"I'm gonna do it!"
"You're gonna do it."
"I'm gonna tell him!"
"You're gonna tell him."
"I'm not backing down now!"
"Nope."
"I'm gonna do it, Alya!"
"I know you are, Marinette."
"I'm gonna tell him I love him!"
"I've always said that you could."
"I'm not gonna turn away!"
"Mari, how many times are we gonna go through this?"
"As many times as needed to get my confidence high enough to actually do it." Marinette started with a stubborn nod.
"And how is that going to work?"
Marinette paused, narrowing her eyes as she thought. "Uhhh… some psychological reason that I read online!"
"You do realize that you can't trust everything that you read on the internet, right?" Alya asked with a small laugh.
"I-I know that, but all of the people who commented said that it worked!" Marinette exclaimed. Alya rolled her eyes and was about to respond when an ear-splitting howl broke through the air. Not that far away, Adrien's hair seemed to stand on end as he froze.
"Akuma!" Alya exclaimed, pulling out her phone and running towards it. Nino saw her and ran after her while Marinette and Adrien both ran in opposite directions.
"Tikki, spots on!"
"Plagg, claws out!"
They landed on the school roof at the same time, and when they did they blinked in slight shock before Chat Noir smirked, walking over to her and leaning down to kiss her hand.
"A mere coincidence, milady?" Chat Noir asked, winking up at her. "Purrhaps we do go to the same school."
"I highly doubt it." Ladybug brushed off. "You sure you can fight, kitty? That was some howl, you know."
"This cat isn't afraid of dogs, bugaboo." Chat Noir replied. "Shall we?"
"Yes, let's." Ladybug nodded, and together they jumped towards the akuma.
When they got there, there were six different akuma-looking people. Each followed a wolf theme and were rushing over the rooftops, howling and generally having fun.
"What is going on?" Ladybug asked her partner.
"I… don't know." Chat Noir admitted. "They just look like a bunch of people who love wolves parking across the rooftops, and none of them look purrticularly hostile."
Ladybug rolled her eyes at the pun and pulled out her yoyo to zoom in on them. They seemed to have stopped, forming a circle and talking to each other.
"We should get closer." Chat Noir nodded in agreement, but before he could move someone landed behind them. They turned around just in time to see three other people dressed up as wolves standing before them.
"We are the pack." They said at the same time, sending nerves down Ladybug and Chat Noir's sides. "We protect and serve. We suggest that you hand over your Miraculous now."
"Chat…"
"I know." Chat Noir said, and at the same time they got into a fighting stance.
"You stand no chance against the pack." They continued, two more wolf-people appearing as Ladybug noticed the group of six nearing. "We trust each other with our lives and are family to our Alpha. There are lots of us and none of you." They all stepped forward, and Ladybug and Chat Noir braced themselves.
It was time to fight.
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Things were not going well.
Not only had they somehow been separated, but they still had no idea who 'Alpha' was, or where the akuma could be.
Chat Noir fended them off with his baton, which he had split into two to help with the different attacks coming from all directions. He wasn't sure how long they would last. Perhaps Rena Rouge would come and help them again? Would that even be possible? She hadn't shown up for any patrols, and when he asked Ladybug she had explained that other Miraculous holders were temporary until further notice, and to only be used in emergencies.
Well, this certainly looked like an emergency.
He quickly ducked under someone who pounced at him, rolling away and then extending his staff so that he could get Ladybug and leave the area to find Rena Rouge, or another hero to come help.
She and the people surrounding her were fighting not that far away, and Chat Noir quickly ran over there.
But he couldn't see what was happening until it was too late.
One of the wolves grabbed Ladybug's yoyo and sent her flying into not one, not two, but three chimneys before letting go, also allowing her to slam into a building.
"Ladybug, No!" He shouted, instantly diving after her and catching her before she fell three stories to the ground. He didn't think twice before running as far away as he could, to the safest place that he knew of.
His own bedroom.
He had tried to wake her up on the roof before going in and actually setting her down on his bed, so that she wouldn't necessarily connect two and two together. He squeezed her limp hand before turning around and launching himself back out the window.
He had a city to save, and an akuma to catch for his Lady.
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When Marinette woke up, she knew one thing and one thing only.
Her head HURT.
Like, a LOT.
She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut, blinking as light infiltrated her eyes and blinded her.
"Marinette!" She heard Tikki exclaim. "Are you okay? I'm sorry- you hit the Chimneys too fast for me to protect all of your body!"
"Is that why i feel like I've been hit by a train?" She asked, getting over her blindness and squinting up at Tikki, who watched over her worriedly.
"Yes." Tikki nodded sadly.
"Hey, it's okay." Marinette groaned as she sat up, fisting the blankets around her.
Wait…
Blankets?
She looked around, and her eyes grew as wide as saucers as she took in the sight of Adrien Agreste's bedroom.
"...Tikki." Marinette said after a moment. "Why are we here?"
"I don't-" A thud could be heard on the roof, followed by a bunch of running footsteps, and then a certain cat-themes superhero tumbled in through the bedroom window holding onto a jar that had a black butterfly in it. He blinked when he looked up and saw her, a bit taken aback.
"Marinette?" He asked, blinking a few more times. "But- where's Ladybug? How did-" His eyes then fell upon Tikki and he froze, mouth hanging open in almost disbelief.
Marinette was about to speak, but his ring beeped and he detransformed, revealing none other than Adrien Agreste and a black-cat kwami.
They stared.
And stared.
And stared.
For hours, it seemed, they stared at each other, mouths hanging in shock and faces pale.
"Marinette." Tikki finally spoke, breaking the silence that even Plagg wouldn't have broken for his cheese. "You need to purify the akuma."
"P-Purify the akuma!" She squeaked, her face growing red in embarrassment as she tumbled out of Adrien's bed, tripping over herself as she walked over and took the jar from him. Adrien somehow managed to snap his jaw shut.
"Uh-Uh-Uh, Th-Thank you, Adrien- I-I mean, Chat, for capturing akuma me for!" She said, unaware of her blunder until she had spoken. "I-I mean capturing the akuma for me! I-I should go and akuma purify- Purify Akuma!" She moved past Adrien and towards the window while Tikki followed after her.
"W-Wait!" Adrien exclaimed, turning around and placing a hand on her shoulder, and she froze under his touch. "C-Could you, uh, stay? I-I mean, you had some crash back there and I'm worried that you might have a concussion and if we just discovered who we are then we should talk about it right?"
"Unless you don't and that's fine because you probably didn't expect it to be me, I mean, I should have known that it was you earlier and this is quite the shock, so I understand if you want to go home and absorb the information!"
"I'm not saying that you have to stay! It's just a little lonely with everyone out of the house and I never had friends over and it would be really nice if we could hang out and play Ultimate Mecha Strike or something like that!"
"Of course, you might not want to because you've already beaten my butt when it comes to that game, so maybe something else? Maybe we can watch some anime or-"
"I-I'd to Adrien love!" Marinette managed to get out. "I-I mean, I'd love to Adrien! Spend time with you! And games Play!" She blushed in embarrassment and ducked her head, and Adrien chuckled nervously despite the blush that he had on his cheeks. She looked up at him shyly as he turned to glance at her and they locked eyes, staring at each other shyly.
"Marinette…" Tikki reminded. "The akuma."
"R-Right!" She exclaimed. "Akuma! I have to purify the akuma! I'll go and purify the akuma! Yeah!"
Tikki rolled her eyes and glanced at Plagg, who shrugged. He was just as amused as she was, but he wasn't showing it.
How typical.
After the akuma had been purified, and the loveliness of ladybugs released to fix up the city, Marinette transformed and they sat on Adrien's couch to play some games together.
The sun had begun to set by the time that they were fully comfortable with each other and had talked over everything they had went through, laughing at each other and bringing up embarrassing moments.
It was time for Marinette to leave, so she transformed and they walked towards the window together.
"Thank you for staying to hang out." Adrien said as he opened up the window for her.
"Thanks for inviting me to stay." She said, looking back at him. She blushed, but leaned forward to kiss his cheek anyway. Plagg smirked and pushed Adrien's head to the side just as she did so, their lips crashing upon the other's.
"I'm sorry!" They exclaimed when they both realized what had happened a few seconds later.
"I-I mean-" Ladybug continued when she realized how that could be taken. "I-I liked it, but I didn't mean to!"
"I did too!" Adrien managed to get out. "Liked it, I mean! I liked it!"
"Good."
"Great."
"So, uh…" Ladybug turned around and awkwardly pointed at the window. "I-I'm gonna go now."
"Yeah." Adrien nodded. "See you tomorrow?"
"See you tomorrow." Ladybug threw her yoyo and swung out of there. Adrien stared after her for a few minutes until he realized something.
"Oh my gosh!" He exclaimed, turning to look at Plagg. "She said that she liked kissing me!"
"Oh no-"
"Do you think that she likes me?!"
Plagg face palmed.
It wasn't fun anymore.
Stupid love square…