AN: Hi everyone! I'm super excited to be releasing my first story! (Well, I'm calling it my first story. I've actually got several more ideas bouncing around, some that I've already written down, and even one that I was planning to release first, but this one is shorter, so I'm posting it first.) This story is dedicated to Mad Jazzer, for encouraging me to write. (He knows what I mean.)

Marinette stealthily stalked, er, watched Adrien during his photo shoot. Since she had memorized his schedule, she knew that this was the last activity he had for the day, meaning that his entire afternoon was free! Alya had made sure that Nino couldn't hang out that day, "reminding" him that he already had plans with her. Of course, they had no such plans, but with Nino out of the way, there was absolutely nothing standing between Marinette and a whole afternoon with Adrien! Nothing except for Marinette herself, that is. As the photo shoot ended and the photographer left, Marinette forced herself to approach the dreamy, handsome, perfect teen model, but quickly forgot the rest of her plan when he turned his gaze on her.

"Hi, Marinette."

Gah! He spoke to me! Me! He said my name! Adrien said my name! Oh, he's still speaking. What's he saying? With difficulty, she managed to turn her thoughts away from merely basking in his presence to what he was saying to her.

"-out?"

He wants to go out with me? Squee! No wait, he wants to hang out. That's what I'm here for. Eek! No wait, what if he told me to 'get out'? I'm already outside, so that doesn't make sense. Unless he means that he wants me to leave?! Oh, why didn't I pay attention to what he was saying?

Adrien scratched the back of his neck nervously. He really didn't want to head back to his mansion if he didn't have to, but with Nino busy with Alya, he didn't have anything better to do. Marinette was a great friend, and he knew that she could be great to hang around, but for some reason she never wanted to spend any length of time with him, or even talk to him. Even so, he was really hoping that she would agree to hang out, although, gauging by the expressions on her face, the chances of that were slim.

"It's okay if you don't want to. I mean, you probably had other plans, anyway."

"I - You - You're great - I mean, you're right - I mean, yes - no wait, no - I mean - Gah! I, uh, have to go. I, um, have to help my parents! Bye!" Marinette made a quick escape, dashing around a corner before stopping in a park.

"Video games in my room, it is." Adrien sighed before walking towards his house, which was in the same direction.

Gah! Why did I turn Adrien down! He obviously wanted to hang out! That was exactly what I wanted! I didn't mean to say no, it just came out! Oh, why can't I talk normally around Adrien! I'm such a failure! She plopped on a bench, gasping as a sharp corner dug into her side from inside her bag. Opening up her bag, she pulled out the offending box, which had treats from her parents' bakery in it. She had remembered how much Adrien enjoyed her dad's cooking, and had brought the treats as a sort of gift for him. Well, that didn't work out. Why am I such a coward! she thought bitterly.

In a dark room somewhere in Paris, a window slowly opened, revealing a figure reveling in these circumstances. "Ah, self-loathing and despair. Perfect conditions for my akuma to thrive!" A pure white butterfly landed in his palm, where he cupped it with his other hand, infusing it with dark energy. "Fly away, my little akuma, and evilise her!"

Marinette continued to berate herself as she clutched the box. Tikki longed to comfort her, but the park was too crowded to risk leaving Marinette's bag. Suddenly a purple butterfly landed on the box, sinking into it and infusing it with the same dark energy it was filled with. Marinette gasped as she felt Hawkmoth's influence surround her. "Deafener, I am Hawkmoth. For far too long, you have been unable to speak to your love. I give you the power to make him hear you, in return for two small items."

Adrien rounded the corner and slowly walked through the park, being in no hurry to get home. He saw Marinette sitting on a bench, clutching some kind of box. Huh, that's weird. I thought she had to help her parents? While he recognized Marinette's... difficulties with spending time with him, he didn't think she disliked him so much that she would make up excuses just to avoid him. Suddenly he saw a purple butterfly land on her box, and saw Hawkmoth's signature around her face. Oh no, not Marinette! Marinette was one of the nicest people he knew, and had so far managed to avoid being akumatized. He had rather been hoping that it wouldn't happen. "Plagg, I need to transform!"

Plagg poked his head out of Adrien's jacket. "That's fine by me, but are you sure you want to transform in front of all these people?"

"Oh, sure, now you're okay with transforming, the one time I can't?" Adrien sighed. Plagg was right: the same crowd that was giving Tikki a hard time earlier would surely be interested in watching Adrien Agreste turn into Cat Noir. He saw an alley that would do as a hiding place, but he would need to pass Marinette to get to it. Oh well, let's just hope that she's too distracted to notice me...

Marinette fought Hawkmoth's influence, but it was like swimming in a storm. The waves crashed over her, filling her lungs with water with every breath she took. She fought it, but it was a losing battle. She felt herself slipping beneath the surface, drained of her ability to fight, willing to drown just to calm the storm. Suddenly, she felt a presence calming her and the sea, and giving her the strength to keep fighting. Tikki, she thought gratefully, recognizing the presence.

"No," she said with conviction.

"What!" Hawkmoth blustered. "What do you mean, no? No one's ever said no to me before!"

"Then it's high time someone did." With Tikki's powers negating that of the Moth Miraculous, it was a battle of wills between Marinette and Hawkmoth himself, and Marinette wasn't planning on losing. She was Ladybug, after all! There was nothing that could shake her determination... and then she saw Adrien.

Sensing a weakness, Hawkmoth pushed harder. "You know that without my powers, you will never be able to speak to him. You need me!"

The problem was, Marinette wanted to give in to Hawkmoth. She wanted to be able to speak to Adrien, and she knew that what Hawkmoth said was true: without a "push," she wasn't going to be able to talk to Adrien. Her unfaltering devotion to Adrien made her willing to overlook small details, such as the fact that Hawkmoth was an evil villain who wanted nothing more than to destroy Ladybug. And to take her miraculous. Oh yeah, and the fact that she was Ladybug, and already had Ladybug's miraculous.

"N-no," she repeated, but it was much weaker this time. The wind started blowing again, the waves started crashing, and she was once more drowning in Hawkmoth's poison. Hawkmoth knew he had her weakness, and continued pushing Marinette, until she finally grew tired of fighting, of clinging to Tikki's presence, and gave up.

Adrien had stopped in amazement just short of the alley he was heading for. Marinette said no! She actually stood up to Hawkmoth! "Plagg, did you see that?"

"See what?" the kwamii groaned. "All I can see is the inside of your jacket, which is distinctly lacking in camembert, by the way."

"Marinette just turned Hawkmoth down!" Adrien said excitedly, ignoring Plagg's mood. "I didn't even know that was possible!"

That got Plagg's attention. "Hmm, theoretically, it is possible if they want to avoid being akumatized badly enough. That would take a pretty bad miscalculation on Hawkmoth's part, though. Usually he only sends an akuma when he has something they can't resist." The kwamii quickly poked his head out again to get a better look. "See, she's not in the clear yet, kid. Hawkmoth hasn't given up yet, and until he does, she might still be akumatized."

That's when Marinette looked up, straight into Adrien's eyes. With clear anguish on her face, and tears rolling down her cheeks, she spoke. It may have been a whisper, but Adrien could hear it as clearly as if she had yelled.

"Yes, Hawkmoth."

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed! Please let me know what you think!