Chapter 7: Life is Sometimes Unfair
Hearing Chat Noir's advice, Arachnid let go of the net he had created with his lasso, and threw himself onto the ground. When Chat released the dark sphere, this one moved almost like it was in slow-motion, before dashing towards Hot Tamale at an incredible speed, hitting him on the chest. Upon impact, the energy from the Cataclysm Bomb spread all over Hot Tamale's body, sending him flying several meters into the air, before landing on the ground, inanimate. To those who had seen it happenings, it felt like they were watching it in ultra-slow-motion, with the body being thrown into the air and then hitting the ground the way it did. Still, it did not matter if what happened was a by-product of the attack, which felt like it had slowed time around the Akuma, or if it was just an optical illusion created by their brains. What mattered was that Hot Tamale was seemingly defeated and was now lying on the ground. The heroes all waited for the Akuma butterfly to get out of Hot Tamale's body, so they could destroy it, but it was taking a lot longer for that to happen. Wondering why the Akuma Butterfly had not appeared yet, one of the heroes went to check on the Akuma. The one who decided to do so was Grizzly Bear. Approaching Hot Tamale, he wondered if Chat's attack had been too powerful, because he looked like he was not breathing. Not seeing him breathing was scaring the bear hero, who was beginning to think that maybe he or Chat had exaggerated when taking him down.
"Please, let him be alive, let him be alive… the last thing we need tonight, is accidently killing an Akuma." -Grizzly thought to himself, hoping that Hot Tamale was simply unconscious. Touching him, Grizzly shook him, trying to see if he was alive or not. –"Hey, wake up!" -he said, only for Hot Tamale to suddenly lift his head and glare at Grizzly Bear, who got scared and fell on his butt.
"M-Malditos m-mocosos…" –Hot Tamale stuttered, cursing the heroes, as he lifted his right hand, trying to grab Grizzly's leg, before this one and his head fell the ground again, signalling that this time he was truly unconscious and beaten.
And with those last word, the black Akuma Butterfly left Hot Tamale's body, with this one returning to his human appearance, as every last one of his fiery creations also disappeared.
"Okay… first time that happens." -Grizzly Bear commented, as he got up, never taking his eyes from the black butterfly flapping its wings. -"Who wants to have the honour of getting rid of this nasty bug?" -he asked the others, as he continued to observe the Akuma butterfly.
"I will." -Panda Roux said, as he magically ordered his spear to return to its regular size. –"No more evil doings for you, you blasted Akuma Butterfly. I relinquish you from evil!" -he said as he shot his spear at the nasty insect, piercing it and destroying it.
"Nice shot." -Chat Noir said, praising him.
"Indeed, nice work." -Ladybug also praised Panda Roux, as she approached him and the others. –"And I think it's time I put everything back the way it was, or tomorrow, everyone will be asking why is there a burnt piece of land, where there should be a beautiful garden? " -she said, as she summoned the Ampulla Amulet.
Using it, a wave of magic spread all over the place, putting everything back the way it was, before Hot Tamale showed up. Once more, the power of that amulet had reversed things, making it look like it never happened. Shortly after, the rest of the team arrived, as Gustavo, who had been turned into Hot Tamale, slowly, but steadily regained conscience. Already awake, and seeing the Miraculous Heroes around him, he quickly realized he had been akumatized and began begging them for forgiveness. The heroes, already used to this kind of speech, quickly assured him that he was not one to blame for what happened.
"It's quite alright. It's not your fault that you were akumatized." -Louve Grise declared.
"Yeah, it can happen to anyone." -Arachnid said.
"I know, I know… but I shouldn't have let my temper get the best of me, when those guys insulted my food." –Gustavo sighed, feeling terrible about what happened.
"Hey, we're only human. There's no sweat." -Carapace said. Like everyone else in the team, he knew that words of encouragement were the best thing they could say to someone who had been a victim of akumatization. –"What matters is that you're back to normal, and that no one got hurt." -he said.
"Though some of us are going to feel incredibly sore in the morning." -Queen Bee thought to herself.
Though he continued to feel responsible, after a couple more encouraging commentaries from the heroes, Gustavo stopped blaming himself for all that happened, blaming Hawk Moth and his cronies, regaining what they all believed was his usual good humour. And with it, he proceeded to thank them the only way he could think of.
"You must allow me to thank you for turning me back to normal." -Gustavo told them. –"I know! Whenever you feel like grabbing a taco, or a burrito, or any other Mexican dish, just stop by my food van. Usually, my food van and I are near Notre-Dame, or near the Musée d'Orsay. Just look for the yellow van with a burrito on top of it, with bright orange letters. You can't miss it." -he stated.
It was not the first time that someone who owned any kind of food establishment, being it mobile or not, had graciously offered the heroes the opportunity to eat for free, whenever they wanted, and they knew this would to be the last one wither. Still, they would never take advantage on the people they saved, at least, not more than once a month, when they were on patrol or during an urban training session, and happened to pass by the place.
"It's a deal." -Ladybug said.
"Would be glad to pay you a visit, from time to time." -Flamingo declared. She was not a big fan of Mexican food, but she was sure Gustavo would have something in his menu that she would like.
"And we promise we won't take too much advantage of you. Especially Grizzly here, which you can imagine, has the appetite of a bear." -Antelope said, as he pointed at the bear hero.
"I do not! You always say that, just because I've got big bones!" -Grizzly Bear told him, slightly annoyed.
"Sure, big bones! We'll take your word for it, big guy." -Antelope joked.
With his spirits lifted, Gustavo decided it was time for him to go back to his food van and see if everything was alright with it. Hoping the heroes would visit him and try his Mexican delicacies, he bid them farewell, walking away. As he did this, the whole team could not help but to feel they had done a good job.
"Another satisfied customer, you might say." -Dragonfly commented, as she watched Gustavo walking away, at the distance
"You could call him that." -Queen Bee said. –"I'm glad we could help him out." -she said, as she stretched her arms upwards, knowing that once she turned back to her normal self, she was going to feel like her arms had been kneaded by a rolling pin.
"And looks like the media are here." -Rena Rouge said, as she saw various reporters with cameras at the distance, and making their way to where they were.
Like every other time they saved the day, the media always showed up to cover it, and in the end, to interview them and get a better understanding of the situation. Most of the times, they would be thrilled to say a couple of words to the cameras, assuring everyone in Paris that whenever Hawk Moth and his Akumas showed up, they would be there to save the day and ensure that things would go back to normal. But on that night, none of them were in the mood to be interviewed or photographed; nor only because they were sore and exhausted, but because they had their night ruined by that unfortunate incident.
"Yeah, but I'm not in the mood for interviews tonight. Plus, we don't have any time to spare." -Ladybug said, as she checked the time on her yo-yo/cell phone. –"We've got to get back at the arena, or when our parents, or whoever comes to pick us up from the concert gets there, and doesn't see us, they'll start asking questions." -she sighed.
"She's right. We've got to head back, and fast." -Flamingo said.
"Hate to do this to the media, but they'll just have to wait for the next Akuma attack." –Panda Roux said.
"Which hopefully, won't be any time soon." -Corbeau Noire commented. –"I don't know about you, but I for one don't want to have to deal with another Akuma during the next couple of days." -she said.
"Yeah, hopefully. Though I wouldn't bet everything I have in that happening." –Chat Noir said grimly.
And with those words, the heroes made their exit, fleeing in the opposite direction of the journalists that were coming to interview them. As much as they hated to do it, they just did not have the time that night for interviews. The media would just have to use their investigative skills to fill in the gaps of what happened that night, when reporting the news. Some of the journalists and reporters felt that was a little unfair for all the Miraculous Team to run away, without as much as answering a single question. But when it came to unfairness, they were not the only ones who felt that things were unfair. The whole team had had their share of unfairness that night, when they were forced to forfeit Jagged Stone's concert, and as much as they felt good about saving another innocent victim, who Hawk Moth used to create chaos in Paris, and lure them in order to get their miraculouses, they were also pissed about what happened to them.
"We've lost the concert. I can't believe we lost the concert." -Ladybug thought to herself. –"And it's all because of that psycho bastard, who keeps throwing these guys at us! It's because of him that neither I, nor any of the others can even have a night out and enjoy ourselves, like regular teenagers do. Curse you, Hawk Moth… curse you and your Akumas!" –she thought, as she hopped over a chimney.
She knew those thoughts she was having right then, were not the kind of thoughts a superheroine should have, after saving the day. But right then, Ladybug was not thinking like a superheroine. She was thinking like a teenager, who had her night ruined. A night that was supposed to be special, and in the end, ended up with her being stabbed by a psychotic lizard man, while also fighting another Akuma.
"I know we're the only ones who can deal with these situations, but is it too much to ask for us to be able to have a nice, quiet night, where everything goes our way? I mean, come on, it's not like I'm asking for the Moon here!" -Ladybug thought to herself, as she tried to ignore the pain in her arm, while swinging up the street. Carapace had done a good job healing her, but she was going to need to rest during the night for the pain to fully disappear. –"It's times like this that I hate having superpowers, and that I wished I was just a normal teenage girl, whose biggest dilemma right now, should be worrying about the exams that I'm taking next week, along with what I'm going to do after that. " -she thought.
And she was not the only one having such thoughts. Pretty much everyone else on the team were thinking the same thing. That their night had been ruined, and that it was this kind of situations that made them wish they did not have any superpowers.
"Curse that Hawk Moth!" -Antelope thought to himself.
"One night! Just one night! That's all I was asking!" -Rena Rouge mused to herself.
"One night for me to spend it with my friends, and with the girl I love. Is that too much to ask?" -Corbeau Noire asked herself.
"These miraculouses of ours, they're both a gift and a curse, that's for sure." -Forest Doe thought.
Their night was ruined, but they all believed that a few good hours of sleep would help them forget about how awful their night was, and that in the morning, they would not feel as bad as they were feeling, regarding what happened to them. Unfortunately, they were not that lucky. Sleeping helped them to heal the wounds and bruises they got during their fight against Hot Tamale, but it did not help them to forget just how a night that was supposed to be perfect, in every sense of the word, was ruined, because their mortal enemy decided to spread his malevolence and chaos in the streets of Paris, forcing them to save the city and undo the evil he had done to a poor, defenceless civilian, by turning him into an Akuma.
And when they arrived in school, their mood had not improved at all. At breakfast, most of them were forced to lie about what happened the night before, while putting up a cheerful face. They all told anyone who asked them, that they had enjoyed themselves a lot and that the concert was amazing. Lies and more lies. They did not like to lie about what happened, but they could not risk and tell the truth about what truly happened. And that was just the first round. The second round was already in class, when Miss Bustier asked them how the concert had been, and asked them if they had taken any photos or videos of the concert, and if she could see them, during lunch. They told her that they had not been allowed to photograph or record the concert, because Jagged Stone did not allow the audience to do it, but that they had taken several photos outside.
"Well, what's important is that you had fun." -Miss Bustier told them, with her usual melodious voice. –"I'll be wanting to see those photos, during lunch. But right now, we best start working. We've got to make sure that you are prepared for the exams next week." -she told them.
Classes went on, like always, until Miss Bustier was called over to the principal's office, and had to leave them temporarily alone. Still, she gave them some work to do, that would keep them busy, until she came back. Normally, everyone in class would do as Miss Bustier had asked them, because they did not like to disappoint her. But on that morning, they simply ignored what she told them to do, and as soon as she left, some of the exchanged seats, while others sat on the stairs or on the floor, and tried to get their minds off things. They knew that when she was called to the principal's office, it would be at least half an hour, before she came back, and they were going to take advantage of it. On that morning, they simply were not in the mood to anything. Most of them felt that whatever they did, it would not help improve their mood, or take their minds of what happened the night before. So, they just decided not to do anything, except talk.
"When I got home, I pretty much went up to my room, and fell asleep. My parents assumed that I was exhausted, because of the concert." -Marinette sighed. She and Adrien had barely spoke that morning, because Marinette arrived just seconds before the bell rang. –"If only they knew the real reason why I was bushed." -she sighed.
"Did they ask you if you had a good time?" -Adrien asked her. As soon as Miss Bustier left the classroom, he asked Alya to change places with him, so he could sit next to Marinette.
"They did." -Marinette sighed. –"It was hard for me to lie to them, but what was I supposed to do? Tell them that I didn't get to see the concert, because an Akuma showed up, and I had to go and stop it?" -she asked Adrien.
"Well, at least they still asked you if you had a good time. My dad didn't." -Adrien sighed.
"Your dad didn't ask you, if you had a good time?" -Marinette asked him.
"No, he didn't. When I arrived, he was still in his office, working, and he was so focused on what he was doing, that I'm still wondering if he heard me wishing him goodnight. And this morning, when I came down to have breakfast, he had already left for a meeting." -Adrien told her. –"So, yeah, last night he didn't ask me anything, and this morning, he wasn't able to, because he had already gone out. On the other hand, Nathalie asked me if I had had a good time, and if you and the rest of the gang also had a good time." -he said. –"But changing subject, I think we can both agree that last night was a total bust. But at least, we were able to share the car, on our way back, and spend a little time together, which helped a little."
"Yeah. That was probably the best part of the night." -Marinette smiled at him.
"You want to know something? It was only when I got home that I remembered about leaving Reptile trapped in a food van… if I had remembered about it, I could have gone back to where I left him, and try to beat his boss' lair location out of him." -Adrien admitted. –"With everything that happened, I completely forgot about him… shame on me." -he told Marinette.
"Well, if it's any comfort, if you had remembered about him, and gone to confront him, when you got there, he probably wouldn't be there anymore. Hawk Moth would make sure of that." -Marinette said, trying to cheer him up. –"Plus, you know how Reptile is. He wouldn't reveal where his master's hideout is, not even under torture. Neither him, nor any of the other minions. They're blindly loyal to Hawk Moth. We might as well face it that we won't be able to find out where Hawk Moth's lair is, by beating it out of one of the idiots that work for him." -she said.
"Maybe, but that won't stop us from trying." -Max said, interrupting their conversation, as he sat on the stairs, next to them. –"And just so you know, I haven't stopped trying to pinpoint where his hideout really is. Sooner or later, I'll find a pattern, that will allow us to find it." -he said.
"Well, if there's someone who can do it, it's you, Max." -Ari said, as he got out of Max's pocket and landed on the boy's right shoulder. –"I keep telling you that." -the spider kwami stated.
"Indeed, you do. I just wish it was a little easier to do it, that's all." -Max told him.
A few rows higher, Mylene was seated next to Ivan. Kim followed her, along with Chloe and Sabrina, who did not feel like staying in their desks, just talking to one another. Like it happened with most of them, Mylene and Ivan did not talk much, preferring to just enjoy each other's company, and Chloe and Sabrina were not much in the mood to talk either that morning, preferring to remain mostly silent, enjoying the company of the others. So, it was up to Kim to do most of the talking for them.
"You know what we need?" -Kim asked them. –"We need to go out and unwind, somewhere, where no one will bother us." -he said. –"Since none of us has any extra-curricular activities this afternoon, we could do just that."
"If you're thinking about going to the movies, after classes, forget it. I'm not in the mood." -Ivan sighed. –"In fact, I don't' think any of us, is in the mood to go to the movies. Not to mention, that most of us are broke."
"Well, I'm not broke, but I'm not in the mood to go to the movies today." -Chloe said. –"I think after school I'll just go home and study for the exams next week. If I don't get good grades, daddy will take my credit cards away." -she sighed.
"Do you want some company?" -Sabrina asked her. –"They say it helps to study with a partner." -she said. Like everyone else, she was feeling down, and since she too had to study, she believed that studying with her best-friend would help her feel a little bit better, not to mention, it would make studying a lot easier.
"Sure, why not?" –Chloe said, casually. –"If I have to cram all that information into my head, I might as well do it with someone else, by my side. Plus, it's always nice to have Sabrina's company." -she thought.
"Oh, come on, don't tell me you guys are going straight home?! Look, I know that none of us is in the mood to do anything… heck, we're doing nothing right now, instead of working on what Miss Bustier told us to work on." -Kim told them. –"If that's not a sign that we desperately need to do something that will make us forget missing the best concert ever, I don't know what it is." -he said.
"You're probably the only one who feels like doing anything today, Kim." -Mylene told him.
"Hey, it beats going home and do nothing, until I feel like studying for a bit." -Kim declared. Clearly, he was against the idea of doing nothing that day. Which would explain why he was the only one in that small group that was talking nineteen to the dozen.
"Well, I'm not in the mood to do anything. And whether you like it or not, we all have to study. You would do good to go and study, as well." -Mylene said. –"Your previous grades were not exactly very high, remember?" –she asked him.
"Yeah, well… maybe I'll just go home and study, who knows?" -Kim said. Unlike the others, he did not feel like doing anything that day. He needed to do something to keep his mind busy, and to make him forget about what happened. –"Or maybe, I'll just go for a walk on my own… I'll decided, when the classes are over." -he thought to himself.
But Kim was not the only one who was motivated to do something that day. Alya herself also felt that doing nothing, and just talk was not going to improve her mood. So, she decided to do something productive. Something that caught the eye of Marinette, who momentarily turned her head to ask her something and saw the mess of papers that were scattered on top of her best-friends desk.
"What are you doing there, Alya?" -Marinette asked the brunette.
"Something I've been trying to do for the past week, but haven't had the time to do it. I'm trying to finish updating my album of exploits." -Alya said, as she carefully glued a newspaper clipping, next to a similar one. –"I was hoping to do it, during lunch hour, but given things, I'm going it now… there, perfect." -she smiled.
"You have an album about yourself?" -Adrien asked her, puzzled.
"Not of me… Of us all." -Alya said, as she flipped back a couple of pages and showed them some of the work, she had put into it. –"You see? It's an album about us, as a superhero team. I divided it into different subjects. Heroes, Akumas, Major Events, Minor Events, Charity Events, Interviews, and so forth." -she said. –"I decided to collect all kinds of news articles, images and photos, both from newspapers, news websites, blogs, including the Miraculous Blog, run yours truly, with a little help from Nino and Max, of course, and place them all into this album, which at the rate that I'm adding things, will have to be expanded into a second volume, very shortly."
Looking at the pages of the album, both Marinette and Adrien were astonished with the work Alya had put into it. Under every photo or article was something written. She had written where the photo or article had come from, as well as its date. Not only it was the kind of work one would expect from an aspiring journalist, it was also a work of both love and dedication.
"How long have you been doing this, and why didn't you tell me about it?" -Marinette asked her, curious. –"I thought that as best-friends, there weren't any secrets between us," -she said, with Alya rising an eyebrow at her. –"Okay… any secrets that have to do with our separate love lives, better?"
"Much better." -Alya chuckled. –"And why I haven't told you about this? Well, I guess it must have slipped my mind, girl." -she admitted. –"But don't be upset. Nino, here, didn't know about it, until last month, when he came to visit me and caught me working on it."
"Yeah. It was a bit of a surprise… though, to be fair, I only found out about it, because the twins dragged me into the living room, where you were, and you had all these photos and articles spread all over the floor." -Nino said.
"Well, I have to say that this is something really impressive. I thought you would be the kind of girl who would have something like that, but instead of being a physical one, it would be a digital one." -Adrien admitted.
"Oh, I do have a digital one. But I also keep a physical one, in case the digital one suffers an accident." -Alya said. –"And answering your question, I pretty much began working on it, after we battled Haute Couture. Which is to say that I began working on it, when I saw that we were going to have a career as superheroes." -she smiled, before grabbing another newspaper clipping and reading it. –"Let's see what says in this one… Arachnid foils and Carapace cheer up little girl's birthday party". This one goes to the Charity section."
"Oh, yeah, I remember that one. Max and I were on patrol, after school, and we heard a loud noise, coming from a rooftop, so we decided to check out. Turned out to be a father shooting fireworks to commemorate his little girl's birthday." -Nino said. –"At first, the little girl and her friends thought that her parents had hired someone to dress up like us, to perform a couple of tricks." -he stated. –"It was only when he did a couple of unique stunts that they all realized we were the real deal."
"Plus, the cake was really good." -Max admitted. –"We should have asked where they got it." -he joked.
It did not take long for the rest of the class to hear the conversation and to gather around the four of them, as Alya continued to work on her scrapbook album. Even Nathaniel, who had remained in his seat, working on a pair or two of drawings, just to keep his mind busy, had decided to join the others and check the scrapbook that was attracting everyone's attention. Since everyone was interested in seeing just how the album looked like, Alya stopped working for a bit, and flipped through some of the pages, showing them, what photos and articles she had placed in each section. The kwamis, most of which had not left their usual hideouts, also decided to satisfy their curiosity, and did not take long to join the teens, as Alya carefully and patiently flipped through the pages.
"We sure helped out a lot of people over these last months." -Alix said, as she looked at a photo where she was with Kim, as Dragonfly and Antelope. –"Oh, I remember this one here. It's from when we stopped that bus from falling into the Seine. That was a good rescue there." -she said, remembering it.
"Yeah, it was a really good rescue. But you could have tried to find a better photo of me for this particular event, Alya." -Kim said as he looked at the photo and saw that he had his eyes were half-closed. –"I don't look good on it." -he said.
"What did you expect? You always look bad on photos, Kim. Not even the best photographer in the world could make you look good on them." -Alix joked.
"Hey! I resent that comment!" -Kim shot at Alix.
"Well, resent it away. You know that's true." -Alix shot at him.
"Guys, come on, don't start fighting now!" -Daria told them both.
"Yeah! Why can't you two just get along nicely, like Daria and me?" -Imp asked them. –"Now stop with that, and let us continue to look at the scrapbook in peace." -he told them.
"Fine!" -Alix and Kim sighed in chorus.
Quickly forgetting what happened between Kim and Alix, the whole gang continued to examine everything that Alya had placed inside the scrapbook. And the more they saw, the more remembered of things that had happened. Some of which they had forgotten about.
"Hey, look at this one here. This one is from when we stopped that robbery in broad daylight, and the guys tried to make us think that their guns were real, when they were just squirt guns, painted black." -Rose said, as she pointed at the photo in question. –"Do you remember it, Juleka?" -she asked her girlfriend.
"How could I forget? I was so gloomy that day, that that was the first time I smiled that day." -Juleka smiled at Rose.
Looking at the scrapbook, brought them all some very fond memories. Memories that were only possible because of the work they did as the Miraculous Team. It was true that because of their secret life, they had been forced a few times to cancel plans or to pass on a couple of invitations. Still, at the end of the day, they would not trade the lives they now had for any others. And with that in mind, Kim came up with an idea to do something that afternoon, he was sure that everyone was going to love, wasting no time in telling them about it.
"You know what? Why don't we take last night's invitation from the guy we saved, and put it to good use?" –Kim asked them. –"After classes are over, why don't we go out? We'll go for a quick work out session on the rooftops of Paris, and then, we pass by the Musée d'Orsay and Notre-Dame, see where the Mexican food van is, and grab a bite? What do you say?" -he suggested to the rest of the gang.
Compared to Kim's initial idea of going to the movies after school, that one was actually a good one. After what happened to them the night before, they needed to do something that would make them forget the fact that they were forced to miss the best concert ever. Something that did not involve going home right after school, and sulk in front of the television or the computer, while trying to gather the strength to begin studying for their exams. A brief urban training session sounded like a nice idea to them all.
"I'm not against going for a little training session in the city. But don't you think that we'll be abusing a little of the invitation the guy made us?" -Adrien asked.
"Adrien's kind of right. Should we even do that already? I mean, it's not even been 24 hours, since he invited us to stop by. The guy will probably think that we're taking advantage of him." -Nino pointed out.
"I'm with Nino on this one." -Rose said.
"Well, I'm not. You guys should go for it." -Flint said.
"I usually don't agree with Flint on these things, but maybe you should do this. It's not wrong for you to do this. After all, he did invite you." -Wayzz said.
"If even Wayzz agrees with me, then I think it's alright to do it. We saved the guy's life and prevented him from hurting anyone, while he was akumatized. And like I said before, he was the one who told us to show up in front of his food van, whenever we wanted." -Kim said.
Kim kept insisting on the matter, and soon it was not only Flint and Wayzz the only kwamis telling their holders they should do that little stunt after school. One by one, everyone agreed to do what Kim was proposing, believing it would do them good. Everyone, except Marinette.
"I don't know, I've got things to do." -Marinette said. She had to continue to work on Alya's birthday present, if she wanted to have it ready for her birthday the following week. –"And I don't want to be a spoilsport, but we all have to study." -she said. She was not really in the mood to study for the exams, but she knew that if she did not begin to study for them, and postponed it, it would be harder for her to get good grades, and that would get her into trouble with her parents.
"Come on, Marinette, it'll only be for an hour or two." -Rose told her.
"Yeah. Everyone's going. It'll be weird if we didn't have our leader with us." -Mylene smiled at her.
"If you don't want to come, you don't have to come, bugaboo." -Adrien smiled at he, knowing that if she was saying she had things to do, they ought to be important for her to say it. –"But it won't be the same without having our fearless leader to cheer us up, like you always do… especially for me." -he told her, while making sad puppy eyes at her. –"Come on. It's only for an hour or two. I'll even accompany you home, when we're finished."
"Oh, no, don't you dare! Giving me that sad puppy eye look should be considered illegal, Adrien Agreste! You know fully well what happens when you use them on me!" -Marinette said in a playful tone, as she placed her hands over her eyes, so she did not to look at him.
"Then, don't make me use this trick on you." -Adrien said, as he gently forced her to remove her hands from her eyes. –"You know you can't resist me and my charms." -he joked at her.
That last joke made everyone in the classroom laugh, teenagers and kwamis. The whole scene was hilarious, to say the least. There was just something sweet and funny about it, that made everyone laugh. And after resisting for a couple of more seconds, Marinette agreed to also accompany the rest of the class on the little urban training session.
"Oh, alright, you convinced me. Count me in too." -Marinette laughed, before turning her eyes to Tikki. –"Remind me to get you the double of the chocolate chip cookies tonight, Tikki." -she told her kwami, knowing that because of that little stunt she and the others were going to do, Tikki was going to have to lend Marinette her power again, in such a short period. Just doing that, meant that she deserved twice the usual plate of cookies, in Marinette's book.
"You don't have to do it, but I won't say no to those cookies." -Tikki smiled. Even if Marinette would only give her the same number of cookies, she usually did, or even one cookie, the scarlet kwami would be happy to lend her, her powers, if that helped cheering her up a little.
Hey everyone! I'm so sorry if this took longer than it was supposed to, but being confined at home, means that I have double the work I usually have. Plus, with my mom sick in bed (don't worry, she's sick, but it's because she hurt her knee and can't walk for a couple of weeks), I need to take care of things she usually does. All that robs me of precious time I might have to write. Even so, I continue to write, whenever I can. This chapter was supposed to have been a little bit longer, but I decided to cut it into half, and have the rest of it be part of the following one.
Today, this particular chapter is dedicated to a very special person. It's dedicated to Helena Montez, the portuguese voice actress of Tikki, Alix, Rose and Mylene, whose birthday is today. :) (It's not much, but it's my way to thank her for the wonderful job she does in every cartoon she works on).
As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave suggestions to improve this or future fanfics, okay?