Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The price of greatness is responsibility. - Winston Churchill
Marinette darted through the halls of the Gabriel building, skirting around people and dodging precariously positioned trashcans with practiced ease. Thanks to the akuma attack on the other side of the city, she was returning from lunch nearly an hour late. Again.
During the summer before her last year of school, she had applied for an internship position at Gabriel Agreste's company and had been accepted for the summer program, much to her immense joy. Adrien had congratulated her personally with a warm smile and a heartfelt belief that she would do wonderful. His sincere encouragements had propelled her though many long days and nights once the internship actually started.
She was one of a dozen school-aged interns brought on for the summer to learn the ropes and get a taste of life in the high-paced fashion industry. Most of the interns were like her – nervous, wide-eyed, and friendly – but it was a cutthroat industry, and the teenagers weren't exempt. Several took this opportunity to attempt to sabotage others to eliminate competition. But Marinette didn't view this as competition – merely an opportunity. She oftentimes helped out her fellow interns when they were stuck on a design issue or got handed a problem to solve by a supervisor. And she quickly gained a reputation as being one of the interns the others could go to when they had problems.
Except she still had her duties as Ladybug and Hawkmoth didn't appear to take a summer break. She thought she could slip in unnoticed to meetings and sneak out of work to fight akumas, but she was wrong. Her boss had noticed and so had many of the other interns. And though they valued her judgment on fashion advice, she had begun to gain another kind of reputation: unreliable.
Try as she might – she hadn't overslept her alarm even once this summer! - the akumas always struck at the worst possible times. And the frequent absences and tardies were beginning to take its toll on her work and mental health as well. She had long since lost track of how many times she stayed late to finish her assignments or completely passed out once she arrived home.
She slowed her run into a deliberate walk as she entered the intern office. Several heads glanced up at her arrival and a few shot her sympathetic looks. One smirked at her. Uh-oh.
"Marinette," a clear voice called out. She jumped and turned. "Did you have a nice lunch?"
She looked over as her boss approached, a stern-faced woman that could give Nathalie a run for her money on stoicism. Though she often criticized nearly everything the interns did, it was constructive and usually on-point instead of harsh and unrelenting. Marinette viewed her as a kind of surrogate mother – firm and unyielding, yet sympathetic when she needed to be. Right now, she frowned at Marinette in clear disapproval.
"Uh, hi, Armelle," Marinette said, lifting a hand in a feeble wave.
"You're late," her boss pointed out. "Again."
"Sorry," Marinette said, "I got a bit distracted from the latest akuma attack and -"
"Save it," Armelle said, cutting her off mid-way through her explanation. Her expression shifted into one of pity. "Your luck ran out today." Marinette gulped. "Mr. Agreste stopped by immediately after lunch looking for you. When he discovered you weren't here, he wasn't too pleased. He wants to speak to you the moment you get in."
Ice flooded through Marinette's stomach. "N-now?" she stuttered.
"I'm afraid so. I wouldn't keep him waiting any longer than necessary," Armelle said. She shot another look of pity at Marinette. "Keep your chin up, it might not be that bad."
"You don't really think that, but thanks," Marinette said. She sighed. "Time to face the music. Thanks for everything, Armelle. It's been a dream working here. Do I have time to go to my desk?"
Armelle shrugged.
She hurried to her desk regardless, ignoring the sideways glances the rest of the interns gave as she passed. She flopped down on her chair and buried her head into her arms. If ladybugs were supposed to represent good luck, how come everything she did turned into a disaster?
After a moment of self-pity, she raised her head and began to gather her things in a pile. Most of her belongings consisted of the designs that she had scribbled down on papers and strewn around her desk. The pens, pencils, and other miscellaneous objects all belonged to the company. She stuffed the papers into her bag with an angry vengeance, visualizing punching Hawkmoth's face as she did so.
"Marinette, are you okay?"
She turned toward the whisper to find one of her intern friends peering at her with concern. His light brown hair fell to just below his eyes and his brown eyes peeked through a fringe of bangs. His desk was positioned next to hers so they became fast friends over the last few weeks. To say Leon was talented was a bit of an understatement; he did land an internship at Gabriel with the rest of them, but Leon had a style so different from Marinette's. He specialized in business attire – crisp fabrics, smooth lines, and a sense of effortless suave maturity that Marinette often envied.
"Where have you been?" he whispered.
"The akuma attack held me up," she whispered back.
The boy in front of Leon turned. "Again?" he said in a low voice.
Leon shooed the boy around. "You'll get us into trouble, Garrett," he admonished.
Garrett rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to support my friend."
Despite herself, Marinette smiled. The two boys had bonded into fast friends, and didn't seem to mind a bit of friendly competition. They would frequently have little contests between the two. The loser usually bought the winner a pastry from the cafe in the lobby. Garrett had one sitting on his desk right now. Marinette pointed to it.
"My parents make better cupcakes," she said.
Garrett pulled a face and shot a doleful look at the cupcake. "So you keep saying, but you never seem to bring any in for us to taste so I don't have anything to compare it to." He poked a bit of the icing and stuck a finger into his mouth. Leon scrunched his face and put his head back down to continue his drawings.
"C'mon guys, can't you see she's nervous," the pale-haired girl in front of Marinette turned, the two boys having distracted her from her work. She gave Marinette the sweetest smile, not for the first time sending a striking wave of familiarity through Marinette as she thought of her classmate Rose's same gentle smile. "Mr. Agreste didn't seem that upset," she said.
But Marinette buried her head again. "I've seen him when he's only mildly irritated and that's enough of a nerve-wracking experience for me. Thanks for trying to cheer me up though, Claire. What happened?"
At once, the three turned to her and began spouting out the description of the afternoon. "Whoa," Marinette said, holding up her hands with a small laugh, "one at a time."
"Mr. Agreste came in almost right after lunch," Claire began, "I think he was waiting for us to come back."
"Does that dude ever eat? He could stand to take an extra lunch break or three," Garrett cut in, only to be silenced with a glare from Claire. Garrett ducked his head and went back to eating his cupcake.
Satisfied that she wouldn't be interrupted anymore, Claire continued. "Anyway, he looked around the room for a moment before going over to Armelle. She pointed to your desk and he came over. He asked Leon where you were."
At this, three pairs of eyes swiveled to the teen. Leon sputtered and waved hand in protest. "Hey, what are those looks for? I can't lie to Mr. Agreste."
"What did you tell him?" Marinette asked.
Leon winced. "The truth. I didn't know where you were, since we didn't eat lunch together today." The akuma again. She had abandoned her three friends with a feeble excuse she had long since forgotten. "He asked if this was a frequent thing with you."
The three teens looked at their desks. Marinette gulped again. "What-?" she asked, almost afraid to know the answer. "What did you say?"
Leon met her gaze. "It wasn't us," he whispered. His eyes flickered over to a spot behind Marinette. "It was Odetta," he said, and instantly all remaining hope drained from Marinette. Odetta wasn't above sabotaging or demeaning other interns. She had already caused two interns to quit (and thus two more akumas to fight) and brought several more on the verge of tears, Claire included. Marinette was used to dealing with Chloe during the year, so she brushed Odetta's remarks aside, which further inflamed the girl. The fact that Marinette already had a tenuous personal connection to Mr. Agreste through his son also grated on Odetta and she made it a point to make Marinette's life as miserable as possible.
Leon continued the story, "Odetta overheard Mr. Agreste talking to me and told him every single time that you've been late or missed meetings. She didn't paint you in a very good light," Leon admitted. "Even though I tried to tell Mr. Agreste things were blown out of proportion."
"And I flat out told him that Odetta was a liar," Garrett chimed in with a grin.
Marinette gasped. "You didn't!" she exclaimed.
"Guilty." Garrett didn't even look ashamed, folding his arms confidently across his chest. "I told him that Odetta couldn't be trusted and she was always causing more trouble than offering solutions."
If she wasn't so worried about her own predicament, she would have flung her arms around Garrett. "You're the best," she whispered instead. He beamed at her.
Leon cleared his throat. "We tried, Marinette," he said. "But the fact is that even after twenty minutes of being here, you still hadn't shown up. He shuffled through a few things on your desk and grabbed some of the design sketches you were working on and then went back to Armelle, spoke to her for a few minutes, and then left."
Despite herself, Marinette felt overwhelming gratitude well up for each of them. "Thanks, guys," she murmured. "Hey, if I don't see you guys anymore, maybe we can still hang out? As friends?"
"Absolutely," Claire assured her. Leon and Garrett nodded.
With one last look around her desk, she stood and headed to the door. Armelle stopped her on her way out for one last pep talk. "Marinette, your designs are wonderful," she complemented. Marinette blinked in surprise. Armelle never praised anyone without also criticizing something. "You have an amazing style and you'll go far with your talents, even if it's not with this company. Now go on, and stay positive. I know that's the one thing you can do." With a small smile, Armelle pushed Marinette out the door.
Despite Armelle's words, it was with a heavy heart that Marinette slowly worked her way toward the elevators. The corridors previously packed with people now seemed so empty. She tapped the button to go up and flopped down on a cushioned bench beside it to wait.
"Oh, Tikki," she murmured, "Mr. Agreste is going to fire me. I'll be blacklisted from the entire fashion industry. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, aspiring fashion designer, can't even make it past her first internship."
Her kwami peeked out from her purse. "You heard what Armelle said, Marinette," Tikki cheered, "you have to stay positive. Maybe it won't be as bad as you think."
Marinette thought back to the faces in the room. Her friends looked sad. The one or two who hoped to see her gone looked happy. She buried her face in her hands. "Nope, I know it's as bad as I think."
Tikki flew up and nuzzled her cheek briefly before disappearing back into her purse. "Marinette, you can't go into Mr. Agreste's office already believing the worst."
"He's going to fire me," she moaned. "He's going to tell me what a mistake it was to hire me on, and that he is so disappointed in me and that I'm a bad influence on Adrien and not only will I lose my dream internship but also my friendship with Adrien."
"Calm down, Marinette."
Marinette finally looked up from her hands and focused on Tikki. "It's not fair, Tikki," she muttered. "I have to pick between saving Paris or saving my dream?"
"You're the chosen one, Marinette, it's your destiny to be Ladybug."
"I know, Tikki," she said with a long sigh. "It's just that I made such a big effort to make it to all the meetings on time and arrive at work early and put in extra hours to make sure my sketches get finished and my projects completed and I have done more work here in the last month than in the entire last year, but Hawkmoth had to go and ruin it." She clenched a fist in anger, for the first time feeling the enormous weight upon her shoulders.
"Marinette, you've gotten through other problems before, you'll make it through this one," Tikki assured her. "You'll always have me."
That cheered her and a bit of the gloominess faded. "Oh, Tikki, I'm so lucky to have you," she said, cupping her purse and bringing it to eye level. "You've always been there for me." A dejected sigh. "I guess somewhere deep down inside, I had hoped maybe I could have both."
The elevator dinged open and she stood, snapping her purse closed. She pressed the button to the top floor and rode in silence, trying not to let her misery overwhelm her. Even if Gabriel blacklists her, she'll still make it on her own. It might not be an easy path but she was Ladybug and she would work things out.
Despite her mental pep talk, she didn't feel much better as the doors opened on the floor. She spotted Nathalie at her desk and walked over. Nathalie looked up and tapped a button on her intercom.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng is here," she said.
"Send her in," came the reply.
"Through the doors," Nathalie said, going back to her typing.
"Thanks," Marinette said in a near-whisper as she passed.
Nathalie paused and turned to her. "Marinette," she said, "you are one of his favorite interns."
Is that enough? she thought. She pushed open the doors with a deep breath, steeled herself, and entered.
Gabriel looked up as she walked in, studying her with an expressionless poker face as she walked across the seemingly endless expanse of office. She tried mustering up as much Ladybug confidence as she could but still wilted under his intense scrutiny.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Agreste," she began, "I was told you wished to speak with me."
He placed his pen down on the desk, still studying her. "Yes. Imagine my surprise when I came down to speak with you and discovered you had yet to return. Did you forget about the time while you enjoyed your food?"
Her stomach betrayed her then, grumbling loudly as it reminded her that the akuma attack left no time for eating. Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that as a no. What were you doing then if you weren't eating?"
"It was personal and I apologize. I lost track of time." She averted her eyes, cursing Hawkmoth and his attacks in her mind.
"Hmm," he frowned. "I might dismiss it if this was the first time, but after asking around, I've discovered this isn't the only instance of you 'losing track of time'."
"I apologize, sir. In my defense, I stay late whenever possible to get all of my work completed."
"Yes, your designs are astounding for an intern, and your peers praise your diligence and compassion. Additionally, your work is always completed on time." He folded his hands on top of his desk.
She remained silent.
"Ms. Dupain-Cheng," he said in a sharp tone, causing her to flinch involuntarily, "is this internship important to you?"
She lifted her head and fixed him with an intense look of her own, meeting his steely glare with a fierce determination in hers. "Yes, Mr. Agreste. It is very important to me."
"The most important thing in your life?"
She deflated. "No," she admitted at last in a whisper. "I know you want me to say that it is," she began in a louder voice, hastening to explain herself before he could interrupt, "and I really really want it to be." She clenched a fist in determination.
"But it's not?" Puzzlement filtered through Gabriel's voice as he watched her. Clearly he had expected her to say that it was, and that would give him leverage to lecture her on prioritization. The fact she had not played into his imagined pre-planned script confused him and it showed in his tone.
She shook her head again. "I'm sorry," she apologized again. "I know that Adrien probably vouched for me and I'm disappointing both you and him with my unexplained disappearances, but I have another obligation."
Gabriel's face flashed in surprise for a moment before he frowned again. "And that is more important than your internship?"
She nodded. "It's... sir, your internship is a dream. It's my dream. I know what it means and what it can do for me and I value everything that I've learned while working here, but," she raised her eyes to meet his, squaring her shoulders as her decision is made, "it is only a dream. I have a more important commitment. And if that means that I have to give up my dream to fulfill it, then I will."
"What is this prior obligation? Perhaps we can work out an arrangement that accommodates for your time here and those duties."
Marinette shook her head sadly, absently fiddling with her earring. She missed the way Gabriel's eyes followed her hands, his eyes narrowing at her earrings before widening in shock as his mouth dropped open. "I can't say. I'm sorry; I truly am. I know what a disappointment I must be."
"You would really throw away this chance at your dream just for a sense of duty?"
"Yes, sir." She focused on him, his face once more smoothed into passive neutrality.
"That's quite commendable," he said.
It was Marinette's turn to be confused. Commendable? That wasn't what she expected him to say.
Gabriel stood, walking around his desk to stare out the window. His brow furrowed as he viewed the city before him, his hands folded behind his back. His eyes glazed over. He wasn't seeing anything, instead lost into his own deep thoughts. Marinette let him think in silence. After all, he was probably debating her fate. At last he turned.
"I would like to show you something," he said.
"Uh, show me something?" she repeated.
He nodded. "Unfortunately, I don't have it here. It's at my home. I trust you know the way?"
"Yes, I do." She was still quite a bit confused.
"Excellent. Be there at seven. I won't tolerate tardiness this time. You're dismissed. I believe you have quite a lot of work to catch up on."
With that, he turned away. She stood for a moment, stunned, before gathering her wits and scurrying from the room in a daze, passing by Nathalie without a word and nearly sprinting toward the elevator. She collapsed onto the bench.
"Tikki, what was that all about?" she exclaimed.
The kwami popped up again, giggling at her. "I don't know, Marinette, but you're not fired! That's great."
She stood and clutched her purse. "That was the weirdest thing though. What does he want to show me that is so important?"
Tikki dipped her head from side to side. "I don't know, Marinette, but that has to be a positive sign, right?"
"You're right, Tikki!"
But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The rest of the day she went through the motions of her job – absently sketching designs and assisting the other interns (who all were in various stages of shock and dismay at her arrival) – until it was time for them to leave. Normally, she would remain behind even after Armelle left to catch up on work that akuma attacks forced her to miss, but this time she didn't want to be late for her second meeting with Mr. Agreste.
She bid a quick goodbye to Claire, Leon, and Garrett with a promise to explain everything to them tomorrow and headed in the direction of the Agreste mansion, wondering if she would still have her internship the next time she saw them.
Author's note: This is intended to be a two-shot. The second chapter will be posted next week.