Here is the 26th oneshot in my Miraculous Revelations series. This oneshot was suggested a few months back by the same follower who suggested last week's oneshot, as well as many other great oneshots in this series and who I thank for providing me with such a range of interesting ideas to try and work on. I admit I had a little fun with the title, I couldn't help myself and it was a strange oneshot to write because of the content of it. One thing that this oneshot does is expand a consistent story thread that I have mentioned but until this oneshot (and will do again in the 29th oneshot) I haven't done. Also, as promised I will be releasing a bonus oneshot at some point in the middle of next week to make up for 'Gifts' being late. As with 'Raffle', I will break tradition and announce the title of the bonus oneshot at the end of this one. So without further adieu, sit back and enjoy the latest oneshot in this series, Fanfiction.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to this show.
Fanfiction - Alya has expanded her Ladyblog to allow fans of Ladybug and Cat Noir to post their own stories of the heroes of Paris. Some take this as an excuse to post of the time they were saved by Ladybug and Cat Noir, others to tell of the heroes many battles, and some use it to post fanfiction of all kinds about their heroes. As Marinette reads the various stories, she finds a oneshot and realizes that the author must know who she and Cat Noir is because the story of her life is too similar, minus name and profession changes, to be a coincidence. Who could this be? Why are they doing is? And what will the many consequences be that stem from this story?
Fanfiction
It was a lazy Saturday afternoon in Paris and for once in her hectic life Marinette had some free time to herself. She was all caught up with her school work, she had no new designs she needed to work on, and her parents didn't need any help in the bakery at the moment. For once she had the time to just relax, a rarity for Ladybug.
Of course, part of the reason for this relaxing moment was the fact that it had been 6 weeks since an akuma, that being Reverser, had terrorized Paris. Marinette was unsure of why there was such a long gap between attacks, or why Hawk Moth was laying low, but for once she wasn't going to complain as it helped ensure that she was always on top of her work. When the inevitable did occur and the akuma attacks returned, Marinette would quickly fall behind with her school work. Sure, she did patrols every week with Cat Noir but that was just to get out, enjoy her powers and show Paris that she cared for her city. Other than that, all Marinette had to remind her of her duties to Paris was the Ladyblog, which was why she was reading it at the moment.
Though Marinette wanted Alya to stop trying to find out who Ladybug was under her mask, mainly because Marinette didn't want to have to admit to Alya that she had been lying to her for years, Marinette still liked to support her best friend's passion. It was part of the reason why Marinette always gave Alya the exclusives she wanted whenever she was in costume and she always liked anything Alya posted to show her support.
Today, however, Marinette was looking at something slightly different on the Ladyblog. Recently Alya had added a new section to her blog and that was what Marinette was reading what was posted there. What Alya had added was a story section where fans of Ladybug and Cat Noir could write their own stories about the heroes. Some were tales of when they had saved a citizen from an akuma, or actions they had done while out out on patrol. Others were accounts of their fights with akumas, some embellished, others more accurate to what had actually happened. The last category, however, was the one that both intrigued and infuriated Marinette the most; fanfiction.
Marinette couldn't believe that there was fanfiction being written about her, well her as Ladybug, but it was still pertaining to her. Against her better judgement, Marinette decided to delve into the world of Ladybug and Cat Noir fanfiction to see what it was all about. What she found was a wide range of styles and topics ranging from some very graphic sex-based fanfics of her and Cat Noir, something that would never happen and that Alya should probably restrict given the age range of Ladyblog subscribers, to theories on who she was under the mask, or people pretending to be her and Cat Noir.
For the most part it was all harmless, if slightly disturbing at times due to some people fantasies, stuff. That was until she found a long oneshot reveal story written by someone going by the username Gui that made Marinette's heart rate pick up.
The story appeared to be normal when Marinette first began to read it, but it soon became apparent to her that the story was far from normal. Whoever had written the story was either the luckiest guesser in the world, incredibly coincidentally, or written by someone who knew information that he or she should not know because the story was way too similar to Marinette's real life when she wasn't Ladybug to be an accident. While the author had changed the names and professions of those portraying Ladybug, Cat Noir and their families, everything else seemed to fit. Only someone who knew Ladybug's identity would be able to get so close to the truth while making sure it wasn't actually revealed. This was regardless of the author's disclaimer that all names, professions, love interests, and dreams were made up for the story and did not reflect real life as far as the author knew.
The main character, who in Gui's story was also Ladybug, was a black hair, blue eyed girl called Maribel Deviande-Sha and was the daughter of a French butcher called Tim and his Chinese wife Sabina, both of their descriptions were similar to her parents though her father in the story had a full beard and her mother was taller. In the oneshot, Maribel had aspirations to be a jewelry designer and was known by her friends to be highly talented in the field for her age, as well as a skilled artist when drawing her designs. All of this was too close to the truth for Marinette to believe that it was coincidental as the author had just changed fashion designer for jewelry designer.
The fanfiction felt like it was written by someone who knew who she was and was deliberately changing key details to obscure it while also letting Marinette know that the author knew the truth about her. It was something only Marinette or Tikki would be able to pick up on but it was clear as day to Marinette. Despite this, Marinette couldn't turn away from the story.
As she continued to read, Marinette reached the description of Cat Noir and his civilian identity. If her theory about the character based of her was true, then it meant that there was a high chance that whoever Cat Noir was in this fanfic that was based off hers and his lives, his information would be very close to the truth of who he was but far enough from it to allow for only Cat Noir to realized that the author likely knew his secret. Despite Marinette's desire to not learn who Cat Noir was for the sake of their safety, she couldn't resist seeing what Gui had written about his 'fictional' Cat Noir's life.
As Marinette read the fictional Cat Noir, she got a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she should know who this information was similar to but for the life of her she couldn't figure out who. In Gui's fanfic, Cat Noir's real name was Adam Champetre and he was the son of the most talented jewelry designer in all of Paris, a tall, aloof, cold man called Graham Champetre. The character of Adam worked part time as a hand model for the masculine line of jewelry that his father created.
All of this set of something in Marinette's brain that she should know who Adam Champetre was based off but her confusion and fear that someone out there knew her secret clouded her judgement on who he could be in real life. Even when she got to the bit about how Maribel was in love with Adam, but he only saw her as a friend and had no idea that Maribel loved him because he was blindly in love with Ladybug not knowing that she was Maribel and flirted with her shamelessly when both were transformed, was enough for Marinette to connect the dots as to who was. Gui's version of Cat Noir even used several cat puns that Marinette thought the real Cat Noir would be proud. Adam, as Cat Noir, also often called Ladybug by pet names, though he called her buginette and my duchess instead of bugaboo and my lady that the real Cat Noir called her.
It was all too freaky and close to the original that by the time that Marinette got to the point that the Ladyblog in the story was run by a girl called Talia who was Maribel's best friend but had no idea that Maribel was Ladybug, Marinette was freaking the fuck out at the story. It was all too coincidental to be accidental or lucky guesswork. There was someone out there who knew both hers and Cat Noir's secret identities and had written a fanfic of it that was similar enough, and on the right platform, for Marinette to recognize it and know that what the fanfiction was intending to portray.
Marinette didn't even finish the story before she had begun to hyperventilate. The panic, usually reserved for talking to Adrien and trying to hide her love for him from him, was starting to set in and take hold of her. It was so bad that Tikki had noticed Marinette's current state and come over to check on her human to see what was going on.
"Marinette, what's the matter?" Tikki asked her, the kwami's little voice full of concern. "You usually only act this way when you think that Adrien has, or at least could, learn about your crush on him before you are ready to finally tell him."
"My life is ruined." Marinette wailed, letting her panic out now that she had Tikki to talk too. "It's as bad as it would be if Adrien knew I love him, though if not worse."
"What do you mean?" Tikki asked clearly confused. "After you threw Adrien off the truth, despite having the best chance to come clean, after the Troublemaker attack, nothing has happened since then to possible cause him to suspect your feelings. So, if it isn't Adrien, what is the matter? Your secret identity is still a secret and while everyone else knows that you love Adrien, he doesn't. So, what is it?"
"Th-that." Marinette stuttered out as she pointed at her computer screen where the story was still pulled up. "Someone knows who I am Tikki."
"What!" Tikki exclaimed as she turned to look at the screen and began to read. "That should be impossible, other than me only three people know that you are Ladybug and two of them are kwamis bound by ancient oaths of secrecy to never reveal … merde. I know who wrote this."
Marinette was taken aback by her kwami's sudden expletive as the little creature was reading the story. At least it seemed that Tikki knew who had written it, that was the first bit of good news Marinette had heard so far. Now she could now confront the writer and make sure that he or she stopped writing stuff that was way too close to the truth.
"Who?" Marinette asked quietly as Tikki finished reading the story.
"The only one who would actually have the balls, well technically he doesn't have balls but that's biological semantics, to actually do something like this." Tikki said a hint of anger and annoyance in her voice. "He's always trying this shit whenever he can. I think we should let Cat Noir know when we see him tonight on patrol and then we can go and confront the culprit as he should still be up despite the late hour. At least this time his messing has validity given his usual goal whenever he pulls this shit."
"This is all fascinating Tikki, but can you at least tell me who wrote this." Marinette said a little frustrated. Her panic and fear had faded with Tikki's statement that she knew who the guilty party was, but it still annoyed her that her kwami wouldn't spill the beans on who was responsibly for this story.
"Wayzz." Tikki said and Marinette's mouth fell open in shock at that revelation, she had not expected Master Fu's calm, steady, kwami to be involved in this at all.
"How do you know that Wayzz is responsible?" Marinette asked. "He doesn't seem like the type to do something like this. He knows we are supposed to not reveal our secret identities to anyone."
"There are only three beings who know this kind of information and would actually be able to create a story that is practically the truth but with the important names, descriptions, and professions slightly changed." Tikki said as she continued to look over the story. "Master Fu, who would never write fanfiction as he prefers to write his own stories, Cat Noir's kwami, who would rather get drunk and gamble with beings he shouldn't instead of sitting down to write anything that is not an epic ode to stinky socks or whatever food he is currently addicted to, and Wayzz who is a methodical and creative turtle who loves to write in his spare time. Wayzz has always been a bit of a literary kwami, he is the keeper of our internal records because of it, but this is just too odd, even for him. However, there is no doubt in my mind that it is him. Also Gui means turtle in Chinese and Cat Noir's kwami would never make a pen name like that."
"But why?" Marinette asked. Her fear was gone, replaced by confusion at Wayzz's actions. "I can see the logic as to why he would be the author, but I still don't understand why he would write it."
"Wayzz is, among the many qualities that he has picked up over his long life, a hopeless old romantic." Tikki said shaking her head. "Honestly, I think its cos he spent way too much time with Freya, the Norse goddess of love, about 2,679 years ago. Wayzz has also always loved human tales of romance, especially when there is something blocking that romance from taking hold, as in the current case. Whatever the reason, he loves to play matchmaker whenever he can. His favorite match is setting up the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous holders together, through whatever means are available to him at the time."
"All of them?" Marinette asked surprised. She had never gotten this vibe from Wayzz, but she had to admit that she barely knew the Turtle Kwami.
"So long as he is active at the same time, Wayzz will try." Tikki confirmed with a nod. "He wasn't in America 240 years ago when me and Cat Noir's kwami were last active because the Guardian of the Miraculouses of that period used the Rooster Miraculous and not the Turtle Miraculous. As such, Wayzz couldn't mess with the holders back then, but the handful of times he has been active at the same time as us, he has tried. The only things that stop him are when one, or both, of the Miraculous Holders is gay, already married, related, which is more common than you would thing, or the age difference would be unacceptable by the society that we were in at the time's standards. This time however, well let's just say that Wayzz didn't have to try and get the pair of you to fall in love with one another, only to realize that you were already in love with each other from pretty much the very beginning. Apparently, his solution was to write a shitty piece of fanfiction about you two on a site that at least you would see with enough similarities to tell the truth of the matter. Likely, Wayzz thinks that once at least one of you knows the truth you will act on it and get together."
"How much of what Wayzz wrote is true?" Marinette grumbled, annoyed that the other kwami was trying to mess with her love life, that was reserved for Adrien, and not fully hearing Tikki's words on the subject.
"All of it." Tikki said with a sigh before pausing as if she wasn't going to continue before slowly adding. "The love square that Wayzz describes in his fanfiction is real. The boy you love is also Cat Noir, who as you know, loves Ladybug back and doesn't know that it is you. That is what Wayzz is trying to get at with his fanfic, the love square between Ladybug and Cat Noir. If you realized that the rest was so similar to real life, then Wayzz is likely betting on the fact that you would believe that it was all real, including who Adam is based off and yes he is based off the real Cat Noir just as Maribel is based of you."
"Adrien." Marinette whispered as the realization suddenly hit her as there was only one person she was in love with. That bay was Cat Noir, which meant that he loved her back, or at least loved the Ladybug part of her.
"Yes, Adrien is Cat Noir." Tikki confirmed with a sad sigh that Marinette missed. "I probably just broke a major oath that all kwamis have to make, as did Wayzz, by explain this so that you could easily figure out Cat Noir's secret identity. Wayzz practically backed me into a corner but should there be the usual consequences of breaking such an oath, I will deal with them when they occur. As much as you shouldn't know, given the feelings between you two, it's about time you did know."
"Consequences?" Marinette asked her kwami. She had no idea what Tikki was talking about, she was too stunned at the revelation that Adrien was Cat Noir to comprehend much else.
"There will be some punishment that I will have to endure in the near future for basically telling you who Cat Noir is under his mask." Tikki replied though Marinette was barely listening to her kwami. "However, that will not affect or fall upon you Marinette, so you do not need to worry. It is a cosmic magical balance thing if you will. Something that has to happen when someone breaks a magically binding oath."
"Oh, ok that's good to know." Marinette said absentmindedly as she still processed the information she had just learned.
What Marinette really wanted to do was think on this for a while and decide how to best act on the information when she next saw Cat Noir. Of course, fate had other plans for her as that moment an alarm on her phone went off letting her know that she had to get ready and go meet Cat Noir for a patrol.
Deciding that it was best to just deal with this sudden situation head on, now that she knew the truth, and hopefully the wonderful consequences of said truth, Marinette stood up. It was time to go on patrol, confront Cat Noir, tell him about the story on the Ladyblog, and if he confirmed Tikki's revelation, reveal herself to him in return. One way or another, Marinette's life was about to change forever, again.
"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said and in seconds she was Ladybug once more.
Opening the trap door in her ceiling, Marinette climbed out and after making sure that no one was around, threw her yo-yo and swung into the warm Parisian night. It was time to confirm the revelation that Wayzz had forced, hoping that it was the truth.
It only took a few minutes for Marinette to reach the roof where she had scheduled tonight's patrol with Cat Noir to begin. As soon as she arrived Marinette found Cat Noir already there, casually leaning on a chimney with his usual cocky grin and twirling the tail part of his belt in his left hand. Now that Marinette knew that he was in fact Adrien Agreste, she had a hard time keeping her composure around him, but she had to do her best.
"M'lady, always a pleasure to see your beauty." Cat Noir said as soon as she had landed on the roof. With the recent knowledge of who was complementing her, the words caused her to blush as red as her suit.
"Hello kitty." Marinette said when she had recovered, though her heart rate was still well above average and it took all of her self control to speech normally to Adrien. "Good to see you too."
"Shall we begin our pawtrol?" Cat Noir said with a wink. Despite knowing that Cat Noir was Adrien, Marinette still groaned at the cat pun, no amount of love for Adrien could ever make Marinette love those puns.
"Not yet." Marinette replied. "There, there is something we should talk about first. Something from the Ladyblog."
"The Ladyblog?" Cat Noir asked. "What does that have to do with anything regarding us."
"There's a new section that is filled with fanfiction about us." Marinette said. "And as such it as everything to do with us."
"Yeah is saw that section." Cat Noir replied. "It was a little disturbing if you ask me."
"Yes, well there was one story there in particular that I would like to talk about, it is by an author known as Gui." Marinette began with a little hesitation. "It is different from the rest. It's one of those fan stories about us where the author has made a guess at our names, families, and lives. However, unlike the other stories, in my case it is a lot closer to the truth than anything else that has been published on the Ladyblog. It practically is the truth with just names and professions changed."
"Yeah I saw that story and was wondering how true it is." Cat Noir said his eyes narrowing slightly at the mention of Gui's story, clearly he had also read it. "When I read it, I noticed that the character based off me, as well as the one that was my dad, was very close to the truth. It had just been changed in places. My kwami wouldn't confirm it though, he just ate cheese and told me not to worry about it. Also that if it was not a story about cheese then it wasn't good literature and should be ignored."
"Well my kwami confirmed that it was written by someone who knows who both of us are." Marinette said deciding to ignore Cat Noir's odd reference to cheese. "As well as the fact that the love square depicted in the story is true. That allowed me to figure out who you are because it is your civilian identity that I fell in love with. I didn't know that you and he were one and the same."
"You know who I am?" Cat Noir asked. He didn't seem surprised or worried, only curious.
"You're Adrien Agreste." Marinette said finally saying out loud her theory as to who was under Cat Noir's mask.
"I guess there is no point in denying it anymore now that you know the truth." Cat Noir said with a sigh. "You may as well see who I am under this mask. Plagg, claws in."
With that Adrien let his transformation fall. Marinette had been expecting to see Adrien standing in front of her, but it was still strange to see Adrien in his normal clothes right after she had seen him as Cat Noir. He was standing there with a small, shy, smile on his face while a jet black kwami with the appearance of a cat hovered over his shoulder looking completely uninterested in the whole situation.
"So, based on the story and your own confession, I have to confirm." Adrien said after a long pause of them just staring at each other atop that roof. "You really do love me?"
"I, I, do." Marinette said as her nerves and insecurities began to take over now that Adrien was in front of her and she was finally admitting her feelings to him. "I didn't know that you were Cat Noir or else I would have given you the chance as soon as you made it clear that you liked me. However, it was more important to keep our identities secret than to tell one another so I didn't know until now that the boy I love, loves me back. At least until our hands were forced by Wayzz, Master Fu's kwami. He was the one who wrote the story."
"Why did he do that?" Adrien asked confused. "I mean don't get me wrong, I am very pleased to know that the girl I love loves me back, well at least loves the civilian part of me, as I thought I would have to keep trying to get you to fall for me. However, I am still surprised that Wayzz would do something like this."
"Cos, he likes to try and set up Ladybug and Cat Noir whenever both miraculouses are active." Marinette said with a shrug. "Apparently he's a hopeless romantic in that sense."
"Well our miraculouses are two parts of a whole, or at least they appear to be what with creation and destruction being their powers." Adrien replied. "I can see the logic in some sense. Still odd but at least in our case it is true."
"Well about that, I, I have to know." Marinette began, trying her hardest to not let her throat close up. "I know you love me as Ladybug, but will you still love me once you know who I am under the mask. I'm very different when I'm not transformed into Ladybug."
"My lady." Adrien said in a soft loving voice, his green eyes meeting her blue ones. "When we were on that bridge, looking at the avatar Hawk Moth had created during the second Stoneheart fight, and I saw you stand up to him I knew, then and there, that I was in love with you. All of you. I fell for Ladybug and that includes the girl who was chosen to hold the Ladybug Miraculous for in order to be chosen that person had to be special, she had to be the person I saw on that bridge in real life to be given such a responsibility. Regardless of who you are under that mask or when you decide to trust me with your identity, I will always love you, both with and without the mask."
Marinette had been looking into Adrien's eyes the entire time and could tell that he was being truthful with his words. He really did love her whether or not she had the mask on. It was in that instant that Marinette knew that the time was right to reveal who she was to him. They knew that they loved and trusted each other, there would be no more secrets between them.
"Tikki, spots off." Marinette said as she closed her eyes and her transformation fell away. She heard Adrien gasp in surprise as he saw her without the costume for the first time.
Still Marinette waited to open her eyes. She knew what she would see but she still had to take a moment to collect herself before she opened them to see Adrien still standing there, his mouth open in shock.
"H-hi Adrien." Marinette said softly. Despite everything she was still just a nervous schoolgirl standing on a roof right with her crush right after revealing her deepest secrets to him.
"Marinette, you're Ladybug?" Adrien asked as he collected himself, to which Marinette just nodded as Adrien continued. "Of course, you are, you are the perfect person to be Ladybug. Your kind, considerate and always willing to help others no matter what. I don't know how I didn't see it before. You're the girl I'm in love with."
"Adrien, you have no idea how long I have been waiting to hear those words." Marinette said as she felt her cheeks flush at Adrien's statement. "I have been in love with you ever since you gave me your umbrella, just waiting to find the courage to tell you and hope you would give me a chance."
Adrien just smiled at that. Marinette wasn't exactly sure what happened next, all she would remember was that one moment they were still standing on the roof facing each other, then next they were in each other's arms and their lips were meeting like a pair of long lost lovers. The embrace that Marinette had been dreaming about for years was finally happening and she couldn't be happier in that moment, even if it had been because of a romantically inclined turtle.
After a few minutes later, they finally broke the embrace. However, they stayed in each other's arms just looking into one another's eyes.
"So…" Adrien said after a long moment. "What now?"
"Now." Marinette said firmly. "We go see Master Fu, hope he is still awake at this hour, and confront Wayzz about what he wrote, and to thank him for it."
With that Marinette reluctantly broke away from her embrace with Adrien. They had one more thing to do before they could finally enjoy time as a couple.
"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said and in a second she had transformed. Not looking over her shoulder she ran to the edge of the roof and yelled back at Adrien. "Come on kitty, race you there."
Marinette and Adrien walked into Master Fu's still open massage parlor, hand in hand. They had raced here before finding an alley to drop their transformations in. Marinette felt that if they were going to confront Wayzz about his interference then they may as well let him know that he had succeeded.
"Marinette, Adrien, what are you two doing here together?" Master Fu asked confused when they walked in together, the worry evident in his voice. "If you are both here then you must have learned the truth about one another."
"We did Master Fu." Marinette said, smiling at the old man. "I know we weren't supposed to learn it but, well, thanks to a certain kwami's interference we found out the truth."
"Ah hello Marinette, Adrien, I see my story had its intended outcome." Wayzz said as he flew out from Master Fu's gramophone and saw the new couple standing there. "Once again Ladybug and the Black Cat are together, as they should be. It appears my work here is done."
"Wayzz what have you done?" Master Fu said turning to his kwami, though the old man didn't sound angry at Wayzz.
"I wrote a fanfiction on Alya's Ladyblog that was close enough to the truth to allow Marinette and Adrien to realize that I knew the truth." Wayzz said without any shame or remorse, only pride in his steady voice. "It took a while as us kwamis aren't designed for typing but I managed it. The Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous holders should always be together, it makes them stronger as it plays into the dichotomy of their abilities and the unique connection between their miraculouses. Therefore, I always try to ensure that they get together whenever I can, and I have never failed to achieve that, except when the age gap was too great, one of the holders was gay, the holders are directly related, or I was in the miraculous box. Course this time was easier as you both already loved each other and didn't know it."
"Wayzz, that was highly irresponsible of you to do that." Master Fu said reproachfully. "Fortunately, there will be other stories out there that will hide yours, but I suggest you take it down now that your goal has been achieved. Also, there is a chance that you broke the oath of secrecy all kwamis take to not divulge the identity of another kwami's human to anyone. I hope you are willing to pay the consequences for your actions."
"I have already spoken with the Guardian of Magic." Wayzz replied. "Prior to writing the story as a matter of fact, just to be sure I was cleared to write it. He said that it was a borderline violation and likely to cause a revelation, but it would depend on Tikki and Plagg's reactions to the story. Regardless I am likely to face some minor punishment that will only last a few hours and not be the kind of thing Plagg normally faces when he breaks the oath. Then again I don't have a long list of outstanding debts that have to be paid."
"My countless debts aside, I actually told Adrien nothing." Plagg said with a smug look on his face. "He asked, and I just told him to ignore it, it was just some crazed obsessive fan getting really lucky that's all."
"You also said that because it wasn't about cheese it wasn't worth my time to read it." Adrien said.
"And I stand by that statement." Plagg said with a firm nod. "My gooey goddess deserves to be immortalized in literature."
"That is surprisingly unlike you Plagg." Master Fu said, wisely steering the conversation away from cheese. "Usually I would expect you to break the oath when something like this happens."
"Plagg didn't, but I almost certainly did." Tikki said in a quiet voice and Marinette watched as the other two kwamis, and Master Fu, stared in amazement at her kwami. "When Marinette freaked out and asked how true it was I confirmed the truth as I knew Wayzz was the writer, using the Chinese word for turtle was a dead giveaway to me. In the process I told Marinette that the person she was in love with was Cat Noir, as Wayzz had described it in his fanfic, and well that allowed her to clearly figure it out. It wasn't a direct violation, but I am sure that the universe will send me my punishment when Marinette is asleep tonight."
"Er about that." Marinette said. "What is this punishment."
"Nothing you should worry about Marinette." Master Fu said kindly. "It is a kwami thing and powers beyond either of our comprehension will sort it out. Now once Wayzz confirms that he has deleted his story, I say we all have some tea. Thanks to my match making kwami, we have a lot to talk about."
Marinette and Adrien just nodded at that. There was a lot to talk about and a nice cup of tea between the three of the four miraculous holders in Paris was a good idea. Marinette was just glad that she was finally with Adrien and that Wayzz was going to delete the story, the rest would sort itself out later. Now, though, it was time for tea.
It had been late by the time they had all arrived at Master Fu's, so it was near midnight by the time tea with Master Fu had ended. That meant that Marinette and Adrien didn't have much time to enjoy their first night as a couple. All they had been able to do was walk back to Adrien's house, kiss and promise to see each other the next night.
After that Marinette had practically skipped home, snuck in so as to not wake her parents, and headed to her room. Tikki had to listen to a gleeful and happy Marinette talk about the day for a bit before exhaustion finally took over and Marinette had crashed. It had been a busy day after all with a lot of revelations to take in.
Now, Marinette had gone to sleep and Tikki was still awake, floating in the center of her room. She knew what was coming and all she could do was wait. Unlike Plagg, who had a long list of potential deities to punish him for breaking an oath sworn on the river Styx and as such had some vague idea who would come and administer his punishment, Tikki had no such list. That meant that any of the countless deities could be the one to come and administer her punishment.
Sure, Tikki had her suspicions as to who it might be, likely one of the love deities who didn't like Tikki not joining them on anything girly, but it could literally be anyone. This was only the 3rd time Tikki had violated the oath, the last 2 had seen Aphrodite and Ceres being the deities to punish her so she assumed that it would be someone similar.
That was why when the pink role of fabric that Marinette had recently bought to make her next dress out of began to move on its own accord, Tikki freaked out a little as she had no idea who that could be. Though given the unnatural movement of the material, it had to be the deity sent to punish her.
The little kwami watched as a large section of the fabric tore itself off and fluttered silently to the middle of the room, the missing chunk instantly being replaced as if nothing had happened. As soon as it reached the center of the room it began to form into the shape of a human with a distinctly feminine appearance standing a little over 5 and a half feet tall. Once the body of the deity was formed, the fabric began to change and in seconds a woman in her mid 20s was standing in the middle of a room in a distinctive outfit. That was when Tikki knew at least the group she was dealing with, she was dealing with a Guardian of the Elements.
The athletically built woman was lightly tanned with long, light brown hair tied into a simple pony tail. As with all Guardians she wore a colored shirt and blue jeans. In this Guardian's case her shirt was a light pink, v-cut style with very short sleeves, while her jeans were light blue and hugged her legs tightly. The shirt was tucked in so Tikki could see the woman was wearing a matching pink belt. While the footwear of Guardians varied, this one was wearing low heeled black boots.
Next Tikki took in the Guardian's weapons. On her left hip was the standard, straight bladed dagger that was issued to all Guardians, though this Guardian had accessorized her dagger with a grip made out of interlaced, pink, yarn. On right hip was the weapon that differentiated from all other Guardians, selected by each Guardian upon ascension if Tikki's memory served her correctly. In this Guardian's case, the weapon appeared to be a lasso made out of pink silk.
After taking in all of this, Tikki decided to look to the woman's right for her name and rank. Tattooed there was the word SILK 30 in cursive script. The tattoo was written in pink and it looked as if the word had been sown into her skin out of pink thread. It was one of the more detailed Guardian tattoos that Tikki had seen.
Tikki knew who the woman was in front of her, the pair had met a few times long ago when the Guardians had had to interact with the miraculous holders during the brief reign of Emperor Titus. However, back then the woman wasn't a Guardian, just a high ranked follower who held the rank where she was being considered for Guardianship. The number explained that she was one of the 6 new Guardians to ascend to the rank a few years ago. Tikki had been so busy with her own stuff in Paris that she had never figured out who had become Guardians or their elements so this was going to be an interesting conversation.
The Guardian had allowed Tikki to take her in and see all that Tikki needed to know who was here to administer her punishment. Once it was clear that Tikki was done, the Guardian raised a finger to her lips and then pointed up to the roof. Tikki easily got the implication and nodded, it was best to have their conversation away from Marinette.
Slowly, knowing what was to come, Tikki flew up and phased through the ceiling and into the clear, warm, night of Paris. Moments later a line of pink fabric made its way through the crack in the trapdoor and in seconds Silk had reformed in front of Tikki. It was time to learn her punishment for breaking her oath.
"Can we talk freely here?" Tikki asked quietly in English, the official language of the Guardians. She knew that she had to show respect, but she didn't know Silk's element to properly show that respect. Tikki had a theory, but the kwami had to be sure that they could talk freely first.
"Mage has ensured that the mist is powerful enough hiding us, and Sonic has made sure that no one can hear us if they are nearby." Silk said in American accented English. "You have nothing to fear Tikki, this conversation is as private as the Guardians of Magic and Sound can make it."
"Ok that is good." Tikki said with a sigh. "It is good to see you again Silk, though when I last met you had a different name. Congratulations on finally making Guardian by the way."
"Yes, I took the name upon ascension, as many Guardians do when the Master Guardian bestows the honor of Guardianship on us." Silk said with a smile. "It lets the mythical world that there is a new Guardian among them as well. Normally, but not always, it is tied to our element. Thank you Tikki. It has been a long time coming but I patiently waited for the prophesy to be fulfilled. Once it was fulfilled, it was only a matter of time before all 4 of us who held the rank just below Guardian ascended to the ranks of the Guardians."
"What element have you been given?" Tikki asked. She was curious as between the name and abilities, Tikki suspected that Silk had been given an unusual element and it had been a long time since Tikki had met a recently made Guardian. "I knew of the promotions, we all did, but I have been a bit busy and unlike Plagg I like to keep distant from the ancient world and enjoy the current one that my human lives in."
"A wise move when you work within the realm of mortals." Silk said with a nod. "I have been made the Guardian of Fashion. As such I have complete control over clothes, materials used to make them and what not. It is an odd choice, likely due to Minerva being my mother, and one that I am still trying to fully develop it. It is one of the elements that is considered man-made and modern, part of what the Mast Guardian is calling the next wave of elements designed to reflect the current state of the world. Long ago we decided not to question the Master Guardian's decisions and seeing as I am finally a Guardian, which was always the goal, I am happy with my element."
"I understand, it is the same with new kwamis when the Guardian of Magic creates a new miraculous." Tikki said before bowing formally in the air. "Silk, Guardian of Fashion, I know why you are here and accept my punishment for violating my oath of secrecy."
"Tikki there is no need to be formal with me." Silk said with a smile. "You are so much older and more established than I am. As you know why I am here, shall we adjourn and begin the punishment."
"Just a few questions." Tikki said raising from her bow and floating to hover before Silk's eyes. "And then we can begin."
"Of course, it is only natural to be curious." Silk said with a smile. "I shall try to answer your questions as best I can."
"Ok, so what is my punishment?" Tikki asked.
"Now, now, you know that I won't tell you that." Silk said with a small laugh. "Suffice it to say that I have a small boutique of high end fashion items here in heart of Paris's fashion district, one of my European bases, and I could use someone who is naturally small to aid me with several products. So, when you broke your oath, I volunteered to be the administer of that punishment. Unlike your other half who has an encyclopedia of people who he owes debts to many deities who would love to use the violation to call them in, you don't have any. Therefore, someone had to volunteer to administer the punishment and I felt I could use you. I had to fend off a few goddesses. Venus is not happy with how I left her dresses but she deserved far worse, for the honor but seeing as the last 2 times you broke your oath it was goddesses, it was agreed that a Guardian should have the honor this time."
"That answers my second question." Tikki said as she digested the answer and secretly wished she had been there to see the fight between Silk and Venus. "Lastly then; how long will this last? As you know I need to get back to Marinette before she wakes up."
"There's no need to worry about that." Silk said with a shake of her head. "I have spoken with the Guardian of Time and he has agreed to slow the time around where your punishment is taking place. As a result, it will feel like days at least to you while you aid me, but only a few hours of real time will pass so you will be done well before Marinette wakes up. Of course you can't tell her about the punishment or the Guardians but that's part of the oath as you well know."
"Very well." Tikki said in resignation as she realized that everything had been set up to ensure she was properly punished. "Let's get this over with."
"Come with me." Silk said as she walked off the roof, a pink pad of fabric, likely silk or cotton, appearing at her feet to carry her through Paris in a strange display of power as it seemed to resemble a magic carpet of all things. "It is time to pay the price for breaking your oath of secrecy."
Tikki just sighed and floated after the Guardian of Fashion. She knew that she deserved this punishment but as Tikki thought about it, it was worth it. Marinette and Adrien were finally together, happy, and all their secrets where known to each other. For that, Tikki would gladly bear the price of breaking her oath. Still, the punishment was no doubt going to be shitty but Tikki had to face the music. She had committed a crime, she had to do the time. It was time to pay the price, a price she was more than happy to pay. With that, Tikki smiled as she floated off to whatever punishment awaited her.
A complex class oneshot that was one of the oddest to write due to the title but no less fun. I have in the past alluded to what would happen if a kwami broke their oath and well that has happened. It will happen again in this series. As promised, the bonus oneshot, set to be released during the week, is called 'Scent' and that is all I am saying about it. Anyway, that is all for this post chapter note. As always please keep your suggestions coming as the more prompts I get, the longer this series will last, currently I have 9 prompts in my queue, not including bonus ones. Do keep letting me know what you think of my work in your reviews and get ready for the latest episode in Miraculous Ladybug to be released in 2 days! Until next week.
Stringdog