So I couldn't decide what to do with this story. Kwami swap, Mermaid Au, or Mental Illness so I asked my girlfriend and she said "Just do all three" then hooked me up with someone who helped me to write this a little (Rose_doodle for those of you on AO3).

Now the train wreck starts.

My apologies for butchering this poor poor love square.

Disclaimer - If I owned it, it would be call Miraculous Chat Noir for far more reasons I care to go into right now.

P.S. I'm not sure where this takes place as of yet, but I'm (more than) pretty sure that Paris isn't on the sea so just work with me here.

SK

Scar Tissue

The sky beyond the sea, shimmering and bright, was something that one Adrien Agreste longed to see with his own two eyes. The wind running through his golden hair, and the smell of salt no longer filling his nose. The world above his was a brilliant, bright blue, similar yet so different from his green tinted home. Above the water was, the lightly colored sky with the warmth of the shining sun called to him. Everything in his being wanted to reach up and simply stick a hand above the calm waves. But he shook his mind free of the idea.

His father, King Gabriel Agreste, would never allow his son to do something so foolish. He had stated it quiet clearly that no one was to leave the sea and enter the realm of the land anymore. Adrien wasn't really sure why his father hated the upper world, but he knew that if he disobeyed he would be punished harshly. And try as he might to talk to the king, he was firmly pushed away.

Adrien looked up with sad green eyes. The surface was literally within his grasp, and he couldn't bring himself to actually do anything. If he were to reach a little higher, spread his fingers a little more then the tips of his fingers would brush the surface, and maybe peek out of water if a low wave swept the water away just enough. If he were to do that then the tips of his fingers would be the only part of him that could feel the breeze of the drafty September sea. They would also be the only part of him that has ever disobeyed his father's wishes and the only part of him that would ever leave the sea. He could feel the warmth that most humans do, when the sun scorched them (although he had heard that it only happened when they stayed out in the light for too long). But his fingers curled, arm lowered, and green tail, that matched his eyes, flicked in annoyance.

He could never leave the sea. Even if he did where would he go? His tail wouldn't dry into legs like the fairy tales. He would be stranded. And not to mention he wouldn't be able to stay for long. Sure mermaids had lungs, but they were weak, as his gills did most of the work for him. He had never tried to breath above his blue prison, but from the rumors he had heard, from before his father's crazed laws were in place, that the human's air was polluted and hard to breath.

"I want-" He said, looking back up. But he couldn't finish. It didn't matter what he wanted. He had to be the perfect prince.

His green orbs looked down. His city, which he had barely escaped from, was just a little while away hidden by the coral reef. It was an overbearing city that more like a prison than a home. a prison that no matter how far he ran, he could never truly be free from. He hated it. But the people of his city needed him.

His eyes feel on something that shined a bright red. It wasn't covered by sand, but there were no fishing boats passing by. Adrien wouldn't have come to this place if he thought that a human would accidentally find him.

But humans were weak-minded creatures that believed that they, and only they, lived on the planet. They couldn't open their eyes and see beyond the Veil. Naturally there were all sorts of monsters that walked among the humans that were never seen or discovered.

But humans weren't what occupied his mind. It was the flickering shimmer of his newest discovery. But one red dot turned into two as he let himself lower to the rich golden sand without flicking his tail. Two little sparkles that had captivated him completely.

They were placed in a tiny black box that had fallen into the ocean opened. On the silky velvet two small earrings sat, like pearls in an oyster.

"How remarkable." He mumbled to himself, scooping up the box. The earrings (he had seen some of the female around the city wearing them) were simple round studs. Mostly red with five black spots on each. "Maybe I'll keep them."

Marinette Dupian-Cheng's head snapped at the low hiss in her ear. She shook her head, trying to ignore it, but she couldn't. That darn black cat was determined on making her seem crazier that she already was. She would not give in to him. She would not let the little cat like creature win.

But he floated in front of her face, blocking her view of the black board. The little black floating cat snickered at her, knowing that nobody else would, or even could, see him. Plagg, as she had come to finally and recently find him to be named, whined on and on about how he wanted cheese.

She frowned, her hand hovering over the silver ring that dangled on a simple chain around her neck. She had first seen Plagg when she picked up the object and since then had tried multiple times to rid herself of the bad luck magnet. But every time she thought she had successfully thrown it away, it magically popped back into her life. And it wasn't like getting rid of the darn thing made her stop seeing Plagg, after that first touch she never stopped seeing him. Then again, she had always seen the weirder things that everyone else claimed was just fiction.

"Marinette. Girl." The dark haired teen's best friend nudged her.

Blinking Marinette looked over at the aspiring reporter. "What it is Alya?"

"Girl, class is over. You've been glaring at the empty seat in front of you for the whole class."

"Sorry." She blushed. "I guess I had something on my mind."

Alya was the nicest person Marinette had ever known, probably because she had only known her for about a week. The girl had moved from another part of France the month before and had to transfer. But she was far nicer than anyone in her class. Especially...

"Marinette Dupian-Cheng." Chloe Bourgeois said in a mocking voice. Her hand placed against her snickering mouth, and blue eyes gleamed with malice. "Were the voices in your head tell you to kill more cats?"

"Leave me alone Chloe." Marinette frowned. She didn't feel like dealing with the blonde girl's petty insults.

Chloe Bourgeois was what some might, nicely, call a mean girl. The mayor's daughter, heiress to a five star hotel, class president, and queen bee of their school, the blonde girl had it all. Nobody messed with her, but being famous, fabulous and powerful just wasn't enough. She wanted everyone to know that she got what she wanted when she wanted it. If she wanted school to be closed for a day, her father would find a reason that the school should be shut down for the day. If she wanted the nicest person in the school picked on for something that she had no control over, then so be it.

And thus, Marinette became an outcast, with only the new girl beside her... for now. Chloe would eventually get to her too. Somehow.

"You're right!" She faked a gasp. "Why should I grace you with my presence? Besides those voices might start to tell you to kill me."

"Don't listen to her girl." Alya said to her, with a small pat to the back. "She just doesn't see how awesome you are."

"Thanks Alya." Marinette sighed. "But she's determined to make it so I don't have friends."

"I'll always be your friend Mari, no matter what."

Marinette wanted to say something, but a lump in her throat stopped her. Sure Alya was saying that now, but words wouldn't stop Chloe. Nothing would stop her. And she would tramped any one or anything that got in her way to get what she wanted. So Marinette knew that there would be a time when Alya or someone close to her got threatened. Would she really be willing to stay friends after that? Or would she give up just like everyone else?

Her blue bell eyes landed on Plagg and for a moment he looked guilty. Sure all the teasing he did to her didn't help, but it wasn't like he caused this. For as long as Marinette could remember she had been called crazy, or unwell. Plagg just followed her around and whined about food and how tired he was, when he slept twenty out of twenty-four hours a day.

"Best friends." Marinette couldn't help but to sigh again. Chloe's bullying, promises that couldn't possible be kept, and watching Plagg as he zipped into her pink purse at her hip, and it wasn't even noon yet.

It was going to be a long day.

.

Marinette watched as Plagg inhaled another piece of the world's stinkiest cheese. It had been just over three months since she first picked up the ring and he appeared in her life. For a while she had tried to question him on various things like: Why had she not seen him before picking up the ring? Why did it not matter now if she didn't have the ring? And the most important, Why did he keep following her?

She wouldn't just let him starve or shiver in the cold autumn wind. But it wasn't like he was her pet or anything. If he wasn't there in the morning when Marinette woke up, it wasn't a big deal. But at the same time, he also never strayed away for too long.

"Hey Plagg?" She asked, not looking up from her fabric covered desk. Making things had been her hobby since she was little. So her parents, while trying to encourage her, one day put a desk in her room where she could work without them disturbing her.

"Yeah?"

"When you take off, where do you go?" She pulled the needle through the pink, what would soon be a, scarf.

"Why do you ask?" She noted that he avoided answering again. He always did that with her questions. And if she said that she was just curious then his response would only be a short grumble.

"If you ever miss dinner, I'd like to know where to find you." Sure it was a bit of a stretch, but the small cat-like creature never enjoyed missing meals.

"To the sea." He mumbled in a low voice.

"The sea?" Her eyebrow quirked up, but she continued working.

"Yeah." He went back to grumbling.

That was fine though. It was more than she had ever gotten from him since she had pried his name from him. It was a start to understand the questions he wouldn't answer for her.

"Maybe next time we can go together?" She suggested lightly.

"I doubt you should be missing class." He snickered. "Not that I see why you should want to go to school everyday."

Marinette smiled. "You're right. Nobody is going to miss the crazy girl for one day. I say tomorrow we skip school and go to the ocean!"