"And done," Marinette announced to herself as she set her recent creation down on her desk. It had been an interesting request, but after two complete days of working on the hat, it was finished. She pulled out her phone to text Mylène the news.
"And now for a nap."
Marinette retreated up to the loft, collapsing on her bed with great relief. For the past week, Nathanael had been as clingy as ever once her Uncle had left. She didn't even really get time to hang with Alya or Adrien, except for the one small mission Nino found, requesting to save a bunch of cat's from a tree for a cat lady. They end up staying a few hours playing with the kittens at Adrien's request to catch up on things before Marinette had to return to Nathanael.
Which was why Marinette holed herself up in her room starting Friday afternoon until she had finally finished the project Saturday.
Now for some peace and quiet.
"Marinette! Alya's here!" Marinette groaned as she hid her head under her pillow.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, I'll just head up," Marinette could hear Alya's response, the sound of footsteps growing closer.
"Marinette?"
"Up here," came the muffled response. Marinette peaked out from under the pillow to see Alya come up to the loft, lying beside her on the bed.
"Someone's sleepy."
"Long week."
"Is Nathanael really bothering you that much?"
Marinette sighed, emerging her head from the pillow, her hair probably static as Alya tried to cover a giggle.
"I have barely seen you all week because of him. Ever since the whole Adrien turned evil and flirty, he's getting all protective like I'm going to leave him the moment Adrien flirts with me again."
"You didn't leave him when Adrien did the first time, you just had to get Adrien back to normal."
"I know that, Adrien knows that, you know that, but Nathanael doesn't seem to understand that."
"Maybe you should dump him if it is too much for you," Alya suggested, turning her head away from Marinette.
"Are you serious? Prom is in a month, I don't want to be dateless for prom," Marinette turned to Alya, leaning on her elbow.
"You could ask Adrien to be your date?"
Marinette frowned, and flopped back to face the ceiling.
"No, I wouldn't want to do that to Adrien. He'd probably just feel used, like I'm only going with him because I couldn't get a date."
"But what if he wants to be your date?"
Marinette turned bright pink, pulling a pillow over to cover her face.
"You just won't quit your ship, will you?"
"Nope."
"UGH!" Marinette rolled over to face the wall.
"It's probably just a phase for Nathanael anyway. Everything will normalize again. You'll see."
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, aka Ladybug, normal? Such a concept is impossible."
Marinette was about to retort when she was interrupted by her maman.
"Marinette, you have visitors," called Sabine.
Marinette jumped and ran down to where she left her phone on her desk. There was a new message from Mylène.
"We'll stop by to pick it up in a bit."
"That was fast," Marinette picked up the hat, Alya following as they went downstairs.
"What did you say the name of the play is, Mr. Haprèle," they heard Sabine inquire, seeing their friend standing next to her father, Fred Haprèle.
"Well, it's…"
"It's called 'The Mime's Extraordinary Adventures'," interrupted Mylène, bouncing on her toes excitedly, "starring the most talented, amazingly awesome actor and mime!" She gestured to her father.
"Come on, now," Fred rubbed the back of his neck in modest embarrassment, before Mylene pulled him to the center of the room.
"My father! Give it up for Fred Haprèle!"
The three other women in the room clapped as Fred slightly bowed at Mylène's insistence.
"Thank you very much! Thank you, Mylène."
"Well, congratulations, you must make your daughter very proud!" stated Sabine as Fred brought his daughter closer to his side.
"Now all I need is my hat to complete my costume."
Marinette held out the bowler hat for Fred, "Here it is!"
"Thank you, Marinette! Saving me at the last minute."
He began gesturing around the hat Marinette held out to him, Marinette's eyes widening in amazement as she realized he was gesturing a hat box. He opened the invisible lid, looking very please at the hat inside. He carefully lifted the hat, setting it on his head, Marinette tucking the imaginary box under her arm. Looking quite pleased with himself, and the hat, he winked at the audience, ending his performance.
Sabine clapped her hands in amazement," Ha! I don't think Mylène was exaggerating at all!"
"Why, thank you," Fred bowed again, taking off his hat as he did. Marinette set down the imaginary box.
"I fixed the tear in it. I also sewed the pocket on the inside, just like you asked," Marinette pointed to the inside rim of the hat.
"You've done a perfect job. Thanks to you, I'll have my good luck charm right here next to me at all times," Fred pulled out a tiny square from his pocket, placing it in the pocket on the hat "A photo of my beloved daughter."
"Aw, dad…," Mylène hugged her dad, only coming up to his legs.
The cute scene was interrupted by Marinette's watch beeping. She offered an apologetic smile before stepping away into the kitchen.
"What's the sitch Nino?"
"LB! Wasn't sure if you would answer with Nathanael…," Nino started.
"Contrary to popular belief, he isn't glued to my side."
"Glad to hear. Hawkmoth's on the move. I already spoke to Adrien and he'll meet you at your ride."
"Nice, send me the coordinates?"
"You got it LB. Tell everyone I said hi."
The screen blacked, Marinette turning towards the group still convening in the living room.
"Nino says hi," Marinette walked over.
"Hi Nino," responded Alya sarcastically, knowing well Nino couldn't hear them.
"You should bring him to the show," suggested Fred.
"Of course, both of you should bring your boyfriends," insisted Mylène.
"When's the show again," asked Marinette.
"Tomorrow night."
"I'll let Nathanael know," Marinette pulled out her phone.
"We should probably go, I have a final dress rehearsal in an hour," Fred began walking towards the door followed by Mylène.
"Alright, good luck with your show," offered Sabine who followed them out.
"And thanks for inviting us," continued Alya.
The moment the father and daughter had left the apartment, Marinette dashed upstairs to change, briefly yelling out the word "Mission" in response to Alya and Sabine's questioning glances.
Marinette and Adrien crawled through an air vent, their watches tracking where Hawkmoth's location was in the mountain laboratory. As they made slow progress, Marinette then felt a vibration in one of her pant pockets. She pulled out her phone, revealing a text from Nathanael requesting to spend Sunday with Marinette.
"You brought your phone," asked Adrien.
"Nathanael asked me to so he can go over the details for tomorrow," Marinette sighed, putting away her phone. She'll answer him later.
"Tomorrow?"
"We're seeing Mr. Haprèle's show tomorrow. He invited me, Alya, and our boyfriends."
"Nice, my father bought us tickets to the show. So maybe I'll see you there, unless Nathanael won't let us," he teased.
"Is it really that bad," whined Marinette, wanting to bang her head against the walls of the duct.
"A little, borderline unhealthy."
"It's probably just a phase."
"I hope so, for your sanity."
"Thanks," Marinette tried to turn and smile back, but was still unable to see Adrien face.
They approached a vent in the duct, leading to a main office in the lab. Marinette quickly removed the vent while Adrien pulled out his baton, Passing it over to Marinette.
"With this I can increase the power of any electrical device to evil proportions," Hawkmoth cackled as he held the coveted device, Volpina as unamused as ever. On queue, Marinette slide down the pole, landing in the entrance of the lab.
"Stealing again Hawkmoth," Marinette chastised as Adrien slid down beside her.
"Whatever happened to inventing your own stuff," asked Adrien.
"It's called outsourc- oh, just get on with it," Hawkmoth waved his hand dismissively, Volpina though remained in her spot, leaning against one of the desks.
"How about you get on with it?"
Marinette and Adrien looked at each other. Apparently they had interrupted an argument as well as robbery.
"Volpina, this is not the time to question the nature of our relationship," growled Hawkmoth.
"Ok, fine, but I am not doing this for you. I am doing this for me," Volpina charged at Marinette with a malicious smirk. She jumped over the heroes, her hands glowing orange once she landed. She threw one of her plasma blasts, Marinette jumping out of the way, while Adrien ducked. Marinette's jump landed her on top of one of the bookshelves, Volpina quick to fire another shot, Marinette dodging with another jump directed towards Volpina. Volpina halted Marinette's flight by kicking her aside, Marinette falling to the ground.
Hawkmoth, while Volpina and Marinette were fighting, ran towards his flying machine, attempting to escape, but Adrien quickly jumped on.
"Booyah!" Adrien cheered as the machine began to slowly ascend, the extra weight causing the machine to lose power. Seeing he was close enough to the rim of the hole, Hawkmoth jumped up, barely catching onto the ledge. Adrien jumped off the flying machine as it fell, grabbing onto Hawkmoth's feet.
Volpina rushed in to punch Marinette, Marinette picking up a book to block the blow, Volpina's hand instead punching through the book. After shaking off the remains of the book, Volpina continue to throw a volley of punches at Marinette, Marinette dodging each one successfully, but the laboratory equipment being thrown off the shelf in the process. Marinette kicked Volpina into a skeleton model, quickly falling apart under her weight. Volpina jumped back up and charged at Marinette, knocking her into a desk, Marinette feeling a pinch at the back of her neck, but thought nothing of it. Marinette struggled as Volpina attempted to keep her pinned, but Marinette managed to flip Volpina around, shoving her into the desk.
Meanwhile, Hawkmoth was still struggling with climbing out of the hole, as Adrien was holding onto his legs for dear life.
"Uh, do you mind? I'm trying to get away," scolded Hawkmoth.
"You're going to have to try a lot harder than that," Adrien jested. Hawkmoth managed to free one leg from Adrien's grasp, and started kicking him.
"Ow, ok, that's not very nice."
Marinette briefly glanced over at Adrien to make sure he was alright, giving Volpina the chance to throw Marinette off of her. Volpina climbed onto the shelf, grabbing onto the ceiling once she reached the top. She kicked the shelf over, collapsing on top of Marinette, bottles breaking under the weight.
"MARINETTE!" Adrien screamed after her, the shelf not moving.
"I believe the phrase is 'Booyah'," taunted Hawkmoth as he swung his legs, successfully kicking Adrien off of him.
"Some other day, Ladybug," Hawkmoth finished climbing out of the hole, Volpina jumping after him while Adrien fished Marinette out of the mess.
"You ok," Adrien asked, eyes filled with worry as he searched her for any potential bruises.
"Me? Yeah. Pride? Not so much," sighed Marinette.
Adrien nodded absentmindedly, noticing a phone on the floor.
"Hey, you dropped your phone," Adrien picked it up and handed the device over.
"Thanks," Marinette pocketed the phone before leaving the thoroughly trashed laboratory.
Marinette forgot to call Nathanael until the next morning, reaching for her phone when she woke up the next morning. Only to find it wasn't her phone. There was no ladybug phone case made by Nino on the back. Adrien must have mistakenly grabbed something out of the laboratory.
"Marinette, Nathanael's here," called out Sabine.
Great, now clingy boyfriend on top of missing phone.
"I'll be down in a minute." Marinette hurriedly changed into her normal outfit before heading downstairs with the mystery device.
"Hey." Marinette spotted Nathanael standing nervously near the kitchen, her mother probably down in the bakery.
"Hey, you didn't respond to my texts, so I thought maybe something happened, and I thought I should come over and check. Make sure you're safe," he offered a hesitant smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about not calling you, my phone got switched with this thing last night," Marinette tossed the device onto the counter while she helped herself to breakfast.
"What is this," Nathanael picked up the device, pressing a button on the screen.
Marinette felt a jolt on her neck, her posture straightening, as she realized what she had done. She had lost her phone! And didn't answer back Nathanael's texts! He must have been so worried.
"I'm sorry," Marinette exploded into tears, dropping the milk on the counter.
Nathanael looked startled for a moment by the sudden change.
"It's alright, things like this happen."
"It shouldn't be like this. I should have answered you when I got your text. I should have been more careful with my phone. I'm a terrible person," she dropped her head onto the counter, Nathanael quickly coming to her side.
"It's ok, you're safe, that's all that matters," he held her close, Marinette turning to cry into his shoulder.
Nathanael, eyeing the phone thing, picked it up, hoping that would make her feel better.
"Why don't try then to retrace your steps then and figure out what happened to it," he accidentally pressed the screen. Marinette jolted up, knocking Nathanael in the chin.
"Adrien, that dingus totally lost my phone," she growled, picking up the milk container and shoving it back to the fridge. Grabbing an apple instead, she grabbed Nathanael by the collar, pulling him after her. Startled by the sudden action, he dropped the device
"Uh, where are we going?"
"To find Adrien," she grumbled as she took a large bite out of the apple.
"Marinette," Alya called from the front door, "Your mom sent me in, said you and Nathanael were here."
Alya entered the apartment further, no sign of Marinette downstairs.
"Marinette!" "Marinette!" Alya's siblings, Ella and Etta, ran into the room after her, Alya heading upstairs while the girls ran around.
"Look," Ella pointed to the phone looking device on the floor. Etta ran over and picked it up before Ella could grabbed it and pushed a button.
"Give it to me!" Ella managed to push a button before Etta pulled it away. Ella grabbed it again, pressing another button.
"Hands off!"
"Gimme!"
"I got it first!"
Adrien was at Trocadéro for a photoshoot, angering his photographer as he watched the show being set up for that night under the Eiffel Tower.
"Come on, more happy! The smile like you're smelling a delicious lunch in ze kitchen! Ah! No, no! We need a…" The photographer looked around for something to make Adrien smile.
"ADRIEN AGRESTE!"
Adrien and the photographer both turned to see Marinette storming over, with a helpless Nathanael being dragged from behind.
"Hey Marinette," Adrien responded to her outburst as she continued to charge forward up until she had him cornered against the wall.
"I can't believe you!"
"What don't you want to believe?"
"You lost my phone!"
"Your phone?"
All of a sudden, Marinette stood straight, her eyes briefly changing to yellow. Her angry expression immediately changed to a bright cheerful one as she dropped an exhausted Nathanael to the ground.
"You know, has the ladybug case with a picture of all my best friends in the background."
"I'm sorry, it's probably still at the lab. I'm sure we can find it."
Marinette's posture straightened again, her eye color flashing blue. She immediately started crying.
"Unless we can never find it again," she threw herself onto Adrien, sobbing on to his shirt. Adrien looked down to Nathanael for help, who was passed out on the ground, presumably from being pulled to Trocadéro from Marinette's house. Adrien looked to his photographer, who was taking photos of the whole thing.
"Marinette, you feeling ok," he asked.
Marinette's posture straighten again, hitting Adrien in the chin as she did. She looked intimidating and borderline angry.
"Why? What do you mean by that?"
Adrien held up his hands in defense, "Nothing. Nothing. You just seem kinda…. Random."
Marinette's posture straightened again, eyes flashing a light blue, "Random? Are we talking about me?"
Adrien sighed, this was going nowhere fast. Nathanael groaned from the ground; Adrien pulling Marinette away.
"Can you help him," Adrien asked the photographer, who sighed at missing some photos, but went to help Nathanael up.
"Is this about Nathanael being clingy?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, how you've been only hanging out with Nathanael. Even bringing your phone on a mission."
Marinette straighten again, her eyes flashing red.
"A phone which you lost!"
Marinette pulled up her wrist communicator.
"What are you doing," asked Adrien as she dialed Nino.
"Talking to someone who actually knows how to fix your mess."
"Hey Marinette, Alya's been trying to call you," answered Nino.
"Adrien explain now," Marinette shoved her wrist in Adrien's face.
"Nice close up," teased Nino.
"Not the time man," mumbled Adrien, watching Marinette's death glare from behind the screen.
"I have to watch my sisters today and thought you might want to help," Alya peaked into Marinette's balcony, empty as her room had been.
"I want a turn!"
Alya hurried back downstairs to see her sisters fighting over a phone looking thing.
"Alright give it," Alya held out her hand, Etta handing over the toy. On the screen was a red face. Alya tapped the face, changing it to a pink face.
"Now it's my turn," begged Ella.
"It's not your toy. We'll return this to Marinette when we see her."
Alya pocketed the device before leading her sisters out of the apartment. Alya would try to talk to Marinette before the show.
"I guess I picked up the wrong thing. It's all my fault," Adrien explained, not even noticing Marinette stiffen.
"Wait," Marinette pulled down the watch, her blue eyes a look Adrien had only seen on her once. On Valentine's Day. With Moni.
"That's not true. Adrien did his best. It could have happened to anyone. Right?"
"Sure. Stuff happens when you're saving the world. I'll try to track it and see if we can get it back," answered Nino before hanging up.
"See Adrien? Everything is going to be A-ok." Marinette ran her fingers up Adrien's arm, Adrien not entirely sure how to respond. Was Nathanael being this clingy really giving Marinette mood swings? Or was this a feminine thing?
"Uhh… Mari… hey, the shirt," Adrien stuttered, feeling warm at her touch.
"Oh, sorry," Marinette giggled, "I'll let you get back to work." Marinette skipped away, Adrien slightly relieved at this point.
"Wait, why don't you two pose together," offered the photographer, leaving Nathanael on the sidewalk.
"Me? Pose with Adrien?" Marinette clasped her hands, staring dreamily into the mid distance.
"Please mademoiselle," the photographer insisted, pushing Marinette towards Adrien, earning a glare from Nathanael.
Marinette looked up at him, absolutely smitten. He hesitantly put his arms around her.
They were just friends and she was just having weird emotions today. She would probably be normal after the shoot.
Marinette did not stop at the shoot. She followed him home to work on homework, and to his piano lessons, and finally to the school, where she lost him amongst the fencers. The most awkward part of all this, was Nathanael still stuck around. The whole time.
Nathanael saw Marinette cuddle next to Adrien when they studied (Adrien tried to avoid this for awhile, sitting farther away from Marinette until he ended up on the floor). Nathanael sat next to Marinette, who looked enraptured at Adrien's piano playing. And Nathanael was currently sitting next to Marinette on a bench on the side of the school courtyard watching the fencing practice, eyeing each fencer with disdain.
On any other day, Adrien wouldn't mind the extra affection. He figured some part of him did have feelings for Marinette, and with her mood as it was, it could help sort out maybe being in a relationship with her. But she was still dating Nathanael, leaving their situation in an awkward limbo.
But did Marinette notice Adrien and Nathanael's problems with the situation? Nope. She was helplessly crushing on Adrien, and Adrien didn't know what to do. Other than try to leave with his fencing gear still on.
It was working nicely to, until he ran into Alya walking by the school with her two younger sisters.
"Alya, look at the silly man in the suit," one of the girl's pointed out, Adrien panicking for a moment before diving into a bush. He hoped they would ignore him after that.
"I found him," called another one, peaking into his bush. Or was it the same girl as before. He couldn't tell.
Alya peered over the bush, Adrien lifting his helmet for her to see him.
"Do I want to know why you are still in you're uniform hiding in a bush?"
"Marinette," he whispered
"Marinette?"
"She's been following me all day. I think she has a crush on me."
"YES!" Alya fist pumped before grabbing her siblings in excitement. "My girl finally made the move!"
"No. No. No yes. She's still dating Nathanael."
Alya stopped her celebration short, "Say what now?"
"That's the thing, Marinette has a crush on me, but she hasn't broken up with Nathanael and he still following her, who's following me, and I'm certain at any moment he's going to pop out of nowhere and attempt to kill me and make it look like an accident. And I'm not ready to die yet."
"Then I suggest making an appointment with your lawyer then," Alya pointed to the school entrance where Marinette emerged followed by a furious Nathanael.
"Adrien!" She called out the moment she spotted him.
"Later Alya," Adrien jumped out of the bush and ran for dear life, following by Marinette, who was followed by Nathanael.
After almost eight months of being Chat Noir, the training he and Marinette had done helped Adrien speed from Nathanael, who was poorly out of shape. But Marinette had nearly seven years of parkour and gymnastics training ahead of him. She was jumping over cars, swinging around street lights, jumping between walls. But Adrien kept running for the comforts and highly fortified home. Only to find the front gate locked.
He quickly pressed the button on the side of the gate.
"Nathalie open up!" He begged, looking for Nathanael to pounce on him, momentarily forgetting Marinette who leapt over him, blocking him from entering the opening gate.
"Marinette! Um, fancy seeing you here." Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, uncertain where to proceed.
"Hey A-adrien. I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go to the performance tonight with me?"
Marinette was asking him out?!
"Me? Go to the performance? With you?"
Marinette's eyes lit up with excitement, "I thought you would never ask!"
Marinette through her arms around his neck.
"Wait, what? But Mari-"
Whatever he was going to say was lost as soon as she kissed him. He heard an undignified gasp sounding like Nathalie, but couldn't bring himself to care as soon as Marinette pulled away, he blacked out momentarily.
When he opened his eyes again, he was staring into Marinette's eyes. Had they always been that blue, and her face so fair? ANd the way her dark hair framed her face, Adrien was on Cloud 9.
"I'll see you tonight then," she giggled as she pulled him right side up.
"Yeah, see ya tonight…" Adrien mumbled as Marinette bopped him on the nose before skipping away. Adrien continued to watch her leave, up until someone punched him in the gut, sending him sprawling onto the ground. While gasping for breath, he looked up to see a seething Nathanael shaking his hand.
Oh right, Marinette was still dating Nathanael.
"I probably deserved that," Adrien mumbled as he stood up.
"You deserved a punch to the face, but I didn't want to hurt my hand that badly and your face is probably insured," stated Nathanael.
"So how much did you hear?"
"Marinette wants you to take her to the show tonight…" Nathanael mumbled, sticking his hands in his coat pocket.
Adrien groaned, he was ruining his best friend's relationship, all because he couldn't have just turned her down the moment she looked at him with those big eyes full of love that morning. He would just have to save Marinette's relationship, no matter how much he wanted that kiss again.
"I already have a ticket, so you take her," offered Adrien.
"You serious?"
"She's probably just being emotional. Girl thing. She'll probably feel better by tonight."
"I hope so. This day, it's just been weird."
Adrien grimaced.
"Rough patches happen. I hope it works out for you two," Adrien slightly smiled.
"Thanks," Nathanael returned the smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. The boys parted ways, Adrien entering the mansion to find Nathalie at the front door.
"Do I want to know?"
"Probably not," mumbled Adrien as he headed to him room. He really did hope Marinette would be back to normal soon. For Nathanael's sake.
Marinette stood in front of her full body mirror, admiring her outfit she had picked out. She was wearing a black dress that ended just above the knees, her wrists adorned by red bracelets. On her ears were the Ladybug earrings Adrien had gotten her for Christmas. And her heels were black with red straps. A subtle Ladybug she knew Adrien would love.
Adrien, her heart swooned at the thought of him. And she was finally going on an official date with him. Not some school dance. Not stalking friends on their date. Going to a fancy performance date.
She heard the doorbell ring below, doing a final check in the mirror before heading down to see her date.
In the entry hall stood Nathanael with her parents, the boy dressing a little nicer than normal, gelling his hair out of his face for the occasion. His jaw dropped when he saw her.
Where was Adrien?
"Don't you look beautiful honey," admired Sabine as Marinette joined the group, plastering on a smile.
"Thanks maman."
"You two kids have fun," Tom ushered them out the door, shutting it behind them. Nathanael offered her an arm, which she just stared at.
"Where's Adrien?"
Nathanael blink, his loving expression dissolving into a disappointed frown.
"He said he'll meet us there, he wanted me to pick you up," Nathanael offered a small smile.
Oh good, Adrien hadn't stood her up.
"Ok!" Marinette proceeded down the stairs, Nathanael following at a snail's pace.
"Marinette?"
"Hmm," she turned to face him at the bottom of the stairs.
"You do know we're dating right?"
Alya sat patiently at show, her leg nervously tapping. This afternoon had brought interesting development. Marinette was still crushing on Adrien, but was dating Nathanael. According to a skype message from Marinette, Adrien was taking her to the show, but according to Adrien, he had insisted Nathanael take her. Either way, she needed to give Marinette back the phone looking device.
Nino was sitting beside her, playing something on his phone. It looked like a flight simulator.
"What's that," asked Alya leaning over.
"The phone case I gave Marinette recently serves as both a tracking device as well as turning her phone into a drone. I was able to locate it, and it is currently heading towards our location."
Alya's eyes widened in amazement.
"You think you can help me with something?"
"Sure," he pressed a button on screen, setting the device to autopilot.
Alya pulled the phone device out of her purse.
"I found this game thing at Marinette's house," she passed the device over to Nino, who pressed the pink face, turning it yellow.
Marinette straightened up, Nathanael's question sounding absurd.
"Dating?!" She burst up laughing, "You and me! HahaHA!"
"Um yeah, we have been for over a month now. And today you've been acting really strange," Nathanael led her outside of the apartment and began walking towards the Eiffel Tower.
"Hey guys," greeted Adrien, followed by Gabriel Agreste, who stiffly nodded before taking his seat. Adrien scooted closer to his friends.
"What's that?"
"Some game, see," Nino pressed the face again, turning it red.
"Me? Strange?" Marinette growled, Nathanael holding up his hands in defense.
"We'll yeah, your emotions were all over the place, then you started crushing on on Adrien…"
Adrien took the device from Nino, pressing the face blue.
"Who stood me up for our date," Marinette began to sob.
"Marinette, I'm your date. You're suppose to go to the show with me," Nathanael stepped closer, trying to figure out how to comfort her.
"But, but Adrien…" she whimpered.
"He'll be at the show, if you really want him that badly," grumbled Nathanael, stepping a little back.
"Adrien!" Marinette burst into tears, running away.
Nathanael huffed, not exactly sure what to do. Well he did know. He needed to talk to Marinette and figure out what was going on with her and their relationship.
"Strange, doesn't really do much," Adrien handed the device back to Nino, just as a familiar device flew in front of them.
"Marinette's phone," Alya exclaimed, grabbing the device as the arms and propellers snapped back into a phone case. All of a sudden, a short man in a lab coat ran into view.
"Aha! Spy," he pointed at Alya, still holding the phone.
"What? No. Dude, this is a cell phone," argued Nino, Alya turning on the device to reveal the background of Marinette and her friends.
"No spying? Hmm… this looks a lot like my moodulator controller," the scientist eyed the cell phone.
"Oh, you mean this video game," Alya handed over the phone-device, the scientist snatching it away.
"This is no game," the scientist said, examining the device for any damage.
"Explains why you couldn't win," teased Nino, putting away his own phone now that Marinette's was back. Alya smacked him on the shoulder for that comment.
"This controls my moodulators," explained the scientist.
"Moodulators…. Yeah… is that a word we should know," asked Adrien.
Due to Nathanael's delay in running after Marinette, he had long lost sight of her, and decided on heading for the show in case she went there to be with Adrien. As he entered the seating area, a woman with brown hair and an orange dress ran out crying. What was it with emotional women today?
He found Alya, Nino, and Adrien in the front row talking to a man in a lab coat. But no Marinette.
"So this device had complete control of Marinette all along," asked Adrien, pointing to some device in the scientist's hand. Nathanael approached the group, barely acknowledged by the others.
"Precisely. With just the press of a button…" the scientist started, just as a man in a creepy purple lab attire and silver mask jump over the seats, grabbing the device.
"I'll press that button," the man smirked.
"Hawkmoth," Adrien immediately stood up, ready to fight. The glare Alya and Nino were giving looked like they would fight too if Adrien needed help.
Hawkmoth took a device out of his pocket, placing it on the phone thing.
"Ladybug, under my control, that's better than any laser. Let's super-charge that," he snarled.
"No, you don't.," Adrien lunged forward, tackling the man, the scientist jumping in trying to take back the device.
As far as Nathanael could sort it in his head, Marinette was actually being emotionally controlled by that device all day, including her crush, anger, and sadness.
"Please take your seats, the production will start in less than five minutes," a voice came over the loudspeaker.
Nathanael hurriedly sat down while Adrien, Hawkmoth, and the scientist continued to fight, musicians setting up off to the side of the stage.
"It's going to overload," the scientist grabbed the device from Hawkmoth, the back cracked and smoking,"The circuits have been fried."
"So that means Marinette is back to normal, right? Please tell me Marinette is back to normal," Adrien begged, earning a slightly amused look from Gabriel Agreste who was sitting next to Nathanael.
"I'm afraid your friend is now locked into an irreversible frenzy of rage," lamented the scientist.
"Dude, what did he just say," asked Nino.
"So, I hope she's not angry at anybody, because that would be bad," offered the scientist.
It was then they realized Nathanael was there, several eyes turning in his direction.
"She thought you stood her up, but I told her you were only meeting us here," offered Nathanael. Adrien looked confused, uncertain how to take that information.
"Adrien Agreste! Nathanael Kurtzberg!" Both boys turned to see a fuming Marinette.
"You stood me up," she pointed to Adrien, then to Nathanael, "and you abandoned me."
"Dudes, I suggest you run," offered Nino, both boys jumping from their positions and running away from the terror of Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
The lights darkened around the stage as Adrien made it to the end of the audience, taking refuge behind a popcorn stand. He peeked over to see Marinette on the opposite side of the stand.
"Chill Marinette, it's me. Adrien," he attempted to pacify. He honestly thought he was doing the right thing having her go with Nathanael.
"Yeah, Adrien Heartbreaker," she grabbed several empty tubs of popcorn at him as he proceed to run away.
"It's Agreste. Adrien Agreste!"
He ran down the aisle, passing Hawkmoth, followed by an angry Volpina. The show was starting, the mime moving to the side of the stage as Adrien slide onto it, hiding behind the curtain.
He wasn't alone, as he noticed Nathanael next to him.
"Find your own hiding place," scowled Nathanael.
"Oh, right, like you called dibs,"
"Well, I am now. Dibs! Ha," Hawkmoth responded as he came around the side.
"Well, I'm calling double dibs," retorted Adrien.
"Urgg! You've won this round with your superior dib-calling, but that won't save us from them," scowled Hawkmoth as he began to crawl away, Nathanael doing the same.
Their hideaway was then destroyed as Marinette ripped apart the curtain, the mime from the showing miming his surprise.
Marinette's focus immediately zoomed in on Nathanael.
"Hey Marinette, come on, it's me, Nathanael. Remember the good times?"
Marinette picked him up, and chucked him into the band section, landing in a tuba.
"Ok, so maybe I've been a bit clingy this past couple weeks, but come on, remember the fun times before that?"
But Marinette's attention was now on Adrien as she picked him up, and swung him around like a rag doll before tossing him somewhere into the audience. The mime was watching, his hand to his forehead like it was long distance shot before shaking as if there was an explosion when someone angrily roared.
"Volpina! HELP! LB! Sidekick in trouble," Adrien cried out.
Marinette looked slightly torn, as she was preparing to pummel Nathanael, her eyes flashing multiple colors before something popped and fizzled. Looking relieved, she dropped Nathanael and jumped over the crowds of people and kicked Volpina over a few rows.
Adrien looked between Volpina and Marinette.
"Please tell me you're back to normal," he asked.
Marinette smiled and held out her hand, revealing broken pieces of what Adrien assumed to be the moodulator.
"Oh thank god," he sighed in relief, pulling her into a hug. The audience cooed, the mime even looking in love.
"So Ladybug, you were lucky this time," Hawkmoth announced from the side of the audience, a spotlight on him.
"You might want to be careful," taunted Marinette as she let go of Adrien.
"Ha, you threaten me?"
"No, Volpina still got serious moodulator issues," Adrien pointed to where Volpina had recovered, her enraged gaze directed at Hawkmoth.
"Hawkmoth!"
Her hand began to glow bright orange as she fired it at Hawkmoth, chasing him out of the audience and into Paris.
"Should we do something about them," asked Marinette.
"I think their issues are a bit more personal," Adrien looked after where Volpina and Hawkmoth had disappeared off to, then turned back to the stage, where Nathanael was walking off, apologizing to the band members as he left.
"And I think you have some people you need to talk to as well," Adrien nodded towards Nathanael's direction Marinette following his gaze.
"Right," Marinette and Adrien left the aisle, the show resuming as it was suppose to.
"Adrien," Marinette turned to face Adrien.
"I'm sorry about earlier, being clingy, and obsessive like that…" Marinette grew quiet as she thought over what had happened today. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"It's fine, I'm use to obsessive fan girls, although not one who can do parkour like that."
Marinette giggled, Adrien smiling as she did.
"Go on, Nathanael's waiting."
Marinette nodded and jogged over to Nathanael, who lead her away from the seating area to talk.
Adrien returned to his seat, Gabriel glancing as Adrien passed him by. Adrien tried to focus on the show, but his mind kept wandering. All he could think about was that brief moment when he kissed Marinette.
"I'm sorry about today, and everything," Marinette apologized as Nathanael led her away from the stage to talk privately.
"It's fine. It comes with the job," Nathanael shrugged.
"Right. That's me, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, aka Ladybug, emotionally unstable due to science," she jested, but Nathanael didn't return the smile.
"Marinette, how do you feel about Adrien?"
"What?"
"Do you like him?"
"He's my best friend, next to Alya of course, but I'm suppose to like him if he's my friend."
Nathanael sat on a bench, Marinette sitting beside him.
"Are we friends?"
"Of course we are."
"Do you like me as much as you like him?"
"If this is about me flirting with him, or him flirting with me when he was turned evil, because we weren't ourselves."
"Oh stop that. You say it's part of the job, you say it's not really you when either of you get controlled. But deep down, you know it's how you really feel. You like Adrien, and he probably likes you."
Marinette blushed at that information, turning her head.
"See, you don't even deny it."
"Adrien sees me as nothing more than a friend. We made that clear a long time ago."
"What about you? Did you make it clear to you? Did you make it clear that since you're dating someone, you should probably not flirt or like another guy, especially when said boyfriend is around?!"
Marinette stared at Nathanael, jaw agape. She had never seen him this emotional before. He had always been passive and reserved.
Nathanael turned from looking at her, shaking his head, "I thought I could do this, but I don't think I can anymore."
"What," Marinette whispered, hoping he wasn't saying what she thought he was.
"This, you being a hero, having a guy partner that your clearly attracted to, and sometimes coming back a little stranger than normal because something didn't go as planned."
"Nathanael, please don't…" she begged.
"Let me be your partner. Prove to me you want to make this work by letting me be your partner."
Marinette could feel the first real tears of that day fall as looked at Nathanael. She had promised Adrien he could be her partner for as long as he wanted, no relationship coming between them. At this point, it was either loose Adrien or loose Nathanael.
Nathanael sighed, ruffling his hands through his hair, "I'm sorry. That was wrong of me. I shouldn't make you choose like that."
Nathanael stood up, his hair falling back into place to cover his eyes.
"We're done Marinette."
Without a second glance, he walked off, Marinette frozen where he left her, a dull sound of applause echoing in her ear.
The audience stood, the roar of applause echoing across the space underneath the Eiffel Tower.
Marinette and Nathanael had still not returned.
Adrien looked over to Alya and Nino who were clapping as well, but also eyeing the empty seats. As the audience began to disperse, Alya and Nino moved closer to Adrien and Mr. Agreste.
"Any word from Marinette," asked Adrien.
"None, I still have her phone," Alya waved the device.
"I believe Miss Marinette is on a bench underneath the tower," commented Gabriel, pointing in a direction out the teens' line of sight. The three nodded and ran over to where Marinette was frozen on the bench, pale and alone. Alya halted the boy's steps before cautiously approaching Marinette.
"Marinette?" Alya placed a hand on Marinette's knee, the shock of the touch causing Marinette to stiffen before collapsing onto the ground in Alya's arms, completely breaking down into sobs on Alya's shoulder.
"Please don't leave me, please don't leave me," Marinette muttered through the tears.
"It's alright girl, I won't leave you," assured Alya, petting Marinette's hair.
Adrien stepped forward, hoping to comfort her by resting a hand at her shoulder, when she flinched and pulled herself tighter to Alya.
Alya looked between Adrien and Marinette, but shocked by Marinette's reaction as Adrien slowly with drew his hand.
"I'll call your folks and see if they can pick you both up," offered Nino pulling out his phone. Alya nodded.
Adrien stood helpless, unsure what to do, so he sat on the bench a little distance from Marinette but enough for her to know he was still there.
AN: Somewhere someone requested this particular crossover (Emotion Sickness) and I originally said no because of another fic. Well, this actually ended up working better for the story.
Also check out Alinkssa on DeviantArt. She is creating some fan art of these characters that are amazing! She already has up Marinette and Adrien with fourteen other characters coming for this crossover.