Chapter 3: Marinette, the Babysitter

When Tom said that, Marinette turned around to see the car parking in front of the bakery. A few seconds after, the car's front door opened to reveal Nadja Charnack, Manon's mother wearing a fancy purple cocktail dress with matching stilettoes and a black purse. Once out of the car, she opened the door to Manon, who jumped from it as quickly as a hopping grasshopper, while holding her backpack. The little girl was absolutely thrilled to be there, because she knew she was going to have lots of fun with her favourite babysitter.

"Now, now, Manon, what did I tell you about jumping around like that?" -Nadja scolded her daughter

"That good girls don't do that, because they're little girls and not monkeys" -Manon said, in a low voice, repented of what she did.

"That's right, and that good girls need to be well behaved, so everyone likes them." -Nadja told her daughter, with a soft and kind voice. –"Now, come on, we must not leave Marinette waiting." -she said, as she held Manon by the hand.

Entering the bakery, Tom and Marinette saluted both Nadja and Manon. Seeing Marinette, Manon let go off her mother's hand and ran towards Marinette, who kneeled to give her a hug.

"Marinette!"

"Hey, Manon." -Marinette smiled. –"So, how was school? Have you been a good girl?"

"It was good. I spent time playing with my friends Marie, Nicole, Yvette and Madeline." -Manon told her. –"And, yes, I have been a good girl… though, I wasn't a very good girl a few minutes ago."

"Why do you say that?" -Marinette asked her, with a playful voice.

"Because mommy told me that good girls don't jump around like monkeys." -Manon told her.

"Well, then it's a good thing you're not a monkey then, because then I wouldn't be your babysitter, but rather your handler." -Marinette joked with her. –"And I would have to give you bananas, and not cookies like these here." -she said, as she grabbed a cookie from one of the shelves, and waved it in front of the little girl. –"Tell me, do you want the cookie, Manon?"

"Yes!" -Manon exclaimed.

"What do you say? And remember, no using those puppy eyes of yours." -Marinette joked, as she kept holding the cookie in front of Manon.

"Please, can I have that cookie, Marinette?"

"Yes, you can." -Marinette smiled, as she gave it to her, who ate it in two bites.

Just by watching how Marinette talked with Manon, Nadja knew that no matter what, the girl was the best babysitter her daughter ever had. All of the other babysitters she had, including a nanny when she was younger, did not last more than a couple of weeks. Manon found ways to make them lose their patience, and they ended up resigning. But nor Marinette. Marinette had something in her that gave her the ability to know how to handle Manon, being playful and strict at the same time. Maybe it was because she was young and was still a child in many ways, that made her relate to Manon so easily. Or maybe, it was because she was just great with little kids. Nadja did not know, but did not mind either. What was important was that her daughter was happy, while having someone to look after her, when Nadja herself was busy.

"You certainly know how to deal with Manon, Marinette." -Nadja told her. –"But, remember, if she misbehaves, don't be afraid to scold her." -she said with a caring voice. –"After all, she needs to learn rules and limits."

"Don't worry, Manon knows that. She just needs to be reminded, from time to time." -Marinette said.

"You really are a wonderful girl, Marinette, and I'm really sorry to have asked you to babysit Manon at the time like this. I know that your exams are just around the corner, and you need to study. But, unfortunately, I really must attend this ceremony."

"That's okay. It's only for a couple of hours, and besides, Manon's a sweetheart… when she wants to." -Marinette kidded.

"I'll try to come and pick her up before 10, don't worry." -Nadja said, as she turned her attention to Tom, leaving Marinette to keep a closer eye on Manon. –"Tom, is Sabine here?"

"Not yet. But she should be arriving." -Tom told her.

"Oh, I see. Well, could you give her this, when she arrives?" -she took out a small padded box from her purse. –"I wish I could wait for her to arrive and give it to her myself, but I really have to go."

"Don't worry. I'll give it to her." -Tom told her. –"If it's not indiscretion, what is it?"

"Oh, it's just a pair of earrings I told her I would lend her." -Nadja answered. –"I hope they match the new dress she told me she was going to buy today."

"I'm sure they will." -Tom waved his head, as he heard the door's bell ringing. It was a customer. –"Well, I best get back to work." -he smiled.

"I'll leave to it, then." -Nadja said, as Tom focused his attention on the old lady that had just entered. –"Well, Marinette, I have to go now. I'll leave everything up to you. And you, Manon, be good and obey whatever Marinette or her parents tell you to do."

"Yes, mommy." -Manon said, as her mother leaned in for a kiss.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Charnack, just leave everything to me." -Marinette said with a smile, as she grabbed Manon and carried her on her arms. –"Have fun at the event."

"I'll try." -Nadja smiled. –"See you later, Manon."

"Bye, mommy!" -Manon waved goodbye at her.

"So, what do you want to do, Manon?" -Marinette asked the little girl.

"I want to play!"

"Did you do your homework, yet?"

"Yes…" -Manon said. But Marinette knew this was not true, so she stared her in the eyes, so she would tell her the truth. It was trick her mother did with her when she was younger, and she had learned to do it. Manon could try and lie to her all she wanted, but in the end, she would tell the truth. A couple of seconds later, the little girl answered truthfully. –"… no, I haven't."

"That's what I thought." -Marinette smiled. –"What do you say if we go upstairs into my bedroom do our homework, and then, we watch a movie or play a game, until dinner time?"

"Can we eat cookies while doing our homework?" -Manon asked her.

"Of course, we can." -Marinette told her. –"Let's go upstairs and get things started, and then, I'll come down here and grab a huge plate of cookies just for us."

"Yay!" -Manon said, as Marinette put her down.

After finishing their homework, Marinette chose a movie for the two of them to watch. On that afternoon, she was craving for something Disneyesque, and it was no surprise when she chose The Aristocats from her huge collection of DVDs. The blue-haired girl loved animated movies that depicted the city of Paris, and she had many in her collection like The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Lascars, A Monster in Paris, A Cat in Paris, Ratatouille, Gay Purr-ee, among many others. But the Aristocats was her favourite, maybe because it had such a lovely story accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack, or maybe because it was the very first Disney animated movie she saw. She really did not know. What she knew was that she loved to watch it over and over. It was not unusual for her parents to catch her watching it on a rainy-day, while eating a huge bowl of popcorn.

Putting it on, Marinette left Manon watch it alone for a little bit, while she crawled into her bed for a little bit. The exhaustion from her earlier battle against the blizzard, combined with the stress of crossing half of the city just to get to where the action was happening, and then, running towards home to arrive before Manon did, had finally settled in, and she was feeling incredibly tired. Knowing that Manon would stay put, as long as the movie was on, and she had cookies to nibble on, she decided to crawl into her bed for a little nap. Tikki, who had been hiding in Marinette's bed ever since they came back, waved silently at her, as the girl lied down on the soft mattress. Marinette smiled to her, without saying a word, as she gave her a cookie she had slipped into her pocket. Closing her eyes, she fell asleep almost immediately. Entering dream land, she began to dream about Adrien… or better yet, about Adrien, on a date with her. She saw herself in a café with the boy of her dreams. On the table, there was an incredibly huge ice cream sundae, which the two were sharing with one another. The blond had just fed her a spoon full of ice-cream, and she was about to do the same, when she accidently missed his mouth, and ended up feeding ice cream to his nose. When this happened, Adrien, just laughed.

"Oh no! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so, so, so, sorry, Adrien!" -Marinette said, as she looked for a napkin to wipe his nose.

"It's okay. Accidents happen." -Adrien told her, still laughing.

"I'm really, sorry… I'm usually not this clumsy:" -Marinette said, as she gently wiped the ice cream from his nose.

"It's okay, really." -Adrien told her, smiling.

"Okay, if you say so…" -Marinette said, trying not to smile too much. She was afraid she would make that stupid smile when she got nervous. –"There, all better. And once again, I'm sorry, it's just that… I'm still surprised that you accepted my invitation."

"And, why wouldn't I?" -Adrien asked her, slightly surprised.

"I don't know… maybe because you had someone prettier to go out with you." -Marinette practically whispered her answer.

"Prettier? Marinette, you're the prettiest girl I know." -Adrien told her.,

"Really?!" -the blue haired girl exclaimed, dropping her spoon. –"Oops, clumsy me. Hold on, let me just get my spoon back." -she giggled.

She could not believe Adrien had said that she was the prettiest girl he knew. She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks, blushing her face, just from thinking about it, as she kneeled on the floor, looking for her spoon. When she found it, she went back to her seat. She wanted to ask Adrien what he liked more in her. But, Adrien was not in his seat anymore. Instead, there was someone else seated, and that someone was a man wearing a dark purple dress shirt with a black butterfly-shaped lapel on the centre of the collar, black dress pants and matching shoes. His face and neck were covered with a silver-mask, which somehow managed to highlight his deep icy-cold blue eyes.

"Well, hello there, Marinette… or should I call you, Ladybug?" -the man asked her, with a wicked smile on his face

"H-Hawk Moth!" –Marinette exclaimed, as she felt her blood freeze in her veins. –"H-How do you know I-I'm L-Ladybug?! A-And what are y-you doing here? W-Where's Adrien?!" -she stuttered, her hear filled with fear.

"You would like to know that, wouldn't you? Suffice is to say that I'm here to finish what I started the day that we first met." -he said, this time with a cold voice, as his cane touched the ice cream bowl, and this one turned into ashes.

Seeing that, Marinette tried to run away. But, as soon as she turned around to run, Hawk Moth showed up in front of her. Startled by it, she fell on her butt, as fear took over her body, freezing her in place.

"Do you really think you can just run away from me?" -Hawk Moth laughed wickedly. We laughed for quite a few seconds, when he stopped, and looked at the girl with a serious look on his face. –"You can't run from me. I, Hawk Moth, have enslaved millions over the millennia, not to mention that all those who oppose me, get destroyed." -he declared with a cold and distant voice. –"Do you really think that you and your friends can destroy me? If you do, then, you are insane to think that. And you, you are just a helpless little girl, who thinks she can play heroes and villains, when you should be cowering in fear from just listening to my name."

Fear had paralyzed her. Marinette wanted to get up, but her whole body would not obey her. Hawk Moth had her trapped and there was nothing she could do. And then, it hit her, she was not just a helpless little girl, she was a girl with a miraculous, the only weapon that could defeat that psychopath.

"Let's see what you think about me, when I break your teeth with a well-placed kick, you psychopath!" -Marinette exclaimed. Saying those words had given her the courage she needed to get back on her feet. –"I'll show you why I'm not afraid of a psycho like you, Hawk Moth!" -she yelled at him. –"Tikki, transforme moi!"

She said the magic words, but nothing happened. There was no transformation, no nothing. She just stood there, with her regular clothes, instead of her heroine uniform, with Hawk Moth smiling wickedly at her.

"I don't think that will work, without these here" -Hawk Moth told her, as he opened his right hand, and showed the ladybug earrings on his palm.

Led by instinct, Marinette's hands went for her earlobes, where she checked she was not wearing her earrings. Somehow, Hawk Moth had taken them and were now in his possession.

"H-How did you…?"

"How? Is that all you have to say?" -Hawk Moth asked her –"Instead, you should be asking me what am I going to do with these. Well, here's the answer." -he said, as he closed his hand and crushed the earrings into tiny little pieces. By doing it, a shriek was heard. The voice sounded like Tikki. –"You heard that? That was your kwami taking its last breath… just like you will be taking yours, in a few moments."

When he finished that sentence, everything around them turned pitch black. The fear she felt when Hawk Moth showed up had returned. Still, all she could think about right then were the words that psycho said, when he destroyed her miraculous. Did Tikki really died, and what they heard was her screaming in agony? Just thinking about it made her skin crawl up.

"No! That can't be! Tikki's not dead!" -Marinette screamed at Hawk Moth. She refused to believe he had killed her.

"Oh, your kwami is dead, believe me. And after I kill you, I'm going to find your friends and do the same to them… though, I will save one of the miraculouses, so I can destroy it, in front of old Fu's eyes, so he understands that it is really over." -Hawk Moth declared, as he unsheathed his cane, revealing the hidden blade in it.

"No! Please, don't!" -Marinette begged the villain.

"See you in Hell, Ladybug." -Hawk Moth declared, as he swung the blade against her.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" -Marinette screamed.

"Marinette! Marinette! Marinette! Wake up, Marinette!" -a voice was heard. It was Manon.

Opening her eyes, Marinette's heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest. It took her a couple of seconds to realize that it all had been a dream, and that she had woken up from it. Breathing heavily, she had to repeat to herself that it all had been a nightmare, and nothing else. Still, it had looked so real; so real that for a moment, she wondered if she was still dreaming.

"Are you alright, Marinette? Were you having a bad dream?" -Manon asked her. She had heard Marinette screaming while asleep, and rushed to see if she was alright. Tikki, who had also fallen sleep next to her, woke up to the sound of her screams. She tried to wake her up, but Manon beat her to it, and she had to pretend she was just a stuffed doll, lying on the girl's bed.

"Y-Yeah, I was having one, Manon." -Marinette told her, as she took several deep breaths. Her heart was still beating like crazy, and did not want to slow down.

"What was it about? Was it something bad?" -Manon asked her, clearly worried.

"It was…" -Marinette said. –"… it was about a monster that hurt a friend of mine and was going to hurt me too, Manon." -she told her, not getting into details about it.

"It's okay, Marinette. You don't have to be afraid anymore. The monster's gone now."

"I'm the one who's supposed to tell you that, when you have a nightmare, you little rascal, you." -Marinette told her, trying to forget about that awful nightmare. –"Anyways, thanks for trying to cheer me up, Manon." -she said, as she caressed the little girl's hair. –"So, how long was I out? Have you finished watching the movie?"

"No, it's still in the beginning. I stopped it, so I could come and see if you were alright."

"Well, then, since this nightmare has robbed me of any wink of sleep I had, I'm going to watch it with you. What do you say?"

"Okay. I stopped right when the kittens were signing with their mommy." -Manon said, when something in Marinette's bed caught her attention. –"Hey, what's this?" -she asked, as she grabbed Tikki, who was still pretending to be a stuffed doll. –"Did you make this doll, Marinette?"

"Yikes! Tikki!" -Marinette exclaimed to herself, seeing her kwami in Manon's hands. –"Y-Yes, I did. Here, give it to me." –she took Tikki out of her hands.

"My mommy says that it's not nice to take away things from someone else's hands, Marinette!" -Manon told her.

"Well, and she's right. But I'm also certain that she also told you that you shouldn't touch other people's things, without their permission, didn't she?" -Marinette asked her, turning the tables to her advantage.

"Yes…" -Manon answered. –"Can I please see that doll you made, please? I want to play with it."

"Sorry, Manon, but this doll is very fragile and… and… and it's not ready yet. I still have to stitch it properly." -Marinette said, trying to come up with an excuse to not hand Tikki to her.

"But, I wanna play with it! I wanna play with it!" -Manon screamed, throwing a tantrum.

"Sorry, but no, and I don't want you to do that. If you throw a tantrum, I'll tell your mother when she arrives!" -Marinette firmly scolded her.

But Manon was not going to take a no for an answer, even from Marinette, her favourite babysitter. She wanted to play with the dolly more than anything right then, and she was going to play with it, one way, or another. And to do that, she used her secret weapon, her baby doll eyes. The little girl knew Marinette could not resist her baby doll eyes. And seeing her use them, the blue-haired girl, quickly turned her look away from her, so as to not be affected by it.

"No, Manon, that trick won't work this time." -Marinette told her, as she looked at her with a serious face.

"If you don't give me the dolly, I'm going keep doing this, until you give it to me!" -Manon exclaimed.

They were both stubborn, and neither one of them was going to give in. Marineete was not going to let Manon play with Tikki, and accidently hurt her, and Manon was not going to stop making baby doll eyes at Marinette, hoping that eventually she would give in and let her play with the doll. Seeing this, Tikki decided to do something herself to end that, and the only way to do it, was for her to use one of her other powers, telepathy. Concentrating, she tried to contact Marinette through the psychic link the two of them shared.

"Marinette! Marinette!" -Tikki's voice was heard inside Marinette's head.

"Tikki?" -Marinette thought to herself.

"I'm talking to you through telepathy, Marinette." -Tikki told her.

"You didn't tell me you could do that!" -the blue haired girl thought.

"You never asked… but that's not the issue here. Let Manon play with me." -the scarlet kwami ordered her.

"But she might hurt you. And besides, you deserve to relax after the day you had." -Marinette told her. She truthfully believed that after that day, Tikki really deserved a break, and she knew that if Manon began to play with her, that would be the last thing she would have.

"I can relax some other time. Let her play with me. I'm more resistant than I let people think I am." -Tikki told her.

"Okay, I'll do as you say, then." -Marinette sighed.

"Fine, Manon. I'll let you play with the doll." -Marinette sighed, as she handed Tikki to the little girl. But just as she was about to hand her, she stopped and looked Manon in the eyes. –"But… you have to promise that you'll be very careful with her. The doll is for a friend of mine's birthday, and if you break it, I won't have time to make another one." -she made it up.

"Okay, I promise." -Manon said, as she grabbed Tikki. –"She's really pretty. I like her eyes. Would you do a dolly like this one for me too?"

Marinette did not know if she could make a doll exactly like Tikki. She was good at making puppets and other things, but she never made something as small and as detailed before. Still, it was worth a shot, and Manon deserved it. Sure, she was stubborn and quite spoiled at times, but deep down, Marinette knew the little girl had a kind heart.

"You really want me to make you one too?" -Marinette asked her.

"Yes, please." -Manon said, as she squeezed Tikki against her. If one would pay attention, they would see Tikki's eyes bulge like a cartoon, every time she was squeezed.

"Well, since you've asked so nicely, I'll make you one. But, can I make it slightly bigger than that one?" -Marinette asked her. By doing it bigger, working on it would be easier for Marinette, who still had to master creating puppets as small as Tikki with a high level of detail.

"Yes! Make it big!" -Manon said, as she shook Tikki in her hands. The little kwami who was starting to feel sick, had to focus, so she would not throw up.

"Okay, okay, I will. But, for me to do that, you can't squeeze or shake that doll like you're doing okay?" -Marinette told her.

"Why not?"

"Because you might ruin it, and then I won't be able to make a new one, just from looking at it, because it won't look the same as it does now" -Marinette told her with a calm and soft voice.

"Okay." -Manon smiled, as she held Tikki in her hands, this time being more careful with her. –"I promise I'll be careful with her."

"Alright." -Marinette smiled. –"So, do you still want to watch the rest of the film?" -she asked Manon, who waved her head silently. –"Then, come on, we shouldn't let Duchess and the kittens, as well as O'Malley the Alley Cat waiting."

After such an eventful afternoon, it felt nice to do something else. And for Alya and Nino, that meant working on the Miraculous Blog. They had been working on a series of interviews they did to each member of the team, and were now giving them the finishing touches, so they could post them on the blog. The interviews were quite different from the ones they gave for the rest of the media, right after a battle. They were quite light-hearted and were more of a calling card, so people could know them better.

"Okay, I guess we got these almost done." -Alya said.

"Indeed." –Nino agreed. He had invited her over to have dinner with him and his parents, and she accepted. He felt it was time for his parents to get to know better the girl who had captured his heart. –"You want to give it a run before we post them?"

"Sure… but which one?"

"Well, since I'm a gentleman, I'll let you choose." -Nino smiled at her.

"Oh, thanks." -Alya said, as she planted a kiss on his cheek. –"Then, let's see… let's go with Chloé's."

Clicking on the file, they waited for it to open. About three seconds later, they had Chloé as Queen Bee looking at them on the screen.

"Hi there, everyone! I'm Queen Bee, and I'm here to tell you a little more about myself." -she said

The interviews were about 15 minutes long and covered a lot of topics like what was their favourite colour, favourite food, hobbies, among other things. They tried to answer the questions as truthfully as possible, without revealing anything that could lead someone to find their secret identity.

"Got to admit, this is probably one of the best videos I've ever did." -Nino said. He waited for Alya to throw a snappy comeback at him, but she did not utter a single word. Looking at the brunette, he saw that she had her head in the clouds. Placing his hand over one of her shoulders, he gently shook her, before calling her. –"Alya? Earth to Alya! Do you read me?"

"H-Huh, what?" -Alya said. –"Oh, sorry, Nino. I must have spaced out for a moment."

"I could see that. What were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about Marinette. Remember she told us that she had to babysit Manon? I wonder how she's handling it?" -Alya declared. She had helped babysitting Manon once or twice, so she knew the girl was a handful.

"I'm sure she's fine. I mean, that little girl can't be worse than Hawk Moth or one of his goons, right?" -Nino said, as he uploaded the first videos into the blog.

"You don't know Manon like I do, smartass, and I can testify, that she's worse than all of them combined, when she wants to. Especially, when she uses her special baby doll eyes move, as her mother calls it." -Alya told him.

"She can't be that bad, Alya. Besides, today she proved once more she can handle anything." -Nino said.

"Besides, she can't be worse than your twin sisters, Alya." -Trixx commented. The fos kwami would not lose the chance of complaining about the brunette's sisters, for all the times she had to

"Oh, don't be so mean about them, Trixx. They have been treating you quite well lately." -Alya said. Though Trixx hid herself pretty well, Ella and Etta had a natural gift for finding her.

"That doesn't excuse them from the times they pulled my ears." -Trixx said. –"Every time I remember about it, my ears hurt."

"Oh, stop being such a cry baby, Trixx. You've endured much worse over the millennia." -Wayzz said. The turtle kwami had been meditating in silence, but Trixx's complaints broke his concentration.

"That's not the point! The point is that those two girls are little monsters when they want to!" -Trixx told Wayzz. -"And you're lucky Nino's an only child, because if he happened to have a younger brother or sister, I bet my ears and tail that if they caught you, they would use you as a bath toy!"

"Now, now, cut it out, Trixx." -Alya told her kwami.

"Fine, I'll stop. But that doesn't mean what I said isn't true." -Trixx said, clearly against her will.

Trixx's stubbornness was bothering Wayzz in more ways than one. If he wanted to, he would have given her an answer she was not going to like to hear. But, instead of keep arguing with her, the turtle kwami adopted a passive attitude, letting it slip. That way, the conflict ceased.

"Anyways, I really hope Marinette is okay with Manon." -Alya said.

"She'll be fine, trust me." -Nino said, as he got up from his chair. –"I'm going to check if my mom needs some help with dinner. You want to come?"

"Sure. What is she making?" -Alya asked, as she got up from Nino's bed.

"It's an old family recipe from my grandma's cook book. Grilled merguez with coscous." -Nino answered her.

"Sounds delicious, Nino." -Alya smiled.

One more chapter written. And just like I promised AutisticPhantomOtaku, I placed a couple of references to Madeline (and I'll put a few more in other chapters). Hope you can spot them. Plus, if you guys don't know what Merguez is, allow me to explain it to you: Merguez is a sausage made with uncooked lamb, beef, or a mixture stuffed into a lamb-intestine casing. It is heavily spiced with cumin and chili pepper or harissa (which gives it its characteristic piquancy and red color) as well as other spices such as sumac, fennel, and garlic. It's a typical dish from Morocco, where Nino's family comes from, according to Thomas Astruc.

And, before you ask me when the next chapter will come, you'll have to be patient, because I'm going to take a couple of days to go to the beach, and I might be too tired to write.