Marinette entered the classroom with the grace of a queen, with her head held high as if she had all the confidence in the world. Yet, her bluebell eyes showed her inner kindness. Her appearance didn't change, she still wore her midnight blue hair in low pigtails, and her clothes were the same, dark jacket over a white shirt with pink flower prints on the front, pink jeans, and her own originally designed purse with her cursive "M" signature, proudly embroidered across the front in black thread.
A shush washed over the entire classroom, as the students watch their class president practically glide to her seat.
Adrien, who had been waiting for her to show up, immediately stood and walked over to her. He smiles gently, "Hey, Marinette, how are you?" She beams at him as if nothing has changed. "I'm doing good, Adrien. How are you?"
He blinks surprise by the lack of stuttering in her tone. For as long as he has known her, she usually stutters or acts scared in his presence. He never understood why, but he assumed it wasPerha because of his father. It was no secret that Gabriel Agreste was intimidating and while Marinette had earned the fashion designer's praise from the contest about two years ago, that didn't mean he was any less frightening to outsiders. Even Adrien found himself a little concern in his father's presence. He always put on a pleasant smile and treated his classmates with kindness just so they would understand he was not like his father.
Finally, it seemed that Marinette had gotten the hint. He smiles back, "I'm doing good, but I'm pretty worried about you. Ivan told me what happened and I just want to make sure you're okay. I'm very sorry about how everyone acted."
His classmate waves it off dismissively, "There's nothing to worry about, Adrien. Everything is fine. I'm okay. I'm not going to let Lila tear me down, if she wants my friends then she can have them, but I'm not going to let her win."
He had not suspected this, it was like someone had hit the reset button on Marinette, changing her entire character from a mousy girl to a noblewoman who could take on Hawk Moth himself. The way she seemed so sure of herself it reminded him of his lady.
Adrien quickly snaps out of his thoughts, ignoring the light flutter in his chest. "Well, I'm glad you're doing okay."
She beams at him and nods.
The classroom door walks in and Alya storms over to Marinette, glaring down at her friend. "Girl, what the heck? Why have you been ignoring me."
Her friend shrugs, "I've been sick." She reaches into her bag and pulls out her table, looking over some notes that Ms. Busteir had sent her. "I could hardly get out of bed."
Alya shoves her clench fist in her hip, "I know, but you could have at least text me back, or something! I was worried!"
Marinette shrugs dismissively much to Alya's annoyance. "I'm fine, no need to worry."
Alya slams her palms on the desk, making everyone in the classroom jump in surprise. Ms. Busteir looked up, startled by her student's actions, "Alya, what are you doing?"
The reporter glared down at Marinette, hurt reflecting in her amber eyes, "Lila told me what you did the other and I can't believe you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"
"What lie has Lila given you this time," the designer huffs in annoyance, finally looking up to give Alya a bored expression. Her "I-Don't-Care" attitude struck a cord making Alya explode in rage, "You stole her phone, that's what you did! My gosh, Marinette, I understood what happened the first time, but this is ridiculous! Lila was trying to help you and all you've ever done is accuse of her lying when all she wants is to be your friend! Not everyone is after you, Marinette! I don't know what's changing you, but whatever it is, it's making you act like Chloe!"
Said blonde responded with an offended "Hey!" but was completely ignored in favor of the meltdown happening in front of the classroom.
Marinette reeled back, her nose scrunch up while her eyes flicker with tears, "You think I'm like Chloe?"
"Yes!"
"Alya!" It was at that point both girls realized Adrien had been standing beside them, staring in total shock, "You shouldn't treat her like that, I thought she was your friend!"
"She is my friend!" Alya roared before shoving a finger in Marinette's face. The ravenette was tempted to slap it aside but decided to listen to Adrien's argument. At least he was standing up for her, much to her delight. Unlike everyone else in the school, Adrien wasn't easily fooled by Lila's devious charm.
"Is this how you treat your friends?!" He cries waving in Marinette's direction and gesturing to Alya.
"She stole Lila's phone!"
Marinette had enough, "Is that what she told you?" Alya grew quiet. Marinette huffs shaking her head, "You're something else you know that? She tells you one thing and then you believe without hearing my side of the story." She wanted to add more, to make Alya feel the pain she was feeling by adding that extra dose of salt in her next sentence, "Some reporter you are." She holds her tongue, finding this would be useless against someone who has already been slapped by a heavy dose of reality. The irony of Alya's accusations had finally hit her full force.
Ms. Busteir calls out to her class, "Alya, go to the principle's office right now! I won't have you harassing Marinette like this!"
Alya stutters in defense but found herself without a proper excuse for her actions. She gathers up her things and, after giving Marinette a final hurtful glare, begins to leave the classroom. As she goes to the door, she looks down at Lila from the corner of her eye.
Lila
Lila was smirking.
Marinette's voice from yesterday came back, 'I just don't get why you're willing to hang off every word she says without looking into it.'
This was going much better than she anticipated. Lila smirks before throwing her arm high in the air, "Ms. Busteir! I'm so sorry to bother you, but my stomach is acting up, can I please go to the restroom before we begin class?"
Sighing their teacher nods, "Yes, you may Lila, but please don't take too long and if you're feeling very unwell then go to the nurse's office. There is a nasty flu virus going around school, and Nathaniel and a few of our other students have already fallen ill."
Lila nods, chirping merrily, "Don't worry, I won't be long!" She walks down to the front, stopping for a millisecond to smirk down at Marinette.
Only to be completely ignored.
She fights off her scowl to smile politely at Ms. Busteir and steps out of the classroom. Not too far ahead, Alya was walking, her head hanging low as she moved at a snail's pace.
"Alya!" Lila called, hurrying to the reporter. She smiles apologetically at her, gently touching her should, "I'm so sorry about Marinette. I didn't mean to cause this!"
Alya huffs still bitter about her earlier scrabble, "I just don't know what's gotten into her!"
Lila nods, "I know, it hurts, but I'm sure you two will work it out eventually. She's your best friend, and from what I've seen all best friends have their struggles. I see it all the time!"
Alya blinks and looks at the Italian student, "What do you mean 'you see it all the time'?"
Bingo.
Lila sighs dramatically, suddenly crestfallen on the subject, "Oh, it's just that I've never had a best friend before. I move so much it's hard to make any you know?"
The reporter knits her eyebrows together, "But what about Prince Ali? Aren't you friends with him?"
Lila nods, "Yes, but it's not the same. He's always off fulfilling his princely duties and even though I sometimes tag along, he's usually so busy. I see him as a friend, but not a best friend." She sighs again, looking down at her feet, "It's hard because while I love traveling, I never stay long enough to develop meaningful relationships. We always move after a few months."
Alya frowns seemingly sadden by the news. She pats Lila's shoulder comfortingly, "I'm sorry to hear that, Lila. You know, since you and I get along so well, maybe we can be best friends."
Lila gasps in shock, looking at her hopefully, "Really! Would you want to?"
Alya laughs and nods, "Yeah, you've been helping me with Marinette, so it's the least I can do. Plus we get along really well and we both ship Ladybug and Chat Noir, so why not?"
Lila cries in delight, "Oh Alya, you're the best!" flinging her arms around the blogger's shoulders, squeezing hard. Her new friend giggles in reply, "No problem, Lila. I know you're right, everything will work itself out soon."
Marinette sighs, relaxing in her bed after an hour of struggling with her physics homework. The homework, while hard, had been mercifully short and the teacher decided to give the whole class a small break for the upcoming weekend.
Tikki flew over, smirking down at her master, "Did you finish everything?"
"I think so," The human sighs, chuckling to herself. Oddly enough, despite her earlier argument with Alya, Marinette felt strangely light, as if a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Biting her lip she looks to her kwami, "Tikki, is it weird if I feel good?"
The kwami of creation blinked surprise, "Why would that be weird? If you feel happy, then that's good!"
"I know, but I don't feel particularly bad about my fight with Alya. I mean, I do feel guilty that it came to that conclusion, but at the same time I feel lighter, you know? I feel happier even though I basically lost my best friend..." She sighs in defeat, exhaustion creeping its way into her body, "I don't know, maybe something is wrong with me."
Tikki shakes her head, "Nothing is wrong with. Maybe you're just relieved you don't need to worry about someone having leverage over you. To be honest, when this all started, Lila held her friends up as a way to keep you in line. Now that you asserted yourself as someone who isn't going to bend easily, you feel happier and less stressed. There's nothing wrong or weird about it."
Marinette smiles in relief before a sudden buzz against her back pocket caught her attention. Awkwardly moving she managed to pull her cell out from her under her and looked to see it was a text from Alya.
'Girl, call me, we need to talk about Lila.'
Huffing, she throws her phone onto the mattress, she lays down and grabs a small pillow, shoving it over her face and screaming into its softness. It was always about Lila. Lila this, and Lila that. No one could escape her spell, except for her and Adrien. The later of which she was incredibly grateful for. If he had fallen for her, that would be the end. They wouldn't get married, or have a nice house in town, or even have three beautiful kids: Emma, Louis, and Hugo.
She at least knew he is on her side, even if he wouldn't expose Lila for who she is. Adrien was too good of a person to throw someone under the bus like that. Yet, she couldn't help but wish he would sort of kind that Lila was deceiving. Then again he had stood up against Alya when her former friend accused her of stealing Lila's phone.
Marinette sighs, throwing her pillow aside. She needs to get some fresh air. Smiling to herself, the young designer sits up and looks at her kwami.
Tikki, who had been floating nearby smirking knowingly, "I know that look. Ladybug?"
Marinette nods, "Ladybug."
A flashy transformation later, Marinette, now in her signature red suit, was racing across rooftops, enjoying the fresh Parisian night air. It was so nice to be out in the world, feeling so free, she swears she is light enough to fly!
Ladybug's eyes lock on the glowing tower ahead, her favorite spot to sit in and watch the lights of the city burn like a million lanterns. Smiling to herself, she whips her yoyo, wrapping it around a hanging flagpole and swings towards the Eiffel Tower.
It was Adrien's inner alley cat that made him crave to head outside into the city.
Plagg hadn't been too keen on leaving, after all, there hadn't been an Akuma attack in a day! (Ironically during the time his father had left on a business trip to the States) But a nice wedge of cheese quickly helped the black kwami see his side of things.
Now he racing on all fours crossing rooftops with the delicious adrenalin coursing through his veins. It felt so nice to be free, away from all of his in house problems. Out here people only knew him as a superhero, and that was it. Sure he might not have been given as much respect as Ladybug, who is by far the most well-liked of the two, but that never bothered him. He already knew the pressures of being given the spotlight and had hated it. If people saw him as only Ladybug's partner, then he could get away with pretty much anything and no one would bat an eye.
Speaking of his lady, he wonders if she's doing well. Yesterday they didn't go on patrol. Usually, she would contact him to schedule an evening patrol, and while Chat liked to consider these their "dates." He knew they did have a responsibility against Hawk Moth and his new partner Mauya.
Perhaps she was taking advantage of Hawk Moth's sudden vacation.
Still, it wasn't like her to skip and that was what concerned him.
Plus he misses their evenings together. Responsibly hero work or not, his only time with his lady was either during an Akuma attack or on patrol. They never did anything else, save for a few exceptions such as interviews, but that wasn't enough in his opinion. It was always professional, never for fun of just hanging out.
A familiar zip caught his heightened ears. Chat looks up and sees his beautiful lady sailing over his head. She had to be in deep thought or else she would have noticed him. Even in black on a dark night, his lady had a sixth sense that made her super aware of her surroundings, this type of sensitivity always gave them the edge they need to take down Hawk Moth's baddies.
Still, he took the split second she was flying to admire her. Her beautiful polyester skin glistening underneath the pale moonlight made her glow as if she was made of stardust. Her eyes the perfect shade of blue, like a peacock's feather were relaxed, as she obviously wasn't paying too much attention to her surrounds, it was just enough so she wouldn't crash into anything. That was part of her ladybug luck, he guesses.
And as soon as she appeared, Ladybug threw her yoyo and yanked the string, swinging through the sky as if on the wings of the wind.
"Be still my heart," he swoons, his clawed hand pressing over the leather of his breast, his heart trembled like a frightened bird. He watches his partner hurry over the Eifel Tower and purred with excitement, ideas of romance flowing through his mind happily. He immediately scans the streets below and spots a lovely flower stand overflowing with beautiful white Angelicas. Granted they weren't the perfect flowers, but since he didn't see anything else that could help him on his pursuit of Ladybug he'll have to make do with what was available.
If it was daytime he could have some heroes discount on much nicer flowers, but almost all the shops were closed and this was one of the few that didn't usually pack up their belongings, besides they didn't seem to care if people took a flower or two from the stand, since they sold nicer flowers inside and the Angelicas were simply an eye catcher to draw in potential customers.
Plus, he had read once that Angelicas are supposed to offer encouragement and inspiration, and what better way to express himself as not only a good boyfriend, but also a partner?
Chat grins grab a few Angelicas and then makes his way to the Eiffel Tower.
Ladybug sighs sitting on one of the higher beams and lazily kicking her legs in the open air. The lights surrounding her were beautiful, but it paled in comparison to the view ahead.
"Beautiful night isn't it, my lady?"
Before she could react, a small bouquet of white flowers was thrust under her nose, the sweet aroma of Angelicas filled her lungs. Chat grinned from his kneeled position, looking very much like a man who was trying to propose.
She snorts rolling her eyes, but gratefully accepts the gift, "It was until you showed up kitty."
Chat grips at his heart, dramatically crying out, "Meouch! You wound me, bugaboo!"
She giggles, sniffing the flowers and smiling up at him, "So what brings you out here, Chat. I didn't call for a patrol."
He chuckles, shrugging, "I was just on a midnight prowl when I spotted the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on swing up to the Eiffel Tower and I decided to check up on her. You do seem stress, my lady. Is something... bugging you?"
Despite herself, she laughs, much to Chat's delight, a wonderful warmth blooms in his chest, sending his heart racing in excitement.
"It's nothing," She sighs, gazing lovingly out to the city below them, "I've just been under some stress. Nothing major. I am glad you came through, Chat. It's nice to know you're still my friend." She winces at the last words that unintentionally slipped out.
Of course, Chat perked with interest. "Still your friend?" He repeats, concern evident in his peridot eyes. "My lady, is everything okay?"
She nods, "Yeah. I won't go into detail, but let's just say that my friends and I had a bad argument, and I think we're done being friends. I didn't want it to happen, but it's all over now."
He got the sense of deja vu but ignored it in favor of moving closer to comfort his partner. While Ladybug wasn't visibly crying, he could tell by her shoulders were slouching, and her eyes, that this was hurting her more than she was letting on. He reaches out and touches her shoulder, not in a way that would indicate romantic affections, but to offer his comfort. "I'm sorry, Ladybug."
She giggles mutely, "It's not your fault, Chat. I had to make a decision based on what was best for me. They were siding with someone who hates me."
He frowns being reminded of his classmate, who was undergoing the same thing. He sighs aloud, "I'm sorry, Princess."
Ladybug's eyes widen, stretching her red mask. Her head whips around to him, a look of utter shock cemented on her face, "Chat, you know?"
He had not understood what she meant at first, then it clicked. His eyes explode wide open.
How could he have been so stupid?
"M-Marinette?"
She almost looked horrified at the sound of her real name leaving his lips. She jolts before shoving her finger in his face, "How did you find out! Did Master Fu tell you or..."
Chat manages to shake his head, "No he didn't." He points at her now, "But you're Marinette, right?" He could see it now. The pigtail, her eyes, and voice. He couldn't believe how blind he was to have not noticed it sooner.
She winces and averts her eyes, "Yes..." She had already confirmed it and now it was out in the open. She hadn't expected to reveal herself to him, but at least it had been him and not Hawk Moth. Or worse, Lila.
Smiling to herself, she glances back at Chat, "I really hope you're not disappointed it's me."
He chokes, "Dis-Disappointed? Why would I be disappointed it's you!"
She shrugs lamely, "I don't want to ruin our friendship, Chat. Besides, Tikki, you're the only true friend I have."
He hesitates, swallowing a large, dry lump in his throat, "...What about Adrien?"
She stares at him curiously, "How do you know Adrien?"
He chuckles, scratching the back of his head, "Well I'm in your class..."
"You're in my class?"
He nods, "Yeah, we don't usually talk... So, anyways, I know you and Adrien are pretty close, aren't you guys still friends?"
She bites her lip and sighs, "I guess so... The thing is, I can't talk to him, no matter how hard I try, I just get so tongue-tied and I start foaming at the mouth, like a rabid squirrel."
He blinks, confused on her actions. Thinking about it now, Marinette had always been a bit skittish around him, he had only chalked it up to her being shy or maybe she was intimidated because of his father. Both of those reasons were understandable and he always made it a point to be kind to her.
He had a suspicion that she may or may not have a crush on him. After all, there had to be at least a hundred photos decorating her bedroom walls. He was flattered, but when he confronted Marinette, in a teasing sort of way, she immediately explained that she was more interested in his father's designs.
Ladybug sighs in defeat, "I just can't bring myself to speak to him. He's so wonderful and kind, and smart, and everything I wish I could have. He's so amazing."
A heavy blush glowed across his cheeks. Chat prayed that his mask would cover most of the offending pink and as for good measure made sure to turn his head away a little so as to not draw attention to his hot face. "Y-You really like him don't you, my lady?"
She nods, "I love him."
He nearly transformed then and there. Hearing her say those beautiful words right in front of him nearly had Chat crying for joy. For so long he wanted Ladybug to return his feelings, and she did, but then she spoke again.
"But I can't be with him."
His eyes widen in shock, "W-Why not?"
Ladybug sighs, "If I pursue a relationship with him then I'll have to reveal my secret identity. And the last thing I want is to tell him I'm Ladybug, that could put him in so much danger. When Hawk Moth turned Lila into Volpina, she used an illusion of Adrien to make me give up my miraculous. I almost did until you showed me he was another trick. Then when we fought Gorizilla, Adrien fell and I couldn't do anything to stop it from happening until he released me. Hawk Moth isn't above using the people we love as extra weight in his favor and he won't stop until he gets what he wants. I won't put Adrien at risk like that, no matter how much I love him. I have to keep him safe, Chat. "
Her eyes began to flicker with tears, "I'm sorry to talk to you about this, kitty. I know you care about me as more than a partner and it's selfish to talk to you about my love life. Please don't hate me."
"Marinette," he reaches out to lift her chin in his tender claw and turn her head back to him. By now his blush had died down, "I could never hate you. This is the person you love, you can't help it. I will always be your partner, no matter what. And if you're wanting to keep Adrien safe, then I understand. I won't spill the beans to anyone that you're Ladybug, I promise." It was hard not to steal a kiss from her; the moon shining down on them both made Ladybug's eyes twinkle like diamonds and made her lips look soft and inviting.
But he is a gentleman, and a gentleman never forces himself onto a lady. And while he would love more than anything to reveal himself as her classmate and crush, he can't hurt her like that. She has already been through so much, detransforming now would surely give her a heart attack.
More tears collected in her eyes as she smiles and, without warning, lunges forward to capture him in a bone-crushing hug, all the while sobbing into his shoulder, "T-Thank you, kitty! You're the best!"
He smiles and returns the embrace. "Back atcha, Ladybug." One day he'll tell her the truth. One day, when Hawk Moth has finally been defeated, he'll reveal everything to her. He'll tell her the truth and they can start something new and exciting together. It will be good to start off slow, build a strong foundation of friendship first.
Starting tomorrow, he was going to be extra attentive to Marinette. Not too much for her to suspect anything, but definitely enough so she knows she has friends.