tell me about hawk moth
he's a crusty lil man
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@chatsanova
tell me about hawk moth
he's a crusty lil man

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Iâve been getting this genre of posts on my dash alot
more ml doodles
going through my old fic ideas and hereâs a gem
âAdrien vlogging: Marinette was living with her long-term boyfriend and they recently got a cat together. The few times weâve been over there, weâve fallen in love with this cat. I mean, this cat is the single cutest thing in existence. And when shit went down at their house, she moved out really quickly, leaving Blanc behind. And sheâs really upset about her, for obvious reasons. I mean, itâs her fucking cat. Sooo me, Nino and Alya are going to go steal a cat.
Cut to alya holding a baseball batâ
I don't have a caption for this but here's a behind the scenes picture of my creative process to make up for it
bless

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Upon seeing this scene I immediately knew what had to be done and made it as fast as I could
@cl0wnmoth
I KNEW WHAT IT WAS BEFORE I CLICKED PLAY IâM CRYING
ok i love how everyone decided older!adrien has long hair and older!marinette has short hair but like. i imagine thereâs a point in the process of growing it out/cutting it short where they intersect at each otherâs old haircuts and itâs like
au where gabriel/hawk moth gets the miraculouses and his wish is granted but it affects time and space causing Marinette and Adrien (and the rest of the students) to forget about each other's existence but they have the feeling they met before
how dare
um hello, i am now writing this fic, thank you
itâs been two fucking years but this is the post that inspired âHave Another Go At Itâ
Have Another Go At It: Chapter 2
AO3
When La Grande Paris and Chloe collapsed, it seemed like nothing Chloe ever did would matter ever again.
Every snap at Pierre, every name-dropped or rule bent in the name of Chloe getting what she wanted, none of it would ever matter again. It didnât matter before either, Chloe had just tricked herself into thinking it did. Her thoughts went like this: grief, guilt, regret, distraction then denial.
iâm coming by only to ask where the FUCK my chloenette portrait of a lady on fire au is Â
iâll say it one more time CHLOENETTE....PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE AU

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Pierce My Soul: Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Think Only of the Past As Itâs Remembrance Gives You Pleasure
AO3
Prince Adrien Agreste had started his morning both pleasantly and unpleasantly, as he did most days. His life was a constant battle between loving and despising his life and all that he stood for. He started by taking some goods to the market. Then greeted some villagers. Maybe one villager caught his eye for longer than he had anticipated.
âAdrien, youâre the most foolish man Iâve ever met,â Nino chastised him just last week for his continuing encounters with a certain black-haired villager from a certain bakery while wearing a certain disguise.
Heâd made his way back from the bakery, a combination of dismal and beaming. Dismal because theyâd fought. Beaming because he knew she cared about him. It seemed like she wouldnât stay mad at him, but he knew the process would start all over the next time he saw her.
Their encounters began in the streets at night. She was walking, because she was normal, he was prowling because he was not. Not only was he a criminal but he was also the prince. Being caught would lead to bad outcomes. Heâd hope not to hang, but bad outcomes nonetheless. She regarded him with fear at first; he looked up to no good. This was before Cat Noir was a notorious outlaw before the villagers knew who he was. Marinette stood in the street, eyes narrowed. He stopped his prowl.
Pierce My Soul: Chapter 1
I have had this idea under my belt for the past 3 years and finally decided to write and post it. Iâm still doing Have Another Go At It, too. So these two will run at the same time.Â
Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug
Relationship: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Tags: Royal AU, Robin Hood, Fantasy Kingdom Setting, Rogues, Castles, Princes
AO3
Marinette Dupain-Cheng scurried through the village, dropping bread on everyoneâs doorstep. This normally took her a while, at least an hour. She would quite often be invited into peopleâs homes for tea, or long winded conversation. And normally Marinette would happily oblige, but today, she didnât really have time. She needed to get ready.Â
Unfortunately her plans of getting ready quickly halted abruptly, as she flew into her home to find a tall blond man speaking to her parents. He was wearing an ill-fitting and worn white shirt, tucked pristinely into his newly tailored trousers, and a mask covering the upper part of his face, showing nothing but green eyes and his mouth which quirked mischievously as she entered.Â
âCat Noir!âÂ
âGood morning, MademoiselleâÂ
âMarinette! You got home very quickly!â Her mother smiled at her.
âWhat is Cat Noir doing here, mother?â Marinette spat. Cat Noir cocked his head, perplexed.Â
âHe was just stopping in to say good morning.â Her mother turned to put on a hand on his arm affectionately.Â
âAnd to say thank you for fixing these pants, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, they fit marvelously.â
âOf course,â a turn of her head and Marinette looked to Cat Noir once more. âWe owed you a debt, but I donât support your methods, Cat Noir, and my family will not be needing your service much longer. If you will excuse me.â With that, she turned to enter her room.Â
âMarinette, donât be rude, heâs single-handedly saved the bakery more than once!â her father called after her. She ignored him.Â
âIt is no worry, your daughter has made her point clear to me a number of times. May IâŚ?â he addressed Sabine carefully and gestured to Marinetteâs room. Sabine made a face, but nodded. He bowed gratefully, âMerci, Madame.â
~~
âMademoiselle Dupain-Cheng? May I come in?â There was no door to her room, so he stood dutifully outside the doorway. There was however, a small curtain that hung in the frame, allowing a bit of privacy. He had brought her the fabric from the castle, and sheâd only accepted it begrudgingly, and only because heâd insisted that it was being thrown out anyway.Â
âI hardly think thatâs proper. A masked male entering a girlâs dressing chamber.â
Cat Noir had to laugh. She spoke like those in the castle, as if manners and customs mattered. It was like starting from square one with her every time they talked, but the longer they did the more comfortable sheâd become. Cat Noir wanted to talk to her forever.Â
âOf course, but I need to speak with you,â He played with the edges of the fabric that separated them. He hesitated before saying, âYour mother gave me permission.â It was a weird point, but Marinette cared far more about image than he did. Sheâd talk to him, but only if the situation would allow an observer to leave the moment thinking how well mannered they were.Â
âFine. You may enter.â she mumbled.Â
âMerci, princess.â As he entered, he was hit with a heavy piece of cloth.Â
âDonât call me that. Iâm no princess.âÂ
âYou look more beautiful than any princess I have ever met.â He was teetering on the edge of well-mannered.Â
âYouâve never met any princesses.âÂ
âYou are so certain. Who is to say I havenât been courted in kingdoms across the land?âÂ
âMe. Thatâs who.â She too was teetering.Â
He held up the piece of cloth thrown at him. Her dress was a deep red and soft. It smelled faintly of flour but mostly of lavender.Â
âListen, Cat Noir, I appreciate what youâve done here, I do. Youâve gotten my family out of nasty situation, but thatâs not necessary anymore.âÂ
âWhat do you mean?âÂ
âIâm getting a job. Applying for one anyway. I need to support my family for myself. Not have a feline criminal do it for me.â
Cat Noir couldnât help but feel a little hurt. He thought whatever Marinette and he had going was good, but he couldnât very well stop her. What was the harm in her having a job anyway?
âHm, that is very noble of you, Mademoiselle, however whoâs to say it cannot be both of us supporting the best bakery in this or any kingdom?â
âBeing charming wonât get you out of the gallows, Cat Noir, maybe you should think of yourself sometimes,â Marinette began folding a stack of already folded clothes in front of her, a nervous tick, perhaps.Â
âYou think Iâm charming?â
âMy parents do, especially when you go around singing the praises of our bread,â She smirked a little, and turned away from him, suddenly very interested in her selection of dresses, though there were only two. There seemed to be an additional one sitting on a table in the corner by the window. Maybe one she was working on.Â
âMademoiselle, do you know why I favor this place? Your family?â It was a moment of sincerity that Marinette had not learned to expect from Cat Noir. She slowed slightly, divulging attention to his voice, but did not confirm she wanted to hear him answer. Though he did so anyway, she knew he would. It was not a question as it was a hook.
 âIâm concerned for our village, Marinette,â he said softly. He only used her name in moments like this, and those were few and far between. Sometimes they even dared to stand closer than this and sometimes it happened at night out in a field near her house and sometimes it involved a gift for her that she refused to accept until she did. âThe people grow poorer, the castle grows richer, and the people of this village can do no more work than they already do. Your parents, and you, are truly the backbone of this villageâs hope.â
âMy parents make bread,â Marinette sighed.Â
âCountries have gone to war for less.â
He said it in such a way that surprised her, like he had seen the aftermath himself. He was only her age, and she was only 17. He was a trickster, a thief, an alley cat, nothing more. Why did he sound so tired? She turned around to study his face, and for a moment saw sorrow. It was new for him, at least not that she had seen before. But he quickly shook his head to snap himself out of it, leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms.Â
âMaking sure you and your family can continue supplying bread, at a price cheap enough for villagers to buy. That is the goal. If you are getting a job, that means more income for your family and even cheaper bread,â He shrugged like the statement made obvious sense.Â
âAnd you will continue stealing from the castle to make sure it happens?â
âYou know, Mademoiselle, I thought you liked things fair.â
âI do.â
âIt is fair that the castle should have such luxurious silk while you make a dress out of aged wool? You work much harder than they do. It is fair that they should have extravagant meals when villagers struggle for one loaf of bread? The villagers are much hungrier than they are.â He unfolded his arms, and crossed the threshold of the bed in the middle of the small room. He was on the same side as her now, and she had to turn to face him.Â
âChat Noir, I appreciate the sentiment, I do. Your motivations are noble.â
âThen what is the conflict, I ponder?âÂ
âItâs illegal.â
âSpeaking ill of the king is illegal, his law has lost sight of reality.â he dragged a hand through his hair and faced the window above her chair.Â
âSpeaking ill of the king wonât get you hanged.â Marinette spoke softly, as Chat Noir did before. It was the same worried voice. He turned his head to her.Â
âYour motivations are noble, Mademoiselle, but I have long ago accepted my fate.â
They were quiet. The sentence meant something different to each of them. Marinette, of course, assumed that Chat Noir had always intended to be caught at some point. He was risking his life and he knew it, and would be prepared to face the consequences. Though, Chat Noir had no intention of being hanged. He rubbed his hands on the base of his neck, ruffling the back of his hair. He didnât like it when they fought.Â
âYou should let me fix your shirt.â She broke the silence, looking down his torso, and brushed a frayed seam with her fingertips. There were plenty of holes and chaffed edges. She could guess from what, but sheâd probably be wrong.Â
âMaybe next time, princess.â He looked at her deeply, a little lazily, âYouâve got yourâŚthing.â He gestured toward her selected dress, laid out on the bed.Â
âRight. My thing.â Her eyes drifted from his face, maybe catching a bit of that sorrow from before, to the dress. Cat Noir walked to the curtain on the other side of the room, and gently pushed it aside. âCat Noir⌠please be careful.âÂ
He didnât turn to look at her, or nod, or acknowledge sheâd said anything aside from standing there for a second longer than he should have, and he left the bakery.Â
~~
Her mother had instructed her to only go by her French name. Dupain. It was a painful request, but her mother insisted that getting hired in such a place would require some sacrifice. She didnât know how she felt about sacrificing a piece of her identity, her relation to her mother. At first she refused, but her parents admonished her. It would be okay, she was still a Cheng. She made her way to Castle Agreste.Â
It wasnât a long journey, she had hitched a ride with her friend Kim and his buggy. They chatted a bit and he accepted payment in form of a pastry. She hopped off and was greeted by a man who looked like he was prepared to help her off.Â
âIntended business, Mademoiselle?â
âIâm here for the job posting? I do hope you are still inquiring.âÂ
âYes yes follow me.â He escorted her into the building which was far more extravagant than she imagined. Art hung on every open surface, a staircase swirled upwards in two directions. It was crowded with things to gaze upon. An east wing blurted yellow, the west wing shouted red. There was a statue in every corner and the ceilings kept going and going and going and goingâŚ
She was taken into the main hall and then down a small staircase, much smaller than the one above her. This is where she belonged, certainly. They were an afterthought, creaking below her best shoes, as her shoulders bumped into the walls. There she met a woman sitting at the table in a long room. It was a crowded room but not the same type of crowded the main hall was. The main hall was a large space filled with useless pretty things. Down here was small but filled with purposeful things. There was no art, or statues, just dishes, a table, and many chairs lining it. Beyond this room, there was a kitchen. It was currently bustling, and Marinette ached to feel it. This room was empty save for the woman and the two that just entered. The man who brought her said, âIâll take your leaveâÂ
âThank you, kindly, sir.â He bowed slightly and she returned with a curtsy.Â
The woman stood, she was wearing nicer clothes than she would have expected from someone in the servants quarters, but maybe that was a perk of working in the castle.Â
âGood morning, Mademoiselle.â
âMadame,â she curtsied again, smally, politely.Â
âYou are interested in working in the castle?âÂ
âOui, MadameâŚâ
âNatalieâ
âMadame Natalie. Je suis Marinette Dupain.â She allowed Natalie to sit first, and followed soon after.Â
âWe have kitchen work available, what are your qualifications?â
âWell, my parents run the finest bakery in town, and I often help them. I have been trained in noble customs and serving, and I often cooked for the children I governed.â Master Fu in town had governed Marinette as a young girl, and he was terribly picky about manners, and passed on that same governing to other children in town.Â
âYou were a governess?â
âAnd a seamstress, Madame.âÂ
âWhy do you search for work here?â
âThose positions were unstable, the kids grew up, seamstressing only happens when direly necessary, and never for very much.â
âWhat you are wearing, did you put it together?â
âOh only the dress.â
âHmm.â Natalie tapped the table curiously, considering her options. It seemed as though she liked Marinette, a smile playing on her lips, âPlease wait here a moment, Mademoiselle.â
âOf course.âÂ
Natalie stepped from the table and walked into the kitchens, speaking indistinctly with a girl with dark skin and red hair. The girl walked back out with Natalie to Marinette.Â
âMademoiselle Dupain, this is Alya Cesaire.â They acknowledged each other. âAlya works in the kitchens under her mother, but for right now I want her to show you around the castle. I have to speak to someone, but I have a feeling you will do nicely here.â She smiled lightly and moved away and up the stairs. Managing to do so with incredible grace. She turned to the new face.Â
âHello, Iâm Marinette.â
âAlya, like she said. Follow me, I know all the fun spots.â Alya had to be around her age as well, a hopeful thought, as she previously considered that she might be too young for the position. Marinette smiled, and let Alya lead the way. Even though she saw it on the way in, the main hall still took her by surprise. Her eyes were forced to take in so much information at once, that she almost didnât realize that Alya was talking.Â
âItâs crazy, right? Iâm from the next kingdom over, and though I didnât see their castle as much, it was maybe half the size.âÂ
Just then, the thought crossed her mind that no would notice it if something were gone. They had so much that one small bauble, even a whole painting wouldnât be missed. Cat Noir was smarter than she had first thought. And maybe a whole lot dumber.Â
âAnd this is just the start.â
It turned out she liked Alya. She was kind and casual, and instantly made Marinette feel comfortable in possibly the most foreign situation of her life. It was easier when they were both fish out of water, just one happened to learn to breathe a long time ago. Alya spoke about her experiences in the kitchen. It was often loud and full of women, the best sort of places in Marinetteâs opinion, and the food was magical. Her mom had worked here for years and once Alya came of age she followed her here. She had a father and three sisters at home. Her home was also loud and full of women and magical food. It explained Alyaâs ease. They woke up incredibly early, and also had to supply food for large gatherings.Â
âEven a ball once. We were cooking through the night, that time.â
The rest of the castle was quiet in comparison to these stories, Marinette thought. She wondered what mysteries took place above. They passed dozens of servants while walking around, all greeting Alya and introducing themselves to Marinette. They found themselves in the courtyard, a large green clearing surrounded by hedges and flowers. In the distance, the stables fell behind a walking path.Â
âNino, the stable boy, works over there. He and Prince Adrien are best friends.â
âHmm, Prince Adrien, I donât hear much about him.â
âThatâs because he mostly keeps to himself. Heâs polite to us, quiet. Sometimes a bit sassy, to tell you the truth. But I mostly know this from Nino. I donât really see the prince much.â
From behind them, Natalie called, âMademoiselle Dupain, Cesaire?âÂ
The girls turned, of course, and Madame Natalie gestured for them to follow. They did so. Natalie spoke over her shoulder, âMademoiselle, I know you are here for a kitchen job, but there is actually another job opening that I have been preparing for, and I think you may be a good fit.â
Beside her, Alya gasped, âMadame Natalie, you donât meanâŚâ
âAlya!â Natalieâs tone warned her of overstepping. Marinette flushed.
âSheâs just begun! That position is cursed!â
Marinetteâs eyes widened at the termed cursed.Â
âDonât be silly, Alya,â
âNot a single person has lasted a month.â
âNow, Alya...go back to the kitchens at once.â Natalie turned stern for a moment, and Alya dared not push further. She gave Marinette a sympathetic glance and she was gone.Â
âMademoiselle, please follow me. You have an audience with the King.â
âThe King?!â she dropped her composure for a small moment, âForgive me, I just didnât expect to meet His Royal Highness so soon.â
âI donât blame your surprise. This is an unusual circumstance. But I have a good feeling about you.â
âWell, Iâm honored, bu--â
They arrived at a grand doorway. A doorway appeared to be the only thing between her and the king. She took a deep breath, and Natalie opened the doors. Marinette followed closely behind into the throne room.Â
Hey! More of spy AU mari
Have Another Go At It and Hope For More Than Change: Ch 1
Iâve been sitting on this AU for a while and quarantine as left me more than enough time to write so here so trauma and angst ML fic. Thereâs some time fuckery, and swearing, as well as major character deaths (think Infinity War here)
AO3
âCat Noir get back!â Chaos fills Paris as akuma victims attack from all sides.
âIâm not leaving you, my lady!â Bee, Rena, and Carapace have all fallen. It was just the two of them, with no options left.
âNoir, Iâm not asking!â Hawkmoth and Paon, now a lot more powerful than the months before, attacked on both fronts, Le Paon causing large and terrifying creatures from the nightmares of people passed out on the streets. Ladybug lost her yo-yo to the reincarnated Jack-ady, Cat Noirâs staff broken in half by Dark Blade. They both had used through their Miraculous. Cataclysm barely effective, the Lucky Charm postponed the inevitable. They were surrounded by past villains, new and old. Some of them seemed to hold a grudge from the last time they were defeated. These were citizens of Paris that Ladybug had failed. She should have known it wasnât enough to just capture akumas. She should have gone to the source. She should have been proactive. This was her fault.
i have been largely inactive on this blog HOWEVER during quarantine i started writing fanfiction again and sort of want to post itÂ
might i interest anyone in a post reveal fashion battle one shot? or an angsty long fic involving some trauma and time travel? or some FLUFF? MIGHT I INTEREST ANYONE IN SOME FLUFF?

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7 most adhd moods
âthe Only Mood everyone else knows about: i wanna do THIS and THIS and THIS and THIS and THIS andâSQUIRREL
âgalaxy brain: i was listening to the lecture but the prof said something that reminded me of something else and now iâm not sure how much time i was lost in thought
âthe tutorial only comes in video format: iâm sorry, but youâve thrown off the emperorâs groove *hurls product & its tutorial video into the sun*
âdamn you hyperfocus: i went to bed intending to wake up and write but this morning i was possessed by a cleanliness spirit and spent the next 14 hours organizing the apartment
âi dont think u tried at all.jpg: did i seriously spend an entire free day refreshing twitter b/c i didnât want to spend 10 minutes finishing my hw but wouldnât let myself do anything else until i finished it???? (yes)
âpatrick star: *unlocks phone* time to check the weather. *opens twitter* the weather. *opens messenger* the weather. *opens mobage game* the weather. *opens facebook* the weather. *opens twitter again* THE WEAâ
âsmells like depression: literally everything is too boring. iâm going back to sleep
alright Iâve run into some revealfic that has given me this sudden and terrible and cruel thirst for a set-up in which Marinette tells Alya, Nino, and Adrien that sheâs Ladybug because [insert literally any valid excuse here; I make no pretenses about caring, none at all]. Alya flips out for all the obvious reasons and Ninoâs just like âjfc this explains so muchâ and both their minds are, like, blown and itâs all a big old fuss like âMARINETTE WHAT THE HELL AND ALSO MARINETTE HOW THE HELL DID WE MISS THISâ.Â
And meanwhile Adrien is just, like. Sitting there. Sitting there very quietly in the middle of all the chaos, with his hands folded in his lap. Marinette gives him this nervous little look, worried about how heâs going to react, and Adrien puts on his Model Smile⢠and beams at her, his whole face lighting up.Â
âYouâre amazing, Marinette!â he says brightly, absolutely fucking heartbroken.
Because Marinette told her secret identity to Alya, and Nino, and him, who sheâs held maybe half a dozen semi-coherent conversations with and barely knows outside of his good son act.Â
But Ladybug didnât trust Chat Noir with it.Â
âSomeoneâs quiet tonight.â
âMm,â Chat Noir grunted, staring down at the city below, arms crossed and brow knit as LadybugâŚor rather MarinetteâŚlightly bumped into his side.
âCat got your tongue?â Ladybug chuckled, smile dropping a little as Chat gave an all too perfunctory laugh that never really reached his eyes.
âSomething like that,â Chat said, doing his best to avoid his partnerâs gaze as she stepped around the front of him.
âAre youâŚokay?â Ladybug asked, raising an eyebrow as Chat finally brought himself to look at her, doing his best to appear as casual as possible.
âFine,â Chat said with a dismissive wave. âJust having troubleâŚdigesting something. Bad cheese, I think.â
âOooh,â Ladybug winced, taking a step back from Chat. âWellâŚif you need a bathroom break, donât hesitate to speak up, okay?â
âSure,â Chat said, flicking his baton out as Ladybug lassoed a nearby gargoyle, pulling herself up onto the building across the street. He watched her for a moment, chewing on his lower lip before vaulting after her, lingering a few steps behind.
âDoes your partner know?â
The question caught Marinette off guard, nearly causing her to choke on her bubblegum as Adrien slid into the seat across from her.
âKn-Know what?â Marinette coughed, glancing around the mostly empty library as Adrien pretended to study next to her.
âWhat you told us yesterday,â Adrien murmured softly, glancing up with what he hoped was a casual, curious expression. âJustâŚsomething Iâve been wondering about since you told us. I meanâŚif you told us, he must know, right?â
Marinette fidgeted under Adrienâs curious gaze, guilt bubbling up and gnawing at her stomach. âHeâŚw-well we kind of agreed to, uhâŚkeep things professional, y-you know? So, uhâŚso no, he doesnât.â
âOhâŚsorry. I, just assumed you would have said something to him after yesterday,â Adrien said, trying very hard not to let the hurt edge into his voice. He was just a curious friend; not a slighted or hurt Chat Noir. âI meanâŚyou told Alya, Nino, and me so, I just assumed-â
âItâsâŚitâs more complicated than that,â Marinette said, tapping her pencilâs eraser against the desk as she stared thoughtfully into the space behind Adrienâs head. Sooner or later, she was going to have to come clean to Chat that she had been the first one to break her own ruleâŚshe just didnât know how. There was no earthly way that he wouldnât take it badly once he found out that she had willingly spilled the beans to three people who werenât him; she just needed some time to collect her thoughts before letting him know.
And once she told himâŚwell, the cat would be out of the bag as well.
âIs it?â Adrien asked, fidgeting with his ring. âI meanâŚif you told us then-â
âIâm sorry,â Marinette said with a shaky laugh. âCan we justâŚwork on the history project right now? I-Iâm kind of behind for a lot of different reasons and-â
âOh, right,â Adrien said, scratching the back of his neck. âSureâŚforget I said anything.â
He offered another well practiced smile before returning to his own book, glancing up every few minutes as though he was waiting for some kind of explanation.
At half past eleven, a soft rapping came against Adrienâs window, pulling his attention away from his trigonometry homework to the red and black figure dangling from her yo yo string outside.
Itâs open, Adrien mouthed, nodding at the large latch-style windows that Ladybug pushed open with the ball of her foot as she swung herself inside, landing beside his bed with unerring grace.
âWell this is a late surprise,â Adrien chuckled, fetching a long pole from the side of the bookcase and pushing the window shut again as Ladybug paced back and forth, clutching what appeared to be a plain white bag against her chest. âAlthough if those pastries are for me-â
âThey arenât,â Ladybug said, dropping the huge bag of pastries on his desk as she paced past it. âI-I mean, if you want one, you can have one, but IâŚ.â
Even in his raw, wounded condition, the sight of Ladybug (Marinette) in such an obviously agitated state cut through his own irritation.
âIâŚ.I was going to meet Chat tonight o-or at least try to meet him since I donât really have any way of getting a hold of him,â Ladybug rambled, twirling her yo-yo from one hand as though she were trying to fight off the mounting wave of panic. âI wanted to explain what happened a-and clear the air with him b-but I figured he might be upset s-so I wanted to bring him a pastry or something to kinda soften the blow, or whatever, but-â
Ladybug took a deep breath, turning to face Adrien with a humorless and slightly manic laugh. âIâŚI have no idea what kind of pastries he likes!â
âSoâŚyou brought all of them?â
âA-Almost all of them,â Ladybug said, accidentally knocking over a pencil cup with her yo-yo as she paced. âBecause I was justâŚstanding there staring at a case full of pastries, trying to remember which one my partner of two years likedâŚand I couldnât do it. I-I donât know if I ever asked and just forgot or worse if I never cared to ask in the first place, b-but the fact is IâŚI donât even know what my partner likes to eat! I know what Chloeâs favorite pastry is-â
âLemon blueberry scones,â Adrien nodded.
â-but notâŚnot Chatâs,â Ladybug said softly, sitting down on the edge of his bed, pressing her forehead into her hands as Adrien quietly crossed the room and sat beside her. âIâm sorryâŚI shouldnât be dumping my superhero baggage on you. I justâŚIâm scared.â
âOf Chat?â Adrien snorted, trailing off when Ladybug turned her distraught gaze towards him.
âHeâsâŚheâs wanted to know who I am for the longest time,â Ladybug said softly. âAnd IâŚI thought it would be better for neither of us to know who the other one was. And I know heâs had chances where he could have peeked but he didnât. And nowâŚnow I have to tell him that I trusted three people he doesnât even know with my identityâŚand not him.â
Ladybug trailed off into silence, the tick-tock of the clock on the wall providing the only sound for a long moment, until Ladybug broke the silence. âIs thereâŚany chance heâs not going to be devastated by this?â
âNo,â Adrien said quicker than he ought to have, turning himself towards Ladybug who was glaring at the floor, jaw clenched, and blinking rapidly. âI meanâŚif it was meâŚand I thought that someone I trusted with my life didnât trust me backâŚyeah, Iâd be pretty upset.â
And he was; the wave of disappointment and disillusionment that came from Marinetteâs reveal still left him a little bitter. Still, he reached out, turning her shoulders to face him and tilting her head up until her watery gaze fixed on his.
âButâŚyou need to tell him,â Adrien said firmly. âBetter now than risking him finding out some other way, right?â
âI guess,â Ladybug mumbled, hands clenching her yo-yo for support. âWeâve justâŚhad such a good partnershipâŚand Iâm worried h-heâs not going to trust me anymoreâŚâ
Adrien slowly pried her fingers apart, unclenching her fists and lacing his hands through hers. Any other day, Marinette might have turned red from such close contact, but now she was just grateful for the small bit of comfort to ground her.
âI thinkâŚafter all you two have been through,â Adrien said carefully. âHeâs not going to ditch you over this; no matter how upset he might be. I thinkâŚit might take him a little bit to get over it butâŚIâm sure you didnât do this to hurt him.â
âI didnât,â Ladybug insisted. âIâŚI was just so worried that Alya thought I didnât want to spend time with her, so IâŚI thought explaining my sudden, inexplicable absences would patch things up.â
âTo be fair, I think you managed to solve that problem well enough,â Adrien laughed, squeezing her hands gently. âSheâs been practically vibrating hasnât she?â
âI donât even think I need to get her a Christmas present this year,â Ladybug laughed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. âI just need to deal with Chat nowâŚâ
âHey,â Adrien said, drawing her attention back towards him with a small smile. âYouâre gonna be fine, Lady-nette.â
âDo youâŚthink I should tell him who I am?â Ladybug asked.
âIâŚâ Adrien bit his lip. âYou donât have toâŚbut I would make it clear that you trust him. If not that, then Iâm sure you can think of something else.â
âRightâŚâ Ladybug nodded, slowly getting to her feet. âI shouldâŚsee if I can track him down before it gets too late.â
âMaybe try circling back towards the other end of the city?â Adrien suggested, mentally calculating how long it would take to intercept her once she left. âIf that fails thenâŚI donât know; break out the catnip?â
âIf it were only that easy,â Ladybug laughed, picking up the bag of pastries on his desk and rifling through them for a moment before producing an apricot Danish. âThanks for the pep talk.â
âAnytime,â Adrien said, waving off the pastry. âYou should save that for Chat.â
âItâs your favorite, though,â Ladybug clucked.
âMight be his too,â Adrien shrugged, shooting Ladybug a lopsided smile. âFor all you know.â
âRight,â Ladybug laughed, dropping the Danish back in the bag with a small, steadying sigh. âIâllâŚsee you tomorrow?â
âGood luck,â Adrien said, waving her off as she lassoed the window open, and darted out into the night. He watched her go for a moment with a long sigh, fingering his ring as he pressed his free hand against the window. There was more he wanted to ask her, but it was a conversation that Chat needed to have with Ladybug. A long, profoundly uncomfortable conversation that pastries might make marginally better. But every relationship had growing pains, he told himself, and he could only hope their partnership would come out of it stronger for it.
ââŚyou couldnât have asked for a cheese Danish?â Plagg sniffed, poking his head out of Adrienâs collar.
ââŚjust transform me.â
Twenty minutes later, Chat perched atop the opera house, high enough that he should have been visible to anyone who was looking for him. The run over had allowed him time to compose himself back to a state of emotional neutrality that Ladybug expected Chat Noir to have. After all, as far as she knew, he was painfully oblivious to the fact that Ladybug had confessed her identity to three people who (as far as she knew) werenât him.
He also had time to carefully rehearse the things he wanted to say to her.
The fact of the matter was that he didnât need to disregard his own feelings to validate hers. Time had tempered his hurt and disappointment a little, but they still pulsed under the surface whenever he thought about it. There was no use sugar-coating it; he had to be honest with herâŚor mostly honest anyway. Until they agreed to mutually reveal their identities, he couldnât tell her that he knew who she really was without compromising their agreement.
And just because Marinette had chosen to reveal herself, didnât mean Adrien needed to as well.
A familiar blur of red and black caught his attention as Ladybug swung onto the roof, skidding through the snow and coming to a stop beneath his perch. âDidnât know you were a fan of the opera,â Chat Noir called down, dropping from the dome onto the roof as theater goers trailed inside beneath them. âI think Don Giovanni is playing tonight, in case you were in the mood for something horribly depressing.â
âMaybe another time,â Ladybug laughed, fidgeting a little as she thrust the bag out in front of her. âI, uhâŚI brought some pastries for you. Fresh from this bakery downtown thatâs pretty good.â
âMore than pretty good,â Chat snorted, taking the bag and studying the logo on the plain white bag. âTom and Sabineâs is probably the best in town; best Iâve had anyway.â
Ladybug watched as he rooted through the bag, breathing a small sigh of relief as he pulled out the apricot Danish and took a thoughtful bite. She was going to have to bring another one to Adrien tomorrow, though it looked like both blonds in her life had a penchant for the fruity.
She just hoped it was enough to take the bite off of what she had to tell him.
Her discomfort mustâve been apparent because Chat fixed her with a small frown, replacing the pastry in the bag and setting it down on the roof behind him. âSomething eating you, Buginette?â
The relief that had flooded her had dissipated, replaced with dread as she stood up straighter, fighting the urge to look away, or run away from her partner who deserved to know the truth. âYou could say that,â Ladybug said, taking a deep breath. âUmâŚdo you remember when we said that we shouldnât tell anyone who we were? Not even each other?â
Chat nodded, crossing his arms and forcing himself to remain passively curious. âUh-huh,â Chat said. âI, uh, havenât told anyone, if thatâs what youâre worried about?â
âItâs not you Iâm worried aboutâŚitâs me,â Ladybug sighed, fighting the urge to fidget with her yo-yo. âMyâŚone of my best friends thought we were drifting apart. I-I missed an important lunch date because of an akuma attack andâŚshe was really upset with me. I thought w-we were going to fall out over it, and I knew she wasnât buying my excuses soâŚso I told herâŚâ
Chat knew what Marinette told Alya, because he and Nino had walked into the otherwise empty classroom as she had said it.
(âIâmâŚIâm LadybugâŚâ Marinette said, as Adrien rounded the corner, eyes widening as his world spun.)
ââŚI told her I was Ladybug,â Ladybug said. âOrâŚrather Ladybug was me.â
Chat took a deep breath, biting his lip as he nodded somewhat absently. âIâŚo-kay-â
âThat isnât all,â Marinette said, quickly before she lost momentum. âMyâŚtwo of my other friends walked in as I was saying it. And IâŚI ended up telling all three of them.â
(âAdrien?â Adrien blinked as Marinette looked up at his dumbfounded expression with a small, uncertain smile. âAre you-â
(âGreat!â Adrien stammered out, forcing a casual smile while his stomach churned unpleasantly. âThatâsâŚyouâre amazing, Marinette!â)
âSoâŚso three people know your secret identity?â Chat said, clearing his throat as he blinked. âWell, thatâsâŚuhâŚthatâs gr-â
Chat stopped himself, lips pressing together as he looked down at his partner, studying his expression with a furrowed brow.
âActuallyâŚactually no, thatâs not great!â Chat blurted out, shaking his head as he paced away from Ladybug, hand running through his hair as he struggled to put words to the roiling sea of discontent that had plagued him for days. He could lie, brush it off, pretend like he hadnât been hurt by her decision to tell her civilian friends who she was (even if he was technically one of them). But he wasnât going to let unspoken resentment poison their relationship.
âIâŚwe promised we wouldnât tell anyone!â Chat said, turning around to face Ladybug. âNot even each other!â
âI know,â Ladybug said, taking a step towards Chat. âI know I was the one who pushed for that in the first place, and I was the first one to slip up and-â
Ladybug trailed off, frowning and shaking her head.
âNoâŚI didnât slip up,â Ladybug said quietly. âIt was a choiceâŚI chose to tell my friends who I was because I thought I was going to lose them if I didnât. Iâm owning up to thatâŚand Iâm sorry that I broke our promise.â
Ladybug studied Chatâs back for a long moment, watching his shoulders tense and relax as he tilted his head up towards the sky. Loathe as she was to admit it, part of her never considered the possibility of Chat ever getting truly upset with her. Despite the fact that she hadnât known him as long as Alya or Adrien, she had never been afraid of losing his friendship until now. It was a terrifying thought; not just because she had somehow managed to do something that had broken Chat Noirâs unflappable exterior.
âChat,â Ladybug said, taking another step forward before stopping herself. âPleaseâŚsay something.â
Chat was quiet for another long moment, before turning around with a small sigh. The look of disappointment on his face almost made Ladybug wish he was mad at her. âDo you notâŚtrust me?â
Ladybug swallowed heavily, taking another step towards her partner. âThatâs not itâŚâ
âYou just donât trust me as much as your friends,â Chat said, shaking his head as he tried to get to the bottom of why he was so upset. He had been literally one of the first people Ladybug told her identity toâŚand one she was still keeping her identity from. He was fine keeping their secrets; even had to agree that, in the long run, it made the most sense. But now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag, he had to wonder if pragmatism was the only reason Ladybug didnât want to tell him who she was.
Her sweep of the city after leaving Adrienâs had given her enough time to mull over her conversation with Adrien. No matter what she said, the fact of the matter was her actions said she put more faith in Adrien, Alya, and Nino than in Chat.
And maybe she did.
There had always been a barrier of professionalism between them that hampered any true understanding; one born out of necessity, granted, but one that made it almost impossible to get to know the person who stood across from her.
But that didnât mean it had to stay that way.
âIf you donât want to, thatâs fine,â Chat sighed, scratching the back of his head. âBut-â
Chat legitimately jumped when he turned around to see a pajama clad Marinette standing in an inch of snow, looking up at him with sheepish smile.
âHi,â Marinette said with a small wave. âIâm Marinette. I turn sixteen next month, my favorite pastries are chocolate eclairs, I want to be a fashion designer someday and I am freezing my butt off soIâmtransformingback!â
With a flash of red light, she transformed back to Ladybug, rubbing her arms as she hopped from foot to foot, chattering from the brief brush with cold as Chat stood almost dumbstruck, more from the fact that Ladybug had so candidly ârevealedâ herself than the revelation itself.
âYouâŚâ Chat said, blinking owlishly.
âYes, I set you up to protect myself during that whole Evilustrator thing,â Ladybug said, blowing into her hands.
âNo, youâŚyou didnât have to do that,â Chat said. âI-I never wanted you to feel like you had to tell me or-â
âI didnât,â Ladybug insisted, jaw set and lips pursed determinedly. âMyâŚfriend told me that I should do something to let you know that I trust youâas much as I trust them.â
âThisâŚwas the best I could think of,â Ladybug said, gesturing to herself. She capitalized on Chatâs silence by closing the distance between them, laying her hand on his shoulder as she craned her neck to look him in the eye.
âIâŚnever,â Ladybug said, clearly pronouncing every word. âEverâŚwant there to be any doubt that I trust you.â
âButâŚyou said-â
âI know,â Ladybug sighed, shaking her head. âButâŚone more person isnât going to make a difference. Not when itâs you, anyway. BesidesâŚâ
Chat watched Ladybug bite her lip, glancing out over the city as a sopranoâs voice wafted in from the theater below. âI guess,â Ladybug said, searching for the right words among the falling snowflakes. âI guess a part of me always wanted you to know who I was.â
Ladybug turned back to look up at a pair of unmasked green eyes and a warm, beaming smile that caused her to flush as red as her suit.
âIâve always known who you were,â Adrien said, brushing a snowflake off of Ladybugâs burning cheek. âNow I just know your name.â
Ladybug swore her heart stopped beating as the soprano beneath her feet hit a painfully high note.
i had to draw a thing.
OH MY GOD IT GOT BETTER
This post will go down in ml fandom history as the one-sided reveal fic that kept giving.
this whole post is perfect
This is adorable and the artwork coupled with it is just amazing icing on the cake. Bravo to all involved.