404She sometimes wondered if there was something wrong with her.
Surely not every girl in Paris could be reduced to a blushing mess at the mere mention of their crush. Other girls would be able to form full sentences around the person they liked, they might even go as far as to drop subtle hints hoping their crush would pick up on them. These girls could most likely walk side by side with the person they admired and loved so much without tripping over thin air.
Unfortunately, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not like other girls.
Currently, you could find said girl groaning into her pillow at her latest embarrassment, because no matter how hard Marinette tried-
Being normal was not an option.
She groaned.
"Oh Marinette, it's not the end of the world." A little red bug spoke up from their place on Marinette's nightstand.
This little red bug was none other than Tikki, the kwami of creation.
You see, Marinette was less normal than others have been lead to believe. These people viewed her public persona and saw another normal half french girl with a few more flaws than they might have. Her private persona, on the other hand, was one well known to the public as the shining superhero in red and black: Ladybug.
This made Marinette even less normal.
"But Tikki-" The brunette lifted her head from the pillow she had taken to screaming into. "-that's the 5th time this week and it's only Wednesday! When am I going to stop embarrassing myself in front of Adrien."
Tikki rose into the air to hover near her chosen, "Technically you didn't embarrass yourself in front of him."
Marinette narrowed her eyes at the small kwami in disbelief.
"I tripped on the way to lunch and dropped my textbooks on his feet!"
"But he wasn't even fazed! Adrien was mostly worried about you."
Marinette's eyes widened at that, and she flipped over on her bed, belly up, and made eye contact with her kwami.
"That's even worse! It means he was hiding the pain so I wouldn't feel bad!" Marinette brought her hands up to cover her face. "He's just so- Perfect!"
Tikki rolled her eyes.
Marinette slowly removed her hands from her face while Tikki lowered herself to sit next to the brunette's head.
The teen tilted her head to make eye contact with the small kwami and asked, "Why can't I just... be normal Tikki?"
Tikki's face morphed into one of pity.
"You're Ladybug, Marinette... There is no normal."
Marinette sighed.
He sometimes wondered if there was something wrong with him.
Well, being a famous model for the biggest fashion brand in Paris, there had to be something wrong with him. Not every teenager is forced to follow a strict nutritional regime and stick to a ridiculously busy schedule for the better part of a week. On the other hand, almost every teenager has experienced the love of their parents for longer than he has, and had friends to rely on when things got tough.
Adrien Agreste wasn't every teenager, which is why he was a little concerned.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng was one of his most treasured friends. She was the 2nd person to reach out to him and help widen the small and grey world he had lived in before, so Marinette had a special place in his heart alongside Nino, Alya, and all their other friends.
So why did she seem so terrified whenever he spoke to her?
"Oh I know that face..."
Adrien looked away from his high ceiling to glance at his small feline friend, who was currently lazing around his bedroom eating that stinky cheese.
"You're having lady problems again... Ladybug problems."
The small cat's name was Plagg, the kwami of destruction, who's powers made Adrien even less normal. The blonde boy's public persona was undoubtedly famous, but the private persona only he knew about was even more famous. Adrian Agreste was the second half of Paris' renowned superhero duo: Chat Noir.
In short, being normal wasn't really an option for Adrien.
"Yes and no... I am having lady problems, but it's not with Ladybug."
"Not this time." Plagg mumbled.
Adrien glared at his kwami, "I heard that!"
Plagg merely rolled his eyes in response.
"Yeah yeah, so who are you having trouble with this time?"
"Well her names Marinette and she-" Adrien cut himself off with a yelp as Plagg zoomed into his line of sight.
"Marinette? That's the girl who sits behind you in class, right? You like her now? Is that what this is about?" Adrien backed up as Plagg flew closer to his face with every question, effectively flustering the blonde.
"What, no! Sh-She's just a friend Plagg!" Adrien used his index finger to push Plagg away, "Geez, why do you care anyway?!"
Plagg eyed Adrien skeptically before mumbling a simple, "No reason." And returning to his cheese.
Adrien rolled his eyes, and decided to address the odd display later.
"Anyways, Marinette always gets so nervous around me." Adrien hesitated. "Does she... Not like m-"
"OR-"
Adrien jumped at Plagg's sudden exclamation.
"-Maybe she likes you." Plagg finished.
Adrien stayed silent for a bit, seeming to turn the thought around in his head. Plagg eyed his chosen, trying to guess what he was thinking.
"No... That can't be."
Plagg sighed in utter disbelief at how dense the boy was, and moved to float near Adrien once again.
"And why does that seem so impossible? You really think pigtails couldn't fall in love with Mr. Perfect?"
Adrien looked up, "What, no! Its just..." Plagg leveled a confused glance at Adrien.
"Marinette is so amazing! Why would she like someone as boring as me? I'm just a model who's never had to work for anything in his life." Adrien sighed.
Maybe Adrien was just stupid, Plagg had officially given up trying for today.
Plagg responded with a simple, "You're right, maybe she doesn't like you." before returning to his cheese.
The blonde glared at his kwami's use of sarcasm.
"Gee thanks Pla-"
Adrien's sentence went unfinished as a sudden boom traveled through Paris, bringing an earthquake in its wake.
Plagg yelped as his wheels of cheese rolled off the their designated home in Adrien's room. Adrien, on the other hand, instantly rolled off his bed and ducked under the table in the middle of his room.
It took a few seconds for the ground to stop shaking, but when it did, both kwami and chosen moved towards the window to asses the damage.
A tall building seemed to have fallen over and into the Saint Martin Canal, but that wasn't all. Upon closer inspection, the blonde noticed the building was made of...
Gold...?
Adrien desperately hoped nobody had been caught in the crossfire.
"Plagg, we nee-"
"Adrien!"
Adrien jumped and turned around to face his father's assistant, Natalie, who gazed at him worriedly from her place at the door.
"Are you alright?" The assistant seemingly composed herself after finding the blonde unhurt.
"Oh, i'm fine Natalie! My room on the other hand..." Adrien did a quick sweep of his room.
Some of the books on the upper floor of his room had fallen off the bookshelf, his trophies were now on the floor, and a few picture frames that had been decorating the wall were now decorating the floor.
"It's fine, Ladybug's Miraculous cure will fix it." Adrien smiled innocently at Natalie.
The assistant nodded, "Just stay in your room until the akuma has been defeated."
"Sure, I might just take a shower though."
Natalie nodded once again, and turned to leave. Adrien waited a few seconds to make sure she was out of range, before opening the window.
"Come on Plagg, we need to go help Ladybug!"
Plagg sighed in defeat, glancing at his now dirty cheese and back his chosen, "It's not like I have anything better to do."
Adrien rolled his eyes.
"Plagg, Claws out!"
Ladybug arrived first.
A quick glance at the fallen building and she was able to confirm that it was indeed gold. Upon further inspection, however, she found multiple gold statues frozen in typical civilian panic. Ladybug took solace at the thought that they would all go back to normal once the akuma was defeated.
There was one thing that stood out, however.
A series of holes that seemed to be drilled into the ground were scattered several feet apart and seemed to continue down the street.
How strange...
"Looks like our akuma's got a gold obsession. Pretty au-some if you ask me!"
Ladybug groaned, she didn't even have to turn around to know who was making those terrible puns.
"Nice to see you in a good mood kitty."
"You mean a gold mood."
This time Ladybug did turn around, if only to glare at the smug cat crouched on the chimney behind her.
"Never a missed opportunity with you Chat Noir."
"Of course M'Lady!" Chat Noir hopped off his perch to kneel in front of Ladybug. "I'd never pass up a golden opportunity!"
The feline released a small "oof" as Ladybug pushed him away with enough strength to make him land on his arse.
"Alright joke time is over-" The brunette unhooked the yoyo she had placed on her belt. "-we've got an akuma to catch."
Chat Noir pouted, but stood up nonetheless, and grabbed his baton.
"You're right bugaboo, time to go mining."
Chat Noir cackled, and took off to escape the wrath Ladybug was sure to unleash upon him.
"You-" Ladybug released a noise of frustration, before following her partner and the trail of gold statues.
"Don't call me bugaboo!"
"I AM GOLD DIGGER AND YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!"
Ladybug made her descent near Chat Noir, and immediately ducked behind the same chimney he was taking cover at.
"What are we looking at?"
"Well-" Chat Noir peaked around the side of the chimney. "He calls himself "Gold Digger" and his powers turn things into gold."
Ladybug took to glaring at her partners use of sarcasm, "Well yeah I got that part. Any idea where the akuma might be?"
At that Chat Noir turned back around to watch the akuma as it turned buildings and street lamps into gold.
The akuma seemed to resemble a fat mole wearing overalls with large black boots protecting its feet, and a tail extending 4 feet behind it. The akuma also donned a gold safety helmet with a large flashlight embedded in the top. Its weapon resembled a flashy gold pickaxe with a large hole at the top which would spew out gold projectiles.
Ladybug zeroed in on the pickaxe.
"The akuma has to be in his pickaxe, the one he's using to turn everything into gold!"
Her partner nodded, "Alright M'Lady, what's the plan?"
"I need a distraction, think you can handle it?"
Chat Noir smirked and made a show of cracking his knuckles before responding with a confident, "Leave it to me!"
Ladybug watched her partner saunter off, and was temporarily distracted by her traitorous insecurities.
"If I only I could be that confident around Adrien," she mumbled.
"Hey Gold Digger!"
Ladybug waited for the akuma to lock eyes with the feline superhero, before proceeding to slip off the roof she was perched on.
"Why don't you come over here so we can show Paris who the true Golden Boy is!" Chat Noir exclaimed haughtily, arms curled around his baton and positioned behind his head.
Ladybug temporarily paused when the outline of a purple butterfly appeared on the bridge of Gold Digger's nose. The akuma hardened his gaze and pointed his pickaxe at Chat Noir.
"Chat Noir! You will give me your Miraculous!"
The akuma followed up his demand with a number of golden shots, which Chat Noir expertly dodged.
Expertly or desperately, Ladybug would never know.
As Chat Noir continued to draw the akuma farther away, Ladybug crept closer and closer to the akuma, until she was positioned near a car directly behind it.
"Looks like your partner's left you high and dry Golden Boy!" Gold Digger screamed, landing a projectile a little too close for comfort.
"That's what you think! Ladybug!"
The akuma turned around, a little too late, as Ladybug had already become airborne.
With the akuma distracted, Chat Noir made his move, and used his baton to swipe at the his feet, effectively knocking the akuma off balance.
Using superhuman speed, Ladybug shot her yo-yo and wrapped it around the akuma's pickaxe, before pulling it out of the stunned villains grip. With a final flip, Ladybug took up the space to Chat Noir's left.
"No more evil doing for yo- Huh?" Ladybug, who had cracked the pickaxe over her knee, was shocked to find no black butterfly floating out of the remains.
She turned to Chat Noir, a panicked look donning her features, "I was wrong! The akuma isn't-"
Ladybug didn't get to finish her sentence, however, as the ground beneath them gave way and the akuma used its tail to flick both of them away. The pair hit the building behind them, hard, and slipped onto the ground.
The akuma is a mole! Of course it can burrow underground!
Chat Noir groaned and looked up just in time to watch the akuma put its pickaxe back together and aim it at the now disoriented pair of superheroes. The feline was faster, however, and quickly tackled Ladybug before proceeding to take cover behind a gold car.
"If the akuma isn't in his pickaxe, it's gotta be in his helmet!" Chat Noir turned to face his partner before continuing. "I think we're gonna need a bit of luck on this one!"
Ladybug nodded, and grabbed her yo-yo.
"Lucky Charm!"
The sky above them sparkled with red light before a red planter decorated with black spots fell from the sky and into Ladybug's arms, "What am I supposed to do with this?"
The spotted heroine stood, attempting to look around, before being yanked back down by none other than Chat Noir. Just in time too, as a golden projectile flew over their heads and past the spot Ladybug had been standing.
"Careful there bugaboo, i'll go buy us some time while you use that brain of yours." Chat Noir winked flirtatiously, before leaping over the car and engaging the akuma.
Ladybug peeked over the car and blinked in surprise as the mole themed villain's nose was briefly highlighted in red and black. An inkling of an idea began to form, and she turned around to come face to face with a flower shop. The small garden in front of the store also lit up in red and black, making Ladybug smirk, already knowing what she needed to do.
Chat Noir yelped, immediately dropping his baton as the once sparkling silver metal transformed into bright and very heavy gold. He scowled at the guilty party, who aimed his pickaxe menacingly at the blonde.
Gold Digger smirked, the outline of a purple butterfly appearing on the bridge of his nose, "Before I turn you into gold, i'll need you to hand over your miraculous."
"Sorry, but I don't think my ring is a good fit for your golden collection."
"Oh I assure you, it'll fit right in." Gold Digger smiled once more, and set his finger on the trigger.
"Hey Gold Digger, you haven't forgotten about me right!"
Gold Digger scowled and turned around to take aim at Ladybug instead, who was rushing towards the two, giving Chat Noir a chance to reposition. He shot, and she expertly dodged, before wrapping her yo-yo around the planter now filled with dandelions and marigolds.
"How about some gold flowers for the Golden boy!" She yelled, and used her weapon to slingshot the planter at Gold Digger's face.
The villain obviously did not expect this, and screamed once the smell of the flowers penetrated his nose.
"Didn't you know? Moles hate the smell of atriums! Chat Noir!"
"Cataclysm!"
Chat Noir pressed his bubbling hand against Gold Digger's shiny helmet, making it instantly crumble under his touch. A dark purple butterfly flew out of the helmet's remains, its presence not going unnoticed by the spotted heroine.
"No more evil doing for you little akuma!" Ladybug wound up her yo-yo, "Time to de-evilise!" and shot it at the akuma, trapping the butterfly in her yo-yo.
Ladybug released the butterfly with a small shout of, "Bye bye little butterfly!"
A civilian wearing classic mining gear took the place of Gold Digger, and glanced up to look at the superheroes.
"Oh no-" The man stood up, "Did I get akumatized?"
Chat Noir was the first to approach the victim, "You did, but don't worry, Ladybug and I took care of it."
The two glanced at Ladybug who grabbed the planter from the ground and threw it up in the air.
"Miraculous Ladybug!"
The man shut his eyes as bright red light swept through the area, returning it to its former glory. The tall gold building that had tumbled into the canal was now standing upright and restored, the civilians inside and outside were also turned back to normal and were both confused and relieved.
Ladybug walked up to Chat Noir and stuck out her fist. He smirked, and the two met in the middle with a small shout of, "Pound it!"
Her earrings beeped, and Ladybug flashed Chat Noir her signature smile, "Looks like i'm running out of time. Can I leave the victim to you?"
Chat Noir smirked, "Of course, M'Lady."
This time he was able to plant a kiss on her hand, earning an amused eye roll from the superheroine.
"Bug out!"
She took off, and Chat Noir watched her go with a dreamy smile on his face.
Ladybug swung onto her balcony just as her earrings released their last beep, and her transformation fell away. Marinette stood in her place, cupping her hands and catching the small kwami that burst out of her earrings. The brunette, swept her eyes over the railing in case of any onlookers, before opening the trapdoor and heading inside.
She smoothly slid down the ladder, and grabbed a macaroon from her secret stash. Marinette handed the sweet to Tikki, who ate her first few bites eagerly.
"Chat Noir seemed to be in a good mood today." Tikki started off the conversation, and watched her chosen sit down at her desk.
Marinette smiled at seemingly nothing, "Well yeah, he's Chat Noir. It's rare to see him not be in a good mood."
Tikki swallowed the last few bites of her macaroon with her eyes narrowed, "Around you, maybe."
"I don't know why-" Marinette shrugged, "-i'm not anything special."
Tikki's loud and offended scoff startled Marinette, making the teen drop the books she had grabbed from her backpack.
"That is not true!"
"Let me rephrase that," Marinette put her hands up in surrender. "Ladybug is certaintly special, but Marinette isn't-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!"
Marinette jumped when Tikki suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Why do you talk about Ladybug like she's a completely different person! Ladybug is an extension of you Marinette! Everything she embodies stems from you! I refuse to sit here and let you berate yourself anymore!"
Marinette seemed to be reeling from Tikki's declaration, and stayed silent while she tried to process what she had been told.
She knew Tikki was right, Ladybug was a direct extension of Marinette's personality. Being confident was much easier when she was hiding behind a mask and nobody knew what she was really like. That thought only served to put her in a worse mood.
Why couldn't she summon her courage without the mask?
"If only Ladybug could take over whenever I talk to Adrian." Marinette smiled bitterly at her own statement.
Tikki's sudden silence only rubbed salt in the wound. Her chosen sighed and bent down to pick up her books.
"Maybe she can."
The teen snapped her head up to face her tiny friend, "What?"
"Well think about it Marinette-" Tikki moved to sit on Marinette's shoulder, "-you can talk to every other boy in your class just fine, but when it comes to Adrian, you fall apart.
"So what if you just treated Adrian like every other boy in your class."
Tikki could pinpoint the exact moment Marinette's brain stopped functioning.
"But Tikki, he's Adrien Agreste!"
"So?"
The brunette released an exasperated noise, earning an eye roll from the kwami.
"Marinette you don't even think of Adrian as a celebrity! You treat him as if he were some perfect god who is too good for you- Which is not true!" Tikki was quick to add her statement at the end when Marinette was about to butt in.
"So why don't you try treating him like a normal human being." Tikki spoke as gently as possible, not wanting to startle her chosen anymore.
A minute passed by, and Marinette had still not spoken, which began to worry the kwami.
"Marinette I just mea-"
"Okay."
Tikki yelped as Marinette stood up without warning, a determined look settled on her features.
"Marinette?"
"You're right Tikki! If i'm gonna do this, i'm gonna do it right!"
Marinette walked up towards her computer and eyed the pictures of Adrian that decorated the wall above it.
Before ripping the first photo right of the wall.
Tikki watched in silent shock as Marinette walked around her room taking down every picture that featured only Adrian. It took around 10 minutes to gather every photo hung up in her room and hidden under her bed, but the work was done. The teen walked up to the desk where Tikki had been watching her and set down her very thick stack of photos with Adrian's face on them.
Marinette winked, "It wouldn't be normal to have more photos of a normal classmate than of my other classmates, right Tikki?"
Tikki giggled in response.
The teen proceeded to sweep her eyes over her room, and found most of the walls now empty and barren.
She would have to fix that later.
It took another 30 minutes for Marinette to sort through her stack of photos. Tikki suggested she rip up the photos from Adrian's photo shoots, and put away the ones that Alya had gifted her. It's safe to say her mother was quite surprised by the amount of recycling her daughter had shoved in the bin.
When Marinette came back, Tikki was quick to nuzzle her chosen's cheek and offer comfort.
"I'm proud of you Marinette! This is the first step to a new you!"
The brunette smiled at her kwami, before locking eyes with her computer from across the room. After settling in her chair, Marinette wheeled over to her computer and replaced her previous wallpaper showcasing Adrian, with one of her entire class.
She smiled.
"Ok! Now I just need practice!"
Tikki raised a brow in confusion, "Practice?"
Marinette nodded, her eyes were shining and her nose was scrunched up in the way that Tikki knew made others coo. The teen grabbed her phone and dialed a familiar number.
"Hey girl! What's up?"
The kwami was quick to recognize Alya's voice on the other end of the phone.
"Alya I need your help." Marinette took a seat in her chair once again, "I've decided to treat Adrian like a normal human being and I wanna practice talk-"
Marinette ripped the phone away from her ear at Alya's loud squeal, which was loud enough to startle Tikki who wasn't as close to the phone as Marinette.
"I've been waiting for this! Start a video call! We're gonna do this right!"
Marinette laughed at her best friend's antics, which made Tikki smile.
Tikki always knew her chosen was strong, and it was about time she realized it too.
Authors Note:
Hello! This is the first of many revised chapters for the story. I didn't change much of the plot but since my writing style has changed I decided to fix up the story a bit so I wouldn't read this again and cringe.
I'm going to revise the story bit by bit, so please bare with me.
Thank you to everyone who has stood by me this long, expect more in the future.
Again, thank you.
