner who would pull the rope that takes them to their execution. Even worse when the liar not only satisfied by framing her, had the audacity to accuse her of bullying.

──── Marinette, I’m really… disappointed in you, girl. I thought I knew you better! I made myself think that you were the compassionate and kind type, but you turned out to be… Just a fake and jealous, and I refuse myself to be manipulated by you anymore.

Excuse moi? But who Alya Césaire think she is to insult her like that? Confused, the half chinese still hoped to be mistaken, to have heard wrong and give the benefit of the doubt to the girl who considered a close friend, even a sister. But it was true, those words came from the lips dyed by an opaque pink lipstick.

How hard she wanted to hear those words by an hallucination by over drinking too much coffee in a long night of work. She still wanted to believe in them, that they would have enough common sense to realize the shit that was coming out of Lila’s mouth were a buch of lies. But it was not like that, seems that life hate her for even suggest it, and mock her naivety.

She took the message when her design notebook full of works and commissions for her portfolio for university was destroyed into ashes in front of her eyes, of course the lovesick jock did it, as everyone smiled amused waiting to see her fall. Oh, no~ darling. A queen does not cry for simple peasants. They decided to be blinded by a fake golden ticket? Go ahead, try to attack her! The trial would start right now, just you wait.

──── Marinette, just stop. You’re demonizing a such a sweet girl over a boy, that’s pathetic.

──── How disappointed…

──── Marinette, she’s not hurting anybody. Just get along and let her be, we agree to take the high road.

──── Adrien likes her better, just move on... But to be honest, I can see why.

──── We don’t associate with bullies.

Those comments hurt her so much she cried on her pillow, thinking on how much she did for them while they take her for granted. Like a tissue, used. Hateful notes on her locker, vandalizing her property, insolating her from school parties and events while Bustier nor even blank an eye to her. Shaming those people in the classroom like Rose who wanted to talk to her, only for heard a poor excuse to save face to the mob.

────I-I just wanted to place a little sense into her.

Bullshit.

For days the ice law separated the young Dupain so much from the rest of the group, was such a disappointment for her when she expected for them to give her the benefit of the doubt, considering how much time she knows and grew up to trust them. Worse when even Nino and Kim, her childhood friends turned against her, who in their naivety were still waiting for her to apologize to them for treating Lila badly. The nerve.

And, well… Nobody can say she did not cared enough for warned them about the consequences.

Taglist:

Sorry if It's not that good, I'm quite bad at introductions, but I'm working on the best parts at the moment ;;; plus, I'm writting to improve my english, so If anyone catch some grammar mistakes or something like that, please correct me.

I will appreciate it.

@tazanna-blythe

@impossiblyfadingmentality

@elmokingkong

@vixen-uchiha

@schrodingers25

@unabashedbookworm

@emeraldpuffguide

#ml salt #alya salt #lila salt #class salt #mlsquad #The clique AU #Mean Girls MLB AU #Marinette deserves better #marinette is done #the clique

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chocoluckchipz · 3 years

Text

A Soulmate for Christmas - 3

< Previous

"Dupain-Cheng. We need to talk."

Marinette stopped breathing, sinking deeper under the desk.

Chloe groaned and took a few steps away. "Don't make me get down there and drag you out. And next time, make sure you aren't hiding right in front of a mirror. Be thankful I didn't out you to Adrien."

Marinette glared at her reflection peeking out from a corner of the mostly covered mirror she’d failed to notice.

"I suppose you want my gratitude for your generosity?" she huffed, climbing out of her hiding spot to face her old nemesis.

"I’ll do without, but let’s make one thing clear—I did it for Adrien, not you."

"Oh really? I fail to see how this benefits him since, you know, he wanted to find me."

Chloe smirked and looked Kagami’s way. Marinette followed her gaze, only now noticing how intently Kagami was watching her.

"So, this is her?"

"Unfortunately."

Matching smirks on their lips, Kagami’s eyes held restrained curiosity. Chloe’s? Disbelief.

Marinette could feel the weight of their judgement increase with each passing second. She scoffed. This crap was tiring to deal with back in the lycée. Now it wasn’t even worth the fight. "Listen, I doubt either of you want me to come in and mess up whatever thing you three have going on, so how about you tell Adrien you mistook me for someone else, the waitress he spoke to was not Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and we all walk our separate ways?"

Kagami folded her arms over her chest, arching an eyebrow. "What about Adrien?"

"What about him?"

"He’s your soulmate."

"He’s engaged to you."

"Did you hear anything we said here?"

"Didn’t have much of a choice."

"Then, you’re aware that we’re faking it. There is nothing but friendship between us."

"So I’ve heard."

"And you still want to walk away?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"She’s always been weird," Chloe snipped. "Adrien deserves better."

Marinette scoffed. "No one deserves a soulmate who humiliates them in front of the whole country."

"You can’t really pick your soulmate, you know," Kagami said.

"But I can walk away from one who respects neither me nor our bond. Fake or not, he chose to be with you. I’m not going to interfere. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back work."

Kagami grabbed Marinette’s hand before she could take a step. "You don’t understand. It’s not something he’s doing because he doesn’t respect or want you. Adrien’s practically saving my life with this, risking everything he ever wanted to do so."

Marinette almost laughed. "How is fake dating saving your life, Mlle Tsurugi? Fake dating is for fiction, a good book for a lonely evening or a movie to laugh with friends about. In the real world, in our modern society, it's irrelevant. And especially for someone as powerful and influential as you. You don't need to fake date. You can just say a word and all your problems will float away."

Kagami’s grip on Marinette’s hand tightened as she seethed through her teeth. "You have no idea what you’re talking about."

"Oh, don’t I? I’ve spent enough years in the same class with Chloe to see how people in your circle solve their problems."

"You shouldn’t put everyone in the same basket." Chloe stepped in, wrapping her arm around Kagami’s shoulder. She leaned closer to Kagami, their cheeks starting to glow at the contact, Kagami’s with a bee mark, Chloe’s with a dragon.

To say Marinette was surprised was an understatement.

"Just because we live in different circles doesn’t mean our lives are easy or that our problems always go away with a snap of our fingers," Chloe continued. "If you want to think of me like that, fine. Whatever. But not Adrien and certainly not Kagami."

"I still fail to see the reason why someone would need to fake date."

Before Chloe could start talking, Kagami cut her off with a wave of her hand. "Marinette, would you mind hearing me out? If you still want to walk away after what I have to tell you, neither of us will stop you."

Perhaps, this was the quickest way to get this over with. Maybe, she was curious herself as to what was going on between the three of them. Whatever it was, Marinette pulled up a chair, sat down and waited.

Kagami settled on a couch while Chloe leaned on its arm. "I was born and raised in Japan in a very conservative family where traditions were the law and whoever broke them was excommunicated forever. When I was fifteen, my mother and I moved to France, and I got to know the more liberal approach to life the French follow. I met Adrien through our parents’ business dealings. We became friends, and for the first time ever, someone could understand me, the life I was living, and the feelings I was suppressing. He wasn’t in any better of a situation at the time, but at least I was allowed to attend a private school. Adrien was kept locked inside his mansion. Later, I met Chloe and discovered the soulmate bond we shared. I was happy for the first time in my life. That is until my mother decided I had to marry one of her business partners’ sons for the sake of the family’s interests."

"A much older male," Chloe scoffed, scratching her nose. "Disgusting."

"Fifteen years older," Kagami confirmed. "And he lives in Japan which meant I would be forced to move back and lose not only my friends but also my soulmate. I would be expected to be an obedient, silent wife for the rest of my life, confined to looking after the house and birthing as many children as my husband wished."

"Ridiculous!" Chloe huffed. "Utterly ridiculous."

Kagami patted Chloe’s hand in a comforting gesture. "Perhaps if I’d never moved to France I would have gone along with her plans without complaining. However, after I had a taste of freedom and saw how happy I can be, I knew I couldn’t give up all of this. Give up Adrien and Chloe. Give up my dreams for the future. So, I panicked and said I was already secretly dating someone and didn’t tell her only because I wanted to make sure it was serious. Mother would’ve never agreed to let me stay if that person wasn’t from her list of approved potential spouses. A list made up of very influential and wealthy people. Adrien was one of them."

"He’s on the list of every Parisian mother." Chloe huffed. "Sucks to be him."

"I couldn’t say Chloe’s name," Kagami continued. "Mother isn't against same-sex relationships, but she considers them just ‘practice’ for the ‘real ones’ because, apparently, I need a man as a life partner."

"As I said, ridiculous."

"So, I said Adrien’s name, then begged him to play along. We never thought it would get out of our circle. We even developed a plan for how to get me out unscathed and free. Adrien and I were supposed to only play a couple until my birthday in November when I became a legal adult by Japanese law. When that happened, I started transferring my funds to accounts my mother had no access to so I could walk away freely. But that takes time, and two weeks ago she found out and demanded an explanation for the transactions. She threatened to send me back to Japan immediately if she didn’t approve of what I had in mind. The transfers weren’t done yet and she had enough influence to stop it.

"I freaked out again and said Adrien and I were getting married, so I was gathering my personal funds into my own account that I planned to join with my husband’s after the wedding. I told her we were waiting for a special occasion to announce the engagement. She wasn’t buying it. She gave me a week to prove my words. She put a hold on all the transfers until then. It was Adrien who suggested we take it to the media. That way, she wouldn't doubt us, and she’d be somewhat pressured to let me stay in France, at least for the time being. Once the article was out, my mother released the funds, and as of last night, I’m a free woman.

"No one was ever going to announce an engagement. My things are being packed as we speak while my mother and I are out of the house. I won’t be going home with her. I’m moving in with Chloe, and, thanks to Adrien, I’m not doing so without a penny to my name. Adrien never meant to hurt you. He never looked any other woman's way. All he wanted was to help a friend."

There wasn’t much Marinette could do but remain frozen in her seat, stunned at Kagami’s words. Her defences down, she hated to admit that everything Kagami had said made sense. There was a reason. A reason good enough to justify this whole thing. She couldn't hold this against Adrien. Heck, if any of Marinette’s friends were in Kagami’s shoes, she’d be fake proposing to them too. So, if everything that Kagami had told her was true, then…

"Marinette," Kagami spoke more gently, watching her with a lot less hostility. "For as long as I’ve known Adrien, every summer, every vacation he got, he was travelling to Milan, attending every fashion show and just wandering the streets in hopes of finding you. He painted over and publicly revealed his soulmate mark only because he’s desperate at this point. His father’s been pressuring him to date for publicity for years. He gave him a break when he thought we were a couple, but that ends tonight. And let me tell you, Gabriel Agreste is not the person to care for Adrien’s feelings and desires. He’ll make his life a living hell if Adrien continues to refuse to comply. Please, Marinette. Give him a chance. He deserves it."

"I’m giving him your number as a Christmas present tomorrow," Chloe spoke up. "You have until then to think about it. Let’s go, Kagami. It’s time to set Adrien free and show the world who your soulmate truly is."

"Right." Kagami stood up, giving Marinette one last glance. "The choice is yours, but you’d be a fool to walk away from a man like him. They don’t come as kind, loyal and loving as he is these days."

The door behind the pair closed, leaving only the sound of Marinette’s heart echoing in her ears. She could hardly move. If everything she’d just learned was true, she owed Adrien an apology and, if he wanted one, she owed him a chance. Because while she would definitely want a chance with the man Kagami had just described, she had to wonder if she deserved one at all.

With a sigh, she stood up and headed back towards the kitchen.

Later. She’d find him later. First, she had a job to finish and sweets to serve. The rest would have to wait. They’d waited for years. What would be another few hours?

Next >

Read it on A03 FF.net WattPad

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#miraculous ladybug #adrienette #soulmates #adrinette #fluff #light angst #misunderstanding #happy end #aged up #no magic au #soulmate marks

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p-artsypants · 3 years

Text

I’ll Handle This (4)

In Which Gabriel and Plagg Argue

“I’ll solve all your problems,” Plagg had said. “You just have to agree to it.” A fixed relationship with his father, Lila to stop bothering him, and Ladybug to fall in love with him? Who wouldn’t agree to that?

Except Plagg was the God of Destruction and Chaos and had a more…hands-on approach. Adrien just wants his body back.

Ao3 | FF.net

After the shopping trip, the teens walked back to the school together, and then separated.

“Ugh, walking is exhausting.” Plagg groaned.

“You’re using my muscles, you know.” Adrien spoke, poking out of the pocket. “I don’t usually walk this much, since my bodyguard drives me everywhere.”

“Well, then I’m sure this is good for you.” Plagg stomped in big steps. “But I haven’t used legs since the last time I switched with a wielder, so I get to complain.”

“I think by that logic, you don’t get to complain, because you usually get to float. And not going to lie…it’s pretty sweet.”

“Just wait until you start floating in your sleep, and then you phase through the ceiling and then keep going and end up in space.”

Adrien froze, staring up at his own face from the pocket. “That can happen?”

“Oh yes. Good luck sleeping tonight!”

Not too much longer, Plagg arrived back at the Agreste manor.

He could feel Adrien shaking in his pocket. “What’s up, Bub?”

“My father is going to be waiting for you. I just know it. He’s going to yell and threaten to pull you out of school—“

“What, like he did this morning? Relax. There’s plenty of windows in the mansion.”

But Adrien came spiraling out of the shirt to look Plagg in the eyes. “But I don’t want you to break anymore windows! I don’t want you to make my father angry anymore! You’re hurting him!”

Plagg gave him a hard look. “Is that what you think, Adrien? That your disobedience hurts him?”

“Why else would he be mean? He loves me...”

Plagg reached up and scratched his ears. “Of course he does, kid. But...sometimes, in people like your dad, love isn’t the strongest motivator. I know it is with you. Love is about the only thing that controls you. Your love for your friends, for your family, your city, for Ladybug...that all drives your decisions.”

Adrien was quiet as he agreed.

“But for people like your father, they’re driven by power. They base decisions on what will make them look good and get more respect. He does love you, Adrien, but he wants your unconditional loyalty. He doesn’t want you to question him, or to disagree with him, because you’re his son. He made you, and you’re half of him. So if anyone is to be completely submitted to his will, it’s you.”

Adrien frowned. “I don’t believe that. I think...I think he’s just scared. Of losing me, that is. Like we lost mom. So he keeps me restricted.”

“But he’s always treated you like this, even before you lost your mom.”

Adrien had no argument to that, and just slowly lowered himself into Plagg’s hands.

“Just think about it. I’ll do all the talking, you just listen and see.”

“Okay.”

Plagg tucked him back into the pocket, before approaching the gate and ringing the doorbell.

The camera didn’t even come out, the gate just opened.

It felt like walking into a hell mouth.

Inside, Gabriel stood at the bottom of the stairs, with his arms crossed. Next to him, Nathalie stood with her own arms crossed. And next to her stood Lila, with her arms also crossed.

Plagg couldn’t help but snicker. They looked like three Russian puzzle dolls. Would Lila pop open and show another smaller, angrier creature?

“What’s so funny?” Demanded Gabriel. “Where have you been?”

“Chill man, I was out with my friends.”

“And spending my money?”

“You literally let me spend whatever money I want. I just usually never have anything I want to buy. I treat my friends to a nice lunch and it’s the end of the world?”

Gabriel sniffed, “you obviously can’t see that your so-called ‘friends’ are only hanging around you because of our wealth. I disprove of the company you keep, especially Mr. Lahiffe—“

“Why?”

“You don’t get to question my authority.”

“I’m just honestly curious as to why you don’t like them. I don’t buy stuff for my friends, despite what you think. Nino is a really good friend and a nice person. He doesn’t get in trouble, and his grades are pretty good. So what’s up?”

“I simply don’t care for his plebeian attitude.”

Plagg scoffed. “Plebeian?! Excuse me, what century is this again? Are we nobles or something I didn’t know about?” He pitched his voice high to have a ‘proper’ voice. “Oh yes Martha, we shan’t have our child run around with the rift raft in the fields. He must get a proper education so he may marry his cousin, have a child with three eyes, and die at the ripe old age at 26!”

“Adrien!” Gabriel yelled. “How dare you mock me!”

“Then stop talking like a 17th century noble! We have money, but high society never did anyone favors! You just sound like an old idiot! An old, out of touch, insensitive idiot!” Then he pointed at Lila. “And if you want to talk about people taking advantage of us, why don’t you turn yourself 90 degrees that-a-way to grill this blood sucking parasite.”

“On the contrary,” Gabriel interrupted. “Miss Rossi only has your best interests at heart, which is why she came here and told me all about your little charade you put on during school today. You assaulted your bodyguard!”

“He’s fine.”

“Whether or not he’s fine is beside the point, Adrien. I hired him to protect you, and you attack him?”

“He wasn’t protecting me. He was trying to kidnap me! I wanted to be at school!”

“Well naughty children don’t get to do what they want to do!”

“Do you want me to be happy or stupid?!”

“No! Wait—“

“Ah ha!” Plagg pointed. “You just want me to be miserable!”

Gabriel flared his nostrils. “Stop trying to twist my words. The fact remains that you have been completely out of control these last few days, and I have no choice but to discipline you accordingly. From now on, you will have no contact with these teenagers that are encouraging you to behave like this monster. Instead, you will only be allowed to interact with Miss Rossi at photo shoots.”

Plagg saw the corner of the man’s mouth curve up. Check mate, the gesture said.

Time to take it up a notch.

“I’m not sure the best way to handle this situation, so I’ll handle it the way Chloe would.” He laid down on the floor and began to kick and scream. “DADDY! DADDY I HATE HER! FIRE HER AT ONCE!!”

“If you don’t stop this tantrum this instant, you’re being pulled out of school.”

“Ha!” He laughed, still from the floor. “I’ll just reenroll! I broke one window getting out the first time, there’s not a lock in this earth that can hold me, old man.”

“Adrien, go to your room.”

“Make me.”

“You’re angering me, and you won’t like me when I’m angry.”

“I don’t like you now.”

“This attitude of yours is disrespectful, disgusting, immature, and embarrassing. I raised you better than—“

“Are you done?” Plagg asked, scratching his ear. “Because you just keep talking. That’s all you do. This gaslighting is getting really old. I know I’m acting immature, that’s the whole thing. Pointing it out just makes you look stupid. Are you going to hit me or something?”

“I’m not going to hit you, Adrien.”

“Huh. Didn’t know you had it in you.”

Gabriel frowned. “You really think I would hit you?”

“You’ve already hit emotional and verbal abuse, I assumed that was the next step.”

“I am not abusive! I am strict, but I only have your best interests at heart.”

“Right, like making me schmooze with Miss Sausage Hair here?”

“Hey!” Lila cried.

“Oh shut up, you’re plenty at fault here too.”

“That’s it. Adrien, you’re grounded. No phone, no computer, no tv, no video games, and no school.”

“So you want me to just sit in my room and stare out the window? Or are you going to board those up too?”

“There’s plenty of books for you to read. Books that will hopefully change your mind about this rebellious streak.”

“Until when?”

“Until I say so!”

“Cool. I quit modeling.”

“WHAT!?”

“You heard me. I quit modeling. Or you can fire Lila and unground me. Your choice, Gabe.”

Gabriel ground his teeth as Lila just stood there in shock.

“I’ll give you some time to think about it.” Plagg cracked his neck. “I’ve got homework to do.”

“But—“

“Ah ah ah,” Plagg held up a hand. “Talk to the hand, cause the face ain’t listening.” He skipped up the stairs, and out of the lobby.

Gabriel simmered in rage, feeling the control which had been so firmly in his hands slip away.

“Mr. Agreste—“ Lila began.

“No.” He interrupted. “I need some time to think. Keep your eye on Adrien and let me know exactly what he’s up to, who he’s with, what he’s doing. You do this, and I will reward you greatly.”

“Of course, Mr. Agreste.”

—

As soon as Plagg closed the bedroom door, Adrien spiraled out of his pocket.

“Hey kid, I know that was rough...”

“Rough?! No kidding! You’re a monster! How could you talk to my father like that!? How could you insinuate that he would hit me? And you got me grounded and pulled from school! You quit modeling!”

“Honestly Adrien, I thought he might hit me. His anger reflects violence. You see it too.”

Adrien rubbed his paws over his cheeks, trying to stop the tears.

“Come on kid, it’s for the best.” And he reached out for him.

But Adrien darted away. “I’m going to see Tikki! I need comfort from someone that’s not trying to ruin my life!”

Before Plagg could protest, Adrien had flitted out the window and into the streets.

The sun was setting, and traffic was dwindling, as working folks made their way home.

Finding Marinette’s house was a matter of finding the school, and then going from there, while sticking to the shadows and staying high enough away from straying eyes.

When he reached her balcony, he loitered at the window, trying to figure out how to phase in. Then he wondered if he should even bother. Tikki might scold him for leaving Plagg. Or maybe she’d laugh at him for being upset. She was millennia old too. His problems probably would sound trivial to her as well.

Eventually, he just knocked.

Marinette answered, a grave look on her face. “Plagg? What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Is Chat okay?”

“He’s fine.” Adrien sniffed. “Can I talk to Tikki please?”

Shocked by his politeness and shy demeanor, she blinked twice and answered, “Uh, sure.”

Tikki appeared then, looking at him with concerned eyes.

“I’ll just leave you two alone then,” Marinette stated, closing the window.

“Adrien? What’s wrong?”

It all came out of him then. “He’s a monster!” Adrien blubbered. “He’s ruining everything and making it all worse! I don’t know how to stop him! But my father is done with me and is going to pull me out of school! Plagg keeps acting like it’s no big deal, but he doesn’t understand! He’s just treating this like a big game!”

To his relief, Tikki hugged him tightly. “Oh Adrien. Plagg means well, I promise. His methods don’t make much sense, but they do produce results. It’ll be alright.”

Adrien just sniffed, taking comfort from the hug. “I feel so helpless. I can’t do anything without outing myself as Chat Noir, and that’s the last thing I need...unless Plagg beats me to it. I know everyone is suspicious of him. This is a nightmare.”

“I’ll talk to him when I get a chance,” promised Tikki. “He does mean well, I promise. But this is your life, and making you watch him work is torture.”

“Exactly! Tikki you understand! If he does pull this off, I will thank him, but like...what if it doesn’t work? He acts like humans are so predictable and easy to manipulate, but even with all his life and experiences, he can’t account for everything. I’m worried he’s being too cocky.”

Tikki petted his head. “Plagg can get over his head sometimes. He’s lazy and stubborn, but that just makes him ridiculously creative. Some of his attempts may fail, but I really think you just have to trust that he’s in control.”

“I know, I know, and in my head, I know he’s doing this for me. I know he doesn’t want to be in my body, and I know he’s crazy smart…but I feel…betrayed? Scared? I don’t know what I’m feeling.”

“Unstable.” Tikki provided. “Because you have no control over your life.”

He frowned, holding onto his tail.

“But, from what Plagg has told me, you didn’t have much control of it before either.”

He rubbed a paw against his cheek. “Sadly, no. I didn’t.”

The trap door opened again, and Marinette peeked her head out. She placed a plate with a cheese danish on it on the ground nearby. “Anything I can do?”

Tikki answered for him, only slightly lying, “sometimes Plagg gets emotional when he thinks about past holders that we lost tragically. He said Chat was busy and he didn’t want to bother him.”

“Oh Plagg, I’m so sorry.”

Adrien rubbed his eyes with his paws again. He may not be in his body, but he did feel a little embarrassed to be crying in front of his crush.

“Say Marinette, now that you’re the guardian, it would be really helpful if you could comfort him.”

“Me? I...I guess. What do I do?”

“Just do what feels right.”

Adrien floated a little closer to her, desperate for her affection, but hesitant to take it for himself.

She cupped him in her hands, cradling him, holding him, cocooning him with her skin. She brought him up to her face, leaving a lingering kiss right between his ears, then caressed him to her cheek, her fingers encircling him in a hug.

A stray finger itched the back of his head, sending tingles all the way down to his tail and making him purr.

This was heavenly. Her scent surrounded him, dulling his senses and calming his tears.

“It’s okay.” She said softly. “It’s alright to be sad. Things will get better.”

Her words soothed the day's pain, and he really did feel more optimistic. He could do anything with Ladybug’s support.

Finally, he pressed a little kiss to her cheek and allowed her to pull away. “Thank you Marinette. I do feel a lot better now.”

Her smile was so warm and so wonderful, he could stare at her all day.

But an Akuma alert had to go and ruin the whole thing.

“You better get back to Chat! If you need more comfort, come back tonight after patrol!”

“Thanks Marinette! Save that Danish for me!” And he rushed off back to the mansion.

#ml #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #adrien and plagg #plagg #adrienette #marinette dupain cheng #chat noir #ladybug #gabriel agreste #identity reveal #body swap #fanfiction #I'll handle this

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milknette · 4 years

Text

day 31 - dealer’s choice (christmas)

i just wanna keep on waiting, underneath the mistletoe.

tumblr month: @auyeahaugust

links: ao3 | ff.net

LADYBUG is the only one he's excited to see again.

It's understandable though, since he hadn't wanted to go to the Christmas party in the first place. As his father was busy planning for his trip abroad, it had fallen upon Adrien to spend time and speak with adults who really only cared about him because of his family's wealth and stature.

They're all sickly-sweet and overly-kind to him, though it's intensely clear that if he were anything other than an Agreste, they'd never even give him the time of day.

(It's exhausting to spend time with people who don't even really see you, after all.)

The last straw, however, is when he speaks with a particularly snooty lady who corners him to talk about fashion. The conversation is halfway decent, until she brings up the feathered hat in Gabriel Agreste's newest collection— one she says is, verbatim, "the worst thing she's ever seen featured in a runway," and that "it was clear a high schooler was the one who made it."

Adrien surprises both himself and the lady when he answers back.

"Actually," he starts. "That hat is an inspired and unique work that even my father was in awe of. She may only be a high schooler, but her sense of fashion and style has grown so far past that." Adrien looks at his conversational partner's outfit, then pauses. "And that's one thing about her that… not everyone can say about themselves."

The woman splutters, mutters a few words about disrespect and how his father will hear about this, as she almost stomps away from him.

It's weird that he doesn't feel that bad about it.

"You're going to get in so much trouble for that," someone suddenly speaks up, hands haughtily folded in front of her chest. Beside her is another girl, who stands much more calmly but holds the same level of intimidation.

"That was in poor character for you Adrien," she steps in, eyes still the slightest bit wider from surprise. "I had never expected such behavior to come from you," she continues, then slightly tilts her head to her partner. "I mean, I'd expect it from Chloé, but I thought you'd be able to control yourself better."

Ignoring the indignant 'hey!' from the blonde, Kagami looks at him in worry. "What did she say to you?"

"Just… she said something wrong," he finally replies. "And I corrected her."

"We're not here to correct people, Adrikins," Chloé points out. "We're here to listen and agree and make sure they still want to work with our parents."

Adrien sighs. She's right.

"It's not too late to apologize," Kagami says. "We cannot be any less than the perfect children anyone expects of us."

A brief silence encompasses the three, as the weight of the words crush upon them. It isn't easy being in their position; to always have to watch their behavior, growing up quickly in the elite circles of high society. It's strict and limiting, and Adrien can't imagine not having Chat Noir to let him freely express and be his true self.

He misses staying inside the suit more than he does outside of it.

Or maybe he just misses the girl he sees when he's in the feline's costume.

He knows what she'd do if she were in his position.

"I stand by what I said," Adrien finally says, somewhat determined. "She said something bad about a friend, and I'm not sorry for protecting her." He pauses, then adds as an afterthought: "It's what she would do."

Kagami looks shocked, but nods slowly. "An honorable choice."

"You're going to regret it," Chloé only says, though he can see the hint of a smile on her face. "But I think your superhero crush would be proud of you for doing it."

As if perfectly on cue, an all-too-familiar figure steps through the entrances of the hallway.

Dressed in her token red suit and mask, Ladybug comes in, an awkward (but bright) smile on her face.

She looks absolutely beautiful tonight.

(But she always looks beautiful to him— so nothing's really new.)

"Are you a witch or something?" Kagami whispers under her breath. "Your timing is impeccable."

"I have my Ladybug radar on at all times."

"What about your Ryuuko radar?"

Chloé scoffs, then smiles softly. "Is that even a question?"

At that, the two sneak off, likely to some empty hallway to have time for themselves.

Adrien doesn't mind, watching with awe as Ladybug kindly greets all the guests at the party.

(He thanks the lucky stars that Ladybug had accepted Mayor Bourgeois' invitation, even if she only plans on stopping by briefly.)

They gravitate toward each other, as Adrien is the first to spark conversation.

"It's great you're here Ladybug," he says, almost flustered. "I'm a great fan of yours."

"I'm a great fan of yours too— I mean, you're a model! Right? I've seen you on billboards and stuff… you know, while I'm going around and saving Paris!"

The fact that Ladybug, of all people, is a fan of his civilian self brings Adrien a rush of joy that he never thought possible.

"You have no idea how much you being a fan of mine means to me."

"Believe me, I feel the same way."

They smile at each other, and enter into pleasant conversation.

She's definitely Adrien's favorite conversational partner by far.

They spend a good hour or so simply talking to each other (much to the envy of the other guests), and Adrien feels as if he's on cloud nine.

It's only when they walk to the beverage table that they are interrupted, as Ladybug accidentally bumps into a vase of greenery, consequently getting some of it in her hair.

Adrien leans in to help her, only belatedly noticing how closely they're standing together as whispers seem to surround the two of them.

Then:

"Mistletoe!" Someone suddenly chants, pointing enthusiastically at the two of them.

The rest of the crowd joins in, as Ladybug panickedly waves her hands to say 'no'— though it only serves to intensify the situation. He picks at the red berry upon her head, then smiles softly.

"May I, milady?"

She looks at him with wide-eyed surprise, then nods slowly.

Her eyes close, visibly nervous.

And Adrien presses a kiss to her forehead, before picking out the plant in her hair.

He shows it to the rest of the guests, then smiles. "This is actually holly, not mistletoe." Adrien looks almost mischievous, as they dissipate in disappointment.

"Wait… if you knew it was mistletoe, then why did you kiss me?"

He shrugs, the teasing grin still on his face.

"Maybe I just wanted to."

ADRIEN comes to pick her up before they go to school.

It's become a kind of strange tradition between them, for him to stop by the bakery every morning and walk with her to Françoise-Dupont. Ever since he was permitted to go to classes on his own— a freedom long overdue, really— he explains that he's been making the most of it as much as he can.

Her parents don't really mind, after all.

In fact, they think Adrien's a good kid, and it helps that someone else is around to make sure their daughter gets to school on time. Sabine and Tom also think that the two of them are pretty cute together, but decide to keep that little factoid to themselves.

Marinette's late, as per usual, stumbling down into the shop as she's greeted by the sight of her boy friend— emphasis on the space— comfortably leaning upon the counter, talking animatedly with his parents about some random topic about the happenings of the previous day.

(Is it strange that she's already getting used to that sight?)

"Marinette!" He notices her first, brightening up as she awkwardly waves at him. He's snuggly wrapped up in a warm jacket and hat, holding a to-go cup of hot chocolate in his hands.

"Morning, Adrien," she says, before quickly planting a kiss to her parents' cheeks. "Mom, dad."

"What? No kiss for Adrien here?"

Marinette splutters, to the amusement of his family— and even Adrien, who quickly coughs into his hand to hide the laughter that threatens to escape his lips.

She can't even say anything, with Adrien finally taking pity on her and tapping on the chair beside him, gesturing for her to take a seat.

"I was just talking with your parents," he starts. "About your plans for the holidays."

"Yes," her mom chimes in, smiling brightly as she leans onto her father. "You know, poor Adrien here doesn't have any plans for Christmas Eve? Mr. Agreste is only coming back from New York on Christmas Day, and I can't imagine how lonely it's going to be…," she side-eyes her husband, then gently nudges him at his blissfully unaware expression.

"Ah, right!" He coughs, then speaks in an almost overly-dramatic way: "How sad for Adrien, if only there was something we could do for him… if only he had somewhere to spend the day…"

Both of Marinette's parents eye her with sad eyes, as she only rubs tiredly at her forehead.

Why are her parents like this?

She takes a side glance to see Adrien, who has a somewhat soft smile on his face. (If anything, he even looks hopeful that she'll say yes.

Which is strange, considering that he can probably spend his Christmas anywhere he so wanted— from all the most lavish Christmas parties and celebrations… maybe she just doesn't understand the rich.

And it's not like she wants to tell him no, either.)

"Are you okay with this?" Marinette finally decides to ask, turning to face him directly.

After years of being friends and spending time together, she's glad to see that her tendency to stutter and stammer (and ultimately fail as a human being) around him has lessened by quite a bit.

But as he sits only a few meters away from her, close enough for her to almost count how many eyelashes he has, she frankly becomes reminded of how little it lessened.

And how her crush on him has only grown exponentially since they first met.

He smiles at her, and she has to physically force down the blush threatening to take over her face.

"Of course I am," he says honestly, maintaining eye contact with her as he leans the slightest bit closer. Marinette can't look away. "There's no place I'd rather be."

She wants to stay in the moment— really, she does— but her parents watching from beside her with the hugest smiles she's ever seen is more than enough to sever the mood.

Coughing awkwardly, she steps back and slings her bag over her shoulder. "That sounds great, then!" She finally says, "Christmas with Adrien Agreste, no big deal, nope! I'd love that— I mean, not that I love you but…," she pauses, then sighs in resignation. "Just. We'd love to have you there."

He laughs lightly, then stands up as well, holding the cup with one hand. He bows lightly to her parents. "It's always nice to talk to you, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng."

"Please, just call us mom and dad."

They wink, and Marinette decides against turning back so she doesn't have to see their faces. Instead, she grabs Adrien's hand and pulls him forward.

"Let's go," she says, only belatedly realizing that ohmygod they're holding hands and they fit so perfectly together do all fingers intertwine and meld this amazingly—?

They're one foot out the door, when her parents speak up:

"Ahem, Marinette," her mother says, forcing her to turn back.

"What?"

She only smiles, before gesturing for her to look up.

Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

At her exhausted expression, Adrien looks at where she's staring:

Consequently noticing the mistletoe hanging above the bakery door.

"Really?"

Her parents look excited.

"I'm not going to—"

Marinette turns to Adrien, fully expecting him to decline as well: until she sees his awkward (though almost… excited?) smile.

His fingers tighten their grip around her own, as he looks down at their intertwined hands.

"It's just a harmless tradition," he says quietly, some sound of amusement resounding from his tone. "A little holiday fun?"

She can't speak.

Is he serious?

He leans closer, and she closes her eyes in anticipation.

Then she feels the unmistakable touch of someone's warm lips.

Upon her hand.

Marinette's eyes flutter open, in time for her to see him press a kiss to her knuckles.

"What?" He asks, almost playful. "Did you expect anything else?"

She can't even speak.

(And thankfully doesn't notice the stifled laughter from behind the counter. Betrayal.)

"Come on, we're going to be late!"

He tugs her forward, as they disappear outside the bakery.

Marinette doesn't realize that Adrien's still holding her hand until they arrive at François-Dupont.

MARINETTE waits for him outside the balcony.

It's eleven-fifty in the evening as the snow starts to pile up, leaving Marinette to wish she'd put on more layers than her pair of pajamas and a cardigan around her small frame. Her nose is getting red from the cold, but she doesn't quite mind it as much as it should.

Because when she thinks about him, all Marinette can really feel is warmth.

Blonde hair, bright green eyes, and a smile that can bring even the sun to shame…

She's only distracted from her thoughts as a familiar suit of black starts making its way toward her.

He arrives almost clumsily at her balcony, holding a bright-red box in his hands as he furtively tries to hide it from her attention.

(It doesn't work.)

"Chat," she only says, then rolls her eyes. "You're late."

The first thing he does is bow down to her.

"Yes, and I'm so sorry, but I had some issues at home and—"

"Never mind that," she only says instead. "Do you have it?"

He smiles. "Of course I do," he starts, jokingly saluting at her. "Your local delivery man, at your service."

Marinette brightens up almost immediately as the words escape his lips.

"And it's really from him?" She asks, slowly taking the box into her hands.

It's quite small, fitting the palm of her hand, but Marinette knows that whatever's inside— the worth is immeasurable.

She hugs it close to her chest. "I can't believe he got me a Christmas present."

Chat Noir smiles at how excited the girl seems to be. "I— I know he's just really sorry that he couldn't give it to you himself."

"It's fine," Marinette only responds, the soft smile still on her face. "I know that he really wanted to go, and that's more than enough for me."

She recalls how apologetic Adrien had sounded over the phone, after telling her that he couldn't spend Christmas Eve with her family. (If anything, Marinette thought that he sounded more upset than she did about it—

Which is saying a lot, considering that she'd been looking forward to it as soon as he said he'd go.)

She tinkers with the box for a few more moments, then looks up at the superhero.

"Did he tell you what was inside?"

He ponders her question a bit longer than he should have. "Technically, no," he says, then pauses. "But I do know what it is."

"How do you know?!"

Chat Noir smiles lithely. "Let's just say that Adrien and I are similar in a lot of ways."

Marinette has to stop herself from snorting. "Please," she laughs lightly. "The two of you couldn't be any more worlds apart."

"... and what do you mean by that?"

"Adrien's the perfect type," she starts, then stops as she notices the superhero's almost hurt expression.

"So I'm not?"

"Nope," Marinette says easily. "But that's what I admire about you. You're imperfect and messy and chaotic, but you love and embrace your flaws, and even my own. It's so easy to be around you."

"Then Adrien is…?"

"He's kind," Marinette says carefully. "He's the kind of boy everyone dreams of, me included. But I always wished he'd drop his perfect interior in front of me and show his true self."

"The flawed self?"

"Yes. Because I'm sure I'd still love him just as much."

She smiles absentmindedly, then carefully starts to open the box.

Inside is a locket; gold, with a simple ladybug token hanging upon the chain.

Marinette belatedly notices the simple paper put inside the box:

To our Everyday Ladybug—

She turns the paper around.

And my ladybug.

Marinette isn't even given a moment to process the information as she looks away from the box, to notice none other than the boy in question standing before her.

Plagg floats next to him, a cautious expression on his face.

"Adrien, I— you— wait…" He tries to make calming gestures with his hand, giving her time to understand what's happening. "This can't be real…? You— are you really… and Plagg… wait, I thought I wasn't supposed to know your true identity…"

He looks absolutely nervous, and can't even get the words out.

Plagg speaks in his place:

"Sorry for the surprise, kid, but Tikki and I talked it over. With you being the guardian and all, it was only a matter of time before you two find out," then he sighs tiredly. "Adrien found out about your true identity by accident. And after that, he's been insistent on being the one to do the reveal."

"I— but— you— I'm— this is—"

The sudden buzz of Marinette's phone informs them that it's midnight.

"Merry Christmas, Marinette," Adrien finally says, voice soft as he takes her hands. "I love you."

He leans closer to her, as she suddenly stops him.

"Wait— but a kiss— it's too soon, and so out of nowhere…"

Adrien pauses thoughtfully, then smiles; almost mischievous.

He retrieves a pen from his pocket, then takes the box from her hands:

The word 'our everyday ladybug' is crossed out, as a simple word proudly displays itself in black, bold, lettering.

He holds it above their heads.

MISTLETOE.

"Is this enough of a good reason?"

Marinette can't stop herself from laughing. "You couldn't even draw it?"

"I'm not the artist," he only says. "That's your job."

"Then what's yours?"

"I provide the quality humor and flirting, I think."

She has to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"Fine then," Marinette starts, leaning close to him before…

Pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"The cheek?!"

"You didn't even get real mistletoe. So you don't get the real thing, either."

He hmphs, before his eyes suddenly twinkle. "But if I get real mistletoe, then I'll get a real kiss?"

"As long as it's still Christmas, then sure."

"Great," he grins. "Twenty-four hours then."

CHAT NOIR looks at her for confirmation.

The mistletoe stands proudly above the two of them as the purified akuma flies away into the night, easily forgotten by the rest of the Parisians.

All they care about— and all he cares about is the girl held in his embrace, as she looks at him with eyes that he can't at all decipher.

(Or maybe he can: but it's too terrifying to think of what things could be if he were wrong.)

From the background, Alya holds her phone as the scene is livestreamed to all the families and friends celebrating their Christmas together.

He leans in close to her, hesitant, as if asking a question.

The outsiders can't make it out, but he whispers in her ear:

"That's real mistletoe," he points out. Then slowly: "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Ladybug doesn't say yes.

She doesn't say no, either.

Instead, she only smiles, leans forward:

Then kisses him.

Alya drops her phone as she throws her fist in the air, and the quiet chill of the city is instantaneously broken with a series of loud celebratory cheers and cries for celebration.

Everyone calls it one of the greatest Christmas miracles of all time—

And neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir can correct them.

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nixxx11 · 3 years

Text

I’m about to get all SJW in your face, but hear me out. This may be important to many of you.

Exactly why do people need to be disrespected for what they consider entertainment? Why are people looked down on for watching cartoons? Why are people looked down on for living their lives how they want to?

In the present day scenario, where older audiences are losing their sense of ethics and values in the mad race for what? Proof that they're older? Where in the name of entertainment, we are being provided with cheap and nonsensical thrills. Where every news is breaking news, cartoons bring the needed innocence and joy into our lives. You don't need to enjoy watching them, but the fact that it's animation being your reason is very invalid and hurtful to many expansive fanbases.

If anyone laughs at you, saying that cartoons are meant for kids, ask that person whether it is worth being an adult and hence being able to comprehend all the deplorable acts, crime and deceit which humanity is obsessed with, or is it better to be who you need and who you want, a "kid", for a few moments and immerse yourself into a different, more unique world, which unfortunately is unachievable in reality.

My point here being that the stereotype that cartoons are meant for kids is absolutely ridiculous. I'm getting tired of constantly being labelled. People who have not kept up with time will carry such opinions about "cartoons" and the animation industry in general. The thing is that if we could point them towards some good animated work out there, I see no reason why anyone wouldn't enjoy them.

There's some intense tearjerkers out there, like Miraculous, She-ra and extremely emotional carriers like My Little Pony and I'm not afraid to say it. For example, its fandom and Miraculous itself is my inspiration and daily anchor to pull me out of the worst seas in life. Let me tell you salters that it really suffocates us when you invalidate that.

As we get older, there are certain activities we forfeit in the pursuit of maturity. Sure, intentions for target audiences vary. But the audience itself always does. We're people, not drags. Society shouldn't be telling us what to do and what ways our interests make us childish when it comes to our entertainment.

We do what we like. If you want to watch My Little Pony, do it. If you want to watch Miraculous, do it. If you want to watch Powerpuff Girls, do it. If you want to watch Magic School Bus, do it! If you want to watch ABC Monsters, GO FOR IT. I want you to know that unfortunately not everyone has developed that mindset, but I will never define you negatively based on your interests. In fact, I'll even give it a try! I know how hard it can be when people immediately shut down your interests. Don’t hesitate to flood my askbox with recs and even if you just need to rant about it. Because yeah, I can relate. To how many times I’ve blocked myself out because of these types of kids in my grade.

I and many others are tired of being scared to be open about this. I’m tired of people constantly dissing the thing I find joy in. These can and has helped me through the hardest times, it can be a reason for living to many teenagers, adults, and kids. You can find that stupid, and it’s totally fine. You have to respect it, though. Go along your way, no one is forcing you to watch anything. But do you really need pressure others into believing what they’re doing isn’t okay? People laugh at others simply because they don't fit their narrow definition of a normal person. Like no please, stop.

It's such a stereotype that animation is for kids. My point here is not which shows we watch. It's that nothing is strictly meant for age groups. Keep doing what you love.

It’s not even just about childish-stereotyped shows in fact. This can also apply the other way around. As just about every child growing up in this generation can relate to, even parents tend to become edgy about what we’re seeing on screens. I do get that. I really do. I could say my dad at least is fairy chill about it however. We all know we’re not going to be copying everything we see on TV or online. I can say for myself that I only consider it entertainment. For example, if I’ve learned any values from Miraculous, it’s to not expect all gifts from life but to acknowledge the fact that life itself is a gift. This show is great for young kids. They aren’t necessarily going to be copying the mistakes characters make. It’s supposed to teach them that having flaws are okay, but you must reflect and learn for them. Regardless of that, my younger sister watching Miraculous was made into a huge problem at my house. She started about the same age I did. And for the record, growing up with Miraculous hasn’t influenced me to do bad things, it’s actually taught me good values and helped me in my darkest hours.

I sincerely don’t know where the idea comes from that kids don’t know about anything unless they see it displayed on TV. From personal experience, let me tell you that’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s as if Miraculous is the only reason my younger sister knows what a crush is. When that isn’t true at all. But I do understand your worry to some extent. As I said, my parents are fairly easy about it but that could differ for everyone. This leads to my next point about age ratings.

Age ratings are a caution number. Something rated Y-7 doesn’t mean only 7 year olds can find it entertaining. There are adults who become absorbed in shows targeted towards younger audiences. There are kids who become absorbed in shows targeted towards older audiences. As long as it isn’t badly influencing or restricted, it isn’t right and it isn’t wrong.

We’re in such a rush to maturity that we forget what that actually means. Real maturity is understanding that there’s no certain age to stop, start or continue doing what we want. What it is doesn’t matter. What matters is that we respect that everybody has different interests instead of degrading them. As I said before, it applies to everything but this post is mainly to defend animation.

And again, this post isn’t about which shows we watch. If that's what you enjoy, then no one should be invalidating that. I don’t care if it’s ABC monsters, True, Rainbow Kingdom, Magic School Bus, or Elmo. Many cartoons have expansive fandoms. I'm proud to be a part of many of these and I will never back out for the sake of salters’ pleasure.

Shows don’t have any specific standards in order to be emotional rollercoasters. Here's a no brainer as a cartoon geek; Ask me to name some worldwide loved cartoon ships. Adrien x Marinette. Luz x Amity. Catra x Adora. Ladybug x Chat Noir. Marinette x Kagami. And hopefully with an open mind you can go check these shows out.

Repeat after me: Being cartoons does not define them.

If you didn’t bother to think about anything I’ve just said and plan to be the same, unfollow me.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to watch Miraculous. There’s no poster plastered over it saying I’m too old or too young.

#cartoons #DID I BURN Y'ALL IN MY GRADE WHO TEASED ME ABOUT MY AMITY PFP #DON'T INSULT MY LOVELIES #AS MY IDOL WOULD SAY #THANK U #NEXT

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ladybugpowermakeup · 3 years

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Chloe Bourgeois: A Defense

You know who the worst villain in the show is? That’s perhaps debatable - It might be Gabriel, the neglectful/abusive father, or it might be Lie-la, the unprintable word of a character, or perhaps even an argument might be made for Felix, little as we’ve seen of him.

Do you know who is NOT the worst in the show? Chloe.

To me, Chloe started out as a spoiled daddy’s girl, the foil to Marinette’s bad luck and hard-working personality - almost more of a foil than Adrien at times. And I didn’t love her, but I didn’t hate her. Sure, she was annoying, but then we got to know the reasons. And yes, I can already hear the haters, but I found her reasons and backstory compelling.

First of all, she comes from a broken family. Her mother doesn’t even know her name, is barely ever there, and doesn’t pay attention to her when she is. Her father’s a high-ranking politician, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that he is going through the trauma of losing a loved one, not to death, but just because he was essentially told “You’re not good enough”. So of course, in order to to prevent it from happening again, he gives Chloe everything she wants in order to keep her happy - and keep her there.

Secondly, we’re never told how long Monsieur Bourgeois has been Mayor, but it’s quite clear that between her high-society parents - distant though they might be - Chloe has developed a personality she shows to others, e.g. The Paparazzi. Unfortunately, a natural tendency toward authority has been corrupted, and she’s been doing it for so long that she’s no longer able to distinguish her “public” persona and the one she might have had underneath. Not only that, but she’s built up this persona into what she feels she must be, or else everyone will see how much she’s been faking and for how long. (This is a real thing that a lot of teenagers do, especially in middle and high schools where insecurity and peer pressure is very present.)

Here’s how I see it: Chloe is a fourteen year old girl who is neglected by one parent and given everything she wants out of fear by the other one. She dreams to live up to both her mother and father, but she doesn’t know how yet, so she just copies one - her mother - as best she can. And because she’s around other young people and those “beneath her”, she gets what she wants almost every time. No one likes it, but no one really knows how to stop her, either. Until Ladybug comes along and clearly doesn’t like her. Chloe just doesn’t know how to take that in, especially since she’s clearly denying her own part in the onslaught of akumas (seriously, she makes Hawkmoth’s job 600 times easier, especially in the beginning). So of course, she insists that she’s right and she refuses to believe that anyone, especially her idol, could not like her.

And now we get to the superpowers. We know from the Queen Wasp episode that a lot of her insecurities come from her mother, and that she became Queen Bee first to impress her. However, as she gets the Bee Miraculous more (and recall, Ladybug doesn’t give it to her lightly) she learns to take responsibility for her own actions as any young person would - by admitting it and waiting for those in authority to help her fix it. It takes something egregious, such as Madame Bustier or her father getting akumatized, to get her out of her own bubble, but once she realizes that there’s more to life than just throwing a temper tantrum and getting what you want, she’s able to put her own wishes aside and do what needs to be done.

Chloe’s a spoiled girl, but she’s learning to take responsibility, something she never had to do when younger since she could just call Daddy and get it all her way. But she knows how to be kind when she wants to, and she clearly doesn’t enjoy causing pain to the people she cares about, such as in the “Felix” episode when she sends a message to Adrien assuring him that she’s still there for him.

So yes. She’s annoying and wants her own way, but I can forgive a lot of character flaws, because She Is Fourteen.

Let me repeat that. She Is A Fourteen Year Old Girl. A Child.

And this is why I’m so angry at Gabriel in the S3 finale. Because he uses the legitimate anger and sadness of a CHILD and manipulates her into doing what he wants her to do, then leaves her with the mess to clean up and everyone hating her. I am so, so hopeful that this will be a character arc akin to Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where there must be a backtrack before there can be a redemption, because of all the characters who were classified as “villains” in the show, I think Chloe deserves it.

#miraculous ladybug #chloe bourgeois #queen bee #defense #not a villain

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rosesgonerogue · 4 years

Text

Let the Sunshine In Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the wait everyone, my professors have decided we’re capable of doing twice the amount of work than we usually do. I hope everyone’s doing well, and I hope you enjoy the latest chapter!

AO3

******************************

When Alya opened the door, she was alarmed to hear a gross sobbing from the guest bedroom. Dropping her bags, she rushed back. “Marinette, you okay girl?”

Marinette emerged, hands shaking, holding a packet of papers. “Alya, it’s terrible,” she sobbed, flinging her arms around her best friend.”

“Are you okay? What happened, are you hurt?” Alya asked, pulling back to check her friend over.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. This is what’s wrong,” she said, violently shaking the packet of papers. “It was mailed to my MDC mailbox with no return address and enough money to pay for five normal commissions.”

“That’s… definitely strange,” Alya said slowly.

“That means I can’t deny the request!” Marinette wailed. “Just look at it!”

Alya carefully took the paper Marinette thrust at her. On it was a crudely sketched design with broken French describing certain specifications. “...Wow.”

“It’s hideous,” Marinette moaned. “And it’s supposed to be bulletproof! I’ve never worked with bulletproof material before, I don’t even know if my sewing machine can handle bulletproof material.”

“How is he supposed to get his order if there’s no return address?” Alya asked. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the design. Was that supposed to be a helmet? It looked like a pill capsule, and the suit… It was enough to put most akuma to shame.

“I’m supposed to ‘stuff them behind the second trash can on the west side of the Louvre,’” Marinette read from another paper. “Who would even think of that? And I can’t just stuff the refusal there, what if someone saw and stole the money? At least no one would actually want that abomination. And I can’t deny a commission just because it’s hideous and weird, it’s unethical.”

Alya definitely felt for Marinette, but this was somehow… refreshing. She felt like she hadn’t seen this marinette for a few years. The frantic overreactions were something she hadn’t seen since high school, and it was strangely nostalgic.

“Well, I guess that answers my question of why you would need this much kevlar,” Alya said with a smile. She deliberated a few moments - this was usually when she took her leave, and she did have plans with Nino that night, but…

“If I make it a little slimmer here, he might not notice, and it would be less likely to make children cry…” Marinette murmured, sketching out her own version of the commission.

That cemented her resolve. Alya sent Nino a quick text, cancelling their plans for that night - they could go to the movies any night.

“Hey girl, mind if I hang around tonight? Nino and I had to rain check our plans tonight, and it’s been too long since we’ve hung out together.”

Marinette finally looked up from her sketching. Blinking a few times, she said, “Oh, yeah! That sounds like fun! I should probably take a break anyway.”

If she hadn’t been sure before, now Alya knew she had at least some piece of her best friend back. There was a light in Marinette’s eyes that had been missing for a while. A thought popped into her head and Alya bit her lip, unsure if she should press her luck. Shaking her head, she decided to go for it.

“By the way, Marinette, I was thinking about getting everyone together on Friday for a movie night or something. Are you in?”

“That sounds great, just text me the details!” Marinette said brightly, heading to the kitchen. “Does quiche sound good to you? It’s what I was planning to make, but I can always do something else.”

“Quiche sounds great!” Alya said, distracted by her furious texting.

Alya: Everyone clear your schedules, we’re getting together on Friday. It’s mandatory.

Rose: I’m free! What are we doing?

Alix: I have plans already.

Alya: CANCELLED

Adrien: I also have a photoshoot, and I have no idea how long it will take.

Alya: I will personally make sure it ends on time if I have to. Marinette agreed to get out and do something with us.

Kim: NO

Max: What?!

Alix: WHY DIDN’T YOU LEAD WITH THAT?!

Luka: Jagged can find a different guitarist for a night. Actually, Jagged might try to come himself.

Nino: I don’t know how you did it babe, but cancel as many dates as you need to.

Mylene: Ivan and I can come home for a weekend.

Alya was pulled away from the group chat by Marinette saying something. “What was that, girl? I didn’t hear you.”

“I was asking what you wanted in the quiche,” she repeated, poking her head out of the kitchen.

“Oh, whatever sounds good to you. You’ve never made anything I didn’t like.”

She hadn’t known how much she missed it, but lightheartedly laughing with Marinette made Alya feel like she had come home again.

“So tell me girl, did something good happen to you?” Alya finally asked.

Marinette paused. “What do you mean?”

“Be real with me, Marinette. You haven’t been yourself for a while. We didn’t want to pry, especially since Hawkmoth is kind of wearing everyone down. Did something good happen?”

“Oh, I hadn’t realized I’d been acting so differently.”

“Are you serious, Marinette? You skipped out on everything you possibly could, have just to stay at home and work on commissions. We didn’t want to push the issue, so we gave you space. It just ended up lasting a few years,” Alya said, patting her hand. “You don’t have to tell me what happened, then or now, I was just curious.”

“I… I met someone,” she said hesitantly. “I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not like that. There wasn’t a chance for it to be like that.”

“Then what was it?”

“He was lost, in more ways than one.” Marinette had a faraway look in her eyes, and an slight smile graced her lips. “I felt like I knew him, even though that’s impossible. Even though he was only here for a couple days, it somehow reminded me that I’m alive, and that it should be a wonderful thing.”

Alya couldn’t hold herself back from embracing her best friend, her arms nearly a vice. After a few moments, she couldn’t help but giggle to herself. “Well, you rediscovered your enthusiasm for life just in time to make the most hideous outfit in history. Are you sure he wasn’t one of the Greek muses?”

“Not if he sent me this!”

A few miles away, Jason sneezed. It was getting colder outside, but he refused to go stay in Bruce’s safehouse. It was probably petty, but Jason refused to act like he was Bruce’s child anymore, not with the way things had ended. So he was in and out like a thief in the night, stealing what he needed and leaving the connection to Bruce behind.

Jason wasn’t sure what to do. Uncertainty and anger churned in his stomach, and little else. He found himself lurking on the fringes of society. Whether it was to save the civilians or himself, he had no idea. The anger he felt, it scared him. When he’d woken up, he’d been its slave, a mindless vessel for rage. Now he was fully conscious, but he felt unstable, like it might overwhelm him at any moment.

Collapsing in a dirty alleyway, Jason curled in on himself. He was scared. How was he alive? Why was he alive? Could he even say he was still Jason Todd? He felt inhuman, and distanced from himself.

It had only been a few days, but Marinette felt like a passing dream that had never been his in the first place. Anger, only anger burned within him. So far he’d done his best to direct that anger, but he didn’t know how long that would hold out.

Taglist:

@cravethosecrazysquares @krispydefendorpolice @thesunanditsangel @sonif50 @kris-pines04 @persephonebutkore @tbehartoo @corabeth11 @caffeinetheory @drarryismylife101 @bluerosette23 @weird-pale-blonde-person @mystery-5-5 @heaven428 @thethirdwheelfriend @thetinymoonflower @interobanginyourmom @chocolate1721 @akana-sama @skyel0ve @katiegardneriscoolerthanyou @theatreandcomicfreak @jardimazul @karategirl119 @thewondersoflebanon @tbehartoo @shizukiryuu @northernbluetongue @moonlightstar64 @naoryllis @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @saphiraazure2708 @yokizu @jeminiikrystal @chocolatecatstheron @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @zalladane @slytherinsheashire @bran-thecreeper-stark @otaku4312 @emotionalsupportginger @dorkus-minimus @18-fandoms-unite-08 @tired-butterfly @bamagirl513 @pauliestorylover @alenee13 @ladybug-182 @senpaiweird @kalligraphic @jessigurl-design @emeraldpuffguide @veunnotvuen @storyteller-d @g-arya @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @procrastinatingrightnow @sturchling @dast218 @trashystar420 @indecisive-mess-named-me @awesome-starfish-and-tacos @kittycatwowmeow @zebrabaker @mycupisbroken @jeminiikrystal @miraculous-simmer7 @iloontjeboontje @thepeacetea @lulutheawkwardess @fusser90

#jasonette #maribat #let the sunshine in #LtSI

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purrincesskittens · 4 years

Note

Bustier Salt with Lila and Chloe redemption maybe with Caline's former students just ripping into Caline?

Lila had been exposed and it was something she wasn't happy with. She didn't get expelled but she did end up getting inhouse suspension so she couldnt miss anymore school then she already had. Ms. Bustier wasn't in charge of the suspension so Lila actually got the help she needed to get caught up to pace for her grade level. She's smart and it wasn't that difficult for her to get caught up it was more of a matter of getting her to focus and do the work. Trained professionals worked with her in and out of school to help her be able to be integrated back into society. Her mother spent time with her more often and gave her the attention she wanted so she was improving. Test groups where Lila was introduced to peers her own age showed they would take what she said with a grain of salt and were cautious but willing to be civil and friendly towards her. Unfortunately when she was to be placed back into a class Ms. Bustier somehow manipulated it so that she had Lila back in her class.

Chloe was improving separated from Sabrina who was placed in a different class Chloe was actually doing her own work. Well when she bothered turning it in anyway. Her father was no longer Mayor anymore removing the influence and power that backed her. Election time had come and gone and new term limits prevented her father from running again. Ladybug entrusting her with a different miraculous during a incredibly difficult akuma where she was running out of options worked wonders surprisingly. What Chloe didn't tell anyone was Wayzz had been willing to work with her into improving herself to be a better person. Having the miraculous of protection which did far less damage than the bee did also helped. She was improving slowly. She apologized to everyone she had ever bullied and had been forgiven by Marinette at least who was willing to try to be her friend in class. Ms. Bustier still babied her though and left it up to Marinette to chastise her when she acted up and left it up to Marinette to be a good role model for her. Unfortunately her transfer request to a different class was rejected after Ms. Bustier convinced the principal it was a better idea to keep her with her friend and role model Marinette who she said didn't want to leave her other friends in the class and had only put in her own transfer request to make Chloe feel better.

Lila shifted uncomfortably in her seat in the back Chloe and Marinette sat across from her but she could still feel the occasional glare from the others as one turned in their seat to look at her. She really wished she had been put in a different class. One that would give her a chance to show she has improved. Marinette sent her a sympathetic look. Marinette and Chloe had been the only two willing to give her a chance. Adrien had been but he was moved to a different class along with Sabrina. Ms. Bustier kept a tight grip on her students determined not to let any of the others slip through her grasp and escape to a different class.

"Okay class today we will be having some of the older students from this school and a few former students post graduates of my class come in to speak to you about your last few years of school and entering the work force. We will start with the current students and move onto my former students. Shall we begin?" Ms. Bustiers smiled as she clapped her hands gesturing to one of the older students to start. An older brunette girl stepped forward to talk about the increased workload and more difficult assignments and how to manage your time and priorities to ensure you complete everything on time and accurately. Another older boy stepped forward to talk about balancing social life with school work and making sure you don't fall into the wrong crowd which sparked a comment from Alya who still hadn't forgiven Lila and blamed her for her ruined blog. "We already know about the wrong crowd and we refuse to be a part of it. If Marinette wants to hang out with bullies so be it."

This caused both the older students and Ms. Bustiers former students to frown as Ms. Bustier completely ignored the interruption and moved them on to the next student. A familiar dark haired older boy stepped forward next causing Marinette to perk up and wave at Itsuki who gave her a small smile in return. "I'll be talking about exclusion and how it can be just as bad as physical bullying." He announces. Ms. Bustier frowns at this as a murmur runs through her class. "Now now I don't think we need to talk about that no one is being excluded in my class or bullied so there is no need to be talking about that." She says gently trying to guide the conversation back to what she wanted and moved onto her former students who would be sure to talk about the message she had taught them during their time as her students.

"Excuse me Ms. Bustier but bullying is an important topic to talk about because it doesn't just end in lower secondary or collège as its called here. It can happen up through lycée and in the workplace as well." Another older boy in jeans and a loose band tee with long dirty blonde hair stepped up next to Itsuki. "Your students comment just now can be taken as verbal bullying. Bullying is serious and needs to be addressed so your students understand the difference between exclusion for the purpose of being mean and just being excluded because your not friends with a certain group. Take Itsuki and me for example we both know Marinette and a few others in this class and sometimes hang out with them but not everyone in this class do we hang out with. Those we don't hang out with may be excluded from a group activity we are doing but not for the purpose of being mean but simple because they aren't a part of our friend group. Excluding one particular person or a small group of them from a class activity such as a field trip or dance is bullying. " JJ explains trying to get their message across only to be brushed off by the teacher much to his frustration.

"My students aren't doing that Marinette is just being difficult is all. If she hadn't made trouble in the first place she wouldn't feel like she is being excluded which she isn't all she has to do is apologize and be a good role model and everything will go back to the way it was." Ms. Bustier waved the two older boys off giving her star pupil a bright beaming smile. "Let's move on shall we my former students still haven't had a chance to talk and we are running out of time." They still had plenty of time for Itsuki and JJ to talk as well as the post graduates but Ms. Bustier wasn't going to listen to anything she didn't want to hear. "Now Delphine and Adam it's your turn to speak and I know you guys will set a wonderful example for my current students after all you two were some of my best students and now look at how successful you are." With a wave the teacher gestured for the two adults to step forward completely oblivious to the deep frowns on their faces or the scowl she was receiving from JJ behind her.

"You're still going on about being a role model to other students? I would have thought you would have given up on that after what happened with Eve." Adam commented arms crossed. "Now Adam I know you and Eve were close but..." Adam interrupted his former teacher before she could continue. "We were cousins. Family of course we were close. We were not dating like many thought something you never bothered to correct. You knew we were related to each other but you stood there and did nothing while our classmates spread it around the school that we were dating. Eve was bullied for supposedly dating her cousin by others in the school." Ms. Bustier interrupted him with a gasp and a hurt expression unable to belive her own former student her shining example for his graduating class would speak to her like this. "I didn't know you two were related why didn't you say something?"

Adam growled glaring, "We did say something we said numerous times we weren't dating and all it would have taken was a look into our files to see that our mothers were twin sisters not that you ever did so. You never checked anyones records for anything. You saw Eve being bullied but did nothing to stop it simply told her to set a good example and show those bullying her how to behave. And you know how that ended don't you? Eve didn't even make it to graduation. She committed suicide halfway through our Première year because she was being bullied so bad she couldn't take it anymore. "

A silence fell across the classroom as the current students took in what was just said. JJ couldn't help but rub at the tattoos that covered his wrists and inside of his forearms feeling the raised marks the art hide. Delphine was the one to break the silence next. "You seemed to think I was successful but let me tell you something. I only just became successful within the past year. You want to know why it took me so long when I was on the fast track to success while still in school? It's because I dropped out of University and ended up in a mental hospital for over a year after I had a nervous breakdown and couldn't pull myself together. All thanks to your teachings on being a good example, being a role model and let's not forget all the pressure and expectations you placed on me."

The woman scoffed giving her former teacher a cold look before continuing."I couldn't say no to anyone and took on more than I could handle. You pressured me into a career choice that I didn't even want to do all because I wasn't sure what exactly I did want to do so you pushed me into being a surgeon just because I was fascinated by human biology. You pushed me into that. You were the one who pushed me into the path of the breakdown and you know something? You really shouldn't be a teacher."

Bonus: "I didn't even have anything to do with Lila being exposed. That was all Uncle Jagged. It's not like I told him to come to my school. I can't control what he does. He's Jagged he does what he wants." Marinette mutters from her seat in the back. Chloe snorts holding back a laugh. "Yeah and what he wanted was for you to design him a jacket like the one you made Luka and he just couldn't wait till you got home and just had to come marching into the school while it was in session to commission you. And then Alya couldn't keep her big mouth shut and thrust her phone in his face wanting to know all about how Lila saved his kitten."

#ml salt prompt #ml salt #ms. bustier salt #dark salt #dark #opps #a bit darker than I intended #mentions of suicide #implied self harm #I don't think you were expecting it to be this dark #ms. bustier shouldn't be a teacher #lila redemption #chloe redemption #Jagged does what he wants #uncle jagged #jagged stone

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charlietheepicwriter7 · 4 years

Text

Hey, Little Songbird

Chapter 3 - AO3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The place Dupain-Cheng took him to was a small bakery not far from the school. Stepping inside, the smell of fresh baked bread assaulted his nose. In the display case, dozens of macaroons in all colors lined parchment paper next to croissants and cream-stuffed pastries. Felix expected Dupain-Cheng to get in line to order; instead, the girl skipped the line, approaching the woman at the register directly. "Hi, Maman," Dupain-Cheng greeted.

Felix wanted to scoff as he watched mother and daughter hug. Of course, she'd take him to her family bakery! She wouldn't be able to afford any of the places his pallet was used to. But... despite his first instinct, the establishment did have a rather... warm feel to it, further embellished y the downpour outside. And the food did look impeccable. Not his usual fare, certainly, but one day off his diet wouldn't hurt him.

"Welcome home, Marinette," her mother greeted. Her eyes met his and furrowed with confusion before her expression smoothed out. "Who's your friend? He's never dropped by before."

So she could tell him and Adrien apart. Good.

"Ah! Maman, this is -"

"Felix Graham de Vanily," Felix cut in smoothly, smiling charmingly. "I'm new in class and your daughter has been kind enough to help me gain my barrings at Fransis-Depoint. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mme. Cheng." He bowed at the waist, eyes lowered. He wanted to make a good impression -

"It's nice to to meet you too, Felix," Mme. Cheng nodded, seemingly amused. "Why don't you two grab something from the back and eat upstairs." She glanced at the line, which had only grown in number since they arrived. "It seems like it's about to get full down here."

"Thanks, Maman." Dupain-Cheng pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek. "Come on, back here."

Felix followed her behind the counter and into the kitchen beyond where an extremely large man, presumably her father, was icing a particularly tall wedding cake. "Hey, Dad! Felix and I are just grabbing some food before going upstairs."

The father smiled, surprisingly calm about his daughter arriving with a strange boy in his shop. "Go right ahead! There's some fresh chicken salad and cold cuts in the fridge if either of you want them."

They each loaded up their plates, but when Dupain-Cheng started to ascend the stairs, Felix hesitated. He looked back at M. Dupain. "Sir... Forgive me, but how do I pay for this?" Father and daughter exchanged a shocked glance. "I didn't get a chance to properly observe the menu, so otherwise I'd-"

"Don't worry about it!" M. Dupain laughed. "No friend of Marinette has to pay! Consider it the 'friends and family' discount."

Felix frowned. He didn't really consider them friends yet; acquaintances, yes, but not friends. Though, if the quality of his classmates refused to improve, she might end up being the only person he could stand talking to on a regular basis. "Sir, I must insist-"

"They're not going to let you pay, trust me," Dupain-Cheng said. "You're not the first person to try, nor are you going to be the last. Just come on." She went upstairs and Felix reluctantly followed. He wasn't used to other people doing favors for him. Usually people wanted favors, thinking he'd be naive enough to allow them to ride off the Graham de Vanily family coat tails. Felix never allowed that mentality to stick around him long; no one had ever been stupid enough to try more than once.

The familial part of the home looked nothing like the elegant, cold entry hall of his family's manor, nor did the connecting living room resemble any parlor or sitting room that he's ever been in. It looked well-used, lacking the meticulous housekeeping that the maids kept, with a blanket crumpled up on the couch and a video game console pushed to the side, like someone had finished playing in a hurry. He could see into the open kitchen from the living room and noticed that although it looked clean, there were dishes stacked in the skin. Was this how commoners lived? Clearly despite their beloved establishment, the Dupain-Chengs weren't nearly as well off as some of the other members of their school, like himself, Adrien, and Chloe. So how did they attend? The tuition was rather costly; did she get in on scholarship?

Of course, Felix had enough sense not to ask her about her family's financial status. Things simply weren't done in polite society, and while Felix often didn't feel the need to follow those unspoken rules, there was no need to insult someone in their own home.

Dupain-Cheng sat on the couch while Felix took the love seat nearby, sitting gingerly upon it as though it could bite him. Despite the home being so banal, Felix found himself... liking it. It was warm, much like how the bakery below was warm, with a lingering sense of comfort radiating from every square centimeter of the home. He found himself sinking into the plush of the chair without meaning to.

To distract his mind, he tucked into lunch, only to find his meal delicious. He paused after a single mouthful. Somehow, the simple meal was able to rival those made by the professional chefs in his family's employ. Good work deserves to be complimented, so Felix told Dupain-Cheng so and she flushed. "T-Thanks. I'm sure my parents appreciate it," she said with a cough, having swallowed some of her food wrong. "Would you like to go over where we are in the curriculum now?"

"Yes, that would be quite useful."

She showed him her notes for their classes and just as he thought, he was already ahead in most subjects. The only exception was literature, but only because his school had focused more on British authors than French. Still, it wouldn't take for him to catch up. But there was still one thing about the day that bothered him and since Dupain-Cheng volunteered her service, he asked, "I am unsure if this falls under you assisting me around the school, but could you explain what that Lila girl was trying to do today?"

Dupain-Cheng set down her utensils and exhaled heavily. "What has she lied about this time?"

"Apparently I pushed her after a greeting. Which is odd because I had no idea she existed before class." Not that Felix really cared. But saying he pushed her was a step too far; he has far more subtly than direct physical assault. At least be clever when you try to slander him!

"Huh, so she's directly attacking you already? That's weird, I could have sworn she'd make up some lie about forgiving you and promising to help you meet your favorite celebrity if you promised to be nice."

He scoffed, but Dupain-Cheng made no similar noise. Like... she was serious. Oh God, she was serious. "Are you telling me people actually believe that swill?"

"Most of our class, Mme Bustier, and our principal. Fortunately she hasn't started working on making the people in other classes believe her yet, but there are a handful there too." It seemed as though speaking about it unleashed a dam inside the girl. "And it doesn't make any sense because most of her lies can be disproven with either an internet search or a phone call! She claimed that she saved Jagged Stone's cat from an airplane, but was there any media coverage from it? None at all! She claims to go on all these expensive vacations, but either her photos got damaged on the way back or she just shows the class stock images of generic tourist stuff. And the volunteer work! Sure, I can understand charities not advertising who their workers are, but all you'd have to do is call them and every charity she's mentioned ends up saying that a Lila Rossi never worked with their organization. I just... I don't understand how they can keep falling for this stuff! None of them even bother to consider that she could be lying!" Her chest heaved after her rant, but she looked relieved, like she'd finally been able to get it off her chest. "They... none of them even think that I'm telling the truth," she continued in a small voice. "They all think that poorly of me."

Their... classmates, as much as Felix hated to admit any relation to those morons, had really done a number on her. He found empathy to be distasteful, especially with his plan to become a ruthless business man later in life, but he could help but pity her. Not that he'd ever admit it. Perhaps he could change the subject? Or at least lighten the mood.

"I'm going to be surrounded by idiots then. Lovely." She shot him a hurt look. "Well, not you. Obviously. Though seeing past such a clear liar isn't really a point towards you as it is a negative three against the others."

"You rate people on a point scale?" Her eyes were starting to lighten, brighten.

"Only when I need to inform others of how lowly I consider them." He sniffed haughtily.

"Does that mean you think better of me than them?" she teased, a small smile lifting the corners of her mouth.

"No need to get a big head now; it's not that you're better, but rather that you're less awful." He smirked in return, hopefully letting her know that he was returning her tease. At least, he thought that's what he was doing. He never really understood how to communicate with his peers in a fashion that reflected well on him.

"I'm pretty sure that's the definition of better though."

"Well, if you're so desperate to claim the title, you could always prove it." Felix folded his hands under his chin. "Prove that you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, are worthy of my time."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure if I want it now."

He frowned in disappointment, but inside he was triumphant. "Truly a shame; and here I wanted to get to know the real Dupain-Cheng... But alas I fear that knowledge will forever be out of reach."

"Who says 'alas' anymore?"

"Well!" he huffed, "Just because you're unused to refined vocabulary doesn't mean you have to insult me, Mademoiselle!"

The verbal sparring went back and forth for a while and as rapier wit battled rapier wit, Felix found it hard to keep a smile off his face.

Taglist: @graduatedmelon @novicevoice @dur55 @kris-pines04 @18-fandoms-unite-08 @moonlightstar64 @bee-a-garbage-shipper @sol-o-shade @kittyotakunoir666 @tinyterror333 @allieoftheenemy @marichat00 @xgxmxtx

#felinette #canon felinette #canon felix #felix graham de vanily #marinette dupain cheng #tom dupain #sabine cheng #ml fic #ml au #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #lila salt #class salt #ao3 feed #hey little songbird

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musicfeedsmysoul12 · 4 years

Text

Flash Forward: Other bits

Lila

Lila was sitting in a white room dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans. She was eating a meal and looked bored as she did so. Once she was done she looked up.

“If you are finished mask on,” a voice said through the walls.

“You can trust me. I won’t do anything!” Lila replied, sounding charming. “Miss Rossi you do not have permission to leave your room without a mask. Mask on.” Lila stared at the ceiling before a look of utter rage passed over her face, startling the watchers. She grabbed something sitting next to her and put it on, tying it behind her head. It was a half mask, with slits in the front. Putting it on, a click was heard and she growled, the mask showing it also had a voice program as it came out distorted and computerized. “Thank you.”

Waking out of the room when the door opened, Lila carried her plate and utensils, heading to a window in a wall she put them through. Around her others dressed like her were walking around. Only a bare few had masks though.

“Rossi,” one said, walking by.

“Smith.” She responded, heading through the room and out a door, to where a fenced-in outdoor area was. Lila sat on a bench and just watched people before someone walked up to her. It was Chloé, wearing similar clothes but with gloves.

“I thought you were avoiding me,” Lila said.

“I was.” Chloé said simply. “But I have news.”

“Oh? The Justice League realize they made a mistake and are letting me go?” Lila mocked. “Please. You knew your magic had people listening to you and believing you no matter what you said. You willingly used your magic on others and turned out to be working with a magical terrorist since you were fourteen until eighteen. The one time they let you go unmasked here you used your magic to spark a riot.” Chloé snorted. “You deserve to be here like I did.”

“Did?” Lila asked.

“I’m leaving next week. Parole.” Chloé told the girl and Lila snared, the sound menacing in her mask.

“You sided with him just like me! Hell you willingly let him cast magic on you- that’s why you have those damn gloves!” Lila said.

“I know. I was a petty and jealous brat who wanted to be special. I was so mad I would never get the Bee Miraculous back, I was so mad Ladybug didn’t like me. So I foolishly didn’t think of anyone but myself and sides with him.” Chloé told her. “It took me nearly killing my dad just by hugging him to realize what I did. Lila, how do you feel knowing your mother is sick to her stomach when she sees you because of how much magic you used on her?”

“It wasn’t that much.” Lila snapped and Chloe shook her head.

“Your mother can’t be in the same room with you without going into shock.”

“Your mother-“

“Is in jail for insider trading and child abuse,” Chloé said coldly. “And good riddance. But this didn’t about that. This is about me and you.”

“What could you possibly want with me? You hate me.”

“I do. But sadly you’re my only friend here.” Chloé said. “And we’re similar. We both fucked up. Difference is I realized it and am trying. I’m getting out. I’ll never not be able to not wear gloves. My touch with either kill or paralyze anyone. That’s fine- I got offered skin right and skin coloured gloves I’ll be wearing. I get to change my name and appearance and integrate back into society as long as I keep in contact with Canary. That’s great.”

“And you think I can too?” Lila sneered. “I can’t turn off my magic.”

“You can control it you just don’t want to. You’re damn lucky they gave you a mask instead of casting a spell to permanently silence you and you know it.” Chloe told Lila who glared at her in answer. “Lila don’t let the mistakes you made as a teenager affect you now.” Lila didn’t answer as Chloe stood and left her alone in the yard.

Alya

Alia was sitting in a cubicle, working on something. She looked different with her hair in a short bob and wearing a set of business casual clothing. She looked fairly focused as she was typing, only stopping when someone stuck their head into the cubicle.

“Hey, someone’s waiting for you in meeting room B.”

“Thanks,” Alta said, standing up and heading to the room. She looked puzzled as she entered it before a smile crossed her face. “Rose!:

“Alta!” Rose looked older, with her hair longer then it was currently, and her outfit a white sweater and jeans. “It’s good to see you! Sorry about dropping in on you at work…”

“It’s fine. I don’t have any cool stories right now- mostly the normal stuff and that’s pretty easy to write.” Alya told her. “Why are you here?”

“Juleka and I are getting married!” Alya squealed and threw her arms around Rose who laughed and hugged back.

“God! You guys beat the odds! I’m so happy for you!” She pulled away with a smile.

“Thanks! We wanted a reporter covering it- famous model marrying a charity worker so we thought of you!” Alya squealed again and hugged Rose again who laughed. “But uhh…”

“If it’s about Nino it’s fine. It’s been years- we broke up and we can be civil.” Alya said in amusement. Rose winced. Alya frowned at her.

“It’s Marinette.” Alya frowned at Rose.

“Me and Marinette are cool too.”

“You guys stopped being friends so suddenly-“ Rose began but Alya lifted a hand.

“No. We stopped being friends earlier then we thought. Neither of us realized it though until after Lila’s bullshit. It took her telling me to my face she was over Adrien and her realizing I hadn’t talked to her about anything not about the blog for us both to admit we’d stopped being friends. It was new kid friend syndrome. We were buddies but didn’t have a solid enough basis in common interests to remain besties. And that’s fine. It happened.” Alya chuckled. “Didn’t know you were still thinking we had issues.” Rose shrugged but smiled.

“I’m glad you’re okay with that.” Alya chuckled and her smile grew.

“Yeah same.”

Adrien

Adrien was working in his classroom, marking papers.

“Ugh,” he sighed, rolling his eyes. “What is with teenagers.” He finished the last paper and stood up with a sigh. He put the papers into his desk and begun to get ready to leave when the door opened. “Mylene! Hey.” The woman smiled.

“Hey, just wanted to see if you were staying late. How’s your first month?” The woman came in to sit on a desk, still smiling.

“Pretty good. Thanks for vouching for me. Might not have got the job without it.”

“You could have.” Said Mylène in reply. “You’re a good teacher Adrien- much better than our examples.” Adrien laughed a little bitterly.

“Well not hard.” He shook his head. “... ever hear from anyone?”

“Well, you did get the invite right?”

“Yeah Rose and Juleka. I’m happy for them… just not sure if I want to go. Not sure if everyone wants me.” He looked down at his empty hands for a second. “... after everything.”

“You messed up Adrien. But you were a kid. Rose wouldn’t invite you if she didn’t want to give you a chance. If any of them wanted not to see you.”

“I… Mylène what I was like, what I did… it was wrong. It was disgusting. It took me literally being slapped by Ladybug, by Marinette and being sued for me to get it through my head. Not to mention-“

“That’s not your fault Adrien. Don’t blame yourself.” Mylène got off the desk and went to place a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good man. C’mon- I’ll buy you a drink. Us teachers are all going. They want you to come.”

“... if you’re sure.”

“I am.”

Nathanael

Nathanael was bent over a desk, drawing something with a focused look on his face. He barely paid attention to Marc who walked in, the man laughing quietly.

“Nath, you’re going to hurt your eyes drawing so close and in such bad light.” Marc told him, putting a hand on his shoulder, a wedding ring on his hand.

“I’m fine Marc, promise.” Nathanael smiled at the man, patting his hand. “I think your husband’s-“

“Nathanael, don’t do this.” Marc sighed.

“Do what?”

“Do this ‘I want to wallow’ thing.” Marc shook his head. “Look yeah you were a shitty boyfriend in high school but that was mostly your own issues being bi and all the crap your parents gave you more than anything. And the whole Lila crap- in case you forgot I believed her to until she managed to say one lie I knew was wrong and you snapped out of the magic when I showed you it was wrong.”

“I… I dunno.” Nathanael sighed. “I think I’m just tired.”

“Yeah well no wallowing my friend. C’mon- Marinette called and she wants to see us before Rose and Juleka’s wedding.” Nathanael looked pleased.

“That’s good. Is she still willing to help with talks about our book becoming a movie? I’d rather her or her boy toy being there.”

“She’s going to kill you if you keep calling Tim a boy toy.”

“She grew over six feet tall and she still wears heels. Tim is 5’6”. I will never stop. Jason lets me.”

“Jason likes riling up his girlfriend. She pins him better.”

“... how do you know this?” Nathanael asked his partner in business.

“I’m married to Roy- Jason’s best friend? We talk.”

“... how much can we use for our porn books?”

“Where do you think half the ideas came from?”

Kagami

Kagami was setting up her office, smiling as she put a photo frame down that had her on a podium with an Olympic Gold Medal around her neck.

Pulling back, she looked around the office and smiled.

“Fuck you mom,” she declared. She looked pleased as she set the final piece down, a plague declaring her name.

“Someone sounds happy,” a blonde stuck her head in, grinning. “That exciting to be heading your own company?”

“Of course. I worked hard for this.” Kagami smiled at her. “And stealing Kara Danvers is just a bonus.”

“You’re only saying that because you think it’s funny.” Kara laughed. “Wouldn’t leave you for the wolves after you saved my ass.”

“Anyone else would have done it or well anyone we know.” Kagami told her. Kara gave her that with a shrug. “What’s on the plan for today?”

“Well business wise we have a meeting with Tim Drake-Wayne- he’s currently trying to get permission for some sort of body armour to be made for teens that can be a hoodie or a sweater.”

“It disgusts me we need those. Let me guess the government won’t have it?”

“Not unless he has back up, or if he agrees for the military to have it to for free.”

“That’s disgusting and I’m going to rip them to shreds.”

“Yep. And for pleasure, you’re meeting your girlfriend at that waffle place she likes.” Kagami grinned, looking pleased. “And your other girlfriend is meeting you guys later. She’s busy with helping her youngest brother with something- wanna tell?”

“Damian is proposing to his boyfriend later. And yes you can call in with this info to hangs your bets.” Kara pumped her fist.

“Yes! Clark and Bruce’s families finally join!”

“Dare you to tell them that.”

“I will gladly do so.”

Luka

Luka was busy tuning his gut air when the door opened and Nino stuck his head in. “Yo, Luka- your sister is here.”

“Nice.” Luka grinned as Juleka came in, Nino following. “Jules!”

“Luka!” The two hugged. “Ugh, how’s the recording going?”

“Really well. How’s the wedding planning?”

“Better now that we took Marinette’s advice and hired her friend Bart- he’s amazing at it.” Juleka told her brother. “Rose wants to adopt him I think.”

“Bart? Yeah he has that sort of feel.” Laughed Luka. Juleka shook her head.

“Of course you know him. So… dating anyone?”

“Not really. Sort of dating this one guy Conner but we’re not that serious.” Luka shrugged.

“Aww. Hey how about you Nino?”

“Nah man, I’m flying solo still. Busy with my music and helping Luka out.” Nino told them. “Though I do have a date so… later!”

“... one night stands?” Juleka asked Luka who laughed when Nino was gone.

“Yeah. He’s having fun.”

“To each their own,” Juleka said. “... he’s not-“

“Juleka. He and Alya broke up and I will not let you two hatch a matchmaking scheme at your wedding. It’s about you, no one else.” Luka told him. “As well Nino told me there’s some stuff he doesn’t like talking about with their relationship. And he doesn’t want to get back together.”

“... Alya says-“

“Different people Juleka. Different people and Alya may not be saying everything either.” Luka told his sister. “Aren’t we talking about me?”

“You and your music career making a killing while you also run around with interesting jewelry?”

“Says the one with her fancy rings.” Luka teased. Juleka laughed and smiled. “And the fact she’s a world-famous model now.”

“Yeah we are really killing it aren’t we.” Juleka smiled, then frowned. “... heard about Chloe?”

“Yeah. I think we can trust her though. There are telepaths working there.”

“I know it’s just…” Juleka made a face. “Viperion and Black Claws might need to step in.”

“Maybe. Hopefully not but maybe.” Luka sighed. “... I’m glad you saw through Lila so fast.”

“Got lucky with Rose knowing Ali… he’s coming by the way.”

“King at your wedding. Nice.”

“I know.”

#maribat #miraculous ladybug #ml au #flash forward #ml salt #Lila salt

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theshadowedqueen82 · 3 years

Text

what you’ve kept hidden (i’ve always known), 7.2k words, Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Jim Lake Jr.

My Jimari Secret Santa gift to Aly (let me know if I should tag you!) combining the prompts for a confession with angst and a cute first date. Also on Ao3.

The video is blurry, filmed from a cellphone camera just behind a nearby building, but it's the best they have. There aren't any news crews in the area, but Toby is diligently looking for any other coverage on his phone. Jim doesn't think he could be watching this without him.

The camera is shaking as it shows the back of a man in a purple suit, holding up a girl with one hand and reaching for her earrings. Ash falls from the sky around them, and there are sirens in the distance.

It can’t end like this, is all that Jim can think. Ladybug's too strong, too skilled, too smart to be caught like this. She must have some sort of plan, some kind of power that can fix this. He’s seen her do it before.

Reports of magical heroes in Paris had slowly made their way to Arcadia a year ago. While most people had thought it fraudulent or some kind of publicity stunt, Jim was far less likely to dismiss claims of magic these days. He’s followed her rising career through a few blogs and home videos, watched a couple of newscasts, and found some comfort in the idea that he's not the only hero out there. He almost envied Ladybug for being able to go public with her identity, being able to see and communicate with the public she was protecting. At the moment all he feels for her is cold dread.

Hawkmoth makes a quick movement, and there's a shimmer of pink light. Jim wants to look away, grant her the privacy he knows is being violated, but can't seem to make his eyes move. As the costume falls away revealing a very familiar looking face, his jaw drops.

“Marinette?”

—

Jim doesn't quite remember when it started. Somewhere on the forums for one of the many games they both played, teaming up to defeat virtual monsters and chatting only through text. Over the years they’d grown closer, started voice chatting and then video chatting, beginning to share a little more of their lives and themselves. Their relationship had lasted far past the usual expiration date of online friendships and they were still going strong. She was the only reason he still spoke French, and he helped her with her English homework. They had fallen into an easy pattern of late night gaming marathons in middle school and homework sessions in high school, calling each other to chat during the time zone window where neither of them were sleeping to chat and swap baking tips and laugh over bad jokes.

She was the first person he’d told about Claire, back when he had time for things like crushes. She’d encouraged him to ask her out, and Jim had countered asking when she was going to do the same for Adrien. He wanted to tell her about the amulet, but knew that there wasn’t a chance. Besides, what would she be able to do? She was an ocean away, and even if she was here it wasn’t like she could grab a sword and fight Bular for him. Or so he’d thought.

“Is it Steve again?” she’d asked one afternoon, when training had gone rather poorly and he’d signed into their video call exhausted and with the beginnings of a rather sizable bruise on his shoulder. She couldn’t see it, but she was perceptive enough to notice the wince every time he moved.

“It’s not him,” he promised. “I’m doing some… extra curriculars. After school credit stuff.”

“Oh?” Marinette asked, her eyebrows rising. “Like what? I thought you had to turn down culinary club.” It felt like almost a lifetime ago, when he’d been occupied with trying to keep his grades up and take care of the house, when the fee for participation had been enough to make him put off joining until he could find a summer job and pay for it himself.

“Yeah, I joined… wrestling,” he decided, racking his brain for what kind of extracurricular could involve physical injury. “Trying to get my phys ed mark up, I haven’t been doing so great.” Which was true, due to a lack of attendance rather than ability but Mari didn’t need to know that.

“Wrestling?” she echoed, confusion in her expression. Jim had wondered if she was going to press, felt a cold knot form in his stomach at the thought of lying more to her. But to his relief she’d only frowned and accepted it, saying that it sounded dangerous and she hoped he’d try to be safer before changing subjects.

Now his mind is running through those old conversations, wondering if he’d missed any of the same signs from her. Any sprained ankles or healing cuts, any sign of a burden they could have shared.

“Marinette is Ladybug? Your Marinette?” Toby is saying, but Jim can hardly hear him over the buzzing in his ears.

Hawkmoth has dropped her, and she's coughing. Jim realises that he’d been strangling her, that she’d have a necklace of bruises marring her neck tomorrow. If she makes it that far, a nasty voice in the back of his mind whispers, one Jim immediately shoves away.

“Come on, Marinette,” he whispers, leaning closer to the screen like he could reach her through it. Hawkmoth has grabbed her arm and is starting to drag her away, but another figure strides forward and stops him. Chat Noir, Jim thinks with a rush of relief, and then anger, because how dare he let this happen to her? How could he let it come this far, let her be unmasked on live video, let her stand up to a supervillain by herself?

He redirects that anger, since Chat Noir has been trying to protect her, is probably taunting Hawkmoth right now trying to get him to release her. They're too far away for the video to pick up on their audio, but not far enough to keep Jim from seeing how he raises a hand, threatens to slap her. And how she flinches.

Then Chat Noir moves, lunges forward and there’s a flash of light that turns the video into a blur of static. They sit there in horrified silence for a moment before the feed shuts off completely, leaves them staring at a dark screen with an error message.

“NO!” Jim screams, and Toby’s scrolling through his phone but he’s not fast enough, Marinette is in danger RIGHT NOW and Jim doesn’t know what’s happening. Can’t see if she’s hurt more, can’t see if she’s gotten free, can’t see if she’s even still alive and nothing matters in this moment except the fact that there’s an ocean between them keeping him from helping her and he’s terrified.

It’s the longest two minutes of his life until they find another video, but this one’s only Rena Rouge. “-all okay,” she’s saying to the reporters who have finally showed up, far too late to catch anything other than a repaired and empty street with their cameras. “Hawkmoth has been defeated and turned over to the proper authorities, and everybody is safe.”

The reporters are falling over themselves asking questions, most about Ladybug ( what’s her name , like it’s not going to be all over the internet within the hour), and Rena declines to comment. “There will be an official statement released in the future,” she says before leaving, a pale and shocked reporter taking her place in front of the camera. She can only repeat facts Jim already knows, so he turns off the television and sits there in silence.

“She must be okay,” Toby finally offers, and Jim nods. Marinette has to be okay, not because of the reporters’ questions or Rena’s composure or even because she’s Ladybug, but because the alternative is too terrible to think of.

“Do you ever feel like you need to be perfect?” Marinette had asked him once, when Jim had noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the flat tone of voice, dulled from her usual vibrancy. “Like everything’s depending on you, and if you aren’t enough then people will get hurt?”

All the time, was his answer, but he couldn’t say why so he didn’t say it at all. “Do you feel that way?”

“Sometimes, yeah,” she said, and he knew that she too really meant always. “It’s just a lot, you know? With school, and the bakery, and…”

“And the akumas,” Jim guessed. The previous day had been a particularly drawn out fight between Ladybug and an akuma, and while he’d been confident Ladybug would win he still worried. This was Marinette's home, her friends, her school. And although they hadn’t discussed it in detail, Marinette trying to change the subject whenever he asked questions until he figured she simply didn’t want to discuss it, he knew the akumas fed off emotion. What was that like, being unable to let yourself be truly angry or afraid, with the constant threat of being weaponized hanging over your head?

“You don’t need to be perfect,” he’d told her. “You just need to be you. That’s all anybody can expect.”

“And what if I’m not enough?” Mari had asked, and Jim had wished that he could place a hand on her shoulder.

“You’re always enough,” he’d said.

Now he's wondering how many other conversations they’d had that were really about Ladybug, and wondering if there was anything he could have said that would have been better. Encouraged her more, made her job the tiniest bit easier. He can't remember saying anything monumentally stupid like let Ladybug handle it, but he wouldn’t put it past his memory to be a bit faulty on this matter.

How had he not known? How had he missed all the signs? Him of all people, who knows exactly what it's like to be fighting evil in between classes, how it feels knowing that you're the only person standing between genuinely evil beings and your home, what it's like keeping everything secret as you attempt to live a double life without either side crumbling.

He’d messaged her as soon as he got home, a quick are you okay before he realised that her phone was probably turned off if she wanted to have any peace. If Jim was exposed as the Trollhunter, everybody would be too busy with the underground secret society of trolls to really bother him. Ladybug was a national figure, and she’d just been unmasked on live television.

So Jim starts stress baking, because while he can’t make sure that Marinette was okay he can make sure that this pie crust stays perfectly golden brown. It doesn't help much, Marinette and baking being permanently linked in his mind after too many nights spent on the phone trying out new recipes together, but at least he’ll get some muffins out of his anxiety instead of just a sleepless night.

“What happened?” his mother asks when she comes home to a kitchen filled with assorted baked goods. She knows him too well for him to pass it off as nothing, and besides he’s tired of lying, but he doesn’t want to tell her about Ladybug. Maybe she’ll find out, but it’s not his secret to give.

“Marinette’s in trouble,” he says. “I haven’t heard from her, and I can’t...” he trails off, unsure what to say. Can’t stand not knowing, can’t help her from here? Can’t breathe properly until he hears her voice, hears from her that everything will be okay? All true, but saying it won’t change it.

“Oh honey,” his mom says, and she’s hugging him and Jim lets himself fall into the embrace. He hopes Marinette has her parents with her right now, hopes they’re hugging her and letting her melt like he is now, hopes more than anything that she’s safe and happy because she deserves to be.

If she were here nothing would keep him from getting to her house. He’d scale the wall and meet her on her balcony, wait by the back door until somebody let him in, do whatever it took to see her. But all he can do is wait for her to reply.

His phone is ringing. In the moment it takes for his half asleep mind to register the noise he’s already reaching for it. The ringtone is a familiar rock song, one he associates with Marinette before Jagged Stone, and a shot of adrenaline clears all the remaining drowsiness from his mind when he remembers why this call is so important.

“Marinette?” he says, the words tumbling out of his mouth as soon as he presses the button and lifts the phone to his ear, and he hears ragged breathing on the other side.

“Jim,” she gasps, and he feels as though a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

“Are you okay?” he asks, standing and starting to pace.

“I’m fine,” she says, and then she’s crying. “I wanted to tell you. I’m so sorry.”

“Mari,” he says, wishing that he could be next to her, wrap an arm around her shaking shoulders and hold her close. “I don’t care about that, I’m just glad to hear that you’re safe. You don’t know how worried I was.”

“I didn’t mean to,” she replies, and he can still hear the tears in her voice. He hates the sound, hates her choked gasps as she cries, but would take them any day over not hearing from her at all. “I wanted to tell you, I just couldn’t. Hawkmoth... “

“I know,” he says. “I understand.” And he does, more than she knows, and a knot of guilt forms in his stomach. He knows how it feels to want to tell, to share this incredible burden with your best friend, and he understands exactly what prevents that. “I’m just glad you’re okay. You don’t know how scared I was.”

“I know,” she says, and she sniffles. Her tears seem to be running out, and Jim takes a deep breath.

“What happened?” he says, and then it all comes spilling out. She talks about the plan they had, how she was going to be the distraction, how it all went wrong when they found Hawkmoth’s identity (and something in his chest clenches at that, the scar of an old betrayal aching again), and how the ladybugs repaired all the physical damage but they couldn't undo the unmasking. All of Paris knows who their hero is, after she’s worked so hard to keep it a secret.

“I was so worried you’d be upset,” she says. “It’s been such a big part of my life, and I wanted to tell you, but… ”

“I understand,” he says. “Superheroes always have a secret identity.” She gives an embarrassed laugh at that, and he could picture the blush spreading across her face. “Marinette, would you promise me something?”

“What?” He had been sitting down but now he stands, walking over to the window as he decides how exactly to make his request.

“Please, don’t do this again,” he says. “I know you’re a hero, I know you’re smart and capable and strong, but please. Don’t put yourself in danger like that again.”

“Jim… I don’t think I can promise that,” she says, and Jim nods. It’s part of the job, and he can’t make the same promise back. Though she doesn’t know it he's been as much danger as she was, if not more. And he probably will be again.

“I know, I know,” he sighs. “Just… be careful. Seeing you in danger, and I was too far away to do anything, and I… I haven’t even gotten to tell you…” he trails off as his mind catches up with his words. Tell her what? That she makes him smile more than anybody else, that hearing from her always makes his day better, that when he thought she might have been killed the world felt wrong until he heard her voice? All true, but not what he’d been about to say.

“Jim?” Marinette prompts, and he mentally shakes himself.

“We haven’t even gotten to meet,” he says. “In real life. And you’re not allowed to be hurt before that happens.”

“Right,” she says, a bit of a smile returning to her voice. “But all bets are off after, right?”

“It’ll be different after we meet!” A smile begins to tug at the corners of his mouth. “I’ll be able to protect you.”

“Which one of us is the superhero again?” And just like that they fall back into their usual easy banter, and it feels like nothing has changed. It’s like he always knew, like no secrets have ever hung between them, because more important than her being Ladybug is her being Marinette. Yet woven through it all is a pattern of relief, a whispered we’re here and we’re safe as steady as a heartbeat carrying their conversation.

They talk well into the early hours of the morning, and when his alarm wakes him Jim finds the phone fallen on the pillow next to him. They must have fallen asleep talking, as the phone informs him they spent far more hours on call than he remembers, and there’s a text from her. Goodnight Jim! Thank you.

He holds his phone to his chest and stares at the ceiling, eyes stinging from not enough sleep, and wonders just what he had been about to tell her.

—

They parked a news van outside her house. She kept the curtains drawn and couldn’t go out, communicated to her friends and other heroes over phone calls and video chats. The official press release had been delivered by Rena Rouge and Carapace. Chat Noir had vanished; Marinette told him that his identity wasn’t her secret to share, but he was safe and recovering. But Paris still wanted to hear from Ladybug, and she just wanted to be left alone.

Chloe had surprised both of them by hiring a full bodyguard detail to guard the shop. Marinette thought it was her way of apologizing for some of her earlier behaviour at school, but she was mostly grateful that she hadn’t asked any questions. Her parents were trying to run the shop but kept getting people who just wanted to meet her, and had ended up resorting to mainly doing deliveries to keep gawkers out of their house. Marinette couldn’t leave, and although she tried to stay positive Jim knew she was feeling trapped.

“Come stay with me,” Jim had said, the words out of his mouth before he could think them through. But it made sense. In America less people knew or cared about Ladybug’s secret identity; she could take a vacation and wait out the media storm, return when she could take a walk outside without needing to worry about paparazzi.

It had been a whirlwind of planning, dates and phone calls from both their parents, but the day has finally arrived. Chloe lent Marinette her private jet; her parents will follow in a few days once they can close down the shop and move into a small condo they’ll be renting. So Jim has prepared a spare bedroom, given what little Ladybug memorabilia he has to Toby with threats to keep him from showing her any of it, and warned the trolls that he’ll have a houseguest. He has not informed them that he’ll be telling her about being the Trollhunter. It’ll be easier to ask forgiveness than permission, when they don’t know Marinette like he does. She can keep a secret, and she deserves to know.

He had thought about bringing a sign, but was worried it might call unwanted attention so refrained. Now he wishes that he brought one, if only to have something to hold. What’s he supposed to do with his hands? It’s ridiculous, this is Marinette, but it’s also the first time they’ll be seeing each other in person and he can’t help but feel suddenly uneasy, like something will go very wrong the moment she steps off the plane. What if he steps forward to greet her and steps on her foot? Or trips and falls into her? And that breaks her nose? Or maybe he’ll knock her over completely, and...

His catastrophic thoughts ground to a halt the moment he sees a flash of hair so black it’s almost blue, and suddenly he’s running forward and so is she. They have never met each other before but they’re flying into each other’s arms, and she fits so perfectly it’s like they’ve done this a million times before.

“Hey,” he says, a little breathless as he pulls back to look at her in the eyes, and he’s smiling so broadly that his cheeks hurt. Marinette’s smile is even more beautiful in person.

“Hi,” she replies, and they stand there for a moment in each others’ arms only to jump apart when his mother clears her throat.

“Marinette, it’s good to meet you,” she says, pointedly ignoring the blush spreading across Marinette’s face. Jim can feel his own cheeks heating and suddenly finds the floor very interesting as he attempts to gather himself, to concentrate on all the words he was planning to say instead of only thinking of the way she felt in his arms.

“It’s lovely to meet you too Ms Lake,” Marinette says, composing herself quickly and holding out her hand.

“Please, call me Barbara.” His mom shakes her hand with a warm smile. “How was your flight?”

“It was good, thank you,” she says.

“First class treatment! What was it like?” Jim asks, and she grins at him.

“I saved you some of the pretzels,” she says, pulling out a package of them from her pocket.

“And this is why we’re friends,” he says, and she laughs.

“Because I give you food?”

“No other reason,” he says.

“Glad to hear your friendship is so easily bought,” she teases. “A single pack of stale airline pretzels?”

“Private jet pretzels,” he says. He returns her grin and then their smiles soften. “It’s really good to see you.” The words aren’t enough, can’t convey the sense of rightness he feels at having her here, but she seems to understand anyways.

“You too.” Marinette blushes and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. The moment is broken by a man clearing his throat, somebody who looks like he just walked out of a Men in Black movie which is contrasted by the pastel pink suitcase and duffel bag he’s holding.

“Excuse me ma'am, we can bring your luggage to the vehicle,” he says, and they’re both stepping forward in tandem.

“Oh, thank you but that’s okay,” she says, while he’s saying “I can take that for you,” and thankfully the man doesn’t fight as they pull the luggage from his hands (her with the duffel, him with her suitcase) because even with his Trollhunting-obtained muscle Jim’s not sure he would win a tug-of-war with him.

“Shall we?” his mom says, leading them out to the car, and Jim feels a rush of excitement as it begins to sink in that he can finally show Marinette his home.

“It’s not a limo, but I hope it’s fancy enough,” he says, and she rolls her eyes.

“I’m sure I’ll manage.” Then her mouth quirks up in a grin that he recognizes, and she takes off after his mom. “Race you!” she calls.

“You don’t even know which one is ours!” Jim shouts back, while trying to convince the wheels on her suitcase to maintain a pace they were never built for. They fall into the backseat with flushed cheeks and racing heartbeats, and he spends half the drive home pointing out things for her to finally put an image to and the other half admiring how much better she looks in person compared to a video feed.

—

The creaking floorboard wakes him up. Not that he’d been sleeping too well anyways, his dreams a confused muddle of anxiety he's thankful didn’t break out into a full nightmare. He considers rolling over and trying to go back to sleep, but then remembers that Marinette is here and there’s a chance Draal has ignored all of his warnings and decided a midnight snack is appropriate right now. It takes a moment to locate his house robe and shrugs it on over his pyjamas before creeping into the hallway. Marinette’s door is also open.

He finds her in the kitchen, softly opening cupboards. She’s already located a mug and it’s waiting on the kitchen island, and her eyes go wide and she winces an apology at him when she sees him.

“I didn’t want to wake you,” she says, and he shrugs as he heads for the drawer where they keep their tea bags.

“It’s fine,” he says, holding them up for her to inspect. “Chamomile?” She nods and he starts the kettle boiling. “Jet lag? Or something else?” She looks away, and the dark rims under her eyes are too pronounced to come from one night.

“I don’t think I want to talk about it right now,” she says, and Jim nods. He pours them both a cup and beckons her over to the couch.

“If we use subtitles we can watch something,” he says. “Unless you’d rather be alone.”

“No,” she says, sitting down next to him. She’s wearing a blanket over her shoulders and pulls it up, tucks it around her until only her head and her hand holding her tea are poking out. “Company is good.”

They don’t say anything else as Jim pulls up Beauty and the Beast (the Disney animated one, she’d told him years ago it was her comfort film) and sets the subtitles to French. They’d been speaking English all day with only occasional slips into French, but he thinks she might need something familiar right now. Halfway through the villagers singing about how strange Belle is she shifts and her free hand creeps out of the blankets to the couch cushion between them.

“I keep seeing their faces,” she whispers, the words solemn and heavy. “There were casualties when we fought him.” He hasn’t heard anything about casualties, probably because Lucky Charm always fixes everything at the end of the battle. Everything but the guilt in her voice, the fear in her eyes, the way she flinches when he reaches out and takes her hand in his.

“It was his fault,” he says. “Not yours.” Her breath hitches a little, and he knows she’s on the verge of tears. “You saved them. You did everything you could, and you won.”

“Are you disappointed?”

“What?” He turns and looks at her, the movie forgotten as he tries to figure out what on earth he has to be disappointed about.

“I know you admired her,” she says, her eyes flicking over his face. “Ladybug, I mean. And to find out that it’s just me, and that I’m…”

“Marinette, you’re amazing,” he says honestly, squeezing her hand. “You’re brave and selfless and kind, and the only difference between you and Ladybug was that she had superpowers. You’re a hero with or without them. I could never be disappointed.”

Maybe she moves towards him or he moves forward first, but however it happens they’re bundled together in a hug. She’s shaking, and Jim wishes more than anything that he could take this from her. She doesn’t deserve this burden even if she is strong enough to carry it, and it’s a tragedy she has to.

She pulls back a little and they watch Belle sing about adventure, still wrapped in an embrace made mostly of blankets, and when Maurice heads into the castle he shifts slightly and reaches forward for the box of tissues, silently offering it to her.

“Thank you,” she says, grabbing a few.

“I wish I could help more,” he says, and they both know he’s not talking about the tissues. She looks at him, eyes still a little too wet, and gives him a smile.

“You did,” she says, quiet conviction in her voice. “Jim, you were my rock. Some days the only thing that kept me sane was knowing that I’d be able to talk to you afterwards, even if I couldn’t tell you the details.” He tightens his arm around her shoulder but says nothing, and her face scrunches up in a frown. “It’s true, you know,” she says. “I didn’t need you fighting beside me. I just needed a friend. And you were always there, no matter what time it was or how little I was saying.”

Their minds are likely both flashing over other midnight conversations, texts sent in the middle of classes and calls made by sneaking out of study hall, and although they were sparse on some details like names and events they certainly hadn’t hidden how they were feeling.

He still feels guilty, still wishes that he could have been next to her in that final battle and all the previous ones, but he has to trust that whatever little he was able to offer was enough.

The movie goes on and he feels something in his chest tighten at the library scene, as all the characters sing about something there that wasn’t there before. But was it really, he wonders? He always wants to protect his friends, always wants to help people, but sometime when he wasn’t looking Marinette quietly claimed a piece of his heart that he only just realised was missing. Falling in love with her was so easy, so natural, that the landing was soft enough to go unnoticed.

“I think I’m in love with you,” he whispers as Beauty and her Beast dance through the dazzling ballroom, and his stomach falls at her silence until he looks down and realises she’s drifted off to sleep, head using his lap as a pillow and hands curling around the blanket.

I’ll tell her soon, he promises himself as his own eyelids start to droop. But they have time, and right now they both just need to rest.

—

It was an awful fact that whenever one promised to do something tomorrow the fated day never arrived, forever shoved aside in favor of endless todays until it's suddenly Marinette’s last day staying with him. She still likely has a few more months in Arcadia, but the packed suitcase in the hallway makes him feel like his window's closing. It was so easy to let their conversation be light and easy, to spend their days biking through the town and introducing her to his friends, that he’s managed to put it off until now. But today would be the day.

They’d planned a picnic. Just the two of them, and if he’d actually had this conversation before this could be their first date. She’d insisted on finding a red checkered blanket to spread on the ground (they’d eventually found one in a thrift store) and they’d made each other weird sandwiches (peanut butter, bacon, and banana for him, pear walnut for her), and everything was loaded in his picnic basket. The amulet was in his back pocket.

Maybe it’s better this way, he thinks, staring at his bike like it'll offer some sage wisdom for the situation. If she doesn’t feel the same it would be awkward if she was still in the same house. Or if the trolls freak her out he supposes she won't mind moving, but he can’t help but feel that confession will be the easier out of the two. After all, he’s met Tikki, and kwamis seem a bit more shocking than trolls.

“Ready to go?” Marinette asks, closing the door behind her, and Jim nods and smiles as she mounts her bike.

“No earrings?”

“I think Ladybug deserves a day off,” she says, and he wonders if Tikki knows some of what he wants to say and has decided to give them alone time. “Let’s go!”

She’d memorized the layout of the town very quickly, something she credited to years of biking being her main transportation through Paris. She also had a bad habit of looking for cars driving the wrong way while crossing the road, and he was trying to at least get her to look both ways before darting out into the street. His caution has sadly not yet caught on, and she’s quickly outpacing him as they ride towards the woods.

They dismount and leave their bikes behind a bush before walking further into the woods, Marinette admiring the surroundings with wide eyes.

“No forests in Paris?” Jim asks, and she shrugs.

“There’s some parks, but nothing this size,” she says. “And this is just here. You can walk in any direction and run into more forest.”

“Maybe we can go camping,” Jim suggests. “When your parents have gotten settled in, we can spend a weekend at Yosemite or something.” He hasn’t gone camping in years, but he’s learned plenty of wilderness survival skills from Blinky. Granted he was fairly certain only a few of them applied to humans, but it would still be fun. He’d probably find trollish lessons fun if he was doing them with Marinette.

They plan their camping trip as they cross a river, and Marinette’s laugh distracts Jim enough that his foot slips off a rock and ends up drenched in river water. She’s concerned at first but soon enough they’re both laughing over it, and they finally reach the clearing. Buttercups and daisies dot the grass between dandelions, and they spread the blanket and lie down, looking up at the cloudless sky.

“I bet the stars out here are beautiful,” Marinette says. “We have to come back some time at night and stargaze.”

“I can try and borrow Toby’s telescope,” Jim agrees. “Have you gone stargazing before?”

“Not really,” she says. “You can’t see too many in Paris from light pollution, and my nights were usually too busy to stop and look. You?”

“Same,” he says. “I’ve tried to pick out constellations a few times, but I’m terrible at it. They all look the same to me.”

“You just have to start with what you know!” Marinette says. “Find Orion’s belt or the Big Dipper and go from there.”

“So you have gone stargazing!” He props himself up on an elbow to look at her, and she shakes her head.

“No, I’ve just used star maps,” she says. “I was making a skirt design that used constellations and I wanted it to be accurate!”

“You know you could probably just make random dots and nobody would know the difference, right?”

“I would know the difference!” she says, sitting up. “Haven’t you ever taken pride in your work? Done it right for the sake of doing so?”

“Of course! I used to drive my mom crazy by insisting on making pie crusts from scratch.”

“They taste better that way!”

“Exactly! But I never had time to make them, so we went without pie for a while until I caved and went store bought.”

“Jim!” she gasps, her hand covering her mouth in faux horror. “Never let my parents hear you say that, they’ll never let us speak again!”

“Scandalous, I know!” he agrees. “But if I have you to ask for help I won’t need to resort to such desperate measures in the future.”

“You can spend all day baking with my dad, he’ll love it,” she says. “He thinks that’s the best way to get to know somebody, so expect an interrogation while making a layer cake.”

“An interrogation? Don’t they already know me?” Marinette blushes and looks away.

“They do, but not as well as they want to,” she says. He sits up, but she still refuses to meet her gaze. “After all, they think… well…”

Tell her now, his mind screams at him. This is the perfect time! But suddenly his tongue is made of lead. “Marinette,” he says, and it’s a wonder she can hear him over the sound of his suddenly too loud heartbeat. But hear she does, and her head turns towards him maybe a little too quickly.

“Yes?”

“I…” And despite how much he wants to tell her, for whatever reason the only words he can force out of his mouth are “Would you like a sandwich?”

“Oh,” she says, deflating a little. “Yeah, sure.” His hands tremble a little as he opens up the picnic basket and passes her the food. He grabs his as well; the plan is for them to take the first bite at the same time, but he’s not sure if he can manage to eat anything from the way his stomach is twisting. “Ready?” Marinette says with a grin, but it’s not as wide as it was before.

“Wait,” he says, and she wrinkles her nose at him.

“This is a bad time to tell me you’re allergic to peanut butter,” she says, and he smiles.

“Not that,” he says. “I was actually going to tell you… well, I…” She doesn’t say anything, just stares at him with eyes bluer than the sky, and Jim wonders why this moment is harder than leaping into the Darklands.

“Marinette, you’re a great friend,” he says, and he wants to kick himself as he sees her face fall. “That’s not what I meant!” he says, and now she just looks confused. “I mean, I wanted to say that while I love our friendship, I also… I might think of you as more. More than a friend.” HIs cheeks are ablaze and he can’t meet her gaze, instead choosing to focus on his sandwich. The pickle juice will make the bread soggy, but eating it is the last thing on his mind.

“Jim, is this a date?” Marinette asks, and her voice is soft enough that he can’t discern her feelings.

“Maybe,” he says. “It can be, if you want it to be.” And he’s so ready to hear her gently turn him down (he knows she likes Adrien, and he’s just Jim! He can’t hold a candle to an actual model) that he almost misses her reply.

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Yes, I’d like this to be a date.” He looks at her, and he’s never seen anybody look as happy as she does in that moment.

“You mean you-”

“Yeah,” she says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I think I’ve liked you for a while now. I just wasn’t sure how to bring it up.”

“Me neither,” he says. “I thought Adrien-”

“We’re friends,” she says. “And Claire?”

“Friends,” he says. They went on a date once and it was terribly awkward, and at the end they agreed a platonic relationship was better. But he doesn’t want to think about Claire right now, not when Marinette is there and she apparently likes him too. “I figured it out when I was watching the battle,” he confesses.

“Because you learned I was Ladybug?” she asks, and he shakes his head.

“Because I realised I couldn’t lose you,” he says. “It was more of a catalyst than a deciding factor.” It’s not Ladybug he fell in love with, it’s Marinette and all the little things about her that make her extraordinary.

“I figured it out on the plane ride over,” she says. “Alya told me to tell her all the details about ‘my new boyfriend’ and I spent the whole flight thinking about that.”

“Oh,” he says, and his cheeks are beginning to hurt from his smile. “I should have told you sooner, shouldn’t I?”

“Yes!” Marinette agrees with a laugh. “We could have been dating this whole time!”

“It’s only been a few days,” he says. “And besides, I don’t think we would have done anything too different.” Now that he thinks about it a lot of their excursions around the town could have been dates: going to the museum, petting the dogs in the pet shop, eating at his favourite cafe, visiting the library.

“I could have done this sooner,” she says, and she leans forward and kisses him. It’s a quick peck on his cheek, but he feels as though a shock of electricity has gone through him. “Sorry,” she says, pulling back. “I should have asked first.” But he puts down his sandwich and reaches out for her, slowly cupping her cheek.

“May I?” he asks, and she nods. And he lowers his lips to hers.

It’s not like a dream, or something magical. It’s better than that because it’s real, he’s really and truly here with Marinette and they are kissing, and when he finally pulls back he can’t help but marvel at the flushed and beaming expression she’s wearing because of him.

“You’re lucky I did that before I ate the sandwich,” he says, and she laughs.

“I’d let you even with pickle breath,” she says, and not even the strange food combinations they’ve made can cause their smiles to dim. They eat and exchange the second half of their sandwiches, and drink lemonade and eat apples and toss the cores as far as they can (he’s got more strength, but yo yo throwing has made her accuracy unbeatable). And as the shadows are beginning to lengthen he doesn’t want to leave, exit this perfect afternoon and go to the next moment where he’ll have to let the rest of the world into this new and wonderful thing, but decides that since the future will hold second and third dates and hopefully many dates after that it won’t be so terrible letting this one end.

“I'm really glad that you finally told me,” she says as they pack up the picnic, shaking the crumbs off the blanket before folding it. “Despite how hard it was to get the words out.”

“Next time I’ll just use Romeo’s speech,” he says. “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Marinette is the sun.”

“I’ll need to brush up on my Shakespeare if I want to keep up,” she says, and he shrugs.

“If you want, but I can’t think of anything better than you,” he says. “The words you speak, I mean. And the way you say things.” His cheeks are burning again, but she smiles at him and gives him another kiss.

“Sometimes you talk too much,” she says, and he nods and kisses her again. All good things must come to an end, as kisses are limited by lung capacity, but he can’t bring himself to mind now that the prospect of many more kisses await both of them in the future.

“If this is the result, I don’t think I mind being unmasked,” she tells him, and he nods. “Plus, we don’t need to play the awkward secret identity game this way.” With a flash he remembers that there were two things he wanted to tell her about, and while he doesn’t think this will be a dealbreaker he’d much rather get it out of the way sooner rather than later. He’s learned his lesson about hiding things from Marinette.

“Actually, there was one more thing I wanted to tell you about,” he says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the amulet.

#my fic #jimari #jiminette #ml fic #trollhunters fic #jim lake jr #marinette dupain cheng #trollhunters #miraculous ladybug #today on fics that turned out much longer than i thought they'd be #'i can write fluff!' i say 4k words into this. 'it just takes some time!'#i don't think i'm capable of writing about these characters without thinking about the implications #jimari secret santa 2020

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