Hi, I don't know why this page keeps deleting my stories or making them unavailable, but I hope this finally works. It's my third time reuploading it.

It's going to be a series of interrelated one-shots. Which means there's a storyline, but there's no major plot. Honestly, I'm writing this story because I'm a huge fan of fluff and character devolepment. Each chapters focus in a different year of their life, so except the next chapter to be when they're 14 years old (and so on).

Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy it!

CHAPTER 1. (13 years old) A second chance.

Marinette's life before becoming Ladybug was boring and full of dull days doing nothing.

They were a lot easier, though. She could design, play videogames and do her homework, and never lose her beauty sleep. Being Ladybug came with some downfalls—like giving up precious sleep hours and being overly tired all the time because of all the running around the city fighting monsters. She would also occasionally get some bruises which she could not explain.

Even so, Marinette's life changed for the better. In more ways than just having awesome powers and a physique she did not achieve the honest, hard way.

Marinette had never set foot in a gym out of her own will or led a fitness lifestyle. After all, her parents owned a bakery, there was no way she would forgo such delicious pleasures. Yet out of nowhere, her body could run for hours on end without the characteristic burning on her legs. It was both convenient and straight up unfair. Gym classes became rather interesting, though. Marinette enjoyed not feeling like dying while everyone else looked like they were about to pass out. And that's how a previously extenuating class became one of her favorite subjects. Really, it wasn't her fault. She was allowed to enjoy the perks of being a superhero.

Her love life had also been less interesting. Not that it was the best after becoming Ladybug, but it certainly changed. It wasn't because of her powers, even if sometimes Marinette wondered how much Ladybug's luck rubbed on her daily life. Now that she looked back at it, her mid-13 years old life was when everything started to slowly change. She wasn't the type of girl to have a crush and let the world know. Of course, she had some small crushes in her childhood and some boys expressed their crush on her in ways that were rather funny. But Marinette never thought she would end up being someone to have an unrequited love everyone knew about but him.

God, why did he have to be so perfect but so dense?

Having such an enormous crush on him was funny, knowing that she hated him at first.

The moment she met Adrien, she had thought that it was hate at first sight.

Terrible first impression, no doubt.

"Don't be like that," Alya told her. "Do you truly think he deserves it?"

"He's an asshole," Marinette complained, pouting like a little child. In her defense, she was a little child. 13 years old was the age where kids were as annoying as they could be, and even if she tried to be nice to everyone, Marinette couldn't help also being a stupid little preteen sometimes. "And—and he's friends with Chloé!"

"Sabrina isn't a bad person and she's—"

"Sabrina's her slave."

"—friends with Chloé." With her argument being shot down midsentence, Alya surrendered. "Oh well, whatever. There's no denying it."

"He's either an asshole or her slave," Marinette continued. "It has to be one of those, I'm sure. Why else would he put a gum on my seat?"

Instead of addressing her complains, Alya shook her head.

"You're too thickheaded, Mari."

"I'm not!"

"Sure," Alya rolled her eyes. Even as a child, Alya had a strong personality. Some things never changed. "And I'm not Alya Césaire."

"Then who are you?" Marinette teased.

Alya stayed silent for a minute before groaning. "You get the point. Don't bother me."

Marinette giggled. "I know I'm thick headed. I can't help it."

"Then at least try."

"Try what?"

"To give him another chance," Alya clarified. Apparently, Alya decided that this conversation was not important enough for her to put her attention on it. She scrolled down her phone and absentmindedly said, "Who knows? Maybe you'll end up marrying him in the future."

Marinette wrinkled her nose. "Don't joke about that."

Alya laughed. "Just give him a chance, girl. You've got nothing to lose."

"Oh, I have lots of things to lose. Like my dignity."

"Drama queen," Alya mumbled.

"What was that?"

Alya stared at her blankly. "I didn't say anything."

Marinette did give him another chance. Or at least, she tried. It was a very confusing moment of her life, suddenly becoming a Ladybug without a manual, fighting against monsters she had never seen in her life before and… and she also needed to think about giving Adrien a second chance. Marinette didn't have enough brain capacity to process everything at the same time. She was afraid, annoyed, impressed—all sorts of emotions mixing together. At that moment, Marinette felt more like a coward. Why did she have to fight akumas and give Adrien another chance?

If her mid-13 years old self would get the choice to decide whether she wanted to be Ladybug or not… she would have probably said she didn't want to.

She was just a scared child with a big task on her shoulders.

And she could only think, why did it had to be me? Why do I have to take this burden upon me?

Marinette could not deny that she was selfish, and a coward. At least, until she became Ladybug. Out of nowhere, she started to enjoy it putting her life at risk at the prospect of watching people being so grateful and alive because of her. The moment she promised the entire city that they were going to watch out for them, something snapped inside of her. She meant it. Marinette used to think she was useless, but being Ladybug allowed her to be everything she had always wanted to be. And she loved every bit of it.

It also affected her daily life. Enough of putting off with Chloé's bullying, Marinette found herself to be brave enough to confront her. It felt amazing, like truly finding herself. Ladybug woke up her inner self—not the annoying child but the kind and strong girl that Marinette was always afraid to show the world.

Somehow, that change in attitude allowed her to truly look at Adrien.

And she hopelessly fell in love.

There she stood on the rain, Adrien's umbrella in her hand. Marinette was rendered speechless so harshly that she forgot how to speak for the next five minutes. So she stayed there, stupidly staring at the direction Adrien's car had disappeared to. Her heart was beating hard and her mind was a mess.

Marinette had never felt like that before.

Her past, meaningless child crushes were nothing compared to this.

Oh, she had it bad. And unknown to her, that would not go away. Not in a year or two. She would have it so bad for him she would fall twice for him. It was going to be a wonderful yet painful feeling, that although it didn't accompany her during some parts of her life, it did come back again and again.

"Are you alright, Marinette?" Nathanael asked her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Marinette blinked twice and noticed that there was nothing in her hand anymore.

The umbrella was laying on the floor. At some point, Marinette's hand had ceased to work, and she had let go of it. Nathanael picked it up for her and repeated the exact same action that Adrien had done. But this time, Marinette's heart didn't flutter at all.

"Thanks, Nath," Marinette managed to say. It took her a great amount of willpower to find her voice, and when she did, it sounded more like a high-pitched robot than a normal human being.

Nathanael frowned. "Are you feeling sick? You're acting weird," he said, then fidgeted. "More than usual, at least."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Marinette inquired.

"You've been weird lately," Nathanael looked down, a bit flustered. "More open. Confident. Not mean-confident like Chloe… more like, nice-confident? Uh, I don't even know what I'm saying right now. Sorry." He took a step back and stepped into the rain. "It's a nice change. Everyone likes this Marinette."

Marinette stared at Nathanael walking away.

"Do you mean it?"

He looked back over his shoulder, a gentle smile on his face. "I do."

Marinette stood there another minute.

Then, she burst out laughing.

"I guess Alya's right," Marinette said to no one in particular. Everyone had already gone home. She also stepped into the rain, umbrella in hand. "I was too thick headed."

(A glimpse in the future)

"I was such a stupid child," Marinette commented suddenly.

Adrien laughed and put his book down to look at her. "What is it with the sudden realization?"

Marinette gave him a dirty look and softly slapped his forehead half-heartedly. She didn't expect to have such an affirmative response. "I was having flashbacks of my childhood," Marinette said. "From the time we first met."

"Oh," Adrien recognized. "Bad first impression."

"Right?" Marinette let out a laugh. "That first time I saw you in my seat with a gum in your hand, I thought that I had a new enemy." Marinette shook her head, amused at her memories. "Alya was right. I was a drama queen."

"You? A drama queen?" Adrien furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't remember any drama queen Marinette. Clumsy and flustered Marinette, yes, a lot. But I never took you as a dramatic person."

"You didn't get to meet that Marinette. It was before becoming Ladybug," she explained. "Before meeting you."

"Damn," Adrien smirked mischievously and purred like a cat against Marinette's lap. "I would have loved to meet that Marinette."

Marinette wrinkled her nose. "No, you wouldn't. I was annoying."

"But it was you," Adrien said. "I wish I could've met you since birth."

Even after so many years, Marinette still blushed when Adrien bluntly said those kinds of things. How did he manage to say that with such a straight—handsome straight face?

"I don't think we would've got along," Marinette continued. "I was selfish. A stupid kid. It took a while to be able to be a better person. I was never a mean bully like Chloé but… sometimes, I felt like I was. I usually didn't act like my mind told me to, but those thoughts were there. They haunted me. And sometimes, I was a little prick."

"Weren't we all?" Adrien tilted his head.

"C'mon," Marinette exclaimed. "You were perfect. Child model, handsome, smart, rich, well mannered, stupidly gentle and kind. You knew fencing, Chinese, and you understood physics and math! No one understood physics at that age."

"Somehow I feel like I was insulted?"

Marinette ran her fingers through his hair and Adrien purred some more, shutting his eyes instantly in delight. "It was a compliment, minou. I fell in love with you because of it."

It took him a few seconds to continue talking. His lips curved in an amused grin. "Because I was rich and handsome?"

"No," Marinette giggled. "Because you were stupidly gentle and kind." She looked down at him, where his head laid on her lap with a pleasant expression. Because of the thin light, Adrien's golden hair seemed to shine among his surroundings. "Well, I won't deny that the handsome part was a good extra quality. I fawned over you all the time."

"I have no doubt about that now," Adrien said, snickering.

Marinette stayed silent while she continued to pet him. They had stopped being Ladybug and Chat Noir years ago, but Adrien stuck with a tendency to act like a cat when he went full loving mode. He also acted like a cat when he wanted attention, when he was happy or when— actually, he acted like a cat whenever he wanted. Adrien loved Marinette's hands and how good she was at petting him. That was something that he had made clear many times.

They were used to relax this way. Marinette would sit anywhere to chill and Adrien appeared to lay on her lap to read or sleep. During the week it was hard to spend time together because of work, so they tried their best to use their free time to the fullest. But something bothered her. Marinette's memories had stirred something inside her.

Insecurity.

"Do you think we would have ended up like this if I hadn't become Ladybug?" Marinette questioned, though she wasn't exactly directing it to Adrien. It was more of a rhetorical question that escaped her mind.

Adrien opened his eyes and stared at her with intensity. Taken aback, her hands stopped moving.

"I don't think I deserved being Ladybug," Marinette forced herself to continue speaking her mind. "Like I said, I don't think of myself as a naturally good person. Yet, I was chosen as Ladybug. Why? I don't understand. Ladybug made me a better person, not the other way around."

"Marinette," Adrien called her with a soft gentle voice, and she finally stared at him. At some point in her speech, Adrien had gotten up and was now sitting closely besides her. "Forgive me, but that's a lot of bullshit."

"But it's true," Marinette argued.

"Master Fu chose you because he saw the enormous potential you had," Adrien said. His hand made his way to Marinette's neck, where he drew circles with his thumb in a comforting manner. "You're being too harsh on yourself. The Marinette I know has always been kind to everyone, a brave, intelligent, amazing person. Maybe you had thoughts—everyone had thoughts like that—but you didn't act upon them because you knew it was wrong. And even if you did something bad, you acknowledged it, regretted it and tried to amend them."

"I wasn't like that before," Marinette insisted. "Ladybug made me that way."

"No," Adrien embraced her, not letting her speak again. His arms circled around her waist in a comforting manner, and Marinette let herself relax against his bodily warmth. "Ladybug gave you the confidence you needed to become who you really were. It was the same for me with Chat Noir. He allowed me to be who I couldn't but wanted to. You showed me that."

"But—"

Adrien trailed his hands down her back and breathed against Marinette's neck. She stopped trying to talk. "You're a wonderful person, princess. You can't talk me out of thinking you are."

"I said I was," Marinette clarified, her voice thin. Her body moved on her own to get closer to him, positioning herself over his lap and her arms around his neck.

"It's not about who you were," Adrien caressed her back skin slowly in a gentle manner that made Marinette shiver. "It's about who you are now—who you want to be."

Marinette smiled—truly smiled. A sensation of comfort and love were overwhelming her. "What did I do to deserve such an amazing fiancée?"

"Just being you," Adrien replied. He kissed her neck affectionately and buried his face in the crook of her neck, appreciating the moment. Her scent was soothing. "I would've fallen for you even if you didn't become Ladybug."

"But you loved Ladybug first," Marinette pointed out.

"I loved Ladybug because it was you," Adrien said. "The real you, who you wanted to be if you managed to become more confident in yourself. And you did. I fell for Marinette too, without knowing you were Ladybug."

"And I ended up falling for Chat Noir too. And I fell even harder for Adrien when I got to know you more."

"You know, I was also an annoying kid."

Marinette snorted. "Really? How?"

"I always snuck into my kitchen after hours," Adrien told her, his head tilted back to show his proudful smirk. "Our chefs were really fond of me, so I ate a lot. Being a child model I had to stay fit but it was rather difficult with me eating all the time. My father even thought that I could be sick and that's why I was getting fat. Eventually, he found out."

"And here I thought that you were perfect," Marinette said sarcastically.

Not understanding her tone, his eyes gleamed. She shook her head and laughed. Sometimes Adrien was too naive.

"I don't like the word perfect," Adrien declared. Marinette stared at him, expecting him to continue. "Perfection sounds surreal, fake. I love you and your flaws because that's what makes us human."

It was Marinette's turn to smile mischievously. She slowly traced her finger on his scalp and kissed the corner of his lips.

"Then, are you telling me this isn't perfection?"

"Very close, my lady," Adrien breathed shakily. "But it could be better."

"How?"

Adrien pulled her closer and Marinette arched her back, giving him more access to her neck where he was slowly making his way up to her lips. No words where needed. They knew each other. This is how things could be perfect—both of them, together. Only Adrien could spark such a warming sensation inside her. And that's what she needed to know it was alright. She didn't need to worry about the past.

Remembering her childhood was fun. It didn't need to be a matter to make her insecure again.

Then, Marinette remembered something.

"Alya was right about something else," Marinette commented once their lips separated.

"About what?"

Maybe you'll end up marrying him.

Marinette laughed. Sometimes Alya's aim was too on the spot, almost scary. But that's not something she was going to admit to her. At least not now.

"Nothing, I was just talking to myself." Marinette shook her head. She kissed him gently, her lips lingering over his as she said, "now, where were we?"

Did you guys like it? :D

Also, there's not going to be glimpses in the future every chapter, but they'll be frecuent. Just because I enjoy hinting where the story is going (and writing shameless fluff). What do you think? Is it interesting? Not enough fluff?

Let me now in the reviews!