Marinette's POV
I am awoken to the sound of my alarm. "Chat Noir's birthday!" Chat Noir and I don't know a lot about each other because we must keep our identity a secret but we do know each other's birthdays. I have been counting down the days since he told me. I made him a scarf that he can wear when we go on patrols… and maybe he'd even wear it in his daily life.
I hop out of bed, get dressed, and then put the scarf in a box. "I should write a note to go along with it." I think to myself. I grab a pencil and a sticky note and begin to write,
"I hope when you wear this it makes you think of me on those cold breezy nights." I mumble aloud as I continue to write, "I hope every time you look down at it with those beautiful green eyes, you are reminded of the love I feel for you. Your memorizing smile, your golden locks, your intoxicating smell… you have no idea the power you hold over me. I know this note is cheesy but there is no way I'd ever be able to say these things to your face. Happy birthday!"
I place the pencil down, blushing as I grin. I feel Tikki's presence behind me.
"Do you think he'll like it Tikki?" I turn around and ask.
"I think so! You are an amazing seamstress Marinette." I reach out and hug her.
"Aww thank you!"
I get my things together and head downstairs. I bring the gift just in case I run into Chat Noir before tonight. My mom is in the kitchen drinking tea.
"Marinette don't forget to clean your room after school today." She says as I'm about to leave.
"Mom, it's Friday and I'm already doing something with a friend." I groan. She smiles mischievously. "Oh no, this can't be good." I think to myself.
"Fine. I'll go ahead and clean it." She begins to say. "But don't blame me if I come across any of you private stuff like your emails, your diary-"
"Okay! I'll do it! I'll do it." I cut in. There's no way I can let her find my diary, I talk about being Ladybug in there. Also… I have photos of Adrien in my room. Not because I like him! I just really admire his father and love his designs. I use the photos as inspiration but I know my mom will take it the wrong way and there is no way I can let that happen. I shake those thoughts away and go to kiss my mom goodbye before I head out to school. She chuckles.
"Have a nice day sweetie." She says as I open the door.
"Happy birthday!"I mentally face palm. "I mean, have a nice day!" I quickly shut the door behind me out of embarrassment.
Adrien's POV
My birthday… a day I should be celebrating but instead here I am once again eating breakfast alone. As I begin to get lost in my thoughts I all of a sudden feel a familiar prescience. Natalie is standing next to me with a tablet.
"You're schedule Adrien." She says as she hands it to me.
"Thanks Natalie." I reply, giving a small smile. She turns to leave but I quickly stop her and ask, "Hey um, did my father get back to you about my birthday party?"
She doesn't turn around as she replies, "Well… um… He doesn't think it'd be a good idea." I knew it, but honestly I was used to the disappointment.
"Of course not." I sigh. Natalie turns to face me.
"Happy birthday Adrien." She says quickly as she turns back around and walks out. "Well at least I have Natalie." I think to myself. Despite that, I still feel crushed.
I finish eating, get my things together, and head to school. Nothing big happens in class. Afterwards Nino and I head out to the front to wait for Gorilla to take me to my photo shoot.
"What did your old man say?" Nino asks. I looked down in defeat.
"He said no." I sigh.
"Dude seriously?" Nino replies. "Has your dad always been such a downer? You'd think he'd at least remember what it was like to be young and wanna party a little." I give a depressed chuckle.
"No… I'm pretty sure he was a downer back then too." I pause. "Well at least I tried." Nino puts his arm around my shoulder. "It's your b'day dude, insist!" He stops and looks as if he's thinking to himself. "You know what? I'm gonna have a little convo with your pops." Nino is a good friend but there is no way that's gonna work. I shake my head.
"Don't waste your time. He's not gonna change his mind.". My eyes then catch site of pigtails. "Marinette…" I still haven't figured out how to convince her I'm not like what she thinks. Maybe I shouldn't care so much what one classmate thinks, I mean everyone else likes me. It's just… I see how she treats everyone else, how caring she is. She's such an amazing friend to everyone. I really want her to be like that with me.
Marinette's POV
Alya and I are walking out of school to head home for lunch when I see Adrien and Nino chatting. I don't understand why Nino is so buddy buddy with… him but soon people will see the truth. It's only a matter of time before the mask falls off and Adrien shows his true colors.
"Happy birthday Adrien." Alya smiles and waves.
"Thanks Alya." He smiles "Birthday? What a weird coincidence, he shares the same birthday as Chat Noir." I think to myself. "Oh well." I shrug. I guess I better wish Adrien an obligatory happy birthday, I may not like him but I don't wanna look mean.
"Happy birthday Adrien." I grumble. He gives me a big grin. All of a sudden I feel a hard push. I fall to the ground.
"Out of the way!" Chloe yells.Ugh. That's what I get for trying to be nice to the enemy. "Happy birthday Adrien." She says in that annoyingly fake voice of hers. She then gives him a big hug and kiss on the cheek. Alya comes and helps me up.
"Yeah, thanks Chloe." Adrien responds as he gently pushes her away.
"Did you get the gift I sent you?" She asks.
"Uh no…" He replies.
"What?! Oh those delivery guys!" She clenches her fist. "I bet it was too heavy so they had to go back and get another guy to help. Those slackers!" I chuckle to myself. It's obvious that she actually just forgot Adrien's birthday. "Maybe he should pick better friends." I shake my head. "I'll make sure they get it to you by tonight!" She kisses him one last time and then hums as she walks back into the school.
Alya and I look at each other and roll our eyes and laugh. We then turn around and head in the direction of the bakery.
Adrien's POV
I look to see Marinette walking away, the flap of her bag slightly raised. I look down and see a flat long box. I go to pick it up. Marinette must have dropped it when Chloe pushed her. I'm about to call out her name when all of a sudden I hear a honk. "I'll just give it to her after lunch break it over." I think to myself. I wave to Nino as I get into the car.
I wonder who the gift is for. It couldn't be me… unless? There's a note but when I check it, there is no name saying who it's for. I feel a little guilty but decide to read the note. "Hmm… green eyes… golden locks… and it's my birthday? It's gotta be me." I whisper to myself. But Marinette always gives off the impression that she hates my guts, why would she write such a heartfelt note? Though I don't get if she means love in a friend way or a romantic way. I've never thought of Marinette in that way, granted I haven't known her very long. I pause to think to myself on what it might be like dating Marinette. Thinking back to the words in the letter I blush. "I wouldn't mind if she meant them in a romantic way." I smile to myself. Even if she did mean them in a friend way this at least means she does like me to some extent. No matter what though, I need to thank her once I see her again. I decide to open the gift, a scarf. Ah that's what she mention cold breezy nights. This is the best present I have ever received! I put it on and grin the whole car ride to my photo shoot.
Marinette's POV
Once we arrive we part ways and I make my way upstairs to the kitchen to eat with my mom.
"How has your day been so far Marinette?" Mom asks with a loving smile.
"Nothing really to report." "I'm just waiting for tonight when I can give my gift to Chat." I gush to myself. As I eat my food I arrange my peas into a heart. "I hope he likes it." I whisper to myself, blushing.
"What's that you said?" Mom asks. I panic and say,
"Uh ah I can't wait to get back to school this afternoon!" I chuckle. She smiles back when all of a sudden a giant bubble appears behind her and absorbs her into it. She yells in a panic as she floats away. "Mom!" I run towards the window and try to reach out to grab her as she floats away. "Mom!" I cry out again. I then turn my head slightly and see my dad floating alongside her. "Dad!" Looking closer it seems all the adults are in bubbles in the sky. Tikki pops out from under my blazer and exclaims,
"Your parents! Hawkmoth must have released another akuma." I turn to her and nod.
"I've got to find his newest villain asap. Tikki, spots on!" I transform and then quickly make my way downstairs and out of the bakery's front door. There I see teen around my age trying to console two young kids crying. I then look up to see bubbles in the sky with the face of Hawkmoth's newest victim on each one.
"Hey, hey, hey! Today's your lucky day little dudes. The adults are taking the day off so make the most of it!" The villain announces. "No chores, no homework, no more nagging, just fun, fun, fun! This is the Bubbler's gift to you." I quickly lean down and assure the children,
"Don't worry, your parents will come back. I'll see to it." I then turn to the teen and place my hands on his shoulders, "You take care of them in the meantime." He nods as I turn around and use my yo-yo to swing towards the Bubbler's location.
Adrien's POV
Once again I'm sitting at the dining room table eating a meal alone. I finish up and wipe my face with my napkin as I get up.
"Wow, that was a birthday lunch break to remember. Yay…" I sarcastically say to myself. I head out of the room and grab my bag, my new scarf is in my bag so I can put it on in the car. I want Marinette to be the first to see me in it when I get back to school. She'll be so happy I like it so much… I think. I walk to the front door but something is wrong. It's silent, a little too silent. "Natalie?" No answer. "Father?" Still no answer. I sigh and shrug. I go to open the door and as I am shutting it behind me I am met with a group of people in front of my house.
"Yay! Happy birthday!" My classmates and some other teens cheer.
"Hey, hey, hey birthday boy!" Another voice calls out. I look up to see what I can only imagine is an akumatized villain given his ridiculous outfit and the fact he's standing on a bubble. "Guess what? Daddy's gone; while the cat's away, the mice will play!"
"Nino?" I question.
"The Bubbler's brought all yo homies together for one single sole purpose, to ce-le-brate!" He continues.
"Yeah!" All the other kid's cheer as Bubbler jumps behind a DJ booth and exclaims,
"Let's get this party started!" This is followed by more cheering. Bubbler then starts the music and everyone begins to dance. I hesitate to join them, instead I slowly walk backwards and then make a run for it back into my house. I make my way up into my room and close the door behind me. I look down at my ring, conflicted.
"What's your problem? Relax! You're getting the party you've always wanted." Plagg questions my hesitation as he rests on my shoulder.
"But Nino's been akumatized! I've gotta help him!" I try to reason.
"You may never get this chance again! C'mon, let's have a little fun while your father's away! Then we'll save Nino, trap his akuma, and all will be good." He gives a cheeky little grin. I look down and am silent for a bit before I say,
"Okay, you're right. This might be the first day in my life that I actually get to do what I want for once!" I turn around and leave my room. It's time to party. When I get back to everyone they are all dancing so I join them. "Yeah!" I cheer. I walk over to Rose and say, "Hey, nice party, I guess, since it's my first one." She gives a small smile and two thumbs up. It seems off however, despite her smile she doesn't really look happy. I look around and everyone has the same grim look. All of a sudden the song changes to a slower song. Chloe walks up to me and I ask, "Is it me, or does everyone seem a bit weird?" She grabs my hand and says,
"Forget about them, let's go dance! C'mon." We begin to dance and she begins to get closer, trying to kiss me. "Ugh." I mentally groan. I really wish she wouldn't do that. I push her away gently and before she can say anything I motion to Nino to change the song to a faster one. I jump on stage to get away from her.
Marinette's POV
"Hey, Paris, how you doing?" I hear Adrien's voice as I look down from the roof I am watching from. I roll my eyes, of course he's taking advantage of the situation for his own personal gain. No one says anything at first but then Bubbler makes a threatening gesture and they all cheer. "Look at that smile, how could Adrien be smiling like that when the people he calls his friends are being held hostage." That's when everyone turns around and looks up at me.
"Ladybug?" I hear Adrien question. I ignore him and throw my yo-yo to unplug the speakers.
"Sorry, Bubbler, but the party is over." I smirk.
"Why you gotta be like that?" Bubbler frowns.
"You made all the adults disappear, that's why! And now you're imprisoning anyone who isn't having fun." I reply bluntly. I then see Adrien run into his house. "Typical rich boy, as soon as there is danger he runs away."
"You will not bust up my party!" Bubbler yells. He uses his bubble wand to throw bubbles in my direction. I use my yo-yo to deflect them. I jump down from the roof and onto the stage.
I once again throw my yo-yo, but this time towards the Bubbler. He conjures a bubble that causes my yo-yo to bounce off and towards me. Right before the yo-yo hits me a staff bats it upwards.
"Looks like I made it just in time." Chat Noir gives me a smile.
"I had it under control," I tease as the yo-yo falls back down onto his head. "but thanks…" I blush. All of a sudden Bubbler lets out a roar and once again uses his wand to throw red bubbles in our direction. Chat and I manage to deflect them all but then Bubbler smirks and snaps his fingers. All of the sudden the bubbles turn green and cling onto Chat and I. Bubbler laughs as Chat and I become trapped inside a giant green bubble. I try to break free but I can't even leave a scratch.
"Give me your Miraculouses before you run out of air." Bubbler demands.
"Dream on, Bubbler." I retort.
"Total party poopers, just like adults." He shakes his head in disappointment.
"Kids need adults!" I yell.
"False! Kids need freedom, fun, let loose and live it up. Adults are controlling and bossy." He yells back.
"But adults keep children safe and protected. They care for their kids, they love them!" I try to reason with him. I hear Chat mumble something before he says,
"You must bring the adults back!"
"Nope, never." Bubbler says bluntly. "Know what, since you care so much about these adults, why don't you go float with them for a while?" He runs towards us and kicks us into the sky. Chat and I scream as we fly higher and higher into the sky. Once the bubble begin to slow down we continue to try to break it. All of a sudden it hits me,
"Use your Cataclysm!" I tell Chat.
"Couldn't you have said that five hundred feet ago?" He frowns.
"We can't stay stuck in this bubble together forever." I say. Chat laughs. "Not that I would mind that." I whisper to myself.
"What was that?" Chat asked.
"N-nothing!" I squeak.
"Okay then, get ready. Cataclysm!" He shouts. The bubble bursts and we begin to free fall back towards the ground.
"Should we see if you land on your feet this time?" I joke.
"No, thanks!" He replies quickly. I look around and get an idea.
"Your stick, there!" I point to the Eiffel Tower.
"Got it!" Chat throws his staff and it becomes stuck in the Eiffel Tower. I grab his hand,
"Hang on!" I throw my yo-yo and it wraps around his staff. With this we are able to swing and land on the ground, relatively safely.
"Good thing cats aren't afraid of heights." Chat turns to me and chuckles. I smile before getting serious again.
"We've got to get to his bubble sword, that's got to be where the akuma is." Chat's ring begins to beep.
"We'd better hurry." He looks down and says. I nod. We make our way back to Adrien's house. As we stand at the entrance we see the Bubbler yelling,
"Where is everybody? Get out here and party!"
"Sorry to burst your bubble." I smirk. As I say this Alya emerges from her hiding space and cheers,
"Ladybug!" All the other teens stand up and cheer with her.
"No one wants to party with you anymore, Bubbler." I grin cheekily. Bubbler then turns around to face the teens.
"What's wrong with all you guys!? Why you gotta be such haters!?" He yells as he takes out his bubble sword and captures all the teens in bubbles.
"NOOO!" Chat and I cry out.
"Outer space is the next stop for your precious peeps, and they're never coming back!" Bubbler yells at us before he begins to jump from roof to roof, towards the Eiffel Tower. Chat and I make our way up the tower, dodging Bubbler's explosive bubbles along the way. As soon as we make it up Bubbler throws another one of his bubbles, Chat and I roll in opposite directions to dodge it. I can one again hear the beep coming from Chat's ring.
"I'm gonna switch back soon, hurry." He says urgently. I nod and throw my yo-yo up into the air as I call out,
"Lucky Charm!" What falls in my hands is a giant wrench.
"Your… plumbing skill is gonna help us out?" Chat questions. I shrug sheepishly. I have no idea what to do. As I try to think of a plan Bubbler once again throws his explosive bubbles, these ones directed towards Chat Noir. Chat dodges each one, ending up atop a beam.
"Your aim could use a little work. Is that all you got?" Chat taunts Bubbler. As they are doing that I look around to see if I can find anything to help. "Hmm a vent…, the vent pipe…, there's a screw connecting them." I look down at my wrench.
"Got it!" I yell. I run over to the pipe and loosen the screw. This causes the pipe to comes off. It flairs around in the air, high enough for Chat to reach. "Chat Noir, cover me!" I call out. Chat then proceeds to jump onto the pipe, brings it down to where I am.
"Go on!" He looks to me and says. Bubbler tries to throw more bubbles towards us but the air coming out of the pipe blows them away. Before he can throw more, I use my yo-yo to grab his bubble stick. Once I have it in my hands, I snap it in half and an akuma flies out of it.
"Get out of there, you nasty bug." I frown. "No more evil-doing for you, little akuma!" I say as I open my yo-yo. "Time to de-evilize!" I swing my yo-yo around the akuma, capturing it. "Gotcha!" I open my yo-yo once again and release the now purified butterfly. "Bye-bye little butterfly." I wave. Finally, I throw the wrench into the air and call out, "Miraculous Ladybug!" Everything returns to normal and Bubbler is now once again just Nino.
"Pound it!" Chat and I say in unison as we bump fists.
"Well I gotta take my leave." Chat bows. Before he leaves I call out,
"Meet me back here at sunset!"
"Will do!" He calls back as he jumps from roof to roof. I turn and make my way in the opposite direction. Now that all the adults are back I must hurry back to school. Once I make my way to a secure location I detransform and make my way back home so I can grab my stuff. When I get upstairs I see my mom and dad standing there.
"Mom! Dad!" I run and hug them.
"Marinette, we are so glad you are okay." They say.
"I have to head back to class but when we get home we can talk more." I smile as I grab my bag.
"We'll see you then." Mom smiles. As I head back downstairs I mentally groan to myself, realizing if I had just brought my bag with me I could have given Chat his scarf earlier and he could have worn it when we met up that night, That's when I look down and notice my bag is sort of open. I panic. I look through my bag and realize it is gone. I must of dropped it when Chloe pushed me… That means it must be in the bushes outside school. I run as fast as I can back to school. Alya is waiting for me at the school's front.
"Girl where have you been?" She shakes her head, "You missed the Bubbler."
"Uhhh… I was elsewhere." I shrug. "Now is not the time get into the details. This special gift I made for someone fell out of my bag around the bushes. I have got to find it!" I get on my hands and knees and start looking.
"I'll help." Alya says, also getting on her hands and knees to look. That's when we hear a car pull up. I look up to see Adrien… WEARING THE SCARF I MADE FOR CHAT! I lean over to Alya and whisper angrily,
"That's it! He's wearing the scarf I made!" I can't believe this dude stole the gift I clearly made for Chat… well technically it wasn't signed but that's because I was going to hand it to him directly, I had no need to sign it!
"Yo, nice scarf, Adrien. Off the chain." Alya smiles as she stands up. "Wait, why isn't she mad? He stole it… Ah crap wait she thinks I made it for Adrien doesn't she? Why did Adrien's birthday have to be today of all days?"
"Yeah, can you believe it? Marinette made this for me herself! Adrien beamed.FOR HIM?! As I try to wrap my head around how he could possibly think it was for him, he walks up to me and puts his hands on my shoulders. "I'm sorry I opened it before you gave it to me. It wasn't signed and I got nosy but after reading it I realized it was for me." He blushed. I guess he does have blonde hair and green eyes, and it's his birthday. God what are the odds? I look behind him to see Alya, Nino, and some of our other classmates looking at us smiling. I mentally groan. If I take it back now I will look like a jerk. Also how will I explain it was actually for Chat Noir? I look down and mumble,
"I'm glad you like it…" Adrien pulls me in for a tight hug.
"Oh Marinette, I don't just like it, I love it! My father always gets me the same pen, this is the first time ever I've gotten such a thoughtful gift for my birthday!" I gently push him away and nervously chuckle,
"Haha… yeah. Well time for class!" I walk past him and grab Alya, making a quick dash for the classroom.
"Girl what was that? I thought you hated Adrien, but now it seems you have a thing for him?" Alya questioned.
"I don't have a crush on Adrien!" I yell loudly. As I say this I see Adrien in the doorway with Nino. He looks sad at first but then gives me a small smile and walks to his seat next to Nino. I sit in my own seat and grown. At least tonight will be better.
Sunset finally comes and I'm sitting at the Eiffel Tower waiting for Chat. Thanks to Adrien I had to ask my parents for some last minute macarons. I look down at the box anxiously when I hear footsteps behind me. I stand up excitedly,
"Chat!" I get and hug him, careful not to squish the box.
"Hey Ladybug." He smiles. He then looks down. "What is this?"
"Happy birthday!" I exclaim as I hand the box to him. He opens it and a wide grin spreads across his face.
"Macarons!" He sits down and begins eating them. I sit next to him.
"I didn't know what kind you liked so I got an assortment." I blushed.
"Well for future reference my favorite flavor is passion fruit but these are amazing!" He exclaims.
"Noted." I chuckle. "They are from the Dupain-Cheng bakery actually." As I say that he frowns.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Nothing." He shakes hit head. "Wait, no, actually." He looks at me. "Can I ask you something?" I nod my head.
"You can ask me anything."
"Well there's this girl…" He begins. "She wrote me a letter and from the letter it sounds like she has a crush on me, but then verbally she says she doesn't and still treats me coldly… What do you think?" I sigh. Of course there is another girl who likes Chat, except she gets to know him in his everyday life. Whatever, I can't let my selfish feelings get in the way.
"Well maybe…" I pause to think. "Uh maybe… she… uh… Oh! Maybe she just has a hard time expressing her true feelings. So she does actually like you but she's too shy to be truthful about her feelings to your face." Chat's face lights up.
"That makes sense now! I think she mentioned something about that in her letter. So she does like me huh?"
"Yup…" I give a weak smile.
"Thank you so much Ladybug!" Chat leans and hugs me.
"That's what friends are for." I sigh. He lets go and continues to eat his macarons as the sun sets.