start notes—

Manon is a Chat Noir fan. A Ladybug fan, not so much.

my tellonym: milkisande

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kitten noir

you happened, and,
turned my life around entirely.

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"MY name is Kitten Noir!"

Manon jumped off Marinette's bed after her declaration, running around in the costume that the older girl had designed for her: a puffy black dress with green accents, accompanied by the hero's token cat ears, black mask, and golden bell.

She laughed to herself as Manon pretended to use cataclysm, throwing the pillows around her room.

Marinette had made the costume for her for Heroes' Day— apparently, Manon's school was having a 'dress-up event' after their personal heroes, and she wanted to dress up as Chat Noir.

(Marinette wasn't jealous that she didn't choose Ladybug— no, sir, not at all.)

(Even if Ladybug was much, much, cooler than he was.)

She sighed, suddenly surprised as Manon tugged at her shirt. "Play with me!" She demanded.

Marinette laughed, then nodded. "Sure, I'll be Ladybug, and we'll save Paris together!"

"Yeah!" Manon grinned, pointing at her. "You can be my sidekick!"

Sidekick?

"Ladybug isn't Chat Noir's sidekick, Manon," she pointed out, kneeling down to her level. "They're partners— they work together!"

Manon shook her head. "No, Ladybug is so boring. Chat Noir is way, way, more amazing than she is!"

Boring!?

"I thought you liked Ladybug, what happened?"

"She's so bossy," Manon only responded, wrinkling her nose. "Mama showed me videos of them saving Paris, and all she does is tell Chat Noir what to do. She's so annoying!"

Marinette bit back the need to fight someone much, much, younger than she was.

"That's because Ladybug's responsible! She thinks of plans with her Lucky Charm to save everyone!"

Manon stuck out her tongue. "She's like an old lady! I bet she's mama's age," the girl argued. "Chat Noir is way more fun!"

Marinette inhaled, a deep breath.

Manon was just a child. She still didn't understand responsibility and the need to be serious. She—

"And Ladybug keeps hurting Chat Noir's feelings!"

What.

Marinette looked at the younger girl in surprise. "What do you mean, Manon?"

"Chat Noir loves Ladybug, and she keeps rejecting him!" Manon pouted. "She's a bad hero!"

Marinette felt herself calm down, and smiled. "So that's why you don't like Ladybug anymore?"

Manon looked down and nodded. "She's so mean to someone who likes her." The girl looked up at her, visibly upset. "You're close friends with Ladybug, right? Why doesn't she love him back?"

Marinette suppressed a giggle.

Well, that wasn't quite true, in the first place.

Instead, Marinette leaned over to Manon. "You want to hear a secret?" She asked, before whispering in the child's ear. "Ladybug and Chat Noir are actually dating!"

Manon immediately backed away, eyes wide with surprise. "Really?" She responded, almost giddy. "Is it really true, Marinette?"

Marinette nodded. "Yup!" She smiled. "They're just keeping it a secret because Ladybug's shy."

"Why is Ladybug so shy?" Manon asked, disbelieving. "She's the luckiest ever to be with Chat Noir! If it were me, I'd never ever keep him a secret!"

Why did she keep him a secret?

Marinette laughed. "You have a point there," she confessed. "I'll tell Ladybug what you said, and maybe she'll think about it!"

Manon nodded, completely serious. "You do that! Then I'll like her again!"

The teenager bit back the need to laugh. Kids were so simple.

She looked at Manon. And absolutely adorable.

The sudden knock interrupted the two of them, as Manon's mother popped into the room. "Hi Marinette, I'm here to take back Manon," she stated. "I got off work early."

"Sure, Ms. Chamack! She's all set to leave, aren't you Manon?"

Manon was all too happy when she nodded, taking her backpack from the floor as she walked over to her mom. "Yup! You know, Marinette told me something really interesting, mama! It's—"

She looked back, only to see Marinette press a finger to her lips, in a 'quiet' gesture.

Manon paused, grabbing her mom's hand.

"What did she tell you, Manon?"

Instead, she grinned. "It's a secret!" She finally shared, as Marinette giggled. "But it's a big scoop, mama! I bet even you don't know about it!"

"Really now?" Ms. Chamack asked, raising a questioning eyebrow at Marinette, who only shrugged, a smile on her face. "Well, you're very good for keeping Marinette's secret, Manon. I'm proud of you."

"Chat Noir and Ladybug would be proud, too," Marinette pointed out, resulting in the toddler's bright smile.

"Yay!" She squealed, quickly running over to Marinette to give her a surprise hug, before leaving. "Thanks, Marinette!"

"Yes," Ms. Chamack echoed. "Thanks for taking care of Manon, today."

"It's no problem!" Marinette only called back, as the two disappeared out of her room.

As soon as they left, however, a new visitor made itself known— this time entering through the balcony.

Against herself, Marinette found herself grinning.

"So I have a new fan, huh?" He hummed, walking over to her.

"She calls herself Kitten Noir," Marinette only responded. "It's pretty cute, actually. Maybe cuter than the actual thing?"

"Now that's a little too mean, isn't it purrincess?" Chat Noir pointed out, as he stood directly in front of her. "I'm pretty sure Ladybug would disagree."

She looked up at him, eyes dancing with entertainment."Really?" She asked. "Ladybug told me differently, though?"

Chat Noir smirked as she played clueless. "Yeah," he replied. "I heard she told you that the two of us were dating."

The hero continued, looping one of his hands in hers. "I thought we were keeping this secret, milady?"

Marinette hummed. "Well, you have to thank your sidekick," she responded. "She may have brought up a few good points."

"Like what?"

"That anyone dating Chat Noir would be lucky."

"And…?"

The unmasked heroine smiled. "Maybe she was right."

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The next night, an important announcement was posted on the Ladyblog.

After defeating another akumatized villain, Alya Cesaire ran to get an exclusive interview:

Only to catch the two heroes of Paris share a kiss.

Alya squealed, almost dropping her phone, as she asked for a statement.

Ladybug only had one thing to say:

"You can thank the little girl out there who calls herself Kitten Noir."

A wink, then they disappeared.

Nadja Chamack woke up to her daughter screaming at the top of her lungs.

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end notes—

it has recently come to my attention that i very likely misunderstood what they meant by kitten noir,, but u know what writer's creative freedom and interpretation amirite ! anyway: 5 days left before the month, and consequently this challenge, is over !

when i say this was stressful i MEAN it: but i cant deny that it was fun + that it really helped me get my writing groove back (which was my goal from the beginning)3 i probably wont do ladrien june anymore, but will probably be posting new stuff instead ! :D anyways:

thank you for reading! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～