Wands and Arc Reactors

Heya everyone!

So, This is nothing like I’ve even done before so bear with me here?

I’ve been MIA for months cause after years of hard work I finally got into med-school (Woohoo) ,the embarrassing/hilarious story of which you can read right here. I’ve been focus on my work and as many college students may know its been hectic and ~Hella expensive~

I’ve been reading and writing fanfictions for over 10 years (almost half of my life) and through it I’ve learned so many things. Its become a bit part of my life and I’ve met some great people through it and I’m hoping that some of them can help in this new journey that I’ve started.

I know that most of my readers are either children or people with their own struggles (specially with the way last year has gone) so the best and easiest way I could think of, that would only ask for your time not your actual money is to post some fanfics of mine on Youtube and maybe progress to original stuff over time.

Any fanfic that I post would be non-monetized of course but I’ve been working on ideas for some original short stories (just bare bones of the ideas for now) and when I do decide to put them up I’d love it if the channel already had a solid base and some traction. I know its kind of a long shot but I’m nothing if not hopeful.

Click here to go to my channel (Felicis Magic) to stream a video or two ( if you sub it would make my day, but every bit counts regardless).  

Leave a yellow heart in the yt comments if you got to the end of this long ass post.

In the end, Thank you so much for the love and support everyone has shown me over the years; Each and every one of your comment/bookmark/kudos has made my days just a bit brighter.

-Mars-

Just let that sink in. 

I just told my med-school interviewer that I read fanfiction.

honestly at this point I am not even surprised.

so the interview was going well and while I was petrified I was sure I’ve got it in the bag....and then they said; ‘Tell me about something you’ve read recently’ and I blanked out, like my brain just decided to abandon me and there was nothing there anymore, just a blank empty space, like the space next to my interview points was probably going to be.

Anyways, naturally my mind went to that one specific post about telling people you read fanfic sooo I told them that I read ‘transformative work by independent authors online’ and that I recently read one that dealt with the recovery from a soldiers mindset, PTSD, emotional trauma and self discovery.

my heart stopped for a second after the words left my mouth, the interviewers looked at me and all I could think was: I’d literally die if I lost a seat in med-school cause of fanfiction. I mean I love fanfiction but not enough to risk five years of hard work over it....a second passed, then the interviewer just nodded and continued on.

I got in.

Summary:Jealousy isn’t something Adrien is unfamiliar with, but he doesn't have any reason to be jealous now, he really doesn’t. Marinette is just his friend and it's not like he doesn’t know how friendly she is with everyone.

Even if Marinette has been spending a lot of time with a new boy; a boy none of them knows about who steals her away every day after school.

Adrien is not jealous. He is just…..worried.Yep, definitely not jealous at all.

The first time Adrien saw the guy was after a particularly grueling day at school: He had been tired all day because of an Akuma fight the night before, Nino was out sick, they had a surprise chemistry test and add to that the fact that he knew he wouldn’t get any rest since he had a photoshoot after school made it an awful day.

The only person that seemed to be having a worse day than him was Marinette but the thing is, Marinette seemed to be having a lot of those nowadays. 

His bubbly friend, who usually brightened up the room with her presence alone, came to school with tired eyes and a smile that seemed a touch too practiced to be real. Her eyes usually tinged red, as if she hadn’t had proper sleep or had cried recently, looked away from his whenever he caught them and it worried Adrien. 

He talked to Alya about it but she just assured him, with knowing eyes looking at him, that he needs to give it some time, that Marinette would be fine soon. So he did. 

He still made sure to smile at her whenever he did manage to catch her eye since it seemed to make at least some sort of difference.

Anyways back to the guy, the first time Adrien saw him, he didn’t actually get to see him. All he saw was Marinette rushing past him to run into his arms; the guy then Marinette’s bag over his shoulder and they both walked away together.

“Do you know that guy?” Alya asked from beside him sounding a bit bewildered. 

Adrien looked at where the couple disappeared around the corner of a street, “No idea.” 

The next day was Saturday and they had planned to meet up at Alya’s place. Marinette canceled the plan to meet up at Alya’s, promised to make up for it, and told them she had someone she wanted them to meet.

On Monday, Adrien saw Marinette smile wide for the first time in ages as she ran down the stairs to meet the well-dressed boy waiting for them at the school entrance.

Something tightened in Adrien’s chest as he looked on, wondering why he wanted to pull her away from the boy. Probably because Adrien didn’t know him that well, he reasoned to himself, though that didn’t mean Marinette didn’t, rather it seemed like Marinette knew him very well since she was more at ease with him than she was ever around Adrien. 

“Ooo, Mystery boy,” Alya grinned and grabbed Adrien’s arm pulling him with her as she strode towards the duo.

“Hey!” Alya called out, holding up a hand as they approached.

“Hello,” Adrien said in a bit lower tone as he pulled his arm away from Alya.

Marinette turned towards them at the sound and smiled, her eyes bright and happy.

The boy turned too, his hair fluttering across his forehead as he shifted his eyes from Marinette to Adrien and Alya, “Hey, You must be Alya and Adrien,” He smiled,” Marinette’s told me about you,” He shook Alya’s hand before holding out a hand that Adrien instinctively shook.

“I am Micheal, but my friends call me Mike or Mikey if it is Marinette,” With that, Mike waggled his eyebrows making Marinette roll her eyes fondly. The feeling inside his chest grew. 

“Well, It's good to finally officially meet the guy who's been stealing the fourth member of our group” 

Adrien said, mustering up a smile as he teased half-heartedly.

 “Are you from around here?” Alya’s eyes inspected the newcomer as she asked and Adrien could almost imagine the cogs turning in her head as she tried to remember if they had met before.

“Nah,” Mike ran his fingers through his hair, “Just visiting family,” He then turned to Marinette,” Though I might consider staying if someone asks,” 

Marinette made a face at him which just made Mike’s smile widen. 

“You guys seem close,” Alya observed with a teasing smile.

“Oh, Marinette and I go way back,” The boy-Mike- waved a hand flippantly, “I visit her every year but I just couldn’t convince Mom to let me out of her sight ever since I got into a small accident,” He rolled his eyes. 

“An accident that broke both your arm and a leg,” Marinette reminded him, looking unimpressed even as a hint of a smile played at her lips. 

Mike threw his arm around Marinette’s shoulder pulling her into a side hug, “What's life without a little risk, Mia Netta. Which reminds me, shall we get going?” 

“Get going?” Alya asked with furrowed eyebrows,” Go where?” 

Adrien couldn’t keep his eyes off the arm still resting on Marinette’s shoulder, the hand playing with a ponytail as Mike hummed under his breath. He wondered if Marinette had any plans to push off the arm before he shook his head, it was Marinette’s shoulder, if she was okay with Mike putting an arm around her then he should be too. 

“I promised I’d help Mike with his cooking experiment today,” Marinette told Alya, her eyes not meeting the reporters. He had a feeling he was missing something, though he couldn’t put a finger on it. He looked between the girls sensing an unspoken tension. 

“But,” Alya began,” We’re supposed to have a girls night at Lila’s today.” 

Right. That. 

Marinette predictively looked uncomfortable at the name of the girl who had recently gotten her expelled, and if Adrien was correct, who hadn’t even apologized for it. 

“I am sorry, Al, Maybe some other day? I made the plan with Mike long before the girls night thing came up, I did try to tell you in class,” 

Alya took a deep breath, then sighed, “You did, didn’t you. Sorry, it's just that...after everything that's been going on, I was looking forward to it.” 

“We can hang out tomorrow if you want?” Marinette offered quietly. 

“But then Lila wouldn’t be able to come, you heard what she said about the charity meeting.” 

Both friends looked at each other silently, at this point the new kid decided to jump on. 

“So you can all hang out with the Lela girl today and with Marinette tomorrow,” Mike shrugged, putting his free hand in his pocket,” sounds like a good plan to me.” 

Marinette looked up gratefully at Mike and Adrien kicked himself for not jumping in sooner. He could’ve diffused the tension if he wanted to but he was so used to letting the girls sort it all out between himself that he didn’t think to do anything. He mulled the thought over while he said goodbye to the girls and jumped into his car, he could see Marinette and Mike walk into the bakery as his car drove by.

He wondered if now that they had met Mike, Marinette would ask him to join their  outings instead of running off with him; That would be a lot better, and maybe it would soothe the uneasy feeling he had whenever he saw her with him.

But that didn’t happen.

Every day, without a delay, Mike would be waiting for Marinette by the school stairway, they’d meet with happy smiles on their faces and go off to do something and there was something new every since day. Whether it was sightseeing or trying to find the best milkshake in Paris (that one was Mike's idea) and a point came where the only time Adrien saw Marinette was during class and even then it was hard to talk to her.

Xxxx

“Marinette, do you want to come to my photoshoot later on? I know you were curious about the line,”

Marinette looked excited before her eyes met his own and something changed, she looked away, her shoulders slumping, “Em, I promised Mike I’d take him to the museum today. He wanted to see the superhero display, maybe some other time, A-Adrien”

Xxxx

“We’re meeting at Nino’s today for games, would you like to go together?”

“I...I’ll meet you there, Adrien. Is it okay if Mickey comes?”

Xxxx

“Mari-”

She rushed past him before he could say anything.

Xxxx

“Hey, Marinette!” He said, managing to catch her just before she left class, “ You know I had my fencing tournament yesterday?”

A small smile,” Yeah, I did. Congratulations, Adrien. “

“Kagami was runner up. We’re going for celebratory juice, can you come?”

“Can’t I! I mean, I can’t. Em...I have this thing to do later on, yeah, a thing to do….though I can bring cupcakes tomorrow to celebrate?”, she left without waiting for an answer.

“Thanks...Marinette.” He sighed, trying to ignore the inexplicable weight that seemed to have dropped in his stomach.

Xxxx

A part of him wanted to hate Micheal but that was difficult because Micheal was a difficult person to hate. Whenever they did get time to hang out with him-when he wasn’t stealing Marinette away-he was always nice to them. 

He always met them with a big stupid smile, his stupid grey eyes shining as he told a stupid joke or quip that made everyone laugh or at least smile. Another part of him knew they could be really good friends if he just tried but that part was hastily suppressed. The same part couldn’t help but point out how happy Marinette looked with Micheal as he saw them chatting in front of the school.

For once, the duo hadn’t left as soon as the bell rang and were actually standing a bit to the side, conversing. 

Adrien couldn’t stop watching them as they talked, Marinette was waving her hands through the air, a clear sign of her excitement, as she talked avidly. There was no stutter, no nervous glancing, just Marinette, with her pink cheeks and beaming smile talking to this-this stranger that none of them knew about before this month, this horrible, Marinette-less month.

A pang of pain went through his chest as he wondered if this was how things were going to be from now on. 

Just then Marinette’s eyes met his own and her eyes widened a bit before she let out a shaky smile, holding up a hand to greet him, “Hey Adrien,”

“Marinette,”He gave the girl a smile as he came to stand near them, before turning to Micheal, “Hello Michael,”

“Hi, Adrien, ” Micheal gave a lazy wave before excitement shone on his face again, “Marinette and I were talking about this crazy antique shop that opened a few streets away, you wanna come with?”

“Oh,” Adrien put his hands in his pockets, “ I’d love to but I have fencing today, I was actually waiting for Kagami so we could go in together.”

He heard Marinette intake a sharp breath but before he could say anything Marinette moved quickly, stepping beside Mike as she linked her arm with Tonys, “It's fine! No problem, we, em, Mike and I can go by ourselves, You’ll probably think it's lame anyways, Lamer than lame,” She gave a strained smile so much in contrast to the bright smile she had before. 

“What? Of Course not, Marinette. I don’t think it's lame. I don’t think anything you do is lame,” He said, his sincerity clear in his voice, trying to clear any misunderstanding that might be there, he wondered if that's why Marinette had been avoiding him. He noticed Micheal looking at him with a contemplative look but focused his eyes on Marinette instead whose lips were parted in surprise. 

“Em, thanks Adrien,” A soft smile was directed at his way that Adrien returned.

Micheal cleared his throat before holding up his watch,” We should get going if we want to be back before your shift starts, Stellina.” 

“Yeah and There comes Kagami’s car,” Marinette’s eyes glanced at something behind him,” I’ll see you tomorrow Adrien,” and with that she walked away with Micheal, her arm linked with his as they put their heads closer together to talk, something stirred in his chest even as Kagami came up to greet him and pulled him into a conversation as they walked with him back into the school. 

Xxxx

He was convinced he was making a big deal about nothing. It's not like Marinette wasn’t allowed to have other friends; It shouldn’t-It didn’t bother him.

Then came his photoshoot. 

His photoshoot at Trocadéro had just ended when he saw the two passing by. They were teasingly bumping their shoulders together as they walked,smiles on their faces, Adrien opened his mouth to call out to them maybe ask to join them and then...then Marinette pulled Micheal down and pressed a long exaggerated kiss on the boy’s cheek; Her name died on Adrien's lips as he looked away hastily, his fists clenching at his sides as a memory of another kiss arose in his mind, a kiss Marinette had placed on his cheek on her birthday, her eyes bright as she held his charm close to her chest. 

By the time he looked back, they were gone. 

That night, he finally gave in to the urge that had been plaguing him for days. He fed Plagg a week worth of Camembert as a bribe and took to the skies, his destination: Marinette’s balcony. 

His relationship with Marinette as Chat Noir had built up increasingly after the ‘incident’ with the miracle queen.  After all, She was the only miraculous holder other than him and Ladybug whose identity had not been revealed, even if that only happened because she was no longer a holder and didn’t consider herself one.

Plus, hanging out with Marinette always managed to make him feel better. She was like sunshine at the end of a dreadful thunderstorm: Warm and welcoming.

But Today his mission was simple: Talk to her about Micheal and maybe find out why she was avoiding Adrien. He didn’t know how to do that or what he expected to find out but a half-cooked plan was better than brooding in his room with no plan at all. Chat found her sitting on her chair and swiping through her phone as he landed on her balcony. 

Marinette looked up in shock before a warm smile overtook her face, “Hello, Chat Noir.”

“Princess,” He bowed then approached her, “What are you doing outside on this...not-so-fine night?” He asked, looking at the dark clouds spread across the sky.

“Just enjoying the fresh air,” She shrugged, tucking her legs close to her chest.

“Uh-huh,” He made it clear he didn’t believe her, he dragged a chair near her and sat backward on it, resting his chin on its top as he stared at her, "Come on, Princess, what's the actual reason?" He prodded gently.

She looked at him for a second before looking down at her phone, “Chat,” She began, “ do you...do you sometimes feel like getting away from everything for a while?” She whispered as if it were a secret. 

Chat tilted his head, “Getting away? Like for a trip or something?”

“No,” Marinette shook her head, “just...leave.” She looked down at the phone, a picture filling its screen-a picture of her and Mike. 

Panic began to set in as Chat realized what she meant, “Leave? To go where?” He asked, trying not to sound as horrified as he felt.

Marinette shrugged,” Anywhere….maybe Italy,”

“With him,” He pointed an accusing finger at her phone, his eyes boring holes in the picture as he felt the crazy urge to just cataclysm it.

“Maybe, He does ask me every year.” She sighed, putting down the phone, “ My parents would let me, Mickey would probably convince them. He’s smart like that; And, It’ll be kind of fun spending all that time together.” 

Chat tried not to show how each word felt like a stab through his heart. Marinette must have noticed it anyways because her eyes softened, she put the phone on the side and stood up standing near him.

“Don’t worry kitty, “ She smiled running a hand through his hair, “I am not going anywhere, promise.” she played with the shorter hair at the back of his neck, “I have more to lose than to gain by leaving but still, one can dream”

She then pulled him down to her room to play a few rounds of video games and though it helped distract him, Adrien couldn’t completely bring his mind away from it.

And as he laid in his bed at night, that thought of Marinette leaving with Micheal burst into his head like a wrecking ball. He just couldn’t get it out of his head.

He could almost imagine it playing right in front of him, Marinette deciding to do with him and if they did, they’d probably spend more time together than they already did and they’d get married in Italy and Tom would make a big wedding cake and Marinette would look so beautiful in her wedding dress but Adrien wouldn’t know because he wouldn’t have accepted the wedding invitation and Marinette would kiss Micheal’s cheek, and hug him and make him cookies and love him. 

She’d be in love with Micheal, completely and utterly.

The last thought hurt the most. 

Xxxx

The class party was both a relief and torture. A relief because after days of extensive testing it was good to have an off day and torture because Marinette, looking breathtakingly beautiful in a black and white striped top and a tulle skirt, came with Micheal and was now dancing with him.

Marinette’s pink tulle skirt flowed around her as Micheal spun her, her eyes squinting as she laughed merrily. They were dancing sillily, Micheal kept spinning and dipping her, he was pretty sure they kept stepping on each other's foot on purpose, all the while their smiles never slipped off and Adrien, Adrien wished more than nothing for that be him. 

“You okay dude?” Nino asked from his side, Adrien looked away from the couple to turn towards his friend instead. Concern flashed in his friend's eyes before he took one look at what Adrien had been looking at and understanding replaced the concern, “Come on, let's get you something to eat.”

Nino guided him away from his spot and towards the snack table and while Adrien knew what Nino was trying to do (distract him from Marinette), he let him do it because he didn’t know how much longer he could take watching them. 

“Took you long enough, “Nino said as he picked up a pastry to munch on. 

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows, “What?” 

“Marinette?” Nino said as if that explained everything but seeing the perplexed look on his friend’s face he elaborated, “You finally realize she isn’t ‘Just a Friend’, didn’t you? Don’t deny it, bro, I could see your eyes throwing daggers at Mike from a mile away.” 

Adrien chose to ignore the remark and made a conscious effort not to look at the dance floor. 

“So apparently, new-boy over there’s been trying to get Marinette to go to Italy with him,” Alya told them, shaking her head as she came to stand next to them and picked up a cupcake to bite into.

“How do you know that?” Nino asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I heard em,” Alya stated after swallowing her bit,”He was saying to Marinette that he was leaving on Sunday and, get this, he said he was sure she’d come with this time,” Alya rolled her eyes as if it was the most preposterous thought.

Wait, what?

Adrien's world tilted. Everything seemed askew all of a sudden as his eyes snapped to the duo in the middle of the room. “But Marinette said no, right?” he asked, a little too evenly.

“She didn’t say no, but she didn’t say yes either.” Alya shrugged, “Not like him saying it is going to make it true, there’s no way her parents would agree to it.“

But Adrien couldn’t hear Alya over the thumping of his heart in his ears. 

All he could remember were Marinette’s words from that night,

“ Do you sometimes feel like getting away from everything..just leave?”

“My parents would let me, Mickey would probably convince them…”

Adrien stared in dumbstruck silence, just shaking his head in denial, clearly, he was overthinking this. There was no way Marinette was leaving, she said so herself! Why would she go with him? Well, she did say that she wanted to go and she had been avoiding Adrien for weeks for some reason, and she did seem happier with him than he had seen for a long time but-but-

Marinette couldn’t leave.

He didn’t even think before striding across the room to reach Marinette. She was giggling and clapping as Mike danced by himself, her cheeks a beautiful pink. 

“Marinette,” He said her name as he came to stand near her, her eyes snapped to his as the blush deepened. 

“Adrien,” His name sounded so beautiful on her lips, he wondered why he hadn’t noticed that before. 

Mike had noticed him too but before he could say anything Adrien reached forward and gently grabbed Marinette’s hand with his, “I am sorry for cutting in but can I talk to Marinette? Like, right now? Thanks,”

Without waiting for a reply he tugged Marinette behind her as he guided her away from the party, his hand entangled with hers even as the anxiety gripped him.

“Wait wait, what's going on? Adrien?” Marinette asked as they reached a relatively secluded area.

“You can’t leave, Marinette.” He blurted out, not being able to contain himself anymore, he stepped closer putting his hands on her shoulders, ”Please, even if you do want to leave and even if you do like Italy and wedding cakes, don’t leave. You have friends here, I am here.”

His panic must have shown in his voice because Marinette’s eyebrows scrunched together as concern mixed with confusion flashed across her face.

“What? Wedding cakes? Where’s all this coming from?” She put a hand on his forehead,” Are you feeling okay, Adrien.”

He removed her hand from his forehead and clutched it close to his chest pulling her close, his eyes pleading her as desperation filled them, “Look if you’re angry because of something I did, just tell me. I’ll fix it, I promise, don’t just leave.”

“Adrien,” She put her other hand on his cheek,” who said anything about me wanting to leave?”

Adrien stepped back running a hand through his hair agitated, “You did,” 

“No I didn’t, “ She shook her head, “Not to you or any of our friends, I just told….Chat,” Her eyes widened as she looked up at him, her eyes taking in his face like she was seeing him for the first time.

“Kitty?” She whispered under her breath but he was too lost in his own head to pay attention to the world-changing revelation she’d had. 

He walked closer to her and grabbed both of her hands in his, “Marinette,“ He gulped,” I don’t know what's been going on but I hate this distance we’ve created and I hate that everything that I try just pushes you further back, I hate not having you around and I know it might be too late and I know that you have Mike-”

“Mike?” Marinette said confused but Adrien went on. 

“But if I haven’t messed things up too bad. Please just give me a chance?”  His eyes pleaded, Adrien realized that there was nothing he wanted more than for her to say yes.

“That's why you’ve been so upset? Because of Mike?” She sounded shocked. 

“Because I lo-I like you Marinette, a whole lot and I….it wasn’t until he came that I realized that and I-” 

Marinette interrupted him with a kiss, Adrien made a startled noise as her lips met his.  Her soft lips moved against his and Adrien closed his eyes melting into the kiss.

It felt as perfect as a kiss could be.

Warm and beautiful and right. 

Adrien almost raised up a hand to tangle in her hair and deepen the kiss then he realized something that made him pull away even  if it was the last thing he wanted to do

“Wait, what about Mike?”, his question came out all breathless as he looked down at Marinette. 

”Oh you silly kitten,” Marinette moved in closer and looped an arm around his neck, Adrien put his hands on her waist,” Micheal Dupain is my cousin.” She ended with laughter in her voice. 

“Oh,” Adrien’s eyebrows furrowed before the words sank in and his eyes went wide, “Oh,” He whispered again, his cheeks heating up as humiliation took hold. 

“Yes,  oh ” Marinette repeated with a small giggle, then she rubbed their noses together “and he’s been spending all this time with me because he knew I was having a hard time dealing with Lila and getting over my crush for this stupidly sweet boy,”

“Your crush,” 

“You,” She bopped his nose then pressed their lips together again in a sweet peck, she pulled away but stayed close enough that Adrien could feel her breath on his face, ” To think, all this time we’ve been running around circles.” Her finger ran through his hair at the back of his head as she played with them.

“Huh?” Adrien replied a bit dazed and Marinette looked proud before a sheepish smile took over her face.

“I guess you were right, after all, Chaton.” She admitted shyly, looking at him from under her eyelashes,” Your Lady ended up falling for you in the end,” 

Adrien stilled, then he smiled and as he whispered, “ My lady, My Marinette” and pulled her into his arms, her body fitting perfectly with his and the world righted itself once again.

-Fin-

Green-eyed monster because Chat Noir/Adrien has green eyes and jealously *Nudge* *Nudge*  Okay you get what I mean. I am not kidding what I say that I love reading Jealous! Adrien and I loved writing it just as much.

And before you ask it: Yes, Micheal knew exactly what he was doing. He could tell Adrien was a bit jealous and was hoping it will give him the push he needed. He made Marinette promise not to tell anyone he's her cousin and it wasn't until Adrien's miny break-down that Marinette understood why.

I imagine after they went back to the party, She pretended to be miffed at him first but she made sure to hug him extra hard later on for essentially getting her and Adrien together.

Summary:After the final battle goes terribly wrong, Marinette travels back in time determined to stop Hawk Moth even if it means reliving the last two years of her life.

Amidst old enemies and new challenges, she vows to make things right

Chat gently pulled back and looked down at her, "Are you okay, My lady? Was it an Akuma?" Her kitten looked so worried despite his burning red cheeks, that she couldn’t help but want to pull him back into her arms.

"No," she told him in a soft voice, looking at their joined hands" Just a nightmare." Her eyes met his as her breath hitched a little, "I thought I lost you,"

Summary:After the final battle goes terribly wrong, Marinette travels back in time determined to stop Hawk Moth even if it means reliving the last two years of her life.Amidst old enemies and new challenges, she vows to make things right.

Her heart stopped. 

It must have. There was no other explanation. Why else would everything seemingly slow down, why else would it feel like she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see? Why else would it feel like she was dying? 

In the back of her mind, something noted that their battle just ended, that Hawkmoth was gone, that it was finally over. 

But it didn’t matter, nothing mattered. Not anymore. Not after He fell.

Marinette gently cradled her unmoving partner close to her chest, “Chat,” She whispered, hoping, wishing, praying that somehow, someway he’d just get up and answer with his cheeky grin, that he’d let out a large whoop of victory and hug her hard, that he’d….that he’d breathe. 

“C-Chaton,” She shook him a little, her own voice breaking, stubborn tears refusing to fall, blurring her vision, “Kitty, please.” She asked again, Chat Noir never refused her when she asked like that. 

But he didn’t move. 

“Please,” She tried to say something more but she choked up, sobs that she’d pushed back finally broke free. Her chest heaved as she cried holding him close, tears mixed with blood dripped down her face, “Please, Please.” She repeated with each breath, “Please, Please..” 

She begged whatever power was out there, begged them to give her back what was hers. To let the cure work one last time. Just once.

Tears fell unbidden, forming hot trails over her cheeks.

She’d give anything. If it meant fighting Hawk Moth every day for the rest of their lives, she’d take it, as long as it was with him.

Please. 

Who knew how long she cried. It could be minutes or hours. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. 

“Ladybug...Marinette?” A hesitant voice called behind her before a gasp reached her ears. “Oh, no.” 

Marinette didn’t move. She couldn’t. She couldn’t leave him.

“Is he-?” BunnyX whispered” Counter Clockwise.”  There was a flash of light and another small gasp probably from Fluff. Footsteps echoed in the empty lair as Alix came to stand next to Marinette. 

“Marinette, I’m so so sorry..I….I...” 

The tears had dried over her cheeks but her throat closed up again, eyes burning as she tried to find the words to say something, anything. When she couldn’t, she unclenched her fist instead, a small object fell to the ground-a purple brooch. She curled her fingers into Chat’s overshirt again.

The small clang of the brooch seemed to ring in the empty room.  Alix slumped down next to her, a hand dropped on her shoulder, “You-You got the miraculous,”  She softly said, looking down at the object they’d been searching for for years. 

Marinette wanted to move away, to push her away, to scream, to cry, but the words still didn’t come out. She couldn’t bring herself to do anything, like doing something would make this real, like she could just pretend that this was a nightmare if she just stopped, if everything just stopped.

“Marinette,” The hand on her shoulder shook her slightly, then a bit more persistently, “Marinette, Look at me.” 

She didn’t want to listen, wanted to ignore Alix, but that small persistent voice in the back of her head wouldn’t let her abandon her team like that. So she raised her tired bloodshot eyes to look at her friend, not saying anything but showing that she was listening. 

“You need to cast the miraculous cure.” Alix told her not unkindly, her voice low but firm, “We managed to get all the people to safety but half of Paris is on fire, and the other half is flooded “ She pointed vaguely outside, “, even if the Akuma and the Sentimonsters have disappeared, we need Ladybug.” She glanced at Chat, her own eyes saddened,” Let's fix this, Bug.”  

Marinette looked back at Chat, Her one arm under his head and the other over his still chest, she raised a shaking hand and pushed away the blonde strands away from his forehead,“ There’s-” She choked a little and had to take a deep breath, “ There’s no….No cure. Not for…” She trailed off, tears clouding her vision again, “ For Paris, Yes but not...not….” She couldn’t continue, but she knew Alix understood by her soft ‘No.’ 

Alix stilled then the ever headstrong hero, shook her head in denial, “Don’t say that. Don’t. It’ll work, Marinette.” She told Marinette,” It always does.”

“Not for sacrifices,” Marinette breathed out,” He...He traded them. He..” She closed her eyes, causing the tears to fall.

“But-But Adrien...It has to work,” Alix’s shoulders slumped, “ It's Adrien.” She said like that made all the sense, and somehow it did. Her kitty almost always found a way out of such situations, time and time again..but not this time. 

Marinette took a deep breath, steeling her nerves, pushing down the flood of emotions. Ladybug was needed right now, she had to hold herself together at least until she completed her duty.

“Go,” She said, her low voice sounding hoarse,” G-Get the miraculous. Please. Alix.” 

“Get the-What do you mean?” 

Marinette tilted her head towards a scorch mark on the other side of the repository, where a pair of earrings and a ring lay. 

Alix didn’t waste a single second wondering what the miraculous were doing on the floor next to a glass coffin or why the room looked like a rampage went through it, she just grabbed the miraculous and brought them to Marinette. She knelt in front of her friend and held out her hand, both the miraculous resting on her palm. 

With one shaky hand, Marinette put on the earrings. Tikki appeared but Marinette transformed before the kwami could say anything. The pink light washed over the blue-eyed girl until it was Ladybug cradling her partner instead.

Ladybug mumbled the words, "Miraculous Ladybug,", they felt bitter on her lips even as the swarm of ladybugs disappeared off in the distance.

There was no outward change for a second, there was stillness, a calmness that wasn’t there before then Ladybug could feel the bones in her leg resetting, and in her arms, the white of Chat’s outer shirt became spotless once more the blood disappearing.

She waited. Despite knowing it wouldn’t work, she still waited, for a breath, for a heartbeat that didn’t come.

Marinette let go of the transformation, not once moving from her place beside Chat. Tikki was quiet as she flew over to rest on Marinette’s shoulder, her eyes teary while exhaustion took hold. 

Marinette looked at the other miraculous with unseeing eyes, “We didn’t win.” She caressed the ring with a finger, answering the question she knew was in Alix’s mind,” not really,” Even as some might perceive this to be a victory, they both knew it was everything but. 

Alix stayed silent, letting their leader think and ready to take any actions her friend might think necessary. Marinette's mind whirled as she thought over every option they had left.

Bunnyx could go back and warn them, Marinette thought, warn them who Hawkmoth was-what he would do and then-then...then what? She couldn’t guarantee that this wouldn’t happen all over again, not even if Bunnyx guided them all the way. 

Not unless she herself was there, but Bunny X's powers were meant to preserve the timeline, not change it. If they changed the timeline, this moment wouldn’t exist and if this moment didn’t exist how could there be a Marinette from this time to go back. They’d both disappear the moment they caused the slightest change to the future, it wouldn’t work.

A fleeting thought entered Marinette's mind, the butterfly miraculous, Alix, time-breaker, but it was pushed away as soon as she thought of it. She did not want to go down the same path Hawkmoth did. 

“Marinette,” Tikki whispered as her eyes stared sorrowfully at the young man laying in her arms,” Plagg.” 

Marinette knew what Tikki meant but she didn’t want to wear the ring. It wasn’t hers. It was Chats. Chat had to wear it, not her. But as Alix gently took her hand and slid the ring on her finger, she didn’t argue. She was tired but she knew when she was being unfair. It wasn’t Tikki or Plagg’s fault, she couldn’t punish them for this and Plagg, Plagg deserved to know that... that...

Plagg let out a low mournful yowl when he saw his kid, he dropped down and curled up on Chat’s chest, whimpering. Tikki rushed to join her partner, she cuddled close to the other Kwami, trying to comfort him in his distress.

“Tikki,” Marinette finally uttered, “P-Please.” Her throat closed up, she couldn’t say anything more but hoped that her Kwami understood.

She was Marinette’s last hope. If anyone could do something, it had to be the goddess of creation, right?

“Marinette, I would bring him back if I could but sacrifices have their own rules but maybe....”Tikki looked conflicted only for a second before she looked up at Marinette and then at Chat, her face filled with determination,” There’s something.” She finally said, “It's dangerous, but there’s a chance it might work.” 

“Anything.” Marinette told the Kwami, the haze in her mind clearing a bit,” Anything.” She repeated, tightening her hold on Chat. 

“Then we’ll need all the other Kwami, especially Kaalki and Fluff, and there’s a book back home that explains the process.” Tikki looked lost in thoughts,” It's been so long since we’ve attempted something like this.” Her words made Plagg look up, he was teary-eyed.

“It could go wrong,”, it looked like it hurt him to object but for once he was the voice of reason, 

“I could also go right,”

It caused Plagg to go silent as he looked at his kid, then he nodded in agreement.

“We need the other Kwami,” Marinette told Alix who had been uncharacteristically silent this whole time, listening to them with her whole focus. 

“I’ll get the Kwami and send them with Fluff to the bakery, they'll be waiting when you get there” She declared,” I know where Max and the others are, or more precisely where they were, but that doesn’t matter, I’ll find them.” Alix stood up rolling back her shoulders,” You’ll fix this,” she said with a confidence that Marinette wished she could reflect,” You’ll see.” 

“I’ll fix this.” Marinette softly repeated before shaking her head and trying again a bit firmly,” I’ll fix this.” .  because I don’t know what I’ll do if I can’t . She didn’t say that but it didn’t make it any less true. 

“Fluff, Clockwise!” Fluff was sucked in from where she was staring at the butterflies, BunnyX sent one last reassuring look at Marinette then with a quick shout of ‘Burrow’ she left to look for Max and the others.

“We should go too,” Tikki told Marinette, “The sooner we do this the better, the more  this future is solidified the harder it will be to change.

“Ï can’t….”, She shook her head,” I can’t focus enough for the yoyo.” She hated to admit. 

Tikki grabbed the purple brooch from the ground and held it out to Marinette,” Then, you need wings.” Marinette unwittingly moved back a little. Seeing the look on her face, Tikki continued,” You  could  modify your ladybug suit but that takes practice and time, time that we don’t have. So, Unify us. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

Marinette moved as if on auto-pilot, transforming, unifying the miraculous in a state of mindless motion. 

The soft throbbing of wings behind her moved her hair, that remained the only sound around her for a while. Marinette with no little reluctance moved back and gingerly moved her hands to a better position to pick up Chat, there was no way she was leaving him behind.

Her legs felt numb, she didn’t think she could even walk if she wanted to, so it was a good thing that her wings seemed to have a mind of their own. 

She didn’t stay there a second more than she had to, her wings flapped and with a powerful burst of air that broke the glass ceiling of the dreaded room, Marinette flew out.

Kaalki and Fluff were waiting for them with the other Kwami when Marinette landed on the balcony. Tikki flew down the latch to look through the book she had mentioned, she grabbed Noroo on her way down.

Marinette carefully placed Chat on the deck chair, smoothing back his long hair. She remembered when he had decided to grow them out, she had teased him for days. Marinette moved back and sat on the ground, resting her back against the table as she stared at him. 

If she looked at him hard enough, she could almost imagine that he was just asleep. She could imagine the way his chest would move up and down, the way he’d purr if she ran her fingers through his hair just the right way, the way his cheeks would flush red as she jokingly kissed his nose, the way his eyes would widen and his lips would curl up in a smug smile when she confessed that-that-

Her heart clenched as she realized that she never told him, not really. She was sure he knew, how could he not? But she never told him.

The Kwami flew up the trapdoor before she could break down again. Tikki was explaining what they needed to do. Marinette turned her attention towards her Kwami instead. They needed to save Chat...they needed to save Adrien. She needed to stay focused. 

From what she could gather, Fluff would open the burrow, Kaalki would form a pathway, the other Kwami will help stabilize the pathway, Plagg would somehow extract her consciousness (that part sent a few chills down her back), Tikki would give her consciousness the capability to merge with its past self. At Least that's what Marinette could gather, she was too tired to ask any follow-up questions like she usually would.

Marinette wondered how different this could be. How happy she once would have been to know that two of the most important people in her life were the same person. But now, she tried to ignore it as much as she could. It was better to not feel anything at all, or it might be the emotions that end up killing her. 

Mariette leaned over Chat, "I'll save you Minou" She whispered to him kissing his forehead, she ignored the fact that his skin felt noticeably colder. "Okay," She said to Tikki, "I'm ready," She squared her shoulders. Tikki went to get everyone in position. They had to get the timing just right.

 The Kwami’s formed a ring in the middle of the balcony. 

"Okay, Fluff, Kaalki, Open the doorway."

There was a flash of light as a small burrow-like doorway opened midair, the white of the burrow was surrounded by a neon green glow of the voyage portal. Beams of light arose from the hands of other Kwami seemingly absorbed into the doorway.

"I'll try not to hurt ya, Buglet," Plag said seriously devoid of his usual antics. 

"Promise me not to stop either way, Plagg" She met his eyes as an agreement passed between them, She was willing to suffer anything if it meant a chance to get him back. Plag nodded. Tikki flew near him to join their hands, the two Kwami sharing a worried but determined look. 

Marinette chose her last view to be that of  Chat, of Adrien. Tikki and Plag glowed brighter and brighter until their glow encompassed her view completely. The last thing Marinette felt was the touch of two small hands on her forehead, and the world faded to nothing. 

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Summary: In which there is a sleepover, hidden feelings, and two best friends...What could possibly go wrong?

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Chat moved in closer. Marinette smiled a little. Eyes to eyes, noses almost touching, breaths mingling.  She could see the small flecks of a darker green in his eyes. A little gleam entered blue eyes, green eyes widened. Marinette's hand moved to his face. Marinette breathed through her nose, trying to keep herself together. Then she saw the look on his face, ….and burst into guffaws of laughter. Allowing herself to fall back into the blanket fort, her hand clutching her stomach. 

 “Y-You-You look ridiculous, C-Chat Noir!” Marinette could hardly breathe, she was laughing so hard. 

 Chat Noir pretended to be hurt, hand clutching his heart in his overly dramatic manner, “Princess, How could you!” He exclaimed, “After I trusted you so!” 

 The sad kitten eyes might have worked on her if it weren't for the cat nose and whiskers she’d drawn on his face with makeup; instead, it just resulted in her falling into another bout of laughter.

 Chat Noir pouted a little, crossing his arms and flopping down on the pillows, “You’ve ruined my devilish handsome look.” 

 Marinette wiped her eyes with the back of a hand and cooed teasingly, “Don’t worry kitty,” a small giggle escaped her, “ you still look pawsome, whiskers suit you ” She patted his cheek, her own reddening due to her laughter. 

 “You bet they do,” Chat puffed out his chest making Marinette roll her eyes affectionately, “ Do you know what’ll make this even better?”  He gave a devilish smirk, Marinette stilled. She knew that look, she instinctively moved back but Chat was faster, he pounced tackling Marinette in a hug. 

 Marinette would forever deny the squeak that escaped her. Chat rubbed his right cheek against hers, much like a cat would, then did the same with his other one. All the while Marinette laughed trying to push him away. 

 Finally, he retreated but not before rubbing his nose against hers as well. He released her and took a good look at her. This time he was the one laughing.

 “Nooooo, you ruined it,” Marinette whined a bit. She sat up rubbing her nose trying to remove the black mark while looking at the faded whiskers on his face.

 Chat grinned back unrepentantly. He reached for a small macaroon and popped into his mouth, humming as a flavourful blast hit his tongue. 

 “Pretty sure by this point my parents love you more than they love me,” Marinette complained, picking an eclair to bite into. They both knew she didn’t mean it, after all, she loved having Chat around as much as her parents if not more, “You’re a parent snatcher Chat Noir,” She accused pointing a finger at him. 

 “Kittens before Mittens, Princess.”  He pointed towards her half-finished project for Sabine. 

 “...That doesn’t even make sense, you stupid cat.”Marinette groaned, ”Those are gloves not mittens.” 

 Chat Noir shrugged, “It rhymed,” He replied cheerfully, throwing a pillow in her face. 

 Marinette huffed as the pillow hit her hand, almost making her drop her eclairs, “ Why do I even deal with this,” She looked to the sky as if asking an unseen entity. 

 “Because you love me, “ Chat replied slyly, “ and because no one else would spend hours trying to teach you the devil that is Physics.” 

 “It's not my fault Trigonometry is the worst,” She glared at him and socked him in the shoulder,” and will you pleaseeee let that go, I told you it was just a stupid crush.” Marinette reddened, this time not from laughter. Chat had been bringing up her crush more and more as of late, almost like he was trying to get her to admit that….Marinette pushed away the thought.

 “Uh-huh,” He said, picking up her phone with his free hand while popping another full macaroon in his mouth. He moved swiftly plopping next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder pulling her closer to his side, “ Smile, Princess.” And with that, he took a picture before Marinette even had the proper time to get used to his proximity. 

 Marinette growled a bit, this-this alley cat! He was playing dirty on purpose. She snatched the phone from his hand and looked at the photo, her cheeks burning the moment she did. The silly cat was grinning happily at the camera, his whiskers smudged a bit while she( with the imprint of whiskers still on her cheeks) was looking up at him like she was- Marinette inhaled sharply-like she was in love.

 It wasn’t anything she didn’t know before, but looking at the picture somehow made it more...real. 

 Marinette swiped away the picture, pretending as if her heart wasn’t racing, and turned the camera back on to take another picture, “Chat” She began, turning her eyes towards him,”...Noir.” She ended breathily taking in the way he was looking at her. There was a smile on his face, softer than before, he was leaning in close to her, a red hue to his cheeks that wasn’t there before and his eyes- His eyes reflected the look that she had in the picture. 

 She absently wondered what he was thinking. Perhaps, he was waiting to see if she laughed away this-this thing between them like every other time, or maybe he too was wondering whether this is where they were meant to end up all along. Together. Whether the night she let him in, into her home, into her life, the sleepovers and the heartfelt talks were all leading up to this very moment. 

 She didn’t want to be scared anymore.

 The phone fell out of her hand onto the blankets below, but Marinette paid it no mind.  She raised a hesitant hand resting it on Chat Noirs cheek, gently stroking it with her thumb-Chat stilled. Lips parting in wonder, he didn’t make any move, like he was scared that it was a dream that might break any second, his eyes searching hers as if in a question. Marinette smiled her heart racing, and let her lips meet his as an answer.  

 She was cupping his face between her hands. Chat moved slowly, his hands coming to rest on her waist and pulling her a bit closer. They both smiled into the kiss.

 It was a soft kiss, not like she’d imagined, as in there, were no fireworks or sparks, but there was a feeling of belonging, like a puzzle piece that finally fit, or like a warm cup of hot chocolate on a cold night, but mostly, mostly it felt like coming home. And happiness, it felt like pure happiness.

 As they parted, Marinette couldn’t help but giggle softly looking at the dazed look on his face. She felt giddy and exhilarated like she was falling from the Eiffel tower but with no fear of hitting the ground. She could tell he felt the same way the moment the shock disappeared. He grinned like a loon and pounced on her again making them both fall onto the fluffy blankets, she wrapped up in his arms. 

 “Told ya you love me,” He teased, kissing her forehead. 

 Marinette made no move to separate, only adjusted herself to a more comfortable position, “ I guess so Kitty, I guess so.” She agreed for once. She didn’t even have to look up to know that Chat Noir was smiling his silly happy smile, and she couldn’t help doing the same. 

 There were things they needed to discuss and things they had to do but for now, she was happy, safe in his arms and in that moment, that was all that mattered.

Fin.

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I was writing a really sad/angsty one-shot before this and had to write something to make myself happy again. I love Marichat friendship and this managed to make me smile, I hope it did the same for you. Let me know what you think, even a single line means a lot. -Mars