#ml cute

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Despite any claims to the contrary, Adrien did not fall out of the bed. Or scream like a girl. Or hide in the bathroom.

No matter what Plagg says!

Instead, he had jumped off the bed as a hero of his style would. Alert and ready for action! He may or may not have given a mature and manly yelp of surprise. And then he took Plagg to the bathroom to discuss the oddity that was now on his bed.

Manly-like.

“Come on, kid, I’m pretty sure you don’t need to breathe that much.”

No hyperventilation was involved.

“Plagg! What is that? Is it an akuma? Did it infect my doll?”

“In order,” the kwami replied, “I don’t know. I don’t know. Aaaaaaand…I don’t know.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the expert on these things?!” Adrien hissed, keeping braced against the door just in case the doll attempted to bust in to attack them.

There was no noise indicating she was trying to, but he couldn’t be so sure!

“Well, I COULD maybe figure it out but SOMEBODY went and dragged me into a bathroom before I could get a good look at it to be sure.” Plagg replied, giving Adrien a pointed look.

Give him a break, Plagg! He panicked!

“What are you even scared of?” Plagg continued. “You’re a superhero. It’s a doll! You can just go out and you-know-what her if you wanted.”

“That’s only if it’s an akuma, Plagg!” Adrien insisted. “What if it’s supernatural? Like Talking Tina? Or Chucky? Or Annabelle?” His eyes widened as he recalled the various living dolls and trying to figure out a scenario to prepare for. “Does Cataclysm work on supernatural?”

Plagg stared.

“It’s…it is magic, you know.” He tried to remind him. Honestly, sometimes he wondered about his kid.

“But it’s supernatural, Plagg!”

Scratch that. A LOT of times, he wondered about his kid.

He sighed.

“Look, we’re not going to find anything out by hiding away in here.” He floated up to the door handle and looked back to Adrien. “So let’s just go out there and let me get a good look at the thing so I can figure out what we’re dealing with.”

Honestly, from the kid’s expression, you’d think Plagg had made some noble and rousing speech like from one of his anime or something.

Adrien was feeling amped up now. With Plagg and the Power of God and Anime on his side, there was no way he’d lose to a potentially haunted doll! So he gathered his courage and opened the door to face their adversary and whatever force it may have gathered to attack them with.

…which was nothing, apparently, as the doll was sitting on his bed where he left it. Sitting on his bed with its little arms crossed.

And frowning quite displeased at him.

Hang on…was she pouting?

She looked up at him, her little cloth mouth formed into a clear frown and the lower part of her lip jutting out into a—

Adrien gasped.

She was pouting! So cute!

No, wait. Focus! As adorable as it may be, the pouting doll was still alive and pouting when it normally shouldn’t be.

The doll stood up as he approached. It placed one hand on its hip and the other hand pointed at him before it started waving it and…

Oh!

She was wagging her finger at him.

She was admonishing him.

And somehow, Adrien felt more guilty than he ever had in any lecture Nathalie or his father had ever given him.

“I’m very sorry.” He said, head bowing before he even realized what he was doing.

Plagg gaped at him. “Seriously?!”

Adrien shrugged. “Well, I clearly hurt her feelings!”

The doll nodded, giving him a stern look warning him not to do it again.

Plagg sighed. “You are so whipped.”

“What?”

He waved it off. “Nothing, nothing. Let’s take a look now.” Without any further ado, Plagg floated down to the doll and twirled around her.

The doll was surprised by the move and seemed to try to keep an eye on him as he moved around her, turning her head and following him as much as she could. Not that she really knew what he was doing or was trying to stop him.

It didn’t matter though even if she had been. Plagg already saw all he needed to.

“Huh.” He mused, floating idly. “Haven’t seen one of these in a while.”

Adrien crouched next to the bed, peeking over it at the two as the doll sat and the kwami floated on it. “What is it?”

“I suppose in technical terms, it’s a golem.”

He blinked. “A golem?“

Plagg nodded. “Yeah, you know. One of those things from your video games. Or in this case, a living doll rather than a stone creature, but still.“

Adrien shot up with a gasp.

“But why is she here? Why is she a doll?” He asked as he looked over her curiously before the earlier wariness returned. “Is this like Annabelle? Am I being haunted?”

The doll tilted her head in clear confusion.

Plagg sighed. Honestly, this kid.

“Okay, step aside. I can speak to it.”

Adrien did as instructed and moved back and out of the way as Plagg floated forward to be eye level with the doll.

The doll stared at him, clearly giving her full attention.

Plagg cleared his throat.

And held up a paw in greeting.

“Hello.”

The doll waved back.

“Plagg, that’s just French!” Adrien hissed.

“Well obviously. She’s a golem, not deaf.” He gave the doll an incredulous look and tilted his head in Adrien’s direction. “Seriously, this guy, am I right?”

The doll gave a solemn nod, apparently in agreement.

“Hey!”

“Speaking of!” Plagg continued, ignoring Adrien’s outburst. “Mind explaining what happened?”

The doll shrugged. She pointed to her eyes and made a gesture of opening them. Then she pointed at Adrien. Then she held up a finger before suddenly falling backwards and flopping on the bed. After a few seconds, she pushed herself back up.

“I see.” Plagg said, nodding sagely.

“What did she say?” Adrien asked, antsy and impatient and really not liking being left out of the conversation.

“Well, she just ‘woke up’ and you were there. So she poked at you till you moved.” Plagg shrugged. “It makes sense.”

“Does it?”

“Sure. It’s what I would have done in her position.”

“Plagg!”

The doll looked between the two in confusion. Her movement brought their focus back to her.

“She’s so cute!” Adrien whispered.

The doll clearly heard him though, as she held her hands over her face and turned away—wait…was she sad? Did he upset her?

Adrien gasped and held out his hands, worriedly. “No wait! I’m sorry! But you are cute though and I didn’t mean to make you mad!”

She shook her head and peeked from behind a hand, giving him a small glimpse of her face to hopefully note her expression and…huh, he didn’t realize a doll could turn red. Was she blushing?

Aww! She was shy!

Adrien bit back the growing urge to giggle.

“You’re just really adorable!” He continued gushing, resolutely ignoring Plagg’s gagging. “And you look like a little chibi Ladybug and it’s cute! You’re like a Little Ladybug!”

The doll slowly moved her hands from her face, but kept them on her cheeks, still clearly blushing at the praise.

She was still so cute! Adrien could have squealed in delight. And perhaps he would have except Plagg was there and giving him a rather unimpressed look.

Right. Magic doll. Golem. In his room.

Adrien cleared his throat and straightened, getting serious. “So…golem, right? But if she’s not an akuma…what caused this?”

Plagg seemed to hum to himself. “I think I know what’s going on.”

“You do?” Adrien asked, feeling a bit incredulous at this point but still hopeful.

The kwami shrugged. “Look, sometimes when a lot of Miraculous are in use at the same time within a small area for an extended period, the natural magic in the Miraculous can…’leak’, for lack of a better word. And sometimes that can affect people, places, and things.”

Both boy and doll nodded, listening. Only one of them really understanding.

“Sometimes that ‘leaking’ can have side effects. Bouts of laser-guided karma. Unusual weather phenomenon. Stars aligning. Some hauntings here and there.” He gave a sudden cough and muttered to cover up something that sounded like Egypt.

Adrien frowned in confusion. “Hang on, what was that last one?”

“The point is that while the Miraculous contain our magic, frequent or excessive use of them can let our magic out. And do things. Like the aforementioned hauntings and plagues.”

“Wait—you didn’t say anything about plagues.”

Plagg ignored him and continued.

“One of the lesser known effects is that sometimes—rarely!” He emphasized. “But sometimes it can sort of…encourage the natural magic in people in the area. If they have potential for it to start with.”

Adrien gasped, eyes wide as he realized what Plagg was inferring. He shot up and leaned over Plagg in excitement.

“Marinette has magic?!”

Well, yes. Though not necessarily the way the kid was clearly thinking.

…still, better to nip this in the bud lest Tikki yell at him for revealing her owner.

“If you think about it,” Plagg said as he leaned and floated lazily on his back, “pigtails has been around a number of akumas. She’s also used a Miraculous.”

“Right! The Mouse!” Adrien exclaimed. “It let her make more of herself, so maybe she was able to split some magic into the Ladybug Doll because of the Mouse Miraculous as well!”

Well, it was because of the Ladybug Miraculous, actually. Not that Adrien needed to know that.

Really, the things he did to spare himself from Tikki. He deserved double the Camembert for this.

“Sure, let’s go with that.” Plagg replied with a shrug.

The Box was Best Place.

It had his toys! And different feeling fabric pieces for him to curl up in or hide under if he was feeling cold. Nice enough to keep him warm but light and "aree" enough he didn't feel trapped. He could make himself a little nest! And it made him feel better with the walls all around him. No matter which way he turned, his back was to a wall and it was just comforting to have it there.

It was also super nice when the Friends Inside were around. Sometimes they got to visit from Grand Pa Fu!

Sometimes they got to take naps together.

The Box was big enough for all of them, which Chaton liked. Because they all got to nap together! Playing was fun and the Box was good for playing. But sometimes he got tired out and it was nice to get to sleep, too.

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His Bed was Best Place.

Mama made it for him! A basket with soft pillows! And comfy blanket. The nicest feeling blanket! Perfect for curling up in when it was cold. A cozy spot just for him. Filled with Mama's warmth which made it even cozy-er.

Sometimes Pinkling will sleep with him, too. That was kind of nice. He didn't mind sharing.  Though she didn't want anyone to know for some reason. Something about a "rep-yu-tay-shun" with the other Friends.

But sometimes? When it was just them? She made a good bed buddy. And the Bed made a Best Sleeby Place.

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His Sunny Spot was Best Place.

It was in a perfect position where Mister Sunbeam shine-ed through Mama’s window onto this one place on the floor. Warmth and Sunbeam. No covers needed. 

Chaton liked to pull pillows over to make a nest and relax with Mister Sunbeam till it went away.

The Mister Sunbeam wasn’t always around though. Some days were cloudy or rainy. So he enjoyed it on the afternoons he could, dozing in the warmth and sunlight while Mama was away or doing her home work—which seemed like a silly name since it was for school.

Just one of many wandering thoughts he had while dozing.

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…Mama was *Best* Best Place.

More than his Box, Bed, or Mister Sunbeam, he loved being with her. 

Sometimes she let him lie on her lap. While she was looking through magy-zeens and drawing pretty clothes. Sometimes while she was reading a book. She’d give him pets and scritchies! Comb through his hair. Play with his ears. Just letting him know she knows he’s there.

Sometimes she let him rest on her head or shoulders. When she was working on a project and needed her hands. When she was sewing or crocheting. And no matter where he was in his dreams, there was a gentle rhythm of click clack soothing him, knowing she was there. 

Sometimes she held him cozy in her arms. When she was watching a movie or playing a game on her cushy chair. When she was sitting in her bed and getting there but not quite sleepy herself. Maybe still playing on her phone or messaging her friends, the light shining a bit to keep the dark away till she was sleepy enough to join him in dreams.

No matter which way or what she was doing, he loved sleeping close to her.

Pinkling said it’s ‘cause of Mama’s magic “re-charge-ing his bat-trees”.

He doesn’t understand all of it, but Chaton agrees that Mama is magic. She’s warm. She’s warm and happy and she makes him feel warm and happy whenever he’s around her.

One of the changes was that the two had taken to sharing time with Littlebug and Chaton. Which was a nice change and made them very happy. Now Littlebug got to spend time with Mama! And Chaton got to spend time with Papa! And Littlebug and Chaton got to spend more time with each other without having to sneak away and worry about getting caught!

Chaton got to show Littlebug Mama's home with all the neat-looking and nice-feeling clothes. Littlebug in turn got to show Chaton Papa’s room room with all its stuff and the shiny stair railings and poles that they could slide down.

All in all, it was a change that they rather liked.

The other change was more confusing, though. Since Papa’s Day, Papa had seemed insistent on presenting them with things.

A lot of things.

More things than they knew what to do with, really.

It seemed that every day, they were finding something new that he had gotten for them. Littlebug and Chaton weren't really sure what to do with the things. Some of them looked like toys they recognized. Littlebug particularly liked the blocks. Chaton preferred the fluffy cloth bear that was as big as he was and perfectly hug-sized and comfy to nap with. The rest…they didn’t quite know what to do with or why they were there.

Except Papa seemed intent on watching them with each item, even writing things down in a notebook. He seemed to be hoping for...something? They didn't know what.

But it made him happy when they presented him the latest item they discovered. Handing any item to him made him smile and coo and he would play with them using the object. Which was nice! And they liked it a lot.

Not the item, but the way it seemed to make him happy.

They liked Papa when he was happy the best.

So maybe the things were tokens to let Papa know they wanted to play? It made the most sense. Though it kind of saddened them both at the idea of giving up certain ones they were attached to in order to play with Papa. Or that they’d eventually run out of things to give for Papa’s time. Would Papa start ignoring them then?

Littlebug didn’t believe so, since she and Papa spent plenty of time together before. But things were different now. Chaton was with them too, now. And they were going back and forth with Mama who still lived in her home. Plus having both the Pink One and Dark One around as well. There had been many new changes that had made them happy.

Was this a not-happy new change? Was it only temporary?

Fortunately, Marinette seemed to catch on to their confusion.

“Adrien, you need to stop.” She finally told him one day.

He looked to her in surprise from his computer and the next large group of toys and games he was intending to buy. “But Marinette! I’m their ‘DAD’ now. I have to show them I love them!”

She frowned. Not out of annoyance—she couldn’t be annoyed with him caring for the dolls and wanting to shower them with love. But this was getting to be a problem and part of her hesitated to be the one to tell him that. “I get that, but I’m sure there are ways of letting them know you care without buying out an entire toy store.”

He pouted. “I didn’t buy out an entire toy store.”

She glance back briefly at the boxes of toys already lining up the room. She then raised an eyebrow at him.

He looked away. “I only bought one of everything because I didn’t know what they’d like.”

“And buying everything would solve that?” She asked incredulously.

“This way I could see what they prefer or not!” He exclaimed as he tried to justify the excessiveness. 

“You could just ask them.” She pointed out. “Or show them a catalogue and let them pick what they would like.”

Seeing how sad he appeared, she rested a hand on his shoulder. “We need to keep things in moderation. It’s going to be hard to hide the fact we have them if we’re going to these extremes.”

And even if they didn’t, the last thing she wanted was to spoil the dolls with gifts to the point they became selfish and entitled. The last thing she wanted was to result in either of the dolls turning out like Chloe.

“But this way I can keep track of what all they play with!” He argued. “And they like everything I’ve gotten for them!”

She sighed. “Okay, Adrien? Is it that they like the gifts themselves or that they like that they’re from you?”

He blinked.

“What?”

She laughed. “Adrien, I’d bet that you could give them a pair of your socks and they’d be happy.”

“No way!”

It was fortunate that Adrien did not take that bet.

Yay! Fun thing! Soft thing! Stretchy!

He soon discovered that yes, the dolls would very much be happy if he gifted them socks. As evidenced by the way Littlebug and Chaton began to pull one of the socks between them like a game of tug of war. Adrien had worried they were fighting for a moment until both began to twist and were soon wrapped up in the sock together, their little legs kicking out from beneath the wrapping as they had fun in their silliness.

“Cute.”

It was also soon realized, to Adrien’s embarrassment, that while he had been taking note of specifically how the two have been interacting with the toys, he hadn’t quite taken note of what else they took interest in besides those toys.

It turned out that while Adrien had written that the two had played with some action figures in a princess castle, he failed to notice that the two had taken more interest in some of the bigger boxes that the toys had come in. It was only after Marinette came for a visit that they discovered the “fort” made of three boxes of various sizes interconnected together.

Said “fort” was apparently run by Commander Spotty and loyal knight Sir Sharp Claws. Which were really just Littlebug wearing a toy flag as a cape and Chaton wearing Adrien’s gifted sock as a hat. But they seemed to enjoy playing as knights in service of King Sleeps and Queen Pinky.

“What?” Plagg demanded as he looked up from his cushioned throne at the intruder.

Adrien raised an eyebrow.

“….they’re your kids. Don’t judge me.” He groused before rolling back over.

Queen Pinky looked up from her “throne” on top of a pillow carried by four unicorn toys. For her part, she seemed to have taken her role seriously, as she was wearing a velvet cloth that looked to be from a fancy doll dress as a cape along with a little toy crown.

Marinette gaped. “Tikki?” She couldn’t help the giggles.

“Do you bring offerings for the King and Queen?” Tikki demanded imperiously.

“Offerings?”

“If not, then you are to remove yourselves!” Tikki announced.

“Are you serious?”

Plagg shrugged. “You heard the lady.”

Sure enough, following the orders of the “Queen”, Littlebug and Chaton proceeded to push Adrien and Marinette away from the fort. The two teens were a bit too busy fighting giggles to really try to oppose them. They were left on the other side of the room recovering from their laughing fit over the pure hilarity of the whole thing.

“Okay, okay. You were right, m’lady.” Adrien admitted once his chuckling finally died down enough for him to talk properly.

Marinette was still giggling. “They’re kids. And they’re creative. They can be happy with anything, so you don’t need to go overboard, Adrien.”

He winced. “Yeah. I just…I want to though.”

She sobered at that. “Hmm?”

“I just want them to know I care.” He quietly admitted.

Oh.

Marinette leaned against him in a show of support.

“I think that simply being with them and playing with them shows that most.”

He leaned back against her, accepting the reassurance.

“Occasional gifts are fine, but they won’t have time to play with everything and really be able to tell what they like if you’re getting them too much at once.”

“I’ll try to scale it back.” He promised.

Marinette smiled in relief.

Chaton and Littlebug didn’t really know what they were whispering about. They were simply being cautious of any potential counterattack by the enemies of their King and Queen. At least until those enemies called them for dinner at Mama’s house at which point they abandoned their posts much to Tikki’s unhappiness and Plagg’s apathy.

The next day they returned to Papa’s place, he presented them with a new gift of paints, brushes, and sponges for decorating their fort.

Then he spent the rest of the afternoon helping them decorate the fort.

It only stopped when they tried to paint Plagg, too.

“No, no! None of that!” He told them, taking the supplies away before they could really get started. “I’m supposed to be Chat Noir, not Chat Rose!”

Chaton and Littlebug pouted. They just wanted to make his tail pretty. And his paws. And maybe his ears...

“No.”

Could they at least paint each other?

“No. Paints are for the fort.”

They pouted more, but then Papa pulled out glow-in-the-dark star stickers to put inside the fort and they were successfully distracted from the unfairness of not getting to see a pink-tailed Chat Noir.

Minimouse was cheering for him.

Littlebug had gotten a camera to film his soon to be triumph and record it for posterity. And to show Mama later. So she had to have been cheering him as well.

Chaton looked up at The World.

The World did not have eyes, but if it did, it would probably be looking back at Chaton.

Maybe?

The World was a big circle, after all. For all Chaton knew, its eyes could be on the other side.

Well that was no good! Look at Chaton when he was challenging you, darn it!

Chaton pushed The World to test its strength.

…The World rolled away.

Hey! Come back you coward!

Chaton grabbed The World.

…his arms were too small to grab it.

He shuffled his hands a bit, trying to get a good grip.

The World was too smooth. There was no grip.

Chaton had to be careful, lest The World try to run away again. Testing its structure, he felt along The World where he could reach, from the top he could reach on his tippy-toes to the bottom of The World.

Oh hey! He could hold The World from the bottom! With just a little bit of his strength, he could actually pull The World off the ground!

He could lift The World!

…except his challenge was to be on top of The World! Not below it!

Chaton set The World down and looked at it unhappily.

The World is a cheating cheater that cheats.

He grabbed at The World again and attempted to pull himself up it.

But due to its smooth exterior, he only succeeded in losing his grip and pushing it away.

Chaton pouted.

Okay. He was going to have to try this a different way.

From a distance.

At a run.

With a running start, he leapt as high as he could!

Failed. The World slipped out of his grip again, leaving him face-planted on the cold, unforgiving floor.

He looked up and pouted at his adversary.

Er—no he did not! Because he was a great hero and heroes don’t pout!

Especially at their adversaries.

But still, the height seemed to get him closer.

…this gave him an idea.

He pushed one of Mama’s chairs over to The World, setting it just right. Then he climbed up on the chair itself. At this level, he could see the Top of The World! He was almost there!

And it wasn’t cheating, regardless of what Littlebug said!

Chaton swung his arms a few times, gaining momentum and preparing himself to make the leap.

He jumped.

And he made it! He was on top of The World!

For two seconds, until The World turned, taking him with it and leaving him flat on his back.

The World was on top of him.

Mocking him.

Such cruelty.

But still he tried!

Again and again!

And each time, he ended up on the floor.

Chaton was frustrated. The World was so big. It was too big. Too round. Too…rolly.

He looked up at The World in distress.

How was he supposed to conquer it?

He heard a squeak.

He looked up to see Minimouse standing over him looking concerned.

Chaton shook his head before looking over to The World with a pout.

He was fine. He was just upset that he hadn’t gotten there.

Minimouse patted him on the head, gently reassuring him that he’ll make it.

He would! He knew he would! He said he would conquer The World, after all!

Except…

He looked over to Minimouse.

…he never said he had to conquer it alone…

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A few minutes later, Marinette returned from her errand downstairs and was met with a rather…interesting sight.

The large inflatable globe ball she’d recently gotten for the Dolls had been a source of entertainment for them. It doubled as a useful educational tool as well. And Chaton in particular seemed rather keen on it.

…very keen, apparently, as he was now draped over the top of it, looking very proud of himself.

Around the base of the ball were a good couple dozen Minimouse duplicates to keep the ball in place so it wouldn’t roll over.

And Littlebug…