DISCLAIMER: MIRACULOUS LADYBUG AND ALL OF ITS CHARACTERS BELONG TO ZAGTOON AND THOMAS ASTRUC AND NOT ME. THE PLOT EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN ASPECTS AND CHARACTERS CREATED BY ME BELONG TO ME.

Summary: After a tragic loss, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is having trouble coping after she is forced to move from the busy streets of Paris, to Porqueolles, an island. An unfortunate slip and fall into a cave unlocks more than she ever thought possible about her new home, her family, and the sea that binds it all together.

...

Just as Marinette had predicted, Bridgette refused to let her out of her sight. Everything that Marinette requested, Bridgette was ready and willing to fulfill without complaint, despite Marinette's own complaints that her aunt was doing too much. She'd even bought Marinette a new phone when Marinette realized that hers had been lost sometime in her adventure in the cave, to Marinette's horror. Bridgette however, had no problem purchasing and even paying for Marinette's phone and plan, stating the fact that Marinette had to have a way to communicate, especially after being trapped in the cave. So reluctantly, she accepted the brand new phone, which was the latest model.

Despite all of that, Marinette had practically healed overnight. Her throat no longer hurt, and she hadn't felt any lingering pain from when she'd fallen into the cave.

No, not fallen.

Pushed.

Of what little she could remember, that was one of the most prominent of her memories. Hands on her back, brown hair. It'd been dark so she couldn't make out their face, not completely anyway. What she could remember, was effeminate features. So either a really girly looking guy, or in fact a girl had pushed her into the cave. For what reason, she didn't know. She'd only just gotten to the island the previous day, not long enough to make any enemies.

Well, except Chloe.

As much as she wanted to point the finger at the whiny brat, Chloe had blonde hair, not brown.

Darn.

At the very least, Adrien had come by to check on her and continue to apologize for Chloe's behavior. Why the boy continued to be the brat's friend, she had no idea, but was reminded that he didn't really have the spine to completely break away from her.

Though that didn't mean he liked being in her presence, if his behavior was any clue.

Despite all of that, Marinette was just glad to be safe again. Her drowning episode had put her off of going to the beach anytime soon, or the woods for that matter, to her new friends' disappointment. While disappointed, they understood why she would want to keep her distance from the water for now, and didn't pressure her to join them when they planned to go on beach outings.

As she got ready for the day, her eyes strayed to the mirror, specifically the earrings in her ears. She discovered them in her ears when she'd first gotten cleaned up after her ordeal, and her aunt, who'd been sticking around to help any way she could, had told her that they were a gift, and that they were waterproof so she could keep them on while she bathed. Strangely though, even though she hadn't said it, it almost sounded like Bridgette insisted that she keep them on. It didn't matter to her though. She rather liked them quite a bit. Looking a bit closer in the mirror, they almost appeared to be a ladybug pattern, except for the fact that the spots were a dark bluish color, and the material looked like fish scales encased in resin. They reminded her of cabochon jewelry, and while she didn't want her aunt to think that giving her gifts would help her overcome her ordeal, she had to admit that they were a nice gift to have, especially when Bridgette mentioned that she'd made them herself.

Happy to know that Bridgette was a crafter like her and that they had something in common, Marinette finished getting ready and made her way downstairs, a blush starting to make it's way onto her cheeks. She would be starting school the next day, and even though she was supposed to get a list of books in the mail, she hadn't. More than likely it was due to the change in addresses. Luckily for her, Adrien had been there when she and Bridgette were discussing the problem, and offered to take her to get her books, and any school supplies she would need since he'd had a day off.

At first she balked at the idea that he was using his day off to help her, but he insisted it was fine, and that he was happy to help. She suspected that he still felt guilty about what happened at Le Chat Noir, but she wouldn't bring up her suspicions and just accept the help. Bridgette had been thrilled, since she couldn't have taken Marinette herself, as she had a diving expedition scheduled for that day.

"Marinette! How are you feeling? Are you sure you're up for today?" Bridgette said as she sat a large mesh bag down. She was wearing a wetsuit, and appeared to be ready to go on her dive.

"I'm okay aunt Bridgette. I feel fine! No aches, no pains, no bumps and no bruises. I'm totally fine."

Bridgette sighed in relief and hugged Marinette. "Sorry, I know I'm going overboard with the whole worry thing, but you have to understand that I can't lose you too..."

Marinette nodded, and hugged her back. "It's okay. I'm not going anywhere."

Seemingly satisfied, Bridgette released Marinette from the hug and looked over her outfit. "Well you look nice."

Marinette blushed and self consciously brushed her hands over her clothes; A pair of high waisted jean shorts, a peach colored lacy top, finished off with a pair of similarly colored sneakers. Nothing fancy, but nice enough to go out and wander around town comfortably.

"I-It's nothing special. It's just an outfit."

"One that you made, I assume?"

Marinette blinked in surprise, then blushed, eyeing her clothing with a small frown. "You can tell it's handmade huh? Looks like I need to practice on my skills..."

Bridgette chuckled, distracting Marinette from picking out flaws in her handiwork. "Marinette, it's because of your skills that I know it's handmade. Clothing like yours stand out because it's original, and your creativity and style shine through any and everything you make. You do great work Marinette, have faith in yourself."

Marinette smiled. "Thanks aunt Bridgette, but it's still just an outfit. Nothing fancy or special about it."

"Maybe the outfit isn't special, but I'm sure the boy you're wearing it for is. And that makes it worth it." She said then winked, making the already red faced girl even more embarrassed.

" Aunt Bridgette!"

She laughed and patted the embarrassed girl on her shoulder. "Relax, I know what that's like. Besides, there's nothing wrong with sprucing yourself up from time to time for someone special." She said, a sort a far away look in her eyes.

Marinette shook her head in amusement. It was more than obvious that Bridgette had some kind of history with someone, more than likely Felix if one were to even glance at the way they act toward each other.

"Well," Bridgette said, snapping out of whatever she'd been thinking. "You're gonna need some money for those books, and of course some spending money for the day. Can't be all work and no play right?" Bridgette said, as she went to her purse for her wallet. She then began pulling several 200 and 500 euro notes, enough that it equaled to well over two thousand euros.

"Aunt Bridgette! That's way too much!"

"Ah ah, not a word. I happen to know that buying a tablet is one of the requirements beside the books. Not only that, but I have plenty of money. Plenty. The things I bring up from my dives, minus what the government takes, are actually really valuable. Stuff that high paying collectors are dying to get their hands on. Now, besides my diving stuff, I haven't had anything to spend all this money on and I've been waiting a long time to be able to spoil you. Please let me do this for you? I promise, it's not any burden on me, and it's something I'm happy to do for you. If you want something, please don't feel like you can't ask."

Marinette wanted to cry.

She wanted to so bad, but she wouldn't.

Because she knew that it would only upset Bridgette and she didn't want that.

So she smiled and nodded, and accepted the money and a hug from her very generous aunt, just as a horn blared from outside.

"Oh that must be him, tell him I said hi, and I expect you to come back with arms full of shopping bags young lady." Bridgette said, giving her a jokingly stern look.

Marinette giggled and nodded, before waving goodbye and heading out the door to Adrien's truck.

...

As it turns out, her aunt had been right. The books and the tablet had costed her a little over a thousand euros, but it still left her plenty to shop around with.

And luckily for her, Adrien was more than happy to show her all of the best parts of the shopping district.

By the time late afternoon had arrived, they'd spent several hours together, not that the charming boy seemed to mind. He appeared to genuinely enjoy his time with Marinette, if the amount of smiles seemed to be any clue.

By this time, they were already heading back to the truck. The sun was already beginning to set, and both teenagers' arms were heavy with shopping bags, mostly Marinette's. Adrien didn't seem to be too interested in getting anything for himself, but the things he were interested in he immediately bought like it would disappear if he didn't. After they have finished shopping they realized that they are getting hungry.

"Hey, why don't we go to eat at Le Chat Noir? It's nearby."

Marinette's face immediately pales, and he begins to reassure her. "Don't worry, Chloe won't be there. Plagg officially banned her from his restaurant after what she did to you. He always found her annoying, but he couldn't really ban her before because she didn't do anything wrong. But after she assaulted you, he said that she crossed the line and that she was no longer welcome."

While that was a relief, he could tell that Marinette wasn't fully convinced.

So he pulled out his trump card.

"Plagg said the next time you come you get a free meal, since you didn't get to eat when you came last time. Please come?" He said, even going so far as to make a sad pleading face.

Damn him, Marinette thought. No one should be allowed to make a face that cute.

Finally convinced by his antics, she sighed. "Okay okay, I'll come. I just hope that no one will remember me after last time..."

His expression changed from comically pleading, to a sad understanding one. "Marinette, no one is gonna laugh at you. If anything, they'll sympathize with you."

"What do you mean?" She said, thoroughly puzzled. Usually when someone was humiliated in public, people laughed. It was human nature.

He looked sheepish then, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Look, this isn't the first time that Chloe's been banned from a place of business, or that she's humiliated someone in public. She does it a lot. A LOT. She's spoiled, and thinks she can get away with her behavior just because her father is the mayor. She's always been like that, and that's why most people wouldn't laugh. Because more than likely, Chloe has done it to them to. Unlike most people, I still think there's good in her. It's just, buried...Deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, down...Anyway, we should get going." He said, heading back to the truck that was parked a few feet away.

In most cases, people would think that Adrien was stupid to still be friends with Chloe. And she had to admit, so did she. Chloe was horrible, and took pleasure in stepping on others as if they were beneath her, which she more than likely thought most people were. But, after he explained everything, in a strange way, Marinette began to understand. She realized that Adrien wasn't oblivious to Chloe's behavior, or that he even ignored it. To be honest, he was probably the only one more aware of her ways than anyone else. Adrien wasn't standing by Chloe because he felt guilty or out of some obligation to her. He stayed by her side because he was trying to help her, to get her to change. To be the friend he thought she could be.

It was at that moment, that Marinette realized just how kind, courageous, and thoughtful Adrien Agreste really was.

It was also at that moment that she realized she'd fallen in love with him.

A beeping horn startled her out of her thoughts as Adrien pulled up in front of her and stuck his head out of the window. "Hey, you alright? You just spaced out."

Mentally shaking herself out of whatever trance she'd been in, she nodded. "Yeah I'm fine. I just...got caught up in my thoughts."

"Oh, okay." He said as she got in and they pulled off. "Were they at least good thoughts?"

She paused for a moment, before she smiled. "Yeah, they were."

As they pulled off, they were unaware that someone had snapped a picture of them together.

They knew that Chloe wouldn't be happy with this recent development.

Not at all.

...

As it turns out, Adrien had been right about no one laughing at her. In fact, no one even glanced up at her arrival. And as it turns out, Nino was also working again that night and decided that he would serve them. He apologized for what happened last time, to which Marinette quickly absolved him of any blame. She was, however, surprised, when a tall thin man wearing all black came over to their table. Adrien however, was not surprised and quickly introduced her. "Marinette, this is Pierre Moreau. But everyone calls him Plagg."

Marinette quickly stood up and began to smooth out her clothes, wishing she'd worn a dress instead of shorts, but was reassured by Plagg. "Relax kid, no need for swanky introductions."

Marinette sat back down, her cheeks slightly red in embarrassment.

"Plagg, this is-"

"Marinette, I know. You talk about her so much I'd be surprised if I didn't know everything about her."

It was Adrien's turn to blush then, his face turning cherry red in embarrassment as he attempted to defend himself. "I-I do NOT talk about her all the time."

"Yeah, you kinda do bro." Nino said, as he came by to sit down their food.

"Hey! You're supposed to be on my side Nino!"

"Who told you that lie?" He said, as walked away, snickering when Adrien's jaw dropped in mild shock.

Adrien sighed, head falling in his hands exaggeratedly. "Everyone's turning against me."

"Well," Plagg said. "At least she won't."

Plagg gestured to Marinette, just before Nino came back to whisper something in his ear. "Ah, Tikki needs me in the kitchen. Adrien, I'll see you tomorrow. Marinette, thanks for coming back. I just wanted you to know that what happened wasn't your or Adrien's fault, and I hope you'll keep coming back." Plagg then turned and walked towards the kitchen.

After Plagg left, Marinette reached off and gently grasped Adrien's hand. Adrien, who had gone quiet with shock, turned towards her. "He's right you know. You're not responsible for what happened, Adrien. I don't want you to even try to take responsibility for her just because you're her friend. Her actions are her own, and the only one who should take responsibility for them is her."

She smiled, then, and Adrien found that he couldn't resist smiling back at her. She was right. Both her and Plagg actually. Chloe had always done things like this, just like he'd told Marinette. He shouldn't have to feel responsible for her. He wasn't her father, he couldn't control her. He just wished desperately that things could be different.

He grasped Marinette's hand back and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Yeah, you're right. Anyway, lets dig in shall we? Can't let this good food go to waste."

They both began to eat, unaware that someone was again watching them. However, this person was different, much angrier, and quite surprised to see the girl they thought they'd gotten rid of, right back where they shouldn't be.

With the boy they wanted.

...

As he drove her back home, Marinette turned to Adrien, remembering what Plagg and Nino said back at Le Chat Noir. "So...You talk about me a lot?"

Predictably, Adrien's face once again turned red as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well...I guess I do talk about you from time to time..."

"From time to time, eh?" She said as she grinned. "All good things I hope."

"Of course! I wouldn't dream of saying anything bad about you Marinette. Not that you've done anything bad for me to say anyway, which I wouldn't, I mean..."

Marinette knew that if she didn't stop him, Adrien would continue to ramble, so she patted his shoulder. "Hey, I was only kidding. Besides, it's nice to be talked about, nicely I mean. After my dad died, all anyone could say about me was how they felt bad about his death and that they pitied me."

Adrien snorts in disgust. "Yeah I know what you mean. After my mom disappeared, all anyone could do was coddle me like I didn't know what was going on. All it did was piss me off. Not like my father cared. He was too busy running his fashion empire to notice that his son was falling apart inside."

Fashion Empire?

"Wait...Adrien, who is your dad?"

He looked at her, slightly astonished. "You didn't know? My dad is Gabriel Agreste, the famous fashion designer."

Gabriel Agreste, he says so nonchalantly.

Like her entire world wasn't exploding from the realization that she was friends with a former world class model, who was also the son of her fashion idol.

She is brought out of internally watching her world explode in a fiery supernova, when she hears Adrien sigh. "You're not gonna freak out, are you? Please don't freak out. This always happens when people figure out who I am..."

"Huh? Oh! Oh no I'm not freaking out. I'm just...surprised I didn't figure it out sooner. I mean, your dad is my idol. But, I guess if he's as bad as you say he is, I shouldn't ever meet him. I know that he's always been kind of stoic from what I saw and read in the media, but I never thought he was that bad...I guess that's why you stopped modeling, right?"

Adrien sighed in relief, and nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I have a lot of money saved up from modeling, but I don't like to use it. It reminds me of my dad. I like it better to spend the money that I get from working at Le Chat Noir in the restaurant. It, kinda makes me feel like I really earned it. Don't get me wrong, modeling is work, but it's nothing like the kind of work that normal people do. Its tiring, your feet hurt all the time, and the smell of Camembert is nauseating, but I wouldn't have it any other way, you know?"

Marinette nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. I love fashion, it's my life blood. But it's hard work. Learning how to sew, pricking your fingers all the time, and even keeping up with trends and making something that not only you will enjoy, but others will enjoy and even want to buy and wear. Its a bunch of late nights, blood, sweat, and tears, and ripped fabric and failed projects, but it's so worth it. It's how my dad felt about our bakery, though I don't know what my mom did. In fact, I don't even know how she died. No one ever told me. All they said is that she disappeared. I guess since it's been such a long time, she's presumed dead..."

Adrien went silent for a moment before suddenly smiling brightly. "You know, school is coming up tomorrow. Are you looking forward to your last year, because I know I am. I love going to school and everything, but the homework is murder! Am I right?"

Marinette was at first puzzled at his sudden change in subject, but then realized that he more than likely didn't want to talk about his mom, and she accepted that. She nodded, agreeing with him, and as they talked about more happier things, Marinette was happy and sad that she and Adrien had more things in common than she initially realized.

...

Just like she thought, Bridgette had been delighted at the amount of bags that Marinette had brought home with her. Adrien had even needed to assist her in bringing the bags inside the house, which earned a lot of eyebrow wagging from Bridgette when he left. After she put everything in her room, she was happy to finally take a shower and rest her weary feet. The shopping trip had been a blast, but her dogs were barking, and even standing in the shower was almost not worth it. But she felt sweaty and wanted to be clean, so into the shower she went. As she removed her clothes and her earrings, she pondered about what Adrien had said about his mother's disappearance, as the realization that she truly didn't know what happened to her mother hit her. She'd asked as she'd grown older what happened to her mother, but her father would always say that he didn't know.

She knew for a fact that her father would have never hurt her mother. He was too heartbroken over her not being there. He did, however hide the fact that she had an aunt and that she'd been fighting him for custody for most of her life. So maybe her mother's disappearance or death could be attributed to her family? As she stepped into the warm spray of the shower, she realized that she might finally be able to get some answers if she asked Bridgette. She had obviously been close to her mother, and could probably tell her what lead up to her dis-

Marinette's thoughts suddenly cut off as she felt her skin begin to tingle. The tingle began to get stronger, and before she knew it, she'd fallen to the shower floor, nearly hitting her head. She began looking around, thinking that she'd slipped on something, before she caught sight of her legs.

Or what should have been her legs.

Instead of her legs, what she saw was a long tail, covered in silver fish scales with large fin at the end. Further observation showed that she had larger fins on the sides of her hips. From the shower light above her, she could see tiny scales that seemed to rest underneath her skin all over that were clear in color, but had a iridescent shine to them. The same went for the tail. On her breasts, each sported a patch of the same silver scales that were on the tail.

As she took in the details of her new form she realized that laying on her back hurt, and tried to sit up. As she moved, the tail also moved, more than likely because Marinette was trying to use her legs to assist her. Except legs didn't move. Because she no longer had legs. She had a tail.

Meaning it was attached to her.

Meaning that she had a freakin' tail and it moved and it was her tail and she was a freak and ohmygodohmygodohmygod!

She screamed.

She didn't know how long she was screaming, but she was abruptly stopped when Bridgette burst into the bathroom, the vase from the table outside the bathroom in her hands as she looked around. "Marinette?! What's going on-"

When her eyes laid on Marinette, instead of freaking out, like she was supposed to do, in Marinette's opinion, she instead sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Oh boy...Marinette, sweetie, didn't I tell you to keep those earrings on? Now you've fallen and hurt yourself-"

"Why aren't you freaking out?!"

"Huh?" Bridgette answered dumbly, before realizing what Marinette said. She smiled sadly, then sighed and began taking off the metal dolphin studs that she seemed to favor. Once that was done, she placed them next to Marinette's earrings on the bathroom sink and opened the shower door.

"Move over sweetie, this is gonna be a tight fit." She said as she squeezed in next to Marinette and sat beside her, letting the warm water splash on her skin, clothes and all.

"Aunt Bridgette!" Marinette said, trying to cover her chest. No use covering her legs since she didn't have them anymore. "What are you doing? Why are you sitting-"

Marinette was cut off when the same change that she had undergone, suddenly happened to Bridgette. Instead of loose hair, however, Bridgette's hair was suddenly transformed into pig tails and adorned with small sea shells. Sensing her shock, Bridgette looked at her. "I'm sitting, sweetie, because doing this when you're standing up really sucks."

...

AU: To those who are asking about TBN, don't worry! I'm currently working on the chapter summaries. I'm trying my best not to write myself into a corner so things have been taking a while. Don't worry, expect Chapter 11 soon! Thank you all for waiting!