hello! i found myself in hell as i watched the first episode of ladybug and i'm not regretting anything bc i love sinning

and i had so many ideas of what i could write about my babies so prepare for disaster

thanks to my lovely friend tera bc she proofreaded it and corrected my mistakes and stuff! ;v; thank you so much!

i also dedicate this ff to my friend lucia (and tera of course bc without you it wouldn't be up now) bc she is having a hard time rn! i hope you like it! ;v;

well anyway, enough of my nonsense rambling and enjoy this little mermaid au!

Chapter 1

The curiosity of a mermaid

This is Marinette. She is a normal girl just like everyone else. Other people might find her inconspicuous or having a hard time seeing her. The reason for that is she is blessed with a secret.

What might just be a fairy tale for other people is her reality; her life. Marinette is a mermaid.

"Almost finished," muttered Marinette proudly to herself while tinkering at a red mask decorated with glitter shells, various species of plants and unusual colored stones. It sparkled under the sea's like a pearl, which, incidentally, had been her inspiration to make it; the beautiful pearl of a large seashell she had recently seen on a trip with her best friend.

You see, Marinette had a talent for art. It wasn't something she usually admitted to everyone, but after all, she was very proud of her masterpieces - her art was unique and she liked her own style.

However, before she could finish her mask, a familiar face swam by her oval-shaped window. Her fine dark brown curls that ended on red tips danced through the waves. She looked like a walking flame in the sea, something that also got reflected in her passion and temperament.

"Alya!", Marinette said, startled. She had completely devoted herself to the mask, forgetting her whereabouts.

"Are you working on something new again?," Alya's eyes widened while she stared at the new mask astounded. It had a luxurious shape. In the middle, two round eye slots had been purely cut.

Marinette nodded. "It's almost done," the little mermaid answered, smiling fondly at her work of art. Alya could not help grinning at the sight; she frequently felt like a big sister figure for her best friend. But that hadn't been the reason she came there for.

"Marinette, it happened again! Humans have been spotted, you have to come quickly!" she agitatedly explained her friend while grasping her wrist without waiting for her response. It was always like that.

Marinette still couldn't get used to it though. Her flame haired friend had always been curious and nothing could frighten her, her curiosity was stronger than that. These were admirable qualities for which the timid Marinette was just too shy for.

Alya dragged her out of her lovingly decorated room towards the surface. The sea was an visual feast for the eyes, as always. Beyond them, the gorgeous underwater town was enlightened by thousands of sea lanterns, since the city was too deep down to be reached by the sun rays. All kinds of fishes and creatures happily wandered through, visiting the inhabitants in their casings and even bothering some of them.

In the surface, no one knew of this magical underwater construction. It was retold as a lovely but old fairy tale, but who even believed those anymore? If people knew these type of sites existed, they would probably be a tourist attraction… They could be observed at any time and you could even make money from them. Sadly, this notion was just horrible and so, the mermaids were reluctant to see someone. But the curiosity was simply too great. The human world was interesting and much larger than the small town in the sea. It was exciting to think about what you could do in this world, what was there waiting to be discovered.

To discover unknown worlds - Alya would die for it. Marinette could understand her friend's excitement and frequently she caught herself daydreaming about the human world. However, she couldn't bring herself to take this risk and remained safe and quiet in her room. Weren't it for her best friend, who pulled her up almost every day to show her the fantastic world of humans, she would never ever go up here.

Besides, and like in almost everything, there weren't only good sides to it - many people liked to go to the sea to catch fish, which they loved so dearly. That was another reason for many sea people to despise humans. How could they capture our neighbors, our friends? Don't they know we cannot live without water? What a strange world.

The two friends struggled to get to the water surface because of the pressure. This activity was so exhausting, but worthy for Alya nevertheless. When the two finally raised their heads above the surface, they saw a large village just before their eyes. It was miraculous. "Can you see that?" Alya pointed her finger at the beach, where a couple was holding hands. Marinette hesitated a moment, because despite the beautiful sight, it was still a risk that they could be seen. This gave her a queasy feeling and made it hard for her to relax. So many thoughts clouded her mind…

"Alya, I don't know if it's a good idea to come up here every day," Marinette whispered jittery, but she couldn't change her friend's mind.

"Why not? Aren't you curious about the human world?" Alya said while looking into the light blue eyes of her companion. "Well…", Marinette started to stutter. She couldn't say anything, besides...

"Alya… do you want to be a human?", she inquired while peacefully looking at her reflection in the water. She did not want to face her friend.

Surprisingly, Marinette didn't get an answer right away. Puzzled by her actions, she gazed at her best friend, who was staring dreamily over the city. "I don't know… I would love to, actually. I believe we aren't completely different from the human beings just because we live in the sea. It's just a completely different perspective." Marinette didn't think she had seen her friend ever been so calm.

"We are quite normal, aren't we?" Marinette added. They both smiled at each other.

The minutes passed and they both eventually bid farewell to each other and went their separate ways. Marinette sighed in relief when she was finally in her bedroom. The safety of her own four walls was something that she could not describe. Her eyes turned to her work desk where was lying an unfinished mask, but the motivation she needed to keep going was gone. Nevertheless, she had enough inspiration to sit down and finish the final details. When she was about to put a glittery flower in the corner of the mask, a hideous sound echoed through the sea, startling her. The mask fell to the ground, breaking and detaching a few shells glued to it.

"No! I was nearly finished!" Marinette grieved, attempting to collect the fragments. "What was that?"

She scurried over to her window and glanced up. Above her, something floated on the water, casting a large shadow over the sea city. "A ship!" It was nothing unusual, but she had never seen such a big ship before. Captivated by it but also blinded with rage, she swam up to the surface to take a look.

Once Marinette's head was above the water, she had a perfect view of the vessel, which had remained still on its previous spot. It was made of wood with white, large varnishes that were attached to a tall mast and pranced through the wind and addornished with dozens of fancy details - it even had ornaments cut into the wooden beams!

Surprisingly, Alya had not come to the surface yet. The ship appeared to be deserted, she couldn't see a single soul. What was more strange was the fact that Marinette felt an attraction towards this vessel, as if her inner voice was telling her that she should not be afraid. Despite her belief that she shouldn't approach a human, she was curious. An inner fire kindled in her and for the first time she could somehow understand Alya's motives. Her curiosity was greater than her fear.

She had a desire to look at the embellishments closer, so she approached the vessel carefully. So much bravery in one day - she should get an award. Her eyes widened as she admired the decorations. There were small human beings purely carved, who fabricated strange gestures. A weird but inspiring sight.

"Adrien, what are you doing here alone?" a young man's voice suddenly boomed above her head.

Marinette froze.

"Nino…" the other person hesitated briefly, "Ah, nothing."

She was panicking and didn't know what to do with her body. She couldn't let them see her at any cost!

"Come on, man, tell me what's going on. Normally, you aren't this quiet when you're on your ship," the other voice spoke again. A conversation started to take place.

"It's my father… he promised me that I'd be allowed get out on the high seas and - of course - I'm grateful to him, but… I don't want to waste my free time in parties. These people are really nice, but when I'm on my ship I want to be free with only you by my side… at least for a while, you know?" His voice was so gentle that you could literally feel his sorrow. Marinette did not stir and kept listening to this voice.

"Of course I understand that," replied the man who apparently went by Nino. She had a feeling that the two had embraced each other.

"I simply want to be free; to travel around the world and meet new people, make new friends. Of course you will always be my best friend, Nino", the man said fondly. You could practically hear his smile in the last sentence.

Marinette didn't know what was going on up there, but those words touched her. She understood his feelings; not entirely because she wasn't in this situation, but she felt empathy for him.

"Perhaps you will someday, Adrien," Nino said after a few minutes. "I can't advise you a lot, because I myself do not know what you can do in such a situation. I know how difficult your father is though. But I'm here for you."

"Thank you."

"Adrihoney!" came a sudden female voice. Her high heels clacked on the wood as she approached the two men. "What's taking you so long? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Chloé" Adrien's sweet voice was like music to Marinette's ears.

"Chloé, now is not a good time," Nino said with a careful voice.

"Oh, please. It's always a good time when Adrien and I are together, right?" Chloé pressed herself against her beloved, while Nino tried to push her away.

"I'm serious… not now. He needs some time." Nino tried to help his best friend since Adrien would be too kind for that.

"Wait! If you push so hard, then I'll-" Adrien's voice sounded pained.

'What is happening up there?', Marinette wondered, but she didn't dare to look up. She swam as close to the ship as she could, and then, it happened. Right before her eyes, a body of a blond man fell into the water. Startled, she hit her head against the wood.

"Adrien!" Chloé and Nino shouted simultaneously.

"This is all your fault!" Chloé yelled, giving Nino an evil look.

"My fault? I was just trying to help my best friend!" Nino defended himself.

As they argued above, Adrien swam upwards to the surface. He coughed and gasped and stroked his hair away from his face. "Nino, Chloé, I'm fine! I just need a ladder-" his voice faltered.

There was a girl in the water, who returned his startled look.

"Don't worry, I'll get you a ladder!" Nino cried and walked around on the ship.

"I'll get you a blanket, Adrihoney!", Chloe said as the sound of her shoes died away slowly.

In the water, the two still looked at each other in the eye. "W-what.. are you alright?! How long have you been here?" exclaimed Adrien astonished, scared and anxiously all at once.

"E-eh... eh…" Marinette stammered, trying to come up with an excuse. "I am… a normal girl and… I-I'm practicing for… a s-swimming tournament! Exactly!" She waved her arms wildly while trying to explain herself.

Adrien approached her, making the mermaid even more nervous. "The sea is cold as ice! You will-"

He touched her shoulder; it was pleasantly warm. From a scientific perspective, this was not feasible. He hesitated a moment, but then pulled her close. "Don't worry, we are being saved!"

His kindness was very charming, but not necessary at this moment. Yet, she didn't let go. She stared off into the distance, not saying anything. Her mind was blank. Then, for the second time today, she was frightened by a loud sound: thunder. The clouds were pulling together and turning dark.

"What now, a thunderstorm?" He asked in surprise.

Marinette started to find it difficult to stay at the surface, and that's when she noticed it: she was unable to properly hold herself up because she had no room for her caudal fin. She had to move. But if she did it, then Adrien would feel it. No legs… just a tail.

"N-no! I can swim home!" Marinette didn't know how to help herself. She sank further into the depths of the sea and dared not to lay her hand on his shoulder.

However, Adrien could not let that happen. His protective instincts warned him and he pulled her up by waist. It felt rough and scaly to the touch. Startled, he let go of her and swam back. "What?" He exclaimed, looking at his hand.

Marinette could finally move freely again and kept her head above the water. She gazed into the face of a man full of fear and cluelessness. She didn't want to know what he was thinking right now.

Adrien's eyes were fixed on the lower part of the girl and he tried to see what the water concealed. A pink… caudal fin. He had no words for what he had just experienced, just as much as Marinette did. How could she get out of this? "I like… r-rough clothes-"

"Are you… a mermaid?" Adrien remembered the stories from his childhood told by his lovely mother. But all of them were just fairytales… right?

Marinette's lips curled. What had she done? Her heart pounded; was it from his sweetness or the situation itself? One thing she knew for sure: she should swim away rapidly.

Without giving him an answer, she dipped her upper body into the water, presenting him her scaly caudal fin for a brief second, and then disappearing into the depths of the sea. Behind, she only left a blond man with his mouth wide open. Just then, and by cause of Adrien's insane luck, it started to rain.

Marinette swam down; she could still feel the adrenaline pulsing through her body. She had never experienced so much excitment together in her entire life, and yet, she felt the desire to see him again. For the first time, she had met a human, and it was even better than she could have imagined.

Adrien snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the sounds of a clattering ladder. He immediately climbed up and was warmly greeted by Chloé, but only one thing occupied his mind: the mermaid. He decided to meet her tomorrow again. He wanted to learn more about her. He wanted to talk to her longer.

The stars shined especially brightly that day. All those stories were no longer a fairy tale, but the reality.