This is my second published story on here, ever. Also, more than twice as long as my first. Any feedback is welcome!
I do not own Miraculous Ladybug nor any of the characters in here.
Marinette rolled over in bed, groaning. "Tikki? Wha...ah..achoo! Oh, no!" The sun was already up, and Marinette knew that unless she was staying home sick, she would probably be late for school. Again.
"Tikki, what time is it?" she tried again.
"It is already seven thirty! But you seem to be sneezing, and unless you rest and eat healthy today, you'll probably get worse," the red-and-black kwami said.
"No, I need to get to schoo... achoo!" Marinette quickly climbed down from her loft bed and changed out of her pajamas. She was a little sore from the previous night's akuma attack, which involved someone who could control water and started a chilly rainstorm. Rooftops had been slippery, and she fell down more than she should have as Ladybug. Once she was ready to go, Marinette ran downstairs and grabbed a croissant from her dad's freshly baked tray.
"Sorry, gotta go, love you both, bye!" she yelled as she juggled the hot pastry and ran out the door.
Marinette ran into class and sat down just as the tardy bell rang. She had eaten the croissant as she ran, and her stomach was not happy with her mobile meal. Additionally, the rain had decided to come back on its own, and she was soaked.
"Girl, you okay? You look like you fell through the bed and it dumped you in a bucket of water! Not an improvement over your usual look of 'got up on the wrong side of the bed'," Marinette's classmate and best friend Alya asked.
"I think I'm sick. I woke up this morning and... ah... ah... achoo! Ugh. That," Marinette responded.
"Hey you need a tissue?" the handsome blonde in front of her, Adrien, asked. He leaned forward and picked up the box that was sitting on the edge of Mme. Bustier's desk.
"Yeah.. uh huh... tissue thanks for that... I mean thanks for tissue of boxes! I mean thanks for the box of ah... achoo!" Marinette stuttered, still unable to form coherent sentences around her crush.
"Alright class, let's settle down! Does everyone have their homework from last night?" Mme. Bustier asked as she walked into the classroom.
"Yes Mme. Bustier!" the class chorused.
"Good! Pass your papers to the front and I'll collect them for grading..."
By the end of class, Marinette was feeling worse than when she woke up. When the bell rang, she covered her ears because any noise, especially a loud bell, made her head hurt.
"Mari, are you sure you're alright?" Alya asked as they walked out of the classroom.
"Yeah, I'm just having a low day. After lunch I'll be much bett-achoo!" Marinette stumbled as she sneezed, and would have fallen down the stairs if Alya hadn't caught her arm.
"No. You're going to the nurse's office right now. No buts!" Alya commanded. Marinette was forced to stumble behind her friend as she marched to the room next to the principal's office.
"Hello, what brings the two of you in here today? Is everything alright?" the school nurse asked with a cheerful smile.
"I think my friend here, Marinette, is sick. She's been sneezing and coughing all morning, and she looks like she wants to shut off her ears," Alya reported.
"Alya, I'm fine! I can make it through lunch!" Marinette said, standing up from the chair where Alya had deposited her. "I can... whoa! Is the room shaking?"
Alya caught her friend before she could hurt herself more. "No, you're getting dizzy. You need to go home and rest. I'll come by with the afternoon's work. Nurse, is that okay?"
"I'll have Principal Damocles call her parents. I agree, you need to go home, rest, and eat something to help you get better. What did you have for breakfast?" the nurse asked.
"Just a croissant," Marinette admitted. "And I ran in the rain."
"You probably have a cold. Just take a day off, and you'll be back at school tomorrow! I'll call your parents, and you can go. Thanks for bringing her here," the nurse said to Alya.
"Okay! Thanks! And Marinette!" Alya looked at her with a glare. "No. Stressful. Activities. At all! Bye!"
Back at home, Marinette finished her mother's warm chicken noodle soup.
"Thanks for making this for me. It was delicious-achoo!" Marinette pulled a tissue from the box she was keeping nearby. "I'm gonna go take a nap until Alya brings my homework. See you in a while, Mom."
"Alright sweetie! I'll just pop in in about an hour to check on you, but I'll be quiet if you're sleeping. Have a nice rest!"
Marinette slowly made her way up the stairs and crawled into her bed. It felt like just five minutes later that the sounds of crashing, police sirens, and evil laughter woke her up. She climbed out of bed, steadied herself on her ladder for a moment, and walked out on her balcony. On top of the Eiffel Tower was a pink speck who seemed to be blasting pink beams at everything and turning it into candy.
"It's got to be an akuma-achoo! Tikki! We need to go!" Marinette called to the kwami.
"No. You will stay in bed and sleep until you actually feel better!" Tikki replied.
"I'm fine! I can totally... Ladybug... ugh..." Marinette let go of the wall and fell till the floor, passed out from the effort of getting out of bed.
"Marinette?" Alya's voice called from downstairs. "Marinette!" Alya rushed to her friend's side and cradled up her head.
"No, Tikki... have to go..." Marinette mumbled.
"What? Who's Tikki?" Alya asked.
"Whaddya mean, who's Tikki? You're Tikki! You make me Laddy-boog!" Marinette giggled, obviously delirious. She turned over and saw her friend looking at her with a confused face, and immediately sobered up. "Oh. Whoops."
"What? You're blabbering about someone named 'Tikki', you passed out on the floor, someone is turning the city into sweets, and all you can say is 'whoops'!" Alya screamed.
"Calm down. I need your help," Marinette said. "I can explain, but you need to keep it secret. Like, on your life, secret."
"If it solves at least one of my problems, I'll do it at this point," Alya said, rolling her eyes.
"I'm serious. Swear on your life that you will not reveal this secret," Marinette demanded.
"Fine. I swear on my life, and the Ladyblog, that I will not reveal your 'secret.' Ever." Alya held up her right hand while she spoke.
"Alright. Tikki, come out," she said, and the ladybug-themed kwami flew out of Marinette's discarded purse.
"Not the best way to reveal yourself to your best friend, but I guess the time is right," Tikki said, and swooped down to Alya's hand. "Nice to finally meet you, Alya!"
"Are you a kwami?" Tikki nodded. "Ladybug's kwami?" Tikki nodded again. "Marinette, are you Ladybug?" This time, Marinette nodded.
"Take my earrings. Only Ladybug can purify an akuma, and I can't be Ladybug now. Make up something for Chat Noir. At least you don't have to worry about an annoying blogger," Marinette explained. She removed her earrings and handed them to Alya, who put them on with a glare at the comment about the blogger.
"My magic will help you use the tools and powers of Ladybug, but you'll have to give me back when the akuma is defeated. Don't forget, you'll have five minutes after using the Lucky Charm before you change back!" Tikki warned.
"Alright. Got it. Tikki, spots on!" Marinette watched as Alya transformed. She had never seen her own transformation, but imagined it was slightly different. Alya's mask was bigger, and the bodysuit had black gloves and boots, more like her Rena Rouge outfit. She had a black utility belt around the waist with a pouch for the yo-yo. Alya's hair was also highlighted with a few black streaks.
"Wow. You still look graceful, but more like a real ladybug. Good luck, Ladybug!" Marinette called as she climbed back into bed. Alya gave a brief salute and swung off the balcony, heading for the Eiffel Tower, where the akuma was still blasting the city into sweets.
Alya arrived at the base of the Eiffel Tower and stood next to Chat Noir, who was already there.
"What took you do long, Milady?" he asked, then turned around in confusion.
"The normal Ladybug is sick. She trusted me to get the job done for today, but she should be back for the next akuma," Alya replied.
"If you're not the real Ladybug, then what should I call you? Maybe Beetle, for today?" Chat wondered aloud.
"You might know me better as Rena Rouge. Rena will work. Now, what's up with this one?" Rena asked.
"A little kid got akumatized and she's turning everything into candy. I think the akuma is in her wand," Chat observed.
"Then let's get up there and get it out of her hands!" Rena exclaimed, then started grappling up the tower.
"Marinette? Are you awake?" Alya whispered, having just come in the balcony door. She reverted to her civilian self, then removed the earrings. Seeing the sleeping form in her bed, Alya just placed the miraculous on Marinette's desk, then picked up her stuff and left.
"Alya! What took you so long? I thought you'd left by now!" Marinette's mom asked her as she walked through the bakery.
"Oh, I just made sure she was asleep! I hope she's better in the morning! Thanks for letting me see her, Mrs. Cheng!" Alya waved as she left.
Sabine rolled her eyes at Marinette's stubbornness, then went upstairs to check on her daughter. She silently opened the door and looked around, seeing her daughter asleep in her bed. However, something was wrong. Sabine scanned the room again, and caught it. A red-and-black creature was sleeping on her desk, curled around Marinette's favorite earrings.
"Marinette?!"