A/N: So, this is my second story on the site. My other one is not dead, just hit by life, and now I need some time to figure out what I want to do with it. So, I figured another story, in another fandom would give me a chance to sort my thoughts out. Let me know what you think. Or don't. It's a free country.
Chapter 1
It was another morning, just like so many other mornings in the city of Paris. The sun was up, the birds were singing, and in one small bakery there was the sound of the usual bustling of early morning business.
It was this sound that eventually drew the young woman from her slumber. Brilliant bluebell eyes opened slowly, still laced with the haziness of exiting the dream world and trying to piece together where they were now. This lasted only so long as it took her to remember the day, and notice the sun peeking through the trap door above her bed, leading to the outside balcony.
"Gah! Tikki, I overslept! Oh no!" She said bolting up from her bed, an action that served to get her tangled in her sheets, and drop her to the floor with a sharp wince. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" She said, kicking the sheets off as a small red and black form drifted over to her.
"Calm down Marinette. You're not that late, but if you keep going like this you'll just make it worse." The kwami said, trying to soothe her charge. Marinette had matured a lot as she got older, and entered her final years of high school. But she was still prone to that unique brand of Marinette neurosis.
The bluenette looked at her kwami, and arguably best friend for the past few years, and took a deep breath. "You're right Tikki." The young woman said, standing up and tossing the sheets back onto the bed, before yawning. "Ugh... Still, could have done without the late night akuma battle." She said, moving to gather her hygiene supplies and heading for the bathroom, Tikki following behind and nodding.
The battle in question was a young woman at a college party, who caught her boyfriend drunkenly making out with another girl. Needless to say, she was not happy. And a woman scorned is bad enough but with Hawkmoth still present in the city of lights, Marinette got to see how much worse a woman scorned with superpowers was.
As Marinette stripped off her clothes for a shower she winced as she saw the ugly dark bruising on her otherwise flawlessly pale skin, and she poked at it tenderly. The fight had been rough and the akuma, Duplicita, had been ruthless, using deception based powers to create openings and hitting their blind spots like a truck.
"We're lucky Queen Bee and Alya showed up when they did." Tikki said, looking worriedly at the bruise as well, before turning her large eyes to meet her charge's. Marinette nodded, biting her lower lip as she gingerly washed the injured area.
"I know, Tikki. I hate to say it, but these new akumas have been a lot more ruthless. And it worries me. Not just them, but the fact that this is happening." She said nodding to the bruise. Normally her Miraculous power would fix all the damage caused by the fight. But for the past few years, while it would repair most of it, she found it less capable to repair the injuries they had suffered.
Tikki nodded as well, but she had no answer for it. And it aggravated the small being to no end. She wanted to keep her charge safe, but something was now impeding her ability to do so, and that worried her. She had been conversing with the other kwami when she could to discuss the issue, but none of them had any idea what was going on or how to fix it. "I know Marinette. I'm working on it. Just please, be careful and don't stress yourself."
Marinette nodded and tilted her hair back into the stream of hot water. It was soothing, especially after the fight last night.
"Marinette! Your friends are here!" A call from the stairs wrenched the young woman from her thoughts, and she fumbled for the handle to the faucet.
"I'll be right down, Maman!" She called as she turned the water off, and set about finishing her morning routine as quickly as she could.
Marinette got to the bottom of the stairs, bag slung haphazardly over one shoulder and still trying to pull her hair up into a bun. Gone were the days of the twin pigtails she used to wear as she had decided to let her hair grow out, and the tried and true bun was her go to when she was running late. So it was seen a lot.
Before she even got off the stairs, she could hear the sound of her friends' voices.
"... how could you not have any footage of the akuma battle last night? You mean to tell me that such a big piece of news won't be on the Ladyblog?" Marinette could practically see the expression on Nino's face as he said that. A quirked eyebrow, arms crossed over his chest, and head tilted in that way that conveyed disbelief. She almost giggled as right on cue, her other best friend answered.
"Yes, Nino. Some of us need sleep you know? It happened at almost one in the morning. Across town." That voice belonged to Alya, and Marinette, even unable to see her friend, managed to mimic the poses and hand gestures used by the fiery redhead as she chastised her boyfriend. Though, Marinette knew the actual reason Alya had no footage. It was the same reason she seldom had any footage of any fight where Rena Rouge shows up; she was too busy helping her and Chat Noir fend off the akuma. Marinette smiled warmly at the memory of the day she, as Ladybug, had finally entrusted her friend with the fox-tail Miraculous. Alya had been speechless, only barely managing to stammer out a thank you, and a promise to do her best to protect Paris. And it was a promise she had not broken.
Marinette had finally managed to wrestle her hair into the bun and was preparing to step around and into the bakery to greet her friends when another voice caused her to freeze in place, unable to trust her knees at that point to carry her weight.
"C'mon Nino. You know if Alya could have been there, she would have. Maybe it's better she wasn't though. I heard it was a real mess. If she was there, she may have been hurt." That soft voice, filled with concern for his friends could only belong to one person, and Marinette felt her cheeks heating up as her mind brought forth images of his soft blonde hair, and his warm emerald green eyes. It didn't help that puberty had been almost unfairly kind to the young man, which had raised hell with Marinette's own trip through the act of maturing. She was just grateful that Alya never found the summer swimwear catalog that Marinette kept under her mattress. Strictly for research purposes, of course.
It never ceased to amaze Marinette how much of an effect the model still had on her, and while she had been getting better. Slowly. Over time. She hadn't had the time to prepare herself for meeting him here this early. The conversation dulled to background noise as she looked down at her bag and Tikki. "Tikki! Adrien's here! Why is Adrien here? Do I look okay? Is my makeup smeared? Wait, did I even put on any makeup?!" She whispered to her kwami, who rolled her eyes good naturedly.
"Marinette, I doubt he is going to care. But you are kind of holding them up..." The kwami started, bringing a gasp from the bluenette.
"Oh my gosh, you're right!" She said, before, taking a breath and walking into the bakery. "Hey, guys, sorry about that! I was-" Her voice trailed off when her bluebell eyes settled on the blonde in the room, before they were then drawn to the other blonde in the room. Though this was more reactionary because of the annoyed huff said blonde released.
"Ugh, jeez! Took you long enough Marinette..." The blonde girl said, looking up from her nails, her face set in that look that Marinette was convinced was just her default setting. Eyes set somewhere between unimpressed and scornful, and mouth twisted in a slight grimace. "I know you need all the work you can get in, but it's rude to keep others waiting." Chloe said, either ignorant or uncaring to how rude her own words were.
"Nice to see you too, Chloe..." Marinette deadpanned, before turning to look at her other friends. Nino had his arm slung over Alya's shoulders, holding some whispered conversation. The two had been dating for the last several years, and Marinette admired how well they had been able to make it work. Adrien stood nearby, looking through the display case at the bakery's pastries. She stifled a giggle, and made a note to grab the young man a croissant before they left. He seemed to have a soft spot for the flaky, buttery pastries.
And then her eyes inevitably made their way back to Chloe, who stood next to her redhead friend Sabrina who was looking through her phone, talking about Chloe's schedule as Chloe nodded along, almost like she wasn't really listening. But, Marinette knew better.
Sure, she still butted heads with Chloe, and they bickered quite a bit. But Chloe had started to mellow out over the past couple of years. She was still Chloe, but... less the Chloe she knew middle school. Marinette first noticed it last year, when Nathaniel had asked her to junior prom. The poor redhead artist had been a stuttering, nervous mess and Marinette had been fully prepared to have to stop an akuma after Chloe had ripped into him. Only, Chloe never did. Sure, she turned him down, and she may not have been extremely tactful about it. But, she hadn't mocked him. Hadn't taken an embarrassing picture to spread on the internet. In fact, and Marinette still wasn't sure she had seen this right, she had helped Nathaniel find a date. Granted it was done in a Chloe manner, a flippant remark that maybe he'd be better off asking one of their other classmates, Rebecca, before walking away. The weird thing was, he did. And it worked out pretty well, all things considered.
In her excitement to see Adrien she had forgotten that Chloe would naturally be there. Two years ago, Gabriel Agreste had finally loosened his stranglehold on his only son in a few ways. One of them was that he allowed Adrien to go to school without his driver/bodyguard having to escort him. However, this concession was only made at the behest, and prodding, of Chloe and her father Andre Bourgeois. And only if Adrien went with Chloe. And while Marinette was at first disgruntled by this news, Adrien had claimed that the blonde had been decidedly less clingy.
Speaking of Adrien, he turned his dazzling green eyes towards Marinette, and gave her a smile that made a whole swarm of butterflies kick up in her stomach. She could feel her face heating up, and her mind began to race.
'Oh my gosh! That smile! It's unfair! Nobody should be able to be this handsome... It has to be some sort of crime. And his hair looks so soft today. I bet it would feel like silk. And his eyes... Oh, I could get lost in those eyes forever... And the way his lips move- Wait! His lips are moving?! Oh no! Was he saying something?! Oh no Marinette! What did he say?! Think girl, think!' Her mind ran from thoughts of the target of her infatuation, to panic mode as she feared looking like a total doofus in front of her crush. Thankfully Adrien didn't notice, and somebody else did.
"Of course they have spare croissants, Adrien. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Marinette's parents started baking extra just for you." Alya cut in, moving to stand beside Marinette and elbowing her playfully in the side as she spoke, casting the girl a meaningful look as she did so. Marinette offered a grateful smile to her friend.
"Oh, yeah! O-of course we, uh... Croissants! Y'know, for you! I'll uh... Yeah..." She said, moving off around the counter to gather a few of the pastries for Adrien, and some cookies for her other friends as well. Alya sighed and shook her head with a slight smile. Marinette was getting better, but anytime Adrien caught her off guard she reverted to her stuttering, blundering, nervous wreck state.
The ride to school was thus far rather uneventful, although Marinette was surprised that Chloe had allowed her to ride in her limo in the first place. She figured Nino got in because he was best buds with Adrien, and Alya was his girlfriend. So, when she had been preparing to say goodbye and begin the walk to their highschool, only to have Chloe speak up saying she could join them as long as she was 'careful not to get her Marinette stink all over the seats', Marinette wasn't sure how to react. Ultimately she caved when she noticed the open seat next to Adrien.
On the way to school, Chloe checked her phone, likely updating her social media, while Sabrina went over her homework. Nino and Alya were discussing plans for their five year anniversary. Well, it was mostly Alya dropping not so subtle hints, and Nino being coy in his responses between talking with Adrien about an upcoming science project.
The surrealism of the situation settled on Marinette all at once. It was all so normal. In fact, it almost felt too normal when she reflected on the fact that two people in the car were superheroes who frequently fought to save Paris.
"Something on your mind, Mari?" The voice cut through her thoughts like a hot knife through butter, and she jerked her head up to meet the gaze of one Adrien Agreste. "Ah! Adrien! Uh, what? No! Wait, uh... Hi." She said. She was vaguely aware of the sound of Alya's award winning facepalm.
Adrien looked at her curiously, tilting his head slightly as those emerald eyes looked at her. She hated when he did this. Not for any fault of his own, but rather because when he did it, she always found images of another pair of green eyes invading her mind, this one belonging to a leather clad superhero who fought alongside her, and always had her back.
She really couldn't ask for a better partner than Chat Noir, all things considered. Well, okay to be fair, she could do without the puns. But he was loyal, and trustworthy, and willing to take a bullet for her. And while she still harbored very strong feelings for Adrien, she couldn't deny that the sly alley cat had worked himself out his only little place in her heart. And being reminded of Chat while talking to Adrien always made Marinette feel oddly guilty.
Adrien, after a moment of silence, chuckled slightly, giving the girl next to him a warm smile and gently bumped her with his shoulder. "Hey, relax Marinette. I know it may seem weird, but Chloe is really working on being a better person. Just give her a chance?" Adrien said. Marinette wasn't sure how to feel about him misreading the situation like he did, but seeing this as a less awkward conversation to have than the feelings she may or may not be developing for a certain cocky, attractive alley cat, she jumped on it.
"Yeah, I know..." She said, looking at her hands as she drummed her fingers together, worried if she looked at Adrien's face she'd lose the ability to speak. "It's just weird is all. But, I am glad to see her making the effort." She then leaned forward slightly, peering around the model to her blonde nemesis on his other side. "And thank you Chloe, for offering me a ride today." She said.
Chloe scoffed, and turned her head away from Marinette. "Yeah, whatever... Just don't think it's going to be a regular thing. I have a reputation to uphold, you know." The blonde said, pulling out a compact to touch up her makeup, though in a brief glimpse in the small mirror, Marinette thought she may have seen those icy blue eyes lose maybe just a touch of their ice.
Adrien, for his part offered a smile and a shrug. "It's a work in progress." He said, before turning to look at Nino who was now trying desperately to keep his phone out of Alya's grasp. "Dude, help a bro out!" The part time DJ said, before tossing the phone to Adrien, who quickly became the target of Alya's attack as she lunged across the car at him.
"Give me that phone, Agreste!" She called, and Adrien barely had time to figure out what was going on before Alya was invading his personal space.
The game of keep away lasted for a few more blocks before a stern throat clearing from the driver caused them all to stop. Alya plucked the phone from Marinette's hand, who was looking as sheepish as Adrien was next to her, and returned to her seat, smiling smugly at Nino. Or she was until she went to unlock it and found he had apparently changed his password. "Oh, you son of a bitch." She said to her boyfriend.
Nino responded with a look of mock horror, one hand at his chest as if offended. "I can't believe I let you kiss me with that mouth, young lady." He said. Alya, for her part, managed to hold her glare for several seconds before breaking down into a giggle fit and kissing her boyfriend on the cheek, and dropping the phone back into his hands. "Ugh, fine... I guess you can keep that one. But! Only that one!" She said poking his chest for emphasis, her eyebrows drawn down, and her lips pressed into a thin line, in her 'serious business' expression as Marinette mentally classified it. Nino for his part just gulped and nodded.
Marinette looked from Alya and Nino to Adrien, and smiled when she saw him eating one of the croissants she had grabbed for him. She opened her mouth to ask how it was when suddenly the car lurched forward with a squeal of brakes, and a heavy thudding sound came from the front. Marrinette's blue eyes grew wide as she moved towards the door. It sounded like they had hit something, and Marinette's first instinct was to make sure it was okay. She was only vaguely aware of the others moving to do the same, even Chloe, because as she neared the window, she saw a form in dark clothing run down a nearby alleyway.
She opened the door, and moved to the front of the car where there was a single, fairly impressive dent in the hood. She looked from it, back over her shoulder to the alleyway, and then to the driver. "Excuse me sir, what happened?" She asked.
The driver huffed, and gestured to the hood. "Some lunatic came streaking across the street right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes, but couldn't stop in time. He jumped up onto the hood, and then took off running."
By this time, the others had also gathered around. Adrien and Nino looked shocked, Alya looked like she was trying to get to the bottom of some mystery, and Sabrina was cowering because Chloe was livid. "Who does that guy think he is?! Oh, when daddy hears about this...!" She said, storming off to one side, and holding her phone to her ear. Marinette however found her eyes drawn back to the alleyway.
She very much doubted any normal person would be able to pull off what the driver claimed the man they had hit, or almost hit? She would worry about the semantics later. She doubted a normal guy could do that. 'But is it really an akuma?' She thought to herself. Akuma's tended to be... less than subtle with their presence. They always made a scene, demanding Ladybug and Chat Noir to show up and surrender their Miraculouses. But whoever this was did none of that. In fact, Marinette might not even know of their existence if it wasn't for them almost running this mystery person over. 'No sense risking it. I'll have to check it out. Not now though, it'd be too suspicious if I just disappeared.' She sighed, making a mental note of where this was so she could come back and come over the area later as Ladybug. 'Hopefully it's nothing big.'
A/N: Well, chapter one in my new story. Hope it turned out okay, or at the very least gave you a way to spend a few minutes of your day. I will update periodically when the muses allow me, and I am not working on other projects. Like napping. Or work. Or more napping.