Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1. Marinette, Life

     Have you ever felt so exhausted, so tired that you sometimes wanted to give up? Have you felt true pain? The inexplicable pain and tiredness that makes you want to lay down and never wake up, to forever keep dreaming and so when you wake up, you hate the world a little more each day? That’s how I felt for the longest time. Tired and in pain. 

     Living the life as a baker's daughter wasn’t easy and made me tired and in pain. It also wasn’t easy whenever we were busy and had to bake the day away. That’s why when my parents told me they paid for my university tuition, I was almost amazed since I figured they’d want my help at home. I didn’t know how well my major would serve in my future, a major in fashion design. Maybe I could make it, I did live in Paris. I also at least had the life of a baker to fall back on if that didn’t work out. 

     On the first day of school, I decided to wear an old pair of light blue  jeans with a button down pink shirt with some old black tennis shoes before scrambling out the door with my red backpack, barely waving my parents goodbye. I wasn’t late, just merely excited for the new school year that I didn’t know I could have. Having classes only two times a week though, I could still help my mother and father at home.

     Skipping down the sidewalk towards the close by school, I pulled out and texted my friend Alya who was also attending the same university. I hoped I could spot her almost red hair in the crowd once I arrived. Be there soon, can’t wait to see you! Putting my phone into my pocket, I continued my way down the pavement. 

     Due to my early arrival, not many people were out in front of the building, however Alya was looking down at her phone before looking up and noticing me. Her classic orange sweater and black cargo pants also made her stand out from some of the other students who simply wore things similar to my own attire. Bouncing over to me, Alya took my hands and spun me around which caused my hair to slap my face. 

     “I’m so excited you were able to attend Girl! I was worried you’d have to find a job and start saving up for a bit before you came but look at you! You also ditched the pigtails today, I’m loving it.” She said, using a finger to coil a strand of my straight, black hair. “Yeah, I wanted to wear my hair down today. I liked it.” Nodding in approval, Alya went back to grab her stuff before grabbing me by the arm and yanking me into the school and up the grey, stone steps. Alya had always been outgoing and a force to be reckoned with in certain situations. 

     She also loved technology and talking, which translated into social media and interviewing people which led her taking a major in journalism, hoping to start a blog one day where she could interview upcoming stars or even regular people. It always did suit her well with her being a good conversationalist. 

     As I was yanked down the hallways, I took in the details. Manilla stone walls with grey stone floors. Some little chairs and tables were seen scattered about but it was mostly bare and boring. Luckily, there was a really nice skylight in the main hall which made the room not as boring. When we passed through, it caught Alya’s skin. Making her cedar wood colored skin glow and her chunky black cat-eye glasses glimmer for a small second before stopping at one hallway. “My class is down here. I’m gonna wait for Nino, hope you forgive me.” Giving me two kisses on the cheek and me and returning to her, I left Alya waiting for her boyfriend. He was interesting to say the least, being a music major and he had been a slight rebel since highschool. Maybe he still wore his same black headphones on his neck?

     I walked towards my own hallway, the same boring walls and floors greeting me as I tried to find the lecture room with the room number written on my schedule, scratching my head. And when I finally found it, I happily walked inside and decided to take a seat in some of the more front rows. The classroom was also boring. The long tables that took up almost the entire room were a deep brown wood with hints of red, and the walls were a light cream stone color. The floors were the same drab grey stone in the halls and in the front of the class sat a small desk the same color to the long student tables and a large white projector behind it. 

     Lazily looking around the classroom, still no one was here yet. I guess it was a good thing to be early, but it still felt a little lonely. I couldn’t talk to anyone yet and I really didn’t wanna text Alya, Nino was probably here by now to talk to her.

     Just as I was thinking this, someone walked through the doors that I walked in from. I looked over and saw someone I honestly didn’t expect to see, Adrien Agreste. He was a rich model, what did he need to do here? It confused me, but as I was thinking, he stepped over to my seat and sat next to me which snapped me from my daze. “Marinette? Not surprised to see you here.” Adrien spoke, a small smile on his face.

     We weren’t exactly the closest, but we got along ok. “Yeah, I’m surprised you’re here too. I thought you’d be out modeling.” I joked, smiling back at him as he nodded, not taking offense to my joke. “I wanted to continue school. This isn’t my major, I’m taking fashion as a minor per the request of my father. Sculpting is my major.” Putting both of his slightly sun kissed hands on the table. 

     “Ah, I see. I’d like to see some of your sculptures some time. That explains you leaving the art rooms sometimes with grey hands in highschool.” In all honesty, seeing Adrien interested in art didn’t entirely surprise me. He did come from an artistically inclined family, an artistically inclined family which had good looks. Adrien had stunning light blonde hair which reached his ears in slightly wild pieces and subtle green eyes. He was also dressed in some very fancy clothes for the first day of school. Black leather shoes with grey slacks and matching grey suspenders and a white button down shirt. Dressed to the nines.

     He noticed me looking at his outfit in which he quietly laughed while some more students came in through the door. “I guess I did overdress a little. My father said that dressing up will always impress. But your outfit looks much more comfortable.” Adrien pointed to my getup which I nodded, running my hands down my body to showcase my clothing. “Yeppp, pretty damn comfortable.”

     We left ourselves in a little peaceful silence after that until people would come up to our desk, asking Adrien for a picture or for an autograph of some sort. Their amazement would die down soon and class would be normal. But soon everyone went to their seats once someone who looked like the professor walked inside and took his spot at his desk, resting both hands on the wooden surface as he looked up at the spread out students in the room. Maybe he was disappointed in our numbers because he sighed before rubbing his eyes with the edge of his shirt sleeve. 

     “I see some of you here are more inclined already to the fashion scene, and some of you seem a little lacking. By tomorrow, I want to see some of you dressed like him-” He pointed right at Adrien who had a little pink dust his cheeks. “That will be your first ‘assignment’. Now, my name is Mr. Bernard and I will be your teacher in fashion design. I hope we can enjoy our school year together.” 

Chapter Text

Chapter 2. Adrien, Surprise

     The school day was boring if I had to describe it in one word. We didn’t do any work, merely introductions and also filling out papers about ourselves. I did talk to Marinette one more time, but that was it. I didn’t have any real friends in the class. Nino was in the music department and he was my only real friend but he’d probably hang out with Alya after school today. 

     Once class was over, I packed up my things and put them into my bag before putting it over my shoulder and looking to see Marinette still packing. I decided to ask- “Hey, um...do you maybe wanna leave class together?” Her head perked up, pointing to herself before I nodded while chuckling. “Yeah, sure!” She strung her backpack on her shoulder before leaving the desk table with me. Maybe I could make a new friend in Marinette? Leaving the classroom with her, we both went down the almost empty hallways in silence, our shoes making quiet tapping noises on the floor. I guess we got let out of class early.

     As we left through the front of the school, we went and sat down on a bench to wait for our friends. I guess Marinette got tired of the silence because she asked me something I’d honestly never expect. “Hey Adrien, you should come to my parents bakery some time. I know we don’t hang out much but it seems like it’d be fun.” “Oh, of course. I’d love to. I might pop in this weekend.” I smiled, and looked out of the corner of my eyes to see Alya and Nino leave the school building and walk towards us.

     Nino was still the same as ever and didn’t really change much. He still wore his same black chunky glasses, a red baseball cap with large baggy jeans and worn black sneakers, only today he decided to wear a blue sweater. “Hey Adrien! Good to see you bro.” 

     He walked over and held up a fist in which I fist bumped him, his tan knuckles kinda hurting my own. “Hi Mari! Nice to see you!” Marinette waved over as she stood up and went beside Alya, taking her arm in her own as she winked at Nino. “I’ll be taking your girlfriend for the time being. Hope you don’t mind.” Nino nodded before grabbing me around the shoulders and waving bye to the two girls as they walked down the pavement to their respective homes.

     “Dude, you’re finally talking to someone else other than me. I can’t believe my eyes.” Nino said, melodramatic as he then put a hand to his head while fluttering his eyes. “Yeah, I did. I’m not a complete shut in.” We both laughed before patting each other's backs to say goodbye as a black car pulled up on the curb. “Well, bye Adrien. I’ll see you tomorrow for our next classes!” Waving at me, Nino ran down the sidewalk to catch up with Marinette and Alya as I walked to the black car and got inside. 

     As the driver was driving down the street, I stared out the car window. I didn’t really want to go home. No one would be there to greet me besides maybe Natalie, the person who I had the most interaction with besides Nino. Even my driver didn’t hold much emotion and he’d been driving me anywhere I needed to be since middle school. It’s not like I made an attempt at a conversation in a while though, he would only say short responses when I had a question.

     I slumped back in my seat and twiddled my thumbs for who knows how long. The car ride seemed endless. Honking horns, yelling people, laughing families, things that made everyone else feel alive but me. The car was too quiet and I felt alone. So, so very alone in moments like these when I couldn’t interact with the outside world.

     Suddenly though the car bumped and I was thrown across the car seat, my seatbelt was not holding me back as much as I would’ve liked. My head hit the other door and I could feel the car ricochet backwards and someone hit the back of the car. But my head was pounding too much to look up and see what happened for a few seconds.

     Sitting up slowly, I groaned and looked around. Debris was in the air and I looked forward and saw my driver, unconscious with a bleeding head wound and the airbag in his face. I grabbed my phone and tried to dial one-one-two but my screen looked blurry and my head only started to pound even more. Hissing in pain, I was finally able to call the hotline while looking outside of my window. 

     “H-Hello?” I asked once I heard the person on the other line speak. “Yeah. My name is Adrien Agreste. I’m in a car accident on the street near Sorbonne Universite. My driver is unconscious and my head hurts a lot- please don’t think this is a prank call, get here right away please.”

     I then hung up, my eyes now focusing on the mess around me. A brown car was smashed in front of us, making the hood of my car crinkled like paper. In the rearview mirror was a white sedan that had its own front of the car smash. What the hell? I thought. Wreaks like this have never happened before to my knowledge. I opened the car door and stumbled out, leaning on the side with my arm holding me up as I looked around again.

     There were more cars, seemingly an endless line of them wreaked or caught in the crossfire. I don’t remember there being that many cars out. Why did this happen? I tried to wrap my head around it all which only made my head hurt more, a stabbing pain appearing in the left side of my head. The sounds of sirens, I couldn’t hear them either. I was too focused on now wanting that stabbing pain in my head to stop.

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     A hospital “room.” Great. I was stuck in the hospital with a minor head injury. It felt a lot worse earlier but I was reassured I was fine. I was also told by a nurse that my father would be here soon to see me before taking me home. But I was wondering about other things. Was my driver ok? Father was actually coming to see me and take me home? Would he spend time with me? I’m glad he called the staff to ask if I was alright.

     My hopes were high as I waited to be picked up and taken home. Then the hope started to dwindle as the minutes passed, and the minutes turned into a couple of hours. I knew my father wasn’t out of town, where was he? I curled up with my knees to my chest as I waited. My head resting on my knees and my hair covering my eyes. 

     I’d also have to text Nino to tell him I was ok. I didn’t have my phone though. And after what felt like forever, I heard my fathers voice along with his assistant Natalie’s. My little curtain to my bed space was thrown open and I felt arms wrap around me. “Dad…” I mumbled, hugging him back as I felt him gently grip the back of my shirt. 

     “Are you ok? Let me look at you.” He said, pushing me back genty, running a pale hand along the bandage on the left side of my head. His blue eyes were scanning my body and his normally slicked back blonde, now greying hair was slightly disheveled along with his navy blue suit. 

     Natalie was behind him, holding a clipboard against her own black suit as she smiled at me, using a finger to push up her red glasses. Her hair was in pristine condition, I guess Father was more worried than I thought. “I’m so glad you’re ok. You farred off better than your driver, the man has a concussion. You will rest for the rest of the day until school tomorrow.” My father had Natalie gather my things before I was led in a wheelchair to my fathers car. 

     At least he was worried about me, even if I did have school tomorrow. He cared for me, that’s all that mattered. I was a little weary getting into the car at first but Father coaxed me into getting inside, even sitting with me in the back seat.

     On the way home I felt happy. I had my father with me, caring for me about my injury, even when I thought he’d be too busy designing clothes or in a meeting to see me himself, that might be why he was held up. I also had my first day of school today and talked to someone who I normally didn’t communicate with. Despite that wreck, today was an ok day. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day too.

     We finally arrived home. I exited the car with my father and walked up to the doors of my mansion with him. I walked inside with him but he turned my way, grabbing my shoulder and kissing my head. “I will join you for dinner. Now go rest ok? I just need to finish some designs.” He turned on his feet and walked down the hallway. At least he’d join me for dinner for the first time in forever!

     I almost ran up to my room, stopping a couple of times due to my head pain but I was happy to eat with Father. I walked into my room, now a little doozy as I stumbled to my large bed and fell down onto the large black duvet. My eyes felt heavy and my body felt numb. But I welcomed sleep with open arms as I drifted off.

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     Sitting in the dining room with Father wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be, but it was something. We mainly talked about how we were doing. Him bringing up things related to his newest designs and asking how my school day went, to me asking him how his work processes were going and my next photoshoots for his lines. 

     I didn’t particularly like modeling but I did it anyway for my father. It did make him smile whenever he would see the newest cover on a magazine with my face on it. I shoved those thoughts away for now, speaking up again. “So, Father, how was your day today?” I looked up at him from my plate, stuffing my fork into my mouth. 

     His hand clenched a little around his fork and his eyes narrowed slightly but the expressions went away quickly as he spoke almost coldly, replacing the semi-warm tones he used with me earlier. “My day was good besides you being hurt. I might have to buy you a safer car model, I knew that one wasn’t good.” He shook his head before Natalie walked into the room. “Gabriel, I would advise you to get done with dinner soon. Someone from one of the fashion houses has some questions.” 

     My heart sunk a bit and it sunk even more as he stood up, nodding towards Natalie. She left the room as Father looked at me. “Sorry for cutting dinner short Adrien. I enjoyed it with you. We should do this more often whenever possible.” And then he left.

     I was now alone in the dining hall, my dinner half finished. I pushed my plate away and got up from my chair before going to my room, walking up along the long staircase, my hands gripping the railing before I entered the hallway and into my bedroom.

     Changing into some black matching set pajamas, I got under my bed's duvet while staring at my ceiling. The boring white color staring at me back as I then gripped my duvet. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 3. Marinette, Kwami

     Going to school today didn’t sound appealing at all. I was tired and just wanted to sleep. I also got a message from Nino saying that Adrien got hurt in that large car wreck that was in the news yesterday. That warranted me now dragging myself downstairs while greeting my parents. My mother and father were of course up bright and early like always to open the shop with fresh pastries. “Good morning Mama, Papa.” I mumbled, going over to kiss both of their cheeks while my mother smiled. Her grey hair showing her black hair and her almond shaped eyes got smaller as she smiled back at me.

     “Good morning Gōngzhǔ.” My mother kissed me back on the cheek as she said my nickname. It was one of the only words I knew in Chinese but I loved it. “Ah, Marinette. Good morning.” My father said, kissing the top of my head. His brown mustache tickled some of my forehead.

     I waved them bye after my little greeting, leaving through the front door to head towards the campus. It was colder today, my black sweater luckily keeping me warm along with my grey loose trousers. I took my professor's advice to get dressed. However, my hair was in a bun and I was wearing black kitten heels which made my exposed skin start to chill. 

     Finally I arrived at the school, running inside as quickly as I could while sighing in relief as I entered the slightly warmer building. The stone didn’t help much though still, I had goosebumps along the back of my neck.

     Not wanting to wait for Alya I decided to text her saying that I’d be going to class early. Especially since I’d be having other classes today I wanted to settle in. 

     When I entered the classroom, it looked different. Some of the desks were moved to the side of the room. I didn’t know they were moveable. And some mannequins and fabrics were in the now cleared space. I clapped my hands together in excitement. I loved making clothes. Designing and creating things I could wear and what others could wear truly made me happy. However, I wish to learn to sew for a different reason in the first place.

     I was more used to sewing my own clothing because buying clothes was sometimes too expensive for me and my parents. Walking past the little display I went to my desk and set down my backpack, taking out my books and some paper as I waited for class to start. I rested my head in my hands and closed my eyes, my tiredness catching up with me before I could feel someone gently tap my shoulder. Blinking my eyes rapidly I looked up to see Adrien with an awkward smile on his face.

     He walked past me and sat down in his seat, taking out things from his bag too as he spoke. “Good morning Marinette. You look tired.” Adrien smiled at me and faced me fully which allowed me to see the bandage on the side of his head. “I am tired. But are you ok? Nino told me about what happened yesterday, I saw it on the news too.” I leaned forward slightly. “Yeah, I’m ok. Just a small head injury but I’ll be better in about a week.”

     He made me sigh, saying something as getting in a car wreck was so nonchalant. “But anyways-” he started, “I heard that we’re finally going to start the concept of design today and then start actually making garments next week. I haven’t ever sewed but I know you’re good at it so could you help me if I need help?” His hand was rubbing the back of his neck and his cheeks were a light pink. “Sure, I could help you. It wouldn’t hurt and I could get more practice under my belt anyways.” 

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     School went by quickly actually and was more enjoyable than I thought it would be. My class with Adrien was the most fun. Hopefully it will continue to be like this. But now all I had to do was head home and study and maybe help out my parents a little bit in the shop. I could tell they were a little more worn out this morning than usual.

     Luckily, I was soon home. I greeted my parents and then went up to my bedroom. Closing the doors behind me I walked to my bed and threw my backpack down while sinking into my bed. The covers were so soft and felt like heaven, if I could, I’d stay there forever honestly. I unfortunately couldn’t wallow away in my bed and had to get up to go clean myself up and to sit down and read through my papers. As I was getting up and faced my desk something caught my eye. A little box in the shape of a hexagon, the wood was a dark cherry color and there were red swirls along it. “I don’t remember this ever being here..did Dad and Mom get me something?” I whispered. It was tempting to go downstairs and thank them for it but they would’ve told me they got me something. 

     I picked up the small box and it rested in the bottom of my hand. The wood was warm and smelt like cedar. My fingers went to the little clasp and unlocked it and slowly pushed the box open to reveal a pair of black earrings. Maybe they were onyx or obsidian? I took them out of the box and I was starting to put them in as I walked to my door to go thank my parents before I heard a small noise. “Please don’t go downstairs!” 

     Turning around, that small voice came from a small red creature about the same size of the box. It was red and looked like a bug with red antennas and a big red spot on the top of its head. “What. The. Fuck-” My shoe was the perfect weapon in the moment. I took off a heel and was prepared to throw it at the creature before it went to my hand and yanked the shoe away from me.

     “Please be calm! My name is Tiki. I’m a kwami.” It spoke. “Ok..Tiki..uh, I’m Marinette. But why the hell are you in my jewelry!” Tiki, who I assumed was a girl due to her tone of voice, was freaking me out. Why was there a bug in my earrings, were these even from my mom and dad? 

     She flew over to my earrings and tapped them with her hand and I jumped back. Tiki then flew back over to my desk and sat down on top. I waited till I calmed down, my breathing finally regular as I walked to my desk and sat down in my chair. “Ok..so why are you here?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.  “You are chosen to be a Miraculous holder like the previous people before you! You saw that car wreck in the news, correct?” Tiki asked to which I nodded. “That wreck unfortunately wasn’t a mere coincidence. It was caused by an evil spirit named Mauvais, which is why the Miraculous were created in the first place. To defeat him whenever he would resurface.”

     This made absolutely no sense. Maybe I was hallucinating? I didn’t sleep well last night. “Haha..funny. I’m dreaming, you’re a figment of my imagination.” Chuckling hesitantly I got up from my chair and tried to walk to my door but Tiki grabbed my pants, yanked me back and made me fall on my butt, she sure was strong for being so little. 

     “You aren’t dreaming! Please believe me. I chose you for a reason...or rather I don’t why I chose you but I had a good feeling about it.” Tiki then bit my arm, making me yell and jump back. “Ow! What the fuck was that for?” I nearly yelled which prompted my parents to call up from downstairs. “Marinette, are you ok?” I heard my dad ask. “I’m fine Papa!” 

     Glaring back at Tiki, she was merely smiling at me. “See, I told you! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to do that to you guys.” Situating herself, she rested on top of a shirt that rested on the edge of my desk which I had out to repair soon.

     It was decided, I’d let her stay here for now and then talk to her later on when she was awake. I had no idea what was going on. It made my head hurt almost and I could feel pressure in the front of my head as I walked towards my bathroom with clothes in my arms a while later.

     The bathroom seemed comforting. Quiet and the cold tile made me more aware of my surroundings. It was the only place where I could truly just be alone. I got undressed and quickly showered before leaving the bathroom in my fuzzy pajamas. They were a dull blue and almost too small for me.

     Tiki was still sleeping as I crawled into my bed and put my hands on my face. The day was at first okay but now it felt like shit. Where did I go wrong? Turning on my side I curled up underneath my covers. It wasn’t even dinner time yet but I didn’t feel like eating and my parents would hopefully let me sleep in peace.

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     I was fortunately able to sleep and my parents didn’t wake me up. My clock read two in the morning and I sat up, rubbing my eyes as I felt exhausted but unable to sleep. Tiki was surprisingly awake and was investigating my room slightly. Flying around, touching my clothes on the floor and picking around at my sewing supplies. “Tiki..what are you doing…” I sat up and rubbed my eyes while she flew over to me in a flash.

     “I’m just looking around your room to see if I could understand you better! After all, we’ll be working together for a while.” Tiki beamed. My hand rubbed my temples now. “Tiki, I’m sorry, but I’m still feeling a little overwhelmed by what you told me. Mauvais, evil spirits, Miraculous?” I curled up my knees to my chest.

     Tiki decided to rest on my knee. “I’ll tell you more about it, so listen. Mauvais is an evil spirit who used to be a French man and wanted to take over France and soon other parts of the world. He teamed up with evil spirits and therefore created Mauvais, a new version of himself. I don’t remember his original name.” Her little body now flew up in the air, dancing around in almost a theatrical reenactment of the events that took place. “So he started to cause havoc among the land, that car crash that happened yesterday was one example. Therefore, the Miraculous were created in order to seal up Mauvais for whenever he would resurface.” Tiki’s little acting stunts stopped as she now looked me in the eyes, her own eyes huge on her face and her irises were a beautiful shade of sky blue.

     “There is one other Miraculous. I’m the Miraculous of the Ladybug and the other is the Miraculous of the Cat. We would be creation and cat destruction. So, Marinette, are you willing to at least meet your partner and to see if this is something you’re both up to do?” She blinked at me before settling down on my bed.

     If I wanted to do this, what would it cost? What could really happen to me? Tiki didn’t explain that well but maybe she didn’t in case I got scared. But in this moment I felt a little bit better at knowing her purpose for meeting me and deciding to talk with someone else like me wouldn’t hurt. “Sure, I’ll meet up with the other holder and discuss this.”

     Tiki then bolted into the air, smiling widely as she flew around my head a couple of times before going down to my eye level and saying excitedly- “Great! Now, in order to have access to your powers, you’ll need to say a specific saying. Make sure to not stay transformed too long though or your powers will deplenish. You’ll know when. Now, say ‘Tiki, spots on!’”

     “Tiki, spots on?” And that’s when my adventure began.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4. Adrien, Exciting

     It was two in the morning and I still hadn’t slept at all. My head was hurting a bit and I felt anxious for some reason. I don’t know why but maybe it was because my head hurt. My bed didn’t seem very inviting right now. The large windows that served as a wall to the East side of my bedroom were more exciting to be by. Street lamps were lit up along the houses and shops below but they were blurry and instead looked like fireflies. 

     I’ve never seen a firefly but maybe they looked like blurry street lamps. No one was out either and I felt like the only person who might be awake at this time. It felt actually comforting and not lonely as it normally did. I thought so because people normally seemed alone when they slept. No one to sleep next to unless they were lucky to have a significant other or whoever they slept next to.

     My father didn’t see me today. After our dinner we had the other night I stayed up for at least an hour in bed while staring at my ceiling. It was the first time in forever we had eaten together but he left it all behind as if I was a person who he merely talked to for convenience. My eyes blinked repeatedly as I could feel tears pool in my eyes.

     But crying for my father also didn’t feel right. I sighed and then turned back to my bed which now finally looked comfortable. Jumping on top of the duvet I curled up into the fabric. It was slightly hard to breathe like this but I honestly didn’t care at that moment. I was finally tired and intended to sleep. 

     Although my sleep was interrupted by something falling on my head. What the hell? I sat up and rubbed my head, great, my head hurts even more now than earlier. I turned on my lamp and looked down at my bed to see a hexagon shaped box. “Where did you come from?” Scooping up the box I inspected the outside. It was covered in black swirls and the wood was a dark brown, almost black like the swirls. 

     I opened the box and in there sat a ring. It was silver and had an empty pendant in the middle. “I wonder if Father bought it for me?” It was probably stupid of me to open a ring that I didn’t know who the sender was but I didn’t really care in the moment.

     It slid onto my right ring finger. It fit perfectly. The silver was pretty and didn’t have a single scratch on it. “Cool.” The ring shone in the light from my lamp as I turned my hand. 

     “It is pretty cool, isn’t it?” A voice said, it sounded like a smoking teenager. I turned my head to the side to face a small black creature with triangular ears and a black tail. Where the whites of his eyes should’ve been were green and his pupils were black slits.

     I nearly fell off my bed as it flew towards me, resting on top of my head, almost as if it were nesting since it was getting itself tangled in my hair. “Oh yeah, you’re pretty comfy.”

     He, I assumed, flew now off my head and rested on my bed sheets, yawning as his tail flickered about. “Anyways, my name is Plagg. Blah blah blah. You’ve been chosen by me for no reason to defeat the evil spirit Mauvais along with another Miraculous holder. I’m a kwami. I’m the black cat and I’m destruction, your partner is the ladybug which is creation. 

     “If you wanna defeat evil, then great. If not, it'll be troublesome for me to find someone else. You can go speak to your partner at the Eiffel Tower tonight if you wanna talk things out with her. If you wanna transform, say ‘Plaggs, claws out’ and then bam; you got powers.” 

     Plagg then yawned again and got really comfortable. “I also really like cheese and meat so if you ever wanna give me those to replenish my energy, that’d be great.” 

     He then passed out. I don't get why, Plagg was inside a box this entire time where he could’ve had plenty of sleep. He also didn’t tell me what time my partner might arrive at the Eiffel Tower in the night but it’d be better to go ahead and go there.

     The metal ring on my finger suddenly felt heavy as I spoke the words- “Plagg, claws out?” And everything changed. There was a green light and green swirls mixed in with black and it made me dizzy to the point of almost being nauseous but it soon stopped very suddenly.

     I felt lighter and oddly more flexible now. My eyes drifted down to my legs where there was black leather running all the way up my body. I didn’t really have shoes, they were more like metal parts that emulated them on my foot. 

     Walking to my mirror in my bathroom, my face had a leather like material mask on too around my eyes and my eyes looked like Plaggs. I even had little leather cat ears on my head and a leather belt cat tail behind me. Everything was now catching up to me. Defeating an evil spirit, another Miraculous holder? I was chosen for this purpose for no reason too which didn’t really help me in this situation but maybe it’d give a little excitement to my life and I could have more fun!

     Running to my window walls, I walked to the two doors that blended in the panes and jumped up the ledge with ease. It felt odd, I felt cat-like. But I guess it was to be expected considering that I held the Cat Miraculous. There was also a light weight on my side which I finally noticed too. Cold. It felt cold through the leather even. I reached for the object and held it up to my face. A cylinder object which was made of metal. I waved it around in front of me and it suddenly became a longer length. My eyes widened as I then made it touch the ground below, looking down at it as I smiled and decided to leap.

     The feeling was nearly incredible. I felt like I was flying until I landed on the roof of a house. What I now know to be a staff shortened. “Amazing, what else could I do?” Using my hands and my legs I jumped to the next building, a large smile on my face. 

     I kept jumping and jumping from roof to roof. The wind would whip me in the face and I felt exhilarated. The world felt like it was mine. 

     Soon I saw the Eiffel Tower. I’ve never seen it at night like this. The lights were golden like the street lamps. What surprised me is seeing a figure almost clumsily land onto one of the top levels. They were dangling on the edge before pulling themselves up. Maybe they were the ladybug users. 

     I went to the tower and tried to jump up but couldn’t land right and ended up dangling on the edge too before pulling myself up and gripping the ledge and falling over onto the metal floors. “Ouch.” I mumbled before sitting up, my eyes adjusting before I looked in front of me and saw a very interesting girl.

     It was hard to tell how old she was, I think she might’ve been about my age. Her hair was black and it reached all the way to her hips in two long pigtails and they were flat. Her suit was interesting too. It was red with black spots all over except for the collar of her suit and her sides, feet and hands. There was also a black line running down the middle of her outfit until it stopped at her waist. 

     Her face was also covered by a ladybug patterned mask too. I must’ve been staring for long enough as she finally saw me and picked me up from the floor. “You must be the cat user, right?” I nodded and stood up from the ground while dusting myself off. 

     “I am nice to meet you. You can call me..uh..Cat Noir!” I took her hand and then shook it vigorously while she tried to steady herself. “Nice to meet you Cat Noir, you can call me Ladybug. Now, could you please let my hand go!” 

     Quickly letting her hand go, I rubbed the back of my neck. “Sorry, I just got a little excited. I’ve never had this much freedom before.” I sat down and patted the spot next to me in which she sat down. “So, our kwami's wanted us to talk. To be honest, I don’t know what I want from this.” Ladybug said while sighing.

     “I’ve never thought about being a hero and haven’t ever really wanted to be one if we even are heroes. This might be worth a try but I can’t be sure.” I could see all of the stress she had on her figure. Her shoulders hunched and her face frowning.

     This would be a hard thing to take up. Us fighting, us risking our lives possibly. It would be a large responsibility on us both if we were to take this job. I didn’t even really know myself if I wanted to do it. But our kwami’s sounded like they wanted a quick decision. And I wanted to take that first step for some reason. I’ve never felt free, so maybe this was my chance to have that freedom.

     “I’m going to take the risk I think though..I can’t say the same about you Ladybug. It’s a very sudden decision on my part but I feel like I need to be spontaneous for once. I’ll give you a second to think, we have a while. I’ll do some more thinking too.” Standing up, I made my way over to the other side of the tower to give us both some breathing room. She breathed heavily when I left, and I then sat down on the little ledge overlooking the other side of the city. It did feel good to be by myself as I thought about it a little more. I laid my head against a metal bar beside me. 

     Freedom. This feels like freedom, and I love it. If I stay Cat Noir, then maybe I could stay free like this? My eyes traveled down my suit, they traveled down to the city. An amazing view and sight was in front of me. It definitely didn’t feel real, but even if I was dreaming, I’d dream as long as possible. Lights, figures, even the wind. If I tried hard enough, I could even see people down below in the street. My ears could subtly pick up on conversations too. A man proposing, a parent and kid laughing. So much was going on and I almost got dizzy.

     By now, I didn’t know how much time had passed. It felt so fast yet so slow. I was so focused on what I was doing, I didn’t notice Ladybug now standing up and pacing back and forth instead of sitting. I only noticed it once I heard her mumble, snapping me from my trance to look  back at her. While I hadn’t really come up with my decision, I think I knew what I wanted at that moment.

     Taking out my staff, it elongated and rested on the floor while I rested my arms and head atop of it. Ladybug now looked over at me, her fingers moving at her sides. “Even if you choose no, it was nice knowing you for this small time and to have someone have the same experience as I did, because I’m choosing yes.” I said, making my decision. I would stay at Cat Noir, I would help Plagg and defeat Mauvais. A safe city was better than another one of those car wrecks happening. “So, M’Lady, what’s it gonna be?” 

Chapter Text

The story is currently being rewritten! I'm not happy with my writing style in this story right now and some lore is being rewritten! Chapters will be released soon