Gifts and rewards

Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous Ladybug, either Love o2o and the novel.

"I love it."

"Really? With only this version, can you already say that?"

"Well of course."

Marinette was sitting in front of the monitor on Adrien's desk, while she answered the blonde without taking her eyes off the screen.

"Although it's a beta version, it has many elements that I would like Miraculous to have."

After the small moment between the two, not counting the long hug that followed, the two separated and decided to study and work for at least a while. Within two hours Marinette had finished her homework when Adrien motioned for her to sit down. The first version of the game that Lucky Charm was developing to compete against Neo Akuma was open on the monitor.

Competing against Neo Akuma? I heard from Alya that they went to the company to sign a contract…"

"…it's a little more complicated than that."

After explaining the situation to her, Marinette kept thinking. She couldn't believe that Neo Akuma had treated them like this. Although Adrien didn't seem to be very nervous...

"You don't have to worry," Adrien's face quickly changed from warm to cold. "They're not going to get away with it, I won't allow it."

A small shiver ran down the spine of the blue-haired girl and at the same time she blushed with the closeness of their faces. That cold gaze would have left thousands of afraid girls unable to speak, why were her face warming and her heart racing? Calm down Marinette! This is serious business!

She nods and suddenly comes the memory of something important.

"Ah! Yesterday we met to talk about ZAG Studios' call, but in the end, there was no time."

Marinette told her from the start about the video offer and Adrien listened carefully. By the end of the story, Adrien had leaned back on the desk next to her.

"So? For me it's fine to sell the video, but if you prefer to use it for something else I can reject the offer."

Adrien shook his head. "It's not necessary, it's a video we made for Miraculous after all." Adrien left the desk to go to one of the shelves in the office were coffee pot was. "Don't worry about the others either, you can take the money ZAG offers you and keep it."

Marinette saw Adrien's profile amused. "Are you speaking as their representative?" she giggled a little. "Even if you tell me that, I can't just keep everything."

Adrien seemed to think about it a bit. "Consider it a gift from me then. You can do whatever you want with the reward."

Marinette slightly puffed out one of her cheeks upon hearing the blonde's response. "You know you don't have to fill me with gifts, right?"

"But I like to pamper you."

She rolled her eyes to see the upset expression on Adrien's face. "And I appreciate it, but I also want to be fair."

"If we talk about justice, then the prize corresponds to you. You did almost all the work." Adrien left the coffee pot for a moment to go and give her a little kiss on the forehead. "Then it would be fair for you to accept my proposal."

Marinette who was surprised by the quick kiss inflated her cheek further to continue reproaching the blonde. "Don't think that I intend to accept just like that." She turned her gaze to the monitor. "You said you could do what you wanted with the reward, right? Then I'll make sure that they reward us all."

It seemed that Adrien had given up too and went back to the coffee pot to get two cups of coffee. "So, can I offer you this mug as a thank you for going with me to the game?"

She smiled at him and accepted the cup with pleasure. "Coffee is the only thing I don't say no to." She took a small sip while he sat down on the sofa she had been studying on. "Oh, right. Downstairs I saw a small kitchen. Do you plan to eat here at workdays?"

Adrien also sips his cup. "Most of the time the team eats outside. The previous owner had an open kitchen and due to time constraints, we left it there. None of us know much about cooking, so chances are we only use the refrigerator and microwave."

"Oh?" Marinette blurted out without thinking. Adrien doesn't know how to cook? Finally, something he didn't know how to do! Marinette thought later.

"Did you know that my family owns some restaurant and bakery chains? The Dupain-Cheng chain."

"Oh! No wonder your last name was so familiar to me. I often see ads for food on the internet. My father doesn't eat much sweet, so I never went. But I have ordered delivery from the restaurants. The food is very good." Adrien spoke while his mouth was watering. "I suppose the quality of the pastries must be the same, I have to buy someday."

Marinette smiles from ear to ear. "My family is going to like hearing that," another sip of coffee. "Is it okay if I use the kitchen then? I can prepare something for you all from time to time."

Adrien blinks a few times. Cook for them? Adrien was dying to try anything she cooked, even if it was just a glass of boiled water. But for the entire team? The thought of Marinette cooking for so many men… bothered him a little.

"Sure you can use it, but you don't need to cook for everyone," Adrien replied looking at his mug.

Marinette looked at him confused. "How am I going to cook, fill the office with a sweet smell and not give them anything? Don't worry, I will prepare simple and quick things to continue with the work later."

"No... I didn't mean that..."

Adrien said that in a low voice but Marinette heard him perfectly. Marinette took a closer look at the blonde. The sun's rays were enough to light the office so the lights hadn't been turned on and Marinette could clearly see Adrien's profile. He was sitting cross-legged, one leg on top of the other; the sleeves of the shirt tucked up and the cup of coffee resting on his lips. To the naked eye, he seemed only to be seeing through the screen, but he noticed that the dangling foot was moving slightly and the tip of his ears had been painted a light pink color barely visible at that distance. Marinette couldn't believe the scene in front of her.

"Adrien... are you jealous?"

The mentioned said nothing and turned ashamed towards the opposite wall.

Marinette let out a small laugh. Why was he so cute? She stood up from the chair and came up to him with little jumps. The blonde, knowing that she was having fun, didn't turn to see her. She understood his actions and squatted next to him to tease him a little more. After another small laugh, Marinette tilts her head slightly in the direction of the green-eyed.

"Do you want me to cook just for you?" Still unanswered by the man, Marinette takes Adrien's free hand and quickly stands up. "How about we buy some things at the supermarket and cook something for lunch? You will be the first in the office to try my food."

Adrien, who had finally met her gaze, had his eyes open as Marinette had never seen them. Knowing that she wasn't going to receive any response, Marinette pulled his arm, took the mug from Adrien's hand, and set it on the table. Like that, both left the office holding hands for the rest of the date.

"You don't want money?"

The next day, Marinette had met with the representative of ZAG Studios again and had spoken to him about her proposal.

"We made the video because we like the game, and I prefer this list of items as a reward instead of the money."

Marinette gave the man a small list, made up of items from the ultra rare category in the game. There weren't many things on the list, but they were highly expensive items in the game. The representative read the list and made a comment pointing to some parts of the note.

"There's no problem giving you these rare materials as a reward, the problem is the magic crystals." He said to her. "They are new in the game and so far no one has them."

The magic crystals were different from the rest of the magic stones in the game. While the stones were used to teleport or temporarily raise the level of the weapons or the avatar, the magic crystals were used to add different abilities to the weapon depending on the chosen avatar. The main difference was that while they were for a single-use, crystals have a perpetual use. They didn't disappear once used but were saved in the player's storage until the next use.

Because of these great skills and benefits, the requirements to acquire at least one were really high. Marinette wasn't asking for one or two stones: she was asking for three types of stone, two of each. She knew that part of the offer was going to be hard to come by, but she wouldn't give up that quickly.

"I know that nobody has achieved them yet, but for the company, it would be no problem, right? They wouldn't be losing money. In the end, they are pixels that were designed for the game." Marinette knew she was being a little blunt, but she wanted to be as clear as possible. She saw that the representative's face showed no discomfort, even seemed more interested, so she decided to continue. "I think you already know that we are at the top of the player lists. In a short time, we will be able to start creating the crystals and for that reason, I'm only asking for three of the seven types. You can give us either type you want."

The man sighed and smiled sincerely before giving her an answer. "Seriously, I am happy and proud that the best Miraculous Voyage players are like this."

And that's how they closed the deal.

[Private chat]

[Ryuko]: hey

[Ryuko]: It's been a long time Ladybug

[Ryuko]: how are you?

Author's Notes:

Hehehehe I left it there. The chapter was going to be uploaded sooner, but I had connection problems, thank you very much for waiting. Ryuko enters the scene, what will happen? None of the harpies came out in this chapter but they will be seen later. Thanks for reading and wash your hands!

Twitter: Little_Rain0048

-LR