Wednesday wasn't just any particular day in Paris. After all, the city of love had to celebrate its favorite holiday…Valentine's Day! The streets were filled with the beauties of lovely art, and the billboards were all advertising chocolates and jewelry for their special someone. In fact, in the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, the owners Tom and Sabine were happily making heart-shaped cakes and whatnot. If only there daughter could feel this way too, for she loved the holiday, but a certain someone always failed to notice her.
Ugh! Valentine's Day… Marinette thought and groaned into her pillow. It's not that she didn't like the holiday, it's just the part where she's been pining after her crush for nearly 2 years, and he still didn't seem to notice. Maybe I'll sleep in for 5 more minutes…
She never got the chance.
"Marinette, time to wake up dear! Otherwise, you'll miss breakfast and be late to school!" her mother called up from the trap door.
"Coming Mom!" Marinette replied in a tired voice.
"Marinette, you actually have to get out of bed to get ready," her kwami Tikki told her as she flew next to her.
So Marinette did what she was told, and eventually, she did make it downstairs. She quietly went to the counter and snuck in some heart shaped cookies to Tikki. Her mom wasn't in the kitchen, so she was probably helping Papa with some orders of cake.
She happily ate her heart shaped pancakes with fruit and thought silently to herself, sighing afterward thinking about the holiday.
Sensing her thoughts, Tikki popped her head out of the pink purse.
"Is something wrong Marinette," the kwami asked.
"Nothing, Tikki. It's just that…" she trailed off thinking again, but the tiny goddess read her mind.
"But it's just that Adrien didn't notice you and when you tried confessing with the card last year, you forgot to sign it?"
The ravenette nodded her head.
"I still love Adrien, and Valentine's Day, but thinking about all my friends… well, do you get my point? I'll be one of the only ones in my class without a significant other."
Tikki shook her head in agreement thinking about all the couples already formed. There was Ivan and Mylene, Juleka and Rose, Alix and Kim, and finally, there was Alya and Nino. The only people who don't have a valentine were Chloe (obviously, since who would want to date that brat), Sabrina (cause she's Chloe's little minion), Nathanael (who was not interested in anyone at the moment), the same went for Max, and finally there was Adrien who was oblivious to everything. Even if he wasn't, years after being with hot models and being chased by fangirls, made him immune to romantic feelings.
And Tikki hated to say this to her chosen, but she was more of a stalk-y acquaintance than a friend. She sighed. She knew he was Chat Noir, but she couldn't interfere. Why did these love squares always have to happen to her and Plagg's chosen's? None of the other holders had to go through the same thing. Even Nooroo's and Duusu's chosen seemed to sort their feelings out just fine before…the incident. Not that she was ever going to talk about it ever again.
"Well, Marinette. You still have a bunch of gifts to get your friends. You know, the homemade chocolates and macarons? And I forgot to mention how you made everyone a shirt with a Valentine's Day pun," Tikki said. Marinette smiled. Her kwami always knew how to cheer her up. And for the puns, you can thank Chat Noir for that.
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It all happened on patrol two nights ago. And that silly alley cat was making Valentine puns non-stop. It was so weird. First, they were talking about math, for some apparent reason, but somehow the topic turned into puns.
"You know what milady, speaking of math puns, I know a good one you could use for the holidays," Chat smirked knowing Ladybug hated his puns. But she was just so cute when she was annoyed, even though he knew that she secretly liked them. And just like he predicted she rolled her eyes and looked away.
"Are we in a graph? Otherwise, we'd be ordered pairs!" Chat grinned. Ladybug facepalmed herself so hard in the face that it left a mark, and she knew it. When Chat saw the mark, he started to laugh so hard that a few tears shed.
"I dare you to make another one," she threatened. But, Chat took that statement literally.
"Can you replace my x without asking y?" he said wriggling his eyebrows. The spotted superheroine looked like she wanted to kill herself. And he had loads more.
"You and I are the solutions to the system." ….
"My love for you is like pi, it never ends."…
"You're a student, I'm a math book. You solve all my problems."…
By then he made more than thirty puns and Ladybug was done. She tied him up with a yoyo and left him there. She was turning around when she heard him call her name.
"Please don't leave me here bugaboo. I promise I'll redeem myself," he looked at her with sad kitty eyes. She tried resisting, but she couldn't. Don't look, don't look she told herself. She looked and caved it. She groaned and went back.
"Don't do that!" she hissed as she untied him.
"Do what?" he asked innocently. It didn't take that long to know that his lady had a weakness for puppy dog eyes, or in his case, kitty cat eyes.
"You know what!" she said angrily and Chat was finally freed from the yoyo of doom.
"I didn't mean any harm," he stated. But she still huffed and looked away.
"You know, these puns would actually make great Valentine's Day cards," Chat said. Finally, Ladybug looked at him. They've been together for nearly two years, plus there were patrols. They weren't supposed to drop hints on their identity, but sometimes they would slip here and there. He kept a track on all the slip-ups his lady made, although it rarely happens.
So far, he found out that she had a sweet tooth, she was a student in the same grade level he was in, she hated math and physics (although Chat didn't know why. Physics are pawsome), and finally, he learned that Ladybug was really artistic and creative. It was already a given during her creative inventions with her lucky charms in Akuma attacks, but she liked arts and crafts in general.
And Chat was guessing that she was the type of person to make homemade gifts.
"Well, if you think about it, if someone made a card with puns and a drawing, that would make my Valentine's Day great," he purred.
"You mean if there was actually a card or t-shirt that had a bunch of bad puns on them, you would actually take them?" she asked.
"Of course, LB. I mean, you can't just let a purrfect shirt like that go to waste," he winked. She seemed to be thinking.
Finally, she asked, "And if you did find that card or shirt, what would the puns be." There was a twinkle in her eye when she said that, most likely teasing Chat Noir.
He smiled and named all the puns he made right on the spot.
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Marinette packed her backpack and filled another bag with all the edible gifts. The other bag was going to be for the t-shirts that she'd design. Not that she was going to admit to Chat Noir that he helped her with her gift ideas. He was somehow always there for Ladybug when she needed him. Maybe…she shouldn't try as hard to go after Adrien, she thought. She should think of him as more of a friend, and maybe she'll finally stop shuddering around him. Just pretend he's Chat. And for some reason, it wasn't that hard picturing her crush in that catsuit. In fact, they would probably be almost identical. She cleared her heads from those thoughts and went to school.
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Adrien liking Valentine's Day was an understatement. He went all out trying to buy a bunch of gifts for all of his friends and his lady. They were meeting for patrol tonight. After Dark Cupid last year…well, it turns out that Valentines were a great cause of Akumas. But that wasn't the point. They were meeting in front of the Eiffel Tower, and Adrien was prepared to woo Ladybug off her feet.
And for the friendly gifts, he was going to give to his friends…well, let's just say that stores should consider selling more punny cards. Adrien could just imagine there being a Chat Noir section selling pun cards. He should really tell that idea to his lady. She would find it hilarious! Instead, he just bought some lame boring tiny cards, and some lollipops to pass out.
When he told his valentine plans to Nino, his friend just started to laugh. It turns out, people only gave Valentines to their friends in elementary, but Adrien didn't care. He knew for a fact that Marinette was going to pass thing out as well, so why was he any different.
"But dude, that's Marinette," Nino had told him, "She always gives gifts to everyone so they don't feel left out."
Times like those remind him how similar she could be to Ladybug. But she wasn't. Adrien would recognize his lady anywhere at any time. Besides, Marinette would often shudder a lot and she was clumsy but cute. In fact, Adrien thought it would be cute to see Ladybug shudder around him too, for once instead of sassing back, but he liked that too. With that finally thought he got into his limo heading to school.
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It was surprising to most people that Marinette arrived early for once. The moment she set foot on campus; she started to run around like crazy trying to find people and hand out her gifts. Alya and Nino were already there, but Marinette wanted to give them their gift when Adrien arrived, so he wouldn't feel left out.
After a talk with her two best friends, she started the hunt looking for others like Rose, Juleka, Max, Nathanael etc.
So when Adrien finally arrived he was puzzled to see the class rep. running around all over the place and stopping at random classmates, only to pick up where she left off after giving them something.
He stopped by Alya and Nino who were watching the usually clumsy girl.
"Hey guys," he said to them. They waved back and continued watching Marinette. He watched as she almost tripped over herself, but caught it at the last moment while approaching Mylene and Ivan. They grinned as she stopped running, trying to catch her breath. This caused Adrien to grin as well. If only Marinette could be like that around him too. He watched as she handed them both a heart-shaped box, probably filled with chocolate. But it didn't look store bought like the ones he saw at the store. Then, on top of that, she handed both of them…a bunch of fabric? They unrolled it only to find out that it was a t-shirt.
They both started laughing as they saw the design and hugged the ravenette. She blushed and told them a 'you're welcome' in return. Also, Adrien didn't exactly hear her say that he knew that she said those exact words.
Finally, he saw her approach Chloe, and Sabrina. It was a bit awkward at first seeing the two enemies talk to each other. Marinette handed her the chocolate box, giving one to Sabrina as well. And finally, she gave them both a t-shirt too. She didn't wait for them to open the gifts, choosing to wave goodbye and continued on to find the next person or group.
He saw Chloe look at the design. She frowned and gave it to Sabrina, but unlike Chloe, she was actually smiling. And when Chloe thought no one was looking, she quickly opened the box of chocolates and gobbled it down. She threw the box away and looked around again. When she was satisfied that she thought no one saw, she politely wiped her mouth and called on Sabrina to go somewhere. The nerdy girl quickly followed Chloe as they headed to class.
He guessed that ever the meanest girl at school still like Marinette Dupain-Cheng's gifts or chocolates at least.
The first bell finally rang signaling the start of the first period. Adrien saw Marinette walk towards Alya with a huge grin on her face.
"All I have left is you, Adrien, and Nino," he heard the ravenette state. The thought of Marinette remembering to give him something gave him a warm feeling inside. He secretly thought that she hated him after the gum incident, but it looks like he was wrong. Maybe it was the fact that he was famous?
Ms. Bustier was already there when the students sat down. He saw Marinette stop by her desk. The teacher quickly looked at the girl from her lesson plan, while Marinette handed her a box with the logo of her parent's bakery on it. The teacher quickly thanked her as the ravenette walked back to her seat. While everyone was busy talking before the second bell, he saw Ms. Bustier open the box and lifted the desert out.
Adrien knew that Ms. Bustier was a fairy tale fan, but this dessert really took the cake. It was Snow White inspired, with a cake on the bottom and apple on top. The cake had chocolate frosting going around in several directions to look like tree bark. The apple was had a shiny red glaze with two white chocolate leaves on the top dyed green. At the bottom of the dessert, there were two white chocolate mushrooms and moss like chocolate, also dyed green.
"What's that," he heard Alya whisper to her best friend.
"A layered ice-cream apple with a sponge log," Marinette replied.
"So what's the apple made out of?" the reporter questioned.
"There are three types of ice-cream layered in there," she spoke, and Adrien's eyes widened.
"Yeah, inside there is raspberry, donut, chocolate, tomatoes, vanilla, Tim Tams, chili…" she continues.
"What!?" her best friend exclaims.
"Vanilla chili ice cream in the center, bitter chocolate ice cream rolled in a Tim Tam crumble, for texture, with cinnamon donut ice cream on the outside. And finally, there is a tomato and raspberry jam," the baker's daughter said.
"Girl, how did all the flavors fit inside the apple?" Alya exclaimed. Marinette shrugged.
"Are you trying to poison her?"
"Not at all," said the ravenette.
The teacher seemed to have heard the girls' conversation as she glared at the baker's daughter. Finally, she set the dessert on her desk. The second bell rang as all the students looked at the fairytale dessert.
Adrien had to admit, that dessert did look pretty scrumptious.
Ms. Bustier got out the plastic knife and fork provided in the box and cut the dessert in half. Like Marinette said, the sponged log looked like a layer of an old tree trunk. And Adrien could definitely see the layered ice-cream in the apple. The teacher took a bite, and the class held its breath.
The teacher closed her eyes and smiled.
"It's a bit spicy, but it's good. The flavors balance out perfectly," said the teacher. He looked around and saw that the class had jealous expressions worn on their faces.
"Spicy?" Alya whispered.
"You're forgetting there is chili in there," Marinette reminded her.
Alya smiled. "Your parents are talented bakers," she complimented.
Marinette nodded but Adrien saw an expression of sadness pass over her face, but no one seemed to notice.
"Can I have one?" Alya ask.
"My parents don't sell it," was all she said.
"Oh," Alya's face fell.
She was about to add something else when Ms. Bustier said something.
"Well, I was going to plan a lesson on fairytales today, but with this generous gift from Ms. Dupain-Cheng," she gestured to her dessert. Adrien didn't miss how several of his classmates licked his lips, "I decided that this would be a free period. Seeing that some of you guys have gifts to pass out, you may do so, just don't speak so loudly." The teacher finished her statement and went back to her dessert while the class cheered.
"You go, girl," Alya said as she hugged he BFF, who was now happy with excitement.
"I still have gifts for you, Nino, and Adrien remember?" Marinette said. And from her bag, she took out three boxes of chocolate and three t-shirts. Nino turned around in an instant, seeming to have eavesdropped too.
Once Adrien got his gifts he immediately opened the t-shirt. His eyes widened. Inside, was a pun. An actual cheesy cat pun that he said to Ladybug two nights ago.
Mew and I are the best of fur-iends, it said. At the bottom of the shirt were two cats, a black cat with a golden bell with green eyes, and a white cat with blue eyes and a ladybug themed collar. The design was so cute. Especially since the cats were chasing a blue and black butterfly, like it was prey. He honestly thought that Marinette didn't like puns, yet this proved him wrong.
"Girl, I thought you hated puns," said Alya who opened her chocolate box.
"Well, I'm not the biggest fan," she shrugged, "but a friend of mine a few days ago told me a bunch, so I had a lot of material to work with."
"Well I love my Ladybug and Chat Noir shirt, thank you," she said as she hugged her. Nino said pretty much the same thing while adding, "And your parents make the best chocolate too." Marinette frowned slightly, but his two friends were too busy being in awe of their gifts.
"No problem," she said.
How could they not notice that she sounds sad?! Adrien thought. But when Marinette caught him looking at her, she smiled again, all traces of sadness vanished.
"Thanks, Marinette," he said to her, "this was one of the best gifts I've ever gotten." She smiled genuinely this time, which made Adrien happy, so to carry on with the conversation he added, "I wonder how your parents could make such good chocolates."
And just like that, the smile was gone.
"Oh you know, with years of experience, they did just fine," she said but dully. She then turned around to talk to Alya about the Ladyblog.
What did I say? Adrien thought. He couldn't know without Marinette being suspicious, but he knew someone else who could…
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Later that night, Chat Noir sat on the top floor of the Eiffel Tower. Ladybug arrived to the scene a moment later, but with a box behind her back, trying very hard for Chat to not notice it, but he did.
"What do you have, milady," he questioned.
She groaned. "You've noticed?"
Chat smirked. It was kinda obvious, but he didn't say anything.
"Well, of course, I noticed. If I could see an Akuma sneaking behind me, how could I not notice the beautiful girl right in front of me holding something not so secretive behind her back," Chat said with a wink.
And for the first time ever, he saw Ladybug blush, and it was pretty cute too.
Instead of replying, she handed him the box with the Dupain-Cheng Bakery's logo on top. She looked around to anywhere but him and noticed the setup behind him.
"Chat, what's that?" she asked pointing behind him.
"Oh," Chat said blushing. There was a picnic basket behind him with a couple of scented candles that smelled like fruit. On the floor laid a classic plaid red blanket with a radio and plates. It was the best spot on the top floor overlooking the city of Paris while the sun was setting.
"I hope you don't mind, it's just that it's Valentine's Day so… please don't be mad at me," he finally said. Ladybug blinked and a giant grin appeared on her face.
"Of course I'm not mad, mon chaton. I'm just surprised that you did all of this for me!" she said happily as she plopped herself down on the blanket that he laid out earlier. Chat smiled and went to turn on the radio. He turned up the music to fill up the silence, but not too loud to destroy the moment.
When he turned back to face Ladybug he gasped. She was illuminated by the glow of the sunset, with a peaceful smile on her face looking at the city below her. Chat's breath hitched as he silently savored the moment. He sat down next to her and after a while, she rested her head on his shoulder. The two of them sat together peacefully as they watched the sun go down.
Finally, Chat's stomach had to ruin the moment with a low growl. Ladybug turned to him and Chat turned red with embarrassment. In return, Ladybug laughed.
"Looks like it's time to eat dinner," she said as she took out the utensils in the basket. Chat got to work taking the food out. There was apple cider (just because it was fancy. Adrien didn't like fizzy drinks after growing up without the taste of soda or anything sparkling. Even sparkling water was weird to him), and he took out a bit of everything French since he didn't know what food his lady liked.
There was Steak Diane, different types of quiches, Chicken Basquaise, Crepes Suzette, Salmon Rillettes, pot roast, seven-hour lamb, honey glazed roast pork with apples, deviled eggs with crab, Basque Seafood Stew, and Croquet Tartine Parisienne (egg-topped ham and cheese sandwich).
For dessert, he brought along Lemon Mousse (Mousse au Citron), classic éclairs, Mille Crêpe Cake, Brûléed Italian Plums with Armagnac Custard, Crème Brûlée, and Pear Tarte Tatin.
Looking at all the food now, he probably got too much.
"Chat Noir, how in the world did you fit so much food in that basket!" Ladybug shouted. He started to scratch the back of his neck sheepishly.
"To be fair, all I had to do was buy the food and…" he was interrupted.
"You bought all the food? Where?" She demanded. When he didn't answer, she started looking in the basket.
"No don't look in there," Chat reached to grab the basket, but it was too late. He didn't put the receipt in their luckily since it involved using some money from a portion of his allowance, and knowing Ladybug she would probably kill him over the price. Unfortunately, the hostess seemed to recognize him and gave him a business card, which he put in the basket. Opps.
" L'Abeille? You went to L'Abeille?!" she shouted. He nodded.
"Don't you know how much L'Abeille costs?" she yelled. Chat nodded again. Ladybug sighed and got up.
"Where are you going?" Chat said alarmed. It all went perfectly until she saw the business card. Just his luck.
She huffed. "I'm going home to grab some money, of course. I can't let you spend so much on me."
Chat sighed. There was no way his lady would have that kind of money laying around. Besides, he was a gentleman, meaning he didn't let any lady pay for the bill.
"Look bug, I know there is no way you'll have that money lying around," he finally stated.
"Really?" she challenged, "What are you rich or something?" Or something, that was definitely the word, for Adrien Agreste made more than the average adult within a year. He actually made a whole boatload more than the average person for a part-time modeling job.
Chat sighed. "I'll make you a deal. If I tell you the price, would you please not pay me back?"
Ladybug looked at him questioningly and nodded after a while. He walked towards her and leaned in and whispered the price into her ear. Then a loud slap was heard across the whole of Paris.
"Oww!" Chat shouted, "What did you do that for?!" He hissed backing up. This was definitely going to leave a mark, and his father was not going to be pleased.
"Don't you dare 'ow' me! You can't just go spending your money on someone you don't know!" she said angrily.
"As if I'll ever do anything less for my partner."
"That d- doesn't mean…y-you c-can't," she shuddered, and for once she was at a loss for words.
"You can't make me feel guilty like that ever again, do you hear me Chat Noir," she finally whispered and turned his back on him.
"Fine. But I'm making you eat some of the food, don't want it to go to waste after all," Chat said. Reluctantly, Ladybug sat down and ate some food. After a while of pure silence, she finally spoke up.
"I'm sorry," she whispered so quietly that Chat could barely hear her, if not for his super hearing, "You spent a lot of time and money on me just to have me slap you at the end," she said still not meeting his eyes.
Chat Noir was in pure shock. As Adrien, girls wouldn't hesitate letting him spend a ton on them, much less get slapped afterward. That was one of the things that made Ladybug different, she wasn't like that. And even after the slap, he fell in love with her a bit more.
He set his plate down and sat down next to Ladybug.
"Its fine," he told her, "just don't ever slap me again." For the first time, she looked at him, and she gasped.
"I'm so sorry," she said again touching his cheek, "I honestly didn't think that I would leave such a giant mark and…"
"No need to a-paw-logize, bugaboo. Its fine," he smiled. It was nice seeing her flustered for once. She nodded and set her own plate down.
"Well, if you're punning now, that definitely means you're feeling better," she finally stated.
"Don't you mean feline better, milady?" he smirked. Ladybug groaned again but smiled at him. So they both continued to eat talking about everything and nothing until they were finally full. They lay next to each other instead, deciding to look at the stars.
After a while, Chat Noir noticed the present he got from Ladybug and decided to pick it up. He opened it and his eyes widened. Inside the box was a tiny Eiffel Tower made out of chocolate. Right next to them, was a cake that was in an outline of a cat. Frosting piping outlined the cat's facial feature and collar. On the other side of the tower was a ladybug cake. The gloss glaze reminded him of the apple of the dessert Marinette gave Ms. Bustier today.
"Hey, LB, when did you get this cake," Chat asked.
She sat up and glanced at him.
"Marinette gave me this, special ordered," she smiled.
Chat used a fork and cut the two tiny cakes.
In the inside of the Ladybug cake was the layered ice cream, even though it seemed like it was somewhat melted. He took a bite and his face lit up. No wonder Ms. Bustier loved the dessert so much, it tasted like heaven. He closed his eyes in pure bliss as Ladybug giggled and used a fork to take a bite herself. When they were done, Chat felt a happy feeling in his chest. He would have to thank Marinette later and tell her to tell her parents they did a great job with those two cakes. Suddenly, Chat Noir leaped into the air like a surprised cat and rushed over to the basket. Ladybug frowned and watched him. Finally, Chat took out a black bag and pulled out a velvet box.
He walked over and gave the box to Ladybug. She opened it and gasped. Inside was a beautiful ruby ladybug pendant.
"Turn it around," Chat grinned. And she did. The other side had a stunning emerald cat paw print. In the center between the two jewels was a thin line of tiny diamonds, all jewels perfectly cut.
"Do you want me to help you put it on?" Chat asked. Speechless, she nodded her head. He silently took the necklace and helped her clasp it together.
Finally, she turned around.
"Do you like it?" he asked. Hopefully, he wouldn't get slapped again, because the necklace costs a thousand times as much as the dinner. Thankfully, Ladybug didn't slap him, nor asked for the cost of it. Instead, she threw her arms around him and mumbled a thousand 'thank you's into his neck as she grinned happily. In return, this made Chat happy as he hugged her back. Pulling away, he looked into her eyes, and for her, his. They stayed like that forever until Chat did the unexpected.
He quickly closed the gap between them and planted his lips on hers. In return, she closed her eyes and returned it.
Eventually, after a few kisses, they both pulled apart, both had darkened eyes as the miraculous beeped their first warning.
Chat grumbled and tried reconnecting their lips again, but Ladybug pulled away.
"Time to go Chat," she said as she went to the edge of the tower. She turned around shyly though while looking down at the ground, "I had a great time though." She added, smiling.
Chat grinned too as he watched her pull out her yoyo and zip away.
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Since Ladybug went home early and patrol was canceled, Chat Noir decided to follow up on his promise to thank Marinette, since he had more time.
Thankfully, knowing the clumsy girl, she was still awake at this hour.
Meanwhile, Marinette was catching up on her homework humming sweetly as the moments from today caught up with her. She looked at the necklace Chat gave her right next to her diary box. She smiled fondly.
Sure she was a little mad that some of her friends, make that all of her friends, thought that her desserts and gifts were from her parents, but Chat made her day with the romantic dinner at the Eiffel Tower. Did that mean that they went out on a date? Thinking back at the kiss, Adrien didn't seem that interested in her anyway.
And he was also one of the people who thought that her parents made the gifts! She poured her heart and soul, all her expertise in making different chocolates. And finally, there was the crowned jewel, the Snow White dessert, which she spent most of her time on the weekend making. Her parents volunteered to help her, but she wanted to do it on her own.
To add to everything, he parents asked to sell her dessert. But then, everyone would think that her parents made it. The only thing that everyone thought she truly made was the shirts.
The one thing that someone actually helped her on, which was Chat making the puns.
All of a sudden she heard a loud thud on her roof. On defense, Marinette grabbed a comb and slowly went on to her balcony.
Was it an Akuma? It was an unusually quiet day for Hawkmoth after all.
"Hey, Prin-ouch!" said Chat as Marinette threw her comb at him, and flip him over onto his backside.
She seemed confused at first until she realized who he was. He grinned and waved back at her.
"Chat, you scared me," she mumbled as she was in no mood to play fangirl at all, "And what are you doing here? On my balcony from all the rooftops of Paris."
"Just checking in on my favorite civilian," he said with a Cheshire grin. Marinette rolled her eyes since the only time that they actually met with each other was during Evillustrator.
"What's the real reason, mon chaton," she said until she realized her mistake. Ladybug was the only person who called him that, not Marinette. Luckily, Chat didn't seem to notice.
"I just wanted to thank you for the dessert you gave to Ladybug who gave it to me," Chat grinned. Marinette frowned slightly. Dessert she gave him, not made him, there was a difference. That meant that he probably thought that her parents made it too, along with everyone else.
"Thanks," she said. But Chat noticed. Why was it that whenever he mentioned her gifts that she always frowns. Did she hate compliments? No, otherwise Alya wouldn't be her friend since she compliments Mari almost every day.
Maybe it's the fact that she never gave out desserts before.
"Marinette, the desserts you've made are amazing! You don't have to be sad," Chat complimented. And that's when she started bursting into tears.
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Marinette wasn't really crying, she was just shedding happy tears, not that Chat would know the difference. He said the words made the desserts! Finally, someone noticed her work. Who cares if Adrien or any of her classmates didn't notice? Her best friend did and that was what truly mattered.
Meanwhile, Chat was freaking out internally. What did you do, what did you do?! He kept repeating over and over in his head. He didn't mean to make Marinette cry. He was supposed to be a superhero who lifts people up, not down. Great Agreste, another bad incident with Marinette. If she doesn't forgive you for the gum thing, she definitely wouldn't forgive you for making her cry!
Finally, Marinette hugged Chat. Confused, he did the only thing he could think of which was hug her back. Talking would only make it worse, he reasoned, since he had no idea what he was doing anymore. First came the tears, and now the hugs. Girls were really confusing sometimes, but he didn't question it.
"I'm so glad you noticed Chat," Marinette grinned through tears.
He was even more confused now. "You're welcome?" he says, but it comes out more of a question than a statement.
Then Marinette jerked up straight all of a sudden, and said, "Wait here," before going to her room to get something. Ladybug already gave Chat a gift, but Marinette didn't, she told herself. When she finally went up to the balcony, she hid the box of chocolates behind her back; even though she knew Chat would notice.
"What do you have there, Purr-incess?" Chat grinned, already knowing the answer.
She smiled and handed him a box of chocolates. It looked pretty much the same as the ones he got today, but the tastes of the chocolates were different. He closed his eyes to appreciate the sweets that he was forbidden to eat.
"These must of took a long time to make," he finally decided to say.
"Oh, they did. But hand making chocolates isn't new to me, and I wanted to give each piece of chocolate a unique, different flavor," she stated, enjoying watching him eat the sweets she made.
Your parents didn't help you? He wanted to say, but instead, he decided to say, "Your classmates must have appreciated the time and effort you put in into making the desserts."
She frowned at this, but finally, she stated, "No, not really. Everyone thinks that my parents made these."
Chat almost choked on the chocolates. Was this the reason that Marinette was so sad today? Because no one recognized her work?
"Really? Not even Alya, or uhm…your classmate Adrien?" he asked. Was he really that oblivious?
"Well, yeah. Alya said my parents were talented bakers. And Adrien said quote, unquote, 'I wonder how your parents could make such good chocolates.' And up to this point, no one knew I made all my gifts until you…and my parents," she added but shrugged like it was no big deal.
Wow, I'm such a terrible friend, Adrien thought. No wonder why Mari was sad the whole day.
"Why didn't you tell them?" he demanded. He couldn't believe Marinette wouldn't tell them about the hard work she spent making the sweets.
"First of all, my parents are great bakers and they deserve some credit for teaching me all the techniques I've used and such. Secondly, I should be used to it by now, so it's no big deal," she said, obviously wanting to not talk about the topic anymore.
"So someone stole your design before?" he whispered. And you didn't do anything about it? He added in his head.
"Well, to be fair, this person thought his dad gave him the gift. And his dad doesn't show him a lot of love. And when he thought his dad gave the gift to him he was super happy, so…" she trailed off. "Saying nothing was the best option. As long as he's happy, I'm happy," she finally finished.
Chat stared at her in awe. How much more selfless could Marinette get?
Instead, he asked, "So, who was this person that you gave the gift too?"
"I have the prototype of the scarf, I'll show you," she said and went to her room to grab it.
And when she returned she held out…his blue scarf?
"You see, I never gave him this one because of the mistake I made here," she pointed to a section, but to Chat, nothing looked wrong. Finally, she showed him her signature she embroidered into the end. How did he not notice that?
"It's on the other one too, I'm just hoping that he would never notice," Marinette said and smiled at the cat superheroine.
"How come you never told him," Chat said, already knowing she gave the gift to Adrien on his birthday.
"Like I said, it makes him happy," she replied, still smiling. And Chat knew that she meant every word of it. If only she could be that way with Adrien.
After a while of silence and looking at the streets of Paris below, Marinette yawned silently.
Chat knew she was getting tired so he decided to go.
"It's getting purr-etty late, so this cat must take his leave," Chat said taking out his baton.
Marinette nodded and stated, "Yeah, I should sleep too, and it's a school night so…" She finally settled on the correct words, "I had a great time tonight with you Chat. And thanks for everything."
He smiled, and grabbed her hand and planted a kiss, "Farewell princess." And with that last note, he leaped off onto the rooftops of Paris, heading home.
Once he got there, he released his transformation and went to his closet to look for the scarf.
Plagg floated silently to the side, eating camembert. "What'cha looking for, kid?" He asked his chosen as Adrien finally found the scarf that his father claimed he gave him.
Adrien said nothing as what Marinette said was true. At the bottom corner at the end of the scarf was her signature, signing her work.
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A week from that day, Marinette woke up earlier than usual. She smiled as she went to her desk and saw the necklace Chat gave her still there. She decided to wear it to school today, because after all, in all the school's in Paris, there was no way that Chat would be going to her school.
Tikki floated towards Marinette and admired the necklace.
"That's really pretty Marinette," the tiny kwami gushed.
"I agree, Tikki. It is quite beautiful," after a pause, she added, "I just hope that Chat didn't spend too much on me."
Tikki giggled, knowing the full price of the jewel. She was an ancient kwami goddess after all, and if she did tell the price to Marinette, she would be freaking out, as if the dinner from the other night was already expensive enough. Compared to the pendant around her neck, dinner should be the last thing on her mind.
Marinette went to the closet to grab her usual outfit when Tikki stopped her.
"Marinette, how about you try on something else to match your necklace for once," Tikki suggested. When Marinette looked confused, Tikki decided to grab something from the closet herself.
She showed the outfit choice to Marinette, and the girl's face lit up.
MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB
Adrien didn't know what to expect when arriving at school. Definitely not Marinette in a new look, other than her usual pink jeans, black jacket, and white top.
She had on her usual pigtails, and pink purse, but she was obviously wearing something Ladybug and Chat Noir themed.
She was wearing a white silk blouse, and a red skirt that went up to her knees, but it was the embroidery at the bottom that caught his attention. Stitched on the skirt was a playful design of a black cat chasing a ladybug. She was also wearing black ankle boots and a bracelet with a cat charm.
Adrien grinned at this since he knew who inspired her to pick that certain design.
A crowd of classmates was around her giving her a bunch of compliments, and she deserved it. Finally, Nino spotted him (pun intended), and headed in his direction.
"Dude, I know I like Alya, but Mari is rather hot today, don't you think?" Nino grinned. But Adrien paused and frowned. It wasn't just today that made Marinette hot. Just because she changed her looks doesn't mean that she was just "hot" today.
"What are you talking about Nino? Just because someone changes their looks doesn't mean that they're just 'hot' today. In fact, I think Mari looks beautiful every single day," Adrien stated.
A screech was heard from someone. Adrien turned around and saw that the audience that was once admiring Marinette had their attention on him and Nino. The ravenette was meanwhile blushing as hard as a tomato.
"T-thanks A-a-Adrien," the shy girl shuttered.
Another screech was let out from someone, who turned out to be Chloe.
"How dare you Mari-trash take away my Adrikins," the brat hissed.
Before Marinette could say anything, she interrupted again, "As if changing your looks would help you win him over. He belongs to me! So, back off, otherwise I'll tell my Daddy all about it!"
But Marinette wasn't fazed.
"Chloe, Adrien belongs to nobody. And for the new look, I just wanted to try something new, so you back off! And I know for a fact that the Mayor can't really do anything in this situation, and even if this was a criminal offense, he doesn't have that much power as it seems. We all know that half the threats you make with the mayor being your dad if fake," Marinette said calmly. And with that last statement, she and Alya started walking away.
Chloe, on the other hand, was left speechless while Sabrina came over to see how she was doing.
"This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!" Chloe huffed when she finally found her voice.
Nino and Adrien watched her walk away just as the bell rang. When the boys got to their seats, Marinette and Alya weren't there yet, probably getting books from their lockers.
"Dude, do you have a crush on Marinette?" Nino asked his best bud. Adrien looked at Nino like he grew a second head. As if he would actually like anyone else besides his lady. And after that kiss last night, he was sure that he was winning her over. At the same time, he had a new respect for Marinette. She was selfless and kind and she would make a great superhero if she was ever given a miraculous. Hopefully, she won't have a kwami like Plagg if she ever got one, though.
"Hello, earth to Agreste," Nino waved his hand in front of the model.
"What?" the model finally asked, forgetting the previous question that he was asked.
"I asked if you liked Marinette," the DJ asked again.
Before Adrien could properly answer, Alya and Marinette walked through the doors. Saved by the bell, Adrien thought.
"And that's why I think that Ladynoir would become a thing," he heard Alya state.
Marinette smiled and for the first time she stated, "You know, I think that there might actually be a chance that that could happen." She smiled as she fidgeted with her necklace remembering the kiss from last night.
It wasn't like she didn't like Adrien anymore; it's just that Chat was there when she needed him most. On top of that, he made her feel special last night, not that already being chosen as a superhero didn't make her feel special enough. It's just that last night, she knew for sure that someone actually liked her, the way she liked Adrien.
Maybe it was more of a celebrity crush, she thought. After all, Nino already told Alya who told Marinette that Adrien liked someone else. It was time to let him go, so he could be happy with whoever he liked.
What she didn't notice was Adrien staring at her, or more preciously, the pendant around her neck. The same one that he gave Ladybug last night.
He kept staring at her, and finally, Alya noticed the necklace she kept fidgeting with too. The reporter examined it closely before gasping at the design.
"Girl, you have to tell me where you got that necklace. I would love to post it on the Ladyblog," she declared.
In return, Marinette blushed a color similar to Ladybug's suit.
"I got it from a friend," she said finally, but there was this dreamy look in her eye. Alya noticed and started smiling like crazy.
"Don't tell me! Is it from a guy that you like," she smirked.
Marinette looked at her.
"No, it's not him. I don't like him anymore," the ravenette stated. Alya frowned.
"Then who is your secret admirer?" she asked.
Marinette shook her head. "You don't know him. He goes to a different school." But then she smiled again like that person lit up her world, which he did.
She can't be, can she? Adrien wondered. Was it possible that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug? He looked at the class rep. slowly and noticed that she did look similar to the superhero.
She had the same colored hair and bluebell eyes. Heck, she even had the same pigtails! The necklace that he gave her was all the confirmation he needed. How could he have not noticed before? His lady was in front of him all along, or in his case, behind him!
And the person she liked must be Chat Noir, which was him. So technically, Marinette who was Ladybug liked Chat Noir which was him. Holy shoot, this was the best day of his life, well…besides yesterday, and the day that he got his miraculous. But today was a close second.
The second bell rang as the teacher walked into class. Nobody noticed that the brat of Paris and her friend were missing.
MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB
Chloe was in the bathroom crying her eyes out. First, her Adrikins called Mari-trash the most beautiful that he saw every day! That compliment should have been for her, not some poor pathetic baker's daughter! She was the one that was his childhood friend. She was the one that was there for him the day his mom went missing. And he was there for her when her mom left her with her dad. It wasn't fair!
On top of that, Marinette humiliated her in front of the whole school. And now everyone in school would know that most of her threats were useless! This was going to damage her reputation as the queen bee of the school. And to think that she was actually being nice to her when she gave her a Valentines gift last week!
After Marinette told her off, Chloe left to go to the bathroom, with Sabrina following her tail. She quickly went into one of the largest stalls and cried her eyes out. She silently took out her good luck charm just as the bell rang, but she didn't care.
Her good luck charm was something her mom gave her before she left.
It was quite simple and cheap compared to the hundreds of other jewelry that she had, but it was something important and that was what mattered.
It was a hair clip that had a bumblebee in the center. Around the bee were several flowers and honeycomb squares that are found in many bee hives. The decorations were made with fake jewels and crystals, but Chloe remembered when her mom first bought her the clip.
It was only $3.00, and they were selling it at the county fair. That was the day before her mom went missing, the clip is a constant reminder that she left.
But at the same time, the clip was a source of comfort for the mayor's daughter, and she never left home without it.
All these sad memories caught up to Chloe as she bawled her eyes out even more. All of a sudden a strange feeling took over and a soothing voice calmed her down.
"You don't like the feeling of being alone, do you? With your mother gone and childhood friend betraying you?" it said.
Chloe shook her head because what the voice was saying was true. The one fear that she had always kept inside secretly was that she was always alone. But at times, that feeling would surface reminding her of all the things she couldn't have.
Meanwhile, Marinette was clumsy and shy, and she was surrounded by everyone. She wasn't even putting in the effort to act perfect, everyone loved her!
"And you don't want to forget about the girl that ruined your reputation," the voice said in a calming tone.
Chloe listened and grew angry all over again, the feeling of self-pity going away. How dare she let the enemy let her feel stupid and sorry for herself? She wanted Marinette to feel all the pain and be unloved. She wanted her to be unlucky and feel alone, just like she made Chloe feel worthless at times.
But is it really her fault? A voice that sounded like her mother's filled her head.
But the other voice came back, overpowering her previous thoughts. "I could help you get the attention you want and deserve, in return, I need you to bring me these jewels called the miraculous."
For a brief moment, Chloe saw the ladybug earrings and the black cat ring.
"Yes, Hawkmoth," she found herself saying. The last thing she remembered was a purple and black light flashing around her.
MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB
Nobody was expecting Sabrina to burst into the homeroom shouting, "Run, its Chloe! Help! Run for your lives!" And with that last statement, she fled the classroom, probably heading home.
Marinette frowned.
All of a sudden there was a loud buzzing noise and the building started to shake for a few seconds.
"Look," shouted Rose who pointed out the window. There were millions of bees flying around the streets of Paris. No doubt about it, it was the cause of an Akuma.
"Quickly," Ms. Bustier instructed, "Close the windows." Thankfully, no bees flew into the classroom. Meanwhile, all the students pulled out their phones.
Alya had the best data plan out of all of them, so Marinette watched the news from her phone.
As expected, Nadja Chamack was on TVi news talking about the newest villain.
"This was all she had to say…" the reporter stated and a video clip came up.
The video itself was decent quality, and the supervillain's outfit resembled a bee.
"Citizens, listen good and well, for I am Pollinator," the villain announced, "I haven't been getting the attention I deserve. I don't care if my Daddy already owns all of Paris. From now on, I am the new Queen Wasp, and no one would ever humiliate me again!"
She had a black spandex suit with yellow stripes. Her face color was yellow, and her hair was like her suit, black with yellow stripes at her tips.
With her final statement, she threw her weapon, which was a trompo, into the air. The trompo resembled a bee stinger as it twirled into the air, releasing all the bees. Then, the video ended.
Alya looked shocked at first, but she replayed it and eventually came to a conclusion, "That's obviously Chloe." Marinette nodded her head in agreement. She had to get out of here to transform.
She knew if she asked to go outside now, the teacher would refuse, so she did the next best thing. She ran to the door and sprinted outside, not caring that her classmates and teacher was yelling after her.
There were already thousands of bees, but as she ran, the bees seemed to clear a path for her.
Tikki popped her head out of the pink purse and smiled at Marinette.
"I don't get it, Tikki. Why are the bees clearing a path for me?" she asked as she kept running to find a hiding place.
Tikki grinned, "You didn't know? Ladybug and bees are friends. They often work together to help gardens and such, kind of like partners. Even though these bees are technically released by an Akuma, they sense who you are and would aid you in the least obvious way."
Marinette smiled, grateful for being a Ladybug themed superhero.
Finally, after some thought, she asked, "But what about Chat Noir?"
Tikki frowned. "Have you ever seen a cat stung by a bee?"
Marinette shook her head for she never owned a cat, much less seen one got stung before.
"Let's just say, cats have bad consequences after being stung," Tikki stated. She thought back to one of the previous Chat Noir's who got stung once. Much like a cat, where he got stung, the area started to swell to an abnormal size, even after he detransforms. As long as he stays as a civilian and gets stung, things should be just fine.
"I don't think Chat Noir should join you in this battle," the kwami said, "It's better for him this way."
Marinette nodded in agreement and finally found a closet where she transformed.
"Tikki spots on!"
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Chaos erupted after Marinette stormed out of the classroom, not that anyone would know why except for Adrien who knew her secret. Not that she knew yet.
"Marinette," Alya called after her. When she saw that the ravenette wasn't coming back, she started to go after her, but Nino held her back as he closed the door.
"Nino!" the brunette yelled.
"Ms. Césaire, please sit down and not make the same dumb mistake as Ms. Dupain-Cheng," said Ms. Bustier.
Reluctantly, Alya finally gave up after some persuasion from her boyfriend who kept on telling her that Marinette would be fine.
"I know, it's just that, she's my best friend. I'm supposed to be the dumb one that dives headfirst into an Akuma battle, not her," Alya stated.
Adrien went to the back of the classroom to get some alone time to talk to Plagg.
"Plagg, I need to transform," he told his kwami who was hiding under his jacket.
Plagg didn't bother looking up at him as he ate his precious cheese. "Hate to tell you this, kid. But, you can't help Ladybug this time," the kwami said between bites.
"What? Why not?" his chosen asked furiously, "I have to help her, she's my partner!"
Plagg sighed and ate another bite of camembert. Humans these days.
"Let's just say that you're a cat. It's common sense to know that cats and bees don't mix well. And I'm tellin you, you don't want to end up like my last chosen who made the same dumb mistake that you almost made, and ignored my advice," Plagg grumbled.
"But what about Mari- I mean, Ladybug!" Adrien exclaimed.
"She's a ladybug, she'll be fine. So for now just sit back, because there is nothing you can do," said the god of destruction. Now it was Adrien's turn to grumble. Let's just hope that Marinette would be fine, he told himself.
MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB
Chloe watched the empty streets of Paris. It's not that her bees would actually sting anyone; they were just there to scare people off and sting people when she needed it. And right now, she was looking for a certain Chinese French girl to sting.
Out of nowhere, a red and black spotted yoyo came and snatched the girl's trompo. She watched as Ladybug broke her weapon in half. Not that Pollinator needed it, it was just for summoning bees, and she had all the ones she needed right here.
"Nice to see you, Chloe," said the spotted superheroine.
"My name is Pollinator," she yelled and focused to make the bees do her work. And they did. Thousands of bees swarmed her, and for a second, it looked like Ladybug panicked. The bees attacked and stung her from every direction, but when the swarm cleared…she was just fine.
It was like the bees did no damage at all.
She was expecting red marks and rashes to be breaking out on her skin, instead, nothing happened.
"Are you kidding me, Hawkmoth!" the girl yelled, "My one useful power turned out to be useless!"
This was worse than Chloe imagined. She would go down as the lamest akumatized villain in history! And that was pretty bad considering how lame all the other ones were. Seriously, the Bubbler had such a lame outfit and who named themselves after bubbles?
What she needed…was a hostage. And she knew the perfect one. The bees might not actually sting or attack Ladybug, but they made great distractions. With her final thought, she left the scene and headed off to school.
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When the bees started to attack her, Marinette started to doubt what Tikki said. It was going to be had to explain all the bee marks to her parents.
She braced herself for the stings, but they never came. Instead, it was more of a relaxing sensation. The bees were like…tiny furry cotton balls that were being poked against her suit. Sure it tickled a little, but the bees did no harm.
Hearing Chloe shout insults against Hawkmoth was actually pretty amusing as well…until she sent more bees her way and left the scene.
After the bees were done doing whatever they were doing, Ladybug headed off to school, knowing that Pollinator would most likely go after Adrien or her civilian self.
Luckily, Chat Noir never showed up, even though Ladybug would never admit to anyone that she missed his puns and company in the middle of the Akuma attack.
The first thing she noticed when she got to school was the bees, or rather, the lack of bees. Not a single one of those fuzzy creatures was on campus, which made Ladybug worry because that usually meant that the Akuma was planning something, or they gave up. And it usually wasn't the second option.
She finally stopped by a few classrooms and was relieved to find a few students there.
When the students saw her, they expressions lit up with hope.
"Ladybug, Ladybug!" a person called out to her. There was no doubt about it, it was Alya.
When Ladybug turned to face her, the reporter's facial expression was grim and sad.
"Pollinator stopped by our room earlier. She stopped by and took Adrien, and she claims…she said that she have taken Marinette as well," the reporter said worriedly. Nino came up to Alya and calmed her down.
"Please help them, Adrien is my best bud and Mari is like a sister to me," the DJ said.
The superhero nodded and said, "I'll do what I can." The class cheered and wished her luck as she went away.
All of a sudden a bunch of bees block her way outside. It looked like they wanted her to follow them.
Chloe must have sent them, she thought. And she was correct. The bees led her to a warehouse where Adrien was trapped in a cage. A bunch of mirrors was lined up along the walls, which was probably the item the warehouse was keeping at the time.
"I've been expecting you Ladybug!" Pollinator's voice echoed all over the room. Thousands of bees were already there and surrounding the poor model. Some looked like they wanted to attack her, but she knew they would do no good.
"Release Adrien at once, Chloe!" she stated while looking towards her surroundings to see where Chloe was.
"As if, Ladybug. This is just one of my hostages. I have Marinette Dupain-Cheng trapped too! And if you don't give me your miraculous then these two would get stung to death!" Pollinator threatened.
Ladybug rolled her eyes. As if Chloe would actually sting her sweet Adrikins, and she knew for a fact that she didn't have Marinette with her at all.
She made eye contact with the model who seemed to know what she was thinking. And for some reason, she saw him smirk a little. But nothing was funny about being trapped and targeted by an Akuma.
"How about this, you'll give me your akumatized object, and I'll set you free from Hawkmoth's control," Ladybug bravely answered back. When she heard no answer, she walked over to where Adrien was.
"She's not actually here," the boy told her, and Ladybug leaned in to hear more of what he had to say, "She stole my phone earlier, and she's telling you everything for somewhere else. It's a trap," he said. Then he added, "And I know for a fact that she doesn't have Marinette hostage," he said with a wink.
Ladybug stepped back a little. He didn't know, did he?
Instead, she said, "Do you know where the phone is?" The model nodded and pointed to the second floor of the warehouse. She found his phone with ease and was able to find the location of where Chloe was with some help from the yoyo. Honestly, miraculous weapons were the smartest computers she has ever used.
She hung up the phone and chased the bees away. When she was done, she had to go hunt the Akuma. She turned towards Adrien, but he nodded like he understood, "Paris is in trouble and you have an Akuma to catch, I'll be just fine." He smiled at her, and she smiled back. With that last statement, she left to go catch Chloe.
MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB
Finding the mayor's daughter was rather easy. And once Pollinator's plan failed, Marinette spotted the bumblebee clip in her hair and destroyed it, no lucky charm needed.
She threw her yoyo into the air and yelled, "Miraculous Ladybug!" and watched as the tiny little insects repaired the city and the bees disappear. Chloe quickly turned back to normal. Ladybug grinned and turned to Chat to say 'pound it', only to remember that he wasn't there. And then, there was Adrien to think about. The Akuma attack lasted towards the end of school, and Adrien had a photo shoot to attend, so Ladybug couldn't check on him, maybe later.
She watched as she saw Chloe look around it confusion.
"Ladybug, where am I? Why am I on a filthy rooftop!?" she demanded.
Ladybug sighed and took her home.
MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB
Later in the evening, Adrien collapsed on his bed after hours of modeling for a photo shoot. Doing nothing in an Akuma attack was the most boring thing in the world. Hopefully next time there would be no bee themed Akuma.
Plagg floated next to him while munching on his cheese, "Big deal. You didn't help Ladybug this time. Consider it your day off," the kwami said.
Finding out Marinette was Ladybug, and not telling her was killing him. And he had to wink at her after telling her that Marinette wasn't a hostage! Was he trying to let her know that he knew! Well, to be honest, he really wanted to tell her, since it was only fair.
"I'm such an idiot, Plagg," the model groaned.
"You and I both, kid," Plagg said helpfully. Just then Plagg looked around and disappeared and didn't come back.
Adrien sat up, "Plagg?"
That's when he heard a tap from his window. It was Ladybug.
Adrien quickly got up and opened the hatch.
"Ladybug, what are you doing here," he grinned.
"Oh, you know. Just checking up on you after the Akuma today," she said somewhat shyly as she sat on the edge of the window frame.
"Well, I'm doing just fine, thanks for checking up on me," Adrien smiled.
She nodded as they fell into awkward silence.
After a while, she said, "Well I'm glad that you're safe. So…I'm just going to go now," she said taking out her yoyo to zip away.
Adrien didn't know what came over him but he grabbed her wrist and shouted, "No, stay!" much too quickly. His quick movements made the superhero jerk backward and tumbled with the model to the floor. The two landed in an awkward position where Adrien was on top of Ladybug. He quickly got up and they both kept on apologizing to the other.
"How can I make it up to you?" he asked, and then his eyes looked over to the TV.
"Do you want to watch any movies?" Adrien asked quickly.
Ladybug thought for a moment, before agreeing. "Fine, but only if I get to pick," she stated.
In the end, she settled on watching Spirited Away. Not that Adrien didn't mind because he loved Studio Ghibli movies too. Adrien bought an extra blanket to cover them and started the movie, but he couldn't really concentrate on it, choosing to look at the girl next to him instead.
At one point during the movie, he caught her fidgeting with the necklace he gave her. She smiled looking down at it, the screen lighting up her face.
"Who gave that to you?" Adrien asked gesturing to the necklace, already knowing the answer. Ladybug turned to him.
"And you want to know because…" she teased, still smiling.
"If I guess, would you tell me?" he asked.
She nodded after a while.
"It's obviously Chat Noir then," Adrien stated and he saw her blush and looked down at the necklace again. When she didn't answer, he began to grow worried. Maybe she lied about liking it last week, but she hated liars, so she wouldn't do that.
"Don't you like it?" he asked.
Ladybug turned towards him, the movie long forgotten for now.
"I love it, and knowing that he cares so much for me is just…" she trailed off, "I guess I'm just not used to someone spending so much on me." She said earnestly.
Adrien grinned. "Well, if I was Chat Noir I wouldn't mind spending a bunch of money on you, too," he said winking.
After a while, he added, "Do you want him to ask you out?" It was a bit sudden, but he really wanted to do it and reveal his identity to her.
She looked at him in surprise before thinking and responding, "I honestly don't know."
Adrien frowned. Was it because he puns too much, or his ego was too large. His lady certain complains about that sometimes. Or was it because they were superheroes in general? Thankfully, she answered those questions for him.
"Don't get me wrong! I love Chat, and he's always there for me when I need him. He's one of the bravest, kindest, not to mention loyalist cat I've ever met. He loves to pun and make me laugh when I'm feeling down, and always there to listen when I rant about something and he cares for me even if I make the dumbest mistakes or 'cause some of the Akumas," she stated. Adrien looked at her in awe. It turns out Ladybug liked him more than he gave her credit for.
"So you do like his puns?" he smiled a bit mischievously.
She hesitated. But then she leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "I do. I like it a lot. Just don't ever tell him," she pulled away, her face the color of her suit.
By now Adrien was grinning like crazy. His lady just admitted to liking his puns without her even knowing he was Chat. This was just too much! He really wanted to reveal himself, but didn't.
"The thing is…" she continued, and Adrien stopped smiling to listen, "I think it would be easier without being superheroes."
Aha! His brain thought, so it is because of that! He nodded for her politely to go on.
"I mean, a lot of people don't know this, but we don't actually know each other's civilian identities. What if he hates me or we know each other in real life and his expectation of who I am isn't reached. And every time he takes a hit for me when there is an Akuma…I just don't like it when I know there is a chance of losing him. And I think dating him would only make it worse if I ever did," she finally finished.
"Well, I don't think knowing your civilian self would change his feelings for you. The mask is you, in or out of it," Adrien said helpfully, "and we both know that he would never try to hurt you on purpose. Haven't you ever considered what it would be like for him if he ever lost you too?"
She bit her lip and looked down.
"If you were dating, you guys would love each other too much to let the other get hurt. You guys are a team after all," he smiled, "wouldn't it be worth it in the end?"
The movie was over by now so she got up.
Before she left she planted a kiss on his cheek, "Thank you, Adrien," she said. She smiled at him before she zipped away, back home.
MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB
A month has passed since Valentine's Day, and Adrien has been trying so hard not to let his identity slip. Sometimes, he would visit Marinette as Chat Noir. And sometimes, Ladybug would visit him as Adrien. As for his civilian self with Marinette, she finally stopped shuddering around him and relaxed a bit more.
But his favorite time would always be patrol. There were more kisses involved now and they both were more open to sharing more things about their civilian selves, not that Ladybug didn't know that Chat knew who she was. At the end of patrol, it usually ended with a simple kiss on the cheek. If she was in a super good mood, it would end with a few heated kissed on the lips. They weren't officially dating yet, but both were aware of the other's feelings.
By now, Adrien thought it would be fair to tell Ladybug who he was. And he already came up with a perfect idea of how to do it.
Patrol was tonight and he had a feeling that this reveal would work out perfectly. He planted a note in their usual spot of the Eiffel Tower and added a bunch of other notes in different locations. It was supposed to be like a tiny scavenger hunt.
The last one was going to be in the third most romantic spot in Paris, as Max told him the other day. Hopefully, he would do better than Kim's attempt with Chloe from a few years ago. At least now Kim had Alix. It was quite obvious that those two liked each other from the start, but they were both to oblivious to notice.
Chat Noir set everything up and waited for his lady to come.
MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB
The last few weeks since Valentine's Day were great. Not only did Marinette finally realize that she was only ever going to be friends with Adrien, but she moved on to someone who actually loved her.
Somehow, Chat found out that she secretly liked his puns, which she blamed Adrien for, not that she didn't mind. And whenever they kissed she would always get warm feelings on the inside. They weren't dating yet, but what Adrien told her a few weeks ago was true, it was worth it. They were both more than just partners now, and Marinette savored every moment of it.
She especially liked the peaceful night where they had deep conversations. That revealed a side of Chat that she has never seen before, but she liked it if he was soulful or flirtatious, because she liked spending time with him in general.
Today marked her 1-month unofficial anniversary with Chat, even if he didn't view it that way, she did. Even her friends noticed her happy mood earlier. She started wearing her necklace less recently, only because someone targeted her for the precious jewels.
Luckily, Adrien was there with her that time. She was waiting for Adrien at the cinema when she saw him a few feet away. She got up from her bench and started to walk to him when someone grabbed her by her waist. Adrien quickly rushed to her side as Marinette quickly busted out the self-defense moves that she learned from being a superhero. They both quickly showed the guy his place, working in sync when he revealed to the two of them that he only wanted her pendant.
Marinette remembered clutching to the jewel closer to herself, for it meant a great deal to her. It was a reminder of the time that she and Chat actually liked each other, more than just partners. Adrien knew that it meant a lot to her too, and by the time the police showed up, everything worked out fine.
But since it was a special occasion, she wore it to school.
"Hey girl, what's got you so excited today," Alya asked, noting that Marinette wore her special pendant.
Adrien and Nino turned away from Alya to look at the raven-haired girl.
"N-nothing," she shuddered and blushed. She rarely did that these days.
"If you say so," the brunette replied and talked about Ladynoir again. Apparently, people were catching on that the duo might be becoming more than just partners.
So when Marinette arrived at their usual spot, she was surprised to find a note instead.
Here's a scavenger hunt from me to you, good luck guessing the clues Bugaboo. ;)
Ladybug smiled as she read the note. That flirt, she thought to herself as she rolled her eyes. But he's your flirt, another part of her brain thought.
She pushed the thoughts aside as she went traveled across Paris. First, she went to the stadium, where they first stopped Stoneheart, even if she didn't purify the Akuma. The next following places were a bit random as well: Notre-Dame de Paris, Canal Saint-Martin (where she got a free ice cream from Andre, saying someone already pre-bought it for her), the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, even the Agreste mansion!
Finally, the scavenger hunt ended at Pont des Arts, where Chat Noir was fiddling with one of the locks on the bridge. She landed on the bridge silently, but Chat heard her and looked up. She smiled and he grinned in return. Ladybug held up the notes in her hand.
"What's with all the notes today, Kitty?" She asked, still walking to the center of the bridge. He blushed and looked down. She frowned; usually, her Chat wasn't this quiet unless something important was going on. When she finally reached him, she noticed that his tail was swinging nervously side to side.
"Chat?" Ladybug whispered growing worried. Hopefully, he didn't want to break up even though they never said anything, to begin with. Finally, he breathed in slowly and knelt to the ground. He told a box out of his pocket and opened it. Inside was a bracelet with a Chat and Ladybug charm. It completely matched her necklace.
"Ladybug…" he began and looked at her like she was his world, "we've known each other for two whole years so far, and recently, things have been shifting in our relationships." Ladybug was shocked, but she knew where he was going with this.
"And even though we haven't defeated Hawkmoth yet, I'm willing to take the risk of us knowing each other's identities because I love you," he said as he got up slowly.
"Plagg, claws in," Chat said as he dropped his transformation. Luckily, it was pretty late and nobody was there. Ladybug's eyes widened as she saw that it was…Adrien? So her old crush was her new crush all along?
"I hope you don't mind this reveal since it was so sudden," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
Marinette was at a loss for words. "Do you want me to drop my transformation or…?" she asked. This was happening so soon that she didn't know if she should be happy or panic. Right now, she was definitely panicking.
"Uhm, I was sorta hoping you would," said Adrien who reached for her hand but she backed away.
"What happens if you don't like me? Or you hate me and your expectations-" she was stopped by Adrien's lips, which were pressed against hers.
"I don't care if you're in or out of the mask, you're amazing just the way you are. I love you, Marinette," he finished.
She gasped and looked at him. "You knew!?" Was she happy or sad, 'cause she didn't know which mood to be in.
"Well, I kinda found out since the week after Valentine's day. Since you wore the pendant it wasn't hard to piece the two together," Adrien admitted. Please don't be mad, he pleaded in his head. Her face was a mixture of hope and betrayal. Thankfully she didn't slap him, like last time.
"So you knew for a few weeks now, and you decided not to tell me?" she stated. He gulped. When she put it that was it was pretty unfair.
"I swear I didn't try to find out on purr-pose. It just sort of slipped, I still love you," he tried to hug her, but she pulled away.
"Spots off," she said, and in Ladybug's place stood Marinette. A red and black spotted kwami appeared out of her earrings and gave her a hug on the cheek. Now, why didn't Plagg seem that nice? Marinette's bluebells eyes finally met his emeralds ones, and they stood like that for what seemed like hours until a voice interrupted.
"So, are you going to introduce me to your lovebug or what," said Plagg as he stared at the two teens.
"Plagg!" said a cute voice that probably came from Ladybug's kwami, "It's their first reveal, and you can't just rush these things!"
He groaned. "Well sorry, if I just want to get my cheese! And let's face it, if we just sat back and did nothing, it's going to take weeks for them just to sort out their feeling," the cat kwami said.
"She," he said pointing to Marinette, "would most likely feel torn and betrayed and wonder why Adrien supposedly messed with her feelings. Meanwhile, my chosen would most likely be made at himself thinking that he blew it, and it would take an eternity for things to be alright!"
With a final thought, he added, "Just like all the other ones before."
The ladybug kwami looked like she wanted to argue, but couldn't find a reason to go against Plagg. Finally, she huffed. "Well, at least this would be easier than all the last ones." And with that, the two of them floated off to the side to watch things play out.
Finally, Adrien asked, "Are you mad?"
Marinette looked down at her feet and finally looked up again.
"You're lucky I like you way too much to let this argument get in the way," she smiled. Adrien slowly processed her words and grinned. He ran up to her and picked her up as he spun her around cheering happy cries all the way. This, in turn, made Marinette laugh as he finally put her down.
"Silly chaton," she rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. They stared into each other's eyes again as they came together and started to kiss each other senselessly. It was a few minutes before their kwamis cleared their throats. Both teens stopped what they were doing and blushed furiously, forgetting that the two gods were there.
"Mind to introduce us?" Plagg smirked, satisfied with both teens' expressions.
"Oh, right," Adrien cleared his voice, "Plagg, this is Marinette, AKA Ladybug. Marinette, meet Plagg. He's really into eating camembert and could interrupt things at the worst possible times!" The model stretched the last part of the sentence quite a bit.
Marinette giggled as Plagg floated up to her and shook hands.
"It's nice to meet you Plagg," she said. He grumbled in response.
She smiled, "I may not have as much camembert as Adrien, but you're welcome to have some cheese danishes anytime you come to the bakery."
At the word, cheese danishes, Plagg's eyes lit up.
"This one's a keeper," he told Adrien.
Finally, the ladybug kwami came up to him and held out her hand.
"Tikki, meet Adrien. Adrien, Tikki. She's really sweet and helpful, and she loves chocolate chip cookies," Marinette introduced.
Adrien turned to Plagg, "She's helpful and eats cookies! Why can't you be like that Plagg!"
The god of destruction just shrugged and said nothing.
Tikki giggled and decided to give Adrien a cheek hug as well. The model started to wish that Plagg gave cheek hugs, but they both had different ways of showing affections.
"You better treat her right, mister," he heard Tikki whisper to him. Adrien nodded. For a little kwami, he knew that she could be worse than Plagg if she wanted too, and he didn't want to be on her bad side.
He watched as Tikki started to talk to Plagg. He saw his kwami turned red after a while, probably being teased about something. For the first time, Plagg looked truly happy, like he was whole again with the other kwami. Just like how Adrien felt whole with Marinette.
"I guess, now that the reveal is done, I should hurry on to the next part of the plan," Adrien smiled. He watched as Marinette raised her eyebrows.
"And what is that?" she asked.
"Dinner at L'Abeille!" the model proudly announced. Her eyes widened, but before she could say anything, Adrien stopped her.
"No buts. I'm taking you and that's final."
They finally got there after a while (since they took the metro), and thankfully, they made it on time to their reservations. Both superheroines ended up having a good night together, sneaking treats to their kwamis and talking about everything that happened in their perspective from the past couple of weeks. The night ended with a kiss on the lips as an official promise to the other.
The next day, nobody questioned the pair as Adrien and Marinette walked to class hand in hand with love-struck grins on their face. And both of them weren't planning to tell the full story of what happened anytime soon, and nobody would ever know…
Until now, Tikki finished writing down as she smiled at her handiwork.
"Are you finally done?" asked Plagg as he came to check up on his other half.
Tikki grinned. "I've finally finished their story! Won't they be pleased to read it?" Tikki exclaimed. Adrien and Marinette were probably the cutest chosens they had in a long time, and she was happy that their story was going to have a happy ending, that was something she could already tell.
Plagg rolled his eyes. "It's not like they're married yet!"
"Well, they're going to be next week! And this is my gift to them," she said happily.
He nearly choked on his cheese."Wait, its next week!" Plagg gasped, "If you give it to them, tell them I helped too!"
And with that final thought, he went away to get more camembert.
Oh, Plagg, Tikki thought as she closed her short story. The goddess smiled as she wrote the final phrase 'The End'.
MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB
OK, we're done. It's midnight and I'm tired so yeah.
For the apple, Snow White themed dessert I give all credit to Kate from Zumbo's Just Dessert on Netflix. It's pretty good, so if you have Netflix, you should watch it.
Spoiler, I got that dessert from the last episode. Kate makes it to the finals. If you were watching the series and didn't get that far yet…sorry.
Pollinator's actual name is Queen Wasp, but I already thought of Chloe's bee themed villain name before I searched it up. And Pollinator stuck pretty well.
It's true that some cats that get stung by bees have bad side effects. Usually, it involves the area that was stung swelling to an abnormal size. So it was actually a good thing Chat didn't join in the Akuma attack.
This is a one-shot, which means that this is complete.
Sorry if this story is a little rushed, but at the same time, this story could be equivalent to 7 chapters: 2,000 words for each part.
I know I'm a little late on all the Valentine's Day stories, but better late than never!
I do not own miraculous ladybug. Reviews are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!
-BelBel