Title: Canât We Just Talk
Pairing: Chloe/MarinetteÂ
Rating: T
AN: Imagine hiding your crush (and sexuality) for so long that all you can do is kiss your girlfriend whenever you see her, because you finally can.Â
Ever since sheâd first felt the other girlâs lips against her own, Chloe knew she needed more. It was like an intense addiction and no amount of stollen kisses were enough to satisfy her fix. The first thing she does whenever the two of them are alone, is crash their lips together in hungry desperation, taking it as far as Marinette will let her before telling her stop. Marinette canât exactly complain. She loves the constant attention from her girlfriend. However, sheâs starting to fell like itâs an escape of their relationship from progressing any further emotionally.Â
âChlo, stop,â Marinette finally tells her one day, somehow finding the strength to pull away from a wonderfully heated kiss. Chloe is hovering over her on the bed, the blondeâs hands splayed across her own above her.Â
âNo,â Chloe groans into her neck, sliding her knees closer in to tighten the straddle she had on Marinette, and capturing her lips again. She nips playfully at her shoulder beforeÂ
âSeriously, Chlo. Stop and just talk to me for a minute.â Marinette cups Chloeâs face in her hands. She brushes her thumb gently across the other girlâs cheek and cranes her neck up so she can rest her forehead against the otherâs. âLetâs just talk.â
âFine,â she finally huffs, sitting up and soothing off of her so she can get off. She takes a moment to smooth down her hair and straighten the tank top on her shoulder before looking at Marinette. âWhat do you want to talk about?âÂ
Marinette sits up as well and stares at her in contemplation before speaking. âMainly why you donât want to talk. Donât get me wrong, Chloe. I love doing this,â she gestures in between them and back at the bed, âbut, I want more than just this. Donât you too?âÂ
Chloe fiddles with her bracelet, avoiding Marinetteâs eyes. She takes a couple of deep breathes before nodding, and brushing away the tears that hates herself for letting flood her vision. Marinette gasps when she notices the tears and pulls the other girl onto her lap, wrapping herself as tightly around her as she can. âChlo, wha- No, donât cry.  Whatâs wrong, Chloe? Itâs okay,â she whispers frantically, planting light kisses on her head and cheeks. âJust talk to me.âÂ
Chloe nods against her shoulder, but doesnât pull away from her. âI just wanted this for so long, Marinette- wanted you for so long. Iâm so scared that youâre going to change your mind, or realize I donât deserve you. All those years I was too afraid to love you, so I was so terrible to you instead. Iâm terrified that every time I kiss you is going to be the last.â Her sobs are pathetic whimpers now, and it breaks Marinetteâs heart in two.Â
âChloe Bourgeois, look at me right now,â Marinette tells her softly, but firmly. Chloe looks up at her, her face blotchy and eyes bloodshot and wet. Marinette cups her face and stares at her so intensely that it sends a shiver down her spine. âI love you. Iâm not going anywhere. Youâve changed, Chloe.  Youâre so good now, and Iâm so proud of you for it. I love you for it.âÂ
âYou do?â Chloe smiles through a sniffle. She feels like her heart could burst through her chest any second. She starts crying again, this time tears of elation. âYou really love me?âÂ
âI really love you,â Marinette nods with a bubble of happy laughter, wiping her tears away.Â
Chloe captures her lips in her own, nearly clanging her teeth against Marinetteâs through her grin. She kisses every inch of her she can, trailing kisses down her neck, across her collarbone, and back up to her lips again.  This time, when she pins her to the bed, Marinette does not protest, but only pulls her closer, soaking in how glorious it sounds to hear Chloe whisper âI love you, too,â with every kiss.Â
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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Luka Couffaine
Additional Tags: Developing Relationship, Fluff, lots of fluff i really have no idea how this fic got as long as it is, Alternate Universe - His Dark Materials Fusion, Alternate Universe - Daemons, Daemon Touching, i love them so much. so so much., Identity Reveal, i threw out everything about canon i don't like, so chloe's redemption arc is still ongoing, and nathalie actually loves adrien (go figure), and ALSO there is identity preserving magic, because otherwise this whole show falls apart, and y'all can quote me on that, Swearing, (i mean it's understandable in this case), (and also mari has a foul mouth when she's surprised), Polyamorous Marinette Dupain-Cheng, (as far as i'm concerned that IS canon), Essbie's 2020 Fic Posting Extravaganza
Summary:
Adrien turns to Nathalie. âThatâs fair. Can Ladybug come in for a second, though? I have something I want to ask her.â
Nathalie eyes Marinette, or rather she eyes Ladybug. She knows that Marinette is in an open relationship with Luka, and that Adrien and Marinette are in a similar situation, but as for Ladybug-
Marinetteâs pulse ramps up. Is Adrien about to ask Ladybug out?
Sheâs not sure she can deal with that kind of complication.
(or, everyone has daemons, hawkmoth is killing marinette's social life, and relationships are complicated.)
Sorry it took a while but here it is! Marinette akumatized as a villain known as  Punisher! Iâm particularly proud of the hammer, it wasnât easy integrating the butterfly into it.
The villain is from @livanarose âs Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction â Sheâs A Queen Killer â .
Summary: Lilaâs finally done it. With the exception of Adrien, Lila had successfully turned all of Marinetteâs friends against her. Despite this, Marinette has managed to reject Hawkmothâs offers for revenge until one day, Marinette receives that one final push that sends her over the edge. Watch out Lila Rossi, there is a hunter out for your head, and her name is Punisher.
Okay confession time: because depression sucks and my job is eating me alive, this is the last complete chapter of this fic. I'll try to have this done by the end of the week, but I can't make any promises. Just know that I appreciate all of the amazing comments, and I've been so glad to get even a bit of my writing mojo back after so long.
AO3
Chloe groaned and forced her eyes to open against the massive migraine sitting on her skull. She reached out and felt the sheets sheâd slept in the previous night; somehow, she made it back home. She closed her eyes again and focused through the pain. How did she get here? What did she remember? The wedding album, crying, lots of crying, the cafe down the street, more crying, and Nathanael holding her.
Her eyes snapped open and she flinched against what she assumed was afternoon light slicing into the room through the thin crack in the drapes. Nathanael holding her? Comforting her? Why would he do that? He hated her, right? But then...why? She sat up, pressing a hand to her temple, and noticed her heels sitting next to the bed. He must have guided her back home, into bed, and even taken her shoes off. Her heart thumped harder in her chest but she shook the feeling away. Why was he having this effect on her?
She slipped out of the bed and out into the living room where she found Nathanael with a sketchbook on one knee and the wedding album on the other. Â He lifted his head when he heard her enter the room, and Chloe could have sworn there was the faintest smile on his face when he saw her.
He cleared his throat and whatever smile there had been disappeared. âYouâre awake.â
A rude and snarky retort sat just behind her teeth ready to tear into him, but there it sat. Whether it was the migraine or her new and confusing feelings directed at Nathanael that held it back she couldnât tell. Instead, she pressed her fingers into her temples and asked, âHow long was I asleep?â
âA few hours. Itâs just a little after one.â He pointed his pencil towards the kitchen. âThereâs some pain pills on the counter if you need them. I would have made some coffee, butâŠâ
âBut you donât know how?â She rounded the island in the kitchen and spotted the tiny red bottle. A quick search through the cabinets and she finally found a water glass.
âI know how to make coffee, butâŠâ He turned his eyes back down to the album. âThereâs nothing but whole bean in there.â
âOf course, I refuse to live under the same roof as pre-ground bullshit.â She found the beans and a grinder, paused, then turned back to Nathanael. âGet in here, Red. I may not like you, but everyone deserves to know how to make a decent cup of coffee.â
When she saw Nathanael blush at her invitation, she had to fight against the word âadorableâ crossing through her mind. He set the books aside and joined her in the kitchen. She taught him the proper proportions of beans to water, the proper grind settings, then set a kettle on the stove. As they waited for the water to boil, she asked, âWhat were you doing with the album?â
He was quiet for too long to Chloeâs liking. He finally said, âReferences. I thought Iâd...practice drawing a wedding.â
Chloe moved across the kitchen to stand in front of him and crossed her arms. âYouâre a terrible liar, you know that? You have the internet, a window into the next ten years of fashion and design. Getting to see that before literally anyone else? And you choose our...the wedding album?â
Nathanael matched her glare for a few seconds before he rolled his eyes and looked away. âOkay, I got curious too. I didnât get that good of a look at it this morning, so I started flipping through it and...wanted to draw a few things. There, happy?â
âNo. What about that book could have piqued your curiosity?â
A subtle movement dropped her gaze to his hands, where she noticed him twisting his wedding band about his finger. âI guess...itâs like I said to Marinette and the others last night; I want to know how this happened. How did we go from being bitter enemies toâŠâ He lifted his left hand, fingers still playing with the ring.
Chloe stared at his hand for a long while. The Chloe and Nathanael of this world obviously had a strong relationship, but where had it come from? Sure, ten years was a long time, time enough for her to move on from Adrien and possibly to...but that was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. There was no way sheâd choose someone else over Adrien...except she had. Or this worldâs version of her had. And the Adrien of this world seemed happy with Marinette. Her thoughts flashed back to what Nathanael had said about the Akuma. Fairytale was supposed to make people live their happy endings. Did this mean that her happy ending wasnât with Adrien?
The low whistle from the kettle broke her out of her thoughts and she finished showing Nathanael how to properly use a coffee press. Chloe found herself inexplicably smiling as he took his first sip of properly pressed coffee and melted into his mug. She raised her own mug to her lips to hide the smile, but had the slightest suspicion she hadnât been quick enough. The damnedest thing was that she didnât care. Maybe it was because heâd seen her at quite possibly the lowest sheâd ever been in her life, but she wanted him to see her smile.
âDo you want to go through the album together?â Chloe looked to him and raised a brow. âYou know, actually take a good look at the photos now that youâreâŠumm...â He turned away and bit his lip.
âNow that Iâm not obsessed over my mother. Thatâs what you were going to say, right?â
âNo!â Chloe stared at him. âOkay, kinda. You know what? This was a bad idea.â He squeezed his way past her and made his way back to the couch. âI should probably just-â
âSure.â
Nathanael whipped around and gaped. âWha?â
âSure, letâs look at the album together. Itâs not like I have anything else to do until Ladybug gets us out of here. Besides, if I do get all weepy over my mother, I haveâŠâ You, she was going to say, because he had been her sole source of comfort since waking up in this strange world. As much as she hated his guts, having him around, that sense of familiarity, was better than nothing. She bit the inside of her cheek and reminded herself exactly who he was, who he worked for, and continued, âI have to get over it eventually.â
He narrowed his eyes at her, but soon shrugged and slid over on the couch to make room for her. Okay, not what she expected. She grabbed her coffee and sat down beside him, then turned her attention to the album on his knee.
An outdoor wedding. Flowers everywhere, rows upon rows of chairs set in...Chloe reached over and flipped another page, searching for an identifying landmark. Ah, there. The Jardin du Luxembourg. A nice venue. Several women in yellow sundresses. Marinette, Alya, Kagami, and...Sabrina. Chloe pulled the album into her lap and ran her fingers over Sabrina. When had they made amends? How long after Sabrina walked out on her, tired of Chloe using her superhero status to shove more and more schoolwork onto her? More tears pricked at the corners of Chloeâs eyes, but she wiped them away and turned another page.
She blushed at the picture of Nathanael, wearing black slacks, a purple button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a black kippah. Somehow the purple worked for him, and...was he wearing a bee charm bracelet? He looked...really nice, especially with his hair tied back like thaaaa-no. No, she wasnât going to think about him like that. Focus on something else, Chloe. He wasnât wearing a jacket or a tie, so maybe they were going for a more casual wedding? Which didnât make sense, if one of Parisâ superheroes were getting married, it would be a huge event, right?
On the next page...ah, her dress. A black lacy bodice with a low-scooped neckline, halter straps, and pearl adornments dangling from the front. From the waist down, a pure white sheath skirt with gold embroidered hem and a pale yellow sash tied about her waist, the knot somehow tied in such a way to resemble a flower. Lace fingerless gloves in the same yellow as the sash. A simple diamond and pearl tiara with her veil flowing from the back, her hair tied up with a plain white ribbon, and a bouquet of yellow dahlias. She squinted and looked closer at her necklace. Stones of purple, blue, and green. Paonâs colors. Now that she got a better look at it, it was subdued, but still spoke to her color pallet. Light fabrics to let it breath in the heat of summer. Marinette outdid herself.
âAre you nervous, Nath?â Chloe turned to the laptop at the sound of Ninoâs voice. It was a shaky video of Nathanael buttoning up the shirt she had just seen, and another blush crept up on her face.
âNervous? No. Relieved that weâre finally here? Yeah. Relieved that all of the planning and prep is over.â He chuckled. âNot that Chlo let me do much. She insisted on doing almost everything, including pay for all of this.â He turned to face the camera. âYou know, her original budget was over a hundred thousand euros? Do you know how long it took me to talk her down from that? I mean, she justified it as a âcharitable donationâ to expand the gardens, but that was still a bit much.â
âWell, Queen Bee is the face of the international âSave the Beesâ movement,â Nino said from behind the camera.
Nathanael smiled again. âYeah, she is, however accidental it may be.â Â He leaned over to grab something off of a nearby table. âI didnât even really want a wedding if Iâm honest, but the moment I mentioned the word âelopeâ to Chloe, she became a living nightmare until I relented.â
âYeah, that sounds like you,â Chloe heard from her left. She elbowed Nathanael in the ribs, but kept her eyes on the video.
Nathanael stood back up stuffing whatever he searched for in his pocket. âBut Iâm glad weâre here. Iâm glad sheâsâŠâ He turned his gaze to a nearby door and somehow, Chloe knew she was...no. Her alternate self was beyond that door. âIf youâd told me ten, fifteen years ago that Iâd eventually be married to Chloe Bourgeois, I would have laughed in your face. But Iâve never felt this way about anyone. Not Marinette, not Marc. SheâŠâ He chuckled. âSheâs come so far since we were in lycee, and Iâm so happyâŠâ When he turned back to the camera and smiled, Chloe felt her heart skip a beat. âIâm so happy sheâs about to be my wife.â
The screen faded to black, and when color bloomed back in, Chloe stood in the center wearing her wedding dress, her hands fidgeting and her eyes trained on a mirror in front of her.
âChloe! Stop squirming!â came Marinetteâs voice from just off frame.
Chloe looked down and mouthed âsorryâ, then looked back into the mirror and sighed, her frayed nerves evident in her eyes.
âDonât know what youâre so nervous about, girl,â Alya said behind the camera. âYouâre Le Grand Parisâ chief event coordinator so you obviously know what youâre doing and youâve triple checked every-damn-thing. This is probably going to be the smoothest wedding ever, granted Mayor Bourgeois doesnât break down into tears like M. Dupain did.â
âOkay, just because my dad sobbed so loud the priest had to start over three times, that does not mean our wedding didnât go smoothly.â
âItâs not the ceremony!â Chloe stomped, eliciting another swear from Marinette. Chloe apologized again and wrung her hands together. âIâm...kinda waiting to wake up.â Marinetteâs head lifted into frame, a couple of pins hanging from the corner of her mouth and an inquisitive look in her eyes. âI treated Nath like shit for years, treated all of you like shit, and now look at us. Marinette made me a custom dress, Alya and Nino are handling our album, Sabrina agreed to be my maid of honor, and NathâŠâ She turned her eyes down to her left hand, her engagement ring sparkling in the light. âHe proposed. After eight years of probably the rockiest relationship ever, he...chose me. Chose to spend the rest of his life bound to me. Me.
âI feel like this is a dream. I feel like the moment I say âI doâ, Iâll wake up, Iâll be a teenager again, and Paon and I will be back to kicking each otherâs teeth in.â She turned down to Marinette. âDid you ever go through this whole âtoo good to be trueâ thing with Adrien?â
The camera lowered to Marinette, who huffed and flashed a wry grin before returning to her work on Chloeâs dress. âWhen he agreed to date me after two years of stalkery pining, kind of. After I found out he was Chat Noir, definitely. I thought there was no way the guy I loved and the cat who loved me were the same person. Even on our wedding day, I expected it to be some kind of Akuma spell, but here I am, six years deep into marriage with a pair of five-year-olds, and I couldnât be happier.â
She smiled up at Chloe. âI assure you, this isnât a dream. You deserve to be happy. After everything youâve gone through, you deserve this.â
âEspecially after all the bullshit you went through with The-Bitch-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.â
âAlya!â Marinette scolded, but the smile on her face betrayed her true feelings.
âWhat?â The camera shook in time with Alyaâs laughter. âChlo put the kibosh on mentioning her name, so how else are you supposed to know who Iâm talking about?â
âYouâre right.â Marinette and the camera refocused on Chloe. âYouâre both right. I deserve this. Iâve changed so much since I was a stupid kid, and Nathanael sees that. He believes I deserve to be happy, and you know what?â She turned back to the camera and the smile on her face was bigger and brighter than Nathanael had ever seen. âI believe it too.â
That particular video file ended and Nathanael turned back to Chloe, who had her eyes down on the album in her lap. She seemed focused on a picture of her dress, which was strange since she described it as âlacklusterâ earlier. âAre you alright?â he asked.
Chloe ran her fingers over the picture, and when she spoke, she spoke with an odd mix of wonder and sorrow in her voice. âI...she was right. It feels like a dream. This is me. I know this is me but it still feels like Iâm looking at someone elseâs life.â Her voice dropped to a whisper and all Nathanael could make out was, âIâve never seenâŠâ
âNever seen what?â
She shook her head and blinked at him, his voice jarring her from her stupor. âN-nothing.â She looked down at the album, stood, and held it out to him. âIâm done for today. You can look through it if you like.â When Nathanael accepted it, she collected their empty coffee mugs and strode into the kitchen, seeming all too eager to put distance between herself and him. Or maybe the album.
Nathanael looked down at the photo Chloe had been looking at. The Chloe in the photo wore the same smile she had in the video. Judging from the background, Nathanael guessed this photo was taken moments after that segment of the video ended, when Marinette had finished her last adjustments on the dress. That smile...heâd never seen Chloe smile that big or that bright. Heâd never seenâŠ
He paused and looked back up at Chloe, slowly realizing what sheâd whispered.
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ChloĂš Bourgeoisâs Guide To Proving The Class Rep Isnât A Selfless Angel
hey yâall, iâm back for yet another update after like 6 months vbhvsbj. you can tell iâm really on my game with this.Â
shoutout to @megatraven for being a got damn angel about this and reading the chapter for me. i love you, even if you donât invite me to your shotgun wedding.Â
first chapter | last chapter | read on ao3
Chapter 6: Marinette Dupain-Cheng's Guide To Handling A Day In The Life
Fighting akumas was easy, because at the end of the day, the person was just dealing with a bad day negatively. All they needed was a smile from Ladybug and the reassurance that they could move on with their lives. They forgot their moments of desperation in a heartbeat, caught up in the excitement of Ladybug and the idea that her butterflies had purified their entire souls.
Marinette smiled, watched her reflection in the mirror and wondered if she always looked so small. âI know. Itâs justâŠâ
The words wouldnât come to her, wouldnât make their way to her vocal cords and then her mouth and into the air. Tikki gazed at her quietly, patiently, and Marinette was hit once again by the startling realization that sheâs most likely been in similar situations with other holders.
âI wish she wasnât so closed off,â Marinette finished lamely, her eyes concentrating almost painfully on her clenched fingers. âIt would make things so much better.â
Tikki smiled then, the way she always did, but this time Marinette saw centuries and millennia of experiences that she herself would never even come close to. It was so easy to forget that Tikki was part of the very fabric holding the world together, that she was as embedded in the mechanisms of life as oxygen was.
âPeople being open with one another would improve a lot in life,â Tikki said. âBut people love to hold onto their secrets and guard their hearts close. Even if theyâve been hurt in the past. Especially if theyâve been hurt in the past.â
Before Marinette could come up with a response, she heard voices outside the bathroom door, and knew other students was close to entering. With a tight smile to Tikki she closed her clasp, smoothing down her and grabbing her bag off the floor.
âYouâre on time today, Marinette,â Madame Bustier called out from down the hallway, and Marinette partially turned to shoot her favorite teacher a smile.
âI guess itâs a day for miracles,â she said, laughing and stopping so Madame Bustier could catch up.
âThereâs no need,â Madame Bustier interrupted, holding up a hand and failing to conceal her smile. âThe less I know about your personal relationships, the better I can do my job as your teacher. I just ask that the two of you keep your interactions appropriate while you are inside the building.â
âIâll keep it in mind,â was all she could say, which turned out to be the right thing to say. Madame Bustier smiled at her, warm and happy before stopping right outside the classroom door.
âIâm not upset,â Alya responded, flicking off crumbs from her fingers. âI mean, I am a little but I get why you hid it.â
âYou do?â Marinette said, setting her sandwich down. Her heart was pounding in her chest, fast fast fastfastfast beats threatening to overtake her body.
âI do,â Alya said with a nod. And then, with a tight smile to Marinette, she said, âI know it⊠seems like I might be straight and a bigot, but I can promise you Iâm not.â
âAlya-â
âNo, no. Let me say my piece, girl. I love you, and if youâre interested in people other than boys, Iâm not going to judge you.â She glanced around them before leaning in, her voice dropping to a whisper. âI identify as panromantic asexual. So I know what is and isnât up with the community, you know? Iâm not going to hate you for identifying as anything other than straight.â
Marinette continued to look at her, unsure if she was supposed to be aware of what the words âpanromanticâ and âasexualâ meant, but Alya was done with the conversation and occupied with staring at her buzzing phone.
âItâs Nino,â she said by way of explanation, wiping her fingers off on her sleeve before picking up her phone and shooting off a quick text. âHe needs my notes to study. Youâll be fine for a minute, right?â
She didnât wait for a response as she pulled out a notebook, picked up her trash, and walked away, leaving Marinette to reflect.
But Alya was walking back now. And before she could lose her nerve, Marinette walked out of her seat, and closed the distance between herself and her fake girlfriend.
A week ago, I complained into the void about my less than stellar financial situation, being that I was forced to quit my second job. That means that while I certainly have more time to write, the funds arenât coming in and Iâve been thrust into a really crappy state of affairs, for lack of a better word. I asked if anyone would buy me a coffee and help fund some chapters of Heat and boy, did you guys answer! I can pay for gas this week! So I wanted to give the five of you a huge thank you and let you know how I plan on dedicating chapters to you!
@alienducky: For your generous donation, chapters 11-15 of Heat will be dedicated to you! (Theyâre almost done, I promise)
@alexseanchai: For your gracious offering, chapters 16-18 of Heat will be dedicated to you!
To anons BG and SP, chapter 19-20 of Heat will be written in your honours!
@tenshiyuna: For your INSANELY generous heaping of coffee, the total smutfest that is the next chapter of Safeword is dedicated to you! I hope you like a good panty raid đ
Thank you again so much! I hope you like the writing I put out there!
If interested, you can help my poor ass self by buying me a coffee. I also take writing commissions! Just send me an ask and Iâll write all your...dreamiest desires đ