She'd stumbled across the video on accident while trying to find something else. However, even though the video was in English, Marinette was able to understand enough to grasp the brilliance of the idea.
"Marinette," Tikki whined as she watched her chosen tear around the kitchen, "this is just mean."
"Wrong," she countered with a grin. "This is brilliant and all in good fun."
Tikki didn't look convinced.
Marinette sighed. "It's April Fool's day, Tikki," she said. "A time where pranks are encouraged and welcomed. And this, as far as pranks go, is perfectly harmless. I don't even want to think about what Chat's planning in terms of pranks," she ended in a mutter.
Tikki sighed. "I guess you're right."
"Of course, I am," Marinette said with a grin. "This Ann person is a total genius for coming up with it, but I also have one of my own to add. Six chocolates should be plenty."
"But she also had trashcans and water, too," Tikki said.
"I'll be sure to bring that," Marinette assured. "I'm going to do it with them, and I'm going to want water if I get a nasty one. Or a trash bin if I can't down it. I have no idea what this 'vegemite' tastes like, but I'm kinda scared of it."
Tikki wrinkled her nose. "If it's anything like it smells, I'm scared of it, too. I wonder if Plagg would eat it."
"Who knows. At least I got the small container. Ick!"
"They might be mad at you."
Marinette shrugged. "It's not like I'm forcing them to eat it. They can choose to play the game or not. Now, is the salted caramel done? I want to finish this round so I have time to figure out just how to do the liquid filled ones."
Ladybug was the last one to show up to the meeting spot, her arms laden with a couple plastic lined trash bins, a bag of water bottles, and a box of chocolates.
She grinned. Tikki had asked her if Marinette was sure everyone would play. To which she had scoffed. "Chat wouldn't think twice. Alya wouldn't back down from a challenge like this, and Nino would hop right in after her. Chloe might be a snob and not want to, but when she sees we're all playing, she'll jump in. It will be fine."
She landed on the roof, drawing everyone's attention. She smiled. Now, the fun of introducing the challenge.
"Looks like you brought goodies, bugaboo," Chat called, grin on his face.
"More or less," she said, smirking down at the box of chocolates she spent all weekend working on. "More like a game."
"A game?" Carapace asked.
"I'm down!" Rena Rouge shouted.
"You haven't even heard it yet," Ladybug chuckled, dropping the trash bins and bag of water bottles.
"Come on, bug," Chat said, sliding up to her. "If you're going to haul a game all the way up here for us, there's no way we can turn it down."
"Totally," Carapace said. "I'm in."
"Depends if it's a stupid game or not," Queen Bee added.
Ladybug smirked. "Well, it is April Fool's day. And I happen to have with me some chocolates." She opened the box, instantly garnering everyone's excitement, including Queen Bee. "But!" she warned, snapping the box shut. "Some are filled with good things. The others… not so much."
"So, like chocolate roulette?" Rena asked.
Ladybug nodded. "Basically."
"I'm down!"
"Same!" Chat chimed in.
"Well, can't back out now," Carapace said with a grin. "It doesn't sound too bad, anyway."
Queen Bee hesitated. "Ugh, fine," she said with a pout, crossing her arms like a petulant child. "I'll play."
Ladybug grinned. That was easy.
Together, they sat in a circle. She passed out water bottles and set up the two trash cans between the group.
"Now," she began, the box of chocolates open to reveal three kinds of chocolates. "Someone pick which shape of chocolate that we eat. There are three good ones, and three… not-so-good ones. At the count of three, we'll all put the whole chocolate in our mouths and see who won… and who lost."
Rena cackled, rubbing her hands together. "This is gonna be fun."
Chat's smirk proved his agreement.
"Let's start with the little heart ones," Carapace said.
No one argued, each reaching in to pick a chocolate.
"Is there any reason we all have to pick the same one?" Chloe asked, eyeing her heart-shaped chocolate.
"So we each get one of two flavors each round," Ladybug explained.
"Aren't you gonna tell us what we could get?" Carapace asked.
"No." Ann hadn't told her victims until after the chocolate was in their mouth, so Ladybug wasn't inclined to tell hers, either. "I'll tell you afterwards what you could have gotten."
"You're pretty despicable, bugaboo," Chat said with a smirk.
She shrugged. "Have to keep it interesting somehow. So, on the count of three, put the whole chocolate in your mouth. You have to. Ready?"
Everyone nodded.
"One, two, three."
Ladybug was prepared to bite carefully, and ready to spit it out if need be. Thankfully, she wasn't hit by an onslaught of dry, powdered cinnamon and instead the pleasant taste of cinnamon ganache.
However, from the looks of it, Carapace was the only other lucky one.
Queen Bee coughed, a cinnamon cloud forming in front of her while Chat and Rena were quick to reach for the trash cans.
"What was it?" Carapace asked, looking at the three supers that were either hunched over the trashcans or guzzling their water.
"It's so dry!" Queen Bee croaked, reaching for her water. "Oh, it's awful!"
"You know the cinnamon challenge?" Ladybug said as way of explanation.
"I'm sorry for ever thinking it wasn't hard," Chat said between coughs, water bottle half empty already.
"They got straight cinnamon," Ladybug said to Carapace. "It looks like we got the cinnamon ganache."
"And it is awesome," Carapace said with a grin.
"Speak for yourself," Rena spat, putting the cap back on her bottle. "I hope you have more water than this, Ladybug."
Ladybug nodded. "I brought extra."
"You okay there, Queen Bee?" Chat asked. "You're not screeching like you normally do."
The superhero glared at Chat. "So dry," was all she said as she continued guzzling her water.
Ladybug couldn't help but snort a laugh. All the time spent trying to pack as much cinnamon into each chocolate as humanly possible was worth it.
"Ugh!" Queen Bee cried after finishing off most of the bottle. "That was horrible!"
"It was supposed to be," Rena snarked. "You agreed to play."
"Can it, fox."
"Hey hey hey," Carapace said, moving between the two girls. "Knock it off, and let's go to the next one."
"The little half-domes look innocent enough," Chat commented, most likely trying to distract the girls.
"'Innocent', he says," Queen Bee grumbled.
"After the last one," Rena said, reaching for one of the chocolates, "I'm hesitant to call this game 'innocent'."
"You all agreed to play," Ladybug chipped.
"And I regret it," Queen Bee growled.
"Oh, come on," Rena said. "Lighten up, Chloe."
"That's Queen Bee to you, fox!"
"On the count of three!" Chat cried, interrupting the two bickering girls. "One!"
Queen Bee reached for a chocolate. Ladybug smirked.
"Two. Three."
Ladybug was hoping that today wouldn't be the day she tasted vegemite.
And it wasn't.
No, that honor clearly went to Carapace and Queen Bee, who were both reaching for the same trashcan simultaneously, and Chat, who looked like he was trying to power through it before giving up and taking the free trashcan and spitting it out.
"What the hell!" Chloe cried, reaching for her water. "Did I eat?"
"Have you ever heard of vegemite?"
"Australia," Carapace grumbled, taking a large swig of his water.
"Why is it so popular?" Chat agreed, spitting again into the garbage can. "How do people eat that stuff?"
"Mine was good," Rena purred. "Salted caramel, right?"
Ladybug nodded. "Made it myself."
"Girl!" Rena stuck out her hand, and Ladybug gave her a high five. "I need the recipe."
"I got you."
"Yes!"
"No fair!" Queen Bee cried. "How come I only got the bad ones?"
"Uh, same!" Chat said.
"Well, that's to be expected of you, alley cat."
"What'd you just call me?"
"Guys!" Ladybug shouted, calling their attention. "Look, Chloe—uh, Queen Bee can have one of the leftover ones. And Chat can have the other. The bad ones all went out, right, so these two should be good."
Instantly, Queen Bee's attitude changed. "Dibs on the caramel!"
Chat looked a little put out, but took the cinnamon one. "For later," he said, "so I end on a good note."
Ladybug smirked. "Good call. Now, shall we get the next one?"
After Queen Be set her own chocolate aside with a "you have a good point," they all reached for the next chocolate, one that looked like a triangle.
"My heart is pounding," Rena said. "It really feels like Russian roulette."
Ladybug chuckled. "On three. One, two, three."
She was really hoping for raspberry. It was her favorite of the truffles she made.
Unfortunately, the hot sauce was kicking in really quick.
She reached for the trash, spitting it out immediately. But there was no such reaction from the other four.
She blinked a couple times. "Who has the hot sauce?"
Chat wore a grin as he shook his head. "Mine's raspberry. Really nice, bugaboo."
"Yeah," Rena agreed. "Though, the caramel was better."
"It's decent," Queen Bee said.
Meaning Carapace had to have the hot sauce.
"Did you not notice?" Ladybug asked as he reached for the trash bin and politely spat out the chocolate.
"It wasn't bad."
"It wasn't?"
"Really?" Chat reached for the last chocolate, popping it in his mouth and chewing a couple times before anyone could tell him to stop.
He froze, and Ladybug watched as his eyes widened in realization. They say cats don't always think things through, and her kitty was no exception.
Quickly, he reached for the trash can and spat out the chocolate, causing her to snigger as he quickly reached for his water bottle, only to find it empty. "Oh, I regret that. So bad." He complained, dropping the bottle in the waste bin and flopping over on his back.
"Why did you think that was a good idea?" Ladybug asked, hovering over him with a new water bottle.
"He made it seem like it wasn't a big deal!" Chat cried, reaching for the bottle.
"I used extra hot hot sauce," Ladybug said, handing over the bottle. "I could have warned you."
"The spice was kicking in kinda late for me," Carapace said. "I only realized what it was just as I spit it out."
"How?"
"I like spice."
Chat groaned, cracking the lid off his bottle. "You and my buddy, both."
Ladybug sniggered as a now red Chat guzzled his water. "So hot!"
Soon, everyone was laughing at Chat's expense, though Ladybug had to worry a little bit. Her tongue was still tingly with spice. Chat had his in his mouth for much longer.
Soon enough, Chat put his half-empty bottle down and flopped back over, lying flat on the roof. "I want my last chocolate now," Chat whimpered.
"Actually," Ladybug said, reaching over to the box and lifting off the cardboard base, "There's a whole other level."
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
After Chat recovered from the spice incident, they decided on the little chocolate cubes.
Marinette was proud of these ones. After all, it was no small feat managing to hide soy sauce in a chocolate.
"One, two, three."
The result was instantaneous as Rena, Carapace, and Queen Bee all reached for a trash can.
"I like this one, my lady," Chat said from her side. "This one is really nice. Especially after that mouthful of spice."
She chuckled. "You did that to yourself."
He grunted. "Fair enough."
"What are you two so happy about?" Queen Bee shouted, reaching for her water.
"We got some delicious dark chocolate ganache," Ladybug explained with a grin. "But really, anything's better than soy sauce."
Chat cackled like a mad man while Ladybug grinned and took the three sets of angry glares.
"That one," Rena said, reaching for her water, "was pretty devious."
"That was the worst yet," Carapace grumbled.
"I don't know," Ladybug said, reaching for another of the chocolates. "This one is pretty good."
"That's promising," Chat deadpanned.
Queen Bee just sighed and grabbed the next chocolate. "Let's just get this over with."
They counted down, all popping the chocolate in their mouths.
Carapace's expression was priceless. He'd never snatched the trashcan so fast.
"Ugh!" He spat once, twice, three times before reaching for his water. Even Chat, who was holding the other trash bin, was cackling at Carapace's predicament. "I hate wasabi!" he shouted, slamming his empty water bottle down in the bin. "So much!"
The other's laughter only grew.
"The mint is nice," Rena goaded, giving him a smug look.
He was not amused.
"Last one!"
Everyone was eager for this one, whether because it was the last or because they were having fun, Ladybug didn't know. However, she was almost glad this was the last one. Chat was either going to find this one amusing or really hate her.
Either way, she thought it was funny.
"One, two, three!"
The moment Ladybug bit through the chocolate, she was reaching for a trash can. And so was Chat.
"I know what that is!" he shouted after he spat out the chocolate. "I smell like that stupid cheese day in and out! I'm insulted, Ladybug."
Even Rena, who was hugging her own trash bin, was laughing.
"I liked that last one," Carapace commented.
"Dibs!" Rena cried, snatching the chocolate.
"You don't even know what it is," he cried.
"Don't care," she said. "That means you can have the chocolate one."
"But I want the marshmallow."
There was a slight stare down between the two before Rena surrendered. "Fine. Have the marshmallow. I'll have the chocolate."
"Yes," he said with a fist pump, taking the chocolate from Rena so she could take the last chocolate one.
Ladybug smiled as she shut the chocolate box, all her friends happy that they at least got one last nice chocolate to end on.
Except Chat was suddenly coughing. "You liar!"
Ladybug froze, wide-eyed at Chat. "Wha—"
The cloud of cinnamon that appeared with his next wheeze was enough proof that he'd gotten a prank chocolate.
"No way!"
Instantly, everyone else was laughing hysterically. Except Ladybug. She was completely bewildered. And slightly amused.
Chat was hugging a trash bin, spitting out the excess cinnamon. "You said—cough, cough—ugh! You said there were three and three."
"I genuinely thought there were!" she said, her voice high and squeaking with laughter.
"Lair!"
And that only sent up a whole new round of gut-busting laughter.
"Oh, it must suck being the black cat," Carapace jested.
From behind his water bottle, Chat glared at the turtle hero.
Soon enough, they all calmed down enough to put the grudges were put aside, and they just hung out like they had planned to do today. Eventually, one by one, they chose to head home, leaving Ladybug and Chat alone.
"As much as it sucked," Chat began, "especially since I seemed to get all the bad ones, that was really fun, my lady."
She grinned. "Well," she said, pulling out another little box from the water bag. "I may have set some aside specifically for you."
His eyes lit up at her offering. "R-really?"
She shrugged. "To remind you you're still my favorite."
His grin softened. Box forgotten, he pulled her in for a hug. She happily settled against his chest, her arms wrapping loosely around his waist.
"Thanks, milady," he whispered. "You're my favorite, too."
She grinned squeezing him tighter. "That's to no one's surprise."
He chuckled. "Fair enough." He released her, but she stayed close, arms still not moving form around his waist. "You're amazing."
"You are, too." She took a step back, putting the box of chocolates in front of her. "Now, go get some sleep, kitty. And don't eat all those in one sitting. Also, some of those may be for your kwami."
He chuckled. "The camembert ones?"
"That was my kwami's idea," Ladybug said. "She also thought Plagg might want the rest of the vegemite."
Chat's lips pursed doubtfully. "We'll see. I'll ask him."
"Just an offer. I have a jar of it I have no clue what to do with now, so…" She trailed off with a shrug.
"We'll see if we could put it to use," Chat said. "But for now, good night, milady."
"Good night, Chaton. I'll see you when I see you."
"Plagg, claws in."
Chat Noir disappeared with a green flash, leaving Adrien standing in his room.
"I want cheese," Plagg immediately complained. "For using me only to go see your Ladybug."
"It wasn't only Ladybug."
"Details, details."
Adrien rolled his eyes. "Well, lucky for you, Plagg," Adrien said, setting the little box down on his desk, "Ladybug made some camembert treats with you in mind. Mostly to trick us."
"Oh?" Plagg looked over Adrien's shoulder at the box of chocolates. There were two separate compartments, one clearly full of the camembert squares while the other compartment held a variety of the chocolates.
"Chocolate-covered camembert, huh?" Plagg asked. "That has Tikki's name all over it."
"Be nice," Adrien said, handing him a square. "Ladybug worked hard to make those and gave the rest of the camembert ones to you. You could at least be grateful."
Plagg took the treat with a sigh. "I mean, I guess," he sighed dramatically.
Adrien smirked as he picked up a square of his own. Marshmallow, if he remembered correctly. He popped it in his mouth—
"Ugh!" Plagg cried. "That's no camembert!"
And what Adrien had in his mouth was definitely not marshmallow.
The two boys spent the next few minutes at the sink, guzzling water and cursing Ladybug for getting off one last trick for the day.
"I'm cutting open every last chocolate before I bite it," Adrien swore.
Plagg grunted from his place on the counter. "Agreed."
A/N: This was inspired by a video by Ann Reardon of "How to Cook That" where she pulled some nasty chocolates on some other youtubers. You should go check it out. ;)
watch?v=owrKly-Mg6A
