MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG
"No, we're not going to need those."
"Are you sure? I thought ingredients are always measured in cups."
"Some recipes are like that," says Marinette, as a matter of fact, "but the best way to measure the ingredients is by weighing them. Some cups might be unreliable and even your own sight could fail, the more accurate way is using a scale. We can use the bakery's"
"Oh! It makes sense." Answers an excited Adrien, leaving the measuring cups on the stand. His phone buzzes again and the excitement disappears from his face.
"Is… everything ok?" Asks the girl.
"Yeah, Mari, don't worry. It's just that Nathalie's anniversary was unexpected for me and the rescheduling of this week it's gonna be more complicated..." says the model while writing an answer for the assistant. "Nathalie's been working extra these couple of weeks because all the changes that I've been asking her to do, another reason to give her something special." Turns to Marinette and smiles with embarrassment at her.
"Oh, lots of modeling compromises?" replies Marinette, trying to have a normal conversation with the boy. He shakes his head.
"They're about the same, but at night, because I've been spending most of my afternoons composing or on our special project." Says an unconcern Adrien, while rubbing his forehead
"Our special project?" Marinette swears that she would remember if she were doing anything special with Adrien.
"Ehm… I mean... I've been working on a special secret project... some plastic arts sort of… but if Nathalie asks, lately I've spent most of my afternoons in your house for a history assignment" says the model with a cheeky grin and a wink while they wait for their turn to check out their things. The green of his eyes makes her remember a certain superhero.
"Oh, Monsieur Agreste, are you asking me to lie for you?" Marinette says sarcastically. Great, now she's speaking to him with a familiarity she's never had before with the model. She needs to spend less time with that cat!
However, her question made his eyes glow with excitement.
"But it's for the greater good, I swear!" He answers, left hand in the air and the other in his chest. Both laugh sincerely, really enjoying their little bantering. Marinette is certain that there's no better sound than Adrien's laugh, even if it sounds kind of simi-
"You, love birds! Are you going to paid or what?" Exclaims the rude cashier in front of them.
"Oh! I'm sorry. Here, take my card" says the startled model. Is he not going to deny th-
"And... ehm.. we're just friends" Adrien adds before Marinette could get her hopes up. He doesn't make eye contact which either her or the cashier. After so many times, one would have thought that she was used to that sentence but that still hurts a bit.
As they come out of the store, Adrien's phone buzzes again. He stills for a moment as if deciding wherever to take it or not. He chooses to ignore it and continues walking. Not long the phone buzzes again. He sighs and goes for his phone, not before putting a hand on his head reminding Marinette of his persistent headache.
"That's it!" says the girl before he could pull out the phone. "I want your permission to do this!" and before he could give her it, Marinette is in front of him, her hands on his scalp.
Adrien's eyes involuntarily roll at the contact, and he lets her do her magic. With one hand in his pocket and the other with the groceries, Adrien Agreste is standing still completely at her mercy. His face relaxes and Marinette feels happy that she could help him a little bit, even if later he'll be back to his chaotic life. How can a teenager have so many responsibilities?
"Mari... oh... that feels… good. Thank… you-oh" All the muscles in his face soften, his mouth slightly open.
"Haha you're welcome." says as she giggles a little. He's not controlling anything about his expression "My mom had taught me about acupressure points, I find them quite useful" she gets closer to him, so she could touch the points on the back of his head while the ones at the side of his forehead.
"You're… that's awesome…" Slowly, Adrien begins to open his eyes and Marinette stops. They're TOO CLOSE! For a quick moment, both just stare at each other, realizing that they can feel each other breath on their faces. They jump away nervously, and something falls from Adrien's jacket. Marinette realizes that is the bag Juleka gave him earlier. As the boy has his hands occupied, Marinette picks up the bag and realizes what's inside of it.
"Camembert!" Exclaims Marinette! "This is Plagg favorite!" Adrien is shocked, completely. She knows she shouldn't be doing these kinds of suppositions and even more out in public, but she couldn't help it. She has seen that exactly storage method and cheese cut. Even the ones with the hearts stamps that annoy the kwami. She has seen them several times these couple of weeks and cannot be mistaken.
"Adrien are yo-" She couldn't finish her question because Adrien dropped the grocery bag and put two fingers in front of her, almost touching her mouth.
"I'm sorry Mari, but I think that you're confused," he says but Marinette can tell that it's a lie. Every single pore of his skin screams 'I'm about to get discovered'. Even if Adrien is the love of her life, she will never let him get his way with a lie. Still, she could be nice about it.
"It's ok." she says before getting close to him to whisper with complicity in his ear "I am too."
Astonished, Adrien doesn't say a word. He doesn't even blink, as his face turns red. Is it THAT difficult to believe that she could be Chat Noir's friend, too?
"You see" she starts explaining to him naturally "Chat has saved and protected me a couple of times and we kind of… talk" if Chat hasn't told him, she won't tell Adrien that another boy (even if he is Paris' superhero) has been spending time with her in her balcony. And in her bedroom. ALONE. "He mentioned that Plagg is a gluttony that only fancies cheese, so I asked him how he afford it. He told me that a close friend patronizes him, so that friend must be you!" She says while putting the bag of cheese playfully on his chest.
A little disappointment is shown on Adrien's face, but he recovers quickly and almost yells "Yes, exactly! I'm Chat Noir's cheese dealer!"
"But... Let's keep it our secret, yes Adrien?" She whispers to him. They are still on the middle of the street; he shouldn't be screaming that.
"Oh, yes of course. Sorry." He says abashed. He places the bag more securely in his jacket and picks up the grocery bag from the floor.
"So... how the two of you met?" she couldn't help but ask him as they continue their walk.
"Ehmm... like you. He saved me, we talked, became friends and then I started to give him cheese" he answers nonchalantly.
"...Are you close?"
"... You can say so." he replies and quickly adds "Well, as close as one can be with a hero with a secret identity anyway."
Marinette couldn't avoid beaming at him, even if she tried it.
"Does that... make you happy?" The model asks, curiosity in his eyes
Of course, it does! But Marinette can't tell him that she was happy because her future husband has a great relationship with his partner and best friend, so she blows the next best thing.
"The two of you are really important to me"
That sentence didn't reveal her identity, but it does show a little too much about her feelings. She is about to start a nervous rant to correct herself but as she looks at the boy she stops. If she was beaming with happiness a few seconds ago, Adrien right now is glowing. His eyes are bright, his cheeks slightly pink and his smile stunning. Marinette can't do anything but stare at him, captured by his eyes on hers and the general pink aura of blissfulness.
After a few seconds, that magical moment is interrupted by Adrien's phone. This time he picks up the call.
"Yes?... Oh really?" He says and looks across the street. Marinette follows his line of vision and sees Adrien's car and Gorilla waiting for him. "No, I haven't seen the last messages, but it's ok. I understand. Thank you for trying Nathalie." and hangs up. "Mari-"
"You need to go?"
"Yeah..." says the model. Defeat clear on his face.
"Don't worry, maybe we can reschedule, any day this week except tomorrow"
"Oh, don't worry, tomorrow I had an unshakable commitment." He says, showing a little of his contentment back. "But at least let us give you a ride to your house..."
"Adrien" She stops him, pointing out the bakery just in front of them, and smiles "I'm already home."
"Oh, right, I didn't notice"
"So, maybe you could give me these" she points to the bag with groceries "And I'll keep them safe and sound, so you don't have to carry them back.
"Yes, that's a great idea!" and gives her the bag. "Thank you very much for everything, Marinette." He says sincerely and, without any hesitation, Adrien wraps his arm around to hug her. Long.
She freezes but all her body turns warm. He takes a deep breath before moving away, his hands working their way across her arms and lingering on her own for a bit. He almost whispers his goodbye and then he crosses the street, leaving a very real wax statue of Marinette stunned.
. . . . .
"..an hear us?"
"I don't think so, some regulars greeted her when they came in but she didn't react."
"How long has she been like that?"
Luka. Marinette recognizes Luka's voice.
"About... 7 minutes."
He is talking with her father. What's going on?
"Is she ok? Did something bad happen?"
"On the contrary. She received the warmest hug I've seen in a while"
So that happened. Good, she wasn't hallucinating.
"Was... was it Adrien's?" asks Luka calmly, with a little bit of hesitation. A sense of urgency makes her want to move, but her body was reacting slowly.
"How did you kn-"
"HIIIIIII LUKAAAA!" Greets unnaturally the girl. "DAD, WHAT ARE YOU DOing here?"
"Nice to have you back, honey. I'm just attending to a customer" He says as he gives Luka a big box with pastries Marinette didn't notice before. "Are you going inside? Maybe I can help you with that" Tom points at the grocery bag.
"y-yes, please. Take care of it, that's some ingredients for Adr-" She starts to blush profusely now. "Just keep them dry, please. I want to catch up with Luka" she says while turning to the teen. Her father just smiles and takes the bag from her.
"Of course, honey, don't be late for dinner. See you later, young man"
"See you later, sir" Luka nods and her father leaves for the bakery. Marinette is aware that she was the one who told him to catch up but now she doesn't know what to say. Should she do small talk?
"I need to deliver these, want to join me?" Luka says while giving her a helmet. She smiles and joins him on the bike. As they're passing in front of the park, she starts to feel more relaxed. Why was she worried if nothing ever goes wrong with him?
"So, everything's progressing smoothly with Adrien?"
Ah... This is why.
"Well... There's not romantically 'progress' but at least we're closer friends(?)" She sighs as she places her hands on the back of the boy in front of her. "He's so kind, you know? Today he found out that her father's assistant will have 15 years of working for them and he asked me to teach him how to bake so he could give her something made by him."
"That's really nice of him"
"Yes! His birthday is in 11 days, 6 hours and 14 minutes away and most likely his father won't remember or care! I already have his gift, but I don't think that's enough, he deserves much more! But is so soon that I'm not sure I can do anything! UGH"
She didn't realize when she started to get angry but now, she was fuming in Luka's back. He stops in front of Sabrina's house and lets her get off the bike. He can feel that she wanted to say something more because he just stands, gently looks at her and nods.
"It's so annoying! I mean, even if I didn't like him like him, I would still think it's unfair! That's why Nino got akumatized for!"
"You're right!" Says Luka and his face tell her that he's having an idea. "Just give me a second while I deliver this" He smiles and takes the pastries to the customer. As she sees him doing his job, she realizes that she feels more alleviated. It's always so good to talk to him.
"So, I think you're right and not the only one that believes it. In your school there must be more people that think so too, I know I do. Maybe with everybody's help, we can give him the party that he deserves, without anyone getting akumatized."
"That's a wonderful idea" Excitement flowed in her eyes. "Between everyone, we could have a great party in no time!"
"Yeah, and I know a girl with outstanding leadership and organizational skills so it should be easy." He says looking straight at her, eyes full of trust. Her heart bloom and she smile tenderly at him.
"So... what do I need to do?" He says, pulling her out of that moment.
"Right now, Luka, please take me to my house, if you have time we could talk to people and set the things we need to do."
However, the trip to the bakery was interrupted by the sound of people screaming near them. An Akuma attack, that's for sure. She needs to find a way to separate and transform. The teenage boy stops the bicycle.
"Maybe we should Split up… you know," says Luka while helping her to stand "… so we can hide better from the akuma. Let's meet here after?"
This is convenient so Marinette wouldn't be the one to say no to that proposal. She finds an empty alley and Ladybug then appears. She throws her yo-yo and then she's flying through Paris, finding no sign of the akuma or her partner. She keeps moving until she gets to the park. If she remembers correctly, a chess tournament was supposed to happen today. she lands at the park and bingo! She locates the source of the screaming. She's about to get closer when somebody talks behind her.
"His name is Check Mate!" Alya has just behind her already recording. She surely is sneaky.
"Apparently, he said that his opponent had been moving the pieces illegally until he lost. After that, he got so angry nobody could do anything... His opponent had the sense to run just after he was akumatized"
"Where do you think the akuma is?
"I don't know. Should Rena Furtive find it out?"
"Of course!" Ladybug replies but Alya is already searching for a place to transform.
Ladybug approaches the park and notices human-sized black and white chess pieces. She couldn't tell how many people is akumatized because the pieces move fast, almost as if they teleported, but one at a time. Around them all the discarded tables and chairs from the tournament. There's a barely perceptible grid on the floor above them, with light and dark-colored squares. A chessboard.
In the center of the chaos was an about 2 meters tall figure, dressed in a classic french royalty style, its clothes and skin have black and white marbled design, that moves to create an almost hypnotizing effect. The only thing that remains the same color was the yellow scepter in his hands. Check Mate exudes authority as he moves through the board.
"Ladybug?"
"Yes, Rena? What do you see?"
"He's slow."
"What do you mean?"
"Yeah. There's a magical chessboard and he just moves one square at a time and the other pieces are super-fast. Still, I think he controls all the pieces oh-"
There she sees it. A bishop got suddenly in front of a woman who couldn't run before she gets caught. The human piece remains expressionless but their hold on the woman is strong. Check Mate starts to move, slowly, directly to their position. When the victim notices Check Mate approaching, she freezes at him. Her face grows with fear and her efforts to be free multiply, her eyes don't leave the akuma for a second. She's terrified. She's more than desperate to run but her attempts are in vain, the bishop doesn't move a centimeter.
As Check Mate is moving to this woman, two other old men got caught by a pawn and a horse. They both try to fight the pieces but is useless. Finally, Check Mate stands in front of the desperate woman and touches her with his specter. The woman turns into a queen. The new queen teleports and catches another man.
"Rena, what can you see from there?"
"The other pieces can teleport, but their movements are a little square or in lines. The only different ones are the horses."
"I thought so. They're following the rules of movement for chess. That's why Check Mate is so slow, he's the King. He could only move one step at a time".
"That's great! So, we can predict how are they going to move?"
"Yes and no" replies the spotted heroine "seems that he can control all the pieces, no matter the color, and their movements are incredibly fast so it's pretty difficult" She realizes as she's searching for her partner in black. "Ughhh, where's Chat Noir? What's taking him so long?"
"Not sure but we are going to need it. With every person Check Mate transform, the chessboard expands"
"And everybody that is on the board will likely get caught"
"When Check Mate notices them, that is. Because he still is the one who decides how everybody moves."
Three other people are transformed and Ladybug notices that there's an old woman hidden well behind a bench, but she doesn't move. She's distressed.
"Ladybug! Luka's there!" Alerts Rena in her ear.
"What?!" She exclaims as she sees Luka running to the old lady, picking her bridal style. "Thank you, my ankle hurt, and I couldn't get out." The woman cries loud enough to be heard by Check Mate. He is in the middle of transforming another person so Ladybug flies with her yo-yo to pull tem out of the chessboard, just before a rook could catch them.
Now in a secured place, Ladybug put both on the ground and Luka quickly takes her hand to capture her attention.
"I'm sorry Ladybug, I was just trying to take her out of the board before Check Mate notice her. You almost got captured by saving us." He says adverting his gaze. No one has ever felt guilty because Ladybug saved them before, even Luka. He had always been thankful, but she's always been in this close-call situations like before this, and nobody ever told her something similar.
"Don't worry Luka, this is my job." Replies smiling but the teenage boy answers with a sad smile and presses her hand. Weird.
"You, madam. Are you ok?" She now turns to the woman.
"Oh, yes Ladybug. I might have sprained my ankle but it's nothing. I can call my son here. Thank you so much and you young man, you're a hero without a mask. I'm extremely thankful." She says as Luka blushes at the compliment.
"Yes, he is" intervenes Marinette with a proud smile. "Now, if you excuse us, I'll need to borrow your hero for a moment. Luka, can you hang on me, please?"
Luka does as he's told, and Ladybug takes them to the top of a building.
"I need you Luka Coffeine." she says as she gives him the snake Miraculous. Sass greets them and seconds later Viperon is ready to fight this akuma. Now, only a superhero is missing.
"Where could Chat be!?" She asks to herself while she closes her yo-yo. Voicemail again.
"I bet he's a little busy" Viperon replies calmly.
"Ok, what do you know about this akuma?"
"Well, Check Mate transforms people into chess pieces and controls them, obeying chess rules. The board, aka his area of action, gets bigger with every person he transforms and his akuma is in his crown"
"In his crown? I thought it would be the specter."
"That is a distraction. The crown is the only thing that has a solid color that changes to the color of the piece he's controlling at that moment."
"The boy is good!" Rena sounds in Ladybug's ear, echoing her thoughts.
"That and a couple that was watching the game saw the transformation and his king piece becoming a crown." Viperon adds with a cheeky smile. Marinette really likes that no-so-serious side of Luka.
"Ok, thank you. Now, let's get closer to the game zone. I need your second Chance in case someone gets caught."
"Got it, Ladybug!"
With their super speed, they get 100 meters of the board in no time. Casually, Viperon walks in front of her and puts himself between her and the board in a protective manner. The second chance is called.
"Well, I'll try to get close and see what-"
"Ladybug!" Interrupts Viperon, taking her elbow gently. I gesture typical of Luka "Chat Noir is on his way. Call him and warn him before he steps on the board!"
"Ok!" She quickly pulls her yo-yo and calls her partner. "Chat?"
"Yeah, my Lady! I'm coming!"
"Chat, the akuma is chess-themed. There's a board marked on the park. If you step on it you'll get caught!"
"Got it, Bugaboo..." He says and Ladybug can recognize her partner's change of direction by his change of breathing. "I can see you both now. Wait for me!"
Seconds later, Chat lands just beside them and greets them with a radiant smile at both "M'lady, Viperon… So, what's the plan?" He asks.
"I'm not sure" replies Ladybug and turns to Viperon. The snake superhero locks his gentle eyes with her and nods, full of confidence, waiting for her to talk. The same gesture he gave her a few minutes ago without suits.
"So, I think this is as good time as ever." She says, ignoring the warmth and familiarity in her heart" Lucky Charm!"
She throws her yo-yo through the air and then a spotted banana falls on her hands. "Any idea of what to do with this? She asks.
"I think we have better chances that Check Mate surrenders than figure this one fast, my Lady"
"That's it Chat!" Ladybug replies, see the banana, the chessboard, and lastly Check Mate. "Who requires some potassium?" She asks, peeling the banana and giving half of it a bite. Chat goes for the other half and she's about to swing her yoyo but is interrupted by Viperon.
"Ma- Ladybug!" He quickly glances at his miraculous but continues. "I know what you're about to do, but please don't try to do it alone" He pleads, touching her shoulder to get her full attention. "Look, chess is about strategy and now you have 2 pawns you can use to win"
"What had happened to my Lady?" Intervenes Chat Noir. He stands closer to Ladybug and Viperon loses contact.
"She has tried it in 7 different ways by herself but gets caught, hurt or both."
"What do you want to do?" Chat asks now looking at her
"I want him to 'surrender', with some help" She answers and shows the banana peel on her hand. "But if you two get caught..."
"Don't worry about us. You need to able to predict his movements and that's what other pieces are made for" He smiles at her and then quickly at Viperon. She looks at the chessboard, the banana peel, her 2 partners and sighs.
"Ok, here's what we are going to do" and she starts to explain her plan to the two superheroes.
Viperon enters the board first and quickly gets caught by a rook. He keeps his hand over his miraculous in case something goes wrong but Hawkmoth mask appears on Check Mate's face and the piece pulls Viperons hands apart. Slowly, Check Mate goes to Viperon's position.
"Going for the snake first? What a rook-ie mistake!" Says Char Noir as he lands at the board and Check Mate turns completely to him by Hawkmoth's orders, forgetting about Viperon. Chat Noir avoids getting caught a couple of times but at the third a bishop finally gets him.
Check Mate, then starts to walk to him, and before he could put down his last step to get him, Ladybug places the banana peel on the floor and the Akuma falls to the floor, his crown turns gray and all the akumatized pieces free their hostages.
"Cataclysm!" Chat destroys the crown before Check Mate could get up and Ladybug purifies de akuma. After that, she calls for the Miraculous Ladybug and everything goes back to normal. Another victory. Another plan of Hawkmoth ruined. The heroes pound it and Viperon goes to check on the victim.
"M'Lady, I need to go before my time runs out!"
"See you later on patrol?" She asks. He's missed their afternoon patrols and doing some really late-night patrols by himself lately because he's been busy.
"I'll try my best Bugaboo, but if not, I'll patrol later. Paris won't be abandoned by their dear superhero" He answers before winking and disappearing through the sky.
Disappointment flooded her heart.
'But of course, for his little project with Marinette, he does have time.' She thinks and buffs internally before repriming herself. Was she envious of her alter ego? Overspending time with Chat?
"M-Ladybug" Viperon interrupts her thoughts "Your melody sounds a little disturbed. Is everything ok?"
How does he do it? She is about to tell him not to worry about it when his miraculous beep its final warning and they went to search for a safe place to detransform. Luka gives the bracelet back to the guardian.
"You know Ladybug, you are not alone anymore" he says, and Ladybug couldn't do anything else but stare at his gentle eyes. "Me, Chat Noir and I'm sure the other superheroes would be happy to help you through anything. Count on us."
"...Yes, I will. Thank you, Luka."
"No, Thank you." He replies, emphasizing the 'you'. "Now, I got to go. My friend is waiting for me, and I don't want to keep her long". He grins and walks away.
"I didn't know that Luka could be sarcastic" She hears in her ear, before a beep of her own miraculous
"What do you mean, Rena?"
"Well girl, you won't like what I'm about to say but... I think he knows."