Gabriel's Obsession
Chapter 12
MARINETTE
Hours had gone by after Cat Noir and his temporary (?) Ladybug had left. Hours that had been filled with questions from the police, paramedics checking everyone out and so forth. It was the standard procedure after an Akuma attack especially at this scale. Marinette had never really been this involved before. On the rare occasions when she had to pretend she'd been controlled, transformed, or imprisoned by the Akuma, it was just a quick few questions and check up. This time she was the akuma, one of the akumas and was more thoroughly questioned and looked over. She hadn't realized that Hawk Moth's victims went through so much afterwards. It had already long been established that those akumatized lost their memories of the time they were possessed, so the questions seemed pointless. That and obviously Chloe was able to get past them when she knew that Chloe retained her memories as Miracle Queen. Although she as Ladybug had played along with that as well, not telling anyone. She wondered if she should have.
Marinette had been home for a couple of hours and still hadn't slept. It was nearing noon and she was worried about Tikki and her earrings. She wasn't sure how she would get them back. She could always use another Miraculous and find Cat Noir. She'd couldn't use the Mouse Miraculous since Cat Noir knew what Marinette Dupain-Cheng looked like as Multimouse and she didn't want him to think Marinette knew Ladybug's identity. She could use a different one if she wanted. Why don't I have a plan for when I get separated from Tikki? She wondered. It had happened once before so she should have considered it, but she hadn't. I really am a failure as guardian.
She knew Tikki wouldn't be able to tell Cat Noir who she was, but she could always lead him to her. The last thing she wanted was to have Cat Noir find out that the same Ladybug who refused to even consider a relationship was the same girl who'd on impulse kissed him. It made her feel like a total hypocrite. She didn't like that feeling.
"What am I going to do, Tikki?" She asked more out of habit then anything else, since Tikki wasn't there. Those words made her feel sadder. She wondered if Cat Noir would choose to not take the earrings from the new Ladybug. Marinette shook her head. He wouldn't do that, she thought. I bet he and Tikki are trying to figure out the best way to get my miraculous back to me.
ADRIEN
"Full house, I win, Sugar Cube." Plagg stated as he and Tikki were playing poker with small cookies and mini cheeses as the items for betting. He hadn't slept at all. He was worried about Ladybug, Marinette and Nathalie. His father had given him an update that Nathalie was still with the police. The investigators wanted to keep her for additional questioning. His father said nothing about Marinette or the other contestants. He could call her, but when would be a good time to do so? She obviously needed her rest after everything that happened. Plus he needed to give Ladybug back her earrings. I wonder if I should just go around town looking for someone riding a bicycle wearing a leather cat suit and motorcycle helmet? He mused. Tikki already told them she had a plan for her own return, but hadn't shared it yet. She was to busy playing cards with Plagg. The two had a really competitive streak that surprised him.
Tikki had told him she and Ladybug has a special meeting place set up and she'd just need him to drop her off there with the earrings. She didn't seem to be too concerned about it.
"After dark, you can take me there and I'll go to the hiding spot, that way you won't been seen doing it and you won't know the actual hiding spot." It made sense but it felt a little too passive for his tastes. He was also concerned about Tikki just playing cards with Plagg instead of conserving her energy, but she assured him, she had plenty of time left and she needed to beat Plagg at least once in a game of Poker. She'd already lost at least a dozen times. Adrien didn't know Plagg was that much of a card shark.
TIKKI
She was annoyed. She'd been watching the time and knew she needed to stop playing and rest, but she wanted to win. She needed to win. What made that worse was when Plagg actually threw a game just to get her to stop. It had been so obvious to her at the time and that made it worse.
"Look Sugar Cube, I really think you need to stop." Plagg stated at last. "We both know you're going to need your energy." He was being quiet so Adrien wouldn't overhear them. "We should stop here, so you can rest and we can pick it up another time. Adrien will eventually go out on a boring date with Kagami and I'll be able to visit you."
"Just one more game, Plagg, I know I will win." Tikki remarked.
"No." Plagg shook his head. "I should not be the voice of reason, I don't like being the voice of reason, its not really in me." He stated. That statement finally went through her. Oh no, what am I doing? He's right. When Plagg is acting as the voice of reason, there is something majorly wrong with the world.
"Okay Plagg, you win." She stated.
"Pretty consistently really." He laughed at her. She really wanted to smack him, but instead went back into her miraculous to save her energy. She would have Cat Noir drop her off at the park since it wasn't too far from Marinette's room and would also be a common enough area not to be suspicious. She would however keep Plagg to his word about playing again later.
MARINETTE 2
She'd finally passed out from exhaustion sometime around four in the afternoon and woke up again after midnight. She looked around hoping to see Tikki floating nearby, but she had no such luck. She really wanted to cry, a far different emotion then she would even have expected when she first received the miraculous and just wanted it gone. She climbed up the ladder to her bed and then opened the skylight and climbed out onto the rooftop balcony. She went to the railing and looked out over Paris. A moment later she let out a scream as Cat Noir leapt onto the railing next to her.
"Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He said in a panic, looking around as if expecting her father to come rushing up. What is Cat Noir doing here? Is he about to give me back my earrings? Did he figure out who I was? Her terror at his sudden appearance helped to hide her panic at the thought of him figuring out who she was. It also left her a little speechless as she tried to catch her breath. "I just wanted to see if you were okay." He whispered softly to her and stroked her head a little to calm her down. She really wanted to get angry at him for treating her like that, but at the same time, it really did feel good and was helping a bit.
"Mostly." She managed to say at last. "At least I was until you showed up." Her lips slid into a slight smirk.
"Sorry Purriness." He replied and his expression seemed a little conflicted. She wondered if it was because he called her princess again. The kiss she'd given him at the studio rushed to her thoughts and made this moment feel more awkward to her and she was betting he felt the same way.
"It's okay. You and Ladybug saved me, I think you get a pass on scaring me." She stated with mirth obvious in her voice. Cat Noir smiled at her. "Do you always check on people who have been akumatized?" She asked.
"Sometimes." He admitted, and she was surprised to hear that and a little disappointed that this wasn't special treatment for her. Seriously, what is wrong with me? She wondered, not for the first time.
"I didn't realize you did after care like that." She remarked, feeling a little guilty. Ladybug rarely checked on Hawk Moth's victims afterwards. Maybe she should start doing that too.
"It's all part of the service Purrincess." He gave her an exaggerated bow and charming smile. She couldn't help but laugh. It felt nice to laugh after everything that happened. "But as long as you are doing all right, I must be on my way."
"Thanks again Cat Noir." She stated and the temptation to kiss him, on the cheek this time, was so strong she almost did it, instead she took his hand into her and kissed the back of it to avoid any potential slips that lead to lips, either accidental or intentional.
"Thank you my knight in shining black leather." She stated and noticed the skin around his mask had brightened significantly and she giggled a little. He gave her a salute before leaping from her balcony into the Persian night. He hadn't given her back her earrings, so at least she was pretty sure he didn't know who she was. That was a good thing. She headed back through the skylight and onto her bed.
"Is he gone?" Came a familiar whispered voice.
"Tikki?" She asked back surprised.
"Marinette!" The Kwami exclaimed before flying to Marinette to hug her. Marinette cuddled with the Kwami.
"I'm so glad your back." Marinette whispered with a slight hiccup of emotion.
"I would have said something sooner but then I saw Cat Noir was here and decided it stay hidden.
"So he didn't bring you here?" Tikki shook her oversized head. "I had him drop me off at the park and came her myself." Tikki handed her the earrings, which Marinette put back on her ears. It really had become a wonderful night.
ALYA
"Hey Girl!" Alya cried out when she opened the trap door that lead to Marinette's room. Marinette practically jumped out of her bed. "Sorry, I didn't' mean to wake you."
"It's okay, it's okay." Marinette muttered with a hand over her heart like she was trying to stop a heart attack.
"I couldn't wait any longer to see how you were doing and your parents just let me come up." Alya explained. Marinette slid down her ladder and hugged her best friend.
"I'm doing better now that I'm at home again. You wouldn't believe how happy I am to be back home."
"Oh, I think I can believe it." Alya laughed. "I was watching you on the tele, I could tell that over the last few weeks you wanted to comeback home."
"Was it that obvious?" Marinette cringed.
"Well to me and Nino it was, although Nino didn't notice it until I said something to him, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't really that obvious." Alya wanted the scoop on Marinette's kiss with Cat Noir. It may not have been her main reason for her visit but it was high on the priority list.
"It was a very emotional moment for me." Marinette confessed. "He was there for me when I needed comfort and I kissed him. It didn't last very long and he didn't actually kiss me back."
"Is that all?" Alya asked.
"If I had been in my right mind, I never would have done it."
"So what you're telling my and my audience on the LadyBlog is you cannot confirm whether or not Cat Noir is a good kisser."
"Alya!" Marinette exclaimed and threw a pillow at her. Alya started laughing.
"Come one girl, the public wants to know. You can answer the really tough questions."
"All I can tell you is Cat Noir has really nice soft and warm lips, that's it!" Marinette exclaimed and quickly covered her mouth. Alya felt a little stunned from that outburst.
"Wait, did you enjoy kissing him, even if he didn't kiss you back?" Alya was suddenly rather serious and she could see that Marinette's face was looking like a five alarm fire. Marinette mumbled something Alya couldn't catch. She leaned in a little close.
"What?"
"Maybe, a little." Marinette mumbled a little more clearly and obviously more embarrassed then Alya had ever seen her and that was saying a lot.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you like that."
"It's okay, I guess I had to admit it at some point." Marinette sighed. "Although if I waited longer it might now feel so, so. . ."
"Real?"
"Yes, exactly." Marinette went quiet for a few minutes. "Can we talk about something else?"
Of course we can. How about we see how you're website is doing? I bet you've gotten a ton of traffic since being on the show." Alya suggested.
"Sure." Marinette replied sounding like she was grateful for the change in subject. When Marinette brought up the site, Alya gasped as the comments she saw. When she helped (well did most of the work herself really) Marinette put together the site, it was just to show off her friend's fashions. At some point they talked about setting up a page to do commission requests, and possibly orders if Marinette could find a reasonable way to mass-produce her designs. But as it was, it mostly allowed people to comment on the separate designs or her work overall.
"I can't believe this." Alya stated fully in anger. Most of the comments were about what a terrible person Marinette had been on the show, and how she'd obviously been cheating the entire time. There were some comments supporting her, but the majority of the comments were attacking her, trying to "cancel" her. Alya looked over and could see the tears forming in Marinette's eyes. "Move over." Alya butt bopped Marinette out of the way, sending her friend rolling to the side before she logged in as the administrator for the site. She fist deleted all the comments, turned off that feature and set the site to private so no one would be able to get to it. "We can put it back up later." She stated as she turned to look at Marinette who still seemed to be fighting back tears. Alya didn't say anything else, she just hugged her best friend and tried to comfort her while said best friend tried not to sob.
NINO
The first day back at school after such a long break was always a bummer for Nino. Not the part about getting to see his friends all day, but the whole having to sit in a classroom and learn thing. He'd rather be out playing music, eating food and other non-school activities with his best girl and all his buds. He'd already spoken to Marinette about things when he met up with her and Alya the day before. It was a total downer what happened to her on that show. Alya had asked him to come over to Marinette's place for moral support after Marinette insisted on watching the episodes of the show. Marinette hadn't realized exactly how much of a villain she'd been made out to be.
"I guess that explains all those comments." She'd said weakly. Alya had been holding Marinette the entire time. Nino gave her a slightly awkward hug from the other side, encircling her. She'd actually seemed to relax a little in their grip. He could tell she was crying a little by the way her body hitched. A number of classmates had called her once they knew she was home and available. All of them seemed to be extremely angry with her portrayal on the show.
When the class came together, there had been another huge surprise. After Marinette took her seat next to Alya and would have been behind Adrien if he hadn't been running late, Chloe walked over to her.
"Dupain-Cheng," The normally bitchy blonde stated. "I finally got to watch the utterly ridiculous show you were on." And Chloe was doing so well lately. Nino groaned to himself. Alya looked like she was ready to get up and attack her. "And I must say, I don't think you deserved the get as high of a score as you often did, however I did in fact love most of your designs." Marinette was left speechless and Alya slipped out of her seat and fell to the floor. "If I'd known about it from the beginning I would have purchased some of those items. Not just yours mind you, but most of yours."
"Um thank you." Marinette remarked sounding confused.
"What they did to you on that show was unforgivable, utterly unforgiveable." A few more of their classmates had astonished looks on their faces. The candy Alix had in her mouth fell out of it, which was how surprising it was. Chloe even leaned over to give Marinette a very awkward one-armed hug before heading back to her seat.
"Did I miss something?" Adrien asked as he entered with Miss Bustier right behind him.
ADRIEN
Things were definitely awkward with Marinette when they were back at school together. They had mostly normal conversations, as normal as they ever were with Marinette when he wasn't Cat Noir. It always brought those thoughts to him that maybe they were as close of friends as he thought they were. He always hated when that happened. It felt a little icky, for lack of a better word, to him to feel that way. He wanted them to be close friends. He really did enjoy his time around her a lot; especially those moments where she seemed embarrassed by something and her freckles appeared as her face reddened.
"Hey Nino, is Marinette mad at me or something?" He asked since Marinette ran off with Alya after classes were done. Adrien had finally had a chance to talk with Nino who'd satyed behind to watch the fencing class.
"I doubt it." Nino replied. "Although I bet she might have felt like totally weird around you after your dad's show."
"I guess, but I thought she was all right with me, I mean I did ta. . ."Adrien froze. Cat Noir had talked to Marinette, not Adrien Agreste. He hadn't said anything to her. "Oh shit." He whispered.
"Duuude" Was all Nino said in reply.
MARINETTE 3
She was a little upset. Okay, she was a lot upset.
"Are you really sure you want to do that?" Alya asked as Marinette ripped the paper off another of her prepackaged presents.
"It makes me feel better." Marinette stated as she tossed a pair of blue fleece gloves back in the trunk and the paper into her garbage can. "I know I wasn't going to win Adrien's heart, not after he started dating Kagami, but I thought we'd still be friends." She was trying to hold back tears.
"I know, but maybe he felt a little awkward about the whole thing with his father and stuff." Alya tried to comfort her.
"I guess you're right, I just thought he'd say something to me." She sniffled a little a she looked around. Alya was probably right. Adrien probably didn't say anything about the show because it was awkward, but she'd still hoped he would. "Do you think I over reacted?"
"I mean I thought you were over reacting when you made like fifty years worth of presents for him in the first place." Alya said with a little laugh. Marinette didn't laugh, but she did smile.
"Okay, you may be right about that." She closed the chest with the presents and cleaned up the wrapping paper with the help of her best friend.
"Marinette, you have company." Her papa called up to her.
"You don't think its Adrien do you?" Marinette asked looking around in a panic. All of the wrapping paper was in the garbage and she'd long ago removed all of the posters and magazine pages of Adrien she'd hung up, only keeping the photos of him that had been taken when they were together, usually with other people.
"Maybe." Alya remarked.
"Send him up!" She called back to her father since her room was clear of any incriminating evidence.
"Him?" Kagami asked as she opened the trap door and climbed into Marinette's room.
"Oh, Kagami." Marinette said surprised with a little embarrassment.
"Yeah, sorry, we thought you were Nino." Alya quickly added to cover for Marinette.
"No need to be embarrassed about a simple mistake." Kagami stated and not so much smiled as smirked, which looked far more pleasant and natural then her attempts at a full blow smile. "Although you do you look adorable with that embarrassed blush." The comment caused the heat in Marinette cheeks to rise further. "I never noticed those freckles before." Kagami moved in close invading Marinette's personal space, with a deeply mischievous expression on her face. "It really makes me want to kiss you and see how much more red you can get."
"Wh-wh-what?" Marinette stuttered and Kagami leaned in close and kissed her, on the cheek. If her life was really a cartoon, the top of Marinette's head would have exploded with a mushroom cloud at the apex. Kagami laughed, holding her hand in front of her face as she did as her mother taught her to do, and causing herself to resemble an anime character. Alya couldn't help but laugh either. Marinette just sort of fell back on her chaise lounge looking vey well out of it.
"You are so much more fun now that you've opened up more." Alya said to Kagami. Marinette raised her head and stared at the both.
"You're friends?"
"I do not know if I would go that far." Kagami stated with a smirk.
"Seriously, girl?" Alya asked annoyed. Kagami laughed again.
"There is too much to take in today." Marinette pouted. "Chloe being nice, Kagami being friends with people, Adrien ignoring me."
"Adrien ignored you?" Kagami asked surprised. "What do you mean?"
"I guess I thought he'd say something about everything that happened you know, and he didn't." It was Kagami's turn to look surprised.
"With how concerned he had been about your portrayal on the show, I would have expected him to be all over you today." The comment caused brows to raise on both Marinette and Alya. "Not like that, whatever you are thinking." She added sounding annoyed.
"Do you think maybe he felt like it would be awkward for him considering his dad and everything?" Alya asked. Kagami got thoughtful for a moment and nodded.
"It is possible. There are times he can be very socially awkward."
"That sounds familiar." Alya quipped as she glanced at Marinette, who stuck her tongue out at her in return.
"So is that why you came?" Marinette asked. "To see how I was doing?"
"Partially. I wanted to make sure you were fine or as fine as can be expected, but I also wanted you to design a dress for me."
"What?" Marinette asked.
"I need a dress for an event my mother is making me attend. I need a dress. I want you to make it. I thought that was clear in my earlier statement."
"I mean, yes, I got that part, but do you really want something designed by me after. . ." Her words trailed off.
"After all the negative comments on your web page?" Kagami asked but she didn't wait for an answer. "Yes. I do. You are a brilliant and talented designer. I saw your skills on the show. I also saw your creations on your web page. I know you will be able to design a dress that I want." Marinette felt her face heat up again. "More importantly, you are also my friend."
"You're not going to kiss me again are you?" Marinette asked. Kagami smirked again.
"That depends, do you want me too?" She asked
"I'm afraid to answer one way or the other." Marinette admitted. She could picture Kagami going in for a kiss no mater what her answer was. That was a strange thought to have about Kagami. She never would have suspected Kagami of having such a playful side when she first met her.
"Probably for the best." Marinette glanced over Alya who was watching the scene with her phone out looking hopeful while probably recording in case Kagami did kiss her again. Marinette rolled her eyes.
"So, tell me what you want." Marinette said as she got up and grabbed a small notebook from her desk in an attempt to put an end to the chaos Kagami brought with her. Marinette thinking about Kagami and chaos brought slight smile to her lips. It was really a change for the better and she knew it. It was nicer being friends with the girl rather then rivals or even enemies.
"I thought your Chinese wedding dress was gorgeous." Kagami stated, "so I would like you to design a cheongsam for me. I would very much like a dragon pattern in the embroidery if you can do that."
"I can, but are you sure that's what you want?" Marinette asked again thinking back to her concerns about Juleka and the wedding dress. "You're not Chinese, I'd hate for people to get mad at you when they see you." Kagami just laughed.
"Do not worry about that Marinette, the kind of bigots who would complain about that can not tell a Japanese woman from a Chinese woman anyway."
ADRIEN 2
On his way home from fencing, Adrien asked the Gorilla to stop by the bakery. He'd debated just calling Marinette to talk to her, but ultimately decided he'd be better off talking to her in person. He promised the Gorilla he'd only be a few minutes as he exited the car and went into the bakery.
"Good Morning." He said as he saw Marinette's mother. He wasn't really sure how to address her. Was it Mrs. Cheng, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, Miss. Cheng or Ms. Cheng.
"You can just call me Sabine, Adrien" She replied apparent noting the confusion on his features.
"Okay, Good evening Sabine." He replied. She smiled at him. "Is Marinette home? I was hoping to talk to her." She didn't' look upset with him, which was something he'd feared considering what his father had put her daughter through.
"She's here. You can go up in her room, she already has a few friends with her." She led Adrien to the ladder/stairs that led to Marinette's room even though he already knew where it was. "Marinette, another of your friends is here." She called up.
"Thanks Mom, send her up." She called back. Adrien went up and pushed the trap door open.
"Her?" He asked.
"Adrien?!" Marinette exclaimed in a panic. Adrien noticed some clothes strewn across the lounge. He wondered if Marinette or Alya had been trying on clothes since he'd noticed her there as well.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to see how you were doing after everything that happened." He stated.
"Um, ba, ah, eh." Marinette replied.
"I thought things might be weird between us considering what my father said to you on the show, but I'm glad to see you're still talking to me like you usually do." He replied amused. That got Marinette to calm down apparently because she started to speak like a normal person.
"I understand, I was thinking something similar." Marinette remarked and Alya gave a quick scoffing laugh, which led to Marinette giving her a dirty look.
"This is going to sound like a really poor excuse, but I actually thought I'd talked to you about it, that's why I didn't say anything today at school." He admitted. "They best way I can describe it was like I was someone else checking on you."
"Oh, so like you had a dream you did that." Alya pointed out.
"Exactly." Adrien exclaimed wishing he'd thought of that excuse.
"Sure, that's okay." Marinette replied still a little flustered, as she still seemed to be. It was one of the reasons he sometimes wondered if they really were friends in her eyes. Marinette looked behind the dressing screen she had up and Adrien remembered the clothing lying out.
"Oh my gosh, did I interrupt someone changing?" He asked.
"A little." Alya laughed.
"I am really sorry." He apologized to all three in the room. "It's a little chilly in here and I'm assuming she's not wearing anything warm."
"That would be true." Alya laughed again, obviously amused by the situation.
"I'll get out of here." He finished before slipping out of the trap.
"I am really sorry for how my father treated you. I'm sure Nathalie would have confirmed that she was aware of use being friends if she'd been there. I'd talked to her about my concerns when the first episode aired." He said his head still looking above the trap door. "She'd assured me you'd be fine on the show previously."
"She'd said the same thing to me when I was offered the chance." Marinette replied. "I can't believe she ended up getting sick that day."
"Is that why she wasn't there?" Adrien asked climbed a couple more steps higher. Marinette nodded.
"She'd been running to the restroom since early afternoon."
"You didn't mention that before." Alya commented.
"I guess I didn't think it was very important." Adrien frowned at her words. That's way too much of a coincidence. I wonder if that's why Nathalie is still in police custody?
"I really should go before your friend gets frostbite or something." Adrien's head fully disappeared as the trap door closed.
MARINETTE 4
"Neither of you could have handed me a robe?" Kagami asked as she exited from behind the screen.
"Sorry." Marinette apologized.
"Didn't think about it." Alya remarked with a little smile. Kagami grabbed her clothes and started to get dressed.
"To think my rival saw me nude before my boyfriend." She commented.
"You weren't fully nude and I don't really think we're rivals anymore." Marinette said surprised that Kagami would call her a rival even now. Once Kagami had won, Marinette stopped thinking of her that way.
"I guess you are right." Kagami replied with a smile. "We are friends."
"Yes we are." Marinette replied. "I'll start working on your dress right away. Before I do the embroidery, I'd like you to come back and try it on. I'll have it temporarily stitched for that."
"If I can not get out, would you be able to bring it to the home I am living at?" That was a weird way to phrase that, Marinette thought.
"I can."
"Thank you Marinette." Kagami gave her a little bow and Marinette returned it. "I look forward to seeing the dress." With that Kagami left Marinette's room and the bakery.
"Don't you think it's a little weird that she didn't want Adrien to see her?" Alya asked.
"She's probably wants to surprise him with it, like maybe they're going to the event together." Marinette stated. "I'm just happy to have someone want me to design something for them after everything that happened." She paused for a moment before getting more serious. "I can't tell you how glad I was I didn't have a phone number on the website after everything that's occurred. I'd probably need to get a new one, if I had."
KAGAMI
She'd been surprised that her mother let her out of the house without her going to see Adrien, but it made it easier for Kagami to get the dress fitted. She went to see Marinette at the scheduled time and tried on the dress. It was looser then she expected but Marinette started to pin it and tighten it up. She liked the feel of the material Marinette had chosen. Of course Marinette was able to get the highest quality of fabric to use since Kagami had given her a healthy amount of funds to make the dress, especially since it was a rush job. After the pinning was done, Marinette showed Kagami the pattern she'd created for the embroidery. That she would be outsourcing since she did not have the time to do it all herself.
"I love it." Kagami stated. Her voice took a slightly high inflection then normal.
"I'm so glad." Marinette replied and then smirked. "Let me show you a secret." She whispered and Kagami leaned in closer. "If you look at it from this angle, you can see my signature in it. It's actually helped me with a contest a few months ago." Marinette didn't go into details, and Kagami didn't want to push it. "I add my signature somewhere on all of my creations."
"Really?" She asked.
"Yep." Marinette replied. "I like to hide it, so people don't notice it right away. I thought that when I became big, at least when I thought I had a chance, "Her voice dropped off a little. "I thought it might be fun for people to try and find it."
"So you have done that on other items you have made?" Kagami asked.
"Pretty much everything I've made." Kagami noticed some blue fleece sticking out of a trunk and pulled out a fleece winter hat with pompom on top and looked at it. "Kagami, what are you doing?"
"I am looking for your signature. Does this mean you purchased this?"
"Oh, no, it's hidden there." Marinette got a little closer and seemed a little uncomfortable as she took hold of the hat. "If you look on the inside here especially with a light, you can see some of the stitching here is my signature. I used a blue thread that was just slightly darker then the fleece to hide. You really need to look hard here."
"I see. You are very good at that game." Kagami stated. "Do you have any other items I could search."
"Sure." Marinette seemed a little more excited and pulled out things she'd made and let Kagami look through them to find the hidden signature. Kagami enjoyed it so much it surprised her. She joked it was like looking for a clue in a mystery. She found maybe sixty percent of them however.
"It's too bad we didn't place a bet on how well you would do." Marinette laughed. "I think I would have won."
"Maybe next time we could do that." Kagami suggested. "I will have to leave soon. When do you think the dress will be ready?"
"I'm going to finish marking up the pieces and cutting them, then I'll take them to be embroidered. After that I just need to seam them together. It should be ready in four or five days."
"That is very excellent. You have my gratitude for being able to do this in such a short time."
"Sometimes I like a challenge." Marinette replied. Kagami gave her a little smirk.
"If I was not already dating Adrien, I would be tempted to make you mine." Marinette got that panicked slash embarrassed look on her face that Kagami had started to enjoy seeing. It made her laugh. Marinette calmed down. It is a shame she is starting to recover much more quickly now. She is getting too use to my jokes.
"I'll let you know when the dress is ready."
"Than you again Marinette." Kagami finished before leaving.
MARINETTE 5
Marinette sat at her computer looking at the screen shot she'd taken from one of the episodes of the show she'd been part off. She sighed softly staring at the image of her kissing Cat Noir.
"Marinette." Tiki called from behind her. Marinette jumped and quickly turned off her monitor as if she'd been caught doing something naughty, which to a certain extent she felt like she was. At least she hadn't gone full naughty with the image on screen.
"Wh, ahtat Tikki?" She asked.
"Your mom was calling for you." Tikki replied. "Someone is here to see you."
"Oh." Marinette said. She'd asked her parents to warn her who would be coming up after the last two visitors gave her mini strokes. "What's that mom, I didn't hear you." She called back down.
"Rose and Juleka are here to see you." Marinette's mom called back.
"Send them up." Marinette quickly turned off her computer to avoid any awkward moment of it going active and showing the image she'd been looking at, before holding open the trap door for the pair of girls to enter. She was rather nervous having Juleka around again. They hadn't really talked after the show even thought they had hugged.
"Hi." Marinette said nervously when they climbed into her room.
"Hi!" Rose replied excitedly.
"Hello." Juleka said in her more reserved tones.
"I've noticed you two aren't really talking much anymore." Rose started. Before either of them could object Rose held her hands up to shush them both. "I know there are reasons for it, and I am very tired of all the awkward moments that have been between you since school started. After everything we've been through over the last year, I think this issue should be easy to resolve. Rose doesn't get like this often, I wonder if it's because I gave her a Miraculous to use? Did that made her more assertive to go with her extrovert personality? Marinette wondered. She glanced at Juleka whose face had flushed a little while she stared at the ground.
"I want us to be friends again." Juleka stated. "But I know it won't be like it was before." Her voice was soft. "How do you really feel about Luka?" She lifted her head to look at Marinette. Marinette was quiet for a moment, thoughtful.
"I care about him, I really do, but it seems like every time we start to move to the next step, we're interrupted and everything sort of falls apart." She noticed that Juleka first blushed then look guilty. It took Marinette a moment to realize why. Luka must have mentioned how close they came to kissing on the show when they had all needed to hunt for clothing in the one challenge. The moment Juleka ran in and interrupted them. That wasn't the only time the pair had been interrupted though, but it was one of the more recent ones. She couldn't help but think about the night they'd all slept in her room at the studio, and when Juleka and Luka had ended up in the same bed together. If it had been her and Luka in the bed, and he'd wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck like he had to Juleka, she would have melted for him there. "It's almost kind of cruel." Marinette whispered without meaning too. Juleka stared at her, her face filled with mixed emotions.
"What about Cat Noir?" She asked, her tone slightly accusatory, but in the way that sounded like she was trying to cover up for her own guilt about the interruption.
"He was there when I was feeling low. I never should have kissed him. He's a super hero. Even if I did have feelings for him," She started and glanced at her monitor afraid it would suddenly turn on to show everyone the last image she'd been staring at. "It wouldn't matter. I would be a liability to him. I could be used against him. Isn't that the same sort of logic that Ladybug uses whenever he flirts with her?" She couldn't remember if she'd said that in any interviews as Ladybug, but it seemed like something she would have said, probably for the LadyBlog if nothing else.
"But you did dedicate an entire theme to him." Juleka pushed back.
"I did. He's saved me multiple times. To be honest, I don't think Ladybug has ever saved me once from danger." She really hoped that she'd never made that claim before and if she had that neither of her friends remembered it. "So I may have made done it out of pettiness." That's when it happened; Juleka looked at her and started to laugh. Marinette gave her an annoyed look that had Juleka laughing even harder; to the point she couldn't stand up any more.
"Juleka, Juleka are you okay?" Rose asked and Juleka nodded in response. It took a few more minutes but eventually Juleka stopped laughing.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect that answer." Juleka went back to her more soft-spoken tones. "It just, kind of tickled me." Then she got more serious. "If you want me to model for any of your future designs, I'll be happy too."
"Thank you Juleka." Marinette replied. She didn't want to tell either of them about having Alya "hide" her website. She honestly wasn't sure if she'd put it back up again.
"Yay, we're all friends again!" Rose exclaimed and pulled both of them in a hug.
TOMOE TSURUGI
She felt as If she had been too lenient with her daughter recently. Allowing her to go out too many times that did not involve school, fencing or Adrien Agreste. She would need to put her foot down soon. However that could wait until after the "Party" she and her daughter were going to. As per usual she'd picked out exactly what Kagami was going to wear that night. It was all about making the family and thus their organization presentable.
Her daughter had of course complained about having to always dress as her mother told her too, but always gave in at the end. Tomoe was actually a bit disappointed that Kagami had not argued with her this time at all. Tomoe knew that their family's version of an argument would be considered tame compared to most others, and she liked it that way. Much of what she did was about presentation after all. She spoke with her business contacts and enjoyed a little campaign. She never drank enough to even get tipsy, as she always wanted to remain in full control of her faculties. She did not need to accentuate her blindness with drunkenness.
"Your daughter looks absolutely gorgeous tonight." One of the women mentioned to her. Tomoe did not smile in response. There was not reason to show emotion at a compliment like that. It was to be expected after all.
"Oh yes, I saw her with Adrien Agreste earlier. They make a perfect couple." The woman's husband stated. Good, Kagami is spending time with Adrien Agreste. I was hoping they would. It would help to solidify my arrangements with Gabriel Agreste if they permanently committed to each other.
"Oh yes, I love the dress she's wearing. I need to ask her where she got it." Another woman stated, this one sounded much younger then the others. She knew another of her French business partners had just taken on a new trophy wife, and that must have been her since she did not recognize the voice immediately.
"The garment you are referring to is called a kimono." Tomoe corrected the young woman. "And I picked it out for her, so that it would compliment mine." She added. She may take pride in the compliments her daughter received, but she also wanted to let them know she was the quote stylist and responsible for her daughter's appearance. She could sense a certain nervous energy from those around her. Finally the young woman spoke up again.
"I know what a kimono looks like, and that was not a kimono." Tomoe felt her face shift briefly to confusion before settling down to her usual neutral expression. "It looked like one of those fancy Chinese dresses." Tomoe felt her right eyebrow twitch.
"Would you be so kind as to describe it to me." She asked. The colors of the dress were the same as the kimono she'd picked out for Kagami, red, yellow and black. Instead of having a flower pattern to it, it had a dragon embroidered across it. Her daughter had also paired it with lace thigh high stockings and high stiletto heels in black and red. Even her hair had been changed from the style it had been put in for the kimono. She must have worn the dress under the kimono when we left, Tomoe realized. Her stockings would have been hidden under the fabric and her tabi socks. She must have carried the shoes in her purse. In truth Tomoe was a little divided in her feelings. To a certain extent, she was a little proud of her daughter for managing to sneak a different dress into the party under her nose, however it was in open defiance of her wishes.
"Thank you very much for informing me." Tomoe stated as she excused herself to look for her daughter. To think I was concerned about her giving in so easily tonight. Tomoe's lips curled just slightly into an almost smile. She was honestly torn, though. She preferred to keep her daughter under her strict control as long as possible, to mold her into the perfect successor for her in their organization. The problem was, Kagami also needed to become a strong woman as well, not just physically as she was already becoming. Still she wanted Kagami to be fully molded in her image before releasing her from her control.
She followed the voices and the perfume that Kagami wore. She could hear the voices of her daughter and Adrien as they spoke. Tomoe glided up the stairs and could hear the sound effect of a cell phone camera going off.
"Kagami." She stated a little louder then her normal speaking voice but not loud enough that anyone except her daughter would notice. She heard the sound of a person bumping into another, the oomph noise that was made sounded as if it was Adrien who'd been bumped into.
"My phone!" He cried out. "Look out!" A few seconds later she heard the sound of the electronic device hit the marble floor on the first level and shatter. "I'm so sorry about that."
"Mother." Kagami stated. She could hear the tension in her daughter's voice. Good, Tomoe thought.
"Tsurugi-san." Adrien said his voice shifting as if he was bowing as he said it. That boy does recover quickly, she thought. He is very much like his father in that regard. Except when it comes to his wife that is. A union between him and myself would work out much better then my daughter and his son.
"Adrien." She said in way of greeting. She'd known the family long enough after all and neither Agreste cared much for titles or honorifics from their associates.
"Kagami, I understand you are wearing a different style of outfit then the one I picked out for you." She said.
"Yes Mother. I had a dress designed especially for tonight."
"Did you go to Gabriel Agreste for it?" She asked. She heard the sounds of footsteps getting closer.
"No mother, I had Marinette Dupain-Cheng design it for me." She heard whispers from those gathered mentioning the name in regard to the game show Gabriel had been foolishly apart of. "She has proven herself to be a very talented designer and a far better person then she was portrayed as on Gabriel Agreste's show." Kagami added. Her daughter had not added that for her benefit but for the benefit of those around them, the ones whispering about Marinette, she realized. Her daughter had obviously heard the whispers as well. She'd let her emotions get the better of her and rushed to confront her daughter and gave Kagami an opening to help her quote friend. Kagami had out maneuvered her. She did not have time to think of a way around it. As it was she'd already spent too much time silent.
"I wish you had informed me of the change in outfit, Kagami. I would have loved to hear about it from you. I am glad to hear that you have chosen such a gorgeous dress to compliment your own natural beauty."
"Thank you mother." Kagami replied. Tomoe could hear the smile on her daughter's lips. Again she was both proud and irritated. Kagami had certainly learned her lessons well. Maybe a little too well.
GABRIEL
He had always secluded himself away, well maybe not always, mostly the last five years or so, and definitely since he'd lost Emilie. He made his personal appearances when necessary through the table that Nathalie would hold. She was the only person alive that he felt her could trust. Unfortunately for him, she was still in the custody of the authorities. They had known if her plan failed, she would be questioned, but he had not expected her to be with them for so long. It made him nervous and irritated. It also meant that he had to make a real personal appearance this time instead of sending her. He considered trusting the Gorilla with a tablet, the man had been a highly decorated Special Forces officer after all, however he was also very large and could not speak. He was by no means clumsy, but with such a wide stature he could make it difficult for those around him.
"Did you hear that Kagami Tsurugi's gorgeous dress was designed by that girl from the Gabriel Brand show?" He overheard a woman nearby gossiping with another woman.
"Which one?" Her gossip partner asked.
"The one who knew all the judges."
"The one who cheated?"
"I don't think she actually cheated, but yes that one."
"Wow, she made some very nice outfits on the show, but that dress Tsurugi's daughter is wearing is absolutely to die for."
"Oh please, like you could fit into it and make it look good."
"Oh and like you could?"
"Of course not. I'm not naïve enough to think I could, but that dress was custom made for Tsurugi's daughter so the designer had to know what she was doing for it to look that good." Gabriel had heard enough and walked away. He stayed near the walls, trying his best to blend in with them as he searched the Kagami Tsurugi. There she is, with my son. Yes that dress is stunning. Marinette really does have talent. He felt a little guilty. Gabriel had no problem with ruining someone's life if he got what he wanted, but the plan had failed and he'd ruined a talented designer's life. The Tsurugi girl does seem to be trying to help Marinette though. I'll have to ask Nathalie more about their connection. As he continued to wonder around, being interrupted every so often, he felt a strong negative emotion, that was not his own. He smirked slightly. This party has been rather boring, he thought as he headed for one of the bathrooms.
LADYBUG
"Pound it!" The pair said in unison after they'd defeated another of Hawk Moth's akumas.
"Ladybug, Cat Noir, thank you so much for what you've done here." The Host of the party said.
"You're welcome." Ladybug replied.
"All in a day's work." Cart Noir added as the pair rushed outside and swung or vaulted to the next rooftop.
"Until later Ladybug." Cat Noir stated.
"Wait Cat Noir." She called to him. He paused and looked at her, their miraculouses beeping, but not yet urgent. "I wanted to thank you for saving me." She stated softly. "You managed to save me without my identity being revealed to anyone. You did good kitty." She smiled to him before giving him a kiss on the cheek. I could kiss him on the lips right now if I wanted, she thought. If I did that, would he reject me now that he has someone? Stop thinking like that Marinette.
"Of course, Ladybug. I'll always be there for my partner." He did have a hint of redness on his cheeks, but not as much as she'd expected.
"So who did you find to impersonate me so well?" She asked. He gave her a grin.
"Now, now, now, I thought we weren't supposed to reveal the identities of our allies." He responded and she winced a little. Okay, he's loving this moment. I guess it serves me right.
"I understand." She said at last giving him a smile in return. "It's probably is a good idea in case you need her help again." She added.
"Who said it was a she?" He laughed and launched himself a way.
"Wait, what?" She called after him and she could hear his laughter. She shook her head and swung away. She didn't have much time to find a hiding spot and change back.
KAGAMI
It had taken a couple of days after the party they had both attended for Gabriel to approve of a new phone being purchased for Adrien. Once he received it, he'd asked Kagami if she could help him restore as much of his old apps and files as possible. She agreed to help him, but as payment, she wanted him to give her a personal piano recital. Adrien had readily agreed to her terms, not that she expected otherwise. She knew his father forced him to practice and he didn't really enjoy playing on his own. He actually loved playing for her. He'd even mentioned to her once that it was a little like when he'd play for his mother. She was more then happy to be a surrogate for his mother in this case.
She knew it wouldn't take her very long to restore his phone. She already knew it was set to back everything up in cloud storage. No expense was spared when it came to the phones in the Agreste household, much like her own household. She watched as the new phone populated the old apps and settings. She saw a photo of Ladybug as it slipped into place as his lock screen wallpaper. She'd seen it before, and was just slightly annoyed that he hadn't replaced it with a photo of her. Adrien continued to play and she continued to watch in case there were any problems. She noticed a blue fleece scarf off to the side. It had been a colder day and he'd worn it when he'd stopped at her mother's home to pick her up, but she hadn't paid that much attention to it at the time, but now it remaindered her of something she'd seen fairly recently. She studied it. She noticed the stitching was just slightly darker then the fleece. She started to trace the thread. M-A-R-I-N-E-T-T-E. She dropped the scarf.
"This scarf, did you tell me your father made if for you for your birthday?" She asked as she picked it back up.
"Yes he did. It has no tags or anything, so he must have made it special for me." Adrien replied not missing a key as he continued to play.
"And he gave it to you himself?" She asked.
"No, my father had Nathalie give it to me. He always does, although that scarf was the first time in years he didn't just give me a pen set." Adrien laughed.
"Did anyone at school say anything about it, like Marinette, since she is a fashion designer herself?" Kagami felt like she was pushing it, but she had to know.
"Marinette?" Adrien asked becoming a little thoughtful. "She was very happy for me, that I liked it as much as I did. I guess now that you mention it, I was surprised that she didn't want a better look at a Gabriel original." Kagami looked back at Adrien's phone so he wouldn't see the frown that had formed on her lips. Marinette made him a scarf and then did not take credit for it after finding out how happy Adrien was about getting a handmade gift from his father, she thought. She noticed the phone had popped up a message about restoring deleted items. There was only one item, a video, so she confirmed its restoration. She glanced over at the beret he'd mentioned Ladybug had dropped off to him for one of his fan clubs. She reached over and picked it up to examine it. She was certain she knew what she would find there. She turned it over and looked inside. Once more hidden was a certain signature.
She wondered why Ladybug had delivered it instead of Marinette, or why Ladybug would do it at all. Then again a few months ago Ladybug had helped her sneak into her bedroom, so it wasn't that far fetched to think she'd help deliver a gift. Knowing Marinette, she probably panicked and just made up a fan club on the spot. Then again Adrien surprising her might have caused Ladybug to make something up on the spot.
As the video finished downloading to the phone, she plugged in her headphones as to not disturb Adrien and watched the video. She knew his cousin had deleted a video from his friends on the anniversary of his mother's death, but she did not want to get his hopes up in case this wasn't the video. She watched it realizing how sweet all of Adrien's friends were and was happy she was becoming friends with them as well. Then Marinette came on.
"Adrien. . . I love you. I always be there if you need me." Followed by a gasp and panicked expression, but she had left it in the video. She looked over at Adrien again. She could easily delete the video as his cousin had. He'd never need to see it, but that wouldn't be right. She remembered Adrien telling her about the wax museum incident with Marinette and how she couldn't believe how dense Adrien had been. Even thought she'd become friends with Marinette, she had no real issue with dating Adrien because she believed that Marinette had always been too much of a coward to honestly tell Adrien how she felt. Now she knew that Marinette was too nice when it came to the scarf, a little stupid, okay a lot stupid with the museum, and extremely unlucky when it came to everything else.
"Adrien," She stated. "Please stop playing." She paused a moment until he'd stopped "I found this in your backup." She said as she played the video mirroring it to his computer monitor so he could see and hear it. Adrien looked so happy as his friends spoke.
"That's awesome Kagami."He said excitedly. She stopped it just before Marinette appeared on the screen and took a deep breath.
"I know you are not in love with me." She said. His expression turned to one of confusion. "You have been in love with someone else the entire time we've been dating."
"I um." He said.
"You have chosen her over me numerous times before we started to date, and many more times afterwards." Now he looked really confused. Am I doing the right thing? Does he honestly not realize it? "You are in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She stated. Now Adrien looked totally stunned.
"Marinette and I are just friends, at least I think we're friends." He said looking a little lost now. She picked up the scarf and the beret and walked over to him.
"She certainly thinks of you as a friend and it is obvious she wanted to be more." She said and handed him the scarf. "See this stitching, follow it with your finger if you need too." It was practically a command. Adrien still in a confused state did as he was told, his eyes going wide as he traced more letters.
"I don't understand. Why would my father put Marinette's name on a scarf he made me." He really is an idiot. I have never wanted to slap someone so much in my life. Instead of slapping Adrien she face palmed herself.
"Now look here." She handed him the beret once again noting the signature in the stitches.
"Are you saying Marinette made both of these gifts?" He asked comprehending it at last.
"Yes Adrien. Marinette made both of those gifts. I would guess when she saw how happy you were about your father's gift she could not bring it upon herself to tell you the truth." Adrien looked at the scarf and Kagami continued. "I would think either she panicked when Ladybug showed up to help her deliver the beret, or perhaps Ladybug had been startled when you appeared and that is where the fan club story came from."
"I don't understand." Her hand really itched to slap him silly now.
"Think about the wax museum now and what happened as you told me. Marinette's original reaction when your statue came to life was. That she was upset that it was really you and then tried to cover for herself. She obviously had not known it was really you."
"I don't understand why this makes you think that I'm in love with her though." He finally asked. She wondered if that was part of his confusion or if he was trying to change the subject. Kagami was prepared for this however and started to go over all the times he'd chosen Marinette over her before and after they started dating. The more she talked, the further Adrien's jaw opened.
"I mean, that doesn't really mean I'm in love with her. It's not like all those things she did meant that she was in love with me either. I may have mistaken the level of friendship we had er have." Kagami held up her hand to stop him. She held up his phone.
"Does this make a difference to you." She said her annoyance with him. Very clear in her tones. She pressed play.
"Adrien. . . I love you. I always be there if you need me." Marinette's voice said through the speakers. Adrien's eyes looked like they would explode from his head even as his entire face turned red, making her worry that it might rupture and become a fountain of blood like in anime.
"Maybe you have not realized it yourself Adrien, but I know that I am not the person who resides in your heart. I want you to fall madly in love with me, but I do not believe you can do that as long as you have not come to terms with your feelings for her." She knew she was getting a little bitchy now, but she couldn't help herself.
"Hold on, what are you trying to say?" He asked.
"I am saying that I will no longer be in this relationship with you until you deal with her and she has dealt with you. I truly hope you will return to me afterwards, but if not I will understand." And be very disappointed. "I will have your bodyguard take me home." She tossed him his phone. I hope I have not made a mistake here, she thought as she walked out of his room.
TO BE CONTINUED
NOTES
Not going to lie, when I spelled incriminating correct the first time, I was a little proud of myself.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
As always, reviews are appreciated and really help fuel the writing spirit, and you know, let me know people are actually reading it still. :D
PEACE & LOVE!