So I realized that this is somewhat similar to my Chatman story, but I figured it was different enough that it didn't really matter. I'm posting part one of this today because it is my lovely friend Megan's birthday and she drew art for vampire Adrien on her tumblr art blog, azure-arts. Happy birthday my love.
I don't own Miraculous Ladybug. Cross-posted to AO3 under TakingOverMidnight3482.
Though Halloween wasn't a major holiday that was celebrated in France, that particular year Marinette's class had been learning bits and pieces of American history, the tradition of All Hallows Eve being one of them, and their teacher had thought it would be fun if they were to dress up on Halloween like the American kids would have. They had even managed to organize an entire school dance, like an American school might, complete with a DJ and costume contest.
Hence why, on the 31st of October, Marinette was dressed up like a marionette, complete with strings and a control stick dangling down her back. She and Tikki had giggled over the play on her name while she did her makeup, drawing a cupids bow over her mouth and settling fake eyelashes onto her lids. Her hair had already been curled into ringlets that hugged her face and bounced as she moved, the bottom of her hairline ending just at her chin and fake bolts etched onto the joints of her body that were visible.
The look was complete with a raggedy outfit, patches sewn in strategic locations over an older brown dress Marinette had dangling in her closet from a catering event over a year ago.
"What do you think?" she asked Tikki, spinning in a circle and then promptly stopping to fix the strings on her back before they tangled.
Tikki clapped in delight, face lit up in a smile. "It's perfect, Marinette! Alya will love it, and so will Adrien, I'm sure!"
Marinette smiled weakly and opened up her backpack. "I hope so. My purse doesn't go with this, though, so I put your cookies in my backpack for today."
Tikki squealed and dove into the confines of the bag and Marinette zipped it nearly all the way shut, leaving just a small hole open to allow air circulation for the Kwami. Slinging the bag over one shoulder carefully so as not to ruin the string and wood sewn to the back of her dress, she grabbed her house keys, shut off her light, and hurried down the stairs.
"Bon matin, Mama," she said cheerfully, hopping down into the bakery and snatching a still warm roll from the pan in her mother's hands.
Sabine laughed and kissed Marinette on the scalp, holding the tray out of the reach of her daughter's grabbing hands. The woman was dressed for the occasion as well, having gotten into the spirit when Marinette had detailed her school assignment to her. She wore a deep, ivy green colored gown that trailed against the floor and a small set of fairy wings adorned her back. "Bonjour, Marinette. Turn. Let me see."
She spun her hand in a circular motion and Marinette obliged, turning for her mother slowly so that she could see her whole costume.
Sabine tisked and reached out, tugging lightly on the wood. "Won't this get in your way?"
Marinette shrugged, gripping her bag with one hand. "Probably. But I don't know what else to do with it."
Sabine pursed her lips and studied the wood for a moment before lifting it up and tucking it over Marinette's free shoulder, setting the rolls down to have better access to it. "Here. Put it over this shoulder, and add a safety pin, and…there! It should stay."
She stepped back and Marinette turned again, grinning when the wood stayed in place, not smacking against the back of her knees. "Merci, Mama!"
Sabine chuckled. "Of course, honey. Did you hear? Your school called to ask us to cater the party tonight. Apparently Chloe is on the committee for the party and she really enjoyed the assignment and she knew we would be able to whip some treats up quickly."
Marinette raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I'm sorry, did you say Chloe enjoyed an assignment? And actually took the initiative to call you for something?"
Sabine laughed and ruffled her daughter's hair, ignoring the girl's protests. "Shush. Go to school. We'll see you later and you can help us finish up the order for tonight, okay?"
Marinette rolled her eyes, agreed, kissed her mother on the cheek while simultaneously stealing another roll, and darted out the door and across the square to school.
She had a very good feeling about today.
Adrien hated this school assignment. He had always loved school, always found American history interesting, if brutal and unethical, but he despised this particular assignment.
He scowled at his image in the mirror, ignoring the Kwami hovering over his shoulder. "I look like a dead model," he grumbled, crossing his arms over each other.
Plagg winced, unable to protest with the boy. "You know your father is just trying to maintain your image."
It sounded feeble even to his advanced hearing, and Adrien snorted, fingering at the dark green cape he had draped around his shoulders.
His father had allowed him to dress up for the Halloween party, provided that he do two things: one, not look utterly atrocious, and two, model some of the new fall line of Agreste clothing.
Which basically meant Adrien had had no choice but to be a very stylish vampire in a green suit. The only hint that he was even supposed to be a vampire, actually, was the cape around his shoulders and the fake fangs in his mouth. He had tosseled his hair just a little, but too much would be both unruly to his father and make him look too much like Chat Noir, so he had to settle for how it was. The only other makeup his father had allowed was a light dusting of pale face crème.
He adjusted the tie around his neck, pulling it from strangling to somewhat choking, and then adjusted his suit jacket, sighing and slumping where he stood.
"I look stupid, Plagg."
Plagg frowned and sank down onto the boy's shoulder. "No you don't. Fancy, yeah. Not stupid."
"Stupid."
He had really wanted to dress up as some kind of superhero, but he had thought the mask might give him away too easily as Chat. Before he could think of something else, his father had set his foot down and now he was stuck as a very boring, if incredibly well dressed, vampire.
All of him was shouting to skip, but he desperately wanted to see Nino and the girls' costumes, and he didn't want to be stuck at home all day or give his father yet another reason to revoke his school privileges.
"Whatever," Adrien grumbled around the plastic teeth that seemed to encourage saliva to come out of the depths of hiding. "Let's just go."
Plagg obliged, crawling into the inside pocket on Adrien's jacket, and Adrien grabbed his backpack and stormed down the stairs, fixing his posture rapidly when he spotted Nathalie and the Gorilla waiting for him at the door.
"Adrien," the woman said formally, nodding to him and handing over his schedule for the day.
Adrien gave her a weak smile and shifted the cape on his back, waiting as the Gorilla opened the door.
"Don't forget, your father is requiring you to attend the school dance tonight in order to advertise the new fall line."
"Of course he is," Adrien muttered under his breath.
"Pardon?"
Flashing the woman a very fake, toothy smile, Adrien hefted his bag onto his shoulder and tilted his head at her. "I said…of course I will. Thanks. Have a good day, Nathalie."
She nodded at him and Adrien practically flew out the door after Gorilla, who he had managed to convince to dress up as an actual gorilla for the costume party that night (despite his stoic appearance on the outside, Adrien had found that the man was actually quite playful and even had two young children at home).
As much as he hated his own outfit, Adrien couldn't help but smile a little as Gorilla held the door for him.
He couldn't wait to see what everyone else was dressed as.
"Oh my god, girl, you look incredible!" Alya squealed, fingers clasped together as her eyes roved down Marinette's costume, taking in every detail greedily.
"Thanks, but so do you!" Marinette protested, gesturing at Alya's own outfit.
The girl wore a crimson red dress that fell to her heels, allowing her flats to poke out from underneath the black lace covered hem. The middle bonded in a black silk, ribbon tied corset, emphasizing her chest and making it difficult for her to bend over. The sleeves were long, ending just at her wrists with more black lace that matched the hem of her dress.
On her head sat a witch's hat, something both girls knew she would have to take off during class, and in one hand she held an old broomstick that she had dug from the depths of her attic. A deep purple and black cape fell from her shoulders, dusting the ground behind her and making her appear like she was floating.
They stopped squealing as Chloe walked by, hair done up in a bun and a bright yellow mermaid tail dress curving down her body. Other than the very elaborate makeup and seashell jewelry, it appeared that she hadn't dressed up.
"Chloe?" Alya called. "What are you supposed to be?"
The girl scoffed, stepping towards them delicately. "I'm a mermaid, silly girl. I plan to sing Adrien to my grasps so that way he'll be mine forever."
She sighed deeply and strutted off, meeting up with Sabrina at the doorway, the girl dressed as a tabby cat.
"Doesn't she mean a siren?" Marinette questioned, raising an eyebrow. "They lured people with singing, not mermaids."
"With her, it's just a lot of screeching anyway."
They giggled, turning as they heard Nino's voice call out to them. He trotted over, waving, and the girls couldn't help but grin more at the sight of his outfit, the fake ears perched on his head and the fake fur that speckled his person. He wore gloves that looked like paws, and Marinette shook her head as he ventured up.
"Are you a werewolf?" she guessed, her words bubbling with laughter.
Nino gave her a fake smile, eyes twinkling, and nodded. "Yeah. Wasn't much else I could pull off on such a short notice."
"You had fur laying around on short notice?" Alya inquired, one eyebrow arching in bewilderment.
Nino snorted. "My mom's a vet, Alya."
"Ew."
Ignoring the comment, Nino glanced behind him and frowned, forehead scrunching up. "Hey, so Adrien's dad was being an ass and he told Adrien the only way he could dress up was to model their new line of fall clothes. So he's like…a really modern vampire. Just so you know."
"That stinks," Alya muttered, stomping her broom into the ground and glaring in the general direction of the Agreste mansion. "What did he want to dress up as?"
Nino shrugged, scratching at the fur on his forearm. "Some kind of superhero. I'm not sure which. But his dad was dead set against it. No vampire pun intended."
The girls nodded knowingly and turned as Adrien's limo pulled up out front of the school. The back door popped open and Adrien stepped out, one hand dragging his bag after him and his eyes cast to the ground as he said something to his driver.
Marinette sucked in a quick breath, eyes snaking over his outfit, and she promptly blushed and looked away when she heard Alya and Nino chuckle. "Shush, he looks good."
"Tell him that," Alya said, nudging the girl as Adrien trotted over to them.
He gave a halfhearted wave, trying for a smile. "Hey. You guys all look fantastic," he said sincerely. "I love the costumes."
"Yours is good too," Marinette managed, giving him a weak smile and gesturing to his outfit.
Adrien rolled his eyes and shifted both the cape and the backpack. "Thanks, but it's really not that great. You look amazing though; did you make the dress?"
Marinette practically squeaked as she nodded, smoothing down the dress with her hands in order to hide how they were shaking. "Y-yes. Thank you."
Adrien smiled warmly at her and the group turned to go inside as the bell rang, Nino and Alya promptly taking the lead so that Chloe wouldn't tackle Adrien upon entering and leaving Marinette to walk alongside the boy.
"I really do like the outfit," she murmured after a moment, her fingers tightening around her backpack straps. "It um…it looks good on you."
Adrien ducked his head, rubbing a hand down the cape. "Well…thank you, Marinette. I suppose it could be worse. I could have been forbidden from dressing up at all, so fake teeth and a cape aren't the worst that could've happened."
"You pull off the modern vampire look very well."
She nearly slapped her hands over her mouth, missing the way Adrien chuckled at her commentary. "Thanks, Marinette. I appreciate it."
They trooped into the classroom together and everyone promptly flinched as Chloe's shriek rang across the room, deafening everyone in a two-mile radius.
"ADRIKINS! COME LOOK AT MY COSTUME!"
"She should've been a banshee," Marinette muttered.
Adrien couldn't help but agree.
The set up for the dance started directly after school, and Marinette had volunteered to help with last minute preparations before she ran home to help her parents. Alya was staying until the party, so that she could document everything for the school paper with Ivan, and she pitched in a few times as well.
It was while they were helping to sew a dark black and purple curtain back together that they heard Chloe in the back room, speaking to the student who was in charge of running the costume contest.
"What do you mean, you won't do it?" the blonde was hissing.
The other girl, a very petite American exchange student who actually knew a lot about Halloween and had been an incredible help with debunking myths, stood her ground, fingers curled into fists and eyes narrowed. "I mean," she said in nearly perfect French that Marinette had helped her with a few times, "that I'm not declaring you the winner no matter what. You have to win on your own, Chloe. That's how it goes."
Chloe's face was an unnatural shade of red against the yellow of her dress, and Marinette knew from experience that the girl wasn't used to having people, particularly not exchange students, stand up to her.
"Do you understand that I can get you deported and sent home like that?" the girl demanded, snapping her fingers in the American's face.
Still she held her ground, smooth eyebrow lifted on her head as she crossed her arms over her chest and gave Chloe a sneer. "Do you understand that I'm here on school grounds, and that the only way I could be sent home would be to commit a serious felony on school property? Get out, Chloe. I don't need your help for the rest of this."
Chloe spun and stormed off as gracefully as she could in the dress she wore, and the American promptly sat down on a stepladder that they had been using to hang streamers with, head in her hands.
Alya and Marinette glanced at one another and Alya stepped over, skirt swaying as she knelt next to the girl. "Um…Clara, right?"
The student lifted her head, black and teal locks falling across her face as she studied Alya. "Yeah. You're Alya. You run the Ladyblog."
Alya grinned and nodded, tilting her head in Chloe's direction. "Good on you, standing up to her. She's a bitch and you definitely put her in her place."
Clara shrugged, sitting up straight and running her fingers through her hair. "Thanks. I'm just worried she'll get me expelled. I'm only here a semester; I'd hate to leave before January because of some snob."
Marinette laughed, climbing to her feet and dusting her skirt off. "She can't do anything. Her father doesn't control the exchange students. Do you need any more help with decorations?"
Clara glanced at the hemmed curtain, then up at the rest of the gymnasium, eyes perusing the decorations. "We should be okay. I just need to find the rest of the pumpkins. I know your parents are catering, you should go help them."
Marinette nodded and bid the two of them goodbye, grabbing her backpack from where she had set it in the corner and darting home in order to help her mother and father with the last of the baking.
Tikki poked her head out on the way home, looking a tad nauseous. "What are you going to do if there's an akuma tonight?" she asked. "That's a small gym, and it'll be very crowded."
Marinette sighed, pausing outside the bakery to catch her breath and poke Tikki back into the bag. "Honestly, I'm just hoping everything goes smoothly."
Everything was very much not going smoothly.
The punch had spilled all over the floor, people kept pulling the streamers down, and someone had tried to make off with an entire tray of cookies, which Tom had put a stop to quickly. His bear costume kind of deterred anyone from trying something with him around, not because it was super scary, but because it was very wide and very cumbersome and no one wanted to smack into a flailing paw.
Marinette was dancing alongside Alya and the boys when Clara got up on stage, followed by three school teachers who had been elected to help out at the dance. The DJ cut out slowly and Clara grabbed for a microphone.
"Bon soir, everyone," the girl chuckled, wizard hat sparkling under the low lights. "I hope everyone is having fun!"
Cheers went up around the room and Clara grinned. "Fantastic! In a few minutes, we'll be starting the costume contest, so anyone who would like to enter should go sign up in the corner over there."
She gestured to a teacher in the far corner who sat alongside a table and a sign-up sheet.
"You should sign up!" Adrien called over the music that had started back up, directing his comment at Marinette and Alya. "You both look incredible!"
If Marinette hadn't been wearing makeup, her face would have been bright red. "Thank you, but I don't really do crowds!" she shouted back to him.
Nino nudged Alya, his grin wicked. "Alya is totally gonna win it."
Alya snorted. "I didn't even sign up, you moron."
Nino smile grew wider and Alya shrieked, looking between his and Adrien's equal smirks. "You did NOT!"
Adrien laughed. "We signed you up because you totally deserve it. Marinette, we knew you weren't a fan of crowds so we decided to ask first."
"You assholes!"
Ignoring Alya's laughing protests, Nino dragged her off towards the edge of the stage so that she could go up more easily when called. Marinette giggled, running her hands down her skirt and tapping at the inner pocket she had thrown in last minute, checking to make sure Tikki was okay. She couldn't sit with Tikki in the pocket, which was why she hadn't used it in class.
Tikki tapped back, assuring the girl she was fine. Marinette looked up to find Adrien watching her, a curious look on his face, and she managed a smile. "I think it's um…it's nice you and Nino signed Alya up."
Adrien grinned, glancing towards the two. "Yeah, well, he kinda has a crush on her and I figured this might give him a chance to hang with her. Plus, she'll totally win."
Catching Marinette's look, he laughed. "What?"
"You did all this because he has a crush on her?"
Adrien opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Clara returning to the stage, robe billowing dramatically as she walked.
"Okay!" she called out over the crowd. "We're going to bring everyone on stage, and show them off, and how we decide a winner is based on two things: which person the judges like best, and which person you guys, as the audience, vote for. There are ballots all over the place, and we'll have them counted within the hour. That means there can be at least two winners, so make sure you vote!"
The whole thing went by in a blur for Marinette, because she knew without a doubt that she was voting for Alya. Ivan had a very good Frankenstein's monster costume, and Marinette knew Mylène had probably convinced him to enter, because she stood at the edge of the stage in her princess costume clapping the whole time.
She and Adrien, along with most people, had already voted before all the names were even announced, and so when Alya and Nino found their way back to them they were standing around the snacks, drinking punch and talking to Marinette's mother.
Alya was wringing her hands around her broomstick, witch hat perched precariously on her scalp in such a way that it appeared like she was tilting her head. "Did I do okay?" she asked, teeth worrying at her lower lip.
Sabine wrapped an arm around the girl, careful not to smack her with her fairy wings, and squeezed her shoulders gently. "You were wonderful, sweetheart. You're sure to win."
Alya flushed under the woman's praise, and Marinette and Adrien both echoed the sentiment enthusiastically.
Marinette excused herself to help her mother with the extra snacks they had laid out in the school kitchen, assuring Alya that she would be back in time for the judging and announcement of the winners.
"How many more do we need?" Marinette asked, bustling around the kitchen and pulling the plastic wrap from the trays of cookies.
Sabine pursed her lips, eyes roving over the cookies and face scrunching up as she counted in her head. "Two more pans should be enough for the next hour or so. We want to make sure to space them out so that we-"
Her voice cut out abruptly and Marinette frowned, her fingers still working on the cookies. "What was that?"
When Sabine didn't answer, Marinette turned to see what had distracted her mother, only to fall to the ground in a very undignified heap with a shout that could probably be heard all the way down the hall.
At the last moment she twisted to land on her right side so that she wouldn't squish Tikki, her limbs sprawling every which way and her head smacking into the floor.
Strangely, it didn't hurt, which Marinette assumed was because she had cracked her head open and was now bleeding to death on the floor. She didn't smell blood, though, and her mother had all but vanished, which was bizarre in and of itself.
Struggling to push herself up, Marinette found that her limbs weren't quite functioning the right way; she could move them of her own free will, but she had a hard time putting weight on them and getting them under her.
A sinking feeling had started in the pit of her stomach, her mind slowly drifting to the word "akuma," and it was confirmed when she twisted her head and found that her elbows were held together with actual nuts and bolts. Her skin appeared to be plastic like, though when she touched it she still felt normal.
The girl groaned as everything came crashing down- literally.
Marinette fell face down onto the ground as the bolt slipped from her right elbow, arm promptly falling off and out from under her, and she sighed into the linoleum.
"Great," she grumbled. "Just great. An akuma that made me into my Halloween costume. Wonder what Chloe did this time."
"She pushed Clara off the stage is what she did," Nino said, crouching down next to her, Alya at his side. His eyebrows furrowed as he took in her state, and Marinette was startled to realize that all of the hair he had glued to himself was now actually growing from his body. "How in the-?"
"Here," Alya said, kneeling down and picking up the bolt from the ground. "I assume this is the problem."
Marinette flushed, or at least it felt like she did, as Alya screwed the bolt into place, Nino holding the arm steady until Marinette was able to pull herself to her feet, leaning on Alya's shoulder as she did so.
"Did you guys see my mother?" she asked anxiously, eyes darting around the room.
Nino grimaced and pointed over at the counter. "The uh…the fairy wings are apparently what the spell went with."
Marinette followed his finger- which had claws on the end of them, she realized- to see her mother slumped against one of the cookie trays, apparently having been knocked unconscious, wings folded behind her.
"Is she-?"
"She's fine," Alya assured her. "I checked when we came in. Everyone else is freaking. I hope Ladybug and Chat get here soon."
"Wait," Marinette said suddenly, standing up a little straighter and ignoring her wobbling knees. "Where's Adrien?"
"He's fine," Nino promised. "After Clara got akumatized, he went to go make sure everyone was okay. Everyone got turned into what they're dressed as, but it doesn't seem like anyone is like…what's the word?"
"Acting like what they're dressed as," Alya answered. "Like, I don't feel like hexing people. And Ivan still has complete control over his words. But I don't know how long that's going to last for."
Marinette sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead. "Okay. Let me just…move my mother and then I'll meet you guys in the hallway."
"You sure?" Alya asked. "You seem kind of…wobbly."
Marinette shot her a glare and the girl backed off, one hand in the air and the other holding onto her broomstick like a weapon, as if she was afraid Marinette might smack her.
With Nino alongside her, she left the kitchen. Marinette turned to her mother, taking slow, careful steps so as not to fall back onto her face.
She moved her mother gently, cradling the woman in her hands and being careful not to crush the wings on her back. She didn't know if it would hurt her or not, so Marinette figured it was best not to test fate.
Settling her mother onto an oven mitt on the counter, Marinette turned from her sleeping form to open up her inner pocket, leaning heavily on the counter so as not to fall over and hoping that as Ladybug she would be at least somewhat normal.
"Okay, Tikki. Transform me!"
Nothing happened and for a split second Marinette panicked, thinking that maybe her earrings had fallen out when she had hit the floor. Upon reaching up to her earlobes, however, she found that this was not the case, and assumed that Tikki must be asleep.
"Tikki, come on," she muttered, opening the pocket wider and slipping her hand in, wary of the bolts that held her hand to her wrist.
Tikki wasn't there.
Full on in panic mode now, Marinette tucked her hand into the pocket, feeling for a hole, a gash, anything that might have caused Tikki to fall out.
Something tickled at her fingers and Marinette nearly flung her hand across the room, literally, as she pulled from her pocket one very small, very useless, ladybug.
Across the school, leaned against the sink in the boy's bathroom with fangs slipping over the edges of his lips and eyes blocked from the fluorescent lighting with his cape, Adrien stared down at the tiny black kitten that was curled up inside of his jacket pocket.
"Shit."
This will be a three shot, which I'll update hopefully next weekend and then finish on Halloween.
Edit: I have been informed that they do celebrate Halloween in France. I'm probs not gonna go back and change anything just because they're celebrating a traditional "American" Halloween as part of their curriculum. But thank you to everyone who corrected me.
Reviews are much appreciated!