Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Can you believe it?” Alya squeals, bouncing in her seat at their table in the cafeteria. “Look how many views I’ve gotten on the Ladyblog since posting that picture!”

“That’s awesome, dude!” Nino high-fives Alya. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Me too!” Adrien says. His wide grin would usually make Marinette’s insides flutter and explode but at the moment, she’s more concerned with trying not to throw up. “I still can’t believe Ladybug and Chat Noir actually kissed!”

“I know, right?” Alya once again checks her phone and beams. “My OTP is finally a thing!”

Marinette bites the inside of her cheek to avoid snapping at Alya. She loves her best friend – really, she does – but Alya doesn’t have any sense of boundaries when it comes to the Ladyblog and getting views. Marinette’s still a little salty that Alya had believed Lila and not bothered to fact-check purely because Lila’s lying interview was wildly popular, yet Alya’s own best friend is expected to hand in a list of sources to prove that she’s not reacting out of jealousy.

“Uh, but Ladybug said that she and Chat Noir weren’t a thing,” Nino says. Marinette could hug him right now because finally someone has some sense.

“With that kiss?” Alya scoffs. “They’re totally a thing, Nino.”

“Doesn’t it seem a bit disrespectful to post a private moment like that all over the internet?” Marinette says. “Especially when Ladybug said that they weren’t a couple?”

“Then why did they kiss?” Alya challenges.

“They lost their memories,” Marinette says. “They might not even know why they kissed.”

“They wouldn’t have kissed if they weren’t in love with each other!”

“How would they know if they are or aren’t in love?” Marinette clenches her fists under the table. “Maybe they found out each other’s identities while they had amnesia and decided that they were attracted to each other’s identities. Maybe they did something different without their memories that made them fall in love – something they didn’t do the first time around. I just don’t think it’s fair to act like they’re a couple when they didn’t even know who they were.”

“And how would you know that they didn’t know who they were?”

Marinette sighs. “You’ve seen the footage, haven’t you? People didn’t even know their own names. How would Ladybug and Chat Noir have known whether they were in love with each other?”

“If anything, the fact that they fell for each other so quickly just proves that they’re meant to be,” Adrien chimes in. Marinette struggles not to cry, because there’s no way she can properly argue her point while maintaining the pretence that she wasn’t there. No one can know that she’s Ladybug, after all.

“Well, maybe she fell for him because she didn’t know that he’s always making her uncomfortable and treating her like she’s his,” Marinette snaps. It’s kind of funny how Alya, Adrien, and Nino all recoil as though she’d said that someone should go and die.

“What the heck are you talking about, girl?” Alya says. “If you don’t like Chat Noir then fine, but you shouldn’t go around bad-mouthing him.”

“How am I bad-mouthing him when I’m telling the truth?” Marinette says. “I’ve hung around enough battles that –” She freezes and makes sure that she remembers her cover story. Although she absolutely cannot stand liars, she’s slowly coming to realise that sometimes, little lies like this that aren’t out of malice are necessary, especially when she blurts out these lies out of panic rather than truly wanting to deceive people. “That I ended up with a small crush on Chat Noir.”

“That’s not exactly the best proof,” Alya says. “I’ve got footage –”

“Where she tells him to stop saying that they’re a couple!” Marinette sets her jaw. “You really don’t believe me without proof? Then look at the footage! She’s constantly shutting him down whenever he acts like they’re a couple. He’s always focusing on flirting with her rather than being serious about his job! You saw the footage, right? He was so busy trying to flirt with her that he got hit by Oblivio. Then she got hit as well because she was trying to protect herself and him.”

“Marinette –” Adrien tries to interject. But the dam inside Marinette has finally burst, and every little thing she’s ever wanted to say is pouring out of her.

“She clearly values Chat Noir a lot,” she says. “It’s so obvious to see that she loves him. But it’s also obvious how uncomfortable he makes her when he doesn’t respect her boundaries! Remember that interview with Nadja? How she kept asking invasive questions and made Ladybug storm out? Well, Chat Noir didn’t do anything to help Ladybug! He just kept hyping up the idea that they’d be a couple soon because that’s what he wants. And I just find it really disrespectful that everyone supports Chat Noir “chasing” Ladybug, but no one cares how Ladybug might feel.”

“Okay, whoa, you need to chill,” Alya says. Adrien’s looking at Marinette as though this is the first time he’s ever seen her, while Nino’s wisely choosing to stay silent and focus on his lunch. “You’re acting like we don’t care about Ladybug when you know damn well that’s not true.”

“Of course.” Marinette shoves her lunch away and stands up to make her escape before she says things she’ll regret. “I forgot. I need to write an entire essay with citations just to prove that I’m not a silly jealous girl, but someone like Lila can give an entire interview claiming that she’s Ladybug’s best friend without one single bit of evidence just because it brings in views.”

“Seriously?” Alya also stands up and crosses her arms. “I can’t believe you, Marinette. You really hate Lila that much that you’re having another go at her when the topic’s not even about her?”

“You’re right,” Marinette hisses. “It’s not about her. It’s about how you’ll do anything for the Ladyblog, no matter how uncomfortable it makes other people. Did you even once ask Ladybug if she’s friends with Lila? Did you ask her if she’s in love with Chat Noir? That’s my point, Alya! No one sees Ladybug as a person! They just see her as the amazing hero who comes in and saves the day, and they act like her secret identity is a juicy secret that they need to race to find, but no one cares about her. No one stops and asks why she wants to keep her identity hidden, or whether she might have a crush or even a partner as her civilian self!”

If she wasn’t so enraged, Marinette might feel ashamed of herself for enjoying the looks of shock and horror she gets after her rant. But this has all been building up for so long, and after nearly being akumatised when the entire class had decided that she was an awful person, she’s not all that surprised that she’s finally exploding.

“No one’s ever talked to Ladybug and asked her what she thinks or feels,” Marinette finishes. “All that matters is the Ladyblog, or Chat Noir “winning” her, or whatever else people want to use her for. That’s why I’m so mad. I’m mad for her, because no one else seems to be.”

Marinette takes a deep breath, then storms off before she says anything more and really hurts her friends. Just because she’s angry and standing up for her alter ego, that doesn’t mean that she’s got the right to be nasty. Desperate for a place to be alone, so no one will find her and give her a grand speech that she really doesn’t need right now, she ends up in the girls’ toilets, just like when Lila had pulled that sob story about her wrist and the napkin.

“Marinette?” Tikki zooms out of Marinette’s purse and hovers in front of her face, although she’s little more than a red blur due to Marinette’s eyes stinging with hot tears. “Are you okay?”

“Did I go too far?” Marinette sniffles and wipes her nose with her sleeve. Now that she’s alone and not being forcibly reminded of how Ladybug seems to be little more than a stage show, her anger has quickly dissipated, and her stomach is curling at the things she’d just said. “I was just so – so angry. I felt so disrespected, Tikki, but I never wanted to hurt anyone.”

“Were you saying those things because you were angry and wanted to hurt them like they hurt you?” Tikki says. “Or were you just so frustrated that you wanted to make them understand how you felt upset and unvalued?”

“I was frustrated!” Marinette says. “I told you, I felt so disrespected and I just…wanted to actually say something instead of smiling and pretending everything was okay.”

“Then you were perfectly right to do that.” Tikki nuzzles against Marinette’s cheek. “You didn’t do it to hurt them, and you walked away before you could take it too far. Standing up for yourself doesn’t make you a bad person, Marinette.”

“I know,” Marinette sighs. “I just…I don’t like causing conflict if it’s with someone I like. I can stand up to Chloé and Lila, no problem, but Alya and Adrien and Nino are my friends. I don’t want to make things cold between me and my friends.”

“If they stop talking to you over one fight, they’re not such good friends after all,” Tikki says. “You shouldn’t have to sacrifice your comfort and boundaries to maintain friendships. But I’m sure that one fight won’t make them hate you.”

“I hope you’re right,” Marinette says. “I’m not really that close to anyone else. So, if I lose these friends…I don’t know who else I’ll have.”

“You’ll have me!” Tikki says. Marinette grins weakly and pokes Tikki.

“No, I won’t! You eat all the cookies.”

The bell rings to signal the end of lunch just as Tikki giggles, “But they’re so good!” She dives back into Marinette’s purse, and Marinette takes a moment to make sure she’s composed before unlocking the stall door and making her way to class.

Things aren’t exactly frosty between her and Alya, Adrien, and Nino (though less Nino, since he’d mostly stayed out of the conflict). But neither party goes out of their way to talk to the other as they’d usually do before class starts, and when Miss Bustier decides that today’s work is best completed in pairs, Marinette swallows her pride and turns a smile on Alya. She won’t be mean, and she won’t be petty. She’ll be her usual nice self, but she also won’t just pretend that nothing happened or go back to normal without an apology.

Although patrol is always a welcome window of time to just get out and clear her head, Ladybug finds that she’s throwing herself into that night’s patrol with far more gusto than usual. When she’s swinging around the city and keeping an eye on things, she’s not Marinette Dupain-Cheng with all her mundane problems. She’s not even the superhero Ladybug, a beacon of hope, with the stress of battling the forces of evil and protecting the whole of Paris from Hawkmoth’s akumas. She’s just…her. Maribug might be a good portmanteau for the person she becomes when she’s allowed to be alone with herself like this. She’s neither Marinette nor Ladybug, but she’s also both.

When her patrol is over and she’s leaping towards the Eiffel Tower to rendezvous with Chat Noir, she’s expecting to be greeted with the usual lopsided smirk and cocky spark in his green cat eyes. However, what she finds instead is a black figure slumped on a thick metal beam, chin resting on his hands, swinging his legs as he stares out over the twinkling blanket of lights that makes up Paris at night.

“Chat?” She sits down next to him carefully, but he doesn’t even give her a glance. “What’s wrong?”

Chat Noir doesn’t speak for a few moments. Finally, when Ladybug’s about to ask a little more forcefully, he says, “My lady? Do I…make you uncomfortable?”

Ladybug’s insides turn to ice. Has someone told Chat Noir about the argument from earlier? If one of her friends has – actually, there’s no reason to suspect any of them of snitching. Even if no one else in the cafeteria heard the whole conversation, it’s not unreasonable to think that they overheard at least snippets. And even if one of them did tell Chat Noir, he does have a right to know what people have said about him. If someone was saying serious stuff like that about Ladybug, she’d want to know about it so that she could fix the problem.

“What do you mean?” Ladybug says. “You’re a good friend, kitty.”

“That’s not what I asked.” Chat Noir finally looks around at her, and he looks so miserable that all she wants is to reach out and squeeze all the sadness out of him with a tight hug. “My friends and I were talking about the photo of our kiss today and…well, we got into an argument.”

Huh. What a coincidence that Chat Noir and his friends had also been talking about it on the same day as Marinette and her friends. “What was the argument about?”

“Well, a friend was excited about it – and so was I, of course – but then another friend stood up and told us that, well…I’m not exactly the best partner for you. I flirt with you at bad times, I don’t take our job seriously –”

If Ladybug didn’t know any better, she’d think that Chat Noir was talking about the very argument that she’d been tangled up in earlier that day.

“– and I’m so focused on “winning” you that I don’t think about whether you’re uncomfortable with how I treat you.” Chat Noir sighs. “I can’t believe it took a civilian to make me realise how I’ve been treating you. She shouldn’t have had to get mad for you.”

For the second time, Ladybug’s insides freeze. The way Chat Noir knows specific phrases that she had said throughout that conflict means that he needs to have been there for the entire thing to hear those words. Which means he was in that conflict. And since Ladybug knows that Alya or Nino can’t possibly be Chat Noir…

“Have I really been making you uncomfortable?” Chat Noir – Adrien – says. Ladybug takes a few moments to clear her head, trying to push her freak-out over Adrien most likely being Chat Noir to the background at least until she’s home. It helps a lot that he’s Chat Noir right now, so it’s easier for her to distance the two enough that she can act normally.

“Chat,” she begins. “First off, I love that you’re my partner.”

“So, I do?” Chat Noir’s ears droop. Ladybug holds up her hand.

“Just let me finish,” she says. “I love having you as a partner. You’re one of my dearest friends, and you know me in a way that no one else does. I can’t think of anyone else I’d trust to have my back more than you. But…” She takes a deep breath. If she could say this as Marinette, she can say it as Ladybug, although she hadn’t actually said it to Chat Noir’s face back then. At least, she hadn’t thought that Chat Noir could be sitting right next to her. “Yes, it does make me uncomfortable when you constantly try and flirt with me when we’re in battle.”

“Oh.” Chat’s whole body seems to droop with his ears. “I’m sorry, milady. I never meant to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s not that I don’t enjoy the puns and our chemistry,” Ladybug continues. She chances resting her hand lightly on Chat Noir’s forearm, and she’s heartened when he doesn’t pull away. “It just never comes at the right time. When we’re in the middle of a battle, I’m trying to focus on how best to capture and purify the akuma. It’s…well, it’s a lot harder when you’re trying to flirt with me or be funny.”

“Focus on the mission. Got it.” Chat Noir gives Ladybug a weak little smile. “Anything else, milady?”

Ladybug pauses. Does she really want to just spill everything now? It’s one thing to rant about it as Marinette; it’s another thing entirely to actually say it to Chat Noir and watch him process it in front of her.

“Don’t hold back.” Chat Noir must sense her hesitation, because he reaches over and covers her hand on his forearm with his free hand. “I haven’t listened to you before, so I’m listening now. I want you to tell me everything you would’ve told me if you were in that argument.”

How has Ladybug never realised that Adrien is behind this mask? When Chat Noir’s not being overly flirty and pigheaded, he can be soft and sweet just like Adrien.

“I just feel like you don’t respect me when you keep insisting that we are a couple,” she says. “Like in our interview with Nadja. I’m in love with someone already, so to have you ignore that when I’ve told you feels like you…” Ladybug exhales. “Well, it makes it feel like you’re entitled to me. And it makes me feel…not good. Like I’m just a prize you can win if you try hard enough.”

“Oh,” Chat Noir mumbles. “I never realised.”

“Especially with how you acted when we were facing Glaciator and Frozer,” Ladybug says, fully into her rhythm now that she’s allowed to finally talk. “I’m sorry, kitty, but the way you treated me because your feelings were hurt was really not okay. Even if I was in love with you, I’d feel…cautious about being with you if you acted like that.”

“Ladybug –”

“But,” Ladybug says before Chat Noir can get too down on himself. “You’re not a bad person. You’re funny. You’re sweet. You know how to cheer me up when I need it. I can always trust you to have my back when it comes down to it – just look at Heroes’ Day!”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?” Chat Noir says. “Knowing I’ve been hurting you makes me so…gah.”

“I was afraid,” Ladybug says softly. “Afraid that I’d destroy our dynamic and I’d lose my partner. That I’d upset you when I hate upsetting my friends. I didn’t want to risk ruining things.”

“Milady.” Chat Noir takes both of Ladybug’s hands and looks her right in the eye. “I’m an idiot. I know it’s no excuse, but I don’t always see when I’m doing that kind of thing. And if I do see it, then…” He sighs. “I’m like you. I hate upsetting my friends too, so I tend to stay out of things. If I’m ever out of line again, just say the word. Don’t be afraid to tell me.” He gives Ladybug the crooked grin that she’s grown so accustomed to and, against her will, her heart flutters at the reminder that it’s almost certainly Adrien behind that mask and grin. “I don’t ever want to upset you.”

Ladybug can’t help but smile widely as her shoulders sag. She’s been so worried to speak her mind to Chat Noir but, as it turns out, he’s more than willing to listen, although she can’t be sure if that’s due to her earlier outburst as Marinette.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Chat Noir says, “who’s the boy that you’re in love with? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want,” he hastens to add. Ladybug bites her lip. On the one hand, the less personal information she reveals, the better. On the other hand, it’s not as though he’ll be able to guess who she is based solely on having a crush on Adrien Agreste. Lots of girls do, after all. And if it really is Adrien behind the mask, she can gauge his reaction to her words and make sure rather than letting herself get worked up if it isn’t really him.

“Adrien Agreste,” she says. The way Chat Noir makes a sharp, aborted sound and squeezes her hands confirms for her that behind the mask lies the very boy she’s been crushing on for months. And wow, what a wild thought that is: that she’s been rejecting the boy she likes for the boy she likes.

“That guy?” Chat Noir scoffs, though his voice is a tad higher than usual. “Not to be disrespectful, milady, but everyone’s got a crush on him. And I don’t think he’d hate the idea of you liking him – he’d be out of his mind to reject you – but…”

Ladybug decides to put the poor guy out of his misery. “I go to school with him,” she says. “I know him. My heart flutters when he gives that goofy little smile that he saves for when he’s not in front of the cameras. He was kind to me when he didn’t have to be, because I…well, I didn’t like him at first. I thought he was like Chloé Bourgeois. But he couldn’t be more different. He’s nice and sweet.”

Chat Noir stares at her as though he’s seeing her for the first time. Ladybug’s yo-yo beeps with the reminder she’s set herself.

“Do you mind if we wrap up patrol early tonight, kitty?” she says. “I’ve just got one more thing I need to do.”

“Of course, milady.” Chat Noir helps Ladybug to her feet, then turns to face her. “With your permission?”

Those words have the faintest echo of familiarity to them, like she’s heard them before in some vague dream she once had. She nods, so Chat Noir takes her hand and bows to kiss it.

“Thank you for talking to me, bugaboo,” he says when he straightens up. “And I’m really sorry for everything I’ve done. I’ll try and do better.”

Ladybug smiles and boops him on the nose. “Apology accepted, kitty cat. What matters is that you listened to me this time.” She tosses her yo-yo and swings off, though she’s not headed home just yet. Instead, she lands on Alya’s balcony, and her best friend immediately falls off her computer chair and scrambles to open the window door for her.

“Ladybug!” Alya says. “What’s wrong? Is there an akuma? Do you need help? I can –”

“No, Alya, there’s no akuma this time,” Ladybug says, holding her hand up. “I actually just wanted to talk to you. Is it okay if I sit?”

“Yeah! Yeah!” Alya nods wildly. Ladybug sits on Alya’s bed and crosses one leg over the other, while Alya sinks down into her computer chair. “What’s up? I mean, not that I don’t appreciate you visiting, but I don’t think you’d just pop in for a chat. Busy superhero and all.”

“You’re right,” Ladybug says. She takes a moment to inhale and make sure she’s in her professional state of mind rather than her best friend one. “It’s about today in the school cafeteria.”

“You heard about that?” Alya’s face falls. “Look, I’m sorry if I overstepped any boundaries.”

“It’s not just about the photo,” Ladybug says. “Alya, do you know why I give you interviews? Why I try and stay so involved with the Ladyblog?”

Alya shakes her head, her brown curls flying.

“Because I’ve heard good things about you. You were there from the very first battle, and you recently proved that you can be trusted as Rena Rouge. I’m totally happy to work with the Ladyblog and give you all the support it needs, but I need respect in return. That photo was a serious breach of respect and privacy, especially when I’ve been saying that Chat Noir and I aren’t a thing.” Ladybug looks Alya right in the eye and says, “It feels like all you care about is getting the best scoop, and I don’t like feeling like that when I know you’re genuinely a good person.”

“I’m so sorry, Ladybug,” a stricken Alya says. “I swear I’ll take the photo down right now.” She turns and clicks into the Ladyblog, then deletes the photo of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s kiss. Ladybug smiles when Alya turns back to her.

“Thank you, Alya,” Ladybug says. “But that’s not all. If I’m going to support your blog, I need to be able to trust that you’ll be completely honest. I need to trust that you verify whatever you post instead of getting caught up over views and popularity.”

“Sorry but what do you mean?”

“That interview with Lila Rossi.” Ladybug leans forward, resting a forearm on her knee. Part of her wonders if she should go through with this, remembering Adrien’s advice about not upsetting Lila, but she discards that thought after a moment. The truth is more important than preserving one girl’s feelings, and after having been akumatised three times? If Lila’s going to get akumatised then she will; Ladybug can’t let Lila dangle that threat over her to keep her in check. “Nothing in that interview was correct. I only know Lila in passing, from when she was Volpina and then Chameleon, and I didn’t see her on Heroes’ Day, but I know that she has to be the one who made that illusion of me and Chat Noir. No other akuma we’ve faced creates illusions like that. We’re not friends, and I’m honestly shocked that she would even claim that openly because what would stop Hawkmoth from targeting her to get to me if it was true?”

“She…lied?” Alya’s eyes are bulging. “But – but she’s said so many things –”

“I’ve heard,” Ladybug says gently. “And I’m not judging you for believing her, Alya. The last thing I’m here to do is to pass judgement. I just didn’t like the thought of you being tricked, especially when you’re someone I trust enough to lend a Miraculous. But I do suggest you listen and research if you plan on being a serious journalist. If Lila’s lied about this, what else has she lied about? I don’t want you to lose credibility as a journalist. And I don’t want you to lose my trust.”

Ladybug gives Alya a few minutes to process everything. When Alya’s finally finished running everything through her quick brain, she sits up straight in her chair.

“I’m sorry, Ladybug,” she says. “I’m sorry for not respecting you and giving you privacy. And I’m sorry for not checking that Lila was telling the truth.”

Ladybug smiles and stands up, heading for the balcony. “It’s all good, Alya,” she says. “You made a mistake and now you’ve learned from it. Next time we need Rena Rouge, I’ll be straight back here with the Miraculous.”

“Okay!” Alya bounces in her seat. “And I’ll take down that interview right now!”

“Just please make sure that no one harasses Lila over this, okay?” Ladybug says. The last thing she needs is for Lila to become even more vindictive. “I don’t care that she lied about being friends with me. I just think she’s foolish for attracting Hawkmoth’s attention like that, and I don’t want to see your Ladyblog destroyed because of a lie.” She leaps off the balcony and swings off to her last stop before she can finally go home and have a super good night’s sleep.

When she reaches her destination, she finds the window already open. The room’s inhabitant is totally unaware of her as she slips through the window and lands softly on the floor, too engrossed in his game, and he doesn’t realise she’s there until he’s finished his match and she clears her throat.

“Oh, hey, dude!” Nino drops his controller and jumps up, holding out his fist. Ladybug smiles and fist-bumps him. “What’s up? Not that I’m bummed to see you or anything.”

“I heard about today in the cafeteria. I just wanted to thank you for trying to stand up for me today.”

“Oh.” Nino’s mouth downturns. “Sorry, dude, but I wasn’t that good. I only said one thing and then tried to ignore it.”

“But you still tried,” Ladybug says. “And I appreciate that. I just wanted to say thanks before I finished tonight’s patrol.”

“I still don’t think I did that much,” Nino says. “But, uh…thanks, dude.”

“No problem.” Ladybug winks. “I chose well, Carapace.” Beaming, she springs out of a stunned Nino’s room through the window and starts to swing back home. After the absolutely wild ride that’s been today, she’s about ready to sleep for a week.

Naturally, the first thing she does when she’s detransformed is to scream into her pillow.

“Marinette?” Tikki says rather cautiously from above her. Marinette removes her face from her pillow, gasping, before she can die of suffocation after the day she’s had.

“Adrien is Chat Noir,” she hisses, flopping onto her back. “And you knew! Because of when we were trapped by Dark Owl!”

“Didn’t you agree to keep your identities a secret?” Tikki says, which is about as good as a confirmation considering her lack of denial that Adrien is Chat Noir.

“But Adrien!”

“Okay, Marinette, calm down,” Tikki sighs. She darts down and hugs Marinette’s forehead soothingly while Marinette finally lets herself freak out after a whole night of holding it in.

“I’ve been rejecting Adrien for himself!” she howls as quietly as possible so as not to wake up her parents. “How could I have been so blind?”

“I mean, you’ve got more reason for not realising than him,” Tikki says. “His eyes and hair change at least. The only reason no one’s realised that both you and Ladybug have black pigtails and blue eyes is because the magic of the Miraculous stops it from clicking in people’s minds unless they’re faced with undeniable proof. It’s like a diversionary tactic to prevent people from getting too close to the truth, but of course it was always going to be less effective when it comes to you two as partners, since you spend so much time around each other as both heroes and civilians.”

Marinette just moans and throws an arm over her face. “What do I do?” she says. “I can’t keep my identity a secret from him if I know who he is. That’s unfair to him and a breach of trust.”

“You shouldn’t reveal who you are if you’re not comfortable with it, though,” Tikki counters. “Don’t feel pressured to tell him if you’re not ready.”

“It’s not that.” Marinette uncovers her face and sighs. “Part of the reason we didn’t tell each other was for safety, but that doesn’t really work if I know who he is. I’ll always be worried about him now when we’re in battle and he’ll have no idea why. But the other part is…I was terrified that he would turn out to be someone I didn’t like as Marinette. Or someone I just didn’t get along with.”

“Does it make it easier, knowing that it’s Adrien?” Tikki says.

“A bit?” Marinette says. “Knowing that the guy I’m in love with is someone I’ve been comfortable around for months could be really helpful. You know, so I’m not stumbling over myself when I talk to him.” She lets out a little laugh. “But now I’m torn between wanting to keep him safe from everyone and knowing that he can handle himself.”

“At least you won’t have to worry about him during akuma attacks,” Tikki jokes. Marinette groans.

“Oh, no! How many times did I get annoyed at Chat Noir for being late when it was my own fault for trying to keep Adrien safe?” She groans again. “I need to give him a massive fruit basket to make up for that.”

“He’ll understand, silly,” Tikki says. “But if you’re really going through with this, I also suggest Camembert for that fruit basket. That stinkface Plagg loves the stuff.”

Marinette laughs and hugs Tikki. “Thanks for calming me down, Tikki. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

Tikki nuzzles back before growing solemn. “Marinette, are you sure you want to tell him? This isn’t like Oblivio – you won’t get a do-over. I just want to make sure this is completely what you want and that you don’t feel like you have to do it.”

“After earlier, I feel comfortable enough to tell him,” Marinette says after a moment of gathering her thoughts. “He showed that he intends to at least try and be more respectful. And he still listened to me in the cafeteria, even though I was angry and ranting and making him uncomfortable. Plus, he didn’t know that I’m Ladybug; all he saw was Marinette losing her temper. He could have just decided that I was being spiteful and mean and chosen not to listen to me.”

“That’s a good point,” Tikki says. “So long as you’re sure about it, I’ll support you in whatever you do.”

Marinette opens her mouth to thank Tikki, but what escapes instead is a loud yawn. Tikki giggles and pulls Marinette’s covers over her, then kisses Marinette on the forehead and darts into her little handmade bed while Marinette’s eyelids grow heavier with each passing second.

Chapter Text

It’s not a fruit basket that Marinette ends up taking to school the next day for Adrien, but rather a box of freshly made assorted pastries. And by freshly made, she means that they’re literally still warm from coming out of the oven, because warm pastries are the absolute best thing in the world. She also takes a small bag of Camembert cheese for Plagg, since she’s only met him once under extreme circumstances and would really like to make as good an impression on Adrien’s kwami as possible. From what Tikki’s said, he can be a rude little nightmare “but he really does have a heart of gold in there”, so hopefully things will go a lot smoother if she wins over Plagg.

Sabine has always taught Marinette that actions speak louder than words when it comes to expressing how you truly feel. Hopefully, Adrien hears her loud and clear, because she’s still not sure that her words will work properly despite knowing that he’s Chat Noir.

With every step closer to school, even earlier than yesterday, Marinette’s stomach starts to churn more and more violently, until she’s almost certain that she’ll be sick when the school is in sight. She plunges her hand into her purse to seek reassurance from Tikki, who rubs against her fingers until she pulls her hand back out.

“Marinette?” says a voice from behind her. Marinette shrieks and whirls around, and she would have dropped the box of pastries if not for the person catching it for her.

“Alya!” she squeaks. “Don’t do that!”

Alya just laughs and hands the pastries back. Marinette’s prepared for a barrage of questions about why she’s got the box, so it’s a surprise when Alya instead says, “Hey, I owe you an apology.”

“Huh?” Marinette blinks.

“Ladybug paid me a visit last night.” Alya looks away. “She heard what happened in the cafeteria and she said that I was out of line…and I realise now that she’s right. It wasn’t my business to post that picture and act like Ladybug doesn’t deserve her privacy just because she’s a superhero.”

“Oh, really? Ladybug knows what happened?” Marinette’s laying it on so thick that she’s surprised that Alya doesn’t realise.

“Yeah. She also told me that she’s not friends with Lila, so, well…you were right. She was totally lying about being in Achu because of that illusion of Ladybug being akumatised – Volpina’s the only akuma who can create illusions. I should’ve realised then, to be honest. I did some digging into other stuff Lila’s said after Ladybug left last night and…everything she’s said was a lie. Jagged Stone doesn’t even have a cat!”

“I could’ve told you that,” Marinette says. “I could have given Jagged or even Penny a quick call. I’ve still got their number in case they ever want me to work on something again.”

Alya attempts a weak smile and looks Marinette in the eye. “I’m sorry for not believing you, Marinette. I’m sorry that I thought you were just jealous of Lila. And I’m sorry for what I said yesterday.”

“I’m sorry too,” Marinette says, because it’s an awful feeling to stand there and have Alya apologise to her when she also played a part in the argument. “I shouldn’t have said those things about the Ladyblog.”

“No, you should’ve,” Alya rebuts. “You were right. I didn’t fact-check the interview with Lila, and I would’ve lost my reputation and followers if I’d just kept going the way I was until someone else exposed it. And you were right to say that it was disrespectful to Ladybug to post that picture.”

“What did you say about Lila?” Marinette says. She really hopes that Alya had listened to her alter ego and not slandered Lila for the interview, because the last thing she needs is for Lila to go fully vindictive.

“Not much,” Alya says. “I just made a post to say that it was irresponsible to post the interview because if Lila really was a friend of Ladybug’s, I was putting her in danger by putting that information out there. I didn’t say anything about the lying only because Ladybug asked me to go easy on her.”

Warmth pools in Marinette’s stomach. She hadn’t even thought of asking for Alya to use that as the official story, yet Alya had extrapolated that idea from Ladybug’s explanation about the danger of openly being friends with a superhero.

“I’m sure Ladybug would be really proud of you, Alya,” Marinette says. “I probably wouldn’t have been able to resist outing her as a liar.”

“Hey, you’re the one who put in the work to figure it out in the first place,” Alya says, nudging Marinette as they head into the school. “And I’ll totally listen to you from now on because you’re my best friend and I should always at least hear you out. Swearsies.”

Before Marinette can reply, an unfortunately familiar voice calls, “Alya!” Marinette and Alya turn to see Lila, sickly sweet smile pasted on her face, no doubt ready to start spinning more lies.

“Oh, hey, Lila.” Alya doesn’t sound hostile, but she doesn’t sound warm either. “What’s up?”

“I was just wondering why you took down that interview on the Ladyblog!” Lila twirls one of the fox tails hanging next to her face. “You were getting so many views, and I’ve never seen you happier!”

“I realised that I was putting you in danger from Hawkmoth,” Alya says, slipping into “storyteller Alya” mode. Marinette sits back to enjoy the show. “And my code of ethics demands that I never endanger someone with my journalism if I can help it. The attention’s not worth putting you in danger.”

“That’s so sweet of you to worry about me!” Lila says, her smile widening. “But you really don’t have to. I knew what I was signing up for by agreeing to be Ladybug’s best friend. In fact –” She drops her voice down to a conspiratorial whisper. “Can I tell you a secret? But you mustn’t tell anyone. I trust you enough to keep this for me, Alya.”

“Uh, sure,” Alya says. “What is it?”

Lila’s green eyes dart from side to side and she beckons Alya to an empty side corridor. She doesn’t protest when Marinette follows, no doubt having written Marinette off as the furthest thing from a threat because of how easily she’d manipulated the class time. “I’m Rena Rouge.”

“You’re what?”

Marinette takes pity on Alya, who looks like she’s about two seconds from exploding and tearing Lila’s head off. “But that can’t be right, Lila! You were travelling around the world when Rena Rouge made her debut. And you were in Achu on Heroes’ Day, when Rena Rouge helped Ladybug and Chat Noir fight Hawkmoth!”

“Oh, Marinette,” Lila laughs, shaking her head. Marinette can’t even be annoyed at Lila’s lies this time, because she’s just digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole. She only wishes that there was some way of recording this for future viewing. “Didn’t you know? One of the powers of the Fox Miraculous is teleportation!”

“That’s a lie,” Alya snaps. “I’ve followed Ladybug and Chat Noir enough to know that they only get one power – two, if you count Miraculous Ladybug. The Fox’s power is illusions, and I’d know because…I saw Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Chat Noir fighting Sapotis. If the Fox had illusions and teleportation then it’d be more powerful than Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculouses, when they’re the two most powerful ones. Especially when illusions and teleportation don’t even make sense together as powers.”

“You really think I’d lie about this?” Lila’s eyes fill with crocodile tears. “Alya, I’m hurt! I trusted you enough to tell you this secret!”

“You shouldn’t even have told Alya in the first place,” Marinette says, trying not to feel too smug because then it’s just a steep slope into turning into a petty, spiteful person. “Their identities must remain a secret! Won’t Ladybug be mad that you told Alya?”

“Of course not!” Lila says. “She’ll understand that Alya can be trusted to help with cover stories when I need to leave class. Who better to have on our side than the Ladyblogger?”

“You good-for-nothing, lying little snake,” Alya hisses. “You’re not Rena Rouge. You never saved Jagged Stone’s cat. And you were never in Achu on Heroes’ Day! Volpina created that illusion and we all know that you were Volpina.”

Lila sniffles and starts to cry. “Alya! How can you be so hurtful? I thought you were my friend – I trusted you – and you were so mean –”

“Drop the act,” Alya growls. “You’re the last person Ladybug would give a Miraculous to. And you tried to turn us all against Marinette by making her look bad just because she saw through your lies. Well, I’m not letting you hurt my best friend again.”

Lila’s entire demeanour changes in a heartbeat. “That wasn’t a very smart move, Alya,” she drawls, any trace of tears gone. “You saw how I turned everyone against Marinette just like that.” She snaps her fingers. “Do you really want to be next? What would people think of you harassing poor, disabled Lila who never did anything wrong and just wanted a friend?”

“Alya, it’s not worth it.” Marinette gently grabs Alya by the arm. “Without proof, there’s nothing you can do.”

“Marinette’s right.” Lila smiles again, although this one is far darker. “I’ll be nice and pretend that this never happened. We can go back to being nice and friendly. But if you cross me again, I’ll destroy you. And I’ll take your best friend down with you.”

With a toss of her hair, Lila turns and struts off. Marinette turns to Alya, expecting to have to calm her down before class starts, only to blink when Alya’s anger fades and she instead bursts out laughing.

“Uh, Alya?” Marinette says. “She wasn’t joking, you know.”

“Oh, I know. That makes it even better.” Grinning, Alya holds her phone up and taps the screen. Lila’s voice echoes out from the speakers.

“I’m Rena Rouge.”

“No way,” Marinette whispers in awe as their confrontation from moments before is repeated back to her from Alya’s phone. “You recorded her!”

“I sure did.” Alya’s grin widens and she fiddles with her phone for a moment before locking it and slipping it away. “There. I sent it to myself in an email just in case something happens to my phone. Now all I need to do is get it to Ladybug and see what she wants me to do with it.”

“If I could call Ladybug for you,” Marinette says slowly, a plan rapidly forming, “since that’s how she found out about the cafeteria…what would you say about her showing that footage to Rena Rouge? I’m sure Rena would love to know if someone’s claiming to be her.”

Alya’s eyes light up. “That would be awesome!” she shrieks, dancing from foot to foot. “Rena Rouge saying that I – uh, she – doesn’t know Lila would totally verify my video! Then we can take her down for everything she’s done to you. I gave her a chance by not telling everyone that she’d lied in the interview.”

“Very true,” Marinette says. “Shouldn’t we go and find Adrien and Nino? I’m sure you want to say good morning to Nino, right?”

“Oh, don’t you start something you can’t win,” Alya says, wagging a finger at Marinette as they link arms and head out of the empty corridor. “Just you wait till you’re with Adrien. You’ll be one of those couples who needs to make out every five seconds because you’re soooo in loooove!”

“Shut up!” Marinette tries to elbow Alya, only to realise that she can’t do so with their linked arms unless she wants to risk dropping the box of pastries. They emerge out into the courtyard at that moment and thankfully, before Alya can start asking questions about the pastries, they spy Adrien and Nino entering the school grounds at that moment.

“Hey, sweetcheeks,” Alya teases when the four of them are together.

“Dude, I told you not to call me that around other people!” Nino hisses, but he doesn’t seem upset at all as he leans in to kiss Alya. Marinette makes an exaggerated retching sound, which earns her a backwards kick to the shin from Alya.

“Actually, I agree,” Adrien says, wrinkling his nose. “You two are so gross right now.”

Alya and Nino don’t even seem to hear them. Marinette sneaks a look at Adrien out of the corner of her eye and her heart jolts in her chest. This is it. She’s going to make sure he’s Chat Noir, then she’s going to tell him that she’s Ladybug. His lady. And while she’s not sure that she’s ready to get together with him just yet – so soon after these mind-blowing few days – she’s not sure how their dynamic will change with shared knowledge that their feelings for each other have been mutual this whole time.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she says at exactly the same time as Adrien. They blink at each other, then laugh and look away. “Uh, sure. Okay, this is weird.” Shaking their heads, they make sure that Alya and Nino are occupied before making their way into the building to find an empty classroom where they won’t be disturbed. Marinette locks the door behind them, grateful that the school has had locks installed on the doors since the rise in akuma attacks.

“You first,” she blurts out before she and Adrien can start talking in unison again. “What I have to say is…big. Really big.”

“I hope that’s a good thing,” Adrien says with a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head. God, he’s so gorgeous, how can such a perfect boy exist – focus, Marinette! “So, uh…I wanted to apologise for yesterday. I had a really good think about what you said and, well, you were right. The way Chat Noir treats Ladybug can be pretty disrespectful. The way we were treating her was disrespectful. And I really admire how you stood up for her even though we were angry at you. I wasn’t wrong when I called you our everyday Ladybug.”

Marinette’s sudden, nauseating nerves over that last sentence are the only thing that stop her from melting into a puddle of goo at the fact that Adrien Agreste just told her to her face that he admires her. And being ninety nine percent sure that he’s Chat Noir just makes his compliment about her being an everyday Ladybug that much more meaningful, to the point where she wants to burst into tears and wonder what exactly she’s done to deserve this.

“That’s actually what I want to talk to you about,” Marinette says, swallowing down the lump in her throat. With trembling hands, she thrusts the box of pastries out at him, and although he looks rather bewildered, he still takes them. “They’re, uh…for you. Because Maman always told me that actions speak louder than words and, well…oh, I think I’m going to be sick.”

“If I’m making you anxious –” Adrien begins.

“No! Well, yes! Kind of!” Marinette takes a deep breath but, rather than sticking with her plan of confirming that he’s Chat Noir, her mouth spills the words, “I’minlovewithyousothosepastriesareforyouIhopeyoulikethem.”

Adrien blinks. He blinks again. Marinette whines and closes her eyes, willing the floor to open up and swallow her whole. What happened to her plan? How can she so easily create plans in the heat of battle, yet talking to her partner’s civilian identity makes her crumble?

“Um…I’m flattered, really,” he says slowly, like he’s trying to find a way to avoid utterly crushing her. “But I…uh…I’m kind of in love with someone else.”

“I know!” Marinette says. “With Ladybug! That’s why –” She shoves her hand in her purse and yanks out the bag of Camembert, then practically tosses it on top of the pastry box. “That’s why I got that for Plagg!”

The way Adrien’s eyes bulge and his face pales to a chalky white colour is the last bit of proof that Marinette needs to confirm that her partner is standing right in front of her. How could she have never realised that her kitty’s been in front of her the whole time?

“I – I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he stammers, dropping the pastries and cheese on a desk and taking a step back. Marinette gulps. She may have gone about this the wrong way entirely.

“It’s okay!” she says. “I know who you are, Adrien!”

Adrien’s green eyes harden, and he pulls himself up straight. “What exactly do you want from me, Marinette? If you know I’m in love with Ladybug, why are you giving me pastries and cheese? Are you trying to – I don’t know, convince me to be with you instead? Tell the whole world who I am if I reject you?”

“What? No!” Marinette’s eyes fill with tears. This is going so wrong – so horribly wrong! “Do you really think I’d do that, Adrien?”

The hardness fades from Adrien’s eyes. He sighs and looks away, shoulders sagging. “No. You don’t have a mean bone in your body. I’m sorry, Marinette. I just…”

“Freaked out?” Marinette says. “I know I’d be freaking out if someone discovered my secret identity.” Not that Adrien would know the double meaning to her words.

“Ugh, can I finally come out?” a scratchy voice complains. A small black thing flies out of Adrien’s backpack and makes a beeline for the bag of cheese. “Do you know how much self-control it took me to not come out as soon as I smelled that cheese?”

“Plagg!” Adrien hisses. He looks at Marinette, smiles sheepishly, then glares at Plagg. “You can’t just show yourself to anyone who has cheese!”

“Oh, she’s already seen me,” Plagg scoffs, already downing a wedge of Camembert. “About time she figured it out, to be honest. If I have to suffer through one more minute of you whining when she’s right there, I’m actually gonna Cataclysm myself.”

“Huh?” Adrien looks from Plagg to Marinette, to Plagg, then back to Marinette. His head is whipping around as though he’s spectating a tennis match. “Plagg, what do you mean by that?”

“You sure you wanna put up with someone this dense?” Plagg says to Marinette, who giggles. Adrien frowns at her but it still doesn’t seem to be clicking just yet, so she decides to help him out.

“You’re one of my dearest friends, and you know me in a way that no one else does,” she says, repeating her words from the night before. “You’re funny. You’re sweet. You know how to cheer me up when I need it. I can always trust you to have my back when it comes down to it.”

If Adrien had been pale before, that’s nothing compared to the shade of white his face turns now. He stares her right in the eye, then his gaze darts to her pigtails, and then he looks her up and down like she’s a bottle of water in the desert. Marinette swallows and holds her head high, waiting for him to finish his inspection and come to the right conclusion, although his brain seems to be melting out of his ears right about now.

“Oh, great, you broke him,” Plagg complains.

“Shut up and eat your Camembert,” Marinette says automatically. She thinks she hears a little snicker from her purse, but she can’t be sure.

“Yes, ma’am!” Plagg salutes and upturns the bag to tip out the other seven wedges of cheese. “I like her! You better keep her around!”

“Milady?” Adrien’s voice is hushed, like saying it too loud will make everything evaporate like a dream. Marinette gives him a small smile.

“I found you, kitty,” she says.

“That’ll teach me to quote my friends to my superhero partner,” Adrien says with a small, self-deprecating laugh. “You’re not…mad? That you figured out who I was? And that didn’t – I don’t know – make you feel pressured to do this? I won’t forget you this time, bugaboo.”

“I’m a bit annoyed that you made it so easy,” Marinette admits. “That’s why I didn’t want to share any personal information, in case one of us figured it out. But…I can’t really be mad that you’re my partner. And I didn’t feel pressured at all.”

“But you wouldn’t have told me if you didn’t find out who I was,” Adrien says.

“Not if you hadn’t shown that you listened to me and actually took in what I said as Marinette,” Marinette says. “If you’d just brushed it off and kept thinking you were right, I wouldn’t be doing this. That’s what showed me that I could feel safe telling you.”

“You still didn’t have to tell me,” Adrien says. “I would’ve understood if you weren’t ready. I wouldn’t have been mad that my lady knew who I was. I know I got mad that you wouldn’t tell me where you were going whenever you were seeing Master Fu but…after what you said about not respecting Ladybug, I realised that I acted like a brat over something you couldn’t tell me. Which is probably why he didn’t tell me at first.”

“It didn’t feel right to keep this from you,” Marinette says. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches sight of Tikki zooming out of her purse over to Plagg, though Adrien doesn’t seem to have noticed. “I’d feel like our partnership was unbalanced, knowing who you were when you didn’t know who I was. And it felt…I don’t know how to describe it. Like it was disrespectful? You didn’t choose to tell me. I found out. I know I would’ve felt like – like my agency had been taken if the situations were reversed. Telling you was the right thing to do, and I didn’t feel pressured in any way.”

The way Adrien looks at her as though she had hung the stars in the sky makes her gulp and fold her arms across her chest, as though this can shield her from the intensity of Adrien’s stare.

“You really are just as perfect outside the mask,” Adrien sighs. Volcanic heat shoots to Marinette’s cheeks, and she’s no doubt as red as her superhero outfit because even though she knows he’s Chat Noir, it’s still Adrien saying this stuff to her.

“M-Me?” she stammers. “I – no, you are – gah!”

Thankfully, Adrien doesn’t laugh at her stumbling over her words. Instead, he says, “So, wait, you’ve just had a crush on me this whole time?” He sighs and lets his shoulders slump. “Thank god. I thought you still didn’t like me after the gum incident and you were just trying to be nice.”

“That was when I fell for you!” Marinette blurts out. She powers on because hey, she’s made already made an idiot of herself, so she might as well just keep going. “You gave me that umbrella and I realised – I realised you were nice and sweet and not like Chloé at all.”

Unconsciously parroting her words from last night seems to do the trick; Adrien smiles widely, like this is the final piece of confirmation that it’s really Ladybug standing in front of him.

“I’m such a mess,” Marinette moans, moving to cover her face.

“But you’re my mess,” Adrien says, which doesn’t really do much to help Marinette’s imploding brain. “That is…if you still want? I don’t want to assume…”

“I think right this second is too soon,” Marinette says, voice muffled by her hands. “We only just found each other. Plus, we’d have to decide how we’re going to do it.” She manages to drop her hands and look up at Adrien in time to catch his puzzled look. “We can’t mix our identities. Marinette and Adrien can be a thing. So can Ladybug and Chat Noir. But if we do it that way, that means that Chat Noir can’t be seen kissing Marinette.”

“Or Adrien with Ladybug,” Adrien concludes. “I see what you mean. We’ll either be exposing our identities or causing trouble for ourselves by having everyone call us cheaters.”

“And both sides can’t just get together at the same time,” Marinette says. “I don’t think most people would catch on but…better safe than sorry, right? I figured out who you were from one conversation.”

“Strong and smart.” A goofy grin spreads across Adrien’s face. “How did I never realise who you were before? I literally called you our everyday Ladybug.”

“Well, not many people would look at the girl who trips over her own feet and think that she was a superhero,” Marinette says through her once-again flaming face. “That’s why I nearly quit being Ladybug at first. But I’m glad I didn’t.”

“I’m glad you didn’t too. Now that I know it’s you, I can’t imagine anyone else amazing enough to be my bugaboo,” Adrien says. He looks her straight in the eye and says, “With your permission?” and Marinette about melts on the spot.

“S-Sure!” she somehow manages to force out, although she might actually combust if he kisses her. Thankfully, all he does is take her hand and lace their fingers together, and the heat radiating from their joined hands is enough to make Marinette wonder if this is all just a fever dream. She’s going to wake up and find that she just imagined Adrien as Chat Noir because of wishful thinking, because nothing ever works out that perfectly for her –

“I think this is the quickest a Ladybug and Chat Noir have found each other,” Tikki says. Adrien jumps, no doubt not expecting a small red flying creature to appear next to his head, but he doesn’t let go of Marinette’s hand.

“Adrien, meet Tikki,” Marinette says, gesturing to her kwami.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Tikki beams. “I already know who you are, but I’ve never gotten the chance to meet you.”

“How much has Marinette told you about me?” Adrien says with a cheeky little smirk. Marinette moans and looks away in sheer embarrassment. “I know Plagg’s threatened to throw himself out my window from how much I talk about Ladybug.”

“No, I threatened to throw you out the window,” Plagg corrects after swallowing his cheese. “Then I realised that I’d have no way of getting my Camembert.”

“Of course that’s all you think about,” Tikki scoffs.

“Moving on!” Marinette says loudly. The school bell ringing at that moment nicely saves her from any further humiliation, and she jumps and holds out her purse for Tikki to hide in. Adrien shoves both the cheese and a complaining Plagg into his backpack and then picks up the box of pastries much more carefully, smiling at Marinette as he does so.

“We can talk a bit more tonight and figure out what we’re going to do,” Adrien says. “If that’s okay with you?”

“Sure,” Marinette says. “I just have something I need to do first.”

Although they don’t hold hands like they’re itching to do, the lack of distance between them as they enter the classroom is unmistakeable. Chloé immediately starts with her shrill demands of what “her Adrikins is doing with Dupain-Cheng”, and the only way Marinette manages to escape Alya’s interrogation is by promising to fill her in tomorrow. Miss Bustier enters the classroom to begin the lesson before Alya can complain.

“Page twenty-six, please!” Miss Bustier calls out. Marinette flips to the appropriate page in her tablet and tries not to look at Adrien front of her; at least, not too much. But judging from how he’s constantly shifting in his seat and sneaking glances back at her when he thinks she’s not looking, it seems he’s just as hyperactively excited about tonight as her.

Chapter Text

“Is it filming?” Ladybug says when Alya finally steps away from the video camera that’s been mounted on a tripod in the dark park where they’re filming their video. Just as she’d suspected, Alya had been hysterically thrilled to not only get the chance to be Rena Rouge once more but to expose Lila with her footage, and Ladybug finds that she doesn’t feel too bad about it anymore. She’s given Lila so many chances already, yet Lila refuses to accept these chances and stop being a manipulative liar. Honestly, she’s probably going to be akumatised again after this, but it’s not like Ladybug and Chat Noir can’t deal with her. They can’t let her dangle this threat over them any longer.

“Sure is!” Alya says. “I can just edit out everything before I transform, so no one will know it’s me.”

“Good.” Ladybug holds out the small box for Alya to snatch and dance with as she reconnects with Trixx. Although Master Fu had been rather hesitant about allowing Ladybug to take a Miraculous when there’s not even an akuma around, he had eventually seen the wisdom in exposing Lila now rather than waiting until she had caused too much harm to be fixed.

“I still feel bad about doing this,” Ladybug had said when accepting the Fox Miraculous. “It feels…petty.”

“When a plant has a dead leaf, you don’t want until that leaf infects the rest of the plant,” Master Fu had replied. “You trim that leaf to preserve the plant. You are far from a petty person, Marinette. You were right that exposing her now will prevent her from gaining too big a hold on those around her, especially if she’s claiming to be affiliated with you.” He sighed. “Too many innocents have been harmed through mere association with the Miraculouses. I would hate to see it happen again, no matter how awful a person she might be.”

“You ready, Ladybug?”

Ladybug blinks and shakes her head. In front of her is Rena Rouge, hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.

“Y-Yeah,” Ladybug says.

“Then let’s do this!”

Ladybug steps in front of the camera and clears her throat. “Earlier today, I was contacted by the Ladyblogger, Alya Césaire,” she recites, the words flowing smoothly after the past hour of practice. “I was shown a…disturbing video that she took when cornered by someone claiming to be Rena Rouge. As you know, we must never reveal our identities to anyone for both our safety and theirs, so this was a very serious matter.

“The person who made this claim is not Rena Rouge. Normally, I would just ignore this. However, this person has also claimed to be best friends with me, and this is not only false but also dangerous. Claiming to be a superhero or to be affiliated with one could make you a target to Hawkmoth, who will stop at nothing to get his hands on our Miraculouses. I’m here to ask you not to make claims that you are one of us or that you are friends with us. If you’re not, then you put yourself in danger. And if you are one of us, you are exposing your identity and wouldn’t be trusted with a Miraculous the next time we needed help.

“Rena Rouge was very interested to see this video. Alya has graciously lent me her phone so that I can show it to her.”

As Ladybug picks up Alya’s phone and navigates to the video, Rena Rouge moves into the camera’s view. Ladybug presses play and hands her the phone, and she finds herself amazed by Rena Rouge’s acting skills. She raises her eyebrows, growls, laughs, all at the right times, as though she’s never seen the video before; like she hadn’t even been the one to take it in the first place. When the video’s over, Rena Rouge locks the phone and is silent for a moment.

“Man, I wish I could teleport,” she says. Ladybug chuckles. “But Alya was right. I can only make illusions. If this girl’s going to claim to be me, she could at least get the power right.”

“So, you’re not Lila Rossi?” Ladybug says.

“Asks the one who gave me the Miraculous?” Rena Rouge snickers. “No, I’m not Lila Rossi. And if it wasn’t for the fact that this Lila girl’s putting herself in danger by claiming to be me, I’d totally let her keep doing it to misdirect people.” She looks directly at the camera. “Seriously, Lila, quit it. We don’t want Hawkmoth to target you because of us. Also, next time you threaten people for seeing through your lies, make sure they’re not recording you like Alya did. Smart girl, that one.”

Ladybug resists the urge to roll her eyes to high heaven. Instead, she decides to end the video before Rena Rouge can stoke her own ego too much. “Thank you for clearing that up, Rena Rouge. And thank you to Alya for bringing this to our attention. We don’t tolerate lying and bullying.” She heads on over to stop the camera from recording.

“Whew!” Rena Rouge punches the air. “That felt good! Thanks for letting me do that, Ladybug.”

“Thank you for standing up for your friend,” Ladybug says. “I knew I made the right choice in choosing you as Rena Rouge.”

Rena Rouge practically preens on the spot. “Well, I’ll go and edit that footage right away, then post it on the Ladyblog. I hope Lila’s not too mad tomorrow.”

“It won’t be the first time someone gets akumatised again,” Ladybug sighs.

“True. Anyway, let’s bounce.” The fox suit dissolves in a swirl of orange sparkles, leaving Alya standing in Rena Rouge’s place. She waves at Trixx, then hands the necklace back to Ladybug, who puts it back in its box and then tucks that box away in her yo-yo.

Once Alya has packed away her equipment, Ladybug gives her a ride back to her house, then swings off from there in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. Chat Noir’s already there, and his face lights up with a gorgeous smile the moment he catches sight of Ladybug. How has Ladybug never realised who he is? She should have known Adrien’s beautiful smile anywhere.

“Good evening, milady,” he says, taking her hands and kissing them. Ladybug giggles and ducks her head.

“You don’t have to act charming to get me to like you,” she says.

“But it’s working, isn’t it?” Chat Noir grins. Now that Ladybug knows that he’s Adrien, she has to admit that his flirting really is kind of adorable.

“But it’s not what got my attention in the first place,” she says, flicking his nose. When she looks over his shoulder, she catches sight of a blanket spread across the metal floor of the tower platform, along with a plate of cookies and a vase of red tulips. There are also candles scattered in a circle around the blanket, like the last time Chat Noir had set up a surprise. “Kitty, what’s this?”

“The best cookies for milady,” Chat Noir says with a playful smirk. “I hear that the Dupain-Cheng bakery is the finest in all of Paris.”

“You big suck-up,” Ladybug teases, though she can’t deny that her stomach is currently fluttering.

“And after the last two times I gave you roses, I thought that tulips might prove to be luckier,” Chat Noir says. “Do you…like it?”

Ladybug walks past Chat Noir and takes in what he’s set up. As the butterflies once again start in her stomach, she can’t stop the smile that spreads across her face.

“I love it, Chat Noir,” she says. “Just like I loved it the first time.”

Chat Noir laughs rather nervously. When Ladybug turns around, she catches him scratching the back of his neck. “Oh. Right. I forgot that you ended up seeing it. When I cancelled hanging out with Marinette on the off chance that Ladybug would come and see me.”

“That did hurt,” Ladybug admits. “But I’ve probably hurt you too, so we’re even.”

“Not really,” Chat Noir says. “It’s pretty much just been me. I really am sorry, by the way.”

Ladybug’s mouth downturns at how Chat Noir’s ears are drooping and his eyes have lost their sparkle. “Hey,” she says. “It’s okay, kitty. We’re just a couple of dumb teenagers. We’ll figure this out.” She reaches out and takes his hand, lacing their fingers together. “Together.”

Chat Noir smiles, though it’s not as wide as usual. Unable to help herself, like there’s some magnetic force pulling them together, Ladybug gently lifts his chin and stands on her tip-toes, her mouth hovering just short of his. When he finally gives a tiny nod, she closes the distance and seals their mouths together in a soft press of lips.

Their first mutual kiss, with both of them fully aware, is…well, there are no fireworks like everyone seems to insist. It’s a little dry and awkward, with their noses bumping and teeth clacking…but it’s perfect, and Ladybug wouldn’t change it for the world. When she finally pulls back, Chat Noir doesn’t react at all.

“Chat Noir?” She waves a hand in front of his face but he’s frozen. “Oh no, did I break you?”

“Yeah,” Chat Noir sighs. His whole face quite literally melts into the goofiest, most lovesick expression Ladybug has ever seen. “You can break me any day, milady.”

“Oh, cut that out,” Ladybug scolds, though her smile takes any sting out of her words. Still holding his hand, she guides him over to the picnic blanket and they sit down across from each other, with the cookies and tulips between them.

“I’m really not sucking up,” Chat Noir says when they each take a cookie. “Your parents actually do make the best pastries.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Ladybug winks and takes a bite of her cookie. Chat Noir’s eyes follow her movement.

“So, uh…how are we doing this?” he says, blinking and tearing his eyes away from her mouth. “Should we be together as both sides of ourselves?”

“Of course,” Ladybug says immediately. There’s no question about it; she wants both Adrien and Chat Noir, as both Marinette and Ladybug. “I mean, we’d have to have a bit of distance between our civilian selves and us getting together, but I don’t want to have to pretend that we don’t like each other. Like that, at least.”

“Well, I think Adrien should arrive at school tomorrow and announce to the world that he wants Marinette Dupain-Cheng to be his girlfriend,” Chat Noir says. Ladybug’s cheeks burn like fire at the reminder that Adrien is behind the mask and loves her.

“Th-That makes sense,” she stammers. “Our class already saw us being close.”

“I didn’t even think of that,” Chat Noir says. “I was just thinking that there’s no way I could sit near you all day at school and not be able to hug you and kiss you. At least when we’re transformed, we can focus on dealing with the akuma.”

If possible, Ladybug’s cheeks grow even hotter. This has to be a dream. No way can Adrien Agreste just want to hug and kiss her like that! “I – yeah, okay! Marinette and Adrien. Then us.”

“I hope you’re not against me sweeping you off your feet after an akuma fight, bugaboo,” Chat Noir winks. Ladybug groans and covers her face.

“You can’t just say that!” she says. “You – gah – stop being so cute!”

“I could say the same thing about you, princess,” Chat Noir says with a devilish grin, no doubt enjoying her self-combustion. Thankfully, he seems to decide that there’s been enough teasing, because his grin softens into something more genuine. “I really am glad it’s you, Marinette. You’re so sweet and tough and you stand up for others all the time. I don’t know how I never realised before.”

“I – Tikki said that the Miraculouses stop it from clicking in people’s minds unless there’s really obvious proof, like how you quoted our conversation,” Ladybug forces out, wondering if her heart will give out before the night’s even over. “And I – well, I didn’t even think it could be you. You’re so…different as Chat Noir.”

“Dashingly handsome, you mean?” Chat Noir smirks. Ladybug rolls her eyes and kicks him in the shin. “Meowch!”

“But I’m glad you’re Chat Noir,” Ladybug says. “I couldn’t imagine anyone else as my partner. I don’t want anyone else as my partner.”

“I haven’t exactly had your back lately, though,” Chat Noir sighs. “Especially with Lila. You were hurting, and I put her feelings above yours.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Ladybug says with a small smile. “Lila dug herself into a hole she can’t get out of this time.”

Marinette doesn’t have long to wonder how the video of Ladybug and Rena Rouge will go down; as soon as she gets to school the next day – on time for the third day in a row, no thanks to her rolling anxiety to see what exactly Adrien’s going to do – there are people muttering and hovering over each other’s phones. In the courtyard, everyone in Miss Bustier’s class except for Chloé, Sabrina, Lila, and Adrien are crowded around Alya, all peering at her phone.

“She really said that to you?” Marinette hears Mylène gasp when she draws near. “But I thought she was so nice!”

“I did too,” Alya says, patting Mylène on the shoulder. “She duped all of us.”

“Except for Marinette,” Nino says when he catches sight of Marinette. The others raise their heads, and Marinette is left to grin and wave sheepishly after being caught on the spot.

“Uh…I’m guessing it went well?” Marinette says.

“Did it ever!” Alya crows. She and Nino extract themselves from the crowd and stand on either side of Marinette, and Alya slides the video back to the start and holds her phone out.

The video’s very well-edited. It starts from the moment Ladybug appears on camera, so her conversation before Alya’s transformation is nowhere to be found. Marinette makes sure to react with proper shock and awe at Ladybug and Rena Rouge’s speeches, and she’s very impressed at how Alya has edited the original video of Lila threatening them into the corner of the overall video, playing along as Rena Rouge watches it on Alya’s phone so that the audience can see it too.

“I can’t believe Rena Rouge complimented you!” Marinette says with an exaggerated gasp. She fights to conceal her smirk when Nino and Alya exchange what they no doubt believe are covert smiles.

“I know, right?” Alya says. “I can’t believe it! I just started off following Ladybug and Chat Noir for footage and now I’ve got superheroes who know me as the Ladyblogger!”

“Hey, that’s awesome!” says a familiar voice from behind them. Marinette struggles to make sure that her heart doesn’t explode out of her chest when Adrien draws level with them. “If anyone deserves it, it’s you, Alya.”

“Adrien! You’ve seen the video, right, dude?” Nino says. He slips an arm around Alya. “I’m so proud of my girl for getting this footage from Ladybug and Rena Rouge!”

“Lila’s going to be so upset, though,” Marinette says to Adrien. He sighs and shrugs.

“I know,” he says. “But I thought she was just lying. I didn’t think she was actually threatening you.”

“Wait, what?” Kim says. “You knew she was a liar?”

Adrien’s smile slips, and he turns around to face the class. “Yeah. I want to apologise to all of you. I knew that Lila was lying from when Ladybug called her out for lying to me, but I told Marinette to just let her dig herself into a hole by herself. I thought that Lila getting akumatised again would just lead to more hurt, and I thought I could convince her to stop lying and be honest without having to expose her. I – I was wrong. And I didn’t see that all of you got hurt because of it until now. I’m sorry, guys.”

For a moment, no one says anything as they all look at each other. Just as Marinette’s about to speak up for Adrien, Max steps forward.

“Well, we aren’t exactly blameless in this scenario either,” he says. “We all turned on Marinette and didn’t believe her. So, if Marinette forgives us, we forgive you.”

“Of course I forgive you,” Marinette says when everyone turns to face her. “I don’t want to be that person who holds grudges and turns bitter, especially over one mistake.”

“Then we forgive you,” Max says to Adrien, who slumps in relief.

“Yay!” Rose throws her arms around Marinette, hugging her tightly, and Marinette can’t help but laugh and hug back.

“Marinette?” Adrien says. Rose releases Marinette, who turns to see Adrien shifting rather nervously on the spot. “I was wondering –”

“How could you?” cries a voice. Over Adrien’s shoulder, Marinette catches sight of Lila storming over to them, her eyes glimmering with crocodile tears. “Alya, how could you do that to me? I trusted you enough to tell you my secret and you recorded me and humiliated me!”

“Your secret?” Alix says, crossing her arms. “I don’t think it’s your secret if Ladybug said you’re not Rena Rouge. I mean, she’s the one who picked Rena.”

“And you think that Rena Rouge can teleport,” Juleka says.

“I – obviously I couldn’t tell Alya everything!” Lila says. “What if Hawkmoth akumatised her again and got that information from her?”

“What, like he’s akumatised you three times already?” Alya challenges. “Especially that time on Heroes’ Day when you were meant to be in Achu!”

“It could’ve been another akuma with a similar power!” Lila says. “He’s made plenty of akumas that share similar superpowers!”

“You didn’t deny that you were in Achu in the video,” Nathaniel pipes up. “You just said that the Fox can teleport. If you were in Achu, you would’ve said you were there in the first place.”

Now that everyone’s aware that Lila’s lying, it’s absolutely beautiful to watch them all tear apart every little thing Lila’s said. Marinette probably shouldn’t be taking satisfaction from this but after Lila’s deceived her classmates time and time again? She can’t help it.

“We all saw the video,” Ivan says with a scowl. “You said you made us all hate Marinette and you’d do it to Alya too. We heard you.”

“But I –”

“Wow,” Chloé laughs as she saunters past with Sabrina. “And I thought I was a bitch. At least I don’t go around being fake about it.”

That seems to be the final straw. Lila shrieks in pure rage and stamps her foot, clenching her fists by her side. “Ladybug!” she bellows. “I hate you, Ladybug! You’ve ruined everything!”

The moment Lila stiffens is when Marinette knows that everything is going terribly wrong. A familiar purple mask glows around Lila’s face, and she looks up with shaded eyes and a dark, twisted smile.

“She’s being akumatised!” Rose cries. Naturally, this starts a mass panic, starting with the people around her who hear her and rippling out from there.

“I knew you’d be back, Hawkmoth,” Lila drawls as everyone around her screams and trips over each other to get somewhere safe before she transforms. “What’s my power this time?”

“Come on!” Marinette grabs Adrien by the wrist. “We need to get somewhere safe!”

“Where are you going?” Alya calls over the hysteria as Lila is encased in a mass of purple-black. Marinette pretends she doesn’t hear, instead dragging Adrien off through the crowd, ducking and weaving to avoid crashing into the students running around. They duck into the first abandoned classroom they find, and Marinette slams the door shut and locks it.

“I knew it was a bad idea to expose her!” Marinette wails. “You were right!”

“No.” Adrien grabs Marinette by the biceps. “Marinette, you saw how she just accepted Hawkmoth like that. She was always going to be akumatised every time she got angry. You just made sure that she couldn’t hurt anyone else with her lies.”

Marinette takes a deep breath and then nods. Even if Adrien’s wrong, they can’t afford to argue over this now. “We have to deal with her. Tikki, spots on!”

“Plagg, claws out!”

Chapter Text

After unlocking the classroom door to allow others to hide out in the room, Ladybug and Chat Noir slip out and race back towards the courtyard, where they can hopefully corner Lila before she’s able to do too much damage.

“Do we know what Lila could be this time?” Ladybug says. “I don’t think she’d be Volpina again. Not if the whole school knows that she’s been akumatised.”

“Her illusions would be useless,” Chat Noir agrees. “Do you think she’s Chameleon again?”

“Maybe,” Ladybug says. That theory is promptly shattered when they almost crash into a student; Ladybug would have collided right with them if Chat Noir hadn’t whisked her out of the way.

“What the –?” he says.

“Ladybug!” the student cries. He’s an off-white colour, from hair to skin to clothes, with multicoloured splotches all over him spelling out words such as ‘I cheated on my Physics test last week’ and ‘I’m in love with Danielle Moreau’. Across his forehead is plastered the name ‘Alexandre Dubois’. Eyes wild, he dives at Ladybug with outstretched arms. “Tell me your secrets!”

“Back off!” Chat Noir extends his baton to send the student flying into the wall, then grabs Ladybug by the hand and dashes away with her. They duck behind a wall and crouch until the student’s disappeared in the other direction in pursuit of them, shrieking Ladybug’s name as he goes.

“She’s exposing people’s secrets?” Chat Noir says.

“It makes sense,” Ladybug says. “She was upset because her own secrets were exposed, so now she wants to make everyone else expose theirs.”

“So smart, milady,” Chat Noir winks. Ladybug can’t prevent her lips from twitching.

“Not now, kitty,” she says. “Save it for after.”

“Right. Sorry. I forgot about that.”

Ladybug elbows her partner softly to ensure that he knows she isn’t mad. He smiles and nods, so they sprint through the double doors at the end of the hallway and emerge in the courtyard, then duck behind a wall. Lila’s standing in the centre of the courtyard, although it’s hard to see her clearly as she’s surrounded by a crowd of off-white people all shouting indistinctly over the top of each other, clearly unable to move more than a few metres away from her.

“Looks like she can make them stay near her as well,” Ladybug notes.

“Good one, milady,” Chat Noir says.

“Ladybug! Rena Rouge! Come out and face me!” Lila howls.

“And that would be why she wouldn’t want them to leave,” Ladybug says. “If she hits one of us, the last thing she’d want would be for us to get away.”

“Guess that means you can’t get hit, then,” Chat Noir says. A terrible thought suddenly occurs to Ladybug.

“You can’t get hit either,” she says. “You know who I am!” She groans and covers her face with her hands. “I knew it was a terrible idea for us to know each other’s identities. Now we can be each other’s weakness!”

“Hey.” Chat Noir gently takes her hands and pulls them away from her face. “You’ve always been my weakness, milady, even before I knew who you were. All that’s changed is that I have to be a bit more careful not to get hit by akumas like her.”

“Promise me.” Ladybug squeezes his hands and looks him directly in the eye. “Promise me you’ll be careful, kitty. Even if she didn’t make us reveal our secrets, I don’t want you acting like you’re – like you’re some sort of shield, or expendable thing. You’re my partner in this. I hate seeing you hurt.”

“I’ll try,” Chat Noir says. “But I can’t promise never to do it. You’re the only one who can purify akumas, and I’d rather it be me than you.”

“I feel the same way, you stupid cat!” Ladybug shakes her head. “We can deal with this after we take down Lila.”

“Where could her akuma be?” Chat Noir changes the subject, and Ladybug’s not sure whether she’s grateful or annoyed for that. He peers around the wall. “No one saw where it landed, did they?”

“It looked like she just got akumatised out of nowhere,” Ladybug agrees. “We know it can’t be her earring or fake fox necklace like the last times we fought her. She’s not wearing the necklace, and we would’ve seen the butterfly if it had gone near her head.”

“I guess we’ll just have to do what we always do, milady,” Chat Noir says. “Charge and hope for the best.”

Ladybug looks around the corner just in time to catch sight of Juleka, who’s crouched behind a bench with Rose, get hit by a blast of white light. Immediately, she turns the same off-white colour as everybody else and shrieks Ladybug and Rena Rouge’s names as multicoloured words spread all over her body; when she touches Rose, the blonde is put under the effects of the akuma as if Lila had attacked her directly.

“Oh,” Chat Noir says. “Good thing I didn’t let that guy touch you, then.”

“I think you’re right about winging it,” Ladybug says. “We need to get closer to see where the akuma could be. I can’t even see Lila – wait, now I can.”

The crowd of students has parted enough to reveal Lila, who is a shimmering, pure white as opposed to the dirtier white of the people she’s attacked. She’s also covered in rainbow writing, although Ladybug can’t make out what’s written from this distance, and she’s now wearing a trench coat tied shut, heeled boots, and a trilby.

“I am Luce Bianca!” Lila shrieks. “I’m here to shine a light on all your secrets! I’ll find you, Ladybug and Rena Rouge, and I’ll expose your true identities to everyone!”

“Ladybug? Chat Noir?” whispers Alya’s voice from behind them. Ladybug and Chat Noir whirl around to find her and Nino crouched behind them, huddled together with wide eyes. “Can we help?”

“What are you doing? You two need to get to safety,” Chat Noir hisses.

“Chat.” Ladybug looks pointedly at his ring, until his eyes dart from Alya and Nino and his mouth forms an ‘o’. She turns back to Alya and Nino. “I don’t know, guys. Luce Bianca’s after you, Alya, even if she doesn’t know it yet. If you get hit –”

“She’ll find out who I am anyway if she hits one of you,” Alya says. She holds her head high. “I want to help. I’m part of the reason why she got akumatised, so it’s my responsibility to help take her down.”

“She got akumatised because we called out her lies,” Ladybug says. “It’s not your fault, Alya. But…I think you’re right.”

“Of course she is, dude,” Nino says. “What kind of heroes would we be if we sat back and watched everyone get hurt?”

“You know, I get why you picked them,” Chat Noir says. “Should we go together, milady? Or should I stay here and keep Luce Bianca occupied?”

Ladybug chews her lip, then glances back around the wall at Luce Bianca, who’s found a group of girls and is currently turning them. Chat Noir distracting her is the best thing at the moment…but the thought of leaving her partner – of leaving Adrien – to Luce Bianca’s mercy makes her stomach roll. This is exactly why she should never have found out his identity. They have to be able to work as superheroes and not allow their personal feelings to intrude!

And yet…she knows that she can trust him to hold off Luce Bianca. He’s not hopeless; he’s Chat Noir, her partner, the one person she trusts most of all to have her back. And it’s not as though Adrien’s hopeless either. Heck, he’d managed to convince both her and Gorizilla that he wasn’t Chat Noir and she’s still got no idea how he’d done that. He’s saved her so many times that she’s lost count. They’re equals in this, and if she trusts in her own abilities then she needs to trust in Chat Noir’s as well. Even if he gets hit, she needs to trust that he’ll be able to get away without exposing their secrets.

“Can you keep her occupied without giving her a chance of finding out who we are?” she says. Chat Noir grins rather devilishly.

“But of course, bugaboo,” he says. Ladybug smiles and turns to Alya and Nino.

“Go and hide until I come back,” she says. “Make sure that she does not hit you. If she hits either of you, she’ll know who Rena Rouge is, and that’ll make her even more dangerous.”

“You got it, Ladybug,” Alya says. Ladybug nods and then heads back down the corridor so that she can leave the school without Luce Bianca seeing. Once free, she whips out her yo-yo and swings across Paris until she reaches Master Fu’s place.

“Master Fu?” Ladybug says after knocking on the door.

“Come in, Marinette,” Master Fu says. Ladybug opens the door and enters, fiddling with her fingers.

“Lila was akumatised again, Master,” she says. “She can make people reveal their secrets if she hits them. I think…I need Rena Rouge and Carapace this time.”

“Wouldn’t one suffice?” Master Fu says, setting his tea aside. Ladybug swallows and looks down at the floor.

“I found out who Chat Noir is,” she says in a small voice. “I didn’t mean to, I swear! And he knows who I am, because I felt that our partnership would be imbalanced otherwise. With Luce Bianca’s powers, I don’t want to risk us getting hit and revealing our identities.”

“You and Chat Noir know each other’s identities?”

“I’m sorry, Master! I know we weren’t supposed to –”

“I’m not mad, Marinette,” Master Fu interrupts. Ladybug blinks. “The reveal is inevitable for each Ladybug and Chat Noir, and your reasoning for telling him is wise. The imbalance from one side knowing the other’s identity but not vice versa would undoubtedly have had a negative impact on your relationship. Especially when the Ladybug and Black Cat symbolise balance themselves.”

He crosses over to the ancient gramophone to retrieve the Miraculous box, then returns to Ladybug and opens it for her to take the Fox Miraculous. Once she’s tucked the necklace box away in her yo-yo, he exchanges a look with Wayzz and then slips the Turtle Miraculous off his arm for her to take.

“I’m heartened to see your trust in Chat Noir even after knowing who he is,” Master Fu says. “The desire to shield him must be overwhelming.”

“It really is,” Ladybug says with a little laugh. “But he’s my partner; I have to trust that he can hold his own. Thank you, Master!” She bolts out of Master Fu’s place and back to the school as fast as she’s physically able.

However, she’s in for a nasty shock when she’s back at school and finds Alya and Nino hiding in the same classroom she and Chat Noir had transformed in, except that Chat Noir’s not with them.

“He got hit, dude,” Nino says glumly. “She targeted some of the kids a year below us. He got hit giving them time to get away.”

Ladybug’s heart stops in her chest. “So…Luce Bianca knows who we are?”

“No,” Alya says. “He managed to get away before she saw him. He said there was no way in hell he was going to betray you like that. That’s…why we’re hiding here.”

Ladybug frowns. Nino takes pity on her.

“Luce Bianca didn’t see his secrets,” he says. “And we think she can’t see so long as he’s far enough away from her. That’s probably what the writing on her is. But, uh…we saw them when we were helping him get away.”

“Which means we really can’t get hit either,” Alya says, then utters the one word that makes Ladybug’s insides freeze. “Marinette.”

“I – uh – what?” Ladybug squeaks.

“I should’ve seen it!” Alya says. “It was so obvious! The hair, the eyes – how you’re never around when there’s an akuma –”

“Alya –”

“Uh, I don’t think now’s the time, babe,” Nino says, and Ladybug could quite honestly hug Nino to bits.

“Right. Sorry. We have to help Adrien – Chat Noir – ugh, now I get why secret identities are a thing.”

Shaking slightly, Ladybug fetches the Fox and Turtle Miraculouses from her yo-yo for Alya and Nino. Is Chat Noir alright? Is he brainwashed? Or is he resisting Luce Bianca, wherever he is?

“What’s the plan, dude?” Carapace says, snapping Ladybug out of her dark thoughts.

“We have to find Chat Noir,” she says. “He has to be kept safe from Luce Bianca. Any idea of where her akuma could be?”

“We think it’s in her bracelet,” Rena Rouge says. “It looked like the white light was coming from there whenever she attacked someone.”

“Okay. Let’s go find Chat Noir, then we can think of a plan to take down Luce Bianca.”

Chapter Text

It’s not easy to navigate a building when you’re a group of brightly costumed superheroes trying not to be seen, especially when you’re looking for a fellow hero with a chance of being under the villain’s thumb. Somehow, though, Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Carapace eventually find Chat Noir hiding in the library in the non-fiction stacks, curled in a ball.

“Chat Noir!” Ladybug rushes to his side and kneels next to her off-white partner. He squints up at her, and with the words ‘Adrien Agreste’ painted across his forehead, it’s a wonder that Luce Bianca hadn’t seen who he was before he could escape.

“Milady?” he croaks. He breaks into a weak grin when he sees Rena Rouge and Carapace behind her.

“How are you feeling, kitty?” Ladybug says, cupping his cheeks. She deliberately doesn’t look at the writing scrawled all over his body; he deserves his secrets, and if there’s anything he wants her to know then he’ll tell her. “Does it hurt?”

“Not now that you’re here,” Chat Noir says before his weak grin slips. “Honestly, it doesn’t. So long as I can’t see Luce Bianca, I don’t feel like I have to start spilling every little dark secret I have – it’s looking at her that hypnotises you into staying close to her. I think I’m pretty useless right now, bugaboo.”

“Dude, you’re far from useless,” Carapace says. “She totally would’ve gotten those kids if you hadn’t stopped her. And there’s gotta be some way you can help like this.”

“If we could find some way to cut the link between him and Luce Bianca when he’s near her, he could get the akuma without the risk of getting zapped,” Ladybug says slowly. “I know I usually wait until we’re in battle to do this, but…Lucky Charm!”

“Uh, okay,” Rena Rouge says slowly when Ladybug’s given a ladybug-patterned can of spray paint. “I don’t think spray-painting Luce Bianca will do much to stop her.”

Ladybug frowns. Her eyes are drawn to Chat Noir, then Carapace’s shield, then Rena Rouge, and she suddenly knows what they need to do. “Okay, guys, here’s the plan…”

“You think you can humiliate me like that?” Luce Bianca is shouting when the group of superheroes crouch in one of the corridors leading to the courtyard. Ladybug can’t help but wonder why Luce Bianca hasn’t left but then realises that it’s probably easier to keep everyone and their secrets close to her if she’s not moving and giving them the chance to slip away. “Well, I’ll expose you to the world, Ladybug! How are you going to defeat me without your mangy cat sidekick?”

“Meowch,” says a pitch-black Chat Noir. Covered in paint like he is, with a blindfold made of curtain fabric to prevent him from being able to see Luce Bianca, there’s no way he can do anything unless he’s got someone helping him.

“You’re my mangy cat,” Ladybug says. “Rena Rouge, Carapace, you ready?”

“Never been readier, dude,” Carapace says.

“Damn right,” Rena Rouge adds, twirling her flute between her fingers.

“Okay. Just like we planned.” Ladybug runs out of the corridor and does a graceful flip to land right in front of Luce Bianca. “Lila, you need to stop this right now!”

“Ladybug!” Luce Bianca clenches her fists. Ladybug shoots a glance at her bracelet, noting how it glimmers. If the akuma’s not there then she can’t think of where else it could possibly be. “Not very smart of you to show yourself like that when you know I want to crush you.”

“I’ve given you chance after chance to forget about your lies and –”

“I don’t want your pity!” Luce Bianca stomps her foot. When the rainbow words shimmer and move with her, Ladybug manages to discern what some of them say. They’re names, most likely of everyone she’s hit; Juleka Couffaine, Max Kanté, Alice Roux, Louis Martin…

“I don’t pity you,” Ladybug says. “I want you to be liked for who you are, Lila. I don’t want you to feel like you need to tell all these lies just to get people to like you.”

“Liar!” Luce Bianca bellows. “You can’t lie to me! I want your Miraculous, Ladybug! I want you unmasked! I want the whole world to know that you’re nothing but a little snake who puts on a cute smile to make everyone think she’s an angel! What would the world think if they knew how you’d treated me when we first met?”

“I already apologised for that,” Ladybug says firmly. “You’re perfectly entitled to not accept my apology, but you don’t get to keep hurting people like you’ve done. Especially with what you’ve done to Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Luce Bianca gives a shrill, hysterical laugh. “Her? She’s just as much of a snake as you! Always smiling, rushing to help people, acting like she’s some pure princess and everyone should rush to cater to her!”

“Or maybe you’re so used to lying that you’ve even succeeded at lying to yourself,” Ladybug says. She drops her right hand down to her side and counts down from three; when she reaches zero, she hears faint flute music and a call of “Mirage!” In the blink of an eye, the courtyard is filled with hundreds of Ladybugs and Rena Rouges.

“You think that’ll stop me?” Luce Bianca aims at one of the Ladybug illusions and fires a beam of white light, which makes the illusion ripple out of existence. The way she’d used her left hand – the one with the bracelet – only confirms that the akuma has to be there. “You think you can out-illusion Volpina? I’ll destroy every single one of them and then expose you and Rena Rouge! And I’ll take the Fox Miraculous for myself – it should be mine!”

The courtyard is utter chaos as Luce Bianca and her minions attack. The illusions put up a good fight, jumping and darting out of the way, but it’s only a matter of time before they’re all destroyed, so the heroes need to act fast. Out of the corner of her eye, Ladybug catches sight of the real Rena Rouge joining the fray to aid as a further distraction, while Carapace and Chat Noir edge around to get close to Luce Bianca. Whenever a beam of white light gets too close for comfort, Carapace deflects it with his shield while still guiding Chat Noir by the wrist.

“You ready, kitty?” Ladybug says when Carapace and Chat Noir draw level with her.

“I’m always ready, bugaboo,” Chat Noir grins. “Cataclysm!”

Once his ring is sparking, Ladybug takes over the job of guiding him from Carapace. With the number of illusions now severely depleted and Luce Bianca getting angrier and angrier, Carapace ducks away from Ladybug and Chat Noir to cover Rena Rouge’s back so that she doesn’t get hit. This also has the added effect of infuriating Luce Bianca even more, consequently keeping her attention off Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“Follow me,” Ladybug murmurs to Chat Noir, leading him around the edge of the chaos by the wrist. Thankfully, none of Luce Bianca’s minions seem to realise that a Ladybug illusion wouldn’t be guiding a blindfolded Chat Noir, otherwise Ladybug’s plan may have been utterly ruined.

“Enough!” Luce Bianca shrieks. “Give me your Miraculous, you fake fox! Then I’ll take Ladybug and Chat Noir’s for Hawkmoth!”

“Fake?” Rena Rouge says, nimbly leaping over a minion. “How am I the fake one when Ladybug chose me?”

Luce Bianca screams and shoots a series of beams in quick succession. There’s no chance for Rena Rouge to dodge even one of them…and she would have been hit if not for Carapace crying, “Shellter!” to create a glowing green force field that deflects every single beam.

“Now, kitty!” Ladybug dashes forward with Chat Noir while Luce Bianca is throwing her tantrum and focusing on Rena Rouge and Carapace. Luce Bianca seems to realise what’s happening a split second too late, as she whirls to meet Ladybug and Chat Noir just as Ladybug plants Chat Noir’s sparking hand on Luce Bianca’s bracelet.

“No!” As the blackened butterfly escapes from the ruined bracelet, Luce Bianca dives for it and tries to snatch it back. But Rena Rouge and Carapace are there in a heartbeat, each grabbing one of her arms and holding her tightly as she wails and writhes.

“No more evildoing for you, little akuma!” Ladybug swipes open her yo-yo and swings it around to gather momentum as she usually does, then tosses it out to catch the akuma. “Time to de-evilise! Gotcha!” She frees the now-white butterfly and waves it off with a, “Bye-bye, little butterfly!”

“This isn’t fair!” Luce Bianca furiously yanks and heaves against Rena Rouge and Carapace’s grips, but they hold on tight. “You’ve ruined everything, Ladybug! You and Rena Rouge! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!”

Not even sparing Luce Bianca a glance, Ladybug retrieves her spray can Lucky Charm from inside her yo-yo, then throws it up in the air and calls, “Miraculous Ladybug!” The healing ladybugs zoom around, reverting all of Lila’s victims to their former selves and fixing the damage in the courtyard caused by the battle with the illusions. Chat Noir beams and looks himself over when the blindfold and spray paint are dissolved along with the effects of Luce Bianca’s exposing beam and he’s back to his usual self.

“White’s never been my colour,” he says, cracking his knuckles. “I’ve always been more of a dark, mysterious, dashing guy.”

“You’re a pussy cat,” Ladybug teases, booping him on the nose. Their banter is cut short by Luce Bianca turning back into Lila, whose head darts around to take in her surroundings.

“Did I – Ladybug, was I akumatised again?” she gasps. She looks at Rena Rouge and Carapace, who are still holding her loosely, and then she begins to cry when they release her. “How could I have been so weak? I can’t believe I let Hawkmoth akumatise me again! Oh, I’m so ashamed – you all probably hate me –”

“Drop the act, Lila,” Kim says, crossing his arms. Everyone else in the courtyard is muttering to each other and staring at Lila. “We all saw the video.”

“How do we know that you didn’t want to be akumatised as some form of revenge?” Max says. “We can’t believe anything you say.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Lila.” Ladybug holds out her hand. “You don’t have to lie about us being friends. Everyone makes mistakes –”

“Save the speech!” Lila snarls, batting Ladybug’s hand away. “You’re just trying to make yourself look like the perfect princess in all this! If you really wanted to be friends, then you wouldn’t have humiliated me like you did!”

“That was because you were putting yourself in danger from Hawkmoth,” Rena Rouge says. “And because you threatened two students.”

“I’m not even talking about that!” Lila says. “I’m talking about how you embarrassed me in front of Adrien! How you were so nasty to me, yet everyone thinks that you’re like some goddess!”

“I apologised for that,” Ladybug says. “I acknowledged that I was wrong to react the way I did. But you never acknowledged that you were wrong for deceiving people and claiming to be a superhero when you weren’t. And even if I hadn’t been angry, I still would have called you out, because you’re only endangering yourself when you do that. We can’t allow civilians to put themselves in danger like that, Lila.” Out of the corner of her eye, she notices Rena Rouge and Carapace dispersing the crowd so that there isn’t an audience to this confrontation, and her gratitude for her two friends increases even more.

“She’s only human,” Chat Noir adds. “My lady makes mistakes. We all do. Heck, I’ve made plenty of mistakes.”

“What matters is that you want to fix them,” Ladybug says. “We can offer you chance after chance, but nothing will change unless you want to change. And we don’t pity you, Lila. We sympathise with you. There’s a difference.”

“How?” Lila laughs bitterly. “Either way, you’re still coming from “oh, that poor Lila girl, let’s do the heroic thing and be her friend!” I don’t want your pity!”

“If it was pity then I wouldn’t mean it,” Ladybug says. “I’d be saying it out of duty. But I really do mean it, just like the first time I offered. You don’t need to lie to get people to like you.”

“I couldn’t care less if people like me,” Lila scoffs. “You don’t get anywhere by having people like you.”

“It’s not as though you’re not talented,” Ladybug says. She takes a careful step towards Lila, hoping that she doesn’t spook the other girl. “You’re excellent at crafting stories. You’re charismatic. You’re smart. And I wasn’t lying when I said that I’d like to be your friend. Just because people feel sympathy for you doesn’t mean that they feel sorry for you.”

“Milady, I’m going to transform back,” Chat Noir pipes up.

“So are we,” Rena Rouge adds. It’s just them in the courtyard now, with no audience whatsoever.

“Then you can take the Miraculouses back, Chat Noir,” Ladybug says. “I’m not on a timer, so I’m going to stay here and talk to Lila. And it might be better without others around.”

“I’m not delicate!” Lila growls.

“I never said that,” Ladybug says. “It’ll just feel more equal without my teammates around, is all I’m saying.” Once her fellow heroes are gone, she turns back to Lila, trying to figure out exactly what to say to get her point through this girl’s head.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Lila scoffs. “I already told you, I don’t need –”

SLAP.

Lila gasps and reels back, clutching her face, where a red mark in the shape of a handprint is starting to sear itself into her cheek. If she wasn’t so annoyed and furious, Ladybug might be struggling not to be sick with how she had just slapped Lila Rossi across the face; but right now, all she wants is to make this girl see.

“Shut. Up. And. Listen. To. Me,” Ladybug says. “Listen. Don’t just go off on a self-pitying rant. You think I don’t get what it’s like to have no friends? You think that I’m just as popular and respected in my normal life as I am when I’m Ladybug?”

“How could you not be?” Lila spits. “Why else would you be picked as Ladybug?”

“I was picked because I got lucky,” Ladybug says. “I was in the right place at the right time. Listen. I’ve been in the same class with the same people for literally years, and I never had a best friend or a crush or even anyone I was particularly close to until this year. I was friendly with people, but I didn’t have friends. You can be yourself and try your hardest and still not have anyone who really likes you.”

Lila snorts loudly but doesn’t say anything.

“And I know that it can feel like no one will ever like you when that keeps happening,” Ladybug continues. “Putting enough trust in others to let them decide whether they like you for you? That’s one of the bravest things you can do. I’ve felt how you felt, Lila. I’m on your side. I was already on your side when I offered to be friends with you after apologising.”

“You’ve never once helped me,” Lila says. “All you’ve done is make things worse. You know who has helped me? Hawkmoth. He gives me the power I need.”

“Hawkmoth doesn’t care about anyone,” Ladybug says. “As cliché as this sounds, he’s using you. He’s probably said the same thing to everyone else that he says to you. You don’t need superpowers to be strong. I want to help you now.”

“I can’t trust you,” Lila says. “How do I know that you won’t go and make another video about me if I make a tiny mistake?”

Ladybug sighs. “I’m not sorry for calling you out for threatening Marinette and Alya,” she says. “But I am sorry for causing you that pain from making a personalised video like that. The only reason it got to that point is because I know what you’ve done to Marinette. And when someone is upset enough to tell me about being threatened, especially with video proof? I see it as my duty to help that person. It wasn’t to humiliate you, Lila. I was just so desperate to fix the problem and to make sure that Hawkmoth wouldn’t mistakenly attack you to get to me.”

Lila doesn’t say anything. Ladybug can’t tell if she’s cracking, so she keeps going.

“I won’t reject you,” she says and holds out her hand. “Do you think you can trust me and forgive me for hurting you? Can I be your friend for real?”

Lila stares at Ladybug’s hand with an unreadable expression on her face. Ladybug bites her lip, wondering if she’s truly doing the right thing or if she’s only rubbing salt in the wound and making Lila angrier and more bitter.

“I can’t be your friend,” Lila finally says. Ladybug’s heart starts to sink, but it stops at Lila’s next words. “Not yet. But…I can try not hating you.” She reaches out and loosely clasps Ladybug’s hand.

“That’s a start,” Ladybug says with a small smile. Unlike the last time they had interacted, when she had been Chameleon, Lila’s not wearing a fake smile and cheerfully accepting a truce. Ladybug’s still not fully sure, but it does feel like Lila’s at least genuine about this.

“Everyone’s going to hate me anyway,” Lila says when she lets go of Ladybug’s hand. “They all saw the video. So I’m not even sure what the point of this is.”

“I’ll ask Alya to take that video down,” Ladybug says. “I’ll even film another video asking people not to harass you. And you never know. There might be one or two people who still want to be your friend.”

“Not likely,” Lila says, but she’s not screaming hateful things anymore, so Ladybug counts that as a win.

“I have to go,” she says. “Will you be alright? Do you want me to take you home for the rest of the day?”

“No,” Lila says. “I don’t need to make people pity me like that. I don’t need them to like me.” With that, she turns and heads back into the school with her nose in the air. Ladybug watches her go, then heads in the opposite direction and ducks inside an empty classroom to detransform.

“I’m proud of you, Marinette!” Tikki says as Marinette rummages in her purse for a cookie. “It would have been so easy to give up on Lila and condemn her for what she did.”

“I thought about that,” Marinette admits. She finally finds a cookie and holds it out for her kwami. “But then I realised that we’d only be going in circles. She’d get angry, get akumatised, I’d defeat her, she’d hate me more. Part of being Ladybug is taking down hate wherever I see it.”

Tikki beams and grabs the cookie, taking a huge bite out of the sugary treat. “Exactly,” she says. “Do you think Lila was genuine about not hating you anymore?”

“I’m not sure,” Marinette says. “But there’s only one way to find out.”

After the chaos of Luce Bianca, everyone is quiet as they finish off their work in class, deliberately not looking at each other in the wake of exposed secrets. Even Lila is focusing on her work, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze when they look back at her, but also refusing to curl in and look pathetic. It’s such a stark contrast to her previous persona of constantly talking and making herself look small and helpless that Marinette can’t help but wonder which parts of Lila are just acts and which are genuine. But she can’t focus on that right now; if she looks back at Lila one more time, she’s got no doubt that Alya’s going to start asking questions.

When the bell rings for lunch, everyone rushes out of the classroom. Lila’s left at the back of the classroom without so much as a glance spared her way, but she sniffs and looks away when Marinette tries to catch her eye.

“Alright, come on, you guys,” Alya says, shepherding Marinette, Adrien, and Nino away from Miss Bustier’s classroom and down the hall to one that’s just been emptied. The minute the door is locked, she rounds on Marinette and Adrien, hands on her hips.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir,” she announces. “Right under my nose the whole time!”

“I know, right?” Marinette says with a wide, nervous grin. Alya just crosses her arms.

“I have no idea how I didn’t see it,” she says.

“Miraculous magic?” Adrien offers.

“So, like, did you two really not know who the other was?” Nino says.

“Nope,” Marinette says. “We agreed on that for each other’s safety. Especially after what happened on Heroes’ Day when you two knew about each other.”

Alya and Nino wince, but they both sigh and shrug in agreement.

“And even now, it was a total accident, Marinette finding out who I am,” Adrien says. He gives Marinette a very Chat Noir-like grin and slings an arm around her shoulders to draw her in close. Marinette swallows and tries to cool down her flaming cheeks while also glaring at a smirking Alya. “We’ve already agreed that I’m going to ask her out as Adrien, then LadyNoir will be a thing in a few days or so.”

“If you call us that, you’re getting dumped,” Marinette warns. Adrien just laughs and kisses the top of her head, rendering her so speechless that she groans and hides her burning face in his shirt.

“Okay, not that this isn’t the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen, but I’m actually going to be sick if I have to watch more of it,” Alya says.

“Now you know how we feel about you and Nino,” Adrien shoots back. Marinette snorts loudly. “How do you feel about us just walking into the cafeteria like this, bugaboo?”

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone wants to see some grand thing from the biggest drama king around,” Alya says.

“Hey!”

“She’s got a point, dude,” Nino snickers. “Chat Noir’s totally dramatic.”

“Really? Even my best friend?” Adrien huffs and steers Marinette around. “Come on, bugaboo, we don’t need them.”

“You really can’t call me that when we’re not transformed,” Marinette says as Adrien unlocks the door and the four of them leave the room and head for the cafeteria.

“Good point.” A devilish grin splits Adrien’s face. “Princess.”

“Oh my god,” Marinette whines, while Alya and Nino laugh loudly. “I swear, I will actually dump you.”

“We all know you’re a big fat liar, Marinette,” Alya smirks. Marinette turns and pokes her tongue out.

When they enter the cafeteria, everyone turns and stares at them, and Marinette has to resist the urge to hide her face again. Although everyone’s gotten used to having Adrien Agreste among their ranks, he’s still a popular celebrity, and so the sight of him with his arm around a girl is triggering a lot of whispers and murmurs around the room as he, Marinette, Alya, and Nino go to line up for their lunch.

“You’d think they’d have something better to talk about,” Alya says when they’ve collected their trays. “Honestly, Adrien, you’re not that cool.”

“Fight me,” Adrien deadpans. “Actually, no, don’t do that. You’d slam me into the ground and then Marinette wouldn’t have her gorgeous boyfriend anymore.”

Marinette makes a high-pitched sound and buries her face in his shirt again at the word “boyfriend”.

“Fine, fine,” Alya says. “Only because Marinette wouldn’t forgive me after all the times she’s cried to me about how pretty your face is.”

“Alya!” Marinette hisses.

“I’ll protect Marinette for you, dude,” Nino says when a group of girls shoot them a particularly nasty look on their way to an empty table. “I’ll be her shield.”

Both Marinette and Alya groan.

“That was terrible,” Alya says.

“And I can look after myself,” Marinette huffs. Just as they’re about to sit down at their table, she catches sight of Lila sitting alone at the edge of the room. Everyone’s clearly giving her a wide berth, judging by how people make an obvious effort to stay outside a certain radius if they have to walk past, and something in her stomach twists.

“Where are you going?” Alya says when Marinette picks up her tray again and heads straight for Lila. Everyone around her stares, and Lila narrows her eyes when Marinette draws near.

“Is this seat taken?” Marinette says brightly.

“Obviously not,” Lila scoffs. “And I don’t need you to come and start pitying me or whatever just because Ladybug told you to. I know you talk to her.”

“Who said this was pity?” Marinette sits down across from Lila and begins to twirl noodles around her fork. “I thought you might want a friend.”

“Yeah, right. After how I treated you? The only reason you’d be doing this is to suck up to Ladybug or whatever.”

“This might be a strange and foreign concept,” Marinette says, “but some people actually do forgive others. I don’t like how people are treating you just because Ladybug stood up for me.”

“What did she think was going to happen when she spoke out like that?” Lila says, but her shoulders seem just a fraction less stiff.

“Uh, Marinette?” Alya says from behind Marinette. “What’s going on?”

“I’m making a friend and I won’t take no for an answer,” Marinette says. Adrien’s the first one to cave, sliding into the seat next to Marinette and smiling at Lila.

“I told you there was no need for lying,” he says.

“Oh, shut up,” Lila snaps. “I already know you’re a smug idiot. You don’t need to open your mouth and prove it.”

“Harsh,” Nino says, but he still sits down next to Lila. “So, what music are you into, dude?”

“Oh, fine.” Alya sits down on the outside, next to Nino. “If Marinette can forgive then so can I.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Lila clenches her fists. “What do you want? People are never nice unless they want something. This isn’t the first school where someone’s tried to make friends with me.”

“But it is the first school where people still want to be friends regardless of whether you actually do know all the people you claimed to know,” Marinette counters calmly. “And I know what it’s like to have no friends. Before I met Adrien and Alya, I had no friends because Chloé would bully me so badly that people didn’t want to associate themselves with me. You know, in case Chloé targeted them too.”

“Sorry about that, by the way, dude,” Nino says. “I shouldn’t’ve let Chloé stop me from being your friend till now.”

Marinette just shrugs and takes another bite of her spaghetti.

“How the hell can you forgive people so easily?” Lila demands. “Everyone in the class turned their backs on you. They made you sit up the back. They wouldn’t be your friend because it would’ve made their lives harder. I threatened you and made people hate you. And you just – forgive. Why? How?”

“Because if I held on to all of that bitterness, I wouldn’t like the person I’d become,” Marinette says. “Just because I forgive doesn’t mean I forget what’s been done. I just don’t cling to it and let it poison me.”

Adrien takes her hand under the table and squeezes it, so she smiles back at him. Around the cafeteria, even more people are whispering at the sight of people actually choosing to sit with Lila, but she tunes them out.

“My parents are going out tonight, so I totally have to babysit Chris,” Nino says. “You guys wanna come and help? There’s Monopoly and Mario Party and unhealthy snacks in it for you.”

“You had me at Monopoly,” Alya says. “I will crush you, little boy.”

“You had me at unhealthy snacks,” Adrien says. “Man, I can’t remember the last time I ate real teenage junk food.”

“I’ll bring some pastries, then,” Marinette grins. “And I know that Chris likes chocolate croissants, so I’ll bring loads of them.”

“An angel has descended from the heavens to grace us with her presence!” Alya announces dramatically, waving her hands in Marinette’s direction. Marinette rolls her eyes but still laughs.

“You wanna come?” Nino says to Lila, who blinks and looks up from her food.

“What?”

“Do you wanna come and hang out too?” Nino says. “My parents don’t care who comes over, so long as the house isn’t totalled.”

“But if you pick Daisy in Mario Party, there will be consequences,” Alya says.

“Alya, you can’t threaten people not to pick your favourite character,” Marinette says.

“Oh, yeah? Watch me, Peach.”

“At least I’m not the one always getting kidnapped by the bad guys in real life.”

Without a word, Lila stands up with her tray and stalks out of the cafeteria.

“What’s her problem?” Alya says.

“She probably doesn’t trust us yet,” Marinette says. “But we’ll keep trying, even if it takes months.”

“And if she still doesn’t like us?”

Marinette sighs. “That’s her choice. But I don’t want to act like she doesn’t deserve another chance if even Chloé can get another chance after everything she’s done.”

“You got a point there, dude,” Nino says, reaching across to high-five Marinette.

“Well, I hope you’re ready to lose to the power of Waluigi tonight, princess,” Adrien says with a grin.

“And Yoshi, when we team up to take down the princesses,” Nino says.

“Bring it on, meme lord,” Marinette says, cracking her knuckles.