In which Adrien is a protective - purr-tective? - kitty.

And I realised I haven't said it yet, so I do not own Miraculous Ladybug, you guys.


An Act of Protection

Part Three


Marinette didn't want to get out of bed the next morning.

When she finally dragged herself downstairs for breakfast, her mother kindly offered to ring the school and say that Marinette wasn't coming, but she shook her head.

"No, Maman, this isn't going to go away," she said. "It's best to face up to it now instead of hiding away here at home. Besides, what sort of a role model would I be if I stay home and avoid my problems?"

Sabine gave her a proud smile, "You're a great role model for everyone, darling. You're being very brave, but if you feel like you want to come home at any time, you can."

"Of course she's brave," Tom put in, walking into the kitchen. "Cheng women are filled with courage!"

Both Marinette and Sabine smiled at him. "Thank you, Papa," Marinette said.

"Your mother is right, though," he went on. "You can come back here any time."

"What about the bakery? Are you going to be open today?"

Her parents shook their heads. "No, not today," her Papa answered. "It's a bit of a mad house out there already. It's not ideal for business."

Guilt gnawed at her, "I'm – I'm sorry."

They gave her a hug; there were a few moments of comfortable silence before Sabine spoke up, "We told you last night, you have nothing to be sorry about."

"We can deal with having the bakery closed for a day," Tom said. "A nice, quiet day at home will be lovely."

Marinette wasn't entirely sure they'd be able to have a 'quiet' day when there was a large crowd of reporters outside, but she appreciated that they were being supportive. Feeling encouraged by them, she went to get ready for school.


Adrien was up and ready for school by the crack of dawn.

He was used to getting up at such times – his Father frowned upon lazing around in bed – but this morning he woke up particularly early. He was too keyed up to stay asleep and in bed. He needed to get up and be ready to help Marinette.

Ready so early as he was, he found himself pacing around his room, impatient for school to start.

"Kid, relax," Plagg said as his Chosen made his fifteenth lap around his room.

"But I can't! The paparazzi is going to try and eat Marinette alive today!"

Plagg sighed and Adrien was certain the kwami was fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "The Bug is right, you are a stupid cat. You're Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste. You have influence in both personas. Use it!"

Adrien stopped as Plagg's words sunk it, "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"Great idea, Plagg! I'll go over there right now as Chat and-"

"Kid, do I really need to remind you that you are Adrien Agreste? If you're not here when Nathalie comes to get you…" Plagg trailed off and Adrien's enthusiasm died as he realised the consequences of not being here when Nathalie turned up.

There was a beat and then, "I'll just tell her I have an assessment to work on before school!"

Caught up in his enthusiasm once more, Adrien grabbed his school bag, his kwami and rushed out of his room to find his Father's assistant.


Marinette hadn't been ready for school this early in a long time.

Reporters were clambering outsider their home and she was just contemplating the pros and cons of transforming and leaving out of her balcony, when a loud, familiar voice came from outside their bakery.

"Come on, you re-purr-tors, make some room!"

Relief and gratitude flooded through her when Chat Noir appeared before the crowd. She wasn't expecting her partner to turn up, but she was thankful that he did.

"Chat Noir," she murmured as she looked out a window and saw her partner attempting to herd the reporters away from their door.

Her parents came up behind her and watched as well. "You have a good partner," her mother said and her father made a noise of approval.

"Yeah," she agreed with a smile. "Yeah, I do."

"Remember, you can come home any time," Tom said, handing over her school bag.

Smiling in thanks, she slung it over her shoulder. "I know," she replied. "But I've got Chat and my friends, I'll be fine." With a final check to see if Tikki was in her purse – she was – Marinette made her way out of the bakery. She'd be early to school, but it was better than waiting for even more reporters to arrive at her home and make it even harder to leave.

Taking a deep breath, she went outside; the journalists went frantic.

"Marinette!"

"Miss Dupain-Cheng!"

"Ladybug!"

"How do you feel now that your identity has been revealed?!"

"Now, now," Chat said chidingly; his tone was light but his eyes flashed in warning. "Give her space."

She made her way over to her Chaton, trying to ignore the numerous photos of her that were being taken. "Hello, Chat Noir."

He bowed dramatically at her, "Good morning, my Lady. As your partner and knight in shining miraculous, I'm here to escort you to school."

Touched by his thoughtfulness, she gave him a small smile. However, they were Ladybug and Chat Noir and they were known for their banter, so she raised an eyebrow and replied, "I live across the street, I don't really need an escort."

Chat's eyes sparkled. He was clearly pleased to see that she was happy enough to joke with him. "Ah, but it's such a wide street, Princess. What kind of partner would I be if I let you face it all alone?" He leant in conspiratorially. "But between you and me, I know you'd be able to cross it on your own. The street won't know what happened to it when you walk across it so determinedly on your way to school."

Despite the situation, despite the fact she was surrounded by journalists, despite the fact that she was facing a day filled with stares and endless questions, she laughed. "Thank you, mon Minou. I needed that."

"I'll always be here when you need me." He offered her his arm. "Are you ready to go?"

She gave him a faux-surprised look, "What? No sweeping me into your arms and carrying me off?"

He winked at her, "Plenty of time for that later, my Lady. School first."

She scoffed and threaded an arm through his offered one. Ignoring the reporters around them, they walked across the street to the school. There were even more journalists there, clamouring to get pictures of them, but the two superheroes disregarded them. It was hard for Marinette to ignore them, but her partner kept up a constant stream of chatter that held her attention.

Her classmates were all waiting in a group at the bottom of the school stairs, staring at the pair of them in undisguised shock and awe. Alya and Nino were at the front of the group, looking ready to take on anyone who gave them a hard time, but to Marinette's disappointment, Adrien was nowhere to be found.

She hoped that meant he wasn't disappointed that she was the girl under Ladybug's mask.

Alya and Nino walked up to them. Alya greeted them both enthusiastically; Nino seemed a little stoked at being in Chat Noir's presence, but he beamed at them and offered them both fist bumps.

"I can't believe you're Ladybug, Mari," the DJ said. "I mean, I can because you're awesome. But – just – dude!"

She smiled, "Thanks, Nino."

Alya gave Marinette a big hug, "How are you feeling, girl? I hope you're alright. I've already told everyone to not give you a hard time. They're surprised, understandably, but they're not gonna bombard you with questions."

Marinette was flooded with gratitude with her friends, "Thank you."

Chat looked pleased, "Taking your duties as the co-president of the Marinette Dupain-Cheng Protection Squad seriously, huh?"

Alya nodded, "Of course. I've already posted on the Ladyblog as well, letting everyone know that just because we know who you are, girl, doesn't mean we have to bug you about it."

"Bug you about it?" Chat repeated, a smirk pulling at his mouth.

The blogger shot him an unimpressed look, "That was unintentional and you're a dork."

"Now you know what I have to put up with all the time," Marinette said, rolling her eyes.

Chat gasped overdramatically, putting a hand over his heart, "My Lady, you wound me!"

"Oh, stop it you silly c-" Marinette cut herself off and sighed as she spotted someone arriving. "Oh, here we go."

The others all turned to see the arrival of a fancy, white limo. Sabrina waiting dutifully by the limo door told them exactly who was about to grace them with her presence.

"Don't worry, girl," Alya said. "We got your back."

Chloé Bourgeois got imperiously out of the limo and posed for all the paparazzi outside of the school. Only when she was sure that they'd gotten a sufficient amount of photos, did she turn her attention to Marinette and her group. She marched over to them with a sneering expression of her face and stopped in front of Marinette with a huff.

"So," she began.

"So," Marinette returned, wondering where Chloé was going with the conversation.

"You're Ladybug?"

"Yes."

Chloé sniffed, "Well, it could be worse."

Marinette blinked. That – that was significantly less that what she was expecting from the Mayor's daughter.

Before Marinette could say anything, Chloé had her phone out and took a self of the two of them. Without another word, she flounced into the school, Sabrina in tow.

The rest of them stared after her in shock.

"… What was that?" Nino was the first to break their dumbfounded silence.

"Yeah," Marinette agreed. "I was expecting more."

"She's not that bad," Chat spoke up, defending his childhood friend.

They all looked at him incredulously.

"You once told me she made you do her homework," Marinette said.

"She's caused nearly every akuma attack," Alya put in.

"She's Chloé," Nino finished, as if that explained everything.

"Well, yes," Chat said awkwardly. "But she's not really that bad."

Their disbelieving looks continued until Alya decided to pipe up with, "She was probably only that tame because there were cameras there. Knowing her, she'll try something in our classroom where the reporters can't see."

Marinette sighed, "Great. As if I wasn't already dreading going to class."

Chat put a comforting hand on her shoulder in a silent show of support. Seconds later, Alya and Nino did the same.

"Hey, dude," Nino said. "We're not gonna let anything happen to you."

"We're the Marinette Dupain-Cheng Protection Squad, remember?" Alya nodded in agreement with Nino. "We got your back."

The ball rang and Chat took it as his sign to leave. "Well, Buginette," he said with a flourish, "it's time for me to go. I'll come to check on you later, but right now, this cat's got to scat." He finished by pressing a kiss to her hand.

(Marinette pointedly ignored Alya gushing about how cute they were).

"Thank you for coming, Chaton," she replied. "I'll see you later."

"I look forward to it, as always, Princess," he smiled at her before taking off.

Marinette watched him go, already missing his calming presence. She took another deep breath and turned towards the school's entrance. "Let's go," she said. "The sooner I get this over with, the better."

With Alya and Nino standing protectively on either side of her, she marched into the school. Marinette ignored the stares all of the students were giving her and made a quick beeline to their classroom. She gave a sigh of relief when she reached her seat and sank into it, shutting her eyes and tilting her head back as she tried to mentally prepare herself for the day to come.

Her small moment of peace didn't last long.

"So, Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Chloé's distinctive voice sneered, forcing Marinette to open her eyes and look at her.

She held in a sigh. Of course Chloé would start on her as soon as they were away from cameras.

"Called it," Alya grumbled from her seat beside her.

"Chloé," Marinette returned politely. She also noticed that all their classmates had entered the room and were watching the exchange with bated breath. Alya might have told them not to bug her with questions, but Marinette knew that that wouldn't stop their curiosity.

"How can you be Ladybug?!" Chloé demanded.

"I was chosen –"

"How?! You're nothing but a baker's daughter. You're clumsy, have terrible fashion sense and you're not even confident enough to talk to Adrien – not that you should, he's mine and way out of your league – but how in the world can you be Ladybug?!"

While the reminder that, yes, she couldn't talk to Adrien stung, Marinette ignored the rest of what Chloé said. It was just typical Chloé behaviour.

"I was chosen, Chloé, and that it all I'm going to say. The secrets of the miraculous are not to be told to just anyone."

"Just anyone?!" Chloé spat. "I am the Mayor's daughter! Compared to you, I'm –"

Marinette let out a frustrated huff and lunged to her feet. "I am Ladybug!" She exclaimed. "I was deemed worthy and chosen to be Ladybug. I have always been Ladybug! I was Ladybug when Hawkmoth sent out his first akuma," she shot a fleeting glance to Ivan, "Sorry, for the reminder, Ivan."

Her friend waved away her apology; he didn't mind.

"I was Ladybug when I caught you falling from the Eiffel Tower that day – you're welcome, by the way – and I have been Ladybug and battled every akuma with Chat Noir since then. I am Ladybug, and you might as well get over it because that's not going to change!"

"Maybe it should," a new voice interjected.

Everyone turned to see Lila standing in the doorway of their classroom, her arms folded and a glare on her features. Guilt, embarrassment and shame immediately coursed through Marinette. She still regretted what she did to her classmate.

"Lila, again, I'm sorry for what I did to you," Marinette began. "I-"

"I can't believe Ladybug is someone like you, Marinette," Lila interrupted as she walked into the room, stopping beside Chloé to join the Mayor's daughter in glaring at her. "I always thought you were a decent person, but now I know you're a selfish –"

"Hey!" Alya interjected angrily, "Don't talk to Mari like-"

"Egotistical-"

"Hey!" Nino snapped. "Knock it off!"

"Arrogant-"

"Hey!" The rest of their classmates put in. "Stop it-"

"Failure of a superhero."

Marinette cringed. Lila was right, she was a failure. She'd failed at protecting her identity and she'd failed at defeating Hawkmoth. He was still out there, somewhere, no doubt planning on using the discovery of her civilian self to his advantage.

"You're nothing but a failure," Lila went on, ignoring the protests of their classmates. "You should-"

"Enough!"

The shout cut over the din of the classroom and they all turned to see an angry Adrien Agreste standing in the doorway.

Marinette felt her breath catch at the sight of him. Adrien, beautiful, kind Adrien. Another person she hadn't wanted to let down with her identity. But maybe, just maybe, with the way he was looking at Lila and Chloé, he wasn't angry at her? Much like how Lila was moments before, he was glaring, but his glare didn't seem to be aimed at Marinette.

He marched into the room and came to stand by Marinette's side, his arms crossed in displeasure. "Enough," he repeated to the now-silent classroom. "Marinette is a hero and she's getting enough hounding from the press, she doesn't need it here."

Marinette stared at him with a mixture of surprise and awe. He was protecting her? He thought she was a hero? He wasn't disappointed that she was Ladybug?

"Why are you defending her?!" Lila demanded. "She's selfish and petty! She humiliated me in front of you, just because she was jealous because of her stupid crush on you!"

Everyone gasped.

There were a few unwritten rules in their class: Keep an eye out for everyone during akuma attacks, do an equal amount of work during group projects (a rule Chloé always seemed to break), and do not, under any circumstances, tell Adrien about Marinette's crush on him.

Their class president hadn't been subtle about her crush. Everyone knew and everyone – even Chloé – had kept silent about it. The Mayor's daughter had done her best to warn Marinette away from Adrien and win the model's affections, but she hadn't outright told him that Marinette liked him.

Lila had just broken the rule.

Shock flittered onto Adrien's features and the class erupted into chaos.

"LILA!"

"Dude!"

"You can't just say that!"

"You broke the rule!"

"Even I never did that!"

"We all agreed to let her tell him on her own!"

Marinette felt mortified. He knew. Adrien knew about her crush. God, why did she even come to school today? She should have just stayed home like her Maman suggested. Slowly, she sat back down at her desk and stared at the floor, hoping a hole would open up in it and swallow her.

"Enough!" Adrien called out again and the class instantly fell silent.

Marinette stared resolutely at the ground. For once, she didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to meet Adrien's eyes. She didn't think she could. But in a move that was reminiscent of her partner, Adrien reached out to give her shoulders a comforting squeeze. It was then that she noticed he was wearing the lucky charm she gave him as a bracelet and it shocked Marinette into looking up and meeting his gaze.

He was smiling.

That – that was not what she was expecting.

She expected shock, disgust or an apologetic look before he told her he didn't feel the same. She wasn't expecting a smile. Or for his eyes to be sparkling with something akin to delight.

What did that mean?!

But she didn't get a chance to contemplate it for very long as Adrien turned back to Lila and said, "I'm defending her because she deserves it. Because she's one of my best friends and I'm not going to stand around and do nothing while someone tries to hurt her."

Adrien considered her to be one of his best friends?! She didn't know he thought so highly of her, especially when she could barely get more than three words out in his presence.

"She may have been selfish, yes, but she's human," Adrien went on. "She apologise for her actions, didn't she? Even makes mistakes sometimes. Even – even Chat Noir caused someone to get akumatised once."

The mention of her partner made Marinette wish he was there. She wanted nothing more to just hug him and take in the familiar, protective comfort of her Chaton's embrace. To feel his lips press against her forehead in a gentle kiss, or maybe even her own lips in a kiss that was probably far too overdue…

Wait a minute. Where did that thought come from?

Wait a minute. How did Adrien know about Chat Noir getting someone akumatised?

Again, the model didn't give Marinette much time to think about it. "Marinette's a hero," he repeated. "She's saved us and Paris countless times. The least we can do is stop hounding her and make this day as normal as we can."

"Yeah," Alya interjected, "so stop giving my girl a hard time!"

Lila scowled, "She doesn't deserve to be treated like a hero!"

Chloé sniffed, "I wasn't giving her a hard time."

"Yes, you were!" Nearly everyone in the room chorused.

Adrien glared at Lila, "She does, so don't talk about my-Marinette like that." Marinette frowned as he stuttered slightly on her name, but Adrien didn't comment on it and instead turned to Chloé. "And Chloé? Leave Marinette alone," Adrien's tone was cold. Final.

"Adrikins –"

"No, Chloé!" He snapped. "I expected better from you. The girl who was my best friend growing up would have been delighted to find out their classmate was a superhero. She wouldn't act like you are now."

"But –"

"There's good in you, Chlo, I know there is. If you focused on that instead of being this selfish, mean person that you've turned into, you'd have the capacity to be a miraculous wielder too. To be good, to be hero and make a difference. But the way you are now? You're only good at making akumas."

Chloé looked like she'd been slapped.

Silence reigned in the classroom. No one had expected Adrien to come out with that and no one really knew how to go on from there.

Alix was the one who decided to break the silence. "Adrien drops the fucking mic!" She crowed.

Everyone began talking at once.

"Dude! I knew my best bro would be on the Protection Squad!"

"How long have you been holding that one in, Adrien?"

"I wish I recorded that!"

"That was so lovely, Adrien!"

"Yeah, it was totally rad."

"I did not see that coming."

"I did! You should see the amount of Ladybug merch my dude has hidden in his room so his Dad doesn't find it. He could put Alya or Chat Noir to shame."

"Nino!"

"Alright class, that's enough!" A new, instantly recognisable voice called out over their babble.

Miss Bustier had arrived.

The class all instantly rushed to their seats. Marinette looked uneasily at her teacher, wondering what she would say.

"Marinette, this certainly explains all your absences and strange excuses for coming in late," Miss Bustier said with a smile. "Thank you for everything you've done for Paris."

Marinette blushed at the attention. "Oh, it – it's nothing. I'm just doing my job. Thank you."

Their teacher nodded, "And my job is to teach you all about literature. So, resident superhero aside, we're going to go about today like it was any other day at school."

Marinette felt a rush of gratitude towards Miss Bustier and she smiled in thanks. However, the moment was short lived as a loud boom interrupted what their teacher was going to say and the school building shook. Screams sounded from outside of their classroom and Marinette immediately went into superhero mode.

Miss Bustier might have planned for this to be like an ordinary day, but it seemed like Hawkmoth had other plans.


A/N:

Hi everyone! I hoped you liked this chapter. It went in a different direction than I thought it would, but I'm happy with it. Sorry it took so long for me to get out. I've been busy these last few weeks with family reunions, engagement parties, weddings, and going to visit friends. Add a dash of writers block on top of that and this chapter took waaaaay longer to write than I wanted it to.

I did get an awesome idea whilst writing it though. Livinglittlelie can back me up on this because I excitedly sent her messages being like, "I JUST HAD AN IDEA. HOOOOO BOY I JUST HAD AN IDEA!" (Not that she knows what said idea is). And now I'm really excited to get to that part of the fic. I'm essentially incorporating an idea I had for another oneshot into this fic and I'm super pumped about it.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you thought in the reviews.

Much love,

Leisey.