Adrien did raise a brow when an akuma alert when off during Mlle. Bustier’s lecture, and his partner remained nowhere in sight. It wasn’t like her to be this late, but he trusted that she’d show up in time. She never missed an akuma battle.

“Go, we’ll cover you,” Alya grunted under her breath, and Adrien nodded.

In a few short minutes, Chat Noir arrived at the scene, flipping up his phone to call Ladybug, but it didn’t go through, a telltale sign that she wasn’t Ladybug right now. Pursing his lips, he slid the phone shut with a snap and extended his staff in a preparatory stance. Looks like he was going to have to stall until she got there.

“I am Janitor, and I’m going to rid Paris of its pests once and for all!” The villain declared.

“Yikes, if I were you, I’d throw that job in the garbage,” Chat shot back with a teasing lilt.

Stalling proved to be a little harder than he thought, and he soon found himself tangled in a toilet-paper web until a familiar yellow and black striped spin top sliced through the wrapping, and he wiggled free.

“Thanks,” Chat breathed a sigh of relief as Rena Rouge helped him up, and Queen Bee fastened her trompo back to her waist.

“Where is Ladybug?” Bee asked with a grunt. “It’s not like her to be this late.”

“Yeah, we weren’t gonna get involved, but you clearly needed help,” Rena said.

“Don’t know. She’s not answering, and I’m starting to get a little worried,” Chat replied with a wince.

“Alright, I’m on it, you two deal with that guy.” Rena pointed to Janitor and began dialing on her flute-phone.

“Ah, Queen Bee! Good thing I brought my insect repellant!”

While they handled that, Rena tapped her fingers on her side impatiently as the phone rang. If he didn’t answer, she was going to confiscate his headphones for a month.

“Hello?”

“Nino! We need you to find Marinette and get her butt out here,” Rena hissed into the phone while Chat Noir and Queen Bee gave this villain the run around.

“Okay, I’m on it!” Nino said, hanging up and grabbing his hat from his desk.

The bakery was only a couple blocks from his house, and he hit the ground running as he started up the street. Fortunately, due to the akuma attack, most people were indoors, leaving the streets relatively empty, and within minutes, Nino rounded the corner to the bakery only to find a big white sign in the door.

“Family emergency. Gone to the hospital. Will resume normal business hours after noon,” Nino read, leaning his head back with a groan before dashing off again.

He really needed to exercise more, and as he crossed a deserted intersection, he really wished he’d brought his bike. Still, he slowed only briefly to catch his breath before continuing on toward the glass building a few blocks ahead.

“I need…talk…Dupain-Cheng…please,” He panted when he arrived at the receptionist’s counter.

“Are you okay, sir?” The woman cocked a brow while he rested his hands on his knees and wheezed.

“Running…can’t…breathe…need to see…Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“O-kay, well, she just got out of surgery a little while ago, so you can go on up to see her in room 1127,” She read off the screen, and Nino clutched his side, offering a tiny wave as he stumbled over to the elevator.

“Oh! Hi, Nino,” Mrs. Cheng greeted when the doors opened. “Are you here to see Marinette?”

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“That’s so sweet of you. I’ve got to step out for a minute, but Tom is there. Down the hall to the left.” She pointed, and Nino set off before she could finish. “I warn you, she’s pretty drugged up!”

“Ah, Nino!” Mr. Dupain’s eyebrows raised when he entered, and Nino glanced at Marinette lying in the bed with droopy eyes. “What brings you by?”

“I, uh, saw your sign at the bakery, and I…was worried, so I came,” He lied, glancing between the two as Marinette offered him a half-hearted wave.

“Oh, it’s nothing to worry about now. Just her appendix, and it’s all taken care of now. She’ll be back to normal in a few days.” They didn’t have a few days. Paris needed Ladybug now.

“Uh, do you need to get back to the bakery? I can sit with her until Mrs. Cheng gets back,” Nino offered, phone buzzing in his pocket as if to remind him of the urgency of the situation.

“That’s very sweet of you, Nino. She’s just gone to the pharmacy to pick up some pain killers for Marinette and should be right back,” Tom said, patting his shoulder appreciatively.

“Uh, no problem, dude.” He finger-gunned as Tom shifted passed him out the door, and as soon as he was out of ear-shot, Nino lunged for the bed. “Mari, please tell me you can transform.”

“Your mom can transform,” She giggled drunkenly, head rolling to one side.

“Marinette, this is serious!” Nino whispered urgently. “There’s an akuma, and they need Ladybug to purify it.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so,” She rolled her eyes and kicked off her sheets. “Let’s go- woo!” Her legs wobbled as she stood up, and Nino caught her before she could hit the floor. “Take me to the akuma!”

“Oh god, you’re high as a kite,” Nino groaned, rolling her back onto the bed and retrieving his phone from his pocket.

“Where are you?” Rena demanded. “Did you find Marinette?”

“Yeah-”

“Well, get her over here!”

“Well-”

“What?” Rena snapped, and Nino heard Chat Noir’s shouts in the background.

“She kind of just had her appendix out, and now she’s drunk off her ass on anesthesia,” Nino said, and as if to prove his point, Marinette spread her arms out with a giggle.

“I didn’t know you could fly,” She slurred.

“What should I do?” He asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I don’t know, but do something. Fast!” Rena hung up with a click, and Nino stared at the phone in his hand with a panicked wince for a moment before shoving it back in his pocket.

“Mari, I need you to wake up. Paris needs you,” He said, slapping her cheeks gently.

“Paris needs you.” She poked his nose.

“Marinette, we don’t have time for- what are you doing?” He stopped short as she clumsily ripped her earrings out and shoved them into his hands.

“You’re Ladybug,” She said with a thick slur in her tongue.

“No. Not funny. Put these back on.” Nino shook his head, but Marinette let out a whine when he attempted to push them back into her ears. “I can’t be Ladybug!”

“Why? You’d make a great Ladybug!” She spread her arms out for emphasis.

“You think so?” He smiled, tapping his chin in thought. “No! No, you are drunk, and I am not-” He stopped short, glancing down at the earrings in his hand. “Well, Paris does need Ladybug, and you’re in no condition to fight…”

“Can we go ice skating?” She asked, and Nino slipped on the earrings.

“No, it’s June, but I’m gonna go fix this since you are so incapacitated, and when I get back, you’re taking these things back,” He said seriously.

“Okay.” Marinette nodded before bursting into a fit of giggles.

“Stay in bed, don’t stick a fork in an outlet, and…gah, just- Stay!” He pointed before rushing out of the room.

“Do you really think you can do this?” Tikki asked, peeking out from under his hat as he burst through the door to the stairs.

“I have no idea, but I know she can’t do it, so someone has to,” Nino said with a twinge of uncertainty. “I have to try.”

“That’s very heroic of you, Nino,” Tikki complimented.

“So, how does this work?” He asked, ducking between parked cars in the lot.

“You say ‘Spots on!’ to transform, and your superpower is lucky charm, but once you use it, you’ll only have five minutes before you change back to normal.”

“Okay. Got it.” Nino nodded. “Tikki, spots on!”

In a flash, Nino’s whole world lit up, and he felt a rush of new energy as he took in his new get-up. He stared at his reflection in the car window, tilting his head to get a full view of the mask covering his eyes. His glasses had disappeared, yet somehow his vision was better than it usually was with them on. This was certainly the trippiest thing he’d ever done, but he didn’t have time to admire himself.

“Alright, it’s just a yoyo, how hard can it be?” He wondered aloud, linking his finger through the loop and tossing it across the town. “Whoa, this thing really does go on forever.”

He felt the end tighten as it hooked around a chimney several kilometers away, and Nino tugged the slack, instantly finding himself flying across town at full speed. His cries echoed between buildings as he shot passed, eventually colliding with the very chimney the yoyo was looped around. Marinette made that seem a lot easier than it was, and Nino picked himself up, rubbing his nose sorely.

The bulk of the action, last time he checked, was near the Louvre, which he could just see from where he was. One toss of his yoyo, and he’d be there. This time, he braced himself for the rush that followed, finding it not so bad the second time, but he still landed rather ungracefully on the sidewalk, flipping over his feet and landing face-down as his yoyo came whizzing back.

“Oh, thank god you’re- What the hell are you doing?” Rena cocked a brow, extending a hand to help him up.

“I told you. She just had her appendix taken out, and someone has to purify the akuma,” He said pointedly, and Rena slapped her forehead with her palm, sighing in exasperation.

“Okay, whatever, let’s just get this over with fast. We’ve been stalling for like an hour,” She hissed, grabbing his wrist and tugging him along.

“Um, where the heck is Ladybug?” Queen Bee scoffed when they approached, cocking a hip to one side.

“In the hospital,” Rena answered, and Chat’s ears perked up.

“What?”

“She’s fine, bro. Her appendix ruptured, and she’s in recovery doped up on painkillers,” Nino waved it away, but Chat still wore a pout.

“Let’s get this over with quick, and we can all go visit her,” Rena said, twirling her flute around. “Summon your lucky charm, and let’s get this guy.”

“Right,” Nino nodded, palming the yoyo purposefully before stopping short and glancing between his comrades nervously. “Do I have to do the pose?”

They all stared at him with unamused frowns before Queen Bee finally stepped forward. “That’s it. Give me the earrings. I’ll be Ladybug.”

“No! She picked me, so I’ll do it. Just…don’t watch,” He grumbled, ensuring that they were all faced away before he tossed the yoyo into the air. “Lucky charm!”

Nino watched with eager anticipation as an object manifested in the air above him, but his face quickly fell when a banana landed in his hands. He stared at it for a moment as if to confirm that Tikki had actually given him a banana to solve this situation, and once he had affirmed that, yes, she had indeed done that, he pursed his lips grumpily.

“Queen Bee, I take it back, you can be Ladybug,” He said, and she perked up excitedly only to be shot down again by Chat Noir.

“No way. Ladybug comes up with solutions all the time with way weirder stuff, so just look around and maybe you’ll figure it out,” He ordered before leaping off to join Rena fighting off Janitor’s cleaning supplies.

Nino glanced between the object and the akuma with a pensive frown. How did Marinette do this all the time? How was he supposed to stop a villain with a banana? When this was all over, he was going to have a stern talking to with Tikki, but right now, he needed to figure something out.

“Uh, hey, Janitor! Need some…potassium?” His voice rose an octave in uncertainty at the end, and the villain spared him a look for two seconds before turning back to the others.

“That’s your plan?” Bee scoffed mockingly, and Nino felt his cheeks flush.

“It’s a banana! What am I supposed to do with it? I don’t see you guys coming up with any ideas!” He shot back, and Chat Noir’s staff began to ring.

“Hello?” Chat answered, leaping out of the fray. “Aww, Bugaboo, are you okay? I heard you’re in the hospital. Wait, what?” He pressed a finger over his ear to drown out the noise then shot a glance at Nino. “She wants to talk to you.”

Nino took the staff and pressed the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Throw the banana peel in front of him,” She instructed, and Nino cocked a brow.

“How do you even-”

“TV,” She cut him off, and he glanced up to see the news station’s helicopter overhead.

“Okay, but this isn’t Mario Kart, M.”

“Throw the banana peel in front of him!” She repeated more emphatically.

“Okay, fine!” He shouted, hanging up and tossing Chat his staff. He supposed he didn’t have much to lose, so without a second thought, he peeled the fruit and tossed the banana peel right in Janitor’s path.

“Seriously? This isn’t Mario Kar-” Rena started, but when Janitor’s foot met the peel, he slipped forward, tossing his mop into the air as he fell backward. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Nino launched forward, catching the mop out of the air and snapping it over his knee, freeing the black butterfly from inside. He smiled triumphantly at it as it fluttered above head before realization hit him.

“Oh shit, I have to capture it,” He gasped, fumbling for his yoyo. “Tikki, activate the purification thingy, uh, the butterfly catching software, shit!”

“Lovebug,” Chat cooed into the phone. “How does he catch the akuma?” He listened for a second, nodding at appropriate intervals before placing a hand over the receiver. “Swipe your finger through the middle.”

Nino cocked a brow, and Chat shrugged in response, so Nino did as instructed. The top half opened to reveal a glowing center, and Nino launched it into the air, snagging the akuma in its wake before the cord snapped back into his hands. Pressing the center spot, the casing opened again to release the purified butterfly back into the air where it fluttered off harmlessly.

“Holy shit, I did it,” He said with a sigh of relief, falling backward onto the pavement and spreading his limbs out. “Oh my god, I never want to do this again.”

“Good job, Beetlebug, now let’s get out of here before we change back, mmkay?” Rena said, lifting him to his feet and wrapping an arm around his waist. “Let’s go visit Mari. She’s on her way home from the hospital.”

“Good, I can give her the earrings back.”

When they arrived at the Dupain-Cheng household, Marinette was curled up comfortably on the couch sipping tea. She glanced up with a hazy smile, accepting a quick kiss from Adrien as the others settled in.

“How ya feeling, Mari?” Alya asked, taking up residence on her other side and rubbing her shoulder.

“A little sore and a lot tired,” She said, taking another sip of tea before leaning forward carefully to set it on the coffee table. “How was the battle?”

“Terrible, I never want to fight another akuma again,” Nino said, holding out his fist to return those cursed earrings to their rightful owner, but Mr. Dupain came through the front door before he could drop them in Marinette’s palm.

“Hey, kids!” He greeted. “How are you doing, sweetie? Need anything?”

“Can you pour me some more tea?” She asked sweetly, and Tom retrieved the pot from the stove and topped her off cheerfully.

“Now, don’t get your hopes up. Marinette had a major surgery and needs to recover. The doctor said no strenuous activity for a week until her incision heals up, so don’t expect her to go anywhere for a while,” Tom said, giving them all stern looks.

“A week?” Nino’s eyebrows raised, and he shot Marinette a disapproving frown.

“Yep. I’ve gotta get back downstairs, but holler if you need anything, okay?”

“Thanks, Papa,” Marinette called as the door shut behind him, and she glanced up at Nino with a mischievous grin. “Looks like you get to be Ladybug for another week, Nino.”

“No. No, I will absolutely not- No!”

“Oh, c’mon, Nino. Haven’t you ever wanted to be a superhero?” Chloe asked, waggling her eyebrows.

“When I was like seven!”

“Livin’ the dream, dude!” Adrien said with a laugh, and Nino face-palmed.

“How can you guys be so supportive of this? Marinette made this decision when she was high on medication!” Nino said with a hint of hysteria.

“Yeah, I’m a genius,” She giggled, leaning against Adrien’s shoulder. “You make a great Ladybug, Nino.”

“I’m not doing it,” He said firmly.

“Dude, c’mon. She had surgery,” Alya said scoldingly.

“Yeah, and we’ll totally help you out,” Chloe offered, and Nino crossed his arms over his chest grumpily.

“Okay, fine,” He grumbled.

“Yay!” His friends cheered in unison as he slipped the earrings back in.

“But I’m not happy about this, and the second the doctor says you’re clear, you’re taking back these earrings.” He gave Marinette a serious look, and she chuckled.

“Yes, sir, Beetlebug.” She saluted.

“Don’t call me that.”

“No, I think it fits,” Adrien insisted with a laugh.

“It does not!” Nino groaned.

“Beetlebug! Beetlebug!”

“Shut it moth man. I can feel myself getting worse at designing just by hearing your voice.” Marinette felt the akumatization wash over her. “Let’s see what trash color combination you put me in.” She walked over to the mirror and faked a gag. “Really, orange and blue ruffles? I’m personally offended.” Re-Designer pointed her pen, now turned short wand, at her own outfit, changing it to a fitted jacket and a tailored pant that fit impeccably, both in a tasteful dark maroon. One of the lapels of the jacket held a little slot for Re-Designer to put her wand. “Now this is what I call a supervillain’s outfit.” Re-Designer did a little spin for herself in the mirror, ending with a wicked smile at herself. “Now it’s time to fix some mistakes.”

Knowing exactly where to start, Re-Designer made one more minor change to her outfit design. Pressing the small button than was now above the wand slot, a small jetpack formed on Re-Designer’s back before she went up to her balcony and jetted off.

A few minutes later, Re-Designer landed outside the house of the person who had had the worst ever akuma design, Nino Lahiffe, aka The Bubbler. Lucky for her, Nino was currently walking out of the building. “Well, hey there Bubbler.”

Nino spun around from where he’d been locking the door. “Whoa, Marinette, you scared me. Wait, did you just call me Bubbler?” Re-Designer smiled sweetly at the confused boy in front of her. She was so focused on Nino that she didn’t notice Adrien walking down the street towards Nino’s house.

“That I did, Bubbles.” Pulling out her wand from its holder, Re-Designer gently waved it around. “I was just thinking about how terrible your design was when you were The Bubbler so I thought Re-Designer could do a little, well, redesigning.” Re-Designer let a hand fly to her mouth in a signature anime villain cackle as she watched Nino’s eyes widened when it dawned on him that she was akumatized.

Unbeknownst to Re-Designer, Adrien realized she was akumatized the exact same moment Nino did, and immediately dove into the bushes he’d been walking passed. Chat Noir immerged moments later, slowly beginning to make his way around the akumatized girl.

Re-Designer gave her wand a final twirl then pointed it at Nino, directing a bolt of sparkling pink light at him. The glittering wave washed over Nino, leaving him in a dark navy suit with embroidered bubbles in a light blue thread snaking up the side of the suit, from the right hem of his pant leg to the curve of his right shoulder. In his hands was a much sleeker bubble wand in a light blue matching the embroidered bubbles. “Um, Mari, not that I don’t mind the redesign, but um, it wasn’t really necessary.”

Re-Designer beamed at Nino. “Of course it was. Hawkmoth made you a costume that nearly caused permanent blindness to anyone who viewed it. I had to fix that travesty.” Nino’s eyes flashed to a place behind Re-Designer. Right as Chat Noir swiped to grab her, Re-Designer jumped to the side.

Whirling on Chat, Re-Designer pointed the wand at the superhero. “You know Kitty, your suit could use a little redesigning too.” Chat went to grab for Re-Designer’s wand, but pink sparkles washed over him before he could.

Re-Designer smirked. “That’s better.” Chat looked down at his suit which had shrunk down to a pair of black shorts, his belt tail, and the gold bell which was now attached to a choker like collar. As Nino doubled over in fits of laughter, Chat gaped.

Shaking off his shock, Chat sauntered towards a still smirking Re-Designer. “You know Marinette, if you wanted to see me with my shirt off, you could have just asked.”

“Well what would have been the fun in-“ Re-Designer’s words abruptly stopped as Chat plucked the wand from her hand. She hadn’t realized how close Chat had gotten.

“I will just hold onto this until Ladybug gets here.” Chat glared at Nino who was now sitting on his stairs, unable to hold himself up from laughing so hard. “How do I change my suit back Mari?”

“That was crafty kitty. You won’t be able to change your suit back until Ladybug uses the cure and that won’t be happening anytime soon so…” Re-Designer causally flicked one of her earrings. Re-Designer giggled when Chat gasped in realization.

“Be right back, stay here.” Chat ran into Nino’s house, both Re-Designer and Nino looking after him in confusion. A moment later, darkness rippled over Re-Designer, leaving an unakumatized Marinette in its wake.

Looking around in confusion, Marinette noticed a still suited up Nino on his stairs. “Wow Nino, that’s a really nice suit.”

“Um, thanks. You made it.” Brows drawing together, Marinette looked at her friend in confusion.

“I what? What do you…” Marinette trailed off when Chat stepped out of the house in his new and improved suit. She didn’t know whether to stare or laugh. Staring was what she went with. Slack jawed, Marinette watched Chat Noir waltz over to her in what looked to be more of a stripper outfit than a superhero suit. Had she done that?

“Sorry Nino but the princess and I need to go deal with something.” Marinette didn’t know if Nino had said anything in response because Chat Noir pressed her close and extended his baton, lifting them both into the air. Was Marinette internally screaming because she was currently pressed up against her very attractive partner’s bare chest? Yes.

When they’d made it a little ways from Nino’s house, Chat Noir set Marinette down and handed her the akuma, which he’d trapped in a glass jar she hadn’t even noticed. She’d been a bit distracted. “I think you can take care of this.” Chat raised a brow at her in expectation.

Marinette groaned as she took a few steps back from her nearly naked partner. “Not only did I turn you into a stripper while akumatized, but I also told you who I was?” Chat nodded, grinning mischievously.

Chat was glad Marinette had forgotten his next words when the akumatization broke, because it was prefect for his next move. “You know My Lady, you could have just asked if you wanted to see me out of the suit.” Before Marinette could protest, Chat Noir released his transformation.

Marinette should have been more surprised to see Adrien Agreste standing in front of her, now fully clothed. “Honestly, I thought Chat’s abs looked familiar.”

“Oh, you mean these abs?” Adrien slipped his shirt over his head. He gestured towards his sculpted stomach. “You know, the ones you were so desperate to see that you got yourself akumatized.”

Marinette only let herself admire Adrien’s physique for a moment before she snapped her eyes back to his face. “Excuse me, I got akumatized because of how trash Hawkmoth’s designing skills are when it comes to akuma outfits.” Smirking, Marinette nodded towards Adrien’s shirtless form. “This was just a happy accident.”

“Oh really?” Adrien began to saunter up to Marinette. “A happy accident?”

“Of course. In fact, maybe I should thank Hawkmoth for his appalling taste if this is the outcome.” Marinette tilted her head up towards Adrien as he stopped in front of her.

“Hmm, maybe you should.” Their lips met for a moment before laughter bubbled up from Marinette.

“Sorry, but I just had a thought. What if Hawkmoth was a fashion designer or something. It would be so ironic if he was in the fashion industry, yet created such distasteful outfits.”

Adrien joined Marinette in her laughter. “That would be hilarious!”

Chat gestured to the board erratically. “Because that is the worst mascara I have ever used in my entire life!” Gripping her shoulders, Chat shook Ladybug slightly. “My Lady, I’m warning you, never buy that horrid product. It makes even my lashes droop directly into my eyeballs. It’s disgusting!”

Brows drawing together, Ladybug stared at her partner in confusion. “Chat, what are you talking about? That mascara is great!” Chat gasped, looking at his partner in horror.

“How dare you.” He pointed a finger at her accusingly, a teasing tone in his voice. “Do you know anything about makeup? That formula is too wet, and the brush bristles are too far apart so it makes lashes clump together.”

Ladybug put a hand to her chest in mock offense. “How dare me? How dare you! You know what? We need to have a make-up off. Both of us will go get our makeup.” Ladybug pointed to the billboard again. “I’ll use this mascara that is tearing this partnership apart and you can use whatever your favorite is. Whoever’s makeup looks better, and more importantly, whoever’s mascara looks better, will win this little debate.”

Chat held out his hand and Ladybug took it, shaking on the bet. “Deal, ten minutes to grab makeup, then we meet back here. Don’t forget a mirror.” Ladybug saluted before she zipped away towards the bakery.

Ten minutes later, Ladybug and Chat Noir sat on opposite sides of the roof, ready to go all out with their makeup routines. Ladybug raised her voice, so her partner could hear her. “One last thing Chat, time limit of fifteen minutes! Go!” Ladybug snickered when she heard Chat sputter and drop what sounded like a fountain bottle. Quickly entering the zone of “I’m late for school and I only have a few minutes to get ready,” Ladybug sped through her routine.

As the timer Ladybug set on her yoyo went off, she applied the final swipe of her lipstick. “Okay, products down Chat.” She chuckled to herself when she looked at her eyes in her little mirror. Her shadow was flawless, wing on point, and, most importantly, eyelashes fanned and volumized. “Let’s get closer before we turn around. Stand up with your back turned and we’ll walk backward slowly.”

“Sounds perfect My Lady. You ready to lose?” Ladybug began to walk backward, scoffing.

“Please, you’re about to eat your words.” The heroes’ backs bumped together. “Ready Chaton?” He hummed his confirmation. “On three.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir turned with smirks on their faces, fully confident that the other was going to lose. Those smirks turned into full on gaping as they looked at each other’s done up faces.

“Marinette!?!”

“Adrien!?!”

In their haste to put on a full face of makeup in only fifteen minutes, they literally put on a full face, forgetting to leave their masks uncovered. They both gave a short scream as they realized what they’d just done.

Chat Noir recovered first. “Well, this certainly is a surprise. You were right, that mascara does make your lashes look amazing. Although, you make everything look amazing Marinette.”

The blush Ladybug had put on didn’t hold a candle to the warmth warming her cheeks at those words. “Looks like I’m the winner then Chaton.” She smirked. “though I do have to admit, that red lip puts you over the line for winning overall face.”

A twinkle entered Chat’s eye. “Oh really? Would you like to try the color on?”

Ladybug made a show of tapping a finger against her chin, as though she were contemplating the offer. “Hmm, I don’t know, it might clash with this eye look.” Ladybug winked up at Chat. “Might as well try it out though.” Grabbing him by the bell, Ladybug pulled Chat Noir down, pressing their lips together.

It started Monday, when Marinette was rushing to school. Not watching where she was going, she collided directly into someone’s back as she ran into the school courtyard. The person also running late just happened to be Adrien Agreste. “Late again?” Marinette smirked as Adrien groaned.

“Mari, are you honestly surprised? You know I’m late just as much as you are.” He was, in fact, just as late as Marinette was most of the time. It was their mutual lateness that had given Marinette the opportunity to break the ice that had frosted over their potential friendship.

The pair walked to class together, as friends do, Marinette and Adrien casually chatting as they made it to the classroom before the bell rang. Marinette was met with classmates milling about, but there was one person missing. Next to Rose, Juleka was no where to be found. The absence made Marinette pause just inside the classroom door. Juleka had had perfect attendance for the past three years.

Movement flashed at the corner of Marinette’s eye. Marinette turned to see Juleka advancing on her and Adrien, who was still walking to his seat. In her hand was a sprig of mistletoe. Smiling wickedly, Juleka winked at someone behind Marinette. Alya’s telling snicker was all the answer Marinette needed to find out who she would need to fight later. Lunging forward, Marinette grabbed the mistletoe from Juleka, stuffing it in her bag right as Adrien made it to his seat and turned back around.

Adrien looked at Marinette in confusion when he realized she was still near the door. “Mari? You okay?” Marinette looked around the suspiciously quiet classroom and realized that everyone had been in on this little scheme. Well, everyone was going to have to get a little talking to.

“Yep, all good!” Her voice was too bright, but Adrien seemed to relax at her words, sitting down in his seat. When Adrien turned to talk to Nino, Marinette sent a glare that even medusa would have considered “stone cold” to each of her classmates. Everyone shrugged like they had no idea what she was referring to.

Making her way to her seat, Marinette watched Alya continue to hold back laughter. Huffing as she sat down, Marinette leaned over and whispered to Alya. “I’m demoting you from best friend to mortal enemy.”

Laughter finally bubbled out of Alya as she pressed a hand to her mouth to quiet her loud snorts. “It was so worth a try. You know, everyone here even agreed to call off the bets so we could work together on “project Adrienette” during the holidays.”

Marientte’s voice came out shrill. “The bets?!” Staring at her best friend dumbfounded, Marinette didn’t notice Adrien turn around.

“What bets?” Marientte’s head whipped to the seat in front of her where Adrien was watching with questioning eyes.

“Oh, nothing. You know, just, um…” Marinette’s voice was nervous as she tried to come up with some sort of response. Luckily, Mme. Bustier walked in. “Oh look, time for class. I’ll tell you later!” Adrien gave her an odd look but turned to face the front of the classroom anyway.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Marinette should have known to stay on edge the next day based on Alya’s comment about everyone working together during the holidays. Alas, she didn’t and was completely unprepared when she saw a fishing line with a sprig of mistletoe being lowered between her and Adrien while he was facing the front of the classroom in his seat.

Glancing behind her slightly, Marinette saw Alix a few steps above. She didn’t exactly know where they were going with this one until Kim spoke up. “Hey Adrien!” Time seemed to slow as Marinette watched Adrien begin to turn around. Launching herself from her seat, Marinette clapped down on the mistletoe and pulled it from the fishing line. Barley sitting down before Adrien was fully turned around.

“Yeah Kim? Oh, cool fishing pole Alix, is that what you guys wanted to show me?” Kim and Alix both facepalmed as Marinette smiled in self-satisfaction.

She knew it wasn’t over though which is why the next day, Marinette was practically twitching with how wound up she was. Her head jerked from side to side ever few moments, making sure there wasn’t any mistletoe or Adrien in sight.

She was so busy observing her surroundings that she didn’t think to actually check the doorway to her classroom before it was too late. As she bumped into a solid chest, a course of “OOOOOO”s could be heard. Craning her head up, she saw Adrien who, instead of looking at the girl who had just run directly into him, was looking up, at a sprig of mistletoe taped to the doorway.

As soon as he realized what it was, Adrien’s head snapped down, eyes seeking out Marinette. She quickly began to pull away from him, words stumbling out of her mouth. “Sorry, my bad. You don’t have to. I mean, it’s just a silly…” Marinette was cut off as Adrien pulled her back in with a hand on her waist as his other gently cupped her chin, tilting her head up so their lips could meet.

There were cheers from inside the classroom. A few moments into their kiss, a cleared throat broke them apart. “As happy as I am you two finally figured this little dance of yours out, I’d like to get in my classroom, so I can start class please.” Mme. Bustier looked at the teens with faux ire as she held back a smile.

“Oh, hi, I’m Adrien. Chloe put a piece of gum on your seat and I was removing it, so no one sat on it.” Marinette waved her hand dismissively at his words.

“Chloe being mean? What else is new. Now, you poor boy, who put you in those shoes?” Adrien stood up and turned toward Marinette, giving her a full view of the atrocious shoes on his feet. They were black high tops, which would have been fine if they didn’t have rainbow butterfly wings sprouting from the bright pink laces and rhinestones on the toe. “Are they supposed to be for kids?”

Adrien flushed, rubbing at the back of his neck self-consciously. “Um no, actually, my father has been dabbling in shoe design. He thought teens and adults don’t have enough “fun” shoes.” He took a step towards Marinette, making her gasp.

“They light up.” The words came out in whispered horror. Marinette cleared her throat, raising her voice back to normal. “Well, we are going to save your poor, poor feet and you can borrow a pair of men’s shoes I’ve been working on. My house is right across the street, we still have a little time before class.” Marinette reached out and grasped Adrien’s wrist, pulling him behind her.

She paused right before exiting the classroom, causing Adrien to run into her back. Marinette spun around. “I’m so sorry. Do you want to borrow a pair of shoes, or do you like those?”

Adrien smiled at the kind girl in front of him. “Mon Dieu, these are the most atrocious things I’ve ever worn, please let me borrow those shoes.”

Marinette was so lost in awe of herself for actually waking up, that it took the slamming of the classroom door behind her to jolt her out of it. Spinning around, Marinette saw Kim with his arms crossed in front of the closed door. “Kim?”

Kim nodded to someone behind Marinette and she turned to see the rest of her class standing in a semi-circle. Alya stepped forward from the middle. “Hey Marinette, glad you could meet me this morning. Or, shall I say, meet us. As Alya gestured to the rest of the group, Marinette saw a range of emotions on their faces. Juleka and Rose looked like they were holding back excitement. Max looked like he was trying to calculate something that involved her. Chole was staring at her slack jawed. Chloe’s slightly awed expression would have been the most surprising of the bunch if it weren’t for Adrien, who was looking at Marinette like he was in love with her.

Marinette’s eyes flew back to her best friend, confusion evident on the bluenette’s face. “Alya, what’s going on?”

“Well bestie, a few of us were talking about Paris’s favorite superheroes the other day and we realized, you and Ladybug have never been seen together.” Alya smirked as Marinette’s eyes blew wide.

Marinette took a calming breath, her and Tikki had prepared for this if it had ever happened. Now she just had to sell it. Cocking a hip, Marinette chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Come on Alya, this was all for nothing. Remember when Alix got akumatized? Ladybug and I were both there at the same time.” When Alya deflated slightly, Marinette felt a little bad, but she had to protect her secret identity.

“But after the second Ladybug appeared, you weren’t there anymore?” Marinette’s head shot to Adrien who sighed wistfully. “Two Ladybugs, two Marinettes, what a dream.” All the classmates looked at Adrien in shock, a deep blush spreading over his face as soon as he realized he’d said that last part out loud.

The reporting hunger reignited in Alya’s eyes. “Adrien’s odd outburst aside, he is right. There were two Ladybugs but no Marinettes. Or rather, as Sunshine said, two Marinettes.”

Marinette knew there was only one way out of this. Opening her bag, she reached in for a small object. Marinette proceeded to smash said small object directly into the ground with the force of a rocket launching itself into the stratosphere. The small smoke bomb exploded in a white cloud. “BUG OUT!” The guttural screech that emanated from the petite girl echoed in the smoke-filled classroom.

All eyes turned to Marinette who was half out one of the classroom windows. Her right arm and leg were hanging outside and the left side of her body was still inside the classroom. Someone cleared their throat, making Marinette’s head jerk to look at her friends, turned audience. Adrien sighed dreamily as Marinette’s eyes met his. “Marry me.” Marinette promptly fell out the window in shock.

At Marinette’s groan of frustration, Chat jolted awake. He looked at her with curiosity burning in his green eyes. “Is everything okay Princess?” Marinette shook her head, as she let out another exasperated groan. “Is there anything I can do?” At that, Marinette perked up, an idea popping into her head.

“Actually, there might be something.” Marinette launched herself at her closet, digging through her piles of fabric until she found what she was looking for.

Spinning around, Marinette saw Chat physically gulp when he saw what Marinette held in her hand. “Um, Mari, why do you have a can of spray in hair color?”

Chat scooted back until he was pressed to the back of the chaise as Marinette began to saunter forward, slowly shaking the temporary hair color can. “Well, you see Chat, I came up with a little theory while you were sleeping. I’m pretty sure I have a type, blondes with green eyes. There’s nothing we can do about the green eyes but, your hair…” Marinette gave the can one final shake as she stopped next to Chat’s shoulder. He looked up at her with an odd mix of shock, fear, and awe.

“A-a t-type? Like you think I’m a-attractive?” Marinette nodded.

“I want to see if this really is me having a type or if you’re just this damn good looking.” Chat’s mouth fell open slightly and Marinette had to hold herself back from laughing at his reaction. “So, may I?” Marinette held up the can, taking off the cap when Chat nodded. She carefully sprayed the brunette color into Chat’s hair, the cold of the colorant making him jump. “You okay?”

“Yes, just surprisingly cold. You can keep going.” Humming in acknowledgment, Marinette began to spray on the colorant again. It only took a few minutes for her to cover Chat’s entire head. Marinette stepped back to obverse her work, scrubbing at her face with her hands as she let out yet another groan. Marinette heard Chat chuckle, a tinge of nervousness tainting the laugh. “That bad?”

Marinette flung her arms out in exasperation. “No! That’s the problem, you look amazing. It’s not a type thing. Turns out I just have feelings for you and Adrien.” Marinette began to pace in front of the chaise, she could feel Chat’s eyes following her. “The plan was that I turn you brunette for a few minutes, so I could confirm to myself that I have a type and that’s what this feeling is, but nooooooo. I have to still have all these feelings for you when you’re sitting here with powdery spray in color making your hair look terrible. I shouldn’t find it adorable, but I do.” Marinette huffed and crossed her arms in front of her.

Chat shook his head in disbelief. “Wait, let me get this straight. You thought you had a type because you are attracted to me and Adrien Agreste?” Marinette nodded. “And you thought that by putting brunette spray in my hair, it would confirm this idea for you?” Marinette nodded again. “But now you realize that it’s not that you have a type, you actually have feelings for Adrien Agreste and me?” Marinette pressed her hands to her bright red face as she nodded for a third time.

Marinette looked up from her palms when Chat began to laugh, glaring at the cat boy. “I’m so glad my rollercoaster of emotions is so funny to you Chat Noir.”

Shaking his head, Chat wiped tears from his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Really, I am. This is just too perfect. Marinette, I hate to tell you this, but you do have a type. Me. I’m your type.” Chat did a little jazz hands bit that confused Marinette more than his words. “Adrien Agreste is your type.” Green snaked up Chat’s form as he let his transformation drop.

Marinette stumbled backwards as she let out a little shriek. “Mon Dieu. I guess I have a very specific type.” Adrien laughed, face falling just as quickly as it lit up.

“I should let you know though Marinette, I have a type too. I like blue haired girls in pig tales; you and Ladybug.” It was Marinette’s turn to bust up laughing.