A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Adrien hoped he was wrong. Félix hadn't said a word on their way back to school and as soon as they were back in the classroom, he'd walked straight up to where Marinette was chatting with Alya and dropped a box of sweets in front of her. The bluenette was surprised when the chocolates appeared in front of her. By the time she looked up, the British aristocrat was already gone. Marinette looked at Alya with a dozen questions in her eyes.
"That's a lot of chocolate." the journalist was as stunned as Marinette herself. "Is it safe?"
„Probably." Adrien answered begrudgingly. "He didn't really have any time alone with it."
Marinette still eyed the chocolate cautiously. Alya lifted the lid off the box and exclaimed in surprise.
"There's like fifty chocolates in here," she whistled. "Girl, you've got an admirer." Alya glanced at Félix who glared right back at her. "Or not. Are you going to eat them?"
Marinette looked at the box, biting her lip. Since she was usually on the giving end, it felt strange to receive sweets from someone other than her parents. Cautiously, she took a piece that resembled a pink rose. She could feel Félix's gaze on her even without facing him. No, it felt like everyone was watching her.
Sighing, she put the chocolate back in the box. Something felt off. She sneaked a look at Félix, who was sitting in his chair, a sinister smile on his face. This especially sent shivers down her spine. Something in his expression frightened her. It wasn't like he looked downright evil. But something told her that he wasn't doing this out of the goodness of his heart.
"I'm sure Félix got these to share with all of us!" She smiled brightly. "Isn't that right, Félix?" She looked in him in the eyes, daring him to disagree. He obliged.
"Not really. I got them for you, Ma-ri-nette," he yawned. The way he said every syllable of her name bothered Adrien. He hadn't noticed it himself, but his hands were clenched into fists. "But you're welcome to do whatever you want with them, Ma-ri-nette."
"Well, Fè-lix," Marinette imitated him. "Then I'm going to share it with everyone. Here, Alya, have some!" She pushed the chocolate towards her best friend, who passed the box to Nino without taking a single piece. She loved chocolate, but she still suspected Félix after he had imitated Adrien and turned them against each other.
Nino passed the box to Adrien and Chloé grabbed it from his hands. She gobbled up some of it and then checked the label, sighing in satisfaction. "Marie's Garden," she moaned. "They've got the best chocolate in town. Your loss, Marinette. I'll keep them."
Adrien smiled awkwardly while Alya rolled her eyes. Félix frowned. He'd hoped to see Marinette eat at least one. But it was entertaining enough to see Adrien struggle with his feelings.
"Their chocolatier is so fashionable too," Chloé informed her classmates. "Tall, blonde, always dressed in the latest designs… I could go on, but you wouldn't even appreciate it properly! I wish she'd tell me who her manicurist is." She ate some more chocolate.
"Blonde?" Adrien wondered out loud. "I'm pretty sure she looked like Marinette…" The girl blushed beet-red when he said her name.
"No, she's definitely blonde, Adrikins!" Chloé argued, popping another chocolate in her mouth. When the boy didn't agree immediately, she looked at Félix for help. "Don't you agree, Félix? Someone as fashionable as her can't be anything but blonde."
"You're both wrong," Félix declared. He stood up and grabbed his bag. "I'm going home now." He pushed past his classmates towards the exit, when Chloé hugged his arm to her chest.
"Well, what in your expert opinion did she look like, huh?" She sounded annoyed. Everyone leaned closer, including Marinette who wondered if this mysterious person was possessed by an akuma.
Félix pulled his hand free. Seeing everyone's eager faces, he sighed dramatically. "You're annoying, Chloé. Her hair is honey-colored and her eyes are murky green."
Chloé cackled, obviously disagreeing. It was that moment that Marinette used to sneak out of the classroom. Hidden in the bathroom, she opened her purse to let out her Kwami.
"Tikki, what should I do?" she moaned, burying her face in hands. "I can't help it but feel like Félix is… up to something."
"Why?" Tikki flew around, enjoying her temporary freedom. "Maybe he's just trying to be nice!"
"Well… That's the thing," Marinette explained in low whisper. "Why now? Why… to me of all people? He has been nothing but infuriating since school started!"
She recalled the terror of his first week at school. On the first day, he had seemed nice enough. He and Adrien were almost inseparable. But Félix caught on quickly to the wariness and distrust towards him in the classroom, so from the second day on, he dropped the act as soon as teachers were out of sight.
Taunting. Mocking. Pushing people out of his way. Causing them to trip. In more than one way, he was as bad as Chloé. Or even worse, Marinette thought bitterly. Félix didn't discriminate – he was a jerk to everyone, even to the queen bee. So it was only natural that Chloé seemed nicer while staying exactly the same.
"Marinette!" Tikki landed on her lap. "You don't have to trust him! Just trust yourself! I think it was a good idea to share the chocolate with everyone. And you gave him the chocolate macaron that you made for Adrien… Maybe this is his way of saying thank you!"
"Yeah, you're probably right." Marinette smiled weakly.
"And you have the luck of a ladybug on your side!" Tikki looked at her friend affectionately. Marinette's smile deepened. She scooped Tikki up and brought her up to her face. Tikki nuzzled her cheek. Suddenly, the speakers at school came to life, alerting them of a new akuma. It requested students to stay put in their classrooms and wait for further instructions.
"See?" Tikki giggled. "Lucky you're not in the classroom right now!"
"Yeah," agreed Marinette readily. "Let's go then. Tikki, spots on!"
Once transformed, she exited the cubicle. Checking that there was no one in the school hallway, she sneaked out through a hallway window, jumping to the roof of the building next door with the help of her trusty yo-yo. Up high, she could see in the distance what might have been the supervillain. It was hard to tell from so far.
"A-paw-ling, isn't it, milady? And it was such a beautiful day today!"
"Don't start, Chat." Ladybug resisted the temptation to roll her eyes, when the black cat settled into a run next to her. They kept moving, stopping only when they were close enough to see what they were up against.
"An office worker?" she thought out loud. "The akuma must be in his briefcase." From the corner of her eye, she noticed movement on her left. A door opened and a girl wearing a brown hood peeked out. Confirming it was safe, the hooded figure exited stealthily, running in the direction of the akuma. Ladybug's eyes fell on the sign of the building. It had the same name and design as on the chocolates that Félix gave her.
But she couldn't waste time thinking about it. They had a mission to do, a city to save. She turned her attention back to the latest victim of Hawkmoth's wicked plan.
The fight was tougher than either of them had anticipated. In the end, they had had to enlist the help of Rena Rouge, borrowing the fox miraculous from the Guardian. After de-akumatizing the butterfly, Ladybug left with Rena Rouge, so the latter could detransform safely while Chat Noir dealt with the aftermath and a very confused Japanese salaryman, who was overwhelmed by the city of love.
"Thank you for your help," Ladybug said, accepting the miraculous back from Alya. Her own transformation was about to wear off, so she said goodbye quickly and ran off. Ladybug became Marinette Dupain-Cheng in a dark alleyway. She gave a cookie to Tikki and put the fox miraculous in her bag, concealing it from curious eyes.
In the hallway of Master Fu's residence, she heard voices. It was unlike her to snoop, but for some reason, the voices made her stop for a moment.
"I beg you. Please let me borrow the Ladybug's miraculous."
"I understand your situation, Miss Cheng, but I'm afraid it's not for me to decide."
"Then at least convince her. Or him."
"That, you'll have to do on your own."
Marinette entered.
"Hello, Marinette. Miss Cheng, this is Marinette. Marinette, this is Bridgette Cheng." Master Fu's soothing voice sounded in her head like an echo.
She had heard about it before. Marinette had seen dozens of pictures of people who had found their doppelganger. She had just never imagined it might happen to her. By the looks of it, this Bridgette was equally shocked.
"Marinette is our guardian-in-training," explained Master Fu slowly. Bridgette stood up in a rush and before anyone could react her arms were around the very surprised teenager.
"You must help me," Bridgette whispered in her ear, voice full of desperation.
"Miss Cheng arrived here with the most unusual story. She says she wants to return a miraculous."
Bridgette released the girl from her hug and opened her purse. Marinette noticed how much it looked like her own. A Kwami flew out and bowed in front of the company.
"My name is Choccolat," she introduced herself. "Nice to meet you." She landed on Bridgette's shoulder and looked curiously at Marinette. Suddenly, she squealed: "Tikki!" and flew in to ambush the red Kwami who had come out after hearing her name.
"Choccolat!" she cried. The two embraced only like Kwamis could. "I can't believe you're here!"
Bridgette was the first to put the information together.
"So you're Ladybug," she stated the obvious. "I suppose that's… well, that's only fitting." A sad smile passed over her face. "I guess we should sit down. Master Fu, is that okay with you?"
"Of course. I will bring you some tea." The man nodded. "Marinette, I trust your judgment." He left the room, leaving the two girls alone.
Bridgette fiddled with the ring on her finger, unsure on how to approach the subject.
"Like Master Fu said, my name is Bridgette Cheng," she spoke slowly, testing the waters. "And once upon a time, I was you. I used a miraculous to save Paris. But in my un… story, it was not enough. All I could do in the end was save myself. And even that just barely." She looked her copy in the eyes and took Marinette's hands in her own. "My miraculous was the chameleon, Choccolat. We broke like a million rules to get here."
She laughed, but there was sadness to it. "I managed to bring over one more miraculous, but it's damaged. I need the ladybug miraculous to fix it. In my uni… story," she corrected herself again, "the rules are a bit different. A Ladybug's kiss can undo a miraculous."
"And what happens then?" Marinette asked.
"And then, there will be two more miraculous under your care. Paris doesn't really need more heroes." Bridgette's gaze softened. "You're taking this way calmer than I thought you would."
"Oh, trust me," Marinette giggled. "This is going to blow my mind once it really settles in."
Bridgette laughed. "Yeah, I imagine. Anyway, I don't need an answer right now. Just… promise me you'll think about it."
"I will. Thank you for alerting us to your presence." It was the first time a miraculous holder from outside was visiting so openly.
"Consider Choccolat a trump card. I will not be transforming until my mistakes are corrected."
The door opened. Master Fu entered, carrying a tea tray. Marinette stood and took it from him. They sat down again. There was nothing more to be said.