Standard disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, and am not affiliated with them in any way. Astruc, I'm begging you: a release date. A preview. Anything. My kids now think Ladybug is dead because I keep saying later and later release dates. Please.

Issues

"Miraculous! The luckiest! The power of love, always so strong!" -Miraculous Theme

Chapter 2: In Which Everyone Is Having Too Much Fun (except for Marinette)

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Marinette lay there, wide-eyed and staring at her alarm, just as it went off. Scowling, she turned it off, rolled over and tried to bury herself back in the blankets.

"~You know that won't help,~" Tikki sang at her cheerfully. "If you don't see him at school, he'll just come looking for you! ~In your room~!"

Marinette shot out of bed and started tearing posters off her walls.

"Yikes! Whoops! Oh, you ripped that one. Careful! Aww that's too bad, I always liked that one," Tikki commentated as Marinette furiously went about "redecorating."

"All this time, he was right there, Tikki!" she raged, tearing down her calendar and throwing it and what was left of the posters into her closet and slamming the door. "He's even been in my room as Cat Noir, he must've—oh, this is so embarrassing!"

"Well, he was chasing an akuma at the time," Tikki said. "He might not have noticed."

"How could he not notice? How could I not notice? HE WAS RIGHT THERE!" she sank to the ground in despair.

"Oh, Marinette," Tikki sighed, swooping down to pat her head.

"What about you?" Marinette said, staring at the kwami. "Did you notice? Did you know about Adrien?"

Tikki shook her head. "Nope," she said.

"But, Plagg… Plagg would've been in the same room as you," Marinette pressed. "And Master Fu said you can all sense each other."

"Only to an extent," Tikki clarified. "And only when a Miraculous is activated. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Wayzz is very sensitive to this sort of thing, which makes him the perfect partner for the Great Guardian. Plagg couldn't care less, so I doubt he knew. As for me, a kwami would have to transform practically in the same room for me to pinpoint his location. Although, sometimes, I did sense him nearby."

"That would make sense," Marinette said, thinking of all the times she and Adrien had to have been close to each other during an akuma attack, only to duck out of sight and transform.

"Marinette, you're going to be late for school!" her mother called up the stairs.

Marinette groaned. "Do I have to, Tikki?"

"Well, if you would rather meet him later tonight, in the privacy of your room…," Tikki drawled. Marinette shot up and quickly dressed for school, Tikki giggling behind her the whole way.

"When you said revealing ourselves would be a good thing, I didn't realize you were talking about your own entertainment value!" Marinette muttered to her bag as she reached the school. Tikki hadn't stopped giggling. Even now, the kwami popped her head out with a big smile.

"Sorry," she said, (she didn't sound sorry at all!) "I'll be quiet now, promise."

"Marinette!" Alya called, already at the top of the stairs. Marinette quickly closed her bag and headed for her friend, having a feeling she knew why her best friend was in such a good mood this morning.

"You are never gonna believe this, girl!" her friend gushed. "Ladybug and Cat Noir stopped a bank robbery last night!"

Yep, here we go. Just nod and smile, Marinette.

"And not just that! Apparently, they were locked inside a vault together! For, like, an hour!"

It wasn't that long. More like ten minutes or something.

"Doing God knows what!"

Ugh, really, Alya? In a bank vault?

"The police said the robbers took out the camera, so we can't see what happened—"

Thank you, Lords, gods, and tiny kwamis.

"—but I bet they did it so they could get some alone time! Ahhh! Ladynoir is so legit!" Alya squealed.

And again with the—wait, what?

"Ladynoir?" Marinette repeated, staring at her friend.

"You know, Ladybug and Cat Noir's couple name," Alya said, still gushing at her phone. "Celebrity couples meld their names together all the time! And this one, I'm shipping hard. Boo-yah!"

"C-couple? Shipping?" Marinette could only gape at her friend.

"Oh yeah!" Alya confirmed. She glanced up at Marinette only to wave at something behind her. "Nino! Adrien! How's it going?" Marinette froze.

"I take it you caught last night's news," Nino laughed.

"You know it!" Alya said. (Marinette was doing her best not to turn and look at a certain blond.) "Mom wouldn't let me out, since one of the robbers got away and it wasn't safe… but the story they got! Ooo! Marinette and I were just discussing Ladybug and Cat Noir's illicit affair in the bank's vault afterwards!"

"Oh really," Adrien said. Marinette didn't look at him, but she could still feel herself blush from head to toe. She wouldn't look at him. She didn't need to look at him to hear the smirk in his voice. Oh God, why was he smirking? Make him stop smirking!

"Really, Alya?" Nino said, hesitantly, "Ladybug's got a little more class than that, don't you think?"

Marinette could've kissed him. Thank God for Nino!

"Oh no, boy, you are not messing with my headcanon," Alya argued as they headed into class, seemingly not realizing they were leaving behind their two best friends. One of whom was still determinedly not looking at the other one.

"So…" Adrien drawled, "Ladynoir, huh?"

Marinette groaned and facepalmed, stalking into the school. To his credit, the boy beside her attempted to muffle his laughter.

Class was distracting, at best. Or rather, a certain blond-haired person sitting in front of her was distracting. And no, she didn't mean the harpy who was set on making her life a living hell. She meant the stupid, gorgeous, somehow-still-perfect-and-how-does-that-work? boy who kept sneaking glances at her and whispering with Nino.

What were they talking about?

In her pocket, her phone buzzed. Taking it out discreetly so the teacher wouldn't see, she hid it under the desk. It was a text from Alya. She shot a look at her friend, who just grinned at her. Really? They were like two feet away, couldn't she just whisper it or something? Frowning, she opened it.

Alya: Nino says Adrien wants your number. Should I give it to him?

Marinette's mouth dropped open in a silent scream, as she just barely remembered they were in class. Quickly, she replied.

Marinette: NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! DON'T GIVE IT TO HIM!

She should've known the outcome as Alya started laughing silently beside her.

Alya: I'll take that as a yes.

"Alya!" Marinette whisper-screamed, as her best friend grinned at her and very deliberately pushed SEND on her phone. This time, it wasn't Marinette's phone that buzzed. It's was Adrien's.

Oh God. Marinette tried to slump down and make herself as tiny and inconspicuous as possible. As Adrien read it, looked up at Alya with a nod of thanks, and then looked back at Marinette with another smirk, she covered her face with her hands.

Any other day, she would've been ecstatic that her crush wanted her number. She would've been on Cloud Nine if he tried to text her in class. Now? How did you deal with the fact that your mild-mannered crush was actually a smooth-talking, leather-wearing superhero who flirts with you ALL THE TIME? Or that said superhero/partner is actually your drop-dead gorgeous crush? Help, help, my head is going to explode!

Her phone buzzed.

Nope. Nope nope nope. She wasn't going to answer that. That was a bomb waiting to go off. That was one big BIOHAZARD sign. A threat to her health. She was going to die. Or maybe she was already dead and living in hell. There was no way this was happening!

Her phone buzzed again.

Alya nudged her. "Answer it," she hissed, probably thinking Marinette had her typical Adrien-shyness going on. But she didn't. Now she had Adrien-Cat Noir shyness. Which was exponentially worse! She couldn't even think about him, much less talk to him! She hadn't been able to sleep at all last night because of him! What would she say? –What would he say?

Her phone buzzed for the third time.

Inwardly, she groaned. In the end, Tikki was right. She couldn't get away from him now. Best to just get it over with. She looked down at her phone. Unbeknownst to him, his number had already been entered in her phone a long time ago. (She would have to make sure Alya never told him about that time she had tried to ask him out on a date via voicemail!) Sure enough, there were three new messages.

Adrien: Hey!

Adrien: What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?

Adrien: Aww, c'mon, princess. I know this isn't purrfect, but you could at least try to pawticipate.

Marinette couldn't help it. She groaned. Loudly. So loudly that Ms. Bustier stopped her lecture to look at her.

"Is something wrong, Marinette?" the teacher asked, frowning. Marinette felt her face heat up. Again.

"Sorry, Ms. Bustier!" she said quickly. "Stomachache. But it's gone now!"

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the nurse's office?" Ms. Bustier asked, concerned.

"Yes, ma'am. I mean no, ma'am. I'm fine now," she said, laughing nervously.

"Probably something she ate at that bakery her parents run," Chloe remarked, turning up her nose. Marinette saw red.

"What did you say?" she said furiously, standing up. She ignored Alya's frantic tugging on her to try to get her back in her seat.

"No talking in class, Miss Bourgeois," Ms. Bustier said crisply. "Marinette, sit down if you're not going to the nurse's office."

Fuming, Marinette defiantly stood there.

"Now, Miss Dupain-Chang," Ms. Bustier said, putting a bit more force behind her words.

Marinette sat, still glaring at Chloe. She knew for a fact that her parents' bakery was the best in Paris! They had never, ever had a single complaint about food poisoning! Even the mayor went there for his bread on occasion! Chloe had no right… no right!

"Girl, calm down," Alya murmured beside her. "She's a bitch, don't give her this."

"I know what I want to give her," Marinette growled, continuing to fume as the lesson progressed. Nobody talked about her family that way! She was having a terrible day, after a long, sleepless night. She was confused, tired, angry, depressed, slightly hopeful, and incredibly overwhelmed! The last thing she needed was—

Beside her, Alya let out a gasp and then a scream. Quickly, Marinette looked at her best friend, who was staring in horror at…. She followed her gaze to the window and felt her stomach plummet.

A little, black butterfly had just slipped inside, heading straight for her.

Every single person in the room knew what it meant. Most scrambled to get out of the way. Chloe and Sabrina straight up abandoned their chairs to run screaming to the back of the room. Marinette sat there, frozen in shock. Adrien ran in front of her, desperately trying to block it or swipe it away. Somehow, it evaded him and flew straight into her purse.

For a moment, the world stopped. She could feel her own rage at Chloe expand until it consumed her thoughts. Fire rushed through her veins. Her chest hurt and her head felt like it was being squeezed. She wanted to hurt the brat! Make her pay. Four years—four years she had put up with the spoiled little princess, flaunting her father's position and her family's money. It was sickening! She needed to be punished, so badly—

"Yes," a deep voice agreed, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. She felt compelled to listen. "I am Hawkmoth—" She jolted at the name. Something—she needed to remember something important about that name! "I can give you the power to punish this—"

"MARINETTE!"

Suddenly, a new voice cut through the purple haze of Hawkmoth's spell. One familiar. And trusted. And…. She felt a pair of hands lift her face up, just enough so she could see a pair of green eyes. Green eyes? Cat Noir? No, Adrien! Adrien was staring at her with desperation in his eyes. "Don't do it, Marinette," he begged. "Please! Say no. Don't- don't make me…," he whispered. "Please, don't make me…."

Adrien. Cat Noir! That was right… "I was having a hard time imagining you as an akuma. Probably would've lost that battle…." Adrien would have to fight her. And he was pleading with her not to make him do that.

He was so sweet. So kind. And this would kill him.

WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE DOING?

Marinette blinked as all the rage she had felt before drained out of her, leaving her staring up at Adrien. He stared back, his eyes lighting up with hope.

"Marinette?" he called softly. She blinked again. He really was so beautiful… why had she been so angry again?

Adrien looked down and laughed in delight as the little, black butterfly flew back out of her purse, looking lost and confused as it tried to make its way back to the window.

Alya, channeling her inner-Ladybug, chased after it. "Get out of here, you nasty bug!" she shouted, hitting it as hard as she could with her history book. To everyone's surprise, it burst into hundreds of tiny purple and black sparkles.

Alya blinked, then grinned, looking proud of herself. "Well, look at that," she said lightly. "Homework really can kill!" The class burst out laughing in relief. Ms. Bustier ran to Marinette.

"Marinette, are you okay?" she asked anxiously, looking her over for injuries.

"Oh God, girl, I thought it had you!" Alya exclaimed, also rushing over.

So did I, Marinette wanted to admit. What had she almost done? She felt weak. And pathetic. Cold. And really, she just wanted to cry. Or sleep for a year.

She felt, rather than saw, her class start to crowd around her. Adrien had moved over to her side to make room for Ms. Bustier, but it was clear he wasn't leaving anytime soon. People were babbling again. Saying how scared they'd been. Wondering what sort of monster she would've become. Exclaiming over how she'd managed to say 'no' to something they all had fallen prey to themselves….

"Ms. Bustier?" she said weakly. The class went silent. "I think I would like to go to the nurse's office after all."

"I'll take her," Alya offered quickly. Then Adrien was at her side again, holding her arm.

"Please, Alya, let me," he said softly. Marinette clung to his arm as she stood. He was warm, and strong, and pretty much the only thing holding her upright. Alya must've sensed this, because she backed down quickly, and didn't even bother to play the "best friend" card.

"I'll come check on you as soon as class is over," she promised, winking at Marinette as Adrien led her out of the classroom. Marinette couldn't even find the strength to blush as she realized her best friend probably saw this as an opportunity for Marinette to be with her crush.

Vaguely, she wondered if Alya had given them a couple name yet.

Miles away, a man in a purple suit raged as his butterflies swarmed frantically around him.

"Impossible!" he bellowed, grasping at the air as though he could strangle his imagined enemy. "I almost had her! Curse the boy! You don't know how long I have waited to get to that girl! Blast it all!" His hands shaking white in anger, he forced himself to calm down. "Still, this may be an opportunity…. And my revenge will be twice as sweet! Ladybug and Cat Noir will not count this as a victory for long!" Vicious laughter boomed out around him.

Marinette was pretty sure Adrien's presence at her side was the only thing keeping her from having a nervous breakdown in the hallway. As it was, she felt his grip tighten as she started trembling.

"Almost there," he said, smiling at her to try to cheer her up. He took one look at her face and slowed down. "Or do we need to find a room to be alone in for a while?"

Marinette blinked at him. "What?" He couldn't possibly be thinking—

"Do you need to transform?" he asked, gesturing to her bag. Marinette blinked at him again before it clicked. Her bag!

"Tikki!" she cried, reaching to open it, then aborting the movement midway. The halls were not empty; someone might see.

Adrien quickly steered her over to a dark classroom, checking inside to make sure it was empty. Then he nodded at her and drew her inside, closing the door behind them. The light from the windows gave them plenty of light to see as they sat down against the wall. Marinette opened her bag to check on her kwami.

"Yuck!" Tikki exclaimed, immediately zipping up and shaking herself all over, with a disgusted look on her face. "That was awful! Let's not do it again!"

"Oh, Tikki, I'm so sorry!" Marinette cried, holding out her hands for the kwami, who immediately landed to face her. "This is all my fault—"

"No, it isn't," Tikki said forcefully. "It's Hawkmoth's. He's the one who tried to turn you evil. And you fought him, Marinette! I'm so proud of you!"

Some of the cold inside Marinette warmed at that. "I had a little help," she admitted, looking at Adrien. "I heard your voice break through when he was trying to talk to me. Thank you."

He blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "I had to try something. Couldn't let you go akuma on me."

Marinette laughed nervously. That could've only ended in disaster. "Tikki, are you all right?" she asked, focusing on her friend again.

"I… may have been a little sick in your bag," the pink kwami admitted. "But I focused on hiding my presence from him as soon as I felt the akuma nearby, so I don't think Hawkmoth knew I was there."

"Oh, thank God," Marinette breathed.

"What about you?" Tikki asked, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm…" Marinette faltered. Because, really, she wasn't. "Tikki—I—" To her mortification, she burst into tears. "Sorry! …I'm so—" Desperately, tried to wipe the tears away, but they kept coming. It was all just so much!

"Hey, it's okay," Adrien said, laying a hand on her shoulder. It was warm. She hadn't even realized how cold she still felt until he touched her. Instinctively, she leaned into it, only feeling a tiny jolt of surprise when his arms went around her and pulled her into a hug.

Sweet, sweet warmth.

Relief.

She wasn't alone.

Somebody cared. He cared.

The next thing she knew, she was clinging to Adrien and crying on his shoulder as he held her. If she had been able to look up, she might've been confused at the smile on his face as he settled her in his arms, or the unnoticed kiss he placed on the top of her head. As it was, she was sufficiently distracted, and neither kwami had any intention of saying anything.

End Chapter 2.

A/N: No, I didn't give Marinette an akuma name. I have a good reason for this that will come into play later.

I will try to update this story weekly from now on, but no promises.

Next, Chapter 3: In Which There Is a Misunderstanding (and possibly cookies)