A/N Hi all. First of all the mandatory disclaimer: I don't own miraculous or DC, I'm only playing in the sandbox
Big thanks to Kenna and Nikolai from Maribat discord for being amazing betareaders :)
Hit on the groom and what became of it - chapter 1/I will keep missing you (if you don't stop running)
Ladybug landed on top of the Eiffel tower with practiced grace. An agitated worry roiling in her chest about the message Chat Noir left her. The urgency was one thing, but he sounded… pained. Like the weight of the world dragged him down type pain.
Marinette knew Chat's home life wasn't perfect. Skilled at hiding it, maybe, but details leaked through the cracks. An offhand comment here, a muttered accusation there, a sour face yet again here. He lived in pain and tried so hard to work through it.
She tried to help him whenever she could, both as Ladybug and Marinette. She may not return his feelings, but she always listened. For months during their third year as heroes, she left food on the rooftop when Chat's suit revealed too many ribs. She wasn't sure the reason and didn't dare to ask, lest she learned too much, but she did try to help. There were times she thought she imagined the pained looks, and thin frame, and thinly veiled comments; maybe overexaggerating the situation in her mind, as she often did. After all, he always acted so cheerfully.
Then, Lila happened.
The first strike landed swift, almost deadly, but she survived. It was what followed that made her reconsider. A prolonged fight, where Marinette chose to retain a cheerful mask to hide the pain. Along the line, she considered confiding in her parents. But what could they do? Maybe take her from school, but that would mean Lila already won; the Liar would rule unopposed.
Which left Adrien, her last bastion of friendship.
She still harbored a bit of a crush on him, but it was justified! Like a knight in shining armor, he stood, always ready to defend her. He always ensured her inclusion in class activities and saved her from several catastrophes.
She still stumbled over her words with him, but when it's minor stuttering or not talking to anyone, she forced herself to adapt. It was nowhere near as bad as it used to be.
With the ability to spend more time with Adrien without acting like a spaz, Kagami also appeared more often, and proved to be a good friend. Marinette found a home with the two awkward rich kids ridiculously clueless and unaware of how the real world functioned. In the end, she even grew to accept Adrien might not be destined to be hers but chose to support him nonetheless.
"My lady?" She was broken out of her musing by a familiar voice.
"Hello, Kitty-cat. I got your message… what's wrong?" She turned to see Cat Noir slumped over the railing, with his ears tweaking nervously. She didn't even know he could do it.
"I… I'm sorry my Lady, but I can't… I can't continue to be your partner," he declared.
"What?!" she squeaked. "What happened? What's the matter?"
"I'm… I'm getting married," he announced, his ears drooping and tail tucked between his legs.
Oh, that's… not what she expected to hear. "Married? Congrat…" she drifted off, noticing his sour face. "Chat? What are you not telling me?"
"It's… I… My…" He struggled to figure out how to say it, but ultimately remained silent for a moment. "There is nothing to be happy about. It's a… business marriage," he spat, his eyes narrowing.
"But… those are illegal!" Ladybug protested.
"Not when you make it look like a love match. Especially if you insinuate at a scandal." He sneered, jumping off the railing and pacing along the empty rooftop. "My father holds all the cards and I… I'm in no position to oppose him."
"I'm sure we can…"
He sighed, walking over to her. "Please… M'lady. Don't try to give me hope. I accepted what I must do." With that, he reached for the ring, but she stopped him.
"Chat. We can try… You're my friend. You can't… We will figure it out. Together." In all they'd endured, suffered, and triumphed - Marinette had never seen him this despondent… this broken.
He sighed, his eyes flat and dull. "There is nothing to figure out," he said, forcing the ring off his finger.
The transformation fell, leaving Adrien Agreste materialized in place of her long-time partner. Plagg's sharp cry cut off, as he's sucked into the ring the second he popped out of it. She stood there, too stunned to notice the blond boy pushed the ring into her palm and closed it.
Marinette wasn't sure what thoughts decided to rampantly rage through her head, but the train of thoughts probably broke the collective speed limit everywhere in the world at the same time.
"M'lady?" Adrien's soft voice brought her to earth when she was one step from panic.
"A-Adrien?" She choked on the word.
"You heard about me?" He looked dumbfounded. Ladybug, too shocked to say a word, gestured over to the building line. Even from so high and far away, his most recent billboard advertisement stood visible. "Ah… right."
"Who… who's the lucky girl?" Inside her mind, she wondered if Kagami right now faced a similar problem. It was the most logical…
"Lila Rossi," Adrien admitted, his shoulders hunching.
stopped working.
A moment passed.
Another.
"Um… M'Lady?" The boy tried to prod his ex-partner to respond by waving his hand in front of her face.
"That… that lying…" Ladybug saw red. This could not be happening.
Adrien nodded, the despondent look on his face growing worse every second."My father deemed her a suitable heiress to the Gabriel brand… I tried to warn him she was a liar, but he… I think he actually admires her skill…" Tears built in his eyes, and Adrien covertly tried to wipe them away.
"Maybe… maybe you could… I don't know!" she screamed in frustration. Marinette had several ideas about what Adrien could do, but none of them would help.
Running away would be a problem. Leaking the story to the press would lead to his home life growing even worse. After dealing with Gabriel Agreste's parenting, she held no illusion Adrien could win a court battle. The rich too often got away with whatever they desired. She could try to sicc Uncle Jagged on the case… or maybe Clara Nightingale… Nadia Chamack would probably love the news-breaking story, but it would all put Adrien in danger. Who knows what would happen before they could obtain results or protection against Gabriel's extensive reach.
Adrien sighed as if knowing exactly where her thoughts took her. Chat was no dummy, he probably scoured over his options more times than he could count. His resignation, the last resort in a long line of failed plans. "I appreciate you trying, but I already told you I accepted it. Just… take me down, please. I… I didn't really plan the location well…" He let out a weak chuckle.
"Fine… I'm sorry kitty..." She grabbed hold of him and swung to the ground. Despondently she watched her best friend, her partner, walk away into the night; resigned to a life of suffering and isolation.
There must be something she could do, she thought. She closed a gloved fist around the ring. She was Ladybug, and if she put her mind to it, there was nothing she couldn't do.
A week later the press learned about the upcoming wedding. Adrien and Lila both left school for home-school. The press and the general public ate up the news story about star-crossed lovers that met in school and became inseparable. It didn't help that the class kept commenting about how good they were for each other.
Marinette resisted an urge to gag whenever she caught the sound of the vicious lies and propaganda. She was asked for comment only once but chose to refuse. It didn't earn her any popularity in class. Luckily, she convinced Nadia to stop a nasty side-story about her jealousy from being published.
No closer to a plan, she despondently continued to push through her life without her friend. She, unsurprisingly, hadn't received a single text or call. Marinette didn't blame Adrien; his position couldn't be easy. A month after Adrien departed from her class, Marinette convinced her parents to also home-school her. Without a single friend, the school became a burden. Of course, her reasoning to her parents leaned into her focus on her fashion business. Which wasn't untrue. It was starting to pick up.
The only upside to this whole debacle was near-lack of akuma attacks. It seemed Hawkmoth found a hobby. Maybe he wrote poems?
Nah. Not his style...
Two months after the announcement Marinette woke to surprise guests: Adrien, his father, and Lila knocked on the bakery's doors. The bride-to-be in an especially sour mood, as much as she tried to hide it. Gabriel appeared to be devoid of any emotions, as usual.
She seated them on the couch and asked if they would like a drink. She didn't bother to offer food, not wanting to waste good cake on the likes of Lila and Gabriel. Although, Adrien's thin cheeks and haunted eyes made her regret the decision.
All of them declined the drink.
"Madame Marinette, I assume you have heard of the Wedding?" The capitalization clearly discernible in his voice.
"Yes… Yes sir!" she corrected herself. Trying desperately to mask her disgust behind a layer of nervousness. She couldn't risk a glance at Adrien, even if this was the first time she'd seen him since that night on the roof. Making it through the meeting would be hard enough without watching him suffer.
"While initially, I planned to prepare the dress and suit myself, my son convinced me to give a chance to someone else to shine." Clearly, whatever it was Adrien said, it didn't include a polite request. "I have seen the dress you made for Rock Star Jagged Stone's wedding, as well as the suit worn by Nadia Chamack."
"They are designs I'm particularly proud of, sir."
Play the part. Play the part. Don't send him to the hospital. Papa and Maman would be disappointed. Well, Maman would probably join me…
Her homicidal train of thought ended as she forced a smile to appear on her face. Contrary to Lila's stretched thin lips; Marinette's smile shines bright and could've been mistaken for genuine.
"Indeed… I've come to commission you to design and make the gown and the suit for the sweet couple." He announced like it was the highest honor, but there was an amount of bile in his words Marinette used to think was reserved only for Nino.
"I… I'm… I'm honored, sir!" She beamed. The excitement only half-forced. Her moral compass told her even entertaining the proposal was wrong, but at the same time, her brain furiously flitted crafting possibilities.
Gabriel nodded imperiously as if her acceptance merely added to a foregone conclusion. "Good. My assistant, Nathalie, will sort out the details. Lex Luthor agreed to pay for the pieces as his wedding gift, so do not be afraid to ask for full price." He informed her t as if he believed she would give him a discount.
For a moment, a singular reckless moment, Marinette entertained the temptation to voice her thoughts about Gabriel being cheap.
She sighed, no, there would be another day for career suicide. The group rose to leave, and Marinette finally glanced at Adrien; his model-trained smile paper-thin. He caught her eyes, and if he radiated sadness two months ago, it didn't hold a candle to the devastation swimming in his eyes. The exchange broke when Lila gripped a hand tight around his arm and dragged him to the door.
Gabriel handed her a card, and the group departed. Marinette collapsed onto the couch, the makings of a headache building in her skull.
This would be awful.
A week later Marinette held a separate meeting, consisting of Nathalie, Lila, Lila's mother, and Adrien's aunt. And her, obviously.
She first asked what kind of dress Lila wanted.
Lila's eyes lit up in an unholy glee; and she started talking.
And talking.
And talking.
And talking.
After the long and painstakingly thorough description, Marinette felt faint. Several reasons contributed to that, although the most prominent were the materials, the design, and the way she spoke. Obviously Lila had feelings, the kind likely to trigger an oncoming Auma attack if Hawkmoth hadn't pranced off to who knows where,about Marinette designing her dress.
Marinette was happy Adrien's aunt pointed out the request's complete madness, but Lila's mother waved it off, quick to declare only minor adjustments to the request would be needed.
In the end, Marinette presented several dozen designs, both hers and foreign to have a basis on which she could work. Lila, of course, chose the one that would be hardest to make.
"I'm sorry none of your designs were good, Marinette…" The liar cooed with faked sorrow. She hid a smirk the designer could clearly see.
The notion was born because it was a picture and not a sketch.
Marinette smirked, and rose from the couch, ignoring Lila's irritated scowl at her non-reaction.
She liked it even less when the girl brought in the ready-made dress.
"I made it as the first design for Penny Rolling's wedding, based on Uncle Jagged's suggestions. I should've known Penny didn't approve of his idea, but…" she waved it off.
Lila, now actively glaring at her, sat back on the couch. All of which was mistaken for amazement by the adults.
Marinette ignored the girl's dramatics, it was the only way she'd survive this meeting intact. "Of course, there still needs to be several adjustments and personalizations. I will also need to order the amber you requested. And the platinum thread. And the white gold. And probably an industrial-grade 3-D printer… Is that covered by the expenses?" She looked at Nathalie, who nodded. "Great! I will need just a moment."
The women watched as Marinette practically leaped at her notebook and added in adjustments to the sketch. Fifteen minutes later, when she presented a new design, impressing them all (sans Lila, obviously) with the flowing lines and intricate details. They praised her talent (even Natalie), and Marinette played the bashful young designer role to a tee. The liar kept glaring though. She couldn't back away easily, since she already made a scene about wanting that specific dress. Marinette informed them beforehand she would need to know about her specific wishes before she made any adjustments.
The final design looked pretty much exactly what Lila wanted though, but she didn't want to give her nemesis the satisfaction. Her entourage did enough of this.
Under the cover of being too emotional, they ended the meeting. Nathalie remained to finish the deal and sign the contract.
After all of them left, Marinette collapsed onto her chair. An hour later a notification from her bank came. She received the first half of the payment. When finished, the dress would officially be the most expensive wedding dress to date. Blessed be Lex Luthor and his deep pocket. She chuckled, remembering how much the billionaire got kidnapped because of his money.
Then, an idea shined in her head.
Oh.
Oh...
She took off her earrings and dismissed Tikki, promising she needed a quick chat with Plagg about a new potential holder. When Marinette put on the ring, the Kwami of destruction popped back into existence.
"So… figured out how to help my chosen?" he asked.
What Tikki didn't know was when Marinette said she intended to discuss potential holders for Plagg, they really worked on a way to save Adrien. It was their secret since Tikki would most likely disapprove. They didn't want to risk her disappointment in them. Not until they crafted a fleshed out full-proof plan.
She nodded. "I have an idea. Let's hire someone to kidnap him!"
Plagg rolled his eyes. "Did they hit you on the head, pigtails?"
"No. But look, the problem is whatever we come up with, Adrien ends up blamed or we land ourselves in jail, right?" The Kwami nodded. "So… if we make sure it's a very public kidnapping and he disappears, we can stash him away until the heat dies down. After we dye his hair and apply fast-tan, he will look different enough no one will connect the two. I'm pretty sure I could get my hands on fake documents if I tried hard enough…" she trailed off thinking of all the minutiae to coordinate to pull this off.
It would be hard.
But it would be worth it.
Plagg slowly nods. "Okay… Somehow, that both makes no sense and seems perfectly legitimate. It's also your most chaotic plan to date, Pigtails. Let's do it!" The Kwami cheered, happy to be soon reunited with his chosen kitten. "But what about the costs!"
Marinette already had an answer in mind for that question. "Even after I subtract the costs of materials and other supplies, the payment for the dress, together with my savings, will be more than enough. Now… let's go wake Tikki up."
That… ended with the Kwami of Creation vomiting a pile of handcuffs and other police gear at Marinette.
"Um… Why?"
The little red Kwammi placed her paws on her hips. "Because you should familiarize yourself with those if you plan on going to prison for that plan. It's no longer just a phone theft, Marinette! You're talking about breaking more laws than I can count!" She dropped to the pillow below, bemoaning about where she went wrong.
Marinette scooped up her wayward friend and tried to reassure her. "I just need to be careful. I'm pretty sure I can do it without detection. Maman taught me how to not be seen on the internet. Or in general. Come on. I need to order a secure laptop."
"I will help!" Plagg offered. "I can cataclysm the internet after you do your thing."
"What?! No! Think of the cute cat pictures!" Marinette protested. "And video games."
"Relax! It'll just remove any trace of you doing anything online in the several hours or so…" He calmed her.
Tikki trailed after them, a bundle of nerves and worry. "Plagg! It's irresponsible! You can't possibly…"
"Pigtails and I have it all under control. What's the worst that could happen?"
Turns out, a lot.
Before Marinette put out the hit (kidnapping, she made sure that it was plain as day), she needed to set a price. That one was harder. It wasn't like you could Google how much you needed to charge to kidnap a celebrity. At least, not without attracting a lot of unwanted attention.
She asked her mother, under the guise of pure curiosity. It was a normal question any teenage girl asked her mother. How much does it cost to have someone killed, how much cheaper/more expensive a kidnapping is, how to acquire fake documents, that kind of stuff. Not suspicious at all.
So absorbed in her rant, she missed a merry glint in Sabine's eyes. She also didn't question how her Maman knew those prices.
Finally, she needed to fill the form.
Assignment: Acquisition and Delivery
Asset(s): Adrien Athanase Agreste
Value:
Here, Marinette paused.
Her mom gave her a lengthy lecture about pricing and all. According to her, a professional would take up to fifty thousand dollars for kidnapping and bringing the target to her. Marinette decided, since Adrien was a celebrity, she should double the price. More risks involved, more reward, right?
But, she also wanted to ensure she hired the best of the best. Compare her work to Gabriel Agreste's, she came to the conclusion ten times the price was reasonable to ensure only the best in the field would take the job.
Then, there was the matter of safety and so on and so on. By the end, she settled on two million dollars, as her asking price for one Adrien Agreste. Plagg sagely nodded, agreeing with her assessment. Tikki didn't comment, as she wasn't speaking to the two, but also seemed more accepting after spying on Adrien and Lila's home life. Not that she revealed that tidbit to either of them, lest they drop the plan and directly go at Gabe and the Liar.
After a few more details and boxes in the form Marinette filled until she came to the end. Only one more detail remained:
Sponsor:
Marinette stared at the word for a moment. After a quick race of thoughts, she typed slowly.
Sponsor: The Seamstress
Perfect. Nothing about this could go wrong.
Of course, how could she predict just how big of a mess she would make?