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mostmagical · 8 months

Text

Green & Red & Black

my mind has been inundated with misternette thanks to @spicysummer22's art (go LOOK) so I promised I'd write a fic

fits in canon somewhere between Passion and Elation

Ao3

Lady Noire touched down to the street, the miraculous on her finger ringing only more desperate by the second. Hurriedly, she flung herself into the alleyway with only a single cursory glance to ensure she was alone.

“Claws in,” she huffed, her transformation melting over her shortly after.

Plagg groaned despondently as she caught him in her hands. The swap had been last minute and unexpected, being that their fight with Safari had only been a few days prior. She would have thought Monarch would have come up with a better half-baked plan after that defeat, knowing she and her kitty would always figure out a way to beat him.

“Sorry, Plagg,” Marinette sighed. “I only have a strawberry macaron. Is that okay?”

He opened one green crescent eye to look at her, remaining spread eagle in her palm. “I guess it’ll do,” he agreed.

Marinette smiled and fished the snack out of her purse.

“Eat up.”

She couldn’t believe her luck. Her cataclysm had missed early on, and the battle continued. The bad timing had forced her to duck away before Chat– er, Mister Bug could even call for his lucky charm. Hopefully, he was managing out there okay on his own.

She would never forgive herself if anything happened to his pretty face while she was gone.

Plagg was taking his sweet time biting into the macaron, all the while dribbling crumbs all over her hand. It was as though the little cat kwami had no sense of urgency anywhere in his tiny body. Marinette tapped her foot impatiently.

“Can you hurry?” she worriedly asked, peeking out of the alleyway and into the open street. It was too quiet.

“I’m going as fast as I can, Pigtails,” Plagg replied with a roll of his eyes. “I swear, you kids have no idea how to savor your food.”

“Time and place, Plagg.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Marinette cast another distracted glance out into the street. “I’m just worried about him,” she said, chewing on her lip.

“I get it,” Plagg replied around a mouthful of macaron. He made a loud gulping sound as he swallowed. “But he’s smart, you know. He can take care of himself just like you can take care of yourself.”

“Sure, sure…” She waved at him with her free hand, no longer fully listening as the air became stiller.

“Actually,” Plagg continued, chewing thoughtfully, “why are you worried about him? Since when do you–” His eyes went wide, and his chewing halted. He groaned. “Tikki wasn’t joking. It’s you, too.”

Marinette wrenched her eyes away from the street, narrowing them instead at the little cat kwami in her hands. “Me too, what?” Her face wrinkled in confusion.

Plagg opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get anything out, a wave of ladybugs passed over them.

Oh. He did it…

Marinette felt a swell of pride fill her chest for her partner. He was getting better and better at wearing her earrings. Maybe they should plan to swap every once in a while. And not just because she wanted to see him in her colors more often.

(Okay, maybe it was a little of that.)

“See?” Plagg smiled, his tiny arms placed on his hips in pride. “I told you he was fine.”

Marinette giggled at his display. She reached out her pointer finger to give him a scratch between the ears, earning herself a quiet purr. “Yes, you did,” she said. “We better get back out there to swap miraculouses again. Claws–”

“M’Lady!”

A tumble of red and black crashed into her, throwing her body hurtling towards the ground with a grunt. Marinette braced for impact, but there was none. Instead she found herself suspended in the air by two strong hands clasped around both her wrists. Slowly, she opened her screwed-shut eyes to green.

Mister Bug stared down at her, his mouth dropped open in a gasp.

“Ma-Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” he stuttered. (Since when does Chat Noir stutter…?)

Marinette tried to speak, but nothing came out. She could only vigorously nod her assent. Yes, that was her name, but she would have answered to anything he called her, surely.

At her silence, Mister Bug took notice of her position, still hanging in the air by her arms. With a worried breath of air, he pulled her up, one of his hands landing on her waist and sending fire up her spine.

“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” he fussed. His green eyes roved over her body as if checking for any scratches, despite the fact that he had saved her from feeling even a brush of the pavement.

Marinette blinked up at him, still disoriented from her near-fall and the cosmic pull of his eyes. “Don’t worry about me. I only just fell for you,” she said.

What.

Mister Bug’s eyes widened, blinking owlishly at her as red pooled his cheeks.

Oh, she loved how much that mask allowed her to see more of his handsome face…

Stop that!

“I mean—! Um!” Marinette scrambled to halt the unintelligible mess threatening to pour out of her mouth, but all she succeeded in doing was tying her own tongue into knots. “Don’t worry about me! You saved me! From falling!” She laughed awkwardly, punching the air with a curled fist.

He smiled, and it was so soft and endearing that she nearly whimpered at the sight. “Yeah, I saved you. Right after I crashed into you.”

“Yeah…” she sighed dreamily. “You can crash into me any day…” She followed that one with an airy giggle.

Mister Bug’s smile curved into something more mischievous—that same flirty smile he’d toss Ladybug’s way anytime he made a pass. “Oh? And would you… provide me a safe place to land?”

Marinette’s heart stuttered in her chest, her stomach bubbling with anticipation. “Of course I would,” she replied, breathy. “Anytime.”

He stepped just a bit closer and she was so, so aware of the hand still placed on her waist, burning her skin through her clothes. She couldn’t decide if she wanted him to move it away for her sanity, or keep it there forever and let her melt away into the embers.

“What are you doing all the way out here anyway?” her bug asked, a wrinkle in his mask between his eyes to match his frown.

She wished she could smooth that wrinkle out, but instead she settled for a gulp to try to clear her dry throat. “I, uh, akuma displacement,” she answered, the usual excuse rolling off her tongue. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“I was looking for Lady Noire, actually,” he explained. “You didn’t happen to see her pass by, did you?”

“Yes– I mean, no— Wait–” Marinette cut herself off. Her brain was already too scrambled to come up with more excuses. “I mean, yes. She, uh, passed by here. Said she needed to run home for something.”

Mister Bug tilted his head, and, god, he was so cute. She had to force herself not to whimper again.

“She said she’d meet you at the usual spot later,” she added, hoping her voice didn’t sound as shaky as she felt. For good measure, she flashed him a thumbs up.

He seemed to accept her answer. “Oh, okay.”

Marinette sighed in relief.

His smile returned. “In that case, it looks like I have some free time,” he said. “Why don’t you let this charming bug fly you home, huh?”

“I’d love to go home with you,” she responded without much thought. “I mean– I’d love for you to take me home– I, wait, uh. My house. Yes. Please.” Her whole body cringed. “Thank you.”

To her relief, Mister Bug appeared completely unbothered by her constant tumbling over words, instead just grinning wider at her. The hand on her waist moved to wrap fully around her body. Marinette only had a second to snake her arms around his neck before he had tossed his yoyo above their heads to hook on a chimney.

“Ready?” he asked, turning to look at her. Every detail in his summer green eyes glittered at her through his red and black-spotted mask, and she felt like she might melt. Oh, she loved those eyes. She loved him in that mask.

Face hot, all Marinette could do was nod at him, and then they were zipping through the air. It was impossible to tell if the swooping feeling deep in her stomach was from the flight or her proximity to the pilot. Either way, she loved the familiar safety of his arm around her back and the solid strength of his shoulders beneath her fingers.

Before she knew it—in fact, it felt like no time at all, really—they had reached her balcony, and he gently set her down on her feet.

“Well, ma cher, we’ve arrived.”

Marinette blinked up at Mister Bug, not quite ready to part from him. Nervously, she played with her still connected fingers behind his neck.

“You should stay,” she told him. “We can sit up here and chat, or you can come in. I’ll bring some chouquettes up from the bakery. It would be nice to talk to you.”

Wait… Was that too familiar? She had to remind herself that she was Marinette; she wasn’t his partner right now. Marinette couldn’t even remember if she was supposed to know that Chat Noir was Mister Bug, so what was she doing right now?

Luckily, he was seemingly totally nonplussed by her suggestion. Instead, he smiled warmly down at her, a rosy tint to his cheeks that she was sure must have mirrored her own. He opened his mouth, looking incredibly agreeable. To her displeasure, however, his earrings chose exactly that moment to protest, beeping angrily in a way that she could just imagine was Tikki’s voice chiding her.

His smile turned regretful. “I’m sorry, Marinette,” he said. “I’d love to, but I have to go.” Gloved hands gently grasped her wrists, pulling them away from his shoulders.

She mourned the loss.

Marinette’s lip stuck out in a pout. “Do you really have to go?”

“Yes, I really have to go,” he replied sadly. Then, brighter, “But if we’re going to make a date of it, at least give me time to buy you flowers first.”

Her heart skipped a beat, butterflies beating furiously inside her chest.

“Oh,” was all she could say.

Mister Bug’s grin returned at her quiet utterance. Somehow, without her noticing, one of his hands had traveled from her wrist to wind affectionately around her fingers, and he squeezed.

He bowed deeply, her hand still in his, the perfect image of a chevalier encased in red and black.

“Until next time, mademoiselle,” he purred. His lips burned like the sun as they pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. “And when I see you again, I’ll be sure to remember your rose.”

Marinette remained silent and red as he straightened to his full height. Her mouth stubbornly refused to move, even as he waved at her in farewell and leapt from her balcony. She pressed her burning hand to her chest, dreamily watching her red bug become nothing more than a dot on the city skyline.

A whine sounded from her purse, and— Oops. She hadn’t even thought to worry about Plagg once that entire encounter.

“That was disgusting,” Plagg groaned, floating up into the air next to her. “I’m going to have to hear about that all night!”

Marinette sighed happily, sinking backwards into her lounge chair before her legs gave out on her. Plagg continued his grumpy buzzing around her head, but she remained lost in her thoughts and memories of bright green eyes in red masks.

She had no idea how she was going to face him later to return his miraculous to him.

Maybe they could stay swapped just a little while longer.

And if Lady Noire brought a bag full of chouquettes to their usual spot later to make up for the lost opportunity, well, that was her business.

#ml fanfic #misternette #marichat #misternoire #miraculous ladybug #ml #ml fic #lovesquare #love square #mister bug #miraculous s5 #kwami swap #buginette #maribug #while writing this i thought oh wouldn't that be a cute series if they just kept getting too distracted to switch back #but i have many wips and i am being Responsible #miraculous #my writing

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