Adrine was never one to admit he was spoiled, and he certainly had never thought himself ungrateful either, that was, until he'd learned about Plagg's past. This tiny God of Destruction was his best friend, without a doubt in his mind, and he'd never felt this kind of remorse or grief for someone. His best friend had been heartbroken for thousands of years, and here he'd been worrying about his exams, and thinking one of the worst things that could happen to him would be wearing something made of pigeon feathers.
Now, his heart ached for Plagg. His best friend was so hurt, and he had to do something to help him. It was around one in the morning when Adrien made up his mind, with heavy eyes he promised himself that he'd help Plagg get Tikki back into his life, no matter what it took.
The next morning Marinette woke up early after barely sleeping at all that night, her mind kept going a mile a minute about Tikki and Plagg. She knew that the two Kwamis belonged together, she knew that they were two half of a whole heart and somewhere around 1 am she promised herself that she would make sure the two tiny gods would be together in the end. Marinette knew deep in her heart that her and Tikki were kindred spirits, bound to love someone they could never have.
'And,' Marinette thought to herself, 'if there's anything I understand, it's that particular brand of longing.' Marinette pulled her clothes on, a baby blue silk asymmetrical shirt that flowed around her thighs with long, wide sleeves. She paired it with a pair of thick black leggings and a pair of black flats, and to finish it all off she placed a powder blue lotus pin in the high bun she had crafted atop her head. She smiled warmly at her reflection before she made her way into the bakery.
"Good morning Marinette!"
"Good morning papa!" Marinette chirped as she tied an apron around her waist.
"You're up early." He noted as he rolled croissants out on a silver tray. Marinette grabbed the melted butter and brushed it on top of the dough before she placed them in the oven, early morning baking with her dad was second nature to her.
"Yeah, I had trouble sleeping last night."
"Oh? What's wrong, mon tendre?" He stopped and turned to his daughter, concern etched into his furrowed brow. Marinette gave her dad a reassuring smile.
"I just kept thinking of my latest history lesson. We're learning about these Egyptian gods that loved each other but lost their ways. It was so sad, but I'm okay. It just got me thinking and I couldn't fall asleep."
"Well as long as you're alright, dear. You look nice today, got any big plans?"
"Well, Alya, Nino, Adrien, Chloe, and I are going to find Andre today! After all the Akuma attacks lately we thought it would be a nice way to cheer us up!" Marinette smiled to herself as she placed another tray into the oven.
"As long as you stay safe Marinette, that's all that matters to your mother and me." Tom wrapped his daughter in a hug and Marinette buried her face in his chest. She loved moments like this with her parents, she was lucky that she got these moments and she knew she sometimes took them for granted.
After a few hours the bakery's displays were full, and so was a to-go box for Marinette and her friends. She kissed her parents goodbye before she went for Alyas.
Marinette looked at the large clock and smiled, she wasn't running late. In fact, she was early, for the first time in a while Marinette would be the first one to arrive at Alyas. Or so she thought. A scream tore through the air from the park nearby and Marinette sighed.
'At least I won't be the only one late.' Marinette thought to herself as she found a safe place to tuck her pastry box away and transform.
Ladybug arrived on the scene a few seconds before Char Noir.
"Hello, m'lady, care for a stroll in the park today?"
"You know what, kitty, I'd love to." They smirked at each other and began to scope the park for the Akuma victim when another pair of feet joined them, soft paws pittering with them.
"Hey guys."
"Rena!" Chat smiled at her and gave her a wave before they were joined by a yellow-clad hero landing in step with them.
"Hey, guys!"
"Hey, Bee!" Chloe winked at Ladybug before turning to look for the victim. The carnage wasn't hard to follow, they followed the path of uprooted trees and mangled earth out of the park, and found a path of shattered cars and knotted street lights that wound through crumbling buildings. The four superheroes soon found their victim standing atop a flipped car, waiting for them to find him. He was a slender man with blue hair and a white cloth mask wrapped around his face. He wore a blue undersuit with white body-armor with little patterns that looked like targets on his chestplate.
"Hello, superheroes of Paris. I am Sonic Boom, and now that I finally have a voice, all of Paris will hear it!" He opened his mouth and an ear splitting scream turned into sonic waves toppling everything in their path, sending anything that wasn't secured to the street flying. The heroes braced themselves for the impact but it never came. A green blur dropped in front of them, a shield keeping the blast from hitting them.
"Carapace, my man!" The bespectacled hero flashed them a grin.
"Sorry I'm late, dudes. It took me a minute to find a place to transform."
"It's okay, Shelly. You're here now and that's all that matters." Rena winked at the shelled man who flushed under his hood.
Suddenly Ladybug was on her feet and pushing everyone together as she spun her yo-yo to stop the oncoming car that was thrown at them.
"Oh," Sonic Boom smirked at them, his assault on pause while his counterpart made her appearance, "you haven't met yet, have you?"
She landed in front of Ladybug and grinned. She had blonde hair up in two large ponytails, pink eyes and wore a blue leotard with a pink tutu. Long ribbons criss-crossed down her legs and ended in soft slippers.
"I am Curtain Call, and I'm strong enough to do anything I want to do. I will destroy all of Paris, as soon as I get those Miraculous.!"
"That's so not gonna happen! Spinning top!" Queen Bee launched herself at the two, throwing her top at them in an arch. It wrapped around a car behind them and she yanked it towards her, sending it toppling toward the Akuma victims. They jumped out of the way, Sonic Boom sending blast after blast at them while Curtain Call sent a batillian of building chunks at them. The heroes were on the defensive, trying their best to gain the upperhand, but these two worked too well together. Curtain Call threw a bus into the air, and Sonic Boom sent it flying at the team with a blast of sound, shattering any window close to him, the glass shards turned to shrapnel as they sunk into the street and through buildings.
"We need to get them away from the main streets. Somewhere where there are no people!" Ladybug took off, the rest of the team following close behind.
"Shouldn't we go after them?" Curtain Call asked.
"We can give them a breather for a minute. It won't be hard to take their Miraculous." He grabbed her hand and smiled. "For now, let's tear up this town." She giggled and together they made their way to more destruction.
As the two continued their onslaught of chaos, the Miraculous holders found refuge in the park.
"What are we going to do, dudes?"
"I don't know if there's much we can do guys." Rena sighed as she sank in on herself. Chat looked at the weary faces around him and chewed his lip.
"M'lady?" Ladybugs lips were pressed in a thin, white line as she thought.
'There's got to be a way to beat them. Think, Marinette, think!' She looked at all of them defeated, dejected, downtrodden. She had to come up with a plan, and quick. What did they have?
'Well, we've got each other. Now, how am I going to utilize them…' Another series of crashes from down the block put Ladybug on edge, she had to act quickly.
"Did any of you see their Akumatized item?"
"I think I saw a keychain on Sonic Boom's belt."
"And I'm pretty sure Curtain Call's was her necklace." Ladybug nodded her head.
"I think I have a plan."
Sonic Boom and Curtain Call laughed as they leveled another building, they were having so much fun together. They were interrupted by moth shaped lights around their eyes.
"What are you two doing? You're supposed to be getting me those Miraculous!" Scarlet Moth snapped.
"We'll get them, don't worry. They're as good as ours Scarlet Moth."
"They better be, or you two will have no more power. Now, go. Get. Them." Sonic Boom rolled his eyes and reached for Curtain Call's hand again.
"Are you ready, my dear?"
"More than ever." The two didn't have to go far before they were stopped by Rena. Sonic Boom sent a sound wave at her, but she must have dodged it, because she was behind him by the time he could blink. He sent another one at her, but she kept appearing behind him, he couldn't seem to hit her.
"Stupid girl, stay still! I just want your miraculous!" By this time, Curtain Call joined the assault, throwing anything she could at the girl, but she'd just twirl away laughing. Sonic Boom destroyed the sidewalk in front of her, and the girl had to take a step back, and Curtain Call took this opportunity to pick up a bus and swing it at her when Carapace dropped down and shielded her, stopping the bus with an outstretched, armor plated, arm. The sudden appearance of the second superhero took them by surprise and momentarily stopped the akuma victims, and it gave Queen Bee the perfect opening. With her spinning top already turned into her stinging top she pricked Curtain Call in the wrist from behind as she ran past her, trying to make it look as if she was trying to join Carapace.
"Curtain Call, throw me something! Curtain Call?" When his partner in crime didn't answer his call, he looked to see her frozen in place. He turned to the three superheroes, a feral snarl spread across his face.
"You tricked uh-!" He was cut off by a roll of red and black polka-dot duct tape being wrapped around his head.
"Chat Noir!"
"On it, Buggaboo!" In one quick motion Chat snatched the keychain and necklace off the victims, the swirling orb of darkness in his hand melting them as the Akuma was released.
"Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug captured the Akuma and after it was purified she let it go with a farwell. She threw up the roll of duct tape into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" Her healing magic flowed through the streets of Paris and righted all the wrongs that had happened by the victims.
"Do you guys have any plans today?" Chat asked casually as everyone's Miraculous beeped.
"Actually, we've got to go. We've got plans with friends." Nino said.
"You guys are more than welcome to come with us…" Alya supplied, trying to make her request seem casual.
"That's fine. You guys go, Chat and I will stay here with the victims, if that's okay with you chaton."
"That's fine with me, m'lady." Ladybug, Rena, and Queen Bee hugged as Chat Noir and Carapace "bro hugged", as they'd dubbed it, before the three took off back to their everyday lives. The ambulances and reporters showed up, and Chat and Ladybug stayed with the victims until they'd been taken away. Marinette excused herself and zipped back to where she'd hidden her confections just in time to demiraculize. She pulled out a cookie and slid it into her purse to an exhausted Tikki who nearly chirped with excitement at the sweet.
Marinette sprinted to Alyas from her spot, knowing that she was going to be late again.
'Oh well, there's nothing I can do. Alya will understand.' She got to Alyas just in time to see Adrien's car pull in. The blond teen exited his car and smiled at Marinette.
"I'm glad to see I'm not the only one late."
"Adrien! I'm so glad you made it!" Marinette smiled at the boy, who flushed a little. She had to admit, things between them had started to change, and she was beginning to think that he may have similar feelings for her.
After the first Scarlet Moth attack she'd kissed his cheek, the boldest moment of her life, and she didn't have any regrets like she thought she would.
Her and Adrien had began to get closer to each other as well, his father being her mentor didn't hurt either. They'd been spending almost every day together, Adrien had helped her and her parents in the bakery, and Marinette had helped Adrien and Gabriel at fashion shows, acting as Gabriel's personal assistant. On days that they didn't get to see each other, they'd play Ultimate Mecha Strike III before bed, sometimes they'd even forego sleep in favor of smack-talking each other as the moon passed through the sky, giving way to the sunrise. And, of course, the next morning always seemed to be an early class, which would lead to Adrien and Marinette sharing smiles at the rumpled look of each other's pajamas.
"Yeah, my dad needed to talk to me about the next show before I could leave." He rubbed the back of his head as he smiled nervously.
'Hopefully that sounded more believable than it felt.'
"I understand!" Marinette chirped as she started climbing the steps to the door. She rung the doorbell and heard the stampede of tiny feet beat their older sister to the door.
"Marinette!" The twins jumped at her arms as she held the box over her head.
"Ah, ah ah! If you two are good, then you can have a cookie, but only after I see your sister."
"Awe! Okay."
"She's in her room! Come on!" Marinette barely had the time to toss the box to Adrien before she had a twin on each arm, dragging her to their sister. Adrien smiled to himself as he watched her being dragged by the twins and, he had to admit to himself, he liked spending time with her no matter who else they were with. He remembered the first time she'd come to his house for dinner with him and his father. She brightened every corner of the house when she smiled, she'd even gotten his father to chuckle more than once. He had the ghost of a smile on his lips more often than not when she was around, and she'd even began to pull the heartstrings of his driver. And, he couldn't lie, he felt her pulling on his heartstrings as well.
After they'd satisfied the twins with treats, several threats from Alya, and Norma distracting them, the five of them managed to sneak away from them and they found themselves back in the park.
"That Ladybug is something else. Her healing magic does so much."
"Yeah, this park was ripped up this morning." Nino touched a tree that had been ripped out by the roots earlier.
"Yeah, she really is." Adrien sighed. However he felt about Marinette, he still felt the same way about Ladybug as he'd always had, and he knew that wasn't going to change. His thoughts were cut short when Alya spotted Andre's cart up ahead.
Andre was all smiles, singing his heart out as people lined up for his famous ice cream.
"Alya and Nino! Coconut, banana, and passionfruit! Chloe!, Vanilla bean for his simplicity, sea salt caramel for his passion, and black sesame for his eyes." Chloe looked at her ice cream a little confused but scooped it into her mouth all the same, practically melting at the flavor. Andre's eyes landed on Marinette and Adrien and he grinned.
"Pretty Marinette, you found your mint eyes, and peach lips! And Mr. Agrest, you've found your blackberry hair and sky blue stare!"
"Oh, Andre, we're not-"
"For you two, I think lemon, lavender, and blueberry!"
"I think you've got it all wrong. We're not seeing-"
"Oh, just eat the ice cream, you two." Alya elbowed Marinette in the ribs before popping another bite of her ice cream into her mouth. They were joined by Rose and Julika who were sharing a bowl with bubblegum and cotton candy ice cream, while Max and Sabrina shared a bowl of pear and honey ice cream. As they all ate, the two calmed down and soon they were leaning on each other, passing the bowl of cold confection back and forth as everyone laughed together. Adrien's hand wrapped around Marinette's as she dipped her spoon into the bowl.
'Yeah, I think I could get used to this.'