Disclaimer: The idea for this fic is original a comic made by aleternateladynoir, whose tumblr blog I am unable to find. I attached a link (which has been taken apart) below for your reference. I pulled the spoken dialogue (most of it) from the comic directly and I wanted to be clear that the plot was not mine. I absolutely adored it and wanted to put it down into words! Hope you like it.
/post/132835177350/aleternateladynoir-starting-off-with-my
Marinette started to panic.
Le Papillion had upped the frequency of akuma attacks recently and it was getting rather difficult to keep track of them. To be quite frank, they were exhausting. She was sleep deprived and well behind on her school work. Her parents and teacher were thoroughly unimpressed. She was also broke. Tikki was equally as fatigued and constantly required cookies. Not wanting to steal from her own family's shop every day, she would "buy" cookies when her parents were not looking.
Regardless of her fatigue and general impatience with Le Papillion, she had never felt as frustrated as she had right at that moment. The latest akuma creation was a scientist of sorts and she had been encased in a test tube with her classmate. And of course, of all the classmates she could have ever been trapped with, it had to be Adrien. It was no wonder she was panicking.
She would simply have to set aside her identity and transform. She could see no other way out of the given situation. Perhaps there would be some lucky charm to help them escape. Just as she had made up her mind, Adrien grabbed hold of her shoulder. Red, she turned to face him. His expression was serious and nearly grim.
"Marinette," he began, "I am so sorry in advance. I'll explain later and please – please don't tell my father." He clenched his fist tightly and concentrated. Marinette had become thoroughly confused and a little bit frightened.
"Plagg! Transform me!"
Right before her eyes occurred something well beyond the far reaches of her imaginations and her jaw nearly fell to the floor. Where once stood her classmate (and crush) Adrien Agreste, was now an overly familiar partner of hers. Chat Noir examined the glass confinement briefly before using his Cataclysm on it to free them. All the while, Marinette felt as if her brain had just broken. She couldn't put the two together.
Adrien Agreste.
Chat Noir.
What just happened.
What just happened.
What am I looking at.
Who is this.
What is happening.
What is this.
What is happening.
Her eyes started to hurt and she realized she hadn't blinked in quite some while. The glass shattered around them and Char Noir grabbed hold of her hand and tugged at her.
"We have to leave," he said, but Marinette was holding onto her last thread. And his small little tug at her hand just happened to snap it.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng screamed.
She hollered.
She cried out until it felt like her throat would be raw.
And then she screamed some more.
There was no room left for thought. From the corner of her eye, Chat Noir was getting fluster. Adrien was getting flustered. Whoever it was, he was getting flustered. She screamed louder. He had let go of her hand and she used to the freedom to grab at the small purse she constantly carried around and opened it, freeing her little kwami.
Now he was screaming.
Tikki was laughing at her, and it if it were not for the malfunctioning state of her brain, she would have been rather upset with her. But given the moment, she could barely utter the order to transform.
The process did not go on without more screaming.
She took breaths when she needed them but regardless, she was impressed her lungs were holding out for as long as they had.
The scientist had returned, confused and disturbed. Marinette did not stop screaming. Continuing her war cries, she swiftly ran at the akumatized victim, punched him in the face, and grabbed the item with which the butterfly inhabited. Still screaming, she snapped the glasses in half, pacified the butterfly, angrily yelled "bye-bye little butterfly" and ran home as quickly as her legs could carry her, leaving Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir in shock and standing alone.
Needless to say, she sat in the seat furthest from Adrien the next day.
There was no way she could face him.
There was no way she was about to believe he was Chat Noir.
How could he be Chat Noir?
They looked nothing alike.
She cursed to her self.
Thinking about it, they were alike enough that she could draw connections.
After all, she did watch him transform.
How could she deny it when she saw it happen?
Marinette groaned and slammed her head on her desk, worrying Alya more than ever. Meanwhile, Nino was pestering his seatmate.
"What happened?" he asked. "Why do you keep gawking at Marinette? Why is she avoiding you?" Adrien's lips tightened and his eyebrows furrowed. It had been a sleepless night and he had nothing to say to Nino that morning. It was real. Her behavior only confirmed it. It hadn't been a dream. He hadn't gone crazy. What was he supposed to do now? It's not like he had had a plan. He was too busying trying to wrap his brain around the facts, let alone future actions. Nope. He was not dealing with that today.
Nope.
Nope.
Nope.
Author's Note: More short Miraculous Ladybug things! I've been in a mood as of late. (A mood that involves not doing any of my class work, or even writing the two main fics I have.) I'm tempted to throw them all into one larger fic with multiple one shot chapters. At least then it would be a bit more organized. If I write one more of these things, I'll do it. Sorry to anyone who would favorite one in particular but I'd combine it into the Paper Faces fic, rename and reorganize it.
For those who asked about a continuation on Paper Faces, I can't say for certain it will be done. I'm already working on two large pieces and shouldn't endeavor in another one. Besides, I don't really even know where to take it. Apologies.
P.S. I found it challenging to write something humorous like this without the use of profanity. I hope it was still good! Thank you all so much for your support. I am so grateful for all of you. Much love.
... I need to stop writing so late at night...